Chapter 302

Chapter 302: You Really Are Ruthless

Black-White Heaven closed ranks around Wu Yuan, keeping alert as he coughed blood into his sleeve.

“The gap is still too big,” Wu Yuan said hoarsely.

Wu Jiang’s expression tightened with despair. Master’s loss to Shu Mu Ye had become a knot in his heart. Now he’d lost to Shao Ling Er too. It felt like a wall he would never climb.

“Shao Ling Er may not have used even half her strength,” Wu Yuan said quietly.

The words landed like ice.

Most of them stared, speechless.

Only Wang Jie wasn’t surprised. If Shao Ling Er’s true target was Shu Mu Ye, then half might be generous. She might not even be showing a third.

Because Shu Mu Ye was a monster.

They found a relatively stable land fragment and waited while Wu Yuan swallowed pills and steadied his breathing.

Silence settled.

They couldn’t keep tailing the Dao Yi Club now. Even if the Nan family descendant truly was among them, Black-White Heaven didn’t have the strength to press further.

Knowing treasure existed and being unable to seize it was its own kind of torment.

“Wang Jie,” Wu Yuan called.

Wang Jie stepped closer.

Wu Yuan studied him. “Well? Have you confirmed who it is?”

Everyone leaned in.

Wang Jie shook his head. “Not yet. I want to test them one by one.”

He couldn’t say more. The moment he named Zhi, questions would follow—questions he couldn’t answer. How could he possibly have known her identity?

The only explanation would point back to the star vault vista.

He’d already pushed as far as he dared by saying there might be a Nan family descendant in the Dao Yi Club. That was the limit.

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

Wang Jie nodded. “Too bad my first opponent was someone I couldn’t beat. Cheng Yi Dao’s disciples are all frightening.”

Yu Zhi exhaled. “Those few were all on the level of six-path roamers. There’s nothing to do about it. Anyone who can join a club is a genius.

“They might not be top-tier inside Cheng Yi Dao… but compared to Black-White Heaven…”

He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to.

Half a day later, Ke Mu Sheng arrived.

“Brother Wu,” he said, calm and solemn. “How do you feel?”

Wu Yuan gave a bitter laugh. “I lost badly. You saw it.”

The train wasn’t large. Everyone had seen.

Ke Mu Sheng’s expression didn’t change. “That’s why I’m here. I want to cooperate with you and deal with Shao Ling Er together.”

Wu Yuan didn’t respond at once.

Ke Mu Sheng continued, “I don’t know why you fought her. You must have history. But one-on-one… no one in this train can be sure of victory against her. Only by joining hands do we have a chance.”

He paused, then added, “And don’t worry. Everything from Shao Ling Er’s side—every striped key fragment—we’ll give it all to you. We won’t take a single piece.”

Wu Yuan’s gaze sharpened. “So the alliance is willing to pay that price just to target Cheng Yi Dao.”

Ke Mu Sheng’s mouth twisted. “They’ve squeezed us too hard.

“Shu Mu Ye alone has already stolen our future. If Shao Ling Er rises too… I can’t imagine anyone in the Nandou bridge-pillar resisting them. We’ll have nowhere to stand but exile.”

He met Wu Yuan’s eyes. “I’m speaking plainly. No tricks. Will you cooperate, Brother Wu?”

Wu Yuan said, “This isn’t my decision alone. Go back first.”

Ke Mu Sheng nodded. “Fine. Take care.”

After he left, Wu Yuan turned to his people. “Ke Mu Sheng wants Shao Ling Er dead. We want the Nan family descendant. Should we cooperate?”

He lifted a hand. “One thing first—even if we cooperate, with Ke Mu Sheng and me together, we still can’t beat her.”

No one answered immediately.

Wu Yuan looked at Wang Jie. “But it might create an opening for you. If we force a real clash, you may have a chance to identify the Nan family descendant.”

Wang Jie nodded slowly. “I suspect even Shao Ling Er doesn’t know she has a Nan family descendant with her.”

“Agreed,” Yu Zhi said. “That gives us a basis. But we still need to watch Ke Mu Sheng.”

“Naturally.”

Yu Zhi continued, “First, go to the striped key exchange. See if we can trade into a complete key. It also makes Shao Ling Er lower her guard.”

The exchange site was far quieter than Wang Jie expected.

The location was right—but only a handful of cultivators wandered around, eyes sharp, bodies tense. Everyone feared an ambush.

Only a faction like Black-White Heaven, with a hundred-star realm expert at its head, could step into the open without immediately being hunted.

Wang Jie spotted Lan Ning.

She’d altered her face, but her qi gave her away. The moment she sensed his gaze, she lowered her head and tried to fade into the crowd.

Yu Zhi casually produced their striped key fragments and shook them so they clinked. “Look closely. These are what Black-White Heaven has gathered. If anyone has what we need, bring it forward. We trade.”

No one truly hid fragments at an exchange like this. If your piece matched what Black-White Heaven needed, that meant your own fragment was likely useless to you anyway—you couldn’t complete the key. Better to trade it for something that might help.

Of course, there was always a markup.

Wang Jie walked toward Lan Ning.

Lan Ning stiffened and turned to leave.

“Why are you running?” Wang Jie called.

She froze with her back to him. “I don’t have any striped key fragments you need.”

Wang Jie approached one step at a time.

The closer he got, the tighter Lan Ning’s breathing became. Her shoulders were rigid, hands clenched.

Wu Yuan might have lost to Shao Ling Er, but against Lan Ning’s level, Black-White Heaven could crush her without effort. Wang Jie alone could do it.

He stopped behind her. “Really none?”

Lan Ning bowed, voice respectful. “None, Lord. Please forgive me.”

“I’ll ask one more time. Do you have one or not?”

The cold edge in his voice made Han Ling and the others tense, as if expecting an ambush.

Lan Ning turned slowly, still bowed. “Truly none. If we had one, we wouldn’t keep it. Holding it would be useless. We have no reason to hide it.”

Wang Jie studied her eyes for a long moment, then stepped back.

Lan Ning exhaled shakily and hurried away.

Yu Zhi chuckled. “Junior Brother Wang, did you think she was hiding something?”

Wang Jie shrugged. “Her eyes kept darting. I wanted to test her.”

“That’s normal,” Yu Zhi said. “Weaker factions always act like that in front of us. Whether they’re truly afraid or not, they have to show deference so we don’t treat them as a threat.”

“I see.” Wang Jie nodded. “I overthought it.”

They waited.

Half a day later, a cultivator crept in like a thief and produced half of a striped key fragment.

Yu Zhi’s eyes lit up. It matched one of their halves perfectly.

“Trade?” Yu Zhi asked.

“Trade,” the man agreed, then swallowed. “But I have a condition.”

“Say it.”

This was the unspoken rule. If someone had the missing half, they could always refuse and keep it useless in their pocket just to spite everyone. The only way to secure it was to pay.

“I want you to help me kill someone,” the man said quickly.

Hostile looks snapped toward him. He hurried on, “Not hiring—trading. The target is only roaming-star realm. A rival in my club. He’s no threat to you.”

Yu Zhi’s gaze was flat. “Using Black-White Heaven for that… this fragment alone isn’t enough.”

The man gritted his teeth. “Then I’ll give you another striped key fragment too.”

Yu Zhi gestured. “Junior Brother Han. Make a trip.”

Han Ling nodded. “Lead the way.”

Wang Jie waited with the others.

Less than half a day later, Han Ling returned with two striped key fragments. One fit a fragment they already held.

Under everyone’s watch, Yu Zhi joined the pieces.

A red striped key clicked into completeness.

The familiar ripple spread.

The void split open—and starsea stones poured out in a glittering flood. More than ten million.

Wu Yuan watched, disappointed. “Divide it.”

Starsea stones were ordinary, but a fortune was a fortune. No one complained as they split the pile.

Wang Jie received six hundred thousand starsea stones.

That translated to six billion starstones. Not small at all.

They stayed at the exchange site, waiting for more opportunities.

Across the train, other keys were being completed too. Most of them were red, and they kept producing starsea stones.

No one could imagine how much currency the Nan family had stored away.

A white striped key had been completed elsewhere as well, producing chen artifacts and pills—valuable enough to make even strong factions turn their heads.

No one had completed a yellow striped key yet.

Anything the Nan family had been willing to store in the Four Seasons Train—methods, battle techniques—would not be simple.

Wang Jie wanted that yellow key most of all. If it contained more of the red moon method…

Ke Mu Sheng arrived again. “Brother Wu. Have you decided?”

Over the past days, Wu Yuan had already discussed it with his people. He didn’t hesitate now.

“We’ll cooperate.”

Ke Mu Sheng’s face brightened. “Good. I’ve got another candidate too—Yun Jian of Jia Yi Sect’s Yun family. Jia Yi Sect and Cheng Yi Dao have fought for ages. If we persuade him, Yun Jian will definitely help us deal with Shao Ling Er.”

“No need,” Wu Yuan said.

Ke Mu Sheng blinked. “Then… how?”

Yu Zhi stepped forward. “Spread a rumor. Say Shao Ling Er opened a red striped key and obtained the Nan family’s bridge-building coordinates.”

Ke Mu Sheng’s eyes widened. “Bridge-building coordinates?”

Wu Yuan nodded. “Every great force might hide such coordinates. The Nan family should be no exception.

“If word spreads that Shao Ling Er has them, then it won’t be only us who target her. We won’t need to recruit anyone.”

Ke Mu Sheng stared at them for a long moment, then let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh.

“You really are ruthless.”