Chapter 707: A Fist Like a Maul
Water-attuned genetic energy exploded through the air, and ripples of energy emanated from Zhang Lie.
Ren Kunjing's crystalline barrier was unable to withstand the force of the impact, and it shattered within moments. Exasperation flared through his eyes—he was entirely focused on defense, and yet he was unable to block even the secondary shockwaves that resulted from Zhang Lie's attack. The difference in their strength was simply too large.
It felt like a gulf that couldn't be breached—the difference between man and god, rather than man and man. To Ren Kunjing, Zhang Lie was nothing less than a godlike existence.
As Ren Kunjing's crystalline barrier shattered, the aftermath of Zhang Lie's attack blew past him. A disaster had just struck.
A hurricane formed from water-attuned genetic energy roared through the skies, sucking up the very earth itself, uprooting the trees and gigantic boulders it came across. Even the larger genetic lifeforms didn't escape unscathed; they too were sucked up into the hurricane. The Jinghun held on with as much strength as they could muster, but the weaker among them were already starting to be swept up in the hurricane's path.
It was as though hell had descended on the world.
Ren Kunjing stood in the eye of the hurricane, allowing his body to be buffeted. He was the second-strongest present besides Zhang Lie, and the only one who was able to stand upright with nothing but his own power.
Although he wasn't able to protect his kin and the lifeforms he was escorting, he could at least protect himself.
Zhang Lie's punch had struck far too large an area for him to do anything against. Back in the world of the scalemen, Ren Kunjing had barely been able to block a punch from Zhang Lie, but Zhang Lie had grown far too rapidly since then.
In some sense, Zhang Lie was indirectly responsible for the death of the old king of the realm.
The warlord leaderboard had existed in the third realm from almost the very beginning, but only the top ten warlords generally had the strength to kill a king of the realm. In the past, Ren Kunjing would hardly have been a match for the king of the realm.
These kings were the strongest existences of the third realm, and even old kings possessed near-boundless power. In the past, only those among the top ten warlords had ever managed to kill a king of a medium-sized world, and only the top warlord had managed to kill a king of a large world.
However, one man was all it had taken to dramatically increase the strength of all races of the Milky Way: Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie! He had appeared out of nowhere and raised the upper limit of strength that any race in the Milky Way could aspire to.
Limit fragments and disaster-grade lifeforms—these were concepts that no one had ever heard of, but Zhang Lie seemed to understand them intimately.
All the races in the Milky Way benefited, and Ren Kunjing was one such beneficiary. The knowledge that disaster-grade lifeforms existed widened the horizons of all the hunters in the Milky Way, and they were no longer satisfied with just hunting down peak-grade lifeforms.
It was well known that there were lifeforms stronger than peak-grade, but no race had ever demonstrably shown that there were lifeforms strong enough to require their own category and designation.
There had never been those strong enough or dedicated enough to hunt down such disaster-grade lifeforms. They had investigated some examples of these particularly strong lifeforms in the past, but no one had discovered the secret to absorbing these genetic cores.
Ren Kunjing glanced at Zhang Lie, who stood floating in the air, surveying the land with the arrogance of the strong. It was he who had shared that secret with the world, too.
Ren Kunjing had begun idolizing Zhang Lie without even knowing it.
In the past, only the top ten warlords of the third realm had possessed the strength to kill the kings of medium-sized worlds, but he, nothing more than a mid-rank warlord, had been able to do the same thanks to the advancements that Zhang Lie had introduced.
Zhang Lie didn't know that, after the revelation of disaster-grade lifeforms, the entire galaxy had gone mad trying to hunt them down. Among the most fanatical were the Jinghun, who boasted a unique racial talent that allowed them to hunt down such lifeforms with ease. Meanwhile, many other races who were interested in hunting down such lifeforms didn't even know where to start.
Ren Kunjing had successfully absorbed disaster gene fragments, and it was this increase in strength that ultimately allowed him to take down the king of the realm.
That day, Zhang Lie shocked Ren Kunjing again. His growth rate exceeded anything that Ren Kunjing had ever known, and the increase in his strength was obvious.
"Just how many disaster gene fragments has he obtained during this period of time...?"
Ren Kunjing was starting to feel sorry for the cockroach-like king of the realm. For someone like him to be antagonizing a monster like Zhang Lie—well, his life would be forfeit.
The king of the realm had vanished entirely, but not because his body had been annihilated.
"Teleportation? Unfortunately, that won't be effective against me."
Zhang Lie quickly identified where the king of the realm had gone by studying the remnant spatial fluctuations on the battlefield. "[Fists of the Silent Sea: Quake]!"
Even before his punch landed, the skies had begun to shake violently. The space around him exploded, and the king of the realm, who was hiding in an extra-dimensional space, was critically damaged by the attack.
His face was the color of mud, and he could barely keep the blood spilling out of his mouth.
He had been planning to launch a sneak attack on Zhang Lie, but Zhang Lie had divested him of that opportunity.
As he spat blood out of his mouth, the king of the realm shouted, "Stop, please! I surrender!"
Anyone who could become the king of the realm would hardly be a fool. The king had made use of the realm's power and was still defeated in one blow—he knew he wouldn't be able to win on brute strength alone.
His arrogance and superiority had been wiped clean from his face, leaving behind nothing but an unctuous smile behind.
Zhang Lie thought that the matter was resolved, only to see the king of the realm's eyes suddenly grow wide. He exclaimed, "What's that behind you?!"
Zhang Lie turned around, giving the king of the realm the window of opportunity he needed to flee.
Ren Kunjing shouted, "He's running away!"
The king of the realm smiled, then stepped through a spatial portal he had created on the spot. Of course he was running away! The man in front of him was far too frightening; he would have to fear for his life if he remained behind.
In principle, as long as he were supported by the world itself, no one would be able to kill him...
However, the king of the realm didn't notice the attack that Zhang Lie was charging up on one arm.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!" A frightening punch sent spatial rends tearing through space, ripping the king of the realm's body apart...
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