Seeking Truth with a Sword

"Li Ang is the inventor of model aircraft, so naturally, he understands them far better than you do."

At the Haotian Taoist Temple, Yu Feiyu frowned and said, "He simply provoked you in class, and you fell for it just like that?"

Bian Chenpei's lips pursed slightly, a hint of defiance appearing on his face.

Another person shook his head and said, "Chen Pei, you're still too young. Although Li Ang is about your age, his tactics are much more sophisticated than yours.

"First, he verbally provoked you, stirring up your anger.

"Then he threw out a bet, setting seemingly impossible conditions, forcing you into a corner where you had to agree.

"And as for the wager, ordinary youngsters might talk about an apology or staking the reputation of the Academic Palace and Taihao Mountain.

"But he proposed money as the bet.

"Why?

"Because apologizing doesn't really hurt, and the reputations of the Academic Palace and Taihao Mountain aren't something you two can represent.

"Even if you had agreed, we could have contacted the Academic Palace to cancel it, citing the wager as frivolous.

"Now, with money at stake, it's a private matter between you two students.

"Our Taihao Mountain delegation cannot conveniently intervene."

The speaker was a few years older than Bian Chenpei, tall and handsome, with a tone of voice that was gentle but carried an undercurrent of undeniable strictness. His name was Shangguan Yangyao, a Disciple of the Holy Rite Priest, and he bore great expectations in this academic exchange.

Yu Feiyu was the team leader and would not participate in the activities. Hearing this, he glanced at the speaker. "What does Yangyao think we should do?"

This matter could be seen as either trivial or significant, depending on one's perspective.

"I suggest we let things take their course," Shangguan Yangyao said. "Since you've already agreed, you can't back out now. The key issue is whether Li Ang of the Academic Palace can actually build a flying model aircraft that meets the requirements."

...

Yu Feiyu's brows furrowed slightly. He read every issue of the Natural Science journal without fail, but even for him, it was hard to imagine an aircraft that could fly without the use of talismans or Mind Silk, solely with the power of an ordinary human. Could one possibly ascend to the skies by stepping on one's own feet?

Yu Feiyu shook his head. That Faith Cultivation Cardinal has essentially washed his hands of the matter, he thought, sighing silently again.

「In the same Haotian Taoist Temple, deep within, in a courtyard.」

The Haotian Taoist Sect's Faith Cultivation Cardinal, second only to one and above millions, was sitting alone, brewing tea for himself.

Taihao Mountain had four Cardinal Priests. Among them, the Holy Rite Council presided over various ceremonial rituals; the Judicial Cardinal captured heretics and demons; the Torch Language Mechanism interpreted Haotian's omens; and the Faith Cultivation Cardinal compiled scriptures for the countless believers and taught them how to live. This also meant that the Faith Cultivation Cardinal was the most perfect of Haotian believers; his every word and deed embodied Haotian's will.

SPLASH. The water from the teapot poured into the cup. The Faith Cultivation Cardinal grasped the edge of the porcelain cup with his right hand and gently supported its base with his left, slowly lifting it. His eyes concentrated on the tea leaves floating within. His movements were slow but exceedingly precise, without the slightest deviation, as if measured by a ruler.

When he was young and studying at Taihao Mountain, his peers often mocked him for this, saying he was like a puppet crafted by a Puppet Master, with stiff and rigid movements. But he never got angry. Summer insects cannot speak of ice; frogs in a well know nothing of the sea. Those people do not truly understand the greatness of Haotian; they treat the life granted by Haotian as something personal, something to be wasted at will. Only I am different. As the son of a simple pastoral farmer granted the opportunity to study at Taihao Mountain, I started from the rank of Assistant Priest, then Cultivator, Deacon, priest, Chief Priest, Priest, all the way up to Cardinal. Along the way, I have faced countless hardships; a single misstep could have sent me plummeting into the abyss. The dignified bearing I maintain is not nearly enough to repay Haotian's grace. Only by serving Haotian wholeheartedly at all times can I continue to receive Haotian's favor. Even... above Cardinal... the position of Head...

CLICK.

The Faith Cultivation Cardinal looked down. The small, delicate porcelain cup in his hand had cracked without any warning. Thick, rich, amber-hued tea steadily dripped from the fissure onto the tea table below.

...

The Faith Cultivation Cardinal's brow furrowed ever so slightly, an inexplicable gloom clouding his heart. With a wave of his hand, the supremely pure Haotian Divine Technique was unleashed. The teacup, along with the tea tray, disintegrated into ashes, as if they had never existed.

Could this be... an omen?

「Academic Palace Forging Workshop.」

Song Shaoyuan and the others watched Li Ang, who was leisurely pushing a cart, and couldn't help but ask, "Risheng, what are you selecting?"

"I'm selecting materials to make a flying machine," Li Ang replied. He pushed the small cart past the shelves of the Forging Workshop, picking out materials: metal tubes, wood, threads, paper, cloth, leather belts... The small cart was quickly filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.

When one cart couldn't hold it all, Li Ang gave orders, instructing his friends present to also start picking materials of different types and materials from the shelves.

Ji Linglang couldn't help but ask, "With all these things, Risheng, how big of a model plane are you planning to make?"

"The bigger, the better." Li Ang spread a sheet of white paper on the table, took out a charcoal pencil, and began carefully sketching the design on it.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

The sound of footsteps grew closer as Master Tantai Leshan and Su Feng entered the Forging Workshop. Tantai Leshan wore his usual expression, while Su Feng appeared excited. As he walked, he shouted, "Risheng, I heard that in the classroom, you bested someone from Taihao Mountain, leaving them completely humiliated? Not bad, not bad at all! You've got the air of me back in the day, out-arguing a whole crowd of scholars and chasing them around with a frozen ox tongue!"

"Master Tantai, Dr. Su," Li Ang said with a smile and a wave. He had invited these two; building the flying machine would require some help from higher-level Cultivators.

"We're a bit late," Tantai Leshan explained. "People from Lu Li Academy have arrived in Chang'an, and we had to go welcome them."

"I see." Li Ang nodded. Lu Li Academy was Yu Country's second-largest academy authorized to teach Cultivation Methods and was closely associated with the Academic Palace.

"Also, I've brought the highest-level Golden Vault Forging Furnace that you requested." Tantai Leshan placed a square metal box on the table. "What do you want me to make?"

"This." Li Ang lifted the drawing paper. On it were sketched more than a dozen complex metal structures, each with detailed dimensions marked beside them.

"So intricate?" Tantai Leshan took the drawing, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. According to the blueprint, these metal parts require precision down to a thousandth of an inch, nearing the thickness of a strand of hair. Ordinary craftsmen, relying on ordinary tools, would never be able to polish such large pieces of metal to such high precision. Only I, a Cultivator of Engineering from the Candle Cloud Realm, can use the Iron Melting Skill and the Iron Casting Technique, with the help of the Golden Vault Forging Furnace, to cast them in a short time.

"Yes." Li Ang rubbed his palms, smiling. "After all, it's something that will carry people into the air, so it's better to be more precise."

"Crankshaft, flywheel... These structures do resemble that thing we're currently working on," Su Feng remarked, glancing at the blueprint. He pondered for a moment before asking, "As for these two metal parts, what are they called?"

"Chainring, chain," Li Ang said. "These are just parts of the flying machine; they will need to be assembled later on."

And once assembled, they would form—half a bicycle.