"What? Zhou'er has advanced to the Stone Seed! Father, look!"
Shen Hongyuan's eyes widened as he watched his son. He had not expected Yanzhou to reach the second stage so quickly.
Shen Tianxiong stroked his long white beard and nodded with satisfaction.
"Hmm, good. Very good. Considering how lazy that boy usually is, awakening the Stone Seed is already quite an achievement."
"That's right, Father."
The one who spoke this time was Shen Hongyuan's younger brother, Shen Honglie.
Shen Honglie was a tall, broad-shouldered man in his early forties. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and sharp eyes. His black hair was tied neatly behind his head, with a few strands of gray near his temples. He wore a dark blue robe with silver embroidery and carried himself with the confidence of an experienced cultivator.
Unlike his stern and imposing older brother, Shen Honglie had a more relaxed manner. However, his sharp gaze showed that he was far from careless.
He looked toward Shen Yanzhou inside the formation and smiled.
"With his usual attitude toward cultivation, I would have been satisfied if he had awakened the Ash Seed. Reaching the Stone Seed is already a pleasant surprise."
"Little brother, look! Tong'er has also reached the Stone Seed! Hahaha! Congratulations to our Shen Clan. We now have two Stone Seeds!"
Shen Hongyuan laughed heartily, clearly pleased with the result.
Shen Honglie nodded as he watched Shen Tong inside the formation.
"Tong'er has worked hard all this time. Seeing him reach the Stone Seed makes me proud. Reaching this stage is no easy feat."
The Shen Clan members were delighted by Shen Yanzhou and Shen Tong's progress. Several elders smiled proudly, while the younger members cheered for their clansmen.
"Hahaha! Our Wu Lang has also reached the Stone Seed!" A burly Wu Clan elder with a thick beard laughed loudly, slapping his thigh in excitement.
"Good! I knew our young master wouldn't disappoint us!" another Wu Clan member shouted.
The Lu Clan also had reason to celebrate. A tall, lean elder with graying hair pointed toward a young man inside the formation.
"Look! Lu Bai has reached the Stone Seed too!"
"Excellent! Keep going, Bai'er!" several Lu Clan members called out, their faces beaming with pride.
On the Chang Clan's side, the atmosphere was just as lively.
"Miss Shiyue has reached the Stone Seed!"
Chang Weiming smiled proudly as the clan members around him congratulated one another. A stout elder with short gray hair laughed heartily. "Our young lady has never disappointed us!"
Even the Yi Clan had a young cultivator whose aura had turned brown. Their clan members immediately erupted into cheers.
"Well done! Another Stone Seed for the Yi Clan!"
Excited shouts broke out across the Sacred Square as more brown auras appeared inside the formation.
"Look! That's Lin Feng! He's reached the Stone Seed!"
"Hahaha! My son actually made it! I knew all those years of training weren't wasted!" A stocky middle-aged man with a thick mustache jumped to his feet.
Not far away, a group members erupted into cheers when one of their young men developed a brown aura.
"Well done, Gu Chen! Keep going!"
An elderly woman with silver hair clasped her hands together, her eyes glistening with joy. "That child has suffered so much during training. He deserves this." Read this novel at novelping dot com for the best experience.
The excitement spread beyond the larger families. When a young woman from a smaller family also reached the Stone Seed, her father stared at her in disbelief before breaking into a wide grin.
"Xiao'er did it! Did you see that? My daughter reached the Stone Seed!"
His wife covered her mouth, tears of happiness gathering in her eyes. Their family might not possess the resources of the great clans, but their daughter had managed to reach the same stage as the children of those powerful families.
Elsewhere, a young man from a merchant family clenched his fists and shouted in celebration when his son's aura turned brown. Even several independent cultivators who had come to watch the ceremony nodded in approval.
Of course, not everyone was pleased. Some families watched the rising brown auras with tight expressions, especially when their own children were still struggling with the first stage.
Nevertheless, the Sacred Square had become far livelier than before. Cheers rose from every direction, parents embraced one another, and elders proudly discussed the achievements of their younger generation.
For many families, reaching the Stone Seed was already a remarkable accomplishment. Their children had endured the second stage of the ceremony and taken another step toward the path of cultivation.
And with the ceremony still underway, no one could say how many more surprises awaited them.
Although many participants had reached the Stone Seed, many others had been removed from the formation.
Some had fainted during the first stage because they could not bear the pain of awakening the Ash Seed. Others had managed to awaken the Ash Seed but fainted when they tried to advance to the Stone Seed. Even some who had reached the Stone Seed could not endure the much greater pain of the second stage.
One by one, the three sect elders removed those who had fainted.
Out of the four hundred people who had signed up, only thirty remained inside the formation.
These thirty participants came from all kinds of families, including the five great clans and smaller families from across Qinghe City.
Every one of them was still fighting to advance to a higher Seed. Their bodies were covered in sweat, and their faces showed how much pain they were in. Some clenched their teeth, while others trembled as they struggled to stay conscious.
The spectators watched nervously, waiting to see who would reach the next stage.
The ceremony was far from over, and the next stage would bring even greater pain.