Chapter 21: Battle Power Detection
Wang Jie gazed out the window as their vehicle moved steadily through the base. There was no clear distinction between the clean district and the sewage district. “I don’t know,” he said.
Wen Zhao, curious, asked, “What is Bai Yuan’s swordsmanship like?”
Qing Zheng countered with a question, “Would you recognize it if I told you?”
Wen Zhao confidently replied, “I should be able to.”
“Uncle Liu, tell him.”
Uncle Liu shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Qing Zheng was surprised. “You’re a Six-Seal expert and have been around Upper Capital City. You don’t know Bai Yuan’s swordsmanship?”
Uncle Liu sighed. “Anyone who has seen his swordsmanship is dead. Normally, you wouldn’t even see his sword, let alone his technique.”
Qing Zheng had no choice but to accept this. “Then there’s nothing we can do.”
Wen Zhao didn’t press further.
With some time left before Zuo Tian arrived in Upper Capital City, Wang Jie had a priority: forming a hunting team.
Over the past two years, he had reflected deeply and realized his mistakes. He had overestimated himself, underestimated his enemies, and failed to leverage external forces.
Hunting teams, formed for the purpose of hunting mutated creatures, were rising in power. They were granted priority access to intelligence from major bases, flight permissions, route applications, communication privileges, trade exchanges, and more.
Currently, the most influential hunting team was Broken Blade, founded by Zuo Tian. Many people distrusted the bases to protect them, placing more faith in hunting teams instead. This was because most elites were concentrated within these teams. While bases existed for survival, hunting teams pursued personal power—a fundamental difference.
To establish a hunting team, one needed one hundred points, each representing an unregistered Three-Seal Cataclysm Material. In other words, gathering a hundred unclaimed Three-Seal Cataclysm Materials was required to officially form a team.
For Qing Zheng, this was easy. Leading Pillar Group had a branch in Upper Capital City stocked with such materials, ready for use.
These materials did not have to be handed over to the base; they remained the hunting team’s property.
Thus, Wang Jie officially registered his team under the name Blue Star.
Blue Star Hunting Team Members:
Wang Jie
Qing Zheng
(Old Five)
(Old Nine)
With the registration completed, Qing Zheng began aggressively acquiring Cataclysm Materials, utilizing Leading Pillar Group’s reserves and purchasing others from external sources. Only through continuous acquisition could they climb the rankings.
At present, no one questioned where these materials came from. Possession was proof of capability.
Even Leading Pillar Group had its own hunting team, Leading Pillar Hunting Team, which ranked highly in Hua Xia’s hunting team rankings. Many of its Cataclysm Materials were also obtained through purchase.
However, this method was unsustainable. Cataclysm Materials were highly valued, expensive, and scarce. Even when available for sale, Upper Capital City Base would often purchase them first.
The higher the ranking, the more points required—the increase was exponential.
The top ten hunting teams had been established for years, accumulating vast reserves of registered materials. Without reaching the top ten, forming a hunting team held little significance.
Wang Jie made a decision: “Tomorrow, we go out to hunt mutated creatures.”
Qing Zheng was puzzled. “Why not today? There’s still daylight left, and we have access to an aircraft.”
Wang Jie remained firm. “Tomorrow.” Today, he had something else to do.
Having done his research, he discovered a romantic hotspot in Upper Capital City. He planned to collect Sweet Tears.
That night, Wang Jie left alone.
Old Five, Old Nine, and Qing Zheng watched him go.
“Where do you think Boss is headed?”
“No idea, but listen—he actually had Lian Fei write him a proposal letter!”
“What?! Seriously? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“None of your business.”
“Lian Qin is supposed to marry into our family. What do you think that means?”
“…”
“I’m telling my old man! Lian Fei should marry Boss. It’s rare for him to like someone.”
“Wait a minute, something feels off.”
“Forget it. Boss is probably meeting Lian Fei right now.”
“Could be. He wants ceremony. That’s why he asked her to write a proposal letter.”
“Understood.”
Meanwhile, Wang Jie lurked in the shadows. This time, he had a better plan. He wouldn’t waste time waiting.
Upon spotting a couple, he directly pressured the man into proposing.
“Big bro, we’ve only known each other for three days.”
“Try it. Who knows? It might work. But there must be tears.”
“I can’t cry.”
“Make her cry.”
“…”
“Bro, I was actually planning to break up.”
“Propose.”
“That’s not right. Who are you to her?”
“I said, propose.”
Bang! The ground cracked beneath Wang Jie’s foot.
“Alright, bro, I get it.”
By the latter half of the night, Wang Jie had finally gathered the required Sweet Tears. It was exhausting. In comparison, obtaining Evil Person’s Severed Palm was much simpler.
The proposal letter was proving to be an even greater headache.
Upon returning home, he collapsed into sleep.
Some time later, the door suddenly swung open.
Old Five and the others entered. “Boss, Wen Zhao left the base.”
Wang Jie instantly sat up. “Where did she go?”
“Outside the base. Apparently, a trial taker arrived, and the Upper Capital City Base informed her.”
Without hesitation, Wang Jie rushed out of the base.
Outside the Upper Capital City Base, under the gaze of countless onlookers, a chubby youth lounged casually on a stone bench, clad in an exquisitely crafted black battle armor. His eyes were closed in rest, utterly indifferent to the envious stares fixated upon him. The armor was clearly not of Blue Star craftsmanship—its surface, absorbing rather than reflecting the sunlight, spoke of remarkable durability.
On his left eye, he wore a dark green lens, faintly flickering with shifting numbers, exuding an undeniable aura of advanced technology.
Below the city, Bai Yuan had arrived.
With his hands behind his back, he simply stood there, gazing at the chubby youth.
Wen Zhao approached, prompting Bai Yuan to glance at her.
“Do you know him?” he asked.
In the distance, the numbers in the chubby youth’s lens suddenly fluctuated, beeping sharply. His eyes snapped open, and when he spotted Wen Zhao, a spark of recognition lit up his face.
“Isn’t this the young lady of the Wen family? What a coincidence! So you’re here too!” He waved enthusiastically. “Congratulations on breaking through to Eight Seals!”
Wen Zhao’s gaze flickered. “It’s you?”
“You know him?” Bai Yuan inquired.
Before Wen Zhao could respond, the chubby youth himself strode forward, clearly delighted. “Not bad, Wen family’s young lady! I never expected you to be mingling with these natives! Quickly, explain to them that I’m a good person—a kind and righteous soul.”
“What are you doing here?” Wen Zhao asked, her tone indifferent.
The chubby youth pointed toward Upper Capital City. “This is the largest power in the trial grounds. There should be plenty of Cataclysm Materials here, so I’ve come to buy some.”
Bai Yuan observed him carefully before glancing at Wen Zhao. It wasn’t unusual for trial takers to be acquainted, but it was clear that Wen Zhao was particularly wary of this chubby youth.
By the time Wang Jie arrived, negotiations over pricing had already begun.
There was no helping it—the goods the chubby youth revealed were simply too tempting.
“A Battle Power Detector?” Wang Jie exclaimed in surprise as Bai Yuan handed him the dark-colored lens. Placing it over his eye, he saw fluctuating numbers immediately pop up. Instinctively, he turned toward Bai Yuan.
The lens beeped.
The number settled at five hundred.
The chubby youth explained, “Five hundred is the baseline for a Seven-Seal warrior. When a cultivator first reaches a Single Seal, the number starts at one. The digits increase as one progresses. Of course, these numbers don’t fully represent actual combat strength, as they fluctuate depending on battle conditions and the rise and fall of Seal Power.”
Wang Jie now understood why Bai Yuan was interested—this device could drastically reduce the time needed to locate powerful mutated beasts and even serve as an early warning system.
The chubby youth chuckled. “A rather useful tool, don’t you think, Wen family’s young lady?”
Wang Jie looked toward Wen Zhao.
She nodded slightly. “Many cultivators in the universe use these.”
“Naturally!” the chubby youth smirked before adding, “But… the true elites wouldn’t rely on them, as they can be misleading.”
Rolling his eyes, he waved a hand. “Alright, let’s not talk about elites here. No offense, but you all should recognize your own situation. Don’t be fooled by your high status on Blue Star—compared to the major forces of the universe, you are at the absolute bottom. Sooner or later, you’ll be heading to the Interstellar Battlefield.”
“And once you’re there, the most important thing isn’t fighting or gaining merit—those are just empty words. Survival is what truly matters.”
“If you have the chance to acquire more tools now, do it. Don’t regret it later.”
With that, he casually handed a detector to Wen Zhao. “Wen family’s young lady, consider this a gift. May you achieve great success in this trial. Heh heh.”
Wen Zhao accepted it silently, her gaze revealing a faint smile, saying nothing more.
Both Bai Yuan and Wang Jie could see that the chubby youth was trying to shut Wen Zhao up—he was clearly hiding something. Yet, his words weren’t false. The future was not something they needed to worry about now.
Wang Jie handed the lens back to Bai Yuan.
Bai Yuan gestured toward the city. “Shall we discuss things inside?”
The chubby youth readily agreed, showing no fear of being ambushed.
As he followed Bai Yuan into Upper Capital City, he suddenly glanced back at Wen Zhao’s leg. “A friendly reminder—that thing is analyzing your power.”
Wen Zhao’s expression remained unchanged.
Bai Yuan, too, displayed no reaction, as if the revelation had nothing to do with him.
Wang Jie, intrigued, asked, “Who is he?”
Wen Zhao answered, “Galaxy War-Preparedness Corporation. Qi Five.”
“Galaxy? A corporation?”
“That’s how you would understand it. It’s essentially a massive commercial conglomerate specializing in the production of combat equipment. They frequently participate in major faction trials, selling various gear.”
Wang Jie nodded. “If he managed to infiltrate the Armor One Sect’s trial, he must have some serious backing.”
Wen Zhao did not elaborate further.
Inside the city, Old Five and the others had gathered, preparing for the hunt.
The Leading Pillar Group had aircraft stationed in all five major bases—more than one, in fact.
They would take an aircraft two hundred kilometers away to the true danger zone, where countless mutated creatures roamed. The Battle Power Detector Wen Zhao had just received would come in handy, saving them precious time.
At the speed of the aircraft, it didn’t take long to arrive.
Towering trees surrounded them—some ordinary, most mutated. However, mutated trees weren’t necessarily hostile.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The detector in Wang Jie’s eye continually emitted sounds.
He turned to the right. “Eight hundred meters away—there’s a Seven-Seal mutated beast.”
“Two kilometers away—a pack of Five-Seal creatures.”
“Split up and engage.”
For the next two days, they roamed the danger zone, relentlessly hunting mutated creatures. With the strength of Wen Zhao and Wang Jie, unless they encountered a supreme entity like the Moon Plant, nothing was worth worrying about. Most threats were eliminated within a few moves.
Meanwhile, Qing Zheng was on the verge of reaching Seven Seals.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation