Two months had passed since that night.
The Fang family was in quiet turmoil.
The patriarch had not erged from seclusion since. Not even once.
Two months ago, Fang Yuan had made a declaration so shocking that it still echoed through every corridor of the clan.
Without warning, he had summoned the family together and distributed bone marrow pills to every mber of the younger generation, one for each.
As for the elders, he handed out the remaining pills with a casual grace, assuring those who didn’t receive one that their needs would still be provided for.
Sohow, the way he said it made even those who missed out nod in silent trust.
Then, before disappearing from sight, he left sothing behind.
A treasure hoard.
Nine jade bottles of Qi Realisation Pills.
Ten jade bottles of Qi Condensation Pills.
Two bottles of Qi Transformation Pills.
And then the truly insane part—
Ten full jade bottles of Golden Core Pills.
The elders had stared.
The juniors had nearly fainted.
When Fang Chen, his uncle, stamred and asked where it all ca from, Fang Yuan simply replied:
"It was in the gift box sent by the Divine Ice Sect."
Fang Chen’s face had turned the color of a stead tomato.
And then, just like that, Fang Yuan vanished into closed-door cultivation.
He hadn’t been seen since.
Now, back to the present...
The family hall was currently packed.
The handful of Fang family elders stood along the outer edges, solemn in expression.
Juniors sat on the lower steps in neat lines, all wearing clean robes, so clutching pill bottles or cultivation slips.
They all appeared to be waiting.
And then the side doors opened with a creak and through the door, Fang Chen erged.
His face looked drawn from the stress of the past weeks, but he carried himself with authority.
After all, for now, he was the acting head of the Fang clan.
Behind him walked his younger sister, Fang Jingyi, practically bouncing with excitent.
A radiant smile lit up her features as she waved to a few of the juniors.
Fang Chen sighed as he stepped onto the main dais. He looked over the gathered clan and gave a small nod.
"Everyone’s here?" he asked the family servant beside him.
The family servant bowed. "Yes, Acting Patriarch. All lineages are present."
Fang Chen rubbed his temple, feeling another headache settle in.
He cleared his throat.
"Let’s begin," he said.
Fang Chen stepped forward, clearing his throat as the chatter in the hall died down.
His voice echoed with calm authority.
"We have been preparing for this day over the last two months.
The Coldwind City Championship Tournant is to be held in two days and our clan will not just participate, we will take the championship title ho."
A quiet murmur of anticipation ran through the crowd.
Fang Chen raised a hand.
"We’ve selected a group of promising juniors, cultivators who will represent the Fang Clan with honor. So those whose nas I call out, please step forward."
He unfurled a scroll and began reading.
"Fang Yang. Age 19. Cultivation: Early Stage Qi Transformation."
The hall broke into polite applause as a young man stood up with pride in his eyes and fire in his heart.
Qi Transformation, in the Fang family, reaching this stage had always signified that a cultivator was qualified to be considered for eldership.
It marked the threshold where one’s strength could no longer be ignored, where their voice could carry weight in family affairs.
But despite this, no formal promotions had been granted.
Not yet.
With the true patriarch, Fang Yuan, still in seclusion, no one dared disrupt the natural order.
Even Fang Chen, acting as the interim head, refrained from overstepping. He knew his place, not as a ruler, but a steward.
To appoint new elders now, without Fang Yuan’s presence, would be presumptuous.
And so, for all their achievents, the newly risen talents stood just shy of the threshold... waiting for the day their patriarch returned.
Fang Yang bowed once, neatly, then made his way toward the stage with steady steps. His face brimd with joy.
Fang Chen nodded. "Next."
"Fang Bo. Age 19. Also at Early Stage Qi Transformation."
A slightly shorter youth jumped to his feet, smiling ear to ear.
He gave his elder brother a quick fist bump on the way to the stage.
The clan clapped again, louder this ti.
"Fang Ruì," Fang Chen read on. "Age 18. Early Stage Qi Transformation."
A pretty girl in pale blue robes stood gracefully. The applause swelled, not just for her cultivation, but for her deanor.
She was poised, calm, and radiant.
She walked up the steps and waved modestly to the crowd before taking her seat with the other two.
Then Fang Chen looked up.
"Now, we have one of our current elder, Fang i. Age 18. Cultivation: Late Stage Qi Transformation."
The hall erupted.
Even those already on stage clapped for her, their smiles turning admiring.
Late Stage at eighteen was an achievent worthy of pride.
Fang i, dressed in simple white with a raven lightning motif at her collar, walked up with a faint nod.
Her gaze was quiet but confident. She sat at the center of the formation, shoulders straight.
Fang Chen paused.
A faint smile tugged at his lips before he glanced down at the scroll again.
"And finally... our dark horse."
The room quieted.
Not a breath could be heard.
The air felt charged.
And Fang Chen looked up slowly.
"Fang Tian. Age 20. Cultivation: Early Stage Golden Core."
The silence held, stretched taut like a drawn bowstring.
And then, the hall erupted.
A thunder of claps, stunned gasps, whispers and disbelief echoed together.
Even the elders leaned forward in their seats, expressions shifting from curiosity to disbelief.
Golden Core? At twenty? Did that not place him the sa as his brother, the patriarch?
Fang Tian’s na was known but not as a prodigy.
If mory served them right, not long ago, he had barely reached the Qi Condensation stage.
Just a few short months prior, he was dismissed by many as one with low talent, a youth whose prospects were limited at best.
No one had placed their hopes on him.
And yet now... he stood on stage, calm and composed, bearing the cultivation of an Early Stage Golden Core realm cultivator.
The realization hit like thunder across the room.
Was this even natural? What kind of fortuitous encounter... or what terrifying training... could make such a thing possible?
Shock gripped the hall, because they all understood:
This wasn’t just a leap.
It was a defiance of cultivation logic!
Fang Tian was no longer soone they could overlook.
Fang Tian stood slowly from the back of the hall, long black robes trailing behind him, his expression calm.
He walked forward, step by step, like a quiet storm.
And when he reached the dais, he bowed only slightly before sitting beside Fang i.
None of the others on stage dared speak.
Not out of fear.
But out of awe.
Fang Chen let the room settle.
Then he spoke again, voice solemn:
"These five will carry the Fang Clan’s na into the Coldwind City Tournant. Let’s show our support for them and also learn from them."
His gaze swept across the hall, hardening just slightly.
"For in this era, talent alone is not enough. We will need unity. Strength. And absolute loyalty."
He closed the scroll with a quiet snap.
"May the heavens watch over them."
The hall erupted again in applause.
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