Chapter 173: How Far Have We Left Jiang Changkong Behind?

Star Demons continued to arrive, drawn by the thick scent of blood, seemingly endless.

The blazing sun hung high, constantly releasing golden blade rays.

Where the sunlight passed, Star Demons fell, and the bloody aura nearly formed a crimson cloud.

Jiang Changkong infused Blazing Sun Star Power while keeping an eye on these Star Demons.

If Star Gate-level or higher ones appeared, he would personally dig out their Star Stones.

He believed that after clearing out these Star Demons and adding his winnings from the bet, he should be able to perfect another martial art.

Anding Bang led the members of the Martial Arts Association away from Jiang Changkong’s location to search for Star Demons.

Although the blood aura attracted many, they could still find Star Demons if they went farther away.

After slaying a Star Demon, Anding Bang couldn’t help but say, “Do you think Jiang Changkong is looking for death? How could he alone possibly surpass us?”

“Could it be that he was intimidated by the reputation of my Taiyin Heng family?”

Heng Yongxing pondered. Was it because he was scared that he deliberately found an excuse to sell the Moon Laurel Leaf to him?

Li Changtian frowned slightly. “Jiang Changkong shouldn’t be that cowardly. Could it be that the Sin Domain poison has given him a sense of crisis, making him realize he needs to find a backer?”

The three couldn’t figure it out. No matter how they thought about it, it seemed Jiang Changkong had intentionally given the Moon Laurel Leaf to them.

“Heng Gongzi, isn’t An Yuanshan over there? Why don’t you ask him?” Anding Bang suggested.

“Isn’t it inappropriate to inquire about an opponent’s situation?” Heng Yongxing hesitated. “We’ve already killed over a hundred.”

“What’s inappropriate? It’s best to knock that guy down a peg. He’s been way too arrogant before.”

Li Changtian said excitedly, “If you won’t ask, I will. Ever since the Sin Domain poison incident, that guy has finally changed a bit. If we don’t take this chance to humble him now, it won’t be as fun later if he really gets recruited.”

Heng Yongxing thought about it and found Li Changtian’s reasoning quite sound.

If they didn’t take this opportunity to humble him now, it would be less interesting later if he truly became one of them. Their statuses would be different, after all.

He took out his phone and dialed An Yuanshan’s number. “Uncle An.”

“Yongxing, why aren’t you focusing on killing Star Demons? What’s the matter?” An Yuanshan asked, puzzled.

“Are you close to Jiang Changkong?” Heng Yongxing inquired.

An Yuanshan glanced around and said, “I’m a bit far away.”

He had already distanced himself, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. He had no confidence in withstanding those blade rays.

Heng Yongxing’s voice rose, tinged with pride. “Then please tell him that we’ve already killed over a hundred.”

Beep beep

Heng Yongxing: “…”

Why did he hang up? Could it be that Jiang Changkong heard and angrily snatched the phone?

“He hung up? Jiang Changkong must have heard and gotten embarrassed and angry,” Li Changtian laughed heartily.

“Haha, just thinking about that guy’s frustrated expression makes me laugh. Quick, send some photos over,” Anding Bang roared with laughter.

Heng Yongxing was also laughing and was about to call again when his phone rang. It was a video.

Sent by An Yuanshan. Could it be Jiang Changkong’s frustrated expression?

He quickly opened it, and the group widened their eyes in shock.

The three: “Holy shit…”

In the video, a blazing sun hung high, releasing boundless golden light.

Beneath the blazing sun were piles of Star Demon corpses, their blood aura forming a crimson cloud in the sky.

A crimson cloud so thick even the blazing sun couldn’t disperse it!

This was far more than just over a hundred Star Demons!

There had to be at least two or three hundred!

“This… this…” Heng Yongxing opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.

“It’s fine. We can easily catch up,” Li Changtian said solemnly.

Anding Bang whispered, “Should we learn from him? He has so many Star Demons, he can kill a lot at once.”

“We can give it a try.” Heng Yongxing gritted his teeth and said, “We also have two mid-stage Star Spirits, plus you at the early stage. It’s completely doable.”

Anding Bang was right—Jiang Changkong had attracted too many Star Demons.

As for them, they had more people, mostly experts, but they were struggling to find Star Demons.

The time wasted on that alone was enough to kill many Star Demons.

On Jiang Changkong’s side, he had just retrieved a Star Stone from a peak-level Star Vault.

An Yuanshan’s phone call didn’t escape his notice, but he simply couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Let him tell them—they’d find out sooner or later anyway. It wasn’t some big secret.

Time passed bit by bit. The Star Demons grew increasingly numerous, and the bloody clouds in the sky thickened.

An Yuanshan had already left. Watching from the sidelines was boring, especially since Jiang Changkong paid him no attention.

Roar!

A low growl echoed as an early-stage Star Spirit Star Demon charged from the depths, tearing through the bloody aura and trampling over the corpses of other Star Demons.

Jiang Changkong merely glanced at it before the blazing sun above his head erupted, unleashing a blade of light that sliced down.

Perfect—another low-grade sixth-tier Star Stone.

“The bloody aura is getting a bit too thick,” Jiang Changkong murmured to himself.

With no one around, he summoned Blazing Sun Star Power, extracting the “Essence, Qi, and Spirit” while incinerating the Star Demon corpses from which he had retrieved the Star Stones.

The bloody aura was now too dense—he had to reduce it somewhat.

The Blazing Sun Star Power burned fiercely, its terrifying heat piercing through the bloody clouds and thinning the bloody aura.

“Hmm, over there?”

Jiang Changkong’s gaze shifted toward the direction where Anding Bang and the others were. Thick bloody clouds had gathered there.

Are these guys trying to copy me?

How naive. I hope they can keep killing like this too.

Jiang Changkong didn’t care. Right now, he could keep fighting for a full day and night without rest.

The only condition was that not too many mid-stage Star Spirits appeared.

The Star Demons continued to charge, and Jiang Changkong rode the blazing sun, clearing them out.

Time flowed on, and soon, night fell.

Just as Heng Yongxing and the others were about to eat, An Yuanshan rushed over. “I just came from Changkong’s side. He’s planning to skip dinner.”

Heng Yongxing snapped, “Screw dinner. Keep killing.”

“Everyone, keep killing! If over a hundred of us lose to one guy, I’ll have no face left in this world!” Anding Bang roared, shoving the bun in his hand into his mouth in one bite.

The rest of the Martial Arts Association members said nothing. The president had a point.

If so many of them couldn’t beat Jiang Changkong alone, they really shouldn’t bother sticking around.

“We’ll skip dinner too. In a one-on-one fight, I’m no match for him, but killing Star Demons? How can I lose to him?” An Lin seemed determined to compete with Jiang Changkong.

Another mid-stage Star Spirit nodded firmly. “Exactly. We’ve killed more Star Demons than Jiang Changkong has ever seen. We can’t lose this.”

“This concerns the reputation of our Pingan City. You must not lose,” An Yuanshan said solemnly.

“Uncle Yuanshan, how far behind is Jiang Changkong now?” Heng Yongxing asked.

An Yuanshan: “…”

What a brilliantly timed question.

“What’s wrong?” Heng Yongxing’s expression stiffened.

An Yuanshan’s face twitched. “Don’t worry. Just kill one-third more, and you’ll catch up to where he is now.”

The group: “…”

That stings, old man.

Heng Yongxing looked ashamed, while the others flushed with embarrassment.

“Kill! Kill them hard!” Li Changtian snarled.

Losing in a fight is one thing, but now, with over a hundred people, we still can’t beat him?

Anding Bang’s expression was grave. This was a contest between two Martial Arts Associations—they couldn’t afford to lose!

A group of people were slaughtering wildly, and the aura of blood grew increasingly thick.

An Lin slashed down a Star Demon with a single sword strike, his tone tinged with gravity: “We’re at the early-stage limit of Star Spirit. Should we take a break?”

“No way. We just said we’d slaughter relentlessly. With us here, even mid-stage Star Spirits can be taken down,” another mid-stage Star Spirit Martial Artist declared confidently.

An Lin thought for a moment and agreed. So they continued the slaughter.

An Yuanshan watched quietly, not intervening to cheat.

Jiang Changkong slew another batch of Star Demons, the Star Power within his body still surging mightily.

After a moment’s thought, he directly channeled a torrent of immense Star Power into the Blazing Sun, then sat cross-legged to recover.

Ding-dong

Two hours later, his phone rang. It was An Yuanshan calling. Jiang Changkong answered with a hint of displeasure: “What is it?”

“Changkong, save me…”

Jiang Changkong: ?