Invincible Dad

It was in this wretched little place.

His most outstanding son, a prodigy of the Moon Clan personally named by the Moon King and the next leader of the Upper Crescent Second, had been repeatedly bested... by stray dogs.

CRACK!

Shang Sikong's expression turned glacial. An invisible pressure radiated from him, and the ground by the artificial lake instantly spiderwebbed with countless cracks.

He said, word by word, "You have greatly disappointed me."

That one word—disappointment—made Shang Er's face drain of color. He didn't hesitate to drop to his knees, his voice trembling as he stammered, "Father, I... I..."

He stammered for a long while but couldn't muster a single word of defense.

He knew his recent lack of progress on Earth had delayed the Moon Clan for a considerable time.

To prepare for the invasion of Earth, the Crown Prince had already assembled the Royal Clan, the Eight Great Crescent Moon Clans, and even warriors from the various unranked tribes, large and small.

The tribe recently promoted to Lower Crescent Third, eager to repay the Moon King's sacred grace, had mobilized all of its strongest warriors. They were prepared to win a spectacular victory to prove to every other Moon Clan tribe that they deserved their new rank.

But there was a problem. Everything was ready; all that was missing was the east wind. And this 'east wind' was Shang Er's intelligence.

"If we can't confirm that the Earthling, Li Mi, was the one who wiped out the previous Lower Crescent Third tribe, we cannot attack Chang'an City. To do so would be to court disaster."

Shang Sikong rubbed his temples. To save his son, he had sworn a military oath this time: he had to bring back accurate intelligence. Otherwise, he would have to present his own head to the Crown Prince.

"I'm getting old. I had hoped that after you had achieved great things, you would return to the tribe so I could pass the leadership to you. As a close confidant of the Crown Prince, you were meant to earn great merits in the future conquest of Earth."

Shang Sikong sighed. "This time, don't disappoint me again, and don't disappoint your grandfather either."

Kneeling on the ground, Shang Er was flushed with shame. He clenched his jaw, too disgraced to utter a word.

Because it was extremely difficult for the Moon Clan to come to Earth.

He had previously snuck to Earth in the wake of Gu Jiu'an's group of three, a feat accomplished at a terrible cost. Setting aside the experts from the Upper Crescent First and Second who had died, even a Supreme Elder had perished.

The same was true for his father, Shang Sikong. But this time, the Supreme Elder who died during a feint attack on Chang'an City—an attack meant to create a diversion for him—was Shang Er's own grandfather.

It could be said that Shang Sikong had been willing to pay such a heavy price because he had truly entrusted the fate of the Upper Crescent Second tribe to his son's shoulders.

Shang Er pressed his forehead to the ground, tears streaming down his face. "Grandfather, I swear to you! Once Earth becomes our Moon Clan's Zhu Lang pen, I will take the blood of the twenty million Zhu Lang of East Sea City to dye our lunar flag red as a tribute to you!"

In the Moon Clan, whether it was the Royal Clan, the Eight Great Crescent Moon Clans, or the other tribes large and small, each possessed a unique lunar flag.

Dyeing the lunar flag red with blood was the highest honor bestowed upon warriors who died in battle for their tribe.

"Very good."

Shang Sikong's voice suddenly turned sharp. "Stand up. The Crown Prince says we must have straight spines and strong knees. From this day forward, you will kneel to no one—not even the Moon King!"

"Our Moon Clan will establish a supreme dynasty, and where will it begin? From Earth! And you will be the king's right and left arms."

Shang Sikong's words carried a mesmerizing power, and Shang Er's breathing quickened.

He slowly stood up.

The haggardness and fear of the past days all dissipated, replaced by a surge of pride and confidence.

That's right.

He was the next heir of the Upper Crescent Second tribe, a direct confidant of the future Moon King, destined for a limitless future.

"Very good."

Seeing the fire return to his son's eyes, Shang Sikong finally allowed himself a fleeting smile.

"Father, the news of your arrival on Earth probably won't stay secret for long. We're running out of time," Shang Er said in a low voice.

Shang Sikong nodded. It was true. In fact, the Hua Country Martial Dao Association was already scouring the country for him.

After three hundred years of no Moon Clan members getting past Chang'an City, their repeated arrivals on Earth over the last two months were a source of immense shame for the current generation of Martial Artists.

Therefore, the twelve Watchmen changed their rotation. Instead of three, six now guarded Chang'an at all times. The remaining six, along with all Martial Artists of the Eighth Grade and above, began a sweeping search to capture any Moon Clan members who had fled into the country.

"That's why I have a plan."

Under the moonlight, Shang Er leaned close and whispered his plan into his father's ear. Shang Sikong's initial frown slowly smoothed out, finally giving way to a hearty laugh.

"Good, very good! We'll do it exactly as you've said!"

"Yes, Father."

***

The sky was clear of clouds tonight.

East Sea City was enveloped in the bright moonlight. Many couples, at home or on the streets, gazed at the distant moon, enjoying the unique scenery of the night.

「Haitang Court.」

After a lavish Kunpeng feast, a satisfied Ruan Lan and Yiyi changed into swimsuits and began splashing around in the hot spring pool.

Beibei didn't get in the water; she disliked hot water, especially freshwater.

Of course, she was quite fond of the marine hot springs near Sea City.

She curled up in her shell, murmuring, "I should take Yiyi to experience that sometime."

The Haitang Court hot spring was a special case, of course, formed from the immense spiritual energy of the Dragon Vein.

"Honey, why aren't you in the hot spring? A warm bath feels so good on a cold day like this," Xu Lai asked from the second-floor balcony, looking curiously at Ruan Tang. She had changed into a swimsuit but hadn't gotten in the water.

What disappointed Xu Lai, however, was that his wife was wearing a very conservative one-piece swimsuit...

It wouldn't hurt to be a little more daring. I certainly wouldn't mind!

"Xu Lai, Yiyi's birthday is coming up soon."

Ruan Tang, pulled from her thoughts, looked up and asked, "Did you know?"

"Mm-hm."

Xu Lai nodded. He'd known for a while. Ruan Lan had even borrowed money from him to hand-make a dress for Yiyi, only to be ruthlessly shot down. The disheartened auntie was now considering other gift ideas.

"Yiyi has had a hard life. I want to give her..." Ruan Tang began softly, biting her lower lip.

Before she could finish, Xu Lai interrupted, "A little brother or sister?"

Ruan Tang was speechless.

Her beautiful eyes glared. "Xu Lai, can you be serious for once!"

"Okay, okay, my mistake."

Xu Lai sat down properly on the chair beside Ruan Tang, adopting a well-behaved posture that said, 'Please continue, I'm all ears.'

Ruan Tang said helplessly, "Give me your hand."

Xu Lai held out his hand. As his wife took it, he asked with a curious grin, "Are you going to give me a 'White Rabbit' treat, too?"

"What 'White Rabbit'?" Ruan Tang asked, puzzled. Then she followed his gaze to her swimsuit, and her face bloomed red. "You! Be serious," she huffed. "I want to throw a birthday party for our daughter."

"Of course we can."

How could Xu Lai have any objections? He mused, "We can invite Qian Xiao, and oh, that chubby kid Mao Dou..."

"Our daughter should invite her own guests to her party," Ruan Tang corrected him. "We'll just be responsible for the venue and the food. We can't just make those decisions for her."

"You're right. That was presumptuous of me," Xu Lai said. "But what does that have to do with my hand? Why are you holding it?"

"Because..."