Chapter 212
Chapter 212: Phoenix Song Hall
Fang Jue explained, “Once you become a Battle Soldier, you can either leave the battlefield forever or choose to remain. But staying after promotion is different. You can now freely pick battlefield missions and recruit team members. You’ve offended someone important, so if you passively accept missions, you’ll likely face certain death. Your only hope is to find a team willing to accept you first. Only if a team captain voluntarily recruits you can you avoid stepping into lethal traps.”
“Normally, only Battle Soldiers need to go to the Decree Platform to select missions. The rest of you can simply use your personal terminals and wait for assignments. But if you want to find a team to join, you must try your luck at the Decree Platform.”
Wang Jie understood clearly, “Thank you, Senior Brother.”
“Our Black White Heaven has many departments at the core of the Yin Yang Battlefield, each assigning different tasks. The best, naturally, are logistical missions. Those mainly pass the time and are relatively safe. The most dangerous tasks involve direct combat, and survival depends on luck.”
“I’m a Celestial Refinement Master. Would that grant me any privileges?”
“You’re a Celestial Refinement Master?” Fang Jue stared at him oddly.
Wang Jie nodded.
Fang Jue gave him a peculiar look. “You’re a Lock Force cultivator—and a Celestial Refinement Master?”
Many had asked Wang Jie this before. He simply nodded harder.
Fang Jue sighed helplessly, “How strange. Lock Force cultivators refining celestial objects—what nonsense. Why can’t I be a Celestial Refinement Master too?” He then shook his head, adding, “But it’s useless. A Celestial Refinement Master status means you wouldn’t have needed to come to the Star Cloud Battlefield. Once you’re here, that status is meaningless. Even legendary Star Path Masters must follow orders here.”
[Is that so?] Wang Jie was doubtful. Star Path Masters held much higher status than ordinary people imagined.
“By the way, who exactly did you offend?” Fang Jue asked.
“Di Zi.”
Fang Jue froze. He turned and stared at Wang Jie as if looking at a dead man. “You offended that woman?”
Wang Jie nodded, not daring to reveal he’d also offended Zhi Qing, afraid Fang Jue might abandon him on the spot.
Fang Jue shook his head grimly. “No wonder. Then your chances of returning to the sect alive just dropped even lower. Di Zi is narrow-minded—you must have seen her sour face, always looking as though everyone owes her money.”
“Still, that woman has Elder Ming behind her. Elder Ming is one of the three Elders overseeing the Yin Yang Battlefield, giving Di Zi considerable influence here. Forget what I said earlier—joining a team won’t save you. Your only chance is seeking protection from one of the other two Elders. Otherwise, no one can help you.”
As stars continued flashing past, Wang Jie asked cautiously, “Who are the other two Elders?”
“One is Elder Wu Yuan, but forget about him. He’s permanently at the front lines, too busy to handle rear affairs.”
“The other is Elder Li Tong He. You’ll need to figure out how to approach him yourself.”
Wang Jie had no idea how he’d manage that. Perhaps joining a team first was more realistic.
Fang Jue was at the Wandering Star Realm, and even at his speed, it would take at least two months to reach the core. Wang Jie’s spacecraft, however, was Star Link class—six times faster than a Wandering Star Realm cultivator.
Thus, the fastest way back was by spaceship.
They didn’t encounter any ship at first, but instead ran into someone from the Second Star Cloud.
Fang Jue rushed Wang Jie into a planet shrouded in blue mist as quickly as possible. This planet was filled with an extremely foul odor, but Fang Jue paid it no mind, diving straight into its depths.
“Do you hear that sound?” Fang Jue whispered.
Wang Jie nodded. He had heard it earlier—a faint zither melody drifting from afar, eerie and unsettling.
Fang Jue’s expression turned grave. “That’s Phoenix Song Hall, from the Second Star Cloud.”
Wang Jie gazed toward the starry sky, but the dense blue mist on the planet obscured everything. “Phoenix Song Hall?”
“I told you before. The Second Star Cloud has many powerful forces. Individually, they’re slightly weaker than our Black White Heaven, but not by much. Phoenix Song Hall is one of them. They excel in sonic arts, mastering the Eight Tones of Annihilation and the Thunder Sound True Technique. Many senior brothers from our sect have fallen by their hands. They’re ruthless women. Even surviving an encounter leaves you severely injured.”
“Let’s hide until they’re gone.”
“Who are they fighting against?”
“Who cares? It has nothing to do with us.”
Wang Jie knew better than to act recklessly. Even if he wanted to, he lacked the strength. He and Fang Jue stayed on the planet for half a month, cautiously emerging only when the sounds outside had completely vanished.
“If you ever hear a melody like that again on the battlefield, don’t hesitate—just run. Facing Phoenix Song Hall puts us at a severe disadvantage. Those women have connections everywhere in the Second Star Cloud. Who knows when a flower guardian might appear to protect them. You’d die unjustly.”
Several days later, fortune smiled upon them, and they discovered an abandoned spaceship. Though heavily damaged at the stern, it was still usable.
The two immediately set off toward the core.
Eight days later, they finally returned to the harbor filled with battleships—the very place Wang Jie had departed from to find Fang Jue. This was the Yin Yang Battlefield’s core, where Elders resided year-round.
Back at the core, Fang Jue breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“I’m heading to rest first, then I’ll visit the Decree Platform later. Take care of yourself.”
Wang Jie nodded, watching Fang Jue leave before slowly observing his surroundings. The last visit had been rushed; now, he finally had time to look around properly.
The core was incredibly vast, divided into numerous departments as Fang Jue had mentioned—warship construction and repair, mineral resource extraction, logistics for formations, weapons, and alchemy, transportation, Decree Platform, rest areas, waiting zones, and more.
He’d previously visited the waiting zone.
Fang Jue was headed toward the Rest Area. But the Rest Area was only open to battle pawns or those who paid for entry. Many cultivators who wished to linger longer on the battlefield would find a way to get a room in the Rest Area, but the cost was steep.
The reason it cost so much was due to the protection of the Central Hub. An Elder guarded that area, allowing cultivators to rest more securely. Without this guarantee, cultivators could rest anywhere without spending resources here.
Wang Jie went directly to the Decree Platform instead.
It took a long time for him to find it, as the Decree Platform was located on another planet. At first glance, it looked similar to the counter at the Star Fusion Center, sprawling and vast, each counter separated by great distances, seemingly divided by task types.
People walked around endlessly before him, many looking just like him—searching for teams to join. Yet some wore proud expressions, clearly those who had already secured a team.
Further off, people were even selling things at stalls.
Wang Jie approached one of the vendors. The stall owner immediately brightened, saying warmly: “Junior brother, looking to buy something good? Come, take a look. See this dagger? A Three Tribulations star artifact belonging to a Dagger Bearer. It took me great pains to pick this up from the battlefield at Hanhai Sea.”
Wang Jie was astonished and asked skeptically: “You just picked it up?”
The vendor eyed him curiously and replied proudly, “Judging by your unfamiliar face, Junior Brother, you must not know much about the battlefield at Hanhai Sea. So what if I picked it up? I’m proud of it. So many have died there; it’s good enough that I survived to bring it back.”
Wang Jie asked further, “This Dagger Bearer is…?”
“He’s from the second Star Cloud—” the vendor suddenly stopped, scrutinizing Wang Jie cautiously before adding, “Junior Brother, are you here just to ask questions? Buy or don’t, but don’t interrupt my business otherwise.”
Wang Jie moved on, glancing at other stalls nearby.
The vendors were selling all sorts of items clearly aimed at teams. Compared to ordinary cultivators, teams were considered elite and thus more likely able to afford these things.
Wang Jie wandered around, eventually following the example of others to find a team to join.
But once people learned he cultivated Lock Force, they immediately rejected him.
Forced by circumstance, Wang Jie displayed his strength. Grabbing a cultivator who was turning away, he said urgently, “Senior Brother, don’t refuse so hastily. Junior Brother’s combat power is decent—I can kill ordinary Wandering Star Realm cultivators easily.”
The man paused, startled by Wang Jie’s strength, and reassessed him: “You can kill Wandering Star Realm cultivators?”
Wang Jie nodded, replying seriously, “Formation Daoist Fang Jue can vouch for me. Unfortunately, it happened in the starry expanse, and I couldn’t retrieve their identity tokens in time.” Saying this, he released his grip.
The man nodded thoughtfully, “Understandable. Surviving battles in starry space is hard enough. Who would bother picking up identity tokens? But Junior Brother, even if you can kill Wandering Star Realm cultivators, our team still won’t accept you.”
Wang Jie frowned, puzzled: “Why?”
“Do you know why so many teams exist?” the man explained slowly, “Not to gain fame on the battlefield or achieve merits for the sect—that’s unrealistic. Those things are for Six Dao Wanderers and elite disciples, not us. We just want resources as safely as possible. Most teams never enter the actual battlefield. So, we recruit Star Force cultivators who, at the very least, have connections when returning to the sect.”
“As for Lock Force cultivators like you, it’s almost impossible to return to the sect. Even if you did, you’d be confined mostly to the Lock Path Interval.”
“You must know Xiao Rong, right?”
Wang Jie nodded. He had heard this name far too many times.
The man spoke softly, “Xiao Rong stays on the battlefield as a symbol the sect shows to Lock Force cultivators—not because he genuinely wants to remain.”
Wang Jie raised his eyebrows slightly. [So this was the truth.]
“Among Star Force cultivators, this isn’t a secret, but it’s never told to you Lock Force cultivators. Junior Brother, your strength is impressive, and perhaps you can help me one day on the battlefield. As goodwill, I’m telling you this: you have little chance of returning to the sect. Our paths are unlikely to cross again. Thus, the Captain will never accept you.” Finished, the man walked away.
Wang Jie frowned deeply. So that was Xiao Rong’s true purpose.
However, he was different from Xiao Rong. Yet no matter how he explained, these teams wouldn’t believe him.
Since this team wouldn’t accept him, other teams probably wouldn’t either. Unless it was a team bound for the front lines, which was precisely the kind of dangerous group he didn’t want to join.
Although he’d been forced to the Star Cloud battlefield by his unreliable master, he certainly wasn’t here to seek death.
Any slight mistake here would cost him his life.
His unreliable master couldn’t protect him from such a great distance from the sect.
His survival depended solely upon himself.
[Slow and steady,] Wang Jie thought, continuing his search. Perhaps luck would eventually lead him to a team.
Days passed, yet no team accepted him.
He couldn’t conceal the fact he cultivated Lock Force. This was the battlefield, not the sect. As for his Nine Form Diagram, though he could alter his appearance, he could not hide his true identity.
One day, his personal terminal alerted him—it was time to submit a task because Fang Jue had just completed his.
Wang Jie sighed helplessly and turned in his task.
This task was specifically assigned to him, unlike the mass assignments given to other Lock Force cultivators. Naturally, the reward was generous, directly adding another drop of blood to his identity token.
But the very instant the task was submitted, another task swiftly followed:
“Gather at Hanhai Sea.”
Wang Jie’s eyelid twitched anxiously. [Not good! It’s actually that place.]
Fang Jue had mentioned it before, and the dagger seller had also brought it up. This Hanhai Sea was the fiercest battlefield in the Yin Yang Battlefield, and now he was ordered there.
Wang Jie had known his tasks wouldn’t be easy.
Scanning his surroundings quickly, he found his direction and started walking forward.