Chapter 66: Setting Things Up

Looking at the thirteen people who had fainted, Jiang Changkong opened their backpacks and checked them one by one.

Only one backpack contained third-grade Star Stones, and even those were of low quality—a total of one hundred pieces.

Lu Wuhai’s information wasn’t accurate enough.

Taking the backpack with the third-grade Star Stones, Jiang Changkong turned and left.

Not long after he left, a figure in black emerged from the shadows, a long sword in hand, with wisps of water vapor coiling around the blade.

“Taking the goods is fine, but killing is not.”

Jiang Changkong appeared silently, blocking the path of the figure in black.

Glancing at the water vapor on the sword, it was undoubtedly Lu Wuhai.

Lu Wuhai said coldly, “You take the goods, I kill—they have nothing to do with each other.”

“I’ll take responsibility for stealing the goods, but I won’t shoulder the blame for killing, especially soldiers.”

Jiang Changkong held his long blade at the ready. “What, do you want to test my blade?”

Lu Wuhai snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Jiang Changkong followed, his left hand behind his back, as a strand of Star Power flew out and entered the body of the Star Sea soldier, waking him up.

“Aren’t you taking those Star Stones?” Lu Wuhai whispered.

“They’re useless to me. I only care about third-grade ones.”

Jiang Changkong replied indifferently. For Star Qi Level, there was no Essence, Qi, or Spirit left at all.

As for Star Cloud Level, it had shrunk tenfold, and he had little interest in it either.

Moreover, he would return these Star Stones—carrying too much would only bring trouble.

Lu Wuhai suddenly turned and stared at him. “Earlier, why did you say you were Lu Wuhai?”

Jiang Changkong shrugged. “To find a suitable scapegoat and confuse the trail.”

“Couldn’t you have picked someone else?” Lu Wuhai said angrily.

I asked you to come and steal, and you immediately pinned it on me.

Isn’t that telling them exactly who the mastermind is?

“I have a grudge against the Martial Arts School, but among those at my level, there’s only Lu Wuhai.”

Jiang Changkong said calmly, then added, “What, from your tone, are you perhaps close to Lu Wuhai?”

Lu Wuhai opened his mouth but changed the subject. “Leave me a way to contact you. I’ll find you again if there’s more goods.”

“I’ll come to the Martial Market tonight and head to the Life-and-death Arena.”

Jiang Changkong dropped this sentence and strode away.

Lu Wuhai tossed a red stone toward him. “Take this. You can find me directly with it.”

Jiang Changkong caught the jade stone and vanished into the night.

Watching Jiang Changkong leave, Lu Wuhai’s expression darkened. It was too late to go back and kill now—the soldier was surely awake.

But it didn’t matter; he had a way to shift the blame.

Making sure no one was following him, Jiang Changkong found a spot, buried the Star Stones, and slept on the spot until dawn, then bought a ticket back to the city.

Upon returning, Jiang Changkong headed straight for the Martial Arts School.

He wanted to look into Lu Wuhai’s records again, check his information, and see if he could find anything.

In the small room, Ji Ziling was still in seclusion, and Ying Yanxue hadn’t emerged either.

Jiang Changkong turned on the computer and accessed the school network.

Someone had posted that military personnel had come to the school last night, but no one knew why they were there. They had left only in the morning.

Jiang Changkong clicked on the profile of the super genius, Lu Wuhai.

The school’s super genius: at eighteen, peak stellar qi; at nineteen, Star Cloud Level.

At twenty, Star Cloud Peak, went to the Martial Market for ten consecutive matches, won nine, and was defeated in the last.

At twenty-two, entered the Star Sea, one of the strongest geniuses of Jiangcheng Martial Arts School in recent years.

Once represented Jiangcheng Martial Arts School in an exchange with the Martial Arts School of Jiangshui City, the provincial capital of Jianghai Province.

“All achievements, nothing out of the ordinary.”

Jiang Changkong frowned; this was practically the face of Jiangcheng Martial Arts School.

If one were to say Lu Wuhai was planted in Wushi by the Martial Arts School, that was impossible.

Lu Wuhai could even access firearms; Zhang Hua’s Starlight Force Bomb was related to him.

The Martial Arts School couldn’t privately provide students with firearms, nor did they have any.

The sources of firearms were limited to two places.

First, the military; second, Kexiang.

The military having firearms went without saying, while Kexiang could have them because they possessed the technology.

Although Kexiang couldn’t openly manufacture them, it wasn’t impossible for them to do so covertly.

“Forget it, no point dwelling on this. Investigating these matters is best left to the professionals.”

Jiang Changkong shook his head.

Investigating such matters was the job of the specialized military and law enforcement agencies; he just needed to wait for updates.

However, regarding school matters, he could ask someone to keep an eye out.

Ji Ziling and Ying Yanxue were in seclusion, and the only person he was familiar with now was Zhou Wen.

Although Zhou Wen’s strength was somewhat lacking, she was well-informed about the school’s situation.

He opened his phone and contacted Zhou Wen: “Wen, are you still at the school?”

“I’ve been at the school this whole time and don’t plan to leave for now,” Zhou Wen replied instantly.

“I’d like you to investigate Cao Ye—which students he’s close with at the school, especially the top students,” Jiang Changkong said.

“I know this. He’s close with Zhang Hua, Chen Sanyan, Li He, Zhang Tao, and the top students Song Jun and Zhuang Xuanqing. Those two are probably outside the city hunting Star Demons right now.”

Zhou Wen listed a few names.

Jiang Changkong narrowed his eyes—familiar faces.

“Then I’ll trouble you, Wen, to keep an eye on Li He and Zhang Tao for me. If anything comes up, send me a message.”

Jiang Changkong replied.

Zhou Wen broke into a sweat: “No problem, but Changkong, I have to remind you—you’re a professional Martial Artist now.

If you plan to kill someone, no matter the method, don’t do it inside the city. The city is under surveillance everywhere.”

Jiang Changkong laughed bitterly: “Wen, what kind of person do you take me for? I’m a proper Martial Artist.

I just received word that Cao Ye might be targeting me, so I’m preparing in advance.”

Zhou Wen was furious: “Targeting you? Has Cao Ye grown tired of living? Does he think he has a chance now that the seniors are in seclusion?”

“Wen, just keep an eye out for me. Don’t alert anyone. I’ve already reached the Star Sea.”

Jiang Changkong had no choice but to reveal his strength, genuinely worried that she might rush off to pull the two seniors out of seclusion.

After reassuring Zhou Wen and calming her down, Jiang Changkong continued reviewing information about Song Jun and Zhuang Xuanqing.

He wouldn’t investigate Zhang Hua and Chen Sanyan—one was already well understood, and the other was already dead.

As for Li He and Zhang Tao, they were just weaklings he no longer cared about.

Zhou Wen was right; no methods could be used inside the city.

Except for inside residential homes, the entire city was under surveillance.

No matter how capable he was, he couldn’t go against the entire city, nor was there any need.

If he wanted to kill someone, it had to be outside the city. Besides, Cao Ye and the others wouldn’t dare confront him inside the city either.

In the coming days, Cao Ye would surely find a way to lure him out of the city.

Moreover, Jiang Changkong wanted to resolve this once and for all, eliminating them all to avoid constant trouble.

Song Jun and Zhuang Xuanqing were top students of this generation, with strength comparable to Ji Ziling and the others.

At Star Cloud Peak, plus Cao Ye, no matter how he calculated it, they stood no chance against him.

Aside from firearms, the only option was to call for external help.

Ding-dong

A pop-up notification appeared—it was from Teacher Chu Jun:

“Changkong, news from the Martial Market: the expert who robbed the Special Starstone has appeared, at the Mid Star Sea Stage.

Tomorrow night, Teacher Fang will lead the team and take you along.

Your strength is decent, so just follow along to gain some experience and prepare for the school’s entry into the Martial Market.

Remember, prioritize your own safety.”

“Teacher, aren’t you going?” Jiang Changkong replied. So impatient? It came faster than he expected.

As for entering the Martial Market, that was within expectations. The Martial Arts School’s ten consecutive tasks were precisely to open up the situation and get involved.

Chu Jun said, “Teacher won’t be going. I need to prepare a third-tier weapon for you and can’t spare the time for now.

Your strength has improved quite quickly, but I like it. If you can surpass the Star Sea, that would be a tremendous joy.”

Jiang Changkong’s heart stirred: “Teacher, you flatter me. If I can surpass the Star Sea, will the school give special rewards?”

Chu Jun: “I was just speaking casually. If you truly can surpass the Star Sea in a short time, Teacher may not have much else, but I’ll definitely get you a fourth-tier weapon.”

Jiang Changkong looked at the information on the school’s website. Above the Star Sea, in Jiangcheng, no one had appeared for over a decade or two.

It wasn’t that Jiangcheng lacked talent, but they were all assigned jobs and left for bigger platforms.

After chatting a bit more, Chu Jun sent over the Star Sea chapter of the Blazing Fire Technique. Jiang Changkong checked Fang Chenggong’s information.

School teacher, late Star Cloud Stage, cultivated martial art: Azure Cloud Technique.

The accompanying Azure Cloud Sword Art, once mastered, becomes elusive and unpredictable, with no fixed form, making it hard to grasp.

After reading it, he reviewed the Star Sea chapter of the Blazing Fire Technique and found differences from the version he had upgraded.

A few pathways had been altered, making the upgraded version more suitable for him.

He stored the contents of the Blazing Fire Technique without practicing it.

“Fang Chenggong is also involved, late Star Cloud Stage. That’s a decent level of strength. They probably won’t resort to firearms again.”

Jiang Changkong pondered, then sent a message to Tang Ruoxi to borrow something.

Two Starlight Monitoring Instruments!

Tang Ruoxi was generous and directly had Liu Jun deliver them to him.

Jiang Changkong gave one instrument to Zhou Wen, and Liu Jun personally taught them how to use it.

The Starlight Monitoring Instrument allowed for remote surveillance. If the distance was too great, even Jiang Changkong wouldn’t be able to detect it.

It was more than enough to monitor Cao Ye and the others.

After making proper arrangements, Jiang Changkong changed his clothes and headed to the Martial Market.