The two new Clones grabbed the hoes without hesitation and went straight to work.
The sound of steel striking rock rang out in steady rhythm.
Su Zhan's eyes lit up.
"They've gotten smarter again…"
Before, the Clones could only greet him stiffly as "Master." Now, they could take tools, understand orders instantly, and act without needing more explanation.
At this rate, the day they became indistinguishable from real people wasn't far away.
And when that happened?
With a single word, an army would mine spirit stones for him day and night.
With one command, they could strike targets without leaving a trace.
With one mission, they could slip into cities and gather any information he wanted.
Su Zhan's lips curled into a grin.
"Why escape… when I can take this mine for myself?"
He knew the numbers.
One mining area held thousands of miners. Nearly ten areas meant fifty thousand people. Each turned in around a hundred low-grade stones a day—that was five million stones daily.
Converted to pure low-grade stones, half a million.
Per day.
Fifteen million a month.
The cost? Almost nothing. The punishment squads paid for themselves by squeezing the miners.
To Su Zhan, spirit stones were life. The black mark's hunger would only grow with each stage. Escaping meant struggling for scraps outside. But here… the Clones could work in secret, feeding him more power than he could dream of.
With the mine under his control, the black mark could jump to the tenth stage… even the twentieth.
The old Su Zhan would have run.
The Su Zhan now? He saw timing,
opportunity, and power all falling into his hands.
Of course, he couldn't rush it. He was only at the first level of the Mortal Realm. Even a second-level cultivator could crush him. And behind the mine stood the Sun Sect—a behemoth worshipped for a thousand miles.
Still, he couldn't stop the excitement in his chest.
More spirit stones. More cultivation. More Clones.
This mine was no longer his prison.
It was his paradise.
There were spirit stones everywhere. No one cared, and you could dig as you pleased. Through his Clones, he could earn ten times more than what the outside world offered.
If this wasn't heaven, then what was?
As long as he stayed cautious—
The rules were simple—
Stay low-key.
Don't get greedy.
—there would be no problem at all.
"Four good brothers, work hard, and next year I'll marry each of you a beautiful sect disciple!"
In his past life, he had been a wage slave and a single dog. Now, he sprawled on the ground, grinning to himself, daydreaming about the future.
Evening came.
The bell tolled, sending tired miners shuffling toward the exchange hall with their hoes and weary steps.
Among them, Su Zhan's expression stood out—light, relaxed, almost cheerful.
"Burp.
Of course, on his way back from the exchange, he'd bought himself a little treat.
Food and wine from outside were risky—the smell could draw unwanted eyes—but inside the mine, no one cared.
"Su Zhan, quality's decent today. Here's your spirit stone. Keep it."
The bald man at the counter tossed him a low-grade spirit stone without much thought.
From the line behind, Mr. Zhou's eyes opened briefly, glancing at Su Zhan.
"Mr. Zhou," Su Zhan greeted with a small nod. If not for Zhou's help yesterday, he might not have even had a single Clone by now.
Mr. Zhou said nothing, turning away to rest his eyes again.
The next day, Su Zhan went to work as usual.
When he reached the mine, his eyes widened.
Behind his four Clones, the pile of impure spirit stones had grown into a small mountain overnight.
"It feels so good to sleep well and wake up to a fortune waiting for me!"
Grinning, he stepped forward and began counting.
He started counting, and soon the number was clear—417 impure spirit stones.
"If they work all day… about 800. By tonight, I'll hit the fourth stage."
A spark lit his eyes.
Once that happened, he could absorb stones freely—and his strength would soar.