The Xia Residence

Wayne lead the brother-sister pair through their large residence, winding left and right on the cobblestone paths.

He was aware that their estate was considerably huge compared to the Bai, Liu, and Jing families, let alone the property of normal civilians, and hoped that it delighted Miss Eryn especially.

From the moment he laid eyes on her in the garden, he couldn't help but feel his heartbeat rising and his face reddening.

He'd developed a crush...and for once, he didn't disagree with his father for trying to get them closer.

He'd never liked Celeste, anyway.

Nor did he feel some attraction to the other girls.

He peeked a glance behind his shoulder.

Her dark eyes were stunning and intense, and her long hair flowed down to her waist elegantly without a flaw. She was slender to her figure and had smooth, light skin, which strangely matched with her silver robes and skirt that trailed gracefully behind her feet.

Though, but most importantly, Miss Eryn was mature and gave off such a calm but intense aura around her, just like her brother.

If Elias had never mentioned the fact that they were siblings, Wayne would've believed he was her boyfriend if he didn't notice their resemblance.

He was taller, sharing the same height with Wayne, though his shoulders were broader and his muscles much more defined. He had the same lengthy hair with a few strands flying in way of his eyes, the rest pulled back into a long ponytail.

His skin was equally smooth and had sharp facial features...it was enough to make another man jealous.

"So," Wayne started, trying to strike up a conversation. "I'm curious, which one of you is older?"

He waved his hand as a fly flew in his face.

Brother Elias answered. "Eryn is the elder one, even if it's only by a few minutes. We turned eighteen today..."

"Really?" Wayne exclaimed as they passed the main courtyard.

Eighteen is the age when one is allowed to marry...

He felt his neck heat up again.

He cleared his throat.

Miss Eryn dipped her head. "Yes. We came to the city to celebrate."

Wayne rubbed the back of his neck. "Well...I'm glad you did," he murmured.

"Excuse me?"

"Uh...nothing, nothing!" he said a bit loudly.

"Ah! Here's the guest rooms!"

He took to the twins to the big halls in the center of the left courtyard. "We have prepared two rooms, the one on the left is for younger bro Elias, the other is for Miss Eryn."

Wayne held his breath as he observed Eryn's satisfied expression.

"Thank you very much," she said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Wayne waved it off like it was no problem, trying to hide the fact that the tips of his ears were burning. "Of course, of course."

He continued to watch as the pair exchanged a few words before heading towards the rooms and entering silently, leaving Wayne standing alone in the dark.

He shook his head stupidly, wondering why he was still standing there like an idiot.

He turned and left the courtyard, his mind reeling with lines and topics he would say tomorrow to try to impress Eryn.

He chewed on his bottom lip, thinking.

Suddenly, he remembered the city-wide competition that they, as the city leaders, were supposed to host at the start of next week.

That was in three days.

The event was held every two years, and it was a fighting competition between contestants that combated for the nation's recognition and the final prize.

The trials were meant to show the power and potential of each participant; only the strongest and their spirit animal shall move up the ranks.

The whole tournament would last a full week, with much action and suspense.

Wayne pumped his fist in the air.

His spirit animal was the mighty griffin, there was no way he couldn't impress his crush.

_______________

Elias sat down the bed, shrugging off his outer robes and kicking off his shoes.

His mind flew back to when Ying, Madam Wen's daughter, had greeted them.

'Dragons', she had said.

How did she know?

'She has the Pheonix's powers,' said Drachnai. 'It is normal for her to be able to see and know things others don't. But this ability takes a lot of work and training, Wen Ying must be very powerful to perform it so openly and effortlessly.'

Elias rubbed his chin.

This Wen Ying is indeed very powerful, he could feel it in her presence. But what of the others?

So far, he only knew of Edison's and Evelyn's spirit animals, which were the eagle and the deer.

Both were already considered weak in terms of the capabilities of the top families.

Wayne had told them that besides him, his sister, Ying, and the Bai's children, there was Master Jing's two daughters, and Madam Liu had two more children in addition to Chen and Changming.

That adds up to a total of fourteen of our generation, including us, Elias counted.

That was honestly a lot.

'Hm, go to sleep for now,' Drachnai said. 'I have a feeling that Wayne has much more to say in the morning.'

_______________

The next morning, the main members of the Xia family gathered at the breakfast table with their two guests.

Fancy dishes sat on the table in front of them, giving off a satisfying aura.

They started to eat, and Master Xia began to get chatty as usual.

"The trials will be held in two days now!" he suddenly said. "The city will start to get lively pretty soon!"

He nudged his son in the arm, hinting.

"It's a must-see, even if you don't participate in it," he continued. "This Xia family is hosting it this year, you two will be lucky to get front row seats!"

Eryn and Elias looked up from the bowls.

"What trials?" he asked, confused. He had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Wayne looked up as well.

"Ah, it's like a competition in which the capable are able to move on after they win each battle!" he said.

He sat up straighter and added, "Don't worry! You'll see when it starts, and I'll be participating myself!"

'You'll see, you'll see,' said Drachnai. 'I'm actually hoping you and your sister will participate in it as well.'

Elias froze.

What?

'It'll be a good experience!'

Whitney placed down her chopsticks, her dish empty.

Her gaze swept across the twins before she glanced up at her father.

"Dad, I would like to participate as well!"

Master Xia leaned back in his seat, rubbing his beard.

His expression wasn't necessarily disapproving, nor excited either.

"Hm...as you wish, darling."