Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter 102 The Storm Is Brewing

The Happy Forest Restaurant is doing very well. The sandworm and cured meat feast they offer is so popular that a group of young masters and gentlemen linger there, and it remains a hit every day.

After the business became more established, Xiao Chong stopped going there, and the fat manager was also dismissed, leaving only a few clever miners as assistants.

Anyway, with Hengshan protecting them, no one dares to cause trouble there. Besides, even if someone causes trouble, Xiao Chong isn't afraid. He'd rather have a few more clueless people like Tiger cause trouble so he can take the opportunity to extort more money from them.

It's important to know that selling bamboo poles properly is not an easy task; it involves a lot of specialized knowledge.

For example, what kind of person can you approach, and what kind of person can't? And how do you approach someone you can in a way that's just right—satisfying yourself while making the other person reluctantly accept it without causing a complete breakdown in the relationship?

All of these require highly skilled techniques and methods; keen eyesight, physical strength, and intelligence are all indispensable.

Moreover, extortion is like martial arts training; it requires daily, monthly, and yearly practice. Only through perseverance can one steadily improve and eventually reach a state of unparalleled mastery.

Therefore, Xiao Chong really hoped that someone would come and cause trouble. But the result disappointed him greatly. Ever since Tiger's misdeeds were exposed, the news that he had tried to kill someone but was killed instead had spread from somewhere, making it known to everyone in Tiannan Town.

The heroes and outlaws stationed in Tiannan Town now avoid Xiao Chong at all costs, fearing they might fall into his trap. Even when they go to the Happy Forest Tavern for food and drink, they try to avoid him as much as possible and say as few words as possible.

No one was willing to come knocking on his door, which left Xiao Chong feeling quite disappointed. But he couldn't bring himself to take the initiative; after all, one should have principles.

Disappointed, Xiao Chong summoned the remaining eight members of the Xiao family back to their camp, where they cultivated tirelessly day and night.

He felt that although some dangerous signs had emerged in the Southern Wilderness, opportunities and dangers always go hand in hand, and if handled well, they could be turned into benefits. Of course, the premise was that you had to have enough ability to manage such dangers.

Upon hearing the news that the fat man had found out, Xiao Chong's first reaction was naturally worry, but along with the worry, he felt an indescribable excitement.

Inside a barracks at the Xiao family's residence, eight young men gathered together, none of them knowing why Captain Xiao had summoned them in the middle of the night.

Xiao Chong sat quietly at the head of the table, head down, seemingly lost in thought. Since he didn't speak, the others naturally didn't dare to speak first, making the atmosphere in the barracks somewhat oppressive.

The fat man was closest to Xiao Chong. After waiting for a long time and seeing Xiao Chong sitting there motionless like a thinker, he couldn't help but ask, "Young Master Chong, did you gather us together so late because you have some important decision to make?"

Xiao Chong kept his head down, tapping his fingers lightly on the table without saying a word. He showed no displeasure at the fat man calling him "Young Master Chong" instead of Captain Xiao.

"What's going on? Are we going out to search for new spiritual veins again?" the fat man asked anxiously.

Hearing the fat man ask again, Xiao Chong finally raised his head and said softly, "No, from today onwards, everyone should stop thinking about finding the spiritual vein."

"Why? Do you have a grudge against Yuan Shi?" the fat man asked, puzzled. The others didn't speak, but their expressions were just as confused as the fat man's.

Xiao Chong sighed and said, "I have no grudge against Yuan Shi, but I have even less grudge against life."

"What do you mean? Why are you talking like someone's about to die?" The fat man's questions deepened.

Xiao Chong said irritably, "The Yuan Stones in the Southern Wilderness can no longer be opened. If we rashly venture into the depths of the Southern Wilderness again, we will all die there."

Yin Feng, who was standing nearby, had probably heard the fat man talk about the wild beasts before, and chimed in, "It's not that exaggerated, is it? A few people were eaten by wild beasts, right? It's normal. Wild beasts eat people everywhere. Besides, we've encountered them twice ourselves."

Xiao Chong said, "This time is different. The message says that the wild beast that appeared this time is a Silvertooth Bear, which is much more powerful than the Crimson-Eyed Flame Wolf and Sandworm that we encountered. If we had encountered this kind of wild beast the previous two times, it would have been hard to say whether we could have escaped unscathed."

Yin Feng thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then we'll never be able to mine any more spirit stones? Why didn't we go back to Flying Moon City together in the first few days?"

Xiao Chong laughed and said, "It's too early to go back now. After all, we came here with the hopes of our clan. We can't just turn back based on my guess."

"What guess? Is it related to the appearance of the wild beasts?" Yin Feng asked again.

"I suppose so," Xiao Chong replied. "In my opinion, the reason these wild beasts, which should live deep in the Southern Wilderness, are here is because they are being controlled by something."

"You mean to say that the appearance of these wild beasts is all manipulated by someone in secret?" Yin Feng opened his mouth wide, looking very surprised, and the others all showed the same expression.

"Very likely. However, it might not be a person; it could be something or an event," Xiao Chong corrected.

As Xiao Chong's explanation became increasingly fantastical, yet he remained silent on the solution, the fat man's face twitched anxiously. He stood up and asked, "We can't go back, and we can't leave. What are we supposed to do? Are we just going to sit here and do nothing?"

Xiao Chong smiled and said, "That's right, we're not going anywhere, we'll just sit here. But that doesn't mean we're doing nothing, we're going to cultivate, we'll make the most of every moment to cultivate. Starting tomorrow, everyone's cultivation intensity will double, Fatty, you'll double it."

"It's outrageous! Why does this kind of 'good thing' always happen to me?" the fat man wailed, slumping back into his chair, lying limply as if his bones had been removed.

Xiao Chong smiled again and leaned closer to the fat man, saying, "First, your cultivation level is the lowest among these people. Second, you're too fat; if you were attacked by wild beasts, you'd be too clumsy to escape. Third, and most importantly, we're good brothers, and I'll take special care of you."

The fat man rolled his eyes and said, "Are you sure we're really brothers? Is this how you take care of your brothers?"

Xiao Chong lowered his head and leaned forward again, his mouth almost touching the fat man's face, and said, "Of course, if you feel it's too hard and have any other ideas..."

"So I can be like them?" the fat man asked hopefully as he jumped up from his chair.

Xiao Chong's smile vanished. He first held up one finger and shook it in front of the fat man, then held up four fingers and gestured in front of him, saying softly, "No, it's to double it again."

"Crash!" The fat man slammed into the chair, smashing the perfectly good chair to pieces.

Seeing the fat man in such a sorry state, Xiao Chong didn't help him up. He slowly walked back to his original seat and said loudly, "From now on, no one is allowed to leave the camp without my permission. Do you all understand?"

The crowd looked at each other, but no one dared to utter a sound.

"You want to learn from him?" Not getting the response he expected, Xiao Chong frowned and pointed at the fat man, asking.

"No, we all listen to the captain," Yin Feng replied, taking the lead.

"Yes!" Except for the fat man who was still lying on the ground and hadn't gotten up, everyone nodded vigorously.

"Alright, everyone go back to sleep. We need to start cultivating first thing tomorrow morning. Remember, if anyone receives any new information about wild beasts, they must tell me immediately."

Seeing that everyone was behaving like good children, Xiao Chong waved his hand to dismiss them and went back to his room to sleep.

For several days in a row, all the members of the Xiao family stayed indoors and diligently cultivated their skills in the barracks.

The sudden doubling of training volume caused them immense suffering. The fat guy, in particular, saw his training volume triple, leaving him exhausted and crying out in pain every day. In just a few days, he lost a significant amount of weight.

For several days, everyone looked at Xiao Chong with resentment, but Xiao Chong showed no pity and ignored their grievances.

It wasn't that Xiao Chong was ruthless, but rather that he believed it was his responsibility to protect their lives. The martial arts cultivation of those who came to the Southern Wilderness with Xiao Chong this time was generally not high. Apart from Yin Changkong, a high-level combatant, the others were all at the Martial Apprentice level, which was simply not enough to compete with.

Now that Yin Changkong is gone, Xiao Chong is the strongest fighter. But no matter how strong he is, he is still a martial apprentice. If he encounters a powerful wild beast, he will only be devoured.

Therefore, Xiao Chong felt that the only way to save their lives and even secretly gain some benefits in the upcoming situation was to improve their overall combat effectiveness.

Intensive training is indeed very effective. Xiao Chong deeply understands this from the "torture" he endured by Xiao Fangzheng, the supervisor of the Zongxue Academy.

Cultivation is a slow and gradual process; it can never be accomplished overnight, but it never lies. The more effort you put in, the more your cultivation will increase.

These eight members of the Xiao family are not lacking in cultivation resources. Perhaps they are lacking in other aspects, such as cultivation techniques and pills, but in terms of spirit stones alone, they can even rival the disciples of many truly great clans.

Even in truly powerful clans, disciples at the Martial Apprentice level don't each have a box of spirit stones while cultivating.

As a result of the high-intensity training and the accumulation of a large number of elemental stones, the cultivation levels of the eight Xiao family disciples have been steadily improving.

Xiao Chong was pleased with this, but another matter caused him even more worry.

Over the past few days, new news about the pioneering teams has been coming in, and without exception, they have all been attacked by various wild beasts.

Some of these teams were quite powerful, managing to repel the wild beasts and even gain some benefits. However, the vast majority suffered heavy losses under the beasts' attacks. It is said that the worst-hit team was completely wiped out, with all two hundred-plus members perishing in the beasts' jaws.

Suddenly, danger loomed over the Southern Wilderness, as if a storm was brewing!