Reversal! The Saintly Wasteland Old Man's Verdict!

At these words, a flicker of shock passed through everyone's eyes.

Zhang Qitian was actually going to snatch him away by force!

Earlier, when Zhang Qitian said he wanted Xiao Chen to join Saintly Wasteland Academy, they had assumed he was merely saying it. After all, doing so would be far too unsightly—Saintly Wasteland Academy had always cared about its reputation!

Yet Zhang Qitian had unexpectedly come right out and demanded Xiao Chen from Chou Wantian!

As powerful as Saintly Wasteland Academy was, countless prodigies had to fight tooth and nail for a place there. No one had ever heard of them actively poaching talent. Yet this time, Saintly Wasteland Academy had cast aside its pride to poach Xiao Chen?

This was simply unbelievable!

Had Xiao Chen's potential truly reached such a terrifying extent?

Chou Wantian's expression immediately darkened. "Zhang Qitian, your dignified Saintly Wasteland Academy is actually trying to snatch someone from a trash academy so impoverished it could shut its doors at any moment. Isn't that a bit excessive?"

Zhang Qitian slowly shook his head. "Dean Chou, I know this is somewhat unfair to your Sword Immortal Academy, but you should also understand that there has never been much fairness in this world!"

"Anyone my Saintly Wasteland Academy has set its sights on—you must hand over, whether you wish to or not! Of course, if you agree, I can compensate you. Pills, cultivation techniques, divine weapons—whatever you name, I can provide it. What do you say?"

Zhang Qitian's tone was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable tyranny.

Hand him over whether he wished to or not!

This was practically open robbery!

Yet no one thought there was anything wrong with Zhang Qitian saying so, because Saintly Wasteland Academy had the confidence to back it up!

"Hehe, though my Sword Immortal Academy has declined, we are not clay dolls for others to knead at will. If you want to snatch someone from under my hand, first ask the sword in my hand!"

With a flick of his thumb, Chou Wantian drew the sword in his hand three-tenths of the way from its sheath. A terrifyingly fierce sword intent spread through the surroundings like a tidal wave. Merely a wisp of the Sword Qi it leaked made quite a few people feel as though even their souls were about to be crushed.

"Since Dean Chou insists on remaining stubborn, don't blame this old man for showing no mercy!"

Zhang Qitian slowly clenched his left hand, and a terrifying power suddenly gathered in his palm!

In an instant, everyone present sensed the surging vitality and blazing battle intent emanating from Zhang Qitian.

Just as the two were about to make their move, the communication jade token at Zhang Qitian's waist suddenly trembled.

The next moment, an aged voice abruptly rang out. "Once a Heaven-Jealous One reaches eighteen, all cultivation will be lost, and misfortune will cling to them. Before reaching twenty, they will be strangled by the Heavenly Dao. Though he may still possess some talent at present, it is all but flowers in a mirror and the moon in water. Junior Brother need not concern himself with him!"

It was a reply from the Saintly Wasteland Old Man.

Everyone present revealed shocked expressions upon hearing this.

He would lose all his cultivation at eighteen and was bound to die before twenty?

Xiao Chen was just two days away from turning eighteen. Didn't that mean he would be finished very soon?

Zhang Qitian, who had been preparing to seize Xiao Chen from Chou Wantian, was also stunned. He had intended to bring Xiao Chen back to Saintly Wasteland Academy for observation, but the Saintly Wasteland Old Man had directly given such an assessment.

Heaven-Jealous Ones were exceedingly rare. He had only known that they suffered the Curse of the Heavenly Dao, but he had not known it would erupt only upon turning eighteen!

That meant Xiao Chen would soon lose all cultivation. He was nothing more than a good-for-nothing with no future. No matter how dazzling his radiance was now, it would soon be extinguished. He was utterly unworthy of Saintly Wasteland Academy's attention.

Had anyone else said this, he might not have believed it. But when the Saintly Wasteland Old Man said it, he had no choice but to believe.

Given the Saintly Wasteland Old Man's unfathomable strength, his judgments were almost impossible to be wrong. If he said Xiao Chen was finished, then he was one hundred percent finished.

Glancing at Xiao Chen in the distance, the heat in Zhang Qitian's eyes was completely gone, replaced by indifference and coldness.

A piece of trash was not worth his attention at all!

A trace of disappointment also surfaced openly on Xiao Zhentian's face. He no longer had any thought of keeping Xiao Chen at the King's Manor to recover from his wounds.

After hearing the Saintly Wasteland Old Man's judgment, he too understood that Xiao Chen was trash who would soon perish. Xiao Zhentian had no need to keep a trash son.

After her shock, Ye Qingxuan's gaze toward Xiao Chen swiftly changed from admiration to disgust.

So he was still trash after all. All her efforts had been wasted—she had even produced the marriage contract in public. This Xiao Chen truly deserved death!

"Hahaha! Father, Mother, did you hear that? Xiao Chen is trash! I am the Xiao Family's only hope!"

At this moment, Xiao Lingtian, who had awakened after taking a pill, burst into manic laughter, his eyes filled with delight and excitement.

Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen!

So what if your talent is extraordinary? Can you contend against the Heavenly Dao? In the end, won't you still become trash?

The piercing laughter directly jolted the unconscious Xiao Chen awake.

He swept his gaze around and found everyone looking at him with contempt, as though they were looking at a lump of dog shit.

He was instantly dumbfounded. What had happened? Earlier, these people had all looked at him with admiration and envy. How had he become someone despised by all after being unconscious for only a short while?

He looked doubtfully at Lin Qingxian. She hesitated before speaking. "Just... just now, the Saintly Wasteland Old Man sent word that you are envied by the Heavenly Dao and destined to become a cripple, so..."

Lin Qingxian's expression held some reluctance. Such a fact was far too cruel for Xiao Chen—it had practically pronounced a death sentence upon his future.

To fall from an unparalleled monster of talent into a worthless cripple—such an enormous gap was surely something no one could accept, right? She hoped he would not develop thoughts of ending his own life!

After hearing Lin Qingxian's words, Xiao Chen immediately understood.

So it was that Saintly Wasteland Old Man, hailed as the ceiling of Great Xia's combat power, who had declared that he was destined to become trash!

Hehe!

Others might truly have been frightened by that, but who was he? He was a man with a system! Forget one Saintly Wasteland Old Man—even the supreme Heavenly Dao would have to kneel before the system and call it father!

What the hell was Saintly Wasteland Old Man?

But before he had grown strong enough, being looked down upon might not necessarily be a bad thing. So, a look of disappointment naturally surfaced on his face. He lowered his head, seeming somewhat dazed and dispirited.

"Don't be too upset!"

Lin Qingxian consoled him.

"I... I'm fine!"

Xiao Chen said softly, like a child who had made a mistake.

Seeing this, the scorn on everyone's faces deepened.

A flicker of disgust also passed through Xiao Zhentian's eyes.

A dignified man, yet he turned into this after suffering a few setbacks. What a complete waste!

"Zhang Qitian, are you still going to compete with my Sword Immortal Academy for him?"

Chou Wantian looked at Zhang Qitian.

Zhang Qitian shook his head. "My Saintly Wasteland Academy only accepts heavenly talents. Since little friend Xiao Chen is destined to fall, he is no longer suited for my Sword Immortal Academy!"

"Xiao Zhentian, what do you say?"

"Take him away."

Xiao Zhentian's face was utterly indifferent.

Wen Wanrong glanced at Xiao Chen. Her lips moved as though she wanted to say something, but thinking of how her younger son and eldest son were like fire and water, she feared that keeping her eldest son would make her younger son very unhappy. In the end, she said nothing.

Everyone present felt a chill in their hearts upon witnessing this.

It was only natural for Zhang Qitian to abandon Xiao Chen; after all, they were not related by blood.

But for you, Xiao Zhentian and Wen Wanrong, to abandon Xiao Chen at a time like this was simply too cold-blooded and heartless!

That was your biological son!

You did not want him anymore just because he had no talent? Who had just been insisting that Xiao Chen should stay at Zhenbei King Manor to recover from his injuries?

Yet Xiao Chen, the person at the center of it all, was already accustomed to it. He had long since become numb!

He had experienced the coldness of these parents of his deeply enough over the years. Now, he held no expectations for them whatsoever. With no hope, there naturally could be no disappointment!

"Heh, Xiao Zhentian, you truly are shameless! For Xiao Chen to have a father like you is truly unfortunate!"

Chou Wantian cast Xiao Zhentian a cold glance, then helped Xiao Chen up and was about to leave.

But Ye Qingxuan stepped forward, her face cold. "Wait. Xiao Chen, now that you have completely become a cripple, you are no longer worthy to be my husband. Tear up the marriage contract in front of everyone!"

The man she wanted to marry was an unparalleled heavenly talent, not a cripple!