Annual Assessment · Theory

"Lu Yuan, ninety-seven points. Answer disputed; review required."

At the notice wall, Wang Shuo's voice changed pitch as he read the line aloud. A buzz erupted around them, and dozens of gazes stabbed toward them like nails.

Lu Yuan stood still.

He had seen it already. His name stood high at the top of the list, but the small print after it was glaring, like a stain.

"Disputed?" A formal student beside them sneered. "He copied it, didn't he? He handed in his paper after half an hour and scored ninety-seven?"

"He's a work-study student. Of course he'd have to look for some crooked shortcut."

Wang Shuo's face flushed red. He wanted to argue, but Lu Yuan put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go."

He turned, and the crowd parted to make a path. He had only gone a few steps when Shen Moxin came hurrying from the direction of the library, the hem of her gray robe lifting slightly. She walked straight to the notice wall and stared at the line, her brows drawn tight.

She looked back, saw Lu Yuan, and beckoned him over.

The assessment had taken place three days earlier.

The grand hall was packed, the air thick with the mingled smells of sweat and ink. Lu Yuan sat near the edge of the back row. When the test paper was handed out, he glanced through it.

Twenty pages. The questions ranged from Soul Power fundamentals to Soul Ring matching, with an open-ended question at the end.

Too crude.

It wasn't that the questions were easy. The thinking behind them was crude-the assumptions were imprecise, the derivations jumped steps, and the standard answers looked as though they had been cut with a blunt knife, rough around the edges.

He picked up his pen.

The first question concerned the optimal path for circulating Soul Power. The standard answer gave a "commonly accepted" route. After writing it down, Lu Yuan added a small note beside it: "This path is suitable for fire-attribute Martial Souls. For water-attribute Soul Masters, loss increases by seventeen percent when circulation reaches the Shanzhong point. Adjusting the nodes slightly according to attribute is recommended."

The second question concerned the Ironclad Rhinoceros's weak points. The standard answer was "eyes, abdomen."

He added a note: "There is a gap in the scales three inches behind the ear. Soul Power penetrates more effectively there, but precise control is required."

His pen scratched across the paper, hardly stopping.

For some questions, he gave simpler solutions, reaching in three or four steps conclusions that took the standard answers seven or eight. For others, he pointed out flaws in the questions' assumptions. His handwriting was neat, and the notes were crammed into the blank spaces at the edges, like patches covering an old robe.

The final open-ended question asked for a forest movement plan for a Soul Elder with a Wind Wolf Martial Soul.

Several formal students in the front rows were already scratching their heads and tugging at their ears. Wang Shuo bit his pen, sweat beading on his forehead.

Lu Yuan fell silent for a few seconds.

Then he got to work. His pen traced not words but a few variables, curves, and nodes on the paper. He quantified the "wind-attribute bonus" as a coefficient α, modeled "forest resistance" as a function ρ(x), and expressed "Soul Power consumption" as a quadratic function of speed v.

He formulated an optimization problem: with Soul Power reserves E fixed, find the maximum travel distance S.

He used an algorithm called the "Balance-Constrained Extremum Method"-the name didn't exist in this world; he had just made it up.

In the end, he gave the analytical solution: v* = sqrt( (α - kρ) / (2β) ).

Below it, he included the derivation and suggestions for measuring each parameter in practice.

The whole answer fit on one page.

He put down his pen and raised his hand.

When the proctor came over, only a third of the sand had run through the hourglass.

"I'm handing in my paper."

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet hall, it was like a stone tossed into stagnant water. Several people in the front rows jerked their heads up, looking at him as though he were a monster.

The lecturer took the paper, and his pupils contracted when his gaze fell on the notes and the mathematical model at the end.

He said nothing and walked toward the raised platform with the paper.

Ning Zhishou was resting with his eyes closed. The lecturer gently set down the paper and murmured something.

The old man opened his eyes.

He picked up the paper and leafed through it. At first, he went quickly, his gaze critical. When he reached page ten, he stopped. His fingers pressed against the paper, his knuckles white.

He stared at the model for the open-ended question for a long time.

Behind his glasses, his eyes went from surprise to confusion, then darkened into a brooding gloom.

He raised his head, his gaze crossing the hall and settling on the thin, small work-study student in the back row.

Lu Yuan was packing up his cloth bag.

Their gazes met briefly across the room.

Ning Zhishou looked away and handed the paper to Teacher Sun beside him. Teacher Sun took a few glances, and his expression changed too.

"This... is beyond the syllabus, isn't it?"

"More than beyond the syllabus." Ning Zhishou's voice was cold. "Showing off."

He took off his glasses and rubbed them hard with his sleeve.

"His answers don't follow the proper format, and he added notes without permission. And this algorithm at the end-I've never heard of it. Who knows where he copied such obscure stuff from?"

Teacher Sun hesitated. "But the logic is internally consistent..."

"Internally consistent?" Ning Zhishou cut him off. "Soul Master cultivation is about a thousand years of heritage, about practical experience! Not some bizarre formula that amounts to strategizing on paper!"

He paused.

"Hold this paper back for now. Don't record the score yet."

Now, in the library director's office.

Ning Zhishou sat behind a broad desk, the test paper in his hand. Light slanted in through the window, and dust drifted slowly through its beam.

Shen Moxin stood before the desk, her back straight.

"Director, what about Lu Yuan's answers doesn't follow the proper format?"

"None of it does." Ning Zhishou spread the paper out and pointed at the notes in the margins. "The assessment requires the standard answers. What does he mean by adding these notes? Showing off how much he knows?"

"The notes supplement and improve on the questions." Shen Moxin's tone was even. "He gave the standard answer first for every question. The notes merely point out limitations or offer improvements. That shows he understands the material thoroughly, rather than relying on rote memorization."

Ning Zhishou sneered.

"Thoroughly? A work-study student with level-two Soul Power, talking about thorough understanding?" He turned to the last page and pointed at the mathematical model. "Then what about this? I've taught for thirty years, and I've never seen a bizarre algorithm like this! If he didn't copy it, did it fall from the sky?"

"Never having heard of it doesn't make it wrong." Shen Moxin took half a step forward. "Director, you often teach us that truth doesn't depend on its source. His derivation is rigorous, his conclusion is internally consistent, and he even provided a way to verify it. This goes beyond answering a question-it's a genuine approach to research."

"Research?" Ning Zhishou raised his voice. "Is he even worthy of talking about research? Moxin, you're too naive! If this sort of heterodox nonsense is allowed to spread, it will only corrupt the academic atmosphere! If the other students follow his example and all take up crooked paths, what will become of the academy?"

Shen Moxin was about to argue further.

A knock sounded at the door.

Lu Yuan stood in the doorway, his old cloth bag on his back. He walked in and nodded slightly to both of them.

"Director, Assistant Teacher Shen."

Ning Zhishou stared at him, his gaze sharp enough to cut him open.

"You came at just the right time." He picked up the test paper and gave it a shake. "Tell me, where did you learn about these notes and this last... this 'Balance-Constrained Extremum Method'?"

Lu Yuan was silent for two seconds.

"I came up with them myself."

"You came up with them yourself?" Ning Zhishou scoffed. "Do you think I'll believe that?"

"You can verify it." Lu Yuan's tone didn't change. "I wrote down a method for measuring every parameter in the formula. Measure the data using those methods and plug it into the formula, and you can calculate the optimal speed. Whether it's right or wrong, one test will tell."

Ning Zhishou was at a loss for words.

He stared at Lu Yuan, then looked down again at the concise model on the paper. The room fell quiet, with only the faint clamor of students outside the window.

After a long while, the old man slowly leaned back in his chair.

"Fine," he said. "Since you insist, I'll give you a chance."

He looked at Shen Moxin.

"Convene the Assessment Committee. Tomorrow morning, right here."

His gaze returned to Lu Yuan, and he spoke each word deliberately.

"In front of every committee member, you will explain clearly-where exactly did these heterodox ideas in your answers come from?"