Chapter 236 Flying on a Sword? A Nationwide AI Carnival!

The video is short, only ten seconds long.

But those ten seconds, at this crucial juncture, instantly exploded across the Chinese internet.

#Yunlan University Girls' Nighttime Sword Tour# [Breaking News]

#How much are these special effects worth?# [Boiling]

#AI-generated, don't take it seriously? I don't believe you for a second! #【Hot】

The comments section was completely split into two irreconcilable camps.

On the front lines of the "AI faction," countless "tech gurus" have emerged, analyzing frame by frame with magnifying glasses.

[Fake! Absolutely fake! Look at 3.7 seconds; the edges of the light and shadow on the sword at her feet have slight jaggedness! This is a typical characteristic of poor rendering!]

[The physics engine is wrong too! She jumped from the top of the tower, completely ignoring inertia and wind resistance—that's not scientifically sound!]

[Upstairs, are you trying to explain science to cultivators? Dragons are already out there, flying on a sword is nothing!]

[That's right! This school uniform belongs to Yunlan University! This is absolutely official confirmation!]

[It's obviously AI! If it were real, I'd eat it!]

The "cultivation faction," on the other hand, offered a reasoned and well-founded rebuttal from a different perspective.

[I don't care! This is the truth! Combining the mystery of "Spiritual Resurrection" and Yunlan University, this is the most reasonable explanation!]

[A friend of a friend of mine studies at Yunlan University! He said their school actually offers an elective course in physical education called sword flying! It's just that the required score is very high!]

[Stop arguing! The video uploader's ID signature is 'Midterm Project'! What does this mean? It means that at Yunlan University, a video of this caliber is just a student's midterm assignment! It's chilling to think about!]

[I get it! The nation is on the fifth level, while you're still on the first! This is a publicity stunt to build up public opinion for an era of universal cultivation!]

So, is Yunlan University really a university for cultivating immortality?

The argument and debate escalated.

However, unseen by ordinary people, this storm has already reached the other side of the ocean.

The atmosphere was heavy at a secret intelligence analysis center in the United States.

A dozen top image analysis experts were gathered together, while the ten-second video was playing on a loop on the screen.

"The possibility of CG has been ruled out."

An elderly analyst with graying hair pushed up his glasses, his voice hoarse.

"We used top-of-the-line rendering and reverse modeling, but it was impossible to create such realistic and flawless lighting effects in such a short time. The micro-expressions of the characters and the wrinkles in their clothing are especially frighteningly realistic."

"Then, only one possibility remains."

The department head, a middle-aged man with sharp eyes, stared intently at the cyan sword light in the image.

"This is a man-portable anti-gravity aircraft of unknown form that we have never seen before."

His voice made the temperature in the entire conference room seem to drop several degrees.

"Its size is so small that it can be disguised as a melee weapon, its startup speed is so fast that it is difficult to detect with the naked eye, its flight posture is extremely agile, and it makes almost no noise..."

With each word he uttered, the expressions on the faces of those present grew increasingly grim.

"Could it be that China's technology has reached this level?"

The conference room was deathly silent.

"Immediately! Submit the analysis report and threat warning to the Pentagon and Congress!"

Urgent reports marked "Top Secret" were sent to the heart of the United States at top speed.

An emergency meeting regarding the "Chinese individual flying machine" is about to be held.

However, they never imagined that just as they were on high alert, analyzing the situation with bated breath, something would happen.

On the Chinese internet, the tone suddenly took a dramatic 180-degree turn.

A tech guru with the ID "AI Alchemist" posted a video on Bilibili.

"Easy for Anyone! One-Click AI Sword Flight Tutorial (Foolproof)!"

In the video, he used only a few minutes to transform a comical video of himself dancing in front of a mirror into a "fairy video" of him riding a giant sword and hovering over the neighborhood, using an open-source AI program.

Although the special effects are a bit rough, it really can fly!

As a result, more and more people joined in, and a massive "battle of wits" competition belonging to all netizens was launched!

Initially, the art style was fairly normal.

Everyone was riding on various swords, "flying" above various scenic spots.

But soon, things started to get out of hand.

A man from Northeast China, wearing a brightly colored floral jacket and standing on a large, bright green scallion, shouted "Take off!" while performing a difficult cobra maneuver over his own warm kang (heated brick bed).

Video caption: [Attention, little potatoes in the South! This is the true power of Northeast China!]

A spicy Sichuan girl, standing on an enormous red chili pepper, soared into the sky from a steaming hot pot restaurant, leaving a fiery red trail in the air.

The video caption reads: "[There's nothing a hot pot meal can't solve; if there is, then eat it while flying.]"

Immediately afterwards, all sorts of deities made their appearance.

A programmer, his feet hovering over his mechanical keyboard, soars through the air above his cubicle.

A housewife, standing on a salted fish, deftly dodges the cabbages thrown at her by the older women in the market.

A college student, wearing flip-flops, was performing a "handstand" in his dormitory.

Everything can be a sword!

Keyboard, slippers, cucumber, brick, remote control, washboard...

There's nothing they can't step on, only things you can't imagine!

The entire Douyin app has completely transformed into a massive, magical realism cultivation-themed scene.

Those crudely made, low-budget special effects, combined with netizens' wildly imaginative creativity, produced an indescribable chemical reaction.

The serious "flying on a sword" incident was completely deconstructed and turned into a nationwide online carnival.

...

The highest conference room in the Five Elements Building, America.

The head of the intelligence department was pointing at the original "flying on a sword" video on the holographic screen, reporting their analysis results to a group of generals and members of parliament in an extremely solemn tone.

"...In conclusion, we are 95% certain that this is a revolutionary individual combat equipment! It will completely change the nature of future warfare! We must immediately activate the highest level of contingency plan..."

His words were resounding, but at that moment...

A young tech officer, responsible for monitoring global network activity, raised his hand with a strange expression.

"Generals... gentlemen... I think you should perhaps take a look at this..."

He projected the screen in front of him onto the side of the main screen.

In the video, a shirtless old man is seen stepping on a red toilet plunger and hurtling through a bustling market at a terrifying speed exceeding three times the speed of sound. Behind him is a dog with four small toilet plungers under its four paws.

The entire conference room fell silent.

All the generals and members of parliament stared wide-eyed at the dashing old man and the excited-looking dog on the screen.

The intelligence chief's meticulously prepared, dozens-of-pages-long analysis report now seemed like a huge joke in his hands.

An awkward silence filled the air.

"Gentlemen, believe me! This is clearly different from this video! China is trying to use this method to cover up their aircraft!"

......

The following day, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs held its regular press conference.

A foreign journalist finally couldn't resist asking the question.

"Spokesperson, what is your comment on the video circulating online recently about 'flying on a sword'? Is this some kind of new type of aircraft that your country is secretly testing?"

The world's cameras were all focused on the spokesperson.

The spokesperson gave a meaningful smile, adjusted the microphone, and said slowly and deliberately:

"We are truly proud of the boundless creativity and imagination of our people."

This ambiguous yet slightly mocking answer left all the reporters who tried to glean something from it feeling utterly powerless.

Just when the whole internet was still enjoying playing with the "sword riding" meme.

An official announcement from China was suddenly pinned to the top of various platforms.