The Avalon Of Five Elements

The porridge feast in Peace City became a trending topic as news travelled around with a marvelous speed.

The different phenomenons that occurred during the cooking process really broadened everybody’s horizons. Elementalists specializing in elemental food were all focusing on research. In order to witness the legendary Tribulations, many made special trips to purchase a message bean pod, causing a rise in sales of message beans in every store.

Silver Mist Sea, Pagoda of Hidden Edge.

"Was it really that magical?" Yuchi Ba’s curious voice sounded from the light cocoon.

Tong Gui stood in front of the cocoon and answered respectfully, "Yes, it was very mystical. Old Tian’s old injury healed completely and while my elemental energy did not increase, I could feel my mental state becoming much more stable and concise."

Yuchi Ba commented in praise, "There’s actually such a capable person among Ai Hui’s subordinates."

Tong Gui reported, "Yes, he is a sand puppet named Lou Lan. I don’t know which expert created him came from but he’s smart and extremely talented. In Central Pine City, he kept by Ai Hui’s side and was very familiar with the rest of the gang as well."

"Go investigate." Yuchi Ba said in a low voice, "I’ve not heard of a sand puppet who is such an expert at cooking elemental food. Making elemental food that triggered Tribulations, isn’t he an elemental food master then? Being able to create such a powerful sand puppet, there’s no way that earth elementalist is an obscure figure."

"Yes." Tong Gui agreed. Hesitating, he asked, "Old Ba, this Ai Hui… how and what are we going to do with him next?"

Yuchi Ba laughed. "The rain must fall, the ladies must marry. Let him be."

"Ah?" Tong Gui was stunned. So much effort had been spent on creating this situation, was he going to just let it go like this?

"Shi Xueman seeks shelter from Ai Hui and the position for the next Great Elder is vacant now. All aristocratic families are fighting hard for this position so who has the time and energy to care about him?" Yuchi Ba’s tone was filled with ridicule. "As long as we don’t take Ai Hui in as our own, all will be peaceful. Just wait, they might even try to get us involved."

Tong Gui said urgently, "But, the backbone of each division in Central Pine has been taken away by Ai Hui. Isn’t this a messy situation? And there’s Master’s Glory. Is Ai Hui getting a place? If not, I’m afraid many from Central Pine will not join as well. Old Ba, your humble servant has been staying in Swordsman Training Hall for a few days now, and I feel that these people are very united and have already developed the ‘all for one, one for all’ attitude."

"What’s the rush?" Yuchi Ba laughed again. "The cooked meat is in the pot so where else can it go? And so what if Ai Hui and his people moved together? Where else can they go? As long as they remain in the Avalon of Five Elements, we will have our options. Since they’re so adamant on seeking revenge on Blood of God, they can’t rely on Jadeite Forest."

Tong Gui’s eyes lit up.

"Youngsters are often impulsive. Aren’t we also seeking revenge on Blood of God? But the time just isn’t right yet. Ai Hui is just a male eagle that has to be tamed, or else how is he going to listen to us? How is leading a whole bunch of people an easy task? Money, resources, inheritance… does he have them? People are practical creatures. When comradeship is obliterated, there will be nothing left after some time."

Tong Gui nodded his head repeatedly. "Old Ba is wise! Ai Hui can only break in and inhabit the Wilderness if he wishes to provide shelter and support for so many people."

"Youngsters have to be polished or how else would they understand the vastness of the world? How are the aristocratic families going to find time to care about him? They hold the same opinion that since the cooked meat is already in the pot, making a move earlier or later will yield the same result. As long as Ai Hui experiences a little setback, Central Pine City will collapse. That is when everyone will make a move. Aristocratic families are different from us. They have no interest in Ai Hui but they have their eyes on Central Pine Faction. These youngsters need a little fine-tuning."

Yuchi Ba said leisurely, "Don’t be anxious. We have nothing but time. The fight between aristocratic families is not going to conclude any time soon."

…..

A heated discussion was in progress in Swordsman Training Hall.

"Are we going to choose Aristocratic Faction or the New Citizen Faction? Right now, it seems that the new citizens are friendlier…"

Before finishing, Shi Xueman interrupted by repeating Duanmu Huanghun’s earlier judgments. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement as she spoke.

Duanmu Huanghun’s words were convincing as they hit the nail right on the head.

"There’s no need to mention the Aristocratic Faction. They’re busy fighting for… the position sister Xueman discarded." Duanmu Huanghun sighed softly, his voice taunting. "God-subduing Peak is so mighty that the internal strife can carry on without a problem. The New Citizen Faction deems the situation to be lacklustre. As the fights within Aristocratic Faction become fiercer, their loss will increase along with the opportunities available to the New Citizen Faction. As such, they will not lure us in now to avoid provoking the Aristocratic Faction."

Everyone’s faces were ashen as the atmosphere was rather stifling.

Only Silver Mist Sea and Palette Cloud Village were left in the Avalon of Five Elements so Elders Guild was still battling internally. It was bitterly painful.

"They don’t care at all. To them, people like us, high in number but weak in strength, are good practice targets. Plus, it’s too easy to deal with us. They just have to find someone to get rid of Ai Hui and we will all fall apart. If they take action again, it’ll be like plucking perfectly ripe fruit – effortless."

Duanmu Huanghun continued, "We don’t even have to consider Jadeite Forest. Even I am unwilling to return to that place."

These words silenced everyone further. The future seemed so bleak.

Thinking about the conversation he had with Shi Xueman that day, Jiang Wei spoke up. "We can inhabit the Wilderness and construct a city that belongs to us. Ai Hui is very familiar with the Wilderness so if we can hunt more dire beasts, Lou Lan can prepare more elemental food and our skills will improve quickly."

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

"What if Elders Guild wants to take it back?" Duanmu Huanghun asked. "We can build a city, but with a simple order Elders Guild can revoke it. The Elders Guild may not deal with the aristocratic families since they’re their own people, but what about us? When the internal battle is over, our good days are too."

Ai Hui spoke suddenly. "We can sell that city to an aristocratic family and move to Old Territory."

Everyone was in shock. Old Territory?

"Don’t forget the purpose of our reunion. We are here to seek revenge." Ai Hui said in a low voice, "The Avalon is urgently undergoing reconstruction now, so there won’t be a war with Blood of God for the time being. We can only head to Old Territory if we want to battle with Blood of God. Old Territory is where the key strategy to attacking Blood of God lies."

Fatty looked cheerful. Going to Old Territory was a good thing since his family was still there.

"What about resources?" Duanmu Huanghun questioned. "Why did the Avalon abandon Old Territory? It’s because there aren’t much resources. How are we going to compensate for that? Where are we going to get our regular training and battling supplies? Plus, it is surrounded by enemies from three corners. Anyone can attack us in that battleground. What are we going to do if Avalon of Five Elements and Jadeite Forest stab us in the back?"

Ai Hui kept quiet. Duanmu Huanghun made a lot of sense and he was unable to refute this reasoning.

But he wasn’t angry. Such a big matter wasn’t going to be easy naturally. "Let’s make use of these few days to train as much as we can and digest the medication. Fists work better than anything else. We’ll take our time to think of solutions. I’m sure we will come up with something."