Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 220 - 114: Worries (4k)

Chapter 220: Chapter 114: Worries (4k)

In a classroom at Beijing University, Zheng Fazheng was attending a lecture.

There were not many students in the classroom, only about ten, and the lecturer was an elderly man dressed in an old shirt and wearing glasses. He gave Zheng Fazheng a puzzled look as he entered.

His puzzlement was normal because this class was "Introduction to Atmospheric Science," a specialized course for the Meteorology Department.

Although the Meteorology Department and Zheng Fazheng’s own School of Physics were both part of the School of Physics, and their courses overlapped significantly, "Introduction to Atmospheric Science" was exclusive to the Meteorology Department and was typically attended only by meteorology students—Zheng Fazheng, as a new face, stood out somewhat.

His purpose was to audit the course:

Waiting for a meteorologist to stumble into him seemed too passive and too dependent on luck for Zheng Fazheng’s taste.

However, perfecting Cloud Rain Thunder required understanding meteorological knowledge.

So, he simply started learning on his own.

The advantage of being at Beijing University lay in this—even though meteorology was a niche subject in any university, Beijing University still gathered the most top-notch meteorologists, providing Zheng Fazheng with sufficient learning resources.

Upon entering the classroom, Zheng Fazheng could feel the puzzled glances from both the students and the elderly lecturer.

He didn’t mind, though; if the lecturer didn’t want him there, he would just leave—he didn’t consider it stealing to learn a bit of knowledge on the sly.

On the other hand, based on his experience, most Beijing University professors didn’t mind students auditing their classes.

Indeed, the elderly lecturer just glanced at him a couple of times without saying anything, then turned on the projector and began the lecture.

Like the other students in the classroom, Zheng Fazheng listened attentively, and even took notes more diligently than his peers.

This attracted a few more glances from the lecturer.

The two class periods passed quickly and at the end, the lecturer didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed at the podium to answer questions for some students.

Zheng Fazheng didn’t go up, but just closed his book, reflecting on the lecture.

"Introduction to Atmospheric Science," as an entry course for the Meteorology Department, was not difficult to understand—or rather, since meteorology stemmed from physics, it wasn’t difficult for Zheng Fazheng to grasp.

He felt quite enlightened, but still lacked a clear idea on how to control Cloud Rain Thunder through the Thunder Skill.

Zheng Fazheng was not discouraged, feeling at least directionally more informed than the people from the Heavenly Stele Realm.

Head bowed, revisiting the lecturer’s points and organizing his books, he suddenly noticed an extra pair of feet next to his desk.

Looking up, the lecturer was standing next to him, smiling and asking, "Do you have any questions?"

"..." Zheng Fazheng was momentarily taken aback.

Thinking he was shy, the lecturer asked, "You’re not a student of the Meteorology Department, which department are you from?"

"I’m from the School of Physics."

The lecturer nodded and repeated, "Do you have any questions?"

Zheng Fazheng was a bit puzzled by the lecturer’s enthusiasm.

The lecturer seemed to notice his confusion and explained with a smile, "Meteorology is a niche field. I’ve been teaching this introduction course for over a decade and rarely encounter auditors..."

Zheng Fazheng knew this statement was true.

For example, the School of Physics at Beijing University had over two hundred faculty members, including several academicians.

In contrast, the Meteorology Department had only twelve faculty members in total, fewer than the number of academicians in the School of Physics.

Seeing his understanding, the lecturer continued, "If you have an interest in meteorology, feel free to ask any questions."

Zheng Fazheng felt somewhat guilty; his interest in meteorology was not great, which might somewhat disappoint the lecturer’s indiscriminate educational intent.

Seeing the lecturer’s eager gaze, Zheng Fazheng thought for a moment and then voiced his thoughts:

"Sir, can our current technology for artificial rainmaking be achieved through electromagnetic forces?"

He was a bit nervous as this question sounded somewhat pseudoscientific.

The lecturer paused, apparently not expecting this question.

"That’s a very new area." But he wasn’t impatient and thought carefully before responding, "Very few people study this topic."

Zheng Fazheng nodded; he had also researched related materials, and indeed, it was quite an obscure subject.

"In theory, it is feasible, but application-wise, there’s a major issue..." the lecturer paused as if to quiz Zheng Fazheng, "Do you know why?"

"Energy, cost," Zheng Fazheng replied softly.

"Correct." The lecturer responded with a smile, "Artificial rainmaking is actually very mature now, and using electromagnetic energy would require too high of an energy cost."

Hearing the lecturer’s words, Zheng Fazheng was not discouraged.

He had anticipated the difficulty.

"However, there is research in this area, mostly in lab simulations. Oh, and some ideas for meteorological weapons actually follow this concept..."

Unexpectedly, the lecturer’s words gave him a pleasant surprise.

"There’s a relatively mature idea, it seems to be from abroad, from a paper a few years ago, using lasers to affect rainfall, with more experimental data and more comprehensive research."

Zheng Fazheng quickly took out his notes to jot this down.

It’s not that he couldn’t find this information himself; on the contrary, the available data was overwhelmingly ample.

But lacking specialized knowledge, he had previously found it hard to distinguish which experiments were rigorous and scientific and which were not valuable.

Sometimes Zheng Fazheng thought, the ignorance in the Xuanwei Realm stemmed from too little information, groping in the dark, while contemporary ignorance arose from too much information, sifting through mud and sand... quite a paradox.

The research that the lecturer remembered, at least, was recognized by professionals.