Chapter 249
Chapter 249: The Esteemed Daughter of the Xiao Clan
Wang Jie left, deciding to test the battlefield’s enemy-kill tracking feature. Besides, he had swords to gather.
Every cultivator of Edge Sect wielded swords, and when a strong warrior fell, their weapon was often lost to the battlefield. Thus, it was common to find swords scattered around, which suited Wang Jie perfectly since he needed plenty.
Since he was already here, it was best to settle down and not overthink.
Leaving the core, countless figures gathered at the planet’s edge, scattering off in different directions.
The core itself was moving.
Indeed, Wang Jie had only learned after arriving that the Black White Heaven’s central hub in Cloud Stream Domain never stayed in one place. Yet, this wasn’t a random drift; Tong Shou alone determined its path periodically, a route known to none but him.
Thus, when cultivators stepped out from the core and into the mist, they entered unfamiliar territory. No one knew how many enemies lay hidden beyond. Perhaps they’d immediately face a great host of foes, or maybe they’d run into one or two wounded enemies stumbling upon the core itself—such ill luck had happened before.
This uncertainty was why cultivators often formed groups to explore the surroundings. Many even undertook long-term scouting missions, always pulling new recruits.
Wang Jie had also joined one such team.
Nobody asked him about his cultivation. Those who made it here had either luck or strength. Mere fodder would have died outside long ago.
Standing on a drifting fragment of a shattered star, they slowly moved away from the core. Ahead, attacks continuously tore through the distant mist.
Wang Jie checked his personal terminal, finally understanding. The Orbital Dust pointed directly back to the core. No wonder that woman had found the moving hub—but only someone who’d been there before could track it.
Everyone vigilantly scanned their surroundings.
Not long after, their luck—or misfortune—brought them face-to-face with the enemy.
“So soon? Well, let’s see who’s unlucky, us or them.”
“Brothers, charge!”
The moment both sides met, battle erupted.
As two fragments of stars collided, thousands plunged into chaotic combat upon a vast expanse of land. Wang Jie’s group numbered over three thousand, and their enemy had about the same.
But Wang Jie knew clearly it was the enemy’s misfortune, for the strongest among them was merely an ordinary Wandering Star realm cultivator.
One swift Sword Step flashed forward, leaving even that Wandering Star cultivator unable to match Wang Jie’s speed. Spinning sharply, Wang Jie seized the enemy’s sword blade barehanded, shattering the opponent’s grip with a sudden forceful shake. In that shocked gaze, Wang Jie smoothly reversed the sword and slew him.
Nearby foes fell instantly. Wang Jie casually crushed a sword, flinging fragments outward and clearing everything within a hundred meters. His comrades froze in shock, realizing they’d brought along a truly ruthless figure.
Soon, the skirmish ended.
They intended to continue exploring, but when Wang Jie insisted on returning, no one dared argue.
They looked at Wang Jie with newfound respect and awe.
Returning to the core, Wang Jie checked his kill tally.
“You actually killed two hundred ninety-two enemies? Including a Wandering Star realm cultivator with a battle power of one hundred thirty thousand?” exclaimed the disciple tallying contributions, his eyes shifting as he stared at Wang Jie.
Wang Jie glanced at his recorded achievement—3.17 million battle merits.
Impressive.
At this rate, a few more battles would easily add up to tens of millions. Reaching a hundred million merits didn’t seem too difficult.
He had also discerned how the Orbital Dust tracked these merits—not by visual monitoring, but by life signatures. Within a hundred meters, enemy life signatures appeared, their strength calculated instantly. Upon death, the life signature vanished; if the enemy escaped, it remained.
“Won’t this system mistakenly attribute kills?” he wondered aloud. “For instance, someone else killing an enemy near me?”
“No choice,” the disciple sighed. “Such is the battlefield.”
“I see,” Wang Jie nodded. “Thank you.”
The disciple watched Wang Jie leave, envy in his eyes. Gaining so many merits on one’s first mission from the core marked him as a genuine elite of Cloud Stream Domain. For ordinary cultivators, surviving was already fortunate; accumulating merits was painfully slow.
The gap between Wang Jie and common cultivators was immense.
Over the next three months, Wang Jie repeatedly explored the surroundings. Hardly anyone lasted more than a few moves against him. Within a short span, he’d accumulated over ten million battle merits and quickly gained fame within the core.
Yet Wang Jie felt it wasn’t fast enough. At this pace, gathering a hundred million merits would take half a year. With the Starry Martial Meet nearing, he still had to cultivate, achieve breakthroughs, and return to his sect to absorb Lock Force from the Devour Star. Travel alone would consume precious time.
Thinking this, he again visited the mission assignment area.
Cloud Stream Domain’s battlefield also offered missions, but he’d given up after a quick glance before. Now, he looked again.
These missions were entirely different from the Ying Yang Battlefield.
In Ying Yang Battlefield, tasks—especially resource disruption—were straightforward, almost like planned exercises. But here, every mission spelled near-certain death.
Tasks included assassinating enemy Hundred Star realm experts, dismantling Edge Sect’s Way of the Sword formation, or even mapping enemy cores and formations.
None seemed achievable by common cultivators; they felt more suited to Hundred Star realm warriors, or at least peak Wandering Star realm experts.
Of course, the rewards matched the risks.
Wang Jie stared uncertainly, feeling every task might be beyond him.
Just then, murmurs rose around him, and many turned to look in a certain direction.
Wang Jie also glanced that way.
Wang Jie’s gaze fell upon a young woman. Beautiful yet cold, her expression was indifferent, eyes calm as frost. Step by step, she walked toward the mission-giving area.
“Xiao Luo Si! It really is Xiao Luo Si.”
“The noble daughter of the Xiao family from Armor One Sect—who would’ve thought she’d appear here?”
“I hardly know what to say. To think we’d meet a heaven’s chosen prodigy like her in this place. Back at the sect, we’d never catch a glimpse. But now, we’re trapped here with no way back.”
“Don’t dwell on it. Just take each day as it comes. Who knows, maybe someday our request to return will be approved?”
“Hey, if I could share hardships with Xiao Luo Si, do you think—?”
“Stop dreaming. The battlefields she enters aren’t places you could even survive. To someone like her, you’re nothing more than cannon fodder.”
“You’re right…”
Wang Jie felt astonished. Xiao Luo Si? The Xiao family’s direct descendant from Armor One Sect? He’d never imagined that someone from Armor One Sect would show up here.
Armor One Sect had three great families: Wen, Yun, and Xiao. He had met disciples from the first two families but never anyone from the Xiao family. He hadn’t expected their meeting to occur here.
Xiao Luo Si walked through the crowd as if deaf to their murmurs. She glanced at the tasks and declared in an icy voice: “I’ll take them all.”
The disciple handing out tasks seemed used to such requests and quickly registered them for Xiao Luo Si, watching her leave.
Wang Jie stared, surprised. [You can do that?]
“Smart move, taking every mission. If luck favors her and she completes even one, she’ll profit immensely. If not, there’s no real loss,” someone nearby praised.
“I’d like to do that too, but I don’t have the qualifications. The task-giver judges people.”
Wang Jie’s eyes shifted thoughtfully, then turned to the disciple handing out missions. “I’ll also take them all.”
The disciple glanced at Wang Jie, saying flatly, “Show your identification.”
Wang Jie revealed his credentials.
The disciple checked, casting Wang Jie an astonished look, but eventually agreed and registered all tasks for him.
Wang Jie left the area.
Others nearby eagerly tried to do the same, but were harshly reprimanded and forced to withdraw.
Not everyone had the right to claim all missions at once. Each person’s eligibility depended on their battle count and enemy kills. Wang Jie’s record shone brightly, comparable even to Xiao Luo Si’s. Such achievements were rare for most people.
In a blink, half a month passed since Wang Jie accepted the tasks.
During this period, he participated in another encounter battle, earning a million battle points. There weren’t many main enemies, making it difficult to eliminate them all.
He had also asked around and discovered that cultivators on the Yunxi Domain battlefield had much broader knowledge than those from sects. They knew about the Big Dipper Bridge Pillar, Armor One Sect, and disciples from Three Chan Heaven. They knew a great many things hidden from remote sects. The sects were situated far away, deep within the Fourth Star Cloud, and cultivators from the First Star Cloud rarely visited them. However, many from the First Star Cloud regularly appeared on this battlefield.
“I remember years ago, a whole group from Armor One Sect came. It wasn’t just one or two—it was hundreds. They were all inner disciples, even including members from the three great families. After training here for about a year, they left. They lost quite a few people, but those who survived emerged with extraordinary auras.”
“Then there were the Heavenly Insect People. I remember them vividly because I fear insects. Those Heavenly Insect People carry insects everywhere—it’s horrifying.”
“Speaking of Heavenly Insect People, Insect Xuan was especially fearsome. His Myriad Insects Overturning the Sea technique covered heaven and earth.”
“His little sister was adorable too.”
“Haha!”
Wang Jie looked toward the central command ahead. [Insect Xuan… it’s been so long.] How many years had passed since the Blue Star trial? More than ten years already. At that time, they were at the peak of the ten-seal stage, ready to break into the Star Breaking Realm immediately upon returning. For people like them, reaching full-star from the Star Breaking stage posed no problem. They’d been prepared long ago. By now, they were likely in the Wandering Star Realm, just like Qi Xue Yin.
Within the universe, Wandering Star Realm was merely the starting point of true cultivation. Anyone below it wasn’t even considered a cosmic cultivator.
On this day, a tremor shook the central command. A voice rang out clearly, echoing everywhere: “Attention all cultivators, the enemy command center is approaching. Prepare for battle. Repeat, prepare for battle. All forces, prepare yourselves.”
Wang Jie’s eyes widened slightly. The enemy command center had already drawn near?
The Black White Heaven’s command center was mobile, so the enemy’s would naturally move too. Closeness was inevitable, but he hadn’t expected it so soon.
All cultivators gathered around the central command, a vast sea numbering in the millions. They stood densely packed.
Above, the warships activated one by one.
A dense fog concealed everything in the distance.
At the given command, warships unleashed beams of light. At the same moment, beams shot from within the distant mist. Both sides had detected each other.
Above Yunxi Domain, beams clashed spectacularly in midair. These warships remained stationary, firing concentrated blasts repeatedly from fixed points. Occasionally, enemy beams shattered them, sending blazing fragments crashing downward.
Wang Jie stared at the continuous explosions above. [No wonder I didn’t see warships outside—they were all set here as fixed offensive platforms.]
“They’re coming,” someone said tensely.
Wang Jie gazed forward. A massive shape loomed from within the mist.
High above, a figure appeared, radiating an aura that overwhelmed all below.
It was a middle-aged woman, her appearance marked by years of hardships. Due to the distance, her features were indistinct. Yet, Wang Jie knew clearly who she was—Tong Shou herself had arrived.