Chapter 294

Chapter 294: Battle at Pei Lake

People searched everywhere, and the gossip sharpened into something hungry.

“I didn’t expect Black-White Heaven to have a lockforce cultivator like that. Full-Star Realm, yet he’s a Six-Path Roamer. I’d like to see him for myself.”

“Hmph. They say he’s tied to First Nebula of Bei Dou bridge-pillar. He only became a Six-Path Roamer through shady dealings, not real strength. What’s there to see? Just grab him.”

“Do you really believe a Full-Star Realm lockforce cultivator can stand against Six-Path Roamer level?”

“With Senior Brother Pei’s strength, dealing with him will be easy,” someone said. “But take care not to kill him. We still need him to find red moon.”

“Relax,” another voice laughed. “Once we find him, catching him will be effortless. I’ll be very gentle.”

No one argued.

No one believed a Full-Star Realm lockforce cultivator could truly compete with a Six-Path Roamer.

A Six-Path Roamer might not be the absolute peak of Roaming-Star Realm, but it was close—a top-tier powerhouse among the clubs.

How could a lockforce cultivator compare?

The mountain hideout had been rigged with detectors. The moment the searching factions found it, it also meant Black-White Heaven learned they’d been discovered.

Wang Jie watched the feed on his terminal. “Several factions found it at the same time. Jun Hua probably didn’t sell us out.”

Yu Zhi’s expression was cool. “At this point it doesn’t matter who did. If we stay hidden, Imperial Capital Star is vast. It won’t be easy to find us.”

“But if we never show ourselves,” a disciple asked, “who finds red moon?”

Silence.

That was the heart of it.

They weren’t here to hide forever. They needed red moon too.

Han Song hesitated. “If we withdraw and other lockforce cultivators fail to find red moon, will everyone leave? Then we come back and search?”

Han Ling gave a bitter smile. “Then there’s only one outcome. The factions behind these clubs will pressure our sect and force us to hand over Junior Brother Wang to find red moon.”

“We still have a chance while it’s clubs fighting clubs,” he continued. “But if the backing powers step in, even if other bridge-pillars lose their chance… we lose ours too.”

Everyone thought of Jia Yi Sect. Third Zen Heaven.

Those giants.

If it reached them, Black-White Heaven would get nothing.

Wu Yuan looked toward the corner. “Wang Jie. You decide. If you want to retreat, we leave. If you want to fight for it, we go out.”

All eyes fell on Wang Jie.

He lifted his head and looked toward the starry sky.

The ground trembled again—another clash somewhere nearby.

Everyone was holding back. If they didn’t, Imperial Capital Star would have already been torn apart.

Wang Jie watched the distant flashes for a moment, then made his choice.

“Back to the Lakeside Residence.”

They circled around and returned anyway.

The staff and guards were dismissed, evacuated for their own safety.

Then they waited—quietly—for the clubs to come to them.

Wang Jie expected negotiation first.

Instead, a sword shadow fell from the moonlit sky and cleaved straight toward the Lakeside Residence.

Wu Yuan shot upward. “Yuan Qiao Qiao.”

He met the strike head-on, starforce roaring.

Inside the residence, everyone stared in shock.

No words.

No warning.

She was attacking outright.

Snatching him.

The last time, this woman had been the first to move against the Imperial Palace too.

From the distance came a tide of sword qi—so dense it looked like visible blades pushing through the air.

Figures approached with it.

Yu Zhi and Han Ling stepped out.

“Junior Brother Wang,” Yu Zhi said sharply, “stay inside. Don’t move.”

Wang Jie watched the battle outside.

Black-White Heaven had gathered all its Six-Path Roamer figures here. Aside from him, all five were fighting—and they still couldn’t suppress the enemy.

Numbers shouldn’t have been enough to offset Six-Path Roamer level.

If the enemy could hold five of them, it meant only one thing.

The enemy was strong enough to match.

Then the air turned cold.

Wu Yuan’s voice cracked like thunder. “It’s Spotless Shen Yan. Protect Wang Jie!”

Spotless Shen Yan—one of sword court’s top three disciples.

He hadn’t even entered the battlefield yet, and Wu Yuan was already warning them.

Mo Wan Yin withdrew at once. Wu Jiang and Han Song rushed in to take her place.

From the distance, a man in white walked forward.

He wasn’t fast.

He didn’t need to be.

Before he even arrived, his cold flooded the Lakeside Residence and froze it solid—yet somehow left the outside untouched.

Mo Wan Yin’s thunder pattern froze in midair, locked in ice.

“You can’t stop me,” Shen Yan said, voice calm. “Move.”

His white sword lifted. Sword qi formed from ice itself and shot toward Mo Wan Yin.

Wang Jie’s brow furrowed.

Mo Wan Yin couldn’t hold him.

Shen Yan’s aura was terrifying—far beyond hers.

So this was sword court.

Even a Six-Path Roamer would struggle.

Wang Jie started to step forward—

A gourd appeared beside Mo Wan Yin, abrupt as a blink.

Qing Xiao stepped out of the void. “What if I join?”

Shen Yan didn’t even blink. “Still not enough.”

A zither note rang like steel.

Su Su appeared as well, her fingers poised above the strings. “And if I join too?”

Shen Yan’s eyes sank.

Three top-tier cultivators blocking him—especially Qing Xiao from the void mountain range—meant he couldn’t force his way through without paying a price.

Xu Huang club had stepped in.

But Nine Swords club hadn’t sent only Shen Yan.

From another direction, swordlight flashed as someone streaked straight toward the Lakeside Residence.

Su Su’s zither sound rose to block him, but the world turned white.

A gale of cold swept outward, slamming into everything. Su Su was forced to unleash Eight Tones Eight Annihilations just to keep her footing.

Now it wasn’t the three blocking Shen Yan.

Shen Yan was blocking them.

A man burst into the Lakeside Residence with a sneer and found Wang Jie.

“Little kid,” he said, reaching out, “come with me.”

His name was Pei Lin, one of sword court’s top ten disciples. His arrogance was bone-deep. A lockforce cultivator, in his eyes, wasn’t worth proper respect.

Wang Jie stared at the hand reaching for him.

This man was really trying to take him with his bare hand.

Fine.

Wang Jie raised his own hand and grabbed.

Pei Lin laughed coldly. “Little kid, I’ll teach you today—fame isn’t the same as strength.”

Their hands locked.

Sword qi flared in Pei Lin’s palm, sharp as razors.

He wasn’t stupid. Whether Wang Jie truly had Six-Path Roamer strength or not, his combat power was clearly high. Brute force alone wouldn’t work. Sword qi was the right method.

Then Pei Lin’s expression changed.

His sword qi shattered.

And he—was dragged forward.

“What—”

Wang Jie’s smile flashed.

A heartbeat later, Pei Lin flew.

One kick.

Pei Lin’s body smashed through the interior of the Lakeside Residence and shot out into the distance, crashing straight into the lake.

Even Shen Yan’s gaze flicked over.

Mo Wan Yin exhaled hard.

So sword court really thought Wang Jie became a Six-Path Roamer through background alone?

They were about to learn.

Pei Lin erupted from the lake, furious.

Shen Yan’s voice cut across the battlefield, cold and absolute. “If you can’t catch him, I’ll cripple you.”

Pei Lin’s rage doubled.

He didn’t dare argue with Shen Yan.

He drew his sword and lunged at Wang Jie. “Little kid. You’re going to pay!”

Wang Jie met him head-on.

He used Jia Eight Steps to slip past the blade, then flicked a finger against the sword’s edge.

Pei Lin’s sword qi trembled—not from lack of sharpness, but from the sheer force behind the contact.

He cut again. Wang Jie dodged again.

Pei Lin was strong. Truly strong. Not below Six-Path Roamer level.

If Pei Lin fought to kill, Wang Jie knew winning would be difficult.

But Pei Lin taking him away?

Impossible.

Pei Lin’s sword qi surged and tore open the Lakeside Residence, turning air into slicing light. Sword court’s sword techniques were terrifying to behold.

Wang Jie kept evading—always just enough—and countering whenever there was an opening. His lockforce, his brute strength, even his chen art… every part of him made Pei Lin cautious.

Slowly, Pei Lin’s arrogance cracked into disbelief.

This wasn’t a fake Six-Path Roamer.

This wasn’t a reputation built on favors.

Wang Jie truly possessed Six-Path Roamer-level combat power.

Pei Lin’s face darkened. How did a Full-Star Realm lockforce cultivator become this?

Starforce couldn’t suppress him.

And Pei Lin’s swordplay—was being read.

Then Pei Lin’s stance shifted.

“Long Chuan Three Forms,” he said, voice low. “First sword—new rain!”

Sword qi burst outward in a net so fine it looked like a storm of needle-thin rain. In the blink of an eye, a hundred meters of space became a killing field.

Wang Jie’s surroundings shredded.

He answered instantly with Rain Sword Art—four swords floating behind him, surging with power like a downpour crashing into a sheet of blades.

Sword qi slammed into sword qi.

The clash painted the air with a strange spectacle, as if heavy rain had swallowed a storm of drizzle.

Pei Lin’s eyes widened. “You know sword techniques too?”

He didn’t hesitate. His second form followed immediately.

“Forest sword!”

Swordlight flickered like a blazing sun, stabbing at Wang Jie’s eyes, forcing his vision to blur. Pei Lin used the glare to slip through the gaps—his blade flashed across Wang Jie’s abdomen, tearing the outer robe.

But it stopped.

The cloud-thread robe held.

Pei Lin’s blade snapped up toward Wang Jie’s throat—the exposed kill point.

It should have landed.

It didn’t.

Wang Jie dodged.

Pei Lin’s pupils contracted. Impossible. He had read Wang Jie’s evasion route.

Wang Jie’s Bone-Motion Art let him move beyond prediction so long as his mind kept up.

He struck back with a palm, slamming Pei Lin’s sword. The force traveled along the blade and into Pei Lin’s chest, forcing him back several steps. His blood and qi churned violently.

Before Pei Lin could stabilize, Wang Jie pointed a finger.

Myriad-Stars Finger Art.

Star-shadowed finger strikes descended like a falling constellation.

Pei Lin’s face changed. Starforce surged as he condensed sword qi into layered steps around his body—ringing him in a staircase fortress.

Finger strikes smashed down.

Step after step shattered.

Step after step reformed.

Inside the sword-step barrier, Pei Lin launched a sharp strike toward Wang Jie.

Wang Jie held Myriad-Stars Finger Art in his right hand, then raised his left forearm and pressed down with his wrist guard—crushing the sharp edge head-on.

Cold surged.

Shen Yan was closing.

Wang Jie used sword steps to retreat, opening distance.

Mo Wan Yin and Qing Xiao intercepted the cold together.

High above, a woman’s voice sounded, amused and faintly surprised. “So he really does have Six-Path Roamer-level strength. Wu Yuan, you picked up quite a treasure. Withdraw.”

At her command, Nine Swords club retreated as one.

Pei Lin stared at Wang Jie, unwilling, furious, but he had no choice. He followed.

The battle had been contained within the Lakeside Residence grounds. Aside from the residence itself, there was no damage elsewhere.

Even the Imperial Palace nearby remained intact.

Jun Hua had been watching from a distance. Only when Nine Swords club withdrew did she finally breathe again.

As long as Wang Jie was alive, there was hope.

He was the only one still standing on her side—the only pillar the Silver Radiance Empire had left.

Wu Yuan descended, gaze landing briefly on Su Su and Qing Xiao.

Neither spoke.

They glanced at Wang Jie once, then left.

They had helped only because they didn’t want Wang Jie falling into the hands of ancient sword bridge-pillar—and because they had their own conflicts with Black-White Heaven. On the ying yang battlefield, Wu Yuan had even fought them before.

Mo Wan Yin stepped closer. “Junior Brother Wang, are you hurt?”

Wang Jie smiled. “I’m fine.”

Yu Zhi exhaled, admiration plain. “Pei Lin is one of sword court’s top ten disciples. His strength isn’t below ours. For you to match him… it proves to the world you truly have Six-Path Roamer-level power.”

Wu Yuan nodded once, approval clear. “That Pei Lin would be strong even among our sect’s Six-Path Roamer figures.”

He looked at Wang Jie, his voice steady.

“Wang Jie. Well done.”