The search lasted about five hours before it concluded.
Whether it was the mine veins, the mine shafts, or the Miner's Village, every place was searched from top to bottom several times, but nothing was found.
"Master Hui Neng, it seems the item is not here..."
Supervisor Wu clasped his hands in a respectful gesture. "The mine has already been shut down for a day today. If this continues, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to explain things to my superiors."
Hui Neng's face was expressionless. After a long pause, he gave a faint smile.
"I've put you in a difficult position, Benefactor Wu. Since the item is not here, this humble monk will take his leave first."
"Master Hui Neng, I will escort you back to the city,"
Chief Constable Lin said.
Soon, Chief Constable Lin, along with his subordinates, left the Miner's Village with Hui Neng.
"There's no need to mine tonight either. Everyone, go back and rest,"Supervisor Wu instructed.
Seeing this, the miners had no choice but to leave, hanging their heads dejectedly.
They had searched all day, found absolutely nothing, hadn't mined any ore, and couldn't even earn their meal money for the day.
After all the miners had left, Supervisor Wu looked at Supervisor Niu.
"Supervisor Niu, temporarily seal off Mine Shaft No. 1. No one is allowed to enter. Find someone fast-footed to go to the Mountain and River Sect and inform them that something has happened at the Fire Crystal Rock mine."
"Supervisor Wu, what exactly happened?"
Supervisor Niu was slightly startled.
"This matter has significant implications. We shouldn't get too deeply involved,"
Supervisor Wu said, patting Supervisor Niu on the shoulder.
Supervisor Niu immediately thought of Hui Neng. Could it be...?
He didn't dare to think too much about it and promptly arranged for several fast-footed Mine Guards to head to the Mountain and River Sect.
At night, Yang Ling continued practicing the Vajra Bright King Technique in his room.
Once he accumulated 5 experience points and confirmed there would be no further increase, he went to sleep.
The next day.
"The mine isn't letting us in?"
"What's going on?"
"They say operations are suspended for a few days."
The Miner's Village was bustling with activity.
It was the usual time for mining, but all the miners remained in the village.
"Uncle Wang, what's going on? Why aren't they letting us into the mine?"
Yang Ling looked around and, spotting Uncle Wang, immediately hurried over to ask.
"Something happened."
Uncle Wang's expression was grave as he pulled Yang Ling aside.
"I heard Mine Shaft No. 1 has been sealed off. No one is allowed in. It's probably related to that master from the Bitter Awareness Temple yesterday."
"Mine Shaft No. 1 is sealed off?"
Yang Ling's heart gave a slight, cold jolt.
This probably had nothing to do with the Vajra Bright King Technique.
It was very likely that Fifth Brother and the others' bodies had been discovered...
"Yang Ling."
Zhang Wei called out from not far away.
"Uncle Wang, I'll take my leave first."
Yang Ling said.
"Go on, go on."
Uncle Wang waved his hand and began whispering with a few other veteran miners.
Finding a quiet corner, Yang Ling looked Zhang Wei up and down.
"Zhang Wei, what scheme are you plotting this time?"
"While I was mining, I accidentally dug up a martial arts manual,"
Zhang Wei said slowly. "You should know what that means."
"What martial art?"
Yang Ling narrowed his eyes. "You can get that kind of reward from mining?"
After a pause, he exclaimed in shock, "It's not one of those Buddhist scriptures from the Bitter Awareness Temple, is it? If you want to die, go die by yourself. I don't want to die!"
"Keep your voice down! Don't get us killed!"
Zhang Wei looked around in panic. Seeing no one nearby, he finally relaxed and whispered,
"Yang Ling, if I had one of those Buddhist scriptures, I would have turned it in for silver long ago. Why would I need to find you?"
"What is it then?"
Yang Ling said flatly. "Since you want to sell it to me, stop beating around the bush. Show it to me."
"I'm not that stupid,"
Zhang Wei said coldly. "I've hidden it somewhere no one can find.
Even if you go out right now and say I have a martial arts manual, no one would believe you."
"Then this deal of ours can't be done,"
Yang Ling shook his head lightly. "I don't trust you, and you don't trust me. Better we each go our own way."
With that, he pretended to leave.
"Boulder Crushing Fist."
Zhang Wei said seriously. "The name of this fist technique is Boulder Crushing Fist!"
A fist technique?
Yang Ling's mind stirred.
His Strength was currently very high.
He also had the Vajra Bright King Technique.
What he lacked was a means to confront enemies.
"If you have a martial art, why don't you practice it yourself?"
Yang Ling scrutinized Zhang Wei.
Zhang Wei pondered for a moment before saying, "You might not know this, but martial arts cultivation here in the 'Divine Realm' has prerequisites.
The prerequisite for Boulder Crushing Fist is quite high; it requires 8 points in the Strength attribute.
I only have 4 points, so I can't practice it for now."
"What Strength attribute!?"
Yang Ling exclaimed in surprise. "You can see your own attributes!?"
"As I thought. It seems only Martial Artists can see their own attributes,"
Zhang Wei studied Yang Ling for a moment, then smiled.
"Actually, I'm already a Martial Artist, so I can see my own Status Panel.
My Strength is currently 4 points, Agility is 3 points, and Spirit is 1 point."
"Your Agility is clearly 5 points,"
Yang Ling thought to himself, then said with a grave expression,
"You can really see a Status Panel?"
"What kind of data is on the Status Panel? This might be the key for us to understand the 'Divine Realm'."
"Why would I lie to you? Once you master Boulder Crushing Fist, you'll also be able to see your own Status Panel,"
Zhang Wei said. "I'm not like you, hiding things. I'm a very straightforward person.
Based on my observation of you, the reason your mining speed is so fast, besides practice making perfect, is that your Strength attribute must be quite high.
As long as you can practice Boulder Crushing Fist, you'll immediately become a Martial Artist."
"Enough talk. Where's the Boulder Crushing Fist?"
Yang Ling asked sternly.
"Five taels of silver. Give me five taels of silver, and I'll give you Boulder Crushing Fist,"
Zhang Wei said.
"He's anxious to leave this place. He's feeling guilty, afraid Zhang Hao's matter will implicate him,"
Yang Ling thought to himself. He was very curious about how this guy got his hands on Zhang Hao's martial art.
Could it be because his surname is also Zhang?
That doesn't make sense.
"I do have five taels of silver,"
Yang Ling said slowly.
A flash of delight appeared in Zhang Wei's eyes.
"But I want to inspect the goods first. For this kind of transaction, it should be an exchange on the spot. I won't give you the money first,"
Yang Ling said.
Zhang Wei remained silent for a long moment before slowly replying,
"Alright. I'll come find you tonight."
With that, he turned and left.
The sun set, and it was the hour of Zi (11 pm-1 am).
The Miner's Village was mostly deserted.
Zhang Wei quietly arrived at Yang Ling's door.
"Open up."
Yang Ling opened the door, and Zhang Wei nimbly squeezed inside.
"This is Boulder Crushing Fist."
Zhang Wei took out an ancient-looking book from his robes.
Yang Ling glanced at it, and a piece of information appeared before his eyes:
「Boulder Crushing Fist, Unranked Technique」
"It's the same as Black Tiger Fist, both are unranked."
Yang Ling wasn't disdainful. After confirming it was indeed a technique manual, he took out five taels of silver and placed them on the table.
Zhang Wei put down the Boulder Crushing Fist manual and took the five taels of silver.
After completing the transaction, he visibly relaxed, then smiled.
"I'll take my leave now. Congratulations on your imminent rise to Martial Artist."
After Zhang Wei left, Yang Ling picked up the Boulder Crushing Fist manual.
The system seemed to judge that it now belonged to Yang Ling, as new information appeared:
「Boulder Crushing Fist, Prerequisites for Cultivation: Strength 8, Spirit 3」
「Prerequisites Met」
「Comprehend?」
"That damn Zhang Wei. He never mentioned the Spirit prerequisite. So he was trying to trick me here."
Yang Ling was so angry he laughed.
Fortunately, his Spirit was 10 points.
Otherwise, he would have lost five taels of silver for nothing.
Clearly, the other party had guessed that Spirit was extremely difficult to increase.
With his own Spirit at only 1 point, even if his Strength increased to 8 points in the future, he wouldn't be able to comprehend Boulder Crushing Fist.
"Comprehend."
Yang Ling immediately chose to comprehend.
The martial arts manual in his hand instantly turned into a stream of light that merged into his body.
A warm sensation arose, and Yang Ling's mind was once again filled with memories related to Boulder Crushing Fist.