Dad, How Did You Come Back to Life!

Yet Qian Chenming did not stop speaking at all.

"Little Liu, when you first awakened your martial soul at six, you were so frightened you bawled your eyes out and clung to my leg, refusing to let go. Have you forgotten?"

Below.

Qian Daoliu's pupils contracted as memories surged into his heart.

"And when you were seven, you secretly drank the sacred wine I kept in my study and passed out drunk in the courtyard. I was going to beat you, but your mother stopped me and carried you back."

"That same year, when your soul power broke through for the first time, you were so excited you stayed awake all night. You went to class the next day with dark circles under your eyes, and your teacher at Spirit Hall Academy made you stand as punishment for an entire day."

With every sentence Qian Chenming spoke, Qian Daoliu's face grew a shade paler.

No third person could possibly have known these things besides him and his father.

Could this person actually steal the memories of the dead?

The more Qian Daoliu thought about it, the more horrifying it became.

That was far too monstrous.

But the more he considered it, the more impossible it seemed. This went beyond reality.

"And," Qian Chenming's voice suddenly deepened, "when you were twelve and your mother was gravely ill, you knelt before the Angel God Statue and cried all night, begging the goddess to save her. The next day, your mother still passed away. You held me and said, 'Dad, you're all I have left.'"

Qian Daoliu's body shuddered violently.

He remembered.

He remembered it all.

That night, he had knelt before the statue until his knees broke open, his tears soaking the stone slabs on the ground.

The next day, his mother still had not pulled through.

He remembered his father holding him and patting his back without saying a word, simply sitting quietly with him for an entire day.

He had never mentioned these memories to anyone.

Not even Golden Crocodile Douluo knew.

Qian Daoliu's hands began to tremble.

"You..." His voice grew hoarse, and he no longer knew what to do. "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm your father." Qian Chenming looked straight into his eyes. "Whether you believe it or not, I'm back."

His words fell.

Qian Daoliu did not answer.

He simply stared fixedly at Qian Chenming, as though searching for something.

As for the Six Great Enshrined and the others, they seemed to have suddenly learned an earth-shattering secret and could not help beginning to digest it.

What the hell?

The Great Enshrined actually cried from fright when he awakened his martial soul? Wasn't that far too timid?

And he was sneaking drinks at seven?

He really wasn't well-behaved at all as a child.

Had Qian Chenming's status as friend or foe not still been unclear, they probably would already have been unable to suppress their amusement.

As for Golden Crocodile, who had interacted with Qian Chenming before, he had more or less completely stopped fighting by now.

He could not believe it.

The old Supreme Pontiff had actually come back to life. At any rate, with his powers of discernment, he truly could see no difference between the old Supreme Pontiff now and when he had been alive.

Up in the sky.

Qian Chenming sighed and unleashed his greatest finishing move:

"Little Liu, do you still remember what your mother gave you before she died?"

Qian Daoliu shook all over.

Before his mother died, she had taken a jade pendant from beneath her pillow and pressed it into his hand, saying, "Little Liu, this is Mother's most precious possession. Now I'm giving it to you. From now on, you must live well and listen to your father."

He had always worn that jade pendant close to his body.

He had never shown it to anyone.

At that thought.

Qian Daoliu slowly drew the jade pendant out from beneath his collar, his voice trembling. "You... how do you even know about this?"

Qian Chenming smiled, a trace of bitterness in his smile.

"Because that jade pendant was the token of love I gave your mother back then."

Boom!

Qian Daoliu's mind went blank.

Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others froze as well, exchanging looks.

If even these things could be uncovered, that would be far too inconceivable.

Unless...

Qian Daoliu took a deep breath and slowly withdrew his soul rings.

The Six Great Enshrined exchanged glances, then withdrew their martial souls as well and retreated to either side.

Qian Daoliu took a few steps forward and looked up at Qian Chenming in midair.

"You say you're my father. Then let me ask you, what did my father say to me most often back then?"

Qian Chenming smiled faintly.

"Whenever you caused trouble, I would say, 'Little Liu, is your backside itching to be beaten into bloom again?'"

His words fell.

Qian Daoliu's old face flushed, and his eyes began to redden too.

That was right.

His father had said those words countless times.

Whenever he acted up and made trouble, his father would look at him angrily like that and say those words.

Just then.

Qian Chenming slowly landed and stood before Qian Daoliu.

Father and son stood three paces apart.

"Little Liu," Qian Chenming said softly, "thank you for all your hard work over the years."

Qian Daoliu's lips moved. He wanted to say something, but not a single word would come out.

He gritted his teeth, something welling in his eyes.

The other Six Great Enshrined Douluo watched from the side, their brows relaxing.

Seeing their eldest brother so shaken, they all grew somewhat moved.

They even began looking forward to the heartwarming moment to come.

Qian Chenming reached out and patted Qian Daoliu's shoulder.

"Don't cry. The dignified heir to the Angel God wouldn't look good sniveling."

Qian Daoliu drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions.

"You... how exactly did you come back?" His voice was hoarse. "Back then, didn't you..."

"What happened back then is a long story." Qian Chenming's expression dimmed. "But now isn't the time to explain."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding Worship Hall.

Then he suddenly lashed out, kicking Qian Daoliu in the backside. "You dared attack your old man, and you still dare ask how your old man came back to life!"

The kick sent Qian Daoliu staggering several steps forward, nearly making him lose his footing.

He froze for a moment, then turned to look at Qian Chenming.

That familiar force, that familiar angle-even the spot he had kicked was exactly the same, three inches above his right buttock.

"You..."

Qian Daoliu's lips quivered, and he suddenly laughed.

As he laughed, tears began to fall.

"That's right, he's my father. When my father kicked me, it was always at this angle, with this much force."

Beside them.

The Six Great Enshrined had already tensed, ready to strike at any moment.

Hearing this and seeing Qian Daoliu's expression as he laughed and cried, they exchanged glances, all struggling to hold back their amusement.

Light Feather Douluo muttered under his breath, "So even Eldest Brother gets kicked."

"Shut up," Qian Daoliu snapped without turning his head, though his tone held not the slightest authority.

He turned around, looked at Qian Chenming, and took a deep breath.

"Dad!"

"Yes." Qian Chenming answered, sounding somewhat helpless.

Father and son looked at each other for a moment, then Qian Chenming raised his foot again.

Qian Daoliu reflexively shrank back. "Again?"

"No more." Qian Chenming lowered his foot and smiled. "I was just checking whether your reflexes were still there."

Qian Daoliu: "..."

Beside them, the Six Great Enshrined suppressed their laughter so hard their shoulders shook.

Golden Crocodile Douluo coughed lightly. "Eldest Brother, why don't... we go inside to talk?"

Only then did Qian Daoliu come back to his senses and nod.

He stepped aside to clear a path. "Dad, please come inside."

Qian Chenming stood on no ceremony either, striding into the Worship Hall.

The Six Great Enshrined automatically formed two lines, leaving a passage between them.

Qian Daoliu followed behind, his steps somewhat unsteady.

Entering the great hall, Qian Chenming sat in the chair beside the seat of honor, his gaze sweeping over the furnishings.

"Still the same as ever," he said softly. "This chair is still the one I sat in back then."

Qian Daoliu stood before him like a child who had done something wrong.

"Dad, what exactly happened? How could you..."

"Come back from the dead?" Qian Chenming finished for him.