Chapter 1176: Self-Selection
The All-Mother burned amidst the flames, which surrounded her entire body. Despite her fearsome regenerative ability, she was unable to recover from within the heart of the black flames, and she had lost all combat ability.
The king of chaos stepped in, dispersing the flames and treating the All-Mother with the most potent energy of chaos he had on hand.
After the black flames vanished, the All-Mother recovered quickly from her base regeneration and the king of chaos' infusion of energy.
The All-Mother lowered her head and apologized. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to win."
The king of chaos waved a hand. "I've never cared for victory or defeat. You've already done very well."
The king of chaos turned to Sun Mengmeng. "Victor, state your wish."
Sun Mengmeng thought for a moment. Unlike Sun Xiaowu and Li Feng, she stated her wish deliberately and quickly.
"I want to become stronger."
The king of chaos thought for a moment. "Do you want something like what Hong Xi did—no, I don't suppose you would go for that.
Sun Mengmeng nodded once again. "I'd prefer if my path weren't too affected as a result."
"As before, I offer you two choices."
The king of chaos always seemed to provide two choices by which a wish could be fulfilled.
Zhang Lie thought back to what he had witnessed. No, that didn't seem quite right. He would only do so for wishes that had to deal with gaining additional strength.
The king of chaos suggested, "One way is to upgrade your weapon, but I don't believe doing so will lead to a significant increase in strength for you."
Although Sun Mengmeng was due for an upgrade, it wouldn't be a particularly significant one.
"I won't change my weapon," Sun Mengmeng stated bluntly.
Her current bow, the garuda bow, was a gift from Zhang Lie, and held particular meaning for her as a result. If she had wanted to switch to another disaster-grade bow, she would have done so far earlier, without waiting until now to do so.
Furthermore, Zhang Lie's garuda bow was more than sufficient for her.
"In that case, consider the second approach. Your techniques have to do with flame, and I can ignite my own chaotic energy to condense a spirit of flame."
Sun Mengmeng's eyes brightened. "That sounds perfect!"
"Whether you merge the spirit of flame with your current one, digest it, or refine and master it, your combat strength will surely increase."
"Let's go with the second method, then." Sun Mengmeng made her choice instantly.
The king of chaos extracted a portion of the most concentrated chaotic energy from his core, which ignited in the form of pitch-black flame, so intense it might well swallow up the sun. It was a darker shade of black than even darkness, and would devour the darkness and transform it to void.
Upon witnessing the flame that the king of chaos had conjured, even an expert like Sun Mengmeng grew nervous.
As the king of chaos continuously infused chaotic energy into the flame, it flared and burned brightly. Its tip licked the hall's ceiling. The king of chaos transferred energy from its main body to condense the flame and refine it further.
When the pitch-black flames were concentrated into an orb the size of a fist, the king of chaos nudged it toward Sun Mengmeng.
Sun Mengmeng was instantly surrounded by a layer of pitch-black flame. The king of chaos immediately cordoned her off with a membrane, but even so, Sun Mengmeng's flames were still being devoured by the black flame bit by bit. She was very satisfied with the potency of this new flame, and was intending to carefully research whether it would be compatible with her own body.
After Sun Mengmeng left the arena, the king of chaos looked expectantly at Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie stepped forward as the witch of dreams cried out, "It's finally my turn!"
Zhang Lie raised a hand. "Hold on, please!"
The witch of dreams replied, "What's the matter? Your companions have already finished fighting. As the captain, you aren't getting cold feet, are you?"
Sun Mengmeng snorted. "Our captain, afraid? Listen carefully to what he has to say before you comment!"
Zhang Lie continued, "To keep repeating this format, in which we send out contenders one by one, is simply too boring."
The witch of dreams frowned. "You want to modify the rules established by our leader?"
Zhang Lie replied, "How about allowing me to choose my opponent?"
The witch of dreams thundered, "You're looking down on the rules of combat set by the leader himself!"
"Very well," the king of chaos replied.
Her chance to fight with Sun Mengmeng had been snatched away by the All-Mother, and her eagerly awaited fight against Zhang Lie was likewise gone because of a stray comment from him.
Feeling as though she had been insulted, the witch of dreams turned to the king of chaos. "Leader, I've been awaiting this fight for quite some time..."
The king of chaos replied, "I'll compensate you for this later."
Seeing that even the king of chaos wasn't on her side, the witch of dreams turned angrily to Zhang Lie. "Zhang Lie, do you think you're too good for me?"
Zhang Lie rolled his eyes. "Those are ambiguous words, you realize..."
The witch of dreams' eyes filled with tears. "What, am I not good enough?"
Zhang Lie sighed. "No, you're simply too good for me—oh, no, I mean, I have better options I prefer... no, that sounds too trashy... we're just incompatible."
Sun Mengmeng grumbled, "Are the two of you done making eyes at each other?!"
Zhang Lie sighed. "We aren't making eyes at each other!"
The witch of dreams stepped forward as she closed in on Zhang Lie. "Can't we do it once?"
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!" Tired of this ambiguous conversation, Zhang Lie summoned pale blue genetic 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.
A howling gale swept over the hall. As more and more genetic 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 slammed its huge tail on the ground and sent a torrent of water surging.
Ripples of energy spread out from Zhang Lie, warping the space around him. The towering waves looked like enraged black dragons, flooding the hall.
The pale blue flood was like a voracious beast. The witch of dreams' eyes widened. She couldn't even attempt to defend against the attack as it brushed past her.
The flood smashed into the wall behind her with a huge quake that shook the entire hall and set it to trembling. As the waves burst apart, the air filled with echoes of Zhang Lie's signature genetic energy, the tide causing explosions that wrecked the hall.
The witch of dreams' hair unspooled around her face as she stood in a daze.
Thanks to Zhang Lie's extremely precise control of genetic energy, no guest in the hall was hurt.
Even so, the witch of dreams stood dumbfounded for a long while before she swallowed a gulp of saliva. She would have been wholly incapable of blocking the flood from just now.
She couldn't have imagined that the gap between Zhang Lie and the other members of Team Zenith was so immense. If he were on the level of the other members of Team Zenith, she would still have strategies for dealing with him—but Zhang Lie was on another level entirely! That attack was as though a huge mountain was weighing down on her, so intense that she couldn't even fathom the idea of blocking it.
One blow would have ended her.
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