Chapter 347

Chapter 347: Slaughter Cliff

Wang Jie’s thoughts raced. If even he felt this cornered, how much torment did the true challengers endure—those who had genuinely killed ten thousand versions of themselves?

Lu Bu Qi kept retreating. Wang Jie kept advancing, eyes flicking toward the far end of the bridge.

Closer.

Closer and closer.

Then Lu Bu Qi moved.

One Blade came down.

The slash wasn’t fast—not truly. It felt like it was waiting. Waiting for Wang Jie to flinch, to resist, to fail.

Wang Jie’s pupils contracted. He stared at the cold gleam and forced himself to hold still, crushing down the urge to block.

Heat rose from the blood below. Ice flooded his veins from the blade above. Two contradictory shadows wrapped around him, tightening until his bones ached. He clenched his fist so hard his nails bit into his palm.

The blade flashed past.

A razor chill skimmed his forehead.

The bridge split. The blood-stained world tore open. And in the same instant, everything cleared.

Wang Jie stood there, stunned.

The bridge was gone. Lu Bu Qi was gone. The blood was gone.

The second layer was empty, as bare and ordinary as the first.

He… passed?

A moment ago, he’d truly been on the edge of striking back. In the end, he’d gambled on the Star Vault Vista jade at his side. Even if the Third Zen meant to use this trial to kill him, the jade would block at least one lethal blow.

He’d bet on it.

It held.

This was a trial, not death.

Even so, sweat soaked his back. His breath came harsh and uneven.

No wonder the Third Zen forbade people from discussing Slaughter Cliff.

A test was only a test when you didn’t know what was coming. If you had the answers, the first two layers became absurdly simple.

Kill ten thousand “selves.” Then don’t fight back on No-Blade Bridge.

Without answers, even with a disguise and a life-saving jade, Wang Jie had still struggled. Others must have suffered far more.

He glanced back at the first two layers—equal parts relieved and unsettled—then stepped onto the third.

Three words were carved into the ground:

Break Obsession.

A stone sat ahead.

When Wang Jie approached, a hazy voice drifted from nowhere. “Everything in the mortal world is nothing but a vessel for pain. Attack this stone, and you will suffer the corresponding pain—the pain you have brought into the universe.

“To pass, strike harder. Strike more. The greater your intensity and the greater your number of attacks, the better.”

Wang Jie lifted a brow. “Attack it… and I feel it?”

He tested.

With a light flick of his finger, a gust struck the stone.

Pain hit him at the same time, as if his own finger wind had slammed into his body.

The force matched perfectly.

So that was it. Hurt the stone, hurt yourself.

Wang Jie’s mouth curled. This was his specialty.

Which cultivation method didn’t carve pain into flesh?

If Slaughter Cliff wanted to play this game, fine. He didn’t believe anyone could endure more than him.

He struck.

Blood burst from his lips.

That palm hadn’t been gentle. Taking it on his own body would have made anyone cough blood.

The sensation was different from ordinary cultivation—cleaner, more direct—but he didn’t stop.

He began to strike again and again.

Each blow was strong. Each blow landed on him as if he’d hit himself head-on. Tendons tore. Bones felt as if they snapped. The pain came sharp and vivid, forcing his vision to swim.

And still, he kept going.

What was this compared to what he’d endured?

He’d grown up in an orphanage. The moment life had finally turned kind, he’d been tormented by Li Mo, burned, hunted, and worse. What suffering hadn’t he eaten?

Pain he inflicted on himself didn’t deserve the name.

—

Outside Slaughter Cliff, a woman appeared.

Her name was Jiang Jing Yue—Zen Mountain’s Eldest Senior Sister, the one who oversaw everything on the mountain.

She had come because Wang Jie had reached the third layer.

“The third layer doesn’t test your maximum tolerance,” she murmured to herself, watching. “It doesn’t even test how many times you can endure it.

“It tests frequency.”

She lifted her eyes, voice calm. “If you can attack yourself fifteen times at the same unwavering pace—without a trace of hesitation—you pass.”

Most people couldn’t do it.

Even a flicker of doubt, even the smallest pause before striking your own body… was enough to fail.

She was here because Wang Jie had just delivered the fifteenth strike.

He had already passed.

—

Inside, Wang Jie struck again.

Sixteen.

His face was drained of color. Something behind him seemed to shatter—yet the trial didn’t stop.

Not over?

Fine. Then he’d keep going.

Jiang Jing Yue’s eyes brightened. Break Obsession never interrupted the challenger. Even after you passed, you wouldn’t know.

It would come down to how far you could push yourself.

Fifteen strikes to pass.

Twenty meant genius—worthy of attempting apprenticeship under the Second Zen.

Twenty-five meant a peerless prodigy. The Second Zen would certainly accept someone like that as a disciple.

And thirty…

Jiang Jing Yue’s breath slowed, as if afraid to disturb him.

Every Second Zen in Zen Mountain’s history had achieved thirty here.

It didn’t mean reaching thirty would make you the Second Zen.

But to become the Second Zen, you had to be able to reach thirty.

And Slaughter Cliff only gave you one chance.

Inside, Wang Jie hit twenty.

His body felt half-dead. Large sections had gone numb.

Still nothing stopped him.

He gritted his teeth.

Twenty-five.

Jiang Jing Yue’s gaze sharpened. This man matched her own best score.

On the current Zen Mountain, fewer than five people had reached twenty-five.

Even Chen Song, her Junior Brother, had only managed twenty-four at the time.

Inside, Wang Jie struck again.

Twenty-six.

He surpassed Jiang Jing Yue.

Twenty-seven.

Now he was second only to the Second Zen.

Twenty-eight.

Jiang Jing Yue couldn’t help stepping closer.

Twenty-nine.

One left.

Could he do it?

Wang Jie snarled under his breath. Still not enough?

Was the Third Zen filled with lunatics—people who could endure even more than him?

Fury surged. He struck.

The moment his palm fell, he regretted it. He’d hit too hard.

Pain detonated through him. His body dropped, blood spilling from his mouth.

Thirty.

He didn’t strike again.

He wanted to. But his body wouldn’t obey. He’d reached his limit.

Worse, he knew he’d ruined his own chances of going beyond. If he’d kept the earlier strength, he could have landed a few more without issue. That last blow had been pure anger.

If he hadn’t passed after all this…

He waited, tense, furious, exhausted.

Then, after a long beat—

The fourth layer appeared.

Outside, Jiang Jing Yue’s eyes flickered. Once the frequency window elapsed, a challenger who had passed would be allowed into the next layer.

Wang Jie let out a shaky breath. He’d made it.

Then he blinked.

His injuries… were gone.

Fake?

He rose slowly and tested his limbs. His body was intact.

So the trial used some method to simulate pain—vivid enough to mimic broken bones and blood, yet leaving no real damage once you cleared it.

He looked back at the stone, then at the fourth layer.

Curiosity tugged at him—hard.

He almost stepped forward.

Then he forced himself to turn away.

He’d already cleared three layers. That was enough to claim a mountain range, which was all he’d come for. The fourth layer would take him into the Zen Hall, and he had no interest in that. He’d chosen Zen Mountain voluntarily.

Besides, Slaughter Cliff scores were watched. The higher he climbed, the more eyes would turn toward him.

He didn’t want that.

He walked back the way he’d come, descending through the first two layers.

The moment he stepped out of Slaughter Cliff, he found a woman waiting.

Jiang Jing Yue.

He hadn’t been able to see her from inside. Yet here she was, smiling gently.

“I’m Jiang Jing Yue,” she said. “Zen Mountain’s Eldest Senior Sister. Junior Brother—you’re the Zen Inheritor Disciple who recently joined, aren’t you?”

Wang Jie bowed respectfully. “Yes. Junior Brother Lu Bu Qi greets Eldest Senior Sister.”

Jiang Jing Yue’s eyes held warmth, but her attention was sharp. “I watched you challenge Slaughter Cliff. You cleared three layers in a row. Why didn’t you continue?”

Wang Jie gave a weary smile. “My mind and spirit are exhausted. I truly don’t have the strength.”

“Junior Brother, you know you can clear Slaughter Cliff in stages, right?”

Wang Jie looked up. “I can?”

“Yes. You only get one chance, but that doesn’t mean you must clear all four layers consecutively. Many Fellow Brothers clear one layer, rest for a while, and return for the next.”

“Then…” Wang Jie hesitated, then nodded. “Once I recover some energy, I’ll challenge the fourth layer.”

He wouldn’t. But there was no reason to refuse in front of her. Better to leave it hanging.

Jiang Jing Yue didn’t press. “Each layer you clear comes with a reward.

“The first layer allows direct cultivation of the Heavenly Astral Body-Forging Chart. But Junior Brother won’t need that—Zen Inheritor Disciples can cultivate it directly.”

Wang Jie nodded.

“The second layer’s reward is the right to freely cultivate one battle skill from Zen Mountain,” Jiang Jing Yue continued. “Do you have one you want?”

“I’ll go take a look.”

Jiang Jing Yue smiled. “The third layer has two rewards. One is the chance to attempt apprenticeship under the Second Zen. The other is ownership of a section of a mountain range.”

Wang Jie frowned slightly. “Apprenticeship under the Second Zen? That’s possible?”

“Only a chance,” Jiang Jing Yue said. “Whether the Second Zen accepts you… no one can say.”

Wang Jie shook his head. “Forget it. I’m only a lockforce cultivator.”

His gaze shifted. “What does it mean to ‘own a section of a mountain range’?”

“Zen Mountain has many mountain ranges,” Jiang Jing Yue explained. “If you control one, then within its boundaries, no one may enter freely—except the Second Zen.”

Wang Jie’s eyes brightened. “Then where is my mountain range?”

“I’ll choose one for you,” Jiang Jing Yue said. Then she added, almost casually, “Junior Brother truly won’t try to apprentice? Even if you cultivate lockforce, the Second Zen might still accept you. The champion of the Full-Star Tournament—Wang Jie—was also a lockforce cultivator.”

Wang Jie gave a helpless laugh. “I wouldn’t dare compare myself to the Full-Star Tournament champion.”

“You’re too modest,” Jiang Jing Yue said. “Even if Wang Jie came here, he might not be able to clear three layers in a row. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I’m more optimistic about you.”

“Thank you, Eldest Senior Sister,” Wang Jie said. “I’ll do my best.”

After a pause, he asked, “Does Zen Mountain have a lockforce Star-Devourer?”

Jiang Jing Yue nodded. “Yes.

“But Junior Brother can’t use it.”

Wang Jie’s disappointment showed. “Full-Star Realm is manageable, but at Roaming-Star Realm—and especially Hundred-Star Realm—without a lockforce Star-Devourer, where am I supposed to find enough lockforce to replenish?”

Jiang Jing Yue sighed. “A lockforce Star-Devourer is a matter of the sect itself.

“In the universe, lockforce cultivators are the most numerous. If you gave them a true future—if they could cultivate like starforce cultivators—it would shake the balance of the Four Great Bridge-Pillar forces.”

“So every major sect and power uses Star-Devourers to experiment, trying to change lockforce cultivation and break its limits.”

“This concerns the sect’s grand plan for the future. It won’t change because of one person.”

Wang Jie bowed. “Understood. Thank you for explaining, Eldest Senior Sister.”

Jiang Jing Yue watched him for a long moment.

Thirty strikes in Break Obsession… and a lockforce cultivator.

What a pity.

If he were a starforce cultivator, the Second Zen would accept him without hesitation, regardless of background.

Still… she could mention him.

Whether he was taken in would depend on fate.