Chapter 1237: Must We Continue?
Sun Xiaowu waved his hands weakly. "No, Captain, I don't have the strength to keep fighting!"
However, Zhang Lie seemed to have no intention to back down. A rainbow arc accompanied Zhang Lie's slash, as though an aurora borealis were visible in the sky. It shone in all the colors of the rainbow, momentarily hypnotizing anyone who looked at it.
All those who witnessed the hypnotic light stood still in a daze; Sun Xiaowu himself was frozen stiff as Zhang Lie's slash arced toward him.
With Guicang in hand, Zhang Lie flew through the heavens. His sword shone as brightly as the northern lights overhead, bringing him momentarily out of the physical into the intangible.
The sword stopped in front of Sun Xiaowu as Zhang Lie sheathed it and punched his face instead, sending him flying into the distance.
Only then did Sun Xiaowu suddenly wake up as though from a dream. His back was drenched with sweat; he had stood still and allowed Zhang Lie's attack to draw close, without being able to stop it at all! If they were in actual combat, he would have perished dozens of times over—but fortunately, his opponent was Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie asked, "Do you understand your weakness now?"
Sun Xiaowu replied, "I knew I was never your opponent from the start, Captain."
"Do you know why you're so weak?"
"A difference in strength and power."
Zhang Lie shook his head. "No—it's because of density and concentration."
Sun Xiaowu recalled what Zhang Lie had said. "What you mentioned at the beginning, Captain?"
Zhang Lie explained, "Techniques aren't strong just because they're large and flashy. You've been trapped by this misconception and ignored the crux of the problem: density and concentration. Your clones and mechas have been prioritizing number and size, and while you may have seemed to grow stronger, the density of your summons has seen a notable decline. You'll need to work hard to grow stronger."
Sun Xiaowu recalled that he had indeed been focusing on [Echo of Origins] as the core of his set of techniques. It did allow him to unleash tremendous power within short periods of time, but his control and penetration ability had fallen as a result.
Sun Xiaowu bowed. "Thank you for your advice, Captain. Gold has to be resilient, sturdy, and strong. This is a point I've neglected, and I've been subconsciously developing it like water-attuned genetic energy. If you hadn't corrected me now, Captain, I would have gone down the wrong path entirely."
Zhang Lie nodded. "Your clones and mechas are very interesting and versatile, but you have to work on your genetic energy first and foremost. Temper it rather than focusing on unnecessary size and number."
"Thank you, Captain."
Sun Xiaowu wasn't badly hurt, but he had expended a great deal of genetic energy and would have to rest.
Zhang Lie called out, "Li Feng, it's your turn."
Zhu suddenly raised her voice. "Hold it!"
"What's the matter?" Zhang Lie asked.
Zhu said, "Please wait, Zhang Lie. I'm worried that your battles will do too much damage to the unified world, so I want to construct a separate pocket world first."
Zhang Lie nodded. "We'll wait for you, then."
Zhu immediately made her move, invoking her authority as ruler of the world to isolate the space in the vicinity and to construct an independent world within it. Subsequently, she layered it with spatial locks, barriers, and protections, just as she had when Sun Xiaowu fought with Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie dispelled his dragonwolf transformation, sheathed Guicang, and reined in his aura.
Sun Xiaowu had grown much stronger than in the second realm, and Zhang Lie had used up a fair amount of his genetic energy reserves.
Li Feng was very invested in his upcoming battle against Zhang Lie. While Zhu constructed the pocket space, he was diligently warming up so that he could face his captain at peak strength.
Zhu finished just as Li Feng did.
"Here I come, Captain!"
Zhang Lie opened his eyes anew, having finished calibrating his own body as well.
"Let's see how you've improved over these last few months, then."
Li Feng took one step forward, and a huge arclight dragon manifested out of nothing.
However, in the blink of an eye, Zhang Lie dissipated it. Li Feng reeled back in the resulting explosion, not having caught Zhang Lie's actions.
"Not bad—you're as fast as expected for a light-attuned hunter.
"As fast as expected? Captain, I didn't even see your attack!
"[Light Dragon's Remnants]!"
Li Feng marshaled his genetic energy into the form of a few white dragons, which he shot toward Zhang Lie.
"Very good!" Zhang Lie scattered the dragons with a wave of his left arm as Li Feng morphed into a beam of light and shot toward him.
"[Dance of the Incandescent Wyrm]!"
Li Feng summoned dozens of incandescent wyrms in the flash of an eye. However, the same thing happened again. The dozens of serpents were torn to shreds before they could touch Zhang Lie.
How could it be? He had attacked at close range! Li Feng had no clue what was going on. "Captain, how are you doing this?"
"Would your enemies tell you how to counter them?" Zhang Lie rolled his eyes.
"[Arclight Dragon's Imprint]!"
Li Feng waved his left arm, around which a torrent of light-attuned genetic energy was gathering. It took the form of a gigantic dragon's claw, bearing down on Zhang Lie like a beam of light.
"Then I'll have to find out through battle. Be careful, Captain."
A pillar of light rose into the air. Struck by the dazzling light, the onlookers had to shield their eyes.
"Come!"
Zhang Lie's black serpent rushed forward and devoured the pillar of light, sending Li Feng flying into the distance. Li Feng clutched his palm in pain, sucking in air as he dealt with the backlash from the blow.
"Sorry, I got too excited!"
"I can continue, Captain!" Li Feng's eyes grew resolute.
Zhang Lie nodded approvingly. "Let's do so, then."
"[Light's Bulwark: Draconic Fist]!"
Li Feng clenched his fist. His right arm, clad with light, was covered with scales. The scales began to move as an arclight dragon materialized, howled, and rushed toward the solar king...
Ripples appeared over Zhang Lie's fists. As he punched forward, waves of pale blue genetic energy obliterated the illusory arclight dragon.
Li Feng had hidden his body within the dragon, and shining light had been concentrated over and over again around his palm.
"[Light's Bulwark: Dragon's Teeth]!"
Li Feng charged up for a stronger attack. Concentrated light-attuned genetic energy surrounded him as he shot out a piercing burst of light that surpassed even Sun Xiaowu's penetrating power.
However, Zhang Lie reached out and crushed those fangs of light with nothing but his palms.
Recognizing that his attack had failed, Li Feng quickly retreated, but he never stopped attacking.
"[Light's Bulwark: Meteoric Fist]!"
The arclight imprint rapidly gathered, and a white dragon appeared behind him. As Li Feng punched forward, the dragon shot toward the hydra like a bullet from a sniper rifle. It left behind a starry trail, breathtakingly beautiful.
Zhang Lie didn't seem to invoke a technique. He merely stood still and casually waved a hand, but the galactic mirage shattered around him.
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