Chapter 075
Chapter 75: The Ultimate Goal
Wang Jie stared blankly at the green sprouts.
It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?
Why, of all things, did Silver Radiance Art sprout? Is it because Silver Radiance Force is mimicking the Silver Radiance Art?
From the first Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger to the recent Silver Radiance Art, there are two striking similarities. First, both are lower-level techniques that give rise to higher-level techniques—this is normal and expected. Second, both were lost arts.
Wang Jie looked toward the Sword Step. If this too is a lost art, it would be interesting—it would mean that all the techniques he’s created are lost martial arts, hidden away from the world.
With a sense of anticipation, he looked at the three green sprouts.
No matter what, Silver Radiance Art was here now.
The problem, though, was the materials.
He glanced at the creators of the techniques.
The first material was easy—just find three Star Force practitioners and discard their techniques. But that wasn’t so simple. Most practitioners with techniques were Star Force cultivators, and finding three of them to ruin their techniques wouldn’t be easy. Moreover, why would anyone willingly discard their technique? And Silver Radiance Empire didn’t have many Star Force practitioners to begin with.
The most troublesome part was the first material.
Look at the creators?
The creators, as the name suggested, were the ones who created the techniques—Silver Radiance Art, in this case.
But the founder of Silver Radiance Art had been dead for many years. How could one simply “look at” the creator? Look at a grave? Or look at a corpse?
Wang Jie silently left his residence at Accompanying Lake and walked to the bustling heart of the capital city. This was his first time shopping, and oddly enough, it was for materials.
By the way, where was the road?
Where were the streets?
All around, flying vehicles buzzed through the air. There were pedestrians, but they were walking on suspended air, not actually on the ground. Was this the future?
He shook his head and decided to change planets.
Soon, Wang Jie returned to Accompanying Lake. The first material was solved. He noticed that some materials always had one or two odd but easy-to-complete tasks, while others were far more difficult.
Opening a holographic display, he searched for more information.
Cheng Qian brought over a drink. “Lord, is there any more information you’d like me to find? I can assist.”
Wang Jie waved him away. He was searching for information on Silver Radiance Empire’s ancestral tomb.
“Look at the creator?” What he needed to see was the skeletal remains. Whether it was a corpse or a living person didn’t matter—he just had to “see” it, not necessarily interact with it.
But he couldn’t let Cheng Qian know he was looking into the Silver Radiance Empire’s imperial tomb. That would surely raise suspicion.
Not long later, he discovered it wasn’t just an ancestral tomb, but the Imperial Mausoleum, located deep in the mountains outside the capital.
Wang Jie was about to go, but then paused, feeling guilty. There was a sense of wrongness about it. He had decided to compensate in some way.
First, he would solve the second material.
The solution came to him. Destroying someone’s technique didn’t necessarily mean finding a specific person—it could be as simple as letting someone cultivate and then destroy it.
He boarded a spaceship and headed to a nearby planet, where he found three aggressive Lock Force practitioners. He forced them to cultivate Silver Radiance Force.
The three thought they had stumbled upon a good opportunity and quickly kneeled, thanking him for the chance to cultivate.
After more than ten days of arduous training, they barely made any progress.
Wang Jie observed their weak entry into the technique and promptly destroyed their abilities. This solved the second material.
He returned to the capital and, under the cover of night, made his way to the Imperial Mausoleum outside the city.
The mausoleum had no real guards—it didn’t need any. It was so close to the capital that no one dared desecrate it, and there was nothing of real value inside. The Silver Radiance Empire didn’t bury extravagant items with the dead.
Wang Jie slipped past the guards and ventured deep into the mausoleum. With a feeling of guilt, he dug into the earth and uncovered a set of skeletal remains.
“Don’t mind me,” he murmured, “I know it’s a terrible thing to disturb your rest. But it’s for the materials. Thank you. Thank you for your understanding.”
He paid his respects sincerely, and the scenery around him changed. Light gathered around the three green sprouts in the field, and Silver Radiance Art was implanted in his mind.
A moment later, he opened his eyes. Was this Silver Radiance Art? It was far superior to Silver Radiance Force. It wasn’t even the same technique.
He exhaled deeply and carved Silver Radiance Art into the earth beneath the mausoleum as a form of compensation, before leaving.
Back at Accompanying Lake residence, he began practicing Silver Radiance Art immediately.
Cultivating techniques was very different from martial arts, but thanks to the sprouted techniques, he didn’t need to train them. He simply needed to familiarize himself with the motions.
By morning, he opened his eyes. The sunlight shimmered over the lake.
Wang Jie took out his Cataclysm Materials and used Silver Radiance Art to absorb imprint power. In an instant, he felt different. His speed was even approaching the effect of his usual exercises. This was the power of Silver Radiance Art?
He had always relied on his training routines to increase his strength, absorb more imprint power, and heal his injuries.
Now, for the first time, he had achieved the effect without the exercises.
If he did continue with the exercises, who knew how much faster it would go?
The most important part was that Silver Radiance Art allowed the imprint power to stick to his seal like paper. Though it was silver, it would slowly fade over time, eventually turning a light black.
This technique could indeed make the ten seals turn light black.
The value was enormous.
Wang Jie took a deep breath. Finally, his deeds hadn’t been in vain.
Meanwhile, the capital was in an uproar. The news that the Imperial Mausoleum had been disturbed spread quickly. Jun Hua’s face turned ashen as she hurried to the mausoleum.
Who would dare disturb the Imperial Mausoleum?
Who would do such a thing?
Her first thought was that it must have been someone from Frost Radiance Sect. Apart from Jin Chu and Man Man, many people from Frost Radiance Sect had secretly arrived in the capital recently, preparing for the upcoming war.
Everyone from Silver Radiance Empire knew that the mausoleum contained nothing of value. It was impossible for them to risk opening it—only outsiders would do such a thing.
With this in mind, she arrived at the Imperial Mausoleum.
Not long after, the mausoleum was sealed off, and the incident was quickly suppressed, with no further public discussion.
No one knew what had happened inside the mausoleum.
They only knew that when Jun Hua emerged, her face was completely calm—neither sad nor happy.
Back at Accompanying Lake residence, Wang Jie heard the news and looked toward the mausoleum. He figured he had at least done right by the Silver Radiance Empire. Instead of disrespecting the Imperial Mausoleum, the return of Silver Radiance Art would surely bring more joy.
Now, it was time to continue cultivating.
Standing in the field, Wang Jie performed Silver Radiance Art. Under his feet, five sprouts began to grow. Like the Starry Finger, five sprouts.
Five sprouts? He thought it might be a bit difficult to harvest this time.
With anticipation, he touched the sprouts.
Silver Radiance Art could deepen the ten seals to a light black, and from what he understood, the deepest color in the universe’s ten seals was pure black. Without a doubt, Shu Mu Night was at this level.
Only the pure black ten seals could destroy thirteen stars in one strike when breaking through the Star Breaking Realm.
Could it be that the techniques he would create after Silver Radiance Art would allow him to reach the pure black level?
He let go of the sprouts.
Wang Jie frowned. Mourning Water Art—this would be the next technique to grow.
The materials needed included ten Star Artifacts, erecting a monument for someone, killing five Star Breaking Realm experts, delivering a gift, and traveling twenty times the distance he had already covered.
He recalled the five materials.
The rest was straightforward, but killing five Star Breaking Realm experts and covering that distance would be difficult.
He had already traveled quite far—from Blue Star to Silver Radiance Empire’s capital, to the Slaughter Stone Planet, back to the capital, and then to help Mu Ran with his digging tasks. The total distance was not short.
Twenty times that distance? That would be even more troublesome.
And killing five Star Breaking Realm experts—those were not easy targets.
Wang Jie exhaled. He was being pushed to the brink of exhaustion.
He could give up, but that would mean giving up Mourning Water Art, giving up the path to pure black seals, giving up Shu Mu Night.
He slowly walked to the lakeside, sitting down and watching the fish leap from the water. Would he give up?
He thought back to the desperate scenes on Blue Star—the blood-soaked altar, the final battles. Unwillingness. Why had he left? Only for the bracer’s master? No, he wanted to face Shu Mu Night again. He wanted to defeat him in front of the countless civilizations of the universe.
He wanted Shu Mu Night to know that some debts must be repaid—sooner or later.
He could never give up.
He had to push himself to the limit.
…
In the Star Fusion Center, Wang Jie was at the largest one in the capital. He was here to withdraw money—money that belonged to the group who had been killed on Slaughter Stone Planet.
They had stored their funds in the Star Fusion Center. It seemed that Jun Tang had been in too much of a hurry to take it, but it worked out for Wang Jie.
Just as he was about to withdraw the money, however, he was being watched.
A staff member discreetly reported the situation to the capital’s defense team, and soon a group of people started keeping an eye on him from a distance.
“Finally showing up. This time, we’ll catch him,” a man, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, hissed as he watched Wang Jie.
Someone beside him seemed anxious. “Captain, didn’t we cancel the bounty?”
“Cancel my ass! These kinds of tricks… those who try to act arrogant, we’ve seen enough. It’s just a bunch of false reports from above. I’ll catch the real one and deliver him to the emperor. That’s where these bastards will end up.”
“But I heard that group is tough to handle, otherwise, why would Accompanying Lake hire them?”
“Hmph, whether we catch them or not doesn’t matter. The important thing is to make sure it looks real. The reports from above are all fake.”
“I understand, Captain. Then I wish you success.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Get moving. No screw-ups, or no one’s going to get out of this alive.”
Wang Jie, sensing the watchful eyes on him, remained calm. He was used to death struggles after years of experience. His sharp senses detected their movements.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye. One, two… Wait, there were so many. What was going on?
Was he being targeted?
He had no enemies in Silver Radiance Empire. Was it because of his help with Mu Ran? But as long as he stayed within the capital, there was no need for so many to watch him.
Although puzzled, Wang Jie wasn’t afraid.
He successfully withdrew a large sum of money and left the Star Fusion Center, heading toward the other side of the street.
He had come here because directly across was the largest Lock Force materials trading house in the capital.
He still preferred calling them Cataclysm Materials.
For any planet where Slaughter Stone fell, it was a disaster. Cataclysm Materials was a far more fitting name.
He thought something might happen after leaving the Star Fusion Center, but the people outside continued to watch him, doing nothing else.
Wang Jie ignored it and entered the trading house, where a sweet-faced young girl greeted him.
“Welcome, customer. What would you like to see?”