Translator: CinderTL
Back in their dorm room, after washing up, Feng Qi sprawled leisurely on his bed.
Mo Fei, hunched over his desk studying diligently, couldn't help but grumble jealously, "I'm so jealous! Why do I have to work so hard while you get to lie here daydreaming about academy life?"
"Jealous of what?" Feng Qi rolled his eyes. "Do you want my guaranteed admission to Star City Academy?"
"No way! My goal is the technology academy. I yearn for the stars and the vast ocean," Mo Fei grinned.
Hearing this, Feng Qi unusually refrained from teasing him. He had seen Mo Fei's future data in the future database and knew he would actually achieve his dreams. Though not a scientific genius destined for historical fame, Mo Fei would make significant contributions to his field. It was thanks to Mo Fei's disguised, invisible reconnaissance robots that Feng Qi had been able to gather crucial information from the Scarlet Research Institute in the future.
"After graduating from the technology academy, do you plan to work at the technology research institute?"
"Exactly! In the research domain, only the technology research institute and the Scarlet Research Institute catch my eye. You know I'm passionate about mechanics, so the technology research institute is the perfect fit for me."
Hearing this, Feng Qi's expression shifted.
"Do you know much about the Scarlet Research Institute?" Feng Qi asked.
"Not really," Mo Fei replied. "While you were away, a professor from the technology academy gave a lecture at our school. He told us that the technology research institute is undoubtedly the strongest in mechanical engineering, but the Scarlet Research Institute reigns supreme in biological sciences."
"However, the Scarlet Research Institute's privileges and secrecy levels are extremely high, making it difficult for ordinary people to access. Those who join are typically senior experts with significant achievements in biotechnology, and they rarely recruit academy graduates directly."
Biological sciences?
This was Feng Qi's first concrete understanding of the Scarlet Research Institute's core research focus.
Recalling the rune augment project, he realized that this field was clearly related to biotechnology as well.
"Why are you suddenly interested in the Scarlet Research Institute? I thought you weren't interested in this kind of thing," Mo Fei said, his curiosity piqued, interrupting Feng Qi's thoughts.
"Just asking," Feng Qi replied. "Actually, I've always wondered why you're so fascinated by technology when everyone around you is choosing cultivation studies."
Mo Fei pondered for a moment before answering, "If I told you this era is the most conducive to technological advancement, would you believe me?"
"I don't believe it. Even the most powerful nuclear weapons have no effect on the domain. Apart from providing conveniences in our daily lives and driving rapid social development, I can't see how technology could play any role in combating the Domain Invasion."
"You're mistaken. The reason nuclear weapons fail against Domain Fields is because the rules within those fields differ from our world's. Nuclear weapons, designed for our world's laws of physics, cannot exert their destructive force on Domain Fields governed by different rules."
"Cultivators, on the other hand, can harm domain creatures because through cultivation, we cultivate spiritual energy within our bodies. Spiritual energy is one of the fundamental forces that operates universally across all Domain Fields."
Mo Fei glanced at Feng Qi, who was deep in thought, and continued:
"The current direction of technological research has shifted. We're now focused on combining spiritual energy with technology to create spirit energy weapons and spirit energy equipment capable of combating domain creatures."
"This approach is now the core focus of modern mechanical sciences. As our era progresses, it will inevitably lead to revolutionary breakthroughs. Eventually, we'll develop technological weapons capable of harming domain creatures and even damaging Domain Fields themselves. That's why I say technology will shape the future."
Feng Qi was puzzled by Mo Fei's words.
If spirit energy weapons—a fusion of spiritual energy and technology—could harm domain creatures, why was there no mention of this in the future database?
"We have a direction now, but I can't guarantee when we'll succeed. It might be decades, centuries, or even tens of thousands of years from now," Mo Fei sighed.
"Why such a vast timeframe? Isn't there a rough estimate?" Feng Qi pressed.
Mo Fei nodded. "Technological advancement differs from cultivation studies. It's punctuated by numerous bottlenecks. But each breakthrough leads to exponential progress."
"It took humanity over a million years to transition from the Stone Age to the Agricultural Age. Yet, from the invention of the improved steam engine, marking the Industrial Revolution, to the discovery of electromagnetic induction, ushering in the Electrical Age, we only needed three centuries. Breaking through bottlenecks accelerates technological advancement."
"But no one knows when the next breakthrough will come. The only certainty is that when it does, human civilization will experience a quantum leap forward."
"Does scientific research have no limits?"
"Who knows? But history proves we're nowhere near them. Back in the day, a scientist named Kelvin declared that the edifice of physics was complete, leaving only minor refinements for future generations. Then came quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity, shattering the notion that physics had reached its limits."
Seeing Feng Qi nod in understanding, Mo Fei continued:
"Enough with the popular science. Let's return to our original topic: why this era is the golden age of technological advancement."
"Progress in science stems primarily from the accumulation of knowledge. Early scientists could master all of physics by their early twenties and build upon that foundation to develop new concepts and knowledge for future generations. Later generations, however, must first master the knowledge created by their predecessors before forging new paths. By the time they've absorbed all that accumulated knowledge and formulated their own concepts and theories, they might already be in their thirties."
"To put it simply, scientific progress is like building a tower. Later generations must first climb the floors built by their predecessors before they can add new ones, unless they discover an entirely new scientific domain."
"Therefore, lifespan limits scientific advancement. Today, the average age at which one can master physics is 53, a 33-year increase compared to earlier times."
"As technology continues to advance and knowledge accumulates, even if someone lived to old age, they couldn't possibly master all the knowledge accumulated by previous generations, let alone innovate and develop further."
Hearing this, Feng Qi suddenly understood what Mo Fei was trying to convey.
"So you're saying that in this new era filled with spiritual energy, where humans can live over a hundred years and cultivators even longer, perhaps over two hundred, scientific progress will have new opportunities for advancement?"
Mo Fei nodded, a smile spreading across his face.
"That's why I say this is the golden age for scientific development. Spiritual energy can extend our lifespans, and when combined with technology, it can create incredibly powerful spirit energy weapons and equipment. The future of scientific development is a vast blue ocean, filled with endless possibilities."
Seeing the yearning in Mo Fei's eyes, Feng Qi's heart was deeply moved.
Originally, Feng Qi had only focused on advancing human civilization's cultivation studies, aiming to enable all of humanity to achieve a life-level evolution and thus gain the power to resist domain creatures.
But after hearing Mo Fei's words, he realized that the development of scientific fields was equally crucial.
The current bottleneck lay in how to integrate science with spiritual energy.
Breaking through this barrier would unlock a new era of technological weaponry, such as spirit energy battle armor, spirit energy firearms, spirit energy weapons, and more.
His conversation with Mo Fei had given Feng Qi a fresh vision for the future development of human civilization.
Overcoming this bottleneck would take time, but time was something he had plenty of.
With each cycle granting him 1,500 years of technological accumulation, he was confident he could eventually break through this barrier to scientific advancement.
Of course, not now.
Even thinking about the complexities involved made his head spin.
Even if he found relevant data in the future database, retrieving it would be a monumental task.
Until he acquired the "infinite memory" ability the Narrator had mentioned, Feng Qi would temporarily refrain from pushing human civilization's technological development.
It wasn't a lack of desire, but rather a surplus of ambition coupled with insufficient memory capacity.
(End of the Chapter)
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