The concept of the academic press conference
Ling Yao, accompanied by an elderly woman and a young child, strolled back to the small building where she had been placed under house arrest, under the watchful eyes of the council building's bigwigs and the court's elite. She left behind only a room full of bewildered minds and a heart on the verge of collapse, filled with unwavering devotion.
As soon as she entered, Professor Eleanor gasped for breath, as if she had been holding her breath the whole time. She leaned against the doorframe, her legs trembling slightly—not from fear, but from excitement. “Miss Ling… Miss Ling! What was that just now? It wasn’t magic! It wasn’t divine art! That feeling… that feeling was like…” She racked her brains for a suitable word, “…like the laws themselves calming all things!”
Finn collapsed onto the ground, wiping away imaginary cold sweat: "That scared me to death... I thought I was going to be covered in blood today... Miss Ling, could you give me a warning before unleashing your ultimate attack next time? My heart can't take it..."
Ling Yao ignored their excitement and walked to the table, picked up the ancient magic crystal that she hadn't finished studying, and examined it against the light. "It is not a law, but a principle."
"Reason?" Eleanor leaned closer like a schoolchild, her eyes wide open.
"Everything operates according to its own principles. Those who follow them prosper, and those who go against them perish." Ling Yao put down the magic crystal and glanced at the seemingly calm corners outside the window that actually harbored countless spying eyes. "What they fear is not my power, but the unknown."
"That's why they reacted like cats whose tails have been stepped on!" Finn retorted indignantly. "Because they don't understand it, they call it evil! It's utterly unreasonable!"
“In that case,” Ling Yao turned around and looked at Eleanor and Finn, her tone calm but carrying an undeniable determination, “then let them see.”
Eleanor and Finn were both taken aback.
"Watch? How do you watch?" Finn blinked blankly. "Like last time, openly brewing potions? But that bastard Silas will definitely come and cause trouble!"
Eleanor seemed to have caught something; her breathing suddenly quickened, and a startling light flashed in her eyes behind her glasses: "Miss Ling, you mean... more than just alchemy? You want to..."
“Dan, Fu, Zhen, Jian.” Ling Yao slowly uttered four words, each one making Eleanor’s heart beat faster. “Since they are curious, let them see everything.”
Finn gasped, leaping to his feet. "A...a full-scale demonstration? Like a graduation defense? But...but that's Eastern metaphysics! Will they even understand it?"
“No need to understand its essence, just see its form, feel its effect, and understand its use.” Ling Yao walked to the desk, spread out a huge piece of parchment, dipped her finger in cinnabar, and began to outline, “Debate, useless. Show, that’s enough.”
Professor Eleanor trembled with excitement. She understood! Ling Yao was about to hold an unprecedented public academic conference on the Eastern metaphysical system! Not a defense, not a confrontation, but a straightforward presentation! In the most direct way, she would present a completely different system of power and a different philosophy of understanding the world to everyone!
This is no longer a debate about "whether it's heresy," but rather an elevation of the issue to a higher dimension: "what is power?" and "what are rules?" What confidence! What courage!
“Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!” Eleanor rubbed her hands together excitedly, pacing back and forth in the room, her academic spirit burning brightly. “We need a venue! A venue large enough to host all sorts of demonstrations! How about the central square? We also need security… no, with Miss Ling here, we probably don’t need that… but what about the audience? Who should we invite? The entire council must be there! The Tribunal! We must let that stubborn Silas see it with his own eyes! And the scholars from the major chambers of commerce, the Mercenary Guild, and other academies… my God, this will be an event that will go down in history!”
She has already begun to automatically assume the role of the organizing committee chairperson.
Finn was also ignited by this bold idea, but more than that, he was worried: "But... Miss Ling, isn't this too risky? To reveal all our trump cards? And there will definitely be a lot of people there, what if Silas takes the opportunity to do something underhanded..."
Ling Yao didn't even look up, continuing to sketch a complex composite array diagram on the parchment, and said calmly, "Trump card? What trump card?"
She paused, then added something that almost made Finn choke: "Even if they do, do they understand?"
Finn: "..." Okay, you're amazing, you're aloof, you can crush me with your cultivation level.
"As for the mastermind," Ling Yao continued writing, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "it's perfect, let's eliminate them all at once."
Eleanor was completely absorbed in the conception of the academic feast. She suddenly lunged at the table, her eyes shining as she looked at the pattern Ling Yao had drawn—a pattern that defied all the principles of magic arrays yet possessed a strange beauty: "This array! Is it for a demonstration? Its energy circuit is so peculiar! It seems to simultaneously contain gathering, transformation, protection, and... illusion? My God, what are you planning to demonstrate?"
“Gathering Spirit, Transforming Form, Simulating Boundaries, Guarding the Heart.” Ling Yao explained the four functions succinctly.
Eleanor listened, only vaguely understanding, but she was deeply impressed. Spirit Gathering? Transformation? Realm Simulation? These concepts sounded incredibly sophisticated and high-class!
"And what about the pills? Which one are you going to demonstrate? Detoxification? Healing? Or... the kind that can energize people?" Finn was more concerned about the actual effects, since that was related to whether he could make a lot of money later.
“Either is acceptable.” Ling Yao seemed to have already thought it through. “Use materials from that realm to refine pills from this realm. This will demonstrate its compatibility.”
"Use our materials to refine Eastern elixirs?" Eleanor was shocked again. "This...can this even succeed? What about the potential for adverse drug reactions?"
"No conflict, only harmony." Ling Yao sketched a common magical plant with her pen, and then marked several strange symbols representing Yin and Yang and the Five Elements next to it. "Know its nature, guide its direction, and all changes will not deviate from its essence."
Eleanor stared at the symbol, feeling like she was about to question her existence again, but her strong thirst for knowledge kept her focused, trying to understand even a tiny fraction of it.
"What about talismans? How do you demonstrate talismans? Do you draw them on the spot?" Finn felt a little guilty, remembering his dismal success rate.
“Hmm.” Ling Yao nodded. “Gentle Breeze, Swift Movement, Vajra, Blazing Flame… from shallow to deep. You may also give it a try.”
“Me?” Finn pointed to his nose, his voice trembling. “In front of so many people? No way! I’ll definitely mess it up! What if the drawing explodes…”
"It exploded, so it exploded." Ling Yao's tone remained calm. "That's one kind of effect."
Finn: "..." Do you have some misunderstanding about the effect or do you have some expectations about my failure rate?
"What about the sword?" Eleanor asked curiously. "Are you going to demonstrate sword control? Like in the legends, flying through the air and disappearing into the ground?" She could already picture Ling Yao in flowing white robes, standing atop her flying sword, looking down on all living beings. Just thinking about it made her a little excited.
Ling Yao finally put down her pen, looked up, and seemed to think for a moment.
"The sword is not just for killing."
Her gaze swept over a bright red fruit in the fruit basket on the table, and with her fingers like a sword, she made a light stroke.
Without any sound or energy fluctuation, the fruit was as if it had been cut by the most precise instrument, evenly divided into eight segments, each segment being exactly the same size and shape, with the pit floating perfectly intact in the middle, not a drop of juice on it.
Eleanor and Finn were once again dumbfounded.
"Control! Ultimate control!" Eleanor muttered to herself. As a potions expert, she knew all too well what such abnormally precise control meant! If this were applied to material processing…
Ling Yao dispersed the invisible sword energy from her fingertips and said calmly, "A sword can cut paper, carve flowers, and save lives. Weapons are neither good nor evil; they are used only by the heart."
At this moment, Eleanor and Finn finally understood the true purpose of Ling Yao's press conference.
She wasn't flaunting her power, nor was she begging for understanding.
She is preaching.
To explain the essence of Eastern metaphysics in a way that people in this world can intuitively feel—it is not about destruction and ruin, but a deeper understanding and application of energy, rules, and all things; it is another form of "order" and "creation"!
This is a kind of arrogance that is like a dimensional reduction attack, but also a kind of confidence that embraces all rivers.
"I...I understand!" Eleanor's voice trembled with excitement. "I'll go draft the press conference plan right away! I'll draw up the invitation list! I'll prepare the presentation materials! I'll talk to the dean! If he dares not agree, I'll...I'll go to his office door every day and recite the law of conservation of energy!"
This meticulous professor suddenly displayed astonishing energy, rushing out with great enthusiasm.
"Wait!" Finn quickly called out to her, a sly smile spreading across his face. "Professor, could we add a step to the plan? Like... accepting orders on-site? Or maybe a limited-time flash sale or something? Our shop that got vandalized needs to recoup some of its losses, right?"
Eleanor stumbled, glaring at him irritably: "This is an academic conference! Not a product launch!"
“Academic translation is part of academia!” Finn said confidently. “We need to let everyone know that this stuff is not only high-end but also practical and profitable! That way, more people will support it!”
Ling Yao remained noncommittal, seemingly tacitly approving of Finn's opportunistic move. After all, restoring cultivation was indeed resource-intensive, and earning more magic cores was always a good thing.
Eleanor shook her head helplessly, but didn't object anymore. She just muttered, "The smell of money will taint the sanctity of academia," and then excitedly ran off to prepare.
Soon, explosive news spread throughout the entire Academy City at an astonishing speed, and even spread to more distant places.
The controversial Ms. Ling Yao from the East will hold a public "academic press conference" in the central square of the academy in three days, where she will demonstrate her unique "Eastern metaphysics" system, which covers multiple fields such as elixirs, talismans, formations, and swordsmanship. All skeptics are welcome to come and witness and verify it!
The news caused a global uproar!
Everyone was stunned by this sudden, and downright arrogant, announcement!
At this sensitive moment when the court issued its final ultimatum, and amidst a media storm that had not yet subsided, instead of keeping a low profile, she decided to hold a high-profile press conference. Was this a sign of desperation, or absolute confidence?
The entire academy city was instantly plunged into an unprecedented frenzy of excitement and anticipation (as well as more doubts).
When Silas heard the news in the courtroom, he was first shocked, then enraged, and finally let out a cold sneer.
"You're courting death! Perfect! Right here in front of everyone, I'll expose your evil nature!" He seemed to already see Ling Yao lose control during the demonstration and reveal her "true colors," so he immediately ordered preparations to be intensified so that he could give her the "final judgment" on the day of the press conference!
When Dean Maurice learned of Eleanor's book-thick application for the press conference, he nearly choked. Looking at his bright-eyed, spirited protégé, he felt as if he were not approving an event, but rather signing the fuse for a war.
“Eleanor…you…you’re playing with fire…”
“Dean! This is the best opportunity!” Eleanor argued forcefully. “Let the facts speak for themselves! Let everyone witness it with their own eyes! This is more effective than a thousand arguments! If Miss Ling’s power is truly evil and chaotic as Silas claims, then it will be exposed in the public demonstration! If it is another form of truth that we firmly believe in, then the academy will be remembered in history for it!”
The old dean looked at the absurd-sounding items in the "proposed demonstration projects" section of the plan and felt a chill run down his spine. He finally sighed and signed his name on the plan with trembling hands.
"So be it... What's meant to be will be... I hope... I hope you're right..."
Meanwhile, at the eye of the storm, Ling Yao was leisurely sitting in the small building, writing and drawing on a pile of magical materials that had been delivered, designing a "prop list" for the demonstration. Her focused expression made it seem as if what was about to happen was not a life-changing press conference, but just an ordinary homework assignment.
Finn, like a most competent butler, was taking stock of the inventory while calculating costs and potential profits, muttering to himself: "We need to prepare more Vajra Talismans, these things are sure to sell well... We also need to stock up on Qingyun Pills, so that we can cure a few curses on the spot and they'll fight over them... Hmm, should we do a pre-sale?"
Inside and outside the small building, two distinct styles coexist harmoniously.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the "academic conference" that was destined to shake the entire continent three days later.
Ling Yao simply waited calmly to unveil a corner of the mysterious veil of Eastern metaphysics to the world.
She was even somewhat looking forward to seeing what expressions those guys would have when they saw that "alchemy" didn't require a crucible, "talisman drawing" didn't require magic runes, "array formation" didn't require crystals, and "sword control" didn't require incantations.
It will surely be very interesting.
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