Chapter 61: The Will of the Defeated
In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
During this time, Wang Jie was pushed through the streets and alleys of the Golden Hill Base every day. The Sacrificial Altar built for bridging was the darkness before dawn, and Wang Jie had shattered that darkness, bringing forth the light.
The mutated creatures no longer posed a threat to the base.
Captains of various squads continued to clear the external threats, expanding the Safe Zone. Rumors had it that the Southern Nation Base was already preparing to take on the ocean.
Throughout these two months, the scorching energy from the wrist guard continued to spread, gradually flowing through his entire body.
“Take me back,” Wang Jie finally said.
Qing Zheng cheerfully pushed him home. As far as he was concerned, as long as his boss was alive and Blue Star wasn’t destroyed, nothing else mattered.
“Boss, what are we eating today?”
“You decide.”
“Barbecue, extra spicy.”
Wang Jie chuckled. “Alright.”
As night fell, Wang Jie lay in bed and slowly sat up.
He could move.
He exhaled deeply. The sensation of being able to move again was indescribably wonderful. His gaze fell upon the wrist guard once more—without it, he would have perished in his first duel with Shu Mu Night. There would have been no waiting until now.
Truly miraculous.
“Now, let’s begin the Eighth Set of Beginner’s Calisthenics.”
That familiar yet anticipated voice rang in his ears. Hurriedly, Wang Jie retrieved the medicinal paste that Four Eyes had prepared over the past two months and applied it to his body before starting the routine.
One, two, three, four.
Two, two, three, four.
…
The pain was just as familiar.
The last time he had gone through this agony was when Shu Mu Night had left him crippled. Now, he was experiencing it again. His bones creaked, his blood surged, and his meridians reconnected—his entire body itched unbearably. The pain came in many strange and torturous forms, making him feel as if he were being shattered and reassembled.
This time, the pain was even worse than before.
When he finally finished, he collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat. The floor beneath him was soaked.
As the waves of pain subsided, Wang Jie felt an overwhelming sense of comfort, so much so that he wanted to simply lay there forever.
Pain was addictive after all—the more excruciating the experience, the more euphoric the recovery.
He sat up and took a bath.
His cultivation was gone.
All eight Seals had been broken and dispersed, yet his physical strength remained.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he noted that his skin seemed to have lightened, and his gaze had grown more profound.
“Boss.”
The door suddenly swung open. It was Qing Zheng.
Wang Jie stepped out of the bathroom. “What’s wrong?”
Qing Zheng stared at him, dumbfounded. “B-Boss, you’ve recovered?”
Wang Jie wiped his hair with a towel. “No, I can just walk now. What’s with that face?”
Old Five and Old Nine had arrived as well.
Qing Zheng hesitated before explaining, “I smelled something awful and thought maybe… you couldn’t take care of yourself.”
Wang Jie: …
Though his body had recovered, Wang Jie didn’t immediately make his return public. His recovery was too fast. Besides, without his cultivation, he needed to be cautious, even if his sheer strength was still beyond ordinary opponents.
He would never forget how Zuo Tian had thrown a group of orphans—including him—into a firepit just for an experiment.
Seated by the window, the environment around him shifted, and he found himself in the Field.
It had been a long time since he had been here.
The first Field contained eight green sprouts, representing the Starry Finger Technique and the Gazing Star Sword Style.
The second Field was empty. He still had no idea what could be planted there. He had tried numerous things before, but none had worked.
He walked over to the Starry Finger Technique’s sprouts.
The technique required five ingredients to cultivate: Will of the Loser, Evil Person’s Severed Palm, Sweet Tears, Ten Sealed Marriage Proposals, and Snow-White Canine Tooth.
He had obtained the latter four, but the Will of the Loser remained a mystery.
During his battle with Shu Mu Night on the Sacrificial Altar, a thought had struck him. Now was the time to test it.
He raised his hand and touched the sprout, recalling his three duels with Shu Mu Night.
Three times.
Each one was a defeat.
The first was the easiest loss, a complete one-sided defeat.
The second was the most tragic—he had forced Shu Mu Night to reveal much of his power, but had nearly died in the process.
The third? He had barely managed to defeat Shu Mu Night using external factors. If not for the wrist guard’s life-sustaining energy, he would have died as well.
In a fair fight, all three battles ended in defeat.
But so what?
He never gave up—not even once.
No matter what the Trial Participants said, he never stopped. Again and again, he challenged, he fought, he endured.
This was the Will of the Loser.
It was his will.
The green sprout suddenly shrank, as if acknowledging his determination.
All five Seals of the green sprout bloomed simultaneously, converging into a human-shaped figure. The figure raised a finger toward Wang Jie. It was similar to the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger, yet the moment it was unleashed, Wang Jie’s vision filled with an endless starry sky.
A cool sensation touched the center of his forehead.
His body staggered back several steps. When he looked again, the five Seals had vanished, leaving only three sprouts in the first Field.
Wang Jie stood motionless, his eyes dazed as he processed the Starry Finger Technique.
Any combat technique cultivated in this Field did not require learning—it was immediately comprehended upon growth.
Now, he had mastered the Starry Finger Technique.
However…
He lifted his hand and stared at his fingers.
Could he even use it?
When he had first learned the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger, he hadn’t been able to execute it until his strength had grown significantly.
As for this Starry Finger Technique…
Even at his peak, at Eight Seal mastery, he wouldn’t have dared to attempt it.
It was the kind of technique that could cost a person their life.
This was a battle technique far beyond what could be cultivated within the Ten-Seal realm.
Wang Jie exhaled softly, momentarily suppressing his thoughts.
His gaze returned to the three sprouting seedlings in the first plot of land. The Starry Finger Technique was no longer an option, but the Gazing Star Sword Style was different. Like the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger, it only required three materials. That meant, once he restored his cultivation to the Seven-Seal level, he could execute it.
Moreover, the required materials were not difficult to find. But still… there was something peculiar about them.
Stepping away from the secluded space, Wang Jie looked up at the sky, lost in contemplation. With the Martial Hall’s Phantom Arena gone, the heavens appeared more vast and translucent. That celestial bridge was visible, yet beyond his reach.
The greatest dilemma he faced now was whether to continue cultivating Seal Power.
Seal Power, referred to by the Trial Participants as Lock Force, was an energy designed for the rapid advancement of War Slaves. As long as one possessed enough Lock Force, ascending to the Ten-Seal realm was a matter of time, unhindered.
Before the arrival of the Trial Participants, the strongest cultivators on Blue Star had only reached Seven-Seal over a decade, due to the lack of guidance. But within a single year of the trial’s commencement, Bai Yuan and the others had already reached Nine-Seal. Had proper instruction been available from the start, a vast number of Ten-Seal cultivators would have emerged within three years.
That was the advantage of Lock Force—it was fast.
But the cost was the loss of one’s future potential.
Wang Jie did not know exactly how dire that loss was, but since he had chosen to re-cultivate, he refused to tread the same path.
The problem was… if not Lock Force, then what?
No one had ever told him how to cultivate otherwise.
Qi cultivation?
While Qi could be fused with strength to amplify battle prowess, Wang Jie lacked any method to enhance his Qi reserves.
The mere thought of it gave him a headache.
Lian Qin arrived.
“I haven’t had the chance to thank you properly,” she said. “I happened to be handling some matters nearby, so I came to see you.”
Wang Jie smiled. “No need for thanks. I did it for myself.”
He had said the same words to many people before.
Lian Qin chuckled lightly.
She had changed. Wang Jie could see it. She no longer radiated the same captivating allure as before.
Despite having a daughter as old as Lian Fei, Lian Qin herself was not yet forty. She had given birth too early, never concerning herself with age. And yet, now, she had matured overnight.
She met his gaze. “Still, I must personally express my gratitude.”
Wang Jie took a sip of tea, remaining silent.
“If not for you back then… I truly would have collapsed,” Lian Qin admitted, her eyes dimming. “As one of the Five Extremes, I survived the Apocalypse, believing myself strong. I thought I had seen enough death to face it with composure.”
“But it was all a lie. Accepting death is one thing. But the fear of it… that never truly fades.”
They conversed for a while before she finally handed him a folded note. “This was left for you by Zuo Tian.”
Wang Jie’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at her.
Lian Qin gave a bitter smile. “Don’t look at me like that. I have no connection with him. He entrusted someone to deliver this before the Battle of the Beach. It’s just that the messenger only arrived now.”
Wang Jie unfolded the note.
It contained only a single sentence:
I will wait for you among the stars.
A mere six words.
Wang Jie fell into deep thought.
Zuo Tian had gone to the stars? How?
If this note was written before the Battle of the Beach, it meant he had already known he would reach the stars.
Leaving a message for Wang Jie… was it because he had foreseen that Wang Jie would survive that battle? Or was there another reason?
Lian Qin sighed. “I read it. No one knows how he reached the stars. But he couldn’t have predicted the outcome of the battle in advance. I believe this was a contingency plan.”
“A contingency?” Wang Jie questioned.
She nodded. “I asked the messenger. Zuo Tian instructed them—if you perished in the Battle of the Beach, they were not to deliver this note. Only if you survived would they pass it on.”
“When the world believed you had died, the messenger saw no reason to hand it over. But after learning you had survived, they finally brought it to me.”
Wang Jie understood now. Zuo Tian had not foreseen anything; he had merely prepared in advance.
But still… how had he reached the stars?
Armor One Sect had taken Bai Yuan.
Chu Yao had taken Liu Ying.
Then what of Zuo Tian?
How had he departed?
Or perhaps… had he deliberately left behind this note to deceive Wang Jie into believing he had gone to the stars, while in truth, he still lurked within Blue Star, hiding from him?
Lian Qin left soon after. She had come solely to deliver that message.
She knew well the enmity between Wang Jie and Zuo Tian. She could not rest easy without fulfilling the task.
Not long after she departed, another visitor arrived—Bai Xiao.
This once radiant and beautiful young woman now appeared haggard and worn.
She spoke at length, expressing her concern for Wang Jie, yet some words seemed to remain unspoken, trapped within her heart.
Wang Jie spoke first. “I don’t know where Bai Yuan is. I can’t find him.”
Bai Xiao’s face turned pale, her eyes void of light. “Since childhood, my father always indulged me. He granted me everything I desired. After the Apocalypse, he shielded me from countless dangers, giving me unconditional love… He made me feel the warmth of being a daughter.”
Wang Jie remained silent, listening.
As an orphan, he had no concept of parental love.
Even Older Sister Tang had visited him before, all for the sake of this woman.
Bai Xiao continued, speaking at length. At last, she prepared to leave.
But just before stepping away, she suddenly fell to her knees before Wang Jie.
“I know this request is unreasonable… selfish even… but please, I beg you. If there is even the slightest chance—please help me find my father. I will do anything you ask. Anything. Just… please.”
Not long after, Wang Jie watched her retreating figure.
Her silhouette was forlorn, sorrowful.
Bai Yuan was a man worthy of respect. If Armor One Sect had truly taken him… how could Wang Jie possibly find him?
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation