Lu Mingyuan's Plan

Although Lu Mingyuan hadn't witnessed the reactions from all sides after [Chicken-Rabbit Cage Divine Ability Supplement] was released, he could still guess most of what had happened.

After all, he understood best the things he had created himself.

Besides, Lu Mingyuan hadn't released this supplement purely to make money or crack down on piracy. If he'd wanted to make money, he wouldn't have set the price so low.

If he wanted to earn money at such a low price, he might as well have turned other famous arithmetic problems into divine abilities. That wouldn't have carried much risk at all.

So why hadn't Lu Mingyuan done that?

First, this had been part of his plan from the beginning. Now he was simply putting it into action.

Second, Lu Mingyuan was afraid he might become addicted to pleasure, fame, or fortune. After all, he'd already earned more Qi Luck Points than most people could earn in ten lifetimes, or even a hundred. So while his mind was still clear, he wanted to cut off his own escape route before he came to regret it.

Cut off his escape route?

What did that mean?

Before, Lu Mingyuan might have had room to regret his decision. Now he didn't. If he were exposed, he'd be doomed.

After all, before he'd released the supplement, even if he'd been exposed, people would have thought he was nothing more than a lucky kid. The structure of this illusion divine ability was simple; others had merely failed to think of it. Most people would believe they could have made it themselves.

But now, with Lu Mingyuan's five hundred thousand questions, their answers, the search and categorization methods, and the function for creating questions, everything showed that the creator, "Anonymous," was extraordinary—not an ordinary person or organization.

This wasn't knowledge or power that Lu Mingyuan should possess.

For one thing, without some special method, even those five hundred thousand questions alone would have been impossible for an ordinary person like Lu Mingyuan, with neither money nor influence, to produce.

Lu Mingyuan had solved this problem thanks to the programming experience and mindset he'd gained in his previous life.

But that way of thinking had never existed in this world.

If he were exposed one day, and his enemies didn't wring every last drop of knowledge and thought from another world out of him, then they wouldn't be a civilized society worth the name.

By then, Lu Mingyuan might not even be allowed the luxury of dying. He'd be a lovable tool, giving them both knowledge and ideas.

From now on, Lu Mingyuan would have to keep his other identity well hidden. He couldn't tell anyone. It was for his own sake, and for the sake of his friends and family.

If he were exposed, no one would come out unscathed. Innocent people getting caught up in the mess happened in every world.

As for the fact that solving math problems could accelerate the growth of Talent Qi, Lu Mingyuan had discovered it long ago. In fact, it was part of his plan.

He'd first awakened the memories of his previous life at fourteen, and learned that thinking and research could improve Talent Qi. Even then, he'd keenly noticed this effect.

That was when Lu Mingyuan began making plans for his future.

During his studies at the academy, he'd kept a low profile as much as possible, hiding his abilities and playing the part of a diligent student from an ordinary family. He'd even gritted his teeth and learned the "counting rods and abacus" system, which seemed backward to him.

But doing all that had completely separated him from "Anonymous." No one would ever imagine—or even be able to deduce—that the famous Anonymous was just an ordinary commoner.

Of course, to be even safer, he needed a respectable public identity, too: the rising star of the Agricultural School he was now preparing to become.

Now the time was right, and Lu Mingyuan began carrying out his plan.

The first step was to become famous through the Mind-Fixing Divine Ability.

He'd already accomplished that, and it had gone even better than he'd expected.

Lu Mingyuan had originally planned to let it spread slowly over a month or two. After all, good wine feared no deep alley, and he had complete faith in his divine ability.

Who could have expected that a war would set it ablaze, and that his alternate account, "Anonymous," would become famous among the hundred clans, known to everyone far and wide?

He'd exceeded his goal by a wide margin.

With the first step complete, it was time for the second.

The second step in Lu Mingyuan's plan was to use those vast numbers of math problems to show people that solving them could steadily and rapidly increase their Talent Qi.

Or, to put it another way, he wanted to narrow the gap between ordinary people and prodigies.

Or rather, to narrow the gap between commoners and the great lineages—and even the imperial family.

The difference between the two was like this: imagine a test where fifty points had once been a perfect score. Only a handful of people could get close to that score or even exceed it, while most ordinary people scored around ten.

Back then, because the great lineages all had unique traditions, even ordinary members of those families could use their exclusive study materials to score thirty or forty—far beyond what commoners could manage.

Now, those five hundred thousand questions were like taking a test that used to have a perfect score of fifty and raising it to one hundred.

Once again, only a few geniuses could score a hundred or even exceed the perfect score. But as long as ordinary people studied diligently, they could still manage seventy or eighty. Even if they did worse, surely they could at least pass.

And so the gap between ordinary members of great lineages and commoners would disappear.

That would drastically reduce the gap between geniuses, great lineages, and commoners.

Of course, this was a long-term undertaking. And Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage alone could only do so much.

But Lu Mingyuan had been prepared for a long fight from the start.

There was no need to rush.

Like boiling a frog in warm water, it was best to take things slowly.

After all, he was taking a bite out of someone else's pie. He couldn't afford to act too hastily.

There was another problem, too: what if no one realized that solving lots of problems could increase Talent Qi?

That was certainly possible.

But Lu Mingyuan's Chicken-Rabbit Cage Divine Ability had already sold nearly a hundred million copies. He refused to believe that there wasn't a single clever person among all those fans.

If even one person discovered it, it wouldn't remain a secret for long. Sooner or later, word would spread.

All Lu Mingyuan had to do now was wait. When the time was right, he'd take the next step.

With all this on his mind, Lu Mingyuan uploaded the supplement to the Heavenly Dao Virtual Network and then fell into a deep sleep.

He'd been busy with his new divine ability these past few days. It concerned his other identity, so he couldn't afford to be careless or distracted.

In the days that followed, Lu Mingyuan mostly kept to two places: home and the library at Qingshan Academy, where he searched for information.

Whenever something puzzled him, he went to ask the Agricultural School or Mohist School teachers at the academy, who gladly guided him.

This guidance was one of the academy's benefits.

It was meant to help its students construct their divine abilities more quickly.

Since it was a benefit, Lu Mingyuan wasn't about to pass it up.

After all, he didn't know much about "summoning and the formation of matter." He needed guidance from the teachers of the Hundred Schools at the academy.

Otherwise, as a transmigrator with his own system of knowledge, he'd have little reason to spend all day at the academy.

Wouldn't it be better to do math problems at home?

Solving math problems could even make him stronger. That was something he'd never dreamed of in his previous life!

He had to treasure it.

"Ah, finally, it's done."

That day, on the second floor of Qingshan Academy's library, Lu Mingyuan stretched.

As of today, he'd finally worked out most of the details for the new divine ability he was preparing.

He'd nearly finished the structural designs for the various plows, figured out how to form them inside a Divine Ability Stone, and worked out how to summon them.

Now all that remained was testing.

That afternoon, Lu Mingyuan took the blueprints he'd prepared and made his way through a succession of streets to the entrance of Old Li's smithy.

That was right—the smithy not far from Jing Family Restaurant, famous for making excellent blades.

Lu Mingyuan walked into Old Li's smithy.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A steady rhythm of hammer blows rang out from the back courtyard.

At the sound, a powerfully built man with a remarkably imposing air came out of the house.

The burly man, whose arms were strong enough to race horses on, saw Lu Mingyuan and froze for a moment. Then he came to his senses and grinned. "Mingyuan, what brings you here?"

The man was named Li Tiezhu. He was the young master of Old Li's smithy and a blacksmith there as well.

Well, judging by his burly build alone, it was clear he was a decent blacksmith.

Li Tiezhu was a little surprised to see Lu Mingyuan. They'd been playmates as children, but ever since the Li family moved out of Guihua Lane, they'd rarely seen each other.

He didn't know why Lu Mingyuan had come today, but he was still glad they'd met again.

After a bit of small talk, the awkwardness of their long separation faded. Lu Mingyuan got straight to the point.

"Brother Tiezhu, is Uncle Li here? I'd like to have something made."

As he spoke, Lu Mingyuan handed him the blueprints.

"He is. He's in the back courtyard."

Li Tiezhu took the blueprints and studied them as he walked. He saw two shapes that looked oddly familiar.

"Are these... plowshares?"

"Yeah, plowshares. I'm about to graduate, so I thought I'd see if I could improve the plows we use every day. If I can pull it off, maybe I can join the Agricultural School."

Lu Mingyuan didn't hide his purpose.

Anyone who knew blacksmithing could understand the drawings at a glance, and he needed Uncle Li to make the parts for him anyway. There was no reason to keep them secret.

As for secrecy? The blueprints only showed the plowshares; the other parts weren't there.

"You want to join the Agricultural School? Then you'd better work hard."

Li Tiezhu didn't find it strange that his old playmate wanted to join the Agricultural School.

In fact, for commoners like them, the Agricultural and Mohist Schools were the two closest and most attainable of the various schools.

To join the Agricultural School, all you had to do was improve a farming tool or invent something useful for agriculture. Many people had joined by improving farm equipment.

The Mohist School, on the other hand, was a sacred place for craftsmen.

Once a craftsman reached a certain level of skill, he could join the Mohist School.

Blacksmiths, carpenters, stonemasons, and other craftsmen like them all took pride in joining the Mohist School.

Joining the Mohist School wasn't just proof that a craftsman's skill had reached the required level. The school also held a wealth of craftsmanship traditions and regularly organized gatherings where craftsmen could improve their skills.

Most craftsmen longed for a chance like that.

In that sense, the Mohist School could be seen as a guild just for craftsmen. Joining came with plenty of benefits.

Joining the Mohist School was Li Tiezhu's goal, too.

So he had no objection to Lu Mingyuan wanting to join the Agricultural School. On the contrary, he'd be happy for his old friend if he made it in.

The two of them arrived in the smithy's back courtyard.

Five or six burly men, built much like Li Tiezhu, were hard at work there.

Each craftsman had his own task.

Some pulled the bellows steadily and powerfully, making a series of "puff, puff" sounds. The flames in the furnace danced to the bellows' rhythm, rising higher in the gusts of air.

Others hammered the iron with smooth, rhythmic blows. As their hammers rose and fell, a clanging filled the air and sweat flew. The iron was shaped into all kinds of things: blades, farm tools, and more...

Some craftsmen busied themselves quenching the metal. With a sharp hiss, a plume of white smoke rose suddenly, adding a touch of striking beauty to the bustling smithy.