Chapter 333

Chapter 333: Wang Jie vs. Zhou Ye

The next match was Ting Chen versus a Full-Star Realm fighter named Chen Yang.

Chen Yang was no nobody. He came from Jia Yi Sect, one of their participants in the Full-Star Realm tournament.

He’d thought he might reach the top hundred at best.

But Wen Qing and Han Lin both lost, and he was still standing.

Now he had become the focus of everyone in Jia Yi Sect.

And he still had ambition.

He wanted to go even further.

The woman before him hadn’t been reported by the Star Vault Vista either—just like him.

If he won this match, he would enter the top five.

How many people in Jia Yi Sect history had ever entered the tournament’s top five?

He’d leave his name behind.

The thought made him shake with excitement.

When he returned to the sect, he’d surely be valued.

Come on.

The top five was calling him.

A soft bang sounded.

His vision swam.

When he opened his eyes again—

Huh?

Why was he back?

He looked down. He was on his meditation cushion. Confused, he lifted his head.

On the light screen, only Ting Chen remained on the arena.

Chen Yang had lost.

And he’d lost in a way that made no sense.

He hadn’t even seen how.

What the hell?

To those who didn’t know them, it wouldn’t have been strange for either Ting Chen or Chen Yang to win.

But Ting Chen’s victory looked absurdly easy.

She’d lifted her hand, and it was over.

It was as if Chen Yang had stood there on purpose, waiting for her to kill him—too fast, too unreal.

And yet, some people’s gaze toward her changed.

This woman was not simple.

Next was the last match: Wu Ming versus Hou Qing Ge.

Another clash between Enlightenment Tea recipients.

Everyone was curious about Wu Ming.

Before the tournament and during it, he seemed to have shown nothing worth noting.

His only decent achievement was eliminating Han Lin and defeating the hundred-plus cultivators on Han Lin’s side.

But Wang Jie had watched that exchange.

Wu Ming had used only footwork and palm force. With that combination, Han Lin’s insect swarm and Thousand Gu Myriad Poison Hand couldn’t stand up to him. Han Lin was suppressed and killed with a single palm.

How strong that palm force truly was, no one knew.

As for Hou Qing Ge, if not for her final sword against Qin Xiao Shu, she would’ve lost for sure.

But that last sword was something no one could understand.

Which made this duel one many people anticipated.

At Jia Yi Sect, Han Lin clenched his fist, staring at the light screen, remembering the Balance Battle.

It had taken only one exchanged palm for his starforce to scatter—even his poison.

That bald man was far less harmless than he looked.

Terrifyingly strong.

As the barrier vanished, Hou Qing Ge struck first. She had many sword arts, and she wanted to test Wu Ming right away.

Wu Ming lifted his head and struck with one palm, shattering her sword qi.

Then, no matter what Hou Qing Ge used—Qinglian Burying Flowers, Eclipse Slash, any strange sword art at all—each was smashed apart by palm after palm, simple and direct.

Hou Qing Ge’s face grew heavy. None of her sword qi could even reach his body.

His palm-force defense was flawless.

Wu Ming looked at her calmly. “Your Excellency was awarded the Enlightenment Tea because of the final sword that killed Qin Xiao Shu. Use it. Any other sword art is useless against me, including your Hou family Bridgeway Art.”

Hou Qing Ge didn’t believe him.

She pressed her blade to her shoulder and twisted.

Flesh tore.

A small sword became a great blade—Hou family Bridgeway Art—and she thrust.

That strike carried not only steel, but blood.

Every drop of blood was a trace of sword intent.

Qin Xiao Shu had been injured by that sword too.

Hou Qing Ge refused to believe Wu Ming could ignore all her sword arts.

Wu Ming shook his head.

A dark radiance formed in his palm, a vortex spinning inside it.

He struck once.

All sword qi and blood were sucked into the vortex.

Great Bright Palm.

The palm crossed the void and hit Hou Qing Ge. She was blasted away, coughing blood as she fell.

Everyone knew Wu Ming was strong.

No one expected the gap to be this huge.

Qin Xiao Shu had needed to step into the void to suppress Hou Qing Ge—and he’d been injured too.

Yet Wu Ming hadn’t even taken a step.

He crushed Hou Qing Ge completely, leaving her no room to fight back.

Inside the Sword Pool, countless faces darkened.

Many people disliked Hou Qing Ge, but seeing her crushed like this also meant the Sword Pool was being crushed by Reverse-Delusion Mountain.

Every broken move was a Sword Pool signature.

“That bitch is disgracing our Sword Pool!” a woman shouted.

No one answered.

They all stared at the light screen, waiting for Hou Qing Ge’s stunning sword.

That sword had killed Qin Xiao Shu.

What would it do to Wu Ming?

Wu Ming was right.

Hou Qing Ge had been awarded the Enlightenment Tea because of that sword.

Hou Qing Ge forced herself up. The palm-force had punched through her abdomen; she could barely stand.

Wu Ming didn’t rush. He watched her with curiosity.

She spat another mouthful of blood, gripped her sword, and stared at Wu Ming from afar.

After a deep breath, she slashed sideways.

A cold flash swept out.

Wu Ming’s pupils shrank. He tried to move—

But the blade swept across his neck.

His body stiffened.

He didn’t move again.

Countless people froze.

Shock rippled through the stands.

Wu Ming was far stronger than Hou Qing Ge, yet this sword still severed his neck.

What sword art was this?

In that moment, the Sword Pool’s hunger for Hou Qing Ge’s sword peaked.

Hou Qing Ge panted, stared forward, then gave a bitter smile. “Still… can’t win.”

The sword slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground.

Ahead, Wu Ming’s “decapitated” body shattered inch by inch.

No flesh. No blood.

More like a mirror breaking into shards.

“No-Abode Mirror Domain,” someone exclaimed. “I didn’t expect Wu Ming, in the Full-Star Realm, to comprehend No-Abode Mirror Domain. A genius.”

“We’ve long heard the name of Reverse-Delusion Mountain’s No-Abode Mirror Domain,” another said. “Now we finally see it.”

Wang Jie stared hard at Wu Ming as he walked off the arena.

No-Abode Mirror Domain…

He’d seen it before. Guan Sou had tried to use it to kill Ban Xia. Back then, Ban Xia had killed expert after expert.

That showed how confident Reverse-Delusion Mountain was in No-Abode Mirror Domain.

Of course, in the end, Guan Sou still died in Ban Xia’s hands.

Wu Ming looked at Hou Qing Ge’s fallen sword and shook his head. “It’s over.”

Wu Ming won.

And with that, the top five of this Full-Star Realm tournament were decided:

Jing Hong, Zhou Ye, Wang Jie, Ting Chen, and Wu Ming.

The champion would come from these five.

The arena shifted again.

With five people, one would receive a bye.

Everyone watched to see who it would be.

As the scene changed, Wang Jie saw Zhou Ye standing opposite him.

Then he turned his head.

Wu Ming and Ting Chen stood beside him.

Which meant the one with the bye could only be Jing Hong.

Jing Hong got the bye.

Among the five, it didn’t really matter who got it.

Top five or top three, the most valuable spot was always first.

To take first, you had to defeat everyone anyway—sooner or later.

The only one unhappy was probably Jing Hong himself.

He still wanted to hand out red packets.

His body vanished.

When he appeared again, he was back in Lockspace.

Wang Jie looked into the distance. The final peak was getting closer and closer, and no one disturbed him.

He went to Star-Devourer and absorbed lockforce.

At the same time, at Reverse-Delusion Mountain, that voice appeared again. “Old friend, do you still remember our agreement?”

“I don’t.”

“Grave Chain’s favor is canceled directly. Wu Ming only needs to beat Wang Jie. Simple, isn’t it?”

“If it were simple, why come again?” the other voice snapped. “I already said it. You’ve gone too far.”

“The Star Palace will return to glory. Doesn’t Reverse-Delusion Mountain want a place in the starry sky?”

“No.”

“Old friend, you—”

Wu Ming’s voice cut in, calm and clear. “No need for Senior to come. If I meet Wang Jie, Junior will do everything to beat him, because he’s worthy of it.”

That voice laughed softly. “As expected of a genius who can comprehend No-Abode Mirror Domain at such a young age. You may have hope of the Nirvana Stage in the future.”

“Fine. If you can win, whether it’s because of us or not, I’ll wipe away Reverse-Delusion Mountain’s debt to Grave Chain.”

A day passed quickly.

Wang Jie appeared on the arena again.

Across from him, Zhou Ye’s cross-eyed gaze locked onto him.

“In the Balance Battle, you and I worked together. It was a good partnership.” Zhou Ye’s face was solemn. “I didn’t expect we’d meet in the top five.”

He cupped his fist. “Brother Wang, you must go all out.”

Wang Jie returned the salute, equally grave. “Brother Zhou’s archery is unmatched. I will give it everything I have.”

Zhou Ye smiled. “I look forward to Brother Wang’s strength.”

Two arenas stood left and right.

Either could begin first.

As the barrier vanished, it was Wang Jie versus Zhou Ye.

In that instant, everyone’s eyes fixed on them.

They all wanted to see how it would end.

Wang Jie had beaten Yuan Mu and Gui Xiao Die. His strength was recognized. And Zhou Ye was even stranger—Shao Gu Chen and Qing Kong couldn’t touch him at all. Especially Qing Kong, who never fought back, letting Zhou Ye’s arrows pierce her again and again just to see through his power.

In countless hearts, Zhou Ye had become synonymous with strange.

“Brother Wang,” Zhou Ye said, “it begins.”

He fired.

Everyone watched.

Wang Jie lifted his head and didn’t move.

The arrow stabbed into him and punched out through his back. Blood splashed onto the stone.

Zhou Ye froze.

Just like Qing Kong?

“Brother Wang isn’t going to fight back either?”

Wang Jie smiled. “Brother Zhou, go ahead. When the time comes, I’ll fight back.”

Zhou Ye nodded slowly. “All right. I’ll wait for Brother Wang’s methods.”

He fired again—and again.

Just like he’d done to Qing Kong.

The difference was that only the first arrow pierced straight through Wang Jie’s body. The rest, like with Shao Gu Chen, jammed inside him.

Shao Gu Chen had relied on the Three-Tribulation Bone to triple his explosive power and force the arrows into a true “hit,” just to find Zhou Ye’s flaw.

Wang Jie relied on raw physical strength and protective qi to stop the arrows while he observed.

To beat Zhou Ye, he had to touch him.

So far, no one had described Zhou Ye’s weakness.

Wang Jie could only find it himself.

Three arrows… four… five… nine—one after another struck into him.

Wang Jie stared at Zhou Ye and felt it.

So that was it.

No wonder no one could touch him.

Another arrow flew.

Wang Jie stepped and dodged.

He moved.

People leaned forward, afraid of missing anything.

They watched Wang Jie close the distance—Myriad-Stars Finger.

Finger shadows fell again and again, all passing through Zhou Ye.

Still useless.

Wang Jie wasn’t disappointed. With Jia Eight Steps, he appeared right in front of Zhou Ye and crooked his finger at him.

A provocation?

Zhou Ye raised a brow and fired point-blank.

The arrow stabbed into Wang Jie—

But at the same time, a finger shadow struck Zhou Ye’s back and shattered his shoulder.

The arena erupted.

It hit.

Zhou Ye stared blankly at his broken left arm, then looked at Wang Jie.

Wang Jie said evenly, “Brother Zhou, I have to admit you’re impressive. If I couldn’t see through your method, winning would be impossible.”

He lifted his hand slightly. “But you have an advantage—and you also have a weakness.”

Zhou Ye sighed, awe in his voice. “Shao Gu Chen and Qing Kong both saw through my method, but they had to trade their lives for it. Yet Brother Wang could hold on.”

He gave a small smile. “This round, I lose.”