A woman walked on a paved road, and Liu Xing followed her.

  Behind them, the sounds of steel meeting steel, crackling thunder, loud thuds, and a mixture of snarled and excited shouts reverberated through the air. The fights and tournaments raged on, and from what he had heard, some people had opened a gambling pool, deciding to rack up profits in an easier, safer way. The woman he followed walked away from this commotion. She moved slowly, not only because she had an injury, but because she deliberately slowed her steps. A green ribbon was tied around her right arm, and everyone who saw her sharpened their eyes, snorted, or gave her contemptuous looks. Still, the woman walked with her chest proudly puffed. She had won all her fights, and the golden hairpin nestled in her hair, the giant black sickle strapped to her back, and the ancient gourd made from brown wood hanging from her belt proved she had won big. She wanted everyone to know it.

  As Liu Xing continuously fed Tide Walker in his arms, he observed his target.

  While she walked slowly to show off her win, that was not the sole reason. The longer he observed her, the more certain Liu Xing became that she had suffered a significant injury to her left leg, causing her to limp slightly. This was her way of projecting strength to the disciples around her. She wanted to convey that not only had she won all her fights and was adorned with three powerful treasures, but she was also still ready for another battle. Although a rule prevented killing, it did not mean she would be left alone. An opportunist might try to rob her, and by displaying power, she made it clear that robbing and fighting her would not be easy. And it worked. Liu Xing saw some people let their gazes linger on her, their eyes shining with malicious intent, but they soon decided she was not worth the trouble and looked for an easier target.

  However, her ruse did not work on him.

  As soon as the crowd began to thin, she looked left and right. While she watched for people, Liu Xing saw her face clearly. She was a woman with skin as white as chalk, like a ghost. Her eyes were round, but she used makeup to make them look sharper. Likewise, while her eyes were the color of blood and glowed slightly, he realized she was using some kind of contact lenses or illusion. Her true eye color was likely black or brown. Not only that, but three wide, diagonal scars, as if from a tiger’s claw, marred her face. She wore makeup around the marks, but instead of masking them, she tried to make them more prominent. And while her hair was long, it was dirty, to the point that three flies buzzed around it. Seeing them, Liu Xing realized she smelled faintly of a rotten carcass. Life among the demonic sect was not easy for her.

  Soon, the woman arrived at her destination. Instead of one of the rooms in the residential district, she stood before the western wall of the island. Windows, doors, and balconies lined the wall. She looked around once more to confirm that no one was around and then jumped toward a balcony. Once she landed, she opened the door, went inside, and slammed it shut. A ripple of qi from the door indicated that she was securing her home with some kind of formation, talisman, or a treasure.

  Liu Xing noted the door. Instead of rushing, he inhaled deeply and stood for a moment, steeling his heart. After a while, he nodded and kicked the ground lightly. It was enough to propel him up, and he landed on the balcony as lightly as a feather. From a small window to the side, he peered inside. The woman sat cross-legged on her bed, cycling her qi in a specific pattern, and Liu Xing smelled the aroma of a pill.

  He looked around for an entrance. While deep in meditation to digest the pill she had just consumed, the woman was still alert. If he entered forcefully, she would spring into action, and a fight would ensue. Cutting the window or door was an option. He could do so silently. He realized that, although some kind of formation, treasure, or talisman protected the building, the defense was not too tight. However, since the woman was facing the door and the window, he could not enter through either.

  Liu Xing pinched his chin as his mind worked on a solution, and he realized that to kill her, he did not need to enter. She was merely a cultivator at the Lock Opening realm, perhaps the fifth stage. A single shot from a standard bullet would be enough. However, while killing her was not too hard, he wondered how he could retrieve her treasures. The main thing he needed from her was the hairpin.

  "What to do?" he muttered.

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  He realized he was overthinking. He sensed for a weak point in the room’s defensive mechanism, and when he found a spot where the qi was thinner than elsewhere, he took two steps to the side. In that instant, he extended his left hand and pointed the gun, loaded a single bullet, and aimed at her forehead through the window. There was a small chip in the glass, it was the most obvious point of weakness that he could sense.

  Liu Xing held his position for a few seconds. His heart beat faster, and he felt anxious. He thought about what he would do if the woman survived his attack. Keeping his emotions from muddling his thoughts, Liu Xing finally pulled the trigger. The transparent bullet shot from the tip of his gun. He worried it might break the window when it hit, but instead, the bullet smoothly pierced through, making a sound like a small bell. In that instant, the woman’s eyes snapped open. Before she could become aware of the attack, however, the bullet created a hole in her forehead. She suddenly crumpled, falling headfirst off her bed. A small thud sounded, and that was it.

  Liu Xing looked around to make sure no one had heard. When he was sure that no one had noticed that the woman who had just won three valuable treasures was dead from a single shot, he nodded. Then, he sent all the bullets inside his gun through the hole he created by doing a Flowing Meditation Method to his consciousness. He had killed her. Next was to take her treasures and dump the corpse somewhere.

  "Buddy, I need my two hands," Liu Xing said to his shark, who was obediently eating his qi and had not made a sound. The moment he spoke, the shark wriggled, as if to convey that it was listening. "However, I don't want you to be seen yet, so, would you like to rest on top of my head?"

  Tide Walker was bigger than when they had first met. It could not snuggle inside his hair anymore. However, he could not think of another place for his shark. Tide Walker wriggled more. Liu Xing interpreted that as the shark wanting to be free, and he let it go. It began to move up, making sure to always stay connected to him, but instead of settling on top of his head, it rested on his shoulder, its tail wrapped around his neck. Liu Xing adjusted its position for a bit, and they found a position where both were comfortable.

  He then flicked his wrist, summoning Harmony of Two Seas into his hand. The moment it appeared, it was visible, its edges glinting, but he instantly willed his invisibility to swallow it. A moment later, it too was invisible, and Liu Xing began to coat it with his stable qi. A swirling pattern suddenly adorned his invisible sword, but soon the invisibility swallowed the marks as well.

  When everything was ready, Liu Xing began to cut at the gap in the door, slicing through the lock. The moment his sword cut something, a ripple of qi spread forward—likely the alert system she had installed—but it was just that, an alert. She had not lined her room with traps.

  Liu Xing pushed the door, entered, and shut it behind him. Inside, he snatched her sickle, her gourd, and a bag of spirit stones. Then, he snatched the hairpin and fixed it in his hair, which was slightly longer than before thanks to Ye Xuanming. He willed invisibility to swallow it too.

  After all of that was done, Liu Xing grabbed the woman in a princess carry without letting go of his weapons. Then, he willed the invisibility to swallow her as well. A small drop of blood was on the ground, but he decided not to touch it. Sooner or later, people would realize she was missing and see the blood, but hopefully, by then, it would be too late.

  Liu Xing came out of her room and closed the door again. He jumped off the balcony and began walking back toward the main building. He considered throwing her over the wall. That would burn her, making it look as if she had tried to escape. However, the moment she was out of the threshold, some kind of system would notify the direct disciples, and they would find her remains. It was quite risky. If the direct disciples were bright, they would soon realize there was some oddity about her supposed escape, and since he had just begun, it was wise to avoid risk.

  "I'll store her in one of the secluded rooms," he decided.

  He also wanted to experiment. The lesser mark that branded her would burn her if she passed the threshold. There was also a feature to locate her. But was there a feature to notify someone that she was dead? Also, when she died, did the mark persist? Storing her inside a secluded room and waiting for a reaction would be valuable for the continuation of his current mission.

  Soon, Liu Xing entered a secluded room quite near the entrance to the dungeon. The room was small, with nothing inside it at all. Dust coated the entire floor and piled up in the corners. Liu Xing put her on the side of the room and then decided to wait. He was on alert for the first minute, his heart beating with anticipation. Depending on the reaction of those who came, Liu Xing could choose to kill them right there and then. At that point, he would be racing against time.

  However, even after ten minutes, no one came. The commotion outside still raged on; the fights and the tournament were continuing. After fifteen minutes, Liu Xing concluded that he was safe and could continue with his initial plan.

  He emerged from the secluded room into an empty hallway. Then, Liu Xing began to walk away, trying to find the man who had the Lightning Clone Technique.

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