Thousand-mile communication talisman
The atmosphere in the square had been completely ignited by the miraculous effects of the "Dawnlight Pill." People no longer looked at Ling Yao with suspicion and scrutiny, but with astonishment, fervor, and a burning desire as if she were a walking treasure. If it weren't for the guards and the people from the Inquisition still watching from both sides, some people probably would have already rushed down to beg for the pill.
Ling Yao seemed completely unaware of the commotion she had caused. She casually placed the jade plate containing the remaining eleven "Dawn Pills" on the demonstration table beside her, as if she were placing a plate of freshly fried peanuts rather than a priceless life-saving medicine.
"The wonders of alchemy have only just begun." She repeated this sentence, successfully drawing everyone's attention away from the elixir itself and back to what she was about to demonstrate.
Next? Look at the talisman?
Then everyone remembered that the press conference preview mentioned four items to be showcased: "elixirs, talismans, arrays, and swords"! If the elixirs were already so amazing, what would the talismans be like?
In an instant, everyone's curiosity was piqued.
"A talisman?" In the stands, a well-dressed middle-aged man with a communications tower emblem pinned to his chest frowned slightly. He was Glenn, the chief mage of the Academy City's communications tower, responsible for maintaining and managing the city's magical communication system. "Could it be some kind of new magic scroll? Offensive? Or defensive?"
It's no wonder he thought that way. In this world, "talismans" mostly refer to magic scrolls, which are usually used to store one-time attack or defense spells and are expensive and consumable strategic resources.
Under the watchful eyes of countless expectant gazes, Ling Yao did not produce any scrolls that appeared to be incredibly powerful. She simply pulled out a stack of neatly cut yellow papers and an unremarkable cinnabar pen from her sleeve.
The paper was the most ordinary talisman paper, the pen was the most common type, and even the cinnabar looked to be of average quality. Compared to the amazing skill of conjuring fire out of thin air while refining pills, this outfit seemed particularly... down-to-earth, even a bit shabby.
"Is this... drawing a talisman on the spot?" someone muttered. "What kind of power could a talisman drawn on the spot have?"
"Probably just a low-level trick? To cool down the pill demonstration from earlier?"
Ling Yao ignored the gossip. She spread out a sheet of talisman paper, held a cinnabar brush, and concentrated intently. Although her movements remained casual, the moment she put pen to paper, her entire demeanor changed abruptly, as if a peerless swordsman had grasped his sword!
As the brush touched the paper, cinnabar flowed smoothly across the surface, tracing intricate and profound patterns. These patterns didn't belong to any known magical rune system, yet they possessed an ancient, powerful, and fundamental Daoist charm. Her wrist was as steady as a rock, moving with incredible speed, yet with a strange rhythm, as if the brush tip wasn't merely gliding across the paper, but rather drawing upon some invisible energy of heaven and earth.
There were no incantations, no magic infusions, only the scratching sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper.
In just a few breaths, a talisman with an intricate structure, even strokes, and faint energy fluctuations was completed. Ling Yao gently lifted the tip of her brush, and with the final stroke, the cinnabar patterns on the entire talisman seemed to come alive, flashing a barely perceptible glimmer of light before receding into the distance.
She picked up the newly made talisman and showed it to everyone.
"This talisman is named 'Thousand-Mile Communication'," Ling Yao's voice rang out clearly. "Those who possess this talisman can communicate instantly, no matter how far apart they are."
Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an even greater uproar than before!
Thousands of miles of communication? Instant delivery? What a joke!
Who doesn't know how troublesome and expensive long-distance communication is in this world! Nobles and large merchant guilds rely on tamed flying magical beasts to deliver important letters, which is time-consuming and unsafe; magical communication arrays do exist, but those things are outrageously expensive, and the magic crystals consumed to activate them once are enough for an average family to live on for a year, and they can only be received at fixed locations, usually only in the capital and the core areas of major cities!
Traveling a thousand miles in an instant? That's something only gods can do!
"Absurd!" The mage Glenn at the communications tower was the first to stand up, his voice shrill with excitement. "This is simply impossible! Even the most advanced spatial magic cannot achieve such real-time communication over such a long distance! Energy loss, spatial interference, and information stability are all insurmountable problems! This violates the fundamental principles of magic!"
Judge Silas, as if grasping at a straw, immediately echoed sharply, "Deceptive and misleading! Such illogical statements are characteristic of heresy! How can you prove it?"
Ling Yao seemed to be used to the doubts. Her gaze swept across the entire room and finally landed on the old dean, Morris, on the judges' panel.
"Your Excellency Dean, would you be willing to give it a try?"
The old dean, stroking his beard and still reeling from the shock of the pills he had just tasted, was taken aback by the question: "Me? How can I try it?"
Ling Yao took out another blank talisman and quickly drew another identical "Thousand-Mile Communication Talisman". She then handed the two talismans to Dean Morris and Finn, who was watching eagerly from below the stage.
“By holding this talisman and infusing it with a trace of spiritual power, one can communicate no matter how far apart they are,” Ling Yao explained. “The Dean can hold one talisman and travel to any distance within the city. Finn can hold the other talisman and remain here.”
The old dean looked at the light, seemingly unremarkable yellow paper talisman in his hand, then glanced at Finn, who was eager to try below the stage, and felt a little apprehensive. Could this thing really work? What if it failed? Where would he put his old face?
But under the watchful eyes of everyone, he couldn't back down. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the talisman. He then ordered the guard captain beside him, "Prepare the carriage! Go... go to the Watcher Mage Tower in the west of the city!" The Watcher Mage Tower was located at the westernmost end of the academy city, more than ten kilometers away from the central square, which was enough for the test.
The carriage was quickly prepared, and the old dean, surrounded by a group of guards, set off with the feeling of going to his execution. The entire audience craned their necks in anticipation, and murmurs rose and fell, mostly expressing disbelief and a desire to see a good show.
Master Glenn even took out his pocket watch, preparing to calculate the time precisely. He wanted to see how the Dean would explain this so-called "instantaneous communication" once he arrived at his destination!
Time ticked by. A strange sense of anticipation filled the plaza. Some even began betting on how long it would take the Dean to reach the Watcher's Tower.
About fifteen minutes after the carriage left, Ling Yao suddenly nodded to Finn, who was holding another talisman and whose palms were sweating nervously.
Finn took a deep breath and, following the method Ling Yao had taught him, channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the communication talisman in his hand.
The cinnabar patterns on the talisman instantly lit up with a faint light!
Then, a clear, slightly panting voice, accompanied by the sound of a carriage bobbing, suddenly came from the talisman and resounded throughout the quiet square!
"Hello? Hello? Is that Finn? Can you hear me? This road is so bumpy! My back is about to fall apart!"
It was Dean Morris's voice! And judging from the background noise, he was clearly still on his way!
Boom!!!
The entire square erupted in chaos!
Everyone stared in disbelief at the talking talisman in Finn's hand, as if struck by lightning!
Glenn's pocket watch fell to the ground with a clatter, but he was oblivious. His eyes widened like saucers, and he muttered, "No... impossible! How far is it? And it's still moving! How can the signal be so clear and stable?! This doesn't conform to the law of magical communication attenuation!"
Finn was also startled, not expecting the dean to answer the call while he was still on the road. He quickly shouted into the talisman, "Dean! I can hear you! I can hear you clearly! Where are you?"
"Just arrived at Oak Street! It'll probably be a while before we get there! This thing is amazing! It's much more convenient than a magic teleportation array!" The dean's voice was filled with obvious surprise and excitement, and the sounds of street vendors hawking their wares and horses' hooves could be heard in the background, so clear that it seemed to be right next to his ears.
The entire audience went wild!
"Oh my god! It really works!"
"It can be used even while moving!"
"This is so much better than a magic communication array! That thing can only be used at a fixed point!"
"The key is the cost! It's just a piece of paper and a little cinnabar!"
Glenn, the mage representing the magical communication array, was ashen-faced, feeling as if his entire life's knowledge was crumbling.
A moment later, the Dean's voice came again, panting as he reached his destination: "We're here! I've arrived at the Watcher's Tower! Finn, how are things on your end?"
"I'm fine here! Dean! Everyone heard it! It's crystal clear!" Finn shouted excitedly.
"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" The old dean's voice of amazement came through the talisman. "This is much faster than using an owl! And a hundred times better than that expensive and cumbersome magic communication array! Ms. Ling Yao, I'm completely convinced!"
This heartfelt praise, like a final, heavy blow, struck the hearts of all the doubters.
Ling Yao then slowly spoke, saying to the talisman in Finn's hand, "Dean, you can try lighting the talisman; its effect will be even more far-reaching."
The old dean in the distance did as he was told.
A faint light flashed from the talisman in Finn's hand, and a very slight burning sound seemed to come from the headmaster's side. Then, a clear light screen rose from the talisman in Finn's hand, and the light screen clearly showed a real-time image of the old headmaster standing on the top of the Watcher's Tower, leaning on the railing and gazing into the distance! Although it was a little blurry and shaky, it was definitely a real-time image!
"Images! It can even transmit images?!"
"A miracle! This is a true miracle!"
The gasps of surprise in the square had turned into frantic shouts!
Magus Glenn slumped into his chair, his eyes vacant, as if his faith had collapsed.
Judge Silas and the judges behind him were completely stunned. This utterly incomprehensible yet incredibly effective power filled them with a profound sense of powerlessness and fear.
Ling Yao raised her hand and waved it gently. The light of the talisman in Finn's hand went out, and it returned to its original state. The connection with the distant dean was also severed.
She looked at the frenzied crowd and calmly concluded:
"Communication talismans are inexpensive to produce, easy to make, require no magic net, are ignoring distance, and can reach destinations instantly."
She paused, her gaze sweeping again over the pale-faced Magister Glenn and Inquisitor Silas, before adding one last sentence:
"All that is needed is a tiny bit of spiritual energy."
This statement was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Low cost, simple production, amazing effects, extremely low barrier to entry... each of these features seems to be the most merciless mockery of traditional, expensive, and cumbersome remote communication methods.
The entire square fell into a deathly silence, then erupted into an even more fervent roar! This time, the sounds were filled with an insatiable thirst for new technologies and a new future!
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Finn shouted again: "Eastern Secret Communication Talisman! Unlimited communication with zero distance! First batch trial price! Only 998! Only 998! Bring perfect communication home!"
This time, no one thought he was joking. Countless burning gazes were fixed on the seemingly ordinary stack of yellow talismans on the demonstration table.
Ling Yao gently put down the cinnabar brush and looked into the distance, as if she could already see countless communication talismans flying to all parts of the continent.
She nodded slightly.
"The advantages of using talismans are only one aspect."
"Next, let's observe the formation."
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