Chapter 621: A Long-Delayed Ascension

Zhang Lie instructed, "Once Hong Xi wakes up, relay what I said to her."

Overall, he was quite satisfied with the results of his impromptu examination. Everyone in Team Zenith had a near-disaster-grade strength, and it would be trivial for them to protect and guard the kingdom of Limit. In addition, despite his criticism, both Zhang Hanxiang and Hong Xi had grown greatly as hunters.

Given their combat ability, Zhang Lie was comfortable allowing them access to disaster gene fragments without having to worry about whether he was stunting their growth.

The members of Team Zenith had finished their training, and he had already worked out the governance of Limit with Yun Bing and the others. Once they assimilated the various alien races into the kingdom, it would prosper as a whole.

Yun Bing was an excellent prime minister, and she managed the kingdom effectively. There was little that he would have to worry about in the second realm.

Zhang Lie considered leaving behind some of his soulshards for Zhang Hanxiang; it was past time to clean up his inventory, after all.

His superior-grade forest wolfman, windborne eagle, and runic salamander soulshards from the first realm were no longer able to match his strength, but even Zhang Hanxiang might be a little disdainful of them. After all, there were plenty of soulshards available for sale or trade in Limit, and Zhang Hanxiang was using peak-grade soulshards herself.

Zhang Lie laughed. "If nothing else, these are the soulshards that the king of Limit, Zhang Lie, once used in the first and second realms. Give me some face, won't you?"

Zhang Hanxiang nodded. "Indeed. They do have historical value, and I'm certain I'll be able to get a high price for them if I put them up for auction."

Zhang Lie intended to leave the disaster-grade dragonwhale soulshard for Zhang Hanxiang to manage; it was originally intended for her and the members of Team Zenith, after all.

When Zhang Lie passed her the soulshard, Zhang Hanxiang's eyes widened. She understood what Zhang Lie was about to do. "You're going to leave me again, Brother, aren't you?"

"I'm not leaving—just ascending into a higher realm. It's a natural thing to do as hunters and cultivators, after all. In fact, I've already overstayed my welcome in order to help you all build a better foundation here."

Zhang Hanxiang was a little dejected and upset.

"There's no need to worry. In a little more time, Ye Xianchen, Jun Jiuxiao, and Hong Xiao will be arriving in the second realm, along with other members of Team Zenith. By that point, the Zenith Dojo will have a solid foundation here.

"I've already informed Yun Bing to build a replica of the Zenith Dojo within Renhuang once everyone from the Zenith Dojo gets here, and you can draw in new recruits then—aliens and humans alike."

Zhang Hanxiang asked, "Brother, can't you do it?"

Zhang Lie rubbed his sister's head. "It's a task for you, as well as a trial."

With the members of Team Zenith and the Zenith Dojo around, along with her status as princess of Limit, it would be trivial for Zhang Hanxiang to accomplish this task. It wasn't a true trial at all—just a means by which he could help his sister secure her own forces.

Limit belonged to him, and problems would eventually arise once he left. The incorporation and assimilation of all the alien races into Limit would be a breeding ground for trouble. Zhang Lie was able to suppress that trouble on the basis of his raw strength, but once he left, who could say?

Would Zhang Hanxiang be ready to ascend to the third realm within a decade or two? Zhang Lie didn't know. Just in case, he would have her establish the Zenith Dojo within the second realm so as to safeguard herself. Zhang Lie would be able to mobilize this strength, and the forces within would be loyal to her and her alone.

Before his departure, Zhang Lie had planned out everything.

Except for his disaster-grade mistmeld clam soulshard, he left almost everything else to Zhang Hanxiang in hopes that she would be able to defend herself well.

The superior-grade white grub and blood ant soulshards would hurt him to give up. The first had taken him over half a year to obtain; the second boasted frequent utility. They were starting to get dated, but they had sentimental value to him.

The superior-grade eternalspring cocoon soulshard was still valuable to him, so he would keep that as well.

He couldn't bring himself to give up his peak-grade moonlight wyrm soulshard. He had raised the wyrm from the very beginning and cultivated a deep enough relationship with it for it to be worth keeping.

The others all had their own extra-dimensional storage, so there was no reason for him to leave his potbellied-toad soulshard behind.

His peak-grade dragonwolf and golden roc soulshards were still usable; the latter was the source of his twin blades Guicang and Hanguang.

Zhang Lie: a disaster-grade lifeform

Framework: Foundation, Lv. MAX; Ninecarp Transformation, Sixth Form: River Dragon Techniques: Rippling Walk (pinnacle), Three-Wave Crescendo (pinnacle), Calm Waters (advanced), Fists of the Silent Sea (pinnacle), The Boundless Blade (pinnacle), Eclipse (pinnacle), Syzygy (pinnacle), ?Ninesoul Dragonblade (advanced), ...

Genes: Basic, 160; Mutated, 150; Superior, 150; Peak, 150; Disaster, 100

Soulshards: White Grub (superior), Blood Ant (superior), Potbellied Toad (mutated), Eternalspring Cocoon (superior), Dragonwolf (superior), Moonlight Wyrm (peak), Golden Roc (peak)

Zhang Lie smiled at having all his affairs settled. With a burst of mental energy, he called out, "Will of the world, I'm ready!"

Space cracked around him, and the ground began to tremble. The release of Zhang Lie's strength was impossible for the will of the world to ignore.

The will of the world's voice rose in his mind. [Your status exceeds that permissible within the second realm. Please advance to the third realm immediately!]

Zhang Lie's entire body, wrapped up in rainbow-colored light, was transported to the extradimensional space that had been used for the refinement ceremony. Despite the fact that he had already passed through the process once, the will of the world ran him through it again—a big boon.

His strength consolidated once more, and the refinement energy seeped throughout his body. As a pillar of light rose into the air, Zhang Lie floated up with it into the third realm.

What he didn't notice was that, as he ascended, the will of the world's voice seemed to take on a malicious tinge.

The third realm was known as the meru realm. Zhang Lie had ascended to it in his past life, and he had some understanding of it. It was composed of thousands of smaller worlds.

As the light descended, Zhang Lie glanced at his surroundings in shock.

He had been dropped among a number of aliens who looked startlingly like humans, except for the fact that their arms were jade-green. If Zhang Lie hadn't been able to distinguish between the aura of a human and that of an alien, he might have gotten confused himself.

The will of the world should have sent him to a human settlement; how had he ended up in what seemed to be a small non-human village?

He politely asked the old man in front of him, "Excuse me, sir, where am I?"

The old man scanned him up and down. "You don't look familiar to me. I'm sure I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

Just as Zhang Lie was about to respond, a bell from somewhere nearby began to toll. Someone from within the village shouted, "The demon bats are here, the demon bats are here!"

Zhang Lie sensed a huge wave of incoming lifeforms, but by the time he lifted his head, everything had already grown dark. The darkness even seemed to be... rapidly spreading? Frowning, Zhang Lie had a closer look—the darkness was actually a swarm of bats, thousands of bats of humongous size...

1. Sorry, this is one of those hard names to translate. It has Buddhist connotations and has something to do with boundlessness.