Chapter 226

217. Chapter 217: Su Xing and the Slots

Li Yi remained unconscious for a full ten days.

Had his vital signs not been perfectly normal, the doctors would have thought him a vegetable; to ensure his swift recovery, the training base's medical staff went out of their way, administering him premium elixirs—he otherwise would never have awakened so quickly.

Li Yi felt he had merely slept a long sleep; upon waking, his spirit was full, his body strong, and every inch of him brimmed with power.

"Am I in the hospital?"

He looked at the familiar layout around him and realized he had been brought back to the training base's hospital ward; when he checked the time on his phone and saw he had slept for ten full days, he was startled.

"Ten days already passed? I thought I'd only be unconscious for one or two days at most—but extended rest has its benefits: my soul's injuries have fully healed, and my condition is even better than before; moreover, my body has completely recovered, and the side effects of the Blood Burning Art have passed safely."

Li Yi closed his eyes and attempted to circulate his qi and blood, sensing his body's condition.

Aside from his martial cultivation base having regressed once more to the peak of Blood Cultivation, all else was excellent—his physical condition was even better than before.

This was one advantage of re-cultivating the martial path.

His qi and blood had dispersed throughout his body, indirectly accelerating his physical evolution; unfortunately, he had not entered meditation during these ten days—if he had, using the White Bone Contemplation technique, he likely could have evolved into the Spiritual Perception realm within this period.

"Though I lost ten days of cultivation, my body remains in an evolutionary state; my vision, hearing, and strength now surpass what they were before I fell unconscious, and I've developed a faint sense." Li Yi's expression suddenly shifted as he turned toward the door.

Several seconds passed before footsteps appeared, then a nurse entered through the door.

"Mr. Li, you're awake? That's wonderful—I'll notify the doctor right away." The nurse, delighted to see him conscious, hurried out immediately.

Li Yi said nothing; he remained immersed in that peculiar sensation.

This sensation was not intuition.

Intuition is an extension of the five senses, limited in range and easily blocked—but this was almost like precognition: before the nurse arrived, he had sensed someone was coming.

"Is this Spiritual Perception?" Li Yi thought to himself.

Yet his perception was not sharp—it only functioned in simple surroundings; once the environment grew complex, the sensation vanished.

This indicated his body was evolving toward the Spiritual Perception realm, but he still lacked cultivation; if he continued practicing, Li Yi would soon become a Spiritual Perception expert, and those intermittent sensations would fully transform into true Spiritual Perception.

He estimated he would need at least another half-month of relentless cultivation to break through.

During this time, he believed the qi and blood he had accumulated would be sufficient to open the Nine Acupoints; once he re-broke through to the peak of Acupoint Cultivation and combined it with Spiritual Perception, new surprises might arise—after all, no one in this world had ever been a Spiritual Perception expert at the Acupoint Cultivation stage.

As he pondered, the doctor arrived at the ward with his assistant.

The doctor did not take Li Yi's awakening lightly and conducted a thorough examination.

"Your physical condition is excellent—no issues at all. You can be discharged anytime."

"Once again, I'm indebted to you, Doctor," Li Yi said.

The doctor replied, "No need for thanks—it's my duty. Your unconsciousness lasted a long time, and your body suffered severe depletion. Rest more in the coming days—avoid missions and physical confrontations, and don't use any more drugs. Your body had nearly reached its limit before; though it has recovered, the human body's mysteries are complex—what appears fine on the surface isn't always safe."

"Thank you for the advice, Doctor—I understand," Li Yi nodded.

"Good. Rest well. Call me if anything comes up." The doctor spoke a few more words and left.

Li Yi now understood: in the terms of the Four Seas and Eight Continents, he had damaged his primordial qi and needed time to recuperate.

But he had no intention of lying in bed any longer; after informing the nurse of his discharge, he prepared to leave the training base and return home.

As he passed through the training base, he noticed several Spiritual Intuition and Spiritual Perception evolvers within—some familiar faces he had seen during missions in the Old District, including Wu Xiu, a Spiritual Perception expert from the Cultivator Association, Yu Chuan, Ning Wu's cousin, and Zhao Lingfu, who had once joined his team.

These men were not from the Investigation Bureau—why were they here?

Yet these few Spiritual Perception experts were gathered together, apparently discussing something.

When Li Yi approached, they sensed him and immediately fell silent, all turning to stare at him; though each smiled and greeted him, their eyes held deep wariness.

No Spiritual Perception expert returning from the Old District failed to fear Li Yi.

Behind him stood an unspeakable unknown presence; though that person might be Li Yi's mother, this was only surface appearance—the true origin remained unknown, and no one dared investigate, so it became a secret buried deep in their hearts.

"Li Yi," Zhao Lingfu spoke up, "You're finally awake. Your unconsciousness lasted a long time—how are you feeling?"

"All normal. But why are you all here at the training base?" Li Yi asked curiously.

Zhao Lingfu smiled, "You forgot the mission in the Old District, codenamed 'Exorcise Demons'? Top-performing cultivators earn slots in the Artifact Cultivation Rooms. I was lucky—I got one. From now on, I can use the Artifact Cultivation Room to refine my mind, though there are some conditions."

"Wu Xiu and Yu Chuan got them too. We were just discussing how to break through the artifact's illusions."

Once one enters the energy field of the White Bone Murals, illusions arise; to benefit from the Artifact Cultivation Room, one must dispel these illusions—so far, few cultivators can do this.

Li Yi said, "This incomplete artifact in the training base has unique effects—if you can see through the illusions, your cultivation metrics rise dramatically. Before, Priest Pete broke free from the illusions and boosted his metrics to over five hundred percent—extremely terrifying. I believe this illusion is a great opportunity for progress; don't take shortcuts—rely entirely on your inner nature."

"That's true—I agree. Short-term cultivation matters less than overcoming the trial to raise your metrics," Zhao Lingfu nodded. "Once your metrics rise, your cultivation evolves faster; any losses quickly make up for themselves."

"Exactly. The true value of these Artifact Cultivation Rooms isn't the pure energy field—it's the refinement of character and the boost to cultivation metrics. But seeing through that illusion is difficult. I plan to stay here for a while and use the artifact," Yu Chuan said seriously.

He had originally intended to leave Tianchang City after completing his mission, but never expected the Investigation Bureau to reward him with an Artifact Cultivation Room.

With such an opportunity, he couldn't bear to leave.

Yet his cousin Ning Wu had been sent away—he didn't want her staying here, not only because Li Yi was here, but because she had offended many people; remaining would do her more harm than good.

"It seems quite a few people got Artifact Cultivation Room slots," Li Yi said.

"Indeed—fifteen people total. Also, the Cultivator Association's Li Shaoqing has confirmed he'll enter the Golden Academy as a Cross-Dimensional Practitioner; he departs in a few days. But the Investigation Bureau's two slots remain undecided."

Zhao Lingfu frowned, "I think one of them might be you, Li Yi—but you should ask Zhang Lei directly to be sure."

Li Yi's expression shifted slightly—he had remembered this.

Tianchang City had three special recruitment slots: two for the Investigation Bureau, one for the Cultivator Association.

The Cultivator Association's top contenders had been Li Shaoqing and Yang Yi; now that Yang Yi was dead, Li Shaoqing naturally secured the slot.

As for the Investigation Bureau's slots—he needed to ask.

Li Yi believed he had completed several missions recently and earned considerable merit—he might have a chance.

"I'll go ask now. You all keep cultivating—I won't disturb you."

With matters on his mind, he didn't linger and quickly left the training base.

On the way, he called Zheng Gong to inquire about the slots.

"Li Yi, the Investigation Bureau delayed announcing the list because of you—since you were unconscious, they held off. But Commander Zhang Lei told me: if you wake up, go to the Investigation Bureau immediately—he has something to discuss with you."

Zheng Gong said over the phone, "Commander should be at the Investigation Bureau now—I think you should go there."

"Understood," Li Yi hung up and immediately headed for the Investigation Bureau.

He cared deeply about the slots—if he could enter the Golden Academy, his future would have at least one guarantee, since he could become a Cross-Dimensional Practitioner.

Crossing into a new world would greatly aid his cultivation and growth; most importantly, it would let him avoid the Heaven's Collapse event.

Though Li Yi knew the method to reach the Four Seas and Eight Continents, that universe's spiritual energy was too thin to suit his cultivation well, and that world had the Ghosts and Gods harvesting lifespans—unless resolved, ordinary people lived short lives, a major drawback.