"Bang!"
A lithe figure darted out from the third-floor stairway, followed by a dull thump resonating as Li Yi landed steadily on the ground. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with a large gulp of air, then suddenly expelled it.
The air, compressed by his robust organs, surged out, forming a snake-like stream about twenty centimeters long—an unbelievable sight.
"The explosive power of my body, coordination, reflexes, and even my senses have undergone an astounding transformation compared to before I began cultivation. Even my memory has improved."
With his eyes closed, Li Yi reveled in his transformation, feeling splendid as if he had shed his old self for a new being.
"How long has it been? Including the day Lin Yue guided me in the beginning, it's only been half a month. Unfortunately, it's still too short. My eyes have not changed, nor has the Spirit Medium awakened, but I have a feeling that if I continue to cultivate like this, it won't be long before I reach the first realm of cultivation."
"The speed of cultivation with a Mysterious Object is unimaginably fast, but sadly, mine is a defective one, harboring a dead person's resentment. According to the pattern I've figured out these past few days, I can't use the Mysterious Object too frequently. Too much use and the resentment within it would notice and strike back."
"The safest approach is to keep the cultivation time short, ideally under ten hours. Extending it further increases the chances of the resentment detecting me."
"However, for me now, cultivating for ten hours a day is completely sufficient. I can spend the rest of the time doing other things, achieving a balance between work and rest."
After finishing his contemplation, Li Yi slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes, even outdoors, were exceptionally bright, as if glowing softly.
After moving about for a while, Li Yi did not continue cultivating.
Because he had run out of money.
The second type of nutritional liquid was gone, his food was eaten up, and even the balance on his mobile phone was less than three hundred yuan.
If he didn't start working to earn money, he would face the risk of running out of food again.
Fortunately, his parents' nutritional liquid was already purchased for a month's use, so it wasn't urgent yet.
"With my current state, I should be able to try that guide job. It's merely about channeling Cosmic Energy into someone else's body, something I can do without the help of the Mysterious Object, even though this city harbors many dangers. But I can't just shrink back and stay indoors because of that."
Li Yi's eyes flickered, he pulled out his phone from his pocket, then found a phone number.
Without hesitating, he dialed the number.
Soon, the call connected, and a middle-aged man's voice answered, "Hello, who is this?"
"My name is Li Yi, Lin Yue referred me for a guide's position. I wonder if you still need a guide on your end?" Li Yi asked.
"Applying for a guide? We are indeed always looking for guides. When are you available, Mr. Li?" the middle-aged man asked politely.
Li Yi said, "I'm available anytime."
"Could you please come to 89, Zone 1, AnDing District, Tianchang City?" the middle-aged man said.
"Okay, I'll be there soon, see you then!" Li Yi quickly agreed.
After hanging up the phone, he immediately took a taxi.
"89, Zone 1, AnDing District, the employer indeed seems very wealthy. How does Lin Yue know them? Right, almost forgot, Lin Yue is a Cultivator, and naturally, she knows other Cultivators, and most Cultivators come from wealthy backgrounds as sustaining cultivation isn't for the financially weak."
On the way, Li Yi pondered internally.
Soon, the taxi entered AnDing District.
After the Sky Tipping incident, many city districts were devastated, those areas remain sealed to this day due to various dangers still lurking there. Consequently, the city's reconstruction had to find new sites.
AnDing District was thus established.
Considering that a Sky Tipping-like event could happen again, AnDing District discarded the idea of constructing high-rise buildings, opting instead to build villas and small mansions.
Although the houses were built, there were few who could afford them—only some rich and upper-middle-class people.
Therefore, AnDing District turned into a wealthy area.
But then, as the cultivation wave surged and Cultivators increasingly became more numerous, AnDing District transformed from a wealthy area to a residence area for Cultivators.
Due to the concentration of Cultivators, AnDing District was safer and had better public order.
After all, criminals might choose to escape jail by attacking an average person, but provoking a Cultivator could lead to death.
Very soon.
The taxi stopped in front of a twelve-story building.
After paying, Li Yi was left with only 23 yuan, not even enough to cover the taxi ride back.
Is a trip to AnDing District this expensive?
Was I overcharged?
Li Yi sighed helplessly.
"Friend, are you also here to interview for the guide position?" Suddenly, a strange young man approached.
Li Yi looked in the direction of the voice, "Yes, and you are?"
"My name is Zhang Gao, I'm also here for the guide position." The man named Zhang Gao smiled, "I thought I was the only one, but after asking around, I found out that there are at least four or five people here today to interview for the guide position. The competition is quite fierce, not sure if I'll get the job."
After speaking, he glanced at a few other people nearby.
"You're mistaken about that. If the employer is recruiting so many guides, it's obviously not to select just one good one. I guess the employer has recently reached a critical period in his cultivation and needs a lot of Cosmic Energy, and one or two guides are no longer enough to satisfy his consumption."
At that moment, a petite woman with long hair cascading over her shoulders approached. Her eyes were also very bright, clearly another cultivator. She greeted, "Nice to meet you all, I'm Zhao Xiaoxiao, and I'm also here to apply for the guide position."
"Hello, I'm Li Yi."
"Zhang Gao."
The three introduced themselves to each other and became acquainted.
"I'm not concerned about the employer's cultivation; what I care about is his offer. You know, a certified guide earns a minimum of ten thousand yuan per hour. Although I don't have a certification, it should still be no less than five thousand yuan an hour. Otherwise, I'll head back immediately," Zhang Gao shrugged and said.
Zhao Xiaoxiao laughed and said, "You guys might not know yet, but I just talked with a few others, and I found out that the employer did not directly post a recruitment advertisement to hire guides from the public. Instead, he introduced guides through friends, colleagues, relatives, etc. This means that the employer doesn't trust guides from outside or doesn't want to disclose his information, so the price he offers us can only be high, not low."
"Five thousand yuan is definitely too low, I guess at least eight thousand per hour, those with certification probably even more,"
Zhang Gao immediately became happy upon hearing this, "That's good."
Li Yi was secretly shocked upon hearing this.
Nearly ten thousand yuan per hour?
What kind of miraculous job is this?
If I work for a day, won't I earn nearly two hundred thousand?
What? Rest?
With this salary, would you want to rest?
"I just hope this job lasts a bit longer, so I can earn more. Cultivation is too expensive, I'm broke now, don't even have money for the bus, and can't afford lunch," Li Yi lamented, hinting at his poverty.
"Li Yi, you're too modest,"
Zhao Xiaoxiao assessed him and then said, "You look younger than me, the aura you emit is stronger than any of us here, and your eyes are particularly bright. from what I see, you're about to initiate as a Spirit Medium. To have such achievements at such a young age shows that your Cultivation Value is very high, the future is limitless."
"Under such circumstances, you must have many friends and relatives willing to invest in you, even if you're short on money, you shouldn't be unable to afford lunch."
Zhang Gao said, "Zhao Xiaoxiao, it's clear you come from a decent background and can't understand the difficulties of poor cultivators like us. Take me for example. Although my cultivation is going smoothly, it's all been a financial burden on my family. And cultivation costs more and more. To avoid being a burden, I've been working part-time besides my cultivation and have been trying to make money to support my family."
"I value this job highly, hoping to earn more so I can have some savings for stable cultivation for a while."
"I see, I hadn't thought of your difficulties being so severe, I apologize," Zhao Xiaoxiao promptly expressed her regret.
Li Yi said, "No problem."
But after knowing the situations of Li Yi and Zhang Gao, Zhao Xiaoxiao noticeably began to distance herself. After some brief chitchat, she excused herself due to some purported matters and joined another group for a conversation.
"What a snob," Zhang Gao muttered discontentedly under his breath, "I knew she was just fishing for information earlier. Seeing that we are neither powerful nor influential, she lost interest in us."
Li Yi didn't mind, merely saying, "I'm only interested in working and making money; nothing else matters."
"Although we've just met, I must advise you that while making money is important, cultivation is even more critical," Zhang Gao said. "That Zhao Xiaoxiao has a sharp eye; she saw that your Cultivation Value is high at a glance, hence she came over to talk to you. You should make the most of your talent and enhance your cultivation as much as possible, instead of being overly fixated on making money."
"Uh..." Li Yi hesitated and then said, "Without money, it's tough to continue with cultivation, isn't it? Nutrient fluids, medical pods, guides, etc., all cost money."
"That's true," Zhang Gao gave an awkward smile.
Li Yi didn't dare to talk more.
But he couldn't say that his Cultivation Value wasn't as high as it seemed, and that his current cultivation achievements were all forced by a damaged Mysterious Object?
"I'm Xu Ming, the manager here, responsible for this recruitment. Sorry to have kept you waiting so long; please now follow me to the conference room in the building to discuss work details," at that moment, a middle-aged man in his forties came out and spoke.
Soon, everyone followed this manager named Xu Ming into the building.
Li Yi paid a bit of attention, counting himself, there were a total of seven people applying for the job.
Zhang Gao and that Zhao Xiaoxiao had greeted each other earlier, and there were four others he did not know.