"I don't have full confidence in defeating you, so when the time comes, could you perhaps let me win a bit?"
Bao Xiaoya's words undoubtedly acknowledged her slight inferiority to Wang Qi, which was a show of weakness. Especially the first half of her sentence made Wang Qi feel quite pleased. However, the latter half caused him to change his expression.
Even with low emotional intelligence, Wang Qi understood that this person wouldn't come to him just to be humble.
"Miss, are you asking me to help you cheat?"
Although Bao Xiaoya hesitated for a moment, she still nodded firmly, "Yes, that's correct."
Her candid attitude actually took Wang Qi by surprise, "You're that upfront?"
"I am a member of the Bo Family," said Bao Xiaoya lightly. "For a Bo Family member, mathematics are of utmost importance. To study math, it doesn't matter if our methods are a bit despicable."
Wang Qi looked at the girl before him with interest, "But why do you think I would let you win?"
"If you give way even once, you'd be a friend of the Bo Family," Bao Xiaoya said as if she had her argument prepared in advance, replying quickly, "Besides, victory doesn't mean much to you—Master Chen wouldn't let you become the True Inheritor anyway, would he?"
Wang Qi shook his head, "As long as I can prove I am stronger than everyone else, he will have no choice but to make me the True Inheritor."
Bao Xiaoya frowned, "It's not as simple as that. Are you overly confident because you defeated Ai Changyuan?"
"I heard that you lost to him in the April joint exam," Wang Qi pointed out, then pointed to himself, "while I won."
"It's not that simple," Bao Xiaoya said with a sneer. "Your last victory over Ai Changyuan involved some luck and also the advantage of the Sword Technique overcoming the Wanxiang Heavenly Attraction. You won't deny that, right?"
Wang Qi honestly nodded, "Indeed."
"First of all, Ai Changyuan is also improving. Don't think that defeating him once means everything's perfect," Bao Xiaoya explained with her hands on her hips, "In April, I tried to use your method to beat him—but he has learned to keep the constant point outside the field now."
...Heh, that guy really does have the makings of a saint, not to be felled by the same technique twice.
"Your fighting style is undoubtedly from the lineage of the Wanfa Sect, right? Let me tell you this, I am good at swordsmanship, Bao's Law of Large Numbers Sword, which has a constraining effect on many martial arts of the Wanfa Sect. If we were to fight, the outcome would remain uncertain."
Bao's Law of Large Numbers Sword... Bao's Law of Large Numbers... Bernoulli's Law of Large Numbers!
Wang Qi quickly deduced the basis of her martial arts and understood the source of her confidence.
Bernoulli's Law of Large Numbers/Bao's Law of Large Numbers, is a milestone in classical probability theory. This limit theorem marked the expansion of mathematics from "certainty" to "chance." And probability theory is an important pillar of fuzzy calculus.
And fuzzy calculus is actually a very efficient method in terms of saving computational power.
In a contest against the Wanfa Sect that revolves around computational power, Bao Xiaoya, who has more efficient means of computation, naturally holds an advantage when facing disciples of the Wanfa Sect.
Wang Qi patted Bao Xiaoya on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Miss, I respect your forefather for his manliness."
"Ah?" Bao Xiaoya didn't understand.
Wang Qi's smile turned somewhat frightening, "The Bo Family has a long history, existing since the Ancient Method Era. At that time, Wanfa Sect was just a small sect, and mathematics was considered a minor stream within the Immortal Dao. The Bo Family had a natural talent for math, and to avoid the loss of their lineage, the Bo Family laid down a family rule that the heir to the Family Headship must not study mathematics.
Then, Bao Yage, the elder who was wholeheartedly Seeking Dao, left the family at a young age to travel far to the Wanfa Sect—during an era when Modern Sects and Ancient Method Cultivation World were at a standoff, and Modern Sects were not favored by anyone. Such an act is worthy of eternal respect."
Bao Xiaoya questioned, "What does this have to do with our conversation?"
"Miss, when I say I respect your forefather for his manliness—it means I won't say the unpleasant part out loud."
Wang Qi spoke calmly, yet Bao Xiaoya still sensed a chilly undertone. She took a half step back and angrily said, "Are you implying that I dishonor the Bo Family's name?"
Then, a hand reached from behind and rested on Bao Xiaoya's shoulder, "Indeed, a bit, Miss."
Bao Xiaoya was startled, "Brother?"
Bao Xiaofeng smiled at Wang Qi, then continued to scold his sister, "Our Bo Family would indeed do anything for the study of mathematics—but ah, there is one thing we must never do. We must never suppress any other Arithmeticians. Suppressing an Arithmetician is the same as suppressing mathematics itself. We Bo Family are seeking math, not the identity of an Arithmetician. What did our great-grandfather tell you before he left? 'With integrity'!"
Bao Xiaoya stood dumbfounded for a moment, then pursed her lips and lowered her head, "I'm sorry, brother..."
Bao Xiaofeng waved his hand, telling Bao Xiaoya to stand aside, and then addressed Wang Qi, "My apologies for the young brother's naivety."
Wang Qi curled his lip, showing indifference.
Despite Wang Qi's rather hostile attitude, Bao Xiaofeng didn't take offense, "No matter how great a family is, it's impossible for each of its members to be born superior to ordinary people. Even the ancestor you just mentioned wasn't so devoted from the start."
Wang Qi was taken aback for a moment, "Great-grandfather... your ancestor... you're a direct descendant of 'Big Number Extreme Universe' Bao Yage?"
Bao Xiaofeng smiled, "Outer objects, that's all. But as for you, young brother, you're quite impressive. Truth be told, if you had just agreed to help my sister, you would have absolutely no chance of becoming a friend of the Bo Family. I'll be pushing my sister to practice diligently these next few days; we'll request your guidance again during the Martial Arts Examination—That must be Junior Sister Ai over there, right? I've long admired your reputation."
"Ah, ah, I've been spotted, huh?" Not far away, Ai Qinglan's figure appeared in a tree.
Bao Xiaofeng bowed to the two and left with his sister in tow.
Ai Qinglan jumped down beside Wang Qi, frowning, "Junior Brother, you don't seem very happy."
Wang Qi nudged his mouth towards the direction the Bo siblings had left, "I've considered the legendary Bo Family descendants as my ultimate enemies for a long time now—seeing is believing, huh?"
"They're distasteful—I didn't want to fight that kind of defective Bo Family member."
Ai Qinglan patted Wang Qi on the back, "Come on, you'd be unhappy with a weak opponent, but Ai Changyuan is eager for strong opponents because he's very strong and under no pressure; you don't have that luxury."
Wang Qi nodded, "Train some more?"
"Forget it, the Written Test is tomorrow, you need to conserve your energy," said Ai Qinglan. "For Elite Disciples, the Written Test won't make much of a difference in the score, but you know, the Written Test counts for sixty-five percent of the total score!"