Exploring Immortality Cultivation-Chapter 360 - 113 "Heartbroken

Chen Youjia seemed to be in a very good mood this morning. Perhaps it was because the taste of this morning's meal was exceptionally good, a faint smile inadvertently graced the corners of her mouth.

A multitude of holographic screens lay before her, all of which displayed research data accumulated by Chen Feng. Based on Chen Feng's method, he had summarized several general rules about the Human Dao from history books and various decrees from the Immortal Alliance over hundreds of years, but these lacked rigorous mathematical proof, and it couldn't even be said that the data had statistical significance.

For a researcher, this was truly a fatal flaw.

Chen Feng's mathematical skills were not up to par for such advanced tasks. Therefore, this part of the work had to be entrusted to Chen Youjia.

Even though she didn't fully understand the significance of the data she was computing, Chen Youjia still enjoyed the feeling of finding order within chaos.

For an Arithmetician, the pleasure of turning a chaotic and disorganized system into a well-ordered one through one's own efforts was immense. If Chen Youjia had to make a comparison, this feeling was like swallowing a mouthful of fruit dew chilled to perfection on a dog-day afternoon.

However, this solitary pleasure was soon interrupted.

When Chen Feng brought that grinning youngster into the study, Chen Youjia felt a headache coming on.

"Yo, Junior Sister, we meet again."

Chen Youjia rolled her eyes, "Call me Senior Sister."

Wang Qi sat smilingly across from her, "I heard from Chen Feng that when you entered the Immortal Institute you were younger and are actually younger in age than me, so calling you 'Sister' just makes you sound old."

"It's a matter of respect."

Chen Feng interrupted their dispute, "Anyway, Youjia, from now on Wang Qi will be in the same team as you, you will work together."

Chen Youjia turned her face away, "Why not send him over there?"

"Uh… that side is dedicated to the research of nerves and souls, mainly experimental," Chen Feng said with difficulty. "Only this part involves a large amount of mathematics..."

"Then form a new research group, or make him handle the data."

Wang Qi exclaimed indignantly, "In your eyes, am I just someone to process data?"

"Dealing with those mystical things is less useful than data processing," retorted Chen Youjia, lifting the draft papers in her hand. "At least, what I'm doing online is a hundred times more useful than what you're working on."

"Mystical? What did Elder Ji use to construct the calculator? How did the venerable hands of Cangsheng build the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm?"

Chen Feng interjected once more, "Hold on—Youjia, not to criticize, but there are only two of you working on the Human Dao. Isn't it a waste to form two groups? Isn't it better for two people to discuss things together than one person working alone?"

Their reply to Chen Feng was in unison. "Impossible!"

"See? That's quite in sync, isn't it?" Chen Feng said with a wan smile. "Think about it, the work you're doing now is the greatest in the world!"

"The greatest?" Wang Qi asked skeptically.

Chen Youjia remained silent.

Chen Feng felt seriously disheartened. "Can't you have some confidence in your Boss?"

Wang Qi shook his head, "Not about the Boss, I have a lot of confidence in you. But..." He pointed to himself, "I have even more confidence in myself!"

Chen Youjia spoke up, "I've discovered an interesting phenomenon in these data. The Mathematics Lord has already done some research in functions, but I have glimpsed a deeper part—this will change mathematics."

Wang Qi gave Chen Youjia a defiant glance, "My research is advancing on the Master of Calculation's ideas—this will reshape the entire existing mathematical system."

"What's the use?" Chen Youjia's gaze was cold, "Perhaps somewhat useful in the realm of calculators, but I can't see it."

Wang Qi was about to retort sarcastically, but a thought flashed through his mind, and a better argument emerged, "Perhaps. But I believe, there are some things for which we shouldn't demand too much in return, you shouldn't expect them to grow beautiful leaves and flowers since they are roots."

Chen Youjia was disdainful, "Mystic's sophistry."

"The never-drying spirit pool, the perpetual motion machine in a Primordial Spirit Qi environment—the pioneers of the Spirit God Temple and Fentian Prefecture squandered nearly a thousand years on these two foolish projects, we might say these were just some foolish people, but it was their exploration that eventually led us to understand the Four Rhythms of Spirit Energy, the Three Laws of Fentian. Although they couldn't tell the later generations which path to take, they pointed out certain paths as dead ends."

"You're saying these are sophi…"

Wang Qi forcefully interrupted Chen Youjia, "So I want to say, even if some theories of the forebears from Wanfa Sect are still proven useless today, we should still show respect to them. Because they tried their best in their search, that's enough. Because I know there's a long list of names, each one so heartbroken."

"Five thousand years ago, the disciple of the Geometric Demon Lord, Luo Liwu, solved all the conic sections, and then it was only a thousand eight hundred years later that the star trajectory method from Xuanxing Temple was applied to planetary orbit theory.

The predecessor Galoraw created group theory in abject poverty, and it was only nearly a thousand years later that it found applications in physics.

The disciplines of Bai Ze God Monarch perfected matrix algorithms, which found applications in the Mysterious Path six hundred years later.

Luo Qiefu, the predecessor, invented Non-Euclidean Geometry, and the search for its practical application spanned the most brilliant years of Calculation King Gao Si, yet bore no fruit. It was not until the predecessor Minkev taught it to Taiyi Heavenly Venerable that this seemingly useless theory and the tensor analysis developed from it became the core part of the Heavenly Material Circulation..."

Facing Chen Youjia who looked like there was a fishbone stuck in her throat, Wang Qi nodded with satisfaction, "Look, you've fallen silent. You should remain silent—for the sake of these heartbroken names and also for the loneliness that lies behind these names, silent for countless years."

"The facts have defended those heartbroken individuals time and time again."

Wang Qi was very satisfied with the silence in the room.

Nice, nice. After such a conversation, this girl probably won't bother me anymore... How do theoretical mathematicians sell themselves in such arguments against applied mathematicians? Of course, by selling sentiment! And it can be sold until No. 6!

Wang Qi also felt he had to earn the salary given by Chen Feng. But, to yield to Chen Youjia and set aside the dispute? That's a joke, of course, it's to subdue in one go...

There was a "clang." It was the sound of a chair falling over.

Chen Youjia's face was pale, her small chest heaved violently as she took rapid breaths. Tears welled up in the eyes of the young girl as she stared at Wang Qi for a while, then she left the study without saying a word.

"What's wrong with her?" Wang Qi was puzzled, "Even if she is a die-hard Applied Mathematics School, at most she would graciously admit that we should not belittle the Theoretical School, and then... ah, she is from the Applied Mathematics School?"

Chen Feng looked at the draft papers left by Chen Jingyun, "You saw it too, huh. Her ideal is in the same league as the country's hand, Feng Luoyi."

Feng Luoyi, the foremost person in applied arithmetic.

"Ah... Master Chen's daughter, her ideal is applied mathematics?"

The Bright Pearl Calculation, or the Goldbach Conjecture, is typical theoretical mathematics.

"So her relationship with Master Chen is not as good as you think," Chen Feng said earnestly, "In June when she heard about your dispute with Master Chen, she described it as 'well done.'"

Wang Qi finally realized something, "I didn't shake her and her father's determination to confront each other, did I?"

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He Xi's "Heartbroken," Liu Cixin's "Village Teacher," the unparalleled choice for elevating sophistication in the science fiction community... well, that's already two. Should I say "without a third choice"?

"Heartbroken" is one of the best-written sci-fi short stories I have read, a tragedy from start to finish, with no high technology or laser guns going BUIBUIBUI. The main story is about the arduous journey of a theoretical mathematician, the only light in the darkness, a monument that mathematicians wouldn't see even after a hundred and fifty years.

In today's Earth, where theory is developing rapidly, such tragedies are actually rare, as many mathematical breakthroughs can be applied in computer science and theoretical physics. But in Shenzhou, where the development of theoretical physics is challenging, perhaps such tragedies are still unfolding? Cultivators of Wanfa Sect would empathize, right? Maybe, this is why Chen Youjia was moved to tears?