Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 1345: More or Less

Zhang Lie commanded the airship, "Temporarily cede authority over the airship to Li Qianlin."

A robotic voice rang out, "Li Qianlin has been assigned secondary stewardship of this airship. When the primary steward is not present, Li Qianlin will be in charge of this airship."

Zhang Lie continued, "Whenever any lifeform approaches a range of twenty meters, shoot it down immediately."

"Understood."

Zhang Lie then told Li Qianlin, "While I'm gone, if you feel bored, you can pilot the airship and have some fun."

With everything prepared, Zhang Lie left the airship and told Lin Lingfeng, "I'll be heading back to the Milky Way for some time. Don't let any of the hunters approach within thirty meters. I've instructed the airship to shoot down any lifeform within that range."

Lin Lingfeng nodded. "Don't worry, I'll let everyone in the settlement know."

Zhang Lie bade farewell to Lin Lingfeng and returned to the hunter's guild in the Milky Way, whereupon he submitted a request to return to Earth.

Before his request was approved, Zhang Lie called Zhang Hong.

Zhang Hong was surprised. "You've returned from the fourth realm?"

Zhang Lie asked, "Aren't I informing you of it right now?"

Zhang Hong rolled her eyes. "You heartless man—do you even still think about me?"

Zhang Lie sighed. "It's fortunate that there's no one around you, or others might get the wrong impression of our relationship."

Zhang Hong asked, "What happened this time?"

"I intend on returning to Earth. Please inform the hunters of the third realm, Zhang Hanxiang, and the members of Team Zenith to wait for me in the dojo."

Zhang Hong confirmed, "You want them to welcome you back?"

"More or less."

"That's not like you. Your usual style is to ignore all manner of custom to prioritize training instead. What's changed?"

Zhang Lie replied, "There are some issues I need to talk to Hanxiang about, as well as the members of Team Zenith at large."

"Is something wrong in the fourth realm?"

Zhang Hong seemed even more perplexed.

What the members of Team Zenith couldn't deal with, Zhang Lie could do so easily on his own. What Zhang Lie couldn't deal with, the members of Team Zenith would be no help.

Zhang Lie replied, "There's something important—a rare opportunity, let's say—so I'm calling them all over."

Zhang Hong nodded. "If you don't want to divulge more details, I won't pry. I'll have the members of the Zenith Dojo in the third realm inform Zhang Hanxiang and the members of Team Zenith immediately."

By the time Zhang Lie finished chatting with Zhang Hong, his application had been approved.

When fourth-realm hunters wanted to travel within the Milky Way, the hunter's guild would have to make a record of that travel, though there were no restrictions of any kind imposed.

After all, fourth-realm hunters were at the apex of strength, and there were few that could control or deter them.

Unlike the third-realm hunters that were prevalent on every planet, there were far fewer fourth-realm hunters in the Milky Way.

After returning back to Earth, Zhang Lie appeared within the Zenith Dojo after no time at all, considering the speeds at which he now moved.

Zhang Lie hadn't returned to the Zenith Dojo for quite some time, but the time dilation between the Milky Way and the dimensional realm meant that he had only been gone for two or three days since his last visit. Little had changed during the intervening period.

After returning to the Zenith Dojo, he didn't have to wait long before Zhang Hanxiang and the members of Team Zenith appeared, along with his four apprentices.

Zhang Hanxiang hugged him tightly. "I've missed you, Brother!"

Zhang Lie returned her hug. Thinking back to the issue with her spiritual avatar, Zhang Lie's gaze couldn't help soften.

Zhang Hanxiang grumbled, "Brother, why did it take so long for you to visit us after you ascended to the fourth realm?"

Zhang Lie laughed. "Didn't I have Hong Tianqi pass you the information immediately?"

Zhang Hanxiang hugged Zhang Lie tightly.

"But I don't feel comfortable unless I can see you in person!"

"Well, I'm right here."

The members of Team Zenith smiled. "Captain, long time no see."

"Master!"

Hong Xi, Jun Jiuxiao, Ye Xianchen, and Hong Xiao all greeted Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie smiled at them. "You're all here too? Have a seat. Have you eaten?"

Zhang Hanxiang replied, "Brother, we're not hungry."

Zhang Lie turned to Hong Xiao.

"Considering the changes to your aura, Hong Xiao, I'm guessing you've ascended to the third realm too?"

Hong Xiao nodded. "As more and more disciples of the Zenith Dojo ascended to the second realm, the foundations of the kingdom of Limit were stabilized. Even without me, the kingdom of Limit would continue functioning as per normal, so I chose to ascend."

After his period of training in the second realm, Hong Xiao had grown calmer and more disciplined, and he was starting to give off the aura of the strong.

"I've since maxed out my disaster gene fragments."

With the resources that Zhang Lie left behind in the third realm, Hong Xiao had accomplished this feat quickly after his ascension.

Yang Ze asked directly, "Captain, did you come back for some reason?"

Li Feng laughed. "Perhaps our captain misses us?"

Fang Yi scoffed. "He's already paired up with Li Qianlin. He'd rather have us all be gone so he doesn't have to manage us, I expect."

Sun Xiaowu coughed dryly. Fang Yi immediately shut his mouth and made a zipping motion with his lips.

Zhang Lie asked, "If you have time to joke about me, I'm sure your training and cultivation must be going well."

"We haven't wasted a single day!" Yang Ze announced.

Li Feng nodded seriously. "We've been working hard on cultivation, without skiving off."

Fang Yi continued, "In order to catch up to you, Captain, we could hardly go easy on ourselves."

Sun Xiaowu added, "We've been working on our shortcomings based on the training session we had with you, Captain."

Hong Xi nodded. "Master, I've grown far stronger than you were when you ascended!"

Zhang Lie glanced at the hunters gathered around the room. "Very good. Considering your auras, you've indeed worked very hard—and you are all stronger than I was when I ascended to the third realm."

Even this casual affirmation of their hard work was like high praise to the members of Team Zenith, who all beamed.

Zhang Lie continued, "Mengmeng, Sun Xiaowu, Fang Yi, Yang Ze, Zhou Ying, Li Feng, you six older members of Team Zenith all pass in terms of strength. It's time for you to ascend to the fourth realm."

Sun Mengmeng cried out, "Captain, we can finally ascend now?!"