Chapter 99 - 61: On the Use Value of Antiques

"This is the leader's token of the Mathematical Sect—doesn't that equate to the Sect Leader's token of the Wanfa Sect?" Wang Qi finally realized what an incredible thing this was. He suddenly felt the ring had grown heavier in his hand. Was it the weight of history or the heaviness of power? Was he holding history, or was he grasping authority? Or perhaps it was both? While Wang Qi indulged himself in the prestige of mathematics, Zhen Chan said, "It seems that the Sect Leader of the Wanfa Sect is currently on Xin Mountain, huh? Why don't you use your mathematics to make him abdicate in favor of a wiser person?" "Heh, do you think I'm an idiot?" Using this mathematics to become the Sect Leader of the Wanfa Sect would be like digging up the imperial jade seal from the ground in the twenty-first century and then running to the Central X Sea to claim the throne! Unless the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate was part of the physical laws, which fool would support someone who dug up the jade seal from a previous dynasty? "So, what are you so happy about?" "This is an antique! And it's particularly historically valuable!" Zhen Chan asked, "So, does this thing have any use?" After all, it was the millennium-long obsession of the Luofu Xuanqing Palace; he couldn't help but care about this issue. "It's a Mathematics Magic Device," Wang Qi said. Zhen Chan exclaimed in shock, "Mathematics Magic Device? Calculator?" A Mathematics Magic Device, commonly known as a calculator. Named for the works "Soul Theory of the Calculator" by the Carefree Practitioner of the Wanfa Sect, the national master Feng Luoyi, it is a symbolic Magic Artifact of the Modern Method. According to the classification methods of Ancient Method Practitioners, the calculator should be considered an auxiliary Magic Artifact. But the terrible heights reached by the evolution of mathematics in the Modern Method endowed these devices with various horrifying functions. It was even listed separately, with a price that left similar-level offensive and defensive Magic Artifacts far behind. Even Wang Qi couldn't help but wish more than once during cultivation that he had a calculator on hand. "Ha, talk about the pillow coming when one wants to sleep, you really are in luck," Zhen Chan said with a sigh. "It seems that the only calculator at the Immortal Artifact Level in the world today is the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror of the Immortal Alliance, right?" The Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm supported by the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror is one of the foundations of the Immortal Alliance. If mathematics is at the same level as the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror... "Forget it, old man." There was not the slightest hint of excitement on Wang Qi's face. He grimaced as he glared hatefully at the Mathematical Ring, "This thing is not nearly as strong as the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror." "What's with that expression? Even if mathematics isn't as good as the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror, you don't have to be so disappointed, do you?" "You need a spoon to drink soup, and you bought one, only to realize when you get home that the spoon is leaky," said Wang Qi, "probably something like that expression." In Wang Qi's opinion, a calculator at the Immortal Artifact Level is akin to a supercomputer. But not all supercomputers are the same. If the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror were compared to the Tianhe-3, the most advanced supercomputer Wang Qi knew of before his transmigration, then mathematics wouldn't even compare to Eniac, the first real computer on Earth—it would at best be akin to the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, the first electronic computer. Why is that? Although Eniac's computing power might not match a twenty-first-century smartphone, it was still programmable, despite its primitiveness. But this Mathematical Ring couldn't possibly construct a mathematical illusion like the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm! It was absolutely at the same level as the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, which couldn't even manage programming! If it weren't for the fact that Shenzhou uses Spiritual Energy, avoiding the power source limitations encountered by Earth, Wang Qi would even want to lower the level of the Mathematical Ring to below the Differential Machine and Analysis Machine designed by Babbage and the calculator built by Leibniz. Although those devices were powered by steam or human effort, at least they used a binary system. This damn thing uses a decimal system! "Given your explanation, does it matter to you whether it's binary or decimal?" asked Zhen Chan curiously. Wang Qi massaged his forehead, "That's right, it doesn't make a difference to me... I could spend some time designing a method to create a mathematical illusion based on the decimal system. But don't forget, over there, Elder Ji and Turing and the national master Feng Luoyi, two Carefree Practitioners, are leading hundreds and thousands of disciples from the Wanfa Sect and Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, studying and deducing binary mathematical illusions. Even if I come up with something, could it ever compare to theirs?" Zhen Chan was at a loss for words. No matter how genius Wang Qi was, he couldn't possibly outdo thousands of Cultivators, especially when among those thousands, there were two Carefree Practitioners who wouldn't be weaker than him. Zhen Chan sighed, "It was terribly difficult to Refine and Sacrifice, and now that you know its true use, it's still useless." Wang Qi also sighed, "It's a little useful. At least it performs addition, subtraction, multiplication, and exponentiation faster than I do, and it can just about handle plain geometry—it can't analyze the Heavenly Transformation Formula, and for complex geometry, it can only exhaust infinity. Geometry and mathematics are completely independent; it can't understand truly profound algorithms at all... That's why I say antiques are just antiques." Antiques are basically of no practical use. A Copper Beast Head may be valuable, but if you use it as a shower head in the bathroom, it would probably be worse than a ten-yuan cheap street market item. Zhen Chan asked finally, "How much value do you think this ring holds for you?" "Leaving aside its historical significance and commemorative value, it's a second-rate calculator at best. It's akin to a Heavy Artifact, but it can't connect to the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror or draw upon the power of the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm—a second-hand good." The Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm is equivalent to the Immortal Dao Network of Shenzhou. In the twenty-first century, being able to connect to the internet was a basic requirement for electronic devices. A calculator that couldn't connect was probably like a feature phone in the era of the internet. It was a luxury commemorative edition of an Immortal Artifact Level calculator. After assessing the function of mathematics, Wang Qi stood up and stretched, then he employed the Heavenly Entropy Technique, using the heat from Entropy Increase to burn all the draft papers. After that, he dispersed the ashes with a Hand Wind. The symbols he had used for the calculations were from Earth, and it wasn't pretty for others to see. Cryptography is a branch of mathematics, and with mathematics flourishing in Shenzhou, there might be experts skilled in breaking codes who could see through his Operator symbols. The Operator symbols could still be attributed to Ancient Method heritage, but his advanced computational methods from Earth were indefensible. Ever since Dabai Village had been suspected by Li Ziye once, Wang Qi had been especially cautious about such issues. After all this, Wang Qi left the room and went to the Kitchen for dinner. After eating, he greeted Su Junyu, telling him that he planned to review his lessons in his room tonight, so he wouldn't join him in studying later lessons. Since the monthly test was tomorrow, Su Junyu didn't suspect anything. In the evening, Wang Qi sat at his desk, took out a stack of manuscripts, and pressed the ring down on them. "Alright, it's time to make a decision now."