At those words, Yun Qing let an appropriately grateful expression appear on his face and cupped his fists again. "Thank you, Young Lord." He lowered his eyes, and deep within his double pupils, a faint glimmer of a plan fulfilled quietly faded.
Though the Second Elder had described him as someone who had always been steady and composed, the little figure inside his mind was busy scribbling: Step one of "My Guide to Winning Over My Immortal Emperor Little Brother"-success ✔.
On the elevated platform, First Elder Yun Che slowly exhaled a stale breath and said gravely, "Heaven favors the Yun Clan." Second Elder Yun Yuan finally could not help bursting into laughter, utterly delighted.
The other elders' expressions also relaxed somewhat. The last thing the lineage wanted to see was these two prodigies fighting among themselves.
Hope involuntarily kindled in the eyes of many children born of concubines below the platform. Ever since Yun Huang had taken power, life had been truly difficult for them within the lineage. Only Yun Li wore a complicated expression, his feelings impossible to untangle.
Yun Huang watched the figure below the platform, as steady as an ancient pine, and the faint ripples stirred in his heart by the other's unconventional behavior gradually subsided.
He slowly rose and swept his sleeve as he departed, surrounded by one reverent cry after another of "Farewell, Young Lord."
A chaos dao embryo, primordial double pupils... interesting, Yun Huang murmured inwardly. It seems you're far more interesting than I expected. Heh, the First Elder and the others certainly kept their secrets buried deep. Were they afraid I'd strike at you?
I exempted you from kneeling only because your talent was passable and your bearing reasonably proper. Whether you're loyal or treacherous, uncut jade or stubborn stone, only the polishing of years will tell. I shall watch and wait.
Although Yun Huang himself loathed those born of concubines, he also appreciated genuine geniuses. From the look of things now, this "elder brother" was the only one of their generation who could even begin to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
On his first return to the lineage, Yun Qing had brazenly announced his arrival in a manner that shattered stone and startled heaven, utterly crushing every objection and doubt. Whether this ripple cast upon the lake of fate would eventually subside or brew into towering waves, only time could answer.
The ruler upon the Dark Jade seat had already departed, but the aftermath of the Spirit Testing Ceremony exploded among the younger generation of the Yun Clan.
"A chaos dao embryo and primordial double pupils. Ancestors, you're playing favorites! Can those things really exist in the same person?!"
"We've been frogs at the bottom of a well..."
"Ancestors, bless us! My wife is pregnant. I'm not asking for a child like the eldest young master-half as good would do! Bless us, bless us."
There was astonishment, there was admiration, and there were even people who began praying on the spot. All manner of emotions flowed and twined around Yun Qing's tall, straight figure.
He stood quietly in place, his black robes stirring without wind, his face as unruffled as an ancient well. Deep within his double pupils, chaos origin qi flowed like a nebula, reflecting every minute ripple of emotion and spiritual energy around him as clearly as the lines of his own palm, yet none stirred so much as half a ripple upon the lake of his heart.
"Big brother!"
An irrepressibly jubilant cry broke the silence. A little boy darted up to him like a puppy freed from its cage, his eyes astonishingly bright. "Big brother! Everyone outside is talking about you. You're incredible!"
The young woman beside him, Yun Yao, a concubine-born daughter of the Yun Clan's third branch, also jogged over and bowed slightly to Yun Qing. "Big Brother Yun Qing."
Yun Qing gave Yun Yao a slight nod, then lowered his gaze to his younger brother by the same mother, Yun Shuo. The small, cowering figure in his memories finally bore the buoyant spirit a child his age should have. His return would make Yun Shuo's life within the lineage considerably easier.
Yun Qing raised a hand, brushing his fingertips over Yun Shuo's soft hair, and spoke gently. "An empty reputation, nothing more. On the path of cultivation, what matters is yourself. You must work diligently and not let outside things distract you." His double pupils also swept toward the girl beside them; clearly, those words were meant for her as well.
"I know, big brother." Yun Shuo nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Big Brother Yun Qing." Yun Yao kept her voice very low, her eyes reddening with lingering fear. "But big brother, the Young Lord's attitude toward those born of concubines... before, just because Brother Yun Li was a moment slow in answering, the Young Lord... Brother Yun Li's dantian was injured, and it still hasn't healed."
"Mind your words." Yun Qing cut her off, his gaze suddenly lifting toward the direction Yun Huang had left. A trace of profound wariness flashed deep within his double pupils. "The Young Lord's will is the heavenly law of the Yun Clan."
Startled by the chill in his words, Yun Shuo and Yun Yao hurriedly fell silent.
Just then, Second Elder Yun Yuan approached at an unhurried pace, his face filled with undisguised gratification and admiration. His gaze swept over Yun Qing before he nodded. "A composed disposition, as unshakable as a mountain; measured responses, like still waters running deep. Good, good. Young Qing, very good." His words seemed to assess today's performance, but his gaze briefly met that of First Elder Yun Che, who stood a short distance away with his hands behind his back.
Both elders' eyes brimmed with an unspoken understanding—as expected of a soul selected by the Soul-Tracing Secret Rite. Paired with this chaos dao embryo and these primordial double pupils, he was truly a match made in heaven, the perfect vessel for the ancient glory of their Yun Clan.
"You praise me too highly, Second Elder. I dare not accept such honor." Yun Qing bowed, humble and respectful.
"Hmph, you posturing little brat. Come with me. Your Heaven-Supporting Hall has long been ready." Yun Yuan gave a derisive chuckle, flicked his sleeve, and turned to lead the way.
Yun Qing bid Yun Yao farewell and, taking Yun Shuo along, followed the Second Elder through one palace after another. Wherever they passed, whether patrolling guards or lineage disciples encountered by chance, everyone immediately bowed, their eyes filled with awe.
Upon entering the Heaven-Supporting Hall, he found a spacious interior with carved beams and painted pillars, combining the utmost antique elegance and luxury. Dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth rose in drifting mists, almost solid enough to touch, scarcely inferior to the Primordial Chaos Ancient Cave where he had cultivated arduously for over a decade.
He bid the Second Elder farewell and dismissed the disciples standing in attendance, leaving only Yun Shuo, who was brimming with curiosity about the hall.
Yun Qing stood alone before the window, gazing at the spiritual mist drifting outside. This world was utterly different from the homeland of his previous life that he missed.
The Yun Clan of the Eastern Region possessed a heritage stretching back to antiquity and unfathomable reserves. The ancient empowerment method known as the Soul-Tracing Secret Rite was one of its core secrets.
This method could draw the most compatible souls from the endless river of time and space to match the lineage's most exceptional bloodlines-in other words, what were commonly called transmigrators!
Neither he nor Yun Huang possessed a soul native to this world.
Leaving Yun Huang aside for now, Yun Qing's soul imprint originated from a blue planet. After being chosen by the Soul-Tracing Secret Rite, he had transmigrated into the womb in this vast world where the strong reigned supreme.
At his birth, his chaos dao embryo and primordial double pupils had awakened simultaneously, triggering phenomena across heaven and earth that shook the lineage. Second Elder Yun Yuan had personally brought him into the Primordial Chaos Ancient Cave, secluded from the mortal world, to devote himself to cultivation.
After more than a decade of arduous cultivation within that secret realm, Yun Qing's cultivation far surpassed that of his peers. Yet in today's brief confrontation with Yun Huang, the gap between them had still been like a chasm across the heavens.
Sensing the "heavenly destiny" entwined around Yun Huang's fate, as radiant as a river of stars and utterly unshakable, Yun Qing gazed toward the distant mountains outside the window, his double pupils deep and inscrutable. As expected, he isn't merely a child of destiny, but... a reincarnated immortal origin! (↓See the author's note below for content warnings, meow↓)
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