Chapter 526: Effects of the Schism

Zhang Lie's blood boiled. Energy ran rampant throughout his body, causing blood to seep out of his pores and boil in the air. A haze of white steam surrounded him.

The pain was unimaginable.

Despite how tough Zhang Lie was, he had curled up into a ball on the ground. His head spun as he forced himself upright one stumbling step at a time.

The agonizing process he was going through was essentially a full-body blood transfusion between him and the disaster-grade lifeform's core, an evolution of the genetic code in his very cells.

Zhang Lie's [Ninecarp Transformation] activated on its own. Because of the genetic energy surging through his body, Zhang Lie was able to complete one cycle of cultivation in just a minute, an unimaginable speed.

As he continued to cycle the genetic energy through his body, he suddenly felt himself starting to swell, as though his body couldn't take it any longer.

Indeed, were Zhang Lie to open his eyes, he would find his body inflating like a balloon; at some point, he would surely pop. As his body continued to balloon, Zhang Lie spat out a mouthful of blood.

Following this, blood began to well out of all of his orifices.

After all, one aspect of his framework was water-attuned, and the fact that his body temperature had somehow ended up so high meant that his body had gone entirely out of control.

To be frank, Zhang Lie was already losing control over his body. If not for his overwhelming willpower, Zhang Lie would long since have been rendered unconscious.

His body ballooned, tearing his clothes to shreds, and he was about to explode. His skin was already starting to crack and tear, and black genetic energy was seeping out from within.

Rocks crumbled. The ground cracked. Black beams of light shot out of his battered body, piercing through every lifeform in sight.

However, the second realm was able to tolerate a far greater output of energy than the first realm, and the will of the world didn't appear to save Zhang Lie from his self-imposed calamity.

As Zhang Lie's body reached its limits, the genetic armor hidden within his body finally activated, suppressing the strength of the disaster-grade core and revitalizing Zhang Lie's body.

Zhang Lie's cells began to function once more. With the help of his genetic armor, a dense layer of genetic energy surrounded him, forming a structure much like a cocoon.

Slowly, his body stabilized, and he fell into a deep coma. There he lay, blissfully unaware of the conflict he had caused within the human world.

"Slander, mere slander! Hong Tianqi falsified that recording to frame me for an incident that never occurred!"

The same day Hong Tianqi held his press conference, Amurong announced one of his own in defense and retaliation.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"I admit that I was once tempted by Zhang Lie's limit-breaking potions, but that was all for the good of the world federation, for all intelligent life in the Milky Way! As the presiding authority of the world federation, I have to think of the good of all!" Amurong was thick-skinned enough to drag the entirety of the world federation into this affair.

"After all, Zhang Lie shouldn't be able to monopolize these limit-breaking potions—they're treasures that belong to every lifeform of the Milky Way! I never carried out any of these plans," Amurong asserted. "That said, I stand by my claims—for the greater good, the recipe for these limit-breaking potions must be regulated by the world federation."

The reporters' cameras continued to flash as he spoke.

"You all saw what happened with the Musi clan a few months ago, didn't you? Zhang Lie made use of the scarcity of these potions to shake the entire world federation to its very foundations. You've all seen the havoc he's wreaked with these potions, and if we allow Zhang Lie to continue monopolizing them, we'll only doom ourselves. I simply want jurisdiction over these potions to pass to the world federation. Am I mistaken in this belief?

"I swear on my conscience: all that I've done has been for the greater good, for the good of the world federation. Compare this to my main detractor, Hong Tianqi, who's still trying to shield Zhang Lie! If we allow Zhang Lie's actions to go uncontested, he will ruin the entire world federation—mark my words!

"So what if he's had a few successes in the second realm? He brought down a sura empire, but how will the rest of us benefit? He would do the entire galaxy some good if he were able to rid the second realm of the sura entirely, but will he be able to achieve such a lofty goal?"

The contrasting press conferences led to vigorous debate on the forums.

"The presiding authority of the world federation's absolutely right. Zhang Lie has to be reined in, or he might end up becoming a calamity."

"Indeed. Isn't it unfair that China and Zhang Lie are monopolizing these limit-breaking potions for themselves? The entire Milky Way should have access to it!"

"It truly is unfair. Zhang Lie's working for his own good, not the good of humanity!"

Of course, others held dissenting opinions.

"Your wife's a valuable good—why don't you share her with us? It's for the good of humanity!"

"Why don't you share your money with us, then?"

"Zhang Lie made that discovery by himself, with his own resources, using his own talent. Why shouldn't he profit from it?"

"We've already had this discussion countless times, and there's never been a consensus. But if you listen carefully to what the presiding authority wants, he would be satisfied with Zhang Lie ceding control of the recipe to the world federation, not sharing it with the public."

"What's the difference?"

"If he were to share it, everyone could make use of it, but if he were to cede control of it to the world federation, only those vetted by the world federation would qualify to see the recipe."