Once more, a new morning came.

  It was another day, the same as any other.

  One back to the mines.

  But as Gon continued to write like a madman on the manual in front of him, gears turned in his head as he realised the potential of the Tradies Body Manual.

  Lil Hu, the man who had once buried him half-heartedly, gazed over Gon’s shoulder to see what he was writing, with a piece of meat in his hand. “Boss, what exactly are you writing? You’ve been at it all morning.” In his other hand was a gss of water, and he pced it on the table where Gon continued to work.

  “Thanks Hu. I’ll announce it once I’m done writing. I’ll need a few of you guys to give me a hand and make a few more copies of this as well.”

  Finally, today I can take my first step into enacting my game pn.

  From the past month, he had understood more of the mechanics of the System, and of his unique path of cultivation.

  The mines itself had improved drastically, and Gon intended to build even more infrastructure surrounding it. Starting off with his own forge.

  But the issue was money.

  Gon needed funds to go to the city and purchase the things he would need. And in general, take a good look at what they offered.

  I’m going to work with Bom today. From there, I’ll rope him into my pn.

  Gon finished his second pte quickly, rising up and stretching his body, glistening in the dusk. He noticed everyone’s mood was much better. Some were still slightly tipsy from st night. They had just received their paycheck yesterday, afterall. Many would’ve gone to the pubs and taverns to take it easy.

  Though Gon noticed Persimmon, the man whose hair was as vivid as his name, only held the single spiritual jade he received to attempt to cultivate throughout the night.

  After a cheeky half an hour morning ‘tea’ break, Gon cpped his hands.

  It was also a day where the guard of the mines, Li Han, hadn’t come yet.

  “I’ve got a big announcement for all you mates. Old Qiang, stop napping and listen up too.” Gon took the stage, waiting for the dozens of miners to gather up.

  After the past month, everyone had taken Gon’s word seriously. Even if he was just a foreman, the acts he had done ever since saving them all from the Kolomodor Samanders had unconsciously raised his status within their hearts.

  After all, Gon was also id back and chill, never using his feats to force any benefits for himself.

  “What do you want, Ghost Axe Gon?!” One of the miner’s said, almost making Gon cringe inside.

  “The hell is that whacky nickname. You guys still using it?” Gon cleared up his throat with a cough, moving on to the main matter at hand.

  He flexed his body, showcasing all his muscles in their glorious brilliance. “I’m sure you’ve all been wondering how I got so strong the past month. I mean, you aren’t stupid. A scrawny kid coming back to life and suddenly becoming a muscur badass like me? It’s like a miracle.”

  Some murmurs came from the crowd of miners, confirming Gon’s thoughts. It was quite obvious. Even if Gon had helped save their lives, his sudden transformation was strange to see. Some may have chalked it up to him being from the sect, but it wouldn’t cover everything.

  “It’s quite simple really.” Gon brought out a small handbook that was roughly binded, raising it to his face. “It was thanks to a cultivation manual that I found.”

  Old Qiang stared in shock at Gon. But it wasn’t because of the fact that Gon found such a cultivation manual. No, he had already figured that much out long ago. He could only rub his forehead with his jade hands. That daft idiot! He’s crazy enough to reveal his secrets to everyone? You’re asking to be killed showing off like this!

  Gon grinned seeing the reactions of the group. Most of them had jealousy and greed in their eyes, especially with Gon showing off his manual like this. He was the only one who had hailed from the sect. The rest of the miners were all local mortals, in every way possible. If any of them could read it, they could have an opportunity to become stronger!

  “Rex, I’m not here to flex. I’m here to share it with you. It’s getting tiresome being the only one sent out to kill beasts for you guys endless bellies. You all want to get stronger, right? And what’s perfect, we all happen to be working next to a Spiritual Jade Mine… I’m sure you know where I’m going with this.” This time Gon held a serious gaze, his dark eyes looking down at his colleagues.

  The connotations were clear.

  Normally a cultivation manual just on its own wouldn’t be enough. Especially for mortals who had absolutely zero foundation, Spiritual Jades helped as a crutch to give them an idea of cultivation.

  The Tradies Body Manual also had a very simple method of absorbing qi, which seemed to be roughly as effective as the methods Kuang Gong was taught as a sect disciple.

  Though most of the miners were stunned, and giddy with the hope of becoming stronger, some of the older miners and other foremen were uneased.

  One of the other foremans, a middle-aged man with stubble, put his drink on the table with a cng. “Cut to the chase, Gon. This sounds too good to be true. You could’ve just found a way back into the sect with your recent strength, but you want to give that manual, who any of us would kill for, for free just like that?”

  “No shit there’s a catch.” Gon gnced at the mines, before facing the crowd once more. He noticed the feverous gaze of Lil Hu, the baffled look of Persimmon, the confused gazes of the mountainous twins and the drooling mouth of the thieving Bom.

  Gon also noticed Old Qiang staring at him, while fiddling with his beard. A gaze of anticipation.

  “The moment you take this manual, you’re risking your life with me. We’ll be using the Spiritual Jades meant for the sect to cultivate for ourselves. If a single one of you tries to report this to the sect, then we’re all dead meat.” Gon raised the manual in his hand up high, focusing on the allure of cultivation. Of strength.

  If all of them couldn’t unanimously agree on this, then this pn was a failure.

  There was no point trying to hide everything from now on. The miners were either with him, or against him.

  But Gon had considered these options for the past month, even if he had only just received the Tradies Body Manual recently. If he wanted to improve all of their lives, and find a way to gain strength, then the people he had saved, fed and personally got to know, had to be by his side.

  They knew how shit life was before. If even one guy wanted to report it to the sect, just what would he get? Maybe a few Spiritual Jades, a pat on the back by some disciple, and what else?

  Or they could take the risk, and gain the strength that Gon suddenly achieved in the past month, to become a mortal that entered the realm of cultivation, even if it was a single drop of qi in their palms.

  “You aren’t idiots. You’ve seen my sudden change the past month. And you also know how the Ethereal Life Sect barely bothered to send in any help even when all of us were meant to die. And one more thing.” This time Gon’s eyes turned into crescents as he had a deep smile. If he were to act so selfless, even that would be suspicious in of itself. So he had to let out some greed. “I want to be the de facto leader of you all. I’m looking for a promotion to be the top boss. Things will be mostly the same with Old Qiang as the codger running the show, but if I make any pns, you all better listen.”

  The crowd of miners continued to murmur and discuss.

  Gon was pretty rexed with both his arms crossed. He shot out a smirk to Old Qiang, who could only sigh at how rapidly the situation had changed in the mines he had stayed in for so long.

  Old Qiang got up to help convince the older miners and other foremens.

  He saw the confused miners get closer to the same conclusion.

  The fear of the sect killing them if the secret were to leak, the allure of becoming a cultivator and breaking free from being a mortal, and the stability and resources of being the ones running the actual Spiritual Jade mines, which would supply them with qi.

  Most of all, the growth and character of Gon from the past month. Hearing him wanting to be the boss only made them feel better that this was what he wanted.

  Gon’s own men that he looked after, around a dozen of them, didn’t take long to come to their conclusion. And Old Qiang gave a helping hand, talking to the rest.

  Until all the discussions and murmurs came to a close, and all of the miners faced towards Gon.

  He ended up unconsciously picking up a pickaxe, resting it on his shoulder.

  The back of his neck was slightly wet from sweat. I’d like to think they’d all agree, but I can’t assume everything. The types of cultures these people have lived in are still vastly different from my own. Even if I am taking advantage of their greed to fall in line with me, I don’t know the extent of fear and reverence they have for that sect. Worst case scenario, I might have to dip.

  If Gon tried to hide everything as much as possible, he would only be figured out for long. Trying to mine extra Spiritual Jade in secret had too many risks, and on top of that the responsibilities and expectations were only getting heavier on him, having to feed all the miners with real food from the local beasts.

  I need their help if I want to do my next outrageous pns. I’m basically committing treason against the Ethereal Life Sect, so I’ll need all the support I can get.

  Gon forced a smile as he watched the miners face him. “So what’ll it be?”

  He saw the miner’s grab a pickaxe by their side, which only made Gon a bit more nervous. Don’t tell me they tryna start a fight?!

  All of them raised their pickaxes to the sky at the same time, shouting at the top of their lungs. “BOSS GON!”

  Swearing allegiance to Gon, the miners started a chant, repeating Gon’s name.

  “BOSS GON! BOSS GON! GHOST AXE GON!”

  Gon couldn’t help but sheepishly rub the back of his neck. “You sons of guns, stop praising me so much, haha!” He broke out into a mad ughter, happy they all unanimously agreed.

  Old Qiang walked up to stand beside Gon, this time ughing boisterously. “Good! Good! Good! You truly are a king of miners, a man willing to look after his own people. Gon, as the elder and oldest of the miners, I am willing to let you be the hidden leader of us all.” He then looked towards the rest of his workers, this time with a glint of blood in his bright eyes. “If any of you dares to betray us to the sect, I’ll be the one to kill you. Don’t make this old man hold a sword again.”

  The atmosphere turned cold just for a moment, taking Old Qiang’s words as seriously as they could. To the point even Gon felt baffled.

  They sure got scared of this old codger saying such a joke. What’s up with that?

  Coughing to clear up the atmosphere, Gon got to work. “I need some guys to help be a scribe for me and write this manual until each of us have a copy. Those who can write well, put up your hands.”

  With a bunch of miners getting their hands up, Gon left the manual to Old Qiang. “I’ll leave it to you to prepare the necessary materials. I’ll be working with the rest inside the mines.”

  When Old Qiang took a hold of the Tradies Body Manual, he could only scrunch his eyebrows as he read the manual, flicking through each page rather quickly.

  For an old man, he sure can read fast. Gon thought, waiting to see Old Qiang’s response.

  “This is… pretty decent, surprisingly. Though external body cultivators beyond Qi Condensation are basically as rare as a drop of Divine Phoenix blood, it’s perfectly suitable for the rest of the guys here.” Patting Gon’s shoulder, Old Qiang reassured him. “Leave it to me. I’ll sort this out. You go start off with the day’s quota.”

  Gon gave a thumbs up, though Old Qiang tilted his head in confusion at the gesture. Realising the strange expression, Gon proceeded to shift to giving a middle finger. There still was no response.

  Huh, I guess that makes sense. Some gestures from Earth might not be a thing here, though nodding the head for a yes seems to be universal.

  “Ahaha, it means good luck.”

  With that, Gon left to prepare some workers to head for the mines.

  Old Qiang held the manual in his hand, staring at Gon’s back as he left.

  “If we had someone like him back then, would things have been different?”

  “So what’s up with working with me alone, Boss Gon?” Bom said, a bit confused at Gon’s sudden request.

  Gon had already told his crew of men to proceed with work on improving the mine’s infrastructure. But he decided to work as a duo with Bom alone.

  This was to proceed with the next part of his pn.

  Gon patted Bom’s shoulder. “Just call me Gon, aren’t we old pals? I’m just here to map out some more routes where we should expand further. You also know all the routes pretty well, right?”

  “Y-yeah… I guess.”

  Gon led the way, walking to the hideaway of Bom. Ignoring Bom’s fidgeting, Gon proceeded forth.

  “If I were you, I would’ve kept that cultivation manual a secret. I mean, of course I’m gd you’re willing to share it with all of us. But isn’t it a bit… Naive?” Bom initiated some small talk, hoping for Gon to keep moving forward.

  “Yes, I could’ve easily left the mines and went on to do my own thing. You’re wondering why I’m willing to do this, willing to trust you guys so easily, right? I did hear you were punished as a thief after being ratted out on the streets to a guard.” Gon said nonchantly, slowing down as he neared his destination. The hidden deposit of Spiritual Jades that Bom had worked hard to steal.

  “The world’s cutthroat. You may have lived as a simple vilger who only entered the sect for a while, but even you haven’t seen the worst it gets, Boss Gon. Without money, you’re worth less than shit.”

  Gon faced the ex-thief, a man who had lived in the slums his whole life. In fact, him being forced into indentured servitude by the sect seemed to be a better fate. It was a surprise how he didn’t end up being executed on the spot.

  “That’s right. Maybe there isn’t such a difference. The disparity of wealth is the first line of division between people. I’ve seen it all too well.” Memories of his past life welled deep in Gon’s mind.

  Putting a foot right on top of the hidden pathway Bom had made for his stack of Spiritual Jades, Gon continued. “You’ve been doing a good job, Bom. The sect isn’t loyal to you, so making sure you had some wealth for yourself to smuggle out ter was a good idea. It was either that, or being forced to live like a sve for the rest of your life.”

  Bom could only sweat, but he didn’t have the urge to run away. Even though he couldn’t have, seeing Boss Gon easily mention his secret.

  Gon held out a hand, offering a partnership.

  “Why don’t we get rich together?”