Yun Ling stood on top of the tallest building of the Yun Clan as he looked at the streets around him. There was a sea of people everywhere. In the past few days, the capital had received an influx of visitors constantly but never had it been this full before. Even in the previous Golden Dragon Elections, it wasn’t this crowded.

The people below couldn’t even walk a few yards anymore because they were tightly squeezing each other. Almost all of them were only mortals. Cultivators like them didn’t have to squeeze their way in there as they could just fly in the air. Normally, cultivators aren’t allowed to fly over the capital but for this special day, the emperor allowed it since it would be very hard to travel around the capital with the number of people in the streets.

Yun Ling then looked at the far east. He saw a squadron of people wearing full plated metal armor as they flew towards his direction. Yun Ling knew these people. They were the Jim Empire’s task force responsible for keeping order in the empire. They probably came here to organize the chaos that was happening below.

Mortals were such fragile creatures. If there was no one to keep order below, they would probably stomp each other to death. Some might even faint or get dehydrated since the people below couldn’t move much and take cover if the weather gets too hot. Thankfully, the sun had not totally risen yet so it wasn’t that hot yet. He could only imagine what would happen when noon comes.

“Son,” he heard his father’s voice coming from behind him.

He turned around to look at his father who was already dressed in his formal robe.

“All of the Golden Dragon Election’s participants' presence is required in the coliseum before ten. Don’t be late.”

Yun Ling nodded, “Got it.”

“Also”— Yun Zhan paused for a moment, then said— “do your best, son.”

Yun Ling smiled at him.

“I will.”

…

The Jin Empire’s coliseum was one of the biggest buildings in the entirety of the Jin Empire, with a maximum seating capacity of 200 000 people. The coliseum was built by the current emperor’s predecessor more than five hundred years ago and had stood strong since then. The place was used many times before to host the Golden Dragon Election and other types of big events that would gather this many people.

The coliseum was made to resemble that of an amphitheater. It was an open, circular building with a central space surrounded by rising tiers of seats for the spectators. There was also a massive statue of a golden dragon behind the coliseum with its eyes looking at the open space in the center. Anyone heading towards the coliseum would be instantly drawn in by the dragon statue due to its massive size and intricate appearance.

Inside the coliseum’s backstage, most of the participants of the Golden Dragon Election had already gathered.

Yu Shan was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He was the only one who was alone as the other participants were talking and mingling with each other. He stuck out like a sore thumb, gathering a bit of attention from other people towards himself.

Just like usual, he tried to ignore their gazes. He had no interest in taking the initiative to talk to these people but he wouldn’t ignore them if they came to him first. The only people he would even initiate a conversation with were the people he acknowledged from the bottom of his heart.

As for the rest of them…

They weren’t qualified enough.

“Oh? If it isn’t Young Master Yu Shan.”

Yu Shan opened his eyes as he glanced to his side. There he saw Yun Ling’s aide walking towards him with a smile.

“Yun Yi…” Yu Shan muttered. Speaking about people he acknowledged, Yun Yi was definitely one of them. Yun Ling and the crown prince were one of the few he acknowledged too.

“Are you alone, Young Master Yu Shan?” Yun Yi asked as he also leaned on the wall just beside Yu Shan.

“Don’t call me that. Just call me by my name,” Yu Shan said to him. Then, he looked towards some people in the crowd and answered, “As for your question, some of my clansmen are with me. They are also one of our fellow competitors. They are right there forming connections with the other participants.”

“Treating your clansmen as competitors? How cold, Young Master… no, Yu Shan.”

Yu Shan let out a snort as he retorted, “Aren’t you the same? After all, aren’t you also treating Yun Ling as a competitor?”

Yun Yi gave a short laugh, “Well, you got me with that.”

Yu Shan narrowed his eyes at Yun Yi. This guy was one of the most powerful opponents he may have to face in the Golden Dragon Elections. To most people, Yun Yi was an unknown. Some might even recognize him as Yun Ling’s aide. However, there was no doubt that he was a genius on par with the three supreme geniuses.

It was a good thing that his father was the unit commander of the empire, and thus know a lot of things that were not well-known to many. He knew that he would have to put up his guard against him. What was unfortunate for other people though was that they might underestimate Yun Yi even though he was a lot superior to most people here.

If they knew how powerful Yun Yi really was, they would put extreme caution when facing him. They might even stand a chance in that case. But that was the problem. They didn’t know. Thus, they would be careless when they fought him. They would lose too miserably if they underestimated him.

This shows just how important a piece of good information was.

While Yu Shan and Yun Yi were talking, they noticed that the other competitors went quiet. The others who were taking up space in the hallway made a way so the crown prince could pass through in between them.

“Crown Prince,” Yu Shan called out to the crown prince who was accompanied by his two personal guards in full black metal armor. These were the same guards he brought with him to the banquet.

“Yu Shan, and… Yun Yi,” the crown prince went towards their side and nodded at them.

“Crown Prince,” Yun Yi greeted and gave the crown prince half a bow.

The crown prince gave Yun Yi a deep look. He knew this guy. Yun Yi might be Yun Ling’s aide but he was more or less just as strong as him, Yu Shan, and Yun Ling. He couldn’t look down on him despite him being merely Yun Ling’s aide.