Liu Xing stood to the side of the encampment as the people prepared for battle. With Tide Walker resting on his shoulder, he crossed his arms and could not help but think how swiftly they had prepared. In an instant, everyone was armed with their most powerful treasures and ready to go. The attack plan was finished in fifteen minutes thanks to the emperor, who had thought ahead and explained the plan to those around him. He even gave people a chance to ask questions. Every important question—where to focus their forces, how to spread out, and what to target—was swiftly and perfectly answered in record time, leaving no one with any doubts about their readiness.

  One man was brave enough to ask, "If you have already thought about this plan, why didn't you and your force attack the enemy already? Surely, with this much information, you don't need us."

  The emperor smiled and answered, "Indeed, with this much information, I could have attacked the enemy already. In truth, my full force is capable of securing the base. However, you need to remember that we are the Mirror Tide Empire. My empire is nothing if not just. We're here to help you, not the other way around. Not only that, but while we are capable, that doesn't mean you are dismissible. As I said earlier, you people possess a unique qi suffused with the Ancient Tree. Even though that tree turned into a demonic mushroom, a trace of it remains, and it will help you. That's why some of you won't be attacked unless you attack first. That ancient tree is waiting for all of you, not me."

  The answer elicited more nods, and the little speech seemed to earn him more trust. From there, the questions were about technicalities, which were answered in record time.

  While the meeting was underway, a man named Han Guilin, who was once part of the Han clan—the clan whose leader was an elder of the Nether Lotus Sect and had vowed to kill Liu Xing—teleported in twenty groups of ten without stopping. At the end of it, he was spent, his breath rough. Liu Xing moved closer to him and listened to some good news. It seems the Han clan was decimated. The one who had killed them all was Ye Xuanhan, the Young Master of the Nether Lotus Sect. As far as Han Guilin knew, he was the only remaining survivor of the Han clan, and he was a spy for the Mirror Tide Empire all along.

  After gaining that information, Liu Xing retreated to the side. There he stood, looking at the full army that was about to launch its attack in ten minutes. There would be twenty forces divided into three groups, and each group would attack from the east, west, and south of the island at the same time. Before that, advance teams would scout ahead and cut some important wires, but the gap between these teams and the rest of the army was short.

  This attack would be strong and fast, and from the impression he got, Liu Xing was optimistic that it would succeed. After all, while the island was guarded by perhaps a thousand skeleton guards, the disciples of the Nether Lotus Sect were not that numerous. There were perhaps a hundred at most, and this force was enough to overwhelm them.

  At that moment, Liu Xing thought to himself, should he help them?

  He rubbed his chin. Helping them was a natural thought. They were not his enemies; in fact, they were the enemy of the Nether Lotus Sect. A wise saying stated that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Still, he did not think he needed to help them. They seemed capable enough, and he had his own objectives. One was to massacre the Nether Lotus Sect disciples on this island, but the other was to get information about their mission logs.

  After a moment of thought, Liu Xing decided he did not need to help them. He would use the chaos the battle created to sneak inside and gather information. Of course, it would mean he would get fewer kills, but that was no problem for him.

  Nodding, he rubbed Tide Walker's nose. "I'm sorry, buddy, but it seems you need to keep quiet for the upcoming battle," he said.

  His shark playfully bit his hand, conveying its annoyance, but in the end, it obeyed. To lift his shark's mood, he promised it more potent qi to consume.

  As Liu Xing waited, he observed the emperor. He was a charismatic man with sharp eyes and a confident aura. The eyes that looked upon the emperor now were filled with hope. Legends had already begun to form around him, that he was a cultivator since birth, that he had successfully killed a bear before he was two years old, and that he possessed a godly cultivation method and had turned down an offer from the Purple Moon Sect because he wanted to help the people of the Wild Tide Region. However, as Liu Xing observed more, he realized that the sources of these rumors were the emperor's own people, and a scheme was brewing within this encampment.

  "I see," Liu Xing said as understanding dawned on him. It seemed the emperor was not helping just because he wanted to. Perhaps it was because helping people was the most logical action to survive. After all, the Mirror Tide Empire was an empire within the Wild Tide Region, and if people did not unite under one banner, they would have no chance against the Nether Lotus Sect, not to mention the other great sects encroaching on their territory.

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  At that moment, he wondered whether they had some kind of communication line to the Purple Moon Sect. There was no way they had not asked for help. However, perhaps their line of communication had also been cut off by the elder supporting the Nether Lotus Sect.

  "Everything's ready!" a man shouted.

  "Here too!" another replied, followed by, "We're ready too!" Soon, a cacophony of shouts and roars could be heard, and people began to form lines in front of the encampment.

  The emperor, with his golden hair, golden armor, and a white spear in his hand, moved to the front of the crowd and gave a short speech to rouse their spirits. Then, he said, "As planned, we will split into three divisions. Everyone, take your positions!"

  At his shout, the people instantly divided into three large groups, each heading in a different direction. One went toward the tunnel where the pool Liu Xing had entered was located, while the other two faced the walls to the left and right.

  "Three, two, one!" the emperor shouted. "Go!"

  At that, people rushed forward. Those who ran toward the tunnel jumped into the pool ten at a time. The walls on the left and right began to open, revealing other tunnels and more pools. Soon, people rushed out from the encampment like a horde of hornets ready to hunt and kill everything in its path.

  Liu Xing looked left and right, decided to head to a nearby pool, and entered it among the crowd. He soon emerged in the deep sea and pulled by Tide Walker to the surface. As he broke through the waves, he looked around and saw the people splitting in three directions like diverging branches. The qi in the air was boiling and churning, and the waves that hit his face were strong and chaotic. He looked up and saw the red demonic mushroom in the center of the island pulsing with an eerie light. A rhythmic hum could be heard, and he could feel the tension in the air. The Nether Lotus Sect must have known about this sudden attack; however, the advance teams must have succeeded in their mission.

  Liu Xing had Tide Walker bring him into the air. Once there, he stood on its back as if it were a flying sword instead of riding it normally. The shark did not mind, and they both flew high into the air, where they could see explosions beginning to bloom across the island. The sounds of frantic fighting filled the air. The mushroom was condensing qi around its cap, preparing balls of energy to shoot at the enemy, but they dissipated like light bulbs suddenly dying, and the attack ceased.

  "It seems that it is going well," he commented, and he ordered Tide Walker to move lower and closer to the main building. As he circled the building shaped like a red mushroom—which was formerly an ancient tree—he saw the forces of the local cultivators and the Mirror Tide Empire beginning to enter it. Through a window, he could see several Nether Lotus Sect disciples running in the hallway, their faces shaded by fear and panic. Liu Xing ordered Tide Walker to rush toward the window. The moment they broke through, the group of disciples stopped and readied themselves to fight. However, Liu Xing aimed his gun and pulled the trigger five times. Each bullet was the normal variant, and they successfully killed the enemy, making them crumple to the floor. Tide Walker condensed a ball of qi and shot it among the corpses, making their bodies explode and painting the wall red.

  From there, Liu Xing began to sweep the upper floors of the building. His goal was the main control room or the array formation itself. He was sure there were similar jade slips that contained their important information.

  Soon, Liu Xing arrived in front of a heavily guarded door, with a dozen disciples of the Nether Lotus Sect standing around it. Seeing them, Liu Xing filled his gun with Exploding Fist bullets, sent qi to his sword, and shot them dead and severed their bodies with his sword. In the blink of an eye, they were dead.

  Liu Xing stood before the heavily guarded door and sliced it open with Harmony of Two Seas. Inside, another ten disciples of the Nether Lotus Sect—with slightly higher cultivation than the guards—tried to ambush him, activating their traps as well as their techniques. Unfortunately for them, Liu Xing activated his Lightning Cloak Technique. In a fraction of a second, he killed six people with Exploding Fist bullets, severed the necks of more, and then killed the rest with another round of Exploding Fist bullets. In under ten seconds, every enemy was dead.

  Liu Xing instantly saw an active formation pouring qi into a single white jade slip. He knew they were trying to either back up their information or send it somewhere far away.

  Liu Xing thought for a moment, trying to decide whether he should wait for the process to finish or snatch the jade slip right away. But rushing footsteps outside made the choice for him. He snatched the jade slip and put it inside his spatial ring. He could examine the information later.

  Once done, Liu Xing came out of the room. At that moment, he saw the emperor of the Mirror Tide Empire, his golden armor unblemished, as he rushed toward the control room. When he saw the massacre inside, the emperor's eyes widened. He pinched his chin as if trying to make sense of what had happened.

  Liu Xing was intending to rush down toward the formation array and destroy it when the emperor suddenly said something that made him stop.

  "You're here, right? Red Ghost, White Devil? Or would you prefer to be called Liu Xing?"

  The man looked around as if trying to pinpoint Liu Xing's location, finally settling his eyes in his general direction as if he could see his invisible form.

  At that, Liu Xing narrowed his eyes.

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