Chapter 1277: Not Me!
Zhang Lie ran his fingers over the words engraved on the statue. Even he himself had forgotten whether or not he had truly made such a statement—but Li Qianlin had remembered it firmly.
Zhang Lie couldn't hide the smile on his face.
Caressing those words was like interacting with her across space. It had been the first time they had "spoken" in a few days. The fact that she had remembered his words so comprehensively...
Chu Feng said, "If you're upset, Zhang Lie, we can change it. I have a list of quotations others gave of you. Fang Yi said, 'If you fear someone else's strength, you'll never be able to improve. You might not be able to beat them now, but you still have to make them your target, to work toward that goal with all your heart.' "
Zhang Lie did remember this—he had mentioned it when giving Fang Yi advice after combat practice.
Chu Feng retrieved his notebook. Yang Ze said, 'Everything pales in comparison to absolute strength, and no skill and strategy can bridge the gap.' "Sun Xiaowu said, 'Did you intuit something?' "
"Ha."
In the future, when he met up with Sun Xiaowu again, he would certainly have to have a chat with him to see what he had intuited.
Chu Feng continued, "Li Feng said, 'Don't emulate me, but rather learn from me.' "
This was something Zhang Lie had told him back in the second realm.
"Sun Mengmeng said, 'This is why we have to master our emotions, rather than to let them control us. Take advantage of the strength they provide, but never lose control.' "
Zhang Lie couldn't help but smile. What he had forgotten, others firmly remembered.
"Zhou Ying said, 'Tactics are fair play.'"
Zhu commented, "This could very well form the basis of a book of quotes from Zhang Lie."
Chu Feng laughed. "That was my plan! I'm intending to publish a book of quotes from Zhang Lie. It would surely sell well in the second and third realms, as well as the Milky Way."
Zhu pledged, "Let me know when you do. I, the ruler of the realm, will advertise for you personally."
Zhang Lie laughed, buoyed by the warmth that had resulted from others taking his advice to mind. "I don't mind, but don't make it sound like it's going to be something deep."
Chu Feng continued listing off the quotes that others had contributed.
"Zhang Hanxiang said, 'You can't remain a child forever.' "
He was certain that he hadn't said that; rather, it was what Zhang Hanxiang wanted to tell him. Zhang Lie could only sigh and shake his head at his sister's antics.
"Hong Xi said, 'What do you think of those lions? They seem quite compatible with the Zenith Dojo.' "
Zhu seemed perplexed. "What does this mean?"
Zhang Lie nodded to himself with a smile. This was around the time when he had first met the young woman who would become his disciple, Hong Xi.
At that point, the Hong clan had just been crushed by the Musi clan.
She was reticent then—or rather, possessed of a dull and brooding personality. When Zhang Lie slaughtered a few genetic lifeforms to help Hong Xi max out her gene fragments, in order to lift the gloomy atmosphere around her, he had cracked a few jokes, and then...
"Master, what do you think of those peacocks? This must be a meeting of fate."
"Master, do you see those tigers? I don't think they have long to live. Why don't you do them the honor of sending them off?"
"Master, Master, have a look at that lone superior-grade mantis! It's so ugly that it must be living a life of abject misery. Why don't we help it out?"
Hong Xi had changed since then; the disciple that had blindly followed behind him had grown a little cruel. Subsequently, after interacting with the members of Team Zenith and Zhang Hanxiang for so long, she had become entirely corrupt.
Hong Xi's bookish, reticent personality faded away, never to return. It was a pity, but Hong Xi's brooding nature and heavy burdens had likewise vanished. Zhang Lie felt that this was more than a worthwhile trade.
Chu Feng continued flipping through his notebook. "Dong Mingxing said, 'Scumbags die early.' The draconian sage said—"
Zhang Lie interrupted, "That's quite enough. I like the words you've chosen."
Chu Feng kept his notebook. Zhang Lie asked, "Who chose Zhu's inscription?"
Zhu murmured, "I did say something like that, I believe."
Zhang Lie recalled what had happened when the third realm was nearing its end. The fate of the entire realm rested on a young woman's shoulders.
Only a native of the dimensional realm could become a king of the realm. Although it was cruel, Zhang Lie nevertheless chose Zhu to bear that responsibility.
Zhu hadn't grumbled, and neither had she been crushed by the mounting pressure. She smiled in an impossibly pure fashion. "Since it's a task from you, Zhang Lie, I'll handle it to the best of my ability."
Zhang Lie sighed and looked up into the sky that was as pure as Zhu's gaze then.
"Zhu, have you ever hated me for choosing you to be the ruler of the third realm?"
Zhu shook her head. "As I've said before, without you, there could hardly be a me. If you hadn't saved me from that fishing village, I might be nothing but fertilizer by now. I could hardly blame you."
Chu Feng interrupted their conversation. "I intend on hanging up a portrait of you, Zhang Lie, at the top of the headquarters, to represent your importance to this unified world and the high council."
Zhu immediately applauded. "Excellent!"
Zhang Lie rejected the idea immediately. "There's no need for all this. I'm about to ascend to the fourth realm, and the third realm will belong to all of you thereafter. I'm not all that important—leave this position to Zhu."
Zhu immediately shook her head as well. "No, no, that'd be too embarrassing for me!"
"Let's shelve that idea, then. I'll bring the two of you inside the headquarters and show you what I've done in the meantime."
Chu Feng brought them down a long stretch of corridor, which were adorned with paintings. The first one they saw was a huge oil painting depicting the scene of a battle.
On the left was Zhang Lie, his whole body glowing with light, looking like a warlord, followed by a group of fighters. Zhang Lie found that Zhang Hanxiang and Hong Xi had also been represented in the image. In the sky was a black bat, grinning as though it were mocking the world, with a single fiery red eye—Nightdemon.
The enemies on the right were painted black and clearly evil. They were wrapped up in bandages and led by a gigantic black shadow.
"This is the war against the death spirits, isn't it?" Zhang Lie asked.
Chu Feng gave him a thumbs up. "You identified it instantly, Zhang Lie."
On the opposite wall was hung another oil painting.
All sorts of strange and unusual existences were having a discussion at a long table, and the mood seemed to be rather tense.
There was a clam with suction cups, revealing a sliver of chaos within the crack between its shells; a man in golden armor with ten golden suns to his back; a frost spirit queen; a bundle of black fog; a black skeleton; and a vile amorphous gray blob that quivered and swelled, as though it were the source of all filth and waste.
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