When someone from the Magic Realm reluctantly took the stage to declare their forfeit, the Investigation Hall won the match, having secured two consecutive victories against the Magic Realm. Then, under the summons of the Immortal Palace, Gu Shenghui stepped onto the platform.

This time he went up not to compete but to draw lots against Xuesha, the winner of the match against the Spirit Monster Plane. According to the rules, whoever draws the white ball will confront the Daoist Realm next, while the team that draws the red ball will directly advance to the finals for the ultimate showdown with the winning team of the aforementioned two.

Pei Yan did not accompany Gu Shenghui onto the stage this time. Firstly, his health was deteriorating, and secondly, he felt that his luck was always lacking when it came to drawing lots. Pei Yan closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and silently waited for the drawing results.

As cheers erupted around him, a relieved smile appeared on Pei Yan's lips. He opened his eyes to look at the platform, where Gu Shenghui was waving the red ball at him. Finally, good fortune had favored the Investigation Hall.

Breathing a sigh of relief at this outcome, Pei Yan realized they wouldn't have to face off against the Daoist Realm. Meanwhile, the Daoist Realm also felt relieved for the same reason. The Immortal Palace contestants, having been blessed with continuous good fortune to advance, had become the subject of private jokes. Preventing Xuesha from entering the finals and instead facing the Investigation Hall for the championship meant that the top two rewards would fall into their own hands, bringing this tournament to a satisfactory conclusion.

With the drawing results concluded, the Immortal Palace host announced the details of the next match. Due to the consecutive matches and despite the restorative healing functions of the Immortal Palace's platform, the two victorious teams had suffered in terms of mental state. For the sake of fairness, allowing each participating team ample rest, the originally scheduled seven-day interval between matches was extended to fifteen days. The next match between the Immortal Palace and Xuesha would take place in half a month.

Once the match time was announced, the day's preliminary rounds came to a temporary end. The teams from various planes departed in an orderly fashion under the guidance of the Immortal Palace Steward. The Investigation Hall chose to leave last; with so many adversaries, especially excluding the Xuesha team, they truly feared a chance encounter with the Magic Realm, who might lose their temper and attempt a confrontation.

Luckily, such an encounter did not occur. As the last team to exit the competition arena, the Investigation Hall escorted Moira back to the Yirong Pavilion. Upon returning to their base, Pei Yan did not even consider interrogating Moira but refused Elder Lin's request to examine him. He went straight into his room, collapsed onto the soft bed, and pressed a pillow against his nose and mouth to stifle any cries of pain.

K had indeed kept his promise to Lin Junzhao; he hadn't left Pei Yan with any serious aftereffects that would prevent him from participating in the upcoming match. However, he did manage to make Pei Yan's life unbearable. The restriction K left within Pei Yan would recreate the intense pain endured on the platform, repeating intermittently over the next three days.

Lin Junzhao could have relieved it, but K's cruelty lay precisely in this. If forcibly removed, the restriction would leave residual poison within Pei Yan, reducing the pain but prolonging its duration. At that point, one couldn't blame K for irresponsibility, as forcibly removing it would be the individual's own choice, and K would not be held accountable.

Weighing the pros and cons, to prevent this power from becoming a liability in future matches, Pei Yan chose to endure this round of torment over the three days.

It proved that pain could be adapted to. Having long been subjected to numerous torments, Pei Yan, enduring the bone-crushing pain each time, had developed a pain tolerance far exceeding that of the average person.

While he could endure, that didn't mean he wasn't angry. Each bout of excruciating pain deepened his hatred for K, eventually leading him to a breaking point in the Magic Realm not far into the future. He single-handedly turned the Magic Realm upside down and caused K significant losses. Had K been able to foresee the future, one wonders if he would regret his actions on the platform that day.

Regrettably, even the sovereign entity of a plane, while possessing unparalleled power and rights within it, is limited by the Heavenly Dao's constraints in predicting their future. Indeed, in any plane, predictive and divination abilities are uniquely powerful. It's why Former Minister Cen of the Investigation Hall, though not in the top tier of combat prowess, is so valued and courted by the top powers of several major planes.

Pei Yan wouldn't learn of these matters for quite some time. For now, he had to endure this pain alone amid anger and hatred, until it finally ended three days later.

When Pei Yan appeared before everyone again, he was barely recognizable, having been tormented by pain. Seeing the tears of empathy in his sister's and Zhao Yuanhu's eyes, and the tightly clenched fists of his comrades upon learning the truth, Pei Yan appeared rather carefree, waving his hand to comfort, "I'm fine, this pain is just like exercising my muscles."

"Enough, stop pretending! You think we didn't hear your cries just because you muffled them with a pillow? Everyone heard your struggles loud and clear; we knew you were stubborn, so no one dared to enter," Wang Wenze said, placing a bowl of noodles filled with meat sauce in front of Pei Yan and continuing sternly, "Pei Yan, I know my capabilities are limited and I might not be much help in future battles, but remember, we are brothers. If one day you seek retribution against the Magic Realm for today, let me know, or we're not true friends."

"Count us in," Zheng Jia Ru and Jiang Donghu said in unison, glancing at each other with a chuckle. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Beat them, I've long found those folks irritating. I've been waiting through round after round of competition without getting a turn, I'm bored out of my mind," Jiang Feiyang egged on, unfazed by the prospect of trouble.

For a moment, the hall was filled with supporters, only Gu Shenghui and Ye Ruozai remained silent, but Pei Yan knew if that day came, they wouldn't sit idly by.

"Have some noodles," Zhao Yuanhu, usually just as silent, patted Pei Yan's shoulder gently amid the discussions around him.

"Mm!"

Having starved for three days, Pei Yan, disregarding his sister's advice to eat slowly and sparingly, devoured five bowls of noodles in one go, satisfied as he patted his almost bursting stomach, and slumped into his chair, belching with contentment.

"Mom would surely scold you if she were here. How could you not eat for so long and then eat so much at once?" Pei Jin shook her head, smiling wryly at Pei Yan, who finally regained some vitality after the meal.