The gate leading to the Fourth Plateau was not merely an entrance; it was a masterpiece of architectural arrogance designed to make those from the lower levels feel their insignificance. Unlike the muddy, industrial harbors of the First Plateau or the smog-choked alchemy markets of the Third, the Fourth was a sprawling terrace of floating gardens, crystalline waterfalls, and white jade temples. This was the boundary where the "true" elite of the Central Continent began their ascent toward divinity. The air here was so saturated with spirit-Qi that it hummed with a golden radiance, and every breath felt like drinking a celestial nectar that cleared the lungs and sharpened the senses.
At the heart of the main plaza stood the Heavenly Selection Pavilion, a towering structure of silver-wood and enchanted glass where the young geniuses of the continent gathered to register for the upcoming tournament.
Qin Feng and Ye Chen walked through the plaza, their rhythmic footsteps echoing against the polished marble floor. They were a bizarre, almost insulting sight to the refined cultivators surrounding them. Qin Feng wore a simple, travel-worn grey robe, dusted with the grime of the roads and the soot of the lower forges. His Eclipse Sunderer was still wrapped in its scorched, blackened cloth and slung over his shoulder like a common peasant's tool. Beside him, Ye Chen moved with a grace that was both haunting and regal, her face hidden behind a veil of white silk. Her presence radiated a cold, silent enigma that caused the vibrant flowers in the nearby gardens to wilt and frost over as she passed.
"Look at those two," a young cultivator in shimmering blue silks whispered, leaning arrogantly against a marble pillar while swirling a cup of spirit wine. "Did a miner lose his way and wander onto the high plateau? This isn't a place for digging holes."
[DING! Location Entered: Heavenly Selection Pavilion.] [Quest: Registration of the Outcasts.] [Objective: Register for the Tournament without revealing your full identity to the Moon Sect spies.] [Warning: High-level 'Soul-Sensors' are active in the hall.]
"Ignore them," Qin Feng muttered to Ye Chen, his eyes fixed forward. "The louder they bark, the less they bite. We are here for the jade, not the conversation."
As they reached the registration desk, the registrar, a man with a long, needle-thin beard and eyes that flickered with the cold greed of a middleman, didn't even bother to look up from his ledger. "Name, Sect affiliation, and a fee of one thousand high-grade spirit stones for the entry jade," he droned.
"Qin Feng. Rogue cultivator," Qin Feng said, placing a heavy, clinking pouch of Cauldron Tokens on the desk, the "donation" he had forcibly taken from the Alchemy Elders on the plateau below. "No sect affiliation."
The registrar's pen hovered over the parchment. He slowly looked up, his gaze sweeping over Qin Feng's dusty, unremarkable clothes with visible disdain. "Rogue? This isn't a street brawl in the slums, boy. This is the Heavenly Selection. Unless you are at least at the 5th Layer of Foundation Establishment, you're just paying for a fast and expensive death."
"I can handle the cost," Qin Feng replied, his voice flat and dangerous.
"And her?" the registrar asked, nodding toward the silent, veiled figure of Ye Chen. "She needs her own registration if she intends to step onto the stage."
"She is my partner. We are entering the 'Duo Category'," Qin Feng stated firmly.
At the mention of the Duo Category, a tall, strikingly handsome man in the radiant robes of the Golden Sun Sect stepped forward from the crowd. He was surrounded by a dozen fawning disciples, his 8th Layer Foundation aura radiating like a miniature sun, forcing those nearby to squint. This was Young Master Solari, a favored candidate for the tournament's top ten.
"A miner and his veiled maid in the Duo Category?" Solari laughed, his voice booming through the hall, rich with mockery. "The standards of the Fourth Plateau have truly fallen into the mud. Tell me, miner, does your 'partner' even know how to hold a blade, or is she only good for warming your bed during the cold nights in the pits?"
The hall erupted in refined, condescending laughter. Ye Chen's aura flared for a split second, a spike of absolute-zero ice so sharp it caused the marble floor beneath her feet to spider-web with cracks. Qin Feng immediately caught her hand, his thumb stroking her palm to calm her. He could feel the frost biting into his skin, but he didn't let go.
"She's better with a blade than you are with your mouth," Qin Feng said, turning to face Solari. The intensity in his violet-gold eyes was so sudden and sharp that Solari's smile faltered for a fraction of a second.
Solari's face darkened, replaced by a cold, murderous glint. "You have a death wish, roturier. Registrar, give them their jade. I want to personally ensure they don't make it past the preliminary round. It would be a mercy to end their delusions before they reach the higher plateaus."
The registrar, smelling a profitable grudge that would draw more bets, quickly handed over two black jade tokens. "You are registered as the 'Eclipse Duo'. Your first match is in three days. Try not to get blood on the jade; it's a hassle to clean."
[DING! Registration Successful!] [Reputation Gained: 'The Suicide Duo' — Current Rank: Bottom.] [Face-Slapping Multiplier x10 (Preliminary): You have provoked a top-tier genius of the Sun Sect.]
As they turned to leave the pavilion, Qin Feng felt a sudden, icy shiver crawl down his spine, not from Ye Chen's Qi, but from a predatory gaze. At the far end of the hall, partially hidden behind a screen of shifting, illusory shadows, a pair of eyes was watching them. These were not the eyes of an arrogant young master; they were old, wise, and filled with a terrifying, sudden recognition.
"Husband," Ye Chen whispered as they stepped back into the blinding sunlight of the plaza. "One of the Elder Inquisitors of the Moon Sect is here. He felt my ice-Qi spike when Solari spoke. He knows... or at least, he suspects."
"Then the three-day countdown is a lie," Qin Feng said, his grip tightening on the handle of the Sunderer. "They won't wait for the tournament. They'll send hunters tonight to verify our identities and finish what they started three years ago. We cannot stay in the public inns."
"There is a district on the far eastern edge of this plateau," Ye Chen said, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the skyline. "The Weeping Willow Forest. The spirit-Qi there is unstable, and the shadows are deep enough to hide a city. If they want to play at being assassins, we will show them that the darkness no longer belongs to them."
Qin Feng looked back at the Pavilion, then down at the black jade token in his hand. The "penniless miner" was no longer just surviving; he was setting a trap. He had spent his life in the dark mines, and tonight, he would show the elite of the Central Continent that in the dark, everyone bleeds the same color.
[NEW SUB-QUEST: 'Night of the Long Knives'.] [Objective: Neutralize the Moon Sect Inquisitors without alerting the City Guard.] [Reward: Soul-Iron for the Sunderer's next evolution & Ye Chen's 'Moon-Glow' Armor.]