The terrifying celestial phenomenon finally dissipated. Lam Minh slowly stood up in mid-air, his entire body enveloped in a faint golden halo, the aura of a Late-stage Golden Core expert unconcealed, radiating in all directions.
He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power flowing through every muscle fiber, every cell. A sense of omnipotence, a feeling that he could hold the entire world in the palm of his hand.
He was confident that if he were to face that Tenth fellow now, even without using the [Immunity] state, he could still have a proper one-on-one fight with him, no longer being passively overwhelmed as before.
"Ha... haha... HAHAHA!"
He couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh heartily. A laugh full of relief and confidence. This feeling of getting stronger was truly too wonderful.
He looked down at the students staring at him in astonishment below.
"An occasion this joyous," he said, his voice echoing everywhere. "Should have some fireworks, shouldn't it?"
With that, he raised a hand to the sky.
Late-stage Golden Core spiritual power poured out.
In the night sky of the academy, small spheres of energy began to form.
One... ten... a hundred... then a thousand spheres.
They came in all sorts of brilliant colors, created from the transformations of his Dragon Qi.
"Go!"
He waved his hand.
Thousands of energy spheres, like a swarm of fireworks, shot up high into the sky one after another.
BOOM! BANG! BOOM! BOOM!
They exploded in the sky, creating beautiful flowers of light. There was the shape of a coiling dragon, the shape of a sword, and even the shape of... a short-legged Corgi.
The sky of Lac Hong Academy, in an instant, became more dazzling than any festival.
The students below, after a moment of stunned silence, erupted into cheers once more.
"SO BEAUTIFUL!!!"
"THE PRINCIPAL IS SO DAMN COOL!"
They were completely captivated by the powerful and somewhat "romantic" side of their principal.
Lam Minh stood there, arms crossed, smiling smugly, enjoying the fruits of his incredibly successful "show-off" performance.
Just then...
The space beside him suddenly rippled.
A majestic figure, carrying an even more terrifying presence, abruptly appeared.
And a large, sinewy hand grasped the arrogant head of the "Principal."
It was Lac Long Quan.
His face was devoid of emotion, but the blue veins on his forehead were twitching incessantly.
He spoke only a single word, yet it carried a thousand years of "fury."
"SCRAM."
Finishing his word, he gave Lam Minh no chance to react. His other hand drew a line in the air, creating a spatial portal.
Then he dragged Lam Minh, who was still bewildered and didn't understand what was happening, into the portal and disappeared.
Leaving behind a sky still brilliant with fireworks, and hundreds of thousands of gaping students.
Somewhere out in the East Sea.
The spatial portal opened. Lac Long Quan dragged Lam Minh out and threw him away like a broken kite.
"Ah!"
Lam Minh flew for several kilometers before he could stabilize his body. He looked at Lac Long Quan, his face a picture of "pure innocence." "Uncle, why are you so hot-tempered? I was just celebrating."
Lac Long Quan said nothing. He just slowly rolled up his sleeves.
"I'll give you something to show off about!"
WHACK!
He disappeared, then reappeared in front of Lam Minh, delivering a punch to his stomach.
"Take this for 'ten uncles'!"
BAM!
A kick to the butt.
"Swelling with pride, are we??"
POW! POW! POW!
"Like to show off, do you??"
Each shout was accompanied by a punch or a kick from Lac Long Quan landing on Lam Minh's body.
Even though he was at the Late-stage Golden Core, against a "berserk" Late-stage Nascent Soul, he was still nothing more than a punching bag.
"A joke! I was just joking! SPARE ME!!!"
"DOMESTIC VIOLENCE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
"ANYONE... HELP!!!"
Lam Minh's tragic screams echoed across a vast expanse of the sea.
The sky over the East Sea, which had been tranquil, was suddenly punched with holes of various sizes in the clouds, created by the shockwaves from Lac Long Quan's punches and kicks.
It looked incredibly... well-ventilated.
A "lesson" filled with the tender love and affection of the Dragon Clan's uncle and nephew had unfolded in a very "peaceful" manner.
...
After getting a thorough beating from his "uncle," Lam Minh was finally "spared." He returned home feeling both sore and unsure whether to laugh or cry.
But as soon as he stepped into the familiar alley of Z-7 district, all his fatigue vanished.
The Tet atmosphere had filled the air.
This was the first Tet in decades that humanity could truly celebrate a complete spring. The temporary ceasefire agreement, along with the presence of Lac Long Quan and the rise of Lam Minh, had brought a rare period of peace. There were no more gunshots, no more news of attacks on the city walls.
Every household was bustling with preparations. Red couplets were hung on doors. The scent of Tet jam, chung cake, and cured sausage wafted through the streets. The sound of laughter and children playing created a warm picture that hadn't been seen for a very long time.
Lam Minh took a deep breath of this air, an indescribable sense of peace welling up in his heart. This was what he had been fighting to protect.
"BIG BRO! YOU'RE HOME!"
His younger sister, Lam An, ran out from the house and threw her arms around him.
"Now that you're back, hurry up and lend a hand," she said, acting like a little old lady. "Hang up this pair of red couplets. Dad said you're tall, so it'll look better if you hang it."
Lam An pointed her five fingers at Lam Minh. Outside, he might be humanity's hero, the principal of an academy. But at home, he was just an errand boy for his little sister.
Lam Minh could only smile wryly and accept the couplets. Mrs. Mai and Mr. Dao, watching from the kitchen, couldn't help but laugh.
"This boy, only An An can handle him," Mrs. Mai said to her husband.
After they finished decorating the house, Mrs. Mai called Lam Minh over.
"Lam Minh," she said, her eyes filled with a certain expectation. "It's New Year's Eve tonight. I've made a small dinner. Why don't you... invite your girlfriend over to join the family?"
Gasp!
Lam Minh, who was drinking water, choked and almost spat it all out. He stumbled, nearly falling over. "Yes... yes, Mom?"
"What's with the 'yes'?" Mrs. Mai smiled. "You're grown up now, you should be thinking about marriage. I think that little girl To Quyen is very nice. Beautiful, gentle, and knowledgeable. Hurry up and invite her over."
Lam Minh agreed mechanically, but his mind was a tangled mess.
Who should I invite?
Invite To Quyen? Mom clearly likes her a lot. To Quyen was also my wife in my past life. Inviting her to meet the family is a very logical thing to do.
But what about Minh Thu? She gave me her precious first time. I can't betray her feelings.
And Quynh Nhu? Although she often teases me, I know the feelings she has for me are not small either.
The images of three beautiful figures appeared in his mind, giving him a massive headache.
After a period of internal struggle, he decided... to choose the "safest" option. The one his mother had "approved" of.
He took out his phone and dialed To Quyen's number.
"Moshi moshi," he began with a familiar greeting. "My dear little girlfriend of humanity's hero, are you free tonight?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a joyful voice rang out. "Is... is something wrong, Lam Minh?"
"Come over to my house for dinner tonight, okay? My mom's inviting you," he said, trying to keep his voice as natural as possible.
"Re... really?" To Quyen was stunned, then her voice became frantic. "But... but I haven't prepared anything! Never mind, I can't talk to you anymore, I have to go buy a gift and new clothes!"
Beep... beep... beep...
She hung up in a hurry.
Lam Minh sighed. He had a feeling that he had just caused some trouble.
To Quyen, after hanging up, felt her heart pounding. Meeting the family? This... is happening so fast!
She rushed off to go shopping. She bustled about, choosing clothes, putting on makeup, and then running off to find a gift. It took her nearly two hours to finally choose a pair of high-end wine bottles that looked both elegant and meaningful.
Holding the gift in her hands, she let out a sigh of relief. She felt incredibly satisfied and happy.
She took out her phone, snapped a picture of the wine bottles, and posted it on her "Friend Circle" with a caption that couldn't be more "sweetly innocent":
"A gift for meeting someone very special's family tonight. So nervous! <3"
Five minutes later.
Quynh Nhu has Liked your post.
Minh Thu has reacted with [Heart] to your post.
To Quyen smiled, suspecting nothing.
But she didn't know that, in two different places.
Quynh Nhu, after hitting "Like," had thrown her phone violently onto the bed. "That damn Lam Minh! How dare he take her to meet his family without telling me anything! Fine!"
And Minh Thu, after hitting "Heart," was hugging her stuffed cat, her large, round eyes welling up with tears.
Both of them had the same thought in their hearts.
An undercurrent of a storm was about to begin.