Before Ji'an could even attempt to formulate a diplomatic deflection, Elder Qin Changxu stood up.
The Sovereign of the Heartless Dao Peak planted his hands on the table, his silver hair cascading over his shoulders, his jaw tight.
He did not look at Ji'an; he glared directly at Jiu Zui.
"This is inappropriate, even as a Supreme Elder," Elder Qin snapped, his voice a freezing, echoing reprimand. "Your apprentice is a participant in the Official Sect Martial Ranking! To allow a competitor to design the traps and dictate the difficulty of the very tournament he is fighting in is a flagrant conflict of interest! It completely compromises the integrity of the trials!"
It was a perfectly valid, logical, orthodox argument.
But Jiu Zui was not a logical, orthodox man.
The Sovereign of the Drunken Peak let out a loud, barking laugh, leaning back in his chair and propping his booted feet right onto the polished obsidian table, much to the horror of the other elders.
