The members of Team Zenith cursed themselves for their helplessness and inability to help Zhang Lie in need. 

However, while the moonlight wyrm was roaring in triumph, a figure suddenly landed above its eyes, launching a sneak attack against it the same way he had against the liminal superior-grade moonlight wyrm. As a peak-grade lifeform, the moonlight wyrm reacted near-instantaneously, but Zhang Lie was even faster.

The moment the moonlight wyrm made a move, Zhang Lie activated [Eclipse] once more, and a gigantic winged tiger descended on the wyrm. At that moment, the wyrm felt as though the space all around it had frozen, and it was unable to move even a muscle.

"[The Boundless Blade: Requiem of the End]!" Zhang Lie seized the opportunity to thrust Venombane into the moonlight wyrm's right eye, releasing the rest of his genetic energy in one extraordinary attack and devastating the interior of the wyrm's head.

The moonlight wyrm slowly crumpled to the ground, and Zhang Lie crushed the superior-grade moonlight wyrm soulshard that he had just obtained. As the peak-grade moonlight wyrm fell to the ground, a pure-white orb swiftly condensed over its horn.

 [You successfully killed a peak-grade moonlight wyrm and obtained its soulshard. By consuming the flesh of the peak-grade moonlight wyrm, you may receive one to ten peak gene fragments.]

The will of the world's announcement dragged the gathered hunters back to reality.

"Captain, what happened?"

"Master, you didn't die?!"

The hunters racked their brains in an attempt to figure out just what had happened.

"Come over here and help me up, will you?" The moment Zhang Lie grabbed the peak-grade soulshard, he collapsed to the ground, and the other hunters rushed over to help him up. 

Only then did Sun Mengmeng notice that Zhang Lie's body was trembling violently, a clear sign of the aftereffects of the blood ant soulshard. She had used the same soulshard during the battle, but never to such a degree.

"Claim our spoils and head back to the Blacksteel settlement immediately!"

Indeed, the moonlight wyrm was a legendary creature, and there was no need to advertise that they were the ones who had slain it. Despite the fact that the Blacksteel settlement was surprisingly empty that night, they couldn't guarantee that there were absolutely no hunters around. They were all exhausted and drained, so if someone were to find them at this juncture...

They encountered no one on the way back until they reached the entrance to the settlement, where they found a three-hunter party heading out. When they saw Zhang Lie and the others, along with the moonlight wyrm carcasses they were carrying, they were all rather surprised.

They passed by each other without incident, but news of their encounter with Team Zenith and the mysterious lifeform they had hunted quickly spread throughout the settlement. One of the hunters described in surprising detail just what he had seen, along with a few images he had surreptitiously taken from the back.

This information then quickly spread to the real world.

In Odinstadt, within a suite in the largest hotel in the area, Yan Long was frowning as he repeatedly tried to contact Zhang Lie to no avail. The doorbell to his suite suddenly rang, and the robotic housekeeper announced, "Commander Su Feng is here."

"Come in!"

"Yan Long, have you seen the news?" Su Feng asked immediately as he stepped inside.

"What news? I've been trying to contact that damn brat all this time..."

"I knew it! Just read the news and you'll see why he's been ignoring you." Su Feng laughed, then handed him his holographic reader.

[Revealing Zhang Lie's last-minute preparations for the Void Cup!] 

A tabloid article appeared in front of Yan Long's eyes, and he glanced at it skeptically.

"What's this?" International media articles were lampooning Zhang Lie's behavior, and some even suggested that he had ended up as China's champion because he was the illegitimate son of some bigwig in the Chinese government.

Su Feng laughed. "Don't actually ready it, just have a look at the pictures."

Yan Long narrowed his eyes. "What? This was from five minutes ago? So this lad's still in the Blacksteel settlement, even now! Just what are these two serpent-type lifeforms to be worth so much trouble?"

"I've had my men look into this. Don't you know about the legends of the first realm? If I'm not mistaken, these are the legendary moonlight wyrms."

"No wonder he would hunt them down now," Yan Long murmured.

"I told you he was that sort of fellow, didn't I? There's no need to worry about him."

"No need to worry? How could I not? If he shows up, he'll surely take first place in the worldwide tournament. Don't you know how long it's been since we've had a Chinese champion? I'll bring him over even if I have to kidnap him!"

Su Feng rubbed his head. "Well, whatever, I just came by to share the news. If there's nothing else, I'll be leavi—"

"You're free, aren't you? Want to have a drink?" Before Su Feng could leave, however, Yan Long extended him an invitation, one which Su Feng mulled over and accepted.

"That impudent brat, hunting down a legendary lifeform while I'm sitting here trying to get a hold of him! If I were a few decades younger myself, I swear, I'd—"

"Oh, I think I remember what you did at his age. Don't you remember chasing after—"

"Ah, stop, stop! Let's return to talking about Zhang Lie, shall we?"

Zhang Lie and the others were likewise enjoying some drinks together. In Team Zenith's suite in the Blacksteel Inn, by the time Zhang Lie had emerged from a long, relaxing bath, a veritable feast had been laid out for everyone,

The main highlight of the feast, of course, was the peak-grade moonlight wyrm flesh.

"Captain!"

"Master!"

The hunters were still a little shocked to see him well and alive, after having thought that he had perished to the moonlight wyrm's tail.

"Alright, alright, why are all of you so reserved? It's not as though it's our first time interacting with each other. Sit down and let's dig in! We'll spend the rest of the day recuperating, then head to Odinstadt tomorrow."

Indeed, this was the one and only peak-grade feast that the first realm of the dimensional world was likely to ever host.

Given the size of peak-grade moonlight wyrm, the hunters didn't intend to rest until they had consumed all ten peak gene fragments' worth of meat.

"Right, Captain, just what happened at the very end? We all thought you died!" Li Feng asked, his curiosity clearly piqued.

"There was no choice. The moonlight wyrm's far stronger than we were, so we had to take a risk. It would have been difficult for me to defend against the moonlight wyrm's last strike, but dodging it wouldn't have been a problem. However, if I had done so, we would eventually lose the battle of attrition, so I had to come up with a plan instead.

"By sacrificing my wolfman transformation and activating the stealth ability inherent to Venombane, I successfully hoodwinked the serpent into thinking that it had won. All of you saw what happened next. Of course, the moonlight wyrm would relax and demonstrate its superiority after seeking revenge for its mate, and that would surely be the best time to strike.

"I suddenly appeared out of nowhere and launched a sneak attack at the wyrm while it was celebrating its victory. You've all seen how tough its scales were, so I chose to strike at its eyes instead."

Zhang Lie was exuberant at his victory and how well his plan had gone. He made his decisions sound simple in hindsight, but executing those actions in practice had still posed a considerable risk.

"Captain, I can't help but marvel at the plans you concoct even in the heart of battle! I know I can't compare with you, but let me at least give you a toast!"

"Fang Yi, when are you going to change your bootlicking habits?!" Sun Mengmeng jeered, causing the entire table to laugh.