Four hours.

On the bottom floor of a titanic pagoda, there were roughly one thousand young men and women gathered. Despite the vast number of bodies present, the pagoda floor seemed spacious enough to hold even ten times that number comfortably. Yet despite the cool autumn breeze that blew through the area, the faces of most present were ugly.

It was not that those present had ugly faces. In fact, many of them had outstanding good looks, but rather that they were annoyed! They had all been told, as Song Yi had, to follow the path and wait when they reached the courtyard. Upon arriving there they’d been invited into the pagoda and once more told to wait. But now it had been four hours, and their patience was beginning to wear thin.

Song Yi, on the other hand, was relaxed as possible. For the first half hour, he had been nervous. Following that, his body began to shake uncontrollably as the adrenaline left his system. Despite his blazing confidence from before, or his moment of apathy in the face of death, he couldn’t control the automatic reaction his body had to the experience. Eventually, though, he had been able to relax for the first time since he’d decided to follow that bearded man.

He had sat himself up against one of the pagoda walls, cross-legged, with his eyes closed. The first thing he had noticed after calming down was that the area in which he sat was far larger than the area that the Gate of Virtues commanded within Zhongtian City. While this surprised him, it was not a terrifying discovery. He had heard of such things before, carrying sacks that had more space inside them than outside. While they were something that even someone miles above Song Yi's social standing would not be able to possess, they were not entirely unheard of. Compared with something like that, the Gate of Virtues itself was far more mysterious.

It was not the case that his decision to go through the Gate was one made from ignorance. In fact, even as he left the market, he’d already intended to head for the gate. What had been outside his expectations, though, was the crowd gathered around it. The gate was a legend among locals in Zhongtian City. There was no true consensus on what was behind it, but rumours about it were more common than grains of sand. There was one rumour, though, that was certain to be true. Most of the time, those who entered the gate would never come back out, with one exception. There were occasional times, though Song Yi didn’t know exactly how often, a young man or woman would exit the gate and admit passage to any who were qualified to enter. What the exact qualifications were was also a mystery. In short, Song Yi could only bless his good fortune that it had been one of those rare open days, else by now he would most likely have already returned to the river of reincarnation.

Yet at the same time, that fortune could not, with certainty, be called “good.” While he had escaped his pursuers for the time being, it was also known that in these rare ‘open’ times, for a month afterward those who entered would slowly come back out. Sometimes they would come back out in a few hours, other times it would take the whole month. The only consistent factor was all who did come out had no memory of what had happened inside. Furthermore, some never came out. As for what happened to them, nobody knew.

Despite the eerie circumstances surrounding the gate and what it contained, Song Yi felt assured by the relaxed mood and large group of people within. No disaster had befallen yet. As for the book, he intended to take time to study it properly when he could be alone once more. Therefore he sat meditating, refusing to sleep for fear of something happening while he did. Not to mention, recuperating from his tired state also took high precedence. It was in this fashion that another hour went by before an interruption stirred him out of his state.

“Unbelievable!” It was a high pitched voice. “What kind of attitude is this towards guests? I, Wang Ling, have never been made to wait this long in my life!”

Song Yi cracked an eyelid open to see a boy, no older than twelve, surrounded by three young retainers. His fists were clenched, and he was biting his lower lip. His robe was purple with golden lining, and many trinkets adorned his wrists and neck. Out of those present, this boy was near the youngest, while the oldest looked to be around twenty.

“If I weren’t so damn tired I would’ve taken his wallet within five minutes of arriving here…” Song Yi thought as he gave the boy a once-over.

It wasn’t just Song Yi who’s attention had been caught by the boy’s tantrum. Others began to eye him as well. Some warily began to inch away from him, while others — generally those who were more well-dressed — nodded or expressed their agreement otherwise. Meanwhile, his retainers frantically tried to calm the boy down.

“Young master,” one said in hushed tones. “You must understand how important it is to the family that we are here. Please calm yourself.”

“Why should I calm myself when I haven’t heard so much as an explana-”

“Your father will be quite stern if we come back with no results!” Another one of the men cut the boy off mid-sentence.

His words seemed to have an effect, too, as the boy immediately shut his mouth and, glaring at the retainer who had just spoken, walked off elsewhere to sulk.

“Someone like that won’t last long here,” a female voice said from near Song Yi.

When Song Yi turned to look, he realized she was looking right at him. In fact, she was sitting right beside him. She looked to be around his age, with long black hair and brown eyes that had specks of gray in them.

The girl smiled. “You’ve been sitting here all this time and didn’t notice me. It’s hard to tell the time in here, but I’d say it’s been at least three hours.”

Song Yi took a moment to compose himself before saying,

“Do you know what this place is?”

The girl blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“You said someone like that kid won’t last long here. You made it sound like you know what this place is.”

“Well, I suppose I know something, though maybe not as much as some of those noble’s kids.”

Song Yi waited silently for her to continue.

“From what I know, this is a school. And not just any school either, but a school…” She paused for dramatic effect. “To make heroes!”

She grinned playfully as she glanced back at him, waiting for his reaction.

“Oh.”

“What ‘Oh’! Do you know what I’m talking about? Heroes! He-ro-s!” Her normally cute face was scrunched into a disappointed pout

“Never met any of them,” came his simple reply.

“Hmph! You think a hero would bother with a brat like you?”

“What makes you think this place is some kind of hero academy?”

“The most powerful hero in the country, the only person to ever exit the Virtuous Gate with his memories intact! Li Jian!” There was a distant, starstruck look in her eyes as she spoke the name.

“Li who?”

“How can you not know Li Jian!? Have you been living under a rock? Nobody in Ninghai hasn’t heard of Li Jian!”

When she said ‘Ninghai,’ Song Yi snapped to attention for the first time.

“You’re not from Zhongtian?”

“Zhongtian? Why would I ever go there? That would take years.”

With a quick glance at the rest of the room, Song Yi understood. In fact, he wanted to kick himself for not noticing sooner. With almost a thousand people in the room, how could that small crowd of maybe one-hundred outside the Gate of Virtues compare? Not to mention, that girl had just called it the ‘Virtuous Gate’ instead. Song Yi’s interest in this place was piqued once again, but he also became wary. If his theory was correct, then the power held by those in charge of this place was much more terrifying than simply making the space inside the gate larger than it was from the outside.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Su Bai.”

“I’m sure others have noticed by now…” he muttered. “Su Bai, I’m from Zhongtian City. You understand, right?”

Her eyes widened, but she quickly nodded.

“If the people who own this place can do something like that, then who knows what else they can do. Still, since we were invited in...”

She nodded again.

“I understand. For now, we should wait.”

Song Yi wasn’t sure why, but even despite his nervousness about his situation, after talking with Su Bai for a bit longer, he kept having to stifle a smile from appearing on his face. The longer they continued their conversation, the stronger the urge became. But, despite the growing turbulence inside him, through sheer willpower, he maintained a calm appearance.

Of course, he had heard of love before. He’d seen with his own eyes what it made men do. In fact, he had years of experience robbing such men. With that thought in mind, he was completely sure that what he currently felt wasn’t love. He felt no lust for Su Bai, nor any kind to buy her expensive gifts. It was something far more innocent than that. He couldn’t quite place the sensation.

“Song Yi!”

Su Bai’s head tilted to the side. “Send one what?”1

“It’s my name.”

“Oh…” She paused awkwardly before murmuring, “It’s a nice name.”

“Thanks.”

To both of their relief, another outburst happened at just that moment.

“Young Wang was right, this is ridiculous.” A derisive voice came from nearby the place that the child, Wang Ling, had gone to sulk. Clearly, the boy had been talking with and influenced another young scion.

This time, the one who spoke was wearing a crimson red robe, lined with pure white silk. Upon seeing a few more similarly well-dressed figures in the crowd, Song Yi couldn’t help but feel somewhat self-conscious about his ragged pants and tunic, long dirty from age and wear. Most of the people in the room were in between, dressed more similarly to Su Bai, who wore a proper robe, though a simple one unadorned by intricate patterns. In Su Bai’s particular case, there was a small white flower sewn into the shoulder of her blue robe, likely her handicraft.

Song Yi had long since learned that his new friend was from a branch family of the Su clan in Ninghai. While the Su clan itself was one of the three most prestigious clans in her country, Su Bai herself was from an inferior bloodline. Because of that, she couldn’t be considered an important person in the clan. That was part of her reasoning for entering the Virtuous Gate in the first place. The other part, of course, was her admiration for Li Jian. At least, that’s what Song Yi had been able to deduce.

While she would not call herself wealthy, to Song Yi she was practically a magnate. A small empire like Zhongtian, despite having a few countries within its borders, couldn’t compare in land to Ninghai Country. In fact, Zhongtian Empire was so out of the way that, were it not for Su Bai’s education as a minor noble, she wouldn’t have heard of it. Her branch family alone, with their wealth and influence, would be second only to the royal family if they existed in Zhongtian.

“As I’m sure fellow brothers and sisters have noticed, the sun set a while ago. We entered here at around high noon. This treatment of our valuable time is truly going too far. Out of respect for the Blue Moon, I, Gao Cheng, will take my leave quietly. But-”

“Then shut your mouth and leave,” a calm voice came from across the pagoda floor, opposite from where Song Yi and Su Bai sat.

All heads immediately turned to the source of the voice, wondering who had the gall to speak such words so boldly.

“Do you know who I-” Gao Cheng begun, but froze when he saw the face of the speaker.

The other boy stood up. “Do you know who I am?!” His previous calm turned into a raging tempest as he began to walk deliberately towards Gao Cheng, who was too frightened to move a muscle. On the other side of the room, Song Yi and Su Bai were riveted to the scene, unable to avert their eyes. “Gao Cheng, you of all people should understand that in this place, even my status means nothing.”

The boy finally stopped walking when his face was a mere foot from Gao Cheng’s. Without hesitation, he raised his arm and delivered a vicious backhand slap across Gao Cheng’s cheek, sending the other boy sprawling. Gao Cheng’s previously immaculate red robe was now smeared with dirt, but he didn’t move a muscle to defend himself.

The other boy scoffed. “It seems as though you still understand the difference between heaven and earth.”

“Third prince, I-”

“Didn’t I tell you to shut your trap? Scram!”

Without another word of complaint, Gao Cheng brought himself to his feet and immediately walked back towards the entrance they had all come from. The other boy, Wang Ling, who had lost his patience many hours prior, followed him out with his retainers.

“They must be from the same place.” Song Yi muttered.

Su Bai nodded. “Shanjing.”

“You know them?”

“Gao Cheng is very well known, even in my country. The Gao family are a trading conglomerate. They probably have merchants even as far out as Zhongtian. Gao Cheng is the heir to the company.”

“To offend someone like that… Wouldn’t even a prince have to think twice?”

Su Bai looked at the prince with a shudder before answering. “If it were the first or second prince, maybe. But the third…”

After recovering from the shock of the third prince’s appearance, many more young profligates that were cut from the same cloth as Wang Ling and Gao Cheng began to trickle out of the room. After another few hours, their original number of roughly a thousand had bled down to four-hundred. By now, it was late at night, and many of those present, exhausted, had fallen asleep.

As for Su Bai and Song Yi, their conversation had faded out after a while, but they helped each other to stay awake and alert. It wasn't too bad for Song Yi, as this was not the first time he'd had to retain his vigilance through a night. However, because of the events of the previous day, he found it harder than normal. Most of those remaining on the pagoda floor had long succumbed to their exhaustion. That was true almost unilaterally of the scions that hadn't left with Gao Cheng.

Across the room, the boy who Gao Cheng had referred to as “third prince” also stayed awake. He had leaned back against the wall, reading a small book that he held in one hand. Around the pagoda, there were more than a few young women who occasionally looked towards the third prince with dreamy eyes. In fact, Song Yi himself admired the prince, especially when he noticed the boy’s laissez-faire attitude towards the girls’ licentious gazes. While he never thought himself to be the salacious type, he was a man too. In truth, he wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to remain so unabashed in such a situation.

In this fashion the night went by until, finally, the sun rose. With the first rays of light came a wrinkled old man. He had long gray hair that stretched down below his waist, with bushy eyebrows and sharp eyes. Despite looking ancient, he used no aids to walk, and when he stood before the remaining assembled youths, his back was ramrod straight. Out of the dead silence, the old man spoke.

“You, you, you, you…” His voice was scratchy but deep, and despite his speaking softly, all those present could hear him as clearly as if he were speaking right in their ears.

Every time he said “you,” he pointed to a different person in the crowd. Those who were indicated quickly stood up at attention, many of them wearing gleeful looks on their faces. It was a while before the man stopped speaking. Su Bai, the third prince, and Song Yi remained sitting, along with no more than a few dozen youths. Song Yi and Su Bai shared a worried glance. Many of the youths who had earlier been chummy with Gao Cheng glanced derisively at the third prince. But, instead of getting angry, as many expected, the prince simply closed his book and smiled back at them. Even though his face was smiling, it was impossible for him to hide the weariness around his eyes.

Just as the profligates’ expressions turned to confusion, the old man looked at those who were standing up, and spoke his first full sentence since arriving.

“Welcome to the examination. You can leave now.”