[System: Congratulations, Host, for your successful choice! Awakening the Ruthless Sword Heart!]
[System: Initial activation complete. The Newbie Gift Pack has been issued. Please check and claim it!]
As two consecutive system prompts echoed in his mind, a wave of joy instantly surged through Qin Haotian's heart.
The Ruthless Sword Heart?
What on earth was that? As for the mysterious and unknown newbie reward, Qin Haotian felt a surge of anticipation.
On the other side, seeing that Qin Haotian showed not the slightest hint of remorse and remained entirely silent, even grinning stupidly to himself with an exaggerated expression like a madman who had lost his mind, Qin Langtian felt utterly disappointed and flew into a towering rage.
"Impudent! You rebellious son!"
"Had I known you were so frivolous, dissolute, and incorrigible, I never should have brought you back!"
"You do nothing but cause trouble everywhere, dragging the reputation of War King Manor through the mud day in and day out. Such a disgraceful eyesore—you should have just been left out there to fend for yourself!"
Seeing this, Lin Suxi shook her head and sighed incessantly, silent tears welling up in her eyes. It was clear that she, too, was utterly disappointed in Qin Haotian.
"Haotian, why must you be so disobedient?"
"Listen to your mother and hurry up and apologize to your father!"
Qin Qingyue, standing nearby, struck an even more relentless and aggressive posture.
She strode to the center of the hall, her delicate brows tightly knitted, and looked down from on high at her own biological brother.
"Qin Haotian, look at the mess you've made!"
"If Father is angered into any sort of condition, this Princess will not let you off!"
Hearing this, Qin Haotian finally set aside the joy in his heart and slowly snapped back to reality.
As his gaze swept over the three people in the main hall who were openly reprimanding and fiercely denouncing him, nothing remained in his eyes except coldness and ruthlessness.
He did not want to explain, nor was there any need to.
In his memories, ever since Qin Haotian had been brought back to the manor, he had never once been truly accepted or allowed to completely integrate into this family.
His father, Qin Langtian, spent every day consumed by imperial affairs, often disappearing for entire days at a time.
Towards this son he had regained after losing him, Qin Langtian felt no sense of owing a debt.
Nor had he ever shown the slightest trace of affection or tried to make amends for his failure back then.
As for his mother, Lin Suxi, her heart and soul were entirely devoted to cultivation, driven by the desire to reach a higher realm as soon as possible.
She often went into seclusion for months at a time, forbidding anyone to disturb her.
On the rare occasions she did appear, it was merely to put on the stern demeanor of a strict mother, urging Qin Haotian to cultivate diligently so as not to shame the name of War King Manor.
His younger sister, Qin Qingyue, possessed an even more arrogant and aloof disposition, basking in the halo of a favored daughter of heaven.
She viewed the brother picked up from the outside world as nothing more than a humble speck of mortal dust beneath her feet.
She had always addressed him directly by his given name; when had she ever acknowledged their bond as brother and sister?
This time, he had suffered brutal beatings out in the world, returning on the brink of death with only a breath left in him.
Upon being brought back, neither his parents nor his sister had offered the slightest shred of care.
Without even asking a single question, they had dragged him into the main hall for a lecture, launching into an endless tirade of accusations and angry abuse, completely indifferent to his dignity and feelings.
At the thought of this, the anger burning in Qin Haotian's chest erupted, and he could no longer hold it back.
"Why should I kneel and apologize? What have I done wrong?!"
"Ever since you brought me back, you've treated me like a stray dog begging for scraps at your door! Has any one of you ever looked at me with genuine respect?"
"Out in the world, who even knows that I am the biological flesh and blood of the War King Qin Langtian? When have you ever publicly acknowledged my identity?"
"In your hearts, there is only that precious daughter Qin Qingyue, while I am ultimately nothing more than an expendable outsider!"
"Since you regret bringing me back, there's no need to hide it and put on a hypocritical act—this young master doesn't care for it!"
As soon as these words left his mouth, Qin Langtian flew into an uncontrollable rage, grinding his teeth so hard they clicked, wishing he could split this unfilial son in two with his own hands.
As the dignified War King, possessed of monstrous power and supreme status, when had he ever been contradicted to his face? Even the sovereign of Shi Country did not dare speak to him in such a harsh and stern tone.
Yet this rebellious son before him actually dared to shout and holler right to his face, referring to himself as "this young master" breath after breath.
"Outrageous! Outrageous!"
"To think that I, Qin Langtian, have lived an upright and open life—how could I produce such a rebellious, unfilial curse of a son like you?!"
"As an elder brother, you should be modest and yielding, upholding the principles of filial piety and brotherly duty. Yet you harbor resentment and jealousy—truly the mindset of a petty villain!"
Hearing Qin Haotian's words, Qin Qingyue's face filled with utter contempt. Her willow brows stood on end, and she showed not a shred of pleasant expression toward her so-called brother.
"Qin Haotian, you were nothing more than a stray dog picked up from the street, mud that can't be plastered onto a wall! You should have stayed on the streets begging for a living and scraping by!"
"It is thanks to Father's boundless benevolence and grace that you were accepted into the manor—already an immense blessing. Yet you not only refuse to show gratitude, you even speak out in defiance!"
"Hmph! Take a look at what kind of virtue you possess—do you even have the right to be mentioned in the same breath as this Princess?!"
Hearing Qin Qingyue's words, Qin Haotian abruptly stood up, laughing out of sheer fury, his tone dripping with mockery.
"Right, right, right! What you said is so right!"
"A lowly commoner like me ought to know his own place—how could I dare harbor delusional thoughts of clinging to the powerful and elite!"
"The threshold of your manor is far too high; I never should have stepped across it in the first place!"
Qin Haotian's words were both a rebuttal and a demand for justice for that lonely, helpless, and drifting Qin Haotian of the past.
Watching the situation deteriorate into irreconcilable hostility as her husband and children quarreled ever more fiercely, nearly reaching a point of no return, Lin Suxi's eyes gradually filled with tears as she shook her head and sighed.
At the same time, a sudden realization dawned upon her. She felt that over the past few years, she had been too busy with cultivation, casting worldly matters almost entirely behind her, and had failed to provide this wandering son of hers with the warmth and care of a mother.
"Haotian, Mother truly hasn't given you enough care these past few years. From now on, I will make it up to you properly."
"But you... you really shouldn't have been out there living a dissolute and decadent life of debauchery. Do you have any idea how much this damages the reputation of our War King Manor?"
"Listen to Mother, hurry up and offer your apologies to your father, and let this matter be put to rest."
"As long as you are willing to truly repent, your father will forgive you."
Qin Qingyue let out a cold huff from the side, extending a slender finger until it nearly touched the tip of Qin Haotian's nose, and fiercely berated her brother.
"Qin Haotian, why are you still so stubbornly deluded and devoid of remorse? Aren't you afraid Father will cast you out of the family?!"
"And who gave you permission to stand up? Hurry up and kneel to kowtow and beg your father for forgiveness!"
"Scum like you not only drags the entire War King Manor through the mud, but even calling you a brother is the supreme humiliation of my life!"
Hearing this, Qin Haotian suddenly burst out laughing wildly, his expression arrogant and unbridled.
"Hahahaha... Right, what you said is so right!"
"Apologize? What wrong has this young master committed?!"
"This young master has done nothing wrong at all!"
Seeing Qin Haotian remain utterly unrepentant to the very end, Qin Langtian felt his fury surge, steam venting from his seven orifices as his eyes turned so red they seemed ready to spew fire.
Finally, he simply rose from his seat, strode heavily down from the dais, spread wide his five fingers, and delivered a vicious slap across Qin Haotian's face.
"Rebellious son!"
"You can still laugh?!"
"This King truly wishes he could strike a rebellious wretch like you dead with a single palm!"