Suddenly, Yun Qing felt a pressure as vast as a sea of stars, bearing a supreme will, descend squarely upon him!
His body paused almost imperceptibly. His unfathomably deep eyes quietly changed, chaotic qi swirling within them, before he barely managed to resist the impulse to fall to his knees.
Yun Qing betrayed nothing on his face. Even the rhythm of his breathing remained unchanged. Only his knuckles beneath his black sleeves whitened slightly from that instant of exertion.
On the jade throne, a faint trace of surprise flashed through Yun Huang's pale-gold eyes. He could sense that Yun Qing was not simply forcing himself to endure; instead, he had dissolved and devoured his pressure through some mysterious means. Such strength and composure were indeed far beyond those bastards in the clan.
No, Yun Huang immediately rejected his own comparison. Comparing them to Yun Qing would be an insult to him.
Yun Qing remained bowed, yet his back was straight. Besides deference, his eyes as he met Yun Huang's gaze actually held a hint of... the understanding and tolerance of an elder brother looking at his younger brother?
"I have long heard of your peerless talent, Young Lord. Seeing you today, I find you surpass even your reputation. It is my honor to serve as your vanguard." His tone was sincere, without the slightest trace of falsehood or affectation.
On the dais, Yun Huang's fingertips abruptly stopped tapping the armrest.
He had anticipated many possibilities, but the scene before him was not among them.
There was no naked ambition, none of the timidity and resentment common to sons born of concubines, nor any arrogance born of talent. This "elder brother" gave him a rather peculiar feeling.
This man was no ordinary man.
After a long moment, Yun Huang's terrifying pressure quietly dissipated.
"Begin the spiritual aptitude test." His clear voice rang out, revealing neither pleasure nor anger. The rebuke everyone had expected never came.
At one side of the dais, the smile deepened in Second Elder Yun Yuan's eyes. First Elder Yun Che's gaze remained unchanged, as still as the waters of an ancient well.
"Yes." Yun Qing inwardly relaxed a little, then turned toward the center of the square. There stood an ancient stele carved entirely from Dao-Nurturing Stone, its surface covered in runes, with an enormous Immortal-Appraising Spirit Pearl embedded at its summit.
Apart from Yun Qing, every Yun Clan disciple had already completed the test that day. The most gifted among them had even reached supreme-grade Heaven Tier aptitude, sending red light soaring into the sky from the stele.
It was little wonder that so many clansmen were unconvinced. Heaven Tier talent was as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns in the outside world. Who among those blessed with it was not considered a monstrous genius? Yet a single routine Spirit-Appraisal Ceremony in the Yun Clan had produced no fewer than three such "monsters."
Yun Li possessed mid-grade Heaven Tier aptitude. At that moment, he could barely conceal his smugness as he looked provocatively at Yun Qing. Unfortunately, Yun Qing never noticed him. His expression unchanged, Yun Qing walked forward slowly and, beneath countless questioning, scrutinizing gazes, calmly raised his right hand and pressed it into the recess at the stele's base.
The movement was simple and direct.
Yet the instant his palm touched the stele!
"Hummm!"
A hum that seemed to come from the ancient past suddenly erupted from within the stele!
The sound was far grander than anything heard in the previous tests. The stele trembled violently, and every ancient rune ignited at once, bursting with deep, mysterious light.
The Immortal-Appraising Spirit Pearl at its summit no longer emitted a single halo. Instead, it erupted with boundless chaotic immortal light. That radiance resembled the primordial chaos before heaven and earth had separated. Within it, nebulae seemed to be born and extinguished, and the embryonic forms of all things evolved. An ancient, vast aura, seemingly encompassing everything, thundered outward from the stele and swept across the entire square!
Immense quantities of spiritual qi from heaven and earth poured madly into the square like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. A colossal vortex of spiritual qi formed, and fierce winds rose without warning, whipping the robes of those below the dais until they could barely remain standing.
Yun Qing stood at the very center of the turmoil, his black robes and ink-dark hair flying freely. His face remained utterly calm. Chaotic qi swirled within his deep eyes, as though he himself were part of that chaos.
"This... could this be?!"
"The last time the Immortal-Appraising Spirit Pearl reacted like this was tens of thousands of years ago, when Ancestor Yun Shu underwent his test."
Everyone paled in horror at the heaven-shaking, earth-shattering phenomenon. Their earlier doubts and disdain were crushed to dust before this scene that resembled a divine miracle!
The smugness on Yun Li's face froze completely. Pale and incredulous, he actually began to tremble.
On the dais, even First Elder Yun Che, who had remained seated so steadily, leaned forward slightly. Second Elder Yun Yuan's hand stopped in midair as he stroked his goatee, relief and excitement on his face, as if to say, "Just as I thought."
Even Yun Huang fixed his golden eyes on the figure drawing forth this phenomenon of heaven and earth, his expression complex and unreadable.
Yet just as everyone thought this was already the limit, Yun Qing stirred his intent slightly, and a dark gleam flashed in the depths of his eyes.
"Clang!"
A clear ringing sound that seemed capable of tearing apart the firmament and piercing the Nine Netherworlds replaced the stele's hum. The chaotic light around the pearl, which had just begun to recede, surged once more. This time, everyone discovered in shock that at the center of the chaotic nebula lay the phantom of a tightly closed eye!
The phantom abruptly opened, revealing two clearly overlapping pupils! Those double pupils were unfathomably deep, as though they could see through past and future and discern the origins of all things.
Amid this utmost chaos and shock, immortal script finally began to condense slowly above the Immortal-Appraising Spirit Pearl, revealing several ancient, powerfully wrought characters:
Chaos dao embryo! Primordial double pupils!
The appearance of the immortal script was like divine lightning from the Purple Heavens, exploding in the depths of everyone's soul.
"A c-chaos dao embryo? The supreme cultivation physique of legend? Affinity with the origins of all Daos?!"
"Ancient texts record that anyone with this physique is born with the foundation for attaining the Dao. There are no bottlenecks in their cultivation whatsoever."
"So... so the Eldest Young Master's talent was actually this extraordinary..."
Cries of astonishment and sharp intakes of breath erupted throughout the square. Before such absolute power, every shred of dissatisfaction and doubt vanished. What distinction between legitimate and concubine-born sons? In the end, the strong still reigned supreme.
Two peerless talents, rarely seen throughout the ages, had converged in a single person.
The members of the Yun Clan gazed at the black-robed figure in the square as though looking up at a god who had suddenly descended into the world.
Yun Li's face was ashen. His earlier jealousy and provocation now seemed utterly ridiculous. Before talent like this, his mid-grade Heaven Tier aptitude was worth less than a speck of dust.
The chaos dao embryo-ranked fourth in Nine Heavens Eternity! This was a true immortal-tier divine physique, and with double pupils on top of it...
Beside Yun Li, a young woman held the hand of a little boy next to her and cried excitedly, "Shuo'er! Your eldest brother actually has such terrifying talent!" The boy's little face was flushed with excitement as well. His fists clenched tightly, and his puppy eyes stared worshipfully at the proud, effortlessly poised figure in the square.
"Tap."
Yun Huang lightly tapped the Dark Jade armrest. The sound was soft, yet it silenced the entire gathering in an instant.
Everyone held their breath and fell silent, waiting for the Young Lord's decision.
That alone showed that Yun Huang was the absolute authority of the Yun Clan.
The Second Elder's gaze swept over Yun Qing, concern in his eyes. He had personally taken Yun Qing into a secret realm and nurtured him for more than a decade. Their cultivation methods followed similar paths, making him both a teacher and a father to Yun Qing. Naturally, he hoped that the two monstrous prodigies of this generation of the Yun Clan could coexist harmoniously. His boy Qing must not be lost to internal strife.
As for why he was worried about Yun Qing's safety...
Had anyone else occupied the Young Lord's seat, the Second Elder would naturally have supported Yun Qing charging up there with his fists, taking down that damned Young Lord, and claiming the position himself.
But Yun Huang... Boy Qing, you're always so steady. You absolutely must stay steady today, too. You can't beat him. You truly cannot beat this formidable fellow. As the Second Elder brooded, he could not resist jabbing an elbow at the First Elder beside him.
"You sanctimonious old bastard, aren't you worried?"
First Elder Yun Che nimbly sidestepped, utterly ignoring the Second Elder's sneak attack.
The Second Elder bristled, his beard quivering as he glared. "Hmph! You shameless old man. Nearly twenty years since we last met, and you're still just as sanctimonious. Your grandson learned it all from you. You're exactly alike!"
Yun Huang quietly watched the figure below the dais, who had caused such a staggering phenomenon yet remained as calm as if he had merely brushed away a fallen leaf. An exceedingly subtle ripple passed through his pale-gold eyes.
He suddenly spoke, his voice carrying clearly across the deathly silent square:
"Elder brother, there is no need for such formality."
For the first time, he had addressed him as "elder brother." His tone was mild, yet the words carried the weight of a thousand tons.
"From now on, you may stand when speaking to me."
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