Chapter Twenty-Four: Dimensional Strike

The third and fourth problems became increasingly effortless for Wu Tong, each stroke of her pen slicing through difficulties with ease. Four challenging real exam questions were all vanquished beneath her pen.

The third problem was mainly tough due to its sheer volume of calculations; every step required precision, for one miscalculation would lead to a cascade of errors. Wu Tong filled over two pages with her solution before completing the entire proof.

The fourth question was the centerpiece among the four, its scope already resembling a university-level challenge, yet it demanded resolution through high school knowledge.

Wu Tong proceeded step by step, drawing her proof to its conclusion: it was evident... at least one variable does not take the value of one; let it be..., then one...

After finishing all four major problems, Wu Tong checked her answers again, made sure there were no mistakes, and estimated the time spent—almost fifty minutes. This was a rare occurrence in her high school career, an exam that could absorb so much of her time. Olympiad problems were indeed extraordinary. Such challenges were finally interesting!

Wu Tong paused, flexed her wrist, rose gently, and handed her paper to the podium.

"Finished? Let me take a look!" Duan Hong had just returned from his rounds, sat at the podium, picked up his red pen, and began grading. He had noticed during his patrol that this student was progressing smoothly, far ahead of the others.

First problem, correct!
Second problem, correct!
Third problem, correct.
The last problem, also correct! Duan Hong wrote a bold score: 180 points. Excitement surged in his heart; he knew Wu Tong was excellent in mathematics, but she had surpassed even his expectations.

The training class had been running for a while; those who needed to be filtered out were gone, leaving only the gifted elite students. The test he handed out today was composed of authentic provincial competition second-round questions, classic types covering a wide range of knowledge points. He thought these questions might finally challenge Wu Tong, since she had not really encountered Olympiad mathematics before. A perfect score in regular math did not guarantee proficiency in Olympiad math.

Not just Wu Tong—even the students who had been exposed to Olympiad training since middle school, or had at least a year of coaching, he did not expect them to solve all the problems. He merely hoped they would try their best, expand their thinking, so he could focus the upcoming days on detailed analysis and explanation.

This year, a few students showed promising talent; Duan Hong hoped they could bring back a second or third prize from the province. As for the first prize, that was his dream, his fervent pursuit.

The provincial second round usually allowed two and a half hours; many competition students struggled to finish the paper in the allotted time, let alone submit early. Yet Wu Tong finished all the questions—he had checked the time—using only forty-seven minutes, and scored perfectly. This was a speed and quality even veteran teachers could not easily match.

He had spent considerable effort collecting these problems; the likelihood that Wu Tong had seen them before was nearly zero. Moreover, the complex derivations would leave most people dizzy; without understanding, even copying would risk mistakes, let alone memorizing the answers by rote.

Was this... the moment their school might finally break through and win a provincial first prize? Light flickered in Duan Hong's eyes as he suppressed his excitement—Wu Tong had once again shown him a glimpse of miracles!

"Another perfect score, Wu Tong. You've really never encountered Olympiad mathematics before? How did you find the difficulty?" Duan Hong asked, barely hiding his delight as he sought confirmation.

Looking at the score, it was hard to believe this was the work of someone new to Olympiad competitions.

"No, I haven’t. Maybe a few similar problems appeared in some of the textbooks I practiced with, so I’ve seen them in passing. But this is my first time truly working on Olympiad math problems. The difficulty was manageable—not too hard!"

None of the questions exceeded her knowledge or left her stuck; for her, they hardly qualified as difficult. These problems merely gave her something to ponder, but did not confound her. With accumulated knowledge and repeated practice, her brain’s computational abilities had been steadily cultivated. Now, most problems seemed simple—she could often see the answer at a glance.

Heh...

Below the podium, classmates tormented by these difficult questions drew sharp breaths—was this what it meant to be a true academic prodigy? Such overwhelming strength was terrifying!

The fastest among them had only reached the second problem; many hadn’t even figured out how to approach it, while this genius had finished the entire paper, all with perfect scores.

Without comparison, there was no pain. Comparing oneself to others could be infuriating!

They shed sour tears in their hearts, begging the academic deity to show mercy and not deliver another crushing blow.

"Tonight’s assignment is this paper. Since you finished early, do you want to go home ahead of time or stay and study?"

Students in the front row couldn’t help but grin. Listen—when had Old Duan ever spoken so gently, so thoughtfully? Go home early? Normally, he would keep them for an extra session if he was feeling kind!

"Mr. Duan, are there any more problems? I’d like to practice a bit more!" Wu Tong was going to study at home anyway, so she chose not to take the special privilege of leaving early. She had just found the fun in these problems, and wanted to keep the momentum going.

A student asking for more problems was a blessing! Even if he had not prepared any, he would find some immediately. Gifted and hardworking students were a teacher’s greatest joy.

Ordinary problems held no value for someone like Wu Tong. Duan Hong pulled a few densely printed A4 sheets from his lesson plan and handed them to her: "These are past National Competition questions. Try them first!"

These were the treasures he had spent years slowly collecting, rarely used. The student body at Xincheng No. 1 High rarely even reached provincial first prize, let alone touched the distant National Finals.

He usually selected some classics as examples to broaden the horizons of top students and competitors. In a small county, educational resources were limited; teachers did everything possible to help students gain more exposure.

"Thank you, Mr. Duan!"

Wu Tong received the sheets with both hands—such valuable materials couldn’t be found just anywhere! It wasn’t like the future, where reference books were everywhere; finding these real competition questions was a challenge. Smiling, she returned to her seat, reading and working through the problems.

While they struggled with the provincial competition questions, feeling as if they were climbing a mountain, she happily tackled national problems. The students below couldn’t help but be distracted, glancing at Wu Tong, their hearts shaken to the core.

Until recently, they had only heard of Wu Tong’s reputation, which didn’t seem so overwhelming. But sharing the same environment, working on the same paper, the contrast was striking—her impact was undeniable!

Indeed, beneath a famed reputation lies true excellence!

Such an academic prodigy was hardly human; her lack of action before must have been mere reluctance to compete with them.

"Everyone else, focus on your problems—Wu Tong has already finished the paper with another perfect score. There’s over an hour left; if you don’t hurry, she might finish double the amount while you haven’t completed yours. Are you planning to hand in blank papers and embarrass yourselves?" Duan Hong glared at the distracted students, frustrated by their lack of progress.

The other competitors rolled their eyes in their hearts. Old Duan, that’s too much!

How could they compare with such a superhuman?

They wilted inside; provincial competition was already so tough—national problems must be on a whole other level. If they attempted them, they likely wouldn’t even understand the questions!

Yet the academic goddess worked happily; the gulf separating them was as vast as the Himalayas—a height they dared not even look up to.

All their previous pride, their confidence in being among the best in the county—or even competitive in the city—now seemed laughable. Truly, they were frogs at the bottom of a well.