"Hahaha, Haige'er, you never thought you'd end up like this!" The Sea Demon Tribe said smugly, looking at Haige'er at his feet, as if he wanted to settle all the grudges he had held for so many years.
Haige'er felt incredibly humiliated being trampled underfoot, but his body was bound tightly by many black rope-like things, making him unable to move.
"Siren, what have you done? How could you possibly have infiltrated this place? Why isn't our protective array activated?" Haige'er said with difficulty.
Haige'er wasn't surprised that the Sea Demon Clan would attack, as the Sea Demon Tribe and the Mermaid Tribe had a long-standing feud, and their attacks were nothing new.
But what truly puzzled Haige'er was why the Mermaid Tribe's protective magic circle hadn't been activated this time. He had followed the original method exactly, so why had it malfunctioned?
"Heh, you're not completely stupid; you know the protective formation is the problem," the Sea Demon Tribe laughed. "When you cast the spell, you didn't even look closely. The core of the formation is gone; how can it possibly work?"
As the Sea Demon Tribe spoke, he took out a bead from his person that continuously emitted a blue light. It was clear that this small bead contained astonishing energy.
Looking at the bead in the Sea Demon Tribe's hand, Haige'er's eyes widened in surprise. "Impossible! I clearly confirmed before that the core was still in the array's eye, how could it be with you!"
"Hahaha, I just said you weren't stupid, how come you're making a mistake again?" the Sea Demon Tribe said. "You've confirmed that the core is still there, but have you confirmed whether that core is real or fake?"
Haige'er exclaimed in surprise, "What did you say? Are you saying it's a fake?"
"That's right, that's it. The real one is in my hands," the Sea Demon Tribe said. "We went to such lengths to catch you off guard, even preparing a fake one for you!"
"This is impossible! Only people of our Mermaid Clan are allowed to enter this temple. How could you have switched it?" Haige'er said in disbelief.
"You're right, only your Mermaid Clan can enter this temple; we sirens have no way to get in," the Sea Demon Tribe laughed. "But solving this problem is quite simple: we just need to find a member of the Mermaid Tribe, won't that solve it?"
"What, what did you say?!" Haige'er's eyes widened. The Sea Demon Tribe's statement only represented one possibility: there was a traitor among the Mermaid Tribe.
"Heh heh, don't you find it incredibly unbelievable? That Mermaid Tribe would actually abandon the honor of her race and join our filthy and ugly Sea Demon Tribe?" the Sea Demon Tribe laughed. "Indeed, normally no mermaid would want to do that."
"But after you meet that great one, after you witness what absolute power truly is, you will realize that all of this is meaningless! Your glory is so superficial and insignificant!"
"I have no interest in this 'adult' or any power you've mentioned!" Haige'er said grimly. "I just want to know who it is that has betrayed the honor of our race and willingly stooped to associate with someone like you!"
"Hehe, don't worry, you'll see him soon!" the Sea Demon Tribe laughed. " Hai Feisi, come in! Let Chieftain Haige'er see who gave us this opportunity!"
As the Sea Demon Tribe finished speaking, a rather handsome merman walked in from outside the temple. However, his face no longer held any of its former glory, but was filled with a humble and obsequious air.
"My lord, what are you saying? I should be thanking you!" Hai Feisi said to the Sea Demon Tribe. "Hehe, if it weren't for your magnanimity in forgiving my past ignorance, how could I have joined you and witnessed the greatness of that lord!"
The Sea Demon Tribe said with satisfaction, "Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. Your awareness is quite good! If you continue like this, we will definitely gain your favor once we achieve the goals set by the Master!"
" Hai Feisi! It was you!" Haige'er exclaimed, heartbroken. "Why, why you! I treated you like my own son, why did you betray the Mermaid Tribe!"
But Hai Feisi seemed to only just notice Haige'er, and said disdainfully, "Hmph, Chief Haige'er, it's not that you're bad to me, it's just that you can't give me what I want!"
"Indeed, I was once jealous of Hai Wei'er's talent, and even thought that I should be the one qualified to go to Sea God Island!" Hai Feisi said. "But now I realize how foolish I was!"
"Compared to that great one, even the Sea God is nothing but a weak and incompetent fool! Such Sea God is not the kind of being I aspire to be! Chief Haige'er, you should quickly abandon that petty sense of glory and join us, the glorious ones!"
Haige'er said with great distress, " Hai Feisi, you've been bewitched by the devil! How dare you blaspheme even the Lord Sea God! This is an unforgivable sin! You should repent now; it's not too late. I will plead with the Lord Sea God to forgive your sins!"
"Hahaha, Chief Haige'er, you old fool and pedantic man, you still believe in the Sea God's nonsense!" Hai Feisi laughed loudly. "Even if he is the Sea God, he's just a relatively powerful being. So what? Once I gain the master's favor, I can become a god too! I can become such a great being! Isn't that much greater than what you're talking about?"
"You've gone mad, Hai Feisi! Do you know what you're saying?" Haige'er said. "How can you do this to your own kind here?"
"Hmph, it seems we can't reach an agreement. What a pity, Chief Haige'er!" Hai Feisi said, seemingly quite regretful. "In that case, although it's a shame, I have no choice but to give up trying to persuade you."
"When I achieve success in the future, you will know that I was right! Then you will also know that the number one genius of the Mermaid Tribe is not some Sea Witch Hai Wei'er, but me! Hai Feisi!"
The Sea Demon Tribe, standing nearby, clapped at the opportune moment and said, "Then I must congratulate you in advance, Hai Feisi. So young and promising, you will surely leave a significant mark on the history of the Mermaid Tribe! Hehe."
"You flatter me, Lord Siren!" Hai Feisi said modestly, though he couldn't hide the pride in his eyes. "Let's hurry up and get on with our plan, lest we cause any unforeseen complications and displease that lord."