Silver and his group gathered within the main hall of the Crane Clan, waiting patiently for their village chief. Xin Chuo had already gone ahead to fetch both the chief and the clan's patriarch.

It was hard to speculate the current situation since they had entered the clan's courtyard. There were a few guards out front, but once they strolled through the courtyard, not a single soul was in sight. In his heart, Silver guessed it was something important concerning the four that stood in wonder beside him.

However, their wait wasn't too long as they saw three figures sauntering towards them. Starting from left to right, they could see their village chief, an older looking gentleman and Xin Chuo lagging two steps behind.

This older gentleman was slender, nearly thin in his loose light-blue robe. His ashen hair was tied into a loose bun, eyes with dark drooping bags and a weary face. It appeared he hadn't slept well and eaten much for the past few years. Compared to the fatty, Fey Luden, he was basically a walking stick.

"Welcome to our Crane Clan, young ones," greeted the patriarch with an earnest smile. His eyes went down the line, momentarily stopping at Silver, raising up his left eyebrow.

"Old Bear, I thought you said there were four divine marks. Why do I see five instead of four?"

"Ah, yes. The further most on the right is Silver. Because of his unique mark, his parents asked of me to allow him to journey with us to Wok City," answered Fu Arus attempting to jog his memories.

"He's the son of the Warrior of the Crimson Claw and the Shadow Mistress. Sadly, he inherited his mother's mischievous side but I'm unsure of his prowess in actual battle. The journey on our way here was quite peaceful or I would of tested their skills against those demonic beasts already."

"You're quite lucky to be born under those two, Silver. A few decades ago, we use to battle alongside each other before I became a patriarch, including Old Bear. Since then, I been quite proud to have them as my life long friends. Alas, I've gotten quite old and become to busy to venture out and visit them in Windfall Village. I hope you're path to greatness will exceed theirs. I have much faith in you."

"I'll take your praise to heart, sir patriarch," thanked Silver as he cupped his hand and gave a respectful bow.

"Quite respectful, I see. Your parents raised you with good manners. I am Patriarch Xin Yanhua. But you five can call me Uncle Xin just like how my son calls your chief, martial uncle. Despite my appearance, I'm quite younger than Old Bear, here."

"Why do you look so old then?" puzzled Yan Li with widened eyes. She could not fathom that such a person who appeared older than their chief by many decades was younger than him. It was quite surprising that their village chief appeared in his mid-forties while this patriarch appeared as if he had half his foot into the grave.

"A sharp mouth indeed, just like your mother."

"You know my mom? How old is she? She looks very young and everyone calls he my big sister!"

"Ahem. Of course I know your mother but I rather not divulge on any further details regarding her. It's best you ask her yourself."

Yan Li stared at Patriarch Xin for a good minute, instantly pouting from his answer. She turned her head to the side with an angry huff.

"It's best to explain why they're here," monotoned Fu Arus with his poker face, slightly shaking his head. He brought up his left hand and gave a light pat on Patriarch Xin's shoulder. It was hard to deal with Yan Li. Just like her mother, she truly made one speechless.

"The reason why I asked Old Bear to gather you all here is for your protection," explained Patriarch Xin with a solemn expression.

"As of late, there's been many rumors speculating that you'll be coming to the tournament already. Although we've tried our best to keep your identity and location hushed in this past month, but somehow the general location was found out. Many clans and sects has already scouted the area around your Windfall Villages and many other villages too. Luckily, your village was able to play it off but it won't be long until they find the truth. You'll be under our Crane Clan's care for tonight."

"How does all these clans and sects know that the divine marks have appeared?" inquired the pensive Long Zhen.

"We're already aware of the gossips and rumors during our free time."

"Your divine marks were quite showy during the awakening. Based on the history textbooks, the sky will darken when all four divine beasts are awakened simultaneously. The four symbols* and 28 mansions * will appear in heaven above the earth, projecting themselves and announcing their presence all throughout the Ethereal Expanse. I would not be surprised if the smaller worlds gotten a glimpse of their heavenly manifestation. From here, your fate will be uncertain. You must forge it yourself as you continue your path of cultivation."

"Is that why we haven't seen the members of your clans besides the guards out front?" asked Fu Wonton.

"And those guards seemed a bit odd. It's almost if they're puppets but with real faces and expressions. They didn't greet Xin Chuo when we entered through the gates."

Silver was quite surprised at Fu Wonton's deduction abilities. Despite his lazy and easygoing manners, Fu Wonton was quite intelligent since a young age. No matter how many times his father scolded him, he would always find ways to be even lazier.

You could see him lounging around the village, concealing himself in odd places. Even his father had to feel some sort of pride with Fu Wonton and his efforts to hide from his responsibilities. The more one tried to seek him, the harder it was to find where he hid.

Even the younger him, who played pranks on the villagers, had a hard time finding him. But then again, his memories was still sealed during that time. If it wasn't, finding Fu Wonton would be easy as finding a piece of hay in a stack of needles.

"Your son is quite perceptive, Old Bear," nodded Patriarch Xin taking a glance at Fu Arus on the side.

"Yes, they're puppets with some fixed arrays to allow them to appear realistic. These are high-grade guardian puppets of our Crane Clan but no one except the elders, my son and I know of them. however, they cannot venture out of the clan's vicinity or they'll lose function and strength. Currently, all clan members are to stay indoors of their home since your identity must be well hidden. Xin Chuo, bring out the masks."

"Yes, father," Xin Chuo replied respectfully.

With a wave of his right hand, a small wooden table appeared before the small group. On top of the table's surface laid four colored masks giving off a light sheen. Each mask had their own profound, sophisticated and distinct designs brimming with a mysterious energy. It was incredibly hard for one to keep their eyes off it. These mask were true, powerful artifacts.

"These mask can conceal your face and cultivation. Nobody under the [Star Immortal Realm] of the 7th Star and under will be able to perceive your identity. Our Crane Clan has a very odd history pertaining to the four divine beasts. These mask were passed down since ancient times and could be given to the four who awakened. We were quite lucky that martial uncle's village actually awakened all four divine beasts. This was the main reason why he'd specifically came to Wok City."

"Our Crane Clan are full of experts when it comes to finding treasures, intelligence gathering and movement skills. In fact, not many are aware of our small clan's existence. Only the head of the four major clans of Wok City can know of our true existence and purpose, including the city lord of Wok City. Besides, many view us a merchant clan due to our various shops throughout the city. Please keep in mind, I'm only informing this due to your special status," added Patriarch Xin in all seriousness.

"Then what about Silver? What makes him so special that he could hear all this information?" asked Fu Wonton. Even Silver and the other three wanted to know why.

"Old Bear only spoken of you four and forgotten about him… Furthermore, it was on a whim and I didn't want to make things more difficult than it already was."

The group of five stared at their village chief with furrowed eyebrows, feeling some displeasure. Especially, Silver, who was slightly irritated from his forgetfulness. As if in cue, Fu Arus turned his head to look out the windows, his cheeks tinge with red from embarrassment.

'That damn bro of mine actually brought the truth out and laid me bare under the hot sun. Such blatant betrayal!' thought Fu Arus disregarding Silver's eyes of dagger.

"Please put on your masks and follow me to your rooms," coughed Patriarch Xin attempting to break the awkwardness.

"Each mask is already marked for their corresponding individual."

"What about Silver?" asked Fey Luden after noticing Silver didn't have one.

"Yea, he is part of our group! It should be polite to give him a mask too," added Yan Li agreeing with Fey Luden's question. The other two gave a quick shrug and nodded their head in agreement. They were quite close since they all grew up from the same village. Even though there were troublesome quirks they didn't enjoy about each other, they truly didn't want anyone to feel isolated.

Silver glanced at the four, a warmth emanating within his heart. In a similar fashion, he was close to these four since and wouldn't allow them to be hurt. They were like his brothers and sister since they were babies. In his heart, these four, the chief, his parents and their village had a special place within.

Patriarch Xin felt flabbergasted by their unity and strong comradery. In the path of cultivation, you were truly on your own to comprehend to a higher realm but having life and death brothers and sisters truly helped ease the loneliness. If he didn't meet Fu Arus, and the rest of his life and death comrades, he wouldn't be the person he would be today.

It was easy to topple a building structure with one pillar with a flimsy foundation, but it would be quite difficult to topple a building with many pillars with a firm foundation.

"Hmm, I only have this black mask here…it's just that there's no eye holes on it," responded Patriarch Xin bringing out a glossy black mask, placing it on the wooden table. He brought his thumb and forefinger to his chin, pondering over the artifact's history.

"Our ancestors found this in an old ruin they accidently stumbled upon. They searched everywhere in that ruin and only found this mask. Once they obtained it, they were instantly teleported out of that mysterious place, unable to to find nor return there. Since then, they couldn't determine its uses and left it alone."

Silver picked up the mask and stared at it with a vague familiarity. Finally, as if his memories synced up, he instantly knew what this mask was.

-

[Star Immortal Realm]* -> [Immortal Realm] but with star added in front. They go by 1 Star to a 9 Star immortal which would probably be introduced later on.

Four Symbols* : Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Turtle of the North.

28 Mansions* :

[East] - Azure Dragon - Horn, Neck, Root, Room, Heart, Tail, Winnowing Basket

[South] - Vermilion Bird - Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Extended Net, Wings, Chariot

[West] - White Tiger - Legs, Bond, Stomach, Hairy Head, Net, Turtle Beak, Three Stars

[North] - Black Tortoise - Dipper, Ox, Girl, Emptiness, Rooftop, Encampment, Wall