Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Top-Priority Order

“So you’re saying the people of Blue Star will be transferred to other planets?”

Bai Yuan asked.

Wen Xing Ru nodded. “I don’t know how they’ll resettle you, but your names will be removed from the interstellar battlefield and war-slave lists. That was the condition the sect set before we came—paid in exchange for your full cooperation.”

Bai Yuan met Wang Jie’s gaze. After a beat, he nodded. “Fine. We’ll do everything we can.”

They had no choice. Helping the Trialists was the only road left for Blue Star’s people.

The old fantasy—that they could defeat every Trialist, keep Blue Star as the trial grounds, and survive by sheer defiance—had been crushed the moment Shu Mu Ye revealed his terrifying strength.

Even with all his tricks, Wang Jie didn’t dare claim he could defeat Shu Mu Ye before the man built his bridge.

That wasn’t a gap in power. It was a gap in rule.

The worst part was you couldn’t even see the bottom of it.

And the fact that the Trialists still refused to reveal Shu Mu Ye’s true identity only deepened the despair.

Still, Wang Jie didn’t plan to stake everything on the Trialists. If nothing else, he believed he grew stronger faster than they did.

His first priority remained the same: strengthen himself.

The Five Major Bases had decided to ship all disaster materials to Tian Fu Base so the Trialists could maintain peak combat strength.

Wang Jie’s assignment was Jiang City.

Jiang City’s former strongest, Bu Qiao, had died at the hands of the Trialists. The place was leaderless now.

The aircraft soon disappeared into the skies above Tian Fu Base.

Wang Jie left with Qing Zheng, Old Five, and Old Nine, heading straight for Jiang City.

Wen Zhao stayed behind.

She was a Trialist, after all.

And once Wen Xing Ru arrived, she and Wang Jie separated without another word.

“Old Boss,” Qing Zheng said as they traveled, “someone contacted my dad. They want Shou Qing Group to hand over all disaster materials to Tian Fu Base for the Trialists.”

Old Five’s face darkened. “Those Trialists can’t even last one move against Shu Mu Ye. What use are the materials in their hands?”

Wang Jie looked at Qing Zheng. “The Five Major Bases will send enough. Don’t touch Shou Qing Group’s stockpile. Tell Uncle Qing to hold it for me.”

Qing Zheng nodded.

Old Nine glanced at Wang Jie. “Can Shou Qing Group withstand the pressure from the Trialists?”

“I can,” Wang Jie said, calm and absolute.

He had the pilot open the hatch. The combat power detector had been screaming for a while—something was coming.

A flock of huge mutant birds wheeled in the distance, talons like hooked blades as they dove at the aircraft.

Wang Jie lifted a hand and pointed.

Spiral Qi Force swept across the sky like a gale. The birds dropped in a bloody rain, feathers and flesh scattering through the air.

A Spiral Qi Force unleashed at thirty-two times strength was already beyond anything Blue Star’s mutant creatures could handle.

If he were still at the Seventh Seal, he could have dealt with Moon Plant alone.

And Blue Star still hadn’t undergone another Heavenstone metamorphosis—not even after the fourth batch of Trialists arrived. That, too, was part of why they believed Wen Xing Ru. Otherwise, the moment her group landed, the mutant creatures should have evolved overnight.

They pressed on toward Jiang City. Along the way, they were attacked three more times—more than usual.

From afar, Jiang City looked like a giant crouched beneath a storm of yellow sand.

And right now, it was drowning in a beast tide.

Mutant beasts poured in from all sides. The northern and eastern walls had already been breached. The creatures rampaged through the streets, and broken bodies lay everywhere.

Then Wang Jie saw something that stopped him cold.

Ordinary people—unarmed, untrained—had formed a living wall. They gripped planks, cleavers, anything they could find, shielding a group of cultivators behind them. They used their bodies to buy the cultivators time to gather and release attacks.

It hit Wang Jie like a fist to the chest.

Since the apocalypse began, he’d lived inside his hatred—eyes blinded by a single raging fire.

Assassinating Zuo Tian. Acting as a guide. Hiding his strength. He’d cared little for the bases being built, or the countless battles against mutant creatures. He’d existed like a man beneath a perpetual shadow.

Now, with his hatred set aside, he was seeing a different Hua Xia.

Many people fled when the world collapsed. That was instinct.

But there were others whose will rose above instinct.

Every base had been built on sacrifice.

People like Bai Yuan, Sister Tang, and Hong Jian were always the first to charge forward.

Reckless, maybe—yet brave.

Hua Xia’s people carried a stubborn defiance in their bones. The closer they came to despair, the harder it flared.

Wang Jie moved without hesitation.

Spiral Qi Force slammed down like a falling star, crushing a swath of mutant beasts.

Before the aircraft even landed, he jumped—hammering onto the city wall. He grabbed pebbles and flicked them out one after another. Each stone hit like artillery, carving through mutant beasts in brutal lines.

Old Five, Old Nine, and Qing Zheng followed him down. They were Eighth Seal now, too. Together they plunged into the beast tide.

With Wang Jie’s group cutting in, Jiang City’s pressure dropped sharply.

And when Wang Jie unleashed Heaven-and-Earth Luo Xuan Finger outside the wall—shattering the ground for a thousand meters—shock rippled through every defender. The beast tide broke, then recoiled.

Wang Jie stood on the wall and watched it retreat.

Then he turned.

In the corner, a group of cultivators had been protected by ordinary people. Bodies lay layered on the ground—one after another, like a crude barricade built from lives.

With the beasts gone, the ordinary people finally ran out of strength. Many collapsed. The stench of blood rose in a choking wave.

“Mom!”

“Grandpa!” “Dad—!”

Children burst out from behind the cultivators, crying as they ran into the gore to search for family.

Wang Jie stared, silent. The children were protected in the center. Outside them stood cultivators. And outside the cultivators—on the very edge—were the children’s own relatives. Layer upon layer of protection.

For the first time, he truly looked at the land that had raised him—and felt responsibility settle on his shoulders.

“I’m Bu Dao,” a man said, stepping forward. “Jiang City’s chief defense commander. May I ask your name, brother?”

Wang Jie drew his gaze back. Bu Dao was a typical Jiang City man—weathered by wind and sand, eyes steady with grit. “Wang Jie. From Tian Fu Base.”

Bu Dao nodded. “So it really is you. Tian Fu Base already contacted us.”

“Then prepare the disaster materials as soon as possible.”

Bu Dao’s smile turned bitter. “That isn’t up to us. Four Trialists have seized the families of some cultivators. They’re using them as hostages to force us to obey, so…”

Wang Jie’s eyes sharpened. “They did that?”

“After my brother died, Jiang City had no one who could truly decide anything. A Trialist could come and go at will—let alone four. The leader is Ming Zhao. Ninth Seal. One of the third batch.”

Bu Dao’s jaw tightened. “We considered going down together with them. Better than being controlled. But they took children.”

His voice dropped. “If we tear the mask off now, those kids die. And we lose too many people. Then the next beast tide comes…”

He didn’t finish, but Wang Jie understood.

“They didn’t lift a hand during the beast tide?”

“They don’t care if we live or die. They only care about the materials.”

“Take me to them,” Wang Jie said.

Bu Dao turned to lead him, but before they’d gone far, a report came in.

The four Trialists had fled. They took some disaster materials—but left most behind.

“The children?” Bu Dao demanded.

“They’re safe,” the reporting cultivator said quickly.

Bu Dao exhaled hard. “Good.”

Wang Jie looked at the man. “Which way did they go?”

“West.”

“Get me a vehicle,” Wang Jie said. “I’m going after them.”

Minutes later, an armored vehicle roared out of Jiang City and tore west across broken land.

Old Five and the others stayed behind to help stabilize the city.

Not far from Jiang City’s western boundary, another armored vehicle barreled through the dust.

Inside sat four Trialists—three men and one woman.

Ming Zhao lounged in the back, an arm around the woman. The Trialist in the passenger seat kept glancing behind them, sweat shining at his temple. “Brother Zhao… that guy won’t really chase us, will he?”

The woman’s voice trembled. “Bu Dao got a call from Tian Fu Base. Something about building bridges and needing disaster materials. We left most of it behind. He probably won’t chase.”

Ming Zhao’s eyes were dark. “Even if he does, so what? You think I’m afraid of him?”

No one answered.

Not afraid?

Then why run?

They had seen it—one finger splitting the clouds, crushing land like paper. The moment Ming Zhao saw that, he’d decided to flee without hesitation.

He’d even left most of the disaster materials behind as a gesture of goodwill.

Because he knew the truth: he wasn’t a match.

If only their aircraft hadn’t been wrecked by the beast tide. They would have been long gone.

Ahead, mutant beasts surged—the remnants of the tide. The armored vehicle had to slow, and claws slammed into its sides again and again.

Ming Zhao clicked his tongue and climbed onto the roof, long saber in hand.

“One Blade!”

He slashed, shredding a line of mutant beasts and carving a bloody path.

Then he looked back—

And his face changed.

An armored vehicle was closing fast, kicking up a storm of dust behind it.

“Turn left!” Ming Zhao roared. “Now!”

Wang Jie had seen them.

He stepped off his vehicle, bent his legs, and launched himself into the sky. The force of his jump stamped a crater into the ground as he shot forward like a human cannon.

Ming Zhao gritted his teeth and swung again.

Ninth Seal power erupted. A saber arc stretched a hundred meters and cleaved down toward Wang Jie’s head.

Wang Jie raised a finger.

Spiral Qi Force shattered the arc into fragments. The shockwave slammed into the earth, warping it. The fleeing armored vehicle nearly flipped.

The others scrambled out, weapons raised, eyes locked on Wang Jie.

He landed a short distance away.

Ming Zhao shouted, “Brother! We left you the materials! There’s no need to chase us to the death!”

Wang Jie’s gaze cut like ice. “You stole from Jiang City. When the beast tide came, why didn’t you help?”

Ming Zhao narrowed his eyes. “You’re a Blue Star native?”

Wang Jie didn’t answer.

Ming Zhao snorted. “So what? You people don’t care about those outside the bases either. What kind of lives do they live out there? And what kind of lives do you live inside? Why pretend you care whether they live or die?”

He spread his hands. “Fine. We’ll give you everything.”

Wang Jie’s voice stayed flat. “If I want the materials, I’ll take them myself.”

He took a step forward.

“Say one more word,” he warned, eyes colder by the second. “Limited resources cannot sustain unlimited people. Hua Xia’s bases have a top-priority order: everyone enters the base.”

He moved.

Ming Zhao barked, “Attack!”

Three Eighth Seal and one Ninth Seal surged together.

They weren’t weak.

It didn’t matter.

The instant they met Wang Jie, an overwhelming force snapped Ming Zhao’s arm like dry wood. The remaining power flung him across the ground, slamming him into the armored vehicle with a metallic scream.

The other three Trialists died before they even understood what had happened.

Wang Jie did not hold back.