Completing the Mission

The two senior and junior brothers had never expected the two Demon Beasts to meet such an end.

Both had suffered grievous injuries.

With a thunderous crash, the two mountain-sized bodies collapsed to the ground.

Blood flowed, dyeing the rocks and trees red.

"Little Junior Brother, our chance has come."

Qi Ruming transformed into a streak of light and charged toward the brown bear. "Things could change if we delay. You go for the white tiger. Quickly!"

Lin Chen didn't hesitate either. A flash of escaping light later, he had landed right beside the white tiger.

The huge beast's entrails lay spilled across the ground. It was already dead.

He was just about to put it into his Storage Ring when he suddenly sensed a chilly presence striking from behind.

"There's someone else!"

Lin Chen's first reaction was to tilt his head to the side.

Sure enough, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a gleaming longsword fly past his ear.

The razor-sharp blade severed several strands of his hair.

It had been aimed at his head, meant to kill him in one strike.

He didn't turn around. Instead, he spread his Spiritual Sense and instantly picked up a figure in a tree thirty meters away.

The man wore a gray robe and watched him with a cold gaze.

Seeing that Lin Chen had dodged his attack, the man flicked his fingers in a sword art. The Flying Sword that had shot past him instantly turned around and came flying back.

At the same time, Lin Chen pointed with a finger, and a Top Grade Magic Artifact's Flying Sword flew out of his ring.

It shot straight toward the tree behind him.

The man in the tree was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Lin Chen to pinpoint his position so quickly.

But...

Trying to match his speed was simply asking to die.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He didn't even try to dodge, instead controlling his Flying Sword to hurtle straight toward Lin Chen's head.

However, he had miscalculated.

Lin Chen's Flying Sword split into two.

One continued hurtling toward the man, its speed only increasing.

The other changed direction and shot straight toward his Flying Sword.

The two Flying Swords collided and bounced away from each other.

The other Flying Sword went pu and pierced through the man's throat.

Then its blade flashed around and lopped off his head.

After killing the man, Lin Chen hurriedly stowed the white tiger's corpse and recalled his Flying Sword.

Next, he picked up the spoils.

Only then did he approach the Gray Robe.

"Little Junior Brother, what happened?"

Qi Ruming arrived just then.

Everything had happened too quickly; he hadn't seen it.

By the time he got there, the fight was already over.

"This man tried to ambush me." Lin Chen stepped forward, yanked the Storage Pouch from the Gray Robe's waist, and opened it.

With a clatter, its contents spilled onto the ground.

Spirit Stones, talismans, several Magic Artifacts...

Lin Chen reached out and drew a Black Token into his hand.

Looking at the Token, his heart stirred.

Its material and shape were both almost identical to the one his father had left behind.

"Third Senior Brother, do you recognize this Token?" Lin Chen held it out and looked up for help.

Qi Ruming took the Token, his brow furrowing slightly. "This looks like a Token from the Raksha Sect."

As he spoke, he went over to inspect the corpse and quickly found something.

"Little Junior Brother, look. This mark on his chest is the Raksha Sect's emblem. There's no mistake."

The news made Lin Chen's mind roar.

His parents had left behind the same kind of Token. Could it be that his whole family had belonged to the Raksha Sect?

Had this man simply stumbled across him and tried to kill him?

Or had he planned this for a long time, intending to silence him?

If his family had belonged to the Raksha Sect, why had they been hunted down?

If they hadn't, why had such a calamity befallen them?

The most important question was: what connection did the Raksha Sect have to the Devil Race?

And what entanglement did it have with the Green Mountain Sect?

Had He Yiliang been telling the truth?

A string of questions churned through his mind, nearly turning it to mush.

Were he and his family good people or bad?

Seeing his face go pale, Qi Ruming assumed he'd been frightened and hurried to reassure him.

"Don't worry, Little Junior Brother. Every member of the Raksha Sect is wicked. The moment they show their faces, Righteous Cultivators kill them. So you don't need to worry about retaliation, and there's even less reason to blame yourself."

His words might have helped if he hadn't tried to reassure him at all. Instead, Lin Chen felt even worse.

Qi Ruming gathered up everything on the ground and handed it to Lin Chen. He patted his shoulder and said:

"Little Junior Brother, I've already reported this to the sect. Someone will handle it. Come on, let's go complete the mission."

"Okay!"

Lin Chen was somewhat distracted.

When they reached the mission site, the Demon Beasts had indeed scattered.

"Third Senior Brother, focus on mining. I'll go kill Mine Beasts."

Lin Chen was troubled and needed to vent through a bout of killing.

"Little Junior Brother, be careful. Take this Jade Slip. If you run into danger, crush it at once." Qi Ruming could tell something was weighing on Lin Chen, but he didn't ask.

Lin Chen took the Jade Slip and turned toward the area around the mine.

By the time he'd walked over, he had already figured things out.

"Who cares what kind of person I used to be? I'm just me."

"I'm a cultivator who loves money like my life and earns it to level up."

"Once I grow strong enough, everything in my past will become an inspirational story."

Once he had sorted that out, Lin Chen felt clear-headed again.

When he looked at the Mine Beasts, his eyes were filled with fighting spirit.

"They're all mine!"

Lin Chen controlled his Flying Sword, killing every Mine Beast he came across with a single strike.

First-rank Mine Beasts were no match for him.

He completed the mission to kill one hundred first-rank Mine Beasts in just half an hour.

Looking at the fewer than fifty Spirit Cores in his hand, Lin Chen turned his gaze toward the distant part of the mine.

Even more Mine Beasts had gathered there.

But second-rank Demon Beasts could very well be hiding among them.

Mine Beasts were a kind of Demon Beast, strange creatures that fed on ore.

Demon Beasts were different. They were bloodthirsty, murderous, and savage creatures.

Lin Chen regretted not learning the Five Elements Dao Art beforehand. His methods of attack were too limited.

Against a horde of Demon Beasts, he couldn't launch a group attack, and his damage would be limited.

He decided not to waste time and headed straight for the mine.

Before long, he saw Qi Ruming swinging a specially made pickaxe, chipping away at the ore with a series of thuds.

"Third Senior Brother, I'll help you."

Lin Chen walked over and tried chopping at the ore with his Flying Sword.

Clang, clang, clang...

A string of sharp clinks rang out. His wrist went numb from the jolts, but the ore didn't budge.

"Hahaha... Little Junior Brother, your Flying Sword can't cut through it. You have to use this."

Qi Ruming laughed and tossed Lin Chen a pickaxe.

"This is a mining tool—the secret is all in the 'shock.' You rely entirely on your own strength. Give it a try."

As he spoke, Qi Ruming rolled up his sleeves and demonstrated.

"Little Junior Brother, I've been mining for thirty-eight years. I can pass on my experience to you little by little."

Thud, thud, thud...

With just over a dozen strikes, Qi Ruming knocked loose a piece of purplish-copper ore.

It was the size of a palm and glimmered faintly.

"System, can I use gold coins to exchange for a perfect, top-level Mining Skill?"

Lin Chen looked as if he were learning, but in reality, he was asking the system.

[Mining is also a life skill and can be exchanged. Does the host want to exchange for it now?]

"Exchange!"

As soon as Lin Chen spoke, a mass of complicated memories flooded into his mind.

In an instant, he had become an old miner with hundreds of years of experience.

His knowledge of every mining technique had reached its peak.

When he gripped the pickaxe and looked at the ore, an almost imperceptible aura emanated from his body.

"How is it, Little Junior Brother? Have you learned it?"

Qi Ruming wiped the sweat from his brow. This really was hard physical labor. "It's all right if you haven't learned it. We can take it slowly."

"Third Senior Brother, I've learned it." Lin Chen raised his pickaxe, his gaze sharp.

Qi Ruming shook his head slightly. "This kind of physical labor isn't something you can master just by being quick-witted..."

Before he could finish, Lin Chen's pickaxe came down.

He felt the ground shudder beneath him, making both his feet jump.

Rubble clattered everywhere...

Then he saw all the ore within a radius of ten meters tumble to the ground.

Qi Ruming's eyes bulged, his jaw dropping to his chest.

The sight before him left him too shocked to speak.