Chapter 91

Chapter 91: With a Clear Conscience

Domain Lord Ning immediately looked to Deputy Domain Lord Yan.

Under Xia Bei Yi’s stunned stare, Deputy Domain Lord Yan forced a strained smile. “Congratulations,” he said. “You completed the mission.”

Xia Bei Yi stared between them. “Him?” he demanded, pointing at Wang Jie. “What is going on?”

Deputy Domain Lord Yan exhaled slowly. “Master Wang Jie was one of the candidates I invited to participate. He was also the captain. I told you about it—did you forget?”

Forget?

He’d never remembered in the first place.

Who would bother memorizing the name of someone already dead?

A Ten Seals lockforce cultivator—trash, in his eyes—meant to be thrown out as bait. Someone like that wasn’t worth keeping track of.

And yet, as he looked at Wang Jie’s smiling face now, scenes from Qing Shan Cheng flashed through his mind.

Wang Jie approaching him. Talking far too much. Extorting him the moment he tried to leave. Pushing, again and again, past his bottom line.

On purpose.

It had all been on purpose.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan had felt something was off from the beginning. If Wang Jie had known him all along, everything suddenly made sense.

Which meant everything that happened in the Puppeteer Tower was deliberate.

They’d confirmed the mission location on the same day. Yet Wang Jie succeeded while he failed—then got surrounded.

It was this man. This bastard.

Xia Bei Yi’s gaze at Wang Jie grew darker and darker, killing intent surging.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan jolted and pressed a hand to Xia Bei Yi’s shoulder. Xia Bei Yi blinked, waking as if from a trance, then turned and met Domain Lord Ning’s heavy gaze. He bowed quickly. “This disciple was reckless.”

Domain Lord Ning’s voice was low. “Explain.”

Xia Bei Yi’s jaw tightened. Complaining was humiliating, but the more Wang Jie smiled, the more Xia Bei Yi wanted to tear his throat out. In the end, he spat out everything—what happened, what he suspected, every detail he could think of.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan listened with a strange feeling. Anyone would think Xia Bei Yi had guessed right. Otherwise, why would Wang Jie act like that for no reason?

Then Wang Jie spoke, mild as ever. “May I ask… have we ever met?”

Xia Bei Yi froze.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan paused as well, then shook his head under Domain Lord Ning’s scrutiny. “No. They’ve never met.”

Domain Lord Ning looked back to Xia Bei Yi.

Xia Bei Yi clenched his teeth. “I was the one who shoved them into the starry sky. Maybe he saw me then.”

Wang Jie lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “You’re saying that in that situation, I could see you clearly—and then recognize you later in Qing Shan Cheng through Puppeteer puppets? That’s what you mean?”

Xia Bei Yi had no answer.

Even if they had crossed paths, there was no way he could’ve been recognized through a puppet screen.

Domain Lord Ning’s voice darkened. “Apologize to Master.”

Xia Bei Yi snapped his head up.

Domain Lord Ning repeated, colder. “Apologize.”

Xia Bei Yi’s fists clenched so hard his knuckles whitened. Deputy Domain Lord Yan hurriedly shot him a warning look.

Xia Bei Yi held out for a few heartbeats, then his will collapsed. He glared at Wang Jie as if he could kill him with his eyes. “Sorry.”

“Be sincere,” Domain Lord Ning said sharply.

Xia Bei Yi’s teeth ground together. He forced the words out like poison. “Sorry, Master.”

Wang Jie sighed, then smiled. “It’s fine.”

Nearby, Jiang You Sheng looked like his world had been turned upside down.

What did this even mean?

Was this Chen Refiner a Frost Splendor Sect spy—the person the Mad Clan had been hunting?

Yet Jiang You Sheng and even the Mad Clan had treated him with the utmost respect.

And now Wang Jie not only completed the mission, he even forced a young prodigy to apologize.

The whole thing was so dramatic it felt unreal.

No one was actually stupid.

Xia Bei Yi’s accusations were speculation, but by logic, if Wang Jie hadn’t known Xia Bei Yi’s identity, why would he have done so much?

But logic wasn’t what mattered here.

Identity did.

Wang Jie was a Chen Refiner. Unless Xia Bei Yi could produce undeniable proof that Wang Jie deliberately sabotaged him, none of it mattered.

And even if it could be proven… it still wouldn’t matter.

That was the reality of the universe.

The premise was simple: Wang Jie was a Chen Refiner.

Jiang You Sheng treated him well because of that identity.

Below the Star-Refining Realm, it was a status that stood above almost everything else.

Domain Lord Ning’s gaze softened. “Master, don’t take it to heart. As a True Inheritance Disciple of my Frost Splendor Sect, he has spent years isolated, touching none of the sect’s affairs, all for the sake of dealing with the Eight Prisons Mad Clan. His first mission failed—he can’t help feeling aggrieved.”

Wang Jie dipped his head, smiling politely. “Senior is too kind. It was a small matter.”

“As long as Master doesn’t mind.” Domain Lord Ning’s tone turned warm again. “Then allow me, on behalf of the Frost Splendor Sect, to invite Master to join us as a guest elder.”

“Guest elder?” Wang Jie echoed.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan explained quickly, “It isn’t bound by cultivation level. The status is special—some guest elders outrank True Inheritance Disciples.”

“Especially Chen Refiners,” Domain Lord Ning added pointedly.

Wang Jie didn’t refuse. He had no reason to.

He’d learned enough to understand the universe for what it was.

Blue Star had suffered too much, and he was now under the Frost Splendor Sect’s shadow. Choices were a luxury.

He looked straight at Domain Lord Ning. “This junior will not fail Senior’s expectations. I’ll do my utmost for the sect and for our people.”

Domain Lord Ning laughed, delighted. “Master is broad-minded and ambitious. Your future achievements will surely be extraordinary.”

Then Domain Lord Ning’s gaze shifted to Jiang You Sheng.

Jiang You Sheng went rigid. Whether he lived or died would be decided by a single sentence.

Before Domain Lord Ning could speak, Wang Jie stepped forward. “Senior, may I ask an improper request?”

Domain Lord Ning looked intrigued. “Master, speak.”

Wang Jie looked at Jiang You Sheng. Jiang You Sheng looked back. Complicated feelings passed between them.

Jiang You Sheng didn’t hate Wang Jie—he wasn’t from the Eight Prisons Mad Clan.

He only regretted he hadn’t been able to bring Wang Jie to the Little Round Lake.

“This junior asks Senior to spare Tower Lord Jiang,” Wang Jie said.

Jiang You Sheng’s eyes widened. He stared at Wang Jie, stunned.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan frowned. “Master, do you know his background, his identity, his strength?”

“I don’t,” Wang Jie said honestly, turning back to Domain Lord Ning. “I only know Tower Lord Jiang treated me well. I won’t pretend I’m some great paragon, but I remember those who are good to me. If I can repay them, I will.”

Deputy Domain Lord Yan looked to Domain Lord Ning.

Domain Lord Ning studied Wang Jie for a long moment, then spoke slowly. “He is from the Seventh Star Chain. To hold the Puppeteer Tower means his status is not low. Behind him, there must be higher-ups from the Little Round Lake.”

Wang Jie nodded. “Yes. His master is at the Little Round Lake.”

“You still want me to spare him?” Domain Lord Ning asked.

Wang Jie took a step back and bowed deeply. “This junior is only doing what he can. Whether Senior spares Tower Lord Jiang or not, this junior will have a clear conscience.”

Jiang You Sheng’s throat tightened. “Master… thank you.”

Behind them, Xia Bei Yi looked angrier with every breath.

He had been trapped in the Puppeteer Tower, his mission ruined, and he’d been forced to apologize.

Meanwhile, this bastard completed the mission—and even got tangled with people from the Little Round Lake.

Disgusting.

Domain Lord Ning fell silent for a moment. Then he looked at Jiang You Sheng. “You may go.”

Jiang You Sheng stared, almost disbelieving, then bowed deeply. “Jiang You Sheng thanks Master for saving my life. If there’s ever a chance, I will repay it with my death.”

He turned and left.

Deputy Domain Lord Yan couldn’t help himself. “Domain Lord—are you really letting him go?”

Domain Lord Ning’s glance shut him up immediately. Then he turned to Wang Jie, amusement in his eyes. “Master, satisfied?”

Wang Jie bowed again, gratitude plain. “Thank you, Senior.”

“War is still ongoing,” Domain Lord Ning said. “To ensure Master’s safety, return to the Silver Radiance Empire at once. When the war ends, come with me to the Frost Splendor Sect.”

The space beyond the Qing Fang Star cluster teemed with warships and vessels. Wang Jie departed easily.

From his ship, he looked back.

Darkness had become an endless white. The entire Qing Fang Star cluster was frozen solid.

Was this Domain Lord Ning’s strength?

A Roaming-Star Realm couldn’t even dream of escaping.

Wang Jie faced forward again. Whatever happened in the Ninth Star Chain was no longer his concern.

He’d done what he could. Now it was time to go home.

Blue Star was his home—too many memories, too many things he couldn’t cut away. And there was also a friend there.

The Lakeside Residence was his second home.

He’d expected that when he returned, the master of the Lakeside Residence would have changed.

But it hadn’t.

More than half a year had passed. Jun Hua should have learned through Senior Sister Jin Chu that he’d gone on the mission. She might even have believed he was dead.

The moment he returned to the Lakeside Residence, he contacted Jun Hua.

At the Imperial Palace, Jun Hua stared at the familiar face on her personal terminal, stunned. “Wang Jie is back.”

In the distance, Yu Dong looked up sharply. “He’s still alive?”

Jun Hua had him brought in at once.

Not long after, they met Wang Jie in person.

At first glance, both of them felt it—Wang Jie had changed.

They couldn’t say how. He was still only Ten Seals, yet he seemed steadier. And there was something else, difficult to name.

A faint killing aura.

The kind that only came from killing powerful opponents—more than one.

And the “powerful” ones, of course, meant cultivation creatures above Wang Jie’s realm.