“Thank you for that Feng,” Kijin’s voice boomed through the silence. “Since our beloved announcer can’t speak at the moment I’ll let you know about the first trial, my trial.”

His face twisted into a demon’s only for a moment. Once it returned to normal he continued as if nothing had happened.

“You see, in my role as ‘Master of Might’ I believe that it is important to not only display individual strength, but also strength as both a team and a leader. So in order to best test that I-I…” He turned to the gray bearded lord. “You know what Feng, I really can’t do this. While I appreciate your help, could you please release your technique, it’s creepy when not even the wind makes noise.” He pretended to shiver from fear.

Lord Feng stared at him before finally speaking.

“Release.”

Broken light drifted throughout the stadium like shattered glass that dissolved before reaching the ground. The rainbow light captivated even the competitors until it fully dissipated.

“Ah, that’s better. Now where was I? Oh yes, of course. Like I was saying, my trial is designed to test not only one's personal battlefield tactics, but also one's cooperation and leadership abilities.”

He looked around proud of himself before continuing.

“What you’ll be competing in is a ‘King of the Hill’ match, so to speak. This trial will last for two weeks. Where over the course of the first week you are to gather into teams of five by any means at your disposal, save for murder or crippling a fellow competitor. You are allowed to bribe, intimidate, and coerce your fellow competitors. Now, the observant ones among you will notice how this gives the clans and factions with multiple participants an unfair advantage. My answer to that is. Prove yourself.”

Lord Kijin was known as the ‘Demon of the West’ when he was younger. And even though he hadn’t had many chances to fight in the last thirty years, he still liked to remind people just how cruel he could be.

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“Teams must report their members to a representative by the end of the week and team rosters can be changed as many times as you want until the deadline. At which point all teams will be finalized and anyone not in a full team will be immediately disqualified.”

He took in the gasp of the crowd.

“Yes, yes. I know, however, there will be a redemption opportunity for those who were unable to team up. During the second week of the trial, the ‘King of the Hill’ match will take place and all teams have the objective to hold the hill for as long as possible, earning ten points for every hour. That being said. The hill will randomly change locations at random intervals. By the end of the week any team not able to obtain a total of fifty points will be eliminated.”

The crowd murmured in disbelief, especially the unaffiliated competitors and those from smaller sects.

“What can you expect? It can’t really be called a trial if it’s too easy, and the first round is always designed to knock out as many people as possible.” His evil grin showed through his thick beard once more.

The crowd sat in silence, shocked by the trial, but also forced to accept the truth of his words.

“Well, thank you Lord Kijin for the thorough explanation of the first trial. I hope that both the competitors and our audience fully understand the rules for the first round.”

The announcer waved their hand and began the more ceremonial portion of the festival opening. They recited the ‘Oath of Honor’ for all the competitors to repeat, and then announced the safety precautions put in place throughout the entire festival. As well as warned both them and the audience of the repercussions for any misconduct committed within the territory.

“I’d like to thank our audience for attending this year’s opening ceremonies, we will now be finishing with a short statement from each of the ‘Master’s of Ceremonies’.”

Kijin stepped forward and looked down at the competitors, “Children of the next generation, this is your opportunity to show that you can surpass and overthrow your predecessors. Give it everything you have and be proud of your accomplishments. And above all else, Fight.”

Goyohan slid his hands back through his sleeves, careful not to disturb the grass green robe draped over his shoulders. “When it comes down to it, this festival is a cultural exchange in good faith to all those participating. I hope that no one takes it too far. Or I will hold you and your sponsors responsible.” His tone dropped at the end and a short burst of wind washed through the arena.

Feng hadn’t moved the whole ceremony and he didn’t plan to now. His voice clearly filled the arena. “I hope that at least one of you can show me a performance worthy of my time.”

With that, the three vanished to wherever they came from and the closing ceremonies began. Dozens of competitors, already scrambling to form teams.