Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Shang Jing City

Of course, an ordinary cultivator would never know Wen Zhao’s true identity. Hong Jian reported it straight to Shang Jing City and had it put on record.

No matter how highly he regarded Wang Jie, Hong Jian would never let Wen Zhao slip into the Shang Jing City base under a fake name. That would be reckless—not just toward the base, but toward all of Blue Star.

The Trialists were still Blue Star’s enemies.

Two hours after they arrived, another aircraft touched down. A familiar figure stepped out.

Lian Fei.

Wang Jie hadn’t expected to see her again. What a coincidence.

She spotted them at once—kept at a distance, clearly separated—and her eyes widened. After a brief hesitation, she walked over.

“Why did you release a fake signal?” she demanded.

Wang Jie raised an eyebrow. “You’re still hung up on that?”

Lian Fei stared at him. “With your strength, you didn’t need to send any signal to get out of that place. But you did anyway. There’s only one explanation—you were luring us in the wrong direction.”

Her voice tightened. “Back then, you were hiding who you were, so I figured you’d run into Hu Guan. That he forced you to mislead us. Otherwise, I can’t think of another reason.”

“And the fight at Cang Eagle Nest—that was you, too.”

Wang Jie didn’t deny it. Smart people didn’t need a confession—and he wasn’t about to hand her one.

Lian Fei didn’t expect him to admit it. His expression was answer enough.

Her gaze slid to Wen Zhao. “A Trialist?”

Wen Zhao flicked her eyes toward her, indifferent, then looked away.

“No wonder you’re separated,” Lian Fei muttered. “There are plenty of Trialists out there, and sure, some people team up with them. But bringing one in this openly? That’s rare.”

As a woman, she was more sensitive to presence than most. One look and she could tell Wen Zhao didn’t belong with Wang Jie’s group.

Wang Jie hadn’t had a choice. This was the only way to bring Wen Zhao to the Shang Jing City base.

Wen Zhao could have jumped off the aircraft halfway here, but then Shang Jing City would have known immediately that something was wrong.

And Hong Jian would have found out either way.

Since it couldn’t be hidden, Wang Jie chose to be blunt.

He needed Wen Zhao’s combat power.

As for what came next… that would depend on what happened in the Shang Jing City meeting.

“You’re the daughter of Lian Qin, one of the Five Extremes, right?” Wang Jie asked suddenly. “If you’re here, will Lian Qin come too?”

Lian Fei’s eyes sharpened. “Why are you bringing up my mother?”

“Just asking.”

She changed the subject at once. “Where’s the goshawk egg?”

Wang Jie almost laughed. “I’m being kept apart, not imprisoned. Are you interrogating me?”

“I want to buy it,” she said. “Name your price.”

“You can’t afford it,” Wang Jie replied. “I’ve got money to burn.”

Old Five and Old Nine puffed out their chests like they’d just been praised.

Lian Fei looked Wang Jie up and down, unconvinced.

Even Wen Zhao’s gaze slid over him briefly, as if by accident.

“If you’re willing,” Lian Fei said, “you can join Nan Guo Base. This is a formal invitation. Think it over.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait.” Wang Jie stopped her.

Lian Fei looked back.

Wang Jie glanced at Old Five and the others behind him. Fine. He’d already humiliated himself with drills; Wen Zhao had forced that into something defensible. He might as well commit.

Combat skills mattered.

“If you want the goshawk egg, it’s not impossible,” he said. “But you need to show sincerity.”

Lian Fei frowned. “What kind of sincerity?”

“Write me a proposal letter.”

Silence dropped.

Everyone stared at him.

Even the guard cultivators froze, blinking like they’d misheard.

Lian Fei rubbed her ear. “What did you say?”

Wang Jie didn’t flinch. It was all for combat skills. Heavenly Luo Xuan Finger was already terrifying—Myriad-Stars Finger had to be even worse.

“Write me a proposal letter,” he repeated. “Make it sincere.”

Lian Fei stared at him like he was a different species.

Wen Zhao quietly withdrew her gaze. As expected—this man really did have something wrong with him.

Lian Fei left without answering.

Wang Jie sighed. Was it really that hard?

If proposal letters were this difficult, then what in the world was Loser’s Will supposed to be?

“Ahem.” Old Nine coughed carefully. “Old Boss… maybe you don’t have to be that urgent?”

Old Nine had been with him for two years, and somehow Old Boss’s mental state kept getting worse.

Old Five’s eyes turned resolute. “Old Boss, forget proposal letters. If you like someone, I’ll go talk to her for you.”

Wang Jie didn’t respond. He sat down and rested.

In the east, the sky began to pale. Sunlight slipped through the clouds, easing something tight in the chest.

Then more aircraft arrived.

Not one—eight.

A serious show of force.

Wang Jie and the others looked over. Shou Qing Group was here, and so was Old Two.

Shou Qing Group drew attention anywhere it went, but especially now—word had spread that the Crown Prince who’d been knocked unconscious by mutated plants had awakened, and the news had shaken all five of Hua Xia’s major bases.

After Qing Zheng woke, his first destination was the Shang Jing City base. No one was surprised.

Whether before the apocalypse or after it, Shang Jing City was Hua Xia’s immovable center.

Qing Zheng’s arrival represented Shou Qing Group.

Outsiders didn’t know the truth: if Wang Jie hadn’t been heading to Shang Jing City, Qing Zheng wouldn’t have come at all.

Eight aircraft. More than a hundred cultivators.

The spectacle alone made heads turn.

The one welcoming Qing Zheng was also a Sixth Seal expert.

When Qing Zheng insisted on staying with Wang Jie and the others, the man’s solution was simple: he locked Qing Zheng in with them.

Together was fine.

Release was not.

“Old Boss!” Qing Zheng barreled in the moment he entered. “Come on—hug it out!”

Wang Jie dodged on instinct.

Qing Zheng slammed into the wall and turned back with a wounded look. “Old Boss, you’re still so heartless.”

Old Nine rubbed his forehead. “I’m telling you, Old Two—you’re loud the moment you show up.”

Qing Zheng rolled his eyes. “What Old Two? Call me Second Brother. I beat you at rock-paper-scissors. That means for life, I’m your Second Brother.”

Old Five leaned in with a grin that made Wen Zhao’s brow twitch. “Second Brother, I’ve always wondered—you were out for two years. That thing down there didn’t break, did it?”

Wen Zhao’s face tightened.

Qing Zheng lifted his chin. “Break? Don’t joke. Want proof?”

“Shut up,” Wen Zhao snapped. “Disgusting.”

Qing Zheng paused, then calmly pulled a handheld game console from his pocket.

Wen Zhao: “…”

Before she could say more, another presence arrived.

Outside, Shou Qing Group’s people spread out and cleared space.

Wang Jie and the others looked toward the entrance.

A tall beauty in a qipao approached. Snow-white skin, sharp yet refined features, eyes that carried both allure and authority.

“Little Boss,” the man guarding Qing Zheng said quickly, “this is Sister Tang—one of the Five Extremes.”

He sounded nervous, like he was afraid Qing Zheng would say something stupid.

Qing Zheng raised an eyebrow and set the game console aside. “Five Extremes? That’s lord-tier.”

Sister Tang stood at the doorway with her hands on her hips, bold in a way that clashed with her refined dress. “What lord-tier? In front of your Shou Qing Group, I’m just a broke shrew.”

Qing Zheng didn’t answer. He looked at Wang Jie.

Sister Tang looked at Wang Jie, too. Hong Jian had already sent the file.

Wang Jie—who had faced an Eighth Seal Trialist head-on. His strength was a black depth you couldn’t see the bottom of, and he was certainly far stronger than Hong Jian.

“So you’re Wang Jie?” she asked.

Wang Jie nodded. “I’ve heard of you, Sister Tang.”

Sister Tang snorted. “And I’ve admired you for a long time, too—top of the bounty board. I’m curious what you did to make Zuo Tian hate you that much.”

Her smile sharpened. “And why you came to Shang Jing City so suddenly.”

“Interrogation?” Wang Jie asked.

“Curiosity,” she said. “If you don’t want to answer, fine.”

Then her gaze flicked to Wen Zhao. “As for that Trialist…”

She tossed something inside. Wang Jie caught it.

“Stick it on her,” Sister Tang said. “We need her location at all times.”

Wen Zhao’s eyes went cold, fixed on Sister Tang.

Sister Tang met the look without yielding. Two women, both striking, turning a cramped space into a spotlight.

Wang Jie tossed the item to Wen Zhao. “Do me a favor.”

Wen Zhao withdrew her gaze and slapped it onto her shoulder.

Sister Tang’s eyes crinkled. “Not bad, little brother. What are you two?”

“Nothing,” Wang Jie said.

“She’s the Eighth Seal Trialist who tried to take over Jin Ling Base, right?” Sister Tang said lightly. “Sounds about like what Hong Jian told me.”

Wang Jie didn’t know what Hong Jian had said, but it clearly wasn’t damning. If it had been, they wouldn’t be separated—they’d be dead.

After Sister Tang left, they were finally allowed into the Shang Jing City base.

Inside, it was immediately obvious how much better planned it was than Jin Ling Base. Wider roads, cleaner routes, orderly construction.

But outside the walls, the sea of tents still stretched on and on.

Too many people couldn’t get in.

Early on, every base had rushed to build walls against beast tides. The smaller the protected area, the easier it was to defend—which meant that as time passed, fewer and fewer could be accommodated.

Unless the wilderness safe zones expanded.

But ten years had gone by. Besides the five major bases holding firm, smaller bases had been wiped out one after another.

Humans were already outnumbered—vastly—by mutated life.

That was the true cruelty of it.

Deep underground in one section of the base, a group watched a screen.

Sister Tang was there.

Bai Yuan sat beside her.

“To analyze the nature of her power will take a long time,” an elderly man said, adjusting his glasses. “This method isn’t very useful unless we can keep her confined.”

On the screen was Wen Zhao’s location. The tracker wasn’t only for tracking—it was for studying the energy she used.

This, too, had been agreed upon between Hong Jian and Shang Jing City. Otherwise, how could they possibly allow an Eighth Seal Trialist into the base so easily?

Sister Tang frowned. “She’s Eighth Seal. If we join hands, we might be able to suppress her. But Wang Jie is trouble, too. He’s strong. I can feel it.”

The old man said, “Wang Jie is from Blue Star. He shouldn’t turn against us for her.”

“Maybe,” Sister Tang said. “Maybe not. He has his own agenda.”

Bai Yuan drank his tea in silence, eyes unreadable.

A while later he set the cup down. “If I’m not mistaken, Wang Jie’s goal involves Zuo Tian. As long as the Shang Jing City meeting hasn’t begun, they won’t leave.”

He stood. “No need to rush. Keep analyzing.”

The old man hesitated. “At our current pace, by the time the meeting ends, we won’t even get one percent.”

Bai Yuan waved without turning back. “Then we’ll decide later.”

On the way, the man assigned to protect Qing Zheng filled them in—quietly, efficiently.

“Shang Jing City’s strongest is Bai Yuan,” he said. “One of the Three Gods. Widely accepted as Hua Xia’s strongest.”

“At the start of the apocalypse, he used an unsharpened decorative sword and carved out the Shang Jing City base by force.”

“Rumor says no one has ever survived three strikes from him.”

Wang Jie listened without speaking. They were walking into Bai Yuan’s territory. They would be fools not to understand the man who ruled it.

Old Five glanced at Wang Jie. “Old Boss—between Bai Yuan and Zuo Tian… who’s stronger?”

The guard cut in confidently. “Of course it’s Bai Yuan. Everyone knows that.”

Old Five ignored him.

So did Qing Zheng.

All of them looked at Wang Jie instead.

No one knew Wang Jie’s true strength better than the people who’d fought beside him.

Two years ago, they’d tried to assassinate Zuo Tian.

They failed.

And Zuo Tian hadn’t even shown half his power in public.