Heaven Awaits in Hell

ARGH!

Mo Li groaned in pain.

Blood trickled down his mouth as his entire upper body caved in from the punch.

"Hey, didn't I tell you not to make any sound? Can't even do a simple task properly,"

The person on the other end retracted his hand from Mo Li's stomach and punched him once again. This time with even greater force.

COUGH! COUGH!

Mo Li fell to his knees and started coughing out patches of blood while gasping for air.

"Haha, looks like I finally hit the sweet spot," the man chuckled, seeing his younger brother struggling to breathe. He then turned to his side and nodded towards a maid.

The maid who was carrying an elegant green-coloured robe in her hand walked towards the man and helped him wear it.

While the maid was adjusting his robes, the man gazed at Mo Li, who was still on his knees and asked in an amused fashion, "Ninth brother, you aren't hurt, right?"

Hearing his brother, a trace of anger welled up inside Mo Li, but he suppressed it. The next moment, he raised his pale face and said in a flattering manner, "Of course not, Second brother. Why would I be hurt when you made sure to hit me so lightly?"

"It's good that you understand. For a weakling like you who has still not completed the Core Establishment Level, my beatings should serve as profound knowledge.

Mull over today's learning quietly later in the day, and who knows, you might just break through to the next stage," Mo Jiang laughed.

"You're absolutely right, Second brother," Mo Li pushed himself off the floor and bowed, "Thank you for today's teachings."

"Good," Mo Jiang grinned, "It's because of this sincere attitude of yours that I never grow tired of teaching you."

"I'll forever be indebted to Second Brother's kindness," Mo Li once again bowed as blood trickled down from the side of his mouth.

Satisfied with Mo Li's answers, Mo Jiang ordered the maid, "Clean him up and help him change. He can't attend his first brother's wedding banquet in such soiled clothes now, can he?"

"Yes, master," The maid bowed to Mo Jiang and took Mo Li with her.

"I feel all freshened up now," Mo Jiang said to himself with a smile and walked out of the manor. There were a lot of guests he needed to build connections with.

Meanwhile, in the abyss. Zion and the rest were still mining spirit ores. They had been continuously at it for the last four hours.

The pickaxes slammed on the grey rocks and pulled out white translucent ores. The collected ores were then collected by shovels and placed on the large mine carts.

Every hour, a miner's cart was filled and transported to the collection area by a few miners. The ones selected always breathed a sigh of relief.

Pushing the heavy mine carts was much less strenuous than using the pickaxe or shovel.

"Faster, you bastards!" A guard roared and whipped Zion and the other nine.

Being new to the place, they stuck out as a sore thumb in the crowd of miners who were all shrivelled up compared to them.

Screaming and shouting in pain, they all continued mining while the guard relished in their misery.

'The new moles always shout the loudest.' With a grin on his face, he kept whipping them at regular intervals.

When the afternoon arrived, the five guards in the area left for their lunch break.

With relief on their faces, everyone let go of the tools and sat or lay down on the ground to catch a breather.

An old man beside Zion with the number 99 imprinted on his chest said, "Just bear with the guards for a while. They are especially tough on the new moles since you guys are much stronger than us."

"…is it because we can withstand those whippings and won't lose our lives from just a few hits?" Zion inquired. He already knew that they were a bunch of sadists, but still asked.

"Well, yes. That's one part of the reason. The other part is that you can work faster than we and help them fill their monthly quota," 99 answered.

Zion's curiosity was piqued, and he asked, "Quota?"

"Yes, the guards need to collect a set amount of spirit ores from each tunnel vein in a month. They have their ranking system where the top five finishers are awarded with spirit stones.

That's why they would be especially more eager these four days since a month is about to be completed," 99 explained with patience.

"So, it was like that. Thanks," Zion said.

"If you're truly thankful, how about giving a small crumb of the bread you got in your pocket to me?" 99 asked as he glanced at Zion's pocket with a longing gaze.

'So that's what he wanted,' Zion thought to himself. There was no reason for someone to be kind to him needlessly since he couldn't offer them anything.

His body, although much fitter than theirs, was still thin because of the days he had spent in the forest.

He had a weak-looking body and a wooden leg. With such cards in his hand, it was unusual for anyone to try and gain his favour without a valid reason.

"Sure," Zion said and reached for his pocket.

He preferred things this way. As long as the other person's motive was clear, he could decide whether to trust them or not.

Zion decided to break the bread in his pocket and took out a small piece, much greater than what 99 had expected, and gave it to him.

"Haha, you are more generous than I thought. Thank you very much," The old man accepted it with great joy and ate it with relish.

Growl~

Zion's stomach growled the very next moment. The hours of extreme labour with only water to drink have taken their toll.

He took out small crumbs from his pocket and nibbled on them. There was more than half the bread still left in his pocket, and he planned to slowly eat it until evening.