10 Mine

After dealing with the sabertooth tiger, Su Weiwei's gaze immediately settled on Xia Ming and the other two. Her eyes lingered longest on Tang Ge. After a moment, she spoke, "Tang Ge, a first-year fifth-level Battle Master of Azure Flame Academy?"

It sounded like a question, yet it carried absolute certainty. Her voice was crisp and ethereal, like clear springs striking against one another—cool and limpid, with an unusual magic to it.

The question instantly excited Tang Ge. Looking flattered beyond measure, he flexed his muscles and loudly declared, "Miss Weiwei actually knows me? I am indeed Tang Ge, a first-year fifth-level warrior of Azure Flame Academy. I'm honest and dependable, diligent and ambitious, and I still don't have a girlfriend..."

Tang Ge's endless babbling left Xia Ming speechless. Sherlock slapped his forehead, his face flushing red as he hurriedly drew a line between himself and Tang Ge, claiming not to know this ridiculous disgrace.

"Miss Su Weiwei." Choosing to selectively ignore Tang Ge's clowning, Xia Ming gave Su Weiwei a standard knight's salute. "Sorry to disturb you. The three of us accepted a quest from the Adventurers' Guild, and the target was precisely this sabertooth tiger. If Miss Su Weiwei has no need for its saber fangs, could you sell them to us?"

Xia Ming was somewhat depressed. The duck that had already been cooked had flown away. To complete their quest, he could only ask the knightly girl before him.

"Sure." Su Weiwei's reply was brief and direct. A flash of icy battle aura cut off the sabertooth tiger's saber fangs, and she casually tossed them to Xia Ming.

Xia Ming caught the fangs and was just about to pay her in gold when Su Weiwei shook her head, indicating that she required no compensation.

"Miss Weiwei truly has a broad mind and generous heart! A model knight, an exemplar for our generation..." Tang Ge, who couldn't walk straight whenever he saw a beauty, started mooning over her again, giving Xia Ming the urge to slap him to death.

Although the sabertooth tiger had been ruthlessly slain by Su Weiwei, Xia Ming's group still obtained the quest item—the sabertooth tiger's saber fangs—so their trip had not been in vain. Though getting the fangs so easily gave them no sense of accomplishment, what was done was done.

"Let's head back." Sherlock was somewhat listless as well and made the suggestion.

Xia Ming had just intended to move when he suddenly paused. He sensed a strange magical fluctuation from within the cave.

At the same time, Su Weiwei's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her bright eyes suddenly lit up.

"This cave..." Xia Ming and Su Weiwei both noticed the change in the other. Their eyes met, and each caught a hint of something unusual in the other's gaze.

Watching the two of them act so mysteriously, Tang Ge asked bluntly, "What is it? Is there something wrong with this cave?"

Xia Ming remained silent. His magical talent was astonishing, and his spiritual power exceptionally sharp. Just now, he had suddenly sensed a surge of magic within the cave, which meant there had to be something else inside!

Su Weiwei was no ordinary person either. For some unknown reason, she too had detected the anomaly in the depths of the cave. That was why the two had exchanged that knowing glance.

"The magical fluctuations in the depths of this cave are rather unusual. There may be something good inside." Su Weiwei naturally had no intention of explaining herself, so Xia Ming shrugged and spoke.

Upon hearing Xia Ming's words, Sherlock and Tang Ge's eyes both went wide with anticipation. Tang Ge rubbed his hands together and chuckled. "Then what are we waiting for? Come on, let's go in and take a look!"

Tang Ge led the way, with Sherlock eagerly trotting after him. Xia Ming followed next. As for Su Weiwei, she paused briefly before following as well.

The cave was pitch-black, yet the scorching heat within grew even more intense. The entire cave was much like a maze, twisting and winding all the way through. Its walls were bare stone, covered in a layer of dampness that added several degrees of gloom.

Even with Xia Ming and Sherlock casting illumination spells, they could only barely make out the area within ten meters. Beyond that, they could not see clearly no matter what.

The place was like an ant nest, extending in all directions. There were several entrances, each branching off into more passages, leaving the group rather dizzy and uncertain which way to go.

Yet Xia Ming stared thoughtfully at the veins in the cave rock. After a long while, he said in a low voice, "It seems this cave truly is no ordinary place. There are probably rare magical ores and materials inside."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Rare ore? What kind? Could it be peerless ores like Star Iron, Emerald Crystal, or Eternity Meteoric Iron?" Unlike Sherlock, who was curious how Xia Ming knew there were ores here, Tang Ge had already begun fantasizing about the cave being filled with rare minerals. The more he thought about it, the closer he came to drooling.

Xia Ming smiled. Having inherited the knowledge of the [Book of Eternity], his understanding of magical materials and ores could be called master-level without exaggeration. He was also intimately familiar with the properties of these minerals.

The distribution of the rocks here and the patterns of their veins undoubtedly indicated the presence of magical ore materials within this cave.

Su Weiwei's beautiful eyes remained fixed on Xia Ming, as though she were waiting for him to continue.

Xia Ming carefully examined the paths of the rock veins. Following them, he unexpectedly noticed a faint metallic sheen. It was extremely difficult to detect and had been overlooked at first.

"This way!"

Xia Ming made his decision without hesitation and moved to the front.

Tang Ge and the others exchanged glances. They had not expected him to be so certain, as if he were an ore master. They could not help grumbling inwardly, This kid is too mysterious. His magic is only third-level, yet his magical techniques are absurdly powerful. Now he's even skilled at mining. Just where did this guy come from...

Su Weiwei's gaze upon Xia Ming also gained a trace of scrutiny. Any person would be astonished to see a mage transform into a mining master in the blink of an eye.

Xia Ming walked at the front and entered one of the cave openings.

He had indeed been right. The closer they came to that passage, the clearer the faint glow became. In the end, not only Su Weiwei—even Tang Ge and Sherlock noticed something unusual.

At the end of the passage, a pale earthy-yellow radiance spread through the cave, soft yet translucent. Xia Ming recognized it at a glance: it was the distinctive glow of Earth Essence Gold. Earth Essence Gold was a stable metal. A piece no larger than an egg could enhance a suit of armor or a weapon's defensive and magic resistance properties, with remarkable effect.

The Earth Essence Gold reserves in this vein were fairly abundant. Xia Ming roughly calculated that the ore could yield enough refined Earth Essence Gold to forge five suits of armor.

"This is Earth Essence Gold." Su Weiwei was highly knowledgeable as well, and a flicker of surprise appeared in her bright eyes.

Earth Essence Gold!

Tang Ge and Sherlock had both heard of Earth Essence Gold. Though it was not some peerless rare ore material, it was still considered precious. Earth Essence Gold was worth far more than a sabertooth tiger; a palm-sized piece could sell for over ten thousand gold coins!

And it was not merely a matter of gold. If one could wear a full set of equipment forged from Earth Essence Gold... Tang Ge was on the verge of drooling again.

For professions such as warriors and knights, the demand for Earth Essence Gold was obviously far greater than it was for mages. Possessing armor or a weapon forged from Earth Essence Gold was practically the dream of every warrior.

Xia Ming calmly observed the ore vein. There was definitely Earth Essence Gold here, but according to the records in the [Book of Eternity], associated gemstones were also highly likely to exist around an Earth Essence Gold vein. That was the most precious aspect of an Earth Essence Gold deposit!

What if they really found rare associated gemstones—especially rare magical gems...

At that thought, even Xia Ming, with his tranquil temperament, could not help feeling waves of excitement rise within him.