Chapter 93: 93. Secret Surveillance (Ally Bonus: No Need for Name)

93. Chapter 93: Secret Surveillance (Ally Bonus: No Need for Name)

At this moment, Li Yi walked alone through the old district.

The murky air, narrow alleys, streets that never saw sunlight for days, and the ever-present damp, fishy stench in his nostrils—all were familiar, yet to Li Yi they felt distant, strangely alien, as if different from his memories.

The environment hadn’t changed; the old district remained the same old district.

The only thing that had changed was Li Yi himself.

He was no longer the struggling poor boy he once was; now he was a cultivator who had awakened his Spirit Medium ability, had joined the Investigation Bureau, possessed a respectable status and background, held fifty million in wealth, and even owned a skyscraper.

Even without relying on the incomplete wonder, the Knife Coin, Li Yi could now live well and advance far further on the path of cultivation alone.

Because he had forcibly raised his cultivation metrics to 420 percent through the White Bone Contemplation technique, becoming a cultivation prodigy.

The residential compound was utterly silent.

Li Yi had lived in the old district for many years and knew its habits and customs well.

The elevator was out of service; he could only climb the stairs.

With this thought, Li Yi went downstairs, left the building, and hurried toward his childhood home while the sky was still not fully dark.

He felt a hint of confusion and slight unease.

Evening had fallen.

“So for me, what remains is simple: keep cultivating hard and strengthen my power,” Li Yi thought to himself.

“Is there something nearby?” A terrifying suspicion suddenly arose in Li Yi’s mind.

He immediately lifted his head and scanned his surroundings, trying to spot anything suspicious.

Li Yi arrived alone at the base of the building.

Soon.

But now, as Li Yi was evolving toward the next realm, his senses had intensified, enhancing his ability to detect unusual things.

Yet Li Yi, still in cultivation, was unaware of all this.

Because he had smelled a faint, almost imperceptible stench of decay.

Li Yi said nothing and entered the building alone.

But he found nothing unusual; there was no sign of anything amiss.

Seeing the familiar surroundings, he exhaled slightly in relief.

He thought of the group who had come before, trying to forcibly buy his fist technique.

People bustled past, each in a hurry, unwilling to linger outside, especially now as night approached; most residents rushed home, for those living in the old district often heard rumors of someone vanishing at night, or someone seeing something strange after dark.

He swiftly entered the residential building.

After all, death in the old district was common—he had known this since before.

Though the room was pitted and wrecked from fist training, it was still his home, where he had lived for many years.

“I’m already a Spirit Medium cultivator, yet I still feel this tense.”

If Li Yi were merely at the Sensory realm, he could knock down each of those three thugs with a single punch—he wouldn’t fear any threat at all.

He easily climbed to the top floor, the thirtieth.

Now that he had awakened his Spirit Medium ability, his gaze glowed faintly, allowing him to see many things ordinary people could not.

In the past, he would have never smelled this odor—it would have been automatically ignored.

This skyscraper was one of the assets granted to Li Yi as a reward by the Investigation Bureau; though he hadn’t officially taken possession, he felt it necessary to visit early, at least to know its exact location and general condition, so he could move in later.

Only after confirming everything was fine did he return to his room.

This situation caused Li Yi to unconsciously stop walking.

Through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, Li Yi could almost overlook the entire old district, and gazing westward, he could see the night view of the Great River passing through Tianchang City.

After drinking a cup of Golden Nutrient Liquid, Li Yi stopped thinking about what had just happened. He closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, formed the Treasure Seal, and activated the White Bone Contemplation technique, entering cultivation.

Everything seemed to return to normal.

It was now eight o’clock at night.

Li Yi’s residential compound was relatively safe; apart from when he killed Ning Wu and his gang a while back, no strange disappearances or mysterious deaths had been reported for years.

Li Yi was satisfied with it; he liked staying on the top floor.

Generally speaking, even the old district couldn’t be saturated with the stench of decay—if its death rate were truly that high, order would have collapsed long ago; it couldn’t possibly still function.

But at the entrance of the compound, a strange figure suddenly appeared—this figure avoided the streetlights, hidden in darkness, motionless and stiff; and with this figure’s appearance, the stench of decay seemed to grow slightly stronger.

Immediately, he quickened his pace.

The ground around was overgrown with weeds, the landscaping wild and untamed—clearly unattended for a long time. The building itself was abandoned, covered in dust, the elevator’s functionality uncertain, many areas still in raw concrete state; truly moving in would require massive renovation and preparation.

Until ten o’clock at night.

“By voluntarily exposing my cultivation metrics, I’ve made a worthwhile long-term move. I believe the Investigation Bureau will definitely take special notice of me with my 420 percent metrics. As long as nothing goes wrong, my status within the Bureau will only rise. This level of metrics also masks my unnaturally rapid cultivation speed, completely dispelling suspicions about any wonder on my person.”

Heping Financial Tower.

Li Yi rubbed his forehead—he didn’t realize he’d broken into a cold sweat. He couldn’t help but self-mockingly smile, wondering if he’d killed too many people, seen too many unclean things, and become overly tense.

It seemed he really needed a few days of rest, to relax—couldn’t keep thinking only about missions and money.

Perhaps because his body was evolving toward the next stage, Li Yi felt his senses had become sharper than before—he could hear fainter, distant sounds, smell odors he’d never noticed before. But when it came to smells, he now slightly furrowed his brow.

“Something’s definitely wrong. That thing is still nearby—could I be so unlucky it’s heading the same way as me?”

Li Yi was still pondering today’s events: “But in the short term, I do bear some risk. Such high cultivation metrics are bound to breed envy and hatred—some cultivators with grudges against the Investigation Bureau might come looking for trouble.”

Though somewhat extravagant, Li Yi now had the capital to be reckless.

Entering this floor, it was empty, the ground still bare cement.

Because here the air was fresh, spacious and bright, warm and dry—no more of the old district’s gloom, confinement, dampness, and stench.

His sharp gaze swept over every passerby, trying to trace the source of that unusual odor.

“If I found nothing, I should go home immediately.” Some intuition told Li Yi he shouldn’t be out tonight—he should return to spend time with his parents.

He had no other intentions; he simply wanted to use this building as his cultivation base, with no plans to exploit the skyscraper.

Li Yi arrived smoothly at the entrance of the compound.

Li Yi glanced back several times, confirmed there was no issue, then opened his door and returned to his familiar home.

For ordinary people, darkness was taboo; only cultivators had the confidence to move about at night.

But after walking a while, he realized that faint, elusive stench of decay persisted—it hadn’t vanished despite his movement.

Though he had left the training base early and returned to the old district, he didn’t go home immediately; instead, he took a detour to another place.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back.”

“But those are minor issues. My cultivation speed is fast; once I awaken Sensory and become a Sensory realm cultivator, I’ll firmly establish myself in Tianchang City, and no trouble will dare come near me.”

As usual, Li Yi greeted his parents, who were asleep in the bedroom, then checked the consumption of nutrient liquid and the status of the medical pod.

Even after quickening his pace, the faint stench of decay remained—still detectable by him.

At first, Li Yi hadn’t paid it any mind.

This strengthening came from within, not from external sources, so Li Yi had no fear of losing it one day—his heart felt steady, free of the previous anxious urgency.

“Peace amid chaos, beautiful scenery—this place is perfect for cultivation. During cultivation, I’ll rarely be disturbed, and safety is guaranteed. If danger arises, I can simply hide inside this building—no one will find me. Living alone, I won’t need much preparation; just renovate this floor and settle my parents.”

The stiff, motionless figure standing in the darkness finally moved, walking straight into the compound. As it passed the entrance lamp, it revealed no full form—only a pale, corpse-spotted arm flashed briefly under the light.