Chapter 149: The Research Institute

The president of Anding Province had decent strength.

Jiang Changkong had to use seventy percent of his Star Power to knock him out.

Now that all three of his martial arts had reached perfection, he could easily overpower him.

This president’s defensive ability was much stronger than the few Star Spirits he had encountered.

He took the Star Stones but didn’t kill anyone.

The sky had darkened, and the bright moon hung high. Jiang Changkong walked under the moonlight, avoiding the other three people as he descended the small hill.

He left at full speed, and along the way, he saw many people heading toward the hill, clearly also after the Star Attraction Stone.

With the Star Attraction Stone in hand, Jiang Changkong didn’t plan to stay any longer and headed straight for Pingan City.

By the evening of the next day, Jiang Changkong stood on a patch of weeds, circulating his Star Power to make his body as light as a swallow.

Pingan City was just ahead, and he could already see the outline of the city walls.

Not far from him, a group of Martial Artists caught his attention.

These Martial Artists were quite peculiar, wearing silver rings on their hands and feet as if carrying a mountain on their backs.

They walked slowly and were breathing heavily.

A few middle-aged men stood nearby, watching them sternly without saying a word.

Jiang Changkong was curious and couldn’t help but walk over.

Approaching a young man in his twenties who looked almost exhausted, he asked, “What are you all doing?”

The young man gasped heavily, glanced at him briefly, and ignored him.

“Don’t disturb him. Talking will waste his energy,” one of the middle-aged men spoke up.

“Oh, I was just curious,” Jiang Changkong apologized to the young man with a glance and walked over to the middle-aged man. “What’s your name, brother? What’s going on here?”

“An Yuanshan. They’re practicing weight-bearing to adapt to heaviness,” the middle-aged man explained.

“Adapt to heaviness? Practice weight-bearing? What’s the point of that? To strengthen the body? They should be practicing Iron Shirt instead.”

Jiang Changkong found it strange.

Even if practicing Iron Shirt couldn’t defend against opponents of the same rank, it was still better than simply carrying weight.

“This is the recruitment standard for the Federation. It’s not about physical fitness but adapting to heaviness. Right now, it’s just the body; later, it’ll be Star Power,” An Yuanshan explained.

“The Federation has this kind of recruitment standard?” Jiang Changkong was surprised. He hadn’t heard Jiang Haishan or the others mention it.

“You’re not from Anding Province, are you? This recruitment standard has always been like this,” An Yuanshan said. “It’s for special forces.”

Jiang Changkong hadn’t paid attention to such information and was unaware.

Special forces that only required adapting to heaviness—this was his first time hearing about it.

“Are these the only ones participating?”

Jiang Changkong counted about forty people. Their strength wasn’t bad, with the weakest at Star Sea and the strongest at the peak of Star Gate.

“Of course not. These are just the people from Pingan City participating in the Federation’s recruitment. Of course, some are doing it purely for the Abyss.

Major provinces and large factions also recruit, and many of them don’t train here,” An Yuanshan said.

Major provinces and large factions also recruit this kind of Martial Artist?

Jiang Changkong was puzzled. Could those large factions have their own troops?

“The Abyss? What does this have to do with the Abyss?” Jiang Changkong asked.

“You came to Anding Province, but it seems you didn’t do enough homework,” An Yuanshan chuckled. “Deep in the Abyss, there’s a special area we call the Gravity Zone.

Moreover, the gravity there is three times the normal level—three times that of the same rank. Anyone below High-Rank Martial Artist will be affected.”

“Gravity Zone? Are there many treasures inside?” A flicker of interest crossed Jiang Changkong’s face.

If there were many, he might need to practice this too.

“Interested? Want to give it a try?” An Yuanshan asked.

“Can I give it a try?” Jiang Changkong became interested.

He had originally intended to find Tang Ruoxi, but considering she was still just an intern, he didn’t want to trouble her with everything.

“Of course, no problem.”

An Yuanshan said, taking out four rings: “Wear them on your wrists and ankles.”

Following the instructions, Jiang Changkong put on the rings. There was a button on the left wrist ring for adjusting and turning it off.

The rings could be set up to five times gravity, which was the federal military recruitment standard.

Other major organizations had slightly lower standards—being able to move without hindrance under four times gravity was sufficient.

Jiang Changkong concealed his Star Power and activated the gravity, starting with one times.

An invisible force emanated from his wrists and ankles, enveloping his entire body, trying to pull him toward the ground.

But this force seemed quite weak?

A slight tremor from the Power Runes within his body made the invisible force feel significantly weaker.

He switched to two times gravity—now he could feel it.

At three times, Jiang Changkong felt as if a massive boulder was pressing down on him, though the pressure wasn’t too intense.

He directly increased it to four times—the pressure was manageable.

When he adjusted it to five times, Jiang Changkong staggered, nearly falling, as if carrying a small mountain on his back.

“How is it?” An Yuanshan asked with a smile. “Many people from other provinces, unaware of the situation, have suffered quite a bit.”

“Not bad.”

Jiang Changkong shook his body. Although the pressure felt significant, it didn’t affect him much.

A faint golden light shimmered on his skin as the five Power Runes within his body trembled, unleashing waves of terrifying power.

Clang!

A sound like a blade being unsheathed echoed from within his body. His Indestructible Diamond bones and Golden Blood flowed with a rushing sound.

An Yuanshan’s gaze sharpened as he stared at Jiang Changkong in shock.

Golden light radiated from his body, and the sound of blood flowing within him was clearly audible.

The crowd slowly moving nearby turned their heads in surprise.

Sneaking a glance at his own data, An Yuanshan’s expression changed in alarm as the numbers flickered.

The Indestructible Diamond Divine Art fluctuated slightly—could it be about to break through and reach Star Spirit?

Fortunately, the golden light soon receded, and the Power Runes calmed down.

The pressure vanished without a trace, and the data stopped flickering.

These rings or whatever were completely unsuitable for him.

While others desperately sought breakthroughs, he had no desire for one at the moment.

His other martial arts were not yet perfected. If he broke through now, his “Essence, Qi, and Spirit” would diminish.

Quickly removing the rings, he returned them to An Yuanshan: “Quite an interesting gadget. Farewell.”

“Hey… thud.”

Could you at least turn off the gravity before giving them back to me?

They’re still on!

An Yuanshan scrambled up from the ground in confusion, while the others were even more bewildered.

“He… he doesn’t seem affected?”

A young man gasped.

“It seems so. He removed them so quickly with the gravity still on, and without using Star Power. Was it set to one times?”

“My god, it was five times.”

An Yuanshan glanced at the rings and looked around: “Where is he? Where did that guy go?”

“He ran off.”

“Five times? Wasn’t it his first time wearing them?”

“Is this guy a genius?”

“The Federation needs this kind of genius!”

Jiang Changkong had already run off, sprinting at full speed into Pingan City.

He had no interest in that weighted training anymore.

It was still no match for cultivating Iron Shirt.

Entering Pingan City, he shared his location with Tang Ruoxi and hurried over.

In the northern suburbs of the city, where few people lived, the surroundings were very quiet.

The research institute was built here, ensuring minimal disturbance.

The tall steel walls concealed Star Power within, and in front of the gate, two figures had been waiting for some time.

“Changkong, over here,” one of the figures waved.

“Ruoxi-jie,” Tang Ruoxi hurried over. Beside Tang Ruoxi was a young woman. “And this is?”

“Like me, she’s the professor’s assistant, Xu Qian, and also my best friend here. Please, come inside. The professor prepared tea especially after hearing you were coming,” Tang Ruoxi said.

“He’s waiting for the Star Attraction Stone, isn’t he?”

Jiang Changkong smiled. He didn’t have the kind of influence to make the professor wait for him.