Knowing that he'd be in deeper trouble if he just stayed there and rest, Wu Ming got up and reluctantly made his way to the mines. Along the way, Wang Qi and Du Heng had slung his arms over their shoulders, alleviating a bit of his burden off of him.

"Screw his mother! Damn, why's he here?" Wu Ming silently cussed.

There in the distance, was Jun Yi and Shi Xing with bruises visible on multiple areas of his body. They had their eyes narrowed and their hands were up to their foreheads as if they were searching for something.

"There he is!" Jun Yi shouted, pointing towards Wu Ming.

Straight afterwards, the miners who were near Wu Ming edged away and continued to move towards the cavern a bit further ahead. Wu Ming pushed Wang Qi and Du Heng away and jerked his head, signalling them to go ahead as well.

"Don't worry Jun Yi, I know my punishment. Spend an entire day in the mines right?" He asked, a mischievous glint flaring up in his eyes. "That's what you told me last night before you beat me up."

Jun Yi noticed what Wu Ming was trying and responded in kind, "Don't try to spread lies Wu Ming. I said your punishment was a full week in the mines supervised by me."

"Also, we didn't beat you up, you rashly picked a fight with Shi Xing here. We agreed that if you won, we'd let you off with just a warning. Hmph, overestimating yourself has its own consequences."

Some people nearby overheard and looked at the two parties and had their own thoughts of the situation.

"Unlucky bastard, I pity anybody who offends the Disciplinary Committee..."

"If that story holds true, then this Wu Ming must be really strong to injure Shi Xing to that extent!"

Just then, the middle-aged man from the day before showed up and loudly proclaimed.

"Jun Yi, that's too far. Let me take it from here."

It was Elder Shu wearing black robes with gold patterns on it. He gave off a feeling of absolute authority that Wu Ming had never felt before which immediately caused him to take a step back unconsciously.

“Isn’t this Elder the one I saw yesterday at the cavern entrance?” Wu Ming recalled.

Jun Yi clicked his tongue and was about to say something else when Elder Shu slowly said. "Or do you need me to tell everybody what happened last night."

Hearing that, Jun Yi revealed a disappointed look before turning around and followed behind Shi Xing. Even as Wu Ming witnessed Jun Yi giving up on troubling him, he still remained tense. In his head, he didn’t mind whatever Jun Yi did as long as he could still have some sense of freedom.

However, the Elder in front of him could easily imprison him or even take away his life at a whim. From what he had heard from Du Heng, Elders hold a very special place in their designated locations and are usually identified by the golden patterns adorned on their robes. They are able to control whatever takes place in the area and only obeys the Sect Master within their domains.

So, many sect disciples take initiative to cosy up to these Elders so they are able to become mini-overlords in the area. After all, with the backing of such giants, who would dare to offend them casually?

The Elder at the head of the group approached Wu Ming slowly and shooed away the two servants propping Wu Ming up. Then, in a flash, he lifted Wu Ming up and brought him to a secluded area higher up in the mountain.

During this short time, Wu Ming didn’t feel anything like what happened in his journey to the sect. This time, there was no sudden blast of wind against his face nor was there any form of discomfort. And before he knew it, he was in a small cave dug into the mountain but furnished to the point of luxuriousness.

“So, before we get to it, I am Elder Shu,” The Elder in front of him introduced himself complacently before he inched closer and closer to Wu Ming. “I know who you are and what occurred the night before. I just want to ask…”

Wu Ming gulped down his uneasiness as he realized that the Elder in front of him was probably not going to harm him in any way. Instead, he seemed to show some interest in the former…

“Would you like to join the Disciplinary Committee?”

Wu Ming’s eyebrows raised up at the sudden unexpected offer. His pessimistic expectations toppled down in front of him as he saw the Elder look at him with such eager eyes. He found such a situation quite suspicious and turned to cautiously asking some questions of his own.

“Why? I don’t think I’m suitable for the Committee.”

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The Elder, as if he saw the question coming, immediately responded. “You have extraordinary fighting capabilities. As one of the Elders in charge of the Disciplinary Committee, I am obligated to recruit such strong individuals into the Committee.”

“We will regularly provide you with food, cultivation resources, and have a house all to yourself with no intrusion of privacy. Please think this through.”

Wu Ming’s mind reeled while imagining the riches he could experience and the power he would possess. But for some reason, he just didn’t look forward to it. Instead, he felt it was somehow wrong for him to join the Disciplinary Committee. He wasn’t sure if it was due to the presence of Jun Yi or how he would have to leave his new allies behind. In the end, he decided to follow his heart.

“Sorry esteemed Elder, I will have to decline your offer,” Wu Ming bowed down respectfully and clasped his hands together as he apologised.

Contrary to the Elder’s expectations, his gracious offer that had worked on every servant thus far just failed! His face stayed as still as a rock, unsure of what expression to display. Then, he let out an awkward cough and continued.

“Here, this pill will allow you to recover from most of your injuries. Once you swallow it, I shall bring you back to the mines. I still strongly suggest you join the Committee but I understand if you have your own reasons.”

A bright blue pill formed in Wu Ming’s hand simultaneously with a subtle glow from a certain ring secured on the Elder’s index finger which Wu Ming didn’t fail to notice. Trusting the Elder, he popped the pill into his mouth and a sudden burst of heat erupted from within him.

However, the heat wasn’t painful. Rather, it brought with it quite a pleasant and relaxing feeling like bathing in warm water after a long day. It faded away after a few moments and so did the feeling of lethargy that accompanied Wu Ming’s injuries.

At the sign of his injuries disappearing, Wu Ming simply stood there then thanked the Elder with a bow.

The middle-aged man nodded his head lightly then brought Wu Ming to the cavern entrance in a flash. Off in the distance, Wang Qi and Du Heng’s eyes brightened when they saw Wu Ming land in front of them safe and sound.

Only a short time has passed since Wu Ming was ‘abducted’ away and counting the time spent to travel from the living quarters to the cavern, not much time was wasted. Actually, considering his past injuries, he might have reached here faster than if he staggered all the way here.

Cupping his hands in gratitude again towards the Elder before grabbing some mining gear and entering the cavern with the two. After they left, the Elder mouthed some words to himself.

“Will he surprise me during the Outer Sect Promotional Test?”

~~

“Wu Ming, you little rascal, you nearly scared me half to death when you disappeared with that old man!” Du Heng chided as he slung his arm around Wu Ming’s shoulder.

Wu Ming let out a nervous laugh as they descended into the depths of the cavern. They noticed how most of the upper levels were occupied by the early birds who arrived before them so they were forced to move down to the lower levels.

After a long time walking down, they entered a random branch that seemed vacant enough for three young adults. It was close to the deepest level servants were given access to who haven’t started cultivating yet. The problem was that the deeper one goes, the harder it was to mine.

Hours passed by slowly since the trio started mining as the three made some idle talk “If it weren’t for us helping Wu Ming get to the cavern, we would’ve arrived here faster!” Wang Qi complained.

Du Heng immediately slapped the back of his head then scolded Wang Qi. “Hey, it’s the Disciplinary Committee’s fault. Don’t forget it.”

Wu Ming paid no heed to Wang Qi’s comment and just hacked away at the sturdy cave walls. Beads of sweat rolled down his face but his arms had showed no signs of slowing down at all since the start. In fact, he was the fastest among the three of them in mining.

“Hey, Du Heng. You know so much about the Servants’ Quarters and seem like a nice guy. Why do you hang around us so much?” Wang Qi asked, dropping his pickaxe to take a break.

“Erhhh, I don’t feel like answering this one…"

Suddenly, an unusually loud clank sounded out from where Wu Ming which immediately led to Wu Ming's pickaxe bouncing back with great force. The three of them diverted their attention towards the source of the sound.

Wu Ming's eyes were glued towards a medallion embedded in the wall. On the face of the medallion was a carving of a devil!

It depicted a fearsome devil with wings the size of his very body sealing the Earth below his feet. It had sharp canine teeth at the sides of his mouth and a crown seemingly made of his own horns.

But the strangest part of the carving was how it's stone eyes seemed to follow Wu Ming around. And when Wu Ming stared back into it's eyes, he could somehow sense a chilling aura that caused his body to softly quiver on the spot.

"Damn, that's an ugly guy. Eh, why doesn't he have a face?"

"What a crap carving. No wonder it was abandoned."

Shockingly, to the two beside Wu Ming, the carving seemed unfinished. It had no face, no legs and in short, completely unworthy of mention.

Hearing the two speak out caused Wu Ming to jump out of his trance and take a look at the medallion again.

"It's gone!" He thought.

Without a moment's delay, he lifted his pickaxe up and a few minutes later, freed the medallion from the wall. The others looked at him funny when they saw how engrossed he was in mining out the medallion but didn't mind it.

Now with the medallion in hand, Wu Ming's face tightened in concentration. Then, a similar sensation surfaced from the medallion and the devil carving appeared again!

However this time, the face was different as well as it's other characteristics and posture. The only actual similarity was that chilling aura and how it followed Wu Ming with it's eyes...

He placed it down and thought about bringing it out of the cavern with him. Such a unique item brought out the unending curiosity rooted in Wu Ming's personality.

When they were all done with their work, Wu Ming tucked the medallion in his shirt and hid behind the two as they handed in their findings for the day. He assist tried his best to look as honest as he could without anything to hide.

But despite Wu Ming's attempts to remain inconspicuous, it had the opposite effects. In fact, a certain man had already noticed the slight oddity in his behavior. It was Elder Shu!

As an Elder of the Sect, he would naturally be a Cultivator of a certain standard and from his expression, he seemed to be performing an inspection on Wu Ming.

"Huh, what's that? Oh it's just some rubbish? I guess I'll let him keep a souvenir today..."