"Thank you for your generous gift, Master Leo. But this old man has little interest in spirit swords or pills. If you could help us, my nephews and me, escape this place—leave the Black Water Stockade Mine—even if only to let the two young ones go to some mortal kingdom and spread our branch of the family, that would be enough. If you could do this, this old man would devote his remaining years to repaying you. I could even... even forge a magic artifact for you with my own hands."

  Hann seized his final chance. Leo had no reason to stay in the mine any longer. If he missed this opportunity, he would never see daylight again.

  "Mist already suspects me. I can promise you nothing now. If circumstances allow after I leave, I'll find a way to get you out."

  Leo frowned, considering for a moment. Getting them out wouldn't be difficult—those who severely violated Palace rules were executed outright; those exiled to the mines weren't guilty of capital offenses. Hann had been imprisoned for nearly twenty years. With some spirit stones to bribe the overseers, it might be possible. But he still faced Mist's threat upon leaving.

  A magic artifact would be welcome. But if he could obtain Foundation Establishment Pills and successfully form his foundation, he could forge artifacts later.

  He could barely ensure his own safety; he couldn't worry about Hann. So Leo left his promise open-ended.

  "Th-thank you, Master Leo. This old man will await your good news."

  Hann, shrewd and experienced, knew Leo hated complications despite their limited contact. This promise was more than he had hoped for. Pressing further would only annoy Leo and ruin everything.

  Breathing the fresh air outside the mine, Leo felt like he had emerged into another world. Six years in the Black Water Stockade Mine—the solitude and perseverance were beyond words.

  "Hurry up, hand over your spirit stones and get back in the mine. Stop dawdling."

  A potbellied fat man cracked a whip, urging Leo along. Though Leo's cultivation was two layers higher than his own, he was just a miner. With numerous cultivator guards outside the mine, even if it came to a fight, a miner with no resources was no match for him.

  Emerging into the light, Leo was momentarily disoriented.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "Hey, I'm talking to you." The fat man strode over, brandishing his whip menacingly.

  "I'm not a miner. I came here for a chore, and I'm done with it." Leo showed his identity token.

  "Impossible. I've been here over a year and never seen any disciple enter the mine—especially not a Great Perfection disciple like you." The fat man snorted. "Don't try to sneak out, boy. My whip doesn't play favorites."

  "Who do you think you're talking to?"

  Leo's eyes narrowed dangerously. He was now at the Great Perfection stage, among the top tier of the Palace's tens of thousands of Qi Refining disciples, second only to those sect elites wielding magic artifacts. In the cultivation world, the strong preyed on the weak. He needn't be overly polite to this overseer.

  When he first entered the mine, these weren't the guards stationed here. But that was normal. Times changed, and the guards at Black Water Stockade rotated yearly. Some even shortened their durations by paying spirit stones.

  "What, you want to fight?" The fat man's scalp tingled under Leo's gaze. He stepped back involuntarily, though his mouth still blustered.

  Seeing a fellow disciple apparently clashing with a miner, several nearby Palace disciples gathered round.

  "This miner's trying to cause trouble. I'll flay him alive." Embarrassed by his retreat, the fat man's courage swelled with his comrades nearby. He cracked his whip and sneered.

  Leo raised his token. "The sect forbids private battles among disciples. Do you want to violate sect rules?"

  "What's going on?"

  A voice like a warbling oriole rang out. The crowd parted to reveal a beautiful young woman in a light purple dress.

  "Senior Sister Vera, this miner's impersonating a sect disciple, trying to sneak out. I stopped him." The fat man immediately lodged his complaint.

  "No, his token looks real to me." Another disciple remarked.

  "Which peak are you from? Let me see your token." Vera's beautiful eyes fixed on Leo with an air of authority.

  "Azure Lotus Peak disciple, Leo. I entered the Palace over six years ago." Leo handed his token to the woman they called Senior Sister Vera, whose cultivation matched his own.

  "The identity checks out. How long have you been in the mine?" Vera examined the token with her spiritual sense and asked.

  "I entered the mine less than two months after joining the sect. It's been over six years now." Leo replied.

  "What? Impossible! Six years in the mine without food or water—how could you survive? I never saw you come up for supplies." The fat man seized on what seemed a glaring inconsistency.

  "Right, we've never seen him before." Other cultivators nodded in agreement.

  "I had other miners bring me food. No need to come up myself. Is there a problem?" Leo smiled faintly.

  "Then where are the spirit stones you mined?" someone immediately demanded.

  Leo tossed the storage pouch the mine supervisor had given him to the fat man.

  The fat man emptied it. A pile of over thirteen thousand spirit stones spilled out. Impressive, but for six years in the mine, not excessive. Leo felt a twinge of reluctance, but entering the mine and producing nothing—or too little—would have been suspicious.

  Still, thanks to the rich vein he'd discovered, his boundary space held several times this amount in various elemental stones, plus over a hundred mid-grade stones. This loss stung, but he could bear it.

  "Senior Brother Leo, you're amazing—six years in the mine!"

  "Yeah, after the sect takes its cut, Senior Brother Leo still nets over two thousand three hundred spirit stones. Mining's quite lucrative!"

  Once his identity was confirmed, the gathered cultivators eagerly ingratiated themselves with Leo. The sight of his substantial haul made them green with envy. The bolder ones even started calling him "Senior Brother Leo."

  "Spare me. Try two months in that mine yourself." Another disciple scoffed. Then all fell silent, a grudging respect in their eyes.

  Even the acknowledged Senior Sister Vera returned his token with newfound deference. The token showed Leo had entered the Palace at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. Six years later, he had reached Great Perfection—all while mining in the darkness.

  Such perseverance and dedication, Vera thought, she had never seen among the Palace's outstanding young disciples.