Chapter 112: The Underground River

Under the night sky, Jiang Changkong stopped killing Star Demons.

He was already somewhat tired today, and Nantian Wang and the other hadn’t left yet.

“Aren’t you two leaving?” Jiang Changkong asked.

“If we leave, you’ll be in danger.”

Nantian Wang found a spot to sit down: “Exhausted as you are, how could you possibly be a match for that vice president?”

“I don’t need your help.”

Jiang Changkong said calmly. Exhausted?

With you two around, would I dare to use up my last ounce of strength?

He remained wary of the two of them, lest he be betrayed without even knowing it.

“If you won’t accept our goodwill, then forget it. Contact us after you deal with the vice president.”

Yao Meng flicked her finger, and a golden card flew toward Jiang Changkong: “This has my phone number on it. Tianwang, let’s go.”

“Alright.” Nantian Wang shrugged and followed her as they left.

Jiang Changkong closed his eyes and sat cross-legged to cultivate, though not with full concentration, slowly recovering his energy.

The two hadn’t gone far, stopping about a kilometer away.

Then, they began to talk.

Nantian Wang said with lingering fear: “I never expected Jiangcheng to have such a monster. The two of us working together almost couldn’t block a single slash from him.”

“We came here to relax, but you just had to go and teach him a lesson, provoking such a person.”

Yao Meng sighed softly: “I wanted to relax properly here, but now I feel so much pressure.”

“I feel pressured too. It’s one thing for geniuses to be everywhere in the Major Province, but now even a small province produces someone who can beat me up.”

Nantian Wang said gloomily: “Next time, I’ll definitely pick a better place to relax, somewhere absolutely free of monsters.

But, Meng Jie, why didn’t you use your full strength? With the two of us working together, we should have been able to take him down.”

Nantian Wang was deeply wounded inside. Today was his most failed attempt at showing off.

In the past, in small provinces or even Ordinary Provinces, he was unstoppable. At the Star Gate level, few could withstand even a single move from him.

Let alone Jiang Changkong, who was only at the mid-stage of Star Gate.

Yet, it was this mid-stage Star Gate cultivator who taught him a lesson today, thoroughly slapping him in the face.

Although Yao Meng had intervened, she had only helped block the attack. If she had gone all out, he believed she was no weaker than Jiang Changkong.

“In such a small place, encountering this kind of genius should make it easier to recruit him compared to those in the Major Province.

Jiangcheng Martial Arts School has really flourished, nurturing such a talent. The teachers and students deserve credit.”

Yao Meng added: “It’s just a pity he’s so wary of us. I don’t know if we can recruit him or if he’s worth befriending.”

“Isn’t that what I was testing? With the three of us working together, obtaining that thing shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Nantian Wang whispered: “I originally wanted to wait for Uncle Liu to arrive, but now someone else has discovered it too. Let’s secure the thing first and also test him.”

“Mm, the Martial Arts Association vice president Qin Wen is almost here. If he can’t handle it, we’ll lend a hand.” Yao Meng said calmly.

Hearing this, Jiang Changkong stopped listening.

These two didn’t know his senses were terrifyingly sharp. Even from a hundred meters away, he could hear them clearly.

Although their conversation was hushed, with him listening intently, it was no different from them speaking right next to his ear.

After cultivating for half an hour, Jiang Changkong opened his eyes. He was here.

A figure was rapidly approaching.

In just a few breaths, he had arrived before him.

A long-haired young man with icy eyes, dressed in black martial attire: “Jiang Changkong?”

“Qin Wen, vice president of the Jiangshui Martial Arts Association?” Jiang Changkong replied indifferently.

Qin Wen’s expression was cold: “You want the Starlight Distortion Land quota?”

“Yes.” Jiang Changkong admitted directly.

“Excellent.” Qin Wen sneered coldly, a flash of sword light piercing the night: “Then, die.”

“Assassinating the president of the Martial Arts Association is no small crime,” Jiang Changkong said softly.

“Death in a competition for a spot, defeated by superior skill.”

Qin Wen snorted coldly, his sword light not pausing for even a moment.

Jiang Changkong remained calm. As the sword approached, his long blade cut through the air, a blazing heat emerging like a scorching sun rising.

Night turned to day, the golden sunlight dazzling.

“One blade, Blazing Sun.”

Thud

A blinding flash of blade light passed, and with a thud, a corpse fell.

The light faded, and the world returned to darkness once more.

Jiang Changkong approached Qin Wen’s body and searched it, finding a jade pendant, also ten cubic units in capacity.

Inside, there weren’t many Star Stones—only thirteen—but they were all Star Gate level and already processed.

Eight low-grade fourth-tier, four mid-grade, and one high-grade.

Total Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 1900.

Besides these, there was also a contract stating that he had failed in the competition for the spot, defeated by superior skill.

A flame appeared in Jiang Changkong’s hand, incinerating Qin Wen.

Assassinating him, the president, was enough to sentence this guy to death.

After dealing with the matter, Jiang Changkong continued to recover. Nantian Wang and Yao Meng resumed their conversation.

Yao Meng sounded somewhat surprised: “One blade, with such strength—did he not expend any energy after killing Star Demons all day?”

“And he fought with us too. What a monster,” Nantian Wang said, holding his forehead. “Is Jiangcheng still a land of fortune?”

Once Jiang Changkong confirmed they wouldn’t approach, he continued restoring his Star Power.

Until the next morning, neither of them came over on their own, nor did they leave.

After some thought, Jiang Changkong dialed Yao Meng’s number.

Yao Meng answered almost instantly, pretending not to know: “Who is this?”

“Jiang Changkong. The matter is settled,” Jiang Changkong said before hanging up.

The two exchanged a glance but didn’t rush over immediately.

Jiang Changkong simply sat there, keeping an eye on them at all times.

After waiting about half an hour, Yao Meng left alone to change clothes, and only then did the two set out.

Breathing slightly heavily, they acted as if they had rushed from afar.

“Both of you, we can set off now,” Jiang Changkong said calmly.

“Follow me,” Nantian Wang nodded, then added doubtfully, “Can you keep up?”

“We’ll see,” Jiang Changkong replied.

Without another word, the two shone with starlight under their feet, stepping over weeds as they quickly departed.

Jiang Changkong started with Xuan Yang Steps but found that relying solely on them, he could barely keep up.

Using the Spirit Control Art to propel himself, he was able to surpass them, which finally put him at ease.

Following at a steady pace, the two grew increasingly astonished.

His combat power was formidable, and his lightness skill was no weaker than theirs.

If they hadn’t confirmed he was from Jiangcheng, they would have suspected Jiang Changkong was like them—someone who had come from a Major Province.

The three of them ran at full speed for over half an hour, arriving deep within a dense forest.

At the end of the forest was a tributary of the Jiangshui River.

Here, there was a massive circular pit, six meters in diameter, pitch-black inside, its depth unknown.

Jiang Changkong’s ears twitched, hearing the sound of rushing water inside.

Several ropes were tied to nearby trees at the edge of the pit.

Yao Meng frowned: “Someone went down ahead of us.”

Nantian Wang slightly furrowed his brow: “We’ll each rely on our own abilities. This actually works in our favor. The pit is about twenty meters deep, with water at the bottom.

There are Star Demons inside, so be careful when descending—don’t fall into their mouths.”

With that, he grabbed a rope first and descended into the pit.

Yao Meng followed down as well. Jiang Changkong didn’t hesitate, grabbing the rope and sliding down.

The underground water surged violently, but none of the three were ordinary people—darkness couldn’t obstruct their vision.

The rope extended directly to the water’s surface. There was no foothold in the pit below, so the three of them entered the water directly.

Nantian Wang was quite skilled in swimming, moving agilely even in the water.

Yao Meng was even more proficient, taking the lead and swimming ahead.

Jiang Changkong’s swimming skills weren’t particularly strong, but he managed to keep up with them.

The three swam forward quickly. Before long, a Star Demon flew directly toward them, only to be split apart by Yao Meng’s sword light, which cleaved through the water and killed it.

Star Power pushed back the water as Nantian Wang urged, “Hurry! The blood will attract more Star Demons.”

Jiang Changkong nodded slightly, lagging behind. After all, that had been an Early Star Sea Stage Star Demon. They might not care, but he did—he needed to extract its Essence.

Along the way, Star Demons were indeed plentiful, though most of them were just scattered flesh—remnants of those killed by previous arrivals, later devoured by Star Demons.

Adhering to the principle of taking whatever he could, Jiang Changkong extracted the Essence from the scattered flesh.

The three swam swiftly, accelerating with Star Power. As they advanced, a hint of bloodlust permeated the water.

Dozens of Star Demons swam around, their bodies resembling crocodiles but exceptionally ugly, with gaping maws full of sharp teeth.