"Anomalous Humans, the Mohist Sect, Qi Cultivation, and Destiny."
Looking at the rising sun in the east, Qingshui, who had cultivated for most of the night, stretched lazily and rose from his chair.
His luck this time wasn't bad.
While he wasn't a mega-rich capitalist like his incarnation in the Marvel universe right from the start, his beginning was still quite good. He entered this world's extraordinary system with a head start.
It seemed that apart from his first, miserable start in Arkham Asylum, his other attempts had been pretty decent.
This time, he should be able to rely directly on the Mohist Sect's legacy to deeply understand the Qi Cultivation techniques of the Anomalous Human system.
To have survived for over two millennia without being wiped out, and still hold a certain status within the Anomalous Human world, the Mohist Sect, even if not as prominent as the Celestial Master's Mansion or the Wudang Sect, must have its outstanding qualities.
He didn't need to slowly search for that.
However, collecting destiny would require more attention.
Should he try for a civil service job?
It didn't seem impossible, but there appeared to be a better path laid out before him.
He was currently a newly graduated Ph.D., who, with Meng Xuan's help and his own outstanding academic achievements, had secured a teaching position at the university. Combined with his experience as a teaching assistant during his doctoral studies, he was now a Level 10 lecturer.
Graduates with a master's degree could only become teaching assistants if they stayed at the university, and it was much harder to achieve. A Ph.D. graduate, however, started directly as a lecturer.
Teaching assistants were Levels 11 to 13, lecturers were Levels 10 to 8, and above that, Levels 7 to 5 were associate professors. From Level 4 onwards, one became a full professor.
Some highly accomplished doctoral supervisors were typically Level 3. If they were even more distinguished, Level 2, they would be considered candidates for academicians, like those recognized by the Changjiang Scholars Program or the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars.
Level 1 was, naturally, an academician.
Qingshui's research during his Ph.D. was quite good. He had also completed a key national experimental project with Meng Xuan, a rising star in the field. Coupled with his prior experience as a teaching assistant, he was now a Level 10 lecturer.
Old Meng was currently a Level 3 professor. He had just finished leading a highly influential key national project and was very likely to be selected for this year's Changjiang Scholars Program.
Qingshui was now thinking about whether he could continue on this path.
Entering officialdom would waste many years. Scientific research, while also challenging, was a field where results spoke for themselves.
If Qingshui could produce an Arc Reactor right now, let alone an academician title, people would be begging him to accept a Nobel Prize. He could even establish an award in his own name without any issue.
However, the Arc Reactor required Nanobots as a prerequisite technology, and Nanobots, in turn, required upgrading lithography technology to electron beam lithography. There were still some difficulties and time required for this.
Moreover, the technological level of this world was not like Marvel or DC. Although both were set in modern times and had some black technologies, they were clearly not as "black." Most were likely combinations of technology and Anomalous Human abilities. The overall technological level was simply that of a very normal modern society in 2014.
But Qingshui didn't only have the Arc Reactor at his disposal.
Beyond the fantastical level of technology like cold fusion, he also had advanced AI and graphene high-energy batteries "borrowed" from Lex Luthor, Mr. Freeze's cryogenic technology, and Connors's Regeneration Serum, along with Helen Cho's secondary Nanobots and Regeneration Cradle.
Any one of these was a groundbreaking scientific invention, enough to overshadow most Nobel laureates.
Even further down the line, he could draw upon a wealth of research from Osborn Corporation scientists, allowing him to become an authority in multiple fields.
If he could bring all of these over, an academician title would be far from enough.
Academicians, at least, held a vice-ministerial rank. Taking other routes, he wouldn't have such a significant advantage.
So, what he needed to do next was to consistently produce results, step by step, at a reasonable but rapid pace.
However, he was currently only a Level 10 lecturer. Although a 26-year-old Level 10 lecturer was considered young and promising, it wasn't enough to qualify as an academic leader.
Therefore, the most suitable way for him to achieve results quickly was through papers, and not the kind that required extensive experimental support. They had to be papers he could complete on his own.
In that case, the field of artificial intelligence would be the most suitable for him.
Moreover, in 2014, artificial intelligence was still in its relatively nascent stages, just beginning to expand.
This track was also relatively open, unlike the future where anyone could churn out papers by leveraging already somewhat intelligent AI. It was suitable for seizing the initiative.
So, he would start by making a name for himself with artificial intelligence. This alone would be enough for Qingshui to publish a stack of top-tier papers.
He would also see if he could use this opportunity to push Old Meng into an academician position. That way, he could leverage more resources, bring himself more benefits, and allow him to quickly rise to associate professor, qualifying him to lead projects independently.
Old Meng, after completing his current project, was clearly showing signs of relaxing. At the celebration dinner that afternoon, he even mentioned wanting to take a month-long vacation.
Could he tolerate that?
He was already fifty years old, and the average age for academician selection was 54-55. Time was running out; he couldn't let him drag the academicians down!
At this moment, Qingshui had the thought of helping his mentor achieve greatness.
Oh, besides the field of artificial intelligence, there seemed to be another area that could yield results in a shorter time and with lower research costs.
If he could bring that out…
Being an academician seemed to be only a matter of time.
And it wouldn't even seem out of place.
With this thought, Qingshui quickly flipped through the contents of the Divine Mechanisms of the Mohist Sect, handing them over to his main body and other incarnations for research. He then took out his laptop, pen, and paper, and began to work.
On the first line of the Word document, under Qingshui's rapid typing, a prominent, bold, size-one headline quickly appeared.
Optimization of Natural Language Processing Models Based on Deep Learning.
The next day.
Morning, Physics Department.
The computational physics department office.
Meng Xuan leisurely organized his things, finishing up his work and preparing for his vacation.
Just as he was about to leave, Qingshui walked in, carrying a briefcase with his laptop inside.
"Professor."
"Oh, Qingshui, is that you? By the looks of it, you've already cultivated Qi? That's impressive! To sense Qi in just one night, your talent is much better than mine. Did you encounter any problems with your studies last night?"
Meng Xuan saw Qingshui, smiled, put away his thermos, and beamed with joy.
Although he was fifty years old, Meng Xuan clearly took good care of himself and looked like a handsome middle-aged man.
He had a buzz cut, stubble on his chin, wore a plaid shirt, and thick, black-rimmed glasses.
A typical image of a STEM guy.
"No problems at all, Professor. I've completely mastered the Qi Cultivation technique in that little booklet and can now extract and manipulate Qi within my body normally."
Qingshui flipped his palm towards Meng Xuan, and a ball of Qi condensed in his palm.
Meng Xuan pushed up his glasses, stared at Qingshui's Qi for a moment, and then spoke:
"So now, you can extract Qi anytime, anywhere, circulate it throughout your body, and even release it?"
"Yes."
"What about the Divine Mechanisms of the Mohist Sect?"
"I've read through it, but haven't tried operating anything yet. I was planning to show you these two draft papers first, and then find some things to try out."
Meng Xuan was momentarily stunned, and the smile on his face grew even wider.
He would assess every graduate student who joined his project team.
Qingshui had initially secured a direct Ph.D. enrollment and stayed under him for five years before graduating with his doctorate.
During this period, only a portion of the graduate students whose research abilities and character were up to par, and whose thinking, under his influence, aligned more with Mohist philosophy, would be absorbed by Meng Xuan into the Mohist Sect.
It had been ten years since he started supervising Ph.D. students, and even longer for master's students.
Counting both graduates and current students, he had supervised a total of over twenty Ph.D. students and over sixty master's students. Among them, many had academic integrity that satisfied Meng Xuan, and over the years, there had certainly been a few.
However, not everyone could become an Anomalous Human. Even with specialized Qi Cultivation techniques that could allow ordinary people to become Anomalous Humans through acquired practice, a certain level of talent was still required.
Over the years, besides himself, among Meng Xuan's students, only one had entered the Mohist Sect and successfully become an Anomalous Human, and that person was now working at a research institute.
Although the Mohist school preached universal love and impartiality, and internal Mohists weren't distinguished by status based on whether they were Anomalous Humans, this couldn't change reality.
Many of the Mohist Sect's methods and inheritances could only be mastered by becoming an Anomalous Human, which was why Meng Xuan was so happy.
"Mm, very good, very good. When I return from my vacation, I'll take you to the National Astronomical Observatory to meet your grand-mentor. I remember you were quite good at engineering too. You must study the Divine Mechanisms of the Mohist Sect diligently. If you learn it well, perhaps your grand-mentor will reward you with two magical artifacts. Later, I'll find the subsequent content of the Mohist Sect's mental cultivation method and the compressed file for the Non-Aggression Sword Art to send to your email."
Meng Xuan patted Qingshui's shoulder, rambling on and on.
"Uh... alright, but I'm here for something important."
Qingshui took out his laptop from his briefcase.
"Important? Isn't being able to cultivate Qi important?"
Meng Xuan had completely forgotten about the two papers Qingshui mentioned when he first walked in.
"They're two papers I just finished. I thought I'd show them to you to see if they'd be suitable for my thesis proposal."
Qingshui opened his laptop, placed it on the desk, and began to show Meng Xuan.
"Couldn't you just send any papers directly via QQ or email?"
Meng Xuan shrugged, then his eyes moved to the paper titles.
"A Specific Smooth Solution for a Class of Navier-Stokes Equations in a Random Fluid Environment"
This was a mathematical problem Qingshui had previously asked Tony Stark to help him solve.
And it was an extremely valuable problem.
Isn't it?
Old Meng took off his glasses and leaned closer to the screen to examine it carefully.
Hmm, thankfully, it wasn't a direct solution to the Navier-Stokes Equations.
If Qingshui truly had the ability to directly solve one of the world's seven Millennium Prize Problems, he could immediately become the world's top mathematician.
Let's look again.
No, wait.
Although it wasn't a direct solution, this specific solution under approximate conditions also represented an achievement close to that level.
Just like Chen Jingrun's achievement on Goldbach's Conjecture.
Oh no!
I nearly couldn't understand my student's paper!
As the scroll bar turned with the mouse wheel, Meng Xuan read slower and slower. He directly sat down in his chair and, engrossed, even pulled out a piece of scrap paper from nearby, occasionally performing calculations to understand some of the descriptions.
Every physicist is at least half a mathematician, and quite a few physicists have even achieved more remarkable results in mathematics than in their own field.
Einstein's mass-energy equivalence equation was also derived mathematically, based on his research in relativity.
Perhaps their achievements in mathematics aren't as profound as those of pure mathematicians, but every one of them possesses extensive knowledge of advanced mathematics and is proficient in many mathematical tools, which they apply to physics research.
So, Meng Xuan's mathematical prowess was not lacking; in fact, it was quite impressive.
He came from a background in high-energy physics and had also achieved significant results in computer science, many of which stemmed from the intersection of different disciplines.
Yet, even for him, the material was challenging. Once he sat down at the desk, he remained engrossed for most of the day.
The problem concerning the Navier-Stokes Equations had stumped Connors and a large group of scientists from Osborn Corporation for twenty years, only finally being solved with Tony Stark's help. Its difficulty was readily apparent.
Even Meng Xuan felt a bit dizzy by the end, still grasping some concepts only vaguely, and continuously posed questions to Qingshui.
Qingshui answered effortlessly.
He and Connors had spent a considerable amount of time questioning Stark before they largely understood it. After returning, they had even re-calculated it together multiple times, thoroughly mastering the problem before daring to apply it to the Decay Equation to create the Regeneration Serum.
Many of the questions Meng Xuan was now asking were precisely the ones Qingshui and Connors had posed to Stark back then.
"When did you delve so deeply into mathematics? And even start studying the Stokes Equations?"
Meng Xuan looked at his student with a complex expression.
His own mathematical level hadn't reached this point, so how had he managed to teach such a mathematically brilliant disciple?
Self-taught?
Then it was truly a waste for him to be studying physics under him; he should have gone into mathematics!
He couldn't be sure if the paper was correct or not, but judging from its content, if he were sent to the mathematics department, he would likely be treasured immensely by several old professors.
"Well, something like that. After I secured my recommendation for postgraduate study in my third year, I dedicated a portion of my energy to this. I taught myself because I was interested, and it took me six years to reach this point."
Qingshui offered a reasonably plausible explanation.
While it might seem a bit outrageous for a third-year university student to start researching one of the world's seven Millennium Prize Problems, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
Many mathematicians achieve breakthroughs in their thirties or forties, and quite a few have significant results even in their twenties.
The period from twenty to forty years old is when a mathematician is most likely to make breakthroughs.
Because mathematics is the discipline that relies most heavily on inspiration, requiring much less experience than physics or chemistry.
Qingshui's claim that he spent six years teaching himself and solving it seemed to make sense.
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