Gray set out the next day and arrived at a busy plaza near the west gate. It was the official recruiting station for new miners and there was already a line of at least twenty people ahead of him.
Mining was the profession of choice in Jade Hill Town. It was the biggest moneymaker, the undisputed king. All other businesses and jobs revolved around mining and depended on the profits it generated. And as such, there were plenty of eager recruits every single day.
Among the crowd, Gray was the biggest but not by much. There were a few rough and burly fellows with a similar stature, people who were used to a lifetime of hard work and had the physical might to support it. There were also fresh-faced teenagers seeking their first job. Some were residents of the town while others were outsiders who came seeking riches and opportunities.
"Quiet, listen up!" A rough voice shouted and a man in the distinctive outfit of the town guards stepped up, "New miners, welcome to miner examination and recruitment for Jade Hill Town. I am head guard Yanhe Bai. You have all come here to become miners. As such, you must follow rules established by Lord Reddy for a fair and balanced mining industry. If you want to mine here, you must join a mining company or create your own. To create a mining company, you must pass a high threshold for personal strength. If you aren't able to, you may still be recruited to existing mining companies but that would depend on your luck."
The head guard turned around and gestured to a row of people observing the newcomers. They each carried a unique flag that hung down from a short pole, a symbol of their mining company. There were green, yellow, and purple; squares, circles, and triangles; all kinds of shapes and combinations.
Yanhe Bai then walked over to a set of boulders placed in a neat row on the ground. The solid blocks of stone started small but grew to enormous sizes, with the last one being bigger than an ox. Each stone was painted with a number starting at one hundred, for one hundred kilograms, and went up in increments of fifty. A large stone past the middle of the lineup was marked as five hundred fifty and it was what one had to reach to in order to make their own mining company.
Yanhe Bai patted the nearest stone and spoke to the crowd, “This is our strength test. Mining is all about strength; strength to excavate the earth, strength to shovel dirt and carry it away, strength to stake and protect your mine from others. Only those with adequate strength will survive here. If you don’t, then you can go piss off!”
Some of the younger ones quivered at the harsh words while others held confidant expressions.
The head guard laughed, “Hahaha, good. Looks like we have a good batch today. Okay, form a line, let’s go! We don’t have all day!”
The crowd shuffled around and a bold teenager stepped forward and approached the smallest boulder. The youth was average-sized and wasn't even a cultivator yet. He struggled for a while to get a handhold but managed to lift it over his head in the end.
He gave a happy shout and dropped the boulder with a thud. Although his limbs shook from exhaustion, being able to lift the smallest boulder meant he met the minimum qualifications to be recruited to a mining company.
“Can you lift the next one?” Bai Yanhe asked.
The youth made a face but tried anyway. The next boulder weighed one hundred and fifty kilograms and he failed spectacularly. He didn’t even manage to get it off the ground.
He was ushered past the test field to the recruiters for the various mining companies.
“Join the Jade Hill Mining Company! Work for the lord and receive great benefits! Salary can be as high as one gold per month if you are talented!”
“Join the Southern Seas Mining Company! We are supported by the largest and richest merchant association in the region, the Southern Seas Trading Company! You can make over two gold per month with bonuses if you’re lucky!”
“Join the Brave Chen Company! We may be a small group but everyone is like family…”
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“Join the Gupta Gang! We pay the best…”
The youth stood in confusion for a few moments before walking over to one of the smaller mining companies. Once he had made his decision, the others stopped shouting and allowed the head guard to be heard again.
“Next miner!”
Others went forward one by one. Men and women all tried their best to impress their potential employers. Those at the 1st Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm could lift anywhere from one hundred fifty to three hundred kilograms. There was a wide range because people had differences in innate strength. A weak person at the first level was still weaker than a strong person at the first level.
Those at the 2nd Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm were able to lift anywhere from three hundred fifty to five hundred kilograms. Those that could lift more than five hundred were rare. They were usually at the third level or higher, meaning one was expected to be at this level in order to form their own mining company.
Gray was patiently waiting his turn when a bald man with thick arms and a wide body approached him. The man was the only one who was close to Gray in terms of sheer body mass.
The man looked Gray up and down aggressively. “You're a pretty big kid. What do you think, do you think you are stronger than me?"
Gray was taken aback. He didn’t even do anything so he had no idea why a random person was confronting him. He wondered idly if this was some kind of habit between cultivators.
"Does it matter?" Gray asked.
"Of course it does. I am Darshan. I am the strongest!" The bald man flexed his considerable muscles.
Gray wasn’t one to shy away from a challenge and looked down on his opponent, “Oh yeah? Want to bet?”
Darshan sneered, “Five gold that I am the strongest! Unless you’re tender like a flying chicken!”
Gray had no idea what that meant.
“Make it ten.” He responded.
“Fine, kid! Don’t go crying to your mommy when it's time to pay up!”
Gray laughed.
“Next!” The head guard’s voice interrupted them.
Darshan gave one last glare at Gray and walked up. He didn’t bother with the lighter tests and directly started with the one that weighed five hundred fifty kilograms. He bear-hugged the boulder, gave a loud shout, and lifted it up with one smooth motion. His body barely swayed and he made it look easy.
“Pass! Eligible to make your own mining company!" The head guard declared.
The bald man wasn’t done and moved onto the next one which was six hundred kilograms. He lifted that one and the next one as well. He even managed to lift the next boulder weighing seven hundred kilograms off the ground but no high enough to count.
Still, six hundred fifty was the new record for the day and earned him many admiring looks from the crowd as well as those with the mining companies. He had good reason to be arrogant. His cultivation at the 3rd Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm was the highest among the new miners today.
Darshan already knew where he was going and joined the Southern Seas Mining Company without any consideration. The other mining companies were disappointed but it was clear that he was already acquainted with them.
“Okay, next!”
it was finally Gray's turn. He walked forward eagerly and without fear. He felt that his strength had improved greatly after reaching the second level and he wanted to see just how much.
He started directly at the boulder weighing seven hundred kilograms. He ignored the noises around him and stooped down. He grabbed both sides of the rock and lifted it off the ground. He hardly struggled and he brought the whole thing up to his chest easily. He made the final push with his arms and lifted the whole thing above his head in a fluid motion.
“Wow!”
“Strong!”
Cries of astonishment filled the air.
“You pass!” The head guard Bai shouted with equal excitement.
Gray turned with the boulder still above his head and smiled at the bald-headed man standing off to the side. His opponent had nothing to say anymore and could only look on in shock. He then dropped the massive weight and flexed his arms tauntingly.
“Uh… do you want to try a higher weight.” Yanhe Bai asked a little too eagerly.
Gray shook his head. He had already made his point and had no interest in being a sideshow. He walked over to Darshan and held out a hand.
“Young man? Do you want to join Southern Seas? I’ll guarantee you a head miner position!” An oily merchant offered excitedly.
“No, I am making my own mining company. I am only here because this guy owes me ten gold coins.” Gray said, pointing.
The merchant looked sharply at Darshan.
“No, no! I don’t owe you anything!” The bald man retorted.
“We made a bet, whoever is the strongest gets ten gold coins.” Gray growled, “Those around us all heard it! Are you going to act like a little flying chicken?”
“That’s right, they made a bet!” Someone shouted.
“Shameless baldy, pay up!” Another scolded.
The head guard stomped over aggressively, “I heard the bet as well. It was hard not to with your obnoxiously loud voice. Pay up or you’re going to jail!”
Darshan wilted under the pressure. He didn’t even have ten gold and ended up having to borrow money from his new employers. The Southern Seas Mining Company was not happy with Darshan but at the same time, they hated Gray even more for making them lose face.
Gray felt a headache coming on. He wondered why his luck with these merchants was so bad.