The sky above the compound of the Xu clan was burning with unnatural color as dream qi clashed in the heavens. Silver wisps of golden and spiritual energy twisted through the air, while the sharp crack of shattered constructs echoed across the mountain valley.

  Xu Weiming pressed the back of his body against the stone wall of the inner courtyard; his forehead was dripping with sweat as he maintained the protective barrier around the birthing chamber.

  His wife's labored breathing was coming through the thin wooden door behind him, interrupted by the midwife's encouraging murmurs.

  "Push now, my lady. I can see the head."

  Another loud explosion rocked the compound as someone’s dream palace materialized overhead, a crystalline structure that glowed like frozen starlight before being shattered by an opposing technique.

  "The Fu dogs are getting desperate," muttered Elder Xu Tianhe as he hobbled past, his left arm dangling uselessly at his side. His blood was trickling through his ripped robes where a nightmare construct had clawed him with dark claws. "They've started to manifest full domains. Three of them working together."

  Weiming nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

  He knew that as the Clan Patriarch and a Half-Step Lucid Lawbearer, it was his responsibility to be out there leading the defence, but how could he leave? His wife was giving birth to their first child! If he stopped channeling energy into the protective barrier for a second, the remnants of the battles around them would crush the birthing room and everything within it before he could even blink.

  But even as he justified it to himself, he knew that the rest of the clan wouldn’t be so accepting.

  After the battle, there would be talks about whether Weiming deserved the title of Patriarch.

  And even though Weiming knew that his ‘reckless’ actions would have consequences, he couldn’t sacrifice a child he and his wife had been trying for decades for a war he never wanted.

  Even now, he still didn’t fully understand why they were fighting to the death.

  All of this started three months ago over something so trivial that it made his teeth hurt to think about.

  A disagreement over the rights to mine a dream crystal vein discovered in the neutral territory between their lands. Each clan had a legitimate claim based on ancient treaties, but rather than negotiate as civilized people, young master Fu Yangming had decided to resolve the issue violently.

  "It's just posturing," Weiming had told his advisors when the first skirmishes took place. "Neither clan has the desire for a war. Wars cost too much. Wars create too much mess."

  At that time, he believed everything he said.

  Anything else would be illogical and foolish.

  But it quickly became apparent that he had been wrong.

  Oh, so very wrong.

  What had started as border raiding had escalated into full clan warfare when Fu Yangming's attempt to intimidate a group of Xu miners had caused seven deaths.

  That had prompted the Xu Clan to retaliate.

  The retaliation demanded counterretaliation.

  It was this type of never-ending cycle that led to the situation today where half the mountainside was scarred by the remains of shattered dream constructs and both clans were hemorrhaging resources they couldn't afford to lose.

  And all for what?

  Because some arrogant young master acted without thinking of the consequences.

  “Old man Fu,” Weiming muttered. “If only you didn’t die and leave this brat in charge.”

  The actions of the young Fu master would only lead to mutual destruction.

  But like most youngsters, the child was allergic to reason.

  Another scream from the birthing chamber made Weiming’s heart clench in fear.

  His wife, Xu Lianhua, had been in labor for almost nine hours now.

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  According to the clan's healers, everything was progressing normally, but normal felt like an eternity when dream-fire was raining from the sky and enemy cultivators were breaking through their defensive lines.

  "My lord!" A young disciple ran into the courtyard, his outer robe singed, his face blackened by smoke. "The eastern wall is collapsing. The devil, Fu Haoran, created a nightmare dragon, and Elder Xu Mingshan cannot contain it."

  Weiming closed his eyes, the weight of his responsibilities bearing down on him physically. Xu Mingshan was their best Dream Architect, but Fu Haoran had recently achieved Oneiric Sovereign status.

  The difference in the power of the two men was substantial.

  The best course of action would be for Weiming himself to get involved.

  The power of a Half-Step Lucid Lawbearer would be enough to tip the balance in their favour.

  Unfortunately, that wasn’t something he could force himself to do.

  "Tell Mingshan to withdraw to the secondary defensive formation," he said finally. "Also have Elder Xu Qing reinforce the barrier formations. We need more time."

  "Yes, my lord!"

  The disciple didn’t even question him.

  He simply bowed and ran off, dodging falling debris from another aerial collision.

  Weiming sighed.

  Time.

  That's all he needed.

  Enough time for his child to be born safely, for Lianhua to get better, and he could then go fight.

  He could put a stop to all the destruction.

  He could finally teach that young Fu brat a lesson that his old man failed to teach him.

  "Weiming," Lianhua called out weakly from behind the door. "Weiming, is that you?"

  He looked at the door, his palm pressing against the smooth wood.

  "I am here, beloved. I will never leave."

  And he meant it.

  Even if the world collapsed around them, he would protect his family till the end.

  It was only now that Weiming realised that maybe the elders were right.

  He was never meant to be a Patriarch, he was made to be a husband, a father.

  "The baby..." She gasped and he heard the midwife rushing around. "Something is wrong."

  “Wrong?” His blood became ice. "What do you mean by wrong? Li Nai, what is happening?"

  "The umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck, my lord." The old midwife's voice was steady but tight with tension. "I can take care of it, but I need the madam to stay calm. The baby is fighting to be born."

  Fighting.

  Before taking its first breath, his son or daughter was already demonstrating the spirit of a cultivator.

  Weiming's face broke into a fierce grin at this realization despite the circumstances.

  Before he could reply, a deep resonant hum of a dream palace being constructed nearby reached his ears. The palace wasn’t one of theirs. The spiritual signature felt wrong, imbued with an ambition that made his skin crawl. Someone from the Fu clan was attempting a major manifestation.

  "Elder Xu Tianhe!" he called out. "Do you know what type of construct it is?"

  The injured elder hobbled back into sight, his good hand shading his eyes as he stared at the sky. His face turned white. "My lord...that is no palace. That is a throne room. Someone is trying to become a Lucid Lawbearer."

  The words stopped Weiming's breath. Becoming a Lucid Lawbearer during a battle was extremely dangerous, not only to the person attempting it, but to anyone in the vicinity. The sheer amount of spiritual energy generated could shatter weaker cultivators' foundations.

  "Fu Yangming," he whispered. Young master Fu Yangming had always been over-ambitious beyond his actual ability. But if he somehow managed to advance to true Lucid Lawbearer cultivation because of the stress of battle, then what that meant for the future of the Xu Clan...

  A baby’s cry pierced the air.

  Weiming spun towards the door, all of his thoughts of cultivation politics abandoned.

  "Lianhua?"

  "It's a boy!" exclaimed Midwife Li Nai triumphantly. "A healthy baby boy, my lord. Good lungs, and a fighter's spirit."

  Relief flooded through him to such a degree that his legs shook beneath him. His son. His heir. Born during a battle, screaming defiance at the world that had tried to destroy him before he ever got to breathe.

  "Can I see them?" he asked, his voice hoarse with emotion.

  "After I finish cleaning them both up," replied the midwife. "Your wife needs to rest, but she is asking for you."

  The door opened, and Weiming walked into the chamber. The air was filled with the smells of birth and herbal remedies, but underneath those scents was something else: the fresh, pure smell of new life. Lianhua lay reclined on silken pillows, her hair wet with sweat but her eyes shining with joy. In her arms was a small bundle of cloth that wriggled and made gentle noises.

  "Look at him," she whispered, pulling back the layers of cloth to show a small face. "Look at our son."

  The baby’s eyes were closed and there were creases on his face like all babies, but there was something unique about his coloring. Soft brown hair covered his scalp, streaked with hints of copper that reflected the light of the lamp like strands of valuable metal. For a brief second, his eyes opened to glare at the world, and his pale, clear blue eyes reminded Weiming of a cold winter sky.

  "He's beautiful," Weiming said, reaching out to grab hold of one of the baby's impossibly small hands. The baby wrapped his tiny fingers around Weiming's finger with a surprising amount of force. "What shall we call him?"

  "Xu Kangwei," Lianhua said immediately. "Because of the strength he showed in surviving such a difficult birth under such treacherous conditions."

  "Kangwei," Weiming repeated, testing the name. Strong and Mighty. It felt right, somehow.

  "Welcome to the world, Little Kangwei. Your timing could have been better, but your spirit is already strong."

  The baby made a noise that might have been agreement or might have been hunger.

  Lianhua smiled softly, her exhaustion and joy wrestling with each other.

  "He's going to be a great cultivator," she said with conviction. "I can sense it. There's something about him, something different."

  “All parents think their children are special,” Weiming teased softly.

  Even while he said that, he couldn’t help but agree with her.

  There was a strange clarity in those pale blue eyes, an awareness that was beyond what a newborn should possess.

  For a moment, the world was perfect. His wife was safe. Their son was healthy. They were together as a family despite the chaos outside.

  The sounds of battle felt remote and irrelevant compared to the soft breathing of the infant in Lianhua's arms.

  Then the roof exploded inward and Weiming’s perfect reality broke.

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