Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 339: Another Apprentice

 

Seeing how impassioned Hong Xi was, Zhang Lie could hardly bring himself to tell her that that tablet contained even less information than what he had managed to find on Earth.
That would be far too cruel.

He turned toward the other two objects in the chest, the first of which was a yellow-brown fruit.
Zhang Lie's eyes widened.
“No wonder the peak-grade sandworm was attracted to the treasury—it's a shayang fruit!”

As Zhang Lie picked it up, sand gathered around the fruit and formed a miniature sandstorm.
The shayang fruit had a chance of raising one's talent for cultivation, but compared to gambling on that probability, Zhang Lie had a better use for it.
He believed it would be a necessary ingredient for making Potion #4, which would grant him peak-grade limit fragments.

The final object in the chest was a red glove, one of rather high quality, but not something that interested me.

He kept the shayang fruit.
“I'll be taking this.
You can have the glove that remains in the chest.”

Hong Xi exclaimed, “Please, Zhang Lie, take what you want! I only managed to make my way here because of you.
Otherwise, I'd already have died to the rhinodogs.”

Zhang Lie smiled but shook his head.
Before he could leave, Hong Xi clambered up to him, her face still slightly red.
“Zhang Lie, wait! I still haven't shared [Eclipse] with you.
In addition, I'm hoping you'll allow me to join the Zenith Dojo—would you please allow me to do so?”

“That's not a problem.
I'm even willing to take you as my apprentice, if that's something you're interested in.”

Hong Xi's eyes gleamed.
She knelt on the ground, dirty though it was, and thumped her forehead against it three times.
Subsequently, with both hands, she offered up the tablet containing [Eclipse].
“Master, please accept this gift from your apprentice.”

If finding [Eclipse] were able to revitalize the Hong clan ten times faster, then taking Zhang Lie as her master would revitalize it at least a hundred times faster.
As one of Zhang Lie's superfans, she knew better than anyone else just how strong Zhang Lie truly was.

Zhang Lie himself was willing to take her as his apprentice because of her relationship to the Eclipse Sage, whom he considered one of his mentors.

“Very well.
From now on, you'll be my third apprentice.”

“Yes, Master! I, Hong Xi, gratefully pay my respects!”

Instead of accepting the proffered tablet, however, Zhang Lie placed two fingers on Hong Xi's forehead.
He activated his peak-grade moonlight wyrm soulshard, and, using Whitey as conduit, left her with the entirety of [Eclipse].

“This is…”

Zhang Lie's [Eclipse] was even more clarified and complete than the footage that she had acquired.

“Master, this—”

“By a stroke of good luck, I obtained the Eclipse Sage's inheritance back on Earth.
I'm glad I've been able to hand it down to one of his descendants as well.”

Hong Xi clutched her mouth in shock.
“Master, you're my ancestor's apprentice?”

Zhang Lie laughed.
“You can put it that way.
Otherwise, would I have taken you as an apprentice myself so easily?”

Hong Xi made an “Ahh” sound in realization.
No wonder Zhang Lie had been willing to help her out so readily!

“Master, nevertheless, thank you for taking me on.
I might not be your most talented apprentice, but I swear I'll be the most hardworking!”

Hong Xi's determination made Zhang Lie smile.
“Very well, my most hardworking apprentice, can you tell me about your gene fragments?”

“Because I learned of the Eclipse Sage's treasury in the second realm, I entered the second realm before capping my gene fragments in the first.
Currently, I have a hundred basic and mutated gene fragments, along with fifty superior gene fragments.

Zhang Lie widened his eyes.
After all, the fifty superior gene fragments she was mentioning had come from hunting superior-grade lifeforms with Zhang Lie as they made their way toward their destination.
In other words, she had dared to brave the depths of the Qi forest only having maxed her basic and superior gene fragments.

She was so daring that Zhang Lie was at a loss for words.
It was lucky that she had met him; otherwise, she would surely be dead by now.

“Your foundation is rather weak, but it can be improved with time.
[Eclipse] has no attunement and can be compatible with any technique, so that's a good start.
What sort of techniques do you want to learn?”

Hong Xi replied seriously, “I'd like to learn a fist technique, just like my ancestor.”

She wasn't being entirely truthful—the main reason she had chosen a fist technique was because she had been enthralled by Zhang Lie's use of [Hundred Dragons Soaring] in her defense.

“The only fist technique I can teach you is [Fists of the Silent Sea].
This was originally a water-attuned technique, but I can convert it into a null-attuned technique for you—though its strength will depend on what you make of it.”

“I understand, Master! Please, will you impart that technique to me?” 

Zhang Lie nodded.
Using Whitey as a conduit, he sent her a mental transmission of the technique, then demonstrated it in front of her. 

“As for your footwork and body techniques, I suspect the ones that came alongside [Eclipse] will be most suitable for you—[Moon Seeker] and [The Elusive Moon].
Finally, you'll need a weapon technique of some sort.
I transferred you a rather comprehensive set along with [Eclipse], so choose the one you like best.
I'll also help you find a few suitable soulshards, and you should be prepared to hunt superior-grade lifeforms at that point.”

“Master, thank you!”

“You're now one of my apprentices, after all.
There's no need to be so polite.”

“Yes, Master!”

Three days flew by in the blink of an eye.
Within that time, Hong Xi's strength grew by leaps and bounds.
Once Zhang Lie deemed that Hong Xi had learned enough to fight on her own, the two of them left the drab treasury and headed back toward the Yeluo Valley.

Zhang Lie decided to head there first, then to accompany his new disciple home and to bring the entire Hong clan to Ning.
After all, he had promised the Eclipse Sage that he would take care of the Hong clan.

Because he was trying to help Hong Xi hunt for soulshards as well, he abstained from tealthing the two of them.
They walked through the forest with their heads held high, naturally attracting the attention of all sorts of predators.

With a piercing screech, a bird surrounded by green winds flew by them.
The screech was so shrill that Hong Xi had to cover her ears.
The bird flapped its wings, summoning a gale out of thin air.

Zhang Lie pointed at the sky.
“What do you think of this bird?”

“Ah, what do you mean, Master?”

Instead of responding, Zhang Lie watched as the bird swooped down toward Hong Xi.

[Fists of the Silent Sea: Hundred Dragons Soaring]! Before she could scream, Zhang Lie punched at the bird, obscuring its sight with a flight of over a hundred black dragons, howling in unison far louder than the bird could screech.

The bird suddenly squawked, noticing that its prey seemed to be stronger than it had expected.
Before it could flee, however, the black dragons had already taken to the sky.
They surrounded the bird and burst apart, drowning out the sunlight in a wave of dark energy.

[You successfully killed a superior-grade fleet-winged windbird and obtained its soulshard.
By consuming the flesh of the superior-grade fleet-winged windbird, you may receive one to ten mutated gene fragments.]

Zhang Lie smiled and held out a green soulshard in front of her.
“You're rather lucky! Here, a gift from me to you.”

Hong Xi gaped at the sight.
Her eyes were bulging at the carcass of the windbird.
What had just happened? That was a superior-grade lifeform from the second realm!

Zhang Lie had taken it down in just one blow—in a mere ten seconds!

Hong Xi knew that her master was strong, but not how strong.

“What, don't you want this?”

“Master, that's a superior-grade soulshard!”

“Naturally.
I would be embarrassed if my apprentices were to use anything less.
It looks like a rare weapon-type soulshard.
Why don't you absorb it into your soulspace and try it out?”