Chapter 290: Chapter 290: The Selection Begins
Translator: 549690339
The royal family sent three princes to compete for the single substitute position. Yang Pojun, another prince, who wasn’t weak in strength, didn’t participate. This took Fang Lin by surprise, he thought he would have to face Yang Pojun this time.
Han Luoyun slightly smiled, “Our Purple Mist Sect only has one participant this time.”
After saying that, Fang Lin stepped forward and bowed deeply to Yang Jianye.
Li Zhendong, with a cold look on his face, said, “We, the Li Family, have five participants.”
After he spoke, the three men and two women behind Li Zhendong came forward and stood in front of Fang Lin. As they passed by Fang Lin, they all sneered at him.
There is only one substitute position, yet there are nine competitors. Out of these, the Li Family already accounts for five persons. It was clear how much the Li Family wanted that substitute position, they almost brought all their top young talents.
In comparison, the Purple Mist Sect only had Fang Lin, who seemed to be at quite a disadvantage. Whether it was the Li Family or the royalty, none of them seemed to think highly of Fang Lin.
Even though Fang Lin had a small reputation in Qian Country, his fame was mostly in the field of alchemy Tao.
He was known as the top alchemy Tao prodigy of the Purple Mist Sect, a genius who passed the Pill Refiner exam with flawless results, a talented alchemist recognized by the Four Saints of the Pill Sect.
It could be said that no one among the young talents present dared to challenge Fang Lin in the field of alchemy Tao.
But this competition was not about alchemy Tao but martial arts, testing their real strength. As a pill refiner, Fang Lin did seem a bit out of place.
“You’re doomed!” A young man from the Li Family turned his head and sneered at Fang Lin.
Fang Lin just smiled faintly, without any anger.
The three princes also came down and stood together with the five young talents from the Li Family and Fang Lin. But it was clear that there was hostility between the three princes and the five people from the Li Family. In comparison, Fang Lin seemed quite inconspicuous.
“There’s only one substitute position, so only one of you nine can stand out. To ensure fairness, you nine will enter the center of the martial field together. There will be an array there that exerts pressure. Whoever can withstand it for a stick of incense’s time may continue the competition. Those who can’t will be considered as failures,” Yang Jianye explained the rules of the first elimination round to the nine competitors.
Neither Han Luoyun nor Li Zhendong objected to these rules. The content of the trial had been decided long ago.
Upon hearing this, the nine participants walked to the center of the martial field one by one. A light screen rose up, enveloping all nine.
“Fang Lin, you’re just a pill refiner. Do you dare compete with us? You really don’t value your own life. You should admit defeat right now. That way you can avoid embarrassing yourself later,” sneered the Li Family disciple, who had previously threatened Fang Lin.
The other four talents from the Li Family also ridiculed Fang Lin. However, Fang Lin turned a blind eye to them, treating their words like hot air.
“Are you guys done with all the chattering?” Prince Yang Jianfeng frowned and said.
The Li Family crowd simply hummed in response and chose not to argue any further. After all, they were in the array and all slightly nervous.
“Let’s begin,” said Yang Jianye loudly.
Buzz!!!
The moment Yang Jianye finished speaking, an invisible pressure descended within the array, causing all nine competitors to feel their bodies sink and sway inadvertently.
Outside the array, Yang Jianye smiled widely and asked Han Luoyun, “Old Brother Han, did you bring only little Fang Lin because you’re not interested in the substitute position?”
To Yang Jianye, Han Luoyun bringing only Fang Lin seemed quite childish. It looked to him as if Han Luoyun didn’t care too much about the substitute position, so he only brought Fang Lin to go through the motions.
If Han Luoyun really wanted to compete for the position, he could have brought talents from the Martial Sect like Qing Jianzi. That would have undoubtedly been more competitive than bringing just Fang Lin.
Li Zhendong sneered, “Since Sect Master Han, you do not care about the substitute position, why not give up right away? Why bother having Fang Lin make a fool of himself?”
Han Yinyue’s face was as calm as still water: “How about we bet on it?”
Upon hearing this, Yang Jianye became interested and laughed, “What’s the bet? Tell us.”
Han Luoyun looked at Yang Jianye and Li Zhendong and said, “Let’s bet on who will ultimately win the substitute position.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Jianye was surprised. From his tone, Han Luoyun seemed very confident in Fang Lin.
Li Zhendong’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He felt that Han Luoyun’s behaviour was too unusual and suspected that something might be afoot.
“Alright, what’s the stake?” Yang Jianye asked.
A slight smile crossed Han Luoyun’s face: “If the substitute position is won by Fang Lin in the end, each of your two families will give me something valuable.”
“And if you lose?” sneered Li Zhendong.
Han Luoyun glanced at him: “I will also offer something valuable to the one who wins the bet.”
Yang Jianye burst out laughing: “Interesting. I’ll also place a bet. If you two lose, you can’t back out. Otherwise, I won’t let you leave.”
All three men were smiling, but each smile carried a different meaning. They were all filled with confidence.
Each of them was extremely confident in their young talent. None of them believed they could lose.
At this moment, inside the array, the intensity of the pressure increased with time.
At first, everyone seemed relaxed, even finding the time to chat with each other.
However, gradually, everyone stopped talking, and an expression of seriousness appeared on all their faces.
Fang Lin’s face also wore a serious expression, his brows furrowed tightly, and his body slightly trembling.
Seeing him like this, everyone outside shook their heads.
“It looks like Fang Lin won’t be able to hold on much longer.”
“After all, he’s a pill refiner. He’s at a disadvantage in this regard.”
“What is Sect Master Han’s plan, letting Fang Lin compete for the substitute position? Isn’t it the same as giving up?”
Many people were whispering. Almost no one was optimistic about Fang Lin; they all believed that he would likely fall and fail at any moment.
Li Zhendong sat there with a smug look on his face, while Yang Jianye glanced at Han Luoyun, who was calm and collected. He couldn’t help but be puzzled.
The pressure continued to increase. Whether it was the princes or the individuals from the Li Family, everyone was shaking and showed no signs of relaxation.
As for Fang Lin, his face was pale, sweat was dripping from his forehead, and both of his legs were shaking fiercely.
“I guess Fang Lin won’t be able to hold on much longer,” everyone thought.
Thump!
In the end, someone fell. However, everyone was shocked because they did not expect this to happen.