Ultragene Warlord

contemporary romance

Chapter 882: The Price of Ascension

At that moment, Zhu's face was flushed red—perhaps out of excitement or embarrassment.

She had been ostracized and shunned in her small seaside village. If not for Zhang Lie's opportune arrival, she would have turned into a genetic lifeform's feces, nothing more.

Zhang Lie had saved her from that awful fate and brought her to new lands, rich beyond her imagination. What she had now, she owed to Zhang Lie.

While she was an orphan in the dark, it was Zhang Lie who had reached out. When she had nightmares, it was Zhang Lie who clutched her hand.

Zhang Lie said little, but did far more.

She had fond memories of watching sunrises and sunsets with Zhang Lie out in the ocean as they traversed the perilous sea of mists. She watched Zhang Lie fight off monsters on her behalf; she discussed how best to construct an aquatic farm with him.

Zhu knew that Zhang Lie had always treated her like a little girl, one who would never stop progressing forward. Zhu didn't want to drag him down with her, and she didn't dare to desire him overtly—she didn't feel like she was a worthy match for him, after all.

Zhang Lie's status was far beyond her own. Even though everyone in the second realm thought of her as the queen of the seas, Zhu didn't grow arrogant and overbearing as a result. In her eyes, Zhang Lie would always be the sun shining down from above the highest heavens, whereas she was nothing more than a swimming fish in the sea. As long as the sunlight would occasionally shine over her body, she would be happy enough.

Zhu had a good understanding of Zhang Lie. It was true he didn't think of her like a woman, but rather a sister, much like Zhang Hanxiang herself. He preferred to believe that her words and actions were nothing more than a prank. "Hanxiang, I know you mean well, but this might hurt your companions. What if they can't get used to this higher-dimensional space?"

Zhang Hanxiang lowered her head and murmured pitifully, "Brother, you said you wouldn't blame me for what I did!"

Zhang Lie likewise sighed. He tried his best to make his tone gentle. "The third realm is a higher-dimensional realm, and the quality of energy here is more complex. You arrived at this realm after the ascension ceremony, so you can't sense how stark the difference is—but the rest of you, do you feel any discomfort?"

Zhu replied, "I feel as though my entire body's encased in some form of mud, which is restricting my movement."

Zhang Lie glanced carefully at the aliens that had advanced from the second realm.

Zhu had been at the level of a disaster-grade lifeform in terms of strength. After ascending to the third realm, her strength had been sealed, and she was now only the level of a peak-grade lifeform.

The Yeluo chieftain and warriors, who had been peak-grade lifeforms, were now superior-grade lifeforms.

Their nature as stowaways to the third realm had come at a price: Zhu and the Yeluo warriors would be unable to improve in terms of cultivation until they released that seal.

However, neither group seemed to mind.

The Yeluo chieftain explained, "Our herbal and alchemical research has stalled. The herbs and grasses available in the third realm will be invaluable for making progress, even if it comes at a cost."

Neither the Yeluo chieftain nor the Yeluo warriors felt as though they would have had the opportunity to advance in dimension, so rather than be trapped in the second realm, they were more than happy to pass to the third and continue their research.

After all, with Zhang Lie around, they wouldn't need to worry about encountering any danger.

Zhang Lie sighed. "Zhu was too rash. Given your talent and aptitude, none of you would have any trouble ascending naturally. Why adopt such a method?"

Zhu was the most unfortunate of them all.

Her talent was monstrous, and the resources she had gathered as the queen of the oceans, along with those she had access to from the kingdom of Limit, would eventually have allowed her to become like the asura, able to ascend to the third realm on her own merits.

Now that she had taken this shortcut, her future would be uncertain.

Zhu stuck out her tongue. "I wanted to see you more quickly, Zhang Lie."

"You—it's such a pity! If I were in the second realm, I would have stopped you at any cost."

Zhu rolled her eyes. "If you were in the second realm, Zhang Lie, I wouldn't have advanced."

"With your talent and strength, you would surely have been able to advance on your own with just a bit more time. Why rush?"

"If I didn't, it would be pointless."

Only Zhu knew how difficult it had become to reach the next threshold of strength. Zhu herself didn't know whether it would take a decade, a century, or even more to reach that level of strength, and she had already been cultivating day and night in hopes of catching up to Zhang Lie.

As Zhang Lie had stated, Zhu was aware of her own talent—but that talent didn't allow her to push much faster or further at disaster-grade. The threshold between peak- and disaster-grade was massive, and every step beyond disaster-grade, even more so.

The reason the monarch of stars had gone crazy was because of this ridiculously gated progression.

Zhang Lie didn't think it was too difficult to get to the realm of the asura, but Zhu was the one with firsthand experience. Her target was so far beyond her that she couldn't even see the route to it.

While in the kingdom of Limit, when she received news of Zhang Lie from hunters of the Milky Way, Zhu immediately felt a compulsion to head to where Zhang Lie was.

Zhang Lie was moving at such a rapid pace that she simply couldn't catch up. The time dilation in the third realm was even more intense than in the second, and who knew where Zhang Lie would be in a decade?

After a century, by the time Zhu advanced, Zhang Lie would surely have entered even higher-dimensional realms. Zhu would have no choice but to follow behind, chasing after an impossible dream.

She didn't want such an ending. Even if she had to sacrifice her future potential, if she could accompany Zhang Lie at least through the third realm for just a little while, Zhu would be happy.

Zhang Lie sighed. "Well, since you've all ascended, I suppose there's nothing I can do. At the very least, you're all experienced researchers, and you can help with my current research. I have a few disaster-grade lifeforms at hand, and I'm planning to investigate what lies beyond it."

Everyone was shocked.

"Beyond disaster-grade!" Chen Fan gasped. "Aren't disaster-grade lifeforms at the acme of strength?"

The draconian sage added, "Could there really be sixth-level beasts...?"

The draconians were on friendly terms with the humans, so the draconian sage was well aware of disaster-grade lifeforms, which corresponded to fifth-level beasts in the terminology of the third realm.

This knowledge was what caused the draconian sage to be so shocked.

Zhang Hanxiang asked curiously, "Are there such existences in the third realm?"

Compared to the draconian sage and Chen Fan, Zhang Hanxiang and the others didn't seem particularly surprised.

Zhang Hanxiang knew little of the third realm, whereas the Yeluo warriors had a steady supply of disaster-grade lifeforms from the kingdom of Limit. It was well-known that disaster-grade lifeforms were generally a rare commodity—but not so for those in power in Limit.

After all, the kingdom of Limit had a disaster-grade farm, which had recently expanded to land. To them, disaster-grade lifeforms weren't lifeforms that heralded disaster, nor the peak of genetic lifeforms. They were simply the next level of strength beyond peak-grade existences...

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