Chapter 334

Chapter 334: The Three Tribulations of Time

Hearing Zhou Ye admit defeat, Wang Jie smiled softly.

Victory naturally followed once the opponent’s method was broken.

The stranger Zhou Ye’s techniques were, the weaker he’d become after being exposed.

That previous strike had been merely an ordinary finger shadow, yet it shattered Zhou Ye’s left arm completely. Clearly, Zhou Ye’s defense was lacking; his entire strength lay in that peculiar method.

Wang Jie spoke, “Brother Zhou, let me give you some advice. Many can see through your technique, especially those in the Hundred Star Realm and Star Refining Realm. This approach won’t take you far.”

Zhou Ye nodded, replying, “I understand. I never intended to come this far in the first place. I’m just a wandering cultivator, and it’s enough that I’ve reached this level. I have no greater ambition. Thank you for your guidance, Brother Wang.”

Thus, this round belonged to Wang Jie.

The audience still watched in confusion, but many began to view Zhou Ye differently. With his defeat, someone publicly revealed his secret.

Void Misplacement.

That was Zhou Ye’s technique, or rather, his Bridge Law.

It wasn’t simply stepping into the void—it was shifting the void itself. One could only sense it when the arrow pierced the flesh. The victim alone knew where the arrow should’ve landed, yet where it actually struck. They risked their lives calculating the outcome.

Wang Jie won solely by virtue of his powerful physical strength.

Otherwise, he would have ended up like Qing Kong—killed, despite finally discerning the technique.

“So that’s why he’s so formidable. No wonder,” someone murmured.

“What? Do you think that method is easy? It’s touching the void itself! Only No Path View and Void Mountain among the Four Great Pillars can do that.”

“But his is just a Bridge Law, not a cultivated power.”

“True enough.”

“Now that his method has been exposed, future opponents will find ways to counter him. It’s a shame he used all his cards at the Full Star Realm Martial Meeting. If he’d waited until the Wandering Star Realm Martial Meeting, perhaps he could’ve gone further.”

“He’s just a wandering cultivator, after all.”

“And cross-eyed at that—hahaha…”

Amidst the jeers, Zhou Ye quietly disappeared from the stage.

Wang Jie looked thoughtfully into the distance. Was that really just a Bridge Law?

As he pondered, the barrier on the adjacent stage vanished.

Ting Chen raised her hand toward Wu Ming, fingers gently curled.

No one knew what she had done—not even Wu Ming himself—but suddenly he coughed out blood.

Everyone stared in shock.

Wang Jie’s pupils shrank sharply, astonished by what he saw.

Outside, countless cultivators burst into an uproar, “Impossible! Wu Ming spat out blood?”

“Could it be lingering injuries from his previous battle?”

“No way. It must be this woman—what did she do?”

“Unbelievable. I thought this woman reached this far just by luck. What exactly did she do?”

At this moment, even ancestor-level experts within major sects stared gravely at the display.

In Black White Heaven, Zhi Yu’s expression was grim as he asked, “Could that be… the Three Tribulations of Time?”

Shu Rang nodded slowly, “It seems that old devil Ting Can really managed to pass it down. I never expected someone from the Ting family could cultivate this art.”

Zhi Yu’s brows knitted deeply, “A legendary supreme art from the Star-Flipping Calamity era… By all rights, no one in this age should be able to cultivate it. Is this girl truly Ting Can’s descendant? Then wouldn’t that mean…?”

Shu Rang chuckled lightly, “Hehe, precisely—she’s exactly the target my disciple seeks.”

Zhi Yu stared at him in shock, “You’re daring to speak like this?”

“Why not try my luck? Who knows, perhaps there’s a chance.”

“I’m worried your disciple won’t get the chance, and instead, he’ll be killed trying.”

“That’s just fate.”

Zhi Yu shook his head.

On the stage, Wu Ming’s expression shifted erratically as he asked in confusion, “What did you do?” He was injured, yet still couldn’t comprehend how.

Ting Chen did not answer. Again, her fingers curled.

Wu Ming hastily dodged away, but midway he coughed blood again and tumbled to the ground.

At this moment, everyone fell silent.

Each fighter was stranger than the last—untouchable, incomprehensible, or tossing treasures casually. Only Wang Jie seemed normal. Steady as a mountain.

Wang Jie fixed his gaze on Ting Chen. This woman had concealed her strength until now. What had she done exactly? Observing qi gave him no clues—his mastery over qi perception was simply too weak.

In Armor One Sect, Chen Yang felt relieved.

Surely no one dared mock him anymore. Heaven knew this woman’s strength was monstrous. Even Wu Ming spat blood immediately.

Deep within the cosmos, at the edges of the Great Bridge, Qing Huan’s expression turned grave. What strange methods were these? Why was everyone now so inexplicable? Nothing about them was straightforward.

In Heavenly Azure, Shu Mu Night and the others watched carefully as well.

“It seems we’re not just pursued by peers, but also by these newcomers. They’re catching up quickly. Clearly, cultivation realms aren’t even obstacles for them.”

“Interesting.”

On the stage, Wu Ming rushed toward Ting Chen. He couldn’t remain passive any longer—at least he shouldn’t let her aim her hand at him.

Ting Chen lowered her hand, yet Wu Ming spat blood again—the third time.

He had been injured without even being directly targeted.

This time, however, he was prepared. Even though he spat blood, he still reached Ting Chen, sending a palm strike shimmering with profound light—the Great Brilliance Palm.

Ting Chen calmly lifted her delicate hand and met Wu Ming’s strike head-on. A thunderous boom echoed as star force collided, splitting the void apart. Wu Ming was hurled backward violently, crashing onto the stage floor.

All onlookers gasped.

In a direct collision, Wu Ming had also lost.

The same Enlightenment Tea had been bestowed, yet Wu Ming could easily suppress Hou Qing Ge. Now, however, he found himself suppressed by someone who hadn’t even tasted Enlightenment Tea.

Enlightenment Tea represented the Star Dome’s vision of comprehension.

But the Star Dome’s vision did not represent the universe itself.

Zhou Ye’s successive victories over two experts who had received Enlightenment Tea was proof of this.

Jing Hong even pressured Wen Qing so thoroughly that Wen Qing didn’t dare to unleash his Ninefold Qi Transformation, reserving that move for his brother’s inevitable clash with Jing Hong in the future.

Now, everyone wanted to know Ting Chen’s true origins.

On the arena, Wu Ming rose to his feet, looking down at his palm before turning his gaze to Ting Chen and speaking words that puzzled everyone: “Was that one move with two forms, or perhaps two moves with one form?”

Ting Chen met his eyes calmly, a trace of surprise flickering within her peaceful expression: “To see through it in just one strike, you truly deserve your title as the Self-Imprisoned Man of Defiant Delusion Mountain. Since ancient times, we’ve only heard of battle prowess transcending one’s realm, never someone using their realm to imprison their strength.”

Wu Ming shook out his arms, sighing: “Nothing I can do; exceptional comprehension is also a burden.” He fixed his gaze on Ting Chen, adding: “I could see through your second palm, but I couldn’t understand your opening move.”

“You’re free to keep watching,” Ting Chen replied calmly, once more raising her hand and aiming from afar at Wu Ming. Wu Ming’s figure vanished in an instant. Three thousand steps, each step leaving behind afterimages. Nine steps formed three thousand illusions, rapidly filling the entire arena.

Yet even so, Wu Ming still coughed up blood and staggered backward, his three thousand steps dispersing instantly.

Forcing back his injuries, Wu Ming released his star force, pressing his palms together. At the center of his palms, a mysterious glow began spinning continuously, mirrors manifesting around him—this was his Domain of the Mirrorless Realm.

Ting Chen seemed to ignore it entirely, merely curling her fingers toward Wu Ming again.

Wu Ming’s eyes widened sharply as the surrounding mirrors shattered in an instant. The three-foot Mirror Domain allowed free traversal, yet against Ting Chen’s attack, his traversal was utterly meaningless. He was wounded once more.

Clenching his jaw against the pain, Wu Ming thrust out the mysterious light from his palms directly at Ting Chen.

Ting Chen raised her other hand, calmly meeting his attack with another palm, which seemed utterly unremarkable.

At this moment, Wang Jie watched intently, attempting to observe her aura. Yet the aura he saw was astonishingly simple, flowing naturally from her body through her palm strike. But it was precisely this ordinary palm that held back the profound glow for three full breaths, allowing Ting Chen just enough time to move aside.

Ting Chen stepped aside gracefully.

The mysterious glow surged past her former position and blasted out of the arena.

Wu Ming again activated his Three Thousand Steps, covering the arena with his afterimages, as though he had already anticipated her dodge. The Mirrorless Domain reappeared instantly, trapping Ting Chen within. Countless beams of mysterious light surged forth from every mirror, leaving her nowhere to escape.

Ting Chen remained motionless, simply lifting her gaze. Directly opposite, Wang Jie’s eyes narrowed sharply. What did he see?

At this instant, Ting Chen’s pupils had changed completely.

One pupil was pure black; the other, pure white. The instant he met her gaze, Wang Jie felt a wave of confusion wash over him.

Crash, crash, crash.

Every mirror shattered at once. Ting Chen stood before Wu Ming in a flash; she had seen through his Mirrorless Domain. In merely three steps, she closed the distance, striking Wu Ming squarely in the chest.

Her palm sent a deep imprint straight through to his back, accompanied by trails of blood.

Wu Ming spun sideways to disperse the force, desperately grabbing Ting Chen’s wrist while staring directly into her eyes.

Just like Wang Jie, he was thinking: [What sort of eyes are these?]

He had endured serious injury solely to seize Ting Chen, but at this instant, confusion overcame him again.

Ting Chen met his eyes, calmly rotated her palm, and struck Wu Ming’s arm, forcing him to stagger back. Then, stepping forward decisively, she brushed past him.

Wu Ming took another heavy blow, blood spilling from his mouth as he dropped onto one knee.

On the Eastern Bridge Pillar, countless spectators were shocked.

These were people who had either challenged Wu Ming before or had benefited from his guidance to break through bottlenecks. None could believe that the mysterious Self-Imprisoned Man had fallen into such a sorry state.

Ting Chen turned slowly, looking down at Wu Ming from above: “You’ve lost.”

Wu Ming, gasping heavily, stared at the ground, his vision blurred. His mind was consumed by those eyes—one black, one white. Were they Bridge techniques? A bloodline? Or a cultivation method? He couldn’t grasp it.

Slowly, he raised his head again. Now Ting Chen’s pupils had returned to normal.

He continued to stare, smiling bitterly: “Yes, I’ve lost.”

Ting Chen’s star force gradually calmed, seemingly uninterested in further combat.

“Aren’t you worried I’ll attack secretly?” Wu Ming challenged.

Ting Chen answered indifferently: “You’re incapable of it.”

Wu Ming gazed deeply at Ting Chen, then turned toward another arena, looking at Wang Jie, and finally, Jing Hong.

“I lost, but I still wish to do something,” he murmured, coughing out a mouthful of blood. He crossed his legs, sat down, closed his eyes, and began whispering something.

Ting Chen stared at Wu Ming, puzzled. Without initiating combat, he had already conceded, yet what was he doing now?

His voice gradually echoed into Ting Chen’s ears, Wang Jie’s ears, Jing Hong’s ears, and even countless others.

Far away, on Defiant Delusion Mountain, Mountain Master Han Zhang opened his clouded eyes, watching the light screen closely, wondering: [This child… who is he aiding?]

As long as Ting Chen didn’t kill Wu Ming, Wu Ming could remain on the arena.

He admitted defeat, yet as long as he neither left the arena nor disappeared, victory or defeat would remain undecided.

At this moment, what he quietly repeated was the Sutra of the Mirrorless Heart, which he himself had comprehended.

He wasn’t trying to teach it to others; the Sutra of the Mirrorless Heart could help others break through but was impossible to cultivate directly. Nobody knew what Wu Ming intended.

Until, moments later, Jing Hong’s expression shifted subtly as he called out: “Baldy, are you trying to make us break through?”

Hearing Jing Hong’s words, many instantly realized Wu Ming’s intention. [This monk truly has found an extraordinary path.]

At this moment, it was the Full Star Realm Tournament. If anyone broke through to the Wandering Star Realm mid-tournament, they naturally could no longer participate.