Wang Qi felt like crying without tears as he spoke resentfully.
Yesterday, after Wang Qi had finished his day's studies, Xiang Qi suggested they have some fun. Wang Qi fully expected the senior sister to opt for something refined and cultured, like Go or Backgammon. However, he quickly realized that upon this Shenzhou Land, one must expect the unexpected, as things here could shock you to the core.
"Indeterminate Cards... Senior Sister, you're dressed so classically, it's jarring to see you pull out a deck of cards... And why on Earth are we playing Magic the Gathering?!"
The game Xiang Qi introduced to Wang Qi was called Indeterminate Cards. The physical form of these cards was similar to the playing cards on Earth, and the rules were akin to those of Magic the Gathering.
Each player could have up to eighty cards in their deck, and besides drawing five cards at the start of the game, players drew two cards every turn. The maximum number of cards in hand depended on one's cultivation level. Each player placed a Cultivator Card on the field, with initial Life Fire being eight blooms. Thereafter, each turn players could place one or two Cultivation Cards on the field. Having up to three Cultivation Cards was considered the Qi Cultivation Stage, four to six cards were the Foundation Establishment Stage, and so on. Activating spells, martial skills, and magic artifacts required the expenditure of mana — that is, tapping Cultivation Cards, which would untap in the subsequent turn. The number of Life Fires would increase with higher cultivation realms.
Wang Qi, having been quite the board game enthusiast in his previous life, couldn't help getting excited and carried away. Xiang Qi, at most, was just an enthusiast, nowhere near Earth's board game virtuosos, and she immediately felt the profoundness of Earth's entertainment culture. But Senior Sister Xiang, being quite competitive, felt her pride hurt as even a novice like him could best her. She insisted on regaining her honor.
Wang Qi's board game skills were indeed a bit better than Xiang Qi's, but it was merely the level where an advanced enthusiast bullies a beginner, not at all enough to intentionally lose without making it obvious. In the end, Xiang Qi couldn't save face, and they agreed to another match the next day.
And thus, after Wang Qi completed his studies, they had been playing continuously until now...
After being defeated by Xiang Qi once again, Wang Qi guessed that the Senior Sister's mood must have improved considerably, so he tried to ask, "Senior Sister, I've had a question for a long time…"
Xiang Qi, while shuffling the cards, nodded and said, "Speak."
"Didn't you say yesterday that my time is precious and I need to work hard?"
"Yes."
"So why has it turned into playing this…"
Xiang Qi frowned, "Is that strange? This is also one of the compulsory lessons for cultivators, an extra credit project in the entrance trial."
"What?" Wang Qi exclaimed in astonishment — darn it, this world is so enlightened, being good at board games even earns you extra points in the college entrance exam!
Zhen Chan suddenly asked Xiang Qi, "Is it because this game simulates battles between cultivators? Recognizing the relationships between spells in combat, teaching disciples to meticulously manage their mana?"
Xiang Qi nodded, "That's part of it. There's another aspect to consider as well."
Wang Qi asked, "What aspect?"
Xiang Qi thought for a moment, put down the deck in her hand, and pulled out another set of cards from her storage bag. "The basic deck we were just using doesn't include any advanced techniques. In fact, all known Immortal Dao Skills, including the five Absolute Skills, have been turned into cards in this game." As she spoke, she flipped through the deck and pulled out a card. "Like this one, the Supreme Absolute Skill of the Wanfa Sect, with a rarity of seven."
Wang Qi exclaimed, "Damn, they've even created the concept of an expansion pack… This card is called 'Bai Ze's Algorithm', its effect requires tapping three Cultivation Cards, forcing the opponent to declare their actions for the next three turns, unchangeable? Is there something special about this card?"
Xiang Qi shook her head, "It's not that the card is special, but what the card represents — 'Bai Ze's Algorithm' is a piece of history within the Modern Law. There was a predecessor of the Wanfa Sect from the North Wilderness, a Carefree Stage cultivator called Apuna, also known as 'Reincarnated Bai Ze', whom we respectfully address as Bai Ze Divine Monarch."
"Uh… wait… this name…"
Xiang Qi continued, "Bai Ze God Monarch once said, 'If one knows the cause and effect of this moment, one will know the infinite past causes and endless future effects.' He believed that the outcome of battles between cultivators was predestined from the beginning, as every divine skill and bit of cultivation of a cultivator could be quantified into numbers, and everyone could simply compare numbers to determine the winner without actually fighting…"
You're kidding me...
This was the initial reaction of Wang Qi and Zhen Chan. There were too many factors involved in battles between cultivators. How could they possibly be summed up by just a few numbers?
Seeing Wang Qi's expression, Xiang Qi guessed what he was thinking and explained, "If one had the cultivation of a Supreme Divine Monarch in the Carefree Stage, one could instantly obtain and judge more situations than you could imagine. It isn't impossible to judge the outcome in one try. But, promoting this isn't easy either. However, the God Monarch's research is helpful for cultivators to gauge their approximate combat power."
"Gauge combat power?"
Xiang Qi explained, "It's an algorithm with weighted values, assigning weights based on the power of a cultivator's cultivation technique, spells, martial skills, and magical artifacts. For example, a normal Flame Bomb has a weight of zero, but if mastered, the weight is one-half. The Heavenly Order Sword Disc that I practice is a decent swordsmanship with a weight of six, which can go up to seven if fully mastered. Suppose there's a Modern Loose Cultivator, practicing the most basic mental method in Modern, barely mastering two common spells, Flame Bomb and Hand Palm Thunder, then he would be an ordinary cultivator with a weight of zero."
"A single weighted value can even out a minor stage. For example, in the Qi Cultivation Early Stage, a cultivator with a weight of one can defeat another in the Mid-Stage Qi Refining with a weight of zero. For a challenge across stages, the excessive weight must be divided by three. For instance, a cultivator in the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment with a weight of eight would first deduct two weights to convert it to a Golden Core Early Stage, then the remaining weight is divided by three. This means the person would be equivalent to a Golden Core Early Stage cultivator with a weight of two."
As she spoke, Xiang Qi seemed to recall something amusing and barely suppressed her laughter as she said, "This weighted algorithm is known as the Lu Renjia Weighted Algorithm, named to thank Mr. Lu Renjia, a figure who has been defeated over and over again in the imaginations of countless cultivators. Later, this algorithm was turned into a game by those who like to meddle, and it eventually became popular in the Immortal Dao. There are rumors that the Wanfa Sect was promoting it behind the scenes, and that this game, combined with a certain type of mathematics, is the introduction to Bai Ze's Algorithm..."
Zhen Chan chuckled and said, "That's quite interesting… ah, really interesting. Girl, is it because I can't grasp the humor that I can't laugh out loud?"
Xiang Qi's expression stiffened slightly, "I think… even if you caught the humor, it wouldn't necessarily be like this…"
In front of them, Wang Qi lay on the ground, laughing so hard that he was almost in tears.
"Is it that funny?"
"Hahahaha… it turns out even this kind of spoofing has its limits hahahaha!"
I've always been curious about how to integrate the Immortal Hero elements with that 'one-to-one correspondence between Earth scientists and Great Cultivators' relationship. The Laplace Demon, knowing all information at a certain moment, can conjecture the past and present… Bai Ze… ahhahaha…
Just as Xiang Qi and Zhen Chan exchanged glances and Wang Qi was rocking with laughter, Yan Heyi's voice came through.
"Get ready. We've arrived."
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Sorry, this update is late.
As the new year approaches, there have been more social engagements. Sorry