Chapter 26
A Bad Encounter in the Mine!
White Flow Mountain
Qin Huai followed Fang Han, carrying an iron pick and a bamboo basket on his back, walking on a narrow path. Because they were going down the mountain, the two of them were walking very fast. Thus, in less time than it took an incense stick to burn, the two of them had reached the flat ground.
Qin Huai looked into the distance and saw that the ground was covered in lush vegetation and dense forests. However, there were many potholes in between the weeds and shrubs.
He bent down and picked up a piece of ‘black stone.’ “Isn’t this an iron ore?”
Behind him, Fang Han just smiled and said nothing.
Qin Huai walked for more than ten meters, and the ground was full of these iron ores. He bent down and used his hand as a knife and instantly stabbed it into the ground. However, he could only go in two inches and could not continue.
Qin Huai pushed away the soil on the surface, then saw black iron veins and lodes. Many shrubs and roots grew on iron ore.
“Wow, this is amazing.” Qin Huai clicked his tongue in wonder. It was the first time he had seen vegetation growing on an iron mine.
“This White Flow Mountain is actually a huge iron mine. This place is also interesting. We call these plants iron trees, iron shrubs, and iron earth flowers. This wood is also quite solid, so it’s often cut down to be used for training in the dojo,” Fang Han explained to Qin Huai as they walked.
“That’s a good place with good feng shui,” Qin Huai continued.
“That’s right. It’s just that this place doesn’t belong to our family alone.”
As Fang Han spoke, the two of them stopped at a bush. Fang Han pushed aside the dense bushes, revealing the entrance to the mine before Qin Huai.
“Let’s go.” Fang Han took the lead.
After walking down the iron steps for three to four meters, the two finally landed safely. At the end of this vision was a three-way fork.
“The mine began more than fifty years ago. For the past fifty years, countless people of all sizes have come to visit it. Therefore, there are a lot of forks in here, and the terrain is complicated. In addition, there are still a lot of bold people who try to mine here. Whether it’s the Thunderbolt Dojo or us, we can’t draw a detailed and complete map of the mine.
“Down here, you can encounter mountain bandits, thieves, and even the men of the Thunderbolt Dojo. You can even see people from the other six dojos from time to time.” Fang Han sneered. “Anyway, we’re mining underground. Be careful.”
Qin Huai nodded. Where there were benefits, there would be disputes. Armors and weapons had always been essential for those who wanted to dominate. And the iron ore needed to produce them was even more important.
“Then who are we going to sell the ironware to?” Qin Huai had wanted to ask this for a long time.
This world advocated martial arts and allowed people to practice martial arts, but they were not allowed to wear armor on a large scale. Although the existence of martial artists could suppress ordinary people, they were still brave and invincible with heavy armor and soldiers. If they privately stationed a hundred armored soldiers, they could kill the entire family.
“Our biggest buyer is the city lord’s mansion of Pingnan City. We also sell a small number of weapons to other cities.”
“Oh.” Qin Huai came to a realization. He had almost forgotten about the existence of the city lord’s mansion.
This was because the city lord’s mansion in Pingnan City had a very low sense of existence. Normally, on the streets of the city, it was rare to hear people mention the existence of the city lord’s mansion.
He had not even seen the people from the city lord’s mansion when he had massacred the gang and returned to the city. Only two dojos had come to recruit him.
Over time, even Qin Huai had somewhat forgotten that there was still a city lord in Pingnan.
“Junior Brother Qin, although the eight major martial arts centers in Pingnan City are famous, the Pingnan City Lord’s mansion can never be underestimated.” Fang Han seemed to have noticed Qin Huai’s confusion, so he reminded him with a deeper meaning. “From what I know, the Lord of Pingnan City has two thousand armored soldiers, not to mention the many mercenaries and death warriors kept in captivity.”
Qin Huai understood. With just a little imagination, he could imagine the magnificent picture of thousands of steel torrents standing in front of him. It was beyond the reach of human power.
“The city lord of Pingnan City has a large number of troops in his hands, but he is so low-key…” Qin Huai’s voice stopped abruptly. “Hiding one’s strength in the dark, one must have ambition.”
“Junior Brother Qin is smart.” Fang Han ended the conversation with a simple sentence, and the two of them tacitly stopped talking about it.
Qin Huai was even more determined to be more cautious in the future. If he wanted to kill, he would definitely not leave any traces or eliminate them completely.
The two of them walked for a while more, and they didn’t know how many forks they passed.
There were no hanging coal lamps in the mine, so Qin Huai lit a coal lamp. Despite the light, the visibility was only one or two meters.
After a long time, Fang Han took off his iron pick and touched an iron mine wall. “The deeper we go into this mine, the better the quality of the iron. There’s no need to mine it and refine the impurities. That’s why most people will go deep to mine iron ore. Not only does it save time and effort, but the price is also high.”
He picked up the iron pick and knocked down a piece of iron ore with two moves.
Qin Huai followed suit. He picked up the iron pick, and his Qi and blood gushed and gathered in his arms.
“Who dares to mine in the Thunderbolt Dojo’s territory?” a loud shout came from behind.
The footsteps were like the beating of drums, each more powerful than the last. Under the dim light, it was as if a cold light flashed in front of his eyes.
Buzzzzzz!
The broadsword slashed down toward Qin Huai.
The coal lamp in Qin Huai’s hand fell to the ground, and he instantly activated his breath control technique to hide in the darkness.
The mine suddenly fell into silence. Next to his ear, the wind whistled, and the clanking of fists slowly sounded.
The sound of wind and drums intertwined, and the strong fist force made Qin Huai feel uneasy. He retreated into the darkness. Then, he saw two blue experience balls fall to the ground in the dark.
“Ding! You have collected a [Breathing Technique Essence (blue) ], [Breathing Technique] Experience +199!”
“Ding! You have collected a [Thundering Skill Essence (Blue) ],[Thunderflash Skill] Experience +173!”
They were at least in the fourth refinement, so his experience points were almost the same as when he had encountered Reihom.
Qin Huai looked at the experience points he had gained and calculated in his heart.
“I was wondering who it was. So it’s you, Sixth Brother Qin, who’s stealing the mine.” Fang Han was full of hatred.
“It’s a pity I didn’t bring more people with me. I can’t keep you, my great-grandson who stole the mine.” Sixth Brother Qin’s words were filled with malice.
“Your grandson is getting more and more shameless as he gets older!”
The two of them were equally matched in terms of their words, but their punches and kicks were also ruthless. After dozens of moves, the two had knocked down a lot of the iron ore.
“Let’s go, let’s go. I’ll fight with you again. You’ve broken our Thunderbolt Dojo mine.” Sixth Brother Qin cursed as he retracted his hand. However, the arrogance in his words did not diminish in the slightest.
“San’er, pick up all the iron pieces on the ground and throw them into the big pot to refine.” Old Qin said while suppressing his anger.
“Yes.”
The thin and weak youth, Hong San, quickly lit the coal lamp, picked up the scattered iron pieces on the ground, and threw them into the bamboo basket on his back.
Just two steps behind the young man…
Qin Huai stood there quietly. He watched as Sixth Brother Qin and the young man left. Then, he lifted the coal lamp and immediately frowned. Under the weak light of the lamp, Qin Huai saw that Fang Han’s hand was shaking.
“In the mines, we must try to avoid fighting one-on-one with the disciples of the Thunderbolt Dojo. Otherwise, we will be the only ones suffering.” Fang Han taught him with words and actions. He wanted to let Qin Huai see the difference between the breathing technique and the rolling thunder skill.
No wonder Fang Han had just swallowed his anger and did not attempt to fight Sixth Brother Qin for entering his own dojo’s territory. He just couldn’t win.
“That Sixth Brother Qin is the one you need to be most careful of.” Fang Han continued. “He’s sinister and cunning. In his early years, his lover died in a battle to invade our iron mine, so he hates us very much.”
“All year round, he ordered his disciples to cross the border and wander around our mine to destroy and kill. I just didn’t expect him to step over it personally this time. Damn it. I must get revenge.” Fang Han gritted his teeth.
“What’s his cultivation base at?” Qin Huai inquired.
“Fourth refinement! Hong San beside him is his capable disciple. He’s only around sixteen years old, but he’s already a master of the second refinement realm,” Fang Han said in a low voice. “He is said to be one of Reihom’s disciples who have a chance of catching up to him.”
Qin Huai silently noted this down. He knew that he was still far from being his opponent. The so-called “four white dragons” being on par with the rumbling thunder skill was probably not true.
The Changshan Dojo was still at a disadvantage against the Thunderbolt Dojo. However…
‘I have a great advantage in a pitch-dark place like the mine pit with my breath control technique. With this, I can participate in the fights between the disciples and my senior brothers in the Thunderbolt Dojo. If I can gather experience, I can cultivate the thunderflash skill and the breathing technique together.’ Qin Huai pondered in his heart.
At that time, there would be no more saying that he couldn’t defeat the disciples of the Thunderbolt Dojo because of his weak breathing technique.