Star Martial Soaring Cloud

Before Wang Xiao could recover from the shock of the word "mahjong," the assessment rules had transformed into a stream of information, flowing directly into his mind, clear and concise, as if someone had opened a well-illustrated instruction manual in his mind.

He actually had a slight impression of mahjong; it was something Ling Cheng and the others had played back on Demon Island.

At that time, he only heard the sound but did not know the details.

Mahjong has a long history in Kyushu, and its exact origins are long lost to time.

It is one of the most popular forms of entertainment among the people of Kyushu, and different distinct ways of playing it have even emerged in various parts of Kyushu, resulting in numerous factions.

The Tianfu region is known for its love of mahjong, with almost every household having mahjong tiles, and locals playing as many as three games a day without stopping.

Popular belief holds that the origins of mahjong are closely related to ancient coins.

In ancient times, the currency circulating in the Nine Provinces was the square-holed round coin, which was round on the outside and square on the inside. A single coin was shaped like a round cake, corresponding to the "circle" in mahjong. Nine copper coins strung together made up a string, which was arranged in neat rows and corresponded to the "bamboo" in mahjong. The unit of measurement higher than a string was the "wan", which corresponded to the "wan" tile in mahjong.

Therefore, the core hand types in Mahjong are the three suits: Circles, Bamboo, and Characters.

Each suit contains nine cards from one to nine, with four cards for each number, for a total of thirty-six cards per suit.

With the three suits combined, a complete set of mahjong tiles consists of 108 tiles.

This assessment uses the basic gameplay of the Tianfu region, and only these 108 cards are used throughout the entire process.

Four people sit facing each other around a square table, using dice to determine the order and the dealer.

The die is a six-sided cube, with the numbers one through six marked on each side.

In the first round, the four players take turns rolling the dice, and the player with the highest number becomes the dealer; if the numbers are the same, the player who rolled the dice first wins.

In subsequent rounds, the player who won by drawing the winning tile or winning the hand in the previous round becomes the dealer.

The dealer takes the cards first, and the other three players take the cards in a counter-clockwise order.

One hundred and eight mahjong tiles, face down, are stacked in pairs, forming two rows and two layers.

The dealer has fourteen cards in their hand, while the other three players each have thirteen.

After the game starts, the dealer plays a card first, and everyone takes turns drawing and playing a card, in a continuous cycle.

The rules for winning are clear and easy to understand: players can combine their thirteen cards into several sequences or triplets by drawing, ponging, and konging, and then add a single pair of tiles to win.

A straight is three consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 1, 2, and 3 of the same suit, or 4, 5, and 6 of the same suit.

A set of three identical tiles is called a "club". For example, three sets of five of bamboo or three sets of nine of characters.

"Jiang pai" refers to two identical pairs of cards.

Pong rule: If another player discards a card and you happen to have two of the same card in your hand, you can choose to pong. After ponging, you must discard a card from your hand, and the order of drawing cards changes, with the player to your right taking turns drawing and playing cards.

The rules for "konging" (杠牌): If another player plays a card and you happen to have three of the same card in your hand, you can choose to kong. After konging, you immediately draw a card and then play a card from your hand. The next player then continues the game.

Players can also make flexible choices, such as not using a meld but only a pair, or keeping the card combinations.

For example, if you have three 50,000 tiles in your hand, along with a 40,000 and a 60,000, and you choose to kong, you will completely lose the possibility of having a 50,000 hand; if you choose to pong, you can keep one 50,000 in your hand and form a sequence of 40,000, 50,000 and 60,000, thus making your hand more active.

For example, if you can form three sequences of 1, 2, 3 of Wan, 4, 5, 6 of Wan, and 5, 6, 7 of Wan, and pair them with a pair of 4 of Tong and a pair of 6 and 7 of Tong, you are ready to win.

If you draw a five or eight of bamboo, it's considered a self-draw. If someone else discards a five or eight of bamboo, you can win the hand directly.

Mahjong also has special hand types and doubling rules, and the local Tianfu version also has its own exclusive "fixed suit" rule.

The term "fixed suit" means that only two of the three suits can be kept in a game. You must first play all the cards of the suits you don't need before you can play the cards of the suits you keep.

However, this assessment simplifies all rules, adopting only the most basic winning hand rules, without considering scoring patterns or limiting special rules.

Regardless of who wins by drawing the winning tile themselves, the current round ends immediately. The tiles are then shuffled and arranged in the stone carving to begin the next round.

The entire assessment lasts for one hour, and the top 500 scorers at the end will advance.

The scoring rules are clear: six points are awarded for a self-drawn hand, and one point is awarded for a winning hand; two points are deducted for being self-drawn by another player, and one point is deducted for being won by another player.

While Wang Xiao was still quickly digesting the complex rules, the vast white trial space before him had quietly transformed.

It is no longer the empty, hollow white of the past, but a warm and gentle white with a faint tea fragrance.

In the very center of the venue stood a square card table, its surface covered with dark green velvet, and an antique pear blossom chair was placed on each of the four sides.

There were "people" sitting on the chairs—not real people, but three stone sculptures.

The three stone sculptures, each with a different form, still depict the same drunken old man, their expressions vivid and lifelike.

"Is this ever going to end?" Wang Xiao couldn't help but complain as he looked at the familiar yet eerie statue.

The old man's persistent flush of blood was particularly glaring, resembling three bright red monkey bottoms, making it unbearable to look at.

Wang Xiao had thought this assessment would be a real-life duel between the test takers, but he never expected that his opponents would be three stone sculptures.

Upon further reflection, he suddenly understood.

The Jixia Academy's assessments have always pursued fairness and impartiality.

In a real-person showdown, it's inevitable that strong players will clash or be eliminated prematurely due to bad luck.

Some players may possess the strength to be among the top ten, but unfortunately, they run into the top-ranked player in the first round and are eliminated.

Some say that luck is also a part of strength, but Jixia Academy doesn't need that kind of luck; it needs a solid ranking of the strongest.

This is why every assessment in the academy is quantifiable and objectively determines the outcome, with no element of luck involved.

In the previous crab counting test, if one's divine sense could not cover the entire mountain, one would not be able to count the number of crabs; in the divine sense staircase trial, if one's divine sense was not strong enough, one would not be able to step onto the nine jade steps.

Even this mahjong test, after Wang Xiao understood the rules, he found it was not simple at all—it tested the ultimate application of divine sense and strategic gameplay.

According to the rules, shuffling, stacking, and arranging the cards are all done by the three stone sculptures, and the participants are not allowed to touch them at all.

At the start of the game, all 108 cards are face up, giving the trial participants ample time to use their divine sense to memorize and pinpoint the position of each card.

However, once the stone carvings begin to be scrubbed and stacked, the trial participants need to continuously use their divine sense to track and lock onto them.

This process is extremely taxing on spiritual energy, and the stone sculptures possess special secret techniques. Whenever their fingertips touch the surface of the card, they can erase the spiritual energy markings attached to it.

This forces the trial participants to continuously output their divine sense to repeatedly mark the cards, or to find other ways to avoid the interference of the stone carvings.

After the dice are rolled, the trial participants can use the points they control to draw the cards that are most advantageous to them.

Once everyone has received their cards, theoretically, the trial participants should be able to see the position of all the cards on the field.

However, every time the stone carving touches the surface of the card, it not only clears the divine consciousness mark, but also deliberately misleads perception and tamperes with the imprint information.

The clearly marked 50,000 can be easily confused into 5 of bamboo or 9 of sticks, creating a misleading impression.

The entire game required repeated calibration and remarking with divine sense, a constant struggle against the secret techniques of the stone carving, which was extremely mentally taxing.

However, as long as one's divine sense is strong enough to cover the entire area and is not afraid of interference, it is equivalent to having opened the Heavenly Eye and being invincible.

Wang Xiao slowly sat down, his expression solemn, ready for battle.

The next instant, the three stone sculptures moved simultaneously.

Their movements are mechanically precise, steady, and efficient. Shuffling, stacking, and arranging the cards are all done in one smooth motion without any delay.

Wang Xiao spread his divine sense, and his powerful divine thoughts enveloped the entire mahjong table, taking all 108 mahjong tiles into his perception.

The suit, number, and placement of every card were clearly imprinted in his mind, without the slightest error.

The moment the stone carving's fingertips touched the card, a faint yet subtle force swept over, like a gentle stream, constantly washing away and dissolving his spiritual markings.

Wang Xiao remained calm and focused, his divine sense as fine as a hair. In the instant the mark was washed away, it instantly reattached and locked onto him.

Once, twice, three times... His consciousness was constantly reshaped and tempered in the repeated erasure of the stone carving, becoming more and more condensed, resilient, stable and transparent.

Soon, the dice landed, and the score was settled.

Wang Xiao lowered his eyes to look at his own hand, then used his divine sense to scan the hands of the other three stone carvings, taking in all the hand types and layouts.

In such a completely transparent game, the outcome is predetermined from the very beginning.

However, Wang Xiao did not rush to win, but instead patiently observed, carefully experienced, and silently pondered this strategy of mental combat.

The first game has officially begun.

Wang Xiaoshang had not yet fully adapted to this "opening the third eye" fighting style, but he quickly figured out the subtle tricks of it.

He not only had to accurately control the combination of his own hand, but also had to constantly observe the playing habits and fixed patterns of the three stone sculptures.

He quickly summarized the patterns: the player to his left, Shi Diao, liked to pong (meld) tiles, and would pong immediately whenever he had a pair; the player opposite him preferred to keep tiles of the same suit and was extremely decisive in discarding tiles of the same suit; the player to his right played the most steadily, cautiously and conservatively, and rarely ponged tiles easily.

Wang Xiao silently noted down all the characteristics and adjusted his card-playing strategy accordingly.

Not long after, the player to his left, Stone Carving, had already declared a winning hand and was waiting for the 1 and 4 of the same suit to complete the hand.

Wang Xiao scanned the area with his divine sense and clearly detected that the next card to be drawn was a 10,000.

If the next player draws it, they get six points for winning by self-draw, while you lose two points, which is not worth it.

His gaze sharpened slightly as he quickly scanned the entire room: the player opposite him, Shi Diao, held a pair of eights of bamboo, waiting to pong; the player before him, Shi Diao, had two one-wan tiles, and if he drew one-wan, he would never discard it.

Wang Xiao decisively played the eight of bamboo.

The opposing stone carving player then took advantage of the situation to draw a tile, changing the order of tile drawing.

The stone carving from the previous owner was successfully sold for 10,000 yuan, which he kept.

Wang Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This deliberate act of sending the opponent to pong successfully stopped the player to his left from winning by drawing the winning tile.

After drawing a card, Wang Xiao discovered that the top of the deck was a five of bamboo, and he was just one five of bamboo away from winning.

He glanced around again and noticed that the stone carving above him was waiting to draw a 20,000, and he happened to have an extra 20,000 in his hand, so he casually played it.

The player before him, Shi Diao, successfully made a meld, and Wang Xiao then drew a five of bamboo, completing his hand with three and six of bamboo.

He was slightly pleased. He scanned the remaining cards with his divine sense and accurately locked onto the next card, which was the Three of Bamboo.

He remained calm and composed, playing a seemingly insignificant card.

When it was the next player's turn to draw a tile, the opponent kept the three of bamboo but discarded a six of bamboo.

Wang Xiao won the hand and took a point! This also allowed him to successfully become the dealer.

Wang Xiao truly realized that this all-around perspective card-playing method, while seemingly unsolvable, actually consumes a great deal of energy.

Throughout the entire process, the changing positions of all 108 cards, as well as the hand cards and playing strategies of the three stone carvings, all require constant monitoring with one's divine sense, without the slightest slackening.

At the end of each round, the stone sculpture would reshuffle and arrange the cards. He had to expend his divine sense again to mark and lock onto all the cards throughout the process, repeatedly refining his perception.

With such a high level of spiritual energy being continuously consumed, it won't be long before his spiritual energy is completely exhausted.

In the second game, Wang Xiao continued to play steadily and cautiously.

But he quickly realized the problem: in less than a game, his mental energy consumption had far exceeded his expectations.

What's even more troublesome is that the speed at which the stone carving erases the divine consciousness mark is quietly accelerating.

Often, the moment he marks a card, the mark is immediately erased the instant the stone carving touches its fingertip.

He was forced to re-mark and repeatedly calibrate at high frequency, and his spiritual consciousness was rapidly depleted in the continuous pulling and consumption.

Unexpected changes followed one after another, and the stone carving began to actively interfere with divine perception and deliberately mislead the markings.

There was a card that he clearly marked as a 50,000, but the moment his fingertip touched the card, the mark in his mind suddenly distorted and turned into a 5 of bamboo.

Wang Xiao was startled and almost mistakenly played the 50,000 instead of the 5 of Bamboo.

He instantly realized that relying solely on full-domain divine sense coverage was no longer feasible; he needed to find another way to break the deadlock, reduce ineffective consumption, and find a more efficient and less strenuous way to play the game.

The entire match was incredibly stressful, keeping my mind constantly on edge and constantly drained, leaving me no chance to catch my breath.

Wang Xiaofei quickly pondered: Since a protracted war is too costly, can we turn a passive war of attrition into an active and controlled war of attrition?

He tried to control them with his divine sense, but his divine sense could not take form and he could not control them directly, so he tried to interfere with the stone carvings' hands with his divine sense.

Wang Xiao condensed his vast divine sense into countless fine needles, which he precisely pierced the stone carving's wrist.

Each time the magic needle falls, the stone sculpture's precise and orderly movements will experience a slight pause for a moment.

The pause, though only a brief moment, was enough to disrupt the perfect rhythm.

A hint of joy flashed in Wang Xiao's eyes as he continued to try.

These three stone sculptures are inanimate objects, operating only through a secret method.

He tried to go further, attempting to disrupt the connection of the secret technique by interfering with his divine sense, and even managed to separate the stone sculpture's limbs and cause it to lose control of its movements.

But after several attempts, he failed.

The stone sculpture is backed by an extremely powerful ancient secret technique. Although his divine sense can briefly interfere with its movements, it cannot completely control it.

"That's not right," Wang Xiao thought to himself. "I can't completely control them, but I can deceive them in return! I can see through all the cards, and even if the markings are erased, I can instantly relock them, which is enough to prove that the strength of my divine sense has surpassed the stone carving's erasure technique. But if this continues, the balance will shift, and sooner or later I will be at a disadvantage."

"To ensure fairness, Jixia Academy doesn't allow trial participants to shuffle the cards themselves, so that every trial participant starts with the exact same cards in each round. But I can't predict the order in which the stone sculpture will arrange the cards in the next round. How can I create an opening and use it to break the deadlock? How can I make the card pile arrange itself according to my wishes?"

While Wang Xiao was distracted and pondering a way to break the deadlock, the second round had already ended. His opponent, Shi Diao, won by drawing the winning tile, and his score became negative one point.

As the third round began, he completely lost interest in the conventional card game and devoted himself to figuring out how to break the deadlock. Suddenly, he was struck by a brilliant idea!

"I don't need to cheat the entire deck; I only need to change a few key cards! As long as I'm in the dealer's position, I can capture the complete stacking order of the deck in the final moments before the stone carving finishes arranging the cards!"

"Once I figure out the sequence, I just need to calculate the optimal dice roll to get closer to a perfect hand. Then, I'll use my divine sense to erase all the cards in the sequence that don't allow me to form a perfect hand, creating the illusion of a card-sorting error to mislead the stone sculpture into self-correcting! In this way, I'll start with a perfect hand!"

He was excited and his mind was clear, but he was momentarily distracted and carelessly fired a shot, bringing his score to negative two points.

After calming himself down, Wang Xiao immediately put his plan into action.

He put aside all distractions and kept a close eye on every detail of the stone carving process, from shuffling to stacking the tiles.

Just as the three stone sculptures finished stacking all the cards and were about to wrap things up, his divine sense transformed into a boundless net, instantly locking onto and recording the complete stacking order of the entire deck of cards.

He quickly deduced and calculated, and soon concluded that if he could roll three points, he could form the best hand, and he only needed to replace one card - replacing the six of bamboo he drew last with a five of characters, and he could start with a perfect hand.

After identifying the target, Wang Xiao used his pure divine sense to firmly envelop the 50,000 tile, and quietly released a wisp of divine thought to mislead the stone sculpture, simulating the misplaced tile mark: You just misplaced it, this tile should have been in the position of the 6 of bamboo.

The stone carving was indeed fooled. When it was stacking the last card, it paused slightly and raised its hand to replace the original six of bamboo with five of character.

Wang Xiao successfully turned a war of attrition into a decisive battle in an instant.

But that moment was a huge test for him.

He needs to memorize all the cards before the last deck is placed, calculate the order of points closest to a perfect hand, and then mislead the stone carving into changing cards.

Having accomplished all this, Wang Xiao used his divine sense to control the dice and steadily rolled a three!

The first hand was a perfect, unbeatable hand!

"It's done! I'll be the banker every time, and I'll win every time!" Wang Xiao was overjoyed.

In the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, he followed the same pattern, replicating the entire technique, becoming increasingly skilled.

He firmly held the dealer position in every round, subtly adjusting key card combinations and misleading the stone carvings in each round with his divine sense, turning the beginning of the game into the end.

The previous four games took nearly fifteen minutes, but now he can play one game in about a minute.

Shuffling, drawing cards, and winning with a perfect hand – the whole sequence of actions was fluid and seamless.

His points skyrocketed and climbed rapidly.

Four points, ten points, sixteen points... After ninety-six consecutive perfect hands, Wang Xiao's score soared to five hundred and seventy-four points.

At that moment, the three stone sculptures, which were operating entirely mechanically, all stopped what they were doing.

They stood frozen in place, staring blankly at Wang Xiao, their fingers still clutching the cards, unsure of what to do next.

The academy has set a total of only one hundred games.

In ordinary trials, even at the fastest pace, each match lasts at least three minutes, and the maximum number of matches in an hour is no more than forty or fifty.

The Jixia Academy has doubled the preset number of games to one hundred, which already provides an extremely high margin of error.

No one expected that Wang Xiao's breakthrough would completely eliminate the need for drawing and playing cards, and forcefully exhaust all the card games that the academy had planned.

The three stone sculptures have come to a complete standstill and are no longer functional.

Wang Xiao stared at the three frozen stone sculptures, a slight surprise in his heart: "Why do these three stone sculptures seem to have come alive just now, as if they were even a little alive?"