"Wake up!"
Li Yi, immersed in cultivation, suddenly heard a voice beside his ear.
He was immediately startled awake and, at the same time, interrupted his cultivation.
Lin Yue, with a smile that was not quite a smile, looked at him and said, "You certainly don't hold back, diving into a cultivation state for a solid four hours, making me act as your guide all this time."
"Has it been four hours already?" Li Yi was surprised, taking a glance outside the window.
It was now dark outside, and the time was already seven in the evening.
He hadn't expected that so much time would pass during cultivation.
"I've checked your talent earlier. In these four hours, I've guided a hundred portions of cosmic energy into your body, and during this time, you've absorbed a total of forty-five portions. The rest all dissipated. From this, it seems your efficiency in absorbing cosmic energy is forty-five percent," Lin Yue said.
Li Yi thought to himself that it was as he suspected.
The cosmic energy that had been rushing into his body was indeed deliberately guided by Lin Yue.
"Sister Lin, is forty-five percent a very low number?" he then asked.
Lin Yue replied, "The data might seem low, but considering that this is your first time cultivating, it's understandable. My own first time was only seventy percent. Overall, you have a bit of talent and can walk the path of cultivation, as long as you work hard, you can still achieve something."
"So I have some talent, but not much, is that what you mean?" Li Yi said with self-deprecating laughter. "That's really bad."
"No, this is already a very good result. As you gain more experience in cultivation, your energy conversion rate will improve. I estimate you can reach about sixty-five percent without a problem," Lin Yue said.
Li Yi said, "That's just barely passing."
Lin Yue gave him a look, "Passing is very good. Did you see those trainees during the day? After practicing for a while, their data is only forty, maybe fifty percent. You would be considered an exemplary student in the training class."
"What about the data for those cultivation geniuses? One hundred percent?" Li Yi suddenly asked with curiosity.
"No, one hundred percent doesn't count as genius. True geniuses have a rate of more than two hundred percent," Lin Yue said.
"..." Li Yi.
He thought the score was a hundred points, and scoring sixty-five would be decent. He hadn't realized the total could be limitless.
"By the way, Sister Lin, when you were guiding cosmic energy into my body, did you sense a particularly unique energy field?" Li Yi suddenly asked.
Lin Yue frowned slightly, "A peculiar energy field? No, I didn't sense anything like that. My perception only showed a gray-white world; there was no special energy field. Why do you ask? Did you sense something? If you did, you should be very careful; that might be a wormhole that opened suddenly. Make sure your consciousness doesn't get swept into it, or you might suffer damage, leading to coma for several months or a headache for several days at the least."
"I understand," Li Yi nodded earnestly.
Following this, he felt a bit puzzled. The energy field he sensed should have been emanating from the Sword Coin. Why hadn't Lin Yue sensed it?
Could it be that the range of the incomplete Sword Coin's energy field was too small and hence limited?
"Haha, don't get too busy with cultivation. Come, come, come, I just ordered some good dishes from the restaurant next door. Let's have a good meal today. Niece, they have your favorite braised prawns," Uncle Biao's voice rang out at this moment. His mood was buoyant as he walked in with a large number of takeaway boxes in his hands.
"Uncle, you're spending money recklessly again," Lin Yue said.
"If you earn money, you should enjoy good food and drink; otherwise, life is so boring," Uncle Biao said enthusiastically as he opened the takeaway boxes. "Look, there's also beer. Li Yi, let's have a few sips. No getting to bed sober!"
"Er, I don't drink," Li Yi said.
Uncle Biao put an arm around his neck and laughed, "You're a twenty-year-old young man; how can you not drink? I'll teach you."
It wasn't until ten o'clock at night.
Li Yi left Uncle Biao's meditation room, slightly tipsy.
The cool night breeze of the city hit him, and he immediately regained his spirits; his head, which had been somewhat groggy, also cleared up.
Without wasting too much time, he made his way home as quickly as possible.
On the way, Li Yi pondered, "Now I can be certain; the half of the Sword Coin in my hand is a Mysterious Object. Although I still don't know its strange abilities, at least I am sure this thing can help my cultivation. And from what Lin Yue has said, my talent for cultivation isn't bad. Compared to most people, it's above average."
"However, what I need to consider now is how to keep this incomplete wonder. After all, I can't fully grasp this thing yet. Once those people deal with the investigator Wang Jian, they're bound to come looking for me. Then I'll be faced with only two options."
"Either I hand it over to gain sufficient benefits and protection from the Bureau of Investigation or take a risk and keep it. As for Crow? Sorry, we're not that close."
Deep down, Li Yi leaned towards the latter option.
Because Crow and the others didn't know for sure if what they had in their hands was definitely a Mysterious Object, after all on that day, besides themselves, Wang Hu and Wei Li had also taken something away, and he was also worried that once the object was exposed, the other party might very well choose to kill to silence him.
A Cultivator in a confrontation could end your life in an instant, so Li Yi didn't dare to bet that the other party would keep their promise.
With a mix of restlessness and unease, Li Yi returned home.
He first greeted his parents and then checked the medical pod, ensuring that it was functioning without issues, and finally, he checked the remaining amount of nutrient fluid in the medical pod.
Nutrient Fluid: Less than ten percent remaining.
The flashing warning made Li Yi worry again.
He checked the balance on his phone: 1876.
This amount of money was only enough to buy one vial of nutrient fluid, not even enough for two.
"Hadn't I foreseen this day coming?" Li Yi sat alone in the living room, sinking into silence.
Ever since his parents had become Silent Ones, the household expenses had been greater than the income; as long as his parents didn't wake up, one day the money at home would be used up, and his hard work was merely delaying the inevitable.
But Li Yi never imagined that six years would have flown by just like that.
He had naively thought that after two or three years, his parents would wake up, but now it seemed that even three more years might not change the situation.
"Perhaps handing over the incomplete wonders is the right choice, getting a sum of money at least ensures a stable life for my family and might even afford me the opportunity to continue with Cultivation."
Li Yi caressed the half piece of Sword Coin in his hand, looking at his parents lying in the medical pods, he couldn't help but think.
"But I've risked my life to luckily find such a thing that could change my fate, if I give up today, I'll probably regret it for the rest of my life. And as long as you give me some time, my Cultivation will soon yield results. Once I become a Cultivator, earning money will be much easier, and at that time, how could a few vials of nutrient fluid stop me?"
After a brief hesitation, Li Yi once again firmed up his resolve. He took another look at his parents in the room and then said, "Dad, Mom, let me take this chance. If you wake up one day, I believe you will definitely understand my choice."
Having said that, he held the incomplete Sword Coin, once again closed his eyes, sat down, and began to dispel the distractions to enter the state of Meditation for Cultivation.
If he was going to gamble, then he couldn't waste a single second. The future was uncertain, but he could take charge now. As long as he had the Mysterious Object in hand for even a day, Li Yi had to cultivate desperately. Only when he was strong enough could he not fear the trouble that was coming.
Soon.
He entered the same state he had been in during the day.
Within his perception, the incomplete Sword Coin was emitting a narrow Energy Field, under its influence, the pure Cosmic Energy was guided into Li Yi's body.
Perhaps Li Yi's Cultivation Value wasn't high, with an energy conversion rate of only forty-five percent, but with this incomplete wonder, he didn't need to spend time capturing energy spilling out from wormholes, nor did he worry about energy being wasted.
Talent had become less important to him.
Because even for a genius, most of the time spent Cultivating overnight goes into capturing energy, and the scarce pure Cosmic Energy is the biggest Chains limiting a genius's Cultivation.
With the help of the Mysterious Object, Li Yi could break these Chains, making his overnight Cultivation results surpass that of geniuses by several or even dozens of times.
Meanwhile.
Deep in the night, Ruined District.
Ning Wu, a tall figure with a long ponytail, along with her accomplice Crow, and a line of subordinates in black suits walked out from the back of the Bureau of Investigation.
"Ning Wu, although someone spoke up for you, I still advise you and your crew to rein it in. If you dare to cause trouble again, I assure you won't be leaving the cell for ten years," warned Investigator Wang Jian from behind.
"Hmph."
Ning Wu gave an unsatisfied snort and continued walking without turning back.
Once they were out of the Bureau's area, she stopped and immediately said, "Crow, you must use the shortest time and at any cost get in touch with Wang Hu, Wei Li, and Li Yi. Have them return the items to avoid drawn-out trouble."
"Of course. I also don't want to see any more accidents," Crow nodded in agreement.
Ning Wu's eyes flashed, her teeth itching with irritation, "If it wasn't for Wang Jian suddenly meddling, how could things have gotten so complicated? We had already obtained the objects back in the Ruined District."
"Ning Wu, don't rush. They are ordinary people, not difficult to find. Even if they do have something valuable in their hands, they don't know its worth. We can just raise the price. Tempted by money, I believe they'll be willing to give it up," Crow assured.
"That would be for the best. My patience is nearly exhausted... this is about a Mysterious Object, after all."
Ning Wu took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.