Chapter 619: Trying Her Best

With a resonant clink, Zhang Lie reached out and grabbed a tiny jade needle with his hand, one formed out of pure genetic energy. It was so thin that it could barely be seen with the naked eye.

"Excellent performance, Zhou Ying. Your fighting style is very mature, and you've surpassed my expectations! Your manipulation of genetic energy is precise and already extending into the microscopic."

In response, Zhou Ying sent a flurry of jade-green leaves rushing over toward him, a veritable tornado of green, each leaf as sharp as a blade.

A black serpent materialized from Zhang Lie's back and wrapped around him, dissolving any of the leaves that approached him.

A figure flew toward the serpent, wrapped up in a shroud of leaves, and struck it with a dagger. Beneath her feet, a great vine grew out of the ground.

Before the serpent could retaliate, Zhou Ying had jumped backwards, somersaulted into the air, and used the bark of a nearby tree as a springboard to launch herself at the serpent once more. She continued moving nimbly through the forest, with which she was as familiar as with her own backyard.

Her reservoir of genetic energy wasn't strong enough to unleash [Avatar of the Fae: Worldbound Enclosure], but her [Earthbound Prison] was a natural environment in which she could shine. The giant vines and forest that had sprung out of thin air would stymie her opponents and dramatically increase her maneuverability.

"Not bad!"

Zhou Ying moved at a rate so fast the members of Team Zenith were getting dizzy. As Zhou Ying plunged strike after strike into the serpent's body, it began to dissipate.

"[Storm of Leaves: Void Cut]!" She began to move even more quickly, darting through the air in a series of afterimages. She appeared atop Zhang Lie's head. As she clutched her dagger in a reverse grip and arced it downward, her face lit up in a smile. "I've succeeded."

Zhang Lie turned back with a smile, as if he'd guessed where she would be all along. Zhou Ying's eyes widened.

As Zhang Lie punched toward his back, he knocked Zhou Ying's dagger flying—along with Zhou Ying herself. She smashed against a tree, which caved in at the point of impact.

Zhou Ying was quite badly bruised, but she recovered almost instantly.

Zhang Lie's eyes turned serious. He clenched his fist, and space around him began to crack.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!" Abyssal energy materialized and exploded in Zhang Lie's vicinity. Zhou Ying's pupils contracted; she was scared stiff by the attack.

Fortunately, the attack barely missed her by inches, causing her to exhale in relief. She felt as though she had seen the gates of hell, that the god of death had brushed by her side. Zhou Ying glanced behind her with a shiver.

What Zhang Lie had evoked with his punch wasn't destruction, but annihilation. Beside Zhou Ying was a huge depression about ten meters wide and extending for over a few kilometers. The trees that Zhou Ying had summoned were all swallowed up by the energy.

Half the forest had vanished in an instant, leaving behind nothing but a wide chasm and strewn debris.

Despite Zhou Ying's mental resilience, she was still shocked—if that attack had touched her at all, she would have evaporated, leaving nothing behind. She was certain she wouldn't have been able to defend against the attack for more than a second.

Right then and there, she wholeheartedly believed the private nickname the members of Team Zenith had given their captain—a humanoid disaster-grade lifeform,no, one that surpassed disaster-grade. Zhou Ying had never seen a disaster-grade lifeform for herself, but she was nevertheless confident that no lifeform could best Zhang Lie's strength.

"Shall we continue?" Zhang Lie murmured softly.

Zhou Ying was so frightened that she shook her head violently, without speaking.

Seeing her terror, Zhang Lie blinked a few times. He suddenly seemed to become a regular hunter again, as though his terrifying aura had just been a dream.

"Very good. You've improved greatly, Zhou Ying."

Zhou Ying pursed her lips. "Captain, you're not just trying to console me, are you?"

Zhang Lie smiled as he shook his head. "No, of course not! I really am very impressed by your mobility in combat."

Zhou Ying was naturally overjoyed to receive such high praise from him.

"Did you intuit something?"

Zhou Ying frowned. She volunteered hesitantly, "It's useless to do anything in the face of absolute power?"

Zhang Lie shook his head again. "It looks like you haven't grasped the essence of my attack. You revealed your location too early on in the fight; your ability to control the terrain around you is exceptional, but you need to take more advantage of it. Hide yourself within that terrain and conform your attacks to it."

Zhou Ying nodded. "I did! I judged that controlling the trees and leaves like I did wouldn't be an effective means of attack against you, which was why I took the initiative to attack. I needed to create my own openings."

Zhang Lie nodded. "Indeed, that was good judgment. In that case, do you understand why you lost?"

Zhou Ying sighed. "If I did, I wouldn't have lost."

"You didn't calm down and think about your actions rationally. Everything before [Storm of Leaves], you did very well—but [Storm of Leaves] was your downfall."

Zhou Ying seemed flummoxed.

"You revealed your hand and attacked before seeing your opponent's condition—you relaxed."

Zhou Ying thought back to the battle. She hadn't relaxed, had she? She waited until the serpent dissipated, thought that that was her chance, and then attacked. And then…

She gaped at Zhang Lie. "Captain, were you the one who dematerialized your serpent? You shouldn't have had any problem maintaining it despite my attack..."

"It looks like you understand now." Zhang Lie nodded with a smile.

Zhou Ying screwed her face up. Zhang Lie was so strong—why did he have to play such tricks too! He could easily overwhelm them with brute strength—was he just treating them like lab rats?

Zhang Lie knew what Zhou Ying's expression implied, of course. "Just because I'm strong doesn't mean that I can't make use of tactics. No—it's precisely because I'm strong that I need to brush up on my tactics as well. More importantly, I want to help you all identify your blind spots and weaknesses."

He reached out and patted Zhou Ying's shoulder. "You have a lot of potential, and I hope you'll work hard to try to unearth it. Don't let yourself fall behind."

"I'll work hard, Captain!" Zhou Ying replied seriously. "I won't let you down!"

Zhang Lie turned to the others. "Hanxiang, it's your turn!"

Zhang HaZhang Hanxiang suddenly folded her arms over her stomach. "Brother, it looks like my stomachache hasn't gone away!"

Zhang Lie glared at her. "Hurry up!"

"Alright, alright! My stomachache suddenly abated." Zhang Hanxiang jumped up and walked toward Zhang Lie.

"Don't say that I'm bullying you—Hong Xi, you come here too."

Hong Xi, who had been taking care of Sun Mengmeng, also stepped forward.

"The two of you will attack me together. If you can touch me, I'll count it as a win for you!"

The two females' eyes sparkled as they prepared for the battle.