The next day, Yang Ling had just risen when he saw Zhang Wei loitering nearby.
Spotting Yang Ling, Zhang Wei walked over with a sheepish look.
"Brother Yang..."
"Hm?"
Yang Ling glanced at him.
"I was in the wrong before. Seeing as we're both players, won't you forgive me, Brother Yang?"
Zhang Wei cupped his hands over and over.
"If you've got something to say, say it. If you've got wind, let it out. I don't have time to go back and forth with you."
Yang Ling said.
Zhang Wei's face changed slightly, then he ground his teeth:
"Brother Yang, can we... level up?"
"Level up?"
Yang Ling looked Zhang Wei over.
Zhang Wei drew a deep breath:
"I know why your strength is so great, why you mine so fast."
"Go on."
"Not long ago, I was digging Fire Crystal Ore, and partway through I suddenly felt a warm current flow through my body."
"And then, my strength grew a notch!"
Zhang Wei said earnestly: "I'm not being superstitious, but I know this strength isn't ordinary. In the real world, there's no way a few days of mining could bring a change like that. So I believe that, as players, we can level up."
"Congratulations. You've discovered 「Divine Realm」's secret."
Yang Ling smiled.
"Yang Ling, drop the sarcasm. You knew about this from the start and didn't tell me. So the way I see it, I didn't do anything wrong either."
Zhang Wei said.
Yang Ling waved a hand: "Get lost. I can't be bothered talking to you."
"Feeling guilty, huh? Hmph."
Zhang Wei said coldly:
"Seeing as we're both players, I hope you'll share information with me."
Yang Ling was amused at once: "What's that supposed to mean?"
Zhang Wei's expression softened a little:
"I want to know how long you have to mine to level up, and whether there's a way to see an experience bar. Besides leveling up Strength, what else can you level? There must be martial arts in Divine Realm — is there a way to learn them? Or life classes? Where can I take quests?"
"First, I have no reason to share any information with you."
Yang Ling said with a faint smile: "Don't try to guilt me into it, or I'll beat you to death. Here you're a vagrant — die and it's just death; no one will care."
Zhang Wei's face changed abruptly.
Yang Ling went on: "Second, the things you're asking, I haven't figured out either. Once you have, come tell me."
With that he strode off, leaving Zhang Wei standing there with an ugly look on his face.
"Yang Ling, you can't have been here much longer than me. Even if you can level up, you're only a few levels ahead. I refuse to believe I can't catch up to you. You want to beat me to death? Then we'll see who beats whom!"
Zhang Wei muttered under his breath.
***
At the vein, the mood today was a little off.
All the miners stood clustered together, hushed as cicadas in the cold.
Numerous vein guards stood all around, their eyes grim.
Steward Niu was at Overseer Wu's side just then, saying something in a low voice.
When Yang Ling arrived, he too was barked at and made to stand in the ranks.
"Is this because of Old Fifth? Would Overseer Wu really value that little brother-in-law so much? That makes no sense."
Yang Ling kept his composure, standing among the miners.
Several old miners nearby were whispering.
"Uncle Wang, what's going on?"
Yang Ling asked, curious.
Uncle Wang made a hushing gesture, then said quietly:
"There's a bad sort mixed into our ranks."
"What bad sort?"
Yang Ling asked in a low voice.
Surely they didn't mean him?
What kind of bad sort was he.
"A wanted criminal. On the Black List."
Uncle Wang's expression was solemn: "Seems he fled from over in Qingshan City, and word is he's slipped into our miners' ranks. Right now Overseer Wu is gathering every miner to root the fellow out."
So it wasn't about Fifth Brother after all.
But what did the Black List mean?
Yang Ling humbled himself to ask, and slowly learned some important information from Uncle Wang.
"This Black List is what our Kingdom of Zhao uses to put out wanted notices on Martial Artists. A Martial Artist who makes the Black List is the kind who can take on ten men single-handed — a ruthless, merciless sort. You have to have committed at least the crime of wiping out someone's whole household to make the Black List."
As a native of Qingshan City, Uncle Wang knew a fair bit.
"A Martial Artist? Wiping out whole households?"
Yang Ling tensed at once.
A dangerous figure like that had slipped into the vein?
About one shichen later.
Every miner in the village had been summoned to the vein.
Even Blacksmith Wang and the others were no exception.
"Is everyone here?"
Overseer Wu said mildly.
Steward Niu glanced at a roster, then said a few quiet words.
"Old Fifth? It's fine that they didn't come."
With that, Overseer Wu drew out a portrait and held it high:
"This fellow is a wanted criminal on the Black List, alias the Prisoner Butcher. The Qingshan City magistrate's office says he's fled to our vein. Now we need your cooperation with the investigation. Look to your left and right — if you see a stranger, tell me at once. There'll be a heavy reward!"
The miners exchanged glances.
Some, hearing of a heavy reward, felt a heat rise in their eyes.
"Hey, you look pretty unfamiliar!"
A voice suddenly rang out.
But the moment that miner opened his mouth, his throat was slit; blood sprayed wildly.
Clutching his neck in despair, he collapsed to the ground.
The nearby miners panicked, the scene falling into chaos.
Zhang Wei, Lin Guoliang, and the others had never witnessed such a thing; they went pale with fright.
Yang Ling's heart clenched. He instantly gripped the refined steel pick at his waist.
His 12 Strength gave him a full sense of security in that moment.
"Prisoner Butcher, you set foot on my turf and still think you can leave?"
Overseer Wu's face suddenly twisted into a savage grin.
A figure came barreling straight through, knocking several miners flying as it tried to break out of the encirclement.
Yang Ling looked over quickly, and the man's attribute panel surfaced at once.
Name: Zhang Hao
Class: Martial Artist
Strength: 13
Agility: 18 (8)
Spirit: 3
Martial Art: Zhang Family Leg Art (Proficient)
"Does he have some equipment that boosts Agility by 8?"
The thought flashed through Yang Ling's mind.
Right now Zhang Hao was blindingly fast; he was about to break out — when he saw the figures of constables appearing not far ahead.
Gritting his teeth, he spun to flee.
But turning around, he came face to face with Overseer Wu.
"Black Tiger Fist!"
Overseer Wu grinned and hurled out a punch.
Yang Ling instinctively checked his attribute panel.
Name: Wu Que
Class: Martial Artist
Strength: 24 (12)
Agility: 8
Spirit: 3
Martial Art: Black Tiger Fist (Proficient)
24 Strength?!
Wasn't he 12 Strength?
In that instant, Yang Ling seemed to grasp something!
Whether Zhang Hao or Wu Que, their boosts to Agility and Strength must both be tied to their martial arts!
"So that's how it is."
Yang Ling instinctively clenched his fist.
His craving for a martial art grew stronger still.
Even the lowest-grade martial art would be of enormous use to him!
Bang!
Zhang Hao's face was shattered by the punch; he crumpled into a boneless heap, though he didn't die — merely fell unconscious.
Overseer Wu looked as though he'd done something utterly trivial, his manner calm.
Seeing this, the thousand-odd miners present looked on Overseer Wu with even deeper awe.
That was a wanted criminal from the Black List!
Downed just like that, with a single punch?
"Brother Wu, your Black Tiger Fist grows more ferocious by the day, haha!"
"I'd say before long you'll be able to enter the Shanhe Sect and become one of its formal disciples."
A middle-aged man who looked like a constable chief walked over, laughing heartily.
Overseer Wu smiled with reserve: "That won't do. I'm getting on in years, and my aptitude falls short. Don't flatter me."
The Shanhe Sect?
Yang Ling immediately committed this useful piece of information to memory.
Zhang Wei, Lin Guoliang, and the others secretly noted those three words too!