Chapter 188

Chapter 188: Six-Path Roamer

Wang Jie’s finger force pushed through Stacked Sky Light—

then slowed.

The deeper it pressed, the heavier the resistance became.

Too strong.

Zhi Shu swept her sleeve, starforce erupting in a shockwave that forced Wang Jie back.

“Despicable,” she spat, blood still at her lip.

Wang Jie’s mouth tightened. Even after the surprise strike, he couldn’t immediately take her down. “A group of Roaming-Star Realm experts surrounded me, and you’re calling me despicable?”

He took a step, eyes sharp. “Teach me, then. Should I stand still and let you butcher me?”

Sword Steps flared.

Qi-Qi Convergence.

A sword appeared in his hand, and he slashed.

Zhi Shu coughed, the earlier palm strike having disrupted her circulation so badly that her starforce wouldn’t flow smoothly. Even so, her voice remained cold. “You underestimate the Zhi family.”

Icy starforce unfurled around her, touching the blade and freezing it instantly—

and inside the ice, the blade began to melt.

Wang Jie released it without hesitation and drove the hilt forward, trying to stab through the ice toward her.

Stacked Sky Light stopped it again.

Cold starforce spread through the ship, frosting the interior as it rolled toward Wang Jie.

Wang Jie’s heart sank. Even with the sneak attack, his odds weren’t good.

He was about to change tactics when Zhi Shu suddenly stopped and looked outside, relief slipping into her expression.

“You finally came.”

Wang Jie turned.

A man stood in the ruined hatchway, watching their fight with eyes like still water.

The instant Wang Jie saw him, a chill surged up his spine.

It felt like meeting an abyss.

Like death waiting.

“Sorry,” the man said mildly. “I took a walk. Didn’t expect someone to slip in.”

He entered the ship.

He didn’t even look at Wang Jie.

He walked directly past him—no guard, no defense, no hesitation—as if Wang Jie weren’t worth considering.

Wang Jie didn’t move.

From the moment this man appeared, Wang Jie understood. No matter what he did, it wouldn’t matter.

The gap was too large.

The man helped Zhi Shu sit, took out a pill, and fed it to her with quiet gentleness.

Zhi Shu’s cheeks reddened faintly. Her breathing eased.

Then, eyes closed, she spoke in a low, venomous voice. “Don’t let him go. I want him to suffer worse than death.”

The man hummed once, then finally turned to Wang Jie.

“As a lockforce cultivator, making it this far is rare,” he said. “Unfortunately, you offended the wrong people.”

Wang Jie forced the words out. “Who are you?”

“Han Ling.”

Wang Jie’s stomach tightened.

Of course.

One of the Six-Path Roamer—Han Ling.

In Black-White Heaven, a Roaming-Star Realm disciple was already an elite among elites. If they wished, they could be sent out to guard a region.

But the Six-Path Roamer were different. Their status towered above countless others. Even elders couldn’t casually suppress them, because their futures were already carved—at minimum, elder-level.

Only six per era reached such height.

That was what “Six-Path Roamer” meant.

Zhi Shu was a Zhi family elite, but compared to Han Ling, she was still far below.

Rumors had said this Star-Devourer contest would see a Liu Dao You. Wang Jie had assumed it referred to Mo Wan Yin.

He hadn’t expected there to be another.

Han Ling slipped his right hand behind his back and extended only his left arm.

“I’ll kill you with one hand,” he said calmly, almost politely. “Consider it recognition.”

His gaze was steady. “You may attack.”

Zhi Shu remained quiet, recovering, as if Han Ling’s words had already decided everything.

Wang Jie took a slow breath and clenched his fist.

He had no choice.

He had to fight for his life.

The IOU slip. Thunder Pattern. Protective qi. Sword Rig. Chen art.

What could possibly let him survive under a Six-Path Roamer?

He was still thinking when Han Ling’s expression changed slightly. He looked into the distance.

“Why is she here?”

Wang Jie seized the opening and bolted out of the ship.

He felt it too—a second presence approaching, completely unhidden, deep and terrifying in the same way as Han Ling.

Mo Wan Yin.

If he was right, it had to be her.

A chance.

Han Ling snorted.

His left arm lifted and swept once.

Blackflame roared out like a dragon, swallowing the sky as it surged toward Wang Jie.

Wang Jie looked back and felt his blood run cold. The blackflame was violent enough to scorch the world.

He forced out Thunder Pattern. Lightning exploded upward.

Blackflame crashed down.

Thunder Pattern shattered instantly, not even lasting a breath.

Wang Jie took the impact head-on. His body was hurled across the ground, slamming into the distance.

Han Ling’s left hand rose again, fingers curling.

Blackflame formed a gigantic black palm in the sky and crushed down after him.

A shout cut through the air.

“Han Ling! Stop!”

Thunder ripped across the sky and smashed into the black palm.

Han Ling frowned. The black palm clawed at the thunder.

They collided high above.

Wang Jie lay on the ground, blood spilling from his mouth, staring up at the clash of two terrifying forces.

So this was what a Six-Path Roamer was.

Not even close to ordinary Roaming-Star Realm.

The peak combat power of Roaming-Star Realm was below five hundred thousand—anything above that crossed into the lowest tier of Hundred-Star Realm.

Wang Jie, at Star-Breaking Realm, could reach over two hundred thousand.

Han Ling?

Who knew.

Heat slammed down. Wang Jie’s skin felt roasted. He smelled burnt flesh.

That earlier blackflame strike would’ve damaged him far worse if not for the Thousand-Spirit Armor. Even his protective qi would’ve failed.

Thunder flickered beside him.

A woman appeared, staring at him in surprise. “Aren’t you Master Wang?”

Wang Jie still wore Zhi Nan Xing’s face. He swallowed blood and nodded. “I’m Wang Jie. I’m just disguised.”

He quickly took out a six-scent burststar pill and handed it to her.

She took it, exhaled, and smiled. “It really is Master.”

Then guilt crossed her expression. “Sorry. People blocked me on the way. It took time to shake them off. Master—are you alright?”

Wang Jie shook his head once.

Blackflame swept across the forest, turning trees into ash.

Han Ling walked out of the gray ruin, expression steady. “Mo Wan Yin. You want to stop me?”

Mo Wan Yin stepped in front of Wang Jie, shielding him. “Han Ling, you’re a Six-Path Roamer, yet you came to fight over a Star-Devourer filled with lockforce.”

Her eyes sharpened. “That doesn’t add up. You came here to kill.”

“So what if I did?” Han Ling said. “What about you?”

“I came to protect.”

Han Ling’s mouth curved slightly. “Then we’re protecting and hunting the same person.”

He pulled a halberd from his storage ring. Blackflame coiled around the weapon, its presence oppressive and tyrannical.

“Why protect him?” Han Ling asked.

Mo Wan Yin’s aura flared. Green Thunder Pattern hovered around her, lightning flashing even in her pupils.

“Master Wang is a rare star-refining genius across all ages,” she said, voice clear and forceful. “He can star-refine pills—something even Black-White Heaven’s chen refiner can’t do.”

“If he dies, it’s a loss to the entire cultivation world.”

Behind her, Wang Jie couldn’t help the thought: [That praise is… pretty nice.]

Han Ling sneered. “The universe is vast. How many heroes have been born across time? Just him?”

“You’re not from the alchemy branch,” Mo Wan Yin said coldly. “You don’t understand what it means to raise a pill one grade through star-refining.”

“If the Honored Master leaves seclusion and learns of this, he would protect Master Wang even if he had to flip Black-White Heaven upside down.”

Han Ling’s gaze sharpened. “Then he can’t be allowed to leave alive.”

He stepped forward. The halberd came down.

Mo Wan Yin shoved Wang Jie back. “Master, get farther away!”

Thunder Pattern surged to meet the halberd.

Wang Jie retreated at once. This was a duel far beyond him.

Still—before leaving, he had to take what he came for. Otherwise, this trip would be pointless.

Blackflame and thunder tangled in midair, blooming into blinding black and green light over Star-Devourer.

Outside, everyone stared. No one had expected to witness a Six-Path Roamer duel here.

Wang Jie circled the battlefield and rushed back into Shen Wang’s wrecked ship. It was already half scrap; it wouldn’t survive a casual sweep of blackflame.

Inside, Zhi Shu opened her eyes. “So Mo Wan Yin made it.”

Wang Jie answered with a finger.

Myriad-Stars Finger Art.

Star shadows fell.

Zhi Shu retreated instantly, tearing out of the ship.

Wang Jie pursued.

From afar, blackflame tried to sweep in—but thunder blocked it.

Mo Wan Yin didn’t even glance back. Her job was to hold Han Ling.

Zhi Shu’s cold flame rolled out, freezing the air as it met the falling star shadows.

Finger shadows merged, gathering into one strike that pierced through the flame and drove toward Zhi Shu.

Zhi Shu flicked her hand.

Copper slips appeared.

Spring-Autumn Hand.

Twelve copper slips lined up. The Myriad-Stars Finger Art struck them and drove both slips and Zhi Shu back—yet not even a single copper slip cracked.

Four-tribulation chen artifact.

Zhi Shu tossed out a formation scroll.

Around them, seal-chen stone lifted into the air.

Wang Jie instinctively shattered one after another—

—but the formation still completed.

Zhi Shu sneered. “You really think a formation master’s seal-chen stone are that easy to destroy?”

“Many formation masters prepare real and fake seal-chen stone. As long as the real ones survive, the formation completes.”

“Wen Yuan used that method against Li Cai,” she added, eyes sharp. “That’s why you found an opening.”

Wang Jie’s jaw tightened. “You’re a formation master?”

Zhi Shu stared at him. “I’ll give you one chance. Publicly betray Zhi Xing Xue and join our faction.”

“I’ll let you live. Not just live—I’ll let you live well. Because every day you remain alive is another day you humiliate Zhi Xing Xue.”

Wang Jie swallowed a revival pill, warmth spreading through his body. “No.”

He smiled faintly. “But if you want to set an example, why don’t you publicly betray Zhi Qing first?”

Zhi Shu’s gaze turned icy. “Then die.”

The twelve copper slips spun around her. Cold flame starforce surged as the formation turned and the sky above was swallowed, hiding everything from outside sight.

“Zhi family people aren’t that easy to deal with,” she said.

Wang Jie’s body crackled with lightning. Sword after sword flew out from his storage ring. Lockforce surged through him, boiling, and the IOU slip appeared in his hand.

“I never thought you’d be easy,” Wang Jie said quietly. “After all, I’m disguised as Zhi Nan Xing.”

Zhi Shu’s starforce slammed down, freezing his lockforce and shattering it again and again.

The first copper slip shot out like a blade. A phantom surged from it and cut through the space in front of him.

Then the second.

The third—

All the way to the twelfth.