Chapter Five: Persuading with Reason

In the midst of the world, winds surged and clouds billowed, thunder roared and lightning flashed.

Tang Si couldn’t hear anything at all.

He had entered a state of complete forgetfulness of self and surroundings.

In his mind, he replayed the breathtaking scenes demonstrated by his master just now, and then exhausted his imagination to envision what it would be like to shatter the stars.

Sorry!

As a scion of a declining knightly family, he truly couldn’t imagine it. The best he could do was magnify the current scene a hundredfold, thinking of the scenario of shattering mountains.

Even so, it was enough to leave him so shaken that he couldn’t control himself, to the point where he momentarily forgot to breathe.

A feeling of being unable to do anything but bow down and worship filled his entire being—just how incredible of a master did I end up venerating!?

On the other hand, Ren appeared to be waiting for his disciple to catch his breath and come back to his senses.

In truth, he was quite frightened himself!

It was scientific when thunder struck something and the lightning was diverted by a lightning rod.

However, it was quite unscientific when he waved his hand and the lightning struck down.

Before crossing over, there were fifty thousand thunderstorms worldwide every day, with an average of four thousand lightning strikes per second.

But how did it happen to strike right in front of him, it was as if…

Suddenly, Ren found the answer he had been pretending to be dead about in his retina system.

A large number of green texts were displayed: [Since the first apprentice has already started, the physics experimental demonstration system is now activated…]

[This demonstration system is for physics teaching only and will not cause any physical harm to humans. The energy required for the system demonstration is derived from teaching points given to the apprentice!]

Ren discovered that the [Lightning Rod Principle Demonstration] had turned gray.

What’s even more impressive is the note behind it: [Technologically outdated, can be displayed].

Looking further, it seems that the physical experiments on Earth, known to Ren, can all be demonstrated through this system.

Here comes the main point:

[This system emphasizes convincing people with (reason). When the target does not talk (reason), the master has the right to talk (reason) with physical means!]

Wait a minute!

Why is there a terrifying lightning swirling around the character (Reason) made into an axe in the center of the system screen?

If you play like this, I can still convince people with (Moral)!

The only thing that made Ren a bit tangled was the (Reason), which surprisingly also needed to be charged.

I don’t want to think about these things for now.

Returning to his senses from the shock, Tang Si habitually bowed deeply: “Please start teaching, Master!”

Since this system is like this, then let’s teach.

To be honest, Ren didn’t expect to teach anything worthwhile at all. He felt that whatever magical achievements Tang Si might achieve in the future would probably have little to do with him.

Quite casually, Ren found what passed for a blackboard.

It was a wall of a dilapidated house, the only part still standing. Whether it was made of marble or some other material, it had been struck by lightning, leaving the entire wall charred black. Oddly enough, the wall was incredibly smooth, perfect for writing and drawing.

Dipping a bit of white chalk into the dust, Ren began teaching himself on the “blackboard,” writing in the Chaos language thanks to the language proficiency granted by the system.

“Voltage—also known as electric potential difference or electrical potential—is the physical quantity that measures the energy difference per unit charge between points in an electric field due to different electric potentials. The magnitude of voltage between two points is equal to the work done per unit positive charge moving from one point to the other against the electric field force. The direction of voltage is defined from higher to lower potential.”

By the way, Tang Si was definitely not illiterate.

As an apprentice knight from a fallen noble family, before formally becoming a knight, he needed education and training in religion, morality, cultural knowledge, military affairs, and more.

For Tang Si, who wasn’t born into the upper nobility, literacy was a basic requirement.

However, these were like sacred texts even for the science and engineering nerds on Earth, needing to be memorized and understood thoroughly.

It was like when the teacher said 1+1=2 at the beginning of class, and by the time you looked up from jotting down notes, the entire blackboard was covered in calculus…

Unfair!

But Ren was a bit tough, emphasizing each term and word with force as he tapped the “blackboard” with his knuckles: “Every term here, every word, is crucial and will be tested. If you can’t grasp even this level of understanding, you’re not qualified to delve into (science)!”

Ren intentionally made it challenging for Tang Si.

To be honest, it’s not that he doesn’t want to take on an apprentice, but he’s afraid.

Learning some damn electromagnetic induction, and he dares to mess with the electrical door in the middle of the night. If he had noticed a moment later, what would be in front of him wouldn’t be Tang Si, but charred “Tang” macchiato.

Ren isn’t afraid of others dying, he just hopes they don’t die in front of him.

The cost of the expansion of Ren’s psychological shadow area is not something you, Tang Si, can afford!

Since this is an apprentice system, who to take as a disciple is not a matter of just taking someone in. It’s better to accumulate points slowly in a more normal way, isn’t it nice?

Anyway, Tang Si already has the most basic lightning magic (tricks), Ren boasts that he’s not cheating his students.

Boldly, considering refunding only half of the tuition fee isn’t out of the question.

With Tang Si’s face straight and assuming a stern teacher appearance, he’s actually thinking about how to make money. Meanwhile, the “advanced disciple” on the other side is experiencing the greatest crisis of his life.

Tang Si is sweating profusely, having reached the point of being drenched in sweat.

He imagined that with such a powerful teacher as Ren, the teaching would be strict and challenging, but he never thought that (science) would be this difficult.

What should he do?

Urgent!

No! Wait.

Why did I forget again?

Why doesn’t the master teach elsewhere? Why does he insist on teaching on this charred black wall?

Has the master ever hinted at me? Wasn’t it mentioned in the conversation?

Master’s words must absolutely not be understood as complete sentences! They must be broken down word by word.

“Every noun, every word is crucial” … I understand! No wonder I couldn’t understand these theories and formulas at all. It turns out I need to break them down and look at each one!

Tang Si’s eyes were bright, emitting a brilliance comparable to the aurora.

As he acted like this, Ren suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart: Oh no, is this kid getting the wrong idea again?

Once was already pushing his luck, can it happen twice?

Little did he know, in Tang Si’s eyes, the formulas and theories had completely transformed.

They turned into little figures, not arranged neatly, but definitely containing an orderly team, as if each one was ready to pounce.

“They are the truths of the world. They are the incantations of lightning magic. When combined, they form the legendary spell array. As long as I understand it this way, I know—” At first, almost inaudible murmuring, but as Tang Si continued, he grew louder, causing the time traveler opposite him to tremble with fear.

Suddenly, Tang Si shouted, “Master! I understand!”

Ren instinctively concluded that what this kid understood was definitely not what he taught, unable to resist asking back, “You really understand?”

“I really understand!” Tang Si affirmed confidently.

But Ren was even more certain: what they were talking about was definitely not on the same wavelength.

Sure enough, the next second, the atmosphere around them began to resonate.

The wind, about forty decibels, mingled with occasional crackling sounds of electricity.

In the next instant, five claw-like lightning claws appeared on Tang Si’s right hand.

If these claws were made not of lightning but of bone, Ren would have believed they were a tiger’s claws.

The system prompt came appropriately: “Congratulations to the host’s senior disciple Tang Si for casting Level 1 Mold Energy Magic (Electric Claw). After successfully mastering three Level 1 magics, he will be promoted to Level 1 Mage.”

A certain master was completely dumbfounded: Seriously? This is possible?!

End of Chapter Five