THE DRAGON GOD AGAINST THE HEAVENS

A thin, herbal-scented smoke drifted from the corner of the room, yet the atmosphere inside was anything but tranquil. Wang Chen sat cross-legged atop a stone bed, his breath ragged and his face flushed crimson with suppressed rage.

Around him, a dozen empty bottles lay scattered.

"Damn it! What kind of trash body is this?!" he cursed, slamming his fist onto the stone floor until it cracked.

Just moments ago, he had swallowed three low-grade Qi-Gathering Pills. In the outer fringes of the Sky Star Continent, such resources were more than enough to allow an ordinary cultivator to break through two realms concurrently.

Yet within Wang Chen’s body, those precious cultivation pills felt like a single drop of water falling into a barren desert. The moment it entered his meridians, the warm energy of the pills vanished without a trace, leaving his Dantian as empty and ice-cold as before.

Since childhood, he had been branded the trash of the clan. And tonight, his bizarre body once again proved that destiny seemed to be spitting directly in his face.

"Why? Why did you let me be born if it was only to be a loser?!" Wang Chen roared into the emptiness, clenching his fists so hard his nails turned white and drew blood.

But amidst his fury...

BANG!

The thick wooden door of his room was violently kicked open, shattering to pieces without any warning or knock.

Wang Chen jolted. His anger almost flared into a full explosion at having his cultivation disrupted, but the curses caught in his throat the moment he saw who stood at the threshold.

It was Uncle Liu.

The old man was the servant who had raised Wang Chen since he was an infant, a figure he considered a surrogate for his father, the Head of the Wang Family.

Yet right now, Uncle Liu looked ghable. His grey robes were torn in several places, his breath came in ragged gasps as if he were completely starved of air, and his wrinkled face was deathly pale, covered in cold sweat and tears.

"Uncle Liu? What happened to you..."

Before Wang Chen could even finish his sentence, Uncle Liu fell directly to his knees on the floor, clutching the edge of Wang Chen's robe with his body trembling violently.

"Young Master... Please... Please save her..." Uncle Liu’s voice shook, hoarse and dripping with utter despair.

Wang Chen’s heart suddenly hammered against his ribs. A dark omen gripped his chest.

"Calm down, Uncle. Who needs to be saved? Speak clearly!"

"Mei Lu..." Uncle Liu looked up, his eyes bloodshot and filled with profound dread.

"Mei Lu... She has been accused of stealing an Earth-grade pill for you. Young Master... Mei Lu has been sentenced to death! Her execution is to be carried out in the main square immediately."

THUD.

Wang Chen’s world seemed to collapse in an instant. His head buzzed violently, and the surrounding air suddenly felt suffocating.

Mei Lu.

Formally, the girl was merely a servant of the Wang family, just like Uncle Liu. But to Wang Chen, she was his childhood companion—the only person of his age who had never looked down on him with disgust or disdain. When the entire clan cast him away, Mei Lu was always by his side, tending to his wounds, sharing her meager bread, and offering a sweet smile to reassure him that he was not trash.

Their bond had long surpassed the status of master and servant, or even mere childhood friends. Mei Lu was the light of his life, the sole reason Wang Chen still endured within this cruel clan.

And now, they wanted to kill her?

"The death penalty...?" Wang Chen whispered. His voice suddenly turned lethal with rage.

"Yes, Young Master... That Earth-grade pill is rumored to be capable of curing any illness, even correcting crippled meridians within a cultivator's body... Upon hearing this news, Mei Lu recklessly attempted to steal it. For your sake."

The blood within Wang Chen’s veins instantly boiled. Tears of pure rage welled up in his eyes.

"Stupid girl... Why would you do something so dangerous for trash like me?!" Wang Chen hissed, his teeth grinding together to suppress the tempest of emotions raging in his chest.

An Earth-grade pill was something even the Grand Elders of the clan would think twice before touching. Mei Lu, a girl without any powerful cultivation base, had dared to infiltrate the treasury just to find a cure for Wang Chen's crippled meridians. Her flawless devotion had now become the very noose prepared to claim her life.

"Young Master... the executioners are already prepared. The Grand Elder himself is presiding over this execution to teach a lesson to anyone who dares touch the clan's assets," Uncle Liu wailed, his head pressed hard against the floor.

"They want to execute her right now?" Wang Chen stood up straight.

"Yes, Young Master... Please save Mei Lu..." Uncle Liu continued to plead.

"Uncle Liu, rise. Stay here and look after yourself," Wang Chen said as he immediately bolted from the room.

Without waiting for Uncle Liu's response, Wang Chen ran. For some reason, his footsteps, which usually felt heavy, now felt as light as the wind, slicing through the pathways of the Wang Estate toward the main square.

Meanwhile, at the Wang Family Main Square.

The sun had just risen a spear's height into the sky, yet the square was already packed with hundreds of whispering clan members. At the center of the grounds, a high wooden platform had been erected.

Onstage, Mei Lu knelt with both hands chained with heavy iron to a wooden post. Her faded green servant garments were soiled and torn in several places, exposing bluish-purple whip welts.

Her usually sweet face was deathly pale and caked in dust, yet her eyes harbored no regret. She merely gazed blankly at the morning sky, her lips moving soundlessly as she whispered prayers for her young master's safety.

Atop the execution altar, the Grand Elder of the Wang Family, Wang Ba, sat in his magnificent robes. His face was cold and brimming with supreme arrogance.

"Lowly servant Mei Lu!" Wang Ba’s voice thundered across the entire square, amplified by the power of his Qi.

"You have committed an unforgivable sin by stealing the Earth-grade Pill, a treasure reserved to restore our clan's genius currently in the Empire... He is dying and needs that pill, and now you..."

"Your actions are tantamount to betraying the clan, and murdering the sole remaining genius of our lineage!"

Mei Lu remained silent, offering no attempt to defend herself. She knew that any words spoken in this place would not alter her fate.

"Since you refuse to reveal where you have hidden the pill, your sentence shall be death by decapitation!" Wang Ba raised his hand, signaling the burly executioner who stood beside Mei Lu, a massive cleaver gleaming under the morning sun.

Until suddenly...

"Hold on!" a deeply familiar voice thundered through the air, carrying immense weight even without the aid of Qi.