Change Is Yi

The fastest update to Seeking the Dao in the Mortal World!

Hall Master Yan and Xi Lingzi stared blankly as Qin Yi led a dozen or so disciples of the Calculation Sect into a circle, gesturing something on the ground.

Do you know pi?

What is pi?

"The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter."

"Oh, this is 3.14, and there's more after that..." someone whispered. "The circle represents Heaven. This number is nearly infinite, like the boundless universe and the vastness of the Great Dao. Our cultivation is insufficient to calculate even a few decimal places; perhaps when we reach the ultimate number, that will be the end of the Dao..."

"Hey, you guys are pretty good. You already have a decimal point and the concept of pi, and you're quite accurate."

After a moment of silence, someone said with a hint of resentment, "Hall Master, we are here to inquire about the Dao of Immortality through Immortal Dao. If you can't even do that, are you qualified to inquire about the Immortal Dao?"

Qin Yi stroked his chin and agreed that it was true.

He studied the I Ching and formations. In fact, many of the foundations of the I Ching are based on arithmetic, such as the famous Nine Palaces Grid and the Great Evolution Number. He also gleaned profound and mysterious principles from the subtle changes in numbers, developing a philosophy. In this world rich in Spiritual Qi and where true cultivation exists, this philosophy has become a part of the path to Immortal Dao, widely used in divination, formations, and other aspects, permeating every corner of Immortal Dao thinking.

It is even treated directly as the foundation of Immortal Dao, and there are many schools of thought on it.

While the concepts of Immortal Dao differ from these, based on this fundamental understanding, their mathematical abilities are certainly not lacking. Having pi is not surprising; these Phoenix Beginning disciples might not be able to calculate even a few digits, but providing a hundred would be meaningless. Just as providing the Pill Formula to Xi Lingzi is far less meaningful than offering a new analytical perspective.

After thinking for a moment, I tentatively asked, "How much is it if you add one up to one hundred?"

"That's five thousand and fifty. The algorithm is the beginning and the end..."

"Damn... Stop, stop, stop..." Qin Yi waved his hand in annoyance. The problem was simple and it was not surprising that they could solve it, but it proved that they had already learned to summarize the rules and had their own "method". It was clear that they could no longer just make people bow down and worship them by showing a multiplication table.

Surprisingly, the Calculation Master, whom I thought would be the easiest to show off, turned out to be the hardest. Qin Yi himself wasn't good at math in high school, and even though his university major had low requirements for advanced mathematics, he still frequently failed, which was quite shameful... Although his memory has improved now and he can remember a lot of knowledge, he's really not that knowledgeable.

Do you know how to set up unknowns?

"Yes. We can also introduce many unknowns..."

"You guys are Feng Chu? Please, go to Huiyang!" Qin Yi said angrily, "Do you even know how to use functions?"

"And what is a function?"

"Whenever one variable contains another, then this variable is a function of that variable... Specifically, it is like this..."

Qin Yi was talking animatedly, while Hall Master Yan and the others were leaning back in their chairs, half-asleep. They had been pondering the composition of the water earlier, even among those from different paths, but this "number" was truly infuriating.

In their drowsy state, they didn't notice that the eyes of the group of divination disciples were growing brighter and their questions were becoming more in-depth.

As Qin Yi explained, he gradually stopped talking, staring blankly at the disciples at the eighth or ninth level of the Phoenix Beginning Realm in front of him, whose bodies were radiating the light of the Qin Heart.

Hall Master Yan and the others were startled, all their sleepiness vanished.

One, two, three... six broke through the heart of the zither.

One function, six musical hearts!

Others also made breakthroughs, and almost all of them reached the Phoenix Initial Completion stage.

"Greetings, Sect Master." The disciple of the Calculation Sect bowed sincerely. "Functions are based on variables, and change is the essence of all things. This is the principle of heaven and earth, and the constant of the Immortal Dao. The Sect Master's words have given me endless inspiration, as if the curtain of heaven and earth has been lifted, and everything has become clear."

Qin Yi himself was also stunned. This angle seemed quite interesting. Change is the constant way of Heavenly Dao. This is indeed the foundation of many Immortal Dao of immortality. It can unravel the dynamic changes from rigid numbers in Arithmetic Calculation, which is to say, it is close to the origin of the Dao. Suddenly, it is in line with the essence of the conventional understanding of Immortal Dao, so it is not surprising that he broke through.

From this perspective, all things ultimately lead to the same essence, which is what different practitioners ultimately pursue: the ever-present "Tao".

The Dao is ever-present. The phrases people often use, such as "different Daos" or "the myriad Daos," actually refer to different paths to the Dao. There is only one Dao; there is no difference. It is simply a matter of exploring it in different ways. Whether it is the traditional Immortal Dao or the myriad paths of the immortal palace, they all point to the same thing.

Even martial arts are the same.

This is the way of seeking the truth; all methods and laws return to the origin and are derived from creation.

Hall Master Yan stared wide-eyed at the faint aura of soaring clouds emanating from Qin Yi, utterly speechless.

Are these people sick?

A few words are enough, and a bunch of people are already talking about music; there are even people here who want to soar through the clouds!

Why don't you just fly to the sky?

Fortunately, Qin Yi ultimately failed to break through, seemingly still missing a layer of barrier. His mind wasn't on that at the moment, and he chuckled casually, "This seems rather interesting."

The fact that everyone is silent is more than just interesting; it's downright incomprehensible!

Qin Yi looked at the disciples of the Calculation Sect and sighed with some regret.

Functions are actually a very large system. What he said here is just the basic concept. If this can make you feel the heart, then if you understand the whole system, wouldn't everyone be able to achieve Qian Yuan?

Unfortunately, even Qin Yi himself doesn't know how!

He, a complete academic failure, had no idea about multinomial functions, complex functions, or any of those strange and unusual things. He even had difficulty explaining the concepts. I reckon he'll have to let these people figure it out on their own.

In reality, direct instruction may not be effective; they truly need to figure it out on their own to improve further.

I wonder how many years it will take to develop this thing. Scholars worldwide have spent centuries developing this technology; I wonder if these guys can even manage it...

It's alright, they're long-lived anyway. Let's see how they fare with this stuff. Qin Yi himself doesn't know linear algebra or calculus, so he'll just give them a basic understanding, a "secret manual" for showing off, and let them play around with it...

Qin Yi sniffled. He said that, but he still felt a pang of regret. He should have just stopped secretly reading novels and playing games back in school... That trashy author ruined his youth and blocked his path...

He turned to the disciples of the Divination Sect.

The disciples of the Divination Sect looked at him with great anticipation.

Qin Yi smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I don't know how to do this."

With a "thump," the disciple of the Divination Sect fell to the ground, almost bursting into tears.

We also want to break through, Hall Master!

"There is a chance," Qin Yi said. "Most Immortal Dao sects possess divination techniques, and our Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace also needs to divine good and bad fortune to foresee auspiciousness and misfortune and take precautions. As far as I know, this is the core method of the Celestial Pivot Divine Palace, which allows one to sense the secrets of heaven and respond to the galaxy. How vast it is! Using such an important system as an adjunct to the pursuit of the Dao is simply putting the cart before the horse. If you are allowed to grow wildly on your own without being burdened by the pursuit of the Dao, do you really think you will develop worse than anyone else? I don't believe it."

The Divination Sect composed himself and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Sect Master."

"No," Qin Yi finally said, "Don't call me sect leader. I'm only in charge of the battle hall. The Medicine, Divination, Schemes, Calculations Sect no longer exists, so there's no need for a sect leader to forcibly link these four unrelated things together."

After a moment of silence, everyone said, "Yes."

Hall Master Yan looked at Qin Yi with some admiration. This young man was able to subdue a bunch of old hands. No matter what strange factors were involved, the fact remained that he didn't borrow any of the authority of the Enforcement Hall. He must be a young man with great leadership talent.

Without knowing the internal situation, he doesn't know how to proceed with the next step.

Meeting the gaze of Hall Master Yan, Qin Yi knew perfectly well what he was expecting, but what he said was, "That's all for today. Senior Brother Xi Lingzi will temporarily serve as the head of internal affairs. Everyone, take responsibility for your own left and right wing rooms, inventory the warehouse, make the necessary records, and refine the pills. I'm off work now. Senior Sister, wait for me to play the flute!"

Hall Master Yan almost vomited blood. He had just praised you for your leadership talent, and now you're just going to go home and hug your Senior Sister like a lazy bum!

Rotten wood cannot be carved!