After all, Li Lichang held a different status. While Su Zhan was still a hard-working miner, Li Lichang had already become a "supervisor" — someone responsible for whipping and driving miners out like livestock.
Now that the supervisor had been missing for some time, anyone who went to look for him would immediately know what had happened.
As for the higher-up in charge of the mine, he said nothing. He didn't even ask a single question. Li Lichang was swiftly dealt with, and another miner—also at the first level of the Mortal Realm—was casually promoted to take his place. He was ordered to oversee the miners and resume operations.
In short: people could die, but mining must not stop.
When Su Zhan passed by the others, he overheard all kinds of comments:
"Serves him right."
"Haha, that's satisfying!"
"That bastard should've died long ago!"
He didn't say anything—just smiled faintly.
Thousands of miners rushed into the tunnels like wild animals breaking free, racing toward the mining spots they had already claimed in their minds
Whoever got there first kept the spot. Those who were late had two choices—fight to take it back or accept being pushed to the outer, barren zones. In such places, digging up enough impure spirit stones that would take ten hours in a good area might take fourteen, sixteen, or even more.
Because of that, bloody fights over mining spots were common, and Su Zhan had already grown used to it.
Soon, he arrived at the area he mined yesterday. The spot was a bit barren and not worth fighting over—no one else had come.
Su Zhan didn't stop. He kept moving deeper into the tunnel. After confirming repeatedly that there was no one nearby, he gave a silent nod.
"Come out."
With a thought, two shadow clones silently emerged.
"One for each wall. Start working."
Su Zhan tossed two hoes he had prepared ahead of time toward them. The two clones caught the tools and, without hesitation, began digging into the stone walls as instructed.
"Just as I expected… the shadow clones' intelligence has improved."
Su Zhan's eyes glimmered slightly.
Last night, he had noticed something strange. After some testing, he realized that the two clones had clearly improved in their ability to understand and follow instructions.
Now, just one sentence was enough—they understood what to do without needing detailed explanations or demonstrations.
"Let's try another new function."
Besides the increase in intelligence, Su Zhan had also discovered something else. He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused his mind.
"Clear everything."
"Let go of all thoughts."
"Dive deeper… and deeper…"
Suddenly, he "saw" two clusters of black mist floating within his consciousness.
These were the manifestations of Clone No. 1 and Clone No. 2.
"Enter."
Su Zhan didn't hesitate. He directed his consciousness toward one of the black mist clusters and rushed inside.
In the next moment—
A vivid image appeared before Su Zhan's inner vision: the first-person view of Clone No. 2, currently mining away with steady swings.
"It worked!"
Su Zhan's heart surged with excitement. This was the second new ability he had discovered: he could now see through the eyes of his shadow clones.
Last night, after absorbing a spirit stone, he had used the excess energy to cultivate. By chance, while meditating, he had discovered this strange vision in his consciousness.
Back when he first discovered the black mark, he had tried all sorts of ways to study it—including entering a meditative state—but found nothing.
Not until last night.
The sudden perspective of a clone had startled him so much that his emotions spiked. Because of that, he couldn't re-enter the state again.
But now, after resting and calming his mind, he succeeded on his very first try.
Even more impressive: despite feeling slightly excited at the moment, he wasn't forced out of the state. This meant that with more practice, he'd be able to enter this state more easily and maintain it with stability.
"Clone No. 2, come here."
Su Zhan gave the mental command.
Immediately, Clone No. 2 stopped working and walked toward him.
The view from his perspective shifted as he approached—until Su Zhan could now "see" himself sitting cross-legged in meditation. It was a bird's-eye view from the clone's angle.
"Now go back to mining."