CHAPTER 573: ONLY I AM QUALIFIED TO BE HIS OPPONENT.

Therefore, over the past decade or so, although on the surface the once poor village had become more and more prosperous, even developing the outlines of a city, the Yuan Family had been greatly hindered by it. Not only did they fail to benefit from it, but they were also operating at a loss.

Fortunately, Yuan Tianbo had an inspiration and came up with the idea of a Stone Tasting Conference. Leveraging the gambler’s mentality of many who dreamt of overnight riches, he managed to earn a few fortunes, which kept the mine operating. Otherwise, the Yuan Family had considered shutting down the mine altogether.

Because of the revival of the Meteorite Gold Mine, Yuan Tianbo once again gained attention within his family, and his status became even higher than before. This time, he was acting on behalf of the Family Head and had come to Little Pond City to inspect the area.

Usually, this also meant that he had been officially established as the Young Master Yuan. As long as his grandfather died, followed by his father, he would be able to take over the position of Family Head. Of course, if he performed even better, it wouldn’t be surprising if he could skip his father and take the Family Leader Token directly from his grandfather’s hands.

Yuan Tianbo’s arrival at Little Pond City filled him with confidence and ambition, but unexpectedly, he ran into Han Yan.

For the past half-year, every encounter with Han Yan had been a nightmare for him. Consequently, upon seeing that familiar figure, Yuan Tianbo felt a toothache coming on. Instinctively, he wanted to turn around and leave; that guy was like a jinx, and each meeting brought misfortune. It was better to pretend not to see him and keep as much distance as possible.

"Young Master, do you know those people?" The man beside Yuan Tianbo was also staring in Han Yan and his group’s direction, and he asked upon hearing Yuan Tianbo’s comment.

The man was about fifty years old, with a goatee, and had a skinny but alert appearance, particularly his eyes which sparkled with shrewdness.

His name was Yao Guangcheng, an experienced steward of the mine employed at a high salary by the Yuan Family. Although his appearance and name were unremarkable, he was a well-known Alchemist with great insights into Meteorite Gold identification and extraction, thus valued highly by the Yuan Family.

"The one at the front is called Han Yan — my old nemesis. That guy’s like bad luck; nothing good happens when I run into him," Yuan Tianbo said with a face full of dismay.

"And the one behind?" Yao Guangcheng asked, pointing behind Han Yan, his eyes glittering even more.

"Which one?" Yuan Tianbo looked at Yan Yuchu and the others who were following behind Han Yan like lackeys. He only knew one person, Mu Cheng, but he didn’t know who Yao Guangcheng was asking about.

"The one carrying the box on his back," Yao Guangcheng said.

"Him? His name is Mu Cheng, a minor character of the Mu Family. He used to be at odds with Han Yan, but recently he’s lost his mind and become his lackey, lacking ambition," Yuan Tianbo said with contempt.

"Just a lackey? His status is even lower than Han Yan’s?" Yao Guangcheng seemed to find this unusual.

"Yes, in the whole Heishi City, only I, Yuan Tianbo, am worthy enough to be Han Yan’s rival. We are on equal footing in terms of status. Everyone else is nothing," Yuan Tianbo naturally wanted to aggrandize himself in front of others.

"That’s strange then," Yao Guangcheng said thoughtfully.

"What’s strange?" Yuan Tianbo looked at Yao Guangcheng, puzzled.

"The box he’s carrying is no ordinary item. With my decades of experience in alchemy, I am certain it was made by an Alchemy Master, and moreover, it could be related to a Divine Artifact mentioned in legends," Yao Guangcheng speculated.

"What, a Divine Artifact? Haha, you must be joking. Mu Cheng is just Han Yan’s henchman now. What could he have that’s a Divine Artifact?" As he said this, Yuan Tianbo suddenly paused. Mu Cheng couldn’t possibly have a Divine Artifact, but Han Yan was different — he was of the direct lineage of the Mu Family in the capital and had recently shown great potential. It was possible he had regained attention from the Zong Family in the capital, and they might have rewarded him with a Divine Artifact.

"What Divine Artifact are you talking about?" With this thought, Yuan Tianbo was no longer in a hurry to hide and asked out of curiosity.