The vortex did not weaken.
It continued to pour into Han Yu, feeding his transformation, pushing his cultivation toward its inevitable conclusion.
Within his Dantian…
The change began.
The Spirit Core, once stable and complete, began to crack. Lines ford across its surface, thin at first, then spreading rapidly as the accumulated energy reached a critical threshold.
The pressure built.
Contained.
Compressed.
Until—
It shattered.
KACHA!
Completely.
The fragnts dissolved instantly, their essence rging into the surrounding Qi.
And from within that collapse…
Sothing new erged.
A form.
Small.
Delicate.
A newborn infant.
The Nascent Soul.
It floated within the sea of Qi, its body glowing faintly as it took shape. Its features were soft, its expression peaceful, its existence radiating a quiet purity.
But…
There was sothing unusual.
If anyone had known Ju Fan as a child…
They would have noticed the difference.
This Nascent Soul did not resemble Ju Fan.
Instead it resembled Han Yu.
As he had been.
A truth hidden.
Unseen.
Unknown to all.
The infant's eyes remained closed, its tiny form drifting within the Dantian as the surrounding Qi continued to pour in, nourishing it, strengthening it, solidifying its existence.
A faint smile appeared on its lips.
And within Han Yu's Soul Space… The Eight Emotions Lotus stirred.
"Yi Ya!"
Its cry rang out, filled with joy.
Its petals trembled, vibrating with excitent as it sensed the birth of the Nascent Soul. A surge of Soul Qi erupted from it, flowing directly into the Dantian.
SHUA
It was not forced.
It was offered.
The first gift of a newborn.
The Soul Qi entered the Nascent Soul, wrapping around it, rging seamlessly with its form.
The effect was imdiate.
The infant reacted.
"Kia!"
A soft, surprised cry escaped it as its body beca more defined, more stable, more complete. The glow around it intensified, its presence growing stronger with each passing mont.
The connection between soul and body deepened.
Perfected.
Ti continued to pass.
The vortex did not stop.
The energy continued to flow.
Forty minutes.
Fifty.
An hour.
The transformation progressed steadily, each mont refining Han Yu's existence further.
Then…
It happened.
On the forehead of the Nascent Soul…
A mark appeared.
Small.
Delicate.
A lotus.
Its shape identical to the Eight Emotions Lotus.
The mark pulsed faintly, its presence subtle yet profound, binding the soul and the Nascent Soul together in a way that defied conventional understanding.
The final surge of energy followed.
The vortex condensed.
Collapsed inward.
And vanished.
The sky cleared.
The pressure lifted.
The tribulation…
Ended.
Han Yu's body descended slowly back to the ground.
His eyes opened.
And in that instant…
Light burst forth.
Not ordinary light.
But sothing deeper.
Brighter.
Those who looked directly could not see it clearly.
But those with keen perception saw it.
Eight colors.
Intertwined.
Shifting.
Each representing an emotion.
Each reflecting sothing beyond re cultivation.
High above, the Patriarch Hong Tianyue watched.
Beside him, the Supre Elder observed as well.
Both felt it.
Both recognized that sothing unusual had occurred.
But neither could fully understand it.
They attributed it to the tribulation.
To the uniqueness of Ju Fan's breakthrough.
Yet…
A faint unease lingered.
Then Han Yu's aura erupted.
WOLONG GONG
Fully.
Completely.
It spread across the arena, expanding outward with a force that caused the air itself to tremble. The pressure it carried was imnse, its presence overwhelming.
Nascent Soul Realm.
He had stepped into it.
But this was not a normal Nascent Soul aura.
It was heavier.
Sharper.
More oppressive.
Other Nascent Soul cultivators and above present felt it imdiately.
Their expressions changed.
Their bodies stiffened.
And deep within them…
Their own Nascent Souls trembled.
A reaction they could not control.
A fear that rose from instinct.
From sothing deeper than thought.
"What… is this…"
"This pressure…"
"It's… suffocating…"
They were not weak.
They were experienced.
And yet…
They felt threatened.
Because what stood before them…
Was not rely equal.
Han Yu's Qi cultivation had reached the Infant Soul Stage.
But his Soul Cultivation…
Had surpassed it!
The Soul Expert Stage of the Harvester Realm.
A level that placed him on par with peak Nascent Soul cultivators. Perhaps even beyond when combined with his qi cultivation. And the disparity created sothing new. Sothing dangerous.
A presence that did not belong neatly within the established hierarchy.
Han Yu stood.
Calm.
Composed.
His gaze swept across the arena.
And for a brief mont…
Everyone felt it.
The weight of his existence.
The sharpness of his perception.
The quiet certainty of his power.
The breakthrough was complete.
And nothing would be the sa again.
Silence reigned over the shattered arena.
It was not the silence of calm, nor the silence of uncertainty. It was sothing deeper, heavier. A silence born from disbelief. From awe. From the inability of hundreds of thousands of minds to process what they had just witnessed.
Han Yu stood at the center of the crater, his aura still settling, his presence dominating the space like an immovable pillar. The black frost had begun to recede, the heavens had cald, and yet no one dared to speak.
Not a single disciple.
Not a single elder.
Even the wind seed hesitant to move.
Then a voice was heard.
Deep and imposing.
It did not co from any direction. It did not echo. It simply existed, pressing into the minds of everyone present.
"You have done well."
Every head snapped up.
Eyes darted across the arena, searching, probing, trying to locate the source.
They found nothing.
And then he appeared.
Without warning.
Without movent.
One mont there was nothing.
The next, a figure stood before Han Yu.
The reaction was instantaneous.
Shock rippled through the crowd like a tidal wave. Disciples froze for a fraction of a second before instinct took over. One by one, then all at once, they dropped to their knees.
The sound of nearly a million kneeling echoed across the broken ground.
Even the elders bowed deeply.
Their voices rose in perfect unison.
"All beings prostrate before the Slaughtered Moon, may its Divine Blood grant them eternal rcy!"
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