Book 2: Chapter 232: Journal Proposal, Death of the Blood River
Vol 2 Chapter 232: Journal Proposal, Death of the Blood River
Chen Sheng’s complaints were, in a way, just his own hang-ups—mm, because he was obsessed with martial arts, he didn’t get into college.
Of course, if he’d been a great student as a kid, he probably wouldn’t have fallen into martial arts either.
But still, he really regretted it.
And what he said ended up hurting someone else…
Even though he and the person next to him were speaking softly, with Zheng Fa and the others’ cultivation level, there was no way these few sentences could be hidden from them.
So...
Old Bai and the others exchanged glances, basically having a silent conversation through their eyes—or rather, silently cursing.
Old Bai: “...A college diploma? That hard to get? Don’t they just hand those out when you hit the right age?”
Tang Mu Dao: “Not really, I got my PhD more than thirty years ago...” Teacher Tian turned his head and looked at Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu.
Zheng Fa: “……”
He looked over at Tang Lingwu, a bit of sympathy in his eyes.
“This... I’m still in school,” Tang Lingwu pursed her lips and suddenly said.
“Hmm?”
Zheng Fa’s eyes widened.
Little Lingwu, you’ve gone rogue!
Weren’t we supposed to drop out together, and now you’re secretly studying?
Tang Lingwu muttered, “I asked Aunt Yang to transfer me into a management program, and I take remote classes from the nursing home.”
Tang Lingwu probably chose this to better manage Jiushan Grain Company.
As for Zheng Fa not going to school—it was simple. Not convenient, and not necessary.
He honestly didn’t think there was anything to be gained by going back to school.
But ever since he came into contact with Team Leader Yang and the others, going back to Jingcheng University just felt... like certain people were going out of their way to accommodate him...
Like they were afraid someone would offend him.
He got it.
After all, letting a walking god roam around Beijing—if some fool pissed him off—it would be one big joke.
Even though Zheng Fa always acted polite and easygoing.
Nobody dared to bet on him being kind-hearted.
After going twice, he didn’t want to trouble others anymore. Mainly because he just didn’t see the point—no matter how he acted, he could tell how careful everyone was around him. Ȑ𝙖₦ỗ₿Ɛ𐌔
Plus, with his divine sense, no matter how quietly Team Leader Yang arranged things, it was impossible to keep it from him.
In the end, he just stopped going to school.
But he never stopped learning—he kept seeking out top experts across different fields through Team Leader Yang. He just didn’t care about the diploma anymore.
Objectively speaking:
A college diploma is something he can no longer obtain through “normal means” in this lifetime…
On the other hand, Tang Lingwu didn’t have the influence or convenient access Zheng Fa had—she couldn’t just pick a mentor out of thin air. So, if she wanted a systematic management education, going through university courses was definitely the best route.
And Jingcheng University was a perfect fit.
Chen Sheng’s words struck Zheng Fa deep. And somehow... only him.
After hearing their conversation, Old Bai and the others started looking at Zheng Fa with a strange expression, as if he didn’t quite belong among them.
“Actually, I was just thinking...” Tang Lingwu quickly changed the subject, “there’s no need to match spell types to physical states.”
“Hm?”
Zheng Fa looked at her, and saw Tang Lingwu say, “If the Five Elements are the foundation of matter—or rather, if Five Element spells create something like molecular bonds in spiritual energy—then gaseous molecules could indeed be viewed as having no bonds.”
Everyone froze, then realized she made perfect sense.
“So, what Five Elements correspond to aren’t material states, but different types of spiritual energy bonds.”
“For instance, Water corresponds to the intermolecular forces of liquids.”
“Fire could be seen as gain/loss of electrons, forming a pseudo-ionic bond structure? Energy changes are also a kind of manifestation.”
“Metal, naturally, would be metallic bonds. Earth would be the forces between non-metallic solids.”
“As for Wood... organic compounds? I haven’t figured that part out yet.”
Tang Lingwu’s words even made Zheng Fa nod in agreement:
“That’s true. The states of matter—solid, liquid, gas—are just properties. What really matters are the bonds, or the interactions and structures between particles. Gaseous molecules can be considered to have no spiritual energy bonds, hence no corresponding Five Element.”
“From this perspective, Fire-element spells are the foundation, and Wind-element spells are an application. That actually makes sense.”
Tang Lingwu’s theory not only explained the essence of Fire-element spells, more importantly, it patched a hole in Zheng Fa’s logic—if spells correspond to states of matter, then why isn’t Wind one of the fundamental Five Elements, instead of Fire?
Now that everything’s being viewed through the lens of spiritual energy bonds, Wind—or rather, gas—doesn’t need spiritual energy bonds.
Old Bai thought about it and realized this explanation made a lot of sense. He smiled and looked at Tang Lingwu: “That little brain of yours—not bad!”
Tang Lingwu smugly scrunched her nose.
Old Bai added, “No wonder you’ll actually get a diploma!”
Zheng Fa: “...?”
...
Chen Sheng couldn’t shake the feeling that Director Zheng’s gaze was locked on him.
So locked in, that while he was doing the radio calisthenics, he felt stiff and panicked, forgetting one move after another.
He did terribly.
After finishing, he felt a bit down, nervously bowing his head.
Zheng Fa slowly withdrew the silver light in his eyes, and looked at the health reports brought over by Chen Sheng and the others.
To study the effects of martial arts on the human body, Jiushan Martial Arts Hall had a unique rule—every two weeks, there would be a detailed health checkup to collect data.
“All their standard metrics have improved…” Old Bai leaned over, looking at the report while explaining: “Similar to what I experienced before.”
Old Bai hadn’t been in great shape before either, but after training, he really did get better—even his minor health issues disappeared. Of course, these folks didn’t improve as much—after all, Old Bai eventually trained in the Linghe Body Technique.
Let alone the Five Thunder Body Technique.
“Height, weight, strength, speed, flexibility—we tested all that too, and the improvements were even more noticeable. It just varies based on individual traits—some saw bigger gains in strength, others in speed.”
“This set of calisthenics aims for balance, simplicity, and all-around benefit.” Old Bai said to Zheng Fa, “Each movement corresponds to a physical trait—for example, the first one focuses on flexibility.”
Zheng Fa nodded. It made sense.
Ten thousand people, ten thousand bodies, all different.
Old Bai’s approach didn’t care what your natural talents were—as long as you did these calisthenics, you’d benefit.
“Later on, we can match advanced martial arts to each person’s strengths.”
Old Bai had always been in charge of Jiushan Martial Arts Hall, so he talked about it quite confidently.
Zheng Fa thought about it carefully, then looked at the calisthenics again, silently memorizing the moves.
Spreading Dao-Entry martial arts in Jiushan Realm had hit some bumps—mainly because Dao-Entry techniques were hard to break apart.
Each complete set of movements corresponded to a simplified Dao Body.
He’d tried it and knew—if he tried to split it up and turn it into something like calisthenics... it would destroy the technique’s effect. Not worth it. Not realistic.
But now, Old Bai’s words gave him a sudden inspiration:
Let the people of Jiushan Realm start by practicing this modern set of calisthenics. It could serve as a foundation.
More importantly... it could be used to test their aptitudes.
After that, tailor their Dao-Entry martial arts based on their strengths.
For example, those with better agility could train in Linghe Body Technique.
If someone had natural strength, Farmer’s Stance would be a better fit.
In other words, build a full system—radio calisthenics as the base, then Dao-Entry martial arts as upgrades.
He set down the health report and said with a smile, “These calisthenics are pretty good.”
The disciples who came to perform all breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
Zheng Fa stood up and suddenly walked over to Chen Sheng, patting him on the shoulder: “You’ve still got to put in more work.”
Chen Sheng’s face turned red, and he lowered his head. “...Yes.”
“If your performance’s no good, you won’t get your graduation certificate from the martial arts hall...”
Zheng Fa said with a grin.
“The martial arts hall... has graduation certificates too?”
Chen Sheng turned and looked at Old Bai, who appeared completely baffled—clearly, he’d never heard of such a thing.
“Professor Bai’s just an instructor, what would he know?” Zheng Fa said righteously. “This is the hall master’s decision!”
“When did you decide that?”
“Just now.”
Old Bai grinned awkwardly and looked at Chen Sheng with pity.
...
Zheng Fa did feel a bit self-conscious about his academic background at the nursing home.
So he came back to Jiushan Realm to get his confidence back.
After all, his high school diploma was absolute top-tier in Jiushan Realm!
He walked into Senior Sister Zhang’s courtyard and saw her and Senior Sister Yuan sitting at a lakeside pavilion.
Senior Sister Yuan was leaning against the railing.
Senior Sister Zhang was sitting on the floor, her fair, slender feet swaying in the lake water.
...She still loved soaking her feet.
Zheng Fa first stared at Senior Sister Yuan for a long time, eyes gentle, lips smiling.
Only when he was with her did he feel truly confident!
Senior Sister Yuan caught his gaze, completely confused—she just felt like Junior Brother Zheng liked her a bit more today.
She popped a nut into her mouth and nodded to herself:
She had indeed been working hard lately.
Junior Brother Zheng didn’t say it, but he’d clearly noticed!
He must think she’s pretty capable too!
Senior Sister Zhang saw the silent flirtation going on between them and shook her head, then asked Zheng Fa, “Had a new insight?”
These days, she didn’t even need Zheng Fa to speak—just seeing the joy on his face, she could tell he’d had a breakthrough.
Naturally, Zheng Fa wanted to report to her—uh, and also share Tang Lingwu’s theory.
“Five Element spells, spiritual energy bonds?”
Senior Sister Zhang was the most versed in modern knowledge in Jiushan Realm. Although she hadn’t studied chemistry, she understood that chemical bonds were essentially interactions between electrons.
So she wasn’t lost.
“In that case, it really does explain it...” Senior Sister Zhang thought for a moment and said slowly, “As for Wood—I've got a theory...”
“Hmm?”
“Wood governs the power of growth.”
Zheng Fa nodded.
He saw Senior Sister Zhang raise a delicate finger, and a stalk of water grass in the lake began to grow wildly as if it had just taken some miracle fertilizer. The leaves tangled and rolled over each other, eventually covering the entire lake surface.
She pointed again.
The water grass suddenly crumbled into fragments, quickly devoured by the fish in the lake.
Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Senior Sister Zhang, you mean, the function of Wood is growth?”
“Yes. Wood-element spells are the most peculiar—they’re nearly ineffective on inanimate objects.”
That was definitely true...
The Wood-element spells Zheng Fa had learned mostly targeted plants and animals.
Which was exactly why he had never figured out their underlying essence.
Zheng Fa frowned. Growth, from the perspective of modern biology, was primarily a process of cell division.
He had a few ideas in mind, but they didn’t seem suitable to say aloud to Senior Sister Zhang.
After all, not only did she not have a college diploma, she didn’t even have a high school one.
He let the matter go for now and pulled out a booklet to hand to her.
“What’s this?”
She opened it and found it was Zhou Qianyuan’s On the Thunder of Metal and Water.
She read through it carefully, and a hint of satisfaction appeared in her eyes.
Though Zhou Qianyuan was Martial Uncle Pang’s disciple, he had often come to listen to Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang discuss talismans.
He could be considered half her disciple.
Now that he’d written something novel, Senior Sister Zhang felt a little comforted.
“This is...”
“Junior Brother Zhou’s paper may not be of much use to us, but for many disciples, it’s a good spell-casting concept.”
The Thunder of Metal and Water had more power than most lightning spells, and didn’t require high lightning proficiency.
It had broad applicability.
“You want to reward him?”
“Mm...”
“How?” Senior Sister Zhang was in charge of the Administrative Hall, so she naturally assumed Zheng Fa came to ask about awarding Zhou Qianyuan merit points.
“Senior Sister, I’ve been thinking... it’s really hard to set a standard for the value of research results.”
Before Zheng Fa could explain further, she immediately said, “You want to let disciples purchase the research?”
Zheng Fa nodded with a smile. “Exactly. Like with internal techniques, having them use merit points to buy it seems like a good system.”
Their thinking was simple:
Let the market determine the value of research.
If a lot of disciples study it, that proves the research is valuable.
“But I’ve got another idea.” Zheng Fa now got to his real point. “Take Junior Brother Zhou’s paper—it's actually split into two parts: one is the theory behind the Thunder of Metal and Water, and the other is the practical spell he developed.”
The theory referred to Zhou Qianyuan’s overall approach.
The practical part referred to the specific spell Zhou Qianyuan created.
“These two shouldn’t be lumped together. The theory behind the Thunder of Metal and Water could lead to many new lightning spells.”
Senior Sister Zhang agreed. After all, the Thunder of Metal and Water combined Metal and Water lightning spells. That kind of combination was nearly limitless—it was just a matter of fit.
“So later on, if someone creates a new lightning spell based on his theory and earns a lot of merit points, Junior Brother Zhou would be at a disadvantage.”
Senior Sister Zhang looked at Zheng Fa, sensing he already had a plan in mind.
“I want to establish a citation system—or rather, I want to publish a journal.”
“A journal?”
She frowned.
This was something Zheng Fa had considered before.
But back then, Jiushan Realm disciples were still quite unrefined—by modern standards, most of them had fallen through the cracks of basic education.
There hadn’t been much point.
Now that Zhou Qianyuan had given him this unexpected surprise, it reminded him of the idea. On the other hand, Zhou’s performance showed that at least some disciples had developed the ability to innovate after all this time.
“Not everyone is like Junior Brother Zhou, bold enough to come to me. It’s better to have a dedicated channel.”
Zhou Qianyuan was favored by Martial Uncle Pang and familiar with Zheng Fa. With results in hand, he dared to submit them directly to Zheng Fa.
But Zheng Fa understood that as his cultivation and authority increased, others would only grow more cautious around him.
Just like when he was in school in the modern world.
“On the other hand, I want the journal to establish one key thing...”
“What is it?”
“A citation system, or rather citation count,” Zheng Fa explained. “In the future, if someone produces new results, they’ll need to indicate which previous works they drew from. The merit points they earn will also be partially distributed to the people whose work they cited.”
“This... is kind of interesting.”
Zheng Fa was borrowing a concept from the modern world.
Honestly, this wasn’t just about fairness—it was also about encouraging Jiushan disciples to focus more on fundamental theory.
It was easy to imagine that many disciples would just buy spells and never study the theory.
Eventually, they might value spells while neglecting their foundations.
But if a theory like the Thunder of Metal and Water could spawn endless new spells—
Then the cultivators who focused on theory wouldn’t be so short-changed.
“This citation count could also help evaluate the value of research, supplementing our system for evaluating results.”
This was Zheng Fa’s final goal:
To establish an objective metric for evaluating research results, something that could be referenced for rewards or recognition from the Hall of Esteemed Sages and beyond.
Before, they always evaluated results based on personal judgment.
Even if he had no selfish intent, there was always room for error.
...
“This... journal?” Senior Sister Zhang seemed to find the name a little odd. She paused and asked, “What would it be called?”
Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then said, “Xiandao (The Immortal Path).”
Senior Sister Zhang glanced at him lightly, saying nothing, as if she wasn’t at all surprised he chose such a name.
Just as Zheng Fa was discussing all the journal details with her, he suddenly sensed something and waved his hand. A message talisman flew in from outside the realm.
He took it and frowned slightly, his expression turning suspicious and grave.
“What is it?”
Senior Sister Zhang asked with concern.
“It’s from Zhenren Chengkong. They went to Chen Prefecture.”
She didn’t speak and simply watched Zheng Fa.
“Zhenren Chengkong said Chen Prefecture seems a bit strange. The Great Freedom Demonic Sect has gathered several Soul Formation cultivators there. The defenses are extremely tight.”
“Several Soul Formation?”
“How many exactly, even Zhenren Chengkong doesn’t know.”
Even Senior Sister Yuan, who was munching snacks without a care, turned her head in shock to look at Zheng Fa.
They all knew the Great Freedom Demonic Sect was strong.
But more than one Soul Formation cultivator in a single prefecture?
That was terrifying.
“Zhenren Chengkong means that this is no longer just about my personal grudge... he can’t sit back and ignore them either.”
That was easy to understand.
Entering the Xuanyi Realm at the Soul Formation level came with a price.
If several Great Freedom Demonic Sect Soul Formation cultivators were gathering together, they definitely had a purpose. It wasn’t to play mahjong...
Zhenren Chengkong and Zhenren Tongming naturally couldn’t let that slide.
“So he wants us to help?”
“Mm.”
Zheng Fa set down the message talisman and looked at Senior Sister Zhang.
“What do you think?”
“We should be cautious,” Zheng Fa said bluntly.
As much as he wanted to avenge Gao Yuan, “several” Soul Formation cultivators—without even knowing how many—was terrifying.
If they got involved recklessly, it would be like serving the Jiushan Sect up on a silver platter to the Great Freedom Demonic Sect.
But Senior Sister Zhang shook her head. “We can’t afford to offend Zhenren Chengkong too much either.”
Zheng Fa nodded silently.
That was the helplessness of the weak...
They had already offended the Great Freedom Demonic Sect. So now they couldn’t afford to offend the Five Great Sects of the Xuanyi Realm too.
Zhenren Chengkong saying Jiushan Realm wasn’t safe might as well be a subtle warning.
Staying neutral still required strength. When the big players fight, it’s usually the third party that dies first...
Still, Zheng Fa didn’t want to risk Jiushan Realm.
He thought hard, then suddenly remembered something. “Senior Sister Zhang, didn’t Zhenren Chengkong say before that he killed Ancestor of the Blood River?”
“Mm, all the disciples from the Hundred Immortals Alliance saw it. Zhenren Chengkong wielded the Tranquility Bamboo and killed him in one strike.”
“Then... do you think that natal flying sword of Blood River Ancestor’s, the one we have in Jiushan Realm... is it still alive?”
“Hmm?”
...
Zheng Fa took Senior Sister Zhang to the medicine garden. Martial Uncle Pang and their Master followed along—it was all about having strength in numbers.
After all, they were dealing with a Soul Formation cultivator.
At the center of the medicine garden stood a small mountain formed by the Sun and Moon Bell.
At the mountain’s base, Blood River Ancestor’s immortal sword lay limp on the ground, not a hint of spiritual energy left in it.
It seemed completely lifeless.
They’d sold off the copper coffin from that previous auction.
But they kept the flying sword. First, it was a Soul Formation treasure—they couldn’t bear to part with it.
More importantly, they didn’t dare sell it... and no one dared to buy it either.
The sword was currently being suppressed by the Sun and Moon Bell. If they sold it and Blood River Ancestor escaped... what a joke that would be.
Looking at the still sword, Old Yuan muttered, “Dead?”
Martial Uncle Pang shook his head. “Don’t know...”
Jiushan Realm had no real Soul Formation cultivators, so their understanding of the level was limited.
Old Yuan thought for a moment, then summoned his formation disk and set up the Zhoutian Divine Thunder Formation.
Streaks of lightning rained down on the black sword like a storm, thunder crashing so brightly they could barely keep their eyes open.
But the sword didn’t move at all—completely passive.
After the lightning stopped, though the sword remained undamaged, there wasn’t the slightest trace of spiritual activity.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, still wary.
Martial Uncle Pang thought for a moment, then turned to Zheng Fa and said, “Keep an eye on it. If anything happens, press it down with the Sun and Moon Bell!”
Zheng Fa blinked, not understanding why he was saying that.
Then Martial Uncle Pang lifted his foot and started rubbing the sole of his shoe back and forth across the sword’s body.
The others: …
Seeing that Blood River Ancestor’s natal flying sword didn’t move at all, Old Yuan nodded. “Looks like he really is dead.”
Martial Uncle Pang kept rubbing while nodding, clearly agreeing.
Everyone understood what that meant... if Blood River Ancestor were still alive, this kind of insult—being scraped by someone’s foot—would be too much to endure.
Even Martial Uncle Pang’s footwork seemed more confident, more fluid, more rhythmic.
Zheng Fa stared at the humiliated flying sword, thought for a moment, then released a strand of Reversed Five Elements Divine Light toward it.
Spiritual energy suddenly flickered on the sword, and Blood River Ancestor’s figure slowly emerged.
Martial Uncle Pang’s face stiffened, suddenly feeling like his leg was doomed—because the rising figure of Blood River Ancestor was... currently using his face to prop up the bottom of Pang’s shoe.
The expression on that face was hard to describe—
Something like: failed at playing dead, and now truly socially dead.