Chapter 189: Surveying the Battlefield

"Don't worry, I've prepared your share too!" Facing the aggrieved Yun Bing, Zhang Lie had no choice but to take out another Potion #1. "Alright, we can discuss other things later. I have to go now!"

Before the two of them could react, Zhang Lie swiftly marched away.

"Hey, hold it! Where's my potion?!" Only then did Chu Xun, her face filled with admiration for her idol, realize that she had been neglected. Of course, Chu Xun's shout didn't summon Zhang Lie back; instead, he walked away even more quickly.

"Potion #1... if only my clan had believed in Zhang Lie from the beginning! It would certainly have allowed them to be head and shoulders above the rest," Chu Feng sighed, and Yun Bing's features turned serious.

The two of them made a decision at that very moment: if they ever grew into a position of authority in the clan, they would get close to Zhang Lie at any cost.

"I've never seen anyone else who was able to impact a clan's future—even the world's future—on his own," Yun Bing murmured.

By the time Zhang Lie headed out of the lobby of the Blacksteel Inn, the members of Team Zenith were already there waiting for him.

"Captain, you're finally here!" Fang Yi and Sun Mengmeng rushed up to him.

"We're finally back, but we won't be able to advance to the second realm of the dimensional world before we're done with the Void Cup. Isn't it boring?" Sun Xiaowu exclaimed.

"Boring, you say?" Zhang Lie smiled in a manner that sent chills down the hunters' backs. He waved them all into one of the Blacksteel Inn's suites before he announced, "I have just the task for all of you! Before the worldwide stage of the Void Cup begins, I intend on hunting down the moonlight wyrm."

"What? The moonlight wyrm?" Fang Yi and Sun Mengmeng were both taken aback.

.

"Ah, the legendary lifeform living at the bottom of the Moonlit Pond!" Li Feng gasped.

Everyone stared at Zhang Lie in shock.

"But isn't that just a legend? If we don't even know what grade of lifeform it is, how will we hunt it down?" Fang Yi grew tense.

Their prey for this hunt would be a legendary lifeform! No one knew if it truly existed; only those hunters from the major clans had caught a glimpse of it.

"As a conservative estimate, the moonlight wyrm is likely a peak-grade lifeform. You don't have to worry about how to hunt it down—just listen to my command!" Zhang Lie explained.

"A peak-grade lifeform?" The hunters' eyes opened wide.

"Well? Is this exciting enough for all of you?"

"Yes!" the hunters of Team Zenith replied without any hesitation. Indeed, they would only grow by surpassing their limits time and again. Even if their prey were a mythical dragon, they would be perfectly willing to hunt it under Zhang Lie's direction.

"In that case, let me show you the battlefield before we start planning out the attempt. As you all know, the Moonlit Pond is located in the Night Forest, lush with greenery and various lifeforms. The pond itself lies by the waterfall deep within the forest."

A holographic image appeared in front of everyone's eyes, a recording of the Moonlit Pond's surroundings.

"Position yourself appropriately according to your elemental attunement," Zhang Lie instructed, magnifying the image for the members of Team Zenith.

Of course, this was just for preliminary planning; they would finalize their positioning and approach once they arrived at the Moonlit Pond and saw the scene for themselves.

Just then, a knock could be heard from the door.

"Ah, it must be Yang Ze! You're finally back, you bastard!" Li Feng ran out of the room to greet him.

"Not bad, Yang Ze. You've really made a name for yourself on Mars," Fang Yi commented.

"Ah, the hunters there are simply too weak." Yang Ze scratched the back of his head.

Zhang Lie watched the interaction among the members of Team Zenith with a smile; it seemed like it had been quite a while since they last had time to relax.

After exchanging greetings with the other members of Team Zenith, whom he hadn't seen for quite some time, Yang Ze calmly walked toward Zhang Lie. "Thank you, Master!"

His body was vibrating with nerves, and the other hunters quieted down. Although they didn't know all that much about Yang Ze's background, they could guess at what had happened. If Yang Ze hadn't met Zhang Lie, he certainly wouldn't have been able to shine during the nationwide stage back on Mars. If he had become a participant following his original trajectory as a hunter, he would only have ended up a joke, nothing more.

"There's no need to say anything. Since you're here, have a seat. We'll be discussing something that I think will be quite unexpected for you." Zhang Lie smiled.

"Yes, Captain!" Yang Ze sat down by Li Feng's side, and Zhang Lie had Sun Mengmeng explain to Yang Ze just what he had missed.

Yang Ze's eyes widened.

"Alright, since you've all gotten a sense of the geography, let's go have a look at the real thing right now." Zhang Lie beckoned to the others as they left the inn.

"Look! Team Zenith's heading out of the Blacksteel settlement again!"

"As expected of the dark horse of this year's tournament!"

"It looks like they're heading in the direction of the Night Forest."

A gust of wind brushed by their hair as they walked into the Night Forest, the rumbling of a waterfall audible from a distance

"Stop!" Zhang Lie suddenly shouted, as the Moonlit Pond appeared within sight.

The members of Team Zenith immediately stopped. This moonlight wyrm would be far stronger than any lifeform they had faced to date—who knew what peak-grade lifeforms could do? They remained silent as they observed their surroundings, unable to hear anything beside the waterfall.

Zhang Lie whispered, "Start scouting the vicinity. Head to the location where you think you would be most advantageously placed."

The hunters of Team Zenith silently crept away as they investigated their surroundings. The Night Forest was lush with greenery, so Zhou Ying would be able to shine no matter where she was.

In fact, except for Sun Mengmeng, who was fire-attuned, everyone else managed to find a location suitable to their elemental attunement and soulshards, and they had all gained an understanding of the Moonlit Pond and its surroundings.

"Captain, we've finished scouting!"

"In that case, let's leave."

The members of Team Zenith looked very surprised.

"Captain, all we did was check the surroundings! Are we going to leave just like that?" Sun Xiaowu asked. They hadn't even seen the moonlight wyrm for themselves, and couldn't develop an accurate sense of its capabilities.

"We won't be doing anything more today. The moonlight wyrm's extremely intelligent. If we want to lure it out, we'll have to use some exceptional bait, and there's no guarantee that it'll work a second time around. You might have to wait until the hunt itself before you see the moonlight wyrm for yourselves," Zhang Lie explained.

Once they returned to the inn, Zhang Lie told the hunters everything he knew about the wyrm.

Finally, he handed them a list of herbs. "I don't care how you do it, but within the next two months in dimensional-world time, make sure you acquire at least ten of each herb!"

The hunters' eyes widened as they looked at the list. There were over a hundred herbs listed, most of which were jealously guarded by superior-grade lifeforms. How were they supposed to acquire at least ten of each within two months?!

"That urgently? Captain, what do you need these herbs for?" Fang Yi asked. Based on his understanding of Zhang Lie, these herbs would soon serve a vital purpose.

"What for? To make Potion #2 for all of you, of course. Don't you want mutated limit fragments?"

What? Mutated limit fragments?

"As you might have guessed, the fact that you can acquire basic limit fragments also means that you can acquire mutated, and even superior, limit fragments," Zhang Lie continued.

"What?!" The hunters all stared at him in shock. In that case, how much stronger could they become?!