478: Chapter 478 The omnipotent one is not the emperor, but man.

A brief silence fell over the hall.

The elders of the Yun Family had various expressions.

Their gazes lingered on Qin Wangchuan for a moment, then shifted to Yun Qingyao, before they finally exchanged looks with one another.

They were all shrewd old foxes.

There were some things that no one understood better than they did.

But there was one thing they were unwilling to see through, and indeed, could not see through.

"Wangchuan, according to what you're saying—"

The elder who had spoken earlier narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of scrutiny. "Do you believe that you are still a human?"

This was a tricky question.

It wasn't asking about cultivation or status, but about the very essence—

What do you consider yourself to be?

In the eyes of Mortals, they were unattainable existences.

They were immortals, gods, existences above the clouds that one could not look upon directly.

The only thing they couldn't be was human.

Because "humans" were too lowly.

They grow old, they die, they are weak, and they make mistakes.

But they did not.

Qin Wangchuan met that gaze, his tone calm.

"Of course I am a human."

"Rising from lowliness, never forgetting where I came from, nor where I am going."

"An omnipotent human."

The hall fell silent once more.

These words were arrogant.

But upon careful consideration, they left no room for rebuttal.

The elder's brow twitched slightly, his lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

Qin Wangchuan sighed softly, his gaze slowly sweeping across the faces of the several elders.

"Taking a step back, even if she becomes an emperor, an immortal, or something else in the future—"

"But she is still a human right now."

Yun Lingge couldn't help but interject:

"Look at her now. Does she look like a human?"

She pointed at Yun Qingyao, her tone carrying an indescribable complexity.

It was heartache, helplessness, and a certain expectation that was hard to let go of.

Qin Wangchuan followed her gaze.

Yun Qingyao was still sitting there.

Her white clothes were like snow, her face exquisitely cold, and her entire body was surrounded by a chill that warned others to stay away.

Even though they were discussing her, she seemed like an outsider.

Whoever spoke, she would look at them.

There was not the slightest emotional fluctuation in her eyes, as if those words had nothing to do with her, as if she were merely a moving jade statue.

But Qin Wangchuan was still absolutely certain.

"She is human."

He raised his hand, interrupting Yun Lingge, who wanted to say more.

"I have seen many people far stranger than her."

He said this casually, but it caused the expressions of the elders to shift slightly.

"Someone even stranger?"

What kind of person could be stranger than an immortal body?

Qin Wangchuan didn't explain, continuing, "Possessing an immortal body is indeed important, but clutching it too tightly is not necessarily a good thing."

He paused, his gaze meeting theirs candidly.

"I also know what you are thinking."

"The power of an immortal body is obvious to all. If an immortal body could emerge to compete with the other families, it might allow the Yun Family to join the Three Heavens."

"But as I said, holding on too tightly is not a good thing."

The elders fell silent.

These words struck the deepest chord in their hearts.

The Yun Family had been silent for too long.

So long that when outsiders mentioned Emperor Clans, they first thought of the Qin Family's Magical Artifacts, the Li Family's swords, or the Chu Family's Battle Intent—but what about the Yun Family?

What did the Yun Family have?

They had destiny.

But destiny was something invisible and intangible; it could not kill enemies, nor could it protect the clan.

When the Yun Family was mentioned, others would subconsciously think of the Qin Family upon hearing it.

"Oh, so it's just that vassal of the Qin Family."

An immortal body had finally appeared; it was the Yun Family's greatest Opportunity in a hundred thousand years, and their only hope.

How could they dare to let go?

How could they dare to gamble?

Qin Wangchuan watched their expressions.

He knew they were listening, but he also knew they wouldn't change easily.

Any further words would be useless.

He stood up.

"The above are just some of my shallow views, not worth listening to."

Qin Wangchuan nodded slightly as a gesture of departure.

"It's a bit stuffy; I'm going out for a walk."

Dragon Gauze timely transformed into a stream of light and returned to his robes.

Reaching the door, he thought for a moment.

He paused his steps and looked back at Yun Qingyao.

"Going for a walk?"

Yun Qingyao looked over at the sound and tilted her head.

"Is this an order?"

Qin Wangchuan gave a light snort and nodded.

"Yes, this is an order."

"Show me around the Yun Family."

Yun Qingyao looked at him, and after a moment, she stood up.

"Oh."

Her white clothes were like snow as she walked over slowly and stepped out of the hall door side by side with him.

Behind them, the elders watched their departing figures with complex expressions.

Yun Lingge's gaze lingered on her daughter for a long time.

It was the back she had seen the most over the past twenty years, yet one she still couldn't understand.

Once the two had walked far away, the elder from before murmured softly:

"Not worth listening to... is it?"

He shook his head.

"That kid Wangchuan makes sense, but... we can't afford to gamble."

An immortal body had finally appeared; how to educate it, and in what way, was a difficult problem.

Looking across the entire Three Thousand Continents, there had never been a precedent.

How should an immortal body grow?

What path should it take?

What kind of person should it become?

No one knew.

Thus, the Yun Family could only be cautious, as if treading on thin ice, blocking all other paths and leaving only the one they deemed "correct."

Who would dare to bet that that path was wrong?

Just then, Yun Lingge suddenly spoke.

"Perhaps we were wrong."

Several people looked at her.

"Oh? And what is the basis for that?"

Yun Lingge sighed softly, her gaze falling on the empty hall entrance.

"For over twenty years, this child has remained the same as at the beginning, without any change."

"Isn't that the greatest basis?"

No one responded.

The hall fell into a deeper silence.

Yun Lingge lowered her eyes, her voice softening a bit.

"To make the emotionless feel emotion—this obsession is indeed quite deep."

She looked up at the elders, a hint of a mother's unique softness in her eyes.

"I'm thinking, she doesn't need to have emotions."

"She just needs to... have some change."

"Even if it's just a little."

These words did not come from a Yun Family elder, nor from an Emperor Clan elder.

But from a mother's simplest and humblest wish.

Outside.

Yun Wuyi gazed at Qin Wangchuan's departing figure, then looked back into the hall.

After a long while, he spoke.

"If you become an emperor one day, will you still consider yourself a human?"

Yun Zexuan thought for a moment and shook his head.

"I wouldn't have before."

He paused.

"But now, I have a new perspective."

He looked at Yun Wuyi, enunciating each word.

"Emperors start as humans, and immortals start as humans too."

"It is not the emperor who is omnipotent, but man."

Yun Wuyi gave him a deep look and slowly nodded.

"We're thinking the same thing."

He withdrew his gaze and let it fall on the distant figure that was gradually walking further away.

"'It is not the emperor who is omnipotent, but man'—this sentence has benefited me greatly."

"Qin Wangchuan... huh."

Yun Wuyi sighed softly.

"I thought that monster Qin Wudao was terrifying enough, but I didn't expect the new generation to surpass the old."

"Being of the same generation as him is not a blessing, nor a misfortune, but a tribulation."

Yun Zexuan nodded.

"I know."

"I've always known."

"From our first meeting in the Great Yan Dynasty, to the fall of Xuantian City, and then to the emergence of the Three-Character Heaven and Earth Law—"

"He had always known."

"Qin Wangchuan was a tribulation."

"He looked down at the Magical Artifact in his hand, which had been twisted like a dough twist."

"To break the tribulation is a blessing; to fail is a disaster. I am the one who must face this tribulation."

"But fortunately, I am not alone."

"We all are."