"I just did what any other teacher would have done for his student. There is no need to thank me."
The Junior Elder looked a little embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head.
"But still-"
"Instead of thanking me, guide me."
The junior elder interrupted Zhao Luo while presenting a request of his own.
"Me? Guide you?"
Zhao Luo with a shocked look repeated his words again in case he didn't hear them right.
"Yes. I am really bad at riddles and you have become famous among the elders as the 'friend' of Master of Riddles.. So who see could I ask about this If not you!"
Zhao Luo had half of his mouth open as he gazed at the junior elder who was almost two whole ranks above him and yet he wanted to learn 'solving riddles' from him.
"I will guide you on that."
Zhao Luo accepted his request since it wasn't even a big deal.
"Now go. And show them what the new King of Outer Hall is like."
The elder didn't use his badge this time since Zhao Luo was the winner of the tournament and as the winner, he was exempt from this.
'Nod.'
Zhao Luo turned his eyes away from the junior elder and looked in the space in front of him and passed through it.
'Whoosh.'
Seeing Zhao Luo's back vanish after entering through the door, the junior elder looked a little sad since he was left alone, and he couldn't help but remember his old days.
"The world has changed."
He mumbled and took a step away from the inner hall when he stooped after realizing that two disciples were walking towards him.
"Why are you two so late?"
The elder complained loudly since the two were still far away, and he couldn't make out their faces.
'A giant and a disciple with golden hair?'
As the elder searched through his memory to remember these two, they had already closed in on him as though they were going to attack him.
The elder stumbled back, not in fear, instead, in excitement as he was more than ready to defend.
But before he could defend, they had to attack which never happened.
"Hah, hah, Brother I told you, we will be late."
The one who had a gigantic structure said to the one with the golden hair.
It was none other than Mo Suo and Big Bean who were talking to each other as if there were no differences between them.
What could have happened in a day that changed them so much?
"It's okay. Junior Elder, we will be entering the hall too."
Mo Suo looked at the junior elder with a downward gaze, as though he wasn't even worthy to meet his eyes, and said to him.
"Ah"
Looking at the change in the youngest and the most arrogant son of the Royal Mo family's leader, the junior elder was left agape.
"Elder."
Both Mo Suo and Big Bean urged the elder together.
"Ahem. Yes, go on."
The Junior Elder with a swift motion passed his hand which held his silver badge in front of their badges and told them to enter.
Soon, Mo Suo and Big Bean entered the hall.
Zhao Luo who had been teleported to an unfamiliar place looked back.
'What?'
He was witnessing something that he had been fearful of, with clenched jaws and tightened fists.
'Is he bullying Big Bean by using his sister's safety?'
Zhao Luo thought as he could clearly see Mo Suo and Big Bean outside of the door as they stood in front of the elder.
'What should I do to save Big Bean's sister?'
Zhao Luo was lost in his thoughts as he was trying to come up with a plan to get his Brother Disciple Big Bean free of Mo Suo's clutches.
Zhao Luo stared at them coming towards him but as he had thought, they didn't know that.
'Here they come.'
Zhao Luo looked more than ready to attack Mo Suo yet to his surprise, they did pass through the door but never appeared to where he was.
'What?'
Zhao Luo looked outside and could only see the junior elder who looked towards him and smiled.
Outside, the junior elder who was looking at the door smiled.
'They were all sent as pair except him. How funny.'
The junior elder smiled as he looked at the dark space which seemed something completely else now.
There were small windows that showed the pair of disciples who were at different places.
Zhao Luo could be seen on one of the windows that showed the inside of the inner hall and he was alone there as he stood on a platform that looked like a square-shaped ring but a hundred blocks that made the ring were divided into two colors, black and white.
Every side of the block of one color was covered with the other color blocks.
'He will do well if that's the test.'
The Junior Elder turned away from the door which slowly closed.
Zhao Luo was still in a state of shock which slowly faded away after the door closed and he couldn't see the junior elder anymore.
'"Are you done?"
A very familiar voice entered his ear. One he could never forget.
"Senior Zi Fei?"
Zhao Luo mumbled as he turned around and looked at the disciple who had just spoken to him.
The disciple had a bronze badge on his purple robe which showed that he was an inner disciple and not an elder, also the disciple was standing on a statue with a crown.
'He isn't him. But his level...'
Zhao Luo looked at the lines on the badge and felt challenged.
The badge showed that the inner disciple in front of him was at the sixth level 'VI' of bronze rank.
"ZI Fei? Oh, so you know the little butcher of the inner hall?"
The disciple talked about Zi Fei while jumping down from the statue as he landed on the black block.
That was when Zhao Luo looked down and realized that the stage where he was on resembled something.
'A chessboard?'
He mumbled as the stage did look like one.
