I thought I was misremembering the plot but after seeing the comment section, it looks like I was not.
Just a thought: maybe they moved up this filler just so they can wrap up season 3 with the end of the conference sects arc? I noticed that every season was going with 70ish chapters. S3 was now hitting 30ish, only 40 more or less and I don't think that many chapters can be fully about the conference, it would feel like a drag. So yeah, instead of wrapping the season with a filler arc, they might want to wrap it up with a satisfying bam—like how season 1 ended.
Who knows (づ ̄ ³ ̄)づ










I don't know about you, but I dislike the fact that that half-elf girl suddenly has that kinda protag plot armor when she was the one in the wrong here; however childish they made it to be, her intentions was clear to KIDNAP Lion and the Patriach was not wrong if he were to decide to eliminate her—something that could possibly put his grandson in danger.
Now, the elf warriors were on the way to, presumably, saving the girl because her life threatened—Excuse me, she STARTED it first; don't act like she was the victim ffs