Chapter 19: The Path of Cultivation
In the bustling Upper Capital City Base, outside a fiery restaurant, a crowd gathered, their expressions filled with shock. Their gazes fixated on a stunning woman in a red qipao, her graceful figure undermined by her voracious consumption of food, utterly ignoring any sense of decorum.
“Isn’t that Older Sister Tang? One of the Five Extremes, the legendary ‘One Branch of Crabapple Overpowering Pear Blossoms’?”
“Wait… isn’t that phrase reversed?”
Boom!
The restaurant shook. A snow-white, slender leg rested on a stool as the qipao-clad woman lifted her head, her sharp features exuding confidence. She looked toward the entrance and stated plainly, “It’s not reversed.”
The crowd was speechless. Even now, she had the audacity to respond.
Buzz. Buzz.
Her communicator vibrated.
“Hello, what is it?”
“Older Sister Tang, where are you? The Bai Clan has extended an invitation to Bai Xiao’s twentieth birthday banquet, happening in just over half a month.”
“The Tactician and Bu Qiao are dead, and that bastard Zuo Tian is aiming for dominance. Humanity is on the verge of becoming war slaves, and they’re throwing a birthday party?”
“So… are you going?”
“Of course. I’m going to eat Bai Yuan, that daughter-loving fool, into bankruptcy.”
“What about the gift?”
“Cat food.”
“Huh??”
Far in the Southern Nation Base, the southernmost point of Hua Xia, a lavish room overlooked the sea. Within its walls, a youthful man sipped his red wine, his greedy gaze falling upon the beauty sprawled across the bed.
“My dear, shall we begin?” he murmured, tilting his glass and letting the wine slowly trickle onto the woman’s flawless skin.
The crimson liquid streamed along her curves, trailing down her leg and dripping from her toes. The man’s eyes burned with desire as he lunged forward, eliciting a cascade of playful giggles. Her silver-bell-like laughter echoed through the room.
A knock at the door interrupted their moment.
“Master, the Bai Clan has invited you to attend Bai Xiao’s birthday banquet in Upper Capital City.”
Annoyed, the man barked, “Scram! We’ll talk later.”
His words had barely left his lips when an unstoppable force sent him hurtling through the air. He smashed against the wall with a sickening crunch, blood splattering across the floor as he slumped down, barely conscious.
A pair of delicate, jade-like feet stepped onto the ground, approaching steadily until they halted within the growing pool of blood. A seductive voice whispered in his ear, “Since when do you decide what I do?”
A foot rose, the last thing he saw was its blood-stained sole before it came crashing down, reducing his head to pulp.
The door swung open, revealing a group of individuals—both men and women—who swiftly cleaned up the scene. A sheer robe was draped over the woman’s shoulders as she strode toward the window, enjoying the sea breeze.
“Where is the Young Miss?” she inquired.
“She has returned from Golden Hill Base. She had a conflict with a Guide named Wang Jie, who happens to be the top of the bounty list. However, Hong Sword has taken down the bounty.”
Her lips curled into an amused smile. “Wang Jie, huh?”
“We’ll have Young Miss head to Upper Capital City first to reunite with her old acquaintances. You can join them later.”
“Good.”
Days passed, and Wang Jie’s backpack had grown even larger.
Wen Zhao once again offered to hold onto some of his things, only to be rejected a second time. Instead, Wang Jie requested to borrow Snow Steed to carry his load, only to be refused yet again.
As for Snow Steed, it dared not approach Wang Jie.
[This human is a lunatic.]
“We can return now. How many Seven-Seal Cataclysm Materials have you gathered?” Wang Jie asked.
Wen Zhao replied, “Not much, but not too little either.”
[Useless words.]
Wang Jie dropped the subject and began their return journey to Golden Hill Base.
Wen Zhao had made an effort to change her outfit, making her look less out of place. However, her unique aura was difficult to conceal, and the thin veil over her face only made her stand out more.
[Who in the apocalypse walks around with a veil?]
Thus, they traveled by night.
Upon their arrival, Hong Sword immediately sought out Wang Jie.
“Bai Yuan has invited me to Upper Capital City for Bai Xiao’s twentieth birthday.”
Wang Jie frowned. “You’re going? Then the other Three Gods and Five Extremes will likely be there as well.”
“Most likely. Of course, the main event isn’t the banquet—it’s the Upper Capital Conference. No one knows how many Trial Takers will be uniting for the event. We can’t afford to send too few of our elites.”
Hong Sword then lowered his voice. “Have you found out who the strongest among the first batch of Trial Takers is?”
Wang Jie hesitated. That woman had claimed it was herself.
“She doesn’t know.”
Hong Sword sighed. “We need to know our enemies to stand a chance. Right now, we’re exposed, while they remain a mystery.”
As if recalling something, Hong Sword added, “Oh, right. Leading Pillar Group has reached out. They want you to respond when you have time.”
Wang Jie’s eyes brightened. Without hesitation, he followed Hong Sword to return the call.
Hong Sword controlled one of the few remaining communication channels between bases. Most other lines had been destroyed by mutated creatures. Maintaining these channels required immense resources, and any failures meant sending elite warriors into the wild to repair them—a mission that cost lives.
Compared to that, traveling from Golden Hill Base to Upper Capital City was far simpler. Modifying an old-world aircraft and smearing it with mutant beast dung was enough to bypass most aerial threats.
“Hello?”
“Is this Wang Jie?”
“Speaking.”
Silence stretched before a familiar voice spoke.
“Boss.”
Wang Jie closed his eyes, remaining silent for a long moment.
[He’s back.]
[He survived.]
Two years had passed. Two years since their catastrophic failure. Their brothers had fallen—dead, crippled, lost.
Only four of them remained.
And now, at long last—
“Boss, I’ve woken up.”
Wang Jie let out a hoarse response, “Good, you’re awake.”
Across from him, a voice suddenly rose, “Wang Jie! Let me formally inform you—starting now, your best, most handsome, and richest brother has woken up. From this moment on, let me check… yes, at exactly twenty-one seventeen, you are now wealthy. Extremely, incredibly, ridiculously wealthy!”
“Did you hear me, Wang Jie? You are now absurdly rich.”
Wang Jie chuckled. “Alright, then allow me to formally inform you as well, Qing Zheng, your eldest brother is now invincible. Absolutely, overwhelmingly unstoppable. No one can stand in my way. I am invincible.”
“Hahaha! Boss, you said the same thing two years ago!”
Wang Jie laughed heartily, finally releasing the last bit of tension buried in his heart. “But today is different. I’m going to kill Zuo Tian.”
“When? Right now?”
“Yes. We head for Upper Capital City.”
“Got it!”
To reach Upper Capital City, they had to use the aircraft from Golden Hill Base. It was a modified plane—smaller, faster, reinforced with tougher materials, and designed for stealth. Its shape resembled a sharp-edged triangle.
Before departure, Wang Jie bid farewell to Four Eyes, leaving him with a significant amount of Cataclysm Materials, which made the man quite happy. Then, he set off with Old Five, Old Nine, and Wen Zhao, heading towards Mysterious Lake. As for Snow Steed, it was too large to bring along.
Beneath their feet, the ground trembled as the aircraft took off, vanishing into the night sky within seconds.
Hong Sword withdrew his gaze and turned to another figure—Flame Four, a parting gift from Wang Jie.
It was the same Flame Four who had fled from Golden Hill.
Over the past ten days, Wang Jie and Wen Zhao had been hunting Mutated Creatures, when they stumbled upon Flame Four. Without hesitation, Wang Jie captured him and brought him back to the base. This man was a threat—if Hong Sword left for Upper Capital City, Flame Four could seize control of Golden Hill Base.
After all, Feng Yu had ties to him.
Wang Jie had already informed Hong Sword of this. No matter what, Golden Hill was his birthplace, and he would protect it as best he could. What Hong Sword could extract from Flame Four was up to him.
Wen Zhao had always been the more merciful one.
Back then, she didn’t kill Flame Four and had no intention of harming Golden Hill Base.
The aircraft cut through the night sky.
Wen Zhao sat quietly.
Old Five, filled with curiosity, asked, “You Trial Takers also come from a technological civilization?”
Wen Zhao gazed out the window. “No.”
“Then why aren’t you curious about this aircraft at all?”
“Because our means of travel are much faster. We traverse through the Interstellar Battlefield.”
“Isn’t that still technology?”
“It’s a cultivation technique.”
Without interference, the journey from Golden Hill to Upper Capital City would take at most an hour by aircraft. The reason why bases rarely traveled between each other was because frequent aerial routes attracted the attention of Mutated Beasts.
Thus, air travel between bases was rarely utilized. In the past, only Captain-level figures had clearance to use it.
This time, their journey was going smoothly.
Over half an hour passed without incident.
Wang Jie started doing calisthenics.
As soon as the familiar rhythm hit his ears, his heart sank. He had forgotten—this was his designated workout time.
Even though the aircraft was small, there was still space for calisthenics. So, in front of Wen Zhao, Old Five, Old Nine, and the Golden Hill Base pilot, he started his routine.
“One, two, three, four… two, two, three, four…”
Everyone stared at him in stunned silence, their worldview utterly shattered.
Wang Jie’s face turned slightly red. He hadn’t wanted this to happen. If he had known, he would have postponed the trip by a day.
Over the past few days, he had done his workouts in the wild—always making sure Wen Zhao wasn’t around.
Now, he had lost all dignity.
Old Five coughed. “Uh, Boss, since when did you have this… hobby?”
Wang Jie sat down with a calm expression. “Exercise. Also helps with weight loss.”
Old Five blinked, struggling to find words. He turned to Old Nine for help.
Old Nine coughed as well. “Stress relief. Not a bad thing.”
Wang Jie remained composed. The more normal he acted, the more abnormal the others seemed.
Then Wen Zhao suddenly said, “If you dare to break through, I will announce it to everyone.”
Wang Jie glanced at her. “I’m just doing exercises.”
“You’re cultivating,” Wen Zhao said firmly.
Wang Jie raised a brow. “I haven’t absorbed any Seal Power.”
“Absorbing Seal Power is a lower-tier method,” Wen Zhao replied. “I don’t know where you learned these movements, and I don’t understand their purpose, but they feel like cultivation. So, don’t even think about breaking through—unless you’re ready to bear the wrath of the entire Blue Star.”
Old Nine interjected, “Then what’s the higher-tier method?”
Old Five nodded eagerly. “Yeah, tell us, beautiful.”
Wen Zhao cast a deep look at Wang Jie but turned her head away without answering.
Wang Jie leaned back, allowing his body to relax. Wen Zhao was right. He was indeed on the verge of a breakthrough. He could achieve it at any moment, without the need to absorb external Seal Power or Cataclysm Materials.
Eight Seals.
Once he advanced, his Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger would consume significantly less energy.
Not long after, they saw the massive structure looming in the darkness ahead. Like Golden Hill Base, Upper Capital City Base was surrounded by towering walls to repel Mutated Creatures, but its scale was far larger.
The aircraft circled the perimeter before descending at the southwestern corner of the base.
As Wang Jie and his group disembarked, they each reported their identities. Once it was confirmed they weren’t bounty fugitives, they were permitted to enter. However, they weren’t granted direct access to the base just yet. Instead, they were held in a designated waiting area until clearance was given.
Because Wen Zhao was a Trial Taker.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation