A salary of 222,000 for six hours?
What a joke.
Everyone else is slacking off at work, blending in with the crowd to earn a 9,000 salary per hour. Why are you suddenly working so hard?
Although you signed the second contract, you don't need to work yourself to death, do you?
And 2,200 units of Cosmic Energy, is that even possible for a human being?
"So much?"
Li Yi also felt a surge of surprise. To be honest, he didn't know how much work he had actually done in six hours.
"This is your salary. I hope you're in the same state tomorrow. What we employers are after is a large amount of Cosmic Energy. As long as you can capture a large amount of pure Cosmic Energy, we won't shortchange you a penny," said Manager Xu Ming, also giving Li Yi some reassurance.
"Don't worry about it. With such a high salary, I'll put my life into the six hours of guiding work," Li Yi said, looking very much like a model employee at that moment.
Xu Ming said, "Among those guides who signed the second contract, your efficiency is extremely high. If you can keep it up, I will suggest to the employer that we sign a long-term deal with you, and increase your pay rate."
"Alright, now that the salaries are distributed, everyone can continue eating. I won't take up any more of your time," he said.
Soon, he and his assistant left.
Li Yi, holding a thick stack of cash, felt very satisfied.
This was the biggest sum of money he had ever earned in his life. He had only earned a total of 60,000 working for Crow and his group before.
Now, thinking about it, it seemed unworthy.
"Li Yi, you're really amazing. Two thousand two hundred units of Cosmic Energy in six hours is not something that an ordinary Cultivator can achieve. Tell us, did you just get lucky and encounter a massive energy surge in a wormhole?" Zhang Gao said in both shock and envy.
Lv Jue added, "I don't think it's just luck. Li Yi, your Cultivation Value must be very high. The efficiency of your Cosmic Energy guidance is at least three times higher than that of an ordinary Cultivator. Otherwise, you absolutely wouldn't be able to earn 222,000 in six hours. I'll make a bold estimate of your Cultivation Value... 180 percent."
180 percent Cultivation Value?
As soon as this statement was made, everyone was stunned again, and then a term popped into their minds.
Genius.
Cultivators who can reach a Cultivation Value of one hundred are already quite rare, but if someone can reach two hundred percent, then they are indisputably cultivating geniuses.
If Li Yi's Cultivation Value is actually 180, then even if he's not a genius, he's almost there.
Lv Jue was actually shocked as well, but he understood that he was making a conservative estimate. If he dared to go further, he would even have wanted to say Li Yi's Cultivation Value exceeded 200 percent.
Not far away, Wu Zhen suddenly fell silent. His Cultivation Value was just 60 percent, which was very ordinary. If Li Yi's assumed Cultivation Value was real, then that would be triple his, and such a gap would also reflect in the speed of cultivation.
So, unless something unexpected happened, Li Yi would only leave him far behind in the future, without even a glimpse of his back.
Unless Wu Zhen's family also had a Cultivation Cabin and could afford to hire a guide.
But if his family had such conditions, why would he need to work?
"Damn it," muttered Wu Zhen inwardly, while an inexplicable sense of anxiety began to stir within him.
Forget about finding an opportunity to retaliate against Li Yi, he now needed to worry about someone retaliating against him.
"Can it really be that high?"
Zhao Xiaoxiao also felt bitter at that moment. That number made her feel desperate.
Although she had previously guessed that Li Yi's Cultivation Value was not low, she at most thought his Cultivation Value might be around eighty, ninety percent, but never more than a hundred percent.
But after seeing his salary, she felt she had been too naive and had underestimated others.
Although salary doesn't represent everything, the fact that he guided 2,200 units of Cosmic Energy in six hours was enough to make people feel outmatched because even if she encountered a burst of Cosmic Energy, she couldn't do it.
Personal values are set in stone, what can't be done simply can't be done.
This is the limit of innate talent and has nothing to do with anything else.
Li Yi realized at this moment that his first attempt at guiding Cosmic Energy had exceeded the norm, which explained why everyone else was so astonished. Moreover, his Cultivation Value wasn't as high as Lv Jue had guessed; it was only eighty percent, and that was with the aid of a Mysterious Object.
However, since this misunderstanding had arisen, it was better to let them continue to be mistaken to avoid raising any suspicions.
With this thought in mind, he said with a smile, "I don't even know my own Cultivation Value. I found a meditation room in the old city district and started cultivating there. I've only had three days of lessons and I'm still quite unclear about many aspects of Cultivation."
"Damn, you reached this level after just three days in a meditation room? And you say you're not a genius? That's just depressing," Zhang Gao couldn't help but swear.
At this moment, Lv Jue was somewhat curious and asked, "Li Yi, with such talent as yours, you should have plenty of relatives or a boss willing to support your Cultivation. Don't you have any family or friends willing to invest in you?"
People with high Cultivation Values easily attract investors and benefactors.
After all, the world is different from what it used to be. Establishing a beneficial relationship with a Cultivator of immense potential could provide security in various aspects in the future.
Li Yi shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm not as fortunate as you guys. Both of my parents are Silent Ones and have been silent for six years. My home is now bare, and we can hardly afford nutrient solution. I have neither the time nor the energy to pursue Cultivation. If it weren't for a friend giving me a hand, I'd still be working odd jobs without even the chance to Cultivate."
Despite saying this, he knew very well that his Cultivation relied entirely on the Mysterious Object, and his talent wasn't that high. Without the Mysterious Object, it would take him at least two to three years just to get started. Who would cover the expenses for food and drink and his parents' nutrient solutions during those years? He estimated that without this aid, his family would have starved to death in their home, their bodies long decayed.
"Both parents are Silent Ones? That explains it." At this moment, everyone suddenly understood.
To become Silent Ones meant that they were once Cultivation geniuses, and with both parents being geniuses, the Cultivation talent of their offspring wouldn't be low either.
This was a matter of bloodline inheritance, something enviable that cannot be acquired.
So they also understood why Li Yi, despite his high Cultivation Value, was living such a miserable life.
Supporting two Silent Ones for six years, how could it not be miserable?
"Li Yi, now that you've embarked on the path of Cultivation and possess such a high Cultivation Value, you will surely enter the Golden Academy and become an incredibly important person. You are a hidden dragon in the abyss, destined to soar to the heavens," Lv Jue said earnestly.
"I believe so too. You're different from the rest of us. Your current struggles are only temporary. Once you overcome these difficulties, your future will be boundless," Zhang Gao felt even more convinced that his judgment of Li Yi the day before was right.
Li Yi, however, just smiled and said, "I appreciate your kind words, let's hope it's true."
In reality, he was inwardly breaking a sweat.
He was no genius at all.
However, he had to maintain the pretense of being a genius for now.
After all, he needed it for making money later on.
Everyone continued with their meal, but Li Yi could clearly feel that the others had become much more enthusiastic and polite. Even another Cultivator came over to apologize for Wu Zhen's earlier behavior.
Only Zhao Xiaoxiao remained troubled.
Zhao Xiaoxiao wasn't wondering whether to apologize, but rather how to do so in a way that would smooth over the previous misunderstanding.
A simple apology might only elicit a verbal dismissal of the matter but wouldn't close the emotional distance or remove the awkwardness. It wasn't so easy to resolve the misunderstanding and simultaneously draw closer again.
Li Yi had no time to care about past conflicts; his only focus was on making money, and no one was going to stop him.
Manager Xu Ming's words had given him motivation, and his self-crafted genius persona would help avoid suspicion.
If he didn't make a substantial sum now, who knew if there would be another chance in the future?
Therefore, after finishing his meal, Li Yi left in a hurry.
"You guys enjoy your meal; I'm full already. I'm going back to my room to Cultivate and make up for lost time," he said.
Watching Li Yi leave, the others began to express their admiration.
"Not only is Li Yi a Cultivation genius, but he also works harder than us. It's no wonder he'll succeed in the future," Zhang Gao said with both envy and respect.
"He probably hasn't been practicing for long and doesn't know many of the basics of Cultivation. It's a pity we can't measure his Cultivation Value; I think my previous estimates were conservative," Lv Jue commented while eating. "However, I should be able to guess with fair accuracy from his future salary earnings. The first attempt at guiding Cosmic Energy does involve some luck, but regardless of luck, his Cultivation Value is definitely beyond one hundred fifty percent."
At this point, Zhao Xiaoxiao came over and asked, "Do you think Li Yi's Cultivation Value has more potential to be uncovered?"
With a glance and a smile, Lv Jue replied, "Who knows? Maybe he's more than just a genius. Or perhaps he's not as high as I estimated. You're a Cultivator yourself, aren't you? Go and see for yourself, and don't ask me."
Zhao Xiaoxiao felt deflated and didn't say another word, simply turning away to leave.