I Can Add Points Infinitely - Chapter 58
The next day, Shen Lian stayed inside his quiet room all day, seemingly unconcerned with the matters of the mine.
Yun Xiong and the others remained calm and didn’t show any reaction, but Dong Yanyan was not one to sit still. By midday, she couldn’t resist coming over to Shen Lian, asking him what he planned to do, wondering if the sect had sent him there just to retire and do nothing.
Shen Lian smiled and reassured her not to be anxious. After calming her down and sending her back, he waited until the late afternoon before heading out to find Liu Zhiyong to inquire about Fang Nan’s response.
Liu Zhiyong delayed by saying that it hadn’t been enough time and that no message had been received yet, so Shen Lian should wait patiently. Shen Lian didn’t press him and returned to his quiet room.
Once back, however, he immediately summoned Yun Xiong and the others. He waved his hand, setting up a soundproof array in the room, then solemnly looked at everyone.
“Junior Brother, are you ready to take action?” Dong Yanyan’s eyes sparkled with excitement, noticing Shen Lian’s serious demeanor.
Shen Lian nodded lightly and tossed a storage pouch to her. “Later, you will go find Liu Zhiyong privately, without letting anyone see you,” he instructed. “Tell him this is a gift from me, to put in a good word for me with Senior Brother, and to negotiate for a better deal.”
“What?” Dong Yanyan was confused. “A gift? Negotiate what?”
She opened the storage pouch and found a hundred spirit stones inside, immediately jumping up in anger. “Junior Brother, how can you give that bastard a gift? What are you thinking?”
“Don’t worry about the details; just do as I say,” Shen Lian replied with a frown.
“No way!” Dong Yanyan shook her head, about to refuse, when Yun Xiong cut in sternly.
“Stop arguing, girl. Do what you’re told. Too much talking won’t help,” he said coldly. “I haven’t reported to the Master about you playing the bandit leader yet. Want me to report it?”
“Ugh…” Dong Yanyan was left speechless and deflated by Yun Xiong’s words. After a long pause, she finally sat down with a huff, grumbling, “Fine, I’ll go give that bastard the gift later.”
“Make sure he doesn’t suspect anything,” Shen Lian reminded.
“Hmph, I’m not a child,” Dong Yanyan snorted.
Shen Lian turned to Yun Xiong and continued, “Senior Brother, later on, find the workers and tell them not to go into the mine tomorrow morning. Have them gather in the open area instead. Say it’s an order from Liu Zhiyong and that he has something to announce.”
“Got it,” Yun Xiong nodded.
“Do it quietly. Don’t alert others,” Shen Lian added.
“Understood.”
Everyone agreed to the tasks and set out. When all the workers returned to their quarters, Yun Xiong and the others discreetly sneaked out, while Dong Yanyan went to deliver the gift to Liu Zhiyong.
Half an hour later, everyone returned, and all the tasks were successfully completed without any mishaps. Even Dong Yanyan’s part went surprisingly smoothly.
Shen Lian nodded with satisfaction, telling everyone to rest and prepare to take over the mine the next morning.
The following morning, workers slowly gathered in the open space near the mine, not starting their work.
Liu Zhiyong noticed this immediately and stormed over with a furious expression, shouting at them to leave.
“Why are you all just standing around here? Waiting to die? Get into the mine and start working. If you don’t dig out spirit stones today, none of you will get to eat!”
The workers stared at him with blank expressions, not understanding what game Liu Zhiyong was playing this time. But they were used to his antics by now.
Just as the workers were preparing to disperse and enter the mine, Shen Lian finally appeared with Yun Xiong and the others.
“Hold on, everyone,” Shen Lian’s calm voice, amplified by spiritual energy, spread throughout the area. “I am the one who asked you to gather here.”
The workers instinctively stopped and turned to look at Shen Lian.
“Eh? Senior Brother, what are you up to now? Why are you suddenly making announcements?” Liu Zhiyong looked exasperated and stepped forward to ask in a low voice.
Shen Lian ignored him and maintained his calm expression as he continued to speak to the workers. “There are two things I want to announce today.”
“Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself,” Shen Lian added. “I am Shen Lian, a core disciple of Azure Cloud Sect, appointed by the Sect Master to oversee all matters concerning the Dongshi Valley Mine. In other words, I am now in charge of everything here.”
Hearing this, the workers stirred a bit, but the reaction was not significant. On the other hand, Liu Zhiyong was thoroughly panicked. He quickly approached Shen Lian, trying to pull him aside, whispering, “Senior Brother, what are you doing? Why suddenly announce this?”
Still ignoring him, Shen Lian continued, “Now, for the first matter.”
“After observing for the past few days, I’ve discovered that someone has been embezzling and stealing resources from the sect, keeping the mined spirit stones for themselves.”
“According to sect rules, anyone who steals from the sect… shall be executed!”
Before anyone could react, Shen Lian’s right hand flicked, and the Blue Jade Sword was already in his grasp.
“Swish!” The sword gleamed, and a low hum echoed.
Liu Zhiyong was frozen on the spot. His eyes widened in disbelief, staring at Shen Lian.
Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t utter another word.
“Bang!”
A moment later, Liu Zhiyong’s body split into two halves.
Blood and internal organs spilled all over the ground, and the thick smell of blood filled the air.
“Hummm~~~”
This sudden display stunned all the workers. Seeing the two halves of the corpse on the ground, they felt a mix of anger, hatred, and a sense of vengeance fulfilled.
In contrast, the surrounding disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect were much quieter. No one dared to breathe loudly, staring at Shen Lian in shock, especially those who had been Liu Zhiyong’s followers.
They knew Liu Zhiyong’s strength very well—he was at the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment stage, originally the strongest in the mine.
Yet, even he was slain by Shen Lian with a single sword strike. Even if it was a sneak attack, it was a clear testament to Shen Lian’s terrifying prowess.
With such a demonstration, who would dare step forward and cause trouble now?
Shen Lian remained calm as if he hadn’t just killed someone. He turned around, crouched down, and searched Liu Zhiyong’s remains, retrieving a storage pouch.
He opened it in front of everyone, spilling out hundreds of spirit stones.
Then Shen Lian formed a series of hand seals, and spiritual energy surged, causing some of the spirit stones to glow brightly.
“You all see it,” Shen Lian spoke calmly. “These spirit stones were secretly marked by me a few days ago, and now they’ve ended up in Liu Zhiyong’s storage pouch. This is proof of his embezzlement.”
“Oh… So, that’s why you had me deliver the gift yesterday, huh?” Dong Yanyan’s eyes lit up as she gazed at Shen Lian, blinking rapidly. “I never would have guessed that this guy, always smiling, could be even craftier than me…”
She mumbled to herself, unsure whether she was praising or criticizing.
As for the other Azure Cloud Sect disciples around, they remained silent, trembling slightly.
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the so-called markings on the spirit stones were questionable, but who would dare speak out?
Hadn’t they just seen Shen Lian kill Liu Zhiyong without any warning? It was clear there was no evidence to contest now. With no one left to challenge him, whatever Shen Lian said was the truth.
After collecting the marked spirit stones back into the storage pouch, Shen Lian casually tossed it to Dong Yanyan, saying, “Keep the evidence safe and report it to the sect later.”
“Yes,” Dong Yanyan quickly nodded, looking like an obedient child.
Having done all that, Shen Lian clapped his hands, his expression as calm as ever, and looked at the many workers, saying, “Now, onto the second matter.”