Call Me Dad Before You Die

Zhou Kuang was pinned to the spider web, covered in blood, staring at the spot where Li Pingsheng was hiding.

He screamed with his final ounce of strength:

"Li Pingsheng! You piece of trash! Aren't you so tough? Come out if you have the guts!!"

"If I'm going to die, I'm taking you down with me! You animal! Those two losers are over there! Go kill them!"

Zhou Kuang struggled, trying to lure the returning Phantom Face Spider toward Li Pingsheng and Lu Qingshan.

The Phantom Face Spider locked one of its eyes firmly onto Zhou Kuang.

Lu Qingshan rushed out from behind a stalactite and shouted, "You beast!"

He poured all his remaining external martial strength into his arms, his muscles bulging and the veins on his arms standing out.

"Die!"

He fired three Armor Piercing Nails, which flew toward the Phantom Face Spider in a triangular formation.

At the same time, he scattered a large cloud of white medicinal powder, completely engulfing the Phantom Face Spider.

When the white powder touched the spider's shell, it hissed with white smoke, corroding the carapace.

As the powder ate away at the shell, the three Armor Piercing Nails pierced into the other compound eye on the human face upon the Phantom Face Spider's back.

The Phantom Face Spider's compound eye was blinded, and green fluid splattered out.

It shrieked, causing the loose rocks in the cave to tumble down incessantly.

Lu Qingshan's maneuver had severely wounded this Tier 2 demonic beast, but it had also thoroughly enraged it.

The maddened Phantom Face Spider whipped its head around and lashed out at Lu Qingshan with a giant leg.

The speed was too fast.

Lu Qingshan had exhausted all his strength and could not dodge in time.

He was sent flying, spraying a jet of blood before slamming into the stone wall over ten meters away and sliding down.

Every bone in his body was broken, and mouthfuls of blood mixed with chunks of internal organs surged from his mouth; he had lost all ability to fight.

"Brother Lu!"

Li Pingsheng shouted.

The one-eyed Phantom Face Spider, now incensed, ignored Zhou Kuang, turned around, and locked its gaze firmly on Lu Qingshan.

It wanted to tear this "bug" that had wounded it to pieces.

Its eight spider legs ground against the floor as it lunged toward Lu Qingshan.

Just then, a roar was squeezed from Li Pingsheng's throat.

Inside his body, the effects of the second Pulse-Suppressing Pill had completely worn off.

The blood energy that had been suppressed for so long erupted within his fragile meridians.

Excruciating pain spread throughout his body; the capillaries under his skin burst, covering him in blood streaks until he looked like a man made of blood.

His meridians were on the verge of snapping, and at this life-or-death moment, Li Pingsheng pulled the final Pulse-Suppressing Pill from his bosom, shoved it into his mouth, and swallowed.

The icy medicinal power locked down the rampaging blood energy.

Li Pingsheng did not choose to suppress it; instead, he seized the brief respite to convert this power into his own combat strength.

An invisible ripple spread out with Li Pingsheng at its center.

The air around him distorted due to the intense heat.

Li Pingsheng slowly stood up straight.

A surge of blood energy erupted from his body, shooting toward the sky.

The scorching blood aura evaporated the surrounding pink poisonous mist, creating a vacuum zone three meters in diameter.

Lying in the spider silk, the half-dead Zhou Kuang witnessed this scene.

His eyes widened, and his mouth hung open.

Li Pingsheng, the "cripple" whom everyone treated as a joke and believed had completely destroyed meridians, actually possessed such fierce blood energy.

This... this was impossible!

Absurdity, shock, and fear shattered Zhou Kuang's sanity.

Yet, Li Pingsheng, at the center of the storm, was remarkably calm.

His Martial Wisdom talent activated.

In his eyes, the Phantom Face Spider turned into a collection of lines and data.

How thick the carapace was, where the joints were weak, how the venom was sprayed, and the reach of the spider legs—all this information flooded his brain.

He locked onto the only flaw—the neck nerve exposed where the carapace had cracked after the compound eye was blown out.

That was it.

Li Pingsheng activated the Wind Treading movement technique beneath his feet, transforming into a blur so fast his movements were impossible to track.

Mid-pounce toward Lu Qingshan, the Phantom Face Spider sensed danger from its rear flank, immediately whipping its head around to spew a cloud of green toxic mist.

But Li Pingsheng's speed exceeded its reaction time.

With a bizarre kick against the stone wall, he veered sharply, bypassing the toxic mist to reach the Phantom Face Spider's blind spot.

Just... die already!

Li Pingsheng roared in his heart.

He poured every ounce of his blood energy and the force of his Awakening of Insects Technique into his right fist.

The muscles in his right arm bulged, and the veins beneath his skin stood out in sharp relief.

Red lightning flickered between his knuckles.

This punch contained the entirety of his current strength.

The next second, his fist drove directly into the cracked armor of the Phantom Face Spider's neck.

His fist made contact with flesh, emitting a dull thud.

Inside the Phantom Face Spider's body, a surge of force detonated.

Thunderclap Explosion!

A silent thunderclap.

The force shredded its internal organs, nerves, and bones into a pulp from the inside out.

The Phantom Face Spider's lunge toward Lu Qingshan halted.

The luster in the human face on its back vanished rapidly.

Its eight giant legs went limp.

Its massive body slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

It died without even letting out a scream.

The entire Limestone Cave fell silent.

The expression on Zhou Kuang's face froze.

He watched the beast collapse.

Then, he glanced at Li Pingsheng, who was slowly retracting his fist.

He hadn't even taken a scratch.

One punch.

Fear and a sense of absurdity overwhelmed him.

After all this time, the person he had been provoking and mocking was a monster wearing human skin.

He was the real clown.

"No... this isn't fair..."

A sound escaped Zhou Kuang's throat; he trembled, staring in Li Pingsheng's direction, his eyes filled with terror and grievance.

Li Pingsheng walked slowly to Zhou Kuang's side.

Recalling Zhou Kuang's words from moments ago, he teased:

"I wonder if Brother Zhou still remembers what you said just now?"

"You said... if I could kill it... you... you'd call me 'Daddy' before you died!!"

"Oh my, Brother Zhou, you're about to 'hit the road,' so I've come specifically to listen!"

Zhou Kuang opened his mouth, using his final breath to squeeze a single word from his throat: "Daddy..."

Li Pingsheng said regretfully: "Good boy!"

As the words fell, Zhou Kuang spat out a mouthful of black blood, his head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.

On the other side, Lu Qingshan, lying in a pool of blood, watched this scene, the shock nearly overturning his mind.

The inner demon that had tormented him for five years had been killed with a single punch.

Five years of regret, unwillingness, and pain vanished into thin air.

Li Pingsheng exhaled a puff of white mist, suppressing the roiling blood energy in his body, and walked toward the depths of the nest.

Atop a pile of white bones, a vine that was blood-red all over and resembled a blood vessel was glowing.

It was the Red Marrow Vine!

Li Pingsheng tore it off, and a medicinal fragrance assailed his nostrils.

He took a breath, and the turbulent blood energy in his body calmed slightly.

[Ding!]

[Killed Tier 2 beast "Phantom Face Spider", gained 1.5 Potential Points!]

Current Total Potential: 2.5!

Li Pingsheng felt a surge of joy and immediately turned to run to Lu Qingshan's side.

They could not stay any longer.

He hoisted Lu Qingshan onto his back, unleashed the Wind Treading movement technique, and sprinted toward the cave exit.

"Brother Lu, please lead the way quickly! We must make a strategic retreat!"

Just as they burst out of the Black Mist Forest, a low, heavy roar, filled with fury and majesty, echoed throughout the entire Black Mist Forest.