Five principal officials had been appointed....they now stood before the gathering, calm and dignified, shoulders aligned in a perfect line, their faces radiating a solemn pride.
Each officer was to write down all the names according to their elements on the scroll that he had in Their hands.
For example, the scroll of Earth would only list those whose element was Earth.
Amidst all this, Shu Bi Suan was restlessly searching for Joye. Panic flickered in his eyes....he had evidently been searching for her for quite some time now. His breath had grown heavy and erratic, and yet, he could not even call out to her. If the officials came to know that a student was absent from the ceremony, a month-long investigation would be initiated against her. Her scrolls would be confiscated, and she would lose her only chance to summon her spiritual beast. The very weight of this consequence made him even more agitated.
He couldn't ask anyone for help, nor could he speak to anyone about it. He didn't yet know Wang Gung, Ming Heng, or Zhi Yao....not well enough to confide in them. But Joye did. And that made his worry all the more unbearable.
Just then, the officials announced the commencement of the Elemental Identification Ceremony.
One by one, students began to approach the officials. Each extended a hand towards the five elements floating in the air, and one of the elements would respond....activating and revealing the student's natural affinity.
One official continued to call out names from a scroll, his voice echoing across the entire field. Names rang out, one after the other, while the five officers recorded each name into their respective scrolls based on the student's elemental type.
With each name called, Shu Bi Suan's anxiety deepened. The students were being divided into five separate factions according to their elements. As more names were called and more students stepped forward, the groups grew in size and number....until now, only a few students remained.
Suddenly, the official called out in a loud, clear voice...
"Joye Gan!"
Shu Bi Suan's breath caught in his throat.
Sweat drenched his back.
It was as if his very soul had left his body....not Joye, but something far deeper had disappeared from within him.
He couldn't believe it.
Joye… was gone.
A profound silence settled over his heart.