**Examination Hall.**
The day of the younger generation's power examination had finally arrived, the whole clan compound humming since dawn with an energy that felt closer to festival than formality.
"Finally, time has come," the examination elder whispered, his voice barely audible over the low murmur filling the hall. In front of the examination elder there were two elders, He Meng and Hu Meng.
They were twin brothers known throughout the clan as the Metal Brothers. Both wore black robes, the fabric stiff and formal, and their short, lion-like hair framed stern faces set in near-identical expressions of watchful patience. Though they were only middle-aged, their muscular physiques made them resemble seasoned warriors rather than ordinary cultivators, forearms corded with the kind of muscle that came from decades of disciplined training rather than vanity.
The Examination Elder was well into his old age. A long white beard flowed down to his chest, each strand catching faintly in the torchlight. His calm eyes reflected decades of experience, half-lidded in a way that suggested he'd seen every possible outcome this hall could produce, many times over. He was calm as stone. His ceremonial robes were reserved for only the highest-ranking elders, the fabric heavier and more richly embroidered than anything worn elsewhere in the hall.
His name was Tanzeng.
"I heard of our closest clan ally who has a talented girl named Anwesha. Is our clan's talented kids like her?" He asked the elder, Tanzeng, leaning slightly closer to be heard over the hall's ambient noise.
"Anwesha? I heard of her, she is so talented, she awakened two stars and she already got an ice worm and she already started cultivation." Elder Tanzeng nodded, the gesture slow and considered.
"Our clan has one such genius," Elder Tanzeng replied calmly, a faint, knowing note entering his voice.
"Really?" He Meng exclaimed, his eyes widening with genuine surprise. "Who is it?"
"His name is Shree Yan," Elder Tanzeng said calmly. "He is the son of our Clan Leader."
"So what are we waiting for? Come on, send this kid to me, we will train him and he will become more talented than she." He Meng's excitement was plain now, hands gesturing eagerly as he spoke, already imagining the boy's potential.
"You need the permission of the clan leader," he said, the reminder gentle but firm.
Shree Yan was set on the bed on the meditation stage, legs folded, breathing slowed to something deep and deliberate. One hour later he finished his meditation and successfully unlocked one star in his body, the sensation settling through him like warmth spreading outward from a lit hearth.
His body became far stronger than that of an ordinary human, muscle and bone alike humming faintly with newly awakened potential.
He opened his eyes slowly and looked around, the room's familiar shapes seeming somehow sharper, more present than before. His body felt noticeably stronger than before.
Shree Yan lowered his feet onto the wooden floor, the wood cool against his soles. The destructive path awaited Shree Yan.
Shree Yan left the house, morning light slanting gold across the courtyard as he stepped outside. There were nearly twenty youths on their way to the examination, their voices carrying in overlapping bursts of nervous chatter. Shree Yan quietly joined them, falling into step near the back of the loose crowd.
"Look in the middle, isn't he Shree Yan?" Someone asked after seeing Shree Yan, elbowing the person beside them.
"Yeah, he is, our clan pride and he is so handsome, I wish I could be his wife, if not for a lifetime, at least for one day," a girl with an average look said, after staring at Shree Yan's charms and handsomeness, her voice carrying just far enough for several others to hear. Obsession, lust.
The other youths couldn't hide their jealousy after hearing the girl praise Shree Yan, several exchanging sharp, sideways glances. Shree Yan didn't care. Shree Yan still went forward, expression untroubled by the murmuring at his back.
Jealousy burned in their hearts, yet none of them dared act. Shree Yan's status and talent were like an insurmountable mountain before them. Challenging him would only end in humiliation.
In the end, they lowered their heads and kept their mouths shut, the group's collective resentment folding quietly back beneath practiced composure.
To everyone else, Shree Yan seemed to have everything — power, status, a respected family, and extraordinary talent, everything like someone heaven-gifted.
But that's not true. In his previous life, Shree Yan had faced countless hardships and desperate situations. In this life Shree Yan doesn't care about his power background. To others he was like a gifted person from heaven, but for Shree Yan this is meaningless.
Shree Yan will grow stronger by himself, not from these stupid background powers, the conviction settling firm and unshaken somewhere behind his calm expression.
Shree Yan continued walking forward, then the youths. In the Rana clan, the clan prince will open first and step foot. In every ceremony, at first, only the prince enters, and others are allowed to enter after.
When Shree Yan stepped on the doorway, Shree Yan touched the door and slowly pushed the door, the heavy wood swinging inward with a low, resonant creak that echoed briefly through the space beyond.
Elder Tanzeng was on the seventh floor; there were seven floors in total in the hall, each one ringed with balconies overlooking the massive space below. He was on the top floor and the Metal Brothers were on the sixth floor, their positions affording a clear view down onto the examination stone.
Sadly there wasn't Shree Yan's father to see him. But it doesn't hurt Shree Yan. If he came here to see him or not — in his previous life he didn't come. So why does Shree Yan care about his father?
The Metal Brothers sat on the sixth floor and watched Shree Yan and observed him, their attention sharpening the moment he entered.
The examination elder spoke, "Every family's young masters, please adjust your line. I am calling you by number, please stay silent and don't talk much," his voice carrying easily across the vast, echoing hall.
The young masters started adjusting the line, robes rustling as they shuffled into place. Shree Yan was last, not because they didn't respect Shree Yan, but because of clan rules — every clan member must be last, for curiosity's sake, to see the potential of them for the future.
At the center of the hall stood a massive circular stone, its surface worn smooth by centuries of palms pressed against it. Behind it towered two gigantic statues — the clan's founding ancestors, one male and one female. Clad in silver armor and holding enormous swords planted firmly into the ground, they radiated an ancient and mysterious aura that filled the entire hall, a presence so heavy that even seasoned elders instinctively lowered their voices in its shadow. The stone was in a circle shape.
The examination Elder said loudly, "One, Yu Yang."
Yu Yang stepped forward, sandals scraping softly against stone, his hands trembling faintly at his sides. Yu Yang touched the stone, nothing happened, the surface remaining stubbornly dark beneath his palm.
Youths laughed, their laughs echoing throughout the hall, sharp and unkind.
Yu Yang lowered his head with a depressed expression, shoulders curling inward. Yu Yang quietly stepped aside, disappearing back into the anonymity of the waiting line.
"Next, two, Wu Yan," the examination elder called out. Wu Yan stepped forward with confidence, like he would do something else, chest puffed out, chin already lifted before he'd even reached the stone.
Wu Yan looked at Yu Yang and said, "Loser." Yu Yang said nothing to Wu Yan, eyes fixed firmly on the floor.
Wu Yan has a strong physique, broad shoulders straining faintly against his robe's seams. Cheers erupted throughout the hall. Several youths shouted Wu Yan's name while the elders nodded in approval, murmuring low to one another.
Wu Yan touched the stone, the stone started growing, light pulsing outward in slow, deliberate waves.
Black
Green
White
Blue.
Glowing, stuck at the blue — this was a good one. The hall erupted into cheers, the sound rolling up through all seven floors at once.
"Wu Yan, boss, you are truly amazing," someone roared loudly, fist raised in celebration.
A confident smile spread across Wu Yan's face as he lifted his chin. Wu Yan raised his chin proudly, basking openly in the noise surrounding him.
Shree Yan looked at Wu Yan, he remembered something, a flicker of memory surfacing calm and unbidden behind his composed expression. Wu Yan became the strongest one in the future, he was known as the first king.
"Interesting," Shree Yan thought, watching the other boy's triumphant posture with something closer to quiet calculation than admiration.
One by one, the young cultivators stepped forward and underwent the examination. Some displayed remarkable talent, causing the hall to erupt into cheers, while others failed to awaken even a single star and quietly stepped aside with lowered heads, the line thinning slowly as names were called.
"Now finally, last one, number twenty, Shree Yan."
The examination Elder called Shree Yan loudly and respectfully, his voice carrying a weight the previous names hadn't quite earned.
Several youths in the Hall cheered for Shree Yan, the sound rising eagerly the moment his name was spoken.
Elder Tanzeng and the Metal Brothers fixed their eyes on Shree Yan, their expressions filled with anticipation, leaning forward slightly over their respective balconies.
Shree Yan walked forward with calm confidence, his footsteps unhurried against the worn stone floor, the eyes of the entire hall settling onto him at once.