The middle-aged man dug at his ear and said unhurriedly, “A man’s words are never to be trusted. Son, you need to learn this. People like us, social parasites, if we want to win a woman’s favor, we have to rely on tricks—sweet talk, persistence, shamelessness, you get it? Otherwise, with the way you look, you’re destined to be single for life.”

William Clark raised his middle finger in contempt. “The way I look is all thanks to you, old man. What’s there to brag about?”

Robert Clark turned and flopped onto the living room sofa, shouting, “Alright, alright. Get ready, we’ll go clean up the ancestral house in a bit.”

A moment later, William Clark came out of the bedroom with a bag, pressing down on Robert Clark just as he was about to get up.

Robert Clark yelped in pain, “Ow! Take it easy, kid. Do you still see me as your father?”

“You old geezer, you’ve been working all day and now you want to go clean the ancestral house? Trying to die early? I’m not giving you a funeral.” William Clark grumbled, “I’ll go by myself. Don’t go when you’re drunk. I bet you ruined mom’s photo when you were wasted.”

“How is that my fault? She’s my wife first, your mother second. Get your priorities straight, understand?” Robert Clark rubbed his shoulder and simply lay back on the sofa, not moving again.

The sound of the door closing echoed. Robert Clark stood by the window, watching the boy’s figure gradually disappear under the streetlights, his weathered gaze deep and profound. “Mu Hua, our son is sixteen now. He’s finally grown up. Did you see that...?”

A moment later, a roar came from the bedroom, “Damn brat, took the last bottle of booze! William Clark, I’m cutting you off as my son!”

Chapter 002: The Ancestral House · The Mysterious Dragon Seal

The The Clark Family ancestral house was on the southern outskirts of Luoshan City—just two wooden cabins, really. In a godforsaken place like this, right next to the warning zone, no one would want it even if you gave it away. The so-called warning zone was an area in the wilderness where monsters and strange beasts frequently appeared. During the repeated Snow River Wars, the JW Alliance, arch-enemies of the Humanoid Alliance, had launched multiple surprise attacks on Dormir Star and conducted mutation experiments on the planet’s species, attempting to destroy the planet’s ecological balance.

The ancestral house’s location was dangerous, but every summer, William Clark and his father would still come to clean it. According to his father, he and his mother used to live here happily.

In William Clark’s view, his parents must have had some very “happy” memories here—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been born.

The two wooden cabins were filled with miscellaneous junk. To William Clark, it was all garbage, nothing of value—except for a small wooden box.

Setting down his backpack, William Clark began to clean. His cleaning method was rather odd.

Five minutes wiping the table, five minutes cleaning the windows, five minutes wiping the table again, five minutes organizing the clutter, five minutes mopping the floor—never spending more than five minutes on any one task. He cycled through like this, and after forty minutes, he had skillfully cleaned the ancestral house.

Sitting on the floor, William Clark let out a long sigh. “Done. Another year gone. I’m about to turn sixteen.”

At sixteen, with grades as bad as his, not even the worst higher academy would accept him—unless he paid his own way, which would cost a fortune. His father Robert Clark only earned twenty credit points a month; that kind of money would work him to death.

“If I don’t get into a higher academy, there’s no way to get better martial arts training.” William Clark looked lost, then laughed at himself. “I just reached the body-forging stage, and I’m already thinking about the future. What a daydreamer.”

A week ago, William Clark had finally reached the body-forging stage, which made him extremely happy—he’d even excitedly reported it to his homeroom teacher. The result was predictable: who would care about a student who only completed the body-forging stage at sixteen? Except for his best friend Henry Wood, in most people’s eyes, William Clark was still a loser who hadn’t even finished body-forging. After all, the difference between the two was almost negligible.

He took a black music player out of his backpack, fiddled with it, and pressed the power button.

Zzzzz...

The screen flickered twice, then a blood-pumping scene appeared—a group of naked men and women tangled together, limbs entwined, lascivious moans drifting from the player.

The content was obvious: a man’s favorite movie genre—adult films, commonly known as “blue movies.” If anyone saw this, they’d say he had heavy tastes—this was the uncensored kind.

William Clark put on his headphones, closed his eyes, and listened for a while, sighing in delight, “The sound quality is amazing. Too bad I’ve never seen a live show. Who knows when I’ll finally get my wish!”

A moment later, William Clark opened his eyes, but his expression had changed. The intoxicated look faded, replaced by calm. He stared at the screen without blinking, the desire in his eyes gradually fading. By the time the movie was halfway through, William Clark’s gaze was clear as water.

He casually took off his earbuds, and his body stood up on its own, shoulders relaxed, abdomen tucked in, eyes straight ahead.

His right foot stepped forward half a pace, waist paused slightly, left hand clenched in a fist at his waist, right hand snapping out.

Whoosh!

A whip-like shadow flashed through the dim cabin—[Three Forms of the Soldier]—Whip Form.

His left foot followed, waist twisting outward with force like a hanging bell, left hand shifting from fist to palm and snapping out, joining with the right arm in a fierce chop.

Bang!