Guide

Bang!

A nimble figure shot out from the stairwell on the third floor. Accompanied by a dull thud that echoed through the air, Li Yi landed steadily on the ground. He took a deep breath, drawing in a great volume of air, then abruptly exhaled.

The air compressed by his powerful organs burst forth, seeming to form a long snake more than twenty centimeters in length. It was astonishing to behold.

"My explosive strength, coordination, reaction speed, even all my senses have undergone an astonishing transformation compared to before I started cultivating. Even my brain's memory has improved."

With his eyes closed, Li Yi savored the changes in his body. It felt wonderfully profound, as though he had shed his mortal shell and become an entirely different person.

"How long has it been? Counting from the day Lin Yue guided me through the basics, it has only been half a month at most. It's a pity the time is still too short. My eyes haven't changed yet, and I haven't awakened as a Spirit Medium. But I can feel it—if I keep cultivating like this, it won't be long before I step into the first realm of cultivation."

"The cultivation speed brought by a strange artifact is simply unimaginable. Unfortunately, mine is a damaged strange artifact, with the resentment of a dead person lodged within it. Based on the patterns I've felt out over the past few days, I can't use the artifact to cultivate too frequently. If I do, the resentment inside will notice and retaliate."

"The safest approach is not to cultivate for too long at a time. It's best to keep it under ten hours. The longer I use it, the greater the chance that the resentment will notice me."

"But for my current self, cultivating ten hours a day is more than enough. I can use the rest of the time for other things and balance work with rest."

After thinking it through, Li Yi slowly opened his eyes.

Even outdoors, his eyes were exceptionally bright, as though they glimmered with a faint radiance.

After moving his body around a little, Li Yi did not continue cultivating.

Because he had run out of money.

He had drunk all his No. 2 Nutrient Solution and eaten all his food. Even his phone balance had less than three hundred yuan left.

If he did not come out and work for money soon, he would once again face the risk of running out of food.

Fortunately, he had already bought a month's supply of Nutrient Solution for his parents, so things were not too urgent yet.

"With my current condition, I should be able to try that guide job. All I need to do is guide Cosmic Energy into someone else's body. I can do that even without the help of the strange artifact. This city may hide many dangers, but I can't stay cooped up at home and refuse to go out because of that."

Li Yi's gaze flickered. He pulled out his phone, then found a phone number.

Without hesitation, he dialed it.

The call connected quickly. A middle-aged man answered. "Hello, who is this?"

"My name is Li Yi. Lin Yue introduced me to apply for a guide position. May I ask whether you still need guides there?" Li Yi asked.

"A guide applicant? We are always in need of guides. When would Mr. Li be available?" the middle-aged man asked politely.

Li Yi said, "I'm available anytime."

"Then could I trouble Mr. Li to come to No. 89, Zone 1, An Ding District, Tianchang City?" the middle-aged man said.

"Alright, I'll head over now. See you then." Li Yi immediately agreed.

After hanging up, he immediately called a taxi and set off.

"No. 89, Zone 1, An Ding District. The employer really is rich. How did Lin Yue get to know them? Right, I nearly forgot. Lin Yue is a cultivator, so naturally the people she knows are cultivators too. Most cultivators come from wealthy families—without enough family wealth, they couldn't support a cultivator."

Along the way, Li Yi pondered in silence.

Soon, the taxi entered An Ding District.

After the Skyfall Event, many urban districts had suffered catastrophic damage. Those districts remained sealed off even now, because they still contained many unknown dangers. When the city was rebuilt, new sites had to be chosen.

That was how An Ding District came to be.

Taking into account the possibility of future Skyfall Events, An Ding District abandoned plans to construct high-rise buildings and instead began building villas and small Western-style houses.

The houses were built, but few people could afford them. Only some wealthy people and members of the middle class could pay for them.

Thus, An Ding District became a wealthy district.

But then the wave of cultivation emerged, and more and more people began cultivating. An Ding District changed from a wealthy district into a residential district for cultivators.

With cultivators gathered there, An Ding District was less dangerous and had better public security.

After all, if criminals bullied ordinary people, at worst they would go to prison. But if they provoked a cultivator, people could die.

Very soon.

The taxi stopped in front of a twelve-story building.

After paying the fare, Li Yi had only twenty-three yuan left. He did not even have enough money to take a taxi back.

Was a trip to An Ding District really this expensive?

Did I get ripped off?

Li Yi sighed helplessly.

"Friend, are you here to apply for a guide position too?" Suddenly, an unfamiliar young man approached from nearby.

Li Yi turned toward the voice. "That's right. And you are?"

"My name is Zhang Gao. I'm here to apply as a guide too." Zhang Gao smiled. "I thought I was the only one, but after asking around, I found that at least four or five people came to apply for guide positions today. The competition is pretty fierce. I wonder whether I'll get hired."

As he spoke, he glanced at several other people in the distance.

"You're mistaken about that. The employer is recruiting so many guides, so clearly they aren't trying to select one outstanding guide. I'm guessing the employer has recently reached a critical point in cultivation and needs a large amount of Cosmic Energy. One or two guides can no longer satisfy the consumption of a single person."

At that moment, a petite woman with long hair draped over her shoulders walked over. Her eyes were bright as well, so she was clearly a cultivator. She greeted them, saying, "Let's get acquainted. My name is Zhao Xiaoxiao. Like you two, I'm here to apply as a guide."

"Hello, I'm Li Yi."

"Zhang Gao."

The three introduced themselves and quickly became familiar with one another.

"I don't care about the employer's cultivation. What I care about is the price they're offering. A guide with a guide certificate earns at least ten thousand yuan an hour. I don't have a certificate, but it still shouldn't be less than five thousand an hour, right? Otherwise, I'll leave immediately."

Zhang Gao shrugged.

Zhao Xiaoxiao immediately smiled. "You probably don't know this yet. I talked with some of the others just now and found that the employer didn't directly post recruitment information to hire guides from the public. Instead, they relied on friends, colleagues, relatives, and other connections to introduce guides. That means the employer doesn't trust outside guides, or perhaps they don't want to expose their information. So the price they pay us will only be high, not low."

"Five thousand is definitely too little. I'm guessing at least eight thousand an hour. Those with certificates will probably earn even more."

Zhang Gao immediately brightened at those words. "That's good, then."

Li Yi was secretly astonished when he heard this.

Nearly ten thousand yuan an hour?

What kind of heavenly job was this?

If he worked for one day, wouldn't he earn nearly two hundred thousand yuan?

What? Rest?

With this kind of salary, could anyone bear to rest?

"I just hope this job lasts longer so I can earn more. Cultivation burns money too fast. My pockets are empty now. I don't even have money for transportation, let alone lunch." Li Yi sighed, every word revealing the poverty written across his face.

"Li Yi, you're being too modest."

Zhao Xiaoxiao studied him, then said, "You look younger than I am, yet the aura your body gives off is stronger than any of ours. Your eyes are especially bright too. In my opinion, you'll soon awaken as a Spirit Medium. To have such accomplishments at such a young age shows that your cultivation aptitude is very high. Your future is immeasurable."

"In that case, there should be many relatives and friends 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, one look tells me your family circumstances are pretty good. You can't understand the hardship of cultivation for poor people like us. Take me, for example. Although my cultivation has been going fairly smoothly, it's only because my whole family has pooled their resources to support me. And the further I cultivate, the more money it burns. To avoid adding to my family's burden, I've always worked part-time outside of cultivation. On top of that, I need to find ways to earn money and help support my family."

"I value this job highly too. I hope to earn more, so I can save some money and cultivate steadily for a while."

"I see. I never thought your situations would be this difficult. That was my mistake. I apologize to you both." Zhao Xiaoxiao immediately expressed her apology.

Li Yi said, "It's alright."

But after learning about Li Yi and Zhang Gao's circumstances, Zhao Xiaoxiao clearly began distancing herself from them. After exchanging a few casual words, she excused herself on the pretext of having something to do, then went to speak with another group.

"What a snob." Zhang Gao snorted softly in dissatisfaction. "I knew she was fishing for information just now. Once she saw that neither of us had power or influence, she lost interest."

Li Yi did not care. He merely said, "I'm only interested in working and making money. Nothing else matters."

"Although we've only just met, I still need to advise you: making money is important, but cultivation is even more important." Zhang Gao said, "Zhao Xiaoxiao has a viciously sharp eye. She saw at a glance that your cultivation aptitude is very high. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come over to chat with you. So you need to make good use of your talent and raise your cultivation as much as possible. Don't become overly obsessed with making money."

"Uh..." Li Yi paused, then said, "Without money, cultivation is hard to continue too, isn't it? Nutrient Solution, Medical Pods, guides, and everything else all cost money."

"That's true." Zhang Gao smiled awkwardly.

Li Yi did not dare say much more.

After all, how could he say that his cultivation aptitude was not as high as it appeared, and that all his current cultivation results had been forcibly piled up through a damaged strange artifact?

"My name is Xu Ming. I'm the supervisor here and responsible for this recruitment. I've kept everyone waiting for a long time, and I truly apologize. Now, please follow me to the building's conference room to discuss the work." At that moment, a middle-aged man around forty came out and spoke.

Soon, everyone followed Supervisor Xu Ming into the building.

Li Yi paid a little attention. Including himself, there were seven people here for the interview.

Zhang Gao and Zhao Xiaoxiao had greeted him earlier, but he did not know the other four.