Applied Immortality

“Deviating brings disaster, but disaster offers Evolution Chart the opportunity to advance. It’s a blessing. Isn’t your Heavenly Spirit Range’s cultivation method tough?”
Ai Dinglan smiled. She said the same thing on their first meeting.
“They say Little Wang Qi aims for Myriad Arts Sect’s true disciple spot, yes? Missing out on this examination will lower your chances of achieving your goals, to say nothing of the Bernoulli family.” Ai Dinglan said as she rocked in the squeaky chair. “Evolution Chart has great potential, but it has to be mapped out carefully.”
Wang Qi cracked up. “Don’t I have you, Senior Sister?”
“Me?”
“Senior Sister’s bean is still fresh in my mind.” Wang Qi laughed. “You have any more Mendel clan peas?”
Ai Dinglan’s rocking stopped. “Eh? So that was your plan all along! Hold on, didn’t Zimiao say you did something with her last night? So that’s…”
“Please change ‘something’ into math.”
Ai Dinglan puffed up in mock anger. “Anywho, was this your plan all along, Little Wang Qi?”
He had a certain dumb cat ‘chill out’ last night, and not all of it was out of spite. It was done to force her to sleep in a roundabout way while also making sure she forgot everything about looking after him. It was a twofer.
First off, fractals weren’t detailed in the Immortal Institute’s curriculum and he couldn’t learn them. And since his ties with Daoist Proscribe were still unclear, it was best to play it safe and not use too advanced concepts.
Besides, after the stint with the geometry deductions from the flame energy cloud pattern, Zhen Chanzi would never let him practice again. If a certain grandpa told on him to a certain dumb cat, that same dumb cat would stop him too—unlike the spirit grandpa, she had a physical body she could make use of as well.
But this modified ancient art, incorporating aspects far beyond its original scope, had an unclear origin. He couldn’t just give it over to others to test it out. As for stopping, did you expect a researcher to stop his pursuits just as he cracked open the door to the truth? [Shit, that’s the cruelest decision, unable to go neither back nor forth. You’re better off going all the way!]
But what about the consequences?
[Meh, what’s the worst that could happen?]
[My major cultivation method is Evolution Chart!] The kind of art that self-optimized at every mistake and feared no deviation. Heavenly Spirit Range’s true disciples said it best, “Deviation is dedication.” Ever since Evolutionary Divine Lord Darwin created it two thousand years ago, most casualties among its users weren’t from deviation, but from insufficient evolution and dying in battles.
As long as one survived, all was well. At the very least, chaotic spiritual power and a bedridden body were within its tolerances.
But what about the examination? [Heh, I got a Senior Sister here for that!]
Wang Qi explained his reason for doing this while keeping some obvious stuff hidden, naturally. He only expressed his logic that led to improving the ancient art.
Ai Dinglan squinted. “Sure enough, you started off with me in mind. Crafty little bugger.”
Wang Qi laughed. “Senior Sister, you won’t just stand and watch.”
Ai Dinglan shook her head. “Of course not. Crafty to extreme, but I don’t hate it. Your bravery in testing every art reminds me of another prick, as crafty as you.”
“Who?”
Ai Dinglan glared, digressing. “However, not even dying would he take advantage of girls. Maybe this was his biggest flaw…”
Ai Dinglan trailed off. Wang Qi called out. “Senior Sister?”
The girl jerked. “Oh! I’ll give you a pea.”
Wang Qi chuckled. “It was Zimiao who brought me here, wasn’t it?”
“Yep.”
“I can already imagine. Senior Sister, give me an envelope and a piece of paper. I want you to give her a letter.”
Ai Dinglan’s eyes shone. “Hey, hey, a love letter?”
“A letter to wake her up.”
Since Wang Qi wasn’t in the mood to chat, Ai Dinglan didn’t push. She pushed some spiritual power into his body to help reign in the havoc and buy time for him to write. Ai Dinglan sighed as she did so. “Little Wang Qi, you’re a nice guy.”
Wang Qi finished the letter. “I didn’t let her stop me from cultivating last night, so I forced some math on her, making her sleep. With her character, she must be crying her heart out by now. It’s all on me.”
“You’re quite dependable sometimes.” Ai Dinglan received the letter and withdrew her spiritual power.
Wang Qi was wracked with pain and cried out, “Senior Sister, give me the bean!”
Ai Dinglan put her hand in her cleavage and groped around, “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”
Watching those puppies change shape in so many unscientific ways had the youth make faces. “It’s not the first time I see it, but I just can’t get used to it, Senior Sister. Don’t you find it a little… improper?”
Ai Dinglan gave him a curious look as she proceeded to lift her skirt.
[Holy shit, now the bottom too? Just what kind of sick vine is that to twist so much around her body?]
[Hold up, is it coming from below? Hey, I’m the one eating it!]
For the sake of his mental health, Wang Qi cried out, “Hey, hey! Senior Sister, that’s enough! Just pick it from the top?”
Ai Dinglan picked a pea from her sleeve. Her affable smile had Wang Qi unable to determine if she was a natural airhead or doing it on purpose.
With the Mendel pea in hand, Ai Dinglan turned grave. “Junior Brother, think it through. Mendel pea might help with Evolution Chart, but it contains Senior Mendel’s insights and would affect the prospects of your path of life and path of bloodlines.”
Wang Qi smiled carelessly. “I never planned on walking those paths. My path lies in math and using it to model natural selection for my cultivation in Evolution Chart.”
Ai Dinglan guffawed. “That’s some weird path there, Junior Brother! You and him are so alike. So confident…”
With the bean in his belly, Wang Qi failed to hear the last part…