I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 312Book 2: : A New Star of Qingmu, Playing Dirty as Hell
Vol 2 Chapter 312: A New Star of Qingmu, Playing Dirty as Hell
Zhao Jingfan felt that the expression in his Sect Master's eyes was rather complex, as if there was something he wanted to say, but he couldn’t quite make it out.
Maybe it wasn’t the right time, so Sect Master Song didn’t say much and instead turned to look at Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa smiled at him first, then looked toward Sect Master Song and said, “So this Technical Alliance—Sect Master Song, are you agreeing to it?”
His face was also smiling, looking genuinely pleased.
Right now, the most urgent matter was still alchemy.
After all, this concerned his Nascent Soul formation.
As the strongest alchemy sect in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, the Qingmu Sect was highly valued by Zheng Fa.
To put it plainly, even if the Technical Alliance wasn’t being formed just for the dumplings, the vinegar—Qingmu Sect—was definitely one of the main dishes.
Sect Master Song exchanged a look with Elder Xiong. At this point, he clearly had no intention of backing out and simply nodded decisively.
Since both parties were on the same page, the next step was signing the agreement.
Sect Master Song glanced over the agreement that had long been prepared. He seemed a bit puzzled and, instead of signing it, turned sideways and handed it to Elder Xiong.
Zhao Jingfan watched from the side, seeing that something might be going awry again, and couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.
But Zheng Fa wasn’t in a rush. He just asked, “Does Sect Master Song have any objections to the agreement?”
“Objections? No, no!” Sect Master Song looked a bit nervous, seemingly afraid to offend Zheng Fa, and quickly explained, “I just don’t quite understand something.”
“What part don’t you understand?”
“In this agreement, what exactly is this ‘Pill Master Guild’? Is it like a mortal’s chamber of commerce?”
Elder Xiong had finished reading it too, and when he looked up, his face was also full of confusion.
“This... is indeed modeled after mortal guilds.” Zheng Fa patted his own forehead—he had been so busy lately that he completely forgot to explain this part.
“Although it’s called a Technical Alliance, the hundred arts of cultivation vary greatly and can’t be lumped together.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“So, this Technical Alliance must also be divided into major guilds. For instance, alchemists will be placed under the Pill Master Guild in the future.” 𝐑Ἀɴօ𝖇Ęᶊ
“So what’s the point of joining this guild?”
Zheng Fa pointed to the agreement and smiled. “Actually, it’s all written in the appendix. But to put it simply, the Pill Master Guild exists for business cooperation, talent cultivation, and technical exchange.”
“Business cooperation—on one hand to reduce internal friction and allow mutual support when needed, and on the other hand to increase the bargaining power of Hundred Immortals Alliance alchemists externally.”
Zhao Jingfan nodded silently. This was fairly easy to understand—it was basically the same model as mortal guilds.
“Our Hundred Immortals Alliance alchemists are actually competing with the alchemists from the Five Sects…” Zheng Fa’s tone grew heavy at this point. “If we don’t unite, we don’t stand a chance.”
Sect Master Song pursed his lips at this, saying nothing.
Even Elder Xiong didn’t dare show a hint of defiance—he could look down on any other alchemy sect in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, but at the end of the day, they were just a Nascent Soul sect. What did they have to go head-to-head with the Five Sects’ alchemists?
“So... the Technical Alliance is also being created for this reason?”
Sect Master Song asked in surprise, his expression even a bit guilty. He had truly believed Zheng Fa was just trying to take advantage of their alchemy skills…
“Well, part of it is to integrate resources and prepare for future competition.”
Of course he was after alchemical techniques.
But on the other hand, now that they had reached this level, their opponents were also the Five Sects or ancient immortals and demon ancestors.
“To deal with competition, the real focus is on talent cultivation and technical exchange.”
“Talent cultivation is simple—it boils down to two things. One is revising the alchemy textbooks.”
This was actually quite urgent.
Currently, the alchemists on University Island were all groping in the dark, progressing very slowly. Zheng Fa wanted to absorb Qingmu Sect’s talents for this very reason.
“The other is that the guild needs to organize alchemist certifications for Jiushan Sect and the Hundred Immortals Alliance.”
At this point, Zheng Fa even sounded a bit helpless—he hadn’t realized before, but this was truly absurd.
The Hundred Immortals Alliance—or rather, the entire Xuanyi Realm—didn’t even have a proper alchemist certification system!
All cultivation arts were divided into four ranks: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.
For example, in the Way of Talismans, if you could craft an Earth Grade Talisman, you were an Earth Grade Talisman Master.
So if you could refine a Heaven Grade Pill, you should naturally be a Heaven Grade Alchemist.
The problem was—the standards for evaluating pills were much trickier… eat the wrong one, and you die.
Qingmu Sect was alright;some veteran alchemists did have the experience to judge pill quality. But it was based on experience, not always accurate.
But smaller sects and rogue cultivators were out of luck. Eating a poor-quality pill and ending up with a Qi deviation—or even death—was far too common.
Even if it didn’t kill you, inconsistent quality could cause serious side effects.
Xuanyi cultivators were well aware of this, which was why the term “pill poison” existed.
The alchemist certification was meant to standardize the grading of alchemists and set a baseline for entering the field.
As for the certification system, Sect Master Song was fully in favor—having industry standards meant Qingmu Sect’s alchemists were worth more.
But when it came to writing textbooks, both he and Elder Xiong seemed hesitant—clearly, they didn’t want to share their secrets.
The two were still wavering.
Senior Sister Zhang on the side, however, suddenly chuckled. “Does Sect Master Song have any objections to the agreement?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
That line—Zheng Alliance Leader had just said the exact same thing earlier, but it was nothing compared to how terrifying it sounded coming from Zhenren Zhang now.
Zhang Wuyi’s smile—he had seen it before!
When the Chongxuan Sect was mentioned earlier, she had smiled just like this—exactly the same!
“Speaking of technical exchange…” Even Elder Xiong stopped acting tough and quickly changed the subject. “You mean the appendix talks about patent rights and an alchemy… journal?”
When he mentioned the journal, he seemed uncertain—clearly he didn’t understand what it was.
“These are the two main measures.”
Xiandao Journal was like a comprehensive mega-journal.
According to Zheng Fa’s vision, only discoveries that fundamentally change the cultivation world could be published in Xiandao.
Meanwhile, the Pill Master Guild did have the capability to publish an alchemy journal.
On one hand, they had enough reviewers.
On the other hand, they needed a platform for communication and learning.
As for patent rights… in this model, it served as a way to appease alchemy sects like Qingmu Sect.
Of course, the patent system also aimed to encourage innovation among alchemists.
“So… our Qingmu Sect’s secret techniques can apply for patents?”
As expected, Sect Master Song immediately understood the value, his expression lighting up with joy.
He had thought they would have to give up their secrets.
Now, not only did they get to keep them, they could even make money off them!
“Yes, but patents do have a time limit. Based on what my Senior Sister and I discussed, it’s fifty years.”
“Fifty years…”
The joy on Sect Master Song’s face immediately froze.
Clearly, he felt that was too short.
Indeed, it would be fine in the modern world, but for Xuanyi cultivators, fifty years was nothing—you could sleep through that in one closed-door session.
“Of course, if someone improves on the technique, they can reapply for a new patent.”
Zheng Fa acted as if he didn’t see his sour expression and exchanged a glance with Senior Sister Zhang, straightforwardly… goading him.
In his view, patents were meant to protect innovation. If people just sat on old techniques, wouldn’t that defeat the entire purpose?
Cultivators lived long, but that didn’t mean they thought slower than mortals. If modern pharmaceutical companies could develop tons of new tech in fifty years, why couldn’t cultivators?
Seeing how firm he was, Sect Master Song’s face showed a flicker of nervousness, but there was still a hint of reluctance.
Elder Xiong gave a snort and even sounded a bit proud. “If it’s a head-to-head competition, our Qingmu Sect won’t lose to any alchemy sect in the Hundred Immortals Alliance.”
Sect Master Song immediately looked ashamed.
Zheng Fa quietly praised him—Elder Xiong saw the situation clearly.
Compared to the Way of Talismans, both alchemy and artifact crafting required far more talent and resources, in addition to their secret techniques.
It cost way more to train an alchemist than a Talisman Master.
Alchemy also required tons of spiritual herbs.
So it was especially prone to the “rich get richer” phenomenon—essentially a natural monopoly.
While Qingmu Sect would lose some secret techniques, from another perspective, they’d still be the sect with the most resources and advantages in this guild. In the Hundred Immortals Alliance’s future market, they could claim a huge slice.
With a market comes spirit stones, and with spirit stones comes funding for new alchemical research…
It looked like Sect Master Song figured it out too. He looked at Zheng Fa and said in a low, embarrassed voice, “I misjudged you.”
Zheng Fa said nothing, but Senior Sister Zhang spoke up: “My junior isn’t just Jiushan Sect’s leader—he’s also the Alliance Leader of the Hundred Immortals Alliance.”
Sect Master Song understood.
Zhenren Zhang was implying that while Zheng Fa needed Qingmu Sect’s techniques, as the Alliance Leader, he had the broad-mindedness not to suppress his allied sects.
He might even be doing this for their benefit.
He even caught a hint of displeasure in her tone—as if she had some grievance against him—and trembled slightly before hurriedly saying:
“Sigh, I didn’t think of Zheng Alliance Leader like that earlier… It was that Chongxuan Sect Master Tang Chaoxian who misled me into judging a noble soul with a petty heart!”
Now that was some expert-level scapegoating.
Especially since Chongxuan Sect’s betrayal was basically confirmed, this excuse sounded very credible.
“How did he mislead you?”
Senior Sister Zhang’s tone immediately changed, looking at him with curiosity.
“He wrote me a letter. In it, he expressed dissatisfaction with Jiushan Sect… even said… even said Jiushan was openly snatching other sects’ secret techniques.”
That was basically a slam dunk—dumping the black pot squarely on Tang Chaoxian, the Chongxuan Sect Master.
Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang exchanged a glance—they knew full well he was scapegoating, but judging from how convincingly he said it, the letter was probably real.
Sect Master Song was still explaining, “I had met Tang Chaoxian before, and Qingmu Sect and Chongxuan Sect had always been friendly. That letter—he really did write it to me!”
Zhao Jingfan, listening from the side, thought to himself, Qingmu and Chongxuan had similar strength—one focused on alchemy, the other on artifact forging. Not only were they not in conflict, they complemented each other.
Their relationship was indeed quite good.
So their Sect Master selling him out this fast…
Well, this was a guy who sold out his sect’s ancestral secret techniques.
What’s a mere Chongxuan Sect Master to him…
“And then?”
Senior Sister Zhang asked again, as if she knew Sect Master Song wouldn’t waste time on irrelevant details now.
Everyone already knew Chongxuan harbored disloyalty.
“Tang Chaoxian—he must have backing from one of the Five Sects!” As expected, Sect Master Song dropped a bombshell.
“The Five Sects?” Senior Sister Zhang’s expression turned a bit more serious. “Are you sure?”
“Most likely from Haori Mountain…” When he mentioned Haori Mountain, Sect Master Song’s voice even lowered a bit. “I heard that Chongxuan Sect’s cultivation techniques are very similar to Haori Mountain’s.”
“Also, when the Great Freedom Demonic Sect emerged, Chongxuan Sect relocated its entire sect toward Haori Mountain to avoid disaster.”
“……”
Zheng Fa wasn’t surprised by this. For Chongxuan Sect to act so boldly, they had to have something backing them—otherwise, they wouldn’t dare.
According to Sect Master Song, Chongxuan Sect might even be a branch or subsidiary sect?
But compared to someone like Zhenren Tongming—a Soul Formation-level external legacy—Chongxuan Sect, as a mere Nascent Soul sect, probably didn’t even register in Haori Mountain’s eyes.
And yet now they suddenly had confidence…
“Haori Mountain likely harbors ill intent.”
Senior Sister Zhang said coldly, face darkened.
“In the Alliance, the Five Sects each have their own agendas. Haori Mountain was never exactly friendly with us,” Zheng Fa said, shaking his head. “But Chongxuan Sect borders Haori Mountain’s territory—dealing with them might be tricky.”
The current problem was that under the Alliance's agreement, Dao Fruits weren’t allowed to intervene. That included Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang—or at least the Tranquility Bamboo and the Fusang Tree did.
Soul Formation cultivators would remain the dominant force in Xuanyi Realm for a while.
But the Hundred Immortals Alliance’s accumulation above the Soul Formation level was thin.
“Tricky or not, we fight!”
There was fire in Senior Sister Zhang’s eyes. Sect Master Song couldn’t help but shrink back, his face showing fear.
So the rumors were true!
Zhang Wuyi was not someone to mess with.
But Zheng Fa shook his head. “For Haori Mountain to act like this… it feels deliberate.”
Senior Sister Zhang looked at Zheng Fa, her face still holding a trace of anger. Clearly, she was ready to take on Haori Mountain as well.
Zheng Fa reached out and gently squeezed her fingertips.
The anger on her face instantly faded.
“Whether it’s deliberate or not, let him play his game, I’ll play mine.” Zheng Fa looked up at the Shenxiao Warship above, his tone calm, as if he truly didn’t care about Chongxuan Sect—or even Haori Mountain.
“No matter what schemes they’re cooking up…”
“Time is on our side.”
Sect Master Song watched with wide eyes as Senior Sister Zhang responded with a gentle “mm,” full of softness, offering not a single word of opposition—as if Zheng Fa’s word was law.
He looked back at Zheng Fa, eyes full of gratitude:
He could imagine—if not for Zheng Fa’s persuasion, given Zhang Wuyi’s aggressive nature, they’d never have gotten a chance to talk about any Technical Alliance.
They’d have already been forced to their knees, handed over their secret techniques, and obediently become lackeys…
So what about the agreement?
Sign it!
Sign it right away!
…
Sect Master Song led the Qingmu Sect group back to their guest quarters on Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Zhao Jingfan was about to excuse himself to visit Zheng Fa’s mother and sister on Letu Island when his Sect Master suddenly called out to him.
“Jingfan, come with me.”
Zhao Jingfan was confused but followed him inside.
Inside the room, Elder Xiong sat on a chair, giving him a once-over from head to toe.
Being scrutinized by two Nascent Soul cultivators—even someone as carefree as Zhao Jingfan couldn’t help but feel nervous.
But he didn’t dare speak.
After a while, Elder Xiong suddenly said, “From now on, you’ll study alchemy under me.”
“Huh?”
Zhao Jingfan’s mouth fell open. He didn’t understand why Elder Xiong was offering this. The problem was… he already had a master!
“I’ve already spoken to your master. You probably don’t know this, but in terms of seniority, he’s my grand-disciple’s disciple. You’re not really an outsider.”
Of course he knew his master couldn’t refuse. Elder Xiong held immense prestige and authority in the sect, and being a true senior, no one in the sect would dare say no.
Besides, it wasn’t like Elder Xiong was trying to steal a disciple. It was more like…
He just genuinely wanted to pass on his skills?
Was he really this selfless?
Zhao Jingfan was still confused and looked toward Sect Master Song.
“With your current cultivation and alchemical skill, it’ll be hard to convince the sect. If you were to lead Qingmu Sect in the future, there might be those who don’t accept you.”
Lead Qingmu Sect?
Me?
That’s when Zhao Jingfan finally realized why the two had called him in.
He had just been unofficially designated as the next Sect Master of Qingmu Sect!
“Disciple… this disciple doesn’t have what it takes.”
“I’m good at alchemy.”
Elder Xiong answered matter-of-factly.
So basically, he’d have free access to pills?
“But… I joined too late.”
“I’ve agreed. Elder Xiong has agreed. Who in the sect dares to object?”
“……”
Well, true. There were only two main power blocs in the sect. As long as he wasn’t completely hopeless, his position should be solid.
Zhao Jingfan understood the real reason—Zheng Fa.
He fell silent, showing a bit of hesitation.
“You’re a smart guy. We picked you precisely because of Zheng Alliance Leader,” Sect Master Song said bluntly. “Whether it’s Zheng Fa or Jiushan Sect, their future is limitless…”
His expression turned complicated again, as if he was thinking of the External Pill.
That massive wheel flying in the sky.
“I’ve already discussed it with Elder Xiong. Since we’ve chosen to align with Jiushan Sect, there’s no point in hesitating.”
“Handing Qingmu Sect over to you is also a show of our loyalty.”
Zhao Jingfan remained silent.
His voice was very small, and unusually timid: “Disciple… doesn’t feel worthy.”
“No, you don’t understand. The Pill Master Guild… the benefits involved are enormous! As things stand, it looks like our Qingmu Sect is going to dominate this new Pill Master Guild… Jiushan Sect needs us now, but what about in the future?” Sect Master Song gave a reason that left Zhao Jingfan stunned.
“Zheng Fa wouldn’t do something like that…”
“Maybe he has the magnanimity not to. But Jiushan Sect? What about the alchemists trained by Jiushan?”
Zhao Jingfan’s eyes widened, but he didn’t dare argue.
His trust in Zheng Fa was one thing. But could he really say every person in Jiushan Sect treated Qingmu Sect like family?
He couldn’t guarantee that.
“Say nothing of others—just look at Zhang Wuyi… she’s the kind of person who bends others to her will. There are plenty like her in Xuanyi Realm, and far too few like Zheng Fa…”
Even now, Sect Master Song still held a trace of fear when speaking of Senior Sister Zhang…
The thing was… he wasn’t wrong.
In the Xuanyi Realm, cultivators really were more often like Senior Sister Zhang—especially the geniuses.
“The bond you have with Zheng Fa—so long as he lives, that bond will remain. Others won’t dare be reckless with you. Our Qingmu Sect will then have a special status within the Hundred Immortals Alliance… At that time, as long as you remember that you’re a person of Qingmu Sect, you’ll be the most suitable Sect Master for Qingmu.”
“……”
“This choice is good for Qingmu Sect. Zheng Fa cares so much about this Technical Alliance and the Pill Master Guild—your presence there will only help him, not hinder him.”
Zhao Jingfan pursed his lips, finally understanding the implication:
The Sect Master wasn’t just sucking up to Zheng Fa. More importantly, he wanted to use Zhao’s relationship with Zheng Fa to shield Qingmu Sect.
He lowered his head and didn’t object anymore.
Seeing him walk out, Elder Xiong finally sighed. “That was a clever move on your part… But I wonder how long the name Qingmu Sect can still last…”
Neither of them were fools. Of course they could see that, deep down, Zheng Fa still wanted to unify the Hundred Immortals Alliance—just with a gentler approach.
“Zhao Jingfan is someone who values relationships. As long as he’s around, even if Qingmu Sect disappears, its disciples won’t fare too badly.”
“If he’s not…” Sect Master Song chuckled, “how could I manage things that far ahead?”
“Values relationships, huh…” Elder Xiong mulled it over, then shook his head. “I’ll teach him well.”
…
When Zhao Jingfan walked out, he was still in a daze.
What just happened? How did a turncoat like me end up as the future Sect Master?
The whole thing was bizarre and moved so fast, he couldn’t keep up.
Then it suddenly hit him—he was now the future Sect Master. Qingmu Sect, top to bottom, was basically his—at least it would be.
If he went and betrayed them again in the future…
Wouldn’t that just be handing over his own stuff?
That thought immediately stirred a surge of loyalty in him. He felt like he had been such a fool before…
Having figured that out, Zhao Jingfan couldn’t help but glance back at Sect Master Song’s room, awe in his heart:
Winning over a traitor by giving him the Sect Master position—he had never seen anything like it…
His Sect Master… really was old and crafty!
…
A few days later, when Zheng Fa saw Zhao Jingfan following Elder Xiong around, he felt something was off—specifically, the way Zhao looked at him was oddly conflicted.
“This is the pill recipe.”
He didn’t bother with whatever weird mood Zhao Jingfan was in. Instead, he handed Elder Xiong a set of extracted pill recipes for study.
The paper actually contained more than one recipe.
Although Xie Qingxue had provided a pill formula from a Tianhe Sect elder, no one could say for sure whether that particular recipe would really work with the Jiushan Golden Core Method.
So Zheng Fa decided to include all the pill recipes related to the Five-Element Orchid, including the Clear Spirit Pill, and handed them all to Elder Xiong.
Since they couldn’t be sure, they might as well test them all one by one.
Elder Xiong glanced at it and quickly spotted a problem: “What is this Five-Element Orchid? I’ve never heard of it before.”
Zheng Fa gave a most affable smile. “This spiritual plant… should only exist in the Jiushan Realm now.”
“That rare?”
“Rare isn’t quite the word,” Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then slowly said, “The Five Sects don’t allow people to grow it—no, not even to know about it…”
Elder Xiong was confused at first, but then it seemed to click. His eyes slowly widened as he looked at Zheng Fa, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t get a single word out.
“This is the Jiushan Realm’s most dangerous secret.”
“So I ask that you, Elder Xiong, conduct your experiments discreetly… and do not mention this to anyone else.”
Elder Xiong looked down at the paper in his hand. It was thin—just a few pages—but right now, it felt like a thousand pounds, and the expression on his face was full of regret, as if he’d just boarded a pirate ship.
This thing… could cost him his life!
Could he dare mention it?
They might not be able to kill Zheng Fa… but killing a lowly Nascent Soul cultivator like him? No problem.
Zhao Jingfan had known this stuff came from the Tianhe Sect, but he hadn’t realized how taboo it was. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone around asking about it so carelessly.
He couldn’t help swallowing hard.
They both wanted to win people over—his own Sect Master was cunning, but compared to that…
Zheng Fa… played dirty as h*ll.
