20 Minutes to Submit

However, while Xiao Yi felt a bit embarrassed by nicknames like "X God," he suddenly remembered the identity of Scholar Ye, or rather, Ye Cheng, in front of him. His name sounded quite like... a novel protagonist.

He asked, "Speaking of which, are you the genius who's 14 this year and scored 680 on the Gaokao?"

"That's me," Ye Cheng nodded. Then he added, "But I think Scholar Xiao's 741 is more impressive. You're more of a genius than I am. My mom told me to learn from you."

Xiao Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This kid was truly straightforward when he spoke.

"You're only 14."

"Just turned 14," Ye Cheng shook his head. "My idol is Terence Tao. He won a gold medal at the IMO at 13, but I tried the IMO problems this year and only managed a silver medal, just one point short of gold."

"That's still very good. Terence Tao only got his gold medal on his third attempt at the IMO," Xiao Yi said. "You don't need to be so hard on yourself."

"No, there's still too much of a gap," Ye Cheng shook his head. "So after I enter university, I'll do my best to graduate within three years and then pursue a Master's and Ph.D. in Mathematics at Princeton University or École Normale Supérieure. I've heard their math programs are the best in the world. After that, once I'm done with academics, I'll dedicate all my time to Mathematics, hoping to win a Fields Medal before I turn 40."

"I've calculated it. I'm 14 this year, so I can still attend seven International Congress of Mathematicians. There's one in the year I turn 40, and the Fields Medal requires mathematicians to be under 40 to win. I have a certain age advantage."

Listening to the ambitious words of this child, Xiao Yi fell silent.

Good heavens, is this the world of geniuses?

He's even planned out his future life.

Compared to him, what was his own future life plan?

Hmm...

Probably just: solve difficult problems -> solve even harder problems -> solve problems that many people can't solve -> solve world-class problems -> ...

Maybe the next step would be 'solve humanity's problems'?

"However, the only problem now is how to pass this exam," Ye Cheng's voice, which had been full of confidence about his future plans, became hesitant. "I'm not very confident about this afternoon's exam because I haven't read any papers on Mathematics yet."

"This change is a bit beyond my control. I really don't know why those Academicians suddenly made this decision."

The genius's face finally showed a child's nervousness.

He asked Xiao Yi, "Scholar Xiao, are you confident about this exam?"

Xiao Yi quickly tapped his mental 'wooden fish' again and gave a diplomatic answer, "Uh... I don't know, it depends."

Ye Cheng nodded. "Okay, it's good that my teacher said that not many students will likely score points in this afternoon's exam, and it will probably depend on the results of this morning's exam."

Xiao Yi nodded, indeed.

For the vast majority of students, the morning exam results would ultimately count for more, so doing well on the morning exam was the key.

Just then, the bell rang, and the invigilators entered the examination hall. The two stopped talking.

All candidates were instructed to hand in any items unrelated to the exam, cease conversation, and await the official start of the test.

There were three invigilators, along with various surveillance cameras and signal jammers, effectively eliminating any possibility of cheating.

Of course, for the geniuses present, they probably wouldn't resort to cheating.

At 8:55 AM, the exam papers were distributed.

Xiao Yi quickly received his paper and glanced at the three questions, then shook his head.

Mediocre!

The format of these three questions was basically the same as a mathematics competition, ultimately testing the same old tricks.

And because there were only two hours, unlike the four and a half hours for a mathematics competition, the difficulty of the questions was relatively reduced.

However, for Xiao Yi, the situation was the same.

He finished all three questions in just 20 minutes. The small number of questions meant less writing, which was convenient for him.

And most importantly...

This exam allowed students to submit their papers at any time!

This was much more humane than the high school rule where you couldn't leave until the last half hour!

So Xiao Yi stood up directly and walked towards the front.

The invigilator at the very front was a professor from their Mathematics department, Professor Xu, who recognized Xiao Yi immediately.

He was the professor in charge of the Hua Loo-Keng Class and had previously attended a mathematics academic conference with Liu Bin. He had already seen this young genius through a video call with Liu Bin and Xiao Yi.

"You're here to... submit your paper?" Professor Xu asked, glancing at his watch. "It's only been 20 minutes since the exam started."

Xiao Yi nodded. "Yes, I'm submitting now."

Professor Xu said no more and took Xiao Yi's paper. "You may leave now."

Then he looked down at the paper and was immediately astonished. Although he had some expectations, seeing the paper filled with answers still filled him with disbelief.

This was only 20 minutes!

While the three questions weren't as difficult as those in the IMO, finishing them in 20 minutes was truly outrageous.

It was almost as if...

He had only spent time on writing?

He hadn't even thought much at all?

"Truly... impressive."

Professor Xu shook his head helplessly. Liu Bin had told him to witness firsthand just how formidable Xiao Yi was, and now he had truly seen it.

Meanwhile, the numerous mathematics prodigies present had naturally noticed the commotion. Seeing Xiao Yi submit his paper, their faces showed expressions of disbelief.

They hadn't even finished the first question, or rather, they were stumped by the very first question. And yet, someone had already submitted their paper?

What a joke!

No one considered the possibility that he had simply turned in a blank paper, because they all recognized the person submitting as Xiao Yi.

How could the "national top scholar" with a score of 741 possibly turn in a blank paper?

There could only be one explanation: for him, this exam paper could be completed in just 20 minutes.

For a moment, these young individuals, who were all very confident in their mathematical abilities, began to doubt themselves.

The power of the Math Demon King was beginning to reveal itself!

Ye Cheng also stared blankly at Xiao Yi's now empty seat. After a good while of shock, he finally sighed in admiration.

As expected of Scholar Xiao, whom he truly admired!