Fang Lin realized that if he wins the selection, he might have the chance to realize his dream! Of course he was busy of not thinking of it right now, since his face might reflect his thoughts.

His fantasies however were destroyed by the cruel truth uttered by the proctor.

“By the way, only those with the status of an Inner Disciple and Core Disciple can join in this sparring session. If you do not have those status, you are not allowed to join.”

“Crack!” Fang Lin felt himself going numb after hearing that. His status right now was of a sect servant. That meant that he could not join even if he wanted to!

“Big Bro….” Shi Poyun’s excited look vanished once he saw Fang Lin’s pale expression. He hesitated, not knowing what to say. Even Lin Feng, who was currently far away from Fang Lin, could not help but give him a sympathetic look.

Fang Lin was not the only one affected however. The disciples who were in the same generation as Fang Lin looked like they lost something.

They knew that even though Fang Lin was a sect servant for now, his talent was surely undeniable! That was proven when he went back from the Solstice Kingdom as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator! He only joined the sect for around a year, and he already reached such heights in cultivation!

The only one with talent said to be greater than his was Fang Yu, on which her Master Xiao Ya said had reached the Second Stage faster than Fang Lin! Fang Lin did not deny this, which led to many to believe Sect Head Xiao Ya’s words.

Too bad Fang Yu was busy with something that prevented her from coming back. As for Ling Tian, he was already blacklisted from the sect after discovering his connection with the evil spirits.

As such, the greatest talent among the youngest generation of the Inner Disciples was Fang Lin. As for the older generation and the Core Disciples, they had their own greatest talent.

With this distinction, everyone from the young generation thought that Fang Lin will be their unofficial leader at the battle stage. But the proctor’s announcement shattered those expectations.

“Oh Fang Lin, Sect Head Xiao Ya mentioned about your matter to me.” The proctor suddenly said. He gave Fang Lin a blank look as he said,

“Sect Head Xiao Ya said that you are allowed to join this battle stage. But if you ever win, you will not be allowed to make a wish. Your reward shall be the removal of your sect servant status. Isn’t that great?”

“Great my ass!” Fang Lin thought crossly to himself. From the looks of it, he might have benefited big time, but he was sure he was robbed!

“Don’t tell me I was given the sect servant status just for this moment?” Fang Lin thought to himself. He shook his head, realizing that even that was an absurd reason. He let out a sigh as he realized that he had no choice but to still join the battle stage.

His status as a sect servant for 6 months had already left a bitter taste on his mouth. If winning this trial was the best chance for him to remove that status, then he will do it.

Upon seeing that Fang Lin has no problem with the arrangement, the proctor clapped his hands as he started to talk again.

“Since it seems like there are no hold-ups anymore, then I guess we should start the battle stage already!”

The proctor looked at all the talents of the Immortal God Sect Immortal Continent Branch.

They were mostly at the Second Stage, with the remaining disciples at the Third Stage. Only those who reach the Third Stage can be considered to be a Core Disciple.

As for the Fourth Stage Disciples, they are staying on the sect, since their status was already that of a Half-Elder. They are usually slated to succeed the current generation of the Elders, who were at the Fifth Stage.

This meant that only the Second and the Third Stage Disciples will be able to participate in the Battle Stage.

“As you can see,” The proctor said after seeing the talented disciples. “Only the Second and Third Stage Disciples of both branches can join in this battle stage. But since their numbers are still a lot when combined, the way to finish this battle stage must be unique.”

“Don’t tell me this is another battle royale!?” Fang Lin thought with a cold sweat. “A battle royale that will only stop only when the required number is reached? Please don’t be like that!”

The proctor smiled as he seemed to have realized what the disciples were thinking. “Do not worry, this will not be a battle royale. That stuff is only for newbies.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Lin and the others let out a sigh of relief. If given a chance, they will not want to repeat that trial.

“What’s fitted for your generation was a game of chess!”

“Chess?” Fang Lin immediately felt his head aching as another unnecessarily complicated game was used as a trial!

“Well the rule of this game was simple.” The proctor said with a shrug. “Each one of you will be randomly given a chess piece. What you get will be completely random, just like what I said earlier. Now, each type of piece will give its holder a boon and a limitation.”

“To allow fairness, our sect heads here will personally restrict the cultivations of every participant down to the early Second Stage. That means the disciples can only use their insights, techniques and battle prowess to win.”

“As for how the battle will commence, one disciple will be called out from each branch and they will face off in the stage. The way their battle will commence will depend on the piece they got. The one who wins in that match will have to wait to be called for his/her next match. Oh, if the numbers demand so, there can be also 3 or more people battling at one match. It all just depends on the amount that we had here.”

“The one who wins at every match can switch with the chess piece of his/her defeated opponent. This means that a winner has a chance to use a new strategy at every win that he/she had. So always win ok? This will continue until only one person remained. That person basically will be the champion.”

“……..” Fang Lin realized that the way to win on this battle stage relies on two things: Talent and skills, and the chess piece obtained. Talent and skills will be vital since everyone will fight with the same cultivation base. As for the chess piece obtained, Fang Lin still had to know about the ‘boons and limitations’ that the proctor was boasting about. “Since you seem to be raring right now, let me show you the roles of the chess pieces.” A large scroll appeared behind the man, showing the roles he was talking about.

—Pawn—

Boon: Allowed to attack once with the opponent not being allowed to dodge the said attack. Only defending against the attack was allowed. Boons of the Bishop, Knight, Rook and Queen cannot be used against it.

Limitation: The attack must be a close-ranged attack only.

—Bishop—

Boon: Power of one long-ranged attack will be amplified depending on the distance between the two opponents. The farther the distance, the stronger the amplification will be. Boons of the Pawn, Knight, Rook and Queen cannot be used against it.

Limitation: If the attack was dodged, the user will be affected by a half of the attack’s damage.

—Knight—

Boon: Allowed to dispel a move made by an opponent.

Limitation: Not allowed to attack within 1 second after using the boon.

—Rook—

Boon: Allowed to copy one move made by the opponent.

Limitation: Copied move must be used within 3 moves after the boon was used.

—Queen—

Boon: Allowed to use one move with the power of the actual cultivation base. Boons of the Pawn, Bishop, Knight and Rook cannot be used against it.

Limitation: Boon could not be used on the King.

—King—

Boon: Immunity to the Queen’s Boon.

Limitation: Boons by other pieces except the Queen can be used twice against it.

“…. Dang, the Queen is really overpowered….”

After reading the roles of each pieces, Fang Lin realized what their use was: They were important trump cards on each match!

Not only that, but their usefulness will also depend on the type of the practitioner they landed in.

If a close-combat specialist gets the Bishop, its Boon will be useless already. Likewise, someone specialized in long-range fighting who gets the Pawn will be wasting its Boon.

Also, if the cultivation base of someone who got the Queen was low, the use of its Boon will also be trash.

“As expected, I can only hope to get either the Knight or Rook. Its their Boon that will help me the most. Well, a Queen might be good too.” Fang Lin knew his capabilities well. Because of that, he knew the pieces he needed the most.

As for the King? Pfft, just ignore it.

10 minutes have gone by since the proctor let the disciples read the roles. Once he saw everyone understanding everything, he waved his hands as countless specks of light covered the sky. These specks turned out to be glowing objects which landed on the hands of the participating disciples.

Each one of them received one object.

“That, young disciples, are the pieces that you will use for the battle stage later.” The proctor said with a subdued tone. “Do enjoy your time with it!”

Fang Lin looked at what he got, expecting something good. But as expected, he got the one he was rejecting the most.

“The f**k! Why did I get the impotent King?”

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