Chapter 087
Chapter 87: The Woman
In the midst of the Heaven Thunder, Wang Jie swiftly grasped the essence of Armor Eight Steps. From a hundred meters, he broke through to a thousand meters. One step and he could reach any point within that range. At the same time, the Star Gazing Sword Style stirred the Heaven Thunder, with every sword qi accompanied by a strike of thunder, crashing forcefully into the colossal beast before him.
The beast was completely enveloped in Heaven Thunder, unable to dodge, letting out a mournful wail.
The largest of the beasts roared from above: “Human, we spared you! Stop!”
Wang Jie’s gaze turned icy. If not for his own strength, he would have died long ago. Spare him?
He raised his finger and pointed.
The Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger pressed down horizontally, piercing through the beast’s side. One finger struck clean through.
The beast was driven into the Heaven Thunder, and in the end, it turned to ashes.
Wang Jie didn’t spare a glance. He charged toward the one remaining beast above.
The remaining beast glared at him in hatred. Its tail lifted and shot out another arrow-like projectile. But Wang Jie easily dodged it.
Above, the beast roared: “Human, I will swallow you whole!” It opened its massive jaws and screeched.
The deafening shriek spread downward, not even the Heaven Thunder could block it.
Wang Jie’s heart sank. This was bad; it was calling for reinforcements.
With that thought, his speed increased.
The beast turned and fled, knowing that with both of its companions dead, it stood no chance alone.
Wang Jie activated Armor Eight Steps, closing in on it. Just as he was about to catch up, an indescribable chill suddenly enveloped his body. His back went cold. Slowly, he turned his head, only to see, beneath the Heaven Thunder, a beast ten times the size of the one before, charging through, its scales reflecting the thunder, letting out an ear-piercing screech.
Full Star Realm.
Wang Jie gritted his teeth and quickly headed toward a nearby building. He didn’t know if it would protect him, but this was his last hope.
However, no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t outrun a Full Star Realm beast.
The colossal creature, clad in Heaven Thunder, charged at him. Its gaze fixed on Wang Jie as one massive claw reached for him.
The enormous claw stretched out in an instant, heading straight for Wang Jie’s head. His pupils constricted. He had no way up or down, but he refused to give up. He stomped his foot, activating Thunder Well, and with a burst of force, dashed toward the beast.
The beast sneered, pulling back its claw, as if it didn’t need any time at all. It crossed vast space in the blink of an eye, smashing down onto Wang Jie’s back.
Wang Jie only had time to twist his body in mid-air, avoiding a direct hit from the claw, but it still scraped against him, sending him plummeting toward the depths of the Thunder Well, like a falling star.
Endless Heaven Thunder rumbled, flashing wildly.
The sights, sounds, and sensations all seemed ready to tear him apart.
All he could do was take out his Star Artifact—Bell, enveloping his body with it, and then release all his imprint power, using Silver Radiance Art to transform into a ball of silver light, falling toward the depths below.
Behind him, the beast wasn’t about to let him go, turning and chasing him down.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The bell rang out under the relentless Heaven Thunder. Bolts of lightning shot through cracks in the bell, hitting Wang Jie, but thankfully, he was wearing his battle armor.
Even so, it wouldn’t hold much longer.
As the rumbling of the Heaven Thunder grew louder, he knew he had passed through the shallow thunder zone and entered the deep thunder zone.
With a violent explosion, he fainted. His body continued to fall.
Behind, the beast caught up, grinning savagely, its claws reaching for him.
At the same time, far below, something oval-shaped, resembling a spaceship, flew through the Heaven Thunder, flickering and warping as if it were made of swords. The swords formed into an ellipse, inside which a woman was sleeping.
Under the Heaven Thunder’s glow, her stunning beauty appeared divine, her flawless skin glowing with an alluring radiance, as if she could break with a breath, yet there was a captivating glow flowing within.
The deafening roars couldn’t wake her.
Until a silver light descended into the elliptical form, landing in her eyes. Slowly, her fingers twitched, and her eyes opened.
She gazed at the silver light, which slowly faded, revealing the monstrous beast behind it.
With a flick of her finger, one of the swords that formed the ellipse disappeared in a flash. It darted across the space, and the beast paused. Then, its massive body began to fall apart, sliced into countless pieces. The Full Star Realm beast was utterly destroyed in an instant, its death without a sound.
The sword pierced the bell and sent both toward the woman.
She looked down at Wang Jie, who lay unconscious inside the bell. Heaven Thunder roared outside, and the bell was on the verge of breaking. Once it shattered, Wang Jie would surely die.
“The vast universe, we meet. Whether it’s good luck or bad, it no longer matters.”
“Today, we both face our fate. May we each survive as best we can.”
With those words, the bell shattered, and Wang Jie’s body fell into the elliptical form. The woman gazed at the man just inches away, her face flushing slightly. She shed her clothes, using a sword to seal the ellipse completely.
Wang Jie had a strange dream. He was back in the orphanage, seeing Dean there, holding fried chicken and fried dough sticks, calling him over to eat. But there were too many other kids around, and he couldn’t get through. Seeing the food slipping away, he panicked and squeezed his way through, snatching it up.
Huh?
Why is it so soft?
The scene abruptly disappeared. Endless Heaven Thunder rumbled over the land, cities crumbled, fireballs rained from the sky, and beast hordes drowned the crowds.
Dean, his little friends, flames devouring the surroundings.
Wang Jie’s heart trembled. Where is everyone?
Don’t die, don’t die.
“Don’t die.” Wang Jie suddenly sat up, panting heavily as he looked around, confused for a moment. This place was… the boundary between the shallow and deep thunder zones?
He glanced around again, then down at his body. What was going on? Why was he here? Wasn’t he being chased by a Full Star Realm beast? Was it all a dream? No, it wasn’t a dream.
His Star Artifact was gone, and his battle armor was damaged.
Had Jiang You Sheng saved him?
Just as he was about to stand up, he realized he was clutching something in his hand. It was… a sword tassel?
Such a beautiful sword tassel.
Where did it come from? His eyes locked onto the tassel, and its fragrance filled his nostrils—so pleasant. Suddenly, a vague face appeared in his mind. He saw a woman, her face unclear, but she gave him an indescribable sense of familiarity, as though she was another version of himself. He desperately wanted to find her.
At the same time, another unfamiliar memory emerged—was it a combat technique?
Blurred images continued to appear, and Wang Jie closed his eyes to remember. It seemed like he had caught something of hers before she left. He looked at the sword tassel again, breathing in its fragrance.
She saved me?
Who was she? Why did he feel such a connection to her? They didn’t even know each other.
The universe was vast, and he had no aim… but now, he desperately wanted to find her. She was his, she was another version of himself.
The exquisite sword tassel was one of the materials required for Sword Step. This tassel would surely work.
But he didn’t want to use it up.
He tightly grasped the tassel and silently stored it away.
Standing up, he felt different. Though his body ached and his bones felt like they were about to crack, when he looked at his hands and clenched his fists, he could clearly feel an increase in power. It was… a hundredfold.
He had broken through to a hundred times his previous strength.
From ninety-nine times, he had surpassed his limits.
And with the emergence of this hundredfold strength, another kind of energy appeared within him. This energy was… force?
Force, belonging to himself, while his own energy had always existed.
But now, with his strength breaking the hundredfold limit, a unique energy of force was born. This energy was separated from his own.
Wang Jie didn’t understand what had happened. Even though a woman had saved him, it shouldn’t have caused him to break his limits.
The energy from force and his own energy were both within his body. Wang Jie tried to control their fusion.
As the energies collided, visible steam appeared on his body, resembling Star Force, yet it was not. It was a combination of the two energies. The moment of fusion, Wang Jie felt a tremendous surge of power flow from within, far stronger than the previous fusion of energy and force.
The visible energy spread around his body, like transparent flames burning on the outside, even making his hair stand on end.
Wang Jie had never felt such power before. He was far stronger than before.
He slowly retracted the energy, and as the two energies separated, that overwhelming sensation vanished. Of course, he hadn’t become weaker—he was still stronger than before, having broken his limit. Moreover, his mind had inexplicably gained a new combat technique.
He didn’t know what kind of power this technique had, but he knew it suited him perfectly.
He took out Cataclysm Materials to absorb. This was still the shallow thunder zone; he needed to be cautious and avoid the Heaven Thunder.
Too bad that bell had been destroyed.
After some time, Wang Jie regained control of his force. It was time to ascend.
Slowly, though he had grown stronger, he knew he was still powerless against the Full Star Realm beast.
Heaven Thunder formed a closed net above him.
Wang Jie continued to pass through the Heaven Thunder net, climbing upward toward the Thunder Well. He saw the beast, but it was not the Full Star Realm creature. It was one of the three initial beasts that had attacked him.
Where was the Full Star Realm beast?
Wang Jie dared not be careless now. He would wait for Jiang You Sheng to return.
Days passed, but Jiang You Sheng still hadn’t come back. The beast was killed by other creatures.
Wang Jie took advantage of their departure, quickly climbed the Thunder Well, and hid inside the building, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
This journey had been one of life and death.
He didn’t even know how he survived.
Exhausted, he fell asleep.
He slept for two days until he was startled awake by Jiang You Sheng’s knocking.
“What? The master encountered a Sharp Horn Beast?” Jiang You Sheng was shocked.
Wang Jie was speechless. Was the name really that casual? “That thing’s called a Sharp Horn Beast?”
Jiang You Sheng nodded, his face grim. “The Sharp Horn Beast is a notorious cosmic giant beast, rebellious and prone to pillaging. The Eight Prison Berserk Clan nearly wiped out this species, but there are always a few that manage to hide.”
“I never thought there would be one in the Thunder Well.”
At this point, he bowed to Wang Jie. “It was my lack of foresight that put the master in danger.”
Wang Jie waved his hand. “It’s in the past. I’m just glad other creatures seem to have a grudge against this thing and killed it for me. By the way, what’s a Shadow Hunter Beast?”
Jiang You Sheng looked surprised. “The master encountered one too?”
Wang Jie nodded.
Jiang You Sheng said, “No wonder the master couldn’t ask for help. The Shadow Hunter Beast must have ambushed and controlled you, and then the Sharp Horn Beast struck.”
“The Shadow Hunter Beast is a peculiar creature. Since it’s not a cosmic giant beast, it can’t survive in space. It’s adept at hiding within the shadows of other creatures and controlling their movements.”
“Rest assured, master. The Eight Prison Berserk Clan will surely make things right. This was obviously a premeditated assassination. Countless creatures have died at their hands before.”