I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 341Book 2: : Enlightenment Through Lecture, A Vision of the Dao Field

Book 2: Chapter 341: Enlightenment Through Lecture, A Vision of the Dao Field

Vol 2 Chapter 341: Enlightenment Through Lecture, A Vision of the Dao Field

The branches of the Fusang Tree trembled lightly, scattering golden light that streamed through the Lecture Hall’s windows and landed on Zheng Fa and the gathered disciples.

In Zheng Fa’s sea of consciousness, waves began to rise without wind. Thoughts of all kinds surged like a tide.

Dao Ancestor... Dao Fruit...

Zheng Fa glanced at the people below the stage, a flicker of surprise in his heart.

Maybe it was the increase in listeners that triggered a change in the Fusang Tree—lecturing really was having an effect.

The sunlight felt like a one-way bridge between his mind and theirs, or perhaps a lens through which he could see into the hearts and minds of all. He could sense the various insights arising in their consciousness.

His heart stirred. He paused the talisman lecture and circled back to basic cultivation methods.

This time, instead of watching the disciples’ responses, he focused on the thoughts appearing in his own mind:

This cultivation method… seems kind of similar to another one?

Meridians? Could meridians be related to talisman diagrams somehow?

Why can we only cultivate one element of the Five Spiritual Energies? Could it be tied to material states?

Sure enough, some scattered ideas were appearing in his mind.

They weren’t as numerous as when he was lecturing on talismans, which was why he had overlooked them earlier.

Realizing this, a spark lit in Zheng Fa’s eyes as he looked toward the crowd.

Old Bai, sitting in the front row, suddenly felt a chill on his forehead. He scratched his curly hair and muttered, “Why does this feel… familiar?”

Zheng Fa’s gaze swept back and forth across the disciples’ heads, and one thought echoed in his mind:

The Enlightenment Plugin is here!

With just this short test, Zheng Fa had roughly figured out the small change in the Fusang Tree:

When he gave a lecture, it allowed him to sense the disciples’ insights.

These insights had both pros and cons:

On the plus side, they were novel and grounded—not baseless daydreams—offering Zheng Fa fresh perspectives.

On the downside, as he’d just experienced, too many thoughts could jumble his mind, making it hard to judge what was right or wrong.

Fortunately, today’s disciples were all elite individuals—clear thinkers, and not too many in number. Zheng Fa’s powerful divine sense could handle it without much trouble. 𝘳â₦Ò𝔟ЕṤ

All in all, Zheng Fa saw the positives far outweighing the negatives:

He had always taken the path of borrowing brainpower, and this Dao Ancestor Dao Fruit aligned perfectly with his preferences.

And the downsides weren’t unmanageable. He’d already come up with a few potential solutions:

Carefully select who he lectures to.

Cultivate some divine sense techniques.

Or, he looked down at the Creation Jade Slip in his dantian—maybe this life-bound artifact could help him sort through all these thoughts?

Setting aside the downsides, the benefits of this Dao Fruit’s evolution were enormous.

He was thrilled, but didn’t stop the lecture. As the clock neared 4 p.m., he suddenly said: "The rest of you may return to your cultivation. The following people, stay behind."

His eyes scanned the crowd, and he began reading out names.

Cheng Yun sat frozen in place, a bit confused when he heard his name. He glanced around and saw that the ones being kept behind were mostly researchers, especially those in physics and chemistry.

Those not called stood up, shot them all a jealous look, and left the Lecture Hall.

The ones who stayed, like Cheng Yun, were secretly overjoyed:

Looks like Director Zheng was giving them special attention!

Everyone said researchers were Director Zheng’s favorites.

Now it seemed the rumors were true!

Zheng Fa watched them grinning like fools in their seats but didn’t speak. Instead, he whispered a transmission to Tang Lingwu.

She looked puzzled but quickly got up and flew outside.

A little while later, she returned with a tablet and a few reference books in hand, handing them to Zheng Fa.

Cheng Yun and the others watched curiously as Zheng Fa accepted the items. Then he said:

"Let’s talk about the structure of pure iron in the natural world..."

"Iron ions exist as..."

"In the body-centered cubic structure, the atomic spacing of iron is approximately..."

The excited expressions on the researchers' faces gradually faded. Their jaws slowly dropped, eyes glazed over. Their faces all said the same thing:

Do you really think we need you to teach us this stuff?

Zheng Fa saw the wordless thoughts flicker through their minds and chuckled inwardly.

Lecture?

Nah—I’m stealing knowledge!

Once he understood how the Fusang Tree had changed, Zheng Fa immediately formed this idea:

In essence, the Dao Fruit allowed him to sense the disciples’ insights during lectures, effectively enabling mutual learning.

This was also great for passing down the Dao—being able to sense others’ insights and confusion let him tailor his teaching.

And the benefit to him was obvious:

To some extent, their understanding became his understanding.

In the future, his “enlightenment” stat would be off the charts!

The problem was… these people’s cultivation was still too low, and their insights into cultivation were shallow. The benefits to him weren’t that great.

But hey—who said you could only lecture on cultivation?

I’m gonna teach physics!

The Heavenly Gang Earth Fiend Transformation Technique had simple core principles, but the details were extremely complex. Its knowledge demands were among the highest Zheng Fa had encountered.

This technique had four main levels:

Level 1: Basic transformations

Level 2: Transforming into lifeless, spiritless matter

Level 3: Transforming into spirit-filled, lifeless materials—aka spirit materials

Level 4: Mastery—transforming into various forms of life

Zheng Fa had already mastered the basic transformations.

But the second level remained incomplete, mostly because his understanding of physics and chemistry wasn’t deep enough. There were still too many modern science concepts he only half-grasped.

Now, using the Fusang Tree Dao Fruit, he could start lecturing on physics...

Who cared if they understood or not?

If he got it right, great.

If he got something wrong or missed a detail, these scholars would naturally ponder or even correct him.

With dozens of top Chinese scholars sitting here, it was like he was being taught and corrected by all of them—except the knowledge was being beamed directly into his brain.

It was like Zheng Fa walked up to each academic giant, knocked on their heads, and said, "Nice physics knowledge. I’ll take that."

…

A few days later, early morning dew made the air on Rainbow Mountain damp and fresh.

Cheng Yun and his mentor, Professor Wang, walked the mountain path, looking thoroughly worn out.

Group Leader Yang came up behind them. As she passed, she laughed and said, “Why do all of you look so drained?”

“All of who?”

“You know—the people the Director handpicked for his special sessions!” Yang sounded full of envy. “Tang Mu Dao told me ages ago the Director favored researchers. Now I really believe it!”

Cheng Yun had nothing to say. He exchanged a glance with his professor. They both looked exhausted and sighed in unison.

Seeing that, Yang was puzzled. “What’s wrong? Are the Director’s lectures too advanced? Hard to follow?”

“You really don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“No one told you?”

“Told me what?”

Professor Wang nodded slightly and gave Cheng Yun a knowing look. They both understood—the retirement home required a bit of discretion. It was wise to protect their benefactor’s dignity.

Were the Director’s special lectures too advanced?

Nah—too basic.

Every night, they’d stay in the Lecture Hall, too scared to leave, too afraid to fall asleep, listening to Director Zheng teach physics and chemistry.

It wasn’t that the Director was a bad teacher. On the contrary, they all agreed he was progressing incredibly fast.

The problem was, they didn’t want to listen!

These topics were far less appealing than cultivation, and most of the content they already knew.

Professor Wang couldn’t help but sigh, “The path to enlightenment is tough…”

Cheng Yun nodded solemnly.

Yang looked at them for a long moment, then slowly shook her head and walked off—clearly unable to comprehend this master-disciple duo.

Once she was gone, Cheng Yun whispered,

“Boss… what do you think the Director’s doing this for?”

“How should I know?”

“Guess?”

“Maybe… love.” Professor Wang thought for a bit, then actually said it aloud.

Cheng Yun was stunned. “Love?”

“I heard the Director once wanted to study physics at Jingcheng University.”

Cheng Yun slowly started to understand. “You’re saying… the Director had a dream of becoming a physics professor, and now he’s living it out in cosplay?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s there to love about physics? I love cultivating!”

Cheng Yun muttered, and Professor Wang shook his head too, like he couldn’t wrap his head around Zheng Fa’s logic.

Five minutes before six, the two reached the Lecture Hall.

It was already packed with disciples.

“Last day…”

As they sat down, Professor Wang sighed with a touch of melancholy.

Cheng Yun felt a bit reluctant too. Even though listening to physics every day had been exhausting, their theoretical foundation in cultivation had grown tremendously during this time.

They’d gained a lot.

Thinking about that, Cheng Yun felt a wave of gratitude toward Zheng Fa. He realized maybe he shouldn’t have complained before—

If the Director wanted to cosplay, so be it.

All they had to do was play along.

“Where’s the Director?”

With the thought in mind, Cheng Yun looked toward the front and realized that Zheng Fa—who was never late—hadn’t arrived yet today.

“Something holding him up?”

Professor Wang looked puzzled too.

The others in the Lecture Hall had also noticed something was off. Quiet whispers filled the air.

Like the rest, Cheng Yun turned toward the doorway, searching for Zheng Fa’s figure.

Ten minutes past six, and still no sign.

Cheng Yun knew Zheng Fa was never someone to be late. Naturally, a trace of worry crept in.

But then he noticed something odd—the Lecture Hall’s door… was moving?

“An earthquake?”

He looked up in confusion, only to see the massive, two-story Lecture Hall—over 3,000 square meters in size—begin to rise into the air, rapidly reshaping itself.

Beams and columns turned into limbs, bricks and tiles transformed into clothes. The entire hall…

Transformed into a person!

“Director!”

As they looked at Zheng Fa hovering in the air, feeling the breeze scented with forest and flora, everyone was stunned and amazed.

“An illusion?”

Even Old Bai, sitting in the front row, didn’t seem to know the truth. He jumped up and looked around.

“Nope.” Zheng Fa smiled as he landed in front of them. “Transformation technique.”

Old Bai’s curly hair bounced as a thought struck him. “Heavenly Gang Earth Fiend Transformation? That building just now—was that you?”

Zheng Fa nodded slightly. “Now, this technique has finally reached a basic level of mastery.”

Old Bai couldn’t help stepping forward, touching Zheng Fa’s arm, eyes filled with curiosity. “I didn’t notice a thing when it was the Lecture Hall!”

“As expected. Transformation and illusion are fundamentally different.” Zheng Fa explained, “Illusions manipulate light and hormones to trick perception.”

This was clear in many of the secret techniques left behind by the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.

“Transformation, on the other hand, is a real, physical shift based on the laws of physics.”

“In a way, it is truth itself.”

Cheng Yun stared, jaw hanging, only one thought in his mind—this guy really is a cosplayer!

The Director just cosplayed as a Lecture Hall!

This fundamental difference from illusion was exactly why Zheng Fa valued the Heavenly Gang Earth Fiend Transformation so much—

To him, it wasn’t just the ultimate disguise.

It was the foundational technique to accommodate all kinds of other methods.

Even more… Zheng Fa saw its greatest application in Dao Fruit research.

Beyond Nascent Soul stage cultivation, in his understanding, involved forming different types of life using different methods.

Demonic sects used Dharma Bodies. Taishang Dao practiced Yang Spirits. Tianhe Sect had their own combined-body technique—all vastly different.

Which was better? He couldn’t say.

Most people could only walk one path, but with the real, physical shifts enabled by Heavenly Gang Earth Fiend Transformation, Zheng Fa had an ambition:

To simulate all major sects’ methods, even transform into various Soul Formation cultivators—and find the perfect method.

The more he understood the world, the more powerful this technique became. So achieving basic mastery today was truly a moment of joy for him.

“What else can you transform into?”

Old Bai asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then his figure shifted—he turned into a long iron sword, which stabbed into the mountain stone and stood upright before Old Bai.

Old Bai exclaimed in awe, touching the sword’s hilt, muttering, “You really can’t tell it’s a person at all!”

With a flash of light, the sword shifted again. Zheng Fa stood there, one arm raised, blocking Old Bai from fondling the hilt further, a look of helplessness in his eyes.

Old Bai pouted and dropped his hand. “What else?”

Zheng Fa turned slightly and glanced at Tang Lingwu. His form rippled and became a breeze, floating toward the forest behind Rainbow Mountain.

Moments later, the breeze returned from the hills, carrying a pale yellow flower that had just bloomed in the morning. It circled once around Tang Lingwu and tucked the flower gently into her hair.

“Wind… that’s kinda boring.”

“It’s lovely…”

Teacher Tian chimed in. Her gaze flicked enviously to Tang Lingwu’s head, then darted toward Old Bai, eyes speaking volumes.

Tang Lingwu squinted with a smile, carefully touching the little flower.

A dewdrop rolled onto her fingertip.

It slid off, landing on the ground—exploding into a tiny burst of golden light.

From the golden glow, Zheng Fa’s figure reappeared.

“A dew drop?” Old Bai’s eyes widened. “Wasn’t it wind?”

“Ten thousand forms, infinite shapes—all at my whim, undetectable by any.”

Zheng Fa smiled and shook his head.

He didn’t do any more demonstrations. Instead, he stood before them and addressed Cheng Yun and the others:

“You’ve endured my ramblings these past days. Just now—think of that as my performance report to you.”

“This technique is built upon the foundation of physics. Without you, my Heavenly Gang Earth Fiend Transformation would never have progressed this far.”

Cheng Yun was still dazzled, but now felt deeply moved.

He didn’t quite understand why Zheng Fa was thanking them—but he did understand the link between physics and this miraculous transformation technique.

“…Physics?” he heard Professor Wang murmur quietly, “Doesn’t sound like the physics I studied…”

Cheng Yun nodded to himself:

No wonder the Director loved physics so much...

If he could study stuff like this, he’d love it too!

…

“One month of lectures—you should all now have a solid grasp of how to cultivate.”

After the demonstration, Zheng Fa turned the topic back to their cultivation progress.

“Some of you may have already tried cultivating. Some may not have found a method suited to your spiritual roots yet.”

Cheng Yun nodded silently.

Cultivation required a spiritual root, and those roots dictated what techniques you could use.

Cheng Yun had tried two different methods this month, but neither fit his root. He still hadn’t officially started Qi Refining.

Zheng Fa noticed the frustration on several faces. He closed his eyes.

His Nascent Soul rose from his crown. With its pudgy little hands glowing with spiritual energy, it conjured a jade token between its palms after a moment.

Zheng Fa opened his eyes and drew the token into his hand.

“This is a Spiritual Root Measuring Jade. It can test your spiritual root.”

“Go ahead and try it.”

Old Bai eyed it curiously and asked, “How’s it work?”

“It’s simple.” Zheng Fa passed him the token, smiling. “You’ll understand once you try it.”

As Old Bai held it, a beam of rainbow light shot from the jade.

“What’s this?”

“The principle is straightforward—it measures the amount of each elemental energy in your body’s spiritual energy.”

Zheng Fa explained.

“We all know the Five Elemental Energies are tied to electron positioning and interaction… and those electron changes naturally emit various types of light.”

Most of the people here had studied some physics and caught on quickly.

In short, the jade channels spiritual energy through the meridians, and as electrons shift, they emit photons—revealing what elements are present, thus identifying one’s spiritual root.

“In the past, this test was qualitative. I hope… to make it quantitative.”

Cultivators in the Xuanyi Realm didn’t know the link between electrons and photons, so they relied on crude color interpretations.

But in the modern world…

“Spectroscopy?”

Tang Mu Dao immediately understood.

“Yes! With spectral analysis and your genetic data, I hope to fully uncover the truth behind spiritual roots.”

Looking at these people, Zheng Fa knew the issue of spiritual roots had to be addressed—

On one hand, the Fusang Tree Dao Fruit now required listeners with higher comprehension, but great comprehension didn’t always mean good spiritual aptitude.

If they couldn’t fix the aptitude issue, many brilliant scholars might remain low-level cultivators forever, giving Zheng Fa only minor insights.

On the other hand… Zheng Fa had an even bolder idea:

Clearly, the Fusang Tree Dao Fruit was heavily influenced by how many people listened to the Dao.

Lowering the threshold of spiritual root compatibility would increase the number of cultivators—

In this modern world full of people, that would mean an endless well of wisdom.

This modern world… would become his Dao Field.