Chapter Thirty-Four: Gathering of the Mighty

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In the early morning, a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and filtered through the thin paper windows, casting a gentle shadow on the floor.

At this hour, Ye Zihan—always an early riser—had already changed his clothes, washed, and finished a simple breakfast in his room. He was planning to call on Yan Chen next door and stroll together through the city, taking the opportunity to gather news from various quarters.

As he pushed open his door, he heard a simultaneous creak from the neighboring room. Turning his head, he saw Yan Chen stepping out as well.

The two exchanged a glance and smiled in tacit understanding. Clearly, they shared the same intention: to wander through this City of Ten Directions, to savor the unique charm of Heaven City, and to collect information for the upcoming Gathering of the Five Elements.

Descending the tower and leaving the teahouse, they chose a direction at random and soon blended into the bustling crowds, walking at a leisurely pace.

Along the way, towering buildings rose on either side, each with its own distinctive style. Stalls crowded the streets and alleys, throngs of people haggled, bartered, shouted, and laughed. The place brimmed with vibrant activity, a picture of prosperity and peace.

Ye Zihan observed the lively scenes with great interest. In the past, burdened by the reputation of being a useless good-for-nothing, he had seldom left home and never witnessed such bustling prosperity.

“Zihan, what are your plans for this Gathering of the Five Elements?” Yan Chen asked as they walked. Over the past few days, their acquaintance had grown more familiar, and Yan Chen had even changed the way he addressed Ye Zihan.

Ye Zihan smiled faintly, sensing the layered meaning in Yan Chen’s words. “I’ll do my best and leave the rest to fate.”

“How carefree,” Yan Chen laughed, slinging an arm around Ye Zihan’s shoulders and whispering, “Honestly, the two of us—among our generation—even if we’re not the very best, we’re at least above average. Snatching a spot in the top five shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

Ye Zihan glanced at him, neither agreeing nor denying. “Who can say?”

“Can’t you just play along?” Yan Chen rolled his eyes and patted Ye Zihan’s shoulder. Suddenly, his tone grew sly. “Besides your Moonlight Combo, I refuse to believe you don’t have some secret lifesaving trump card stashed away.”

Ye Zihan looked at Yan Chen and smiled meaningfully, but said nothing.

Seeing Ye Zihan’s calm and inscrutable expression, Yan Chen lost interest in pressing further. He changed the subject. “In years past, the top three of the Gathering of the Five Elements were always swept by the Four Sects and Five Clans. The prizes, provided by them, always ended up back in their own hands.”

“There are many extraordinary talents hidden among the common folk, and not a few with remarkable abilities, but the championship has always gone to the Four Sects and Five Clans—most often to the Night Moon Clan.”

“How about the Ye Clan?” Ye Zihan suddenly asked.

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“The Ye Clan?” Yan Chen was taken aback, then realized Ye Zihan’s surname and asked, “Wait, are you from the Ye Clan?”

“No,” Ye Zihan replied, his voice utterly calm. “A family as illustrious as theirs is far beyond my reach.”

“Oh?” Yan Chen gave him an odd look, detecting something unusual in his tone. But he didn’t press; if the Ye Clan had such a talent, surely he’d have heard of it. He continued, “Of all the clans on the continent, the Ye Clan’s lineage stretches back even farther than the Night Moon Clan, which leads the five great houses. Yet in the past century, the new blood of the Ye Clan has been mediocre at best, lacking any true standouts. Now, they’ve fallen to the bottom among the five.”

“Mediocre,” Ye Zihan silently echoed, a mix of emotions stirring within him. Once, he had been among those mediocrities—indeed, the most unremarkable of them all.

Fortunately, that was beginning to change. Ye Zihan believed that with relentless effort, he would one day cast off that label entirely.

Yan Chen had no idea what Ye Zihan was thinking. He went on, “However, I heard that over a decade ago, the Ye Clan produced a girl of exceptional talent. By the age of ten, she had reached the late stage of the Duality Realm—a true prodigy. She possessed two kinds of elemental source energy and trained in both summoning and sealing arts, drawing the keen attention of all the great powers and receiving the clan’s utmost nurture. Given time, she may well change the Ye Clan’s fortunes and spur its resurgence.”

“Xiaoxue, then.” Hearing Yan Chen speak so highly of his younger sister, Ye Zihan couldn’t help but smile. He wondered how she had grown in all these years.

“And not only that,” Yan Chen leaned in, teasing, “the girl is still young, but already has an ethereal beauty—a real budding flower.”

Ye Zihan chuckled. “What, are you interested in her?”

Yan Chen instantly straightened, adopting a righteous air. “A true man must devote himself to diligent cultivation, to vanquish evil and uphold justice. How could I fritter away my time on matters of romance?”

He paused, stroked his chin, then added, “Still, sometimes love is unfathomable, making mortals pledge life and death alike.”

Ye Zihan blinked, then fixed his gaze on Yan Chen, smiling in silence.

Being stared at like this made Yan Chen uncomfortable. He was surprised at his own words and hurriedly changed the subject. “I heard from the teahouse attendant that the competition will take place at a place called the ‘Heroes’ Pavilion’ in the center of Heaven City. Let’s go take a look—getting familiar with the arena should help us in the contest.”

Ye Zihan agreed; it was only prudent to scout out the venue ahead of time.

They asked a passerby for directions, chose their path, and set off toward the heart of the city.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, walking at their measured pace, they finally arrived at the so-called Heroes’ Pavilion.

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Even at their normal walking speed, it had taken them the better part of a tea’s time to reach the center of Heaven City. Clearly, the City of Ten Directions was vast beyond measure.

By now, a significant crowd had gathered around the Heroes’ Pavilion, most of them young, likely the various talents come to participate in the Gathering of the Five Elements.

Ye Zihan looked up at the towering arena before him, several zhang high, and could not help but be impressed. The Heroes’ Pavilion was broad and level, constructed from uncommon materials. If he was not mistaken, the platform was built from the exceptionally hard tri-colored ironstone, fused with a potent lava resin!

Ironstone—basic material for sturdy buildings—was renowned for its density and strength. It formed the foundation and outer walls of most structures and could be found in many mines, though its hardness made it difficult to harvest; inexperienced miners often ruined it, so despite its abundance, it fetched a high price.

Above even this, the so-called tri-colored ironstone—bearing black, purple, and red hues in a single rock—was so rare it commanded astronomical prices, often unattainable even for the wealthy. Its hardness was legendary; even a full-force strike by a Shadow Dancer below the First Origin would leave not the slightest mark.

Lava resin, the viscous liquid from natural magma, was highly corrosive. If it touched human skin, it would eat through to the bone within a quarter of an hour; without immediate treatment, nothing would remain but ruined flesh and bare bone.

Yet all things restrain and counterbalance each other. When the intensely corrosive lava resin met the supremely hard tri-colored ironstone, they counteracted one another. The resin would dissolve the surface of the ironstone and bind it tightly, fusing the two into a nearly inseparable whole.

Harnessing these properties, people mixed the two as building materials, creating structures of remarkable durability and resilience, able to withstand massive impacts—a method well established in the art of construction.

After surveying the Heroes’ Pavilion and its surroundings, Ye Zihan turned his attention to the other contestants gathered nearby. A few of them, in particular, caught his notice.

To his left, about ten paces away, stood a youth of sixteen or seventeen, dressed in white with a scholar’s headscarf. He held a paper fan in his right hand, which he tapped rhythmically against his left palm, a gentle smile on his lips as he gazed up at the Pavilion.

Beside him stood a young lady in snowy white, graceful and serene. Her flowing hair was gathered with a jade hairpin, and as she stood by the youth’s side, her eyes glimmered with admiration, her gaze never straying from him.

A few paces further to the girl’s left, a young man in blue robes stood aloof, hands clasped behind his back, his deep eyes fixed intently on the Pavilion. Whatever he was thinking, Ye Zihan sensed a faint aura of killing intent about him, which surprised him greatly. Behind the blue-robed youth stood three middle-aged men in gray robes, heads bowed, eyes half-closed, hands folded in front.

To Ye Zihan’s right, a figure in black stood motionless. Completely shrouded in black clothing, neither face nor age could be discerned. He stood utterly still, ignoring everything around him, yet exuded a chilling aura that kept others at bay. In Ye Zihan’s perception, this man was by far the most dangerous present.

“The Gathering of the Five Elements truly lives up to its reputation as a stage for youthful heroes.”