Black Mountain Society

The wooden boxes naturally contained intermediate body-tempering potions as well, though there were only two doses in each. It counted as a small repayment from Song Chi for all the years they had called him "big brother."

Having watched them grow up since childhood, Song Chi still hoped that the two of them would eventually awaken their Kindling Seeds.

In the back seat, the two girls clutched their wooden boxes tightly, their bright eyes shimmering as they stared ahead, though no one knew what they were thinking.

After taking a slight detour to drop the two girls off at their respective homes, Song Chi and Song Ting soon returned home as well.

The moment they stepped through the door, their mother, Chen Lixia, who had been bustling about in the kitchen, immediately appeared, followed by a familiar bout of clinginess.

"Oh, my precious daughter! Come here and let me hug you."

The next day, Song Chi had gotten ready early to enter the Market Ruins and begin his arduous cultivation journey with the Guidance Art.

Unexpectedly, Song Ting dragged him out of the house first. According to her, today was the time the three of them had agreed to go shopping and enjoy some good food.

Thus, he was naturally drafted into service.

Although Song Chi was extremely unwilling, considering that Soaring Dragon Middle School only had a break once every few months, he ultimately agreed.

Minyuan Road, central Jiangyuan City.

After shopping for two hours and buying quite a few things, the four of them finally arrived at the Spicy Hotpot restaurant on Minyuan Road.

They ordered some of the house specialties, including White Tower lamb and seasonal vegetables. While the four of them ate, they chatted about various matters concerning elementary and advanced Kindling academies. Then, just then, a fierce argument broke out in another private room not far from theirs.

Before long, the argument escalated into the sounds of tables, chairs, and wine bottles crashing together. Song Chi gathered some of the Void Energy within his body around his ears, and the sounds he caught immediately became clearer.

"Brother Peng, I told you, I really don't know where Erhua and the others are. Ever since they came back from mining three days ago, they disappeared soon after. I'm close with them, but they really haven't contacted me this time."

"The Black Mountain Society's reputation is right there. Even if you gave me ten times the guts, I wouldn't dare lie to you, Brother Peng."

"Bullshit! You think I don't know you? You've been inseparable since you were kids. How could you not know where he's hiding? Let me make this clear today: either tell me where Ma Erhua is hiding, or I'll break both your legs. Get him!!!"

"Brother Peng, stop hitting me! I'll talk, I'll talk! I don't know exactly where Erhua and the others are, but I know a few places they might be hiding..."

Within just two minutes, Song Chi had basically figured out what had caused the conflict in the neighboring private room.

It seemed that a Black Mountain Society member called Brother Peng was trying to track down several miners and was now going after their friend.

Song Chi's heart stirred slightly. The word "miners" made him somewhat sensitive, but he quickly suppressed the thought.

He knew a little about the miners of the White Tower Floating Continent. There was an asteroid belt in the starry expanse surrounding the White Tower Floating Continent, and miners were people who excavated within that asteroid belt.

However, the asteroid belt around the White Tower Floating Continent was not particularly large. After centuries of continuous mining, it was already on the verge of abandonment. The chances of any rare mineral resources appearing were minuscule, and even if there really were some, the quantity definitely would not be substantial.

Furthermore, the Black Mountain Society had some influence in Jiangyuan City. It was said that several Kindling warship captains were stationed within the society, so he naturally had no desire to interfere.

As he pondered, a dull impact suddenly sounded outside the door. The next second, the door to their private room was smashed open by tremendous force. The conflict outside had clearly spilled into the private room where Song Chi and the others were.

Song Chi's gaze turned cold. Void Energy circulated within him, and he was just about to summon the Fire Sunflower Soldier to suppress the fight.

However, the restaurant's security personnel finally rushed into the corridor. With several security guards possessing fairly high Guidance Art levels mediating, the conflict was finally brought under control.

In this Starsea era where everyone cultivated, conflicts were commonplace. As such, most shops had comprehensive security systems. Even small stores would band together to form joint security teams to deal with such sudden incidents.

With the restaurant's security personnel stepping in, Song Chi was spared from having to take action himself. Still, after such a disturbance, the four of them had no desire to continue eating hotpot. Song Chi quickly took the three girls to the counter to pay the bill, then left soon afterward.

A minor incident occurred in between. The restaurant manager understood that Song Chi and the others had lost their appetite because of the disturbance and insisted on waiving their bill, but Song Chi refused. After all, this was not something the hotpot restaurant could have anticipated. The fact that it had gathered security personnel before the conflict escalated further and ultimately stopped it meant that it had already fulfilled its responsibility as a business.

Of course, the main reason was that the hotpot meal was not expensive, costing only a few hundred credit points. Song Chi was now an official Kindling warship captain, and a single exploration trip could bring in millions of credit points at minimum. A few hundred credit points truly meant nothing to him.

After lunch, the four of them shopped for several more hours. By the end, Song Chi's hands were naturally loaded with large and small bags.

Even with his Guidance Art at lv4, Song Chi felt a trace of fatigue. Yet the three girls, whose Guidance Arts were only lv1, seemed not to know the meaning of the word tired. After several hours, not only was there no hint of exhaustion on their faces, they even looked as though they wanted more.

Song Chi could only helplessly attribute it to women's hidden talent for shopping. It had been the same in his previous life, and the Starsea era was no exception.

By the time it was nearly five in the afternoon, Song Chi could finally take no more. He directly stopped the three girls, who still wanted to continue, then drove them home one by one in the hovercar. Only after he and Song Ting returned home did this especially torturous day finally come to an end.

PS: The Black Mountain Society was originally an underground force in Jiangyuan City that was meant to appear later. This chapter was intended to introduce both this faction and a hidden plot thread. Perhaps the way I introduced it was wrong, since many readers felt it was too abrupt. It should be a little better now after the revision.