Chapter 875: Living in Harmony

Zhang Lie continued to heckle Dong Mingxing playfully. "Dong Mingxing, aren't you ashamed? A young woman in your twenties, courting an old man in his hundreds! There are so many good men out there—you could have had your pick!

"I know that you might not have many options available to you, but it surely isn't hard to find a male of about equal age? How could you set your thoughts on your friend's father? Have you ever asked Qianlin how she feels about the thought?"

"You—I, Dong Mingxing, was once considered the top beauty of the worlds of east and west! The number of men who wanted to marry me are enough to encircle the Zongming world twice over. I've never needed to worry about a mate!"

"Who knows? You might have a complex for older fathers?"

Li Qianlin sat by the side of the room, laughing at her two friends' antics. After a long period of traveling together, Zhang Lie and Dong Mingxing had gotten to know each other, and they frequently bickered with each other.

Dong Mingxing's face flushed red. "No, I don't like men older than I am! Those who wish to court me have to be the strongest among the three thousand worlds, invincible in the realm, who can save the world from crisis with a simple flip of his hand!"

Zhang Lie stumbled back, clutching his chest with his arms as though he had been injured.

When Dong Mingxing saw Zhang Lie suddenly go quiet, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Lie coughed. "The person you described—it couldn't be me, could it?"

Dong Mingxing's face flushed like a ripe apple.

Zhang Lie laughed. "Ah, well, you are a beauty, but your personality—that is, you're a good person, I'm sorry!"

Dong Mingxing's flush crept up to her ears. She had been lauded as a genius and beauty since her youth, and countless men from east and west had chased after her. When had she ever faced such public rejection?

"When did I say I was talking about you? Say that to my face once you defeat all the superior kings in the realm!"

Dong Mingxing left the room and rushed into the palace located atop the disaster-grade dragon.

Zhang Lie waved at Li Zongming, grabbed Li Qianlin's hand, then leapt up toward the palace as well. Li Qianlin squirmed, but she allowed Zhang Lie to hold her hand, her face still flushed red.

The disaster-grade dragon flapped its wings and flew off in a burst of five-colored light, followed quickly behind by Red Comet.

While Zhang Lie was leisurely traveling through the third realm, a disaster was unfolding in the Milky Way, back on Mars. It was being invaded by a swarm of bugs, so densely packed together the skies were a frightening black mass. Dozens of clans participated in the defense against the swarm.

From the outside, it looked as though black clouds had covered Mars up. This was the largest invasion of alien bugs that any planet in the solar system had faced, and the current situation wasn't one that Mars alone could handle.

The inhabitants of Mars once again recalled the fear of these alien bugs that they had already repulsed once before. The innumerous bugs seemed as though they could swallow up the entire world; wherever they went, they left a trail of barren land behind them.

Countless warriors perished to their claws, and the clans who valiantly repelled the bugs began to have thoughts of fleeing.

Just then, a figure descended from the skies like a god from heaven, commanding the forces of fire and storm. His arrival alone cleared out a huge hole in the swarm of bugs, causing rays of sunlight to shine down on the surface of Mars once again.

This was the Marshal of Flame, Li Pu. When he appeared, the entire battlefield erupted in cheers. Li Pu was the keystone of the Martian offense, an emblem of victory. The Martian warriors felt their morale rise—until suddenly, a figure cloaked in stealth appeared behind Li Pu.

By the time Li Pu reacted, it was too late. A long, barbed tail had pierced clean through Li Pu's chest, spraying blood over the cheering soldiers.

The return trip to the draconian world only took three days, even after Zhang Lie secretly requested that the disaster-grade dragon fly more slowly.

The moment he returned, Zhang Lie headed straight for the draconian sage and inquired about the state of the wars.

The sage replied, "The other members of your team, Team Zenith, are unstoppable. No king of the realm has managed to resist their assault."

"We've managed to take over more worlds, then?"

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"We're expanding at a very impressive rate. During the two weeks in which you were gone, the members of Team Zenith took down six new worlds, large, medium-sized, and small."

Zhang Lie relaxed. "It looks like I won't have to worry about the expansion of this world, then."

The draconian sage shook his head, surprising Zhang Lie. "Is there something you need me to handle?"

"The members of Team Zenith are doing just fine, but the problem is with the other four parties."

"You mean the warlords of the Milky Way?" Zhang Lie had split up his retinue of warlords into four parties, each led by a member of the four prime races. They were to wage war in four separate directions at once.

"The warlord party led by the starbeasts has suffered its first defeat."

Zhang Lie frowned. Each party of warlords had dozens of strong fighters. How could they have lost?

The draconian sage suggested, "To understand the specifics, I recommend you talk to them yourself."

The draconian sage led him to where the injured warlords were recuperating from their wounds. Xing Ying was lying in bed, and Ren Kunjing of the Zijing was peeling fruits for him.

When Xing Ying, wrapped up like a mummy, saw Zhang Lie approach, he tried to force himself to sit up, but Zhang Lie stopped him. "You're injured. Lie back down."

Xing Ying looked down, ashamed. "I was too inept, and unable to lead my comrades to success. When I recover, I'll surely—"

Zhang Lie interrupted him. "No, no, none of that. You don't owe me anything; we're companions. I simply want to know what happened to you, and how you came to be so severely injured."

Ren Kunjing asked, "Zhang Lie, do you mean to—"

Zhang Lie's face was a mask of frozen ice. "These aliens will pay for injuring my companions so severely."

Xing Ying was so touched that tears beaded by his eyes. "The world we attacked was at the peak of large worlds. The leading inhabitants of this world are gigantic beasts with the remarkable ability of being able to communicate with genetic lifeforms and live in harmony with them."

Zhang Lie frowned. "You mean, like the Jinghun clan?"

Ren Kunjing shrugged. "I came to speak with Xing Ying about this matter as well. After some questioning, I realized this wasn't the case. These beasts aren't controlling the lifeforms; they truly are living in harmony with them."

Zhang Lie shook his head. "In harmony? In what sense? Do they support each other, or do they simply stay out of each other's way?"