I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 36: Master and Disciple

"Senior Brother Zheng! Senior Sister Zhang! You need to come to the Market District right away!"

At Senior Sister Zhang’s residence, Zheng Fa was in the middle of a conversation with her when Senior Sister Yuan burst in like a gust of wind, looking anxious.

"What’s wrong?"

"The entrance to our office is completely blocked! I went there this morning and couldn’t even get inside!"

Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang exchanged a glance, both slightly surprised.

Since when did Jiushan Sect disciples become so bold?

Without wasting another word, the two of them leaped into the air, flying toward the Market District.

Before they even got close, they saw a massive crowd swarming the building that had previously been Senior Sister Yuan’s office.

Market stall vendors.

Disciples who frequently shopped in the Market District.

Their presence had practically emptied the marketplace. Not only were there barely any customers, but even most of the vendors had abandoned their stalls.

It was nearly a ghost town.

The moment Senior Sister Zhang appeared, the noisy crowd fell silent.

Clearly, they still had immense respect for her.

But Zheng Fa could still hear murmurs rippling through the crowd—

"Senior Brother Zheng is here!"

"Does this mean there’s another play?"

"Let’s ask Senior Brother Zheng to show it again!"

…Hearing this, Zheng Fa immediately understood what had caused this rare mass movement in Jiushan Sect.

Scanning the crowd, his gaze landed on three particularly familiar faces.

"Han Qi. What are you doing?"

Han Qi and his two companions hesitated before squeezing their way out of the crowd, standing sheepishly in front of Zheng Fa.

"You three already watched it, didn’t you?"

Zheng Fa distinctly remembered seeing them in the theater last night.

"…We did," Han Qi admitted, lowering his head. "But that’s why we want to watch it again."

"……"

"And it’s not just us!"

Han Qi pointed toward the crowd, and Zheng Fa followed his gaze—

Sure enough, mixed among the disciples were several familiar faces—

Hardcore supporters of Senior Sister Zhang.

Even some of the Market District’s law enforcement disciples.

Zheng Fa had definitely seen them in the theater last night.

Senior Sister Zhang’s gaze turned cold as she stared at the group.

"We… We were just here to maintain order!"

A disciple surnamed Yang awkwardly spoke up. "With so many people gathered, things could get chaotic. We had to make sure Senior Sister Zhang was safe!"

Senior Sister Zhang narrowed her eyes slightly and let out a low "Hmm?"

"Ah—n-no, I mean, we were protecting Senior Sister Yuan!"

"Hmm?"

Senior Sister Yuan raised an eyebrow and pointed to herself.

"Uh… actually, we were protecting Senior Brother Zheng!"

"Hmm?"

Zheng Fa joined in, raising an eyebrow.

"Right? Isn’t that what we were doing, Senior Brother Zheng?" Yang smiled at him very amicably.

"……"

"There are just too many people asking for another show."

Watching the disappointed disciples being reluctantly persuaded to leave, Senior Sister Yuan couldn’t help but be amazed.

"Those who watched it yesterday want to watch it again, and those who missed it are desperate to see what everyone else is raving about."

Zheng Fa shook his head. "Jiushan Sect really doesn’t have many entertainment options."

After being here for so long, he had only found one place that counted as entertainment—

Xunfang Pavilion.

The one run by the Sunu Sect.

Sure, that place had its own appeal.

But it was expensive and draining, both financially and physically.

And compared to a play, it wasn’t new.

"What do you think we should do, Junior Brother?"

"This is a good thing," Zheng Fa said decisively. "If Jiushan Sect disciples enjoy it, then so will cultivators from outside the sect."

"Should we do another free screening?"

"We should do another screening—but not for free. Theater production isn’t cheap."

Zheng Fa thought for a moment before continuing, "Moving forward, we should introduce two types of tickets—internal and external. Internal tickets will be for Jiushan Sect disciples, just enough to cover costs. External tickets will be for profit."

A single performance wasn’t cheap to produce.

Not to mention that the Sect Leader—a Nascent Soul cultivator—was the one running the show.

Even just the ten talismans used for the illusion were expensive.

To create a realistic battlefield that could accommodate ten thousand people, those talismans had to be Earth-grade talismans.

From Zheng Fa’s perspective, the costs of producing a play fell into two main categories—

Talisman Costs – Equivalent to production costs in the modern world.

Right now, the only person in Jiushan Sect who could handle these productions was the Sect Leader himself.

Even if the technology spread, only Golden Core cultivators and above would be able to create Earth-grade talismans.

Projection Operator Salary – Someone needed to run the performance.

The Sect Leader was too lazy to keep doing this.

He had only agreed to oversee the first performance because it was a debut.

In the future, he definitely wouldn’t want to be involved.

The projection itself didn’t necessarily require a Golden Core cultivator—Foundation Establishment cultivators could handle it.

But for maintaining order in the theater, it was better to have Golden Core-level oversight, at least in the beginning.

Adding up both costs, Zheng Fa estimated that each screening would require at least a hundred spirit stones.

Senior Sister Zhang nodded in agreement. "In that case, let’s set the price for internal tickets at ten for one spirit stone."

Zheng Fa did some quick calculations. The pricing wasn’t exactly cheap—one theater ticket cost the equivalent of three Yellow-grade talismans.

For a Qi Refining disciple, that was nearly a day’s income.

But for most disciples, watching one play per month wasn’t too much of a burden.

"Also… how are we dividing the earnings in the future?" Senior Sister Zhang suddenly brought up another topic.

She looked at Zheng Fa, her expression somewhat hesitant, as if it was difficult to say.

"The Administrative Hall… wants thirty percent."

Zheng Fa immediately understood why she was hesitant.

After all, the most valuable aspect of the production was the Sect Leader’s Lodge Within the World technique.

The Administrative Hall’s contribution—providing the venue—was barely worth mentioning.

"I’ll be handling the projection in the future," Senior Sister Zhang continued. "But the Administrative Hall still wants thirty percent."

That distribution made a lot more sense.

After a brief moment of thought, Zheng Fa said, "Alright. From now on, the Administrative Hall takes thirty percent, the producer—meaning the Sect Leader—takes sixty percent, and the scriptwriter—meaning me—takes ten percent."

Senior Sister Zhang’s gaze softened slightly. "That’s quite a small cut for you."

Small?

Senior Sister, you have no idea how miserable modern-day scriptwriters are!

"Lodge Within the World is the most important part," Zheng Fa said earnestly. "As for scriptwriting, we can let other disciples try in the future."

"Wait, why are we even worried about his earnings?" Senior Sister Yuan suddenly blurted out, looking puzzled. "Isn’t the Administrative Hall just part of Jiushan Sect? The more money it makes, the richer the sect gets. And eventually, won’t Jiushan Sect belong to Senior Brother Zheng anyway?"

"……"

"And as for the Sect Leader’s cut, eventually—"

Before she could finish, Senior Sister Zhang silenced her with a well-placed talisman, covering her mouth entirely.

Senior Sister Yuan let out a muffled protest.

Thinking about inheriting the lonely old man’s estate? Fine.

But saying it out loud? That’s a death wish!

Although Jiushan Sect disciples were eager to watch the play again, Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang decided to wait two weeks before the next screening.

This would likely become the standard schedule—one show every half month.

The reasoning was twofold:

1. Disciples’ limited income – Watching a play twice a month was already considered a luxury. Any more than that, and it might encourage frivolous behavior.

2. Aligning with the transport schedule – Jiushan Sect’s reception ship arrived every two weeks, bringing in external cultivators, the real target audience for profit.

When Saving Junior Cultivator Pang Qian was screened again two weeks later, the turnout was significantly larger.

Jiushan Sect had thousands of disciples, and about two-thirds of them showed up, along with many curious visiting cultivators.

At a glance, the ten-thousand-seat theater looked completely full.

Zhou Qianyuan was lurking within the crowd.

He had transformed his face using a Disguise Talisman, taking on the appearance of Sun Daoyu.

For the past two weeks, the play had only grown in popularity within Jiushan Sect.

Those who had seen it couldn’t stop talking about how amazing it was, leaving those who had missed it desperate to watch.

Unfortunately, Master Pang had strictly forbidden his disciples from attending.

And this time, he had reaffirmed his ban—any disciple of his caught watching would face punishment.

But Zhou Qianyuan’s curiosity got the better of him.

In the end, he disguised himself as Sun Daoyu and slipped in.

Why not use an entirely different identity?

Because he bought an internal ticket. A non-Jiushan Sect disciple with an internal ticket would never get past the gate.

And why Sun Daoyu in particular?

Because if he disguised himself as someone else, he might run into the real person at the theater.

That would be awkward.

But if he disguised himself as another disciple from Master Pang’s faction…

None of them were allowed to be here anyway, so the chance of running into the real Sun Daoyu was zero!

Brilliant strategy!

He passed through the checkpoint without issue and entered the theater.

Feeling bored before the play started, he casually glanced around—

And then froze.

He saw himself.

Zhou Qianyuan stared at the person across from him.

The other person turned at the same time, sensing his gaze.

For a brief moment, both of them were stunned.

They looked at each other.

They both recognized each other.

"…Sun Senior Brother?" Zhou Qianyuan mouthed silently.

The other person nodded.

The two of them blinked in confusion at each other.

So we both had the same idea… and disguised as each other?

Did we just waste an entire talisman for nothing?!

The next morning, as soon as Zhou Qianyuan arrived at Eighth Peak, his master’s cold voice rang out—

"You went to watch the play last night, didn’t you?"

Zhou Qianyuan immediately denied it.

"It wasn’t me! That was Sun Senior Brother!"

As he said this, he silently apologized to Sun Daoyu in his heart.

But technically… last night’s Zhou Qianyuan really was Sun Daoyu!

"…That’s quite the coincidence," Master Pang sneered. "Because your Sun Senior Brother said the exact same thing."

"You two swapped faces, went to the theater, and I saw it all clearly from here!"

"You disobeyed my orders, fine. But to sneak around in such a disgraceful manner—you have completely embarrassed me!"

Zhou Qianyuan lowered his head in shame.

Yeah… in hindsight, his actions had been pretty pathetic.

Wait.

Something wasn’t right.

"Master… you saw it?"

Master Pang’s smug expression froze for a second.

His face stiffened.

A moment later, Zhou Qianyuan spoke again—this time, with genuine curiosity.

"Did you… sneak in as well?"

Master Pang’s smile slowly faded, his expression turning vaguely awkward.

"…You, uh, you must have been mistaken."

"Master," Zhou Qianyuan said earnestly, "isn’t sneaking in without paying even worse?"

"……"

At the Sect Leader’s grass hut, Zheng Fa was in the middle of discussing ideas for the next play when Senior Sister Zhang suddenly spoke.

"Senior Brother Zheng, I want to appoint you as a lecturer in the Talisman Hall. Are you willing?"

"…Huh?"

The question caught Zheng Fa completely off guard.

He looked up at Senior Sister Zhang.

She nodded at him, her expression serious. It was clear that she had already thought this through for quite some time.

Even Zhou Qianyuan, who was standing nearby, frowned slightly, deep in thought.

It seemed he had also realized the deeper implications of Senior Sister Zhang’s proposal.

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