The news of the serious mining disaster in the Fallen Mining Zone quickly spread from District Fourteen to all the major main cities of Huaxia.
The impact of this accident was enormous. Even those who had never heard of the Fallen Mining Zone before now knew about it.
This mining disaster was no ordinary one—it could be said to have far-reaching consequences.
Those involved in mining ranged from Five-Star and Peerless Wanderers to Sixth-Rank War Gods—covering about seventy percent of Huaxia's top-tier powerhouses!
The final eruption of Blood Essence Stones lured teams that had already safely withdrawn back into the mining area in search of more, only for them to be sucked into the abyss and buried underground.
Less than ten percent survived.
Even after reaching the Transcendent class, in the face of nature, they still seemed so insignificant.
And at their level, death brought an even heavier cost—attributes and experience points would both drop.
It could be said that this mining disaster dealt a tremendous blow to the overall power level of Huaxia's top combatants.
Originally, the massive buffs granted by the National Soul had allowed Huaxia's military to speed up their expansion in new zones, and there had been hope of breaking into the top three globally.
But no one expected that this mining accident would suddenly wipe out all those advantages…
That day, in the login plaza of Main City No. 18, thousands of people had gathered.
The military's trading post had announced an upcoming event, so many came to check it out.
But now, everyone was talking about the mining disaster instead.
"What the hell happened? The Fallen Mining Zone has existed for over ten, maybe twenty years without issue—why did it suddenly collapse this time?"
"Is the Fallen Mining Zone completely gone? Once we reach Transcendent level, won't that mean one less place to mine?"
"Forget about mining. That place is now a total ruin. The ground level dropped by forty meters!"
"Sigh, it's brutal for War Gods to die even once on Ghost Star. Who knows how long it'll take for them to recover? I heard the military planned to open the Lord of Guardians instance soon, but my military contact said it's being delayed at least three months!"
"Other countries are catching up fast too. Country L just opened a new region a few days ago. Their total territory is now at 112,000 square kilometers—only slightly smaller than ours. Looks like our fourth-place ranking won't last long."
Hu Yan and Ruan Yu were also in the plaza. The trading post had invited representatives from the Main God Guild, and since Kai's squad was gone, only the two of them could attend.
Hearing the others talk about the mining disaster, Hu Yan and Ruan Yu felt grief rising in their hearts.
"We shouldn't have let Captain Kai stay behind alone."
"Sigh… Captain Kai went a whole year without dying once. Who would've thought he'd die mining? What a cruel twist of fate."
Just as they were mourning Kai's death, a staff member from the trading post stepped up in front of the crowd.
The staffer took a step forward and announced loudly, "Thank you all for coming."
"First of all, everyone knows about the accident in the Fallen Mining Zone. It's a severe blow to us in Huaxia."
"But precisely because so many War Gods have fallen, it's now up to all our guilds to shoulder the burden of continuing the frontier expansion."
"Fortunately, we also have some good news to share."
"Recently, dozens of exploration squads made up of War Gods and Peerless Wanderers discovered a hidden map in an unknown region. After eight months of tireless effort, they found a large number of class advancement materials inside."
"These include the latest class advancement materials—Transcendent Rank 7 Soldier materials, the currently hottest Transcendent Rank 5 Drunkard materials, Transcendent Rank 5 Feng Shui Master materials, Transcendent Rank 5 Beggar materials, and Gourmet class materials!"
"In light of how much this mining disaster has weakened Huaxia's top-tier strength, the military and the discoverers have jointly decided to release all these materials to the public, in hopes of boosting the nation's overall power."
"Tomorrow night at 9 PM, the trading post will host a nationwide online auction. According to the owners' wishes, since these advancement materials are so rare that they can't really be priced in currency, they prefer to trade item-for-item. We ask all guilds, organizations, and individuals to prepare in advance."
As soon as the news was announced, the plaza erupted in chaos.
Hu Yan stared wide-eyed at Ruan Yu. "Did they say Rank 5 Feng Shui Master and Rank 5 Drunkard advancement materials?"
Ruan Yu could only nod frantically, too excited to speak.
Hu Yan's breathing grew heavy, his eyes wide, his voice trembling.
After all, he and Ruan Yu had followed Jiang Kai from the very beginning for one purpose—to uncover the ultimate secrets of the professions.
And now, both of their class advancement materials had appeared!
The problem was… their guild leader wasn't here!
There was no need to think twice—these new materials would definitely fetch sky-high prices. If they were priced in Star Coins or Huaxia Currency, the Main God Guild could easily cash in by selling off resources from their warehouse. But the other party wanted item-for-item trades—that made things tricky.
The Main God Guild's warehouse only had a small amount of Transcendent-grade materials. The sellers wouldn't be interested in that.
"It's over… we've got nothing good enough to trade…" Hu Yan realized this, and his mood instantly hit rock bottom.
It seemed the military had released this good news deliberately—to counter the wave of national despair. Across the entire country, in every main city, both online and offline, the news spread simultaneously.
Outside Huaxia City, Huang Jianguo was in the Xuanwu Guild's president's office, meeting with Liu Yuanxiang.
Upon entering, Huang Jianguo poured himself a glass of water.
"Jiang Kai's power has already reached this level—he killed three Rank 6 Weird Class users! That guy's growing way too fast!"
"But at least there's one bit of comfort: though Feng Lijun's team didn't manage to kill Jiang Kai, their battle caused the underground collapse. Jiang Kai died down there too."
Liu Yuanxiang shook his head. "That Jiang Kai must be eliminated."
Huang Jianguo snorted coldly. "I told you that long ago. You're only realizing it now—don't you think it's a little late?"
"If you hadn't been so hesitant back then, I'd have killed that brat already."
Liu Yuanxiang snapped, "I didn't want to draw the military's attention! If it weren't for all that crap with Huang Tong, I wouldn't have to be so cautious!"
After a moment's thought, Liu Yuanxiang sighed. "Fine, no point arguing. Let's send the Heart-Eater Lady again next time. I won't sleep well until Jiang Kai's dead."
Huang Jianguo gave another cold snort but said nothing more.
"By the way, did you find Jiang Kai's older brother yet?"
"No," Huang Jianguo said. "He's probably hiding somewhere leveling up, afraid we'll come after him. Why bother looking for him anyway? He was just a useless scrap collector."
Liu Yuanxiang narrowed his eyes. "You don't get it. When Jiang Lan was eight years old, he took Jiang Kai and Jiang Ying and escaped hundreds of miles to Jiangzhong City!"
"I've got this feeling… Jiang Lan might actually be an even bigger threat than Jiang Kai."
Huang Jianguo looked unconcerned. "You're overthinking. Someone like Jiang Kai is one in a million—no, one in a hundred million. You really think just anyone could be a threat to us?"
"Better safe than sorry," Liu Yuanxiang said earnestly. But when he looked at Huang Jianguo, he realized it was like talking to a brick wall, so he dropped the subject.
"Anyway, how's the preparation for tomorrow's auction?"
Huang Jianguo's eyes lit up. "Of course it's ready! I heard they're releasing a ton of high-level materials this time. With our decades of accumulation, how could we not snag something?"
"We've been in Huaxia for years. Our stockpile is huge, and unlike the other major guilds, we don't have to play nice or worry about appearances. Who could possibly outbid us?"
Liu Yuanxiang nodded. "You're not wrong. Still, keep things low-key."
"Relax." Huang Jianguo spoke confidently, finishing his tea in one gulp. "With all the guilds we secretly control, no one will suspect Xuanwu."
"This auction—we're taking it all."