The Master's Mask Unveiled Again

F{h*F5)$LjChapter 294: Top 5 Difficult Math Problems in the Olympiad!

Sheng Zixin had just arrived at Kunpeng High School and was far from humble; he was even arrogantly disdainful.

He had always felt that a school in such a small place couldn’t possibly produce any truly exceptional students. Decades might pass without one like his brother Lu Xi, who was a top scholar. If the teachers’ level was limited, the students’ levels would be even more so.

He sauntered around the campus with disdain, surveying the area, and when he saw that all the students had to pass by the display case, an idea struck him.

His sister was always nagging him to death, so today he would give the students of Kunpeng High School a little warm-up!

Under the curious gazes of everyone around, Sheng Zixin stood in front of the school’s display case.

The display case held school announcements, introductions of the school leaders, outstanding teachers and students, as well as the history and honors of the school, showcasing the school’s facade and prestige.

He glanced over it and sneered. That’s it?

Ignoring the astonished and inquisitive looks from the others, he pulled out a marker from his pocket and began to write on the glass of the display case.

The black marker was very dark, drawing over the glass and obscuring the posters behind it. This act was more like a provocation and an insult, making many of the onlooking students gasp in shock.

A few hot-headed students rolled up their sleeves, ready for a fight, but were persuaded by others to back down.

“Let’s see what he wants to do first!”

Sheng Zixin’s handwriting was crooked and not particularly attractive. As he wrote, everyone watched.

[Let positive integers a, b satisfy a²+b²/ab+1=k∈N…] (ps: This math problem is from the internet, used for showing off, don’t delve too deep into it.)

“What’s this? A math problem?”

“I recognize every letter and symbol, but I don’t understand them all together. What grade level is this?”

“There’s another line of text below!”

The crowd voiced in unison, reading it out loud.

“Era Middle School first-year student Sheng Zixin was here! Phone: 13xxxxxxxxx…”

A student from Era Middle School?

The two schools haven’t even officially met, and he’s come knocking on our door?

Arrogant!

Presumptuous!

A blatant challenge!

Sheng Zixin tapped on the glass with his pen, with an air of looking down on everyone.

His arrogance was different from Lu Mian’s. Lu Mian was the kind of arrogant who was easy-going and in control of everything with a snap of his fingers, while Sheng Zixin was boastful and wanted everyone to know how amazing he was.

Sheng Zixin spoke, “This math problem is one of the top five hardest from the International Mathematical Olympiad. Many number theorists have failed to solve it in half a day. However, I solved it in just one day.”

“…”

The students swallowed hard. An international Math Olympiad problem! One of the top five hardest!

Is this the strength of a Jinjing student?

Without comparison, you don’t realize, and with that statement, everyone felt deflated.

Sheng Zixin expected as much.

“This is a gift for our first meeting. The day after tomorrow is the inter-school meet-and-greet, and I’m giving you two days to solve this problem and see if you can surprise me!”

In his heart, Sheng Zixin didn’t believe they could solve it.

He came here today to dampen the spirits of these students, to show them that being a top student wasn’t easy, and that being a student wasn’t just about learning what’s in the textbooks.

So what if you score full marks in every subject? Is that so impressive?

He didn’t think so.

His gaze fell on the school emblem in a corner of the display case. He walked over, twisted it forcefully, and took the palm-sized school emblem into his hand.

“That’s our school emblem!”@@novelbin@@

“You’re too arrogant, put it down now!”

Sheng Zixin, with no fear, weighed the school emblem in his hand, “Want it back? Then bring the answer in exchange the day after tomorrow!”

“Oh, and one more thing,” he said, preparing to leave, then turned back toward the crowd and added, “Besides my personal gift, Era Middle School has also prepared a big present for your school.”