Acting at Night

A night passed.

Zhang Hua and the others moved out early. They had injured the special Star Demon yesterday, so they had to hurry today.

Jiang Changkong kept watching, but this time, he stood far away.

He did not disguise himself and make another move. Zhang Hua and the others were already broke as hell.

Ji Ziling thought he had left. If he acted again, she might very well stop holding back.

He was confident now that he could easily deal with two super top students.

But there were four here. Even if they could not keep him here, what about Kexiang lurking in the dark?

Kexiang's people were nearby. The major moves over the past few days had definitely drawn their attention.

Jiang Changkong disguised himself very carefully.

Without him making a move, naturally, there were no special Star Demons.

Who the hell knew where the special Star Demon was? In any case, he did not.

They waited all the way until noon, but still did not see any trace of the special Star Demon.

Zhang Hua and the others were more patient than Jiang Changkong had imagined.

They showed not the slightest impatience. They had injured the special Star Demon yesterday, so the other party would definitely be even more cautious.

Special Star Demons possessed intelligence, after all.

More and more Star Demons gathered, and more and more died. Blood energy spread through the air.

In the afternoon, the horde of Star Demons came again, and Zhang Hua and the others could only retreat for the time being, watching from afar.

They did not even collect the Star Smoke Balls.

Jiang Changkong did not court death by going to collect the Star Smoke Balls either. He was also paying attention to the Star Demons.

By evening, the special Star Demon still had not appeared, and Zhang Hua and the others gave up for the time being.

The Star Demon corpses had been gnawed beyond recognition. The hordes of Star Demons ate their fill and began to disperse.

Jiang Changkong watched the scattered Star Demons and silently followed.

He first picked out a small group and swiftly killed them, then went to look for the next small group.

This was much better than searching everywhere by himself.

The Traceless Three Blades harvested Star Demon lives beneath the night curtain.

Whenever there were any above Mid Nebula Level, he dug out their Star Stones and stuffed them into his backpack.

He kept killing for two hours, almost wiping out all the small groups of Star Demons, leaving only the large groups.

Jiang Changkong hesitated at the sight of that large group.

If he got bogged down, he might very well end up like last time, drained of qi and strength.

"Should I go take a look anyway?"

Jiang Changkong still could not resist the temptation. If he followed behind and killed a few, there should not be any major problem.

At worst, he would just wait for stragglers.

Having made up his mind, Jiang Changkong chased after them. That group of Star Demons numbered several hundred.

Most of them were at Star Qi Peak. Jiang Changkong spent fifteen minutes catching up.

Just as he was about to strike, the Primordial Martial Compass shook violently.

Peak Nebula Level!

Jiang Changkong's body trembled. Hidden among this horde of Star Demons was actually a Peak Nebula Level one?

"Ji@gu%..."

Amid his shock and doubt, a strange sound rang out.

Among the horde of Star Demons, a short figure leaped onto the back of one Star Demon like an ape.

"That is..."

Jiang Changkong was stunned. A humanoid Star Demon?

It was very short, about one and a half meters tall, like a monkey.

Its face was ferocious and ugly, its arms long and narrow, its hands broad and somewhat deformed.

Its five fingers were all the same length, and black scales grew over its body.

The two legs of its lower body were similar to those of an ordinary human, except covered in scales, and its feet were also similar to a human's.

The humanoid Star Demon held a sparkling round ball in its hands, its face full of infatuation.

A Star Smoke Ball!

Jiang Changkong did not make another move. He simply followed them like this.

So the humanoid Star Demon had already appeared. It had simply been hiding among the horde of Star Demons.

The Star Demon horde had not gone too far, roughly half an hour's journey away.

The Star Demons had all scattered as well. Only a dozen or so remained with the humanoid Star Demon.

But those dozen or so were all at the Nebula Level, and two of them were even at the Peak Nebula Level!

Jiang Changkong shook his head, slowly backed away, and returned to the place where the Star Demons had been slaughtering each other earlier.

From the earlier carnage, he had already gained over two thousand essence, qi, and spirit.

Those corpses had been gnawed beyond recognition by the Star Demons, but quite a few Star Stones were still there.

Jiang Changkong extracted the essence, qi, and spirit. Total: 4,534!

He added all of it to the Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique, and this martial art smoothly entered the perfected realm.

The remaining essence, qi, and spirit was added to Traceless Three Blades.

The Star Power inside him surged again, so vast and powerful it was absurd.

In that vague perception, another power pattern appeared inside him, and his pure physical strength also skyrocketed.

He declared that he could take on three super straight-A students by himself and win with ease.

Moreover, although pure physical strength alone could not kill someone at the Peak Nebula Level, it was still enough to deal with them.

As for the Late Nebula Level, he could blow one apart with a single punch, using only strength and no Star Power.

Jiang Changkong: Peak Nebula Level

Low-grade, mid-tier martial arts:

Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique: Perfected 1/64000

Taiji Fist Classic: Greater Mastery 1/16000

Traceless Three Blades: Perfected 554/64000

Essence, qi, and spirit: 0

Although he really wanted to keep improving the Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique, he could only give it up for the sake of the special Star Stone.

Taking advantage of the night, Jiang Changkong held the Primordial Martial Compass and continued hunting Star Demons.

As for the special Star Demon, he did not want to make a move against it for now.

The special Star Demon could command other Star Demons, and there were two Peak Nebula Level ones by its side.

If they fought and the special Star Demon directly summoned the Star Demon horde, that would be depressing.

He could not take it down alone. Unless the Copper Skin Iron Bone Technique reached complete perfection, only then could he charge straight through and kill everything.

One night passed. The next day, Zhang Hua and the others continued luring the Star Demons.

Jiang Changkong continued lying in wait, then followed and killed them when the Star Demons left.

It was just that Zhang Hua and the others were even more careful with the Star Smoke Balls now. Only two were left.

After a few more times, once the Star Smoke Balls were gone, they would have no way to lure out the special Star Demon for him.

Every time noon arrived and the special Star Demon had not appeared, they would take back the Star Smoke Ball.

With the four super straight-A students working together, taking back the Star Smoke Ball was effortless.

Because half a day had passed and many Star Demons had died or been injured, blood energy soared into the sky.

Add to that the Star Demons they killed when they took back the Star Smoke Ball, and he had not lost out on much essence, qi, and spirit.

He could harvest several thousand points of essence, qi, and spirit every day, so Jiang Changkong was also happy not to inform them about the special Star Demon.

This continued for three days, until noon on the fourth day.

The four super straight-A students joined forces and killed the Star Demons. Just as they were about to seize the Star Smoke Ball, that short figure appeared.

Roar.

With a furious roar, the short figure charged toward the Star Smoke Ball with two Peak Nebula Level Star Demons.

"A special Star Demon!"

A trace of solemnity appeared on Ying Yanxue's face.

"It finally appeared." Zhang Hua was extremely excited, and a cold gleam rose on the edge of his sword.

"Don't celebrate too soon. In this situation, it's not suitable," Cao Ye spoke up at the right time, his expression heavy.

Three Peak Nebula Level beings, plus a horde of Star Demons. How were they supposed to fight that?

They could not fight at all!

Ji Ziling was somewhat stunned. They had really lured it out?

This time, all four of them saw the special Star Demon clearly. It was extremely short and ugly, but there was no mistaking it: it was a special Star Demon.

But now was not the time to kill the Star Demon and take the Star Stone.

"Retreat."

Making the decision at once, Ji Ziling and Ying Yanxue forced back the Star Demons with a sword strike, then flew backward.

Zhang Hua and Cao Ye retreated close behind.

Though they coveted the special Star Stone, they still valued their lives. In a situation like this, there was no way they could pull it off.

The special Star Demon grabbed the Star Smoke Ball and let out a roar. The swarm of Star Demons all charged toward the four of them.

The four were extremely fast. Everyone else had already run off, and the Star Demons could not catch up, so they could only give up.

With a flash, the special Star Demon mounted a Peak Nebula Level Star Demon and swaggered away.

Jiang Changkong watched this scene and was just about to move when the four super straight-A students appeared again.

The four quietly followed the Star Demon swarm, trailing far behind, not daring to alert them.

This time, the special Star Demon was not Jiang Changkong in disguise, and it did not directly mingle with the Star Demon swarm to escape.

After the special Star Demon appeared, it simply rode the Star Demon and commanded the many Star Demons to leave.

The four proceeded carefully, following the special Star Demon for a full hour before finally stopping.

The special Star Demon clutched the Star Smoke Ball in infatuation. A Peak Nebula Level Star Demon came over, crimson starlight rising from it as it scorched the Star Smoke Ball.

Threads of golden mist drifted out, and three Peak Nebula Level Star Demons greedily absorbed it.

"This special Star Demon really knows how to enjoy itself."

Ji Ziling muttered softly.

"Same as always. End it fast," Zhang Hua said in a low voice.

They had hunted special Star Demons before. Although the experience was meager, this was not their first time.

Ji Ziling had a special healing skill.

"Mm. Since we found it smoothly this time, should we wait a few days?" Ying Yanxue asked softly.

Zhang Hua pondered for a moment, then decided, "Delay invites trouble. We move tonight."

The three super straight-A students' expressions hardened, and they looked somewhat dissatisfied.