Chapter 21: Catch Me If You Can

Of course, this mysterious man in black was Zhang Lie.

In truth, even Zhang Lie hadn't expected that the six clans would have been so interested in the venombane glade or the superior-grade venombane scorpion. Neither had he expected that their confrontation would be so hostile.

From his perspective, however, any commotion was a good thing. Only when the gathered hunters stumbled over each other would he have the opportunity to steal the kill. If they had united or reached an agreement among themselves, Zhang Lie would have left immediately.

The six most important clans in the Blacksteel settlement had all gathered at the glade. Compared to them, the Zhang Lie of the present was nothing.

Just exposing himself—let alone attempting to steal the superior-grade scorpion's gene fragments and soulshard—could land him in big trouble. But no reward came without risk. Superior gene fragments and the superior-grade venombane-scorpion soulshard were both excellent spoils.

And since Zhang Lie had the opportunity to obtain both, he wouldn't give up so easily. He kept scattering more of his acid-green powder into the waterfall, until the surface of the pond began to froth violently. Then, he snuck toward the cave like a dark shadow.

By this time, the battlefield had been divided into two factions. The first comprised the Yun and Chu elites, and the second the Qin, Zhou, Li, and Zhao elites.

The two factions guarded against each other as they hunted for the superior-grade scorpion. The abilities that it had demonstrated were far too enticing to give up. No hunter present failed to grasp the worth of its soulshard.

A tremendous stealth ability, an exceedingly dangerous beam attack, and lightning speed. No matter whether the soulshard ended up being attack-type, augmentation-type, or illusion-type, the hunter who claimed that soulshard would receive a significant boost.

After all, once hunters had filled up all their genes to capacity, what would differentiate them would be the quality and quantity of their soulshards.

Furthermore, the gathered crowd of hunters still needed more superior gene fragments: the stronger a hunter was before ascending to a higher realm, the more the hunter would benefit from the ascension.

As a result, they all wanted the superior-grade scorpion for themselves.

Suddenly, a drop of dark purple blood dripped down from the ceiling. The sound should have been easily drowned out by the hunters, but it seemed almost as loud as a cymbal amidst the tense atmosphere.

A purple dot flashed past a Qin elite.

"It's here!" Almost immediately as he spoke, a whip of thunder crashed down beside him.

A violent purple light erupted as it struck the scorpion's carapace, blinding the hunters. When they blinked, the scorpion had vanished once again.

Of course, the hunter who had struck, with such speed and strength, was none other than Qin Xiao. When he saw the scorpion try to run away even after being struck by his whip of lightning, an electrifying storm of genetic energy swirled around him.

"[Thunder God's Domain]!" Blue lightning shot out of Qin Xiao's body in a hundred-meter radius around him. They were as fine and dense as silken threads, illuminating everything in sight.

The moment the technique activated, Qin Xiao shot toward the southwest. There, he had seen the outline of a violet scorpion skittering away!

"Attack!" Just as Qin Xiao thought himself about to defeat the elusive prey, a shout shocked the gathered hunters into action.

Propelled by a torrent of wind, an impenetrable cloud of mist was descending on him.

"[Raiment of Lightning]! Chu Feng, you bastard! [Thunderburst]!"

"[Hymn of Wind]!"

As the wind- and lightning-attuned genetic energy clashed with each other, a cloud of billowing dust smothered the cave. The hunters from each clan began to fight with each other amidst the hordes of scorpions.

As Qin Xiao took on Chu Feng, gold, red, and black flashes emerged from within the cloudy mist. Yun Bing was being stalled by the combined might of the three corporations. Not only were Zhou Qian, Li Jin, and Zhao Jia the heads of the three corporations, they were also the top ten hunters in the Blacksteel settlement. The three of them, working together, could certainly counter Yun Bing.

As the six clans began to fight among each other, the superior-grade scorpion avoided death once again. Threatened, it no longer dared to remain in the heart of the battlefield, and it shot toward the empty cave tunnel like a beam of purple light.

As it chittered, the tunnel began to fill with a horde of regular- and mutated-grade scorpions, ready to defend its leader.

"Stop fighting! It's going to get away! Chase after it!"

The six clans immediately halted their fight and rushed toward the cave entrance.

However, just as the six clans began to act, the superior-grade scorpion that had just rushed into the cave let out a despairing cry. It had been trapped within a white, sticky, translucent ball of some strange matter.

As he crushed a mutated-grade venombane-scorpion soulshard, Zhang Lie struck the scorpion with [Three-Wave Crescendo], successfully killing the battered superior-grade scorpion. A royal-purple soulshard condensed on its carapace, and Zhang Lie heard the will of the world once more.

[You successfully killed a superior-grade venombane scorpion and obtained its soulshard.]

Zhang Lie: a mortal lifeform

Framework: Foundation, Lv. MAX, Ninecarp Transformation, First Form: Carp

Genes: Basic, 140; Mutated, 90, Superior, 10

Soulshards: White Grub (superior), Galewolf (mutated), Blood Ant (mutated), Potbellied Toad (mutated), Venombane Scorpion (superior)

"Success!"

In the dark cave, as he heard the will of the world's voice, Zhang Lie's heart began to palpitate. He grabbed the scorpion's carcass, stuffed it into his potbellied-toad pouch, and began to flee. He certainly wasn't about to stay and wait for the six most influential clans of the Blacksteel settlement to catch him!

A kill-stealer! The leaders of the Yun, Chu, Qin, Zhou, Li, and Zhao teams were all dumbstruck by what had happened.

The moment the superior-grade scorpion had rushed to the cave entrance, a burst of genetic energy had emanated from the cave.

And with that burst went the life of the superior-grade scorpion.

How could they fail to understand what had happened?

Honestly, if others were to know about what had happened here, all six clans would immediately become laughingstocks. They had gathered together to hunt rare prey, and despite their strength, that prey had ultimately been captured by a lone hunter… Their reputation would be in shambles!

No, they had to catch that thief and retrieve the soulshard he had stolen!

It was this galvanizing force that caused the six clans to miraculously cooperate. Their leaders immediately stopped fighting and shot toward the fleeing thief.

Chu Feng, his wings flapping behind him, flew over the scorpion hordes and into the cave like an eagle darting after its prey. The cave was exceptionally dark, and Zhang Lie was clad entirely in black. Chu Feng couldn't even see the barest silhouette of his body, but he could hear his footsteps.

They were both moving extremely quickly, but Chu Feng had more superior gene fragments and higher-quality techniques than Zhang Lie, so he was naturally faster.

The distance between the two hunters was quickly decreasing. The waterfall was right ahead of them, but Chu Feng was accelerating faster and faster.

Twenty meters... ten... five...! Zhang Lie barely made it out of the cave, despite the howling wind behind him, and tossed a deep blue bead into the waterfall as he did so.

"Release!" The bead burst apart as soon as it touched the water, freezing the waterfall and blocking the exit to the cave.

Moments later, the frozen waterfall exploded. Chu Feng rushed out of the waterfall, waving shards of ice out of his hair, but there was no one in sight.

Despite the deaths of many of his elites, the superior-grade scorpion that he was hunting had been stolen by someone else! How could Chu Feng give up the chase so easily?

He soared up into the night sky. Peering carefully below him, he dashed toward the barest hint of movement: a tremble of a tree branch. As he did so, flying above the Moonlit Pond, a sudden fear enveloped him.

Beneath him, the Moonlit Pond started to froth, as though a lifeform was about to emerge from its depths.

Recalling the legend of the Moonlit Pond, Chu Feng widened his eyes as he instinctively flung himself to one side. Blood spurted from his arm as a thin beam of water shot out from the pond, skirted by Chu Feng's left arm, and left a deep scar in the mountain behind him.

The next moment, under Chu Feng's disbelieving gaze, a pure-white wyrm emerged from the pond. Its scales gleamed like white jade, and a small horn protruded from its forehead. It seemed like a cross between a dragon and a snake, with a grace inherent to neither species.

This—this was the legendary moonlight wyrm!

Chu Feng reared back in shock.

The moonlight wyrm was a creature of rumor and myth, so named by a hunter from the Blacksteel settlement. Even the reincarnated Zhang Lie had no idea what manner of lifeform it really was.

However, none of that was important. All Zhang Lie needed to know was how to lure it out from the depths of the pond, as well as how strong it was.

By the waterfall, Yun Bing and Qin Xiao had just rushed out of the cave. They both sucked in a deep breath as they saw the wyrm emerging from the water. The genetic energy swirling around the wyrm was enough to shock them to stillness—especially Qin Xiao, who had once attempted to lure the creature out from the pond.

Glancing at it now, he was thankful he didn't do so, or he would have undoubtedly perished for his stupidity.

We have to flee!?The same thought filled the heads of the three top hunters of the Blacksteel settlement. Their desire to catch the fleeing thief had been dashed completely upon seeing the wyrm's head peeking out of the pond's surface.

They immediately rushed back into the cave. However, right as they were about to head in, Zhou Qian rushed out, blocking their path forward with the rest of his team. "What's the matter? Why aren't you chasing the thief?"

"..."