"You say you’re the arbiter, but are you really? Who can prove it?" The speaker was Fen Mo, who somehow pulled out a pink rabbit doll, swinging its ears back and forth as she questioned the man in the black robe.
"Maybe you’re the one who wants to duel with us. Pretending to deceive us," Fen Mo tilted her head and continued.
If anyone else had asked such a question, it might have been seen as provocative, but with Fen Mo’s innocent and naive expression... even though the Wise Sovereign knew she was pretending, he felt it wasn’t appropriate to take it seriously.
"Whether I’m the arbiter or not, ’she’ will naturally prove it."
As soon as the Wise Sovereign finished speaking, the body of the Grey Merchant froze, and he pulled out the previously broken mirror fragment again. Although he didn’t unwrap the package covering the fragment, everyone could still sense a series of spiritual waves emanating from it.
The interpretation derived was exactly what the black-robed man had said — he was indeed the arbiter.
After confirming the identity of the black-robed man, Fen Mo turned her head sideways and muttered under her breath, "Even if you’re the arbiter, what gives you the right to make us accept your test?"
The Wise Sovereign still did not get angry and calmly said, "I indeed have no right to test you. Let’s cancel the test I mentioned."
Hearing the black-robed man stepping back, Fen Mo’s eyes showed a hint of smugness.
But the next second, the words of the Wise Sovereign made Fen Mo’s expression stiffen.
"Even though there is no test, your goal is to duel with them. So find them first," concluded the Wise Sovereign, floating into the air and remaining silent.
Hearing the words of the black-robed man, the Grey Merchant glanced at Fen Mo, sighed lightly, and said nothing.
But the wicked woman bound by the Grey Merchant’s "kite flying" method sneered, "Earlier, there were little rewards for the test, and now there’s nothing. Is this what you wanted?"
Fen Mo’s face flushed red, not daring to refute. Because what the wicked woman said was true, she initially aimed to set a trap for the opponent but ended up being trapped herself.
"Forget it, it’s not Fen Mo’s fault," the Grey Merchant said, gently tugging the bandage on his wrist, "such rewards are usually just words, all promises and no fulfillment. We’ve encountered this many times."
"Now, our internal conflict is providing a spectacle for those hidden. The arbiter is right; finding them should be our priority."
The wicked woman snorted coldly but did not rebut, indirectly acknowledging the words of the Grey Merchant.
Fen Mo let out a long sigh of relief, then grabbed the ear of the rabbit doll and hid behind the Magic Elephant at the back. In retrospect, she felt her self-assurance was quite embarrassing. Now, she just wanted to find a place where no one could see her to calm her embarrassed heart.
The search for hidden individuals didn’t really require the Magic Elephant and Fen Mo’s involvement.
In this search, the main actors were the Grey Merchant, the wicked woman, and the Shepherd.
Their methods were entirely different, but fortunately, they did not interfere with each other.
The Grey Merchant used the ability of the jewel earth dragon to control the rhythm of the earth, monitoring every unusual detail of the ground they were on. Previously, the wicked woman had randomly searched with bandages to no avail but chose to rely on spiritual perception this time.
It’s worth noting that the wicked woman’s spiritual power was exceptionally strong. In Angel’s eyes, if the wicked woman’s spirit tentacles were to manifest, they’d resemble the giant tentacles of a deep-sea octopus, continuously exploring the surrounding space.
As for the Shepherd, his method of searching was the most interesting. He picked up the flute in his hand, closed his eyes, and played a cheerful and lively tune.
As the tune spread, from the dark depths emerged a drunken-looking group of rats. Hundreds of rats sniffed around, trying to find any abnormal traces.
However, although hundreds of rats sound like a large number, when dispersed, they didn’t seem to be that many. So, the Shepherd played a new melody, which attracted those insects that preferred to hide in the darkness.
Like a mountain or sea of cockroaches, lizards crawling on walls, spiders, and moths flying in the air. Though naturally enemies, under the Shepherd’s influence, they completely abandoned hostility and worked together to find the hidden individuals.
Although the Shepherd was only an apprentice, the commotion he stirred up was actually the largest.
Reactions to the Shepherd’s actions varied among the crowd. The Wise Sovereign raised an eyebrow, surprised by the number of nasty insects hidden in the usually clean-looking hallway, pondering it needed a thorough cleaning sometime.
Dox wondered about the Shepherd’s affiliation with the mysterious side; was he in the sound wave series or the summoning system?
Black Earl offered an answer, "Neither."
The summoning system usually summons from an outside world; if he were in the summoning system, there’d be no need to go through so much trouble, involving so many small animals to search. Many summoned creatures from other worlds have powerful searching abilities.
For the sound wave series, sound waves themselves can act as carriers. But the sound waves emitted by the Shepherd’s flute were carried by spiritual force, influencing the spread of the tunes, not aligning with the sound wave series’ logic.
Regarding the Shepherd’s specific wizard side, Black Earl gave the answer: "Rhythm Apprentice."
Rhythm Wizards aren’t part of the sound wave series; they belong to the elemental side. Moreover, every system within the elemental side has different rhythm wizards. Rhythm wizards of the water system are the strongest due to the tide-like and cyclical nature of water elements, labeled as the "Rhythm of Water."
However, the Shepherd wasn’t a rhythm apprentice of the water system but of the wind system.
As for the reason for determining, it wasn’t due to eyesight but because Speedy clearly indicated that when the Shepherd played a tune, it sensed slight changes in the surrounding wind.
After the Shepherd’s identity and capabilities were broadly exposed, the two apprentices began considering their own means to counter a rhythm apprentice like the Shepherd.
Let’s set aside what the apprentices might devise and return to the "search" in the outside world.
After three minutes, the Grey Merchant, the wicked woman, and the Shepherd had scoured almost every corner but still found no trace.
This led them to start doubting whether this group of people was truly hiding here.
Due to the earlier situation with Fen Mo, they currently dared not question the Wise Sovereign, but the idea began fermenting in their minds.
Meanwhile, observing this scene, the Wise Sovereign’s lips curled slightly.
His purpose had been achieved.
He always found Angel’s so-called "illusionary realm" to be peculiar, but his true body was sitting well in the Nightmare Realm and was reluctant to sense the surroundings. So, he simply let the Grey Merchant and his team investigate.
The investigation confirmed his suspicions; indeed, Angel’s illusionary realm was unusual.
An ordinary illusionary realm, no matter how well hidden, would still leak energy, just a matter of degree.
But Angel’s illusionary realm was set in the center of the field. Normally, a wizard would guide everyone to avoid this area, but Angel did nothing, letting everyone pass over the central area repeatedly, yet they couldn’t find a breakthrough. This basically confirmed the Wise Sovereign’s deduction—
Angel’s illusionary realm should have some spatial properties.
Is this a combination of space and illusion technique?