Chapter 1251: Old Tactics  

A patch of void and chaos expanded where the horizon had been, tearing apart the pocket dimension.

Zhu grumbled, "Why isn't Zhang Lie paying attention?"

Li Feng shrugged. "Our captain would pay attention if he could, but Zhou Ying's threatening enough that he can't do so completely."

Yang Ze shook his head. "No, she's not at that extent yet. Our captain's already suppressing the might of this blow, and what we're seeing is the result after quite a few limiters. If he had been using that technique at full strength, the new unified world would have noticed the phenomenon.

The treemen were all cleaved in half, and a huge scar stood out on the trunk of the world tree into which Zhou Ying had transformed.

The scar was filled with dimensional energy and prevented vitality and natural energy from repairing the wound.

Instead, fruits grew from the tree, as though children were being gestated within. It pulsed with life, and the fruits fell to the ground and released black humanoid lifeforms.magic

The humanoids were pitch-black all over, with golden hair and gray fog around them. They pounced toward Zhang Lie like wild dogs the moment they were formed.

Zhang Lie cut them apart with Guicang.

The humanoid lifeforms had surprising control over space, along with surprising vitality and frightening regeneration. Despite being cut apart, their bodies quickly regenerated at the point of injury. They seemed to have no feelings whatsoever; they were dolls of war, who pounced toward Zhang Lie without any residual memory or fear of being cut apart once more.

"The Everbearing Lady really possesses some odd talents, doesn't she..."

Zhou Ying's abilities hadn't advanced considerably after absorbing the golden mulberry tree, and neither had she gained strange and unusual powers as a result. However, she had received extreme resistance against fire, and could now produce golden leaves.

After absorbing the Everbearing Lady's strength, however, Zhou Ying had gained an assortment of unusual abilities.

"[Fifth Form: Obliterating the Stars]!"Zhang Lie raised Guicang high into the air.

The scarlet water-attuned genetic energy rose into the sky like a gigantic dragon of blood soaring toward the heavens. Even before the sword slash landed, the ground was starting to crack, and the sky itself was shuddering.

The unusual gray humanoids turned to ash.

Upon witnessing the frightening strike, Zhu rapidly grew alarmed. She shouted, "Be careful, Zhang Lie!"

The sword boasted awe-inspiring strength. If it were to land, she was certain that the newly unified world would be entirely destroyed.

The ground quaked, and the aliens and genetic lifeforms of the new world all sensed this frightening slash.

However, the attack never landed. Zhang Lie held it still right above the crown of the world tree; he didn't want to destroy the unified world, either.

The resulting shockwaves were devastating enough. Branches and leaves fell from the tree, leaving its crown bald and desolate. The world tree lost its grandeur and imposing stature, and even Zhou Ying herself didn't dare fight against Zhang Lie any longer.

The wood quickly withered and rotted away, and Zhou Ying stepped out from its remains. She waved her hands rapidly. "I surrender, I surrender! If you were serious, Captain, I would have long since lost my life."

"Did you intuit something?"

Zhou Ying chuckled wryly. "All I saw was your absolute strength, as well as your potential to destroy everything around us."

Zhang Lie asked, "Do you remember the lesson from last time?"

Zhou Ying nodded fervently. "I've never forgotten, Captain. I need to work on improving my own strength and on acquiring techniques to match."

Zhang Lie nodded. "You've done very well. You've worked hard on growing strong, and you use tactics appropriately in battle. To be frank, you almost struck me quite a few times."

Zhou Ying cocked her head. "But am I too prideful?"Zhang Lie shrugged. "You've all grown very strong, almost beyond my expectations, and your techniques have all improved. However, you're too fond of using little tricks, which won't work against the strongest opponents. Tactics are fine, but tricks basically won't be successful."

Zhou Ying lowered her head. "I understand."

Zhang Lie continued, "As for your tactics, I've seen most of them before. I hope you'll work hard on developing newer ones."

Zhou Ying bowed. "Thank you for your advice, Captain."

"You've exerted yourself. Take some time to rest."

Zhou Ying asked, "Captain, can I have a strand of your hair, or perhaps a drop of blood?"

Zhang Lie replied, "It's not a problem. Is this related to your new ability?"

Zhou Ying nodded. "The Everbearing Lady's ability is to create new races. As far as my understanding goes, this sort of ability should really be considered weapons manufacturing. Those dimensional hounds we saw back then, for example, were created by the Everbearing Lady in conjunction with another alien. By taking advantage of other lifeforms' genetic code and merging it with your own, you can produce a brand-new race that combines the special characteristics of both."

"Can you give birth to them? Don't you need sperm?"

Zhou Ying rolled her eyes. "Don't make it sound like I'm giving birth to children! I wouldn't mind having one with you, Captain, but creating these races isn't something quite as interesting. It's not unlike manufacturing clones, but is somewhat faster."

"Sounds like a very interesting ability."

Zhou Ying sighed. "Not so. I thought it was a somewhat disgusting ability at first, though after this battle, I've realized where my deficiencies lie."

Although Zhou Ying had managed to overcome many a strong opponent in the third realm, when she faced Zhang Lie again, she realized just how weak and helpless she was.

"I'm not strong enough to have the choice to decide which techniques to use and which to give up. This is pride afforded only to the strong—and I'm not strong yet."

"Don't debase yourself," Zhang Lie replied. "You've all grown tremendously strong, and you've taken great strides forward."

Zhou Ying shook her head. "There's no need to console me, Captain. I've realized how weak I am, and I need to take advantage of all my assets to grow stronger. As long as it can do something in battle, and as long as it doesn't go against human morality, so what if I find it rather disgusting?"

Zhang Lie felt as though something was wrong with Zhou Ying's logic, but he couldn't pinpoint where. Rather than respond, he simply pulled out a strand of hair and pierced his skin with Guicang, drawing a single drop of blood.

Because Zhang Lie had maxed out his monarch gene fragments, a single drop of his blood looked as though it contained countless galaxies. A dragon of blood swam around within, as though within the droplet was a galaxy filled with life. Zhou Ying was raptured by the sight.