The repeated scolding from the two Mechanical Masters of the major planes did not intimidate the Alchemist from the Hell Plane. Instead, it sparked his competitiveness and prompted him to join the contest over the "advertising space" on Pei Yan’s body.

The three groups argued fiercely, while Pei Yan, the main character in this affair, became an irrelevant figure, standing idly by and half-understandingly eavesdropping on their heated debate.

The three factions debated this issue for nearly a whole day until Engineer Li, finding Pei Yan drowsy in the corner, nudged him awake, at which point a resolution was reached.

"Pei Yan, they’ve decided to inscribe the unique defensive arrays of the three major planes on your body simultaneously," Engineer Li, who wasn’t too familiar with the structure of Mechanical Technique, said excitedly to Pei Yan after listening intently to the entire debate.

"Oh!" Seeing Engineer Li’s excitement, Pei Yan rubbed his sleepy eyes and snapped out of his semi-awake state, standing up happily and saying, "Is the transformation about to begin?"

"No, I’m just here to inform you. To perfectly merge and interlink the defensive arrays of the three planes, ensuring no conflicts while allowing them to operate normally and complement each other with doubled power, is a new challenge for them. So, after finalizing this new plan, the three parties devoted their efforts to the scheme of engraving new arrays on your body surface. Now they need you to get up so they can precisely measure your body to make the best use of every inch of it."

After hearing Engineer Li’s explanation, Pei Yan didn’t say much but walked back to the center of the arena. There, Feng Tianhe and others led their disciples, conducting a thorough inspection and recording of Pei Yan’s entire body. They also documented his normal physical state after demilitarization and asked a series of questions, such as the maximum and minimum height changes Pei Yan could accept post-mechanization and what his most comfortable combat state was.

Pei Yan was aware of the risk of exposing his secrets publicly, which might be the reason why Lin Ruxue and other major planes willingly sent people to transform him. However, as the saying goes, ’If you doubt someone, don’t employ them; if you employ someone, don’t doubt them.’ Pei Yan had long ceased hoping for help without some trade-off. He wouldn’t dare accept it if it came without strings attached.

Therefore, he didn’t avoid or hide anything in this interrogation but frankly answered all questions. After acquiring the data they wanted, this group of people, once again, cast Pei Yan aside and gathered to start new research.

This time, the research took longer than Pei Yan had anticipated. Bored and standing aside, he watched as the three groups drew sheets of drafted illustrations, discarding and drawing again but still dissatisfied. The three groups couldn’t agree on certain issues, and on one side, Engineer Li and the equipment department comrades deemed these rejected drafts as treasures, marking and carefully storing each one.

The debate continued for four days. During this period, Feng Tianhe from the Daoist Realm had to send someone out of the time-space to notify Lin Ruxue outside to apply for adjusting the time flow rate inside the sundial. The initially anticipated three-month transformation time now seemed far from enough. Fortunately, the maximum limit of the sundial Divine Artifact was one year, leaving room to extend the time. After extending it to half a year, the speed of absorbing vital energy within the space dropped to nearly negligible.

After countless disputes and modifications over the four days, the three parties in their continuous struggle for balance finally devised a plan to perfectly integrate the arrays unique to all three planes.

Even the mature and composed Feng Tianhe couldn’t help feeling a bit excited. The matter of Pei Yan was a chance, an opportunity to break through the barriers of magic research between the planes for all the Mechanical Alchemists present. All parties benefited greatly from this debate. Feng Tianhe even felt the bottleneck in Mechanical Technique, which had stalled him for years, showing hints of breakthrough at last.

"Can we start?" Feng Tianhe walked up to Pei Yan, suppressing his inner joy, and asked.

"At any time, I’ve been waiting! Is there anything you need me to do?" Pei Yan, who finally welcomed the transformation, eagerly responded.

"We’ve created a two-layer plan for you. We’ve noticed that your physical height actually increases after your transformation. After our research, the arrays engraved on your regular body surface and those re-engraved on your body post-mechanization will not conflict. Therefore, we will engrave arrays on both states of your body. This way, when you mechanize, the two layers of arrays will perfectly stack and exert their mighty effects."

"But I’ve heard that arrays can only be engraved on equipment, and the normal human body can’t withstand their power?" Pei Yan recalled what Yao Xuefang had said during the initial array engraving and asked in puzzlement.

"Do you think your body is in a normal human state now? Even in your regular state, your body has undergone several bloodline transformations, right? Rest assured, with the arrays engraved on you in your regular state, we will choose dyes that are less irritating. Your body will definitely be able to endure it."

After hearing Feng Tianhe’s explanation, Pei Yan nodded, demilitarized his state, and, while flexing his shoulders, waved to the disciples preparing for engraving, saying, "Then let’s begin."

"Uh, you need to be prepared, this process will... "

Before Feng Tianhe finished speaking, Pei Yan interrupted with a slight smile and a nonchalant expression, "Be painful, right? I’ve been through it once before, I know. No need to say, I can handle it!" After saying this, he joked, "This should be the last time, right? I don’t want to undergo another transformation after reaching Tier Nine Awakening; that would be too much trouble for my body."

"Rest assured, this will definitely be the last time. We’re inscribing the highest level defensive arrays of the three planes on you. I know you’re already strong, capable of contending with an ordinary Tier Nine Cultivator at Tier Seven, but even so, the array set we’ve designed goes beyond your current abilities—not tied to strength but transcendence of ranks! For now, you can only harness a fraction of its power. Only when you break through to Tier Nine Awakening can you fully activate it." The Alchemist Azola from the Magic Realm explained with a proud and lofty demeanor.

"That’s for the best, then let’s go!" Satisfied with what he heard, Pei Yan took off his shirt, sat on the platform, spread his arms, and said straightforwardly.

"Take off your pants as well."

"Huh?" Feng Tianhe’s words left Pei Yan stunned. During the last array inscription, he didn’t take off his pants! He asked puzzledly, "Do I have to take off my pants too?"

"Of course! We must ensure the array covers your entire body with no dead angles. Having a defensive array only on the upper body and not on the lower body doesn’t make sense, does it?" Feng Tianhe explained matter-of-factly.