177: Chapter 177 Tianhe Tutoring Class: Start with the "53" Practice Test

The midday sun scorched the earth with its harsh rays. On the white jade plaza of the Heavenly River Sword Sect, heat waves distorted the air.

However, even more oppressive than the sunlight was the suffocating—

sense of utter bewilderment

currently permeating the air.

Three thousand Sword Cultivators, including fresh-faced newcomers from the Outer Sect, the spirited elites of the Inner Sect, and even a few True Disciples who were usually as elusive as dragons, were all maintaining the exact same posture:

Head down. Eyes wide. Mouth agape. Trembling.

On the desks before them lay a white exam paper they had never seen before, exuding a strange smell of printer's ink. At the top of the paper, printed in a square, rigid, yet immensely imposing font (Songti, size 2, bold), were two large lines of text:

**[The First 'Cultivation Scientification' Placement Exam of the Heavenly River Sword Sect]**

**[Subject: Science Comprehensive (Cultivation Modified Edition) · Paper A]**

And below the title was a line of smaller text that was even more heart-stopping:

*'This exam has a total score of 750 points. Exam duration: 240 minutes. Candidates must use black ink pens to answer. Strictly prohibit cheating methods such as Divine Sense, secret voice transmission, or turtle shell divination. Violators will be sacrificed to the heavens on the spot.'*

At the very front of the plaza, the 'Sweeping Old Ancestor' Li Mo, clad in gray robes with white hair and beard (actually an illusion effect), sat cross-legged on a floating boulder. The worn-out broom in his hand had somehow transformed into a teacher's pointer, which he tapped idly against his palm, making a 'pat, pat' sound that seemed to strike directly at everyone's hearts.

"What? Not picking up your pens?"

Li Mo's voice wasn't loud, but through the 【authority dog】's broadcast function, it clearly wormed its way into everyone's ears.

"Is the exam too easy, beneath your dignity?"

"Or... could it be that you Cultivators, who usually boast of being Geniuses, can't even understand the first multiple-choice question?"

This taunt was like a spark falling into an oil barrel.

Sitting in the first row was the Heavenly River Sword Sect's Senior Brother, named Ye Guyun. This person was exceptionally gifted, with a clear Sword Heart, hailed as the 'Number One Sword of the Younger Generation'. He was usually so arrogant he looked down on everyone as if they were mere targets.

At this moment, Ye Guyun was gripping his brush so tightly his knuckles were white.

"A simple multiple-choice question? Hmph, Senior, you underestimate us too much!"

Ye Guyun took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the anger in his heart. His gaze sharp as lightning, he stabbed it towards the first question on the exam paper.

He was determined to see what kind of demon this so-called 'science' was!

**[Part One: Single-Choice Questions (5 points each, 15 questions total)]**

**1. Regarding the dynamic principles of 'Flying Sword Flight', which of the following statements is correct:**

A. The reason a Flying Sword can fly depends entirely on the Sword Spirit's mood.

B. The flight speed of a Flying Sword is proportional to the Spiritual Qi input and has nothing to do with air resistance.

C. When a Flying Sword flies at high speed, it must consider the balance between 'lift' and 'gravity' in fluid dynamics, and when turning, it must provide centripetal force.

D. As long as I shout loud enough, the Flying Sword can break the speed of light.

"..."

The corner of Ye Guyun's mouth twitched violently.

He stared at option 'C', his mind a complete mess.

Fluid dynamics? Lift? Centripetal force?

What were these fabricated terms?

Based on his twenty years of Cultivation experience, wasn't Flying Sword Flight simply 'a thought in mind, a thousand miles in an instant'? As long as one's Spiritual Qi was deep enough, even a piece of scrap iron could fly into the sky!

"It must be B!" Ye Guyun thought with certainty. "The stronger the Spiritual Qi, the faster the speed. That's common sense! As for air resistance? Ridiculous. We Sword Cultivators protect ourselves with Sword Qi. What's a little air to us?"

He was just about to mark B when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught the seemingly amused look in the 'Old Ancestor's' eyes from the podium. His heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Wrong.

If it were common sense, why test it?

This was a 'placement exam'. There must be a trick!

Gritting his teeth, Ye Guyun continued reading.

**2. When refining 'Explosive Flame Pills', if a violent explosion occurs inside the Pill Furnace (furnace explosion), the fundamental cause is usually:**

A. The Alchemist has bad character and is being punished by heaven.

B. The oxygen concentration inside the Pill Furnace is too high, and the Spirit Medicine powder has reached the explosion limit, encountering an open flame.

C. The Fire God Zhu Rong is angry.

D. The Junior Brother next door is cursing you.

Ye Guyun: "???"

Oxygen? Explosion limit?

What the hell were these things again?

Wasn't a furnace explosion caused by unstable Spiritual Qi control leading to conflicting medicinal properties? Why was there 'oxygen'? What kind of deity was this oxygen, to be more terrifying than conflicting medicinal properties?

Ye Guyun felt cracks appearing in his Dao Heart.

He raised his head and looked around blankly.

He discovered that the Junior Brothers and Sisters around him were in an even worse state.

That Junior Sister Liu, usually the most skilled in Alchemy, was now gnawing on her brush handle over the second question. Her hair was a tangled mess, and she was muttering to herself, "The Fire God is angry... it must be the Fire God is angry... No, since Senior set the question, it definitely isn't about theology... Is it D then?"

Not far away, Elder Liu Changqing, who had awakened a 'bottomless pit' appetite after eating crab shells, was also mixed in among the examinees (forcibly dragged by Li Mo to make up the numbers).

This Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse was staring blankly at a calculation problem.

**[Part Two: Calculation Problems (Please write detailed steps. Only the answer yields no points.)]**

**Problem: Your life-bound Flying Sword has a mass of catty (approximately 1.5 kg) and an initial velocity of . You control the sword to strike a demonic Cultivator with a defense of . The collision time is .**

**(1) Find the kinetic energy of the Flying Sword at the moment of impact.**

**(2) Find the average impact force the Flying Sword exerts on the demonic Cultivator.**

**(3) If the demonic Cultivator uses a 'Force Dispersion Technique', extending the collision time to , find the change in impact force.**

Elder Liu Changqing's hand holding the brush trembled.

He, a dignified Nascent Soul Stage Elder, could smash a mountain peak with a single slap.

But now, he couldn't even calculate how much 'kinetic energy' this sword strike had.

"kinetic energy... what kind of energy is that? Is it a type of Spiritual Energy?"

"And these and ... are they talismanic scripts? Why have I never seen such scripts in ancient texts?"

Elder Liu Changqing felt insulted.

He wanted to get angry, to tear up this exam paper.

But when he looked up and saw Li Mo's deep, abyss-like eyes on the podium, all his anger instantly turned to fear.

The scene from last night, where Li Mo had pointed and shut down the Upper Realm projection, was still vivid in his mind.

"This must be the truth of the Great Dao!" Elder Liu Changqing frantically brainwashed himself internally. "Senior is using a 'high-dimensional language' we cannot comprehend to explain the essence of power! Not understanding it means my Realm is low! It means my Comprehension Ability is poor!"

"I must not give up! I must calculate it!"

Elder Liu Changqing took a deep breath and began using the most primitive method—forcing a solution through brute guesswork.

"A three-catty sword... a speed of fifty... three times five is fifteen? No, that's too small. Three hundred and fifty is one thousand five hundred? That's about right..."

Watching these Cultivators below scratching their heads and making fools of themselves, Li Mo appeared as steady as an old dog on the surface, but inside, he was rolling with laughter.

"Squeak. (Boss, they seem about to break.)"

The Treasure-Seeking Rat hiding in Li Mo's sleeve poked its head out and transmitted a message in a small voice.

"Breaking is exactly the point."

Li Mo replied via Divine Sense, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold arc.

"If we don't shatter their old worldview, how can we stuff new things in?"

"The biggest problem in the Cultivation World is 'knowing how, but not knowing why'. They know how to kill someone, but not why it works. This kind of empiricism is worthless scrap paper in the face of high-dimensional rules."

"What I want to teach them is 'induction', 'deduction', and 'quantification'."

Just then, a surge of Spiritual Qi fluctuation suddenly erupted from a corner of the plaza.

It was an Outer Sect Disciple.

Clearly driven mad by these questions, he actually attempted to use his Divine Sense to peek at the answers of the person next to him (even though that person was equally clueless).

"Hum—"

As soon as his Divine Sense left his body, before it had even extended three feet,

"Beep—!"

A sharp alarm suddenly blared.

Immediately after, a huge, red 'X' symbol abruptly appeared above that Disciple's head.

Without even glancing over, Li Mo gave a light flick with the teacher's pointer in his hand.

[authority dog skill activated: Mute Combo + Physical Correction.]

"Whack!"

That Disciple was slapped as if by an invisible slipper, spinning three and a half times in the air before crashing heavily into the 'Underachiever Reflection Zone' at the edge of the plaza.

"I said."

Li Mo's voice rang out coldly.

"Strictly prohibit Divine Sense cheating."

"This is the first warning. Next time, I'll pixelate your Divine Sense, making you see everyone as blocky figures for the rest of your life."

Dead silence fell over the entire plaza.

Several Disciples who had been about to secretly take out their communication Jade Slips to seek help from friends outside were so frightened their hands shook, causing the Jade Slips to fall to the ground and shatter to pieces.

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

Too brutal!

Too ruthless!

How is this an exam? This is practically a torture session to extract a confession!

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

The sun gradually dipped toward the west. More than half of the original 240-minute exam time had already passed.

The vast majority of people's exam papers were still blank, or filled with graffiti that looked like ghost talismans.

Only a very small number of people seemed to have found a clue.

For example, that 'tech-geek' Disciple who usually loved studying Formations the most was currently staring at a question about 'logic gate circuits and Formation node control,' his eyes flashing with a fanatical light.

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is!"

He murmured to himself as he calculated, looking like a man possessed.

"An 'AND gate' means dual Formation eyes are activated simultaneously! An 'OR gate' means any Formation eye is activated! Why didn't I think of this before? Using this logic to design a Mountain Protection Grand Array, the Spirit Stone consumption could be reduced by at least thirty percent! Efficiency would increase fivefold!"

"Brilliant! It's simply too brilliant for words!"

Li Mo noticed this Disciple and nodded in satisfaction.

This was exactly the kind of talent he wanted.

He didn't need their cultivation to be high; he just needed them to be flexible enough to accept new things.

"You there, take a note," Li Mo said to Squeak in his sleeve. "That drooling Formation Master, put him on the priority training list."

"Squeak. (Understood.)"

Just then, a graceful figure caught Li Mo's attention.

It was Chu Linger.

That is, the former princess Li Mo had taken in, codenamed 'Rustic Name'.

Unlike the frantic state of the others, Chu Linger appeared exceptionally quiet at this moment.

She held her pen, her brow slightly furrowed, but it wasn't the confusion of someone who didn't understand; she was... thinking.

Her gaze rested on the final big question.

**[Bonus Question (20 points): Essay Question]**

**[Question: Please combine the 'Law of Conservation of Energy' (i.e., Spiritual Qi is neither created nor destroyed, but only transformed from one form to another) to analyze the drawbacks of 'Star-Sucking Great Art' type Cultivation Techniques and propose an improvement plan.]**

This question was something Li Mo had specifically set to trap... oh no, to test these Geniuses.

The Cultivation World had always considered the 'Star-Sucking Great Art' an evil technique because it benefited oneself at the expense of others.

But from a scientific perspective, the real problem with this type of Cultivation Technique lay in the 'energy conversion rate' being too low, and it easily caused 'foreign energy rejection (immune response)."

Chu Linger bit her lip, her pen tip sliding gently across the paper.

She wrote:

*"Since Spiritual Qi is conserved, then forcibly plundering another's Spiritual Qi must be accompanied by the intake of Impurities. This is like... like pouring two different colored dyes together; although there is more ink, the color becomes muddy."*

*"If they do not undergo 'filtering' (purification), these Impurities will clog the Meridians."*

*"Therefore, the improvement plan should be: construct a Formation similar to a 'sieve' within the body to only absorb pure spiritons and expel Impurities..."*

Although the terminology was still very much about cultivation, the logic...

Was actually correct!

A flash of surprise crossed Li Mo's eyes.

This girl has some potential.

As expected of someone who hung around his Scripture Pavilion every day to browse books; even if she was reading leisure books, her mental agility far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Clang—!

A melodious bell rang, interrupting everyone's thoughts.

"Time's up."

Li Mo stood up and waved his wide sleeve.

"Stop writing."

A chorus of wails instantly erupted across the square.

"No! Senior! Give me another fifteen minutes! I've calculated the kinetic energy of that sword! It seems to be thirty-eight thousand catties... no, is it Joules?"

"Don't collect the papers yet! I haven't finished my essay! 'On the Relationship Between Newton the Great and Taishang Laojun,' I've only finished half of the argument!"

"It's over, I'm really going to have to read 'Overbearing Demon Venerable' ten thousand times now..."

Li Mo ignored these pleas for mercy and focused his mind.

Three thousand exam papers flew up like birds returning to their nest, fluttering and automatically stacking neatly in front of him.

"This is your entrance exam script."

Li Mo casually picked up the one on top (which happened to be Ye Guyun's paper) and glanced at it.

He saw that for the first multiple-choice question, the prominent 'B' option had been colored pitch-black and shiny by Ye Guyun.

In the subsequent section for large questions, Ye Guyun had written a line of large characters in wild cursive:

*"A Sword Cultivator only needs one sword to break all laws! What the hell is kinetic energy! If the sword breaks, it is because my heart is not sincere!"*

"Heh."

Li Mo gave a soft chuckle, one filled with undisguised mockery.

"one sword to break all laws?"

He looked up at the Disciples below who, although they had botched the exam, still had a trace of defiance in their eyes.

"It seems you still feel that these things are just clever tricks and unorthodox paths."

"You think that as long as your fist is big enough and your spiritual power is strong enough, you can ignore these... rules?"

Ye Guyun stood out.

Even though he hadn't finished the paper, his arrogance remained.

"Senior!" Ye Guyun cupped his hands. "This Junior respects Senior's heavenly cultivation. But the questions on this exam paper are indeed... inconceivable. We cultivate to seek longevity and freedom. If we study things like 'gravity' and 'resistance' and allow our sword heart to be clouded for the sake of these calculations, isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

These words voiced the thoughts of the vast majority of people present.

Li Mo wasn't angry.

He just looked at Ye Guyun calmly and then extended a finger.

"Since you are unconvinced, let's conduct a small experiment."

"You, draw your sword."

"Strike me with your strongest sword strike."

Ye Guyun was stunned, but then a sharp light burst from his eyes.

"Senior, watch out!"

Clang!

His life-bound Flying Sword unsheathed, turning into a streak of light, carrying a terrifying Sword Qi capable of piercing through gold and stone as it stabbed straight toward the center of Li Mo's forehead.

This strike was as fast as lightning and heavy as a mountain. Ye Guyun was confident that even a Nascent Soul Stage Elder would not dare to take it head-on.

Li Mo stood where he was, not moving at all.

Just as the Flying Sword was about to strike him, he lightly uttered a single phrase:

"Increase drag coefficient by ten thousand times."

Buzz—!

No spiritual power shield appeared in the air.

But in front of that Flying Sword, the originally thin air suddenly became like an invisible concrete wall.

[authority dog skill: Physical Parameter Modification (Local).]

[Modified Item: air viscosity/drag coefficient.]

The Flying Sword, which had been as fast as lightning, suddenly seemed to fall into a ten-thousand-year-old swamp the moment it entered the three-foot space in front of Li Mo.

Its speed slowed down visibly to the naked eye.

From 500m/s to 50m/s, then to 5m/s...

Finally.

That Flying Sword, capable of splitting mountains and cracking rocks, stopped just an inch away from the center of Li Mo's forehead.

It wasn't blocked.

It was because it... could no longer fly.

It was like a fly trapped in amber, trembling violently in the air and emitting an overwhelmed buzzing sound, yet unable to advance even a fraction further.

Ye Guyun's eyes widened as he desperately pushed his spiritual power, his face turning flush red: "Move... move for me!!!"

"Did you see that?？"

Li Mo extended two fingers and lightly pinched the 'static' Flying Sword.

"This is the 'all laws' you want to break."

"I didn't use a shred of spiritual power. I only needed to slightly modify a tiny parameter called 'air resistance,' and the swordsmanship you take such pride in became a joke."

"If you don't understand physics, you can't even get close to me."

Clang!

Li Mo flicked his finger.

The Flying Sword let out a mournful cry and flew backward, embedding itself three inches deep into the stone slab at Ye Guyun's feet, still buzzing.

The entire field was silent.

This time, it was a true, deathly silence.

There were no more doubts, no more defiance.

All that remained was a kind of... trembling, as if they had witnessed a miracle.

What kind of method was this?

It wasn't spiritual power, and it wasn't a Magic Treasure.

It was merely... modifying a parameter?

"This is the power of 'Scientific Cultivation'."

Li Mo withdrew his hand and scanned the field, his voice resonating like a great bronze bell:

"Now, does anyone still think this exam paper is just a scrap of waste paper?"

No one spoke.

Everyone lowered their heads, looking at the questions on their papers that they once couldn't understand.

At this moment, those strange symbols in their eyes were no longer ghost talismans, but a... ladder leading to this kind of 'invincible power.'

"Very well."

Li Mo turned around, his hands behind his back, leaving everyone with a profound and mysterious silhouette.

"Go back tonight and have everyone copy this exam paper ten times."

"Tomorrow morning, the Tutorial Class officially begins."

"For the first class, we won't learn the sword."

"We will learn... 'Three Years of Simulations' Chapter One: Universal Gravitation and Why You Can't Fly."