Chapter 203: 196 Proposition

"The elevation of materials, the key lies in stripping... this is a little trick..."

On the stage, the Beichen Hall Master stood up again, currently discussing the elevation of materials, and the young people in the seats listened very intently.

So-called elevation is to extract a portion of a material's mass, energy, or properties, causing it to rise from "earth" to "water," or from "water" to "fire," which is what Tang Zhao defines as "dimensional elevation." Previously, when Maze City seemed to be flooded by seawater yet not a single drop of water existed, it was precisely because the elevated seawater material was used to create such a strange spectacle.

This is originally a high-end course for Talisman Sword Masters, but it is also a required one. If one is content to muddle through as a junior Talisman Sword Master for a lifetime, that is one thing, but to achieve something, or even become a Sword Smith, one must inevitably study this lesson. Every faction capable of standing on its own, regardless of size, possesses a heritage regarding the elevation and reduction of materials; the methods are diverse, with varying levels of efficiency, but they all work.

The Beichen Hall Master was likely speaking of knowledge from Longyuan, not the entirety of the heritage, just a portion of it. It was indeed a "little trick," but the little tricks of Longyuan also contain endless, subtle mysteries. It made people feel they were gaining much, and it was even quite interesting.

Strangely enough, the Beichen Hall Master had just given a long-winded speech that made people drowsy. At this moment, while explaining the techniques, although his voice was not as resonant as before, the rhythm was steady, and his articulation was not even particularly clear, yet it somehow made people listen with fascination, even following his rhythm with undivided attention. As they listened, people felt that this seemingly elderly Beichen Hall Master possessed extraordinary charm, truly the demeanor of a high-level elder.

Tang Zhao had been waiting on the side of the podium, feeling so nervous that his whole body was cold, his stomach churning, and he was even restless, but as he listened to the Beichen Hall Master's plain and simple lecture, he gradually became absorbed, and his body and mind actually began to relax.

After all, he was once the Inspector General of Sword Casting for the world, and now a helmsman of one of the Seven Great Factions; his knowledge and his bearing were both as deep as the sea.

Then they heard Beichen say: "Alright, this old man has rambled enough. Now is the era of the young. We welcome the talents of the younger generation to share their knowledge and insights with everyone."

Upon hearing these words, Tang Zhao felt a momentary blankness in his mind.

It was not shock, nor fear, just pure nervousness.

Applause erupted from below, and amidst the applause were voices of discussion; clearly, they were debating why the Libationer had not come up, and why others were sent up at the last minute—could the schedule really change three times a day like this?

Amidst the discussion, when Tang Zhao walked onto the stage, his steps were heavier than usual, his movements stiffer than usual, and even his face was paler than usual.

This was his first time on stage giving a speech.

He had faced Heavenly Demons, wielded the sun, ended the lives of countless Fierce Beasts with his own hands, and even killed a Sword Guest face-to-face, yet he had never given a speech on such a large stage.

Facing enemies and facing an audience were, after all, completely different things. His dream was also to be an invincible Sword Guest, not a teacher with thousands of followers.

Sweeping his eyes over the rows of heads and the twinkling eyes below, Tang Zhao instantly forgot the opening remarks he had prepared.

The speech he had meticulously prepared for months was still in his belly, and occasionally some segments would pop into his mind, but the first few sentences were completely forgotten.

He froze there for a moment, a thought arising in his heart: if only he hadn't chosen to speak without notes.

Reading from a script, how easy would that have been?

He wasn't a professional teacher anyway, why bother putting on this act?

After a long pause, he finally forced himself to speak.

There was no reaction from the audience to his hesitation, because the time he thought was very long was actually just a fleeting moment.

"I..."

He heard his own voice, different from usual, becoming very strange. His brain seemed to have stopped turning, yet it was turning very fast. He almost reached out to touch his cheeks and ears, but quickly restrained himself, because this action was too revealing of his cowardice.

"I actually don't dare to call this a speech or offer any guidance." Tang Zhao paused, feeling that the empty opening remarks he had memorized were truly long-winded and impossible to recite. Anyway, he wasn't an orator, so why follow steps? He would just say whatever came to mind, "I am just an ordinary, weak, and naive Talisman Sword Master. I can only talk about the problems I have encountered and some of my own thoughts with everyone."

Having spoken the first sentence, he gradually found a bit of a rhythm.

It was just that while he found his rhythm, the people below had different feelings. Some felt that as the champion of this year, he was too humble and was merely putting on a show. Some felt he lacked presence, appearing truly unconfident, and perhaps he was just a bookworm who only knew how to solve problems. Others saw his pale face and, recalling his background from a small faction, felt he lacked confidence, and thus felt a sense of sympathy.

Only the Snow Mountain Prince in the seats curled his lip upon hearing words like "ordinary" and "weak."

"I am not being humble; it is just like that. The older I get, the more I feel I am not the special one. Because I am ordinary, I haven't learned so much high-end Rune Formula knowledge. Because I am weak, the enemies I face are all stronger than me. Because I am naive, I often make mistakes and fall into crises. I want to ask you all, who is as ordinary, weak, and naive as I am?"

Not waiting for anyone to actually answer, he continued: "I once encountered danger, was besieged by several Martial Artists, and was forced into a desperate situation. At that time, I was exhausted in body and mind, and my brain and body had no strength left. Yet at that moment, I had a Sword of Art by my side. Clearly, if I drew the sword, I could imbue it with greater power and use powerful Sword Art to defeat them, but the sword would not listen to me."

"Because at that time I was extremely weak and my Spirit was scattered, the Art Tool would not obey my command, just like a piece of common iron, completely useless. I was thinking at the time: is this betrayal? The Art Tool I made with my own hands actually betrayed me at a critical moment?"

"Because driving an Art Tool requires Inspiration, the more I lacked power, the less the Art Tool could help me, and it would only leave me at the critical moment. It is easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to send charcoal in snow. The Art Tool became an umbrella that couldn't be used the more it rained. Did I study hard for many years just to make this kind of thing?"

His voice gradually calmed down, but it still carried a trace of nervousness. This nervousness made his tone unstable, yet it unexpectedly fit the emotions in his words, carrying a kind of sorrow that made people resonate. Furthermore, the situation he described was truly not an isolated case; it was something that could happen to anyone, and even if it hadn't, everyone could imagine it and identify with it.

Art Tools were originally like this; only a few people could use them, prepared only for those with talent. But once those with talent fell into a desperate situation of failure and their Spirit declined, the Art Tools would no longer recognize them and would leave them.

This is also one of the reasons why Talisman Sword Masters cannot completely rely on Art Tools.

Tang Zhao spoke sincerely, and the crowd gradually listened in. Only Jiang Shenyi, who knew him best, felt it was strange:

You were besieged by people? When did that happen?

Adversity cannot trigger an Art Tool? Absolutely impossible!

Jiang Shenyi knew Tang Zhao's talent best; even when he was heavily wounded and dying, his Inspiration allowed him to use the most powerful Art Tools, and even Dharma Artifacts, with ease. Even if he died, his Inspiration would not die.

This was innate; Jiang Shenyi was the same. So he only felt it was strange.

But he also understood Tang Zhao. Tang Zhao was not a natural-born actor. Since he said it so sincerely, it must not be a fantasy; even if it wasn't a personal experience, he must have witnessed it with his own eyes.

The so-called "I" and "I have a friend" can naturally be swapped. Narrating in the first person is just a simple technique to induce immersion; there is no need to delve too deep.

It was just that Jiang Shenyi was curious: had Tang Zhao seen someone with average Inspiration who was betrayed by their Art Tool in a desperate situation?

Who was it? Did Jiang Shenyi know them too?

After Tang Zhao finished saying these things, he felt the surroundings quiet down, and he himself quieted down as well, his voice becoming increasingly stable as he spoke slowly.

"Some people say, isn't that because your Inspiration is too low? Perhaps so, because my Inspiration is insufficient, so the Art Tool is not handy. But how many people in the world have high and peerless Inspiration? A Sword Guest once said: 'How can a sword be such an inconvenient object?' However, think about it, how harsh is a sword's selection of a Sword Guest? For the vast majority of people, isn't that the most inconvenient object?"

"Yet the sword was born between heaven and earth, inheriting the Heavenly Dao. Rune Formulas are things we created ourselves; they are our tools. Must they also become such inconvenient objects?"

"I believe it should not be so!"

"From that time on, I thought, Rune Formula creations should not pursue the same exclusive personality as a sword, tailored only for a specific person. Instead, they should be more convenient, more public, and benefit us, and even benefit more people."

"I..."

He opened his mouth, almost saying "I have a dream," but immediately realized he had strayed too far. He was here to share knowledge, not to give a speech.

Even if this thought of his really counted as a dream.

He had had this thought for a long time; he didn't know when it started, but it became clear when he witnessed his Senior Brother being besieged at the foot of the mountain. That was the true protagonist of what he said—the one whose Art Tool left him at a critical moment. At that time, when Tang Zhao heard his Senior Brother sigh, this thought arose—if an Art Tool cannot be relied upon by most people at critical moments, is it still useful?

Perhaps his Inspiration was extraordinary and he wouldn't encounter that situation, but he would put himself in others' shoes. Just like how he was now well-fed and clothed, yet he still empathized with those displaced people affected by the Yin Calamity.

Wouldn't it be better to let Art Tools shed more shackles, serve more people, and serve ordinary people? If any righteous person could pick up an Art Tool sword to resist Fierce Beasts, and any middle-class family could use convenient tools like an Artifice Lamp, wouldn't the world be much better?

From a selfish perspective, if one day Art Tools could be used by everyone, how many times would the customer base of his shop expand!

Of course, until now, this thought was only some scattered thinking, and he even knew clearly that with his current knowledge, he was not worthy of thinking about such a grand proposition.

Saying these things was just to lead into his small topic for today.

Facing the hundreds of pairs of eyes below with varying emotions, but mostly focused, Tang Zhao took a deep breath and pulled the grand, all-encompassing topic back.

"I am merely an ordinary Talisman Sword Master, so I do not have any brilliant insights. I simply think that since Art Tools are manufactured by us, they should obey us at all times. On the way here, a gentleman of exceptional intelligence gave me some Inspiration. I believe it is possible to separate a portion of one's will and attach it to the Art Tool. It would replace the Spirit that we constantly expend, acting as a valve to control the Art Tool, and step in for our dispersed Mental Power at critical moments. I have experimented with it, and there are several methods..."

At this point, Tang Zhao stopped using rhetorical techniques and emotional delivery to convey his views, shifting into a more purely academic discussion. Yet his voice remained clear and bright, his expression precise, and his explanations simple and easy to understand, still leaving the crowd feeling refreshed and delighted. Even the Martial Artists further away, who lacked any foundation, were unconsciously drawn into his rhythm; beyond a vague sense of being watched, they could truly feel the charm and demeanor of this handsome youth.

In the seating area, someone sighed in a low voice, "Truly a talent of excellent quality."