A lone youth stood before a luxurious mansion surrounded by a thick silver gate as a chilling wind permeated his body although it was the middle of summer.
'Looks like I find myself returning here sooner than I anticipated...'
Leon walked up to the gate and rang the buzzer on the wall like he had done before and was greeted by a familiar face.
"Han! They still working you to death over here?"
The charming butler chuckled at the familiar careless words of the youth that had been a guest here awhile ago.
"Ah, well if it isn't the little runt from Shuangdao! Here to stir up some more trouble again? I'll have you know that the young miss has grown a lot stronger than the time of your previous visit."
Leon released a small chuckle as well, appreciating the laid back manner of the butler he had become well acquainted with in his former stay at the Jiaolong family's mansion.
"Well this time I'm here for business actually."
Leon smiled and scratched the back of his head as Han nodded his head with a small smirk.
"Oh really, no other reason huh... Alright, in any case I'll go inform the master of your arrival. You're not a stranger, so there's no need to simply stand idly about."
Waving his hand for Leon to follow him, Han directed him to wait in the living room they had met previously in as he left to inform the master of Leon's arrival.
'Looks like Han is still the same as before... I wonder what Ari's been doing since my last visit.'
Leon took a seat on one of the chairs in the wealthy living room and was left alone with his thoughts for a few minutes before Han and the head of the Jiaolong family appeared.
The head offered a warm smile as he saw the familiar mischievous face of the youth that had worked with them for a short time.
Leon received the greeting with a smile as well and quickly stood up from his seat to shake the head's hand.
He then spoke in a joking manner, "It's been awhile..."
The head laughed and shook his hand heartily before replying.
"Yes it has been, seems almost a millennia. So what brings you back up this way again?"
Leon revealed a small smile from the corners of his mouth as he informed him of his request.
"Ah, I see. Well my family has remained quite secretive and unmoving on the matter of sales regarding this mineral. However, since we are acquainted and you've helped my daughter awhile ago I suppose I could make an exception. But, instead of a cash payment I would appreciate if I could make a trade for your service instead?"
Leon was perplexed and slightly troubled by this offer.
'Damn, I hope this isn't going to be along the lines of servitude for a period of time. I don't have that much time to waste with only a week and a half remaining before the West's arrival.'
Leon's previously warm smile became slightly forced as he asked about the details of this "service."
"What did you have in mind?"
The head anxiously coughed before adorning a nervous smile while throwing a side glance to Han.
The gutsy butler only shrugged to answer the Head's glance as if they had held a silent conversation between themselves.
"Well you see... Although we are the main family of the Jiaolong household and have remained uncontested for the past hundreds of years against our two side branches, this gap in power has shortened after all this time. Han here, is from the third family that is the weakest of the three and supports the first, or us the main branch, while the second has always envied us due to some complicated history between the two branches."
Leon lifted his head slightly while rubbing his chin as he tried to connect the association between his potential "service" that he would perform with the information he had heard so far.
"Every year each branch of the household sends in their most talented youths from the new generations to gather the flood minerals, or absorptions stones as the outsiders like to call them, in order to demonstrate the strengths of each branch. As you've probably already assumed, whichever branches' generation brings back more flood minerals determines their rise, fall, or unchanged position within the household. This event is known as the Flood trial that our household has conducted for roughly a thousand years."
Leon nodded his head while muttering, "Sounds like this trial is the foundation of the Jiaolong household's prosperity."
The Head agreed with the sentiment as he continued earnestly.
"Correct, this is part of the core for our family's existence and wealth. Once the representatives of each branch return we hold a festival, known as the Dragon Rebirth Festival, where each branch gathers at the small village at the foot of the Jiaolong mountain to discern the mineral count for each branch, and determine the new ranking of the branches. Until a few years ago, we remained the strongest household for over three hundred years. However, the second family has suddenly grown their strength to finally rival ours within the past decade."
The Head hesitated with a long sigh before presenting Leon with their dilemma.
"I'm not sure of what means they used but most of last year's representatives we sent were crippled and sent into a coma or killed besides my daughter and a spare few. We somehow managed to maintain our current position but we dread the arrival of the next Flood Trial which will be held in two days' time. In exchange for a portion of the minerals we retrieve, I would like for you to be included in the representatives that we send this year and help my family branch retain its position as the main branch."
Finally finishing his sad story of the recent decline in their family and proposal, the Head looked deep into Leon's eyes awaiting his response.
Time seemed to stand still in the elegant living room while Leon pondered whether to take the burdensome request of the main branch or not.
'It shouldn't be a problem considering Ari's strength is apparently considered one of the best out of this generation in the household, but I still have my own problems to deal with. That being said... I need the flood minerals to help us gain a better chance against the experts from the West. This is a real headache!'
He knitted his brows as he weighed the pros and cons while taking his remaining timeframe into account. Finally the few moments of deliberating, that felt like an eternity for the head, was finished.
"How long does this Flood Trial and festival usually take?"
The Head smiled as he answered, "Not long, usually the course of the whole ordeal is roughly between four to five days."
Seeing that he would have a couple days to a week remaining helped Leon silence his doubt.
"Alright, I guess we have a deal then," he said while shaking the Head's hand.
"Great! I believe we will be able to pull through this time with your added strength. Especially after hearing about all your spars from my daughter."
The Head regained his usual hearty attitude and demeanor as he shook Leon's hand and clapped his back.
"Han take our friend here to his quarters!"
Han curtly bowed to his master and gestured for Leon to follow his lead while giving him wink.
Leon was yet again astounded by the massive size of the mansion while he followed Han to his temporary residence.
Along the way, Leon was surprised as they took a different corridor than the one they had taken last time that led to the room he had stayed in while training Ari.
"Han, isn't the path to my room two corridors behind us?"
The charming butler only responded with a chuckle while motioning Leon to continue on instead of backtracking. At the end of the new corridor, Leon was shocked by the sight that greeted his eyes.
The butler and himself were now in the center of the Jiaolong mansion that housed a beautiful courtyard.
Beautiful tress with blossoming buds lined this space surrounding a medium sized pond that was as clear as the sky. Within the pond were different types of vibrantly colored fish slowly swimming around and could clearly be seen by this mystical lake that seemed to illuminate light itself.
The scene cause Leon to feel a pure sense of peaceful serenity as he gazed at this small fragment of heaven; seemingly untouched by the corruptness of life's darkness.
Leon was only brought back to his bearings as Han came to a halt.
"This will be your residence while you are here for a short time before the start of the trial."
If the courtyard had impressed Leon then the residence that he entered had shocked him as well. On the first floor there was a quiet study with different maps and books lying around and a dining/living room area that was nothing short of lavish.
In the corner of the living area was a metal spiraling staircase that led to a second floor where an elegant bedroom was located along with a washroom and balcony. Leon was greeted by the beautiful view of the courtyard again after pushing open the French sliding doors that led out onto the balcony.
Han released a small chuckle seeing the intrigued look strewn across Leon's face.
"Your previous stay was only for work but now you are a treasured guest and maybe even savior. Think of this as the master's utmost courtesy to your important service."
Leon could only nod his head in thankful acceptance as Han left him to continue inspecting his temporary residence.
'I've said it before, but the Jiaolong family is ridiculously rich!'
Leon plopped down on the edge of the massive and soft bed just as a small knock was heard from his residence's door.
Regaining his composure, Leon went down the spiraling staircase to open the door for his visitor and was surprised.
"Young Miss, what brings you here?"
Ari huffed at the cold greeting from her former instructor that wasn't even two years older than herself.
"I came to see you since Han notified me that you stopped by..."
She shyly said as she tried to catch her breath from running straight down to see her past mentor.
'Of course he did...'
Leon began to feel strangely annoyed with the cheeky butler who seemed to be playing match maker in his free time.
"I came to see your father because had some business I needed to attend to... Actually, it looks like you will be seeing more of me in the next couple of days since I'll be participating in the Flood Trials on behalf of your father."
Leon scratched the back of his head as he realized they would technically be working together for the next few days since they both were representing the Jiaolong family in the trial.
"Oh! Han didn't tell me that... Well I guess we'll be in your care then if it doesn't trouble you."
Leon nodded his head in agreement and said the same before inviting her into the living area of his lavish temporary quarters.
While Ari took her seat at the massive sofa in the room, Leon walked over the kitchen and poured some drinks for the both of them before following her lead.
"So, what have you been doing for the past couple of weeks? I heard from Han that you've had some improvements in your training." said Leon as he offered a glass to her.
Accepting the glass, she responded, "I've managed to have a breakthrough to the first layer of the mortal realm but it seems you've already done so as well..."
He nodded his head in acknowledgement with her words as he took a sip from the glass.
"It was a pain, but yes, I've broken into the mortal realm as well... I was wondering... Since you have more information regarding the other families than an outsider like myself... If you could give me some insider details on their capabilities or who we should be wary of during the trial?"
Leon directed the conversation towards his main priority and patiently waited for her answer.
"Sure! I don't mind considering that you will be working with us anyways... As far as I know the other families don't have as many resources like our main family does, so there are only one or two mortal realm martial artists amongst them. The ones we need to watch out for are the main heirs of the two branch families," she said with a serious frown.
"I thought your father said you had the support of the third family?"
"The third family follows us because we are the strongest. However, I'm not quite sure if this has changed within the recent years since the second family has been closing the rift in power between us. Luckily, we are still in control of the minerals so I believe that until our position is compromised the third family won't make any drastic moves."
Ari solemnly stated while looking down towards her hands.
Leon could now see the amount of stress and pressure that had been placed on the main family.
'Looks like this internal power struggle has been slowly eating away at the main family...'
"Well now that I'll be participating in the trials we should be able to pull through." Leon said as he leaned back in his seat.
"I hope that you are right."