The four basic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The first "formulas" mankind came to understand.
Among addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, addition was the foundation of everything. Subtraction was the inverse operation of addition, multiplication was repeated addition, and division was slightly more complicated, but still the inverse operation of multiplication. The validity of addition lay in how "one plus one equals two" matched objective reality—a miraculous law that had nearly reached the point of being self-evident.
The journey of mathematics from nothingness toward the Dao began with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Over the long course of history, the "symbol system" used to represent mathematics had evolved time and again along with mathematics itself. The appearance of the symbol "zero," the decimal notation that wrote "ten" as "one zero"... Merely to express the first formula, "one plus one equals two," the human race had put its symbols through a long process of evolution and transformation.
And the decimal symbol system currently used in Divine Land, similar to Earth's Arabic numerals, was better suited to complex formulas at a higher level and more convenient for ordinary people's calculations at a lower level.
It had transformed human mathematics in two ways. First, formulas became clear. Second, everyone could learn mathematics.
It was precisely because the four basic operations were no longer a game for clever people, but had officially become tools everyone could use, that more and more "uncut jade" was discovered instead of never encountering mathematics at all while growing up. At the same time, these most basic things cultivated people's sense for numbers, and that sense was the bridge to higher mathematics.
That was all Wang Qi had ever taught his students. After finishing, he simply adopted an attitude of "believe it or not" and "whether you believe