Chapter 214: I Am Also

The weather around here has been poor these days; even at night, thick layers of clouds hung over the nursing home, showing not a single star.

Zheng Fa set down his book and gazed at the dark clouds overhead, recalling the two famously notorious clouds in the history of physics mentioned in the text.

If both the Xuanwei Immortal Art and physics are viewed as methods of understanding and applying objective laws,

then physics has only two such clouds.

But in the Immortal Art, it's more like an endless night.

The Crimson Sun Sword Immortal was probably a die-hard fan of the Heavenly River Venerable, describing him with clear bias.

Indeed, after hearing his account, Zheng Fa felt deep admiration and sorrow for the Heavenly River Venerable.

But Zheng Fa had not forgotten: the truth was—the Heavenly River Venerable's new method had failed.

He did not believe all cultivators were willing to become someone else.

Nor did he believe that if the new method were truly superior, everyone was blind.

The Xuanwei Realm still followed the old method—there must be objective reasons for this.

Even if the old method had countless flaws, Zheng Fa still suspected the Heavenly River Venerable's failure was inevitable.

But this did not frighten Zheng Fa—science advances by inheriting and negating predecessors' achievements, doesn't it?

Zheng Fa's real concern was another hidden worry—

Those people erased even the transmission of the new method—were they trying to conceal their betrayal of the Heavenly River Venerable?

Or was it because, fundamentally, the new and old methods could not coexist?

And now, the Great Freedom Demon Cult hunts so-called geniuses across the world—do they fear another Heavenly River Venerable, or another new method?

These two questions determine whether Zheng Fa's path ahead leads to Einstein or Bruno.

Doing research means risking your life—honestly, Zheng Fa was somewhat hesitant.

As the Crimson Sun Sword Immortal said, his current talent is excellent, his Dao body level appears extremely high, and following the old method still offers a bright future.

…

Rain finally fell, heavy and steady, drumming against the eaves.

Zheng Fa had been sitting in the courtyard; seeing this, he rose to move the table and chairs indoors—but realized the raindrops never touched him.

He looked up: Tang Lingwumin held a large umbrella, shielding him from the wind and rain.

Zheng Fa smiled gratefully at Tang Lingwumin, waved his hand, and the courtyard's reclining chair flew to the veranda; he and Tang Lingwumin walked over and stood side by side, watching the raindrops in silence.

Zheng Fa's mind still turned over the matter of new and old methods.

Researching the new method certainly aligned with his heart—but one misstep and he'd face the whole world as an enemy, especially since even the Heavenly River Venerable had failed.

Following the old method brought endless future dangers, but for a long time, he'd likely face no great peril.

In his nature, both paths had gains and losses—extremely troublesome, with no perfect choice.

He glanced at Tang Lingwumin beside him, realizing he carried one additional risk compared to other Xuanwei Realm cultivators—modernity.

He didn't know why he could cross over to the modern world.

But if, as the Crimson Sun Sword Immortal claimed, after Soul Transformation, cultivators cultivate the "non-self,"

then if he truly became someone else one day—wouldn't that be a catastrophe for the modern world?

The impact on the modern world, on the people around him, was incalculable.

Most directly: Tang Lingwumin, Bai Huzi, and Teacher Tian.

Thinking of this, he unconsciously found himself leaning toward one side.

Beside him, Tang Lingwumin began to sing—a foreign song:

"when you walk through the storm…"

"…"

"with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone…"

The howling wind through the trees, the patter of raindrops on the courtyard, could not drown out the girl's clear voice.

Zheng Fa listened in silence, saying nothing.

He had heard this song before.

In high school, his best friend Wang Chen, a football fan, played it for him—the Chinese translation was probably called "You'll Never Walk Alone."

Behind them, Bai Huzi and Teacher Tian stepped out together, smiling as they watched the two.

After finishing, Tang Lingwumin said nothing else—as if the song had said it all.

Bai Huzi, however, asked curiously: "Little Lingwumin, you like watching football too?"

"No," Tang Lingwumin shook her head, tilting her head slightly. "When I was young, my mother hadn't fallen ill, and my father wasn't so busy."

"My father loved football; my mother took me along. I didn't understand the game, so I learned this song."

"Back then," Tang Lingwumin glanced at Zheng Fa, softly, "I sang it for them—they were so happy."

As she spoke of this, her eyes held a smile, as if recalling something precious.

Zheng Fa felt a quiet pang of pity—this might be Tang Lingwumin's most beautiful memory of family.

Now that they were in Jingcheng, Tang Lingwumin's mother, Aunt Ye, often came—of course, for treatment.

But Tang Lingwumin's father, it seemed, was always too busy; he hadn't visited since the start of the semester.

Teacher Tian noticed this too; she pushed aside Bai Huzi and hugged Tang Lingwumin: "Just treat us as your family."

Bai Huzi scratched his head, glanced at Zheng Fa beside him, and smiled: "Figured it out?"

"Not quite… but," Zheng Fa smiled at Tang Lingwumin, "this song gave me the courage to face the whole world as an enemy."

"..." Bai Huzi stared blankly:

"This… you're in college now—shouldn't you be reading something less childish?"

"Maybe you should reconsider?"

"One song isn't enough!"

…

Inside the newly built physics lab, Zheng Fa's spiritual soul guided his spiritual power, slowly tracing the Cloud-Rain-Thunder glyph's path from the Divine Scroll.

"Stop!"

Tang Lingwumin's command came.

"The humidity sensor has changed! Humidity has risen significantly!"

Zheng Fa nodded, drew the path he'd just traced, and handed it to Bai Huzi beside him.

The Cloud-Rain-Thunder glyph was vastly more complex than the previous Heavenly Tribulation Thunder glyph.

It was a set of glyphs, each with different functions.

What Zheng Fa recorded now was one path capable of generating moisture and condensing clouds.

…

"This glyph generates clouds."

"This glyph alters magnetic field strength."

"This glyph generates a laser…"

"This glyph generates a stream of positive particles…"

As Bai Huzi summarized, he grew dazed.

"How is this so complicated?" he frowned at the glyphs; "No—why are the divine character components all different?"

Zheng Fa shook his head—he'd expected this.

Based on his current understanding of glyph arts, these spirit glyphs likely originated from different sources—or were created by different great beings.

The Heavenly Tribulation Thunder glyph was simpler; the Divine Scroll seemed to have chosen the most powerful one.

But the Cloud-Rain glyph was too complex—each entity had its own ideas, resulting in divergent yet internally consistent approaches.

On the other hand, this also meant that, unlike the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder glyph, the Divine Scroll hadn't determined which approach was superior—it simply included them all.

"The one that generates rain clouds must be kept."

Zheng Fa thought a moment, then added: "For the rest, we'll each find relevant papers."

…

Zheng Fa held several stacks of papers, reading them while exchanging thoughts with Bai Huzi and others beside him.

As the old professor from Jingcheng University's Meteorology Department had advised, research on laser-induced rain and snow was the most abundant, with the most complete data.

The principle behind this method wasn't extremely difficult—at least, it was understandable to Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwumin.

Not only abroad, but domestically too, there were many related studies.

"The advantage of laser-induced rain is that laser frequency and wavelength are relatively fixed, conditions are simpler, and energy intensity is higher."

"The principle: lasers excite plasma to capture charged raindrops in clouds, accelerating droplet growth and coalescence."

"Several research institutions have already achieved artificial rain and snow using this method."

Tang Lingwumin summarized.

Bai Huzi nodded beside her: "Laser is good—laser is simple…"

Zheng Fa also nodded.

Laser is fundamentally electromagnetic radiation—even light emitted during electron transitions.

"Among the earlier Cloud-Rain glyphs, some could generate lasers," Bai Huzi recalled. "Laser is indeed easier to control than other methods—but… it demands greater precision in Thunder Art."

He looked at Zheng Fa, his gaze questioning—as if asking if he could manage it.

Laser wavelengths are uniform; tiny energy variations create massive differences.

Laser direction also requires careful consideration—even controlling rainfall volume demands extreme precision in timing and spatial control of Thunder Art.

It required Zheng Fa to apply Thunder Law with far greater precision—this was far more difficult than merely controlling the intensity of Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Talismans.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment; he had already mastered the Heavenly Net Thunder Armor, and his control over Thunder Law had improved significantly since before.

"Try it!"

Zheng Fa nodded to the two old men and, following the experimental procedure in a paper, began replicating the immortal version of the experiment.

……

Below the mountain, in the guesthouse.

The guesthouse owner gazed at the endless drizzle, his expression troubled.

Bad weather meant few guests.

Even the background of his livestream looked gloomy, and viewers had dwindled considerably.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall the old man from the nursing home—when that old man came, his livestream had been wildly popular!

"Aren't you free now?" his grandmother suddenly walked over and asked.

"Nai?"

"If you're free, drive me to the Empress Temple—I need to pay my respects!"

"Nai! Why do you want to go again?"

"You saw how the Empress manifested last time!" his grandmother insisted. "If we don't go, won't she think we're not devout?"

The guesthouse owner's face remained expressionless, as if he had no intention of moving.

"Besides, look at how bad business is here!" his grandmother pressed, seeing he still refused. "A little prayer might turn things around! Look at Old Wang's place—ever since they built the temple, it's been booming!"

"I'll go get the car!"

"Do you think I don't know you?"

(End of Chapter)