Otherworldly Affairs Office-Chapter 852: Aftermath of the Tournament (Part 2)
After hearing Gu Shenghui's words, Pei Yan nodded to show his understanding, then lazily slumped into the armchair and said with a smile, "I didn't expect it would take half a year to rearrange the venue. This indeed gives us a break."
"A break for us? It's more like a break for the Magic Realm." Gu Shenghui said, then pulled out a betel nut and put it in his mouth to chew. Faced with Pei Yan's confusion, he explained, "Reorganizing the venue is just one factor to extend the waiting time. The real reason is that you guys have completely wiped out the Magic Realm team's efforts, leaving them empty-handed. The Spirit Monster Plane and Hell Plane also suffered varying degrees of losses. On the other hand, not a single elite from the Daoist Plane was harmed. Do you think it's fair to start the individual competition immediately under these circumstances?"
Pei Yan looked at himself and then at the small group of injured soldiers, shook his head, and smiled bitterly, "Indeed, it's not fair!"
"Yes, so with the joint proposal of the Origin Bodies from several major planes, the timeline for this individual competition has been postponed by more than half a year. The Daoist Realm is also happy with this proposal, as it not only avoids public anger but also allows them to digest the prizes won in the competition."
"Prizes, have we received our prizes?" Upon hearing this news, Pei Yan immediately became spirited, his laziness vanished as he straightened up and excitedly asked.
"Yes, we've got it! On the same day the competition ended, the Immortal Palace personally delivered the prizes to us. As for the distribution of prizes, although Lin Junzhao had already made an allocation, the hall's idea is still to follow your wishes. If you have any requests, the hall will try to satisfy them." Gu Shenghui said, then spat out the betel nut from his mouth, and with a sincere attitude, looked at Pei Yan as he placed his hands on the round table.
"I have no particular wish. Absorbing more of this stuff won't make me any stronger. My Old Sister and I have both reached the level of having a complete set of the six-plane Origin Seeds, so we don't need it. Cultivating more origin warriors for the hall is the best choice to improve overall strength. I have no personal opinion on this." Pei Yan shrugged dismissively, having already prepared his heart for this. He never planned to take any prize in this team competition. Moreover, through this competition, he realized more clearly that to stand undefeated in this dangerous world full of powerful cultivators and to protect his family and friends from harm, relying solely on himself is not enough!
Take the Magic Realm team, for example. Without the assistance of the three like Ye Ruozai, without the presence of Lin Junzhao, even if my sister Pei Jin and I had sky-high skills, at best, we'd bring most of the opponents down with us in an encirclement.
Aside from making him more aware of his inadequacies, this battle brought another gain: recognizing the importance of companions. A team entirely composed of Children of Origin would surely never be left powerless against even the strongest opponents.
Seeing Pei Yan's statement, Gu Shenghui's tense expression also relaxed, and he chuckled lightly, "Then it's simple. Four sets of six-plane Origin Seeds, according to Lin Junzhao's allocation, three are directly given to the three players who participated in this competition, Ye Ruozai, Xia Yu, and Zheng Jia Ru. The hall has also approved this decision, and now that you've agreed, it can be finalized. Once Zheng Jia Ru wakes up, the work of absorbing the Origin Seeds will be carried out for them."
At this point, Gu Shenghui paused, his face revealing a rare look of embarrassment and guilt. After hesitating for a while, he said, "As for the last set, the hall's original suggestion was to keep it as a backup and distribute it to a suitable talent after assessment. But Lin Junzhao's idea is for me to absorb it. Actually, I am somewhat old already; my suggestion is to use it on younger..."
"Gu Chu, if Lin Junzhao wants you to use it, then use it, no need to be polite with us!" Pei Yan immediately picked up on Gu Shenghui's concern and interrupted with a wave of his hand: "Although Lin Junzhao is a bit unconventional in her ways, she has her reasons. Since she chose you, it must have been after considering various situations. Besides, you aren't that old, you're in your prime! We don't want to take on these responsibilities so early, so you should stay in this position for a few more years. After this major event is over, be kind and give us a long vacation for a year or so, so we can really rest!"
Pei Yan's pleading gesture immediately evoked roaring laughter in the room, easing the embarrassment on Gu Shenghui's face. Assigning this Origin Seed to him was not his own demand but a result of deliberations between the investigation hall's higher-ups and Lin Junzhao. As Pei Yan mentioned, for Elder Lin's generation in the investigation hall, absorbing Origin Seeds holds little meaning, so the next in line are the mid-life backbone figures like Gu Shenghui and Mei Simiao. With the rise of Pei Yan's generation, the balance of combat power in the investigation hall is gradually shifting towards the younger people.
This should have been a good thing, with each generation stronger than the last, but as the higher-ups, they are still not fully assured of the young people's maturity and believe they are not ready to shoulder heavy responsibilities. Therefore, to enhance the current investigation hall leader's authority and standing, boosting Gu Shenghui's capability is a necessary choice, and this is also Lin Junzhao's decision to better support the investigation hall as her backing.
After discussing the allocation of the Origin Seeds, Gu Shenghui hesitantly looked at Pei Yan and said with difficulty, "There's someone who has wanted to meet you ever since your competition ended. Now that you're awake, do you want to see them?"
"Xila, I suppose!" Pei Yan immediately understood who Gu Shenghui was referring to, picked up a piece of fried egg in the dish with chopsticks, and stuffed it into his mouth. After finishing it, he tore at the bread in his hand rather uninterestedly, saying, "Let the hall talk with her, I have nothing to say to her."
"She has been specifically asking to see you." On the side, Pei Jin saw her brother's attitude and intervened, "You should see her! Even if you're dissatisfied, give her a chance to explain!"
Seeing his sister had spoken, Pei Yan frowned slightly. Old Sister rarely got involved in these matters to make decisions for him. Since she spoke, it meant the other party had done a lot of work and proposed conditions that made even his sister feel she was worth meeting. Thinking of this, Pei Yan nodded and casually agreed, "Alright then! I'll see her after I finish my meal!"
In the living room, after Pei Yan finished his meal, he looked at Xila, who sat a bit uneasily across from him. To his surprise, this meeting only included the two of them. Not only did Xila not bring anyone, but even Gu Shenghui had sent everyone else out. As he was leaving the room, he reminded him that regardless of the conditions, the investigation hall would respect Pei Yan's choice, leaving the decisions and leadership to him in the subsequent negotiations.
"I heard you've wanted to meet me for a while. Now that you're here, say what you want to say!" Pei Yan, still confused about the hall's strange attitude, poured Xila a cup of water and got straight to the point.
