No Shame, No Shame, No Shame

With his vulnerable neck suddenly seized by such a terrifying being, Yun Qing's back went taut as a fully drawn bowstring. Cold sweat nearly soaked through his inner robes!

Yet he could only let those hands, harboring the power to burn the heavens and annihilate the Dao, press against the most crucial acupoints along his neck and shoulders.

He was betting that Yun Huang bore him no ill will at the moment.

Or rather, that his "ill will" had not yet reached the point where they needed to tear off all pretense immediately.

Of course, he had no choice but to gamble. He could neither beat him nor escape him.

Sure enough, the anticipated attack never came.

Pure, gentle radiant yang spiritual power gathered at Yun Huang's fingertips and slowly seeped into Yun Qing's meridians like warm winter sunlight. He seemed to be checking whether Yun Qing's spiritual power had fluctuated abnormally when he made his proposal earlier.

But Yun Qing instinctively felt that this venerable ancestor was more likely in a bad mood and had casually found something to occupy himself with. Or perhaps this was his unique way of expressing his desire for control, like a god idly toying with a creation in his palm.

"Your spiritual power is circulating adequately. Your emotions... are reasonably steady as well." Yun Huang's voice sounded right beside his ear, clear and cold, yet their proximity lent it an indescribable resonance, like jade striking jade.

"It seems your proposal wasn't entirely motivated by self-interest."

Yun Qing's taut muscles relaxed a fraction, while bitter laughter echoed in his heart. Before this man, every little ulterior thought was as plain as the lines on his palm, with nowhere to hide.

He simply relaxed his body completely and stopped resisting, allowing the warm current with its distinctive radiant sun aura to flow through his meridians, clearing the points that had grown sluggish from days of exhausting deliberation.

The sensation was extraordinarily strange. It carried the ultimate danger of having his entire life in another's hands, yet the soothing effect of that spiritual power mingled with an indescribable hint of... the comfort of being "petted" by someone powerful.

There could be no better example of being caught between ice and fire.

Yun Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, his body relaxing beneath his black robes. He truly resembled a large cat being stroked, embodying both strength and beauty.

Had his remaining reason not been hauling desperately at his nerves, reminding him that he was before Yun Huang, he might almost have purred aloud at the exquisite comfort of that perfectly measured spiritual guidance.

"Your insight is keen, Young Lord." His voice grew extremely soft, utterly docile, making him seem even more like a large cat held by the scruff.

"I know you dislike mundane affairs, Young Lord, but this matter concerns the Yun Clan's fortune for the next ten thousand years. We cannot neglect it. Why not... follow my earlier request and begin the Cloud Summit Tournament ahead of schedule? By settling the clan's affairs with the force of thunder, we can face this nine heavens azure cloud grand age without distraction."

He paused, his voice trailing into a slight rasp, even taking on the dependence of a junior pleading with an elder. "Everything I think and do is for the continuation of the Yun Clan's glory, and to spare you some effort, Young Lord. What do you think?"

Having spoken, Yun Qing frantically drilled the same thought into himself: He's hundreds of millions of years older than you, Yun Qing! No shame, no shame, no shame, no shame.

"Hmph."

Yun Huang gave a derisive chuckle, neither agreeing nor refusing. Yet the pressure of his fingertips suddenly increased, pressing precisely onto an acupoint connected to soothing the soul.

"Ngh...!"

An intense burst of aching, tingling pressure exploded straight toward the crown of his head!

Caught completely off guard, Yun Qing could not suppress a stifled groan, his body swaying almost imperceptibly.

It actually felt worse than taking Yun Huang's palm strike earlier, as though his very soul had been seized and ruthlessly kneaded!

"Why do I get the feeling," Yun Huang said, narrowing his eyes slightly as the fingers holding Yun Qing's fate by the scruff tightened a little, "that your mind has been far too lively lately, elder brother?"

He leaned down, his cold breath brushing almost against Yun Qing's ear, his tone mocking. "Such lofty, righteous words, when you're borrowing my hand to clean your own house. You're growing increasingly adept at this little routine. Hmm?"

Alarm bells clamored in Yun Qing's heart. He was about to explain himself when the pressure on his neck eased, and those hands holding such vast power finally withdrew.

"Granted."

Yun Huang leaned back against the broad dark jade throne, resuming his usual aloof dignity. His wide sleeves fell, as though the person who had just grabbed a large cat and kneaded it thoroughly had nothing whatsoever to do with him.

He spoke only a few calm words. His voice was not loud, yet like a decree of the Heavenly Dao, it instantly pierced the many layers of barriers around Perching Phoenix Hall and spread to every corner of the Yun Clan!

"Hear my command-"

"In three months, the Cloud Summit Tournament shall begin ahead of schedule!"

"The twelve victors shall be granted the rank of the Twelve Young Masters, wield authority at the clan's core, and inherit the clan's fortune-"

"They shall represent the Yun Clan in the contest for the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud List!"

The moment the decree rang out, the entire Yun Clan shook!

"We obey the Young Lord's decree-!"

An answering roar like mountains crying out and seas surging thundered from countless palaces, towers, grotto-heavens, and secret realms, rolling like a tide of thunder straight into the clouds!

It worked!

The great stone that had hung in Yun Qing's heart for so long finally crashed to the ground!

He forcibly restrained the corners of his mouth from rising and swiftly stepped back to a safe distance, his voice regaining its customary composure and deference:

"Thank you, Young Lord!"

Watching that lightning-fast retreat, as though Yun Qing feared being "petted" again if he moved a moment too slowly, Yun Huang narrowed his golden eyes almost imperceptibly. An inexplicable displeasure stirred in his heart.

Tossing me aside once you're done. You certainly run fast.

"Work out the details with the grand elder." He glanced at Yun Qing and said no more. His black sleeve swept a stern arc through the twilight like a cloud hanging from the heavens, and his figure vanished into the deeper shadows of Perching Phoenix Hall, leaving only boundless, chilling pressure throughout the hall.

Outside, night had deepened. Moonlight spilled like water across the cold jade tiles.

Within the Yun Clan's ancestral grounds, however, the unexpected decree had stirred towering waves.

Standing outside the hall, Yun Qing shed every trace of the deference and dependence he had shown before Yun Huang. In their place came a sharp, cold gleam that could freeze a thousand miles!

"Three months..." he murmured, his lips curving into a cold, certain smile. "Enough time to lay the trap and invite them into the jar."

Meanwhile, above the clouds, within the gaps between laws.

The Yun Clan was far from the only power devising plans to face the appearance of the Azure Cloud List and the divine list. Across the Heavenly Origin Continent, the supreme powers, those titans known as the Nine Heavens Divine Palaces, had almost all been alerted at the same time. Within their secret realms and ancestral grounds, they convened emergency meetings of the highest order, the atmosphere grave.

One clan, however, went about things in a distinctly different fashion.

The head of the Jiang Clan was a famously amiable man in this world, gentle and warmhearted, with excellent connections. His greatest hobby was neither cultivation nor political maneuvering, but-gossip.

Note: This was not the Taoist "eight trigrams," but "gossip" in the most literal sense!

After his initial shock, the clan head rubbed his smooth chin and decided that enjoyment shared was better than enjoyment alone. Rather than ponder until he went bald, he might as well invite his old friends over for a chat and pool their ideas.

And so this proactive gossip enthusiast directly activated the ancient divine artifact passed down through the Jiang Clan-the Myriad-Direction Heavenly Trajectory. Ignoring the barriers of space, he sent a mass invitation through divine sense to his list of friends scattered across the major powers.

"My old friends, heaven and earth have changed, and the divine list has astounded the world. I'm sure we all have our own guesses. Why not come out for a chat and exchange what we know? Surely that would be better than each of us building a cart behind closed doors. What say you?"

Soon, countless terrifying fluctuations of divine sense, immensely powerful and varied in nature, crossed the endless void in response to his summons.

This Jiang Clan head's connections truly defied the heavens!

Thus, high above the heavens, within this freshly opened crevice in the void that concealed them from heavenly divination, indistinct figures with terrifying auras and the power of laws swirling around them manifested one after another, standing upon currents of primordial chaos.

Had any cultivators from the outside world seen those gathered here, their souls would likely have fled their bodies in fright-every one of them was a mighty patriarch, sect leader, or emperor of the Immortal Dynasty who could make this world tremble three times with a stamp of their foot!

Yet the atmosphere of this most elite "online meeting" on the entire continent was bizarrely... lively, practically rivaling a mortal marketplace!