Chapter 36: I Have Three Blades to Send You On Your Way

Charred weeds, pitted ground, a scene of utter chaos.

Jiang Changkong leaned on his blade, the Taiji Diagram flickering in and out as it suppressed the Blade Qi within his body.

Chen Sanyan lay in the distance, his chest caved in, blood flowing freely.

Jiang Changkong’s single strike had shattered the bones in his chest, the force of the fist penetrating deep, leaving him with even more severe injuries than Chen Sanyan.

Cough, cough

A coughing sound rang out, followed by a gush of blood that tugged at his wounds, sending another wave of intense pain through him.

Chen Sanyan’s body stirred. Enduring the excruciating pain, he pushed himself up with both hands, slowly sitting upright.

“Your life is quite tenacious.”

Jiang Changkong’s expression remained impassive. That punch just now would have blasted apart a Star Demon at the late Star Cloud stage.

Yet Chen Sanyan was still alive, and he had even managed to sit up.

Chen Sanyan’s face was twisted with agony, crimson Star Power flickering as it supported his slow rise to his feet.

Jiang Changkong did not move. Star Power surged within him as he focused entirely on suppressing the Blade Qi.

His gaze remained fixed on Chen Sanyan, watching as sweat beaded on his forehead and blood continued to flow from his chest.

His chest was caved in, his upper body nearly severed. Despite such severe injuries, he was still alive.

A nebula martial artist’s life was indeed tenacious.

Bit by bit, he rose. Even with the support of Star Power, it took Chen Sanyan a full quarter of an hour to barely stand.

The blood flow had stopped. Chen Sanyan’s face was deathly pale as he gasped heavily for breath, each gasp aggravating his injuries.

The effort of standing seemed to have drained the last of his strength.

A few more minutes passed, and a faint smile appeared on Chen Sanyan’s pallid face. “The Mystic Fire Blade Qi… you can’t suppress it anymore, can you?”

Jiang Changkong remained silent. It wasn’t that he couldn’t suppress it—he already had.

It had to be said, the Mystic Fire Blade Qi was truly troublesome.

Even with the Tai Chi Fist Scripture and his Star Power combined, it had taken him this long to barely manage to subdue it.

Seeing his silence, Chen Sanyan’s smile widened, disregarding the pain it caused his wounds.

“You used all your strength to injure me, but in the end, it will be you who dies.”

Jiang Changkong’s expression was indifferent. “The blade is in my hand.”

“Hah, as you are now, I doubt you can even take a single step.”

Chen Sanyan sneered. “You exhausted your Star Power to injure me. You no longer have the strength to suppress the Mystic Fire Blade Qi.

Once the Mystic Fire Blade Qi erupts, you’re nothing but a hollow shell. The slightest touch will kill you.”

Jiang Changkong remained calm, his grip tightening on the hilt. “I have three strikes to send you on your way.”

“Three is too many. You won’t even manage one.” Chen Sanyan was brimming with confidence.

Once the Mystic Fire Blade Qi erupted, even Ji Ziling and the others wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Let alone the fact that the move that had injured him so severely must have drained all of Jiang Changkong’s Star Power.

Without Star Power to suppress it, once the Blade Qi erupted, his internal organs would be reduced to mush, wouldn’t they?

“Three strikes is indeed too many. Then let it be one.”

Jiang Changkong nodded. Star Power circulated within him as he took a step forward, his movements like a shadow, like an illusion.

The long blade swept past, without a trace of Star Power, silent and still, without a ripple or disturbance.

There was no sound, no fluctuation whatsoever.

The blade’s edge was formless, its passage left no mark.

“How… is this possible?”

Chen Sanyan stood frozen, a sharp pain in his throat, yet no visible injury appeared.

With a thud, his body collapsed, life extinguished.

“My Star Power is quite profound.”

Jiang Changkong murmured to himself as he extracted the Essence.

Chen Sanyan, at the Star Cloud Peak, yielded slightly less than a Star Demon: 430 Essence.

Combined with what he had gained earlier and from killing Star Demons along the way, his total Essence was now: 1588.

He allocated it all to the Tai Chi Fist Scripture.

Tai Chi Fist Scripture: Minor Achievement 1591/4000

A surge of power rose within him. His Star Power recovered significantly, and his stamina improved as well.

The Tai Chi Fist Scripture circulated, gently nourishing his internal organs and suppressing his Star Power.

His Star Power was originally profound; if it were an ordinary late-stage Star Cloud cultivator, their Star Power would have been completely exhausted just now.

But he was not. He still had some Star Power left, enough to unleash one more slash.

Even if he couldn’t, he could add some Essence to recover a bit of Star Power and finish him off.

Looking at Chen Sanyan’s corpse, the blade had swept across the throat without leaving a single mark.

The blade passed without a trace, but the Blade Qi had entered the body, severing everything inside.

With the improvement of the Tai Chi Fist Scripture, both his Star Power and physical strength had recovered somewhat. Jiang Changkong sheathed his blade and left.

Without the infusion of Star Power, the blade automatically retracted, turning into a hilt, which he tucked into his pocket.

Moving through the weeds, with the Primal Martial Compass in hand, he could sense fluctuations of power and would immediately leave whenever he detected them.

After running for over an hour, Jiang Changkong checked his phone and was relieved to find it undamaged.

Finding a spot, he sat cross-legged and circulated the Tai Chi Fist Scripture to heal his injuries.

Another two hours passed, and Jiang Changkong’s injuries had stabilized completely, with the Blade Qi firmly suppressed.

Only then did he take out his phone and contact Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen replied instantly: “Changkong, where are you?”

Jiang Changkong enabled location sharing. The distance between them wasn’t too far.

He got up and headed toward Zhou Wen, while keeping an eye on the Primal Martial Compass, ready to strike if any Star Demons appeared.

Although most of his Star Power was being used to suppress the Blade Qi,

his Bronze Skin Iron Bone Technique had reached mastery, equivalent to the late-stage Star Cloud realm.

With just pure strength and physique alone, he could overpower mid-stage Star Cloud cultivators.

Provided they didn’t target his blade wound.

A blade piercing through the body—such an injury wouldn’t heal quickly.

He directly pierced through a Star Demon at the peak stellar qi level, extracted its Essence, and added it to the Tai Chi Fist Scripture.

The Tai Chi Fist Scripture was highly effective for healing injuries and could counter the Blade Qi.

Once the Tai Chi Fist Scripture reached mastery, he would be able to expel the Blade Qi and fully recover.

Half an hour later, the two met.

“It’s good that you’re alright.”

Seeing his tattered clothes, though disheveled, Zhou Wen noticed he had no visible injuries and sighed in relief.

“I just delayed him for a bit before leaving. How could anything happen?”

Jiang Changkong smiled and said, “But Brother Wen, you need to return to the city.”

“Return to the city?” Zhou Wen frowned.

“Yes, Chen Sanyan has already discovered you. If you don’t leave, he’ll keep hunting you down.”

Jiang Changkong said helplessly, “Although I can hold him off, I can’t be on guard all the time.”

Zhou Wen fell silent for a moment before sighing softly, “I’ve caused trouble.”

“Brother Wen, I’ll accompany you for the rest of the journey.”

Jiang Changkong continued, “I’ll follow Senior Sister Ziling and the others. Once Senior Sister Yan Xue recovers, we’ll take action.”

“Then I’ll trouble you.” Zhou Wen smiled bitterly. “As for Zhang Hua’s evidence of guilt, I haven’t managed to secure it either.”

“It’s fine. Our goal is just to ensure the safety of the two senior sisters.”

Jiang Changkong smiled and said, “Actually, there’s one thing I need to ask for your help with, Brother Wen.”

“Go ahead. As long as I can do it, don’t stand on ceremony.” Zhou Wen patted his chest.

“I met a few people on this trip, and thanks to their help, I need to treat them to a meal when we return to the city, but I have no money.”

Jiang Changkong pouted. He was very poor.

His pension wasn’t even enough for his own expenses. Treating them to a meal would probably wipe it all out.

Zhou Wen laughed, “Such a small matter, leave it to me. I’ll wait for you to return to the city, join the Martial Arts School, and help me get through the college entrance exams.”

“Brother Wen, don’t worry. I’ll definitely bring Senior Sister Yan Xue back safely.”

Jiang Changkong made his promise.

The two said no more. As night was approaching, Zhou Wen wasn’t in a hurry to leave.

After informing him of the direction in which Zhang Hua and the others had left and returning the backpack to him, she finally departed.

She let Zhou Wen hold onto the phone first, while he continued using Zhang Xiaoyu’s.

Zhou Wen went nearby to kill a Star Demon, lit a fire to roast the meat, and also gave him the Star Stone.

Jiang Changkong didn’t stand on ceremony either. Although those at the peak of stellar qi were few, they still contained Essence, Qi, and Spirit—after all, Zhou Wen didn’t care for them anyway.

After cultivating through the night, Zhou Wen left the next day.

Jiang Changkong set off alone, feeling a sense of relief. On his own, he could freely hunt Star Demons and extract their Essence, Qi, and Spirit.