After a long search with his connections, Zedd had finally tracked down Han Dou Gu. He was staying at one of the vacation homes of the royal family. It was not surprising since he was the Prince of the Eastern Empire. Strangely enough though, he was not protected at all. There were no guards at the door. There were no caretakers cleaning up the place, yet it looked like it had been perfectly maintained the whole time. That was suspicious enough for Zedd to realize that someone was indeed staying here. If not, the grass should have grown through the cracks in the ground. The walls should have been faded with color.

Zedd stepped up to the door and knocked. "Is anyone there?" he asked. His goal was to pretend to be a lost wanderer and see what information he could get out of Prince Han Dou Gu.

An old man opened the door partially. It was not the Prince. The Prince should have been in his twenties. This old man had a moustache and liver spots on his face. He had a lot of wrinkles. He wore a black and grey robe. However, he was by no means frail. His arms were very muscular and he was physically well built. He looked like someone who was both a trusted servant and a guard, someone who would be very close to the Han Family.

"Yes?" the old man asked.

Zedd did not expect this. His informant was very reliable and someone was close friends with. It was possible that the old man was not the only person here. "Is the Master of the House here?" he asked.

The old man opened the door all the way. "The master is on the porch," said the old man.

"Thank you," said Zedd as he walked forward. When he turned around to look, the old man had disappeared. He was surprised by this. The old man was either very strong or a mirage. Either way, it meant something important was here.

The courtyard was decently sized. It had two trees, one on each side for symmetry. At the back was a set of stairs that led to the porch and the house. At the porch was a young man sitting with a folding fan, just fanning himself. He was looking at a Go board. He was playing a match against himself. It was something that people used to train themselves mentally, provided they were already skilled enough.

"I've been expecting you," said the young man. He wore a black and gold robe with the crest of the Han Royal Family, two dragons that were chasing one another. "It's been a long time, Zedd."

Zedd tried to remember where he had seen the young man before, but he could not. "May I ask who you are?"

"Do you not remember me?" the young man asked. "Well, when we last saw, I was but a child, so of course you probably do not recognize me."

"I am sorry," said Zedd. "I try to remember everyone I meet, but I cannot remember you."

"My name is Han Dou Gu," said the young man. "I was present at my uncle's funeral, when my father ascended to the throne."

Zedd tried to remember. That was a long time ago. At the end of one of the many Civil Wars of the Eastern Empire, it resulted in the death of Han Ping. That was the death that Han Dou Gu was probably talking about. His father, Han Ming, then took the throne since he was the younger cousin and the next in line. That concluded the war and Zedd left the Eastern Empire since.

"I know you're here because of what you saw," said Han Dou Gu.

"!" Zedd was surprised.

"I have my own connections and information sources," said Han Dou Gu. "But I mean you no harm."

"Those creatures though," said Zedd. "They're the kind that the Guides use in their Invasion."

"What if I told you they were copies of species from another world," said Han Dou Gu. "The ones you saw are the original Demi-Humans of various worlds."

"Why are they here?" Zedd asked. "What are you doing with them?"

"They are here to help me unify the Eastern Empire under the Han Family," said Han Dou Gu. "I'm tired of these clans fighting amongst themselves. They care more about their own power and with the threat of the Guides coming ever closer, we can no longer sit back and wait."

"You're planning a rebellion against your father?!?" said Zedd.

"No," said Han Dou Gu. "I am threatening to forcibly subjugate those that do not obey."

"That's madness!" said Zedd.

"You may think so, but I can no longer wait," said Han Dou Gu. "My sources tell me that there are a group of powerful Guides coming in addition to another group of Guides that are growing in number to the West."

Zedd was thinking of what group Han Dou Gu was talking about, but he had never heard of such a thing. "There's a group of Guides to the West?" said Zedd. "How do I not know?"

"They formed recently," said Han Dou Gu. "They must have gained access to the Trial Grounds and are putting all their members through the test. They currently number in about thirty, maybe close to forty now. When they attack, it will be in extremely large numbers."

"Guides from our own world," said Zedd. However, he knew he could not trust Han Dou Gu at his word. He needed proof. "I need to verify the information."

"No need," said Han Dou Gu. "Master Arthur, please bring out the leaders."

The old man returned. Han Dou Gu had called him Master, meaning that he was either a teacher or someone much higher ranking than Han Dou Gu himself. "There's no need for that," said the old man. He had reappeared next to Zedd. His speed signaled that he was at least someone on Anna's level.

Zedd turned to face him and saw five other Demi-Humans with him. There were Goblin, Orc, Kobold, Merfolk, and Fairy. They were often summoned creatures. He never imagined that they were actually real species of living creatures.

"Is he Zedd?" the fairy asked. She was strange. She had what appeared to be pink leaves and translucent wings covering her entire body. Her presence was that of a half human and half spirit. It was a strange feeling and sight.

"Yes," said Han Dou Gu. "If you want help, you will need to plea to him and his Master."

The goblin turned to Zedd and dropped to his knees to bow. It was the Eastern Empire's tradition for when you were willing to give up everything you have in order to ask for help. Han Dou Gu had probably taught them. "Please, we want to live in Constantinople," said the goblin. "My name is Mudfoot Greytac."

This was something that Zedd did not expect. He had expected Han Dou Gu to be an enemy, but this was clearly different. "Then why is the Phoenix Clan so suspicious of you?" Zedd asked.

"That's because of me," said Arthur. "Allow me to reveal my true self to you."

An incredibly dark aura surrounded Arthur. The robe around him had turned completely black. It was the robe of a Guide. An enormous black shadowy creature emerged from behind him. Zedd recognized it as a low level demon. This was a Guide that had subdued or entered a contract with a demon. Zedd readied his sword in response.

"I am not an enemy," said Arthur. "I know I cannot undo what I have done, but I am here to help."

"Master Arthur is my teacher," said Han Dou Gu. "He has guided me in the ways of magic, chi, and divine energy."

"But why?" said Zedd. "Aren't you all fighting amongst each other to create stronger armies and gain the leadership of the Guides?"

"Along with a few others, I have abandoned that goal and worked towards protecting the other worlds," said Arthur.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Zedd asked.

"My daughter," said Arthur. "Xena, come out."

A young girl with light blue skin came out from inside the house. She wore a white dress and had a pair of small brown horns on her head, partially covered by her hair. She had blue scales on parts of her body. Zedd guessed her age to be around twelve or thirteen. "Say hi to our guests," said Arthur.

"Hello," said the girl as she did herself behind Arthur's leg. "My name is Xena." She was shy and only looked over Arthur's shoulder to look at Zedd before turning away.

This was definitely something that Zedd had not expected. There was something strange about Xena though. Her presence was nothing like that of a demon's. It felt more like a spirit's. "Confused?" Arthur asked.

"Very," said Zedd.

"She is the daughter of a human and a demon," said Arthur. "I escaped with Isis, my wife and her mother, when we realized how much of a danger this war was becoming."

If someone as strong as Arthur had to run, that means that this war was becoming far more dangerous and larger than Zedd could ever imagine. It was no longer just a war between Guides and the occasional Guide and world. This was literally an interplanetary war with no clear side. At any moment, their world could be dragged in.

"So what's your plan?" Zedd asked.

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"I have already secured the support of the Scarlet Fairy, Burning Heaven, Xiao Poison, Descending Dragon, and Midnight Lotus clans," said Han Dou Gu. "They are not big, but they are powerful."

"Then why the sneaky tricks with the Golden Dragon Clan?" Zedd asked.

"We needed a common enemy," said Han Dou Gu. "A reason to forcibly subjugate the clans."

"No," said Zedd. "That will not work. You need to convince them to be willing participants."

"That's the point of the tricks," said Arthur. "Is it not right?"

"Of course not," said Zedd. "We will use the Annual Tournament in our favor instead."

"How?" Han Dou Gu asked. "That's only a few months away."

"Gather the leadership of the clans that support you," said Zedd. "We are going to have them share knowledge and declare an open alliance."

"That will not work," said Han Dou Gu. "Do you know how secret they keep their techniques?"

"Exactly," said Zedd. "But at the same time, what if you could demonstrate the strength of an individual who had the support of all the clans and was able to integrate the techniques?" Zedd asked. "What if you had someone who had a perfect cultivation with no weaknesses and was done under the support and guidance of the Han Family?"

Zedd has seen how strong Garnet had become by integrating different techniques together. If he could convince these members to do the same, then they would all become very powerful.

"Propaganda," said Arthur. "Brilliant."

"Yes," said Zedd. "We will use the tournament to our advantage and demonstrate exactly how strong each of these clans are. In fact, this will work best if you have their leadership formed by senior members of each of the five clans and the participants be one disciple from each clan."

"I will send for them immediately," said Arthur.

"Wait," said Zedd. "For the Xiao Sect, I have a condition."

"What is it?" Han Dou Gu asked.

"They need to forgive Xiaomei and accept her back into the clan," said Zedd. "That is the only condition."

After a week had passed, sure enough, the heads of each of the clans showed up with their top disciples. The exception to this was the Xiao Clan, which had brought Xiaomei as their representative. Despite his age, he has been able to maintain his youthful appearance with his qi. There was a slight greying of his hair, but otherwise, he looked like a man in his thirties when he should be Zedd's age as well. "It's been a while," said Xiao Ru. He was one of the Senior Masters of the Xiao Clan and someone that Zedd had fought against a long time ago in the past.

"It has," said Zedd. "You're taking part?"

"Of course," said Xiao Ru. "Your plans were always quite intricate and ingenious. If this works, the strength of the Eastern Empire will improve several fold."

Zedd took a look at Xiaomei who was still a little nervous about this. She did not fully trust the Xiao Sect just yet. After all, they had been hunting for her for a while. It was a miracle that they were both here at the same place at the same time.

The next to introduce themselves was a member of the Scarlet Fairy Sect. This was a sect of only women and one of the few gender select clans. The reason was that their primary cultivation technique only worked for women. Men who tried to practice it would bleed out for some reason. However, their true strength came from their runes. On each of their members' forehead, hands, and chest was a rune that allowed them to channel their mana and qi to use an element they normally would not be able to. Thus, the average member was able to use every basic element of fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. The result was a small, but very powerful clan.

"Headmistress Bai greets the Great Warlord," said the middle aged woman. She had tied up her shoulder length hair and wore a purple and pink dress. Zedd could tell there was some type of weapon strapped to her underarm. She pulled the arm of the younger girl gently to guide her. "This is Yue, my personal disciple."

"Hello," said Yue. "Master Xiao Yu has spoken a lot about you."

"Welcome," said Zedd.

The Descending Dragon Clan was next. At first the two appeared to look like homeless men, but that was part of their attire. They wore worn clothes with straw hats and carried walking sticks. The senior member had a large white beard and carried a gourd of alcohol with him. "My name is Chen Guyan, Senior Member of the Descending Dragons. With me is my son, Chen Hong Qigong."

Chen Hong Qigong was probably the oldest of the disciples here. He was in his mid-twenties and was already growing out a lot of facial hair. Nonetheless, if they were recognized as disciples and not masters, their age did not matter.

"I hope you will participate with us," said Zedd.

"Of course," said Chen Hong. "I expect this exchange of knowledge to benefit all of us."

The Burning Heaven Clan wore bright red and gold clothes similar to that of the Divine Phoenix Clan. Instead of a phoenix though, they only had the symbol of a sun on their backs. That was what differentiated the two. "Greetings Warlord Zedd, I am Lord Su Rong," said the man.

"It is nice of you to join us," said Zedd. "I hope this will benefit all of us."

"This is my clan's participant," said Su Rong. A girl stepped forward. She seemed more concerned with her beauty. She wore her long hair loose and had a ribbon to keep her hair together in a ponytail. She wore a red and gold colored top, but a skirt and shorts under with high boots as well. On her ears were a pair of red and gold earrings.

"Greetings Master Zedd, my name is Su Mei," said the girl as she cupped her hands together and bowed. "I will try to learn everything I can from this exchange."

There was something about the girl's tone of voice and her appearance. There was a stark contrast with her eyes of seriousness. She seemed more serious about this from her tone than any of the others. She looked at Zedd with intense determination. "No need to bow before me," said Zedd. "This is meant to be a friendly exchange."

The girl let her hands apart. Zedd could see the scars and damage on her hands. It was the results of intense training and physical work. She had the appearance of a young girl and probably used her cultivation to improve her physical appearance, but she had chosen to keep the scars on her hand as proof of her hard work. By far, she had the most potential of the group so far.

The last person to introduce themselves was the Midnight Lotus Clan. They wore black and purple and covered up their entire bodies from head to do. Only from their voices could Zedd tell one was a man and one was a woman. "Greetings," said Zedd.

"Hello, Warlord Zedd," said the taller man. "I am Shao Luan, Third Master of the Midnight Lotus Clan."

"I am Yueli," said the girl. "Prime Disciple of the Midnight Lotus Clan."

Zedd could tell from her voice and tone that she was younger. The good thing was that no one was trying to cheat them so far. "I've never heard of that title," said Zedd. "What does it mean?"

"It means that she is first in line to become a Master," said Shao Luan.

"I see," said Zedd. "Welcome."

Each of the Seniors lined up with their Juniors. It was interesting to see such a gathering of people. "I assume you know why we have gathered you all here today," said Zedd.

Arthur and Han Dou Gu stood next to Zedd. "In order to reunite the Eastern Empire, we must demonstrate that there is strength in unity!" Zedd shouted. "That is why, from today until the tournament, we will be exchanging skills and techniques at an unprecedented level."

There were no objections. Everyone else was already informed and stared at him. "If you are here to take advantage of this opportunity, then leave, the future of the Eastern Empire has no room for you," said Zedd. He looked around and saw that there were no objections.

"Allow me to be the first to demonstrate and teach you," said Zedd. "My greatest lightning spell, the Lightning Cage."

Five rods instantly fell around them as lightning crossed towards the center. An enormous pillar of lightning then fell in the shape of a spear at the center. None of this hit any of the observers.  Zedd began to give instructions on how to use this spell, "This is a technique that relies fully on mana, though you can use your chi to make the creation of the spears much easier."

Zedd raised a small shield around each person. "Please do not move," he said. A final enormous spear fell from the sky. BOOM. The explosive power fell at the center, raising an enormous cloud of dust. Zedd had used his expert control of his mana to make sure that no one would be hurt from this.

"Incredible," said Su Mei.

"I am giving each of you this scroll," said Zedd as he revealed five copies of the scroll. "This is my gift to each of you. I hope you all will collaborate in your endeavors."

With this, Zedd took a step back and gave the stage to Han Dou Gu. "I am Prince Han Dou Gu of the Eastern Empire second in line for the throne," he said. "However, my goal is not the overthrow of the Han Family or becoming Emperor. My goal is the reunification of the fractured Eastern Empire. This is my goal and I hope to achieve this peacefully. We will encounter many challenges and those who may lie, but we can leave those people under watch as the rest of us surpass them in every shape and form!"

Arthur began to take out a bag. "This is our gift to you," said Arthur as he began to hand out a small pouch to each of them.

"This is!" said Cheng Hong.

Xiao Yu opened his bag and saw what was inside. He took it out. It was two small golden red vials filled with a bright red liquid. He kept looking at it to make sure it was real. "These are Spiritual King Elixirs!" he shouted. "One of these is said to benefit even those who are trying to achieve the level of Spirit Emperor!"

This raised some suspicion. "Rest assured, they are not poisoned," said Han Dou Gu. "This is our gift to you from me and Arthur. There is only one for each of you."

Such a great gift had raised suspicions from some of the others. This relied on an individual to break this. This was Xiaomei's job. She opened the vial and drank it without hesitation or second thoughts. Immediately, Xiaomei's chi began to condense and become much thicker. The chi around her body had more than doubled and continued to flow outward from her body. She closed her eyes and focused on ensuring that as much of it as possible remained in her body instead of escaping.

Green scales began to form around Xiaomei's cheeks. It was one of the transformation techniques of the Xiao clan. She began to channel her own chi to burn up as much of it as possible so that the dense chi from the Spiritual King Elixirs could be absorbed into her body. Several times, they felt a rush of chi escape from her body before disappearing. It had been about ten minutes before the release and disappearance of chi had disappeared. Altogether, Xiaomei had absorbed a majority of the power from the Spiritual King Elixir.

"Ha!" Xiaomei shouted as she released a burst of her Intent and thus, her chi outward. Even the Masters from the various clans were unable to contend with her newfound strength. Her body had transformed though. She had the snake scales present on the sides of her face. However, this was insignificant compared to the unparalleled power that was granted by the elixir.

Zedd realized that this power was similar to what Ascension did for him. It was likely that this elixir could push those that were near Ascension through to the next level, much like what Garnet helped him do when he reached his bottleneck. Forcing yourself through the bottleneck to the next level is extremely rare and extremely difficult to do. Many cultivators seek out immense resources to do so, but still fail. As a result, items like the Spiritual King Elixirs are extremely rare resources that cultivators would kill for.

"Unfortunately, the resources to manufacture this are rare," said Han Dou Gu. "Ten was all we could make. Whether you give it to the senior member or junior member of your clan is up to you, but you only get two each."

There was immense temptation to get it for yourself because of how much power it could grant. But, Xiao Yu knew better. The future of a clan was in its Juniors. Without them, there is no future to the clan. He took his and handed it to Xiaomei. "You take it," he said. "You can make better use of it than I can."

Xiaomei reached out with both hands to receive it. "Thank you," she said.

The rest were still a little hesitant to act because the treasure in their hands was the same as having immense wealth. To use it up would be like burning away a mountain of gold.

"I will be the next to share," said Yue. "Although many of my techniques are restricted to women only, this one is not."

Yue took out five stones. She reached out to Xiao Yu's hand. "I can put one in your forehead, hands, and chest," said Yue. "What element can you not use?" she asked.

"Fire," said Xiao Yu. "I can use Earth and Water."

Su Mei took out a stone with a small red flame on it. She pressed it against his palm. The stone melted into a liquid as it merged with Xiao Yu's palm. A small flame mark appeared. She handed a single page to Xiao Yu. "This is a basic Fire Bolt," said Yue. "Learn it."

Xiao Yu took a few minutes to read the scroll. He then aimed his fingers straight up into the air and shouted, "Fire Bolt!"

BANG. The sound of a bolt shooting. BOOM. There was an explosion in the distance. Xiao Yu had just used a fire spell, something he could not do before. "I can use fire…" he said. "How?"

"These runes grant individuals who cannot use an element the ability to use them," said Yue. "This is my clan's gift for this exchange."

"This is mine to yours," said Xiao Yu as he held up Yue's hand. "Hold still."

Using his other hand, he used the tip of his nails to inject something into Su Mei's hand. "Ah!" Yue moaned as she fell to the ground.

Headmistress Bai was surprised and rushed to help Su Mei. "What did you do?!?" Bai asked angrily.

"Poison resistance," said Xiao Yu. "As a poison clan, we can often use our own poison to counteract another. By giving you a small amount of it, your body will become resistant to it in the future. Over time, it will also grow and become part of you, allowing you to resist almost any lethal poison. That is my gift."

For a minute Yue was dizzy before she recovered. She then stood back up as if nothing happened. The wound in her hand had fully healed already.

These three exchanges began to force the others to move. The Chen Guyan handed each of them a scroll, "The Descending Dragon Palm, our clan's most powerful hand to hand technique." This one was something for them to learn themselves.

Shao Luan was next. He too took out a scroll. "Movement skill, Midnight Shadows," he said. In a flash, he had disappeared. It was an incredibly high speed movement technique that left no sound or traces. He then suddenly reappeared behind Arthur who was already facing him.

"!" Shao Luan was surprised that Arthur could keep up.

"Very good," said Arthur. "But you forgot to completely hide your presence."

"I underestimated you," said Shao Luan. "This skill is for you all to use."

The last was the Burning Heaven clan. "Like Zedd,'s mine is more of a demonstration, but I fear I cannot control it, so I will inscribe it in a scroll here," he said as he took out a single copy of the scroll. "I only had time now to make one, so I will provide more later."

The scroll detailed six of the techniques of the Burning Heaven Clan, first to sixth verse. "You can incorporate any element into the techniques," he said with his sword drawn. As he swung the sword, flames emerged and scattered around. It was a sword style that incorporated the power of a spirit and the elements that one could use.

All of these were great techniques. "So, for the next few months, I ask that each of you train and develop the skills that were demonstrated here," said Han Dou Gu. "The Seniors, Zedd, and myself, will do our best to help facilitate this and help teach the Juniors that may not comprehend a technique."

"On the day of the Annual Tournament, we will enter as the Five Elements Alliance," said Zedd. "This will be the founding of a new clan, one that promotes unity rather than separation. With our strength, we will convince the other clans to unify together!"

There were smiles and hopeful faces. This was the first step. The second step now was to make sure that there was not going to be a negative reaction. When clans came together it was often bad, they wanted to either challenge a stronger clan to bring them down or declare a revolution. With Han Dou Gu, backing them, it was not exactly going to be clear. They were going to need something greater.

"Arthur, I have a favor to ask of you," Zedd whispered.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"Can you control that demon of yours independently?" Zedd asked.

"Yes," said Arthur. "Why?"

"On the day of the Annual Tournament, I want you to use it to attack," said Zedd. "The Five Elements Alliance will then fight back against it."

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked.

"You can try to cause minimal damage and focus on targeting certain strong fighters to avoid causing unnecessary death," said Zedd. "But only do this if you notice there is considerable worry or opposition to the Five Elements Alliance during the Opening Ceremony. Can I trust you do to this?" Zedd asked Arthur.

"Yes," said Arthur. "I have seen the strength of these people. Each one of them can be a match for a legion of Invaders or even the low level Guides. If we can bring them together, we may be able to challenge the high level ones."

The high level Guides were another problem altogether. Anna had mentioned that even she was not strong enough to fight them. There was certainly going to be a day when they were going to clash. This was what Han Dou Gu and Arthur were already preparing for. Zedd now had to prepare for it as well. He looked at the earring in his hand. "I suppose I need to tell her now," he said. "Better sooner than to let her find out about it after."