Ultragene Warlord

ng straight in their direction.

They tried to launch a counterattack, but all their genetic energy had been drained.
In growing despair, they watched the dragon coming their way.

“Quick!  We have to film this scene! Look at all the destruction in the arena! That's what you'd expect from peak second-realm hunters—that Zhang Lie's a crazy strong hunter!”

Li and Liu had made their way to the arena stands, and Li's face was tinted a fiery red from the light coming from the attacks below.
Liu took out a portable recording device, which would capture the entire scene unfolding beneath them.

“Li, it looks like someone's going to die! Should we stop them?”

“You want to meddle in that?! If they're fighting to the death, it means that there's something fishy going on with this test—we'd better not get involved.
What's more, do you think you can block that dragon's attack?”

Li rapped Liu on the head, who yelped in pain.

The dragon descended on the two hunters facing Zhang Lie.
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Lie deactivated the forest wolfman and blood ant soulshards, exposing a gaunt, pale-white face to Liu's recording orb.

The aftereffects of Zhang Lie's blood ant soulshard were really quite severe.
Zhang Lie chattered as pain wracked his body, waves of exhaustion turning his limbs to stone.
He barely avoided collapsing on the spot, supported only by his willpower.
Of course, the strength it provided was more than enough to make the aftereffects worth bearing.

“I'll make the Wang clan pay for what they tried today, I swear it,” Zhang Lie gritted out.
“Just you wait—after I found my dojo, the Wang clan will perish!”

He glanced at where the two hunters had been standing—the dragon's attack hadn't left even a trace of their corpses behind.
The Wang clan had clearly been targeting his life, and perhaps they would have succeeded if not for his newfound popularity shielding him from any more obvious attacks.

It looked as though he would still have to be somewhat cautious in the future, but even so, despite what the Wang clan had attempted, the final victor was Zhang Lie.
He took a few minutes to recover, then left the arena with a faint smile on his face.

Only then did Li and Liu, hiding in the stands, dare to relax.

“Li, just who is this Zhang Lie? His opponents were peak second-realm hunters, weren't they? How did he destroy them so utterly with just one blow? Isn't he from the slums of Ning? He has no clan or backer! How did he get so strong?!”

Li smiled.
“We're not the ones who have to be concerned with all this.
 More importantly, did you capture the fight in its entirety?”

“Yes, I did!  It's unfortunate that we were too late to record the entire fight, but—”

“No, that last confrontation's enough.
We're sure to make the headlines tomorrow—let's go! One last piece of advice for you: those in our profession succeed because of our curiosity, but it's likewise our downfall.
Curb your curiosity, or it'll lead you to your death.”

Li was far more practiced and experienced in this field than Liu, and he was well aware of the hidden dangers that could surface if he weren't careful.
He and Liu had both been present for the fight, and he didn't want to lose his life because of Liu's incaution.