Chapter 672: The Jindao Assault

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Quake]!" Water-attuned genetic energy frothed over Zhang Lie's fists, sending ripples of energy into space.

As Zhang Lie punched forward, that energy erupted in a flood, spreading out around Zhang Lie like a hurricane of water. Everyone within the capital felt a sudden chill and breathlessness.

As the hurricane revolved, the buildings nearest the palace were uprooted and sent flying. Pillars of shattered stone and balconies of wood whipped through the air, and even the palace infrastructure seemed as though it would topple at any moment.

The entire capital was caught in the vortex of the hurricane, including the fighters battling it out at the entrance to the palace.

As the water vapor dissipated, Zhang Lie frowned. A member of the Jindao had been able to block his attack.

"A human?"

The Jindao fighter who had successfully defended against Zhang Lie's attack bowed. "I am Jin Yu of the Jin Dao, 90th on the leaderboard of warlord-class fighters. May I ask your name?"

Jin Yu knew that the current human warlord was Chen Xiao, but Chen Xiao didn't use water-attuned genetic energy. Jin Yu didn't think anyone but a warlord would be able to produce such a powerful blow.

"Would you be willing to show your true appearance?" Although Jin Yu's opponent presented himself as a human, Jin Yu was certain that his opponent was anyone but.

The human race had suddenly grown famous over the entire universe thanks to the appearance of a certain fighter, the champion of mankind, Zhang Lie, but humanity as a whole was still nothing more than a weak power in the third realm.

On the other hand, many of the major races of the galaxy had absolute authority in a number of worlds, and they even controlled a few of their own.

The third realm was far larger than the second; if the second realm was like a high school, the third realm was a university. The full might of many races was only made known in the third realm, where there was considerable room to expand and no dominant race like the sura.

In fact, if not for the unusual existence known as the asura, as well as the ridiculous penalty for descending from one realm to the next, control over the second realm would never have passed to Zhang Lie.

After all, Musi Yu, famed third-realm warlord of the Musi clan, had grown so weak after his descension into the second realm that he had been taken as a sura concubine.

Musi Yu wasn't particularly strong among the third-realm warlords, but even so, the fact that he had been subdued by a sura king was testament to the intensity of the penalty.

On the other hand, it also shone a light on how abnormally strong Zhang Lie had been to be able to wrest control of the second realm from the sura at large.

Even so, despite the existence of hunters like Hong Tianqi and Zhang Lie, humanity was a weak race on the whole, and it would remain weak until the widespread adoption and development of limit-breaking potions.

To the Jindao, who were among the hundred-strongest races in the third realm, the humans were so weak as to be non-participants in the politics of the third realm, because their fighters were too sub-par.

Although humanity boasted occasional flashes of brilliance, those genius hunters whizzed through the third realm and quickly ascended to the fourth. As a result, humanity's foundations in the third realm remained weak, and it only had one warlord-class fighter in the third realm at present: Chen Xiao.

Jin Yu had never heard of another human warlord.

In the past, mankind had had a second warlord-class fighter, Musi Yu, who forcibly returned to the second realm and was subsequently slain by the champion of mankind, Zhang Lie.

Jin Yu was shocked by Zhang Lie's strength, and he had even sought to learn more about this unusual fighter who was able to kill a third-realm warlord in the second realm.

He had heard that Zhang Lie had recently advanced to the third realm, but Jin Yu never thought to connect that piece of information with the man standing before him. It was true that Zhang Lie was very strong, that he had managed to establish his own kingdom within the second realm, but there was no way someone who had just ascended would boast such overwhelming strength.

Thus, if the man in front of him wasn't Chen Xiao, then he couldn't be a human at all. He had to be a member of another race, in disguise! The reason Jin Yu had this notion was because of the Jinghun clan.

From Zhang Lie's perspective, he was also very surprised to see another warlord from the Jindao clan present. As expected of one of the hundred strongest races of the third realm!

Zhang Lie still had to be careful around warlords; even the lowest-ranked warlord was beyond the level of a peak-grade lifeform, and corresponded to a hunter who had maxed out all his peak gene fragments.

They boasted all sorts of techniques and mysterious soulshards, and quite a few could even stand against a disaster-grade lifeform on their own.

Most importantly, they were both representatives of the Milky Way. Zhang Lie, who had ascended to the fourth realm in the past and knew about the secrets of the fifth, understood that they bore the same fate.

A hunter who could ascend to the level of a warlord would surely be able to contribute to the Milky Way during the epoch of disaster, so under ordinary circumstances, Zhang Lie didn't want to kill warlords of the Milky Way—evil bastards like Musi Yu being the exception.

Zhang Lie asked, "Are you here for the primordial starflower?"

Jin Yu nodded, cupping his hands again. "If you're willing to stand aside, sir, the Jindao will surely reward you."

"I'm afraid I can't. You'll have to get through me first. [Fists of the Silent Sea: Quake]!" Zhang Lie confirmed the Jindao's motives and swung a punch at the warlord-class fighter.

The world shook. The ground beneath his feet quaked.The skies trembled, and stars seemed to fall from the heavens.

Jin Yu's golden blade shone as brightly as the sun. He drew it and swung it down to defend against Zhang Lie's fist. A flood of water erupted from the point of impact, and the ground caved in where the Jindao warlord stood. The force of [Fists of the Silent Sea] pressed down on him like a thousand-year-old glacier.

The ground continued to collapse around the Jindao fighter.

Gritting his teeth and bearing with the oppressive force, he shouted to his companion, "Run! I'll hold this fellow off!"

The other Jindao fighters immediately rushed toward the imperial treasury.

While Zhang Lie had the ability to take care of the Jindao warlord's companions, he chose not to do so. Instead, he quirked his lips. "Do you really think you can hold me back? [Rune: Gravity]!"

The image of a dragonturtle appeared behind him as a black tablet came crashing down onto the ground. The Jindao warlord, who was barely holding his own against Zhang Lie's attack, groaned as he was forced to one knee, blood dripping from his nose and mouth...