THE DRAGON GOD AGAINST THE HEAVENS

3.

"You wretched brat! How dare you consume the clan's asset?!" Wang Ba leapt from the execution altar.

Swuuuush!

His body shot forward like a lethal eagle, his palm coated in a dense layer of Qi, ready to crush Wang Chen’s chest before the medicine could fully integrate.

However, before Wang Ba’s attack could land, a shadow clad in a black robe with gold stripes streaked in even faster from the direction of the main pavilion’s inner gate.

BOOM!

A tremendous shockwave from the colliding Qi exploded in the air, deafening anyone present in the main square.

Instantly, Wang Ba was forced back three steps, while a middle-aged man stood solidly in front of the execution platform, shielding the Grand Elder.

The man had a stern countenance, with a gaze as deep as the ocean. Upon his brow rested the lines of absolute authority. He was Wang Tian, the current Patriarch of the Wang Family, and the adoptive father who had raised Wang Chen since he was just one year old.

"The Patriarch!" hundreds of clan members exclaimed, immediately bowing in respect.

Wang Chen, who was kneeling while enduring the churning heat in his stomach, looked up.

"Father..." he whispered hoarsely, hoping for a shred of defense from the man he had always revered.

However, Wang Tian did not look at Wang Chen. The man slowly turned his body around. When the Patriarch's sharp eyes locked onto Wang Chen and caught the dense scent of the Earth-grade medicine wafting from his adoptive son's pores, a flash of profound disappointment was clearly written across his face.

"Wang Chen..." Wang Tian’s voice vibrated at a low register, holding back a heavy weight of emotion.

"So... all of the Grand Elder's accusations were true?"

"Father, it's not what you think! Mei Lu..."

"Enough!" Wang Tian snapped, cutting Wang Chen off harshly. His voice was cold, as if severing whatever remaining familial bond existed between them.

The middle-aged man closed his eyes for a brief moment, taking a deep breath as if cursing his past decision to nurse a small boy abandoned by his birth parents.

When he reopened his eyes, all that remained was the ruthless gaze of a clan leader.

"For over a decade, I have always turned a blind eye to the clan's mockery. I allowed you to access the medicine pavilion freely, granted you a monthly stipend, and protected you from the elders who wanted to cast you out, all in the hope that you would know your place and uphold the honor of the name you bear. In fact, I once drained my entire wealth just to purchase the exact same pill you have swallowed today..." Wang Tian said, his tone carrying a lethal disappointment.

"But what did you do today?!" Wang Tian stepped forward, his eyes flashing between restrained fury and deep sorrow.

"You ordered your servant to steal an Earth-grade Pill... The exact same kind you have already consumed before?!"

"Wang Chen... answer me! What did you steal it for?!" Wang Tian roared, his voice thundering and drowning out the rustling wind in the main square.

"Don't you know best? Swallowing ten or even a hundred Earth-grade Pills of the same kind you just swallowed today will never change your destiny!"

The entire square suddenly fell dead silent. Hundreds of clan members stood stunned, hearing the shocking revelation that had just escaped the Patriarch's mouth.

Wang Tian clenched his fists until they trembled, staring at his adoptive son with the shattered remnants of a father's heart.

"Five years ago, do you remember? When you wept over your crippled meridians, I secretly went to the grand city. I risked my life, drained my entire life savings, and even mortgaged several of my personal assets just to buy you an Earth-grade Pill identical to the one you swallowed today!"

The tears Wang Chen had been holding back finally cascaded down his cheeks. He recalled that night—the night his adoptive father returned covered in severe burns, handing over a jade box with a warm smile.

"That night, you swallowed it right in front of me!" Wang Tian continued, his voice shaking hoarsely.

"And what was the result? Nothing! Damn it, there was absolutely no reaction! Your body completely rejected that energy, your Dantian remained as empty as a grave, and your meridians remained as rigid as dead wood!"

Wang Tian pointed directly at Wang Chen’s chest with a trembling finger.

"You already knew that this legendary medicine would never work on your bizarre body. Yet today, you actually let Mei Lu risk her life to steal something that was clearly useless to you! Why are you so selfish, Wang Chen?! Or did you deliberately want to humiliate me and destroy this clan's future just to satisfy your own empty curiosity?!"

The accusations from Wang Tian's mouth felt far more painful to Wang Chen than all the lashes Mei Lu had received. Those words pierced straight into his core, shattering the last remnants of hope he had placed in his father figure.

"N-No... It wasn't like that..." Mei Lu wailed from behind the post, her tears mingling with blood.

"Patriarch, Young Master Chen really didn't know... I was the foolish one... I thought this time the pill might work... The Young Master is innocent!"

However, Wang Tian had already closed his ears. To him, the sight of Wang Chen having just swallowed the pill right before his eyes was absolute, undeniable proof. Disappointment had blinded his logic.

"Enough. I have played the fool protecting you for far too long," Wang Tian said, his voice suddenly turning as cold as deathly ice. He turned his back, facing away from Wang Chen.

"Grand Elder, you are correct. This child has been blinded by his hollow ambition. Do what you must with him. From this exact second, he is no longer my adoptive son, and no longer a part of the Wang Family."