Wuhou Qimen

"So-called Wuhou Qimen, while it sounds mysterious, is actually just a technique for studying the laws of operation of all things in the world and utilizing them."

Zhuge Gong looked at the eagerness in his son's eyes, nodded with satisfaction, and began to explain.

"Simply put, it's just like those things you usually tinker with... uh, physics?"

Zhuge Gong pondered for a moment, thinking of the strange books in his son's study, and gave an example.

"Hmm..."

Zhuge Qing nodded; he usually kept books like Relativity and The Universe in a Nutshell in his room.

The purpose, naturally, was to build a persona as someone who loved to learn, so that skipping grades in a few years would seem reasonable.

With so many things waiting for him to study, he didn't have the time to waste slowly in elementary or middle school.

"Just like a physics problem, if you know where a small ball is and what forces are acting upon it, you can calculate where it will roll to next, right?"

"Wuhou Qimen calculates similar things, except that what we calculate is more complex, involving time, space, and various invisible and intangible influences."

"To facilitate calculation, our predecessors summarized a set of methods and created things like the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, Nine Palaces, and Eight Trigrams as tools and symbols for our deductions."

So that was it.

Combining this with the information he had previously learned about Wuhou Qimen, Zhuge Qing nodded thoughtfully.

In this world, Wuhou Qimen could essentially be understood as an extremely complex algorithmic model.

"Setting the board" based on specific time, space, and the subject to be deduced was like setting initial parameters.

Then, by substituting symbols like the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches into the Wuhou Qimen model for computation, one could finally "output" a result regarding the development trend or state of the subject.

Interesting.

"Hmm, you understand very quickly."

Zhuge Gong gave his son an approving look.

"Ordinary Qimen schools usually take the opponent or the matter being calculated as the 'Central Palace', which is that small ball."

"Simply put, it's 'the enemy is the master, I am the guest'; we analyze the small ball to find a way to break the situation or solve the problem."

"Is that to simplify the calculations?"

Zhuge Qing nodded again and replied.

This was similar to the concept of a "mass point" in physics; to simplify calculations, one only considers the key variables that have a significant impact on the core target, temporarily ignoring those secondary factors with negligible influence.

For example, when studying the motion of a car or other objects, one usually ignores the influence of its physical shape and treats it as a small point.

The benefits of this were obvious: the amount of calculation was greatly reduced, making it easier to arrive at a result.

"Exactly!"

Zhuge Gong nodded, his smile growing even brighter.

He cleared his throat and said with considerable pride, "But! Our Wuhou Lineage's Qimen is different from theirs!"

"We don't take the opponent as the Central Palace; instead, the practitioner 'sets' a range as the Central Palace according to their needs!"

"Within this range, all things in heaven and earth, every movement of the wind or grass, and every factor that might have an influence must be included in our calculations!"

"The benefit, naturally, is that the calculations are more accurate and comprehensive!"

"Especially when facing multiple enemies, while others are still analyzing them one by one, we just frame them all in and calculate them together—the difference in skill is immediately apparent!"

"But correspondingly..."

"This amount of calculation isn't as simple as one plus one equals two; it multiplies exponentially!"

"There are too many things to consider, and it consumes a massive amount of the practitioner's mental energy!"

"Therefore, the entry threshold for our method is much higher than others; one must have extremely profound Quiet Meditation cultivation to support this level of computation!"

Zhuge Gong changed the subject, which was also why he was so surprised by his own son.

Being able to enter the gate at eight years old—who would believe that if he told them?

Zhuge Qing understood.

Ordinary Qimen was like a precision strike against a specific target, with relatively controllable calculation volume.

Wuhou Qimen, however, was more like designating a battlefield and conducting an all-area, indiscriminate scan and analysis; it provided more information and stronger control, but it also placed higher demands on the "processor's" computing power.

"Listen well, the key to setting the board in Qimen lies in the four plates: the Heaven Plate, the Earth Plate, the Human Plate, and the Spirit Plate."

Zhuge Gong put away his smile, his expression becoming serious as he began to impart the core teachings.

"The Heaven Plate contains the Nine Stars, representing the influence of the sun, moon, and stars on our land; you can understand it as macroscopic natural laws, the power at the level of the Heavenly Dao."

"The Earth Plate contains the Nine Palaces and the Three Wonders and Six Rituals; it is the foundation that supports everything, representing the land beneath our feet and the basic structure of time and space."

"The Human Plate is the Eight Gates, symbolizing the eight directions and also representing human relationships, actions, choices, and so on; it is the embodiment of 'human harmony'."

"Finally, there is the Spirit Plate; it involves a more profound level, representing those variables that transcend the conventional and are difficult to predict, or perhaps... some kind of higher-dimensional interference?"

Zhuge Gong's tone grew a bit more solemn as he reached this point.

"Uh... so in other words, the Heaven Plate is the timing, the Earth Plate is the terrain, the Human Plate is the people, and then the Spirit Plate is just... everything else?"

Zhuge Qing's expression turned rather strange; such a classification was truly simple and crude.

The ancestors really knew how to play, didn't they? If they couldn't figure something out, they just bundled it up and dumped it onto the "Spirits," right?

"Ahem!"

Zhuge Gong was choked up by his son's blunt summary, but he couldn't help but laugh immediately after.

"You brat... your words are rough, but the logic holds. Understanding it that way... is fine too!"

Being able to grasp the core and reach this level of understanding so quickly was enough to prove just how high his son's aptitude was.

"Alright, the theory is mostly covered. Next, I will teach you the specific method for arranging the formation."

After saying this, Zhuge Gong began to explain in detail how to lay out the four plates, how to deduce the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches based on the date and time, and how to fill the Nine-Palace Grid with the Nine Stars, Eight Gates, Eight Spirits, and Three Wonders and Six Rituals according to specific rules.

This was an extremely tedious and precise process; not a single step could go wrong.

Zhuge Gong explained carefully, and Zhuge Qing listened earnestly.

In those bright eyes, there was nothing but focus and contemplation.

"That's roughly how it goes. You try it yourself first. Don't rush, take your time. It's common to make mistakes when arranging the formation; you'll get better with practice..."

Zhuge Gong had just intended to offer some words of encouragement, but he noticed that Zhuge Qing opposite him had already closed his eyes, his fingers lightly tracing patterns in the void before him as if simulating something.

A moment later.

Zhuge Qing opened his eyes and spread his palm, and within it, an invisible formation seemed to be slowly rotating.

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, Nine Palaces and Eight Gates, Wonders, Rituals, Stars, and Spirits... although it was still just a prototype and somewhat blurry, its structure was already that of a complete Qi Men Formation!

"Uh..."

The rest of Zhuge Gong's words stuck in his throat.

He widened his eyes, staring at the vaguely formed Qi Men Formation in his son's palm, his mouth hanging slightly open, unable to close it for a long time.

This... this...

He had only taught it once!

And he had already... successfully arranged it?!

Although it was only the most basic setup, the complexity and the mental requirements involved were definitely not something a beginner, especially an eight-year-old child, could master immediately after hearing the explanation just once!

He himself had spent an entire week just to arrange his first formation, and even then, he had been praised by his own father as having extraordinary talent!

Then what did that make his son? A monster?