Chapter 77

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At the mere thought of this possibility, Zhao Chen suddenly felt an uncontrollable excitement. Ever since he came to the Tang Dynasty, he had always been fighting alone. The things he wanted to do, he hadn't accomplished a single one, and instead, he often had to do other things out of necessity.

He was eager to do something, not just for this era, but also for himself! In the Tang Dynasty, he was ultimately in a weak position. Even if a seasoned veteran like Old Qin was willing to protect him, what about the future?

Would he rely on Old Qin forever?

It's better to rely on oneself. He must truly become strong. Only when he truly becomes strong will no one be able to threaten him casually. Even if Li Er were to act against him, he would have to consider Zhao Chen's power.

Before this, Zhao Chen had actually been working hard on this, trying to utilize all available resources around him. However, there was no clear direction, and the most direct reason was the difficulty in finding like-minded friends.

But now it's different. As the old man unveiled the mysterious veil of the Hidden Sect, Zhao Chen suddenly realized that the Hidden Sect, which had almost cost him his life since he entered the Tang Dynasty, was actually his true ally!

The Hidden Sect gathered scholars from various schools of thought. If he could persuade the Hidden Sect to come out of seclusion, and with his Time-Space Supermarket as a backing, the effect would be so significant that Zhao Chen felt his heart race just thinking about it.

Of course, before that, he had to solve a few things. First, he needed to understand the true situation of the Hidden Sect and not trust the old man's words unconditionally. Second, once he confirmed that the Hidden Sect was as the old man said, how could he persuade them to come out of seclusion?

Secondly, how could he persuade Li Er? If the Hidden Sect came out of seclusion without Li Er's consent, everything would be a fantasy. However, Zhao Chen guessed that if Li Er heard that the Hidden Sect was willing to come out of seclusion, he would likely agree.

After all, the Hidden Sect had always been the most feared force by Li Er. Now that the Hidden Sect agreed to come out of seclusion, it was, in a sense, a recognition of Li Er!

Realizing this, Zhao Chen's attitude suddenly did a 180-degree turn. He warmly invited the old man's companions to sit down and served each of them a cup of hot tea.

When everyone was sipping their tea, Zhao Chen went out to find Zhang Lu and told him to immediately prepare a meal. Guests had come, and not preparing a meal was a serious dereliction of duty for a steward.

Zhang Lu looked almost ready to spit blood, but seeing his young master's overly excited face, he could only laugh helplessly!

After arranging for Zhang Lu to prepare the meal, Zhao Chen returned to the hall, moved a chair next to the old man, and asked with a grin, "Old man, do you really have people in your Hidden Sect who study natural philosophy and mathematics? You can't be lying to me!"

"Hmm!" The old man took a sip of tea, seemingly enjoying the light fragrance. Hearing Zhao Chen's words, he nodded slightly and said, "There are indeed many people in the Hidden Sect who are obsessed with natural philosophy and mathematics, and among them, Chao'er stands out!"

Chao'er! Chao'er! This was the third time Zhao Chen had heard the old man mention Chao'er. It was clear that Chao'er was indeed very smart, and Zhao Chen was eager to meet him.

"Old man, you keep mentioning Chao'er. Can you bring him here for me to meet?" Zhao Chen asked with a smile.

"If you want to meet him, just do so!" As soon as Zhao Chen finished speaking, a deep voice came from behind him: "I'm right here!"

"Are you Chao'er?" Zhao Chen almost spat out a mouthful of blood, staring dumbfounded at the muscular man behind him. He couldn't associate this muscular man with high intelligence. After a moment, he asked in surprise.

"My name is Jiang, and my given name is Chao!" Jiang Chao's facial muscles twitched, clearly uncomfortable with being called Chao'er by both the old man and Zhao Chen.

"Oh! It's Brother Jiang, nice to meet you!" Zhao Chen immediately clasped his hands and said, "I've heard a lot about your intelligence. Can you show me a bit of it?"

"How can I show you?" Jiang Chao asked, his lips curling slightly.

"Easy!" Zhao Chen was delighted. He stood up and quickly left the hall, returning shortly with writing materials. He placed them on a table and said to Jiang Chao, "I have a math problem here. Can you solve it, Brother Jiang?"

As Zhao Chen spoke, he quickly wrote a problem on the paper. He didn't make it too difficult, just a simple algebraic equation. He was curious to see if this muscular man, praised by the old man, was as smart as described.

After writing the problem, Zhao Chen smiled and gestured for Jiang Chao to start. Jiang Chao stood up, looked at the problem, and frowned.

Zhao Chen didn't disturb Jiang Chao's thinking. He moved back to his chair and waited quietly. He was actually quite hopeful that Jiang Chao could solve it.

The others in the room held their breath, watching Jiang Chao silently.

After about half a cup of tea, Jiang Chao finally picked up the pen and quickly wrote down the solution. In a blink, he solved the problem, put down the pen, and looked at Zhao Chen with a hint of pride.

Zhao Chen smiled, went over to check the answer, and then looked at the slightly proud Jiang Chao and asked with a grin, "What do you think of this problem, Brother Jiang?"

"It's passable!" Jiang Chao's eyes flashed with pride, but he pretended to be humble.

"Ha ha ha, is that so?" Zhao Chen burst out laughing, saying, "When I was eight or nine, this problem was very difficult for me!"

"Phew!" The old man, who had just taken a sip of tea, couldn't hold back and sprayed it out, coughing and turning red.

"Rubbish!" Jiang Chao quickly patted the old man's back. When the old man stopped coughing, he blushed and looked at Zhao Chen.

"If Brother Jiang doesn't believe me, that's fine!" Zhao Chen pretended to be disappointed and pressured Jiang Chao, "I used to do dozens of such problems every day. If I couldn't solve them, I would be punished by standing, and sometimes my palms would be hit by my master's ruler!"

Jiang Chao's face turned red and then pale, glaring at Zhao Chen. Suddenly, he walked to the table, picked up the brush, and quickly wrote a problem. He then turned around and glared at Zhao Chen, saying, "Talking is easy. Solve this problem first!"

"Sure!" Zhao Chen was delighted. He was hoping for this! If not, how could he show off his skills?

Some people can be moved by money, some by emotion, but people from the Hidden Sect can only be moved by superior knowledge.

Zhao Chen came to the table, glanced at the problem, and couldn't help but smile. Without much thought, he solved it under the watchful eyes of Jiang Chao and the old man.

"Quite passable!" Zhao Chen looked up at the stunned Jiang Chao, mimicking his earlier tone and said proudly.

"Your talent is truly impressive, young friend!" The old man, who was still holding the solved problem and checking it, sincerely praised Zhao Chen.

"Ah! Old man, you flatter me!" Zhao Chen sat down next to the old man, looking sad and said, "My skills are nothing compared to my master. He is the truly talented one!"

"I agree with that!" The old man sighed, "The person who could teach such a brilliant student must be far beyond our reach!"

"My master is indeed very talented!" Zhao Chen sighed, "But what's the use? My master once said that the study of natural philosophy is vast and profound, and cannot be mastered by one person alone. My master has deep knowledge in this field, but in the end, he withdrew from the world, utterly disheartened."

Seeing the old man's expression turn somber, Zhao Chen continued, "My master once told me that when natural philosophy reaches its peak, people can fly to the sky, and ships can dive underwater. These are not strange things at all!"

"How is that possible!" The old man's eyes widened in disbelief, looking at Zhao Chen in surprise.

"Why not!" Zhao Chen said, "Kites can fly in the sky, and you know the pulling force of a kite. If we can make a larger kite and put a person on it, why can't it fly?"

Everyone in the room was stunned by Zhao Chen's words, imagining the dream of flying with a giant kite. Unlike the people of the Tang Dynasty, they understood the principles of natural philosophy.

If Zhao Chen had said this to Old Qin, he would have gotten a slap. But these people had a different reaction because they understood the power of natural philosophy.

Seeing everyone's fascinated expressions, Zhao Chen sighed deeply, "Unfortunately, there are too few people in this world who understand natural philosophy. My master's lifelong knowledge will likely be lost with me!"

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