Zhang Lie nodded as he smiled. 

"In that case, what are you waiting for? Test it out, please!" the young leaders of the nightdemons, Pu Kui, and of the winged, Hong Yu, requested simultaneously.

Zhang Lie acceded to their wishes...

Just as Zhang Lie was testing out the functionality of his new soulshard, the monarch of stars was concluding the final preparations for his plan. He had managed to capture quite a few prisoners from the other three sura empires that had attacked, and he had been saving them up for this precise moment.

Cage after cage was transported deep within the palace, in which many a sura was enclosed. None of the prisoners knew exactly what awaited them.

The monarch of stars was paying particularly careful attention to his plan, and he refused to permit even a single mistake. Now that his plan was nearing conclusion, he was personally overseeing the transportation of the prisoners into the palace.

He knew very well that not all his officials would be in support of his plan, but there were only five who knew it in its entirety. As long as he kept a careful eye on these five, nothing would go wrong.

And once the plan came to its natural conclusion, he would be a single step away from becoming an asura. That was the reason he had devoted so much effort into studying souls.

The monarch of stars noted that a few cages contained humans rather than sura, but he didn't care. Regardless, none of the prisoners would live.

The monarch of stars instructed, "Remember to prepare a few corpses as well."

The elder by his side replied, "Don't worry, your majesty, the preparations are complete."

Back in Renhuang, the dragonwolf's carcass was being stewed into a thick, rich broth, which was distributed to all the hunters that had participated in striking the dragonwolf. It wasn't very much—each hunter might get one or two peak gene fragments at most—but even that was precious indeed, and worth the equivalent of ten superior gene fragments.

Many of the hunters present wouldn't have been able to acquire peak gene fragments by themselves, after all.

Through this opportunity, the citizens of Renhuang were able to acquaint themselves with the starbeasts, aquatic, nightdemons, and winged.

Zhang Lie was once again pushed to the forefront to give a speech in front of a campfire that had been hastily built. Cheers rang out from the crowd as he cleared his throat before they quickly quieted down.

Zhang Lie began, "First, thank you for the support and reinforcements—both from my human colleagues, as well as from the four prime races. Despite knowing the strength of the opponent we face, none of you have chosen to leave, and the four prime races have traversed half the world to get here on time. Once again, you all have my utmost gratitude."

The humans and representatives of the four prime races began to smile.

"I once informed the hunters of Renhuang of a piece of good news—the seven-kingdom coalition was on their way here." He stuck out two fingers. "Now, the second piece of good news: a sura empire is coming over."

The reinforcements were quite shocked by Zhang Lie's words. How could the arrival of a sura empire be considered good news?

"This is your chance to leave your name in history— to witness history before your eyes! Never has a sura empire ever targeted an external force, but now, the empire of stars faces Renhuang. When we destroy their three million sura fighters, we'll rewrite history with our very hands. We'll become the legends who first went up against the sura—and succeeded. And when we do so, we'll elevate the status of mankind in the second realm, and your names shall forevermore be remembered in history!"

A huge round of applause came from the gathered reinforcements, and Xing Bai and Lianna seemed astounded by his charisma and the force of his personality.

This man—he could create history no matter where he went, because he was a legend in his own right. Hunters weren't afraid of death; they were afraid that their deaths would be meaningless, that no one would record their deeds and triumphs.

Sun Mengmeng gazed at Zhang Lie, her eyes filled with passion. He truly was a natural hero, a natural leader!

"Will this battle be a difficult one? Assuredly, it will—it'll be the greatest challenge all of us will face. But with all our reinforcements—the humans, the four prime races—I promise you, defeating the empire of stars isn't an impossibility. With our hands, we'll wrest victory from the sura!"

"We'll defeat the sura! Long live Renhuang!"

"Long live Renhuang! The monarch of stars will fall!" Cheerful shouts could be heard all over Renhuang, wiping away the terror and fear that threatened to consume the hunters.

Zhang Lie raised his bowl of peak-grade dragonwolf soup as he shouted, "Our legend's just getting started! Ten thousand years from today, everyone will still remember our names!"

He downed his bowl of soup in one big gulp and smashed his bowl against the ground.

"Ten thousand years from today, everyone will still remember our names!"

Everyone in Renhuang, human and alien alike, emulated his actions, downing their soup in one gulp and smashing their bowls against the ground.

Lianna gazed at Zhang Lie's back with wide eyes. "This man will surely be at the apex—not just of the second realm, not just of the Milky Way, but rather of the entire universe..."

She found that her own understanding of Zhang Lie had been in error. She had thought him a hunter with great potential, who was worth investing in because of his development of limit fragments.

Now, however, Lianna understood Zhang Lie's most fearsome quality—his charisma and leadership ability, the former of which would spur his own growth, and the latter of which would spur everyone else's.

She had to associate herself with someone like Zhang Lie at any cost.

The banquet lasted all the way into the night, until the humans and aliens had all drunk their fill.

As Xing Bai upended a vat of wine into his mouth, he asked Zhang Lie, "The monarch of stars is exceptional even among sura monarchs. How do you plan on dealing with him?"

Zhang Lie, seated at Xing Bai's back, took a gulp of wine himself. "I know of him. He's the strongest among the sura monarchs, isn't he?"

Xing Bai warned him, "Don't underestimate the monarch of stars. Not only is he the strongest of the sura monarchs, his name is known widely across the entirety of the second realm. None of the other monarchs are comparable to him; he's known as the top contender to ascend to an asura."

Li Feng leaned against Xing Bai's stomach as he drank. "What's an asura?"

Beside him, Fang Yi asked, "Is an asura the god of the sura?"

Li Feng continued to drink. "Who knows if the asura really do exist? Perhaps they're just like the gods of our mythology."

Xing Bai replied firmly, "The asura truly do exist. According to the annals of the starbeasts, early in the inception of the sura realm, the sura's rise and dominion could be attributed to a genius who ultimately rose through the ranks and became an asura in his own right. In other words, it was because of his presence alone that the sura managed to take over so much of the second realm!"

The leader of the rock spirits added, upon hearing the thread of the conversation, "There are countless tales of the asura circulating in our clan as well. Allegedly, the moment an asura is birthed in the second realm, a calamity will befall all other beings within. His breaths can ignite the land, a wave of his arm can split the sea in half, a sharp gaze can cause the stars to fall—his existence is a calamity for the sura realm!"