Liu Xing remembered his last fight with Yan Yu. She had created and controlled ice arrows then, too, while he had destroyed them with his new gun and lightning blade. The reason for the fight, he recalled, had not been serious. She had squatted in his cave and refused to leave, so the fight had occurred. In the end, he had just thrown her into the distance, deciding not to kill her. However, as he swung his sword left and right now, destroying the arrows with Harmony of Two Seas, the world turned to ice, he wondered whether killing her back then would have been the correct choice.

  As Liu Xing shot through the air, a single arrow flew right toward his forehead. He swung his sword and successfully cut it in half. The arrow split evenly in two. Another came, and he slashed at it again. He could feel the ice trying to freeze his sword, but he noticed that he could overpower it with his will. His stable qi, which shrouded his invisible sword, served as a good conduit.

  Liu Xing moved forward. A tsunami of ice arrows descended on him. The sheer number was staggering; there were at least a thousand in front of him. It was proof that Yan Yu was indeed strong. However, while numerous, these attacks lacked the power to kill him without the wooden puppet and the bone centaurs. Still, as Liu Xing slashed and slashed, summoned his shield, and moved left and right, he realized carving a path toward Yan Yu was a difficult task.

  A dozen pillars of ice sprouted from the ground and shot toward him, trying to skewer him. Liu Xing shot a jet of water from his sword and rotated his body, cutting down all the pillars. Once they were successfully cut, the jet then turned into ice and shattered into millions of fragments, and Liu Xing jumped forward, cutting more arrows as he slowly but surely closed the distance to Yan Yu.

  As he moved, Liu Xing realized it would be much faster to shoot the arrows with his bullets. However, while having six bullets loaded with enough power to kill Yan Yu was an advantage, it also had its drawbacks. Mainly, he needed to hold on to them. It would have been convenient if he still had his Ethereal Pearl for storage, but since he no longer possessed it, he had to endure.

  As Liu Xing destroyed more and more arrows, the fallen shards made the layers of ice on the ground thicker, until the tilted thorn room was fully encased. He realized Yan Yu must be concocting a plan to kill or at least subdue him. And she was indeed doing something. She was spreading her influence throughout the entire room. Even without the spots of darkness touching him, the sheer volume of ice she controlled was enough to pinpoint his location.

  At that moment, a risky plan formed in his mind. As he cut down several fangs of ice that fell from the sky, he decided to act on it.

  Liu Xing encased his gun in qi and created a single Eye of Lightning, which he attached to the gun After destroying a large number of arrows with a single slash and creating a path to his side, he threw the gun in that direction, allowing it to float to the edge of the room. The moment he lost contact with the weapon, he became visible again. It was uncomfortable, but with the gun floating nearby, his left hand was free.

  Liu Xing activated his Lightning Palm Technique. Though it was slightly harder to use his own qi, he successfully formed a lightning blade in his left hand. With a blade in each hand, Liu Xing moved forward. The Lightning Cloak Technique, which surrounded his body in electricity, shined and crackled. He began to shout with each attack, and he felt his slashes grow stronger.

  Liu Xing destroyed the arrows, pillars, fangs, and even walls of ice that obstructed him. His target was merely ten meters away. It was a dome of snow with Yan Yu's silhouette visible inside.

  The sound of breaking ice and the whistle of each swing reverberated around him. Every second, he got closer to Yan Yu. Finally, with a hard kick to the ground, he thrust forward and crashed into the swirling dome of snow. It was freezing cold, so much so that his body heat made vapor swirl around him. However, it seems that the snow was not a defensive measure; it was likely a sensor to alert Yan Yu the moment he crossed it.

  Liu Xing entered the barrier and saw Yan Yu standing still in front of him. He slashed both of his swords to the side in a scissor-like motion. When Harmony of Two Seas and his lightning blade cut into Yan Yu's neck and instantly came to the other side, his eyes widened. He knew for a fact that Yan Yu was tough; there was no way his attack should have passed so smoothly. He then realized there was no blood trailing from his blades. When Yan Yu's head flew from her neck, her eyes were locked in a flat, unblinking expression. The base of the severed head, from where blood should have gushed, was white and smooth, as if he had just cut a wax statue.

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  At that moment, Liu Xing realized what he had cut. It was merely a clone. A snow clone.

  "Where is she?" he said reflexively, his heart hammering in his chest. The Eye of Lightning on his gun scanned the room, but she was nowhere to be seen. He extended his qi sense, but the area was so saturated with her qi that he could not pinpoint her location.

  Suddenly, a thin, black sword erupted from the floor beneath his left foot. It pierced straight through and emerged from the top. Liu Xing's eyes widened in disbelief. Considering that his body had been enhanced with Diamond Pills and other pills looted from his victims, he thought the blade piercing his foot was an illusion because it went through so smoothly. However, a moment later, his foot felt both cold and hot as ice spread from the tip of the sword and brought Liu Xing back to his senses.

  Instead of jumping away, Liu Xing summoned his turtle statue in front of him. He pulled a potent bullet from his gun, channeling its energy into and around the statue. The turtle grew to a gigantic size in an instant. Then, he slammed it down onto the floor. The maneuver shattered the ground, sending ice and debris flying high. Everything nearby was thrown to the side as if a meteor had struck. Liu Xing himself was thrown by the impact. Shrapnel rained down on him, but he focused on his left foot, which was now encased in ice from the ankle down. It was agonizing, as if his foot had been dipped into lava and a freezing well simultaneously. He felt the ice trying to grow and consume him.

  Following instinct, Liu Xing pulled another potent bullet from his gun, leaving four in it, and instantly sent it to his foot. When the potent qi touched the frozen area, the agony intensified, as if his foot had been thrust into a blender. Still, he pushed through the pain. The ice was not only encasing the outside but also freezing the inside, including his qi paths. If he did nothing, he could, in theory, lose the foot.

  A cloud of debris was rising into the air, and a shadow leaped out from the center of the impact. When she landed, her state was clear. Her black hair was undone and disheveled, her purple robes were dirty and crumpled, and blood flowed from her mouth. The turtle's impact must have been strong; while Yan Yu had protected herself, she had clearly sustained internal injuries.

  Liu Xing willed his turtle to slam into her. Yan Yu moved to the side, slashing her thin black sword and sending waves of ice toward the statue. Her attacks worked, somewhat. They slowed the turtle, but it successfully destroyed the ice. Liu Xing hurled the statue around, trying to shepherd Yan Yu into a certain position. As he did so, he shattered hundreds of her ice arrows. Though his left foot hurt like hell, he forced himself to move, clearing obstacles under the guise of attacking her.

  After several moments, the perfect opportunity finally came.

  Desperately trying to attack the turtle statue, Yan Yu left her back wide open. High in the air, near the ceiling where no spot of darkness existed, the invisible gun aimed true. The moment she got close enough, Liu Xing pulled the trigger remotely. A potent bullet shot toward Yan Yu. Its speed was tremendous, and the distance was so short that it arrived behind her in less than the blink of an eye. However, she sensed it the moment it appeared and instantly turned. The short time she had limited what she could do, and her chosen action was to slash her thin black sword toward the bullet.

  The moment the bullet hit the thin black sword, it exploded. A bright light swallowed Yan Yu, and the loud blast reverberated through the room. Liu Xing halted his turtle. He needed to kill her with his gun; a kill with the statue would yield no qi.

  Liu Xing's heart drummed in his chest as a sense of anticipation washed over him. However, when he did not sense his gun reload with qi, he realized Yan Yu must have survived. So, before the light from the explosion even receded, he pulled the trigger remotely again, shooting all but his last bullet toward her position.

  A series of explosions rapidly bloomed at Yan Yu's location. He could see her silhouette there. Yet, even after he had spent the bullets, the gun still had not reloaded. After a moment, Liu Xing shot the last one. It too exploded, and from the epicenter, a figure was thrown into the air.

  It was Yan Yu. A shimmering purple shield covered her before it shattered into millions of pieces. Her condition was grim. She was entirely covered in blood that poured from her mouth, nose, eyes, ears, and even her pores. Her purple robe was soaked. Her face was twisted into a painful grimace. Liu Xing realized she must have used a talisman or a treasure to defend herself, but his attacks had been too much, and the force had rebounded on her.

  Liu Xing kicked the ground and launched himself toward her. Both of his swords swung downward, intending to cut her down. At the same time, he sent a normal bullet flying. It would be nice if the bullet ended her, but he would not give her a chance to survive. Better to kill her without getting qi than to let her live.

  As the wind whipped his hair against his face, Liu Xing came for the kill.

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