Number 1 Mine Shaft, forty to fifty miners were huffing and puffing as they carried out excavation work.
Since they were all experienced hands, ordinary stones and mud were not as hard as Fire Crystal Rock.
So in just about one hour, the mine shaft seemed to have expanded by a small circle.
During this period, some Fire Crystal Rock ore buried deep underground was also exposed.
They were all snatched up and started being mined by others first.
Yang Ling's luck wasn't very good; he hadn't found a single piece of Fire Crystal Rock.
He planned to go deeper inside. The Mine Guards keeping watch saw this but paid no attention.
"That kid is going to a deeper place. Should we send someone to follow him?"
A Mine Guard noticed Yang Ling's movement and asked his teammate beside him.
"Follow what? If we encounter a collapse accident, we'd all die. Just keep watch at the entrance."His teammate rolled his eyes.
"But didn't the higher-ups want to find the Buddhist scriptures hidden by the Butcher of Prisoners inside here?"
"I don't believe that bastard could hide Buddhist scriptures here. It's probably just a diversionary tactic. Otherwise, they would have found it earlier during the previous search period. Why bother having miners come in and dig three feet into the ground?"
"Look, Supervisor Wu only sent forty to fifty miners inside. You know what that means. It's just to give an explanation to the Bitter Awareness Temple side."
"Besides... finding it might not necessarily be a good thing. Not finding it might actually be the better outcome."
After this teammate's reminder, that guard seemed to understand something and immediately fell silent.
Yang Ling, referring to the map, kept going deeper into Number 1 Mine Shaft.
The map had marked some locations where large pieces of Fire Crystal Rock had been found.
He went to these nearby locations and started digging.
Through continuous probing and pinpointing, he finally found a decent piece of Fire Crystal Rock.
"Let's get to work!"
Yang Ling gripped the Steel Pickaxe, his entire body's muscles tingling with excitement.
One strike, two strikes, three strikes!
Each strike brought a cool, refreshing sensation of Experience Points entering his body.
Every time he reached this point, Yang Ling would forget about time, sinking into a state of self-forgetfulness.
He didn't know how much time had passed before this piece of Fire Crystal Rock was completely excavated.
Yang Ling put it into the cloth pouch at his waist, hefted it, estimating it was about three catties.
"You dig really fast."
Not far away, someone holding a Fire Starter said with a look of surprise.
Yang Ling wasn't afraid of Ore Thieves today and calmly looked at the other person. It was a miner who looked somewhat unfamiliar.
"I know every miner in the Miner's Village. For newcomers, I also take a glance at their status to judge if they are players."
"This guy, why haven't I seen him before?"
The other person looked to be in his twenties, wearing miner's clothes, but his demeanor was somewhat unusual.
Yang Ling glanced at the other's Status Panel:
Character: Xu Qing
Profession: Martial Artist
Strength: 22
Agility: 17
Spirit: 7
Martial Arts: Mountain and River Drawing Sword Technique (Skilled), Mountain and River Twelve Fists (Skilled), Mountain and River Heart Method (Third-Rate, Beginner's Insight)
Affiliation: Mountain and River Sect
Yang Ling felt somewhat shocked in his heart.
This young man had the highest total attribute points among all the Martial Artists he had ever seen!
Strength, Agility, Spirit, added together reached a full 46 points!
Even Hui Neng from the Bitter Awareness Temple only had 36 points!
"Brother, you look unfamiliar?"
Yang Ling said casually, "Mining is simple, it's just a matter of practice making perfect."
After speaking, he continued searching for the next Fire Crystal Rock deposit, digging and probing around various spots to pinpoint it.
Xu Qing seemed interested and quickly walked up, saying:
"I haven't been here long. Let me learn how to mine from you?"
"Sure, but you can't disturb me, and you can't snatch my Fire Crystal Rock deposits."
Yang Ling said casually.
Xu Qing nodded with a smile, "No problem, no problem."
From then on, wherever Yang Ling went, Xu Qing followed.
Yang Ling didn't go deeper into the mine shaft.
Having such a master following beside him always gave him a feeling of thorns on his back.
He wasn't sure what the other's intentions were.
Soon, almost a day had passed.
Yang Ling's cloth pouch contained over ten catties of Fire Crystal Rock ore.
"It's getting late. Time to head out, right?"
Xu Qing reminded him.
Yang Ling was also ready to leave. As he was leaving, he casually dug a few more times and discovered another piece of Fire Crystal Rock.
Without another word, he immediately got to work!
"This guy is a mining fanatic..."
Xu Qing stood not far away, feeling somewhat emotional in his heart.
"I heard Wu Que say one catty of Fire Crystal Rock can be exchanged for one hundred Wen."
"At his speed, earning one or two taels of Silver a day is no problem."
"That's thirty taels a month..."
"I can understand him now."
Xu Qing calculated the numbers and understood why the other was so obsessed with mining.
With such a money-making speed, he would also work hard if it were him.
"If I went all out, my speed wouldn't be slower than his, but... his endurance seems very good. Even though he's tired after digging all day, he can still persist."
"Is his willpower just firmer?"
Xu Qing thought to himself secretly.
At this moment, Yang Ling had nothing else in his eyes.
He had already determined that Xu Qing was just a master sent by the Mountain and River Sect to secretly search for that Buddhist scripture.
Striking up a conversation with him was just because he saw his fast mining speed.
He posed no immediate danger to him.
So leveling up was the main priority.
His eyes were only on this piece of Fire Crystal Rock ore.
He worked fiercely for a while.
Finally...
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, you have leveled up. Obtained 1 Free Attribute Point."
"Leveled up..."
Yang Ling subconsciously wanted to add it to Strength but immediately came to his senses and instead added it to Spirit.
A warm feeling grew within his body, finally following his blood vessels and rushing into his forehead.
He felt his brain become increasingly clear, his entire person's spirit rising a notch.
He opened his Status Panel:
Character: Yang Ling
Profession: Martial Artist
Level: 9
Strength: 14 (+3)
Agility: 5
Spirit: 11
Martial Arts: Vajra Bright King Technique (First-Rate Technique, Novice)
Experience Points: 40/100
Boulder Crushing Fist (Beginner's Insight)
Proficiency: 22/1000
HP: 110
"Level 9."
Yang Ling felt somewhat emotional in his heart.
He wasn't far from Level 10.
"As one of the first batch of 'Divine Realm' players, my leveling speed shouldn't be considered slow. It's just that there's no level ranking, so I can't see the overall situation."
Yang Ling thought this as he walked towards the mine shaft exit.
About a few breaths later, a booming sound rang in his ears.
"Congratulations, a player has been the first to advance to Level 10, successfully completing their profession change."
"We are now specially opening the Divine Realm Level Ranking."
"Subsequent features will be opened gradually."
Immediately after, a golden, dazzling panel appeared before him.
[Divine Realm Level Ranking]
Not only was Yang Ling shocked.
In the Miner's Village, Lin Guoliang and the other two also heard this huge notification sound and simultaneously saw the golden Divine Realm Level Ranking.
Zhang Wei, who was also mining down in the shaft, slowly straightened up, a trace of doubt and uncertainty appearing in his eyes.
"Someone reached Level 10? And completed their profession change? How is that possible... I'm only Level 3. Who levels up so fast? Could it be Yang Ling?"
He immediately opened the Divine Realm Level Ranking to see for himself.
At the same time, countless players in different locations did the same thing.
[Divine Realm Level Ranking]
[001: Bitter Awareness Temple Hui Wu, Level 10, Profession: Martial Monk]
[002: ???]
...
"So... only one person reached Level 10, and it's from the Bitter Awareness Temple. What a coincidence..."
"If this player entered the game around the same time as me, then his luck is too good, directly becoming a disciple of a top-tier major sect like the Bitter Awareness Temple?"
Yang Ling was somewhat doubtful and uneasy, while also feeling a chill in his heart.
If he had been the first to reach Level 10, would he also have been exposed by the Divine Realm Level Ranking now?
"This is not a good thing..."
"But one thing I guessed right: Level 10 is indeed the threshold for profession change..."
Yang Ling took a deep breath.