Chapter 381: Discovering Clues, Inspection Turmoil

The corpse was hung high up, covered in blood, having died a miserable death.

All the Mine Slaves fell silent upon seeing this scene.

They finally understood that the Gladiator Tournament was just a scam.

The mine would not let anyone leave at all.

Zhou Chen looked at Tie Shan's corpse, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes.

"As expected."

He turned and went back to the mine shaft, pretending to continue mining.

But in his heart, he already had new ideas.

A few more days passed.

The mine returned to tranquility, as if the Gladiator Tournament had never happened.

The Mine Slaves continued to mine mechanically, day after day.

Zhou Chen also behaved as usual, mining on time every day and completing his tasks.

But in secret, he was constantly cultivating and improving his strength.

Middle Stage of the Third Layer of the Venerable Realm…

Late Stage of the Third Layer of the Venerable Realm…

Peak of the Third Layer of the Venerable Realm…

His cultivation was steadily improving.

At the same time, he also continued to observe the movements of the Liu and Huang families.

He found that recently, the Huang Family's guards seemed to be investigating something in secret.

They often patrolled the mine, their Divine Sense sweeping through every mine shaft, as if searching for something.

"Interesting…"

A glint flashed in Zhou Chen's eyes: "What is the Huang Family looking for?"

"Could it be… related to that Associated Immortal Crystal Vein?"

He felt a stir in his heart.

Three days ago, Zhou Chen had intercepted the Associated Immortal Crystal Vein that Zhao Shitou was supposed to discover.

Now that the Huang Family's people were searching everywhere, it was very likely because they had discovered an anomaly.

"It seems I must be even more careful."

Zhou Chen was secretly on guard.

But just then, something suddenly happened at the mine.

This afternoon, while Zhou Chen was mining, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside the shaft.

"What's going on?"

He put down his iron pickaxe and walked out of the shaft to check.

He saw the mine manager, Steward Huang Tao, leading several Huang Family guards to search the nearby shafts.

"Hand over all the Ores you mined today!"

Steward Huang Tao said coldly: "The mine recently discovered a drop in Ore production and suspects someone is hoarding Ores."

"Therefore, all the Ores mined by the Mine Slaves today must be re-inspected!"

The Mine Slaves looked at each other, not daring to resist, and handed over their Ores one after another.

Steward Huang Tao's Divine Sense swept over every piece of Ore, inspecting them carefully.

Soon, he came to a shaft near Zhou Chen.

There were several Mine Slaves there who had just dug up quite a lot of Ore.

Steward Huang Tao took a look and suddenly sneered.

"These pieces of Ore are of good quality."

"According to the rules, you only need to hand over three Low Grade immortal crystals every day."

"But these pieces of Ore are worth at least five in total."

"The extra two will belong to the mine."

The faces of the Mine Slaves changed drastically.

"Steward, this is unfair!"

"Why should the Ores we worked so hard to mine be confiscated?"

"That's right, according to the rules, the part that exceeds the task should belong to us!"

Steward Huang Tao sneered: "Rules?"

"What I say is the rule!"

"Do you Mine Slaves even deserve to talk about rules with me?"

He waved his hand, signaling the guards to take the Ores away.

Just then, a figure suddenly stepped forward.

"Steward, please wait."

Everyone turned their heads and saw that the speaker was a Dao Child of the Jixia Academy.

His name was Li Yunfei, Sixth Layer of the Venerable Realm, and he was one of the Core Disciples of the Jixia Academy.

Because the academy was destroyed, he was transported to the Spirit Realm along with Zhou Chen and became a Mine Slave.

Li Yunfei stepped forward and said in a heavy voice: "Steward, according to the mine's rules, Mine Slaves only need to hand over three Low Grade immortal crystals every day."

"The part that exceeds the task should belong to the Mine Slaves themselves."

"Your forceful seizure of the Mine Slaves' Ores now does not comply with the rules."

Steward Huang Tao narrowed his eyes: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Li Yunfei cupped his hands: "Junior only wants to remind the Steward that the mine has its rules."

"If the rules are changed at will, I'm afraid it will cause dissatisfaction among the Mine Slaves."

Steward Huang Tao sneered: "Dissatisfaction?"

"A bunch of Mine Slaves dare to be dissatisfied?"

"Believe it or not, with just one word, I can make your life worse than death?"

The pressure of the Quasi-Immortal Realm First Layer erupted from him, enveloping Li Yunfei.

Li Yunfei's face turned pale, but he still gritted his teeth and persisted: "Steward, the Huang Family has always had a reputation for following the rules."

"Could it be… the rumors are wrong?"

A flash of killing intent appeared in Steward Huang Tao's eyes.

"Courting death!"

He raised his hand, and a palm print condensed from spiritual energy struck toward Li Yunfei.

Li Yunfei's face changed drastically; he wanted to dodge, but the pressure of the Quasi-Immortal Realm was too strong, and he couldn't move at all.

Just as the palm print was about to hit Li Yunfei, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

It was Old Man Zhang.

"Steward, please calm your anger!"

Old Man Zhang hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "This Mine Slave is a newcomer and doesn't understand the mine's rules. I hope the Steward can be magnanimous!"

"I apologize to you on his behalf!"

As he spoke, Old Man Zhang cupped his hands and bowed, his attitude extremely respectful.

Steward Huang Tao glanced at Old Man Zhang and snorted coldly.

"For the sake of your tactfulness, I won't hold it against him today."

"But…"

He pointed at Li Yunfei and said coldly: "If you dare to contradict me again, I'll make your life worse than death!"

After saying that, he led the guards and swaggered away.

Only then did Old Man Zhang breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Yunfei looked at Old Man Zhang, his eyes full of gratitude: "Old Zhang, thank you for stepping in to save me."

Old Zhang waved his hand: "In the future, never contradict the Steward again."

"In the mine, we are just Mine Slaves with no rights."

"If you want to survive, you must endure humiliation and carry a heavy burden."

Li Yunfei was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I understand."

But Zhou Chen could see a flash of unwillingness in Li Yunfei's eyes.

Clearly, this Dao Child of the Jixia Academy had not yet fully adapted to his identity as a Mine Slave.

"It seems…"

Zhou Chen thought to himself: "Li Yunfei's personality is too upright; it's very hard to survive in the mine."

"I must stay away from this kind of person, otherwise, trouble will arise sooner or later."

After Steward Huang Tao left, the atmosphere in the mine shaft remained oppressive.

The Mine Slaves whose Ores had been forcibly taken away were full of anger and unwillingness, but they didn't dare to show it.

In the mine, the words of a Quasi-Immortal Realm Steward were law; Mine Slaves didn't even have the qualification to resist.

Zhou Chen returned to his mining area, continuing to mine on the surface, but actually observing Li Yunfei in secret.

Li Yunfei stood at the entrance of the shaft, his fists clenched and his body trembling slightly.

Clearly, what had just happened made him extremely angry.

Over the next few days, the mine appeared calm on the surface.

But Zhou Chen could feel the undercurrents surging.

The incident where Steward Huang Tao forcibly seized the Ores that day had caused quite a stir among the Mine Slaves.

Many Mine Slaves discussed it privately, extremely dissatisfied with the Huang Family's actions.

But due to Steward Huang Tao's strength, no one dared to openly resist.

Meanwhile, the Huang Family's guards also increased their patrols of the mine.

Zhou Chen secretly heightened his vigilance.

He still mined normally every day, neither digging too much nor too little, completing exactly the task of three Low Grade immortal crystals each day.

He behaved extremely low-key, not attracting any attention.

At the same time, he was also cultivating in secret.

Using the supreme grade immortal crystals in the System space, his cultivation was steadily improving.

He was only one opportunity away from breaking through to the Fourth Layer of the Venerable Realm.