Sudden Wealth

At the plaza outside the Spirit Stone Mine Cave, Zhang Tie finally relaxed his taut nerves and let out a long breath.

He had been anxious the entire time, afraid that in those deep mine caves, the others would discover the three or four hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones hidden in the Storage Pouch, along with the three mysterious spheres, and be tempted to kill him for silence and divide the spoils.

Fortunately, now that they had reached the plaza, there was an obvious surveillance formation here. Surely they would not dare act rashly, and only then did Zhang Tie finally put his mind at ease.

"After I killed that monster, I also found some things in its lair." As Zhang Tie spoke, he respectfully handed the Storage Pouch to the long-haired youth.

The long-haired youth took the Storage Pouch and swept it with his divine sense. His expression shifted slightly, and a flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes.

Then he looked up at Zhang Tie before him. "You did well. You may return now. Someone will deliver your reward."

Zhang Tie hurriedly cupped his fists in salute and voiced his assent.

Then he turned and left the plaza, striding quickly toward the Teleportation Array he had used to arrive.

Zhang Tie soon returned to his room. Though it was midday, he felt utterly exhausted in both body and mind.

That fierce battle had forced him to walk the line between life and death; he had narrowly escaped death. Then, when facing the long-haired youth, he had needed to remain cautious and tread as if on thin ice. He was truly drained.

"No more cultivation, no more cultivation. I'm going to get a good night's sleep today." With that, he threw himself onto the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Zhang Tie slept all the way until the evening of the next day.

He slowly woke up, feeling completely refreshed and comfortable.

Walking out of his room and looking at the gradually darkening sky, Zhang Tie could not help thinking of his reward.

There were nearly four hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, as well as that monster's corpse and the three spheres. He guessed that the three spheres were most likely eggs laid by the monster, and they were surely worth quite a bit as well.

By that calculation, a reward of one hundred Spirit Stones should be easily within reach.

As Zhang Tie thought about it, he unconsciously laughed aloud.

After quite a while, he gradually calmed himself. Then he returned to his room, shut the door, sat cross-legged on his bed, and continued cultivating the Five Elements Magic Art.

At noon the next day, while Zhang Tie was cultivating, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

"Is Junior Brother Zhang Tie here?" A young voice spoke from outside.

Zhang Tie got out of bed and opened the door. Before him stood a handsome young man in white robes, with star-like brows and sharp eyes.

"I am Zhang Tie. Greetings, Senior Brother." Zhang Tie hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed, his manner exceptionally respectful.

"My name is Gao Jing. I am an Inner Sect disciple, and I came today to deliver your reward from the mining area." Gao Jing's tone carried a hint of pride. After speaking, he took out a Storage Pouch and casually tossed it to Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie caught it and put it away without even looking. Then he cupped his fists again in salute. "Thank you, Senior Brother Gao. Thank you to the sect for its support."

"Also, because your contribution this time was considerable, the External Affairs Hall has exempted you from your Outer Sect disciple duties for the next year. I hope you cultivate even harder from now on and enter the Inner Sect soon." With that, he released his flying sword, stepped onto it, and flew away.

Zhang Tie was somewhat stunned. They had actually exempted him from a full year of Outer Sect disciple duties. This was truly an enormous surprise.

Unable to contain his joy, Zhang Tie quickly entered his room, shut the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, and impatiently opened the Storage Pouch he had just received.

Inside the Storage Pouch was a small pile of Spirit Stones. Zhang Tie counted them carefully and found exactly one hundred, precisely matching his earlier guess.

Next, Zhang Tie saw two porcelain bottles. He took out the small bottles and opened each one to smell them. They contained two bottles of Hundred Herbs Pills, with nine pills in each bottle. This was nearly equivalent to two years' worth of resources. The sect had truly been generous.

Lastly, there was a ruler-shaped magical artifact. Though it was only a low-grade magical artifact, it was worth at least fifty Spirit Stones. A free gift was a free gift.