First Guidance

It was 11:30 p.m.

Supervisor Xu Ming notified everyone on the third floor to assemble and prepare to begin that day's work as guides.

Li Yi woke from meditation. He was full of energy, without the slightest trace of drowsiness.

That was one of the benefits of being a cultivator. During meditative cultivation, the body and brain were already in a state of half-rest. Combined with the body's evolution and transformation, cultivators were energetic most of the time, without showing signs of fatigue or weariness.

When he stepped out of his room, the others had already appeared in the corridor.

What surprised Li Yi was that he saw Wu Zhen standing at his doorway too. Although his face was swollen and bruised, his eyes bloodshot, he did not seem to be in particularly bad shape. He could still move freely and did not seem to have suffered any aftereffects.

The physical quality and recovery ability of cultivators really were on another level.

If he had been an ordinary person, he would already have been lying in a hospital bed. He would not have been able to get out of bed for at least a week.

Did I hold back too much? Or are ordinary punches and kicks no longer especially effective against cultivators? Li Yi wondered inwardly.

Wu Zhen had this level of resistance to blows without even awakening a spirit medium. If even stronger cultivators were involved, wouldn't physical attacks become a joke? Could it be that one needed firearms to deal with cultivators?

As he pondered this question, Wu Zhen also stared at Li Yi from a distance.

He was bursting with rage. Anyone who had suffered such a huge loss could not possibly swallow it without complaint.

But Wu Zhen did not dare reveal it. He knew that Li Yi was a ruthless character. If another conflict broke out, it might truly end with someone dead.

Just you wait. Don't let me find an opportunity, or I won't let you off. He could only swear inwardly and see whether he would be able to get his revenge later.

"All of you guides, follow me. This guidance work will take place on the top floor," Supervisor Xu Ming said. "The previous batch of guides will finish in twenty-five minutes, so you have roughly twenty minutes to prepare. During those twenty minutes, you must enter meditation and begin guiding Cosmic Energy."

"There's another batch of guides? Just who is this employer? They're incredibly rich." Zhang Gao was startled.

Supervisor Xu Ming said, "Not just one. We hired four batches of guides in total. Each batch works for six hours, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of Cosmic Energy for twenty-four hours. Your batch is responsible for the night shift, so you won't see the other two batches that work during the day."

"But none of that has anything to do with you. You only need to do your own guidance work well. Now, please follow me and take this special elevator to the top floor."

Soon.

The group took a spacious and comfortable private elevator directly to the top floor.

The entire top floor was filled with cultivation equipment built at tremendous expense. There, Li Yi saw a top-grade Medical Pod, as well as golden Nutrient Solution. He even saw many antique-grade old weapons in several tempered-glass display cases, including swords, spears, and halberds.

And in the very center of the building stood a gigantic hemispherical "egg."

"That half an egg is a Cultivation Pod? My God, I've only seen one of these on the news. I've never seen one in real life. Supposedly, once this Cultivation Pod is activated, it can isolate the pollution in our world and keep the energy inside pure. With enough guides, it's equivalent to artificially creating a pure energy field. Cultivating inside it is comparable to possessing a wondrous object." Someone's eyes widened in shock.

"Cultivating with something comparable to a wondrous object? Isn't that cheating?" Zhang Gao was startled too.

The man said, "Bah, what do you mean, cheating? This is the power of technology. No, this is the power of money. You wouldn't understand."

"New guides, keep quiet." Suddenly, a cold voice rang out.

The voice was not loud, yet it buzzed in their ears, carrying an inexplicable force of intimidation.

Li Yi's expression changed as he looked toward the source of the voice.

It was a middle-aged man in his early thirties, dressed in a black long robe. Although he merely sat there with his eyes closed, he gave off an indescribable sense of danger.

This man's cultivation is very advanced. Is he a bodyguard? Li Yi glanced at him, not daring to look for long, and quickly averted his gaze.

The others also sensed the man's danger and immediately fell silent.

Li Yi's gaze then settled around the Cultivation Pod.

At that moment, a full eight cultivators sat beside the Cultivation Pod. They were men and women, all placing both hands on designated positions of the Cultivation Pod and continuously guiding pure Cosmic Energy inside. They had already maintained this state for nearly six hours.

This is terrifying. Seven or eight guides per batch, four batches in total, guiding Cosmic Energy without interruption for twenty-four hours, on top of a Cultivation Pod and top-grade Nutrient Solution. Just what kind of cultivator are they trying to nurture?

Li Yi inwardly clicked his tongue.

Looking at how others cultivated, then looking at how ordinary people cultivated.

No wonder ordinary people could not rise even after cultivating. They could only work as guides to make a living.

The gap between cultivation with money and without money could no longer be made up simply through cultivation values. Unless everyone was as lucky as Li Yi and risked their lives in the Ruined City to recover a wondrous object.

Yet even possessing a wondrous object might only make up for someone else's single Cultivation Pod.

The remaining gap still could not be made up.

Although they were shocked, the work still had to continue.

After Supervisor Xu Ming briefly explained the situation, the others began sitting down around the Cultivation Pod one after another.

There was a palm-sized circular area on the Cultivation Pod. It was amber-colored and faintly transparent, though its material was unknown. By touching it with both hands, a guide could seep pure Cosmic Energy inside, while polluted Cosmic Energy could not enter the Cultivation Pod.

It was strange.

But it was precisely because of this strangeness that Cultivation Pods cost so much to build.

As soon as Li Yi sat down, Supervisor Xu Ming found him. "Li Yi, you signed the second contract. Your pay will be based on the amount of Cosmic Energy you guide. When you begin guiding later, you don't need to worry about the others. This Cultivation Pod will calculate the Cosmic Energy input at each position separately. It won't undercount a single cent of your pay."

"It has a function like that? Understood." Li Yi nodded.

"Everyone can begin work."

After finishing his explanation, Xu Ming left.

Soon.

The seven people adjusted their states and entered meditation, entering a state of cultivation.

At that moment, the guides from the previous batch also awakened from meditation.

They were already familiar with the work process. After waking, they left together without saying a word, while Supervisor Xu Ming took them to eat and settle that day's wages.

Once he entered the proper state, Li Yi was rather cautious.

He did not immediately guide a large amount of Cosmic Energy into the Cultivation Pod. Instead, he first slowly captured some of the surrounding Cosmic Energy and guided it over.

Li Yi did not want to expose the fact that he possessed a damaged wondrous object, so he intended to proceed gradually and control the amount carefully. At the same time, he could cultivate during this period.

Gradually.

Everyone entered their work state, and the surroundings grew eerily quiet.

They had to meditate for six hours without interruption. Otherwise, their wages would be halved.

For people with cultivation experience, however, this was not difficult. Their usual cultivation sessions lasted at least seven or eight hours, or even more than ten.

Today, however, things were somewhat difficult for Wu Zhen.

He was injured, and the pain remained. After two hours, it caused him to awaken from meditation.

"Damn it." Wu Zhen cursed under his breath, his mood extremely foul. He knew that today he could only earn four thousand five hundred per hour.

He had no time to hate Li Yi right now and could only adjust his state before continuing to work.

Fortunately, this job paid daily. As long as his body recovered by tomorrow, his wages would return to normal.

At that moment, Li Yi felt that the time was right and secretly began guiding the Cosmic Energy on the Knife Coin into the Cultivation Pod.

As he did so, the Cosmic Energy value belonging to position six on the computer monitor beside him began soaring rapidly.

Thirty-five, seventy-nine, one hundred and one—the value continued rising.

In a short time, Li Yi had guided more than one hundred units of Cosmic Energy, which meant he had already earned ten thousand yuan during that brief period.

But he did not dare raise the value too high, so he stopped after a while.

Afterward, Li Yi waited for two hours before repeating the same operation.

His aim was to imitate the energy burst of a wormhole.

If he continuously guided a stable and high quantity of Cosmic Energy, the employer inside the Cultivation Pod would immediately notice that something was wrong.

But a short burst would not arouse the slightest suspicion.

Everyone's position was different. The number of wormholes nearby and the amount of Cosmic Energy spilling out also varied.

Even a difference of one meter could mean the difference between heaven and earth.

Thus, no one could prove that there was anything wrong with Li Yi.

Before they knew it, it was six in the morning.

The first day of guidance work had ended.

When Li Yi opened his eyes, he found several unfamiliar cultivators already sitting beside him.

They had just begun meditating, clearly another batch of guides coming to take over.

Supervisor Xu Ming came again and indicated that Li Yi, Zhao Xiaoxiao, Zhang Gao, and the others could leave.

Without saying a word, they silently took the elevator to the building's cafeteria to eat.

"The work is so easy. Six hours passed in the blink of an eye." Zhang Gao laughed happily. "And they even provide meals. It's great. What a pity the employer doesn't hire people long-term. Otherwise, I really wouldn't want to leave."

"That Cultivation Pod is truly miraculous. It can actually isolate polluted Cosmic Energy. I really wonder how they managed to do that." Someone nearby was extremely curious.

Zhao Xiaoxiao said, "The most miraculous thing is that piece of glass. Pure Cosmic Energy can seep through it, while polluted Cosmic Energy can't."

"That isn't glass. It's a scale," Supervisor Xu Ming suddenly explained.

"An animal scale? What kind of animal? A fish?" Zhang Gao pressed.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, "If that's a scale, then it definitely can't be a fish scale. Fish on Earth don't have scales that large, much less the ability to isolate polluted energy. It must be a scale from an Extraordinary Creature, right?"

Xu Ming said, "That's right. It's a Dragon Scale."