Chapter 56: Above the Star Sea

Martial Arts School, the standalone cottage at the back.

Jiang Changkong, Ji Ziling, and Ying Yanxue were inside dividing the Star Stones.

“I’ve practically completed the five-year college entrance exam in one go.”

Jiang Changkong sighed with emotion. On his very first day of school, he had already completed the five-year college entrance exam.

Now, if he wished, he could be directly assigned a job and leave Jiangcheng.

“That’s quite an achievement, to receive so many rewards.”

Ji Ziling and Ying Yanxue’s eyes gleamed: “We won’t ask for much, just a hundred top-grade Second Tier ones.

And all the Star Stones you gathered for the four-year college entrance exam, give them to us too.”

“Senior sisters, these top-grade First Tier and mid-to-low-grade Second Tier ones are useless to you.

Take some more high-grade Second Tier ones.”

Jiang Changkong said generously. With 250,000 Essence, a hundred top-grade Second Tier ones only amounted to 40,000 Essence.

“No need. These hundred top-grade Second Tier ones are enough for me and Yan Xue.

We plan to break through to the Star Sea. As for taking your four-year Star Stones, they’re for someone else.”

Ji Ziling explained: “To help you gather the four-year college entrance exam, we borrowed some.”

“Take a bit more.”

Jiang Changkong selected high-grade Second Tier ones. Out of 250,000, only giving away 40,000 felt somewhat unfair.

The hundred high-grade Second Tier ones for the four-year college entrance exam, though not insignificant, were originally few in his possession.

Most likely, Ji Ziling and the others had borrowed them to make up the amount. Returning them now wouldn’t benefit them either.

“You’re just too polite. If we really needed them, we wouldn’t hesitate to ask. It’s settled then.”

Ji Ziling took fifty top-grade Second Tier ones, and Ying Yanxue also took fifty.

The two carried four backpacks: “We’ll return these. You keep the rest for yourself.”

“Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony.”

Jiang Changkong said no more. With 240,000 Essence to extract directly, explaining away so many Star Stones would likely be difficult.

He decided to extract them over several days. Today, he would focus on improving the Bronze Skin Iron Bone Technique.

The Star Stones processed by the school were transparent, with only faint glimmers of light, resembling gemstones.

The Bronze Skin Iron Bone Technique still required 61,414. Jiang Changkong directly extracted 70,000.

He kept them in his backpack, planning to discard them in the trash after cultivation.

As he improved the Bronze Skin Iron Bone Technique, the Star Power within his body surged once more, increasing by nearly thirty percent.

Pure strength grew, his entire body radiating a scorching, fierce aura, with blood energy surging!

White smoke rose from the top of his head, and his blood energy flowed like a dragon.

His five senses became sharper, his skin gleaming with a bronze sheen, as if he were a bronze statue.

His bones creaked and cracked, resembling the grinding teeth of a fierce beast.

His bones were as hard as iron, his skin as lustrous as bronze.

Jiang Changkong: Star Cloud Peak

Low-Grade Mid-Tier Martial Art:

Bronze Skin Iron Bone Technique, Perfected 64,000/64,000

Tai Chi Fist Scripture: Great Accomplishment 493/16,000

Three Blades Without Trace: Perfected 24,042/64,000

Blazing Fire Technique: Beginner 0/1,000

Essence: 8,586

After experiencing the changes brought by the improvement in the Bronze Skin Iron Bone Technique,

Jiang Changkong’s attention turned to the Blazing Fire Technique.

This was a complete martial art system, including an internal energy cultivation method, martial techniques, and movement skills.

The accompanying martial technique was a blade method—the Mystical Fire Blade Technique that Chen Sanyan had once used.

The Mystical Fire Blade Technique consisted of four moves: Flame Blade, Red Flame Blade, Mystical Fire Blade, and Golden Flame Mystical Blade.

The blade was like flame, the red flame like a rainbow, condensing mystical fire to achieve golden flame!

Chen Sanyan had only practiced up to the third blade, the stage of condensing mystical fire. That strand of golden flame was the mystical fire.

As for the Golden Flame Mystical Blade, it was the complete golden flame, with formidable power capable of threatening Star Sea Martial Artists.

The movement technique is Mystical Fire Step. When perfected to completion, one can tread fire to travel, moving like a streak of flame with extreme speed.

Jiang Changkong lacked a movement technique, but he did not lack blade techniques.

However, by choosing the Blazing Fire Technique, he could openly carry a blade to conceal his Three Blades Without Trace.

This was also the reason he chose the Blazing Fire Technique.

Once the Mystical Fire Blade was mastered, its power would not be weaker than the Three Blades Without Trace.

However, the Three Blades Without Trace were silent and traceless, killing without leaving wounds, making it superior to the Mystical Fire Blade in certain aspects.

But cultivating the Blazing Fire Technique would require a large amount of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and his own Essence, Qi, and Spirit were insufficient.

“Forget it, I won’t rush to achieve the Star Sea for now. The Blazing Fire Technique can compensate for my weaknesses and conceal my blade technique, so I’ll cultivate it.”

Jiang Changkong made his decision. At worst, he could just run out of the city again and kill more Star Demons.

After finishing his thoughts, Jiang Changkong began checking information on the computer in his room.

The standalone cottage had three rooms inside: two bedrooms and one training room.

Each bedroom was equipped with a school-exclusive computer that could directly connect to the school’s internal network to access information.

“Your teacher, Chu Jun, has sent you an email.”

A pop-up window appeared, and Jiang Changkong clicked into it.

It contained cultivation experiences, precautions, and other details about the Blazing Fire Technique.

Was Chu Jun cultivating the Blazing Fire Technique?

Jiang Changkong raised an eyebrow. School teachers generally taught the basics, then handed over their cultivation experiences before leaving students to their own devices.

Teacher assignments were based on which technique you chose, and you would be assigned the corresponding teacher.

He had just enrolled, and Chu Jun hadn’t had time to teach him cultivation yet, so he had simply sent his insights first.

If that was the case, was Chen Sanyan also Chu Jun’s student?

Jiang Changkong wondered to himself but didn’t dwell on it.

Whether Chen Sanyan’s body could even be found was unknown, and even if it was, there would be no way to trace it back to him.

As for the school, with the death of a top student and another top student involved in a crime, things were probably in chaos right now.

Jiang Changkong shook his head and continued checking the information.

Martial Dao realms, above the Star Sea!

Above the Star Sea were the three major realms: Star Gate, Star Vault, and Star Spirit.

When a Martial Artist reached the Star Gate realm, they could seal their own Essence, Qi, and Spirit. If he wanted to directly extract it, he could only do so when the Essence, Qi, and Spirit were dispersing.

To extract it directly, he would have to wait several hours.

But by then, much of the Essence, Qi, and Spirit would already be lost.

Jiang Changkong sighed softly. It would be difficult to obtain Essence, Qi, and Spirit in the future.

He couldn’t guard a corpse for several hours, and special circumstances wouldn’t allow it either.

Star Vault realm: Martial Artists could conceal their Star Power, soul, and blood qi within the Star Gate.

After death, the Essence, Qi, and Spirit of such individuals dispersed extremely slowly. Even if he guarded them for days, he wouldn’t be able to extract everything.

Star Spirit realm: After death, all Essence, Qi, and Spirit would remain concealed within the body.

Moreover, in the Star Spirit realm, Martial Artists tempered their souls with Star Power.

Star Power and the soul merged, becoming one. While alive, their control over Star Power was exquisite to the extreme.

One could say they could strike wherever they aimed, even making turns, much like the White Rainbow Palm Force, but for Star Spirit Martial Artists, this was instinctive.

This type belonged to Essence, Qi, and Spirit having an owner!

Even after death, the residual soul power could still carry Star Power to counterattack.

As for waiting for it to disperse, Jiang Changkong might as well not bother—it might take months to fully dissipate.

Fortunately, Star Demons didn’t have these cultivation techniques like Martial Artists. Only Star Stones needed to be processed before extraction.

Star Demon corpses could still be directly extracted, so that wasn’t a problem.

After reading the information, Jiang Changkong felt somewhat relieved that he had joined the Martial Arts School.

Martial Arts School, while enrolled, provides free assistance in processing Star Stones.

Even after leaving the school, you can still come to have them processed, with only a ten percent service fee.

If you go to other organizations, such as companies, they will charge you at least thirty percent for processing.

As for attribute issues, that doesn’t matter—it doesn’t affect extraction.

Jiang Changkong continued to browse the information, such as nearby Star Demon locations and a task network where the school posts various assignments.

There were also introductions to the school’s teachers and top students.

In addition to these, the school’s Martial Dao manuals were explained in detail, and he went through each one carefully.

He kept reading until noon when Ji Ziling and the others returned, bringing a meal: “Eat first, and later I’ll give you some materials.”

“Alright.” Jiang Changkong took the meal and asked, “What kind of materials?”

“Two companies and four major figures in Jiangcheng.”

Ji Ziling said calmly, “They will all participate in the competition for the Starlight Meteorite Iron.”