Ultragene Warlord

The Yeluo chieftain had only accepted the former group of people because of Zhang Lie\'s influence, and they would receive training by working with the members of the Yeluo tribe.

"It shows that the draconian sage truly values you."

The Yeluo chieftain nodded. "I understand. As long as it doesn\'t affect my research, I won\'t mind. Would you like to have a look around the research laboratory, Your Highness?"

Zhang Lie waved a hand in refusal.

"No, there\'s no need, and you have lots of things to be working on. I\'m not too interested in the research at the moment, so let\'s get to the point."

The Yeluo chieftain glanced at Zhang Lie seriously. "Your Majesty, what\'s the matter?"

"My own affairs aren\'t too urgent. You mentioned that you wanted to find me and the draconian sage. Has something happened?"

The Yeluo chieftain replied, "Recently, after the sudden, bewildering rise in the growth of herbs all over the world, I\'m easily encountering herbs that I knew nothing about and have never seen before. The draconian research laboratory has been collecting these herbs and researching them."

Zhang Lie raised a hand to stop the Yeluo chieftain. "Cut to the chase, please."

"Through significant research, I\'ve made a tremendous breakthrough and created a refined version of Zhou Ying\'s restorative, which I\'ve called Restorative #3 for now."

Zhang Lie asked, "How much of an improvement is it over #2?"

"You can recover more quickly, and the regenerative effects have been enhanced."

"Can it be mass-produced?"

"At any time."

Zhang Lie nodded. "Thank you for your hard work. I\'ll have Zhou Ying come over soon. She\'s also made massive breakthroughs in the third realm, and the transformation to her energy reserves may be fruitful to your research."

The Yeluo chieftain was immediately elated, but he quickly cut short his celebration. He recalled that Zhang Lie had come over to find him; he had surely done so for a reason.

"What brings you here, Your Majesty?"

"I\'ve been trying to research a brand-new potion. I already have some ideas and thoughts, but you\'re more experienced a potioneer than I am. You might not be familiar with all the herbs and plants of the third realm, but you\'re certainly the closest to that stage than anyone else around. I\'d like your expertise. Would you help me out?"

The Yeluo chieftain was overjoyed.

"Of course, Your Majesty!"

Even with Zhang Lie\'s research materials and ingredients, along with a whole past life\'s worth of research, he had only given himself a 50% chance of success at developing Potion #5. With the Yeluo chieftain\'s help, however, he believed that that success rate had improved by at least 30%, that there was at least an 80% chance that he would be able to create Potion #5 within a year.

The Yeluo chieftain asked, "What sort of potion are you interested in, Your Majesty?"

"A potion that can help me break through my limits."

"That sounds very general. Your Majesty, you likely aren\'t looking for something to boost your power in the short-term, so..." The Yeluo chieftain suddenly noticed that everyone around was sidling closer as to listen in on the conversation.

The Yeluo chieftain shouted, "What are all of you looking at? Have you watered the herbs? Finished writing research reports? Collected and organized data? Performed your cross-validation studies on herb interactions? Identified possible synergies and dysfunctional pairings? If you haven\'t done any of that, what are all of you doing standing around here waiting for gossip?!"

The crowds immediately fled and dispersed.

The Yeluo chieftain smiled wryly. "Sorry for the disturbance, Your Majesty. You had better come chat with me in my office."

The Yeluo chieftain brought Zhang Lie down a long corridor, where he was treated to the view of jade-green fields in which all sorts of herbs and plants were being cultivated. Researchers were patiently and carefully tending to them all.

Zhu seemed very surprised. "You\'re using all this land for growing herbs and plants?"

The Yeluo chieftain smiled. "The best way to understand the use of a herb is to witness it growing in a suitable environment. Its surroundings dictate, to an extent, its special properties and efficacy. Planting and growing these herbs is thus a crucial part of research."

Zhang Lie nodded. "The Yeluo clan was known for its potion-making and herb-cultivating abilities, after all."

The Yeluo chieftain sighed. "Unfortunately, I\'m not an expert in cultivating herbs. I do miss the wood spirits\' company from time to time. I\'ve been to many of the worlds in the third realm, but unfortunately I\'ve found no traces of wood spirits or any races that are particularly skilled in this area. I expect that there were such races in the past, but they fell prey to other, more martial races in the meantime."

The Yeluo chieftain murmured, "Not having such experts around might hinder our research. Is it possible that such experts do exist in the realm?"

Zhu closed her eyes. After a long pause, she opened them again and replied, "I can guarantee that no such race is currently present in the third realm."

The Yeluo chieftain turned to Zhang Lie. "I\'ve been wanting to ask for some time, Your Majesty, but is this... your new concubine?"

Zhang Lie rolled his eyes. "For one thing, I don\'t want to be tied down, and for another, what\'s with this \'new\'? I\'m single, alright?"

The Yeluo chieftain continued, "Have you not established a relationship with anyone yet, Your Majesty?"

"I don\'t know what you\'re talking about."

Zhu raised a petite hand. "I\'m Zhang Lie\'s child bride!"

Zhang Lie clutched his face. "What in the world have you been watching... Zhu, don\'t joke like that. Grooming children is punishable by at least three years in prison and goes all the way up to the death sentence, alright?"

The Yeluo chieftain nodded. "Is that so? As expected of Your Majesty..."

"Let\'s stop with the jokes, please." Zhang Lie rolled his eyes. "This isn\'t my child bride, or anything of the sort. She\'s the ruler of the realm."

The Yeluo chieftain reared back in shock. "The ruler of the realm?! I apologize for the discourtesy. Your Majesty, you are truly impressive, to have taken the ruler of the realm herself as your child bride."

Zhang Lie pretended not to hear the last sentence. "Since the ruler of the realm has generously confirmed that no such race exists, it surely does not exist."

"What a pity..."

As the three of them talked, they arrived at the Yeluo chieftain\'s laboratory.

Zhu glanced all around her, at the jars that filled the shelves, with interest.

The Yeluo chieftain had prepared three seats and was starting to brew some medicinal tea.

He poured a big cup of tea out for each of them, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "I don\'t much care for creature comforts, so I don\'t have much to present you with. I hope you won\'t mind—but I grow my own tea, and I\'m confident of its quality. You won\'t be able to buy its like elsewhere."

Zhu sniffed the tea, then pushed it aside as she plugged her nose.

Zhang Lie said, "Let\'s begin."