I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 188Book 2: : Tongming’s Intent, Arms Dealing

Along the way, he heard that they were going to attend the Jiushan Sect’s Sect Master Ceremony. He was secretly happy—

The Great Freedom Demonic Sect had stationed themselves right near Jiushan Realm, and he was worried about Zheng Fa.

The whole journey, he had been thinking that once they arrived, he would try to find a chance to meet Zheng Fa.

And then what did he hear?

Sect Master Zheng?

What, a day apart feels like three hundred autumns…

Now he couldn’t even pretend to be meek.

He stared blankly at Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa almost laughed at the expression on his face.

He was happy to see Seventh Young Master too, but now wasn’t the time for catching up—he was a bit busy. There were way more people at the ceremony than he’d expected.

In his mind, the Sect Master Ceremony was meant to be simple—Jiushan Realm was still being rebuilt, and University Island wasn’t even fully repaired. Zheng Fa had no desire to put on a show.

Even the palace used for the ceremony hadn’t been decorated, and looked rather plain.

Yet this humble-looking hall had gathered one Soul Formation cultivator and nearly ten Nascent Soul cultivators!

He had thought only a few would come.

After all, Jiushan Realm was special—it was easy to get trapped here. Xuanyi cultivators tended to be cautious, and Jiushan Sect had clearly distanced itself from the Hundred Immortals Alliance, putting on a “we’ll just do our own thing” attitude.

But to his surprise…

Zheng Fa glanced at the smiling Zhenren Tongming, then at the Nascent Soul cultivators standing behind him.

"Sect Master Zheng, this is the Sect Master of Qingmu Sect."

"This is…"

Zhenren Tongming introduced them to Zheng Fa with a smile. These weren’t just sect masters from the Hundred Immortals Alliance, but also elders from various sects.

These people hadn’t even been invited by his master—some had practically shown up uninvited…

Especially Zhenren Tongming—Zheng Fa knew for a fact that when his own master took the position, Zhenren Tongming hadn’t shown up at all!

When they looked at him, their eyes carried a strange expression—like they were probing or speculating—but their manner was extremely warm.

Zhenren Tongming, despite being a Soul Formation cultivator, didn’t put on any airs. He was all smiles, completely unbothered by Jiushan Sect’s break with the Hundred Immortals Alliance, even showing affection in his gaze.

Zheng Fa heard him say to his master with a smile, “I’ve long known Sect Master Zheng is extraordinarily gifted, but I didn’t expect Yuan Zhenren to hand over the reins so soon—looks like Sect Master Zheng is even more impressive than I thought.”

Those words…

Sounded a bit like flattery!

Zheng Fa couldn’t help but stay alert.

Zhenren Tongming, Soul Formation or not, was acting a bit too oddly.

Just showing up was already a big gesture.

And on top of that, he’d dared to come into Jiushan Realm.

Let’s not forget—the Ancestor of the Blood River’s life-bound treasure was still moaning under the Sun and Moon Bell.

Maybe sensing his reaction, Zhenren Tongming said frankly:

"The Great Freedom Demonic Sect is powerful, and our Hundred Immortals Alliance has shared bonds with Jiushan for tens of thousands of years. Now more than ever, we should stand together in mutual aid."

"What does the Venerable mean by that…"

"Our retreat is merely to await the right time…" Zhenren Tongming said, "I’ve already sent word to Supreme Dao requesting assistance."

"You’re connected to Supreme Dao?"

"I’ve inherited a lineage from Supreme Dao. There is a relationship."

As expected!

Zheng Fa’s eyes twitched. The Hundred Immortals Alliance, for all its mess, still dared call itself the Sixth Sect of Xuanyi Realm—there was some backing behind that!

What surprised Zheng Fa even more was the mention of Supreme Dao…

He had met Xue Zhenchuan of Supreme Dao before, but they didn’t have many disciples.

To be precise, Supreme Dao was a rather mysterious sect among the Five Great Sects of Xuanyi. Their disciples rarely traveled the realm.

Who would’ve thought Zhenren Tongming was connected to them.

Or rather, the Hundred Immortals Alliance had some sub-branch of Supreme Dao embedded within?

The hidden strength of the Five Sects of Xuanyi might be greater than Zheng Fa had imagined.

The Demonic Sect planting spies everywhere was impressive—

But compared to Supreme Dao, who casually placed a Soul Formation-level sect into play,

it paled in comparison.

Perhaps sensing he’d caught on, Zhenren Tongming smiled and said, “The Hundred Immortals Alliance used to be a chaotic mess, full of all kinds of riffraff. But now I can’t bear it anymore. I have my ways of cleaning house…”

“I wonder—would Sect Master Zheng consider rejoining the Hundred Immortals Alliance?”

“Now that you and Zhenren Zhang are near the Soul Formation stage, no one would dare look down on you.”

Zhenren Tongming’s words left Zheng Fa slightly silent.

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It was likely this was the real reason for his visit.

To be honest, if he’d heard this offer earlier, Zheng Fa might’ve been tempted—

Supreme Dao was a powerful ally.

Zhenren Tongming clearly intended to reform the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

But now…

Zheng Fa looked up and saw that Zhenren Tongming had turned his gaze toward his master and Senior Sister Zhang, smiling slightly, as if waiting for their response.

What he didn’t expect was that both his master and Senior Sister Zhang looked toward Zheng Fa—saying nothing, clearly leaving the decision entirely to him.

Zhenren Tongming looked surprised, turned back to Zheng Fa, and the polite gleam in his eyes faded somewhat, replaced with a more serious expression.

It seemed that although he addressed Zheng Fa as “Sect Master,” he hadn’t thought Zheng Fa would truly have the final say.

Though Jiushan Realm was now under Zheng Fa’s control,

this display of unity from Jiushan Sect made people take Zheng Fa even more seriously.

"You flatter me, Venerable," Zheng Fa said after some thought. "But saying Senior Sister Zhang and I are at the Soul Formation level is a bit of a stretch… At most, we can protect ourselves—we lack the strength to take risks."

"I really don’t dare to be reckless…"

Zhenren Tongming was momentarily speechless.

He had heard that this Sect Master Zheng was extremely young, yet he didn’t show even a hint of youthful impulsiveness—his first words were pure caution!

A trace of disappointment appeared on his face.

Then Zheng Fa continued, “But the Demonic Sect is the enemy of all righteous cultivators, and since Jiushan Sect had its mountain gate seized by them, of course we’re willing to contribute our strength!”

“Hm?”

“I wonder… is the Hundred Immortals Alliance short on talismans?”

Zheng Fa smiled.

Zhenren Tongming instantly understood.

He wasn’t just rejecting the invitation—he wanted to make money off him too!

The problem was… the Hundred Immortals Alliance really was short on talismans!

Zheng Fa went on, “After all, Jiushan Sect and the Hundred Immortals Alliance are cut from the same cloth! As for the price of talismans, we’ll definitely keep it low!”

Zhenren Tongming looked at Zheng Fa with an odd expression—like he wasn’t unaware of how talisman production worked!

But…

He really couldn’t say no!

Seeing the slightly helpless look on Zhenren Tongming’s face, Zheng Fa’s smile lingered at the corners of his mouth—

A great war was looming—if he wasn’t selling arms, then what was he doing?

Selling arms meant profit, and also pushed technological upgrades forward.

The fact that he wasn’t selling to the Great Freedom Demonic Sect already showed admirable moral standards, okay?

In the future, he might even end up playing the role of a pillar in the great war between Immortal and Demonic Sects!

Jiushan Realm was the perfect logistical base. Of course, due to its unique rules, Jiushan Realm currently only sold Thunder Technique Talismans and those talismans so generously donated by disciples of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect.

Just these two alone were already enough.

The Hundred Immortals Alliance wanted to go head-to-head with the Great Freedom Demonic Sect—without Jiushan Sect, their talisman production would inevitably take a hit—they would be even more short on talismans.

This deal was more needed by the Hundred Immortals Alliance than by Jiushan Sect.

They should be thanking him!

Sure enough, after Zhenren Tongming’s expression shifted a few times, he finally nodded and said, “In this matter, we must thank Jiushan for the support.”

…

Seventh Young Master wore a strange expression as he watched all this unfold. His head quietly lifted, chin tilting slightly upward, lips curved in a small smile.

When he turned his head again, he happened to see Yan Wushuang standing off to the side—with an oddly similar expression…

“Since Sect Master Zheng is unwilling, I won’t press the matter further… but, some of our disciples from the Hundred Immortals Alliance would like to seek refuge within Jiushan Realm. What does Sect Master Zheng think?”

Unexpectedly, Zhenren Tongming brought up another matter.