As Liu Xing perched high in the ship's rigging, he looked down and saw the man with striking red eyes and hair dragged onto the middle of the deck, hands bound behind his back by hairs. The captor, Wei Shuren, was smiling, but his eyes—red as if irritated by seawater—still scanned the surroundings.

Liu Xing needed several moments to decipher his expression. When Wei Shuren forcefully made the captive kneel and shot a smug smile toward Han Jiulao, the one who emerged from black fire, Liu Xing understood. Wei Shuren was pleased that Jiulao had detected someone so weak; it implied Jiulao had failed to find the real source of the strong qi, yet he remained vigilant

"Here it is, the rat that swam under our ship. Brother Jiulao is truly the greatest. To think that he could detect that little rat. However, I think this is not the source of the qi I detected earlier. That guy is weak; the qi I felt was strong. I think Brother Jiulao's ability is exaggerated if he thinks this is the source of the qi I felt." He shot a smug look toward Jiulao.

Han Jiulao clenched both fists. "He indeed doesn't have the strong qi I felt earlier, but it's a fact that he swam under our ship undetected. Even you, Brother Wei Shuren, couldn't sense him before I pointed him out. That means I am still better than you."

"Yet, it's still a fact that you're wrong, Brother Han Jiulao. Senior Hou Qiang ordered you to find the person emanating that strong qi presence, but the one you found is not the target." Wei Shuren snorted. "Just accept that you have failed and let me handle the situation. With my senses, I can find the true enemy with ease."

Han Jiulao gritted his teeth. He cycled the qi inside his body, creating a swirling vortex of air around him that smelled foul and rotten, as if there's a mountain of corpses nearby. Wei Shuren narrowed his eyes and cycled his own qi, making his long, wild hair wriggle as if each strand were a tiny tentacle with a mind of its own.

"Both of you need to calm down," Hou Qiang—the leader wearing the headband—said. His voice was soft, yet his eyes glowed with an eerie blue light, and the air suddenly felt heavy. Both Han Jiulao and Wei Shuren immediately halted their qi cycling, bowed, and apologized to the apparent leader of their group.

Seeing this, Liu Xing narrowed his eyes. Hou Qiang felt quite dangerous, and he began to plan how to deal with them. Although they weren't a well-oiled team, it seemed that Han Jiulao and Wei Shuren were quite respectful of their leader, which meant that they would probably follow his orders, making them at least a functional unit. He wondered whether to deal with the leader first or the other two? It was usually better to eliminate the weaker ones to avoid being surrounded, but sometimes decapitating the head was the superior strategy.

"Brother Jiulao, what Brother Shuren said was true. You were tasked to find the person that you both felt was quite strong. This guy here is weak." He shot a glance toward Wei Shuren. "Still, that doesn't mean Brother Jiulao is incompetent, because what he said was also true. This guy, while weak, successfully swam almost undetected, which means he is also an enemy. There's a possibility that he was actually hiding his strength, but there's also another possibility that there's more than one person following us."

"This time, I will find that person!" Han Jiulao declared.

"Let me finish this task!" Wei Shuren shouted.

"No," Hou Qiang said simply. "There's a simpler and more qi-efficient method." He took several steps until he stood directly in front of the kneeling captive. "Let's just ask this youngster. If he is indeed hiding his strength, then sooner or later, he will unleash his power. But if he is indeed working with other people, I doubt the other people will just let him die."

"I'm alone!" the red-haired man suddenly shouted. "I'm not working with other people!"

"Do you think I will believe you, just like that? It makes me believe the opposite. Still, in the end, all this debate and conversation is meaningless. I'm under orders from the Patriarch of the Nether Lotus sect, and I will complete this task perfectly. Whether you're alone or not, in the end, I know your objective. There are people we took that you want back. Am I correct?"

The man with red hair snarled. A confirmation.

Hou Qiang glanced back, his eyes meeting Han Jiulao's first, then Wei Shuren's, as if deciding something. Finally, he locked eyes with Wei Shuren. "Kill him."

Wei Shuren grinned so widely that even the hair covering most of his face couldn't hide his wide smile. Han Jiulao, on the other hand, visibly ground his teeth while glaring at his teammate.

"Gladly," Wei Shuren replied.

Liu Xing decided to climb down as quietly as possible. As he moved, his mind worked furiously to choose his target. Eliminating Hou Qiang was the obvious choice. Killing him would likely break any cooperation between Wei Shuren and Han Jiulao, guaranteeing victory. But Wei Shuren was currently cycling his qi and pointing his index finger at the young man with red hair. Liu Xing didn't know what technique Wei Shuren was about to unleash, but if the man had no tricks, he would surely die. As he landed silently right behind Hou Qiang, Liu Xing decided that he needed to kill two people as fast as possible.

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He aimed his gun at the back of Hou Qiang's head. The man was strong; there was no way a single bullet could kill him, not even an Exploding Fist bullet. But Liu Xing was pretty sure his Lightning Palm bullet would work wonderfully here. He needed to paralyze Hou Qiang and decapitate him so fast the other two wouldn't have time to react.

"Be grateful that you will be killed by me, Wei Shuren, the future left hand of the Nether Lotus sect Patriarch, whose brilliance will spread to the four corners of the world!" A small ball of condensed qi materialized in front of Wei Shuren's index finger. Liu Xing realized Wei Shuren had chosen a simple technique for the execution.

The red-haired man snorted. "What an arrogant bunch! You sense my weak qi and decide I'm not a threat!"

Liu Xing wanted to disagree. Hou Qiang had acknowledged the possibility of him hiding strength and likely planned accordingly. But the red hair was also probably right. From the brief exchange, Hou Qiang seemed indifferent whether the man was weak or not. He believed victory was assured regardless.

"Die!" Wei Shuren shouted.

"Now!" the red-haired man roared simultaneously.

Instantly, the spear on his back moved on its own. It leaped free, transforming into a slim, ferocious white shark with golden eyes. It shot toward Wei Shuren, mouth gaping wide, revealing rows of gleaming sharp teeth. At the same time, Wei Shuren fired his qi ball

From Liu Xing's angle, he predicted the qi ball would shoot past the small white shark and hit the red-haired man dead center in the forehead. But then, the shark roared. The qi ball curved as if pulled by an unseen force, and Liu Xing realized he too had underestimated the red-haired young man. He decided to trust he could survive on his own and focused on his own target.

Hou Qiang, seeing the spear transform into a shark and pull the qi ball, readied himself. From behind, Liu Xing couldn't see his expression, but from the micro-movements of his head and his hairs, he imagined Hou Qiang glancing left and right, anticipating another attacker jumping into the fray. He was right, but it seemed even he hadn't considered the enemy was directly behind him.

Liu Xing activated the Lightning Palm technique. The gun absorbed the technique into bullets, and he fired. A bolt of lightning shot from the barrel. The distance between the gun's tip and the back of Hou Qiang's head was less than half a meter. Before Hou Qiang could even turn, the lightning bullet slammed into the back of his skull. Instantly, ropes of electricity paralyzed his entire body. Liu Xing saw Wei Shuren and Han Jiulao snap their heads toward his general direction, eyes wide with shock, but he ignored them. He opened his spatial bag, pulled out his stone blade, and swung it at Hou Qiang's neck.

From the perspective of the other Nether Lotus Sect members, what they saw must have seemed impossible. Liu Xing's invisibility could spread to things he touched, including his stone blade, but it needed time. The blade wasn't yet invisible. So, it must have looked like it materialized from thin air and suddenly swung at their leader's neck. Their leader's eyes probably widened as his mind scrambled to understand, but Liu Xing couldn't know and decided he didn't need to. He just needed to swing as hard and as fast as possible.

In a fraction of a second, the stone blade bit into the side of Hou Qiang's neck. Liu Xing was prepared to put more force into the swing if the neck proved tougher than expected, but the blade slashed through so fast and smooth it was as if Hou Qiang's neck were made of soft fruit. An instant later, the blade emerged from the other side, a thin thread of blood leaping from its edge. At the same time, the white shark swallowed the qi ball Wei Shuren had shot. A fraction of a second later, it spat out a much larger ball of qi back at Wei Shuren.

Wei Shuren's eyes were locked on Hou Qiang, specifically on the line of blood blooming on his neck, marking the path of Liu Xing's cut. He didn't realize his own attack had been absorbed until the returned qi ball was almost upon him. When it hit, Wei Shuren was thrown sideways and as if this were a starting gun, Han Jiulao let out a shout so loud it made the air and the sails ripple. "Senior Hou Qiang!"

That was when a white whale emerged from the sea beside the ship. Its size was surprisingly small, around that of a minivan, with a long, curving white horn protruding from its forehead. It had the same golden eyes as the shark and emanated a heavy presence, meaning this spirit beast was at least at the Core Splitting realm. The whale emerged from the sea and hovered in the air for a moment, its body glowing with a reddish hue. Then, it unleashed a condensed red beam of qi straight toward Han Jiulao.

Seeing this attack, Han Jiulao jumped sideways. It seems the red-haired man wasn't alone from the get go; he was accompanied by a Core Splitting realm spirit beast.

Liu Xing instantly began calculating whether to attack Han Jiulao or the downed Wei Shuren. But before he could decide, his eyes caught the look of horror spreading across the red-haired man's face, and alarms blared in Liu Xing's mind.

"No! Stop it!" the red-haired man shouted.

For a moment, Liu Xing thought about the man expression, but then he understood. The white whale was floating quite high above the ship. Its qi beam was angled downward, and Han Jiulao had been standing near the middle of the deck. That beam was aimed right at the center of the ship. While the deck was clear there, below deck were the kidnapped mortals.

That attack was heading straight for them!

Liu Xing instantly kicked the deck. His kick shattered the planks beneath him and propelled him toward the incoming red beam. In just a fraction of a second, he arrived where Han Jiulao had been standing moments before. The condensed qi beam came straight at him like a divine smite sent from heaven to destroy him.

Gritting his teeth, he let instinct guide him and summoned his shield in front of him, not as a foothold this time, but as it was meant to be used. When the attack hit the shield, he braced himself, pushing it with both hands. He could actually hold it. While it felt like a giant hammer had struck his shield, he took no damage. Yet, the force was strong enough to destroy the deck where he stood. Instantly, the wooden boards below him splintered, and he was thrown downward into the hold below. The mortals, all women, instantly snapped their heads upward, their eyes wide and terrified.

"Damn!" Liu Xing cursed.

If he hit one of them, she would have all her bones broken and die instantly. He needed to do something, and the first thing that came to mind—which he immediately acted upon—was something incredibly stupid, but might just work.

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