Chapter 125

Chapter 125: Sucker

Wang Jie blinked, stunned. The star chain of the Fourth Nebula was roughly twice the length of the Third—meaning a ship like this could cross the Third Nebula’s star chain in a single month?

When he’d traveled from the Silver Radiance Empire to Shuang Hua Sect, it had taken four months by ship, and that route hadn’t even been a full star-chain crossing.

So it really was that fast.

And the price matched. Twenty million starstones just to get started. No wonder the Silver Radiance Empire didn’t have ships like this.

Twenty million starstones could buy two hundred slaughterstones. How many slaughterstones did the Silver Radiance Empire even have in reserve?

Wang Jie could only sigh. Star Vault Vista was obscenely wealthy.

Du Xian stared at him with bright, eager eyes. Wang Jie waved a hand. “Get me a star-belt-class ship.”

Du Xian practically lit up. “Of course, honored guest. These are the models. Which do you prefer?”

“The cheapest. As long as it hits the speed.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare it at once.”

Wang Jie took a sip of tea and tried to steady his nerves. Four million starstones, gone in a blink.

He had 3.8 million starstones and two hundred starsea stones on him. He could afford it, sure—but it still hurt watching that much money leave his hands.

He’d have to earn it back.

No wonder Du Xian had been so warm. He’d come down alone from the Nebula Stream—an easy mark.

She really knew how to pick her victims.

Before long, the ship was ready, hovering above the exchange. The ground split open, and thick shielding rose to seal off the overhead platform, ensuring it could never drop on anyone below.

Cultivators nearby gaped.

“Isn’t that a star-belt-class ship?”

“Who’s rich enough to buy that?”

“Some sucker. Suo Xing Jian’s power structure is fixed—what do you need a ship that fast for? Think you’re going to snatch a bunch of planets?”

“Du Xian just made a fortune.”

“Hahaha!”

The ship lifted smoothly and vanished into the starry dark.

Star-belt-class lived up to the name. Fast—truly fast.

Wang Jie opened the star chart and searched for the first slaughterstone planet he planned to claim.

Suo Xing Jian’s territory spanned twice the Eighth Star Chain, and ten thousand slaughterstone planets were scattered throughout it, separated by vast distances. Even at this speed, claiming them one by one would take forever.

His purpose here was simple: catastrophe materials, and Yi Sword Heaven.

If he could scoop up extra slaughterstones and resources along the way, fine. But he couldn’t waste time.

So he chose the nearest slaughterstone planet. Whoever held it didn’t matter. Mark it. Claim it.

The moment he did, his position flashed into view on the star chart—public for all to see.

Wang Jie frowned. No privacy at all.

Did that mean every master of every slaughterstone planet in Suo Xing Jian had their location exposed?

Not necessarily. Some people let others “claim” planets under their banner—more a title than true control.

Then he noticed another function.

Messages?

He understood immediately. Without messages, how would anyone know who had claimed what? There had to be a way to identify ownership.

Plenty of planets already had messages. Some even updated as he watched, like a running conversation.

And most weren’t real names—just symbols or nicknames.

Wildgrass.

That was the codename Wang Jie left when he claimed the planet. He could add more messages afterward, too.

The ship swung around and accelerated toward the nearest slaughterstone planet.

Its name was Pine-Rain Star. The instant Wang Jie marked it, someone on the planet erupted.

“Brother! Someone marked it again!”

“Call everyone. And tell those two groups to come, too.”

“This planet’s too close to the Nebula Stream. It gets marked all the time. It’s a damn nuisance.”

“What can we do? The deeper you go, the harder it is to claim planets. Here we can hold a tenth of the planet and harvest materials. Deeper in, the territory shrinks, and some places you can’t even set foot on.”

“Relax. As long as we aren’t horribly unlucky, a newcomer isn’t scary.”

As Wang Jie’s ship descended, hundreds of cultivators surged toward his landing point.

Then they saw the ship.

Faces changed.

“Shit. Hard target.”

“Anyone who can afford that ship isn’t simple. Depends how many people are aboard.”

“No wonder he dared mark a claim the moment he arrived. He’s confident.”

Inside the ship, Wang Jie watched the display. A high-end vessel really was convenient—it didn’t just show headcount, it showed combat power readings.

Hundreds of them. Not one over 5,000.

A Ten Seals cultivator started around 3,000 combat power. Star-Breaking Realm started at 10,000. Ten Seals could range higher, but anyone with real skill cleared 5,000 easily.

These people were weak. Pathetically so.

The ship settled.

Wang Jie stepped out and swept his gaze over the crowd. Hundreds of hostile eyes stared back.

They were just as stunned.

One person?

He was alone?

Wang Jie smiled. “Send someone who can answer questions. I’m here to ask.”

The leaders glanced at each other. A few of them were Ten Seals; most weren’t even that.

A burly man with sharp eyes stepped forward. “Your Excellency is Wildgrass?”

Wang Jie took a step.

He vanished.

The man’s breath caught. He tried to dodge—but before he could even shift his weight, Wang Jie’s hand settled on his shoulder.

Numbness flooded his body. His limbs went dead. Every instinct screamed the same warning.

Don’t move.

Move and you die.

All around them, the crowd froze. They weren’t fools. If they couldn’t even track Wang Jie’s movement, he was beyond them by more than a single tier.

No one dared move.

Wang Jie looked down at the man with a gentle, almost friendly smile. “Tell me everything you know about Suo Xing Jian.”

The man swallowed hard. “Yes. I’ll tell you.”

He spoke quickly, spilling everything he knew.

Most of it matched what Du Xian had said. The difference was what she’d conveniently left out: Suo Xing Jian’s power structure had been locked in place for ages. Breaking it was nearly impossible.

So the tempting idea of using speed to save time—claiming slaughterstone planets one after another—didn’t work in reality.

No matter how strong a Ten Seals cultivator was, he was still Ten Seals. He couldn’t fight forces backed by Star-Breaking Realm experts, let alone Full-Star Realm.

And the deeper you went, the more tightly factions clustered. Even groups without Star-Breaking Realm experts could have hundreds—thousands—of Ten Seals under their banner.

A single person, no matter how talented, had limits. He couldn’t smash a monopoly alone.

That was Suo Xing Jian.

Halfway through, Wang Jie lifted his hand from the man’s shoulder. The crowd still didn’t move. These were the bottom rung—cautious, fearful, used to surviving by trembling.

When the man finished, he stared at Wang Jie, pale.

Wang Jie asked, “Does Black-White Heaven not intervene?”

“Black-White Heaven only cares that Suo Xing Jian sends cultivators. As long as the quota is met, nobody cares what happens here.

“Lockforce cultivators aren’t important.

“If anything, Black-White Heaven prefers strong factions. When Black-White Heaven needs manpower, those factions respond fast. Better than wasting time gathering scattered lockforce cultivators.”

Wang Jie clasped his hands behind his back, gazed at the distant stars, then looked back. “Closest faction around here with Star-Breaking Realm strength?”

The man answered immediately, eager to please. “Miao Tai. He broke into Star-Breaking Realm eight years ago. The moment he did, he conquered everything nearby. His holdings went from sixteen planets to one hundred and twenty-five. No one dares provoke him.”

Wang Jie opened the star chart. “Where?”

The man pointed.

Wang Jie’s fingers moved.

He marked every planet under Miao Tai’s banner—one hundred and twenty-five in total, not missing a single one.

Then he left a message:

“All mine—Wildgrass.”

Six words. Simple. Flat. Shameless.

The man stared, dumbstruck.

This… this was insanity.

Wang Jie put away his terminal, gave a short laugh, and nodded toward the stunned crowd. “Go on with your lives. Thanks.”

He boarded his ship and blasted off at speed.

There was no point fighting over Pine-Rain Star. Its catastrophe materials had been harvested again and again; only weak cultivators lingered here.

Miao Tai was the real target.

—

Far from Pine-Rain Star, on a planet crowned by an extravagant golden palace, wine fumes filled the air and laughter rang through halls drenched in luxury. Beautiful women drifted through the space like clouds. The entire building gleamed as if it had been cast from gold.

This was Miao Tai’s residence: Jadecrest Star.

Jadecrest Star was vast, with countless mortal kingdoms scattered across its surface.

To those mortals, Miao Tai was a god. He seized the finest scenery, the loveliest women, the richest resources. Indulgence fed his cultivation.

A flattering voice rose. “Congratulations, my lord. The hundred beauties chosen for you will arrive soon. My lord may inspect them personally.”

At the top of the hall, Miao Tai pulled two women close and roared with laughter. “Good! Bring them in. I can’t wait!”

“My lord can rest assured. They’ll be here soon.”

Miao Tai’s smile tightened. “And the numbers? Confirmed? Don’t let Black-White Heaven come after me.”

“Please don’t worry, my lord. One hundred Ten Seals cultivators—every last one. They’ll be sent to Ping Xiao.”

Satisfied, Miao Tai drank again.

Then a messenger rushed in, trembling. “My lord—Jadecrest Star has been claimed.”

Miao Tai shoved the woman beside him away and snapped his gaze to the star chart.

His face changed instantly.

Not rage.

Unease. A cold, crawling dread.

Not just Jadecrest Star—every planet under his name had been claimed. All one hundred and twenty-five.

Wildgrass?

If someone dared do this, there were only two possibilities: either they were tired of living… or they believed he was.

Miao Tai’s voice turned heavy. “Gather every Ten Seals. You—go find out where this person came from. Ask around. See if anyone knows him.”

“Yes, my lord!”

—

Wang Jie sat inside his ship, the cabin littered with soybeans.

He was close to One Gaze, Three Thousand—close enough to feel it. But the last stretch was always the hardest.

Suo Xing Jian had to have gravity planets. If he wanted to master Myriad-Stars Finger and force Heaven-Reversal Path into existence, he needed a suitable training ground as soon as possible.

The ship arrowed toward Jadecrest Star.

In a single day, Jadecrest Star was already visible.

A ship from the Silver Radiance Empire would have needed at least seven days.

So this was Jadecrest Star. Fifty times larger than Blue Star, easily.

Catastrophe materials must be everywhere.

Wang Jie guided the ship down.

His eyes flicked to the scan.

Cultivators clustered below, and more were still arriving by ship.

Highest combat power reading: 10,300.

Barely above ten thousand.

Wang Jie narrowed his eyes.

A Star-Breaking Realm this weak?