"Please wait!" Just as Zhang Lie was about to bring Yun Meng back into the training ground, Yun Bing called him back again. "It won't be any more taxing on you to help multiple hunters rather than just one, will it? Since there's no guarantee of success, how about helping out more people at once?"

Zhang Lie quirked an eyebrow, but didn't dispute Yun Bing's assertion.

His tacit acceptance of her words had Chu Feng unable to resist offering him the same deal, in hopes that he would be able to help out those candidates from the Chu family who had failed the first time around.

In the end, all eight candidates who had failed were repeating the trial.

Within the training ground, looking at the eight candidates who had their eyes tightly closed, with Galewind in his right hand, Zhang Lie began charging up a genetic technique, [The Boundless Blade].

As the technique neared completion, the candidates felt the immutable force of an immense ocean bearing down on them. The surging waves and a gigantic carp seemed to encircle them, instantly plunging them into peril.

They felt as though they were fighting for their lives amidst wave after wave of attack. Some were swept away by the ocean, others consumed by the fish, and others barely, just barely, resisting the attack.

Zhang Lie held the technique for only ten seconds, but that ten seconds felt like an eternity for the candidates. As the waves and fish vanished, they opened their eyes, blinking in shock.

Where was the ocean? What was that fish? When they opened their eyes, they noticed nothing amiss, as though what they had experienced was nothing but an illusion.

Yun Meng, waking up from that illusion, found that she had broken through without even knowing it. As she sensed the changes to her body and constitution, she looked toward Zhang Lie with glimmering eyes. She was very curious about the hunter ahead of her.

Aside from Yun Meng, three of the eight candidates also successfully managed to break through, a relatively impressive performance. 

They exited the training ground, and Zhang Lie bade them farewell amidst Yun Bing and Chu Feng's flattering remarks.

Thus ended the 'first' encounter between Zhang Lie and the Yun and Chu clans.

Everything had gone according to plan, and he had been relatively impressed by Yun Bing and Chu Feng's management abilities.

As for Yun Bing and Chu Feng, the mysterious Zhang Lie had left an indelible impression upon them. Just the possibility of a foundational breakthrough was shocking enough, let alone his words and actions. If news of this were to spread, it would affect the Blacksteel settlement, the dimensional world, and even the entire world federation.

As they watched Zhang Lie's figure disappear into the forests, Yun Bing murmured, "Chu Feng, what do you think about this mysterious fellow?"

Chu Feng smiled. "Haha, if even you think he's mysterious, what more could I say? In my opinion, I hope he remains as mysterious as possible. After all, our clans are on good terms with him now, and who knows if he'll have even more shocking secrets?

"No, wait—not both our clans, but just the Chu clan! You were lucky to be in the vicinity when we began negotiations. After all, the one he reached out to was our Chu Lan. Imagine if you hadn't been around!"

Yun Bing laughed. "Alright, alright. Count this a favor from you to me. If something like this were to happen to the Yun clan, I'll make sure to notify you. I do find it strange that this mysterious hunter doesn't seem particularly strong."

Chu Feng nodded. "Judging from [The Whispering Wind], his framework seems to be nothing out of the ordinary, and I wouldn't place him among the top fifty hunters on the gene leaderboard.

"He did handle this transaction surprisingly well, though. If he isn't a scion of some other clan—even perhaps someone we know—then I'm sure he must be an experienced businessman who's just entered the dimensional world.

"But no matter what, we're on friendly terms, so you're not thinking of doing anything untoward, are you? Surely we have more important things to be working on at the moment!"

Yun Bing smiled.  "You mean, securing the means of production of white-grub cores, kelpfish roe, and bluewater frog meat?"

Chu Feng nodded. "Exactly! No, wait!  Your clan was the one who prepared all the materials—has your clan already started controlling all three regions?!"

Yun Bing shook her head. "Not quite. We've only secured two of them, because the last has no value whatsoever anymore."

Chu Feng was confused. "Why not?"

"Do you remember that hunter at the bottom of the gene leaderboard?"

Chu Feng nodded. "You mean the fool who spent three months in a cave killing the lowest-level lifeform?"

"Well, in hindsight, he certainly doesn't look like a fool. He spent three months killing white grubs. And, not only that, Yun Gang found that, whenever he returned to the settlement, he'd tug along a huge bag of white-grub cores with him. Surely he's gathered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of white-grub cores within the last three months?"

Yun Bing's words shocked Chu Feng. "What?! In that case, has he already hunted those white grubs to extinction? No, more to the point, did he do that knowingly?!"

Yun Bing shook her head. "Not to extinction, but not far from it. Whether or not he had any insider information, I couldn't say, but it looks like we'll need to be having a talk with him soon."

"Things really are getting more interesting, aren't they? We'll certainly have to have a talk with him. Do you think he has anything to do with that mysterious hunter?"

"We'll find out the moment we talk with him, I'm sure."

Chu Feng nodded. "Alright, I can handle searching for him, but you'd better share some of that kelpfish roe and bluewater frog meat with me."

Yun Bing smiled again. "Don't worry. Our two clans are the only ones that know about this secret. The supply of food is more than enough for both of us."

Zhang Lie knew that, after his departure, Chu Feng and Yun Bing would certainly make plans to scale up the breakthrough procedure.

After all, that was part of his plans. If not, to whom would he sell the hundreds of thousands of white-grub cores currently in the settlement cellar?

He knew that the two clans would rapidly start trying to find him. However, Zhang Lie didn't intend to be found quite so easily. He'd leave them hanging for a while, until their supply of white-grub cores was entirely consumed.

Only when they desperately needed more and had no other choice would Zhang Lie show up.

After leaving the Forest of Blue Maples, Zhang Lie headed to the Night Forest.

This time, he wasn't intending on returning to the venombane glade, but was rather heading to the northern part of the forest, to a location known as the blackwater sands.

The reason he was heading there was, naturally, because there was an ingredient that Zhang Lie had to collect from that location. It was where another main ingredient for Potion #2, the black coral, could be harvested.

Of course, the reason such a potent herbal ingredient had yet to be discovered was because the black coral was guarded zealously by a superior-grade lifeform known as a dreadtoad, which made its home next to reefs of such coral.

The dreadtoad was a toad-type superior-grade lifeform that boasted a particularly strong aural attack. Because of the aquatic environment in which it operated, the sound waves it produced would even be augmented in strength.

As a result, the blackwater sands were widely regarded as an extremely dangerous hunting ground even for seasoned hunters.