Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Silver Radiance Art

Wang Jie tested the sword tassels.

Still useless.

He stared at the pile, then looked up at Cheng Qian. “I’ve had you buying these tassels for me. Why haven’t you ever asked me for money?”

Cheng Qian lowered his head respectfully. “The Lakeside Residence has funds provided by the empire. It’s enough.”

Wang Jie nodded, impressed. So there was a benefit like that.

Cheng Qian hesitated. “Lord seems troubled.”

“I’ve been searching for information,” Wang Jie said, sitting down and taking a sip of a cold, sweet drink with a faint sour edge. “But I can’t find anything.”

“What information does Lord want?” Cheng Qian asked. “I can help.”

“I want to know about light-black marks.”

Cheng Qian stiffened. “Lord… you want to know how to deepen the Ten Seals marks to light black?”

Wang Jie met his gaze. “Yes.”

Cheng Qian exhaled slowly. “Then there’s no point searching. You won’t find public information on that. To deepen marks to light black, you need a powerful cultivation method or special technique. The outside world almost never gets those. Only major forces possess them—like Frost Splendor Sect.”

Wang Jie frowned. “So even the Silver Radiance Empire doesn’t have one?”

Cheng Qian shook his head.

Wang Jie clicked his tongue. “It’s only Ten Seals cultivation. Why does this involve major forces?”

“It’s the foundation,” Cheng Qian said, sounding resigned. “In the cultivation world, you move one step at a time. The lower the realm, the more you must build a solid base. That’s common sense.”

He added, “Some methods only work within the Ten Seals, but because their effect is exceptional, their value can exceed methods meant for higher realms. That’s normal.”

Wang Jie studied him. “How do you know so much?”

“I served the previous Emperor in the Imperial Palace,” Cheng Qian replied. “I heard more than most.”

Wang Jie leaned back. “So across the entire Frost Splendor Star Chain, only Frost Splendor Sect has such a method?”

Cheng Qian’s expression turned bitter. “Silver Radiance Empire once had one too. It was called Silver Radiance Art.”

Wang Jie’s eyes narrowed slightly. Cheng Qian continued, voice steady.

“That art is useless in Star-Breaking Realm and Full-Star Realm. The higher the realm, the more useless it becomes. But within the Ten Seals, it’s terrifyingly effective. It can deepen marks to light black.”

He paused. “Across the entire Frost Splendor Star Chain, the only method said to rival it is Frost Splendor Moon.”

“This was the foundation of the Silver Radiance Empire,” Cheng Qian said quietly. “But it was lost.”

“From that day on, the empire declined to what it is now. At our peak, our territory was ten times larger.”

Wang Jie frowned. “How was it lost?”

Cheng Qian’s mouth twisted. “Someone came to seize it. The Emperor before the last had a fierce temper. He burned Silver Radiance Art in front of them.”

Wang Jie stared. “No backup?”

“If there were a backup, how could we trick anyone?” Cheng Qian said bitterly. “Silver Radiance Art is truly gone.”

Wang Jie couldn’t help thinking it was a savage choice—hurting the enemy by one hundred and yourself by a thousand.

Still, it made sense.

Otherwise, if a few Slaughterstone could push anyone to light black, then light black wouldn’t be worth anything. Especially someone like Chong Xuan—if an insect tide could produce so many disaster materials, what couldn’t he do?

Wang Jie was about to ask another question when his personal terminal chimed.

A mission?

Cheng Qian immediately withdrew, respectful enough not to look.

Wang Jie’s gaze locked onto the screen.

The mission had been issued directly by the Contribution system.

Mission: Report to the current coordinates. Obey the team leader’s orders in all things.

Wang Jie’s expression cooled.

He didn’t want to go.

He had already guessed war was coming. Whether it was Frost Splendor Sect or the Silver Radiance Empire, it had nothing to do with him. He wasn’t about to risk his life for someone else’s campaign.

If he went to the battlefield, how was he any different from a war slave?

He contacted Jun Hua immediately.

“Someone assigned you a mission?” Jun Hua asked, surprised. It was clear she hadn’t known.

Wang Jie explained. Jun Hua told him to wait.

In the Imperial Palace, Jun Hua turned to Yu Dong, voice low. “Senior Sister Jin Chu bypassed us and assigned a mission directly to Wang Jie.”

Yu Dong’s eyes flashed. “Send him to the Ninth Star Chain?”

Jun Hua nodded.

Yu Dong’s tone sharpened. “What does he think?”

“He doesn’t want to go.”

“Then ask Senior Sister.”

Jun Hua contacted Jin Chu at once.

The answer was simple: Wang Jie was suitable. They needed Ten Seals experts to infiltrate the Ninth Star Chain—people who had never stayed in Frost Splendor Sect or had too much contact with its disciples.

Jun Hua used Wang Jie’s frequent contact with them as an excuse and politely declined the mission on his behalf.

Jin Chu didn’t care. A Ten Seals cultivator was nothing. There were plenty of candidates.

She accepted the refusal.

Back at the Lakeside Residence, Wang Jie finally exhaled.

He contacted Jun Hua again. “Thank you, Emperor.”

“It’s fine,” Jun Hua said. “Just keep assisting the array adepts. That’s all.”

“Wait,” Wang Jie said quickly. “One more thing.”

Jun Hua sighed. “What is it?”

“To deepen the Ten Seals to light black… do I have to join Frost Splendor Sect and learn Frost Splendor Moon?”

Jun Hua paused, then answered honestly. “Even if you joined Frost Splendor Sect, you wouldn’t get Frost Splendor Moon. Only Starforce cultivators can apply for it, and most Starforce cultivators—most inner sect disciples, even—aren’t qualified to touch it.”

She added quietly, “Including me.”

Wang Jie wasn’t surprised. It just meant it was even more troublesome than he’d hoped.

Jun Hua’s tone shifted. “Your Ten Seals… you’ve reached dark gray?”

“Yes,” Wang Jie admitted.

Jun Hua sounded impressed. “That’s already very good. You’ve surpassed most cultivators.”

“Do you think dark gray is just about having enough imprint power?” Jun Hua continued. “If it were, the empire could cultivate countless dark-gray cultivators.”

“Ordinary cultivators hit a bottleneck at light gray. To reach dark gray, talent and physical conditions must be strong enough.”

Her voice softened slightly. “Don’t chase too much. Senior Sister Yu Dong and I both reached Star-Breaking Realm with only light-gray marks.”

Wang Jie’s eyes widened. “Even the Emperor has only light-gray marks?”

Jun Hua laughed. “Light gray and dark gray don’t make much difference.”

“And it costs time. Most people would rather break through at light gray. Breaking stars is easier that way.”

She added, “Only if someone is confident they can reach light black would they spend time pushing to dark gray.”

“You’ve already surpassed most people.”

Wang Jie steadied himself. “I understand. Thank you, Emperor. But… does the Silver Radiance Empire have any method at all?”

“Do you know Silver Radiance Art?” Jun Hua asked.

“I’ve heard of it.”

“It was lost,” Jun Hua said flatly. “My father—the previous Emperor—tried to recreate it. The result is far inferior, but you can read it if you want. It’s called Silver Radiance Force. Your Lakeside Residence permissions are high enough.”

Wang Jie’s heart jumped. “Thank you, Emperor.”

Silver Radiance Force…

The name hit him like a hammer.

He opened his storage ring and searched. He had it.

It was the only method the Starforce cultivator from that pirate group had contributed—the group he killed on the Slaughterstone Planet.

Wang Jie hadn’t cared at the time. He’d thought it was a battle technique.

So it was this?

That man must have gotten it through Jun Tang. Was that why he worked for Jun Tang?

The method could help absorb Starforce from a planet more efficiently.

Wang Jie wanted to cultivate it immediately… then stopped.

Jun Tang’s nature was obvious—sinister, crafty. That pirate crew had been used. Who could guarantee Jun Tang hadn’t given them a fake Silver Radiance Force?

Wang Jie stood up.

If he had permission, he would verify the real one.

Cheng Qian had told him long ago that he had full access to the Royal Library—including the top floor’s secret manuals.

He hadn’t cared then.

Now he did.

The Royal Library was grand. Wang Jie used his permissions to reach the highest level. He expected it to be empty.

Instead, he found the old General.

The old General looked up, surprised, as Wang Jie stepped in.

Wang Jie bowed. “Greetings, Senior.”

The old General’s gaze swept over him. “I’ve seen you. If I remember correctly, you’re one of Jun Tang’s people.”

He snorted. “Looks like Jun Hua made preparations early.”

He assumed Wang Jie was an undercover agent Jun Hua had planted inside Jun Tang’s forces.

Wang Jie didn’t explain. The old General was one of the few people in the empire capable of interfering in imperial struggles. The more Wang Jie said, the more likely he was to say the wrong thing.

He bowed again and quietly searched.

Silver Radiance Force.

After a long search, he realized the old General already had it in hand.

So Wang Jie waited.

Only after an unknown amount of time did the old General place the manual down and glance at him.

“You’re looking for this?”

“Yes,” Wang Jie said respectfully.

The old General tossed it to him. Wang Jie caught it with both hands. “Thank you, Senior.”

The old General’s eyes narrowed as he studied Wang Jie. “Dark gray is rare. Only those who cultivate Lockforce—those who can’t see a future—bother to deepen it.”

Then he said bluntly, “But if you think you can reach light black with Silver Radiance Force, impossible.”

Wang Jie sighed. “Junior wants to try. And I want to experience the empire’s most precious power.”

The old General’s expression turned complicated. “Silver Radiance Art is lost. This Silver Radiance Force can’t even imitate its shape. What’s precious about it?”

With that, he shook his head and walked away.

Wang Jie finally opened the manual and read carefully.

Then he compared it with the copy in his storage ring.

Identical.

So the one he took from the pirates was real.

He could cultivate it.

And that meant this would be his first true cultivation method.

In the Jia Yi Sect trials, the martial hall projections allowed people to learn battle techniques. Methods existed in the projections too, but no one could truly learn a cultivation method by simply watching.

People who claimed they had learned methods usually meant battle techniques.

Battle techniques were ways to circulate Lockforce and Starforce.

Cultivation methods were ways to strengthen absorption of Lockforce and Starforce—and use them better.

Lockforce cultivators didn’t really need methods. They could directly absorb imprint power from disaster materials.

Only Starforce cultivators needed to train methods.

Cultivating Silver Radiance Force itself wasn’t complicated. It circulated imprint power through a special pattern that worked like a pump, accelerating absorption when disaster-material imprint power entered the body.

A better method meant a stronger pump.

Which also meant that deepening mark color required a special circulation.

Back at the Lakeside Residence, Wang Jie opened his eyes.

Everything around him was hazy. Beneath his feet was his field.

He sat in the field and began cultivating Silver Radiance Force.

Not long after, the first field sprouted three green shoots.

Wang Jie let out a breath.

So methods could be planted too.

He reached out and touched the first shoot.

His expression changed.

He touched the second.

Then the third.

Three shoots—just like Heaven-and-Earth Luo Xuan Finger.

And the method that grew from them was… Silver Radiance Art.