Chapter 222

Chapter 222: Black-White Heaven Club

After Wu Yuan departed for the Han Hai Battlefield, Wang Jie and Li Tong He continued toward the Command Hub.

Before long, it came into view.

They were back.

Han Hai had taught Wang Jie what it meant to live on the edge of death. If he hadn’t run into Xia Xiao Nian, he might have died there.

Li Tong He drew alongside him. “Well? Still want to go back into the Han Hai Battlefield?”

Wang Jie forced a smile. “If I can avoid it, I’ll avoid it.”

Li Tong He laughed. “I thought you’d be like those people—charging wherever it’s most dangerous.”

“Those people?”

“The Six-Path Roamers.”

Wang Jie hesitated. “Disciple is different from them, right?”

Li Tong He looked him over. “No. You’re the same.

“You’re just more cautious. And you carry more responsibility.”

Cautious, sure. Responsibility?

Wang Jie didn’t feel like he carried much—except, perhaps, Blue Star.

Li Tong He sighed. “Every cultivator claims to fight the heavens, the earth, other people, and all things in the universe.

“But how many lives are crushed along that path?

“They say the more you fight, the stronger you become. The universe crowns fighters as kings.

“But in my eyes, not fighting is also a kind of fight.”

Wang Jie stared at him. He hadn’t expected such words from an elder like Li Tong He.

On a battlefield, those words could be mistaken for cowardice.

Li Tong He’s gaze grew complex. “The universe’s resources look endless, yet the higher you climb, the fewer truly valuable resources exist.

“Perhaps the greatest resource at the very peak is simply staying alive.”

Wang Jie nodded slowly. “Elder speaks reasonably.”

Li Tong He smiled faintly. “I’ve only said this to you. Most in the sect don’t agree.

“Wu Yuan isn’t an exception. They believe the future must be fought for.”

He paused, then added, “But you’re young. Don’t learn this old man’s pessimism.

“When it’s time to fight, you still have to fight. Everyone fears death, but every time you survive, the heavens reward you, don’t they?”

Wang Jie smiled. “Not only the heavens. The sect rewards you too.”

Li Tong He laughed. “True. The sect rewards you too.

“Then—besides ensuring Elder Ming won’t trouble you—how about I give you another reward?”

“What reward?” Wang Jie asked without hesitation.

“You’re not shy.” Li Tong He’s smile faded, turning serious. “But I don’t know if I can deliver it.

“I want to recommend you to join the Black-White Heaven Club.”

Wang Jie’s eyes tightened.

Black-White Heaven Club?

He hadn’t expected that.

A club was a kind of small, active organization spread across the universe. At first, these groups had formed to hunt starry-sky behemoths.

There were far too many starry-sky behemoths. If humans wanted to stand in the starry sky, conflict and cooperation across factions were inevitable, and battle against those beasts was constant.

Large-scale hunts weren’t cost-effective. That was why clubs rose—small, sharp teams.

They reminded Wang Jie of Blue Star’s old hunting squads.

But as starry-sky behemoths grew less active within humanity’s territory, clubs evolved.

They became tools—blades used by the powers behind them to compete for resources, fame, talent, and even territory.

Black-White Heaven controlled Fourth Nebula and fought on massive Star-Cloud Battlefields, but not all conflict could be resolved there. And not every enemy of Black-White Heaven would even be on those battlefields.

So the Black-White Heaven Club existed as a blade that could strike beyond the battlefield—fighting rivals across other nebulae.

That blade was also Black-White Heaven’s face.

They could do anything Black-White Heaven could do. In the eyes of outsiders, they were Black-White Heaven.

And it wasn’t just Black-White Heaven. Other sect powers operated similarly.

Many disputes were settled at the club level. Only when clubs couldn’t settle something did tensions escalate into larger wars.

Outside, you could judge a faction’s strength through its club. A powerful club member could casually crush a lesser club member—reflecting not just individual power, but the might of the force backing them.

There were also personal clubs, formed to protect individual interests.

Wang Jie had learned about clubs before the Star-Devourer struggle, when he purchased intelligence on Black-White Heaven’s elite disciples. Many of those disciples carried names registered under Black-White Heaven Club, which was why Wang Jie had asked Du Xian about it.

Back then, he hadn’t pressed for details. He’d only gained a basic understanding.

If Heavenlight Pavilion was Black-White Heaven’s quietly acknowledged shadow force, then Black-White Heaven Club was its public, openly recognized elite force—fed with the best resources.

Six-Path Roamers all held membership.

So did figures like Ye Huang, Yun Ju Young Master, Li Cai, Wen Yuan, and others.

It gathered Black-White Heaven’s most outstanding disciples.

Li Tong He studied Wang Jie. “So? Do you want to join?”

Wang Jie met his gaze. “Yes.”

Grand Elder Xing Xue had never recommended him. Wang Jie didn’t know why.

But joining the Black-White Heaven Club would mean far more than joining Heavenlight Pavilion.

His standing would truly transform.

And Zhi Qing’s line would find it far harder to move against him.

Li Tong He nodded. “I’ll send your information to Wu Yuan for review. After that, Wu Yuan will submit it to the sect.”

“Elder Wu Yuan?” Wang Jie asked in surprise. “He handles the Club?”

“He’s one of the Club’s members,” Li Tong He said.

That startled Wang Jie even more.

Li Tong He explained, “At first, clubs didn’t restrict membership. For a time, it was chaos—clubs fought clubs everywhere. Some sect masters and family heads even joined.

“Later, to keep the universe from becoming one endless battlefield, they set age restrictions for club membership.”

Wu Yuan still qualified.

Wang Jie understood, then asked, “Then our Black-White Heaven Club is very strong?”

“It is,” Li Tong He said with a hint of pride. “It gathers the most elite disciples. Most are scattered in daily life, but when something demands the whole Club’s response, they will move.

“Still, we are far from the strongest.”

Wang Jie thought of the terrifying figures from Guarding Star Realm—young, which implied they too likely belonged to clubs beyond what Fourth Nebula could match.

And Fourth Nebula, after all, was the weakest among the Bridge-Pillar Four Great Nebulae.

Once they reached the Command Hub, Li Tong He immediately entered seclusion to heal.

Wang Jie went to the Edict Platform and turned in the Full-Star Realm identity tokens.

The disciple handling the exchange stared at the pile, stunned.

He’d never seen a Star-Breaking Realm cultivator produce so many Full-Star Realm identity tokens at once.

Were they all kills?

Full-Star Realm cultivators?

How was that even possible?

Or had someone been protecting him?

“Senior Brother,” the disciple asked carefully, “do you have a Star Fusion Card?”

“I do,” Wang Jie replied.

“Good. I’ll transfer 5,500,000 starstones to you.”

For a Full-Star Realm cultivator to rise from ordinary cultivator to Battle Trooper, they needed to kill ten Full-Star Realm cultivators—ten with different blood drops.

A one-blood Full-Star Realm was worth 100,000 starstones. Two-blood was 200,000, and so on.

Reaching Battle Trooper through those ten kills earned 5,500,000 starstones. That was the basic promotion reward.

In addition, every identity-token promotion granted one opportunity to leave the battlefield.

There was also a separate kill reward from the sect—an extra payment equal to the promotion’s full starstone amount. By Wang Jie’s standard, that was another 5,500,000 starstones, though it had to be claimed elsewhere.

In other words, one promotion brought Wang Jie 11,000,000 starstones.

For him, it wasn’t much compared to past gains. For an ordinary Full-Star Realm, it was a fortune.

A suitable two-tribulation chen artifact for Full-Star Realm usually started at 200,000 starstones and rarely exceeded 4,000,000—because anything above that generally meant a three-tribulation chen artifact.

Pills suitable for Full-Star Realm were often in the same price range. A Truth-Telling Pill or Swiftstep Pill could cost 500,000 starstones.

Eleven million starstones in one lump sum was enough to buy a chen artifact, pills, formation scrolls, and more.

Just enough.

The sect’s calculations were ruthless.

If someone reached Battle Guard after that, the payout doubled—22,000,000 starstones. Higher ranks like Battle Elite and Battle General paid even more.

“Senior Brother,” the Edict Platform disciple asked, “do you plan to leave the battlefield?”

Wang Jie didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I’m leaving.”

The disciple checked quickly.

Then checked again.

His face changed.

Wang Jie’s heart sank. He’d known it wouldn’t be so easy. If his stingy master had thrown him into the battlefield, there was no way he’d be allowed to leave at Battle Trooper.

He simply wanted to know what level he had to reach.

“I’m sorry, Senior Brother,” the disciple said. “You still can’t leave.”

“What level do I need to reach?” Wang Jie asked.

“This… I can’t see it.”

Wang Jie walked away, disappointed but unsurprised. The disciple’s authority clearly wasn’t high enough.

Still, there was one small comfort.

After returning from the Han Hai Battlefield and turning in his mission, he hadn’t been immediately assigned a new one. It looked like Li Tong He had applied pressure and neutralized Elder Ming’s schemes against him.

Now, Wang Jie needed to contact Grand Elder Xing Xue.

It was time.

The Ying Yang Battlefield had a channel to contact the sect, similar in function to the four refining grounds—except it wasn’t a shop. It sat not far from the Edict Platform and was guarded by a middle-aged man.

Wang Jie arrived and blinked.

So few people.

He’d expected a long line like the refining grounds.

Then he learned why.

Only Battle Troopers could contact the sect.

Any Battle Trooper could, regardless of realm. If you weren’t Battle Trooper, you didn’t even have the right.

Wang Jie gave the name he wanted. “Zhi Upper Realm Zhi Xing Xue.”

The middle-aged man’s expression shifted. He studied Wang Jie with new seriousness.

Wang Jie showed him his identity token.

The man nodded and began the process at once. “Please wait. Once the connection is established, I’ll notify you, Senior Brother.”

Wang Jie stepped aside.

“It’s you?”

A voice sounded nearby.

Wang Jie turned and saw someone staring at him with surprise.

He nodded politely. “Long time no see.”

Back when Wang Jie had tried to join a team to avoid Di Zi’s mission trap, many groups had refused him. This man had been one of them.

The man sized him up. “Brother, you’re impressive. You made Battle Trooper in such a short time.

“If I remember right, you’re a lockforce cultivator, aren’t you?”

“You’re doing well too,” Wang Jie replied. “Last time, you didn’t seem to be Battle Trooper.”

“Our captain is Battle Trooper,” the man explained. “This time, when we killed enemies, he let me use the identity token so I could contact the sect. He has to keep watch over the Edict Platform.”

He hesitated, then asked, “What mission did you take to advance so fast?”

“Han Hai Battlefield,” Wang Jie said simply.