Chapter 177: Courageous

As more and more hunters arrived at the capital, the golden arena in which the competitors would be fighting materialized from thin air. The VIP stands were already filled with major clan heads from all over the country, as well as notable dojo leaders and officials from the world federation.

Outside the protective hemisphere, troops from the capital's military were verifying each competitor's identity; those spectators who had no affiliation or background were forced to remain outside.

Compared to the citywide stage, the nationwide stage was clearly far more concerned about security, so much so that an airborne fort from the military had been mobilized. The various clan heads were glancing at the competitors slowly trickling into the stage, as though searching for one hunter in particular.

"I heard that that fellow barely made it to the citywide stage in Ning on time. Is he going to be doing the same here?" Yan Long frowned.

He was very curious about the members of Team Zenith and their captain, Zhang Lie. However, despite the fact that most hunters had already gathered by the tournament grounds, there was no sign of any member of Team Zenith.

"I wonder if this fellow decided not to show up," the Long clan head murmured.

A few more hovercars arrived, bringing the Wang, Li, and Qin delegations to the tournament. The three clan heads stepped through the barrier and headed straight for the VIP stands.

"Hoh? What are the Wang, Li, and Qin clan heads doing here?" the Chu clan head, Chu Lin, teased.

Almost everyone present knew that the Wang clan's genius had been eliminated by Team Zenith's Li Feng, leaving the Wang clan with only one representative in the nationwide tournament.

Wang Han's face turned dark. "This is the nationwide stage of the Void Cup, after all," he gritted out, forcing his tone to remain genial. "It's not an event to be missed."

"Perhaps so, but I'd like to remind all of you not to do anything untoward to any of the competitors," Yan Long warned. He didn't care what sort of grudge the three clans bore toward Zhang Lie; this was a tournament he was responsible for, and he certainly didn't want to take the blame if anything were to happen.

"Don't worry, Official Yan. As major clans, would we stoop so low as to take revenge on a hunter of the younger generation?" Wang Han smiled.

The other clan heads kept their eyes peeled, sure that something unexpected was going to happen during the tournament.

Just as the tournament was about to begin, the members of Team Zenith stepped out of a teleportation array to the south of the capital.

"What's going on? Why are the streets of the capital so empty?" Sun Xiaowu remarked, glancing all around him.

No one wandered down the broad streets, and they could barely see a few hovercars in the distance. The silence that enveloped the capital made it seem like a necropolis.

"Ah, look! That's the military's airborne fort!" Sun Mengmeng and Fang Yi's gaze landed on the massive floating object in the sky that was blotting out part of the sun.

"We'd better hurry. It looks like the tournament's about to begin!" Zhang Lie shouted. He didn't want to be late once again. However, the moment he stepped forward, he felt strong fluctuations in genetic energy from his vicinity.

Gusts of cold air surrounded the hunters. Zhang Lie turned back to see something seemingly hidden in a small alley to their back, but moments later, the thing vanished, replaced by a sudden noise. A golden bridge of light arced downward from the distance, stopping by Zhang Lie's feet.

"What's this?" Sun Xiaowu asked, uncertainly.

"A... special passageway for the Dragonwolf Zhang Lie?" Zhang Lie's face spasmed as glowing golden words appeared on top of the bridge.

Meanwhile, in the tournament grounds, the crowds could all see a golden bridge arcing into the distance, as well as the words that floated into the air.

"What's going on?"

"Doesn't it tell you right there? It's a special passageway for the Dragonwolf Zhang Lie!"

"Ah, so he's arriving?"

The competitors murmured to each other upon seeing such obvious preferential treatment.

"Isn't this the first time that this has happened in the history of the Void Cup?" someone exclaimed, glancing enviously at the bridge.

"The Chinese military is doing quite a good job of protecting its favored hunters, isn't it?"

Long Xiao and Li Mo's faces darkened. That the military had specifically done this for Zhang Lie was a clear sign of his importance, and whoever dared strike at Zhang Lie under such circumstances would surely face grave reprisal.

A few hovercars rushed off toward the other end of the bridge in a wave of neon lights, causing the murmured conversations from all around to grow even louder. Not only was Zhang Lie getting his own passageway, he was getting his own escort! Wasn't this far too much favoritism?

"Official Yan, isn't this far too grand an entrance for just Zhang Lie alone?"

"Indeed, he's just a hunter of the younger generation, nothing more..."

"If your clans also boast a hunter comparable to Zhang Lie, I wouldn't mind giving that hunter a special passageway too," Yan Long replied to Long Xiao and Li Mo, rendering them temporarily speechless.

Zhang Lie narrowed his eyes at the special passageway that extended right to their feet.

"Are they worried that we'd get lost?" Fang Yi joked.

A few hovercars rushed across the bridge and stopped in front of the members of Team Zenith. Zhang Lie didn't move. He glanced back at the alleyway, where the mysterious sensation of pressure he felt had vanished.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zhang Lie. The Chinese military has opened up a special passageway to escort you to the tournament. Please, follow me!" A soldier walked out from a hovercar and greeted Zhang Lie politely.

"My thanks," Zhang Lie responded, following the others into one of the hovercars.

Once they left, a few figures walked out from the alleyway, their faces shadowed. "Damn it, just why would the military value him so highly?!"

"We'll have to wait for the next opportunity to strike," another figure murmured.

As dark purple genetic energy shrouded the figures, they vanished from sight and floated into the distance as if they were ghosts.

Most of the crowd was staring at the far end of the bridge, trying to spot the hovercars bearing Zhang Lie. They appeared from the horizon, rushing straight for the tournament grounds.

Long Xiao's face darkened. Li Mo clenched his fists, eyes filling up with malice.

As the hovercar stopped in front of the barrier, Zhang Lie and the rest of Team Zenith walked out. After a short silence, quite a few hunters among the crowd burst into applause.

Zhang Lie scratched the back of his head as he waved to them all, feeling somewhat self-conscious at all the attention heaped in his direction.

"Dragonwolf, if not for this passageway, would you have arrived late again?" Yan Long teased him, a measure of appreciation in his gaze.

Long Xiao and Li Mo stared at him evilly, whereas Qin Zongming and Wang Han frowned in distaste. The military favored Zhang Lie far more than the major clans had realized, and this preferential treatment gave the clan heads a surprising sense of pressure.

"I wouldn't dare, Official Yan. This is the nationwide tournament, after all!" Zhang Lie didn't even look at Long Xiao and Li Mo.

"Now that everyone's here, let me formally announce the start of the nationwide tournament of the Void Cup!" Yan Long shouted, then followed up with a series of announcements before the opening ceremony.

"It looks like Zhang Lie will be the champion this year, won't he?" Chu Feng sighed as he glanced at Zhang Lie. Compared to him, his status as the young master of the Chu clan seemed meaningless.

Yun Bing's eyes were fixated on Zhang Lie as well. She had never felt a sense of security from any man before, except when she was with Zhang Lie.

"Ah, Sister Yun Bing, you're not in love with Zhang Lie, are you? You'd better not be—he's mine!" Chu Xun suddenly whispered to her, causing her pale cheeks to flush.

"Don't speak nonsense, Chu Xun, or I'll have to punish you!" She puffed up her face and pretended to roll up her sleeves as she whirled around to face Chu Xun.

Chu Feng stilled at the sight; as far as he knew, Yun Bing had never behaved in this manner ever before. It seemed as though she really was, at least a little, enamored with Zhang Lie. Should he be glad or upset that there was a hunter like Zhang Lie among the younger generation?

Of course, they who knew Zhang Lie well would at least fare much better than some of the brash and arrogant hunters who didn't know a thing about Zhang Lie at all. Many of those hunters were planning on taking down Zhang Lie and shifting all the attention to themselves, a plan that Chu Feng and Yun Bing had the foresight to veer far away from.