Welcome to the middle (1)

The conference is held on neutral ground in the middle of the continent, not belonging to any sect or organizations, and would be hosted by the governing body of Ping Tian Continent. The conference's purpose is to let both Gold and Silver People understand each other better and promote harmony between Sects as well as between Gold and Silver people.

Similar to Gold people, Silver people are also only allowed as a participant in the conference only once in their lifetime. (Unless they are attending it again as a moderator.)

True to what one of the disciples mentioned, three hours later, both birds started descending towards a large field. Ye Chen saw many people with different coloured robes on the field and tried to spot the Mu brothers but was not able to.

"Are you looking for the Mu brothers?" Wen Jun asked.

"Mmhmm." Ye Chen answered while still trying to look.

"They are there." Wen Jun pointed to a bunch of disciples at the left side of the field.

"...You have good eyesight" Ye Chen mumbled and he mentally prepared to go to that location right after they landed.

However, when they landed, they were all made to wait in a specific area. All participants were given a number plate that allocates them to their groups. Ye Chen took his number plate from a sleepy looking elder who is one of the moderators from JianZhu Sect and looked around to see if he could catch any glimpse of the Mu brothers at the spot earlier. No luck. But he was able to see that most disciples hang around their own Sects and did not mingle around with others.

*****

Here is a recap on the sects! :)

GongCi Sect - Beast Taming and Melee Combat techniques. (Black Robes)

TianAn Sect - Healing, Sound Manipulation and Support techniques. (White Robes)

ZhongQi Sect - Nature Powers specializing in Defense and Growth techniques. (Green Robes)

JianZhu Sect - Offense Specialization, Weapon Manipulation, Specifically Swords. (Blue Robes)

Sects

On a regular day, Silver People's scholars are dressed according to their own profession. But for this conference, they are all dressed in red robes for easy identification.

*****

A loud voice was heard around the field.

"Attention everyone. It is now 12pm. The opening ceremony will only begin in the evening at 6pm. Please gather in your groups when the bell rings and settle into your accommodation. Each group will be assigned two senior disciples who have attended the conference before. If there's anything you are concerned about, please approach them. You and your group members will be together for a month. Please be on your best behaviour."

The total number of participants consisting of Gold(100) and Silver(50) people came to 150. They were then put into groups of six - each group consisting of four Gold people, at least one from each sect, as well as two Silver people. There were a total of 25 groups.

"Look, that shimei earlier is mingling with some of the Silver People." Wen Jun pointed to the female disciple earlier. She was with a few red robed scholars, chatting and hugging each other.

"Ah, this is why she was so defensive. She is friends with some of them." Ning Ning commented out of the blue.

Ye Chen was surprised at the random comment by a random shimei who came out of nowhere, but ignored her and continued looking around.

"Greetings Shimei, what group number did you get?" Wen Jun asked.

"Group 13, how about you Shi-xiong?" She asked.

"Oh, I am in group....Ah!!! Where is Ye-Xiong?" Wen Jun became occupied with the conversation and lost track of Ye Chen. He ran off looking for him.

"Jun-Shixiong!!!" Ning Ning pouted as she watched Wen Jun run off.

--

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" A voice sounded beside Ye Chen. He turned to see a youthful teenager smirking crossed armed, and beside him, an identical face holding a fan.

"Tsk, who do you think I am?" Ye Chen sticks out his tongue at Mu Lian.

"I think that...you and Wen Jun are becoming best buddies, would you forget me and Ah-Yang by then?" Mu Lian teased.

"No!" Ye Chen rolled his eyes.

"Ye-di, Ye-di, what number did you get?" Mu Yang nudged.

"Uhh. My number plate says 19." Ye Chen held up the metal plate with it's numericals painted in black. "What about both of you?" He asked.

"Oh!!! 19!!... That's too bad. Mine is 23 and Ah-Lian is 3. Looks like we won't be in the same group." Mu Yang replied dejectedly, before screaming and randomly ran off into the crowd, leaving Mu Lian with Ye Chen.

Ye Chen scratched his head, looking confused and to his surprise, Mu Lian suddenly leaned over to whisper into his ear. A strange chill went down his spine as Mu Lian's warm breath touched the inside of his ears. He wanted to push the overbearing older Mu brother away but stopped as he heard his message.

"Be extra careful. Someone may be targeting you."

"What are you talki…" Ye Chen replied in shock before being interrupted by the bell - indicating for all disciples to head to their new respective groups.

"I'll be off, remember to use your fireworks without hesitation if something is amiss." Mu Lian pats Ye Chen's head before briskly walking towards the moderator holding his group number.

Ye Chen wanted to question Mu Lian about why he said that but he was already far away from him. He stood still, watching as his back disappeared into the crowd of disciples.

"What are you looking at Ye-Di?"

Snapping back to reality, Ye Chen saw Mu Yang tugging his arms and bringing him to where his group was supposed to be gathered. "Nothing… Where did you go earlier, Yang-Xiong?"

"Handled something important! You need not worry!" Mu Yang's little grin hides behind his fan as he skillfully manipulates his wind spell to appear at the heel of his feet, making his movements faster than normal.

In less than a minute, they arrived in front of the moderator who was holding the sign "19".

"Good morning Senior. I am Ye Chen from GongCi Sect, I am allocated to group 19." Ye Chen bowed and politely spoke as he handed over his number plate to the moderator.

"And you? Are you here to report as well?" the moderator shifted his eyes onto Mu Yang.

"Oh no! He's from another…"

"Good morning Senior." Mu Yang interrupted Ye Chen. "I am Mu Yang from TianAn Sect, I am allocated to group 19 as well. Please take care of me." he presented the same number plate to the moderator and snuck a side grin towards the dumb founded Ye Chen.

"..."

"Go towards the cherry blossom tree on your right, wait until all your teammates arrive." the moderator pointed to the east and waved his sleeve for them to move quickly.

"Now I know what you were up to when you ran off earlier." Ye Chen lowered his voice and added a fake laugh to ensure that his nervousness could not be detected. He was starting to feel anxious as he was worried Mu Yang would be implicated if there was really someone in the shadows trying to hurt him.

"Got no idea what you are talking about." Mu Yang smiled and walked ahead of Ye Chen.