Sky-ringing Sword Deng Jiaxuan sat on a couch with a sickly look, holding three papers in his hand. He frowned so hard, you’d think he could squash a mosquito between his brows.
“How is it?” Chen Jingyun sat across and offered tea. “Argent Apex’s grades look good after the April examination.”
Deng Jiaxuan rubbed his temples. “There are only good disciples this year.”
“Quite.” Despite talking like peasants after harvest season, Chen Jingyun showed no change in his expression. The Myriad Arts Sect Eminence spoke. “Cracked Peak’s Ai Clan, Bernoulli family—all great. Small clans and even disciples from rogue cultivators—many outstanding. Wu Shiqin, for instance, is a good candidate for Harmony Coalition’s true disciple spot.”
“Ahem, you know what I mean.” Deng Jiaxuan gave two papers to Chen Jingyun. “There’s one more truly outstanding disciple.”
The three papers were each about Argent Apex, Leyan, and Langde Immortal Institutes’ results on the New Year joint examination and April examination.
“Wang Qi is shining brighter than Ai Changyuan and Bernoulli Xiaoya.”
Chen Jingyun put the teacup down with a shake of his head. “There’s no point in looking at them. You only have to see this to understand.”
“On the Concept, Existence, and Other Results of Extremal Solutions to Abstract Space Differential and Integral Heavenly Origins, Summary on Properties of Nonlinear Celestial Changes Series… Are all of them…”
“Wang Qi’s reference materials presented since January. One of which even got exchanged four times and quoted twice.”
A cultivator quoting another’s theories was a testimony to the writer’s knowledge. Not all theories warranted being quoted. Or rather, most theories in the academic circle weren’t worth quoting. The source of thɪs content is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
Deng Jiaxuan clicked his tongue. “Quite the high publishing rate.”
“While they’re all mere systematic papers, holding no new ideas for mathematics, but one thing is certain. These are quality papers.” Chen Jingyun said, “Flip to the last one.”
“A Multi-Method Foundation Based on Calculator Theory?”
Chen Jingyun sipped his tea. “A new foundation.”
Deng Jiaxuan cried out. “Heaven’s above! He’s just a mid Qi Refining cultivator! At fourteen no less!”
Chen Jingyun nodded. “I’ve seen it, second-grade at the minimum. The crucial point is the ‘multi-method foundation.'”
Divine Hexagram Deng Jiaxuan skimmed over the paper. “The foundation can’t be widespread. Using this foundation for Foundation Establishment requires Evolution Chart, Celestial Hymn Odyssey, Celestial Entropy, Divine Hexagram Computation, and Book of Geometry at the very least. Even I can gather this much with a rough glance…
“What’s even more scary is that he cultivated all those five and Waveform Essence as well as a few others at the same time. It’s simply… simply…”
Chen Jingyun nodded. “If successful, the sky’s the limit for him.”
Deng Jiaxuan picked up on his meaning and sighed. “I fear that ‘incident’ will happen.”
“This foundation theory is only at the level of ‘art,’ but it’s enough to see his deep theoretical knowledge. Adding his grades from the two joint examinations, his prowess is the very best as well. Do you know who that reminds me of?”
“There’s been many geniuses over the past decade. Whom he resembles….”
Chen Jingyun shook his head. “It’s Master Neumann in his youth.”
Deng Jiaxuan widened. “People’s Champion Neumann?”
People’s Champion Neumann, the modern cultivation’s Unfettered with the highest talent, could do math at six and calculus at eight. With such vast and firm knowledge, his cultivation soared, forming his own view of math at seventeen, reaching Golden Core.
“Among the cultivators I know, Master Neumann is the only possible comparison.” Chen Jingyun sipped his tea again. “There’s also a chance this is only the beginning of his talent… a magnitude impossible to imagine!
“There’s this feeling that tomorrow, we…”
Chen Jingyun shook his head. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First off, his history is unclear. No one gets into the Myriad Arts Sect before they’re vetted—even if his future has no limits and he resents me for it. It is my duty as Myriad Arts Sect’s leader.
“Secondly, the worst possibility has been removed. The uncertainty regarding his connection with Daoist Proscribe isn’t crucial.”
“Let’s hope so.” Deng Jiaxuan gave a bitter smile. “This is an Unfettered seed. Lu Xiaoqian, Ai Dinglan, and your Myriad Arts Sect’s Su Junyu—they’ve all started their cultivation within a dozen years, right? If Wang Qi ends up being in the same category, I can almost see another golden year.”
‘Golden year’ was a term used by mortal farmers for an abnormally rich harvest in one year. In the case of cultivators, it referred to one particular event.
A century ago, Elusive Palace rose to prominence, with many Unfettered emerging when they weren’t even a hundred years old. Modern cultivation was radically changed in terms of theories and Dao because of it.
That age was the era of Supreme Lord and Daoist Proscribe.
Such was Wang Qi’s first impression of Raw Mountain.
The ten-thousand-year-old remade sword lost its luster. If not for the fine blue trail on the sword’s fuller, Wang Qi would have thought he was holding another sword. Still three feet long and three inches wide, but that was where the similarity ended, having lost its ancient patterns, replaced by the modern system’s standards.
Wang Qi gave it a whirl. It wasn’t heavy, making it easy for a Qi Refining cultivator like him to wield it with ease. However, Wang Qi’s cultivation of Celestial Hymn Odyssey had increased. He could tell just from the slight distortion of the light around the fuller that it had a lot of mass, surpassing a mountain’s.
“An offset to the celestial body’s gravity?” Wang Qi glanced over to the manual it came with. “Noice refining.”
Low artifact, Raw Mountain.
The sword was made of some really nifty stuff, now transformed after being remolded by an Immortal Alliance’s refiner. But just as Wang Qi expected, it could no longer suck up the essence of the land. Immortal Alliance was against anything that preyed on the world’s resources. However, its evolving perk remained.
Wang Qi’s strength wasn’t up to the artifact’s, so the Immortal Alliance placed thirteen seals on it. Removing the last would need Wang Qi to reach peak Golden Core.
Wang Qi nodded with satisfaction, getting a hang of the longsword. It would become his main weapon for a long time to come.
Su Junyu flew over, sounding excited. “Wang Qi, come with me to the headquarters. Your heart trial was moved ahead!”