As usual, the mine was filled by the rings of pickaxes. Thi En Tran and Bu Lan Deng walked side by side, looking much more dignified than the other slaves, for they knew that their time here was soon to be over. Thi En Tran was fairly surprised, since the slaves mined with the same enthusiasm as they did on the first day.
"The system here is highly efficient. I might try something similar in the future," Thi En Tran muttered to himself. Being the former heavenly demon, such cruel methods were not unknown to him.
Bu Lan Deng hauled both pickaxes over his shoulder but had a calm air around him, without a single hint of exhaustion. They travelled to a more secluded area of the mine, which led them to a large grey rock face. The absence of the shiny blue rocks typically indicated a lack of spirit stones in the area, which explained why nobody was mining here lest they dared to waste their time slaving away over nothing.
However, Thi En Tran now had just met the qualifications to call himself a cultivator, and with his skills came a heightened sensitivity to qi.
"Are you sure there's anything behind this wall brother Tran?" Bu Lan Deng asked with a face full of scepticism. He no longer felt like he had the ability to identify as his senior. Thi En Tran didn't care otherwise but he didn't bother to waste extra effort correcting him.
"I can feel the flow of qi, brother Bu. It is especially strong beyond this wall," Thi En Tran
said while giving it a smack. He gestured for Bu Lan Deng to hand him a pickaxe.
Gripping the wood shaft in his hand, he reeled back and struck the surface of the rock face.
BANG!
As Thi En Tran collided with the wall, countless vibrations could be felt reverberating through the ground and the air, bringing the ungodly ring of metal on stone.
Bu Lan Deng's mouth fell agape. With just a single swing of Thi En Tran's pickaxe it had left a hole big enough to fit a person's fist through.
"Are all cultivators this strong?" He wondered. Bu Lan Deng felt his breath quicken as soon he too could pull off such a feat, but his face remained stoic. Such power surely could not be so easy to obtain, right?
"That depends," Thi En Tran said while inspecting his work. "Are you just going to stand there all day?"
Bu Lan Deng felt slightly warm as he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed. "Ah right! Sorry..." He quickly rushed over and started mining alongside Thi En Tran. I don't think you need me, though, he mused.
With their combined pace, chunks of rock flew off the wall at rapid speeds, being a potential danger for those around, if there even was anyone else. In about half an incense stick worth time, Thi En Tran ripped his pickaxe out of the wall which finally revealed a dazzling sparkle.
"Spirit stones!" Thi En Tran called, which promptly caused Bu Lan Deng to run over to his location.
Normally, spirit stones were white with a bluish hue to them and had jagged edges. However, the light radiating from these were a pure deep lapis colour. Clearly these stones were of a much higher quality.
"Quickly, let's mine these before anybody else sees." Thi En Tran began circulating his qi through his body. "Don't hesitate to keep a couple for yourself, they'll be useful later."
With that, they both started rapidly clearing out the Spirit Stone vein.
...
"What a great harvest brother Tran!" Laughed Bu Lan Deng. Their bags were stuffed, their robes were full, and they both had Spirit Stones overflowing from their shirts.
Thi En Tran smiled to himself. "We can use these after our escape. Currency doesn't diminish in value regardless of where it came from."
"Agreed brother Tran. I'm already excited thinking about the luxuries I can afford in the outside world!" Bu Lan Deng responded, staring hungrily at his haul.
As Thi En Tran walked, he felt that something was off. The air felt cold and there was a slight pressure, like the intense gaze of a predator. Thi En Tran continued to stroll calmly, as if not giving these people any face. When he used his powerful soul to sense his surroundings, he found that there were 6 people, and 3 of them had weak energy fluctuations radiating from their bodies.
After no response for a little while, Thi En Tran called out. "Friends, if you dare covet this king's treasures, you are free to try to take them."
He could tell that those hidden were suddenly startled from being exposed, but after a few breaths worth of time, the six figures appeared simultaneously, standing 20 metres away from Thi En Tran and Bu Lan Deng. Judging from the leather and plated armour, they were not other slaves like Thi En Tran expected, but actually the guards!
"Oh, there's actually someone skilled among these trash." The front man said, brandishing his spear. He was a pig-nosed cultivator, short and had pudgy stumps for legs. "Impressive seeing through our concealment."
"The concealment technique of trash is hardly worth my time." Thi En Tran snorted. This seemed to anger the man, his rage comparable to the ugly face of a chihuahua.
"Enough talking! Hand over all your spirit stones and kowtow to father here. Perhaps I may show you mercy."
Thi En Tran couldn't help but sigh. It's not like he hasn't heard this a million times in the past. Although it seemed to be getting more frequent. He knew that to gain the reverence of others, he must have immense strength.
"And if I refuse?" Thi En Tran quipped.
Another man chimed. "Refuse? Hah, don't refuse a toast only to drink a loss. If you refuse, it looks like we'll have to teach you some respect."
Thi En Tran glared at him coldy, it seemed that got him to shut up. However, this did not alleviate tensions between both sides. Bu Lan Deng knew they were in for a fight and dropped everything except for a pickaxe in his hands.
YOU ARE READING
Heaven's Gifted Genius 天赐奇才
FantasyA super deep dark funny revenge story about a heavenly demon being reborn as a slave after being wronged by his closest friends.
