THE DRAGON GOD AGAINST THE HEAVENS

2.

That powerful voice rang out, piercing through the silence of the square and halting the executioner's swinging blade just inches from Mei Lu's neck. Every single pair of eyes in the main square instantly snapped toward the source of the sound.

At the end of the stone pathway, Wang Chen stood with his breath ragged. Roadside dust soiled the edges of his robes, yet his razor-sharp gaze was locked directly onto the execution platform.

Upon seeing who had arrived, the crowd of clan members immediately erupted into a flurry of cynical whispers and mockery.

"Who is that? Ah, it's that trash Wang Chen!"

"What is that cripple even doing here? Did he come to throw his life away too?"

Atop the execution altar, Grand Elder Wang Ba narrowed his eyes. Far from being shocked, a cold, cunning sneer slowly etched itself onto his wrinkled face. He raised a hand, signaling the executioner to hold his weapon for a moment.

"Wang Chen," Wang Ba’s voice shifted, turning slow yet saturated with an oppressive, intimidating pressure.

"You certainly have the audacity to disrupt the clan's execution grounds. But your arrival... is incredibly well-timed."

Wang Chen strode forward, cutting through the crowd. Strangely, each step he took felt immensely grounded, as if the earth beneath his feet trembled slightly, even though everyone knew he possessed no cultivation base.

"Release Mei Lu," Wang Chen demanded the moment he reached the front of the platform. His voice was low, yet it resonated with absolute authority.

"She is innocent."

"Innocent?" Wang Ba chuckled, a dry laugh completely hollow and dripping with disdain. He rose from his grand throne, stepping to the edge of the altar while looking down on Wang Chen from above.

"Wang Chen, do you honestly think you can deceive these old eyes? A lowly servant without a shred of cultivation like Mei Lu, daring to infiltrate the clan's heavily guarded medicine pavilion and steal an Earth-grade Pill? Impossible! She would never have the guts nor the capability to pull this off alone!"

Wang Ba pointed a finger adorned with jade rings directly at Wang Chen’s face. His gaze suddenly turned viciously cruel.

"There is only one logical explanation. You! You are the mastermind behind all of this, aren't you?! As the son of the Patriarch, you surely know the security blind spots of the medicine pavilion. You deliberately instigated and ordered this foolish servant to steal that Earth-grade Pill, all to cure your own useless, crippled meridians!"

The accusation thundered across the entire square, triggering a fresh wave of fury from the other clan members. They instantly pointed their fingers at Wang Chen as the prime culprit.

"Exactly! That trash must be the mastermind!"

"To restore his own meridians, he actually sacrificed his servant's life! Truly shameless!"

"N-No! It wasn't Young Master Chen! I did this entirely of my own free will!"

Mei Lu cried out hysterically from the stage, her tears cascading down once again. She writhed, desperately trying to break free from the iron chains, completely ignoring the pain that sliced into her skin. She did not care if she died, but she could not allow Wang Chen to be dragged into this catastrophe.

Swuuuush!

"Silence, you wretched servant!" Wang Ba barked, releasing a fraction of his Qi pressure, causing Mei Lu to cough up blood and slump limply against the wooden post.

"Mei Lu!" Wang Chen roared, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot as he witnessed the girl being harmed right before his eyes. The searing heat that had previously been dormant within his bone marrow suddenly surged violently, erupting like a volcano primed to spew lava.

Seeing Wang Chen's reaction, Wang Ba grew even more certain of his accusation.

"Look at yourself, Wang Chen. Kneel and confess your sins! Tell me where you have hidden the Earth-grade Pill, or I will make sure you watch your precious servant's head roll right beneath your feet this very instant!"

"Kneel? Confess my sins?" Wang Chen repeated the words in a voice that was suddenly deathly quiet, yet its vibration made the hairs stand up on the necks of several nearby disciples.

The searing aura from his bone marrow grew increasingly frenzied, forcing its way outward and demanding release. Yet, Wang Chen completely ignored Wang Ba. In his eyes at this moment, there was only the fragile form of the girl slumping limply with blood dripping from the corner of her lips on the stage.

Disregarding the mocking stares of hundreds of eyes, Wang Chen stepped onto the stairs of the execution platform. His footsteps were so unyielding that the clan guards who intended to block him hesitated for some reason, thoroughly intimidated by an invisible, pure aura surrounding the youth.

Wang Chen knelt before Mei Lu. With hands trembling from suppressed fury, he wiped the blood from the corner of the girl's lips.

"Mei Lu... listen to me," Wang Chen whispered, his voice hoarse and filled with profound anxiety.

"Tell me, where is the pill right now? If you return it to these bastards, they won't have any reason left to punish you. Tell me, where is it?!"

Mei Lu opened her bloodshot eyes with great effort. Gazing closely at Wang Chen’s face, there was no fear of death in the girl’s eyes. Instead, there was only a gleam of immense relief and absolute resolve. Her pale lips remained tightly sealed; she merely shook her head slowly, refusing to answer.

"Mei Lu! Please, don't be stubborn!" Wang Chen urged in a panic, his emotions twisting violently, causing his chest to heave rapidly. He opened his mouth slightly, intending to persuade her further, "If you don't say it..."

However, at the exact split second Wang Chen opened his mouth to speak, a desperate flash of determination flickered in Mei Lu's eyes.

The girl summoned the absolute last ounce of strength within her body. She snapped her head forward close to Wang Chen’s face.

Before Wang Chen could even process what was happening, Mei Lu pushed a round object radiating an incredibly potent, fragrant medicinal aroma—which she had been hiding beneath her tongue all this time—straight into Wang Chen's open mouth.

GULP.

The startled reflex of Wang Chen's body caused his adam's apple to bob, swallowing the round object whole as it was forced down his throat.

Wang Chen's eyes widened to their absolute limits. An incredibly dense and pure medicinal aroma instantly exploded within his oral cavity and throat. It was the Earth-grade Pill! The legendary artifact the clan elders had been frantically searching for was actually in Mei Lu's possession the entire time.

"M-Mei Lu... what have you done?!" Wang Chen coughed, trying to force it back up, but the pill had already dissolved into a torrent of terrifyingly vast, pure liquid energy the moment it hit his stomach.

Mei Lu smiled gently, a single tear of pure happiness rolling down her tear-stained cheek. In an incredibly faint voice, she whispered right in front of Wang Chen’s face, "Now... that pill can never be returned, Young Master Chen. Your body... your meridians... can finally be healed..."

"Brat, how dare you! What have you two done?!" Wang Ba’s furious roar thundered from atop the altar. The Grand Elder had finally noticed the scent of the legendary medicine that suddenly wafted intensely from Wang Chen’s body. His wrinkled face distorted into a ghastly mask of uncontrollable wrath.