Chapter 637

Chapter 637: A Sudden Promotion of Four Levels

When the third bell rang, Li Hui was the last to step onto the cage.

Someone nearby exclaimed, “Eighth-level big worker? Li Ge, you’re impressive! You were only a level five when you went down, and now you’re back as an eighth-level big worker?”

“Haha, just luck! I found three mining seedlings. Big Kui was right; it’s easier to find treasures after a mining disaster.” Li Hui smiled shyly at his coworkers, just like the original owner always did.

“My goodness! Three mining seedlings have actually grown together; that’s extremely rare!” Everyone looked at the lucky one with envy, and while they felt a tinge of jealousy, once the seedlings entered the heart shield, it was as certain as nailing something to a board; there was no chance of them being taken. They could only quietly mutter a few sour remarks, wishing it had been them who found the seedlings.

The chains clanked, and the winch finally hoisted the cage up. The mine owner stood at the door of the cage like a protective mother hen, extending his hand, saying, “Quickly hand over your harvest. Has anyone found any seedlings?”

Everyone turned to Li Hui; in this situation, there was no way he could deny it.

“Oh? Someone really found seedlings? Wait, leveling up from five to eight? You lucky brat!” The mine owner’s thick eyebrows lifted like butterfly wings, showing his excitement.

“It’s all luck. I accidentally discovered three emerald seedlings, but treasures like these…” Li Hui intended to show off a bit, but to his surprise, Old Mine Owner rushed forward and grabbed the heart shield without saying a word.

“Hahaha, a great haul! Three emerald seedlings! With this, our harvest for the next three months is secure. Li Hui, you did well! Very well!” Old Mine Owner wiped his eighth-level heart shield with pleasure, and after reluctantly wiping it again, he saw it shine and flash as it leveled up to ninth level.

“Alright, it’s recorded. From today on, you’re a ninth-level big worker. Go home and enjoy your luck! Your base salary quadruples; many veterans with five or six children aren’t even as good as you, lucky guy.” The mine owner thought of the gains he was about to receive, forcing aside the cost of elevating Li Hui to ninth-level miner.

“Thank you, Mine Owner. I’ve filled up six bear cubs,” Li Hui replied as he turned around, revealing a bulging shape. The six bear cubs stuck together like patches, making him look like a large package from afar.

“Oh? You truly are the mine owner’s lucky star.” Old Mine Owner was very pleased. The more his miners gained, the better. As for the three extra bear cubs, he only cared about whether anyone was secretly hoarding them; he never worried about the extras.

After obtaining his work points, Li Hui realized that wanting to become a tenth-level miner might not be possible even if he took all the bear cubs out of his storage talismans. Furthermore, after level ten, even finding seedlings might not guarantee a promotion; it seemed that advancing as a miner wasn’t so easy.

Suddenly, a lazy voice said, “Kid, nice haul! Just follow us and hang out with Brother Wánnián! Help the guys out and stuff.”

Five strong men stood outside the crowd, and Old Mine Owner shouted, “Zhou Wan Nian, get lost! Stop forming cliques here. I’m giving Li Hui three days off; you guys go down the mine tomorrow.”

“Old man, you’re getting old. I’ll hit level twenty soon, and this mine will end up in my hands eventually,” a big-nosed man wearing a straw hat turned and walked away.

At that moment, Big Kui squeezed up to Li Hui’s side and lowered his voice, “I thought you were having bad luck? You just got a bit of sunlight and now you’re targeted by that little rascal.”

“Forget it. I just want to go home and rest.” Li Hui patted Big Kui’s shoulder and walked down the steps of the well. He had made up his mind to become a mine owner as soon as possible to uncover more mysteries.

Big Kui still had to go down the mine. Seeing his friend make such a big leap in progress, even rising above him, started him thinking about whether he should stay underground a bit longer too.

Li Hui didn’t go home directly; he changed out of his miner’s clothes and wandered around the city.

He observed the people in the streets hurrying along. They worked day and night for a living, which was common in the Extreme Huan Continent. If they didn’t work hard, they would lose their rations, and that didn’t even mention the chance for promotion!

Of course, they also had hope. Having more children would allow them to enjoy generous welfare benefits when they got old; maybe they would even see their grandsons’ grandsons being born if they lived long enough.

With such an environment, few people knew there were other continents beyond the Extreme Huan Continent, leading to the question: Where were those powerful Extreme Radiance cultivators hiding? Why had they allowed the Extreme Huan to evolve into this state?

The more Li Hui looked, the more curious he became, and he couldn’t help but comment, “The customs and culture of the Extreme Huan Continent are entirely different from the outside world, even the inheritance and development of talisman methods have taken a completely different path. Here, talisman methods always focus on simplification and convenience. After countless generations of cultivators refining them, given this population base, there’s bound to be brilliance that emerges from seeking change; it’s not to be underestimated!”

Using `the stones from other mountains to polish jade,` Li Hui traveled and learned while adjusting the Dragon Spring Purple Talisman Classic, allowing the Dragon Spring in his heart to burst forth with magnificent auspicious light. The Heart Talisman gradually curled and closed, faintly seeming to be on the verge of forming a Dao Fruit.

“If I really do manage to form a Dao Fruit, then my practice of the Dragon Spring Purple Talisman Classic would have already reached a small achievement. Once the Dao Fruit matures, the Dragon Spring Purple Talisman can reach its full completion; I wonder if I have any hope of achieving that within the three hundred years upon my return to this world.”

The city beneath him had a population of twenty-three million, placing it in the lower tier of small cities. Larger cities had populations over one hundred million, and mega cities were over one billion, while the heavenly city with many caves had a population that couldn’t even be counted.

“With a population of twenty million, looking down from a height feels like watching an ant colony. I can’t imagine what those heavenly cities would be like. The common folk are like ants, with far too many people, and they’re all cultivators; ordinary people are long extinct.”

With Li Hui’s keen hearing and sight, gathering intelligence and figuring out where the black markets were within the city was not difficult.

“The black market is really thriving. The Extreme Huan continent’s cultivators adhere strictly to rules, feeling somewhat repressed. The black market serves as a place that disrupts those rules. Although the goods traded there may not be significant, they act with excessive caution, fearing oppression from the city’s regulatory office. Who knows how many can break free from this predicament?”

There were black markets both inside and outside the city, not less than five hundred of them. The smaller black markets could exchange for necessities like rare materials, spiritual herbs, or the frozen meat of spiritual beasts, as well as items obtained through theft, from nefarious sources.

The larger black markets had a wider variety of items: antiques, paintings, tools, magical artifacts, talismans, alchemy; it seemed like anything could be purchased. They even had top miners about to become mine owners, purchasing bear cubs filled with ore at attractive prices. Their relations with the black markets were typically good, allowing them to freely choose items after selling their ore.

Li Hui sent out a hundred ghosts to transform into human shapes and entered the black market to exchange for urgently needed items but ended up feeling quite disheartened. The two hundred thirty bear cubs filled with ore were not enough to meet his needs; the prices were exorbitant.

“I have no choice but to make some cuts and continue living modestly; life in the Extreme Huan is truly not easy! Since that’s the case, let’s mine crazily! I want to see how far I can go following this route!”