"Brother Yang, why are you being so polite to that Steward Niu? That guy almost got me beaten to death."

On the way back, Zhang Wei couldn't help but mutter under his breath, his dissatisfaction evident in his tone.

Yang Ling chuckled, "Little Zhang, actually, Steward Niu isn't that bad of a person. The day he had someone beat you up was his way of telling you that if you don't work hard at mining, you won't survive here."

Yang Ling had observed Steward Niu for some time and found him to be a person with a cold exterior but a kind heart. Although he turned a blind eye to Fifth Brother's actions, he was willing to exchange copper coins for miners working overtime at night. Especially the information he just gave Yang Ling was extremely important!

"Not bad, my foot," Zhang Wei muttered to himself, but he didn't dare to argue directly.

The next day, Yang Ling didn't go into the mine vein but instead headed to the southwest of the Miner Village. There was a blacksmith's shop there, specializing in crafting mining tools.

"After deducting living expenses, I've saved up 240 copper coins. That should be enough..."

As he walked into the blacksmith's shop, the clanging of metal was incessant. The tall and burly Blacksmith Wang was hammering away as he spoke, "What do you want to buy?"

"Blacksmith Wang, I plan to buy a Refined Iron Pickaxe," Yang Ling said with a respectful gesture.

"A Refined Iron Pickaxe? There are only three left, 200 coins each. Pick one yourself," Blacksmith Wang pointed to the wall.

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

Besides the Refined Iron Pickaxes, there were also some ordinary weapons on the wall, which were only for the Mine Vein Guards to use.

"Refined Iron Dagger, Agility +1, Attack Power 5" Price: One tael of silver.

"Refined Iron Staff, Strength +1, Attack Power 8" Price: One tael of silver.

...

"Refined Iron Pickaxe, Strength +2, Attack Power 1" Price: 200 coins.

Yang Ling took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart. Although he also wanted a weapon, he knew that given his current situation and wealth, these weapons were temporarily out of his reach. On the other hand, the Refined Iron Pickaxe was quite good.

"According to the attributes, just holding it increases my strength by 2 points. With this, I'll have 9 points of strength, which will speed up my leveling and mining!"

With this thought, Yang Ling was about to pick up the Refined Iron Pickaxe when he subconsciously glanced at the attributes of the other two pickaxes and stopped his hand.

"Huh, a Refined Steel Pickaxe? Why does it look the same as the Refined Iron Pickaxe?"

"Refined Steel Pickaxe, Strength +3, Attack Power 8."

"The attack power is the same as the Refined Iron Staff, but it adds 3 points of strength... So it can be used for mining and as a weapon!"

Yang Ling, without showing any emotion, picked up one of the pickaxes, looked at it for a while, and then put it down, picking up another to examine it. He repeated this several times.

Blacksmith Wang became a bit impatient, "They're all the same, what's there to see?"

The same thing? And all for 200 coins?

Yang Ling's heart pounded a few times, and then he picked up the Refined Steel Pickaxe, "Blacksmith Wang, I'll take this one."

"200 coins, leave the money, and you can go."

"Alright."

Yang Ling counted out 200 coins, placed them down, and strapped the Refined Steel Pickaxe to his waist, striding away. After walking quite a distance from the blacksmith's shop and seeing no reaction from the other party, Yang Ling couldn't help but feel excited.

"I got a bargain. If there were other players around, selling this Refined Steel Pickaxe for two taels of silver wouldn't be unreasonable, right?" Yang Ling thought to himself.

Just then, several figures suddenly approached.

"Fifth Brother?"

Yang Ling was slightly taken aback and quickly cupped his fists, "Do you need something?"

Fifth Brother grinned, "Of course, I heard you've been secretly working overtime and mined quite a bit of Fire Crystal Rock."

How did he know?

Yang Ling was sure he was always careful when leaving at night, and this guy was usually off drinking by then, so how did he find out?

Suddenly, he saw a familiar face in the crowd. The person seemed a bit panicked and immediately ducked away.

"Zhang Wei..."

Yang Ling's face darkened.

"Never mind how I found out, it just shows you didn't take Fifth Brother's words seriously," Fifth Brother said with a sly smile, turning to the nearby miners, "What do you guys think, is it right for this guy to mine a few extra hours every day?"

"Of course not! Yang Ling, mining a few extra hours makes you look diligent? What if the rules change one day, requiring us to hand over at least two taels of Fire Crystal Rock every day? Are you trying to get us killed with you?" one miner said angrily.

"Damn, how does this guy have so much energy? I'm dead tired after less than eight hours of mining, and he can mine sixteen or eighteen hours?" another miner complained.

"If he mines an extra tael of Fire Crystal Rock, we might have to mine less in the future. This guy is too inconsiderate."

Seeing that most of the miners agreed, Fifth Brother smiled smugly, "Yang Ling, I've given you a warning today. If I catch you secretly advancing again, you're dead!"

With that, he ordered his men, "Break one of his arms."

"Break my arm? That would be the end of me! How am I supposed to grind for experience!?" Yang Ling had intended to keep a low profile and secretly level up, but seeing that they were out to ruin his future, he was suddenly furious.

Two of Fifth Brother's men had already approached Yang Ling, ready to grab him. Without a word, Yang Ling kicked one of them in the stomach.

The first lackey couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying several meters away. The second one was slightly startled, but before he could react, Yang Ling punched him to the ground!

"This is the power of 7 points of strength. This punch must have the force of a professional boxer," Yang Ling thought excitedly.

The scene fell into a dead silence. Many miners looked at Yang Ling as if he were a stranger, with a hint of surprise in their eyes.

Fifth Brother was also stunned, his expression changing slightly, and his gaze became more serious.

"How is he so strong..."

In the crowd, Zhang Wei watched the scene unfold, feeling a wave of regret. He shouldn't have acted out of anger and done such a thing.

"Fifth Brother, we usually mind our own business. I mine my ore, you do your thing. As long as no one bothers me while I'm mining, everything's fine. But if anyone dares to interfere, I'll take their life!" Yang Ling looked at Fifth Brother, his eyes sharp.

At this point, he knew that if he didn't intimidate the other party, his situation would become even more difficult. He had only found this path of mining to level up and couldn't let it be affected!

"You're dead today," Fifth Brother said, his face darkening as he slowly rolled up his sleeves.

Yang Ling instinctively gripped the Refined Steel Pickaxe at his waist. With the strength boost of three points, he felt as if his entire body had been invigorated, every muscle pulsating.

"What are you doing?" A cold voice suddenly rang out.

Upon hearing it, Fifth Brother instantly became as timid as a quail. The miners looked at Supervisor Wu with reverence, making way for him.

Supervisor Wu, a middle-aged man accompanied by several guards, slowly walked to the front of the crowd. Yang Ling glanced at his attribute panel.

Character: Wu Que

Profession: Martial Artist

Strength: 12

Agility: 8

Spirit: 3

Martial Art: Black Tiger Fist (Proficient)

A martial artist! This was the goal Yang Ling had been most eager to achieve. Since entering the "Divine Realm," the only martial artist he had seen was this Supervisor Wu. However, it was strange that Supervisor Wu's attributes weren't much higher than those of the Mine Vein Guards. So he suspected it was because of the Black Tiger Fist that Supervisor Wu practiced!

"Sis... Supervisor Wu," Fifth Brother said quietly.

Supervisor Wu nodded expressionlessly, his gaze falling on Yang Ling, "You really like mining?"

Without hesitation, Yang Ling cupped his fists and said, "Supervisor Wu, I feel like I was born to be a miner. I even dream about mining!"

"What a load of crap!" "How can he say something like that!" The miners' faces changed drastically.

Fifth Brother clenched his fists in anger. Suddenly, Supervisor Wu laughed heartily, "Hahaha, I've overseen this Fire Crystal Rock Mine for many years, and you're the first miner I've encountered like you. Very well, keep mining. If anyone gives you trouble, come to me."

Fifth Brother's face turned extremely ugly.

"In a month, some big shots will be inspecting several mine veins, and they'll need miners from each vein to compete in mining skills. From our side, you'll be the one to go," Supervisor Wu said casually.