Chapter 45

Chapter 45: The God Who Looked Up at the Sky

A hundred kilometers from Jin Ling Base, at the foot of a mountain, Wang Jie waited with one hand resting on the sword’s hilt, eyes closed and breath steady.

The sword had come from the base.

He knew how to use a blade, but he rarely chose one. Nothing he’d seen in the martial hall footage truly suited him.

Today was different. Nothing stirred blood like steel.

Behind him, drones hovered in a wide arc, filming from every angle.

At noon, the sun split the clouds. Wang Jie’s eyes opened.

Imprint power roared up, surged along his arm, and detonated through his body. He stepped forward and swung.

A clean arc of sword light cut through the air.

Qing Zheng and the others stared at the mountain ahead. For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then the sky tore open.

The thick clouds split as if someone had ripped a seam straight across the heavens. Earth and sky seemed cleaved in two, like a colossal mirror driven upright between them.

A moment later, the mountain began to slide.

The entire peak—larger than Jin Ling Base itself—sheared along the cut, tilting, slipping, and collapsing backward. Forests, lakes, houses, mutated beasts… everything on that mountainside fell in a roaring cascade.

When it hit, the ground shook. Dust surged like a wave, and the world trembled under the impact.

Everyone watching in person went wide-eyed, struck dumb.

He’d split the sky.

Was that kind of destruction even possible for a human being?

One strike had smashed through what they believed was the limit.

Wen Zhao and the others weren’t surprised. This wasn’t enough to shock the trialists—they’d witnessed attacks that could erase whole planets.

But Wang Jie hadn’t done it for them.

He’d done it for the people of Blue Star.

Old Five and the others were practically shaking. “Old Boss—too strong!”

“Old Boss is so damn cool!”

Wang Jie lowered the sword. His gaze stayed calm, almost detached.

In truth, Heaven-and-Earth Luo Xuan Finger could inflict even greater damage than that slash. It was still shocking, but its destructive range was limited. A sword, on the other hand—especially in Hua Xia—hit something deeper than reason.

“This is for Shu Mu Ye,” he said.

In Shan Cheng, drones sped toward Shu Mu Ye.

Not long after, Shu Mu Ye watched the footage of Wang Jie splitting the mountain. The video played at the same time across all major bases.

A challenge.

Wang Jie was calling Shu Mu Ye out.

Wen Xing Ru and the others didn’t care about the sword’s raw power. They cared about Wang Jie’s words—because those words were meant for them.

“You refuse to withdraw from the trial,” Wang Jie said, “which means you refuse to accept this.

“Then I’ll be the sword. I’ll charge ahead for you. All you have to do is protect the major bases of my Blue Star—so I have no worries behind my back.”

He looked straight into the camera. “I swear to all of you—I won’t let him leave unscathed.”

If Wang Jie had said this before the battle outside Tian Fu Base, no one would have taken it seriously. Now, even Lord Mo had to weigh it with a cold mind.

Because Wang Jie was the only one who could meet Shu Mu Ye head-on.

And Wang Jie was only at the eighth seal.

That was the part that made no sense. It meant this native had surpassed the so-called heavenly prodigies.

It was unreasonable—yet undeniable.

No matter the cause, the trialists had to admit one thing: in this trial, Wang Jie was the sharpest blade they had against Shu Mu Ye.

Even if winning was impossible.

On the altar in Shan Cheng, Shu Mu Ye watched the mountain-splitting strike and laughed softly. “More power again. How did you do it?”

Then he faced the drone and rose to his feet, unhurried. “I planned to build the bridge immediately. But since you’re challenging me, I’ll give you a month. I’ll act after one month. Don’t disappoint me.”

His words spread back to the bases.

They reached Wang Jie. They reached Wen Xing Ru and the others.

The trialists agreed at once to do what they could to protect the remaining four major bases, so that when the month ended, Wang Jie could fight without distraction.

“Miss,” Qi Wu asked, “do you really believe this Wang Jie can duel Shu Mu Ye?”

Qi Xue Yin answered without hesitation. “Impossible.”

She didn’t soften it. “Even if imprint power lets him reach ten seals quickly, he still won’t be able to stand against Shu Mu Ye.”

“Then why agree?”

“To buy time,” Qi Xue Yin said. “The longer the trial lasts, the more attention it draws from outside. That benefits us.

“As for Wen Xing Ru, Lord Mo… everyone has their own agenda.”

She looked up at the sky, expression unreadable. “Jia Yi Sect, especially, wants this to drag on. They want Blue Star’s mutated creatures to evolve. Those creatures are the last force that might stop Shu Mu Ye.”

Qi Wu nodded slowly. “That’s why they released so many slaughterstone—so the mutated beasts would evolve and burn through Shu Mu Ye’s starforce.”

“Blue Star doesn’t belong only to Blue Star’s people,” Qi Xue Yin said. “It belongs to every living thing on it.

“Shu Mu Ye wants to build the bridge and sacrifice Blue Star completely. Of course those creatures will resist.

“The longer this goes, the greater the chance someone—or something—stops him.”

Qi Wu frowned. “If that’s true, why did Shu Mu Ye agree to a month? Doesn’t stalling hurt him?”

Qi Xue Yin didn’t know. No matter how she turned it over, time should have been Shu Mu Ye’s enemy, not his gift.

Was he simply arrogant? Or did he have another purpose?

No one could read Shu Mu Ye.

Wang Jie’s challenge and Shu Mu Ye’s reply became the last psychological wall holding up the tens of millions inside the four major bases. They weren’t hopeless. Not yet.

Bai Yuan called on everyone to hunt mutated creatures, gathering disaster materials to feed Wang Jie’s growth.

Wang Jie watched Shu Mu Ye’s response and understood perfectly: no one truly believed he could win. But belief didn’t matter.

There was no road back for him.

Chong Xuan arrived and linked up with Chong Ruo Ruo. The insect sea swelled—more terrifying than before.

On the back of a massive beetle, Chong Xuan studied Wang Jie like he was looking at a monster.

Wang Jie stared into the distance. The insects were stronger now—eighth seal and ninth seal appeared more often, and even ten seals were showing up. The mutated beasts were evolving too.

Blue Star’s imprint power was absurdly dense. Every day, the creatures beyond the walls grew a little more dangerous.

What would a month change? No one knew.

“You fought Shu Mu Ye like that,” Chong Xuan said, awe threaded through his voice. “Do you have any idea how much shock it would cause if that spread across the universe?”

Wang Jie’s tone stayed steady, but his gratitude was real. “If you hadn’t used the insect sea to intervene when you did, I’d be dead. Thank you.”

Chong Xuan snorted. “You didn’t kill Ruo Ruo. Consider that repaying the favor.”

Chong Ruo Ruo bristled. “Brother, we saved him. He owes us!”

Chong Xuan shot her a look sharp enough to cut stone, and she swallowed the rest.

Wang Jie turned back to Chong Xuan. “Now can you tell me Shu Mu Ye’s situation?”

From the beginning, the trialists had never explained the details. Wang Jie only knew Shu Mu Ye came from Cheng Yi Dao. Beyond that, he knew nothing.

And the way the trialists looked at Shu Mu Ye was like people on the ground staring up at a god in the sky: always challenging, always in a group.

Even though their realms were higher.

How could an eighth seal hold that kind of status?

Chong Xuan exchanged a glance with Wen Zhao and the others before finally speaking. “Telling you more won’t change anything. But fine. You should know this—he has rebuilt his cultivation three times.”

He drew a breath. “Cheng Yi Dao has a method called Tai Su Scripture.

“It can preserve your current realm once you reach a certain point. If you’re not satisfied, you can shed your cultivation and rebuild from the beginning—while keeping the realm as a stored foundation. Every rebuild expands your limits. Raises your ceiling.

“When you’re finally satisfied, you swallow back what you stored and return to your previous realm in a rush.”

Wang Jie’s brows lifted despite himself. A method like that…?

Chong Xuan’s expression darkened. “Before his first rebuild, Shu Mu Ye was already nearly invincible among his peers. Star Vault Vista rated him as: ‘the extreme of limitless.’”

Chong Ruo Ruo couldn’t help chiming in. “Meaning there’s no absolute limit to a person—and he was already the limit of what we can comprehend.”

Chong Xuan glared her into silence and continued. “That was his rating at the very start.

“And every time he broke into a new realm, Star Vault Vista confirmed it. In every realm, he reached what ordinary people believed was the ceiling.”

“Even then,” Chong Xuan said, voice low, “he rebuilt.”

Wang Jie’s eyelid twitched.

Even Wen Zhao looked shaken. She hadn’t known the details either.

Chong Xuan’s tone grew heavier, as if the words themselves were crushing. “After one rebuild, he walked again from single seal back to his former realm. This time, Star Vault Vista’s rating was only two words: ‘Extreme.’”

Two words—yet they hit harder than any blade.

It meant Shu Mu Ye had reached the theoretical limit of humans.

“But he still wasn’t satisfied. So he rebuilt a second time.”

Chong Xuan’s gaze hardened. “This time, the rating was: ‘Beyond Human.’”

“And now,” he said, “he’s on his third rebuild.”

“Even in Cheng Yi Dao’s history there’s no record of someone rebuilding three times. You can’t rebuild endlessly. It depends on what you can endure.

“Shu Mu Ye is the only existence we know that has broken past the human limit.”

Chong Xuan let the silence hang for a moment before finishing, almost gently. “No matter what realm he’s in, he’s not someone humans can surpass.”

Wang Jie gave a bitter laugh. “No wonder you never told me.”

“Because it doesn’t change anything,” Chong Xuan said. “You don’t understand how terrifying it is.

“Even setting aside whether anyone can endure three rebuilds, that kind of resolve alone… it’s not something ordinary people can imagine.”

He hesitated, then added, “The name Shu Mu Ye is known across the universe. From the moment he stepped onto the path, he carried endless glory. He’s a summit countless peers chase and never reach.

“For him to acknowledge you—willing to take you away—that’s truly a leap straight to heaven.”

He stopped there, as if afraid he’d said too much and might plant temptation in Wang Jie’s heart.

Because right now, on Blue Star, aside from a handful of special trialists, everyone else—Blue Star’s people and the ordinary trialists alike—would die.

This was hell.

Even if Bai Yuan mastered Jia Yi Divine Sword, he might not live.

The insect sea continued slaughtering mutated beasts and collecting disaster materials.

The trialists no longer needed those materials. They only wanted to survive until the end, then leave before Blue Star was bridged. The longer they could delay it, the better.

So all the disaster materials went to Wang Jie.

Chong Ruo Ruo finally blurted what she’d been holding back. “Hey—why are you so strong?”

It was rude. Chong Xuan didn’t stop her.

Even beneath the waterfall at Jia Yi Sect, disciples watched with curiosity.

Wang Jie looked at Chong Ruo Ruo’s eager face and answered slowly, deadpan. “Eat more. Sleep more.”

Everyone fell into stunned silence.

With the insect sea and the cultivators from the major bases gathering materials for him, Wang Jie didn’t need to hunt anymore.

Back in Jin Ling Base, inside his room, he replayed the footage on the wall—the battle between him and Shu Mu Ye.

Again and again, he watched. Again and again, he searched for the path of Shu Mu Ye’s strikes.

Chong Xuan’s words pressed down like a mountain. He finally understood what kind of existence he was facing.

Then a voice sounded in his head, clear as a command.

“Begin the eighth set of basic fitness routine.”

It was time.

Wang Jie stood and began.

The disaster materials piled in the room dwindled steadily.

Sixty-five times.

No matter how much more he consumed, the increase wouldn’t budge.