Seeking Truth with a Sword

Li Ang stood up amidst the many gazes, his tone calm and indifferent.

Bian Chenpei narrowed his eyes, his thoughts spinning rapidly.

Taihao Mountain, the Jing Country, the Yu Country, Chang'an—Li Ang's reputation preceded him everywhere along the way.

The people of Yu Country might not know how many sons and daughters Emperor Yu had, or the number of generals and prime ministers in their nation, but they could certainly recite the name and deeds of Li Ang from the Academic Palace.

When speaking of this Mr. Li, a proud expression would invariably surface on their faces.

It was as if their current lives had been transformed by the Academic Palace and Li Ang. How preposterous!

Everything in the Human World was a gift from Haotian. Birth, aging, sickness, death, fortune, and misfortune—Haotian arranged them all from the shadows.

These people of Yu Country, ungrateful for Haotian's blessings, were instead thankful to the likes of the Academic Palace and Li Ang.

It seemed Taihao Mountain had been silent for too long, withdrawn from worldly affairs for too long, allowing mere mortals to forget that Haotian was the creator and master of all things.

To the extent that now, they dared harbor the so-called ambition of "Flying up the Sky."

Bian Chenpei stared at Li Ang, his voice cold. "Do you have any profound theories to share, sir?"

"It's not about profound theories—I merely have a question."

Li Ang smiled. "Sir, you are human, are you not?"

"What do you mean?" Bian Chenpei snapped, his anger rising, "Are you insulting me?"

"Of course... not."

Li Ang paused briefly before continuing, "When human infants are born, they can neither speak, nor lift anything with their hands, nor bear burdens on their shoulders.

By the age of one, they can walk; by one and a half, they can speak. As they grow older, they learn to run and recite poetry.

No one is born knowing everything.

Since you claim to be human, you should understand this simple truth."

What does he mean, 'claim to be human'?

Bian Chenpei's facial muscles twitched slightly. The words on the tip of his tongue turned into a cold snort.

"Sand accumulates into a tower; water gathers to form an abyss. Everything follows its own developmental laws.

If current aircraft cannot travel a thousand miles in a day, it doesn't mean they won't be able to in the future."

Li Ang smiled. "As for the manned flight you mentioned, perhaps the Academic Palace could produce a corresponding model right now."

"Hmm?"

The most surprised was not Bian Chenpei, but Ou Zhiyuan, the Assistant Tutor on the podium.

As Su Feng's disciple, he was well aware of the Academic Palace's current progress in aircraft research.

There was still a considerable way to go before achieving effective manned flight. If they insisted on carrying a person, they would have to enlarge the model's scale and use more powerful talismans for propulsion.

But that would drastically degrade the model's controllability. What difference would there be between that and simply sticking a Wind Talisman on someone and blowing them directly into the sky?

If they actually demonstrated such a thing, the opposition would likely mock them even more fiercely.

"Risheng..." Ou Zhiyuan whispered, offering a gentle reminder.

Li Ang smiled and waved at him, signaling not to worry. He then turned back to Bian Chenpei and continued, "I wonder, do you dare to make a wager?"

"..."

Bian Chenpei fell silent.

All eyes in the classroom focused on him. Li Ang's faintly mocking smile only fueled the anger rising within Bian Chenpei.

"What's the wager?"

"The Academic Palace can produce a manned aircraft within three days. It will not use Mind Silk or talismans, powered only by ordinary human strength, and it will be able to fly more than two miles from the ground."

Li Ang stated, "How does that sound?"

"Risheng?!"

This time, it wasn't just Ou Zhiyuan; Yang Yu and the others couldn't help but exclaim in warning.

Not using Mind Silk was understandable, but no talismans? How could it possibly fly?

Even in the legends, it took Gongshu Ban three years to build his wooden kite.

Li Ang smiled and waved at his friends, signaling them not to worry.

Bian Chenpei pondered for a moment, then said coldly, "And the stakes?"

"The equivalent of one hundred thousand strings of coins in Fine Gold, Mithril, Mountain Copper, and other precious metals,"

Li Ang smiled. "What do you say?"

One hundred thousand strings of coins...

Some students in the audience were rendered speechless. Although many came from wealthy families and their horizons had expanded considerably since joining the Academic Palace, they had never witnessed such a colossal wager—one hundred thousand strings of coins.

The older students appeared even more astonished.

The equivalent of one hundred thousand strings of coins didn't mean it would *only* cost one hundred thousand strings of coins.

Fine Gold and Mountain Copper had listed prices but were seldom available on the market. To gather such a quantity of these expensive metals would likely cost an additional seventy to eighty percent, or even more.

Even though Bian Chenpei was an outstanding disciple from Taihao Mountain and of noble birth, this represented a significant fortune for him—the kind of loss that would be deeply felt.

Bian Chenpei squinted. "Do you possess that much money?"

"The Yu Kingdom's Academic Palace has a patent office. As it happens, I am the owner of several patents registered there."

Li Ang retrieved a small silk bundle from his robes and gently placed it on the table.

A corner of the bundle was open, revealing thick stacks of flying money in denominations of hundreds and thousands of strings of coins.

Li Ang truly had a substantial amount of cash on hand. Even though he frequently splurged on luxury items and his home was filled with a collection of antique artifacts, he still possessed a fortune of two to three hundred thousand strings of coins. Furthermore, each month he received patent income ranging from tens of thousands to a hundred thousand strings.

Excluding the great aristocratic clans like the Five Families and Seven Hopes, some ordinary so-called noble families probably didn't have as much liquid cash as he did.

And this was even after Li Ang had voluntarily shared a portion of the profits from Allicin and Penicillin with the sick houses of various State Mansions.

"Fine." Bian Chenpei withdrew his gaze from the money pouch and said coldly, "Three days from now. A human-powered aircraft. One hundred thousand strings of coins in Fine Gold. We have an agreement."

"Agreed."

The Haotian Bell chimed, signaling the end of the class.

"Class is dismissed. Those who have another lesson should hurry along."

Ou Zhiyuan coughed, encouraging the students to leave the classroom. He then descended from the podium, approached Li Ang, and said with a wry smile, "Risheng, you're as headstrong as ever."

"When someone approaches with ill intentions, there's no need for excessive politeness."

Li Ang glanced at Bian Chenpei and the other Taihao Mountain disciples leaving the classroom, remarking casually, "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

There were many in Taihao Mountain who looked down on the Academic Palace.

Bian Chenpei was merely the first to step forward.

If he didn't strike back decisively now and seize control of the narrative, the consequences would be far worse once the other side used its sectarian influence to sway public opinion.

It was better to lay things bare now.

"But, Risheng," Song Shaoyuan frowned, whispering, "Without talismans, how do you plan to make the aircraft fly? Human strength is limited, after all."

"A combination of precise and ingenious design, suitable materials, excellent forging craftsmanship, and a little knowledge of aerodynamics."

Li Ang replied, "I'd estimate our chances at around eighty to ninety percent. It will largely depend on the weather that day."

"The weather?"

"I hope the weather that day is fine, with sunshine bright enough to illuminate their faces clearly."

Li Ang smiled faintly and walked towards the classroom door, heading for the Forging Workshop.