Wonderful, It Should Be So

A question, which under normal circumstances must be answered successfully within ten breaths.

However, this question Chen Xu was facing, said to contain the Daoist principles of Yin and Yang, was a Topology problem that surprisingly allowed a full quarter of an hour to answer.

Chen Xu stood on the Moon Lake, which shone with a bright, pure light, and was stunned for a moment.

Topology is a way of thinking that is difficult for ordinary people to understand. Many people may achieve excellent results in other fields of mathematics, but they may not necessarily understand Topology.

A classic introduction to Topology, for example, the Möbius strip.

With its wondrous, twisted continuous deformation and non-orientability, it becomes a ring that can never have two boundaries simultaneously.

It is like those outside of Topology, who can never enter and see the scenery within.

In his past life, Chen Xu was also a layman when it came to Topology!

He stood on the lake's surface, telling himself to calm down. His mind began to race, and his powerful Spirit allowed his memories to backtrack.

All the knowledge he had learned before was now arrayed and being processed in his mind.

Spirit, just a little more!

[Spirit: 27+]

Yes, Chen Xu chose to add a little more Spirit to help himself.

He hadn't used it before because he felt it wasn't the right time, believing he should first develop his abilities correctly.

But these were his attribute points. When the time truly came, he wouldn't hesitate to add them. Chen Xu was not one to be indecisive.

As soon as he added Spirit, Chen Xu suddenly felt as if a sea of stars had exploded in his mind in an instant.

The starlight was brilliant, and each point could be his inspiration.

Chen Xu's mind raced at high speed, but he didn't notice that his complexion had instantly turned ashen.

His rapidly working brain was also consuming his body's energy at the same time!

Cui Yunqi, watching from behind, noticed this and found himself feeling a moment of vile joy.

But he quickly admonished himself: Cui Yunqi, Cui Yunqi, if you want to win, win with your own skill. What is the point of gloating over his temporary setback?

If the opponent is too weak, winning brings no sense of accomplishment.

Take the scholars from Jichuan County outside the bamboo forest, for instance. They were all mediocre talents, and Cui Yunqi couldn't even be bothered to glance at them.

Or consider the few friends who accompanied Cui Yunqi to Jichuan this time. Although they were friends, these individuals all had a clear gap in their knowledge compared to Cui Yunqi.

Although Cui Yunqi associated with everyone, he sometimes felt quite lonely.

It was like being too refined for the common taste.

Cui Yunqi answered questions step by step, scooping up one small moon after another.

Soon, he had answered twelve questions in a row, leaving him only one step away from Chen Xu.

These twelve questions were diverse in type and encompassed everything.

Some were arithmetic, some were interpretations of classics, some were couplets, and some were poetry.

There was even a particularly profound question about the Book of Changes, all of which Cui Yunqi answered fluently.

He grew more confident, and the spirited demeanor he had when entering the bamboo forest had unknowingly returned.

Seeing that he had completed twelve steps, Cui Yunqi was about to bend down to scoop the moon and answer the thirteenth question.

Suddenly, a Jade Plate-like Moonlight Sprite hopped over and said, "Cui Yunqi, you don't need to scoop the thirteenth question. Your thirteenth question is the same as Chen Xu's."

Cui Yunqi was startled and asked with some difficulty understanding, "The same question? You mean I also have to answer this one? Then the time..."

"Naturally, you will also have a quarter of an hour, starting from now. Would you like to try? If you answer this question correctly, you can go see the teacher."

Cui Yunqi was immediately delighted and, without further ado, focused his gaze on the question.

As he first looked at the question, he thought: This seemingly endless trial is finally coming to an end.

Chen Xu, who had been pondering for a long time without answering, clearly found this question difficult to solve. If he, Cui Yunqi, were to surpass the scholar from the poor family and solve it before him, wouldn't that clearly show Mr. Zhou the difference between people?

However, Cui Yunqi's daydream lasted only a breath. By the time he clearly saw what the question was asking--

No, Cui Yunqi felt that he couldn't see the question at all!

"Once upon a time, a Grand Void Daoist refined Yin Yang Twin Jades into an ornament. The Yang ornament was shaped like the Li Trigram..." Cui Yunqi recognized every character, but once these characters were combined, each one seemed distorted like a monster.

Cui Yunqi couldn't understand it.

He tried to read the question aloud in its entirety to strengthen his comprehension.

But as each character left his mouth, he felt as if he were uttering a language not of this world.

What kind of question was this?

This was clearly a disaster from the heavens, a wandering ghost, a malevolent demon of the mortal world.

Cui Yunqi's teeth chattered, and sweat poured from him like a river.

The cool sensation that had spread through his body when the pill took effect now felt like purgatorial molten lava, crashing and raging within him.

"No, I can't, I must see clearly, understand!"

"I cannot lose, I cannot retreat."

"I am Cui Yunqi, the favored son of the Cui family, a talent of Yunjiang, an outstanding figure of this generation."

"How could I possibly not understand even a single question?"

But he simply couldn't understand.

Not only could he not understand, but in his daze, he felt an indescribable earth-shattering tremor.

It was as if the entire world was about to collapse, and war was about to break out in an instant.

The neighing of horses, from an unknown source, broke through Yunjiang City.

A ferocious general, like a Shura, surrounded by thousands of troops, roared with a sinister grin, "In the Yonghui era, the world will fall into chaos, heroes should be like us... Hahaha! Kill—"

Rumble, the gates of the Cui family were easily broken through by the chaotic soldiers.

Cui Yunqi strenuously warned himself, "No, wrong, it's not real, this is all fake, fake, fake!"

The willpower cultivated over many years caused a surge of pure energy to rise from his dantian. The moment the pure energy surged upwards, Cui Yunqi forcefully swept away the illusion before his eyes.

He widened his eyes, about to rejoice at having broken free from the illusion, when he suddenly heard someone nearby say, "The student answers..."

Chen Xu, it was Chen Xu!

That scholar from a humble background answered, "The yang pendant has three apertures, the yin pendant has five pivots. Connect the second pivot of the yin pendant to the east aperture of the yang pendant..."

What is he saying?

Cui Yunqi thought.

He must be answering randomly. He had been stuck for so long, he definitely couldn't understand the question at all.

An illusion seemed to be reappearing before Cui Yunqi's eyes, and his ears buzzed.

Just as he was strenuously resisting this noise, a clear, gentle voice suddenly fell like moonlight, with a hint of a smile, and slowly said, "Excellent, that is precisely how it should be answered."

What?

Cui Yunqi seemed not to have registered.

It wasn't until a moment later that the Moonlight Sprite's crisp voice joyfully said, "Ah, Chen Xu, you answered correctly! Then hurry and go forward, the teacher is waiting for you."

Cui Yunqi could no longer control himself, and a mouthful of fishy sweetness sprayed from his throat.