Chapter 30
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Chapter 30: Timing is Better Than Being Early
At the northern border of Baishi Town, where the former Wang Family’s mine was located, several teams of soldiers were orderly retreating from inside.
These soldiers were from Baishi Town, tasked with guarding the mine to prevent thieves from stealing the resources.
However, with the arrival of the Zhang Family’s cultivators, they knew that mortals were helpless, so they wisely retreated as instructed by Gao Hui earlier.
Three cultivators from the Zhang Family had come, along with a group of people, standing in front of the mine talking.
"Father, the scale of the mine here is indeed much larger than that in the valley."
The speaker was slender and looked pale, his voice light.
He was Zhang Yao, the eldest son of the Zhang Family, at the second level of Gathering Qi.
"Hmph, if it weren’t for the mayor of Qinghe continuously discouraging me, I would have taken this place long ago!"
The other speaker was shorter but had an arrogant expression, speaking in a domineering tone.
This was Zhang Chen, Zhang Yao’s cousin, at the first level of Gathering Qi.
In front of them stood a tall middle-aged man in a gray robe.
This man stood upright, his gaze sharp, and his aura was much stronger than the two young cultivators combined; he was none other than Zhang Tianqi, the Master of the Zhang Family.
Upon hearing the conversation of the two younger men, he smiled lightly.
"What belongs to my Zhang Family will not escape, whether it comes early or late makes no difference."
After saying this, he gently waved his hand, and the laborers behind him prepared to enter the mine to begin their work.
Whoosh—
Just at that moment, a gust of wind howled past, and a shadow struck the ledge of the mine, causing rocks to fall and instantly block the entrance.
"Who dares to be reckless in front of my Zhang Family?"
Zhang Chen was startled and quickly shouted.
"Hahaha, important guests arrive, and we have failed to welcome you. Please forgive us."
Hearing this, Zhang Tianqi’s brow raised slightly as he turned to look in the direction of the voice, a cold expression crossing his face.
Before long, three figures emerged from the forest.
Yang Guanfeng smiled and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Yang Family’s Yang Guanfeng, greetings to Brother Zhang."
Yang Guanfeng showed no sign of hiding his cultivation level, revealing his sixth level of Gathering Qi as he spoke.
"Songshan Yang Family? This man has such a powerful aura, comparable to my father, also at the sixth level of Gathering Qi!"
"How can this be? Isn’t it said that the Master of the Yang Family only has a fifth level cultivation?"
The two younger members of the Zhang Family furrowed their brows at this revelation.
They had originally thought there were no competitors, but unexpectedly, the Master of the Yang Family had also reached the sixth level.
With this, the ownership of the mine was now uncertain.
"Important guests?"
Zhang Tianqi pulled the corner of his mouth. "I have been guarding this place for three months, only seeing soldiers but no miners working. Clearly, it is abandoned land. Where does Brother Yang get this idea?"
Before he finished speaking, Yang Lingrui and Yang Linghu felt a powerful aura pressing down on them.
Yang Guanfeng chuckled softly and waved his hand, dispersing the oppressive force.
"Brother Zhang, you may not know, but this place originally belonged to the Wang Family’s mine. They suffered during the monster tide and were unable to manage it, so they traded it to my family."
Yang Guanfeng glanced at Yang Linghu beside him. "As for why I haven’t come here in three months, it was to help this child break through his protective barrier."
Zhang Tianqi then looked at Yang Linghu and could sense that this boy had recently reached the stage of Condensing Qi Palace.
Of course, he couldn’t see through Old Yu’s concealment methods as a sixth level of Gathering Qi cultivator, but Yang Lingrui only showed the level of the second.
"Now that his realm is stable, I came here and happened to run into Brother Zhang and his group. It just goes to show that timing can be better than being early."
"Hehe…"
Zhang Tianqi forced a smile as he looked at Yang Guanfeng.
The earlier clash of auras had been a test, and from the result, it was clear that Yang Guanfeng was indeed a genuine sixth level of Gathering Qi.
However, in terms of strength, he still held a slight advantage.
But such a difference in strength would be hard to demonstrate without a life-or-death struggle.
Zhang Tianqi, as the Master of the Zhang Family, wasn’t foolish; it wasn’t worth it to fight to the death over a mine.
Yet, if he retreated at the mere words of the other party, where would the face of the Zhang Family be?
"Yang Guanfeng, let’s skip the roundabout talk. Since I’m here, I won’t withdraw easily."
Zhang Tianqi raised his voice, "This area is right on the border of the two towns with no clear division. Since the Wang Family cannot protect the mine, it should be redefined."
"Are you implying that Brother Zhang wants to have a match with me?"
As he spoke, Yang Guanfeng stepped forward, showing no signs of fear.
At once, the atmosphere grew tense, and an invisible energy field stretched wider.
The four young ones were fine, being Gathering Qi cultivators.
However, the Zhang Family had brought miners and soldiers who had come to watch, and they were not as resilient.
The lighter ones felt difficulty in breathing, while the heavier ones even collapsed to the ground.
Fortunately, the confrontation between the two did not last long, and no injuries occurred.
This clash reinforced Zhang Tianqi’s belief that defeating Yang Guanfeng would not be easy; even if they fought, it would likely end in a draw.
"Father."
At this moment, Zhang Yao drew closer and softly called, giving his father a knowing glance.
Zhang Tianqi saw this and formed an idea.
"Yang Guanfeng, both of us are elders, and it wouldn’t look good for us to fight. Since both our families’ younger generations are present today, how about we let them spar to decide the ownership of this mine?"
Zhang Tianqi assumed his son was at the pinnacle of the second level of Gathering Qi and felt confident in victory.
However, Little did he know, his suggestion was exactly what the Yang Family wanted.
Because neither Yang Lingrui nor Yang Linghu had revealed their true strength, Yang Guanfeng waited for the other side to challenge them.
"Good idea! With the two of us watching from the side, it won’t hurt our friendship," Yang Guanfeng said.
Hearing that they could spar, Zhang Chen became excited.
"Uncle, I…"
He was just about to volunteer when Zhang Tianqi raised his hand to stop him.
"Zhang Yao, you go."
"Yes, Father."
Seeing Zhang Tianqi choose Zhang Yao, Zhang Chen felt a bit dissatisfied.
He was only a few years younger, and when it came to cultivation talent, he was stronger than Zhang Yao.
Besides, that kid from the Yang Family was only at the first level of Gathering Qi and had just made his breakthrough, making it an easy win for him.
"Indeed, there’s a difference between relatives; they always think of showcasing their own son in such moments!" Zhang Chen thought to himself.
This highlighted the differences between the Zhang Family and the Yang Family; most families couldn’t achieve the unity that the Yang Family had. Open and hidden struggles were often unavoidable.
The reason the Yang Family enjoyed their current strength was partly due to Old Yu’s dedicated support and partly due to Yang Guanfeng’s outstanding leadership and charisma.
Zhang Yao stepped forward into the clearing, and on the Yang side, Yang Lingrui stepped up to meet him.
"Zhang Family, Zhang Yao."
"Yang Family, Yang Lingrui."
After introducing themselves, the two individuals took their stances.
Neither of them was impulsive; they wouldn’t act recklessly without knowing the other’s capabilities.
Roar!
Boom!
Zhang Yao flipped his palm, summoning a fire snake that lunged at Yang Lingrui.
Yang Lingrui raised his hand and summoned a wind shield to neutralize it.
"Fire technique."
"Wind technique."
After the initial test, both of them understood each other’s backgrounds and began a new round of confrontation.
"Flowing Fireball!"
Zhang Yao initiated his attack first, casting several incantations, which ignited crimson flames around him.
With a snap of his fingers, the fireballs shot towards Yang Lingrui.
"Good attack!"
Yang Lingrui shouted, waving his arms, summoning a swirling gust of wind.
The spinning wind dissipated the fireballs, and he used the momentum to counterattack.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Three gusts of wind shot towards Zhang Yao.
"Wow, that’s fast!"
Zhang Yao’s pupils narrowed in surprise.
Yang Lingrui’s technique was significantly faster than ordinary Wind techniques.
