Chapter 35: Initiative and Passivity
Older Sister Tang cried out, “You wield Nine Seals, while he only bears Eight! To claim victory is no honor!”
Her words caused Yun Lai’s gaze to flicker with a cold killing intent. Without hesitation, he raised his hand. A miniature bow appeared within his palm, and an arrow shot forth. With her strength, Older Sister Tang could never hope to evade it.
At that crucial moment, a shadow leaped forth and deflected the arrow with a casual swipe of the hand. “It’s my turn now.”
Everyone turned to see who had intervened. Wang Jie!
Bai Xiao gripped Bai Yuan tightly, her eyes fixed on Wang Jie’s back. She recognized him—he was the only one in the base who had ever been seen with the Trial Participants.
Yun Lai’s gaze locked onto Wang Jie, a glint of surprise in his eyes. “That was Armor Eight Steps, wasn’t it?”
Wang Jie faced him directly. “I wish to test the might of your Eight Cloud Arrows.”
Yun Lai narrowed his eyes. “As expected of a base filled with natives—one after another, warriors appear. Very well, since you wish for death, I shall oblige.” He wasted no time, raising his bow and loosing an arrow straight at Wang Jie.
A deathly silence fell over the battlefield.
The Eight Cloud Arrows had been deflected before, but that was due to the overwhelming power of the Armor One Divine Sword, not because they lacked might.
Bai Yuan had spent ten years mastering a single technique, and even then, he only succeeded due to the arrival of the Third Batch of Trial Participants. Aside from that, Yun Lai did not believe any native could withstand his Eight Cloud Arrows—not even a single one.
From Yun Lai’s expression, Wen Zhao could tell he had never seen Wang Jie before. The details of the Trial Participants were concealed from most, and even someone of Yun Lai’s status, though high, was still merely a Disciple, not even a true Inner Sect Disciple.
The arrow flew at Wang Jie—an arrow that could pierce through the walls of two great bases—yet it halted just before his forehead, clenched tightly in his hand.
Gasps filled the air. What just happened?
Yun Lai’s eyes widened in shock. Impossible!
He had indeed never seen Wang Jie before. The information on Trial Participants was not something anyone could simply access, and most were completely in the dark.
Even Lian Qin and the others were dumbfounded. Could this really be happening?
Bai Yuan stared blankly. If not for the Armor One Divine Sword, even he would struggle to block the Eight Cloud Arrows, especially at such close range. This Wang Jie was far stronger than he had imagined—far stronger!
Wang Jie lowered his arm, feeling the arrow’s icy surface and its extraordinary resilience. Its material was something he had never encountered before.
A moment ago, he had considered dodging, but the instant the arrow was loosed, he realized he could catch it—his current strength was eight times greater than before.
Yet, despite successfully catching the arrow, his palm was slightly torn. The power behind it was immense.
Yun Lai, without a word, fired two more arrows.
This time, Wang Jie did not attempt to catch them. Instead, he employed Armor Eight Steps, evading while closing in on Yun Lai. The arrows streaked past him, slicing through the city wall, causing a section to collapse.
He extended a single finger—Luo Xuan Finger Technique.
Yun Lai, facing an empty space, loosed another arrow. Though it seemed to miss, the projectile twisted in midair as if alive, homing in on Wang Jie.
Wen Zhao watched closely. This is the true strength of the Eight Cloud Arrows. Their sheer power was one thing, but their greatest strength lay in their control. Most cultivators below Ten Seals could only guide five arrows at once—yet Yun Lai could control eight. This was what made him unparalleled in this art.
She had never warned Wang Jie about the Eight Cloud Arrows. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t. She and Yun Lai were both from the Sect—their allegiances were clear.
Wang Jie had not anticipated that the arrow could be maneuvered mid-flight and quickly dodged once more.
Yun Lai exhaled, suppressing his frustration. He loosed arrows rapidly, making it clear that he had no intention of wasting time.
Eight arrows flew at once.
They danced through the air, circling Wang Jie. His Spiral Qi Force attempted to strike at Yun Lai from a distance, but the arrows continually deflected his energy, creating an unbreakable net of offense and defense.
With the eight arrows weaving around him, Wang Jie found himself being forced back.
Reaching out, he attempted to grasp one.
Wen Zhao nearly shouted for him to stop. Luckily, Wang Jie withdrew his hand at the last moment.
He might have been able to catch a single arrow, but the remaining seven would descend upon him simultaneously. To counter eight arrows at once required either the Armor One Divine Sword or a battle technique beyond what the Armor One Sect possessed at his level.
Yun Lai smirked, eyes locked on the retreating Wang Jie. “Your strength is impressive, and with Armor Eight Steps, you could seize a single arrow. But so what? The universe is filled with beings stronger than you. If raw strength alone could overcome my Eight Cloud Arrows, my Armor One Sect would have perished long ago.”
He raised his bow once more, his energy surging. “You wish to stand above others? Then die.”
From his palm, a myriad of miniature arrows materialized, passing through the Eight Cloud Arrows and hurtling toward Wang Jie.
Wang Jie flipped backward, his arms rotating in opposite directions, compressing the surrounding air. The ground cracked beneath his feet, the atmosphere itself stirring into motion, dust rising like a storm.
An explosion of power erupted from within him, fueled by Seal Power, unleashing a violent shockwave.
The raging winds clashed against the incoming storm of arrows.
Yun Lai had never expected a mere native to possess such strength—enough to compress air into a battle technique. Simple, yet effective. His rain of arrows was forcibly blown back.
His expression darkened. Clenching his fist, he sent the Eight Cloud Arrows soaring toward Wang Jie once more.
Wang Jie compressed the air a second time and countered, an effective strategy that consumed little of his Seal Power.
Yet this time, it failed.
The Eight Cloud Arrows merged into one, tearing through the windstorm, streaking straight toward him.
On instinct, Wang Jie attempted to seize the arrow. The moment he did, the impact carried his entire body backward, slamming him through the thick city wall, hurling him into the city’s depths.
Gritting his teeth, he raised his left arm and swung fiercely.
His Wrist Guard collided with the arrow, forcing it off course. It grazed his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood, before piercing straight through the Upper Capital City Base. It tore through the northern wall and vanished into the horizon.
A deep scar was left across the entire base.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Wang Jie had been sent flying a thousand meters.
This was the power of Yun Lai—one recognized by the Armor One Sect as a Heaven’s Chosen. Wen Zhao could not hope to compare.
Every Trial Participant before him had been leagues beneath him.
Yet, even Yun Lai himself was shaken by Wang Jie’s sheer strength.
Wang Jie slowly lifted his head, wiping the blood from his face. If not for the Wrist Guard, that arrow wouldn’t have missed its mark so easily. He followed the massive crack in the earth, walking toward the outskirts of the base.
On both sides, the crowd remained silent.
This man had actually caught that arrow.
Bai Yuan chuckled. This battle was won. The base was saved. Yun Lai could not defeat this man—because Wang Jie still had trump cards left to play.
Wen Zhao had believed Wang Jie would be able to stand against Yun Lai, but only after breaking through to the Nine Seal stage—not now.
Yet the Eight Cloud Arrows had barely even scratched him.
Yun Lai stared in disbelief at Wang Jie, who now stood outside the base. His expression mirrored the moment he had first seen the Armor One Divine Sword. “Who… are you?”
Wang Jie flexed his arms and replied casually, “Wang Jie, a native.”
“Impossible! How could a native withstand my Eight Cloud Arrows?” Yun Lai refused to believe it.
Wang Jie wiped his cheek again. “But I am injured, aren’t I?”
Yun Lai felt as though he were seeing a ghost.
A mere Trial Ground—a place so worthless that it could not even earn him an Armor-Level Trial rating—had somehow produced not one, but two monsters: one wielding the Armor One Divine Sword and the other standing unscathed after his Eight Cloud Arrows. Forget natives—even among the Armor One Sect’s full-fledged disciples, few below Ten Seals could achieve such feats.
What was wrong with these so-called natives?
Wang Jie looked at Yun Lai. “Your turn is over. Now, it’s my turn.”
Yun Lai locked his cold gaze on Wang Jie. “Native, do you really think you can defeat me?”
Wang Jie smiled and raised a hand, snapping his fingers.
Yun Lai frowned, about to speak—when the earth beneath his feet began to quake violently. He instinctively leapt aside, but the very air around him twisted into a mire, as if trapping him within an unseen swamp. Struggling against it, he looked up—only to witness a sight so shocking that it seemed to split the heavens.
A colossal finger pierced through the clouds, descending from the sky.
Every cultivator in the vicinity saw it.
If the Armor One Divine Sword, magnified a million times, had been akin to a mountain, then this finger was even more terrifying—for a sword could be forged, but a finger was a part of the human body itself.
Even in his wildest nightmares, Yun Lai had never imagined he would be crushed by a finger inside this Trial Ground.
What madness was this?
Both sky and land were pierced at once. In a desperate bid to defend himself, Yun Lai loosed another eight arrows, circling him like a protective storm as they clashed against the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger. The moment they collided, a deafening explosion shook the world, sending shockwaves rippling outward. The sheer force distorted the air, rendering it impossible for anyone to see clearly.
Even the base trembled.
Wen Zhao couldn’t help but step forward for a better look. She had witnessed Wang Jie’s Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger obliterate that enormous centipede in a single strike. As formidable as Yun Lai was, he couldn’t possibly remain unscathed.
In her eyes, the power of this technique rivaled the Armor One Divine Sword itself.
In truth, had it not been lost to history, the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger would have been just as renowned as the Armor One Divine Sword.
The searing heat from the blast dispersed.
A vast crater marred the earth. Yun Lai lay at the bottom, his once-luxurious robes tattered and bloodied. He panted heavily, his entire worldview shaken. Clearly, blocking that attack had not been easy.
Wang Jie whistled in admiration. “Not bad. You truly are a prodigy.”
Indeed, his defenses were far stronger than that of the centipede.
All eyes turned to Yun Lai. Slowly, he climbed out of the crater, his face pale. “That was… the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger.”
Wang Jie nodded. “Correct.”
Yun Lai felt bitter. How could this be? A native wielded the Armor One Divine Sword, and another mastered the long-lost Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger? This was absurd! No wonder he had never seen Wang Jie before—the Sect must have been hiding him.
“Where did you learn it? Are you really a native?”
“A genuine Hua Xia native,” Wang Jie said, pointing skyward. “As for where I learned it…”
Yun Lai followed his gaze to the sky projection. “The Martial Hall?”
Wang Jie clenched his fist. “Enough, alien. You have two choices. Surrender willingly, or be forced to surrender. Choose.”
The surrounding cultivators held their breath. Was this formidable Trial Participant truly defeated?
Yun Lai sneered, sweeping his gaze across the crowd. “Surrender? Native, who do you think you are?”
His voice boomed across the entire Upper Capital City Base. “This is just a trial. Open your eyes—it’s only a trial.”
“I may have lost, but why should I surrender to a bunch of cannon fodder bound for the Interstellar Battlefield?”
“You are nothing but natives—war slaves at best.”
“Do you really think you can do anything to me? With a single word, I could strip you of even the right to struggle on the Interstellar Battlefield. Your entire Blue Star would be erased from existence. Ask Wen Zhao—she knows I can do it.”
All eyes turned to Wen Zhao.
She did not refute him.
For an entity as vast as the Armor One Sect, a single planet was insignificant. And Yun Lai’s Yun Clan was one of the Sect’s three ruling families, home to countless powerful cultivators.
Brushing the dust from his clothes, Yun Lai fixed his gaze on Wang Jie and Bai Yuan. “Listen closely, natives. My name is Yun Lai. I have dozens of planets under my name, each comparable to Blue Star. I command dozens of Star-Breaking Realm cultivators—any one of whom could reduce your planet to ash. I control the lives of billions. And you think you can make me surrender?”
With that, he turned and strode away.
Tens of thousands of onlookers fell silent.
Once again, Yun Lai had laid bare the cruel fate of Blue Star—a future of servitude and certain death on the battlefield.
He had taken only a few steps when a sudden chill pierced the air. Sensing the threat, Yun Lai spun around—
And was met with a fist.
Boom!
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