Yang Gang Qi

Watching Lin Xiao fly into a rage, Lei Yi and the others were furious as well. But when they thought of Lin Xiao's Mid Heavenly Origin Stage strength, they instantly calmed down.

"Heh, since your Lin Family cares so much about Ironwood Manor, we'll give it to you. But someday... my Lei Family will return!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Lei Yi waved his hand and fled with the others, escaping the place like the wind.

"Ding, congratulations, Host. The Side Quest has been completed. You have received three Lottery Draw Opportunities."

Seeing that he now had a full eight Lottery Draw Opportunities, Lin Changqiang's heart burned with anticipation. It took tremendous effort for him to resist drawing immediately.

"Those bastards!" Lin Ken's face was livid, and Lin Xiao did not look much better. "Inspect Ironwood Manor first and see how badly it has been damaged."

"Yes!"

The guards answered in unison before quickly scattering into the ironwood forest. Only half an hour later did they return one after another to report the situation to Lin Ken and Lin Xiao.

As the guards finished their reports one by one, Lin Xiao and the others looked increasingly grim. Lin Dong frowned deeply as well. There were still some mature ironwood trees within Ironwood Manor, but the soil had been damaged especially badly. No one knew whether ironwood could still be planted there.

Lin Changqiang, however, did not care about that at all. He was even wondering whether he should go look for the Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein first.

But when he thought about how he had neither Qing Tan's "Samoyed Body" nor Lin Dong's Ancestral Stone, finding Yang Yuan Stones in such a vast estate would be no easy task.

And even if he found them, he might not be able to defeat the two Heavenly Origin Stage demonic beasts there. Once one reached the Heavenly Origin Stage, relying on only the first two levels of Fire Dance Whirlwind to fight opponents stronger than himself was already becoming difficult.

"Sigh, tell Father about what happened here. He'll probably be furious." Lin Xiao sighed helplessly. Lin Ken nodded, his smile uglier than a cry.

After the news reached the Lin Family, Lin Zhentian personally led a large group of men and rushed all the way to Ironwood Manor. As he looked over the devastated woodland, his expression darkened frighteningly.

Lin Changqiang, Lin Dong, and Qing Tan, who had just arrived at Ironwood Manor, sat on a slope and watched the house below with lingering fear. Lin Zhentian's roars rang out continuously from inside. He was clearly furious.

"That's terrifying." Qing Tan lightly nudged Lin Dong's arm. "It's my first time seeing Grandpa this angry."

Lin Dong sighed and rose to his feet. "Let's look around first. Grandpa's anger won't die down anytime soon, so let Father and the others take the blame."

"Between you and Qing Tan, who's actually the biological child?" Lin Changqiang stared at Lin Dong with mock suspicion.

"You are, all right?" Lin Dong rolled his eyes speechlessly.

"??? Lin Dong, you've changed! You weren't like this before. When did you learn to talk back?" Lin Changqiang's eyes widened. He could hardly believe his ears.

Qing Tan watched the two of them and secretly laughed. Her beautiful, limpid eyes curved into crescents, and time itself seemed to freeze at that moment...

Ironwood Manor covered an enormous area and boasted quite lovely scenery. Unfortunately, the estate was now filled almost everywhere with a faint medicinal odor.

"The Black Soil unique to Ironwood Manor is essential for growing ironwood. Legend says that this place was once a volcano long ago, and that Black Soil was blasted up from underground during volcanic eruptions."

"Now that the volcano is gone, the Black Soil is quite limited. On top of that, the Lei Family destroyed a great deal of it this time, so Grandpa is so angry." As they walked through the quiet forest, Lin Dong explained calmly, though a faint trace of worry showed on his face.

"I see." Qing Tan nodded absentmindedly, but her eyes kept darting around. Then she furrowed her brows in confusion. "Brother Lin Dong, Brother Changqiang, don't you think it's really hot here?"

"Hm? Is it? Why don't I feel anything?" Lin Changqiang's eyes suddenly lit up. The Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein he had been waiting for was finally about to appear!

Lin Dong froze for a moment, then seemed to recall something. He suddenly crouched down and grabbed a handful of Black Soil with his right hand, carefully sensing it.

"There's actually a trace of Yang Gang Qi in this soil!"

"Follow me." A moment later, Lin Dong led the other two several hundred meters deeper into the forest. He then grabbed another handful of Black Soil. "The deeper we go, the stronger the Yang Gang Qi within the Black Soil becomes."

"Why is Yang Gang Qi mixed into the soil? Could it be... that there's some strange treasure underground continuously releasing Yang Gang Qi, causing some of it to seep into the soil here?!" Lin Dong's heart shook violently. It seemed that he had discovered an incredible secret.

Seeing Lin Dong's thoughtful expression, Lin Changqiang could not help wanting to scare him a little.

"Lin Dong, how can you sense the Yang Gang Qi inside it? Why can't I feel anything?" He deliberately furrowed his brows, tilted his head, and looked at Lin Dong suspiciously.

At that instant, Lin Dong felt as though his heartbeat had skipped half a beat. Only then did he realize that he had seemingly made things too obvious. He could only make up an excuse. "I've been different from ordinary people since childhood. My ability to sense Yuan Power has always been naturally like this."

"So that's how it is!" Lin Changqiang held back his laughter so hard that tears nearly fell from his eyes. He clenched his right hand into a fist and smacked it into his left palm, putting on an enlightened expression. "Just like how I was born a martial arts genius, right? |ω)"

"...Yes, yes, exactly." Lin Dong answered with a dark expression. He grabbed a handful of Black Soil from each of the four directions and examined them. "It seems the farther north we go, the more Yang Gang Qi the soil contains."

With that, he waved his hand and led the other two and Xiao Yan northward.

A huge part of Ironwood Manor consisted of rather primitive forest. Clearly, the Lei Family had focused only on the areas where ironwood could grow and had not paid much attention to the other regions.

Every time they traveled some distance, Lin Dong would stop, grab a handful of Black Soil, and examine the Yang Gang Qi it contained before continuing deeper. After nearly half an hour of this, his footsteps suddenly halted.

"Brother Lin Dong, Brother Changqiang, it's so hot here!" Qing Tan sat on Xiao Yan's back, her exquisite, picturesque face flushed red and covered in fine beads of sweat. The moment she arrived here, she felt as though she had run dozens of miles in the height of summer. She was unbearably hot, and if Lin Dong had not insisted on going deeper into the forest, she would have wanted to head back long ago.

Seeing Qing Tan panting for breath, Lin Changqiang felt somewhat embarrassed. He had been so focused on searching for the Yang Yuan Stone Mine Vein with Lin Dong that he had neglected Qing Tan.

"Is this better?" After skillfully equipping two Thunderclap Blades in his Equipment Slot, Lin Changqiang silently released the Yuan Power within his body. A cold Yuan Power unique to the Earthly Yuan Stage surged outward, instantly enveloping the three of them and Xiao Yan.

"Mhm, much better. Thank you, Brother Changqiang!" At that moment, Qing Tan's willow-leaf brows curved like crescents, and her smile bloomed like a flower.