A cold wind swept through the silence of the Xiao Residence's Main Square. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were fixed on the center of the stage, awaiting a moment everyone had already predicted. On one side stood Xiao Yiran, the clan's genius who had just set the stage ablaze with his achievement of the Body Refining, Sixth Level Peak. On the other stood Xiao Chen, a young man in shabby clothes who did not possess even a trace of Qi in his body.
In the VIP stands, the clan elders and honored guests lounged in their seats with relaxed expressions. To them, this was not a trial, but a ridiculous sideshow. A mortal worm trying to reach the heavens.
"Xiao Chen," the announcer's voice rang out coldly, shattering the silence. "Test your strength on the Qi Testing Stone!"
Xiao Chen did not answer. The young man drew a deep breath, taking in the cold morning air stabbing into his lungs. His steps felt heavy, but not once did he hesitate. He walked toward the human-sized black marble stone.
When his callused palm, covered in bruises and wounds, pressed against the cold marble surface, Xiao Chen closed his eyes. He tried to summon every ounce of his endurance, calling forth the remnants of energy within his body—a futile effort he had made thousands of times throughout his life.
One second... three seconds... ten seconds passed.
The Qi Testing Stone remained pitch-black. No line of light appeared. There was no golden glow. Not even the slightest ripple of energy was produced. The black marble was dead, as though affirming the bitter truth that the young man before it truly possessed no talent whatsoever.
"Hahaha! Look at that! It didn't react at all!"
"What a piece of trash! Even the testing stone can't be bothered to respond to his hand!"
"Just erase his name from the family register! He's only disgracing the great name of our Xiao Family in front of the guests!"
Laughter erupted throughout the square. The clan disciples whispered among themselves, pointing toward the stage. Insult after insult flew like poisoned arrows from every direction. Yet amid the roar of mockery, Xiao Chen's expression remained calm. His pitch-black eyes stared at the cold marble, hiding a storm of emotion in their depths.
In the VIP stands, Xiao Tianhai slowly rose to his feet. The middle-aged man put on an expression of forced disappointment. He swept his gaze over the elders and honored guests, then cleared his throat loudly.
"Enough!" Xiao Tianhai's voice rang out powerfully, infused with Qi that immediately silenced the audience's uproar. "The evidence is right before all of us. Xiao Chen, the clan's concubine's son, has turned fifteen today and has been proven to possess a cultivation realm of zero. According to the ancestral laws of the Xiao Family..."
"Wait, Great Elder!"
A voice cut across Xiao Tianhai's words. It was Xiao Yiran. The young man in blue silk robes stepped forward with a sly smile etched across his face. He bowed respectfully toward the main stands before continuing.
"Great Elder, the ancestral rules do state that anyone who fails to reach Body Refining, First Level, by the age of fifteen must be expelled from the clan. But isn't there another rule that's even more important?" Xiao Yiran turned and fixed Xiao Chen with a sharp gaze. "If a clan member is proven to have feigned weakness or concealed his strength to avoid clan duties, he must undergo a physical test through open combat!"
At those words, Xiao Chen's eyes widened. *A physical test through open combat?* This was nothing but a trap. How could a mortal without any Qi be tested in battle against a practitioner at the peak of Body Refining, Sixth Level?
"Xiao Yiran!" Xiao Chen's voice was cold as he stared straight into his cousin's eyes. "You know perfectly well that my meridians have been blocked since birth. This marble test already proved it. Don't look for an excuse to act recklessly!"
"An excuse?" Xiao Yiran gave a sinister laugh. "Who knows? Maybe you used a forbidden technique to conceal your cultivation. As your cousin, I'm responsible for verifying the truth in order to protect the clan's reputation! Great Elder, I request permission to give Xiao Chen a probing strike!"
In the VIP stands, the other elders exchanged glances. Some of them knew this was profoundly unfair, but not one of them dared challenge Xiao Tianhai, who was the de facto ruler at present.
Xiao Tianhai stroked his beard and pretended to think for a moment before finally nodding slowly. "Request granted. However, Yiran, be careful. Don't kill him on this stage."
"Father, there's no need to worry. I'll only be 'examining' his body," Xiao Yiran replied, his tone laden with hidden intent.
Before Xiao Chen could step back or voice a protest, Xiao Yiran's aura suddenly exploded. A fierce wind blasted Xiao Chen's shabby clothes. Blue-gold Qi enveloped Xiao Yiran's entire body, creating such powerful aura pressure that fine cracks spread across the marble floor around his feet.
"Take this attack, trash!" Xiao Yiran shouted.
*Whoosh!*
Xiao Yiran's body shot forward like lightning. He moved so quickly that a mortal's naked eyes, including Xiao Chen's, could not catch his shadow. In a fraction of a second, Xiao Yiran was already directly in front of Xiao Chen.
Xiao Yiran's fingers curled into claws coated in incredibly sharp and poisonous Qi—a forbidden clan technique known as the *Soul-Breaking Claw*. This technique was not designed to kill directly, but to permanently destroy an opponent's internal energy channels!
*Crash!*
Xiao Yiran's palm slammed into Xiao Chen's chest with full force. The horrifying explosion of energy echoed through the air.
"Ugh!"
Xiao Chen spat fresh blood from his mouth as his body was sent flying like a severed kite. He struck the marble stage with a heavy impact and was dragged more than a dozen meters, leaving a trail of blue-tinged blood across the stone floor.
Excruciating pain erupted in Xiao Chen's chest. This was not merely the pain of physical impact, but a searing agony spreading through all his organs. Xiao Yiran's poisonous Qi burrowed into his body, violently tearing apart and shattering Xiao Chen's Blocked Meridians.
"Aaghh...!" Xiao Chen groaned harshly, clutching his chest as though it were being burned by the fires of hell. His body convulsed on the stage, drenched in his own blood.
"Yiran! What are you doing?!" An elderly elder on the stands rose in shock. "You've destroyed all his energy channels!"
Xiao Yiran swept out his hand, extinguishing his Qi aura with an expression of cold satisfaction. He walked over to the helplessly prone Xiao Chen, then bent down and whispered in a voice only Xiao Chen could hear:
"Now your Blocked Meridians have been completely destroyed, trash. Even if a godly miracle occurred, you'd forever be a cripple unable to stand upright. This is revenge for your stubborn mother, who refused to hand over that secret key."
Xiao Chen stared at Xiao Yiran through a gaze growing increasingly blurred by blood and tears. His chest felt hollow. The tremendous pain slowly transformed into pure hatred, burning through his entire soul and body. His fingernails dug deep into the marble as he tried to endure the convulsions wracking his body.
In the VIP stands, Xiao Tianhai stood with a cold expression, showing not the slightest trace of guilt. He shook out his luxurious robes and announced his final decision in a voice that thundered throughout the clan:
"Xiao Chen! Not only have you failed the cultivation test, but your body has now been destroyed and is no longer of any value to the clan! To preserve the purity of the Xiao Family's bloodline and protect it from cripples and useless trash, your name will be erased from the clan register today!"
Xiao Tianhai paused briefly, a cruel glint flashing in his eyes.
"Guards! Drag this crippled piece of trash out of the Xiao Residence! Take him to the eastern border and throw his body into Shenmo Death Valley! Let the restless spirits there finish off whatever remains of his life!"
Upon hearing the decision, the spectators in the square cheered in satisfaction, utterly unconcerned with the tragic fate of the young man dying on the stage.
Two heavily built guards stepped forward, seized Xiao Chen by both limp arms, and roughly dragged him away from the stage. His blood dripped in a long trail down the stone steps, leaving behind a red mark that silently bore witness to his own clan's conspiracy and cruelty.
Xiao Chen no longer cried out. As his body was dragged through the magnificent gates of the Xiao Family and into the darkness, his half-closed eyes stared at the sky, which was beginning to be covered by thick black clouds.
*If I die today... I'll become a demon and demand vengeance... If I live... I'll flatten this place into the ground!* That blood oath whispered in the depths of his soul, accompanying his body as it was carried toward the deadliest forbidden abyss.