Applied Immortality

A fight with Geng Peng was a contest of computing speeds.

All who knew Wang Qi were aware of this.

Wang Qi had a double degree in mathematics and physics back home. As hard as getting started with theoretical physics deduced magical arts was, he made the obvious decision to make math his access to Dao. It only worked to further align his fighting style to Myriad Arts Sect’s.

In case of an even match, playing to one’s strengths was out the window.

Myriad Arts Sect disciple’s fighting style could be summed up as computational dominion. As Geng Peng bumped his spiritual power to mid Qi Refining Realm, his yin-yang diagrams surpassed Wang Qi’s.

However…

The Drifting Cloud Sect disciples felt dizzy watching them. “Senior Brother Su, have my eyes gone bad? Why do I feel like Geng Peng is pushed back?”

Su Junyu was stiff. “Wang Qi actually has the advantage…”

Looking at it from the sidelines, the fight took a funny turn as each move had to be adjusted ten times before striking. To the seasoned cultivator, however, it was clear that every strike was the result of furious calculations.

With no holds bared, Wang Qi could let loose and use every bit of sword art he learned these past few days. Like a deranged man, his formless blade flowed like crazy. Each trajectory, each movement, all kept Geng Peng on edge.

That’s just the start. His grasp of the battlefield and appraisal of windows matched Geng Peng’s. He even anticipated Geng Peng’s actions now and then, coming up with the perfect counter.

Geng Peng was unable to crack it!

“No way!” The audience made his feelings for the fight known.

[He’s been learning the modern way for mere months, so how is he so good?]

Everyone was oblivious to the glinting jade ring on Wang Qi’s finger.

Lame name and severely outdated design aside, Math was a genuine immortal calculator, theorized to be on the same rank as the All-immortal Mirror. Advanced formulas were out, true, but Wang Qi would handle that side with Math’s results from running the numbers of the simpler ones.

Immortal calculators was no slouch and Wang Qi leveraged on it to skip the many, many calculations he had to do, focusing on the high-end ones. The help was so great, Math made up for eighty percent of all calculations.

Wang Qi’s computational power quintupled but still falling short of Geng Peng’s. Nevertheless, mental acrobatics’ speed wasn’t just about calculations.

Approach mattered just as much.

It was a somewhat common news on Earth for ‘primary schooler math competition problems to baffle college professors.’ It was not the subject itself that raised the difficulty, but the restrictions on the approach to solve it. Most primary school math competitions forbid calculus, functions, or even equations when trying to solve these topics, despite the relations with such methods.

Looking at it differently, the impossible problems at basic math turned into fill in the blank at higher levels.

Geng Peng was around the same age as the old Wang Qi, but as a cultivator, he invested a lot of time meditating and training along with calculations to sharpen his cultivation. When it came to math, however, he paled to the old Wang Qi’s pure focus on learning.

It also had a little to do with Earth’s math being slightly more advanced than Divine Province’s.

All these factors helped Wang Qi bridge the gap in computation ability.

Geng Peng gnashed his teeth, veins popping on his face as he found the fight having gone for too long, despite feeling pushed back.

[A weakness, I must find the punk’s weakness in his sword art…] [I have the spiritual power to find it…] [I can do it!]

Geng Peng was slipping when a flash entered his vision.

[What the hell was that?]

He was struck by inspiration.

[That’s it! The weakness he can’t see it himself!]

Geng Peng’s remaining fragile reason had yet to be consumed by rage. He used it to restrain the hunger to attack, running the numbers on Wang Qi’s weakness.

He always came back to the same gap each time.

Geng Peng had the confirmation he needed and struck with impunity.

After a Deluge Art strike, Wang Qi used the wind to perform a sweep with his invisible blade. Geng Peng struck out with a shielded left hand just as the sword energy dissipated at the end of the sweep to grab the ripple sword, while making a fist with his right to strike.

Wang Qi was caught right between moves, unable to react.

[I’ve won!]

The thrill of victory overcome Geng Peng’s mind, blind to the fact there was no glory in beating a Qi Refining cultivator as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Geng Peng focused on Wang Qi’s face, but the shock he wanted to see was never there, only a smile.

It all went white the next moment.

Before the punch hit, Wang Qi unclasped a hand. He faked using it to wield the invisible weapon, blindsiding everyone to the Celestial Hymn Odyssey’s powerful glow building within.

“Say hello to my little friend!”

The light no only blinded Geng Peng, but obscured his spiritual sense.

The tables turned in that instant.

Wang Qi dispelled the ripple sword. Forgetting the sword wasn’t real, Geng Peng rushed forward a step without having collected his strength. It led to his fist connecting with Wang Qi but having no power behind it.

Wang Qi grappled his hands and Geng Peng felt his head spinning as random and chaotic information came from his yin-yang diagrams.

Celestial Entropy, entropy amplification, disorder.

The simplest way to handle a Myriad Arts Sect disciple was to break his computational system. Celestial Entropy was quite handy with that.

The gibberish math running amok in Geng Peng’s head made him collapse.