Almost the instant Yun Qing's aura changed, Yun Huang appeared silently beside him, like a gentle breeze and drifting clouds.
"Can't stay put any longer?" Yun Huang's calm voice rang out, though it lacked its usual chill.
Yun Qing turned to face Yun Huang, his expression solemn, and cupped his hands in a deep bow. "Brother Huang, the Cloud Summit Tournament is imminent, and the contest for the Azure Cloud List is about to begin. I... would like to return."
The mountain breeze swept past, stirring their robes. Yun Huang remained silent for a moment. He made no mention of the "century of confinement" that had yet to end, merely granting permission as casually as if it were some trivial matter:
"Go."
Relief washed over Yun Qing, only for him to... reach for a mile after being given an inch.
Light flickered in his eyes as his little mental abacus clacked away. "Then... this grotto-heaven?"
He left the question unfinished, but his meaning could not have been clearer-can I still come back to Langhuan Clear Void to mooch food and drink... no, to serve my confinement?
At that, Yun Huang cast him a sidelong glance. His sleeve brushed through the spiritual mist, leaving only a sentence drifting back on the wind:
"Your confinement has not ended. You may... return occasionally to continue 'serving your sentence.'"
Watching Yun Huang's seemingly indifferent yet indulgent retreating figure, Yun Qing first froze, then found the corners of his mouth rising uncontrollably, genuine warmth and laughter rippling through his eyes.
He bowed deeply once more toward Yun Huang's back. Everything went unsaid, yet understood.
Then Yun Qing briskly straightened his black robes, secured the Bear All Things spear on his back, and took one last look at the welcoming peach grove that had witnessed his transformation over the past three months.
The next instant, his gaze sharpened. His aura soared skyward as he became a streak of black light and shot through the grotto-heaven barrier of Langhuan Clear Void!
His destination-the Yun Clan Territory, Yunqu Peak, and the Martial Arena where all eyes would gather and dragons and tigers would clash!
The mighty return of Yun Qing, the Yun Clan's First Young Master, was sure to shake the entire arena!
"Let the Twelve Young Masters honor the eight directions and proclaim their respects to heaven and earth!"
The officiating elder's resonant, solemn voice interrupted Yun Qing's thoughts, pulling him back from his endless string of embarrassing memories.
His mind sharpened, every stray thought swept away in an instant. Divine light shone clear in his double pupils, his gaze as still as an abyss.
Twelve figures stepped forward together, approaching the Martial Tournament Disc at the center of the plaza, engraved with ancient cloud patterns and battle scars.
Each of the twelve took one of the disc's twelve profound nodes, their arrangement secretly corresponding to the heavenly stems and earthly branches. Merely by standing there, they unleashed an immense, heart-quaking presence that left some spectators near the edge of the plaza struggling for breath.
"First bow-honor heaven!"
At the officiant's call, the twelve moved as one, bending forward in a long bow toward the resplendent Great Sun rising from the eastern sea of clouds, pouring forth boundless golden radiance and purple qi.
There was no outward release of spiritual power, no dazzling display of light. Yet the moment they bowed, the sky above Cloud Summit Peak seemed to tremble faintly. The flowing rosy clouds paused, and the mighty morning wind held its breath. A vast, ancient reverence, born from the depths of their bloodlines, surged through that perfectly unified motion into the nine heavens, as though they had truly reached the unseen will of heaven and earth.
"Second bow-honor the earth!"
They turned and bowed again toward the Cloud Summit Mystic Land beneath their feet, which bore all things. The entire colossal floating peak gave a deep, rich hum, faintly resonating with the twelve young masters' auras.
"Third bow-pay homage to the ancestors!"
Finally, they faced the Ancestral Shrine and bowed deeply. Every young master wore a solemn, dignified expression. This was reverence for the source of their bloodlines, and more than that, a silent declaration of the responsibilities upon their shoulders.
"The rites are complete!"
As the final cry fell, twelve differently colored yet equally pure and majestic auras surged skyward from the arena! Some were sharp as swords, some weighty as mountains, some fluid as water, and some blazing as fire... at last, they interwove above Cloud Summit Peak into a vast, magnificent celestial tapestry of spiritual power!
These were the figures who represented the Yun Clan's greatest prodigies of this generation!
"Ten thousand victories to the Yun Clan!"
"Twelve Young Masters, proclaim our clan's might!"
Cheers erupted from the viewing stands like roaring mountains and surging seas, their thunder shaking the heavens and setting blood ablaze.
Countless young clan members gazed feverishly at the twelve figures in the arena, their eyes filled with admiration and longing. At that moment, hot blood surged and boiled through the veins of every Yun Clan disciple. Their voices gathered into an ocean, almost powerful enough to overturn the ancient Cloud Summit Peak!
The ceremony of homage concluded amid this earth-shaking fervor.
Yet after the tournament, how many of the current Twelve Young Masters would still hold their positions?
The Twelve Young Masters reined in their radiance and returned to their designated seats beneath deafening cheers and countless gazes, their expressions calm-or forcibly composed. Only their slightly quickened breathing revealed that the ritual of communing with heaven, earth, and the ancestral spirits, drawing mighty providence upon themselves, had not been entirely effortless.
Yun Qing settled into the foremost seat. The cool touch of the dark jade chair allowed his surging emotions to settle a little.
Only now did he have the leisure to examine these Yun Clan Prodigies of his generation-the twelve pillars supporting the Yun Clan in this age.
"Eldest Brother." A clear, gentle greeting came from beside him.
Yun Qing turned his head. The young man seated to his left wore a moon-white scholar's robe, his hair bound beneath a scholar's headscarf. His features were refined and handsome, his gaze upright and clear. He was Yun Tianluo, the First Elder's grandson, ranked second.
His aura was harmonious and complete, glowing like fine jade. Yet with a slight flicker of his double pupils, Yun Qing could "see" the fierce, wild power hidden deep within him. The scholarly and the martial, stillness and motion, had achieved a strangely wondrous harmony in him.
Yun Tianluo was slightly older than Yun Qing, yet his greeting of "Eldest Brother" was sincere, freely offered, and utterly natural.
As the saying went, the Dao had no end; those who had advanced furthest took precedence.
"Tian Luo." Yun Qing nodded in return, his tone even. This man possessed a heart with seven apertures and kept his edge concealed—a rival not to be underestimated.
"Eldest Brother!" "Greetings, Eldest Brother!"
Greetings came from the other seats in succession. The form of address was the same, but their tones and expressions varied.
"Greetings, Eldest Brother." A bright, crisp greeting sounded beside Yun Qing.
Yun Ruyi had tilted her head slightly, her eyes clear and lively, her pale-yellow hair ribbons bobbing with her movements. Her seat was to Yun Qing's right, and she happened to pass him on her way to it.
Yun Qing was about to return the greeting. This was his first time meeting this younger clanswoman with the innate fortune physique-or rather, this was his first time meeting the Yun Clan's Twelve Young Masters at all.
Setting aside actual combat prowess, the innate fortune physique was even rarer than the chaos dao embryo. Perhaps because he was so curious about this legendary physique, his double pupils activated instinctively the instant his gaze fell upon Yun Ruyi.
Drip.
Without warning, a drop of cold liquid fell from the corner of Yun Qing's eye onto the front of his black robe, quickly spreading into a small dark stain.
He had "seen"-
Yun Qing snapped back to his senses, swiftly shutting his eyes and forcibly cutting off his probing gaze. His chest rose and fell slightly as towering waves crashed through his heart!
"Eldest Brother?" A soft, sweet voice sounded beside his ear, tinged with concern.
Yun Ruyi blinked her large, clear eyes, looking at the corner of his eye with some confusion and worry. "Are... your eyes bothering you?"
Yun Qing swiftly buried those raging waves deep within his gaze. Looking at the innocent, uncomprehending girl before him with a trace of almost imperceptible respect, he smiled gently and shifted aside, gesturing for her to proceed. "It's nothing. Little Sister, this way, please."
Yun Ruyi nodded, still a little bewildered, and gave him a sweet smile. "Thank you, Eldest Brother." With that, she obediently sat down, her posture straight.
Yun Qing also turned back to his foremost dark jade seat, but the shock in his heart refused to subside.
No wonder she possesses the innate fortune physique, favored by the Heavenly Dao...
Just then, a cool voice carrying a faint hint of teasing rang directly within Yun Qing's sea of consciousness:
"Elder Brother, are you truly never going to break this habit of peering into others' past lives? Be careful-you might see something extraordinary again and be the first to buckle beneath it."
--
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