<h4>Chapter 1310: The Six Gemstones</h4>
Zhang Lie weathered the current, then charged forward and kicked at the stone dragon.
The stone dragon was protected by a watery barrier of energy, which deflected Zhang Lie''s attack.
Zhang Lie was shocked to find that the six gic lifeforms were linked both in terms of attack and defense. The stone dragon swept its tail, spawning a current.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Quake]!"
Before he released his punch, the ground began to quake. Gravity distorted in the vicinity of the space, and the stone dragon was sent flying. Zhang Lie''s fist struck the ground, which cracked and split.
As the ground beneath the water dragon broke apart, the dragon barely avoided falling into the resulting hole.
The six stone lifeforms charged forward, led by the diamond tiger.
"[Rune: Control]!"
The two gravity-controlling tablets smashed into the ground. ck ripples emanated from the two gravity-altering tablets, forming a localized region of distorted gravity.
The six stone lifeforms, caught unawares by the gravitational distortion, fell to the ground.
The stone tiger was the first to adapt. The other lifeforms'' gems all shone. As the lifeforms shared their energy, the stone dragon spat out a howling blizzard.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!"
Having invoked the dragonturtle transformation, Zhang Lie''s gic energy had turned mud-yellow. His punches were all but unstoppable, and the heavy blow shattered the iing attack.
Simultaneously, the mud-yellow punch, imbued with gravity, sent the six stone lifeforms flying again.
The six stone lifeforms were clearly divided based on element, and Zhang Lie was certain that that was the crux to dealing with them. One of the elements was the weakest—it might have been the obvious choices of fire and lightning, which generally had the strongest offensive abilities, or even the exact opposite, earth and water, which generally had the strongest defensive abilities.
Zhang Lie didn''t know precisely how the elements of these lifeforms interacted with each other, and neither did he want to figure it out. Rather, he would simply use brute force.
The topaz ox rushed forward, its gem glowing with light, augmenting its strength and allowing it to charge forward despite Zhang Lie''s gravity maniption.
The gem''s golden light transformed the stone oxen into a golden one.
"[Rune: Control]!"
The image of a dragonturtle appeared before him as Zhang Lie raised his hand. Ripples spread out from the two tablets, sealing the lifeform''s will and power.
The six lifeforms found their own strength dropping and their thoughts slowing down.
Zhang Lie charged forward. His fistsnded on the golden ox with the sound of a tolling bell.
The ox tried to impale Zhang Lie on its horns, but he pulled aside.
As Zhang Lie activated his blood ant and dragonwolf soulshards, he transformed into a dragonwolf with russet fur and limbs covered with dragons'' scales. His aura became magnified as a hurricane of blood spawned around him.
He swiped forward with bloody ws, shing at the golden ox''s tough exterior, leaving long scars on its body, trailing with sparks. The golden ox was entirely suppressed, without the ability to counterattack.
The remaining five gic lifeforms attacked simultaneously in an attempt to free the golden ox, but they had already transferred their energy to it. At this point, their attacks were weaker than even those of superior-grade lifeforms, and Zhang Lie nullified it easily. The golden ox''s body grew scarred under Zhang Lie''s rapid-fire attacks.
The resonance between the six gemstones was indeed incredible, tethering the six lifeforms'' energy and strength together. It was able to give one of the six lifeforms disaster-grade offense and defense, but Zhang Lie himself was beyond disaster-grade, and could take it on by brute force.
"[Rune: Resonate]!"
The four dragonturtle tablets began to resonate as one, sending ripples that melded with the space and forming an absolute domain over all things within and without.
The six gic lifeforms'' attacks stopped short.
Zhang Lie tore the topaz off the golden ox''s head, causing it to scream as its energy weakened dramatically. It transformed back into a stone ox. With the topaz removed, the other gemstones'' luster also faded, along with the lifeforms'' energy.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!"
Zhang Lie punched forward, manifesting a blood-colored dragonturtle, which crushed the stone ox near-instantly.
[You sessfully killed a peak-grade sturdy ox. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade sturdy ox, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
The blood-colored dragonturtle continued charging forward with the energy of annihtion. Suppressed by the four runic tablets, the other five lifeforms couldn''t even escape. They were smashed to bits as well.
The gems on their foreheads fell to the ground as the will of the realm''s voice rang out in Zhang Lie''s head.
[You sessfully killed a peak-grade ming qilin. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade ming qilin, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
[You sessfully killed a peak-grade earthen ckturtle. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade earthen ckturtle, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
[You sessfully killed a peak-grade lion of lightning. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade lion of lightning, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
[You sessfully killed a peak-grade deepsea dragon. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade deepsea dragon, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
[You sessfully killed a peak-grade whitefrost tiger. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade whitefrost tiger, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]
Zhang Lie picked up the fallen gemstones, prepared to study them carefully. Perhaps he would be able to reproduce that incredible ability linking the six lifeforms and confer it on the members of Team Zenith.
As he picked up the gemstones, Zhang Lie found to his surprise that the stone lifeforms were simr to the stone soldiers outside. The interior of their bodies was flesh and blood, but whereas the soldiers were natural, these stone lifeforms were clearly manmade.
In other words, the six lifeforms were originally ordinary lifeforms of different elements that were subsequently captured and sealed inside stone using some special technique, in order to use them as guardian beasts.
Just then, a door before him swung open. Zhang Lie smiled. "This is an invitation, isn''t it?"
He certainly wasn''t going to resist.
However, before that, he intended to bring the lifeforms back into the disaster-grade dragonwhale''s soulspace, so as to increase his strength.
Li Qianlin made another sumptuous feast, and Zhang Lie devoured it all.
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade ming qilin, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 101]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade sturdy ox, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 111]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade lion of lightning, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 121]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade earthen ckturtle, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 131]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade deepsea dragon, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 141]
[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade whitefrost tiger, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 150]
Zhang Lie: an emperor-grade lifeform
Techniques: Rippling Walk (pinnacle), Three-Wave Crescendo (pinnacle), Calm Waters (pinnacle), Fists of the Silent Sea (pinnacle), The Boundless de (pinnacle), Eclipse (pinnacle), Syzygy (pinnacle), Ninesoul Dragonde (pinnacle), de of the Heavens (pinnacle)
Genes: Basic, 160; Mutated, 150; Superior, 150; Peak, 150; Disaster, 0; Monarch, 0; Emperor, 0
Soulshards: White Grub (superior), Blood Ant (superior), Potbellied Toad (mutated), Eternalspring Cocoon (superior), Dragonwolf (superior), Moonlight Wyrm (peak), Golden Roc (peak), Dragonwhale (disaster), Mistmeld m (disaster)
Having maxed out his peak gene fragments, Zhang Lie stepped through the door.
The door was surrounded by ayer of spatial energy, which teleported Zhang Lie to an independent space that seemed like a small world. The ground was littered with skeletons and broken pieces of armor, and a gigantic ck nine-headed lion guarded an imposing set of doors.
The doors seemed like the gateway to hell. They were formed of skulls and chains, and gave off a chilly aura. The ck nine-headed lion seemed to be made of ck steel. It released incredible pressure just by sitting there.
The moment Zhang Lie appeared, the dozing lion opened its eyes wide and released a ck aura around itself. Its formless pressure seemed to bear down on Zhang Lie with the weight of a mountain.
As ck energy swamped the small world, the nine-headed lion pounced forward with incredible strength. From the aura it gave off, it was unquestionably a disaster-grade existence.
As it did so, thend cracked apart. Its ck ws were charged with killing intent. Bouldersrge and small were hurled into the air and sent smashing toward Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie waved a hand, sending the rubble back toward the nine-headed lion. He darted among the rocks andnded on the ck lion''s body as naturally as though he were a floating leaf, then grabbed it by its mane.
The nine-headed lion howled. Light shone all over its body as it shook Zhang Lie off. Zhang Lie summoned pale blue gic energy over his arms. He flicked his wrists, causing a frightening aura to descend on the world. The hall began to darken, and a fish the size of a whale materialized in the air.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!"
A howling gale swept over the arena. As more and more gic energy gathered around Zhang Lie''s arms, it looked as though he were at the heart of a whirlpool.
A huge wave soared into the air. As Zhang Lie punched forward, the fish mmed its huge tail on the ground and sent a torrent of water surging.
Ripples of energy from [Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar] spread out from Zhang Lie, warping the space around him. The towering waves looked like enraged ck dragons, flooding the enclosed space.
As the waves burst apart, the air filled with echoes of Zhang Lie''s signature gic energy. The nine-headed lion fell from the skies, and its crystalline body cracked.
It roared so loudly and ferociously that an ordinary hunter''s soul might have been expelled from the hunter''s body. The fight between Zhang Lie and the lifeform took ce over a battlefield of unparalleled size.
Its nine heads howled as one, sending nine waves of umbral energy into the sky.
The ground cracked.
Zhang Lie resisted the attack at full force, then counterattacked. Man and beast chased each other for hundreds of miles as the battlefield grewrger andrger.
The nine heads roared again. The sound waves took on physical form, and golden ripples covered the air.
As Zhang Lie and the lion fought each other off, moving rapidly from one ce to the next, the umbral waves caused the surrounding low-lying mountains to crack and fall, and some boulders even burst apart into powder.
The ck lion''s physique was shocking, and its ws had the power to destroy mountains. When those ws smashed into Zhang Lie''s fist, the resulting boom could be heard all throughout the world.
As the lion''s body smashed into Zhang Lie''s, umbral light encapsted bothbatants.
Zhang Lie had only maxed out his peak gene fragments; on the other hand, his disaster-grade foe was exceptionally strong. It had safeguarded this vault for an eternity and in the manifold challengers that hade its way. It was halfway to monarch-grade itself.
Its nine heads all widened their jaws to reveal incisors over a meter long. Gleaming light shot right by Zhang Lie''s face, scraping his skin and cutting off a few strands of hair. Far into the distance, where the light struck a mountain, the mountain crumbled.
Zhang Lie''s heart thumped as he converted his pale-blue gic energy into a pitch-ck version.
"[Ninecarp Transformation]!"
A ck serpent materialized behind Zhang Lie, by now sorge and so developed that it resembled the world-swallowing serpent Jormungandr. It let out a threatening hiss as its scales clicked together.
His fist smashed into the ck lion''s incisors with a tremendous ng, as though he had struck steel, or as though a heavenly drum was beating out a rhythm through the skies.
The man and lion fought and fought and fought, summoning winds around them from nothing but the force of their blows. The world shook and trembled.
As they shed again, the ck lion roared, sending a bombardment of sound waves at Zhang Lie. Gritting his teeth, Zhang Lie weathered the assault.
Struck by battle-frenzy, Zhang Lie was fighting as much like a beast as a man. Heated blood pumped through his body, and his eyes were those of a predator''s.
As he punched forward, the ck serpent behind him shot forth.
The ck lion, surprised by the attack, reflexively dodged at extreme speed. It morphed into a bolt of ck that pinballed through the air in a rumble of ck lightning.
Despite how rapidly it moved, however, the serpent shot forward with destructive energy, cracking a mountain as it shot through its middle.
Dust billowed into the air as a cloud, revealing an ashen lion that had once been ck. Large patches of scales had fallen off its body, and one of its heads had almost been smashed open. A terrible wound marred its body, and flowing blood dyed one of its eyes red.
The lion''s howls were like thunder. Shining brilliance drowned the sky in gold.
As Zhang Lie activated his blood ant and dragonwolf soulshards, he transformed into a dragonwolf with russet fur and limbs covered with dragons'' scales. His aura became magnified as a hurricane of blood spawned around him.
The next moment, Zhang Lie vanished from sight and appeared before the lifeform.
Smoke filled the air.
Zhang Lieunched his strongest attack. Within the clouds, lightning crackled.
A huge burst of light dissipated the mist and smoke. Although it hadn''t yet truly broken through the disaster-grade threshold, itsbat prowess was noughing matter.
Zhang Lie and the ck lion tussled with each other in the sky. This was a dangerous closebat fight. Zhang Lie rode the lion, gripping its mane tightly as heunched attack after attack at thergest of its heads.
Just then, the ck lion howled again. A ball of light—a miniature ck lion—shot out toward Zhang Lie with devastating force.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!" As Zhang Lie punched forward, a blood dragon roared in outrage and shot forward.
The blood dragon and miniature lion crashed into each other, and the frightening energy thaty dormant within the blood dragon''s body surged out.
A wave of annihtion exploded around the dragon. Pitch-ck energy swallowed everything in the vicinity like a storm at sea, covering up the sky. The explosion was like a ck hole that sucked up everything in sight,nd, sea, and sky alike.
The ck lion widened its maw and shot out another ray of umbral light, resplendent with energy.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Hundred Dragons Soaring]!"
A horde of dragonsunched out of Zhang Lie''s left arm as he expended half his gic 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 annihtion. The ck lion''s might was suppressed head-on.
If not for Zhang Lie''s fear of destroying the ck lion sopletely that not even parts of its flesh remained, it would have been pulped.
Zhang Lie grabbed its mane with one hand and smashed a fist into its skull with another in an outpouring of gic energy.
The ck lion howled, its skull caved in and almost cracked entirely open. Its ck fur stood on end; one of its heads suddenly grew multiple timesrger, like an umbral millstone brimming with light.
It opened its maw, transforming the air before itself into a crackling ocean of lightning.
Zhang Lie unsheathed Guicang and split the ocean into two. In fear, the ck lion tried to run, but it was toote. The two heads to its left were chopped off in a fountain of blood.
The lion roared again. Fearful and unwilling to resign itself to its fate, it immediately retreated.
With another sh, two more of its heads on the right were chopped off. The lion howled in pain.
"[The Boundless de: the River Lethe]!"
The temperature of the air dropped to sub-zero values, and a strong wind buffeted the twobatants. Blood-colored frost appeared around them.
An underworld river materialized in the air. As though the doors to hell had just been thrown open, tens of thousands of serpents rushed out in a flood, devouring the bruised and battered lion.
[You sessfully killed a disaster-grade nine-headed lion. By consuming the core of the disaster-grade nine-headed lion, you may receive one to ten disaster gene fragments.]
When Zhang Lie''s serpents dissipated away, they left behind only a single ck core. The ck core gave off the impression of hell, of mountains of corpses, and was fearful to behold.
Zhang Lie cut his palm with his sword, then dripped blood onto the core. The moment it touched the core, the blood was quickly absorbed into its interior.
It sucked up more and more of Zhang Lie''s blood until it turned blood-red.
Zhang Lie opened his wounds again and again until the core became perfectly transparent. Then, he closed his eyes and began pouring concentrated, ck gic energy from his body into the core.
As Zhang Lie clutched the crystalline orb, he felt some unusual sense of kinship with it, as though it was already part of his body.
Zhang Lie swallowed it whole without even daring to chew it. As the core slid down his throat, Zhang Lie felt a fiery, numbing sensation spread throughout his body.
Subsequently, all that energy contained within the core burst apart.
Almost immediately, Zhang Lie took on the color of a boiled prawn.
Blood seeped from his skin and pores, then boiled in the air. The residue detached itself automatically from his body, forming ck grains of sand that revolved around him.
His blood boiled, his body swelled, and golden light emanated from his body.