THERE was a small uproar in the surroundings when they heard what Shen Ji Yun said.

"Hey, did you hear that? He just said 'team mate'."

"I heard. Then that white-haired elf is a new member of Yunyue?"

"Maybe that black-haired gnome as well."

"Are they making a comeback?"

"Who cares about that? Don't you know what they're called now? Fallen champions! They couldn't even be compared to the big teams now."

A lot of players on the Black Lake actually agreed to that comment. It's already more than five years since the first season. A lot of players back then had already forgotten how fierce the first champions fought during the first Arcadia Cup. Then new players increased year by year and the strength of Yunyue was slowly forgotten.

Of course, among the players currently on the Black Lake, there were still some who didn't share the same opinion. One was a male player standing inconspicuously on one corner. He had golden brown hair. His light blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses. He was wearing white all over, from his shirt to his shoes. He looked so impeccably clean that not even a dust could be seen on his clothes.

He was a member of the three-time champions – Celestials. He listened to the talk going on around him and just shook his head. [These idiots who don't know anything.]

Yunyue wasn't called the 'fallen champions' because they're weak. They're only called that because after winning the first season, they retreated behind the limelight. But if only these players used their brains a little, then they would see that none of the remaining three members of Yunyue were weaklings. All of them were in the top ranking players list.

He glanced at the said team, particularly at the white-haired elf and black-haired gnome. It seemed like they finally recruited new members. Did that mean that would finally join in the next season of Arcadia Cup? If that was the case, then their captain would truly be happy. After all, Li Xu Min had been waiting to have a chance to fight with them. Let's just hope that the two new members Yunyue recruited wouldn't bring the level of their team down.

Looked like it wasn't a total waste of his time coming here.

Of course, he wasn't alone with his opinion. The three girls from Sirens thought the same.

In their team, it's no secret how much their captain admired the player YUN. All the members who first joined would be bombarded by all the available information about YUN and how great of a player he was. So no one in their team would ever think of him as a weakling. Much less the team he belonged to.

"Did you hear that Jingyi? Yunyue finally has new members! Are they going to participate in the tournament next year? This is big news! I'll send a message to captain," the female elf said, already planning to open her Status Window.

"No, don't," Zhu Jingyi stopped her team mate. "You know how my sister is. Once she knows that YUN is here, she'll definitely teleport here and cause trouble."

There's a high chance that her sister would just make a fool of herself. It would not only ruin her image, even the reputation of their team would be affected. For some reason, when it came to this YUN person, her sister's IQ seemed to offline. That's why Zhu Jingyi didn't really like YUN.

Xia Li, on the side, was staring brightly at YUN, Noctis, and Alucard. She didn't care at all about Yunyue's possible comeback. She's more interested with the tension she's seeing between the three.

On the other side;

Seeing how Shen Ji Yun completely blocked his brother from that frivolous guy's eyes, Luo Jin felt a bit tangled. He didn't know if he should be glad that he's protecting Luo Yan or be annoyed that he did. Because Luo Jin still couldn't help but feel that Shen Ji Yun had ulterior motives for doing so!

Xu Ru raised one of his brows when he heard the words 'my team mate'. He looked at the player in front of him. From his long dark purple hair with silvery tips, cold beast-like eyes, and the antler shaped horns on his head. If he's not mistaken, this was the captain of Yunyue.

So this guy managed to invite the white-haired elf to join his team much faster than him? But wasn't the captain of Yunyue known for being a big anti-social who didn't like mingling with other people? Wasn't that the reason Yunyue hadn't had new members after two of their original members retired?

He looked at the elf who was almost blocked by YUN's body. "Did you really join their team?"

"Yes," Luo Yan simply answered, peeking a little from Shen Ji Yun's shoulder.

The player named Alucard suddenly held his chest, as if he'd been hit or something. "Ah, I should have invited you to join my team much sooner. Now, I'm just heartbroken. And here I thought after this event, you could formally join my team. Then I'll be graced by your loveliness every time I log in the game. This is truly a tragedy."

[No, the real tragedy here is the words you're spouting in your mouth.] Luo Yan thought as his face was filled by black lines. He just completely hid behind Shen Ji Yun. If he continued looking at this guy, his face might crack. It would be a shame to show such an ugly expression with this pretty face of his.

Shen Ji Yun didn't speak. He didn't even notice that he's already glaring daggers at the guy standing in front of him. He thought his impression of this guy wouldn't plummet any further. But now, it became completely negative. He moved his body and made sure that this guy wouldn't even see a hair of the rabbit standing behind him.

Su Yuqi's indifferent face frowned a little. Surely, this guy didn't always behave like this. If he did, then she could only bow to Qin Rushi for her patience.

Luo Jin couldn't hold it any longer and just kicked the bastard's shin. "My brother is a guy! What are you doing, talking to him in that annoying way?"

Xu Ru felt a sudden pain on his shin. But he immediately controlled his expression and didn't show any of that on his face. He looked down and saw a fuming gnome. He smiled, making his handsome face even more attractive. "Little guy, don't you know that beauty knows no gender?"

Luo Jin was about to attack him again. But Bai Ze quickly stopped him and lifted him up. "Okay, Xiao Jin, that's already enough." Then he turned and looked at Xu Ru. "Xu Ru, don't be too much. Go and look for other players to flirt with, just not our team mate."

Xu Ru glanced at the lion beastkin. "If it isn't Young Master Bai. But let me just make one correction. I'm not flirting with him. If I am, he'll be blushing right now and probably even wanting to join my team." He smiled seductively. "Should I go and try it?"

The air around them suddenly turned cold. As if an air-con had been put to the lowest temperature. The source? Shen Ji Yun, of course.

He looked at Alucard, his beast-like eyes filled with frigid coldness. "Try it."

YUN said it in such a way that if Xu Ru really did, he would break every bones in his body. Xu Ru even felt it. Instead of being afraid, he even smiled. How interesting.

The atmosphere was in a stand still when a number of carriages being pulled by winged horses flew over Black Lake. One by one, they landed. From the leading carriage, a handsome NPC wearing a butler's uniform walked out.

"Distinguished guests, it's time for His Majesty's party. Please, choose a carriage together with your companions and we shall ride to Selene Palace."