The final clearing gong sounded from the northern battlements, and sixty four arena attendants rushed onto the white marble floor to dismantle the outer platforms.
Within minutes, the vast expanse of the Grand Crucible was stripped bare, leaving only two raised stone workstations standing thirty yards apart in the center of the suspended amphitheater.
To the west stood Station Two, where Disciple Chen of the Jade Pavilion prepared his workstation under the attentive care of four personal alchemical servants.
To the east stood Station One, where Ye Chen stood alone in his patched gray tunic, his heavy rusted broadsword resting against the granite table while the cold mountain draft whipped through the frayed hems of his sleeves.
A sudden, suffocating pressure descended from the clouds a
