Outside the Ancestral Grounds.

A blinding flash of white light erupted, and two figures appeared in succession on the Ancestral Plaza.

Crack.

The Fifth Elder’s teacup slipped from his hand, shattering on the ground. His clouded old eyes widened in shock. “Second Young Master?!”

He turned sharply toward Shen Li, whose face was as pale as paper. Shen Li had just been teleported out, his memories of the ancestral realm erased by the formation’s rules. He was completely unaware of what had transpired in the final moments.

Yet the mental trauma he’d suffered before being eliminated remained unaltered, leaving him disoriented and shaken.

Ye Qingxian, however, stood there calmly.

The Empress had shielded her own memories from erasure, but she wished for no one to know, so she chose to remain silent.

With both prodigies—the ones who had held such promise—now eliminated, the air seemed to freeze for an instant.

“Who has reached the summit?” a steward asked in a trembling voice, his words piercing through the eerie silence.

“Look at the Bronze Cauldron!” another steward suddenly exclaimed.

All eyes immediately turned toward the massive bronze vessel at the center of the altar.

Above the cauldron, golden light swirled, revealing a ranking—just one solitary line!

“First Place… Shen Xian?!”

The Fifth Elder staggered backward two steps, his skeletal fingers gripping the edge of the altar table tightly until his knuckles turned white. “This… this…”

Shen Li’s face instantly drained of all color.

He stared fixedly at the glaring name etched in light above the cauldron, his eyes bloodshot. “Impossible! There must be a mistake!”

His memories had been wiped clean, but now, suddenly realizing the truth of his elimination, he couldn’t believe it was that good-for-nothing who had reached the summit!

The scene fell into utter silence. Even the sound of breathing was clearly audible.

Shen Xing, standing nearby with hands clasped behind his back, paused slightly.

For the first time, this future Immortal Venerable with an Innate Dao Body showed a look of genuine surprise. A strange glint flashed in his clear eyes.

“Youngest Brother…” he murmured softly, his tone carrying an almost imperceptible hint of amusement.

Ye Qingxian stood quietly at the edge of the crowd. She raised her gaze to scan the ranking, a barely perceptible smile tugging at her lips.

So, it was him who had reached the summit after all.

“Could… could there be something wrong with the cauldron?” a steward stammered nervously.

How could that good-for-nothing possibly have succeeded?

“Silence!” the Fifth Elder barked sharply, though he couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice.

He hurried forward, gripping Shen Li’s trembling shoulder firmly. “Second Young Master, do not panic. Even if he has reached the summit of the Ancestral Hall, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll receive the Family Master’s blessing!”

Shen Li snapped his head up, his eyes manic. “But that good-for-nothing…”

“Don’t forget about the fourth trial!” The Fifth Elder lowered his voice, a cruel glint flashing in his eyes. “The Ancestral Hall’s trials test not only strength but also one’s character! With his lazy disposition, how could he ever gain the ancestors’ approval?”

These words seemed to offer Shen Li a sliver of hope. His ferocious expression softened somewhat, though the venom in his eyes deepened.

“How interesting,” Shen Xing suddenly spoke, his voice cool as snow falling into a frozen pond. “It seems we’ve all underestimated our youngest brother.”

Shen Li’s body trembled. Hearing his beloved eldest brother praise their rival made his resentment grow even deeper. He was consumed by the desire to destroy Shen Xian right then and there.

The deathly silence continued.

All the stewards held their breath, some unconsciously swallowing nervously.

This outcome was too shocking—so shocking that it made people wonder if what they were seeing was merely an illusion.

Before the Ancestral Hall.

Shen Xian stepped onto the final stone step, and the view opened up completely before him.

An ancient ancestral hall, constructed entirely from dark Xuanming jade, stood suspended among the clouds. Nine coiled-dragon pillars supported the soaring eaves and brackets, and each tile was engraved with intricate clan patterns.

On the bronze plaque hanging above the main entrance, four ancient seal characters—Shen Clan Ancestral Hall—shimmered with a dark golden glow. Within their strokes, faint traces of lightning seemed to flicker.

“This is…” Shen Xian’s breath caught slightly.

Those reliefs on the outer walls, seemingly decorative, revealed themselves upon closer inspection to be imprints of Daoist intent left by generations of Shen family masters.

The sword mark running horizontally across the eaves at the very top still radiated a sharpness that made Shen Xian’s skin prickle.

He took a deep breath and stepped over the three-foot-high vermilion threshold.

The interior space was far more expansive than its exterior suggested. Thirty-six eternal lamps suspended from the dome illuminated the gilded patterns on the walls with a dazzling brilliance.

At the center of the altar stood a jade statue. Its form was crystalline and translucent, hands clasped behind its back. Its face was blurred, yet it exuded an aura of commanding authority.

“The First Ancestral Master…”

Shen Xian was just about to bow when the bronze lamp stands on either side of the altar suddenly burst into flame.

Blue-green fire spread along the floor patterns, quickly outlining a star map that covered the entire hall.

The surface of the jade statue began to flake off into tiny crystalline fragments.

Boom—

A bell-like sound, as if ringing from ancient times, reverberated through the hall, causing the beams and pillars to tremble.

Shen Xian realized with astonishment that the Li Fire True Seal within his dantian had begun to activate on its own, resonating with something within the hall.

At the very moment the jade statue completely shattered, the entire hall’s array lit up simultaneously.

The gilded patterns detached themselves from the walls, intertwining in mid-air to form a phantom figure—a man in flowing robes, his back turned to all beings, strands of chaotic energy entwined in his hair.

Facing this phantom image, Shen Xian slowly performed the standard ancient Shen family ritual.

His movements were precise and flawless. As his fingertips brushed across his chest, the golden patterns of the Li Fire True Seal faintly appeared beneath his skin.

“I, Shen Xian, pay my respects to the ancestors.”

The phantom slowly turned around. Its ethereal light flowed like a sheer veil, revealing the face of a middle-aged man with sharp eyebrows and sparkling eyes. His bearing was majestic, his appearance imposing.

Most captivating of all were his eyes.

The left pupil was like the rising sun, glowing with molten gold; the right pupil resembled a frozen night lake, reflecting the birth and death of countless stars.

This was the First Ancestral Master of the Shen family, Shen Changsheng.

A true Combined Body Realm Venerable!

“Hmm?” Shen Changsheng, standing with hands clasped behind his back in the void, swept his gaze over the youth before him. His brow furrowed slightly. “A ninth-grade spiritual root… actually reached this point?”

The ancestral trials weren’t solely about strength, but to see someone with such a low-grade root make it this far—this ancestor had never encountered such a case before.

Shen Xian replied without arrogance or humility, “A spiritual root is merely a vessel; what truly matters is what it holds within.”

Shen Changsheng let out a light, mocking laugh.

With a wave of his wide sleeves, the gilded patterns on the walls suddenly came alive, transforming into thousands of golden threads that wrapped around Shen Xian.

Each thread connected to a Daoist insight left behind by an ancestor.

“Since you’ve reached this point, you’re qualified to receive this Venerable’s blessing. However…” Shen Changsheng gazed intently at Shen Xian, his deep eyes seeming to penetrate everything. “How much you can accept depends entirely on your own abilities.”

“That last boy, though—he had quite remarkable talent, directly awakening a Dao Body.”

Shen Xian’s heart stirred slightly.

The last one to pass through was his older brother, Shen Xing.

So it was thanks to the First Ancestral Master’s blessing that Shen Xing had awakened his Innate Dao Body.

This revelation greatly surprised Shen Xian.

He knew the First Ancestral Master’s blessing was exceptional, but he hadn’t imagined it would be so extraordinary.

If he too could awaken an Innate Dao Body, his status within the family would soar…

Then subduing Shen Li would be as easy as flipping his hand!

“Thank you, Ancestor, for your blessing.” Shen Xian bowed once more.

Shen Changsheng, however, smiled faintly. “Everyone’s fate is different. Your foundation is too weak; what you can transform into depends entirely on your potential.”

“At the very least, you need a Earth Spiritual Root; with luck, even a Heavenly Spiritual Root isn’t beyond possibility…”

He raised his hand. The thousands of golden threads glowed with brilliant spiritual light, a profound and boundless power slowly emerging.

“Young man… it all depends on your fate now!”