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"Hurry up. If you're slow, you'll be joining my family inside the Human Emperor Banner."

Ye Chuan shook the Human Emperor Banner in his hand. Dark energy churned on its surface, within which the faint struggles of countless vengeful spirits could be seen, terrifying several Golden Sun Sect disciples bound by spiritual chains.

These Golden Sun Sect disciples were encountered by Ye Chuan and Su Qinghan after they left the stone chamber. The disciples had been hiding furtively and attempted to ambush the pair upon seeing them, only to be subdued by Ye Chuan instead.

Initially, Ye Chuan intended to dispose of them directly, but then it occurred to him that he was short of miners, so he decided to keep them.

"E-Elder, we'll dig! We'll dig, alright!" The leading Golden Sun Sect disciple wailed, his hands bound by spiritual chains. He could only use his shoulder to heft the pickaxe Ye Chuan had tossed to him, swinging it at the mineral vein in the rock wall.

The pickaxe, forged from extraterrestrial meteoric iron, struck the wall with a deafening clang, sending a shower of stone chips flying from the hard vein.

"Chant after me: To succeed, first go mad."

"T-To succeed, first go mad..."

"Sleep on the floor today, be the boss tomorrow."

"T-Today..."

The expressions on the Golden Sun Sect disciples' faces, watching Ye Chuan immediately pocket every piece of ore they mined, were ones of utter despair, beyond even tears.

How could they become bosses?

Their storage pouches had been confiscated; they'd be lucky not to end up as beggars.

Ye Chuan leaned casually against a nearby stone pillar, watching them work with leisure.

Su Qinghan stood beside him. Seeing the wretched state of the Golden Sun Sect disciples, she couldn't help but say, "Elder, isn't this a bit too..."

The Golden Sun Sect was not a minor force. If this were discovered, it could cause serious trouble.

"Too what?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow. "They showed no mercy when they tried to ambush and kill us."

"Besides," he added, "these ores are just going to waste here. Might as well have them dig them out, contributing something to my cause."

Ye Chuan continued, "Don't worry. As long as they behave, I'll let them go once I've mined enough."

"If they misbehave..."

Several Golden Sun Sect disciples trembled in fear, their pickaxes nearly slipping from their hands.

In truth, Ye Chuan had no intention of letting them go. Once he had squeezed out the last bit of value from these disciples, he planned to stuff them straight into the Soul Banner as nourishment.

For now, the disciples dared not slack off in the slightest, mining the ore with all their might.

The vein in the rock wall was rich. As ore was dug out, Ye Chuan would casually wave a hand, collecting it all into his backpack without leaving behind even a single rock chip.

"Faster! There's more over here!" Ye Chuan pointed at another vein, a note of impatience in his tone. "Are you cultivators or not? Can't even handle a bit of manual labor?"

The disciples were already drenched in sweat, their arms sore and aching.

In reality, most cultivators did not train their physical bodies and seldom engaged in manual labor.

Most of the time, they used spiritual energy to assist in wielding magical tools and weapons. When had they ever done mining work like this?

But the terrifying vision of the Human Emperor Banner forced them to grit their teeth and persevere.

Finally, one disciple couldn't take it anymore. Gasping for breath, he said, "E-Elder, we can't dig anymore... Could we rest for a moment?"

Ye Chuan glanced at him, gathered a wisp of spiritual energy at his fingertip, and flicked it. The energy landed on the disciple.

The disciple instantly felt a surge of power enter his body, and much of his fatigue dissipated.

"Can you dig now?" Ye Chuan asked.

The disciple, both shocked and delighted, hurriedly nodded. "Yes! Yes, I can dig!"

He hadn't expected Ye Chuan to help restore his strength, and his awe for Ye Chuan grew.

"I just helped you burn your own soul power. Don't mention it," Ye Chuan said.

The disciple froze, then his face turned deathly pale.

W-What...?

What did you just say?!!!

"And you others? Need me to help restore your stamina? It's free," Ye Chuan looked at the other Golden Sun Sect disciples, frightening them into silence. The pickaxes in their hands swung so fast they became a blur.

"Be sensible. If you run out of stamina, burn your own soul power, or just shatter your spiritual roots," Ye Chuan said nonchalantly.

Back in his own world, the wage slaves would even buy their own coffee to whip themselves into higher productivity.

These cultivators really have no initiative.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from the distance, accompanied by several familiar auras.

Ye Chuan's brow twitched slightly as he extended his spiritual sense. The leader looked familiar—it seemed to be the Golden Sun Sect's Holy Son, Zhao Lieyang, accompanied by several Golden Sun Sect elders.

Clearly, they had discovered the missing disciples and come searching.

"You! How dare you abduct my disciples?!" Zhao Lieyang roared upon seeing Ye Chuan and the bound disciples. His longsword left its sheath, erupting with blazing fire spiritual energy.

Simultaneously, he noticed Su Qinghan beside Ye Chuan. "Well, well, well. How admirable of the Ice Cloud Sect!"

Several Golden Sun Sect elders also summoned their magical instruments, glaring murderously at Ye Chuan.

Ye Chuan slowly straightened up, a smile still playing on his lips as he faced the crowd. "They tried to ambush me. I caught them and put them to work as miners. Is that so unreasonable?"

He looked at Zhao Lieyang, a cold smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. "What, you want to stand up for them?"

Zhao Lieyang's face was livid. He could actually sense that Ye Chuan was no ordinary cultivator, but with the elders by his side, he felt reassured.

"I order you to release them immediately! Or don't blame the Golden Sun Sect for showing no mercy!"

"I'm rather curious," Ye Chuan said with a hint of amusement in his smile.

Not far away, Su Qinghan also wore a strange expression.

How exactly will you show no mercy?

If your Sect Master showed up, that would be one thing. But this senior is a peerless expert at the Dao Comprehension realm. You elders and disciples aren't even enough to be appetizers.

"Good, very good! Excellent!" Zhao Lieyang spat out a series of 'goods', his gaze towards Ye Chuan turning icy. His drawn sword directly unleashed a technique.

"Golden Sun Slash!"

Flames illuminated the surroundings, roaring towards Ye Chuan!

Zhao Lieyang's spiritual energy was supremely yang and unyielding, filled with an overbearing force. As a peak Golden Core realm expert, cultivators of the same realm would likely struggle to withstand this domineering power.

Of course, that only applied to those of the same realm.

Having slain countless experts across higher realms, Ye Chuan was, naturally, the absolute stern father to these weaker cultivators whose realms were beneath his own.

Facing the oncoming wave of heat, Ye Chuan merely clapped his hands. The flames were absorbed by chaos, not even getting a chance to near his body.

"Your fire is mediocre," Ye Chuan shook his head, then extended a hand. "Try this?"

A towering pillar of black fire materialized out of thin air. Its terrifying temperature even caused the surrounding space to become riddled with dense, tiny cracks!