"Th-This... Chen'er, Mother knows you're hurting, but your younger brother truly likes Qingxuan. For her, he couldn't eat or sleep, and he's grown thin from hunger. You're his elder brother—you can't bear to see him suffer like this either, can you? Why not give way to him?"
Wen Wanrong also felt that this was somewhat excessive, but after hesitating for a moment, she still spoke the words aloud.
"Heh... When he suffers, you ache for him. I was cast away in Desolate Town for three years, yet neither of you even came to look at me once. You never cared whether I lived or died, and you even claimed it was for the sake of my recovery. You've truly treated me so well!"
A flash of bleakness passed through Xiao Chen's eyes.
Though he was a transmigrator,
he had still inherited the memories of the former owner of this body.
The pain and despair of longing for familial love yet never obtaining it—
he felt it as if it were his own.
It was simply too miserable!
When Xiao Zhentian and his wife summoned the former owner back to Barren North City to fulfill his marriage agreement with Ye Qingxuan, he had been overjoyed, weeping like a child.
He had naively believed
that three years of neglect and torment were finally coming to an end.
He was about to receive his parents' affection, his younger brother's respect, and his wife's tender love.
Yet—
when he returned to Barren North City,
what greeted him was his family's utter indifference.
At that moment,
his heart had shattered beyond repair.
Later,
Xiao Lingtian had openly tried to seize his fiancée.
He had even beaten him so badly that he was gravely injured.
Yet his parents had turned a deaf ear and a blind eye, not even sparing him another glance.
After that,
the former owner had died in despondency!
With the way this family behaved,
let alone humans,
even beasts would likely bow down in shame.
And now,
Wen Wanrong actually wanted him to give up his marriage agreement because Xiao Lingtian would be upset and had skipped a few meals!
This was fucking bullying beyond all measure!
A nameless fury surged through Xiao Chen's heart in wave after wave.
"Chen'er, don't... misunderstand. You are both Mother's precious sons. Mother loves you both. It's just that, in your current... condition, even if you don't give up the marriage agreement, Qingxuan still won't marry you."
Seeing Xiao Chen so enraged, Wen Wanrong immediately panicked and explained with reddened eyes.
She still held some affection in her heart for this eldest son of hers.
After all, he was flesh of her flesh.
But Xiao Zhentian cared greatly about appearances and would not allow Zhenbei King Manor to have a useless son like Xiao Chen. It would tarnish his prestige as the Zhenbei King.
Thus, they had cast the young Xiao Chen into Desolate Town and entrusted him to an ordinary local family.
And in order to diminish Xiao Chen's presence, they had not visited him all these years.
With Xiao Chen absent from her side, Wen Wanrong had naturally given all her love to Xiao Lingtian. Over time, that had turned into favoritism.
But she had never imagined
that the brothers would become irreconcilable enemies the moment they met.
That was something she, as a mother, did not wish to see.
But—
one was an unfamiliar, useless eldest son whom she had not seen in three years.
The other was her Heavenly Prodigy Rank youngest son, who had been by her side day and night since childhood.
Naturally, she sided with her younger son.
She had even gone so far as to make such an excessive demand.
She had never considered that Xiao Chen had already sacrificed far too much for Xiao Lingtian.
Xiao Lingtian owed Xiao Chen for the rest of his life.
"Enough, Wen Wanrong. Stop putting on this act of deep mother-son affection before me. To be honest, after what you just said, you are utterly unworthy of being a mother. So put away your tears, will you? I don't need them!"
Xiao Chen sneered.
The moment those words fell,
Wen Wanrong's heart convulsed violently.
An incredulous look flashed through her eyes.
She had never expected
that Xiao Chen, who had once treated her with the utmost respect and would be so excited by even the faintest smile from her that he could not sleep, would now be so heartless toward her!
Unworthy of being a mother?
Had Xiao Chen's resentment toward her already reached such a point?
"You unfilial son! You dare defy your mother? I'll kill you today!"
Xiao Zhentian roared furiously.
"Kill me? Come on, then! Xiao Zhentian, you've wanted this day for a long time, haven't you? If you aren't afraid of the world calling you out for murdering your own son, then go ahead and strike! I definitely won't be able to evade you anyway!"
A cold smile curled at Xiao Chen's lips as his icy eyes locked onto Xiao Zhentian. "Everyone says the Zhenbei King is invincible in valor, holding back the Demon Race beyond Barren North—a great hero, the backbone of the Human Race. In truth, you're nothing but a hypocrite fishing for fame!"
"Before I turned fifteen, you saw me as the Xiao Family's future. You cherished me in every way and indulged my every wish. After I turned fifteen, my dantian shattered and my talent was utterly destroyed. You changed your face like turning a page, ignoring me completely and becoming cold as frost."
"When all is said and done, didn't you simply think that I had become useless and could no longer inherit the Xiao Family's glory?"
As his words fell,
everyone present shuddered.
Fear appeared in their eyes.
Xiao Chen actually dared speak to the Zhenbei King like that?
Was he not afraid that, in a fit of rage, the Zhenbei King would kill him on the spot?
Xiao Zhentian's face had already turned livid with fury, his body trembling slightly. A terrifying martial aura spread from around him, and even the void began to crack inch by inch, fissures spreading like a spiderweb.
The people around them immediately felt a terrifying pressure descend from nowhere.
It was as though a mountain a thousand zhang high were pressing down upon their heads, making cold sweat stream down their backs.
Xiao Zhentian truly deserved to be a martial arts genius with Heaven Tier aptitude.
Though only middle-aged,
he had already attained the Martial King realm.
Just a few wisps of pressure
were already terrifying to such an extent!
But in the next moment,
that imposing aura receded as swiftly as the tide.
As he looked at the mockery on Xiao Chen's face,
a trace of dejection suddenly flashed through Xiao Zhentian's eyes.
Though he did not wish to admit it,
every word Xiao Chen had spoken was true.
He was the head of the Xiao Family.
He was also the Zhenbei King who guarded Barren North.
He carried too much upon his shoulders.
Over these years, he truly had neglected Xiao Chen's care.
He had wronged Xiao Chen.
But it could not all be blamed on him.
Back then,
when Xiao Chen had been born, he had been discovered to possess the Born King Physique.
He had been ecstatic.
A Born King Physique was simply too powerful.
Powerful enough, at the very least, to guarantee the Xiao Family a thousand years of glory.
Thus, he had placed all his hopes and love upon Xiao Chen.
As the saying went, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
When Xiao Chen's dantian had later shattered, his mind had nearly collapsed.
The Born King Physique was gone.
The Xiao Family's thousand-year foundation had been shattered.
He could not accept it.
He had even come to feel disgust whenever he saw Xiao Chen.
Though he knew
that it was not Xiao Chen's fault,
he could not control himself.
Later, he had simply thrown Xiao Chen somewhere out of sight—what the eye did not see, the heart did not grieve over.
From beginning to end,
he had considered only his own feelings.
He had never cared whether Xiao Chen lived or died.
Over the following seven years, he had nearly forgotten Xiao Chen entirely, forgotten that he had once had such a son.
Only when the marriage agreement reached its due date
did he bring Xiao Chen back to his side.
But there was already little affection left.
And Xiao Chen's constant meek endurance had given him an illusion.
He was the father.
However he treated his son was only natural.
The other party could only obediently bear it.
Until Xiao Chen erupted just now,
he finally realized
that he had been wrong!
And wrong beyond measure!
He was unworthy of being a father!
But with his pride, it was impossible for him to admit his mistake!
Therefore,
he could only remain silent!
Seeing this scene,
everyone present was stunned!
They had never expected the ever-overbearing Zhenbei King to yield as well.
That was right!
At this moment, silence
was already a form of yielding for Xiao Zhentian!
An enormous concession!
"Heh... What is it? Did I hit the mark? Have you been left speechless?"
Xiao Chen sneered.
"Give up the marriage agreement. I will compensate you in the future!"
After a long silence, Xiao Zhentian spat out those few words!
"Compensate me? No need! From this day onward, all ties and debts between me and the Xiao Family are severed! I am no longer your son, and you are no longer my father. From now on, we are strangers, and until death, we will never have dealings with one another again!"
Xiao Chen took a deep breath, severed the last thread of attachment in his heart, and spoke slowly.
The moment those words came out,
the pupils of everyone present shrank sharply, and countless traces of shock flashed through their eyes!
All ties and debts severed?
Never have dealings with one another again?
Xiao Chen was going to cut all ties with the Xiao Family?
Before you continue