Chapter 82: An Old Acquaintance

Having escaped the enthusiastic attentions of the two senior sisters, Jiang Changkong stepped out once more.

The soldiers guarding the gate promptly saluted: “Greetings, sir.”

“Keep up the good work.”

Jiang Changkong nodded, feeling quite pleased inside, his steps lightening a little.

He was now officially registered with the military and had received his credentials—an externally appointed military consultant.

Typically, the military would also hire consultants, all of whom were skilled experts from the city with clean backgrounds and professional martial artists.

Consultants belonged to a special category; they didn’t need to report to the military regularly, only assisting when the military required their help.

Externally appointed consultants were those invited from outside, not part of the military. They could take on tasks as they pleased or refuse them, free to abandon their duties at any time.

Such externally appointed consultants were relatively rare; only those who had made significant contributions and possessed exceptional strength in the city would be approved by the military.

Jiang Changkong had earned this position through both his strength and his merits.

Without taking a vehicle, Jiang Changkong directly employed the Mystical Fire Step, distancing himself from the city.

At his current speed, he was faster than ordinary vehicles, making travel much quicker.

He took out a map, examined it briefly, and confirmed his direction.

The location where Li Qiuchuan had discovered the Special Star Demon was not far from where Zhou Wen and Ying Yanxue had called for help.

It was in the opposite direction from where Zhang Hua and the others had pursued the Special Star Demon.

Treading fire to travel, Jiang Changkong’s figure vanished like a phantom into the overgrown weeds.

Along the way, he saw many people hunting Star Demons, including ordinary martial artists from Jiangcheng and students from the two schools.

Without stopping, he continued his swift journey.

A quarter of an hour later, he arrived at the location where he had previously rescued Zhou Wen and Ying Yanxue.

His speed now was incomparably faster than before.

Roar!

After advancing a bit further, a roar echoed through the air as a Star Demon blocked his path.

Jiang Changkong didn’t pause; a Blade Qi slashed out, instantly splitting the Star Demon in two.

This was only a mid-stage stellar qi Star Demon, devoid of any essence, energy, or spirit, so he had no interest in it at all.

Cutting through everything in his path, Jiang Changkong arrived at a riverside where many Star Demons were drinking water.

“This is the last place that Star Demon was seen.”

Jiang Changkong looked at the map. If nothing unexpected had happened, that Star Demon should still be nearby.

However, this Special Star Demon was not humanoid, so even if he saw it, he wouldn’t recognize it.

Peak stellar qi…

Jiang Changkong contemplated the strength of that Star Demon as his blade left its sheath, Blade Qi surging forth.

The Star Demons drinking by the river were instantly torn apart, blood flowing everywhere.

Roar!

Many Star Demons had been drinking, and the scent of blood provoked them, causing them to roar and charge forward.

Blade Qi shot out in all directions, radiating from Jiang Changkong as the center, cleaving the Star Demons apart.

The smell of blood drifted in all directions as Jiang Changkong waited in place.

He intended to stir up something big once again.

Now that he had achieved the Star Sea realm, the nearby Star Demons were merely at the stellar qi or Star Cloud levels, so he could afford to make a big scene.

As one Star Demon after another fell, Jiang Changkong’s keen senses detected more Star Demons approaching nearby.

Without waiting for them to come to him, Jiang Changkong transformed into a phantom with his Mystical Fire Step, slaying the Star Demons.

Thick blood energy gathered, and the sky gradually took on a crimson hue as more and more Star Demons swarmed in.

Jiang Changkong stood firm, his Blade Qi sweeping through the air.

He picked out the Star Stones, holding them in his hand. Without any skill prompts, he simply discarded them.

He tried each one, but none belonged to the Special Star Demon.

After two hours of continuous slaughter, the corpses of Star Demons had piled up into a mountain.

Jiang Changkong still hadn’t found the Special Star Demon and began to ponder.

What kind of skill could use Invisible Star Power to fling Li Qiuchuan and the others away?

Just by using Star Power to knock them away?

That didn’t seem right either. Li Qiuchuan and the others weren’t weak. A Peak Star Qi Star Demon couldn’t have simply knocked them away with Star Power alone.

Roar!

The roars of Star Demons continued to echo. Jiang Changkong casually swung his blade, cutting down the Star Demons.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already dark.

Jiang Changkong was growing tired. He began to suspect that the Star Demon might have left the area.

If it were nearby, with such a strong scent of blood, that Star Demon definitely wouldn’t have been able to resist.

“Let’s rest first, then change locations later.”

Jiang Changkong took out the map. Li Qiuchuan had marked all the locations where the Special Star Demon had appeared.

He planned to try every spot where the Special Star Demon had been sighted.

If it wasn’t in any of them, that would mean it had truly left.

At that point, he would have no choice but to give up.

The Star Desolate Grasslands were vast, and he had no confidence in finding the Special Star Demon.

By the time his Star Power had recovered, it was already deep into the night. Jiang Changkong moved to a new location and continued killing Star Demons.

With his strength at the Star Sea Peak as a foundation, Jiang Changkong moved through the grasslands with ease.

He kept killing, encountering quite a few Star Cloud Star Demons along the way, which added a few hundred points to his Essence.

“This growth in Essence…”

Jiang Changkong felt a bit frustrated. Thinking about the Essence he had gained recently, it was in the hundreds of thousands.

Unfortunately, he probably wouldn’t have such opportunities again in Jiangcheng.

The big shots had all been taken down, and their assets had been completely divided. Unless he went after the remaining big shots, there was nothing left.

After killing Star Demons, he would recover his Star Power, then continue killing, resting for a few hours in between to regain his energy.

For five consecutive days, Jiang Changkong visited every location where the Special Star Demon had appeared, but he didn’t even catch a glimpse of it.

“Forget it. I might as well focus on killing Star Demons and go into seclusion for a while.”

Jiang Changkong decided to give up. With the time he had, he could instead focus on killing Star Sea Star Demons and earn a decent amount of Star Stones.

Moreover, his Three Blades Without Trace, combined with the Blazing Fire Technique, still needed refinement and practice.

It wasn’t convenient to practice at school, so he might as well train here in the Star Desolate Grasslands.

He swung his long blade, sparks flying, though some power still leaked out.

Jiang Changkong was patient, swinging his blade again and again.

Sparks swirled along the blade’s edge. As the blade fell, the Star Demon ignited from the inside out.

With a single slash, the Star Demon’s internal organs were burned to charcoal, emitting a rich, meaty aroma.

As he grew more skilled with his swings, the sparks gradually diminished, from scattered embers to just a faint trace of fiery energy.

By the end of the day, he had managed to barely combine the two martial arts, though he was still not very proficient.

The blade passed silently, landing on the Star Demon without leaving a visible wound. Instead, golden flames ignited from within, burning the Star Demon from the inside.

Three Blades Without Trace, paired with the Blazing Fire Technique!

He could directly channel Flame Blade Qi into his opponent’s body!

The lethality had reached another level, and Jiang Changkong felt even more anticipation for the four martial arts.

“I should thank Teacher Chu Jun for this. Only now do I truly understand my own martial arts.”

Jiang Changkong sheathed his blade and stood still, contemplating his skills.

“I’ll head to the Star Sea area and practice along the way.”

Glancing at the sky, it was already late at night. Jiang Changkong quickly departed.

Fire sprang from his feet as he tread fire to travel, moving like a streak of flame through the tall grass.

Half an hour later, Jiang Changkong stopped. To his left, two people were crouching in the grass, nervously watching their surroundings.

If they were strangers, he would have simply left, but these two were familiar faces.

Acquaintances from the military—Liu Feng and Zhang Mo.

“Brother Feng, Brother Mo, what are you two doing here?”

Jiang Changkong walked over and squatted down beside them.

“Holy shit, who’s there?”

The two men were startled, but relaxed when they saw it was him: “Oh, it’s Brother Changkong—no, Officer Jiang.”

“Between us, no need to be so formal. What are you doing here? Where’s Brother Hu?”

Jiang Changkong asked curiously, looking up ahead. It was empty, with nothing in sight.

The Star Desolate Grasslands were dangerous at night, yet these two were still here, seemingly on some kind of mission.

“Hu Zi has already gone ahead, sacrificing himself for the Federation.”

Liu Feng’s expression turned somber: “But it’s nothing, really. This is our fate. He was lucky, at least he wasn’t eaten by the Star Demon and left behind ashes.”

“What happened? He was fine before, wasn’t he?”

Jiang Changkong was slightly shaken as he asked.