Chapter 1: Xingfeng Mining and the Xingfeng Sect

“Boss, President Zhang is asking to increase the shipment volume. He has already sent the advance payment. What do you think?”

The female secretary, dressed in a professional suit, asked softly while looking at the young man sitting on the sofa.

The young man on the sofa looked at his phone screen and replied unhurriedly

“Refund his money. Tell him we don’t have enough raw materials to fulfill the order and to wait until next month.”

“This…” the secretary said, hesitating slightly.

“But Boss, I checked the warehouse, and there are still over a thousand tons of iron ore raw materials. With our production capacity, we could easily process it within a month.”

This was the secretary’s third month working at “Xingfeng Mining.”

Xingfeng Mining was primarily engaged in mineral processing—purchasing various ores, refining them into metals, and then selling them.

There were many such mineral processing plants in Shancheng.

When she first applied for the job, the secretary had assumed the boss would be a greasy middle-aged man.

After all, that was the image that immediately came to mind when she thought of someone in the mining industry.

Who would have guessed that after getting the job, she would discover her boss was actually a handsome young man in his early twenties.

According to information she gathered from colleagues, the investment in Xingfeng Mining reached tens of millions, which made her think Chen Feng was a "rich second generation."

She didn't have high hopes for a company founded by such a person.

Most of these companies wouldn't last long before going bankrupt due to losses.

Moreover, Chen Feng was in the mining industry; everyone knew how deep those waters ran.

But the facts were unexpected. In just three months, Xingfeng Mining’s orders had exploded thanks to a specially processed metal.

Her boss had even applied for a patent for this metal, naming it "Yanyang Iron."

With its excellent strength and toughness, Yanyang Iron had received a great response in many industrial fields, including the automotive industry.

Chen Feng looked up at the secretary

“Just do as I say. You don’t need to worry about the rest.”

“Understood, Boss.”

The secretary didn't dare say anything more and left the office.

Chen Feng looked at the content on his phone, his expression darkening.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take more orders to make money, but some money couldn't be earned too conspicuously.

At that moment, the 50th trending topic on Weibo read

【A new Huaren car collided with a semi-trailer truck on the highway. The damage to the Huaren car was only ten percent, and the four people inside suffered no life-threatening injuries.】

There were thousands of comments under this trending topic.

Many people were talking about the rise of domestic brands.

Some were even discussing what kind of metal the Huaren car’s body was made of.

Undoubtedly, the body of the new Huaren car was forged from Yanyang Iron.

“If things continue like this, I will definitely be noticed by the authorities. I must prepare early.”

Chen Feng muttered to himself.

He then walked out of the office and went to a warehouse at the plant where iron ore was stored.

After making sure no one was around, Chen Feng entered the room using the keypad lock on the door.

The entire room was over a hundred square meters, and the walls were covered with over a dozen various scrolls.

Inside the room, there was a conveyor belt that circled around; one end connected to the warehouse outside the room.

The other end was extremely bizarre—it connected to a scroll.

This scroll was four meters long and one meter wide.

The painting depicted some landscapes and a small town, outlined with simple ink strokes.

Looking at the scroll in front of him, Chen Feng felt a sense of emotion.

This was a scroll he had obtained a year ago, and it had a special function: it could link to another world.

The other end of the scroll was a world similar to ancient China.

At first, Chen Feng only brought small items from the scroll world to sell in this modern world.

Then, he would sell modern goods to the scroll world, engaging in arbitrage.

Because of this, he had accumulated quite a bit of savings.

But as he slowly explored the scroll world, Chen Feng discovered that it was far more complex than he had imagined.

That world didn't just have martial artists; legend had it that immortals existed there as well.

Ever since he learned this, Chen Feng had been walking on thin ice.

He chose not to run around the scroll world recklessly, but instead began to develop in a methodical way.

Relying on the money he had accumulated from arbitrage, he established a small sect in the scroll world called the Xingfeng Sect.

The operation of the Xingfeng Sect was simple: hire mortals in the scroll world to mine.

They would transport the ore from the scroll world to the modern world.

Then, he would use his modern factory to process and sell it for profit.

Yanyang Stone was already considered the most common metal in the scroll world, specifically used by martial artists to forge weapons.

Even though he had intentionally added many other substances to the Yanyang Stone, the resulting Yanyang Iron was still stronger and more flexible than most metals on the market.

Chen Feng was certain that his Yanyang Iron would soon attract the attention of the state.

After all, he was mining from another world to process it.

It wasn't being dug out of mines in modern society.

As soon as the state investigated and discovered his inexplicable supply of special metal, he would surely be taken away for "tea."

The dozen or so scrolls on the wall were all things he had bought as a cover.

If only one scroll were placed in the factory warehouse, it might attract attention, but a dozen made it seem much more reasonable.

After all, he could claim he was a fan of calligraphy and painting and therefore collected them.

Chen Feng reached out and touched the scroll.

Soon, the scroll rippled like water.

After a dizzying sensation, Chen Feng appeared in a secret chamber.

This was deep inside an abandoned mine shaft of the Xingfeng Sect in the scroll world.

Chen Feng had built a secret chamber here.

The Yanyang Stone mined from the mountain would be sent here and then transported to the modern world through the portal.

For this reason, Chen Feng had also built a conveyor belt in this abandoned mine shaft.

It was used exclusively for transporting ore.

There was also a small generator in the secret chamber.

Although the chamber was quite simple, after his modifications, it served as a suitable residence for him in this world.

Chen Feng couldn't handle the life of the ancients, lighting lamps to read books.

After checking that no one had entered the secret chamber, Chen Feng closed the portal.

The portal of the scroll was fixed.

The first time he came to this world through the scroll, he had appeared in this abandoned mine shaft.

As long as he closed the portal on this side, neither the modern world nor this side would show any abnormalities.

Chen Feng had tested it; only he could open the portal. No matter how others studied the scroll, it was useless.

Walking out of the mine, a dozen burly men in sturdy attire, with long blades at their waists, were guarding the entrance.

Seeing Chen Feng come out, the dozen men cupped their fists in unison.

“Greetings, Sect Master!”

These dozen men were martial artists recruited by the Xingfeng Sect.

As long as one had money, it was possible to recruit some low-level martial artists in this world.

“Has there been anything unusual lately?” Chen Feng asked.

Traveling back and forth between two worlds, Chen Feng’s information was limited.

The lead martial artist stepped forward to report

“Reporting to the Sect Master, the second-in-command of the Black Wind Stronghold came yesterday to notify us that we must pay a tribute of five thousand taels of silver to continue mining in the Hengduan Mountains.”

Chen Feng’s Xingfeng Sect was located in the Hengduan Mountains of the Yue Kingdom, where many sects of various sizes stood.

Every region of the Yue Kingdom had a dominant power, either bandits or sects.

The closest one to the Xingfeng Sect was the Black Wind Stronghold.

The entire Hengduan Mountain range was under the jurisdiction of the Black Wind Stronghold.

Small sects in the Hengduan Mountains had to pay tribute to the Black Wind Stronghold every month.

Only by paying enough tribute could they freely exploit the resources of the Hengduan Mountains.

Chen Feng frowned. When he arrived here three months ago, he had already paid three thousand taels of silver to the Black Wind Stronghold.

According to the rules of the Black Wind Stronghold, he only needed to pay one hundred taels per month thereafter.

Now, the Black Wind Stronghold had actually sent someone to demand five thousand taels.

There was definitely something wrong here.

(End of chapter)