Lin Zhentian chose to securely lock down news of the discovery of the Yang Yuan Stone lode. The only ones who were privy to this information were Lin Xiao, Lin Dong and a few other selected individuals.
After all, this matter was simply too important to the Lin Family. If they were able to successfully develop this mining lode, their power would undoubtedly rise dramatically. At that time, even the well-known Qingyang Town powerhouse, the Lei Family, would be unable to hold a candle to them.
Of course, before this lode was developed, it must be kept secret. If news of it was leaked to the Lei Family, they would employ every mean to destroy it. In fact, it was likely that they would directly ally with the Xie Family and pulverise the Lin Family.
Two days after confirming the existence of the mining lode, Lin Zhentian decided to station 50-60% of the Lin Family members in the Steel Wood Manor. He had done an extremely extensive job of tightening the security of the manor, turning it into a steel fortress.
Furthermore, Lin Zhentian had also moved thousands of workers from other Lin Family establishments into the manor. Most of these people would be assigned to cut the Steel Trees. However, this was only a cover. Those who were absolutely loyal to the Lin Family were secretly transferred to the deep forests, where they would help to develop the mining lode.
Of course, they must first get rid of the two Demonic Black Steel Panthers. If not, the mining operations would never go smoothly.
For many years, these two Demonic Black Steel Panthers had ruled over that particular territory with their Heavenly Yuan level strength. Furthermore, their hides were as hard as steel and their reflexes quick as lightning. Even a Heavenly Yuan human practitioner would find them exceedingly difficult opponents.
In order to deal with the two Demonic Black Steel Panthers, Lin Zhentian, along with everyone else, had made ample preparations. Grandfather was even planning to take part in the battle. However, they had to be very cautious as against two Demonic Black Steel Panthers, even the slightest slip up may result in catastrophe.
From a high ground at the entrance of the valley, Lin Dong peered down upon the two Demonic Black Steel Panthers below. He shifted his gaze as three figures suddenly jumped down from the top of a cliff, the tips of their feet gently bouncing down the walls of the cliff before steadily landing on the valley floor.
“Growl!”
Just as the trio of Lin Zhentian and two others landed in the valley, the two Demonic Black Steel Panthers were alerted by their presence. Deep and low growls immediately sounded out in the valley.
“Heavenly Yuan Late Stage. Based on Grandpa’s current strength, he is just one step away from completely harmonizing Yin and Yang Energy to form a Yuan Dan.” Lin Dong gently acknowledged his Grandfather in his heart as he gazed upon Lin Zhentian’s imposing visage. However, when Lin Dong recalled how difficult it was to step into the Yuan Dan stage, he could not help but furrow his eyebrows. Having Heavenly Yuan Stage strength was indeed enough for one to be called an elite fighter, yet it still did not reached the level of a warlord that could intimidate an entire region.
In the Great Yan Dynasty, only those who had advanced to Yuan Dan Stage were worthy of such a title!
Even though there were only a few Heavenly Yuan Stage practitioners in Qingyang Town, they were not that rare of an existence. For example, in the Lei Family, there were approximately four to five Heavenly Yuan practitioners. However, in the entire Qingyang Town, there was not a single person who had reached Yuan Dan Stage!
Based on this fact, it was enough to deduce how difficult it was to synergize one’s Yin and Yang Energy and condensed it to form a Yuan Dan.
While Lin Dong was distracted, the battle below had already begun. A vigorous Yuan Power constantly gushed about, stirring up the gravel and dust on the floor, a level of energy not commonly seen.
Though it was tricky to deal with these Demonic Black Steel Panthers, based on Lin Dong calculations, he estimated that these two Demonic Panthers should be at Heavenly Yuan Middle Stage. Since Lin Zhentian had long progressed to Heavenly Yuan Late Stage, and Lin Xiao and Lin Ken were both at Heavenly Yuan Middle Stage, they should be able to win this battle easily.
Just as Lin Dong predicted, faced with the trio of Lin Zhentian, Lin Xiao and Lin Ken, after the two Demonic Panthers experienced the initial ruthless counter attack, signs of their eventual defeat gradually began to appear . A series of roars continuously sounded out as the creatures became more and more like cornered animals.
“Bang!”
In the middle of the valley, a muffled sound suddenly echoed out. Lin Dong immediately turned to look, only to see that Lin Zhentian had forcefully stabbed his two fingers at the forehead of one Demonic Panther. A powerful Yuan Power gushed forward, causing Lin Zhentian’s two fingers to become sharp as knives, directly piercing through that Demonic Black Steel Panther’s hard skull and killing it instantly.
“Chun Yuan Finger!”
As he saw that familiar attack, a flash of awe surfaced in Lin Dong’s eyes. Lin Zhentian was definitely at Heavenly Yuan Late Stage, the force displayed by his Chun Yuan Finger was at least several times more powerful than Lin Dong’s. At the very least, Lin Dong did not have the slightest bit of confidence in being able to penetrate that Heavenly Yuan tier demonic beast’s skull with one thrust of his fingers.
In the instance that Lin Zhentian killed one Demonic Black Steel Panther, the other creature immediately released an angry roar.
“Growl!”
Just as its growl sounded out, howls from several other ferocious beasts sounded out in reply from the surrounding forest. It seems that the Demonic Black Steel Panther had growled to attract them.
As he sensed the rumbling sounds of the beasts converging on them, Lin Zhentian’s facial expression slightly darkened. He never imaged that this Demonic Panther could actually summon other wild beasts. Even though these wild beasts were not as fearsome, if their numbers were large enough, they would still pose a major problem.
“Au!”
As Lin Zhentian furrowed his eyebrows, above the valley, a red shadow suddenly flashed out as a deep tiger hiss swiftly sounded out. Immediately, the footsteps of the other wild beasts paused as they actually stopped their advance.
“Heh heh, seems like that Fire Python Tiger also possess this ability.” Upon witnessing this situation, Lin Zhentian heaved a sigh of relief. Nearby, Lin Xiao and Lin Ken attacked simultaneously, with a two prong attack from the front and back, they finally finished off the other Demonic Panther in a single punch.
“These creatures are really difficult to handle.”
Lin Xiao and Lin Ken exclaimed as they wiped their hands while gazing at the fallen bodies of the two Demonic Black Steel Panthers.
“Little Flame, well done.”
At the top of the valley, Lin Dong smiled as he praised Little Flame, who was beside him, while patting it.
Little Flame intimately rubbed against Lin Dong before it immediately released a deep roar as it leapt down into the valley. Next, it approached the Demonic Black Steel Panther corpses and opened its tiger mouth to begin tearing the bodies apart. Finally, it managed to uncover two pitch-black crystals within the corpses. With a flick of its tongue, the two crystals were swallowed into its stomach.
“This little one is really knowledgable. It actually knows that there are Demonic Crystals within their bodies. That level of intelligence is actually quite high…” At this point, Lin Zhentian furrowed his eyebrows. After all, ordinary demonic beasts did not possess such intelligence.
“Father, we have resolved this final problem. Shall we start developing this mining lode?” Lin Ken smiled as he asked excitedly.
“Yes.”
Lin Zhentian beamed while nodding his head and said: “Tomorrow, I will dispatch Lin Mang to Yan City to first find and discuss with some merchant associations on establishing our sales and distribution channels. Then we will be able to immediately sell the Yang Yuan Stones straight after they have been mined.”
After finishing, Lin Zhentian held his hands behind his back. With a casual smile, he softly said: “ Every dog has its day. Heh heh. The Lei and Xie Families have bullied our Lin Family for so many years, now it’s time for payback!”