"Bastard!" the tumor fruit snarled.

Three things happened at once. Liu Xing's stone blade sliced the fruit in two. At the same instant, Elder Yang Zhaoyan swung his arms wide, and a blue barrier materialized beside the worm and Lihuo, shoving them clear of the purple crescent of qi.

His attack on Lihuo had missed, but Liu Xing didn't hesitate. He intensified his Lightning Cloak Technique and slashed wildly at the other tumorous fruits on the flesh tree, certain Wei Yi would emerge from another. In less than a second, Liu Xing had sliced all the fruits in half, then hacked off all the branches until only a stunted trunk remained, with the single thick branch where Elder Yang Zhaoyan was merged. He suspected that if Wei Yi emerged again, he would control Elder Yang Zhaoyan's body directly.

Gritting his teeth, Liu Xing jumped into the air and aimed his gun downward. He had learned that simply cutting Wei Yi apart wasn't working; he needed a bigger attack. His plan was to hit the trunk with Lightning Palm bullets, then pulverize it to dust with his Thunderstrike gauntlets.

As he prepared his next move, a black blur shot through his peripheral vision. He snapped his head toward it and saw Wei Yi's head, propelled by frantically beating bat wings, flying desperately toward the worm and Lihuo. Liu Xing's heart was hammered. Was his calculation wrong? Had Wei Yi abandoned the flesh tree to escape using only his head?

Looking down, he saw the tree and Elder Yang Zhaoyan begin to bubble, as if their bodies were made not of exposed flesh, but of boiling water. Liu Xing realized Wei Yi was playing a double game. He was controlling this tree and at the same time trying to grab the worm and Lihuo using his head and carry them off.

Trusting his instinct, he decided intercepting the head was more important than destroying the flesh tree. And so, Liu Xing summoned his shield in mid-air, spun, and kicked off it.

In a flash, Liu Xing appeared directly in front of the flying head. Wei Yi's eyes widened in surprise, but he dove instantly, trying to maneuver around him. Liu Xing aimed his gun and fired. A blue bolt struck Wei Yi's head squarely in the forehead, sending it slamming into the ground, bound by ropes of electricity. Paralyzed, the head lay twitching. Liu Xing sent potent qi to his left gauntlet, tossed his gun into the air, and formed a crackling ball of lightning the size of an egg, ready to pulverize the downed head.

But before he could strike, the bubbling flesh tree was on him. One moment it was meters away, the next it was right beside him. Elder Yang Zhaoyan, his expression still empty, swung both hands. Liu Xing gritted his teeth and sent a pulse of stable qi to his side, but he didn't dodge. Instead, he unleashed his palm strike downward.

Elder Yang Zhaoyan's blow landed hard. Liu Xing's bones rattled, his body lurched, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, but his own attack launched successfully toward Wei Yi's head. The pillar of lightning descended, but the elder's blow had thrown off his aim. Instead of hitting the head dead center, the thigh-sized bolt of lightning obliterated its left side. Wei Yi screamed. Elder Yang Zhaoyan swung again, this time with much more force, throwing Liu Xing aside.

Liu Xing kicked off the ground and jumped into the air, catching his gun as he looked down. Wei Yi's head was now a crescent moon of flesh, its left side turned to dust. The remaining eye glared at him with pure hatred.

"Bastard!" the half-head shouted. "Attack!"

At his command, the flesh tree stopped bubbling. Hands began to emerge from every centimeter of its body, growing longer and longer, like branches growing in fast-forward. Two large, muscled feet sprouted from the bottom. Then, with a powerful kick, the flesh tree launched itself toward him. Each of the hands began glowing black; it was preparing some kind of barrier.

"Elder Yang Zhaoyan, if you can hear me, please step aside!" Liu Xing shouted.

The elder shot toward him like a rocket. Instead of answering, the hands growing from the tree began to swing.

"Shit!"

Liu Xing aimed his left hand, loaded it with Exploding Fist bullets, and pulled the trigger six times. Six blue bolts flew downward like lightning strikes aimed at a single tree. Several of Elder Yang Zhaoyan's hands stopped moving as a three-layer barrier materialized in front of the abomination. The six bullets hit, shattering all three layers, but Elder Yang Zhaoyan emerged from the billowing smoke unscathed.

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Liu Xing summoned his shield, maneuvering around like a lightning pinball, his eyes locked on Wei Yi's head. It had reached the worm and Lihuo and was carrying them away in its teeth.

Liu Xing clenched the handle of his stone blade. This fight couldn't go on forever. Wei Yi had too many tricks to stall for time. He had to deal with Elder Yang Zhaoyan while also attacking Wei Yi. The situation was infuriating.

"Focus!" Liu Xing shouted to himself.

He couldn't let his mind wander. He had to find a way to fight two battles at once. Soon, an idea formed in his head. He could control his gun to attack Wei Yi while he fought Elder Yang Zhaoyan himself. The idea wasn't perfect but it would allow him to fight both enemies at once.

But soon, a second idea emerged in his head, and he realized that these two ideas were good. In fact, they complemented each other perfectly!

"Yang Suyin!" Liu Xing laced his voice with qi and shouted, the sound rippling through the air like a stone dropped in a calm lake. "Help me fight this bastard!"

The second idea was simple. Since he couldn't fight two battles at once, he would ask for help.

Liu Xing glanced at the fire bird Xia Hongyin had conjured, which was still controlled by Yang Hongyin and Prince Yang Jinyan, exchanging attacks with the former emperor. He saw Yang Suyin inside the fire bird, and he saw his head turn toward him, his eyes calculating the situation in an instant. He nodded, then shot toward Liu Xing as a streak of yellow light.

Seeing this, Liu Xing grinned. Now for the first idea.

He encased the gun in potent qi and threw it toward Wei Yi, who was flying desperately while carrying Lihuo in his teeth like a sack. Liu Xing controlled the gun with his intent, filled it with Lightning Palm bullets, and opened fire. Wei Yi weaved left to dodge the blue bolts, flying right into the path of Yang Suyin, who materialized and swung his sword. down Wei Yi dodged again, only to face another volley from the gun.

Wei Yi's head was probably weak, but still stronger than Yang Suyin. Liu Xing believed Yang Suyin alone couldn't defeat it, but his gun would even the odds.

Grinning fiercely, Liu Xing held the stone blade with both hands. He continued to ricochet around Elder Yang Zhaoyan, and when he was right behind him, he kicked his shield and shot forward. He needed to end this fight fast. He didn't need to kill the elder, just throw him far away for a moment, creating an opening to gang up on Wei Yi's head.

Liu Xing swung his blade toward his opponent's back. Elder Yang Zhaoyan tried to turn his new body, but he was too late. The hands jutting from his back swung wildly, creating several layers of barriers. His stone blade tore through them like shattering glass, creating a cacophony of breaking sounds before cutting a dozen hands.

Liu Xing jumped aside, summoned a shield to fly above his enemy, then summoned another to dive down while swinging his blade down, intending to split the elder in two. This time, the hands had no time to react. His blade cut through several dozen more before biting deep into the top of the flesh tree. As he shouted, the blade sliced into the trunk like an axe. He saw Elder Yang Zhaoyan's hands swing at him, and before the blade could cut halfway through, Liu Xing drew it back and jumped aside.

As he landed on the white, face-patterned ground.

"Alright, I think I get the idea." Liu Xing glanced at Wei Yi's head, which was zigzagging through the air, dodging Yang Suyin's and his gun's attacks. "It seems this flesh tree is similar to my gun."

It was controlled remotely. Without direct orders, its movements were predictable. This predictability gave him an edge.

Licking his lips, Liu Xing jumped toward the elder and swung his blade. He cut some hands; the elder tried to lock him inside a barrier, but before it could materialize, Liu Xing zipped to the other side and resumed his attacks. He landed hit after hit on the flesh tree. The hands could each create a barrier, but their individual power was weak. Unless they were stacked, his stone blade cut through them easily. Liu Xing began trimming the hands, until, several moments later, only a handful remained.

He was now face to face with Elder Yang Zhaoyan. His eyes were still empty. Liu Xing gritted his teeth and filled his stone blade with qi until it shone brilliantly purple.

"Eat this!" Liu Xing shouted, swinging the blade and sending a crescent of purple qi toward Elder Yang Zhaoyan.

The Elder's remaining hands moved, and a dozen colorful barriers materialized. When the purple crescent hit, some barriers broke into tiny fragments, while most held. Still, the sheer power of the attack dragged the barriers and the flesh tree back. A moment later, all the barriers broke, throwing the flesh tree into the air. His attack bit deep into the trunk, but before he could see if it was split in two, he turned.

He ordered his gun to fire at Wei Yi, who dodged desperately, and saw a streak of yellow light closing in on the flying head. In a flash of inspiration, Liu Xing summoned his shield—not under his feet, but directly in Wei Yi's path.

As the shield with the glowing green gem materialized, Wei Yi's eyes widened. He crashed into it, coming to an abrupt halt. It was the only opening Yang Suyin needed. He materialized from a streak of yellow light, and with a single swing of his blade, split Wei Yi's head in two. The worm carrying Lihuo fell from its mouth as the two halves of Wei Yi's head fluttered down like dead leaves.

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