Lu Lin dug a quick pit out of the ground and buried Qi Hu. Then, having made sure everything looked exactly as it had by cleaning up the bloodstains and signs of fighting, he left slowly and went on with his ore-seeking trip.
In the following days, Blood Wolves Gang's investigation continued, but, as Lu Lin expected, the spotlight never struck him, a 'Body Tempering First Level' rookie.
To an outsider, a rookie days into the Tempering Body Realm stood absolutely no chance of killing three far stronger old hands.
Eventually, the Gang turned its suspicious gaze toward the other gangs with whom they had had bad blood.
Gang wars had long been common in the mining area. As long as they did not become too hideous, the superintendent would not bother to intercede.
...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the depths of the mine, Lu Lin wiped splashes of sweat off as his pickaxe landed precisely. After only a few pickaxe strikes, another milky-white gleaming spot was revealed in the rock.
"The eighth piece!"
Lu Lin's breathing came fast.
In half a short Shichen, eight shoddy spiritual stones had been dug up in quick succession. The efficiency was simply horrific!
"The soil is purple and white with a clear pattern, the sand looks translucent like jade.... This is a rich vein not yet discovered, a 'nest of spiritual stones'!"
Based on Essential Guidance for Miners, Lu Lin made a quick judgment, his heart burning with excitement.
A 'nest of spiritual stones' must hold more than eight pieces.
Without any hesitation, he converted this one in hand into one month's Training Time, then buckled down even more to dig.
Sure enough, in the time it takes to make a pot of tea（about ten minutes）, the ninth piece was unearthed.
From noon to dusk, Lu Lin worked almost nonstop. After the last chunk of rock was pried open, he began counting his harvest---- eighty-one pieces in total! And the nest seemed not yet exhausted.
At nighttime, the mine would be thick with Yin-Qi(a kind of negative energy, often freezing-cold and undermining one's health). Lu Lin dared not stay any longer. With care, he covered the area with loose rocks, then went off quickly.
The next day, Lu Lin came back as fast as he could. Fortunately, this rich vein had yet to be discovered by anyone else. After over half a day's continuous digging, he harvested another fifty-one pieces.
The past two days added up to one hundred thirty-two pieces; plus his earlier hauls, the number of the shoddy spiritual stones he had dug up reached a staggering one hundred forty-four. They could be converted into twelve years' Training Time.
A sense of wealth that he had never felt before sprang up in him. Once again, he began searching with care. He did not stop until he determined that the place had already been exhausted.
"Improve Self-Concealment Technique first." Lu Lin started willing Training Time into Self-Concealment Technique. It cost him two years of it to elevate the Technique from Small Proficiency to Proficiency.
His Proficiency mastery of the Technique should be enough to help handle his current situation.
He came to a stop, took out the three Qi-Blood Pills that he had obtained from Li Zitong, and gulped them down. They immediately melted in him, releasing the immense medicinal power. He channeled a huge amount of Training Time into Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art at once.
[Through a month's hard training, the three Qi-Blood Pills have been absorbed, your Qi and Blood has grown explosively, and your training has progressed at a lightning speed. You have already reached the threshold of the Tempering Body Fourth Level.]
[The second month, with a lack of pills, you can only build up your Qi and Blood relying on food and the thin natural energy; your progress has declined sharply. ]
[The third month, your progress remains slow...]
....
[Through three consecutive years' hard training, your Qi and Blood has already hit the limit of the Tempering Body First Level, roaring and howling like a churning sea. However, without the following Tendon and Flesh Tempering part of Demonic Ape Qi-Blood Art, you have been stuck at a bottleneck and cannot make an inch of headway. ]
Lu Lin had to stop, his brows knitted.
The Body Tempering Fourth Level to the Sixth was the stage of Tendon and Flesh Tempering, where a practitioner tempered his tendons and flesh using an ample reservoir of Qi and Blood, until they became as hard and resilient as steel.
But he only had the training method for the first three Levels---the Qi and Blood Nurturing part---- of Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art.
In line with the Demonic Sect's rules, one had to reach the Body Tempering Third Level before receiving the following training method. But, a mere month into the First Level, were he to reveal himself to be at the Third Level, he would be certain to be seen as a weirdo instead of a genius and to draw an immortal's attention, a consequence he hated to think of.
"I have to stop training in Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art, but I mustn't stop improving my Realm. There are other martial arts for sale in Xuesha City. Can I train in multiple martial arts at the same time? " Lu Lin sank into deep thoughts.
The bookshop, Tens of Thousands of Volumes, housed complete Body Tempering martial arts. Though pale in comparison to Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art, at least they provided a pathway to the Body Tempering Tenth Level.
With a high Realm, he would naturally not have a weak strength.
Fortunately, in a few days it would be his day off.
....
Four days later.
Lu Lin came to the goateed superintendent again, asking for a day off.
"No problem, but wait a minute, there's a task for you." The superintendent said slowly.
"Task?" Lu Lin was a little surprised, but did not bring up a question about that.
In the time a stick of incense takes to burn out, a total of eleven men, including Lu Lin, were summoned here.
"The eleven of you want to go down to Xuesha City today. There happens to be a task for you all." The goateed superintendent instructed, "At the hour of Hai (from 9 to 11 p.m.)tonight, get to the Linyuan Pavilion and take two packages. Inside, there are Qi-Blood Pills and Tendon-Tempering Pills. After that, head to our Sect's outpost in the west of the city and stay there for tonight. There is a new batch of miners there. You are to escort them to the Xuan-iron mining area tomorrow."
"Tomorrow, you're off the hook for mining. Consider that your reward for the errands. Understand? "
"Understood!" They answered in full chorus.
He took his pay for this month, which had been docked into sixty silver coins. Plus the twenty-six that he had left, he now had a total of eighty-six. The eleven of them went down the mountain together.
On his second visit to Xuesha City, Lu Lin still did not have much money on him.
Like before, he had turned in four shoddy spiritual stones this month, as part of the disguise that he viewed as necessary. It would be too suspicious to come back empty-handed a whole month.
It was okay that you'd had bad luck and dug up fewer, but you couldn't possibly have gotten nothing.
It would be clearly weird if you had mined not a single shoddy spiritual stone in a full month.
Eighty-six silver coins could hardly buy you a decent set of martial arts.
But Lu Lin had made preparations.
The shoddy spiritual stones that he had dug up these few days remained in the Inner Space. He had not converted them into Training Time.
They would sell pretty well if you could sell them.
He first wandered around the city for a while and bought a wide-brimmed cloak that covered him all over, hiding what there was to hide. Then, he found a large weapon and material shop and walked in.
"Sir, how can I help you?" A middle-aged shopkeeper came up, showing little surprise at Lu Lin's appearance.
"I have shoddy spiritual stones to sell. You buying?" Lu Lin asked in a low voice.
"Shoddy spiritual stones?" The shopkeeper's eyes sparkled. "Yes! Of course! Sell to us any you have!"
"For all I know, the energy in a spirit stone is tonic for an immortal but poison for a warrior. What do you use it for?" Lu Lin feigned curiosity.
"Among immortals are rogue cultivators with no sect to call home and meagre resources. Naturally, these shoddy spiritual stones would be supplied to them." The shopkeeper explained, then thrust out three fingers, "Three hundred silver coins apiece, a most honest price."
Three hundred silver coins!
Lu Lin's eyelids twitched.
The reward that the Xuesha Demonic Sect gave was ten silver coins, simply too unfair.
"I have ten pieces." Lu Lin said in a deep voice.
"It's a deal!"
A while later, with silver certificates, the equivalent of three thousand coins in his bosom, Lu Lin stepped into Tens of Thousands of Volumes once again.
Needing no guidance, he climbed straight to the second floor and picked up a set of martial arts---Steel Elephant Body---like having a clear objective.
It was split into ten levels, covering the training methods from the Body Tempering First Level to the Tenth Level.
The sticker price: One thousand six hundred silver coins.
A complete set of martial arts was indeed pricey, unlike Self Concealment Technique's sort which was commonplace everywhere.
If only he could buy a top-notch set of martial arts that led up to the Inherence Blood-Qi Realm. But it was obvious that there were none in Tens of Thousands of Volumes.
Most precious training methods that cleared that bar were firmly in the hands of cultivation sects.
After settling the bill, Lu Lin came to a lonely corner and willed Steel Elephant Body into the Inner Space.
Then, taking off his cloak, he strode toward that familiar marketplace in an attempt to try his luck.
Last time, two silver coins had bought him three years' Training Time; his chancing upon that hidden gem was unforgettable.
"Whoa! Lad! Here you are again! Come on! There is a new batch of goods. See if any catch your eye."
This lean monkey of a hawker had an eye sharp enough to recognize Lu Lin at first sight and immediately excitedly called out to him like an acquaintance.
Wordless and expressionless, Lu Lin drew near the stall, his gaze scanning those 'antiques' with affected casualness.
The next moment, his eyebrow raised.
Once again, from the Martial Dao Furnace deep in his mind came the familiar quiver.
Another harvest to reap!