Father Back from the Dead

The girl softly spoke of her wish in the gentlest tone, something that should have been utterly beautiful and heartwarming.

Yet upon hearing her words, Hun Huan's body shuddered violently. All strength seemed to leave him as he collapsed limply where he stood, unable even to summon the thought of moving a finger.

"Y-you!"

Hun Ruoruo revealed a curious expression. "My, Lord Hun Huan, you're quite strong. You can still speak after being hit by my Soul Absorption Technique. What a pity. Even with the strength of a Dou Emperor, you can't use it now. You'd better stop struggling. The more you struggle, the faster your soul will be devoured."

Hun Huan's face filled with terror as he roared, "Soul Absorption Technique? A Soul Dou Technique? You little wild girl without even a trace of Bloodline Power, where did you steal a Soul Dou Technique from?!"

Soul Dou Techniques were among the most precious types of Dou Techniques even within the Soul Clan, which was famed for its Soul Force. Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, they could even be described as extinct.

Such Dou Techniques were rarer than ordinary Flying Dou Techniques and Earth-tier Cultivation Techniques. No wonder Hun Huan was so shocked.

"Oh dear, getting angry is one thing, but you're attacking my background too? Just because I don't have Bloodline Power means I can't learn Soul Dou Techniques? Is the Soul Clan's Bloodline Power really that precious?"

"How dare you insult the Soul Clan's bloodline, you stinking girl! If other members of the Soul Clan heard those words, they'd tear out your soul and make you suffer Soul Fire's burning for eternity!"

At that, Hun Ruoruo narrowed her eyes. Lightly springing up in her little cloth shoes, she kicked the collapsed Hun Huan over, sending him crashing flat onto the ground.

"You still dare threaten me. I have to admit, your loyalty as a dog is quite commendable. What a pity—those words will have to wait until you reach hell, where you can tell them to the Soul Clan's ancestors."

"You ungrateful bitch..."

Hun Huan's agitation caused the Soul Absorption Technique to drain even more of his Soul Force. He was already taking more breaths in than out, yet he still refused to yield, loudly cursing the girl looking down at him.

"Ungrateful?" Hun Ruoruo giggled. "Lord Huan, even if Ruoruo were an ungrateful bitch, what would that have to do with you? Weren't you the first one to mock me just now?"

"Ruoruo is only a weak little village girl. How could I possibly have any connection to the Clan Leader? Don't you agree?"

"You bitch... Even if you were lucky enough to learn a Soul Dou Technique, Sword Soul Mountain is not somewhere you can cross. Once my Soul Mark goes out, the Commander will notice immediately. Then you'll learn the consequences of offending the Soul Clan!"

He hadn't won with words or fists, and he was already pulling out his backing?

Hun Ruoruo pouted in disappointment. Just as she was about to say something, her gaze darkened slightly. Though there had been no sound at all around her, she still involuntarily turned to look behind her—

A handsome man with the appearance of a refined scholar had appeared some distance behind them at some unknown time. Dressed in grayish-white robes, he sat lazily on a Stone Stool, looking as though he had been observing this farce for quite some time.

There was not the slightest aura emanating from him. If not for his exceptionally transcendent bearing and features, he might have been mistaken for some ordinary young master who had never cultivated Dou Qi.

When the refined scholar, who had been watching with great interest, saw the girl turn her gaze toward him, he gave a soft sound of surprise. "Ruoruo's perception is truly remarkable. Even I am somewhat surprised."

The refined scholar's eyes were bright and deep, almost identical to Hun Ruoruo's. Perhaps enhanced by age, however, his eyes carried an added air of insight that seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts, leaving ordinary people scarcely daring to meet his gaze.

After meeting his eyes for only a moment, Hun Ruoruo looked away. Somewhat irritably, she kicked aside the half-dead Hun Huan beneath her feet. "You came after all."

"Hehe, you still call Hun Huan 'my lord,' yet you call me 'you' instead?"

"I didn't expect you to be the sort of person who fussed over wording. Ruoruo apologizes first."

"No matter. Today is the day of your Coming-of-Age Ceremony test. Wasn't it only natural for me to come? As for you, saying such rebellious words would earn severe punishment under the Soul Clan's rules."

Upon hearing the refined scholar's words, Hun Huan, who had been clinging to his last breath, immediately forced himself to look toward the distant Stone Stool with the last of his strength and rasped:

"Sir, may I ask what your relationship with this woman is? She insulted the Soul Clan and ambushed an attendant. Her crimes are unforgivable!"

"My relationship with her?" After listening to his halting words, the refined scholar smiled. "Put that way, I should be the father she said had been dead for more than ten years."

Despite the intense resentment Hun Ruoruo felt toward the refined scholar before her, a trace of awkwardness appeared on her face. She had never expected him to hear that as well.

So this counted as cursing my own father to death right in front of him?

"This bitch... She won't even spare her own father. She truly is a sinister, vicious woman!"

As that thought flashed through Hun Huan's mind, the final shred of hope he had clung to vanished completely. He simply roared venomously, "Don't act so smug. If the Commander... learns about you and her... you'll both die!"

"We'll both die?" Hun Ruoruo's expression turned playful as she whispered, "Lord Huan, you're still as amusing as ever. I'm starting to feel a little reluctant to kill you."

Hun Huan looked blankly at the refined scholar in the distance, who slowly rose to his feet and stood with his hands behind his back.

The refined scholar sighed softly. "Ruoruo, don't tease him anymore. His words were disrespectful, but he has nevertheless been loyal to my Soul Clan."

"This man had improper designs on me, and he insulted you too. Aren't you angry?"

"They were merely empty words. If we're being honest, you were the one who concealed your strength first, girl. On this Dou Qi Continent, only the strong deserve the respect of others. If you had not hidden your strength, none of this farce would have happened."

"...Yes, everything you say is right." The girl's tone suddenly returned to its earlier sweetness, though if one listened carefully, there seemed to be a faint trace of perfunctoriness beneath it.

That was indeed the case. Hun Ruoruo could not be bothered to listen to his hypocritical grand principles. Even setting aside what she knew of him from her previous life, he was merely a father who had appeared before her only twice in over a decade. No matter how eloquently he spoke, he could not stir the slightest emotion within Hun Ruoruo.

Knowing that she had no interest in hearing him speak, the refined scholar smiled helplessly.

With a flick of his finger, Hun Huan, whose body had been half buried in the grave, suddenly began to emit a strange radiance as though some immortal technique had been cast upon him. In the time it took to draw a breath, Hun Huan's mangled soul, which had been gnawed apart by the Dou Technique, had fully reassembled within him.

"Tsk, I originally wanted to see whether this Hun Huan could really burst out a soul ring." Watching Hun Huan come back from the dead, Hun Ruoruo felt inexplicably regretful. Her twisted little amusement clearly would not be fulfilled.

As the two fell silent, Hun Huan gradually regained consciousness after his soul was restored. He rose to his feet in disbelief and discreetly moved his body. The throbbing of his heart and bloodline continually battered his mind, and an almost unbelievable thought arose within it.

Before he could think it through, Hun Huan clasped his fists and asked tremblingly, "M-may I ask who you are, sir?"

The refined scholar's voice remained clear and gentle, as if greeting an old friend after a long separation:

"I am Hun Tiandi."