Chapter 1246: More Devious
As she headed back to ruminate on what Zhang Lie had told her, Zhu grumbled, "Zhang Lie, you must be doing this intentionally! Look at how many times I've had to restore these barriers. Aren't you going to make things easier for me?"
Zhang Lie's final [Fists of the Silent Sea] had shattered the remaining barriers isolating the pocket dimension from the outside realm, and Zhu had to remake them all.
Zhang Lie shrugged helplessly, indicating that he too had no other recourse.
Zhu grumbled once, then began the tedious process of reforming the pocket dimension and sealing it anew.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ying healed Sun Mengmeng of her injuries, then stepped out into the arena.
Her long hair fluttered in the wind, the color of crystalline jade. It gave off motes of vitality. She was so beautiful no one could take their eyes away, and golden leaves whirled around her. The tips of her hair produced gray fog.
The gray power gathered around Zhou Ying's forehead, which cracked apart. A gray eye budded from her flesh. It opened up to reveal a chaotic opal iris, which seemed to be able to penetrate flesh, soul, and space.
Each leaf was like a miniature sun, orbiting around the woman's body. To her back was a pair of golden wings. Above those wings was a glowing sun, giving off a radiant, holy light.
Her jade-green eyes were flecked with gold, and she seemed to have become one with the land. The vitality radiating from her was visible to the naked eye. Stellar light surrounded her as though she were a goddess given form.
Black energy formed a gauzy dress around her, sticking closely to her limbs and revealing her curvaceous features—no, making them even more curvaceous than they originally were.
Two root-like tendrils writhed under her dress; her body radiated a seductive charm. Zhou Ying seemed to simultaneously exhibit the charm of a holy priestess and a charming succubus.
She had transformed into her battle-ready state in a matter of moments.
"[Avatar of the Fae: Earthbound Prison]!"
She released all her stored vitality at once, causing the ground to quake as thousands of jade-green wood dragons rushed out of the earth. Each dragon was about six hundred meters wide, with skin flecked with golden radiance.
Zhang Lie strode among the heavyset dragons as though he were merely on a stroll.
Golden leaves were interspersed with the woo dragons, each like a sparkling sun.
The dragons interwove around Zhang Lie, transforming into a cage.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!"
Pale blue genetic energy rippled about Zhang Lie's arms. He flicked his wrists, causing a frightening aura to descend on the world. The sky began to darken, and a fish the size of a whale materialized in the air.
A howling gale swept over the two combatants. 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 pocket dimension.
The flood washed away the wood dragons and scoured the land, destroying it all.
Zhang Lie knew that Zhou Ying was a very troublesome existence. If he didn't attack the land as well, Zhou Ying would root herself down and employ her vitality and natural energy to endlessly regenerate her summoned dragons.
A huge rumble shook the heavens, and the entire world quaked.
As the waves burst apart, the air filled with echoes of Zhang Lie's signature genetic energy. The leaves exploded as the pale blue tide stormed them.
However, Zhou Ying's figure, shrouded by the densely packed wood dragons had already vanished from sight.
"As expected of our captain, to be able to deal with these tricks in just one blow."
Zhou Ying suddenly appeared behind Zhang Lie, stabbing him with her dagger in a golden gleam.
As though he had predicted her move, Zhang Lie reached out with two fingers and pinched the blade of her dagger.
Zhou Ying's body was extremely acrobatic. She twisted her waist and kicked out at Zhang Lie like a snake.
The two feelers that grew from the lower half of her dress threw two daggers toward Zhang Lie.
Pale blue genetic energy exploded and knocked the daggers into the distance. At the same time, Zhou Ying slipped away from Zhang Lie's grasp like an eel. Zhang Lie was right about to give chase when wind whistled and hundreds of golden beams surrounded Zhou Ying, allowing her to take refuge in a copse of trees.
Zhang Lie slightly angled his body and avoided the golden beams by millimeters. He easily evaded the attacks and continued to give chase.
Just as he stepped beyond the copse, countless leaves flew toward him, each one as sharp as a knife.
Amidst the storm of leaves, Zhang Lie waved his left arm, genetic energy rippling from it like a shield, protecting him from the barrage.
As the ripples struck the leaves, the leaves rebounded into the air, but precisely at that moment, a green needle shot toward Zhang Lie, camouflaged by the leaves that obstructed his vision.
With a resonant clink, Zhang Lie reached out and grabbed a tiny jade needle with his hand, one formed out of pure genetic energy. It was so thin that it could barely be seen with the naked eye.
The floating golden leaves provided a strong sense of misdirection, especially when surrounded by golden wood dragons. The jade needle seemed to blend into its surroundings. Just like in the second realm, Zhou Ying had manifested a patch of forest, and all that the eye could see was green and gold.
Any ordinary hunter would have been caught unawares by the jade needle, even the members of Team Zenith.
However, Zhang Lie's two lives' worth of combat experience allowed him to discover Zhou Ying's trick near-instantaneously.
Zhang Lie had always approached combat with two sources of input: his eyes and a web of genetic energy that he spread out all around him, forming a radar-like detection system that allowed him to detect any anomalies.
Zhang Lie held the jade needle up to his eye. "What a crafty trick... Zhou Ying, you've grown even nastier."
"Thank you, Captain. I thought I'd be able to catch you off-guard." Despite speaking, Zhou Ying was very careful not to reveal her current location. She continued hiding among the wood dragons cautiously.
The golden leaves fell in a flurry, forming a golden storm. Their serrated edges were like blades that tore the sky.
"[The Boundless Blade: Yawning Wave]!"
Zhang Lie extended his pointer finger like a sword, and water-attuned genetic energy gathered around it. As he waved his finger, sword energy erupted like a wave, accompanied by a giant shark. The shark widened its maw and caused all the golden leaves to explode.
Zhou Ying's figure appeared in the light, and golden leaves surrounded her.
The ground quaked and rumbled, as though something was about to appear from its midst.
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