Chapter 148

Chapter 148: The Sky Outside

Wang Jie saw an arc of qi lash toward him.

A whip.

He couldn’t see the whip itself, but he could see the qi it carried.

The strike landed.

The ship exploded in fire and twisted metal.

Wang Jie kicked off a chunk of wreckage and hurled himself toward the planet below. Behind him, the flames died almost instantly as the whip churned through the debris, shredding what remained into scrap.

A razor wind swept over him with the whip’s force. Wherever it brushed his skin, it burned.

Poison.

Wang Jie swallowed a recovery pill and forced his body into a dive.

Behind him, Shen Wang closed in.

Shen Wang glanced at the wreckage. No body.

His gaze snapped to the planet and found Wang Jie. A vicious grin spread across his face as he flung the whip again.

“Little kid,” he snarled, “I’ve been looking for you.”

The whip pierced the void like a black dragon.

On the planet, Du Xian watched the chase on a screen, calm as ever, a faint smile on her lips. “You didn’t buy the information. Live or die—your fate is your own, Guest.”

Out in open space, Wang Jie couldn’t dodge a Roaming-Star Realm strike. He raised his left arm and took it head-on.

The whip slammed into his bracer. The bracer held—but the force still tore through him and smashed into his chest with a boom.

Wang Jie was flung downward like a meteor.

Shen Wang reeled in the whip and sneered. “Dead.”

A Ten Seals cultivator, hit by him? Even a Roaming-Star Realm expert would suffer. That Qiu Chou might have stolen the materials, but he’d lost half his life for it.

This boy hadn’t been crushed into meat only because Shen Wang wanted a whole corpse to report upward.

Now, poisoned and broken, he would die.

Shen Wang stepped after him, descending.

In the void above, ships that caught the scene turned pale with fear.

This wasn’t a fight you could win. If a Roaming-Star Realm expert shattered your ship, you died. No matter how strong you were, you didn’t even get a chance to resist.

Wang Jie plunged through clouds.

His left arm was numb, dead weight. The bracer was intact, but the transmitted force left half his body sluggish and unresponsive.

His chest, however, was fine.

Heart-Protecting Shield held.

Sword Steps.

A sword-shadow flashed beneath his feet, dragging him sideways in a violent burst, forcing his falling body into a new trajectory.

Shen Wang landed hard, the ground trembling.

He looked up—eyes narrowing.

Still alive?

He lashed again.

Wang Jie glanced back, gathered his qi, and braced—Qi-Qi Convergence.

The whip struck his chest, driving blood from his mouth, but he used the blow’s momentum to fling himself even farther, smashing away toward the distance.

Shen Wang’s expression turned ugly.

A three-tribulation Chen artifact.

This kid had one.

He surged after him.

Let’s see where you can run.

Wang Jie slammed into the city like a falling star, then dove straight underground—into the ship exchange.

Blood dripped from his lips as he roared, “Du Xian! I’m buying a ship!”

His voice echoed through the subterranean halls.

Du Xian stared at him, stunned. The floor beneath him was stained with fresh blood.

He actually came here.

Shen Wang landed above. The entire underground complex shook.

His gaze locked on Wang Jie. He took a step forward, ready to strike.

Wang Jie turned his head. “Shen Wang. This is Star Vault Vista’s territory. Are you trying to challenge all of Star Vault Vista?”

Shen Wang stopped.

His eyes flickered.

Star Vault Vista.

Most people in Suo Xing Jian didn’t know what that name meant.

But Shen Wang did.

It was a true behemoth.

Not just Suo Xing Jian—Black-White Heaven itself feared Star Vault Vista.

Those who had seen more feared more.

If Black-White Heaven could decide his life or death in Fourth Nebula, Star Vault Vista could decide his life or death across the entire universe.

Black-White Heaven’s status was nowhere near comparable.

Star Vault Vista held the universe’s largest intelligence network. If they wanted him dead, there was nowhere he could hide.

That was why Shen Wang feared them.

Du Xian stepped out, her expression composed. “Guest, what are you doing? My exchange does not interfere in outside disputes. Please do not—”

“I’m here to buy a ship,” Wang Jie cut in.

Du Xian’s gaze shifted, briefly, to Shen Wang.

Wang Jie said, “I’m buying a ship. You won’t refuse, will you? I’m a Guest.”

Du Xian’s smile returned, thin but polite. “Of course. Please come in, Guest.”

Shen Wang stepped inside as well.

Du Xian turned and smiled at him. “And this Guest—are you also here to buy a ship?”

Shen Wang stared at Wang Jie. “You think I won’t dare kill you here?”

Wang Jie didn’t look back. “If I die here, news will spread across the universe. The Zhi family will make sure of it.”

“Star Vault Vista has countless people. Even if only a few take offense, you’ll never have peace again.”

“And think,” he added, voice calm. “If someone in the Zhi family wanted me dead, why wouldn’t they kill me themselves? Why send you? You’re tangled up in things you don’t understand.”

Du Xian’s brows pulled together. “Guest, Star Vault Vista does not interfere in outside disputes. We will not interfere in your conflict.”

“That’s why I’m buying a ship,” Wang Jie said flatly. “Do business. I’m a big customer.”

He walked forward without looking back.

Would Shen Wang kill him here?

No.

Wang Jie was seventy percent sure.

Shen Wang had intercepted him outside the planet. How had he known to wait there?

Zhi Xing Xue hadn’t betrayed him.

Miao Tai didn’t know his route.

Even if Du Xian had told Shen Wang, he couldn’t have arrived so quickly.

There was only one explanation.

Shen Wang guessed.

He knew Du Xian controlled Suo Xing Jian’s largest intelligence hub, and he knew Wang Jie desperately needed information.

The more Shen Wang knew, the more he feared Star Vault Vista.

Wang Jie had no other move. He could only gamble.

And once Shen Wang hesitated instead of striking, Wang Jie knew he’d gambled correctly.

He returned to the private room. Bloody footprints marked the floor behind him.

Only when the door shut did he finally breathe.

Du Xian watched him with calm interest. “You were that sure he wouldn’t dare strike?”

Wang Jie gave a weary wave. “Did I have a choice?”

Du Xian let out a quiet breath that sounded almost like admiration. “Among everyone I’ve met, Guest is rare—bold, careful, and clever.”

Then her eyes sharpened. “But aren’t you afraid you’ll suffer for using Star Vault Vista as a shield?”

“At the edge of death,” Wang Jie said, and drank the tea in one gulp, “I didn’t have time to worry about that.”

He leaned forward. “Enough. The information you wanted to sell me was that he’d be waiting outside, wasn’t it?”

“It was,” Du Xian admitted.

“Couldn’t you have warned me?”

“I did.” Du Xian smiled. “Could Guest afford it?”

Wang Jie’s mouth tightened.

Du Xian’s tone stayed smooth. “Star Vault Vista does not interfere in outside disputes. Guest is only a Guest.”

Wang Jie nodded once. “Fine. Then tell me—how did you know he’d be waiting?”

Du Xian laughed softly. “Information comes from many sources. This one was simple.”

“He’s already killed three Ten Seals cultivators who left my place.”

Wang Jie understood at once.

Shen Wang hadn’t singled him out. He was simply hunting any Ten Seals cultivator he saw.

Ruthless.

There was a reason he’d survived the battlefield.

Du Xian’s expression turned serious. “Then it’s time to trade. What does Guest want to buy?”

She paused, then added, warning in her voice, “Understand this: Shen Wang’s fear of offending Star Vault Vista is proportional to how severe it is for Guest to toy with Star Vault Vista.”

Wang Jie met her eyes. “I understand.”

“Then come,” Du Xian said lightly. “Let me introduce ship models for Guest.”

Outside the exchange, on and off the planet, countless people stared into the underground complex, bewildered that a mere ship exchange could stop a Roaming-Star Realm fugitive from killing someone.

Most of Suo Xing Jian didn’t know what Star Vault Vista truly was.

Even Fu An’s group didn’t.

Only Zong Cheng Ping wasn’t surprised when he heard Shen Wang hadn’t slaughtered his way inside.

“What is Star Vault Exchange, exactly?” Lie Qiu asked, frowning. “Is it connected to some sect Lord?”

Zong Cheng Ping’s voice was deep. “Not connected to the sect.”

“Then what?”

“Something bigger.”

Fu An’s eyes widened. “Bigger than Black-White Heaven?”

Zong Cheng Ping nodded. “My Master once said: if you spend your whole life in Fourth Nebula, then Black-White Heaven is the sky.”

“But if you leave Fourth Nebula, Star Vault Vista is the sky.”

“They control the largest intelligence network in the universe. They touch everything—ships, energy, news, population, craft dao, pill dao, formation dao… even the most mysterious Star Dao.”

“Their reach spans the universe.”

“Even the legendary Jia Yi Sect avoids offending them.”

“For anyone who might someday leave the nebula, offending Star Vault Vista is worse than offending any force—because there is nowhere to hide.”

Fu An swallowed. “So that’s why Shen Wang hesitated.”

“He has to escape Fourth Nebula,” Zong Cheng Ping said. “So he fears Star Vault Vista even more.”

Zong Cheng Ping’s eyes narrowed. “Wang Jie bet correctly—but he can’t stay inside forever.”

“If Shen Wang becomes convinced Wang Jie has no real ties to Star Vault Vista, then killing him inside won’t matter.”

“And Shen Wang doesn’t have much time.”

Back in Black-White Heaven’s Steward Hall, Wu Yun’s face was dark.

She’d sent a fugitive to act, and the fugitive happened to have a brain.

If it were someone ignorant, they’d already charged in and killed.

Wu Yun barked an order. “Tell Shen Wang: if he doesn’t charge in and butcher Wang Jie, I’ll make sure he can’t even leave Fourth Nebula.”

“Yes.”

“Wait.”

A man stepped in and stopped the messenger.

Wu Yun looked up. The man leaned close and whispered a few words. One name slipped through clearly:

Zhi Ye.

Wu Yun’s expression changed.

She raised a hand. “Hold.”

Then she turned and contacted Zhi Upper Realm.

Not long after, Zhi Shu requested an audience with Zhi Ye.

“This junior, Zhi Shu, greets Second Uncle.”