Return of the Celestial King

It was already late at night, but Qin Tuo still summoned Long Wu.

”Celestial King, it’s so late. Is there something you need?”

Long Wu came before Qin Tuo, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

But Qin Tuo, without a word, opened his hand to reveal several Great Rejuvenation Pills that emanated a medicinal fragrance.

Upon recognizing the Great Rejuvenation Pills, an intense light flashed in Long Wu’s eyes, and even his breathing became a little ragged!

He had previously experienced the wonders of the Great Rejuvenation Pill. He couldn’t help but lower his voice and ask:

”Celestial King, these are...”

Qin Tuo said with a smile:

”Long Wu, I’m preparing to go on a trip, so I refined a few pills for you.”

As he spoke, he handed all the Great Rejuvenation Pills directly to Long Wu.

Long Wu nodded heavily, his eyes filled with intense excitement.

”Thank you, Celestial King! Thank you!”

Long Wu didn’t know how he could possibly thank Qin Tuo enough.

Although his strength had improved, he still hadn’t reached the level of a top-tier expert.

Now, with these Great Rejuvenation Pills, Long Wu was absolutely confident he could achieve immense growth.

Then, without a second thought, Long Wu consumed all the Great Rejuvenation Pills right there in front of Qin Tuo.

After taking them, Long Wu instantly felt a scorching energy slowly rise from his Dantian, seemingly on the verge of erupting.

”Celestial King... I can’t hold it. The medicinal properties of these pills are too potent. I must find a quiet place to properly digest them!”

Long Wu gave a wry smile, preparing to take his leave.

But Qin Tuo waved his hand casually and said:

”Just find a place here and go into seclusion.”

With Qin Tuo’s permission, Long Wu wasted no time. He walked straight into a room, bolted the door heavily behind him, and began to silently digest the medicinal properties of the pills.

「Early the next morning」, Huang Junkai arrived at the villa to pick up Qin Tuo personally.

After getting in the car, Huang Junkai slammed on the gas and sped toward Hongshan.

”Mr. Qin, Hongshan is over a thousand kilometers from here. We’ll have to cross several provinces!”

In the car, Huang Junkai made idle small talk with Qin Tuo.

Qin Tuo nodded. He knew Hongshan was far away. Moreover, the Hongshan Mountain Range stretched for thousands of li, containing rich mineral veins. It was considered one of the largest mining areas in all of Great Xia.

”What’s our destination this time?”

Qin Tuo couldn’t help but ask.

Huang Junkai thought for a moment, then said with a smile:

”Mr. Qin, we’ll head to Shi City first. Shi City is a small town at the foot of Hongshan. People from all over the country basically use it as a base.”

Qin Tuo nodded and said no more.

Taking advantage of the time, he slowly closed his eyes to rest and contemplate his next steps.

On this trip to Hongshan, Qin Tuo planned to collect a massive amount of Spirit Stones for his future cultivation needs.

Once he arrived at Hongshan, Qin Tuo intended to first find a reliable middleman and then purchase raw ore from him.

「After a long journey」, the two finally arrived in Shi City.

Shi City lived up to its name; massive chunks of ore could be seen everywhere throughout the town.

Shi City was situated at the foot of Hongshan, and many Martial Artists from all over had gathered here.

”Mr. Qin, let’s go to a restaurant to eat first, then head back to the hotel to rest!”

Huang Junkai acted as Qin Tuo’s guide.

Qin Tuo nodded. He knew Huang Junkai had been here before and was certainly more familiar with the place than he was.

After entering a restaurant, Huang Junkai and Qin Tuo ordered their food and sat down to slowly sip their tea.

Huang Junkai explained with a smile:

”Mr. Qin, Shi City used to be sparsely populated. Because it was in the mountains and couldn’t develop, it was extremely poor. But ever since the mineral veins were discovered, everything changed.”

Qin Tuo couldn’t help but ask:

”Who controls these mineral resources in the Hongshan District now?”

This was the main thing he wanted to figure out on this trip. Knowing this would give him a channel to purchase raw ore.

Huang Junkai smiled and continued:

”Mr. Qin, a long time ago, after the mineral veins in Hongshan were discovered, three powerful families moved in. They are the Zheng Family, the Wu Family, and the Xue Family!”

Hearing the names of these three families, Qin Tuo silently committed them to memory.

A look of apprehension appeared in Huang Junkai’s eyes as he spoke of the three families.

He had clearly dealt with some people from these three great families when he came here to purchase raw ore before. He understood deeply that in the Hongshan Mountain Range, these three families were local tyrants that no one dared to provoke.

Huang Junkai added:

”Mr. Qin, you may not know this, but all three of these families have powerful backgrounds. They’ve completely monopolized and divided the mining business among themselves. Anyone else who wants to mine here must get their permission, or they won’t make it out of Shi City alive!”

Qin Tuo nodded and smiled.

”Of course. After all, they’ve formed a monopoly here. They certainly wouldn’t allow outsiders to interfere.”

At this point, the restaurant was getting more and more crowded. Qin Tuo was surprised to find that there seemed to be quite a few Grandmaster-level experts dining in the main hall.

One must understand, these Grandmaster-level experts were considered extremely rare in the outside world!

Even in the Hongshan District, with its rich mineral resources, there shouldn’t be so many of them all at once.

’Since when did Grandmasters become so common?’

Qin Tuo couldn’t help but frown and remarked with a strange expression:

”Young Master Huang, why are there so many people today?”

Huang Junkai was also very confused. He thought for a moment and said:

”This isn’t right, Mr. Qin. Normally, there aren’t this many people here. Why have so many experts suddenly gathered? Could they all be here to buy raw ore?”

Clearly, even Huang Junkai didn’t know what was going on.

He had never encountered a scene like this on his previous trips here.

Moreover, both Qin Tuo and he noticed that these Grandmaster-level experts, who had suddenly appeared in large numbers, seemed very excited and were constantly talking about something.

Huang Junkai was about to go up and ask about the situation, but Qin Tuo gave him a slight shake of his head.

Seeing Huang Junkai’s uncomprehending expression, Qin Tuo lowered his voice and said:

”We don’t know where these people came from. It’s best not to interact with them rashly.”

Hearing Qin Tuo’s words, Huang Junkai realized how shallow his experience truly was.

Before long, the waiter came over with their dishes.

Huang Junkai seized the opportunity, pulling out a stack of cash and tossing it onto the tray.

The waiter was taken aback, momentarily stunned.