Chapter 888: Map Fragments

"It's precisely because I suspect the presence of a mastermind that I can't make a move myself," Hong Tianqi told Zhang Lie.

"Why?"

"Because I can't remain the sole protector of humanity. Those who go against Earth will learn that Earth has far more defenders."

Zhang Lie understood at once. "You'd like me to become the second Hong Tianqi?"

"What's the matter? Are you unwilling to do so?" Hong Tianqi's eyes were twinkling and benevolent, as though he were looking at one of his own disciples.

Zhang Lie shook his head. "I've never wanted to become you."

It wasn't that Zhang Lie wanted to surpass Hong Tianqi; they were two independent, separate, and distinct people. There was no need for Zhang Lie to grow into the mold of Hong Tianqi. He was certain that one day, they would walk together, side by side—and it was only a matter of time before he surpassed Hong Tianqi himself.

If he were to make these views public, there would be countless detractors in the Milky Way who would criticize Zhang Lie's arrogance, but Zhang Lie himself was confident.

His foundations were immaculate and necessarily superior to those who came before him: he had acquired disaster gene fragments in the first realm, filled them up in the second realm, and had even obtained peak limit fragments in the third realm. These were overwhelming advantages that Hong Tianqi didn't possess. Even a pig who were somehow granted Zhang Lie's foundation would be able to grow stronger than Hong Tianqi.

Hong Tianqi continued seriously, "Now that I've taken on the role of the presiding authority of the world federation, I need another strong human to step up to be the defender of Earth. You're the best choice!"

Zhang Lie now understood why Hong Tianqi wanted him in particular to support Mars.

Humanity had expanded beyond the solar system as the galactic age dawned, and they had taken over a few planets of their own. Many lived on planets where there were other aliens around; such cross-pollination was normal and even expected.

Mars was a planet in the solar system. If these space bugs were to take over Mars, they would eventually come for Earth.

Even so, Hong Tianqi hadn't gone to deal with the threat personally. Instead, he intended on hiring the Zenith Dojo to do so—because he wanted to demonstrate humanity's might for the rest of the galaxy to see. Humanity was strong even when Hong Tianqi was taken out of the picture.

"This is why you wanted to hire me and the Zenith Dojo to deal with this crisis?"

Hong Tianqi nodded. "Is this fee agreeable to you?"

Even though Zhang Lie had more money than he knew what to do with, his eyes bulged upon seeing the number that Hong Tianqi had quoted.

That said, Zhang Lie didn't much care for the money. It wasn't as though he lacked for it; the patent fee for the limit-breaking potions alone was sufficient to catapult Zhang Lie to among the top ten richest figures in the galaxy.

Not only that, the Zenith Dojo took in huge margins from the sale of ingredients for these limit-breaking potions. Even if the Zenith Dojo were to fund its disciples' advancement with everything that money could buy, Zhang Lie could live for a thousand generations without worry—no matter how profligate he was.

To Zhang Lie, money wasn't even just a string of numbers—it was something that had left his mind entirely.

"Let's not put a monetary value on our relationship. How about something else, instead?"

"You don't want money?"

"Not really, no. Why don't you use your connections and manpower to help me find something instead?"

"What are you looking for?" Hong Tianqi was perplexed. Given Zhang Lie's status, was there anything he wouldn't be able to acquire on his own? The king of Limit, the pioneer of the third realm, the leader of the warlords, the ally of the four prime races—what could there be that he, Zhang Lie, was unable to access?

"I need a few spiritual herbs and grasses," Zhang Lie explained, sending a list over to Hong Tianqi.

Of course, the list was incomplete—Zhang Lie had left out the herbs already in his possession, as well as the core ingredient: the energy of a superior world.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

That energy was required to meld and refine the various ingredients that would ultimately form the limit-breaking potion; without its addition, Zhang Lie would be consuming a poison that would cause his body to explode.

"None of these herbs are all that expensive—they're just rare. I should be able to get most of them for you, but could I ask what you're doing with them?"

"Research on limit-breaking potions," Zhang Lie replied.

Hong Tianqi's eyes widened. "Potion #3?"

"More or less."

Hong Tianqi nodded firmly. "I'll try to find them, but why not ask the laboratories interested in working with you to help contribute as well?"

"If I ask them to do so, they'll request that I share the fruits of my labor with them."

Zhang Lie had long since come up with a refined recipe for superior limit fragments, and none of the members of Team Zenith had reported any ill effects after consuming the superior limit-breaking potion. The research was mature, and there would be no issue with Zhang Lie sharing it with the public—but the ingredients he was asking for didn't match up with those that went into the superior limit-breaking potions.

"I understand," Hong Tianqi replied.

"Furthermore, could you help me find more pieces of this map?"

Zhang Lie sent Hong Tianqi a few images of the map he had been collecting.

Hong Tianqi recognized them immediately. "Oh, these? I searched for them myself back when I was in the third realm!"

Hong Tianqi didn't think it was unusual that Zhang Lie was hunting these down; many of the hunters who had ascended to the third realm had tried, but none had succeeded.

The source of these fragments was shrouded in mystery. Anyone who came into contact with a fragment would notice how unusual it was—these fragments couldn't be destroyed by ordinary or extraordinary means.

No one knew what would appear when all the fragments of the map were gathered, and there were all sorts of guesses. Some suggested that this was a map that would lead to the greatest treasure hidden within the third realm; others, that it was a path straight to the fourth realm.

It might have been the location of the grave of a third-realm warlord who had perished before his prime, or perhaps the location of a secret extradimensional space. One particularly novel hypothesis was that the map was a red herring for a mysterious, powerful combat technique that lay within.

However, none of these hypotheses could be verified. There were simply too many fragments that had been scattered all over the three thousand worlds.

"I collected quite a few fragments myself," Hong Tianqi told Zhang Lie.

"Really? How many?"

"Three hundred or so, all hidden away."

Zhang Lie inhaled deeply.

When he told the warlords of the Milky Way that he was collecting these fragments, the hundred strongest races of the galaxy had all given him their collection. Only the four prime races had managed to acquire over three hundred fragments; the others all had roughly a hundred.

Weaker races only possessed perhaps a few dozen such fragments, and they had all been taken by the hundred strongest races by force or trade to be given to Zhang Lie.

Those fragments were something that each race had spent countless years collecting, but Hong Tianqi alone had a collection with that on par with the strongest races. Zhang Lie couldn't help but be astounded.

"I hid them in a certain world in the third realm. I don't mind handing over the fragments to you—they're useless to me, anyway, and I'd be happy to assign some manpower to help you find more."

"In that case, I'll gladly accept this offer of cooperation—we can treat the herbs and map fragments as the employment fee. I'll head to Mars immediately."

Zhang Lie had already been planning on doing so, originally with the other members of Team Zenith, but now, he would bring the entire Zenith Dojo along...