Chapter 1256: The Founding Ceremony
Li Zongming said, "There are still a few details we have to work out. Don't you dare start fighting again, you hear? If you have the time, go visit my foolish daughter."
Zhang Lie nodded. "I'll head over in a moment."
The draconian sage shook his head as he chuckled wryly. "The disturbance caused by your fighting shocked and frightened everyone in the unified world. Please be more mindful."
Zhang Lie spread his arms innocently.
Li Zongming and the draconian sage flew off. The scaleman king did the same after bowing to Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie turned. "Jun Jiuxiao, Ye Xianchen!"
Jun Jiuxiao and Ye Xianchen hurriedly stepped forward.
"Yes, Master!"
Zhang Lie asked, "Why haven't either of you maxed out your monarch gene fragments yet? I won't be able to determine just how strong either of you are even if I gave you a trial. I'll postpone it for the moment, but train hard—before I ascend to the fourth realm, I'll schedule a test with both of you."
Zhu asked, "Zhang Lie, are you ascending to the fourth realm?"
Zhang Lie caressed Zhu's head.
"There should still be some time left, but I'm about ready to do so, yes. The third realm can't handle my strength any longer."
As he saw Zhu's forlorn expression, Zhang Lie smiled and rubbed her head again.
"You can't be showing these sorts of expressions anymore, you hear? You're no longer a young girl, but rather the ruler of a realm."
Zhu took a deep breath. "Before you, Zhang Lie, I'll always be a little girl!"
Zhang Lie raised his head. "Sun Mengmeng, you and the others should take this time to help train Jun Jiuxiao and Ye Xianchen. Go through the same sort of hellish training that I adopted with you in the second realm."
The members of Team Zenith turned toward the two apprentices and smiled like demons. Yang Ze grabbed Jun Jiuxiao's shoulder.
"Don't worry, we seniors will demonstrate our love for you two."
Li Feng grabbed onto Ye Xianchen's shoulder.
"It might hurt at first, but you'll get used to it soon enough."
Jun Jiuxiao and Ye Xianchen shared looks of unease, as though they had found themselves surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves, looking at them as though they were prey. They felt weak and helpless in front of all these stares.
Zhang Lie intoned, "Don't neglect your own cultivation. You've all grown tremendously, but there's still a long way to go. Once we're all in the fourth realm, you'll all be so far down your own paths that you have to be your own guide."
"Thank you for your pointers, Captain."
Everyone bowed toward Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie then went up to Zhu. "How's the search for the materials going?"
"There are still a few ingredients missing."
"As long as you can find them, that'll be good enough."
To celebrate everyone maxing out their monarch gene fragments, Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith had a feast.
After that, Zhang Lie headed off in search of Li Qianlin.
After the formation of the unified world, Li Qianlin had returned to Li Zongming's side.
The Zongming world hadn't changed dramatically; it had been transferred wholesale from a superior world to a massive part of the unified world.
Compared to the Zongming world of the past, it had grown even more luxurious and prosperous.
After the formation of the unified world, the standard of living in the third realm had risen dramatically. There were far more resources than before, and spiritual and medicinal herbs could be had for impossibly cheap prices. Grain matured instantly during the merger process and was imbued with spiritual energy, providing a boost in growth rate to all the inhabitants of the world.
The aliens' lives had become far more dynamic and vigorous—but not necessarily for the better.
After all the worlds merged together, land borders and boundaries became rather fuzzy. As various aliens began to fight over territory, the aliens had to get used to a whole new way of living.
Zhang Lie didn't mind this, because he knew that whatever chaos existed would only be temporary. After the draconian sage and the others reached a settlement, all would become orderly once more—and very quickly, at that.
Chaos might be brewing all over the unified world, but the original superior worlds' territory would be unaffected. No fool dared to provoke those worlds, and those who really were foolish enough to try were quickly dealt with.
Zhang Lie headed to Mt. Tian, the original capital of the Zongming world, and entered the palace in search of Li Qianlin.
When she saw him, Li Qianlin beamed. "What are you doing here?"
Zhang Lie shrugged. "I'm here to see you."
"Nothing has happened, has it?"
"What, can't I come see you without a disaster occurring?"
"It seems like every time you do so, it's after something bad has happened, or if you're about to leave for a major event or another."
Zhang Lie replied, "The unified world has been formed, and Zhu is the ruler of the realm. She's on our side, as you know, and the third realm is finally at peace now. No one's an opponent for me, and I have plenty of time for myself now. I don't have to go to war, and neither do I have to deal with sudden crises. I can simply accompany you."
Li Qianlin stuck out her tongue. "Who needs your company? I'm doing just fine on my own!"
"In two days, the four primary kingdoms of the unified world are hosting their founding ceremonies. I'd like to bring you over as my guest."
In the remaining period of time, Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin spent every day together.
Time passed in a flash, and the time for the four kingdom's founding ceremonies quickly came.
Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin first headed to the Zenith Alliance's founding ceremony.
They were located on land originally belonging to a large world, which had subsequently been invaded by the warlords and converted into Zenith territory.
Outside the gates of the capital, all sorts of Milky Way hunters were standing in formation as though they were part of an army.
Zhang Lie praised, "Their footwork is excellent. Have they been specially trained?"
Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith were all seated on the balcony that was part of the original palace. Alongside Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith were representatives that had played integral roles in the formation of the unified world, the representatives of some of the top hundred races of the Milky Way.
Those who weren't part of the top ten strongest races of the Milky Way didn't even merit a seat.
Representatives of the top thirty races of the Milky Way could only stand behind the seated hunters, and the other representatives among the top hundred, along with the warlords under Zhang Lie's command, were all on the second floor. Only Zhang Lie and the others had the best seats.
Yun Bing smiled. "Well? Doesn't it remind you of the second realm, when we established the kingdom of Limit?"
During the founding ceremony of the kingdom of Limit, Zhang Lie had specially hypnotized disaster-grade lifeforms using his mistmeld clam soulshard to serve as steeds. It was truly a memorable and magnificent sight, but all Zhang Lie remembered was the hassle of setting everything up.
It even had a monarchy, along with systems and institutions in place for the transferral of power.
Now, however, the Zenith Alliance was being managed by a coalition of forces from the Milky Way, and Zhang Lie didn't have to do a single thing. He had the best seat and could snack on fruits as he watched the founding ceremony from the best vantage point.
Zhang Lie asked, "Just how did you manage to get everyone on board, Yun Bing? I wouldn't have expected them to want to work together with you."
The Zenith Dojo was strong enough to found a kingdom of its own, but the fact that Yun Bing had managed to corral the other forces into joining it was wholly unexpected.
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