Wang Xianxian had barely stepped into the ancestral hall when he felt an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

The grand hall was solemn, and the elders seated around, all high-ranking members of the Wang clan.

Although not everyone was present, most of those in the Tianjian ancestral home had come.

Sitting at the head of the table was an old man with white hair, the tenth elder of the family.

This tenth elder was formidable in strength, with a very high status and seniority. He had emerged from seclusion just a few hours ago.

The tenth elder did not pay much attention to his surroundings, simply sitting on his throne, eyes closed in meditation. It seemed as if he contained a deity within him, his mere presence exuding an extremely terrifying oppressive force.

Sitting below the tenth elder was the current patriarch of the Wang family, Wang Xiao.

He was the biological father of Wang Jian and the grandfather of Wang Xianxian.

And sitting next to Wang Xiao was a young face.

Wang Beichen!

Wang Beichen was always surrounded by many clan members, his presence commanding attention wherever he went.

Because he was Wang Beichen, the pride of this generation in the Tianjian Wang family.

The patriarch, looking at Wang Xianxian standing in the back, furrowed his brows, his tone somewhat displeased.

"Wang Xianxian, do you know why I specifically called you here?"

Faced with his grandfather's pressure, Wang Xianxian immediately bowed.

"Reporting to Grandfather, Xianxian does not know."

"Do not know?" Wang Xiao snorted coldly, "Are you truly unaware, or are you pretending not to know?"

Wang Xianxian's face was full of confusion; he couldn't recall doing anything.

Seeing his grandson's puzzled face, Wang Xiao asked in a deep voice, "Do you know what people are saying about your father outside?"

Wang Xianxian's body jerked; he seemed to understand his situation.

Seeing Wang Xianxian remain silent, the patriarch laughed angrily.

"Now, outside, there are rumors that our Wang family is harboring a bastard.

"For nearly nine thousand eight hundred years of our family's history, you are the only one to awaken such a destiny.

"Do you realize your mistake?"

Wang Xianxian, head bowed, felt a sense of desolation and smiled bitterly.

"May I ask, Patriarch, what wrong have I committed?"

"What wrong?" Wang Xiao's gaze darkened, "You've made our Wang family a laughingstock, and you still ask me what wrong you've committed!"

Wang Xianxian raised his head to look at his grandfather sitting high above.

"Is destiny something I can decide?

"Have I ever thought of disgracing our family's honor?

"Bastard? The bloodline of a great emperor naturally senses kinship. Whether I am a bastard or not, do you not know?"

The young man's questioning made Wang Xiao's face turn somewhat ugly.

He hadn't expected the usually silent and reticent Wang Xianxian to have the courage to talk back to him in public.

Just when the atmosphere became tense, Wang Jian stepped out from the crowd.

He knelt down before his father and kowtowed.

"The fault of the son is the father's; not teaching my child properly is my fault. I am willing to bear the punishment on behalf of my son.

"Please, for the sake of Xianxian still being young, give him another chance."

Wang Xianxian, hearing this, felt his heart cool. He couldn't believe his father would protect him in this way; Wang Jian's words must be a show. And performing such a show here meant that the situation was still under Wang Jian's control.

Almost instantly, Wang Xianxian guessed that he might have been set up.

Sure enough, as soon as this thought emerged, Wang Xiao spoke indifferently,

"Bear the punishment on behalf of your son? Do you know the real reason I called Wang Xianxian here?

"He was called here because of the theft of the Cold Orchid Heart.

"Recently, the Murong family, to celebrate Beichen's breakthrough to the Blood Refinement Realm, specially gifted our Wang family with the precious Cold Orchid Heart.

"However, on the very night, the Cold Orchid Heart was unexpectedly stolen.

"Therefore, I ordered Wang Beichen to personally investigate this case.

"Beichen, tell the elders the truth about the theft of the Cold Orchid Heart."

Upon hearing this, Wang Beichen stood up proudly.

"Elders, after two weeks of investigation, the thief is indeed my elder brother, Wang Xianxian."

Wang Beichen's loud voice echoed through the spacious ancestral hall.

Everyone turned their shocked faces towards Wang Jian, who was kneeling before the patriarch.

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Those seated here participating in the clan's discussion were not fools; they were mostly old foxes skilled in scheming.

Wang Beichen's words, to their ears, clearly revealed his intentions.

They were all shocked by Wang Jian's ruthlessness; he actually planned to sacrifice his eldest son!

However, although they were clear in their minds, obviously, no one wanted to offend Wang Jian.

Because such a matter might very well have been condoned by the patriarch!

A high-ranking member squinted slightly upon hearing this. "Are you certain? This matter is of a serious nature; let's not wrong the child."

Wang Jian stood up abruptly, roaring at Wang Beichen,

"Rubbish! I tasked you with finding the thief, and you dare accuse your own brother!" Hearing his father's scolding, Wang Beichen said aggrievedly,

"But the Cold Orchid Heart was originally mine, and Grandfather tasked me with the investigation for this reason.

"Father, I know you don't want to accept this reality, but this time, both human and material evidence are conclusive.

"Moreover, this is a conclusion reached together with other family elders. Uncle Five also knows about this.

"Because he is my brother, I have verified it repeatedly; the criminal is undoubtedly my brother. According to family rules, stealing a family treasure should result in whipping and expulsion from the family, but I am somewhat undecided, so..." Hearing this, Patriarch Wang Xiao spoke sternly,

"Any family member who violates the family rules shall not enjoy any special privileges, even if they are my own grandchildren!"

Wang Jian, as if stupefied, looked bewildered.

"How could Xianxian possibly... Although he indeed has many faults on a regular basis, but..."

"Hmph!" Wang Xiao snorted, "This is the son you've raised!"

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a black robe stood up from the crowd.

He was Wang Jianquan, Wang Xianxian's fifth uncle, also Wang Jian's left-hand man.

"Patriarch, I don't think this can be blamed on Brother Three.

"Beichen and Wang Xianxian are both Brother Three's children; why is only Beichen kind-hearted, polite, and well-behaved?

"I also didn't believe Brother Three's child could do such a thing."

"But after all, Nephew Xianxian was personally raised by Mo Wan'ge."

"What can you expect from a drunkard raising a child?

"The reason Beichen is so outstanding is because of the good education provided by Brother Three and Sister-in-law.

"It must be because Xianxian didn't receive proper education when he was young, leading him to do such a thing. That Mo Wan'ge has long harbored resentment against our Wang family, surely venting her anger on Nephew Xianxian.

"Moreover, that drunkard Mo Wan'ge gets herself drunk every day, constantly indulging in debauchery outside... Ah!!!"

The scream instantly filled the ancestral hall.

Everyone quickly looked over, only to see Wang Xianxian tightly holding onto Wang Jianquan's left arm.

The young boy's head was deeply buried in the crook of the arm.

No one knew what exactly had happened, nor did anyone understand why Wang Jianquan would scream like that.

Although Wang Jianquan's martial prowess was weak, it shouldn't have been to the extent that a child could make him scream like that.

The guards in the hall hurriedly separated the two.

As soon as they were separated, Wang Jianquan, with a pained expression, covered his left hand.

Looking closely, everyone was horrified to discover that a small section of Wang Jianquan's left thumb had been bitten off.

The wound was continuously spurting fresh blood!

And the main culprit was that child they had all been ignoring!

The silent young boy had actually bitten off a section of his elder's thumb!

"Hehehe..."

The young boy spat out the piece of thumb from his mouth and laughed wildly.

The fresh blood remaining on his lips and teeth made Wang Xianxian appear especially terrifying at this moment. Wang Jianquan, facing the laughing young boy, kept roaring, "I'll kill you, I will kill you!!!"

Hearing this, Wang Xianxian glanced at Wang Jianquan, then mockingly said,

"Didn't you know, insulting someone's mother in front of their child is a very despicable act?

"Oh~ Perhaps it's because you, this idiot, didn't receive proper education when you were young, so you ended up doing such a thing.

"Today, young master will teach you a lesson; after insulting someone else's mother, you will be retaliated against.

"Remember this well, this time's tuition fee is only one finger of yours!"

Astonishing words!