Chapter 240
Chapter 240: Opening My Eyes
Wang Jie’s eyes widened in disbelief, thinking he had misheard.
Gift… a Frost Radiance Sect?
Si Yao’s lips curled gently upward: “When you understand the vision of Star Dome, you’ll realize how vast it truly is. You’ve sold us a Strange Planet, yet even Black White Heaven wouldn’t interfere—in fact, they wouldn’t dare.”
“This is the difference.”
His cheap master had said something similar. Just how low-level was Black White Heaven, anyway?
That woman Du Xian really had tricked him, using Black White Heaven to bargain him down.
“When I mentioned giving you a Frost Radiance Sect, it was just my guess. The actual reward you’ll receive would only be greater,” Si Yao continued, noticing Wang Jie’s excitement. “The universe is filled with things beyond your imagination.”
“What if someone gets first place?” Wang Jie asked again.
Si Yao’s eyes flickered, and he raised his personal device, projecting an image into midair: “See for yourself.”
Wang Jie looked closely at the screen.
Two figures walked toward each other.
One was young, about Wang Jie’s age, his hands casually stuffed into his pockets, looking relaxed.
The other man approached solemnly, each step precisely measured, identical in length.
They came closer.
And then, they passed by each other.
The solemn man’s head fell from his shoulders, and blood spilled, staining the earth crimson.
The young man did not even turn around, his pace unchanged.
Si Yao’s voice drifted over: “The slain man was at Wandering Star Realm, with battle power of three hundred thousand.”
“And the youth is only at Full Star Realm.”
Wang Jie’s pupils shrank sharply as he stared at Si Yao in shock.
Immediately, a second scene appeared.
It was a boy even younger than Wang Jie. Bald-headed and plainly dressed, he sat quietly upon a stone, with a group of people gathered below, softly chanting.
In the next instant, the boy’s body burst into flames. Countless visions filled the void, cascading downward.
Below him, some people coughed up blood, others laughed wildly, still others collapsed, lifeless. Yet some stood, breaking through their barriers.
One, two, three… eight. Eight people had broken through.
“‘Heart Sutra of Non-Abiding,’ from East Dou’s Rebel Illusion Mountain—he aided eight people to break into Wandering Star Realm.”
“He is the current inheritor of Rebel Illusion Mountain, also at Full Star Realm.”
Wang Jie’s finger twitched slightly, astonished by what he saw.
Before he could even think, the third scene appeared.
It was a woman, stunningly beautiful, with natural violet eyes. When she looked into the screen, her gaze seemed to pierce directly into the heart.
Even Wang Jie’s heart shuddered at that moment.
Besides her striking beauty, there seemed nothing extraordinary.
“This woman was born already at Ten Seal Peak. Now she’s at Full Star Realm,” Si Yao explained.
Confused, Wang Jie asked, “Born at Ten Seal Peak? Why is she only at Full Star Realm now?”
Si Yao replied, “She deliberately suppressed her cultivation, refusing to break through. It’s rumored her goal is Guardian Star Realm. No one knows how powerful she truly is.”
Wang Jie was stunned. He’d heard tales of people born with incredible power but never expected to witness it.
This woman clearly possessed an extraordinary bloodline.
Then, the scenes sped up, rapidly flickering past, each one captivating Wang Jie.
Particularly when he saw a being standing proudly in the cosmos, slowly revealing eleven seals behind it, Wang Jie’s expression shifted greatly.
Eleven seals.
So, eleven seals really existed.
This being wasn’t human, but Si Yao had deliberately shown this scene, meaning this creature had reached Full Star Realm. An eleven-seal being at Full Star Realm, freely roaming the cosmos—it was truly unimaginable.
Si Yao lowered his device and looked at Wang Jie: “Now, are you still confident about fighting for first place?”
Wang Jie suppressed his astonishment. “Thank you, Senior, for opening my eyes.”
Si Yao said softly, “Black White Heaven is the most remote; nothing remarkable can be seen from there. But Star Dome’s vision is different. We see far more. What you’ve glimpsed is merely a small part, not the entirety.”
“The Starry Martial Meet will certainly reveal even more unimaginable people—and even creatures.”
“So if you can reach the top hundred, you’ve met expectations. If you enter the top ten, you’ve surpassed them. Wang Jie, I’ve looked into your past. Though your talent is outstanding and you’ve faced death many times, you still have an instinctive caution toward risk. That’s good—it means you respect the cultivation world.”
“But it’s also a drawback. Countless cultivators must face death to achieve true greatness.”
“In this universe, there are endless people, endless beings. Standing out among them is incredibly difficult. Without paying a price, it’s impossible.”
“A senior in our Star Dome vision once said: everything you possess in life is earned. There is no undeserved fortune. If there appears to be, it means you don’t yet realize the price you’ve paid—or the price you will eventually pay.”
“So, people from our Star Dome vision…” At these words, Si Yao smiled faintly, “…can endure great suffering.”
Wang Jie paused. [Can endure suffering?]
Si Yao departed, returning Wang Jie to the battlefield before leaving.
Looking at the familiar scenery around him, Wang Jie could no longer rest.
[A price, huh?]
He had been born on Blue Star. Although he’d faced life and death, hadn’t everyone on Blue Star endured the apocalypse? This bitterness, he’d tasted it—but so had everyone else. Yet, unlike most others, he’d journeyed out alone, fighting and struggling repeatedly, eventually achieving the chance for the people of Blue Star to reach Black White Heaven.
From this perspective, Si Yao was right.
He possessed far more than others from Blue Star—and he’d paid a higher price as well.
But what about the future?
If he was content with what he had now, it would be enough. But he wasn’t satisfied. And the one thing a person should never do was wait. Waiting for opportunities, waiting for realms, waiting for the elusive kindness of others—rather than waiting, it was better to strive.
Wang Jie had come to the Hanhai Sea precisely for this pressure of life and death.
He could wait no longer.
Scenes of past battles weighed heavily on him. Black White Heaven had become too small after all.
Suddenly, Zhong Yi’s words from Lock Path Interval echoed in his mind: The outside world is marvelous. He knew he had no choice but to venture forth—the sacred bridge linked to his wristguard wouldn’t wait forever.
Rising slowly, he gazed toward the distant horizon.
In the battles that followed, Wang Jie fought more fiercely than ever. His instincts to avoid danger couldn’t vanish overnight; he still moved naturally toward safer paths, but now he pressed forward, closer to the heart of danger.
On this day, everyone concealed their presence beneath Elder Wu Yuan’s powerful aura, moving along fragments of shattered planets toward one direction.
Another grand battle loomed.
Wang Jie lifted his head to the starry skies. Elder Wu Yuan was strong—far stronger than Li Tong He had been. Watching this Elder fight several times, Wang Jie felt he dominated the heavens themselves. He must surely have reached the Wandering Star Realm level of a Six Dao Wanderer.
As this thought crossed Wang Jie’s mind, war broke out.
All charged forward.
Drawing his sword, Wang Jie sent a swift strike toward the distant Falling Bow Hall fighters. Sword qi cleaved through the sky, Force fully shattering countless arrows mid-air.
Immediately afterward, the Star Gazing Sword Style appeared, countless sword shadows raining down.
Han Song and the others also launched their strikes at the enemy forces.
Even Shield Mountain Yue’s defenses were violently torn open.
Despite his long time in the Hanhai Sea, Wang Jie hadn’t encountered a single familiar face. Yue Bai, Su Su, Qiao Xi—he had no idea where they’d gone.
As Black White Heaven steadily gained advantage, Wang Jie felt his pressure fading.
By the end of this battle, Wang Jie had vanished. Han Song and the others searched everywhere, yet found no trace.
At that moment, Wang Jie was secretly following someone—Cang Wu, the man from the Death Realm.
He’d nearly forgotten about this man entirely; if he hadn’t glimpsed him in the recent fight, he might never have remembered.
Right now, Cang Wu was hopping swiftly across planetary fragments, leaping from one shattered landmass to another. Wang Jie trailed closely behind, carefully hiding his presence. Having followed him once before, this time was even simpler.
Shortly afterward, Cang Wu halted. Another figure approached to meet him: the woman from Ming Huang Hall whom Wang Jie had encountered previously.
Watching from a distance, Wang Jie patiently waited.
The two spoke briefly, then the woman turned and left.
Cang Wu began to retrace his steps.
Wang Jie positioned himself in Cang Wu’s path, silently waiting.
With a dull thud, Cang Wu landed, then swiftly moved forward. Suddenly, a hand rested gently on his shoulder, keeping pace with his rapid movements.
Armor Eight Steps.
Cang Wu’s pupils contracted sharply. “Who?” He instinctively dodged, swiftly putting distance between them before turning to see Wang Jie clearly.
“It’s you?”
Wang Jie looked at him and smiled faintly, saying warmly, “It’s been a while, friend.”
Cang Wu stared blankly, surprise evident in his voice, “You… you’re alive?”
Battles were numerous in the Hanhai Sea, and although Wang Jie’s team had joined many fights, they’d never crossed paths with Cang Wu’s group. Hence, Cang Wu hadn’t known Wang Jie was still alive.
Truly unfortunate for him.
Had he seen Wang Jie first and avoided him, none of this would have happened.
Wang Jie’s lips curved upwards. “Just barely. Shall we continue our previous conversation?”
Cang Wu cautiously stepped back, watching warily. “What do you want?”
Wang Jie’s smile widened playfully. “Oh, nothing much. Last time you had so many questions for me. How convenient—I happen to have a few questions for you now. Shall we exchange answers?”
Cang Wu turned and fled immediately.
Exchange? Impossible!
He had witnessed Wang Jie’s strength before. If Wang Jie hadn’t been severely injured at the time, there would’ve been no pursuit. Cang Wu knew that in a fair fight, he stood no chance—especially now that Wang Jie was fully prepared.
Wang Jie activated Armor Eight Steps, swiftly following.
Cang Wu gathered Qi into his legs, explosively increasing his speed. In that instant, his previously obvious Star Force dissipated; Qi now took control.
This was the true power of the Death Realm.
The living trained Strength; the dead trained Qi.
As a cultivator from the Death Realm, naturally, Cang Wu cultivated Qi.
In both ordinary cultivation worlds and the Death Realm, few practiced both Strength and Qi simultaneously. The reason Cang Wu hadn’t been exposed earlier was that he’d continuously used Star Force. But this Star Force wasn’t cultivated; instead, he had secretly extracted it, always careful to conserve it in battles.
Now, alone against Wang Jie, he could no longer hide his secret.
Qi flowed rapidly into his legs, desperately seeking to widen the distance. Yet Armor Eight Steps wasn’t something he could outrun. Its movement shadowed him relentlessly, ghostly and unpredictable. Despite all his frantic changes in direction, Cang Wu couldn’t shake Wang Jie off.
Helplessly, he shouted, “We’re both cultivators from the Death Realm! Why must you chase me?”
Wang Jie laughed coldly, swiftly moving to block Cang Wu’s path. “You weren’t saying that before.”
He thrust a palm forward. Eyes narrowing, Cang Wu channeled his Qi from his legs to his arms instantly, unleashing his palm attack—the Tombstone Hand of Shared Sorrow.
As Wang Jie watched, a murky Qi enveloped Cang Wu’s arm. Within that haze, countless mournful cries echoed, as if innumerable souls wept together. [What sort of technique is this?] Wang Jie wondered in shock.
Boom!
Their palms collided. Wang Jie shuddered, momentarily overwhelmed as mournful wails pierced his mind. He stumbled back a single step. Cang Wu, however, was forced more than ten steps backward, violently coughing blood, his face pale with disbelief.
[How could his strength be so overwhelming?]
The Tombstone Hand had failed to subdue him?
Wang Jie glanced down at his own palm. A faint trace of that cloudy Qi lingered briefly, dispersing as he lightly shook his hand.
Then he calmly turned his gaze back to Cang Wu.