Chapter 22: Righteousness  

Another arrow of water shot out of the pond with deceptively little sound. It moved so quickly that the gathered hunters had barely seen the skill activate before it reached them. The concentrated beam emanated such potent ice-attuned genetic energy that they recoiled in fear, and even Zhou Qian went silent.

After all, they were all in the top ten of the gene leaderboard, and their senses were developed enough to understand the potency of the attack. Zhou Qian now knew the reason for Chu Feng, Qin Xiao, and Yun Bing's sudden retreat.

However, just because the hunters realized what was happening didn't mean that they were able to react in time. After all, the beam was so sudden that Zhou Qian was still thinking about how to give chase to the mysterious thief.

Chu Feng and Yun Bing only hesitated momentarily before pushing him aside and rushing through the cave. As for Qin Xiao, instead of pushing him aside, he pushed him?out.

By the time Zhou Qian figured out what was going on, the orb of water was right before his eyes.

"[Shield of Gold], [Gate to Oblivion], [Adamantine Armor]!" With barely any hesitation, three defensive skills activated before him. But despite the triple-layered shield, Zhou Qian's body burst into a bloody mist.

The orb of water, about as wide as a thumb, emerged from the mist and shot into the tunnel.

"Help me, or we'll all perish!" Qin Xiao yelled. "[Lightning Spear]!"

"[Blade of the Mists]!"

"[Reaping Wind]!"

Yun Bing and Chu Feng had both begun to turn back by the time he shouted, and they all struck the orb with their fastest attacks. The best offense was also the best defense. They all saw what had happened to Zhou Qian, and none of them wanted to end up like him.

With a gigantic tremor, the cave—and even the entire mountain—began to collapse under the combined force of the water orb and the three elemental attacks. Yun Bing, Chu Feng, Qin Xiao, and even Li Jin and Zhao Jia, who had just rushed into the cave, were all buried in the aftermath. magic

"..." From within the forest, Zhang Lie couldn't help shaking his head in amazement as he fled.

It seemed as though this supposed moonlight wyrm was the strongest and most mysterious existence in the first realm, apart from the disaster-grade lifeform that would soon somehow make its way to the first realm.

Based on Zhang Lie's judgment, this moonlight wyrm had likely broken past the limits of a superior-grade lifeform and had advanced to a peak-grade lifeform. How shocking that the will of the world hadn't forced it to ascend! It looked as though he would have to add it to his list of future targets. As he rushed back to the settlement, he made a few changes to his upcoming plans.

Back in the pond, after the mountain's collapse, the wyrm ignored the fleeing ant-like existences that were now buried under tons of rock. It surveyed the boundary of the pond, sneezed in annoyance, and dove back into the depths amidst a chain of bubbles. After the wyrm left the scene, all sorts of cries began to emerge from the rock heap. As their subordinates watched on in shock, a massive rumble accompanied a sudden rockslide, and five battered silhouettes emerged from the rocks: Yun Bing, Chu Feng, Qin Xiao, Li Jin, and Zhao Jia.

"Master!"

"Mistress!"

"Head!"

As they emerged, their subordinates hurriedly rushed toward them. It was only close up that they saw just how battered the five of them were—especially Qin Xiao, covered in blood from head to toe, his left arm all but smashed to pieces.

He stumbled, as though he would be unable to support his own weight and fall at any moment, causing his subordinates to gape in shock. Even Yun Bing and Chu Feng were bleeding from their mouths, as though they too had suffered grievous injuries.

Despite not knowing what had happened, their subordinates immediately swarmed and protected them. The Zhou hunters, concerned about the disappearance of their leader, hurriedly crowded Li Jin and Zhao Jia's parties, asking for the whereabouts of Zhou Qian.

Unfortunately, neither Li Jin nor Zhao Jia knew what was going on. They had just rushed into the cave when it exploded, and they had been buried alive with the others without knowing why or how.

"Qin Xiao, what happened back there? Where's Zhou Qian?"

Given their temporary alliance, the first person Li Jin asked about the situation was Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao's body trembled. After a momentary silence, he pointed toward Chu Feng and Yun Bing. "He's dead, the Zhou corporation head is dead! All because of them...!"

"Qin Xiao, don't you dare malign me!" Qin Xiao's intentions were clear, and Chu Feng wasn't about to take the blame for Zhou Qian's death.

"Chu Feng, it was all your fault! You and Yun Bing pushed the Zhou clan head out of the tunnel, and he died from the moonlight wyrm's attack!" Qin Xiao's features had settled into a righteous rage as he pointed a finger at Chu Feng.

Even a dozen Chu Fengs and Yun Bings would be no opponent for Qin Xiao's shamelessness. Not only had he tried to shift the blame, he had done so with such conviction!

Yun Bing gaped as Chu Feng began to summon his last reserves of genetic energy. "You're the one who pushed him out! If you're going to keep twisting the truth, I'll kill you now!"

"Haha, Chu Feng, now that I've exposed the truth, you're trying to kill me? Li Jin, Zhao Jia, we were all attacked by a particularly dangerous lifeform in the tunnel, and these two pushed Zhou Qian out to cushion the attack and save their lives!

"I, Qin Xiao, gave my arm to save him, to no avail! What a tragedy it is that Zhou Qian's corpse was completely destroyed by the attack! If not for my life-threatening injuries, I'd duel scum like you to the death right now!"

"...you were the one who pushed him out to save your sorry life!" Chu Feng was astounded at Qin Xiao's thick-skinned behavior. But before Chu Feng could argue with him, Qin Xiao suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and 'fainted'.

"Qin Xiao, you damn bastard, I know you're faking it!" Chu Feng's mouth twitched as he howled at his old rival. He tried to be gentlemanly in all things, and it was a testament to Qin Xiao's behavior that Qin Xiao had managed to enrage him to such an extent. On the other hand, by his side, Yun Bing quickly recovered from her initial bout of shock.

Qin Xiao's description of events had Li Jin, Zhao Jia, and the rest of the Zhou hunters looking toward Chu Feng and Yun Bing.

Li Jin frowned and asked, "Yun Bing, Chu Feng, don't you think you owe us an explanation for what happened tonight?"

Chu Feng was about to pull his hair out when Yun Bing, who had been silent, spoke up.

"Li Jin, Zhao Jia, as corporation heads, I'm sure you must be able to judge matters for yourselves, and I'm sure you understand what Qin Xiao's personality is like. Need I explain further?

"First, I, Yun Bing, swear by my name that Zhou Qian's death had nothing to do with either of us.

"As for the reason of death, Qin Xiao has already made an allegation against us. I won't refute it now, in case you think that I'm taking advantage of an 'unconscious' person to shift all the blame onto him.

"Furthermore, if you do intend to blame us for Zhou Qian's death, then I, on behalf of the Yun clan, will take all of you on. However, I caution the two of you to tread carefully: to preserve your own autonomy, and not to be manipulated into a rash decision by someone else here."

"I, Chu Feng, agree with Yun Bing! The Yun and Chu clans will fight together." After Yun Bing had finished, Chu Feng, who had finally calmed down, immediately voiced his agreement.

Li Jin and Zhao Jia glanced at each other. In the end, Li Jin spoke up. "We three corporations will keep your words in mind. That being said, if our investigation reveals that Zhou Qian's death was caused by the two of you, we won't stop at anything to avenge Zhou Qian!"

Yun Bing smiled. "I hope your investigation goes smoothly. I don’t mind a challenge, but I don't intend to take the blame for someone else's actions. The moonlight wyrm we fought has likely exceeded the boundaries of a superior-grade lifeform, so I caution you to be wary as you leave."

Her final words caused a hush to descend among the gathered hunters. Beyond superior-grade? Didn't that mean... that the moonlight wyrm was a peak-grade lifeform?

How could that be? Hadn't the world federation indicated that the highest-grade lifeform in the first realm would only be superior-grade? How could a peak-grade lifeform exist here? Danger and opportunity, all rolled up into one package...

No wonder even the top hunters like Yun Bing, Chu Feng, and Qin Xiao would have ended up in such a battered state, and no wonder Zhou Qian had lost his life.

"Thank you for the information, Yun Bing." Li Jin's eyes sparkled with greed, clearly having been enticed by the prospect of hunting a peak-grade lifeform.

"Li Jin, let me reiterate: do not provoke that wyrm! No number of elites will be enough to close the gap between it and us! I bid you farewell." Yun Bing, who had felt the terror of the wyrm's attack, couldn't help trying to dissuade Li Jin from his foolishness.

She turned to leave with Chu Feng and their troops.

"Please, wait! I have a question for Chu Feng." Zhao Jia, standing by Li Jin's side, suddenly yelled out after the two clans had taken a few steps.

Instead of turning around, Chu Feng spoke with some frustration, "Apologies, Zhao Jia, I can't answer your question. That thief was far too sly, and I couldn't even make out his appearance!"

His words shocked the gathered hunters. Not only had this mysterious hunter stolen the prey from under the six clans' noses, no one had even seen his appearance! Who would believe something so ridiculous?

Regardless of who believed it or not, that was the truth. Zhao Jia was certain that Chu Feng wouldn't lie about this: after all, it was too embarrassing—the six most influential clans of the Blacksteel settlement, losing to a lone hunter!

Not only had they failed to obtain much of value, all the leaders had sustained some degree of injury, and quite a few of their subordinates had died to the superior-grade venombane scorpion's attack.

That was the darkest night that the six clans had experienced ever since entering the dimensional world. Each leader cursed the mysterious hunter who had stolen the fruits of their labor. If they ever found out who he was, they would make him suffer for what he had done!