I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 336Book 2: : No Matter How Far, It Must Be Punished — Loyal to Duty

Book 2: Chapter 336: No Matter How Far, It Must Be Punished — Loyal to Duty

Vol 2 Chapter 336: No Matter How Far, It Must Be Punished — Loyal to Duty

Zheng Fa flew out of the mountain with his cheap little junior sister in tow.

Junior Sister Ye looked at Zheng Fa’s back, lightly biting her lower lip, wanting to speak but holding back.

“Fourth Senior Brother… are we really going?”

Zheng Fa didn’t even look back.

Junior Sister Ye bit her lip harder in frustration, feeling a bit wronged. But she also knew that her relationship with this Fourth Senior Brother was just so-so, and he’d always been the quiet type—it wasn’t like he was intentionally ignoring her.

After a while, she finally heard him speak:

“If you’re scared, go back.”

Hearing that, Junior Sister Ye really did feel hesitant.

More than a dozen Golden Core senior brothers had died at the hands of the Jiushan Sect—now whenever anyone in Zhongxuan Sect mentioned it, they all turned pale with fear.

The reward from Haori Mountain was tempting, sure, but you had to be alive to collect it.

Now that she was following Li Hao down the mountain, how could she not feel anxious?

But as for this Fourth Senior Brother, she had an inexplicable sense of confidence—

She had solid connections in the sect, and had dug up every bit of info on Li Hao’s movements in recent days.

Others might not know, but she did:

Li Hao wasn’t just favored by their master, he had even climbed to the summit of the Divine Fire Mountain and met with a Soul Formation Zhenren!

Right now, every disciple in Zhongxuan Sect felt like death could come any day.

Only this normally low-profile Fourth Senior Brother seemed to be a ray of hope.

Otherwise, why else would she try to cozy up to him?

This Senior Brother knew so many Golden Core disciples had died to the Shenxiao Warships and still dared to head down the mountain—he had to have some kind of plan, right?

Maybe he had some strategy up his sleeve?

Thinking of this, Junior Sister Ye steeled herself: “Senior Brother, if you’re going, then I’m going with you!”

Zheng Fa turned his head to glance at her, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

He got close to this Junior Sister Ye for two reasons. First, to gather info on Zhongxuan Sect’s movements so Jiushan Sect disciples wouldn’t get caught off guard. Ꞧ𝘢Ŋ∅𝐁Èš

And second…

To have a witness!

…

“Senior Brother… I… I want to go back!”

Junior Sister Ye looked up at the Shenxiao Warship fleet in the sky, nearly sobbing.

She never imagined that this Senior Brother didn’t have a plan at all—

He was just not afraid of death!

Up ahead was a warehouse market—these Shenxiao Warships were probably offloading goods here, and now two unexpected visitors had shown up.

Zheng Fa stood on the ground, spiritual energy from his Burning Heaven Great Technique blazing like wildfire, even the air around him crackled and boiled.

With this menacing stance, the thirty-plus Shenxiao Warships above them immediately pointed their bows at the two, the violet-blue External Pills at the ships' heads lighting up all at once.

Junior Sister Ye stood behind Zheng Fa and gulped hard.

These very same External Pills had taken the lives of over ten Golden Core cultivators from their sect!

All of Zhongxuan’s disciples feared these strange flying ships.

Yet this Fourth Senior Brother now stood alone, blocking over thirty of them!

Han Qi stood at the front of one of the ships, staring at Zheng Fa below and swallowing nervously.

Sect Master… please go easy on them!

…

The Creation Jade Slip in Zheng Fa’s body rotated, morphing into the most common natal magic treasure in Zhongxuan Sect—the Profound Fire Mirror.

The Profound Fire Mirror rose from his dantian, floating behind his head. Golden flames spiraled around him, making Zheng Fa look like a fire god descending to the mortal realm.

Junior Sister Ye couldn’t help taking three steps back, her face full of shock as she looked at this Fourth Senior Brother she barely knew—

She finally understood why he was acting so recklessly.

And also why their master once said he had the potential for Nascent Soul.

She was a Golden Core cultivator herself, but when he fully unleashed his power, she wasn’t even qualified to stand beside him!

Zheng Fa remained silent, sticking to his stoic persona, flying straight up into the warship fleet with his golden flames blazing.

Han Qi waved his hand, and thirty Shenxiao External Pills roared in unison, firing divine thunder like a giant net toward Zheng Fa.

Junior Sister Ye held her breath.

She couldn’t help but worry again...

No matter how strong Fourth Senior Brother was, he was still just a Golden Core.

That net of lightning looked like a death trap—how could a Golden Core possibly withstand it?

But Zheng Fa didn’t dodge at all. He charged into the thunderstorm head-on with his bare body.

His Zhongxuan Sect robe shattered into pieces, revealing his sturdy physique.

To Junior Sister Ye, he looked like someone surfing through waves, tearing through layer after layer of terrifying thunder with not a scratch on him!

And that wasn’t all.

From the Profound Fire Mirror behind him, four fierce fire dragons erupted, encircling one of the Shenxiao Warships and beginning to refine it on the spot!

The Jiushan disciples on the ship turned as pale as death.

She stood there dumbfounded, staring at Zheng Fa’s back as if she were dreaming.

All he had done… was burst out of his shirt.

He had cultivated the Five Thunder Talisman Body, and even Yan Wushuang envied his lightning resistance.

Now, his Dao Body and the Fusang Tree shared the same root, giving him Dao Fruit-level resilience.

To Zheng Fa, these Shenxiao Warships might as well have been trying to tickle him.

To Junior Sister Ye, this scene was a Zhongxuan genius crushing the wicked Shenxiao Warships of Jiushan Sect.

To Zheng Fa, though…

This whole thing could be summed up as:

Zheng Fa: “Where’s the goods?”

Han Qi: “In the storage pouch!”

Zheng Fa: “You know the drill.”

Han Qi met Zheng Fa’s eyes, then suddenly shouted:

“This guy’s too strong! The Sect Master’s orders: life over loot! Abandon the supplies!”

With that, he turned his ship around and, together with the other disciples, launched divine thunder at the four fire dragons to free the trapped Shenxiao Warship. Then, without hesitation, they turned tail and ran.

Junior Sister Ye saw that Fourth Senior Brother seemed unwilling to let them go and took a couple steps forward. She quickly shouted:

“Senior Brother! The warehouse!”

Zheng Fa looked regretful, but after glancing down at the warehouse, he stopped.

He turned to Junior Sister Ye and said, “Shame I couldn’t capture a Shenxiao Warship to avenge our brothers.”

Junior Sister Ye felt a tremor in her heart and sincerely said, “Senior Brother, your might is incredible—those warships couldn’t even scratch you…”

“Just some External Pills. Average Golden Core cultivators might fear them…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Junior Sister Ye could sense a deep, bone-deep pride from him.

…

Looking at the fleeing Shenxiao Warships, the cultivators in the marketplace stared at Zheng Fa and Junior Sister Ye in anxious awe.

Junior Sister Ye, basking in all the admiring gazes, couldn’t help feeling a little dizzy with pride.

But Fourth Senior Brother’s expression remained calm, as if he didn’t care about his achievements at all.

Junior Sister Ye’s smile froze for a moment, but it only made her feel he was even more unfathomable.

Zheng Fa looked at the warehouse piled high with spiritual tools and pills and said:

“Help me take them to the Transmission Tower for the reward exchange.”

Of course Junior Sister Ye agreed. She quickly responded, “Yes!”

…

Junior Sister Ye walked into the Transmission Tower, head held high, carrying the seized goods.

The Golden Core deacon in charge had changed—the last one had been blasted to death by the Jiushan Sect’s Shenxiao Warships.

This one was a new guy from one of the Soul Formation Elders' lineages. He’d never gotten along with the original Zhongxuan Golden Cores like Junior Sister Ye. Seeing her now, he sneered, “So many of our brothers died, and you’re smiling?”

Junior Sister Ye knew this guy didn’t actually care about the dead. He was just picking a fight.

But that kind of remark was cruel.

The other disciples in the tower looked at her with some anger.

“Smiling?” Junior Sister Ye slapped the stone table in front of the deacon and said loudly, “All your crying and mourning—has it made Jiushan Sect feel even slightly threatened?”

The deacon froze, then sneered, “And you can?”

“Not me—but my Fourth Senior Brother, Li Hao, can!”

She waved her hand, and a mountain of storage pouches landed in front of everyone.

“This…”

“These are the spiritual tools and pills my Senior Brother Li snatched from Jiushan Sect…”

The place fell silent.

Everyone stared at the heap of storage pouches.

The deacon looked skeptical and started inspecting them one by one.

After a full incense stick’s time, spiritual tools, pills, and talismans were piled from floor to ceiling, filling half the Transmission Tower.

“These really are all from Jiushan Sect!”

After the Haori Mountain bounty was announced, all of Zhongxuan’s disciples had studied Jiushan Sect’s equipment. They couldn’t make fakes, but they could recognize the real stuff.

It was obvious at a glance that Junior Sister Ye wasn’t lying.

“Li Hao? Never heard of him.”

Junior Sister Ye gave the crowd a sidelong glance, then vividly described Senior Brother Li’s one-man battle against the Shenxiao Warships like it was a legend.

Everyone listened in disbelief.

But with a whole tower full of loot in front of them, it was hard to argue.

They began whispering to each other, curious about this previously unknown Li Hao.

After finishing, Junior Sister Ye pressed the deacon, “Help me trade these for the bounty! I need to deliver it to Senior Brother Li Hao!”

The deacon had been spacing out, but now he snapped back to reality and rushed to grab spiritual materials from the warehouse, stuffing them into storage pouches and handing them over to Junior Sister Ye.

Junior Sister Ye did a quick count and realized something was off—

There was too much stuff!

She knew the rules here—every one of these Soul Formation Elder’s disciples would skim off a little.

But today, this guy was squeaky clean, didn’t take a single thing!

As if he saw her confusion, the deacon whispered:

“Give my regards to Senior Brother Li.”

Junior Sister Ye, arms full of storage pouches, walked out of the Transmission Tower with her back straight.

Behind her, the voices of discussion only grew louder.

...

A few days later, a streak of rainbow light arced across the sky and landed on a mountain peak.

As the light faded, it revealed the figures of Zhongxuan's rising star Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang.

On the mountaintop, Martial Uncle Pang and Han Lao stood side by side, both wearing ashamed expressions.

“Sect Master!”

Zheng Fa’s tone was a little cold.

“Well?”

“Eight Foundation Establishment disciples died.”

Martial Uncle Pang spoke in a low voice, with barely restrained fury.

Han Lao took full responsibility: “It was my fault for not watching carefully and letting the Bixia Poison Immortal infiltrate the Hundred Immortals Alliance.”

Zheng Fa exhaled slowly. “This isn’t on you, Han Lao. We underestimated the situation.”

The Bixia Poison Immortal was a Nascent Soul cultivator from Haori Mountain, notorious for his expertise in stealth and poison.

Apparently, the bounty from Haori Mountain had attracted him too.

But the real problem was his cunning.

He hadn’t targeted the well-guarded groups like Han Qi’s team.

He went after Martial Uncle Pang’s investigation team.

Since Martial Uncle Pang was conducting a census, it wasn’t feasible to keep everyone together—that would be way too inefficient.

So the disciples had been split into several small squads to collect data independently.

The Bixia Poison Immortal was cautious and targeted one such squad.

With his Nascent Soul cultivation and specialized techniques, by the time Martial Uncle Pang noticed anything wrong, it was already too late.

They didn’t even recover the disciples’ intact bodies.

After listening to Martial Uncle Pang’s account, Zheng Fa’s expression darkened.

“I’ve already looked into it. Most of the Nascent Soul cultivators coming from Haori Mountain are doing so to claim bounties from Zhongxuan Sect.”

This was where Junior Sister Ye had proven most useful—

Han Lao’s intelligence network was still new and nowhere near as reliable as the internal knowledge someone like Junior Sister Ye could provide.

“The Bixia Poison Immortal is no different.”

Martial Uncle Pang gritted his teeth. “I’ll go—”

“I’ll go.”

...

At the base of Fire God Peak, a green-robed cultivator stepped out from the Zhongxuan Sect’s mountain-guarding formation, holding a brand-new storage pouch.

Several rogue cultivators from the direction of Haori Mountain followed him, flattering as they walked: “You’re clever, Zhenren. Jiushan Sect has so many disciples—no need to tangle with those troublesome Shenxiao Warships.”

“Just a few Foundation Establishment disciples, and the bounty from Haori Mountain is worth more than what we’ve earned in months.”

The green-robed cultivator was none other than the Bixia Poison Immortal. Perhaps due to his poison cultivation, he was extremely short, built like a child.

But his face was covered in wrinkles, and his green-glowing eyes made people’s blood run cold.

“Just hope Jiushan Sect doesn’t come looking for revenge...”

“It’s just a few Foundation Establishment kids,” the Bixia Poison Immortal rasped, his voice hoarse and screechy. “If we’re cautious, even in front of a Nascent Soul Zhenren, we’ll get away clean. What can Jiushan Sect really do to us?”

The others nodded.

Surely Jiushan Sect wouldn’t…

A palm dropped from the clouds above, slamming down on the Bixia Poison Immortal with a deafening crash.

Everyone looked up in terror to see Zheng Fa standing in the sky, expressionless, eyes locked on the scene below.

“Zheng Fa!”

Panic exploded among them.

Though Zheng Fa’s aura was only that of a Nascent Soul, he was recognized by the cultivation world as having Dao Fruit-level combat power. Now, with a sudden strike, he obliterated the Bixia Poison Immortal’s body—Nascent Soul and all.

Silence fell across Zhongxuan Sect.

The Trapping Immortal Sword hidden in the mist stirred slightly. Mist churned atop the mountain, and a killing intent shot from within, aimed straight at Zheng Fa. But he vanished in a flash of rainbow light before it could touch him.

Moments later, Shi Nandang emerged from the mist, silently watching the direction where Zheng Fa had disappeared.

In the Jiushan Realm, Zheng Fa sought out Xie Qingxue:

“Fairy Xie, you were right. Those seven Soul Formation cultivators want to control the Trapping Immortal Sword, but it’ll take time.”

He had dared to show himself outside Zhongxuan Sect for a reason.

First, he had the Boundless Sea Pearl.

Second, Xie Qingxue’s deduction.

“The Trapping Immortal Sword is our sect’s supreme treasure. Those seven from Haori Mountain don’t practice the right techniques—it’s impossible for them to wield it freely.” Xie Qingxue frowned. “From the looks of it, they must have some other purpose for taking the sword.”

Zheng Fa nodded slightly.

“In that case, I can be a little more bold within Zhongxuan Sect.”

...

“Senior Brother!”

Junior Sister Ye found Zheng Fa at his cave residence, her expression complicated. “Did you see that display from Jiushan’s Zheng Fa the other day?”

Zheng Fa nodded faintly.

“Word is, he did all that just to avenge a few Foundation Establishment disciples... so protective!”

Junior Sister Ye’s face betrayed an uncontrollable twinge of admiration.

Zheng Fa looked at her, a faintly amused smile in his eyes.

“Back then, we actually had a good relationship with Jiushan Sect… I knew a junior sister from the Jiushan Realm.”

That...

Zheng Fa had nearly forgotten.

Back when the Hundred Immortals Alliance sent disciples into the Jiushan Realm, Zhongxuan Sect sent some too.

Of course, those they sent weren’t particularly important figures.

“Later on… that junior sister stopped writing to me.”

“Her last letter said… she decided to stay in the Jiushan Realm. The junior brothers who went with her did the same.”

Zheng Fa truly hadn’t known that part.

This Junior Sister Ye really did have deep connections.

There were only a handful of Zhongxuan disciples in the Jiushan Realm—maybe three or five—and two had contributed to the Golden Core Engineering Project.

Now that the two sects were openly hostile, those disciples hadn’t shown any odd behavior. Likely, they’d already made their choice.

“Actually, some people in the sect used to say that Zheng Fa becoming the Alliance Leader wasn’t a bad thing.”

“...”

“What a pity.”

Zheng Fa blinked. He hadn’t expected those ‘exchange students’ from Zhongxuan to have partially brainwashed their sect mates.

Of course, he knew what Junior Sister Ye meant by ‘pity’—

From their perspective, they had no choice.

Zheng Fa nodded and stood up. “Let’s go.”

“Down the mountain?”

Zheng Fa nodded again.

Junior Sister Ye stared wide-eyed at him. “Aren’t you afraid, Senior Brother…”

“As cultivators, we defy the heavens. If we’re afraid, what immortality is there to seek?”

Her heart trembled at those words. She stood up, subconsciously following behind this now-familiar Fourth Senior Brother.

“And besides, if we don’t risk it now, what future will we have?”

“Yes.”

She then saw her once-quiet Fourth Senior Brother smile—there was even a trace of boldness in his voice: “Besides, if no one from Zhongxuan Sect dares to leave the mountain, wouldn’t the world mock us for having no one of worth?”

As he spoke, he looked every bit the loyal and upright disciple.

When he’s Jiushan Sect’s Sect Master, sure, he’ll crush whoever dares offend Jiushan.

But when he wears the Zhongxuan Sect robe, he’s the sect’s most loyal disciple.

In short—it’s like putting on a security guard uniform and blocking delivery riders, then hopping on an electric scooter to curse out the guards... All about doing one’s duty!

“...”

Junior Sister Ye gave a firm nod and followed Zheng Fa resolutely, feeling like that Zhongxuan emblem on his robe sparkled in glory.

...

“How is Li Hao not trustworthy?”

Inside the Sect Master’s residence, Ninth Elder Bixia loudly questioned the Sect Master and Eighth Elder of Zhongxuan Sect:

“When all the disciples were scared stiff, he charged in headfirst and snatched so many of Jiushan Sect’s spiritual tools and pills!”

“How many disciples in the sect look up to him now?”

“If we keep doubting him, aren’t we just chilling his heart?”

Thinking back on how she’d once suspected this disciple, Bixia felt a strange mix of guilt and protectiveness.

The Sect Master and Eighth Elder said nothing.

“I won’t speak for others—but Eighth Elder, you’ve always been loyal to the sect. Do you dare go down the mountain to fight Jiushan Sect?”

The Eighth Elder had no answer.

Li Hao didn’t fear death—but he did!

Who knew when Zheng Fa might strike again?

But even he had to admit, of all Zhongxuan’s disciples, Li Hao had captured ninety percent of Jiushan’s loot.

The rest were only brave enough for petty theft.

And Li Hao’s strength was the real deal—he could go head-to-head with those Shenxiao Warships on his own.

The Sect Master pondered for a moment before speaking: “Li Hao is indeed talented and has done much for the sect. It’s not that we don’t trust him—it’s that Zhenren Shi…”

He hadn’t finished the sentence before suddenly pausing. Then, with a complicated look, he said: “Zhenren Shi has summoned Li Hao.”