The Absolute Zone remained active for several heartbeats longer—a silent, suffocating kingdom where Yin Shen was the undisputed sovereign. The Shadow Serpent Guards, men who had faced death on countless borders, remained pinned to the marble floor like insects under a heavy boot.
The air itself hummed with a frequency that seemed to rejected the very presence of those who dared to stand against the youth.
Slowly, Yin Shen withdrew the pressure. The "Absolute Zone" retracted into his body, leaving behind a vacuum, in which the surrounding wind rushed back with a sharp whistle.
Elder Yuan, no longer pinned to the frost, didn't scramble to his feet. He couldn't. His dark-red Qi was in a state of chaotic collapse, and his pride—the only thing that had truly sustained his cultivation for decades—was in tatters. He stared at the cracked marble, his hands trembling as he pushed himself into a sitting position.
Matriarch Yin Mei took a slow, measured step toward him. Her violet aura was no longer flaring; it was cold and sharp. She looked down at the Third Elder, and for the first time, her expression wasn't one of calculation, but of profound disappointment.
"Yuan," she said, her voice sounding like the snap of a frozen branch. "You were given a seat on this Council because of your 'Sun-Fire' cultivation and your supposed loyalty to the bloodline, but today, you allowed a Body Tempering youth to bait you into a mindless rage, and then you were suppressed by the very boy you labeled as trash."
"Matriarch... he... he used a demonic art..." Yuan wheezed, his voice sounding hollow.
"Enough!" Elder Feng interjected, stepping up beside the Matriarch. His heavy, earthy aura hummed with a warning. "Yuan, look at yourself. You are bleeding, your Qi is in shambles, and you were bested by the willpower of a novice. If this news reaches the other four families, the Yin will be seen as weak because of you."
Feng looked at the Matriarch, then back to the broken man on the ground. "Yuan, for the sake of the family's dignity, and to prevent your further humiliation, the Matriarch and I are in agreement. You are to quietly step down from your position on the Council of Elders immediately. You have become the weakest link in our chain."
The words hit Yuan harder than the Absolute Domination ever could. "Step down? I have served for forty years! I am a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment expert! You cannot—"
"We can," Elder Zhao, the Law-Keeper, retorted as he stepped forward. His voice was like dry parchment. "Under the laws of the Yin, an Elder who loses their 'Heart of Cultivation' or is publicly humiliated by a junior of the direct line forfeits their authority. You have done both. You are the weakest among us, Yuan. Accept your fate while you still have your life."
Yuan looked around the circle. He saw the cold indifference of Yin Mei, the guarded respect in Feng's eyes, and the clinical detachment of Zhao. He turned his head and saw Yin Shen standing with Yin Xue, the young man looking at him as if he were nothing more than a stain on the floor.
The fire in Yuan's eyes flickered and died. His shoulders slumped. In this world, might was the only law, and his might had been found wanting. "I... I understand," he whispered, his head bowing low.
For now, he was a broken man, but deep within the ruins of his spirit, a cold, venomous seed of hatred remained, waiting for the dark to grow.
Yin Shen watched the exchange with a detached curiosity. While the family politics played out, he felt a strange sensation in his optic nerves. He turned his gaze toward the group standing before him, wanting to know exactly what he was up against.
'Eye of Insight,' he commanded mentally. 'Show me the Matriarch and the Council.'
He focused his gaze on Yin Mei, but the blue window that flickered into view was blurred and glitchy.
{Warning: Target's Cultivation is far beyond the current level of Eye of Insight!}
{Analysis Failed. Please upgrade the skill to perceive higher entities.}
Yin Shen gritted his teeth, his silver starlight Qi surging into his eyes. 'Try again. Force the perception.'
He turned his gaze to the Elders.
[Analysis Failed...]
He tried a third time, then a fourth, pushing the Chaos Meridian to feed more energy into his optic nerves.
The strain was immense; a sharp, lancing pain shot through his brain, and a thin trickle of blood began to run from his left eye.
'I said... SHOW ME!' he roared in his mind.
Suddenly, something inside his consciousness snapped. The blue windows shattered into a million shards of light, only to reform into a deep, crystalline sapphire hue.
{Ding!}
{Extreme mental strain and Chaos Energy detected.}
{Emergency Evolution Triggered: Eye of Insight has jumped from Level 2 to Level 4!}
{Calculating new perception limits... Success.}
The world didn't just sharpen; it became transparent. He no longer saw robes and skin; he saw the vast, churning oceans of Qi, the stabilized structures of the soul, and the karmic threads connecting the individuals.
He looked at his mother first.
[Target: Yin Mei]
* Role: Matriarch of the Yin Family.
* Cultivation: Soul Transformation Realm (Middle Stage).
* Vein Type: Eternal Grade - Violet Serpent Vein.
* State: Wary, Calculating.
* Observation: Her soul has partially detached from her physical form, allowing her to interact with the world's laws on a spiritual level.
Yin Shen felt a chill. Soul Transformation was the fifth major realm. He was at the start of the second. The gap was a literal continent. He then shifted his gaze to the four remaining Elders, their full names and data manifesting with absolute clarity.
[Target: Yin Feng]
* Role: 6th Elder (The Matriarch's Brother).
* Cultivation: Nascent Soul Realm (Middle Stage).
* Vein Type: Supreme Grade - Mountain Guard Vein.
[Target: Zhao Tie]
* Role: 2nd Elder (Law-Keeper).
* Cultivation: Nascent Soul Realm (Late Stage).
* Vein Type: Supreme Grade - Iron-Will Meridian.
[Target: Yuan Mo] [Demoted]
* Role: Formerly 3rd Elder.
* Cultivation: Foundation Establishment (Late Stage - Cracking).
* Vein Type: High Grade - Sun-Fire Vein.
[Target: Han Bi]
* Role: 4th Elder (Financial Oversight).
* Cultivation: Nascent Soul Realm (Middle Stage).
* Vein Type: Master Grade - Golden Abacus Vein.
[Target: Wei Long]
* Role: 5th Elder (Internal Security).
* Cultivation: Nascent Soul Realm (Middle Stage).
* Vein Type: High Grade - Shadow-Scale Vein.
Yin Shen's breath hitched. Aside from Yuan, every single one of them was in the Nascent Soul Realm or higher. They had shattered their Golden Cores and birthed spiritual avatars. They were effectively demigods in the eyes of any Qi Condensation cultivator.
And only Yin Feng shared the family name. The others—Zhao Tie, Yuan Mo, Han Bi, and Wei Long—were powerful outsiders who had been absorbed into the Yin's governance, likely through marriage or ancient oaths. This was a nest of vipers, each with their own power base and their own surnames to protect.
Yin Mei sensed his gaze. She turned her eyes toward him, and for a split second, she felt as if her very soul were being laid bare. She felt the Level 4 Eye of Insight probing her Middle-Stage Soul Transformation defenses.
"Yin Shen," she said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You have achieved much in three days. But do not think that a sovereign aura allows you to look down upon those who have walked the path for centuries. The Major Awakening is not a stage for theatrics. It is a crucible."
She signaled to the Shadow Serpent Guards, who were finally beginning to stand, their faces pale and eyes averted.
"We are leaving," Yin Mei declared. "Elder Yuan Mo, you will return to the outer estate to begin your transition. Elder Feng, Elder Zhao Tie—ensure the Ancestral Vault is prepared for the arrival of... a potential Supreme."
She looked at Yin Shen one last time. "Two days. Do not be late."
As the procession turned and began to descend the hill, the heavy silence returned to the Glacial Moon Residence. Yin Xue let out a long, shaky breath, her hand finding Yin Shen's shoulder for support.
"Shen... your eye." she whispered, her voice trembling.
Yin Shen wiped the blood from his cheek. His vision was still swimming with the data of the powerful beings who had just left.
He glanced at the retreating back of his mother, the Soul Transformation expert, and the Elders in the Nascent Soul realm.
The mountain he had to climb wasn't just tall. It was a peak that touched the heavens, and he was still standing in the foothills.
"Middle Stage Soul Transformation..." he murmured, his golden eyes narrowing. "And four Nascent Soul experts."
He looked at the [Level 4] Eye of Insight notification, then at the 5 remaining System Points in his inventory.
"The Ancestral Vault is the only way," he said, his voice hardening into a promise. "I don't just need to awaken a vein. I need to devour the very foundation of this family if I'm going to survive what's coming next."
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