Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Big News

Watching Qi Wu take Yun Lai away, Wang Jie stood on the city wall, his gaze turning cold.

“You really can’t kill him,” Wen Zhao said quietly. “Not because of the Yun family, but because Yun Lai has been confirmed as a sect prodigy. Someone like that will be protected.”

She was trying to comfort him. She knew he didn’t want to accept it.

Yun Lai had shown killing intent toward Bai Yuan. He looked down on Blue Star people again and again, calling them natives. Someone like that shouldn’t be released.

Wang Jie frowned. “If a sect prodigy is protected, how do they grow?”

“A powerful sect needs more than top experts,” Wen Zhao said. “It also needs a massive number of disciples to serve it. Mid-level disciples and elite disciples are both essential.”

“Once Yun Lai is protected, it means the resources tilted toward him will decrease.”

“He’ll be raised as an elite disciple. And for disciples like that, the sect doesn’t need to worry about shaping their character.”

Wang Jie understood. He nodded once. “Let’s go.”

In the days that followed, the improved combat power detector was distributed to the major bases. Some cultivators who had just broken through the Eighth Seal began searching for trialists, and they actually found some.

They were all handed to Wang Jie and Bai Yuan’s group to deal with.

Ordinary cultivators were no match for these trialists.

Wen Zhao’s only way out was to fight—to smash the fate of war slaves and break Blue Star’s doomed destiny.

To do that, they had to deal with the trialists first.

At the very least, if they could make this trial fail, Blue Star would have a chance to breathe.

Exceptions like this had happened before. Blue Star could hold on until the next trial.

After ten days, Shang Jing City Base had imprisoned twenty-four trialists. It wasn’t incredibly efficient, but it was already impressive.

They were still hunting down the rest.

Trialists had definitely slipped into bases, but no one knew where.

Wang Jie brought Si Yan from Jin Ling Base to Shang Jing City. This place had the best research equipment in Hua Xia, and Si Yan’s mechanical expertise could finally shine.

Wang Jie did his routine again, and this time it was still a double boost.

But the consumption of disaster materials rose sharply, draining him of every last bit he had.

His strength reached thirty-two times what it had been when he broke through the Eighth Seal.

Even he was stunned by such terrifying power.

No one outside knew.

Even Wen Zhao didn’t know that every routine gave Wang Jie such a massive jump.

Everyone was waiting to see who would be the first to break through the Ninth Seal.

After all, the third batch of trialists had already arrived.

Then, one day, what they expected to be calm shattered as streaks of fiery meteors tore across the sky.

Wang Jie stood atop an abandoned high-rise outside the base, staring in shock.

How was this possible?

Someone had broken through the Ten Seals.

Who was that fast?

Bai Yuan hadn’t even reached the Ninth Seal, yet someone had already hit the Ten Seals and triggered the arrival of the fourth batch of trialists.

Wang Jie rushed back to Shang Jing City.

When he arrived, he learned Bai Yuan had already broken through the Ninth Seal—but there was no time to celebrate.

The Ten Seals trialists had arrived.

The Ten Seals was, in theory, the biggest hurdle below the star-breaking realm.

For a normal cultivator, the gap between the Ninth Seal and the Ten Seals was enormous.

One meant city-level destructive power. The other meant regional destruction.

Yun Lai’s prodigy reputation had come from reaching Ten Seals-level destructive power while still at the Ninth Seal.

Now, true Ten Seals cultivators had appeared.

Nine of them at once.

“How could that be?” Wen Zhao murmured. “The fourth batch of trialists was supposed to have only five people. Why are there nine? And why did they all land on Hua Xia?”

It didn’t match what she knew.

Wang Jie immediately questioned the other captured trialists.

Most didn’t know. But two elders from the Jia Yi Sect did understand the situation.

The fourth batch really should have been only five.

Yet nine had descended at once—and instead of spreading across Blue Star, they’d concentrated on Hua Xia.

Something was wrong.

On Hua Xia, in the central region, the young man walking high in the sky watched the fiery meteors fall. The corner of his mouth curled. “So they’ve arrived? Now this is interesting.”

In the distance, a meteor slammed down. A tall young man stepped from the dust, face pale, nearly two meters in height and sickly white.

After landing, he cut his finger and let blood drip onto the ground. “Come, insect sea.”

Elsewhere, a bald youth emerged from the dust with a short sword in hand. He didn’t even glance around. He simply walked in a single direction.

Outside Jin Ling Base, a meteor fell and blasted out a huge crater.

Cultivators went on alert at once, staring into the dust as if bracing for a beast tide.

Hong Jian had someone contact Shang Jing City immediately.

He still couldn’t handle Ninth Seal threats, let alone Ten Seals.

Under countless watchful eyes, a beautiful woman walked out of the dust. Facing the entire Jin Ling Base, she took something from her storage ring and tossed it into the sky.

Hong Jian and the others watched a symbol rise, piercing the clouds.

He didn’t know what it meant. He only watched her more cautiously.

This woman was at the Ten Seals. Her gaze alone carried crushing pressure.

Far away, Wen Zhao saw the symbol in the clouds and sucked in a breath. “A sect signal.”

Her expression changed. She contacted Bai Yuan at once.

To the east of Shang Jing City, at the border between the safe zone and the danger zone, Yun Lai sat in an armored vehicle with a dark face. That native… he would slaughter him, no matter what.

Because they were facing away from the south—and sealed inside the vehicle—they didn’t see the signal in the clouds.

Qi Wu drove, glancing at Yun Lai every few seconds. “Young Master Yun, this trial feels different.”

“The fourth batch was clearly five people. How did it suddenly become nine? And look—they all landed on this stretch of land. Isn’t that strange?”

Yun Lai’s voice was ice. “What are you trying to say?”

Qi Wu lowered his voice. “Could it be the Yun family sent people to avenge you, Young Master Yun?”

Yun Lai stared out the window, unsettled. He didn’t know.

Just then, the combat power detector on Qi Wu began to beep. This wasn’t a combat scan—someone was contacting him.

“Eldest Miss?” Qi Wu blurted.

Yun Lai’s eyes narrowed. Who?

“Eldest Miss, why are you also in the Blue Star trial?”

“Yes, yes. All right. I understand.”

Qi Wu made a hard turn. The armored vehicle swung back toward Shang Jing City.

Yun Lai frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry, Young Master Yun,” Qi Wu said. “We have to go back.”

“What’s going on?”

“Eldest Miss is here. She wants us to gather at Shang Jing City.”

“Qi Xue Yin?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t she breaking through the star-breaking realm right now? Why would she come to the trial? And she already went through it before.”

Qi Wu’s face turned solemn. “I don’t know. Eldest Miss only told me to return.”

As the armored vehicle turned, they caught sight of the pattern in the clouds.

Yun Lai’s expression shifted. “A sect signal. It was released by someone from the Wen family—what’s going on?”

Qi Wu’s voice went grim. “I knew something was wrong.”

“Young Master Yun, hold on.”

He floored it. The armored vehicle roared toward Shang Jing City.

Wang Jie returned to Shang Jing City that night.

The moment he arrived, he was taken straight to Bai Yuan and the others.

Wen Zhao, Qing Zheng, and Old Five were all there, along with a group of cultivators from Shang Jing City—the ones who made decisions for the entire base.

“Did you see the signal?” someone asked.

Wang Jie nodded. “The one in the clouds? It came from the direction of Jin Ling Base.”

Wen Zhao’s voice was heavy. “That’s a sect signal. It means: gather. The one who released it was someone from the Wen family. If I’m not wrong, it should be Wen Xing Ru.”

Wang Jie frowned. “Why would trialists gather?”

Bai Yuan answered, “It’s complicated. Trialists have appeared in Tian Fu, Jiang City, and Nan Guo Base. They aren’t hostile, but they’re demanding we gather at Shang Jing City. Something big happened.”

“We agreed. Otherwise, even if we join forces, we won’t be able to handle those cultivators.”

“We’ll know the details once the Ten Seals trialists arrive.”

He glanced at the time. “If we count it, they should be here soon.”

Half an hour later, a craft from Jin Ling Base landed. Hong Jian stepped out with the woman who had released the signal, and they were brought straight inside.

“Sister Xing Ru,” Wen Zhao said.

Wen Xing Ru nodded at her. “The sect saw your trial process. You did very well.”

Wen Zhao acknowledged with a hum and said nothing more.

Wen Xing Ru hadn’t come for her.

Bai Yuan invited Wen Xing Ru and Hong Jian to sit.

Wen Xing Ru went straight to the point. “Everyone, I won’t beat around the bush. I’m here to tell you something important—something that concerns the life and death of all Blue Star. Listen carefully.”

As she spoke, her gaze flicked to Wang Jie. In this room, only Bai Yuan and Wang Jie were worth a second look to her. The rest didn’t matter.

But this was Blue Star, and she needed them to mobilize resources.

“In the universe, as far as the Jia Yi Sect knows, there are many powerful forces: humans, starry-sky behemoths, and strange lifeforms.”

“And among humans, there is one called Cheng Yi Dao, as famous as the Jia Yi Sect.”

“Within Cheng Yi Dao there is a person named Shu Mu Ye. Though he is only at the Eighth Seal, his combat power within the Ten Seals is unmatched in all history.”

Her face grew terrifyingly solemn. She looked at Wang Jie. “I saw you beat Yun Lai. But if Yun Lai fought him…”

She lifted one finger. “One move.”

“He would lose in one move.”

Wang Jie’s gaze sharpened. He thought of the young man Chong Ruo Ruo had mentioned. Could it be him?

Bai Yuan looked at Wen Xing Ru. “So the Ten Seals cultivators who were supposed to number five became nine?”

Wen Xing Ru nodded. “Four people joined at the last minute. I’m one of them.”

“Zhao Er knows I was about to enter the star-breaking realm. My seclusion was interrupted, and I entered this trial for one reason: to deal with Shu Mu Ye.”

“Besides me, there are three more. They all come from powerful forces. They’re all here for him.”

“The reason is simple.” Her voice dropped. “Shu Mu Ye—or rather, Cheng Yi Dao—wants to use your Blue Star as a sacrifice to build a bridge.”