Chapter 100

Chapter 100: A New Beginning

“What?

“You’re a craft refiner?”

That night, Wang Jie and Wu Mian sat together and talked.

Wu Mian looked at Wang Jie with open admiration. They were both lockforce cultivators, yet Wu Mian still couldn’t understand how Wang Jie had become a chen refiner. In the middle of the conversation, Wu Mian admitted that he, too, was a craft refiner.

“Yeah,” Wu Mian said. “Lockforce has a ceiling. There’s no future in it, so I learned craft refining.

“They call it craft refining, but it’s really just forging. I only picked up the basics—just enough to scrape by in the sect.”

Wang Jie studied him for a beat. “I have a lot of materials. Can you forge them into swords for me?”

“I’ve seen a Guest Elder’s swordsmanship.” Wu Mian’s eyes shone. “Terrifyingly strong. Of course I can.”

“Thanks.”

The Mad Clan had handed him a huge pile of weapons to star-refine. Now that he’d left them behind, those weapons belonged to him. He could take them out, strip them down completely, and restore them into raw materials—then wait until he found a suitable craft refiner to make what he needed.

And now Wu Mian was here. Perfect timing.

Whether Wu Mian was truly top-tier or not, if the Frost Splendor Sect acknowledged him, he had to be at least competent.

Wu Mian went rigid as Wang Jie produced batch after batch of materials.

“Th-this…” Wu Mian stared, eyes wide. “These are all precious materials. Where did you get them, Guest Elder?”

The weapons the Mad Clan had brought for him to star-refine were naturally forged from rare resources.

But not everyone could do what Wang Jie did—break a weapon down and restore the materials themselves.

It was absurd. Borderline impossible.

Wang Jie waved a hand. “I have plenty. There’ll be more later. Use whatever you need.”

Wu Mian fell silent. He’d thought he’d be forging a few swords, at most. With this much material, he could forge a mountain.

But he’d already agreed. And with Wang Jie’s status as a Guest Elder, refusing wasn’t even an option.

Fine. He’d just work himself to death.

Wang Jie had someone arrange a place for Wu Mian to set up his forge. For the next stretch of time, Wang Jie likely wouldn’t see him at all.

Still, Wu Mian wasn’t without his own hopes. He explained the situation in the Frost Splendor Sect’s Outer Court and asked Wang Jie to put in a word—just once.

The Frost Splendor Sect’s Outer Court was made up entirely of lockforce cultivators.

Or, to put it another way: lockforce cultivators could only enter the Outer Court.

The Outer Court had 50 million disciples—far more than the Frost Splendor Sect’s starforce cultivators—yet outsiders treated it as if it didn’t exist.

Any random Outer Sect disciple could swagger into the Outer Court and bully people at will.

Wu Mian was the strongest lockforce cultivator in the Outer Court, but without his identity as a craft refiner, he wouldn’t even qualify to enter the Inner Sect—much less approach the Three Peaks.

He’d been trapped in the Outer Court for far too long. He wanted Wang Jie to help the Outer Court’s lockforce cultivators, even if it was only enough to keep them from being trampled so unfairly.

“As a chen refiner—and a sect Guest Elder—you’ll never face unfair treatment,” Jin Chu said after hearing him out. “It has nothing to do with lockforce or starforce. But if you want to help the Outer Court… it’s very hard.”

Wang Jie didn’t make promises lightly. If he agreed, he’d have to deliver.

And Wu Mian wasn’t offering a trade. It was a request, not a transaction. He would forge weapons for Wang Jie no matter what.

Wang Jie turned to Jin Chu. “Is the Outer Court really treated that badly?”

Jin Chu paused, then said, “If two ants are fighting, would you watch carefully, decide who’s right and who’s wrong, then punish the guilty one?

“You wouldn’t. You’d separate them. If they fight again, you’d punish both—or just crush them.”

She looked at him steadily. “That’s what the Outer Court faces right now.”

Wang Jie understood.

To the Frost Splendor Sect, Outer Court cultivators barely counted as people. No one bothered judging their disputes. They weren’t worth the effort.

He found Wu Mian and told him plainly that he might not be able to help the Outer Court.

Wu Mian wasn’t disappointed. He still threw himself into forging Wang Jie’s weapons with everything he had.

Three months later, the Silver Radiance Empire’s warship was about to arrive.

Wang Jie received 486 swords—more than double the number of weapons the Mad Clan had once given him.

“If it were a seasoned craft refiner, the forging would be more refined,” Wu Mian said, his face burning. “With the materials you provided, Guest Elder, a higher-level craft refiner could keep it to around two hundred weapons. The higher the level, the fewer weapons they can forge from the same amount of material.”

He lowered his head. “As for mine… please don’t blame me.”

Wang Jie smiled. “It’s already very good. Thank you.”

He truly didn’t care. These swords were far better than anything he’d ever bought outside, and more than enough for now.

During those months, he’d cultivated beneath the sea. His raw strength hadn’t increased, but his control over lockforce had climbed to one gaze, 1,600. Better yet, something else had begun to grow—his qi.

Not physical strength. Not brute force.

Qi.

Before, he hadn’t had any way to raise it. Now he had a guess: battle and pressure could both force it upward.

It rose slowly—painfully slowly—but as long as it rose at all, that was enough.

Then why hadn’t gravity increased it?

Because the gravity wasn’t enough?

A limit.

The word surfaced in his mind.

He remembered his battle with Shu Mu Ye, back when he’d believed he’d hit his limit—only to break through anyway.

He needed to touch that limit again.

—

For the people of Blue Star, that day would be carved into their bones forever.

They abandoned the home they’d lived on all their lives, preparing to travel unimaginably far away.

One by one, Blue Star’s people boarded the warship. Almost everyone turned back at least once, staring at the beautiful blue planet behind them.

Too much had happened there. It held their memories, buried their forebears, and carried the marks of countless lives.

They were leaving it all.

At that moment, even the mutated beasts swimming far out in the ocean felt strangely familiar.

They were unwilling. But when the Slaughterstone descended in the year 2200, everything stopped being theirs to decide.

People were born between heaven and earth—longing for freedom, yet destined to be bound by forces beyond them.

The evacuation of tens of millions unfolded in near silence.

Wang Jie stood at a window and looked back toward Blue Star, his gaze heavy.

He didn’t know if he’d ever see that blue pearl again—the world that had raised him.

The warship powered up. Not long after, Blue Star vanished from view.

Countless eyes dimmed as people clung to fragments of the past.

Many didn’t bring valuables. They brought spirit tablets. A handful of homeland soil. A doorknob, cracked and broken. A dried flower that only Blue Star could have produced.

This warship was slower than the ship Wang Jie had taken when he first arrived.

It took a full two months to reach the Silver Radiance Empire’s Imperial Capital Star.

The journey was smooth. No enemies appeared.

And Blue Star’s people were shaken by what they saw outside: a thriving civilization, planets linked to planets, countless ships moving through the void—and, in the distance, the Imperial Capital Star, far larger than Blue Star.

It was a new world, and it hit them like a wave.

The place prepared for Blue Star’s people was Radiant Star, a planet beside the Imperial Capital Star.

It was similar in size to Blue Star and had pleasant weather. And because it sat near the imperial capital, its location was extraordinarily valuable.

Jun Hua had been thoughtful.

On the way, Wang Jie had already shared a great deal of the outside world with Blue Star’s people. They knew the name Silver Radiance Empire. They knew about the Imperial Capital Star.

But knowing wasn’t the same as seeing.

And when they realized they’d be living on Radiant Star, they were stunned all over again. Sister Tang and the others couldn’t understand it—Wang Jie had only been gone for two years. How had he ended up with status like this?

Wang Jie couldn’t explain it.

He’d cheated.

After arriving, Wang Jie learned that Domain Lord Ning was also there.

He left the settlement arrangements to others and went directly to meet Domain Lord Ning.

“Junior pays respects to Domain Lord Ning.”

Wang Jie bowed.

Domain Lord Ning smiled and lifted him with one hand. “Master, you’re too polite. How did it go? Was the trip smooth?”

Wang Jie gave a wry smile. “There was a major battle. But it ended well enough.”

“Good. The war has stopped.” Domain Lord Ning studied him. “Will Master return to the sect with me, or stay in the Silver Radiance Empire?”

“Of course I’ll return to the sect.”

Wang Jie already knew Domain Lord Ning had come to take him back.

And he was grateful. Without Domain Lord Ning, Blue Star would have become a wasteland of death.

Only… the farewell had been too rushed.

He didn’t keep Domain Lord Ning waiting. He said goodbye to Old Five and the others and set out for the Frost Splendor Sect.

It wasn’t only Domain Lord Ning and him returning. Many Frost Splendor Sect cultivators who’d fought in the war were also heading back, including Xia Bei Yi, Xia Zhen Zhen, and Jin Chu.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan stayed behind in the Ninth Star Chain to deal with the aftermath.

Ships, one after another, vanished into the depths of the starry sky.

On the way, Xia Bei Yi never showed his face. Seeing Wang Jie clearly disgusted him.

Xia Zhen Zhen, on the other hand, kept approaching Wang Jie with a friendly smile. Wang Jie was grateful to her as well.

“If Miss hadn’t agreed,” he told her, “I couldn’t have saved my homeland. Thank you again, Miss.”

“Master, there’s no need for thanks.” Xia Zhen Zhen smiled—elegant, but with a mischievous spark. “Besides… I’m asking something of Master, too.”

Wang Jie hadn’t expected her to be so direct. Most people built ties step by step.

“What does Miss need?”

“My grandfather is a hundred-star realm expert,” Xia Zhen Zhen said simply.

Wang Jie understood at once. “Don’t worry, Miss. If it’s within my ability, I’ll star-refine materials for your grandfather.”

Xia Zhen Zhen met his gaze. Her eyes were clear and unguarded; he could see his own reflection in them.

“When we return, more than one hundred-star realm expert will try to recruit Master,” she said. “Even outside forces will find ways to approach you.

“I’m not saying this to demand a promise. It’s only a small favor, after all. I only hope Master will help my grandfather when you have time. That’s all.”

“I understand,” Wang Jie said.

Xia Zhen Zhen gave a light laugh. “If Master needs anything, you can come to me. My grandfather will spare no cost to recruit you.”

Wang Jie chuckled, then asked, “How is the war now?”

“It’s ended for now,” Xia Zhen Zhen said. “The Mad Clan lost and disappeared. The Ninth Star Chain is split—half to the Frost Splendor Sect, half to the Puppeteer Sect.”

Wang Jie blinked. “The Mad Clan was completely defeated?”

“This war began because the Mad Clan’s old ancestor offended a certain Lord and was severely injured. Our sect seized the opportunity. The Mad Clan couldn’t withstand it. Their defeat was inevitable.”

“Then why the Puppeteer Sect? Wasn’t Luo Kingdom supporting them?”

“Luo Kingdom is from the Sixth Star Chain,” Xia Zhen Zhen said. “Too far from the Ninth. Their ‘support’ was mostly for the Upper Three Star Chains to see.

“The only force that could truly support the Ninth Star Chain was the Puppeteer Sect. But even they couldn’t save the Mad Clan. At most, they could threaten to attack our sect and force a compromise—winning a portion of Ninth Star Chain territory.”

Wang Jie exhaled. “So it really is chaotic.”

“It’s not chaos.” Xia Zhen Zhen’s smile turned faint. “The Third Nebula is divided into nine Star Chains. Ever since the Nan Family vanished, each chain has taken a different stance.

“The First, Second, Third, Fifth, and Eighth Star Chains want to protect the Third Nebula and wait for the Nan Family’s return.

“The Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Star Chains want to break away and claim greater resources.”

Her voice softened. “That’s the root of this war…”