Zhang Lie reined in his genetic energy, surveying the training ground. The members of Team Zenith lay strewn on the ground, their harsh panting indicative of their weakness. How had Zhang Lie come away unscathed from all their attacks? How had he repulsed them all so easily?

In truth, it hadn't been easy. If Zhang Lie hadn't been decisive enough about which attacks to counter and which to absorb, or if he had been just half a beat slower, he could certainly have been defeated. Indeed, he too was panting lightly.

It was only his prodigious combat experience and familiarity with his teammates that he had...