Another half hour passed before the mining operation finally ended, and the exact number of Titanium Crystals obtained was finally counted.
After Song Chao and Shen Wenjie confirmed the count several times, the reserves of this tiny Titanium Crystal vein gave them quite a pleasant surprise.
Compared to the initial estimate of 1,000 to 2,000 crystals, the actual yield was considerably higher.
"We actually mined 2,420 Titanium Crystals. Looks like we got lucky."
Looking at the final tally, Shen Wenjie smiled. Titanium Crystals were strategic resources. Let alone more than two thousand of them—even if they had only mined two hundred, the time they had spent would still have been well worth it.
Song Chao was equally excited, but after the excitement faded, his gaze flickered, and he seemed hesitant to speak.
In the communication projection, Shen Wenjie keenly caught that hint of abnormality.
"Old Song, if you have something to say, just say it. There's nothing between us that needs holding back."
Song Chao gathered his thoughts for a moment before carefully explaining.
"Old Shen, you should know that person's identity too, right? What do you think—will Zhu Kang tell Zhu Yaokui about this?"
Hearing that Song Chao was referring to this matter, the delight on Shen Wenjie's face vanished and was replaced by solemnity.
As the captain of an inspection team with real authority in the Jiangyuan Kindling Bureau, Shen Wenjie's intelligence channels were naturally not lacking. He knew Zhu Kang's identity all too well.
The joy of obtaining the Titanium Crystals had temporarily pushed the matter aside, but now that Song Chao had brought it up, Shen Wenjie's head was pounding.
Given Zhu Yaokui's influence in Jiangyuan City, removing him from his position as inspection team captain would take no more than a word.
What, the laws of the Morning Star Duchy? Don't joke around. In this era of extraordinary powers, with floating continents separated by vast distances, the Morning Star Duchy—even the entire territory of Kindling Human Civilization—recognized only one law.
Kindling Warships of battleship class and above were forbidden from engaging in any form of internal conflict.
Other than that, as long as no one did anything too shocking—such as using a Kindling Starship to massacre civilians or openly starting a fleet battle involving over a hundred Kindling Starships—basically no one would truly investigate too strictly.
Anxiously, Shen Wenjie looked toward Song Chao.
"Old Song, do you have a solution? Just say it. You've only been in Jiangyuan City for twenty years, so there may be some things you don't understand.
Zhu Yaokui may seem rather amiable these days, but that only started after he became the president of Jiangyuan First Ember Academy. My father and the others said that more than a century ago, he was a ruthless man who killed without batting an eye."
As though afraid Song Chao might not take it seriously enough, Shen Wenjie added after finishing.
"Once he traces this back to us, even if I persuade the bureau chief to plead for us, I'm afraid it won't help."
Song Chao nodded. He fully agreed with Shen Wenjie's assessment.
In truth, he knew quite a bit about Zhu Yaokui. This man was an old-generation Kindling captain who had advanced to Third Rank more than two hundred years ago. How could Song Chao not keep an eye on someone who could practically cover the sky with one hand in Jiangyuan City?
It was precisely because he knew him that he had remained uneasy.
As for the bureau chief Shen Wenjie had mentioned, he meant the director of the Jiangyuan Kindling Bureau. Although his status was high, he was currently only stuck at the peak of Second Rank. He might have some standing before Zhu Yaokui, but not much.
After considering it for a while, Song Chao voiced his idea.
"In that case, I'll mention it to my old man. If he steps in, Zhu Yaokui most likely won't interfere. But if we do that, I'm afraid we'll have to give up half of these Titanium Crystals."
The reason Song Chao had found it difficult to bring this up earlier was exactly that. If he brought in his old man, they would naturally have to hand over a substantial portion of the Titanium Crystals. Even high-ranking Kindling captains lacked Titanium Crystals, and no one could resist the temptation of such a resource.
Shen Wenjie felt some pain in his heart. If it were only him and Song Chao splitting them, he could have received at least a thousand Titanium Crystals. But after thinking it over, he still gritted his teeth and agreed. Compared to Titanium Crystals, his life was naturally more important.
Even if Zhu Yaokui might not necessarily act against them, taking out insurance in advance was never wrong.
"Fine, we'll do it that way. Take half to ask the old master for help. Of the remaining 1,210 crystals, you and I each get 505, and the final 200 can be divided equally among the seven youngsters!"
It was a very reasonable distribution plan, and Song Chao quickly agreed. The two first put away their respective shares of 505 Titanium Crystals, while the remaining 200 were left for the seven Void Energy Airships to divide among themselves.
After repeatedly and solemnly warning everyone never to reveal any information concerning the Titanium Crystals, the group's nine Kindling Starships concealed their tracks and swiftly headed toward the White Tower Floating Continent.
After entering the White Tower Floating Continent, three Void Energy Airships separated from the fleet and headed toward several other cities on the continent.
The Kindling captains of the seven Void Energy Airships that had accompanied them this time were all trusted junior members of Song Chao's and Shen Wenjie's inner circles. The three Void Energy Airships that had just split off had been summoned by Song Chao.
If Song Chi had been present, he would definitely have recognized the three men. They were the sons of his eldest and second uncles, all his cousins. Each was older than him and had successfully awakened several years before he did.
Furthermore, Shen Qing, who had agreed to explore the ruins together later, was also among Shen Wenjie's group of juniors.
At the Myriad Heavens Market, Song Chi walked out of the All-Attribute Cultivation Room with intense excitement on his face.
Feeling the power within his body rise by another large margin, he marveled at the potent effects of the Advanced Body-Tempering Potion combined with a seven-hundred-year Deepwater Mussel Pearl.
The Guidance Art, which had only broken through a day earlier, had unexpectedly broken through again. The blood vitality fluctuations emanating from him and his overall physical attributes had clearly reached the level of Guidance Art lv7.
In less than five days, the Guidance Art had soared from just entering lv5 all the way to lv7. Such speed was truly astonishing.
With ordinary cultivation, it would have been impossible without at least three years.
Song Chi felt as though his steps were floating, and his body was intensely uncoordinated.
After carefully sensing himself for a while, he understood. It seemed his physique had changed too drastically over the past few days, leaving him temporarily unable to adapt.
Realizing this, the first thing Song Chi felt was relief.
When he had first emerged from seclusion, he had felt somewhat regretful that he had not used the Advanced Body-Tempering Potion neutralized with a nine-hundred-year Deepwater Mussel Pearl in one go.
Because of the state of his physique, he could only use that potion after his Guidance Art broke through to lv9 in the future.
Now, it seemed fortunate that he had not used that final Advanced Body-Tempering Potion. Otherwise, another drastic increase would definitely have caused enormous damage to his body.
Fast cultivation was certainly a good thing, but if the rate of improvement exceeded what one could control, it could no longer simply be called "fast." It would instead be a different kind of forcing growth.
Such improvement would cause irreparable damage to a cultivator's foundation.
Sensing his current condition, Song Chi abandoned his plans to leave the Market Ruins and turned around to enter the All-Attribute Cultivation Room again.
This time, he did not continue cultivating the Guidance Art. Instead, he continuously moved his body, wanting to adapt to his explosively increased strength as soon as possible and repair his lightly damaged foundation.
Half a day later.
Crack!
The bedroom door opened from within. Song Chi, who had basically adapted to the strength inside his body, walked out of the room. His eyes lit up when he saw that his father was still home.
However, unlike usual, Song Chao did not dare sit on the sofa this time. Instead, he stood ramrod straight, giving off the illusion that he was being extremely cautious.
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