Chapter 278
Chapter 278: Breaking Through to Full Star Realm
Luo Kui understood Fang He’s feelings.
Indeed, when they first learned Wang Jie had Zhong Yi behind him, they all felt the same—a sense of helplessness and frustration, having no choice but to endure.
“Kill him, I have to kill him!” Fang He roared in anger, turning his fierce gaze upon Luo Kui. “You promised me—I can do whatever I want!”
Compared to Wang Jie, Fang He was far more valuable. After all, he was at the peak of the Wandering Star Realm and had once been a Six Dao Wanderer.
Normally, choosing between Wang Jie and Fang He would be simple—anyone would pick Fang He.
Yet Wang Jie was different.
Aside from his own strength, the mere fact that Zhong Yi stood behind him made even Edge Sect hesitate. How could Fang He act then?
On the battlefield, Fang He could act freely, unaware of such things. But now was different.
Wang Jie stepped closer calmly, the elder shaking his head beside him.
“Keep your dog on a leash; don’t let it out to bite people,” Wang Jie spoke lightly, passing right beside Fang He without a care. He had absolute confidence.
Fang He burned with rage, gripping his blade handle tightly, longing to strike—but with Luo Kui watching, he could not.
“Why? He’s just a Lock Force cultivator. Why can’t I kill him? Lock Force cultivators are nothing but cannon fodder—killed at will!”
Luo Kui couldn’t fully explain, only managing to reply, “He’s done a great service for us.”
“I can do that too!” Fang He protested.
Wang Jie turned back with a smile, taunting, “I turned a Six Dao Wanderer against his side—can you?”
These words nearly caused Fang He to grind his teeth into dust.
Luo Kui frowned, saying, “Just go about your business; this has nothing to do with you.”
Wang Jie left with his spirits high.
Fang He watched Wang Jie’s retreating figure, hatred blazing within him.
“Senior, could you please send me to Cloud Stream Region?” Wang Jie suddenly asked once he was out of Fang He’s sight.
The elder looked at him, startled, “Cloud Stream Region? Why go there now?”
[Of course, it’s to find the Devour Star and absorb Lock Force to break through into the Full Star Realm. I’ve already reached 99x Breaking Star Stage strength. Waiting to surpass this third limit would take too long. I can’t wait any longer.]
For now, he must achieve Full Star Realm first.
After all, the Starry Martial Meet drew ever nearer.
“I want to search Cloud Stream Region’s Black White Heaven central hub for clues. Maybe I’ll find how they communicate with each other,” Wang Jie explained calmly.
The elder pondered and did not object, considering this carefully.
Wang Jie glanced at him, adding, “Don’t get any ideas. I’ve glimpsed parts of the patterns by chance, so I can recognize them if I see them again. You, on the other hand, wouldn’t know even if they were right before your eyes.”
The elder thought about it and realized Wang Jie was right. “Very well. I’ll send you to Black White Heaven’s central hub in Cloud Stream Region. Don’t disappoint us.”
In truth, sending Wang Jie anywhere else was better than having him remain in Edge Sect.
Now, with Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper reinforcing, Edge Sect was no longer alone in this war. Especially with Black White Heaven’s hub now under Sword Court control—if Wang Jie encountered any problems there, Zhong Yi would seek Sword Court, not Edge Sect.
Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper also faced battles of their own.
But wars within the pillar regions were bound by certain rules, more like trials than battles.
The elder didn’t personally escort Wang Jie, instead sending someone else. Wang Jie didn’t mind. He had no reason to rush. Although his strength was at its current limit, his physical body had yet to reach perfection. Only by pushing himself fully could he achieve the ideal state for absorbing Lock Force.
He still needed time to polish himself.
Inside the battleship, he began tempering his muscles and bones, aided by sword threads. By the time he reached Devour Star, he’d likely be ready.
Time passed continuously, and external news never reached him.
He focused entirely on training, ignoring everything else—Corpse Sect, Edge Sect’s traitors, nothing occupied his mind. After a considerable time, an alert sounded in the resting chamber—he had arrived.
Wang Jie opened his eyes and exhaled gently. [I’m almost ready.]
Just one more set of exercises, a final polish, and he’d reach absolute perfection.
Stepping out, he glanced outside the battleship, seeing people everywhere, though all belonged to Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper rather than Black White Heaven.
The Edge Sect cultivator who escorted him reminded him to disguise himself carefully, in case spies from Big Dipper Bridge Pillar recognized him.
Wang Jie immediately altered his appearance, deliberately avoiding the Nine Form Diagram—this was his trump card.
“The elder has already informed them. You have your identity token, correct?” the cultivator asked.
Wang Jie held out the Edge Sect identity token briefly.
“Yes, that’s it. Be careful.” With that, he was let off the ship, which swiftly departed.
Standing upon familiar yet unfamiliar ground, Wang Jie felt the landscape unchanged, as though untouched by war. Yet, the people here had completely changed.
People rushed by, barely noticing him.
These individuals seemed unaffiliated with Edge Sect. Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper included more than just Edge Sect and Sword Pond—there were numerous smaller factions as well.
Wang Jie silently moved toward Devour Star’s location.
Devour Star was a special planet, inevitably noticed. But in wartime, even discovery meant little—just a record at most. Only once the battlefield was secured and all three regions were under firm control would Devour Star have true value.
Wang Jie landed smoothly on Devour Star. No one was present.
Being a Lock Force planet, nearly everyone here was a Star Force cultivator, unwilling to waste time here.
Devour Star’s real value lay in researching the limits of Lock Force, not providing for Lock Force cultivators themselves.
Wang Jie sat quietly, waiting patiently. Days passed until it was finally time for the exercises.
As he performed his routine, using sword threads to refine his body, he reached the absolute limit of his current physical state. [It’s finally time.]
Pressing one hand firmly onto the ground, he prepared to begin.
Luckily, Master had prepared everything in advance, allowing him to absorb without needing others to guard him; otherwise, coming here would have been pointless.
With that thought, lock force flowed upward through the earth into his body.
The sensation surged like a vast ocean, shaking heaven and earth as it rushed fiercely into Wang Jie. His vision blurred for a moment but quickly cleared as he adjusted.
Absorption began.
No one knew exactly how much lock force Devour Star contained. It was a tool Black White Heaven had researched for countless years, designed precisely for this purpose. Given Wang Jie’s current level, he couldn’t possibly absorb it all. The question was—just how much could he take in?
Even Wang Jie himself didn’t know.
He felt like a dried-up spring, endlessly drinking in lock force.
It was the first time he’d felt such satisfaction, the blissful sensation of his body becoming truly filled. In comparison, his past self had always been starving.
No one disturbed him.
Though lock force continuously poured into Wang Jie, it had no effect on the outside world.
After an unknown length of time, Wang Jie’s body suddenly trembled. He felt reborn, elevated—complete. It was a feeling of absolute wholeness. Looking at himself, he flexed his fingers. His body, his lock force—everything had reached perfection at this moment.
The leaf that was once incomplete was now fully restored.
He had finally stepped into the Full Star Realm.
He hadn’t realized the sensation of Full Star Realm would be so distinct. Observing others had always been vague, unclear. Only now, experiencing it himself, did he understand the true difference.
No wonder many could immediately recognize him as being at the Star Breaking Realm before.
If he unleashed his lock force at full power now, his combat strength would directly surpass four hundred thousand.
Having reached the Full Star Realm, his lock force consumption would no longer hinder his progress. He could now move toward the Wandering Star Realm.
Full Star Realm was merely an additional step set by the ancestors long ago, representing only physical and energy saturation. It was more a boundary than a true cultivation stage, and thus brought no significant transformation to Wang Jie.
Unlike when he reached Star Breaking Realm, gaining an additional field.
As for his strength, there was no increase.
It remained ninety-nine times Star Breaking Realm. Wang Jie felt slightly disappointed and couldn’t help but wonder who had defined these realms—Star Breaking Realm, Wandering Star Realm, and others?
To reach Wandering Star Realm, he had to fuse the lock force from his flesh deeper into his bones and blood, achieving the essential condition for survival in space. Only then would power and body truly merge completely.
At ten seals, lock force first entered the body.
At Star Breaking Realm, it fused into the flesh.
At Wandering Star Realm, it would integrate fully into every part of the body.
Full Star was merely the initial step in transitioning from flesh toward full integration.
Having completed this first step, Wang Jie now realized it would be challenging to further integrate lock force into bones and blood—he already had too much lock force in him.
The more lock force he had, the harder integrating into his bones would become.
This meant breaking into Wandering Star Realm would only grow more difficult.
If lock force couldn’t completely integrate into his bones, his cultivation path would prematurely reach its limit.
Wang Jie suddenly recalled Little Blue’s strange expression when she saw him absorbing lock force from Devour Star. [Had she already realized all this back then?]
Voices sounded outside Devour Star.
Wang Jie didn’t move from his position. Soon, a few people passed by and saw him, but they paid him no attention and continued onward.
He vaguely heard words like “lock force cannon fodder.”
He’d heard such things far too often.
Once they had gone, he moved slightly. [Could he now sense how much lock force remained within Devour Star?]
Deciding to test it immediately, he pressed his hand onto the ground again, feeling the lock force within the planet.
This time felt distinctly different from before. Earlier, Devour Star’s lock force had felt boundless like an endless ocean. Now, it seemed reachable. Vast still, but not impossible to measure.
He was curious about how much lock force had actually decreased.
Suddenly, his expression changed. [What’s this?] Deep within Devour Star, he sensed a barrier.
Instantly withdrawing his lock force, he prepared to leap away.
But at that exact moment, an invisible force seized his body, dragging him fiercely downward.
[Not good, someone is here.]
“I’m a disciple of Edge Sect, Senior, please spare me!” Wang Jie shouted urgently.
The force below showed no mercy, brutally pulling him into the planet’s depths and slamming him into a dark, shadowy canyon where molten lava surged violently beneath.
“You’re an Edge Sect disciple?” A voice echoed, emotionless and impossible to pinpoint.
Wang Jie struggled to rise, feeling as if his body was being crushed. “Yes, this disciple truly belongs to Edge Sect.” As he spoke, he pulled out his Edge Sect identity token.
The voice chuckled darkly, “Didn’t expect to catch a little fish. If that’s so, then die.”
Wang Jie instantly knew he’d made a mistake—this was a hidden agent of Big Dipper Bridge Pillar. He quickly cried out, “Wait! Disciple comes from Black White Heaven!”
He’d been careless. He should have realized sooner.
Who else would hide here? Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper’s people had no reason to conceal themselves like this. It had to be someone from Big Dipper Bridge Pillar.
Nor did he suspect a test by Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper’s people—they wouldn’t waste their time testing a mere lock force cultivator.
Who’d do something so pointless?
If he hadn’t discovered someone hiding within Devour Star, he wouldn’t even have been found.