Soaring Vigor

"Zhang Hua, I already sent Changkong back."

Ji Ziling looked at the young man before her and said flatly, "Where's Wu Jun? He's got some nerve. Tell him to get out here and die."

"Ji Ziling."

Zhang Hua's expression was calm as he looked at her coldly. "Are you trying to shield Jiang Changkong?"

Ji Ziling froze. "Shield him?"

"Jiang Changkong claimed he was bringing troops to support us, yet while Yanxue and the others fought with everything they had, not a single soldier appeared.

"He passed on false information. Was he trying to get them killed? And now you let him leave first. If that isn't shielding him, what is?"

Zhang Hua said coldly.

"Bullshit. Changkong came here risking his life. I saw all the messages. It was Wu Jun who was courting death."

Ji Ziling said icily, "Don't think I don't know what filthy thoughts you're hiding."

"Ziling."

Ying Yanxue, already changed into a clean set of white clothes, walked over.

"Senior Ziling."

Zhou Wen also came over.

"Yanxue, your face is so pale. You must be badly injured. We're going back to the city."

Ji Ziling took Ying Yanxue's hand and was about to leave.

Ying Yanxue had already been gravely wounded before, and to carve out a path of survival for everyone, she had worsened her injuries. Her face was deathly pale, like paper.

"Ji Ziling, that's going too far."

Zhang Hua snorted coldly and said, "This concerns a special Star Demon. Since you're here, stay quietly. If you return to the city and the information leaks, who will be responsible?"

"Ziling, let's leave it like this for now. We'll talk after my injuries recover," Ying Yanxue said with a slight frown.

Zhang Hua clearly would not let them leave, and his reason was strong enough.

If Ji Ziling forcibly took them away, then when Zhang Hua reported back to the academy and said the information had leaked and the special Star Demon had been taken, wouldn't they be wronged?

When the time came, he would splash dirty water on them and say it was because of them.

Then, would they have to compensate Zhang Hua with a special skill?

Zhang Hua said coldly, "Ji Ziling, I won't blame you this time for privately letting Jiang Changkong go. I hope you don't cause trouble."

Ji Ziling sneered. "You know the truth in your own heart. If you want to find someone to take the blame, fine, but don't even think about making my brother carry it!"

This time, Wu Jun had suddenly roared, nearly causing Ying Yanxue and the others to die.

Someone had died on the spot earlier, after all.

If this matter was investigated, someone would need to take the blame.

Wu Jun was working for Zhang Hua, so of course Zhang Hua could not let him take the blame. The best candidate was Jiang Changkong.

Jiang Changkong watched from the shadows and carefully retreated.

He was so furious inside he nearly exploded.

Zhang Hua, Wu Jun, you were clearly the ones behind this, and now you want me to take the blame?

No wonder Ji Ziling didn't let me keep following. Clearly, she had known this long ago.

After thinking it over, Jiang Changkong withdrew.

However, he did not go far. He was going to follow them.

This group needed food and supplies every day, and they hunted Star Demons.

They all had backpacks, so he did not expect to get any Star Stones, but they could not take the corpses away. That was an advantage.

He could also hunt Star Demons nearby, and while he was at it, take a look at what the special Star Demon looked like.

Having made up his mind, Jiang Changkong sat down nearby, checked his notes, and waited for dawn.

The night passed peacefully, without alarm or danger.

Zhang Hua and the others set out early, with Jiang Changkong following from the shadows.

The group traveled with wounded people, so there was no way they could move quickly.

Whenever they encountered Star Demons along the way, Zhang Hua and the others killed them directly, took the Star Stones, and left the corpses behind.

Following behind them, Jiang Changkong occasionally ran into blind Star Demons. They were all Star Qi Level, and he slaughtered them straight away.

As for Nebula Level Star Demons, those people would never let any go. They killed them themselves long ago.

As he followed in secret, he could tell that Zhang Hua was not in any hurry to kill the special Star Demon. Every day, he fawned over Ying Yanxue.

Ji Ziling was so angry she nearly started fighting Zhang Hua.

But Zhang Hua was the one in charge now, and there was nothing she could do except endure it.

While they made camp and roasted Star Demon meat, Jiang Changkong took advantage of the fact that the sky had not yet darkened to search the surrounding area for Star Demons.

If it was Nebula Level, he would retreat. If it was Star Qi Level, he would slaughter it outright.

With his current strength, even if it was an early-stage Star Qi opponent, he was confident he could kill it. But he was afraid the commotion would be too great and draw attention, so he could only give up.

After Taiji Fist broke through, his Star Power had nearly doubled, and his power patterns had also increased somewhat.

If he faced Zhang Tao and Li He again, he could pin them down and beat them with one hand.

Soon, Jiang Changkong found several Star Demons at Star Qi Peak. He charged out directly and punched through one of their heads.

The other Star Demons swung their sharp claws down, landing on his body.

Clang.

A crisp sound rang out, like metal striking metal, without leaving even the slightest wound.

And the shock injuries were gone too. His defense was far too strong.

Even if he faced the siege of a dozen or so Star Demons at Star Qi Peak, they could not possibly injure him.

He cut down five Star Demons at Star Qi Peak as easily as crushing dry weeds, gaining 2,500 essence, qi, and spirit before finally returning in satisfaction.

Roar.

A low growl came. Before he had gone far, Star Demons moved through the weeds one after another, blocking his path.

Jiang Changkong's expression did not change. They were all Star Qi Level. He would just slaughter them.

"Something's wrong here?"

As he killed Star Demons along the way, Jiang Changkong's heart gave a slight jolt.

According to the notes, there seemed to be a great many Star Demons here.

And if he kept going, there would only be more and more of them, and their strength would grow stronger and stronger as well.

He killed a Star Demon with one punch. Jiang Changkong could not even be bothered to dig out the Star Stone, directly extracting everything instead.

There were many Star Demons nearby, but he was not afraid, because there were no Nebula Level ones.

Star Demons charged over one after another. Jiang Changkong feared no attack. With one punch, a Star Demon would lose its life.

The Star Demons fell one after another. He extracted their essence, qi, and spirit, releasing a foul stench.

Clanging sounds rang out constantly. All the Star Demons' attacks were useless; they were merely delivering essence, qi, and spirit to him.

After killing the final Star Demon, Jiang Changkong extracted its essence, qi, and spirit, then sped up and left.

The sky was already dark now. If he stayed any longer, even more Star Demons would appear.

He checked his essence, qi, and spirit. It had already exceeded ten thousand. He had killed a full twenty of them just now.

"At this rate, I can improve at flying speed."

Jiang Changkong's heart surged. This land ravaged by Star Demons was his true paradise.

Of course, that was only under the condition that he had the strength to deal with them.

He sat down cross-legged. Zhang Hua and the others had already finished eating Star Demon meat and were resting.

Jiang Changkong continued flipping through the notes. Even after finishing them, he would read them again and again, striving to memorize every single word without missing a thing.

The next day, Zhang Hua and the others did not leave. They split off a few people and entered the weeds to search for Star Demons.

Jiang Changkong heard that they were going to stay here for a few days, letting Ying Yanxue nurse her injuries.

The ones who went out to hunt Star Demons were all Nebula martial artists. Jiang Changkong did not follow them. He chose the opposite direction and went to hunt Star Demons.

It was even better if they did not leave. He could hunt Star Demons and improve himself.

Upgrading Basic Saber Technique only required a little over five hundred. To reach perfection at low-grade lower-rank required forty-two thousand five hundred.

He wanted to upgrade Three Water-Cutting Blades to perfection, which required forty-three thousand.

During the day, there were just as many Star Demons. Jiang Changkong easily found some.

He directly closed in for melee combat, letting the Star Demons' blood splatter all over him.

Jiang Changkong was covered in a reek of blood, but he did not care. There were fresh clothes in his backpack that he could change into.

After a round of killing, he kept a large chunk of Star Demon meat and roasted it to eat.

His dry rations were almost finished, and his freshwater was nearly gone too. He had to find an opportunity to search for a water source.

Star Demon meat without seasoning was just as hard to eat, especially when it had not been roasted properly and was tough as a board, though his teeth were very good.

He ate a little casually, then continued killing Star Demons.

A day passed. Jiang Changkong gained more than twenty thousand essence, qi, and spirit. Adding it to what he had before, his essence, qi, and spirit: 31,830!

"If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have followed Ji Ziling before."

Jiang Changkong curled his lip. Of course, he was only saying it.

If he had not followed Ji Ziling, he certainly could have killed Star Demons freely, but he also would not have found this place where Star Demons gathered.

He was still short by more than ten thousand. Then he could perfect Three Water-Cutting Blades. Tomorrow should be about enough.