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Just as Yang Ming and Yang Hai were excited for Yang Zhong's return in two days, the old steward Yang Lin came in, "Great Manor Lord, Manor Lord, the Second Manor Lord has returned."
Upon hearing this, Yang Hai was very surprised, and then he said, "He has returned so soon? Could it be that he did not even dare to enter Black Wind Stronghold and retreated halfway? It seems like we won't be getting the lost materials back."
Yang Ming was greatly disappointed.
But the old steward Yang Lin had a strange expression as he said, "Great Manor Lord, Manor Lord, the Second Manor Lord has actually retrieved the Yang Family Manor's materials."
"What, retrieved?" Yang Hai was astonished and incredulous, "Are you sure it's the same batch of materials we lost?"
Yang Ming was also full of disbelief.
Yang Lin replied, "It's true, the materials the Second Manor Lord brought back are now outside the manor, and the guards have confirmed it. It's indeed the batch of materials previously lost by Yang Family Manor, and not a single piece is missing."
Not a single piece missing!
Upon hearing this, Yang Ming strode outside, and Yang Hai, filled with doubt, followed.
They arrived outside the manor and saw the materials piled up like a mountain.
Yang Hai still did not believe it and began to inspect the materials, opening box after box.
But after checking the last box, it indeed contained the materials they had lost before.
Not more, not less, a total of one hundred boxes.
Only then did Yang Ming show a smile and said to Yang Chao, "Well done."
This batch of materials was very important to Yang Family Manor.
At that moment, Yang Chao took out the ten thousand gold and said to Yang Ming with a smile, "Father, here's the ten thousand gold you gave me earlier, all accounted for."
Yang Ming and Yang Hai were both greatly surprised.
Yang Chao went on to explain, "When we arrived at Black Wind Stronghold, Ma Dongping and the others at Black Wind Stronghold had all been killed." He then recounted the situation in detail.
After listening, both Yang Ming and Yang Hai were shocked.
All of the fourteen Innate masters of Black Wind Stronghold and a host of leaders had been killed.
Apart from the shock, Yang Hai felt a pang of regret. Had he known this would happen, he would have gone himself, and he would be the one bringing back the materials now.
"Do you know who the other party is?" asked Yang Ming, unable to help himself.
Yang Chao shook his head, "I don't know, but the person is a master swordsman, and their punching power is very strange. When it hits the body, it produces a True Dragon Blood Diagram, similar to the legendary Dragon Blood Fist."
"Dragon Blood Fist?" Yang Ming was both shocked and doubtful.
"Right, the sword wounds on the bodies of Ma Dongping and his men are very similar to those on the wanted criminal Hu Lie we encountered before," Yang Chao recalled, adding, "It might be the same person."
"The same person!" Both Yang Ming and Yang Hai were astonished.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Chao said to Yang Ming, "Father, you said before that if I retrieved the materials, you would let me manage half of Yang Family Manor's mines."
Yang Ming's face showed his difficulty.
Yang Hai interrupted, "Second brother, you just happened to come across Black Wind Stronghold after Ma Dongping and the others had been killed, and you picked up the bargain. The materials were not brought back by your own capabilities; that doesn't count, does it?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Chao couldn't help feeling angry.
He hadn't expected his elder brother to be so shameless. Earlier, their father had hinted that as long as he brought back the materials, it would suffice, and his elder brother had also been present and agreed.
Now, not only had he brought back the materials, but he had also saved Yang Family Manor ten thousand gold.
He had accomplished more than what was asked.
Yet his elder brother was now reneging on his word.
Then, Yang Ming also said to Yang Chao, "Well, you are not familiar with the mines. You should start by working under your elder brother at one of the mines to get acquainted with the business. We can talk about managing the mines later."
Yang Chao's heart instantly grew colder. He forced a smile, a wry one, knowing that all this talk of unfamiliarity with the mines was just an excuse.
Suppressing his anger, he said, "If that's the case, then I would rather not take the job."
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Upon hearing this, Yang Hai became unhappy and said, "Second Brother, your entire family's food, clothing, and shelter all come from Yang Family Manor. Now that Father has assigned you the task of overseeing a mine, you refuse to do it? Do you expect the Yang Family Manor to provide for your family for free?"
Yang Ming did not speak, clearly agreeing with Yang Hai's statement.
Yang Chao burst into wild laughter, "Provide for our family for free? So, according to you, my family relies solely on the charity of Yang Family Manor to survive, is that right?"
Yang Ming's face darkened, and he scolded, "Enough."
Yang Chao took a deep breath, "Since you all think so, there's no reason for us to shamelessly stay in Yang Family Manor any longer. Fine, I will pack up our belongings in the next few days, and after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, we will move out of Yang Family Manor and no longer rely on its charity."
Having said that, he left straight away.
Seeing Yang Chao leave, Yang Hai couldn't help but say to Yang Ming, "Father, the Second Brother is being unreasonable!"
Yang Ming, however, raised his hand and said, "Let him move out if he wants. Without the protection of our Yang Family Manor, he won't be able to accomplish anything. It won't be long before he comes begging to move back in."
He then instructed Yang Hai, "Go check what's going on with Black Wind Stronghold. Find out who killed Ma Dongping and the others."
Meanwhile, Yang Xiaotian, who had already returned to his courtyard, soon learned of the conflict between his father, Yang Ming, and Yang Hai, as well as his father's decision to move out of Yang Family Manor.
Yang Xiaotian looked towards his grandfather's courtyard, clenching his fists tightly.
It turned out his family had always been seen as living on the charity of Yang Family Manor in his grandfather's eyes.
"Yang Zhong will be back in two days," he murmured to himself.
He had already heard the news that Yang Zhong would be returning to the Yang Family Manor in two days, and he certainly knew why Yang Zhong was rushing back so soon.
Yang Zhong had advanced to the third rank and was eager to challenge him to avenge the defeat at the annual competition.
"Third rank, huh." Yang Xiaotian's robe fluttered as if caught in a breeze, and a True Dragon burst forth from his body.
A moment later, Yang Xiaotian's aura completely retracted, he took out the Medicine Cauldron, and began refining the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid.
Refining the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid was not for his own cultivation but rather to sell for money.
He wanted to refine the Innate Spirit Pill, but there were no materials for it in the valley, so he needed to get money to buy them.
To refine the Four Symbols Spirit Pill, nearly a hundred types of herbs were required, no small sum. Although he had killed Hu Lie, Ma Dongping, and others, acquiring a good amount of gold, this gold was far from sufficient.
Half a day later.
Yang Xiaotian looked at the dozen or so portions of Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid in jade bottles and nodded with satisfaction.
After breaking through to the rank of Innate Grandmaster, he found controlling the Heaven and Earth Fire even more effortless. In just half a day, he had refined over a dozen portions.
Moreover, these dozen portions of Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid were even purer than those he had refined previously.
Yang Xiaotian carefully stored the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid and swiftly left Yang Family Manor, heading for the largest trade guild in Xingyue City.
At this moment, in the largest trade guild's back courtyard in Xingyue City, Wen Jingyi stared at this month's account book, her eyebrows tightly knit. She had been assigned by her family to manage the Xingyue City branch for several months, but the guild's profits had not improved.
Just as Wen Jingyi was agonizing over the guild's profits, suddenly, a cough sounded from behind.
Wen Jingyi jumped in fright and spun around, "Who's there?!"
She looked and saw a figure enshrouded in dark energy emerging a few meters behind.
A chill went down Wen Jingyi's spine. As a fifth-ranked Innate expert, she hadn't noticed someone behind her.
Was this person at the sixth rank, or perhaps the seventh?
"Don't be nervous. I'm here because I have some Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid I want to sell to your guild." The shadowy figure spoke and with a wave of his hand, several jade bottles landed on the stone table before her.
Wen Jingyi, filled with surprise and doubt, picked up a jade bottle and opened it. Instantly, the scent of the elixir cleared her mind and refreshed her senses.
"This is top-grade Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid?!" She looked at the Spiritual Liquid inside the bottle in disbelief.
For elixirs like the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid, it was rare to even reach high-grade, and superior-grade was even scarcer.
As for top-grade, it was her first time seeing it.