Seeking Truth with a Sword

In a large classroom within the Supervision Building, a young Academic Palace Instructor stood nervously at the podium, flipping through his lesson materials. "In this class," he began, "we'll explore knowledge related to flight models."

His name was Ou Zhiyuan, a sixth-year student at the Academic Palace, mentored by Su Feng, a Doctor of Science.

Su Feng was busy studying the reciprocating piston engine, and its development had reached a critical juncture. Since Su Feng had no time to teach, he had pulled Ou Zhiyuan, who was close to graduation, to take over as an instructor.

The lesson's content was not meant to be too profound—it needed to be accessible to students from other countries who might not have a strong foundation in Natural Science.

RUSTLE. Li Ang opened his class notes and sat upright, as ever. Even though he had been the first to create flight models, Su Feng and others, with the help of the cultivation system, had sparked some entirely new ideas worth his attention.

Besides, Ou Zhiyuan had interned at a publication and was already acquainted with Li Ang. Their relationship was decent.

Seeing Li Ang's serious demeanor, the Yu Country students sitting beside him set aside the disappointment and indifference that had arisen from Su Feng not being their teacher. They opened their notes and assumed an attentive posture.

Ou Zhiyuan, on the stage, nodded at Li Ang with appreciation. He coughed lightly and, using Telekinesis, made a piece of chalk float up and begin to write on the blackboard.

"Everyone should be aware that flight models are the latest invention from a year ago. These are man-made devices capable of flying in the air.

"What's different from the Flying Sword is that the Flying Sword's power source is Spiritual Power provided by a Cultivator, whereas the flight model's power comes from talismans. The talisman generates wind power, allowing the flight model to fly. There's an intermediary layer.

"Admittedly, due to the difference in power source, current flight models can't move as flexibly as Flying Swords—soaring, diving, and commanded at will. However, precisely because the power sources differ, the requirements for the flight model operator are lower.

"Even Cultivators just entering the Qi Sensing Realm can use their weak Telekinesis and a Mind Silk to remotely control a medium to large-sized metal flight model to change direction. This is something Flying Swords cannot achieve.

"More importantly, flight models have revealed many new possibilities. If we continuously enlarge them, could they carry people and goods?

"Is it possible for people to be inside the flight models, directly controlling their direction through ropes and cables, just as a cart driver controls a horse-drawn cart with reins?

"The number of Cultivators in a country is limited, but ordinary people are far more numerous.

"If an enlarged version of the flight model—or, say, an airplane—could be operated by common folk for carrying people and goods, it would be countless times faster than current horse-drawn transportation.

"It might even be more efficient than transportation by Flying Sword."

When discussing professional content, Ou Zhiyuan's face lit up with excitement as he spoke animatedly, "An airplane could carry people and goods, crossing treacherous terrain and traveling thousands of miles in a day.

"This is something no Cultivator could do.

"Moreover, this possibility is entirely feasible within the realm of Mathematics."

He maneuvered the chalk to write several terms on the blackboard: Lift, Pressure, Velocity, Density, Area, Lift Coefficient.

"Lift, as the name implies, is the force that raises and supports. In the field of Natural Science, air and water are both considered fluids. In airflow or water flow, the faster the flow velocity, the less pressure the fluid will exert...

"The side with greater pressure will exert a force on the side with less pressure... Flight model operation and ship navigation are based on this principle.

"Why do some flight models manage to take off while others cannot? This is where the concept known as the lift coefficient comes into play. We use the lift coefficient to measure a flight model's flying performance. Its formula is: Lift Coefficient = Lift / (Velocity² × Wing Area × Air Density × 0.5).

"The greater the lift coefficient, the more theoretically perfect the flight model's design..."

Ou Zhiyuan talked on and on. While the students could barely understand him at first, they started to become numb as he introduced numerous mathematical formulas and concepts, especially those from foreign countries.

As for Li Ang, he was once again amazed by the intelligence and ingenuity of Su Feng and others. They had managed to create a Wind Tunnel on their own after only a few pointers from him, using talismans to generate and control airflow. They placed the flight models in the Wind Tunnel for simulations, used Telekinesis to observe the airflow, and gathered a wealth of data, which in turn filled in the gaps in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics.

This was exactly what Li Ang had hoped to see: employing logical and rational Mathematics to replace the vague, intuitive, unspoken empirical elements of traditional Cultivation.

Experience is highly personal, and truth gets distorted when written down, while Mathematics is a formal science that anyone can learn, verify, and use to obtain the same results.

Newton's law of viscosity, Bernoulli's equation, Euler's equations, Navier-Stokes equations, Kutta-Joukowski theorem, fluid continuity theory...

As long as development continued, aerodynamics would be achievable, and so would large aircraft.

"The future of flight models is boundlessly bright."

Ou Zhiyuan smiled as he took an exquisitely crafted biplane model with a propeller from below the podium. He gave it a gentle push, letting it hover in the classroom and eliciting exclamations of wonder from the students.

"In the next few days, you should have an Engineering course on your schedules. You can then apply to the Engineering instructor to make your own flight model..."

PFFT.

A soft laugh from somewhere disrupted the curious and inquisitive atmosphere of the classroom.

Ou Zhiyuan's smile faltered slightly. He looked toward the source of the laughter and asked, "Does any student have a question?"

"Mr. Ou, I have a question."

Bian Chenpei stood up, a slight curl to his lips as he asked, "You say the future of flight models is boundlessly bright.

But can this flight model defend against Spiritual Power disturbances?

Can it resist Telekinesis attacks?

Even without considering talismans and Magic, it probably can't even withstand arrows on a battlefield, can it?"

"...Bian Chenpei, is it?"

Ou Zhiyuan's brows furrowed. "Flight models are not meant for warfare and have no direct competitive relationship with Flying Swords. The two emphasize different aspects."

"Even if used in the civilian sector," Bian Chenpei continued, "how much do the talismans used by the flight model cost? What level of Talisman Master is required to write them?

What level of Telekinesis Master is needed to control it?

If you scale up the model to achieve the manned cargo effect you mentioned, how many times would the weight increase?

Must a Candle Cloud Realm Talisman Master write talismans every time it's used?"

Bian Chenpei's questions caused many foreign students to adopt thoughtful expressions.

They, too, had been amazed by the flight model's hovering capability, but upon further thought, wasn't its driving power still from talismans?

Talismans can only be written by Talisman Masters, and their energy and Spiritual Power are limited.

If a large flight model requires consuming a Talisman Master's resources, then how are the advantages Ou Zhiyuan mentioned any different from those of Flying Swords?

"This..."

Ou Zhiyuan opened his mouth to speak, but upon catching sight of the Taihao Mountain attire Bian Chenpei wore, he quickly realized the implications.

The Haotian Taoist Sect had always disapproved of the Natural Science research conducted by the Academic Palace. The current flight model, a tool capable of carrying Cultivators, or even ordinary people, through the skies, was particularly problematic for them.

Devout Haotian believers would not want to see a sky filled with flying machines overshadowing their Haotian Taoist Temples.

With this thought, Ou Zhiyuan's rebuttal caught in his throat, unspoken.

"It seems the Academic Palace's so-called flight models are merely ingenious but frivolous contraptions, oversized toys. The prospect of them carrying people and goods is remote."

Bian Chenpei's lips curled into a victor's smile as he prepared to sit down.

"Oh, is that so?"

From the other end of the classroom, Li Ang's voice was heard.