Chapter 175: You're This Broke Already?

Jiang Changkong accepted the six thousand Star Stones, along with those they had obtained from killing, feeling somewhat regretful.

If they hadn’t lured the late-stage Star Spirit Star Demon, causing the competition to end early, he could have won even more.

The Star Demons he and the others had killed, all Star Hidden Level combined, amounted to only about three hundred pieces.

There were six to seven hundred Star Gate Level, and the Star Sea Level ones weren’t even worth mentioning.

Among the Star Hidden Level, more than half were early-stage, with only a few top-grade pieces, about a dozen high-grade ones, and the rest being mid-grade.

Calculating it all, there wasn’t much Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

However, adding the 300,000 Essence, Qi, and Spirit he won from Lin Yunwang, it was more than enough to upgrade one martial art.

“I’ll go return the Lunar Blade and Sword to him.”

After saying this, Jiang Changkong stood up and left.

This place was already safe, so he didn’t need to stay here to guard them.

Heng Yongxing’s expression was pained and conflicted—six thousand Star Stones! Not only had he failed to win the Moon Laurel Leaf, but he had also lost six thousand.

“Sigh, if not for this accident, I think we still had a chance to win.”

After Jiang Changkong had gone far away, Heng Yongxing couldn’t help but mutter quietly.

“Win with what? Didn’t you see just now? Jiang Changyue was also nearby.”

An Yuanshan’s old face twitched in pain from his injuries. “If the situation turned unfavorable, do you think Jiang Changyue wouldn’t intervene?”

Heng Yongxing opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Yes, Jiang Changyue would definitely intervene and wouldn’t truly let him lose the Moon Laurel Leaf.

That guy must have done it on purpose, just to earn Star Stones!

“Stop thinking about it and focus on recovering first,” Li Changtian sighed softly. At least it wasn’t his loss.

As they began to heal their injuries, Jiang Changkong distanced himself from them and extracted the Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

After pondering for a moment, he decided to upgrade the Cold Moon Art.

Jiang Changyue’s strength surpassed his own, and with Heng Yongxing, a wealthy little tycoon, perhaps he could use the Cold Moon Art to earn another sum from him.

With the Cold Moon Art fully perfected, Jiang Changkong’s internal Star Power increased dramatically.

Taiyin Star Power automatically dispersed, freezing everything around him.

A silver moon rose above his head, casting Moonlight Essence.

An hour later, Jiang Changkong opened his eyes and checked his own data.

Jiang Changkong: Star Hidden Peak

Mid-Rank Mid-Grade Martial Arts:

Indestructible Diamond Divine Art: Perfected: 1,875,000/1,875,000

Mystical Tai Chi Art: Perfected: 1,875,000/1,875,000

Three Blades of the Fleeting Swan: Perfected: 1,875,000/1,875,000

Blazing Sun Art: Perfected: 1/1,875,000

Spirit Control Art: Perfected: 1,875,000/1,875,000

Cold Moon Art: Perfected: 1,875,000/1,875,000

Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 318,615

“Only one martial art left.”

Jiang Changkong felt a surge of excitement. Soon, he would be able to step into the Star Spirit realm.

As long as no High-Rank Martial Artists appeared, even if he wasn’t invincible, he would still be among the truly top-tier.

Although confident in his own strength, he wasn’t as reckless as Yun Bugui from the Yun family.

In this world of cultivation, which era didn’t have a few prodigies?

Had the Federation not nurtured any talents?

Once he reached the peak of early-stage Star Spirit or mid-stage Star Spirit, he should be able to have a “chat about life” with those little monsters from the major provinces.

Before that, he needed to complete his tasks and establish the research institute’s base.

After stabilizing his cultivation, Jiang Changkong headed near the stone hut. The Star Demon was still there, gnawing on the corpses.

He didn’t take action, waiting for the Star Demon to finish eating and leave on its own.

Even if he didn’t leave, he could just change locations, kill a few, and then lure them away.

With his current strength, facing this late-stage Star Spirit, he could only barely manage a fight by relying on the Lunar Blade and Sword.

But doing so would require drawing upon the Taiyin Star Power within the sword tip and the Moon Laurel Leaf, which he could hardly control.

Returning to Heng Yongxing and the others, they had already assessed the casualties.

Almost everyone was severely injured, and the death toll exceeded ten.

“I deeply apologize for what happened. I never expected you all to imitate my method,” Jiang Changkong said with a hint of remorse.

“This has nothing to do with you. We acted impulsively,” Heng Yongxing shook his head and said, “President An, I will take responsibility for the casualties this time.”

“Thank you, Young Master Heng. Right now, everyone’s injuries require a couple of days to heal, and there is a late-stage Star Spirit Star Demon at the outpost, so we’ll need to wait a few days,” Anding Bang clasped his hands and said, “Everyone, rest well these two days, and we’ll fight again.”

“Fight again?” Jiang Changkong frowned. Didn’t you all already admit defeat?

“We lost to you, but the outpost hasn’t been established yet,” Anding Bang said. “We’ll honor our promise and assist you in completing the mission without compensation.”

Jiang Changkong pondered for a moment and said, “Alright, the Star Sea Level Star Stones will be yours.”

He didn’t care much for them, but selling them would still bring a decent sum, which could serve as some consolation for their wounded hearts.

“Thank you,” Anding Bang expressed his gratitude and said nothing more.

Jiang Changkong glanced at the group stabilizing their injuries. “We’ll meet at the outpost in two days.”

“Please.”

After bidding farewell, they each departed.

Anding Bang and the others needed to return to the city for treatment, as their injuries were quite severe and required hospital care.

Jiang Changkong had only suffered minor injuries earlier, which were no longer an issue.

After some thought, he decided to change locations to hunt Star Demons.

With no one around and only himself present, Jiang Changkong reignited the blazing sun.

He remained cautious, keeping the blood aura confined to a limited area.

When he grew tired of hunting, Jiang Changkong went to check on the outpost.

By the next morning, the late-stage Star Spirit Star Demon had already left, and the stone hut was destroyed.

At both hunting locations, the corpses had been completely devoured.

Due to the attraction of the blood aura, some Star Demons had gathered again, though not as many as before.

Jiang Changkong began clearing out the Star Demons, this time keeping the commotion minimal, as he feared that Star Demon might still be nearby.

Two days passed quickly, and Anding Bang arrived with his people—a hundred members of the Martial Arts Association.

During these two days of recovery, he hadn’t been idle, recruiting additional members to fill the ranks.

Heng Yongxing and the other two were present, but An Yuanshan and his group did not come.

“President Jiang, have you cleared the area around here?” Anding Bang first led his people to scout the vicinity, finding no Star Demons before approaching him.

“There are no Star Demons within four li, only the final li remains,” Jiang Changkong nodded lightly and said, “I’ve also checked. In the last li, there aren’t even early-stage Star Spirits.”

“That’s good,” Anding Bang sighed in relief. “In that case, the rest will be left to them.”

“Them?” Jiang Changkong looked puzzled. Who did he mean by “them”?

“My brothers from the Martial Arts Association. Before coming, Professor Yun contacted me, asking us to wait for her to investigate the mineral vein,” Anding Bang said solemnly.

Jiang Changkong raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t it said we’d wait until the outpost was established?”

“Someone couldn’t wait,” Anding Bang pursed his lips, gesturing toward Heng Yongxing beside him.

“Young Master Heng, are you also interested in the mineral vein?” Jiang Changkong narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within them.

“Special circumstances, please understand, President Jiang,” Heng Yongxing said with a smile.

“Have you fallen to such straits? What if it’s just a small mineral vein?” Jiang Changkong frowned deeply.

Could it be that he had won too much, forcing Heng Yongxing to find ways to make money?

Heng Yongxing sighed softly and said, “This time, there’s an unexpected situation. You can check the Martial Arts Association official website—the Jianghai small mineral vein has already been cleared by someone.”

Jiang Changkong opened his phone, logged into the official website, and indeed, the small mineral vein mission had been completed.

“It was done by a Major Province. Right now, those guys are frantically gathering resources.”

Heng Yongxing said gravely, “The mineral veins here will likely be contested so fiercely that even I might not be able to secure one.”

“Aren’t you geniuses from the Major Provinces ashamed of coming down here to compete for benefits? Isn’t that a bit too greedy?”

Jiang Changkong’s expression darkened. If that were the case, his opponents wouldn’t just be the forces from Anding Province.

He alone would have to face Anding Province and the Major Provinces!

“There’s no other way,” Heng Yongxing shook his head. “But not too many will come. The empire is vast, and there are plenty of resource-rich areas.”

“When are we heading to the mineral vein area?”

Jiang Changkong said no more. The first thing to determine now was the grade of the mineral vein.

If it was a small mineral vein, he would withdraw from the competition.

If it was a medium-sized mineral vein, it would be a matter of competing on skill.

I Can Level Up Infinitely