Wen Xian was buried in a pile of books, with his desk overflowing with documents, books, and even a somewhat ancient-looking parchment scroll. When Li Xian walked into the study, he was taken aback; the books on the floor were stacked high enough to reach the ceiling. "What exactly are you looking for?" Li Xian curiously leaned into the pile of books, watching Wen Xian scan through an old notebook of about 400 pages in what seemed like three seconds, faster than the abstract quantum speed reading that had appeared in his time.
"I'm reading historical materials and seeing if anyone has any unique insights on arcana," Wen Xian replied, setting the notebook aside. "Unfortunately, I haven't found what I need. Let's talk about your matters first. How is the First Corps doing?"
"I'm here to report on our progress. It's going very well; the new recruits have been effective, and training is gradually improving. Physical training and drill training have been quite successful. I'm considering formations for the future, but I've never worked with cold weapon formations. I know the corresponding forms, but figuring out how to shape them is quite clever. After all, there's a gap between knowing and doing. I came to seek your advice; you must have led troops in the cold weapon era, right?" Li Xian looked at Wen Xian with mild anticipation, and Wen Xian confirmed, "I have."
"But back then, I didn't pay much attention to formations; I could break through the enemy's formation by myself." Wen Xian shrugged, but Li Xian wasn't surprised. "Indeed, a legend like you can easily turn the tide of battle without worrying about those details."
"Are you familiar with the three-part strike?" Wen Xian suddenly mentioned a tactical formation that had shone brightly in modern times in his previous life.
"More familiar than with cold weapon formations. Are you considering the weapons the army will use? Planning to employ primitive kinetic weapons? What is this?" Li Xian pointed to a draft with a long, rectangular object drawn on it.
"That's a matchlock gun. One of the primitive kinetic weapons you mentioned, probably the limit of current technological capability," Wen Xian said. He had copied this drawing from the Sage's notes and had done a little research, finding it as detailed as before, covering everything from principles to specifics.
"And what about this one? It looks similar, and there are quite a few you've drawn." Li Xian sifted through a stack of documents, intrigued by the elongated weapons. He had never encountered such arms; they had their own means of long-range strikes, and concerning the soldiers themselves, they also carried a variety of personal gear, most of which were enhancement or support tools. Their warriors were powerful weapons in themselves. Of course, there were many exceptions, but typically, long-range offensive weapons were designed to be relatively small or unobtrusive. For example, a ring might fire a beam of heat near the temperature of molten metal, instantly piercing an opponent's chest while the heat remained in their body until it carbonized or completely burned them away.
"This one is a flintlock gun; this is a cannon, and there are some special ones as well. Like this one," Wen Xian pulled out another draft. "You should recognize this." The drawing he presented was a cannon, a type of weapon Li Xian was familiar with. Cannons in their realm were still part of their current weapon systems, though most of the projectiles they launched no longer relied on kinetic energy.
The most distinctive aspect of Wen Xian's sketch was the cannon's shell and interior. The barrel featured a spiral pattern he had learned about in war engineering, but the interior was not made of those spirals; it was inscribed with arcane runes. Li Xian recognized those runes' uses: explosive arcana, which could cause explosions, and acceleration arcana, which could increase the speed of any object within the influence of the runes. Wen Xian had drawn three acceleration runes in this cannon.
"Are you sure you want to inscribe three acceleration runes in here? And what about this explosive arcana..." Li Xian hesitated, but Wen Xian misinterpreted him. "Are you saying three is too few? I was planning to add five."
"No! I'm asking what material your cannon will be made of to withstand such impact. Just the heat and shock from the explosive arcana would cause steel to explode. Before the shell is even fired, your artillery would be launched into the sky along with the cannon, piece by piece." Li Xian finally understood the absurdity of the situation.
"I guess I really lack talent; it's better to stick to a more conventional technological route." Wen Xian felt a bit regretful. He had initially been confident about this weapon, thinking it would become an alternative to the rapid-fire modern artillery he had seen back home, even surpassing it, but in the end, it had been wishful thinking.
"The design you've made isn't feasible, but it isn't without merit," Li Xian said, setting down the drawings. "A conventional technological route may have high compatibility, but it's too slow. To advance, a significant revolution is necessary, supported by an entire industrial system to equip the army with suitable weapons. Such changes could take five to ten years at best, or even a century; clearly, we don't have that time. So, the integration of arcana and machinery seems to be a path forward."
"Do you have any relevant technologies behind you that could serve as reference?" Wen Xian seemed to finally reveal a hint of his true purpose.
"None. Our technological route is purely physical. Although we also use mental powers, which you call spiritual powers, the entire technological background still relies on reality. To maintain combat effectiveness, we need a massive industrial capacity and a complex industrial system, which cannot be replicated in a short time. Moreover, your arcane system is quite intriguing, but we don't use it, even though we are aware of its existence and have some understanding of it." Li Xian's explanation was exactly what Wen Xian needed; he wanted Li Xian to inadvertently reveal information about those behind him, even if it was incomplete. He would slowly piece together this "puzzle."
"It seems I can only rely on the newly recruited scholars; they might have some ideas." Wen Xian sighed.
"Don't get your hopes up too high; I investigated the background of your recent recruitment. They are all very young, fresh graduates from arcane apprenticeship, and their abilities may be limited." Li Xian once again pulled out a background report like Doraemon.
"That's fine; we are also entering a new field, and they will become masters in the future. But you're right; we indeed lack masters. Ivy and I can only be considered 'masters' in using arcana, but academically, we can only say we're in the dark." In fact, in Wen Xian's memory, he had discussed related issues with the Great Sage, who had provided an answer. However, at that time, Wen Xian likely hadn't "listened carefully," and his memory had become quite fuzzy. Previously, he had also had discussions with Ivy about the origins of arcana, but it had been interrupted by other matters.
His spiritual intuition told him that the origin of arcana was very important, so he had spent a whole day flipping through books in the study, starting to integrate the explorations and understandings of arcana from previous scholars. While conversing with Li Xian, he was also organizing the materials he had just reviewed.
"The source of magic originates from stardust..." "Arcana must be a wave..." "It has a direct relation to our spiritual intuition..."
"I hope to gain some insights." Wen Xian silently expressed his hopes.