The Main Event which was in its infancy, thus didn't yet have a formal name, was to be held in an arena that had been recently set up just for this occasion.
It was located within the depths of a large, shadowy basin, surrounded by mountains so tall that the hours of sunlight were few; a shichen before noon and a shichen following. This had caused the basin to be inhospitable to many lifeforms, it also had a stagnant air, with a hazy miasma floating above the swampy ground. The stunted, twisted somewhat black trees growing here and there seemed ominous, haunting as were the cackling and howls of the beasts that called this place home.
But however dark and disturbing the landscape was, it meant little to the strong cultivators that ran and taught at the Ascending Mountain Institute.
Seeming to float above the mire, shadowing the swamp even more so than before, was an arena some five times the size of that of the Inner Martial Artists' school. It's architecture was not fancy, no scrollwork carvings or gargoyles nor statues of dragons and phoenixes, but it was still imposing at first glance. Access to the arena was via bridges, straight and grey, with chains along each side, not so much necessary as an afterthought of decoration. Mage lights floated either side, above these chains at seemingly random intervals, providing the light that the sun dare not.
It was rumoured that the Institute's best Earth-skilled Cultivators toiled to create this building for seven days and seven nights, but Leon heard in passing from his Teacher, that actually, this building was an artefact from a hundred thousand years ago... they'd found it (in it's dormant form) in the Library's inventory, in a dusty corner.
The internal structure of the building seemed as if it was a mix of various other arena styles, with the familiar circular with raised seating either side, but also towers at its four major and four minor directional points. Those four major had structures partially overhanging the main arena with huge windows allowing for excellent observation, while the minor ones had smaller windows every few feet skyward, for each small room hidden within. The arena itself was lit by small Mage globes circling the rim, producing what Leon later could only inwardly compare to a neon display of another world. Larger globes floated beneath the canopy of the four structures. All of them lit up the arena excellently without being too glaring, almost as if the sun was directly overhead at all times, but tucked behind a wispy layer of clouds.
There had been much debate on what and how the competition would work; they couldn't use the formulas in the Standings, for example, as their own students would be seen to have unfair advantages over others, being more familiar. At the same time, the length of time that they had had to set up the competition was not long, they did not wish to do a hash job that caused them to lose face and create too many loopholes for exposure. It was not easy. In the end, it was decided to use some of what they already had in place, but with a revised competition format.
They settled upon hosting three different competitions in the end; a small team type competition, a large, school battle and a friendly solo competition to close, just like that ending the Interschool Exchange. Familiar students understood that it was best to settle grievances as well as compare notes in this so called 'friendly' round, before all bowed and departed. All of the competitions would be held in the imposing arena above the swamp, but also the first two competitions would be held within the illusionary world that the third competition of the Standings were held in.
This was as much as was released to all Students in the beginning and gave rise to speculations as well as assumptions.
"If it's like the Standings, doesn't that mean farming for points?"
"Ari will then destroy everyone as usual. His lone points were far greater than anyone's across all three schools."
"But Ari doesn't work well with a team..."
"I heard Ari may not compete at all!"
"Can anyone make a team?"
"Don't be stupid! If anyone could, then the competition would be dominated by the Institute! Those schools only brought around a hundred students each!" This voice of reason had others nodding quickly, while those who hadn't thought that deeply scratched their heads, slightly shamefaced. But it did beg the question; just how would those teams be formed?
"Join my team!"
In the early hours of the first morning of the Four Day break, these words echoed in and out of the small courtyard surrounded by trees. The two coeurl, who'd been about to escape from the unlocked gate hesitated for a moment in surprise, before brushing arrogantly/playfully past and rushing off into the woods. The unfortunate Leon was left to deal with the two men before him and the half opened gate.
"Um..." he was at a slight loss for words as the feeling of deja vu swept over him, but in the end, he finished opening the gate, securing it against the outer wall before letting the two men enter. Bowyer jostled Pike as they headed through the opening, following Leon into his home.
"I arrived first this time!" Bowyer hissed beneath his breath, while Pike shook his head and drawled;
"And? Leon is more familiar with my team, after all."
"That doesn't mean you can just waltz in and claim him this time!!"
"Claim who?" The two men paused in their bickering and looked down at the youth elegantly sitting at the low table, drinking tea as if completely within his domain. It was not as if they'd forgotten that Jin Li would most likely be at Leon's place, more as they'd somewhat neglected to consider it. Jin Li had been in closed cultivation during the last competition when they'd both attempted to conscript... invite Leon to their teams after all. This not being the current case, both men had to rethink their strategy in order to recruit the only alchemist in school to have access certain pills.
"It's like this," Pike began to explain, "the competition between schools will start with a five-man team competition. The institutes' teams will be led by the twenty top students across the Standings. I'm sixth in the Standings, my place was already secured. Then we'd discovered Ari dropped out..." He'd actually completely refused then hidden himself in closed cultivation that he would not be forced to compete... "so Bowyer also is expected to lead a team."
"Is it-t like the Exch-change? You n-n-need an alchemist?" Leon asked before adding hot water to a fresh pot of tea. A strong, mouthwatering aroma drifted from the pot and caused them both to suddenly feel thirsty and in need of refreshment.
"Actually," Bowyer admitted, "the rules for team building are a lot more lax than during that competition. Some people are building teams completely based on strength."
Take fourth place, Certi. He was a man who valued power and strength. He was formidable, himself, with a good knowledge of weaponry and martial arts. His fault was his straightforward thinking, which actually resulted in him losing to the eighth place Lopard in the Standings as he fell for a feint and couldn't recover in the confusion. This same straightforward thinking had him build this new team with some of the best and strongest talents from the martial arts, the beast tamer and Mage schools. There was not one alchemist nor scholar in his team.
It wasn't that this thinking was necessarily incorrect, just that Pike and Bowyer both believed that things may not be so simple. They both decided it was best to have at least one support team member in their teams. They both though having an alchemist was best and both decided upon Leon.