C10 Lowly

Since the discovery of the Origin Stone Essence, all the young slaves had been conscripted to mine it.

Naturally, Kong Qing was among them. The Origin Stone Essence, true to its name, was the most valuable part of the Origin Stone, with a few ordinary stones paling in comparison.

This made the Essence much harder than the regular stones, and consequently, more difficult to extract.

The supervisor of the seventh mine took special interest in the Essence due to its scarcity. Ordinary warriors couldn't absorb it directly; it required a complex refining process to achieve the purity of the Origin Stone Essence.

In contrast, warriors could directly absorb the Essence for their cultivation.

Such details were beyond Kong Qing's current understanding.

"Bang!"

"Bang! Bang!"

The clanging of iron pickaxes against stone echoed across the mining area. Outside the mound of Origin Stone Essence, slaves toiled feverishly.

Three overseers patrolled relentlessly, ready to whip anyone who dared to rest.

Kong Qing wiped the sweat from his brow and resumed his work with the pickaxe.

Bang!

A chunk of Origin Stone Essence tumbled down. Kong Qing grabbed it, feeling its weight, "Seems pretty similar to the ordinary Origin Stones."

As he was about to toss it into the basket behind him, a sharp pain suddenly pierced his chest.

Hiss!

Overwhelmed by the pain, Kong Qing collapsed to the ground, gasping, "What is this sensation?"

"Keep digging, everyone! If I catch anyone slacking off, I'll skin them alive!"

The overseer's voice boomed from another part of the tunnel. Kong Qing quickly suppressed his thoughts, picked up his pickaxe, and continued his labor.

The overseer glanced at Kong Qing a few times as he passed by, then moved on.

Kong Qing finally breathed easier, "What caused that pain?"

He scanned his surroundings and felt for the necklace he kept close to his chest.

"There's definitely something wrong!"

Kong Qing's heart raced with alarm.

The necklace wasn't glowing, but it was unusually warm.

He ruled out his body temperature as the cause.

Kong Qing had owned the necklace for quite some time, and it only glowed when he was gravely injured. Otherwise, it remained icy cold.

At that moment, there was an unusual warmth.

"Could it be because of the recent Origin Stone Essence?" Kong Qing pondered with a sinking feeling, "With so many people around, it's difficult to confirm..."

Kong Qing and his fellow workers were only allowed to rest after toiling away until midnight. Days passed, and the relentless digging took a tremendous toll on the bodies of the slaves. The yield of Origin Stone Essence dwindled day by day, and despite the supervisor's brutal coercion, the output remained disappointingly low.

The Origin Stone Essence mine was square, spanning five to six kilometers in diameter. The rock was so hard that numerous tunnels and caves had to be carved out within the mine.

Half a month flew by, and Kong Qing had lost count of the amount of Origin Stone Essence he had excavated. After collecting his steamed bun, he made his way to the small cave he had been working on. The entrance was narrow, barely wide enough for one person, but the cave stretched far into the darkness. Kong Qing had deliberately dug it this way.

He had even sacrificed much of his rest time over the past two weeks to continue the excavation. Kong Qing knew the system well; they didn't bother to count heads. If he stayed hidden here, he was confident that, barring any unforeseen events, no one would discover his whereabouts.

But Kong Qing's plan was somewhat naive. If he could come up with this idea, the supervisors weren't fools either. No matter where you hid, you still needed to eat, and eating required bringing along the Origin Stones you had mined. Even so, with the overwhelming number of slaves in Zone 26, it was impossible for the supervisors to keep track of everyone.

The three supervisors, however, were reluctant to share their authority over Zone 26 with others. They were not about to share the glory of discovering Origin Stone Essence with anyone else.

Many slaves preferred to die of starvation rather than endure the grueling labor of mining. And although new slaves were regularly brought in from other mining areas to Zone 26, the number of workers continued to decline due to the brutality of the three supervisors.

In the time he had spent digging, Kong Qing's necklace had heated up twice in the same manner as before. That's when he realized the cause of the sudden pain in his heart—it was the necklace he wore against his chest. Separated only by a thin layer of cloth and leather, the pain seemed inevitable. Yet, what baffled Kong Qing was why his heart ached when it should have been his skin suffering from the heat of the necklace.

The supervisors and slaves had settled down for the night, and after a period of careful observation, Kong Qing settled himself cross-legged in the cave.

Although he had never tasted pork, Kong Qing had seen pigs run. After all, the unparalleled masters on TV always cultivated their mysterious techniques in this manner.

Kong Qing took out the necklace and laid it in his palm, then slowly closed his eyes, trying to envision the peerless warriors soaring through the skies and traversing the earth.

Suddenly, Kong Qing's eyes snapped open, and he thrust the necklace upward, exclaiming, "Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, Old Lord Taishang, reveal your powers!"

When the necklace remained unchanged, a twitch formed at the corner of Kong Qing's mouth.

"How can I make the necklace react?" Kong Qing scratched his head, lost in thought, until an idea struck him.

He picked up a piece of Source Stone Essence lying nearby, his gaze intensifying.

Gently, he placed the Source Stone Essence on the ground and carefully set the necklace on top of it.

After a moment's scrutiny, just as Kong Qing was about to dismiss the effort and retrieve the necklace, something extraordinary happened.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

The necklace took flight, hovering in mid-air as if under some unseen control, startling Kong Qing so much that he quickly stood up and retreated several steps.

Simultaneously, the Source Stone Essence on the ground trembled violently.

Bang!

With a sudden burst, the Source Stone Essence shattered, scattering tiny fragments in every direction.

Bang! Bang!

Kong Qing swiftly shielded his head from the flying debris with his hands.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As the peculiar noises subsided, Kong Qing cautiously lowered his hands.

"What is this..." he murmured, observing the necklace's transformation with awe.

Thin streams of energy twirled briefly in the air before being swiftly drawn into the necklace.

Soon, the energy streams were completely absorbed, and the necklace remained aloft, casting an eerie glow.

"What do I do now? What should I do?" Kong Qing's face was etched with urgency.

Though he had witnessed wondrous sights before, this was the first time Kong Qing had experienced such a phenomenon at such close quarters.

"This defies all scientific explanation. It's got to be supernatural," Kong Qing managed to gulp down his saliva with difficulty.

"What do I do now?" Kong Qing racked his brain. "Could it be that I need to perform some sort of blood ritual on this necklace?"

Despite his hesitation, Kong Qing couldn't bring himself to touch the necklace.

"I'm out of time," Kong Qing's gaze sharpened suddenly. "Better to die here than at the hands of those brutes."

With that thought, Kong Qing bit down on his resolve and charged forward. He bit his index finger, and a drop of deep black blood fell onto the necklace.

Ding!

The moment the blood made contact, the necklace burst into a dazzling light, turning the cave as bright as day.

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Energy beams erupted from the necklace, radiating in all directions. Kong Qing, who had never witnessed or felt such power, was bathed continuously in its glow.

Yet Kong Qing didn't back away. A feeling surged from deep within, compelling him to grasp it with his hand.

The energy beams stung Kong Qing, but he remained steadfast, letting the light assault him.

"Just holding it in my hand should do the trick," Kong Qing pondered.

By holding it, he could become the storied warrior, capable of cultivating strength and possibly even escaping the Ancient Quarters.

The agony of the past three years weighed on him—the overlapping scars on his back, the unfeeling eyes that monitored him—all flashed through Kong Qing's mind.

"A slave remains a slave!"

"Haven't completed the task and you expect to eat?"

...

"Who are you? Why have you kidnapped me?"

"Who are we? Hahaha, pin him down!"

"Answer me! Why have you taken me?"

"Get lost! Why should you capture me?"

"Smack!"

"Wondering why? This brand will explain everything! Hold him down!"

"Ah!"

From the moment he was branded, Kong Qing felt trapped in an unending nightmare, impossible to awaken from.

The memories of three years spent toiling in the mines replayed incessantly in Kong Qing's head.

"I can hardly believe I've made it this far," Kong Qing said with an easy smile, his hand gently tracing the scar on his left cheek. He stood there, frozen for a moment, a goofy grin on his face.

"Three years have passed, and I refuse to be this downtrodden any longer."

"Origin Stone, grant me the strength I seek!"