"Your Highness, Lil' Taotie is a generational genius within our Erinyes lineage. Even though I have long since stepped away from the family business, his grandmother, my elder sister convinced me to accept him as my first disciple,"
Senior Researcher Dolus explained, introducing the chubby Tao Tie.
"As you can see, even at his young age he has shown an incredible affinity to the path of psychokinesis and so he shadows me as my little assistant; I hope you don't mind him joining us today," he added
Chronos nodded and walked up to TaoTie, raising an arm to shake his hand.
" You can call me big brother Chronos. You are the first kid I've met that's my age, so it's nice to meet you." he said.
TaoTie rolled his eyes, shook Chronos's hand in reply and scanned Chronos curiously,
" Sorry for attacking you earlier, Grand Uncle Dolus just wanted to test you..."
He said, scanning Chronos curiously.
" Oh and are you really 3 years old too? I'm already bigger because I eat... *ahem*... am growing faster than my peers but you have the body of a 10 year old! And you're not as *ahem* horizontal gifted *ahem* as me "
TaoTie added, with a mischievous grin.
Chronos's eyes widened at the fearsome chubby boy's sudden burst of youthful innocence, before deciphering his statement and let out a laughter,
"Hahahaha, we 're both geniuses, I just eat better than you!" he replied.
"Ok ok... enough jibber-jabber time for our lesson!"
Senior Researcher Dolus interrupted, and a sudden prickling sensation enveloped them both.
Before they knew it, they were levitating onto chairs that had been prepared behind the study table.
Chronos furrowed his eyebrows not because of Dolus's insolence towards a prince, but because the levitation he was experiencing was completely different from the kind his Grandmama had shown him.
Dolus continued,
"In front of you is a summary of a research paper of psychokinesis, I'll give you 30 mins to run through it while I prepare for the lesson,"
Senior Researcher Dolus hurriedly arranged a set of holographic projectors on the floor in front of them.
"Hehe, I've already read them all several times, good luck in finishing it in time,"
"Grand Uncle gets very grumpy with slow people, the only reason you got off easy earlier was because you portrayed enough talent to justify us waiting for you,"
"Or else, he wouldn't even bother starting the lesson, prince or otherwise..."
TaoTie leaned over and whispered to Chronos, only to realize that Chronos was already scrolling through the document screen at an unbelievable speed.
Dolus had noticed this too, and his brows furrowed. He was considering whether to let his short temper erupt at the prince's apparent lack of focus and respect for his research summary.
" Chapter 2, page 6, describe the basic concept of energy manipulation,"
Dolus demanded suddenly.
It had only been five minutes but Chronos had already put the document pad down, his eyes closed as if he were deep in thought.
TaoTie on the other hand was grinning ear to ear, anticipating his Grand Uncle to erupt into a tirade.
"Cultivators manipulate the flow of energy through a complex system of energy channels, or meridians to harness the natural dimensional energy of the world..."
Chronos recited, his voice steady and confident.
As Chronos continued to ramble on, Tao Tie hurriedly checked the page on his own Document Pad and his eyes widened in awe.
Chronos was reciting the page word for word.
Senior Research Dolus's mouth hung agape as a glint of excitement shimmered in his eyes.
"Enough,"
he said, interrupting Chronos.
"Tell me, in the 290 pages of the document, how many total words are there?"
"That's a trick question,"
Chronos replied calmly.
"The pages are numbered only up to 287, however, there are inconsistencies in the spacing in Chapters 24, 36, 37, 38, 52, 67, and 69. Accounting for these discrepancies, there should be a total of 293 pages, with a total of 140,580 words, averaging 479.795221843 words per page."
Senior Researcher Dolus tossed aside his apparatuses and hurriedly grabbed the Document Pad off his Grand Nephew.
A few moments later, he looked up at Chronos, eyes wide open, mouth agape, only to be met by an innocent smile.
"I have a decent memory,"
Chronos muttered.
Dolus's jaw dropped further, realizing that the young prince's abilities surpassed his wildest expectations.
He knew that Chronos was not just talented, but also a prodigy with immense potential.
Dolus continued his lecture,
" It is important to understand that there is a fundamental difference between psychokinesis and dimensional energy manipulation…"
"Dimensional energy manipulation involves the manipulation of the dimensional energy in the surroundings or from within a cultivator. It has to be channeled through the body, before being directed towards a particular goal..." he explained.
"This process is highly personal and intuitive, relying on an individual's own awareness and control of their energy. "
"Psychokinesis, on the other hand, involves the harnessing of electromagnetic forces with the mind. It is a more scientific and analytical process, relying on the manipulation of physical forces in the environment rather than one's own energy..."
"It requires a deep understanding of physics and the laws of nature, and a strong control of the mind and its connection to the world around us."
Senior Researcher Dolus continued his lecture, to demonstrate his point, he used a series of equations and 3D diagrams from his holographic projector to show how electromagnetic fields interact with the brain.
They clearly showed how movement of these fields can be used to generate the forces necessary to move objects.
To further illustrate his point, Dolus brought up a holographic display showing two cultivators in combat.
One was using dimensional energy manipulation to project a blast of energy, while the other was using psychokinesis to lift and throw a large object.
"Chronos, can you explain the difference between controlling a projectile with dimensional energy versus electromagnetic energy in combat?"
"In a combat scenario, it would be advantageous to have a strong understanding of both methods," Chronos replied.
"However, it is important to note that dimensional energy manipulation relies heavily on an individual's own energy and can be physically taxing, while psychokinesis requires a strong control of the mind and a deep understanding of physics. Both methods have their strengths and weaknesses."
Chronos analyzed, now making sense of why TaoTie's projectile manipulation speed had increased so much after he was provoked.
Dolus nodded his head in approval, then turned to his Grand Nephew,
"What do you think TaoTie?"
"I… agree…?"
Tao Tie replied absentmindedly.
"Chronos I'd like you to write a summary of the main points of the lecture and your opinions of the study of Psychokinesis,"
Dolus instructed, completely ignoring his disciple.
"Sure, TaoTie, could you lend me your Document Pad for a moment?"
Chronos quickly took TaoTie's Document Pad and his own and placed them side by side.
He then began writing with both hands, a skill he had honed through rigorous training.
The granduncle and nephew pair glanced at each other briefly before gazing at Chronos.
By this point, they had already started to get used to the plethora of surprises this talented prince would sporadically rub in their faces.
"So what do you think of the field of psychokinesis?"
Dolus queried the prince as he continued to scribble on.
Without even looking up, Chronos replied,
"It's amazing, it's an entirely new subsection of cultivation, I'm sure there have been humans in history that have intuitively stumbled onto it but to actually put it into quantifiable written theory…"
"Hmph… Of course! My research will revolutionize the future generations of the Empire of Astral!" Dolus cut in proudly.
However, just as he was basking in his own glory, Chronos said,
"Hmm… However, your calculation matrix might still be able to be further improved though…"