Chapter 95: Usurping the Spoils   magic

Yes, Zhang Lie would fight fire with fire.

The second stage of his [Ninecarp Transformation] afforded him with extremely corrosive genetic energy, and he had discovered that [Eclipse] was consuming some sort of resource in order to dissolve his genetic energy, so if he were careful, it wouldn't be impossible to drain [Eclipse] before he was drained instead.

His first attempt was reasonably successful. Even as his own genetic energy was consumed, he successfully corroded away part of [Eclipse]'s strength.

When the Eclipse Sage saw what was happening, he couldn't help but praise Zhang Lie. "Oh, your technique isn't too shabby! To think that it too would possess potent corrosive power! You have quite a few secrets, don't you?"

"Sage, I'm trying to pass your trial! Please, let me concentrate!" While Zhang Lie spoke, a significant fraction of genetic energy had been drained from his body.

The Eclipse Sage guffawed.

What followed would be a test of endurance. Whether or not Zhang Lie would be able to pass the trial would depend on just how large the Eclipse Sage's reservoir of energy was. Zhang Lie's only goal was to hold out as long as possible, until his last skein of genetic energy had been dissolved away.

As he hunkered down and settled into silence, the portal to the ruins became more crowded than ever. After the Yun and Chu clans, the Zhou, He, and Qian clans successively arrived at the portal, but one step too slowly.

By the time they found the weathered stump, the Yun and Chu clans had managed to break past the array and head inside. Worse, the array had restored itself, and they would have to find the eye on their own.

This would give the Yun and Chu clans a head start.

Zhou Qiang motioned for the four clans of the Liao family to head over, trying to understand the situation, but the more they heard, the more panicked they became. The Yun and Chu clans were both rather strong, and now that they had taken the lead, it was possible that they would monopolize the best items for themselves. Of course, no matter how much they tried, they wouldn't be able to obtain the Eclipse Sage's inheritance. Neither would the Yun and Chu clans.

By the time Yun Bing and Chu Feng arrived at the clocktower with their elites in tow, Fang Yi, Sun Mengmeng, and the others were guarding its vicinity. Only when they saw the familiar faces of Yun Bing and Chu Feng did they seem to relax a little.

The Yun and Chu clans were shocked to see them. Yun Bing and Chu Feng were quite familiar with Fang Yi and Sun Mengmeng, and they knew full well that they were Zhang Lie's subordinates. If they were here around the clocktower, then their leader, Zhang Lie, was surely somewhere within the ruins.

"Fang Yi, Sun Mengmeng, it really is you guys!" Chu Feng exclaimed.

The Yun and Chu scions had interacted with them quite a few times already, and they instantly confirmed that the mysterious appearance of these ruins had something to do with Zhang Lie.

"Good to see you, Young Master Chu, Miss Yun!" Fang Yi greeted them with a smile, as did the other members of Team Zenith, but they were as alert as ever.

Li Feng, who was up by the bell, immediately crouched down, not wanting to attract attention to himself.

"Where's Zhang Lie?" Yun Bing asked.

Fang Yi's eyes glinted. "Since you're friends with the captain, I won't keep it a secret from you: he's undertaking the trial of inheritance!"

His words shocked the Yun and Chu clans, and the elders of the two clans couldn't stand still any longer.

"The trial of inheritance? Tell us where your leader is! ?Where's the treasury?!" Chu Zhennan yelled, threats edging into his tone.

He had no choice; of course he would be anxious.

After entering the ruins, the construction and style of the castle, along with the rooms they had gone through, made it quite clear that the owner of these ruins was none other than the Eclipse Sage, a hunter with such renown that he was included in the Xumi Tome.

If nothing else, his lost inheritance, [Eclipse], was sufficiently valuable a treasure that the great clans of China would fight tooth and nail over it.

"I don't know, and I wouldn't say even if I did!" Fang Yi refused to budge despite Chu Zhennan's threats.

"Lad, you really aren't afraid of anything, are you? Well—"

"Uncle Zheng, please stop! Let Chu Feng and I handle this. We know each other, after all, and we're friends!" Seeing that Chu Zhennan's threat was ineffective, Yun Chongzheng was about to speak when Yun Bing interrupted him.

No, neither the Yun nor Chu clans could afford to offend Zhang Lie, and neither could Yun Bing and Chu Feng themselves! After all, they still had a favor to beg of Zhang Lie, and if they were to sour the relationship between them, they wouldn't have any opportunity to obtain the Potion #1 that they had been eyeing.

As for the two clan elders, they wouldn't have reacted so aggressively if they knew that Zhang Lie was the one who had sold them the information about the foundational breakthrough.

Yun Bing's words made the two clan elders eye each other. Both Yun Bing and Chu Feng had made several choices that they didn't understand that night, but they had been designated as the leaders of this expedition, and the elders' responsibility was only to assist and protect them.

If they were friends with these other hunters, perhaps they would be able to find out what was going on more easily.

With these thoughts in mind, the two elders nodded tersely and stepped back, letting Chu Feng and Yun Bing direct the conversation.

Once they had received the elders' affirmation, Chu Feng and Yun Bing immediately stepped forward.

"Fang Yi, I'll tell you the truth: it'll be impossible for you to claim all the spoils from these ruins for yourselves!" Chu Feng spoke directly.

Fang Yi cocked an eyebrow. "Indeed? Do you intend on wresting them away by force, just like these esteemed elders here?"

"No, no, of course not, Fang Yi! As you've said, we're friends with Zhang Lie, and it's exactly because we're friends that I'm telling you this now! As for you, are you unaware of the situation outside the ruins?"

Fang Yi and the others suddenly realized that they had neglected an important question: how had Chu Feng and the others found their way over here?

When they had first noticed a party heading in their direction, the members of Team Zenith all tensed up, trying to think about who those hunters could be. Were they enemies, or were they friends?

But they had neglected to think about how those hunters had made their way to the scene.

After all, Zhang Lie had mentioned that, after they entered, the array would repair itself. The fact that other hunters had appeared in the ruins meant that its location had been exposed, and there were surely other hunters lying in wait outside.

This was apparent from Chu Feng's words.

"What's the situation like out there?" Fang Yi asked, trying to gather more information.