I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 100: Sealed Land

Zheng Fa had already made up his mind—he had to check out the Heavenly Monument.

If Jiushan Sect were forced to flee, it would be a nightmare. People could leave, but spiritual veins were difficult to find. Without one, Jiushan Sect wouldn’t last long.

More importantly, without the Thunder Pool to restrict the Great Freedom Demonic Sect, they might not even get the chance to run.

Yan Wushuang suddenly spoke. “Actually, there’s not much danger to one’s life inside the Heavenly Monument.”

“Hm?”

Zheng Fa was taken aback.

“Well, there is some danger in entering, but once inside, we cultivators rarely fight each other.” Yan Wushuang’s words surprised both Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang.

They turned to him and noticed that even Chu Tianque and Xue Zhenzhuan were nodding in agreement.

“The rules inside the Heavenly Monument are strict—there’s very little infighting.” Yan Wushuang glanced at Zheng Fa. “Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. On the contrary, the monument…”

He trailed off, and Zheng Fa noticed all three of them had bitter smiles on their faces.

“You could say it’s driven us to exhaustion.”

Zheng Fa felt even more curious, but it seemed none of them wanted to explain further.

Before leaving, Yan Wushuang added, “Zheng Brother, if you enter the Heavenly Monument, we’ll be competitors. What I’ve told you isn’t exactly a secret, but I only shared it because of Elder Han’s request—otherwise, I wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“Elder Han? The Setting Sun Sword Immortal?” Zheng Fa blinked, confused. “Why would he ask you to tell me this?”

To his surprise, Yan Wushuang looked even more puzzled than he was. “Maybe… check your family records?”

“...”

Zheng Fa watched them leave, then turned to his senior sisters.

Both of them looked equally bewildered. It was clear they had no idea what the Setting Sun Sword Immortal was thinking either.

“Senior Sister.”

After a moment of thought, Zheng Fa finally spoke.

“Go ahead.” Unexpectedly, before he could even finish, Senior Sister Zhang had already given her answer. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

“…Alright.”

After taking a deep look at her, Zheng Fa turned toward the Heavenly Monument.

Thunderstorms raged ahead, making it impossible to avoid the lightning. With every step he took, countless electric arcs crackled around him.

The power of this lightning was even stronger than what he had encountered in the Thunder Pool.

The farther he advanced, the more intense the energy in the bolts became.

At first, he could withstand them using his physique alone.

But soon, he was forced to activate the Shenxiao Imperial Lightning True Method.

There were many lightning-based cultivation methods, each with its own unique strengths—some focused on summoning heavenly thunder to attack, while others refined the body with lightning.

As Jiushan Sect’s core inheritance, the Shenxiao Imperial Lightning True Method was entirely about controlling lightning.

It had four stages: Lightning Field Creation, Thunder Seed Cultivation, Lightning Blossom Growth, and Thunderfruit Harvest. These corresponded to early, mid, and late Foundation Establishment, leading up to Core Formation.

With each advancement, a cultivator’s control over lightning would improve.

In other sects, this technique wouldn’t be considered very valuable—after all, it only enhanced lightning affinity and had little direct offensive capability.

But Jiushan Sect specialized in talismans.

When paired with thunder talismans, the Shenxiao Imperial Lightning True Method produced results greater than the sum of its parts.

It was this synergy that had built Jiushan Sect’s formidable reputation.

His master’s Lightning Talisman Formation was even more absurd. Normally, using talismans to create an array with heavenly thunder was impossible—it was simply too volatile and difficult to control.

Without the Shenxiao Imperial Lightning True Method, any cultivator attempting to set up such an array would likely get themselves killed in the process.

Though Zheng Fa had yet to reach the Lightning Field Creation stage, he had at least entered the introductory level. Now, as he activated the technique, his spiritual energy subtly resonated with the surrounding lightning.

The once-relentless heavenly thunder suddenly weakened by thirty percent, making the journey much more bearable.

Ahead, Yan Wushuang and the others stood in the storm, watching Zheng Fa approach.

Yan Wushuang furrowed his brows, seemingly unable to make sense of something.

“Senior Brother Yan, what are you thinking about?”

“I’m wondering… why Elder Han values Zheng Fa so much.” Yan Wushuang stared at Zheng Fa with curiosity. “You both know what I’ve said about Elder Han before—he doesn’t care about anyone.”

Chu Tianque and Xue Zhenzhuan both frowned at his words.

As true disciples of the Xuanyi Realm’s Five Great Sects, they were rarely overlooked.

But the Setting Sun Sword Immortal?

He had a reputation for disregarding nearly everyone.

In the past, they had consoled themselves, thinking: He looks down on almost everyone—why should we take it personally?

But now, this same Elder Han wasn’t just giving Zheng Fa special treatment—he was practically going out of his way to favor him.

That made them… a little curious.

And a little competitive.

Watching Zheng Fa walk through the lightning, Chu Tianque nodded. “His lightning body-refinement technique and cultivation method are both excellent. In fact, he reminds me of you, Junior Sister Xue… Given the level of a sect like Jiushan, calling him a ‘genius’ wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”

Xue Zhenzhuan gave a faint smile and nodded slightly.

Yan Wushuang, hearing their words, immediately understood their tone—though they were praising Zheng Fa, their words carried a subtle condescension, as if evaluating him from above.

He had to admit, his thoughts were more or less the same.

Zheng Fa’s current performance wasn’t surprising to him. Even in the past, when he associated with Zheng Fa, he couldn’t say he hadn’t harbored some sense of condescension in their interactions.

But Old Han…

"Junior Sister Xue, how large do you think his domain will be now that he's entered the Heaven Monument?"

At that moment, Chu Tianque suddenly asked.

Junior Sister Xue pondered for a moment before slowly replying, "Judging by his age and his current Foundation Establishment cultivation, he's even faster than Zhang Wuyi. He must have a single spiritual root combined with a Dao physique. But his cultivation is still a bit low. Our initial domains are all 500 li, so his should be… 50 li?"

"That’s what I think too…" Chu Tianque nodded, then suddenly cursed. "This divine rank is seriously weird… What the hell does it mean to govern one’s domain with thunder techniques? I still haven’t figured it out!"

Hearing this, even Yan Wushuang and his companion couldn’t help but grimace.

Half complaining, half trying to comfort him, Yan Wushuang said, "That’s why our sect has been unable to comprehend the Heaven Monument for tens of thousands of years… The rules are just too bizarre to grasp."

…

Zheng Fa had no idea about their conversation.

He slowly approached the Heaven Monument and only then realized—it wasn’t complete.

It was a grand, imposing square jade pillar, but when he looked up, he noticed that the top seemed to be missing a chunk, revealing a sharp, skyward-pointing edge.

As he moved closer, a soft, shimmering light emanated from the Heaven Monument, as if sensing his presence.

When he was about half a zhang away, the pillar suddenly burst into a dazzling rainbow glow, enveloping his entire body.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that the scene before him had changed—

The path beneath his feet looked as if it were made of glowing white jade, with traces of spiritual energy flowing through it, a material even rarer than those found in the Xuanwei Realm.

Looking ahead, an enormous hall covered half the sky. Its foundation floated in midair, connected only by three wide staircases—there was nothing else supporting it.

Many people were ascending the steps, including Yan Wushuang’s group of three.

Zheng Fa instinctively tried to fly toward the palace, but the moment he activated his spiritual power, he sensed something strange—

His spiritual power could still circulate, yet he was unable to cast any spells.

Within his Dao Foundation of talisman seals, most of his spiritual talismans seemed to have fallen into a slumber, completely inert.

The only one still functioning was the Lightning Chain Talisman he had condensed.

Zheng Fa reached into his storage pouch and found that, aside from lightning-attribute talismans, all other talismans had turned gray and lifeless, their spiritual energy completely drained.

Only then did he understand why everyone was walking so obediently.

"Rules…"

Remembering the phrase Yan Wushuang kept repeating, Zheng Fa's thoughts stirred.

Others only saw these rules as strange, but Zheng Fa noticed something familiar.

Based on his understanding of spiritual energy and talismans, the rules of this place could probably be summed up as—

Spiritual energy can only influence electromagnetic forces but can no longer affect other forms of matter?

The realization made him even more intrigued by this Heaven Monument world—

This was like a naturally controlled experimental field!

…

Since flying was impossible, Zheng Fa relied on his legs and soon arrived at the palace gates.

The grand hall was divided into three chambers.

The central hall’s doors were tightly shut.

The doors of the left and right halls, however, were open—but everyone had gone into the left hall, and no one had stepped into the right.

Zheng Fa hesitated for a moment, just as Yan Wushuang and his group exited from the left hall.

"Brother Zheng, you should go to the right hall first to receive your domain."

"Domain?"

Yan Wushuang seemed to want to keep him in suspense and simply beckoned for him to follow.

The two people behind him exchanged glances, seemingly intrigued as they sized up Zheng Fa.

Yan Wushuang was undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching figures among this group. The moment he moved, another five or six cultivators also gathered around out of curiosity.

Zheng Fa found the situation a bit baffling, but he followed Yan Wushuang’s lead to the entrance of the right-side hall.

"Every time we enter the Heaven Monument world, we always visit these three halls," Yan Wushuang explained with a smile as Zheng Fa drew near. "The left hall, we call the 'Treasure Hall,' and the right hall, the 'Divine Seal Hall.'"

"Divine Seal?"

Zheng Fa asked with a keen sense of curiosity.

"You'll understand once you go inside."

With that, Yan Wushuang lightly pushed Zheng Fa forward.

Following the momentum, Zheng Fa took a few steps and stood at the hall’s entrance.

Looking up, he saw several towering statues of deities standing within the hall.

There were twelve in total.

Each one was massive, like a celestial pillar reaching into the heavens.

But upon closer inspection, Zheng Fa realized something eerie—each deity’s face was completely blank.

Cautiously, he stepped into the hall.

The moment he crossed the threshold, he felt it—

The twelve faceless statues seemed to be staring at him.

His footsteps unconsciously lightened as he approached them.

Before he could even steady himself—

Twelve beams of golden light shot from the statues’ faces, intersecting over his body.

It felt as though he was being scanned from head to toe, inside and out.

But what shocked him even more was that the golden light entered his consciousness, heading straight for his Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant.

The jade pendant trembled slightly, emitting a faint glow—so faint it was nearly imperceptible.

Yet, the golden light retreated instantly, as if it had been startled, fading away like a defeated army.

The twelve golden beams gathered before him, forming a single orb of light.

Then, a chorus of solemn voices resounded from within—

"The Heavenly Court is in ruins; the Immortal Sovereigns have fallen from their thrones."

"The order of Heaven and Earth is in chaos; Yin and Yang are imbalanced, and all living beings suffer."

"Since you have inherited the legacy of the Thunder Laws, your fate is profound, and your merits outstanding."

"Now, we bestow upon you a Divine Title: Master of Thunder, Restorer of Heaven’s Order, Governor of Clouds and Rain, Nourisher of the People."

"So decreed."

Zheng Fa stood there, dumbfounded.

Before he could react, the glowing orb began to condense and shrink—

Taking the shape of a scroll.

…

Outside the hall, Yan Wushuang and his companions watched the scene unfold.

"If it’s a 50-li domain, it should be a bamboo scroll, right?"

Chu Tianque asked.

Xue Zhenzhuan shook her head. "Both of us received bronze scrolls for our 500-li divine ranks. We wouldn’t know."

A cultivator in the crowd chimed in, "It’s bamboo. That’s what I received. You two started with 500 li, so of course, you wouldn’t know."

Just then, a voice suddenly exclaimed—

"S-Silver… Silver scroll!"

The crowd turned sharply, stunned into silence as they saw the silver glow of Zheng Fa’s scroll.

Even Yan Wushuang froze, muttering in disbelief—

"…So this is why Old Han values him so much?"