"I'm kidding, you idiot. Stop looking at me like that," Du Lian asserted before he burst into laughter. "Your face is worth seeing."

He soon continued, "There needs to be no bet. It was fun to get a reaction out of you. I thought I'd get a reaction out of you when I talked about marriage, but that plan failed. I finally managed to get a reaction," Du Liang explained as his smile brightened.

"What?" Qian Yu seemed confused. She didn't understand what was happening.

"You idiot. You know better than me what kind of person I am," Du Liang answered. "I am a person who only wishes to cultivate and get strong. There is no space in my life for a wife or love interest."

"Huh? Then why did you say it? Are you sick today? Do you need rest? I have a few pills with me if you need," Qian Yu let out with concern as if she was actually serious about his health. 

"Oh ho, you still don't understand! How can you be so clever in some cases and so slow in others?" Du Liang asked as he slapped his forehead. "You should've understood  right when I talked about it that I was joking." 

"You've been looking like a dead person from the moment you came back after fighting that guy. I don't think you would be able to give your best like this. So I thought about doing this to divert your head a little and get you to your normal self," he continued.

"So, did it work?"

"You are something else entirely," Qian Yu let out as she rolled her eyes.  Even though she didn't say it, the smile on her face showed that she was better now. 

"It did," Du Liang alluded as a smile formed on his face. "Of course it would. How can my plan fail? My acting is top-notch as well, after all."

"What do you say, Pei Zen? I was good, wasn't I?" he asked as he looked back at Long Chen.

" Yeah. At Least I didn't expect that you were joking," Long Chen answered. 

"How would I be a good actor if you had known I was acting? I'm talented in many fields, after all. Acting is one of them. I thought it was a well-known fact throughout the continent. Surprisingly you two didn't know about it," Du Liang responded as he shook his head helplessly.

"We're here," The servant disturbed their fun conversation as he chimed in after stopping before a door.

"Oh, we're here already. What are you waiting for? Step aside," Du Liang returned to his usual serious look. It was as if the person he seemed previously was just a mirage or an illusion.

The servant opened the door before he stepped aside to give way to the guests to enter. 

Du Liang took the lead like last time as he stepped inside the place with his head held high. Qian Yu entered after him. Long Chen was the last to enter the place. 

This once again made Qian Yu suspicious. How was Pei Zen walking behind them? This guy was so arrogant. He didn't even like walking behind Du Liang, let alone behind her. He preferred to walk beside Du Liang. Why was he suddenly so tame?

Long Chen was able to read her thoughts as he realized he had made a mistake.

"The Emperor enters last. Don't you feel embarrassed entering first?" he asked the girl with a mocking smile on his face.

"Cheh, so that's what you were thinking. You wanted to make a show. You're such a show-off," Qian Yu let out as she rolled her eyes. "Just to say this line, you walked behind."

Long Chen entered the hall after Qian Yu. 

As he stepped on the sand-filled ground inside the hall, he realized how big this place was. It was huge. How could this place be inside the Palace? It seemed like it was not a hall but a city in itself because of his size.

If one person stood on the other end of this hall, it was going to be impossible to even see him, let alone hear his voice. The place seemed so big.

'Are they using some kind of Space Magic here?' he thought as he frowned. It was the first time he had seen something like this, though. 

He looked at the other two to see if they were also surprised.  Contrary to his expectations, the other two didn't seem surprised at all. 

"It must be normal for them. They're the rulers of their world. The most elite class," he mumbled under his breath as he smiled wryly.

He shifted his attention around the room to see who else was here.

He could see the three princes standing on one side. The Princess also stood with them. A few guards could also be seen standing with them. 

Near them, many people could be seen spread throughout. Fortunately, they didn't choose to stand at the other end of the room. Even though they were standing farther, it was a normal distance between them. 

Many teams of three people could be seen standing with their guardians.

"...14,15,16, 17, 18." Long Chen started counting them. After he finished the count of teams, he realized there were only eighteen teams here. Including his team, there were nineteen teams now. Bing Lui and the others from the Lightning World were also here.

One team was yet to come since there were supposed to be twenty worlds that were taking part. 

Du Liang and the others entered; all the gazes fell on them. Only two teams were yet to come, and those two were the strongest teams. As Du Liang's team was one of those two teams, no one had any doubt how strong they were.

They walked closer to the crowd and stopped while maintaining a safe distance between them.

"Meh, the people of the Dark World are still not here? Those guys are late even today," Du Liang commented as he realized which team was absent. 

The people of the Dark World had certain characteristics. As they were a strong team, he had known about them. He tried to find them amidst the crown only to fail.

"Our men have gone to bring them. They'll be here soon. We can start then," The First Prince of the Esteria Empire answered Du Liang. As he was a host, it was his responsibility to answer queries.

"It's fine. I'll wait for them to come. They're the only team that can give me some entertainment in the battles. I won't let you start without them even if you wished," Du Liang answered as he grinned. 

"Anyway, what's the first stage? Battles? Or something else?" he asked. 

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