Chapter 15

Lu Fan's voice had just fallen when Han Zhen was startled, his face filled with disbelief.

"Secret Silver Stone? Young Master Lu, you aren't joking, are you! Secret Silver Stone is a high-grade weapon refining material; it's said that a piece of Secret Silver the size of a scale weight is worth a thousand gold. How could these broken stones be that kind of thing?"

Lu Fan smiled slightly, having no intention of explaining Han Zhen's doubts, and instead fixed his gaze on Qian Shirong again.

"Hand it over! You'll be able to suffer less physical pain."

As soon as he spoke, Qian Shirong's face was filled with pain, his eyes full of hatred.

But the intimidation Lu Fan gave him was simply too great; he didn't dare to resist at all, and with trembling hands, he took out a leather bag from his waist.

"Universe Bag! You actually have something like this; why aren't you handing it over to me quickly!"

Han Zhen's face lit up with joy, and he immediately snatched the leather bag, opened it, and poured it onto the ground.

"Clatter," the leather bag, which looked palm-sized and flat, was actually filled with a large pile of things.

Lu Fan grabbed with one hand, and a piece of silver metal the size of a fist flew into his hand, the surrounding light suddenly brightening.

Han Zhen was slightly stunned, his face filled with an incredulous expression, "This really is Secret Silver!"

After saying this, he felt it was unbelievable himself, but it was right before his eyes, clear and undeniable.

Foreman Li was also shocked, clearly not having recognized the Secret Silver beforehand. Afterward, he felt regret, staring coldly at Qian Shirong; he had actually been kept in the dark the whole time.

"Han Zhen, it seems your parents left you quite a large inheritance! Just this small piece of roughly refined Secret Silver is worth at least ten thousand gold coins."

Lu Fan was genuinely happy for Han Zhen; having such a Secret Silver mine as a backing would be the capital for Han Zhen to step into the business world in the future.

Han Zhen's small eyes were almost narrowed into a line, looking at the white crystalline stone grains around him, filled with little stars.

Just as he was calculating how to manage it in the future, he suddenly remembered something and immediately turned his head to shout at Qian Shirong.

"Who else knows about this Secret Silver mine?"

Qian Shirong was slightly stunned, his brow furrowed, and he said with a gloomy face, "Your second uncle wants to seize your property; he naturally knows about it too."

"You're lying!"

Lu Fan suddenly shouted, his face gloomy, scaring Qian Shirong into a shiver.

"The value of a Secret Silver mine is not something a small First-Tier Rune Master like you can touch.

Based on this mine alone, it would be more than enough to recruit a Third-Tier Rune Master. The one surnamed Han must have been kept in the dark by you, just like this Foreman Li."

When he said this, Qian Shirong looked as if he had seen a ghost; the schemes he had played in the past were actually casually spoken by a teenager. His face turned pale, and he couldn't even speak a coherent word of excuse.

"So that's it. You took Han Jiuling as a disciple just for this Secret Silver mine! Han the Second is truly clever for a lifetime, but foolish for a moment."

A glimmer of spirit suddenly appeared in Han Zhen's eyes; he felt no displeasure, but instead was filled with surprise.

"Han Zhen, since the two of them like refining mines, why not give them this opportunity!"

Lu Fan laughed, looking at Foreman Li and his companion with ill intent, scaring the two into stumbling and falling to the ground, begging for mercy repeatedly.

He wouldn't waste his breath on these two; he waved his large hand, rummaged through the pile of materials in front of him, and several sheets of rune paper drifted out.

"Five Elements Spirit Control Technique!"

With a clear shout, he swiped with one hand, and several rays of spiritual light shot from his fingertips, waving and pointing at the rune paper through the air.

Qian Shirong only felt dazzled; in a moment's time, several fluent rune seals had appeared on those sheets of rune paper, ones he had never seen before.

"Hehe, it's your lucky day!"

Lu Fan laughed strangely, took a step forward, rushed in front of Qian Shirong, and grabbed his mouth. With his other hand, he waved and pointed several talismans over, stuffing them into the other man's mouth.

"Explode for me!"

The talismans erupted, turning into a flame, and Qian Shirong passed out directly.

Lu Fan then did the same to Foreman Li, watching as Han Zhen was left confused, feeling it was incredibly mysterious.

"Young Master Lu! What are you doing? It looks so powerful!"

"A Secret Silver mine is no small matter; if the news leaks out, I'm afraid you and I won't be able to protect it, so we can only keep these two for now."

Lu Fan's expression was slightly grave, making Han Zhen's mood tense up as well.

"You don't need to worry, let me show you the effect of my talisman!"

As soon as his voice fell, he kicked Qian Shirong awake.

The other man's eyes were filled with chaos; clearly, his consciousness had already been controlled, leaving him to be driven by Lu Fan. He had no more secrets, exactly as Lu Fan had said before.

"Young Master Lu! You're really something; when did you practice rune arts? This is great, from now on with you covering for me, let's see who still dares to bully me!"

Han Zhen was overjoyed, subconsciously puffing out his chest and holding his head high, seemingly feeling triumphant.

But he bumped into the rock wall of the tunnel ceiling, raising a large bump, which made Lu Fan laugh out loud.

"Let's go! Let's get out first and buy some things!"

The two of them didn't stay any longer, crawled out of the mine, and returned to town.

The two crawled out of the mine, covered in dust and grime, and should have changed their attire. But Han Zhen had no such thought, insisting on pulling Lu Fan to the Shanjin Town Rune Master Guild to see the world.

"Young Master Lu, this is the Rune Master Guild. In the entire Mingyue Empire, there aren't many towns as big as ours that possess a Rune Master Guild!"

Han Zhen's words were slightly proud, but Lu Fan's expression was calm, only nodding faintly and saying, "Hmm, a Third-Tier Rune Master Guild; it seems the Rune Master Guild values this town quite a bit!"

Just as the two of them were about to go in, a youth with a sinister aura walked out of the Rune Master Guild.

This person was Kang Jun, with a cloth bag on his back from which a cold aura faintly radiated.

"Hmph! I wondered who it was, so it's you! The Rune Master Guild isn't a place for people like you; get out of here quickly, don't embarrass our academy!"

Kang Jun looked at Lu Fan with a gloomy face; he had clearly been taught a lesson by Lu Fan just a few days ago, yet he dared to be this arrogant now.

"Haven't seen you in a few days, your cultivation hasn't improved, but your guts have grown quite a bit. It seems you have something to rely on! A spirit tool or pills? Hand them over yourself!"

Lu Fan smiled slightly; there could only be one explanation for Kang Jun's behavior: this kid had obtained some treasure.

"You're courting death! My big brother didn't kill you that day, so today I'll act on his behalf and teach you a lesson, you kid who doesn't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth!"

Kang Jun was so embarrassed he became angry, remembering the humiliation he had suffered a few days ago.

But things were different now; with the spirit tool given by Master Zu Qing Tan, dealing with the kid before him would certainly not be a problem.

He snorted coldly, waved his large hand, and suddenly took off the cloth bag from his back, drawing out a blue long spear that shone with a cold light.

"A spirit tool! No wonder you kid are so arrogant; you really do have good things. Your Grandpa Lu will accept it!"

Lu Fan was slightly surprised, then his face lit up with joy. His cultivation had improved quite a bit recently, and he was just missing a handy weapon.

"Hmph! Arrogant! I will repay the humiliation at the Spirit Medicine Pavilion tenfold today!"

As soon as Kang Jun's voice fell, he leaped forward, thrusting toward Lu Fan with great force.

"Nine Blades of the Cold Spear"

Nine cold rays flashed, enveloping Ye Fei's entire body, a scene of icy coldness. Ice crystals condensed in the air and fell to the ground, making a "sandy" sound.

Lu Fan didn't dare to be careless, shouting loudly, "Star Burst Fist," and his True Qi surged out instantly. The raging flames compressed and condensed, turning into a liquid flame light cluster.

"Sizzle"

Water and fire merged, and steam erupted. Those nine cold rays vanished instantly, leaving not a trace.

"How is this possible? Kid, how did you do that?"

Kang Jun was shocked; with a spirit tool spear in hand, he could even hold his own against a Third-Tier Martial Master, so how could he be defeated in one move?

"Do you think I'll explain it to you?"

Lu Fan took a step forward, passed through the thick water mist, and arrived in front of Kang Jun in an instant.

He slashed out with one palm, and with a crisp "Clang," the cold spear in Kang Jun's hand flew out of his grasp. He himself retreated more than ten steps, terrified.

"A Second-Tier spirit tool, it's a pity it's cold-attribute; it doesn't quite fit me!"

Lu Fan held the cold spear, examined it carefully for a few moments, shook his head slightly, and then put it into the space bag at his waist. This leather bag naturally belonged to that unlucky ghost Qian Shirong; he took it directly for his own use.

"You, you..."

Kang Jun's face was ashen, both angry and furious, but without the spirit tool, he no longer had the courage to be arrogant, and couldn't even say a single harsh word.

"Who is making noise? This is the Rune Master Guild, how can you be so presumptuous?"

Just at this moment, a short, fat old man with a white beard walked out, his clothes looking like ghost-drawn talismans; they were actually all runes. It was just that they were inscribed in a messy, lawless way.

"Master Zu, this kid is robbing me by force, you must help me!"

Kang Jun grabbed onto a life-saving straw, shouting urgently with tears in his eyes.

Lu Fan frowned slightly; this old man's spiritual power was quite strong, only one step away from being a Fourth-Tier Great Rune Master. If this person made trouble, it would likely be quite a bit of trouble.

"Hmph! It's you kid making a scene! The money and goods are cleared, what does it have to do with me? Get out quickly, the Rune Master Guild does not tolerate noise!"

The white-bearded old man didn't even look at Lu Fan and his companion, seemingly having no time for it, and scolded Kang Jun directly, scaring the other party into silence, not daring to argue a single word.

After he finished speaking, he turned to enter the guild, but seemed to have discovered something; his dim eyes suddenly lit up, staring at Lu Fan.

"Kid, what's that in your hand?"

Ye Fei smiled slightly, gently shaking his sleeve, and the piece of Secret Silver was revealed.

"You're a Rune Master too? At this age, that's quite fitting."

The white-bearded old man was excited, staring at Lu Fan and looking him up and down, as if looking at a rare treasure.

"Young Master Lu, this old man is so strange! He wouldn't be an old pervert, would he?" Han Zhu looked strange, whispering into Lu Fan's ear.

"Hmph! What are you two whispering about? I am Zu Qing Tan, President of the Shanjin Town Rune Master Guild! You two came to the guild for something, right? Why aren't you coming in yet!"

As soon as Zu Qing Tan's voice fell, Han Zhen's face turned black, and cold sweat streamed down.

Lu Fan, however, had a normal expression, didn't say a word, and walked in calmly and composedly.