The Immortal Palace elder presiding over the individual competition on the stage was doing his utmost to describe this event as an unprecedented grand affair. The lavish praises flowing from his mouth—if the people present weren't so familiar with each other, they might have actually believed it was a friendly match where friendship comes first and competition second.
"What's the point of all this? Isn't it obvious that eighty percent of the people here are just itching to strangle each other as soon as they get off the stage? After this match, it's going to be another round of war!" Zheng Jia Ru, leaning against the railing of the spectator section, chewed gum and spoke disdainfully as he listened to the seemingly endless speech on stage.
"Even if you're going to bash the opponent's head in the next second, right now you have to act harmonious when it's required; every world does this formality, don't you think we're the same?" Pei Yan, equally annoyed by the speech, mouthed a cigarette playfully as he spoke.
"They are about to introduce the contestants, it's our turn!" Liang Qian, sitting with Xia Yu, seemed quite interested in this, pointed at the stage and laughed, "Even your nicknames got mentioned—Black Teeth Gu Shenghui! Mechanical Tiger, Pei Yan! Keystones Sword Master, Ye Ruozai!"
When the host announced the nickname "Mechanical Tiger," there was a brief uproar in the audience. Pei Yan could feel numerous gazes gathering from the small windows of the round building towards him, but he ignored it, silently lighting the cigarette in his mouth and joking, "Keystones Sword Master? What kind of title is Old Ye's?"
"That must be their recognition of Ye Ruozai, the top swordsman in the Keystone Plane? But the nickname really sounds awful, look at the Daoist Realm's nicknames—Drunk on White Hair Ning Quanchen, A River of Solitude Snow Lin Xunrou, Laughing in the Dust Lin Yiqiu. Look at theirs compared to ours; they all sound like characters doomed to die upon appearance in a drama." Jiang Feiyang smacked his lips, looking indignant and frustrated, "Isn't that person's name Lin Daozi? Why is he also called Lin Yiqiu?"
"Daozi refers to their identity, Lin Yiqiu is probably his real name! But indeed, our nicknames are really subpar." Pei Yan nodded in agreement with Jiang Feiyang's rant, pondering whether he should adopt a more impressive title than Mechanical Tiger or the jested Prince Pei.
"A nickname is something you have to earn for yourself. If you think theirs sound better, then defeat them and snatch those nicknames!" Apparently also dissatisfied with his nickname, Ye Ruozai, leaning against the railing, stared at the host on stage with a grim face.
"Well said! Let's find an opportunity to give these name-giving show-offs a good beating and force them to give us good-sounding nicknames. I think A River of Solitude Snow would be nice." Clearly, Ye Ruozai's suggestion resonated with Xia Yu, who stared at Lin Xunrou on stage with eager anticipation.
"Nicknames should match one's style; A River of Solitude Snow fits the aloof goddess style. Look at you bouncing around like a mother tyrannosaurus... ah!" Before Jiang Feiyang could finish his rant, it was replaced by a miserable scream. Pei Yan didn't need to turn around to know that the guy got punched in the nose by Xia Yu, now holding his face and resigning himself to bad luck.
Pei Yan had no time to gloat over this at the moment; his attention was completely captured by the host introducing Blood Shastra on stage. Perhaps due to Blood Shastras's sensitive identity, the host glossed over their introduction, only mentioning the names of the participants: "Ivan, Nero, Di Xin!"
"These aren't their real names, right? They all seem to be historical figures?" After confirming that the person he was up against was Nero, Pei Yan stared at the figure, trying to recall his historical knowledge with a puzzled expression.
"Famous historical tyrants, otherwise known as Ivan the Terrible, the Tsarist Russian tyrant; the Roman Emperor Nero; and the infamous..."
Black Teeth Gu Shenghui quickly elucidated the meanings behind these names, but before finishing, Pei Yan directed his gaze to the only one among the three with an Eastern appearance and continued, "King Zhou Di Xin, ha-ha, Blood Shastras really seem eager to broadcast their villain status. Their ranks include not only the Seven Deadly Sins but also the Three Tyrants, now it seems the Three Tyrants hold a higher position than those seven, oh!"
On that note, Pei Yan spotted a familiar figure among the Blood Shastras crowd and sneered, "Look, Gu Chu, our old acquaintance Mu Fanchen! He's here too, but unfortunately, due to this competition, I doubt he can participate; otherwise, you could have settled your scores with him!"
Gu Shenghui had already noticed this figure, who left him feeling conflicted, amid the crowd without Pei Yan's guidance. The only consolation was that Xie Chujun, due to health reasons, had no choice but to return to the Keystone Plane to recuperate; otherwise, with his temperament and level of hatred, Gu Shenghui wouldn't be sure he could hold him back from resorting to violence.
"Let's get on stage!" Upon hearing the host on stage announce the entry of the contestants and draw order, Gu Shenghui sighed, putting these matters aside to focus on the crucial individual competition.
On the stage, Pei Yan and Ye Ruozai respectively stood behind Gu Shenghui; regardless of fame or strength, Gu is still their direct superior in external promotional efforts, hence it's only natural for him to lead the drawing.
Facing the unfriendly gazes from other teams, Pei Yan didn't respond but instead focused on Gu Shenghui as he followed the Immortal Palace host's direction, reaching his right hand into the dark void. What he would pick from it would determine their team's match order and the opponents they'd face.
Moments later, Gu Shenghui withdrew his hand from the void; Pei Yan couldn't resist stepping closer to see what lay in Gu Shenghui's open palm.
A black ball!
According to the competition rules, the two teams drawing white balls would face each other in the first round, the two teams drawing black balls in the second round, while those drawing a red ball would wait to face the winners of the two teams.
It seemed luck wasn't on their side, and who their opponents who also drew black balls were remained a mystery to Pei Yan, though it wasn't for long as a familiar voice soon answered the question.
"Pei Yan, it seems we're fated to meet again!"
Frowning upon hearing this voice, Pei Yan turned to look impatiently, only to see Flamel holding a black ball, shaking it in his direction with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Ah, looks like their opponents are the Magic Realm team—it seems old enemies always cross paths. Well, this is a perfect chance to fulfill their promise to the Hell Plane. With that in mind, Pei Yan couldn't be bothered to spare Flamel another glance, instead shifting his focus to the Blood Shastras team, curious to see what opponents they'd drawn. If they were to draw a red ball and simply watch tigers fight from a mountain, it would indeed make a mockery of this competition.
