I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 29 – Teach Me

At Zheng Fa’s residence, he sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, circulating his spiritual energy according to the Crimson Sky Technique.

He had been cultivating for three full hours—much longer than his usual sessions.

Suddenly, a flush of red spread across his face.

In the next moment, a vortex of spiritual energy appeared above his head.

When he opened his eyes, there was a trace of satisfaction in them.

"You broke through?"

The Sect Master's voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"Come see me."

Zheng Fa had no idea when this old man had started watching him, but he had barely completed his breakthrough before the Sect Master noticed.

When he arrived at the thatched hut, the Sect Master was already sitting on a meditation cushion, his face full of smug satisfaction, as if he had something he was dying to show off.

"Master?"

"Fourth level of Qi Refining? Not bad."

The Sect Master glanced at him and smiled, looking quite pleased.

Zheng Fa bowed his head in acknowledgment.

"Since you call me Master, I should teach you something."

Zheng Fa looked at his master expectantly.

"But the Divine Sky Lightning Command, well… you need to cultivate the Five Thunder Talisman Body and reach Foundation Establishment before you can even start learning it."

The Sect Master shook his head.

"…"

"As for the Lingshan Method, you won’t even be able to start learning it until you reach the seventh level of Qi Refining."

"…"

"With your current cultivation, even if I wanted to teach you something, I’d be in a tough spot!"

Zheng Fa suddenly understood why his two senior brothers had been so bitter before.

With a master like this, how could they not be?

This wasn’t about teaching—it was about getting revenge!

"Actually, I’m not lacking in techniques… what I’m really missing is…"

Zheng Fa lifted his head and looked at his master, his eyes filled with unspoken meaning.

Uncle-Master Pang had promised him cultivation resources all the way up to the Nascent Soul Stage when taking him as a disciple.

As the mighty Sect Master of Jiushan Sect, surely his master couldn't let his junior outshine him?

"…"

The Sect Master pointed at the thatched hut behind him.

"This hut will be yours from now on."

Zheng Fa looked at the tiny house.

Aside from two meditation cushions, there was literally nothing else inside.

How should he put it? Even the cows on the estate had better housing.

"…You know, I originally had no intention of taking in another disciple."

The Sect Master seemed to realize that the hut was far too shabby and felt a little guilty, explaining in a low voice.

… So that meant it was okay for him to be poor?

"Master, I suddenly feel like Uncle-Master Pang is quite well-off."

Zheng Fa's tone carried a hint of regret.

"Exactly! He’s the one who prepared all that for you—just take it from him!"

The Sect Master clapped his hands cheerfully.

"…Take it?"

Zheng Fa thought about the four Thousand-Year Purple Bamboo Tears he had already claimed from Uncle-Master Pang.

Then he looked at his master’s warm, encouraging smile.

Finally, he understood why Uncle-Master Pang had looked so pained yet so generous at the same time.

"Master, I can’t learn those techniques yet, and the cultivation resources are supposed to be taken from my Uncle-Master… so what exactly did I gain by becoming your disciple?"

Calling him Master felt like a waste.

"It’s not like I was the one who wanted to take a disciple!" The Sect Master said righteously.

"…Then why did you call me here?"

"Oh, right! I wanted you to take a look at my new script—Saving Young Cultivator Zheng Fa!"

As soon as he mentioned it, the Sect Master’s face lit up with pride. It was clear that he had called Zheng Fa over just to show off his latest work.

Zheng Fa twitched.

"Master, can we change the title of this play?"

Yes, play—Senior Sister Zhang had coined the term, saying it was a drama adapted from a story, which made perfect sense.

To make it seem like he had a vast collection of plays, Zheng Fa had not only taken inspiration from domestic novels and films, adapting them to the Xuanwei Realm, but had also compiled a collection of story ideas—summaries of various famous and award-winning works from modern times.

When it came time to choose Jiushan Sect’s first-ever play, Senior Sister Zhang immediately set her sights on what later became known as Saving Young Cultivator Zheng Fa.

According to Senior Sister Zhang, the play showcased the unity of Jiushan Sect, demonstrating how the sect would spare no expense to save even its lowest disciples!

But in Zheng Fa’s view, Senior Sister Zhang probably just wanted to promote a "Jiushan Dream"—even though their sect had spiritual root discrimination, wealth inequality, factional rivalries, and constant talisman battles, they still needed to market an image of unity.

"This title is great! Simple and easy to understand!"

Clearly, the Sect Master was quite pleased with the name.

"Then at least change the protagonist’s name!" Zheng Fa begged.

If this thing got popular, wouldn’t he die of secondhand embarrassment?

"…Fine. I hate naming things anyway."

Seeing that Zheng Fa was truly unwilling, the Sect Master frowned and pointed at the script’s cover.

The two characters for Zheng Fa slowly morphed into Pang Qian.

"Pang… Qian?"

Zheng Fa suddenly thought of someone.

But… that couldn't be, right?

"That’s your Uncle-Master Pang. When he was young, a fortune teller said he needed a feminine name to suppress bad luck… Later, he changed his name himself and refused to use this one."

The Sect Master confirmed Zheng Fa’s suspicions—it really was that unlucky guy!

So the old man just picked someone close to him to mess with instead?!

"Master, I don’t think Uncle-Master Pang would be too happy about you using his old name."

"I’m not using his name! He abandoned it long ago, so I might as well put it to good use!"

"…Master, you truly have a keen eye!"

Zheng Fa followed the Sect Master and watched Saving Young Cultivator Pang Qian for a while, his frown deepening as he did.

Since this was the first-ever Jiushan Sect production, it was clear that the Sect Master had absolutely no grasp of modern cinematic techniques.

Things like perspective, shot composition, and montage were nonexistent. The entire production felt more like a dry, sequential documentary—complete with lengthy internal monologues.

Of course, Zheng Fa didn’t fully understand these techniques himself.

But he had watched the original film and had a decent memory.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Master, I think this might need some adjustments."

"Where do we start?" The Sect Master, to his credit, was open to feedback.

"From the beginning."

"…From the beginning?" The Sect Master’s voice grew faint. "So, you're saying… the whole thing is unwatchable?"

"…Yes."

The Sect Master abruptly stood up and called out, "You two, come up here!"

A moment later, Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan arrived together.

"Watch my play first!"

The Sect Master replayed Saving Young Cultivator Pang Qian in its entirety for them.

"Well? What do you think?"

"…It’s great!" Senior Sister Yuan's eyes lit up. "Really interesting! I found it quite moving!"

Beside her, Senior Sister Zhang nodded in agreement.

"He says it’s unwatchable! That it needs a complete overhaul!"

Both Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan turned to stare at Zheng Fa, their gazes filled with a silent accusation—you just don’t appreciate good art.

Zheng Fa felt a bit baffled.

Had he somehow misunderstood the mainstream aesthetic of the Xuanwei Realm?

Was everyone here a documentary enthusiast?

"I won’t say I didn’t give you a chance!" The Sect Master snorted. "Tell me exactly how you think it should be changed, and I’ll follow your instructions!"

…Not bad, even in Nascent Soul cultivators, some people worked with real efficiency.

Left with no choice, Zheng Fa dug into his memories and described the film scene by scene, reconstructing it as best as he could.

Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan didn’t quite understand most of what he was saying, but surprisingly, the Sect Master did—after all, he had spent centuries immersing himself in Luzhong World.

In less than two hours, the Sect Master clapped his hands.

"Done!"

"Alright, you two, watch it again!"

Curious, Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan sat on the meditation cushions and viewed Zheng Fa’s version of Saving Young Cultivator Pang Qian.

When the play ended, both of them fell silent.

"Well? Which version is better?" The Sect Master asked.

"Yours, Sect Master!" Senior Sister Yuan said immediately.

Senior Sister Zhang nodded. "I also think yours is better."

Zheng Fa was thrown into complete self-doubt.

Wait… was Xuanwei Realm’s taste in storytelling just this unique?

Was everyone here secretly a fan of dry, unembellished narratives?

"See?" The Sect Master shot Zheng Fa a triumphant grin, then turned back to Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan. "Let’s watch my version again!"

Clearly, he was quite proud of his work.

"Actually… I’d like to see Junior Brother Zheng’s version again," Senior Sister Yuan suddenly said in a small voice.

"?"

The Sect Master froze, then slowly turned to look at Senior Sister Zhang.

Senior Sister Zhang gave a slight nod and calmly explained, "It’s mainly to see where Junior Brother Zheng’s play falls short. That way, we can better appreciate the brilliance of yours, Sect Master."

…What kind of high emotional intelligence judges were these?

Zheng Fa glanced at the Sect Master, who also seemed to realize their true opinions.

But, surprisingly, he genuinely seemed to believe his version was superior.

"I’ve spent over a thousand years inside Luzhong World…"

Hearing that, Zheng Fa instantly understood.

There was a term for this in modern Xuanwei Realm—Cognitive Bias.

After spending a thousand years in Luzhong World, the Sect Master had formed his own aesthetic and storytelling style.

The problem was, his work had never been tested by an actual audience.

It was the equivalent of someone writing in complete isolation for a lifetime, aiming to produce a literary masterpiece—never publishing, never reading others' work, and never receiving feedback.

Sure, there was a one percent chance he was a genius.

But there was a ninety-nine percent chance that what he had created was incoherent rambling.

And to be fair, for Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan, the Sect Master’s version was already engaging enough. After all, it was Jiushan Sect’s first-ever play.

The problem was that they happened to have Zheng Fa, a person who had lived through the golden age of modern entertainment.

"You two," the Sect Master turned to Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan again. "Give me an honest answer—whose version is better?"

"…"

Neither of them spoke.

And silence was often an answer in itself.

The Sect Master stared at them for a long moment before suddenly turning to Zheng Fa.

"Teach me what you know."

"Huh?"

Zheng Fa looked at the Sect Master, stunned. He hadn’t expected the old man to admit defeat so quickly.

But it was clear now—the Sect Master had a genuine passion for Luzhong World and theater.

He was even willing to let go of his pride and learn from his own disciple.

Faced with his master’s eager, thirst-for-knowledge expression, Zheng Fa cleared his throat.

"Master, your current understanding of theater is so profound that… I don’t think I can teach you much!"

The Sect Master froze.

That sentence sounded awfully familiar.

Like something he had said earlier?

After a long silence, a sly, knowing smile spread across the Sect Master’s face.

"Now that I think about it," he said, "for your current cultivation level, there are actually quite a few things I can teach you…"

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