Chapter 208
Chapter 208: Too Merciful
“Guarding Star Realm people?”
Wang Jie had heard the term before—back on Blue Star.
Shu Rang nodded. “They remain at the farthest boundary of our living universe—closest to that deadly power.”
“They watch it constantly. The moment they sense change, they alert the factions of the human clan so everyone can respond.”
He lifted a hand, as if weighing something invisible.
“And to avoid provoking a backlash, Guarding Star Realm people must stay in sync with that power.”
“That ‘sync’ includes cultivation realm,” Shu Rang said, “and age.”
Wang Jie blinked. “Age?”
“No one knows why,” Shu Rang replied, gaze distant, “but age is one of the necessary conditions.”
“The Bridge-Pillar is divided into four great nebulae from bottom to top because the boundary that resists that power has four directions,” Shu Rang continued. “The higher you go, the higher the cultivation requirement.”
“Fourth Nebula requires Roaming-Star Realm. Third Nebula requires Hundred-Star Realm. Second Star Cloud requires Star-Refining Realm.”
He paused at the last. “And First Nebula…”
Shu Rang looked directly at Wang Jie. “Little Small-World Realm.”
Wang Jie’s heart tightened slightly.
“Guarding Star Realm people aren’t fixed in number,” Shu Rang said. “The more, the better. But if you search the entire human world, you still may not find more than a handful who qualify.”
“In Fourth Nebula, the cultivation requirement is Roaming-Star Realm. Because there are four, they’re called the Four Wandering Gods.”
Wang Jie’s eyes widened. “So that’s where the Four Wandering Gods comes from.”
Shu Rang nodded. “Third Nebula’s requirement is Hundred-Star Realm. And because the guarding star realm place there is called Tian Cang, they’re called the Tian Cang Five.”
He let the words hang.
“However,” he said, “it should be Tian Cang Six.”
“There’s a sixth person who has rebuilt cultivation again and again. Each time, they return to the position of Guarding Star Realm people.”
“Outsiders call them the Tian Cang Five, and that person is called the Tian Cang Sixth.”
Shu Rang’s gaze sharpened. “You know who that is.”
Wang Jie’s expression turned grave. “Shu Mu Ye.”
Shu Rang watched him steadily. “Guarding Star Realm people have the authority to mobilize major factions. They receive unlimited resources.”
“Because once you become one, you stand on the very front line against the external force of destruction. That’s service to all Bridge-Pillar humans—not just the Bei Dou Bridge-Pillar.”
“They’re treated at the highest level.”
Shu Rang’s voice lowered. “Now do you understand how shocking it is that you could beat Shu Mu Ye?”
“He reached Guarding Star Realm strength on his first cultivation,” Shu Rang said. “He’s one of the strongest beings in the universe’s Hundred-Star Realm.”
“And every time he rebuilds cultivation, he becomes stronger than before.”
“Yet you defeated him in the same realm.”
He stared at Wang Jie as if the fact still offended reason. “It’s dreamlike. It’s something the outside world can’t imagine.”
“The gap between Guarding Star Realm people and those who aren’t is enormous,” Shu Rang continued. “If you compare them to Black-White Heaven’s Liu Dao You, any one of the Four Wandering Gods could slaughter him easily.”
Shu Rang added, flatly, “One against six.”
Wang Jie’s pupils contracted.
One against six. And still slaughter.
Shu Rang snorted. “Here’s a comparison you’ll understand.”
“If the one who built the bridge wasn’t that little girl from the Zhi family, but one of the Four Wandering Gods…”
He smiled coldly. “Then it would’ve been the Skeleton Clan that died.”
Wang Jie’s throat went dry. “So that’s why they’re called Wandering Gods.”
“Gods among Roaming-Star Realm,” he murmured.
Shu Rang nodded once. “That’s close enough.”
He studied Wang Jie for a long moment, then spoke in a tone that made Wang Jie’s skin crawl.
“I didn’t expect you to have that kind of past.”
“I was blinded by Lockforce,” Shu Rang said, almost displeased with himself. “Too merciful to you.”
“If you can defeat Shu Mu Ye, then Guarding Star Realm people should be your target.”
He turned as if deciding something. “We’ll change the method.”
Wang Jie’s unease surged. “Change… what method?”
Shu Rang walked away. His voice carried back, faint and dismissive.
“The four refining grounds are too comfortable. I’ll move you somewhere else.”
“To go soft in old age,” he muttered, as if annoyed at himself. “Ridiculous.”
Wang Jie stared after him, the unease thickening into something heavier.
It sounded like he wouldn’t be staying in the four refining grounds much longer.
Where would he be sent?
He swallowed hard, forced himself to move, and kept flying.
No matter what came, he had to find a way to learn Stacked Sky Light first.
A few days later, he entered Great Chen Mountain’s Star Vault Exchange.
Thankfully, he didn’t run into Du Xian. If he had, he might’ve started believing she really was following him.
“I want information on Zhi Shu,” Wang Jie said.
The attendant’s smile stayed polite. “Sorry, Guest. We don’t sell information on members of the Zhi family. That’s the rule.”
“Then sell me information on bodyguards,” Wang Jie said without pause. “I want a bodyguard who can defeat Zhi Shu.”
The attendant’s smile didn’t change. “Sorry, Guest. Great Chen Mountain doesn’t have such a bodyguard.”
Wang Jie stared for a beat, then said, “Then I want information on how to cultivate Stacked Sky Light.”
The attendant blinked.
Wang Jie turned and walked out without spending a single coin.
He’d rendered them speechless—and still gotten nothing.
Zhi Shu was sitting at the summit like a locked gate. Wang Jie truly had no way to cultivate Stacked Sky Light.
He looked back toward Great Chen Mountain.
If only he were stronger.
As if answering his thought, his terminal chimed.
A direct order from the sect arrived—one that bypassed the refining grounds entirely.
“Disciple Wang Jie, forcibly conscripted to the Ying Yang Battlefield. Proceed immediately to Mo Lian.”
Mo Lian.
The Black Realm Lord.
Wang Jie’s face turned ugly.
So his unease had been right.
What Zhi Qing couldn’t accomplish, Shu Rang had done in a single stroke.
He’d sent Wang Jie to the Star-Cloud Battlefield.
Wang Jie knew the Ying Yang Battlefield. Zhi Xing Xue had once given him a list detailing where Lockforce disciples were assigned across the Star-Cloud Battlefield, and the Ying Yang Battlefield had been on it.
If he remembered correctly, the battlefield’s most influential beneficiaries included Elder Council Li Tong He and several other elders.
He hadn’t expected to end up there himself.
A route map arrived along with the order.
Wang Jie exhaled slowly.
First: supplies.
He needed to buy whatever could keep him alive.
At the same time, orders went out across the sect.
A battlefield conscription wouldn’t target only one person—especially not a Star-Breaking Realm.
This time, the sect forcibly conscripted one hundred thousand Lockforce cultivators. Wang Jie was only one among them.
Most people glanced once and didn’t care. Who paid attention to Lockforce cultivators?
Only a handful reacted differently.
Zhi Xing Xue immediately contacted the Black Realm Lord Mo Lian to question the order, but Mo Lian had already gone to the battlefield. No response.
She tried the White Realm Lord next.
But the White Realm Lord had no authority over battlefield conscription.
Zhi Qing was in seclusion.
Zhi Xing Xue couldn’t understand who had the power to bypass both her and Zhi Ye and still force the Black Realm Lord to move against Wang Jie.
Before long, Zhi Ye came to see her.
“Aunt,” he said gently, “let it go for now. It can’t be changed.”
Zhi Xing Xue stared at him. “You know who moved against Wang Jie?”
Zhi Ye gave a bitter smile. “It might not be ‘moving against’ him.”
He hesitated. “It might be… favor.”
Zhi Xing Xue didn’t understand.
“While you were away,” Zhi Ye said, “a Guest visited the sect. His identity is special—only a few people in the sect know it.”
“He’s called Shu Rang.”
Zhi Ye’s voice lowered. “A Star Dao Master.”
Zhi Xing Xue’s expression shifted. “A Star Dao Master? Black-White Heaven has a Star Dao Master?”
Zhi Ye nodded. “Senior Shu Rang’s status is unusual. The sect makes no demands of him, but he can influence sect decisions.”
“A Lockforce disciple is nothing in his eyes,” he continued. “Wang Jie’s transfer order was requested by him personally. Even the Black Realm Lord couldn’t refuse.”
Zhi Xing Xue’s voice hardened. “Why?”
Zhi Ye exhaled. “From the moment Wang Jie was forcibly conscripted, many things finally made sense.”
Zhi Xing Xue understood at once.
Wang Jie… was Shu Rang’s disciple.
So that was why Wang Jie was so powerful—why a Star-Breaking Realm could defeat multiple Roaming-Star Realm cultivators, even take Star-Devourer from Zhi Shu.
She’d always wondered where his combat power came from.
Now it fit.
A Star Dao Master could explain almost anything.
In the cultivation world, a Chen Refiner might be the most special talent beneath Star-Refining Realm, but a Star Dao Master was something else entirely—an existence revered across the whole system.
Black-White Heaven ruled Fourth Nebula alone, yet through countless years had failed to produce even one Star Dao Master.
A foreign Star Dao Master joining could sway the sect’s greatest decisions. That alone spoke of their status.
It was a profession so exalted it didn’t even bother to be overheard.
Zhi Xing Xue’s gaze dimmed. “Doesn’t he fear Wang Jie will die on the battlefield?”
Zhi Ye shrugged. “What a Star Dao Master thinks isn’t something ordinary people like us can guess.”
He paused. “If Aunt cares about Wang Jie, you should send him something to keep him alive.”
After Zhi Ye left, Zhi Xing Xue’s eyes flickered.
She thought for a long moment, then called, “Little Lan.”
“Master.”
“Find Wang Jie,” Zhi Xing Xue said quietly. “Give him this.”
Meanwhile, Wang Jie returned to Star Vault Exchange.
Great Chen Mountain differed from Suo Xing Jian in one main way: most cultivators here practiced starforce, and the average cultivation was about one major realm higher.
But beyond that, the place wasn’t particularly rich in rare goods.
If he wanted truly exceptional items, Zhi Academy would be far better.
The problem was time.
He couldn’t return to Black-White Heaven to shop. He could only purchase what he could here, as quickly as possible.
He handed his list to Star Vault Exchange and paid them to gather items through their channels.
“Guest,” the attendant said brightly, “these are the Recovery Pills you requested. We already have them in stock—one thousand pills in total, one million starstone.”
“Since we waived the errand fee, there won’t be a discount,” she added sweetly. “Is that acceptable?”
Wang Jie waved a hand. “Just hurry.”
“Thank you, Guest.”
Her smile was sunny enough to make him want to grind his teeth.
He was being overcharged. He knew it. But time was more valuable than money right now.
He’d settle the account with Du Xian one day.
“Guest,” she continued, “this is a Gathering-Track Formation scroll. It can disperse Roaming-Star Realm starforce.”
“Buy it.”
“This is Revival Pill. We only have twenty.”
“Collect more. As many as you can.”
“These are the swords you requested,” she said next. “All forged from fifth-grade materials. We have ninety.”
“Keep collecting.”
She hesitated, then produced another item. “Guest, would you like this pill? Truth-Telling Pill. It can compel someone to speak the truth.”
Wang Jie’s brows lifted.
Good.
“Buy it.”
Messages kept arriving. Star Vault Exchange moved fast—fast enough to justify their cost.
Then they brought him something truly valuable.
“Guest,” the attendant said, presenting a robe with reverence, “this is Cloud-Thread Robe.”
“It’s woven from ancient star silkworm silk. Unfortunately, the silk can’t be star-refining. Even though the material is eighth-grade, it can never become a Chen artifact.”
“And it only blocks external injuries,” she added quickly. “Not internal.”
Wang Jie’s eyelid twitched. “How much?”
“Five hundred million starstone.”
Wang Jie nearly choked. “Five hundred million?”
“Guest,” she said earnestly, “it’s eighth-grade material. It can withstand external attacks from Star-Refining Realm. It’s like a Star-Refining Realm slashing you One Blade—your body won’t be cut in two.”
Wang Jie stared.
If she didn’t know how to sell things, she should’ve hired someone who did.
The attendant pressed on. “A normal eighth-grade Chen artifact starts at two billion. This one is cheaper only because it can’t be star-refining.”
“And think about it, Guest—if you’re wearing it, who would know?”
“The flaw can’t hide the advantage,” she concluded triumphantly. “Five hundred million is a bargain.”
“Can you make it cheaper?” Wang Jie asked, more out of spite than hope.
“Do you want me to bargain?” she offered eagerly.
Wang Jie’s face stayed blank. “No. I’ll take it.”
He was being cheated again.
A robe that couldn’t block internal injuries sounded like a terrible deal.
But he’d just received ten billion starstone from Qi Xue Yin.
Fine.
Spend it.
The attendant’s eyes gleamed. “Guest, our shop has a treasured item. Would you like to see it?”
Wang Jie narrowed his eyes. “How much are you planning to cheat me this time?”
He corrected himself through gritted teeth. “No. How much does it cost?”