Chapter 031
Chapter 31: Power Rules All
“I swore not to speak that person’s name,” Wen Zhao hastily said, seeing Insect Ruo Ruo on the verge of exploding. “But I can describe their features, and you’ll surely guess who it is.”
Insect Ruo Ruo waved her hand impatiently, the centipede continuing its approach toward the center of the lake. “Stop wasting my time, speak now, or you’ll regret it.”
Wen Zhao raised her sword. “Do you think I’m afraid of death? Or do you truly dare to kill me? Little insect, this is your one chance. Once we leave this trial ground, you’ll only hear about Xiao Hui’s heart at their wedding.”
Insect Ruo Ruo abruptly stopped the insect tide. “Fine, speak,” she snapped.
Wen Zhao looked seriously at Insect Ruo Ruo, contemplating her words.
Meanwhile, Wang Jie was deeply focused on his internal energy, oblivious to their conversation. The seal power had indeed transformed, all converging into pure strength. Despite absorbing so many cataclysm materials, he was on the verge of breaking through to the Ninth Seal, yet nothing felt different compared to before his encounter with Insect Ruo Ruo.
But the increase in power was still impressive.
After a moment, he opened his eyes. “I’m ready.”
Wen Zhao glanced at him briefly before looking forward. “Your legs are whiter than yours.”
Insect Ruo Ruo blinked, stunned.
Wang Jie stared at Wen Zhao, utterly confused. What was going on? Why was there such an outrageous comment?
Insect Ruo Ruo, finally understanding, shrieked in fury, “You deceitful woman! I’ll kill you! Kill you~~”
“It’s your turn,” Wang Jie said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He stepped forward, where the centipede was drawing closer, its massive body casting a shadow overhead, a terrifying Eight-Seal insect. It was impossible to tell what kind of insect had evolved into such a beast.
Wen Zhao frowned. “Let’s move for now.”
Wang Jie smiled at her. “No need. Right now, it’s her that needs to run. You should break through first.”
Wen Zhao looked at Wang Jie deeply but said nothing more, instead taking out the cataclysm materials to absorb the seal power.
She knew Wang Jie wasn’t someone who made idle threats.
“You wretched woman, you vile man, you’re both dead! I’m going to slaughter you!” Insect Ruo Ruo screamed, her fury growing by the second.
Wang Jie stretched his arms and looked up at the sky projection, taking in the scene around him. The lake surface was filled with dead fish, the water boiling from the carnage between the fish and insects. Above him, the Eight-Seal insect was descending.
Boom!
Wang Jie slammed his fist upward, unleashing eight times the strength of his previous breakthrough. One punch shattered the Eight-Seal insect into pieces.
Wen Zhao was stunned. The power had grown once more.
Eight times.
The increase was extraordinary.
Even without the multiplier, Wang Jie’s punch would have been enough to obliterate an ordinary Eight-Seal beast. Now, with eight times the strength, he couldn’t even gauge how powerful he had become.
The impact of his punch startled the centipede.
The centipede reared up, letting out a warning hiss.
Wang Jie looked at the sky projection, lost in thought. “When I was a child, Dean only took us to see a movie once. It’s been ten years, and I still think of the sky projection as a movie. There were many people, many actions, all memorable. But some moves were so stylish, they felt impractical, while others were too simple and brute-force. Still, they weren’t useful either.”
“But now, it seems I can use some of them.”
“After all, it looks like I’ve walked the path of power ruling all.”
Under Insect Ruo Ruo’s command, the centipede charged at Wang Jie, flames of forest green fire erupting around it, creating an intense chill that froze the lake surface.
Wang Jie stepped back with his right foot, turning his body sideways. He raised his arms, curling his fingers, about to meet each hand in the middle, but stopped halfway, instead trapping a visible, distorted air in his hands, rotating it slowly and then spinning it in reverse.
The movement was slow, but the air between his palms grew increasingly condensed, like compressed air, or perhaps a force.
As the seal power around his arms surged, Wang Jie suddenly looked up, facing the charging centipede, and forcefully released the air between his palms.
The air exploded outward, forming a circle, and with the boost of his strength, it collided with the centipede.
Boom!
The ground caved in, the lake water swirled backward. A terrifying shockwave blasted outward, sending countless insects and fish flying, and the forest-green flames that had frozen the lake were instantly extinguished.
Wen Zhao, who had been preparing to break through, was blown back by the suffocating air. She stared in surprise at the unfolding scene.
From high above, centered on Wang Jie, a gale swept across the area, churning the lake and sending the centipede’s upper half flying, crashing into the lake below.
Insect Ruo Ruo gaped, stunned. What was this? There was no lock force, yet the impact was so massive?
Armor One Sect had countless battle techniques, passed down through generations. Many of these techniques had been lost—not because they were too powerful to practice, but because they were unnecessary. Like this move, without Wang Jie’s strength and the seal power amplifying it, the technique wouldn’t have had such an effect.
In fact, this move wasn’t particularly lethal, but it was perfect for Wang Jie. It allowed him to harness his strength while clearing the area.
The centipede crashed into the lake, triggering another giant wave.
Wang Jie lowered his arms, feeling the release of pent-up frustration. It was like all the tension he’d been holding in finally had a chance to burst free.
The lake water was sent soaring into the sky, like a rainstorm falling back down, drenching both Wang Jie and Insect Ruo Ruo.
Wang Jie looked at Insect Ruo Ruo in the distance, then took a step forward and charged at her.
Seeing Wang Jie coming, Insect Ruo Ruo screamed and immediately turned to run. Insects swarmed around, recklessly trying to block his path, but Wang Jie cleared them away with sheer force.
His strength only required a slight push from the seal power to be overwhelming.
Several Eight-Seal insects were instantly obliterated.
The giant centipede crawled from the lakebed, rapidly making its way toward Wang Jie.
Insect Ruo Ruo, meanwhile, ran toward the centipede, leaving behind a trail of afterimages that dazzled Wang Jie. It wasn’t the Armor Eight Steps, but the speed was much faster than the steps Wang Jie had learned. The Heavenly Insect People truly had a unique ability when it came to running.
Wang Jie stood his ground, preparing to face the centipede head-on.
No more holding back.
The previous strike had pushed the centipede back, but it hadn’t done any real damage. Its defenses were formidable. So, Wang Jie snapped his fingers.
Far in the center of the lake, Wen Zhao’s eyes widened in realization. It was that move.
Above, a massive finger pierced the clouds and descended. The ground cracked open, and another finger appeared.
Insect Ruo Ruo stared, dazed. What was this?
Far away, at Upper Capital City, many cultivators watching from the city walls were shaken. Was this a battle technique?
“It’s the boss,” Qing Zheng and the others, watching from the walls, immediately felt alarmed. Seeing this, they knew it meant trouble.
Tang Jie was stunned. Was this a battle technique?
The Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger, one above, one below, pressed the giant centipede against the fingertip. With a soft snap, cracks appeared all over the centipede’s body, and then it shattered into pieces, its green blood spilling into the sky.
Insect Ruo Ruo was drenched in green.
She watched in shock. As a Heavenly Insect person, she had seen many powerful moves, even techniques capable of crushing planets. But those were not moves one could execute at the Eight-Seal level.
Such power at the Eight-Seal level?
Looking at the green blood falling, Wang Jie’s figure seemed to blur in her mind. Could the person they encountered earlier block this move?
Wang Jie, for his part, hadn’t expected the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger to instantly kill the centipede.
After all, this technique hadn’t even been enough to defeat Wen Zhao before; it had only forced her to retreat.
The increase in strength had made him stronger in every aspect. The Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger had truly undergone a transformation.
If he hadn’t been at eight times his previous strength, this strike might still not have been enough to kill the centipede.
The surrounding insects retreated.
Wang Jie stepped onto the earth soaked in green blood, slowly advancing toward Insect Ruo Ruo.
In the center of the lake, Wen Zhao exhaled, relieved. It seemed she wouldn’t need to help anymore. She could finally focus on breaking through to the Ninth Seal.
Wang Jie approached Insect Ruo Ruo, his gaze unwavering. He looked at the young girl drenched in green blood, then raised his hand.
A slap fell.
Insect Ruo Ruo instinctively tried to dodge.
Wang Jie’s slap stopped just before it made contact.
She peeked cautiously from behind her arm.
Wang Jie flicked her forehead with his finger. Insect Ruo Ruo winced in pain, stumbling back a few steps, glaring at him in displeasure.
“If you ever cause me trouble again, it won’t be this simple, you little lass.”
If she hadn’t shown mercy, Wang Jie wouldn’t have let her off so easily. As for the revenge of the Heavenly Insect people, he hadn’t thought about it much—that would be a matter for later. Of course, letting her go wasn’t so simple. There had to be a cost.
Insect Ruo Ruo huffed, wiping the green blood off her body. She jumped into the lake to wash off the filth.
Wang Jie began searching for cataclysm materials. There were plenty around.
“Hey, you weren’t spying on me, were you?” Insect Ruo Ruo warned.
Wang Jie carefully searched the ground. “What’s there to look at? Small chest, small butt.”
Insect Ruo Ruo’s face turned red with anger, but she held her tongue, controlling the insects to guard the area and fend off any mutated creatures in the lake. She quietly took a bath.
Soon, she emerged, dressed in clothes from her storage ring.
Meanwhile, Wen Zhao had broken through to the Ninth Seal, her aura now fierce and formidable.
Wang Jie gathered all the nearby cataclysm materials. The most valuable was a dark green pearl from the centipede. Inside it, green flames flickered.
He could feel the immense seal power contained within the pearl.
“You broke through to the Ninth Seal?” Insect Ruo Ruo glanced at Wen Zhao.
Wen Zhao replied, “What? Want to give it a try?”
Insect Ruo Ruo snorted. “Without that vile man, you would’ve been captured by me long ago.”
Wen Zhao couldn’t argue. In this trial, the Heavenly Insect people were nearly invincible. “Well, at least I have charisma. Why can’t you find a man to help you?”
Insect Ruo Ruo ground her teeth. This hateful woman was so sharp-tongued.
“Always flirting around. Brother Xiao would never like you.”
Wen Zhao sighed, “I already told you, it’s not about him.”
Insect Ruo Ruo relaxed, realizing this was the truth.
Wang Jie’s voice came from the distance. “That lass.”
Insect Ruo Ruo turned.
“Give me all your cataclysm materials.”
“Why?”
“Because I let you go.”
“You vile man. If you had the guts, don’t let me go and see what happens?”
Wang Jie raised an eyebrow, his gaze turning dangerous.
Insect Ruo Ruo was terrified. She glared at him, stubbornly asking, “What do you want?”
“For someone about to become a slave and die on the interstellar battlefield, what is there that I wouldn’t dare do?” Wang Jie said slowly.
Insect Ruo Ruo blinked, then quietly threw all her cataclysm materials onto the ground from her storage ring.
There were many. So many, that both Wang Jie and Wen Zhao were stunned.