I Was Ready for You, You Old Bastard!

Hu Fangyuan crouched there quietly, looking at his mother for a long while before slowly rising to his feet.

But at that very instant!

Hu Heming suddenly struck!

"Die, you little bastard!"

A furious roar burst from Hu Heming's mouth.

He had been slumped against the wall, seemingly at death's door, but now a fierce murderous intent erupted in his eyes! An enormous cauldron with three legs and two handles flew out of his dantian, howling through the air as it hurtled viciously toward Hu Fangyuan!

The cauldron was as large as a millstone, with three legs and two handles, its entire body pitch-black and carved with ferocious beast heads. Its mouth gaped open, and a torrent of violent soul power erupted from within, making the surrounding air vibrate with a hum.

This was Hu Heming's tool martial soul, the Black Fiend Cauldron!

The full-powered strike of a level forty-six Soul Ancestor!

Even though Hu Heming was gravely wounded, with less than a tenth of his soul power remaining, this strike still possessed the might to destroy heaven and earth!

Wherever the enormous cauldron passed, the ground cracked and masonry scattered. The air compressed into visible waves that spread in every direction.

"I was ready for you, you old bastard!"

Hu Fangyuan's eyes were icy as he roared.

He had known this old bastard would never behave himself.

From the very beginning, he had never believed Hu Heming's loving-father act. What wouldn't a beast who could use his clansmen and family as bait to save his own life do?

That was why Hu Fangyuan had kept something in reserve from the start.

His soul power had remained poised within his meridians, ready to deal with any sudden development.

But even so, Hu Fangyuan knew perfectly well that, with only one ring, he could not take this head-on.

Level twenty-one against level forty-six-the gap was simply too great.

Even with Hu Heming gravely wounded and less than a tenth of his soul power remaining, the difference in realms between a Soul Ancestor and a Soul Master was still like a heavenly chasm, nearly impossible to cross.

Taking it head-on meant certain death!

"First Soul Skill, Water Refining Azure Furnace!"

Hu Fangyuan shouted in a low voice. The Heaven Refining Furnace within his dantian shuddered violently, and a stream of deep-blue soul power erupted from his body!

Water came burbling out, rippling continuously behind Hu Fangyuan.

The current was a clear, deep blue, like the purest mountain spring, winding through the air with a gentle burble. More and more water flowed, faster and faster, until it formed a rapidly spinning horizontal vortex in front of Hu Fangyuan!

The vortex was roughly three meters across and half a meter thick, spinning rapidly in midair like a wheel laid flat. The water flowed tangentially at high speed along the cauldron's walls, creating a low-pressure zone beneath it while generating a high-pressure push against its side.

This was a force-deflecting method Hu Fangyuan had devised himself, combining the physics he knew from his previous life with the properties of his first soul skill!

The Bernoulli Effect!

The faster a fluid moved, the lower its pressure; the slower it moved, the higher its pressure.

The rapidly spinning water created a low-pressure zone beneath the enormous cauldron and a high-pressure zone at its side. Between the low and high pressures, a powerful lateral thrust formed!

The force of the vertical downward smash was broken down by the vortex into a horizontally rotating tangential force!

"Humm!"

The enormous cauldron slammed into the water vortex with a deep, thunderous crash.

But the anticipated spray of flesh and blood never came.

The instant the enormous cauldron touched the vortex, it was as though it had struck a gigantic spinning top. Its originally vertical downward force was forcibly redirected by the vortex's rotation!

The enormous cauldron would spin across the water like a top, veering away from its landing point!

"Rumble!"

Spinning, the enormous cauldron flew past Hu Fangyuan's side and slammed into the adjoining room!

With a deafening crash, the entire room collapsed beneath the enormous cauldron. The roof caved in, the walls shattered, and splinters and masonry flew everywhere, raising a sky-filling cloud of dust.

Hu Fangyuan stood where he was, his clothes snapping and his hair flying, yet his body did not move an inch.

The water vortex slowly dispersed before him, turning into specks of deep-blue light that melted into the air.

"How is that possible?!"

Hu Heming cried out in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.

His eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Hu Fangyuan, as though seeing this son for the first time.

Even though he was gravely wounded and had less than a tenth of his soul power remaining, it had still been a strike from a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor!

Even if that strike could not instantly kill a Soul Elder, dealing with a brat who was merely a One-Ring Soul Master should have been as easy as reaching out and grabbing him!

Yet now, his most unremarkable youngest son had actually blocked it with effortless ease?

And judging by how comfortably he had handled it, he seemingly had not even used his full strength?

How was that possible?!

How could a One-Ring Soul Master possibly block a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor's strike?!

Hu Heming's mind went blank.

He could not understand it. He truly could not understand it.

When had this useless son, whose name he could not even remember in everyday life, become so powerful?

Hu Fangyuan could not be bothered to explain the Bernoulli Effect to an utter illiterate like Hu Heming.

Explaining physics to a fool who knew only brute force would be like playing a lute to a cow.

He knew only that his chance had come!

Hu Heming's strike had exhausted every last bit of his remaining soul power. Now he was an arrow at the end of its flight, no longer capable of any resistance!

Hu Fangyuan acted decisively, giving Hu Heming no chance to make any move!

"Die!"

Hu Fangyuan shouted in a low voice and swept his right hand. Driven by his soul power, the remaining water before him compressed furiously into a laminar flow!

Under extreme compression, the gently burbling water became as smooth as a mirror, without a single ripple. Its speed reached a terrifying level under that compression, nearly reaching the speed of sound!

Finally, the water became a slender Water Blade that shot toward Hu Heming's neck!

The Water Blade was only as thick as a finger, but its speed was extreme!

Wherever the Water Blade passed, the air tore apart with a piercing whistle. A visible white wake trailed behind it like a comet's tail, brilliant and deadly.

Hu Heming's pupils abruptly contracted. He wanted to dodge, but his body would not obey him at all.

Gravely wounded and drained of soul power, he could barely move a finger now, let alone dodge.

He could only watch helplessly as the Water Blade flew toward his neck.

"No..."

A desperate howl escaped Hu Heming's mouth.

But before he could finish speaking, the Water Blade had already arrived!

"Pfft!"

There was a soft sound, like a sharp blade slicing into tofu.

The Water Blade struck Hu Heming's neck precisely, cutting in through one side and out through the other.

No blood spurted out.

The Water Blade had been so fast that his blood had not even had time to flow.

Hu Heming's neck was cleanly severed.

His head rolled off his neck, bounced twice on the floor, then came to rest beside Hu Fangyuan's feet.

Hu Heming's eyes were still wide open, staring fixedly at Hu Fangyuan, filled with disbelief and venomous hatred.

His mouth was still slightly open, as though he wanted to say something, but he would never speak again.

Hu Heming was dead.

This level forty-six Soul Ancestor, this head of the Hu Family, this beast who would sacrifice everything to save his own life, had ultimately died at the hands of his most unremarkable youngest son.

Hu Fangyuan quietly looked at his father's corpse, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!"

His laughter echoed through the empty room, sounding both crazed and desolate.

He laughed at Hu Heming's stupidity, at his selfishness, at how pitiful he was.

This beast who could use his clansmen and family as bait to save his own life had ultimately died at his hands after all.

Cause and effect had come full circle; retribution had not missed its mark.

But as he laughed and laughed, Hu Fangyuan's eyes grew slightly moist.

He did not know whether he was laughing or crying.

His father was dead.

His mother was dead too.

The entire Hu Family, hundreds of people, were all dead.

From now on, he was an orphan.

Without father or mother, without a home to return to.

But even so, he could not stop moving forward.

He would survive.

He would grow stronger.

He would become a god!

He would attain eternal life!!!