"Pei Yan, you!" Flamel saw Pei Yan's indifferent attitude towards him and couldn't help but step forward in anger to confront him, only to be blocked by a figure.
Looking at this person, Flamel didn't recognize him at first. After sizing him up for a moment, he suddenly realized and couldn't help but sneer, "So it's you! Is your Foundation Plane really out of people to send? To actually send you to endure such torture, I thought your spirit would have collapsed long ago!"
"Get back!" Facing Flamel's mockery, Ye Ruozai placed his hand lightly on the sword hilt and said coldly.
"Ignorant..."
Before Flamel could finish his words, Pei Yan's voice interrupted, "Old Ye, why bother with him? A defeated opponent can only vent their frustrations verbally."
"What did you say?" Flamel said, enraged and embarrassed.
"Can't understand human language? Or do you think the language of your Magic Realm isn't human language?" Pei Yan's contemptuous gaze swept over Flamel as he said calmly, "Stop baring your fangs here, come at me if you dare! If you don't, go sulk over there, you'll have a chance to fight when our match comes."
"Fine! Fine! We'll meet on the stage then, and I'll make you regret your actions!" Flamel shouted, pointing at Pei Yan with the black orb in his hand.
"Enough of that, you've threatened me so many times since we met, and I haven't regretted it. But you..." Pei Yan scratched his neck, imitating Flamel's previous frantic appearance in the team competition, screaming, "Ah! Ah! Ah! You were quite lively, weren't you!"
Their quarrel had long attracted the attention of those around them, and when Pei Yan imitated Flamel's screaming, many who had witnessed the event couldn't help but laugh out loud. If not for Flamel's two teammates holding him back, a duel might have immediately erupted between the two.
Ignoring Flamel, who was gritting his teeth in anger beside him, Pei Yan turned his gaze toward the other teams, and upon discovering Nero, who was gesturing with a white ball, he showed a regretful expression. Pei Yan breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that his opponents hadn't won an advantage. He then turned to look at the remaining two teams, resulting in the Spirit Monster Plane drawing the white ball, while the Daoist Realm drew the red ball that symbolized a lucky bye.
When Lin Daozi held the red ball, the atmosphere in the circular building relaxed, and the Daoist sects rejoiced in their luck. However, Lin Daozi, who held the red ball, was not so pleased, frowning at the result in front of him.
For fairness, the balls were specially crafted, with no obvious differences other than color, and in that chaotic space, all external magic was blocked, so grabbing a ball relied entirely on luck. Everyone present understood this, so there were no objections. However, the unexpected easy victory in the team competition and today's lucky draw outcome inevitably led outside spectators to question the fairness of the host, the Immortal Palace.
But I really didn't cheat! Lin Daozi looked at the red ball in his hand, shook his head helplessly, and smiled wryly.
Once the match order was decided, the other contestants had no reason to stay on stage. As they headed down to give space to the first match's contestants, the Investigation Hall team didn't descend but instead walked slowly toward the Bloodshed team, making the atmosphere tense. The two teams that had walked to the edge of the stage couldn't help but stop and turn back to watch the situation develop.
"Fellow Daoist Gu, your match is next! Please leave the stage now. If there are any grievances between you, please resolve them elsewhere after the match!" The Immortal Palace host intervened to mediate between the two teams, seeing the Investigation Hall's menacing appearance.
"No problem, we just need to use your excellent venue to resolve a small issue quickly! It won't take long!" Pei Yan spoke as he stepped forward to respond, then looked toward the Spirit Monster Plane's team, calling out to their leader, Saraf, "Hey, you'll give me this favor, right?"
"I don't care!" Saraf, who had been saved by Pei Yan before, suppressed his previous hostility and pointed toward Nero in the team, saying, "If there's going to be a conflict between you, it doesn't matter to me, but you must leave that man to me! He is destined to die by my hand today!"
"He's yours! He's yours!" Pei Yan nodded readily, then turned to Nero.
Nero shrugged with an indifferent expression. Seeing this, the Immortal Palace host turned back towards the circular building, and after receiving an instruction from someone inside, looked relieved and addressed the two teams, "A competition is a competition, set by the Lord of the Six Major Planes. I hope you will abide by and respect this rule. Say what you must quickly, and let there be no conflict between team members!"
"Thank you!" Pei Yan slightly bowed to the Immortal Palace host to express his gratitude, then turned to Nero and promptly got to the point, "I heard you captured our Investigation Hall members!"
"Oh? Did that happen?" Nero feigned surprise, but when he saw Pei Yan's gaze begin to change, he quickly grinned and said, "Sorry, dealing with your Foundation Plane isn't my responsibility, but I can help you ask!"
Saying that, he theatrically called toward the stage behind him, "Long Si, come up and meet your old friend!"
As Shitang Longsi leaped onto the stage, Xia Yu, Zheng Jia Ru, and Pei Jin from the Investigation Hall also jumped up after him. Seeing this, the Bloodshed team didn't back down, including Mu Fanchen, with three more joining.
As the conflict was about to erupt, Gu Shenghui and Nero gestured to their teams to remain calm. After they stood off for a moment, Nero turned his head to ask Shitang Longsi, standing behind him, "Your old friend is asking me, did our people capture their Investigation Hall members?"
"Ah! Just caught a few small fries, are there any acquaintances of Mr. Pei here?" Shitang Longsi responded to Nero's question, then squeezed to the front and greeted Pei Yan, asking in a respectful tone.
"Cut the crap and release the people! Also, return the bodies you took!" Pei Yan, disregarding the courtesies, lowered his voice and shouted.
"Mr. Pei Yan, you don't really think that after this match, the major planes will make peace, do you? If I remember correctly, we are still at war with the Hell Plane, and as allies of the Demon Race, the Investigation Hall is naturally also a target. You say you want them back, but our relationship doesn't seem to be close enough for that, does it?" Hearing Pei Yan's demand, Shitang Longsi sneered and couldn't help but mock.
