Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 265 Entering the Tao!

After confirming that the other "superhumans" in the world had begun to band together, Xuan Chong stopped "hiding his tracks."

If his "superpower" is something unique to him, Xuan Chong will naturally act like a character in a Japanese anime, keeping strangers at bay and hiding his abilities as much as possible, without overly exposing his "strengths and weaknesses".

However, "superpowers" are graded, and there seems to be a "competitive" relationship among them. Therefore, Xuan Chong cannot keep his abilities to himself; instead, he should plan carefully and openly "take advantage" of them.

…open exchange, fair competition…

"Geometry is the study of spatial structure and properties!" This is the direction Xuan Chong chose after reviewing his own abilities.

Xuan Chong: The more difficult the question, the more likely you are to leave others behind.

After the people from Beidu left, Xuan Chong was suddenly given more vacation time to recuperate.

Xuan Chong himself was in his office, holding a regular ruler and pen, sketching and planning on scrap paper. His level of concentration was like that of someone drawing little figures in a Chinese textbook in a past life.

Xuan Chong would often come to the seaside, sometimes at the perfect time, to look up at the sun and stars. Sometimes he would frown, and other times he would grin broadly.

All of this began after Xuan Chong's abilities changed.

After the Five Oceans Festival, Xuan Chong discovered that his abilities had been updated, and he checked them with great anticipation; the result was exactly as the name suggested: he had changed from a ruler to a drawing software.

After Xuan Chong thoroughly understood all the functions, he discovered a problem: drawing had indeed become easier, but the accuracy of the drawing software had not improved.

Therefore, Xuan Chong immediately raised this issue with the system: could the accuracy be updated? For example, could the precision be improved from 1mm to 0.1mm?

However, when Xuan Chong raised this question, the system replied bluntly: "This is an exam; you need to calculate it yourself."

If this were in the previous class, when Xuan Chong first encountered this dimensional school system, he would have naively asked, "If the tool's precision isn't enough, how can we measure it?"

However, Xuan Chong is now a standard student.

Xuan Chong: Since the teacher said it can be tested, then it definitely can be tested. The answer I want can be derived using the tools provided by the teacher.

So, Xuan Chong thought of a vernier caliper. Xuan Chong drew a huge circle, divided it into 360 intervals with a protractor, and then took a small concentric circle; using the pattern that this small concentric circle could roll on the line, he made a structure similar to a vernier caliper, thus improving the precision.

A vernier caliper can advance the precision from 1 millimeter on a ruler to 0.1 millimeters, but its reading is actually approximately equal to 0.1 millimeters.

Xuan Chong discovered that the accuracy of his vernier calipers was limited by the scale of the protractor. One 1° = 60′, but Xuan Chong could not read 1′. So how could he make 1′ read?
After successfully creating a mathematical "vernier caliper," Xuan Chong became unstoppable and automatically began learning the art of exhaustion.

…The math teacher nodded…

Why did Xuan Chong pursue such precise scales? The initial set of rulers with their fine scales was sufficient for positioning within a normal range of several hundred meters.

However, in astronomical calculations, even a slight error can lead to vastly different results. (In fact, when calculating the trajectory of a ballistic parabola, the eccentricity of the impact point is also related to the calculation.)

There's a reason why Xuan Chong has been frowning these past few days when he sees the sun, moon, and stars.

Xuan Chong: "All calculations will differ from observations. Furthermore, to obtain accurate values, one cannot use civilian-grade 'rulers and clocks'; one must conduct one's own observations and calculations."

A day is not actually a full 24 hours; if we use a 24-hour time scale for quantification, there will be errors in high-precision fields such as aviation.

This error means that when Xuan Chong uses starlight as a reference to locate objects hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away, there will be an error of tens to hundreds of meters. (The position of stars in the sky is related to time; if the clock time is incorrect, the starlight and ground positioning will also be incorrect.)
Now, with Xuan Chong's cheat, as long as the measurement is accurate enough, it can "shoot a dog in the head from 800 miles away."

To ensure that the torque remains as precise as a chicken pecking at rice even from several kilometers away, Xuan Chong is studying geometry with a book in hand.

At first, I painstakingly drew auxiliary lines on some images.

Xuan Chong eventually discovered that the data measured by the auxiliary lines showed a pattern; therefore, he naturally began to use calculus as much as possible to approximate the data.

After drawing many geometric diagrams, Xuan Chong suddenly had an epiphany.

…Foundation building and entry into the Dao…

A certain expert once said, "Even the dumbest person can learn calculus, right?"

When Xuan Chong first heard this statement, he felt extremely ashamed; however, in all fairness now, the statement is half right and half wrong.

Yes, it's because the subject of "calculus" cannot be understood in a 45-minute course.

Starting with the method of exhaustion, Xuan Chong initially drew dozens, even hundreds, of auxiliary lines and measured the distance of each auxiliary line.

As I continued drawing, I realized that the mathematical patterns of auxiliary lines could be summarized, and it wasn't until half a month later that I realized I didn't need to draw so many auxiliary lines. I could use calculus to calculate it!

On the first day of studying calculus, it took Xuan Chong a full seven hours to get the hang of it! He connected the relationship between "infinite approximation" and the numerical values ​​he had measured by drawing a lot of auxiliary lines in a silly way.

The "line" rulers that used to require individual measurements can now be calculated directly.

Xuan Chong: This is equivalent to using mental effort instead of physical effort to draw thousands or tens of thousands of auxiliary lines.

After his "sudden enlightenment," Xuan Chong excitedly reorganized the formula, then input the time scale. When he observed the starry sky again, his observation results matched the calculation results, and a smile appeared on his face!

This is the smile of success in solving a problem! From blindly observing phenomena in the past to now accurately understanding them, all phenomena are like gears meshing together precisely—this is the feeling of enlightenment!

If we were to describe it using the analogy of cultivating immortality, Xuan Chong's journey from making lines to assist in measurement to finally finding the auxiliary lines is akin to the Hundred-Day Foundation Building process.

…cultivation…

The term "Foundation Building" comes from a cultivation novel Xuan Chong read in his youth. His impression of it was that once one achieved Foundation Building, one transcended the mundane world. In many mortal cultivation novels, Foundation Building is extremely difficult, and the protagonist has to go through countless hardships to reach the threshold.

However, after growing up, Xuan Chong learned two new sayings: "When people are pushed to the limit, they can do anything, except math!" and "If you can do math, you can do it; if you can't, you can't!"

In his past life, Xuan Chong never connected "mathematics" and "foundation building" together; until this "exam." After transmigrating, with the superpower system and mathematics inextricably linked, why is this "foundation building" of learning mathematics so difficult? —The method is flawed.

Xuan Chong: "Just like in later generations when making documents or programming, you can't just shut down the computer without saving."

Most students, when learning math, make far too many "unsaved, unused" mistakes. And in their previous lives, after finishing advanced calculus, they had to attend other classes, and when they returned to the advanced calculus classroom, their brains were not used to it. Even most ordinary people, who aren't interested in math, would "unsave" their work during everyday activities like eating, sleeping, and relaxing.

Therefore, in my previous life, I was unable to grasp the essence of advanced mathematics and was thus a complete failure.

Xuan Chong vaguely surmised that Hua Luo, this giant, entered the Daoist path in a general store. This great being had a considerable amount of time to develop coherent thinking about mathematical problems, starting from the basics of counting and measurement. The reason why it was difficult for someone of Xuan Chong's level to produce a mathematical genius in his own educational experience might be due to the "segmented" nature of Eastern curricula.

Similarly, another key to entering the Tao is to abandon impetuosity during the most energetic years of youth.

Taking two giants as examples again, Gauss was taciturn as a child; Chen Jingx, it is said, was teased by rich kids in his youth and was introverted. Both of them automatically disconnected from the outside world when their brains became interested in logical reasoning; their personal interests delved into mathematics, the logical system that "consumes the most brainpower".

This is why modern Western education has failed to produce such extraordinary individuals; such a state of "forgetting oneself and the world" is not permitted in lower-class public education, and such a dullness is unsuitable for the social needs of the upper class in higher-class aristocratic education.

Speaking of the last history class, Xuan Chong, as a "Wu Fei," had to constantly monitor whether his subordinates had any rebellious tendencies, calculate everyone's mentality, and be constantly vigilant about the interpersonal relationships around him—so he had no chance to enter the Dao.

In the Great Yao Plane, if Xuan Chong is truly determined to cultivate immortality, the system should at least make him experience the difficulties of entering the Dao by assigning him thousands or even tens of thousands of questions.

Of course, that would be going outside the curriculum plan and forcibly inserting another course into the history class, which would be a "teaching challenge" for the teachers at Wei School.

Xuan Chong is currently facing a standard math class arranged by the school, using well-designed "system tools," and is in a perfectly positioned interpersonal environment. Furthermore, Xuan Chong himself is actively pursuing this path, and his mindset for "cultivating truth" is undoubtedly superior!
…the difference between immortals and mortals…

In the path of mathematics, the difference in understanding before and after entering the path is just like the difference between immortals and ordinary people in the world of cultivation.

For example, one day, Xuan Chong was idly strolling along the south bank of the Qiantang River beach and arrived at the park. A hundred meters away, couples were whispering sweet nothings under the night sky, marveling at the seamless blend of the sea and sky. Meanwhile, Xuan Chong was gazing up at the moon, contemplating the heavens and cultivating his spirituality.

Xuan Chong's Ramblings: The current distance between the Earth and the Moon is 374634.9 kilometers. According to the timetable, it is now the 12th day of the seventh lunar month, at 8:57 AM. The waves on the sea are currently rising every three seconds. The tide will arrive in four hours and flood the Qiantang River estuary, causing traffic jams at the intersection due to people fishing.

Since this road is the one I have to use every three days when I take my shift, my efficiency will be affected. To save time, I should avoid peak hours and adjust my sleep-wake cycle by going to bed early every day. This way, I can save half an hour a day, and accumulate three and a half hours of spare time per week.

Xuan Chong's understanding of the world has changed through observation, calculation, and prediction.

So much so that in the dead of night, Xuan Chong suddenly realized that some of his past habits were not the best solutions. He slapped his forehead and cursed, "How stupid of me!"

After entering the Dao, Xuan Chong felt even more insignificant. There were still many complex connections in the world that he could not understand.

…While people are busy working on their drafts, they are oblivious to the passage of time, while outside, time flies by…

The Dragon Group returned to Beidu. Because they failed to bring the "Awakened Ones" back to the Northern Ancestral Temple, Liu Ling, the captain of the fourth group of the Dragon Ancestor, had to personally report to the palace for a full twenty minutes.

Finally, the Dragon Group office below the Temple of Heaven in Yandu issued an official document, temporarily removing Liu Haoxing's name from the new recruitment list.

Immediately after the official document from Yandu was issued, Jianye quickly issued a replacement document.

Simultaneously, Xuan Chong received a leave slip from his naval superior. Seeing the leave slip and the "Lin Group" signature on the notification letter from Jianye, Xuan Chong couldn't help but make connections.

"Dragon Group, Qilin Group, and I wonder if there's also a Phoenix Group?" Xuan Chong quipped.

After buying a ticket and boarding the small steamer at Qiantang Station, Xuanchong headed towards Jianye along the canal network. As the steamer's paddlewheel turned, it slapped some grass carp from who-knows-where, stunning them and leaving their white bellies exposed on the surface of the river.

I had just set off, carrying my bag and boarding the economy class; I had just sat down when a well-dressed, sophisticated woman in charge came over, showed her credentials, and indicated that first class was ready for me.

Xuan Chong immediately wanted to refuse this ambiguous first-class offer, for a simple reason: if there were prior arrangements, why wasn't I notified? Why did they only make arrangements after I bought the ticket?

The person in charge explained: When you come to Jianye, there are four train services available for booking; we have arranged a team for each service. It would be more cost-effective for us to arrange fixed services directly, but this arrangement poses a safety hazard.

Xuan Chong immediately understood. This meant that the "Lin Group" believed there was a risk involved in their northward journey. Just as they boarded the small steamer, Xuan Chong noticed some of the light-footed martial artists who were rowing slipped and suddenly "accidentally" fell into the water. It seemed the Lin Group had helped him avoid this "dust."

Therefore, these people are not passively arranged, but rather they choose for themselves, adding a certain degree of randomness and ensuring safety during the northward journey.

…sacrifice. Shaman…

On the small steamer, the mature woman introduced herself as Liu Yuanling. She then explained to Xuan Chong the origins of "Dragon Power" and departments such as the "Dragon Group" and "Lin Group" within Shenzhou, carrying some information.

Since the time of Emperor Yao in ancient times, emperors were associated with the power of the dragon; however, after the Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed the emperors, the power of the dragon was actually scattered throughout the land.

In modern physics, this means that the will of the planet is bestowed upon the whole; human society has always been a whole, receiving this bestowal on the Earth's surface, and certain individuals within human society are ordained by heaven and earth.

Dragon power is not exclusively exclusive to the Liu family; descendants of the Qin, Zhou, and Shang dynasties within the present Han dynasty can still awaken the dragon seed. However, the frequency of awakening is not as high as that of the vassal kings enfeoffed outside the Han dynasty. For example, vassal states like Dongtu have it almost every generation, while large families living in the local area for generations awaken the dragon seed only every few generations, perhaps ten generations.

Even so, with such a large population, the number of awakened "Dragon Power Users" is always continuous.

The Zhen Han dynasty conquered the country on horseback, entering the Central Plains from the north. In order to ease relations with the powerful clans in the Central Plains, they disregarded rural sacrifices.

But the dragon's power existed in the countryside, and Jeonghan soon felt threatened.

The Zhenhan court once hunted down these "unorthodox" people who were not of the Liu clan, which incited rebellion throughout the land along the Yellow River, making the country unstable in the latter half of the Zhenhan period.

In the modern Han dynasty, the Liu clan formed an alliance with the people and allowed all major clans to perform sacrifices; however, they incorporated those who "shared the same gods through sacrifices" into their own ranks, thus creating groups representing the dragon, phoenix, black tortoise, and white tiger.

Liu Yuanling said solemnly, “In recent years, a trend of ‘individualism’ has emerged in Europe. They have been downplaying the connection between ‘Heaven and Earth’ (the will of the planet) and the race, claiming that ‘extraterrestrial power’ is the recognition of the individual by the gods. These barbarians have obscured the essence of this ‘power that connects heaven and earth’!”

Liu Yuanling reminded him, word by word: "The hearts of the people are in harmony with the heavens and the earth, so Heaven bestows this upon us; we are honored today because of the merits of our ancestors. If we become detached from the people and lose virtue for the nation, then we, the descendants, will have nothing to inherit."

Xuan Chong couldn't help but feel a chill, knowing that she was reminding him that "nothing comes for free."

The power I am now awakening to is actually due to the merits of my ancestors and the virtues of my lineage.

The rise of individualism in Europe today is actually the result of merchants seizing power over the past few centuries; they have seized control of parliaments for speculation and profit, and even the Papacy has been infiltrated by wealthy merchants.

Merchants govern the country, emphasizing consumption. This is similar to the Western theoretical system where rulers hoped every household would spend their accumulated wealth on the market. They practically wanted all wealthy individuals to be spendthrifts.

The Western powers glorify those who receive "extraterrestrial power" as "holy children," severing their awakening from the causal relationship with their local communities. They encourage these awakened individuals to act as solitarily as possible, placing them under the control of the Papacy and using their "superpowers" for so-called salvation.

…Modern Chinese: Superpowers are related to the state and originate from ancestral shamans…

Liu Yuanling explained the current situation in Hanzhong. At this time, the Phoenix Group has the most members, with more than 200 people; the Dragon Group has 45 members, of whom 37 are from the Liu family.

The Tiger Group has the fewest members, only thirty-eight, but its leader, Long Li, is at the "Heavenly" level, making him the current leader.

Xuanwu had a total of 87 people, and they kept drilling bases along the line from Taihang Mountain to Kunlun.

Xuan Chong couldn't help but ask with a probing gaze, "What about the Lin Group?"

Liu Yuanling: "Qilin was originally part of the Dragon Group, but now it has separated and its size is half that of the Dragon Group."

Xuan Chong: "Separated? What happened?"

The mature woman smiled without saying anything, but when Xuan Chong pressed her for details, she only said that it was "an old story from 170 years ago".

Xuan Chong couldn't help but recall that 170 years ago, the seeds of the Industrial Revolution sprouted, and the commodity economy in the south flourished, giving rise to the rudiments of industrial manufacturing. The rise of the southern economy led to a power struggle in politics, which in turn resulted in a battle for discourse power in ancestral temple sacrifices.

Next, it was mealtime, and Liu Yuanling asked Xuan Chong what he wanted to eat.
Xuan Chong couldn't help but drool. To be honest, he hadn't eaten anything good in Hangzhou. The food was bland and didn't suit his taste.

When the older sister in front of him was treating him, Xuan Chong ordered without hesitation: "Duck blood vermicelli soup, salted duck."

Liu Yuanling was slightly taken aback: "These are for the laborers to eat."

Xuan Chong glanced at the dishes on the menu that he couldn't name and said somewhat awkwardly, "I was raised in poverty. Back in the north, they mostly serve stews, which aren't considered high-class, so I don't know about them."

When Liu Yuanling was about to make a choice, Xuan Chong insisted on his original choice because he had observed that the dishes served to the porters in the ship's kitchen had been standardized.

A few minutes later, Xuan Chong slurped up large mouthfuls of vermicelli, trying to scoop out as much broth as possible. Then, a bowl of leftover broth was poured into the river from outside the window, and with a whirlpool, the remaining vegetable leaves were swept away and disappeared into the water.

…crossing the river…

The small steamship's smokestacks billowed black smoke, while the lights of the city's high-rises along the coast were reflected on the sea like fireflies. It was far less impressive than the skyscrapers and neon lights of later generations.

The city lights are not considered light pollution at present; second-magnitude stars are clearly visible high in the sky. Meanwhile, in the dim corners of the city, kerosene lamps in each household will remain lit until after nine o'clock at night before being extinguished.

As the boat journey continued, Xuan Chong felt that the southern banks were dozens of times more prosperous than his hometown. He truly was a native of Dongtu.

(End of this chapter)