Invincible Dad

Hua Country had gained another Martial Ancestor, sending the Martial Dao World into an instant uproar. After all, according to those who kept track, only a dozen or so Martial Arts Grandmasters were still alive in Hua Country. Adding another to their ranks was nothing short of a momentous occasion. Tonight, the martial artists of Hua Country would likely have a sleepless night.

At that moment, three figures stood against the wind at the summit of Shushan's Sky Ranking: a white-haired elder, a young woman in a red dress, and a burly middle-aged man.

The three had also seen the half-moon in the void, but they averted their eyes after a single glance. Their gazes remained fixed on a mountain peak ten miles away, on which the character for 'Xu' was carved.

A piercing Sword Intent shot straight into the heavens. For ten miles around Sword Peak, the sky was utterly clear of clouds, allowing the bright moonlight to spill down—an incredibly domineering sight.

"That mountain is a sword," the white-haired elder said, his brow deeply furrowed. "The Sword Intent is deeper and stronger than that of the Sky Ranking. When did our Hua Country produce such a Sword Sect..."

"Southern Sabers and Northern Swords... could it be those old fossils from the Penglai Sword Pavilion's forbidden ground, the ones rumored to be dead, have crawled out of their graves?" the young woman in the red dress mused, her beautiful eyes glinting.

The burly middle-aged man snorted coldly. "Watch your tongue, Lady Ji."

"I was just making a casual remark," the young woman pouted. "Ji Zhao, if you weren't so uptight, wouldn't you have won the heart of the Sword Pavilion's Sword Attendant by now?"

"Shut up," the man named Ji Zhao said, his expression turning frigid. "Say one more word, and I'll kill you."

The young woman in the red dress let out a coquettish laugh and said no more.

Only the white-haired elder sighed softly. "The Martial Dao Association asked us to investigate Sword Peak, not to bicker among ourselves."

"Elder Bai, do you have any insights about this Sword Peak that suddenly appeared yesterday morning?" Ji Zhao asked in a low voice.

"The Sky Ranking beneath our feet was forged from the collected 'momentum' of all Seventh Grade martial artists over the past three hundred years, its sharpness concealed to form a metaphorical sword," Elder Bai said, his tone grave. "But that mountain peak became a sword all on its own. The Boundary of the person behind this... I fear it exceeds our imagination. I... am no match for him."

"Oh?" The young woman in the red dress finally grew serious. "Elder Bai, you're at the mid-stage of the Ninth Grade. Globally, only a handful of people could make you admit inferiority."

"Earth is very small, but this universe is vast," Elder Bai said meaningfully.

Killing intent flared in Ji Zhao's eyes. "You mean... from beyond this world?"

"Alas." Elder Bai shook his head and sighed again. "Let's just hope the master of this sword means well for Hua Country and for our Earth."

***

After seeing Tan Chang break through to the Seventh Grade Boundary, Xu Lai left.

Arriving home, he found the lights in the living room were still on. Ruan Tang, clad in a black nightgown that accentuated her sensuality, was still awake, sitting on the sofa and eating an apple.

"Honey, why are you still up?" Xu Lai asked in surprise. He checked the time; it was already one-thirty in the morning.

"Yiyi isn't here. Call me by my name. We're just a sham couple."

"It'll be real sooner or later, so you'd better get used to it," Xu Lai said casually. Noticing Ruan Tang's icy, knife-like glare, he couldn't help but lecture her. "They say women are meticulous, but what if Yiyi wasn't asleep? Don't let it happen again!"

Ruan Tang's face darkened. Did this jerk really have the nerve to lecture her?

She glared at him, her voice cold as ice. "I hope you're actually here the next time Yiyi cries for her father in the middle of the night!"

THUD.

She slammed the apple on the table and returned to her room.

What a waste. Doesn't she know how expensive fruit is these days? Not even finishing it. Xu Lai muttered to himself, picking up the apple and taking a couple of bites.

Just then, Ruan Tang reappeared. She saw the apple—which she had spent ten minutes peeling and had only taken a single bite of—now in Xu Lai's hand, and she was seething.

She demanded, "Why are you eating my apple!"

Xu Lai was stunned. "Weren't you going to sleep?"

"I was going back to my room to get my water cup!"

"Uh..." Xu Lai scratched his head. Well, this is awkward.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Ruan Tang's gaze was icy.

"Don't worry," Xu Lai said earnestly. "Even though you took a bite, I don't mind."

Ruan Tang was speechless. For a moment, she just stared. Then, she silently gripped the fruit knife on the table.

Seeing his wife's menacing action, Xu Lai quickly offered her the half-eaten apple. "Woman, if you want your apple back, just say so. No need for knives!"

Ruan Tang's expression froze. She had been about to peel another apple, but now she had an inexplicable urge to hit someone.

"Alright, alright! I'll make you a midnight snack to make up for it, okay?" Xu Lai said helplessly.

"I'm not eating."

"Spicy stir-fried crawfish."

"I'm on a diet." Ruan Tang was clearly tempted, but she pinched her thigh hard, forcing herself to refuse.

"And braised pork trotter." Xu Lai glanced at her sideways. No one can resist the temptation of good food. And if they can... just add another dish.

"I forgive you for stealing my apple!" Ruan Tang declared, then suggested, "That's all meat. How about a soup to go with it?"

"Can you even finish all that?" Xu Lai asked, stunned.

"None of your business! I'll eat the leftovers tomorrow!"

However, it turned out that a woman's words—especially a beautiful woman's—cannot be trusted.

Xu Lai looked on with a complicated expression as his wife polished off a large basin of crawfish, devoured an entire pork trotter, and drank a bowl of soup—and still looked like she wanted more.

That was a meal for at least three people, and she ate it all by herself! It's a good thing all the mines in the universe belong to me, or this wife of mine would eat me into bankruptcy. Never mind the pork and the lotus root in the soup—just the crawfish alone! Those were Spirit Shrimp raised by the Seventh Divine General in the Myriad Spirit Pool, a forbidden area in the Immortal Realm. Each one takes a hundred years to mature. This entire basin... that's a thousand years' worth of cultivation. Even I'm usually not willing to eat this many. My wife eats too much. What should I do? Seeking advice online, it's urgent!

But, as a certain renowned writer surnamed Lu once famously said—the pleasures of good food must never be forsaken.

With her stomach full, Ruan Tang felt all her fatigue melt away. As for the vexing matters concerning the Ruan Family, she had tossed them to the back of her mind.

But when she noticed Xu Lai staring thoughtfully at the pile of empty crawfish shells, a blush crept over her icy face. She whispered in defense, "I said I wouldn't waste it, so I had to force myself to finish it all."

Fine. My dear wife has spoken, so what can I do? Naturally, I have to forgive her and praise her for the noble virtue of not wasting food.

"It's Saturday today, so Yiyi doesn't have kindergarten," Ruan Tang said, changing the subject. "Ruan Lan and I made plans yesterday to take Yiyi shopping."

"Go ahead."

"You should come too," Ruan Tang hesitated for a moment. "After all, we might need some muscle to carry things. Of course, if you don't want to..."

"Of course I want to!"

How could I not want to go? Shopping with my daughter is a perfect chance to bond with her. The more, the better!