Applied Immortality
Chapter 176: Dao Seeker

The last day of the martial examination came with some excitement and dread for the freshmen.

Ai Changyuan got up at the usual time, rousing to hear the vague voices of other disciples rushing to the examination area.

He had his own balance of study and rest, taking moments to fully awaken. Ai Changyuan rinsed his mouth and took the apple from his storage bag to take a bite. The spiritual energy-rich fruit contained more starch than any staple food, perfect as a meal. Breakfast over and done with, he walked out of his room.

Jiongli was in Divine Province’s southern area, offering a far milder climate than Western Sea’s Cracked Peak Island to the north. Getting used to the winter’s warm sun’s rays, he made his way to the testing area with big steps.

“Hey, you’re not even going to say hi?”

A voice called from the background.

The youth paused. “Oh, you’re here.”

Hu Jianghao lowered his head, shaking all over. “You’re really something… We met a few days ago and I’ve been waiting here today to see you. Don’t you have any reaction?”

“Didn’t notice.”

“You’re just like your ancestor… with everyone beneath you…”

Ai Changyuan’s left hand fiddled with his apple, cocking his head in thought. “You’ve been waiting all night in front of my place… Sorry, but Cracked Peak has tough customs and doesn’t exactly encourage same-gender fraternization.”

Hu Jianghao’s eye twitched, struggling to keep cool. “You’re really… Can you beat Wang Qi?”

“Got nothing to do with you. If he ends up fighting me, I’ll give it my all.”

Hu Jianghao roared, “It has everything to do with me!”

[It’s ‘my’ team’s glory! It’s the basis of my future Dao seeking!]

“‘As long as this guy beats Wang Qi and I beat Wu Shiqin, Argent Apex will always be watching Langde’s back, no matter which spot we take.’ Is that what you’re thinking?”

Ai Changyuan asked.

Hu Jianghao snapped to cover his shame. “So what if I am?”

Ai Changyuan shook his head, turning to leave. “Seriously, you only came here for insurance to win your fight? Ha-ha, what a joke.”

“What did you say?” Hu Jianghao grabbed his collar. “That I’m not confident in beating Wu Shiqin?”

Ai Changyuan was unfazed. His chest flexed and pushed Hu Jianghao away. “Shove off a little. Kun Zhongxuan beat Wu Shiqin because of his cultivation method was Wu Shiqin’s bane. But Celestial Hymn Odyssey is your bane.”

Celestial Element Series, the second of the four Heavenly Origins, channeled light through electromagnetic waves. It encompassed the full breadth of the electromagnetic phenomena and earned Unfettered Maxwell’s Unified Arts’ title. It was particularly effective in countering all mental art based on light, electricity, and magnetism.

Furthermore, Wu Shiqin’s strength was beyond Hu Jianghao’s information. In her fight with Ai Changyuan yesterday, she broke her limits, making her use of ‘can’t you see the eternal lightning?’ terrifying to all who witnessed it.

Hu Jianghao wasn’t done, but he hung his head in the end. “Yeah…”

“I told you, losing or winning my fight has nothing to do with you. There’s no reason why I should give you confidence, even less of bolstering your training.” Ai Changyuan brushed the dust off his chest and walked off, leaving Hu Jianghao behind.

Hu Jianghao strained not to give in to the rushing tears and followed. Ai Changyuan’s voice came from up ahead. “A word of advice. Money, power, or control have no use in the Immortal Alliance. Talkers and fighters are expendable in modern cultivation. If you’re truly set on the supreme Dao, become a pure and unadulterated Dao seeker.”

Ai Changyuan arrived at the testing area to find Wang Qi already there, in a bit of a mood by the looks of it.

The young man rested his depressed back against a tree. He missed breakfast, munching on a cold bun yet hardly chewed, with his head bobbing from drowsiness.

“What on earth?”

Wu Fan’s mouth twitched a bit. Having known Wang Qi the longest, he should’ve gotten used to his quirks by now, but…[This guy’s suicidal tendencies are ingrained in his bones! Did he forget about today’s tough fight ahead?]

Zhen Chanzi had long since adapted to his new position of explaining why Wang Qi always screwed up at the last moment. He sighed. “Playing with fire again. Yesterday he went to calculate a blade art to counter Heaven Fall Palm. The more he ran the numbers, the more excited he got, then he ended up like this.”

“Did he put the cart before the horse?”

“Don’t say that…” Wang Qi’s frail voice came. “With math, once you start a problem, you better finish it even if one of your eyes goes blind.

“Not even Seniour Euler would’ve thought it would end up being such a disaster.”

Myriad Arts Sect’s Unfettered Euler made a bet that he could calculate the trajectory of celestial objects. Gravitation, mechanics, and calculus weren’t as developed back then, making calculating a star’s orbit at night fraught with mistakes. Euler worked three days on the problem and ended up deviating and losing an eye in the process. But his results were horrifying. Even Arithmetic King Gauss admitted that he’d need half a month of calculations to reach that state.

“I believe my mood is the same as Senior Euler’s. Close your eyes and open them again—bam, there’s the formula! You close your eyes and don’t open them again—well, that’s how Senior Euler ended up…”

“Why do I always feel you always go overboard when you speak? You’ll be in for it if Senior Euler hears you.”

“Trust me, he’ll more likely say with pride that he wasn’t alone in Dao… Myriad Arts Sect’s spirit, a mind that gushes with inspiration, will feel bliss from finding true perfection at the end of your brush… Who has time for sleep?”

Wang Qi told nothing but the truth. Last night he wanted to include a bit of his theory into the blade arts. Whether the Upper Clarity Fractal made his thinking sharper and clearer, or maybe his bookworm instincts took over, the sight of that suave, curvy, and intoxicating formula made it impossible to stop.

Wu Fan was losing it a little. “What did you say? Aren’t you going to fight Ai Changyuan today?”

Wang Qi waved him off. “A trifle, especially since it’s obvious. Besides, it’s just a fight.”

“Yet you clearly care about the outcome.”

Wang Qi shook his head, finally finishing his bun. “Before I seek to win, I seek Dao.”

There was no stopping a Dao seeker when insight into Dao presented itself.