Chapter 241: The Blood Demons

Finally was Lianna, princess of the aquatic race. Truthfully, her opponent was so weak that Zhang Lie couldn't glean any of her abilities either. Her opponent had been pierced by a high-pressure bullet of water, and had surrendered almost immediately afterwards.

The speed of the technique was supernaturally quick; if not for the fact that it had burst into a mist after piercing her opponent, Zhang Lie wouldn't have believed that it had actually been a water-based attack.

Of the four prime races, the competitors that stood out the most were Phoenix of the winged and the panda-like starbeast. One dominated in speed, and the other in strength. In their respective domains, they had essentially reached the pinnacle of what was possible as a first-realm hunter.

In truth, Zhang Lie really wanted to compete with the panda in terms of strength. The damage multiplier that [One Punch] provided him made him itch to test out just what his new limits were.

However, before Zhang Lie could act on his desires, the second fight was about to begin, and the nine competitors' opponents were quickly determined.

Zhang Lie VS Yao Yue

.

Sun Mengmeng VS Yao Chen

Fang Yi VS Lu Huiyin

Zhou Ying VS Yin Xiang

Li Feng VS Mi Kong

Sun Xiaowu VS Wu Nian

Yang Ze VS Bing Li

Yun Bing VS Chi Liu

Chu Feng VS Zhao Dongquan

The competitors were quite lucky: except for the blood demons, their opponents were uniformly from rather weak planets, and they weren't much stronger than humans to begin with. This would likely be a free win for most of the competitors.

Fortunately, Zhang Lie and Sun Mengmeng were the two hunters that would challenge their strongest opponents, the blood demons.

"We're quite lucky. Yun Bing, give this match your all—after this, you'll just need one more win!" Zhang Lie informed Yun Bing, who nodded in agreement. He was confident that the other members of Team Zenith, whom he had taught, would perform well.

Chu Feng regretted that he had lost his first match, and he was even thinking that he should have tried his hardest to win like Yun Bing. He had no intention of losing this one, and his opponent was considerably weaker than the magma demon he had had to face during the first match, so he should have a much easier time.

They were once again teleported to their respective arenas.

"On arena #1541, Zhang Lie VS Yao Yue. The fight begins in ten seconds!"

"Ten!"

The blood demons were humanoid lifeforms with a mane of blood-red hair. Their bodies were partially beastlike; it was rumored that the strongest and most intelligent demons were the ones whose beastlike characteristics were minimal.

Zhang Lie's opponent was one such blood demon, who had no beastlike characteristics except blood-red ears and a long tail. Strapped to her back was a gigantic broadsword, and her aura was one of a seasoned warrior. Most importantly, Zhang Lie had some memory of her, because she had greeted him during the salon last night—she was the young leader of the blood demon clan, Yao Yue!

"Seven!"

"Six!"

...

"One!"

The membrane between the two hunters vanished, but neither charged forward. Instead, both of them smiled politely at each other.

"How unlucky I am—there was only a 1 in 6800 chance of having you as my opponent!" Yao Yue exclaimed.

It was true that she would likely lose this match, but at the very least, it would deepen his impression of her. That alone was worth it. After all, Zhang Lie held the key to the improvement of her entire race.

"What, am I such an unwelcome opponent? You're not going to surrender immediately, are you?" Zhang Lie chuckled bitterly, regretting that he had displayed his prowess for all to see during the first round of the galactic stage.

"Who would want to have you as their opponent? However, please don't worry. I know I'm weaker than you are, but I won't admit defeat immediately either. This is an opportunity for me to get a taste of just what these limit fragments can do for me and mine!"

Yao Yue smiled as her aura grew more and more intense. "[Totem of the Blood Moon]!"

A fog of blood permeated the entire arena, and the light grew dim. A bloody moon rose into the air, and totems materialized around the arena. The moment the totems condensed, Yao Yue's demonic energy grew immensely, and her potent aura overwhelmed the entire arena.

In terms of strength, she didn't seem any weaker than Zhang Lie, who possessed peak gene fragments.

"Come, attack me!" Zhang Lie called out, impressed by her strength. "Show me your skills!" Black fog rose all around Zhang Lie as he challenged Yao Yue.

"Naturally. Take this: [Tome of Blood: Whirling Crescent]!" Crescent blades, manifestations of genetic energy, shot toward Zhang Lie as she swung her swords down hard. Under the glow of the blood moon totems, the blades began to multiply, one into two, two into four, until there were a thousand blades rushing toward Zhang Lie.

"Good! [Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!" He punched forward with his right arm, causing the black genetic energy surrounding him to explode into a sleek black fish that swam toward Yao Yue's crescent blades. It absorbed every strike from the blades, shedding some mass each time, until by the time it reached Yao Yue, it had been whittled down into the size of a goldfish.

With another attack, she destroyed the fish completely, only to find that his genetic energy seemed to consist of multiple elemental attunements.

"Mr. Zhang Lie, what interesting genetic energy you have—are the multiple elemental attunements a benefit of these limit fragments as well?" Yao Yue couldn't help asking.

"No, it's simply an unusual element of my framework," Zhang Lie replied. She had been polite and well-mannered throughout their fight, and he was developing quite a good impression of her.

"I have to admit that you're superior to me in terms of framework and technique, Mr. Zhang Lie. In that case, I won't waste your time any longer!" After all, Zhang Lie had defended against her full-strength blow with just one casual fist, and it was clear that she had no hope of besting him.

She knew that the disparity between them was so large that it couldn't be corrected by some sort of secret or special technique for the duration of the fight, and Zhang Lie clearly wasn't showing his true strength just yet.

Zhang Lie smiled. "Very well. You're not weak either, Ms. Yao Yue, and I'm sure you'll become one of your planet's stars in the future."

Yao Yue smiled sincerely. "I do believe I will be in charge of the limit-fragment project for my clan once everything is in order, so I hope you'll support my endeavor."

As she had hoped for, Yao Yue left a very strong impression on Zhang Lie. After leaving him a means of communication, Yao Yue surrendered, and the two competitors departed from the stage.

By the time Zhang Lie returned to the waiting room, Fang Yi, Zhou Ying, Li Feng, Yang Ze, and Sun Xiaowu had already made it back. They were all concentrating on Sun Mengmeng, Yun Bing, and Chu Feng's fights.

Zhang Lie smiled. "Not bad—you've all finished your matches quickly!"

"Of course! Our opponents were so weak that we could hardly have taken any longer!" Yang Ze replied.

Zhang Lie then turned back to the screen in front of the hunters. Yun Bing was struggling through her match; she was gradually gaining control over the arena, but the many wounds that covered her body once more made the others feel sorry for her.

Chu Feng had battered his opponent down; he would likely win quickly.

The third match, however, was the most surprising to Zhang Lie.

Sun Mengmeng seemed to barely have an advantage over her opponent, and neither seemed to have control of the arena. How was that possible? Sun Mengmeng had peak gene fragments! Under usual circumstances, her opponent shouldn't have been able to withstand her attacks for so long.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Captain, the blood demon hunter's using some sort of secret technique, along with three different types of strengthening potions!" Fang Yi immediately answered.

"Why? Isn't it only the second match of the round?" Zhang Lie wondered, then settled in to observe the match.