Yama Rising

"The question related to another one of the 10 biggest unsolved problems in physics: is it possible to calculate all parameters that represent the physical world? You said that there should be no difference between the new energy resource and electricity. Alright, if we accept that assumption, then that would mean that you've discovered electrons. In that case, protons must also exist! The aforementioned problem, otherwise known as the measurement problem, was proposed by Mr. Einstein, and the core of this question lies in the existence of electrons and protons. Do they still exist now? How do you know they didn't exist only in the past? In other words, due to the inability to prove the law of Yin Yang supersymmetry, we can't be sure whether protons still exist now! On top of that, due to the problem proposed by Mr. Einstein, there's a possibility that the Yin runes that represent protons may also have only existed in the past!"

His chest was heaving violently as he concluded, "Please elaborate, Mr. Zu."

Just the first question alone involved concepts from two of the 10 biggest unsolvable problems in the field of physics, and no one could've imagined such a stern test from the get-go.

After Blackett asked this question, all of the scientists present put down their hands again.

The same question had occurred to all of them just now. After all, the 10 unsolvable questions in physics were eternal conundrums that were commonly known to everyone in this field, and the mention of one of them immediately led everyone to think of other potential problems on this list that could relate to the subject matter at hand.

Zu Chongzhi didn't immediately reply.

He was being scrutinized by the most brilliant minds in this field, and the netherfire in all of their eyes were burning violently from excessive excitement, glowing with urgency to hear the answer to his question.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Zu Chongzhi was holding onto the corners of the lectern with a white-knuckled grip.

They had prepared for this question, but unfortunately for them, the Cathayan Underworld was truly lackluster when it came to the field of physics.

Throughout the past few thousand years of Cathayan history, agricultural development had been prioritized far above industrial development, and it was already a minor miracle that Lu Ban and Zu Chongzhi had arisen over time.

He suddenly discovered that he was already being forced to use an important trump card, and this was only the first question!

Should I use it?

He reflexively turned his gaze toward Qin Ye.

This was their final trump card and the last thing that they could rely on. Once it was used, they would no longer have a final trump card. However, they were being faced with two of the 10 biggest unsolved questions in physics, and there was no other choice.

Qin Ye met their gaze with his own, and after two seconds of contemplation, he gave them a decisive nod.

At this point, the debate had already begun, and they had to at least weather this first storm no matter what.

Who knew what was going to happen next? Perhaps this was already the most difficult hurdle to overcome!

Upon receiving Qin Ye's approval, Zu Chongzhi turned his attention back to all of the physicists present as he said, "I understand your question, Mr. Blackett. You're suspecting that protons, which correspond with electrons, have only existed in the past but do not exist in the present. In order to support your case, you've even turned your back on your own theory of Yin Yang supersymmetry, isn't that right?"

Blackett didn't feel insulted in the slightest as he replied, "We are merely followers on the path to knowledge. If it means gaining more knowledge, I'm willing to believe in god, or myself, or anything. I'm only temporarily switching my faith in order to better address the issue at hand in the pursuit for knowledge."

Zu Chongzhi took a deep breath as he said, "Alright, then let's return to your question. What I said was that the Yin rune, Dawn, possesses identical properties to some particles in the mortal realm. However, I didn't say that we discovered electrons. Instead, what we discovered were protons!"

Dead silence.

Immediately thereafter, the entire scene erupted!

"That's impossible!" A scientist exclaimed. "How could it possibly be protons rather than electrons?"

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" Marie Curie adjusted her own glasses in disbelief. "You discovered protons first? Are you sure they're protons?"

"This is incredible…"

"A proton Yin rune was what was discovered first?"

"I can't believe this! Is that really true? I'm seriously beginning to doubt the authenticity of this press conference."

Amid the raucous commotion, Kana Fujii immediately turned to Hideki Yukawa, who was seated beside her, and asked, "Why is there such a strong reaction? Is this notion supposed to be extremely far-fetched?"

Hideki Yukawa himself was also astonished, and he replied, "Well, no, but also yes. Let me explain. Protons are the most basic building blocks of the mortal realm. It can be said that the outermost layer of Archimedes's Yin Rune Wheel, the layer that's supposed to contain the most foundational Yin runes and the highest number of Yin runes, isn't actually the foundational layer. There are even more foundational Yin runes that can be found, but current technology is insufficient to discover these Yin runes, and there's no way a death god would dedicate themselves to something like this. In the past, Aristotle and Archimedes have tried to break down one of the Yin runes in the outermost layer of the wheel, and they managed to break it down into hundreds of Yin runes. Perhaps this can be called the 10th layer of the wheel, but doing that alone took them 50 years. The total number of Yin runes in the outermost layer of the wheel is around three million. Only death gods are capable of further breaking down these three million elementary Yin runes, but breaking down all of them would take an absolutely unfathomable amount of work. Thus, the two of them gave up on this project. Proton Yin runes are the most foundational building blocks of the underworld, and they're extremely difficult to discover. In contrast, electrons are far easier to discover."

"Why is that?" Kana Fujii asked.

"That's because electricity and magnetism are inseparable things. Any place with magnetic force present must also have electricity. Are you familiar with the concept of electromagnetic fields? Electromagnetic fields refer to electrical currents that are surging sporadically through a certain area. In other words, electrons create very clear phenomena that make them easier to capture. However, it really is far too difficult to discover protons, to the point that I'm suspecting them of making all of this up entirely!"

Zu Chongzhi made a quieting motion, and the venue instantly fell silent.

All eyes were on him, and everyone was eagerly latching onto his every word.

"I know that all of you must have questions. As the fundamental building blocks of the world, protons are extremely difficult to discover, as are Yin runes representing protons. You may even think I'm trying to deceive all of you. However…"

He made a grabbing motion, upon which a golden scroll appeared in his grasp, and the words "Imperial Edict" were clearly inscribed upon the scroll in black text.

He continued, "With Yanluo Qin's permission, we were able to draw upon the power of King Yanluo's Seal to finally break down particles to their smallest constituent parts! I'm talking about proton Yin runes, fundamental Yin runes that even King Yanluo's Seal is unable to break down even further! Proton Yin runes have already appeared, electron Yin runes cannot be far away!"

His voice was like thunder rumbling throughout the entire venue!

Crack! Marie Curie unconsciously snapped her pen in half as she rose unsteadily to her feet, almost knocking over her own chair in the process.

Rontgen's throat had completely run dry, and he attempted to stand up on several occasions, but his legs simply didn't have the strength to support him.

Hideki Yukawa had also risen to his feet and was staring at Zu Chongzhi with a stunned expression. He was soon followed by Niels Henrik David Bohr, Gunter Guillaume, Frits Zernike, Max Born, Robert Brattain, John Bardeen, William Shockley… Almost all of the scientists present had risen to their feet.

"My god…" At the very front, the experts of the Euler's Gem, Sirian, Thaurissan research institutes had all stood up from their chairs.

Several seconds later, raucous applause rang out!

The underworld and consortium representatives behind them were also applauding vigorously.

This was a massive display of determination.

Everyone knew that King Yanluo's Seal had an absolutely broken ability, which was the ability to increase the cohesion of Yin runes by a level.

This didn't seem like much, but in reality, all of the Yin runes affected would be imbued with the aura of the Great Dao and become more refined versions of themselves. As a result, their Yin energy would be elevated as well. This was why the Cathayan Underworld had the greatest number of Yama-Kings and why none of the other nations had been overly stunned by the fact that a being above the Yama-King level had appeared in the Cathayan Underworld.

It could all be attributed to King Yanluo's Seal.

After giving a round of applause, Hideki Yukawa sat back down onto his chair with a wry smile as he said, "In the physics field, there's a common saying that one shouldn't go to the Cathayan Underworld lest they lose all interest in other Yin runes. Thank heavens the Cathayan Underworld isn't very advanced in the field of physics…"

This was truly a stunning revelation!

Everyone was focused on the ability of King Yanluo's Seal to make Yin runes larger and more powerful, yet they forgot that it was also capable of making Yin runes smaller and more refined until they returned to their primordial state!

This was definitely plausible considering the ability of King Yanluo's Seal. Seeing as it was able to elevate Yin runes to a higher level, there was no reason it wouldn't be able to strip Yin runes down to their most fundamental form.

Thus, the Cathayan Underworld was truly capable of this, and it was the only nation in the entire underworld capable of doing this!

This thought alone was enough to fill countless scientists with the impulsive urge to travel to the Cathayan Underworld!

Having weathered the first storm, Zu Chongzhi was finally able to heave an internal sigh of relief.

Thankfully, King Yanluo's Seal really was capable of what he had just proclaimed. Otherwise, that first question alone would've been enough to stump him.

Zu Chongzhi's heart was still thumping violently, and if he could sweat, he would already be drenched in cold sweat by now. Despite this, he still maintained a calm smile as he turned toward Blackett and asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

A wry smile appeared on Blackett's face as he shrugged in response. "You still haven't told us what you plan to do if electrons don't currently exist. However, that's a stupid question. Magnets can be found in the underworld, so it looks like discovering electrons is only a matter of time. I offer you my heartfelt congratulations, and I'll be constantly awaiting news of the Cathayan Underworld's discovery of electrons."

Below the stage, Qin Ye's heart was also racing like a hummingbird's wings despite his calm facade.

Unfortunately, they could only rely on swindling everyone to convince them of the authenticity of the Cathayan Underworld's claims. If the Cathayan Underworld really had developed a new energy resource, it would be able to act with far more confidence and decisiveness.

Zu Chongzhi wouldn't even have to deliver an address. All he would have to do would be to throw a bunch of data at all of the scientists present, and that would be irrefutable evidence that no one could deny.

After the raucous commotion died down, Rontgen was still holding his feather quill, but his brows were slightly furrowed and he wasn't writing anything.

He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong here, but he didn't get a chance to ponder this matter any deeper than that because Zu Chongzhi had already continued in his address.

For this press conference, the Cathayan Underworld had prepared countless documents that would allow them to swindle the masses, as well as backup plans in case these documents fell through. Even though they were on a very tight schedule, they had done everything in their power to ensure that there were no holes in their logic.

There were a few logical holes that couldn't be patched up, but stories like the previous one had been fabricated to create a plausible case.

Unfortunately, this trump card couldn't be used a second time. Qin Ye heaved an internal sigh before continuing to survey the proceedings.

Only an hour had passed by thus far, and only a third of the report had been delivered.

The next waves to come were most likely only going to be more and more violent!