Chapter 128
Chapter 128: Sword Mastery Heaven
Wang Jie exhaled deeply, the sensation akin to when his strength increased. Instinctively, he knew this was his limit.
But the barrier that restricted the lock-force cultivator was not something that would be broken just because he had reached the 99x limit. He had a unique talent, one that no one could compare to. With just ten seals, he could defeat those in the full star realm—why couldn’t he be an exception?
He stopped thinking further. One step at a time. He would face that wall when he reached it.
Approaching Lone Peak Gorge, countless communication requests flooded in, accompanied by various mocking voices. However, as soon as Wang Jie’s spaceship docked at a specific location within the gorge, everyone fell silent.
That spot was reserved for those entering Sword Mastery Heaven. To park a ship there meant the occupant could enter.
“How did this person get in? Didn’t they say the spots were decided half a year ago?” someone muttered.
“No wonder, only someone who could afford a Stellar Belt-class starship could get in. They must have a background,” another voice added.
“Could this involve Black White Heaven?”
“The Starforce cultivators from Black White Heaven won’t bother with us, but don’t forget, every year they send lock-force cultivators here, many of whom are powerful. It’s said that some lock-force cultivators earned their status on the battlefield. His background likely ties to the interstellar conflict.”
“Never mind, we shouldn’t mess with this type of person…”
According to the rules, Wang Jie and his companions would have to wait over a month before they could depart for Sword Mastery Heaven.
He wasn’t in a hurry—he had other matters to deal with first. For instance, perhaps making someone cry.
“Do you have anyone under your command who’s particularly sentimental?” Wang Jie asked.
Miao Tai blinked, confused. “Sentimental?”
“Someone who’s easily moved.”
“Uh, no… I haven’t asked anyone.”
Wang Jie handed him a story draft. “Here, take this. Go talk to the people around you, show them the story. Try to make them cry.”
Miao Tai stared at the paper, then at Wang Jie, before his gaze flickered back to the story. Wait, the main character is called Wang Jie? He glanced at Wang Jie, then back at the story—what was going on?
“My lord, if you want them to cry, it’s easy. Just hit them,” Miao Tai said after a moment.
“No, it has to be tears of emotion, no threats involved. If you can make it happen, I’ll give you one hundred thousand star stones.”
Miao Tai’s eyes widened. “One hundred thousand?”
Wang Jie nodded and patted him on the shoulder. “Go ahead. It must be from genuine emotion, no force.”
Miao Tai left, still bewildered, like a child who had just learned to walk.
Wang Jie didn’t know how to make others cry either, but he decided to leave it to luck. Who knew? With so many planets and even more people, something might happen.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. One after another, ships landed, but no one emerged, all waiting for the final day to depart for Sword Mastery Heaven.
Wang Jie spent his time cultivating.
“Now, let’s begin…”
Miao Tai returned. “My lord, about the story…” He started to speak but paused when he saw Wang Jie doing some exercises and silently retreated. He thought Wang Jie must have been practicing some martial technique.
Soon after, Miao Tai stood before Wang Jie. “My lord, no one has been moved.”
Wang Jie sighed in disappointment. “Then we’ll think of something else. I need them to cry.”
“Do they have to cry?”
“They have to. If they don’t, then you do.”
Miao Tai…
Another half month passed. With the descent of a silver starship, Wang Jie and Miao Tai stepped out—time to head to Sword Mastery Heaven. This ship had been sent specifically for them.
Other ships began to arrive, and people began to disembark.
A total of ten people had been granted entry to Lone Peak Gorge. Among them were both men and women, of all ages. There were even two from the Star Breaking Realm.
Frost Radiance Sect had few Star Breaking Realm lock-force cultivators, and Wang Jie hadn’t encountered any. Yet, here, there were many. This was the difference between the Star Link-level forces and Frost Radiance Sect.
Black White Heaven integrated the entire Fourth Star Cloud and wielded a vast power with countless experts under their command.
Meanwhile, the Lock Path interval housed wandering Star Realm lock-force cultivators, though no one knew exactly where. These cultivators did not belong to the Four Alliances and were not present in Lone Peak Gorge.
The surroundings were bright with glaring lights.
Wang Jie and Miao Tai sat quietly.
Two people approached—a man and a woman.
Wang Jie looked up.
“It’s you who replaced Tao’er’s spot,” the man hissed, his eyes full of hatred.
Miao Tai stood up to shield Wang Jie. The man was in the Star Breaking Realm, while the woman next to him was a Ten-Seal cultivator.
“Do you want trouble?” Miao Tai asked coldly.
The man ignored Miao Tai and glared at Wang Jie. “Originally, the spot wasn’t supposed to be yours. It was bad enough a Star Breaking Realm cultivator joined, but now you come in and push aside two people, one of whom is our son. How do you intend to settle this?”
The woman, angry, added, “We finally worked to get a whole family into Sword Mastery Heaven, and now Tao’er has been replaced. What if one of us is the next to go? It’s dangerous! You must pay the price.”
Wang Jie’s tone was calm. “If you’re scared of danger, then don’t go.”
The man, furious, made a move to strike, but Miao Tai stopped him.
A voice came from the ship: “Please, everyone, take your seats. Fighting aboard the ship is forbidden. Those who violate this rule will lose their chance to enter Sword Mastery Heaven.”
The man and woman, unwilling to give up, glared at Wang Jie one last time. “You better watch out,” the man warned, before walking away.
Wang Jie wasn’t bothered by such small matters.
Several hours later, the ship arrived at Sword Mastery Heaven.
Looking at the vast floating landmass before him, the mountains rising high and waterfalls hanging in mid-air, the waters shimmering with silver light as they cascaded down, Wang Jie was awestruck. This was a sight he had never seen before.
He had never seen a landmass suspended in the starry sky.
The ship shook slightly, and the passengers began to disembark.
The man and woman from earlier again stared at Wang Jie as they left.
Miao Tai whispered, “My lord, should we take care of them?”
Wang Jie didn’t care. “No need.” His attention was fixed on the countless mutated creatures in the distance.
They stood on a cliff, able to see far into the distance. Far away, groups of creatures were running, and the sky was filled with ten-seal creatures. It was a spectacular sight.
Miao Tai, who had been here twice, explained, “Sword Mastery Heaven houses the strongest lock-force creatures in the entire Lock Path interval. Only seventy people can enter every year, and Black White Heaven constantly drops Slaughter Stones here. The lock-force energy here is the most concentrated.”
Wang Jie could feel it. The lock-force was thick and almost viscous, like a damp feeling, similar to Blue Star when Armor One Sect had dropped over a hundred Slaughter Stones.
Sword Mastery Heaven had been here for so long, yet it still retained this sensation, which only showed that Black White Heaven had dropped an extraordinary number of Slaughter Stones here.
Sword Mastery Heaven was akin to the late-stage of Blue Star.
It was well known that a single Slaughter Stone could cause the creatures of an entire area to undergo transformation. It was easy to imagine how many powerful mutated creatures there were in Sword Mastery Heaven. Ten-Seal was by no means the peak—people could cultivate to even higher realms, and creatures could as well.
Including insects.
Wang Jie’s main goal here was the Fifteenth Level.
That was the place everyone going to Sword Mastery Heaven had to visit.
“The Fifteenth Level, each layer has a different climate—high heat, freezing cold, gravity, and strong winds. Each layer must correspond to a cultivation level or below to enter. Otherwise, if you try to force your way in, either you won’t get in, or you’ll destroy the entire layer,” Miao Tai explained as he walked toward the entrance to the Fifteenth Level.
Wang Jie had not expected that personal terminals could be used to contact one another here, but only within the same layer.
As they made their way to the Fifteenth Level entrance, they encountered some mutated creatures, but not too many. The path leading to the Fifteenth Level was the most frequently traveled by those entering, and the mutated creatures usually avoided this area due to the strong blood scent.
Finally, they arrived at the entrance to the Fifteenth Level. The ground was littered with white bones, many still with fresh blood and meat left uneaten. Among them, three skeletons belonged to humans.
Wang Jie recognized the clothing of the man and woman from earlier. They had died here.
Not far from them was a middle-aged man, someone Wang Jie had seen aboard the ship—he too had perished here.
Miao Tai spoke up. “This path leads directly to the Fifteenth Level. We know this, and so do many of the creatures. Some of them are as intelligent as we are and often hunt here.”
“That’s why they warned us about the danger.” Wang Jie said, his voice trailing off as he suddenly spun around and, with a single finger, pierced the air, sending ripples through the void. He struck a strange-looking creature, its appearance grotesque, its body covered in blood veins, its trembling eyes locked onto Wang Jie.
The strike sent the creature staggering back but didn’t cause significant damage.
Miao Tai warned, “It’s Star Breaking Realm, my lord, be careful.”
Another identical creature appeared, its sharp teeth dripping with blood and a foul stench radiating from it. It chewed on a finger, which Wang Jie recognized as belonging to the man who had threatened him earlier.
Despite the past conflicts, seeing this, Wang Jie still felt uncomfortable.
Armor Eight Steps.
He quickly appeared behind the creature, delivering a powerful kick that severed its body, sending it flying with a mournful scream.
Miao Tai shivered. The strength behind that kick was terrifying. If it had struck him, the outcome wouldn’t have been much better.
The other creature roared, charging toward Wang Jie. Miao Tai wasted no time, and the two of them quickly brought down the Star Breaking Realm creatures.
“Congratulations, my lord. These are Star Breaking Realm Cataclysm Materials, quite rare.” Miao Tai handed Wang Jie a strand of fur.
Wang Jie took it, impressed. It was his first time encountering Star Breaking Realm Cataclysm Materials, and the lock-force within was far beyond that of a Ten-Seal.
Even the best Ten-Seal Cataclysm Materials from the Star Dome Materials Trading Hall couldn’t compare.
In terms of strength, it was like comparing fifty Ten-Seal Cataclysm Materials.
Good stuff.
He didn’t hesitate to accept it. “These are hard to come by?”
Miao Tai nodded. “Yes, it’s more difficult for transformed creatures to reach Star Breaking Realm than it is for humans. They can quickly ascend from Single-Seal to Ten-Seal, but breaking through to Star Breaking Realm is a major hurdle. Without proper guidance, they can’t specialize in Star Breaking Combat Techniques, nor can they overcome the Great Mountain of Ten-Seals.”
“Only a few intelligent creatures understand the Star Breaking Stage, and they pass it on to the next generation.”
“Outside Sword Mastery Heaven, only a few Star Breaking Realm creatures can be found, especially on Slaughter Stone planets.”
Wang Jie looked at the entrance to the Fifteenth Level. “But once they reach the Star Breaking Stage, advancing to Full Star Realm isn’t as difficult, right?”
Miao Tai nodded. “Breaking Star is hard, but Full Star is easier because they’ve been fighting for years, specializing in Cataclysm Materials. Of course, I’m speaking in terms of individual comparisons.”
“Otherwise, forget the Four Alliances. Even I could gather Cataclysm Materials faster than these creatures, because I have people under me.”
As they spoke, the two arrived at the entrance.
The entrance was simple—just a small house-like tunnel, pitch-black inside, making it hard to see anything clearly.