I Have Three Strikes to Send You on Your Way

Scorched weeds, pitted ground—everything was a mess.

Jiang Changkong propped himself up with his saber as the Taiji diagram flickered in and out, suppressing the saber qi inside him.

Chen Sanyan lay in the distance, his chest caved in and blood spilling everywhere.

With one blow, Jiang Changkong had shattered the bones in his chest. The force of the punch had entered his body, leaving him injured even more severely than Jiang Changkong.

Cough, cough.

Coughing rang out, and great mouthfuls of blood surged up, tugging at his wounds and bringing another burst of agony.

Chen Sanyan's body moved. Enduring the terrible pain, he braced both hands against the ground and slowly sat up.

"Hard to kill, aren't you?"

Jiang Changkong's face was expressionless. That punch just now would have blown apart even a Late Nebula Level Star Demon.

But Chen Sanyan was still alive, and had even sat up.

Chen Sanyan's face twisted savagely with pain. Crimson Star Power shimmered, supporting him as he slowly stood.

Jiang Changkong did not move. Star Power surged as he devoted all his strength to suppressing the saber qi.

His gaze stayed fixed on Chen Sanyan, watching cold sweat bead across his forehead, watching blood pour from his chest.

His chest was caved in, his upper body nearly smashed in two. With wounds that severe, he was still alive.

Nebula martial artists had tough lives.

He rose bit by bit. Even with Star Power supporting him, Chen Sanyan took a full quarter of an hour before he barely managed to stand.

The blood no longer flowed. Chen Sanyan's face was deathly pale, and he gasped harshly, which only aggravated his injuries again.

Standing had been so difficult that it seemed to have used up the last of his strength.

A few more minutes passed, and instead a trace of a smile appeared on Chen Sanyan's pallid face. "You can't suppress the Profound Fire Saber Qi anymore, can you?"

Jiang Changkong remained silent. It was not that he could not suppress it—it was that he had suppressed it.

He had to admit, the Profound Fire Saber Qi was troublesome.

Even with the Taiji Fist Classic working together with his Star Power, it had taken this long just to barely suppress it.

Seeing him say nothing, Chen Sanyan's smile grew even wider, and he no longer cared about the pain tugging at his wounds.

"You used everything you had to injure me, but in the end, you're the one who'll die."

Jiang Changkong's expression was indifferent. "The saber is with me."

"Heh. In your current state, even taking one step is probably difficult."

Chen Sanyan sneered. "You exhausted your Star Power to injure me. You no longer have any strength to suppress the Profound Fire Saber Qi.

"With the Profound Fire Saber Qi erupting, the current you is strong on the outside and hollow within. One touch, and you die."

Jiang Changkong's expression was calm as he gripped the saber hilt tightly. "I have three strikes to send you on your way."

"Three strikes is too many. You can't even make one." Chen Sanyan was full of confidence.

Once the Profound Fire Saber Qi erupted, even Ji Ziling and the others would not be able to withstand it.

Not to mention, that move which had injured him so badly had definitely exhausted all of Jiang Changkong's Star Power.

Without Star Power to suppress it, once the saber qi erupted, his internal organs were probably almost reduced to a pulp by now, right?

"Three strikes is indeed too many. Then one strike it is."

Jiang Changkong nodded. The Star Power inside him circulated, and he stepped forward like a shadow, like an illusion.

The long saber passed through, without the slightest trace of Star Power, soundless and noiseless, without ripple or wave.

There was not the slightest sound, nor the slightest fluctuation.

The blade was formless, and where the saber passed, it left no trace.

"How is that possible?"

Chen Sanyan froze. His throat hurt, yet there was not the slightest sign of injury.

With a thud, his body fell, and his life force dissipated.

"My Star Power is very abundant."

Jiang Changkong murmured, then extracted essence, energy, and spirit.

Chen Sanyan, at Peak Nebula Level, gave a little less than a Star Demon: 430 essence, energy, and spirit.

Counting the previous amount, along with what he had gained from killing Star Demons on the road, essence, energy, and spirit: 1588.

He added it all to the Taiji Fist Classic. Taiji Fist Classic: Minor Achievement 1591/4000.

A surge of power rose inside him. His Star Power recovered quite a bit, and his stamina recovered somewhat as well.

The Taiji Fist Classic circulated, nourishing his internal organs and suppressing the Star Power.

His Star Power had been abundant to begin with. If it had been an ordinary Late Nebula Level, that attack just now absolutely would have exhausted their Star Power.

But he had not. He still had some Star Power left, enough to unleash one strike.

Even if he couldn't unleash it, he could still add some essence, energy, and spirit, recover a bit of Star Power, and chop him up.

He looked at Chen Sanyan's corpse. The blade had swept across his throat, yet there wasn't a single wound.

The saber had passed without leaving a mark; the saber qi had entered his body, and the inside had already been severed.

With the Taiji Fist Classic upgraded, his Star Power and stamina recovered a little. Jiang Changkong sheathed his saber and left.

Without Star Power pouring into it, the blade automatically retracted, turning back into a hilt, which he stuffed into his pocket.

He moved through the weeds. With the Primordial Martial Compass in hand, the moment he sensed any power fluctuations, he left directly.

After running for more than an hour, Jiang Changkong checked his phone and was very relieved to find it hadn't been smashed.

He found a place, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Taiji Fist Classic to nurse his injuries.

Another two hours passed before Jiang Changkong's injuries completely stabilized, the saber qi firmly suppressed.

Only then did he take out his phone and contact Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen replied instantly, "Changkong, where are you?"

Jiang Changkong turned on location sharing. The two of them weren't very far apart.

He got up and rushed toward Zhou Wen, while also keeping an eye on the Primordial Martial Compass. If there were Star Demons, he would strike.

Although most of his Star Power had to be used to suppress the saber qi, his Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique had reached mastery, equivalent to the Late Nebula Level.

With pure strength and physique alone, he could crush the Mid Nebula Level.

The prerequisite was that they didn't attack his saber wound.

A blade had pierced straight through him; that wound wouldn't heal so quickly.

He directly punched through a Star Demon at Star Qi Peak, extracted its essence, energy, and spirit, and added it to the Taiji Fist Classic.

The Taiji Fist Classic was extremely helpful for healing and could deal with saber qi.

As long as the Taiji Fist Classic reached mastery, he could expel the saber qi and recover completely.

Half an hour later, the two met up.

"It's good that you're all right."

Seeing his clothes in tatters, Zhou Wen let out a breath of relief. Though Jiang Changkong looked wretched, he didn't seem to have any real injuries.

"I only delayed him for a while, then left. How could anything happen?"

Jiang Changkong smiled and said, "But Brother Wen, you need to return to the city."

"Return to the city?" Zhou Wen frowned.

"Yes. Chen Sanyan has already discovered you. If you don't leave, he'll keep hunting you down."

Jiang Changkong said helplessly, "Though I can block him, I can't be on guard at every moment."

Zhou Wen was silent for a moment, then sighed softly. "I've caused trouble for you."

"Brother Wen, leave the rest of the road to me."

Jiang Changkong continued, "I'll follow Senior Ziling and the others. Once Senior Yanxue recovers, I'll make my move."

"Then I'll have to trouble you." Zhou Wen smiled bitterly and said, "I also failed to get hold of evidence of Zhang Hua's crimes."

"It's fine. Our goal is only the two seniors' safety."

Jiang Changkong smiled and said, "Actually, there is one thing I need Brother Wen's help with."

"Go ahead. As long as it's something I can do, don't be polite with me." Zhou Wen thumped his chest.

"I met a few people after coming out this time, and it was all thanks to their help. When I return to the city, I need to treat them to a meal, but I don't have any money."

Jiang Changkong curled his lip. He was very poor.

His pension wasn't even enough for his own spending. If he treated them to a meal, it would probably all be gone.

Zhou Wen laughed. "That little matter? Leave it to your big brother. I'll wait for you to return to the city, join the martial arts school, and take me through the college entrance exam."

"Don't worry, Brother Wen. I'll definitely bring Senior Yanxue back in one piece."

Jiang Changkong made his promise.

The two said no more. The sky was about to turn dark now, and Zhou Wen was in no hurry to leave.

After telling him the direction Zhang Hua and the others had left in, he returned the backpack to him, then left.

Zhou Wen took his phone for now, while Jiang Changkong continued using Zhang Xiaoyu's.

Zhou Wen went nearby to kill a Star Demon, lit a fire, and roasted the meat, giving the Star Stone to him as well.

Jiang Changkong didn't stand on ceremony. Though a Star Qi Peak one didn't give much, it was still essence, energy, and spirit. In any case, Zhou Wen had no interest in it.

After cultivating for the night, Zhou Wen left the next day.

Jiang Changkong set out alone, feeling relieved. Alone, he could freely kill Star Demons and extract essence, energy, and spirit.