Chapter 211: The Ignorant Have No Fear

Yan Long's intentions were straightforward: Zhang Lie was Chinese, and the limit fragment research that he had come up with belonged to him and him alone. China wouldn't allow its citizens' private property to be stolen, not by petty thieves, other nations' governments, nor even the world federation itself.

Even if northern Europe were to take the lead against China, not many other countries would join in the fight; it would simply be too risky, and China had made a name for itself as a difficult enemy to handle.

Furthermore, given the galactic situation, it wasn't a good time for an internal conflict—there were quite a few alien races paying careful attention to Earth, and conflict now would give them the opportunity to strike.

The hosts of the tournament were simply prodding Yan Long to get a sense of just how valuable this research on limit fragments was. Given Yan Long's response, it was clearly so high as to be incomputable—he was willing to make enemies of a dozen countries worldwide to protect and safeguard this research.

"General Yan Long, do you intend to take responsibility for your words?" asked the mayor of Odinstadt, General Hill.

Many of the top officials of northern Europe looked toward Yan Long following General Hill's words, but Yan Long only smiled. "I am a general of China, after all. Of course I'll take responsibility."

Was Hill planning to start a war? Well, Yan Long didn't fear him—and Hill wouldn't dare to do so, regardless! China had bolstered its power by sending its citizens into the dimensional world, and it wasn't a country that could be attacked at will.

"Northern Europe and Asia have been in a cooperative relationship for quite some time, and northern Europe certainly won't violate the harmony between us. Of course, we'll still have to report this to the world federation, and we'll be carefully observing what happens next. General Yan, I hope you won't regret your words today."

Hill desperately wanted to obtain the research on limit fragments that China possessed, but he knew that it would be meaningless to continue arguing with Yan Long. What he had to do now was to report this information to—and hence pass the buck to—his superiors.

"No amount of pressure from the world federation will cause China to relent. As for you of northern Europe, well, if you make this decision knowing that it'll sour relationships between us, I hope you won't regret your decision either."

Yan Long left the room. He rushed straight for the Chinese competitors' prep room. Yun Bing had just returned after defeating her opponent, so everyone from the Chinese delegation was present.

"Get over here, Zhang Lie, I have a question for you!" Yan Long shouted the moment he arrived, without any time for pleasantries.

Zhang Lie stood up and followed him to one corner of the room, as did Su Feng, noticing that Yan Long seemed to be particularly harried.

"Zhang Lie, you rascal, did you make a new discovery related to limit fragments? Team Zenith, Chu Feng, Yun Bing—none of these hunters used to be this strong, did they? In the last match, Chu Feng admitted that he had over fifty limit fragments. What's going on?!"

Zhang Lie glanced surreptitiously at Chu Feng, understanding the situation almost immediately.

Other countries were eyeing his successes, weren't they? More specifically, they were eyeing Potion #1. Zhang Lie had planned on announcing the news regarding Potion #1 during the worldwide stage, but he hadn't expected things to develop so quickly. Well, even if that were the case, he had nothing to hide.

"That's right. Recently, I had a breakthrough with my research, and I was able to develop a potion that raised the basic gene capacity even further—Potion #1!"

Su Feng and Yan Long glanced at him. They had guessed that something like this had occurred, but the extent of Zhang Lie's success was ridiculous. He had developed a potion that could allow a hunter to break through the basic gene limit once more?! If it were anyone else, they would have claimed that it was impossible, but for Zhang Lie...

"Just what sort of effect does this potion have?!"

"It permanently raises your basic gene capacity by fifty, to a maximum of a hundred and sixty," Zhang Lie explained, causing both generals to take a step back in surprise. Even though they were prepared to hear something extraordinary, the effect of the potion still shocked them both—no one knew better than the two of them just what this potion could mean for all of China.

"Fifty basic limit fragments? That—no wonder all of you went undefeated! Doesn't that mean that our hunters will have a natural advantage over everyone else? So that's why Chu Feng was able to beat Charles Murphy!"

Su Feng heaped lavish praise on Zhang Lie, and while Yan Long didn't speak, his trembling fingers were testament to his excitement. At that very moment, Yan Long knew that he had to keep Zhang Lie affiliated with the Chinese military.

"Can it be produced in bulk?" Yan Long asked.

This time, however, the answer left him disappointed. Zhang Lie shook his head. "Definitely not, at least not in the short term. This potion requires more than a dozen herbs, and although most of these herbs can be cultivated, this will have to be a long-term project."

The two generals frowned, but relaxed almost immediately afterwards. Zhang Lie had said that it wasn't possible in the short term, but over the long term...

The two generals' breathing became rather rapid.

"In that case, are you cultivating these herbs at the moment?" Su Feng pressed.

Zhang Lie shook his head. "Unfortunately, I've been very busy dealing with my dojo's affairs, and then the Void Cup—"

"Cultivate these herbs immediately! The sooner the better—what could be any more important?" Su Feng shouted urgently.

"One month or two won't make a big difference. We can discuss it after the Void Cup, if you'd like," Zhang Lie replied, seemingly unruffled.

"Oh? You already have a plan, don't you?" Yan Long's lips quirked up in a bitter smile.

As a hunter, Zhang Lie had the highest growth potential he had ever seen. It was fortunate for him that he was from China, or Yan Long would have sacrificed just about anything to destroy him before he blossomed into his full potential as a hunter. Even now, as little more than a fledgling, he was already shocking the world, so what could he accomplish in the future?

Had he really acquired some lost inheritance of his father's, as the rumors claimed? The military had investigated Zhang Lie's missing father before, but it was almost certain that his father wouldn't have been strong enough to obtain such a miraculous treasure.

Regardless, all that could be dealt with later. What was most important was the world federation's scrutiny, which would imminently land on Zhang Lie.

Before that, Yan Long had to confirm one thing. "If you already have a plan for mass-producing these potions, we don't have to discuss them for the moment. Are you the only one who knows the recipe to make this potion?"

Zhang Lie nodded immediately. "Of course."

"Very good. The fewer people who know it, the better. ?Does anyone outside of Team Zenith, excluding Chu Feng and Yun Bing, know about Potion #1?"

Zhang Lie glanced in Chu Feng and Yun Bing's direction. "A few of the elites of the Chu and Yun clans, I'm sure. I had initially wanted to work with them to organize a large-scale auction in the real world to acquire some rare herbs for future study, but I elected not to do so given their lack of support during my dojo's opening ceremony."

Yan Long and Su Feng's eyes widened. An auction—had this brat really been about to try something like that? Even rumors of this supposed Potion #1 would lead to intense scrutiny by enemy factions, let alone an auction in which these potions were the centerpiece!

Luckily, the auction had been canceled, or even Yan Long wouldn't have known what to do...