Chapter Fifty: Kaspar's Rise to Glory

  The difference between the Provincial City University Library and the Gaoyang County Library is like the difference between the largest dinosaur, the Sauroposeidon, and the most slender one, the Oviraptor - they differ by several orders of magnitude. Yi Tianxing broke free from the mystical realm of the Return to the Origin Temple after three days, and finally returned to his high school reading habits, diving headfirst into the sea of books, savoring every word, with a full brain and a satisfied belly, feeling extremely pleased. Especially when facing the upcoming board game tournament, it was all thanks to these days of intense studying of various chess strategies that he gained confidence to stand at the entrance of the bustling A Electric Teaching Building.

  This activity... of course had no interference from the school authorities.

  Mahjong being openly played in the student activity center, this is something that the school can turn a blind eye to, but it's absolutely impossible for them to keep the other eye open and write an official poster.

  In the October weather, Yi Tianxing was forcibly put on a big windbreaker and came with the surrounding male students, passing through the hall and blowing his momentum to the sky.

  "Forgot to wipe off the hair wax." The tall and thin class leader from Sichuan, You, seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

  Yi Tian Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied pitifully: "Is it necessary to make such an entrance?"

  "Collective honor." The class representative replied seriously.

  "This is called collective madness." Yi Tianxing said with a bitter face.

  The student activity center was already packed with people, and when the renowned Chinese department's number one mahjong master, Dongfang Defeatless Yitian Xing "Sparkling" took the stage, cheers, jeers, and catcalls erupted like thunder.

  Yi Tian Xing secretly scolded the brothers around him who were showing off, while still maintaining a calm and composed demeanor on his face, and walked towards the gaming table with an air of elegance.

  Entering the lively activity center, Yi Tianxing couldn't care less about the class monitor's poor directing, and he flung off the windbreaker on his body to his dormitory brothers, then found the poker table with his name written on it and sat down with a plop.

  The class leader, who had been acting as a small follower all day, suddenly became anxious and whispered: "The mahjong table over there is about to start playing, the school is watching closely, mahjong must be played first and then collected, otherwise it will have a bad influence if it spreads out, the teachers will come to make trouble."

  Yitian Xing had already sat down at the card table, smiled politely at several poker-faced partners, and then turned his head to say softly: "Mahjong is played in four directions, no matter how fast it can't be rushed. I'll try to finish the poker within an hour."

  What are you playing? Bridge? Don't be ridiculous, that's for refined people to play. College students don't play that, we play authentic Dou Dizhu.

  Yi Tianxing's neighbor was quite good, a girl. He knew that those who could come up and play must have pure card skills, especially the girls, not because he had gender bias and flirtatious habits, but because girls generally played cards more steadily and wouldn't make impulsive moves. When playing paired cards, the cooperation between the two families must be good. Yi Tianxing himself was a good controller of the game situation, at least hoping that his opponent could follow his own rhythm, so when he saw it was a girl, he felt a little excited.

  That's also true.

  Within three rounds, he and the girl's combination had smoothly eliminated several pairs of contestants and easily advanced to the final. Every time they reached A, the other pair of contestants were still struggling to flip over this small hill.

  Yi Tianxing glanced over at the mahjong table and saw that the people waiting were getting impatient. He turned his head to his female partner, smiled apologetically, and said: "Sorry, the final round will take a while, I'll go first." The girl student probably had never won a game of dou diu with such excitement in her life, covering her mouth and laughing: "You go ahead, I'll wait for you."

  Yi Tianxing heard the three words "I'm waiting for you" and couldn't help but infer some other meaning, his heart skipped a beat, and when he looked at the female student again, he felt that the few faint freckles on her face also exuded a seductive charm.

  As he sat down at the mahjong table, his three teammates let out a collective sigh. One of them, who knew Yi Tianxing, laughed and cursed, "You little brat, aren't you blocking our path to promotion?" He then shook his head and sighed to the class leader following Yi Tianxing, "I say, your class is really not doing things in a decent way."

  Yi Tian Xing said with embarrassment: "Don't blame me, it's all because our class head insisted on pulling me onto the horse."

  There were also some embarrassed class leaders who waved their hands and smiled at the three card friends: "Everyone, being able to fight with Dongfang Bubai of our class is a great opportunity to make a name for yourself in history. Of course, we have a dinner party tonight, everyone is welcome."

  Three fellow card players arrived with enthusiasm and asked: "Where's the dinner gathering? Is it a small stir-fry at Nan Garden or eating out?"

  The class monitor's face turned red and said: "The class fees are not abundant, there is a cafeteria just downstairs, why bother going far?"

  "Cut!"

  "What's going on?" Yi Tianxing found it somewhat strange that he hadn't seen Qin Zi, the sophomore beauty, and thought to himself that he should hurry up.

  "Sichuan rules, no wind, no fan, three colors, all-inclusive, no lightning."

  The process of playing mahjong is more boring than playing cards.

  Those three people are usually mahjong masters in the boys' dormitory, relying on playing mahjong to pass their days. They wouldn't know about Yi Tianxing, who is legendary in the boys' dormitory. So this match lost its morale early on. Without morale, they started losing and it was a complete defeat.

  Only to see Yi Tianxing brushing and washing the cards, the card piles were like obedient little cars on the table, walking and piling up in a beautiful posture. Many students gathered around to watch the performance, and for a while, the mahjong area was crowded with people. Who could have seen that Yi Tianxing had already memorized the position of each card clearly, and even arranged the cards in front of him into his desired order...

  Yi Tianxing slightly tilted his head, seemingly deep in thought. His thumb gently stroked the edge of the mahjong tile, then he smiled and flipped it over: "Singleton Chicken, Seven Pairs."

  Seven pairs, seven pairs, seven pairs, seven pairs, seven pairs...

  Accompanied by the thunderous applause and gasps of amazement, he played the most straightforward seven pairs with a carefree attitude, winning six or seven rounds in a row, until his three tablemates finally couldn't take it anymore.

  "Isn't this a waste of people? Forget it, forget it." The three men conceded.

  The monitor of the three-person group refused to do it and shouted with a red face and thick neck: "Lao Yi must have cheated, otherwise how could this be!"

  The three of them turned around at the same time and gave their class monitor a white eye: "Can you see it? It's obvious that he cheated, but since we can't catch him, we just have to admit it." Another person suggested to their class monitor: "Next year, let's switch classes with him and get him into our class."

  Goodbye Mahjong, farewell Double Knock. Yi Tianxing was finally brought to the third floor by Class Monitor. It wasn't until now that he realized the board game competition was being held in a small room on the third floor. Perhaps thinking of facing that beautiful girl alone, Yi Tianxing revealed a subtle smile.

  "Where's Qin Zi? I didn't see him down there?" Yi Tianxing asked seemingly unintentionally.

  The class monitor said with a bad temper: "A talented woman like her, must she learn from you stinky men to show off and play cards?"

  Yi Tian Xing didn't think much of it: "Wasn't my previous partner also a girl?"

  Qin Zhi only participated in Chinese Chess and Go.

  Yi Tianxing felt somewhat deceived: "Then why did you ask me to report everything?"

  "Stop talking nonsense." The class monitor pushed him into the chess competition arena.

  The third floor is a different world compared to the noisy downstairs. In a small room, it's divided into three groups, each with different content: international chess, domestic chess and Go. The student players sit quietly, whispering softly, only hearing the sound of the pieces falling on the board, but without any cheering or vulgarity around them.

  Yitian's eyes scanned the room and landed on a girl in the corner.

  The woman wearing a white shirt, elegant and refined like autumn water.

  ………………………………

  Yi Tianxing, although a bit infatuated, was not an idiot. So, he couldn't help but pay extra attention to this girl named Qin Zi, and it wasn't just because of her pretty face. These past two days, he had also thought about the "chance encounter" with Qin Zi outside the school hospital on that road, but the conclusions he drew were not very pleasant. He really couldn't understand why a normal girl would remain so calm after seeing someone bend a bicycle rack with their bare hands.

  It was because of this small reason that as soon as he entered the card room, he concentrated his mind and explored the direction where Qin Zi was. After a glance, he slightly furrowed his brow, feeling that there was something unclear and mysterious around the woman. From afar, gazing at the woman's face which was as beautiful as ice and snow, he quietly stretched out his right hand into the air, circulating true energy, remotely sensing the faint aura emanating from that place.

  His eyebrows furrowed even deeper, feeling that the girl named Qin Zi was not an ordinary person, but rather had a high level of cultivation, and he couldn't tell what stage she had reached. He thought to himself that last time on the way back from the school hospital, he hadn't noticed anything unusual about this girl, so why did he feel it so strongly today? He didn't know that this was the result of his practice in the Huayuan Temple a few days ago, and instead thought that he had been confused due to his high fever that day.

  With a hint of vigilance, Yi Tianxing slowly sat down in his own position and looked far away at the white-shirted girl in the corner, but unexpectedly, the woman also raised her head at this time.

  The two of them exchanged a glance, and it seemed as if there were soft ripples flowing through the air.

  Yitian Xing started with Chinese Chess.

  He had been watching those laborers play poker and mahjong in the shantytown of Gaoyang County since he was a child, plus he was an extraordinary person, so he naturally mastered them exceptionally well. However, this game of Chinese chess really hadn't been played before, although he had been cramming many chess manuals in the library these days, but still didn't know whether it would work or not, so he started with some tension.

  He holds the red flag and leads the way.

  Guo Gong Pao, this move is the most obvious and has the widest range of retreats.

  The other party responded with Pingjun Army.

  With a few casual moves against his opponent, Yi Tianxing felt at ease. It seemed that the other party was also an amateur with some research. As long as it was a routine chess move, Yi Tianxing wasn't too afraid. At a glance, he saw that the opponent was relying on the horizontal military to attack the opposite cannon.

  At that moment, various plum blossom spectra, Wu Shuang Mei Hua spectrum, Ju Zhong Mi, Long Xiang spectrum, Double Horse Bureau, and all kinds of ancient and modern spectra were playing in Yi Tian's mind like a movie. He was rapidly thinking, carefully selecting the most suitable one, and slowly responding.

  In this way, step by step, it won't be long before his opponent falls into a state of deep contemplation.

  Yi Tianxing also let out a sigh of relief, knowing that this round was over.

  …………………………………

  Then comes international chess.

  Yitian Xing shook hands with the fat boy wearing glasses opposite him, then made a common Sicilian defense.

  He walked a few steps, and that fat boy pushed his glasses up with the tone of a township cadre: "Not bad, you're quite familiar with Suo Jin Bian Li."

  Yì Tiān Xíng looked gloomy, thinking that he would only be able to copy cat's drawings, and of course, he didn't dare make a single mistake.

  At this time, he became extremely interested in the woman named Qin Zi, not because of her beauty or talent, but because of other reasons. As a result, he found international chess without Qin Zi's participation to be somewhat dull and uninteresting. He responded perfunctorily, and before long, the black pieces on the board were in disarray, with the center closed off and the right side weakened, and it seemed that he was about to lose steadily.

  Unexpectedly, the fat boy seemed to have never seen a "master" who started so tightly but played so wildly in the middle game. He stared at the chessboard for a long time, and unexpectedly didn't dare to make a move, wiping his forehead with cold sweat while thinking hard.

  Yi Tianxing didn't wait, and gave the referee a shout, then started another game of Chinese chess on the side, using several big moves that Hu Ronghua often used in his youth, cutting down a top high school player.

  Unexpectedly, he turned his head around and saw the fat boy struggling to get up from the chess table, looking pale and muttering: "This chess is too evil, can't see any tricks, admit defeat, admit defeat." After finishing speaking, he slowly moved towards the outside of the chess room.

  Yi Tian Xing's eyes widened in shock, thinking to himself, "Don't be like this, I don't want to take on five roles by myself, it'll be exhausting."

  ………………………………………

  Although Yitian Xing was anxious, time still passed minute by minute, and three hours had already passed. After the class leader's repeated pleas, the judge finally agreed to let Yitian Xing go downstairs to participate in the final of poker and mahjong. Yitian Xing smoothly defeated several opponents without shedding blood, threw down the last train head, and threw down the last two tubes to win, successfully becoming the double champion of the first university chess tournament in the provincial capital.

  After giving his female deskmate a comradely hug, Yi Tianxing hastily ran up to the third floor.

  He couldn't help but feel curious about the girl named Qin Zi. As soon as he entered, he saw the girl sitting quietly in the corner, her eyes looking at him, and her long eyelashes blinked lightly. "What do you want to do?" Yi Tianxing smiled slightly at her, thinking to himself.

  Yi Tianyi sat down at the chessboard, no longer caring about the French Defense, the Averbakh Variation, or the Rubinstein System. He cleanly and neatly lost to his opponent in international chess. Then, using the wisdom of his predecessors, he single-handedly defeated many top Chinese chess players with his dazzling skills, as if Hu Ronghua, Lü Qinhao, and Xie Jun were all rolled into one.

  Go cannot be played this way.

  Even a computer with peak computing power can only show off its skills in chess, and is helpless against the seemingly simplest black-and-white pieces.

  Fortunately, it was just a student competition, and there were only a few third-year students who were somewhat talented, so there wouldn't be any exceptionally skilled players. Yi Tianxing stared at the Go board, deep in thought, reviewing all the Go strategies he had learned from ancient to modern times, until his extraordinary brain was drained like a dry sponge, before he finally managed to narrowly enter the final two-person match.

  The finalists of Chinese Chess and Go were the same two people. The referee arranged a rare double match after obtaining their consent.

  An ancient Chinese chess set is placed on the right side, with red horses and black elephants prancing about. A matte Go piece with a elegant aura is placed on the left side of the two people, with nineteen paths intersecting and killing intent soaring.

  Yitian's words inopportunely broke this atmosphere.

  He reached out his hand to the quiet white-clothed girl opposite him: "Qin Zi? I'm Sakuramori Kadou, I've gone through great pains to kill just to see you."

  ………………………………………

  When did you watch slam dunk? It shouldn't be in '94, I've searched online for half a day and couldn't find it... -___-／／／

  By the way, this is really unreasonable, I just want to make some money, everyone wants to have a good time, if it works out, that's great, if not, wasting your time is my fault, please don't read on.

  My second sister has given birth, my niece weighs six jin and one liang, and is 51 cm tall. The night before last I kept watch, fed her two bottles of milk, once 20 ml, once 30 ml, still not as much as a mouthful of white wine that I usually drink... As a result, the little girl actually spit up, sigh.

  Thank you for your concern, friends.

  I've died, I know you're watching, so happy birthday to you anyway.

  The postscript was modified on the night of April 20th.