Chapter 065
Chapter 65: The Universe is Vast
“How many now?”
“Twenty-three, continue.”
Jun Tang squinted his eyes. Why must he always step on faces?
Bian Qi gripped his mining spade and swung it, the spade’s shadow flying through the air, clearly a martial application of the weapon. Wang Jie moved swiftly, capturing his finger amidst the spade’s shadow, pressing it onto the handle, then twisting and tossing Bian Qi into the air. As Bian Qi was hurled, Wang Jie swiftly turned and sent him flying in another direction.
Outside the mining pit, everyone stood frozen, watching in disbelief as Wang Jie effortlessly tossed Bian Qi around like garbage. They were all stunned.
Is this person really this strong?
Bian Qi felt the world spin as his body was dragged forcefully, crashing hard onto the ground, nearly losing consciousness.
Wang Jie casually tossed the mineral he was holding, aiming it directly at Jun Tang.
Jun Tang remained seated, unmoved. The mineral zipped past his ear, embedding itself into the gray stone wall behind him with a spark.
This is a provocation.
Jun Tang’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Wang Jie, his eyes then shifting to the people outside the mining pit.
No one moved.
The people outside simply watched, neither intervening nor assisting, as if nothing had happened.
Wang Jie was surprised. They’re not reacting? This is odd.
He took a step toward Jun Tang.
Bian Qi, startled, struggled to get up. “Do you know who this—” Before he could finish, Wang Jie slapped him away and continued walking forward.
As he walked, he observed the reactions of the people outside.
It was clear they were nervous, yet still did nothing, until Wang Jie sat beside Jun Tang. He raised his hand, placing it on Jun Tang’s shoulder, all eyes on him. “I heard you rebelled?”
The mining pit fell completely silent.
Everyone stared, their expressions dazed.
Jun Tang was no different. He had never experienced such a thing before.
This person… his hand is on my shoulder?
It was an act of defiance.
He suppressed his anger, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. “Who are you?”
Wang Jie grinned. “Nothing worth mentioning, just a humble fellow. Tell me, who did you rebel against? Your father? Your second grandfather? Or your third uncle?”
Bian Qi tried to move but was stopped by Jun Tang.
He looked at Wang Jie. “I rebelled against my little sister.”
Wang Jie raised an eyebrow. “Rebelled against your sister?”
Jun Tang’s gaze turned cold, a trace of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
Wang Jie, who had grown up in an environment filled with slaughter, was extremely sensitive to killing intent. Jun Tang had the intent to kill him.
Immediately, Wang Jie changed the subject. “How did your sister become emperor? You seem like a good match, handsome and with good manners.”
Jun Tang’s reply was indifferent. “It’s none of your business.”
Wang Jie patted Jun Tang’s shoulder firmly, making Jun Tang feel more and more uncomfortable. “Don’t be like that. We’re comrades in arms here, stuck in this godforsaken place together. Be a little more friendly.”
From a distance, Bian Qi glared at him.
Jun Tang stared at Wang Jie, his eyes filled with coldness and resistance.
At this moment, the workers from outside the mining pit entered, signaling the end of the day’s work.
Watching Wang Jie walk ahead, Bian Qi stood behind Jun Tang. “I failed, lord. I couldn’t stop him. Please forgive me.”
Jun Tang’s voice was icy. “No matter where they come from, there will always be some geniuses. He cultivates in lock force, doesn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“After this is over, kill him.”
“Understood. But those people—how could they not stop him from approaching the lord? They should die too.”
Jun Tang responded coldly. “I told them not to interfere. No matter what happens here, they must not act. How do you know this person isn’t sent by that wretched woman to test me?”
Bian Qi immediately acknowledged, “Yes, lord. I understand. We’ll hold back, no matter what.”
The dim planet, the barren mining pit, and the strange insects crawling across the ground. Wang Jie had expected a hard life here. On his first day, he’d been observing the atmosphere, gauging if anyone here was stronger than him.
But after beating up Bian Qi and the others, life had turned unexpectedly easier.
Not only did no one demand minerals from him, but he could sit next to Jun Tang, watching others mine, and had practically become the second-in-command of the pit.
“You failed in rebellion, and yet these miners still show you such respect. Isn’t that strange? Shouldn’t those who fail at rebellion be executed?” Wang Jie mused.
Jun Tang’s response was calm, “My little sister has been training at Frost Radiance Sect. I am the rightful heir of the Silver Radiance Empire. Had it not been for the alliance with Frost Radiance Sect, my father, the emperor, would never have passed the throne to her.”
“Oh, so the empire’s loyalty is still with you?” Wang Jie asked.
Jun Tang didn’t answer, merely took a sip of water.
Wang Jie seized the opportunity to ask, “Tell me more about the Silver Radiance Empire.”
Jun Tang shot him a glance. “You don’t know?”
“I was passing through.”
“From where?”
“I’m the one asking you.”
Jun Tang coldly stared at him, before slowly explaining the state of the Silver Radiance Empire.
Having entered space, Wang Jie had first encountered terrifying giant beasts and then been thrown into this mining pit. His luck seemed to be running low, but now he was learning a lot from Jun Tang. He saw Jun Tang as his best source of knowledge.
He seized this opportunity to ask relentlessly.
Jun Tang grew impatient, but no matter how hard he tried to ignore Wang Jie, he couldn’t escape. The mining pit was too small, and soon enough, he found himself cornered.
He realized Wang Jie was toying with him.
Wang Jie didn’t even understand what star force and slaughter stones were.
This lowly person is so ignorant.
Meanwhile, Wang Jie sat atop the mining pit, gazing up at the Star Dome. The universe… truly vast.
He had hoped that after leaving Blue Star, he would hear news of the Armor One Sect, but to his surprise, while the Armor One Sect was known here, it was distant, and its reach was beyond comprehension. The same applied to Sincere One Dao and Three Chan Heaven.
This was the Third Nebula, Frost Radiance Star Chain, Condensed Brilliance Domain, and the Silver Radiance Empire.
Jun Tang, stripped of his right to inherit the throne in the Silver Radiance Empire, had his understanding of the universe limited to the Third Nebula. His knowledge was incomplete, and when it came to the Armor One Sect, Jun Tang had only heard of it from the other side of the cosmos. By his reckoning, the Armor One Sect was a realm beyond reach.
Armor One Sect, unattainable.
Many of the things Wang Jie had learned from Jun Tang and Wen Zhao had aligned with what he already knew—such as Heaven Stone being slaughter stone, and imprint force being lock force—but many things still didn’t match. Jun Tang knew very little, and had never even heard of the Death Realm.
Seeing the confusion in Jun Tang’s eyes, Wang Jie was sure: The position of Blue Star has shifted.
The Armor One Sect’s trial couldn’t possibly be set too far away. This place made Wang Jie feel as though he had gone from the edge to the farthest edge.
“So, mining here is just to trade slaughter stones with other factions?”
“Yes.”
“Slaughter stones can rapidly increase the number of cultivators for the battlefield?”
“Yes.”
“How many slaughter stones does the empire have?”
“Not many. One slaughter stone can bring in hundreds of thousands of lower-level cultivators or dozens of high-level ones. The emperor’s reserves didn’t exceed a hundred stones before she came back.”
So few?
Wang Jie recalled that in the early days of Blue Star, several slaughter stones had been dropped, and after the trial takers came, especially to stop Shu Mu Night, hundreds of stones had been added, like they were nothing. But here, the Silver Radiance Empire had only a little over a hundred.
One hundred slaughter stones. That’s enough to cultivate millions of cultivators, right?
Jun Tang then added, “The star battlefields are more about space battleships and weapons than cultivators.”
Wang Jie had never seen the power of space battleships firsthand, but he knew that after ten seals, a cultivator would reach the breaking star stage, capable of destroying planets. Even powerful weapons likely couldn’t destroy planets as easily.
He had learned much from Jun Tang today, and at the end of the mining shift, he made sure to thank him.
Jun Tang was exhausted—more than when he had been running for his life. This person must die.
The place where they slept was a large room with stone beds for twenty people. Jun Tang was fortunate not to share a room with Wang Jie.
This planet had no day or night, no sun.
As Wang Jie stared out at the endless, unobstructed starry sky, he gradually drifted to sleep.
Hours later, he suddenly opened his eyes. A small black particle flew through the window and landed by his side.
He didn’t move. Lying still, he picked it up with his fingers, inspecting it. What was this? It seemed mechanical—so small, what use could it have? After thinking for a moment, he placed it to his ear.
“Wait for the opportunity to kill Jun Tang.”
The five words came through clearly.
Wang Jie’s expression hardened. It was the Old General’s voice. He would never forget it. The old man who effortlessly crushed Bian Qi, who suppressed entire warships alone. He didn’t even have the thought of resisting. The gap was too immense.
But why had he come for Wang Jie?
Is it because I beat up Bian Qi and the others? Yes, perhaps in this mining pit, no one was more suitable than him.
Kill Jun Tang?
Wang Jie fell into thought.
The next day, they were back to mining. Wang Jie continued asking Jun Tang questions about basic knowledge, and Jun Tang gradually grew accustomed to it.
“Let’s start doing…”
Wang Jie stood up, tossing aside the mineral, and began doing exercises.
Jun Tang stared blankly. What’s going on here?
The others were equally stunned.
Wang Jie finished his exercises and sat back next to Jun Tang. “So, you’re saying, a million deaths in a single battle on the star battlefield is normal?”
Jun Tang sipped his water. “Wiping out an empire is normal.”
“Are there many cosmic giant beasts?”
“Quite a few. Some of them even have their own civilizations. Some even have technology more advanced than ours.”
“Can you pilot a spaceship?”
“I can.”
“Have you learned how?”
“No need to learn, it’s common knowledge.”
“Teach me.”
“Bian Qi, teach him.”
Several days later, Wang Jie asked, “What’s the strongest person you’ve ever seen?”
Jun Tang lifted his gaze, reminiscing. “I don’t know how strong she is, but I know that just a single glance from her could freeze our space battleship, trapping it in a massive range for an entire month, no escape.”
Wang Jie’s pupils constricted.
He wasn’t sure how fast a space battleship could go, but it was undoubtedly faster than his ship. His ship had been able to travel from Blue Star to space in the blink of an eye.
A single glance—frozen?
Frost Radiance Sect?
Days passed by. During this time, Wang Jie did another round of exercises.
Jun Tang asked him about the exercises once.
Wang Jie’s answer was simple: For strengthening the body.
Jun Tang’s killing intent grew even stronger.
“Next, the mining pit will be closed for three days. Everyone can roam freely in the mine to celebrate the emperor’s coronation.”
The burly overseer loudly announced this while activating a giant holographic screen, showing the emperor’s coronation ceremony to everyone.
The miners instinctively turned their eyes toward Jun Tang.
He had failed in his rebellion.