Chapter 13

“Bang!”

A lithe figure shot out from the stairwell on the third floor, accompanied by a muffled thud as Li Yi landed steadily on the ground; he took a deep breath, drawing in vast amounts of air into his lungs, then expelled it abruptly.

The air compressed by his robust internal organs burst forth like a twenty-centimeter-long serpent, astonishing to behold.

“My body’s explosive power, coordination, reaction speed—even all my senses—have undergone an astonishing transformation compared to before cultivation. Even my memory has improved.”

With his eyes closed, Li Yi sensed these changes within himself, feeling them as exquisite—he had truly been reborn, transformed into another person.

“How long has it been? Counting from the day Lin Yue guided me into cultivation, it’s barely half a month. Unfortunately, time is still too short—my eyes haven’t changed yet, I haven’t opened my spiritual medium—but I feel it: if I keep cultivating like this, I won’t need long to reach the first realm of cultivation.”

“The speed of cultivation with a wonder-item is unimaginable, but mine is incomplete—it harbors the resentment of a dead person. Based on the patterns I’ve figured out these past few days, I can’t use the wonder-item too frequently; if I do, the resentment inside will sense it and strike back.”

“The safest approach is to limit each session to no more than ten hours—longer durations increase the chance the resentment will notice me.”

“But for me right now, ten hours of cultivation per day is more than enough; the rest of the time I can do other things, balancing work and rest.”

After finishing his thoughts, Li Yi slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes, even outdoors, glowed brightly, as if emitting a soft luminescence.

After stretching, Li Yi did not continue cultivating.

Because he had run out of money.

The No.2 nutrient solution was gone, his food was finished, and his phone balance had dropped to less than three hundred yuan.

If he didn’t go out to work and earn money soon, he’d face starvation again.

Fortunately, his parents’ nutrient solution had been purchased for a full month’s supply, so he wasn’t in immediate danger.

“With my current condition, I should be able to try the guidance position—it’s just a matter of guiding cosmic energy into someone else’s body. Even without a wonder-item, I could do it. Though this city hides many dangers, I can’t let fear keep me locked indoors.”

Li Yi’s gaze flickered; he pulled out his phone and found a phone number.

Without hesitation, he dialed it.

The call connected quickly; a middle-aged man’s voice answered: “Hello, who is this?”

“I’m Li Yi. Lin Yue referred me for the guidance position. Do you still need guides?” Li Yi asked.

“Applying for a guide position? We’re always in need of guides. When would you be available, Mr. Li?” the middle-aged man asked politely.

Li Yi said: “I’m available anytime.”

“Could you please come to District 1, No. 89, Anding District, Tianchang City?” the man said.

“Alright, I’m on my way. See you there,” Li Yi replied immediately.

After hanging up, he immediately hailed a taxi.

“No. 89, District 1, Anding District—this employer must be rich. How does Lin Yue know them? Oh, right—I almost forgot: Lin Yue is a cultivator, so the people she knows are naturally cultivators too. And most cultivators come from wealthy families; without sufficient wealth, one can’t sustain cultivation.”

On the way, Li Yi pondered silently.

Soon, the taxi entered the Anding District.

After the Tianqing Incident, many districts suffered catastrophic damage and remain sealed off, as they still harbor unknown dangers; thus, the city’s reconstruction had to relocate elsewhere.

Anding District was born from this necessity.

Considering the possibility of future Tianqing Incidents, Anding District abandoned high-rise construction and instead built villas and small Western-style houses.

But while the houses were built, few could afford them—only the wealthy and middle class could pay.

Thus, Anding District became a wealthy enclave.

Then came the cultivation surge; as cultivators grew in number, Anding District transformed from a wealthy enclave into a residential area for cultivators.

Because cultivators gathered here, the district became safer and had better law enforcement.

After all, criminals harassing ordinary people might only land in jail—but offending a cultivator could mean death.

Soon.

The taxi stopped in front of a twelve-story building.

After paying, Li Yi’s balance dropped to just twenty-three yuan—not enough even to return by taxi.

Is it really this expensive to come to Anding District?

Was I ripped off?

Li Yi sighed helplessly.

“Friend, are you also here to apply for the guide position?” Suddenly, a young stranger approached.

Li Yi turned toward the voice: “Yes. Who are you?”

“I’m Zhang Gao, also here to apply for the guide position,” the man said with a smile. “I thought I was the only one, but after asking around, I found at least four or five others applying today—competition’s fierce. I wonder if I’ll even get hired.”

Shuowan ， Takanlekanbuyuanchudeqitajirenyiyan 。

“You’re wrong. The employer isn’t recruiting so many guides to pick the best one—I suspect he’s reached a critical stage in his cultivation and needs massive amounts of cosmic energy; one or two guides can’t satisfy his consumption alone.”

At that moment, a petite woman with long, shoulder-length hair walked over; her eyes were also bright—clearly a cultivator. She greeted them: “Let’s get acquainted—I’m Zhao Xiaoxiao, also here to apply for the guide position.”

“Hello, I’m Li Yi.”

“Zhang Gao.”

The three introduced themselves and grew more familiar.

“I don’t care about the employer’s cultivation—I care about his pay. Certified guides earn at least ten thousand yuan per hour as a minimum, but I don’t have a certificate. Still, it shouldn’t be less than five thousand yuan per hour—if it is, I’m walking out.”

Zhang Gao shrugged.

Zhao Xiaoxiao laughed: “You probably don’t know—just now I talked with the others and found the employer didn’t post public ads for guides. He used personal connections—friends, colleagues, relatives—to refer candidates. That means he doesn’t trust outside guides, or wants to hide his identity. So the pay will be high, not low.”

“Five thousand is definitely too low. I’d guess at least eight thousand per hour—more for certified ones.”

Zhang Gao brightened immediately: “Good.”

Li Yi listened, secretly astonished.

Nearly ten thousand yuan per hour?

What kind of divine job is this?

If I work a full day, won’t I earn nearly two hundred thousand?

What? Rest?

With this pay, who’d dare rest?

“I just hope this job lasts long—I want to earn as much as possible. Cultivation costs too much. My pockets are empty; I can’t even afford a taxi ride, let alone lunch,” Li Yi sighed, his words dripping with poverty.

“Li Yi, you’re being too modest.”

Zhao Xiaoxiao studied him, then said: “You look younger than me, yet your aura is stronger than all of ours, and your eyes are unusually bright. I’d say you’re about to open your spiritual medium. To achieve this at your age means your cultivation base is extremely high—you’re bound for greatness.”

“In that case, relatives and friends willing to invest in you should be plentiful. Even if you’re short on cash, you shouldn’t be unable to afford lunch.”

Zhang Gao said: “Zhao Xiaoxiao, you clearly come from a good family—you can’t understand the struggles of us poor cultivators. Take me: though my cultivation has gone smoothly, it’s been funded by my entire family. And the more I cultivate, the more it costs. To avoid burdening them, I’ve taken side jobs alongside cultivation, and I still need to find ways to earn extra money for my family.”

“This job matters to me—I want to earn enough to save up and cultivate steadily for a while.”

“I had no idea your situations were this hard. My apologies—I was thoughtless,” Zhao Xiaoxiao said immediately.

Li Yi said: “It’s fine.”

But after learning about Li Yi and Zhang Gao’s circumstances, Zhao Xiaoxiao clearly distanced herself; after brief small talk, she excused herself and went to chat with another group.

“Such a snob,” Zhang Gao muttered under his breath, displeased. “I knew she was just probing us—saw we had no power or influence, so she lost interest.”

Li Yi didn’t care. He simply said: “I only care about the job and earning money. Everything else doesn’t matter.”

“Though we’ve just met, I’ll give you one piece of advice: earning money is important, but cultivation is more important,” Zhang Gao said. “Zhao Xiaoxiao’s eyes are sharp—she saw your high cultivation base right away, or she wouldn’t have come over to talk. Use your talent to raise your cultivation, don’t get overly obsessed with earning money.”

“Uh...” Li Yi paused, then said: “But without money, how can you even continue cultivation? Nutrient solution, medical pods, guides—all cost money.”

“That’s true,” Zhang Gao said awkwardly.

Li Yi didn’t press further.

He couldn’t possibly say his cultivation base wasn’t nearly as high as it looked—that his progress came entirely from a broken wonder-item?

“I’m Xu Ming, the supervisor in charge of this hiring. Sorry to keep you waiting. Please follow me to the conference room to discuss the job details.”

Soon, everyone followed Supervisor Xu Ming into the building.

Li Yi took note: including himself, there were seven applicants.

Zhang Gao and Zhao Xiaoxiao had already greeted each other; the other four were strangers to him.