The next day, at dawn.
The sky was barely light, and a thin veil of morning mist hung among the bamboo.
"Clang!"
The deep toll of a bronze bell rang out from the center of the camp, piercing the bamboo leaves and mist to reach every wooden cabin.
Li Xiang opened his eyes almost the instant the bell sounded.
In truth, he had not slept all night, instead using [Qi Observation] to sense the fluctuations in the other contestants' auras within the bamboo grove's formation.
After a full night of observation, he had formed a rough picture of the strength of the contestants in this Dragon and Phoenix Gathering.
Of the three hundred-odd people, more than half were in the Third Realm. Several auras were exceptionally deep and restrained, faintly approaching the threshold of the Third Realm's peak.
"The waters run deep."
Li Xiang withdrew [Qi Observation] and tucked the Ghost-Slaying Blade into his robes.
Dijiang, too, was startled awake by the bell. His little round head poked out of the bedding, and his black, bean-like eyes looked around groggily.
"Let's go."
Li Xiang tucked the little fellow inside his robes and pushed aside the door curtain.
Through the mist in the bamboo grove, many figures were already converging in the same direction.
Some traveled alone, others in groups of two or three. They maintained a subtle distance from one another, their gazes both appraising and wary.
Li Xiang joined the stream of people and walked toward the sound of the bronze bell for roughly a quarter of an hour.
At the end of the bamboo grove lay a vast, leveled clearing.
In its very center stood a large compound of blue brick and gray tile. Its gates were closed, with no plaque hanging above them.
A row of guides