Chapter 287: Researching Stellar Body Fusion

For the next few days, Jiang Changkong did not leave, instead inspecting his territory.

The large mineral vein had already begun to be mined, but there were far too few people.

The people Professor Yun had brought numbered only a little over two thousand.

And that was including the shameless Anding Bang, who had brought the Martial Arts Association along.

These two thousand people still had to guard the base, and some were researchers. They also had to develop the Uncharted Land, build roads, and so on.

There were already three known mineral veins, plus the territory of the Early Star Constellation Stage Star Demons, and there were still some Star Crystals left to excavate.

These two thousand people were simply not enough.

“Xu Hengzhi, Anding Bang, Anding Province shouldn’t have only this many people, right? Don’t they yearn for the Void Realm?”

Jiang Changkong pulled the two of them into the conference room to discuss the issue.

The population problem had to be solved.

He wished these people could dig out all the Star Crystals at once and process them immediately.

“Anding Province has many people, but they’re unwilling to come.”

Anding Bang spoke with a hint of helplessness: “Besides these, there are some others who came but ran off to their own homes.”

Jiang Changkong was somewhat speechless. Hearing it put that way, it really wasn’t their fault.

If others wanted to leave, Anding Bang couldn’t tie them up and drag them over.

“What about recruiting some people from Jianghai Province?” Jiang Changkong pondered, though their strength would be weaker.

“No, even we struggled a bit when we arrived. The gravity here is too strong.”

Xu Hengzhi stopped this idea: “Moreover, their safety wouldn’t be guaranteed if they came. It’s better to wait for news from Old Liang and the others.”

“Old Liang.”

Jiang Changkong tapped his fingers on the table, saying calmly: “If even two of those six return, it would mean they have a conscience.”

It wasn’t that he looked down on the six of them, but human nature was something no one could fully grasp.

When they were in the Sin Domain, if they didn’t come out, they would have had no hope for a lifetime.

To get out, they would have said anything at the time.

But now it was different. Not only were they out, but Huo Qinglan had also pardoned them.

With their reputations cleared, if their own families had High-Rank Martial Artists, they definitely wouldn’t come.

“I believe in Old Liang. He will return.” Xu Hengzhi insisted firmly.

Jiang Changkong frowned deeply. If the population problem wasn’t solved, the Uncharted Land couldn’t be developed.

He couldn’t do everything himself. Could it be that he had to borrow people from the three families?

“Lord Jiang, Jiang Jiuqiao requests an audience.”

The conference room door was knocked, and a Martial Artist’s voice came through.

“Let him in.”

Jiang Changkong’s face lit up with joy as he stood up: “Let’s go greet him together. The population problem might have a temporary solution now.”

The two were taken aback, then understood his intention—he was planning to borrow people from the Jiang family.

Borrowing people from the three families, the Heng family and others, definitely wouldn’t be free. But now, the Jiang family might do it for free.

Jiang Changkong left the conference room and headed straight for the main gate, where Jiang Jiuqiao stood waiting for word.

“Lord Jiang.”

Jiang Changkong greeted him with a beaming smile, full of enthusiasm.

“Lord Jiang, I originally intended to pay my respects earlier, but family affairs kept me busy, delaying me for so long.”

Jiang Jiuqiao expressed his apologies.

“Come inside for tea, come inside for tea.”

Jiang Changkong invited him in, and someone brought tea.

Jiang Jiuqiao felt somewhat overwhelmed by the favor: “Lord Jiang, you are too kind.”

He had witnessed Jiang Changkong’s strength—slaying two Early Star Constellation Stage Star Demons without even breaking a sweat.

There was also the debt of saving his life, so he dared not act presumptuously in front of Jiang Changkong.

“Between neighbors, we should visit more often. I may not have much else, but there’s plenty of tea.”

Jiang Changkong poured him tea: “I don’t know much about the Jiang family’s affairs, so I won’t say more.”

“Lord Jiang, you’re too polite. This is just a small token of my gratitude.”

With a wave of his hand, Jiang Jiuqiao produced a box: “The Jiang family’s Star Crystal reserves aren’t abundant, but here are ten low-grade ninth-rank Star Crystals and one hundred top-tier eighth-rank Star Crystals. Please accept them.”

Jiang Changkong accepted them directly: “I won’t stand on ceremony with you. Also, I’ll be straightforward—I’d like to ask for your help.”

“Lord Jiang, feel free to speak your mind. If it’s within my power, I won’t refuse,” Jiang Jiuqiao replied readily.

“It’s like this: my territory is newly established. The base is already built, but external development is hindered by a lack of manpower.”

Jiang Changkong directly stated his difficulties: “Especially with the Star Crystal Veins. I know they exist in the territory, but I just can’t access them.”

Seeing them but being unable to obtain them—that’s the most frustrating thing.

Jiang Jiuqiao nodded: “This small matter is on me. I’ll immediately have members of the Jiang family come to help Lord Jiang develop the land.”

“Thank you so much, Lord Jiang. But what about the cost?” Jiang Changkong wore an expression of concern.

“Free of charge. How could a life-saving favor be compared to a bit of labor?” Jiang Jiuqiao laughed. “I’ll give strict orders not to take anything.”

“Haha, Lord Jiang, what are you saying? Although the territory is newly established, we still have some potions. If the consumption is too high, feel free to take potions to recover.”

Jiang Changkong breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. This would save him a large sum of money.

Next, the two discussed the development of the territory in detail.

Jiang Jiuqiao was an experienced lord and had considerable expertise in this area.

They talked for several hours before Jiang Jiuqiao’s smile faded, turning slightly serious: “I wonder if Lord Jiang’s professors have made any progress with those researches?”

“I haven’t looked into it much. Shall we go take a look together?”

Jiang Changkong stood up and led him to find Professor Yun.

The information inside had already been deciphered, but he had been busy with territory matters these past few days and hadn’t inquired about it.

Now that Jiang Jiuqiao was here, they could clarify everything at once.

The two arrived at the laboratory, where a group of researchers were busy working.

Upon seeing Jiang Changkong, they all greeted him politely.

After knocking on the door and hearing Professor Yun’s voice, Jiang Changkong pushed the door open and entered.

“Professor Yun, this is Jiang Jiuqiao, the lord of the Jiang family and our neighbor,” Jiang Changkong introduced, pointing to the person beside him.

Jiang Jiuqiao cupped his hands in greeting: “Professor Yun, hello.”

Jiang Changkong glanced around the laboratory and asked curiously: “Why isn’t Professor Wang here?”

“He’s forging a weapon for you, so he’s not here,” Professor Yun replied, taking a file from the side. “Based on the information from those instruments, I learned that they were researching ways to enhance the human body.”

“Enhance the human body? To make it withstand Star Power?” Jiang Changkong asked.

“Not just that. There’s one piece of information you might find interesting—they were attempting to fuse Stellar Bodies.”

Professor Yun handed him the file: “They once captured a Stellar Body Martial Artist and tried to forcibly inscribe a Star Array on him to form a new Stellar Body.”

“What was the result?”

Jiang Changkong took the materials and began reviewing them.

“The result was that the Stellar Body Martial Artist couldn’t withstand the power and was torn apart.”

Professor Yun said calmly: “So, they’ve recently been researching ways to strengthen physical constitution, making it more robust to compensate for the lack of Power Runes Stellar Body.”

The Power Runes Stellar Body—as far as is known—exists only in Jiang Changkong.

These individuals wanted to study stellar body fusion, but without power runes stellar bodies, they could only rely on strengthening their physical constitution as a substitute.

Of course, in Jiang Changkong’s view, this idea seemed somewhat laughable. But the next moment, Professor Yun’s words made him reconsider.

“They once forcibly erased a person’s stellar body, then strengthened it, barely enabling them to endure a new stellar body. However, they never resolved the conflict between the two forces.”

Jiang Changkong felt a chill in his heart—this was too ruthless. Destroying a stellar body just to replace it with a new one?