Chapter 234
Chapter 234: Wandering Gods
Wang Jie sat up, dazed, and looked around blankly.
The young girl suddenly appeared in front of him, whispering urgently: “Do exactly what I do. Quickly.” After speaking, she hurried after the crazy man.
Wang Jie stood instinctively, following the young girl, confusion flooding his mind. [Huh? What kind of actions are these? Why am I imitating a madman?]
The madman bent down; the young girl bent down; Wang Jie—bent down.
The madman lifted his leg high; the young girl raised hers high; Wang Jie also raised his leg high.
The madman pounded his chest with his fists, letting out wild howls.
The young girl’s face flushed purple, yet she, too, pounded her chest and howled: “Awwooo!”
Wang Jie was speechless, but what had he not endured before? “Awwooo!” His shout was louder than the girl’s.
The madman continued to run in circles, his strange movements never ending, with two little lunatics trailing behind. Gradually, Wang Jie sensed something odd. Though the madman’s running seemed chaotic, there was a subtle rhythm to it—a rhythm he couldn’t put into words but could certainly feel. Why could he sense it? He pondered, his gaze passing beyond the young girl to focus intently on the madman.
One day passed. Then two, then three.
The three of them kept running.
By now, the young girl had grown numb. [Bring it on. There’s nothing left to fear.]
Suddenly, Wang Jie understood: it was passive acceptance. When he used to exercise, that passivity had come from streams of warmth, yet the madman’s running seemed to draw its rhythm passively from the void itself. No wonder it felt familiar.
Yet he couldn’t actively sense or manipulate this void—he could only follow passively behind.
Still, he noticed that as he ran, he began feeling something tangible within the void. He felt he could grasp something elusive, something normally intangible.
Days passed, and where the madman ran, a clear, patterned symbol gradually appeared in the frozen ground, intricate and orderly, though its meaning was unknown.
Even beneath Wang Jie’s feet, a faint pattern emerged—not as clear as the madman’s, but definitely visible.
Only the young girl had no pattern beneath her feet.
She glanced at the madman’s footprints, then back at Wang Jie’s, her expression souring instantly. [Why don’t I have one? Could he have learned it already?]
Unfair.
How many times had she tried? Each time she mimicked the madman exactly, yet she never succeeded. Why could he?
Unfair. She felt tears coming.
Abruptly, the madman disappeared, vanishing so suddenly they couldn’t even glimpse his shadow, let alone chase him.
The young girl and Wang Jie stopped, panting heavily.
Wang Jie rested his hands on his knees, gazing thoughtfully at the pattern he’d left. It was strange—unclear, impossible to decipher. He had just followed instinctively, yet a pattern had formed. So why hadn’t one formed beneath the young girl?
He glanced curiously at the girl’s path.
“Don’t look!” The young girl snapped angrily.
Wang Jie jumped, quickly withdrawing his gaze.
The girl bit her lip, face crimson with frustration as she stared resentfully at the empty ground. She had practiced this much longer than he had.
After a quiet moment, she turned sharply to Wang Jie: “Never speak a word about today, or I’ll kill you.”
Wang Jie quickly nodded: “I wouldn’t dare speak of it.”
“Hmph.” The young girl glanced back down at the patterns on the ground, her voice softening slightly: “Did you master it?”
Wang Jie was confused: “Master what?”
The girl pointed at the ground.
“Oh, that,” Wang Jie said simply. “I just followed along.”
The young girl glared furiously at him. [Who hasn’t just followed along? Then why can’t I learn it?] She wanted to shout, yet she swallowed her words, feeling foolish.
Who was she? She was Qing Huan, Qing Huan of the Four Traveling Gods, acknowledged by the greatest pillars as one of the most talented cultivators alive.
Why couldn’t she grasp something seemingly so simple? She had even performed those embarrassing actions just like the little madman.
“Teach me,” she suddenly demanded.
Wang Jie looked startled.
The young girl fixed a severe gaze on him, repeating firmly: “I told you—teach me.”
Wang Jie asked uncertainly: “Is this exercise really meaningful? It seems useless.”
The young girl clenched her teeth: “Stop talking nonsense. Just teach me. I’ll reward you.” With that, she waved her hand and knocked Wu Yan unconscious.
Seeing Wu Yan collapse stiffly to the ground, Wang Jie straightened seriously: “Guaranteed to teach until you learn.”
Only then did her expression brighten slightly.
Following Wang Jie was far simpler; there were no bizarre movements. After circling once, everything seemed completely normal.
Yet, strangely enough, the young girl still couldn’t learn it.
Even though it appeared so easy.
“What are you looking at? Keep going.” She scowled, her mood darkening further. Thinking back, most of the madman’s movements had indeed been pointless. And now this boy’s eyes—was he thinking she was stupid? Did he even know who she was? Hmph.
“Actually,” Wang Jie suggested gently, “try letting go of your active thoughts and passively accept the feeling.”
His words struck her like heaven’s thunder, echoing powerfully within her mind. She stared blankly at Wang Jie. [Let go of myself?]
Wang Jie patiently taught her again and again, and the young girl practiced repeatedly, gradually becoming more passive each time.
Finally, half a month later, she grasped the basics.
Gazing down at the faint pattern under her feet, even blurrier than Wang Jie’s, she breathed a relieved sigh. It was worth all the trouble.
She turned to Wang Jie, lifting her head proudly, exposing her elegant, snow-white neck: “You taught me well. What’s your name?”
Wang Jie coughed awkwardly: “I’m Wang Jie.”
“Wang Jie? Very well, I’ll remember your name. I owe you a favor. If you ever need anything, come find me. There’s nothing in this universe Qing Huan cannot accomplish,” she proclaimed proudly.
Wang Jie stared at her, bewildered.
She gazed at Wang Jie, and the proud smile on her face gradually faded. “You…don’t recognize me?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You’ve never heard my name?”
“Never.”
The young girl’s face drooped in disappointment, and even the crescent moon hovering behind her seemed to wilt along with her mood. She sat down listlessly, swinging her pale, slender legs. “Turns out I’m not as famous as I thought.”
Wang Jie curiously studied the crescent moon beneath her. [Is that a star artifact?]
“It must be my own ignorance,” Wang Jie quickly added. “I’m only a lock force cultivator, and I haven’t had much contact with the outside world.”
The young girl lifted her head, her eyes sparkling mischievously. She laughed lightly, “True enough. Since you cultivate lock force, you’re not even qualified to have heard of me.”
[What’s that supposed to mean?] Wang Jie had intended to comfort her, not insult himself.
“Alright, since you’ve never heard of me, today I’ll broaden your horizons.” The girl jumped to her feet, pointed proudly at herself with her thumb, and declared with an air of confidence, “Remember clearly! This young lady’s name is Qing Huan, one of the Four Traveling Gods. Did you hear that?”
Wang Jie’s eyes widened with genuine astonishment. “You’re one of the Wandering Gods?”
Qing Huan sniffed, turning her head to gaze upward at a forty-five-degree angle, clearly waiting for praise.
Wang Jie stared deeply at her, never imagining that the renowned Wandering Gods would be so young.
On the bridge pillars stood the Star Guardians, divided from lowest to highest realms: Wandering Star Realm, Hundred Star Realm, and Star Refining Realm. Among these, the four guardians of the Wandering Star Realm were precisely the Four Traveling Gods.
These Four Traveling Gods represented absolute, invincible strength within the Wandering Star Realm. Although youthful, their strength far surpassed older generations, or even ancient experts of the same realm.
The clearest example was Wu Yuan, defeated by a single move from a Star Guardian.
And Wu Yuan was known as the youngest and strongest elder in Black White Heaven. Even during his disciple years, he had been a Six Dao Wanderer, perhaps even the strongest among them.
Yet, even someone like him was defeated in one move.
The gap between a Six Dao Wanderer and a Star Guardian was thus immeasurable.
Star Guardians held unmatched power, and since their duty was to safeguard the entire bridge pillar, their authority was absolute, extending over every sect within the pillar.
The Frost Radiance Sect’s decline in the Hundred Star Realm had come about precisely because several experts of that realm had been summoned away by a Star Guardian.
No matter their realm, even a Wandering Star Realm Star Guardian could command any sect, and not even their Star Refining Realm cultivators could object.
The Wandering Gods—truly gods of the Wandering Star Realm.
Qing Huan waited expectantly for Wang Jie’s praise, but grew dissatisfied when it didn’t come. Turning back, she noticed his astonishment and immediately brightened. [Was he so stunned by my identity? That’s better than any compliment.]
[This guy isn’t so bad after all.]
Seeing Qing Huan looking at him, Wang Jie quickly bowed respectfully, “So you’re one of the Wandering Gods! Forgive my ignorance. I didn’t even recognize one of the Wandering Gods.”
Qing Huan smiled and waved dismissively, “Never mind. You cultivate lock force; it’s understandable.”
“Still, you’re quite remarkable. You’re not even at Full Star Realm, yet you possess such strength. You’ve already surpassed many Wandering Star Realm cultivators.” She pointed at Wu Yan. “Though your qi is weaker than his, and you don’t quite know how to control it, remember he is a Wandering Star Realm cultivator.”
“Moreover, you can even cultivate qi in this place. Have you encountered people from the Death Realm?”
Wang Jie nodded, “My homeworld is a Slaughter Stone Planet. I was drawn into some conflicts and unintentionally learned it.”
Qing Huan’s expression softened with sympathy, “Then it really hasn’t been easy for you to reach this stage. No wonder you cultivate lock force. It’s such a pity. If you cultivated star force instead, I’d even consider recommending you to my teacher.”
Wang Jie replied with gratitude, “Thank you, Wandering God. Unfortunately, I lack such qualifications. This lifetime will probably remain as it is. Still, to be able to help a Wandering God today is my greatest honor. Perhaps this moment is the very purpose of my journey in this mortal world.”
Qing Huan blinked, feeling a warmth stir in her heart. [This man is so pitiful; was he born just to help me once?] She tried comforting him, “Don’t say that. You’re useful too.”
[Well, obviously.] Wang Jie realized this lass didn’t know how to speak kindly.
“What about him?” Qing Huan asked curiously, glancing at Wu Yan.
Wang Jie explained, “I belong to Black White Heaven. This man is the second Star Cloud Dagger bearer. We met on the battlefield, and while he chased me, we were both swallowed by a polar earthworm. By coincidence, we ended up here.”
“So that’s how it is. Right, this is the battlefield. No wonder it’s so noisy in the distance. If they weren’t avoiding this place, I’d teach them a lesson. But forget it; since you’ve already learned what you needed, this place probably won’t appear again.”
“Wandering God, may I ask who that person earlier was?”
“It’s better you don’t know.”
“What about the pattern on the ground?”
“Better you don’t know.”
“Does it have some use?”
“You don’t need to—” Qing Huan reflexively began, but seeing Wang Jie’s respectful attitude and recalling his pitiful past, she sighed softly. “Just practice more diligently when you go back. It might help you grasp the entrance to Time and Space.”
Wang Jie startled, “Entrance to Time and Space?”
Qing Huan nodded, her face turning serious. “In the universe, there’s no greater power than Time and Space itself. All else lies within it, born from its foundation. If you grasp even the simplest principles of Time and Space, it will greatly benefit your cultivation of any power in the future.”
“That pattern has little immediate use, but perhaps it could help you find the entrance to Time and Space.”
“Just like the Void Mountain Range?” Wang Jie asked.
Qing Huan scoffed dismissively, “Void Mountain Range? That’s nothing. Even its parent sect, the No-Watching Sect, is nothing special. At most, they cultivate the Void. But this is Time and Space—it’s entirely different.”