"Hah, do you think you ants can defeat me? All your possessions will be mine! And you, your skin seems rather fair. Once I get rid of your teammates, I'll give you an opportunity to service me!" Young Master Long glanced lecherously at Sun Mengmeng.

"Oh? You and whose army?" Fang Yi called out. As he stabbed forward with his spear, a bolt of lightning shot toward Young Master Long's chest. It was clear to Fang Yi that Young Master Long was the only threat in his party. If they could take him down quickly, this fight would be over.

"You piece of trash!" Young Master Long narrowed his eyes and used his claw attack once more, blocking the bolt of lightning. Neither of them were quite able to injure the other.

As Fang Yi applied [Rondo of Wind and Storm] to his obsidian spear, snakes of lightning darted out of his brow. With a loud shout, he shot forward with his spear. The spear clashed violently against Young Master Long's claws, lightning crackling and wind and sand howling in an explosion of the elements.

The force caused Fang Yi to stumble back; Young Master Long, shocked beyond compare, had to dodge the part of Fang Yi's attack that he couldn't block. Yes, he had to dodge!

"What? Young Master Long isn't attacking head-on?!" Amidst the Godspath hunters' startled cries, Fang Yi's eyes glowed a bright yellow as lightning crashed down all around him.

He pointed his spear at Young Master Long, lightning struck its tip, and then he charged straight toward him with the full force of the lightning at his disposal.

The resulting flash of light was so bright that Young Master Long felt as though he had been struck by lightning himself. He began to tremble, and he felt a seed of fear take root deep within his soul.

What? Why is this damned ant's aura so intimidating?! He regained his senses after a momentary lapse and frowned, a vicious look entering his eyes. "[Dragon's Piercing Howl]!" he shouted. His long hair fluttered in an invisible wind, and a radiant glow enveloped him. The outline of a dragon could be seen amidst the wind and sand. His claws shone like white jade.

"Quick, support Young Master Long!" The Godspath hunters gathered around him and began circulating their genetic energy, but before they could attack, they heard a sudden splash of water as Yang Ze waved his sword in an arc.

His motions reminded them all of [The Boundless Blade], which they had become familiar with after rewatching the footage of Zhang Lie's fight countless times. Water bubbled and burbled as Yang Ze's sword energy shot toward the Godspath hunters.

"Ha! What good could this technique do in the desert?" The leader of the Godspath team threw a punch at Yang Ze with a concentrated burst of earth-attuned genetic energy, instantly weakening Yang Ze's attack.

However, Yang Ze didn't seem at all nervous. Instead, he smirked.

"You're all dead now." 

It wasn't difficult for the Godspath hunters to read his lips. They startled as Yang Ze's technique struck toward Young Master Long. The combination of water and lightning instantly caused Fang Yi's attack to grow more radiantly, shooting a ray of destruction in his direction.

"You're all useless!" Young Master Long shouted at the rest of the Godspath hunters. As he stared at the frightening attack heading toward him, his face turned dark. The image of a white dragon gradually materialized.

His eyes turned cold as he began to revolve on the spot, as did with the white dragon wrapped protectively around him.

None of the hunters from the Godspath settlement dared rebuke Young Master Long's words. Instead, using all their genetic energy, they continued launching attacks toward Yang Ze.  Even if Young Master Long was affected by Yang Ze and Fang Yi's combination attack, they would be able to wound at least one member of Team Zenith.

However, they had forgotten that there were other members of Team Zenith present as well. A wave of hot air rushed toward the Godspath hunters. As they breathed in the superheated air, they found the heat scorching their throats. Sun Mengmeng, her long hair flowing behind her, readied an arrow burning with purple flame, so hot it warped the very air.

Sun Mengmeng's arrow, along with a wave of heat, flew toward the Godspath hunters. The Godspath hunters felt as though they were approaching an active volcano surrounded by lava. Death looked them in the eye.

The leader of the team stepped forward. He wasn't a weak hunter in his own right; just as the arrow was about to hit him, he yelled out and began to dodge, but before he could move away, he felt his ankles tighten. Green vines that had sprouted from beneath the sand had trapped him! The spiked vines wrapped around his ankles. Where the spikes penetrated skin, he found himself paralyzed.

"Be careful, poison!" he yelled out, but it was already too late.

Although the vines were slender, they were surprisingly resilient to damage and strengthened by the genetic energy running through them.

Zhou Ying smiled. "Don't forget, we're a team."

"No, that's impossible! We're surrounded by the desert. How could you be using wood-attuned genetic energy here?!" the Godspath team leader cried out.

As he looked down, he saw that the desert sand had turned into mud by his feet, answering his own question.

Yang Ze and Fang Yi's combination attack would naturally leave some water where it landed. Not only were Yang Ze's techniques able to augment Fang Yi's lightning-attuned attack, they also manipulated the environment in such a way that Zhou Ying could shine.

All this had happened in the blink of an eye. The Godspath hunters couldn't believe that they had planned all this out, but the truth was right before their eyes.

Just then, Fang Yi clashed with Young Master Long once more. The white dragon rampaged as it howled, shrouding Young Master Long's figure behind a veil of sand.

Fang Yi held his spear with a severe expression on his face, as though he were a god of lightning himself. Whenever he struck, a storm of wind and lightning would rampage the dragon's body, battering it down.

"[Light's Bulwark]!" Li Feng, who had been searching for an opportunity to support Fang Yi, finally found it. The sky and sand seemed to lose their color, leaving only a brilliant white light on the battlefield. Li Feng struck with a simple punch with no accoutrement beyond mere willpower.

The white dragon howled. This attack was the straw that broke the camel's back; even its draconic vitality couldn't keep up with Fang Yi and now Li Feng's attacks. It dissipated as the bolts of lightning honed in on a new target: Young Master Long.

As the Godspath hunters stared openmouthed, Sun Mengmeng's [Black Sun]-fortified arrow struck them.

 Two screams rang out more loudly than the wind.

The leader of the Godspath hunters, who had barely managed to escape from the vines at the last second, was still severely injured by the arrow.

Young Master Long's snowy-white armor had been charred black, and the repulsive odor of scorched flesh lingered in the air.

The Godspath leader hurriedly retreated back to his team, clutching his right chest in pain. Although he had avoided a lethal blow, the arrow had penetrated his chest, and the blackened wound was leaking blood and pus all over.

His fellow teammates were all injured, and three or four of them were even losing a limb each.

"Ho-How could this be?!" The Godspath leader's voice was trembling.

Ever since they had entered the Desert of Silence, with Young Master Long's help, they had managed to defeat and overcome all the teams of hunters that they had come across.Now, however, they were the ones being hunted.

Young Master Long was heavily injured, and he was barely able to stay conscious. His bloodshot eyes were wide open as he stared at Fang Yi and Yang Ze, filled with enmity and bloodlust.

"You actually hurt me?!" he howled.

He was a member of the Long clan, a strong hunter in the first realm of the dimensional world! When had he ever been in such dire straits?

Sun Mengmeng and the others didn't dare relax. Although they now had the upper hand, the battle wasn't yet over.

"Hurt you? Why, I can even kill you!" Just as Young Master Long was struggling to stand up, an icy-cold voice shook him to the core from behind.

His heart palpitated; a sudden sensation of imminent death overwhelmed him. He felt as though a reaper's gaze had landed on him. His feet were sluggish, and it almost felt as though hands had risen from deep within the sand to pull him down. He had never experienced such a chilling sensation of death. Just who had shown up?

Before he could turn around, a fluctuation of genetic energy came from behind him. Seeing a violet arc, Young Master Long felt a chill in his chest, and his expression turned pale. As he glanced down to see the violet shortsword penetrating his body, his throat gurgled, blood filled his mouth and dripped down his lips, and he knelt down on jellied feet.

It was only then that he saw his assailant, whose face was cold and somehow familiar.

"Zhang Lie?! You're the Dragonwolf Zhang Lie?!" Young Master Long trembled uncontrollably.

It was one thing to speak of him, and another to meet him in person.

A majestic pressure emanated from Zhang Lie, forcing the Godspath hunters to cower. This was a truly strong hunter, one far too strong for them, strong enough to leave them panting for breath!

He hadn't even activated a single technique; this was all just spiritual pressure. Was he really a first-realm hunter?