In the center of the grassy field, a mesmerizing and beautiful sight unfolded. Hundreds of little balls, each shining with blue light like stars brought down to earth, danced in a beautiful pattern. The sunset, a period when the sky was dimmer yet still held plenty of light, made the view ethereal, as if it had come straight from a dream. In the center of this dance were Liu Xing and his shark. The shark was busy chasing and eating the balls of qi, while Liu Xing moved with grace as he swung his stone blade. Spread among the lightning balls were six points of light, each the size of a grain of rice, and each focused its gaze on its master.

This training was not planned. He was waiting for dusk to move on the Jin clan, but since he was free, he decided to train his Eyes of Lightning. Moon Flower had given him information to upgrade the technique, but he had not had enough time to do it. With free time on his hands, he decided to deepen his mastery and experiment with it. When Tide Walker came to him begging for food, he decided to do both at the same time, and one thing led to another until he was practicing his swordsmanship, using the Eyes of Lightning for guidance and the balls of lightning, as well as Tide Walker, as obstacles.

As he swung his stone blade horizontally, he also shifted the balls of qi, making Tide Walker chomp on empty air. Thus far, the training was quite beneficial. First, since he could observe his body from six angles at once, he could see his movements clearly and could discern and correct any bad habits. He usually just swung the blade as he wished, but he soon realized that his movement was incredibly rough. While he was no swordmaster, he knew what bad movement and footwork looked like, so his goal was to make his motions flow. In a short amount of time, his stiff and choppy movements transformed into ones that flowed from one stance to another, doubling his slashing speed. He was still a novice, but even this much had made him more dangerous.

His mastery of the Eye of Lightning technique also grew. The Heaven Grade technique was still far from its full potential, and while he still had not succeeded in his experiment, he thought he could add several more eyes to his control and move them around freely, to the point that he felt ready to bring them into a fight. With this, while his cultivation had not increased, he was already stronger than before.

He also had a breakthrough about the next steps for the Eye of Lightning. Moon Flower had said that when he successfully upgraded this technique, the name "Eye of Lightning" would no longer fit, and he finally understood why. The base function of the technique was surveillance, and since he could see from them, the next natural step was to allow him to hear through them. This idea came to him as his mind wandered to the old man of the Qing clan and he remembered asking for a technique to read lips. If he could hear directly through the eyes, he would not need to learn lip-reading at all.

As Liu Xing swung his stone blade diagonally, making the grass below sway from the gust of wind, he changed his stance and created an upward slash. As he did this, he said, "The senses."

When the Eye of Lightning was perfected, it would not be merely an eye, but all of his senses, perhaps including his qi sense. At that point, he wondered whether he could cultivate using it.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon and night began to descend, Liu Xing decided to end his practice and get to the real work. He returned his blade to his spatial bag and commanded the balls of qi to line up in front of Tide Walker so it could eat them easily. Tide Walker opened its mouth wide and began gobbling them up with a happy expression. Soon, all the balls of qi were eaten, and both of them began moving to the camp.

"Are all the preparations ready?" Liu Xing said to Fang Ruxue when he was close.

"Yes," Fang Ruxue nodded, pointing behind her where the blankets were rolled up, along with a sack of vegetables, several bags, and many more supplies already in one spot.

"Good, then I'll be heading out. It shouldn't take too long," he then turned to Tide Walker. "As usual, you have guard duty."

The shark growled, its mouth curving up, as if to say it would tear apart anything that dared to threaten them. At that, he smiled and patted its head several times, eliciting a happy expression from the shark. Its body was slightly bigger than before, making it the size of a large dog. It was quite intimidating, especially when it showed its serious face.

"Can I go with you?" Qing Yuan asked, floating in the air, his eyes glancing to his mother for a moment, as if he wanted to be far away from her.

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"No. If the Jin clan decides to fight, you would be targeted," he replied, which made the kid sigh and then nod. "I promise I'll bring you to other places, though. Just wait for me."

Qing Yuan's mannerism was that of an adult. He was wise, smart, patient, and logical. Talking to him felt like talking to a grown-up. But after spending time with him, Liu Xing knew that he had a childish curiosity and loved everything that was fun. If not for the need to train, he would have been playing catch or perhaps some soccer with him. Qing Yuan would love it.

As he asked Fang Ruxue once again to do a headcount and got a reply that everyone was there, he finally felt a bit relieved.

"Liu Xing," Fang Ruxue took a step toward him. Her eyes were soft, and when she spoke, a small gap was visible between her teeth. "I still want to be a cultivator. The only one I can rely on to teach me is you, after all. So, come back soon."

As she spoke, he could see her eyes wavering, as if a nightmare were playing out behind them. However, there was also a shine in both of her eyes, like two black pearls emitting light. At that, he could not help but smile. Her eyes were beautiful and a bit mesmerizing. "I will. Just wait here."

He would make sure that everyone here would be safe, and to do that, he decided to leave two Eyes of Lightning behind. Hopefully, nothing will happen tonight. After that, he changed his clothes, drank a glass of water, and then began walking toward Water Tower City.

The walk was peaceful, but his mind was sharp, and he was ready to face anything.

***

Liu Xing walked into Water Tower City. The sun was already behind the horizon, and even the remains of orange light in the west had dimmed considerably, making the world a bit dark. However, as Liu Xing walked on the sidewalk, the streets were illuminated by bluish lamps, making the city look serene. At first, there were people walking around, but upon seeing him, their eyes widened, their mouths opened, and they began to bolt. It was as if Liu Xing was the most terrifying creature in the entire world.

In front of him, a group of young men stopped abruptly in their tracks. Beads of sweat began emerging on their faces, and their skin turned pale, as if the blood had been drained from their bodies. Two of them instantly turned and ran, while one of them stood rooted to the spot, feet trembling. This young man was around his age. His eyes were a bit narrow, his red nose was a bit large, and he had tied his hair into a bun with a yellow ribbon. As Liu Xing approached, the trembling in his feet grew worse, and he began to inhale and exhale repeatedly.

Upon seeing the terrified young man, Liu Xing schooled his face, but inside, he felt a little bad. This was the result he wanted, but it was not as if he was going to eat the guy.

"I want to meet with the Jin clan," he said as he walked closer and closer to the man. The guards had let him enter the city, and they too were trembling, so the news of his arrival must have traveled. However, he wanted to elicit a bit more panic from the Jin clan, so he decided to use this man. "Turn around," he continued, gesturing with his index finger, "and tell people about it."

At that, the pale-faced, trembling man nodded instantly. He nodded so hard that Liu Xing was afraid his neck would snap. He let out unintelligible stutters, then turned around and inhaled so deeply that his chest puffed up like a balloon. Then he let out a bellowing shout. "Liu Xing of the Purple Moon Sect wants to meet with the Jin clan!"

He began to run, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting about his goal in this city again and again. A minute later, the man was already gone, but his voice could be heard even from far away.

Liu Xing walked slowly on the sidewalk. Some brave children decided to peek from their windows. At that, he gave them a smile and a wave. Some of them replied in kind, while others were pulled hastily away by their mothers with terrified faces, as if they knew that Liu Xing could flatten their houses and kill them in one swoop.

Soon, he arrived at the Jin clan estate. Their double gates were wide open, and two rows of Jin clan cultivators were standing on the side of the road. Each of them held a torch, and they were wearing their best clothes, which were shiny and glittering under the warm light. Their faces were nervous, though, and he could feel that some of them were suppressing their trembling.

At the end of the road, five people stood side by side. In the middle was a man who looked to be in his fifties, with a few wrinkles below his eyes and several laugh lines on his face. There were two old men at his side, a young man on the far right, and a girl standing on the other side. Upon seeing her, he realized that this was the girl he had seen entering the Academy the first time he was in the city. And upon seeing him, while she was trying to maintain a dignified expression, her face was also pale with fear. A flicker of emotion showed on her face, though, and Liu Xing felt that flicker was a bit different from mere fear. However, he could not discern what it was.

Deciding that it was not important, Liu Xing took several steps and entered the Jin clan estate proper. At that, everyone around him, whether they were the patriarch, the young master, the elders, or normal members of the Jin clan, began to kneel. As they knelt, the patriarch of the Jin clan clasped his hands.

"We, the Jin clan, are honored to be graced by your presence. We welcome Senior Liu to our humble abode."

At that, Liu Xing nodded.

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