Chapter 38: A Special Star Demon Appears

Jiang Changkong secretly followed them.

Ji Ziling and the other two walked through the weeds for a quarter of an hour before stopping.

Ying Yanxue said, “Right here.”

Ji Ziling glanced at the young man beside her. “Big Huang, do it.”

The young man’s face twitched. “Senior, my name is Huang Mingye, not Big Huang.”

As he spoke, he opened his backpack and took out a sparkling, round ball.

“Got it, Big Huang,” Ji Ziling said with a pout.

Huang Mingye grumbled discontentedly, “If you’re upset with Senior Zhang Hua, go take it out on him. What’s the point of bullying me?”

“Don’t think I don’t know Zhang Hua sent you here to spy on us.”

Ji Ziling’s face darkened as she kicked Huang Mingye, sending him tumbling several times. “If you keep whining, do you believe I’ll cripple you?”

Huang Mingye’s face flushed red, but he didn’t dare say another word.

“Alright, Ziling, don’t make things difficult for him.”

Ying Yanxue said calmly, “We can settle this matter when we get back.”

“That bastard Zhang Hua got lucky this time.”

Ji Ziling snorted coldly, her tone filled with displeasure. “How dare he threaten me into helping him hunt a Special Star Demon? This isn’t over.”

“It’s my fault for dragging you into this,” Ying Yanxue sighed softly.

Ji Ziling shook her head. “Don’t talk about dragging me into it. I just look down on Zhang Hua for using such underhanded methods.

If he had discussed it properly, given that he saved you, I would have helped. But he’s just too despicable.”

Ying Yanxue remained silent, tacitly agreeing with her words.

While they were talking, Huang Mingye had already gathered a pile of dry grass, lit it, and placed the round ball on top to burn.

As the ball burned, it released golden smoke and a rich, fragrant aroma.

“Alright, seniors,” Huang Mingye said cautiously. “Should we hide now?”

Ji Ziling and Ying Yanxue nodded and hid with him in the nearby weeds.

Jiang Changkong hid in another direction, some distance away from them but still able to see the crystal ball.

He was heartbroken.

Essence: 1000!

He was too far away—he could only see the Essence but couldn’t extract it.

That single round ball actually contained a thousand Essence!

If every ball had the same amount, were there others in different directions?

As it burned, the Essence rapidly dissipated, drifting away with the golden smoke.

He had the urge to rush out and snatch it.

But after thinking it over, he gave up.

He wasn’t confident enough to take on two top students alone.

Even though Ji Ziling and the others wouldn’t attack him, there was still Huang Mingye. He couldn’t just kill him, could he?

Turning to leave, Jiang Changkong headed in another direction. Since he couldn’t act here, he could try elsewhere.

Zhang Hua and the others had split into five directions, two of which didn’t have Star Cloud Peak experts.

Before long, Jiang Changkong found a round ball that was already burning.

With the golden smoke, it was easy to spot.

However, by the time he arrived, there were already some Star Demons here.

The Star Demons were gathered around the ball, greedily inhaling the golden smoke.

Essence: 934.

These damned Star Demons.

Jiang Changkong glanced at the four people hiding in the weeds—the strongest among them was at the late stage of Star Cloud.

Thinking quickly, he pulled a tattered piece of clothing from his backpack, covering his head completely, and then turned his attention to the ball.

The Star Demons were large, blocking the line of sight. If he was fast enough, he could grab the ball, extract the Essence, and make a quick escape.

Once the idea formed, Jiang Changkong charged straight for the ball. Using the Star Demons to shield himself, he grabbed the ball in one swift motion.

Roar—

The Star Demons immediately became chaotic, fiercely surrounding Jiang Changkong.

Jiang Changkong was already prepared. A wave of Star Power swept out, repelling the Star Demons as he dove into the weeds.

Within the weeds, the four could only vaguely see a humanoid shadow amidst the horde of Star Demons.

One person suddenly stood up, exclaiming in shock, “A humanoid one! A Special Star Demon has appeared!”

As long as it was a Humanoid Star Demon, it was definitely a Special Star Demon.

Of course, some beast-like ones were also Special Star Demons!

Jiang Changkong: “…”

A humanoid Special Star Demon?

Are you fucking kidding me?

“Keep your voice down! Notify the senior immediately. We can’t handle this Special Star Demon.”

The other three pulled the one who had spoken, whispering urgently.

Jiang Changkong took the orb, extracted the Essence, and casually tossed it aside.

The pursuing Star Demons instinctively chased after the orb, temporarily letting him go.

After extracting the Essence and adding it to Three Blades Without Trace, Jiang Changkong went to find the next one.

By the time he arrived, there was no one there anymore. The orb was also gone, with only a few Star Demons wandering around aimlessly.

Swinging his blade to slay the Star Demons, Jiang Changkong extracted their Essence before getting up and leaving.

In this short time, he had already collected over a thousand points of Essence.

“That orb must be used to attract Star Demons,” Jiang Changkong pondered.

A humanoid Special Star Demon?

Could that Special Star Demon actually be nearby?

Zhang Hua and the others couldn’t pinpoint its location, so they could only try to lure it out?

Were those people from Kexiang also here for the Special Star Demon?

Those well-funded guys definitely had orbs too.

Jiang Changkong had no doubt that Kexiang emphasized equipment.

In terms of martial arts, Kexiang was certainly no match for the Martial Arts School.

But when it came to these devices for attracting Star Demons, they definitely had no shortage—perhaps even more and better ones.

Thinking this, Jiang Changkong went to find Kexiang again.

Two hours later, he saw the golden mist, thicker than before.

Following the golden mist, he found over a dozen Star Demons gathered around an orb.

Essence: 1350!

As expected, Kexiang’s was better.

Using the same method, Jiang Changkong obtained the orb and was once again mistaken for a Special Star Demon, causing another round of chaos.

“This seems… quite helpful for me?” Jiang Changkong thought, slightly intrigued, and headed to other locations.

After discovering the Special Star Demon, the other orbs were retrieved, but the Star Demons hadn’t strayed far yet.

He could kill more of them. Moreover, next time, he didn’t have to steal the orbs—it would also be good to guard one location and keep killing.

When one location attracted enough Star Demons, he could move to another and take the orb.

Once they all rushed over to search for the Special Star Demon, he could make his move.

With this plan in mind, Jiang Changkong headed to the next location.

On Kexiang’s side, there were only four locations, each with over a dozen Star Demons—four locations meant fifty or sixty in total.

Even if they were only at peak stellar qi, fifty or sixty would still yield two or three hundred points of Essence.

And this was without giving them much time to lure more. Next time, he could wait a bit longer.

Jiang Changkong made a round, killing all the Star Demons, extracting their Essence, and then used the Primal Martial Compass to continue hunting Star Demons.

By noon, Jiang Changkong’s Three Blades Without Trace had leveled up—to the Great Accomplishment stage!

Putting away the hilt, Jiang Changkong pondered how to contact Ji Ziling.

To contact Ji Ziling, he had to avoid Huang Mingye but couldn’t take action.

Otherwise, alerting Zhang Hua would bring trouble again.

If possible, could they team up to take down Zhang Hua?

This thought flashed through his mind but was quickly dismissed. Taking down Zhang Hua would mean having to eliminate the others too—silencing all witnesses.

Ah, right—marking!

I can leave marks for them to follow and find their way.

Jiang Changkong returned to the vicinity of Zhang Hua and the others, who were frustrated that they had let the Special Star Demon escape. He decided to keep an eye on them while carving marks on stones.

“How did you handle this? When the Special Star Demon appeared, why didn’t you stop it?” Zhang Hua said angrily.

“Senior, we couldn’t stop it either,” the four replied, feeling wronged.

According to what they knew, the Special Star Demon was at the peak of stellar qi, while the strongest among them was only at the late stage of stellar qi. How could they possibly stop it? With sheer stubbornness?

Zhang Hua realized he had spoken out of turn, but his expression remained cold. As a top student, he wouldn’t apologize to those who lagged behind!

“This afternoon, I’ll go over there and change direction,” Zhang Hua snorted. “Star Demons that appear in one area usually don’t wander too far. This time, we’ll capture it directly.”

“Are we all going?” Ji Ziling asked calmly.

Zhang Hua replied indifferently, “You continue to the original location. Cao Ye and I will go. From what I understand, the Special Star Demon leads a small team and shouldn’t act alone. This time, we’ll observe first. If we can capture it, we’ll notify you. If not, we’ll follow it to find its lair.”

Cao Ye was another top student.