Chapter 97: Obtaining the Inheritance  

The Zhou, He, and Qian clans immediately turned to leave, beginning their search for the treasury and the Eclipse Sage's long-lost inheritance. They all understood that, as more and more hunters gathered at the scene, the less likely it would be for them to find the inheritance.

Chu Feng and the others were happy to see them leave. Of course, Chu Feng's trick wouldn't delay them for too long; the ruins weren't too large, and the hunters of the three clans would finish searching it relatively quickly.

By then, not having made any discovery, they would notice that something was amiss, and to gather back at the clocktower again. At that point in time, it would be much harder for Chu Feng and the others to dismiss them.

Meanwhile, the clans from Qing, as well as the government officials, had finally broken through the illusion array and entered the ruins. As the number of hunters in the ruin increased, the ruins grew more chaotic, but this chaos didn't affect Zhang Lie, who was still participating in the Eclipse Sage's trial.

The trial was almost over; in the underground chamber, the runic inscriptions had dimmed considerably, and Zhang Lie could sense that his genetic energy was being dissolved far more slowly as well. magic

Under the moonlight, even as the Eclipse Sage's body grew transparent, he let out a satisfied smile.

"Lad, you're the first person to successfully survive [Eclipse] by exhausting the caster's energy! Furthermore, even though your primary framework isn't very high-ranking, the corrosive nature of your genetic energy is particularly compatible with [Eclipse]. Yes, the heavens have left me with a worthy successor indeed!"

With the Eclipse Sage's confirmation, the trial finally came to an end, and Zhang Lie slumped over. That trial had only lasted at most a quarter-hour, but it felt like hours to Zhang Lie. He had almost completely exhausted his supply of genetic energy—yes, exhausted, not dissolved.

Comparatively little of his genetic energy had been dissolved; most was used up in countering and defending against [Eclipse], then striking back at it. It was only for this reason that he was able to make it to the end of the trial, having forced the runic inscriptions powering [Eclipse] to exhaust much of their stored energy as well.

Regardless, Zhang Lie viewed [Eclipse] as a ridiculously overpowered technique, and the remnant of the Eclipse Sage likewise viewed Zhang Lie as a ridiculously overpowered hunter.

"Thank you for the praise, esteemed Sage. Your [Eclipse] is shockingly powerful!"

"Haha, of course! It's my life's work!"

To the Eclipse Sage, [Eclipse] was his magnum opus. The day he created it, his life was changed forever, and the title of Eclipse Sage had come from this grand achievement.

"However, compared to you, this is nothing worth bragging about. Believe me: the future you will surely be far stronger than even I could be. Handing [Eclipse] to you will be a relief to me, but before I do so, I hope you can promise me two things."

The Eclipse Sage, finding his successor more and more pleasing to the eye, couldn't help heaping a few more praises upon him, but suddenly changed his tone upon remembering something.

Of course, Zhang Lie couldn't back down now. "I'll do anything, Sage!"

"Oh? Are you so sure of your capabilities that you can do anything?" He guffawed again. His tone was doubtful, but he was actually quite happy with Zhang Lie's attitude.

"As long as I don't die, I'll keep growing stronger. I might not be able to handle these responsibilities now, but I firmly believe I can do so in the future!"

As an experienced hunter, this sort of question wouldn't stump Zhang Lie. Furthermore, if the Sage was subjecting him to this line of questioning... "Not bad, lad, not bad! In that case, I have two tasks for you. Destroy the Musi clan on the star Tarkus, and assist the remaining members of the Hong clan in the Tianhong city on Mars, any that were fortunate enough to survive the calamity!"

The Eclipse Sage quickly listed two tasks for his successor, his tone seething as he spoke.

"Yes, Sage! I swear I'll do my best to accomplish these tasks."

"Good! In that case, accept my inheritance!"

The Eclipse Sage's remnant appeared in front of Zhang Lie. Before he could react, it struck the center of Zhang Lie's forehead with a pointed finger, instantly making him feel as though he were burning all over, as if all his cells were being vaporized, as his bones and muscles creaked and compressed.

A voice seemed to speak distantly to him, "Meditate on the realm of [Eclipse]!"

You think I can meditate in this state??With his body completely drained of energy both mental and physical, he lost consciousness then and there.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Zhang Lie woke up groggy in the now-familiar underground chamber, and what happened immediately before he lost consciousness slowly drifted back to him. After checking that his body was fine, he let out a sigh of relief.

"What sort of meditation did that old geezer expect I could do right after finishing his trial?!"

That said, the moment he felt the strength surging through his body, Zhang Lie found himself quite satisfied with the experience. Not only had this final hurdle strengthened his body to some extent, he even discovered a manual that the Eclipse Sage had left in his mind, detailing the process for cultivating [Eclipse], as well as a few tricks and techniques for using it effectively.

Zhang Lie circulated his genetic energy according to the description in the manual, causing mysterious energy to waft out of his body and suffuse a region a hundred meters wide around him. This—this was [Eclipse]!

[Eclipse], a mythic-grade technique with no elemental attunement, would allow its user to form a unique domain around it, supported by the user's genetic energy. This unusual ability had myriad possible applications; the most obvious was a fieldwide debuff that would nullify any numerical advantage against Zhang Lie.

It seemed as though the 'meditative experience' he had had earlier was meant to engrave [Eclipse] on his genetic core, courtesy of the Eclipse Sage. As a result, he was able to turn the eclipse domain on and off at will, with a facility that would have taken years of experience to obtain normally.

What skill the Eclipse Sage had! And yet such an esteemed figure had fallen to the devious struggles and internal politics of mankind. If he were still alive, humanity wouldn't have suffered the disastrous calamity it did a hundred years later.

It was a pity indeed.