Chapter 253

Chapter 253: Redeeming Rewards

Xiao Luo Si lightly knitted her brow.

Behind her, the old woman stepped forward and smiled gently: “Little brother, there is no need to be nervous. We have no ill intentions. It’s just curiosity. The steps you used are called Armor Eight Steps, one of our Armor One Sect’s eighteen ultimate techniques.”

Wang Jie nodded knowingly: “Oh, that? An elder taught it to me.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know him. He gave me a few choices back then, and I picked this one.”

[Only a fool would believe that.] Xiao Luo Si narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

The old woman found this amusing. [Lock Force cultivation, Armor Eight Steps, and now Qi cultivation—no matter how you look at it, he’s clearly a secret pawn planted by the sect inside Black White Heaven. But this pawn is far too conspicuous. Before, the battlefield was chaotic, and the elders of Black White Heaven paid him no heed. But from now on, they will.]

Unless this boy chose not to use Armor Eight Steps again, he’d inevitably be recognized.

As for Qi, perhaps those at Hundred Star Realm in Black White Heaven wouldn’t see it, but Tong Shou would definitely notice.

“Little brother, traveling outside is dangerous. It might be best for you to return,” the old woman advised kindly.

Wang Jie smiled lightly: “Thank you for the senior’s reminder, but junior can no longer turn back. Entering the battlefield is like plunging into the ocean.”

“And your finger technique?” Xiao Luo Si asked once more, “Was that also taught by the elder?”

Wang Jie nodded again: “Yes.”

Xiao Luo Si stared at Wang Jie intensely: “What’s it called?”

“Me? I’m called Wang Jie.”

“…”

“Oh, you mean the finger technique? I don’t know.”

Xiao Luo Si grew annoyed. [This fellow keeps dodging questions with nonsense.] She was about to continue questioning when the old woman stopped her, stepping forward and smiling warmly at Wang Jie: “The battle was fierce, little brother; you should go back and rest. The rewards for breaking the Way of the Sword formation are extraordinary. Let me be the first to congratulate you.”

Wang Jie respectfully saluted: “You’re too polite. I’ll take my leave now.” Saying this, he walked past them, returning toward the central hub.

“Little brother, Armor One Sect welcomes you. If you’re willing to join, you could leave with us right away,” the old woman called out again.

Wang Jie turned and bowed politely once more, then left.

Watching Wang Jie’s departing figure, Xiao Luo Si frowned: “That fellow didn’t speak a single word of truth.”

The old woman laughed softly: “What else could he say? Should he openly admit which elder from our sect sent him to infiltrate Black White Heaven?”

Xiao Luo Si was puzzled: “Is it truly so?”

“Nine out of ten,” the old woman said thoughtfully. “This boy cultivates Lock Force, probably from a Slaughter Stone Planet. But he managed to learn Armor Eight Steps, showing incredible potential. Some elders in the sect probably didn’t want to abandon him. Yet because Lock Force has no real future, they couldn’t openly nurture him. Instead, they taught him Qi cultivation to enhance his combat strength, then placed him somewhere like Black White Heaven, where few can detect Qi.”

“But he’s entered the battlefield now. Returning to Black White Heaven’s sect will be difficult,” Xiao Luo Si observed.

“That’s why I advised him,” the old woman replied gently. “But he has his own mission, and we don’t even know who’s behind him.”

“That finger technique looked familiar. I’ll need to check it carefully once we return.”

“Miss, he’d actually make an excellent attendant for you if you brought him back to the sect,” the old woman suggested softly. “Regardless of his future, his current strength is impressive, even by your standards.” She stopped there, but the meaning was clear. Xiao Luo Si understood perfectly.

“It’s hard to imagine how someone could wield such power at the Star Breaking Realm,” the old woman sighed in admiration, looking toward Xiao Luo Si again. “If miss doesn’t plan to leave immediately, perhaps consider drawing him closer. Once miss breaks through to Hundred Star Realm, he can always be discarded if he shows no further potential.”

In the cultivation world, especially for disciples of Armor One Sect, Wandering Star Realm was merely the beginning. Those unable to reach Wandering Star Realm could never amount to anything significant.

In their eyes, someone cultivating Lock Force like Wang Jie could only ever reach Wandering Star Realm at most. Right now, his strength was astonishing, surpassing even Heaven’s Chosen Prodigies. Yet, each Heaven’s Chosen Prodigy would inevitably reach Hundred Star Realm. Once they did, the gap would widen enormously.

Therefore, no matter how excellent Wang Jie was now, to them, he had no future.

To earn respect in the cultivation world, Wandering Star Realm was just the threshold. Even Black White Heaven’s Hundred Star Realm cultivators weren’t taken seriously.

Thus, Wang Jie’s current brilliance only made them feel more regretful.

Xiao Luo Si murmured to herself thoughtfully: “Lock Force… is there truly no future in it?”

The old woman shook her head gently: “At least, none of our pillars have seen it. But,” she paused briefly, considering, “if this child could follow a Star Path Master, perhaps the Star Dao might take him further. Then, there would be no such thing as having no future, for Star Dao is already the future for countless people.”

Xiao Luo Si turned and walked away without another word.

[A Star Path Master? Even Armor One Sect must show respect. A place like Fourth Star Cloud could never have a Star Path Master. As for a Star Path Master choosing a Lock Force cultivator, that’s impossible.]

The old woman had simply made a casual remark.

Those chosen by Star Path Masters were peerless geniuses who captured everyone’s attention. Lock Force cultivators would never be among them.

Meanwhile, Wang Jie was anxiously waiting at the mission platform.

The disciple in charge of task distribution was currently calculating his reward.

Originally, breaking the Way of the Sword formation had a fixed reward of one hundred million battle merit points. But Wang Jie had not only broken the formation, he had shifted the entire battle situation. Such a contribution required careful calculation.

The longer Wang Jie waited, the more anxious he became. He distracted himself by browsing the list of available rewards.

[Such wonderful things here.]

At that moment, the disciple behind the counter finally looked up with envy: “Senior brother, the elders have determined your battle merit points. It’s three hundred million.”

Wang Jie’s heart raced with excitement: “Good. Thank you very much! Please give them to me.”

“Yes, senior brother.”

Wang Jie calmly watched as the points appeared on his personal terminal.

The disciple who had accepted the mission glanced at Wang Jie again with envy and admiration. [To earn so many battle merits at once, yet remain so calm—this senior brother truly has the bearing of a master, as if everything were within his grasp.]

Wang Jie scrolled through the reward list faster and faster, yet he took none of it in clearly.

[Three hundred million—such a huge sum.]

These weren’t starstones.

Starstones had no value here. Only battle merits held worth.

This time, by breaking the Way of the Sword Grand Formation, he had saved Elder Mo’s life, reversing the unfavorable battle for Black White Heaven. It felt similar to when he’d schemed against the Second Star Cloud in the Yin Yang Battlefield.

But then, it had been through the Nine Form Diagram; this time, it was thanks to past training.

Although he hadn’t deeply practiced the Yi Sword Technique, it had indeed proven crucial at a critical moment.

[Huh? The end already? Let’s flip back again.]

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the central command, Elder Luo was also looking through the reward list. After his harrowing experience trapped in the Way of the Sword formation, he decided to exchange all his accumulated battle merits to enhance his strength. Ordinary methods would no longer suffice; his eyes settled on the “Withered Wood Renewal Formation” manual.

The Withered Wood Renewal Formation was unique to the Unbound Observance Sect, and this manual was a rarity leaked from there. Though the formation itself wasn’t worth such a steep price, its scarcity inflated the value greatly.

“With this formation, perhaps I could sense the decay of time and gain new insights,” Elder Luo murmured as he eyed the reward list. “No matter—there’s nothing better. I’ll take the chance.” Decisively, he clicked to exchange.

At the very same moment, Wang Jie also tapped to exchange.

He too chose the Withered Wood Renewal Formation, as physical exercise had reached its limit in boosting his strength. To surpass his current boundary required facing death—or at least approaching it. He sensed this formation might help.

Both clicked simultaneously.

Then, the system froze.

Wang Jie paused, surprised, and reflexively clicked again.

Elder Luo, however, had never experienced anything like this. A glitch during reward exchange? He’d spent so long on the battlefield and never encountered such a thing. His momentary hesitation cost him—the Withered Wood Renewal Formation manual vanished.

Elder Luo stared wide-eyed. [Where did the formation book go?] Frantically, he flipped through pages. [Why isn’t it here?]

Wang Jie, meanwhile, saw the confirmation message and exhaled. He had just spent a hundred million battle merits without batting an eye; surely that was impressive enough. Now, he only had to wait for the reward’s arrival.

He did not notice, in his field, one of the eight essential materials required for the Indestructible Body had quietly been completed.

Sometimes, auctions weren’t held openly—success could be accidental.

Two days later, Wang Jie received the Withered Wood Renewal Formation manual. Excited to begin his practice, he was abruptly interrupted by a summons from Elder Wu—Tong Shou wished to meet him.

“Disciple Wang Jie greets Tong Shou.” Within the central command, in a quiet, secluded area, Wang Jie finally saw Tong Shou of the Black White Heaven battlefield.

Tong Shou was a woman, though this was hardly unusual, as many sect leaders were female. Yet, her presence was nothing like Wang Jie had imagined. He’d expected a battlefield Tong Shou to emanate killing intent, yet all he sensed from her was gentleness—an extraordinary gentleness.

Even this place was unlike a battlefield command center; rather, it resembled a secluded sanctuary for peaceful cultivation.

Tong Shou regarded Wang Jie thoughtfully before speaking, “You are Wang Jie?”

“Yes.”

“You broke the Way of the Sword Grand Formation?”

“This disciple was merely lucky.”

“Lock Path Interval and the events at Zhi Academy—those were also your doing?”

Wang Jie couldn’t discern Tong Shou’s tone and replied honestly, “This disciple acted under pressure. Many things were not done willingly.”

Tong Shou regarded him curiously. “Who pressured you? Zhi Xing Xue?”

Wang Jie quickly answered, “It was the circumstances.”

“Circumstances forced you,” Tong Shou said calmly, a faint smile playing on her lips. “You’re clever with words. You have Zhi Xing Xue’s backing—even Zhi once assisted you. Why come to my battlefield?”

Wang Jie did not know how to respond.

His master’s existence might be discovered by outsiders, but he would never confirm it himself.

Tong Shou did not press further, merely watching him quietly.

She had investigated this matter, yet the sect had offered only vague answers. As the battlefield Tong Shou, she required certainty, not guesses.

Yet Wang Jie remained silent, revealing nothing.

She studied him deeply, then sighed softly, “Forget it. Your affairs do not interest me, nor do I care who supports you. But now that you’re on my battlefield, you must obey my commands absolutely. Can you do that, Wang Jie?”

Wang Jie bowed deeply, “Everything shall be as Tong Shou instructs.”

Tong Shou nodded approvingly. “You may leave.”

After Wang Jie departed, someone else quietly approached, standing silently behind Tong Shou.

Tong Shou rose and gazed into the misty clouds drifting over the stream, murmuring softly, “This child might be backed by that Star Path Master. How should I handle him, do you think?”

The person beside her did not reply.

Tong Shou hadn’t expected an answer.

Leaving the meeting, Wang Jie still could not discern Tong Shou’s true intentions toward him. Was she aligned with Zhi Qing’s faction? If hostility arose, it would be disastrous—his convenient master was beyond reach here.

However, as a Star Refining Realm powerhouse, she probably had little fear of Zhi Qing.

He did not return to his quarters; instead, Wang Jie found a remote place to continue his cultivation.