Qingyang Town, Lei Family.

Lei Bao was comfortably resting on a soft sofa in a lavish hall. At his side, two beautiful attendants were carefully massaging him.

"Is there any activity in the Lin Family?" Lei Bao, whose eyes were lightly shut, suddenly asked.

"The Lin Family have deployed a huge amount of personnel to the Steel Wood Manor and they are guarding it very closely." To Lei Bao's side, a middle aged man dressed in embroidered robes answered. This man was Lei Pi, second in command in the Lei Family and Lei Li's father.

"Just a bunch of country bumpkins. As expected, they amount to nothing." Upon hearing these words, Lei Bao involuntarily chuckled. Now that a large part of the Steel Wood Manor had been ruined, most of its value was lost. However, the Lin Family still acted as if they had found a treasure.

"Haha, even though the Steel Wood Manor had lost its former glory, to a low class family, it is still a valuable asset. How could they give up on it so easily." Lei Pi smiled as he answered.

"Those bastards from the Lin Family caused our Lei Family to lose a Steel Wood Manor. I will not so easily let this matter go!" Lei Bao opened both of his eyes, revealing an icy glare. He turned to look at Lei Pi, who was standing beside him, and said: "Go to Yan City and make use of our contacts there to prevent the Lin Family from selling the Steel Wood. Heh, I want to make sure that no one will do business with them!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing these words, a sneer surfaced on Lei Pi's face as he nodded his head.

"How is Lei Li?" Lei Bao suddenly asked.

"Losing to that brat from the Lin Family was a great blow to him." Lei Pi sighed as he answered.

"It's only natural to experience wins and losses in martial arts duels . If he cannot even handle this loss, how can he expect to amount to anything in future?"

Lei Bao furrowed his eyebrows for a while before continuing: "Later, go to our storeroom and take out the stored "Yang Yuan Pills" and give it to him. With that item, his training progress should hasten. In future, make sure to cripple that brat from the Lin Family."

"Many thanks Father."

After he heard the words "Yang Yuan Pill", a flash of delight surfaced on Lei Pi's face as he immediately thanked his father.

"Go. Also, remember to instruct the men to increase surveillance on the Lin Family. Humph, it's not so easy to take something away from my Lei Family......" As he finished his words, a sinister look surfaced on Lei Bao's face.

......

After the Demonic Black Panthers were dealt with, covert development of the mining lode began. Everyone that was selected to take part had to pass through a stringent selection process. The selected workers were generously compensated by the Lin Family and also allowed to bring their families to the Steel Wood Manor. This way, not only were they provided with a place to stay, but it also served a second agenda: a way to safeguard the secrets of the manor and ensure there were no leaks.

With regards to this project, Lin Dong was obviously of little help. However, he did not return to Qingyang Town because of this. After all, there were many ancient and deep forests surrounding the Steel Wood Manor. In these woods were numerous Demonic Beasts, and he was planning to train himself there.

After the clash with those guards from the Lei Family, Lin Dong clearly understood that he lacked experience in actual combat. If he did not possess such powerful Yuan Power and mastery of martial arts, he would have encountered great difficulty when he faced the Dai En duo.

With regards to actual combat, Lin Dong was unable target other humans. Therefore, he turned his attention towards the equally fearsome Demonic Beasts, and, the deep forests surrounding the Steel Wood Manor provided him with the perfect training grounds.

......

"Growl!"

In the serene forests, an angry roar suddenly sounded out, causing the tree leaves to shiver.

If one were to turn towards the direction of the commotion, he would see a giant green wolf pouncing towards a human figure. However, just as that giant wolf opened its foul-smelling mouth to snap the human figure's neck, two fingers suffused with a vigorous Yuan Power stabbed through the giant wolf's soft underbelly and fresh, causing hot blood to spurt out.

When the fresh blood started to spray out, the human figure pushed the giant green wolf away as he attempted to catch his breath. Numerous scars dotted his body. He was clearly someone who had experienced much fighting.

After panting for a while, the human figure finally stood up, revealing a young teenage face. This was Lin Dong. Right now he turned to look at the giant green wolf that had collapsed at this feet and involuntarily laughed.

The Green Wind Wolf was a Demonic Beast that could equal an Earthly Yuan practitioner. In these two month, Lin Dong had fought numerous times with this fellow. Initially, all he could do was retreat, but now, all he needed was a single blow to end the creature's life.

The current Lin Dong did not look much different from two months before. However, he gave off a different aura now. That aura completely unrelated to one's looks but rather, he gave off the feeling of someone who had overcome several life and death struggles.

After Lin Dong had dispatched the Green Wind Wolf, a red shadow immediately dashed out from the woods and tore apart the Green Wind Wolf's carcass. When it realized there was no Demonic Crystal inside, it released an unhappy growl.

That red shadow was naturally Little Flame. Over these two month, it had accompanied Lin Dong as it also refined itself battle after battle. Thus, it now wore countless battle scars on its body that were results of its fights with other Demonic Beasts.

Right now, after these two month's of fighting, there was a bloodthirsty stench on Little Flame. The scars on its body made it look exceptionally fearsome, bit by bit, the glorious aura of the Fire Python Tiger was emerging.

Under normal circumstances, the growth rate of Little Flame was baffling. Although it did enjoy the most luxurious treatment and even managed to devour some Demonic Crystals under Lin Dong's care. Growing from a newly born cub till it was now almost the same size as a mature Fire Python Tiger was indeed stunning.

Based on Lin Dong's knowledge, Wu Yun's Fire Python Tiger cub was only as big as his thigh. Furthermore, its combat abilities were far below Little Flame's......

With regards to their differences, Lin Dong was also at a loss for words. However, he was thankful that he had followed the Stone Talisman's decision that day. After all, Little Flame was definitely special compared to the other two cubs.

In these two month's of training, both Little Flame and Lin Dong had improved substantially. However, the only thing that Lin Dong felt regretful about was that he was still quite far from progressing to Earthly Yuan Later Stage. Though as a consolation, he had completed unblocked all seven inner channels of the QingYuan Arts......

Overall, the fruits of these two month's of training were rather sweet.

"It's getting late, let's head back..."

Lin Dong took out a bottle and poured out an Elixir Pill, stuffing it into Little Flame's mouth. Then, he gazed at the dwindling pills in the bottle as the corners of his mouth formed into a bitter smile while he shook his head. As Little Flame grew, it had become increasingly picky. The Stone Talisman Ling Liquid was unable to suffice it anymore......

As he mounted Little Flame, Lin Dong whistled. In response, Little Flame turned into a red shadow as it swiftly dashed out of the woods......

......

Once he returned to the Steel Wood Manor, Lin Dong quickly went to wash up. After he changed his clothes, he headed towards the mountain behind the manor and passed through a heavy barricade before finally reaching the mining lode.

Right now, the mountain had completely changed. There was a long tunnel stretching deep into the mountain as "ding ding dang dang" noises constantly sounded out from within.

Guarding the tunnel entrance was Lin Xiao. Beside him were two large cases. These cases were filled to the brim with light red Yang Yuan Stones.

" Father, the harvest seems pretty good." As he gazed at the two cases of glittering Yang Yuan Stones, Lin Dong licked his lips and smiled.

"Right now, we don't have enough utilizable manpower. Therefore, the number of Yang Yuan Stones that we can harvest per day is still limited. In these two months, we managed to harvest four hundred and eighty seven stones." Lin Xiao replied. However, his expression indicated that he was extremely satisfied with this harvest. After all, this was already equivalent to their entire past year's income.

"These four hundred plus Yang Yuan Stones can be traded for approximately forty Yang Yuan Pills."

"Yang Yuan Pill?" Lin Dong was stunned as he inquisitively asked.

"Some elite practitioners are able to harvest the Yang Energy within these Yang Yuan Stones and condense them into Yang Yuan Pills. These pills are extremely beneficial for any practitioner below Yuan Dan Stage. Based on my calculations, it takes ten Yang Yuan Stones to produce one Yang Yuan Pill. Heh heh, for some major factions, these Yang Yuan Stones and Yang Yuan Pills are probably a better currency than silver or gold..." Lin Xiao was evidently in a good mood as he slowly explained.

"Oh?" Lin Dong was shocked. This was the first time he heard of this.

"Father has already decided. Tomorrow, we will send three hundred Yang Yuan Stones to Yan City and exchange them for Yang Yuan Pills in order to bolster our Lin Family's strength."

"Heading to Yan City tomorrow?" A flash of delight surfaced in Lin Dong's eyes. Yan City was the largest city nearby, and it was quite famous even in the entire Yan Dynasty. It was far more exciting and lively than Qingyang Town.

"Haha, you are the star of our Lin Family. Rest assured, I will definitely take you along tomorrow." At Lin Dong's expression, Lin Xiao could not help but laughed as he promised.

Lin Dong chuckled and then turned his head as he looked at the chest filled with Yang Yuan Stones, a look of awe on his face. To one side, Lin Xiao said a little more before leaving after he instructed the guards to keep a tight watch.

Just as Lin Xiao walked away, Lin Dong involuntarily reached out to grab three Yang Yuan Stones. When his hand grabbed the Yang Yuan Stones the Stone Talisman embedded his his palm suddenly vibrated. Following which, the light red glow of the three Yang Yuan Stones darkened rapidly. Moments later, the stones turned dull before eventually disintegrating into dust.

As he witnessed this sudden development, Lin Dong's facial expression also changed drastically.