Chapter 27 - 21: Unexpected Information

Xinyue Inner City's tea houses weren't too many, but not too few either. Although cultivators required less from food and water than mortals, they still couldn't survive without eating or drinking. Moreover, those in the Immortal Dao often cherished what was in their cups. White Horse Tea House, located in the eastern district of the inner city, could be considered a first-rate bustling tea house. The owner went for a populist approach, always keeping famous teas like Longjing and Biluochun in stock, but the main business was the more affordable strong tea. The place also featured a small stage where performers routinely presented stand-up routines and vaudeville acts. Over time, the tea house's boss had become a model of thin profits and high turnover. At the moment, Wang Qi was sitting at a table inside the White Horse Tea House, staring intently at the blue-clothed cultivator across from him. Just then, because he was perfectly positioned, Wang Qi had seen the movement technique of the blue-clothed cultivator and felt a sudden urge for mischief, intending to reveal the movement of the blue-clothed cultivator to the numerous dark-faced pursuers. To his surprise, the blue-clothed cultivator had grabbed him and dragged him all the way to this tea house before casually flinging him into a chair. Then, the blue-clothed cultivator nonchalantly sat down opposite Wang Qi and began studying a card in his hands. Although the hold technique of the blue-clothed cultivator had ceased functioning after he let go, Wang Qi still didn't think about escaping. Zhen Chan had just communicated with him through Spiritual Sense Transmission, informing him that this person in blue was at least a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. If the other harbored any resentment for his mischief without any intention to release him, there was no way he could escape. Because he didn't want too many people to be aware of his presence, and since Xiang Qi was about to finish his resignation procedures and would come looking for him, and with the Immortal Alliance nearby having rules against injury and private fights, there was no immediate worry about his safety. But still... "Big brother, what exactly do you want to do..." Wang Qi watched the cultivator still engrossed in the cards, and couldn't help but smash his head on the table. The man in blue looked up, baffled: "Huh?" "I mean... they've changed the comedians on stage three times already, and this pot of strong tea has been refilled until it's lost all flavor..." Finally realizing, the blue-clothed cultivator exclaimed, "Oh! So much time has passed already—then why haven't you left?" Wang Qi flopped back in exasperation, "Fuck, you're the one who grabbed me, and now you're asking me why I haven't left?" The blue-clothed cultivator was equally startled, "I just wanted to prevent you from drawing those fiery chaps over, how did I grab you? Besides, even if you say I grabbed you here, haven't I already let you go?" Huh? Wang Qi looked at the blue-clothed cultivator's face, which mixed a fraction of grievance with confusion, stood up in surprise, then jumped up: "Damn it, if you were letting me go, why did you throw me into a chair? Usually, isn't that the same as telling someone 'sit here, don't move'? It hurts!" After a bit of a commotion, they sat down again. Wang Qi gloomily gulped down a cup of tea. The blue-clothed cultivator said with a laugh, "Young man, don't look so gloomy, this was my fault, but wasn't it started by your playful heart?" Wang Qi grimaced, rubbing his buttocks, "The slap you gave was quite powerful." "Ahaha," the man in blue laughed dryly, "The connection between cause and effect is profound, truly profound!" "Cause and effect?" Wang Qi was about to get up and leave, but hearing this phrase from the blue-clothed man made him curiously ask one more question, "Does the Modern System also include a part about karma?" According to Zhen Chan, only Great Cultivators involved in deep cultivation touched upon this realm. The blue-clothed cultivator looked intrigued, "Tsk tsk, young brother, which sect did you learn from? To not even know such basic things?" Wang Qi replied, "I was just a Loose Cultivator before, later picked up by the Security Guardian to participate here in the unified entrance trial." The blue-clothed cultivator's eyes widened, "You, you, you... your cultivation, you've clearly broken through to Heavenly Communication! A Loose Cultivator breaking through before even entering school?" he said, stretching out a thumb, "Genius, props to you." Wang Qi said, "Big brother, could you explain a bit, what does the Modern System study about cause and effect?" The attitude of the blue-clothed cultivator immediately became much warmer, "Come, come, sit down and talk. By the way, young brother, what's your name? It's inconvenient to address you without knowing your name. My surname is Su, Su Junyu." "Wang Qi." Su Junyu pressed Wang Qi down at the table, smiling, "Wang Qi, you haven't formally studied the Modern System yet, so you probably don't know. Actually, many terms in the Modern System are borrowed from the Ancient Method, but the meanings of these terms in the Modern System could be completely different from what the Ancient Method Practitioners who coined these terms had intended." Wang Qi said, "I would like to hear more about this." "The Ancient Method's so-called cause and effect meant 'plant one cause, reap one effect,' emphasizing a sequence of 'cause, karma, effect.' Plant a cause, pass through a karma, obtain an effect. It's unpredictable, but generally, you reap what you sow—this is what the Ancient Method Practitioners say." The Modern Cultivator seemed to get excited when discussing their area of study, and Su Junyu was no exception. He put one foot on the stool at the tea house, displaying a relentless enthusiasm, "But from the perspective of the Modern System—it's all nonsense. Wang Qi, are you familiar with the Heavenly Transformation?" Wang Qi nodded. Wasn't that just about functions? Su Junyu continued, "Consider the simplest Heavenly Transformation for distance. Heavenly Element increases by one to become Earth Element. Do you understand this?" Wang Qi nodded again. x+1=y, the simplest function learned in junior high on Earth. "This involves two sets of numbers, the Heavenly Element Set and the Earth Element Set, where any number in the Heavenly Element Set increased by one corresponds to a number in the Earth Element Set." Wang Qi silently translated this in his mind to Earth's mathematical language: set x and set y... "If at this time, we call the Heavenly Element Set the cause, then the Earth Element Set is the effect, and the addition is the 'Path' that leads from cause to effect," Junyu raised the teacup on the table and drained it in one gulp. "The Ancient Method speaks of causality as the nihility's elusive Qi Fortune. However, the Modern discusses causality as the path from cause to effect. Take this time, for instance, your sudden playfulness was not the beginning; the initial cause was your personality. How many factors were involved from your personality to the effect of 'you being thrown onto the chair' by me? What rules guide these effects? And how would you calculate this if you put it in an algorithm? Thinking about it, it's really quite fascinating." Determinism? Wang Qi's thoughts raced—so, has determinism in this world yet to be thoroughly refuted? Given the lack of information, Wang Qi couldn't ascertain the level of mathematical and physical research achieved by the Shenzhou Cultivators, but he at least understood that the Mysterious Palace becoming one of the Five Extremes signified that quantum mechanics had been established. And quantum mechanics was exactly the first wave of attack on determinism! Wang Qi tentatively asked, "This sounds quite powerful. If you could refine this method into divine skills, wouldn't you always have the upper hand when fighting enemies?" Junyu burst into laughter, "Wang Qi, you have a good eye! This is one of the pinnacle Cultivation Techniques of the Wanfa Sect, Bai Ze's Algorithm!" It was indeed about determinism and the Laplace Demon! Wang Qi feigned confusion: "But the Security Guardian who brought me here seemed to have mentioned, the Mysterious Palace's Indeterminate, the mystical path..." Junyu frowned, interrupted him, and said, "That's because the cultivators from the Mysterious Palace are insane. Forget about it, you are not initiated into the door yet, don't believe anything indiscriminately. If you encounter anything strange later on, remember this— if the effect seems rootless, it's just because you haven't found it yet." Wang Qi was somewhat surprised. This single statement from Junyu revealed so much information. Firstly, quantum physics has been established in this world but is not yet stable—at least, the principle of Schrodinger's wave function collapse has not settled. Junyu's insistence on "specific causes leading to specific effects" of determinism, suggests his interpretation leans towards the "hidden variables" approach—believing the cause of wave function collapse might be factors overlooked by researchers. This reveals two points: First, Chaos Theory has not been developed yet; Second, the cornerstone of quantum mechanics, the Bell Inequality, has not yet appeared! "But judging from Chaos Theory and Bell Inequality standards, this world's scientific level seems to have reached that of the 1950s. No, there seems to be a problem. If the Shenzhou Cultivators' 'Five Silence Extinguishment' corresponds to Earth's Qian Xuesen from the seventies... wait, that's not right. There are a few discrepancies just based on what I already know from the history of Immortal Dao. Heavenly Selection God Monarch who corresponds to Darwin was the first Carefree Practitioner in the Modern, and precedes Yuanli Master Newton. But according to Earth's history, Darwin was born a hundred fifty years after Isaac Newton..." "Could these strange correspondences not be tightly fit? What's that principle all about? Does it have anything to do with my transmigration?" Seeing Wang Qi deep in thought, Junyu thought his words had inspired deep contemplation in his junior, and he laughed, proclaiming, "Overthink these things after you've joined the school. You must understand, the introduction to cultivation in the Modern is a process of shattering and then patching up your entire worldview." Wang Qi didn't care about this. His worldview had been reshaped many times over in his previous life when studying, and yet again post-transmigration, almost to the point of resistance. Today's insights were already substantial. Now that he had figured out the mathematical level of Shenzhou, he could determine what mathematical tools to use to decode Daoist of Uncertainty's manuscript. What remained was to find out the distinctive Cultivation Techniques of the Mysterious Palace to roughly clarify the context of the Daoist of Uncertainty's manuscript. In the future, he would need to conduct several experiments including the black body radiation experiment, or obtain data from these experiments. This way, he would be able to fully decode this manuscript. If he could also acquire the Modern Cultivation Techniques and understand how theory integrates with these techniques... Hehe, the thought is somewhat exhilarating! At that moment, Junyu took out two decks of Indeterminate Cards from his pocket, added a few cards from a recently purchased booster pack into them, and then pushed one of the decks towards Wang Qi: "Know how to play? I'll lend you a deck if you do." Wang Qi laughed, "Senior Brother Su, you really love this." Junyu's eyebrows danced with excitement, "This is where my cultivation lies." "Cultivation?" Wang Qi raised an eyebrow. "Bai Ze's Algorithm?" Junyu nodded, "Exactly, Bai Ze's Algorithm! A game of Indeterminate Cards, in my view, is a system constantly introducing new causes. If you can use the continuously introduced 'cause' as a foundation to calculate the 'victory,' that's where my cultivation lies." Wang Qi flipped through the deck Junyu lent him, his hand trembling slightly, "This this this... so many cards above rarity eight?" The most rare card in Xiang Qi's deck of Indeterminate Cards had been the rarity-eight "Mystic Gold Lightning Technique"! Junyu grinned harmlessly, "Hard pulls, miraculous outcomes. All my one hundred and eight cards of rarity eight and above came this way." "Damn rich friend! Rich buddy, let's be friends!" "Sure, if you win against me, we are friends." Wang Qi thought for a moment, frowning, "Unrealistic, I don't recognize most of the cards in here." As one who had only played basic packs as a poor person, he really couldn't afford rich folks' cards! Junyu pulled out a book from his Storage Bag: "Rulebook plus complete catalog. I'll lend it to you." Wang Qi flipped through it a bit: "Let's see, basic pack card composition details... expansion packs 'Holy Infant Calamity Sky', 'Emperor's Extreme Shocking'—supplementary packs from Holy Infant Sect and Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao... geez, supplementary pack 'Supreme Heaven Net' from Daluo Xuanqing Palace, and behind that are the Rare Cards—hey!" Suddenly, Wang Qi's pupils dilated, then he burst into laughter, "Hahaha, it's like wanting a pillow for a nap and getting one!" The catalog had just turned to "Mysterious Palace Rare Card Compilation."