Chapter 98: The Final Battle at the End of the Road
Jin Chu gazed into the distance, her eyes locked onto Wang Jie as he moved with an unsettling yet eerily precise gait. His movements defied natural coordination, as if an invisible force was dragging his body along. It bore a striking resemblance to the Power Accumulation Method of the Gong Nation, but how had he managed to master it?
“The Power Accumulation Method may appear simple, but its true essence demands extreme precision in controlling one’s strength. It ranks just beneath the Star Method,” mused Wu Mian, his expression clouded with uncertainty.
“Every cultivator of the Gong Nation must endure immense hardship to wield this technique. Their bones are far denser than those of normal people, making the training rigorous beyond measure. For an outsider to grasp it, the pain would be unimaginable.”
“If an ordinary person could master the Power Accumulation Method, it would mean they possess the potential to cultivate the Star Method as well.” Wu Mian furrowed his brows. “But a genius capable of wielding the Star Method would never waste time on the Power Accumulation Method. I don’t understand him at all. Could it be that he learned it merely by watching? Even if he saw it, even if someone taught him step by step, it should be near impossible to master.”
And yet, Wang Jie had done it.
Without using the Armor Eight Steps, his pupils darted, tracking every motion of Kui Rock. He wasn’t looking at Kui Rock—he was watching the Qi.
Kui Rock lashed out wildly, its blows stirring the air, but not a single one struck Wang Jie.
The beast roared, “Human! Do you not dare to fight me head-on?”
Wang Jie sneered, utterly ignoring its provocation. Instead, an idea surfaced—this was the perfect opportunity to test the Gazing Star Sword Style.
A vital component in the forging of his Sword Step, the Gazing Star Sword Style: Annihilate Stars, seemed tailor-made for this battle. Kui Rock would be his target.
He grabbed a tree branch. There was no need for a real weapon; he had no intention of engaging Kui Rock in direct combat. His true aim was to refine his sword technique.
Training in the midst of battle would accelerate his progress far beyond normal practice.
Within a brief span of time, his sword technique evolved. From twenty linked moves, he advanced to forty, reducing his reliance on the Power Accumulation Method by optimizing his control over Lock Force. His progress was visibly apparent.
Realizing Wang Jie was beyond his reach, Kui Rock suddenly turned and charged toward Xuan.
Again.
Wang Jie rushed toward Xuan as well, tossing him a book—Three Illusions Formation Manual.
Xuan caught it, eyes widening in astonishment. Even in this dire situation, Wang Jie was willing to hand over such a valuable treasure. “Much appreciated,” he said without hesitation, immediately flipping it open.
The moment the formation activated, the surroundings twisted. Colors shifted, scents mingled chaotically, and images distorted into disarray.
The Three Illusions Formation was powerful enough to confound even a cultivator at the Full Star Realm.
For the warriors of the Gong Nation, whose strength relied on brute force rather than intricate formations, it was devastatingly effective.
With the illusion taking hold, not only was Kui Rock thrown into disarray, but the Full Star Realm warrior battling Xuan also lost sight of him. In that split second of hesitation, Wang Jie struck—his finger piercing through Kui Rock’s left knee joint, unleashing a surge of Star Force.
Kui Rock dropped to one knee, glaring at Wang Jie in fury.
Without pause, Wang Jie struck again—this time aiming for the right leg. But as he prepared to follow through, danger flared in his senses. He abruptly retreated just as another Gong Nation warrior, the one fighting Xuan, lunged forward. This one was also at the Full Star Realm. Though weaker than Kui Rock, he still surpassed Wang Jie by two entire cultivation realms.
Wang Jie swiftly evaded, but the warrior pursued relentlessly. His massive iron rod swept through the air in a crushing arc—only to suddenly halt as Xuan seized the moment to launch a sneak attack from within the Three Illusions Formation.
Kui Rock hung his head low. The fury in his eyes burned hotter, twisting into something more dangerous.
Wang Jie didn’t care. He saw the iron rod swinging toward him and reacted instantly—grabbing it with his bare hands and, with a powerful kick, sent it flying back toward Kui Rock. The impact nearly knocked the beast off its feet.
The Gong Nation warrior bellowed in rage. “Despicable human!”
Kui Rock roared in response. In a single motion, he seized the iron rod, snapped off its razor-sharp spikes, and—before the stunned eyes of Wang Jie and Xuan—drove them into his own body.
Blood erupted, splattering the earth.
Wang Jie froze, utterly baffled by Kui Rock’s actions.
Another sharp crack—another spike broken and stabbed into himself. Kui Rock’s deep red pupils gleamed with madness and bloodlust as he locked eyes with Wang Jie.
In the distance, Wu Mian’s voice rang out in alarm. “This is bad! He’s using the Blood-Stabbing Method! Stop him now!”
Jin Chu frowned. “The Blood-Stabbing Method?”
“It’s a unique technique of the Gong Nation,” Wu Mian explained grimly. “By stabbing themselves, they accelerate blood circulation. Their oversized bones and meridians amplify the effect, boosting both speed and strength. Kui Rock is going all out.”
Jin Chu immediately opened the hatch of the ship, prepared to intervene at any moment.
Kui Rock drove four spikes into his flesh. His body shrank slightly, but a boiling crimson mist swirled around him. Something inside him stirred, writhing as if desperate to break free.
His blood itself had come alive.
Wang Jie’s pupils contracted. “Attack now!”
He and Xuan launched forward at once.
Kui Rock’s lips curled into a twisted grin. In an instant, he burst forth. Despite his shattered knee, his speed had more than doubled.
Wang Jie barely managed to twist his body, but he couldn’t evade completely. A crushing blow slammed into his side, sending him hurtling through the air.
Kui Rock leapt after him, palm raised to strike again.
But just before impact, Wang Jie’s body was forcibly shoved aside—Xuan’s intervention.
Kui Rock’s palm struck empty air. Even so, the force of the shockwave blasted both Wang Jie and Xuan backward.
Dizziness blurred Wang Jie’s vision, but he didn’t hesitate. His foot landed firmly, activating the Armor Eight Steps to escape.
A deafening explosion resounded as Kui Rock landed, his blood mist surging skyward. He swung his massive arm, and Wang Jie barely had time to raise his left arm to block before he was sent flying again.
He couldn’t stop it.
The gap in speed and power was absolute.
At that moment, two figures descended—Jin Chu and Wu Mian.
The air turned frigid.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
Kui Yan turned his head, only to be met with an icy chill that seemed to pierce his very bones. A creeping frost climbed from the ground, threatening to freeze him solid. Wu Mian, gripping his Horizontal Blade, slashed fiercely at Kui Yan’s frozen legs.
With a deafening roar, Kui Yan bellowed, shattering the ice encasing his body. His foot lashed out, colliding with the Horizontal Blade, sending both weapon and Wu Mian hurtling through the air. Spinning mid-motion, Kui Yan threw a fist toward Jin Chu.
Jin Chu furrowed her brows, raising both arms. In an instant, the very air congealed into impenetrable ice, but under Kui Yan’s brutal punch, it fractured and shattered like fragile glass.
Around them, warriors of Gong Nation surged forward, blades gleaming under the dimming light. Jin Chu and Wu Mian, both at the Full Star Realm, found themselves struggling against Kui Yan’s overwhelming force. He had used the Blood-Stabbing Method, pushing his strength to the pinnacle of Full Star Realm, disregarding the very notion of death.
Wu Mian stumbled back, caution flashing in his eyes. “We can’t engage head-on. Even if we manage to kill him, we’ll suffer heavy losses.”
Jin Chu’s gaze darted toward Wang Jie—he must not fall.
Kui Yan’s roars intensified. Two more gleaming spikes appeared in his hands, and without hesitation, he plunged them into his own body. His Qi and blood surged anew, a sight so horrifying that Wu Mian’s scalp tingled. Damn it, this monster can still get stronger?! Does he not fear death?!
In the distance, Wang Jie exhaled slowly. He lifted his hand, and a gray stream of energy coiled within his palm. The void trembled, and before him, an IOU Slip materialized.
The signature read: Breezy Wanderer Who Does Not Return.
A thunderous boom erupted. Kui Yan swung his arm, shattering the land itself. Magma erupted like a tidal wave, rolling toward Jin Chu and Wu Mian, before Kui Yan turned his full wrath upon Wang Jie.
Wang Jie stood still, head bowed, feeling the unfamiliar yet oddly familiar power coursing through his veins.
Borrowed power was still power.
“Guest Official! Watch out!” Jin Chu shouted.
Wang Jie raised his head. A dark red fist hurtled toward him. He clenched his own fist, merging two streams of Qi until they became a transparent flame that roared skyward. His muscles tensed, nearly tearing apart as he unleashed his punch.
Boom!
A world-shaking explosion echoed across the battlefield. A violent shockwave erupted outward, splitting the earth apart. From the impact’s center—Kui Yan and Wang Jie—the ground cracked open, a yawning abyss expanding in both directions.
The massive rift snaked across the planet, reaching its very core. In the distance, heat waves surged skyward, blanketing the heavens in black smoke that writhed like a monstrous beast.
Jin Chu and Wu Mian staggered backward, struggling for breath. Is this… power?!
Kui Yan stumbled, retreating step by step, eyes wide in disbelief as he gazed at Wang Jie.
His entire arm had exploded into shreds of flesh and bone.
Wang Jie’s hand was fractured, but he had only taken a single step back. He fixed his gaze upon Kui Yan, condensing Lock Force into his arm. A simple tree branch became his sword.
Gazing Star Sword Style.
A flurry of sword energy slashed toward Kui Yan.
And Kui Yan… retreated.
For the first time in his life, he felt fear.
The warriors of Gong Nation did not fear death. They embraced it. Yet, fear of the unknown was universal. And Kui Yan could not comprehend how a Ten-Imprint Cultivator could wield such monstrous strength, contending with an opponent who had ascended beyond the Full Star Realm’s peak.
This was impossible.
Never before had history recorded such an occurrence.
Each of Wang Jie’s sword strikes tore through Kui Yan, piercing deep into the planet’s core. The final blade emerged from the other side, cleaving the world in two.
The end had come.
The land crumbled, the distant sea flooding into the abyss, submerging what remained.
Kui Yan locked eyes with Wang Jie, fury twisting into shame. A warrior of Gong Nation… afraid? This humiliation could only be cleansed with death!
More sword energy rained down.
Kui Yan did not flinch. Once more, he summoned his blood-forged spikes and stabbed them into his own chest.
From afar, Jin Chu saw it happen. “Guest Official! Run! He’s gone beyond his limits—he’s dead for sure! The planet is breaking apart! We must escape!”
Gritting his teeth, Wang Jie turned and ran. “Xuan, move! Now!”
He had no intention of perishing with Kui Yan.
But Kui Yan had no intention of letting him escape. Dark red pupils locked onto Wang Jie’s figure, and with a final exhale of blood, he leapt forward.
One arm destroyed? Then he would fight with the other.
Humiliation had to be erased.
Wang Jie stepped onto Armor Eight Steps, dodging in an instant.
The very planet shattered beneath Kui Yan’s final strike.
The remaining warriors of Gong Nation fled toward the Gong Bone, unwilling to die needlessly. Even if they honored death, it did not mean they sought it.
From another direction, Xuan appeared, racing toward their ship. Their original spacecraft had been obliterated during the battle.
Kui Yan pursued.
Wang Jie could outrun them all, reaching the ship before anyone else. But what was the point? Kui Yan would simply destroy the ship.
They needed time to escape the planet’s destruction.
Jin Chu’s face was grim. Had they acted sooner, Kui Yan wouldn’t have been pushed to this point. Now, unless he was slain, none of them would survive.
Wang Jie abruptly stopped, turning back to face Kui Yan. “Go!”
Jin Chu froze.
Wang Jie charged at Kui Yan. The battlefield erupted once more, magma cascading like waterfalls around them.
He wasn’t sacrificing himself. Nor was he a hero.
Simply put, he was the only one who could hold Kui Yan back.
Kui Yan was already doomed, and he knew it. He sought only to drag them all down with him.
And Wang Jie had no choice but to risk it all.
“KUI YAN!!”
“HUMAN!!”
Two titanic forces collided, hastening the world’s demise.
Jin Chu and Wu Mian boarded the ship, instantly activating its systems.
“Where’s Xuan?!”
They turned—and saw him, blocking another Full Star Realm warrior of Gong Nation—one they had completely overlooked. He had nearly reached the ship.
Had Xuan not intervened, the ship would have been destroyed.
“GO!”
Without hesitation, they ignited the ship’s thrusters, hurtling toward the depths of space—leaving the dying world behind.
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