Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Thunder Abyss Marrow Cleansing

The shout rolled across the clash of planets.

Heads turned.

Black-White Heaven cultivators stared with contempt—though most of them, deep down, also wanted to flee.

Edge Gate’s disciples laughed openly.

Fang He’s eyes snapped to Wang Jie, murderous. “Stop talking! If you’ve got the guts, hold one of them off. I’ll kill the other.”

Wang Jie raised his voice, letting it carry. “Fine! Even if I die, I’ll block one for you. I only hope you keep your word—kill the other, and don’t flee again!”

Fang He wanted to shout back, but Luo Kui’s sword was already coming.

He had no choice but to take it.

Hou Xiao moved like a drifting shadow and intercepted Fang He again. “He’s mine, Senior Brother.”

Luo Kui glanced between them, startled—and then Wang Jie charged in.

Wang Jie raised his sword and shouted, “No matter how strong the Three Swords of Edge Gate are, they can’t bend the Bone Qi Method of Black-White Heaven cultivators! Come—fight to the death!”

Luo Kui stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

But the battlefield had its own logic.

If you asked people whether battle power or courage gave more confidence, everyone watching would answer without hesitation—courage.

They watched a star-breaking realm cultivator charge a man like Luo Kui.

They heard Bone Qi Method.

Some wanted to laugh—until Luo Kui’s blade cut Wang Jie down and blood splashed across his robes.

The laughter died instantly.

What remained was shock.

And, unwillingly, respect.

Wang Jie surged up again.

Rain spread. Luo Kui knocked him away with one slash and barked, “What are you doing?”

“Let me take the spot,” Wang Jie shouted back. “So I can help you!”

Luo Kui almost choked. Help? What help could Wang Jie provide?

But the bastard kept charging, again and again—demanding Luo Kui strike harder, yet forcing Luo Kui to avoid truly crippling him.

It was infuriating.

Flesh tore. Blood scattered.

Wang Jie fell, rose, fell again—eyes blazing, body thrown through the air like a rag.

It looked brutal.

But Luo Kui knew the truth.

They were surface wounds.

He couldn’t afford to truly break Wang Jie—not here, not with so many eyes on them.

Black-White Heaven cultivators stared, stunned. Was it really necessary?

Edge Gate cultivators stared, equally stunned. Why wouldn’t he die?

High above, Elder Wu and others watched, expressions shifting with complicated emotion.

Courage. Talent. Brains.

What a pity he cultivated lockforce.

Compared to Wang Jie’s display, Fang He’s situation looked worse by the second—because Hou Xiao held him back, forcing him to retreat step by step.

Fang He could feel it. Hou Xiao’s sword was light and elegant, but every motion carried killing intent. He couldn’t break through her.

To outsiders, though, it looked like he was being blocked by a “junior sister” and doing nothing to stop Luo Kui from “killing” Wang Jie.

And then Luo Kui’s voice rang out, loud and scornful.

“I remember you,” Luo Kui called. “Back then, you fought me, and Fang He slipped away. Now you’re saving him again?”

Fang He froze mid-step, turning.

Wang Jie lifted his chin, voice ringing with conviction. “Someone will always uphold the Bone Qi Method of Black-White Heaven!”

Fang He’s face twisted, rage blooming.

Hou Xiao cut in loudly, her tone mocking. “Senior Brother Luo, why are you struggling so much against a star-breaking realm?”

Luo Kui snorted. “This one has guts. His footwork is strange and his defense is tough. He’s harder to deal with than that cowardly Six-Path Roamer. Give me time.”

Fang He nearly exploded. “Luo Kui!”

Hou Xiao’s smile sharpened. “Fine. Fang He doesn’t even dare trade blows with me. I can hold him. You go ahead and kill that one first.”

“Good,” Luo Kui said, and raised his blade.

Fang He felt the gaze of the battlefield turning—disgust, contempt, disbelief.

How did it become like this?

Then the battlefield shifted again.

In the distance, a Sword Dao Grand Array rose.

Cultivators were trapped—among them, an elder.

Edge Gate’s signature tactic.

Wang Jie’s eyes flashed.

He shouted, “Senior Brother Fang He! Hold them off for me! I’m going to save the elder!”

Fang He’s blood surged. He wanted to kill Wang Jie more than anything.

But the Sword Dao Grand Array—only Wang Jie could break it.

And now everyone had heard Wang Jie’s words.

Fang He tried to rush toward Luo Kui—

Hou Xiao blocked him like a mountain.

Her sword dance looked soft. It was not.

Fang He couldn’t break through, couldn’t move, couldn’t “do his duty.”

To everyone watching, it looked like he ignored the elder and deliberately let Luo Kui keep “killing” Wang Jie.

Wang Jie took another slash, coughing blood as he hit the ground. He shouted again, louder, “Fang He! Stop him!”

Fang He forced forward, but Hou Xiao gave him no space.

Then a dark shadow flashed into the Sword Dao Grand Array.

The array tore open violently.

Elder Luo was dragged free.

The shadow’s power erupted—hundred-star realm might pressing down like a storm. Edge Gate’s side responded with their own hundred-star realm expert, but instead of engaging, they ordered a retreat.

The battle ended with Edge Gate pulling back.

Luo Kui’s eyes locked on Wang Jie, fury simmering beneath. “I’ll remember you. From now on, your enemies on the battlefield are me and the Three Swords of Edge Gate.”

He retreated with the tide.

Wang Jie drove his sword into the ground and forced himself upright, breathing hard, posture unbroken.

Elder Wu came to his side, concern on his face. “Are you all right?”

Wang Jie shook his head. “I’ve fought Luo Kui before. I’ve imagined fighting him again countless times. I’m used to it.”

Elder Wu’s expression softened with something like admiration. “You’ve suffered.”

He looked out across the battlefield. “If everyone in the sect had your resolve, we’d never lose.”

Then his gaze flicked to Fang He.

Elder Wu could tell—Hou Xiao’s swordsmanship was extraordinary. Fang He wasn’t retreating because he wanted to.

But no one else could tell.

Next to Wang Jie’s “heroism,” Fang He looked like a coward.

When the cultivators returned to the command hub, the shift in attitude was immediate.

Everyone who saw Wang Jie greeted him respectfully. “Senior Brother Wang.”

As for Fang He, people avoided him outright.

“I didn’t believe it before,” someone whispered, “but now? Fang He has battle power with no backbone. And he let Senior Brother Wang get chased like that. Disgusting.”

“That woman calls Luo Kui ‘Senior Brother,’ and she isn’t even one of the Three Swords of Edge Gate. If Fang He couldn’t break past her, he was doing it on purpose—giving Luo Kui a chance to solo Senior Brother Wang.”

“Exactly. I saw Senior Brother Wang fight that woman before. She’s weaker than Luo Kui. Fang He could hold his own against Luo Kui, but he can’t handle her? He was faking. Vile and stupid.”

“And he’s a Six-Path Roamer? What a joke.”

Someone else leaned closer, voice lower. “I also heard… a female disciple said his gaze was weird. He even asked someone for a swimsuit.”

“What? Seriously?”

“Who knows…”

Wang Jie heard the rumor and allowed himself a small smile as he exchanged greetings, then went into seclusion to heal.

Fang He heard it too.

His face turned so dark it looked bruised.

He had no one left. The people he’d been close to died in the group Song Yan led out. Not a single friend remained to speak for him.

He wanted to leave.

But Chief Huntsman Shuang Jin had pinned him in Cloudstream Domain for ten years.

And she wasn’t merely in charge of this battlefield—she was one of the highest authorities across Black-White Heaven’s three major warfronts. Her word bound even the sect.

How long would this last?

And worst of all—

He really wanted to find a swimsuit.

The thought tortured him. It consumed him. It made him hate himself.

Wang Jie.

Ever since that little bastard appeared, Fang He hadn’t had a single good day.

He would kill him.

He had to.

Not long after, Chief Huntsman Shuang Jin summoned Fang He. No one knew what was said.

All anyone knew was what happened next: Fang He was forbidden from remaining in the command hub, yet still required to stay within Cloudstream Domain. Ten years of war—ten years where he wouldn’t earn merit.

Someone claimed they even heard the Chief Huntsman call him shameless.

And the Chief Huntsman was a woman.

Fang He’s humiliation sank to a new depth.

Days later, the sect received a formal request from Chief Huntsman Shuang Jin.

Strip Fang He of his Six-Path Roamer position.

When Wang Jie emerged from seclusion, his injuries were already shallow—one workout would smooth them out.

He stepped into the bustle and immediately heard the news.

In the Cloudstream Domain command hub, aside from the Chief Huntsman and the elders, Wang Jie’s standing was now the highest. No matter their realm or how long they’d served, cultivators greeted him with respect.

“Senior Brother.”

He’d felt this before—in Suo Xing Jian, in the Ying Yang Battlefield.

Now he felt it again.

People crowded around him.

“Senior Brother Wang, many new cultivators arrived. Would you like to see if anyone suits serving at your side?”

“Senior Brother, this direction has already been explored. Don’t waste your time.”

“I heard the Chief Huntsman has requested the sect remove Fang He’s Six-Path Roamer position. Everyone hopes the next Six-Path Roamer is you, Senior Brother!”

Wang Jie blinked. “They can revoke a Six-Path Roamer position?”

An older cultivator bowed respectfully. “Of course. There are at most six Six-Path Roamers. Five hundred thousand battle power is the standard. But if someone’s character is rotten, they can be stripped of the position. It isn’t only status—it comes with authority.”

He spat to the side. “Fang He doesn’t deserve it.”

Wang Jie privately felt a flicker of satisfaction.

If he hadn’t planted that card, Fang He’s battlefield behavior alone might not have been enough to convince the sect to act. But the swimsuit rumor—the disgusting implication—was the final push.

Shuang Jin was a woman. Of course she would despise it.

A beautiful female disciple sidled close, cheeks pink, eyes bright. “Senior Brother… this junior sister has encountered confusion in cultivation. Could you guide me?”

Wang Jie nearly sighed.

Why didn’t Fang He run into someone like this? Then the rumor might never have spread.

Temptations everywhere.

He straightened his expression and refused righteously, then turned to the reward exchange list.

He had over three hundred million battle merit points—enough to cash in.

His cheap master might throw him into another mess at any moment. Better to convert merit while he could.

His eyes stopped on a reward: Thunder Abyss marrow cleansing.

It required an escort from an expert into Thunder Abyss.

One million merit points for entry to the Shallow Thunder Zone.

Ten million for the Deep Thunder Zone.

Over a hundred million for the Heavy Thunder Zone.

One billion to enter Thunder Abyss itself.

Shallow Thunder Zone suited star-breaking realm.

Deep Thunder Zone suited roaming-star realm.

Heavy Thunder Zone suited hundred-star realm.

By his current strength, he should choose the Deep Thunder Zone.

But he needed a true life-and-death crisis to break beyond eighty-nine times strength. With an expert escorting him, the Deep Thunder Zone might not be enough.

So—

Heavy Thunder Zone.

He also needed to cultivate Thunder Pattern.

This was the best option.

If this reward existed here, it meant there was a Thunder Well nearby.

Wang Jie made his decision and exchanged for it.

Heavy Thunder Zone Thunder Abyss marrow cleansing.