The crack that appeared on the barrier was at first merely a meter long, but every Qing clansman realized it was spreading. In a short amount of time, it grew to two meters, then three, and began to branch out, creating a web of fissures across the dome. The giant turtle was no longer smashing the dome; instead, it was merely resting on top of it, yet its sheer weight was enough to destroy the already-weakened barrier.

The patriarch shouted as he raised both of his hands to stabilize the dome. The blue lines on the pavement glowed stronger as a gigantic amount of qi coursed through them, and the flags that formed the foundation of the barrier whipped crazily, as if caught in a terrible storm. His body, which had just begun to recover thanks to the pill, once again received a terrible backlash, and he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the empty table in front of him. He was straining to keep the barrier from being breached. At this point, he realized the chance of winning was slim, but as he pushed to mend the cracks, he knew it was not zero. The patriarch was no longer the strongest in the Qing clan—his father was. He intended to waste more of Liu Xing's qi and stamina so that his father could defeat him.

When the turtle suddenly lifted from the dome, the patriarch felt he had gained some footing. The barrier began to mend its cracks. The Qing clansmen cheered again, but the patriarch grimaced, knowing it was not over. Although the barrier was mending because the turtle had lifted, it was not because Liu Xing was giving up. As it climbed higher and higher, the patriarch knew it was preparing to fall on the barrier once again.

When the turtle fell again, creating a whistling sound as it plummeted, it hit the barrier, and a loud, thunderous sound reverberated through the city. The ground shook as if a mountain itself were on the move, and the Starlight Dome Barrier not only cracked but thoroughly shattered. Millions of blue fragments fell like shards of glass, and the sound was so loud it was as if the heavens themselves had shattered. Children all over the city began to cry, dogs barked, and birds sleeping in trees and on rooftops flapped their wings and fled. But the one most affected was the patriarch of the Qing clan. When the barrier shattered, it was as if a mighty punch had landed on his face, and he was thrown back several meters. In the air, he spat so much blood it left a trail behind him, and his eyes rolled back in his head, showing only the whites.

"Yunxiao!" the grand elder shouted, and he grabbed his son before he landed on the ground. His face was full of concern as he caught him, and then his eyes sharpened, his brow furrowed. He ground his teeth, his expression twisting into unhinged fury. The patriarch was his favorite son, and while he was still alive, his injuries were so grave it would take years to recover. "Haoran!"

"Yes!" At the same time the backlash of the shattered barrier hit the patriarch, his brother, the Second Master of the Qing clan, unsheathed his sword and took a stance. In an instant, he cycled his qi and enhanced his body to its limit, to the point that the world seemed to slow down. With his head raised, he looked up at the shattered barrier and the one who had barged in. His eyes scanned the sky full of falling fragments as he activated his strongest technique. Instantly, his body and sword were sheathed in blazing blue fire, and when he could see Liu Xing, his target, descending from the heavens atop his turtle, Qing Haoran moved.

"Azure Flame Soaring Sword!" As he shouted, the blue fire propelled him forward, creating a jet of flame behind him. In this enhanced state, it was as if the world had stopped. The falling fragments of the dome hung suspended in midair. The panicked faces of his clansmen were frozen masks of terror. Even the stone turtle seemed to halt its descent. Qing Haoran had never thought he would need to activate this technique. He had scoffed when his father proposed that if the barrier was breached, he should launch a full-power attack. But now, he realized how wise his father was.

Qing Haoran soared through the air like an arrow. His sword and body glowed with blue fire, making him look like a meteor rising to the heavens. This attack was so powerful he could only use it once, but its speed and sheer power could kill even a Core Splitting realm cultivator. Some called it an ultimate technique, but his father said the correct term was an Earth Grade technique. It was strong enough that even the great sects would be interested in it.

In just a fraction of a second, he had moved from his position to right in front of Liu Xing. His sword was merely a meter away from his enemy's forehead, and his aim was true. If this attack connected, it would pierce Liu Xing's skull and come out the back of his head.

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"Die!" he shouted, thrusting his sword to give it more power. He thought the attack would connect, but then, in this slowed world, he saw Liu Xing's lips curl upward.

When he saw that, the first emotion that came to him was not anger, not fury, not even the determination that he would kill his enemy. It was fear. A profound fear that was out of character and defied logic. A fleeting thought flashed through his mind. If he missed this attack, would he die?

His sword cut through the air, its tip glowing as he threw everything he had into the thrust. It was the strongest attack he had ever launched. The sword drew closer to Liu Xing's forehead. His enemy's smile widened. Finally, when the distance between the sword and his forehead was as thin as a strand of hair, electricity snapped around Liu Xing's body. He tilted his head with such speed that it was only seen as a blur, even in his enhanced state.

Qing Haoran's sword thrust into empty air. The impact shot a blade of air forward that rose high into the sky, leaving a blue trail behind it. But even though it looked powerful, the attack had missed. It hit nothing. Liu Xing was too fast. His instincts began to scream, but before his body could move, in a motion so fast it was almost ethereal, Liu Xing launched a palm strike right at his stomach. It landed instantly, and Qing Haoran's body folded in half as red blood leaped from his mouth and his eyes widened. At that moment, all the blue fire around his body was extinguished. The momentum that carried him forward suddenly shifted upward, and he felt gravity disappear as he was lifted into the sky. However, before he could soar higher, Liu Xing grabbed his right ankle, spun him around, and threw him down like a meteor. The pavement, glowing with blue light from the remnants of the Starlight Dome Formation, rushed up to meet him, and then he hit the ground with a huge thump. The pavement was destroyed, the ground churned, and a huge cloud of dust rose around him. He felt an immense pain all over, as if his body were shattered glass. The air escaped his lungs in a silent scream. But before he could feel more agony, a blue bolt hit his back. His body twitched and went rigid, and then darkness swallowed his consciousness. The only thought Qing Haoran had at that time was how terrifying Liu Xing was.

After throwing Qing Haoran down and shooting him with a Lightning Palm bullet, Liu Xing rotated for a moment in the air. A moment later, he landed softly on the pavement. Behind him, a huge cloud of dust rose from Qing Haoran's impact. With electricity arcing around his body, Liu Xing looked ahead. There were dozens of cultivators in front of him. Some of them were lying on the ground unconscious, some lay in a fetal position covering their eyes and ears, while most were left standing with wide eyes and mouths hanging open. Behind them, he could see the grand elder of the Qing clan, holding the patriarch with a sharp gaze and furious expression thrown his way.

Liu Xing smiled. He intended to be as terrifying as possible. As he dismissed his falling turtle statue, he took his stance, activated his Thunderstrike Gauntlets, and in an instant created a ball of white lightning in front of his palm. He cocked his arm and then hit the white lightning ball with a palm strike. Instantly, a bolt of lightning shot from the white ball, then branched into two, then four, then eight, and so on, until hundreds of lightning strikes shot toward the Qing clan like a wall of lightning. At that moment, the grand elder finally moved. In a fast and graceful motion, he arrived in front of the stunned Qing clan and shouted: "Azure Tempest Barrier!"

Instantly, a wall of spiraling water rose from the ground. It spiraled sideways like a horizontal tornado, with a layer of wind in front of it, creating the sound of howling wind, crashing waves, and a roaring waterfall. His lightning strikes hit the barrier with their full power. When they connected, brilliant light lit up the world, and a rapid succession of thunderclaps rocked the city. Some of his lightning strikes were successfully nullified. However, the sheer number of them was enough to overwhelm the barrier. It exploded and tore apart the layer of wind before tearing through the spiraling water defense. When the barrier collapsed, the remainder of his lightning successfully hit the Qing clansmen. Some were thrown into the air after being struck, some shouted in agonizing pain, and many others instantly crumbled to the ground, white smoke rising from their bodies. It was an onslaught, though one that had been successfully reduced by the grand elder's barrier.

When the attack ceased, only about twenty people remained standing, and all of them were the ones who had coincidentally stood behind the grand elder. The grand elder himself was still standing. Some of the lightning had struck him, and residual electricity fizzled out on his body. He stood defiantly with only a thin line of blood coming from his mouth, his face a mask of pain and fury.

Liu Xing decided to flash him a ferocious smile. "Glad that my advice successfully helped you break through, old man. It's a shame that with that newly attained power, you decided to become my enemy."

The old man gritted his teeth. "We, the Qing clan, are a clan with dignity and not without mercy. Until this evening, you were not fully our enemy. Our disagreement could have been settled with a discussion. But you barged into my clan and injured and killed my clansmen. Right now, you are truly our enemy, and hear this: you will pay for what you have done to us!"

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