Chapter 302

Chapter 302: You All Are Still the Ruthless Ones

The group surrounded Wu Yuan protectively, their wary gazes sweeping the surroundings.

Wu Yuan coughed up blood once more, bitterness heavy in his eyes as he murmured softly, “The gap is still too wide.”

Wu Jiang felt deep sorrow; the defeat of his master by Shu Mu Night had become an aching wound in his heart, and now, losing again to Shao Ling’er, he knew he would never overcome this humiliation in his lifetime.

“Shao Ling’er might not have even used half of her true strength,” Wu Yuan suddenly uttered chilling words.

Everyone stared at him, stunned.

Only Wang Jie was not surprised.

If Shao Ling’er’s true target was Shu Mu Night, she might not have shown even a third of her power, let alone half.

Because Shu Mu Night was simply too powerful.

In the same realm, he was unmatched.

Wang Jie knew clearly that if he himself needed only one move to defeat a slightly stronger opponent in the same realm, the gap between Wu Yuan and Shao Ling’er would be even more exaggerated than Wu Yuan described.

Even Wu Yuan himself couldn’t fathom Shao Ling’er’s depths.

This woman might already be close to a Star Guardian, even if she hadn’t yet attained it.

The group stood silently on a stretch of colored ground, Wu Yuan quietly swallowed an elixir and rested.

No one spoke.

At the moment, watching the Dao One Club was impossible; even keeping an eye on the descendant of the Nan family among them was out of the question.

Knowing there was a treasure, yet unable to obtain it—such frustration was maddening.

“Wang Jie,” Wu Yuan called out after a short while.

Wang Jie approached him.

“How is it? Have you determined who it is?” Wu Yuan asked softly, causing everyone to turn their gazes toward Wang Jie.

Wang Jie shook his head, “I’m still unsure. I planned to test them one by one.” He hadn’t intended to speak openly about it. If he admitted this and considered he’d deliberately intercepted Yun Que’s move toward Zhi, they would realize he already knew Zhi’s identity, making it impossible to explain.

How would he justify knowing Zhi’s identity? It would quickly lead them to guess he had joined Star Dome Visage, as only Star Dome Visage knew everything and could reveal such information.

Mentioning that the Nan family’s descendant was at the Dao One Club was already his limit.

This was Wang Jie’s first mission from Star Dome Visage; even if he couldn’t complete it perfectly, he mustn’t perform too poorly.

Yun Que asked with curiosity, “Junior Brother, were you just planning to test them one by one earlier?”

Wang Jie nodded calmly, “Unfortunately, I couldn’t even defeat the first opponent I encountered. The disciples of Sincere One Dao are truly formidable.”

Yu Zhi nodded in agreement, “Those disciples indeed rival Six Dao Wanderers. There’s nothing to be done. After all, no matter the faction, those who join the club are all geniuses. Perhaps they are not considered the absolute best in Sincere One Dao, but placed in our Black White Heaven…”

Yu Zhi trailed off, her meaning clear to everyone.

Wu Yuan had once been the strongest among the Six Dao Wanderers, and now, as the top Elder of Hundred Star Realm, he had fallen so easily before Shao Ling’er. Even Wu Yuan himself had never anticipated such defeat.

Half a day later, someone approached. It was Ke Mu Sheng.

“Brother Wu, how are you feeling now?” Ke Mu Sheng asked, watching Wu Yuan with serious eyes.

Wu Yuan replied bitterly, “My defeat was miserable—you saw it clearly enough.”

The train was only so big.

Everyone had witnessed it.

Ke Mu Sheng’s expression turned grave, “That’s exactly why I want to cooperate with you, Brother Wu, to deal with Shao Ling’er.”

Wu Yuan remained silent.

Ke Mu Sheng continued, “I don’t know why Brother Wu fought Shao Ling’er, but I imagine there must be some grudge between you. In a one-on-one fight, perhaps no one on this train has confidence to defeat her. Our only chance is to join hands. What do you say, Brother Wu?”

He reassured further, “Brother Wu, rest assured, all of Shao Ling’er’s stripes will belong to you. We won’t take a single one.”

Wu Yuan studied Ke Mu Sheng intently, “Your alliance is truly willing to pay any price to counter Sincere One Dao.”

Ke Mu Sheng sighed helplessly, “Sincere One Dao has pressed us far too brutally. A single Shu Mu Night has already robbed us of our future. If Shao Ling’er rises as well, I can’t imagine who in our Southern Star Bridge Pillars could possibly stand against them. Perhaps fleeing is our only path left.”

“These words come directly from my heart. Not a trace of deceit. It is my honest sincerity toward you, Brother Wu. Will you agree to cooperate?”

Wu Yuan said, “Whether we cooperate or not isn’t something I can decide alone. Brother Ke, you should return first.”

Ke Mu Sheng nodded, “Understood. Take care, Brother Wu.” Having said that, he turned and left.

Remaining in place, Wu Yuan looked toward everyone else and said, “Ke Mu Sheng wants to kill Shao Ling’er, but our goal is finding any surviving descendants of the Nan family. Do you all think we should cooperate?”

“Let me be clear: even if we join forces, Ke Mu Sheng and I together still cannot defeat Shao Ling’er.”

The group exchanged glances, none able to decide.

Wu Yuan turned toward Wang Jie and said, “However, we might create an opportunity for you to locate the Nan descendant. I doubt Shao Ling’er even knows herself that the Nan descendant is in her possession.”

Wang Jie nodded, “That’s my guess as well.”

Yu Zhi said, “If that’s the case, there’s a foundation for cooperation. However, we must still be cautious about Ke Mu Sheng.”

“That’s natural.”

“Let’s go exchange stripe fragments first and see if we can gain anything useful. It’ll also ease Shao Ling’er’s suspicions.”

The stripe exchange area was much emptier than Wang Jie had imagined. It was the correct location, yet only a few people wandered about cautiously, each glance filled with wariness.

Only those powerful clubs like Black White Heaven, guarded by hundred-star realm cultivators, dared to stride openly.

Wang Jie spotted Lan Ning.

Though the woman had disguised her appearance, she couldn’t mask her aura.

Seeing Wang Jie looking her way, Lan Ning hurriedly lowered her head, afraid to meet his gaze and risk being recognized.

Yu Zhi took out all their stripe fragments, shook them to make a noise, and announced, “Everyone, take a look. These are collected by our Black White Heaven Club. If you have what we need, we can trade.”

No one would hide fragments intentionally, because if they happened to have exactly the piece Black White Heaven Club needed, it meant their own fragment was useless to themselves anyway. It would be better to trade for something else and try to assemble another set.

But of course, the price would be raised.

Many gazes briefly turned toward them, then swiftly shifted away.

Wu Yuan and the others weren’t in a rush. They waited patiently, confident that anyone holding a needed fragment wouldn’t conceal it forever.

Wang Jie walked toward Lan Ning.

Lan Ning became tense, her breath quickening as she immediately turned, trying to leave.

“Where are you going?” Wang Jie’s voice followed after her.

Lan Ning stood still, keeping her back turned, “I don’t have the fragment you need.”

Wang Jie smiled lightly and slowly walked toward her.

The closer he came, the more anxious Lan Ning grew, her breathing becoming difficult.

Though Wu Yuan had been defeated by Shao Ling’er, dealing with Lan Ning’s group would be effortless. Even without Wu Yuan, Wang Jie alone could crush her easily.

Standing just behind her, Wang Jie asked softly, “Are you sure you don’t have it?”

Lan Ning’s voice turned respectful, “Truly, I don’t. Please forgive me, my lord.”

“I’ll ask one more time: Do you have it or not?” Wang Jie’s voice became colder, laced with subtle threat.

Han Ling and the others watched Lan Ning closely, suspecting Wang Jie had uncovered something suspicious.

Lan Ning grew even more tense. She slowly turned around and bowed respectfully, “My lord, please forgive me. If we had it, we wouldn’t hold onto it. After all, it’s useless to keep, and we’d have no reason to hide it.”

Wang Jie also bent forward slightly, raised his head, and fixed his gaze on her eyes.

Lan Ning stared back anxiously, her palms becoming sweaty.

After staring quietly for a while, Wang Jie simply turned and walked away.

Lan Ning sighed with relief and hurriedly departed.

“Junior Brother Wang, did she seem suspicious to you?” Yu Zhi asked curiously.

Wang Jie shrugged, “I was testing her. Her eyes seemed evasive; I was worried she might be hiding something.”

Yu Zhi laughed lightly, “So that was it. No wonder you suspected her. It’s your first time joining our club’s activities, after all. Actually, the smaller clubs always act like this toward us. Regardless of their true intentions, they must appear harmless to avoid provoking us.”

Wang Jie nodded with understanding, “Ah, so I was overthinking.”

Everyone waited patiently.

After about half a day, a suspicious-looking individual approached, discreetly showing half a stripe fragment.

Yu Zhi’s eyes lit up, seeing this half-fragment perfectly matched one they already possessed, completing the pattern.

“Trade?”

“Yes, but I have a condition.”

“Speak,” Yu Zhi didn’t refuse; this was the expected premium price. Otherwise, the individual could hide the fragment indefinitely, preventing anyone from assembling it. That was the unspoken rule.

The man swallowed nervously, “I want you to kill someone for me.” Seeing the unfriendly looks, he quickly added, “Not as a hired assassination, but as part of the trade. Besides, the person I want dead is only in the Wandering Star Realm—my rival within my club. Absolutely no threat to any of you.”

Yu Zhi stared at him, “You’re trying to use us. This payment seems inadequate.”

The man clenched his teeth, “I can give you one more stripe fragment.”

Yu Zhi glanced at Han Ling, “Junior Brother Han, would you mind going?”

Han Ling nodded, looking at the man, “Lead the way.”

Wang Jie calmly watched as they left. Not long afterward, Han Ling returned, holding two fragments, one exactly matching theirs.

Under everyone’s gaze, Yu Zhi assembled the pieces.

It formed a red stripe. Immediately, the same scene unfolded: countless starsea stones rained down from the void, easily numbering in the millions.

Wu Yuan sighed with disappointment, “Everyone, let’s divide them up.”

Although common, starsea stones had considerable value, and no one would refuse extra money. Quickly, more than a dozen people divided them, with Wang Jie receiving six hundred thousand starsea stones—a fortune equal to six billion starstones.

They continued waiting, hoping for more trades.

Throughout the area, similar stripe assemblies occurred, with red stripes being most common, always resulting in starsea stones. It was baffling how many starsea stones the Nan family had hidden—truly exaggerated.

White stripes had also been assembled, yielding star artifacts and pills of significant worth.

But no one had yet completed a yellow stripe.

Techniques and skills treasured enough by the Nan family to place aboard the Four Seasons Train were surely extraordinary.

Wang Jie quietly hoped for a yellow stripe, desiring more Red Moon techniques.

Ke Mu Sheng returned, asking, “Brother Wu, have you considered?”

These past days, Wu Yuan had thoroughly discussed it with everyone, awaiting Ke Mu Sheng’s return.

“We can cooperate,” was Wu Yuan’s answer.

Ke Mu Sheng was delighted, “Wonderful! I have another candidate in mind—Yun Jian of Armor One Sect’s Yun family. Armor One Sect has opposed Sincere One Dao for countless years. If we ask, Yun Jian will surely help us against Shao Ling’er.”

Wu Yuan shook his head, “There’s no need. We have a better method.”

Ke Mu Sheng looked confused.

Wu Yuan remained silent, allowing Yu Zhi to step forward and explain, “We simply need to spread word externally that Shao Ling’er has obtained the Nan family’s bridge-building coordinates.”

Ke Mu Sheng was shocked, “Bridge-building coordinates?”

Wu Yuan nodded, “Every powerful force probably has secret bridge-building coordinates. The Nan family wouldn’t be an exception. If we claim Shao Ling’er discovered coordinates from the assembled red stripes, then countless others will move against her without us needing to recruit anyone.”

Ke Mu Sheng stared deeply at Wu Yuan and the others, sighing with admiration, “You’re truly ruthless.”