STNS: Chapter 489 (Patreon)

Wu Jian acted quickly. With the appearance of Wu Meiying, Zhou Wen was distracted. He teleported to Shuchang who had been knocked unconscious, then Hou Jingshu, grabbing them both and teleporting to Wu Meiying’s side. He had briefly considered trying to launch a surprise attack at Zhou Wen, but he understood such an attempt would have ended in failure.

“It’s really you… Tiāntáng Meiying,” Zhou Wen breathed. Her cheeks were flushed excitedly and her eyes contained such a brilliant luster that it looked like there were stars in them. She was also breathing heavily, as though aroused.

Wu Meiying pursed her lips, gazing at the woman with something reminiscent of scorn, though her feelings appeared far more complex than that. Wu Jian realized with a start that he could actually see her face. She wasn’t wearing her veil, which she had been wearing ever since they were separated. Like his facemask, she wore it so people wouldn’t be able to find out who she was by her features. Of course, they were already past the point where a mask would benefit them.

“I haven’t gone by that name in thousands of years. I’m Wu Meiying now,” Wu Meiying said in a cold voice.

Since Zhou Wen was distracted by Wu Meiying, Wu Jian used that moment to pop several healing and chi  replenishing pills into his mouth. He didn’t think this would end in a conversation. While he didn’t know what he could do to help, Wu Jian needed to be ready to offer what strength he could.

I can’t use Body of the Celestial White Tiger again… that’s going to put a hamper on how much I can help. This woman is simply too powerful for me to deal with without some kind of trump card.

“What are you talking about?!” Zhou Wen took a step forward, hand to her chest. “Wu Meiying is a fake name. It’s not who you are! You’re Tiāntáng Meiying, the Empress of Time, the master of the Heavenly Qilin, our clan’s god! Do not sully yourself by adopting the name of a weak clan like the Wu Clan!”

Wu Jian gnashed his teeth together at how easily this woman insulted his clan, but perhaps to her, the Wu Clan was small and weak. They were admittedly one of the weaker clans in the Shang Kingdom, which had for the longest time been the weakest nation on the Xaio Continent. What she said wasn’t wrong. It still pissed him off, though.

Wu Meiying’s glare was sharp. “You don’t get to decide what name I use. You’re just a weak clan from a small mudball of a planet without a single avenue of ascending to the next realm of cultivation. Do not speak like you have the right to say anything. You think your ‘god’ cares about you just because you worship him? He has hundreds of billions of worshippers all of whom have more power in their pinkies than your entire clan. You’ve no right to insult my family!”

Had their situation not been so dire, Wu Jian might have snorted, especially when he saw the look of pure shock on Zhou Wen’s face. Her eyes had grown to the size of a teacup and her mouth was gaping. It was impressive. He didn’t know mouths could get that wide. However, Zhou Wen soon came down from her shock, and her expression became carefully blank. Wu Jian could see the anger boiling behind her eyes, though. It raged like a blazing torrent.

“I see that talking won’t get us anywhere. You’re not going to listen to reason. I expected as much, but to have my feelings of admiration thrown in my face like this is too much even for me. Fine. We won’t talk anymore, but I am taking you back to the Zhou Clan. Once you’re there, we’re going to contact the Great Qilin himself. He’ll come down, destroy the bonds that tie you to that pathetic child, and my family will ascend to godhood. And you’ll be there to see it all happen. I’ll be sure to kill Wu Jian in front of you just so you understand what it means to insult my family.”

Zhou Wen glanced at Zhou Lihua with eyes like glaciers. The expression made Zhou Lihua freeze in shock.

“And you… I will deal with you later. Your feelings for Wu Jian are disgusting and concerning. I’d normally kill you, but your talent as an alchemist makes you too valuable to lose. You’ll need to be reeducated--oh?” Zhou Wen raised an eyebrow when Wu Jian stepped in front of Zhou Lihua. “Are you trying to protect her? Even though she’s also part of the clan who killed your family?”

Zhou Lihua flinched, but Wu Jian merely sighed. “Are you stupid?”

“Excuse me?!”

“It’s a simple question.” Wu Jian didn’t give her a chance to respond. “The Zhou Clan killed my family, true, but Zhou Lihua had nothing to do with that. She didn’t even know.”

Zhou Wen snorted. “How disgusting. That kindness of yours will be your downfall.”

In the time they had been talking, an airship appeared above them. Wu Jian recognized the vessel as one belonging to the Heavenly Sword Sect. Several people descended from the airship and landed on the ground next to them, all of them familiar figures by now, though he was really only close with Húndàn Wang and Zhe Fēnglì.

“Wu Meiying, allow us to assist you,” Zhe Fēnglì said.

“No. All of you get back.” Wu Meiying shook her head. “This is not an opponent you can deal with. She’s a peak Realization Realm cultivator. You’ll only get in the way if you join me.”

Wu Jian took a slow breath. He had known this woman was strong. She had trounced him, Hou Jingshu, Youmei, and Shuchang at the same time, and she’d made it look like she was playing with children. The Realization Realm was the level he assumed she was at, but even he had underestimated just how strong she was. Someone at the peak of the Realization Realm was just a step away from entering the Perfection Realm--the strongest realm in the Nine Mortal Realms of cultivation.

Zhe Fēnglì took a step forward. “But--”

“Mei is right,” Wu Jian said, standing up. “Don’t get involved in this fight. We can’t guarantee your survival.”

His words caused Zhe Fēnglì to frown, but Wu Jian had no time to deal with his feelings. This wasn’t a battle that someone at his level could enter. He would die. They all would. What’s more, their presence in the fight would limit what he and Wu Meiying could do. Some of his attacks were indiscriminate.

Before he could walk off, someone grabbed his sleeve. He glanced down at Zhou Lihua. The look on her face made his heart ache. She looked so lost and pained, like she was in agony. He gently smiled at her, but he still shook her hand off.

“I have to go now. We’ll talk after this is all done,” he said.

She worked her mouth but couldn’t say anything. Wu Jian turned back around and walked with Wu Meiying, until they were standing just a few feet from Zhou Wen.

“Do you two really think you can beat me? You’re both exhausted. I can see you’ve done what you can to replenish your chi and recover, but even the best alchemy pills cannot recover mental fatigue.” She snorted. “Also, Tiāntán Meiying Gongzhu, I won’t go easy on you just because of who you are. You might be the former goddess of time and someone revered among my clan, but we are still beholden to only one master.”

Wu Jian didn’t want to admit she was right, but she was. He was exhausted. He had been battle this woman for who knew how long and had exhausted not only his chi but Byakko’s blood. It was also clear from the tears in Wu Meiying’s clothes that she had been in a major battle as well. He didn’t know who she had fought, but anyone who could damage her was obviously strong.

But they didn’t have a choice.

They had to fight.

“You should worry about yourself,” Wu Meiying said coldly. “Are you ready, Jian?”

He nodded. “I am.”

Setting himself next to her, Wu Jian took a stance with his greatsword. The battle thus far had not been in his favor, but the fact that he had managed to survive was a testament to his experience and knowledge. Wu Meiying had imparted as much as she could about the abilities of time users. That was one of the reasons his group had been able to survive long enough for her to arrive. Now that he had someone who could manipulate the Dao of Time on his side, their options had become infinitely wider.

[Temporal Stasis Strike]

Zhou Wen acted in a second. She was extremely fast. Wu Jian barely had time to even more before he felt his entire body freeze in time, and when he realized what was wrong, his enemy was already standing right next to him. Of course, it wasn’t that she was actually moving fast. It was that time had frozen around him, so his perception of time had also been distorted.

[Time Dispel]

Yet before Zhou Wen could strike him, Wu Meiying dispelled the woman’s technique with a counter technique. Wu Jian found himself able to move again. He roared as he swung Pale Moon in a diagonal arc. He added a layer of spatial chi over his weapon to increase its cutting power.

[Heavenly Cleave - Spatial Variant]

[Frozen Time Barrier]

Zhou Wen was quick. She created a barrier that looked like it was made of crystal but was actually solidified time. Such a technique would have normally stopped any attack in its tracks, freezing it in time, but Wu Jian’s technique tore through it. However, Zhou Wen had leapt away from his attack to avoid it.

[Time’s Flow]

And yet, just as Zhou Wen landed on the ground at a good distance from him, Wu Meiying appeared and placed a hand on her back. Wu Jian had no idea what was happening. He felt the chi she expelled, but he couldn’t explain what he was seeing. Zhou Wen’s body suddenly reversed course as though time was being rewound. The woman it was happening to seemed fully cognizant of that. Her eyes were bulging and her chi surged as she broke the technique, but she was already so close that Wu Jian’s strike still landed. Pale Moon tore through her flesh. It was a shallow cut, but it was also the first injury he had landed on her in a while.

The woman staggered back as she placed a hand on her stomach. When she brought her hand away, it was slick with blood. Her lips were a thin line. However, she didn’t have time to dwell on her anger because Wu Jian and Wu Meiying were already preparing their next attack.

[Heavenly Cleave]

[Heavenly Palm, Time’s Retribution]

While Wu Jian’s attack was just a standard variation of Cleaving the Heavens in a Single Strike, Wu Meiying’s attack was one that focused her chi into her palm and, upon releasing it, created an explosive wave of force that dealt internal damage to an opponent.

[Eclipse Rewind]

Wu Jian and Wu Meiying were both struck by Zhou Wen’s technique. It was hard for Wu Jian to describe what happened. To him, it felt like he had been preparing for an attack, and then, quite suddenly, he was standing back where he had been before attacking. If he didn’t know Zhou Wen could manipulate time, he might have never figured out what she had done.

As the seconds ticked by, Wu Jian came to the solid conclusion that he and Wu Meiying would lose if they didn’t do something soon. Zhou Wen had more power, more control, and more raw strength than either of them. This wasn’t something that could be overcome right now. He and Wu Meiying simply weren’t on her level. The longer this fight went on, the more wounds they accumulated. Wu Jian was already bleeding from numerous small cuts that he had gotten from her time attacks, and Wu Meiying was breathing raggedly from having used too much chi.

“J-Jian… I only have enough chi for one technique right now. Can you kill her in a single blow?”

“… Yes.”

Wu Jian had no idea if he could actually kill her, but answering with anything less than complete confidence was not an option right now. He had to believe in himself. He had come so far, struggled so much after the death of his family, and someone from the clan that had killed his was now standing before him. Wu Jian would not let her get away.

“Okay… buy me at least a minute.”

“…”

Wu Jian said nothing, but he blasted off the ground and charged straight at Zhou Wen. The young woman scoffed like she thought he was stupid and waved her hand. He sensed the energy coming from her. Just before her technique reached him, Wu Jian vanished and appeared behind her. He swung Pale Moon. He didn’t use any chi. He needed to conserve that, so he attacked with nothing but the strength of his body.

Zhou Wen gracefully sidestepped his attack like she had eyes in the back of her head. She could probably glimpse into the future. Pale Moon struck the earth and dug deep cracks. He pulled back, but Zhou Wen was already in his guard. She struck him several times in the chest, shoulders, and thighs. Each time she did, a wound opened up, blood spurting out. He sensed the chi she was channeling into him. He couldn’t figure out what she was doing, however. Her attacks didn’t seem that strong.

“Confused? Good. Don’t expect me to tell you how my techniques work,” Zhou Wen said with a condescending smile.

Wu Jian clicked his tongue but fought on. Blood began pouring from more wounds as the woman continued striking him. Meanwhile, he hadn’t landed a single hit. He refused to use any more chi since he needed to save what he had for his big attack. His vision was starting to get fuzzy, however. Blackness was creeping at the edges.

[Time’s Heavenly Domain, Frozen World]

Just when Wu Jian worried he might not be able to buy Wu Meiying her sixty seconds, the world around him froze. Even the very air he breathed felt like it had become frozen solid. Zhou Wen was no different. Her body had stopped moving.

“N-now, Jian! I can’t hold her for long!” Wu Meiying cried.

Wu Jian slid his feet apart, raised his sword, and channeled all of his chi into the blade. He compressed it, then transformed it into spatial energy. Tears in space erupted around him like fragments of a shattered mirror. Inky blackness and a sea of stars lay beyond. Wu Jian blinked the sweat and dizziness from his eyes as he compressed all of his chi into Pale Moon and focused on the woman before him.

[Severing Space With a Single Stroke]

The technique Wu Jian used was not Cleaving the Heavens in a Single Strike, but it was the perfected variation that utilized the Dao of Space. He had never used this technique before, always opting for the less powerful variants, because he didn’t know if he could control it, but here, now, he used the technique that he planned to make his trump card.

He swung his sword down.

And space was split in half.