The excavation team assembled at the eastern gate just as the first sliver of grey light touched the mountain peaks. Elder Huo Wei stood at the center of the formation, his presence a stabilizing anchor for the twenty disciples gathered. His aura was dense and immovable, demanding absolute focus.

  The group was a rare mix—main-line scions in fine silks of azure and gold, and rugged branch members in coarse hemp, their faces weathered by sun and stone. All carried reinforced picks, resonant Qi-probes that hummed with low frequency, and storage arrays etched with glowing runes.

  Huo Chen took his place in the rear support contingent, positioning himself where he could observe the entire group. His assignment was clear: monitor ground stability, mark hidden fault lines, and apply Earth-Qi reinforcement to keep the mountain cooperative while the miners worked. "Perfect cover for what I can really do."

  The march to the mine took an hour, the path winding through narrow ravines where the air grew cold and damp. The secondary fissure had been widened overnight by drilling arrays. Even from twenty paces away, the air thrummed with dense, heavy Qi—a sweet, metallic scent that signaled an exposed vein.

  Elder Wei divided the duties with crisp efficiency. "Main-line disciples, handle direct extraction. Branch members, structural support and debris hauling. We work in shifts—four hours on, one hour rest. Move." The disciples scattered to their assignments.

  Huo Chen moved to the fissure entrance, pressing his palms against the damp rock. The stone felt alive under his touch, pulsing with a rhythm only those attuned to earth could perceive. Deep within the shadowed tunnel, where torchlight flickered against jagged walls, he triggered his clone.

  It manifested in a brief pulse, keeping low and blended with the uneven stone. His clone extended its awareness forward, probing through unexcavated rock ahead of the diggers. Within minutes, his clone found it.

  A pocket of intense resonance. Behind a thin barrier of worthless granite lay a cluster of mid-grade crystals—their density far exceeding the surrounding vein, glowing with concentrated amber light. His clone withdrew silently, dissolving back into darkness.

  Huo Chen, maintaining his outward focus on the visible wall, signaled the nearest team leader. "The Qi density shifts approximately twelve meters ahead," Huo Chen reported, his voice calm and precise.

  "The resonance suggests a richer pocket behind that granite fold. I recommend probing there before we exhaust the current seam." The team leader relayed the observation to Elder Wei, who signaled a pause. A quick scan with a high-grade Qi-probe confirmed it, the device's needle spinning with sudden intensity.

  "Accurate," Elder Wei called out. "Adjust your path. Breach that section." The diggers redirected, their picks striking in coordinated rhythm. As the granite crumbled, the cluster spilled out, illuminating the tunnel with fierce ochre glow.

  The disciples' eyes widened at the sight. Elder Wei turned, his gaze lingering on Huo Chen. "Another accurate intuition, Huo Chen. Your senses are proving more reliable than our standard probes. Eight merit points added to your ledger." "Thank you, Elder." Huo Chen inclined his head, his expression dutiful.

  But he felt the shift in the air. Several main-line disciples glanced back at him, their eyes mixing curiosity with the first traces of resentment. A branch disciple rising too quickly, his "luck" outshining their cultivated prestige. "Let them wonder. I'm just doing my job."

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  The work continued through the morning. Picks struck stone in steady rhythm. Disciples hauled debris in leather sacks. The vein yielded stone after stone, each one carefully graded and stored. Late in the shift, the mountain decided to test them.

  A low, guttural rumble echoed through the tunnel—like the mountain grinding massive teeth. A hidden fault line in the ceiling suddenly gave way. A section of stone fractured, sending jagged debris and heavy dust downward. "Cave-in!" someone shouted. Two sixth-layer branch disciples, caught mid-haul, were suddenly pinned beneath falling rock.

  Huo Chen moved instantly. He channeled Earth-Qi through his palms into the surrounding walls, providing an immediate anchor. Simultaneously, in the shadows at the tunnel's rear—hidden from the panicked disciples—his clone acted.

  It extended its influence directly into the fractured ceiling, applying localized hardening that reinforced the rock's structure. His clone's intervention prevented the collapse from cascading into a total cave-in.

  The fractured stone held for the crucial seconds needed. "Clear the rubble!" Huo Chen's voice cut through the chaos, steady and authoritative. "You three, brace that support! Everyone else, get those disciples out—now!"

  The team responded to his commands without hesitation. They moved with surgical speed, clearing debris and dragging the two pinned disciples to safety. Their legs were bruised but whole. Once they were clear, Elder Wei stepped into the danger zone to inspect the site.

  He touched the ceiling, his brow furrowing as he felt the unusual, reinforced density of the stone that had refused to fall. He looked at the cracks, then at Huo Chen. His assessment was silent but profound.

  "Quick thinking and exceptional Earth-Qi control," Elder Wei stated, his voice echoing in the sudden silence. "This tunnel would have become a tomb today if you'd remained idle. Fifteen bonus merit points for preventing catastrophe and preserving your kin."

  Fifteen points. A massive reward for a single shift. "This junior only did his duty, Elder," Huo Chen said, bowing. The commendation hung heavy in the air. Around him, main-line disciples murmured among themselves, their whispers carrying clearly in the tunnel. "Lucky again..." "How does he sense these things?" "Branch disciples don't have instincts like that..." Their suspicion was a cold wind against his back. Huo Chen ignored it, returning to his position. "Too much attention. Way too much, but still had to intervene though".

  The shift concluded as the sun began to set, casting purple shadows across the mountain paths. The team returned to the compound with a significant haul, the storage arrays brimming with energy.

  Huo Chen walked in the back, his internal count now at forty-one merit points total. A sum most branch disciples would take months to accumulate. Inside the compound, disciples dispersed to their quarters.

  Huo Chen headed to his chamber, aware of the eyes following him—some curious, some envious, a few openly hostile. He barred his door and sat on his meditation mat, staring at the floorboard hiding his stolen stones.

  Forty-one merit points on the official ledger. Five mid-grade stones hidden below. The resources for breakthrough were there. But so was the scrutiny. The threads were tightening. Huo Lian's curiosity. The main-line disciples' resentment. Elder Wei's increasingly focused attention. The whispers were growing louder, more pointed. He needed the fifth layer and he needed it tonight.

  The breakthrough would give him the physical durability to withstand deeper scrutiny, the foundation to justify his "instincts," the strength to defend himself if suspicion turned to action.

  Huo Chen rose and moved to the hidden cache. He lifted the floorboard and pulled out the five stones. Their ochre glow filled his small room. Tonight, everything changes. He arranged the stones in a cultivation array on his mat, his hands steady despite the weight of what he was about to attempt.

  The fifth layer of Qi Refining—Bone-Nourishing stage. The threshold where cultivators began to transform their bodies, where Qi became dense enough to strengthen bones and reinforce flesh. For most disciples with his talent, it would take years. For him, with his clone and these stolen resources, it would take one night. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his Qi. The excavation had been his hunting ground. But now, it was time to digest the prey.