I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 102: Ejection

Zheng Fa had never been someone with a strong sense of security—or rather, he could never truly find a sense of security in the Xuanyi Realm.

Without the contrast of modern society, this feeling wouldn’t be so pronounced. That said, even in the modern world, his sense of security was something he had built step by step. The ten Yuan Talisman Foundations in his dantian were the reason he was gradually gaining confidence.

But the Xuanyi Realm and Jiushan Sect were different.

His Yuan Talisman Foundations and his cultivation level still couldn’t make him feel at ease.

Zheng Fa believed that the entire Jiushan Sect was willing to stand by his side for now, but wasn’t the entirety of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect standing against him?

Right now, Jiushan Sect could resist the Great Freedom Demonic Sect purely because they had luckily come across the Thunder Pool.

Because of this, he constantly thought about his mother and younger sister but didn’t want to bring them over just yet—Jiushan Sect was too far, and Thunder Pool Market was too close to the Great Freedom Demonic Sect.

Only if his vision for the Heavenly Monument World could be realized would he finally feel like he had a secure foothold, and many of the plans he envisioned could start being implemented.

Senior Sister Zhang pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Yes. The Sunset Sword Immortal’s warning was vague, but after visiting the Heavenly Monument World, I’ve come to some conclusions. If only the spells of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect function in their secret realm…”

Before Zheng Fa could finish his sentence, both Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan had looks of horror on their faces—there was even a hint of disgust.

If this was true, then as long as the secret realm existed, the Great Freedom Demonic Sect would be nearly immortal… meaning Jiushan Sect would inevitably face their retaliation one day.

“So you’re thinking of turning the Heavenly Monument World into Jiushan Sect’s secret realm?” Senior Sister Zhang asked.

“Yes. The rules of the Heavenly Monument World are unique, making it a potential sanctuary for us,” Zheng Fa explained. “At the very least, while we may not dare to enter the Great Freedom Demonic Sect’s secret realm, if we can truly control the Heavenly Monument, then the people of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect wouldn’t dare to enter it either. Jiushan Sect would be able to protect itself there.”

“That… doesn’t sound like a problem…” Senior Sister Zhang said slowly.

“It’s a huge problem!” Senior Sister Yuan glared at him. “Talking is easy, but don’t we first have to get control of the Heavenly Monument World?”

“Since Junior Brother Zheng has proposed this idea, he must have some sort of plan in mind?”

Senior Sister Zhang knew Zheng Fa’s personality a bit better.

Zheng Fa chuckled. He had spent a month in the Heavenly Monument World, not only surveying his own fiefdom but also studying several of the lightning techniques in the Investiture of the Gods. He did, in fact, have some ideas.

…

At the Heavenly Monument—

Yan Wushuang and Chu Tianque, along with another companion, had come out a little later than Zheng Fa, likely because they had planned to leave together.

As they walked, they continued discussing Zheng Fa.

“Senior Brother Yan, that Zheng Fa was directly invested as a Silver-ranked lord. Won’t he be competing with you for dominance over the Heavenly Monument World in the future?” Chu Tianque asked, his expression a mix of caution and apprehension.

“What’s there to compete for?” Yan Wushuang sighed with a wry smile. “You already know I haven’t even grasped the basics of the Heavenly Monument’s lightning techniques. This place isn’t mine to claim.”

“…Even so,” Chu Tianque was unconvinced. “Senior Brother Yan, your talent in the Dao of Lightning is the greatest I’ve ever seen.”

“The Investiture Hall is incredibly mystical. Though Brother Zheng is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, he has been granted five thousand miles of territory just like me,” Yan Wushuang countered. “His talent may well surpass mine.”

“…Senior Brother Yan, why do you keep speaking in Zheng Fa’s favor?”

“Junior Brother Chu,” Yan Wushuang sighed. “I know that, coming from one of the Five Great Sects of Xuanyi, you have a tendency to look down on other sects.”

“This isn’t something I should say,” he continued, seeing the frustration on Chu Tianque’s face. “But we’ve been friends for years, and I know you only have my best interests at heart. However, before our ancestor’s rise, wasn’t our Tianhe Sect just a minor sect?”

“Besides, looking down on others won’t make us stronger.”

“…” Chu Tianque pursed his lips and muttered, “Senior Brother Yan.”

“I’ve long accepted the limits of my talent,” Yan Wushuang sighed again. “I will never match our sect’s ancestor, nor even my own father.”

This left Chu Tianque speechless.

Yan Wushuang’s father, as the sect master of Tianhe Sect, had once been the most gifted disciple among the true inheritors. Yan Wushuang, however, did not have the same reputation.

“I may not surpass my father in cultivation, but if I can form bonds with the heroes of the world, I might still achieve great things. Aren’t you two also among those I’ve chosen to befriend?”

“Yes.”

“Then if Zheng Fa has already shown such talent and is close to me, the stronger he becomes, the happier I’ll be—even if he eventually controls the Heavenly Monument World,” Yan Wushuang said with a smile.

At this, Chu Tianque was left speechless.

Nearby, Senior Sister Xue chuckled. “If Senior Brother Yan didn’t have this kind of broad-mindedness, would we even have this kind of friendship?”

“…That’s true.” Chu Tianque scratched his head. He knew that Senior Sister Xue’s pride was no less than his own. If not for Yan Wushuang’s lack of jealousy, the three of them wouldn’t have formed such a deep bond, nearly to the point of life and death.

As he looked at Yan Wushuang, who was watching him with an amused expression, Chu Tianque felt a little embarrassed. To change the subject, he turned his gaze toward the Heavenly Monument. “Well then, I’d like to see how many Heavenly Merits this Brother Zheng has accumulated.”

“Hmm?”

A moment later, the three of them all looked puzzled.

On the Heavenly Monument’s rankings, Zheng Fa’s name was very eye-catching—because he was dead last.

“That’s not right. With his five thousand miles of territory, his Heavenly Merits should have accumulated quickly,” Senior Sister Xue frowned.

Chu Tianque also turned to Yan Wushuang, who pondered for a long time before suggesting, “Maybe Brother Zheng is still unfamiliar with lightning techniques since he just entered the Foundation Establishment stage, so his progress is slow.”

Chu Tianque muttered, “It’s just lightning techniques. With our talents, we would’ve already grasped the basics. How can he take so long?”

Yan Wushuang shot him a glare, making Chu Tianque shut up. Instead, he turned his attention back to the Heavenly Monument and asked, “Who is this ‘Li Corpse’? How is he accumulating Heavenly Merits so fast? He’s almost caught up to you, Senior Brother Yan.”

“Li Corpse… that name sounds familiar,” Senior Sister Xue murmured before suddenly realizing, “Isn’t that the name the Copper Coffin Elder used before he gained fame? It’s said that he was once a Daoist practitioner who attained the Dao as a corpse, so he gave himself the name ‘Li Corpse.’”

“Him? What’s he doing here?”

Chu Tianque gaped in disbelief.

The Thunder surrounding the Heavenly Monument was notorious for being adaptive—the stronger the cultivator, the harsher the punishment. Not to mention, the Copper Coffin Elder was a member of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect, meaning he would be especially restrained by the Heavenly Thunder.

Coming here was practically suicide.

The three of them were still puzzled—until they saw what happened next.

…

“What is that?”

Zheng Fa had been discussing the topography and spiritual energy distribution of the Heavenly Monument World with Senior Sister Zhang when he heard Senior Sister Yuan gasp in shock.

He looked up—and saw someone racing across the Thunder Pool.

No—racing in a coffin.

And that coffin looked eerily familiar. It was the same one that had surrounded Martial Uncle Pang that day—the Copper Coffin Elder.

The Copper Coffin Elder remained hidden, keeping the coffin lid tightly shut. He was fully committed to the art of "driving while lying down," not even bothering to look where he was going, recklessly weaving through the lightning.

The heavenly thunder showed him no mercy, striking down relentlessly. Yet, the bolts that landed on the copper coffin seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever.

On the contrary, he appeared to be extremely familiar with the Thunder Pool’s environment, moving at a speed far beyond ordinary cultivators. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed the distance from the Heavenly Monument to where the three of them stood.

Senior Sister Zhang instinctively summoned her life-bound magical treasure, the Flying Immortal Brush, preparing for battle.

“This person… came out of the Heavenly Monument?”

Senior Sister Yuan asked softly, seemingly unable to believe her own eyes.

Zheng Fa exchanged glances with Senior Sister Zhang, both of them just as shocked.

Earlier, Senior Sister Zhang had mentioned rumors of someone spotting the Copper Coffin Elder within the Thunder Pool, and she had assumed he was scheming something.

But now, it seemed… there was no scheme at all.

Just some truly ambitious dreams.

Who said members of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect couldn’t cultivate lightning techniques?

The Copper Coffin Elder clearly believed otherwise!

Not only did he believe it—he was actively pursuing it! Straight toward the Heavenly Monument!

The Copper Coffin Elder seemed to notice the three of them standing there and came to a stop beside them.

“Zhang Wuyi? I heard you were hunting me down, trying to avenge your Martial Uncle?” A cold snort came from within the coffin. “To think you’d chase me all the way here.”

The Flying Immortal Brush in Senior Sister Zhang’s hand gleamed with divine light, as if ready to strike at any moment.

“You dare make a move?” The Copper Coffin Elder laughed heartily. “This treasured coffin of mine—below Nascent Soul, no one can break it! And if you’re above Nascent Soul, would you dare make a move here in the Thunder Pool?”

His voice carried absolute confidence.

But Senior Sister Zhang simply gave the coffin a once-over before suddenly remarking, “And you don’t dare leave that coffin, do you?”

“……”

Understood.

A mobile version of the Mysterious Barrier Mirror.

No wonder a demonic cultivator would willingly hide in the Thunder Pool.

This was peak damage resistance gameplay.

Exposed so bluntly, the Copper Coffin Elder wasn’t angry. Instead, he laughed. “Even if the Sunset Sword Immortal were here today, I would not fear him! And what can you do to me?”

With that, he seemed unwilling to waste any more time on them. Laughing, he began moving away. “Once I figure out the secrets of the Heavenly Monument World for the Holy Sect, without the Thunder Pool’s protection, your Jiushan Sect will—”

Before he could finish, Zheng Fa raised a hand. The Reversed Five Elements Divine Light shot out from his palm, striking the retreating copper coffin directly.

As the Five Elements cycled in rapid succession, the copper coffin suddenly froze in place.

With a loud snap, the lid of the coffin flew open—

And a shriveled old corpse of a man was launched out!

The elder looked up at the sky filled with crackling thunder.

Then down at his own, very familiar, life-bound magical treasure.

The look on his face, filled with despair, was hard to interpret—was it because he was about to be struck by heavenly lightning, or because his beloved coffin had betrayed him…?

Zheng Fa could only disrupt the coffin for a fleeting moment.

But that moment was enough.

A second later, the copper coffin seemed to have a change of heart, like a prodigal son realizing the error of its ways. It tried to rush back and embrace its master, offering shelter once again.

But Senior Sister Zhang wasn’t about to let them have their happy reunion.

The Flying Immortal Brush danced through the air, swiftly inscribing three Lightning Summoning Talismans, sending bolts of heavenly thunder crashing down on the Copper Coffin Elder.

…

Yan Wushuang and his two companions watched this sudden turn of events in stunned silence.

After a long moment, Chu Tianque was the first to speak, his tone unexpectedly filled with admiration. “So Zheng Fa actually has such a technique… Could it be that he just doesn’t think lightning cultivation is worth his time?”

“……”

The guess was a bit ridiculous.

But somehow… it also kind of made sense.

“Senior Brother Yan, your judgment is truly remarkable. I’m utterly convinced,” Chu Tianque added with admiration.

“…I admire myself too,” Yan Wushuang muttered after a brief silence. “Even though I’m not exactly sure what I should be admiring.”