Chapter 17 A Generation's Dragon-AoTian Protagonist, Died Without Even Ashes Remaining
"Lin Zhantian, tell us, where did this brat's Flood Dragon Armor come from?"
The Great Elder stormed in with several elders, their killing intent fierce.
"Old dog, where my Flood Dragon Armor came from is none of your damn business. What next, you want to smell my shit too?"
Before Lin Zhantian could answer, Lin Chen jumped out, his expression four parts calm, three parts mocking, and three parts disdainful.
"You…"
The Great Elder flew into a rage and struck without hesitation.
The other elders moved in unison as if rehearsed, launching their attacks together.
Five experts of the Spirit Sea Realm struck at once, their power vast, blades flashing, beastly phantoms roaring as they bore down on Lin Zhantian and his son.
"Stop!" Lin Zhantian's eyes widened with fury and fear as he hurriedly countered.
Boom!
A thunderous blast carved out a massive crater, collapsing houses across the Lin estate, the ground splitting as though struck by an earthquake.
"Cough, cough!"
Father and son lay broken within the pit, bloodied and barely breathing.
Though Lin Zhantian was at the peak of the ninth level, he could not withstand five Spirit Sea Realm elders striking together—especially while shielding Lin Chen. The fact he wasn't already dead was proof of his skill.
"You… do you intend to rebel?"
He glared at them in shock and rage.
Lin Chen too was petrified. He had never imagined the elders would attack so brazenly.
His father was patriarch, he was young master.
How dare they?
Did they really mean to kill them both?
The thought alone made the usually fearless Lin Chen tremble, too scared to utter a word.
"Rebel?"
"Rebel against what?"
"Lin Zhantian, have you been patriarch so long that you think the Lin clan belongs to you alone?"
The elders' voices were sharp as they pressed closer.
"Speak! Where did this brat's Flood Dragon Armor come from?"
"Why has your cultivation soared so suddenly?"
"What fortune did you obtain?"
The Second Elder pressed his sword to Lin Zhantian's throat, demanding answers.
They had already resolved to split from the clan. Before leaving, they intended to force out his secrets and divide them among themselves.
The Great Elder felt momentarily stunned.
This was not the plan.
They had agreed only to strip the Lin clan bare, leaving Zhantian an empty husk.
But Lin Chen's venomous mouth had twisted the matter beyond control.
Still, what was done was done—better to see it through to the end.
The Great Elder stepped back, stroking his beard with a calm face, but his heart was tense. He readied himself to strike Lin Chen's hidden backer at a fatal moment.
"Impudence! I am patriarch, you…"
Puchi!
The Second Elder's sword pierced Zhantian's dantian, his gaze vicious.
"Not talking? Don't blame us for casting aside kinship."
"You…"
Zhantian's eyes bulged in fury.
His dantian shattered—he was ruined.
His strength, his longevity, his authority, all gone forever.
Puchi!
"You little bastard, weren't you so fond of crippling others? Now taste being crippled yourself."
The Third Elder drove his sword through Lin Chen's chest, sword qi raging through his body, his eyes gleaming with vengeance.
After all, his own grandson had been crippled by Lin Chen.
Though Lin chuqing had restored the boy with medicine, the humiliation had never faded.
"No…"
Lin Chen's eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
"Hahaha!"
"So you do know fear, brat? I thought nothing could scare you."
The Third Elder laughed heartily, savoring Lin Chen's twisted, despairing expression.
He swung his blade down, severing Lin Chen's leg, then an arm.
Finally, he ground a foot down on Lin Chen's mouth, silencing him—he had no wish to be cursed like the Great Elder had been.
"Now… will you talk?"
"I suppose you father and son wouldn't want to experience the clan's torture chamber, would you?" The Third Elder asked with a sinister smile.
"You…"
"I'll tell you. All my resources came from Chu Qing."
Lin Zhantian's heart hardened. Once Lin chuqing returned, he would see these men dead without burial.
"Are you joking?"
The elders' faces darkened.
"I speak the truth. Chu Qing awakened a special constitution and was chosen by a great sect. Each time she returned, she gave me cultivation resources. If you don't believe me, you can ask her yourselves."
He left unsaid that some of what she gave him—resources, techniques, martial skills—were meant for the clan, yet he embezzled them and passed them only to his own confidants.
"Great Elder, do you find this credible?"
They exchanged glances, silently weighing his words before turning to the Great Elder.
"It should be true."
"Have you not noticed Chu Qing's unusual nature?" The Great Elder mused aloud.
"Indeed. Since she was young, she has been beautiful beyond measure. As she grew older, she became even more extraordinary. Even I dare not look at her too long."
"That she could awaken a special constitution, I find not strange at all."
"Then what do we do now?"
"What do we do?"
The Great Elder filled in the blanks himself.
He believed Lin Chen had never been chosen by a mysterious backer at all, but had risen by relying on the resources Chu Qing provided.
Otherwise, if such a strong backer truly existed, how could they cripple father and son without that person appearing?
With that conclusion, malice sparked in the Great Elder's heart. He stepped forward and stripped Lin Chen of the Flood Dragon Armor.
Lin Zhantian's eyes twitched. Lin Chen had no qi, he couldn't even use the spirit artifact. Why had he given such a treasure to his son?
If the armor had been on him instead, he might not have been injured at all—he might even have killed several elders in return.
But the Great Elder cared nothing for Zhantian's thoughts. After searching both father and son and ensuring nothing remained, he flicked his sleeve.
"Throw these two sinners of the Lin clan out."
They were already crippled. Letting them rot outside was better. When Chu Qing returned, she could hardly blame him.
And outside, countless enemies waited for Lin Zhantian and his son.
"Great Elder."
"Do we still leave Maple Leaf City?"
"Of course we leave."
"The whole city is against us now. Though Lin Zhantian and his son were the cause, the families have already united to divide the spoils. Do you think they will simply give up?"
"Better to abandon this place and seek a new home than waste effort in endless scheming."
"And…"
"Do not worry. Once we return, we will open the storage ring and divide it together."
…
Bang, bang!
The father and son were flung out like dead dogs.
"Senior, senior, senior…"
"Why did you not save me?"
"Senior???"
Lin Chen's face twisted as he screamed.
"Enough! What madness is this?"
Lin Zhantian wanted to strangle him.
Had his son not insulted the Great Elder, how could they have been ambushed?
Had he been prepared, he would not have feared five men. Even if defeated, they could not have killed him.
The thought stoked his fury.
His cultivation destroyed—it was worse than death.
"Senior, come out! Senior!"
Lin Chen heard nothing, lost in his madness.
Zhantian's heart chilled.
His son was insane, he himself crippled.
Would their enemies let them live?
Could he survive until Chu Qing returned?
"No… how could this be? I refuse to accept it!"
Lin Chen collapsed.
Even a fool could see by now that He Ni had abandoned him.
But why?
Was his talent not outstanding, his will not unyielding, his pride not unshakable? Why forsake him?
"I cannot die. I must wait for Chu Qing. She will save me."
Clinging to his broken son, Lin Zhantian staggered away, his heart possessed by one obsession.
As long as Chu Qing returned, everything would be fine.
She would restore his dantian. He would have revenge.
The thought was beautiful.
But reality was cruel.
Countless spies watched the Lin estate. When they saw Zhantian crippled, they immediately reported to their clans.
Three days later, the father and son were tortured until only bones remained, then fed to beasts.
Thus ended the so-called Long-AoTian protagonist—dead without even bones left behind.
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