Chapter 1295: Entering a New World

Every part of Zhang Lie's body was pure and shining, with unadulterated vitality.

In the refinement chamber, Zhang Lie forgot everything: strife, passion, and all worldly possessions. His mind was tranquil, at ease. He breathed out with a puff of light. The air that was sucked into his body took on the shape of dragons. He breathed with a particular rhythm, neither quick nor slow, ever following the pulse of the world.

The air that Zhang Lie inhaled took on the form of dragons. As he exhaled, those dragons coiled around his body and transformed into genetic energy. Behind Zhang Lie appeared swimming pale blue fish, an ink-black serpent, a resplendent golden tiger, a heavyset dragonturtle, a flaming red lion, an electrified wyrm, and a phoenix of storms.

Basic, mutated, superior, peak, disaster, and monarch genes were converted into a boundless strength. As Zhang Lie's flesh and blood evolved, his genes underwent an incredible transformation.

Basic, mutated, superior, peak, disaster, and monarch genes formed the foundation of this transformation. Zhang Lie's genes mutated within the rainbow cocoon into an even more perfect state.

Three days passed by in the blink of an eye. Even after Zhang Lie's genetic transformation, the will of the third realm showed no signs of slowing down. Even more refinement energy was poured into the cocoon—a measure of gratitude to Zhang Lie for having unified the third realm and restored the will.

His body glowed. His organs gave off light as a rosy sheen appeared over his body.

Every cell and every gene seemed to roar like a dragon. Ripple after ripple emanated from him. His bones cracked and popped; his blood and flesh vibrated. The runes of the [Keys of the Elder Gods] manifested outside his body and glowed with light.

Zhang Lie opened his eyes. Strands of black hair floated around him. His eyes were like lightning, as though he were a martial god who had descended from the heavens.

As runes flared all over his body, his bones creaked, and his flesh trembled, his essence transformed into a dragon that soared into the air.

The runes merged with his body, causing his cells to transform into resplendent galaxies. Even the cocoon was no longer able to contain Zhang Lie. It shattered, along with the refinement chamber itself.

The next moment, Zhang Lie was whisked away.

At the last moment, the will of the realm manifested and sent a glowing multicolored ball into Zhang Lie's body.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in the dark.

He had appeared in front of a teleportation apparatus. There was dim light around him, and traces of artificial construction. He walked out of the apparatus and saw human figures. Unlike the will of the second realm, that of the third realm was far more considerate, and had sent Zhang Lie straight to a gathering point for the Milky Way.

Despite all the issues that Zhang Lie had caused for the unified world of the third realm, he was essentially its creator, a parent. It cost little for the unified world to help Zhang Lie out this final time.

Zhang Lie first considered the changes to his genetic data.

Zhang Lie: an emperor-grade lifeform

Techniques: Rippling Walk (pinnacle), Three-Wave Crescendo (pinnacle), Calm Waters (pinnacle), Fists of the Silent Sea (pinnacle), The Boundless Blade (pinnacle), Eclipse (pinnacle), Syzygy (pinnacle), Ninesoul Dragonblade (pinnacle), Blade of the Heavens (pinnacle)

Genes: Basic, 0; Mutated, 0; Superior, 0; Peak, 0; Disaster, 0; Monarch, 0; Emperor, 0

Soulshards: White Grub (superior), Blood Ant (superior), Potbellied Toad (mutated), Eternalspring Cocoon (superior), Dragonwolf (superior), Moonlight Wyrm (peak), Golden Roc (peak), Dragonwhale (disaster), Mistmeld Clam (disaster)

An emperor-grade lifeform! Not monarch-grade, but straight to emperor-grade?

Zhang Lie was elated.

Perhaps because the unified world had specially given Zhang Lie more than his fair share of refinement energy, or because of his maxed monarch gene fragments and disaster limit fragments, or a combination of all these reasons, Zhang Lie had started the fourth realm as an emperor-grade lifeform, far beyond the norm.

In his previous life, Zhang Lie had ascended with only maxed peak gene fragments, and disaster gene fragments had only been discovered then. However, Zhang Lie wasn't the one who discovered them. Working together with Fang Yi, he barely obtained ten disaster gene fragments, and had begun the fourth realm as only a peak-grade lifeform.

This time, however, he was an emperor-grade lifeform! He was about as strong as a fledgling emperor-grade lifeform before he maxed out his genes, but he was far stronger than the average fourth-realm being. He wouldn't lose out against a fourth-realm monarch-grade lifeform, and would easily triumph over disaster-grade ones.

Because he was standing right outside by the exit of the teleportation apparatus laughing to himself, the hunters of the Milky Way all around him seemed rather perplexed by his behavior.

"This is a human, isn't it?"

"Have the humans always had such a hunter?"

"He seems very familiar, as though I've seen him somewhere before..."

The hunters of the Milky Way all seemed taken aback by the sudden appearance of this stranger whom no one knew.

"He's not a newbie, is he?"

"To have been sent straight to our gathering point—I can't believe how lucky he is."

Zhang Lie headed straight toward the nearest hunter. "I have a few questions for you, sir. You're from the Jadeite race, aren't you?"

The Jadeite insects had dark yellow carapaces speckled with gray spots. Although they were bipedal, they had the appearance of bugs, with feelers on top of their heads and large black eyes that revealed themselves to be compound eyes on close inspection.

The Jadeite hunter ignored Zhang Lie, who grinned and retrieved three vials of Restorative #3 from his extradimensional storage.

"I had Jadeite friends in the third realm, and I know how helpful they are. I have three high-quality restorative potions, of particular efficacy even compared to fourth-realm potions."

The Jadeite hunter glanced at a potion and sniffed it as his feelers quivered. He reached out a bamboo-like appendage and patted Zhang Lie's shoulder.

"Ask me anything you want, friend."

The Jadeites were an immoral race that would do anything for money, and Zhang Lie found them excellent sources of information.

The healing potions that weren't too valuable in the second and third realms could be sold for incredible prices in the fourth because of the terrible conditions of the fourth realm. No hunter had the leisure time to search for herbs and plants, causing a lack of supply and incredible demand, especially for high-quality potions.

The stash of Restorative #3 that the Yeluo chieftain had given him was like a treasure trove.