Pure Logic

What exactly are boundaries?

Li Qi couldn't answer that question before. He only knew that after crossing a certain boundary, an individual becomes a group, and sand becomes a sand pile.

But how many grains of sand constitute a sand pile? If the dead are resurrected, to what extent must they live to be considered truly alive?

Previously, Li Qi could only give vague answers to this matter.

Now, he can answer that question.

Because, through a large-scale experiment, he witnessed the answer written down before his very eyes.

The answer is not a fixed number, but rather... a way of thinking, a rule, or, in other words, a formula.

By following this rule, the exact location of the boundary can be determined.

Li Qi was once a researcher, so he was quite good at logic and mathematics. He started from this area and began to summarize.

Instead of setting a single criterion, we define a set, something like a 'fuzzy membership function'. Perhaps a gradient graph can be used to represent a fuzzy membership set, and each subset in the set can represent a part of the graph.

It's like...

The Visualization Diagram is the same.

Based on this, the logic of the tool can be extended to obtain a tool that can be used to deduce the location of all boundaries. For example, for a given universe of discourse, there is a mapping from the universe of discourse to a specific value. This mapping can represent a fuzzy set and is used to represent the membership function of the fuzzy set. The value of each element on the universe of discourse mapped to a specific value by this mapping rule is naturally the membership degree of that element to the fuzzy set.

Based on the abstract nature of things, and in situations where objective ambiguity makes it difficult to express directly, this is the method of dividing boundaries.

This is a conclusion that cannot be drawn with the naked eye and is absolutely invisible to the naked eye.

This conclusion exists only in thoughts and information, and can only be seen through the flow of information perceived by the mind, thus allowing for deduction and conclusion.

With a physical body, one can only see light effects and runes, and at most, the soul can perceive some special rhythms and fluctuations.

Only a true information flow perspective can see and summarize these things; they are things composed of pure logic and information, more profound than any rhythm.

All fluctuations and light effects are material, but this is not.

The difference is like a piece of rice paper with "one" written on it, compared to "one" itself.

What is one?

What does 'one' mean?

A person? A stone? A table? Are these 'one'?

No, none of those are true; they are all real things.

Fools will subconsciously ignore this question, but true practitioners need to ponder what exactly 'One' is.

Clearly, the concept of "one" does not exist in the material world. You cannot find "one" in the material world, even though the concept of "one" exists everywhere, you just cannot find "one" itself.

The world is full of things like a glass of water, but the singular, pure, and uncontaminated 'One' exists only in the mind.

Only in the mind, within the spiritual entity, can you find One, and only then can you discover One itself.

The same applies to this boundary now.

Li Qi finally understood why, despite conducting so many experiments over the past six months, he could only observe changes, not the boundaries themselves.

Because boundaries exist only in information and logic, just like the 'one', which only the mind can decipher.

What a simple yet beautiful fact.

Li Qi watched all of this, witnessing the transformation between life and death from another perspective, while clearly feeling the flow of mind and information.

The Demon Dragon, however, was not so lucky.

He desperately wanted to be resurrected, or rather, he had already been resurrected, and was struggling to escape the underworld officials, but the chains from the underworld bound him tightly, restricting his body.

No matter how hard you struggle, you can't get rid of it.

The Demon Dragon roared, its body twisting and turning in strange shapes, its blue eyes gleaming with a fierce light. It leaped into the air, roaring, "I am not dead! I was merely lying dormant! You underworld messengers have overstepped your bounds!"

But the underworld officials remained silent, continuing to bind the Demon Dragon with hooks and ropes, preventing it from moving an inch.

Li Qi watched the tug-of-war quietly.

After a stalemate lasting about a minute, a Dharma image appeared within the Iron City.

The Buddha's form was a hundred feet tall, holding a wolf-hair brush, dressed in robes, wearing a large crown, with a dark blue-green face, and shouting in the air:

The Dharma Master's voice boomed. "Crocodile Dragon, you still dare to argue? Our cycle of reincarnation and retribution is already recorded. Your crimes are all documented. You have always relied on your cultivation, indulging in greed and cruelty, bullying the common people, defying the will of Heavenly Dao, and using evil arts to survive. Now that the underworld messengers have come, you still do not know how to examine yourself and dare to make wild accusations, falsely accusing our government! Guards, take him to the Plowshare Prison!"

Following his command, several ghost soldiers went to join the battle.

Then the judge-like figure began writing the verdict in the air.

"The Crocodile Dragon was born ignorant and foolish, and its kind was stubborn and unrepentant. It committed evil and acted ruthlessly. It was reborn twelve times but did not die. It used Secret Method to escape reincarnation and lingered on for seven thousand years. However, it was not as clever as it could have been. It was able to see the small things but overlook the big things. It knew the punishment of reincarnation and was warned. It can be said that the law is the most secret and the path is the most just. Now, this scoundrel is captured and thrown into the Plowshare Hell!"

After the judgment was written, the Dharma Master took out a large seal and stamped it below.

Then, Li Qi saw the iron city come to life.

A terrifying force suddenly erupted from the Iron City, sweeping towards the Demon Dragon!

Countless ghosts, a torrent of yin Yin Qi, surged forth, eerily and menacingly engulfing the Demon Dragon almost instantly!

Meanwhile, the other underworld officials seemed to thrive amidst the countless yin Yin Qi, their power multiplying, and their chains grew thicker and thicker, pressing the Demon Dragon down so that it couldn't lift its head.

In the end, amidst the Demon Dragon's howls, his soul and mind were torn out by those soul-snatching chains, leaving only a shell.

His mind and soul were drawn into the iron city, and the underworld officials used their strength to pull him in.

The judge put down his pen, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave.

But as he left, he glanced at Li Qi.

Li Qi suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, his hair stood on end, his bones trembled, and a sense of foreboding enveloped him.

Wait, you don't mean to arrest yourself too, do you?

But the judge only glanced at it, then turned and walked into the iron city.

Countless ghostly soldiers and messengers filed in, and finally two of them pulled up the city gate. With a loud bang, the iron city and the Black Mist shrank rapidly and disappeared.

Li Qi was still sitting in the same spot, but the classroom was completely unrecognizable, and all the desks were gone, leaving only a dragon corpse that was tens of feet long lying in the same spot.

He resurrected this person himself, but it seems he couldn't withstand the ghostly messengers.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

It wasn't his fault that he couldn't hold on; it was just that he wasn't strong enough. If I hadn't helped him, he would never have had a chance to be resurrected.

He's already been dismantled and turned into a desk, and you still want to bring him back to life?

However, Li Qi stood up and looked at the open space outside.

A woman with a serious expression and manners so strict that one could call it rigid was standing outside, looking at Li Qi.

She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, not very old, much younger than Li Qi, but her eyes were full of pressure, as if being stared at by her made one afraid to even move.

Li Qi recognized this person; she was the Imperial Academy's "ruler," and also the Grand Master's Law Treasure. She was responsible for regulating all behavior within the Imperial Academy, and if a student went astray, she would strike them on the head.

Clearly, we need to give an explanation to the Imperial Academy for what happened today.

Li Qi cleared his throat and walked towards the ruler.

"Sir." Li Qi stepped forward, bowed to the ruler, and addressed him as "Sir."

"Staying up late at night, I can say you're diligent in your studies, but how do you plan to explain the huge mess you've caused?" The ruler's tone was as serious as ever.

"This is also part of the learning process, but... there were some accidents," Li Qi replied, bowing.

"An accident? What kind of accident could attract the underworld messengers? And what are you learning?" the ruler asked, his tone completely unwavering.

"I'm researching 'boundaries,' and this is my research material. This is an observational experiment," Li Qi replied immediately.

The ruler moved two steps and carefully examined the scene and the dragon corpse. "You damaged the teaching materials, blew up the classroom, and even mobilized the school's protective talismans. The power of the underworld officials has also left traces here that are difficult to clean up."

Li Qi said without batting an eye, "It was just an experimental accident. I remember similar explosions happening every day in the engineering and alchemy classrooms."

Yes, for alchemists, Alchemist, and some engineering disciplines, explosions are commonplace. Moreover, Li Qi's situation was relatively minor, as the protective talisman ensured that the battle between the Yin Messenger and the Demon Dragon was under control throughout, without affecting the outside world and only causing a few celestial anomalies.

Li Qi had also read in the student handbook that some students had gotten into even bigger trouble.

The Imperial Academy used grottoes as classrooms, but those students directly blew up the grottoes that served as their classrooms.

However... Li Qi did almost everything, and he didn't just blow up one cave heaven, but forty-nine of them. He even combined the forty-nine cave heavens into one and blew them up together, causing all the houses outside to explode and their roofs to be gone.

This is quite a big deal, after all, the Imperial Academy hasn't had a building explode in hundreds of years.

The grottoes themselves aren't valuable, but the houses are. These houses are part of the Imperial Academy's protective array; if they're damaged, the array will have a flaw.

Although this grand formation might only be used once every ten thousand years, after all, there is a high-ranking official in Chang'an to oversee it, but who can guarantee that nothing will go wrong?

From this perspective, Li Qi has made a huge blunder.

"Yes, but their experiments were all reported in advance, and teachers were involved and protected throughout the process. Everything was in accordance with the rules. Your experiment, on the other hand, was not reported, and no venue or materials were applied for. There was no experienced teacher to control the risks." The ruler said with displeasure, "Li Qi, you are very bold."

"I'm sorry, I come from the countryside and I'm not very familiar with the rules." Li Qi immediately apologized, and then said something that made the ruler turn green.

I am a barbarian.

To be honest, that's not wrong. From Human Path perspective, Shaman Path is nothing more than barbarism, meaningless and unproductive.

But the ruler immediately hardened its expression. "No matter what you say, this is a violation. I need a self-criticism, a letter of repentance, and a summary report of this incident, preferably in great detail."

"I will remember this." Li Qi bowed.

"Also, you've been suspended from school. The exact time for your reinstatement is yet to be determined. I will announce your punishment to the entire school as a warning to others. I will also send the results of the punishment to Wushen Mountain, to your master."

Li Qi nodded, saying that he wasn't afraid at all.

Telling someone's parents might be a huge horror for others, but it wouldn't be a problem for Li Qi at all.

Zhu Fengdan's tolerance for the trouble he caused was ridiculously high; Li Qi estimated that even if he blew up the Imperial Academy, she wouldn't react at all.

The ruler continued, "Also, remember to apologize to your teacher for betraying his trust."

"Of course," Li Qi replied.

The ruler seemed to have finished speaking.

Seeing that the ruler had said enough, Li Qi finally asked, "Sir, what about the matter of compensation...?"

"No need. The Imperial Academy wouldn't ask students for money for something like this. But... you've damaged so many facilities, what have you learned?" The ruler's expression softened as he asked Li Qi.

"I've learned something valuable; I've always needed it," Li Qi said, bowing his head.

"That's good." The ruler nodded and then disappeared from the spot.

Li Qi looked up at the open space in front of him, somewhat surprised.

He thought... he would be fired, or detained or something like that.

But the result was just an apology, a written self-criticism, and then suspension from classes...

Even before the ruler left, it seemed to be somewhat relieved, because the other party had no expression, so Li Qi couldn't quite tell... but he just had that feeling.

She seemed happy, as if she had learned something.

Never mind, it doesn't matter anymore.

Li Qi got up and went home.

He needed to organize what he had gained that night, and then write down his self-criticism and apology. Once all of this was prepared, he would go to Liu Shenzhi and, using the boundaries of the new society, resolve the matter of the Witchcraft Silkworm.

While dealing with the Witchcraft Silkworm, he took the opportunity to make a request to Liu Donghe, hoping that he could lend a helping hand to the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom.

That's about it.

Li Qi's departure from the Imperial Academy caused a great deal of trouble, but fortunately, he didn't have to clean it up himself; someone would help him.

That's the advantage of being a child. A clueless baby can overturn the dining table and tear toilet paper everywhere, and you don't have to clean it up yourself. Others have to comfort you and worry that you'll cry.

Of course, this period of time is only for him. After reaching the seventh rank, he will soon become an 'adult' who needs to take responsibility for himself.

During this time, an uninvited guest arrived at the Upper Garden.

Shangyuan is a very famous garden and a place where hundreds of flowers gather.

Because of their inherent characteristics, the goddesses of flowers are always capable of causing a lot of trouble, whether it's due to themselves or the jealousy and rivalry among their suitors and admirers.

To facilitate management and keep the chaos in one place, the Imperial Palace standardized the Upper Garden, allowing all flowers to bloom there.

The Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom took a deep breath, stopped at the door, and murmured, "Shangyuan... I'm back."