The moment the old man received the nod, he quickly began circulating the spiritual qi in his body. He didn't run it at full force, just enough that he could activate the steel stele.
The unmistakable pressure of a Core Formation Expert spread out as he placed his hand upon the ancient steel stele.
Though many of the words upon the stele were mottled and faded, the pressure they exuded could be felt even from the VIP stands.
"This ancient stele is not simple!" The woman who had accompanied the City Lord couldn't help but comment as she looked upon the old stele the elderly man was activating.
"Is Miss Ao Lan interested in the steel stele?" The City Lord asked, seeing this as an excellent opportunity to start a conversation with her.
"What is the history of this thing?" she asked, not even sparing him a glance.
This was extremely disrespectful, and respect was something that the City Lord cared for above all. However, to the surprise of the family leaders that flanked them, he just flashed a smile and paid it no mind.
"The Destiny Scale has been here even before Thunder Cloud City came to be. Apart from the name, and its ability to test a person's destiny, not much else is known about it."
She nodded before descending into rumination. It was obvious it had been here for a long time, so she expected their lack of knowledge about it.
The name Destiny Scale struck a chord in her, but she couldn't recall where she heard it from so she stopped thinking about it. After all, how much significance could an object in this backwater place have?
"Uhm City Lord Weisheng Zhensheng, who is this woman?"
One of the family leaders, Bai Yan, couldn't curb his curiosity and asked out loud.
"Bai Yan have some respect!" Weisheng Zhensheng snapped at him. "Miss Ao Lan here is a personal disciple of an elder from the Soaring Cloud Immortal Sect!"
Hearing his explanation, the expressions of all the family leaders drastically changed, including Long Huangdi!
"M—My apologies, fellow family leaders. I had forgotten to introduce her earlier. That is my blunder," Weisheng Zhensheng shamelessly apologised.
'This old fox! He could somehow get someone from the Soaring Cloud Immortal Sect to attend their Destiny Test, and he probably pandered to her already,' some of the family leaders thought.
The Soaring Cloud Immortal Sect was a prestigious cultivating sect located some thousands of miles away from Thunder Cloud City.
Not just anyone could join this sect. Even though they weren't one of the 10 great sects, their prestige couldn't be denied.
The family leaders didn't know what connections the City Lord used to get such a high levelled disciple, even more so from an illustrious place such as the Soaring Cloud Immortal Sect to attend today's event, but it couldn't be something simple.
What infuriated them even more, however, was that this old fox didn't tell them about it, and kept it secret until the last possible minute.
"A thousand apologies, Lady Ao Lan!" Bai Yan immediately apologised.
How could Bai Yan not apologise? If his son could join the Soaring Cloud Immortal Sect, then no doubt his family could gain a Cauldron Core Flame Fusion expert in the future. Heck, they may even get a peak Cauldron Core Flame Fusion expert!
As a result, Bai Yan didn't dare to offend such a major character, bowing his head as he apologised.
Ao Lan didn't put anyone here in her eyes. If it wasn't for her master that asked her to help him in repaying a favour, she would never have come to an insignificant Thunder Cloud City.
Apart from the ancient steel stele, she didn't think anything else would be able to surprise her. After all, how talented could some country bumpkins be, anyway?
"Ah, there they are!"
"Look, it's fairy Qin Ling! Ah, she will surely be a city-toppling beauty in the future!"
"Junior master Weisheng Zu looks so confident. His destiny is surely great, I'm sure of it!"
The crowd erupted into an uproar the minute the kids walked out.
Many children walked out under the gaze of the occupants of Thunder Cloud City.
There were around 30 children, give or take a few. They stood nervously in line. Some of them never attended a Test of Destiny before, so the entire setup was new to them.
Around 6 of the family leader's children were there. The other 4 family leaders had older children that took the test already and had moved on, so there was no need for them to be here.
"Oh, is that your son Long Huangdi? He looks pretty calm down there, almost as if this entire event is below him," one of the family leaders, Li Ren commented.
As this comment came out, all the family leaders instantly looked over to the end of the line of kids where a young eleven-year-old-looking boy stood.
His expression was calm and unmoving, like an old well. In fact, his expression could even be called deadpan.
"D—Don't worry, that's just how he looks regularly. He means nothing by it," Long Huangdi was well aware that his child was about as unusual as far as children go.
His son was actually quite intelligent for his age. In addition, he took an especially vested interest in reading books about alchemy, blacksmithing/forging and mental energy and even spiritual force.
The library at their home boasts 10,000 books along with martial technique scrolls and so on. Apart from their most powerful techniques, it wouldn't be wrong to assume that he read them all!
With all this in mind, he knew his son wouldn't let him down. Though their relationship wasn't the best, it was still pretty good, and he felt good about himself for that. They could build it up over time. He loved his son dearly, and he wanted the latter to know that every day.
Ao Lan heard their conversation and was wondering what kind of story could there be for all the family leaders to pay attention to this middle-aged man's son.
Li Ren, the one who spoke, took the initiative to explain when he saw her pondering expression.
All the family leaders wanted to use whatever means they could to get closer to the disciple of an elder of the Soaring Cloud Immortal Sect.
"You see, the son of Long Huangdi, unlike every other child down there, has never been seen outside. Their son had been kept under lock and key, and no one was able to get any information on him. Today is the first time anyone has ever seen him."
So there was a story like that? Ao Lan glanced in Long Huangdi's direction, but he didn't turn to address her only paying attention to his son.
She had to admit; she was kind of curious regarding this son of his.
When Li Ren saw that he received no response from her, he continued. "Rumours are that his son is a talentless hack with a mortal body and a mortal destiny. Not worth your time I'm sure."
Long Huangdi flew up out of his seat in a rage when he heard this. "Li Ren, are you trying to pick a fight!? What qualifications do you have to slander my son like that!?"
"Who needs qualifications to refer to your brat!?"
"You!"
"Silence, both of you! I will not look bad in front of Miss Ao Lan because of you two. Now control yourselves!"
The booming voice of Weisheng Zhensheng echoed out. Cutting whatever else they were about to say, short.
The pressure he gave off was suffocating. The City Lord was currently the strongest of the family leaders.
He was at the sixth core of the Core Formation Realm, also known as a Six Core Martial Adept, while Li Ren was only Five Core Martial Adept.
Long Huangdi used to be a peak Seven Core Martial Adept and was about to form his eight core, placing considerable pressure on the City Lord.
However, an injury he had suffered caused his cultivation to fall all the way to the 9th Duan of the Cauldron Forging Realm. Once this happened, the City Lord caused no end of trouble for the Long Clan.
It wouldn't even be wrong to say that the City Lord helped Li Ren indirectly when he wanted to cause trouble for the Long Clan.
Most of the family leaders were around Li Ren's level, so they were under strain as well. The only one who was unaffected was Ao Lan, who at the moment was calmly sipping tea that was brewed and set aside for her at a nearby table.
The two troublesome fellows didn't dare to let out a peep at this moment and restrained their fighting impulses.
Seeing his orders were carried out, the City Lord let it remain as is. He immediately turned to Ao Lan with a wily look.
"Ah, Miss Ao Lan, I hope that you won't take that to heart."
She only nodded to show that she didn't take too much from it.
"Lu Pei, step forward!"
The old man on the stage called out to the group of children that stood at the far end of the arena.
A young man of no more than 15 years stepped out with spirited strides. He was the son of a farmer, but even then, he didn't allow that to shake his confidence.
Any child could test their destiny, but it was rare for a commoner's child to have good talents.
That didn't mean it didn't happen. There were some commoners or mortals that knew what they wanted and shocked the world with their achievements.
The old man stared at the young man and commanded, "place your hand on the Destiny Scale. Try to feel the spiritual energy around you and try to draw it in."
Following the old man's advice, the young man closed his eyes and tried to feel his surroundings.
He could faintly feel the spiritual energy in the surroundings, and with the help of the Destiny Scale, the energy entered his body, following a path before it met an impassable obstruction.
It then took another route to complete the circulation. The Destiny Scale began trembling before it released a bright bronze glow.
"Bronze Destiny!" The old man impassively shouted.
The Tests of Destiny had finally begun.