Chapter 239
Chapter 239: Observers
Li Tong He knew these words would hurt everyone, but he had no choice. Such was reality. Perhaps this might inspire them. If they couldn’t withstand even a little harsh truth, how could they ever strive upward?
But these words did not include Wang Jie.
Li Tong He glanced at Wang Jie. A cultivator at the Star Breaking Realm with battle prowess equal to Han Song—if he participated in the Full Star Realm Martial Gathering, what heights might he reach? Li Tong He himself didn’t know and eagerly anticipated Wang Jie’s stunning rise.
There was still some time between the Full Star Realm and Wandering Star Realm Martial Gatherings. If Wang Jie could break through to the Wandering Star Realm during that gap, what then?
Just imagining it made Li Tong He excited. Though participation didn’t strictly require reaching the Wandering Star Realm, achieving it would undoubtedly boost Wang Jie’s strength dramatically. At that point, what unimaginable level would Wang Jie reach?
“Wang Jie.”
Wang Jie looked toward Li Tong He.
Li Tong He said, “Among the three rounds of the Starry Martial Meet, the Full Star Realm Gathering requires you to reach Full Star Realm to enter. However, unlike Hundred Star Realm, the Wandering Star Realm competition permits those of lower cultivation to join.”
Wang Jie’s eyes brightened, and he answered clearly: “Disciple understands.”
The others turned toward Wang Jie. Within the entire Black White Heaven, apart from Six Dao Wanderer and the Zhi Clan genius, perhaps only Wang Jie carried such high expectations.
Five years.
Under normal circumstances, Wang Jie was confident he could reach Full Star Realm within five years. But what he wanted wasn’t normal—it was to surpass the limits, to break through completely.
To break the limit, according to his previous experiences within the Ten Seals stage, required life-and-death pressure.
Back on Blue Star, he had nearly been killed twice by Shu Mu Night before breaking past limits again and again. Eventually, by a strange stroke of fate at the Thunder Well, he had broken through the hundredfold strength barrier.
He didn’t dare dream of hundredfold strength again—that was an extraordinary stroke of luck.
Yet ninety-nine times strength, he had to reach.
Life-and-death pressure…
“Elder, let’s not return. Change course, head to Hanhai Sea,” Wang Jie suddenly spoke up.
Everyone was stunned.
Li Tong He’s face twitched slightly. He regretted saying so much.
“The battlefield of Hanhai Sea is no joke. Let’s return and rest first,” Li Tong He advised.
But Wang Jie insisted: “There are only five years until the Starry Martial Meet. Disciple wishes to improve as much as possible during these five years. I don’t want to be overshadowed.”
Han Song raised his eyes calmly, adding his voice: “Elder, Hanhai Sea.”
Shi Wei clenched his fists: “Hanhai Sea.”
Even Li Cai felt stirred: “That’s right, Hanhai Sea! Let’s give it our all.”
One by one, they eagerly sought the battlefield of Hanhai Sea.
Wen Yuan’s face twisted bitterly—again?
Yet Yun Ju did not object. Without experiencing the intensity of the Hanhai Sea battlefield, how could they ever gain fame in the martial gathering?
With no other choice, Li Tong He reluctantly turned the spaceship toward Hanhai Sea. It was the most brutal battleground of the entire Ying Yang Battlefield. Fortunately, with Ornate Jade Gate having closed their sect, Hanhai Sea wasn’t as deadly as before.
After some time, their spaceship approached the Hanhai Sea battlefield.
Wang Jie saw once again countless shattered planets and broken lands, a familiar scene. He had never imagined he’d actively seek out this place.
It completely contradicted his usual cautious and survival-focused approach to cultivation.
But now, he had the strength to defend himself. Even if he encountered a powerful expert like Yue Bai alone, he was confident he wouldn’t be utterly helpless—at the very least, escape was still within his grasp, let alone with the whole squad backing him.
He realized he had grown accustomed to war.
“Go!”
They leaped off the ship onto a piece of drifting planet debris, then charged decisively toward an ongoing fierce battle.
With the arrival of Wang Jie and his companions, the battle quickly shifted in their favor.
Countless beams of energy swept past, yet their trajectories were clearly seen and easily avoided. Within the chaotic battlefield, Wang Jie slew enemy Wandering Star Realm experts one after another, swiftly securing victory in their local area.
Han Song and the others fought so fiercely that the warriors from Black White Heaven watching from afar stared in shock.
Where had this ruthless group come from?
On the spaceship, Li Tong He gazed into the distance, deeply moved. When they were young, they too had been hot-headed. They’d sold all their resources just to strengthen themselves for the martial meets, yet upon entering those competitions, they realized how despairingly vast the universe truly was.
The universe was far too vast.
The Fourth Star Cloud was merely the lowest rung on the great Big Dipper Bridge Pillar, which itself was among the lowest of all known bridge pillars.
A pity, truly.
Suddenly remembering something, Li Tong He quickly contacted Central Command.
The Hanhai Sea battlefield was indeed less fierce than it used to be, Wang Jie clearly sensed this.
It wasn’t just because he had grown stronger; rather, the intensity of war had dropped drastically. Even the destructive energy barrages now carried merely half their previous power.
After more than ten days in battle, this impression grew stronger.
During a rest, Wen Yuan spoke: “I asked around. Ever since the battle at Starport, the Hanhai Sea battlefield has become like this. The death rate has plunged from ninety-nine percent down to fifty percent.”
Li Cai frowned: “Why is that?”
Wen Yuan explained: “I heard Third Nebula has withdrawn most of their forces due to internal issues. Even Second Star Cloud pulled back a significant portion. Now, Ying Yang Battlefield has settled into a stalemate—Second Star Cloud and Third Nebula defend, while our Black White Heaven attacks.”
“They no longer aim to seize Ying Yang Battlefield, yet neither will they easily abandon it.”
Han Song remarked heavily: “Pure defense with no offense—no wonder things have come to this. A single battle at Starport drained significant resources from those two star clouds.”
Wen Yuan added quietly: “Ultimately, it’s Third Nebula shrinking back.”
Wang Jie pondered deeply. The Third Nebula’s withdrawal must be linked to Ornate Jade Gate sealing its sect. Ornate Jade Gate was the leader of the Third Nebula, and every war had begun with them.
With Ornate Jade Gate retreating, the rest of the Third Nebula naturally followed.
This directly impacted the battlefield.
[This is troublesome. How could the Hanhai Sea Battlefield now give me a sense of life-and-death urgency? Unless I try to ambush a Hundred Star Realm expert guarding the enemy’s rear? Forget it—that wouldn’t be pressure, it would be suicide.]
The Yin Yang Battlefield had changed.
When Black White Heaven held absolute dominance, the battlefield became completely different.
In this situation, it would be hard to reach Battle General rank. Even enemy Battle Hero-level Wandering Star Realm experts had probably retreated.
On that day, the group rested, hidden within the shattered remains of a planet.
Suddenly, Wang Jie saw the stars shift before his eyes. Looking around, he saw nothing but empty space. He was already far away from the Hanhai Sea Battlefield. Who had done this? No one else had noticed, not even Li Tong He.
Right before him stood a man, examining him with an odd gaze.
“Junior Wang Jie greets Senior,” Wang Jie spoke respectfully. He didn’t know who this man was but felt no hostility.
The man sighed in amazement, “To cultivate Lock Force and still reach your level of strength is extremely rare throughout all history. No wonder Du Xian invited you to join.”
Wang Jie was surprised, “Senior is the observer from Star Dome Visage?”
The man nodded gently, “I am Si Yao, the Supreme Sky Wanderer.”
Wang Jie relaxed, bowing once more, “Junior greets the Supreme Sky Wanderer.”
To be honest, he’d nearly forgotten about this. How long had it been since Du Xian invited him into Star Dome Visage? So many things had happened since then that Wang Jie had assumed they had either lost interest or never watched him at all.
He hadn’t expected Si Yao to appear now.
Si Yao nodded and smiled warmly, “Wang Jie, are you willing to join Star Dome Visage?”
Wang Jie looked at Si Yao, “Senior means that I passed the observation?”
“Of course.”
“Junior is willing.”
Si Yao laughed gently, secretly relieved. It was good that Wang Jie agreed. This little fellow might have connections to a Star Path Master. Even Star Dome Visage wouldn’t overlook someone related to a Star Path Master. Moreover, based on his investigations, this young man was exceptionally unique.
Lock Force cultivation might have no future, but that depended on where its limits lay.
If the limit was at the Wandering Star Realm, Wang Jie would still hold value—not extraordinary, but worthwhile—since fighting Wandering Star Realm experts at Breaking Star Stage meant he’d reach Hundred Star Realm combat power, enough to oversee a territory.
If his limit was at the Hundred Star Realm, his value would increase greatly.
Regardless, Wang Jie’s character and skill qualified him to join Star Dome Visage.
Having a Star Path Master behind him would be ideal, but even without one, it didn’t matter.
Si Yao instructed Wang Jie to take out the token Du Xian had given him—the jade stone. Supreme Sky Wanderers observed potential members through these jade stones.
As long as the jade remained within one meter of a person, a Supreme Sky Wanderer could detect it.
Si Yao accepted the jade, brushed his finger over it, then returned it to Wang Jie.
“From this moment on, you are officially an Observer for our Star Dome Visage.”
“All those invited into Star Dome Visage begin as Observers. Your role is simply to watch the people, events, and objects around you, then occasionally write a report.”
“This report can contain anything you wish. When you next meet the person assigned by Star Dome Visage to deliver your tasks, hand it over.”
“Normally, you won’t receive any tasks. However, should you receive one, it must be completed. Failure will trigger a re-assessment to decide if you’ll remain a member. If you complete the task, though, the rewards will be generous.”
Wang Jie nodded thoughtfully, [Doesn’t that mean I’ve become someone’s employee?]
Si Yao continued, “Of course, the benefits are clear. You’ll gain free access to intelligence on beings at the Hundred Star Realm and below from Star Dome Visage, receive its protection, and have access to paths for advancement paved by the organization.”
“And this,” Si Yao pointed to the jade in Wang Jie’s hand, “acts as both your identity token and can shield you from one fatal attack.”
Wang Jie looked at the jade stone in shock, “It can stop a fatal attack?”
Si Yao nodded solemnly, “Any fatal attack. It will also instantly transport you near the closest person who holds a similar identity token, granting you shelter.”
Wang Jie stared intently at the jade, his heart burning with excitement. [Such an amazing treasure! This is basically another life. Even by itself, it’s worth joining.]
Si Yao smiled knowingly, “Wang Jie, from this moment you joined Star Dome Visage, your status changed completely. You will feel this more and more clearly as time passes.”
“Now, I have your first task.”
Wang Jie was startled, “Didn’t you just say tasks are rare?”
“You’re a special case.”
“…”
“The first task is to break through to Full Star Realm, participate in the Starry Martial Meet, and achieve a ranking,” Si Yao said seriously.
Wang Jie blinked, putting away the jade, “Isn’t this task expecting too much? It doesn’t seem easy to gain a ranking at the Starry Martial Meet.”
Si Yao chuckled softly, “That’s true for most people, but not for you. Your Breaking Star Stage can already defeat Wandering Star experts. Even if you made no further progress from now, you’d still earn a high ranking. For you, this task is just a formality.”
Wang Jie didn’t deny it.
No matter how many geniuses appeared in the universe, he could easily reach the top hundred in a Full Star Realm competition. There couldn’t possibly be so many extraordinary geniuses with over 300,000 combat strength at Full Star Realm—that would be too exaggerated.
Therefore, Si Yao’s words about it being a mere formality were true enough.
“This is just your first Starry Martial Meet task. Star Dome Visage will reward you based on your ranking. For instance, merely entering the top hundred grants you ten billion starstones, plus valuable information about a Star Refining Realm expert.”
Wang Jie was inwardly stunned. [Just entering the top hundred grants such lavish rewards?]
Ten billion starstones was already generous. Especially with the bonus Star Refining Realm intelligence—it had to be extremely valuable information.
It was practically a free gift.
Si Yao explained further, “The higher your rank, the greater your reward, far beyond your imagination.”
Wang Jie eagerly asked, “What if I enter the top ten?”
Si Yao studied him closely, “You’re from Frost Radiance Sect, right?”
Wang Jie nodded, “More or less.”
Si Yao’s eyes deepened meaningfully, “Then Star Dome Visage would gift you an entire Frost Radiance Sect.”