Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and torrential rain poured down.
Rumble!
Lightning flashed and thunder roared, shaking heaven and earth.
In Central Continent, within the City Lord's Manor at the heart of Maple Leaf City, the Maple Leaf City Lord stood in the corridor outside a room, pacing back and forth.
He had a square face that radiated anger without needing to show it. At this moment, his brows were tightly furrowed. His mood was like the weather outside—restless and anxious, filled with extreme worry.
Suddenly, he stopped and walked to the door, pressing his ear against it to listen.
Filtering out the sound of the downpour and thunder, he heard his wife's pained groans from inside, as well as the cries of several midwives. "Madam, push! Push harder!"
The Maple Leaf City Lord was already over fifty years old and deeply loved his wife of many years. He was a Rank 5 Gu Master, the strongest within several thousand li, and held great power and status. He possessed the charisma of a leader and was widely supported. Yet the one flaw in an otherwise perfect life was that he had never had a son.
Nine months ago, he had been beside himself with joy because his beloved wife had finally conceived his child.
He had finally gained a son in his old age, and the greatest regret of his life had been remedied.
Yet although he had invited three renowned midwives from near and far—two at Rank 3 and one whose cultivation had reached Rank 4—his wife still encountered unforeseen difficulties on the day she gave birth.
"How could this happen?!" The Maple Leaf City Lord wanted to rage, yet had nowhere to vent it.
His fists clenched. The combat strength he had always taken pride in was utterly