Chapter 138: Humanity's Dream

Retrieving the Guidestone, it pointed in a direction.

The five arrived at the pale area and stepped directly inside.

The scorching sun hung high—it was noon.

The scenery before their eyes shifted, and when they reappeared, they were faced with rows of soldiers and vehicles.

“We’re out already?”

Jiang Changkong was taken aback. They had merely walked out of that fiery space.

“At that time, the spatial rift… Wait, look at the stones behind us.”

Li Changtian turned around. The stones that should have been overlapping and distorted were now arranged neatly, piece by piece.

Behind them was no longer a distorted space but a vortex—a vortex interwoven with gold and silver, inhaling and exhaling Star Power.

“What happened inside? It’s only been three days. Why has the distorted area changed so drastically?”

Jiang Haibo walked over, looking at them seriously.

“There’s a Star Stele inside, and a group of people are fighting over it.” Jiang Changkong handed him the Guidestone. “Go see for yourself.”

This couldn’t be hidden unless he refused to return the Guidestone.

The other four also handed their Guidestones to him, saying, “We, along with Changkong, fought with all our might, hoping to secure the Star Stele for the Federation.

Unfortunately, we were no match for them. Instead, we were severely injured and had to retreat first to inform Lord Jiang.”

Jiang Changkong: “”

I realize you’re even more shameless than I am.

But what you said is correct.

We fought with all our might to secure the Star Stele for the Federation, but we couldn’t defeat them.

“Ahem.” The two guardians coughed lightly, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

At the same time, they pinched Jiang Changkong.

Jiang Changkong grunted, blood also seeping from his lips.

“A Star Stele? You five have truly done well.” Jiang Haibo’s expression changed, visibly moved. “Please, go rest. I’ll report this to the Federation immediately.”

Jiang Changkong’s face turned pale, feigning weakness. “We’ll return to Jiangshui City first. Farewell.”

“Someone, escort President Jiang and the others back.”

Jiang Haibo quickly ordered someone to drive them back.

Any lingering displeasure he had toward Jiang Changkong vanished completely now.

A Star Stele—what an immense achievement!

The five got into the car and sped back. The rest was beyond their control.

“I’ve booked hotel rooms and a feast. Changkong, don’t rush back. I’ve reserved a room for you too. Shall we gather together?” Li Changtian said.

Jiang Changkong was still hesitating when Ji Chengming added, “The Star Stele is a matter of great importance. It’s better to stay together for now.”

“Alright.”

Only then did Jiang Changkong agree.

The car drove straight to the hotel. The first thing the five did upon entering their rooms was to take a shower.

After bathing, the meal had already been delivered to Li Changtian’s room, and he invited Jiang Changkong over.

The five ate together, with the two guardians silently devouring their food without a word.

Li Changtian poured wine. “Changkong, let me toast you.”

“You’re too kind.” Jiang Changkong downed the wine in one gulp and said, “There are many things I’d like to ask you.”

Li Changtian and Ji Chengming exchanged a glance. “Go ahead.”

“High-Rank Star Stones are all strategic reserve resources. Will they be hard to obtain in the future?”

Jiang Changkong pondered. “Don’t High-Rank Martial Artists use Star Stones for cultivation?”

Li Changtian replied, “Using Star Stones for cultivation is fine for building a foundation. But at the High-Rank level, Star Stones alone aren’t very effective.

Typically, potions and Star Crystals are used.”

“Star Crystals? What are those?” Jiang Changkong asked.

“How should I put it? Star Crystals are the essence of Star Power. They don’t contain much Star Power themselves.

What’s peculiar is that Star Crystals can accelerate the absorption of Star Power.”

Li Changtian explained, “Moreover, Star Crystals have another major function—they aid in the refinement of Stellar Bodies.

I’ve also heard that Star Crystals have special uses, but we don’t know the specifics.”

“Where do Star Crystals come from?” Jiang Changkong asked.

“No idea,” Li Changtian and Ji Chengming shook their heads simultaneously.

The other two guardians were equally clueless.

Jiang Changkong remarked, “But from what I’ve seen, you all are quite generous, able to produce thousands of Fourth and Fifth Rank Star Stones.”

“Fourth and Fifth Rank ones aren’t too troublesome to obtain. The real challenge lies in hunting high-rank Star Demons and above,” Ji Chengming chimed in. “High-rank Star Stones are almost always saved as soon as they’re acquired.”

“Why stockpile so many? I can understand the Federation doing it, but why would major factions like yours also hoard them?” Jiang Changkong asked, puzzled.

Li Changtian chuckled, “Changkong, you know too little. Wait until you go to a Major Province and make a name for yourself, or until you reach a high rank and establish your own faction. You’ll start stockpiling high-rank Star Stones too.”

“Can’t you give even a hint?” Jiang Changkong frowned.

“Alright, I’ll say this much: before the great changes in the world, humanity dreamed of reaching the moon. Now, with starlight showering down, technology and the Martial Dao have advanced. Do you think the Federation wouldn’t try to find a way up there?” Li Changtian whispered.

Jiang Changkong’s body trembled slightly—venturing into the stars!

Indeed, the falling starlight had brought about the current transformed world. Humanity would surely try to ascend, to unravel the mystery of the starlight.

As for whether it was possible now? If they could do it before, they could certainly do it now. The only question was how quickly.

Now that everything was based on Star Power, high-rank Star Stones were indeed worth stockpiling—no amount would ever be enough to burn through.

“Do your major factions also participate in this? Stockpiling along with them?” Jiang Changkong asked.

“Who wouldn’t want a share of the pie? And this is just one of the ways Star Stones are consumed,” Li Changtian shrugged. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s eat and drink.”

Jiang Changkong tried to ask more, but the two refused to say anything further.

After the meal, everyone returned to their rooms to rest, while Jiang Changkong checked his gains.

He hadn’t yet examined the Star Stones he’d looted from those people.

Nantian Pang had the most Star Stones, living up to his nickname “Fatty.” He had five hundred Fourth Rank Mid-Grade, eight hundred Fourth Rank Top-Grade, and one thousand Fifth Rank High-Grade Star Stones. Nothing else.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 334,000.

The others were much poorer in comparison. There were no Fifth Rank High-Grade Star Stones—they had likely all been used to purchase spots.

In total, there were nineteen people: nine geniuses and ten guardians.

The combined Fifth Rank Mid-Grade Star Stones amounted to 7,619, while the High-Grade ones were fewer, only 120 more than Nantian Wang’s stash. Most of these likely belonged to the nine geniuses, as the ten “workers” had pitifully few Star Stones.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 1,859,800.

What a miscalculation!

Only a little over two million. Hopefully, their weapons would fetch a good price.

But then again, if he hadn’t upgraded, this would have been over twenty million.

“Forget it. Let’s first upgrade all my martial arts to their peak.”

Jiang Changkong looked at his data. Including the previous 600,000-plus and the Essence, Qi, and Spirit extracted from the Star Demons he’d slain, he now had:

Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 2,800,311.

Including the Cold Moon Art, Jiang Changkong simultaneously upgraded all five of his martial arts to their peak.

The Star Power within his body surged violently, and his Star Gate trembled, becoming slightly more solid.

The Taiji Diagram automatically manifested, absorbing Taiyin and Taiyang Power to form the Gold-Silver Taiji Diagram.

The sword tip floated automatically, suspended above the silver-white Taiyin Star Power, absorbing it continuously.

Taiyin and Taiyang intertwined, enveloping Jiang Changkong’s body, turning one half golden and the other half silver-white.

Two extreme forces blended perfectly, coexisting in harmony without any conflict.

With five martial arts upgraded, only a million units of Essence remained.

After brief consideration, Jiang Changkong poured all of it into the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art.

He had always believed in one principle: survival came first.

All his martial arts had now reached perfection, achieving the pinnacle of the Star Vault realm.

Now, even ordinary Star Spirit experts would have to bow before him, wouldn’t they?

Once he sold those two drops of blood, the Special Starstone, along with the weapons and potions,

he should be able to fully perfect the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art, and perhaps even have some resources to spare.