Chapter 176: How About You Cling to My Leg?

After waiting half an hour, Professor Yun arrived, clad in battle armor.

Accompanying her were Tang Ruoxi and Xu Qian, also wearing battle armor.

Professor Yun’s battle armor was exceptionally powerful, its aura terrifying, giving Jiang Changkong a feeling akin to facing that late-stage Star Demon.

Sixth-grade top-tier battle armor, perhaps even peak-grade!

“Let’s go.”

Professor Yun said calmly, leading them toward the mineral vein area.

Jiang Changkong walked alongside Tang Ruoxi and, without concealing his curiosity, asked directly, “Is the research institute also participating in the mineral vein competition?”

Everyone present was a master; even if he lowered his voice, they would hear him. It was better to ask openly.

“We won’t compete for small mineral veins, but for medium-sized ones, we’ll give it a try,” Professor Yun replied indifferently.

Heng Yongxing shook his head and sighed softly, “Changkong, you should withdraw. You’re alone.”

Jiang Changkong smiled but said nothing.

He was the president of a large Martial Arts Association, but aside from him, there wasn’t a single capable fighter in his association!

Moreover, in terms of numbers alone, his association didn’t have many members—not even twenty.

For such an association to participate in a mineral vein competition was sheer madness.

The group arrived at the mineral vein area, where Professor Yun produced a palm-sized instrument glowing with earthy yellow light.

She handed the instrument to Anding Bang. “President An, if you would.”

“Mm.”

Anding Bang took the instrument, and his Star Power surged forth, streams of it sinking into the ground, delving deep underground.

As a practitioner of the Earth Element Art, he possessed a special mastery over the earth.

With his Star Power combined with the instrument, he could more accurately detect the mineral vein.

The instrument vibrated intensely, its pointer spinning while three faintly glowing dots appeared on it.

Holding the instrument, Anding Bang walked through the rocky terrain, step by step sensing the location of the mineral vein.

Suddenly, the pointer on the instrument stopped spinning and began trembling violently instead.

A look of delight crossed Anding Bang’s face as he followed the pointer’s direction, quickening his pace.

Buzz—

On the instrument, two dots lit up, shining brilliantly.

“A medium-sized mineral vein,” Anding Bang exclaimed joyfully.

“It really is a medium-sized mineral vein.”

Professor Yun and the others were thrilled, and even Heng Yongxing looked moved.

“This medium-sized mineral vein is enough to sustain…”

Anding Bang couldn’t help but take two steps forward in excitement, but before he could finish speaking, the third dot on the instrument lit up.

Its radiance blazed brightly, overshadowing the other two dots!

“This… this…”

Anding Bang stared dumbfounded at the instrument, his expression filled with shock.

“L-large-sized?” Heng Yongxing’s voice trembled slightly.

A large mineral vein!

Jiang Changkong’s heart sank. Honestly, he had only hoped for a medium-sized mineral vein here.

A large mineral vein—once discovered, it would be snatched up instantly!

It was a treasure none of the major forces in the Major Province would let slip.

Once this news spread, Heng Yongxing? He was nothing. When others arrived, he wouldn’t even make the list.

Li Changtian was the same. Participating in such a competition? He’d be better off calling for reinforcements!

“President Jiang, give up.”

After the initial shock, Professor Yun sighed softly and said, “The research institute withdraws from the competition.”

She had given up directly. This large mineral vein was beyond her reach.

What they would face were numerous major forces from the Major Province, and even federal-level powers.

“Farewell.” Heng Yongxing and Li Changtian cupped their hands in salute and hurried away.

They needed to relay the news back and discuss how to seize this large mineral vein as quickly as possible.

“Ruoxi, keep President Jiang company. Xiao Qian, let’s head to the base.”

Professor Yun sighed softly, retrieved the instrument, and left with Xu Qian.

In the blink of an eye, only three people remained: Jiang Changkong, Tang Ruoxi, and Anding Bang.

Anding Bang glanced at the stone beneath his feet, sighed, and casually sat down.

“Changkong, don’t be sad. With your talent, you’ll improve quickly. You can always find another mineral vein later,” Tang Ruoxi comforted him.

“I’m fine,” Jiang Changkong replied with a faint smile. He had been silent all along, weighing whether he should compete for it.

If he were to compete, his current strength alone wouldn’t be enough.

Unless he could obtain a large amount of “Essence, Qi, and Spirit” and step into the Star Spirit realm, he stood no chance against them.

The quickest way to obtain “Essence, Qi, and Spirit” was to sell the Moon Laurel Leaf.

But he could never sell that.

His gaze fell on Anding Bang, who was sitting on a stone, sighing incessantly. “What are you sighing about? You’re not competing either.”

“I wish I could compete, but can I?” Anding Bang muttered. “I’ve lost both my wife and my troops.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Didn’t you seem quite happy earlier?” Jiang Changkong was puzzled.

“A large mineral vein… The weakest who come will be at least mid-stage Star Spirit, and there will definitely be many late-stage ones. Even peak-level experts will show up,” Anding Bang said gloomily. “In my Martial Arts Association, I’m the only early-stage Star Spirit. I’m not even enough for one of them to wipe out.”

“You are indeed a bit weak. I could take on all of you by myself,” Jiang Changkong said, resting his chin on his hand as he scrutinized him. “You have self-awareness. Are you planning to run errands for Heng Yongxing and the others?”

“Hah, once this news spreads, do you think Young Master Heng and Young Master Li will still hold much sway?” Anding Bang rolled his eyes, speaking irritably.

“Then you could rely on them to latch onto an even bigger thigh,” Jiang Changkong suggested.

Anding Bang fell silent for a moment before sighing. “Do you think an elephant needs an ant that can’t help at all? They probably just want cannon fodder.”

Jiang Changkong: “…”

Well, indeed, they don’t. You see things quite clearly.

“So, President An, you’re not planning to find a backer?” Tang Ruoxi asked.

“Let’s see how things go for now. Even if I haven’t made any contributions, I’ve put in effort. I’ll follow the two young masters for now and see if I can get some benefits,” Anding Bang gritted his teeth and said.

He was still somewhat unwilling to give up. If he couldn’t latch onto a thigh, he’d have to settle for a calf.

Even if this calf might not be reliable, it didn’t matter. Once this matter was over, it could turn into a thigh again.

“How about you latch onto my thigh?” Jiang Changkong said with a smile. “As long as you give me over five thousand Fifth Rank High-Grade Star Stones, I guarantee no one will be able to bully you all.”

“You? Forget it,” Anding Bang glanced at him disdainfully.

You should focus on protecting yourself first. You’re someone who has to withdraw from the competition too, yet you have the nerve to call yourself a thigh?

Not just you, even if you teamed up with Jiang Changyue, you wouldn’t be able to protect yourselves in the competition.

“I’ll wait for you to come to me,” Jiang Changkong said with a smile, his tone confident.

Anding Bang frowned but didn’t respond.

“Ruoxi-jie, let’s go,” Jiang Changkong said, leading Tang Ruoxi away. Before things erupted, he needed to obtain “Essence, Qi, and Spirit” as quickly as possible.

Should he just let loose and go on a killing spree?

With his heightened senses, escaping wouldn’t be a problem.

But even if he was lucky enough to encounter a large group of Star Hidden Level Star Demons, he’d be lucky to get twenty or thirty thousand in a day.

Should he find a way to put some pressure on Anding Bang?

Not clinging to my thick thigh, this opportunistic guy isn’t quite up to par.

“Changkong, what are your plans next?” Tang Ruoxi asked.

“Killing Star Demons, what else could it be?” Jiang Changkong smiled and said, “I’ll have to trouble you to help handle the Star Stones.”

“No problem, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’re still young, take it easy,” Tang Ruoxi advised.

“Alright, I have some Star Stones here, sorry to trouble you.”

Jiang Changkong handed her the Star Stones he had, paused for a moment, and added, “Does the research institute accept Taiyin Cold Stones? I can trade them for Star Stones.”

“I’ll ask the professor for you.”