Chapter 213
Chapter 213: Why Are You Here?
A short time later, Wang Jie crouched down in front of a vendor’s stall.
The vendor raised his eyebrows in surprise and said: “Huh? It’s you again? Haven’t found a team yet? You’ve been wandering here for days. Need me to point you in the right direction?”
Wang Jie answered: “No need. I’ve already received my orders.”
“Oh? Where are you headed?”
“Hanhai Sea.”
The vendor’s expression shifted immediately, his eyes filling with sympathy as he gazed at Wang Jie: “Then may your passing be peaceful.”
Wang Jie fell silent…
“Tell me more about the Hanhai Sea. I’ll buy this dagger from you,” Wang Jie said.
The vendor shook his head and replied: “Don’t buy the dagger if you won’t need it. But I’ll tell you about the Hanhai Sea anyway. It’s quite simple, actually. It’s a battlefield formed from countless shattered planet fragments drifting endlessly through the starry void. Cultivators from the three great Star Clouds constantly fight there, competing for dominance. Because it’s so close to the Nebula Flow, it’s the most critical battlefield of all.”
“Our Star Cloud intends to establish our core there. So does the Second Star Cloud. But the Third Nebula will never allow it. The killing will never cease unless one side emerges victorious.”
Wang Jie’s face turned grim. [It sounds ruthless.]
“There are no tactics there, no strategies—only lives,” the vendor continued with lingering fear. “Lives thrown away. Tens of thousands, millions of lives tossed into the grinder. Survival rate is barely one in ten thousand. They keep pouring people in, batch after batch.”
“I heard the next batch has already gathered. You’re probably one of them. Should be about a million people.”
Wang Jie walked away as his personal terminal beeped, displaying the rally point and a countdown. Anyone who failed to arrive within the time limit would face a severe punishment and would still be forcibly sent to the Hanhai Sea afterward. No one dared to run.
Soon, Wang Jie arrived at the rally point—a spacious resting hall filled with cultivators, all bound for the Hanhai Sea.
Everyone here belonged to various sects—Starforce and Lock Force cultivators alike.
The natives from the Slaughter Stone Planets were held separately, Force fully sent to Hanhai Sea. Their treatment was far worse than the disciples gathered here.
“Brother, join our Willpower Gang! We’ve already gathered over a thousand people to survive together in the Hanhai Sea. Our boss is a Full-Star Realm Starforce cultivator—he’s really strong!”
“No, join us! Our boss is at the peak of Full-Star Realm. He once withstood a Wandering Star Realm attack for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.”
“That’s nothing, we…”
Voices clamored everywhere, groups trying to recruit new members.
Some approached Wang Jie, but he politely refused each one.
“The larger the group, the bigger the target. These people are foolish,” someone whispered nearby.
“But going alone is riskier. Even a minor injury could be deadly.”
“I’ve heard the Hanhai Sea has countless planet fragments. If you’re lucky enough to avoid a powerful attack, survival might still be possible.”
“Brother, maybe you’ll survive a short while, but can you last to the end? There are only two ways out of the Hanhai Sea—either become a war pawn or survive an entire year. Otherwise, there’s no escape. Hiding isn’t a real solution. Your enemies will find you eventually.”
“The war in the Hanhai Sea has raged for years. All hiding spots have long been discovered.”
“The terrain constantly changes.”
The discussion was intense, yet the mood remained pessimistic.
Wang Jie quietly listened. He could have paid for a private resting room but chose not to. He wanted to hear the thoughts of others around him.
Even a Wandering Star Realm fighter could die with bad luck.
Wang Jie never assumed he’d survive for certain. If he could, Zhi Qing and the others wouldn’t have tried so desperately to throw him onto the battlefield.
He glanced around casually.
Suddenly, his eyes settled on a familiar face.
That person seemed to sense his gaze and looked back.
Their eyes met, and both froze.
[Why is he here?]
Despite the loud chatter around them, the two stared at each other in bewilderment.
Zhi Nan Xing.
Wang Jie saw Zhi Nan Xing.
He thought he’d seen wrongly. How could an esteemed direct descendant of the Zhi family appear here, bound for the Hanhai Sea?
Zhi Nan Xing also thought he’d seen wrongly. How could the rascal backed by Ancestor Xing Xue be here, about to enter the Hanhai Sea?
Wang Jie walked over and calmly sat beside Zhi Nan Xing, examining him closely.
Zhi Nan Xing’s anger erupted instantly, snapping: “Why are you here?”
Wang Jie asked curiously: “I could ask you the same thing. Why would a prestigious Zhi family heir appear here?”
Zhi Nan Xing snorted coldly: “Every generation of the Zhi family heir must face life and death on the battlefield. I’m no exception. Otherwise, the family will soon decline. Not that you’d understand. But what about you? Why aren’t you enjoying your comfortable life at the Lock Path Interval instead of coming here to die?”
Wang Jie replied casually: “Zhi Qing and her people schemed against me.”
Zhi Nan Xing was stunned and frowned: “Ancestor Xing Xue didn’t help you?”
“The enemy was more cunning.”
“Then you deserve your fate.”
“No need to be cruel. We’re in the same boat now. One strong attack might just kill us both out there in the starry void.”
Zhi Nan Xing sneered: “I’m not so easy to kill.”
Wang Jie smiled and said lightly: “Then I’ll stick close to you.”
Zhi Nan Xing went speechless…
Wang Jie wasn’t joking. Zhi Nan Xing was a direct heir of the Zhi family. There was no way the family would let him die in battle without some hidden method to save his life. Sticking close to him was indeed the wisest choice.
Time passed swiftly.
In a blink, the day of departure arrived.
Everyone filed out of the resting hall, boarding massive warships waiting outside.
Each warship could hold at least two hundred thousand people.
Wang Jie stayed close behind Zhi Nan Xing. Irritated, Zhi Nan Xing hissed under his breath: “Keep your distance!”
Wang Jie ignored him completely.
Zhi Nan Xing seethed with anger, but on the battlefield, he couldn’t expose his identity. Revealing who he was would only lead to a swift death, as enemies would surely target him first.
Staring bitterly at Wang Jie, he ground his teeth but could do nothing.
[If it weren’t for this jerk, I wouldn’t even have needed to join this battle.]
Wang Jie knew his family was punishing him because of that wretched fellow. It was that rogue who kidnapped him, used his identity to cause chaos in the Devour Star competition, and even sneak-attacked Zhi Shu. When all was said and done, that villain was the true reason he was sent here.
But regrets were useless now.
Stepping onto the spaceship, Wang Jie deliberately sat down right next to Zhi Nan Xing.
Zhi Nan Xing was helpless and could only tolerate him.
The battleship swiftly launched into the starry expanse.
“How long until we reach Hanhai Sea?” Wang Jie asked.
Zhi Nan Xing didn’t reply.
Wang Jie glanced at him: “I saw Zhi Shu.”
Zhi Nan Xing turned sharply toward him: “Where?”
Wang Jie withdrew his gaze without answering.
Zhi Nan Xing’s cheek twitched in annoyance: “Five days at most to Hanhai Sea.”
“Great Star Mountain,” Wang Jie said casually, “that woman didn’t let me cultivate the star method.”
“If you hadn’t sneak-attacked her using my identity, you could never have defeated her,” Zhi Nan Xing shot back bitterly. “On Devour Star, your methods were disgraceful.”
“So,” Wang Jie raised an eyebrow, “a group of Wandering Star Realm cultivators ganging up on a single Star Breaking Realm like me isn’t disgraceful?”
Zhi Nan Xing had no reply.
Curious, Wang Jie continued: “Why are you people opposing Senior Xing Xue? Isn’t she part of your Zhi family?”
Zhi Nan Xing frowned deeply: “That’s my Zhi family’s business—none of your concern.”
“Did you attend the Pill Assembly?”
“What Pill Assembly?”
“Someone from Yun Lai of the First Star, from the Galaxy Combat Equipment Company, said they’re recruiting from Black White Heaven to enter the First Star Cloud, possibly even Armor One Sect.”
Zhi Nan Xing’s eyes widened, and his breathing quickened: “When?”
Wang Jie didn’t answer.
[This bastard!] Zhi Nan Xing gritted his teeth, then reluctantly explained: “The family once poured all its resources into cultivating Ancestor Xing Xue, yet she abandoned the clan for an outsider and left at our most difficult moment. Because of that betrayal, Ancestor Qing was forced to step forward, sacrificing half his lifetime to stabilize our position. Back then, countless people in Black White Heaven blamed our family, venting their resentment on us because Xing Xue had abandoned them.”
“That was my family’s darkest time.”
“The clan never wronged Ancestor Xing Xue. She was the one who betrayed us. Now that Frost Radiance Sect has fallen, she returns and dares to compete against Ancestor Qing for control of the family—what right does she have?”
Wang Jie lifted his brow again, finding no reason to refute.
“If the sect didn’t desperately need a Star Refining Realm cultivator, Xing Xue Ancestor could never have returned,” Zhi Nan Xing said bitterly. “To bring her back, even our Ancestor Zhi Yu had to enter seclusion.”
After a moment of silence, Zhi Nan Xing asked again, “When?”
“I don’t know.”
“You—” Zhi Nan Xing seethed.
Wang Jie finally said, “But if the chance arises, you’ll definitely be recruited. After all, you’re a direct descendant of the Zhi family.”
Zhi Nan Xing snorted coldly, thinking that this scoundrel was even more hateful than Xing Xue.
Though Wang Jie wanted to learn more about Black White Heaven from Zhi Nan Xing, the other man refused to speak anymore. No matter what Wang Jie said, Zhi Nan Xing wouldn’t respond.
A few days later, in the distance, a faint white line appeared, stretching across the Star Dome, illuminating the universe.
That was the battlefield of Hanhai Sea.
The warship accelerated toward the battlefield.
Everyone aboard grew tense, their faces pale as they stared at the distant battlefront. At this moment, no one dared speak; the battleship fell silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Even Zhi Nan Xing stared fixedly ahead.
The white glow came closer, gradually swallowing the darkness. Many people’s personal terminals suddenly flashed with warnings, detecting surging powers. The battleship’s alarm blared as it descended sharply.
Countless fragments of shattered land floated everywhere, large and small; some fragments were even larger than entire planets.
Yet what drew their eyes most was the sight of hundreds of battleships exchanging fierce volleys, the explosions shaking the stars themselves and rocking their own ship.
A chilling blade-light suddenly stretched from afar, freezing the void as it sliced toward their ship.
The floor beneath everyone’s feet abruptly opened wide.
All aboard fell from the sky toward a large chunk of planetary debris below.
Just as they landed, the icy blade-light struck their battleship, freezing it solid before it shattered into countless pieces.
Wang Jie had no time to watch the destruction above, as he realized the ground beneath was already a battlefield.
They had truly been tossed directly into combat without even an assigned formation.
Another blade-light sliced across the emptiness, heading straight toward them.
Wang Jie instantly tried to dodge.
But this blade-light was intercepted and shattered by another powerful strike.
A million cultivators had just landed—though the sight should’ve been stunning, it barely caused a ripple amid the chaos of battle. Once they hit the ground, everyone scattered. Those who had already formed teams quickly regrouped, seeking escape.
Zhi Nan Xing decisively charged sideways even before touching the ground, heading toward another floating chunk of planetary debris where a river flowed outward, drifting into the stars.
Wang Jie immediately followed him.
Noticing he was being shadowed, Zhi Nan Xing shouted furiously: “Why are you following me?”
“Safety,” Wang Jie answered shamelessly.
Zhi Nan Xing was enraged, but he couldn’t shake Wang Jie off. Helplessly, he continued sprinting ahead.
Of course, Wang Jie intended to stay close. As a member of the Zhi family, Zhi Nan Xing would surely know more about this battlefield. The fact he didn’t even know about the Pill Assembly meant he’d arrived earlier. Wang Jie had to follow closely.
Above them, battleships exchanged relentless fire, the brilliance of their clashes illuminating everything with blinding intensity.
Every now and then, powerful strikes surged across the Star Dome, crashing fiercely together.