This Is Called Mahjong

As he rode his flying sword toward Endless Cliff Peak, Li Shouyi still could not help cursing inwardly.

“Was there something wrong with Zhou Kangyong's head?”

“He had a perfectly good True Spiritual Root. Why come to me to become his master?”

He must have wanted to ruin my plans! He couldn't stand seeing me get the system's rewards!

Noticing Li Shouyi's sour expression, Shen Wan'er asked with concern, "Master, everyone says Zhou Kangyong has the makings of a true immortal. Why wouldn't you take him as your disciple?"

Hearing this, Li Shouyi casually made up an excuse. "So what if he has the makings of a true immortal?"

"When I accept disciples, I don't just look at aptitude. What matters more is whether they have an unwavering heart devoted to the Dao!"

"In my eyes, you're far better than Zhou Kangyong!"

Of course, Li Shouyi was merely spouting whatever nonsense came to mind. He had not expected Shen Wan'er to actually be moved.

Tears welled in her eyes as she silently vowed, I must cultivate diligently. I won't let Master down!

Just then, through layer upon layer of clouds and mist, a majestic peak rose like a sharp sword.

At its summit stood a simple courtyard, with the words "Endless Cliff" hanging above the entrance. This was Li Shouyi's cultivation abode.

"We're here. You can get off."

After bringing the flying sword to a steady halt, Li Shouyi turned to Shen Wan'er.

"Go find your senior sister first, and make sure you wake her up. I have gifts for both of you in a little while."

With that, Li Shouyi went straight back to his room. Though he had endured a thousand hardships and ten thousand trials to finally acquire two useless disciples this time,

he still could not rest easy. Since the Mediocrity System gave better rewards the more useless his disciples were,

he had to cut off every possibility of these two cultivating. Ideally, he would get them so absorbed in their amusements that they lost all ambition and had no interest whatsoever in cultivation!

After all, this was his only hope of surviving his scheduled duel with a Nascent Soul Realm expert in a month!

At that thought, a rough outline of a plan had already taken shape in his mind.

After he spent a good while tinkering in his room amid a series of clinks and clangs, Shen Wan'er's voice finally sounded outside.

"Master, it took an enormous effort, but I finally woke Senior Sister up."

"Please come out and take a look. I'm afraid she'll fall asleep again any moment!"

Hearing this, Li Shouyi pushed the door open, only to discover that Lin Shuishui had been leaning against it.

That push sent Lin Shuishui off balance, and she fell to the ground, landing hard on her backside.

"Ow..."

Yet to his surprise, even after that fall, she merely lifted her eyelids, gave a couple of little groans, and went straight back to sleep.

"Hiss!"

Li Shouyi sucked in a sharp breath. She was practically the god of sleep reincarnated!

"Senior Sister, wake up! Wake up!"

"Master is here."

Shen Wan'er gave Lin Shuishui a worried look. Saddled with a senior sister like this, she somehow began to lose faith in her future.

After shaking her for quite some time, she finally managed to wake Lin Shuishui.

But the moment Lin Shuishui woke, she first frowned, then rubbed her backside and said aggrievedly, "Master, my bottom hurts."

Li Shouyi's old face flushed. Why did that sound a little ambiguous?

"You just fell on your backside. Of course it hurts! Don't get any strange ideas. I didn't do anything to you!"

After scolding her irritably, Li Shouyi took a white jade pillow from his Storage Bag. "Since you've joined my tutelage and become this elder's direct disciple, this Golden Phoebe White Jade Pillow will be my welcoming gift to you."

"This pillow was crafted from Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Phoebe Wood and Thousand-Year Cold Jade, with formations I personally placed upon it."

"Since you're so fond of sleeping, nothing could suit you better as your life-bound Magic Treasure. I hope you'll cultivate diligently and sleep every day. Sooner or later, the day will come when you comprehend the Great Dao!"

Naturally, Li Shouyi was talking nonsense. Wasn't he hoping Lin Shuishui would stay in bed all day and never get up?

Moreover, he had placed a formation on the pillow to soothe her mind and lull her into dreams. If she slept for eight or ten years, wouldn't he be collecting rewards until his hands went limp?

"Thank you, Master!"

"Master, you're so good to me! I won't let all your care go to waste!"

Lin Shuishui truly was moved to the verge of tears. In the past, whenever she so much as nodded off, someone would inevitably scold her. She had rarely enjoyed a truly peaceful sleep.

Yet she had never imagined she would find a master like this, who asked her to do nothing but sleep.

Li Shouyi was the discerning patron who recognized her worth, the kindred spirit she had sought all her life!

"All right, stop forcing yourself to stay awake. I know you're sleepy. Hurry back and rest!"

Li Shouyi waved her away. He still had things to tell Shen Wan'er!

Hugging her beloved white jade pillow, Lin Shuishui forced herself to perk up, boundless fighting spirit surging in her heart!

She vowed that even if all she did was sleep, she would sleep her way to something remarkable. No matter what, she could never bring shame upon the finest master in the world!

Watching Lin Shuishui stagger away as though she might collapse into sleep the very next moment, Li Shouyi chuckled inwardly.

Although crafting these two gifts today had cost him nearly ten years' worth of stipends, Li Shouyi did not begrudge the expense.

His aptitude was not actually outstanding. It was even worse than that of the so-called Fourth Prince.

If he cultivated by following the rules step by step, he would likely fade into the crowd within ten years and become a stepping stone for those prodigies.

That was to say nothing of his duel with that Nascent Soul Realm expert in a month!

After all, that Nascent Soul expert had already glimpsed the threshold of the Spirit Transformation Realm three years ago. Now that three years had passed, barring any surprises, that fellow would definitely have broken through to the Spirit Transformation Realm!

Meanwhile, after three years of cultivation, he was still only at Core Formation!

How was he supposed to compete with that?

With no other choice, Li Shouyi could only pin his hopes on the system's rewards, praying that taking in useless disciples would earn him its generous payouts.

That way, he could face his scheduled duel with that Nascent Soul expert a month later.

Still, Li Shouyi was no villain.

He had already decided that once he attained great success in cultivation, he would protect these two disciples and ensure they lived free of worries!

"My disciple, come here too. I have a gift for you as well!"

Once Lin Shuishui had gone some distance away, Li Shouyi beckoned to Shen Wan'er with a solemn expression.

With that, Li Shouyi handed the gift he had carefully prepared straight to Shen Wan'er.

The instant she took it, Shen Wan'er's expression changed dramatically. Though she had no idea what these little tiles covered in strange patterns were,

one thing was certain: every single tile had been crafted from a high-grade spirit stone.

They had also been reinforced with formations to keep their spiritual energy from leaking out.

"Master?"

"What is this?"

Seeing Shen Wan'er's shocked expression, Li Shouyi laughed inwardly. She's never even seen mahjong, yet she dares call herself the Gambling Sage?

"My disciple, this is called Mahjong."

"It is a set of Magic Treasures I carefully refined for you."

"Now, listen as I explain..."

With that, Li Shouyi patiently explained to Shen Wan'er what mahjong was and exactly how to play it.

Seeing the girl's eyes light up, he imagined she was already itching unbearably to play, unable to resist.

"Have you remembered what I told you?"

"Starting tomorrow, refine her into your life-bound Magic Treasure."

"You have my permission to go down the mountain whenever you wish and test your tile-playing skills against the other disciples. Whether you wager big or small, I'll cover you!"