Chapter 20: The Awakening [2]

Chapter 20: The Awakening [2]Everyone fell silent.

All noise ceased the moment Yu Lingluo began walking toward the Awakening Crystal.

Her silver-violet hair fluttered behind her like strands of starlight, and her expression was calm — too calm for a ten-year-old.

The hall watched in collective awe as she approached the towering crystal at the center of the dome.

She placed her hand gently against its surface.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then light appeared.

The crystal pulsed once, softly... then again, brighter.

Suddenly, it flared with a radiance so intense that many had to shut their eyes and switch to divine sense to even perceive what was happening.

The Awakening Crystal turned a brilliant, pure purple — glowing like a star ready to burst.

Then, streaks of violet lightning began dancing across its surface, cracking the crystal from the inside out.



The artifact, thought unbreakable, now trembled as if overwhelmed.

The hall was completely still as the elders watched, some of them taken aback by the sheer power emanating from the crystal.

Gasps echoed through the chamber.

Grand Elders straightened in their seats.

"This... This has never happened before," whispered Elder Mo Jian.

And just as the tension in the air reached its peak, visions began to materialize.

They did not come gently.

Unlike ordinary awakenings, where saints or illusions of mythical beasts or supreme beings appeared, these visions were raw, primal.

A force of unrestrained chaos swept through the room.

The elders grimaced.

Even the Grand Elders — beings who had faced tribulations and fought ancient monsters — were not spared.

Their senses burned.

Their spirits recoiled.

Far away, other Grand Elders — those deep in secluded meditation — opened their eyes and immediately flew toward the Awakening Hall.

Because something was very, very wrong... or perhaps, very right.

The vision expanded.

Within the crystal’s projection, stars were born and died in rapid succession. Galaxies spun, supernova erupted. It was beautiful and horrifying.

Powerful. Destructive. Chaotic.

But undeniably... divine.

And the vision didn’t stay confined to the Awakening Hall.

It expanded.

Beyond the walls, beyond the Core Pavilion, stretching outward until the entire Yu Clan’s domain shimmered beneath the celestial phenomenon. Then it kept going — reaching other sects, other clans.

Other powers across the land were also shaken. An event of such magnitude couldn’t possibly go unnoticed.

In distant regions, powerful beings stirred.

In forbidden lands, slumbering monsters opened eyes that hadn’t blinked in centuries.

Every major force in the Eternal Star Heavenly World... noticed.

And then, as if the vision had not been enough to leave them breathless, a golden light shot down from the heavens, piercing the sky and heading straight toward the Awakening Hall.

The world went still for a heartbeat.

Gasps turned to cries of disbelief.

"The Aura of Destiny!" shouted one Grand Elder.

Another paled. "It’s... the era’s chosen..."

Only one thing could trigger that beam.

It meant a catastrophe was coming.

And the world had begun to choose its champions.

Not ordinary geniuses... but monsters.

Heavenly anomalies.

In the middle of it all, Yu Lingluo floated inside the golden light. Her body curled into a fetal position as she levitated mid-air, wrapped in divine brilliance.

The hall was silent again.

Until—

"HAH! We have a genius!"

"GOOD! GOOD! OUR CLAN IS BLESSED!"

"Congratulations, Clan Head! Your daughter has heaven’s favor!"



The Grand Elders erupted in celebration, some wiping their eyes, others already imagining how the Yu Clan would rise in power and prestige.

But then suddenly—

She vanished.

Right before everyone’s eyes, Yu Lingluo disappeared from within the golden cocoon.

Gone. Completely.

The room erupted into chaos.

"WHAT?!"

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

"WHO DARES ATTACK THE YU CLAN?!"

One elder drew his sword on instinct.

"Patriarch! We must prepare for war!"

The air was thick with anger, confusion, and a sense of dread.

But the Grand Elders didn’t move.

They stood frozen... not from fear, but from shock.

They had felt something.

A pressure.

The World’s consciousness had gazed upon Yu Lingluo for the briefest of moments — a presence so vast, so ancient, that it made even seasoned cultivators like them feel like dust.

And then... it was gone.

Yu Changming and Huan Lianhua remained composed on the outside, but inwardly... even they were shaken.

They looked at one another and sighed.

’Our daughter’s luck is truly too good.’

The Grand Elders were stunned by the descent of divine will.

But the Patriarch and Matriarch?

They were disturbed by something else — something only they knew.

While the hall remained in stunned silence, Yu Changming took a step forward.

His aura suddenly flared.

Deep. Vast. Boundless.

The air around him thickened, and even the Grand Elders felt the pressure of his energy.

For a moment, it was as if the entire clan and beyond were suffocating under the weight of his presence.

The ground trembled. The hall buzzed. Several weaker elders nearly fell to their knees.

Outside the hall, cultivators far and wide felt the sudden surge and flinched.

"Wh-what monster just woke up?!!"

Inside, the pressure receded as quickly as it came.

Then Yu Changming spoke.

"I know everyone is concerned about what just happened," he said, his voice calm but firm. "As her father, I thank you all for your worry."

He paused, sweeping his gaze across the gathered crowd.

"But I can assure you — this is an opportunity. For her. And for our clan. Where she has gone... is where she is meant to be."

The murmurs calmed.

The elders nodded, still shaken but trusting.

After all, if someone truly did try to harm Yu Lingluo... war would be the least of Yu Changming’s responses.

They still remembered the time he nearly brought calamity to the Heavenly Oceanica World... because someone insulted his wife.

Meanwhile, at the back of the hall, a small hand clutched tightly at Huan Lianhua’s sleeve.

Yu Xuan, still panicked by his sister’s sudden disappearance, had tightly gripped his mother’s hand.



His heart raced, but when he heard his father’s words, he couldn’t help but feel a small measure of comfort.

"Rest assured, my son," Huan Lianhua said softly, sensing his unease, "Lingluo will be fine. She’s not the same as before."

Yu Xuan sighed in relief, his grip loosening slightly.

His sister had disappeared.

And no matter what anyone said, that didn’t sit right with him.

He said nothing.

But inwardly, he thought:

’What a chaotic day...’

And he was right.

Because the chaos had only just begun.

And he couldn’t help but feel the weight of the events unfolding — and wondered what his role would be in the coming storm.

[A/N: We have reached 20K words]