Chapter Summaries

A student solved Professor Liu Bin’s difficult bounty problem on the hallway blackboard, impressing the gathered seniors and Liu Bin with an elegant six-line proof. Liu Bin offered the solver a chance at USTC independent admissions, but no one came forward to claim the reward.

• USTC High School seniors gathered to study the math problem that had stumped them all day and found a six-line proof written on the blackboard.
• The students discussed how solving the problem could earn its author an opportunity to participate in USTC’s independent admissions.
• Grade Director Chen Liang arrived with Professor Liu Bin, who confirmed that the solver would receive the promised opportunity.
• Liu Bin examined the proof, praised its elegance and use of Bézout’s Identity, then asked the solver to explain their reasoning.
• No student stepped forward, leaving Liu Bin’s offer unclaimed and the crowd in an awkward silence.

After a mysterious student solved Liu Bin’s second, harder math problem using Euler’s Formula, Chen Liang realized the solver might be a freshman or sophomore. Liu Bin considered whether the young mathematician could be a candidate for USTC’s Gifted Class.

• Chen Liang waited for the student who had solved Liu Bin’s first problem to come forward, but no one appeared.
• Liu Bin announced that he would post a harder problem the next morning and keep the same rewards.
• The second problem was solved in eight lines during the senior students’ dinner break, and the handwriting matched the first solution.
• Liu Bin examined the proof and was astonished that the student had used Euler’s Formula.
• Chen Liang noted that both problems had been solved during senior students’ meal breaks and guessed that the solver was a freshman or sophomore.
• Liu Bin said the student might be a promising candidate for USTC’s Gifted Class, leaving the senior students stunned.

Xiao Yi explained how the Ruthless Continuous Study buff had transformed his learning and why he had committed to studying 14.4 hours every day. On his way back from the cafeteria, he spotted a new set of math problems in the senior-year corridor and recognized the first two as ones he had already solved.

• Liu Bin planned to post another problem and return with Chen Liang to find the mysterious student and test whether he could solve it.
• Xiao Yi rejected his roommates' invitation to an internet café, explaining that he needed to study for the college entrance exam.
• Xiao Yi recalled that Ruthless Continuous Study doubled his study efficiency each continuous hour, up to ten times, but required a strict schedule to keep the buff from expiring.
• Xiao Yi finished dinner and headed back to the classroom while his roommates went to play basketball.
• Xiao Yi passed through the senior-year corridor and saw three math problems on small blackboards, recognizing the first two as problems he had solved.

Xiao Yi found an exceptionally difficult math problem on a corridor blackboard and solved it while Liu Bin and Chen Liang watched. The chapter ended with Liu Bin arriving just as Xiao Yi finished writing and staring at the solution in shock.

• Xiao Yi came across a new problem on the small blackboard and recognized it as far harder than the ones he had solved there before.
• Xiao Yi understood the unfamiliar notation from his mathematics books and began working through the problem.
• Liu Bin and Chen Liang watched from down the corridor as Xiao Yi started writing his solution.
• Liu Bin explained that the problem was the hardest among that year's IMO Preliminary Problems and predicted it might take Xiao Yi at least half an hour.
• Liu Bin, Chen Liang, and several teachers approached the blackboard and saw Xiao Yi finish the solution without pausing.
• Liu Bin looked at Xiao Yi's completed solution and froze.

Xiao Yi solved Liu Bin’s exceptionally difficult math problem in eight lines, surprising the teachers and third-year students who gathered around him. After learning Xiao Yi was a second-year student, Liu Bin invited him to join the USTC Young Scholars Program, while Xiao Yi remained surprised that the problems were considered so hard.

• Xiao Yi finished reviewing his concise solution and was startled when Chen Liang and the others gathered behind him.
• Chen Liang asked Xiao Yi his name and grade, and Xiao Yi said he was from Class 3 of Science Stream, second year.
• Chen Liang introduced Liu Bin and explained that the three blackboard problems were comparable to IMO problems and that the latest had been rejected as too difficult.
• Liu Bin invited Xiao Yi to join the USTC Young Scholars Program because he believed Xiao Yi was qualified.
• Xiao Yi said he thought the problems could be solved with a little thought, leaving Chen Liang and the third-year students speechless.

Xiao Yi impressed USTC professor Liu Bin with his mathematical talent, and Liu Bin invited him to join the Gifted Class while explaining that an IMO gold medal was another option. Xiao Yi was drawn to the Gifted Class’s chance to save a year and study advanced mathematics, and the chapter ended with his homeroom teacher learning that Xiao Yi was at the Senior Year Department.

• Liu Bin invited Xiao Yi to join USTC’s Gifted Class and said an IMO gold medal could carry even more weight.
• Xiao Yi considered both paths and became interested in saving a year of high school and studying advanced mathematics.
• When evening self-study began, Chen Liang sent the senior students back to class and kept Xiao Yi to speak with Liu Bin.
• Chen Liang contacted Grade Director Qin Song and led Xiao Yi toward the Senior Year Department teachers’ office.
• Luo Penghua noticed Xiao Yi was missing from evening self-study, then learned from Qin Song that Xiao Yi was at the Senior Year Department.

Professor Liu Bin revealed that Xiao Yi had impressed him with his exceptional mathematics ability and could qualify for the USTC Young Scholars Program. The chapter left Luo Penghua and Qin Song astonished as they considered Xiao Yi’s potential and the prospect of his joining the Gifted Class.

• Qin Song and Luo Penghua arrived at the Senior Year Department office, where Chen Liang told them he had discovered a promising candidate for the USTC Young Scholars Program in Xiao Yi.
• Luo Penghua and Qin Song entered and found Xiao Yi solving a difficult problem beside Professor Liu Bin.
• Chen Liang introduced Liu Bin and explained that Liu had come seeking students for USTC’s independent admissions program before discovering Xiao Yi’s talent.
• Liu Bin told them Xiao Yi had quickly solved two more problems, including IMO’s Legendary Problem Six, by independently deriving Vieta Jumping.
• Liu Bin praised Xiao Yi as a born mathematician and described the opportunities available through the USTC Young Scholars Program, while Luo Penghua and Qin Song examined the scratch paper in amazement.

Xiao Yi accepted the chance to apply for the USTC Young Scholars Program, though his classmates did not believe him when he explained it. His parents agreed, but the teachers were left stunned when they checked his past grades.

• Luo Penghua and Qin Song explained the USTC Young Scholars Program and the possibility of Xiao Yi entering the Hua Loo-Keng Class.
• Xiao Yi said he was interested in applying, and the teachers offered to contact his family for approval.
• Xiao Yi returned to class and told Chen Wei that he might enter the USTC Young Scholars Program, but Chen Wei dismissed him as a joke.
• Xiao Yi began reviewing physics because he still needed to take the college entrance exam for the Gifted Class.
• Luo Penghua told the teachers that Xiao Yi's parents had agreed, and the teachers gathered his grades and records to submit to the school.
• The teachers checked Xiao Yi's past grades and fell silent.

Liu Bin and the teachers reviewed Xiao Yi’s old exam results but decided to wait for his first monthly exam before submitting his recommendation to the USTC Gifted Class. Xiao Yi, unaware of their plan, began the exam ranked 99th in Exam Room 4.

• Liu Bin questioned Xiao Yi’s previous score of 580, but agreed to wait for the monthly exam before submitting his information for the Gifted Class.
• Xiao Yi’s parents confirmed that a USTC professor had noticed him and raised his weekly allowance from 200 yuan to 300 yuan.
• A week later, Xiao Yi arrived at Exam Room 4 for the monthly exam and discussed rumors about the unidentified student admitted to the Gifted Class with Chen Wei.
• A proctor called the students into the examination rooms.

Xiao Yi finished the Chinese exam early and impressed the teachers watching the surveillance feed. He then found the supposedly difficult mathematics exam so easy that he completed its first sections almost immediately, leaving the teachers wondering how far his abilities had advanced.

• Xiao Yi used his improved comprehension and memory to finish the Chinese exam neatly, then handed it in half an hour early.
• Chen Liang, Qin Song, and Luo Penghua watched Xiao Yi leave through the exam room's surveillance feed and decided to wait for his mathematics exam.
• Xiao Yi began the mathematics exam expecting a challenge, but quickly found even the hardest multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions easy.
• Xiao Yi finished the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank sections in six or seven minutes and began the calculation problems without using scratch paper.
• Qin Song, Chen Liang, and Luo Penghua speculated that Xiao Yi's Math Olympiad ability had made the exam easy for him.

Xiao Yi finished the difficult math exam in twenty minutes, handed it in early, and stunned the invigilator and exam monitors with his answers and scratch work. As teachers began grading, the Exam Room 4 invigilator hinted that Xiao Yi might surpass the grade’s apparent top score.

• Xiao Yi completed the math exam in twenty minutes, then spent the remaining time shortening his solution to the final question before handing in his paper early.
• Chen Wei watched Xiao Yi leave and wondered whether he was the sophomore who had solved Math Olympiad problems, while the invigilator checked Xiao Yi’s answers and found them correct.
• The invigilator examined Xiao Yi’s scratch paper and was stunned by his repeated work on the final question.
• In the monitoring room, Chen Liang, Luo Penghua, and Qin Song discussed Xiao Yi’s early finish and planned to check the math grading that evening.
• At the grading site, teachers identified Shen Xing’s 148 as the likely highest score until the Exam Room 4 invigilator suggested Xiao Yi might surprise them.

The grading teachers learned that a student in Exam Room 4 might earn a perfect math score, and Qin Song confirmed their suspicions when Xiao Yi received 150. Xiao Yi’s elegant solution impressed the teachers, who discovered he was the student chosen by the Gifted Class.

• Teacher Zhang told the grading teachers that an Exam Room 4 student might get a perfect score, and Qin Song arrived and echoed his prediction.
• The teachers finished grading Exam Room 4 and saw that Xiao Yi of Class 3 of Science Stream had scored 150.
• The teachers examined Xiao Yi’s answers and admired his concise solution to the hardest problem.
• Qin Song revealed that Xiao Yi was the student chosen by the Gifted Class.
• Teacher Zhang realized that Xiao Yi’s identity explained what he had witnessed during the exam.

After Xiao Yi scored full marks on the final math problem, the teachers discovered he had spent his scratch-paper time finding shorter solutions. Qin Song called Professor Liu Bin with good news about Xiao Yi, but the chapter ended before he revealed the details.

• Teacher Zhang showed the teachers Xiao Yi's scratch paper, which contained four additional solutions to the final problem.
• A math teacher realized Xiao Yi had been challenging himself to simplify the solution, eventually reducing it from nine lines to five.
• Qin Song photographed the scratch paper and arranged to get a copy of Xiao Yi's test paper.
• Qin Song told the teachers that Xiao Yi had finished the entire exam in twenty minutes, then left to contact Professor Liu Bin.
• Liu Bin answered Qin Song's call, and Qin Song told him he could rest easy.

After hearing about Xiao Yi’s extraordinary math exam performance, Liu Bin arranged to help him qualify for the USTC Gifted Class and planned to bring him advanced books. The chapter ended as Xiao Yi’s classmates waited tensely for the monthly exam results to be announced.

• Qin Song told Liu Bin that Xiao Yi had finished the math exam in twenty minutes and found five solutions to the final problem.
• Liu Bin was astonished by Xiao Yi’s speed and flexible thinking, and looked forward to seeing him challenge the Gifted Class students.
• Liu Bin asked Qin Song to send Xiao Yi’s full exam results so he could apply for a College Entrance Exam Qualification Certificate.
• Liu Bin planned to visit the Affiliated High School the following week and added advanced mathematics books to Xiao Yi’s collection.
• After the remaining exams ended, Monday morning self-study arrived, and the students eagerly awaited their monthly exam results.

Xiao Yi’s Ruthless Continuous Study skill upgraded, increasing its maximum learning-efficiency bonus to twelve times, while his classmates wondered how he had finished every exam early. Their homeroom teacher arrived to announce the monthly exam results and hinted that Xiao Yi had stunned the entire grade.

• Xiang Dong said the math exam had been difficult and admitted he had guessed on the hardest questions.
• The students realized Xiao Yi had handed in every exam half an hour early, but he ignored their attention and focused on his skill.
• Ruthless Continuous Study upgraded to Lv. 2, raising its maximum learning-efficiency bonus from tenfold to twelvefold.
• Xiao Yi felt his understanding deepen and wondered where he could find more difficult knowledge.
• Luo Penghua arrived to discuss the monthly exam results, criticized most students’ performance, and began describing Xiao Yi as an exceptional surprise.

Xiao Yi’s class learned that he had earned perfect scores in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, then discovered his total score was 700 and he ranked first in the grade. The chapter ended with Luo Penghua announcing that the Gifted Class at the University of Science and Technology of China had taken an interest in Xiao Yi and he might leave next semester.

• Luo Penghua reviewed Class 3’s rankings and praised Xiang Dong for his steady improvement.
• Luo Penghua announced that one student had earned perfect scores in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, leaving the class eager to learn who it was.
• Luo Penghua opened the score sheet, revealing Xiao Yi’s total of 700 points and first place in the grade.
• Luo Penghua announced that the Gifted Class at the University of Science and Technology of China had noticed Xiao Yi and that he might leave Class 3 next semester.

Xiao Yi’s classmates discovered that he was the mysterious Math Prodigy and reacted with surprise and exaggerated admiration. Professor Liu Bin arrived with competition problems and a large collection of books for Xiao Yi, explaining that the books were what he truly wanted to give him.

• Chen Wei and Xiao Yi’s classmates realized Xiao Yi was the Math Prodigy, then crowded around him with praise and jokes.
• Luo Penghua took Xiao Yi outside to meet Professor Liu Bin, who had come to deliver study materials before flying to Shangjing.
• Liu Bin showed Xiao Yi four stacks of books in his car and handed him a thinner stack of bound competition problems.
• Liu Bin told Xiao Yi that the competition problems were only for spare-time entertainment and that the books were his real gift.

Liu Bin gave Xiao Yi more than forty mathematics textbooks and advised him on how to study them before university, while warning that admission to the Hua Luogeng Mathematics Class was not guaranteed. Back in class, Xiao Yi quickly understood a university-level Mathematical Analysis textbook, leaving Chen Wei stunned.

• Liu Bin recommended foundational and advanced mathematics books for Xiao Yi to study before enrolling, including some English textbooks for later use.
• Liu Bin warned Xiao Yi not to waste his talent and said his preparation could help him enter the Hua Luogeng Mathematics Class, though nothing was guaranteed.
• Xiao Yi and Luo Penghua packed the books, carried them to Luo Penghua's office, and then Xiao Yi returned to class.
• Chen Wei asked Xiao Yi about the books, then struggled to understand Mathematical Analysis as Xiao Yi read it with interest.

After his 700-point monthly exam made him famous as a top student and a Gifted Class pick, Xiao Yi ignored the attention and devoted himself to undergraduate mathematics. He finished several books rapidly and discovered that Abstract Algebra was exactly the kind of subject he wanted to study.

• Xiao Yi became known throughout the grade as a dark horse after scoring 700 and ranking first, and students learned he had been selected for the Gifted Class.
• Chen Wei teased Xiao Yi about the girls admiring him, but Xiao Yi challenged him with a math problem and sent him fleeing to the bathroom.
• Xiao Yi used his teachers’ permission to study mathematics during class and read through Mathematical Analysis and Analytic Geometry at remarkable speed.
• Xiao Yi began studying Abstract Algebra and found its difficult, advanced material more exciting than his earlier books.
• Xiao Yi finished Abstract Algebra and declared that it was what he wanted to study.

At a mathematical conference banquet, Liu Bin praised Xiao Yi’s talent to fellow professors and explained that the high school student was in USTC’s Young Scholars Program. When Academician Hu Guangde asked to hear more, Liu Bin offered to contact Xiao Yi so Hu could test him in person.

• A professor asked Liu Bin about the promising student he had found at the affiliated high school, and Liu Bin compared Xiao Yi’s potential to Cao Yuan’s.
• Liu Bin told Professor Xu that Xiao Yi would soon enter USTC’s Hua Loo-Keng Class, despite still being in his second year of high school.
• The professors learned that Xiao Yi was in the USTC Young Scholars Program and became interested in his mathematical talent.
• Academician Hu Guangde joined the conversation and asked Liu Bin to tell him about Xiao Yi.
• Liu Bin offered to contact Xiao Yi so Hu could assess him in person.