Chapter 387 227: Harvest
His voice carried a peculiar, penetrating quality, and a magic that calmed the hearts of all who heard it.
"Everyone, what I wish to discuss with you today is not just the models themselves, but the unified 'string of rules' hidden behind these phenomena.
"The so-called curvature of space is not some cold, geometric description. It is more like the very measure of space itself breathing with the pulsation of energy..."
Li Wen began with the most exquisite models for manipulating energy particles, explaining his recent core theoretical discoveries in a way that made the profound seem simple.
He wasn't merely reciting a paper; he was expounding upon a philosophy.
He deconstructed, analyzed, extrapolated, and integrated the profound Space Law, particle physics, and complex mathematical models in an unprecedented manner, one that was almost akin to the 'Tao'.
One exquisite concept after another, one subversive formula after another, flowed naturally from his lecture.
Sitting in the audience, Wei Wu had long since forgotten his initial anxiety.
Like the thousands of other scholars present, he was completely immersed in Li Wen's speech.
His slightly chubby cheeks were faintly flushed from immense excitement and his mind working at full speed. His small eyes shone with a focused, obsessive light.
The pen he held for taking notes had long since stopped moving—he simply couldn't keep up! Too many sparks of inspiration were being ignited.
When Li Wen spoke of how asymmetrical spatial stress could affect particle arrangement on a microscopic level, thereby inducing the generation and manipulation of a special Energy Field...
A white-haired master of theoretical physics in the front row abruptly straightened his back, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he unconsciously clenched his right hand into a fist.
His body leaned forward uncontrollably, as if he had just grasped a crucial piece of a lifelong puzzle.
His understanding of this subject was clearly profound, and the inspiration he received was particularly immense.
In another section, when Li Wen ingeniously combined complex spatial curvature models with specific energy resonance frequencies to describe a potential field superposition effect...
A top engineer specializing in new superconducting materials looked as if he'd been struck by lightning, his expression shifting from confusion to sudden enlightenment.
This was followed by an ecstatic epiphany. He subconsciously slapped his forehead, mouthing silently:
'So that's it! That's what was causing the abnormal energy loss!'
The inspiration he gained from this part of the lecture was clearly of extraordinary value.
The entire venue was immersed in this wondrous atmosphere.
Some were utterly entranced, their faces a mask of ecstatic fascination; others furrowed their brows in deep thought before their expressions cleared with sudden understanding.
Some scribbled furiously, their pen tips nearly tearing through the paper; others sat completely stupefied, as if their souls had left their bodies to wander that grand palace of knowledge.
The hall was filled with the currents of thought. The power of knowledge was made manifest, affecting every single person.
During the speech, Li Wen himself was immersed in a subtle perception of the knowledge being disseminated and the feedback it generated.
He could clearly "sense" the intensity and depth of the burning points of light that were the thoughts of each audience member below.
At the same time, in the corner of his vision, on what seemed to be an invisible, translucent panel, information was refreshing silently and frantically like a waterfall:
[Scholar Experience +1278]
[Scholar Experience +586]
[Scholar Experience +321]
[Scholar Experience +48]
[Scholar Experience +912]
[Scholar Experience +64]
...
The appearance of each notification corresponded perfectly to the sudden flaring of a particular listener's spark of thought that he sensed in a certain direction.
The amount of experience gained varied dramatically.
Scholars at the forefront of their fields, or those with astonishing comprehension, provided experience points that flowed like an open floodgate, often reaching nearly a thousand points at a time when they had a key breakthrough.
Meanwhile, scholars less familiar with the field but who were prompted to think deeply contributed a steady stream of experience, ranging from tens to hundreds of points.
Then there were those who might have only reinforced their existing knowledge, contributing relatively little experience, but still at a stable level of several dozen points.
The active mental energy of several thousand minds in the hall was continuously being converted into pure nourishment for his Scholar level through this peculiar mechanism of intellectual resonance.
Forty-five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
When Li Wen concluded with a concise, powerful sentence that pointed toward a future of infinite possibilities—
"The Laws are omnipresent. When the strings vibrate, it is the sound of the universe responding."—he gave a slight bow, ending the baptism of this intellectual tempest.
The entire conference hall fell into a brief, absolute silence.
It was as if time had stopped.
The thousands of scholars remained frozen in the same postures and expressions they held the moment Li Wen finished speaking.
Everyone was still lost in the immense shock and lingering aftertaste of the grand intellectual feast, unable to come back to their senses.
The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
CLAP!
Someone, somewhere, had subconsciously clapped once, softly.
That tiny sound was like a pebble tossed into a tranquil lake.
Instantly!
BOOM—!!!!!!
A thunderous applause, a hundred times more fervent and a hundred times more sustained than at the beginning, erupted like a tsunami.
This applause was filled with worship for perfected knowledge, ultimate admiration for a higher realm of thought, and the ecstatic gratitude of having their own minds utterly cleansed and ignited.
Everyone rose to their feet uncontrollably, offering their most fervent, heartfelt applause to the young king on the stage.
The applause was long and unceasing, rolling like spring thunder, as if it would shake the entire city of Yanjing awake.
Li Wen calmly walked down from the lectern, his steps still unhurried.
He smiled and nodded once more to the crowd, which was still clapping furiously with burning gazes.
Then, guided by the old professor hosting the event, who was so excited he was speaking incoherently, he returned to his seat.
It wasn't until two or three minutes after Li Wen had sat down that the applause, loud enough to tear the roof off, finally subsided like a receding tide under the host's repeated gestures.
The attendees, faces still flushed with unabated excitement and minds still savoring the experience, gradually took their seats. The atmosphere in the hall remained highly charged.
Li Wen sat in his seat, his expression as calm as ever, but inside, great waves were already churning.
After everyone was seated, he impassively lowered his gaze, seemingly adjusting the corner of his clothes, but in reality, he was silently summoning the Scholar panel only he could see.
With a single thought.
WHOOSH—!
It was as if an invisible data floodgate had been opened, and a waterfall of countless information streams instantly and madly poured into his vision.
He ignored the 99+ notifications, his gaze finally landing on the Profession category.
[Profession: Scholar Lv. 17 (1,211,828 → 2,425,486 / 6,553,600)]
'I can't believe a single speech gave me over a million experience points.'
Even for someone who had experienced multiple leaps in power, Li Wen was still dumbfounded.
'If I could do one of these every day, getting Scholar to Lv. 20 would be a breeze.'
The thought flashed through his mind for a moment before he suppressed it.
For that was impossible, and utterly unrealistic.
This kind of massive annual conference, gathering the top scholars from all of humanity, was difficult enough to organize once; it was impossible to hold them consecutively in a short period.
Taking a huge step back, even if he could use his status and authority to forcibly keep this entire hall of elites and make them listen to a second lecture, the effect would be drastically different.
The core mechanism of gaining Scholar experience from a lecture hinged on providing inspiration and revelation.
The cutting-edge theories he had presented were like a giant boulder thrown into a deep pool.
At first, it could stir up a thousand waves, causing great billows to crash against the shore, inspiring a torrent of thoughts and moments of profound enlightenment in the audience. The experience points naturally flowed in an endless stream.
But once the ripples subsided and the water grew calm, throwing the same boulder into the same spot again would result in greatly diminished inspiration and revelation, and the experience points gained would shrink dramatically.
The sparks of wisdom needed time to be digested, to settle, and to brew before the next eruption.
As he pondered, time quietly slipped by.
The old professor hosting this year's forum returned to the stage, his face beaming with the joy of a successful conference, along with a hint of imperceptible fatigue.
He gave a passionate closing address, and finally, announced in a powerful, resonant voice:
"...And so, I declare that this year's Yanjing Advanced Research Institute Annual Forum on Frontier and Interdisciplinary Sciences has officially come to a successful conclusion! Thank you all for your attendance and participation!"
Applause like a tidal wave rose once more, even more fervent than before the conference began, filled with respect and the satisfaction of having gained so much.
Thousands of seats seemed to spring open at once as the variously dressed scholars rose to their feet.
Their faces showed the afterglow of deep thought or the joy of having found new avenues for collaboration as they began to file out.
The enormous academic conference hall was instantly filled with whispers, conversations, and the sound of footsteps.
Several gray-haired, scholarly-looking titans from various fields, including Academician Wang Shouzhuo, a pillar of the theoretical physics community, enthusiastically surrounded Li Wen, discussing the finer points of his lecture with relish as they walked out.
"Your Highness, the Changning King, your description of the fundamental connection between energy particle manipulation models and spatial curvature was so clear and full of philosophical beauty. It was truly breathtaking!"
A leading scholar of classical literature exclaimed, finding a marvelous point of resonance between literature and science in his eyes.
"Indeed, the 'string of rules' metaphor was a masterstroke. It made profound physics tangible," another chimed in.
Academician Wang Shouzhuo also stroked his beard and chuckled.
"This lecture will likely become the hottest research topic in theoretical physics for the next decade!" His tone was full of praise.
Li Wen wore a humble smile and didn't put on any airs, simply offering modest replies to the effusive praise from his seniors.
His stride was steady as he walked shoulder-to-shoulder with these heavyweights of the academic world.
He naturally became the center of attention in the dispersing crowd.
Wherever he went, people spontaneously cleared a path, casting reverent gazes in his direction.
Meanwhile, in a section toward the back of the hall, Wei Wu was burning with anxiety.
He watched as the figure, surrounded like the moon by stars, was carried farther and farther away from him by the flow of people.
The sliver of hope that had risen in him just minutes ago when the conference ended was now being mercilessly cut down and crushed by the sea of heads before him.
"Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through!"
Wei Wu kept his voice low, repeating his requests as he tried to forge a path through the dense crowd.
However, the aisle was simply too crowded.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but renowned experts and scholars, all famous in their respective fields.