Chapter 1440: What Are You? |
Zhang Lie chose [Yes] without any hesitation.
The sight before him blurred. A beam of light scanned his body and projected it into a virtual realm.
A wide expanse of space opened up before Zhang Lie. It was hard to believe that everything was an illusion, rather than reality. There were mountains and streams all around him, and his bare feet were touching the ground. Wind blew at his face. Everything seemed real.
The massive world was layered with fog, with trees that stretched toward the heavens. Avians of unusual make took to the air, and giant beasts roared.
Zhang Lie felt a sudden pain on the back of his palm. A mark had formed, imprinted on his mental avatar.
"Is this to show that I've made it through the qualifiers?"
Zhang Lie was taking in this miraculous virtual world when a shout came from behind. Someone was launching a sneak attack.
Zhang Lie immediately whirled to dodge. He turned back to see a woman dressed in radiant gold. She was tall and svelte, her features elegant, her black hair scattered around her back. Her eyes were limpid, her face veiled.
She stood proudly. When she blinked, lightning flew out of her eyes. She seemed to be a being freed from the constraints of the mortal world, and a deific aura surrounded her.
"A monster?" Zhang Lie echoed.
Perhaps by luck, or misfortune, Zhang Lie had encountered another competitor from the very beginning.
"An immortal," the woman replied.
"A human," Zhang Lie replied.
"And here I thought I found a monster to defeat. I remember now. You're one of the famous stellar hunters from the qualifiers, aren't you?" The woman's gaze sparked like lightning. Her golden clothes shimmered.
Zhang Lie cocked his head. "Is an immortal a genetic lifeform like those Solarvines?"
The woman was rather taken aback. She smirked and muttered to herself, "How fortuitous. I wanted to have a go at one of you."
Zhang Lie suddenly pinched his nose. "I know of a so-called immortal weed, otherwise known as earthwort, whose essential oils can serve as insect repellent. It's a poisonous species, with a pungent stench. Much of its poison lies within its fruit, a smaller portion in its leaves, and the smallest in its stem. You look rather appealing to human sensibilities, but to think that you would be a poisonous plant!"
Hunters who wanted to make a name for themselves in the dimensional world would have to be familiar with all manner of biological organisms. Zhang Lie had made it to the fifth realm in his past life, and was half a biologist and an expert in genetic lifeforms by that point.
"You're the poisonous one, I should think." The woman in gold laughed merrily. "I've never heard of humans. Show your true self. If you're like one of those nine-headed lions, I'll take you as a mount."
Zhang Lie ignored his opponent's words. He murmured to himself, "The immortal weed is also called stinkweed, bugweed, or fleaweed. Allegedly, it's a particularly effective insect repellent and killer."
The woman raised an eyebrow. Two bolts of lightning flew out of her eyes as her strength suddenly magnified.
Her hair floated in the wind as she shot forward. The veil over her face didn't cover her bright, luscious lips.
When Zhang Lie noticed his opponent's reaction, he gasped. "My goodness, I was just talking to myself! Could you really be this so-called immortal weed? Are you poisonous and emit a toxic stench?"
The woman's features and bearing were undoubtedly elegant. Her smile widened, and the aura around her grew so strong that the void itself was vibrating.
"You shall die!" she announced. As she shot forward, she left behind a series of afterimages. She moved unbelievably quickly.
She stood before him in a burst of spatial fluctuations, her white, slender fingertips reaching for Zhang Lie's face.
The woman was clearly an expert in spatial force, whose mastery might well be comparable to Yang Ze's. However, Yang Ze's strength was in hiding himself and conjuring illusions, whereas the woman's was in speeding herself up.
In a flash of golden light, Zhang Lie left a series of afterimages behind. Ethereal blue genetic energy defended against the woman's spatial spikes.
The woman was simply too fast. Her golden dress whirled as she spun. She kicked at Zhang Lie with her right leg in a sharp, decisive blow.
"[The Boundless Blade: Yawning Wave]!"
Zhang Lie tilted his body and barely avoided the leg. With his finger as a sword, he summoned potent sword energy and chopped at her thigh.
The woman in gold diffused the attack with a swivel. With her back to Zhang Lie, she swung an arm in a graceful arc. Her wrist, bathed in golden light, shot toward Zhang Lie.
Zhang Lie smiled and stepped back. As her attack missed, he reached forward, fingers grasping at her neck, while he made a fist with his other hand and unleashed ethereal blue light that struck at her lower back.
The woman's senses were acute. Rather than turn, she contorted her body into a swift and efficient back kick.
Light erupted between the two cultivators.
Zhang Lie's fist struck her leg in twin bursts of light.They rose into the air and circled each other.
Then, the woman dropped to the ground, her golden dress fluttering.
"As expected of a competitor who clawed his way out of the qualifiers. You're fierce indeed." The woman licked her bright red lips in mounting excitement. She seemed to have found the best of prey.
"Which means you're not one of those competitors. You're a scion of one of the strongest forces, then?"
Zhang Lie's expression remained calm, though he was inwardly shocked. Who was this woman? She had an incredibly strong body. If not for her appearance, he would have suspected her to be a pretty monarch-grade lifeform.
"A rarity indeed, to have found such a stubborn mount. I'm fortunate to be able to break you." The woman charged forward,
moving rapidly as she formed seals with her hands. Her body was a series of afterimages; she looked like a divine bird swooping with wings outstretched, a frightening gale behind her.
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.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!"
A howling gale swept over the arena. 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 space and striking the palm of fog. The two competitors clashed against each other.
