Chapter 212: Equivalent Exchange

"Lad, you should be glad your auction didn't actually happen—otherwise, both the Yun and Chu clans might be gone by now! No, not just those clans—all of China would be shaken to its very core because of these potions of yours!" Yan Long exclaimed.

Were matters as serious as he had described? ?More so, in fact—this could be seen from the reactions of the tournament hosts. After all, this was a potion, something every hunter ?could consume without having to sacrifice their hard-earned power or start anew, as with the foundational breakthrough.

This implied that any hunter, not just a first-realm one, would be able to benefit from the potion. It would be a treasure wondrous beyond all measure, and those who owned such potions would easily be able to overwhelm enemies that they would otherwise be unable to defeat.

Yan Long was very glad that the plans for the auction had been scrapped and that the two clans had been smart enough not to advertise the news beforehand. Otherwise, the outcome would have been disastrous.

"Zhang Lie, listen up—from now on, the Chinese military is officially hiring you as the lead researcher in charge of these limit fragments. You'll be instated in this position immediately after the Void Cup ends. No matter what sort of research you want to perform, no matter what rare ingredients you need, the soldiers of China will do their best to fulfill your every request.

"From now on, all your research will be of China's highest confidentiality, and I hope you'll keep things a secret. I'll address the members of Team Zenith, Chu Feng, and Yun Bing regarding this matter as well. Do you understand?" Yan Long pressed, causing both Su Feng and Zhang Lie to look on in shock.

Zhang Lie blinked a few times, surprised by the extent of Yan Long's reaction. "Is it so serious, Commander?"

In his past life, Zhang Lie hadn't been anywhere near the apex of power, and his intuition about such matters wasn't anywhere near as sharp as Yan Long's.

"Of course! Chu Feng mentioned that he had over fifty limit fragments in his last match, and the other hosts of the tournament applied pressure on me immediately to get me to spill the beans. The world federation's highest authority will soon be involved in this matter. Do you realize how serious this is now?"

Zhang Lie recoiled in shock. He had expected that Potion #1 would cause a stir in the hunter community, but not such a major one. Yan Long had clearly intended this new "job" as protection for Zhang Lie, and Zhang Lie would gratefully accept.

"I apologize, Commander Yan. I didn't realize how serious this discovery would be, and—"

"Enough! Now's not the time to apologize, and word would have spread anyway. With the Void Cup, your ridiculous talent and strength would have made itself known regardless, so just focus on the competition. We'll handle the rest! Before that, however, tell me—how many of these potions do you have at the moment?"

"Fewer than 20," Zhang Lie replied, causing Yan Long and Su Feng's eyes to narrow.

Twenty potions? They both knew that Zhang Lie wasn't likely to be entirely truthful. Adding the potions that all the members of Team Zenith, Chu Feng, and Yun Bing had consumed, it was likely that Zhang Lie had made over fifty such potions in all.

The two generals fell silent. Fifty miracle potions…

"Alright, we'll discuss this later. Make sure word of this doesn't spread to anyone else!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Yan Long hurriedly left the room, while Zhang Lie and Su Feng informed the other competitors of what they had settled on.

Very quickly, the third individual round began. As expected, Zhang Lie, the members of Team Zenith, Yun Bing, and Chu Feng all won quickly and decisively, but none of them spoke a word to their competitors. They got on stage, motioned politely for their opponent to strike, and then vanquished them in a single blow.

The remaining three matches followed similarly. They defeated each and every opponent with just one blow, no matter whom they were facing, no matter how significant their reputation, no matter how strong they were.

It felt as though the eight Chinese representatives had total control of the tournament, and they all entered the team round with a perfect score. In fact, because of how quickly they defeated their opponents, the competition that day finished ahead of schedule.

The team competition would only begin tomorrow, so they could either remain to watch the other competitors or return to their hotel to rest.

Yan Long and Su Feng naturally took them back to the hotel; there was nothing interesting to be seen, and they both knew just what kind of storm was brewing beyond the horizon, hidden by a temporary calm.

Deep in the Milky Way floated a magnificent palace constructed for the world federation. The highest authorities in the world federation stayed in this palace. These authorities consisted of the three to five strongest hunters from each planet out of the billions of humans living all across the Milky Way. Earth was host to four such hunters, all of whom received a notification from Earth almost simultaneously.

Naturally, this notification dealt with Zhang Lie, as well as the theory of limit fragments that he had pioneered. It was then that Zhang Lie officially entered the eyes of the top monarchs from Earth.

"Zhang Lie, limit fragments? Hmm..."

Within the floating palace, the only authority from China, the martial sage Hong Tianqi, murmured to himself after a call from Yan Long. A few seconds later, three pairs of footsteps came from outside his estate.

"Have tea ready for our guests, Nuo!" Hong Tianqi called out, a broad smile plastered on his face.

The other three authorities from Earth, Wilson Peters, Gresham Anderson, and Jill Rodney were here to pay him a visit.

"Hong, it looks as though you've received the news, haven't you?" Wilson Peters called out.

"Yes, I have. Please, have a seat." Hong Tianqi motioned to the square table in the salon, on which a pot of steaming tea had just been prepared.

"Authentic?xianzong?tea," Hong Tianqi informed them. "It'll be ready shortly."

The three authorities' eyes lit up. Jill Rodney, seated opposite him, murmured, "I've wanted to try this famed brew for quite some time! It looks like I'll finally be able to do so today."

"Jill, we're not here just to have some tea, are we?" Gresham Anderson cut her off with a look of impatience, unappreciative of this so-called xianzong tea. He turned to their host. "Hong, you should know why we're here, don't you?"

Hong Tianqi settled down calmly, placing a teacup in front of each guest and then filling them up in turn. A pleasant scent emanated from the jade-green tea, causing all three guests to sniff appreciatively.

"I do know why you wanted to talk, but I must admit I'm not certain of your objective. Well, let's have at it, then. What would you have me do?" Hong Tianqi asked pleasantly, taking a small sip of tea.

"Hong, this isn't a trifling matter. First, we do have to thank China—this discovery will easily augment mankind's abilities to a new level. What you have to do, first and foremost, is to publicly release the fruits of Zhang Lie's labor. We need to know just how he's done it—this is too important an accomplishment to be left in the hands of one individual or one country.

"Next, in order to further the research as quickly as possible, researchers from all over the world should be brought together; let this development be spearheaded by the Chinese youth who discovered it all, in hopes that he'll make another breakthrough to benefit all of mankind!" Wilson Peters urged. However, his words caused a frown to mar Hong Tianqi's face.

Jill and Gresham nodded in agreement with Wilson Peters' words.

"Shall I summarize what you've asked of me, then? First, to hand over the results of private research, and second, to hand over the genius researcher who came up with this work for you to imprison. Is that right?" Hong Tianqi spoke, his placid voice somehow sending warning bells ringing in the other authorities' heads.

"Hong, that's a rather uncharitable interpretation of our words, isn't it? We're doing this for the good of mank—" Jill Rodney began, but Hong Tianqi interrupted her halfway through.

"On what grounds?" Hong Tianqi's eyes glimmered with light, and space seemed to freeze.

Wilson Peters, Gresham Anderson, and Jill Rodney found that none of them were able to move even their pinky finger, while Hong Tianqi slowly poured himself more tea. Jade-green drops of tea splashed into his teacup, beautiful, mysterious, and with potent strength.

"What could your countries provide that China cannot? Zhang Lie can spur the growth of humanity right where he is. If you'd like the fruits of his labor, you had best come prepared with a trade that would satisfy him."