Chapter 40

When Lin Xun returned home, he heard a series of clanging sounds.

In the courtyard, Xia Zhi was holding a giant hammer, striking a set of inner armor. Each strike of the giant hammer sent sparks flying.

Xia Zhi, with her small and delicate figure, was only about five or six years old, but her white, delicate hands held a rough and rugged giant hammer, which seemed quite out of place.

However, in her hands, the giant hammer felt as light as a needle, and she struck it with a unique rhythm and tempo, handling it with ease.

Lin Xun recognized the inner armor; it was the one he had crafted himself a few days ago using the scales of a unicorn-scaled lizard. During the battle with Lian Rufeng four days ago, this inner armor had protected him from a blow to his back, but it was also damaged by that blow.

Lin Xun hadn't expected that Xia Zhi would take the initiative to repair the inner armor for him, which was quite a surprise.

Lin Xun walked up and looked down at the giant hammer in Xia Zhi's hands, feeling shocked again. The hammerhead looked like a lump of iron, with many fingerprints on its surface.

"Did you shape this with your hands?"

Lin Xun asked.

Xia Zhi nodded, continuing her work, and said casually, "There was no suitable hammerhead, so I made one from an iron block."

Lin Xun drew a sharp breath. This was refined iron! This little girl had actually shaped a giant hammer with her fingers?

He stared at Xia Zhi, wondering if there was an ancient fierce beast hidden in her delicate and beautiful body.

Xia Zhi put down the giant hammer, picked up the inner armor, and handed it to Lin Xun: "It's fixed, try it on."

Lin Xun looked at the newly hammered inner armor and praised, "I didn't expect you to have such good craftsmanship."

Xia Zhi ignored him and walked into the house by herself: "I'm going to sleep. Lin Xun, remember to cook for me; I'll be hungry when I wake up."

Bang!

The door closed with a thud.

Lin Xun shrugged, already used to Xia Zhi's unique behavior, which was completely different from other children.

His gaze fell on the giant hammer, and he reached out to pick it up, but the hammer was incredibly heavy and didn't budge at all!

Lin Xun was startled and used all his strength, channeling his spiritual energy, to finally lift the hammer. He immediately sensed that the hammer weighed at least 500 pounds!

Boom!

Lin Xun loosened his grip, and the giant hammer fell to the ground, creating a pit.

"Truly a little monster!"

Lin Xun's face turned serious as he thought about the hammer being shaped by Xia Zhi's hands, and he became even more curious about her background.

"I'll have to ask her when she wakes up."

Lin Xun quickly stopped thinking about it and went into the kitchen to cook the meal. Then he sat down in a chair in the courtyard, and a purple empire copper coin appeared in his palm. He examined it closely.

This was the first time he had seen a real "copper coin." It was about the size of a baby's palm, dark yellow, and felt smooth and fine in his hand.

According to Lin Xun's knowledge, the currency of the Ziyao Empire was made from a special mineral called "Yunling Stone," mixed with gold, silver, copper, and over ten other materials, and refined through a complex and unique process that could not be replicated outside the empire.

The currency of the Ziyao Empire was divided into three categories: gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins, with an exchange rate of 1:100.

Whether it was copper coins, silver coins, or gold coins, both sides were engraved with unique patterns of the Ziyao Empire.

The copper coin in front of him had a design on the front composed of three parts:

A cluster of purple Ziyao flowers, representing the royal family of the Ziyao Empire.

A majestic blue deer leaping into the sky, representing the first academy of the empire, the "Qinglu Academy."

A vibrant holy sword piercing the sky, representing the military department of the Ziyao Empire.

In addition, the edges of the three patterns were engraved with intricate and beautiful cloud patterns, representing the upper-class nobles, families, and clans that had made significant contributions to the Ziyao Empire.

On the back of the copper coin, there was a landscape engraving, with misty mountains and vast waves, the meaning of which was unknown.

Even Lin Xun didn't know what the landscape on the back of the copper coin represented, but it definitely had some significance.

Hum!

Lin Xun blew on the copper coin, producing a pleasant sound. This was the "Ziyao Coin." Whether he wanted to survive in the Ziyao Empire or practice cultivation, he would definitely need Ziyao Coins.

From the storage ring left by Wu Henshui, Lin Xun unexpectedly obtained 1,500 copper coins, equivalent to 15 silver coins.

The currency of the Ziyao Empire had a high gold content. For example, three copper coins could buy half a pound of spirit grains.

The piece of Fiery Cloud Fire Copper that Lin Xun had shown to Xiao Tianren, which was only the size of a thumb, could be exchanged for 30 copper coins in the Qingyang Tribe, equivalent to the value of five pounds of spirit grains!

However, Lin Xun was not very familiar with the specific exchange values of various items in the Ziyao Empire, so he couldn't fully understand the purchasing power of 1,500 copper coins.

In addition to the copper coins, Lin Xun also found a bag of spirit medicine seeds in the storage ring. Most of them were not very valuable but were essential for cultivation.

Lin Xun didn't plan to try planting them. Cultivating spirit medicines was very complex and required specialized "Spirit Planters." The growth period of spirit medicines was also very slow, often taking three to five years to mature, and some rare spirit medicines could take hundreds or even thousands of years to mature.

If Lin Xun's guess was correct, among Wu Henshui's subordinates, there should have been a "Spirit Planter" responsible for planting spirit medicines.

However, all of this was meaningless to Lin Xun now. He planned to find an opportunity to sell the bag of spirit medicine seeds and exchange them for money.

What delighted Lin Xun was that the storage ring also contained some mature spirit medicines, all of which were valuable. Some were for strengthening the body, some for refining cultivation, and there were bottles of healing pills.

These were all treasures. Wu Henshui, with his True Martial Eighth Level cultivation, naturally wouldn't have ordinary items in his collection.

After organizing the items in the storage ring and seeing that there was still plenty of space, Lin Xun directly put the Poxiao Knife inside.

"Having this storage ring in the future will make it easier to sell goods to the Qingyang Tribe, at least I won't have to worry about being robbed."

Lin Xun carefully put away the ring without wearing it. Wu Henshui was the chief steward of the Wu Family Medicine Shop in the Qingyang Tribe, and many people would recognize this item. Wearing it would easily expose him.

"These Wind Speed Long Boots, though of poor quality, are still a piece of spirit equipment. It's a pity they are too big, so I might as well sell them."

Lin Xun took out the long boots he had stripped from Lian Rufeng, thought about it for a while, and decided to sell them, tossing them into the storage ring.

After doing all this, Lin Xun stretched lazily, feeling much more relaxed.

The most urgent task now was to cultivate. As for the excavation of the Fiery Cloud Fire Copper mine, he could leave it to the village chief, Xiao Tianren.

Lin Xun calculated that it had been over two months since the last trial, and in less than half a month, it would be time for the second trial of the "Heavenly Secret Realm" Qingyun Path.

Lin Xun absolutely couldn't afford to be careless about this.

After all, passing the first trial had earned him the "Little Dark God Technique" for refining the soul. What benefits would he gain from passing the second trial?

Lin Xun was very excited.

...

As evening approached, Xia Zhi woke up and sat at the stone table in the courtyard. Soon, Lin Xun brought out the prepared meal.

Recently, the village had a bountiful harvest of spirit grains, which hadn't been sold yet, so Lin Xun had received many bags of spirit grains from the villagers. Combined with the meat from nearly thirty fierce beasts, they had plenty of food for a while.

The only thing that troubled Lin Xun was that Xia Zhi's appetite was growing larger over time. She almost ate an extra bowl of rice and a large amount of beast meat every day.

Her little belly seemed like a bottomless pit.

At this rate, Lin Xun couldn't be sure how long the food at home would last.

Fortunately, he didn't need to worry about it for now.

While eating, Lin Xun casually asked, "Xia Zhi, where are your parents?"

Xia Zhi chewed on a piece of fragrant beast meat and shook her head.

Lin Xun continued, "What about your home? Do you remember it?"

Xia Zhi thought for a moment and shook her head again: "As far as I can remember, I lived in the mountains with Uncle Bear."

Her expression was calm and serious, but Lin Xun felt a bit complex hearing this. This little girl had actually lived in the mountains since she was young.

"Who is Uncle Bear?"

"The one you saw that day."

Lin Xun's heart stirred, suddenly remembering the "Mighty Bear" he had seen in the deep forest. He was surprised: "Is it the fierce beast that was killed by the 'Wu Man Lifter'?"

Xia Zhi frowned, looked up at Lin Xun, and said seriously, "You can't call him that."

Lin Xun quickly apologized: "I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

In fact, he felt a bit strange. Xia Zhi had been raised by a Mighty Bear, no wonder the words she spoke when they first met were so complex and obscure... Wait!

No!

The words Xia Zhi used before weren't beast language! They were a completely different language.

"I don't know what Wu Man Lifter is, but one day I will kill him with my own hands to avenge Uncle Bear."

Xia Zhi said seriously, her clear, black gem-like eyes filled with determination.

With that, she buried herself in the meal again.

Distracted by her, Lin Xun forgot to ask how Xia Zhi had learned the language she used before, and instead recalled the "Spirit Sea Realm Stronger Duel" that day.

One was a green-robed figure, clearly from the Ziyao Empire, and the other was called the "Wu Man Lifter," who was not from the Ziyao Empire.

Lin Xun remembered that the "Wu Man Lifter" wasn't trying to kill him that day, but Xia Zhi!

Combined with the complex and unfamiliar language Xia Zhi used, Lin Xun had a suspicion. Could Xia Zhi actually be from somewhere outside the Ziyao Empire?

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