Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Ninth Star Chain

Outside the valley, Yu Yan watched from afar, his gaze never leaving Wang Jie.

That captain should be you.

Even at Ten Seals, Wang Jie carried an unusual depth—rare enough to stand out.

Inside the valley, Wang Jie collected materials too, but he didn’t fight for them. If someone reached for the same piece, he let it go and took what others missed.

Before long, the ground was bare.

Every last piece had been taken.

And the moment the frenzy ended, the tension shifted. Cultivators began watching one another, wary and guarded, as if waiting for the next blade to come out.

Then a man stepped forward—the first one who had dared to pick up a material.

“Everyone here has fought their way up through slaughter,” he said loudly. “Even among Ten Seals, you’re the best of the best. So I’ll speak plainly.

“To prevent scheming and backstabbing during the mission, I propose this: everyone hands over what they grabbed, and we redistribute based on strength. The strong get more. The weak get less—or nothing. That way, no one is tempted to rob another person’s share.”

It sounded unreasonable at first, but people immediately echoed agreement.

Wang Jie looked at those who spoke up first. He remembered seeing them talking with the man days ago. They were together.

More and more voices joined.

It was ridiculous… and yet, for cultivators who lived on knife-edges, it made a perverse kind of sense. Better to fight for resources than to rely on luck.

Wang Jie agreed as well. He’d grabbed very little, but he trusted his strength. He shouldn’t walk away with scraps.

That was the unspoken reason most of them agreed: every person here believed they were strong.

“Fine,” the man said. “I’ll set the example.”

He tossed down his materials.

“My name is Lei Cheng,” he announced. “If I end up with nothing, I won’t blame anyone else.”

Another man stepped out—one of Lei Cheng’s early supporters—and threw down his share.

Soon others followed. Wang Jie was the fifth to step forward and add his materials to the pile.

Some people had more. Some had less.

Of course, some hid a bit. But nobody could hide much without being noticed.

When everyone finished, the materials sat in a mountain-like heap—enough to make anyone’s eyes burn with desire.

Lei Cheng looked around. “The rules are simple.

“Whoever stands in the center and wins five consecutive bouts takes half the materials.”

He lifted a finger. “Then whoever wins three consecutive bouts takes half of what remains.”

“And so on.”

A ripple ran through the crowd. Some grinned, hungry. Others tightened their grips on weapons, eyes cold.

Lei Cheng asked, “Any objections?”

No one spoke.

“Then,” Lei Cheng said, “who enters first?”

No one moved.

Everyone was wary. Everyone wanted to see who bled first.

Lei Cheng nodded and walked into the center. “Then I’ll keep setting the example. I’ll accept the first challenge.

“If I win five, I won’t pretend to be modest when I take what’s mine.”

He pulled an iron rod from his storage ring—delicate, precise in make—and rolled it through his hands. Then he drove it into the ground with a dull boom.

The earth didn’t crack.

His control over force drew sharp looks from every direction.

These weren’t ordinary Ten Seals cultivators. Everyone here had survived real fighting. Many were older, experienced.

Lei Cheng wasn’t weak.

He lifted the rod. “Who challenges?”

A man stepped forward. “I will.”

Lei Cheng pointed the rod at him. “Begin.”

The challenger charged and drew his blade mid-run.

Wang Jie watched from the corner and knew the outcome the instant the blade cleared its sheath. The man’s control was crude compared to Lei Cheng’s.

Sure enough, he lost.

The second challenger was an old woman—an old crone with a vicious gaze. She fought openly with wide swings, but hid sudden, dirty tricks inside them. Lei Cheng almost fell for it, but won anyway.

Wang Jie glanced down at the arena floor. It had been reinforced. Otherwise, Ten Seals combat would’ve shattered the valley.

And the more he thought about the “rain” of materials, the clearer it became: Yu Yan had orchestrated this. He’d wanted them to fight. He’d wanted to see who stood at the end.

The third challenger had terrifying defense, lockforce visibly scarring the air around his body. Lei Cheng won again—but his breathing was heavier now, lockforce thinning.

No one gave him time to recover.

A fourth challenger stepped in—one with an arsenal of weapons, including firearms. There were no rules forbidding them.

Lei Cheng lost.

Then fight after fight followed. The strongest only reached four wins before losing to one of Lei Cheng’s allies—one of the first men to support him.

Wang Jie narrowed his eyes.

Lei Cheng had lost on purpose. He could have won that fourth fight.

He hadn’t been testing the crowd.

He’d been testing someone.

Eventually, no one managed five consecutive wins.

Wang Jie stepped into the arena.

At that moment, the fighter standing in the center was a middle-aged woman. Wang Jie recognized her—another of Lei Cheng’s group. Lei Cheng had at least five allies here.

They wanted all the materials.

Too bad.

The woman eyed Wang Jie with a playful smile. “Little brother, it wasn’t easy for you to get here. Sister advises you not to step in.”

Wang Jie smiled back. “Thanks, big sis. Shall we begin?”

She beckoned. “Come.”

Wang Jie took one step.

With the second, he crossed the distance and appeared in front of her.

With the third, he vanished.

The woman’s smile disappeared, replaced by sudden shock—but it was already too late.

A crushing blow struck her abdomen. She folded, dropping to a crouch, breath trapped in her throat. Her vision swam.

So strong.

The valley went still.

Speed. Power. Timing. Perfect.

Lei Cheng’s face darkened. Where had this monster come from? He’d watched everyone for days and still missed him.

He flicked his gaze toward another ally.

A man stepped forward. “Nice, little brother. Now it’s my turn.”

Wang Jie curled his fingers at him—inviting him in. No one called it arrogance now.

The man struck with a palm. The force looked soft, but poison rode in the wind.

Wang Jie swept a hand and blasted the attack away, then drove his own palm forward and crushed the man’s guard.

A third challenger lunged from behind.

Wang Jie turned and kicked him down like he was swatting a common thug.

To Wang Jie, Ten Seals cultivators here were nothing.

Outside the valley, Yu Yan’s smile deepened. This kid was stronger than he’d expected.

The fourth challenger was the man who’d first echoed Lei Cheng’s proposal. This time he finally unleashed a sharp sword art, one he’d never shown before. He’d been holding back, clearly planning to claim the “three consecutive wins” prize after Lei Cheng.

They’d had a plan.

Wang Jie pinched the sword tip between two fingers, steady as stone. Under the man’s horrified stare, Wang Jie bent the blade and flicked it.

The sword flew and embedded itself into the cliff wall.

The man staggered back, defeated.

Four wins.

Clean. Efficient. Brutal.

Shock rippled through the crowd. Was the gap between Ten Seals really this vast?

Most of them had never even met a true sect prodigy. They’d never imagined Ten Seals could contain this kind of difference.

Lei Cheng stepped forward.

He was the fifth.

If Wang Jie beat him, Wang Jie would claim half the materials.

Lei Cheng studied him. “Little brother, what’s your name?”

“Wang Jie.”

Lei Cheng sighed as if impressed. “I didn’t guess wrong. You must be from a major power.”

Wang Jie’s patience thinned. “What’s the point of talking? Fight.”

Lei Cheng pulled out a second iron rod. He rubbed the two together, and lockforce crackled between them, flowing down the metal like lightning.

Outside the valley, Yu Yan’s eyes sharpened. Skilled lockforce control—and a vast reserve. If he wasn’t mistaken, Lei Cheng had deep gray seals.

Someone like that could hold their own even in Frost Bloom Sect’s Outer Court.

In the cultivation world, the more you saw, the more you understood: countless strange talents lived and died buried outside the great factions.

Cultivating lockforce meant no future. It didn’t mean no strength.

Yu Yan’s mind flashed to Wu Mian of Frost Bloom Sect’s Outer Court—also deep gray at Ten Seals, strong enough to rival true disciples, powerful enough to break two stars and shake the sect.

If not for lockforce’s limitations, Wu Mian would’ve been terrifying.

Then Lei Cheng attacked.

Lightning surged through the rods as he smashed forward. The ground shattered. The air seemed to boil.

Lei Cheng’s strength was a full tenfold above an ordinary Ten Seals cultivator—shockingly brilliant.

But he still lost.

Wang Jie drew on a sword method: the Star-gazing Sword Form.

He’d used it while assisting Mu Ran, so he couldn’t avoid revealing it now.

But he kept it restrained, showing only a sliver. A complete Star-gazing Sword Form would draw far too much attention from Frost Bloom Sect.

Lei Cheng accepted his loss without complaint.

Everyone else stared in disbelief. They’d never seen a sword method like that.

Wang Jie took half the materials without hesitation.

Lei Cheng took half of what remained.

No one objected.

Then the rest fought over what was left, round by round, until the last piece disappeared into someone’s storage.

When it ended, Yu Yan announced Wang Jie as the captain of the mission.

No one protested. Wang Jie was too far above them.

A few days later, the mission began.

The ship traveled for a full month before stopping. Yu Yan’s voice echoed through the vessel, ordering everyone to look outside.

They saw the dark starry sky.

And, in the distance, an enormous creature—a mantis.

Wang Jie blinked hard. A mantis?

Yu Yan’s voice carried calmly. “That’s a nine-eyed mantis. In war, they’re commonly used on defense lines.

“Their strength isn’t special—most adults are Ten Seals, though occasionally one reaches the star-breaking realm. What makes them dangerous is their vision. If one sees you, the others can see you too—stacking up to nine.

“Each mantis can see absurd distances. Perfect for guarding a line.”

“It’s a type of starry sky behemoth. It can survive in space itself. So even without reaching the roaming-star realm, it can still roam the universe freely.

“There are many starry sky behemoths like this. Some have abilities beyond what you can imagine.”

He paused. “If you can see it, that means we’ve arrived outside the Fifth Defense Line of the Ninth Star Chain.”

“The Ninth Star Chain has five defense lines. Our destination is the Qing Fang star cluster between the Third Defense Line and the Fourth Defense Line.”

“Now we continue.”

The ship moved again, circling around the nine-eyed mantis and pushing deeper into the Ninth Star Chain.