Chapter 268: Forging Weapons

A group of people chatted and laughed as they entered the city lord’s mansion.

Many martial artists saw them and voluntarily stepped aside.

“That’s Jiang Changkong, the city lord of the City of the Abyss.”

“The city lord has returned from the major province. I heard that during his trip to the Sin Domain, he pacified it.”

“I know about that too. I heard the city lord did it for a sixth-grade low-tier Star Stone.”

“For a sixth-grade low-tier Star Stone? No way, would the city lord even care about a sixth-grade low-tier?”

“Tsk, you don’t know, do you? The city lord had a tough childhood and cherishes every Star Stone, even Star Qi Level ones. He’d hold onto them tightly…”

Jiang Changkong couldn’t listen anymore. Nonsense, absolute nonsense.

As the dignified city lord of the Abyss, would I still care about Star Qi Level Star Stones now?

Ridiculous!

Fortunately, they had already arrived at the city lord’s mansion—a large estate that was cleaned daily.

When Jiang Changkong was away, no one lived there; it was just kept tidy.

Inside, the furniture was complete, and surveillance cameras were installed in the corners.

Ji Ziling said, “How about we just grill the Star Demon in the courtyard?”

Yu Beilin laughed, “Sure, we can eat while chatting and listening to Changkong’s great deeds.”

“That works, but I didn’t bring any Star Demon corpses back,” Jiang Changkong said.

“How could we let you bring them? The military has plenty.” Jiang Haishan made a call and had some delivered.

Tang Ruoxi urged, “Changkong, hurry up and tell us about your time in the Sin Domain. Even Professor Wang couldn’t explain it clearly.”

“It wasn’t much, just sparring with the top talents from various factions…”

Jiang Changkong began recounting the events, of course, leaving some face for those talents.

He said something about how a group of them narrowly lost to him after joining forces. Even that was enough to shock them.

Because Jiang Changkong claimed he defeated a group of top talents working together.

Wang Ruiqing wore a faint smile—it was all fabricated.

Those top talents were practically scared out of their wits. Who would dare to fight Jiang Changkong?

In the end, Jiang Changkong said he had broken through, and it was only because the criminals had gone into hiding that he pacified the Sin Domain.

He didn’t mention the Blood Qi Palace, keeping it a secret.

The group listened with great admiration. They wished they were that powerful too, but unfortunately, they weren’t.

Xu Hengzhi laughed, “The city lord is just saving face for the major factions. What ‘narrow loss’ or ‘sparring’? The city lord single-handedly suppressed the entire Sin Domain.”

Jiang Changkong smiled and glanced at Xu Hengzhi. This guy’s arm had already regrown.

Xu Xinghe had followed him, and Professor Yun had generously provided the medicine to help heal him and regrow his arm.

Seeing him speak with such enthusiasm and excitement, Jiang Changkong didn’t want to interrupt.

The group ate, drank, and boasted, and time passed quickly.

They chatted until late at night, getting thoroughly drunk and simply lying down in the courtyard to rest.

Jiang Changkong sat with his legs crossed, not drunk. Although the wine this time was good, it couldn’t intoxicate a High-Rank Martial Artist.

Professor Yun and Professor Wang weren’t drunk either; they left first.

The night passed, and early the next morning, everyone dispersed, as they all had work to attend to.

Only he and the two senior sisters remained in the courtyard.

Ji Ziling pulled Ying Yanxue along and asked, “Changkong, is the Martial Arts Association still recruiting?”

Jiang Changkong said, “You two decide. By the way, our Martial Arts Association doesn’t have vice presidents yet. I’ll leave that to you.”

By logging into the Martial Arts Association official website, he could appoint two vice presidents.

“Don’t give it to me. Give one to Ruoxi. Ziling and I can share one,” Ying Yanxue said.

Jiang Changkong nodded, assigning one to Ji Ziling and one to Ying Yanxue. “Alright.”

“Yes, when we recruit, we consider character; we don’t just hire anyone randomly,” Ji Ziling said.

“You two, I trust. I’m going to study Star Script—are you learning it too?” Jiang Changkong asked.

Ji Ziling replied with a hint of pride, “While you were away, we’ve been studying with Professor Yun the whole time.”

Jiang Changkong smiled and went with them to the research institute.

The research institute was right next to the city lord’s mansion, making it easy to drop by anytime.

As soon as they entered the institute, Wang Ruiqing called out to him, “City Lord, could we talk privately?”

“Sure.”

Jiang Changkong followed Wang Ruiqing to a small room, and the door closed behind them.

Wang Ruiqing poured him a cup of tea. “Once again, thank you for saving me, City Lord.”

“No need to be so formal. Since you specifically called me here, Professor Wang, just say what’s on your mind,” Jiang Changkong said.

“Alright, I’ll get straight to the point.”

Wang Ruiqing took a sip of tea and continued, “City Lord, you’ll be heading to the Void Realm soon. As for the Void Realm, both Xiao Yun and I have some understanding of it.”

Jiang Changkong said calmly, “You want to go with me?”

“Yes. After we arrive, I want to investigate the incident where I was framed back then. I hope you’ll allow it.”

Wang Ruiqing nodded and spoke frankly, “I won’t cause any trouble for you, City Lord. If anything happens, I’ll take full responsibility.”

“The incident back then? You were framed?” Jiang Changkong frowned.

“The reason I ended up in the Sin Domain was due to a batch of mechas malfunctioning.”

Wang Ruiqing’s expression darkened. “It led to casualties among Federation personnel, and at the time, I had inspected those mechas.”

“Who tampered with them?” Jiang Changkong asked indifferently.

“I had two assistants back then, both professors now.” Wang Ruiqing sneered. “Only they had the authority to tamper with those mechas, aside from the users themselves.”

“The users could only operate their own, so it must have been those two assistants.”

Jiang Changkong took a sip of tea. “If you want to investigate, I won’t interfere, but I have one condition.”

“Please, go ahead,” Wang Ruiqing said, his expression turning serious.

“Don’t be so serious.” Jiang Changkong waved his hand and smiled. “If you encounter something you can’t handle, come to me.”

“That might bring trouble your way,” Wang Ruiqing said, visibly moved.

“No trouble at all. It’s settled then. By the way, you’re a professor too—haven’t let your skills get rusty, have you?” Jiang Changkong asked.

Wang Ruiqing smiled. “Of course not. I’ve kept busy even in the Sin Domain.”

“That’s good. I need top-tier eighth-rank weapons: Lunar Blade and Sword, and Taiyang Blade. Help me forge them, but leave the tip of this sword intact.” Jiang Changkong took out the Lunar Sword as he spoke.

Wang Ruiqing replied, “Alright, I’ll have them ready for you in ten days.”

Jiang Changkong handed him the materials and stood up to leave. “No rush. I plan to stay a while longer to study Star Script.”

Entering the private study, Professor Yun set aside her work and began teaching them Star Script.

Jiang Changkong also took out the Star Crystals and asked her to help process them.

This time, Jiang Changkong listened even more attentively. Being illiterate was terrifying, and he didn’t want to remain unable to recognize Star Script next time.

He studied while converting and translating the Star Script information in his mind, jotting it down in a notebook.

Professor Yun occasionally glanced at his notes but said nothing.

The following days were relatively calm. Jiang Changkong extracted a bit of Essence each day while studying Star Script.

Life was relaxed and comfortable. The Star Crystals were also processed, all extracted, with the stones stored in his ring.

Unlike Star Stones, Star Crystals were used to guide High-Rank Martial Artists in their cultivation. Using them all at once would be too astonishing.

Star Crystals can only be used with matching attributes. Using them with different attributes may cause attribute conflicts and lead one astray.

To put it in terms of martial arts stories, it would be like cultivating qi deviation.

Jiang Changkong also took out the mecha. If they were to go to the Void Realm in the future, having it would provide some security.

By bringing out the mecha now, he intended to let Professor Yun refine more energy sources in advance, so they wouldn’t be caught unprepared and unable to use it.

He handed all the Star Stones below the sixth tier he had obtained to Professor Yun for her to extract energy from.