When Li Xinge arrived at the mine, the riot was already drawing to a close.
Most of these mine slaves had not even had weapons. After the merciless slaughter, the last embers of their fighting spirit finally died out.
The surviving slaves knelt on the ground, hands clasped over their heads in fear.
Seeing their clan head arrive, the Li Family cultivators all wore expressions of respect and bowed in unison.
The mine guards, meanwhile, dropped to one knee.
They shouted together, "Greetings, Clan Head!"
Their cries resounded across the entire mine.
The suppressed slaves began to tremble violently. They lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to move, their hearts filled with ever greater terror.
After all, their lives were in the hands of this young man.
Hearing the cries echoing across the mountains, Li Xinge was already used to such scenes. His heart remained unmoved.
With his hands behind his back, he walked forward at an unhurried pace.
Everyone within his sight lowered their heads. No one dared meet his gaze.
When he reached higher ground, Li Xinge slowly turned around. The scene fell instantly silent.
His expression was calm, giving no hint of joy or anger.
"You rebelled. I'm very displeased."
He spoke slowly.
At his words, all the slaves shuddered as one, their eyes turning ashen.
It seemed they would not escape death today.
But Li Xinge's next words rekindled their desire to live.
"I had originally intended to execute every one of you. But even Heaven cherishes life, and I am no different. I can give you another chance."
The slaves looked at him expectantly.
Li Xinge smiled and said slowly, "Next, I'm going to play a very interesting game with you."
"The rules are simple. You'll be divided into groups of five, and each of you will draw a lot."
"There are five lots: four red and one black."
"If you draw red, all you have to do is kill the person who drew black. Then your group will win the game, and you'll live."
"Of course, if you draw black, don't despair. If you can kill the other four in return, you can live too. What's more, I can even free you from your status as slaves."
"Don't ask me why. This is a world where the strong prey on the weak."
"The strong have the right to live."
Li Xinge finished speaking.
The slaves' breathing began to grow ragged.
The comrades who had just fought shoulder to shoulder now eyed one another with suspicion, scrutiny, and ill will.
An elderly slave stared wide-eyed at the elegant young nobleman on the platform. He seemed to see a hideous devil. Thinking of the terrible consequences, he stood up and shouted,
"Don't believe a word he says! If we really do what he tells us, we'll never have another chance to leave this place!"
Two Li Family cultivators charged forward in anger, drawing their blades, ready to execute the slave who had dared to offend their clan head.
But Li Xinge raised a hand.
The two cultivators did not understand, but they still checked their blades.
Their eyes remained fixed on the old slave, full of menace.
"Looks like you don't want this chance."
Li Xinge did not seem angry. He merely shook his head and spoke with indifference.
"No!"
Seeing the old slave about to cruelly snuff out the last glimmer of hope they had just been given, the other slaves glared at him.
"If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"
"I want to live! I don't want to die!"
"That old bastard is trying to get us killed!"
"Kill him, and we'll have a chance to survive!"
"Kill him!"
"Kill him!"
Under the old slave's disbelieving gaze,
the other slaves charged at him in a fury.
They knocked him to the ground without mercy.
Then they rained down fists and kicks, venting all the anger in their hearts.
Surrounded and beaten by the crowd,
the old slave did not fight back or cry out. He simply let them kick and punch him.
Only his cloudy eyes were filled with despair.
Before long, he had been beaten to within an inch of his life.
"You... will never... stand up again..."
The old slave looked at them with scorn, then slowly breathed his last.
Watching it all with cold eyes, Li Xinge's lips curved upward.
"You did very well. I'm satisfied. I now declare the game officially begun."
Li Xinge smiled harmlessly.
As soon as the words left his mouth,
the mine overseers all sprang into action.
Following the rules Li Xinge had laid out, they organized the mine slaves into groups and began the drawing.
Those who drew red lots beamed, joy and excitement showing on their faces, as if they could already see the light of survival.
Those who drew black lots looked as though they had just lost a loved one.
Of course, those who drew red still had to kill the person with the black lot for the game to end.
The black-lot holders, naturally, would not just sit and wait to die.
The brutal slaughter began anew.
Yesterday's companions were now enemies locked in a fight to the death.
Amid the flash of blades, the fragility of life and the complexity of human nature were laid bare.
Watching the slaves resort to every means imaginable to slaughter one another, the Fifth Elder looked at Li Xinge with awe and admiration.
"Clan Head, this move of yours is brilliant. Truly brilliant."
The Fifth Elder raised his thumb and exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.
Li Xinge shook his head. "It's nothing but a paltry trick."
The Fifth Elder burst into laughter.
"Clan Head, that slave seems rather unusual."
The Fifth Elder, who had been watching the slaves fight, suddenly pointed into the distance in amazement.
Li Xinge followed the direction of his finger.
He saw a frail slave who had drawn the black lot holding his own against the four slaves surrounding him.
Just moments ago, he had punched a burly slave flying.
Blood poured from the man's mouth. He was clearly on the verge of death.
If the frail slave had been a cultivator, Li Xinge might not have thought much of it.
After all, cultivators utterly dominated ordinary people.
But according to Li Xinge's senses, this slave was an utterly ordinary man, with not the slightest trace of spiritual power. Years of exploitation by the Li Family had left his body exceptionally weak.
And yet this frail man was somehow able to unleash strength far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Li Xinge raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
He focused his thoughts on the frail slave.
In an instant, rows of small red characters appeared above the man's head.
[Name: Huang Gou'er]
[Age: 17]
[Cultivation: None]
[Talent: Sixth-grade]
[Special Physique: Mad Demon Battle Body (not yet awakened)]
"Gasp..."
Even Li Xinge, with his composure,
could not help drawing a sharp breath when he saw Huang Gou'er's status panel.
He had Sixth-grade talent, and a rare special physique as well.
Either one of these would be enough to make an ordinary person a favored child of Heaven.
Possessing both, this boy's future was limitless.
Even Li Xinge himself could not compare with him in terms of talent.
At the thought, Li Xinge began to quietly weigh his options.
As time slipped by, the bloody game drew to a close.
After the last slave who had drawn the black lot was killed, the game was officially over.
Only two people had managed to overcome greater numbers in this game.
Unsurprisingly, Huang Gou'er was one of them.
Looking at the surviving slaves, their eyes wary and hostile toward one another, Li Xinge smiled.
He stepped forward and said with a smile, "I'm a man of my word. Congratulations on surviving the game."
Hearing this, the surviving slaves let out sighs of relief. Then, as though all their strength had been drained away, they collapsed to the ground and panted heavily.
Only those who had faced death could truly fear it.
With his hands behind his back, Li Xinge walked slowly over to Huang Gou'er and the other man who had drawn the black lot and survived.
The two men saw him and hurriedly knelt, lowering their heads and not daring to meet his gaze.
"Greetings, honored sir."
"Raise your heads."
Li Xinge's voice was calm.
At his words, the two men shakily lifted their heads.
The noble young master before them was so imposing that they could not help shivering.
"Tell me your names."
His gentle voice reached their ears.
"Your humble servant is Huang Gou'er."
"Honored sir, this here is Heipi."
Li Xinge nodded.
"I said earlier that the strong have the right to live. Of course, the strong can also choose their own fate. Now I'll give you both a chance to change yours. Are you willing to serve my Li Family?"
His tone was mild, yet left no room for refusal.
As the saying went, the wise adapted to the times. Those with truly unyielding spines would not have survived until now.
The two men agreed without the slightest hesitation.
They kowtowed and said, "We swear to serve you faithfully until death, and to serve the Li Family faithfully until death."
Li Xinge clapped his hands and laughed.
"Good, very good. I hope your performance will satisfy me."
Then he turned to the Fifth Elder beside him and said, "Fifth Elder, since these two are willing to serve the Li Family, appoint them as overseers under your command."
The Fifth Elder would naturally never disobey Li Xinge.
"Understood."
Huang Gou'er and Heipi were overjoyed. They bowed again in unison.
Compared to their former status as mine slaves, they had risen to the heavens in a single step.
Without spending any more time on the two men, Li Xinge led the Fifth Elder and the mine's senior officials to the meeting hall.
Li Xinge took the seat of honor without hesitation.
Then he said coldly, "Fifth Elder, do you have anything to say?"
At Li Xinge's words, Li Xuanqi's heart gave a jolt.
He hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed. "Clan Head, I was negligent and failed to detect this rebellion. I'm willing to accept full responsibility. Please punish me!"
Though Li Xinge was Li Xuanqi's junior, Li Xuanqi did not dare act superior on account of his age.
It was not only because Li Xinge was the clan head. His methods and strength made it impossible for Li Xuanqi to treat him as a junior.
Li Xinge closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Seeing even the chief steward acting so cautiously, the senior mine officials did not dare so much as breathe loudly. Their hearts were in their throats.
A minute passed, then another.
The atmosphere in the hall was oppressively tense.
At last, Li Xinge spoke, waving a hand. "I'll spare you punishment. But if this happens again, return to the clan lands and go into seclusion."
A bead of cold sweat appeared on the Fifth Elder's forehead. He hurriedly replied, "Thank you, Clan Head. If anything goes wrong at Silver Ridge Mine again, this old man will come to you with his head in his hands."
Li Xinge nodded, then said, "Silver Ridge Mine is the economic lifeline of the Li Family. Although the rebellion was suppressed in time, many slaves were killed or injured, and production at the mine has already been affected. You must restore production as soon as possible."
"Understood."
"Since there's nothing else, you may all leave. Fifth Elder, stay behind."
"Your subordinate takes his leave."
As everyone filed out, only Li Xinge and Fifth Elder remained in the hall.
"What else does the family head require?"
Fifth Elder asked respectfully.
Li Xinge rubbed his forehead, seeming to weigh some decision.
After a long while, he appeared to have made up his mind.
He said slowly, "That Huang Gou'er—find an opportunity to get rid of him!"
Fifth Elder was puzzled. He didn't know why the family head wanted to move against a slave, but he didn't dare hesitate for even a moment to carry out Li Xinge's order.
He hurriedly replied, "Yes."
It wasn't that Li Xinge envied Huang Gou'er's talent. At first, Li Xinge had indeed wanted to recruit him for his own use.
After all, Huang Gou'er's talent was truly terrifying.
If he were allowed to grow, he could become a colossus in his own right.
But unfortunately, he didn't bear the surname Li.
The Li Family wouldn't spend vast resources to focus on nurturing someone who wasn't a member of the family.
What's more, Huang Gou'er had been enslaved by the Li Family for years; it was hardly impossible that he harbored resentment toward them...
So the only choice was to eliminate this hidden danger.
Before you continue