CHAPTER 135: CHAPTER 115 QUESTIONING THE GOVERNMENT

WHIRR, WHIRR, WHIRR, WHIRR—

Wrapped in a Clear Wind Talisman, the propeller accelerated its spin, generating wind force and propelling the model aircraft to slant upwards into the sky.

Li Ang raised his palm, releasing Telekinesis and connecting to the Fine Gold wire on the model aircraft.

Under the influence of Telekinesis, the Fine Gold wire tightened and contracted, causing the leading-edge slats and ailerons of the upper and lower wings to deploy, increasing their area and enhancing overall lift. The model performed flips and turns in the air, circling round and round.

It actually, really, took flight...

The new students who had already demonstrated their swords were all looking up, mouths agape, utterly astonished at the agile balsa and silk model aircraft in the sky. Even Yang Yu and Li Wei could hardly believe it, placing their hands above their foreheads to shield their eyes from the sun, staring intently.

Next was the turn. With a slight suspension of his palm, Li Ang made the Fine Gold wire respond instantly, altering the wing’s alignment and guiding the model aircraft to turn slowly, tracing a perfect arc in mid-air. Sprint acceleration, speed reduction for slow flight—Li Ang, by merely tightening or relaxing four Fine Gold wires, managed to deftly control the entire model aircraft’s flight speed and direction.

"The ’Mozi Luwen’ says: Gongshu Pan fashioned kites from bamboo and wood, and when completed, they flew for three days without descending..." a new student muttered softly.

Xi Yangyu cast a glance at him and said indifferently, "In essence, it is just the Clear Wind Talisman driving the rotation of the propeller, generating wind force. Once the talisman’s Spiritual Power dissipates, it will naturally fall. Besides, it relies solely on a few Fine Gold wires to act as the Sword Spirit to control direction. It doesn’t even require attacking it with a Flying Sword. A mere interference from the Telekinesis of a Body Concealing Realm cultivator with the connection to the Sword Spirit would cause it to crash. The idea is good, but I fear it’s not practical."

"Mr. Xi could try it," Li Ang turned to look at Xi Yangyu and smiled. "This ’Flying Sword’ should not be afraid of interference."

"..."

Xi Yangyu coldly glanced at Li Ang. In the presence of the Emperor, Empress, and other Masters, he certainly wouldn’t actually release Telekinesis to disrupt and control the ’Flying Sword.’

Seeing Xi Yangyu not taking the bait, Li Ang pursed his lips with some regret and then voluntarily lowered his hands, severing the connection with the Fine Gold wire.

The model aircraft, spiraling in mid-air, lost its guidance. Its nose tilted up, and the wings on one side dipped beyond the critical angle. This caused a rapid decline in overall lift, and it suddenly stalled, spiraling downward.

Many of the new students looking up from below instinctively let out exclamations of shock. Talismanic Master Tantai Leshan raised his palm, ready to release talismanic magic to rescue this uniquely shaped and interesting ’Flying Sword.’

However, in the very next second, the rudder on the model aircraft’s tail fin, no longer controlled by Telekinesis, automatically shifted with the airflow. This caused the aircraft to lose its directional stability torque, making it slip inward towards the direction of its downward spiral. Meanwhile, the upper and lower wings automatically leveled out due to the torque. At the same time, the expanded area of the horizontal tail fin was subjected to greater aerodynamic pressure. This caused the model to automatically pitch forward. The nose pushed down, and the aircraft accelerated into a dive, escaping the stall.

Li Ang stepped back a few paces, gauged the direction of the model aircraft, and raised his palm, catching the model aircraft lightly and accurately.

This was the beauty of the Bo-2 plane—its simple structure and intricate design. Though slow in flight speed and limited in altitude, it excelled in maneuverability. Once it stalled, the pilot only needed to lower the control stick, and the aircraft would automatically recover from the stalling spiral.

Therefore, in my Otherworld memories, the Bo-2 plane was used during the war as a trainer for novice pilots, a liaison aircraft, a medical evacuation aircraft, a nocturnal bomber, and a harassment aircraft, making it the second most produced plane in history.

Rip.

Li Ang somewhat regretfully tore off the Clear Wind Talisman, its Spiritual Power gradually dissipating, and looked up at the contemplative Emperor Yu.

"Li Ang," Emperor Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "This ’Flying Sword’ of yours, how big can it get?"

Here it comes.

Li Ang smiled faintly. Emperor Yu, Li Shun, had studied under the Mountain Master when he was a Prince. While not a highly skilled Cultivator, he could roughly see that the power source of the model aircraft was talisman paper, not the Telekinesis typically used by Flying Swords.

What is the most distinct characteristic of talisman paper? That it can be stored, released at will, and... used by ordinary people.

Emperor Yu and the senior officials pondered: if the model aircraft were enlarged, could it carry people? Could it transport goods? Could it be operated by ordinary people to traverse difficult terrain, even to travel vast distances in a single day?

"Your Majesty, it’s hard for me to say," Li Ang bowed slightly. As expected, he saw expressions of intrigue on the faces of Emperor Yu, the Empress, the senior officials, and the Masters. "Your disciple is currently only at the Qi Sensing Realm. The talismans I draw have weak talisman power and do not last long. To make the Flying Sword fly, this is the largest I can make it. If a Talisman Master from the Cloud Patrol Realm or the Candle Cloud Realm were to write the talismans, the power would naturally increase significantly, and the Flying Sword could also be enlarged. But one must consider other factors of the Flying Sword. As the saying goes, ’pull one hair and move the whole body.’ Enlarging its size would require reinforcing the materials. Reinforcing the materials would, in turn, increase its weight, and an increase in weight would slow its speed... Specific practical operations still require further research. However, one thing is certain: once this model is scaled up, it could carry people. It could even carry ordinary people."

As these words were spoken, everyone’s expression changed again, including Xi Yangyu’s. This was especially true for the few generals. Their visit to the Academic Palace today was meant to accompany His Majesty on a holiday, but now, hearing that the model aircraft could carry people, they immediately began to ponder.

Could it carry people? How many could it carry, how far could it go, how much cargo could it transport, would it shorten the supply lines during foreign campaigns?

’Grain and grass go before troops and horses’—logistics has always been the first critical element in determining the outcome of wars. That ’Flying Sword’ was made from cheap materials like wood and silk cloth. Even if it were entirely made of steel, the cost would still be acceptable.

Tantai Leshan, as a Doctor of Engineering and talismanic study, had other thoughts.

Talismans. The power source of the ’Flying Sword’ in Li Ang’s hand was talismans. Despite its rudimentary appearance, if it were covered with an iron sheet and equipped with better Wind Talismans, it could be transformed into a real Flying Sword capable of high-speed flight. More importantly, it could carry objects, and it was very cheap. If a dozen or so offensive talisman papers were stored inside and multiple such Flying Swords were controlled to crash into an opponent, a Talisman Master could defeat enemies from three hundred zhang away without worrying about personal injury. Sword Masters couldn’t attach high-power talisman paper to their Flying Swords because damage to the sword and Sword Spirit would also cause mental harm to the Sword Master. However, the wooden model in Li Ang’s hands had no such drawback. It could be used as a disposable weapon of great destructive power. This invention could change the battle schemes of Cultivators, and even the forms of war among all the countries in the world. Tantai Leshan made an instant judgment. He subconsciously wanted Li Ang to put away the Flying Sword, but in the next second, glancing at the dense crowd around him, he immediately realized that with so many important people present, it was already impossible to keep it a secret.

Tantai Leshan let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head helplessly. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Doctor of Science Su Feng, who had heard the commotion and squeezed into the crowd.

"Your Majesty." Su Feng, his gaze drawn by the model in Li Ang’s hands, barely managed a bow to Emperor Yu before eagerly asking Li Ang, "Risheng, why is the upper wing of this sword-body designed to be streamlined rather than flat?"

"Doctor Su Feng, I call this part the ’wing.’ The wing is designed to be streamlined, which helps reduce air resistance and increase lift."

"Air resistance, the resistance of the wind?" Su Feng instantly grasped the meaning of the term and quickly followed up, "Is it like the principle behind designing a ship’s hull in a shuttle shape?"

"Indeed. Most ship hulls in the world are shuttle-shaped, rarely square. A square hull resists the water flow, making the ship difficult to maneuver. The principle of air resistance is quite similar."

Li Ang and Su Feng were soon deep in discussion. Li Ang found that Su Feng already had an empirical understanding of concepts like speed, acceleration, force, air pressure, pressure intensity, gas density, viscous fluids, flow fields, and vortices. Moreover, Su Feng’s thinking was quite agile, able to infer other ideas from a single fact.

The others soon found themselves unable to follow the conversation. By the time Emperor Yu had to interrupt, Su Feng was still visibly excited, muttering terms like ’ship propeller,’ ’boundary layer flow,’ and ’Wind Tunnel’ to himself.

"Alright, the students are waiting," Emperor Yu turned his head towards the Forging Workshop, where the remaining new students had prepared their respective swords. But next to Li Ang’s work, they all seemed so... monotonous. This included the Flying Sword forged by the group consisting of He Fanshuang, Ji Linglang, Qiu Feng, and Li Leqing. The quality of their Flying Sword was by no means inferior to Pei Jing’s Canghai Sword.

When this supervisory lesson ended, Li Ang, Doctor of Science Su Feng, Doctor of Engineering Tantai Leshan, and others were invited by an Imperial Eunuch for a consultation with the Emperor.

Emperor Yu’s questions were, naturally, about the aircraft. He hoped the Academic Palace would conduct further research, with all costs covered by the Yu Country’s Court.

Li Ang unhesitatingly delegated this task to Su Feng and Tantai Leshan. A practical aircraft would require a more powerful engine and a more rational design. This research would consume too much time and energy, severely slowing his own Cultivation progress. On the other hand, Li Ang was eager to see what sparks might fly when the Dao Path of talismanic magic collided with aerodynamics.

For three hundred years since its establishment, the Academic Palace has produced countless brilliant minds. But most of their efforts have been devoted to the Dao Paths of talismans, Magic, Sword, Mind, and Body. In other words, the Academic Palace has lit up another technology tree. The starting point of a technology tree, if different, would result in greatly divergent technological outcomes. It’s like in my Otherworld memories, where human civilization ultimately chose electricity over steam power. Perhaps, the scholars of the Academic Palace could develop something new.

At the end of the consultation, Emperor Yu still wanted to reward Li Ang. After some thought, he resorted to the rather mundane gift of gold and silver. There was little choice: Li Ang’s age made it inappropriate to confer a noble title at this time, and posthumously honoring Li Ang’s parents would be too... conspicuous. ’A tree that stands out in the forest is the one the wind will fell.’ The matter of Jun Qianzi and the Nanzhou assassin had not yet been resolved. As for conferring a marriage... Emperor Yu seemed to have entertained the thought, but this time he chose not to voice it. Arranging a marriage with a noble lady from the Imperial Li Family—it was hard to say whether that would forge an alliance or create a feud.

Su Feng, Tantai Leshan, and the others respectfully saw Emperor Yu off. After Li Ang finished his afternoon lessons, he returned home.

Today could be described as Emperor Qin Shi Huang touching an electric wire—a massive win! Not only did I almost leave Xi Yangyu in an incredibly awkward position, but I also established a public persona for myself. In the future, I can naturally use self-detonating aircraft filled with talisman paper for long-range attacks, keeping enemies at bay. Since no one will be able to get close enough to touch me, my possession of Mo Si won’t be exposed. In addition, I received five hundred academic credits, gold and silver worth five thousand strings of coins, and the patent rights for the aircraft. Five hundred academic credits is quite a lot. With another hundred, I’ll be able to exchange them for precious metals like Mountain Copper or Mystic Iron. Who knows what changes will occur after Mo Si absorbs them.