Chapter 281

Chapter 281: Two Women

Wang Jie let out a long breath and looked around. This direction led deeper into the Bridge-Pillar. If he kept moving forward, he would reach the far side of the asteroid belt—and then he should be able to find cultivators of the Beidou Bridge-Pillar.

He put the boat away, took out the Void Splint the Black Realm Lord had given him, wrapped himself inside it, and shot forward.

The Void Splint could travel through void at a speed comparable to the Hundred-Star Realm. Convenient didn’t begin to cover it.

Days passed.

When Wang Jie finally reached the far edge of the asteroid belt, stars appeared ahead—real stars, scattered through the nebula’s interior. And there, cutting through the dark, he spotted a warship.

By sheer luck, it was passing close.

He stayed near the belt’s edge and watched cautiously, making sure it belonged to the Beidou Bridge-Pillar.

It did.

A clear emblem stood out on its hull: Tech-Mech City.

Tech-Mech City was the ruling power of the Third Nebula’s Third Star Chain. Wang Jie had attacked one of their supply warships back in the Ying Yang Battlefield—he knew that mark too well.

He surged out.

A few more days passed, and the scale of the battlefield revealed itself. A flood of warships and flying vessels of every shape approached—some conventional, some shaped like swords, others like ornate flower baskets gliding through the starry sky.

And amid that chaos, he ran into Chief Huntsman Shuang Jin—and Zhi Xing Xue.

During the battle with the Ancient Sword Bridge-Pillar, countless people had been scattered. Shuang Jin had returned safely to the inside of the Dual-Wind Line, but Gu Xun Yi and the others had been delayed and couldn’t withdraw.

Shuang Jin stared at Wang Jie as if she were seeing a ghost. She hadn’t expected him to still be alive—much less to have crossed the Dual-Wind Line and reached this place.

Zhi Xing Xue’s presence surprised him too, but after a moment it made sense. This war was primarily Black-White Heaven’s responsibility. As a Star-Refining Realm powerhouse of Black-White Heaven, Zhi Xing Xue would naturally come to support the front—especially with Zhi Ye captured. Black-White Heaven wouldn’t abandon him.

Wang Jie relayed the timing Gu Xun Yi had given him to Shuang Jin. Soon after, Zhi Xing Xue took him away.

Shuang Jin didn’t stop her, and she didn’t doubt Wang Jie’s message. The route he’d taken was confidential. The Ancient Sword Bridge-Pillar couldn’t possibly know it.

As they walked, Zhi Xing Xue eyed him—exhausted, hollowed out by survival—and clicked her tongue. “Your Master is unbelievably irresponsible, throwing you into this battlefield like that. And you’re unlucky enough to run straight into a war of this scale.”

Wang Jie gave a weary smile. “This junior really is unlucky. Maybe I used up all my luck at the Ying Yang Battlefield.”

Back then, he’d met Xia Xiao Nian and uncovered Xuan Gate’s secret schemes. Using that, he helped Black-White Heaven cripple Xuan Gate, and with his role as a mole, he played a decisive part in defeating Second Star Cloud—allowing Black-White Heaven to take full control of the Ying Yang Battlefield.

Luck had been a huge part of it. Otherwise, how could a Star-Breaking Realm cultivator possibly claim such merit?

Now the price had come due. The First Main Battlefield was vicious beyond words. Coming back alive felt like a miracle.

Zhi Xing Xue sighed. “Alive is what matters. You’ve even broken through to the Full-Star Realm. The next stage of the war won’t require you—rest properly.”

Wang Jie hesitated, then asked, “Senior, why did the Skeleton Clan appear? What are they trying to do?”

“We don’t know.” Zhi Xing Xue’s expression tightened. “Even to the Dead Realm, the Skeleton Clan is mysterious.”

She glanced aside, voice lowering. “Zhi Ye was captured because the Skeleton Clan badly wounded him first. Otherwise, the Ancient Sword Bridge-Pillar wouldn’t have taken him.”

“Still,” she added, “he was too impulsive. Black-White Heaven bears heavy responsibility for this battle’s losses, which is why I came. If we can’t open the situation soon, even the Old Ancestor will come out of seclusion.”

Then she looked at Wang Jie sharply. “But your message matters. If we drive them back with coordination from both sides, your merit will be enough to offset many of Black-White Heaven’s mistakes.”

Wang Jie exhaled. “If I had a choice, this junior wouldn’t want to risk his life either. That deadland… it’s too terrifying.”

Zhi Xing Xue nodded once and patted his shoulder. “Don’t say that to outsiders.”

Wang Jie gave a faint smile. He wouldn’t. To outsiders, he’d be all righteous blood and sacrifice for the Beidou Bridge-Pillar.

They spoke a little longer, then Zhi Xing Xue left. They needed to verify the timing he’d brought and finalize how to launch the counterattack.

And Wang Jie truly was at his limit.

The moment she was gone, he turned to rest.

A voice cut through the quiet.

“How was I irresponsible?”

Wang Jie jolted and spun toward the corner, teeth clenched. “Master—people can be scared to death.”

Shu Rang sat there, entirely unbothered, as if he’d been there the whole time. He chuckled, pulled out a wine gourd, and took a slow sip. “You made it through a battlefield and you’re still afraid of being startled?”

Wang Jie dropped into a seat, exhausted. “That was luck. I ran into Seniors who treated me well.”

Shu Rang watched him. “What? Complaining about me?”

Wang Jie didn’t answer.

Shu Rang smiled, then placed something on the table.

Wang Jie’s gaze sharpened instantly. “A Star Vault Vista Jade?”

“Looks familiar, doesn’t it?” Shu Rang said, amused.

“Master… are you from Star Vault Vista?”

“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then this jade—”

“Stolen.”

Wang Jie started to ask why, then the answer hit him.

He had a jade too. It could block a killing strike and, at the same time, send him to the nearest jade holder.

So if his jade activated, it would bring him to Shu Rang.

His Master hadn’t abandoned him. He’d anchored a lifeline.

Shu Rang put the jade away again, drank, and sighed with satisfaction.

Wang Jie rose and bowed deeply. “This disciple was rash. Please forgive me, Master.”

Shu Rang waved it off. “It’s normal to feel resentment. No one wants to die.”

His gaze turned complicated—heavy, and strangely pleased. “Still, this battle was more dangerous than I expected. I thought it would be a normal Bridge-Pillar war. I didn’t expect it to become this vicious.”

He studied Wang Jie. “You came back alive. You were even forced to cross deadland and still returned. Not bad.”

“Worthy,” he added, “of the fact that you once defeated a Tian Cang Guarding Star Realm expert.”

Wang Jie kept his humility. “This disciple was lucky.”

“Luck,” Shu Rang said, “is priceless in the cultivation world. If you’re lucky every time, then you’re a prodigy born from the universe’s fate.”

His expression softened. “You’ve also reached the Full-Star Realm. Your Lockforce is thick enough. It wasn’t a waste for me to push Star-Devourer to you.”

He paused, then said, “This time was my mistake. I exposed you to danger beyond what you should have had to bear. But you survived, and I’m satisfied.”

“As a reward,” Shu Rang said, “you may formally become my disciple early.”

Wang Jie froze. Shu Rang had once said he needed to reach the Roaming-Star Realm before the formal apprenticeship. Now…

“What, you don’t want to?” Shu Rang asked.

Wang Jie dropped to his knees at once. “Disciple Wang Jie pays respects to Mentor.”

Shu Rang didn’t move for a moment. He simply looked down at him.

“Being my disciple is hard,” he said quietly. “Are you truly willing?”

Wang Jie didn’t hesitate. “This disciple has no regrets.”

Shu Rang lifted him up personally. “Do you remember I told you I’d have you do one thing in the future?”

“Yes, Mentor.”

Shu Rang produced two photographs and handed them over.

Wang Jie took them—and went still.

Two women. Identical faces. Identical pink hair. Both breathtakingly beautiful.

One wore a bright, sunlit smile. The other looked cold and lethal, like winter steel.

“One is Ting He,” Shu Rang said. “One is Ting Chen.”

“You will marry them.”

Wang Jie stared at him. “Marry…?”

Shu Rang nodded, utterly serious. “That is the task I’m assigning you. In the future, you will marry them—and you must succeed.”

“Their identities are extraordinary,” Shu Rang continued. “Many geniuses you’ve met—like that Black-White Heaven Six-Path Roamer—can barely even get the chance to meet them. Their suitors are powerful. Their backgrounds are vast.”

“You’ll have many enemies.”

Wang Jie was speechless. Of all the things…

His mind flashed with the mysterious woman from the thunder well. That was the one who truly held his heart.

And yet… the two girls in the photographs were stunning.

He cleared his throat. “So… I can marry either one?”

“Both,” Shu Rang said.

Wang Jie almost choked.

This wasn’t a question of difficulty. This was provocation. Morality. Madness. They were obviously twins. Even if he somehow fought through countless suitors to marry one, why would he get both?

“Mentor,” he said carefully, “are you sure?”

Shu Rang clasped his hands behind his back and tightened his grip on his wine gourd. “Absolutely sure.”

“This disciple believes it will be extremely difficult.”

“If it were easy,” Shu Rang said, “why would even I find it difficult?”

“Then… what if I marry just one?”

“It has to be both.”

“Why?”

“You don’t need to know. You must marry both. Not one less.”

Unreasonable to the bone.

Wang Jie swallowed down his objections. Fine. Stall it. It wasn’t like Shu Rang could make him propose right now.

He gestured to the photographs. “What are their identities?”

“You don’t need to know yet,” Shu Rang said. “I’m only telling you now so you understand what lies ahead. Before you reach the Roaming-Star Realm, you don’t need to think about it.”

He added, almost generously, “Don’t feel pressured.”

Wang Jie didn’t feel pressured at all. He was already planning not to succeed.

Shu Rang reached into his sleeve and produced a ruler.

Wang Jie took it. It wasn’t the Sky-Measuring Ruler.

“This ruler can measure the distance of Starforce or Lockforce,” Shu Rang explained, “down to extremely fine precision. Use it to refine your control over Lockforce. Work toward the level called A Drop Hides the Sea.”

Wang Jie’s eyes lit up. “It can help me reach A Drop Hides the Sea?”

“Given enough time,” Shu Rang said.

Wang Jie’s heart raced. Chen Art demanded four realms of control: One Gaze, Three Thousand; A Drop Hides the Sea; Leaf-Fall Star Vault; and Infinite Worlds.

Since reaching One Gaze, Three Thousand, he hadn’t focused much on refining Lockforce control. He hadn’t even understood how demanding A Drop Hides the Sea truly was.

Now he had a path.

Shu Rang’s tone grew weighty. “The universe’s strongest powers are recognized as Star Dao and Chen Art. Chen Art is a crucial piece. When paired with Star Dao, it becomes an unmatched method.”

“So your control of Lockforce must be exquisite.”

“The so-called A Drop Hides the Sea means turning a single drop of Starforce into a sea of stars,” Shu Rang said. “You’ll need time. But I estimate that when you reach the Roaming-Star Realm, you may touch that level—or at least not be far from it.”

“When that happens,” he added, “with Chen Art paired with Star Dao, even at the Roaming-Star Realm, ordinary Hundred-Star Realm cultivators will be nothing more than dust beneath your hand. Even the Star-Refining Realm may not be beyond your reach.”