Chapter 136
Chapter 136: The Stars Above
Wang Jie almost shouted out in excitement.
At first, when he was told about the nine materials, he felt lost and didn’t know how to proceed. But now, one step at a time, he had succeeded.
Now, only one material was left, and with it, he would master a star method.
He already knew two star methods.
One was Starry Finger, and the other was Yi Sword Technique.
He already had Starry Finger mastered, but he couldn’t yet perform the One Glance, Three Thousand technique. As for Yi Sword Technique, he would need to practice and reach the One Glance, Three Thousand level before he could use it.
Now, the next step was simple: focus on reaching One Glance, Three Thousand.
He came to the fourth level and focused on the thousand-colored stone. It was time. He could now clearly see two thousand and eight with a single glance. It was getting closer.
Meanwhile, the Lock Path Interval was silent. The ship had returned, bringing results.
The Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge were quiet.
Miao Tai was shaken when he heard the news. That person had single-handedly withstood so many masters. It was ruthless.
He was a great support.
Now, he was just glad he hadn’t attacked him earlier, or he might have been dead by now.
“We can’t let him stay in Sword Mastery Heaven. The rules of the Lock Path Interval can’t be broken, and if he stays there, who would dare let their own children enter?”
“Don’t talk about disciples; no one would even dare to go in themselves. Life cannot be controlled that way.”
“What about Black White Heaven?”
“I’ll go to Sword Mastery Heaven and talk to him.” A deep voice echoed, and everyone fell silent, their gazes turning to the man who spoke. His name was Zong Cheng Ping, one of the Four Alliances, and the strongest recognized Full Star Realm expert of the Lock Path Interval.
Despite his explosive temper, Lie Qiu showed great respect to Zong Cheng Ping.
Feng Wen Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. “With Senior going, we can rest easy.”
Zong Cheng Ping shook his head. “It’s not certain we’ll reach an agreement. This person is likely a once-in-a-thousand-years genius. If he’s truly in the Star Breaking Realm, it won’t matter if I can’t find him. Plus, he has creatures around him who can use star methods.”
“No matter what, Senior, please go.” The others bowed.
“When do you plan to leave, Senior?”
“Now.”
Quickly, Zong Cheng Ping boarded the ship, heading for Sword Mastery Heaven.
Upon arriving at the entrance to Sword Mastery Heaven, Zong Cheng Ping stood there for half a day. How should he find this person?
Sword Mastery Heaven was vast, and from the perspective of this person, everyone had left. So, he wouldn’t take the initiative to contact anyone. Now, Zong Cheng Ping would have to go look for him.
But where to start?
Wang Jie was very comfortable, deeply absorbed in his work. The thousand-colored stone was like a line, guiding him to see more and more stones. The clearer he saw, the more control he gained over the Lock Force.
The 150 times the normal gravity was just right for his body, though he wished he could push it a bit further. Sadly, the fourth level could only handle up to 150 times gravity.
The Stone Sword Creature also enjoyed its time, wandering freely in Sword Mastery Heaven. Occasionally, it would help Wang Jie hunt, living a satisfied life.
A month later, Wang Jie rubbed his head, feeling exhausted.
Turning around, he saw that the roasted meat was ready.
He smiled at the Stone Sword Creature. “Thank you.”
The Stone Sword Creature grinned, took out its stone sword, and sharpened it on the mountain.
Another month passed, and Wang Jie was disturbed again. This time, it was the Stone Sword Creature. It pointed to the ground, trying to communicate something.
“Someone’s coming?” Wang Jie asked.
It nodded.
Wang Jie knew someone would come looking for him, but he hadn’t expected it so soon. This person couldn’t find him, but had encountered the Stone Sword Creature instead, who was out for a stroll on the surface.
“There’s no rush. Let them wait,” Wang Jie said.
Even with the thousand-colored stone and the gravitational area, along with his exercises, he estimated it would take at least three more months to reach One Glance, Three Thousand. Once he achieved that, he could try to use Starry Finger. At that point, he didn’t want to waste time speaking with outsiders.
So, Zong Cheng Ping received feedback: wait.
He stood with his hands behind his back, unhurried. It wouldn’t be long.
Meanwhile, he now knew where Wang Jie was.
The fourth level.
The level that no one knew how much battle power was needed to pass.
The one that could only be accessed by those with Ten Seals.
Was Wang Jie at Ten Seals?
It was unthinkable.
From the start, no one dared to imagine Wang Jie as someone at Ten Seals. Everyone assumed that even if he wasn’t Full Star Realm, he was certainly in the Star Breaking Realm. Yet, he was at Ten Seals.
The conversation would have to change.
Three months later, Wang Jie emerged from the fourth level. He was completely different now.
He had reached One Glance, Three Thousand.
He could now perform Starry Finger.
Though he hadn’t yet tried it, he knew he could.
It was time to face the outside world.
At the entrance to Sword Mastery Heaven, Zong Cheng Ping saw Wang Jie.
Wang Jie was a sharp-looking person, giving off a sense of strength, despite his lean build and young age.
Wang Jie also saw Zong Cheng Ping. His battle power detector was constantly fluctuating, but it never exceeded fifty thousand. Was this person truly at fifty thousand battle power? That seemed impossible.
“At your service, Zong Cheng Ping. It’s been a while.”
Wang Jie was surprised. “You are the strongest Full Star Realm cultivator of Lock Path Interval, Zong Cheng Ping?”
Zong Cheng Ping laughed. “The strongest is an exaggeration. May I ask your esteemed name?”
They already knew Wang Jie’s name, from Miao Tai and Fu An. This was just polite conversation.
“Wang Jie.”
“Ah, so you are Wang Jie, brother. Should I call you ‘younger brother’?”
“Senior may call me whatever you like; it doesn’t matter to me.”
Zong Cheng Ping’s expression grew serious. “Younger brother, why have you occupied Sword Mastery Heaven? Can you tell me now?”
Wang Jie shrugged. “Honestly, it’s because of those slaughter stones. I made a bet with someone, and they said I could never get them. There’s really no other reason.”
Zong Cheng Ping didn’t believe him, but he didn’t press further. After all, they weren’t real slaughter stones; most of them were useless. “If that’s the case, can you leave here now? Lock Path Interval has its rules, and everyone here, from the billions of Lock Force cultivators, follows them. There can be no exceptions made for you alone.”
“I can leave, but Elder Brother should make a path for me. Don’t tell me you’ll ensure my safety.”
“Fine. Slaughter stones, we’ll give them to you, but after causing such a commotion here, you should at least give us an explanation.”
Wang Jie nodded. “Alright, I’ll give the explanation. Elder Brother can come and take it. I won’t run.”
Zong Cheng Ping’s gaze sharpened. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and slammed it down. The overwhelming Lock Force instantly suppressed the sky, crushing down toward Wang Jie.
Knowing Wang Jie was at Ten Seals, Zong Cheng Ping directly used his Lock Force to press him down.
No one else could suppress him, but Zong Cheng Ping was different. He possessed terrifying battle power.
As soon as Zong Cheng Ping struck, Wang Jie felt the battle power spike, and the Lock Force, which was suffocating, almost made him lose consciousness. However, trying to suppress him with Lock Force was impossible. The deep black imprint on Wang Jie’s body held the Lock Force in place, not shifting a bit, like a stubborn stone resisting the sea.
Wang Jie stepped forward using Armor Eight Steps, launching a punch. Energy combined with energy, creating a transparent wave that stirred his hair. The terrifying force struck, and before his eyes, a flying wheel appeared. His punch landed on the wheel, pushing it back, but it continued to approach Zong Cheng Ping.
Zong Cheng Ping was stunned. He raised his hand to press on the other side of the wheel, his fingers curling, and the Lock Force behind him howled like a mad roar. With a loud crash, the ground collapsed, and the violent force sent Wang Jie flying back.
Wang Jie quickly attacked again from another angle, but the wheel was everywhere, perfectly blocking every move he made.
The closer Wang Jie got to Zong Cheng Ping, the faster the wheel moved. When Wang Jie was just a meter away from Zong Cheng Ping, the wheel not only blocked his attacks but also counterattacked. If not for Wang Jie’s Sword Step, he might have been injured.
Retreating a thousand meters, Wang Jie stared at Zong Cheng Ping, amazed by his perfect defense.
Zong Cheng Ping lowered his arm, and the wheel in front of him flickered, marveling. “As Feng Lang said, your footwork is the best in Lock Path Interval. I’m impressed.”
“But you can’t break my defense.”
“This isn’t just defense, Younger Brother. To reach this kind of battle power with Ten Seals is unheard of. Perhaps only the Wandering Gods could match this. Today, I’m honored to meet such a strong person. Please, don’t hold back, Younger Brother.”
Wandering Gods?
Wang Jie’s gaze narrowed as he saw the wheel spinning. The battle power detector surged again, reaching a maximum of one hundred thousand.
One hundred thousand combat power.
A Wandering Star Realm level.
Wang Jie’s heart skipped a beat. He saw Zong Cheng Ping’s energy pouring into the wheel. This was a Star Breaking Combat Technique, and the strength of the energy was far beyond his own. With a wave, the wheel shot toward him, drawing a line through the air.
Wang Jie immediately stepped back, using Armor Eight Steps to dodge, but the wheel, under Zong Cheng Ping’s control, moved even faster.
Armor Eight Steps left behind afterimages, and the wheel left afterimages too.
Wang Jie had no choice but to approach Zong Cheng Ping, but the wheel was faster and intercepted him before he could reach.
What technique was this?
All battle techniques usually exploded with the greatest destructive power in an instant, but Zong Cheng Ping could maintain one hundred thousand combat power, both attacking and defending. This technique was most effective against encirclement.
As long as the battle power was below his, the wheel would destroy them.
No wonder Zong Cheng Ping was the top Full Star Realm expert of Lock Path Interval. It was likely that even if ten or eight Full Star Realm cultivators attacked together, they would have no chance.
Facing one hundred thousand combat power, Wang Jie had nothing but Starry Finger to counter it.
His peak explosion, even with the borrowed power from his debt slip, would still not reach one hundred thousand combat power.
“Younger Brother, how much longer can you avoid it?” Zong Cheng Ping spoke, and the wheel came again.
Wang Jie exhaled. “Elder Brother, have you ever seen the stars?”
Zong Cheng Ping froze. “What?”
The wheel flickered, and the sky filled with stars.
Zong Cheng Ping saw the stars. He saw countless stars replacing the world, flickering.
The stars kept getting closer, transforming into rotating celestial bodies, and within each star, a finger fell, as if trying to crush the world.
He had lived so long and seen many techniques, some even more amazing and spectacular than this one, but they were all fake. However, at this moment, looking at the fingers, looking at the rotating stars, he knew—this was real.
Each star was real.
It was a sky full of stars, and within those stars, countless fingers pointed, as if the giants’ fingertips were descending.
Such power. Changing the world, limiting everything he saw, heard, thought, and imagined beneath this sky full of stars.
Stars. This was the star method.
The wheel was struck by the fingers, shaking. The second, third, and fourth fingers fell, each one solidly suppressing the wheel, and the rest of the fingers covered Zong Cheng Ping from the stars above.
Zong Cheng Ping bent his fingers and exhaled heavily. Lock Force erupted from within him. His palms pushed forward, and the wheel advanced with an overwhelming Star Breaking Combat Technique—Lone Star Slash.
“You have your stars, but I have my lone star slash.”