Chapter 1158: My Own Path
The members of Team Zenith were all well aware of Zhang Lie's strength, and it seemed impossible that the king of chaos would have two means by which to give Hong Xi an equal portion of that strength.
The members of Team Zenith all listened closely. They too were participating in this bet, and they were interested in seeing just how the king of chaos would grant Hong Xi's wish. After all, not all wishes could be granted.
Some wishes were very easy to state, but hardly easy to grant.
If you were to wish for a million dollars, it was very possible that you might get hit by a car after stepping outside, paralyzing the lower half of your body and receiving a million dollars in compensation from the offending car driver.
If you were to wish for someone to be revived, that person might revive as a zombie.
Depending on the precise manner in which a wish was fulfilled, even a well-intentioned wish could get twisted into something malign.
Being able to choose how a wish was fulfilled nullified many of those concerns, and convinced the members of Team Zenith that this bet wasn't a double-edged sword in disguise.
Presumably, this wasn't the first time that the king of chaos had granted someone's wish, and he was aware that all living beings' thoughts were distinct. As a result, rather than grant the wish as it was stated, he was giving flexibility in contextualizing the wish.
The king of chaos continued, "The first method is for me to directly hand you a portion of my body. That would grant you strength on par with Zhang Lie's, and you would be even stronger than he is within the three thousand worlds, sufficient to become the strongest existence within this realm. However, this method comes with considerable side effects."
"What side effects?" Hong Xi asked.
"If I were to fulfill your wish in this manner, you would essentially have turned into my companion. Because your body has absorbed a piece of mine, you would be forced to remain within the three thousand worlds, without retaining the ability to leave it and return to your own realm. Furthermore, it would be difficult for you to ever reach new heights with this newfound power."
Zhang Lie frowned. "Fulfilling a wish isn't that easy, is it?"
Becoming the strongest entity within the three thousand worlds, at the cost of forever remaining there, without being able to return to the Milky Way or to ascend to the fourth realm… it was a hefty price to pay.
The king of chaos could hardly be blamed for this response, however. If he really wanted to scam Hong Xi, he wouldn't have delineated the pros and cons of doing so so carefully. Instead, if he were to forcefully grant Hong Xi part of his body, he would essentially be converting her into his companion by force—and this wasn't something that Zhang Lie could reverse.
He would even be justified in doing so, considering that Hong Xi had expressed such a wish.
In addition, Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith were yet too weak to defeat the king of chaos, and there would be little they could do.
The king of chaos continued, "The second possibility is for me to transmit several of my insights, compatible with the strength you have demonstrated, directly into your brain. This will significantly enhance your future growth, giving you the potential to be stronger than Zhang Lie."
"And what are the side effects in this case?" Hong Xi asked.
"To some extent, it'll affect your current cultivation, but I'll do my best to find compatible insights for you. I don't expect the side effects to be very strong, nor to be anything but a temporary hindrance. The difference is that you'll have to exert your own energy, strength, and time to digest these insights. Compared to the first approach, this won't be a quick way of granting your wish."
Time and energy—that was the cost.
The first approach could give Hong Xi immediate strength at a steep cost, which Hong Xi naturally couldn't accept. Being barred from advancing into the fourth and fifth realms was equivalent to sealing her path forward, and Hong Xi wasn't interested in this approach.
The second approach, however, would provide Hong Xi with a key with which to unlock a path toward Zhang Lie's strength.
"Forget it, then. My path is mine alone to walk. I would prefer to avoid undue influence." Hong Xi waved a hand and walked to Zhang Lie's side, startling all the guests present.
They all thought Hong Xi a fool, to be unwilling to take the shortcut that had been presented to her. Only Hong Xi knew that she was following her heart, that to accept this shortcut would be going against her own principles for seeking strength.
The king of chaos respected her decision. "Let us continue, then. The next fight."
Noth slowly slithered to the center of the hall, and Zhang Hanxiang stepped forward. "Let me be the next combatant."
Noth pounced over, opening its maw wide. Zhang Hanxiang held her palm up and channeled bitter cold. Cold air froze everything around her. A layer of frost covered the hall, and Noth's teeth were frozen solid. Zhang Hanxiang leapt high into the air and launched a flurry of attacks at Noth, the combined force as fierce as a blizzard. The temperature in the hall dropped dramatically, and a layer of frost covered Noth's body.
Noth roared. Its maw seemed to transform into a dimensional portal. Wisps of black smoke with sparkling eyes, like miniaturized versions of the Lord of Dimensions, emerged from Noth's maw. These were the dimensional hounds that Nightdemon had mentioned, which Noth had created in conjunction with the Everbearing Lady.
A whole pack of dimensional hounds pounced toward Zhang Hanxiang. As the snow fell, Zhang Hanxiang's ice glowed blue. Everything around her began to freeze.
The dimensional hounds teleported through space and appeared all around Zhang Hanxiang, attacking her from different directions and angles, sealing off her path of escape.
.
Rather than escape, however, Zhang Hanxiang emitted even more frost. All the dimensional hounds around her were frozen solid and transformed into sculptures of ice.
As Noth attacked once more, Zhang Hanxiang skated over the frozen ground, her body as limber and agile as an acrobat's. Blades of ice formed by her feet and sliced apart the frozen hounds. Several blades struck Noth, leaving bloody slashes on its body.
Another pack of dimensional hounds pounced toward her. This time, Zhang Hanxiang clapped her palms together, freezing space and time solid in the hall. Flowers of sleet and ice bloomed over the frosty ground. With even space frozen, the dimensional hounds were unable to teleport. The frost froze them where they stood.
With a wave of her hand, needles of ice formed in the air all around her, then shot down toward Noth and the hounds with deadly speed, freezing Noth's flesh and blood.
As threads of frost glimmered in Zhang Hanxiang's long hair, she punched forward, instantly transforming Noth's gigantic body into a sculpture of ice.
Zhang Hanxiang slowly floated back down to the ground as she canceled her partial transformation.
Zhang Lie praised, "You've grown quite a bit stronger, Hanxiang."
Sun Mengmeng replied, "She's been in quite a few battles by now, and it's natural that her strength would increase."
The witch of dreams murmured, "You were lucky. Noth hates the cold."
After the king of chaos unfroze Noth, he turned toward Zhang Hanxiang. "State your wish, victor."
Zhang Hanxiang had evidently prepared her wish beforehand. "I'd like a hundred superior worlds' worth of energy."
A hundred superior worlds' worth!
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