Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22: A New Mission
“Really? From now on, the cultivation resources supplied by the family are going to be doubled?”
A Body Tempering Realm cultivator of the Li family asked in disbelief.
“It should be true. My elder brother works under the Third Elder. That news was deliberately let slip by him.”
“If the Third Elder said it, then it is probably true. Wonderful. If the family issues me more cultivation resources, I’m confident I can break through to Body Tempering Major Accomplishment this very month.”
That Li family cultivator looked delighted.
“Then let me congratulate you in advance, elder brother. I hope you will take care of me more in the future.”
His companion looked at him with envy.
A Body Tempering Major Accomplishment cultivator already held a place in the Li family.
...
Inside the home of an ordinary Li family member, a woman sewing clothes lowered her head and said to her husband, “Have you heard? The Family Head intends to implement a birth incentive policy in the family. For every child born for the family, there’ll be a handsome reward.”
“I know. The family has expanded a lot lately, and there aren’t enough people to go around. Every place is short-handed. The stewards are nearly working me in two halves. The Li family really does need more people now.”
Her husband replied in a muffled tone.
The woman rolled her eyes at him and said coyly, “Then what are you waiting for?”
Her husband’s breathing instantly quickened.
（Ten thousand words omitted here.）
...
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Li Xingge was cultivating in his seclusion chamber.
No matter how busy he was, he did not dare neglect cultivation in the slightest.
Because he understood deeply that strength was the foundation of everything.
After completing one full circulation, Li Xingge let out a long breath of turbid air.
“Seventh-grade talent truly is extraordinary. At this rate, I should have hope of reaching Qi-Blood Realm Minor Accomplishment within half a year.”
Li Xingge muttered to himself.
This might sound slow, but in truth, it was not.
Many Qi-Blood Realm cultivators remained stuck at the bottleneck of Qi-Blood Realm Initial Entry for their entire lives, unable to advance a single step.
His own grandfather had been one such example.
So too had the Su family’s Old Ancestor, whom he had personally killed.
【Ding, the System detects an unstable factor within the host family. System mission triggered!】
The long-unheard voice rang inside Li Xingge’s mind.
A panel of light appeared before his eyes.
.......
【Current Mission: Suppress the revolt at the Silver Ridge mineral vein】
【Mission Progress: 0%】
【Mission Description: In order to increase the output of ore at the Silver Ridge mineral vein, the family has subjected the mine slaves to inhuman exploitation, resulting in enormous casualties. Unable to endure any longer, the mine slaves have decided to make a desperate last stand and rebel against the family.】
【Upon completing the mission, you may obtain the following rewards:】
【Reward 1: A family member with seventh-grade talent will be born.】
【Reward 2: 3 mu of spirit fields （Crops planted in spirit fields will absorb spiritual energy and evolve into spirit plants. Consuming spirit-plant crops will greatly increase cultivation speed.）】
【Reward 3: Beginner Spirit Planting Art （Upon mastering Beginner Spirit Planting Art, one may advance to become a first-tier spirit planter.）】
......
A new mission had arrived.
Li Xingge rose to his feet, hands behind his back, a trace of coldness entering his gaze.
Since when had a bunch of tools dared think of rebelling against the Li family?
He knew full well of the exploitation the mine slaves had suffered at the mine vein. He had tacitly approved it.
After all, the family was in a period of ascent, and money was needed on every front.
Since the Silver Ridge mineral vein was the Li family’s lifeline, then naturally these mine slaves could only be the ones made to suffer.
But the fact that they had actually dared rebel was something Li Xingge had not expected.
To ensure the stability of the Silver Ridge mineral vein, the Li family had spent heavily there.
The dignified Fifth Elder of the Li family, a cultivator at Physical Body Realm Major Accomplishment, was stationed there year-round.
There were also thirty Body Tempering Realm cultivators and three hundred heavily armored mine guards patrolling day and night. The security could not have been tighter.
Though mining might get one killed, it was still only a possibility.
Rebellion, on the other hand, was all but certain death.
As the saying went, a bad life was still better than a good death.
So who was it that had given them the courage to rebel?
Li Xingge wondered.
...
Silver Ridge Mountain.
At a massive open-air mine, over a thousand miners, bare-chested and wearing nothing but shorts, were laboring under the blazing sun, swinging their tools with all their strength to extract ore.
Sweat had soaked their entire bodies.
One frail mine slave, unable to bear the harsh heat, suddenly blacked out and collapsed to the ground, never getting up again.
Two patrolling guards saw this and immediately strode over.
One lashed his whip viciously across the frail miner’s body.
“Looking to die? Stop slacking off and get back to work!”
The guard barked angrily.
The mine slave did not move.
The other guard crouched down and checked his breathing with a hand near the man’s nose, then shook his head at his companion.
“He’s already dead.”
“Oh, then he definitely hasn’t died cleanly yet. My old man said people who die like this suffer the most. I’ll do him a favor and chop off his head so he can go in peace.”
The whip-wielding guard grinned cruelly.
With that, he drew the saber at his waist.
The shrill sound of steel leaving its scabbard made the mine slave’s body jolt. He scrambled up, dropped to his knees, and kowtowed frantically, tears and mucus streaming down his face.
“Mercy, Grandfather, mercy! I won’t dare again! I’ll work properly right now!”
“In front of us, trying tricks like that—your death is already deserved.”
Faced with the mine slave’s pleading, the guard was utterly unmoved.
With a swing of his steel saber, he cut off the mine slave’s head in a single stroke.
Before the head had even fallen to the ground, the guard had already caught it in one hand.
Holding that hideous head high in the air while blood dripped from it, he shouted loudly, “Look closely, all of you! This is what happens to anyone who plays clever little tricks in front of us! Don’t even think about slacking off, or do not blame our blades for showing no mercy!”
The surrounding mine slaves, seeing this, all fell silent in terror. Their bodies trembled, and they worked all the harder.
“Why kill him? Whatever else he is, he’s still the property of the master family.”
“That kind of lazy, slippery trash only wastes the master family’s grain. Better to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys and wring the last bit of value out of him. Didn’t you see those cheap slaves start working harder?”
The murderous guard sneered.
His companion shook his head.
“They’re all pitiful people.”
“You don’t know a damn thing. This batch of mine slaves are savages from Dongling. When Dongzhou Prefecture fell, those beasts slaughtered tens of millions of Dongzhou commoners.”
“Then I take back what I said. Dying like this is letting him off too easily.”
...
Not far away, several mine slaves witnessed the scene. After glancing around and confirming that no mine guards were nearby, they quietly gathered together.
As they worked...
They whispered among themselves.
“I counted. Just what I saw alone—that makes seventeen dead today already. These Li family lackeys and hawks and hounds do not treat us like human beings at all.”
“Endure for a few more days. Once the General has fully recovered, we’ll cut these bastards into pieces.”
One mine slave ground out the words through clenched teeth.
“Wasn’t it supposed to be today? Why did the plan suddenly change?”
“The General said circumstances changed. That Li family Elder has returned, and he even brought an elite squad with him. If we act now, he doesn’t have confidence.”
“Why do we care whether these lowly peasants live or die? Why not just kill our way out? That Li family Elder can’t stop us.”
One mine slave sounded puzzled.
“That’s why I say you have no brain. The Li family has more than just that one Elder.”
“I heard there’s even a Qi-Blood Realm cultivator in the family.”
“If that sort of existence makes a move, how far do you think we can run?”
“But if we can incite these several thousand peasants into rebellion and have them attack the mine, the Li family will be thrown into chaos. How would they still have the spare attention to notice us?”
“Then we can fish in troubled waters and slip away in the confusion.”
The others suddenly understood.
...
Deep night.
The moon was bright, the stars sparse.
Behind the mine, in the mass burial ground, weeds grew wildly, and the whole place was pitch-black.
Now and then came the cry of a night bird. Together with the bones scattered everywhere, it made for a deeply sinister atmosphere.
A shadow slowly emerged from the darkness, its gaze sweeping the surroundings as though searching for something.
When it spotted a fresh corpse on the ground, a look of boundless excitement appeared on its face.
He walked over to the corpse and sat down cross-legged before it.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and said in intoxicated delight, “The scent of fresh qi and blood.”
He slowly extended a hand and placed it over the corpse’s chest.
Strange patterns suddenly surfaced on the back of his hand, glowing with eerie red light.
Threads of crimson blood qi rose from the corpse and drifted into the air, carrying a thick stench of blood.
The crimson blood qi gradually condensed into a smooth blood bead the size of a ring finger’s tip.
Meanwhile, the corpse on the ground had already shriveled completely, leaving only skin wrapped around bone. The sight of it was hideous.
Looking at the blood bead, the shadow licked his dry lips. No longer able to suppress his excitement, he swallowed it in one gulp.
Without pausing in the slightest, he moved to the next corpse and repeated the process.
Half an hour later, the ground was littered with dozens of shriveled skin-and-bone husks.
“After devouring this much qi and blood, I’ve finally recovered to Physical Body Realm Major Accomplishment.”
The shadow sighed.
Then, recalling the humiliation he had suffered during this period, a deep hatred rose in his eyes.
“Damn Li family. A tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs. Once I have fully recovered, I will repay your humiliation a hundredfold.”
The shadow spoke through gritted teeth.
Then he vanished back into the darkness.