Ultragene Warlord

hters found their rising hope and pride dashed.
To them, their clan head had been like a martial god, one who had never suffered defeat.
He had defeated even the most illustrious of their elders, and his skill had reached an apex after going into secluded cultivation.
Of course they thought he would be able to fend off the frightening human in front of them—but in truth, even the clan head fell to a single blow.

The Yeluo fighters' knees trembled.
They could hardly imagine what sort of monster they had provoked.
He had forced their clan head to surrender with just one blow, and they, with their foolish pride and arrogance, had mocked him and tried to steal the woman by his side!

Zhang Lie himself seemed a little surprised.
“You could sense it?”

The clan head bowed respectfully.
“At least a little.
If not for your dissipating the remaining energy of that attack at the very end, I would be nothing but a pile of dust.”

The disparity in strength between the Yeluo elder and Zhang Lie was so immense that the Yeluo elder didn't know how outmatched he was, but the clan head, who was slightly stronger, did.
This was why he had surrendered after just one exchange, because he knew just how much his clan couldn't afford having Zhang Lie as an enemy.

The clan head lowered his head.
“Please, honored fighter, my clan will do anything for you.
I ask only that you spare our lives!”

The Yeluo fighters gaped.

“Clan head—” one fighter began, wanting to persuade him otherwise, but the clan head stared him into silence.

“If you want to die, I don't care—but don't bring the entire clan down with you!”

Zhang Lie sighed.
“All I came here for was the recipe for a potion.”

“A potion?”

“Yes, the one that this elder consumed recently.”

“The Yeluo augmentation brew? Very well—I'll hand you the recipe as well as whatever supply of the potions we have!”

Zhang Lie's eyes gleamed.
Everything would have been so much easier if he had spoken with the clan head from the very beginning! Of course, such a wily clan head wouldn't be willing to remain subservient forever, but no matter how wily he was, Zhang Lie knew a means of controlling the entire clan.

“Very good.
Trust me: you'll be proud of this decision that you made in the future! I'll leave the production of the brew to you, since some of the herbs required are native to the Yeluo Valley,” Zhang Lie continued.

There were quite a lot of poisonous herbs and insects in the Yeluo Valley.
If Zhang Lie were to rely on human labor, the cost of making this potion would increase dramatically.
The Yeluo clan naturally had thick bronzed skin and incredible resistance to poison.
They were obvious candidates for the task.

The clan head lowered his head.
“Being able to serve you is the honor of the Yeluo clan.”

“For now, hand me your entire supply.”

“Yes, of course.
Please understand that we don't have a large stockpile of it—the brewing process is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Furthermore, I'll have to make you a copy of the recipe myself, so there may be some delay.
Won't you come rest in our settlement for a little?”

“Very well.
Lead the way!”