The ultimate chaos God

Public humiliation

Li Yuer flinched, instinctively pulling Li Tian closer, though the tension in her frail shoulders eased once she recognized the man standing in the doorway.

It was Li Cheng, Li Tian's father. His eyes looked frail, and his body no longer carried the presence of someone who had once been a cultivator.

He ignored everything else in the room and staggered to the bedside before collapsing onto his knees. "I couldn't protect you..." His voice cracked. "If I were still strong, if my cultivation hadn't been crippled, Li Wei would never have dared touch you, and your cultivation wouldn't have been ruined because of me."

Li Cheng had been crippled before Li Tian was born, and the damage had passed onto Li Tian's own cultivation, making him the most useless member of the clan.

His fingers tightened until his knuckles turned white. "It's all my fault."

Li Tian looked quietly at the broken man before him, feeling neither pity nor resentment. I need to comfort him, he thought. Slowly, he raised his frail hand and rested it on his father's shaking shoulder. "It's alright," he said softly.

Before Li Cheng could answer-

DOOOONG!!

A deafening bell echoed across the clan.

Li Cheng's expression changed instantly. "The Clan Emergency Bell..."

[Clan Hall]

The Li Celestial Clan hall was already overflowing with people, hundreds of disciples standing in orderly rows across the room.

Li Tian walked beside his father, his bruised body aching with every step. What could have caused this emergency meeting? he wondered, looking around at the unfamiliar clan he'd found himself part of.

As soon as they appeared, whispers spread through the crowd. "The trash and his crippled father." "They still have the nerve to show themselves." "They should've been expelled years ago." "They disgrace the Li Clan."

Mocking laughter rippled through the disciples, but Li Tian remained expressionless. If this were my previous life, I would have killed every one of you, he thought.

At the far end of the hall stood a stone dais. Clan Leader Li Bao occupied the central seat, his overwhelming aura blanketing the entire hall and forcing even talented disciples to lower their heads. The elders sat beside him. To one side stood Li Wei, his cold eyes never leaving Li Tian.

As Li Tian's gaze drifted toward him, he thought, You killed the real owner of this body. I'll make sure I avenge him and deal with you mercilessly, giving Li Wei a deadly look.

"Li Tian, Li Cheng." Li Bao's voice boomed throughout the hall. "Step forward."

Li Cheng stepped forward immediately, while Li Tian hesitated, no trace of fear on his face as there had been before.

Li Cheng, seeing Li Tian still at the back, whispered and signaled with his hand. "Li Tian, please come forward."

All eyes turned to Li Tian, the crowd stunned that he'd dare defy the clan leader's order. "What is he doing, is he refusing the clan leader's order, has he gone mad?" disciples whispered among themselves, giving him disdainful looks.

Li Bao's face twisted with fury as he shot Li Tian a deadly glare.

Li Wei pointed at Li Tian. "You trash, didn't you hear? Step forward."

Li Tian, seeing his father's desperate expression as he continued waving him forward, hesitated a moment longer, then said, "Alright," and stepped up to stand before Li Cheng, who immediately pressed him to his knees before the clan leader.

"Clan Leader Li Bao, please don't be offended by this little boy's attitude."

Li Bao leaned forward, disgust filling his eyes. "You ungrateful brat. I spared your worthless family and allowed you to remain within the Li Clan, and this is how you repay me? You dare slander your Clan Leader?"

The crowd erupted. "Not only did his son defy the clan leader's order, he insulted him behind his back too, what a shameful son." "Did he have a death wish?" "What an idiot!"

Li Cheng suddenly stepped in front of his son, both of them still bowed low. "Have mercy, Clan Leader!" he roared. "It was Li Wei, your son, who bullies mine every single day!" He pointed toward Li Wei, the words tearing loose from his frustration.

"Silence, you brat!"

It wasn't proper for Li Wei to interfere in the matter as a young disciple, but as the clan leader's son, no one dared object.

Li Wei stepped forward, murderous rage burning in his eyes. "How dare a cripple speak to my father like that!"

Before Li Cheng could answer-

BOOM!!

A wave of pressure burst from Elder Li Yufeng, standing beside Li Bao. "You've mistaken kindness for weakness," the elder said coldly. "A cripple and his useless son should be grateful they were allowed to remain in this clan."

The killing intent hanging over the hall grew heavier with every passing moment.

Finally, Li Bao raised one hand. "Enough." His gaze fell on Li Tian. "The Li Clan has no obligation to feed useless dogs." He picked up a jade slip and read from it with a faint smile.

"First, Li Tian will clean every training ground and every classroom within the clan, every day, without exception. Second, all cultivation resources allocated to Li Tian are hereby revoked. He will receive nothing from the clan."

Li Cheng's face turned pale. "No, Li Bao! He's already too weak! You're condemning him to death!"

Li Tian remained kneeling, smiling faintly as the decree was read.

Silently, he reached out and covered his father's trembling fist with his hand. "Leave it," he said quietly.

Li Cheng stared at his son. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though the person kneeling beside him wasn't the timid boy he'd raised.

Li Tian slowly lifted his head, his gaze sweeping across the hall until it locked with Li Wei's. Li Wei felt a pressure he'd never known before, and his smile faded instantly. What was that? he wondered, though he brushed it off, certain that trash would always be trash no matter how terrifying it seemed.

Li Tian's gaze drifted past the hall toward the distant training grounds, where a worn bamboo broom rested against one of the stone pillars. A faint smile curved his lips. "Sweep the training grounds?"

The whole hall fell into stunned silence at how Li Tian dared talk back, and even Li Cheng questioned himself: What happened to Li Tian?

But to keep the matter from escalating, Li Tian accepted the punishment. "This disciple is grateful to the Clan Leader, and I will accept the punishment gladly."

This cooled the tension in the hall, and the gathering was dismissed immediately.