Chapter 292

Chapter 292: Gathering

Jun Hua couldn’t help remembering the small ship Wang Jie had arrived on the first time they met.

It had carried the mark of Jia Yi Sect.

His background was more unfathomable than ever.

After a few more polite exchanges, Wang Jie’s tone turned serious. “Does the emperor know why we’re here?”

Jun Hua shook her head. Yu Dong and the others didn’t know either.

Wang Jie’s expression hardened. “Because a supreme treasure is about to appear nearby. We’re here for it. So were the people who just fled.”

Jun Hua’s eyes widened. “What treasure?”

“You want it too?” Wang Jie asked, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

Jun Hua forced a bitter smile. “Of course not. I’m only curious.”

Wang Jie’s voice cooled. “Don’t be. The less you know about this, the better.”

He paused, then added quietly, “I have a home here. I’ll do what I can to keep the Silver Radiance Empire from being dragged into disaster.”

Jun Hua bowed at once. “Thank you, Brother Wang.”

“But if the danger goes beyond my ability,” Wang Jie continued, “then I can’t promise anything.”

He leaned forward. “What you can do now is cooperate. Identify outside experts and help me learn who they are before they strike. The sooner I know their backgrounds, the sooner I can plan a response.”

“Give the order,” Jun Hua said without hesitation.

“Seal off the Silver Radiance Empire,” Wang Jie said. “Anyone entering or leaving registers their identity. Track every outsider. Monitor them remotely. Do not provoke them. Compile information on anyone who seems dangerous or abnormal and send it to me.”

He gave instruction after instruction. Jun Hua listened, then issued commands immediately.

The Silver Radiance Empire went into motion.

In the vast universe, it was tiny. But within its own territory, its efficiency was still formidable.

In less than two hours, surveillance feeds from all directions were routed to the Lakeside Residence.

The screens were blank for now, but the instant an outsider entered, they would be flagged, their identity checked, and anything suspicious would be forwarded.

One screen after another rose in the courtyard.

Wang Jie’s group split up. Some fished. Some slept. Some cultivated.

They waited.

A disciple asked what they were waiting for.

Wu Yuan’s answer was simple. “News of red moon.”

Red moon had appeared within a certain range, but no one knew how to locate it.

Only the one who spread the news knew the path.

Once enough people gathered, that person would reveal the next step. That would be when they moved.

Right now, charging into the area was pointless.

Far from the Imperial Capital Star, Yan Long and the rest regrouped, faces dark, auras unstable. Several had blood at the corners of their mouths.

“Were those people just now from Black-White Heaven club?” Lan Qi asked shakily, still pale.

She had nearly been crushed by Wu Yuan’s starforce. If Lan Ning hadn’t dragged her along, she wouldn’t even have made it off the planet.

Lan Ning’s expression was heavy. “Yes. That was Black-White Heaven club.”

Qing Ge said, “The one who struck was Wu Yuan. I saw him on the ying yang battlefield. But on the battlefield his opponent was Hundred-Star Realm. Now his opponent is us.”

“You’re wrong.”

A middle-aged man stepped out—the same Hundred-Star Realm cultivator who had torn open Wu Yuan’s starforce.

He faced the group’s stares without flinching. “Wu Yuan’s opponent isn’t you. It’s the Hundred-Star Realm powerhouses of other strong clubs. You were simply unlucky enough to be in his path.”

“And among the clubs, Black-White Heaven can’t even rank near the top. So my advice is simple: give up.”

“Give up the Nan family’s hidden trove?” Qing Ge snapped. “Do you think that’s possible?”

The man shook his head. “Then there’s no alternative.”

When he spoke again, his tone was measured, almost cold with practicality. “When red moon appears, the best move is direct sect interference—Star-Refining Realm takes action. Yes, it’ll mean we won’t be able to compete for resources elsewhere again, but the Nan family’s hidden trove matters too much for us—”

Yan Long cut him off. “You’re exposed. You can’t stay.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes narrowed, displeased, but his voice stayed controlled. “I know. Be careful.”

He turned and left without another word.

If evidence of his presence was caught, the consequences would be catastrophic.

In the corner, someone spoke cautiously. “The one who caught Junior Brother Bei Yi… that was Wang Jie. Frostglow Sect’s former guest elder. He’s… a Six-Path Roamer now?”

Yan Long turned to Lan Ning. “You know Wang Jie?”

The reason they’d withdrawn so fast was Lan Ning’s warning. If they’d been even a step slower, more people would have been captured.

Lan Ning nodded. “I met him on the ying yang battlefield. Back then, he could only flee from me.”

Her expression darkened. “Now he’s become one of the Six-Path Roamer figures. This has spread through the major forces.”

“Black-White Heaven has never had a Full-Star Realm lockforce cultivator become a Six-Path Roamer—until him. They say he has countless ties to First Nebula.”

Xia Zhong’s face tightened.

The fact Xia Bei Yi dared confront Wang Jie meant that back in Frostglow Sect, Wang Jie had never been his match.

And yet Frostglow Sect hadn’t fallen that long ago. Now Wang Jie stood on the same level as Yan Long.

Xia Zhong knew Yan Long’s strength better than anyone.

Xuan Gate’s internal competition was vicious. When Xia Zhong first joined, he challenged top disciples. Forget Yan Long—Qing Ge could defeat him too. He understood the gulf between a Six-Path Roamer and ordinary cultivators.

The thought burned.

How had a lockforce cultivator climbed so high?

On the Imperial Capital Star, Wang Jie waited for news about Blue Star.

He had asked Jun Hua to send people to check whether Blue Star still existed.

The people of Blue Star being taken away didn’t necessarily mean abandoning that planet. If he had the chance, he still wanted to go back and look.

It carried too many memories.

On the screens, figures began to appear.

Wang Jie and the others focused immediately.

“That’s… Blazing Fire club?”

“Yes. A very ordinary club. They still dare come and join this mess.”

“Look at the other one. I recognize them. I’m sure I’ve seen them before.”

A disciple spoke up. “Moon Wind club.”

“Oh, right. Last time, in Second Star Cloud, they competed for a five tribulations chen artifact left by a powerhouse. They got punished hard.”

“Hmph. And they still dare come. They don’t even understand what kind of target this is.”

Over the next few days, more and more clubs were identified.

Those clubs noticed the Silver Radiance Empire monitoring them, but they didn’t care.

They lived on the edge of life and death. Being watched didn’t frighten them.

All it meant was someone had already taken control of the Silver Radiance Empire.

Without knowing who that someone was, they wouldn’t stir trouble.

Occasionally, someone tried to head toward the Imperial Palace, but they were blocked.

Jun Hua and the others grew increasingly uneasy.

In the past, a single Star-Breaking Realm cultivator could shake the entire empire. Now Full-Star Realm and Roaming-Star Realm figures appeared in waves.

Luckily, they weren’t making trouble. Otherwise, the empire would already be in chaos.

The Imperial Palace was watched constantly. Jun Hua could feel gazes drifting nearby like invisible blades. Sleep became impossible.

One day, three people on a merchant ship at the border drew attention.

They looked ordinary. Their combat power couldn’t even be detected. But the way they carried themselves… none of it felt ordinary.

One young man.

One libertine who kept flirting with women nearby.

And one bald youth.

The bald youth was the strangest. He held a short sword that looked like a dead branch—like someone had carved a crude blade out of a stick.

The empire’s people couldn’t find anything wrong.

Which was exactly what was wrong.

They forwarded the footage to the Lakeside Residence.

“Chen Song. Third Zen Heaven.” Yu Zhi’s face tightened as he blurted it out.

Everyone stared at the screen.

Wang Jie stared too.

Chen Song was the Hundred-Star Realm Third Zen Heaven expert his bargain master had shown him on the Dual-Wind Line battlefield—the man with the unsettling, calculating smile.

Then Wang Jie’s gaze shifted to the bald youth.

Mo.

He had participated in the Blue Star trial. By now he should have been Roaming-Star Realm, yet his appearance hadn’t changed much at all.

Even that sword still looked wild—only now it resembled an actual weapon a little more.

“Third Zen Heaven club is here,” Yun Que said, voice heavy.

Everyone felt the weight.

Third Zen Heaven was a mountain—one that could crush Black-White Heaven.

Luan Dao had only been transferred from Milky Way Defense Corporation to Third Zen Heaven for cultivation, and he could already use Outer Zen’s One Blade to defeat Han Ling in a single strike.

That alone told you what Third Zen Heaven truly was.

If Bei Dou bridge-pillar didn’t have Jia Yi Sect, Third Zen Heaven would be the undisputed leader.

The screen feed locked onto the three figures.

They disembarked.

Chen Song remained calm.

The libertine scowled at Mo. “Mo, I told you—don’t carry that sword everywhere. Look at this. We got watched. Any idiot can see something’s off.”

“Sorry, Senior Brother.”

“Sorry? You never listen. Senior Brother me doesn’t get to come out often. I need to make friends. Now I’m being watched—how am I supposed to socialize? My skin is thin, you know.”

Mo sighed. “I understand, Senior—”

The libertine cut him off instantly, turning and smiling at a woman nearby. “Beauty, would you be willing to have dinner with me?”

“Get lost.”

“Gladly!” He cleared his throat and pivoted back. “Right, Junior Brother—where were we? Oh, right. Senior Brother me has thin skin. Being watched makes me uncomfortable. See, you still don’t listen—”

He spotted another woman and lit up again. “Beauty, I’m Lu Li. May I ask your name?”

“Who are you? Why are you bothering my wife?”

“I’m asking for directions.”

In the Lakeside Residence, everyone watched in silence.

That shameless man was a Third Zen Heaven disciple too?

More screens streamed in, then were dismissed.

Until an hour later, when a group of eleven walked out of a port—too blatant to ignore.

They were immediately flagged and forwarded. No one even bothered pretending.

The combat power detector practically screamed at their presence.

Wang Jie recognized a familiar face at once.

Su Su.

She had returned.

Back then, she and Qing Xiao should have been taken by the ancient sword bridge-pillar.

And there was Qing Xiao too.

Had both been redeemed?

What price had Singing Phoenix Hall and the void mountain range paid?

Had Zhi Ye returned as well?

These people were from Second Star Cloud.

“It’s Xu Huang club,” Yu Zhi said. “Formed jointly by the void mountain range and Singing Phoenix Hall. They’ve always been close.”

“Is their leader from the void mountain range? I don’t recognize him.”

Singing Phoenix Hall was nearly all women. A man leading this group was unusual.

Wu Yuan spoke calmly. “Su Ji Kong.”

That answered everything.

Singing Phoenix Hall. The Su clan.

“The Su clan even has men who walk outside?” someone murmured. “I heard the women handle matters beyond the hall and the men remain within. And their bridgeway art can’t be passed to men. If he can stand as their representative…”

Wu Yuan’s voice lowered. “Su Ji Kong has no fate with bridgeway art. He found another path. He destroyed his own hearing and relied on monstrous talent to reach Hundred-Star Realm. His status in Singing Phoenix Hall is not low. He can’t compare to Su Xian Yin, but he’s not far behind.”

“Sending him out means Singing Phoenix Hall is taking this seriously.”