— Vermilion Bird Province Rest Area —
In the corridor in front of the room leading to the rest area for the Vermilion Bird Province participants, an old man wearing a luxurious red robe woven from spirit silk stood waiting for his disciple to arrive.
"Disciple Wang Gang greets Elder Zhou," the disciple said as he cupped his fists and bowed toward the elder before him.
The elder did not return the greeting. Instead, he scrutinized his disciple coldly. "It is true that I told you to hurry and deliberately lose so that we could proceed with the sect's main mission. But do you not think you should have been more discreet? Even an idiot could tell that the match was thrown deliberately," the elder said irritably.
"I will be more careful next time," the disciple replied calmly.
