Chapter 594: Evanescent as a Dream

Chapter 594: Evanescent as a DreamIndeed, things went according to Hong Tianqi's plan. The moment the Zenith Dojo revealed that it was ready to share that information, Amurong's faction collapsed.

All notable organizations in the Milky Way immediately signaled that they would work with Hong Tianqi. Amurong lost in the blink of an eye— no one was willing to give up on such rare and precious information for the tenuous promises that Amurong was making.

.

In Amurong's office, his secretary asked, "Sir, are you heading to China immediately?"

"Yes. We have to make our move before our power base crumbles entirely. We need to seize the initiative, even if that means using the crudest of methods."

"You mean—"

Amurong's eyes glinted. "We might not be able to touch Hong Tianqi, but Zhang Lie's nothing more than a greenhorn. Even if he can defeat an asura, I'm surely stronger than he is. As long as we can catch Zhang Lie, all our problems will be solved immediately—and if we can't, we'll grab his sister, Zhang Hanxiang."

"I understand, sir. I'll begin preparations immediately." After Amurong's secretary left his office, he sent a message through his transceiver: Amurong's heading to China.

Amurong himself didn't know that his trusted secretary had already betrayed him.

Once again, the Zenith Dojo was packed to the brim with people. This time, the excitement was because of the news that the recipe for Potions #1 and #2 were going to be released to the public.

After learning that the Chinese government would be handling the distribution of the recipe, the hubbub quieted down—until a batch of research results made headlines again.

The world federation had expected that it would take quite some time until other races gained the ability to make use of these limit-breaking potions, but the research results had arrived surprisingly quickly.

Was Zhang Lie a genius, or had the four prime races done everything in their power to speed up the research?

That the recipes were slated to be published caused a stir; the revelation of the new research results was a bombshell. Strong as the limit-breaking potions might be, they were thought to only be suited for human consumption—until now.

Countless alien races made a visit to Earth with the hopes of securing a cooperation with Zhang Lie for their race. The Zenith Dojo and its environs were jam-packed with people, so much so that Zhang Lie wanted to retreat back into the sura realm.

Fortunately, there were staff around to handle the visitors, and Zhang Lie only had to meet the most important ones.

As he walked out of the teleportation array, he saw Zhang Hong there to welcome him. "Zhang Lie, you're finally back—quick, I need all the help I can get!"

Zhang Hong, whom Zhang Lie had left in charge of the dojo, was now a powerhouse at business management, and she had a whole staff of administrators under her command. The stronger the dojo network became, the more impactful and influential Zhang Hong was.

Suddenly, Zhang Lie glanced toward the door. "Who's that?"

Zhang Hong glanced at the black-robed envoy who had just walked in before looking down at her notes. "He's the representative of the ghost dragons."

Zhang Lie's eyes turned slitted as he activated his dragon's eye soulshard. He smirked. "Indeed? I wonder why the previous presiding authority of the world federation is trying to sneak into my dojo."

The black-robed envoy's eyes lit up with a cold aura. Killing intent blossomed around him, and a howling wind sent everything around him flying. Amurong gave up on his disguise and struck immediately.

From his perspective, Zhang Lie's strength was limited. Even though he might have displayed incredible strength for a second-realm hunter, he would be nothing in the third realm.Meanwhile, Amurong himself was a fourth-realm hunter. Although he couldn't compare with Hong Tianqi, it would be straightforward for him to capture someone like Zhang Lie.

The moment Amurong dashed toward him, Zhang Lie's eyes gleamed with multicolored light.

Amurong's momentum was arrested as his eyes glazed over with a rainbow sheen. He stood stock-still where he was.

Zhang Lie smirked. "So this is all the strength a presiding authority of the world federation amounts to? Pathetic."

Zhang Lie stepped forward and slapped Amurong on the face. A crisp smack rang out, and a streak of red appeared on Amurong's flesh. "This is for trying to attack the Zenith Dojo!"

Zhang Lie slapped him once more. "This is for running around and causing trouble for Martial Sage Hong!"

"And this is for coveting my limit-breaking potions!"

Zhang Lie slapped Amurong once and again, the crisp smacks reverberating about the courtyard. Just as he was starting to enjoy it, Amurong reached out and grabbed ahold of his wrist, causing Zhang Lie's eyes to widen. "How can you still move?!"

Amurong grinned maliciously. "I've survived the second realm and more. Do you really think a petty trick like this can take me down? You really must underestimate me!"

"Is that so? And how are you so certain you're not under my control? You're the one underestimating me, Amurong!"

Amurong smirked as he punched Zhang Lie's stomach, his destructive genetic energy spreading throughout Zhang Lie's body and crippling him.

Hong Tianqi and his men arrived too late to deal with Amurong, who managed to overcome them all with brute force.

A massive palm smashed down from the sky, covering heaven and earth. Those who weren't strong enough to resist its pressure were forced still and rendered immobile. Amurong, however, seemed not to fear the hand at all. He had already prepared an escape route, and he vanished with Zhang Lie in tow in a burst ofblack fog.

Just as Amurong disappeared, Hong Tianqi's palm smashed down where he stood, causing all of China to quake.

As he escaped out of a teleportation array, Amurong released a long breath. Had he been any slower, he might have been forced to remain in China. He glanced at Zhang Lie and began to roar in laughter. "Haha! As expected, I've won!"

Now that he had caught Zhang Lie, everything would belong to him.

Immediately after having escaped, Amurong received a message from Hong Tianqi.

He replied leisurely, "What's the matter, Hong Tianqi? You seem unusually bothered today."

"Return Zhang Lie immediately, or I'll declare war on you with full force!" S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Amurong cackled. "Oh? Why don't you try it? If you do so, I'll kill him immediately! This lad's core to your faction and to how you're keeping it together. Without Zhang Lie, the four prime races wouldn't be supporting you so strongly—the research results for the limit-breaking fragments are already out, as you know, and they can easily keep going by themselves from there."

Hong Tianqi sucked in a deep breath and tried to quash his anger. "What do you want from me, Amurong?"

"Those research results, as well as half the spiritual herbs that China has collected to date."

Amurong thought that those were all the fruits of Zhang Lie's labor.

"Very well," Hong Tianqi replied. "I'll give you half the herbs first, and the research results after you let Zhang Lie go."

"No—I want both."

"And what if you suddenly renege on your promise?"

Amurong chuckled coldly. "You seem to have forgotten that I'm the one calling the shots here. Furthermore, who said that I'd release Zhang Lie just like that?"