Chapter 229: An Unusual Invitation

Following An Shanhe, Jiang Changkong soared through the air and arrived at a military tent.

Nan Yanyang was also there, but the other host was nowhere to be seen.

Upon entering the tent, Jiang Changkong asked, “May I ask, Lord An, what brings you to seek me?”

“I called you here to ask how you plan to develop in the Void Realm.”

An Shanhe smiled and said, “No other intentions. I won’t invite you to join the military—I’ll wait for you to speak up yourself.”

Jiang Changkong breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and added, “With my current strength, I shouldn’t be worth your attention, should I?”

Both of them were High-Rank Martial Artists, while he was still only at the Star Spirit Peak.

Even if he was infinitely close to the high rank, he was not yet there.

That one-step difference had stumped countless Martial Artists.

Nan Yanyang said calmly, “We can’t speak for others, but your strength has improved too quickly. It’s not impossible for you to quickly break into the high rank.”

“We won’t ask how you train. This time, we just want to know your plans.”

An Shanhe took out a map with several regions marked on it: “These are the areas we occupy in the Void Realm. This belongs to an Ordinary Province, this is an Overseas Island, and this is a Major Province.”

The three regions differed in resources. The Major Province held the richest resources, followed by the Overseas Island, with the Ordinary Province being the least abundant.

Most areas were guarded by Stellar Body Martial Artists, while those at the Star Body Peak and Star-level were considered high-end pioneers, tasked with seeking new resources and securing new territories.

Top-Rank Martial Artists also existed in the Void Realm, though they were few in number.

The truly top-tier Martial Artists either guarded the Federation or embarked on expeditions into the stars in pursuit of higher realms. Only a handful remained in the Void Realm to pioneer.

Across the entire Earth, Top-Rank Martial Artists were already the ceiling. What lay beyond the next realm remained unknown to all.

They could only rely on the guidance of Star Script to venture into the stars in pursuit of higher realms.

“The High-Rank Martial Artists of Anding Province all hope you’ll join them.”

An Shanhe said with a smile, “Rest assured, once you enter, you’ll be one of them. No one will give you a hard time.”

“The Nan family hopes you’ll go to the Major Province region, where we can offer you protection,” Nan Yanyang added.

“Is this another form of invitation?” Jiang Changkong asked.

“You could see it that way. Of course, this is more like forming an alliance—joining a faction so you won’t be bullied.”

An Shanhe explained, “However, you won’t be able to freely go to other factions to compete for resources unless someone from that region invites you.”

Similarly, if you find something valuable within your own faction, other factions cannot come over without reason.

Competition within a faction was mostly kept behind closed doors, with members fighting among themselves.

Jiang Changkong pondered and asked, “How do collaborations between major factions work? Why don’t people from Ordinary Provinces bring their own members over?”

“The Void Realm isn’t as ideal as you might think. It’s fraught with dangers. Bringing people over? They’d die faster than you could kill them.”

Nan Yanyang sneered, “Even we major factions dare not bring our people over. Most of those recruited each year are little more than cannon fodder.”

Jiang Changkong sighed softly. Yet, even as cannon fodder, countless people fought tooth and nail for the chance to go.

High risk meant high reward. If one could obtain a Star Crystal, it would be enough to save a Star Spirit Peak Martial Artist years of struggle.

Nan Yanyang urged, “With your talent, breaking into the high rank is almost certain. Now, choose a faction.”

“There’s no rush. I can decide after I break into the high rank.”

Jiang Changkong smiled. Making a decision now would only offend people, wouldn’t it?

Having chosen the Ordinary Province faction, Nan Yanyang would surely be angry, and these three families would likely have some thoughts as well.

If he chose them, An Shanhe would certainly be displeased too.

What do these three major factions rely on to occupy different resource-rich areas?

It all comes down to High-Rank Martial Artists!

With Top-Rank Martial Artists not interfering in these struggles, every High-Rank Martial Artist becomes an extremely powerful combat force.

Perhaps an ordinary High-Rank Martial Artist isn’t enough to tip the balance, but a prodigy-level talent, once they step into the High-Rank realm—even if they can’t defeat opponents beyond their level—could still take on two opponents at once, right?

Such combat strength is in high demand everywhere.

Of course, it wasn’t that they absolutely needed him. It was just that Jiang Changkong had caught their attention and already possessed the value of being recruited.

After saying this, Jiang Changkong left directly.

How to choose would depend on the gains from this trip to the Sin Domain and how his combat strength would fare after stepping into the High-Rank realm.

If he could continue to dominate opponents beyond his level, then perhaps he could still go solo.

If he could rescue Wang Ruiqing, that would be even better. With a Top-Rank professor and his own efforts to gather materials, if he could create an eighth or ninth-tier mecha, what would there be to worry about?

As for Jiang Changkong’s attitude, the two of them weren’t surprised, nor did they expect him to make a decision on the spot.

Returning to Yao Meng’s side, the two asked him what he had discussed.

Jiang Changkong told them the truth, and the two weren’t surprised, nor did they say much more.

The remaining matches held little interest, so Jiang Changkong patiently continued competing.

Six days later, the ten slots were finally selected, bringing the competition to an end.

Jiang Changkong received a token with only the character “Sin” engraved on it.

An Shanhe hovered in the air: “What you hold in your hands are Sin Tokens. For this trip to the Sin Domain, you have one month. Your task is to collect Sin Tokens.

Every criminal and participant has a Sin Token. The one who collects the most will receive a mysterious reward.”

“Second place will be rewarded with a seventh-tier low-grade mecha, a bottle of seventh-tier breakthrough potion that can elevate a Star Spirit Peak to the Stellar Embryo realm, and a spot in the Void Realm.”

“Third place will be rewarded with a bottle of seventh-tier breakthrough potion and a spot in the Void Realm.”

“Tomorrow morning at seven o’clock, gather here to depart for the Sin Domain. Latecomers will not be accommodated.”

After saying this, An Shanhe left directly.

“Second and third place have such generous rewards. How lavish must the mysterious reward for first place be?”

Jiang Changkong muttered to himself, glancing at Yao Meng and Nantian Pang.

Although the three families had promised him a top-tier seventh-tier mecha, who would ever complain about having too many mechas?

The two shook their heads: “The reward for first place is different every time, but it’s definitely better than second and third place.”

Jiang Changkong said no more and returned to the hotel with them to rest.

Back at the hotel, Yao Meng handed him a stack of documents, all containing information on prodigies from major factions and the Federation.

Twenty from the Federation and twenty from major factions—all prodigies.

With so many prodigies appearing in a single era, Jiang Changkong felt that the title of “prodigy” was rather cheap.

He specifically looked into the Heng family’s information. This time, Heng Xueyue would also be going, with her older sister leading the team.

Heng Qingyue, at the Star Spirit Peak, had once taken a single move from a Star Embryo Martial Artist at the initial stage and suffered only minor injuries.

Of course, this Star Embryo Martial Artist was not from the Heng family or the Nan family.

As for the other prodigies, some were inferior to Heng Qingyue. A single move from a Star Embryo Martial Artist at the initial stage would leave them severely injured.

“Looking at it this way, Star Embryo Martial Artists at the initial stage probably aren’t all that strong. I just wonder if they were going all out at the time.”

Jiang Changkong set down the materials, only certain that a Stellar Embryo stage Martial Artist would not go for the kill.

These were merely tests arranged by major factions to gauge the strength of their prodigies, not actual battles.

If they had only used a fraction of their power, then a Stellar Embryo stage Martial Artist would be truly formidable.

But if they had gone all out, then he could easily handle such a Martial Artist.

“Forget it, no point dwelling on it. I need to get up early tomorrow to head to the Sin Domain.”

Jiang Changkong set aside the documents and began to rest.

Early the next morning, the eight individuals from the three families arrived, accompanying him to the gathering point before setting off together for the Sin Domain.