Chapter 318
Chapter 318: Time to Step into the Spotlight
Yuan Mu of Sword Court, famed for testing heroes by the sword, forced his way into the Twin Wind battle line with his Full Star Realm cultivation, wounding a powerful Ye Shou from Black White Heaven.
News like this continuously reached Wang Jie’s ears.
Outside, a stage had been set. The Starry Martial Meet was the final spotlight, yet even before the lights shone, the stage bustled endlessly.
Among the participants, only Wang Jie remained enveloped in doubt, facing ceaseless questions and no other voice of support.
“Boss, you clearly defeated Shu Mu Night, yet the outsiders still don’t believe it,” Qing Zheng said angrily, “claiming Black White Heaven fabricated your victory as a stunt. They say Sincere One Dao didn’t retaliate only because of the Southern Dipper Bridge Pillar. I really wish I could rip their lying mouths apart.”
Wang Jie was indifferent. When he first received the Enlightenment Tea, rumors filled the air. But now, he had become yesterday’s news.
The stage was simply too lively—no one could watch it all.
Old Five leaned closer: “Look, someone from the Heavenly Insect Clan was beaten up by Han Lin. Apparently, it’s Han Lin’s half-sister. Wait, isn’t that Insect Ruo Ruo?”
Wang Jie turned to look.
Indeed, it was Insect Ruo Ruo.
Insect Ruo Ruo must have reached Wandering Star Realm by now, yet still lost to Han Lin. Han Lin’s strength was truly impressive.
In the Star Dome report, Insect Ruo Ruo lay bleeding on the ground, while Han Lin looked down coldly, countless black insects swarming behind her.
“It’s typical,” Sister Tang scoffed. “Han Lin’s mother was killed, so of course she hates the Heavenly Insect Clan. Now that she’s grown powerful, they want her back. How predictable.”
Such matters couldn’t be reasoned, only decided by the heart.
The remaining days held no need for further cultivation.
Wang Jie decided to rest, blocking out external news and quietly awaiting the martial meet.
Still, he could pass the time with some minor tasks—like making someone memorize a eulogy.
“How many words?”
“One hundred thousand.”
“Why memorize it?”
“Because I want to hear it.”
Standing before Wang Jie was Grey Claw.
Once his fellow guide back at Golden Hill Base, Grey Claw had once been proud of knowing Wang Jie. Now, he enjoyed a comfortable life, convinced that following Qing Zheng and the others guaranteed him good meals.
Just as expected, he eventually met Wang Jie again.
Grey Claw believed wholeheartedly that if Wang Jie gave him even a little guidance, he’d soar to new heights. Indeed, they were comrades in arms, bonded by shared battles.
Yet Wang Jie actually asked him to memorize a eulogy—one hundred thousand words at that.
Grey Claw was bewildered. [Why do I have to memorize this?]
Yet he couldn’t refuse.
Wang Jie patted his shoulder warmly: “Work hard. I hope to hear it in a few days.”
Grey Claw left with a bitter expression.
Cultivating lock force not only improved battle strength but also enhanced ordinary people’s memory. Grey Claw could manage it, even if it was exhausting. But it didn’t matter—someone had to do it anyway.
After this, he’d need to find a rabbit.
A few days later, Grey Claw returned and recited the entire one hundred thousand-word eulogy in front of Wang Jie. Though stumbling here and there, he completed it.
Wang Jie inspected the material, satisfied. “Good. Now, find me a rabbit.”
Grey Claw gazed toward the sky, sighing, “The pressure of the universe is truly too great; it’s making everyone mad.”
For Wang Jie, no embarrassment was impossible.
“You’re really adorable,” he said, looking at the rabbit, with Grey Claw standing sympathetically behind him. Wang Jie departed calmly under Grey Claw’s pitying gaze.
The next condition required at least five people to hear him individually.
Easy enough.
The task was quickly completed.
Hong Jian gave Wang Jie a hesitant glance but said nothing.
Wang Jie no longer felt the need to explain—he had grown accustomed to such things.
Now, only three ingredients remained for the Immortal Body: telling a prideful woman “I know you’re a spy”; “Holding the pass alone against thousands”; and finally, rejecting a peerless beauty.
He’d delayed these tasks precisely because he had no idea how to complete them. Naturally, he wasn’t in a rush.
A prideful woman was easy enough to find.
But a beauty unmatched beneath the heavens? And he had to reject her?
Wang Jie lounged by the river, leisurely fishing. He didn’t know how, but he could at least try.
Under the gentle sunlight, he unknowingly fell asleep. In his dream, he saw an immense white skeleton large enough to eclipse the Star Dome vanish abruptly, caught on a single fishing line. He jolted awake, staring ahead.
He had encountered this scene on the main battlefield—why did he dream of it now?
“Boss,” Old Nine called through the communicator. “Du Xian has arrived.”
Wang Jie’s eyes flashed. “I’ll be right there.”
Soon, Wang Jie sat face-to-face with Du Xian.
“Congratulations,” Du Xian smiled warmly. “You’ve advanced.”
Wang Jie shrugged. “It wasn’t easy—I almost lost my life.”
“It will all be worth it if you become an analyst for our Star Dome Vision,” Du Xian replied with blind confidence in Star Dome Vision.
Wang Jie avoided the topic. “What brings you here today?”
Du Xian activated a light-screen. “By tradition, Star Dome Vision publishes a special article before the martial meet. It’s straightforward—famous people can leave a line or two for the entire universe to see.”
“What about you? Interested?”
As she spoke, she displayed the article. Many had already left messages.
At first glance, Wang Jie’s eyes were drawn immediately to the words Gui Xiao Die left behind.
“Men, ha ha.”
Four words filled with contempt.
Wang Jie felt speechless. “You even published this?”
Du Xian laughed. “We accept anything.”
Wang Jie continued reading.
“A Single Sword Coming from the East”—Xi Ci.
“Killing Formation Shrouding the Starry Sky”—Li Ao.
“Either Victory or Death”—Yuan Mu.
“I Am Not Cross-Eyed”—Zhou Ye.
Wang Jie stared at the strange message, then glanced at Du Xian in confusion, saying: “This?”
Du Xian pursed her lips, replying softly: “I don’t know this person either. But since they were able to get their words published, they must be capable.”
Wang Jie continued reading.
Heavenly insect people, I will make you regret—Han Lin.
I love you, Qing Kong—Qin Xiao Shu.
Below were countless densely packed comments, though Wang Jie barely recognized any names. Clearly, the higher the position on the list, the more famous the person.
Du Xian smiled gently as she watched Wang Jie: “Well? Do you want to leave a message? Or will you continue to lie low as you’ve done recently? Though the outside world doesn’t talk much about you, what little they say isn’t very pleasant.”
Wang Jie looked directly into her eyes: “I’ll leave one. Everyone can see it, right?”
Du Xian’s eyes shone brightly as she answered: “Everyone who reads Star Dome Visage will see it. And this special issue right before the Martial Star Meet always sells the most.”
“What message would you like to leave?”
A faint smile curled at the corner of Wang Jie’s lips as he spoke just three words.
Du Xian’s cheerful expression gradually faded into shock, and she asked incredulously: “Are you sure?”
Wang Jie rose to his feet: “Just these three words. Go ahead and publish them.”
Du Xian gazed deeply at Wang Jie for a long moment, then turned away.
After Du Xian left, Qing Zheng and the others grew curious and asked Wang Jie what he had written. They had all assumed Wang Jie wouldn’t speak out and would continue staying low-profile.
Wang Jie gazed into the distant horizon, thinking silently: [Master, it’s time we stood out.]
Several days passed.
The Martial Star Meet drew near. The special edition everyone awaited eagerly finally appeared at each of the Four Pillars. Countless people had been waiting, snatching it up the moment it appeared, immediately eliciting waves of astonished gasps.
Beneath the deep expanse of stars, Gui Xiao Die stood arrogantly, suspended in the void. Her comment for Star Dome Visage had been full of disdain: Three impossibilities—who could achieve them? All of you are worthless.
“Young Lady Xiao Die, look!”
Gui Xiao Die glanced at it, her expression instantly turning cold with fury: “Has this Wang Jie gone mad? He dares provoke me?”
At the East Dou Pillar, Qin Xiao Shu was utterly stunned. He had assumed Wang Jie, cultivating the Lock Force and understanding discretion, would remain silent. But what was this? Had he gone insane?
Wu Ming looked at the report and simply laughed.
Shao Gu Chen slowly clenched his fist, thinking angrily: [Is he challenging our Sincere One Dao?]
Yuan Mu’s expression remained calm, yet a terrifyingly cold glint flickered in the depths of his eyes.
Countless furious shouts echoed through the cosmos, all incited by Wang Jie’s three words:
“You all deserve a beating.”
These ordinary words carried an unmistakable challenge to everyone. If Gui Xiao Die looked down on men, Wang Jie looked down on everyone participating in the Martial Star Meet.
After staying quiet for so long, barely drawing attention, Wang Jie suddenly became the topic of discussion throughout the universe.
Everyone thought he’d gone insane.
Within Black White Heaven, countless cultivators stared in shock toward Lock Path Interval. Wu Yuan and Han Ling were dumbfounded. Was this provocative tone really Wang Jie?
Zhi Xing Xue stared intensely at the report. Indeed, this was Wang Jie. Low-profile? No, he had never intentionally been low-profile. Even when he only possessed ten seals, he had openly confronted Zhi Qing’s faction at Lock Path Interval to defend her position.
Wang Jie was fierce to his bones.
A ruthless survivor who had clawed his way up from the apocalypse of Blue Star.
He had never feared anyone.
This was the true Wang Jie.
“Master,” Little Blue spoke nervously, “is Wang Jie being too… too bold?”
Zhi Xing Xue let out a slow breath, saying: “Let him be. He has long since moved beyond our control. Besides, this boldness suits him best. The more daring he is, the more confidence I have. Perhaps this time, our Black White Heaven will finally rise again.”
Those who knew Wang Jie, like Qing Zheng and the others, were least surprised.
They understood their boss too well.
All these people had danced upon the stage long enough. It was time for their boss to take a turn.
No matter how many criticisms or insults flooded in, Wang Jie ignored them completely.
Taking out his meditation cushion, he slowly sat down.
Tomorrow would soon arrive.
The rays of morning sunlight gently touched Wang Jie’s face.
Gazing into the distance, he counted silently in his heart.
[Time’s up.]
From afar, Hong Jian and the others watched, astonished, as Wang Jie vanished from the cushion like flowing water. Just like that, he was gone?
Meanwhile, Wang Jie appeared in an extraordinary place.
It was a gigantic celestial scale, and he now stood on one side. Around him, he counted nearly a hundred participants, all Full Star Realm cultivators taking part in the Martial Star Meet.
Above their heads stretched a sky that looked like shimmering quicksilver seals forming a heavenly barrier.
Below was endless darkness.
The pure white above and infinite blackness below formed a sharp contrast, and they stood upon the scales balanced precisely between black and white.
The Martial Star Meet had never had a fixed format, and no one had experienced this particular arrangement before. No one had imagined they would find themselves placed like goods upon a scale.
Very soon, the rules became clear:
Rise, and you perish. Descend, and you survive.
Everyone stared downward, but no matter how they looked, the darkness seemed like an endless abyss rather than a place of survival. Yet rules were rules. They had to push their side of the scale downward, lifting the opposite end toward the mercury-like sky above.
After a moment of contemplation, someone immediately acted.
A cultivator’s starforce soared upward then crashed down heavily toward the scale. The giant scale shook slightly.
“What are you all waiting for? Hurry up!” that cultivator shouted urgently.
Everyone nearby hesitated no longer and quickly joined him.