Chapter 189
Chapter 189: Wang Jie vs. Zhi Shu
The Spring and Autumn Hand—each bronze scroll was a deadly strike. While Zhi Nan Xing used the bronze scroll as a defensive tool, Zhi Shu’s approach was very different.
Wang Jie hadn’t anticipated that the true purpose of the Spring and Autumn Hand would be like this.
He stood his ground, employing the Armor Eight Steps to constantly dodge. The unusual nature of this footwork stunned Zhi Shu. It almost surpassed all the battle steps of Black White Heaven, leaving her Spring and Autumn Hand unable to catch his trajectory. If not for the formation blocking him, this person might have escaped.
Now, that was no longer possible.
The Star Force shattered the Lock Force, covering all the space of the formation.
Wang Jie raised his head as the thunder pattern shot up into the sky, colliding with the Star Force. For a moment, the Star Force overwhelmed the thunder pattern.
Because the thunder pattern had been shattered once before by Han Ling, its defensive power had greatly decreased; otherwise, this wouldn’t have been the case.
Wang Jie raised a finger and pointed, executing the Starry Finger technique.
Before Zhi Shu, twelve bronze scrolls turned to defend, blocking the shadow of the finger.
The Star Method wasn’t invincible, and Wang Jie’s Lock Force was constantly depleting, which weakened the power of the Starry Finger technique as well.
But his goal wasn’t the Starry Finger technique—it was the Sword Form Technique.
Swords from all directions slashed toward Zhi Shu. He observed the flow of energy, focusing on where her attacks originated, her weaknesses. In Wang Jie’s eyes, Zhi Shu’s energy gathered in her hands, and her back became her greatest vulnerability.
Bronze scrolls circled around her, and the swords were continuously shattered.
Wang Jie executed a Sword Step, leaping past the bronze scrolls and appearing before Zhi Shu. He threw a punch, and the fusion of his internal energies unleashed a terrifying force that caused his bones to creak.
Zhi Shu raised her hand. Layers of Star Force stacked up as another bronze scroll appeared behind her, its shadow falling into her hand as she reached for Wang Jie’s punch.
Boom!
The tremendous force sent Zhi Shu stumbling back three steps. She was shocked—her Star Force was shattering. How could his strength be this immense?
If the standard power for the Wandering Star Realm was one hundred, Wang Jie exceeded half of that.
Zhi Shu had cultivated in Star Force, focusing more on external energy than her own physical strength. Although her combat abilities far exceeded those of the typical Wandering Star Realm cultivator, they still couldn’t match Wang Jie’s.
When Wang Jie’s internal energy merged, his physical strength alone could shake even the most ordinary Hundred Star Realm cultivators.
But what surprised Wang Jie was that Zhi Shu only retreated three steps.
Bronze scrolls surrounded him and Zhi Shu, their shadows emerging to release their deadliest strikes.
Wang Jie had landed a heavy punch on Zhi Shu, but he too had walked into her killing move.
He used Armor Eight Steps to dodge most of the attacks, but three deadly strikes still hit him. The Thousand Spirit Armor blocked the worst of it, but the force of the blows caused him to cough up blood. One of the attacks was especially vicious, seeping through the armor and spreading within him like poison.
But Wang Jie held on, spitting another mouthful of blood. This time, it was black.
Zhi Shu was stunned—he only spat blood?
The Star Artifact’s defense could only shield against external damage, not internal wounds.
This person was only in the Star Breaking Realm. No matter how strong he was, he should’ve been severely injured. How could he still stand?
The Qi protected his body, his meridians, and bones.
Zhi Shu’s face darkened as a needle appeared in her hand, launching it at him.
Wang Jie raised his left arm to block with his wristguard. The needle was deflected, but more needles appeared in succession.
So many?
All of them were Four Tribulation Star Artifacts.
What the hell? Does Zhi’s family have so much money?
Close to two hundred Four Tribulation Star Artifact needles attacked. Though their internal Star Force didn’t reach the Hundred Star Realm level, they were still at Wandering Star Realm power.
Wang Jie gripped the Blue Sea Sword and began cutting through the needles.
The sound of endless impacts filled the air, but the Blue Sea Sword couldn’t withstand it and shattered.
The Blue Sea Sword was forged from Grade Seven materials.
Reluctantly, Wang Jie drew the Zhong Yi Sword, executing the Star Gazing Sword Style to slash.
One by one, the needles were knocked out of the air. Zhi Shu’s eyes widened in disbelief. This was impossible. How could that sword deflect all the needles? Was it forged from Grade Eight materials? How could he possibly have a sword forged from such rare materials?
The Thunder Pattern was shattered by Star Force.
Wang Jie stepped back, each needle containing Wandering Star Realm Star Force, which he couldn’t fully endure.
Zhi Shu charged, taking advantage of the moment when the needles had all been deflected. She slapped her palm toward Wang Jie’s chest. The Star Force connected, freezing Wang Jie instantly, while a needle stabbed through the Thousand Spirit Armor, piercing his body.
Wang Jie’s movements slowed. He twisted the sword’s blade to strike Zhi Shu, but her other hand blocked it. Her eyes were cold: “A Star Breaking Realm cultivator can be proud to fight me like this, but it ends here.”
Twelve bronze scrolls whistled toward them, spinning around both of them.
The shadowy strikes descended once again.
The frozen Star Force contained intense heat. Wang Jie felt like he was about to melt, and the needle in his chest caused intense numbness.
He was on the brink of death.
But Zhi Shu didn’t notice—his left hand was behind his back, and he wrote on the debt slip: Qing Feng Unreturning Guest.
The killing strike fell, landing entirely on Wang Jie.
The Thousand Spirit Armor was pierced, and the Zhong Yi Sword fell from his hand.
Zhi Shu sneered, watching Wang Jie’s body dry up in the freezing cold. Was he being burned alive? She cultivated cold fire—cold on the outside, hot on the inside. Die.
The body, like charred wood, suddenly opened its eyes, coldly staring at Zhi Shu.
Zhi Shu froze, a chill running through her.
Impossible?
A faint sound rang out as the ice shattered. Wang Jie’s left hand grabbed Zhi Shu’s hand holding the needle. With a strange angle, his right hand slammed into her abdomen, unleashing the Power Accumulation Method.
The overwhelming palm force pierced Zhi Shu’s body, the surging Lock Force scattering the Star Force.
With a powerful twist, Wang Jie not only broke his own arm but also shattered Zhi Shu’s left arm, sending her crashing into the earth.
He raised his right arm and punched down.
Boom!
Wang Jie stood outside a bottomless pit, panting. His skin, burned, and his hair gone.
Under the earth, the bronze scrolls were visible.
At the moment of the final blow, Zhi Shu summoned the bronze scroll to block the punch. Otherwise, that punch could have killed her.
Wang Jie didn’t hold back.
She tried to kill him, and he had to return the favor. No matter her background, no matter the family, none of it mattered in that moment.
She was quick to react.
Even so, the force of that final punch still stunned her.
Wang Jie collapsed, exhausted. The pain hit him like a wave.
He had used everything he could in this battle.
In the final moment, he was burned by high heat, unable to move. Though he borrowed strength, being immobile rendered it useless. Only by using the Power Accumulation Method and manipulating his joints with Lock Force could he reverse the situation.
It was brutal.
His hair was gone.
In the distance, the Zhong Yi Sword floated back into his storage ring. He swallowed a Revive Pill.
He calculated—it would be a few more days until his next move.
The battle between Mo Wan Yin and Han Ling wouldn’t last that long. It was time for him to leave.
He glanced one last time at the earth, then dug Zhi Shu out, slapping her face. “Wake up.”
Zhi Shu woke with a sharp pain in her head, feeling dizzy and terribly uncomfortable. Worse, her arm was broken, her abdomen pierced, still bleeding, her body numb, and her face was burning.
“Looks like you’re not dead. If you’re not dead, get up and move.”
Zhi Shu was about to speak but coughed up blood instead. As her vision cleared, she looked up and saw Wang Jie looking down at her.
Wang Jie was also in a bad state—he was bald.
“You?” Zhi Shu gasped.
Wang Jie crouched down, coldly staring at her. “You reacted quickly. You even used the bronze scroll to block. Otherwise, that last punch would’ve blown your head off.”
Zhi Shu’s pupils trembled, bloodshot. She remembered—she had almost been killed.
That punch, she knew, would’ve killed her. If it had landed, she would’ve died. At the critical moment, she summoned the bronze scroll to block, but the force from the punch still knocked her out.
“You… you dare to kill me?”
Wang Jie sneered. “One life. It’s better for you to die than for me.”
“Zhi family won’t let you go. Zhi Xing Xue won’t save you.”
“You won’t live to see that day.”
Zhi Shu felt fear. She had never imagined she would die, especially not in this Fourth Star Cloud, not in Black White Heaven.
Even on the Star Cloud battlefield, countless people protected her.
But now, she was facing death.
The coldness she felt reminded her of when Zhi Xing Xue had given her the same sensation.
Wang Jie stood up, looking down at her. “Get up.”
Zhi Shu swallowed hard. “What do you want?”
“I said, get up.” Wang Jie grabbed her hair and lifted her up.
Zhi Shu, humiliated, had always been seen as a noble lady. Yet now, she was being lifted like this.
“Move.”
“…?”
“Give me another set of your clothes.”
Far away, the battle between Han Ling and Mo Wan Yin raged on. Neither could prevail.
Both were Six Dao Wanderers, with countless fellow disciples beneath their feet. They knew each other’s strength too well. Now, they were just waiting to see the result of Wang Jie and Zhi Shu’s battle.
Han Ling wasn’t worried. He knew Zhi Shu too well. As a Zhi family member, she had too many life-saving tricks. Wang Jie had already been injured by him; there was no way he could win.
Mo Wan Yin was anxious, but this battle was something Wang Jie had initiated. He sought out Zhi Shu, so he should have some confidence, right?
The two couldn’t interfere with the formation, and soon, a figure walked out from it, speaking to the distance. “Stop them,” and then walked away without looking back.
Mo Wan Yin’s pupils constricted, her face turning pale.
Han Ling smiled. The person who walked out was Zhi Shu.
“Master,” Mo Wan Yin shouted, rushing toward the formation, but Han Ling stopped her. “Wang Jie is done for. Zhi Shu won’t spare him. You can’t save him now.”
Mo Wan Yin’s anger flared. “Han Ling, do you know what you’re doing? A master capable of refining Star Pills has been ruined by you all. This is a loss for the entire cultivation world.”
Han Ling ignored her. “The cultivation world doesn’t care about the death of one or two people. You’re overestimating him. A mere Lock Force cultivator has no future.”
“Move.”
“I can’t do that.” Han Ling wasn’t sure what Zhi Shu intended to do, but since he was told to stop Mo Wan Yin, he would.
Mo Wan Yin, enraged, tried to charge into the formation, and Han Ling had no choice but to take her seriously.
The battle intensified.
Meanwhile, Wang Jie, disguised as Zhi Shu, found Han Ling’s ship and boarded it. He piloted it toward the Devour Star.
Inside the screen, the battle numbers kept rising, showing Mo Wan Yin and Han Ling.
The Six Dao Wanderer was still beyond his reach, but one day, he would overcome them.
The ship ascended into the air, heading toward the Devour Star.
Just after leaving, another ship appeared in front of them.
“How is Wang Jie?”
Wang Jie frowned. This voice was unfamiliar.
“Zhi Shu, if Wang Jie hasn’t died, please let him go. If he’s dead, I’ll need his jade stone. I, Ye Huang, can’t come here for nothing.”