"Enough!" Zhou Xin, the Eastern Plague Envoy, cut them off in a deep voice.
"Hmph!" Only then did both sides reluctantly fall silent.
Zhou Xin looked at the Growth Heavenly King. "Then what does Brother Growth suggest?"
The Growth Heavenly King's expression softened somewhat as he smiled. "A martial contest harms harmony, and the timing is hardly appropriate. How about... a civil contest between us?"
"A civil contest?"
The moment those words were spoken, the Five Directional Plague Envoys exchanged glances. Even Lu Chen secretly furrowed his brows, unable to make sense of it.
Yet the Growth Heavenly King's gaze fell upon Lu Chen once more. This time, however, he did not unleash his divine might, and his tone was mild. "May I ask what post this young friend holds in the Plague Department?"
Steadying himself, Lu Chen clasped his hands and replied, "In reply to Your Majesty, the post I hold is that of the Plague-Wielding Young Lord."
—Plague-Wielding Young Lord!
The expressions of the Four Heavenly Kings all turned grave at once.
Just as expected, the former Plague-Wielding Young Lord had been expelled from the Plague Department by the Plague Lord to make room for this young man!
Although the Wide-Eyed Heavenly King had repeatedly claimed earlier that the divine offices of the Plague Department were worthless.
Across the Heavenly Court, however, not a single immortal or god would take such words seriously.
At the very least, the Plague Department was one of the Heavenly Court's Eight Departments.
An orthodox branch of the divine path!
And the Plague-Wielding Young Lord was one of the Plague Department's Five Great Protector Gods, concurrently holding the post of Central Plague Envoy—a true core deity of the Plague Department!
"I never expected that, at such a young age, you would win the