Latercomers Surpass the Predecessors

When it comes to deciphering characters for couplets, it's considered one of the most difficult types of couplets.

Not only must the characters be deciphered, but the couplet must also be neat and possess artistic conception. If there were time to ponder it carefully, that would be fine, but if a time limit were also imposed, it would extremely test one's ingenuity.

Cui Yunqi couldn't help but think, "If it were me, how long would it take me to come up with this lower couplet?"

Yes, Scoop the Moon has a time limit for answering questions.

The Jade Plate-like Moonlight Sprite circled lightly on the lake's surface, giggling, "Chen Xu, you only have ten breaths of time. If you can't answer within ten breaths, it will be considered a wrong answer."

A ten-breath time limit!

Chen Xu felt his scalp tingle. Before he started Scoop the Moon, this little sprite had never mentioned a time limit for answering questions.

He instinctively glanced at the Cauldron Scripture at this moment.

On the scripture's panel, his Likes had been steadily increasing.

The current data was:

[Cumulative Likes: 613]

[Free Attribute Points: 16]

[Firework Value: 256]

Although two Free Attribute Points had been consumed earlier, the balance of attribute points had increased rather than decreased in total.

Chen Xu could add a few more attribute points to his Spirit at any time, greatly enhancing his thinking efficiency in a short period through the surge in attribute points.

But, was this reasonable?

One must know that these attribute points added to the body are permanent in their meaning.

At this moment, Chen Xu's Spirit attribute had reached 26 points, more than double his initial attribute!

Logically speaking, with such a massive increase in Spirit attributes, his thinking ability should have far surpassed his previous level, even reaching an extraordinary level.

Taking Vitality as an example, Chen Xu's Vitality had reached 24 points, allowing him to split bamboo with his bare hands, leaving a smooth cut.

His strength was at least two to three times greater than before, and when performing the Wood Chopping Saber Technique, his strength was prolonged and his stamina was full.

However, regarding Spirit, the substantive changes brought about by the increase in attributes were not very obvious.

Upon careful consideration, the reason for such a huge difference might be twofold: firstly, Vitality is easier to understand and grasp than Spirit; secondly, Chen Xu had learned the Wood Chopping Saber Technique, and through this technique, he had substantively controlled his strength.

To a certain extent, he truly understood what Vitality was!

So, what is Spirit? Did he understand it?

Chen Xu recalled his past experiences learning Fire Control, thinking that when his mind settled, he vaguely seemed to feel a mysterious power surging and beating in the center of his brow.

Mind and intent unite, Qi and essence combine.

Thus, seeing the treasure within one's body, controlling the treasure within one's body!

Chen Xu suddenly felt as if he had grasped that wisp of spiritual light in his soul.

The heart can run a thousand miles in an instant, and the mind can have billions of thoughts in a moment.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

In reality, as the Jade Plate reached the sixth breath, Chen Xu suddenly raised his eyes and said, "Water with insects is turbid; water with fish is for fishing. Water, water, water; rivers and lakes are vast. I respond..."

"Below wood is the root; above wood is the tip. Wood, wood, wood; pine, cypress, and camphor form a forest."

He finished the response, then frowned again.

He sighed inwardly, feeling that although his lower couplet could be considered neat, it still lacked something in terms of artistic conception.

Behind him, Cui Yunqi was breaking out in a cold sweat.

In those six breaths, he had also thought of using wood as the basis for deciphering the characters.

But his thoughts were not as neat as Chen Xu's. He only managed to think of half a sentence: "Wood withers without wind; wood combined with a ghost becomes a locust tree. Wood, wood, wood..."

He hadn't had time to think of the second half before Chen Xu had already successfully answered.

Chen Xu took another step forward and bent down again, scooping up a small moon.

Cui Yunqi, sweating profusely, suddenly gritted his teeth, reached into his sleeve, and took out a small pill. He swallowed the pill in one gulp.

A reminder from his father appeared in his mind: "Yunqi, you are going to Jichuan. Based on my understanding of that old friend, if you cannot be the most outstanding one, he will not see you.

But our Cui family needs him, and needs you to see him. The situation is volatile now, with Evil Paths emerging everywhere, and demons and monsters causing chaos. The world-changing prophecy made by that Great Confucian forty years ago is perhaps about to come true!

Your paternal aunt has many difficulties in the palace, and he, Mr. Zhou... he is not in Yujing, yet he has gone south to Jichuan. There must be something strange about this."

Cui Yunqi had come with full confidence, proudly saying, "Father, for a mere Jichuan, are there any younger generation who can compare to me?"

He simply didn't believe that anyone could surpass him and meet Mr. Zhou.

He never imagined that a shabby scholar, who appeared out of nowhere, would be ahead of him.

As the pill entered Cui Yunqi's stomach, he felt his entire body's vital energy boiling. Amidst the scorching heat, there was a strange, cool sensation that surged straight to his mind.

Cui Yunqi immediately bent down and scooped up a small moon.

The moonlight in his palm transformed into four characters: "To brush against people."

Cui Yunqi frowned in thought. Quickly, his exceptionally agile mind grasped the meaning. This seemingly nonsensical line of text was actually a phrase from the Great Learning, with the beginning and end removed: "This is called going against human nature."

This was a fill-in-the-blank question. It seemed not difficult at first glance, but if one were to call it simple, the question was indeed rather cunningly posed.

Fortunately, Cui Yunqi had thought of the answer. He immediately said with confidence, "This student answers, 'What the benevolent person hates, and the malevolent person likes, this is called going against human nature...'"

After answering correctly, he took a step forward and looked up at Chen Xu ahead.

He saw that the poorly dressed youth, at some unknown time, had already gotten thirteen steps ahead of him!

It was clear that Chen Xu had originally been given ten steps more than him, and then he had taken another three steps. He was now far ahead.

However, Cui Yunqi's confidence had returned. He muttered to himself, "A gentleman hides his skills and waits for the opportune moment to act. The latecomer surpasses the early one! What does it matter to be behind by a mere ten-odd steps?"

With that, Cui Yunqi immediately bent down and picked up another small moon.

What he picked up this time was another numerology question.

Cui Yunqi quickly calculated with his fingers, soon arriving at the correct answer, and then stepped forward again.

Ahead, Chen Xu had also just picked up a moon. The moon transformed into a line of text in his palm. This time, Chen Xu had also triggered a numerology question.

Seeing this question, Chen Xu froze.

Because this was actually a...

The question read: "Once, there was a Grand Void Daoist who refined the Yin Yang Twin Jades into ornaments. The Yang ornament was shaped like the Li Trigram, hollow in the center and square on the outside, with hidden winding paths within; the Yin ornament resembled the Kan Trigram, with interlocking rings and nine turns forming a continuous loop..."

This seemed to be an "artifact refining question"?

No, it wasn't.

Chen Xu continued to read carefully: "The Yin and Yang interlocked, their shapes intertwined, forming a perfect circle like Taiji embracing the void. To separate Yin and Yang without damaging the jade material or breaking the mechanism, how should it be solved?"

This was clearly a Topology question!

Topology in mathematics, a devilish branch of higher mathematics.

Once, Topology had been the nightmare of many students. Even though Chen Xu had been a science student in his past life, he had been intimidated by Topology.

He could never have imagined that Topology would appear within the moons of the mythical world.

Just then, the familiar crisp and clear child's voice sounded in his ear again: "This question aligns with the Daoist principles of Yin and Yang and contains the Way of cultivation. Teacher said that if anyone were to pick up this question, he would grant them fifteen minutes."