Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 424: An Unexpected Gain

With his other hand, Zhang Lie struck the golden roc's lower jaw, sending a blood dragon howling into the air.

“[Rune: Resonate]!” All four runic tablets fell around the golden roc.
The formation activated, trapping him within a domain of darkness.

“[Fists of the Silent Sea: Hundred Dragons Soaring]!” Zhang Lie cocked back his left arm, channeling his genetic energy into the attack, and sent its full force at the golden roc.

Amidst the bombardment of a hundred dragons, the golden roc was forced to the ground in a daze.

A golden sword appeared in Zhang Lie's hand, the manifestation of a peak-grade golden roc soulshard which Zhang Lie had obtained from this roc's family.

“[The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]!” A wave of blood drenched the golden roc and morphed into a blood dragon.

The golden roc flapped his wings and rose into the air.
Zhang Lie chased after him, successfully sending the sword into the unguarded back of his neck.

“[The Boundless Blade: Requiem of the End]!” Black genetic energy covered the blade's tip and ravaged the golden roc's body from the inside out.
The golden roc struggled in pain; crystalline flecks of blood sprayed from the wound.

As Zhang Lie sent more and more energy barreling through the blade and into the wound, the golden roc's body was pierced through all over by Zhang Lie's sword energy.
It looked like a cactus, the spikes of which were manifested blades of energy that had pierced his body from within.

[You successfully killed a peak-grade golden roc and obtained its soulshard.
By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade golden roc, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]

Zhang Lie's eyes brightened.
Today really was a lucky day; he had obtained yet another soulshard, and from the strongest of the rocs at that.

The golden roc fell to the ground.
The elder and Yu Xuanguang followed, barely able to believe that they were alive.
Watching the battle, they thought that they were moments away from perishing.

Their attacks were completely ineffective against the golden roc, and they wouldn't be here now if not for Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie drew his sword, stabbed into the golden roc's injured chest, and drew out the roc's heart.

The arteries and veins surrounding the heart had already crystallized, as had the bones around the roc's chest cavity.
If Zhang Lie and the others had struck just a bit later, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Once the golden roc's body turned crystalline, Zhang Lie would have been unable to kill it without using his trump cards.

He stowed away the golden roc's heart and materialized the soulshard he had received.
As expected of a pseudodisaster-grade lifeform, the golden roc's soulshard was completely different from the other golden roc soulshard he had received.

It manifested in the form of a set of paired blades. 

The larger of the two blades was a broadsword that gleamed golden, the rays of light that emanated from it burning as hot as the sun.

The smaller of the two blades was a shortsword that could be incorporated into the larger blade or stripped from it and used independently.
It too was lustrous, filled with what seemed to be a boundless heat.

Even Zhang Lie couldn't have expected that the unusual conditions surrounding the golden roc's death would have generated such an interesting soulshard.
He was a little curious as to what would have happened if the golden roc had successfully ascended into a disaster-grade lifeform.

His domain would have increased dramatically in strength and stability, and it would have gained a secondary manifestation.
If both qualities could be captured in the derived soulshard, they could exist simultaneously and augment each other, just like his [Eclipse] and [Black Sun].

If that were the case…

Well, Zhang Lie was already very satisfied with what he had received.
After all, he was still only a second-realm hunter, and he was unwilling to face an unharmed disaster-grade lifeform proper.

Such a lifeform would be far too dangerous to deal with; just the slightest carelessness could result in his death.

Zhang Lie dematerialized both his golden roc soulshards, but the effect of having two different soulshards from the same species in his soulspace led to a strange phenomenon that even he couldn't have predicted.

The two soulshards resonated with each other: they drew close and began to merge.

Under ordinary circumstances, soulshards from the same species wouldn't combine; this was clearly borne out by his experiences in the first realm.
So what could have caused this effect? Could it have been that they were both peak- or higher-grade soulshards from the same source, from lifeforms conneced by blood?

The chance of a soulshard condensation wasn't high; it would be lucky for Zhang Lie to have gotten one such from over a dozen lifeforms.
Obtaining two from a family of five was incredible luck.

The two soulshards' merging process seemed as though it would take quite a while.
Zhang Lie made a mental note to check up on it from time to time. 

The elder and Yu Xuanguang made their way over to thank him.
“Zhang Lie, it's all thanks to you that we were able to slaughter the golden rocs and make it out alive.”

Zhang Lie thought to himself, In my past life, it's clear that neither of you did.
The crag eagles' death must have been the catalyst that sparked the golden roc's evolution.

Zhang Lie's appearance now had changed the course of history, but he didn't make a special note of it.
“Don't forget our transaction.”

The elder took out a wooden box.
“Actually, the spiritual herb you wanted is right here.
I was intending on handing it over to you before our fight with the golden rocs, but I hadn't planned on meeting the golden rocs halfway.”

Zhang Lie retrieved the box, opened it to see a perfectly preserved starcloud fruit, and revealed a rare, unguarded smile.
He had obtained yet another ingredient for Potion #4! In his estimation, he would only need three more ingredients before he could start the concoction process in earnest.

“Zhang Lie, you must be tired.
Would you like to return to Mt.
Wanren to rest before you leave tomorrow?” Yu Xuanguang offered.
“Please give me the opportunity to apologize for my disrespect.”

Zhang Lie glanced at the time and nodded.
He released Whitey and allowed it to absorb the remnants of the golden roc's soul before keeping the carcass, then took to flight.

Before he went too far, however, he suddenly called out, “I feel as though I've forgotten something.”

The elder replied, “That must mean that that something isn't too important, so forgetting it doesn't matter.”

“Indeed, that's sensible!”

Beneath them, from the gigantic crater the stone giant had created, an arm of stone rose into the air.
The rock giant groaned, “Lord, I'm right here! Please save me!”