"Hmm, the old man indeed has some skills, made me think hard!" Pei Yan responded, his gaze sweeping towards Radu in the center of the field, whose expression was now filled with terror, unlike the arrogance he initially displayed. His clothes were tattered, his hair disheveled, and the twisted deformity of his slightly trembling left leg seemed to be from external force impact. The fighting styles of Xia Yu and Zheng Jia Ru were rather ruthless, making it hard to tell whose handiwork it was, while his left sleeve was torn, with crimson blood dripping steadily onto the ground.

Having roughly understood the situation on site, with Radu being caught in a trap and of no concern, Pei Yan then turned his attention to the Immortal Palace Law Enforcement Team in charge of the capture at the periphery. Although the entrapment plan was devised by the Investigation Hall, this was ultimately the territory of the Immortal Palace in the Daoist Realm, the proper respect was still necessary.

"I wonder which Fellow Daoist from the Immortal Palace is leading the team, may I come forward to speak?" Pei Yan made a bow to the crowd courteously.

"Elder Pei is too kind, I am Shen Mengyan, a disciple under Feng Tianhe of the Mo Sect, and I pay my respects to you!" One person stepped out from the crowd and respectfully bowed deeply to Pei Yan.

"Oh! So you are a disciple under Elder Feng, then we are not strangers! I see Fellow Daoist Shen and I are of similar age. I presume you are older since we are peers, wouldn’t it be better if I called you Brother Shen?"

When Pei Yan hurriedly left the competition arena, the news of the Blood Demon Race launching simultaneous attacks also reached Lin Ruxue’s ears at the scene. Publicly launching such attacks at such a grand event was akin to embarrassing the Immortal Palace in front of the entire world. Candle Dragon had already taken his own people away first; Lin Ruxue couldn’t hold him accountable, so she vented her anger at Magic Realm Supreme K and the Immortal Palace’s subordinates responsible for overseeing city security.

How Lin Ruxue and K, both Spirit Lords and Supremes, argued and compromised was not something the lower members of the Immortal Palace could oversee. What they could manage was capturing this group to quell their Spirit Lord’s wrath.

Today, by misfortune, it fell to the Mo Sect’s disciples to guard the city. Tian Feiming, who had just received the Spirit Lord’s approval in the private room, hadn’t been happy for long before the sudden news frightened him to the bone after hearing the subordinate’s report.

After thinking for a while, he refused the proposal from the sect elders to personally go out and capture the spies, instead naming Shen Mengyan, a disciple under Feng Tianhe who hadn’t yet stepped into the Asura Dao and only possessed a seventh-tier cultivation, to lead the team in executing the task.

"Sect Leader Senior Brother, uh, although Mengyan is reliable, his realm is somewhat lacking. Daring to cause trouble within our Immortal Palace’s jurisdiction at this moment means they are not ordinary hands. Sending him might be too much..." Feng Tianhe didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone understood that this disciple might not be able to handle it.

"Junior Brother, don’t you understand? This is a trap set by the Investigation Hall; they’re here for the Hall!" Tian Feiming gestured towards the direction of the Investigation Hall’s observation seats: "Look, despite having such a major incident at their own base, they’re still calmly seated as if nothing happened! Pei Yan could retreat one against three on the arena with ease and courage; with him out there, is there anything left to fear? Sending someone of higher rank than him will not only be humiliating for our people but also he wouldn’t accept it! It would be better to send a solid and reliable disciple whose realm is slightly below his. It will make communication easier."

"Senior Brother’s insight!" Feng Tianhe was suddenly enlightened and heartily convinced.

"Tell Mengyan, when you meet Pei Yan, remember to be vigilant and courteous, do not be rude and abrupt, but offer the disciple’s respect! And he need not do much; just maintain the peripheral alert and evacuate the civilians from the battle area to prevent the fighting from spreading too widely. Currently, the Investigation Hall and that Pei Yan are favored by the Spirit Lord and cannot be offended. As long as they don’t make too much fuss, you can turn a blind eye. If there are captives, remember to request to participate in the interrogation afterward." Tian Feiming, thinking it over, added a few more meticulous instructions.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother, I will arrange it right away!"

Tian Feiming instructed his junior brother once, but to Feng Tianhe, it was akin to reminding a disciple ten times. Always methodical, Shen Mengyan followed his master’s words obediently, and concerning offering disciple’s respect to Pei Yan, he didn’t have much psychological resistance. The reason being none other than the fact Pei Yan was no longer the unknown newcomer in the Daoist Realm; this swordplay competition, especially the final battle, had undoubtedly made Pei Yan one of the foremost figures among the young generation in several realms for cultivators—which showed respect to a strong person is never a disgrace.

Nonetheless, Pei Yan’s unexpectedly amicable demeanor, which was contrary to his rumored arrogance, and his friendly statement still made Shen Mengyan nervous. He wouldn’t really call him brother just because of Pei Yan’s words. Remembering his master’s advice, Shen Mengyan bowed once more and respectfully said: "Elder Pei is joking, on various planes we never judge age superiority, the knowledgeable rise to the top, Elder now into Asura Realm is the leader among that realm, it’s only natural for juniors to respectfully call you elder."

Being called an elder by someone whose age he couldn’t discern, Pei Yan sighed; declining further would seem insincere, so he accepted, nodded, and pointed to Radu saying: "And this person?"

"My master has said, those scoundrels dare to offend the Investigation Hall’s station, truly reckless and deserving of death. Immortal Palace should step forward to capture them, but my master knows Elder Pei dislikes others interfering with his affairs, so specifically ordered the disciples to adhere to Elder’s wishes. If Elder insists on personally handling it, we must not intervene, just maintain the outside alert. However, if Elder catches live captives, hope Immortal Palace can partake in questioning so a report can be submitted to the Spirit Lord." Shen Mengyan concluded his statement, with Pei Yan deeply satisfied and expressed his thanks: "Elder Feng has a kind heart, I ask Brother Shen, uh, Fellow Daoist Shen to convey to your master, Pei Yan preemptively thanks him here. If the chance arises, I shall visit in person to express gratitude for grooming previously."

After some pleasantries between the two, Pei Yan finally focused his gaze back on Radu. At this moment, Pei Yan along with Xia Yu and Zheng Jia Ru had formed a triangle formation encircling him. Facing Radu’s anxious and uneasy eyes, Pei Yan scoffed: "We’ve talked long enough; by now your body should’ve almost recovered. Stop pretending to be pitiful in front of me! I’ll neither become complacent nor show leniency; save your energy!"

Determining Pei Yan’s words weren’t deceptions, Radu’s gaze gradually turned cold and venomous, his twisted and trembling injured leg stopped shaking, and amidst a sound of joint twisting, it was realigned.

"How is Depeo?"