The head judge stood at the edge of the elevated jade platform overlooking the Grand Plaza of the Sun. He raised a heavy wooden mallet high above his shoulder and struck the massive bronze disc hanging from the central archway.
The deep metallic boom rolled across the stone tiers with deafening force. The sound vibrated through the marble flagstones and signaled the official start of the first refining trial.
Across the arena floor, seventy nine competitors immediately channeled their spirit energy into the carved ignition runes on their granite desks. The underground flues roared to life with practiced coordination. Crimson, azure, and emerald flames erupted beneath the bronze cauldrons with a unified whoosh that sucked the chill from the mountain air.
Thick plumes of aromatic smoke ro
