Yes, What Are You Looking At?

Several months had passed since the publication of that Wisdom Network paper caused an uproar.

The initial fervor of endless arguments among the Akademiya's scholars slowly faded. Seeing that Xingsu had never responded to them directly, most assumed his concept would ultimately remain nothing more than diagrams on paper. They gradually turned their attention back to their own research, and discussion of him cooled little by little.

Just as everyone was gradually forgetting this dangerous concept, Xingsu published another paper on the Wisdom Network, once again setting public opinion in the Akademiya ablaze.

And in the open space outside the House of Daena's entrance, Xingsu formally unveiled his results.

He raised a hand and activated a small, simply built device on the ground. Assembled from a modified radio-frequency chip, a signal receiver module, and an energy storage module, the device completely bypassed the Akasha permissions firmly controlled by the Akademiya.

The device lit up with a soft glow. A stable connection instantly formed between two communicators far apart, transmitting clear voices and text messages back and forth.

"I've successfully completed testing on the distributed personal communicators I independently developed, bypassing Akasha Terminal permissions. In the days ahead, I'll continue upgrading and modifying this system. I'm fully capable of transferring all the knowledge in the House of Daena into it, so everyone can search freely just by entering keywords. We can also establish academic forums on the system for scholarly discussion. Of course, most importantly, its communication function will ensure that everyone can contact anyone at any time, anywhere within Sumeru!"

Beside him, Dori's face streamed with tears. She had poured several million more Mora into Xingsu over these past few months, and today she was finally seeing a return! As long as this system could officially enter service... Dori was already rapidly calculating the future profits in her head:

Whether it was the Forest Rangers, merchant caravans and fleets, or ordinary Sumeru households, they would all rush to buy communicators from her, and she could then charge according to the amount of information transmitted...

That endless stream of Mora would pour into her vault like a tide.

Hehehehehehe... this investment really hit the jackpot!

A new paper and a public demonstration of his results from Xingsu once again dropped a bombshell among the Akademiya's senior leadership, which had been quiet for so long.

Only then did the scholars who thought the fervor had ended wake with a start-this young man had never stopped moving forward. He had truly turned an idea once denounced as heretical into reality.

The news swiftly traveled through the Akademiya's channels to Grand Sage Azar's desk, instantly throwing the upper ranks, which had been settling into calm, into panic.

Before this, the sages had never truly regarded Xingsu's Wisdom Network concept as a threat. If this communication system still needed to run through the Akasha's central hub, control would forever remain in the Akademiya's hands.

They could restrict permissions or block frequency bands at any time, keeping this technology easily under their thumb. They could even absorb and modify it later, using it instead to strengthen the Akasha's control over the thoughts of Sumeru's people.

But reality had now proved entirely otherwise.

Xingsu's new communication devices had completely severed all ties to the Akasha's core. He could build an entirely new signal network, free from the Akademiya's permission restrictions, with no interception or filtering of messages behind the scenes.

This was not merely a technological breakthrough. It also brutally tore open the facade of authority the Akademiya had maintained for centuries.

They relied on the Akasha to monopolize the flow of information, consolidating the power of the schools and concealing the selfish motives behind their past burial of the truth about Irminsul. Yet Xingsu had personally created an unregulated alternative, effectively proving before everyone that the Akasha system the Akademiya relied upon to control Sumeru was not irreplaceable.

The atmosphere in the council hall was so oppressive it seemed almost frozen. The senior sages, led by Azar, wore tense, anxious expressions.

"This is an open challenge to the Akademiya's order!" Azar's face was livid. His fingertips hammered against the cold tabletop as his sharp gaze swept over the sages, who sat with lowered heads in silence. "Who was it that firmly opposed his research into Akasha Terminals in the first place?" he demanded in a low voice.

The scholars present exchanged glances, none daring to answer first. After a long while, a less senior sage raised his head tremblingly, his voice so faint it was almost inaudible:

"Er... it was you, Grand Sage."

At those words, the council hall fell utterly silent.

Azar's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly concealed his lapse in composure, his tone regaining the lofty authority of the Grand Sage. He forced out a high-sounding justification for his earlier decision:

"Deliberately restricting his access to the Akasha's core terminals was the correct choice."

He looked up and swept his gaze over his hesitant colleagues, deliberately stressing his words in an attempt to conceal the embarrassment of his mistaken decision,

"If I had relented and allowed him to delve into the Akasha, with his insight and ability to act, it wouldn't have taken him long to discover the truth about it. At that point, he would have thrown all of Sumeru's order into chaos, and the arrangements we've spent years putting in place would have collapsed completely."

Yet despite his forceful words, the fist clenched on the table still betrayed his inner agitation. Even after he had blocked Xingsu's access to the Akasha's core, the young man had still created an independent communication network completely beyond their control. The situation had already slipped out of his hands.

An elderly sage spoke hesitantly. "But Grand Sage, now that he's created these communicators, the threat they pose seems even more troublesome than his learning the Akasha's secrets..."

"Then throw him out! He's just a wet-behind-the-ears brat. What trouble could he possibly stir up in Sumeru?!"

A hint of hysteria crept into Azar's voice. He slammed his hand onto the long stone table, his brow filled with agitation and obstinacy. Preoccupied with the god-creation plan that had been brewing for so long, he would never allow Xingsu to appear out of nowhere and cause complications.

"Don't forget, our plan has already reached its most critical stage. An expert in this field will arrive in Sumeru within days."

Azar's sinister gaze swept over the sages, all silent as frightened cicadas, as he pressed them word by word,

"At this crucial juncture, we absolutely cannot allow his independent communication network and those heretical studies to destroy the great undertaking we've planned for so long."

A sage beside him cautiously offered a word of advice:

"Grand Sage, expelling him outright would inevitably draw too much attention. He has already gained the approval of the Forest Rangers and quite a few young scholars. Rashly convicting and expelling him could easily provoke discontent among the lower-ranking scholars."

Azar snorted coldly. Looking at Xingsu's new paper in his hand, he already had an idea.

"The Wisdom Network System? Interesting..."

Dottore idly rolled the papers intercepted from the Akademiya between his fingertips. The usual indifferent perfunctoriness had vanished from his face, replaced by profound interest.

He tapped lightly on the table and chuckled softly, his tone carrying the fervor of a researcher who had hunted down superb experimental material. "But compared to the Wisdom Network System... Scott, do you still remember the name Xingsu?"