I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 217: Great Scales Divide the Treasure, Tianhe’s Message

After a big haul from outside, what followed was the grand distribution of treasure.

The returning Jiushan heroes sat in order inside the Heavenly Palace Island’s main hall, all eyes on the center of the hall.

The most eye-catching thing was the black stone Senior Sister Zhang had brought back. It stood upright on the floor, its surface covered in sword marks, as if telling some kind of story.

Beside the stone was the desk where Zheng Fa usually worked. Five items were laid on it—

A yellow gourd, and a jade slip—these came from the underwater palace.

And then there were three storage bags, one of which was even stained with blood.

These were from those three clueless Nascent Souls…

Two of them knew when to yield, handed over their treasures immediately, so Senior Sister Zhang and the others didn’t press the issue further… not out of mercy, mainly because Daoist Mu ran so fast that silencing him was pointless.

The last one, however, turned out to be from the Great Freedom Demonic Sect… and that was Jiushan Sect’s old nemesis. When enemies meet, rage burns bright.

So Senior Sister Zhang and her group hit hard.

All together, it added up to three extra storage bags.

As for the building materials and such they collected, they weren’t worth anything and naturally weren’t included in the distribution.

Everyone in the hall had their eyes on Zheng Fa, expressions varied, but all waiting for him to speak.

Xiao Yuying sat to Zheng Fa’s left and couldn’t help but recall a chat she had with Madam Xuanhua before they came:

“This archaeological project… the hardest part, really, is dividing the loot,” Madam Xuanhua had said to Xiao Yuying. “One misstep, and you’ll have grievances up and down, hearts scattered.”

At the time, Xiao Yuying hadn’t said anything, but deep down she agreed.

Madam Xuanhua went on:

“I’ve seen plenty… cultivators going into secret realms together.”

“In my experience, long-term cooperation only works if it’s father and son or husband and wife—shared fortune and ruin—or master and servant, clear in strength and rank…”

“Everyone else ends up turning on each other.”

This, Xiao Yuying understood even more clearly:

Father and son, husband and wife—mutual trust, what’s yours is mine, what’s mine is yours. When dividing spoils, everyone just takes what they need.

Master and servant—strong take more, weak take less. Of course, the weak feel slighted—but you’re weak!

But things weren’t so simple in the Jiushan Realm:

First, there was her—an outsider.

Second, there were many participants. How to divide the loot was a true art.

Of course, with Zheng Fa’s current standing in the Jiushan Realm, his word could settle all… but human hearts were unpredictable.

“There’s a saying—‘can share hardship, but not wealth.’” Madam Xuanhua’s final words left a deep impression on Xiao Yuying. “When everyone’s suffering, fairness doesn’t matter. But when it comes time to enjoy the spoils… everyone wants fair treatment. That’s when it gets hard.”

Xiao Yuying snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Zheng Fa, curiosity in her gaze: how would he divide everything?

…

Zheng Fa of course knew what everyone was waiting for.

He thought for a moment and pulled out a small booklet.

Everyone could see the title on the cover: Principles for Loot Distribution.

For a moment, the hall was silent. Everyone felt oddly… used to this.

“These distribution principles were set after discussion with Senior Sister Zhang. They’re not perfect, of course… if anyone has suggestions, feel free to raise them now.”

He addressed the crowd.

Xiao Yuying suddenly understood Zheng Fa’s approach:

The old method again—let the system speak.

If the system is flawed, gather input and revise it.

But once it’s established, no one should break it.

In short, aim for consensus, then act accordingly.

Seeing no one speak, Zheng Fa opened the booklet and began to read:

“First principle: Knowledge is shared, treasures and resources are distributed based on contribution.”

He paused, glanced around the room. Everyone was nodding, so he continued reading:

“Second principle: All loot must be turned in to the Sect first, no private hoarding.”

Xiao Yuying showed a slightly strange expression—this rule wouldn’t be very popular among cultivators.

After all, Xuanyi Realm cultivators had low trust in sects by nature.

But as she listened, she began to understand why Zheng Fa did it this way:

“Based on the value of the loot, project team members will receive corresponding Merit Points.”

“All loot will be distributed via Merit Exchange.”

Xiao Yuying quietly asked, “Why add that extra step?”

Zheng Fa had inserted a conversion step between contribution and reward.

Seeing her confusion, Zheng Fa smiled and explained:

“There are a few benefits. First, the number of items and number of people never match perfectly. Even if they did, it wouldn’t reflect each person’s contribution. Merit Points are more flexible.”

At that, Xiao Yuying suddenly got it:

It’s like the difference between barter and currency—more flexible, easier to price.

“Second, some of the loot is useless to Jiushan cultivators. If it’s recorded as Merit Points, they can trade for something else.”

Xiao Yuying nodded again, feeling more and more that this was a solid idea.

Sure enough, after Zheng Fa explained, the project team members’ expressions changed—not dissatisfied, but rather, looking at him like he was considerate.

Xiao Yuying thought for a moment and asked, “Then how do you determine each person’s Merit Points?”

“Each phase of the operation has corresponding values.”

“But who knows who did what during each phase? Rely on them to self-report?”

Zheng Fa smiled and pointed at the disciples who had used Image Capture Talismans earlier. “Didn’t we record the whole process?”

“……”

Xiao Yuying widened her eyes, finally realizing why Zheng Fa insisted on filming everything. “That’s what the recordings were for?”

“Mainly to summarize lessons learned. This is just a bonus use.”

The archaeological recordings… were originally to preserve a visual record and avoid missing details.

But who says they can’t also be used to evaluate contributions?

With these records, who did the most and who contributed the most was nearly self-evident.

“You always come up with these weird ideas…”

Xiao Yuying muttered after a long pause.

Zheng Fa finished reading the Loot Distribution Manual, then asked, “Any objections?”

The crowd thought for a bit, then all gently shook their heads.

Zheng Fa understood—it wasn’t that the manual was perfect. It’s just that the system was still new to these people… they couldn’t come up with problems on the spot.

Same old story—fix it later if it breaks.

“Alright then…” Zheng Fa pulled out an item list. “This is what we got. Senior Sister Zhang and I have already calculated the Merit Points…”

He passed the list around. Seeing no objections, he continued:

“Then let’s evaluate each person’s Merit Points…”

Zheng Fa tossed out a few Image Capture Talismans. A light screen appeared in the hall, playing footage from the moment Senior Sister Zhang and her group set out, all the way to when they killed the Nascent Soul from the Demonic Sect—the entire archaeological process, detail by detail, crystal clear.

As the footage played, Senior Sister Zhang narrated who did what and how they contributed.

Once it ended, everyone understood.

“These Merit Points, distributed like this—any objections?”

Zheng Fa noted Senior Sister Zhang’s narration, calculated each person’s Merit based on the manual’s point system.

When the list came out, the most surprised… was Mu Qingyan.

She was ranked first, with the most Merit Points!

Even Xiao Yuying was a bit shocked—Mu Qingyan was easily the weakest in the entire archaeological team.

But after a moment’s thought, it made sense: without Mu Qingyan’s intelligence, the project wouldn’t have even started.

The rest of the rankings were as expected:

Xiao Yuying second, Senior Sister Zhang third.

Next to each person’s name was a detailed record of their contributions and the Merit Points awarded for each.

No one had any complaints… well, almost.

“I have a complaint!”

Mu Qingyan suddenly spoke up.

“Hmm?”

Everyone looked at her, puzzled… You’re in first place, what’s your problem?

“The Sect Master leads us well and always worries for our safety in Jiushan Realm… shouldn’t he get more Merit Points?”

“……”

Looking at Mu Qingyan’s indignant face, everyone was speechless—no wonder you’re first!

Zheng Fa had calculated his own Merit Points too, but indeed, they were few… he didn’t feel he did much.

…

Xiao Yuying returned to her courtyard, but her steps turned, and she first walked over to Madam Xuanhua’s courtyard.

The two were currently guests in Jiushan and were familiar with each other, so their courtyards were adjacent.

“What’s wrong? You look preoccupied…”

Xiao Yuying told her everything that had happened in the hall. Madam Xuanhua raised her brow, visibly surprised. “This system… it actually…”

She trailed off, unable to put it into words.

But Xiao Yuying nodded—she clearly understood what Madam Xuanhua meant:

This system… looked like it could actually last.

Madam Xuanhua was silent for a long time, then muttered, “You think I’d be better off… joining Jiushan Sect directly?”

“Huh?”

Xiao Yuying’s eyes widened in surprise—Madam Xuanhua had always avoided joining big sects, preferring to be a rogue cultivator.

Otherwise, with her artifact crafting skills… she’d have long been treated like royalty.

“I’m thinking—Golden Core Engineering… I doubt that’s the end for Jiushan, or Zheng Fa for that matter.”

Xiao Yuying nodded.

“I never wanted to join any sects before because they were always so messy. And I’m an outsider.” Madam Xuanhua explained. “But now he’s managed to make things fair and just… the Jiushan Realm, it’s like it’s about to take off…”

Xiao Yuying blinked and suddenly realized—Madam Xuanhua saw even more clearly than she did.

She’d never really thought deeply about Jiushan Realm’s potential.

But now that she did—Zheng Fa’s genius was beyond doubt.

The knowledge foundation of Jiushan Realm ran incredibly deep.

And everything Zheng Fa had done… was undeniably for Jiushan’s good.

Even subtly guiding all the Jiushan disciples to pull in the same direction…

No matter how you looked at it, the Jiushan Realm had immense potential!

Madam Xuanhua seemed to be thinking the same thing—hesitation on her face gradually giving way to determination.

…

Mu Qingyan returned to her own courtyard, still a little excited—this batch of Merit Points was no small fortune for someone at the Qi Refining Stage like her.

She furrowed her brow, secretly thinking: what should I say the next secret realm is?

The more she thought about it, the more troubled she felt:

…Can I really hold up the title of having a Nascent Soul ancestor?

…

“That water palace is a little suspicious…”

Senior Sister Zhang suddenly came to find Zheng Fa, her expression serious—it was clear something was bothering her.

“What’s suspicious about it?”

Zheng Fa was puzzled, but then remembered Mu Qingyan’s earlier warning—this Tianhe relic, it reeked of conspiracy.

Neither he nor Senior Sister Zhang had forgotten that.

Senior Sister Zhang brought Zheng Fa to a lab, where the soil, rocks, and bricks collected from the underwater palace were currently laid out.

Xiao Yuying was also present.

“The gourd is real, and the ‘Tianhe True Method’ is real too. The only thing that’s not real… is this water palace.”

Zheng Fa nodded and looked at Senior Sister Zhang and the others.

“This palace was clearly modeled after the style of the last epoch, but…”

Senior Sister Zhang pointed to a green brick and said, “This type of green brick was made using the ‘mud-to-stone’ technique. That method… was only refined in recent years. I asked Fairy Xiao—during the last epoch, they didn’t have this kind of material.”

“……”

Zheng Fa thought about it and understood what she meant:

The treasure and the cultivation method may have been from the last epoch…

But the palace itself… was probably from last month.

“Someone faked it?”

Senior Sister Zhang nodded.

“The craftsmanship’s a little rough…”

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and commented.

Xiao Yuying couldn’t help but mutter in her heart: “What kind of normal cultivator… brings back bricks from someone else’s ruin?”

And not only that—they even studied what technology was used to make them… Fresh chapters posted on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

Unheard of!

Honestly, she prided herself on her clear understanding of the styles of all kinds of secret realms, but this time, she didn’t notice anything wrong.

If Senior Sister Zhang hadn’t come to ask her about the bricks, she might’ve never found out…

She even felt a little sorry for whoever set up this fake secret realm:

By all accounts, they’d done a good enough job…

The problem was, Jiushan Sect and Zheng Fa didn’t play by normal rules!

…

“If someone arranged this water palace, then what was it for?”

Zheng Fa frowned and turned to ask Senior Sister Zhang.

“…All we can say is, it has something to do with Tianhe Venerable…” Senior Sister Zhang thought for a moment and answered, “And the way they went about it, sneaky and covert… doesn’t bode well.”

Zheng Fa nodded. That was true. After all, Tianhe Venerable likely didn’t leave behind many friends—only enemies everywhere…

“Then if there’s some hidden mechanism, it’s probably still inside that palace!” Zheng Fa’s expression grew unreadable. He continued, “The gourd and the ‘Tianhe True Method’ are suspect, yes—but the most suspicious item should be that stone!”

Senior Sister Zhang also understood what he meant—that black stone was so conspicuous, it was like someone deliberately placed it there. Yet it had no Spiritual Energy at all.

Zheng Fa brought Senior Sister Zhang and the others over to examine the black stone. For the moment, they couldn’t make anything of it.

“No reaction…”

Martial Uncle Pang retracted his Spiritual Energy and Divine Sense, looking disappointed.

Old Yuan scoffed beside him: “Then why don’t you move aside?”

“You didn’t figure anything out either, did you?”

There was no aura on the stone, so even determining its value was hard.

But no one here was stupid—this thing might have something to do with Tianhe Venerable!

According to the principle of knowledge sharing, now that this stone was in the Jiushan Realm, everyone could study it—these Nascent Soul cultivators of course rushed in first…

Even Martial Aunt Huang, who was usually calm, had given it a try.

None of them could figure it out.

“Maybe… it’s just random scratches?”

Martial Uncle Pang muttered.

“Zheng Fa!”

Old Yuan suddenly pointed at Zheng Fa—his meaning was obvious!

Everyone looked toward Zheng Fa—this was the time for a real genius to step up!

Zheng Fa actually felt a little guilty.

He stared at those sword marks and thought, this thing… seems like it’s going to be hard to analyze using modern science…

After a long look, still getting nowhere, Zheng Fa decided to do what Martial Uncle Pang did: he poured his Spiritual Energy into the stone—and as expected, nothing happened.

But when he touched the stone with his Divine Soul, something stirred in his Sea of Consciousness—

The Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant!

The Yin-Yang fish on the pendant, tail and head linked, began to spin rapidly.

And the stone in front of Zheng Fa began to change even more—

It emitted waves of green light, almost turning into jade.

The sword scars across its surface began to move like swimming fish.

Seeing this transformation, Old Yuan and the others exchanged glances and quickly cast spells to conceal the strange phenomena in the courtyard.

Looking back at the sword scars on the jade slab, they found… they still couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Those marks moved nonstop, as if demonstrating something, but no one could make out their meaning.

Old Yuan and the others were completely in the dark.

But Zheng Fa could understand!

The Yin-Yang fish in his Sea of Consciousness acted like a polarizing lens, letting him see something different from everyone else—

Not text, not light… but like frame after frame of sketches.

At first, there was the image of a lone youth with a sword—he entered beast lairs, cleared demon dens, praised by all, revered across the land.

Later, more people appeared at his side—a soulmate, like-minded companions, followers flocked to him, disciples gathered like rain.

Later still, he commanded the world. All the Immortal Sects bowed to him. His power—unmatched in tens of thousands of years.

But the final image… Zheng Fa had already anticipated.

Alone, sword in hand, standing on a mountain peak.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. The sketches disappeared, and were replaced by lines of text.

The first sentence shook Zheng Fa’s heart, catching him completely off guard:

“Jiu You was right!”

Zheng Fa could hardly believe his eyes. He read it again, confirming he hadn’t misread it.

At that moment, he understood—this stone was something Tianhe Venerable left behind, intended only for the owner of the jade pendant.

He still wasn’t sure what the sketches meant to convey.

But that sentence—it shattered his image of Tianhe Venerable.

He had always believed that Tianhe Venerable was utterly committed to his Dao.

And surely, he and the Great Freedom Demon Ancestors were mortal enemies.

But this line revealed two things—

First: Tianhe Venerable believed he was wrong.

Second: he and Jiu You Demon Ancestor were… on good terms?

The words almost felt like they came from a shattered mind.

He kept reading and came to the second line:

“Don’t follow my path. If you do, you’ll become me…”

Zheng Fa was even more stunned. From the tone, Tianhe Venerable had clearly suffered a devastating blow.

You must know—most cultivators who leave behind legacies desperately want others to learn from them…

Who would say something like this?

Only at the end did the usual part of a legacy appear: a cultivation method.

No—a fragment of one: “Nine-Turn Golden Core Method.”

Why fragment?

Because aside from the overview, it had none of the actual stages.

Put simply—it lacked the first turn, the second turn, the third… all the way through the ninth.

At the end of the method, Zheng Fa saw a rambling section written by Tianhe Venerable. Roughly translated, it meant:

This method’s overview is the culmination of my entire Golden Core cultivation.

Though I carved out my own Nine-Turn Golden Core path, it only suits me—not those who come after.

Since the overview exists, future cultivators can create their own Nine-Turn paths. That should be simple…

…

At that moment, Zheng Fa began to understand why the Tianhe Sect betrayed Tianhe Venerable…

But… why was Tianhe Venerable so opposed to passing down the actual method?

Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then realized—

Maybe he had misunderstood something all along:

The Immortal Sects altering or abandoning the Tianhe method… was it really just because of hatred?