Chapter 316

Chapter 316: Black-White Heaven Wang Jie

Luo Yan watched Wang Jie with unconcealed admiration.

This was someone from the Zhi family—and she’d come here to apologize. For his lord to force that kind of submission… what did that even mean?

In the distance, the people who followed Luo Yan stared too, their eyes full of awe, as if Wang Jie had become something beyond them.

Wang Jie had always been the kind of person who repaid grudges. Back then, Zhi Shu had tried to ruin him more than once—especially during the fight over star-devourer. If he hadn’t had enough methods, he would have died there.

She had been a hurdle on his path into the universe.

In his mind, revenge was how he closed the book on that part of his life.

But now she stood before him, respectful to the point of swallowing her pride.

How was he supposed to strike?

The truth was, the hatred was gone.

Without anger, there was no fuel.

There were only two people Wang Jie still wanted to repay in full—Zuo Tian and Shu Mu Ye.

As for Zhi Shu…

He looked her in the eye. “If you hadn’t come, I would’ve forgotten you.”

Zhi Shu’s body jerked. Her jaw tightened, humiliation spreading like poison through her chest.

He wasn’t pretending. It wasn’t bravado. It was real contempt.

Why?

She was from the Zhi family, backed by Old Ancestor Zhi Qing, and yet a Lockforce cultivator looked down on her?

Forgotten?

Then what had all her schemes and efforts amounted to?

If Wang Jie had raged and retaliated, she would’ve suffered—but at least it would have made sense.

This was worse.

And the more she thought, the angrier she became.

If he didn’t have a Star Dao Master behind him, if her clan’s elders hadn’t warned her… why would she ever come here to apologize?

He was just a Lockforce cultivator.

So what if he was a Six-Path Roamer now?

No matter how dazzling he looked, once he reached Hundred-Star Realm he’d fall behind. He’d never reach it anyway—much less Star-Refining Realm.

What gave him the right to despise her?

He was cannon fodder.

“Lord!” Luo Yan suddenly shouted. “The Enlightenment Tea has been handed out!”

Wang Jie looked up.

At the same moment, across the four Bridge-Pillars, countless people turned to their personal terminals. Everyone was watching. Waiting.

How many cups this time?

Who would surprise the world?

A projection filled the sky: a Dao-Enlightenment Tree rooted in the void, swaying gently.

Someone walked beneath it and began to brew tea.

That was Enlightenment Tea.

The scene looked almost ordinary.

And yet, in this instant, it spread across the four Bridge-Pillars. From common cultivators to great powers like Jia Yi Sect, everyone watched.

The first cup was ready.

The brewer raised a hand and spoke in a voice that was deep yet distant. “Reverse-Delusion Mountain, Wu Ming.”

Breaths caught everywhere.

Reverse-Delusion Mountain belonged to the Eastern Dipper Bridge-Pillar. It wasn’t a giant on the scale of Jia Yi Sect, but its strength was terrifying—standing shoulder to shoulder with Bu Zou Guan.

A Reverse-Delusion Mountain disciple receiving Enlightenment Tea wasn’t surprising.

Even if the three Bridge-Lords didn’t know much about Wu Ming.

By the Thunder Well, Wang Jie stared at the screen.

Wu Ming.

As expected.

At the Full-Star Realm, Wu Ming was the first person to give Wang Jie a true sense of danger.

Even the Eleven Seals Dou Huo he’d met on the battlefield hadn’t felt like this.

The second cup was brewed.

“Cold-Smoke Ferry, Gui Xiao Die.”

Wang Jie frowned slightly. “Who is Gui Xiao Die?”

“Lord, you’ve been secluded under the Thunder Well,” Luo Yan said quickly. “You might not know. Gui Xiao Die—”

He launched into what he’d heard: the Cold-Smoke Ferry, the three “impossibles,” the Three-Legged Mystic Turtle.

Wang Jie was genuinely stunned.

Those conditions were vicious.

He knew exactly how hard it was to beat someone from Tian Cang’s Guarding Star Realm.

And if he thought about it… hadn’t he already completed one of them?

Zhi Shu, still staring at the projection, said quietly, “People outside focused on Gui Xiao Die because she can control the Three-Legged Mystic Turtle. But now it seems she’s powerful in her own right—she even received Enlightenment Tea.”

The third cup was brewed.

“Cheng Yi Dao, Shao Gu Chen.”

No surprise. Not even a little.

Shao Gu Chen was arguably the biggest favorite in this year’s Starry Sky Martial Tournament.

He had shattered thirteen stars—just like Shu Mu Ye after rebuilding three times.

That was absurd.

It meant that without even rebuilding through Tai Su Scripture, Shao Gu Chen already matched Shu Mu Ye’s Star-Breaking Realm strength after three rebuilds.

Even Shao Ling Er couldn’t compare.

Wang Jie listened to Luo Yan’s hurried explanations and frowned.

How did Cheng Yi Dao produce so many monsters?

The fourth cup was brewed.

“Nan Dou alliance, Qing Kong.”

Only those from the Southern Dipper Bridge-Pillar truly understood how special Qing Kong was.

Born with purple pupils and breathtaking beauty, rumored to possess the blood-marrow of some powerful existence. They said she was born at the peak of Ten Seals, and her first cry reached Star-Breaking Realm. Now she was Full-Star—but only because she deliberately suppressed her realm.

Her true strength remained unknown.

Wang Jie had seen her during the club struggle, but he hadn’t fought her.

Still—there was no question she was dangerous.

The fifth cup was brewed.

“Sword Pool, Hou Qing Ge.”

Hou Qing Ge?

Who?

No one had heard the name.

With the surname Hou, she had to belong to the hou family of Sword Pool, and she should possess the hou family bridgeway art.

And yet, even Sword Pool’s own disciples were confused.

They knew Hou Xiao. They knew plenty of hou family elites.

But Hou Qing Ge was unfamiliar.

Discussions ignited at once.

The Star Vault Vista held information outsiders couldn’t touch. If they chose her, she had to be extraordinary.

Within Sword Pool, countless eyes turned toward a lonely little courtyard—the place said to be Hou Qing Ge’s residence.

That girl was that strong?

“Mother!” a young woman shouted, frantic. “Hou Qing Ge actually received Enlightenment Tea? No! That tea is mine. Mother, you have to help me. If I can drink it, I’ll shine in the Roaming-Star Realm tournament!”

An old crone stared toward that courtyard, her gaze chilling. “Don’t worry. Mother will take it for you.”

The sixth cup was brewed.

“Jia Yi Sect, Wen Qing.”

In an instant, Jia Yi Sect erupted in excitement. Finally—one of theirs.

None of the Four Wandering Gods came from the Northern Dipper Bridge-Pillar. For the Northern Dipper Bridge-Pillar—and especially for Jia Yi Sect—that was a bitter wound.

Now, someone from the sect had received Enlightenment Tea.

That meant the Star Vault Vista recognized him. It meant a real chance at the crown.

And if he took the crown, he would become a Wandering God in the future.

This year, Jia Yi Sect had hope.

Wang Jie glanced at Luo Yan. “Wen Qing?”

Luo Yan looked blank. “Lord… I didn’t see any mention of him in what I gathered.”

Zhi Shu answered instead. “Wen Qing is from the wen family of Jia Yi Sect. His brother is Wen Ze.”

Wang Jie’s expression shifted sharply. “Wen Ze—one of Tian Cang’s Guarding Star Realm people?”

Luo Yan sucked in a breath. “Guarding Star Realm?”

Zhi Shu nodded, face serious. “Yes.”

Jia Yi Sect might lack a Wandering God, but it had someone from Tian Cang’s Guarding Star Realm.

That person was Wen Ze.

Wang Jie hadn’t expected Wen Qing to be that man’s brother.

No wonder.

The seventh cup was brewed.

“Black-White Heaven, Wang Jie.”

For a heartbeat, Wang Jie went still.

Luo Yan and Zhi Shu both turned to him, stunned beyond words.

Wang Jie?

The universe erupted.

Most people had never heard that name.

But Black-White Heaven exploded into cheers after a single stunned pause. Someone from Black-White Heaven had received Enlightenment Tea. Whoever it was, it meant they were guaranteed a top-twenty finish.

How many years had it been?

Black-White Heaven had never placed in the top twenty.

They couldn’t even break into the top hundred.

And now—Enlightenment Tea.

Wang Jie stared at the screen, almost disbelieving.

Back then, Si Yao had shown him images of many prodigies. Wu Ming. Qing Kong. People like that.

At the time, even reaching the top hundred felt like the best he could hope for.

And now he had received Enlightenment Tea.

Did they really think that highly of him?

Wang Jie wanted to claim he was aiming for first place—but the outside world didn’t know that.

Was it because he’d beaten Fang He, becoming a Six-Path Roamer?

But every person who received Enlightenment Tea had that level of strength, at minimum.

What once seemed unimaginable now felt commonplace among these seven.

He had never expected to be one of them.

And his cup was the last.

The projection vanished.

Wang Jie lowered his gaze.

So the Star Vault Vista had acknowledged him.

Luo Yan’s voice shook. “L-Lord… that Wang Jie… that’s you, isn’t it?”

Wang Jie nodded. “Probably. Unless there’s another Wang Jie in Black-White Heaven.”

Luo Yan nearly burst with joy. “Lord! You received Enlightenment Tea! The whole universe is watching—Lord, you’re incredible!”

He spun and ran off, shouting the news to anyone who would listen.

Zhi Shu remained frozen.

She admitted Wang Jie was strong. Six-Path Roamer strength. A Star Dao Master behind him.

But he was still a Lockforce cultivator.

Why did the Star Vault Vista recognize him?

Why did he receive Enlightenment Tea?

Was he truly that extraordinary?

In that instant, her earlier resentment evaporated into nothing.

If the Star Vault Vista recognized Wang Jie, then what was it to be ignored by him? Why would that be surprising?

Wang Jie looked at her with a small, amused smile. “Anything else?”

Zhi Shu swallowed hard and stumbled back a few steps. Then she bowed deeply. “I, Zhi Shu, apologize to Senior Brother. Please forgive my offenses.”

Her attitude had changed so completely Wang Jie could feel it.

One cup of Enlightenment Tea—and she became someone else.

The universe was that kind of place.

Without strength, you were nothing.

That was why fame mattered.

Wang Jie waved her away. Not because he was kind—because he couldn’t be bothered. He simply didn’t have the fire to take revenge anymore.

This time, Zhi Shu showed no trace of dissatisfaction. She bowed again and left.

Wang Jie looked up at the starry sky.

His past wouldn’t stay hidden now.

Seven cups of Enlightenment Tea, gifted to seven people.

Not many, compared to some past years.

And among those seven, the most controversial was Wang Jie.

Black-White Heaven’s background was one thing.

But once word spread that he was a Lockforce cultivator, the universe shook.

Across the four Bridge-Pillars, silence spread.

Everything about him was being dug up, as if he’d become the center of the cosmos.

Back in Suo Xing Jian, Du Xian stared at the investigation files, her eyes wide.

How was this possible?

He had beaten Shu Mu Ye?

That could no longer be hidden.

Not because the Star Vault Vista had investigated it.

Because Jia Yi Sect, Milky Way Defense Corporation, Third Zen Heaven, and the heaven-insect people had already spread the news far and wide.