Chapter 199: The Peak-Grade Lifeform

As the air bubble grew larger and larger, a sound could be heard from deep within the trench.

Something's wrong!?Zhang Lie swam even faster toward the surface, but the moment he did so, a howl came from beneath the surface of the water, filled with boundless rage. It was evident that there was another moonlight wyrm living at the bottom of the Moonlit Pond.

As he sensed its fluctuations of genetic energy, Zhang Lie's face fell. This was a peak-grade lifeform, there was no doubt about it! Zhang Lie turned around to see what seemed like a white beam of light rushing toward him.

He couldn't fight the wyrm underwater, no—Zhang Lie circulated his genetic energy as quickly as he could as he rushed upward to the surface of the pond. When he dove down, he was chasing a moonlight wyrm; now, as he rose up, he was being chased by one.

Zhang Lie had noticed its presence while it was quite some distance away, and he wasn't too much slower than the wyrm at full speed, so it wouldn't be easy for the wyrm to catch up immediately.

Above the pond, the other hunters of Team Zenith were waiting for Zhang Lie to emerge somewhat languidly. From their perspective, the fight was already over, and the will of the world had informed them of their contribution in taking down the moonlight wyrm.

"Do you feel like something was wrong?" Just like Zhang Lie, Fang Yi was a little concerned about the fight from before, which had seemed a little too easy.

The members of Team Zenith had split into two groups, one to restrain the wyrm's motion, and the other as an auxiliary attacker. Zhang Lie had struck at the moment at which it was weakest… but could a peak-grade lifeform be defeated just like that?

In their training exercises, Zhang Lie had emphasized just how dangerous the battle would be, but they hadn't had much trouble at all.

"What's wrong? Didn't you hear the announcement from the will of the world just now? The moonlight wyrm's dead, and it even condensed a soulshard!" Sun Xiaowu exclaimed. "Yang Ze, you're water-attuned—do you have a guess as to the utility of this moonlight wyrm soulshard?"

Sun Xiaowu unintentionally changed the topic.

Yang Ze thought for a moment. "Perhaps a weapon-type soulshard? Or maybe the purifying ability that the moonlight wyrm demonstrated..."

"That really does sound plausible," Li Feng agreed.

However, before their train of thought could continue, Zhou Ying interrupted them. "Fang Yi, I think you're right. The moonlight wyrm from before was too weak. Didn't we all hear what the will of the world stated? It was a liminal superior-grade moonlight wyrm, and it gave superior gene fragments and a superior-grade soulshard.

"However, the captain told us that our opponent would be a peak-grade lifeform, and he told us to be prepared to be injured! Most importantly, before he dove into the pond, he told us to be ready. I think he might also have noticed this discrepancy, so we shouldn't take it easy!"

Her argument shook some sense into the other hunters.

"You're right, Zhou Ying! We'd better take some of the potions we prepared to restore our genetic energy," Sun Mengmeng replied. She immediately took out a potion and drank it, as did the other hunters.

As they were doing so, Zhang Lie, dragging the moonlight worm's carcass behind him, broke through the surface of the water.

"Spread out! Get far away from the pond. Prepare for battle!" he shouted immediately.

The hunters followed his command and retreated. From a distance, Fang Yi shouted, "What's going on, Captain?"

"There's more than one moonlight wyrm. A peak-grade one's chasing me right now. Get into the six-element formation!"

Rather than quailing in fright, however, the hunters' eyes all glimmered with excitement. There really was a peak-grade lifeform that they were about to face!

A geyser of water erupted from the pond, followed by a long keen that shook the earth and sky. Everyone could clearly sense the wyrm's explosive anger. This wyrm was just a bit larger than the previous one, but the genetic energy fluctuations it gave off were at least a magnitude more intense.

As the wyrm broke through the surface of the pond, Zhang Lie tossed aside the moonlight wyrm's carcass that he was still holding.

"Get into formation!" he shouted again. Zhang Lie stood in the middle of all six hunters, who released their genetic energy all at once. A surprisingly intense aura emanated from the center of the formation where the energies combined, giving off multicolored ripples of light.

The six hunters channeled their energy into the formation, causing radiant light to glow from underneath their feet: flames in purple and black, the jade-green energy of life, gold, sharp and resplendent, the purest white light, rampaging thunder in silver, and palliative blue water.

Six elements traced out a runic formation as they spread toward its center, where Zhang Lie was standing in an inferno of dark genetic energy. A red-and-black winged tiger darted down from the skies as a starry sky enveloped them all. A bloody moon ascended to primacy, causing an unbelievable pressure to descend over the Moonlit Pond.

The moonlight wyrm, which had discovered its targets, reacted near-instantly. A thin spray of water shot out of its mouth, so quickly it broke through the sound barrier. It seemed to skirt by the constraints of space and time, appearing almost immediately in front of Zhang Lie's sight.

However, Zhang Lie was prepared for it. The six-element formation countered the attack; the moment it entered [Eclipse]'s domain, its potency began to deteriorate, and it had lost about half its momentum by the time it reached Zhang Lie.

Nevertheless, Zhang Lie didn't take the attack lightly. Summoning all his genetic energy, he struck at the arrow with his left palm, causing the winged tiger to claw at it with its left paw as well.

With a great splash, water-attuned genetic energy exploded into the air, seemingly splintering the very fabric of the world itself. The hunters' eyes widened at the sight. This was how strong the attack was even after it had passed through the six-member defensive array?! If they hadn't gotten into formation, they would likely have perished from the attack.

In truth, Zhang Lie had seen just how strong this attack was before.

In the past, just one beam of water that the moonlight wyrm had casually shot out was sufficient to kill Zhou Qian and cripple Qin Xiao, and the resulting attack still had sufficient energy to cause an avalanche when it hit one of the mountains in the area. This time, the wyrm was completely enraged when it struck, and the attack would only be stronger as a result. Fortunately, Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith now had the strength to resist such an attack.

Of course, as a peak-grade lifeform, the moonlight wyrm had more potent attacks than just a beam of water. After its long-ranged attack failed, the moonlight wyrm ascended to the skies like a jade dragon. As it made use of its full strength, its body swiftly began to grow, until it was a hundred meters long.

Opening its maw wide, it struck at Zhang Lie, intending on devouring him in a single bite.

The six hunters forming the defensive perimeter felt a near-intolerable wave of pressure overwhelming them. The defensive array began to crack with the force of the moonlight wyrm's blow.

"Everyone, activate your blood ant soulshards. Use your reserves of genetic energy to reinforce the array now!" Zhang Lie called out.

The next moment, under Zhang Lie's direction, a bloody pillar of genetic energy spiked into the sky, a devastating attack formed from the combination of six elements.

The moonlight wyrm shrieked in pain, and the hunters suddenly found themselves relieved of the pressure that had almost overwhelmed them.

Writhing in pain, the moonlight wyrm reared back, its maw corroded and its flesh decaying. The moonlight wyrm had paid a price in its rashness at trying to seek revenge for its mate, but this price amounted to little more than a superficial injury for it.

"We won't be able to hold out against it in a drawn-out battle. We have to attack in earnest!" Zhang Lie commanded.