Li Qiwei parried every move, deftly defusing three tricky questions from different fields in succession, making everyone put away their contempt.
No one dared underestimate the Qing man at the podium any longer. Not only was he extraordinarily gifted in physics, but his mind was quick and his logic razor-sharp in other fields as well.
Li Qiwei's proud eyes swept across the classroom. He wanted to see what other demons and monsters would dare jump out.
At that moment, a middle-aged man seated in the front row suddenly stood up and said, "Hello, Bruce Li. I'm a professor from Cambridge University's History Department."
Whispers suddenly rose from the audience. Dean Sanders also looked displeased. How had even someone from Cambridge stepped forward to undermine him?
Sure enough, the man had ill intent. He continued, "While researching Eastern and Western history, I've always been pondering a question."
"Why did the First Industrial Revolution, represented by the steam engine, take place in Britain from the 1760s to the 1840s, rather than in the Qing Dynasty?"
"Why did the Second Industrial Revolution, represented by electricity, the internal combustion engine, and petroleum, continue to take place in Europe and the United States from the 1860s onward, rather than in the Qing Dynasty?"
"Does this not show that Europe's system is more advanced and rational than that of the East, and therefore more suited to the birth and development of science?"
"For example, Bruce Li, yourself. Since coming to Cambridge, in just a few short years, you have gone from an ordinary Qing man to a young physicist of great renown."
"Do you believe it was Britain, this fertile soil for science, that nurtured you?"
"You say you have gathered up the radiance of truth—but can it truly shine upon the land where you were