This Got Out of Hand

"A very long time ago, the heavens and earth split open, and countless Star Demons poured into the world.

"The stars in the sky scattered boundless starlight, ushering in the age of cultivation.

"And these Star Demons could likewise absorb Star Power to improve themselves..."

Zhou Wen explained. This was all knowledge taught by the school.

Jiang Changkong had not yet entered a martial arts school, so he listened quietly.

There were many kinds of Star Demons. As for exactly how many, no one knew.

The corpse they had just killed had started stinking right away. Though it was strange, saying it was the work of Star Demons did carry some credibility.

Jiang Changkong asked no more. He glanced in Zhang Hua and the others' direction and asked, "Anything else going on?"

"Nothing for now."

Zhou Wen said, "But if they don't see my corpse, they definitely won't be at ease."

The two chatted a while longer, then each went to rest.

Early the next morning, Jiang Changkong went to hunt Star Demons, while Zhou Wen continued keeping watch.

At his current hunting speed, he could upgrade one martial art in about a day.

He did not know if it was because he had killed too many Star Demons nearby, or something else.

The entire day, he barely ran into a few Star Demons. The area nearby was empty.

His essence, qi, and spirit had only reached 850.

He was still a little short. Tomorrow should be no problem.

There was still no movement. Ji Ziling and Ying Yanxue were doing fairly well too.

It was just that their phones had been confiscated, so they could not contact the outside world.

Ying Yanxue's injuries had already mostly recovered, and Zhou Wen's injuries were about the same.

Jiang Changkong did not want to deal with any of this. He only wanted to kill Star Demons and raise his strength as soon as possible.

So the moment the sky brightened, he left, and only returned at sunset.

After leaving Zhou Wen, this time he headed for the river again.

Star Demons needed to drink water too. Rather than search aimlessly, he might as well wait here for them to walk into the trap.

Roar.

Not long after he reached the water source, he saw four Star Demons drinking. One of them was even at the Mid Nebula Level.

The other three Star Demons were only at the Star Qi Peak.

Without hesitation, Jiang Changkong charged straight out.

The Taiji Fist Classic and Iron Cloth Shirt had both reached minor mastery. Facing a Mid Nebula Level opponent, he could still crush it.

The Taiji Fist descended, and a Taiji diagram, at once real and illusory, flew out, directly enveloping the three Star Qi Peak Star Demons.

Bang, bang...

The three Star Demons exploded on the spot, while the Nebula-level Star Demon charged straight at Jiang Changkong.

A fist came down. Taiji dispelled the force, while vigorous Star Power and force patterns shook at the same time.

His punch shattered the Star Demon's sharp claws and drove through.

Roar!

The Star Demon roared, howling in pain as it lunged in to bite.

He dodged sideways, Taiji guiding and deflecting, then threw a punch at the Star Demon's neck.

Pfft!

Crack!

Tendons and bones snapped. His fist pierced through the Star Demon's neck, and blood flowed everywhere.

A Taiji diagram manifested, cutting off the blood.

Mid Nebula Level Star Demon, essence, qi, and spirit: 250. Three Star Qi Peak, 50 each.

Essence, qi, and spirit: 1250!

Upgrade Traceless Three Blades!

The Star Power inside him increased once again, and insights regarding Traceless Three Blades also surged into his mind.

It was as if he had practiced it for many years, carved into his very bones.

The force patterns inside him also grew slightly stronger.

Jiang Changkong: Mid Nebula Level

Low-grade, mid-tier martial arts:

Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique: minor mastery 1/4000

Taiji Fist Classic: minor achievement 1/4000

Traceless Three Blades: minor achievement 1/4000

Essence, energy, and spirit: 250

Feeling the vast Star Power in his body and his surging blood and qi, his five senses sharpened along with them.

As for some super top student or whatever, it wouldn't be long before he surpassed one himself!

Jiang Changkong looked around, then crouched down to keep watch by the river.

Before long, several more Star Qi Peak Star Demons came, but they were some distance away from him.

Jiang Changkong rushed over quickly and slaughtered the Star Demons.

This time, he did not extract essence, energy, and spirit. Instead, he bled the Star Demons.

Only after draining them dry and piling the corpses there did he hide to one side.

He let the essence, energy, and spirit slowly dissipate, automatically extracting what leaked out.

Roar!

A roar sounded. A Star Demon twitched its nose and came to the riverbank. Without looking at the river, it headed straight for the corpses.

The Star Demon started gnawing at them, utterly unaware that this was a trap.

"Only one Star Qi Peak?"

Jiang Changkong muttered. A taiji diagram flew out, and the Star Demon's head burst apart, blood gurgling out.

He thought of Zhang Hua and the others, who had previously used Star Demon blood to lure Star Demons into blocking the road.

Then he could also use Star Demon corpses and blood to lure Star Demons over.

Although there was only one, it was just the beginning after all, and he was in no hurry.

Patience was the one thing he lacked least.

About fifteen minutes later, several Star Demons came, all at the Star Qi stage.

For Star Qi-stage ones, he did not need to show himself; a single taiji diagram could instantly kill them.

One Star Demon after another arrived, and all of them died here and were bled.

The reek of blood grew heavier and heavier, and the corpses piled up higher and higher.

From the few at the beginning, the number became more than a dozen.

Essence, energy, and spirit: 500. Extract?

Only five hundred points. Jiang Changkong did not extract it and continued waiting.

By noon, the riverbank was already covered in corpses. The stench of blood was so thick that even Jiang Changkong could hardly stand it.

It was pungent and nauseating, and even the air above had taken on a faint red hue.

Rumble!

The ground shook, weeds toppled over, and a deafening sound came.

"Extract."

Jiang Changkong did not dare continue. His essence, energy, and spirit had already reached 1,380.

The moment he extracted it, a foul stench immediately surged into the sky and nearly knocked him out.

He looked at the weeds around him as they rapidly fell flat. One Star Demon after another was racing over, vying to arrive first.

Jiang Changkong picked a direction with no Star Demons and ran at full speed.

Before he had run far, Jiang Changkong stopped. A swarm of Star Demons stood ahead, but fortunately, they were all at the Star Qi stage.

He looked around. There were Star Demons everywhere.

He had overdone it!

Did this count as digging a pit and burying himself in it?

Jiang Changkong nearly slapped himself twice. He felt he had gotten a little carried away.

After the extraction, the foul qi shot into the sky, and the Star Demons rushing over immediately stopped in their tracks.

The rich smell of blood had drawn them here.

But now it was gone, leaving only a foul stench.

Aside from some Star Demons with heavy tastes, most Star Demons did not eat rotten meat.

The Star Demons in front of him did not stop. When they saw Jiang Changkong, they all charged over.

Jiang Changkong did not dare hesitate in the slightest. The moment he attacked, he went all out.

He blasted one Star Demon apart with a punch, ignored the attacks of the other Star Demons, extracted the essence, energy, and spirit, then rushed forward.

There were Star Demons all around. For all he knew, a Peak Nebula Level one might pop out, so leaving quickly was the priority.

Fearless of the Star Demon attacks, beneath the Taiji diagram, the Star Power and Star Demons were directly forced back.

He blasted one apart with a punch, not slowing his steps in the slightest, but ahead of him, there were still Star Demons.

He lifted his eyes and looked out. Because the Star Demons were so tall, he couldn't see how many there were at all.

He could only kill one and advance a few meters.

One punch, one Star Demon. Right now, he no longer cared how much essence, energy, and spirit there was—he just extracted it.

He kept blasting them dead. Before their blood qi could even dissipate, it turned into a foul stench.

But the commotion on this side still drew the attention of quite a few Star Demons, and they swarmed over one after another.

The Star Demons had no fear of death. When one fell, the next took its place.

Even with Jiang Changkong's formidable strength, at this moment he could only advance at a crawl.

He kept throwing punches, the Star Power in his body rapidly draining away, and his physical strength was weakening too.

Jiang Changkong's heart jolted. Without the slightest hesitation, he poured all his essence, energy, and spirit into the Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique.

At a time like this, the Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique was what would save his life.

As the Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique improved, power welled up inside him, and both his Star Power and physical strength recovered somewhat.

Good thing he could extract essence, energy, and spirit and quickly improve himself. Otherwise, he really might have died here today.

As his martial art leveled up, his physique and strength kept rising. Star Demons fell one after another, and Jiang Changkong's steps quickened a little.