I Am a Normal Man

Just as all the ancestors closed their eyes in despair, thinking that the Wang family was about to be wiped out by the Heavenly Dao in one fell swoop...

Buzz—Boom!!!

The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda erupted with an unprecedented black light. Every mysterious rune on the pagoda seemed to come alive. The purple lightning bead at the top of the pagoda spun madly, emitting a sharp hum.

The doors of the ninth floor opened with a heavy, muffled rumble that seemed to come from the ancient primordial era!

Inside the doors, there was no light, only a despairing abyss, as if connected to the true Nine Nether Underworld.

The black pagoda erupted with an irresistible devouring force, firmly dragging the massive head of the lightning dragon. A rare trace of human-like panic actually flashed across the eyes of the arrogant Martial God realm lightning dragon. It twisted its massive body desperately, trying to break free from this suction force, its roars shattering the surrounding space inch by inch.

However, it was all in vain.

The black pagoda was like an insatiable black hole. No matter how the lightning dragon struggled, it was ultimately dragged bit by bit, alive, into the doors of the ninth floor!

Clang!

As the last section of the lightning dragon's tail was swallowed, the ninth-floor doors slammed shut. The array runes around the edges of the doors erupted with a dazzling purple halo before gradually fading into the ancient pagoda.

All the pressure in the world, that suffocating aura of destruction, vanished without a trace in an instant.

The giant eye formed by dark clouds in the sky, having lost all its lightning origin, seemed to reveal a very human-like frustration, astonishment, and helplessness deep within. It took a deep look at Wang Hao before the clouds rapidly dispersed.

Warm sunlight pierced through the heavy gloom, once again spilling over the devastated white jade plaza.

Huff—Haa...

Wang Jingyuan and the other four ancestors gasped heavily for air like fish out of water. Each of them felt a sense of exhaustion, as if they had just taken a trip through the eighteen levels of hell and returned to the mortal realm.

We... we survived... Third Grandfather Wang Jingxuan sat heavily on the ground, lacking even the strength to wipe his cold sweat.

Wang Jingyuan leaned against a cracked pillar to barely stand. He looked down at Ye Chen's corpse not far away, a trace of dread flashing in his eyes.

No wonder... no wonder!

Wang Jingyuan sighed with lingering fear, his tone filled with deep apprehension. I've read in the royal secret archives more than once that historically, whenever those stunningly brilliant ancestors of our Wang family personally killed people possessing great luck and providence, they would eventually meet with all sorts of inexplicable disasters and die mysterious deaths. I didn't believe it before, but today I've seen it with my own eyes! How the hell is this a random disaster? This is clearly the Heavenly Dao sending down a lightning tribulation as backlash!

Wang Jingyuan turned to look at his brothers, who were still panting, his face more serious than ever. When we get back, open the ancestral shrine immediately! Write this rule in cinnabar at the very front of our Great Zhou royal family's ancestral teachings: From now on, whenever any descendant of our Wang family encounters someone with such heaven-defying luck, they absolutely, positively must not kill them with their own hands!

Big brother is right! Second Grandfather Wang Jinghai nodded in deep agreement, a sly gleam flashing in his eyes. Although these children of destiny are troublesome, we can easily borrow another's knife to kill! We'll use every scheme and trick, sow discord, and frame them, letting other sects and factions stick their necks out and bear the Heavenly Dao's backlash! We'll just stay behind to reap the fisherman's reward and scheme them to death!

Sitting slumped on the steps, Wang Hao was overjoyed hearing his ancestors plotting over there.

Brilliant! Great minds truly think alike! As expected of my Wang family ancestors, this devious gene is definitely passed down through the bloodline!

On the surface, however, Wang Hao pretended to humbly accept their teachings, nodding repeatedly. Grandfather is right, your grandson has learned. As an emperor, one should devise strategies in a command tent to win battles a thousand miles away. In the future, this kind of dirty work will naturally be handled by my subordinate officials and those wandering knights in the martial world. Your grandson will never personally deal the final blow!

Do it myself? Only an idiot would do it himself! With this Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda full of nine-tier heavenly tribulations, I'll be the biggest mastermind behind the scenes! When those so-called children of destiny are played by me until their reputations are ruined and they are betrayed by everyone, I'll just find a scapegoat to stab them in the back. Absolutely perfect!

At this time, the black pagoda floating in midair had shrunk back to the size of a palm. It turned into a dark streak of light and landed steadily back in Wang Hao's hand.

After being tempered by the lightning, the originally pitch-black pagoda now faintly circulated with noble purple electrical arcs. One look was enough to tell it was extraordinary.

Wang Jingyuan looked at this magical treasure that had just saved all their lives, his eyes full of curiosity. He couldn't help but step forward. Good grandson, this pagoda can actually forcefully devour even a Martial God realm heavenly tribulation. It's simply a legendary divine artifact! Can you let grandfather take a look?

If Grandfather wants to see it, of course.

Wang Hao was currently immersed in his grand blueprint of becoming the world's number one mastermind, and casually handed the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda over.

Wang Jingyuan carefully took the small black pagoda, as if holding a peerless treasure. He took a deep breath, separated an extremely faint wisp of divine sense, and tentatively probed into the pagoda, wanting to examine the mysteries of this treasure.

However, just a moment later.

The awe on Wang Jingyuan's face instantly froze.

His expression began to change drastically at a visible rate: first astonishment, then unbelievable shock, followed by deep sympathy and pity. Finally, his expression settled into something extremely bizarre, as if he were looking at some unspeakably filthy object.

Hiss—

As if electrocuted, Wang Jingyuan violently shoved the small black pagoda back to Wang Hao. He even unnaturally wiped his hands hard on his dragon-patterned cloud robe, as if the pagoda was tainted with bad luck.

Good... good grandson... Wang Jingyuan's voice became extremely unnatural. He cast a complex glance at Wang Hao's lower body, hesitating to speak, his expression colorful to the extreme. The power of this Dharma treasure is indeed world-shocking and unparalleled in history. But... but the price to activate it, this side effect... isn't it a bit... too much?

Wang Hao was stunned at first, and then his brain buzzed as he instantly realized what the old man had seen in the treasure's information!

[Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda Side Effect: For the user, males will become impotent, and females will gradually become frigid!]

Holy shit!

Wang Hao's face instantly turned bright red. An unprecedented sense of shame and anger rushed straight to the top of his head. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he violently jumped up from the steps and roared in exasperation:

"Grandpa! Listen to me and let me explain! It's not what you think! My constitution is extremely special; it is a peerless divine body unseen in eons, and it is completely immune to that side effect! I don't need to pay that kind of price at all! I am perfectly fine! I'm as vigorous as a dragon and a tiger! Taking on ten women a night wouldn't be a problem at all!!!"

However, the more Wang Hao rushed to defend himself, the more he looked to the ancestors like a pitiful wretch hiding his illness and desperately trying to cover up his unspeakable secret.

Immune to the complete loss of Yang energy? What a load of nonsense! How could there be a constitution in this world immune to the backlash of a magical treasure at the level of the laws of heaven and earth? Not to mention, after fighting such a terrifying heavenly tribulation and swallowing a Martial God Realm lightning dragon, how could he possibly not pay a single price?

Looking at his grandson sweating profusely and blushing with anxiety, a nameless sorrow suddenly welled up in Wang Jingyuan's heart.

"Sigh... You foolish child!"

Wang Jingyuan stepped forward, patted Wang Hao's shoulder earnestly, and sighed. His eyes were filled with the tender affection of an elder and a comforting look that said "men understand":

"My good grandson, Grandpa understands. For the sake of the Great Zhou's state and society, and to save our old bones, you have sacrificed too much... But for this kind of illness, hiding it from the doctor is not advisable."

"I'm not sick!!!" Wang Hao was about to go crazy.

Wang Jingyuan completely ignored his explanation and said to himself, "Since the heavenly tribulation has passed, no one in this world will dare to touch you for now. I think it's time to go have a good talk with your mother. You've been on the throne for a while now, and at your age, it really is time to select concubines and establish an Empress."

Speaking of this, Wang Jingyuan lowered his voice and said in an extremely serious tone, "The continuation of the royal bloodline is the foundation of the nation, greater than the heavens itself! We must try early so we can know early! If... if there really is some hidden ailment affecting the reproduction of the dragon seed, even if Grandpa has to risk this old life to trample the hidden Divine Doctor Valley and the Medicine King Sect, I will definitely snatch a few of the best divine doctors in the world to nurse your body back to health!"

"Big Brother is right! We must not delay; the foundation of the Great Zhou must never be severed!"

"Don't be afraid, good grandson. Second Grandpa has collected quite a few ancient folk remedies for consolidating the foundation and nurturing vitality over the past few centuries. I'll have someone brew them for you as soon as we get back!"

The other ancestors chimed in with agreement, looking at Wang Hao with eyes full of pity and concern, as if looking at a great martyr who had lost his fertility for his country.

"I don't freaking need folk remedies! I don't need divine doctors! I don't have a hidden ailment!!!" Wang Hao was so angry his vision went dark, feeling a violent surge of blood rushing in his chest. Earlier he had been faking his injuries, but now he was genuinely about to cough up blood.

"Alright, alright, Grandpa understands, Grandpa won't say it. This concerns the Emperor's dignity; us old folks will keep it a secret for you."

Wang Jingyuan gave Wang Hao an extremely punchable look of comfort, then turned and waved his hand sharply at the other four ancestors who were full of pity, saying urgently:

"Let's go! We won't return to the Imperial Mausoleum yet! Straight to the Palace of Compassionate Tranquility! We need to discuss the grand matter of the royal draft and establishing an Empress with our daughter-in-law! We must finalize the roster tonight and arrange for bedchamber attendants as soon as possible to verify the foundation of the nation!"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Before his voice had even faded, the five ancestors, for the sake of the Great Zhou's foundational grand plan, refused to delay even for a single second. They transformed into five streaks of light and hurtled madly toward the inner palace. They were off to force a marriage.

In front of the Sweet Spring Palace, Wang Hao was left standing all alone in the wind, clutching the small black tower tightly in his hand, feeling completely disheveled.

The dignified Son of Heaven of the Great Zhou, holding a supreme treasure capable of destroying the world, who had just been calculating in his heart how to scheme against the people of the world, was in the blink of an eye treated as a eunuch by his five biological grandfathers, and was even being forced to marry immediately to "verify his manhood."

"System..." Wang Hao gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, his voice sounding as if it had been squeezed out from the Nine Netherworld Hells. "Was I just... looked down upon by my own grandfathers?"

The System's voice echoed faintly, carrying a trace of mechanical teasing:

[Ding! Yes. After precise calculations by this System, the probability that the five ancestors believe the host has lost his male functions is 99.99%. It is recommended that the host follow the elders' arrangements, take concubines and arrange bedchamber attendants as soon as possible, and use practical actions to prove your prowess and shatter the rumors of impotence.]

"Screw you!!!"

Above the Imperial Palace echoed the exasperated roar of the Emperor after his emotional defenses were completely shattered.