This matter is probably huge since it involves the city's mayor. Not to mention, Wei Yi is a cultivator who already has at least four cores. This means he's halfway to becoming a Sun Refining cultivator. If Liu Xing confronts Wei Yi, he'll actually be in danger. While Liu Xing is strong and can easily defeat a seventh-stage Lock Opening cultivator, it's a different story if his opponent is in the Core Splitting realm.

Moreover, Liu Xing is in the middle of a race to gather as many treasures as possible. If he takes time to investigate the case, other disciples will overtake him. This race is important since the reward guarantees becoming an inner disciple. Yet, this matter also has a huge reward. It's not every day he has the opportunity to get a Heaven Grade Technique. Even as an inner disciple, it would take time to gather enough points to get one.

Liu Xing breathed deeply, feeling torn. He wanted to get his hands on the Heaven Grade Technique while also winning the race. He couldn't choose just one.

He forced himself to think carefully, and after nearly fifteen minutes, Liu Xing realized this matter wasn't worth it, at least for now. True, if he succeeded, he'd get a Heaven Grade Technique, but since his opponent was a higher-realm cultivator, the chance of success was really slim. Moreover, this matter would take time. If it took several days or even a week, he'd be sure to lose the race.

Liu Xing finally shook his head. "I'm sorry, old man, but I can't confront Wei Yi right now. I'm too weak and in a hurry."

Bai Lin could only sigh.

"But," Liu Xing added, "if you want to wait, I can come back later."

Liu Xing couldn't settle the matter right now, but he'd have plenty of time afterward to investigate Bai Lin's grandson's death and gather enough evidence about Wei Yi. Bai Lin was sure Wei Yi was behind the deaths of several people with bloodlines, but Liu Xing needed to confirm it first before making a move.

"Really?" Bai Lin's eyes brimmed with excitement.

"Yes, I can come back later."

"Then it's decided! I'll give you the Heaven Grade Technique after you deal with Wei Yi. How long do I need to wait? A year?"

"Not that long. I believe the race will be over in two weeks max. But to be safe, I'll promise to come back in about a month."

Bai Lin's eyes widened. He then looked at Liu Xing more closely. "Not to be rude, but how strong are you? How old are you?"

"I'm at Lock Opening sixth realm, and I'll be twenty soon."

Bai Lin nodded and mumbled, "Either he can bridge the power gap with powerful treasures, or he has strong backing."

Liu Xing didn't comment on his mumble. He didn't have strong backing, but Bai Lin was correct—he did have a powerful treasure. One that could bridge the power gap between him and Wei Yi if given enough time and adversaries.

"Alright, then I'll wait. What's a month? I could wait ten years if there's a certainty that Wei Yi would be dealt with."

"You know, there's still a possibility that Wei Yi isn't the one who killed your grandson."

Bai Lin nodded. "You're right, but the info you gave me about Duan Hai and Qian Biaou gave me the last clue about who the culprit is. Trust me, this Heaven Grade Technique is great for gathering information."

"If you say so. But I'll do my own investigation later."

"By all means, do that. I'm confident I'm correct, but if there's a slim chance I'm wrong, then I too want to know the truth."

Liu Xing nodded. Then, Bai Lin offered Liu Xing more tea, which he declined. He asked about the Red Lotus Staff and asked Bai Lin to return it to the Purple Moon Sect. Bai Lin said Liu Xing could have the Red Lotus Staff. While the staff was great for growing herbs, Bai Lin said his garden wasn't very important to him since his grandson's death.

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Liu Xing asked to use a corner of Bai Lin's garden. Bai Lin gave him permission, so Liu Xing exited Bai Lin's little hut, walking between herb and vegetable gardens, past the Red Lotus Staff he intended to take later, and sat in the corner of the garden where a little orange tree grew.

Under this tree, Liu Xing closed his eyes and tried to absorb the energy from his bullets. These bullets were infused with qi from Wu Dataou, a seventh-stage Lock Opening realm cultivator. Once again, Liu Xing thought he needed a way to cultivate while moving. He was in a rush, but he needed to absorb the energy from the bullets first.

As he absorbed the energy, he thought about how he would approach the matter of Wei Yi. Liu Xing obviously couldn't kill him with his lower cultivation. While the gap between stages was large, it could still be surmounted. But the gap between realms was, as people said, like heaven and earth. Liu Xing had an overpowered gun, but even when he could one-shot Wu Dataou, his gun couldn't cross the gap between realms. His full-power attack couldn't scratch a Core Splitting cultivator, and since it was impossible to become a Core Splitting cultivator in a month, the only way to deal with Wei Yi was by bringing a stronger ally. Liu Xing's chance to do this was also slim. He was an outer sect disciple who didn't have connections.

So, this mission was actually kind of impossible to do. But if he thought it was impossible, he would have outright refused Bai Lin. He accepted because he had a strategy, and this strategy involved using treasures or artifacts he found in this race.

The plan was simple. Deck himself from head to toe with treasures, then attack Wei Yi. This strategy at first glance was idiotic. As Elder Zhang Zhenking said, each and every treasure on the list wasn't really hard to get. Seeing the Flute of Serenity, Thunderstrike Gauntlets, and Red Lotus Staff, Liu Xing knew the reason was that while precious, these treasures weren't too amazing. Decking himself with not-too-amazing treasures wouldn't bridge the gap between a Lock Opening cultivator and a Core Splitting cultivator.

Unless he had items that enhanced other items.

This is where the gun would come in.

Now, Liu Xing had never experimented with enhancing items with his gun, so he needed to experiment a little. He also wanted to check the Statue Summoning Technique.

"Later," he mused while absorbing the qi from the bullets into his consciousness. He would experiment and check the technique after he successfully absorbed the qi from the bullets.

Liu Xing absorbed the energy a bit faster than usual. The qi trickled into his consciousness and entered the last red padlock. After the qi in this lock was full and it could be opened, the last thing he needed to do was cut the silver chain around his ball of lightning. That was the way to advance into the Core Splitting realm.

After absorbing the qi for a while, Liu Xing finally finished. In his consciousness, the lock wasn't completely empty of qi, but Liu Xing felt somewhat disappointed with how little qi there was. At the fifth stage, he only needed ten spirit beasts to fully open the sixth lock, but at the sixth stage, with the amount of qi from Wu Dataou, his last remaining lock was only about seven percent full. This meant he needed more than ten spirit beasts to advance, maybe even twenty.

The jump wasn't tremendous, and Liu Xing expected it. The more he advanced, the more qi he needed to advance.

Now that he had emptied his bullets, Liu Xing stood up, needing to do an experiment for a little bit. This experiment was a deciding factor in whether he had a chance to defeat Wei Yi or not. Liu Xing was optimistic the gun could do it, but there was a little anxiety in his heart.

Liu Xing took the gauntlets out from the spatial bag. These Thunderstrike Gauntlets were pitch black, and there were still bloodstains on them.

After wearing the Thunderstrike Gauntlets, Liu Xing flexed his fingers. He made hand signs and moved them around to check how restrictive they were. As expected, his fingers moved easily, and aside from a little clanking noise, there were no noticeable drawbacks. The gauntlets fit perfectly, and Liu Xing suspected one of their enhancements was to adapt their size.

"Alright, let's try it normally first."

He needed to understand the normal attack before he could try to enhance the effect with his gun.

Liu Xing actually didn't know what kind of attack these Thunderstrike Gauntlets would create. But since there was "thunder" in the name, and they were gauntlets, Liu Xing assumed this treasure would shoot lightning either from the knuckles or palm.

Liu Xing walked several dozen steps toward the lake. When the lake was right in front of him, with little ripples visible on the water surface-probably from the night wind blowing gently across it- Liu Xing stopped walking.

He adjusted his stance. Before he got his gun, Liu Xing was a close combatant, and since his primary attack was the Lightning Palm Technique, he used martial arts that focused on palm strikes.

In his peripheral vision, he could see Bai Lin's hut, and peeking from its window was Bai Lin with curious eyes. Liu Xing tried to ignore Bai Lin and inhaled deeply.

"Let's start the experiment."