107 Tit for Tat

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Jayce's eyes showed a hint of hesitation.

He was proud, unwilling to be outdone, and never subordinate to anyone. In his view, even the powerful figures of the four great families would bow down in respect after witnessing his achievements firsthand.

This can be seen from the fact that the weapons workshop receives a steady stream of funding.

Which other inventor can, like myself, simply convey an idea and have countless investors vying to invest?

In Jayce's view, all the other inventors were mediocre. There was one exception in Dimension—

That was Viktor, who, like himself, received a special admission and was directly enrolled at Piltover University.

Piltover University brings together all of Piltover's top think tanks.

Of all of them, only Viktor was the same age as Jayce. In fact, the two of them had completely different ideas about science.

The two are evenly matched in intelligence, but being from Zaun, Viktor is more methodical and logically sound.

Jayce, on the other hand, appears somewhat flashy and blindly confident, but this allows Jayce to better unleash his thinking and make all sorts of impossible and illogical inventions.

The two often worked together, but never became true friends.

Often, the two would clash during the invention process, each sticking to their own opinion on the conflicting views of intuition and logic.

But gradually, a sense of respect developed between them.

It's similar to the mutual respect between formidable rivals, because they see in each other that flaws don't overshadow their strengths.

Ultimately, the two, who had initially agreed to be compatible, parted ways due to differences in their philosophies.

Actually, your problem isn't that serious.

Yuan Chen appeared calm, his hand resting on the glass display case in the weapons workshop showcasing technological achievements. As he calculated and replicated using the Monolith Core, Yuan Chen spoke serenely:

"You were born in Piltover, and from a young age, you were renowned for your exceptional intelligence at every school you attended. Almost every teacher regarded you as Piltover's rising star... Civilization, progress, beauty, abundance, prosperity."

"It's rather difficult for someone from a poor background like Zaun, who comes from such a garden-like city, to empathize with you."

"And what do you know?"

Jayce looked at Yuan Chen. He hated it when people put on this all-knowing air in front of him, let alone criticize him.

At least in Jayce's opinion, only Principal Heimerdinger in the entire Piltover was qualified to lecture him.

As for the others? Show us something better than yours before you start talking!

"You're just spouting off hearsay right in front of me. How much do you really know about this city you live in? How much do you know about the amazing inventions this Hextech workshop in front of you has developed?"

Jayce quickly approached Yuan Chen, placed his finger on Yuan Chen's chest, and said defiantly:

"I am Jayce! The Guardian of the Future! Whether you agree or not, don't use those tabloid shills to criticize me! If you really want to criticize me, why don't you Piltover Enforcers and have the enforcers arrest me!"

After a pause, Jayce stated decisively:

"Then tell me, what has Viktor done? He's stifling people's free will; that's the truly insurmountable boundary!"

"Blitzcrank," Yuan Chen said calmly.

He should have told you.

"..."

Upon hearing the name Blitzcrank, Jayce, who had been seething with anger, abruptly stopped, a hint of shame flashing in his eyes. Even so, he didn't say anything more, but turned his back and said:

"That Steam Robot? It's just a rather unique mass-produced robot."

"I don't think so."

Upon hearing Jayce's assessment, Yuan Chen shook his head.

Blitzcrank, also known as the Steam Robot, is League of Legends and a classic hook champion in MOBA games, capable of forcibly pulling enemies from a distance to your front.

Although he's an old hero with a very basic skill set, his simplicity and straightforwardness also mean he's highly versatile. So even though he's been around for over a decade, he's still a popular pick in matches and ranked games, with countless memorable moments, making him a symbol of faith for a generation.

Yes, the author's first League of Legends book was "My Name is Blitzcrank," when he was in junior high school.

Although he is a featured champion, like Caitlyn and Vi, Blitzcrank isn't considered a powerful character in the League of Legends universe. He's just a rescue robot created by Viktor during an alchemical leak in Zaun.

The then-naive Viktor implanted a series of cognitive learning loop instructions into the existing automated mechanical technology and created a specially customized robot named Blitzcrank.

His primary responsibility was handling the recycling of alchemical waste, but after Blitzcrank was born, Blitzcrank not only demonstrated extremely high efficiency but also a certain level of self-awareness.

It's like... having your own thoughts.

This surprised Viktor, so while working with Blitzcrank to treat the victims of the alchemical leak, he also continued to study mechanical technology.

It was several weeks later when Viktor returned to Piltover and discovered that his and Jayce's teacher, Stanwick, who had specially recruited him to Piltover University, was organizing an academic seminar on Blitzcrank.

If it were just a seminar, that would be one thing, but Stanwick brazenly displayed Viktor's research findings under his own name—

Academic plagiarism.

Feeling insulted, Viktor lodged a strong complaint with the college's administrators, emphasizing that Blitzcrank was his design.

But his radical remarks were ignored.

Yeah, who would speak up for a nobody from Zaun?

Moreover, the target of his denunciation was the renowned Stanwick.

Helpless, Viktor turned to his only friend, Jayce, for help, hoping he would testify on his behalf.

"But you chose to refuse, and the outcome of this appeal has greatly benefited your teacher, Stanwick, while Viktor has been unfairly stigmatized."

Yuan Chen didn't look at Jayce, but instead looked through the glass at Piltover University in the distance, which looked like it was cast in brass and decorated with brownish-red tiles, radiating a golden brilliance under the morning sun.

"You should know what's right and what's wrong... Or, as Piltover, have you never felt that Viktor was worthy of being called a genius on par with yourself?"

"Enough!"

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Jayce couldn't help but feel a pang of shame for the first time.

But after a long silence, Jayce simply turned around, a hint of sadness in his eyes, and said:

"It's no use... it's tradition."

Stanwick was both my and his teacher. If the appeal is successful, he will also be branded as ungrateful..."

"He's from Zaun. If you really know these two cities, you should know that the divide between them means all the college administrators will inevitably side with Stanwick."

"Moreover, the teacher didn't mistreat him. Even after Viktor's accusations failed, the teacher continued to speak up for him, allowing him to continue enjoying many of the academy's resources..."

"So Viktor should thank Stanwick?" Yuan Chen asked, his face full of surprise and a hint of shock.

"Is this Jayce, the Guardian of the Future, your view on academic plagiarism?"

Are you sure your opinion isn't based on the fact that Stanwick didn't plagiarize you?

Upon hearing this, Jayce opened his mouth as if to refute. But in the end, Jayce only sighed sadly, turned his head away, and said somewhat forlornly:

"I acknowledge Viktor's talent, but even back then I wasn't qualified to speak out. It's Piltover tradition... I'm a beneficiary."

Jayce pursed his lips and said, surprisingly bluntly:

"I can't gamble all of this."

Upon hearing Jayce's words, Yuan Chen also stared at Jayce for a couple of seconds.

Through Jayce's expression, Yuan Chen could sense that this proud guy felt guilty and saddened about what had happened.

Perhaps if given another chance, Jayce would do anything to stand up for this "rival" he had come to respect.

But it's different from Qiyana's strength.

Qiyana expresses her views on people and things in a strong and direct way. Her unwillingness to reveal her true feelings only shows that she does not want to be in a weak position in relationships or other aspects.

Jayce, on the other hand, is too proud to say things like "do it again" or "if."

It was impossible before, and now that we've become guardians of the future, it's even less likely.

Realizing this, Yuan Chen didn't dwell on the matter further, but instead turned to Qiyana and asked:

"How old is the youngest master of Yishuaoken?"

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Qiyana shrugged indifferently.

"It used to be me, sixteen years old. Now it's your other student, twelve-year-old Milio."

As she spoke, Qiyana paused, then said somewhat displeased:

"Although I'm reluctant to admit it, Milio does have merit in expanding the compatibility and similarities between Spirit Theory and Yuan Chu Axiom..."

She wasn't dissatisfied that Milio had broken her record as the "youngest Elemental Master," but rather that she wasn't the most outstanding or the person Yuan Chen was most proud of.

"Twelve years old..." After thinking for a moment, Yuan Chen said:

"He'll be thirteen in two months, which isn't young anymore."

Yuan Chen nodded and looked at Jayce, saying:

"Piltover is proud of its progress, freedom, prosperity, strength, and civilization, but why is it less clear and transparent in the academic field Ixialia you consider closed, isolated, and backward?"

"Or rather, if Milio had been born in Piltover, how much of his work would have been taken away? Plagiarized?"

"That's because you're his teacher!"

Jayce said somewhat irritably:

"And the student next to you is the Ixialia! That's why you can talk so casually!"

"Then we'll have to have a serious talk about this."