Liu Xing stood atop the white, square building. His body was invisible, his presence thin. As he stood and absorbed the bullets from killing the old man, except for one, the birds flying around the island swarmed chaotically, like hornets whose nest had been struck by a rock. Between them, two men flew on swords, wearing the red and black robes unique to the Nether Lotus Sect, though, as they drew closer, their black robes revealed themselves to be a dark shade of purple. Both were Core Splitting cultivators; however, like all cultivators from the Nether Lotus Sect, they felt lacking, and Liu Xing was confident he could kill them. Still, he could not be too arrogant. He needed to pour all his effort into killing both of them as swiftly as possible.

  Holding the invisible Harmony of Two Seas, Liu Xing watched as they approached. Both were men with golden hair and bright blue eyes, like the sky on a sunny day. Their skin, however, was the color of ash, and both already wielded their weapons. One held a large, double-sided axe with green gems in its center shining with a soft light, while the other wielded a black, wicked scythe with a jagged blade, as if it were a saw formed into a scythe. Both looked wary, their eyes darting left and right. As they neared, they reduced their speed until they finally stopped in midair, then jumped off their flying swords and landed in front of the building.

  As they landed, the birds in the sky began to fly lower and lower. The flaps of their wings made the wind buzz, and chirps and squawks could be heard from them. From this close, Liu Xing noticed that the birds emitted a thick qi of blood, indicating that they were indeed a surveillance system. His heart began to fill with anxiety. He thought about how he could navigate this situation. He could not just leave the island. He still had not achieved his missions, yet his presence was already known, and it was only a matter of time before the island was filled with demonic cultivators. He began to worry about Yu Heng. What if his presence was also known? He also wondered how he could secure the girl he had saved and how he could save more victims from this island.

  Questions flooded his mind, and his heart began to ache—not physically, but as if he were shrouded by the bad feeling itself, a haze that made his body uncomfortable. Liu Xing inhaled deeply. "One thing at a time," he muttered, then repeated, "One thing at a time."

  He knew that if he thought too much, he would be overwhelmed, so he pushed all other thoughts aside and focused on his immediate situation. He needed to kill the two Nether Lotus Sect cultivators.

  Below, both men took a fighting stance, brandishing their weapons. The wind blew, making the grass, flowers, and trees sway. The thick smell of blood permeated the air. Liu Xing jumped from the roof and landed directly in front of them. His landing was soft; no dust stirred, nor was there a strong gust of wind. Usually, his invisibility was countered the moment opponents knew he was nearby, but these two seemed to rely purely on their senses. Since his presence was still undetected, it seemed neither of them had particularly sharp senses. Or, perhaps they were baiting him to attack.

  Liu Xing circled around them until he was standing directly behind both men. Gripping his weapons tightly, he licked his lips and planned his attack. It had to be swift and kill them instantly. One bullet would be enough for one man, but he would need to kill the other with his sword. Despite lacking compared to his stone blade, Harmony of Two Seas was a good sword that could finish this task.

  "Do you think it's him?" the man wielding the double-sided axe asked his friend, his eyes locked forward. "The ghost?"

  "I think—" The man with the scythe looked to the side, and at that moment, Liu Xing attacked. He pointed his gun toward the man with the axe and pulled the trigger. The bullet, shot at practically point-blank range, hit the back of his head, which exploded in a shower of gore. The blood splattered the invisible Liu Xing and filled the other man's vision. Liu Xing instantly swung Harmony of Two Seas toward the man's neck, intending to sever his head. But the man, while his face and vision were covered by blood, was swift enough to turn and deflect the sword. The moment the sword and scythe clashed, a spark ignited, as did the anger that shone from his opponent's eyes.

  "You pig, I'll slaughter you!"

  The man screamed as he spun around, his scythe shrouded in a purple hue as he slashed through the air. Liu Xing, whose invisibility had successfully swallowed the blood on him, crouched instantly. The jagged blade of the scythe passed over him. He kicked his opponent's knee as hard as he could. The knee bent backward, halting his spin. He screamed like a pig as he stopped moving. Liu Xing slashed Harmony of Two Seas into the man's side. The sword, now covered by a circular water saw, passed through the man as easily as tofu, leaving a trail of blood behind it. Without stopping, Liu Xing lunged forward as the man split in two, his face twisted in horror and his mouth wide open. In that instant, Liu Xing pointed his gun into the open mouth and pulled the trigger. The man's head exploded into a shower of gore. When the corpse landed on the ground, it was a gruesome sight. His body was not only split in two, but the stump of his neck also looked as if someone had torn it apart.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Absorbing the qi from the bullets, Liu Xing looked up. The birds began to squawk and chirp loudly, and he could see their eyes turn red. All of them looking at his invisible, blood-soaked form. At that moment, Liu Xing knew for a fact that the master of this island was aware of him, and he gritted his teeth, deciding he did not like being looked at like that.

  Liu Xing kicked the ground hard and soared into the air. As he did, he reloaded the gun with his own qi with the Lightning Missiles technique. When he was in front of a bird, he slashed it in two and then pulled the trigger repeatedly, sending out an initial six Lightning Missile bullets. Before they could even hit their targets, the next volley was shot, and then the next, and the next. In a moment, the sky was filled not only with the black and red birds but also with the blue bolts of his Lightning Missile bullets.

  In the air, the bullets chased each bird. They seemed to possess no power to resist. Every missile turned a bird into an exploding bag of blood, and surprisingly, they had enough qi for his gun to absorb. He absorbed some of it while using the rest as new bullets. The result was a firework of blue and red that covered the sky. The birds desperately flapped their wings, wanting to live, yet the sheer number of bullets he shot overwhelmed them. In a mere moment, they were wiped out. Only a few birds successfully escaped. The rest turned into blood and remains that showered the sea of red flowers.

  Soon, Liu Xing landed near the two bodies of the Nether Lotus Sect disciples. Despite winning the fight, he did not feel he had won at all, because in reality, he had just exposed himself to a bigger threat.

  Yet, this short fight had given him an idea. The elder of the Purple Moon Sect was undoubtedly strong. However, he suspected the elder was not impossible to deal with. After all, there were so many cultivation paths in this world. If he was indeed a puppet master, and if each puppet contained qi his gun could absorb, then it would not feel like a one-on-one fight—a setup Liu Xing was quite weak in—but rather, a fight against many opponents. With his gun, it was a perfect fight for him. Not only that, but since each facility was probably also controlled by the elder like a puppet, destroying a facility would not only weaken the enemy but also strengthen him.

  With this thought, he felt the weight on his shoulders lessen a little.

  Liu Xing turned and kicked the ground, entering the facility once again. He needed to destroy the system inside and also secure the girl. From there, while fighting against time, he needed to think for a bit to plan his next move. He could not forget that his intention in coming here was to gather information and take back his belongings, neither of which he had yet achieved.

  Soon, Liu Xing arrived at the room where he had put the girl. When he saw the door was open, his heart began to beat rapidly, and the worst possibilities came to mind.

  Had the master of this island secured the girl? Or had he forgotten to close the door?

  When he arrived, Liu Xing looked inside and found no one there. Panicked, he looked left and right, wondering where the hell the girl had gone. Soon, he noticed some stains of blood on the floor. They were not the girl's, but rather the old man's that had splattered on her. He followed the bloodstains forward. They led in the direction of the execution chair.

  At that moment, a thought came to him that made his heart skip a beat.

  Liu Xing instantly kicked the ground and moved as fast as possible to that room. Inside his mind, he tried to review all he knew about the girl, this place, and his words. He had told her that she was safe and needed to wait. The words had come out of his mouth instinctively. From his point of view, the girl indeed needed to be saved. But that was not her perspective.

  Liu Xing bit his lips as he activated his Lightning Cloak Technique and tried to move with maximum speed. "How long was my fight? A minute? Two?" he said. He certainly thought it was short, but was it short enough?

  He arrived at the execution room. The chair was not moving. The cables connected to it were destroyed, the pillar was likewise unmoving, and the old man's body was still there, his remains intact. However, to the side of the room, where the assembly of killing tools was displayed, Liu Xing saw red. His eyes opened wide and his body began to tremble uncontrollably, to the point that he began to take steps backward, his mind refusing to believe what he saw.

  There, on a guillotine, was the girl. Her stump of a neck was gushing blood, while on the floor, still rolling, was her head. It was rolling slowly. His mind supplied that the blade had fallen only a moment ago, but his focus was not there. His focus was on the head, which, a moment later, finally stopped. The face coincidentally pointed at him, and what he saw was the face of a smiling girl—one who looked afraid, but in the end, had achieved happiness.

  Liu Xing felt his stomach churn and twist, to the point that he thought he was about to throw up. His mind could not comprehend what the fuck had happened. In truth, he understood it; he just refused to believe it.

  joining us!