Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 265: The Fruit of Life

To give Zhang Lie a moment to himself, Fang Yi turned to Yan Long and asked, “Commander Yan, how about the rewards for the rest of us? Surely we'll get something good too?”

“Of course! As the second-place winner, you'll get just a few rewards less than Zhang Lie.
Moreover, your ranking in the Void Cup will be of more worth than you imagine when you ascend through the realms of the dimensional world.
You'll face more challenges, of course, but with your strength, there's nothing to fear.
To be honest, I still feel as though I'm in a dream.
All of you represent the pride of China, of Earth, of all mankind.
You deserve whatever accolades we can heap on you!” Yan Long affirmed again.

The hunters smiled at what they had accomplished.

While they talked, their hotel had filled to the brim with all sorts of crazed fans, and if not for the fact that guards had been dispatched to maintain order around the hotel, it would be in a complete mess.

The humans had simply caused far too large a commotion by monopolizing the top three spots in the Void Cup.
No one could deny that the humans were strong; their placement in the Void Cup spoke volumes. 

The humans had beaten the winged, the nightdemons, the aquatic, and even the starbeasts.
They were indubitably the strongest race represented in this iteration of the Void Cup, and they deserved the respect of the other races of the Milky Way.

Those races who hadn't sent representatives to the humans before tried to establish a relationship with them, whereas those that had already done so tried to strengthen it.
This behavior extended even to those races who were known to be on friendly terms with the humans, such as the blood demons, night spirits, and even nightdemons.

Everyone was trying to learn more about Zhang Lie and Team Zenith.

Faced with such a crowd of people, Zhang Lie and the others didn't dare brave the throngs outside.
They had a simple meal within the hotel as they waited for the awards ceremony in the afternoon.

The awards ceremony happened in the main arena, which had been repurposed for the event.
A black pyramid appeared at the very center of the arena, composed of a hundred seats.
These had been specially prepared for the top hundred competitors of the Void Cup.

Names appeared on the holographic screen.
Whenever a name scrolled past the screen, the corresponding hunter would step forward and take the corresponding seat.

The crowd could be broadly divided into two categories: those envious of the competitors on stage, and those expectant, raring to compete in their own right.
Those hunters who were advancing to the second realm, who no longer had a chance to participate, looked on enviously at their friends or enemies on stage, while those of the younger generation couldn't wait to take on the Void Cup themselves.

The somber procession gave them an objective and the motivation to take on that objective.

They eagerly awaited the day that they too could participate in such a competition, taking one of those hundred seats on stage.
Their eyes shone as they watched Zhang Lie, the champion of the Void Cup and last to be introduced, take his seat at the front of the procession.

Zhang Lie, twenty years old, a human, whose parents had vanished during his childhood, leaving him alone with his paralyzed sister.
He, who was once the king of the dumps in the Blacksteel settlement, had now become the champion of the Void Cup!

One by one, the victors were sent into the world federation's treasury to procure their rewards.

Zhang Lie lowered his head and began to analyze the Void Throne, on which he was seated.
The black mineral out of which the Void Throne had been constructed gave off a soft, dark glow.
When light shone on it, it shone with luster.

The moment Zhang Lie sat on it, he was shocked by the changes to his body.
Ten times the accumulation, ten times the circulation…
it was an unbelievable experience.
Given the complexity of Zhang Lie's [Ninecarp Transformation], it was rather difficult to convert accumulate genetic energy and to circulate it throughout his body.

Under usual circumstances, it would take him an hour of concentration to perform a single cycle, and if he were distracted, it would take him even longer.
With the Void Throne, however, he had accomplished it within no more than a minute.
In fact, given the throne, Zhang Lie thought that he might even be able to evolve [Ninecarp Transformation] and unlock its fourth form relatively quickly. 

Furthermore, Zhang Lie discovered that the throne also seemed to have some calming effect that would improve his mental acuity and allow him to focus on his cultivation.
These two boons alone made the Void Throne a wondrous treasure—and the first was even a domain effect!

In addition, despite the fact that the throne was sculpted from a mineral, it was surprisingly comfortable.
Zhang Lie briefly entertained the notion of spending another five years in the first realm of the dimensional world to enter the next iteration of the Void Cup as well, but he rejected the idea near-instantly.
He didn't have the time to waste.

Compared to the second realm, the first realm was far less imposing and impressive.
The second realm was even larger than the first, and filled with more riches and treasures.
He had developed his abilities to just about the greatest extent possible in the first realm, and there was no reason to remain there any longer.
By the time those five years on the Void Throne were up, he was certain he could devise one of his own.

It was almost time for him and the other top competitors to claim their prizes.
Zhang Lie glanced up to see Sun Xiaowu, in eighteenth place, return to his seat happily with his prize.
After another twenty minutes or so, Xing Bai, Sun Mengmeng, Fang Yi, went to claim their respective prizes.

The better the competitors' placement, the longer they spent in the treasury.
Xing Bai had spent about five minutes inside, as did Sun Mengmeng and Fang Yi.
They all came out with a satisfied expression on their faces.

Finally, it was Zhang Lie's turn.
He entered a storehouse filled with miraculous treasures, ones that made even his eyes bulge.

“Honored Champion of the Void Cup, welcome to the world federation's peak-grade treasury.
As the champion, you are eligible to choose up to six soulshards, spiritual herbs, or other treasures within.”

His first objective was, naturally, to find a fruit of life for his sister.
However, despite searching the entire treasury up and down, he couldn't find a single such fruit.
Was it not in the list of prizes for the Void Cup that year? Surely not.