THE DRAGON GOD AGAINST THE HEAVENS

5.

"Hahaha! Destroy it right before our eyes?!"

Wang Ba’s laughter exploded, thundering across the entire main square like consecutive claps of lightning. Not only the Grand Elder, but hundreds of disciples and clan members gathered below the stage burst into roaring laughter as well, treating Wang Chen’s words as the most ridiculous joke they had heard all year.

"You crippled brat, who do you think you are talking to?!" Wang Ba mocked after his laughter subsided, looking down at Wang Chen as if he were a mere ant attempting to threaten an elephant.

"Never mind threatening to destroy a legendary pill, you might not even survive for three days just stepping past the outer gates of the Wang Family territory!"

A core disciple in the front row shouted with a cynical sneer, "Exactly! The outer region of our clan is surrounded by the Black Mist Forest. Let alone a mortal with no cultivation like you, even a Three-Star Mortal Realm cultivator has to wager their life against the raging Demonic Beasts in there!"

"He thinks procuring a Cultivation Soul-Restoring Pill is as easy as turning over his hand? Truly a delusional piece of trash!" another chimed in, accompanied by a rising chorus of humiliating jeers.

Atop the altar, Wang Tian merely stared blankly at his adoptive son. A flicker of profound disappointment flashed in his eyes upon hearing Wang Chen’s threat, yet he did not rescind his decision.

"Hollow words will not alter your destiny, Wang Chen. Your time begins now. Begone!"

Wang Chen did not offer a single reply to the barrage of insults and mocking laughter hurled at him. He took a deep breath, sensing a bizarre sensation deep within his body.

Unbeknownst to him, the Earth-grade Pill churning inside his stomach was slowly beginning to be absorbed into his unique bone marrow, radiating a faint yet constant wave of warmth.

At the same time, he turned around, casting a deeply profound gaze at Mei Lu, who was still bound to the wooden post.

"Wait for me, Mei Lu. I will definitely return to take you out of this accursed place."

Mei Lu bit her lip until it bled, her tears flowing relentlessly. Yet, seeing the unyielding resolve in her young master's eyes, she finally gave a soft nod.

"Take care... Young Master Chen... Mei Lu will always wait for you."

‘Even if you do not return, we will live happily together in the afterlife...’ she added, though only within her heart.

With firm, steady footsteps and a straight back, Wang Chen walked through the crowd of clan members, who continued to throw disgusted glares and derogatory laughter at him. Each step felt heavy, yet the determination within his chest had hardened like steel.

The moment he stepped past the grand gates of the Wang Family estate, the cold wind from the Black Mist Forest immediately whipped against his tattered robes. Before him stretched an unfamiliar outer world, teeming with lethal dangers and Demonic Beasts ready to tear his body apart at any moment.

However, instead of trembling in fear, Wang Chen clenched his fists so tightly that faint, golden vein lines mysteriously began to surface beneath the skin of his forearms.

"You look down on me, discard me, and consider me a dead man in this forest..." Wang Chen whispered into the darkness of the woods before him, his eyes flashing sharply.

"Two months. I shall return as the greatest nightmare you have ever created."

Wang Chen’s footsteps rustled over the pile of dry leaves as he began to venture into the dense vegetation of the Black Mist Forest. A thin, ash-grey mist began to envelop his vision, bringing with it the scent of damp earth mingled with a distinct metallic tang—the scent of danger.

The further he walked away from the Wang Family's outer gates, the more the surroundings plunged into a sudden, suffocating silence. The morning birdsong that could previously be heard in the distance vanished entirely, replaced by an eerie stillness that seemed to weigh heavily on his chest.

Gulp.

The warm sensation within his bone marrow throbbed once more, channeling a foreign ripple of energy that subtly eased the tension in his muscles.

However, Wang Chen was far too focused on staying alert to his surroundings to notice this internal shift. He knew that in this forest, a single minor oversight meant absolute death for someone branded as a "cultivationless piece of trash" like himself.

RUSTLE... RUSTLE...

Suddenly, the dense thicket to his right shook violently.

Wang Chen instantly halted his steps, his body tensing up. His hands reflexively clenched into fists and his eyes narrowed, attempting to pierce through the thick mist blocking his view.

GROWLLL...

A low, heavy, and vibrating growl caused the very ground beneath Wang Chen's feet to tremble slightly. From behind the shadow of the colossal trees, a pair of blood-red eyes ignited, staring straight at him with a terrifying gleam of hunger.

A feared creature finally stepped slowly out from the shadows of the mist. It was a Blood-Fang Wolf. Its body was twice the size of an ordinary wolf, covered in pitch-black fur as sharp as needles, with a pair of long, crimson fangs protruding downward.

A powerful aura of oppression instantly exploded from the creature’s body, sweeping through the air around Wang Chen.

"A Demonic Beast... Damn it, is my luck truly this abysmal? Just stepped out of the clan territory, and I’m immediately greeted by a Demonic Beast?" Wang Chen whispered, a bead of cold sweat beginning to slide down his temple.

His memory instantly flashed back to the words of the core disciple at the execution grounds. The wolf before him was no ordinary wild beast; it was a demonic beast that had absorbed worldly energy, possessing a strength equivalent to a Three-Star Mortal Realm cultivator. For an ordinary mortal devoid of Qi like Wang Chen usually was, encountering this creature was tantamount to signing his own death warrant.

AWOOOOOO!

The Blood-Fang Wolf let out a long howl, piercing the silence of the forest before bending its hind legs.

WUUUSH!

Just as the Blood-Fang Wolf prepared to pounce, driven by a powerful survival instinct, Wang Chen instantly leaped by stomping his feet hard against the ground.

BOOM!

Without him realizing it, his sheer terror had allowed him to subtly exert control over the Qi energy localized at his ankles.

WUUUUUSH! Aauuuuuu!

His leap inadvertently soared incredibly high, and as the wolf’s strike missed its mark, it caused the beast to roar once more.

GROAAAARH! AAAUUUUUU!

Swuuuuuush!

The wolf finally lunged into a second assault...

However...