Liu Xing walked through the remains of Water Tower City. The city was thoroughly destroyed. Buildings were cut, whether vertically or horizontally, causing them to collapse sideways or spill into the roads. He walked along a ruined street where corpses were strewn about, their bodies severed, their eyes wide in disbelief, and their blood pooling on the ground. Far in the distance, smoke billowed into the sky, likely from survivors, and he realized their position was probably near the Qing clan compound. He hoped many people had survived, though with so many corpses lining the street he walked, every person in this city would be scarred by the deaths of their friends and family.

  As he moved, his form was invisible and his steps were light. He pressed his lips together, his stomach twisting into a knot. He could not help but blame himself for their deaths. All of this was because of Ye Xuanming's attack, and that attack had been solely targeted at him. These deaths, all of this, were merely collateral damage. Liu Xing clenched his fists. He knew, logically, that the one who needed to be blamed was Ye Xuanming. He was the one who had killed these people. Yet, Liu Xing was the reason. He could not revive the dead, so, to pay for his fault, he would make sure they were avenged.

  Liu Xing jumped from the blood-soaked ground and landed on a high mound of rubble from a collapsed building. This vantage point allowed him to see the place he was about to visit. In the distance, the Jin clan compound stood in ruins. While some of their buildings were still intact, their walls were crumbling. Some structures were split in two, while others had been reduced to little more than rubble. Liu Xing sharpened his senses, trying to feel the qi in that place. When he sensed three strong signatures among several weaker ones, his eyes narrowed. He gripped his gun tightly, activated his lightning blade, and willed his invisibility to swallow it too.

  "Jin clan," Liu Xing muttered, remembering the three faces that had decided to betray him. "You will pay."

  With that, he leaped from his position, leaving a bloody footprint on the rubble, and entered the remains of the Jin clan compound, like a wolf entering a farm unnoticed.

  Once inside, Liu Xing walked slowly and deliberately. His lightning blade was enhanced by stable qi to make it sharper and more durable, and his gun was already loaded with six Exploding Lightning bullets made from potent qi. It was a shame his Ethereal Pearl had been destroyed, and he had lost his Thunderstrike Gauntlet. However, he couldn't lament it too much. He was grateful that in the end, he had survived.

  In front of him, flanking double doors made from oak carved with wave patterns, stood two guards holding spears. Their faces were wary, and their clothes were caked with mud and blood. The guard on the right had a bloody bandage on his arm. This indicated that the Jin clan had not been spared from Ye Xuanming's onslaught, and it was likely that many of their people had died too. Served them right for cooperating with a demonic sect.

  The double doors were ajar. Liu Xing walked calmly between the two guards and slipped sideways into the main building. As he entered, he observed the main room. It was a spacious hall without pillars. A red carpet was spread from the door toward a slightly raised chair made from ancient wood and adorned with gold. He realized it was probably a throne room, one where the Patriarch of the Jin clan sat to oversee clan matters. However, that chair was split cleanly in two. It was still standing, but if anyone were to sit on it, it would break.

  In front of this cloven throne, a group of people sat around a long table. At the head of the table was the Patriarch of the Jin clan, flanked by the two elders. Sitting around the table were perhaps the last remnants of the Jin clan.

  A teenage girl looked in his direction warily. Her hair was disheveled, and dried blood stained her neck. Seeing her, Liu Xing paused for a moment, thinking the girl had sensed him entering. However, a moment later, she looked toward the Patriarch, who was speaking at that moment, while a man beside her, likely her brother, scolded her. "Pay attention!" he whispered.

  The girl whispered back, "Sorry."

  The teenage girl and her brother had accompanied the group from the Nether Lotus Sect to their camp. As Liu Xing observed her, he suddenly saw Su Nian's face overlapping with hers. He shook his head and inhaled deeply. Su Nian was a victim, but this girl was an accomplice of the Nether Lotus Sect.

  At that moment, the girl looked toward the door again. This time, he knew she was not looking for him, but was gazing longingly at the doorway, as if she wanted to get out of this meeting to perhaps check on a friend or a lover.

  "This is an unprecedented disaster," the Patriarch continued his speech. "The only people who survived are only us. Our numbers, once nearly two hundred, are now reduced to a mere twenty. It is a grim situation. However, all hope is not lost. As long as we survive, the Jin clan will still exist! It will thrive! Compared to the Qing clan, we're in a better position! We will rise. So mourn, but set your sights forward, for the golden era of the Jin clan will come soon!"

  Liu Xing arrived right behind the patriarch of the Jin clan. The man was trying to banish the hopelessness blanketing the room with promises of glory. Liu Xing aimed his gun at the back of the man's head. The tip of the barrel was mere centimeters away, almost touching his hair. "Yeah, right," he said.

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  Then, he pulled the trigger six times in rapid succession. In that instant, six explosions merged into one. Liu Xing leaped backward as he saw the blast swallow the Patriarch of the Jin clan. This man was quite strong. A single Exploding Lightning bullet wouldn't have ensured his death, but six was enough. The moment he landed in front of the bisected throne, he saw the stripes on the side of his gun glow with six green lights. The Patriarch's headless corpse was thrown aside, and the explosion sent everyone sitting around the table flying in all directions.

  "Enemy attack!" the elder with the long beard and eyebrows shouted as he landed on his feet. He was Jin Wuyi's father, the same man who had taunted Liu Xing when they had trapped him inside the barrier around the Alchemy Hall. The other elder, a quiet man with short white hair, flicked his wrist and summoned a sword to his right hand. The teenage girl, her brother, and the other cultivators of the Jin clan landed either on their rears or their feet. Their eyes widened as they saw the headless corpse of their Patriarch, while the teenage girl stared at the body with trembling eyes. "Father!"

  That shout was the starting gun that sent everyone scrambling into motion.

  Liu Xing, still invisible, jumped toward the elder with the long beard. The man's eyes were red, a mixture of anger and sadness. "Who dares to attack the mighty Jin clan?"

  Liu Xing landed silently near Jin Wuyi's father. Instead of attacking directly, he leaped to the side, toward a wall. Rotating his body in midair, Liu Xing kicked off the wall and shot toward the man from his flank. The moment he was in range, Liu Xing slashed his lightning blade diagonally. The fact that his stone blade had been taken by Ye Xuanming filled him with anger and bitterness. That blade was sharp and strong, and would likely have severed this man instantly. His lightning blade was sharp, and it bit into the man's shoulder, making him yelp in pain, but it was not deep enough to kill him. The man grabbed the invisible lightning blade, and realization dawned in his mind. "This is a lightning attack, he is Liu—"

  Liu Xing didn't try to pull his lightning blade free. Instead, he aimed his gun and pulled the trigger. A bullet rushed toward the man's head. At such a short distance, the man could neither evade nor deflect it, though Liu Xing saw him let go of the blade as if trying to catch the bullet. But the bullet arrived first, hitting him squarely in the face. It detonated, blowing his head apart like a watermelon struck by a hammer.

  Liu Xing kicked off the corpse to jump backward. The elder's blood splattered, some of it landing on Liu Xing. He willed his invisibility to swallow the specks, making him truly invisible again. As he landed, he glanced at his gun and saw that it was once again loaded with six bullets.

  His next target was the elder with short hair. The man brandished his sword, veins bulging on his neck. He clenched his teeth in anger, but his eyes were sharp and focused.

  "If you're a man, show yourself and fight me fairly! Otherwise, you're nothing but a coward."

  Liu Xing didn't respond. Instead, he began to walk slowly around the room. Some of the Jin clan members wisely turned tail and ran, but some did not. "Elder, let us help you!" one shouted.

  "Where is the enemy?!" another yelled.

  The elder didn't respond to them. Instead, he scanned the room, trying to pinpoint Liu Xing's position.

  Liu Xing circled the elder as he activated his Flowing Meditation Method, sending five of his bullets into his consciousness and letting his cores absorb their energy. His eyes were looking around, wondering whether he wanted to end the elder first or the others. However, as soon as Liu Xing was behind him, the elder, as if he had been waiting, spun around and slashed his sword right toward his gut. Seeing this, instead of dodging, Liu Xing slashed his lightning blade sideways, meeting the enemy's attack with his own. When their blades met, sparks flew. But then, Liu Xing aimed his gun forward and fired.

  The moment the bullet shot toward the elder, the man pulled his sword back and cut the projectile in midair, making it explode prematurely. The blast threw both Liu Xing and the elder in opposite directions. Liu Xing was slightly less affected, his feet dragging across the floor, but the elder was thrown into the air. "All of you, run!" he shouted. "You're no match for him!"

  "But—"

  At that moment, realizing the elder was still in range, Liu Xing summoned his turtle statue behind the man. The elder's eyes widened as he rotated his body and slashed at the statue. The moment his sword touched the turtle and he realized it was not Liu Xing, his eyes widened in horror.

  Finding his chance, Liu Xing leaped forward, crossing the air and arriving instantly behind the man. The elder, as if sensing his arrival, turned his body once again and shouted as he prepared to slash. The blade was shrouded in qi that made it sharper. However, Liu Xing was right in front of him, the tip of his gun pointed into the elder's open mouth. The man's shout didn't make him stronger; it only made him dead. Liu Xing pulled the trigger. The bullet entered his mouth, and his head exploded. His slash faltered, the qi dissipated, but the momentum carried the strike forward. Liu Xing summoned his shield and jumped up. The sword passed harmlessly below him before he rotated his body and sent an axe kick down onto the headless corpse of the last elder. When the kick landed, the corpse slammed into the ground, shattering the floor and sending dust flying. Liu Xing landed near the body, his eyes sweeping the room.

  "N-no, the Patriarch and the Elders, they are dead!"

  "Run! We need to run!"

  "Father!" the teenage girl screamed, her voice hoarse as she extended her arms toward the Patriarch's corpse.

  Seeing that there were still people left, Liu Xing moved swiftly. His gun was already loaded from killing the elder, so he used his lightning blade instead. In a flash, he slashed the necks of those around him, sparing only the teenage girl who was still frozen on the ground. After severing a dozen heads, Liu Xing appeared in front of her and, on a whim, undid his invisibility.

  When the girl saw him, her face twisted into fury, but then she heard the thudding of severed heads hitting the floor, and her expression changed to one of pure terror, as if she were standing before a demon. Perhaps she was.

  "P-please spare me," she pleaded. "Have mercy."

  Liu Xing thought for a moment, her face once again overlapping with Su Nian's. Then he decided. "No mercy," he said, and swung his lightning blade, severing her head from her neck. Her eyes were frozen in terror.

  keep the lights on.