Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 314 - 313 The 21st century is the _____ century

When a person has accumulated enough knowledge, they no longer need to prepare for their lessons.

This was another encounter with a professor-level instructor for Li Zheng since Zhou Chenghuan and Jie Qifen.

However, Du Songtao was more pragmatic than Zhou Chenghuan and more brutal than Jie Qifen, essentially digesting and condensing Stanford’s courses and spewing them out like spores.

His knowledge structure was virtually flawless and he always managed to pinpoint issues directly and guide groups quickly to find solutions.

If Li Zheng’s classes involved methodically demonstrating a full set of martial arts moves, then Du Songtao was about delivering the essence tailored specifically for each person in the shortest time.

According to Du Songtao, such a training course could only achieve quick results; there was simply no time to work on knowledge structure, which had to be naturally accumulated through subsequent work, a directional error on Li Zheng’s part.

That night, Li Zheng finally understood what a gap in academic power felt like.

However, it was unexpected that the system never displayed Du Songtao’s Academic Fortune, the same was true when facing Shen Tinglan, not knowing if engineers hid it deeper.

In the end, Li Zheng had to treat him to two more drinks to have Du Songtao substitute the final lesson the next day.

...

On the day before the camp ended, at 11:30 PM, everyone from the study group gathered around Li Zheng’s computer.

Under Du Songtao’s acceleration, the simulation engineering was barely online; data had already been entered and by clicking the mouse, the remote server would initiate the simulation launch.

The screen displayed a series of complex data interfaces, without any rocket graphics, yet this did not dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.

"Are you ready?" Li Zheng scanned the screen and said, "The weather environment simulates Wenhai Launch Site immediately, targeting synchronous orbit."

"Hurry up," Yin Hang urged, "Launch!"

As Li Zheng clicked, various data soared rapidly.

However, at 17 seconds into the launch, all data suddenly reset like dominoes.

"It exploded," Du Songtao laughingly said from a table in the back, "It’s already good that it didn’t blow up the launch platform."

"This...that’s it?" Big Beard grumbled, "We need some explanation, right?"

Li Zheng clicked the mouse and said, "Fuel chamber leak, liquid hydrogen and oxygen contacted unexpectedly outside the combustion chamber."

"What’s the reason?" the group leader responsible for that part asked through gritted teeth.

"There could be too many reasons," Du Songtao waved his hand and laughed, "Go back and study the materials yourselves, hurry up with the second launch."

The second launch saw Core Stage One rocket separate preemptively, failing again.

The third attempt finally resulted in an explosion at the launch platform.

It felt as if they were watching "A Thousand Ways to Die by Rocket."

Only on the seventh attempt, when an anomaly occurred in the data for Core Stage One, Li Zheng chose to separate preemptively. Although everyone initially had little hope, they managed to send the fledgling rocket into a synchronous orbit using the remaining fuel.

After more than half an hour of despondence in the classroom, cheers finally erupted.

"Ah!!!"

"Difficult...it’s damn difficult..."

"Now we really understand reset, there are too many problematic steps, it really needs a reset..."

"Thank you, teachers, we’ve really improved a lot these past few days!"

"I’ll never again curse those who set these insane standards."

Although it was nearly 1 AM, the participants still pulled the two of them together for a group photo, embracing and parting.

Li Zheng naturally added quite a few WeChat contacts, spreading his influence to every corner, perhaps just the instinct of a Demon Monarch.

But actually, Du Songtao had done the same, and even added more people than Li Zheng, increasingly resembling a spy.

When the participants dispersed and Li Zheng packed up, Du Songtao finally tapped his laptop and said, "I saw you covertly adjusting the parameters, clear skies, not even a breeze, practically yearning for a vacuum condition for launch, you’re really coddling them."

"We have to leave some hope," Li Zheng said with a smile as he packed away his computer, "After six failures, it nearly scared them sick."

"That kind of shock is enough of a fantasy, after all, in reality, you’d only get to destroy two at most, we’re burning money, not hydrogen and oxygen," Du Songtao patted Li Zheng and said, "It’s time for a drink, don’t you run away."

"I really have to run today..." Li Zheng sheepishly said, "I have a math competition tomorrow morning, I won’t attend the closing ceremony."

"..." Du Songtao was startled, "So, this is our last meeting now?"

"Hey, we’ll always meet," Li Zheng also patted Du Songtao, "Thanks for this period, I’ll definitely make up for the drinks I owe you."

Watching Li Zheng walk away, Du Songtao thought for a moment and then looked up, "Besides drinks? Can I use something else to make up for it?"

"Like what?" Li Zheng stopped and turned back.

"Haven’t thought about it yet..." Du Songtao grinned, "Remember, you owe me two favors now, you have to come running whenever I call."

"One!"

"One and a half."

"One and a quarter!"

"Fine...just one then."

Du Songtao walked him all the way to the lobby entrance, finally sighing deeply.

"Project 927 has already been initiated, tentatively slotted into the Yellow River sequence. The technological foundation is solid, with ample preparations in the initial stage. According to their plan, by this time next year, they’ll be able to begin factory assembly," Du Songtao said, staring blankly at the sky, "It’s much faster than I imagined. Although it’s never been explicitly mentioned, I’ve always felt that this part should have been left to private aerospace..."

"Why are you still worrying about this?" Li Zheng scoffed, "You should be enjoying your time."

"I can’t always be at leisure, I’m just riding the waves and pushing hard," Du Songtao muttered to himself, smacking his lips, "It’s really amazing, being with you sparks the positive energy in me, while being with my colleagues at work does just the opposite..."

"The company you keep colors your view," Li Zheng muttered to himself, though he was really thinking ’Bad company corrupts good character.’

"Are you saying I’m just craving your body?" Du Songtao said, grabbing Li Zheng’s pert buttocks.

"???"

"Just kidding," Du Songtao shoved Li Zheng strongly and turned around, waving his hand, "See you later."

"See you later," Li Zheng also shook his head with a smile and jogged to the door to get into his car.

After the sedan started, he finally examined its system interface.

[☬Demon Monarch Challenge☬]

[Study team formation complete.]

[Base Academic Power Value: 3465]

[Current Academic Power Value: 3849 (11%↑)]

[Demonization Challenge completed!]

["Scholar’s Eye" can be activated at any time, unlimited use.]

[Releasing Experience Pool, beginning Demonization...]

[Demonization Level: 40→50...]

[Li Zheng: ☬Demon Monarch☬]

[Demonization Level: 50]

[Bonus: 500%]

[Daily Vitality Value Recovery: 156 hours]

[Study Multiplier: 168]

"Phew..." Li Zheng exhaled deeply.

Finally, it was over, and the favor was worth it.

It goes without saying, raising the Demonization Level to 50 at this time was like sending coal in a snowstorm.

If the normal daily study time was 8 hours, Li Zheng now had 19.5 times that amount of study time. Considering relaxation and recovery factors, he had almost reached the level of "Zheng studies for a day, Jing studies for a month."

So, moving forward...

[☬Demon Emperor Challenge☬]

[The Demon Monarch already possesses his own tentacles and territory, but this doesn’t mean he can expand indefinitely.]

[Only by becoming an absolute powerhouse can one command respect in the academic world and ascend to the throne.]

[Challenge completion requirement: Academic Power to reach 3000 points.]

[☬Demon Monarch Title Reward: 50 Academic Fortune.]

[Note: Academic Fortune can be exchanged for rewards during specialized study phases.]

"3000 huh..." Li Zheng mused, "That’s going to be a long grind..."

Hearing this, the cab driver suddenly looked back, "3000? Are you also into stock trading? It has indeed been a long grind..."

"Ah... just a hobby," Li Zheng replied quickly, as his Scholar’s Eye unintentionally activated,

[???]

[Academic Power: 179]

"What!" Li Zheng exclaimed.

This was much higher than Yin Hang’s. A regular cab driver had this level of Academic Power?

Was the driver hiding his capabilities, or was Yin Hang just too weak?

"Anything wrong, did I take a wrong turn?" the driver asked, somewhat flustered.

"No..." Li Zheng swallowed, "I feel like you... have a high level of education."

"You can tell?" the driver responded in surprise, looking back, "I did indeed graduate from a master’s program..."

Li Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, "I see, moonlighting in the evenings, that’s quite stylish."

"I’m full-time," the driver tapped the steering wheel, "Full-time on ride-hailing app, for two years now."

"..."

"No choice, why did I have a brain cramp and choose biology back then..." the composed driver suddenly burst out, "The 21st century is the century of biology?! I just CTM..."

On this journey, Li Zheng had learned a lot and had effectively prepared for the biology competition...

...

The next day, Li Zheng was very happy.

Using one’s learning to assess others was truly a delightful thing.

Old Li’s Academic Power Value was 2975, which could be said to be an extraordinarily formidable existence.

As for Ning’er, although her status was high in many respects, her Academic Power was still under 300, indicating that Academic Power does not include managerial experience or similar areas, but solely pertains to knowledge level in a specific field.

People like Li Yi, Ting Lan, and Du Songtao, who have an Academic Power of 3000, are roughly at the level of top industry experts.

Values between 100 and 200 correspond to the level of a Master’s degree.

In the meantime, there’s ample space for addition, and of course, the Scholar’s Eye mustn’t stop.

For instance, most office workers in the metro fluctuate around an Academic Power of 100, and occasionally someone close to 300 would pop up, to whom Li Zheng would invariably give a respectful look.

Which made those people quite embarrassed.

As for the extremely rare occasions of encountering someone over 300, even close to a thousand, Li Zheng would stop to gaze in admiration.

This continued all the way until he entered the venue for the preliminary competition at the Normal University Affiliated School, where the numbers finally stabilized.

The Academic Power of the competitors in the preliminary round was mostly under 100, occasionally slightly over 100, but not by much.

Regarding the invigilators and organizing teachers...

They weren’t much higher than the competitors.

After observing this for a while, Li Zheng inevitably became somewhat numb.

Just as he was about to turn off his Scholar’s Eye, a number suddenly popped out from the crowd heading towards the teaching building.

[Academic Power: 692]

"!!!" Li Zheng dashed toward the number instantly, soon running up behind him, closely following.

It was a guy with somewhat long hair, wearing a loose blue shirt and school trousers.

Unexpectedly, there was such a strong person among the students.

This was probably the closest existence to himself among his peers.

Hero respects hero, the more Li Zheng followed, the tighter he pursued.

Finally, the person could no longer withstand it, suddenly stopped, and turned around with a bit of fear.

Unexpectedly, he didn’t wear glasses and had delicate skin, clean and pure, looking like he was just a freshman in high school...

Wait a minute...

"Ah..." Li Zheng’s mouth dropped open, "Jian Feng?"

"Ah..." Jian Feng was first delighted, and then somewhat embarrassed, "What a coincidence..."

Li Zheng’s initial intention was to get closer.

But having been played during the competition and still sticking close now wouldn’t be very dignified.

With that, he shook his head and walked in the other direction, "I’d better not disturb you."

"No, don’t leave..." Jian Feng chased after him, grinning, "I had something sudden during the competition and couldn’t make it."

"Then why didn’t you say something?" Li Zheng continued walking with a stern face.

"I don’t have a cellphone..." Jian Feng said playfully while grabbing Li Zheng’s arm, "I promise I won’t bail out this time."

"Speaking of bailing out..." Li Zheng suddenly felt a bit embarrassed as well, "I’m actually a deserter myself..."

"Huh? What do you mean? Didn’t you go to the physics training camp?"

"Um..."

"Hahaha." Jian Feng, pulling Li Zheng along, turned back and headed upstairs, "What about Yu Jing?"

"She didn’t go either."

"How come you’re all so together..." Jian Feng covered his mouth and chuckled, "Are you guys getting married?"

"Stop it." Li Zheng quickly pushed him away, then asked, "I thought you had already joined the mathematical national team in middle school, what are you doing here?"

"I had something back then, didn’t make it to the IMO, which was a bit regrettable; I was off and on, not in the best state," Jian Feng said nodding, trying to encourage himself, "This is the last chance, I have to try it no matter what."

"You really have lots of things going on..."

"And you two, why didn’t you go to the IPHO?"

"It’s a long story... don’t tell anyone..." Li Zheng leaned in and whispered, "We’ve been building rockets recently."

"Ha...ha...ha..." Jian Feng laughed dryly, "Do you need a ballistic designer... I can help... "

"Those tasks have been completed long ago, the challenge is the engine..." Li Zheng said, hastily covering his mouth, "No... It’s a confidential matter, I can’t say more."

"Okay…" Gu Jianfeng looked at Li Zheng as if he were a complete fool, "Make sure you keep the secret…"

"You don’t understand, there’s so much going on, I need to hurry over there as soon as I’m done with the test…" Li Zheng took out his admission ticket, "I’m in room 17, what about you?"

"Room 1." Gu Jianfeng also shook his admission ticket.

"That’s a pity."

"Maybe…" Gu Jianfeng scratched his head, unsure, "After the test, shall we compare answers? Like in a physics competition."

"Sure." Li Zheng nodded vigorously, "If Dragon Pearl Group releases the answers first, then I would have perfectly completed my duty as the group leader this time."

"Then… let’s not invite so many people this time, just the two of us would be good."

"Done."

With Gu Jianfeng there, Li Zheng rarely felt a surge of competitive passion again.

Lately, his progress in math had been incredibly rapid, perfect to challenge little Gu.

However, the moment he received the exam paper, Li Zheng had to admit…

Math competitions were still difficult.

Although it was just the preliminary round, it was nearly at the intensity of a physics competition semifinal.

The key was that there were hardly any tricks to be found, the question types were not fixed, and you couldn’t really score high just by frenzied practicing; it genuinely tested your thinking.

Even with Li Zheng’s thorough preparation, it took him nearly two hours to complete the entire paper.

When handing in his paper, the teacher thoughtfully reminded him, "Student, this year’s provincial competition has only this round, it is actually the semifinal, don’t you want to check again?"

"Oh? I thought it was the preliminary…" Li Zheng sighed, "No wonder it was so hard…"

"…" The teacher glanced at the paper, feeling unavoidably conflicted.

He had finished answering more than half an hour early… but then complained about the difficulty…

This must be just for show, right? It had to be for show.

"It was too difficult this year, I’m not even confident about scoring full marks…" Li Zheng finally handed in his paper.

"Alright, alright… just go now…" The teacher was almost chasing Li Zheng out at the end.

It was too much, playing tricks even on the teacher!

A few minutes later, Li Zheng caught up with Gu Jianfeng, who was standing stupidly outside the school gates.

"Damn, still faster than me…" Li Zheng let out a sigh, "How long have you been out?"

"Not long." Gu Jianfeng handed over a bundle of paper with a grin, "I’ve already written down my process on here."

"Why…" Li Zheng’s gaze faltered, once again feeling the sting of frustration, "You finished at least… 20 minutes faster than me?"

"About 24 minutes, I suppose." Gu Jianfeng patted Li Zheng’s shoulder, "Don’t be discouraged… Speaking of just math… you are already the fastest I’ve seen, look, no one from our school has come out yet."

"I… I’m… I’m studying math every day."

"Me too, me too, don’t feel bad… come on, let’s go eat something…"

"I even had a teacher from Ji University giving me guidance…"

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"Take it slow, don’t cry, don’t cry…"

"Why am I so useless…"

Gu Jianfeng comforted Li Zheng all the way to McDonald’s.

Later, it took Li Zheng another half an hour to recover the answers.

It took that long because the math semifinal was all proof problems, four major questions for 180 points, with the difficulty almost entirely in the thought process, so comparing answers really meant looking at each other’s proof processes until both sides were convinced of their correctness.

While comparing proofs with Gu Jianfeng, Li Zheng was undoubtedly faced with another genius beyond Lin Yujing.

If Lin Yujing’s talent lay in finding the optimal path, then Gu Jianfeng’s specialty was creating mysterious new paths.

Especially in the use of tools like mathematical induction and imaginary numbers, it seemed there was nothing he couldn’t do.

Amidst the onslaught of logic terms like "proof by contradiction," "evidently," and "subsequently known," Li Zheng felt increasingly insignificant.

When Li Zheng put down his paper, he was utterly convinced: "No wonder… you finished so quickly… What kind of wild routes are these… the logical transformations are crazy…"

"You’re pretty strong too." Gu Jianfeng looked at Li Zheng’s paper, trying hard to compliment, "Very… very… very earnest, very simple, and very perseverant in your proofs…"

"You’re insulting me!"

"No, no, no…" Gu Jianfeng cautiously consoled him, "But there are two places where the proof logic doesn’t hold up, just missed a little bit… You should still score over 150 points…"

"I’m leaving, I’m never playing with you again!" Li Zheng wiped his eyes, grabbing his paper, "You’re even more unreasonable than Lin Yujing!"

"Alright, I’ll treat you to a McFlurry."

"… with Oreo in it!"

"Added!"