I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 70 – Great Dream

Zheng Fa had achieved the highest score in the city on the college entrance exam.

Over the phone, Mr. Chen sounded slightly regretful. "I heard you were just a few points short of the top score in the province… just a bit of bad luck."

"It’s still pretty good," Zheng Fa chuckled over the phone. "As long as I can get into the school I want, that’s enough for me."

"Speaking of which, have you decided on a university? A few schools have already called me—they said they tried reaching you, but your phone wasn’t connecting."

Hearing this, Zheng Fa felt a bit embarrassed.

When he practiced the Lingshan Method, having his phone too close sometimes caused strange issues—like sudden shutdowns or crashes.

He had never cared much about it—after all, not many people called or messaged him.

It was only tonight, thanks to Tang Lingwu’s reminder, that he had placed his phone further away.

"Troubling me? If getting calls from the admissions director of Jingcheng University is troubling, then I wish I could be troubled every day!" Mr. Chen grumbled. "But seriously—you forgot when your exam results came out? Just don’t forget to submit your college application."

"Got it."

"So, where are you planning to go?"

Mr. Chen’s question was significant—with Zheng Fa’s score, he could get into any university and any program in the country.

It was entirely his choice.

Zheng Fa turned to look at Old Man Bai and Tang Lingwu beside him.

Old Man Bai—retired professor from Jingcheng University.

Tang Lingwu—future student at Jingcheng University.

Old Man Bai muttered something under his breath.

Tang Lingwu’s big, bright eyes were fixed on him, full of anticipation.

"Jingcheng University."

"That certain?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. I’ll have Jingcheng University’s admissions office call you later—make sure you answer this time."

"Will do."

"Oh, one more thing—some local newspapers want to interview you. Where are you right now?"

"I’m not available. I’m currently in Jingcheng."

"…That does make things inconvenient."

"Besides, I don’t want to accept interviews."

Zheng Fa spoke sincerely.

Fame, especially for scoring well on an exam, was more of a burden than a benefit to him.

To true scholars and experts, exam scores were meaningless—they wouldn’t be impressed by something so trivial.

"Hmm… well, that’s fine too," Mr. Chen mused. "Honestly, the reporters were hesitant anyway—there’s a rule against promoting rankings now."

After a pause, he added, "Alright, I’ll hang up. Just make sure to answer Jingcheng University’s call later."

A little while later, Mr. Chen sent a new message.

"By the way, the school, the district, and the city all have some scholarship money for you. Send me your bank account number."

Shortly after, another message arrived—this time, a photo.

It showed several freshly made banners.

The most prominent one read:

"Congratulations to our student Zheng Fa on being accepted into Jingcheng University!"

Behind it was another banner:

"Congratulations to our student Tang Lingwu on early admission to Jingcheng University!"

The two banners were twisted together, almost as if they were leaning on each other.

Old Man Bai stared at the photo for a moment, then blurted out:

"Your teacher… is he a CP fan of you and Tang Lingwu?"

"…"

"So, what major are you choosing at Jingcheng University?" Old Man Bai continued, picking up Mr. Chen’s previous question.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment before answering.

"My initial choice is physics."

Physics was the major he had originally discussed with Mr. Chen.

At the time, his reasoning had been simple—his best subject was physics, and he might have some talent in it.

To put it bluntly, he had just picked something he was good at, without much thought.

But now, his decision was based on a more serious consideration—whether the subject would be useful to him.

If Old Man Bai hadn’t started cultivating, or if cultivation wasn’t real, Zheng Fa might have chosen mathematics instead—since its connection to talismans was very direct. ȒἈ𐌽ȎВΕS̩

But now that Old Man Bai was around, studying math at Jingcheng University felt like a waste of resources.

For one, if he wanted to learn math, he could just ask Old Man Bai.

And if he couldn’t figure something out, he could just use Old Man Bai’s brain.

The same logic applied to computer science—with Tang Lingwu around, he didn’t need to rely on university professors.

"Physics…" Old Man Bai mused. "What’s your reasoning?"

"I want to understand how spiritual energy affects the physical world—for example, why it disrupts electrical circuits," Zheng Fa explained slowly. "I think physics might help me explore that."

Of course, he didn’t reveal his deepest thoughts to Old Man Bai.

Because as he traveled between the two worlds more frequently, he was beginning to notice something strange.

Old Man Bai and Tang Lingwu could cultivate.

That meant there was no fundamental biological difference between people from both worlds.

Moreover, modern electricity could actually interfere with his cultivation.

Not to mention the odd mutations in some plants…

And the fact that he had successfully cultivated the Lingshan Method in the modern world.

All of these led Zheng Fa to a remarkably simple hypothesis—

The only real difference between the two worlds was spiritual energy.

From species to fundamental physical laws, the two worlds were closely connected.

If he wanted to study how spiritual energy affected the material world, the best field for it was probably physics.

As Zheng Fa was explaining his reasoning to Old Man Bai, he suddenly noticed something—

Tang Lingwu was gone.

"Where’s Tang Lingwu?"

Zheng Fa turned to Old Man Bai.

The old man grinned knowingly, as if he understood something he wasn’t saying.

Zheng Fa gave him a suspicious look—then, suddenly, a loud explosion rang out.@@novelbin@@

He turned his head.

From the village below the mountain, thousands of fireworks shot into the sky, bursting into radiant blooms of color.

From their vantage point on the mountain, it truly looked like a sea of flowers.

"This is…"

"A celebration for your exam results."

Zheng Fa’s eyes widened slightly. "You guys planned this in advance?"

"You think that little girl just randomly reminded you to put your phone farther away? You forgot your exam results, but she remembered every single day."

Old Man Bai nudged his chin toward the phone in Zheng Fa’s hand.

Zheng Fa looked down—Tang Lingwu was calling.

"Hello?"

"I originally wanted to set them off at the nursing home, but they said fireworks weren’t allowed in the mountains. So I came here instead," Tang Lingwu sounded slightly regretful. "But I figured, from up there, you’d have an even better view… Is it beautiful?"

"It’s beautiful."

Zheng Fa gazed at the colorful bursts of light, answering sincerely. "What made you think of setting off fireworks for me?"

"When I got my early acceptance to Jingcheng University, my dad gave bonuses to everyone in his company," Tang Lingwu said over the phone. "Other people’s families celebrate when they achieve something."

"…"

"Grandpa Bai is right—if others can have it, you should have it too."

"Tang Lingwu."

"Hmm?"

"Stop reading CEO romance novels with that old man."

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and added, "If you must read them, at least stop relating them in such a weird way."

"…"

"Also… thank you. I’m really happy."

"…Mm!"

…

"So these are talisman diagrams?"

Old Man Bai furrowed his brow as a golden eye faintly appeared at the center of his forehead, scanning the surroundings.

Under the effects of Lingshan Method, the space around them contained traces of spiritual energy.

Though this spiritual energy was converted from Zheng Fa’s own spiritual power, he couldn’t control it freely—instead, the energy seemed to spontaneously form talisman patterns in the void.

"Ugh, my head’s spinning!"

After a while, Old Man Bai shook his head, and the golden eye on his forehead faded away.

Beside him, Tang Lingwu also looked dizzy.

Their first time using the Spiritual Eye Technique to observe talisman patterns had yielded no major discoveries.

But Zheng Fa wasn’t disappointed—this was just the first attempt.

Old Man Bai rubbed his temples, then suddenly remembered something.

"You said earlier that you condensed that… Great Dream Talisman?"

"Yeah."

"You’re planning to use that thing on Little Tian? What does it do? Any side effects?"

"It’s just a dream—what side effects could there be?" Zheng Fa explained. "I can only shape the dream’s setting."

"So how do you plan to test her?"

"It’s simple. For example, I could put her in a situation where she’s captured and interrogated…"

"…Isn’t that a bit harsh?"

"Or throw her into some weird world with you and see if she tries to protect you."

"…That’s going to hurt our relationship."

"Or, the simplest method—let her achieve her deepest desires and see what kind of person she really is."

…

"That one! I want to try that one!"

Old Man Bai suddenly slapped his thigh, looking excited.

"…"

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu exchanged a glance.

They could never understand how this old man’s curiosity was so much stronger than their own.

"Besides… I could test it out first."

Old Man Bai muttered under his breath.

"Wait, you?"

"Little Tian’s already had a tough time with her illness. If something goes wrong… and it’s because I recommended this, then…"

This old man was too soft-hearted.

Zheng Fa sighed, shaking his head. "You have cultivation—the Great Dream Talisman might not work as well on you. Just don’t resist it."

Old Man Bai eagerly nodded.

Zheng Fa flicked his fingers, sending a golden talisman into Old Man Bai’s forehead.

The old man quickly fell asleep.

Above his head, a small black mist gathered, swirling gently. Within it, images began to form.

The vision revealed a small conference hall.

A podium stood at the front, facing hundreds of seated attendees—most of them foreigners.

Numerous cameras were set up, all pointed at the podium, as if waiting for an important figure to appear.

"This is… Grandpa Bai’s deepest desire?"

Tang Lingwu stared at the scene, a little confused.

Zheng Fa also frowned slightly.

Soon, a middle-aged foreign woman stepped onto the podium with a warm smile.

She leaned toward the microphone and announced:

"The Fields Medal this year goes to…"

The curtains parted.

Old Man Bai, dressed in a formal suit, walked out with a broad grin, stepping forward to receive the award.

"Grandpa Bai… still dreams of academic glory…"

Tang Lingwu murmured.

Zheng Fa felt a rare moment of admiration as well.

But just as Old Man Bai finished his acceptance speech, his expression suddenly turned serious.

Then, he declared loudly:

"Now that my worldly affairs are settled… it’s time for me to return to the Dao!"

In front of countless flashing cameras and hundreds of prestigious scholars, he summoned a flying sword, stepped onto it, and soared out of the hall, still wearing his suit and tie.

"…"

"Forget academic dreams—this guy’s real dream is showing off…"

Zheng Fa shook his head.

The dream quickly faded away.

But the black mist above Old Man Bai’s head didn’t dissipate.

"Grandpa Bai has a lot of things he still wants to do…"

Tang Lingwu muttered.

The vision shifted again.

This time, Old Man Bai was in the courtyard of the nursing home.

A golden eye shone on his forehead as talisman patterns floated around him.

He was reaching out, grasping the symbols, as if analyzing them.

"Is he… trying to decipher talismans?"

Zheng Fa felt a bit touched.

This old man had placed "showing off" and "helping me study talismans" at equal priority…

Suddenly, the dream Old Man Bai shouted loudly:

"I understand! I understand!"

At the exact same moment, the real-life Old Man Bai jerked awake, leaping from his chair with both arms raised.

"I understand!"

"…"

"Sir, you were dreaming."

"No!" Old Man Bai’s face lit up with excitement. "I understand the difference between Yin-Yang Talisman Patterns now!"

"Huh?!"