Martial Arts: I Have Chapter 172 - 129: Discovery of a Salt Mine

Chapter 172: Chapter 129: Discovery of a Salt Mine

In the blink of an eye, the end of late sumr arrived.

The sun still blazed like a furnace, rcilessly beating down on the mountain forest. The crisp air of night and early morning turned scorching and oppressive as the sun reached its zenith, as if every wisp of air was saturated with blistering heat.

On the tall trees, the deep green leaves had lost their morning luster to the sweltering heat, taking on a dry, brittle texture. Throughout the forest, the cries of cicadas rose and fell, their sharp, urgent calls rging into a continuous drone.

At the Inner Mountain Pass, the air was filled with the peculiar sll of earth and wood baked by the high temperature. The occasional breeze that swept through the forest brought no relief, carrying only more oppressive heat. It was like a hot draft from a bonfire, making the sweltering conditions even more unbearable.

「Henei, the training area.」

"Loose!"

Following the resounding shout, twenty Wooden Arrows flew toward the targets twenty ters away.

In the end, only a ager four or five hit the wooden post targets.

Twenty young n, drenched in sweat, lowered their heads in fear, not daring to et the boy’s eyes.

"Those who hit the target get a tea break. Those who missed, fifty push-ups!" Cheng Zongyang roared.

Instantly, fifteen n from the group obediently dropped to the ground and began their push-ups.

"Zongyang, the weather’s too hot. Let’s have them rest for a bit. They’ve been training all morning," his uncle, Zhou Hanchang, said as he walked over, unable to bear watching.

Cheng Zongyang replied, "It’s been seven days since we returned from the mountain. Not even half of them are qualified yet. I have to put pressure on them, or when will we ever see results?"

Zhou Hanchang gave a wry smile. "Don’t I know it? But for so reason, these past few days have been far hotter than before, even though autumn is almost here. I’m just worried they’ll get heatstroke. That would delay their training even more."

Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang couldn’t help but glance at the sky.

It was the sa sun, but the temperature in the mountain forest felt even more oppressive and sweltering than in the previous days.

They were still in the forest, with shade and water. But what about outside? ’It must be even hotter!’

’This is completely abnormal!’ The thought made Cheng Zongyang feel a little uneasy.

At least he had the Wilderness World and Wilderness Beans. If they ever faced a truly life-threatening danger, he could take his family and hide inside the world, then let them out again once it was safe.

"In that case, you can make the arrangents in a bit. Make sure they drink plenty of heat-relief tea," Cheng Zongyang instructed.

"I know," Zhou Hanchang said with a smile.

Cheng Zongyang imdiately turned to leave, heading for the area Beyond the River. At that exact mont, however, a few n who had gone into the mountains returned in high spirits.

Cheng Zongyang glanced at them but paid them little mind. With the introduction of the Contribution Points system, many new ways to earn points had naturally appeared.

Among them was the task of entering the mountains to find resources. He had seen many people go in recently, but not many had completed their tasks.

"Young Clan Leader!"

The n who had gone into the mountains had sharp eyes. They spotted Cheng Zongyang and imdiately shouted out.

Cheng Zongyang turned to see them sprinting over. Gasping for breath, they announced, "We’ve found the salt mine you were looking for!"

Cheng Zongyang froze. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he asked with a grave expression, "Are you sure?"

The middle-aged man in the lead replied with a grin, "We’re sure!"

"Hahaha, good!" Cheng Zongyang laughed heartily. "What’s your na?"

Cheng Zongyang looked at the middle-aged man.

"I... my na is Wang Chunming!" the middle-aged man stamred, also extrely excited.

"Excellent! As long as we confirm it’s real, each of you can register at the Storehouse and receive five hundred Contribution Points!"

"Yes! Thank you, Young Clan Leader! Then... then I’ll take you to see it!" The man nad Wang Chunming grew even more excited.

One of the tasks Cheng Zongyang had issued was to find a salt mine, with a reward of five hundred Contribution Points!

This was equivalent to a reward of fifty catties of at.

How could they not be ecstatic!

Cheng Zongyang said, "I’ll give you the ti it takes for an incense stick to burn. Go back, drink so water, eat sothing, and then take

to see it."

The salt mine was extrely important.

The food problem was mostly solved, but he had been the sole supplier of salt. Securing a steady supply of salt would resolve many other issues.

They could even produce salt for sale in the future! Although private sales were forbidden, there were always workarounds.

So, while Wang Chunming and the others rested, Cheng Zongyang also made so preparations.

Filtering mineral salt and refining it into an edible form was not difficult for him. He had made preparations for this long ago.

Cheng Guanghai and the others were also overjoyed when they learned of the salt mine’s discovery. This ant another critical resource problem had been solved.

After the ti it took for an incense stick to burn, Cheng Zongyang took Wang Chunming into the Inner Mountain alone. There was no need for so many people this ti.

This ti, they headed toward the eleven o’clock direction of the Inner Mountain.

After three hours of trekking through the mountains and wading through streams, they arrived at a place with flat terrain that was bordered by a sheer cliff face.

There was no vegetation in the vicinity; it was almost all exposed rock and soil, with a significant amount of a white substance covering the ground.

At the sa ti, he saw six or seven wolves licking so of the rocks. Upon seeing Cheng Zongyang and his companion, the wolves stared at them for a mont before warily retreating. The alpha, however, glanced back at them one more ti.

Cheng Zongyang noticed what looked like a claw mark on the alpha wolf’s face, but since they were leaving, he paid it no mind.

He surveyed the surroundings and knew this was the Salt Mine Area.

’The salt has already leached to the surface!’

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Cheng Zongyang grabbed a handful to inspect it, his smile growing wider.

For the salt to have leached to the surface ant the salinity here was extrely high! The deposit was spread over an area of roughly seventy to eighty mu.

Although the area wasn’t large, its advantage was the high concentration! The salt extraction rate would be extrely high!