The Last Dragon Heir

"Force him to kneel!"

The shout echoed across the Drakon Clan Punishment Grounds.

Crash!

Two clan disciples kicked Kaelan in the knees, sending the eighteen-year-old crashing to the stone floor. Dust flew up, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"You bastard!"

"How dare you steal the clan's Spirit Pills!"

"Someone like him deserves to be killed!"

Cheers rained down on Kaelan from all directions. Hundreds of Drakon Clan members had gathered around him. Not a single one showed any mercy. They looked at him as if he were a rat deserving of being trampled to death.

Kaelan raised his head slowly.

"I... didn't steal it."

Smack!

A hard slap sent his head flying again.

Leon Drakon stood before him, wearing a white robe emblazoned with a golden dragon, looking so arrogant that no one dared to meet his gaze for long.

He was the pride of the Drakon Clan, while Kaelan was nothing but a stain.

"You still dare to lie?" Leon smiled sarcastically, showing a small jade bottle. "This Spirit Pill was found in your room. Do you still want to deny it?"

Everyone's gazes immediately filled with hatred.

"That's the proof!"

"Traitor!"

"A bastard child still has filthy blood!"

Kaelan clenched his fist; the bottle had indeed been found in his room this morning.

But he had never seen it before in his life.

"I was framed."

"Shut up!" Leon kicked Kaelan mercilessly in the chest.

Thud!

Kaelan's body was thrown several meters before hitting a stone pillar. Tightness filled his chest, but what was even more painful were the stares of those around him. No one believed him.

"Young Master Leon is right. Someone without a Spiritual Core like him must have stolen out of envy. If I were the Clan Head, I would have cut off both of his hands."

Kaelan lowered his head not out of shame, but because he realized there was no point in explaining the truth here. Someone branded an illegitimate child from birth will never be trusted by anyone.

"Stop!"

An old voice broke through the commotion as a white-haired old man ran into the middle of the field. His clothes were simple, his face was covered in wrinkles, and he walked with a slight limp.

He was Elder Garrick, the man who had cared for Kaelan since his mother's death. He immediately stood in front of Kaelan.

"Young Master Kaelan wouldn't steal! He'd never do such a thing."

Leon snorted. "Just an old servant. You dare defend a thief?"

"Garrick," said one of the elders coldly. "Stay out of it."

But Garrick shook his head.

"I raised him. I know what this child is like."

Leon smiled faintly. "Oh? Then..."

Bang!

Without warning, Leon kicked Garrick in the stomach. The old man fell to the ground, clutching his chest.

"Elder Garrick!" Kaelan tried to get up, but two disciples immediately grabbed his shoulders.

"Don't move!"

The sight of Garrick lying on the ground made Kaelan's chest burn.

"Don't touch him!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Leon walked over to Garrick and stepped on the old man's hand.

"You forget your position, you're just a servant. You have no right to speak before the Drakon family."

A small crack was heard as Garrick gritted his teeth in pain.

But he remained staring at Kaelan.

"Don't... talk... They're just looking for an excuse." His sentence was cut off when Leon pressed his foot down harder.

"I've had enough of you two. A bastard son and an old servant who's lower than a dog."

Kaelan struggled. "Let go of me! Let go!"

But the two disciples pressed his shoulders even harder, causing his knees to slam into the stone again.

That's when the entire field fell silent. A middle-aged man walked into the arena, wearing a black robe adorned with a golden dragon.

The aura he radiated was so heavy that everyone automatically bowed their heads.

"Clan Head..."

It was Darius Drakon, Kaelan's father. The man stopped a few steps in front of Kaelan. Their gazes met for a moment, Kaelan hoping.

He hoped his father would ask, he hoped he would investigate the truth and, for once, he would be treated as a son. But that hope was shattered by a single sentence.

"Was it really found in his room?"

"Yes, Clan Head," Leon answered without hesitation.

Darius nodded slowly. "Enough."

He looked at Kaelan with a straight face.

"From today on, you are forbidden from entering the Pill Vault and the Clan Hall. If you disgrace the Drakon Clan once more, I will personally administer punishment."

Kaelan's heart felt like it was being squeezed.

"Is that all?" Kaelan muttered softly, almost inaudible to anyone. There was no investigation, no chance to defend himself.

Even his own father chose to trust someone else. Kaelan smiled bitterly. Now he understood that for eighteen years, he had never been considered the Clan Head's son.

He was just a burden who happened to be kept alive. Darius turned to leave, but before leaving the field, he said.

"Tomorrow morning, the Inheritance Ceremony will be held. If Kaelan fails to awaken his Spiritual Core again, his name will be erased from the Dragon Clan's lineage and he will be banished forever."

Those words made the entire field roar.

"Hahaha!"

"Finally!"

"The bastard will be banished!"

Leon smiled with satisfaction while Kaelan simply stared at his father's retreating back.

The middle-aged man didn't even once glance back at him. Amidst the cheers of the entire clan, Elder Garrick closed his eyes.

His hand slowly grasped an ancient map that he had been

hiding under his clothes.

In a barely audible voice, he whispered,

"Forgive me, Young Master... Tomorrow... your destiny will truly begin.”