[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-4":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cultivation: I Studied Abroad in the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263730,4418,"Chapter 4: Choosing a New Page","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-4",4,"\u003Cp>Zheng Fa and Wang Chen finished eating and returned directly to the classroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The classroom was quiet; more than half the seats were empty, as day students had gone home to rest, and a small portion had students napping face-down on their desks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chen had also planned to nap a bit—sleep deprivation was routine for senior high students with morning self-study at seven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, having just eaten lunch made him even sleepier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had barely laid his head down when he noticed Zheng Fa, seated behind and to his side, pulling out a book and muttering under his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fuck…” Wang Chen muttered: “You’re grinding again? Just memorize all your textbooks while you’re at it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having been classmates with Zheng Fa for so long, he long ago learned of Zheng Fa’s quirk—memorizing textbooks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine, subjects like Chinese and English that relied on memory were understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even math and physics? Zheng Fa insisted on memorizing those too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Insane!” Wang Chen couldn’t help muttering again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not memorizing textbooks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s more like a human,” Wang Chen said, settling back down: “Aren’t you just now memorizing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I finished.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who the hell could sleep now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chen sat up and reached out shakily to flip through the book in Zheng Fa’s hands:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“300 Problems on Conic Sections”…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re not even human!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wang Chen’s incredulous expression, Zheng Fa looked slightly embarrassed: “I’ve got nothing better to do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shit!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa watched as Wang Chen pulled out the new test paper from this morning and began frantically working on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why aren’t you sleeping anymore?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chen shot him a sidelong glance: “You tell me why.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After studying for a while, when Zheng Fa looked up again, Wang Chen in front of him was fast asleep, face planted on the test paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiled and put away the book before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Memorizing textbooks, in Zheng Fa’s view, was a clumsy method he resorted to out of necessity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he first arrived in this world years ago, he had nothing but an identity—his mind was utterly empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His knowledge base, back in his old world, would’ve qualified him as a literal illiterate, let alone in this modern world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a middle schooler, his actual ability might not even reach kindergarten level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he first crossed over, he scored single digits on several exams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, teachers and classmates assumed his grades had plummeted due to a major family upheaval.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And since middle school was compulsory education, as long as you wanted to learn, you wouldn’t be expelled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa naturally wanted to improve his grades and catch up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he considered himself only moderately gifted, and had fallen too far behind in foundational knowledge—ordinary methods couldn’t possibly make up the gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, he gritted his teeth and adopted a crude method—rote memorization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He started from elementary school textbooks, not caring whether he understood or not—he simply memorized every single character, word for word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d spend seven days memorizing in this world, then spend seven days in his original world slowly recalling and attempting to comprehend in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only advantage of this method was that it leveraged his double the available time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perfect for his situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, after learning some biology, he called it the “rumination method.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, efficiency was low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His memory wasn’t naturally exceptional; initially, he could recall less than one-tenth after seven days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, he picked up various dubious memory techniques—memory palaces, and others—and gradually grew proficient with this learning method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wouldn’t claim to have perfect recall, but after reading a book two or three times, he could retain eight or nine tenths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the real top students’ learning techniques, his method was stupid and exhausting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But on the other hand, his foundation was exceptionally solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His grades improved steadily; perhaps his admission to Qing Shui High School relied on his parents’ legacy, but now he consistently ranked in the top twenty of his class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, others had studied five years; Zheng Fa had genuinely memorized ten years’ worth of textbooks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hardship and effort involved were beyond words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven days later, when Zheng Fa returned to the Xuanwei Realm, he carried not just a belly full of meat, but a mind full of knowledge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when listening to his mother speak, his reactions were half a beat late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was his younger sister’s loud cheer that snapped him back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom, are they really not letting Wang Gui go back as a page?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa froze—this wasn’t a trivial matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it seemed just a page’s position, for these tenant farmers on the estate, it was a form of social advancement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” Zheng Mu said, recounting the estate gossip: “I heard Master Wang has been begging everyone for favors these past two days, but the Lady has already said she’ll choose a new page—she won’t take his son.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The estate was small, and Master Wang’s former glory had drawn envy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, Wang Gui returning to the Zhao household was no small matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the past two days, the entire estate had buzzed with this rumor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa thought deeper than his mother and sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his view, Master Wang was ambitious, even clever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just five years, he’d risen to estate manager, caught the Lady’s eye, and even gotten his son appointed as the Young Master’s page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not insignificant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He might even become a trusted confidant of the Lady or the Young Master someday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Losing the page position was minor—it was offending the Lady that Master Wang’s family truly feared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Lady must’ve seen Wang Gui is a terrible person!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Shan was unquestionably the happiest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, the Lady is good. When your father passed, she gave us ten taels of silver herself.” Zheng Mu spoke of the Lady with genuine gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Lady is good! A great good person!” Zheng Shan nodded vigorously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching their reverent expressions, Zheng Fa recalled a line from a sage of his other world:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...the era of being a stable slave, and the era of striving to become a slave but failing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words were precise, piercing, repulsive—and impossible to refute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded along with his sister, feigning excitement over the Lady’s “correction of injustice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, voicing certain truths brought no benefit and could endanger those around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His sister, however, began fantasizing: “If only the Lady chose Brother as the page!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then Wang Gui wouldn’t dare bully us again!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard Wang Gui gets a monthly stipend!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He can even learn martial arts from the guards!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then Brother would be the strongest person on the estate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she spoke, Zheng Shan’s eyes sparkled: “If the Lady chooses Brother as the page, she’ll be the greatest good person in the world!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Mu glanced at Zheng Fa, then patted her daughter’s head: “If your brother isn’t the page, does that mean he’s not strong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Shan hugged Zheng Fa’s arm and said sweetly: “Brother is already the strongest—but he could be even stronger!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After his sister fell asleep, Zheng Mu came to Zheng Fa’s door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your sister is still young and doesn’t understand. Don’t think too much…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mother?” Zheng Fa looked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We don’t even dream of being a page. When Wang Gui came back, he was broken—still can’t get out of bed. If you… if you were to go, your sister and I wouldn’t know how to survive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching his mother leave, he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A page?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had to admit—even though his mother disapproved—he was tempted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even his sister could see the benefits; could he not?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a monthly stipend, the family wouldn’t have to ration meat by slice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wouldn’t have to endure cold glances around the estate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there was one of the things Zheng Fa most desired and was most curious about in this world—martial training, even cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Striving to become a slave but failing…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, Zheng Mu was scrubbing dirty clothes at the door when a familiar tenant farmer ran up: “Old Zheng’s wife! Old Zheng’s wife! Great news!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s the news?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Lady is choosing a new page—this time she wants someone older and steadier. Your son Fa is perfect!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1369,"2026-06-19T19:16:02.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3284cd22f2d6690b11ce8d843f42159135b5173efb6e3274bb9e2ee72c648a4a","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-5","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-3",487,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]