Eternal Life Begins with Learning

"With this blood sacrifice, the Cold Blood Ore will soften considerably within ten days. Even common tools will be able to mine it."

"Arrange for people to mine the Ore Vein immediately. There can be no delays!"

The man in white spoke calmly, but the implications of his words were chilling.

Li Jinghong didn’t dare say another word. Suppressing the terror in his heart, he hastily agreed.

"Do this well, and I’ll grant you a spot for an eligible child from your clan to enroll next year."

The man in white glanced at Li Jinghong. His casual words instantly transformed the terrified Li Jinghong, filling him with elation.

"My lord, rest assured! I will absolutely not fail to meet your expectations!"

With a THUD, Li Jinghong dropped to his knees, repeatedly pledging his loyalty.

"I’ve grown weary."

"See to the arrangements."

The man in white waved his hand dismissively, his face showing impatience. He took a step, and after a few flickers, he vanished without a trace.

Li Jinghong rose to his feet. As he looked at the dense forest of ice sculptures again, all traces of fear were gone. His gaze shifted to the surviving Inspectors, who were about to scatter like frightened animals.

"All of you, assemble over here!"

Li Jinghong shouted.

Faced with Li Jinghong’s command, the dozens of surviving Inspectors all cowered. After all, the grim precedent was right before their eyes. Who wouldn’t be afraid?

But soon, under Li Jinghong’s "carrot and stick" approach, the dozens of surviving Inspectors reluctantly gathered in the mine pit.

Chu Mu followed them, his expression heavy. He hadn’t heard the conversation between the man in white and Li Jinghong clearly, but from Li Jinghong’s demeanor, he knew the immediate danger had passed.

But...

Chu Mu gazed at the surrounding ice sculptures, an indescribable and complex feeling welling up in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of lives were simply gone.

Judging by the demeanor of the man in white after the incident, Chu Mu was almost certain that he knew exactly what had transpired.

’He knew...’

Chu Mu let out a long breath, a strange sense of oppression weighing on his heart.

All the signs made one thing abundantly clear: the high-and-mighty, mysterious Extraordinary World was no paradise of truth, goodness, and beauty.

Then again, it made sense. Qi and Blood Cultivation alone was a step toward the non-human, let alone the even higher tiers of the Extraordinary.

Sword Control, Flying, Fireball, Resentful Soul...

All of it could be considered the work of Immortals, abilities far beyond what the concept of "human" could encompass.

It wouldn’t even be surprising if those at the highest levels of the Extraordinary were a separate species, unable to reproduce with ordinary people.

’Would Homelander... care about the lives of ordinary people?’

’Never mind anyone else, just look at Li Jinghong... Would he care about a few hundred lives?’

Chu Mu couldn’t see the slightest flicker of emotion on Li Jinghong’s face.

Hundreds of lives... The man in white didn’t care, and Li Jinghong, the Thousand Households, cared even less!

Thick, billowing smoke rose from the mine pit. Amidst the roaring flames of dry wood lay hundreds of bodies, piled together.

Black smoke churned as the stench of roasting flesh and burnt cinders filled the air. The surviving Inspectors stood around in small groups. Another large contingent of Inspectors, hastily summoned by Li Jinghong, were scattered throughout the pit, their faces a mixture of expressions as they watched the unprecedented sight of the mass cremation.

The great fire burned late into the night.

The charred bodies were broken into pieces, mixed with the ashes of the firewood, and stuffed into burlap sacks by the Inspectors, who then carried them out of the mine pit.

Despite the late hour, the work didn’t stop. A new batch of men on Forced Labor duty was roused from their sleep. Illuminated by the blazing fire, they carried their tools and entered the mine to begin digging.

Chu Mu sat leaning to one side, his eyes profound. The "Spiritual Radiance Blessing" had already descended. In his perception, that indescribable chill remained.

It hadn’t weakened in the slightest after the eruption that had claimed hundreds of lives. In fact, Chu Mu faintly sensed that the chill had actually grown much stronger.

Chu Mu looked toward the Inspectors busy at the mine, and the images of the frost-covered corpses surfaced in his mind.

’In other words, even if there are no more incidents, this unrelenting chill alone makes this mine a deathtrap, a demonic cave that will continuously devour lives!’

’Are these hundred or so men on Forced Labor duty just... expendable?’

His gaze shifted, finally focusing on Li Jinghong.

’Hundreds of people are dead, yet Li Jinghong actually seems more motivated than ever?’

A flicker in Chu Mu’s eyes, and his resolve hardened. ’I can’t stay in this mine any longer. If I have to, I’ll desert. I have to get out of here!’

"Wu Shuo, take your men and head back first. You’re now in full charge of the Rebel situation..."

Fortunately, Chu Mu didn’t have to agonize for long. Li Jinghong started giving orders to Wu Shuo, who had only recently arrived.

After a few brief orders, Wu Shuo led the surviving Inspectors away from the mountain.

The troop that had arrived in a grand procession of nearly two hundred now numbered a mere few dozen. They looked so dejected that if another life-threatening order were given, more than half of them would likely desert in an instant.

Chu Mu figured this was precisely why Li Jinghong had ordered them to withdraw.

’Keeping them there would do nothing but hurt morale; they’d be completely useless.’

"The Thousand Households said that everyone who died in the line of duty this time will have their families receive ten times the standard compensation."

"And you all know what you should and shouldn’t say. Keep your mouths shut tight..."

Wu Shuo walked among the men, his words a solemn warning to each of them.

None of the dozens of Inspectors responded. They just kept their heads down and marched on, lost in their own thoughts.

Seeing this, Wu Shuo couldn’t help but sigh. In just over a month, the Inspectors under his command had been replaced more times than he could count.

’This time, if I hadn’t been temporarily assigned another task, with my rank as Squad Leader, I would have been at the very front. If that had happened... I’d probably be dead right now...’

Everyone was weighed down by heavy thoughts, Chu Mu included. He followed the crowd, moving along the winding paths of the mountain by the flickering light of their torches.

「By the time they reached Nanshan Town, it was late at night.」

Other Inspectors had taken over Guardian duty, so with no immediate orders, the men naturally went their separate ways home.

Inspectors could still be seen on Guardian duty along the streets, but there were clearly far fewer of them patrolling than before.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, he arrived at his front door.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped inside. The little pup that came bounding over helped calm his frayed nerves.

"You must be starving, haha..."

Chu Mu ruffled the pup’s fur, and his gaze swept over his home.

Drawing his Long Saber, Chu Mu gripped it tightly and checked each room one by one. Only after confirming that everything was normal did he finally relax. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He went to the kitchen, made something to eat, and gave the pup some leftovers.

After scrubbing the pot clean, Chu Mu unhesitatingly threw a packet of medicinal herbs into it.

After one calamity after another, and feeling so powerless against the Extraordinary, Chu Mu couldn’t afford to be cautious anymore...

...