The moment Chen Chao stepped forward and placed both hands on the origin testing stone, the world stilled.
BOOM!
A blinding, shimmering white light exploded out from the testing stone, like a divine spear piercing the heavens. It wasn't just bright—it was blinding, holy even, cutting through the morning skies like a heavenly beacon.
"Divine Origin Root!" someone gasped below.
Before the light could escape beyond the peak, a thunderous aura surged through the clouds above.
"HUMMM—"
The sky trembled as Sect Master Chen Daoxuan reacted instantly. His aura blanketed the skies, pressing down like a vast ocean, and with a swift gesture of his hand, the entire sect array came alive with runic light.
A translucent dome of power shimmered over the peak—sealing the light from escaping the Ethereal Dao Sect's borders.
The core elders hovering in the clouds turned grim, eyes narrowing. Dao formations weren't activated lightly.
Chen Daoxuan's eyes were cold, his brows furrowed. His voice didn't rise, but his intent was clear:
"This must not leave the sect."
Everyone knew what the appearance of a Divine Origin Root meant. Others needed a thousand years, and countless close calls to enter the Dao Realms. But someone with a Divine Root?
Give them a few hundred years, and they'd stand shoulder to shoulder with giants. Worse, if they also awakened a top-tier body constitution, they'd be an unstoppable monster—one that no other overlord clan would want to exist outside of their control.
No, even the Ethereal Dao Sect would have done the same if someone else's brat awakened such a root.
High above, the core elders traded glances, their expressions solemn. The Supreme Elder, ancient and wizened, narrowed his eyes for just a second, a sliver of killing intent flashing through his gaze before he suppressed it.
He folded his arms behind his back, his thoughts swirling.
'So what if he has a Divine Root?'
'As long as my grandson—Zhao Wuqing—awakens the constitution seen in that divination… that man from Heaven Star Pavilion swore on his soul. A top-ten physique... and I paid a fortune for that prophecy even before my daughter conceived him.'
Still, he said nothing. His gaze dropped.
From all sides, the other core elders offered polite congratulations.
"Haha, Sect Master, you've birthed a prodigy."
"This child... might surpass even you one day."
Chen Daoxuan accepted their compliments with a faint grin, but there was a steel glint in his eyes.
Let the other sects plot.
Let them try.
If anyone laid a hand on his son, he would burn their sects down to the roots.
Down below, the light faded as Chen Chao calmly removed his hands from the stone. His expression remained indifferent, as if this outcome was to be expected.
He walked back toward Feng Yumo, who was already grinning from ear to ear and gave him a thumbs-up.
Chen Chao gave a faint smile in return.
An inner court elder stepped forward, still dazed. "Congratulations to all the youths. Especially you, Young Master Chen Chao... divine roots are rarer than phoenix feathers."
Chen Chao simply nodded.
With the first test complete, the second stone was rolled forward. The Constitution Testing Stone. Unlike the origin root stone, this one required blood.
The elder coughed and addressed the youths:
"Your origin roots come from your ancestors' bloodline. The closer you are to a Dao Being, the better the odds of a mythic or... divine root."
He held up a short ceremonial dagger.
"But constitutions... are different. They come from the Heavenly Dao itself. A beggar's son might awaken a legendary physique. A Dao Being's child may awaken nothing."
He stepped back.
One by one, they stepped forward, made a shallow cut, and placed their blood-soaked palms on the stone.
As the blood of countless youths smeared the Constitution Testing Stone, most results remained uneventful.
Dozens of kids came and went. A handful triggered a glow—low-tier physiques, average ones in the 600th and above ranks. Many more showed nothing at all.
By now, almost a hundred youths had stepped forward. The crowd was starting to lose interest.
That's when a lean, dark-eyed youth from the Yun Clan stepped out.
He was quiet. Tense. His expression a mix of frustration and burning unwillingness. Everyone remembered him. He was one of the few from the Yun Clan who had awakened only a Spirit Root—the lowest tier.
In a lineage filled with crimson-haired talents and fire-wielding prodigies, he was a disappointment.
Even now, some whispers floated around.
"Still showing his face after that spirit root result?"
"Probably praying to the heavens for a miracle."
But the youth said nothing. He walked up to the stone, took the dagger without a word, and cut a deep line across his palm. Blood dripped down his fingertips, and with one breath, he slammed his hand onto the stone.
BOOM!
A deep, bestial roar shook the testing ground.
Then—
"WOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
Light didn't just shine—it erupted. A savage golden light blasted out from the boy's body, not from the stone. It surged into the skies like a beast breaking free from its cage.
At the same time, wild runes burst into existence across his flesh—feral patterns, claw-like marks, fang symbols, fur textures—spreading down his arms, across his chest, even onto his face.
Above him, the air twisted.
And then, visions began to take form—
One after another, enormous beasts appeared in the skies.
A white-furred ancient ape beat its chest.
A nine-eyed wolf howled in bloodlust.
A winged lizard spread its wings over the peak.
An iron-scaled boar snorted clouds of crimson mist.
Each of them pulsed with essence and will, surrounding the boy in a bestial storm.
Someone stood up and shouted—
"Th-That's the Primordial Beast Vessel Constitution!"
Gasps rippled across the peak.
13th-ranked in the constitution list. A rare and violent physique that followed the Beast Path of Cultivation.
This constitution allowed its user to absorb the blood, bones, and beast cores of spiritual beasts—not just as external nourishment, but as foundations of their own cultivation.
Every beast slain and devoured added to the cultivator's power. Every drop of essence became theirs to command.
And if one could subdue a beast's soul, even better—they could fuse with it, transform parts of their body into claws, fangs, wings, or scales at will. Some who followed this path became half-beast titans, terrifying in battle.
The elder's voice trembled as he explained for the younger disciples:
"The Primordial Beast Vessel Constitution... it turns the body into a vessel for beast essence. The stronger the beast you consume, the stronger your cultivation becomes. It's a path that's bloody and brutal—but unmatched in raw power."
The youth stood there as the beasts howled and circled. Blood soaked his sleeve, but he didn't seem to notice.
Instead, a grin slowly crept onto his face.
From disappointment... to excitement.
The Yun Clan elders stared, their eyes wide. Some of the hovering Dao Beings above even gave the boy a second look now.
He stepped back, face calm, but fire burned in his gaze.
No one mocked him this time.