Hearing the shouts, Wan Lei and the other ten looked up. When they saw the familiar faces before them, they all chuckled.
"Are you back from a mission? Why are there only these few left? I remember there were still forty to fifty people when you last escaped?" Wan Lei asked loudly.
The disciples of the Five Element Hall finally understood. They had always known that Wan Lei had led a team that killed over fifty Fire Hall disciples in the Molten Death Domain. This had caused them to fall out with the Fire Hall disciples within the Five Element Hall, and they had been targeted by the Fire Hall Master ever since.
If it hadn't been for the Water Hall disciples provoking Wan Lei so fiercely, preventing the Fire Hall disciples from getting involved, the main force attacking Wan Lei would undoubtedly have been the Fire Hall disciples.
But what they didn't know was that among the team Wan Lei led, there were four sons of Immortal Venerables!
Now it was easy to understand. No wonder a hundred Fire Hall disciples couldn't defeat them. Wan Lei alone was enough to handle them, and with the even stronger Fang Xiaoyu and the four sons of Immortal Venerables, who could afford to provoke such a team?
The leading Fire Hall disciple cursed loudly,
"How dare you ask? If you hadn't killed Senior Brother Chai Yan, Senior Sister Ling Yin, and dozens of our fellow disciples back then, how could we have been chased by the Molten Giant and lost so many people? How could we have been forced to flee in desperation when facing the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, and lost another group of fellow disciples? Do you know what we've been through this past year?"
"Oh, that's a pity."
Wan Lei expressed his sympathy.
Hearing this, the dozen or so Fire Hall disciples became even more enraged.
These ten scoundrels before them were too arrogant. They had killed so many of their fellow disciples, and yet they dared to come for the Five Element Hall assessment. When questioned, they merely nodded indifferently, showing no fear or guilt. Did they really think the great army of the Five Element Hall was just for show?
"Fellow disciples, what are you waiting for? These are the scoundrels who killed our fellow disciples," the Fire Hall disciple shouted loudly, only to find that the surrounding good brothers were all looking at them with sympathetic gazes as if they were fools.
"It was the same when I came last time. I was blocked by Fire Hall disciples in the third round," Wan Lei whispered to the four little ones, suppressing a laugh.
"Just wait. If they still cause trouble, watch how I deal with them!" Xia Yu Bing's eyebrows shot up excitedly, eager to try.
Although he couldn't fight, when it came to arguing, he hadn't lost to anyone except Han Xiaoyun.
The ten of them wore identical expressions, all sneering as they watched the agitated Fire Hall disciples, waiting for the show to unfold.
The dozen or so people finally sensed that something was wrong. None of the people around them surged forward to capture Wan Lei and the others as they had expected; instead, they were all looking at them strangely.
"What's wrong with all of you? What we're saying is true, it really was them who killed them, all of them. Not a single one is missing!"
A burst of hearty laughter erupted from the silent crowd.
This laughter made the Fire Hall disciples feel like clowns.
"I say, brother," a Wood Hall disciple walked out, smiling at them,
"Let me introduce you. See that tallest youth? That's Wan Lei. You know him; he has Origin-grade aptitude, and his assessment score has broken all records of the Five Element Hall. He is the strongest Hall Son of our Five Element Hall, the formidable existence who defeated Jian Fanchen. He is also the leader of this team. That beauty is Fang Xiaoyu, whose assessment score is even higher than Wan Lei's, and she also has Origin-grade aptitude. Those four children are the sons of Immortal Venerables, here to participate in the assessment. Do you have any other questions?"
Upon hearing this, the dozen or so Fire Hall disciples were instantly shocked and dumbfounded.
They had just been shouting to have the strongest Hall Son and the sons of Immortal Venerables arrested? What on earth was this? This wasn't right!
Although they couldn't immediately recall what was wrong, they felt that something was definitely not right.
"See? Isn't it satisfying? Last time I slapped them in the face, it felt even better than this," Wan Lei whispered.
"I understand the logic, but why are you the team leader?" Xia Yu Bing raised a question.
"Otherwise?" Wan Lei was surprised. "Shouldn't I be the leader?"
"No, we went out for a trip and decided to give ourselves a leader? On what grounds? Because you can beat us?"
"How could I not beat you... that's not the point. Look at our team, if we have to choose a captain, shouldn't it be someone who can command respect? I have rich experience and have forged my path through my own efforts. My wife Xiaoyu naturally listens to me. The three Fire Phoenixes will definitely follow my lead. Dāda's intelligence is insufficient to be captain, and you four are too young and inexperienced. So, the captain must be me!"
"I object!" Four voices immediately objected. They were Xia Yu Bing, Wan Qianxin, Han Xiaoyun, and Bao Bao.
Yes, only those four little brats.
"Then how about this, we'll vote. That's fair, right?"
"Agreed."
"Raise your hand if you choose Xia Yu Bing as captain."
Only Xia Yu Bing raised his hand.
"Raise your hand if you choose Han Xiaoyun as captain."
Only Han Xiaoyun raised his hand.
"Raise your hand if you choose Wan Qianxin."
Wan Qianxin raised his hand, and then with his right hand, he grabbed Bao Bao's small hand and raised it.
"Raise your hand if you choose Bao Bao."
Not a single one, not even Bao Bao himself thought he was suitable to be captain. As the group's darling, he only needed to be cute.
"Raise your hand if you choose Wan Lei as captain."
Whoosh...
Five people immediately raised their hands. Wan Lei glared at Dāda again. Dāda hesitated for a long time, then slowly raised his hand.
"Although you called me stupid, it's the truth. I also think you're more suitable to be captain. Of course, only relatively suitable. It's like picking a general from a crowd of dwarves; there are only a few of us, and each one is more unreliable than the last..."
"Dāda, how did you manage to grow this big healthily?" Wan Qianxin's face was ashen, and the others also glared at him.
"You massacred your fellow disciples, and you should be arrested too!" The Fire Hall disciples in the distance shouted again.
The election was interrupted, and everyone turned their attention back to those people.
"When did we massacre our fellow disciples?" Xia Yu Bing, who was full of pent-up anger, flew up and pointed at these people, demanding.
"Are you daring to say that those fellow disciples were not killed by you?"
"We killed them, but at that time we were just rogue cultivators, not Five Element Hall disciples yet. We are still not even now. So what? Do you think rogue cultivators are easy to bully? The Molten Death Domain is an lawless territory; anyone can kill each other. It's not illegal. What, do you want me to repeat what Wan Lei said here half a year ago? A hundred people fought ten people, and in the end, they still lost. How dare you say that? Bah, disgusting. How embarrassing. Don't tell people you're disciples of the Five Element Hall in the future, or I'll be ashamed by association!"