Ultragene Warlord

Another portal of light appeared before the gathered hunters, just like the one from the island before. Yang Ze's lips twitched. "How can this be?"

Zhou Ying replied, "I learned a few pieces of information from the Holywings just now. Intense fighting attracts the attention of the realm and raises the chance of a door of light appearing."

"Adding oil to the fire..." Yang Ze exclaimed.

Li Feng shook his head. "They want to burn and scald all the competitors."

Fang Yi pursed his lips. "Don't forget that this is a competition. To the organizers of one such, the more exciting and cruel the scenario, the better."

Zhang Lie sighed. "It's almost as though they're trying to torture us all."

The door of light that contained a bone talisman within was a blessing, but the problem was that there were simply too many cultivators nearby that wouldn't just let them claim the talisman without any hassle.

Yang Ze turned and asked, "Should we give up on it?"

Giving up meant that they could escape safe and sound. The cultivators were no idiots; they wouldn't give up on the prize that lay before them to try to take down Zhang Lie and the others, who were worthless and far more difficult a foe in comparison.

Yang Ze gave him a thumbs up. "As expected of our captain."

Zhou Ying whirled around. "We'll deal with those people outside. Get in, Captain!"

Having been shocked by Li Feng, Yang Ze, and Zhang Lie's strength, the cultivators didn't dare strike—but more importantly, there wasn't yet enough incentive for them to do so. With two bone talismans on the line, however, many cultivators were raring to make a move.

Two bone talismans was enough of a treasure to be worth it.

"Behind the door of light lies a trial: first a stage, then a strong beast. By killing the beast, you'll be able to dig out the bone talisman from its forehead."

Zhou Ying had made it into one such door before, and had important knowledge to share with the rest of the group. Of course, most of the information had been imparted to her by the kind Holywing.

Zhang Lie rushed into the door without any hesitation.

Suddenly, the moment he did so, he found a bone talisman in his hand.

Zhang Lie was stupefied. He had just entered the door. How could he already have a bone talisman in his hand?

Could he have forgotten part of his memories after passing through the trial?

Just as Zhang Lie was lost in a reverie, he saw the four hunters of Team Zenith fighting against the cultivators. The fight was brutal, cracking the lake bed and causing its waters to surge forth. The four hunters were grievously injured.

The cultivators that were fighting against the hunters of Team Zenith were exceptionally strong, and included those cultivators whom Zhang Lie and the other hunters had defeated: the Immortal King's substitute, the child of the divine Solarvine, the death gods of Netherworld, Feng Xian...

As those figures appeared in sight, before Zhang Lie could make a move, the hunters of Team Zenith were killed one after another. Yang Ze, the last to die, turned and looked grudgingly at him. "Why couldn't you be any faster, Captain?"

That vengeful gaze was a soundless criticism; it was as though he were blaming Zhang Lie for their deaths.

The Immortal King's substitute picked up Li Feng's bloody head and began tossing and kicking it around like a basketball. "Your companions are too weak," he said.

Zhang Lie screamed hoarsely as the cultivators around him tittered and laughed. With bloodshot eyes, Zhang Lie cried out, "I'm going to kill you—or is that what you thought I'd say?"

Zhang Lie, who seemed to have been so mad he had lost all capacity for rational thought, suddenly calmed down with a smile.

"Break!"

Zhang Lie yelled out. The scene before him shattered as though it had come from a mirror.

"Boring."

All that had been nothing more than an illusion. An ordinary cultivator might have instantly been tricked, but Zhang Lie had a resolute will and a soul that had survived two lifetimes.

The strength of his soul was far greater than anyone could imagine, and he didn't fall into a state of confusion upon seeing the illusion before him. Although this turn of events did rouse Zhang Lie's anger, his resolute willpower didn't allow him to lose control, nor lose his sense of judgment.

There were countless errors with this illusion; as long as he avoided having the illusion affect his emotions and descend into anger, it would be trivial to identify the flaws in it.

This virtual realm was the setting of a tournament. Even if the hunters of Team Zenith were to die here, they would only return to the dimensional realm. Yang Ze would hardly hold a grudge for that.

And even if they really were incapable of resurrecting in this realm, the members of Team Zenith still wouldn't blame Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie was quite confident in that.

Secondly, this realm was constructed solely for the purposes of the tournament, and no dead corpse would have its head left behind for someone to play with. Rather, it would decompose into mental essence and be imbued into the killer's hand.

If Zhang Lie hadn't been able to control his emotions, he might have fallen to anger and to the grip of the illusion.

"Is this it?"

There were plenty of errors with the illusion.

The goal of the illusion, therefore, wasn't to mislead the cultivators, but rather to have them fall prey to anger.

It wasn't a particularly sophisticated technique, but not a simple one, either. An ordinary cultivator likely would have been tricked.

Indeed, as everything before him shattered, the bone talisman in his hand vanished. Darkness descended. A warmth came from his palm. Zhang Lie found a sticky fluid below his feet that gave off a stench. Zhang Lie looked closely and recognized it as blood. He was standing in a pool of blood, with three corpses that had already been drained of life around him.

"Thank goodness you've come to your senses!"

Zhang Lie was surprised to hear a familiar voice. He raised his head and saw Zhou Ying.

He was shocked to find Zhou Ying within the door of light. Had she followed him in?

Quickly, Zhang Lie recognized that something was amiss. Zhou Ying was pale, and her vitality was draining from her. He looked down and saw that his hand was penetrating straight through her chest, and hot blood was gushing out from the wound.

"Don't blame yourself. We all know you were controlled by an illusion, and none of this is your fault." Zhou Ying caressed Zhang Lie's face, her hand sticky with blood, leaving red imprints on his face. Out of nowhere, Zhang Lie found his vision turning red.

His eyes widened as he gradually took in everything before him. The three corpses that lay to his feet were none other but his companions, Li Feng, Fang Yi, and Yang Ze.

Zhou Ying seemed to lose the strength in her arm. It hung down limply. "Live on well."

Zhang Lie pulled out his blood-streaked arm as Zhou Ying slumped lifelessly to the ground.

Upon feeling the fresh blood on his face, and Zhou Ying's gradually cooling corpse, Zhang Lie opened his mouth in a silent scream, as though he had lost his voice and ability to speak. Zhang Lie knelt in the pool of blood, staring at his trembling hands, his emotions on the verge of spilling over.

Zhang Lie slowly closed his mouth. The first thing he said was, "Have you had enough?"

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