The crowd ignored these voices and ran straight toward the exit.
After a dizzying whirl, Zhou Ran and the others returned to the Holy Emperor Mountain camp.
When they saw a boulder as large as a small mountain emerge from the crack, everyone around them stared in astonishment. At that moment, an officer hurried over.
What the hell is going on? Moving a boulder out?
Do you want to destroy this place?
"Stop! Inspection!" the officer shouted sternly.
Zhou Ran frowned. Why another inspection? Had they discovered something?
Seeing Zhou Ran's confusion, Han Chengyong hurriedly explained, "Lin brother, don't worry. Everyone who emerges from the spacetime fissure needs to be inspected. Typically, you have to go to the front hall for registration and inspection, but with such a massive boulder, it's understandable that they'd want to check it beforehand."
Zhou Ran shook his head with a wry smile.
The officer looked at Zhou Ran with a serious expression, then glanced aside and his face turned pale with shock. Was that a Liu Ying Huan Yue Dog?
Oh my god! A ninth-tier beast reduced to a porter...
Who are these people?
Though he was deeply puzzled, this was still a ninth-tier beast. As a lowly officer, he couldn't afford to provoke it.
"Sorry, large items are dangerous in the camp, so we can't let them in. We'll send someone over to check them out, so please wait a moment." The officer's attitude changed instantly, and he spoke respectfully to Zhou Ran.
"This guy changes his face so fast," Han Chengyong chuckled, complaining.
Soon, two elderly men emerged from the camp hall ahead, surrounded by numerous officers and treasure hunters, exuding an air of great respect.
Han Chengyong and the others were startled at first, then immediately bowed respectfully.
Seeing Zhou Ran still standing there dumbfounded, Han Chengyong quickly tugged him, gesturing for him to bow.
Zhou Ran was extremely annoyed. Who were these two old men that he, a genius, had to bow to them?
Are you kidding me?
"Stop fooling around, Lin. These two are extremely distinguished elders. The one on the left is the head of the Xuan Zhong City treasure hunting team, Duan Tianfeng, and the one on the right is the general of the Xuan Zhong City military, Wu Qianhua..."
"I didn't expect these two elders to come in person today. What's going on..." Han Chengyong tugged at Zhou Ran's sleeve and whispered.
Zhou Ran was taken aback. He had thought they were just ordinary old men, but they turned out to be so powerful!
I couldn't sense even a hint of starlight energy, so don't blame me.
"Haha! It's okay, the young people just don't recognize us," Duan Tianfeng laughed.
"Did you create this giant rock? It looks like a mineral vein!" Wu Qianhua walked over slowly and said.
The people around him were startled. A mineral vein?
Could it be some valuable mineral?
"Unfortunately, it's a useless mineral vein," Wu Qianhua shook his head disappointedly.
Upon hearing that it was a useless vein, the people around him relaxed.
Wow! That was really scary. If it were a spirit stone vein, we'd be rich.
Luckily it's useless; otherwise, it would be too jealous-making.
"Old man, you're blind. This thing looks like an ordinary black stone, but there are faint fluctuations of dark energy. It's probably not that simple," Duan Tianfeng said meaningfully.
"Pfft, do you think I didn't notice? Don't think I'm senile. While this thing does have dark energy fluctuations, they're too faint. Spending a lot of manpower and resources to mine it would be pointless," Wu Qianhua retorted immediately.
Zhou Ran, who was standing nearby, turned pale upon hearing their conversation.
Holy crap! They could tell at a glance that there was dark energy here. What kind of insight is that...
Fortunately, they didn't discover the secret within.
"Haha, by the way, young man, where did you get this?" Duan Tianfeng asked Zhou Ran.
"Um... from a cave. It was supposed to be a spirit stone vein, but unfortunately, it was destroyed, and the star energy was diluted. These black stones are what my beast can extract the dark energy from, so I brought it out." Zhou Ran didn't lie; he reported everything truthfully, except for the part about the system being able to extract it.
"You said your beast can absorb the dark energy from here?" Duan Tianfeng's aged face showed a hint of surprise.
"No way, the dark energy here is too thin, almost nonexistent. What kind of beast is so powerful?" Wu Qianhua hurriedly said from the side.
Zhou Ran sighed bitterly a few times, then pointed behind him at a large dog lying there sound asleep.
The Liu Ying Huan Yue Dog had been carrying this boulder for over an hour and was already exhausted.
"... "
"Is that a Liu Ying Huan Yue Dog? A ninth-tier bloodline beast! Young man, who are your parents?" Duan Tianfeng and Wu Qianhua were both startled, almost shouting in unison.
Zhou Ran was a bit at a loss and didn't answer immediately, instead smiling awkwardly to the side.
Han Chengyong, who was standing nearby, immediately handed over a document to the two elders.
"Huh? He's from the outer city, and he's even a temporary member..." Duan Tianfeng and Wu Qianhua looked at the document with great curiosity.
"Old man, this is too strange. A commoner from the outer city actually has a ninth-rank beast. Could it be that he had some great opportunity?"
"Not necessarily. It could also be the illegitimate child of some prominent family. Look at the father's column; it says 'deceased.'"
"This is no simple matter." The two elders whispered to each other as they looked at the list.
Zhou Ran stood there nervously. He should have just refined it inside and come out afterward; now this was too awkward.
"Haha, young man, don't be nervous. We're just curious. Since your beast can absorb the dark energy from this giant stone, we won't say much. Do you have Honor Points to exchange for it?" Duan Tianfeng smiled.
Zhou Ran froze. How could he have forgotten that? All treasures found must be handed over to the government, and Honor Points are required to exchange them!
What should he do...
"Cough cough, we've checked. You're a temporary member of the treasure-hunting team, right? No Honor Points? No problem. As long as you officially join our Xuan Zhong City Treasure-Hunting Team now, you can take this giant stone with you immediately." Duan Tianfeng spoke smoothly, attempting to directly recruit Zhou Ran into the treasure-hunting team.
"Wow! You sly old fox, such a promising recruit should join the military. Little brother, take this item, and I'll give you some Honor Points. As long as you join the military, you'll have everything." Wu Qianhua hurriedly tried to lure Zhou Ran.
"Your military is so powerful; don't compete with my small treasure-hunting team for recruits."
"A small treasure-hunting team? You're not ashamed? Everyone knows your department is the richest. Please stop competing with me for people. I beg you, big brother."
"I beg you too, big shot." ...
Before they knew it, the two elders had started arguing, completely ignoring the crowd of people watching around them.