Chapter 1343: The Starlit Path
"An airship!" the genetic hunters shouted in surprise. Wasn't it the case that you couldn't bring technology into the dimensional world? How could an airship exist in the fourth realm? Was it just something that looked like an airship?
The clouds began to draw close to the airship.
The airship's robotic voice rang out, "A mysterious mist is drawing near. Shall I activate the artillery system?"
Zhang Lie shook his head. "There's no need. The airship doesn't have much energy, and I don't want it to be wasted. I can deal with an enemy like this easily."
Zhang Lie headed up to the top of the airship and frowned as he took in the condition of the settlement.
The cloudy mist squirmed. The white, fluffy sea of clouds seemed to be alive. The clouds rose up in the form of a long snake that coiled around the airship and Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie snorted. He clenched his fists tightly. Pale blue genetic energy rippled about Zhang Lie's arms. He flicked his wrists, causing a frightening aura to descend around them. A fish the size of a whale materialized in the air.
A howling gale swept over the space. As more and more genetic energy gathered around Zhang Lie's arms, it looked as though he were at the heart of a whirlpool.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!"
A huge wave soared into the air. As Zhang Lie punched forward, the fish slammed its huge tail on the ground and sent a torrent of water surging.
Ripples of energy spread out from Zhang Lie, warping the space around him. The towering waves looked like enraged black dragons, flooding the area.
The explosion shattered space and sent waves of force rippling all around it. Like a rampaging beast, it devoured everything nearby, shattering space and swallowing up all life in its vicinity. The cloudy mist around the city was swept clean for a mile around Zhang Lie.
The cloudy mist transformed into a face.
"Oh? I thought it would take me much longer to find you, but here you are!"
Zhang Lie frowned. "I was passing by and saw Lin Lingfeng in trouble, so I thought I'd help her out—but it looks like I was the cause of it."
The cloud face replied, "Whether or not you are depends on your answer. Though I don't quite believe it, were you the one who killed Black Swamp?"
"Black Swamp? What?"
The cloud face smiled. "As I thought, a race as weak as ants—how could any of them have killed my brother, Chtaat's son? Is that what you thought I'd say?"
Zhang Lie shrugged. "Regardless, I'm not familiar with this Black Swamp you mention."
The cloud face replied, "You must have heard of Cthaat's sons, then."
Zhang Lie thought for a moment. "I think I've heard of it, but I don't remember where."
The cloud face continued, "You must have been to a large, black swamp recently? Forget it. I can't be bothered to talk nonsense with you. Regardless of whether you were the one who killed Black Swamp, I'm going to kill you and the rest of your race along with you."
Zhang Lie replied, "What a coincidence! I was about to do the same to you."
"Right, what race do you belong to? No, never mind. You're all as weak as ants. There's no need to remember your race." The cloud face dispersed and transformed into large quantities of mist that surged toward Zhang Lie.
"After doing this to one of the Milky Way gathering points in the fourth realm, you won't get away alive!" Zhang Lie replied. He extended his pointer finger like a sword, and water-attuned genetic energy coiled around it like a snake.
"[The Boundless Blade: Yawning Wave]!"
With a swing of his finger, a sword slash pierced through the mist. Even more mist surged toward Zhang Lie from all over.
A raging shark swam forth deep into the mist, where it met surprising resistance. The mist was simultaneously real and illusory. It couldn't be caught, and it did no damage when pierced through, but it could exert strength of its own.
"[Ninecarp Transformation]!"
A black serpent materialized behind Zhang Lie, by now so large and so developed that it resembled the world-swallowing serpent Jormungandr. It let out a threatening hiss as its scales clicked together.
Black genetic energy gushed out, forming pitch-black clouds that contrasted against the white mist. It sizzled as it came into contact with the mist.
Zhang Lie's genetic energy spread out all around him, shrouding the airship within.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!" contemporary romance
Zhang Lie punched forward, and the black serpent behind him shot forth through the mist. However, it didn't strike anything physical.
With his initial probing attack rendered useless, Zhang Lie couldn't help but sigh. "This mist might as well not exist."
The mist reformed into a face and laughed at Zhang Lie. "Your attack will be fruitless. I've never been defeated, and I'm invincible!"
"Nothing is ever invincible. You seem like a decently strong opponent, however, and I have just the thing to try out on you."
As Zhang Lie activated his monarch-grade limitless universe soulshard,
he glowed with stellar radiance, like a burning star. Starlight flowed through his body in phantasmagorical colors.
Li Qianlin, watching from the airship, was caught by the allure of the starlight.
The genetic hunters in the city were all shocked by Zhang Lie's demonstration.
"What sort of power is this?!"
"It looks like a soulshard."
"What sort of soulshard would cause such a huge commotion..."
Zhang Lie's body transformed into a glaze of the dark cosmos, as though the Milky Way itself flowed through his body. His aura grew tremendously.
"I'm not finished!" Zhang Lie simultaneously activated his dragonwolf soulshard. His russet fur seemed to glimmer with stellar radiance, each hair a shining star, as though he were draped with the entirety of the Milky Way. His four limbs were armored with a dragon's scales, each a burning golden sun. The two soulshards' power combined.
Bu Wentian harbored high expectations for Zhang Lie, not just for the Galactic Rising Stars Cup, but for the good of humanity. He had given him an incredible treasure, a high-grade soulshard that was perfectly compatible with his peak-grade dragonwolf transformation, replacing his original superior-grade blood ant soulshard.
The combination of the two soulshards produced a magnified strength.
A dragon's horns grew out of Zhang Lie's forehead, shining with stellar radiance, surrounded by galactic starlight. To others, he would seem to have the boundless energy of a new galaxy.
Zhang Lie swiped forward with his claws. Starlight flooded forward, splitting apart heaven and earth, and dividing the sea of clouds in twain.
