Chapter 165: Eve of the Cup  

The reason the strangers had come to the Zenith Dojo was in search of a possible job. Coincidentally, the Zenith Dojo had just put up a post advertising openings for dojo instructors, and even though they were told that Zhang Lie wasn't at the dojo, they had chosen to wait there patiently for him.

"Dojo Leader Zhang, it's good to meet you. I'm Wang Li."

"I'm Xu Xiu."

"And I'm Ding Qiang."

The three of them respectfully introduced themselves. Though they were older than Zhang Lie, they looked toward him with awe and admiration; after all, Zhang Lie was at a stage they simply couldn't hope to compare to in terms of strength. magic

"Are all of you looking to be instructors at my Zenith Dojo?" Zhang Lie cut straight to the chase.

"Yes. If possible, Dojo Leader Zhang, we would also like to receive training from you in your spare time," Xu Xiu answered.

For the residents of the slums, Zhang Lie was a beacon of hope. He had managed so much starting from so little, and they wanted to learn how to do the same. If they could receive a few pointers from him, it would surely aid their development.

"I'm happy to dispense advice and to accept you all as instructors, but there's an ironclad rule of the Zenith Dojo that I intend for all disciples and instructors to follow. If you need to purge your framework and start over, would you still be willing to work here?"

"Of course!" one of the three men responded instantly, followed swiftly by the other two.

"In that case, the Zenith Dojo welcomes you all." Zhang Lie could see no reason not to provisionally accept them as instructors; of course, whether they would remain with the dojo would depend on their future performance.

Wang Li, Xu Xiu, and Ding Qiang sighed in relief. In truth, they had already purged their frameworks before arriving here, and if Zhang Lie were to refuse them, they wouldn't have known what to do. Fortunately, that worst-case scenario hadn't occurred.

Sun Mengmeng quickly arranged lodgings for these new dojo instructors, and they would soon be assimilated into dojo life.

At the moment, the hunters of Team Zenith really were quite overworked—the surge of popularity that stemmed from Zhang Lie's fame meant that they were overworked and understaffed, so the appearance of these dojo instructors was a godsend. Once everything was settled, Zhang Lie assembled them all to have a discussion about the Void Cup, which would happen one day hence. The hunters of Team Zenith showed up with fatigue evident on their faces.

"Have you all forgotten about the Void Cup?" Zhang Lie suddenly asked, parroting what Chu Feng had asked him.

The hunters of Team Zenith instantly perked up.

"Ah, I've forgotten completely!" Yang Ze exclaimed.

"What do we do now, Captain?" Li Feng and Yang Ze were ?clutching at their heads.

"Don't worry. If the captain's bringing it up now, I'm sure he's already made proper arrangements for everything," Fang Yi commented calmly.

"Yes, I did. I was in the dimensional world today and learned that it was the last day for registration. We all barely made it in," Zhang Lie replied.

Indeed, the hunters of Team Zenith would have been sorely disappointed to miss the Void Cup, the goal they had been striving toward for months. Not only would the winners be able to increase their faction's reputation, they would even receive generous prizes from China and the world federation.

"Besides the Void Cup, I have one additional matter to bring up." Zhang Lie's expression turned serious, and the members of Team Zenith immediately paid him their full attention. "During the Void Cup, we'll need to make a few trips to the Moonlit Pond."

The Moonlit Pond! What could they be doing there? There was only one event of interest that they knew of: the appearance of the extremely strong lifeform living within it.

Chu Feng and the others had teamed up to defend against that lifeform, but it had still managed to kill the young master of the Li clan in a single blow. Had their captain really set their sights on it?

"If you aren't willing to participate, I won't force you," Zhang Lie continued.

"No, no! How could we be unwilling? We'll follow you everywhere, Captain!"

"Yes, Captain, your prey is our prey!"

"Good, I'm glad. I'll let you know when I've decided when we'll make our move. For now, focus on preparing for the Void Cup."

Everyone's eyes glinted. It was finally time to show the world what they had managed to make of themselves!

As Team Zenith prepared for the tournament, so did the factions opposed to Zhang Lie. In the Long clan manor at Lingnan, Long Xiao queried the gathered elders, "The Void Cup's about to begin, yes?" "Yes, Head. The commencement ceremony is tomorrow," an elder quickly replied.

"Has Zhang Lie registered?" Long Xiao's expression was placid, his wrinkled face at ease.

"He barely made it in time, Head," the elder sighed, clearly understanding the implications of his participation.

Gathered at the meeting were the scions of the Long clan, and their faces soured upon hearing the news.

"Excellent! Since he's daring enough to participate, then we'd better make sure he gets a good showing." Long Xiao's aged face suddenly distorted, and frost and rime quickly crept up the walls of the conference room. Subject to an unusual pressure, the gathered elders and scions didn't ?dare breathe.

"Prepare for the Void Cup. I'll handle matters involving Zhang Lie." The next moment, Long Xiao's face returned to placidity, but the temperature of the conference room remained unnaturally cold. Following Long Xiao's command, the Long elders and scions rushed out of the room, leaving a figure who slowly walked out of the shadows.

"Figure out Zhang Lie's whereabouts in the short term. I want you to kill him with a single blow!" Long Xiao commanded, with piercing killing intent in his eyes.

"Yes, Head!" the figure responded politely, then returned to the shroud of darkness. Only then did Long Xiao smile in satisfaction.

Two figures were slowly making their way to the Wang clan in Ning, uneasily staring all around them, as if they were afraid of being spotted.

"Yang, are you really going to trade this footage away?" Liu whispered to him.

Yang was clutching a microchip in his hand containing the footage of Zhang Lie's trial at the Ning branch of the dojo consortium. He had kept it safe and sound ever since the trial, but now that he was in need of money, he decided to sell it off. Over secret channels, he released news that he had detailed footage of Zhang Lie fighting against an opponent, and he was quickly contacted by members of the Wang clan.

"You know how much they're willing to pay us, don't you? Do you really want this footage to go unreleased?" Yang rolled his eyes at Liu. The price that the Wang clan had offered him was far too high to be refused; if the transaction were completed successfully, neither of them would have to worry about working for the rest of their lives.

Naturally, the two reporters were very tempted by this offer. In the end, Liu, like Yang, couldn't resist the temptation. The two of them were brought within the Wang manor by Wang guards into a rather dim cottage, one from which they never walked out again.

Wang Han stepped out of the door, his hands dripping with fresh blood, a microchip in his hands. His face lit up with a confident gleam. "Hand this to the assassination team. No matter what, we'll have to succeed this time around!"

The guard peered into the room and swallowed a gulp of saliva. "I understand, Head. I'll have it delivered immediately."

"Have someone clean this cottage up. Feed whatever remains inside to the dogs!" Wang Han instructed his other guard as he wiped away the blood on his hands.

That guard nodded and dashed off as well.

Zhang Lie didn't know, or care to know, what the Wang and Long clans were plotting. After all, he was steadily growing to the point where he simply wouldn't have to worry about the clans at all. No matter how they tried to plot his demise, the only demise they would obtain would be their own.

He was currently dividing his attention between the dojo's affairs, Team Zenith, and special sessions at the Blackwind Fort. The past two days had been nightmarish for the hunters of Team Zenith: Zhang Lie wanted them to place in the top ten of the Void Cup, and they had no choice but to subject themselves to hellish training as a result.

The next morning, at sunrise, the central plaza of Ning was crowded with people, hunters and regular citizens alike. The festivities heralded the start of the Void Cup, the citywide tournament...