As Su Zhan thought about it, his smile deepened.
Before he could even finish the thought, more low-grade spirit stones landed at his feet.
"I really underestimated this thing," he muttered.
He exited the clone's perspective and opened his eyes, staring down at the black mark on his palm.
"Feeding it spirit stones doesn't just create more clones… It actually unlocks new features!"
New abilities meant new possibilities. Endless ones.
"If three low-grade spirit stones unlocked the first stage, and nine the second… then twenty-seven should unlock the third.
What kind of surprises will come with that stage?"
But his excitement dimmed slightly.
"The only problem is… it's going to cost a lot more spirit stones moving forward."
He did the math in his head.
"The third stage needs twenty-four more low-grade stones. At my current pace—earning four a day—I can reach it in about a week."
"But the fourth stage… that's a full eighty-one. Not so easy."
Even though the third stage would give him a third shadow clone and boost his mining speed by 50%, the daily yield would still only be six spirit stones.
But with the need to keep himself fed and maintain his strength, gathering eighty-one would still take half a month, minimum.
And that was just the beginning.
By the fifth or sixth stage? The time commitment alone would be insane.
"…Unless I go the same route as Li Lichang."
His gaze darkened.
He had tested the waters last night. Murder and theft—inside this mine—were acceptable means of survival. And no one cared.
In fact, as soon as the thought surfaced, names began to appear in his mind. Men who deserved to die. Vicious bullies. Thugs. Monsters in human skin.
Taking them out wouldn't weigh on his conscience. It would be doing the world a favor.
But then, Su Zhan froze.
Wait.
His expression changed.
"I almost overlooked something critical," he said to himself.
"If I redeem four or six low-grade spirit stones every day, maybe I can get away with it for a while… but the moment it becomes routine? I'm done for."
He clenched his fists.
"What kind of place is this mine? A hellhole filled with greedy eyes and bloodthirsty lunatics. Anyone who seems to be doing a little better instantly becomes a target."
"People have been murdered over a single pile of broken spirit stones. If I start trading in hundreds every few days, I'll be putting a target on my back."
Sure, the weak might not dare attack him outright.
But what about the quiet old ones miners?
What about the supervisors—many of whom were in the second or third layer of the Mortal Realm?
The risk was too high.
Su Zhan's voice lowered, cold and calm. "That leaves only one option. Kill first. Take what I need. Before they come for me."
Su Zhan looked at Clone No. 1 and Clone No. 2.
The two clones continued working without pause, steadily placing the miscellaneous spirit stones they mined in front of him.
Within just an hour, more than twenty stones had already piled up.
"At this rate, that's one low-grade spirit stone every five hours…"
Su Zhan calculated silently.
But then—his eyes narrowed.
"Wait."
Clone No. 1 and Clone No. 2 both paused, tilting their heads at him, confused by his sudden change in tone.
Su Zhan's expression shifted—confusion turning into realization, then into a crazed smile.
"That's right… Why should I go through the mine's exchange system at all?"
"They kidnapped mme, locked me up, and now they force me to trade 100 stones for just one spirit stone? That's straight-up robbery!"
"In the outside world, the normal exchange rate is 10 to 1!"
"I'm stuck here… but they aren't!"