I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 90 – Righteous Sacrifice

This was Zheng Fa’s first time witnessing a large-scale Nascent Soul battle.

Even standing within the Thunder Pool, surrounded by the endless roar of lightning, he could still hear the fierce battle raging above.

Raising his gaze, he activated his Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes and peered into the skies beyond the Thunder Pool.

Above them, Five Dragons Palace hovered over the storm.

At its outer edges, the five golden dragons—already immense in their natural form—had swelled to a hundred times their usual size.

Each dragon was now a thousand zhang thick and ten thousand zhang long, their titanic forms coiling protectively around Five Dragons Palace, shielding Martial Uncle Pang within.

Yet, outside the palace, streaks of crimson and black light slashed through the sky—an eerie, ominous glow that rivaled the palace’s own grandeur.

Sun Daoyu, also using his Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes, was perplexed.

He had expected to see the Nascent Soul cultivators that Martial Uncle Pang had invited.

But there were none.

Only Pang Qian remained, alone, relying on Five Dragons Palace for support.

Zheng Fa shook his head.

He had no idea.

But Pang Qian’s face was visibly pale, his complexion far more ashen than usual—signs of spiritual depletion.

The five golden dragons encircling the palace were looking worse for wear, too.

One dragon had a vast patch of missing scales.

Another’s eye had been corrupted by demonic magic, thick black smoke seeping from its wounded socket.

Opposing him were four Nascent Soul cultivators from the Great Freedom Demonic Sect:

A gaunt, corpse-like old man, seated atop a bronze coffin.

A scantily clad female cultivator, wrapped in the coils of a massive human-faced crimson snake.

A middle-aged man, accompanied by a young child—

That child, with chubby limbs and a round moon-like face, looked utterly adorable at first glance.

But a second look revealed his eyes were completely white, devoid of pupils.

Even Zheng Fa wasn’t sure if he still qualified as human.

"Jiushan Sect’s Five Dragons Zhenren."

The old man on the bronze coffin spoke, his voice dry and cold.

“One glance to see the heavens and earth, one talisman to sever life and death.

“Truly impressive.”

Zheng Fa was momentarily stunned.

Did Martial Uncle Pang actually have such a grand reputation?

Even Sun Daoyu looked a little dazed.

It seemed neither of them had ever known about their master’s past glory.

“…Mere empty titles,” Pang Qian replied, his voice calm.

“But I am surprised…”

He slowly turned his gaze toward his four adversaries.

“The Coffin Elder.”

“The Crimson Serpent Immortal.”

“And… The Thousand-Slaying Sword Immortal.”

His gaze lingered on the child, his expression darkening with anger.

“So you three… despite your heretical ways, the Immortal Sects never realized you were all Great Freedom Demonic Sect members…”

A soft, chilling laugh rang through the air.

Zheng Fa instinctively assumed it was the Crimson Serpent Immortal speaking.

But to his surprise, the voice came from the human-faced snake itself.

That grotesque face—lacking even a proper nose—smiled sweetly.

“Oh, but we’re not the only ones, are we?”

Her tone was syrupy, like a coquettish maiden’s.

"Didn’t one of your invited Nascent Soul cultivators turn out to be one of ours?"

Zheng Fa’s expression changed.

So did Pang Qian’s.

“…Xuangui Shangren.”

The moment Pang spoke the name, it was no longer a suspicion—it was confirmation.

The Crimson Serpent Immortal continued, giggling.

“He planned to betray you first… but in the end, you outmaneuvered him.”

“Truly impressive, Five Dragons Zhenren—your perception is as sharp as ever.”

“But in the end, the other Nascent Soul cultivators you invited saw you and Xuangui Shangren fighting each other, realized they couldn’t tell friend from foe, and chose to stand back.”

“Eventually… they all ran away.”

“You’re alone now.”

Her laughter was light, but beneath it was a sneer filled with contempt.

Zheng Fa finally understood.

This was why Martial Uncle Pang was fighting alone.

Those so-called “reinforcements” had never intended to truly help.

And the moment Pang had struck down Xuangui Shangren—

They had fled.

Despite the conversation, the battle never stopped.

Zheng Fa observed carefully from within the Thunder Pool.

At a glance, Nascent Soul battles seemed almost slow, almost calm.

The combatants even had time to exchange verbal duels.

But through his Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes, he saw the truth.

The spiritual energy in the sky was split into two forces.

Around the Great Freedom Demonic Sect cultivators, their aura was a chaotic mix of black and crimson.

Around Pang Qian, his spiritual energy flowed in five colors, shifting in cycles.

The two opposing forces swirled around one another, testing, probing, seeking an opening.

But slowly—

Pang Qian, outnumbered three to one, began to lose ground.

His Five-Colored Spiritual Energy gradually shrank inward, forced to retreat around Five Dragons Palace.

Above, the sky had become an ocean of black and crimson energy.

Five Dragons Palace, once mighty and radiant, now looked like a dim lantern flickering in the night.

Yet, despite this…

Pang Qian did not panic.

He remained composed, as if prepared to endure for an eternity.

His attackers, too, were not in a hurry.

Their faces remained calm, even smiling.

The battle was a slow, suffocating siege.

“In the Hundred Immortals Alliance, they say you’re even more of a turtle than that Xuangui Shangren—a ten-thousand-year-old tortoise. Seems they weren’t wrong.”

The Crimson Serpent Immortal laughed mockingly.

Pang Qian didn’t react, merely continuing to control Five Dragons Palace, deflecting the attacks from the three Nascent Soul cultivators surrounding him.

Time stretched on—one day, one night.

Even for Nascent Soul cultivators, maintaining such high tension for so long was exhausting.

Yet, the battlefield seemed unchanged.

Even Zheng Fa was beginning to feel weary just watching.

Then—

“Enough!”

The old man atop the bronze coffin suddenly roared.

Zheng Fa looked up just in time to see Pang Qian—

Leaping forward, abandoning the defenses of Five Dragons Palace—

And lunging straight at the Crimson Serpent Immortal.

She had been caught off guard, never expecting Pang Qian to suddenly abandon his own fortress.

But Pang Qian had been waiting for this single moment of distraction.

His hands flickered—

First, a Heaven-Grade Cloud and Rain Talisman.

Then, a Summoning Wind Talisman.

And finally—

A Heaven-Grade Thunderfire Talisman.

Zheng Fa recognized this technique.

"Sequential Talisman Technique."

It was Pang Qian’s most powerful trump card.

At its core, it was an application of Five Elements Reinforcement, stacking effects to amplify the power of a single strike.

But in practice, it required precise execution.

When to release each talisman, how to sequence them, how they interacted—

Everything depended on Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes to analyze spiritual energy fluctuations and find the perfect moment to strike.

Individually, the Cloud and Rain and Summoning Wind Talismans weren’t offensive.

But when followed by a Thunderfire Talisman—

Lightning fed on rain.

Fire raged with wind.

Thunder and flames consumed half the sky.

The Crimson Serpent Immortal had already been slightly off balance.

Now, caught by Pang Qian’s deadly combo, she had no time to react.

But—

The other two enemies were not so easily shaken.

The Bronze Coffin Elder’s coffin lid slammed open—

A swirling abyss of pure darkness yawned within.

The coffin rotated in midair, aligning perfectly with Pang Qian.

From its depths, hundreds—no, thousands—of purple-blue arms reached out, clawing toward him.

Even through the void, Pang Qian seemed to be locked in place, unable to move.

And then—

The Thousand-Slaying Sword Immortal finally acted.

The child beside him suddenly rose into the air—

His once-chubby, plump flesh shriveled away in an instant.

His round, youthful limbs withered, revealing a small skeletal frame.

And then—

The bones morphed into a sword.

A bone sword.

It shot toward Pang Qian like a vengeful spirit, wailing like the cries of ten thousand weeping children.

A sound so piercing, so sorrowful, that it cut straight into the soul.

Zheng Fa felt Sun Daoyu grab his shoulder, his fingers trembling.

He didn’t look back.

He kept his eyes fixed on Pang Qian.

His master was trapped.

Pinned down by the Bronze Coffin’s ghostly grasp.

And the Bone Sword of Weeping Souls was moments away from piercing him.

Even without turning, Zheng Fa could feel the panic on Sun Daoyu’s face.

But then—

The five golden dragons surrounding Pang Qian suddenly lashed out.

They hurled themselves at the Bronze Coffin.

The Coffin Elder sneered.

“Your Five Dragons Palace has a solid defense, but—”

BOOM.

He didn’t even finish speaking.

One of the golden dragons suddenly expanded, swelling into a ball—

And then detonated.

“You’re insane!”

The Coffin Elder was caught completely off guard.

He had never expected Pang Qian to sacrifice his own life-bound artifact so recklessly.

But Pang Qian was even more ruthless than he thought.

Even as the first dragon self-destructed, the remaining four dragons also began to swell.

They looked like they no longer cared for survival.

Panic flashed across the Coffin Elder’s face.

He hastily recalled his bronze coffin, retreating inside and sealing himself in completely.

Now free from the coffin’s grasp, Pang Qian launched another Thunderfire Talisman.

The Crimson Serpent Immortal, already wounded, was completely overwhelmed.

Her body was incinerated, reduced to ashes.

The human-faced crimson snake, her true form, writhed in agony—its once-pristine scales charred and cracked.

She was on the verge of death.

“…Martial Uncle Pang was always this reckless?”

Zheng Fa was stunned.

“This is the Dao Struggle Immortal style.”

Sun Daoyu hesitated before responding.

"Dao Struggle Immortal"…

It was a cultivation method that did not fear death.

And this time—

Pang Qian had embodied that philosophy to its fullest.

Pang Qian glanced toward the Thunder Pool.

Even through the distance, he seemed to catch sight of Zheng Fa and the others—

And, astonishingly, he smiled.

“Pang Qian of Jiushan Sect,” he declared.

“Today, I have slain the traitor Xuangui Shangren of the Hundred Immortals Alliance—”

“And the Crimson Serpent Immortal of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect!”

His laughter rang out.

“Dying like this is no loss at all!”

“Disciples of Jiushan Sect! Do not grieve! Stay in the Thunder Pool! Train hard! Grow strong!”

Then, his gaze locked onto Zheng Fa.

“Zheng Fa!”

“You and Senior Sister Zhang must destroy the Great Freedom Demonic Sect in my name!”

He turned back—

Watching the Bone Sword of Weeping Souls descend upon him.

His talismans exhausted, his defenses shattered, his life-bound artifact destroyed.

There was nowhere to run.

Yet his face remained calm.

At peace.

“Yan Wushuang!”

Zheng Fa turned and shouted.

“Old Han!”

“Why so anxious?”

A voice answered, lazy and indifferent.

“What’s the rush? Let the old man finish his speech first.”

At the edge of the horizon, a second sun seemed to rise.

But no—

It was a sword.

In one instant, it was at the horizon.

In the next—

It was above the Thousand-Slaying Sword Immortal’s head.

The demonic Nascent Soul cultivator didn’t even have time to react.

He was annihilated in a single strike.

The Bone Sword lost its master.

It tumbled from the sky, falling into the clouds below.

At the edge of the Thunder Pool, an old man yawned, looking at the fallen sword with visible disgust.

“Hah.”

“Calling that ugly thing a ‘sword’… and daring to call himself a ‘Sword Immortal’?”

Pang Qian glanced at the old man.

Then at his own ruined Five Dragons Palace.

Then—

He seemed to recall all the dramatic things he had just declared.

For a long moment, his expression twisted—

As if he deeply regretted trying to go out in a blaze of glory.