Free Web NovelChapter 39: Chapter 39: Iron Blood Heartbeat
The heartbeat came again.
Slow.
Heavy.
Distant.
It did not sound like a creature breathing. It sounded like the mine itself had a heart buried somewhere deep beneath the stone.
Qin Mo stared at the A Grade Earth Pulse Warning Stone in his palm. The crystal pulsed faintly with each underground vibration, releasing a thin ring of amber light.
"That is not normal," he said.
Qin Yuheng put on his Clear Breath Mining Mask and activated his Spirit-Sight Mine Lamp Crystal. Pale gold light spread across the tunnel, revealing cracks in the walls, mineral veins, and faint movement traces in the stone.
Qin Yuchen checked their rear.
Qin Lian crouched near the ground.
"Tracks. Claw marks. Recent."
The panel showed the mission timer.
[Time Remaining: 9 hours 58 minutes]
Qin Yuheng spoke calmly.
"First objective: secure basic ore. We complete the main mission before chasing abnormalities."
Qin Mo immediately looked relieved.
"Excellent leadership."
Qin Yuchen nodded. "If the mine changes later, having the main mission complete gives us flexibility."
They moved through the tunnel carefully.
Iron Blood Ore grew in dark red clusters along the walls. Each piece looked like metal soaked in dried blood, with faint warmth beneath the surface. Mining it was not as simple as pulling it out. They had to cut around the vein, avoid damaging the ore, and prevent cracks from spreading through unstable stone.
The academy’s ore cutting tool would have helped, but Qin Yuheng had not bought one. Instead, he used his Black Thunder Pattern Sword with carefully controlled strength.
The sword cut stone easily.
Too easily.
He had to suppress its sharpness to avoid revealing its true grade or damaging the ore.
Qin Mo placed Reinforcement Spikes around the mining area while Qin Yuchen and Qin Lian watched the tunnel.
After twenty minutes, they collected their first three pieces.
[Iron Blood Ore acquired: 3 / 20]
The ore was D grade and eligible for evolution.
Qin Yuheng stored it separately.
They continued.
The first attack came from the ceiling.
Qin Lian noticed half a breath before it happened.
"Above!"
A dark shape dropped from the tunnel roof.
It was a beast the size of a large dog, with iron-like claws and a flat, armored head. Its body was covered in dust-colored scales, making it almost invisible against the stone.
[Ore Burrower]
[Level: 9]
[Type: Ambush beast]
[Weakness: Soft abdomen, eye line, claw joints]
Qin Yuheng stepped aside and slashed upward.
The beast twisted midair, avoiding a fatal blow, but Qin Yuchen pierced its abdomen as it landed.
Qin Lian finished it with a dagger to the eye.
The fight lasted only seconds.
But the sound echoed.
From deeper in the tunnel, scraping noises answered.
Qin Mo’s face changed.
"Excessive noise attracts underground creatures. Remember that?"
Qin Yuheng nodded.
"We move."
They left quickly.
Behind them, two more Ore Burrowers crawled from cracks in the wall, sniffing the blood of the dead beast.
For the next hour, the team moved with extreme caution. They mined ore in small amounts, reinforced weak spots, and avoided unnecessary fights. The Spirit-Sight Mine Lamp Crystals proved invaluable, revealing hidden cracks and moving shadows behind thin stone walls.
By the third hour, they had collected fifteen Iron Blood Ores and two Pure Iron Blood Crystals.
The crystals were rarer and brighter, glowing dark red from within.
[C Grade Pure Iron Blood Crystal]
[Type: Rare mine resource]
[Effect: Forging material for weapons, armor, body tempering tools, and blood-metal formations.]
[Eligible for Evolution.]
Qin Yuheng’s interest rose immediately.
C-grade crystals from Floor 3.
If enhanced, they might become A grade.
If multiplied, they could become a family forging resource.
He stored them carefully.
The heartbeat grew stronger as they moved deeper.
Qin Mo frequently checked the warning stone.
"The pulse is coming from below and ahead. Not close, but not far."
Qin Yuchen looked at the tunnel map they were building.
"The main exit should be east. The heartbeat is southwest."
Qin Lian said, "More beasts in southwest tunnels."
Qin Mo said, "Then east sounds wonderful."
Qin Yuheng considered.
They still needed five more Iron Blood Ores and three more Pure Iron Blood Crystals for side completion. The main mission could be completed soon. But the abnormality was their academy objective.
"Complete main ore requirement first. Then we approach southwest only enough to confirm."
Qin Mo narrowed his eyes.
"Only confirm?"
"Only confirm unless conditions are favorable."
"That phrase is dangerous."
They reached a wider chamber filled with ore veins.
It looked promising.
Too promising.
Qin Yuheng stopped at the entrance.
"Do not enter yet."
Qin Lian inspected the ground. "Too many claw marks."
Qin Mo raised the lamp crystal.
The Spirit-Sight light revealed faint outlines on the walls.
At least six shapes hidden behind ore clusters.
Iron-Claw Mine Beasts.
The panel appeared as one shifted.
[Iron-Claw Mine Beast]
[Level: 11]
[Type: Mine predator]
[Strength: Medium-High]
[Defense: Medium]
[Speed: Medium]
[Special: Can dig through weak stone]
Six Level 11 beasts.
The chamber was both resource point and ambush.
Qin Yuheng smiled faintly.
"Good."
Qin Mo turned to him slowly. freewebnσvel.cøm
"Why is that good?"
"Because we need to defeat ten mine beasts for the side mission."
"You say that like the beasts are volunteering."
"They are."
Qin Yuheng began setting the battle plan.
The chamber entrance was narrow enough to prevent all six beasts from attacking at once. Qin Mo placed Reinforcement Spikes to stabilize the ceiling and two flash formations near the entrance. Qin Lian prepared to attack beasts that tried to flank through side cracks. Qin Yuchen held the secondary line.
Qin Yuheng stepped into the chamber just far enough to attract attention.
The hidden beasts moved.
One lunged.
Then another.
The first hit Qin Mo’s flash formation and staggered.
Qin Yuheng cut its claw joint.
Qin Yuchen pierced its throat.
Qin Lian struck the second from the side.
The fight became controlled but intense.
Iron-Claw Mine Beasts were stronger than Fog Bone Wolves in raw physical power, but less mentally disruptive. Their claws could tear stone, and their digging ability made the battlefield unpredictable.
One beast tried to burrow beneath Qin Mo.
The Earth Pulse Warning Stone flashed.
Qin Mo jumped back just in time, activating a Defensive Talisman as claws burst from the ground.
Qin Yuheng used Thunder Shadow Flash to appear beside the beast and cut through its exposed neck.
After twenty minutes, all six beasts were dead.
The side mission updated.
Defeat 10 Iron-Claw Mine Beasts: 6 / 10
They mined the chamber carefully.
The main mission completed.
[Main Mission Progress]
Mine 20 Iron Blood Ores: Completed.
[Reach exit tunnel: Incomplete.]
They also gained two more Pure Iron Blood Crystals.
Total: four.
One short of side mission completion.
Qin Mo looked at the southwest tunnel where the heartbeat was now clearly stronger.
"Let me guess. The fifth crystal is that way."
Qin Yuheng checked the Earth Pulse Warning Stone.
The pulse was stable.
Not immediate collapse.
"We go southwest. Cautiously."
The tunnel descended.
The walls changed gradually from dark red to deep black-red. Veins of metallic light pulsed in rhythm with the heartbeat. The air became warmer. The mine lamp crystals flickered, revealing stronger mineral energy ahead.
After several hundred meters, they reached a cliff-like opening overlooking a vast underground cavity.
Below them lay a giant vein shaped like a heart.
Dark red metal pulsed around a central crystal mass.
And around it moved dozens of Iron-Claw Mine Beasts.
At the center, half-buried in ore, slept a massive beast with claws like curved iron blades.
The panel appeared.
[Iron Blood Heart Vein discovered.]
[Hidden resource confirmed.]
[Guardian detected.]
[Iron-Claw Mine Lord]
[Level: 18]
[Danger: Very High]
Qin Mo whispered very carefully.
"We confirmed it."
Qin Yuheng looked at the vein.
The academy objective was complete. freewebnovёl.ƈom
But his panel also showed another line.
[Iron Blood Heart Vein material eligible for Primordial Origin Evolution after extraction.]
Qin Yuheng’s eyes deepened.
A hidden vein.
A Level 18 guardian.
Dozens of beasts.
A resource that could transform Qin family equipment.
This was danger.
And opportunity.
