Xiao Ning came to a slow halt at the center of the hall. His eyes passed over each of them, indifferent as still water.
He raised a hand casually. "There's no need for such formality. You've all stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm now. You are no longer ordinary elders—you stand among the pillars of this sect."
Though they responded with humble gratitude, none of the five truly believed those words.
Titles meant little in the face of true power.
All cultivators knew that even within the Nascent Soul Realm, the difference between early, middle, and late stages was a chasm few could cross.
It was often said that the difference between stages within the Nascent Soul Realm was like the gulf between heaven and earth—vast, insurmountable, and not to be taken lightly.
A mid-stage Nascent Soul could barely stand before a late-stage one.
