Ultragene Warlord

The Zenith hunters' herb collection was only a small interlude between long bouts of training, or rather, a way to relax and alleviate boredom.

After understanding the situation, Zhang Lie had come up with a plan, but it was one that he wouldn't share with the members of Team Zenith for the moment. After all, the hunters had to prepare for the galactic stage of the Void Cup. Collecting herbs was a task that could easily be delegated to Zhang Hong and the other members of the Zenith Dojo.

The hunters were spending a significant amount of time acclimating to their new techniques; Zhang Lie had opened their eyes to the subtle interactions between techniques and how to effectively use them in battle, and the techniques that they had chosen for themselves were highly compatible and possessed unique features, like Sun Mengmeng's [Seven-Hued Flames] or Fang Yi's [Thousand Forms of Thunder].

The opponents that they would face in the galactic stage weren't just humans, but rather all lifeforms in the Milky Way. There were quite a few alien races who were naturally more talented than humans, so despite their dominance on Earth, or even in the solar system at large, they didn't dare take things easily.

After all, according to Zhang Lie, although they were certainly stronger than most, they wouldn't necessarily be able to dominate their opponents as they had before.

In truth, Zhang Lie could have given them each a bottle of Potion #3, but he chose not to do so. It wasn't necessarily a good thing for the hunters to grow too strong too quickly. If he were to raise their strength too recklessly, their foundations and mentality might crumble. They weren't Zhang Lie, and they hadn't overcome the hurdles and obstacles that naturally came about from decades of life.

This Void Cup would be a whetstone for their growth, and he would do his best to prepare them for that by working with them on their techniques, their frameworks, and giving them the best environment in which to grow.

For the next three months, Zhang Lie devoted himself to the members of Team Zenith and concocting potions. During this period of time, Yan Long and Su Feng would intermittently send them shipments of herbs, taking bottles of Potion #1 as recompense. These bottles of Potion #1 were ultimately handed over to the top soldiers of the Chinese military, and some were given to the top-ranking officials of other countries thanks to their generous 'donation' of herbs.

The other countries on Earth began researching this miraculous Potion #1 in earnest, but Zhang Lie was certain that they wouldn't be able to analyze how he had concocted it within the short term.

They would have no choice but to continue trading massive bundles of herbs for more of these potions from China; perhaps they would be able to reproduce the potion after a few more such trades, but by that time, Zhang Lie intended to announce the formulation of Potion #1 outright.

Before the other countries could get too comfortable, however, he would announce the existence of Potion #2, and then of Potion #3. In order to keep up with his progress, the other countries would have no choice but to continue sending him massive shipments of herbs, solidifying his advantage.

Late in the afternoon, the sun shone brightly over the Zenith Dojo. In Ning, in China, and even in all of Earth, the Zenith Dojo was developing into a significant force. Zhang Lie had abdicated his duties; during this period of time, Zhang Hong attracted all manner of instructors to the Zenith Dojo on the basis of Lin Xiu's strength and fame, spreading offshoots of the Zenith Dojo all over China.

By then, every Chinese hunter knew of the Zenith Dojo, and it had shaken the dojo consortium to its roots. Indeed, many of the original Ning dojos had long since moved out, leaving no other respectable dojo in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, the original branch of the Zenith Dojo kept getting larger and more well-equipped with renovation after renovation.

A flash of light illuminated the teleportation array as Zhang Lie brought the members of Team Zenith back to Earth. The galactic stage of the Void Cup was about to descend, and it was time for them to finalize their preparations.

"Dojo Leader!" The moment they stepped out of the array, a shout of welcome could be heard from the distance, and Zhang Hong was immediately notified of the news.

"You've worked hard!" Zhang Lie stepped down from the array with the other hunters.

In this time and age, it was very important for a developing faction or dojo to have an attendant guarding the teleportation arrays they controlled at all times. The hunter who guarded the Zenith Dojo's main array was the 27-year-old female hunter Lu Li, a notable killer in the second realm. She had been attracted by the Zenith Dojo's philosophy and had entered the dojo after a test administered by Zhang Lie himself.

She was the first face that incoming visitors to the Zenith Dojo would see, as well as a sentry for the dojo besides.

"Not at all, Sir. I'm honored to be doing my best for the dojo!"

"Very good. From the fluctuations in your genetic energy, it looks as though your rehabilitation after the foundational breakthrough has been very successful. Have you informed Zhang Hong about my return?"

"Ah, I'm here, I'm here! Really, you should send word sooner next time!"

Red light flashed beside them, and the lawyer-turned-administrator of the Zenith Dojo appeared before Zhang Lie. Given Zhang Lie's new status, there were only a rare few people who dared to speak to him in such a casual manner, and Zhang Hong was one such.

For some reason, perhaps because she had known him while he was still nameless, when he had reached out asking for her to draft a contract for buying a house, the two of them felt some sort of kinship to each other. That was why Zhang Lie had reached out to her when he wanted to purchase land for the Zenith Dojo.

He admired how Zhang Hong was frank yet polite no matter whom she was dealing with, and it was her nature that ultimately won Zhang Lie's confidence and instated her in her current position.

"Has anything major happened while I was gone?"

Zhang Hong smiled. "Nothing major, though there have been a lot of minor things."