In the days that followed, Chen Ping perfected the art of the sick man.

He blended into the soot-stained crowd, his pickaxe swinging with the same mechanical rhythm as the other miners, chipping away at the endless veins of ore.

He controlled his output with surgical precision. The ore fragments he broke off were small and few, barely meeting the minimum quota to avoid punishment. His cough was frequent, distinct, and wet; his eyes remained glazed and dull.

No one gave him a second glance.

A month passed in this manner of calculated slacking.

When payday finally arrived, the Manager wore a mask of impatience. He tossed two Spirit Stones the size of fingernails at Chen Ping. They emitted a faint, warm glow as they arced through the air.

The Manager’s eyes narrowed slightly. He couldn’t quite understand it—how could someone who looked to be on death’s door manage to meet the hundred-pound quota?

He resolved to investigate the matter personally later, deciding not to inform Fatty Wang just yet.

Chen Ping caught the stones in silence.

He did not rush to the short Immortal trader as he usually did. Instead, he paused. Besides buying Purifying Grass seeds, could these Spirit Stones serve another purpose?

Once the ambition of becoming an Immortal took root, these two tiny stones seemed to carry a weight far heavier than mere currency.

He carefully hid them against his chest, close to his skin.

Deep in the night, with a thought, Chen Ping vanished from his shack and entered the Jade Pendant space.

His vision cleared instantly.

The stale, coal-dust air of the mines was replaced by a rich, revitalizing fragrance. It carried the scent of wet earth, the freshness of vegetation, and the sweet aroma of ripe fruit.

Forty-eight stalks of Purifying Grass stood tall before him.

All mature!

They stood in neat rows within the fertile Black Earth, each leaf shimmering with a healthy luster. A calming, medicinal scent permeated the entire pocket dimension. Their condition was perfect, caught at the precise peak of their medicinal efficacy.

Chen Ping stood at the edge of the plot, his gaze sweeping over the sea of bluish-purple herbs.

He had already calculated exactly how he would consume them.

He crouched down, his movements deft and precise. Gingerly, he harvested thirty mature Purifying Grass plants, leaving eighteen behind.

He piled the thirty harvested stalks on a clean patch of ground in the corner of the space.

As for the remaining eighteen plants, Chen Ping decided to let them be. Based on his previous experience, they would soon bolt, proceeding toward the end of their life cycle to produce seeds.

Next month, he would harvest a fresh batch of seeds and sow them again. It was a sustainable cycle.

This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about sourcing spirit herb seeds ever again, nor would he need to waste precious Spirit Stones purchasing them.

Looking at the pile of thirty fragrant spirit herbs, Chen Ping finalized his regimen.

One plant every two days.

This supply would support uninterrupted medicinal absorption for a full two months. By the time he finished them, the new batch of Purifying Grass would be mature, creating a seamless transition.

His strength was about to enter a period of rapid, stable growth.

He picked up a mature stalk and stuffed it into his mouth.

The familiar, slightly fishy bitterness and the tough, fibrous texture of the rootstock filled his palate. He chewed without expression, grinding the fibers down before swallowing.

A warm current erupted in his gut. Impurities were expelled from his pores, and a sense of raw power surged through his limbs.

He immediately dropped into a stance within the space and began practicing the Vitality Technique.

The first set was completed with ease.

The second set, the third set… His movements were fluid, his palm strikes snapping with enough force to stir up fine dust from the ground.

Ten sets… fifteen sets…

This time, he did not stop at ten.

The medicinal potency within him felt substantial, a dry heat fueling his endurance. He felt his movements becoming faster, more explosive, as if he tapped into an inexhaustible well of energy.

When he finished the final movement of the fifteenth set, he exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

Fifteen sets meant his Physical Strength had made significant progress once again.

For the next month, Chen Ping adhered to his plan with religious strictness.

Every two days, he consumed one Purifying Grass plant. Immediately after, he would enter the Jade Pendant space and practice the Vitality Technique to absorb the medicinal power.

The number of sets he could perform steadily increased.

Twenty sets… twenty-five sets… thirty sets…

By the end of the month, he could perform thirty sets of the Vitality Technique in a single, continuous flow!

Every time he finished practicing, he felt his strength growing, his body undergoing a silent transformation. The lines of his muscles became defined. Although he still looked lean, there was now a sense of density and solidity to his frame.

That night, he needed to verify his progress.

Once again, he crept into the stone yard under the cover of darkness.

He approached a seven-hundred-pound boulder.

He gripped its edge with one hand and lifted it overhead as easily as picking up a brick. He hefted it a few times, testing the balance, before casually tossing it up and catching it again.

Eight hundred pounds?

He grabbed it with both hands. With a low grunt, he lifted it over a foot off the ground. Stable as a mountain.

One thousand pounds?

He bent his knees. His hands clamped onto the bottom of the massive rock. His waist and back engaged, muscles coiling like steel cables. The massive stone was forcibly torn from the earth—half a foot high. He held it for a full five breaths before setting it down.

The ground trembled slightly upon impact.

Fifteen hundred pounds?

He tried to shift it. The bottom of the boulder scraped against the ground with a dull, grinding sound, moving an inch or so.

Finally, his gaze locked onto a huge, circular Millstone used for grinding ore.

The Millstone was nearly ten feet in diameter and over a foot thick. It definitely weighed more than two thousand pounds.

It usually took several strong men struggling together just to move it.

Chen Ping walked up to the Millstone. He did not choose to hug it or shoulder it.

Instead, he extended his right hand. His fingers, curved like iron hooks, gripped the hard stone edge beneath the central iron axle.

Taking a deep breath, all his strength erupted instantly—traveling from his feet, through his waist and back, and transmitting directly into his arm!

“Up!”

A low shout escaped his throat.

The heavy, massive Millstone, weighing over two thousand pounds, was forcibly lifted off the ground by him!

Although it rose less than an inch, it represented a terrifying reality: his Physical Strength had reached over two thousand pounds!

Holding it for three breaths, Chen Ping slowly lowered it back down.

Boom!

The sound of the Millstone settling was impossibly heavy in the silent night.

Chen Ping gasped for air, his heart pounding with elation.

In just one month, his Physical Strength had increased from seven hundred pounds to over two thousand pounds!

This leap in power was a miracle brought by the Purifying Grass and the reward for his arduous, day-and-night training.

Two thousand pounds of immense strength.

He had far exceeded the limits of ordinary martial artists.

The thousand-pound Physical Strength requirement to become a Manager’s disciple now meant nothing to him.

With power in his hands, Chen Ping’s state of mind grew calmer, yet more resolute.

He looked toward the direction where the Foremen lived, deep within the mine area. His eyes were cold as iron.

Fatty Wang’s disgusting, oily face floated clearly in his mind…

It was time to settle the ledger.

Of course, Chen Ping would not act recklessly. The most urgent task was to become a Manager disciple.

Only by grasping status and resources would he have the opportunity to exact his revenge properly.

Moreover, he needed to plan carefully. He had to drag Fatty Wang into the abyss and ensure he was destroyed completely.

On the morning of the third day, after completing a full three months at the mine.

Chen Ping did not head toward the mine shaft as usual.

He carefully straightened his worn but relatively clean miner’s clothes. He washed the soot from his face and tidied his appearance.

He walked out of the shack area. Following the rugged mountain path, he silently headed toward the highest point of the Servant Peak.

That was the place where the Servant Peak Manager, the Immortal, handled official affairs.

The mountain wind, carrying a biting chill, brushed against the hem of his clothes.

He lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the gravel path under his feet. His steps were steady.

His heart no longer held hesitation or fear. There was only a profound calm, like dust settling after a storm.

He was going to apply for the Manager disciple assessment.