If not for these words—Dojo Zenith—the hunters of Team Zenith might have thought that they had mistakenly teleported somewhere else.

"Welcome back, Mr. Zhang!" The moment they stepped out of the portal, Zhang Hong welcomed them with a beaming smile. She held a pile of documents in her hands, most of which had something to do with the dojo.

Zhang Lie looked them over while his teammates began exploring the interior of the dojo. It was extremely large, and adorned in rather austere shades of gray.

"Thank you for your help and time, Ms. Zhang. These documents look good to me." Zhang Lie returned the documents to her.

"Oh, no, I haven't done much at all! In the end, you still had to step in..." Zhang Hong tucked an errant curl of hair behind her ear, her lips raised in a rather embarrassed smile.

"No, don't say that. What happened with Official Yang was an exception, and you've done a superlative job overall," Zhang Lie affirmed. "I intend to have the dojo open sometime this month, and I'll let you know the date once I decide on it."

"Yes, Mr. Zhang!" Zhang Hong nodded, then turned to leave.

"Captain, the dojo's all ready, isn't it? What are you waiting for?" Sun Xiaowu asked, after Zhang Hong left.

The other hunters of Team Zenith all looked toward him. They understood very well what a dojo represented on Earth.

"I'm just giving a certain few people some time to prepare a gift for me," Zhang Lie explained vaguely, his eyes gleaming.

The Wang clan had already tried to get rid of him during the dojo leader's trial of strength, and he was certain that they, along with the Li and Qin clans, would surely strike again now that news of the imminent founding of his dojo was spreading far and wide.

They might be wary of him because of the titles and honors he had received, but the day of the dojo's opening ceremony would be an exception: it would be perfectly reasonable for them to challenge him then.

"I'll leave all of you to keep an eye on the dojo for a moment. There's something I need to handle elsewhere," Zhang Lie suddenly said, then headed out of the dojo.

He had almost walked out toward the entrance when he found it crowded by a throng of people. All manner of fans from Ning and even farther away were trying to catch Zhang Lie's attention and hollering about the requirements to become one of Zhang Lie's disciples.

He turned around once again and headed toward a back door.

"Does our newest dojo leader need to escape out of his own dojo?"

The moment he stepped outside, he heard a short burst of laughter: it was Chu Feng. Beside him, Yun Bing inclined her head toward Zhang Lie.

"Ah, Young Master Chu! What brings you here today?"

"You know how much attention your dojo's been drawing from all around the country, don't you?" Chu Feng asked, dropping the pleasantries.

Zhang Lie frowned. He knew that his enemies were sure to take action, but judging from Chu Feng's behavior, their plans would be more annoying to handle than he had initially assumed. Indeed, he hadn't expected that Chu Feng would reach out to him so quickly to make him aware of the news.

"Let them come. Without a storm, whence the rainbow?" Zhang Lie replied calmly.

Chu Feng and Yun Bing were rather shocked by Zhang Lie's indifference. After all, as members of major clans themselves, they knew how difficult it would be to handle the onslaught from the Wang, Li, and Qin clans, even for a genius like Zhang Lie. A clan had a wealth of resources that an ordinary hunter could only dream of.

Given Chu Feng's understanding of Zhang Lie, Chu Feng was certain that he wouldn't behave in this manner if he weren't completely confident of his success. He looked Zhang Lie over again, wondering just what shocking secrets a hunter like him could be hiding.

"Be careful, Zhang Lie. It's not just the Qin, Wang, and Li clans who are after you," Yun Bing advised, her face serious.

"Not just three? Well, no matter. I'll handle them all in one fell swoop." Zhang Lie was confident that he would have been able to handle even a joint assault from the Qin, Wang, and Li clans, but if more were to join in, he might need to make a few more preparations.

He simply hadn't expected that the three clans would be able to work together to defeat him in light of their enmity with each other.

"Thank you for the information, Miss Yun, Young Master Chu."

"Be careful, Zhang Lie. We're on Earth, not the dimensional world!" Chu Feng warned him again, but Zhang Lie continued to smile. 

"Yes, I understand. I'm about to head out now, but you're welcome to take a tour around the dojo. I'll treat you both to a drink when I return."

Chu Feng and Yun Bing glanced at each other, then nodded and entered the dojo together, glancing around curiously as they did so.

"Is he really not worried about the clans' revenge?" Chu Feng murmured.

"There's no reason for us to worry. We've brought him the information, and I'm sure he'll be able to handle it on its own," Yun Bing assured him, her voice surprisingly confident.

"You think so? Well, I suppose I'm a little excited for what'll happen during the opening ceremony now." Chu Feng's own achievements paled when compared to someone like Zhang Lie.

"Let's head inside and see just what this dojo's like," Yun Bing suggested. "Honestly, I can't believe our clans aren't going to support him."

Yun Bing sighed, shaking her head. She and Chu Feng were the only ones in their clans who really knew what Zhang Lie was like, as well as what their clans were losing out on by not making him an ally.

Zhang Lie was making his way toward the outskirts of Ning. In about half an hour, relying on his past life's memory, he arrived at a fort that was half-shrouded by mountains. The exterior of the fort was painted pitch-black. There were a number of hidden sentries watching the vicinity, as well as countless miniature spider-like surveillance robots.

The Blackwind Fort was an existence not known to many, and its soldiers would only emerge when Ning was under threat. Naturally, most ordinary citizens weren't allowed near the area.

"This region is occupied by the military. Do not draw near!" Quite a few miniature robots had gathered by Zhang Lie and alerted the patrolling soldiers nearby, two of whom rushed toward Zhang Lie with formidable auras around themselves.

Zhang Lie had been wearing a mask in order to avoid attracting attention, and neither of these sentries recognized him.

After seeing the sentries approach, he raised his palms and took a few steps back, but showed no sign of departing.

Who is this guy? The two sentries frowned. "Access to this area is prohibited to ordinary citizens. Leave at once!"

Zhang Lie glanced at the fort. He wouldn't leave; this was his intended destination, after all. If he successfully founded his dojo in Ning, it would be the nexus of his power. The Qin, Li, and Wang clans would certainly do all they could to prevent him from doing so.

Considering how impactful the opening of his dojo could be, the other clans might even resort to underhanded tactics and give up on their reputation in order to secure his downfall.

Chu Feng and Yun Bing's arrival at the dojo that day had essentially told Zhang Lie what the stance of the Chu and Yun clans was, and he would have to make a few more preparations of his own.

"I'm here to see Commander-in-Chief Su Feng," Zhang Lie told the sentries, who turned to each other in surprise. Su Feng was the highest-ranking soldier in the entire Blackwind Fort. Was he someone an ordinary civilian could meet at will?

"Don't be ridiculous. If you're going to continue wasting our time..." One of the sentries cocked a pistol, prepared to point it at him following his next transgression.

Zhang Lie raised an eyebrow as he removed the mask on his face.

"Dragonwolf Zhang Lie?!"

"Can I meet Commander-in-Chief Su Feng now?" Zhang Lie pressed.

The two sentries glanced at each other again. Zhang Lie's name was well-known in Ning, but even he wouldn't be able to meet with Su Feng on account of his status alone.

"Don't worry. Just report that I have an urgent matter that requires his attention immediately."

Zhang Lie's act of heroism had made him extremely popular among the civilians, and especially the soldiers in Ning. His indomitable stature and penetrating gaze shook the hearts of all who had seen the footage of his fight. The sentries couldn't take his sudden appearance at the Blackwind Fort lightly.

"Please give us a moment. We'll report to our commander immediately." One of the two sentries rushed toward the fort. The other asked, "Dragonwolf, may I ask you a question?"

Zhang Lie nodded, and the soldier continued, "Were you really not frightened of facing a three-star black-tipped scarab as a first-realm hunter?"

The youthful sentry's somewhat naive question made Zhang Lie smile. "Fortune favors the bold, after all. I knew I had to act; I didn't have time to be frightened."