I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 300Book 2: : Jiushan’s Joy and Development Plan

Vol 2 Chapter 300: Jiushan’s Joy and Development Plan

At Jiushan Sect, on Letu Island, Yuan Xiaoniao sat upright within the light screen, smiling as she read the news aloud:

“Dear viewers, good day! Welcome to today’s Jiushan News:”

“Today, we have a major breaking story to report: our Sect Master Zheng Fa has represented our sect at the highly influential Five Sects Alliance Meeting of the Xuanyi Realm. This alliance meeting was jointly convened by the five sects with the most ancient heritage, the broadest influence, and the strongest power in the Xuanyi Realm, gathering the realm’s top forces. Its significance goes without saying.”

“At this Five Sects Alliance Meeting, Sect Master Zheng Fa, with his exceptional wisdom and extraordinary strategy… ultimately succeeded in signing an agreement of great significance not only for Jiushan Sect but also for the entire Xuanyi Realm.”

Yuan Xiaoniao suddenly raised her voice, the passionate sound bursting from her chest:

“This agreement marks an important milestone in Jiushan Sect’s development journey.”

“We believe that under the wise leadership of Sect Master Zheng Fa, and with the joint efforts of all Jiushan disciples, Jiushan Sect is sure to usher in an even more brilliant tomorrow!”

Zheng Fa stood on Heavenly Palace Island, listening to Senior Sister Yuan’s words and feeling a bit like covering his face.

He turned to look at Martial Uncle Pang standing beside him, who was fully immersed in the broadcast, even smiling faintly, as if admiring his own barely-there literary flair—

This awkward news script was written by him.

Zheng Fa's stare must’ve been too strange, because Martial Uncle Pang scowled and said, “Tell me, which part wasn’t true?”

The words weren’t false, but the way of saying them was a bit over the top.

“I’ll have you know, this news script—was written last night, after I read the alliance terms and got so happy I drank myself drunk and wrote it in one go!” Martial Uncle Pang was quite proud, “A spontaneous masterpiece!”

Zheng Fa: …I don’t see what’s so masterful—diagnosis: you’ve read too many past Jiushan News reports.

Senior Sister Yuan continued broadcasting:

“The contents of the alliance agreement include: …”

“Division of powers within the Xuanyi Realm…”

At that, Zheng Fa began hearing bursts of noise—Letu Island was the loudest, apparently with the schoolchildren up top cheering and chirping excitedly.

How should one put it, although Jiushan News, under Old Yuan’s influence, had developed the habit of starting every story by praising Zheng Fa, that didn’t mean it was useless—on the contrary, Zheng Fa dared to say that compared to any other mortals in the Xuanyi Realm, the people on Letu Island were the most knowledgeable, most well-informed, and most broadly educated group around.

Especially the children in school, who understood the most.

Another location had a more subdued cheer—Seeking Immortality Island.

There lived the Jiushan Sect disciples below Nascent Soul level.

They were watching the news too.

These folks were a bit older and more mindful of a cultivator’s dignity, so their cheering wasn’t as raucous as Letu Island’s.

But their joy was no less than those on Letu Island—

Compared to mortals, these cultivators understood far better what status the Five Sects held in the Xuanyi Realm, and thus understood much more clearly what it meant for Zheng Fa to secure such an alliance.

In Zheng Fa’s view, this was like—you used to be a failing student, but your alma mater, through its own efforts, had climbed into the ranks of top-tier schools…

Just thinking about something like that was enough to make you laugh out loud, right?

Especially when the map appeared, laughter and even gasps of disbelief echoed from both islands—

The territory of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, spanning two continents, pressuring Haori, and kicking Yaochi to the curb.

It had area, it had population, it had resources…

Forget whether it was strong or not—was it big? Absolutely!

…

Let alone those disciples, even Martial Uncle Pang, looking at the map on the light screen, had a flushed face, like he was drunk again.

“Martial Uncle?”

“If I die someday,” Martial Uncle Pang suddenly said, “this map—you have to carve it onto my tombstone.”

“……”

Zheng Fa could understand this joy, but that wish was a bit too outrageous.

He shook his head and looked at the others.

Aside from the secluded Old Yuan, all Jiushan Sect cultivators above Nascent Soul were present:

Senior Sister Zhang was still busy handling accumulated matters from her trip, uninterested in external affairs.

Martial Aunt Huang even had a smile on her face, apparently pleased with the alliance’s outcome.

Madam Xuanhua looked completely dazed—her expression like a gold weight had fallen from the sky and hit her on the head.

Jiao Wuji and Ancestor of the Blood River stood behind Zheng Fa like guards, looking full of loyalty and righteousness.

Only Xiao Yuying was also smiling, but subtly distanced from the others—after all, she technically wasn’t a Jiushan Sect member.

Zheng Fa could understand.

Though Xiao Yuying had been close to him early on, Madam Xuanhua had long “sold herself” to Jiushan Sect.

The difference came down to confidence:

Both were Nascent Soul cultivators, but their backgrounds were quite different.

Madam Xuanhua was a pure rogue cultivator, relying only on her own skills with no one backing her.

But Xiao Yuying was different. At first, Zheng Fa thought her master was a typical Soul Formation cultivator.

But as he grew more familiar with the Xuanyi Realm’s political landscape, he no longer thought so.

From Yan Wushuang’s descriptions, it seemed her master was someone even Sect Master Yan of Tianhe Sect was wary of…

Now that was terrifying!

With a master like that, naturally she didn’t need to bet everything like Madam Xuanhua did.

…

Zheng Fa looked at Xiao Yuying, and seeing her expression calm—clearly not seeing this alliance as anything impressive—he felt a bit more reassured and nodded to everyone:

“Senior Sister Zhang and I achieved some results at the alliance meeting, which is certainly a good thing…”

“But the overall situation in the Xuanyi Realm can’t be called stable.”

Unlike the excitement of others, Zheng Fa’s tone carried more concern.

“Senior Sister Zhang and I both agree,” he looked slowly around at the others, “this alliance agreement will likely only maintain a short-term peace.”

“The peace may last ten thousand years… or a thousand.”

“Or maybe only a hundred—or even ten…”

This was obvious:

If the Five Sects hadn’t realized the coming storm, they wouldn’t be deliberately reducing their internal conflicts like this.

Even their tolerance for Zheng Fa likely stemmed in part from that realization.

It was easy to infer—whatever kind of future could make the Five Sects tread carefully, a weak Jiushan Sect probably couldn’t withstand it.

Jiushan Sect’s current problem was—hollow fat.

They had the title of a sixth faction, but if you really looked at it, whether their total strength could defeat even one Dao Fruit cultivator was still a question.

After Zheng Fa’s analysis, Martial Uncle Pang’s expression gradually darkened.

He looked at Zheng Fa and suddenly said, “I don’t know if it’s you who’s lived thousands of years, or me who has…”

Zheng Fa smiled. He knew Martial Uncle Pang understood too—it was just that his feelings for Jiushan Sect were too deep, and he couldn’t help himself.

“Our hollow fat is also reflected in this territory.” Zheng Fa pointed at the map before them and shook his head, “Its population may be less than one-tenth of the other five factions. No… maybe even one-twentieth…”

It was really unfortunate.

The Hundred Immortals Alliance and the sea domain had both been ravaged by the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.

Zheng Fa didn’t know the total population now, but it clearly couldn’t match the density of the other five factions.

And speaking of land area—or rather, habitable land—the Hundred Immortals Alliance had only about one-tenth of Haori Mountain’s land to begin with, so saying it had one-twentieth the population might even be an overestimate.

Zheng Fa’s words made Martial Uncle Pang’s face grow even heavier.

He said to Zheng Fa, “In that case, the losses of spiritual fields, spiritual mines, and spiritual materials must be enormous.”

The things the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor did—unspeakably vile!

Not to mention the billions of mortal casualties.

The destruction to spiritual lands was also significant. Many of them benefited from geological structures, and now, restoring them would be difficult.

One could say the territory Zheng Fa had inherited was essentially a wasteland.

Martial Uncle Pang and the others could no longer smile;some even looked a bit afraid—

The future of the Xuanyi Realm was bound to become increasingly chaotic, with more and more conflicts.

But right now, whether it was Jiushan Sect or the Hundred Immortals Alliance, their foundations were simply too weak.

Especially since their reputation was already too high—they were now regarded as one of the Six Factions of Xuanyi.

They were bound to attract unwanted attention.

Thinking about that, who wouldn’t be anxious?

Senior Sister Zhang suddenly smiled and said, “Master, you all don’t need to worry too much…”

“Hmm?”

“In the mortal world of the Jiushan Realm, current rice yield per mu…”

“Silk production volume…”

“Spiritual plant cultivation has also made progress…”

Senior Sister Zhang lifted her head and began reporting the various technical achievements accumulated in the mortal world in recent days.

Mainly, the output of agricultural products.

“What do you mean…”

“Martial Uncle Pang, the mortal world of Jiushan Realm had a population growth rate of roughly eight percent last year.”

Martial Uncle Pang frowned, as if he didn’t quite understand what she was getting at.

“Uncle, at that rate, in ten years, the population of Jiushan Realm will be twice what it is now. In twenty years, roughly four times as much. But in fifty years—it will be forty-six times what it is today!”

That made Martial Uncle Pang’s eyes go wide: “Forty-six times?”

“Yes. Of course, this growth rate may not be sustainable that high.”

Senior Sister Zhang spoke frankly.

The mortal world of Jiushan Realm had a unique trait—previously, the average lifespan was too short, and ninety percent of the population didn’t live past thirty.

Once abundant food and a suitable environment were provided, with this kind of population structure, the population growth of Jiushan Realm immediately skyrocketed.

Even this eight-percent growth rate was still limited by the lingering physical weaknesses of many mortals from past malnutrition.

“As long as we’re given fifty years…” Senior Sister Zhang said, “Population will no longer be a problem.”

The benefit of population to Dao Fruit cultivators had already been proven by the Five Sects.

“Fifty years…” Martial Uncle Pang, who had lived for thousands of years, thought of fifty years as a blink of an eye, yet he hadn’t expected that in fifty years, the population of mortals could change so drastically.

“Junior Brother went from Qi Refining to Golden Core Perfection in just eight years… So it's fair to expect that reaching Nascent Soul could take less than ten…”

“After him, Jiushan Sect’s disciples all have the Talisman Foundation Establishment Technique and the Jiushan Golden Core Method to cultivate. Even without Junior Brother’s fortune, those with some talent could likely reach Nascent Soul in fifty years.”

“……”

Martial Uncle Pang was stunned.

He hadn’t had kids—but Nascent Soul… he had achieved that!

Was achieving Nascent Soul really that simple?

But thinking of Zheng Fa’s cultivation path, he began to believe it.

Zheng Fa’s rapid progress certainly included talent and factors others could only dream of—like his oversized Golden Core and innate divine ability.

But apart from those, every other factor could be passed on to disciples!

Especially the Talisman Foundation Establishment Technique and the Jiushan Golden Core Method!

Those were entirely replicable paths!

Meaning, as long as the resources were sufficient, future disciples could follow Zheng Fa’s route and reach Nascent Soul just as quickly!

Zheng Fa took ten years.

Disciples with dual spiritual roots or better—fifty years would be very comfortable, right?

Comfortable your a**!

Martial Uncle Pang felt like he was going crazy…

But Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang were genuinely confident in their hearts.

This was also a core difference between Jiushan Sect’s cultivation path and others—

In Zheng Fa’s view, if an experiment couldn’t be replicated, the underlying scientific concept must be wrong.

So if his own cultivation path couldn’t be replicated, it would mean… he was wrong.

“You mean to say…” Martial Uncle Pang mumbled, “fifty years from now, Nascent Soul cultivators in our sect will be… overflowing?”

“That’s our estimate,” said Zheng Fa, pulling a thick booklet from his sleeve—

The cover read:

‘Hundred Immortals Alliance: First Fifty-Year Development Plan (Draft)’

Martial Uncle Pang picked it up and started reading.

The booklet was thick, densely packed with information, but it was mainly divided into major sections:

Besides the overall summary, there were several key categories—

Looking at the table of contents, Martial Uncle Pang couldn’t help but read aloud:

“Agricultural Reform Plan…”

“Handicraft Industry Reform Plan…”

“Key Scientific Research Projects Plan.”

“Economic and Population Growth Targets.”

Flipping further, the contents were extremely detailed:

Including projected grain output in the Jiushan Realm after fifty years, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators to be cultivated, and the focus of key projects—everything was clearly laid out.

Martial Uncle Pang was filled with disbelief—how could these things be predicted?

But on closer look, many of the figures weren’t pulled out of thin air.

For example, the projected grain output was calculated by multiplying the current per-mu yield by the amount of arable land available in the Jiushan Realm.

Due to low population, much land hadn’t been developed, so the actual yield could be far higher than now.

Truthfully, this estimate was quite conservative—it didn’t even consider improvements in agricultural technology.

As for the projection of Nascent Soul cultivators, it started with talented children on University Island, calculated the percentage considered “genius,” and then extrapolated how many such individuals might still exist in the wider Jiushan mortal population.

This was actually very cautious.

First, they also had the talent pool from the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

Second, fifty years to reach Nascent Soul was now seen as very generous.

“All of this… you two calculated?”

Zheng Fa glanced at Senior Sister Zhang and said emotionally, “These are data that Senior Sister Zhang has compiled over time…”

Creating a plan was easy—but aligning it with reality required data to support it.

And Jiushan Sect was probably the sect in the Xuanyi Realm that cared most about data—

Student scores from University Island.

Number of farmland mu in the Jiushan mortal world.

Even the density of spiritual energy, yield of spiritual materials, and distribution of spiritual lands.

Thanks to Senior Sister Zhang, the living calculator, they had a thorough understanding of the Jiushan Realm.

This development plan wasn’t just not aggressive—it was downright conservative. But Martial Uncle Pang didn’t feel that way.

As he read the plan, it felt like reading the Book of Heaven. After a long while, he looked up at Zheng Fa and dazedly asked, “You mean to say, give us fifty years, and we’ll be able to pull together an army of at least five hundred Nascent Souls?”

Forget Martial Uncle Pang.

Even Xiao Yuying, who prided herself on her insight, seemed to imagine such a scenario—and her calm expression slowly collapsed, like she’d seen a ghost—

This… she really had never seen before!