The Effects of Mental Power

A crowd of miners had gathered around the entrance to the ore vein, making quite a lively scene.

"Everyone, calm down. I know you won't eat if you don't dig, but who told you not to keep some Copper Coins on you?"

Steward Niu tucked his hands into his sleeves and drawled:

"There's a problem with the vein right now, so it needs to be sealed for a while, until a Big Shot from the Mountain River Sect comes to decide what to do.

You want to enter the Fire Crystal Mine at a time like this? That's just walking into a trap."

A Big Shot from the Mountain River Sect?

The miners, who had been raising a ruckus, fell silent at once.

"Scatter."

Steward Niu waved his hand.

The miners looked at each other, then could only trudge away with their heads hanging.

"What do we do!? We already went hungry all day yesterday. If we can't mine today, does that mean another day of starving?"

Lin Guoliang looked at Chen Xu, his face pale:

"I can handle it, but Mengmeng can't."

Wu Meng looked a bit weak.

Chen Xu's expression turned serious. He knew something must have gone wrong in the vein.

No telling when it would be unsealed.

"No choice but to..."

He spotted Yang Ling.

Chen Xu gritted his teeth and hurried over:

"Brother Yang, can you lend us a bit more money? With the mine closed these days, we're at the end of our rope..."

Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng's eyes lit up, and they immediately crowded in.

"How many days have you gone hungry?"

Yang Ling smiled.

Chen Xu gave a bitter laugh: "We haven't eaten since yesterday."

"I've got some Dry Rations here. Take them to tide you over. I figure another two or three days should be about it."

Yang Ling handed six of his Buns to Chen Xu.

Chen Xu was overjoyed.

But Wu Meng blurted out, "These Buns are hard. I ate one before and it wasn't good at all."

"When you're starving, who cares if it tastes good?"

Yang Ling chuckled. "They fill you up better than steamed buns."

With that, Yang Ling turned and left.

Since he couldn't go down the mine, he'd just have to grind his Collapse Mountain Fist proficiency.

Chen Xu divided the Buns between Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng, chewing as he said:

"Brother Yang is a good man. Out of all these miners, he's the only one who's helped us twice."

Lin Guoliang wolfed down the Buns:

"Good or not, he's just an NPC. Here, we still have to rely on ourselves."

Chen Xu glanced at him, then asked casually:

"Have either of you noticed anything off with your bodies these past couple of days?"

"Off? My stomach hurts from not eating."

Lin Guoliang said without thinking.

Wu Meng: "The bed boards here are too hard. I miss my mattress."

"..."

Chen Xu instinctively clenched his fist.

He'd noticed that the day before the mine was sealed, his strength had inexplicably increased a lot.

"At the time, a warm current surged inside me. The strength boost must have been related to it."

"Is this what Level Up from mining looks like? Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng have been slacking off lately, sneaking breaks. So they haven't leveled up yet?"

"Should I tell them about this..."

Chen Xu hesitated inwardly.

"Chen Xu, we don't know how long the mine will be sealed. Go catch up to that NPC and borrow some more Copper Coins.

Me and Wu Meng haven't had a proper meal in ages. I want to treat her to something good tonight."

Lin Guoliang spoke.

Forget it, I won't say more.

Chen Xu turned and left:

"If you want to borrow it, go borrow it yourself."

"Tch, who do you think you're fooling?"

Lin Guoliang's brow furrowed slightly.

Outside Miner's Village, there was a very conspicuous courtyard.

That was Supervisor Wu's residence.

Yang Ling saw Zhang Wei walking out of it, ecstatic, and knew the bastard had bought an official identity.

He was no longer a Refugee.

"Zhang Wei's Zhang Family Leg Technique is only at Beginner. I wonder how much proficiency he has, how many points short of First Glimpse of the Door?"

Yang Ling's mind stirred.

Zhang Wei also spotted Yang Ling staring at him without moving, and a flicker of guilt rose in his heart.

But as soon as he thought of his law-abiding citizen status, he puffed out his chest, walked up to Yang Ling, and smiled:

"Yang Ling, I'm not a Refugee anymore. I've registered in Qingshan City's census.

I'm leaving tomorrow to find work in Qingshan City."

"Oh, congratulations then. But shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

Yang Ling said flatly.

"What explanation?"

Zhang Wei feigned ignorance.

"Collapse Mountain Fist's training threshold requires 8 Strength and 3 Mental Power."

"You only mentioned the Strength threshold back then. You didn't say a word about Mental Power."

Yang Ling said.

"Really? I might have forgotten."

Zhang Wei smiled: "Don't worry, once your Mental Power improves later, you'll be able to train Collapse Mountain Fist."

"My Mental Power happens to be 3 points, so I've already learned Collapse Mountain Fist."

Yang Ling said.

Zhang Wei froze for a moment, then stared at Yang Ling in disbelief:

"Why is your Mental Power 3 points? How come I only..."

He immediately shut his mouth and didn't continue.

"Looks like you have at most 2 points, so you couldn't learn Collapse Mountain Fist, and that's why you sold it to me."

Yang Ling smiled: "I have to thank you for letting me become a Martial Artist."

"Damn it, why is this bastard's Mental Power so high? How is he 2 points higher than me?"

Zhang Wei cursed inwardly, then said flatly:

"Since that's the case, why are you still looking for me?"

"It's about proficiency."

Yang Ling glanced warily around Xi Zhou:

"Right now, you and I are the only two Players in the Ore Vein. You said earlier we'd share information—does that no longer count?"

"Proficiency? That'll increase as long as you train slowly."

Zhang Wei's expression shifted:

"When you train Collapse Mountain Fist, how long does it take to gain 1 point of proficiency?"