Chapter 1446: The Runic Forest

Chapter 1446: The Runic Forest Zhang Lie could directly sense the chameleon's soul, no matter how much it tried to hide. Its stealth ability would hardly apply simultaneously to its soul.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!"

Zhang Lie punched forward, and the black serpent behind him shot forth and bit down on the chameleon. Its pitch-black genetic energy slowly corroded at the chameleon's body.

Suddenly, a bellow rang out. The stone turtle barrelled forward like a giant mountain, attempting to save its companion.

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As Zhang Lie punched forward, the serpent hissed and shot forward, slamming into the turtle.

A wave of annihilation exploded around the serpent. Pitch-black energy swallowed up everything in the vicinity like a storm at sea. Huge quantities of black fog, and even the grievously injured cultivators, were consumed by the black-hole like energy of annihilation and vanished in a shower of light.

The chameleon was likewise sucked into the midst and transformed into mental essence. Within the storm, the jade snake and golden toad, which had yet to die, attempted to flee.

Black genetic energy burst forth from Zhang Lie, as though there were hundreds, thousands of dragons surging throughout his body.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Hundred Dragons Soaring]!"

A horde of dragons launched out of Zhang Lie's left arm as he expended half his genetic energy in one supercharged attack.

Howling with the force of thunder, the hundred dragons soared through the air.

They were fierce and domineering, and all hundred of them boasted the power of annihilation. The void storm expanded in size as the rock forest shook. The remaining cultivators paled.

They fled, frightened beyond measure by Zhang Lie's prowess.

He had easily taken down the few frightening lifeforms that had run roughshod over them all. Just who was he?

They had almost all perished to the lifeforms' attack, but Zhang Lie had turned the tide in a matter of seconds! Zhang Lie was more fearsome than the frightening lifeforms were.

Sun Xiaowu stepped forward and gave him a thumbs up. "As expected of you, Captain. You're as strong as ever."

Zhang Lie sighed in exasperation. "It looks like you haven't done well for yourself."

Sun Xiaowu scratched his head wryly. "A few people ganged up on me."

Zhang Lie rolled up his sleeves and looked toward the fleeing cultivators. "Ganged up how?"

It looked as though Zhang Lie wasn't the only victim. Many of the challengers were shocked to see a cultivator from a nameless race take down so many favored contenders, and they wanted to be the ones to take down the "stellar hunters."

"I wasn't around to help you then, but here I am now. Tell me who the culprits are. They should learn that we won't take this lying down."

The cultivators shivered in fear and looked over their shoulders warily.

Sun Xiaowu held Zhang Lie back with a splendid smile.

"I'm fine, Captain. I didn't ruin our reputation. I took down the culprits myself, but was preoccupied with doing so when the lifeforms attacked."

Sun Xiaowu was worried that Zhang Lie would end up fighting against these fleeing cultivators. Although the ones that had survived were largely proteges of supreme forces in the fifth realm, with a strong following and powerful backers, Sun Xiaowu had absolute confidence in Zhang Lie. It would be trivial for him to take them all down—but that wasn't necessary. If Zhang Lie were to fight these cultivators, he would certainly consume a significant amount of stamina, which would hurt them in the long run. Better to wait and conserve their energies, then strike back later.

Zhang Lie understood Sun Xiaowu's intent. "Have you seen anyone else, then?"

"I found Fang Yi in the rock forest, but we separated from each other in the commotion. He's probably deeper into the forest by now. How about you, Zhang Lie?"

"You're the first one I've seen, Zhang Lie replied."

The frightening lifeforms transformed into pinpricks of light after Zhang Lie defeated them. They spun in the air like whirlwinds in miniature, then floated toward Zhang Lie. The particles of light from the challengers that he had defeated also floated toward him.

The particles gathered by Zhang Lie's palm, where the special seal that had imprinted on them absorbed the light. It grew up his arm. Zhang Lie blinked. "This is..."

One of the Stargods stepped forward. "Didn't your elders tell you?"

Zhang Lie replied, "Is there something unusual about this seal?"

Sun Xiaowu added, "Our elder... well, he was eliminated in the qualifiers, so he probably doesn't know the details of the actual Cup."

The Stargod stepped forward. "These seals represent our qualifications for the Cup. By killing beasts and other participants in this virtual realm, you'll be able to increase your standing. Each beast is worth about ten or so challengers, but they're also far more difficult to defeat."

A Holywing youth joined in. "How far this seal extends will affect the genetic expansion that the top ten cultivators receive at the end, as well as your overall ranking."

Sun Xiaowu ahhed in understanding. "So the more people you kill, the greater the benefit of the genetic expansion?"

"Not quite," the Stargod corrected. "It's a bonus, nothing more. If the tenth-place cultivator gets one equivalent of the genetic expansion, the ninth-place cultivator might get two equivalents. If the ninth-place cultivator also took down ten other participants, then that bonus will get boosted to a significant extent."

"And what do you mean when you say it might affect our rankings?" Zhang Lie asked.

The Stargod replied, "If there's a dispute in the rankings—if the third-, fourth-, and fifth-place participants are simultaneously killed, then the extent of the seal will be used to determine the final ranking."

Zhang Lie nodded. "In other words, try to kill as many cultivators and beasts as convenient."

The Stargod smiled mysteriously. "Apparently, if the seal reaches a certain extent and you place in the top three in the tournament, you'll get a decent additional reward as well."

The Holywing youth considered Zhang Lie carefully. "I've never seen a seal that extended the length of an entire arm. Yours is... ten, twenty, thirty..."

The Holywing gaped as he counted just how many people Zhang Lie had killed. Just a rough estimate caused his face to turn ashen.

"What's the matter?" The Stargod cultivator glanced at Zhang Lie's seal and did the same thing. "Damn, just how many cultivators did you kill? It has to be over a hundred!"