Chapter 177

Chapter 177: Master Is Really Amazing

Swiftstep Pill was a Full-Star Realm pill. Wang Jie had bought it before—five hundred thousand starstones for one.

Each additional wen increased speed by ten percent, and the price rose by another five hundred thousand starstones.

Four-wen meant two million starstones per pill.

This bottle held thirty.

A fortune.

“Oh, and this,” Su Le said, taking out another bottle. “There’s only one left, but you can have it too.”

Wang Jie accepted it and checked the label. “Feigned-Death Pill?”

Su Le nodded. “I hope you never need it.”

Feigned-Death Pill was a Roaming-Star Realm pill—twenty million starstones for one. Wang Jie had never bought it before. The Four-Dao Market didn’t carry it. Very few people refined such pills.

“Thank you,” he said.

Su Le’s gaze lowered. “I was impulsive. I got you targeted. This is what I owe you.”

She hesitated, then blurted, “Why don’t you move in with me? No one would dare assassinate you where I live.”

Wang Jie wanted to refuse.

Then he thought about it—and accepted.

The shop had already served its purpose. The three paths didn’t dare touch him now. It was time to find a place to cultivate properly and rest.

He’d been searching for a residence last night anyway.

And living with a beauty? Not exactly a hardship.

More importantly, it meant he didn’t have to worry about another assassination.

Still, he decided to wait until Mu Ran and the others arrived first.

Gao Chi was released a few days later.

He’d cooperated with the enforcement team’s investigation, but even though Wang Jie insisted it was Gao Chi who’d tried to kill him, there was no proof. They couldn’t take one man’s word as truth.

Once he was out, Gao Chi stormed into Wang Jie’s shop and started shouting. The people nearby watched, dumbfounded.

When had they ever seen Roaming-Star Realm experts screaming at each other in the street?

Gao Chi had no choice. If he could, he would have crushed Wang Jie with a single palm. But he couldn’t—not here.

About ten days later, Du Xian came again. She tested him once more, probing for a six-wen Burststar Pill.

Wang Jie held firm. He didn’t have it.

Du Xian couldn’t force an answer, so she proposed another idea instead: from now on, every pill Wang Jie star-refined would be bought by the Star Vault Exchange.

In other words, he wouldn’t need to keep a shop at all.

He’d have a fixed sales channel.

“Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to sell them?” Wang Jie asked.

Du Xian smiled. “Thank you for thinking of us, Guest, but our market isn’t limited to the Four-Dao Star Cluster.”

“Of course, we buy at wholesale. We can’t pay retail.”

“What kind of margin?” Wang Jie asked.

“About eighty percent.”

Wang Jie pressed his lips together. Was this retaliation?

In the end, he agreed. The shop was pointless—how long did it take to sell even a single pill?

Selling directly to Du Xian meant he could recover costs quickly. The moment he had something valuable, he could turn it into profit immediately.

Why not?

The shop was cleared out fast. Only starforce pills remained.

Du Xian bought the ordinary starforce pills as well—pocket change. But she didn’t buy the gravity starforce pills or blazing-sun starforce pills.

Too expensive. Too hard to move.

She wasn’t a fool.

Star-refined pills had research value and would sell. Those rare starforce pills were high-priced and low-demand. Bad business.

Wang Jie looked at the empty shop and let out a breath. There hadn’t been much inside to begin with.

A few days later, Mu Ran and the others arrived.

Nearly three hundred people crowded outside the shop in a dark wave. From a distance, passersby might have thought they were here to smash the place.

“Thank you, Master!”

“Thank you, Master Wang, for saving us!”

“Thank you—”

Mu Ran knelt on one knee at the front, facing Wang Jie with raw gratitude.

Wang Jie hauled him up and gestured for everyone to rise.

Mu Ran’s voice shook. “If Master hadn’t saved us, we’d have been trapped mining forever.”

Wang Jie scanned the crowd. “Where are the others? Is this all?”

A disciple behind Mu Ran looked furious. “Those bastards betrayed us. They’d rather slander Elder Xing Xue than keep mining. Disgusting.”

More voices rose, angry and bitter.

Wang Jie wasn’t surprised. Not everyone had loyalty to Shuanghua Sect. It was normal.

He himself didn’t care whether Shuanghua Sect survived or fell.

What he did care about was this: they had no right to curse Elder Xing Xue.

Without Elder Xing Xue, these people wouldn’t have reached this place at all. They might have died long ago in the starry void.

Those who betrayed them would not end well.

Shuanghua Sect disciples were already unwelcome in Black-White Heaven. Now they had insulted the elder who’d saved them. In the Zhi Academy, they would find it hard to take even a single step.

The fact that the people in front of him had endured was already something.

“Enough,” Wang Jie said. “Come with me. For now, you’ll follow me.”

Mu Ran and the others answered in unison.

Wang Jie closed the shop and left.

Their destination was Glazed Courtyard.

Glazed Courtyard was Su Le’s residence in the Four-Dao Star Cluster. The scenery was elegant and serene, and it reminded Wang Jie of the watery courtyards of Jinling.

Su Le was delighted to see him. And Mu Ran’s group was settled into Glazed Courtyard as well.

The estate was enormous. Housing a few hundred people was effortless.

Here, no one would dare bully them.

Wang Jie, meanwhile, was led by Su Le to a collection she had gathered: twelve kinds of unusual starstone.

“This is the Mirage-Qi Starstone,” Su Le said, lifting one carefully. “It comes from a planet rich in mirage qi. Mirage qi blends with starforce. If you cultivate by absorbing that starforce, the starforce you unleash carries a hallucinatory effect.”

“This is Earth Starstone. The name is plain, but the effect is good—heavy starforce with defensive traits.”

“This is Bao Lei Starstone.” She tapped it lightly. “As the name suggests, the starforce inside contains thunder.”

“The universe has countless kinds of thunder, all with different traits. The thunder in Bao Lei Starstone has a tearing effect.”

“This is Sand-Burning Starstone. The starforce is like burning quicksand. Once it clings to you, it’s hard to deal with. It’s one of Black-White Heaven’s more formidable unusual starforces. One disciple under the Black Realm Lord cultivates sand-burning starforce.”

“And this is…”

She continued, one after another. Among them were gravity starstone and blazing-sun starstone—types Wang Jie had seen before.

Twelve in total.

“For now, I could only find these,” Su Le admitted. “Our sect has discovered many unusual planets over the years, but most were absorbed and destroyed by senior brothers and sisters.”

“Those who cultivate unusual starforce—when they break through Full-Star Realm, an entire unusual planet is often consumed and ruined. After so many years, there aren’t many left.”

Wang Jie nodded. He understood.

“These are already plenty,” he said. “Shall we start?”

Su Le brightened. “Yes. These are the pills. Please, Master—study them one by one.”

—

Black-White Heaven.

Zhi Study Valley.

This was where the peak existences of Fourth Nebula’s three paths resided. The very name Zhi Academy was derived from Zhi Study Valley.

Celestial Master Bai Ye of the pill path lived here.

“Disciple Zhi Shu requests an audience with Celestial Master Bai Ye.”

A woman’s voice drifted out from the depths of the valley. “Celestial Master is in seclusion, refining pills. She will not see guests.”

Zhi Shu didn’t back down. “Senior Sister Wan Yin, it’s been a long time. May I meet you?”

A woman stepped out.

Her features were gentle, her manner composed. Every movement carried a quiet serenity.

“It has been a long time,” she said. “Junior Sister Zhi Shu.”

Zhi Shu smiled and bowed. “The last time I saw Senior Sister Wan Yin was when we competed for the title of Six-Path Roamer. Years have passed, and Senior Sister’s grace surpasses even the past.”

Wan Yin smiled faintly. “Don’t praise me, Junior Sister. Master says I’ve grown lazier. If the competition happened now, I might not win.”

“Senior Sister is too modest,” Zhi Shu said smoothly. “With your talent, becoming a Six-Path Roamer would be effortless.”

“You flatter me.” Wan Yin’s eyes softened. “But tell me—why have you come?”

Zhi Shu’s expression turned grave. “Senior Sister, is Junior Sister Su Le currently in the Zhi Academy?”

“She is,” Wan Yin said. “She’s been there for some time, gaining experience. What’s wrong?”

“I’m here hoping your side can have her return,” Zhi Shu said. “Junior Sister Su Le is naive and sincere. She’s easily deceived, and easily dragged into unnecessary conflict.”

Wan Yin tilted her head. “Oh?”

“Senior Sister, please let me explain.”

Zhi Shu laid out the matter of Su Le defending Wang Jie. Her tone was earnest and controlled.

“Old Ancestor Zhi Qing is furious,” Zhi Shu said. “She wished to come in person to speak with Celestial Master. But I know Su Le acted without intent, and did not represent Zhi Upper Realm’s will. I steadied Old Ancestor and came myself.”

She met Wan Yin’s gaze. “Please see clearly. Wang Jie is insidious and cunning, his methods base. He must have deceived Junior Sister Su Le.”

Wan Yin nodded slowly. “I see. But…”

She hesitated, her expression troubled. “Su Le is Master’s most beloved disciple. If Master does not leave seclusion, I cannot control her.”

“You can’t summon her back from the Zhi Academy?” Zhi Shu asked.

Wan Yin gave a helpless smile. “Summon her? I can’t even scold her. If she complains to Master, I’ll be the one who suffers. Junior Sister… wait until Master leaves seclusion. Let Master speak herself.”

Zhi Shu left Zhi Study Valley and returned to Zhi Upper Realm to report.

“She’s obviously protecting Su Le,” someone said bitterly. “Bai Ye’s line has always been like this. Old Ancestor, what do we do?”

Zhi Qing’s voice was cold enough to frost the air.

“Back then, Bai Ye dared to oppose all of Black-White Heaven for a single disciple and caused a great incident,” she said. “Su Le’s position in her heart is only higher, not lower. There is no hope of relying on her.”

“People in the Zhi Academy will be even more wary of Zhi Study Valley.”

Someone tried again. “Are we just going to let Wang Jie stay in the Zhi Academy? He stirred Lock Line into chaos. Even though he’s left, the Elder Council is still hunting Wu Yun’s people, so we can’t interfere for now.”

“The outside world is laughing at us. If we can’t even handle one Wang Jie, then—”

Zhi Qing’s gaze swept over the speaker.

The room fell silent. Zhi Shu’s face went pale.

After a long moment, Zhi Qing spoke again, voice calm and cutting.

“If we fail once or twice, it’s no longer because Elder Xing Xue is helping him. It’s because Wang Jie himself has ability.”

“Intimidating Lock Line, kidnapping Elder Council members, intercepting Xiao Rong at an unusual planet, escaping under Wu Yun’s pursuit… an ordinary person cannot accomplish those things.”

“If he weren’t merely a lockforce cultivator, I would even consider recruiting him.”

Zhi Shu tightened her fingers and didn’t speak.

Zhi Qing continued, “He wants lockforce?”

“Then give it to him.”

“Lock Line’s materials are out of our reach for now, and they will remain out of his as well.”

“If he wants to reach Full-Star Realm—fine.”

“Let him go to Star-Devourer.”

Zhi Shu’s eyes widened. “Star-Devourer?”

Zhi Qing looked toward the starry sky. “Announce it. Star-Devourer is open.”

—

In the Zhi Academy, Wang Jie spent over a month testing.

In truth, it was only half a day—but it would have been absurd to reveal that. The rest of the time, he cultivated quietly and waited.

To outsiders, it looked like he’d worked himself to the bone for more than a month. Su Le was moved.

Wang Jie wasn’t trying to deceive her. The truth was simply too unbelievable to explain.

Who could star-refine that fast?

In the end, he shook his head and laid his conclusion out.

“Among these pills and unusual starstones, only two can be star-refined: Whole-Bone Pill and Bone-Strengthening Pill.”

He produced four pills. “Two Whole-Bone Pills—one refined with metal starforce, one with earth starforce.”

“And two Bone-Strengthening Pills with the same.”

“The others… I haven’t succeeded yet.”

Metal starforce carried a trait that disrupted metal objects. Among unusual starforce, it wasn’t especially outstanding.

Su Le took the pills with shining eyes, examining them closely. “They each gained one wen after star-refining,” she breathed. “You really can star-refine pills.”

She looked up at Wang Jie, awestruck. “Master, you’re truly amazing.”