Chapter 143
Chapter 143: A Full Release of Rage
“Speak, what did he do? What made you come to me personally?” Zhi Xing Xue asked, pressing for answers.
Zhi Shu bowed respectfully. “This person has been disturbing the Lock Path interval’s cultivation regulations. If this continues, it will cause the quality of practitioners coming from the Lock Path interval to decline, which will eventually impact the star cloud battlefield.”
Zhi Xing Xue looked at her and laughed loudly.
Zhi Shu’s expression darkened. “What is it, grand aunt, what’s so funny?”
Zhi Xing Xue mocked, “Are you trying to tell me that a little fellow with just ten seals can affect the star cloud battlefield?”
Zhi Shu opened her mouth but didn’t know how to respond.
She didn’t believe for a second that this old fool didn’t know about the situation. She was just playing deaf and mute, otherwise, why would Wang Jie dare to bring her name into the matter?
It was all the fault of those idiots from the Four Alliances—useless fools who couldn’t even suppress a ten-seal little fellow.
“Does grand aunt not care anymore?”
Zhi Xing Xue waved her hand dismissively. “How could an old woman like me intervene? Should I tell him not to bully the full star realm practitioners from the Lock Path interval? Should I tell him that while these full star realm experts are powerful, they still can’t compare to a mere ten-seal practitioner like him? Should I tell him that these are the same kinds of strong cultivators who come from the Black White Heaven’s training grounds?”
“I think it’s not him who should be told, but rather the ancestor of the Zhi family, the sect leaders of Black and White domains. How could the Lock Path interval, with billions of practitioners, not be able to subdue a single ten-seal fellow from Frost Radiance Sect? What have you all been doing? Apart from hoarding resources, what else can you do?”
With that, Zhi Xing Xue turned around and walked away, her face full of displeasure.
Zhi Xing Xue watched as she stormed off, a sense of satisfaction filling her heart.
Behind her, an old woman chuckled. “Master, that verbal lashing must’ve relieved you greatly.”
“Haha, and to think, that little fellow actually forced her to come to me.”
“Yes, but this will surely anger Zhi Qing, who stands behind her. Do you think Wang Jie can handle it?”
Zhi Xing Xue thought for a moment. “Even Zhi Qing wouldn’t dare openly break the rules. Her methods are limited in the shadows. We’ll see how it goes. I, old woman, can’t promise him much, but if he survives this, I’ll find a way to help him rise.”
The old woman sighed. “It’s a shame that he’s a Lock Force practitioner.”
Zhi Xing Xue shook her head. That was his biggest shortcoming, but she had no one else to rely on.
Meanwhile, in the Lock Path interval, Wu Yun directly contacted Zong Cheng Ping, bypassing intermediaries.
“Zong Cheng Ping, kill Wang Jie for me. I don’t care what methods you use or how much it costs, you must kill him. He has to die.”
Zong Cheng Ping sighed. “I’ve fought him before, and I couldn’t win. If I could, I would have solved him back at Sword Mastery Heaven.”
“You, a top full star expert of the Lock Path interval, couldn’t even defeat a ten-seal? Don’t forget, he’s just from Frost Radiance Sect, not from Black White Heaven. Do you even realize what you’re saying?”
“Apologies, deacon. I am willing to die for the deacon, but there are things I simply cannot do. Even if I die, I can’t achieve what you ask. I didn’t want to disappoint the deacon’s plans.”
“You useless wretch!”
Zong Cheng Ping didn’t argue. He was Xiao Rong’s disciple, but Xiao Rong himself was just a wandering star realm Lock Force practitioner with some credit on the star cloud battlefield. To a sect deacon, that meant little.
A moment later, Wu Yun contacted him again. “I’ve instructed Lie Qiu, Feng Jia’s brother, Nie Zhou, and the five from Lone Peak Gorge to cooperate with you.”
“Ten full star realm practitioners. If you can’t kill Wang Jie with that, you should all just die,” Wu Yun concluded, ending the conversation.
Zong Cheng Ping was stunned. So, this was the situation.
He had always thought the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge were different, but now he understood that they were directly connected. Wu Yun could issue such orders, meaning they all answered to the same person or power.
Bitter realization filled him. What did it matter to him being the foremost full star expert, or the Lock Path interval, or the Four Alliances? They were all just ants under the command of someone else.
He turned his gaze to the starry sky. Ten full star realm experts hunting a mere ten-seal—this was unprecedented in history.
If they couldn’t kill Wang Jie now, everything was truly over.
Up above, the heavens stirred in anger.
“Order to seal Sword Mastery Heaven! No ships are to approach.”
“Immediately contact Miao Tai.”
“Prepare the ships. I’m going to Lone Peak Gorge.”
Zong Cheng Ping issued order after order, aiming first to block Wang Jie from fleeing to Sword Mastery Heaven, preventing him from using it as leverage against the Lock Path interval. Then he would contact Lie Qiu and the others to formulate a plan.
For Wang Jie, he needed a single decisive strike. If it failed, there would be no second chance.
“Hope you don’t blame me for this. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself for being too extreme.”
The Ten Seals—each mark, from deep black to Heaven Reversal, was not something that could be completed in just a few tries. Even if he had enough Cataclysm materials, it wouldn’t be enough.
It took Wang Jie three full months to deepen three of his marks to Heaven Reversal.
Staring at the nearly devouring darkness, he felt that the Star Breaking Realm was moving further away.
The deeper the Ten Seals went, the harder it became to break through.
The color of Heaven Reversal was definitely the deepest of the Ten Seals in all of history.
The remaining Cataclysm materials could only deepen two more marks to Heaven Reversal.
Wang Jie took a brief rest and checked his personal terminal. Miao Tai had contacted him multiple times during this period. After some thought, he decided to reach out.
“My lord, you finally replied,” Miao Tai said, sounding relieved.
“What’s the matter?”
“Zong Cheng Ping, together with the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge, has sent ten full star realm experts to track and kill you.”
Wang Jie wasn’t surprised. This meant the Four Alliances’ people had made their move. He hadn’t expected them to fully unite with Lone Peak Gorge.
Ten full star realm experts? That’s a lot.
“How did you respond to them?”
Miao Tai answered respectfully, “I told them that I would inform them of your whereabouts once I knew.”
“My lord, the ten full star realm experts are the minimum. The Lock Path interval may have more full star realm cultivators who might join in. You should hide for now.”
“Honestly, if you had just killed Lie Qiu and the others back then, you wouldn’t be in this danger now.”
Kill them? Wang Jie wasn’t regretful. He wasn’t a murderer.
He couldn’t just kill people because he had conflicts with them.
Things were changing, and once-enemies could become allies, or still remain enemies. He could only say that his luck was bad this time, as the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge’s backers were completely united without regard for Zhi Xing Xue.
After a moment of thought, Wang Jie’s voice lowered. “Tell them I’m at Condensed Heaven Star.”
Condensed Heaven Star was indeed the planet he was on, a high-gravity planet. Unlike Heavy Depth Star, the gravity here was uniform, a hundred times that of Earth.
Not too high, not too low.
Just perfect for full star realm cultivators.
Wang Jie had chosen this place to meditate because the higher the gravity, the better. Ideally, it would be around two hundred times, so that even full star realm experts couldn’t easily target him.
Miao Tai sounded uneasy. “My lord, if they confirm you’re at Condensed Heaven Star, they may not engage in battle, but instead directly destroy the planet. Then you’ll be in danger.”
Wang Jie thought about it and realized Miao Tai was right. He thought he could counterattack, but in reality, his enemies might skip the battle entirely and just destroy the planet. That would be much faster. Whether it was Condensed Heaven Star, or ten or a hundred planets, they could all be destroyed without hesitation.
“Then where do you think would be completely safe from destruction?”
Miao Tai immediately replied, “Lone Peak Gorge. It’s the entrance to Sword Mastery Heaven. The planets are connected, and there are rules forbidding anyone from attacking a planetary region. Otherwise, it would cause the collapse of the Sword Mastery Heaven entrance.”
“Lone Peak Gorge covers a large area, and even full star realm experts would find it hard to destroy.”
Wang Jie said, “Then tell them I’m at Lone Peak Gorge.”
Miao Tai was serious. “My lord, are you sure you want to face them in battle?”
Wang Jie didn’t answer. He ended the conversation.
And so, his journey began—Lone Peak Gorge.
The Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge’s joint hunt meant that the entire Lock Path interval had become a hunting ground. If he ran, he would have nowhere to go. He couldn’t accept that. And for Zhi Xing Xue’s sake, he couldn’t just hide away.
This matter had to come to a resolution.
The Sword Mastery Heaven issue could be settled after the battle with Zong Cheng Ping, but this matter was different.
As for Miao Tai, his words were half true, half false—he didn’t want to offend the Four Alliances, but he also didn’t want to offend Wang Jie.
Both sides were using him to set the stage for battle.
Wang Jie wasn’t worried about Miao Tai fully betraying him, because he knew who had his back. People like that didn’t leave themselves with no way out.
Meanwhile, Miao Tai contacted Zong Cheng Ping. “Senior, I’ve contacted Wang Jie.”
“Where is he?”
“Lone Peak Gorge.”
“He’s at Lone Peak Gorge?”
“Yes. Because Lone Peak Gorge is a region that cannot be destroyed, he’s afraid of having no place to stand.”
Zong Cheng Ping paused for a moment before asking, “What’s the exact location?”
Miao Tai sighed. “He didn’t say, and he wouldn’t tell me. Once we arrived at Lone Peak Gorge, he parted ways with me.”
“Miao Tai, do you know that being a fence-sitter has no good outcome?”
“Junior knows, senior, don’t worry. Once I confirm his exact location, I’ll inform you.”
The conversation ended.
Miao Tai lowered his arm and looked up at the stars.
He didn’t want to be a fence-sitter, but what could he do? When it was his turn, fate was no longer in his hands.
In truth, he hoped Wang Jie would win. If so, the Lock Path interval powers would be shuffled, and he would gain more. Plus, compared to the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge, Wang Jie was actually easier to deal with.
Lone Peak Gorge, encompassing the entrance to Sword Mastery Heaven, had regions connected by star systems, covering vast territories.
Wang Jie boarded a ship and descended to the lake bed, walking out. In the distance was the city of the planet where Fu An resided.
The hunt had begun.
His appearance had changed, and the lively streets were filled with bustling voices.
Wang Jie scanned the crowds, focusing on the strong energy of each person. Powerful individuals could conceal their aura, but here, they couldn’t hide it, as they didn’t know how.
Not long later, he found his first target.
Just a kilometer away from Fu An’s residence, a man sat by the bridge, leisurely fishing.
A full star realm expert.
Wang Jie’s gaze shifted again, continuously observing. Soon, he found another one.
More full star realm experts were gathered. These were unfamiliar faces. It seemed the numbers were more than ten now. The Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge had joined forces, and Wang Jie recognized most of them, but these new faces were strange.
They were all preparing to hunt him.
But for now, they hadn’t locked onto his location. They were all gathering in the surrounding area. If Miao Tai hadn’t betrayed him, they still didn’t know he was planning to hunt them down.
Where Lie Qiu and the others were still remained unknown.
To observe their energy was not the same as using sight.
If they stayed indoors or in slightly concealed areas, he wouldn’t be able to see them.
Since he was being hunted, it was best to kill the strongest ones first.
If Zong Cheng Ping couldn’t finish him with one blow, then Nie Zhou or Lie Qiu would be his next targets.