The morning sun bathed Skyriver City in a warm golden glow as countless streams of people flooded toward the city's grand martial arena.
Today was the annual recruitment of the Four Guardian Families.
For ordinary citizens, this was the greatest opportunity of their lives.
Those fortunate enough to be accepted would become servants of one of the Four Guardian Families. Though merely servants, they would enjoy a status envied by countless others. If they displayed enough talent and loyalty, they could even become true disciples in the future, obtaining powerful martial arts and a chance to rise above ordinary people.
Outside the arena, nearly fifty thousand young men and women waited anxiously.
Some had traveled for months to participate.
Others had prepared for years, hoping for this very day.
Inside the arena, four elderly men sat upon an elevated platform overlooking the crowd.
