Chapter 357

Chapter 357: You’re Blocking My Way

Wang Jie took the ginger. The scent hit immediately—sharp and biting.

Nian Wei couldn’t help asking, “What do you need this for?”

“It’s useful.”

He turned the ginger once in his hand, then asked, “Is there any way to obtain star-refining realm starforce?”

Nian Wei understood at once. “To recharge a chen artifact?”

Wang Jie nodded.

“Star-refining realm starforce…” Nian Wei frowned. “To get that, you need at least a hundred-star realm chen refiner to act. Paying the price is one thing—the bigger problem is that they may refuse, no matter how much you offer.”

She paused. “You could ask Eldest Miss.”

“There’s a hundred-star realm chen refiner in Third Zen Heaven. With Eldest Miss’s influence, it should be possible.”

Wang Jie nodded. That was probably his only option.

He wasn’t short on money. The Nan family had offered starsea stones as well—enough for him to spend freely.

But a chen refiner wasn’t someone you could hire with coin alone.

“Mister Lu,” Nian Wei said suddenly, “there’s something I should confess.”

Wang Jie looked up. “What?”

“I had a feud with Madam Miao.”

Wang Jie wasn’t surprised. Back then, she’d pushed him again and again toward Madam Miao. He’d already guessed.

“I didn’t say it before because I was afraid you wouldn’t go,” Nian Wei continued. “Now that Madam Miao is destroyed, I should be honest.”

“My position doesn’t allow me to seek private revenge. It doesn’t allow me to influence an analyst’s judgment. I crossed a line. If you report it upward, I won’t blame you.”

“You came to Third Zen Heaven because of Madam Miao,” Wang Jie said.

“Yes,” Nian Wei answered without hesitation. “The planet I was born on was under Madam Miao’s control. I watched insects descend from the starry sky again and again. If I hadn’t escaped on a ship by chance, I would’ve become bones like everyone else.”

“My parents. My family. All of them died in that catastrophe.”

“I’ve wanted revenge for a long time.”

One detail felt off. Wang Jie asked, “Aren’t people stationed in major forces trained by the Star Vault Vista from childhood? How were you not?”

Nian Wei explained that the Star Vault Vista wasn’t a single rigid pipeline. It had two systems.

One was raised from childhood and later stationed out in various forces—people like Du Xian and Su Ying Yu.

Su Ying Yu was on the lowest rung because the Silver Radiance Empire was tiny, and there were countless stationed people like her.

Nian Wei’s level was higher than Du Xian’s because she was stationed in Third Zen Heaven.

The second system was invitations from outside.

Wang Jie belonged to that second group.

The Star Vault Vista also kept slots for children brought in from outside and rotated them regularly, to keep the organization from hardening into one kind of thinking.

Wang Jie had no interest in digging into her past, and no desire to report her.

“Let it end here,” he said. “And your suggestion was the best one.”

Nian Wei’s shoulders finally loosened. “Thank you.”

Wang Jie hesitated, then asked, “Have you heard of the dong fang clan?”

Nian Wei looked startled. “The dong fang clan? Why are you asking about them?”

“You know them?”

She nodded, expression turning grave. “They’re not welcome among the four bridge-pillars. Because they study ancient history.”

Wang Jie frowned. Ancient history? What was wrong with that? Even Blue Star studied its past.

“They don’t just study history,” Nian Wei said quietly. “They believe the universe is far more than the four bridge-pillars. And they believe the current ‘masters’ of the universe aren’t the true masters at all.”

“They stand against the entire universe and dig for the real ancient history.”

Wang Jie understood immediately.

Everyone studied history. But if you dug up the truth, you offended the victors.

History was written by the winners—and the winners ruled the present.

“Mister Lu,” Nian Wei warned, “don’t get involved with the dong fang clan. It will bring trouble.”

Wang Jie nodded. “All right. I understand what I needed to understand.”

He shifted back to business. “When will Eldest Miss arrive?”

“Soon,” Nian Wei said. “A few days.”

A few days later, Ting Chen arrived.

Wang Jie returned the wooden figure to her personally. “I’m sorry, Eldest Miss. I couldn’t understand it. I couldn’t cultivate with it at all.”

Ting Chen accepted it without emotion. “Then forget it.”

In the end, his talent was still limited. He was only a lockforce cultivator.

“If you need anything, go to Nian Wei,” Ting Chen said. “Raise your strength as much as you can before the Wandering-Star Tournament.”

Wang Jie thanked her, then asked directly for a hundred-star realm chen refiner to help star-refine his equipment.

Ting Chen didn’t refuse. “Wait.”

Wang Jie left quickly.

Afterward, Nian Wei reported to Ting Chen, “Eldest Miss. Jiang Jing Yue is watching Lu Bu Qi.” She summarized the conflict with Jiang Yu.

Ting Chen’s eyes narrowed. “Then Third Zen Heaven will certainly guess he’s connected to the Star Vault Vista.”

Nian Wei nodded.

Ting Chen considered it for a moment. “Then let him become the bridge between us and Third Zen Heaven.”

With his nebula-grade ship, the trip from Outer Zen to Zen Mountain was much faster.

Wang Jie docked at the port and followed his star map to a familiar place.

Before he left Outer Zen, Nian Wei had given him another piece of information: Su Qing was in trouble.

That was good news—at least for him.

Moss-coated chains stretched across the mountains, laid flat in midair, holding up a pavilion like a suspended island.

A single pavilion hung between mountain and water, as if the clouds had drawn it there.

The Cloud-Mist Pavilion.

It was where Zen Mountain disciples gathered to exchange news and where guests were received.

Today, it was crowded and loud. At the center stood a young man dressed nothing like a Zen Mountain disciple—his clothing looked more technological, and a combat power detector gleamed on his wrist.

His name was Su Zhi, from the Milky Way Defense Corporation.

“Everyone,” Su Zhi said with a smile, “our loan slots are limited. If you’re interested, tell me directly. And if you’re not selected, don’t be discouraged. There will be other chances.”

Disciples surged forward to apply.

This “loan” wasn’t for cultivation. It was for war—for suppression operations, to be precise.

There were too many civilizations in the universe. The Beidou bridge-pillar might look like it divided everything into four great nebulae, but within each nebula, civilizations rose and fell, and wars never stopped.

The Milky Way Defense Corporation needed resources. Mining meant conflict, and conflict meant constant fighting across planets and factions.

So they borrowed disciples from places like the Jia Yi Sect, Third Zen Heaven, and the Heaven-Insect People.

Anything those borrowed disciples gained in war belonged to them. They also received rewards from both the corporation and their sect—threefold profit, plus real battle experience.

There was no shortage of applicants.

Su Qing wanted in as well.

But she was blocked outside the Cloud-Mist Pavilion.

She stared into the pavilion, tense with urgency. This loan was rare. She’d heard Senior Brother Xie was there. She had to go.

Two people stood in her way, refusing to let her approach Su Zhi.

“Junior Sister Su,” one of them said coldly, “go back. You won’t get this chance.”

Su Qing glared. “What did Huo Ming Xue give you to make you bark for her like this?”

The man narrowed his eyes. “Junior Sister Huo is upright and honorable. We help her willingly. What ‘benefit’ are you talking about?”

Then his tone turned sharper. “But Junior Sister Su seems… close to Senior Brother Situ. If Senior Brother Xie hears, it may not look good.”

“Don’t smear me,” Su Qing snapped.

“Smear you?” The other man sneered. “You suffered at the hands of that Chengchan disciple, then ran to Senior Brother Situ to demand justice. He even gathered senior brothers to help you.”

“If that man didn’t happen to control a mountain range and make Senior Brother Situ wary, you would’ve already gotten your revenge.”

“Tell me—if it were Junior Sister Huo asking him, would he be this devoted? And you still claim there’s nothing between you?”

Su Qing lashed out in fury.

But both blockers were roaming-star realm. She couldn’t break through.

“Junior Sister Su,” one of them mocked, “you can’t force your way in. Why not call Senior Brother Situ for help?”

Su Qing’s fists clenched until her knuckles went white.

Inside the Cloud-Mist Pavilion, a woman turned and smiled at her with blatant satisfaction.

Su Qing ground her teeth. She knew the corporation wouldn’t interfere. The slots were limited—if you couldn’t make it, you didn’t make it.

And she couldn’t even get past these two.

Then a voice cut in behind her, flat and sharp. “You three. You’re blocking my way. Move.”

Su Qing stiffened.

She turned slowly—and saw Wang Jie.

Wang Jie looked past her at the figures in front of the pavilion and confirmed what he’d already been told: Su Qing really had run into trouble.

And the timing was… too perfect.

The Star Vault Vista’s information network was terrifying. Trouble like this didn’t last long. Yet he’d arrived at the exact moment it mattered. That wasn’t ordinary intelligence. It was prediction.

“It’s you?” Su Qing snapped, eyes widening as her fists tightened.

The two blockers exchanged a glance, registering her obvious hatred. So this man had a grudge with her too?

Wang Jie ignored her. “Didn’t you hear me? Move.”

Su Qing glared, breathing hard.

One blocker forced a polite smile. “Junior Brother, apologies. Please.”

He stepped aside.

Wang Jie strode forward, passing Su Qing without a glance.

Su Qing watched his back, fighting the urge to strike.

What was this day? First Huo Ming Xue’s people, and now this man.

Wang Jie halted beside the blocker, then turned back slowly, his gaze sinking like a storm cloud.

The man frowned. “What?”

“What did you just call me?” Wang Jie asked.

The man’s eyes flickered. “I’ve been at Zen Mountain a long time, and I’ve never seen you. Calling you Junior Brother is reasonable.”

Wang Jie’s voice dropped. “Blind fool.”

The man’s brow knotted. “What did you say?”

“Not just blind,” Wang Jie said, stepping in, “deaf too.”

“Insolent!”

The man struck first.

Wang Jie moved faster. He caught the man’s arm in a crushing grip, pinned him in place, then drove a kick into his torso and sent him flying.