Chapter 1746: Who is the one being tested?

Ling Han and the Empress easily passed the first test, and that saber-wielding man’s legs were still shaking behind them. How could there be such a freakish couple?

He was a second severance here, and a second severance grand elder was actually so scared by a first severance junior that he dropped his saber. This was proof of just how frightening this couple was.

He had best never see them ever again.

Ling Han and the Empress continued to discuss the 10 beasts technique of the Multitude Beasts Celestial King. Ling Han did not obtain the complete celestial technique, but there was nothing lacking in the core secret of the technique, and only the core part of forming 10 battle beasts was good enough for them to consider it to be of value.

…Who among them had not cultivated a Celestial King technique?

The two of them sipped Reincarnation Tea as they continued their discussion, and when they felt an urge, they would even spar a bit. They were completely unconcerned what speed they were walking at.

However, half a day later, they had finally arrived at the second testing area.

There was a large number of people gathered here, but they were actually not fighting, but rather playing chess.

The game of Go[1].

Ling Han only swept an eye over the board, and discovered that this was not ordinary Go. The black and white pieces seemed to have a life of their own, all exuding a boundless killing intent. As each move was made and each piece was consumed, the killing intent would wash out. Those who had weak willpower would even break down if they watched this game.

One side of the clash was a young man, probably a first severance prodigy that had risen above the masses this time, and the other side was an elder dressed in long gray robes. The latter’s face was covered with wrinkles, and his hair was completely white.

But this elder was a second severance!

Ling Han was slightly surprised. He had initially thought that this Spatial God Tool was only Fu Xiaoyun’s temporary residence, but from the looks of things now, that wasn’t the case.

If it was only a temporary residence, how could there possibly be a Celestial level alchemist and at least two second severance elites?

Fu Xiaoyun had probably deliberately brought it along with her to allow her to easily recruit people like them. Otherwise, if it was any other time, this kind of Spatial God Tool would definitely be stored in the Fu Clan Manor.

Putting all else aside, merely the Winds and Fires Nine Clouds Pill that Xiang Yan had refined was enough to make even Immortal Palace Tier great elites come to blows for its sake.

Pu! Just at this moment, that young man that was playing suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his expression becoming very spiritless. Yet he still asked the elder, “How long did I manage?”

“15 minutes,” the gray-robed elder stated calmly. He shook his head. “Too bad, you did not pass.”

Ling Han made some enquiries, and found out that they were required to play against this elder. If they could hold on for 30 minutes, they would pass the test, but if they were unable to, they could only go back the way they came.

“Who’s next?” The gray-robed elder swept an eye over the crowd. Some people immediately shook their heads. There was no specific rule that said that they definitely had to walk this path. They could take any other path up the mountain. They only had to obtain a stamp, and reach the other side of the mountain.

The gray-robed elder did not stop them, but a cold smirk curled his lips.

These people naturally would not know that if they passed each test, they would not face any fatal danger even if they failed, but if they diverted from the main path, it would be incredibly dangerous. Putting aside first severance, even second severance, third severance, and fourth severance could possibly die here.

He was not going to reveal the truth, and would only watch coldly from the sidelines.

More and more people left. They had already watched a considerable number of people play against the elder, and they had all failed to last a full 30 minutes in the game. Spitting out blood and sustaining injuries, their condition was very serious.

Ling Han flopped down, and said, “Uncle, I’ll play a game with you[2].”

The gray-robed elder slipped all the pieces on the board into the chess case with a flutter of his robes. He said, “You’ll take black and move first.”

Ling Han was not reserved. He took a random black piece, and placed it on the board.

The elder naturally could only use the white pieces, and quickly made his move as well.

After a few times, Ling Han’s moves were still very quick, but the elder was becoming slower and slower.

This was not an ordinary game of Go. Instead, the chess board was akin to a battlefield, and the chess pieces were soldiers, and a different kind of war was being conducted here. They were competing with their divine sense, as well as their grasp over Regulations.

A first severance naturally could not match a second severance. Thus, the elder placed a time limit of 30 minutes, and anyone who could last the full 30 minutes would be considered as having passed the test.

But Ling Han was no ordinary first severance. In terms of grasp of Regulations, he possessed the two deadly weapons, the Nine Heavens Flame and the Xuanyin Source Water. How could they be anything that a second severance could defend against?

With the chess pieces as the medium, the Nine Heavens Flame and the Xuanyin Source Water launched a frightening offensive against the gray-robed elder.

How could he block this attack?

The elder naturally could only retreat continuously, his moves completely out of order. Very soon, Ling Han’s chess pieces consumed his pieces one after another. Not even 15 minutes had passed, and the elder could only abandon the game and forfeit.

He looked at Ling Han in shock. Who was the one being f***** tested here?

As an examiner, he actually lost to a candidate. Furthermore, it was a horrible, crushing defeat; he did not dare believe it.

“You have passed,” the elder said miserably. He was very proud of his skill in chess, and had thus come up with this method as a test. He had never thought that he would take such a great fall here.

Ling Han walked onwards, holding the Empress’s hand. The elder initially wanted to stop him. This was not adhering to the rules, but when he recalled how he had lost at Ling Han’s hands, how could he bring himself to speak up? He had just raised his hand, and then immediately lowered it.

The others were all unconvinced, and raised their objections.

“If you people are able to defeat me, you can also bring someone with you. You can even bring a few people,” the gray-robed elder said, immediately overriding everyone’s objections.

Ling Han and the Empress were still slowly and leisurely ascending the mountain. Another half a day later, they were already very close to the summit, and the third test appeared in front of them. There was still a large group of people gathered here.

When they came close enough, they found out that this third test was not a test of battle prowess or a test of one’s grasp of Regulations. Instead, you were given a piece of paper. An incomplete seal was written on it, and you had to complete the seal as best as you could.

This was very difficult.

For the majority of cultivators, including many young king tiers, their comprehension ability was high and battle prowess was strong, but they had all been following in the footsteps of their predecessors from start to finish. Thus, it was extremely difficult to ask them to fill in the blanks for an incomplete seal.

Ling Han saw that both Ma Ying and Song Ji were trapped here. The two of them were racking their brains, neither daring to rashly return the piece of paper in their hands. There was only one chance. If they were overly wrong, they would lose the chance to continue onwards.

Of course, you could also take a separate path, but that would be extremely dangerous—if you could manage to make your way to the mountain summit even like this, then the Fu Clan would also be willing to recruit you just for the sake of your battle prowess and good luck.

Ling Han and the Empress walked over, each taking a piece of paper as well. There was a seal written on it, and there were a few crucial points that had been left blank, and they were required to fill it in.

There was similarly a second severance elite seated here, and he was more than enough to suppress first severances like themselves.

“Brat!” A furious shout rang out, and an elder leaped over, the glare he directed at Ling Han filled with killing intent.

This was that first severance grand elder of the Qi Clan—now, he had naturally advanced into the second severance. Previously, in the Severing Mundane Pool, they had wanted to forcibly snatch Ling Han’s wooden raft, but two of their group had instead been killed by Ling Han’s hand.

When they severed the mundane, the third junior of the Qi Clan had also died because he had failed, and only he managed to deliver the second strike, advancing into the second severance.

Originally, this banquet was meant for first severance elites, but it had not been clearly stated previously. Any person who successfully advanced into the Severing Mundane Tier in the Severing Mundane Pool could come. Thus, the elder of the Qi Clan took advantage of this loophole.

He was a second severance, and had naturally passed the last two stages easily. However, the third stage was not related to strength, which stumped him.

Now that he had spotted Ling Han, his eyes immediately turned bloodshot, his killing intent blazing.

[1] A traditional type of Chinese board game, in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent.

[2] The uncle here is a polite form of address for an older man.

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