Xia Hua and Dong Xue still hadn't figured out what just happened. Jiang Kai just… left like that?
And Brother Hu and Brother Ruan didn't object at all—they completely trusted Jiang Kai without question.
"This is the Fire God's way of doing things? Doesn't seem like what I imagined," Dong Xue said curiously.
Xia Hua snorted coldly. "I thought Jiang Kai was some kind of fearless guy, but turns out when he chickens out, he's faster than anyone else."
"I told him not to dig up so much earth essence, and he said, 'No one would dare come to steal it.' Well, look who's getting slapped in the face now."
Dong Xue frowned, worry written all over her face. "I'm just afraid if we hand over the earth essence so easily, they'll still come looking for trouble afterward."
Good people get bullied easily—the more you give in, the more others will push their luck.
The two women were whispering to each other, but Jiang Kai ignored them, leading the team away at a brisk pace.
However, before they could get far, they saw several War Gods rushing toward them at incredible speed.
"Please wait!"
Xia Hua looked up in surprise—weren't those the Azure Dragons from before?
Could it be that even after getting so much earth essence, they still weren't satisfied?
Jiang Kai gave them a calm glance and said, "What do you want?"
The leading Azure Dragon War God hesitated several times, opening his mouth and closing it again.
Jiang Kai said impatiently, "If you've got nothing to say, we're leaving!"
Hearing that, the man couldn't hold back anymore and blurted, "Uh, Captain Kai, we were wrong! Please forgive us—we beg you!"
Hearing that, Xia Hua and Dong Xue's jaws almost hit the ground.
These War Gods actually chased after them… just to apologize to Jiang Kai?
And these proud War Gods were calling him "Captain Kai" directly?
"What just happened?" Dong Xue asked in shock, looking toward Xia Hua—but Xia Hua's eyes were just as bewildered.
"Captain Kai, earlier we failed to recognize greatness when we saw it—we didn't realize you were Jiang Kai himself! We were terribly rude. Please, be the bigger man and spare us this once!" the man said hurriedly, and his companions immediately echoed him.
"Captain Kai, we really know we were wrong! We won't dare do it again! Please let us go!"
Jiang Kai snorted coldly. "I warned you before, but you wouldn't listen. You've got no one to blame but yourselves."
"You can keep the earth essence. There's probably plenty of ore there. I don't want it."
"No, no, no! Jiang Kai—Captain Kai—Brother, please, we really know we were wrong! We haven't touched the earth essence, it's still sealed, exactly as before—we'll give it all back to you!"
"And, um, it looks like your team doesn't have enough manpower, right? How about this—we'll help you dig. You just need to supervise us."
"Oh, and earlier we even found eight ore stones! We'll give them all to you, just please take back the earth essence!"
Xia Hua and Dong Xue felt like they were dreaming!
What was happening here? Weren't these the same arrogant guys from before who didn't even take them seriously? Now they were practically crying, begging on their knees for Jiang Kai to take back the earth essence?
At that moment, Jiang Kai's image in the two women's eyes suddenly grew tall and mysterious…
Jiang Kai looked at them calmly for a while, then turned to Old Hu. "Old Hu, should we forgive them?"
Hu Yan thought for a bit and said, "You dug up so much earth essence—we four can't process it fast enough. If beasts come, it could get troublesome."
Jiang Kai nodded. "Alright, you six will handle the mining. Old Hu, keep an eye on them."
"I'm warning you, if you dare pocket any ore, there'll be no room for negotiation in the future. Work hard, and if I'm satisfied, I'll forgive you."
"Thank you, thank you! We'll definitely work hard and won't slack off!"
"Yes, yes! As long as you forgive us, we'll do anything you say!"
"Please, all five of you, head back to rest—we'll take care of the work."
Jiang Kai turned around reluctantly and sighed. "Ah, still too soft-hearted. Lead the way."
Xia Hua and Dong Xue followed behind the group, still unable to believe what they'd just witnessed.
Dong Xue tugged lightly on Hu Yan's sleeve. "Brother Hu, what's going on?"
"I don't know either."
"You don't know? Then why are you so calm about it?"
"When you're with Captain Kai," Hu Yan said coolly, "you have to learn to stay calm. Anything can happen."
Before he could finish, Jiang Kai overheard him and shot him a glare. "Anything I do doesn't count as 'something happening.' It's what those two do that really counts as going overboard."
Xia Hua and Dong Xue froze on the spot, utterly shocked.
Hu Yan and Ruan Yu did things more outrageous than Jiang Kai? Whether he was exaggerating or not, it probably wasn't far from the truth.
So this was the legendary Fire God Squad? Compared to their past experiences—no matter how dangerous or incredible—everything else seemed like child's play now…
At any rate, now that the Fire God Squad had six War Gods helping out, the other four could finally relax a little.
Those six worked with unbelievable diligence, carefully sifting through the earth to find ore. Whenever they discovered a piece, they immediately handed it to Hu Yan.
Hu Yan kept a record of everyone's yield—after all, if someone's total ended up too low, Jiang Kai might not be happy.
The six had no choice but to go all out, working energetically without the slightest laziness.
Xia Hua couldn't contain her curiosity anymore. She ran up to Jiang Kai and asked how exactly he had made them so obedient.
"The National Soul," Jiang Kai said casually, not hiding anything. "I revoked their right to benefit from it."
"As the holder of the Huaxia National Soul, I have that much authority, at least."
Finally, Xia Hua understood everything.
No wonder those War Gods had to bow their heads—after all, the National Soul's boost was enormous, and most importantly, it was still growing stronger!
You could always come back to mine for ore later, but if you lost your National Soul qualification, that was something you could never recover!
"Jiang Kai can even punish the Azure Dragon Guild!" Dong Xue suddenly realized.
"So that's it… this Jiang Kai is ruthless—he actually revoked a War God's National Soul qualification!"
The two women secretly glanced at Jiang Kai. He was just resting nearby at the moment.
"I feel like sometimes that guy's a complete fool, sometimes he's just lazy and playful—but then sometimes, he's colder and crueler than anyone else!" Xia Hua muttered. "Can't figure him out at all."
...
Ruan Yu walked up to Jiang Kai, took a swig from his gourd, and said, "Captain Kai, that War God just now mentioned that judging from the intensity of this ore surge, Blood Crystal Stones might appear."
"Blood Crystal Stones? What are those for?"
"They can upgrade Grade-1 equipment to artifact level. But it's risky—if the upgrade fails, the original item will be destroyed."
Jiang Kai's eyes widened instantly.
Just that ability alone made Blood Crystal Stones top-tier ore!
"What's the success rate?"
"One Blood Crystal Stone gives about a ten percent chance. Two will increase it to twenty. If you use ten, it's guaranteed."
Ruan Yu went on, "Every six months, when there's a massive ore eruption, there's a tiny chance Blood Crystal Stones will appear. When they do, the surrounding soil glows red, so they're easy to spot—but that also makes them hard to claim first."
Jiang Kai frowned deeply. He really wanted to upgrade Nine Tribulation Chaser to artifact level.
"Also, within Blood Crystal Stones, there's an even rarer gem called Heaven Crystal Stone. It can give items without manifestation attributes the ability to manifest."
"Hiss…" Jiang Kai sucked in a sharp breath.
Good grief. So Heaven Crystal Stone was the most precious ore in these mining eruptions.
Just as they were speaking, the ground suddenly trembled violently, and the geysers of earth reversed course—getting sucked back into the pits from midair.
"It's the devouring phase!" Jiang Kai watched the spectacular scene, his brows furrowed tightly.
Now that he thought about it, this Fallen Mine Region was really strange. Its peculiar nature might even rival—or surpass—the Bewitching Mist Zone!
"What's beneath these pits? Don't tell me… there's something down there like that giant willow tree?" Jiang Kai wondered silently.
[T/N: It SEEMS my 2nd Account has been suspended 😞. I can't operate it anymore. But, if you search, you can see it still there. Novels are all there. I have made another account("Ambi_Guy") for now and will shift the novels as soon as possible. It may take 1-2 days, so I ask your all understanding. I have also sent an email to WebNovel and asked regarding the situation. As soon as I get an update, I will let you all know. Have a great read~ 👍😄👍]
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