Chapter 27: History

Earth and Divine Province should’ve been two independent worlds.Yet the Celestial Sequence Table was strikingly similar to Earth’s Periodic Table of Elements, both consisting of seven periods and their 118 elements. Their chemical properties were similar as well. However, that was where the similarities ended. The atomic weights listed in this world didn’t match the ones on Earth. It pointed out that protons, electrons, and neutrons had different masses and properties.

These differences made it possible for a most radical development, spiritual energy.

Spiritual energy had no place in a scientific world like Earth. With every theory having a clear explanation of everything pertaining to the world and its nature, spiritual energy’s introduction would be redundant and over-complicating the simple design, thus removed by Occam’s razor.

In Divine Province, however, the average guy could rely on some Qi Refining mnemonic or fist art to feel a trace of spiritual energy from the world, to say nothing of the countless odd materials and treasures growing all over the world from it. 

Speaking of, Wang Qi was certain this place was not part of Earth’s time and space. This was another universe entirely.

[However…]

[Heisenberg, Bohr, Pauli, Marie Curie, Qian Xueshen, Chen Jingyun, Deng Jiaxuan, the fag-, uh, Contraption Elder Turing…] (Tamon: play on words. The word for gay and contraption elder sound the same in Chinese.)

Every single name felt like some cosmic joke by that Heavenly Dao dude to make them all Unfettered, but it reminded Wang Qi of something. This world and Earth were connected. 

Since both worlds operated on concrete and rational theories, this led to this connection being researchable. [The reason for crossing over may lie within.]

To even begin this monumental research, he first had to discover its rules.

Wang Qi took every known historical figure of the immortal path and placed it on a timetable.

“The ancient system epoch was so chaotic.” Wang Qi shook his head, “It’s unanimously accepted that Primordial Heavenly Lord Phytagoras is the trailblazer of the modern immortal cultivation, on par with the Phytagoras of Ancient Greece. It fits Earth’s scientific timeline. Computation Demon Lord Archimedes’ parallel world analogy on Earth also fits. But what about the other members of his school of thought? Why isn’t there a single mention of them?

“Next is Celestial Operator, the parallel world analogy of Zu Chongzhi, the true originator of Myriad Arts who later integrated Phytagoras and Archimedes’ legacies. The problem is his birth, being before Landscape Metropolis’ founder, Quake Demon Lord Zhang Heng—Zu Chongzhi was part of the Northern and Southern dynasties(420-589), coming after Han Dynasty’s Zhang Heng(78-139).

“One of Heavenly Spirit Range’s predecessors, Myriad Flowers Valley, was founded by Sun Simiao and Li Shizhen, the same generation. But anyone with common sense knows Sun Simiao was from the Tang Dynasty(618-907) and Li Shizhen was from the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644)… 

“Many of the ancient cultivators founding the modern system have a parallel world analogy among Earth’s scientists. Only the timeline is a mess.”

With this conclusion, Wang Qi turned to modern cultivation’s beginnings, “In this period, Mystical Star Temple reestablished the celestial body system, and the schism within the Sacred Soul Coven began with Copernic’s defection. The biggest issue lay with Evolutionary Divine Lord Darwin—I gotta give the translator credit for fitting Darwin’s name so seamlessly to his English counterpart.”(Tamon: Darwin in Chinese is pronounced Da Erwin.)

Evolutionary Divine Lord Darwin was Divine Province’s first ever Unfettered. Myriad Arts Sect did have some ancient Great Ascension elders switching their cultivation method to become Unfettered, but they came after Darwin.

“Earth’s Darwin was born close to two centuries after Newton, yet the Evolutionary Divine Lord has so much more seniority here.” 

What came next was modern cultivation’s first talent boom.

“Newton, Boyle, Hooke, Leibniz, all the way to Euler, all of their parallel world analogy appear ‘regularly’ in this world. It only furthers the similarities between the two worlds’ histories.

“Up to Old Hai’s time, everything is identical with Earth.” Wang Qi muttered, “Then the correlation breaks apart.”

If the world’s development was consistent with that of Earth’s, then going by the different interpretations of Schrödinger’s principle on wave function collapse in quantum mechanics, the Elusive Palace should have different branches by now. [But hearing about Elusive Palace’s arts, that means there exists only one of Cophenhagen interpretation’s theories in the Divine Province.]

“It then follows with the two worlds’ histories diverging at a rapid pace. Hardly any of the renowned scientists of the ’60s and ’70s have parallel world analogy on Divine Province. This in turn makes even less of their theories being discovered or proven. The very last to have an analogy is Mystical Star Temple’s Motionless Dharma Hawkings.

“And it all began with…” Wang Qi’s eyes landed on a specific spot on the timeline he made. “Divine Province’s correlation of Earth’s Sommerfeld being so different.”

There was little record of Elusive Palace’s Sommerfeld in Divine Province’s history, briefly mentioned as ‘accidental death, entrusting Pauli and Heisenberg in Bohr’s tutelage.’

[The crux is his accidental death.]

Arnold Sommerfeld handed his students over to Bohr on Earth all because of a simple job change. Sommerfeld didn’t stop teaching. [Furthermore, he’s been nominated for the Nobel Prize dozens of times. He’s by no means average.]

“Which means, unlike Earth’s counterpart, Daoist Sommerfeld had an early demise. The cause of death has been left out as well. There has to be a huge secret behind it, I’m sure.”

Wang Qi scratched his head and crumbled the paper with the timeline, “What could be the reason?”

On record, Sommerfeld’s demise happened at Nirvana Realm of Eminence Stage. With Elusive Palace’s deranged weighted system, it would be impossible for Sommerfeld to die from anything else than a sudden attack by an Unfettered or Great Ascension cultivator. 

Wang Qi was deep in thought, holding his head from the splitting headache the Myriad Poison Needle put him through as his body went from hot to cold without warning.

He sighed, “Forget it, I can’t figure it out as I am. For even a Nirvana cultivator to fall, I’m in over my head jumping into the fray as a mere Qi Refining cultivator.”

So he grabbed the quilt and pulled it over him to get some sleep.

A smile appeared on his face just before dreams set in, “But this world is damn interesting.”

A pair of eyes watched over him from above.

Chen Jingyun’s image flickered in the air, seeing Wang Qi asleep. His hand held a crumbled paper and spread it out, Divine Province’s timeline.

Chen Jingyun used the void art Cosmic Pathweaving to escape Zhen Chanzi’s senses so he could take this one sheet of paper.

The half Unfettered muttered, “He’s focused on Sommerfeld’s fall?”

Sommerfeld’s death was stressed on the timeline. 

Chen Jingyun sized Wang Qi in his bed.

He shook his head in the end, muttering to himself, “It’s unclear yet. I can’t jump to conclusions.”

Wang Qi woke up in the evening on the second day. Myriad Poison Needle’s symptoms abated, though he was feeling weakened still. He didn’t like how his clothes and bed were soaked in sweat. With Xiang Qi and Yan Heyi taking him to Argent Apex while unconscious, he didn’t bring any spares. 

Wang Qi quirked his mouth and put buying clothes on his schedule.

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At least he was a cultivator now, evident by his spiritual power, meager as it was. He looked around the room, taking it all in, and was surprised to find a faucet with tiny markings on it. With but a little spiritual power, the water flowed and he washed his underwear. After drying his only pair with deft use of spiritual power, he changed into the Immortal Alliance-issued magic attire, making himself presentable.

It was then Wang Qi’s innards made their protest known. He put a pin in washing the rest of his old clothes and went out to grab dinner. 

The mess hall was close by, just a few minutes of walking. It was by no means lavish and opulent like the inner city’s businesses. It had a bluestone-tiled floor, tables, and chairs. Since the fresh cultivators of various clans had yet to enroll, the place was rather empty.

The few people that were present here were due to earning a recommendation from having excellent talent, or rogue cultivators like Wang Qi. With few of them familiar with each other, there were but sparse groups about. At the back of the hall was the canteen, where a blue robbed cultivator sat next to it. Wang Qi felt his Foundation Establishment aura and reckoned he was like an attendant he’d found on Earth. He walked over and the cultivator handed over a box, pointing out, “Remember to return it once you’re done.” 

Wang Qi picked a random seat and shuddered as he opened the box.