Chapter 88: Exploration in the Night

The final combatant was Li Feng. He was essentially starting from scratch, having switched his elemental attunement to study [Arclight Dragon's Imprint].

Zhang Lie hadn't expected much from him, but given the fact that the other three hunters had let him go last, Zhang Lie thought that there might be a surprise or two in store for him.

Zhang Lie looked toward Li Feng, and Li Feng looked back at Zhang Lie.

"Captain, it's my turn!"

"Alright, let me see your [Arclight Dragon's Imprint]!"

As Li Feng thrust his sword toward Zhang Lie, a silver dragon surged toward Zhang Lie. It was far stronger an attack than Zhang Lie had anticipated. Allowing Li Feng to study [Arclight Dragon's Imprint] was the correct decision, and his hard work didn't disappoint Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie became a little more serious. With ripples underneath his feet, Zhang Lie darted toward Li Feng's back.

"[Daybreak]!" The moment Zhang Lie made his move, so did Li Feng. As a light-attuned hunter, Li Feng naturally had an advantage in speed, and was fast enough that he could even surpass Zhang Lie.

Of course, this was predicated on Zhang Lie artificially restricting his abilities. After all, given how many more superior gene fragments Zhang Lie had, it was almost impossible for any of them to win against him without doing so.

With a dull thump, the image of the silver dragon dissolved, and Li Feng stumbled back.

.

"Not bad—you're as fast as expected for a light-attuned hunter. Again!"

"[Light Dragon's Remnants]!" Li Feng wasn't deflated despite his attack failing. Instead, he marshalled his genetic energy into the form of a few white dragons, which he shot toward Zhang Lie.

"Is that your variant on [Light's Bulwark]? Not bad!" Zhang Lie praised, preparing to deflect the attack with [Fists of the Silent Sea].

The white dragons crashed against the ripples that surrounded Zhang Lie's fist, unable to penetrate his defenses.

The seemingly weak ripples were somehow as strong and sturdy as a steel wall, and no matter how concerted the dragons' attack, Li Feng was unable to make Zhang Lie budge at all. Instead, as Li Feng summoned more and more dragons, he rapidly drained his reservoir of genetic energy.

No longer held back by the white dragons, the ripples from Zhang Lie's fist knocked Li Feng further back.

"Captain, your usage of [Fists of the Silent Sea] is simply too ridiculous!" Li Feng muttered, as he tried to gather more genetic energy.

"You've only had a month to work with [Light's Bulwark], so even this is already quite impressive. Shall we stop now?"

"No, wait, I still have my finishing blow!"

"Oh? Let's see it, then!"

"Yes, Captain!" As Li Feng yelled out, his body began glowing with white light, forming a suit of dragon armor around him. Li Feng's vitality and energy reached its peak.

"Captain, take this! [Arclight Descension]!"

Li Feng waved his left arm, around which a torrent of light-attuned genetic energy was gathering. It took the form of a gigantic dragon's claw, bearing down on Zhang Lie like a beam of light.

"Not bad!" Zhang Lie smiled. His palm clenched into a fist, which he struck at the beam of light descending from above.

With an explosion of black mist, a black serpent swallowed the claw whole, instantly dispelling the attack. Li Feng clutched his palm in pain, sucking in air as he dealt with the backlash from the blow.

"Sorry, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Captain, it just hurts a little!"

Zhang Lie had held back at the very end, or Li Feng would have suffered far more grievous injuries. "Good! Alright, everyone, gather around!"

Zhang Lie had important news to share.

"First, I want to congratulate all of you on a job well done. In this last month and a half, you've all taken great strides forward, and you've exceeded my expectations!"

The hunters let out relieved smiles. Zhang Lie's praise validated their long hours of hard work, and his approval meant the world to them.

"Right, after we have dinner, pack up. We're heading back to the real world overnight!"

However, before they could express their joy and relief, Zhang Lie's next command shocked them all. Return to the real world? Why?

Wouldn't it make more sense for them to hunt down as many superior-grade lifeforms as they could before the Void Cup started? After all, they were still far from their own gene capacities.

"Why, Captain?" Li Feng asked. "Won't we be wasting valuable time if we head back now?"

The gathered hunters all looked toward Zhang Lie, but he only smiled. "Don't worry, it won't take long." This sort of response was even more mystifying, but none of them pressed the issue.

They teleported to the city of Liao, by the Tailin mountain range.

Glancing all around at the forest all around them, Fang Yi couldn't help but ask, "Captain, what exactly are we doing here?"

They had wandered around for half the night, seemingly searching for something. There had just been a drizzle, and the air was damp and wet. A thin film of water covered their clothes.

Just as Fang Yi asked his question, Zhang Lie finally stopped moving. "I've found it. It's right here!"

Everyone gathered around Zhang Lie, but all they saw was an ancient wooden stump.

A wooden stump? What was so special about it?

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Li Feng glanced closely at the stump. After inspecting it carefully and not finding anything amiss, he cocked his head at Zhang Lie. "Captain, is there anything unusual about this stump?"

No one knew what was going on.

Zhang Lie smiled mysteriously, motioning for everyone to step back. "Oh, you'll see!"

He slammed his foot down on the stump. With a sharp whistling noise that hurt their ears, Zhang Lie seemed to turn blurry—no, it wasn't Zhang Lie who was turning blurry, but rather the space all around him.

As their vision blurred further, the hunters felt as though they were glancing into a kaleidoscope.

"Ha, as expected!" Despite their surprise, Zhang Lie remained a beacon of calm. "Don't panic. Wait for my command!"

He had memorized the method of breaking through this particular array. He took three steps to the left, four right, nine back, then five forward. Stopping for a moment, he then took seven steps forward, six left, three back, and one right. Finally, he punched at what seemed to be empty air before him.

With a crack, Zhang Lie's [Fists of the Silent Sea] seemed to break something in the kaleidoscopic space, which shattered like a mirror.