Chapter 164: A Job Posting  

After the events of the Runic Forest, Zhang Lie had become more careful about not telegraphing his plans. Furthermore, after having manipulated the major clans of the Blacksteel settlement at the Moonlit Pond, many hunters had gained a renewed interest in what lay within. Given his fame, if he were to appear at the Moonlit Pond in public, there would surely be scrutiny and speculation about what he was doing there.

As he walked into the forest, still under stealth, Zhang Lie activated his galewolf soulshard, then turned around and headed toward the Moonlit Pond. When he heard the sound of a waterfall and confirmed that he was heading in the right direction, he moved even more quickly. Past a patch of forest, he returned to the now-familiar falls of the Moonlit Pond.

Because of the waterfall, ripples constantly disrupted the surface of the pond, and the whoosh of the downpour could be heard easily from a distance. Droplets of water splashed onto Zhang Lie's body, triggering an idea in his mind.

"The Moonlit Pond," Zhang Lie murmured. He would have to consider the environmental factors at play carefully.

If not for this waterfall, the Moonlit Pond would be a body of still water. The water was so clear that Zhang Lie could see a few small fish swim by about a dozen meters under the surface, but there was what seemed to be an abyss by the center of the pond, from which bubbles would emerge from time to time. Standing above the pond and gazing downward, Zhang Lie felt as though he was looking down the gullet of a monstrous beast.

He was sure that the moonlight wyrm lived deep down the chasm.

Subsequently, he glanced all around him. The environment was saturated with water vapor and rather wet all around, so his water-attuned techniques would certainly be boosted in such an environment. However, so would the wyrm's attacks themselves.

Just as Zhang Lie was planning out the battle in his head, quite a few bubbles emerged from the surface of the pond. Sensing the disturbance, Zhang Lie hurriedly sped away with his galewolf soulshard. It wasn't yet time to be challenging the moonlit wyrm. If any hunters were nearby and noticed the commotion, he wouldn't stand to gain anything.

He glanced all around him, trying to memorize as much of the surroundings as he could, before leaving. After he did so, the suddenly frothing pond went calm again, but within the abyss leading below the lake, two eyes the size of lanterns suddenly opened...

Just as Zhang Lie was scouting out the Moonlit Pond, a commotion had erupted by the Blacksteel settlement. The Blacksteel settlement was crowded with hunters, who filled the streets and bars.

"What's going on? Aren't there any rooms left? I wanted to take a long, relaxing bath before participating in the Void Cup in two days' time!"

"Don't even think about it—everyone else made their reservations a week in advance!"

Countless hunters were shouting at each other as they tried to get one of the quickly vanishing spots in a nearby inn. Zhang Lie was preparing to return to the real world, but when he heard the commotion, he suddenly stilled. Were there really only two days left before the Void Cup?

"Long time no see, Zhang Lie," a familiar voice came from behind. Zhang Lie whirled around to find Chu Feng and Chu Xun heading in his direction.

"Indeed. The Void Cup's already about to begin!"

"Right? I'm feeling anxious even before it's started," Chu Feng continued, sucking in a deep breath. "Hehe, brother, are you afraid you'll encounter Zhang Lie during the competition and get beaten black and blue?" Chu Xun whispered in his ear.

"Ahem! I'm your brother! Can't you leave me some face?" Chu Feng coughed awkwardly a few times, then glanced carefully in Zhang Lie's direction. Among the younger generation of hunters, who wasn't afraid of meeting Zhang Lie during the Void Cup?

"Right, Zhang Lie, you've registered, haven't you?" Chu Feng swiftly changed the topic.

"Registered?" Zhang Lie hesitated for a moment. He had simply been too busy: first with the affair at the Blackwind Fort, and then with the dojo's new disciples... no, he actually hadn't registered.

"Zhang Lie, you haven't forgotten, have you?" Chu Feng's face spasmed.

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Given Zhang Lie's strength, even if he didn't participate in the Void Cup, it was clear that he would still be at the top of the ranking for the first-realm hunters of the dimensional world.

"Ah, I really did forget. Is there still time to register?" Zhang Lie asked calmly. Chu Feng's face spasmed again: anyone else would have been shocked to have forgotten, but Zhang Lie didn't even seem to treat the tournament as all that important.

"You're lucky, today's the last day to register." Chu Feng sucked in a deep breath. It seemed as though he was more invested in Zhang Lie's participation than Zhang Lie himself! "Come on, I'll show you where to register."

He beckoned Zhang Lie over as he squeezed through the crowd and walked toward the center of the Blacksteel settlement. Because only first-realm hunters were eligible to participate in the Void Cup, the registration was performed within the dimensional world, but the actual competition itself would be on Earth.

As they walked toward the hunters' guild, a rather lazy hunter was dozing off in the midday heat. After all, it was the last day of registration, and just about all those hunters who were intending to participate had already registered.

"Hello, may I ask—"

"If you'd like to register, please input the appropriate information on your microchip."

"Can I register for my teammates too?"

"As long as you're the captain, and as long as your team's registered with the settlement," the hunter replied without even raising his head.

Zhang Lie breathed out in relief as he mentally transmitted the information through the microchip device he held in his hand.

Team: Zenith

Leader: Zhang Lie

Members: Sun Mengmeng, Fang Yi, Sun Xiaowu, Li Feng, Yang Ze, Zhou Ying When the device repeated the words verbally, the few people remaining in the guild hall stopped short and turned toward Zhang Lie, as did the hunter responsible for registering participants.

"Did I fill something in incorrectly?" Zhang Lie asked.

"Ah, no! My goodness, Zhang Lie registered for the Void Cup after all!"

"What are we going to do? Surely there's no way we'll be able to beat someone like him!"

"What if we're so unlucky that he's the first participant we meet?"

"Don't worry. After all, we're not hunters from Ning!"

Hunters around the area instantly began to gossip with each other.

Chu Feng sighed. Now that someone like Zhang Lie had registered, the eventual victor of the Void Cup seemed obvious.

"Dragonwolf, why are you only registering now? You should have told me that you were coming to register earlier." The hunter responsible for the registration process was now grinning broadly at him, seemingly far more energetic now that he was with a celebrity hunter. In his urge to please Zhang Lie, he even ignored someone like Chu Feng, himself the young master of a major clan.

The Void Cup was a competition for first-realm hunters sponsored by the world federation, and was a means by which each country and the world federation itself could select top talent to cultivate.

Hunters from all cities, countries, and planets would be eligible, and the competition itself would proceed over four stages: city-wide, country-wide, planet-wide, and realm-wide.

"Ah, why was I born in Ning?!"

"Without a doubt, the champion from Ning has been decided."

"Forget it, forget it! The top three hunters from each city can advance. Let's fight for second place!"

Many Ning hunters sighed upon finding out about the news, but by that time, Zhang Lie had long since returned to the real world. Compared to the Void Cup, he was far more concerned about the moonlight wyrm.

"Look at how much he's grown in such a short time! If only those elders had been willing to listen to me," Chu Feng sighed, glancing at his back.

"Come now, brother, you're a top hunter too, aren't you? You'd better work hard, or soon even his teammates will surpass you!"

"You brat, are you a member of the Chu clan or the Zhang clan?!" Chu Feng clicked his tongue at his little sister.

"A member of the Chu clan for now, but I'm sure I'll be part of the Zhang clan in the future!" she replied seriously, also gazing at Zhang Lie's back.

Once Zhang Lie returned to the Zenith Dojo, he informed everyone that he had registered them all for the Void Cup. Noticing that Sun Mengmeng was talking to a few strangers, he walked over.

"Ah, Captain!" Sun Mengmeng immediately noticed him and beckoned him over, and the conversation paused as everyone turned to him.

"Dojo Leader Zhang," the strangers greeted. They were in their thirties, wearing standard hunter's armor, and, from their genetic fluctuations, looked to be second-realm hunters.

Sun Mengmeng explained that these were all hunters from Ning, who, like Zhang Lie, didn't belong to any particular clan.