I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 78: Bounty

Hearing Zheng Fa’s question, Lin Bufan’s expression turned complicated.

On the other hand, Li Nuo visibly let out a sigh of relief.

"Brother Lin hasn't been very cooperative these past few days," Li Nuo said, taking a subtle jab at Lin Bufan. Zheng Fa turned his head to look at the former Demonic Sect disciple, whose facial muscles gradually stiffened, revealing a trace of guilt.

It seemed Li Nuo was telling the truth.

Now that Zheng Fa had left Jiushan Sect, Li Nuo could no longer keep Lin Bufan in check.

"Tell me about the talisman imprints you've experimented with," Zheng Fa asked Li Nuo instead of addressing Lin Bufan.

"I’ve already tried it before. Brother Lin's blood has some remarkable effects on soul-related talisman imprints," Li Nuo said excitedly. "At first, I made a Soul-Nourishing Talisman. Then I managed to create a Soul-Shocking Talisman, a Soul-Piercing Talisman... Now I have about eight or nine different kinds."

"Soul-related… What about other types of talismans?"

"Other types don’t work—only soul-related talisman imprints are exceptionally effective."

"How much blood is needed to make one imprint?"

"Considering losses, one liter of blood can guarantee a single talisman imprint," Li Nuo calculated.

"Is there a difference between the blood of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a Qi Refining cultivator?"

"I'm not sure. Brother Lin is in the Foundation Establishment stage, so the talisman imprints made from his blood produce Mysterious-Grade talismans," Li Nuo replied honestly. "I speculate that if it were Qi Refining stage blood, the resulting talismans would likely be Yellow-Grade."

"I recall you mentioned that talisman imprints made from beast blood could imprint a thousand talismans?" Zheng Fa asked, recalling Li Nuo’s earlier report.

"A talisman imprint made from Brother Lin's blood can only imprint a hundred Mysterious-Grade talismans," Li Nuo admitted, looking somewhat disappointed.

So it was less efficient than beast blood—Lin Bufan’s blood wasn’t without its limitations.

"Aside from blood, are there other costs?"

"Yes, talisman paper costs money, spiritual ink costs money, and the rest are minor expenses," Li Nuo replied truthfully. "Mostly just mundane materials."

Zheng Fa nodded.

Among the talismans created with Lin Bufan’s blood, the Soul-Nourishing Talisman and Soul-Piercing Talisman were particularly valuable.

Even the others were worth more than ordinary talismans—after all, the soul was an incredibly mysterious aspect of cultivation.

He glanced at Lin Bufan, a thought forming in his mind. Could the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor have had some special expertise in soul-related cultivation?

Lin Bufan caught his gaze and instantly grew more nervous, blurting out, "Young Master, I was wrong!"

Zheng Fa simply looked at him without speaking.

Anyone would be reluctant to have their blood drawn.

But this was Lin Bufan’s own choice—in a way, this was his price for survival.

As a former Demonic Sect disciple, he was naturally more cunning than most.

"You think that just because you belong to me, now that I’ve left Jiushan Sect… no one else dares to discipline you? That they might even have to treat you with special care?"

Zheng Fa’s voice was emotionless as he stared at Lin Bufan.

Lin Bufan broke out in a cold sweat. Clearly, Zheng Fa had seen through his hidden thoughts.

With a thud, Lin Bufan dropped to his knees, lowering his head in silence.

Zheng Fa gazed at him for a long time without speaking.

Sweat dripped down Lin Bufan’s face.

"Stand up," Zheng Fa finally said, gesturing for him to rise, as if letting the matter go.

Lin Bufan looked at Zheng Fa with disbelief in his eyes.

"I don’t enjoy tormenting people," Zheng Fa stated seriously.

"…"

"I also don’t play mind games—I’ll always make things clear to you," Zheng Fa said softly, rubbing the talisman imprint in his hand. "If you keep entertaining these little schemes… Well, I’m a merciful person."

Senior Sister Yuan scoffed from the side.

"I’ll make it quick for you."

Senior Sister Yuan: "?"

"Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Lin Bufan shuddered.

"For this special training of Jiushan Sect disciples, you know what to do, right?"

"I understand!" Lin Bufan said loudly. "I will give it my all!"

"You’re dismissed."

…

As they left the room, Senior Sister Yuan turned to Zheng Fa and asked, "Junior Brother, were you really planning to kill Lin Bufan?"

"Senior Sister, this place has no shortage of Great Freedom Demonic Sect disciples."

"…"

Zheng Fa didn’t care about her silence.

He headed toward the grand hall where Martial Uncle Pang resided.

Behind him, Senior Sister Yuan called out, "Where are you going, Junior Brother?"

"I have something to discuss with Martial Uncle Pang."

"I’m coming too!"

…

Inside the grand hall, Martial Uncle Pang was stunned after hearing Zheng Fa’s proposal.

"You’re saying… you want to use talismans in the market to buy—no, to put a bounty on… the blood of Great Freedom Demonic Sect disciples?"

"Yes."

"Two liters of Foundation Establishment stage Great Freedom Demonic Sect blood can be exchanged for one hundred Mysterious-Grade talismans?"

"We won’t be losing out," Zheng Fa explained. "A single talisman imprint can produce one hundred talismans. Two liters of blood would mean two hundred talismans. Even after deducting the cost of talisman paper and spiritual ink, we’d still make at least ten spirit stones in profit."

After hearing this, Martial Uncle Pang slowly closed his mouth.

After a moment of contemplation, Martial Uncle Pang asked, "But if we flood the market with these talismans, won’t the price drop?"

"At worst, we just won’t make a profit," Zheng Fa explained. "But we control the bounty. We can stop whenever we want."

Martial Uncle Pang was convinced. Stroking his chin, he asked, "And we’re not accepting blood from Qi Refining cultivators?"

"Martial Uncle, the biggest threat in Thunder Pool is still those in the Foundation Establishment stage. As for the Qi Refining stage… are Jiushan Sect disciples really that useless?"

Zheng Fa wanted to use the bounty to reduce casualties among Jiushan Sect disciples.

But he wasn’t a mother hen—he couldn’t protect every single disciple.

"It’s good that you understand this," Martial Uncle Pang said approvingly.

"Li Nuo… Li Nuo," Martial Uncle Pang shook his head, his gaze toward Zheng Fa filled with admiration. "I heard that back then, you insisted on giving him spirit stones for his research, even when Junior Martial Sister Zhang tried to stop you."

"Who would have thought he’d actually accomplish something big?"

With a sigh, Martial Uncle Pang continued, "That father and son pair have been loitering around Jiushan Sect for over a hundred years, and we old folks were blind to their worth!"

"Martial Uncle, you can’t really blame yourselves…"

"Especially that Huang woman! Li Nuo’s father had some history with her too!"

"…"

Zheng Fa twitched at the corners of his mouth but spoke frankly, "Martial Uncle, it’s understandable that no one took Li Nuo seriously before. If not for the current situation, I wouldn’t have brought up this talisman imprint technique either."

"That’s true… At the end of the day, Jiushan Sect disciples aren’t fools. When it comes down to choosing between money and survival, they’ll know what to pick."

Previously, talisman imprint techniques weren’t popular because they threatened the livelihood of most Jiushan Sect disciples.

But the circumstances had changed.

On one hand, Zheng Fa’s method was essentially hiring mercenaries to deal with the Great Freedom Demonic Sect.

Put simply—it was to save their lives.

No one could argue against that.

On the other hand, the war with the Great Freedom Demonic Sect had already reached their doorstep.

Most disciples were too busy fighting for their lives to bother drawing talismans.

To put it bluntly, using automation when workers were unemployed was one thing—using it when all workers had been drafted to the frontlines was another.

"So, what did you come to ask me?"

"I’m worried about provoking the Great Freedom Demonic Sect too much," Zheng Fa admitted.

This bounty was outright hostility toward them.

"Provoking them? Do we even have a choice at this point?" Martial Uncle Pang sighed. "Why do you think your master was willing to die rather than leave Jiushan Sect?"

"…"

"One more thing—will people actually be willing to risk their lives against the Great Freedom Demonic Sect for this bounty?"

Martial Uncle Pang looked at him strangely.

"One hundred Mysterious-Grade talismans… worth dozens of spirit stones… Who wouldn’t be tempted?"

"…"

"Zheng Shizhi, you don’t understand rogue cultivators," Martial Uncle Pang sighed. "They are broke—absolutely, utterly broke."

…

Zheng Fa summoned Senior Brother Yang and the others to inform them about the bounty and instructed them to spread the word in the market later.

But to his surprise, Senior Brother Yang hesitated, unwilling to leave. It seemed he had something to say.

"Hmm?"

"This bounty is for outsiders… but can Jiushan Sect disciples participate too?"

"…"

Zheng Fa looked at Senior Brother Yang.

The whole point of this was to prevent these people from throwing their lives away.

And yet…

Senior Brother Yang met his gaze, looking a little embarrassed but speaking loudly, "Exterminating demons and protecting the world has always been my dream!"

"…"

As Zheng Fa glanced around, he saw the others nodding in agreement.

He rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Anyone who wants to go to Thunder Pool has to pass his test first."

He pointed at Lin Bufan.

Senior Brother Yang and the others turned to look at Lin Bufan, eyes shining with excitement as they cracked their knuckles.

Lin Bufan: "…"

…

Zheng Fa hadn’t expected that as soon as the bounty was posted, someone completely unexpected would come knocking.

"Brother Zheng!"

When Martial Uncle Pang informed him that Yan Wushuang was here to visit, Zheng Fa was puzzled.

"Brother Yan," he greeted warmly. After all, it was thanks to Yan Wushuang that he had gotten news of Chen Ting.

"The bounty in your market—is it real?"

Yan Wushuang wasted no time, asking about the bounty the moment he entered.

"It’s real, but Brother Yan, you…"

Who was this guy?

A true disciple of Tianhe Sect.

Could he really be short on money?

"You don’t understand, Brother Zheng," Yan Wushuang sighed. "I travel far and wide, making connections, trying to build an organization—everything requires money."

"…"

Zheng Fa suddenly remembered.

Back when Yan Wushuang had endured tribulation lightning, he had worn only a crane-feather cloak—with not even an undershirt beneath it.

At the time, Zheng Fa thought it was some kind of Tianhe Sect tradition.

Now it seemed… he was just broke?

Realizing this, Zheng Fa said to him, "The bounty is real."

"Good," Yan Wushuang fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "If I… capture one alive, how much will you pay?"

Zheng Fa froze.

He looked at Yan Wushuang, who had a square, upright face and an aura of righteousness.

You… are actually a villainous human trafficker?!