Chapter 238
Chapter 238: The Martial Gathering Draws Near
Far beyond the Ying Yang Battlefield, many were discussing the news that Wang Jie had entered the Skyport.
“What exactly is going on with Wang Jie? I heard his disappearance even threw Black White Heaven into chaos.”
“This man must be hiding some secret. Now is our chance—capture him and force out the truth.”
“I agree.”
“No, after last time, do you think Black White Heaven would be foolish enough to let him enter Skyport again? I suspect a trap.”
“That’s right. Wang Jie himself isn’t stupid either; why would he walk willingly into death?”
“Don’t forget the incident at Third Nebula. We thought we were ambushing Black White Heaven, but they used the battlefield as cover to strike Ornate Jade Gate instead. Ornate Jade Gate’s failure is fresh in mind—none of us wish to fall into the same trap again.”
“The losses from the Skyport battle were severe for both sides. Let’s rest awhile.”
“I suggest letting Su Su and the others gain experience elsewhere. The battles at Ying Yang Battlefield will probably lessen now, especially with Hanhai Sea calming down.”
“We need to discuss this with Dagger Bearer. Wu Yan’s disappearance has cost us dearly…”
The Second Star Cloud was exhausted, and Third Nebula had no energy left to fight.
Ornate Jade Gate had practically closed its doors.
Ying Yang Battlefield became unprecedentedly quiet.
Within Skyport, Wang Jie re-entered the frozen lands, directly seeking ice paste. Along the way, Polar Earthworms were far fewer, and whenever they appeared, Han Song’s group swiftly dealt with them, causing little trouble.
Li Tong He followed at a distance, neither helping nor interfering, only remaining alert.
Wang Jie occasionally attacked the frozen ground, unsure how to locate ice paste. Was luck his only hope?
No, the more Polar Earthworms there were, the greater the ice paste.
He took out his star disk, expanded its search range, and sought out the Polar Earthworms’ aura.
After several days, he finally found a pool of ice paste.
It was far less than the amount he’d spent three months consuming before, but to Han Song’s group, it was still quite substantial.
Wang Jie watched silently as they spread ice paste over their bodies bit by bit, like applying ointment.
“Captain, aren’t you coming?” Han Song asked curiously, enduring the freezing cold, having smeared the most on himself.
The others also looked toward Wang Jie, each having applied different amounts.
Wang Jie approached, glanced down at the ice paste—it was just enough to fill a small bathtub. “Are you all finished?”
Wen Yuan shook a special bottle filled with ice paste, saying, “This much is enough for me, it’ll last quite a while.”
Li Cai and the others shivered uncontrollably from the cold.
Wang Jie nodded, then suddenly jumped in with a splash. A few droplets of ice paste splashed onto Yun Ju’s face, nearly numbing him from the chill.
They all stared dumbly as Wang Jie lay directly in the ice paste.
Was this… a bath?
Even Han Song was stunned.
He cultivated Forging Refinement, and his body was far tougher than others at the same level. Combined with his combat strength, he thought he’d already applied the maximum bearable amount. Yet Wang Jie was directly bathing in it. Could his body really withstand such torment?
Li Tong He came closer and looked at Wang Jie lying there. Although Wang Jie’s face was twisted with pain, he managed to endure it silently.
“Wang Jie, don’t push yourself too hard.”
Wang Jie nodded without speaking. He truly was in agony, needing to temper his bones and muscles soon—it would be time for his exercises.
The pain he endured was far beyond others.
Han Song admired him greatly, murmuring, “No wonder his Lock Force cultivation is so powerful. Even I couldn’t handle such agony.” Though their strength was comparable, Han Song admitted his body couldn’t withstand such suffering.
Wen Yuan clicked his tongue—this man was truly a monster.
He was already terrifying at Star Breaking Realm. Wouldn’t he be even more unbelievable at Full Star Realm, or Wandering Star Realm? [Surely he isn’t aiming to become a Star Guardian.]
Yun Ju’s eyes trembled, recalling Shi Wei’s words—indeed, the gap was widening.
He could barely handle a few drops on his face, yet Wang Jie lay fully immersed.
“It’s time to begin…”
Wang Jie rose from the ice paste and began his exercises, tempering his bones and muscles, using the ice paste to refine his body.
After a full round of training, the ice paste visibly decreased. Eventually, it became too shallow to lie down; he could only sit in it.
He took his time, slowly.
Within two days, the ice paste was completely consumed.
Wang Jie stepped out and continued his search.
Everyone watched him as if he were an incomprehensible monster, defying all common sense.
Han Song even wished to ask him for advice on body refinement techniques.
Skyport was quiet; for half a year, they encountered no significant danger, simply wandering around.
During that half-year, the largest amount of ice paste they found was only half the initial batch.
Through half a year of body tempering, Wang Jie’s strength rose to sixty-five times his original.
He had reached his limit.
Previously, within ten seals, he’d encountered two such limits. The ice paste hadn’t necessarily lost effectiveness—his body had simply reached a barrier, requiring it to be broken before he could improve further.
It was time to return.
Li Tong He said he’d send others to Skyport specifically to gather ice paste for Wang Jie; their group couldn’t afford to linger indefinitely.
Wang Jie agreed.
Until he broke through this barrier, further improvements were impossible anyway. Returning first made sense.
On the return journey aboard the ship, everyone occasionally glanced at Wang Jie, sensing significant changes in him but unable to precisely describe them.
Only Li Tong He spoke knowingly, “Your foundation is deepening.”
Wang Jie’s gaze flickered. Indeed, his foundation was strengthening.
Previously, even Wang Jie himself didn’t fully understand why his combat power increased so rapidly. Every leap in strength usually required painstaking years of effort for other cultivators. Yet despite only being in Star Breaking Realm, his power had grown at an unbelievable rate.
With the discerning eyes of a Hundred Star Realm cultivator, Li Tong He had clearly identified Wang Jie’s profound change before and after entering Skyport, providing a simple yet precise answer.
The reason was indeed simple.
Wang Jie was different from others.
For example, if someone had ten points of base strength, cultivating battle techniques might add five points more, making their total destructive power fifteen. Later cultivation would only slightly increase the technique’s destructive power, perhaps six points, then seven, slowly climbing bit by bit.
But Wang Jie wasn’t like this. When he cultivated, it wasn’t only his battle techniques that improved, but his base strength as well. In other words, he directly increased his foundation from the initial ten points, making his gains from battle techniques greater than anyone else. As his base strength kept rising, the gap between him and others only widened. Not to mention, he constantly cultivated battle techniques as well.
To put it simply, others were climbing stairs, while he was first growing taller, then climbing the stairs. And even as he climbed, his height continued to increase. [How could anyone compete with that?]
He was completely unrestricted by cultivation realms.
Li Tong He was deeply shocked. If he hadn’t been observing Wang Jie closely at the spaceport recently, he wouldn’t have known this was how Wang Jie grew stronger.
[How exactly did this person enhance his foundation?] Whether it was cultivation methods or battle techniques, normally one’s growth would be limited by their cultivation realm and the amount of star force and lock force absorbed. Yet, the actual increase in basic strength was always minimal. Wang Jie, however, had somehow strengthened his foundation significantly.
It was simply inconceivable.
[Could this be the reason the Lords of the sect were paying special attention to him?]
Wang Jie stared down at his hands, feeling that right now, he could crush Qiao Xi.
Yes, Qiao Xi, the one who had ambushed him at the spaceport, forcing him to use Han Song to intercept her. Now, Wang Jie was confident he could obliterate her.
He gazed thoughtfully at his wristguard.
If a single wristguard alone could continuously increase his foundational strength, how terrifying would the complete Saint Equipment Bridge Set be?
He had asked around, but nobody had ever heard of the Saint Equipment Bridge Set.
It seemed very distant, unreachable.
“There’s another thing,” Li Tong He’s voice interrupted. “The Starry Martial Meet will soon begin.”
Wang Jie lifted his head: “Starry Martial Meet?”
Everyone else also looked at Li Tong He with burning gazes.
Cultivators strove against the heavens and universe for their fate. As individuals, anyone with even a slight competitive spirit would desire to be renowned throughout the universe. Otherwise, even reaching the peak of strength would mean little if nobody knew of it.
That was precisely the significance of the Starry Martial Meet.
Its deeper purpose was irrelevant to most people; for cultivators, simply knowing it could bring them fame was enough.
No matter how weak one was, everyone dreamed of stepping onto that martial stage.
Seeing everyone’s reactions was within Li Tong He’s expectations. He smiled slightly, “What, you’ve been waiting a long time, haven’t you?”
Li Cai clenched his fists, faint flashes of Heaven Thunder sparking: “I’ve been waiting forever for this day.”
Shi Wei and Wen Yuan nodded in agreement.
Even Han Song, who was always calm, showed rare excitement.
Li Tong He nodded gently, “Indeed, the Starry Martial Meet only comes once per generation, based on intervals and rules. Unless you freeze yourself, you’ll only ever have one chance. But few do that, because the greatest value of the Meet is to display extraordinary talent, attract powerful attention, compete for resources, or even be chosen as a candidate for Star Guardian.”
“It boosts morale for the entire human race.”
“It’s not just a simple martial competition.”
“You’ve never participated before, so it’s natural to be eager.”
Wang Jie asked, “When exactly is it?”
“Five years from now,” Li Tong He replied, “the first round for the Full Star Realm cultivators will begin.”
“First round?” Although Wang Jie knew of the Starry Martial Meet, he wasn’t familiar with its rules.
Li Tong He explained, “The Starry Martial Meet has three rounds in total: Full Star Realm, Wandering Star Realm, and Hundred Star Realm. Each round is separated by long intervals, giving cultivators enough time to prepare. For example, if you win in the Full Star Realm round, you’ll have enough time to break through to Wandering Star Realm and perhaps achieve a good rank there as well.”
“After all, every person only gets one opportunity to compete.”
“If all three realms competed simultaneously, it would be unfair to those born later.”
Li Tong He briefly explained the rules, leaving everyone curious about his ranking when he had participated. But Li Tong He remained silent on that point, suggesting his rank wasn’t impressive.
Han Song asked, “Elder, if I joined the Wandering Star Realm competition, what would you think my rank would be?”
Li Tong He examined Han Song thoughtfully, “The Meet doesn’t only involve cultivators from the Big Dipper Bridge Pillar, but also from other Bridge Pillars, and even special life forms allied with humans. Rankings aren’t important.”
“But roughly estimating?” Wang Jie was curious as well.
Li Tong He coughed lightly, “Within the Big Dipper Bridge Pillar, perhaps you might have a chance to fight for a top hundred spot, although the odds are slim. If we broaden it to the entire Wandering Star Realm…” He didn’t finish, but everyone’s hearts sank.
Han Song was no weakling. Among Black White Heaven’s disciples, he was second only to the tier of the Six Dao Wanderer. If even Han Song wasn’t guaranteed a top hundred ranking within the Big Dipper Bridge Pillar, then what about those who weren’t as strong as him?
Li Cai, Shi Wei, Yun Ju—they were considered geniuses in the sect, admired by ordinary disciples, but none believed they could surpass Han Song by much. They were all about the same.
If Han Song could barely make it, how could they?