Liu Xing looked at the man. He appeared young, but Liu Xing knew appearances could be deceiving. The man was a cultivator at the seventh stage of the Lock Opening realm, making him the strongest among the group. His yellow robe and the memory of the people in Second Gray Cloud City shouting about the Xia Clan riding swords led Liu Xing to suspect he was from the Xia Clan.

As Liu Xing sensed the man's qi, he realized that while the man was at the seventh stage, his qi wasn't particularly powerful. He was undoubtedly at a higher stage than Liu Xing, but Liu Xing perceived him as someone with a shaky foundation. In the Purple Moon Sect, there were individuals like him. They possessed enough talent to be accepted as outer disciples but lacked the talent to advance further naturally. To compensate, they spent considerable money on pills.

"My name is Xia Yongzhi, the leader of the Xia Clan, as well as the father and brother you unjustly killed. Despicable junior, prepare to die!"

Liu Xing's eyebrows shot up at these words. Numerous questions swirled in his mind. When had he killed people from the Xia clan? Were Xia Shizi and Xia Hongyi the individuals the leader was referring to?

Xia Yongzhi kicked the ground, sending a dust cloud rippling beneath him. He jumped over the river, fists clenched, and golden light erupted from his entire body, enveloping him and making him resemble a human engulfed in flames. In a split second, he stood before Liu Xing with fists flying towards his face like giant bullets. The faint roar of a tiger echoed in the air.

Seeing this, adrenaline surged through Liu Xing as he summoned his gun. As the fists came within centimeters of his nose, Liu Xing activated his Lightning Cloak and tilted his head to the left. The fist grazed only his earlobe. Wind rushed past his cheek, but ultimately, the attack caused no harm.

For a split second, Xia Yongzhi's eyes widened before his face contorted with even greater anger. He spun his body in the air and attempted to kick Liu Xing's side. Anticipating this, Liu Xing converted some of his qi into bullets and channeled them into his necklace. Yellow lines swirled around his left hand as he caught Xia Yongzhi's ankle in mid-air, his grip as firm as steel.

Holding Xia Yongzhi's ankle, Liu Xing smiled ferociously. After consuming one and a half Diamond Pills, his body had become significantly stronger. Combined with the stable qi from his necklace, he was now as tough as a Core Splitting cultivator.

Xia Yongzhi's face flushed red, his eyes blazing with an intensity that could melt steel. Hatred, raw and unfiltered, poured from his gaze, as if he wished to incinerate Liu Xing with the sheer force of his will.

"Die!"

Even with Liu Xing still gripping his ankle, the man twisted and rotated his body. The rotation caused Liu Xing to lose his hold, and Xia Yongzhi tried to kick the right side of Liu Xing's head.

Seeing the attack, Liu Xing defended his head with his right hand. The foot struck his gauntlet, and the force propelled Liu Xing sideways towards the river. His feet left trails in the ground as he was pushed back.

The kick was powerful. Liu Xing felt his hand tremble as if struck by a hammer against iron, but aside from that, the damage was minimal. If Liu Xing had fought at full strength, he had no doubt that he could easily kill Xia Yongzhi. The circumstances would have justified killing them all, given their intent to kill him first. However, while Xia Yongzhi's eyes burned with anger and hatred, Liu Xing recognized that grief was also fueling his actions. He understood that this was all a misunderstanding, and there was no real reason to kill them as long as they were willing to listen.

"Leader of the Xia clan, my name is Liu Xing, and I believe we have a misunderstanding. I have never killed any of your clansmen, let alone two."

"A witness told me that you were the last person to see my son and brother, and he said that you were responsible for their deaths.

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"Are your son Xia Hongyi and your brother Xia Shizi?"

Liu Xing had only ever encountered these Xia clansmen. He remembered them fleeing when he fought the inverted pyramid.

When Liu Xing posed this question, Xia Yongzhi's eyes narrowed. "So you admit you killed them! I knew it. Everyone from the major sects is a bunch of arrogant people. Just because you are from a great sect does not mean you can do whatever you want! Guards, help me subdue this man and bring justice to this world!"

A resounding "Yes!" was heard, and Liu Xing turned to the ten men on the other side of the river. Beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, and when Liu Xing met their gaze, some of their eyes flickered as if they were facing a deadly beast.

He glanced back at Xia Yongzhi, who still glared at him as if Liu Xing was a devil and needed to be destroyed for the sake of the world.

"It seems like all of you are misjudging me. Sure, my hands are not clean. I have killed people before, but I am being honest when I say I didn't kill your clansmen. While I did meet Xia Hongyi and Xia Shizi, I did not kill them."

"Attack!" Xia Yongzhi shouted.

As he shouted, Xia Yongzhi leaped towards him, a golden aura surrounding his body forming the silhouette of a roaring tiger. The ten men on the other side of the river also jumped. Some of their spears glowed, and some pulled out yellow talismans and pointed them at him.

Seeing this, Liu Xing inhaled deeply. The electricity encasing his body danced brighter.

"But the most significant misunderstanding you have is thinking you can subdue me."

With these words, Liu Xing moved. The world blurred, adrenaline and qi coursing through his body, making everything seem to move in slow motion. But Liu Xing knew that was not the case. The world wasn't moving slower; these people were moving so slowly that the world appeared still.

Liu Xing jumped towards a guard who was halfway across the river. Reaching him, Liu Xing punched him in the stomach. Despite the silver armor, his punch shattered it, and the man was almost folded in half. Using his momentum, Liu Xing moved to the next target and kicked him in the neck, causing him to fall into the river. He punched the next target directly in the face, the next target in the back, and threw the next target into the river. He continued in this manner until he landed near a black horse that appeared agitated, as if it sensed something was wrong but couldn't comprehend what had occurred.

From an outsider's perspective, when those men jumped, Liu Xing transformed into a bolt of lightning. This lightning circled around the jumping men in less than a second, and then Liu Xing suddenly reappeared on the other side of the river.

Liu Xing turned to face the river. Ten spots marked by splashing water indicated where the men had fallen, some headfirst, some backfirst, some feet first. All of them spat blood from their mouths and submerged in the water.

On the opposite bank, Xia Yongzhi punched the ground where he stood with a golden fist, and the golden aura around him solidified into the shape of a leaping tiger. This aura pulverized the ground where Liu Xing had stood moments before. Then, Xia Yongzhi turned his head towards Liu Xing, his eyes wide, beads of sweat forming on his face. This punch had been intended to crush Liu Xing, but it had only struck empty ground.

Liu Xing wondered what Xia Yongzhi was thinking. Surely, he now understood Liu Xing's strength, especially after witnessing him dodge and block his initial attacks. Yet, anger had blinded him and driven him to attack, and now Liu Xing suspected realization was dawning in his eyes.

Liu Xing kicked off the ground again, crossed the river, and appeared directly above Xia Yongzhi. Liu Xing spun in the air and aimed his feet, now decorated with swirling yellow lines, directly at Xia Yongzhi's neck. Xia Yongzhi had time to turn his head, but not enough time to dodge. When his feet connected with Xia Yongzhi's face, Xia Yongzhi collapsed to the ground. A cloud of dust erupted as his body impacted the earth, leaving a spiderweb crack and a small depression where his face had struck. When Liu Xing kicked him again, he saw Xia Yongzhi spit out a mouthful of blood, bounce once on the ground, and then, as he landed again, his eyes rolled upwards and he fainted.

Liu Xing deactivated his Lightning Cloak and dismissed his gun.

"You guys have eyes, but you cannot see Mount Tai."

A small smile crept over his lips. He had always wanted to say that, and he had imagined he would only be able to say it in the future, when his realm was higher. He hadn't expected to utter those words so soon.

Liu Xing's smirk quickly faded.

"Who killed them?"

The last time Liu Xing had seen them was when they fled during his battle with the inverted pyramid. Was it a coincidence? Or was someone deliberately framing him?

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