Amid Yu Yuanzhen's hysterical roars, Yu Xiaogang's terrified gaze, and the noisy chatter of everyone around them.
Lu Xuan raised the sword in his hand high. The next second...
Shhk!
Head and body parted.
Yu Yuanzhen-dead!
The instant the sword light fell, the world went utterly silent.
The roaring stopped. The clamor vanished. It was as though someone had suddenly pressed pause.
The decisiveness of Lu Xuan's strike caught everyone present off guard.
Yu Yuanzhen himself had never imagined that his dear son, whom he had finally reunited with after so long, would lead him to his grave in this tiny Nuoding City, this tiny Nuoding Academy.
He was the leader of one of the Upper Three Sects, standing above countless millions. A mere crook of his finger could bring him anything he wanted.
He had only just reunited with the son he had not seen in years, yet had not even had time to enjoy their family reunion.
He was a level 95 Titled Douluo...
"No... this isn't real..."
Yu Xiaogang stared at that face he knew better than any other, its expression now frozen forever, and all his strength drained away.
His father was dead!
Memories of the past flashed through his mind.
Before he turned six, he had been the clan's favored child, the pride of heaven, showered with affection by every clansman. His father had been there with him through every happy, carefree day.
After he turned six, he had become a rat crossing the street, despised and hounded by everyone. Though his pride-conscious father stopped giving him extra resources in front of the clan, behind their backs, that sharp-tongued, softhearted man had piled resources onto him until he reached level 29, only reluctantly stopping when his potential had been exhausted.
Yet Yu Xiaogang had failed to cherish such a father. For the sake of his pitiful pride, he had run away from home for decades.
Now, they had finally reunited, only for...
Him to get his father killed!
"Is this the outcome you wanted, Yu Xiaogang?"
Lu Xuan walked slowly up to Yu Xiaogang and looked down at the figure sprawled there like a stray dog.
Yu Xiaogang raised his head.
"You killed my father, killed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan Chief... you... you..."
He stammered, his eyes brimming with terror. He even looked as though his mind was beginning to come unhinged.
By the end, his tongue had tied itself into knots, and he muttered incoherently, no one knowing what nonsense he was spouting.
Only after Lu Xuan kicked him in the face did he come back to his senses.
"I was wrong! Lu Xuan, I know I was wrong."
"Please don't kill me. I really know I was wrong. Give me one more chance. Please, please!"
A sob crept into Yu Xiaogang's voice.
A stubble-faced man in his forties or fifties lay prostrate at the blue-clad young man's feet, tears and snot streaming down his face. Blood was still seeping from the wounds on his legs, making him look utterly wretched.
At the sight, Lu Xuan's heart remained unruffled.
"Relax. I won't kill you."
"Once someone dies, they can no longer experience anything. Joy, pain, happiness, sorrow... you won't be able to feel any of it anymore."
"So..."
"With your hatred for me, your guilt toward your father, and the contempt of every member of your clan..."
"Live on like a maggot."
[Second Soul Skill: Life Tide.]
The second soul ring beneath Lu Xuan's feet glimmered. A gentle surge of life-attribute soul power entered Yu Xiaogang's body, instantly stopping the blood gushing from the wounds on his legs.
But that was all.
Lu Xuan was not kind enough to regrow Yu Xiaogang's severed limbs. He was merely making sure the man would not die from blood loss.
A contemptuous smirk curled his lips.
"Yu Xiaogang."
"You can keep finding people to kill me, or disappear into some corner like you did all those years ago. You could even pull yourself together and try to break through to level 30, then cultivate hard and come seek revenge."
"I'll be right here waiting for you!"
Lying on the ground, Yu Xiaogang slowly lifted his head. Against the sunlight, Lu Xuan was nothing but a dark silhouette. He could make out nothing.
It felt as though he were looking up at a god.
"Lu Xuan... you..."
Lu Xuan paid Yu Xiaogang no further attention. After confirming that he would not bleed to death, he walked back to Yu Yuanzhen.
More precisely, to Yu Yuanzhen's corpse.
Under Yu Xiaogang's bewildered gaze, Lu Xuan casually waved his hand, and Yu Yuanzhen's entire corpse instantly split into pieces.
"No!!!"
Yu Xiaogang finally realized what Lu Xuan was doing.
He was looking for soul bones! He had chopped his father's corpse into scattered pieces just to find soul bones!
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang felt as though his chest were being crushed. His blood surged uncontrollably toward his brain.
The next second...
Thud!
Yu Xiaogang passed out from rage.
At the same time, Lu Xuan found three soul bones on Yu Yuanzhen, along with a Storage Soul Tool.
The three soul bones came from his head and both arms. The oldest was sixty thousand years old, and the youngest thirty thousand.
Honestly, soul bones of this quality were beneath the dignity of a leader of the Upper Three Sects. Lu Xuan could not even be bothered to look at them and tossed them straight into his Storage Bracelet.
As for Yu Yuanzhen's personal Storage Soul Tool...
"Where's the dean?"
Lu Xuan swept his gaze over the surrounding crowd. Soon, a middle-aged man stepped forward, his manner deeply respectful, even a little obsequious.
Seeing him, Lu Xuan took a money pouch from the tool and tossed it to the dean of Nuoding Academy, saying:
"Use this money to repair the grounds. Don't worry. If anyone else comes looking for a fight with me, I'll take the battle into the sky."
With that, he ignored the dean's reaction and flew into the air with Xiao Wu, who had been amid the ruins.
Judging by his direction, he was probably heading toward Nuoding City Center.
A streak of blue and gold swept across the sky, and voices gradually rose at the scene.
"That was the leader of one of the Upper Three Sects! Mr. Lu just killed him like that?"
"What else was he supposed to do? They came right to his doorstep to attack him. Who could just let that go?"
"This is all his fault. Mr. Lu had already let bygones be bygones, but he still brought someone here to cause trouble."
"When the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect came before, they at least fought in the sky. The moment he came, a huge stretch of the academy's buildings was destroyed."
"He got his own father killed. How does someone like that still have the nerve to live in this world?"
"..."
The ordinary people of the Douluo Continent had no less of a tyrant's will than those in the village!
After Lu Xuan left, everyone faced the ruins with nowhere to vent their anger but on Yu Xiaogang.
Elsewhere.
Lu Xuan brought Xiao Wu to a hotel in Nuoding City.
The academy needed rebuilding, so he could only stay here for the next few days.
Inside the room.
Xiao Wu buried her entire little face in Lu Xuan's chest, her tears falling without end. "Teacher, boohoo..."
"It's all right now!"
"I told you, nothing will happen to you as long as you stay by my side."
Lu Xuan gently patted Xiao Wu's shoulder to comfort her, while also considering how things would unfold next.
Ever since he had obtained the system and advanced to Titled Douluo.
Almost every top power on the continent had come calling. Now, only Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had yet to send anyone.
But...
By this point, Qian Renxue should already have replaced Xue Qinghe, right?
Before you continue