The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 680 Shen Le: You want a flying sword weighing a ton? I'll try to forge one for you?
Shen Le had no idea how big a flying sword it would take to propel the Cloud Kun.

He turned his pleading gaze to the fleet commander, who also looked troubled and shook his head with a wry smile:

"This...we're really not sure. Mr. Shen, shall we have a meeting and discuss it? The experts are already on their way..."

Experts have indeed arrived from all directions.

There's no way around it; Yun Kun has an exceptionally high priority right now, and it's ranked very high on the priority list. After it finishes its surveys in these parts of China, it will eventually have to go out to do surveying and mapping, and carry out missions.

Being able to fly and evacuate quickly means having an extra life, and this requirement must be met!
Therefore, experts from the Special Affairs Bureau, experts from Cheng Luoma and Shen Huoyi, experts from Huludao, sword immortals from Mount Shu, and experts from some unknown research institute gathered together—

Some came specifically to see the small wooden boats, some were too busy to come and had to hold a video conference, and some, although they really wanted to come, were not as fast as Shen Le and were still on their way.

Just like Master Qingyue of Mount Shu, he received the call around the same time as Shen Le, but Shen Le could travel through the earth's veins and arrive within an hour, while he could only take a plane with great difficulty...

what?
You mean flying on a sword?

Yu Jian would have to call various aviation authorities to apply for and register flight routes, which is almost the same as flying a private jet. He might as well just buy a plane ticket!

Therefore, Shen Le hurriedly devoured a large amount of information and gave it to Yun Kun, Li Xingtang, and the little guys on the ship, and gave them all spiritual energy maintenance.

The following afternoon, an electronic screen was set up in Yun Kun's cockpit, where several experts sat in a conference room, facing off against experts from Huludao and Shenhuoyi through a camera.

On the other side of the long table, Shen Le, an expert from the Special Affairs Bureau, sat side by side.

To Shen Le's right, there was a paper figure, a faceless suit of iron armor, a faceless dress, a compass, and a scroll, arranged in a row or laid out on the conference table.

This attracted the attention of visiting experts, who kept peering through the glass partition.
How come someone who isn't human is also participating in the expert meeting?

"First, let us state our needs." The military expert cleared his throat and was the first to speak:
"We hope that Yun Kun can use the flying sword to have a certain degree of rapid mobility."

The Cloud Kun's maximum displacement is 400 tons. After being extended using magic, its displacement can reach 2000 tons. When the magic is shrunk to its limit, the displacement...

The experts from Huludao and Shenhuoyi, who had been lingeringly stroking the gunwale of Yunkun's ship, were now swaying precariously, their eyes gleaming with anxiety.

In the video conferencing system, a researcher from some research institute opened his mouth, and the shape of his lips almost said:

"This is impossible!"

"Understood." Fortunately, before he could speak, an expert from another research institute had already pressed the speak button.

"So, at what level do we need Yun Kun to achieve rapid maneuverability, especially rapid aerial maneuverability?"

this……

Shen Le remained silent, turning his head and glancing sideways at the paper figure beside him. The paper figure rapidly typed on a keyboard, and immediately, a specially trained voice representing Yun Kun eagerly rang out:
[The bigger the better, of course! The bigger I am, the faster and stronger I am, and the better I can fight people! If I shrink to three inches long, any shrapnel will just graz me and I'm gone!]

Oh, Yun Kun, we shouldn't ask for exorbitant sums.

Imagine a 2000-ton iron ship breaking through the water and flying directly into the sky—can you imagine the sensation it would cause?

Have you ever thought about how many countries and how many satellites in the sky will be watching you the moment you take off? Have you ever thought about how long the traffic jam around the Pentagon will last in the middle of the night?

Before the already shaky experts could finally lose their temper and launch into a tirade, Shen Le had already slammed his hand on the table:
"Yun Kun, the largest flying machine in history, didn't even weigh 2000 tons! Let's be a little more realistic and not make things difficult for the experts, okay?"

But the world's largest space shuttle, Columbia, had a takeoff weight of 2040 tons!

Yun Kun retorted defiantly. Shen Le slapped his forehead, then forced a forced smile at the expert, his face full of exasperation.
I'm sorry, I've failed as a parent and spoiled my child. I can't control him anymore, can you please discipline him for me?
Laughter, both high and low, filled the conference room, even behind the large screen hanging on the wall. After a moment, the expert sent by the Special Affairs Bureau cleared his throat and took over the conversation:

"The flight method that Comrade Yun Kun needs is not rocket-assisted. I mean, it's about spitting fire while jettisoning the lower half, and possibly even setting its own outer shell on fire."

"—What's the maximum takeoff weight, in tons, for flying in the form of a flying sword?"

He turned to look at Daoist Qingyue. Daoist Qingyue sighed softly and opened an old booklet:

"Well... we haven't done the detailed calculations. Generally speaking, sword immortals fly solo, occasionally carrying another person."

Most of the items I need to carry are stored in various spatial devices and therefore don't count towards weight. In general, at most, it's under 500 pounds, right?

Yun Kun immediately let out a long sigh. Beside him, Li Xingtang, Luo Qun, the scroll, the compass, the red wedding dress, and so on, all sighed in unison:

So small...

Shen Le's forehead veins throbbed. "You're not a child anymore! You're not a child anymore!"
The greater the weight, the larger the size, and the more prominent the signal displayed on the radar.

What, you're planning to let someone mistake you for a missile and shoot you down?!

Let's keep quiet and make a fortune, kid!

He was full of complaints, but the experts who had dealt with Yun Kun more often clearly had endless patience when it came to coaxing the child—a mischievous child full of whimsical ideas.

One of the experts, whom Shen Le recognized—likely an expert he'd met at the Gobi Desert base—smiled and asked Yun Kun in a gentle, almost coaxing voice:
"So, Comrade Yun Kun, what do you think is the minimum size you need to expand to have sufficient safety and counterattack capability during flight?"
"Too big won't do. If it's too big, it'll be too conspicuous and attract missiles!"

【this……】

Yun Kun froze for a moment. He swayed back and forth awkwardly—everyone on the boat felt the noticeable swaying—and after a while, he answered uncertainly:
[I mean, the one that could fire rockets in rapid succession at the fastest speed during my tests? Did you bring it?]

They actually brought it. The expert in the Gobi Desert skillfully typed on the keyboard, pulled up a file, and showed it to Yun Kun on the big screen.

Round after round of experiments: on the water, underwater, in its normal form, in its submarine form with the mast retracted, in various sizes, and with all sorts of weapons on deck and in the cabins… Scene after scene flashed by, and when one scene came on, Yun Kun shouted happily:

[That's right! This is it!]

"...Displacement of 50 tons, length of 15 meters, beam...draft...overall height..."

The expert rattled off a long string of data. Next, it was the aircraft experts' turn to frown:
"This number doesn't exceed the limit; in fact, our C919 is much heavier. But the length, width, height... the shape... the key is getting it to fly..."

"Yun Kun, when you try to fly out of the water, could you perhaps modify your shape a little? If your shape conforms to aerodynamic design, it will be easier for you to fly..."

Cheng Luoma, Shen Huoyi, and the experts from the research institutes that make various aircraft all nodded in agreement. It really is uncomfortable when the shape of an aircraft isn't right!
Putting aside the cost-effectiveness of flight propulsion, it's ugly! Just looking at it hurts the eyes!
Yun Kun started swaying from side to side again, groaning and whimpering. He could barely tolerate having to retract the mast, and he could understand having to transform into a submarine.

But having to conjure up wings, tail feathers, and stuff like that is so uncomfortable! Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable!

Should he move the mast to the stern?
"That's not necessary." At this crucial moment, it was Master Qingyue who spoke up for him:

"The shape doesn't meet the requirements for flight, so there's no need to force it to transform. When we fly on swords, as long as the sword light can condense and take shape outside our bodies, we don't need to turn into an airplane!"

[That’s it! That’s it!]

Yun Kun was happy. Shen Le smiled and touched the table, saying softly:

"So, what solutions do we have to enable Yun Kun to fly as much as possible, increase its flight speed, or maximize its maneuverability outside of our territorial waters?"

"This……"

The experts exchanged bewildered glances. Cheng Luoma, Shen Huoyi, and the experts from various flight research institutes, having seen Yun Kun in person or through screens, had already satisfied their curiosity and were the first to surrender:
"We really can't do it... Our methods are not suitable for use on a ship..."

"We can't do it either..."

"How about modifying the Yunkun into a hydrofoil? Or into a ground effect vehicle?"

【No! That's too inflexible! Both of those have to skim close to the sea surface to fly! And they're too slow! I want to take off in a flash and disappear in an instant!】

The shipbuilding experts also failed. In the end, only the experts from the Special Affairs Bureau and Daoist Qingyue remained, looking at each other with furrowed brows, deep in thought:
"To propel a 50-ton ship, how big of a flying sword would that be? Our sect's flying swords definitely wouldn't be enough. According to records, even our best flying sword could only lift a giant crocodile and fly it for a few hundred miles..."

He scratched his head, tugged at his beard, racked his brains, and stared blankly. Unfortunately, some things are simply impossible to do, like physics and mathematics.

Finally, experts from the Special Affairs Bureau helped to get out of the predicament:

"How about we do a test? Find a few more flying swords, see what the maximum load capacity is, and try to plot a load curve?"

Master Qingyue carried only one flying sword—the one bestowed upon him by his sect and which he cultivated with his very life.

Fortunately, Shen Le provided a porcelain sword, and Li Xingtang provided a precious sword that he had collected from the snow mountain and that had been suppressed in the secret realm for hundreds or thousands of years.

The three immortal swords, barely forming a data sequence, were tried back and forth:

"Porcelain sword...body weight 35 grams...spiritual power index 217...maximum load capacity...50 kilograms? That's far too little!"

"My own immortal sword... its main body weighs 1.2 kilograms... test it by hanging the weight on the flying sword? No way! It'll knock the weight off! I'll have to hold it..."

Maximum load capacity...215 kg? Should we try again? Sigh, these old bones of mine really can't carry something this heavy anymore!

"Mr. Li's immortal sword..."

While diligently testing, he also called inside the sect to ask them to help with the testing as well.

Dozens of different types of Chinese Paladin swords were tested repeatedly, data was collected, and a model was built. Finally, the results were calculated according to Yun Kun's requirements:
"To move Yun Kun, it would probably require a flying sword weighing at least one ton? Is that a reliable number? Is there any way to modify it and reduce the weight?"

It weighs a ton!
This isn't something that can be achieved simply by forging iron!
This requires forging with spirit metal, then the cultivator must breathe and inhale, transferring their power into the sword to resonate with the flying sword, and repeatedly tempering it to achieve this!
To forge a three-foot-long, two-finger-thick immortal sword to the point where it is as easy to use as an arm, to the point where one can fly on the sword, to the point where one can ride the sword light to enter and leave the azure sky, and to the point where one is immune to all evil, it takes several decades of effort.
A flying sword weighing one ton, if it were to be fully refined, would probably take a sword immortal half a lifetime!

Master Qingyue's face turned deathly pale. Turning his head to look, he saw that Li Xingtang was sitting still, his expression unchanged—it was pitch black under the helmet anyway, so his complexion didn't matter;

The paper figure representing Yun Kun sat upright, its expression unchanged—once drawn, it wouldn't change as long as the color didn't fade.

Shen Le, however, frowned slightly, stroked the table, and lowered his voice to discuss with Yun Kun:
"Could you make the sword a little smaller? For a flying sword to carry you at high speed, shouldn't it need spiritual energy the most? You don't lack spiritual energy; you've installed a reactor..."

"That's what you calculated!" The paper figure typed rapidly, not converting it to speech, but simply turning the screen towards Shen Le so he could see it for himself:
[If you can calculate a smaller volume, I don't mind! But even that immortal sword can't lift it, so I reckon we'll need a larger sword!]

Shen Le scratched his head in frustration. Beside him, the Special Affairs Bureau expert shook his head so hard it was almost a blur:
"A 1-ton immortal sword? That's impossible! Absolutely impossible! Forging an immortal sword isn't like working in a steel mill; you can't create something that heavy!"

That requires forging with spiritual fire, hammering it hammer by hammer, each hammer blow infused with one's own magical power, to form an array on the flying sword—

Without any formation, it's just a big lump of iron; it's impossible for it to fly!

"Hmm, let me think..."

Shen Le pondered intently. After thinking for a while, he touched the tabletop:
"Yun Kun, how about this, I'll make you a smaller flying sword first. Let's try it out, you transform into the smallest size, or a smaller form, and see if you can fly?"

Once you can fly, try something bigger!

As for spirit gold, I can just go begging for alms, or see if there's any in the Jade Ring Secret Realm!

(End of this chapter)