The Eldest Senior Brother Emerges from Seclusion (1)

At this point, although the second senior brother had not given a direct and clear answer, the faint disdain revealed in his inner thoughts was genuine beyond doubt. Like a sharp blade, it pierced the little junior sister's heart.

The little junior sister was filled with disappointment. Her once rosy little face had turned somewhat pale, and her eyes brimmed with dejection and sorrow. She bit down hard on her lower lip, her body trembling slightly as though she were desperately suppressing the grievance in her heart.

After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath and tried her best to calm herself. Then she took several steps forward, her footsteps somewhat heavy, as if every step bore the weight of her disappointment.

Halfway there, she seemed to suddenly recall something. She turned and shot Song Zhiyi a resentful glare, her gaze seemingly capable of spitting fire, then snapped impatiently, "What are you standing around for? Lead the way!"

Her voice carried obvious impatience and anger, as though she had vented all her dissatisfaction with the second senior brother onto this young, excessively good-tempered junior senior brother.

"Oh? Oh." Song Zhiyi was startled by the little junior sister's glare and only then came back to his senses as if waking from a dream.

He looked at the little junior sister, then at Shen Yuxi. Seeing Shen Yuxi nod at him in relief, he could only obediently lead the little junior sister toward the Spirit-Nurturing Pool.

Along the way, the little junior sister followed behind with puffed cheeks, muttering under her breath from time to time. Song Zhiyi, meanwhile, walked with utmost caution, not daring to make too much noise for fear of angering her again.

Watching their retreating figures gradually disappear, Shen Yuxi finally let out a breath of relief. At last, that little ancestor has been sent away.

After that, the little junior sister seemed to have been thoroughly defeated by Shen Yuxi's attitude and did not come to pester him for a long while. Shen Yuxi thus enjoyed a period of cultivation as tranquil as a still lake.

For several days, an unusual atmosphere had permeated the Profound Heaven Sect. On the surface, everyone still performed their respective duties, and everything appeared orderly. The disciples cultivated diligently, while the elders taught with care.

Yet in private, there was an indescribable subtlety in everyone's eyes. Whenever they spoke to one another, they would occasionally cast furtive glances around them, as if guarding against something.

An invisible competition over "how to elegantly pretend not to hear the second senior brother's inner thoughts" quietly began.

As for Shen Yuxi, the instigator behind it all, he had just finished cultivating and was now sitting leisurely in the pear tree beside the small courtyard like an elegant recluse. Watching the tender green leaves sway gently in the breeze, he silently counted down to a fragrant pear tasting convention.

Just then, the winds and clouds at the horizon abruptly changed. The formerly clear sky was instantly covered by vast swathes of dark clouds. Like black tidal waves, they churned and rolled with menacing force. The cloudbank resembled an enormous black dragon, bearing straight down upon Spirit Sword Peak.

Shen Yuxi was startled by the sudden change. Looking at the terrifying sight in the distance, he could not help but joke, "Good lord, that scared me to death. Which death-seeking fool swore some poisonous oath that even Heaven can't stand?"

"Second Senior Brother!" Hurried footsteps rang out on the mountain path like a dense barrage of drumbeats, shattering the brief tranquility.

Song Zhiyi came racing over in a whirlwind, his face flushed red. He panted heavily, beads of sweat as large as beans rolling down his forehead and soaking his collar, yet his eyes shone with anxiety and excitement.

"The eldest senior brother has emerged from seclusion and is about to undergo the Nascent Soul Tribulation! The sect master asks you to go to the Sword Trial Platform to observe the ceremony and comprehend the tribulation lightning!" Song Zhiyi blurted it all out in one breath, bracing his hands on his knees as he gasped for air.

The instant the young man heard the youth's voice, his previously lazy posture vanished. His back straightened like a treasured sword drawn from its sheath—keen and erect.

His eyes fixed tightly upon the tribulation clouds gradually gathering into form. They were black as ink, churning and surging as if they contained the power to destroy heaven and earth.

Shen Yuxi said nothing. With a light leap, he drifted down from the pear tree, as graceful as an immortal crane spreading its wings. Even the folds of his robes maintained the bearing of a banished immortal to perfection, as if he had not leapt down from a tree at all, but floated down from the clouds.

"Thank you for delivering the message, Junior Brother." Shen Yuxi gave a slight nod. With an elegant bearing as clear as the breeze and bright moon, he headed down the mountain with steady steps.

Yet his heart was full of sour resentment. I've been working myself to the bone, and you brat just break through again so easily, so fresh and effortlessly? Long Aotian really doesn't leave anyone a way to live.

That was right. Chu Shihan, a Sword Spirit Root sword cultivator, one of the Eight Families, young master of the prestigious Chu Clan, and disciple of the only Venerable-level great expert in the Nine Domains—the Lingxue Sword Venerable—was one of the male leads of the novel series Song of the Nine Domains, a harem-protagonist Long Aotian.

—In other words, he was the Profound Heaven Sect's eldest senior brother, who had suppressed Shen Yuxi at every turn ever since Shen Yuxi entered the sect.

Do not misunderstand. Shen Yuxi did not feel the slightest envy, jealousy, or hatred toward this Long Aotian eldest senior brother. All he felt was pure affection.

After all, this was one of the male leads from his favorite novel, one of the loves of his heart! How could he dislike his eldest senior brother? Though he occasionally could not resist grumbling and mocking him a little, there was no doubt that he respected and liked this eldest senior brother from the bottom of his heart.

When Shen Yuxi arrived at the Sword Trial Platform, the sight before him made him pause slightly. A group of fellow disciples and several elders had already gathered there. But after a brief thought, he found it only natural.

After all, this was the grand occasion of the first among the Profound Heaven Sect's younger generation to advance into the Nascent Soul Realm. Even in the Profound Heaven Sect, the foremost sect of the Lingshu Heaven Domain, entering the Nascent Soul Realm before reaching forty was a talent rarely seen since ancient times.

What the elders saw was the Profound Heaven Sect's long-term future. With Chu Shihan's peerless talent, he was destined to become a mainstay of the sect and fight for a place for the Profound Heaven Sect amid the ever-shifting winds and clouds of the Lingshu Heaven Domain.

As for the disciples, most had come to comprehend the lightning tribulation. After all, the Nascent Soul Tribulation contained the power of Heaven and Earth's laws. If they could grasp even a little from it, it would surely greatly benefit their cultivation.

Although the Sword Trial Platform had no restrictions, and both inner and outer disciples could come witness the splendor of the Nascent Soul tribulation lightning, the lower-cultivation disciples knew full well that compared with truly gaining something for their cultivation, their desire to join in the excitement was a little stronger.

They carried aspirations and curiosity toward powerful strength, eager to witness this soul-stirring scene with their own eyes. Even if they could merely experience a trace of the tribulation lightning's lingering might from the sidelines, they felt the trip would not have been in vain.

Seeing Shen Yuxi arrive, True Person Yu Qing on the high platform gave a slight nod, his eyes full of gentleness and expectation. Shen Yuxi hurriedly lowered his head respectfully in response.

Just then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the little junior sister shyly edging toward him. Shen Yuxi's heart stirred, but in the end, he did not move to stand beside his master, True Person Yu Qing.

Seeing the little junior sister's hesitant, half-spoken expression, he could not help feeling a touch of helplessness. Yet he could not embarrass her in such a setting, so he pretended not to notice her small movements.

By then, the sky was thick with dark clouds. Ink-black cloud layers roiled like enraged beasts, while thunder rumbled like ten thousand galloping horses. Thick bolts of lightning raged wantonly within the clouds, seeming ready to tear heaven and earth apart without mercy.

The eldest senior brother, Chu Shihan, stood proudly atop the peak in a black robe, surrounded by tribulation lightning, his imposing aura soaring like a rainbow. His eyes were closed in concentration, his expression resolute as iron. He showed no fear toward the terrifying lightning tribulation that was about to crash down, wholly focused on preparing for this final moment of breakthrough.

Though Shen Yuxi's thoughts sounded jealous, that was not truly how he felt. Long Aotian having heaven-blessed luck and aptitude was perfectly normal.

Everyone's attention was intensely focused on Chu Shihan as he underwent his tribulation. They watched that breathtaking scene with complete concentration, so naturally no one paid attention to Shen Yuxi's baffling-sounding remark.

As the lightning tribulation crashed down, heaven and earth seemed to be tightly shrouded by a heavy gloom in an instant. Billowing ink-black clouds churned wildly like raging tides, while bolts of lightning slithered and roamed between them like silver serpents, erupting with deafening thunder that seemed poised to shatter the entire world's tranquility.

Chu Shihan stood proudly upon the mountaintop. Wild winds howled, making his robes snap and flutter, but his figure stood like a towering mountain, majestic and unmoved in the face of this utterly terrifying sight.

All the fellow disciples stared intently at their eldest senior brother, admiration and anticipation gleaming in their eyes. Their gazes followed Chu Shihan's every movement as though they wanted to etch this soul-stirring scene deep into their hearts.

The little junior sister beside him was so nervous that her small face had turned white as paper. Her formerly rosy lips had lost all color, and her hands unconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Her eyes remained locked on the eldest senior brother's figure, not daring to shift away for even a moment. From time to time, she murmured, "Eldest Senior Brother must be all right..." Her voice trembled faintly, as if carrying all her worry and prayers.

Only Shen Yuxi appeared utterly unconcerned.

For others, this lightning tribulation might have been a harsh test capable of deciding life or death, but for Long Aotian... hehe. It would be strange if anything actually went wrong. Did they think protagonist plot armor was just for show?

The first bolt of lightning carried power that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth as it crashed fiercely toward Chu Shihan like the collapse of Mount Tai. Its might seemed poised to reduce all things beneath heaven to dust.

Chu Shihan's gaze instantly sharpened like an eagle's, a gleam flashing through his eyes. With a sudden sweep of his longsword, a dazzling sword light shot skyward like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it collided head-on with the lightning.

In an instant, light burst in every direction. Violent energy waves spread madly outward from the point of impact like ripples. Everyone felt a powerful force crash toward them like mountains toppling and seas overturning, as though it would send them flying.

Shen Yuxi reacted swiftly. Without hesitation, he raised his hand, spiritual power surging forth as he formed a sturdy spiritual barrier, firmly protecting the relatively low-cultivation little junior sister and Eleventh Junior Brother beside him.

Immediately afterward, the second and third bolts came one after another like enraged beasts, each more vicious than the last, each containing even greater destructive power.

Yet Chu Shihan remained calm and unruffled. His figure moved like lightning as he deftly darted between the bolts. His longsword danced so tightly that not even water could pass through; every strike landed precisely upon the lightning, scattering bursts of dazzling thunderlight like brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky.

Amid the fierce clash with the lightning, a soft yet dazzling golden radiance gradually emerged around Chu Shihan. Like a burning flame, it grew ever stronger, as if engaged in a breathtaking contest against the lightning's immense power.

Shen Yuxi immediately realized that the eldest senior brother was cleverly using the lightning tribulation's power to further temper his spiritual energy and physique.

"Is Eldest Senior Brother about to break directly into the Nascent Soul Middle Stage?!" Song Zhiyi exclaimed, his face full of astonishment.

Shen Yuxi nodded slightly, but inwardly grumbled, Just how brutally had you suppressed your cultivation before for it to rebound this fiercely? Outwardly, however, he merely refuted his junior brother with an indifferent expression. "No. It's an inflated cultivation level."

The little junior sister's eyes sparkled with shining admiration as she could not help praising, "Eldest Senior Brother is amazing!"

Shen Yuxi secretly observed the little junior sister's expression. Seeing her face filled with endless admiration for the eldest senior brother, he felt immensely satisfied. He unconsciously reached out and patted her head, saying gently, "Cultivate diligently, and you can do it too."

Yes! That's more like it! Turn back from the shore! As expected of the male lead—once he appears, everyone else is eclipsed!

Thinking this, he raised his head to look at the figure standing proudly amid the lightning. He completely failed to notice the little junior sister's gaze dim at once, a trace of imperceptible loss hidden within it.

Just as everyone spoke in low voices, the winds and clouds in the sky suddenly changed. The final bolt of lightning slowly gathered into form.

This bolt was several times thicker than any before it, like a colossal dragon coiled across the heavens. It emanated an aura that made hearts tremble with fear, as though a slight movement from it could mercilessly turn all things in the world to dust.

Chu Shihan took a deep breath. The golden light around him suddenly surged, and in an instant, he resembled a blazing sun bursting over the horizon, radiant and resplendent.

He gripped his longsword tightly in both hands and raised it high above his head, chanting under his breath.

"Hah!" Chu Shihan's earthshaking roar rang through the clouds like a great bell.

At the same time, the longsword in his hand slashed fiercely outward. A stream of Sword Qi containing boundless power rose into the sky like a roaring beast, meeting the final bolt of lightning head-on with unstoppable force.

In that instant, it was as though heaven and earth had collapsed. The entire world trembled, while intense light swept outward in all directions like a surging tide.

Everyone saw only blinding whiteness before their eyes and instinctively shut them, trying to resist the searing radiance that seemed capable of piercing their souls.

When the light gradually faded and the world became clear again, everyone slowly opened their eyes. There stood Chu Shihan, steady atop the mountain peak.

At that moment, his aura had drawn inward, like an unfathomable abyssal pool—calm upon the surface, yet faintly radiating an even more powerful and awe-inspiring pressure.

Clearly, he had successfully passed the Nascent Soul Tribulation and smoothly broken through into the Nascent Soul Realm.

True Person Yu Qing was the first to applaud. A gratified smile covered his face, and his eyes were full of expectation for Chu Shihan as he said with a smile, "Not bad. To enter the Nascent Soul Realm successfully at such a young age—your future is boundless!"

The fellow disciples all echoed him, congratulations rising one after another from every side.

"Congratulations, Eldest Senior Brother! Congratulations, Eldest Senior Brother!"

"With this breakthrough, Eldest Senior Brother will surely shine brilliantly throughout the Nine Domains in the future."

Everyone's words were full of envy and blessings for Chu Shihan, as though they could already see him riding unhindered across the Nine Domains, his mighty name spreading far and wide.

Chu Shihan looked humble as he cupped his hands to thank each of them in turn. He stood tall, his black robes drifting gently in the breeze, making his extraordinary bearing even more apparent.

When his gaze fell upon Shen Yuxi, his eyes held a little more warmth and sincerity. "Second Junior Brother, I gained many insights from this breakthrough as well. Once I have sorted them out, I will share them with you."

Shen Yuxi nodded slightly. "That was precisely my intention."