Chapter 23

"Does this mean I can go to refine the Wasteland Bones?" Yi Yun said happily.

Lian Chengyu gently nodded. To be so happy about going to certain death, it was truly pitiful to be a person like this.

"Thank you, Young Master."

Yi Yun was genuinely happy, not pretending. He was indeed happy. He originally thought that meeting Lian Chengyu would make him fear that this guy might suddenly go crazy and slap him again, trying to kill him once more.

Although Lian Chengyu's attempts to harm him were ineffective, it would cause a lot of trouble.

The first time Lian Chengyu failed to kill him, he might think it was just a mistake. If he failed again, he would definitely become suspicious, which would not be good news for Yi Yun.

Now that Lian Chengyu had sent Yi Yun to refine the Wasteland Bones, it was exactly what Yi Yun wanted.

Refining the Wasteland Bones would give Yi Yun time to catch his breath. His strength could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds. If he had another one or two months, everything would be different!

"Yun'er, why aren't you coming home for dinner?"

Jiang Xiaorou was cooking. When the food was ready and she brought it out, she found that Yi Yun was gone. Looking outside, she saw Yi Yun chatting with Lian Chengyu.

Jiang Xiaorou's heart tightened. This was unacceptable. Lian Chengyu had harmed Yi Yun greatly, almost costing him his life!

She was worried that Lian Chengyu might harm Yi Yun again and quickly walked over.

Jiang Xiaorou hated Lian Chengyu to the core but knew she couldn't openly confront him.

"Ah, it's Young Master Lian."

Jiang Xiaorou forced a smile when she saw Lian Chengyu. Then, she subtly pulled Yi Yun behind her.

"Oh? Jiang Xiaorou, I remember you."

Noticing Jiang Xiaorou's actions, Lian Chengyu frowned. This little girl was very hostile towards him!

Lian Chengyu disliked any disrespect from the lower-class poor of the Lian Clan. Perhaps due to his deep-seated inferiority complex in front of the elites of major forces, he placed more emphasis on his authority when dealing with those below him.

However, since Jiang Xiaorou was a woman he admired, he showed some leniency. He believed he could gradually tame her.

Lian Chengyu left. Although he admired Jiang Xiaorou, he didn't show any particular interest or say much to her. As a superior, he felt he was bestowing his favor, not pursuing her. He just needed to wait for the right moment and have Zhao Tiezhu make a move.

Jiang Xiaorou, looking at Lian Chengyu's back, tightened her grip on Yi Yun's hand. "Yun'er, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Sister Xiaorou, don't worry," Yi Yun said.

Lian Chengyu's harm to Yi Yun was something Yi Yun had told Jiang Xiaorou. Since Yi Yun said it was nothing, Jiang Xiaorou felt a bit relieved. Recently, she had sensed that her brother was no longer the innocent child he used to be; he had his own thoughts.

But after some thought, Jiang Xiaorou felt something was off. "Yun'er, you're not planning to go refine the Wasteland Bones, are you? You can't go there!"

Yi Yun looked at Jiang Xiaorou in surprise. She had a surprisingly sharp intuition. Although she didn't know the specifics of refining the Wasteland Bones, she sensed it was a dangerous task.

Yi Yun thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Sister Xiaorou, I'm not as weak as you think. After coming back from the dead, I feel different... Don't you remember when I went to gather herbs on the mountain a few days ago? I climbed a twenty-meter cliff."

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaorou recalled how quickly Yi Yun had climbed the mountain. She found it strange at the time, but since Yi Yun had always liked climbing and gathering herbs, she could accept it.

Now, thinking about it, Yi Yun's agility had indeed improved significantly. In terms of climbing, he was even better than the members of the Warrior Training Camp.

Thinking this, Jiang Xiaorou felt a bit more at ease. Her brother had indeed changed.

Sometimes, surviving a great calamity brings good fortune. Jiang Xiaorou had heard of people struck by lightning not only surviving but also gaining special abilities.

Could it be that something similar happened to Yun'er?

...

That night, as a new laborer, Yi Yun was taken to the threshing ground.

The threshing ground was surrounded by wooden fences. Due to the so-called "fever" incident, the fences had been added, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

There were over thirty people refining the Wasteland Bones, working in two shifts, day and night.

Yi Yun was assigned to the night shift, which had about a dozen people. Although they weren't as muscular as the Warrior Training Camp members, they were all broad-shouldered. Standing among them, Yi Yun looked like a chick among geese, his height only reaching their chests.

Seeing Yi Yun, the dozen strong men were stunned. The look in their eyes was clear: how could such a scrawny kid be chosen to refine the Wasteland Bones?

Not to mention his strength, his height alone was a problem. Standing on a stool, he still couldn't reach the mouth of the cauldron. How could he add the "Fire Water" to the cauldron?

"Kid, are you kidding me? You can refine bones?"

"What can you do with that scrawny body? Your thighs are thinner than firewood!"

Seeing Yi Yun's situation, these men were very unhappy. An extra person who didn't work would mean less salted meat for them. How could they be happy about that?

Yi Yun didn't bother to respond, sitting on a pile of firewood, letting them talk.

"Soup is here!"

A Warrior Training Camp member brought a bucket of soup. Those refining the Wasteland Bones were given soup, probably a benefit from the Lian Clan's higher-ups to ensure the process went smoothly. Only a full stomach could provide the energy needed for work.

Hearing the soup was here, the laborers' eyes lit up, and they rushed over.

In a flash, the bucket of soup was empty. Yi Yun, being last and intentionally pushed aside, only got the dregs.

Yi Yun felt a bit helpless. The saying "poor people are often mean" had its truth. It wasn't that poor people were bad, but that poverty made them short-sighted. If you were too nice, you'd starve.

"Get to work! Get to work!" the Warrior Training Camp member shouted.

The dozen laborers slowly moved to the cauldron, replacing the day shift.

Yi Yun was the last to arrive, walking slowly, his eyes fixed on the cauldron.

To others, Yi Yun seemed stunned by the massive bronze cauldron, which was indeed huge. Yi Yun's height didn't even reach the cauldron's handles.

In reality, Yi Yun's vision was filled with a faint glow, like a swarm of fireflies in the night sky.

What a mysterious energy! This was the power of the Wasteland Bones, the legendary Wasteland Power!

The countless glowing points excited Yi Yun. Previously, the Purple Crystal had absorbed a bit of the Wasteland Bones' energy, but it was from a distance and not much. Today, he was in direct contact with the Wasteland Bones.

Compared to the Purple Ginseng and Black Lingzhi he had absorbed before, these were like a poor man suddenly seeing a feast. Yi Yun was incredibly excited.

Wasn't this like a tomb raider entering an emperor's tomb or a weasel entering a chicken coop?

All this Wasteland Power would be his.

"Kid, what are you standing there for? Go chop wood!" a laborer said, throwing an axe at Yi Yun.

Yi Yun snapped out of his daze and happily started chopping wood.

"This kid must be crazy!" the laborer muttered, starting his own work. They were responsible for chopping the Purple Firewood.

The Purple Firewood was the key fuel, extremely hard and heavy. Several strong men had to work hard to chop a piece as thick as an arm.

These laborers worked hard, as those who did well could be promoted to foremen and get extra salted meat and grain.

Yi Yun, while happy, didn't lose his head. He knew that refining the Wasteland Bones was related to the "fever."

He needed to investigate what caused the fever. If the Purple Crystal couldn't resolve it, no matter how great the reward, Yi Yun would have to run.

So, while chopping wood, Yi Yun carefully observed the red-hot bronze cauldron.

Gradually, Yi Yun noticed something.

There were two colors of glowing points coming from the cauldron.

The first was purple-red, the majority, flying aimlessly around the cauldron. Yi Yun found that with a thought, these points would fly towards him.

With the Purple Crystal integrated into his heart and his own breakthrough to the second level of the Mortal Blood stage, Yi Yun could now actively control the Purple Crystal's absorption of energy.

He could absorb when he wanted and stop when he didn't.

The other color of the glowing points was ice-blue...

...