A Mother's Gift of Flesh and Blood, A Father's Nurturing Body, A Self-Sacrifice to Heaven to Repay the Favor of Raising!

Heaven Dou City, the external business branch of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect.

Before the main gate.

Three factions of people had packed the open space so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through. Onlookers from the city blocked the street entrance, whispering to one another.

"See that? People from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

"Who's that old man?"

"Yu Kun, an elder of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. A seventh-ring Soul Saint! I heard the one crippled was his own grandson."

"Hiss—that boy from the Ning family is as good as dead."

"Isn't he? A piece of trash who couldn't even awaken his martial soul, crippling a direct descendant of that clan—isn't that just begging for death?"

At the front of the crowd, the Heaven Dou City garrison had set up a perimeter. The captain leading them was drenched in sweat, caught between two great sects, not daring to even breathe loudly.

In the center of the field.

Yu Kun stood with his hands behind his back, lightning crackling around his body. Seven soul rings—two yellow, three purple, and two black—slowly rose, causing the bluestone slabs on the ground to vibrate with a low hum.

Behind him stood over a dozen disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, each with a grim expression.

"Ning Jing!"

Yu Kun spoke, his voice like rolling thunder.

"You failed to discipline your son, allowing him to commit such violence and ruin my grandson's future. I want your son to pay with his life!"

"Today, I ask you: will you hand him over or not!"

Opposite them, a group of collateral members of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect stood gathered. Ning Jing stood in the middle, his face ashen. Beside him were his wife, Yin Suzhi, and two teenage boys—Ning Jin and Ning Mu.

And at the very front of them all, a child stood his ground.

He wore his hair in two topknots, with a single dot of vermilion between his brows. He had a delicate, androgynous beauty, and though he was short, his spine was straight as a rod. A precious sword hung at his waist.

Ning Zha.

Seven years old.

"Pay with my life?" Ning Zha looked up at Yu Kun, his voice clear and bright. "Why should I pay with my life?"

A flash of ferocity crossed Yu Kun's eyes: "You crippled my grandson's limbs and destroyed half his cultivation path—you tell me why!"

"You old scoundrel, then your grandson snatched someone off the street and beat an old man to death—who should he pay with his life to?!"

Ning Zha's voice was not loud, but the open space was eerily silent, and every word fell into the ears of everyone present.

People in the crowd began to whisper.

"Is that really true?"

"It is! I saw it with my own eyes at the West Market yesterday. That boy from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was dragging a flower girl by her hair into an alley. Her father rushed up to stop him and was blasted against a wall by a soul skill; he died on the spot."

"This..."

"You insolent brat! How dare you speak ill of my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"

Yu Kun laughed in his fury, the light from his seven soul rings flaring brilliantly. The violent lightning-attribute soul power transformed into a shockwave, forcing the onlookers in the front row to retreat repeatedly.

"It is clear that the old man was already sick! My grandson merely released his martial soul to frighten him, and he died of his own terror! If you want to blame someone, blame his own cheap life!"

The captain of the Heaven Dou Empire's city guard swallowed hard, leading his men to silently retreat another three steps.

Involving the grievances between the Upper Three Sects—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect—they, the imperial guards, had become the most insignificant people present. Who dared to interrupt? Who dared to express an opinion? Were they tired of living?

Yu Kun's gaze was like lightning, locked onto Ning Jing.

"Ning Jing! I am telling you, today, this brat must be left to our disposal. Otherwise, from this day forth, my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will be at total odds with your Seven Treasures Glazed Sect!"

Ning Jing's face turned completely white. There was not a drop of blood left in it.

Being a collateral member of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect sounded impressive, but in reality, their status was low. They had no say in core matters; their only value was to manage worldly business for the sect's direct line.

If their family caused the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to become mortal enemies with the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, let alone Ning Jing, even if the lives of everyone in their collateral branch were added together, they could not bear such a catastrophic consequence!

In fact, shortly after the incident last night, the elders of the collateral branch had already held a secret meeting late into the night.

The final resolution of the meeting had only one point: hand over Ning Zha to appease the wrath of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

"Old dragon, to think you are still here twisting black into white!" Ning Zha stepped forward, his small hands clenched tight.

"Ning Zha!"

Suddenly, a violent roar erupted.

Slap!

A resounding slap landed heavily on Ning Zha's tender face.

Ning Zha did not dodge. He did not even tilt his head. But on his fair, handsome cheek, five clear red marks instantly appeared. A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"You wicked child! Look at the mess you've made—get on your knees!" Ning Jing pointed at Ning Zha's nose, his finger trembling violently.

"Father, I did nothing wrong, why should I kneel!" Ning Zha stood straight, his gaze meeting Ning Jing's without a hint of retreat, his tone tinged with grievance. "They are the ones who are wrong!"

"You still dare to talk back! You wicked child who couldn't even awaken your martial soul!"

Ning Jing trembled with rage, suddenly raising his leg and delivering a heavy kick to Ning Zha's chest.

Bang!

The immense force sent seven-year-old Ning Zha flying backward, rolling twice across the bluestone floor before finally coming to a halt.

The surroundings fell into an instant, deathly silence.

A degenerate son who even failed to awaken his martial soul?

Ning Zha lay on the cold stone, casually wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with a bitter smile.

As expected. In your eyes, this is all I have ever been.

He did not originally belong to this world. In his past life, he was named Ning Huo, but reborn into this Douluo Continent, he became a member of a branch family of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect. Because he lacked fire in his destiny, he was given the name Ning Zha.

His father was Ning Jing, and his mother was Yin Suzhi. Above him were two older brothers, Ning Jin and Ning Mu.

In his memories, his father's attitude toward his mother and brothers had always been permeated with a business-like coldness. Ning Jing dreamed of having his descendants awaken the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda martial soul, hoping to use it to return to the core of the sect.

Unfortunately, neither Ning Jin nor Ning Mu had fulfilled that wish.

Although the martial souls his two brothers awakened possessed innate soul power and could be considered average, they were ultimately not the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. From that point on, Ning Jing harbored many grievances toward his mother, Yin Suzhi, secretly blaming the bloodline of an outsider woman like her for holding them back.

That was until Ning Zha was born. He was born with a formidable physique, his vitality far exceeding that of an ordinary person. For a time, Ning Jing was ecstatic, pinning all his hopes for a turnaround on this youngest son.

However, the greater the hope, the deeper the despair.

At the age of six, during the martial soul awakening ceremony, Ning Zha failed to awaken any martial soul at all. His innate soul power was zero.

At that moment, the light in Ning Jing's eyes was extinguished completely. In its place was undisguised disgust and indifference. He believed that because he had married a woman like his mother, it had completely severed the possibility of his bloodline inheriting the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda.

Although Ning Jing did not say much more on the surface, Ning Zha had always seen that attitude of turning a blind eye.

The bond between father and son had already existed in name only since that afternoon when the awakening failed.

And yesterday's bloody incident on the street was merely the final spark that completely tore through this thin veil of pretense.