Chapter 345

Chapter 345: Seven Sprouts

Using his status as a Zen Inheritor Disciple, Wang Jie strode straight into the Scripture Pavilion, took Myriad-Instant Slash, and left without lingering.

He read as he walked. By the time he returned to his quarters, he’d finally pieced together the technique’s principles and training method.

It wasn’t easy.

Most people believed this battle skill was about unleashing as many slashes as possible in a single instant. Even back then, he’d found the idea bizarre. Unless time itself could be frozen, how could anyone cram multiple blade arts into one heartbeat?

No matter how fast you moved, it still didn’t add up.

Now he understood why.

The “many slashes” had nothing to do with time. It was all about force.

A single One Blade consumed a certain amount of power. If you split that power into smaller portions—while still letting the effect fuse—then used starforce or lockforce to separate those portions, you could release multiple slashes at once. In that one moment, the total force that should have gone into one strike became many.

That was the core of Myriad-Instant Slash.

Divide the force. Drive it with starforce. Burst it out in an instant.

Which meant the training had two brutal hurdles. First, learning to split your force cleanly. Second, training slashes of varying strength, then splitting again and again—shrinking the portions further each time—until you could carve a One Blade into an ever-greater number of fragments.

No wonder everyone said this blade art devoured time.

He had no idea how long Luan Dao had trained it, or how many slashes that man could unleash in a single instant.

On paper, the technique looked complete. Yet he trusted the Star Vault Vista’s intelligence. If they said something was missing, then something was missing.

He began training immediately, starting with the first step: using lockforce to split his power.

He gripped his sword and swung with the intent of a blade strike, forcing his attention onto the sensation of force itself.

To be honest, he’d never truly felt what it was like to “send strength out” before.

Strength had always been instinct.

Now that he tried to track every fraction of power, he actually performed worse than usual.

But this step couldn’t be skipped.

Slow and steady, then.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

In the Ring-Sect Corridor of the Third Zen, at the Star Fusion Center, Nian Wei and the other Star Vault Vista members waited with respectful expressions.

Not long after, they bowed as one. “Greetings, Eldest Miss.”

“Greetings, Eldest Miss.”

“Greetings…”

From farther off, countless people watched. They saw a woman with long pink hair and a cold, distant expression.

“Isn’t that Ting Chen from the final battle of the Full-Star Tournament?”

“Why would she come to the Third Zen?”

“Maybe she’s here to cultivate…?”

“But that makes no sense. The Star Vault Vista is a colossal force. No matter how strong the Third Zen is, it can’t possibly surpass them.”

“Strange.”

Their murmurs reached Ting Chen. She didn’t so much as blink. She walked straight into the Star Fusion Center.

With her clearance, she could check the status of every Star Vault Vista member within the Third Zen at a glance.

“Lu Bu Qi?”

She paused, genuinely surprised. What caught her attention wasn’t his name—it was what he was.

A lockforce cultivator.

Just the word made her teeth itch.

Losing would have been one thing.

But that bastard had even dared to take liberties with her.

That photo had spread everywhere. She’d been furious, humiliated—and utterly powerless to do anything about it.

Lately she’d even dreamed of that bastard Wang Jie night after night.

Nian Wei answered promptly, head lowered. “Yes. He used the Zen Token to enter the Third Zen. I didn’t have the authority to view his information before.

“He’s an analyst. He came a month ago. He cultivates lockforce.”

Ting Chen’s gaze sharpened. “A lockforce cultivator has a hard path ahead. Did he disguise his identity or appearance?”

“I can’t detect any disguise,” Nian Wei said.

“Bring him to me.”

“Yes.” Nian Wei hesitated, then added, “Eldest Miss, if you want to know more about him, you can access his file directly with your authority.”

Ting Chen didn’t explain. In truth, she couldn’t. Analysts were already considered core members of the Star Vault Vista, unlike observers. Even she didn’t have the right to dig into their background at will.

Otherwise, there’d be no need to summon him in person.

“Eldest Miss,” someone reported, “Miss Qing Dai has arrived.”

Ting Chen rose and walked out.

She hadn’t come to the Third Zen because she wanted to. Her great-grandfather had ordered her to train the Zen Martial Precepts, which meant she had to enter the Zen Hall.

On top of that, the Star Vault Vista had been dealing with trouble lately—trouble tied to her use of the Twelve Heavenly Stems. Coming to the Third Zen might also be part of a larger plan to win allies. Either way, she needed to do something for the Star Vault Vista.

—

At Zen Mountain, Wang Jie had no idea Ting Chen had arrived.

After a month of grinding practice, he finally managed to execute his first One Blade with Myriad-Instant Slash.

He swung once. Lockforce split the force into two streams. Two identical cuts overlapped, landing in the same instant.

The sensation was unfamiliar—strange, and oddly exhilarating.

As for the power… it was hard to judge.

He was only just beginning.

Being able to do it at all was already an achievement.

Next came the real test: the fields.

The surroundings shifted. Wang Jie appeared before the first plot of land and struck.

Sword or blade didn’t matter. The principle was the same.

His phantom slash sank into the soil.

Green shoots pushed up from beneath the ground, one after another.

Wang Jie’s eyes lit up. Finally.

He counted them.

Seven.

He’d seen six with Bone-Motion Art. Eight with Undying Body. He’d even seen nine with Heaven-Reversal Path. But never seven.

This time, Myriad-Instant Slash landed exactly in the middle.

He reached out and touched a sprout.

Hm?

It was also labeled Myriad-Instant Slash.

Did this mean he’d completed the technique?

He touched them one by one, then lowered his hand, his expression turning odd.

The required materials were… as deranged as ever:

Execute one hundred million slashes.

Steal the neighbor’s teapot.

Obtain the eyelashes of the next woman you meet.

Make a brat cry.

Kill to establish your dominance.

Get the peerless beauty to eat old ginger.

Obtain the blade of the Five Tribulations Chen Artifact.

Seven requirements in total.

After everything he’d been put through, Wang Jie was numb to absurdity. Weird was normal now.

He would just do them, one by one.

Though he couldn’t help wondering who the “next woman he met” would be.

And the neighbor’s teapot…

Did that mean Xie Shen Yun’s place next door?

If the man wasn’t home, how was he supposed to steal it?

And if the man was home, it wouldn’t be stealing—it would be suicide.

He was still mulling it over when someone knocked.

“Excuse me, is Senior Brother Lu here?

“I’m Junior Sister Su Qing. I have something I’d like to discuss.”

Wang Jie stared at the door for a beat.

So that was who the next woman was.

He opened the door with a polite smile. “I’m Lu Bu Qi. Greetings, Senior Sister Su Qing.”

Su Qing was petite and cute, her manner bright. Seeing how courteous he was, she returned the salute with obvious delight—then hurriedly shook her head. “Senior Brother Lu, you mustn’t. You’re a Zen Inheritor Disciple. How could you call me Senior Sister?”

Wang Jie’s smile turned modest. “Senior Sister, you’re too kind. I only became a Zen Inheritor Disciple by luck. How could I compare to a genius like you, who joined the Third Zen through your own strength?”

Su Qing practically beamed. Just as Cheng Fan had said—this man knew his place. “Rules are rules, Senior Brother. You don’t need to belittle yourself. With your ability, given time, you’ll surely soar.”

Wang Jie found it strange. A lockforce cultivator who’d slipped into the Third Zen on a Zen Token should have been looked down on, not flattered.

Which meant she wanted something.

Perfect. So did he.

They traded compliments until it was almost fun—both smiling, both calculating.

Finally, Su Qing’s cheeks colored. “Senior Brother Lu… Junior Sister came to ask a favor. I wonder if Senior Brother will agree.”

Wang Jie’s expression softened. “Senior Sister, you can speak freely. What ‘favor’? You’re making it sound distant.”

She took a breath, then bowed. “I want to swap residences with Senior Brother.”

Wang Jie lifted her arm before she could bow too deeply. “Senior Sister, there’s no need for that. What do you mean by swapping residences?”

Su Qing’s voice turned small and embarrassed. “We exchange the places we live.

“I know this residence is only for a Zen Inheritor Disciple, but… but…”

Wang Jie raised a hand, cutting her off. His face went solemn.

Su Qing’s heart sank.

Then he said, dead serious, “Senior Sister, you’re being far too formal. It’s just a place to live. Why make it so heavy?

“If Senior Sister wants to stay here, I’ll simply give it to you.”

Su Qing blinked, then broke into a delighted smile. “Really? Thank you, Senior Brother!”

“Of course.” Wang Jie smiled back, warm as spring. “We hit it off the moment we met. A mere residence is nothing. Use it as you please.”

Su Qing looked moved. “Senior Brother has truly helped me. Junior Sister will repay you with a great gift in the future.”

Wang Jie waved a hand. “No need for anything great. Give me whatever you like. It’s the thought that matters.”

He paused, then added lightly, as if making small talk, “For instance… your eyelashes are quite nice. Just give me a strand.”

Su Qing’s smile froze.

She stared at him, convinced she’d misheard. “Senior Brother… what did you say you wanted?”

Wang Jie cleared his throat and glanced at her lashes. “Just a strand. They’re very pretty.”

The shift in her expression was almost theatrical—delight to disbelief, disbelief to fury, fury to a furious red that climbed from her neck to her ears.

“Lu Bu Qi,” she snapped, “are you humiliating me?”

Wang Jie blinked. “How is that humiliation? It’s only eyelashes.”

“Shut up!” Su Qing trembled with anger. “How can something from a woman’s body be given away? What are you planning to do with my eyelashes?

“At best it’s humiliation. At worst it’s taking liberties. Lu Bu Qi, if you didn’t want to swap residences, you could have refused. Why go this far?”

Wang Jie forced an awkward smile. “Senior Sister, you’re overreacting. I genuinely thought they were pretty—”

“Enough!”

Su Qing struck out, palm flashing with thick starforce.

Wang Jie shifted aside and caught her wrist. Su Qing yanked, trying to pull free, and realized she couldn’t move at all. His grip was iron.

Her eyes blazed. Starforce surged from her body and took the shape of a soaring bird that screeched toward the sky—Heavenly Astral Body-Forging Chart.

Wang Jie stepped forward and flung her away with a single twist.

Su Qing crashed down and staggered back, stunned.

She was Roaming-Star Realm. Her combat power exceeded three hundred thousand. This man cultivated lockforce and was only Full-Star Realm—how could he be this strong?

Wang Jie stood in the courtyard and offered a formal salute. “I truly had no other intentions. If I offended Senior Sister, please forgive me.”

Su Qing gritted her teeth, starforce rippling violently around her. “No wonder you dared humiliate me. A Full-Star Realm with this kind of combat power—no shame that you’re a Zen Inheritor Disciple.

“You called it luck, you called me Senior Sister, you acted humble and proper… and now you claim you had no intentions?”

Wang Jie sighed. “Senior Sister, you’ve misunderstood. And it’s just eyelashes.”

“Shut up!”

Su Qing’s voice shook. “I can’t beat you, but I won’t let this go.

“This will be settled. Just you wait.”

She spun on her heel and stormed off.

Wang Jie exhaled slowly.

Was it really his way of asking that was wrong?