Black clouds rolled in, the wind howled in his ears, and suddenly a purple-gold lightning struck his body, and Xue Tong fell upside down from the clouds...
He suddenly woke up and realized that it was just a dream.
Early in the morning, Xue Tong walked quickly and arrived at the quarry an hour early to cut bluestones. The amount of transportation increased from 60 to 200, making his life suddenly difficult.
However, the tasks of others have not increased at all, which makes Xue Tong feel even more uneasy and nervous. He has an ominous premonition that an invisible network is slowly tightening towards him.
It wasn't until the sky completely darkened that Xue Tong finished moving the last piece of bluestone.
"It takes seven hours of hard work from morning to night!" Xue Tong felt as if his skeleton was about to fall apart.
Exhausted, he returned to the stone house, barely cheered up, and tried to use the spirit-gathering technique to regain his strength.
But the mana in his meridians could no longer be regenerated. His vitality was almost exhausted and his body was in desperate need of rest.
The situation became worse the next day, and Xue Tong worked for another half an hour.
"The one named Xue will collapse within a few days of moving!" Zheng Long said proudly to Qi Jun.
"Well, Brother Heilong is right. The guy named Xue is the same as the guy last time. He will be exhausted in ten days and a half! Haha."
"The boy is still erect and won't be able to bounce around for a few more days!"
…
However, to their surprise, another day passed and Xue Tong's condition seemed to improve.
"What's going on? Xue Tong is obviously more energetic than yesterday." Peng Tai noticed something unusual, called Zheng Long, and asked.
"Reflection?" Zheng Long guessed.
"Fart, you are such a stupid pig. Keep an eye on Xue Tong from today on. Until he finishes, you and Qi Jun will always be with you!"
Peng Tai returned to the house early. Zheng Long and Qi Jun kept observing Xue Tong after finishing the work, not daring to let go of any details.
Xue Tong always sat upright and did the exercises, motionless.
Zheng Long was impatient and wanted to ask questions several times, but was pulled back by Qi Jun, "Brother Long, wait a minute. The longer he practices, the less time he has to move rocks. Who cares about him!"
Just after the end of the day, a man came from the west.
"Xiong Jing! What is he doing here?" Zheng Long asked Qi Jun with eyes wide open.
"I don't know. This guy has always been at odds with the boss. What is he doing here?"
It wasn't until Xiong Jing lifted the bluestone that the two of them suddenly understood.
"Xiong Jing! What do you mean by helping Xue Tong work?" Zheng Long rushed forward and asked.
Xiong Jing curled his lips and said disapprovingly: "It's not interesting. Xue Tong paid me to hire me. It's not against the law to move rocks."
Xiong Jing's military strength is much higher than that of Zheng Long, so he will not take him seriously.
Xue Tong, who seemed to be smiling but not smiling, said teasingly: "The sect encourages disciples to help each other. Xiong Jing helped me out of friendship with the sect. I will spend some spiritual stones. Are you okay with that?"
"you you!"
Zheng Long was speechless for a moment and pointed at the two men and threatened: "You guys wait, I'll call Boss Peng."
"You can go ahead, but don't forget to tell Peng Tai that the Law Enforcement Hall, which is playing dirty tricks, can't control him. But if he openly prevents me from finding someone to help, then the Law Enforcement Hall will definitely be able to take care of him."
"Well, Brother Xue said it well. When the time comes, I, Xiong Jing, will also go and complain!"
Xue Tong asked Xiong Jing to move the stone at the price of one spiritual stone every two days. The price Xue Tong gave was not low. The monthly salary of a handyman was five yuan, and he offered three times the price.
Xiong Jingben sympathized with Xue Tong, and since he had spiritual stones to earn, he was happy to be helped. Xue Tong left after moving a hundred square stones every day and went back to his house to practice the exercises.
He has twenty-five spiritual stones in his hand, which is enough to delay him for a month or two.
…
Twelve days later, Cuiweifeng.
The residence of Shen Chuanpeng, an outside disciple of Deacon Hall.
"Brother Shen, do you know Zhou Yan from the martial arts hall?"
"Zhou Yan? You mean Zhou Yan, the inner sect member of the Martial Arts Hall? I have never dealt with him, I have only heard of him."
Shen Chuanpeng was secretly surprised that Xue Tongren had grown taller and stronger, and his demeanor and spirit had obviously become much older.
Xue Tong recounted the whole story and explained: "I was worried about various traps after joining the association, such as asking me to do things that were detrimental to Brother Zixiong and Brother Shen. That day I hesitated again and again and did not agree to join the association."
"Hmm~" Shen Chuanpeng's face became solemn and he paced back and forth in the room.
"Zixiong and I are indeed members of the Jingwu Regiment, but I don't think Zhou Yan is coming for us. His status is much higher, and there is no need to use you to deal with us."
"The greater possibility is that he really loves talents and is looking for new people for the Cangliu Club."
"Oh, then if I join the Cangliu Society, will I have conflicts with the two eldest brothers in the future?" Xue Tong asked, still worried.
"It's hard to tell at a glance. The Cangliu Society and the Jingwu Group are secretly competing with each other, and they are constantly at odds. But as far as I know, a real major conflict between the two parties has never happened. The two alliances each have five hundred disciples. How could it be such a coincidence? Did they happen to meet you?"
"What you need to worry about more is why Hong Tianyou suddenly asked for a team change and instigated Peng Tai to murder you!"
"Yes, I am a nobody, Hong Tianyou changed teams inexplicably, and Jinglan Branch directly assigned tasks. Could it be that these things are consistent with the original assignment of the stone quarry?" Xue Tong reminded.
"...That damn bastard Lu Huanzhi again?!" Shen Chuanpeng pondered for a moment, his face suddenly turned yellow, and he started to curse.
"Lu Huanzhi and Senior Brother Chen were both disciples of the outer sect of the Deacon Hall. This thief was very talented. He reached the level of martial arts master two years ago and was promoted to the inner sect. Lu didn't like the many chores in the Deacon Hall, so he found the opportunity to switch to Tibet. The disciple of Tang Yiming, the elder of the Jingge, had a deep grudge with Senior Brother Chen in his early years, so he suppressed Senior Brother Chen many times after he was promoted to the inner sect."
"The great martial disciple is a higher being than Zhu Qingling and Zhou Yan." Xue Tong's expression changed upon hearing this and he sighed.
"Well, besides, there is Elder Tang's support behind him." Shen Chuanpeng said angrily.
"From this point of view, I can't offend Zhou Yan. If he becomes angry and goes to Hong Tianyou's place to increase his power, my life will be over." Xue Tong said.
"Well, you quickly go to see him with your name card and agree to all his requests. Zhou Yan doesn't know the inside story. Now is the best time!"
"As for the hidden dangers in the future, there is no need to worry. If the current crisis is not eliminated, how can we talk about the future?!" Shen Chuanpeng made it clear.
…
It was already midnight when Xue Tong returned to the stone house.
He borrowed two hundred spirit stones from Zhou Yan, went to the inner market to buy two bone-tempering pills, and hurried back, planning to use the next day's rest day in the middle of the month to take the pills again.
Zhou Yan agreed to write a letter to remind Hong Tianyou that Xue Tong was someone he favored, so he should take good care of him.
…
Xue Tong worked half-work and half-cultivated until the end of the month.
On the last day, he paid Xiong Jing an extra spiritual stone and said, "Brother Xiong, you won't be here next month. The tasks of your team will definitely increase, making you too busy to take care of yourself and no time to help me."
"Well, can you do it alone?"
"It should be almost done. I can probably handle it."
"Well, you should be more careful."
…
"The boy has no one to help him. He will die this month." Zheng Long pointed at Xue Tong who was sawing stones in the field and shook his head.
"Well, the person named Xue paid for his life and lived for an extra month. Now he has to either get out or die of exhaustion!" Pang Likun agreed.
Xue Tong used the black saw to cut through dozens of bluestones one after another, and took out two bundles of purple-core fern binding ropes that are common in tool rooms.
He skillfully tied two pieces of bluestone tightly and hung them on both ends of the hemp iron rod. Together with the stone and the rod, they formed a heavy burden.
In one month, his mana increased greatly, especially after taking the second bone-hardening pill. The mana retained in his meridians continued to increase, often increasing by a small amount every three days and by a large amount every five days. His spiritual consciousness swept through the body. The meridians have become significantly thicker and wider than a month ago.
The burst of strength from his skeletal muscles is also not comparable to that of a month ago. With both magic and brute strength, lifting a thousand-jin stone load has become a trivial matter.
But Xue Tong swayed and the load almost fell over. He struggled to hold on to the iron rod, barely stood, and carried the load to the yard.
"Hmph, it's so whimsical. If a dog jumps over the wall in a hurry, you can think of this method!"
"Haha, the man named Xue has a strong desire to live, but this can't save him."
Zheng Long and the three of them laughed together.
Xue Tong put on airs and spent most of his time practicing, procrastinating until the sun was approaching the west mountain. When the last three people left, Fang strode back and forth across the stone field to finish the remaining 40% of the work.
Xue Tong stayed around for two days. On the morning of the third day, he suddenly fell down after carrying several loads of bluestone. The skin on his knees was abraded and red blood oozed out.
With a pale face, he came to Peng Tai, who had been sitting under a tree doing exercises almost all day.
The large-leaf banyan tree with its luxuriant branches and towering canopy forms a forest from one tree to the next. Its roots are exposed and winding, with curling branches and dragon claws, and hundreds of aerial roots hanging down.
Xue Tong pleaded: "Boss, I can't move the stone anymore. Please show me a way out."
Peng Tai ignored it indifferently, gently raised his palm, and slashed out with a diagonal stab. "
The huge green wind blade rose out of the air and slashed down diagonally. The aerial root of the banyan tree as thick as a bowl was cut off and fell to the ground.
"What a powerful wind blade technique. The boss's martial arts is probably one of the best among the handyman disciples." Xue Tong praised with admiration.
"Don't you have many spiritual stones? Keep inviting people." Peng Tai said coldly.
"I have no choice but to invite Xiong Jing, and I don't dare to ask the boss to reduce the number of people sent."
"I can't help you. If you have the ability, you can go to the deacon hall and beg for mercy, and beg them to let you go." Peng Tai's words were true. He was not the one who wanted to kill Xue Tong.
"Boss, what do you think of this? The team will help me complete the task, and I will find a way to raise some spiritual stones?" Xue Tong begged.
"Oh, you still have spirit stones?" Peng Tai rolled his eyes, and a rare smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Yeah, yeah, I borrowed thirty from my fellow villagers. I plan to ask the boss, Heilong, and Qi Jun to take action, and we'll wait for two months before we talk."
Xue Tong endured the humiliation and showed weakness because he was not sure whether he could beat Peng Tai. He could have shown his strength and easily completed the task, but this would inevitably trigger a backlash, and maybe Peng Tai would set up a trap to harm himself.
"The time has not come yet. A man can bend and stretch, but he must endure it." Xue Tong made up his mind.
"It's not impossible to ask us for help, but the price needs to be doubled, one spiritual stone a day." Peng Tai looked condescending, as if he was talking to a poor guy who was being exploited.
He was in dire need of spiritual stones, so there was no reason not to drain the fat sheep that came to his door.
