Chapter 025

Chapter 25: The Dead End

Wang Jie instinctively stepped forward, his foot tracing the movements of the Armor Eight Steps. A flying dagger whizzed past his head, grazing his scalp before embedding itself into the wall, leaving a small hole in its wake.

His eyes turned left, focusing on the figure retreating rapidly into the distance.

Trying to escape?

He moved swiftly, stepping out in one stride, his hand raised. Luo Xuan Finger.

A spiral qi force shot out, crossing a great distance and slamming towards the figure.

The person dodged, but the ground shattered beneath the force, creating an enormous, unmeasurable crater.

Wang Jie continued firing Luo Xuan Fingers, but the person ducked into an alley, thinking they had found safety. Yet, they were struck in the thigh by another Luo Xuan Finger shot across the air, their body slamming to the ground with a sickening thud.

They turned their head, but the wall was intact—no combat technique. What was that?

Wang Jie’s figure appeared once more, and another finger shot out. The person gritted their teeth, throwing another flying dagger. The dagger contained immense imprint power, eight seals boiling with energy, crashing against the force of the finger.

A missed strike.

The flying dagger pierced through the finger’s energy and shot towards Wang Jie.

But Wang Jie simply raised his hand to catch it. The dagger’s immense strength couldn’t penetrate his grip. With a sudden shift, Wang Jie’s spiral qi force landed on the man’s body, tearing through his second leg. The man howled in pain as he collapsed into a pool of blood.

Looking at the flying dagger in his hand, Wang Jie muttered to himself, “One of the Five Extremes of the Three Gods… Li Xiang from Tianfu Base.”

Li Xiang lay on the ground, panting heavily, his legs numb and immobile. He stared at Wang Jie from a distance, unable to comprehend. “How could you catch my flying dagger with your bare hands?”

Wang Jie hadn’t expected his power to be so overwhelming. It must have been the result of his recent training.

That was Li Xiang’s full-strength attack. Both were at the eight-seal level, yet Li Xiang’s strike was caught effortlessly, as if it posed no threat at all. In fact, Wang Jie had intended to dodge it when the spiral qi force redirected the flying dagger.

Now, the shock was even greater.

“Why attempt to assassinate me?” Wang Jie grasped the dagger tightly, his gaze never leaving Li Xiang.

Li Xiang gave a bitter smile. “It’s pointless to talk. If you want to kill me, then do it.”

“Because of Zuo Tian?” The Broken Blade Hunting Team operated out of Tianfu Base, and Zuo Tian was closely connected with Li Xiang.

Li Xiang glared at Wang Jie. “Only Zuo Tian can lead everyone to survive the apocalypse. You tried to assassinate him two years ago and haven’t given up. I can’t rest easy if I don’t kill you.”

“Did Zuo Tian send you?” Wang Jie inquired further.

“My task was to protect Tang Jie, but the two trial takers who were supposed to assassinate her were after you, and I happened to be searching for you as well. Life is unpredictable.”

A distant rumble reached them—coming from Bai Yuan’s direction.

This night was truly far from peaceful.

The trial takers hadn’t intended to cooperate with the people of Blue Star. Their goal was clear: to control the bases and monopolize all the cataclysm materials.

Li Xiang had secretly arrived, meaning Zuo Tian was likely nearby as well.

This battle had turned in the trial takers’ favor.

Wang Jie captured Li Xiang and brought him back to his residence, deciding to deal with things tomorrow. He had also seized the items from Li Xiang’s trial taker ring, but they seemed unimportant—these two trial takers were of no high rank.

As a ray of sunlight touched the earth, a new day began.

The Leading Pillar Group’s branch was surrounded. Over a thousand cultivators, led by Bai Yuan, stood quietly, waiting.

Soon after, Wang Jie stepped out.

Bai Yuan turned his gaze toward him. “For the sake of the base’s safety, let Wen Zhao move to another location.”

Wang Jie replied coolly, “She didn’t leave last night.”

Bai Yuan, hands behind his back, appeared somewhat languid. “I know. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have survived until now.”

His confidence was palpable, but Bai Yuan had every right to speak that way.

Wen Zhao didn’t even refute him.

Despite her own strength, surpassing all the trial takers, she didn’t believe she could break out of Upper Capital City.

“Don’t worry. We won’t harm her.” Bai Yuan continued.

Wang Jie asked, “What about Qi Five?”

“He left before last night. He ran faster than anyone.” Bai Yuan answered.

“And Zuo Tian?”

“What about him?”

“Don’t play dumb. You don’t know anything about me and him?”

Bai Yuan sighed, “That’s your business. Now, please have Wen Zhao relocate. She is the only trial taker we have in Upper Capital City. We want to analyze her powers.”

Li Xiang was dragged out by Old Five, still in front of Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan stared, surprised. He hadn’t expected Li Xiang to be here. No wonder they hadn’t found him until now.

“What’s he doing here?”

Wang Jie’s tone was cold. “He attempted to assassinate me.” With that, he pulled out the flying dagger and casually flicked it, sending it through the same hole Li Xiang’s dagger had created in the wall the night before.

Bai Yuan saw the movement and fixed his gaze on Li Xiang.

Li Xiang closed his eyes, remaining silent.

“This has nothing to do with Zuo Tian.” Bai Yuan seemed laid-back but immediately saw through the situation.

Wang Jie retorted, “Why should I trust you?”

“What do you want?”

“Wen Zhao stays under my watch. She won’t harm Upper Capital City. You can continue analyzing her powers. If you disagree, I’ll go find Zuo Tian and see if I can kill him this time.” As he spoke, his fingers moved, his eight seals surging with power. Behind him, Old Five and the others emerged.

Outside the Leading Pillar Group’s perimeter, a group of cultivators moved forward.

Bai Yuan frowned, the situation now growing complicated.

Without Hong Jian’s intel, he would have acted decisively, but now…

He turned back to look at Li Xiang. Both were part of the Five Extremes, yet Li Xiang had his legs shattered, while Wang Jie remained unharmed—his power was inscrutable.

With Old Five and the others backing Wang Jie, and Wen Zhao not to be underestimated, this group’s strength far surpassed the trial takers Wang Jie had killed the previous night.

In the end, Bai Yuan agreed to Wang Jie’s terms. Wen Zhao would stay under Wang Jie’s watch, but the outer perimeter would be heavily monitored by cultivators. Tang Jie would stay in the house next door to them.

As for Li Xiang, he was dead.

Wang Jie could not let him live. He was too extreme, seeking to eliminate anyone who threatened Zuo Tian—Wang Jie being the primary target.

And this matter was beyond Bai Yuan’s control. The deal with Wang Jie was only to keep him from looking for Zuo Tian for now.

“Zuo Tian hasn’t arrived.” Old Nine spoke with a low voice.

Wang Jie glanced outside. Though they were not restricted, their movements were near limited, unless they went into the wilderness. Of course, Wen Zhao could not leave, as she was still being analyzed.

From Blue Star’s perspective, Wang Jie wanted Wen Zhao’s powers analyzed. So, he wasn’t keen on clashing with Bai Yuan. His primary reason for protecting her was because some of the things Bai Yuan’s group could control, Wen Zhao herself would never know.

“Thank you.” Wen Zhao expressed her gratitude to Wang Jie.

Wang Jie replied, “I’m not helping you, I’m keeping my promise. After all, we’re still working together.”

Wen Zhao sat on the sofa. “There are powerful enemies outside, and hidden dangers within. Yet, you still wish to protect me? That’s unexpected. Wang Jie, what do you want to gain from me? Don’t tell me it’s cooperation. Killing Zuo Tian—whether I’m here or not, it doesn’t matter. Now, I can’t help you.”

Old Five and the others exchanged glances and silently left.

Some things were for the boss to handle. But the boss knew, and so did they.

Wang Jie sat across from Wen Zhao and directly asked, “How can Blue Star people escape their status as battle slaves?”

Wen Zhao gave him a knowing smile. “I had a feeling you’d ask that. What, Bai Yuan and the others don’t trust the trial takers, but you trust me?”

Wang Jie remained silent, staring at her.

If Wen Zhao were controlled by Bai Yuan’s group, her pride wouldn’t have allowed her to say this.

Wen Zhao nodded. “Since you still wish to help me, I’ll tell you. What the trial takers said is all lies. There’s no quota. Their trial only gets them into Armor One Sect as outer disciples. There’s no chance of breaking free from being a battle slave for an outer disciple. Even if their backgrounds were special.”

She looked at Wang Jie seriously. “To free Blue Star from the status of battle slaves, there’s only one way—fight.”

Wang Jie raised an eyebrow. “Fight?”

Wen Zhao nodded. “Yes, fight. Fight until Armor One Sect acknowledges you. Fight until powerful forces beyond this universe acknowledge you and are willing to protect Blue Star. That’s the only way. But it’s the hardest way. Because for Armor One Sect, even an inner disciple would easily accomplish this.”

Wang Jie’s brows furrowed. “But inner disciples from Armor One Sect must be stronger than ten-seal cultivators. I’ve beaten all the trial takers of the same level.”

Wen Zhao’s eyes showed sympathy. “Because you cultivate lock force. No matter how talented you are, you can’t see the future. To the sect, you’re not worth the cost, even if you’re a battle slave who’s expendable.”

“Also, what you just said is Armor One Sect’s requirement for all trial takers.”

“Every time the sect recruits, there are many trial grounds like Blue Star. Among them, there are prodigies who can suppress all the trial takers. Most recruits are these prodigies.”

She continued. “And you have no idea how terrifying some of the strong beings in the universe are. Those famous experts, when you’re at the same eight-seal level, might be able to kill you with one strike.”

Wang Jie’s pupils contracted in disbelief.

Wen Zhao added, “Don’t doubt it. My own talent is average. You couldn’t even astonish me. Let alone compare with those terrifying figures.”

“So, Blue Star’s future is doomed to become cannon fodder?” Wang Jie’s voice was heavy.

Wen Zhao didn’t answer. Since Blue Star was chosen as a trial ground, this was inevitable—no one could change it.

Her answer soon reached Bai Yuan and the others.

Upper Capital City was under martial law, fully on guard against trial takers.

Bai Yuan and the others made their stance clear: enemies with all trial takers.

Cooperation? The quotas? All lies. Even the Upper Capital City conference was canceled. Trial takers would never respect Blue Star people. To them, Blue Star people were nothing but battle slaves.

“Attention all bases, attention all bases,” Bai Yuan announced.

“I am Bai Yuan.”

“Zuo Tian.”

“Tang Jie.”

“Hong Jian.”

“Lian Qin.”

“Do not cooperate with any trial takers. Do not trust any trial taker’s words. I, Blue Star, have endured ten years under Li Mo’s reign, losing countless comrades along the way. We’ve given everything to survive, but that doesn’t mean we must give up our dignity.”

“This is our only remaining pride.”

“Whether battle slaves or cannon fodder, if we can’t escape fate, we will punch fate right back. We will resist all trial takers and show the high, alien civilizations the spirit of Blue Star’s people.”

“From now on, we will show no mercy to any trial takers.”