A Bad News! A Good News! Please Keep Reading! Please Vote!

Charge! Accelerate!

The youth stood at the very front of the Soul Guidance Wooden Cart, leading the Spirit Hall Spirit Masters behind him as they ran beneath the setting sun.

As night approached, a silver moon hung high overhead and the river of stars seemed to pour down from the heavens. Chen Hong and the others, filthy and disheveled, finally arrived atop a hill outside White Cloud Village.

Chen Hong, with a few broken leaves still caught in his hair, scratched his head awkwardly and cautiously said to Hu Liena, who wore a dark purple rose-red dress, her beautiful face still bearing a few scrapes and her pale red eyes still holding undissipated anger, "Um... can I make you a better cart? Don't be angry anymore. We've already reached White Cloud Village. The place where we found the Soul Guidance Mithril Ore is right ahead."

When the Soul Guidance Wooden Cart had sped along the rough dirt road at a hundred kilometers per hour, it was fortunate that the Spirit Hall Elder and Bishop Suotuo had protected them. Otherwise, Chen Hong, Hu Liena, and Chen Lin would have been injured far more seriously.

Hu Liena instinctively tidied her somewhat messy hair, shot Chen Hong an annoyed glare, and then said coldly, "Pay more attention to your safety in the future. Not every time will someone be able to save you."

"Ah..." Chen Hong looked up at Hu Liena, his gaze briefly blank. Gentle moonlight draped over the girl's hair as it fluttered in the wind. The seductive charm at the corners of her eyes had faded, leaving behind the sincerity and purity that should have belonged to her.

"...Thank you for your concern. I'll be more careful in the future." After a brief silence, Chen Hong answered seriously. Then, he led the Spirit Hall group through the night toward the back mountain of White Cloud Village.

"Follow me. Let's survey the mining area now, so we can sleep peacefully."

Chen Hong led the group through the night toward the place where he had discovered the Soul Guidance Mithril Raw Ore. With the help of the high-level Spirit Masters from Spirit Hall, they soon reached a small sandy hill. With the assistance of the Spirit Hall Elder and Bishop Suotuo, they immediately began breaking open the mountain to extract stone.

Very soon, relying on his Psychic Martial Soul, Chen Hong compared the composition of the scattered stone materials within the mine tunnel that the Spirit Hall Elder and the others had carved out with their soul skills.

"Hu Liena, the results are in." Chen Hong poked his filthy head out of the mining pit and looked at Hu Liena, who stood outside beneath the moonlight, boredly admiring the distinctive scenery of the mountains shrouded in darkness.

"Oh? What are the results?" Hu Liena stood atop the small hill, watching candlelight begin to flicker in every household in the nearby village. Her voice was calm and ethereal.

Chen Hong looked up at Hu Liena on the hilltop. She gazed at the moonlight, yet seemed to have become a part of that moonlight herself. He suddenly smiled.

"One good news and one bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Hm?" Hu Liena frowned and looked down at Chen Hong. The people from Spirit Hall also gradually stopped digging. After all, they were not professionals and could not distinguish the components within the ore.

"I want to hear both at once."

"Ah?" Chen Hong's head instantly felt twice as large. He stared blankly at Hu Liena, the CPU in his brain already burnt out.

"Hehe~ Go on, then. I'll hear the bad news first." Seeing that her little scheme had succeeded, Hu Liena chuckled and looked clearly at Chen Hong below.

Was a Soul Guidance Mithril Ore Vein important?

In the past, Hu Liena might have thought it was quite important. After all, it could at least equip many Spirit Hall Spirit Masters with simple Soul Tools.

But now, as Hu Liena looked at the dirt-covered Chen Hong below, she asked herself—was it still important?

Wasn't this bastard before her more important than a mountain of lifeless ore?

Hu Liena felt that the true harvest of this journey might be this bastard before her, whose brain was just a little abnormal.

"The bad news..." Chen Hong pondered slightly, as though thinking it over, before saying, "The composition of the ore below might not be as good as we imagined."

"And the good news?" Hu Liena asked with a smile. It was merely some minerals. Once she dragged this bastard back to Spirit City, ore from across the entire continent could be delivered to him.

"Ah?" Hu Liena's reaction seemed somewhat different from what Chen Hong had expected. He scratched his head, unable to figure it out, before grinning and revealing his white teeth.

"The good news is that the bad news was fake! We found a huge mine! Not only are there mineral components identical to Soul Guidance Mithril below, there's even an unknown Associated Ore! By estimation, the ore vein beneath this hill extends for at least three kilometers!"

"Are you happy? Is it surprising?!" Chen Hong laughed heartily as he waved his arms and danced at Hu Liena.

However, Hu Liena's expression grew darker and darker. Finally, Chen Hong noticed that something was wrong and stopped smiling. Then he heard Hu Liena say coldly, "Vice President Chen Lin, we will not stop you from teaching your son a lesson now."

Oh? There was such a good thing?

Upon hearing this in the mine pit, Chen Lin's face immediately blossomed with delight. Chen Hong had been far too jumpy along the way, and he had long wanted to pound him. Especially after the brat had driven them into a ditch, leaving his entire body still faintly aching. The Spirit Hall Elder had saved Hu Liena, and Bishop Suotuo had protected Chen Hong. He was the only one no one cared for or worried about, and he had nearly been smashed to pieces along with the Soul Guidance Wooden Cart.

"You brat, come over here and take your beating. I've been sick of the sight of you for a long time." Chen Lin walked toward Chen Hong with a chuckle.

Chen Hong's expression changed. He looked loftily at his father and threatened, "Old man, I advise you not to overstep your place. Know your position at the bottom of this family. When we get back, I'll tell Mom that you joined outsiders in bullying her precious son!"

"You little brat!" Chen Lin gave Chen Hong a knuckle to the head and laughed as he scolded him. Then, he turned to the Spirit Hall group with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. My son has always been a little too lively and likes spouting nonsense. He's caused everyone trouble. Please bear with him."

No matter what, he was Chen Hong's father. How could he possibly join outsiders in bullying his precious son, who had been smart since childhood?

He felt that his son had said something quite right. Compared to the family atmosphere of the Spirit Master friends around them, children in other families either buried themselves in cultivation or rarely came home from school. It was as though they had never had children at all. In his own family, although his son was so clever that Chen Lin's status in the household had sunk to the bottom, he still liked the atmosphere of his home.

Besides, weren't children born to be played with? Although only Ning Lu was qualified to play with him, he could occasionally get a little taste too, couldn't he?

Hu Liena watched the "friendly interaction" between Chen Lin and Chen Hong, and a trace of mixed emotion flashed through her eyes—perhaps envy, perhaps jealousy.

Were there any normal family relationships on the Douluo Continent? That was an excellent question.

Because the answer was... they were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. One could even say that normal was what was abnormal.

"It's fine. Send someone back to Spirit City to deliver the message. The rest should rest first."

Thanks for the monthly votes from You Really Are a Little Genius, Northwest Wind Chieftain, Yan Xiaobai, Book Friend 6257, Toneri, and Flying Cat! Heart gesture!