Chapter 1234: Have You Intuited Something?

However, Sun Xiaowu hardly wanted to admit that Zhang Lie's command of gold-morphed water surpassed his own command of gold—that wasn't even his element!

Zhang Lie nodded. "Very good. Your intellect is salvageable, at least, but did you intuit something from that demonstration?"

"I did, Captain! Look at my transmuted genetic energy!"

Golden light exploded from Sun Xiaowu's eyes as resplendent golden runes of light soared into the air.

"[Blinding Flash: Hundredfold Echo]!"

Sun Xiaowu generated a hundred clones, each in the form of a golden mecha.

Maxing out his monarch gene fragments had increased Sun Xiaowu's strength to a tremendous extent, and he was now able to summon clones in his gigantic mecha form.

Sun Xiaowu's genetic energy was just about wiped out, and even his face turned pale.

Clearly, a hundred clones in this state was his limit.

The hundred mechas began to burn with genetic energy, shocking the members of Team Zenith and causing them to set up their defenses once again.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The clones exploded in titanic blasts, resulting in far stronger explosions than the tens of thousands of self-destructing clones previously.

Sun Mengmeng conjured a wall of flames. Silvery-white light shrouded Li Feng. An arclight dragon coiled around him and soared into the sky.

Zhang Hanxiang released a chilly frost, adding a layer of ice as a barrier against Fang Yi's attack.

Zhou Ying's long hair fluttered in the wind, the color of crystalline jade. It gave off motes of vitality. She was so beautiful no one could take their eyes away, and golden leaves whirled around her. The tips of her hair produced gray fog.

Concentrated natural energy and vitality flowed through her fingertips.

"[Avatar of the Fae: Dance of the Earth Dragon]!"

Zhou Ying released all her stored vitality at once, causing the ground to quake as thousands of jade-green wood dragons rushed out of the earth, surrounding the gathered hunters.

Jun Jiuxiao conjured a field of wind and storm, while Ye Xianchen released an aura of ghosts and shadows.

Fang Yi and Yang Ze had still not recovered fully.

Zhou Ying had long since finished treating their wounds, but they were mentally exhausted and had expended all their genetic energy, so they were still recovering from the strain.

A shining moon materialized behind Hong Xi's back, the moonlight warm and nourishing as it blanketed the members of Team Zenith. The black flames burned ever more brightly, the golden light was more blinding, the illusory dragons solidified, and the wood dragons' vitality magnified. Wind and storm grew more intense, as did the howling of spirits and shadows.

"[Goldenscale Palm: Meteors of Gold]!"

However, the explosions that Sun Xiaowu had been expecting never occurred. The cloes began to burn like miniature suns, and the flames illuminated the entirety of the pocket dimension.

The gold-attuned genetic energy was lit aflame. All the clones punched forward, their fists wreathed in flame like meteors.

Zhang Lie darted between the meteors, slashing repeatedly with Guicang and bisecting the meteors.

The meteors smashed into the ground and caused the earth to crack. They erupted in a torrent of golden flames.

The innermost barrier that Zhu had laid down exploded.

"[First Form: Parting the River]!"

Incredible energy gathered on Zhang Lie's sword.

"[Slashing Void and Stars]!"

Sword energy glinted with piercing light as devastating strength rippled from Zhang Lie's blade, the upgraded form of [Striking Sun and Moon].

As Zhang Lie swung his blade around, sword energy cut through the starry skies above and penetrated through the golden mecha behind Sun Xiaowu.

It crumbled to pieces, but the other clones didn't dissipate.

Burning with golden flame, the mechas charged toward Zhang Lie. The flames surged as though the mechas would explode at any moment.

"[Shadow and Light]!"

Time suddenly sped up in the vicinity of Zhang Lie. Wide arcs of sword energy flew through the air, cutting apart all the golden mechas.

Zhang Lie sheathed his sword and shook his head. "I don't think you're quite there yet."

Sun Xiaowu chuckled wryly as he scratched his head. "It looks like I'll need quite a bit more practice."

"Did you intuit something?"

Sun Xiaowu hesitated. "Wasn't that the answer just now?"

"It looks like you haven't."

Sun Xiaowu's lips spasmed. "Captain, wasn't that the answer?"

"It looks like you'll need to experience some more of my attacks, then..." Zhang Lie walked over with his sword in hand.

Frissons of fear ran down Sun Xiaowu's back as he prepared for the battle to continue.

"[Adamantine Aegis: Martial God]!"

Golden runes emerged from Sun Xiaowu's body and revolved around him as his aura grew stronger and stronger. As the golden runes merged with his genetic energy, Sun Xiaowu transformed into a mecha over a hundred meters tall. The golden runes surrounded Sun Xiaowu, turning him into a burning sun.

Zhang Lie stepped forward and appeared before Sun Xiaowu within moments. As he slashed forward, the mecha behind him cracked into pieces, and Sun Xiaowu himself was sent flying. He crashed into the splintered dimensional barrier, which shattered.

"You're in poor condition, and your genetic energy hasn't recovered. Take some time to recover and think about just what it is that I want you to intuit."

Before Sun Xiaowu recovered, further combat would be meaningless.

Sun Xiaowu asked, "Captain, aren't you going to tell me that enemies won't give me any time to rest?"

Zhang Lie unsheathed Guicang. "Very good. It looks like you've had enough time to rest, so let's continue..."

Sun Xiaowu visibly trembled as he shook his head. "No, no, it's far from enough! Please give me some time to rest, Captain."

The members of Team Zenith took down their defenses. Sun Xiaowu's attacks were particularly large in scope and extent, but they didn't break down the barriers that the members of Team Zenith had erected. Upon witnessing that neither Zhang Lie nor Sun Xiaowu were making a move, Sun Mengmeng asked, "Is it over?"

"We're preparing for a second round," Zhang Lie called back.

While the two of them were taking a break, Zhu reinforced the shielding around the pocket dimension. As she did so, Sun Xiaowu's genetic energy recovered to roughly four-fifths of its peak value.

Zhang Lie said, "You've recovered most of your genetic energy by this point, so I'll ask again: did you intuit something?"

Sun Xiaowu asked, "Can you give me a hint, Captain?"

"It looks like you haven't, then. I've given you a hint from the very beginning, but you didn't discover it in time. We'll start the second round now."

Sun Xiaowu sighed in exasperation. "Can't you tell me the answer, Captain?"

"Without experiencing it for yourself, will you really be able to understand what I want you to see? I'm sure you'll improve significantly after this battle." Zhang Lie vanished from the spot and darted toward Sun Xiaowu, appearing before him in the blink of an eye. He thrust his sword forward.

Sun Xiaowu shot backwards like a bullet and smashed into the pocket dimension's barriers once more...