I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 109Book 2: : True Brotherhood

Vol 2 Chapter 109: True Brotherhood

After obtaining the Investiture of the Gods, Zheng Fa could perceive the good and evil in the people of the Heavenly Monument Realm.

The righteous bore a faint golden glow, while the wicked carried a lingering aura of blood.

In his eyes, the Thunderstrike Sect’s strongmen were so steeped in crimson that it had turned black—who knew how many women’s lives had been lost within their bellies? Even by the Investiture of the Gods' standards, these men were considered great evildoers, destined to be utterly destroyed.

None of the Thunderstrike Sect’s core members were fools. The moment they realized something was wrong, they scattered like birds and beasts.

Zheng Fa unleashed his divine soul, sending down ten consecutive bolts of heavenly tribulation lightning, only stopping when his soul energy was nearly depleted.

Several piles of black ash now dotted the temple grounds, the remains of those strongmen.

Xiao Qing stood inside the temple, her face frozen in shock.

She turned her head toward the deity statue, which still had no facial features, yet at this moment, she felt as if a pair of eyes were watching her.

Her heart trembled with exhilaration.

She looked out of the temple.

Most of the Thunderstrike Sect followers who had come to seize the temple had already fled.

The ones who remained were likely too paralyzed by fear to move, kneeling on the ground with their heads pressed against the dirt, trembling as they kowtowed toward the temple.

The city folk who had come to watch were also kneeling in rows.

They were braver than the Thunderstrike Sect’s followers, daring to lift their heads slightly to gaze into the temple.

Aside from Xiao Qing, no one remained standing.

In an instant, her small frame had become the tallest among the entire city.

“Lord Thunder God?”

She seemed unaccustomed to such a scene, a little dazed, and whispered, “What should I do now?”

Zheng Fa pondered for a moment before speaking.

“To do good is to worship me;to commit evil is to blaspheme. Now, begone.”

Hearing Zheng Fa’s words, the people exchanged glances.

Some seemed to want to enter the temple but didn’t dare, so they silently retreated.

…

Half-Mountain City remained silent for five whole days.

No, to be precise—apart from the sound of Zheng Fa’s thunder, no one dared to step outside.

The reason he hadn’t wiped out all the strongmen on the first day was simple—his divine soul and spiritual energy were insufficient. Ten heavenly tribulation bolts per day was his limit.

But he was in no hurry.

In fact, he even made a schedule in his mind: ten bolts a day, a gift for the lucky ones.

At first, the strongmen hid in their homes, but the power of the heavenly tribulation lightning was immense.

No matter how thick their rooftops were, they proved useless.

Some tried to flee from Half-Mountain City, but Zheng Fa’s invested territory spanned a thousand miles.

They had nowhere to escape.

To ensure they wouldn’t die in some forgotten corner, he even made sure to “adjust the queue” accordingly.

Truth be told, Zheng Fa found this routine a little dull—

Thunder, recovery.

Thunder, recovery.

It felt like the exhausting grind of a laborer.

Xiao Qing, on the other hand, was having the time of her life.

Zheng Fa didn’t particularly care for the faith of Half-Mountain City’s people.

But with ten heavenly tribulation bolts descending every day, their devotion to him only deepened.

At first, only one or two bold individuals entered the temple to worship.

Later, as others saw that nothing bad happened to them, more and more followed.

Xiao Qing’s smile grew wider with each passing day as the temple flourished.

Zheng Fa even had the strange impression—

The more indifferent he acted, the more devout they became.

After listening to their inner thoughts, he finally understood—

They thought the Thunder God was angry.

And they wanted to make amends.

…

At night, Xiao Qing stared at the offering table piled high with food, her eyes darting back and forth.

These days, she no longer had to worry about going hungry.

As the only person able to communicate with Zheng Fa, those who came to worship would sometimes offer her a little something—not much, since Half-Mountain City was poor, but enough to keep her half-full.

However, the offerings given to her and those given to the Thunder God were of vastly different quality.

The food on the offering table included fish and meat, making her eyes linger upon it.

“You want to eat?”

She suddenly heard Lord Thunder God’s voice.

“No! This is an offering for Lord Thunder God!” Xiao Qing shook her head furiously. “It’s not for me to eat!”

“Haven’t you been eating them just fine before?”

“……”

Zheng Fa watched as Xiao Qing immediately fell backward, her face filled with terror.

She clearly hadn’t expected Lord Thunder God to know about that.

Her mouth opened and closed in shock, hands clamped over the sides of her head, as if afraid a bolt of lightning would smite her from above.

In her heart, she was shouting: “Wait… so Lord Thunder God really did manifest?!”

Zheng Fa found it amusing but didn’t particularly mind.

He simply continued, “Go ahead and eat.”

Xiao Qing froze. She asked in a small voice, “Eat?”

“Consider it my reward.”

“Reward?” Xiao Qing lowered her hands and jumped to the offering table. “Then… I’ll eat just a little?”

Zheng Fa had already tested this the last time he was here—

For now, it seemed he could not physically enter the mortal world of the Heavenly Monument Realm.

At the very least, he hadn’t found a way.

He could only descend through the Investiture of the Gods.

Thus, the food on the offering table was useless to him.

So he casually said, “You can eat all of it.”

“A-all of it?”

Xiao Qing stared blankly at the offering table, hesitating to move.

Zheng Fa did not reply.

Over the past two days, he had reflected on his attitude toward the Heavenly Monument Realm—this place, to him, felt like a modern online game.

The things recorded in the Investiture of the Gods were like daily quests in a game...

As for the people of the Heavenly Monument Realm, he mostly saw them as NPCs.

He didn’t want to harm them, but he also didn’t feel any connection to them.

There was a certain divine detachment to his perspective.

He had no particular feelings toward Half-Mountain City, and toward the people of the Heavenly Monument Realm, he felt only a mild sympathy—

Their worship didn’t bring him any sense of honor.

In fact, he had no need for incense offerings at all.

Talking with Xiao Qing was simply a way to pass the time while recovering his spiritual energy, and also, because of his frugal nature—he couldn’t bear to see the food on the offering table go to waste.

He remained silent, but Xiao Qing suddenly spoke again.

“Then… can I take some of this to give to others?”

“Hmm?”

“There are so many hungry people in Half-Mountain City…”

Zheng Fa looked at Xiao Qing and paused for a moment.

“You may.”

Xiao Qing gathered the food and ran off excitedly.

Not long after, he heard the dense sound of footsteps outside the temple gate.

These people were likely the poorest in Half-Mountain City.

Their shadows on the ground looked as thin as bamboo poles.

Holding the food Xiao Qing had distributed, they knelt and kowtowed devoutly.

Even though Zheng Fa had done nothing.

Yet the fire in their eyes burned even brighter than that of the Thunderstrike Sect’s followers from a few days ago.

…

A month later, Yan Wushuang and Chu Tianque stepped out of the Heavenly Monument.

Yan Wushuang looked dejected, unable to muster any excitement.

“Senior Brother Yan, you must have gained great insights into heavenly tribulation lightning this time. You even earned thirty Heavenly Merit Points!” Chu Tianque congratulated him.

“Mm.”

Yan Wushuang gave a brief response, his face showing little interest.

“With that, Senior Brother, you should be close to gathering enough Heavenly Merit Points for the Hundred-Year Cloud Fruit in the Hundred Treasures Hall, right?”

Chu Tianque tried changing the topic.

“Mm.”

“……”

Seeing him like this, Chu Tianque hesitated, glancing at Senior Sister Xue, the True Disciple of the Supreme Dao Sect.

Neither of them knew what to say.

They both understood why Yan Wushuang was acting like this.

In fact, they had been careful not to mention that person’s name the entire way back.

But still, Yan Wushuang’s expression…

“Fairy Lingye has come out!”

Yan Wushuang flinched, instantly snapping back to attention.

“Where?!”

“……”

Chu Tianque and Xue both stared at him.

Yan Wushuang looked at them for a long moment before realizing they had tricked him.

His shoulders gradually slumped, and his expression grew even more bitter.

“Senior Brother Yan, it’s just one Fairy Xiao… Do you really have to act like this?”

Chu Tianque couldn’t help feeling frustrated at his pathetic state.

“I don’t want to be like this either!” Yan Wushuang said bitterly. “But do you understand? If I had simply lost because my skills were inferior, I could accept it—I'm not that narrow-minded. But the thing is… I still don’t even understand how Fairy Lingye managed to…”

“……”

“That’s what makes it so frustrating.”

Yan Wushuang recalled, “There’s something I never told you before. That Fairy Xiao… she’s probably just so used to good fortune that she takes it for granted. Back when she obtained that treasure in the Boundless Desert, she even said something to us…”

“What did she say?”

“She asked…” Yan Wushuang’s expression twisted slightly. “What we were even doing there…”

“……”

Chu Tianque thought about that scene and finally understood why Yan Wushuang reacted to Fairy Lingye as if she were his inner demon—

No, at this point, his inner demon might as well be Xiao Xianzi!

“To be honest, ever since Fairy Lingye arrived, I’ve wanted to leave the Heavenly Monument…” Yan Wushuang continued. “Not being able to obtain the Heavenly Monument, I can accept. But this Fairy Lingye… I just can’t take it.”

“But…” Chu Tianque frowned. “How does someone like Xiao Xianzi… just walk around unscathed?”

“The year it happened, I went home and told my father…” Yan Wushuang said.

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“……”

“My father listened to my complaint—then beat me up.” Yan Wushuang’s expression was indescribable.

“She… has a powerful background?”

“Yes. She was taken in long ago by a hidden master. But more importantly…” Yan Wushuang hesitated before saying, “My father said that someone with such fortune must have immense destiny… and told me to be respectful to her from now on.”

“……”

Chu Tianque thought about it and felt that Yan Wushuang really was unlucky.

Complaining to his father might not have been the most dignified move, but the worst part?

He had actually kicked an iron plate.

“From that moment on, I left home and began traveling the world…”

Now, Chu Tianque finally understood why Yan Wushuang was so obsessed with Xiao Xianzi—she had literally changed his life.

“Well, at least we got a good laugh out of it.”

“Honestly, it’s not just you, Senior Brother Yan,” Chu Tianque said in consolation. “Ever since Fairy Lingye arrived, all those gamblers betting on our rankings have been putting all their spirit stones on her…”

“This fairy’s reputation isn’t unknown to them, either.”

…

As they approached the Heavenly Monument, Yan Wushuang kept his head down and muttered, “No need to look. Let’s go.”

But Chu Tianque remained resolute, even trying to reassure him.

“Fairy Lingye just arrived. It’s normal for her to be unfamiliar with the rankings…”

Yan Wushuang felt grateful—Chu Tianque’s trust in him was unwavering.

But deep down, he still believed Fairy Lingye was an anomaly.

He refused to look at the rankings.

Yet after a long silence, when he still hadn’t heard Chu Tianque say anything, he grew even more disheartened.

“I’m second now, right?” he asked, sounding resigned.

“No…” Chu Tianque’s voice was like that of a man in a dream.

“Hm?” Yan Wushuang’s head snapped up. “I’m still first?”

“…Third.”

Hearing this, Yan Wushuang turned his gaze toward the top of the Heavenly Monument—

He was ranked third.

But first wasn’t Xiao Yuying.

It was a name he had never expected to see.

Zheng Fa.

“Brother Zheng?”

He stared blankly at those two characters—then suddenly burst into laughter.

“I knew I wasn’t wrong about Brother Zheng!”

Senior Sister Xue, standing nearby, couldn’t help but ask, “Zheng Fa is first, and Senior Brother Yan isn’t even second… and you’re happy?”

“You don’t get it! My father never avenged me, but Brother Zheng did!”

“……”

Senior Sister Xue’s lips twitched—

She was starting to think the Tianhe Sect’s sect master hadn’t hit him hard enough.

She turned her head and saw that Chu Tianque, on the other hand, looked completely stunned, his face filled with disbelief.

“…Junior Brother Chu?”

Senior Sister Xue was puzzled.

One of them was celebrating.

The other looked like he was about to cry.

“I… I put all my spirit stones… on Fairy Xiao.”

“……”

Yan Wushuang fell silent for a moment.

He glanced at Zheng Fa’s name.

Then at Chu Tianque.

With a deep sigh, he said—

“Now I finally understand who my true brother is.”