Chapter 044

Chapter 44: The Challenge

On Blue Star, Chu Yao lay on a giant insect, looking as lifeless as if dead. After a long while, he finally lifted his head, rubbing his temple. “Shu Mu Night sure is ruthless.”

He glanced around, sat up, and let out a deep sigh. “Where is he? That Blue Star native actually managed to stand up to Shu Mu Night. Bridge building seems out of the question now, but bringing him back to the Corpse Sect could be interesting. The Star Dome might be interested in him too. Heh.”

With that, he flipped off the insect, letting the tide of creatures sweep past, and walked slowly towards the south.

Not long into his journey, he suddenly stopped, looking up to the distant Martial Hall, its image flickering in the sky. “I refuse.”

At the same moment, on the back of the flying insect, Wen Zhao spoke: “I refuse.”

Insect Ruo Ruo’s voice also rang out: “I refuse.”

Wang Jie and the others looked around, confused. Who was speaking? Refusing what?

Wen Zhao met their questioning gazes and explained, “The sect wants us to return. The trial is over for us.”

Wang Jie was taken aback. “The Armor One Sect plans to directly confront Shu Mu Night?”

Wen Zhao shook her head. “The trial is over for us, but the trial itself continues. It cannot be stopped.”

Insect Ruo Ruo added, “What this means is that we’re leaving. The trial from here on is between you Blue Star natives and Shu Mu Night. Oh, and the mutated beasts, of course.”

“What do you mean?” Qing Zheng asked.

Wen Zhao lifted her head, gazing at the sky.

One by one, fiery meteors began to streak across the sky, heading towards them. Or rather, heading towards Hua Xia.

Wang Jie observed the falling meteors.

“More trial takers?”

His voice was low, heavy. “No, it’s the heaven stones.”

His expression grew grim. In 2200, the heaven stones had fallen, destroying all of Blue Star’s conventional weapons and their production chains. Humanity had entered the cultivation era then. He had seen it with his own eyes, never to forget. And now, the same scene was unfolding once again.

But back then, there were only a few heaven stones. Now, there were far too many. One after another, the heaven stones fell like meteors, crashing down onto the earth.

Insect Ruo Ruo hurriedly guided the insect tide to avoid the falling stones.

One of the heaven stones landed nearby, sending out a tremendous shockwave that rocked the surroundings.

“What is Armor One Sect trying to do?” Wang Jie asked, eyes fixed on Wen Zhao.

Wen Zhao’s face was solemn. “They’re deliberately enhancing the strength of the mutated beasts on Blue Star, using them to deal with Shu Mu Night.”

Wang Jie’s scalp tingled as he looked up at the sky. Armor One Sect had completely abandoned any concern for the lives of Blue Star’s people.

The trial had turned into hell.

Humanity could no longer stop Shu Mu Night. Now, they were placing their hopes on mutated beasts.

So many heaven stones falling, the imprint power was expanding like never before. In a very short time, many mutated beasts would undergo metamorphosis. Even the Ten Seals would emerge in droves. Not only would the bases struggle to contain this, but could Blue Star itself even bear the burden?

It was a game of mutual destruction.

In this scenario, Shu Mu Night might not even succeed in the bridge building. However, Armor One Sect would undoubtedly lose their chance as well.

And in this grand gamble, the most tragic victims would always be the Blue Star natives.

They would be the first to fall to the claws of the mutated beasts.

“Beasts.” Old Nine gritted his teeth.

Qing Zheng stood up, furiously pointing to the sky. “Armor One Sect, you’re all beasts! You disregard the lives of Blue Star’s people. May you never have peace!”

Insect Ruo Ruo and Wen Zhao said nothing. It was the harsh truth.

Blue Star was about to descend into real hell. How many people could survive this?

Wang Jie’s eyes darkened, his voice terrifyingly cold. “Why aren’t you leaving?”

Wen Zhao herself didn’t know. It was a subconscious refusal.

Insect Ruo Ruo spoke, “I need to wait for my brother. He won’t leave. I know him.”

“Insect Ruo Ruo.”

Insect Ruo Ruo looked at Wang Jie.

“Please, help me.”

Insect Ruo Ruo and Wen Zhao exchanged a glance, and she pressed her lips together. “Alright.”

Many trial takers had already been escorted away, like Yun Lai, who left without hesitation. But many others remained. Like Wen Star Ru and the others, none had left.

At this moment, Bai Yuan was with Qi Xue Yin and Qi Five.

Qi Five’s face was filled with sorrow. “Young miss, why can’t I leave?”

Qi Xue Yin’s voice was cold as ice. “If you leave, who will serve me?”

Qi Five helplessly responded, “Then you should leave too. Shu Mu Night isn’t someone we can fight.”

Qi Xue Yin looked towards the direction of Tianfu Base. “An eight-seal cultivator, no matter how strong, has limits. I refuse to believe that limit cannot be reached.” She then turned to Qi Five. “And right now, this trial has reached its highest point. Anyone who survives this trial will receive top-tier results. Aren’t you tempted?”

“Life is more important.”

Bai Yuan’s face darkened. “The imprint power has increased, and there’s much more of it.”

Qi Five glanced at Bai Yuan and sighed. Blue Star was truly unlucky—chosen as the trial ground and as a bridge building site, and now attracting Shu Mu Night. It was hard to believe this planet wouldn’t perish.

Qi Xue Yin gazed at the sky, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Top-tier results? Who cares about Shu Mu Night? What’s truly important is that this trial has been elevated to the highest level. Star Dome will surely take notice. Shu Mu Night, the bizarrely powerful native, and the bridge building—it seems like we’ve even heard of the Death Realm. When this trial is over, whoever survives will be famous across the universe.”

In essence, she was a businesswoman.

If things went well, this could become a grand spectacle watched by countless beings from across the cosmos.

At Tianfu Base, Shu Mu Night, having failed to locate the Death Realm, silently lifted the base higher once more and headed towards Mountain City.

The next day, Wang Jie and his group arrived at Golden Hill Base.

Insect Ruo Ruo was able to gather the insect tide around Golden Hill Base. The insect tide between Golden Hill Base and Tianfu Base had already been gathered by Insect Xuan, so not much remained.

Upon reaching Golden Hill Base, the atmosphere was eerily silent. When they learned the reason, they were left speechless.

At the Mountain City sacrificial altar, the pile of corpses had reached 300 meters high.

Above a hundred meters, the bodies were stacked like a gruesome monument.

The bloodlust filled the air.

Millions had died, and Tianfu Base had been completely destroyed.

And this scene had been recorded by Shu Mu Night’s orders, then sent to the five major bases. He declared that Blue Star would be sacrificed completely.

Everyone fell into an abyss of despair under this revelation.

The bases had lost their former vitality.

Cultivation had lost its meaning. Death was the only thing left.

Wang Jie stared at the screen, where piles of corpses—lords, children—people who had been alive just yesterday—now lay lifeless, sacrificed for the sake of Shu Mu Night.

He sat at the altar, gazing eastward, not knowing what he was contemplating.

No one even had the energy for anger anymore. Only silence. A silence so profound that not a single word could be uttered.

Even the trial takers, who saw natives as less than human, found the sight uncomfortable.

Insect Ruo Ruo’s face was pale.

Wen Zhao’s face was devoid of color under the veil.

Moreover, because of the falling heaven stones, the imprint power was causing the mutated beasts to continue evolving. The safe zone around Golden Hill Base began to shrink, with various mutated beasts approaching the base.

Golden Hill Base was just the beginning. The other bases were facing the same situation.

Blue Star’s people were facing an unprecedented calamity.

The disaster had arrived.

At this moment, humans had been relegated to the lowest rung of Blue Star.

Wang Jie stepped out of Golden Hill Base, silently walking toward the danger zone. Old Five and the others followed closely behind.

Insect Ruo Ruo controlled the insect tide to help, slaughtering mutated beasts and collecting cataclysm materials.

They no longer needed the cataclysm materials. It no longer held meaning. The trial was over.

The cataclysm materials could still absorb imprint power, but they needed to be returned to the sect to dispel the imprint power within their bodies. So, when the trial lost its meaning, the materials lost their value.

Wang Jie, however, needed them. The more, the better.

Under the moonlight, he ventured alone, not joining with anyone else. It was easier for him to work alone.

The others also hunted mutated beasts, gathering materials for him.

For two full days, he killed many mutated plants. On the third day, he began his exercises.

Sixty-three times.

The increase in power was small, and he was nearing his limit.

Wang Jie was eager to break through to nine seals, but he felt it wasn’t enough. Shu Mu Night was truly standing at the edge of the ultimate limit. He possessed unmatched strength at eight seals. Even if Wang Jie broke through to nine seals, could he truly stand against him? What if Shu Mu Night also broke through?

The outcome would remain unchanged.

If he could reach the limit, why couldn’t he?

He had to continue increasing his strength.

Push it to the limit.

At Golden Hill Base, another image appeared on the screen—this time, it was Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan was seen kneeling slowly before everyone.

All who witnessed this scene were shocked.

Wang Jie stood on the second floor, gazing at the screen from afar.

“I, Bai Yuan, kneel here to plead with all the trial takers who haven’t left—please give us one more chance.”

“We are willing to slaughter mutated beasts and gather cataclysm materials for all of you.”

“We are willing to do anything for you.”

“Please, give us one more chance to deal with Shu Mu Night. Please, I beg of you.” Bai Yuan continued to bow repeatedly, the sound of his head striking the ground echoing in everyone’s ears.

At the four major bases, everyone stared at Bai Yuan’s desperate plea. The sense of hopelessness sank deep into their bones. But that plea, that unwillingness to give up, slowly began to infect everyone.

“Perhaps we may never escape the fate of being sacrifices, but even if there is only a one-in-a-billion chance, we should try.”

“All Blue Star people, listen.”

“I have not given up, and neither should you.”

“The despair we are facing now, we faced the same ten years ago. And we survived to this day.”

As he spoke, another image appeared, showing Wang Jie fighting Shu Mu Night outside Tianfu Base.

Wang Jie was taken aback. Had this been recorded?

The person who recorded it was positioned at Tianfu Base, with a different angle from the one Bai Yuan saw, but the impact was the same.

Everyone stared, stunned.

“That’s Wang Jie. I’m sure many of you know him. He’s one of us, a Blue Star native.”

“He is the one who can stand against what the trial takers cannot.”

“If that’s the case, why not give him time to grow? Before he can deal with the strongest enemy, let’s protect ourselves. Don’t let it end with him defeating the enemy, only for Blue Star to be left without anyone to speak with. How tragic would that be?”

“Everyone, we still have a chance.”

At Golden Hill Base, Grey Claw excitedly pointed at the screen. “Weed, it’s Weed! I know him.”

“It’s Weed! He’s so strong?”

“Do you remember the huge finger outside the base? That was Weed’s battle technique.”

“We still have a chance, everyone. We still have a chance!”

Feng Yu, Liang Dong, Big Beard, and others excitedly shouted, “We still have a chance! Protect the base, protect ourselves.”

“There is definitely a chance.”

“Child, we won’t die. Mother will protect you.”

“Fight against the enemy, protect yourself.”

“Protect yourself…”

Wang Jie watched as the base erupted with energy. Bai Yuan’s words had inspired many, and the entire base was now brimming with vitality.

He smiled.

The scene of him battling Shu Mu Night may have seemed helpless, but from another perspective, his actions were just as breathtaking.

From this angle, he looked rather impressive.

“Qing Zheng.”

“Boss.”

“Record this for me. I’m going to challenge Shu Mu Night.”

Qing Zheng clenched his fists in excitement. “Got it!”