Chapter 203

Chapter 203: I Need to Save Face Too

At the back of the crowd, Wang Jie stepped out with a helpless sigh.

He had expected this.

Others might not know, but how could Zhi Ye not know his record?

Si Shang He finally relaxed.

As expected.

Celestial Master Bai Ye smiled. She knew Wang Jie’s strength too. Anyone who learned the details would be shocked.

But sect affairs were none of her business. Whoever White Realm Lord Jun Qian chose to send had nothing to do with her.

Qi Xue Yin watched Wang Jie walk forward, and her heart sank.

This man hadn’t changed.

He was still terrifying.

She had once thought Wang Jie’s absurd strength under the Ten Seals on Blue Star might have been a fluke—something that would fade as the path grew higher, until he became ordinary.

But Zhi Ye had personally named him.

That meant Wang Jie mattered in Zhi Ye’s eyes.

Could he still be as unreasonable as he had been on Blue Star?

Zhi Ye smiled calmly at Qi Xue Yin. “Girl, let your people spar with my junior.”

“Star-Breaking or Full-Star—either is fine.”

Qi Xue Yin stared at Wang Jie.

Behind her, Ghost Arrow stepped out without waiting to be called. He leapt onto the platform and looked down at Wang Jie.

For Zhi Ye to say Star-Breaking or Full-Star was an insult.

As if Wang Jie at the Star-Breaking Realm could not only beat him, but also beat Azure, a Full-Star opponent.

Ridiculous.

They had already won six out of six, and Black-White Heaven still hadn’t accepted reality.

“Your person is already impatient,” Zhi Ye said to Wang Jie.

“Be quick. I need to save face too.”

Wang Jie let out a breath. “Yes.”

Then he walked toward the platform.

Around him, Black-White Heaven disciples stared, shocked.

“Isn’t he that Chen Refiner?”

“Wasn’t he targeted by Young Master Yun Ju and almost kicked out of the pill assembly?”

“I’ve heard the name Wang Jie. Something happened in Lockspace.”

“He’s a lockforce cultivator. If his name reached our ears, he must have done something.”

“I remember the star-devourer fight ended with him winning. My second cousin in the Discipline Hall said it—he saw this man submit proof to Elder Yan.”

“Could it be real…”

Wang Jie’s name had spread through Black-White Heaven more than once, but most disciples were focused on cultivation. Even if they heard it, they treated it like a joke.

So many stories got twisted and exaggerated. No one took them seriously.

Lockspace. The council of elders. Steward Hall’s Wu Yun chasing him down. The star-devourer fight.

It sounded messy and unreal, like a legend people told to kill time.

Who would have thought it was all true?

It was like a slave punching a master and the master not daring to strike back—absurd.

But if Zhi Ye acknowledged it, then maybe it wasn’t false.

On the platform, Ghost Arrow’s eyes were sharp. “Ghost Arrow, please enlighten me.”

“Wang Jie,” Wang Jie replied. “Please enlighten me.”

Ghost Arrow raised a hand and fired Eight-Cloud Arrow at once.

Eight arrows flew together, far more aggressive than when he faced Shen Zhao.

Be quick?

Then you’ll lose quickly.

Below the stands, Shen Zhao’s gaze tightened.

He had only faced a few arrows himself.

Now it was eight at the start.

He had heard the rumors about Wang Jie and always assumed the sect had exaggerated them to save face after Lockspace, to make themselves look less embarrassed.

Wang Jie watched the eight arrows streak toward him.

He knew what they could do. Those arrows could loop back to defend.

Eight-Cloud Arrow—a familiar move.

He took a single step—Jia Eight Steps—and surged toward Ghost Arrow at blistering speed.

Ghost Arrow jolted.

So fast.

The eight arrows abruptly reversed, stabbing at Wang Jie from behind. At the same time, Ghost Arrow released starforce.

The air warped and shifted—mirage gas.

He cultivated mirage gas starforce too.

Wang Jie ignored it and kept charging.

The eight arrows were fast, but they still couldn’t overtake Jia Eight Steps.

Ghost Arrow had no choice but to retreat.

Too late.

Wang Jie was already in front of him.

Ghost Arrow’s pupils tightened as he caught the slightest shift in Wang Jie’s stance. He braced—

Wang Jie lifted his arm and swung.

A massive force detonated into a gale that swept across the platform, blasting everything aside.

Ghost Arrow’s breath seized.

What kind of power was this?

He tried to move, but the force pinned him in place—then ripped him off his feet and hurled him out of control.

He crashed below the platform.

The moment Ghost Arrow hit the ground, Wang Jie turned, raised his hand, and flicked his arm.

The eight arrows were swept sideways and shot off the platform, all of them slamming into a stone wall.

It was over.

Everyone was stunned.

Black-White Heaven disciples. First Nebula visitors.

All of them stared as if they’d been struck dumb.

To an outsider, the entire exchange lasted only a few breaths.

Ghost Arrow released eight arrows. Wang Jie took one step. Two swings.

Done.

It was too easy.

Like sweeping away dust.

Shen Zhao’s mouth fell open. No one understood the arrows’ killing power better than he did. Each arrow had filled him with dread—yet Wang Jie brushed them aside with a casual wave.

Was the gap really this big?

Up in the stands, Zhi Ye smiled, unsurprised.

Su Le cheered, delighted.

Everyone else remained frozen.

The Star-Breaking Realm was only a starting point. It shouldn’t shake cultivators of the Hundred-Star Realm, much less Star-Refining.

Yet Wang Jie had won so easily.

And Ghost Arrow was a First Nebula Star-Breaking genius who had crushed Shen Zhao—still, he fell just as simply.

Qi Xue Yin wasn’t surprised either.

He was still that strong.

So strong it felt bottomless.

Maybe within the same realm, only someone like Shu Mu Ye could fight him.

Azure stepped out and climbed onto the platform. “Full-Star Realm, Azure. Please enlighten me.”

Wang Jie looked at her.

Her combat experience was rich. She cultivated two unusual starforces. She had Guillotine Platform and Earth Bastion.

A real opponent—

And yet not, for him.

“Wang Jie,” he said. “Please enlighten me.”

The instant Azure spoke, she used Earth Bastion. Sand-burning starforce sank into the ground and anchored her in place. Light flared at the same time, vast starforce surging forward.

Guillotine Platform rose high, its killing intent sharpened to a blade’s edge.

Azure was ready to meet him at full power.

Wang Jie lifted his hand.

Thunder roared.

A scarlet thunder pattern condensed.

Then, to everyone’s shock, he charged straight in.

No extreme footwork.

No elaborate technique.

He simply held the scarlet thunder pattern in front of him like a shield and slammed forward.

Azure’s face changed. “Scarlet thunder pattern?”

A Star-Breaking cultivator had scarlet thunder pattern?

Wasn’t that something only the Roaming-Star Realm could achieve?

The moment scarlet thunder pattern appeared, Qi Xue Yin’s heart sank again.

It’s over.

Azure probably couldn’t even break it.

Wang Jie used the scarlet thunder pattern as a shield and crashed into Azure with brutal force.

Azure tried to dodge, but Earth Bastion had nailed her to the spot.

The moment she’d seen Ghost Arrow lose, she’d devised this plan. She thought Wang Jie would fling her off the platform with raw strength.

But she was wrong.

Wang Jie didn’t fling.

He crashed straight through.

She couldn’t run.

She couldn’t run at all.

Scarlet thunder pattern was unreasonable. It forced its way through light ripples starforce and Guillotine Platform’s slash, smashed into Earth Bastion, and sent Azure flying.

Over again.

It felt even faster than before.

Azure had tried to limit Wang Jie’s methods, and instead she had limited herself.

Si Shang He laughed. Just like Azure had beaten Zhi Qing Po by turning the Zhi family’s Fixed-Star Technique against her, now Azure lost to her own method.

This Wang Jie was ruthless.

He returned the move to its owner.

Before anyone could even breathe, the fight ended.

Fast.

Vicious.

Precise.

Those were the only words people could find.

Wang Jie glanced at Azure lying on the ground. “Thank you.”

Then he returned to the stands.

Next would have been Luan Dao.

That wasn’t someone he could handle.

The gap was too large.

Luan Dao’s eyes locked onto him, as if he wanted to move.

But even Zhi Ye wouldn’t let Wang Jie fight Luan Dao. That wouldn’t be a match. It would be suicide.

White Realm Lord Jun Qian watched with calm interest.

Qi Xue Yin let out a quiet breath, admiration threaded with something sharper. “I didn’t expect Black-White Heaven to hide such a powerhouse.”

“A lockforce cultivator at the Star-Breaking Realm, defeating Ghost Arrow and Azure back-to-back. Senior Zhi Ye, is he a future Six-Path Roamer?”

Zhi Ye smiled at her. “That depends on him.”

Qi Xue Yin lifted her eyes. “Can he be seconded to the Milky Way Defense Corporation?”

“Junior is truly curious. A lockforce cultivator who’s also a Chen Refiner, yet this strong.”

“If he came with me to the First Nebula, he’d shock many people.”

“Senior’s old friends would be shocked too.”

Zhi Ye didn’t care at first, but that last line tempted him. He didn’t refuse immediately.

The pill assembly ended.

Calling it a pill assembly was a lie. It was more like a martial tournament.

The First Nebula visitors had wanted to crush Black-White Heaven completely, but then Wang Jie appeared out of nowhere. His two clean wins saved Black-White Heaven’s face.

From this moment on, Wang Jie’s name would truly spread through Black-White Heaven in a positive way, and no one could stop it.

Not long after, Wang Jie arrived at the Zhi Upper Realm.

Since he was in Black-White Heaven, how could he not greet Zhi Xing Xue?

Little Lan had gone to the Zhi Study Valley to fetch him personally.

“Junior Wang Jie greets Elder,” Wang Jie said, bowing the moment he saw Zhi Xing Xue in the courtyard.

Zhi Xing Xue beamed and invited him inside.

Little Lan smiled as she brewed tea for Wang Jie.

Wang Jie stood, not daring to accept it.

“Enough. No need for so much formality here,” Zhi Xing Xue said warmly.

Wang Jie’s chest loosened. “Thank you, Senior Little Lan.”

Zhi Xing Xue looked at him with gentle amusement. “You made quite a splash.”

Wang Jie gave a bitter smile. “Junior didn’t want to. Senior Zhi Ye named me.”

“You did very well,” Zhi Xing Xue said.

“Do you know how much benefit you brought the sect this time?”

Wang Jie sighed. The greater the benefit, the more Qi Xue Yin would remember him.

Zhi Xing Xue took a sip of tea, her expression turning grave. “The Milky Way Defense Corporation came this time to divide the benefits of bridge-building.”

Wang Jie’s hand paused in midair. His heart jolted. “Bridge-building?”

Zhi Xing Xue nodded. “You should know this too.”

“Build a bridge, and you can obtain bridgeway art.”

“There are many bridge-building points in the universe, but compared to the boundless cosmos, finding one is like searching for a needle in an ocean. Finding even one is immense luck.”

“All major forces try every method to search for bridge-building points.”

“Black-White Heaven happened to find one and already finished the piling and staking, but the Milky Way Defense Corporation discovered it. We had no choice but to share the benefits.”

“Otherwise, it would trigger a war.”

“The Qi family’s Third Miss came to fight for a larger share.”

“Winning six out of six is an attitude.”

“She was telling us that if the benefits aren’t enough, the Milky Way Defense Corporation doesn’t mind starting a war.”

Wang Jie’s mood sank.

Bridge-building.

He thought of Blue Star.

Cruel and merciless—but that was the cultivation world.

“If the benefits weren’t enormous, she wouldn’t have given zero face,” Zhi Xing Xue continued. “At the very least, she would’ve let us win one.”

Her expression darkened. “Zhi Ye stepping in wasn’t actually for the benefits. It was for his own face.”

“And Jun Qian ignored the sect’s benefits. He knew you were there and could have won at least one match, yet he ignored you completely.”

“I will join with Black Realm Lord, the council of elders, and others to question him.”

Wang Jie looked at Zhi Xing Xue. “Senior, is bridgeway art really that strong?”