Chapter 255

Chapter 255: Battle Against the Three Swords

After listening to Luo Kui, Hou Xiao’s eyes lit up with admiration. “So we strike now?”

Luo Kui shook his head. “Not yet. This batch is just cannon fodder. Let them go in. It doesn’t matter.

Haven’t you noticed what’s special about them?”

Hou Xiao stared at the cautious mass of more than a hundred thousand in the distance, baffled. “What’s special?”

“They’re all Lockforce cultivators.”

“Huh? Like that?”

She frowned. “Is Black-White Heaven insane? They’re sending Lockforce cultivators to rescue a Six-Path Roamer?”

Luo Kui gave a quiet laugh. “On the contrary. They’re not insane—they’re clever.

They want to use these people as bait to draw out our position, confirm what kind of enemy they’re facing, and then launch the real rescue.

If it were that fool Tang Zhou, he’d fall for it. But I’m not Tang Zhou.

Whether these people live or die doesn’t matter.”

Hou Xiao sighed, genuinely impressed. “Senior Brother Luo Kui really is amazing. Senior Brother Tang Zhou only thinks about swords. He’d never see something like this coming.”

Luo Kui’s pride showed plainly. “Come on. We’ll go back and wait. This time, I’ll kill at least one Hundred-Star Realm expert so you can earn merit, Junior Sister.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Luo Kui.”

—

On the other side, the Lockforce cultivators descended onto the planet where Fang He was trapped.

The instant Fang He saw so many Black-White Heaven cultivators, his heart leapt. For a moment, he even thought he was going home.

Then he looked closer.

All Lockforce cultivators. Not a single Starforce cultivator among them. The strongest was only at the Full-Star Realm.

What was this supposed to mean?

He glared at them. “How did you people get here?”

Wang Jie met Fang He’s gaze, a little helpless. He hadn’t expected to be assigned something like this.

Earlier, the Chief Huntsman had summoned him and handed him a task: reinforce Fang He. The reward was identical to what they’d offered for breaking the Sword Dao Grand Array.

He’d been chosen for one reason—he was a Lockforce cultivator.

The Chief Huntsman intended to use the enemy’s contempt. They would underestimate this force, allow them to reach Fang He, and then Fang He could coordinate from within while Black-White Heaven struck from without and tore open a gap.

Wang Jie’s role was simple. If they encountered a Sword Dao Grand Array, he would find a way to break it.

Even if there was an array here, its power wouldn’t surpass the one he’d already broken.

In the Chief Huntsman’s own words, once Wang Jie identified the formation’s foundation nodes, Fang He could destroy them quickly without wasting time. Wang Jie wouldn’t need to swallow a Dao-Enlightenment Pill and brute-force the formation himself.

Reality unfolded exactly as predicted.

The enemy noticed them. Wang Jie could feel the weight of hidden eyes watching, yet no one made a move.

They were allowed to meet Fang He.

Wang Jie stepped forward and cupped his fist. “May I ask if you are Senior Brother Fang He? I am Wang Jie. Greetings.”

Behind Fang He, Xiao Rong heard the name and snapped his head over.

Wang Jie?

This guy was Wang Jie?

Why was he here?

Fang He’s expression stayed dark. “Explain.”

Wang Jie laid out the Chief Huntsman’s plan. Fang He’s face eased slightly, but his displeasure didn’t vanish. “And with only you people, how do you plan to coordinate from inside and out? You can’t even delay them.”

Wang Jie lifted a hand.

In the crowd behind him, several hundred cultivators produced Formation Scrolls.

Then more. And more.

Scroll after scroll appeared until it was almost absurd. Xiao Rong and the others stared, stunned into silence.

Even Fang He’s gaze shook. What a price. He hadn’t expected the Command Hub to spend this much to rescue him—trading for this many Formation Scrolls all at once.

A cost like that was staggering.

And if these Formation Scrolls were thrown out in an instant, the enemy would bleed for it.

Fang He’s confidence surged. He threw back his head and laughed. “Good. Have you fixed the time?”

Wang Jie nodded. “Two days from now. We break out to the northeast.”

For the next two days, Wang Jie and the others stayed on the planet and rested, waiting for the moment.

During that time, Wang Jie overheard the Lockforce cultivators whispering and learned something he hadn’t known—Xiao Rong was here.

Xiao Rong’s fame in Black-White Heaven rivaled even a Six-Path Roamer’s. The sect had made a spectacle of him, claiming he’d voluntarily stayed on the battlefield to serve as an example for all Lockforce cultivators.

Black-White Heaven’s number one Lockforce cultivator.

A title with real weight.

Even though everyone also knew the ugly truth: Starforce cultivators who joined the sect had never respected him.

Wang Jie noticed Xiao Rong watching him. Xiao Rong gave a polite nod—no resentment, no complaint.

In truth, Xiao Rong was simply unlucky.

He hadn’t stayed here by choice.

He’d been forced.

His fate was to die on this battlefield.

Xiao Rong didn’t dare show anything in front of Wang Jie. In his eyes, Wang Jie’s background and status were far higher. He didn’t know why Wang Jie had come here—maybe he’d been set up by the people around Steward Wu Yun—but regardless, in a war zone it was better not to make enemies.

They exchanged only a silent nod.

Then time ran out.

When the chosen moment arrived, Wang Jie looked at Fang He. “Senior Brother, it’s time.”

Fang He lifted his chin and stared toward the northeast. His roar shook the fog. “Luo Kui—fight me again!”

He shot skyward. Terrifying Starforce exploded outward, splitting the haze and linking heaven and earth as it thundered into the distance.

Wang Jie didn’t know who Luo Kui was. He only charged northeast with the others.

That was where the Command Hub’s support waited.

—

Outside the planet, Luo Kui turned his head, surprised. “He’s breaking out on his own? To the northeast? Interesting.”

Hou Xiao blinked. “Senior Brother, you expected it?”

Luo Kui smiled. “We allowed that batch of Lockforce cultivators to enter for a reason. It tells Fang He exactly which direction to break out. Without coordination, how could Black-White Heaven time their rescue?”

Hou Xiao’s admiration deepened.

“Enough.” Luo Kui stepped forward, his voice light. “Junior Sister, wait here. I’ll bring you a gift.”

With a single step, he cut across space and swept toward Fang He.

His name was Luo Kui, famed as the Moonlit Lone Shadow. His blade was hazy moon, and his sword art was No-Thought.

Around them, Edge Sect cultivators drove planet fragments like weapons, slamming them toward Black-White Heaven.

War erupted.

Wang Jie’s side had tens of thousands more bodies, but they were Lockforce cultivators—without Starforce, most of them were little more than weight.

Only the Formation Scrolls mattered.

They flew out in waves, detonating in brilliant arrays that ripped into the Edge Sect’s advance and threw their formation into chaos.

Luo Kui slashed at Fang He, eyes narrowing in surprise. “So you were prepared. I underestimated how determined your Chief Huntsman was to save you. But Fang He—today, you won’t escape.”

Fang He’s gaze was icy. “We’ll see.”

From the distance came an even grander surge of Starforce. A Hundred-Star Realm expert had finally moved.

Planet fragments hurtled toward them—Black-White Heaven’s reinforcements.

Wang Jie used Rain Sword Art to clear threats near him, glancing up as Luo Kui and Fang He clashed. Fang He was powerful—a Six-Path Roamer, after all—but Luo Kui was clearly a cut above, pressing him down again and again.

Then sword qi erupted from beneath the ground.

A Sword Dao Grand Array.

Panic spread. Xiao Rong and the others surged toward the edge, desperate to flee the formation’s range.

But the array was too vast. There was nowhere to run.

Luo Kui laughed and, with brutal force, drove Fang He deeper into the array while he himself retreated out of it. Some Edge Sect cultivators were trapped inside as well, but Luo Kui didn’t care. He wanted to use the array to imprison Fang He, then claim merit by killing a Black-White Heaven Hundred-Star Realm expert.

“Fang He,” he called, voice full of contempt, “wait. I’ll come finish you soon.”

Fang He tried to break out—too late. Sword qi roared skyward. The array was already active.

Wang Jie closed his eyes and listened to the formation with a stillness that didn’t match the chaos around him.

Fang He struck at the array again and again, but it refused to yield. Frustration flashed across his face.

Then Wang Jie’s voice cut through the noise. “Senior Brother Fang He—seventy-nine steps to the left. Destroy the foundation node.”

Fang He stared at him. “You can locate the node?”

“I’ve broken one before.”

Fang He didn’t waste another word. He stepped exactly as instructed and slammed his palm down.

The foundation node shattered.

The array was weaker than the one they’d faced at the Command Hub, just as the Chief Huntsman had predicted, but it still had fifteen foundation nodes—more than enough to slaughter everyone trapped inside if left intact.

This time, however, the Edge Sect disciples outside the array had no chance to shift the nodes. As long as Wang Jie called out positions, Fang He could break them in rapid succession.

Wang Jie identified them one after another.

The others stared in disbelief. On this battlefield, everyone knew the rule: once you were caught in a Sword Dao Grand Array, you were dead.

And yet a Lockforce cultivator was guiding them out.

Even Xiao Rong was shaken to the bone.

This wasn’t a man thrown here by someone else.

This was a man who had come here on purpose.

When the final foundation node broke, the Sword Dao Grand Array collapsed completely.

Outside the planet fragments, Luo Kui snapped his head around, eyes widening.

The Sword Dao Grand Array… was broken?

“It was him, Luo Kui.”

The voice came from a Hundred-Star Realm powerhouse locked in battle with Elder Wu. The man pointed straight at Wang Jie.

“This kid has broken our sect’s grand array once before. This is the second time. Catch him—he matters.”

Luo Kui’s jaw clenched. He turned and charged back.

Wang Jie didn’t pause. The moment the array dispersed, he stepped on Sword Steps and surged toward open space, moving as fast as Fang He.

Fang He gave him a deep look—shock flickering behind his eyes—then shot forward as well.

The Edge Sect had believed the Sword Dao Grand Array would hold Fang He. From the start, their focus had been on intercepting Black-White Heaven’s Hundred-Star Realm experts, leaving the planet’s edge barely guarded.

That mistake let Fang He and Wang Jie reach the boundary in moments.

But Black-White Heaven hadn’t expected the Edge Sect to be so decisive—Luo Kui turned back at once.

Wang Jie saw him coming alone, charging into a sea of tens of thousands. One man’s momentum pressed down on all of them.

This was the might of the Edge Sect’s Three Swords.

They weren’t afraid—Fang He was still here.

A Six-Path Roamer could hold the line.

Fang He leapt into the sky to meet Luo Kui.

But Luo Kui didn’t stop.

He swept past Fang He and locked onto Wang Jie.

Fang He watched Luo Kui ignore him. His eyes flickered, and he glanced at Wang Jie once—only once.

Then he turned around and fled.

Without hesitation.

Wang Jie’s blood went cold.

Fang He was running.

And Luo Kui—Luo Kui had abandoned the Six-Path Roamer and chosen him instead.

Behind Wang Jie, the Lockforce cultivators scattered in panicked flight. Xiao Rong fled in a different direction, throwing one last glance over his shoulder.

Wang Jie was finished.

With Fang He gone, no one could stop the Edge Sect’s Three Swords.

“Senior Brother Fang He!” Wang Jie shouted, voice raw.

Fang He didn’t even look back.

Luo Kui’s smile was thin as a blade. He raised his sword. “Little kid—no one can save you.”

Rage flooded Wang Jie. A Six-Path Roamer—someone who held himself above tens of thousands—had abandoned everyone without even a token fight.

Did he have no shame? No fear of consequences?

There was no time to think.

Luo Kui’s sword fell.

Wang Jie stepped on Jia Eight Steps and twisted away. The earth beneath him split in two. Residual sword qi tore through nearby Black-White Heaven cultivators, shredding bodies and splashing blood across the broken ground.

Another wave of sword qi descended, blotting out the sky.

Wang Jie kept moving, forcing Thunder Pattern outward—but it shattered the instant it touched Luo Kui’s power.

Even the aftershock numbed his arms, leaving them trembling.

He swallowed a body-guarding pill, a swiftstep pill, and a revival pill in one practiced motion.

He always took those three together.

His steps accelerated.

A defensive layer spread across his skin as the body-guarding pill took effect.