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"Mister Luo, please wait a moment..."

The youth led the way to a remote spot inside the exhibition hall and began tidying up his display cabinet.

Weichi Peng looked on curiously, "Can all students display their achievements in this exhibition hall?"

"Pretty much," the youth nodded. "You have to apply to the academy for your research project first, and then you can reserve a spot. I made my reservation late, and I wasn’t willing to spend too much money, so my location is a bit out of the way..."

"You... you have to pay?" Weichi Peng was taken aback.

"Of course, there’s a fee," the youth said matter-of-factly.

"The academy is financially independent. The president had to do a lot of promotion at the beginning, putting in a lot of effort. After our academy built up its reputation, naturally, they had to recoup the investment. Not only does the exhibition hall charge money, but the academy also takes a fee from the commercial results of our students’ research. "

"The academy charges for your achievements?" Weichi Peng’s eyes widened. How could Chen Qing be so cold-hearted and still have the students’ approval?

"Of course..." the youth frowned. ’The academy has spent a significant amount on our training; isn’t it only right that we give something back?’

"Training?" Something occurred to Weichi Peng. "Is... is the academy free?"

"Mhm..." The youth nodded with a smile. "Lord Chen once said that talented individuals shouldn’t be blocked from the path of a magician by cost. So, as long as you’re enrolled, we don’t pay tuition here.

Moreover, if a student has a project idea, the academy will assign dedicated staff to research it and provide initial support. "

People with talent shouldn’t be blocked from the path of a magician by cost...

Weichi Peng was stunned on the spot, and it took him a while to regain his composure.

His past hardships came flooding back all at once. If only the Yin Yang Academy in the Capital City had adopted such a philosophy back in the day, would he have ended up... as a son-in-law living with his wife’s family?

This Chen Qing, though young, had a vision beyond the ordinary...

But at what tremendous cost did this come?

Even Your Majesty, with his ambitious vision, had never made such a move to train magicians for free...

"That’s why we’re willing to let the academy take part of our accomplishments," the youth said earnestly. "It’s because of Lyuzhou’s Yin Yang Academy that we exist. I myself am a merchant’s son.

Although Great Jin does not ban merchants from taking the civil examinations, there is clear discrimination.

At ten, my tutor thought my writing was already mature enough for me to take the child prodigy exams, but after four attempts, I was thwarted by officials each time.

Without Lord Chen, without the Yin Yang Academy in Lyuzhou, I’d likely be keeping accounts in my father’s teahouse rather than being respected as Mister Magician for my Art Calculation talents. "

As he spoke, the youth took out a crystal-clear pearl that, at first glance, looked like it was made of water, even more lustrous and bright than crystal.

"Is this? Glass?" Weichi Peng frowned. "The color of glass isn’t this pure. This material... could it be jade?" Quickly recognizing its quality, Weichi Peng realized it was top-grade jadeite, although transparent.

"This was originally Imperial Green jadeite," the youth said as he touched the material. "Jadeite is the best conducting material for magic we currently know of. Whether it’s our Earth Institute’s enchantment department or the Heavenly Institute’s Array Department, they all rely heavily on it.

That’s why the research results from both our institutes are exceptionally expensive. "

"Also, strangely, the higher the quality of the jadeite, the better it conducts magic. These days, in order to get this, I’ve bought hundreds of high-quality jadeite at a high price.

My Ice Jade sales haven’t even started yet, but I’ve already drawn a lot of money from several investors, who have been avoiding me in the past few days. .."

Weichi Peng: "..."

Once you start talking about drawing money upfront, it’s only natural that people would start avoiding you after a few times...

"Having used so many materials, what have you achieved?" Weichi Peng asked curiously.

"Please have a look, brother!" The youth gently squeezed, and ripples spread out from the transparent jadeite. Immediately, a visible bubble enveloped him, the large bubble almost five meters high, looking very magical.

"What is this?" Even Wei Gongcheng leaned in curiously to take a closer look.

"This is called a Water-Repelling Pearl!" The youth’s voice came from inside the bubble with a muffled watery sound, "You all can come in and have a look."

Weichi Peng did not hesitate. Although he had never seen this technique before, he wasn’t worried. Firstly, as a Fifth Rank magician, whatever trickery was at play, he wouldn’t be hurt. Secondly, with Wei Gongcheng leading the group here, there was no need to do anything to him.

All three, including Weichi Peng, stepped inside and immediately began curiously examining their surroundings.

"The air inside... there’s something odd about it," Weichi Peng was the first to speak.

Weichi Peng also realized, looking around, "Is the air here produced on the spot?"

"It’s easy to speak with someone knowledgeable." The youth smiled. "That’s the effect of the Water-Repelling Pearl; this bubble can submerge thousands of kilometers under the sea without being affected by pressure and can provide the air needed by humans!"

Everyone: "!!"

"This really is a good project!" Weichi Peng immediately became excited. As a Military General, without the Magician’s magical means, he had long wanted to sneak into those underwater mysteries, but the secrets beneath the sea are deep, and a Warrior diving more than a few hundred meters would find his body couldn’t handle it, and his physical strength would be enormously drained.

The main issue is that no matter how great one’s lung capacity, it can’t last long underwater, and once faced with terrifying Sea Monsters, the chances of capsizing are extremely high!

"It is indeed a good project, but the cost is too high." Luo Yi nodded, "Ordinary people probably won’t need it."

Sure enough, as they heard this introduction, a group of merchants surnamed Feng in the distance immediately lost interest, and the merchant Feng said to the others behind him, ’Let’s go, let’s go, it’s a waste of time.’

"It sounds... pretty amazing," said a plump businessman standing nearby.

"What’s the use of it being amazing?" Merchant Feng rolled his eyes: "There are plenty of amazing things here, but it’s important to see if they have any use. Just like the Flight Pearls that appeared a few days ago, they allow people to fly, but it’s hard to control the force, and ordinary people are likely to fall from high places.

The wealthy businessman who invested in that initially lost his shirt.

Luckily, the Warrior Army later bought some for training special forces; otherwise, that boss Yang would probably have lost everything. .."

Everyone: "....."

When Weichi Peng and Luo Yi overheard this conversation from afar, their hearts instantly tightened. A flying army...

The Lyuzhou Academy was really extraordinary; the items crafted here were not only marvelous but often played a decisive role on the battlefield.

A flying soldier, should they launch a surprise attack to capture a city, those unaware of the intelligence would surely fall for it.

If they could return, they would have to warn the Imperial Court to be wary of this!

"Let’s go, let’s go, let’s check out that side. Mister Lu who provided me with Fire Silkworm Silk last time is said to be here today. Let’s go see if he has any new research."

"Sure, sure, sure!"

After the crowd moved away, the young man didn’t seem to care. The Water-Repelling Pearl wasn’t much use for ordinary people, unless some curious rich person wanted to see the sea, but this was a minority after all, and its marketability was much worse than his own Ice Jade.

But he harbored no resentment; instead, he looked towards Luo Yi and the others, "You’re from the Capital City, aren’t you?"

Luo Yi’s pupils shrank, and then, with a smile that was not quite a smile, he said, "What do you mean by that, young master?"

"Are you here for the Dragon Palace?"

Everyone: "!!!"

"You..." Luo Yi was astounded. He glanced at Wei Gongcheng, but saw that Wei Gongcheng seemed completely unconcerned.

"Sir need not be surprised..." the youth said, "Most of what we learn at the Yin Yang Academy comes from the legacy of the Dragon Palace. Here, any student who has read the Dragon Palace’s secret texts and recordings knows about the Dragon Palace.

Oh, of course, there are also students who are not interested in ancient secrets and focus solely on their projects, and there are many. .."

"Dragon Palace’s secret texts? Recordings?" Luo Yi’s heart skipped a beat: "The academy makes these available to you?"

"Of course!" The young man smiled and looked at him, "Sir, you came for this too, didn’t you? Recently, thanks to the guidance of merchants from Jiangnan, quite a few people from the Capital City families have come, all inquiring about this."

Luo Yi: "...."

He was aware of this. After the incident in Jiangnan, many families began to suspect that an ancient era had arrived, and some longstanding families secretly knew what that meant for Jiangnan!

The word ’Dragon Palace’ he had heard from his father-in-law, and this time he accompanied the army for more than just assisting General Weichi Peng; he had a covert mission to investigate the intelligence regarding the Dragon Palace.

What he hadn’t expected was that intelligence, which even the nine most distinguished families were unwilling to share, was so casually spoken by a youth not yet of age!

"This is a good thing I have..." the young man said with a grin, "According to records, the Dragon Palace... lies beneath the abyss, within the eye of the sea, estimated to be thousands of meters down. The pressure down there is no joke, ordinary people, even strong Warriors, would not be able to handle that depth and if they tried to resurface, their organs couldn’t bear it. But with this creation, if fully developed, could perfectly solve this issue. With the Dragon Palace’s opening imminent, Sir... you shouldn’t miss out on such a good thing. "

Luo Yi was stunned, then looked at Wei Gongcheng, and back at the young man, "This thing... why don’t you sell it to your Lord Chen?"

"Oh, the Warrior Army is blessed by the Sea God, so this toy can only be sold to you."

Luo Yi: "...."

"Kid, I have a question!" Weichi Peng also frowned, "How can you know that the Dragon Palace is about to open? Is it also recorded in the books?"

"Huh?" The youth blinked, "Do we need a book to know that? Haven’t you heard that yesterday, Lyuzhou announced that the Imperial Court and the Princess Royale are coming to Nanming Prefecture for talks?

When that happens, the dense fog of Jiangnan will disperse.

With several powers negotiating, what else could it be about?

Could it be just to kill time playing Mahjong? "

Weichi Peng and Luo Yi were immediately taken aback: "You... what did you say?"