Calming the Elders

Was this even human?

Qi Ruming's face turned from green to pale and back again.

He'd just been bragging in front of Lin Chen.

Then Lin Chen made a move and crushed him outright—a man who'd mined for thirty-eight years.

What kind of skill was that?

One swing of the pickaxe, and an entire patch of ore broke loose.

Even if Qi Ruming mined for a hundred years, he'd never reach that level!

Qi Ruming just couldn't wrap his head around it.

But Lin Chen didn't give him the chance. He hefted his pickaxe and charged off.

Ore scattered everywhere.

Thud! Thud! Thud...

The more Lin Chen smashed, the more fired up he got.

By the time Qi Ruming came back to his senses, Lin Chen had cleared the whole area around them.

When Qi Ruming reached him, Lin Chen had already used his Storage Pouch to collect all the ore.

"Third Senior Brother, there are thirty thousand eight hundred and seventeen pieces in total. Is that enough?"

Lin Chen held out the Storage Pouch to Qi Ruming.

Qi Ruming touched the pouch, feeling as if he were dreaming.

Hahahaha...

It took a good while before he finally burst out laughing.

"This'll last me a long time." He weighed the Storage Pouch in his hand, then grinned and gave Lin Chen a thumbs-up. "Little Junior Brother, you're the best. Come on, let's head back to the sect."

The two returned to the sect with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Their arrival sparked another round of excited discussion.

This time, Lin Chen had become famous for good.

After handing in the task, he returned to Sect Leader Peak and immediately saw a crowd of elders gathered there.

"What's going on?" Qi Ruming glanced at Lin Chen, looking a little bewildered.

Lin Chen had no idea either. Before he could answer, a group of elders had already surrounded them.

"Lin Chen, have you taken a master?" Elder Liu, who had been in charge of the assessment, was the first to step forward and ask.

Lin Chen looked down at his clothes and nodded blankly.

"Oh, no! How could you take a master? You're so young. Why the rush?"

"I heard you even cook for them and clean up. What kind of Inner Disciple has to do chores like that?"

"Exactly! Why not sever your master-disciple ties and come to the Scripture Depository? I guarantee you can do whatever you want all day."

"Why go to the Scripture Depository? Come to the Alchemy Hall..."

"Bullshit! If he's going anywhere, he should come to the Artifact Refining Hall..."

The elders all fought to claim him, tugging at one another.

Lin Chen was passed from hand to hand.

Qi Ruming, meanwhile, was shoved aside. He stood there with great interest, watching the commotion.

A moment later, he secretly took out his Token and sent Zhao Qingshan a message.

"Master, a whole crowd of elders is fighting over your little disciple. It's quite a sight."

He even attached a video before continuing to watch from the sidelines.

At that moment, the elders were arguing so fiercely that their faces had turned red.

Some had even started pushing and shoving.

"Elders, hear me out!"

At the crucial moment, Lin Chen bellowed, finally calming things down.

The elders glared at one another and snorted before finally stopping.

Seeing this, Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm truly grateful for the elders' kindness, but I've already taken a master on Sect Leader Peak. I would never betray my master or abandon the path.

"If I really did that, could any of you honestly say you'd trust me?"

His question cooled the elders' anger.

"Honestly, I'm already in the sect. I can't exactly run away, so what are you all worried about?"

He straightened his clothes. "You elders just want me to join your branches. How is that any different from the way things are now?"

The elders were at a loss for words.

"More importantly, my cultivation is too low right now. Even if I went to your places, I wouldn't be much use."

At that, the Scripture Depository Elder protested.

"That's not true. We need brains, unlike them, who rely on brute strength. Come to my place, and I'll give you whatever you want."

"Bullshit! Since when do we rely on brute strength? Runes, Formations—which of those doesn't take brains? Which doesn't depend on talent?"

"Exactly! You old fossil from the Scripture Depository, watch what you say. Alchemy takes talent too."

"What? I said it. So what?"

"Hey, you old fossil, your skin's itching for a beating, isn't it? Get him!"

In an instant, chaos erupted again.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Lin Chen stood in the middle, doing his best to break it up.

He was completely speechless in the face of a crowd of elders like this.

The main thing was, they all meant well.

Any other disciple would have been over the moon to receive this kind of treatment.

But Lin Chen was deeply troubled.

Just as the elders looked ready to start fighting again, his eyes suddenly lit up. He'd thought of an idea.

"Elders, I have a suggestion."

Lin Chen shouted, "Everyone, stop for a moment and hear me out."

At last, the elders settled down again, and Lin Chen hurriedly spoke.

"How about this? When my master returns, you can discuss it with him and let me take on some part-time work at your branches?"

Part-time work?

The elders had never heard the term before and didn't quite understand what he meant.

Lin Chen could only explain. "I mean, as long as it doesn't interfere with my duties on Sect Leader Peak, I can set aside time to study and work at each of your branches. It's just that my spiritual root..."

"You don't need to worry about that. We'll find Heavenly Treasures to make up for your deficient foundation."

"Then it's settled?" Lin Chen looked at the elders.

The elders looked at one another, then could only nod.

Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just a delaying tactic.

Whatever happened later, he'd deal with it then.

After seeing the elders off, Lin Chen let out a long breath. "It's hard being so outstanding. Wherever I go, everyone wants me."

"Oh, give it a rest!" Qi Ruming stepped forward and punched him.

The blow landed with a metallic clang.

Qi Ruming stared at Lin Chen in surprise, then punched him a few more times.

It felt the same.

"What kind of armor are you wearing? Did Master give you another treasure?"

As he spoke, he felt around Lin Chen's body.

"What treasure?"

Lin Chen jumped away. "My Body Forging Art reached the minor mastery stage, so my physical strength has increased. Now, Top-grade Magic Tools can't hurt me."

"You're a freak!" Qi Ruming thought back to when he'd first joined the sect. Compared with Lin Chen, he'd been nowhere close.

After everything that had happened at the mine, he was about ready to shut himself away.

Lin Chen seemed to see through his thoughts. "Third Senior Brother, aren't you proud to have a junior brother like me?"

"Hahaha... I'm proud!"

Qi Ruming immediately saw the bright side. No matter how amazing Lin Chen was, he was still Qi Ruming's junior brother.

Thinking of that, he cheered up again.

The two walked side by side up Sect Leader Peak.

"Little Junior Brother, do you know what kind of mission Master and the others went on? It's been half a month. Why haven't they come back yet?"

As they walked, Qi Ruming suddenly asked.

Lin Chen glanced at him and answered casually, "If Third Senior Brother doesn't know, how would I?"

"True."

The two went their separate ways.

Back in his room, Lin Chen began counting his Spirit Stones.

He'd previously obtained one hundred thousand and nine thousand, and had more than four thousand left over. That made a little over one hundred and thirteen thousand.

He'd spent sixty-three thousand to advance to the sixth layer of Spirit Attachment.

That left a little over fifty thousand.

Adding the Spirit Cores he'd obtained from killing the Mine Beasts, along with the spoils from killing that person from the Raksha Sect,

it all came to just fifty-one thousand Spirit Stones.

"Not enough!"

The seventh layer of Spirit Attachment required sixty-four thousand Spirit Stones. He was still short by more than ten thousand.

"I wonder how much of a reward Master and the others will give me when they get back."

Lin Chen took out the Token he'd looted from the Raksha Sect, along with the Black Token his father had left behind.

The two Tokens looked very similar on the outside.

Lin Chen examined them closely and soon spotted the differences.

The Raksha Sect Token had dark-red patterns and gave off a bloody smell.

The Token his father had left behind had golden-yellow patterns and a faint, delicate fragrance.

He remembered that Qi Ruming had also seen this Token when he examined the Iron Box earlier.

Qi Ruming hadn't said anything about it.

Could this Token represent something else?

"Little Junior Brother, I opened the Iron Box!"

Just as he was studying the Token, Qi Ruming came running over.