Liu Xing dismounted from his shark and landed softly on the ground. He moved so softly that not even a speck of dust stirred around his feet. As he did so, he made sure that at least part of him touched Tide Walker. Then, he willed the shark upward, allowing it to choose where to settle on his shoulder or on top of his head. It chose his head, pressing its belly down as if it were a living hat. It seemed content with its decision.

  Liu Xing walked forward, his eyes locking onto the five people standing before the blue barrier that Yu Heng had erected. Yu Yongrui was alert, his body coiled like a spring and ready to move. Shen Ye exuded arrogance, but it was a thin veil for the tension shaded his eyes. The three Nether Lotus Sect disciples tried to calm themselves. One of them crouched on the ground, working on a math formula, as if making a calculation.

  The sounds of lightning strikes, ground-trembling rumbles, and distant fighting dominated the air. It was as if they were standing behind a raging tornado that would swallow them all sooner or later. Yet these men did nothing to attack the barrier shielding their objective, probably because it was too tough or for some other reason. There was no way they were waiting silently.

  "One minute," the crouching demonic cultivator said suddenly, rising and drawing the attention of everyone around him. "I calculated that this barrier will collapse on its own in one minute."

  "How certain are you?" another demonic cultivator asked.

  "Ninety-nine percent," he stated. "I know this barrier well. It's a nine-point dragon barrier, maximally strengthened by burning a valuable catalyst. Only desperate people would erect such a barrier."

  The last member of the Nether Lotus Sect, a man with a large build, nodded. "You guys heard him," he said, his low voice like a rumble laced with hostility. He directed his voice to the two people in front of them. "What are your orders?"

  Shen Ye snorted. "Is your brain the size of a peanut? Yes, I see that the barrier will soon collapse. So get ready. We need to capture that fellow and his sister. This mission has taken too long already. Don't make it more troublesome by talking unnecessarily."

  That comment made the three from the Nether Lotus Sect narrowed their eyes, as if they had just been ordered to swallow bugs. Yet, they looked at each other and swallowed their anger. The three of them were Core Splitting cultivators, all with three cores. While Yu Yongrui and Shen Ye were still at the Lock Opening realm, the three sect members seemed to understand that they had no chance if a fight broke out between them. It would be stupid, too, considering they were on the same island where disciples from the great sects were currently fighting.

  Liu Xing walked forward, positioning himself behind all of them. He narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together. From that interaction, he concluded something quite unpleasant.

  Shen Ye and Yu Yongrui were working with the Nether Lotus Sect. They were the enemy.

  He gripped both of his weapons tightly.

  The fact that an elder of his own sect was backing a demonic sect made him feel ashamed. But seeing his fellow sect members—even though he was not on good terms with them—made the situation feel as if the entire Purple Moon Sect were backing them. It was as if only Liu Xing had not received the notice.

  He gritted his teeth and decided they were enemies, and he intended to kill them. The fact that they were his fellow sect members was troublesome, but an enemy was an enemy.

  "No mercy," Liu Xing whispered.

  At his whisper, the crouching man looked back. His eyes were red as rubies, and his hair was the color of dirt. Looking behind him, he saw and sensed nothing, so he turned forward again.

  Liu Xing marked him. He was quite perceptive.

  "I regret taking this mission," the man complained slowly. He glanced toward Yu Yongrui and Shen Ye, and when both of them ignored him, he continued, "This is a death trap. Even though we're not fighting directly, a misstep could kill us."

  He looked behind him again. This time, he looked up and observed the swirling black clouds, lightning flashing, and swaying trees trembling with each passing second.

  "Fifty seconds," the big man stated. "Then we can attack him, finish our mission, and get back to safety."

  "Do you think the other great sects will pursue us?" the man with ruby eyes asked.

  The one who answered was another member of the Nether Lotus Sect. He had dark hair and eyes, but his skin was so pale that it had a greenish tint, making him look sickly. "Of course they will chase us," he replied. "Their original mission was the same as ours. It is to secure them," he said, pointing forward. "It was just luck that the man commanding the lightning offended the other great sects, resulting in their fight."

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  "Hopefully, they will destroy each other," the big man said. Then he continued, "Forty seconds."

  The man with the green-tinted skin stated that he had heard of the man commanding the lightning; he was strong but quite foolish. "He offends people here and there, escalating conflict every time an enemy comes. I think what happened was similar. He offended a person, that person tried to kill him, lost, and escalated the conflict by bringing his senior. This continued until there were ten people surrounding him."

  "Thirty seconds," the big man stated again.

  At that moment, the blue barrier surrounding Yu Heng, the whale, and Mi Lian glowed faintly, like a dying candle flame. Inside, Yu Heng had finally finished regenerating the slash mark on the whale's body. However, the whale still seemed unable to fight.

  "I told you to get ready," Shen Ye said, suddenly looking behind him. The three Nether Lotus Sect disciples flinched. "Have you gotten ready?"

  "Yes!" the three of them answered, and the big guy stated, "Twenty seconds."

  Liu Xing was directly behind them. He filled the gun with Exploding Fist bullets and readied his sword. Tide Walker began to growl, as if to say he too was ready to fight. Liu Xing observed the three disciples of the Nether Lotus Sect, and then Shen Ye and Yu Yongrui. Despite their higher cultivation, the disciples of the Nether Lotus Sect were likely weaker than Shen Ye and Yu Yongrui. It was wise to kill them first.

  "Ten seconds," the big man stated, and the barrier began to flicker. Yu Heng was trembling inside, but he gritted his teeth and stood defiantly. He was still at the Lock Opening realm and had no chance of winning this fight.

  The big man began the countdown until finally, "Three, two, one!"

  The barrier suddenly collapsed like a dam holding against a raging river finally losing to the pressure. It vanished, leaving Yu Heng and the whale with no protection.

  At that moment, the people in front of Liu Xing were about to jump and lunge toward Yu Heng. He sensed Shen Ye activating a technique and Yu Yongrui channeling qi into his saber. However, it was clear that Liu Xing was the fastest among them. In that split second, he activated his Lightning Cloak Technique, channeled qi into his sword, and swung it sideways. The blade met the neck of the man with ruby eyes. With a strong, sharp swing, the blade sliced cleanly through his neck as if it were tofu. The moment the sword emerged from the other side, the two remaining Nether Lotus Sect disciples, as well as Yu Yongrui, looked behind them. Their eyes widened at the sudden attack. Liu Xing continued. He aimed his gun and fired an Exploding Fist bullet. The bullet hit the big man in the head and exploded.

  The man with the green-tinted skin was the first to snap out of his shock. He snarled in Liu Xing's general direction and cycled his qi to activate a technique. Unfortunately for him, he was too close. Liu Xing aimed his gun and shot a bullet at his head. The moment the bullet left the barrel of his invisible gun, the man reflexively crossed his arms in front of his face to defend himself, but when the bullet met his arms, his entire upper body exploded. It was a violent death. His blood splattered everywhere, and all that remained of him was his lower body, a backbone protruding from the torso.

  At that moment, Yu Yongrui fully turned, deeming this threat more urgent than capturing Yu Heng, but Shen Ye continued forward.

  "Tide Walker!" he shouted.

  The shark launched itself forward to catch up to Shen Ye. The moment it did, its invisibility vanished, and it became visible. Yu Yongrui looked at it and hesitated for a bit, as if wondering whether the shark was the culprit behind the murders that had just happened.

  That hesitation gave Liu Xing time to lunge at him, aim his gun, and shoot another bullet. It was an Exploding Fist bullet made from the potent qi the gun had absorbed by killing the Nether Lotus Sect disciples. It was strong enough to kill Yu Yongrui in a single attack. Seeing the bullet, Yu Yongrui wisely dodged sideways.

  Liu Xing glanced toward Shen Ye. His shark was fast enough to intercept its target and was currently engaging him in a fight. He looked at Yu Yongrui, whose eyes darted left and right, then back at Shen Ye, trying to determine the best target. He decided that he needed to help Tide Walker while also dealing with Yu Yongrui.

  Liu Xing shrouded his gun with potent qi, created an Eye of Lightning, attached it to the weapon, and threw the gun toward Yu Yongrui. The moment he did, his invisibility came undone. Yu Yongrui’s eyes focused on him, while Liu Xing’s eyes focused on Shen Ye. At that moment, his gun shot another Exploding Fist bullet at Yu Yongrui, who was fast enough to dodge to the side as the ground where he stood exploded. The gun followed Yu Yongrui, and Liu Xing activated his mask, slamming a wave of killing intent toward Shen Ye.

  Shen Ye froze for a moment, then growled, trying to use his anger to free himself from the mental attack. This gave Tide Walker the opportunity to send a condensed ball of qi toward Shen Ye. Shen Ye looked ahead and dodged to the side. However, Liu Xing kicked off the ground and instantly appeared beside him, thrusting Harmony of the Seas forward in an attempt to pierce his side.

  Shen Ye saw it and kicked the ground to jump back. However, that maneuver left him without any footing for a second. Liu Xing sent more qi into Harmony of the Seas, creating a jet of water that extended its blade, and swung it sideways to chase Shen Ye.

  Upon seeing the attack and knowing he could not dodge, he twisted his body in mid-air and put his hands together. Both of his palms were now covered by fire, glowing an eerie orange, and he posed as if he were trying to catch the jet of water.

  "Bastard!" he shouted, and he clamped his hands on the oncoming jet of water that was trying to slash him in two. But the moment his hands touched the water—and the fire and water met—an explosion occurred. The sound was loud, a mist of water formed, and Shen Ye was thrown into the air, his body spinning uncontrollably.

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