The Wizard of Fairy Tale World-Chapter 42Book 2: : Disappointment

Vol 2 Chapter 42: Disappointment

Zheng Fa looked at the uninvited lecturers, knowing they had come to assess his abilities.

He had expected this—word had already spread that Senior Sister Zhang intended to have him take over the Talisman Hall.

This was a significant decision.

In Jiushan Sect, the Talisman Hall, Disciplinary Hall, and Administrative Hall were considered the three key departments. To put it in mundane terms, they were equivalent to the finance, law enforcement, and education divisions.

The Disciplinary Hall was overseen by Nascent Soul cultivator Master Pang.

The Administrative Hall was under Senior Sister Zhang, who, while not at the Nascent Soul stage, was recognized as the strongest person below that realm in the entire sect—no one dared to challenge her authority.

And now, Zheng Fa, who was about to be placed on the same level as them in terms of position—was merely at the Qi Refining stage!

The vast disparity in strength made it impossible for these lecturers not to have doubts.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Being the Sect Master's disciple and having Senior Sister Zhang’s support wasn’t enough to dispel all skepticism.

What puzzled Zheng Fa, however, was that most of the lecturers present were from Master Pang’s faction, whereas there were noticeably fewer from Senior Sister Zhang’s side.

For example, Senior Brother Zhuang, who had previously taught him, was absent today.

It wasn’t just Senior Brother Zhuang—he had attended two more lessons, both taught by different senior brothers, and they, too, were missing today.

Before long, the new disciples for the lesson arrived.

At first, it was only those from Senior Sister Zhang’s faction.

Then, Zheng Fa noticed a few figures sneaking in, heads lowered.

He recognized them—they were new disciples who had arrived on the same boat as him but had been taken under Master Pang’s wing.

Shouldn’t they be attending lessons under Master Pang’s faction?

At the doorway, he overheard a hushed conversation, one of the voices sounding familiar:

“Senior Brother Zhou, won’t our faction’s senior brothers be upset if they find out we’re attending Senior Brother Zheng’s lesson?”

“Don’t worry! I’m telling you, Senior Brother Zheng has prepared something great!”

“But… isn’t this betraying our own faction?”

“Relax, even our master knows! As long as we keep a low profile and don’t do it right under our senior brothers’ noses, they won’t mind too much…”

Just as Zhou Qianyuan stepped into the classroom, he froze in place.

Inside, several senior brothers from Master Pang’s faction were silently watching him.

Behind him, the junior disciples he had brought along turned pale, their voices trembling. “Senior Brother Zhou, why does it feel like… we walked right into their line of sight?”

Zhou Qianyuan stiffened, quickly glancing at the senior brothers with dark expressions before shrinking his neck and finding a seat.

Zheng Fa immediately understood—

Perhaps Zhou Qianyuan had pulled in recruits for him to ensure the first lesson wasn’t deserted.

Looking at the new disciples from Master Pang’s faction, sitting like quails, too afraid to move, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for them.

As the classroom filled up, Zheng Fa cleared his throat and said, “Some of you may not know me, while others do.”

The world before the disciples’ eyes shifted like a revolving lantern before settling into a dimly lit canyon.

“So, I’ve prepared a new teaching method as an introduction,” Zheng Fa’s voice echoed in the darkness. “I call it The Dao Struggles for Immortality.”

To the Foundation Establishment lecturers, the Qi Refining disciples below them now had glowing circles beneath their feet, split into red and blue colors.

“All disciples, take note. You will be randomly assigned to one of two teams. Identify allies and enemies based on your circle’s color.”

“In The Dao Struggles for Immortality, you will retain your cultivation, talismans, and magical artifacts.”

“There are two ways to win: First, eliminate all members of the opposing team. Second, destroy the opponent’s banner at their base.”

“While dying in the game won’t actually kill you, your soul will suffer for a day or two.”

The Dao Struggles for Immortality was a newly improved version of the sect’s simulated trial, designed by the Sect Master himself.

For one, it included additional maps.

More importantly, it drastically reduced costs—now it only required about a dozen Yellow-grade talismans.

Previously, simulated trials were expensive because they had to block the divine senses of the Sect Master or Senior Sister Zhang while also replicating their cultivation levels. This placed a high demand on talismans.

But The Dao Struggles for Immortality didn’t require that. Zheng Fa was only teaching Qi Refining disciples, after all.

As for its mechanics, he hadn’t changed much.

The first modification was the team assignment system—players were divided into red and blue teams, but team sizes were not fixed. Zheng Fa hadn’t yet figured out the optimal squad size for team-based cultivation battles, so this was something he would need to experiment with in future trials.

After all, The Dao Struggles for Immortality was just a prototype. Adjustments could come later.

The second change was the victory conditions.

There were now two modes: a base-defense mode and a deathmatch mode.

Simply put, a team lost if all its members were eliminated or if its base was destroyed.

The final tweak—one Zheng Fa had deliberately asked the Sect Master to include—was the penalty for death. A weakened soul state.

Only by making it more realistic would the disciples learn to value their own lives when they faced real battle.

This time, only Qi Refining disciples were participating.

The Foundation Establishment lecturers, like Zheng Fa, could only observe.

From their perspective—

The newly initiated disciples were flustered as they were thrown into the trial.

If not for Zheng Fa’s prior instructions, they would have run around like headless chickens.

Even with his guidance, their performance was subpar.

Zheng Fa spotted one disciple boldly running through the forest, crunching leaves underfoot without a care—completely lacking any awareness of stealth.

Sure enough, the next moment, a fire serpent struck from behind, reducing the careless disciple to ashes.

What made Zheng Fa frown even more was that, despite being on the same team, many disciples refused to cooperate. The two factions often fought separately.

For instance, two disciples from Senior Sister Zhang’s faction encountered a lone disciple from the other faction. Without a second thought, they immediately hurled a talisman at him.

These three were all on the red team, yet they inexplicably started infighting.

A few blue team disciples, who had been lurking nearby, seized the opportunity and swiftly eliminated all three.

Amidst the chaos, most disciples were quickly taken out and eliminated from the trial.

However, one group caught Zheng Fa’s attention.

Zhou Qianyuan had led two disciples to hide inside a cave within the canyon.

The two disciples were both newcomers—one from Master Pang’s faction and the other from Senior Sister Zhang’s faction.

Among the three, Zhou Qianyuan had the highest cultivation—at the fifth level of Qi Refining—so the other two naturally followed his lead.

“In this round of The Dao Struggles for Immortality, there are not only new disciples but also some senior ones,” Zhou Qianyuan observed the chaotic battlefield outside. “We’ve only recently joined the sect, and our cultivation isn’t on par with the senior disciples. We can’t fight them head-on.”

The other two nodded in agreement, clearly convinced.

“I’ve been taught by my master and have also studied talismans under Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Brother Zheng. Our two factions each have their strengths,” Zhou Qianyuan said thoughtfully. “Senior Sister Zhang’s disciples excel at Yuan Talismans—their talismans are powerful and highly effective.”

“Meanwhile, our faction specializes in observation—spotting the enemy’s movements and weaknesses.”

“So, here’s my plan…”

Zhou Qianyuan lowered his voice. “We’ll sneak past unnoticed and head straight for the enemy’s base.”

“On the way, you,” he pointed at his fellow faction disciple, “will be in charge of scouting.”

“And you,” he turned to the other disciple, “will focus on storing your spiritual power. When the time comes, the two of us will attack together and destroy the enemy’s banner.”

After some thought, the two disciples nodded in agreement.

—

Watching Zhou Qianyuan’s performance, Zheng Fa felt a sense of satisfaction. Though Zhou’s plan was basic, at least he treated both factions equally and sought to utilize their strengths effectively.

Zheng Fa had already noted the key differences between Master Pang’s faction and Senior Sister Zhang’s faction.

Master Pang’s faction, with their Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes, was naturally suited for support roles.

They were excellent at gathering intelligence and could also use talismans for healing and defense at critical moments.

However, their weakness lay in their lack of mastery over Yuan Talismans. Their talismans lacked raw power, making it difficult for them to land a decisive, one-hit kill.

This was where Senior Sister Zhang’s faction had the advantage.

Meanwhile, the Foundation Establishment lecturers watching The Dao Struggles for Immortality were whispering among themselves—no, outright cursing their own students.

“How stupid can you be? You don’t even know how to use a Golden Armor Talisman?!”

“Are you blind?! There’s someone hiding right there, and you didn’t see them?!”

“I spent an entire day teaching the Shadow Tracking Talisman, and you’ve already forgotten everything?!”

“Throw the Fire Control Talisman, you idiot!”

At first, they had been sitting quietly, but now, sleeves rolled up, they looked as if they were ready to jump in and take over the battle themselves.

—

The game quickly came to an end.

As expected, Zhou Qianyuan’s trio successfully pulled off their stealthy victory.

When the illusion dissolved, most disciples still had excitement written all over their faces.

“So,” Zheng Fa smiled, “how do you all feel about my introduction?”

“Senior Brother Zheng, can we play again?!”

“You should have been our lecturer from the start…”

“Senior Brother, if I switch to Senior Sister Zhang’s faction, will you accept me?”

As he listened to their enthusiastic responses, Zheng Fa’s smile slowly faded.

Then, he spoke.

“But I am very disappointed.”

“……”

“I’m not disappointed that, despite all your training, many of you still don’t know how to properly inscribe even the most basic talismans in a fight. Jiushan Sect has enjoyed peace for too long—your lack of battle experience is understandable.”

“I’m not disappointed that, upon seeing the enemy, you all only thought about charging forward instead of using your brains to strategize. In this regard, Junior Brother Zhou performed very well.”

“What disappoints me—” Zheng Fa’s voice deepened, “is that, despite all of you belonging to the same sect, when faced with battle, you couldn’t trust each other, couldn’t cooperate, and even turned against your own teammates!”

“This—this is what truly disappoints me!”

The classroom fell into silence.

The Foundation Establishment lecturers, who had come to evaluate Zheng Fa’s abilities, exchanged awkward glances.

Their faces were tinged with embarrassment.

Perhaps… they shouldn’t have come after all.