Chapter 164

Chapter 164: Well Done

Lie Qiu stood there, dazed.

It was strange. It was wrong.

And yet her instincts screamed at her to do it.

If she didn’t, anxiety crawled under her skin. Restlessness clawed at her throat. She couldn’t settle—couldn’t cultivate.

No.

She had to collect them. Immediately.

In the distance, Wang Jie glanced back once, and a faint smile touched his mouth.

Interesting.

He returned to the third plot and raised his hand.

His sword came out.

Hanging Stream Sword Form.

Now he needed to understand the third plot completely: how the cards appeared, how they functioned, what they did to the person they latched onto—and whether they could eventually force someone else into mastering the technique tied to the materials.

Not long after, he found Lie Qiu again.

“You collected the fish?” he asked.

Lie Qiu looked exhausted. “I did.”

“And?”

“The restlessness is gone.” She rubbed her temples. “I don’t feel anything now.”

Wang Jie kept his face neutral. “Could Wu Yun have planted something in you?”

Lie Qiu shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. I think it’s the card.”

She looked up. “You remember? The card had fish patterns.”

“I don’t,” Wang Jie said blandly.

“I do,” Lie Qiu said. “Show me again.”

“Then show me the card.”

Lie Qiu’s face turned grim. “It’s gone.”

Wang Jie’s brows rose. “Gone?”

“Yes.” She swallowed. “I put it away, but I can’t find it anywhere. I think… it might be some kind of curse.”

Wang Jie nodded as if considering. “Where did you pick it up?”

“Where did you?” Lie Qiu pressed.

“On the ground,” Wang Jie said.

Lie Qiu opened her mouth, then closed it, unable to form a response.

Wang Jie said nothing more.

In his hand, hidden from her view, was another card.

This one was covered in stone patterns—deep-sea stones, one every hundred meters.

Lie Qiu would never willingly take another card now.

So he would have to apply them the other way.

Quietly.

“Let’s spar,” Wang Jie said.

Lie Qiu stared at him. “I can’t beat you.”

“That’s why it’s sparring.”

“We already fought before.”

“Move.” Wang Jie’s tone sharpened. “I’m testing something. Don’t make me beat you down one-sided.”

Lie Qiu glared. “You really don’t treat me like a woman.”

Over the next half month, Wang Jie used Lie Qiu as a test subject again and again.

Lie Qiu suffered miserably—and had no idea why.

She collected stones. She hunted down a fish eye. She searched for a flower that had grown for thirty-three years. The worst task of all was obtaining tears from a heartbroken girl.

Where was she supposed to find something like that?

And if she couldn’t, she couldn’t cultivate.

The sheer absurdity of it wore her down until she looked visibly older, a tired roughness settling into her face.

In the end, Wang Jie took pity on her and recreated the same task materials in the plot, breaking the card’s hold. Only then did the compulsions stop.

By then, he understood the third plot’s mechanism well enough.

The third plot corresponded to the first plot.

In the first plot, certain materials “grew” certain techniques.

In the third plot, using a technique could reverse-extract a card—a card that represented the materials tied to that technique.

And when you placed a card on someone else, they were forced to complete those materials.

If they didn’t, they became anxious and restless, unable to cultivate properly.

If they discovered the card quickly enough, they might throw it away and escape. But the window was short. A card vanished from the person quickly. Wait too long, and they couldn’t even find it anymore—meaning they couldn’t get rid of it.

Completing the “task” gave the victim nothing.

No reward. No technique.

Just the relief of being allowed to breathe again.

The cards could repeat.

The tasks could be reduced.

And if Wang Jie wanted to end the task early, he only needed to recreate the same card in the plot—pulling the card back.

Understanding it all left him satisfied.

He wasn’t the only one who would have to “work” from now on.

He compiled a list of everything he’d ever completed as first-plot materials.

There were a lot.

From now on, if someone irritated him enough—and didn’t understand what was happening—

He could make them run errands until they broke.

His personal terminal beeped.

Wang Jie’s eyes lit. “The Elders Council’s people are here. Let’s go.”

Lie Qiu happened to be with him. She looked like a woman who’d crawled out of a long, miserable tunnel.

Wang Jie didn’t say anything about the half month she’d lost.

At Yi Sword Heaven’s entrance, two cultivators stood beside the Shen Wang ship, inspecting it with open disdain. They spoke in low voices, sometimes laughing as if at a private joke.

Around them, others were scattered across the area—lockforce cultivators and starforce cultivators alike.

Among them, Wang Jie spotted Fu An.

Fu An glanced over when Wang Jie and Lie Qiu arrived, nodded once, and remained where he stood.

The two by the ship turned.

The moment their eyes landed on Wang Jie, their expressions darkened. A faint pressure rolled off them.

Roaming-Star Realm.

Both of them.

Wang Jie walked up without ceremony. “From the Elders Council?”

One of them—the younger one—looked him over like dirt. “You’re Wang Jie?”

“That’s me.”

The younger man sneered. “Big attitude. You don’t even salute. You really think you’re something special.”

“Enough,” the older one cut in, expression tight. “We have business.”

He faced Wang Jie. “Where is Wu Yun?”

Wang Jie shook his head. “I don’t know. But she’s likely outside Yi Sword Heaven. She won’t let me go.”

“Explain what happened,” the older man said. “How exactly did she try to kill you?”

Wang Jie summarized it briefly.

When he finished, the two exchanged a look.

The younger man clicked his tongue. “You survived a steward’s assassination. Lucky.”

The older man’s eyes were sharper. “If not for Qiu Chou, you would’ve died.”

Then the younger man added, open contempt in his voice, “What a pity. The one who died wasn’t you.”

Wang Jie’s gaze turned cold.

The younger man noticed and laughed. “What? Unhappy? If it weren’t for someone else’s face, I’d slap you to death myself. Wu Yun wouldn’t even get a turn.”

Wang Jie’s voice stayed flat. “Wu Yun is weak. Even Qiu Chou left her badly wounded. You don’t need two Roaming-Star Realm cultivators to surround her.”

Lie Qiu shot him a quick look.

Poisonous.

If they believed him and got themselves killed, it would be a disaster.

The younger man scoffed. “A steward. How strong can a steward be? I refused a steward position and joined the Elders Council.”

The older man’s mouth tightened. He stopped the younger one with a glance, then looked back at Wang Jie. “We will judge Wu Yun’s strength ourselves.”

His voice hardened. “As for you—back when you provoked the Elders Council, no matter who stands behind you, you will pay the price.”

He turned to leave.

The younger man lingered a moment longer, then drew a finger across his throat toward Wang Jie before following.

Wang Jie watched them go without expression.

A price?

Not long after, another ship arrived—this one carrying materials.

Wang Jie had ordered Zong Cheng Ping and the others to send everything they’d gathered in Lockspace over the past few months. It was a massive shipment.

He needed it—badly.

He was going to Zhi Academy soon, and he didn’t know when he would return.

Once the materials were delivered, the transport ship departed again.

Wang Jie turned and found Lie Qiu still there.

“Why aren’t you leaving?” he asked.

Lie Qiu’s eyes were wary. “It’s not safe.”

“The Elders Council’s people are here,” Wang Jie said. “Wu Yun doesn’t need to kill you to silence you anymore. You can go.”

Lie Qiu shook her head. “I know her. You and I are both targets she must kill. I’ll wait and leave with you.”

A few days later, another ship approached.

Zhi Xing Xue’s maid, Little Lan, arrived.

Wang Jie watched an old crone step down from the ship, her presence quiet but suffocating. He immediately stepped forward and bowed. “Junior Wang Jie greets Senior.”

Lie Qiu hurried to bow as well. “Greetings, Senior.”

The old crone—Little Lan—smiled, her eyes sweeping over Wang Jie. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, Wang Jie. You did very well.”

Wang Jie kept his posture respectful. “Junior still has many shortcomings. Otherwise I wouldn’t have made Senior travel for me.”

Little Lan chuckled. “It doesn’t matter.”

Her smile thinned. Killing intent flashed across her face, and cold surged through the void like blades.

“I’d like to find that little steward,” she said. “I want to see how bold she is—daring to touch our people.”

Warmth stirred in Wang Jie’s chest at the words.

Little Lan’s tone softened again. “Come. I’m taking you to Zhi Academy. Until that little steward is found, it’s the safest place.”

Wang Jie sighed. “What a pity. I finally took control of Lockspace.”

“It’s fine,” Little Lan said. “The rules are set. Unless something changes, whenever you return, Lockspace will still obey you.”

Her gaze flicked briefly to Lie Qiu, sharp as a knife.

Lie Qiu’s heart lurched. She bowed again, deeper.

Little Lan withdrew her gaze and continued, “Besides, Master has already used Lockspace to take the first step. The goal has been achieved.”

Wang Jie hesitated. “At Zhi Academy, is there anything you need me to do?”

“Zhi Academy is completely different from Lockspace…” Little Lan began.

On the ship, Lie Qiu stayed as far as she could from Wang Jie and Little Lan, terrified of hearing something she shouldn’t.

Little Lan was far more frightening than Wu Yun.

Wang Jie didn’t know her exact realm, but she spoke of Wu Yun as if Wu Yun were nothing. If he had to guess, she might even be at the Hundred-Star Realm.

They traveled aboard Wang Jie’s ship. The ship Little Lan arrived in was only star belt class—worse than his.

Wang Jie refused to abandon the Shen Wang ship as well. He brought it along, unwilling to part with it.

They arrived at Lone Peak Gorge. Wang Jie left Lie Qiu there, then continued on with Little Lan to a shop where he could speak with Zhi Xing Xue. In that place, even Little Lan couldn’t contact Zhi Xing Xue directly.

Wang Jie bowed slightly. “Senior, I’m out.”

Zhi Xing Xue’s voice came through, calm and steady. “Little Lan will tell you everything about Zhi Academy. Don’t think too much. Treat it as a vacation. Rest.”

“I understand.” Wang Jie paused. “Senior… I also learned of an odd planet from Lie Qiu. She told me to save her life.”

He explained the planet’s properties, then added, “I haven’t had time to confirm whether it’s true.”

Zhi Xing Xue sounded faintly pleased. Wang Jie was safe now. His path was secured. He no longer needed to rely on her.

And yet he still brought the odd planet to her attention.

That meant something.

Odd planets were extremely valuable. Strange starforce cultivators above Full-Star Realm often only came into being after sacrificing an odd planet—sometimes more than one.

Full-Star Realm required absorbing an entire planet’s starforce. Odd planets were no exception.

That meant every Full-Star Realm strange starforce cultivator had destroyed at least one odd planet.

That was why they were so rare.

Otherwise, after countless years, odd planets would be everywhere.

In other words, giving someone the right to cultivate strange starforce was the same as giving them an odd planet. And who received it? Of course they fought.

That was why an odd planet could be used to bind the choices of powerful people. Some elders’ favored juniors couldn’t get one. Miss the golden window, fall behind—and the gap might never be closed.

To those elders, odd planets were priceless.

Rarity made them precious.

“Keep it,” Zhi Xing Xue said at last. “You earned it with your life.

“This incident… was my oversight. I didn’t expect a steward to step in personally.”

Her tone sharpened slightly. “Zhi Qing gave her too much pressure and too much temptation. That’s why she dared risk everything to kill you.

“It may happen again in the future. But don’t worry. Zhi Qing will pay the price. And I will compensate you as well.”

Wang Jie’s voice was earnest. “Senior sending me to Zhi Academy is already more than enough.”

“That’s only an answer to the immediate danger,” Zhi Xing Xue replied. “Little Lan hasn’t told you yet, but I’m trying to get you into Great Chen Mountain to cultivate Chen Art.”

She paused, and her voice cooled into certainty. “That qualification won’t come quickly. We’ll have to fight for it.”