Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 1154: The Dangerous Arena

The king of chaos then turned to the members of Team Zenith and offered them the same invitation to join him. "And what about all of you?"

Fang Yi blinked in surprise. "Are we so interesting as to be worth your interest, king of chaos?"

The king of chaos guffawed again. "I observed your fights against the superior kings of antiquity and subsequently against the king of keys' subordinates. You're all very special, and I even specially checked your names and abilities. For instance, that's Zhang Lie's disciple, who stands with unwavering strength even against ten million fifth-level beasts alone, with the ability to absorb others' strength."

Hong Xi took a deep breath.

"And you're Fang Yi, with the ability to control karma and to combine many disparate sources of energy, with the ultimate ability of launching a fated blow. And that must be Zhou Ying, possessor of immense vitality; that's Zhang Lie's sister, Zhang Hanxiang, with a very interesting constitution... All of you have unusual and fascinating abilities of your own. The halls of chaos welcome such travelers, and we are naturally interested in gaining new companions."

The king of chaos described all their abilities to some extent.

Zhang Lie commented, "King of chaos, it looks like you've been peeping on us for quite some time."

The king of chaos asked again, "Are any of you interested in joining the halls of chaos?"

Zhang Lie didn't speak. He allowed the members of Team Zenith to make their own choices.

As expected, all of them refused.

Sun Mengmeng spoke for them all. "We thank you for your consideration, king of chaos, but we wish to continue our journey with Zhang Lie for the time being."

None of them intended to follow anyone but Zhang Lie, let alone this mysterious king of chaos. The members of Team Zenith didn't know much about him, only that he was the strongest existence among the three thousand realms, with a large number of entities on the level of superior kings as his subordinates.

However, none of these were sufficient reasons for becoming companions of the king of chaos.

Doing so required at least the most foundational level of trust, but the members of Team Zenith felt no such connection to the king of chaos, or indeed to the aliens of the three thousand worlds at large. The guests stared at Team Zenith with hostility, just as they did at Zhang Lie when he refused the king of chaos' offer.

The aliens of the three thousand worlds respected and revered the strong.

Zhang Lie and his party's firm refusal of the king of chaos' offer was a sign of disrespect.

The king of chaos didn't try to pressure Zhang Lie further. With a discordant huff, he continued, "What a pity. In that case, please enjoy tonight's banquet."

The cacophonous music rang out again. Countless servants were furiously banging at formless drums and playing nausea-inducing flutes that only produced a single tone. The guests alongside them began to dance in a crazed manner.

There was 'food' at the banquet, but somehow Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith had lost their appetite—live black octopuses, soup filled with eyeballs, which looked over at you if you approached, and a speaking fish on a plate. A knife and fork were stabbed into the fish. When a guest came over and cut off a piece of flesh, the fish would scream and trash-talk.

"Hey, you piece of trash! Where are you slicing me? You'd better not cut off anything vital—who knows where you popped out from, if I were to give birth to something like you..."

Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith shuddered, completely unwilling to partake of the food. The witch of dreams stepped toward Zhang Lie. "Would you like to dance?"

Zhang Lie asked, "Aren't men the ones who usually make such a request?"

The witch of dreams retorted, "Were you going to do so?"

Zhang Lie replied, "I don't know how to dance."

"You'll learn by doing."

She took hold of Zhang Lie's arm and dragged him into the dancing arena.

Zhang Lie didn't know how to dance, but at his level of strength and mastery of his body, he was able to pick it up quickly by observing others. Furthermore, there was no designated dance style or form at the king of chaos' banquet—everyone was dancing haphazardly.

However, there was something Zhang Lie had to pay attention to: because of all the chaos, the dancing arena might as well have been a battlefield. As pairs of dancers crossed each other's paths, a moment of lapsed judgment could easily result in serious injury.

The witch of dreams placed Zhang Lie's palm on her slender waist, then leaned in. Her hot breath drifted down Zhang Lie's neck, and her slender waist was lithe and supple. Zhang Lie couldn't help but feel heated—but the moment he reminded himself that beneath this veneer could well be a frightening monster, all interest faded away.

Sun Mengmeng gnashed her teeth. "That odious woman! I've never had Zhang Lie touch me before!"

Sun Xiaowu rolled his eyes. "Sister, that creature isn't even human. I assure you, she stands no chance against you."

As they danced, the witch of dreams whispered in Zhang Lie's ear, "All of you really are quite something, to have rejected the king of chaos' invitation simultaneously. No one has ever refused our leader like this before. Many present had been superior kings, but they chose to give up their worlds to join us."

"What an honor, then."

The witch of dreams smiled and reminisced, "The last time that someone refused our leader was very long ago—it was the king of keys."

Zhang Lie asked, "Will the king of chaos be upset at us?"

The witch of dreams smiled. "Why, are you afraid?"

"Not quite."

As Zhang Lie danced, he had to nimbly avoid the other dancing guests around him. Zhang Lie suspected that they might be blocking his path intentionally on account of his refusal.

The witch of dreams smiled mysteriously. "Don't worry, our leader isn't so petty. However, you'd better be prepared."

Zhang Lie frowned. "What do you mean? You mentioned something similar before as well."

"Do you really think our leader is one to give up so easily?"

Zhang Lie was about to ask for clarification when the music suddenly stopped, as did the dancers. The witch of dreams folded her dress back as she bowed daintily. Zhang Lie hurriedly asked, "What did you mean just now?"

The witch of dreams gave him another meaningful smile. "You'll find out."

Sun Mengmeng also came over to request a dance from him.

However, Zhang Lie shook his head. "The arena's somewhat dangerous."

Sun Mengmeng looked very displeased. "Why didn't you refuse that witch of dreams just now, then? If you don't want to dance with me, tell me directly. I won't force you into it."

"Very well."

Zhang Lie, unable to escape, was forced back into the dancing arena with Sun Mengmeng. Although the dancing arena was dangerous, for some reason, Sun Mengmeng seemed overjoyed during the dance.