Investor

Chapter 19: Investor

"My eyes seem to be able to see in the dark now."

Back in his room, Li Yi cultivated for another day after dinner. But as night fell, he suddenly realized that even though he hadn't turned on the lights, he could see perfectly clearly. And this vision was strange, not his normal sight from before.

The colors had become somewhat peculiar, as if he were wearing night-vision goggles.

"It looks like my body has evolved to a new stage. This feeling is truly marvelous." Li Yi's eyes now flickered with light in the darkness, like a beast in the jungle at night.

Many top predators in nature have better vision at night than during the day. This is the result of countless years of evolution, aimed at increasing their success rate in hunting at night, thus better surviving and reproducing.

After cultivators evolve, their eyes also gain night vision. This signifies that cultivators are also continuously improving their position in the food chain.

Li Yi stopped cultivating and began adapting to his new night vision.

After a while, he suddenly sensed something in the room and looked towards the door.

"Who?"

He let out a low shout.

This bodily change wasn't limited to his eyes; his hearing had also become sharper. He heard faint footsteps in the hallway and even determined that the footsteps had stopped right outside his door.

Li Yi didn't feel anything amiss about this newfound ability; it felt more like an instinct.

"Li Yi, it's me. Can you open the door?" a woman's voice came from outside.

Zhao Xiaoxiao?

Li Yi frowned immediately. He didn't have a good impression of Zhao Xiaoxiao. Just as Zhang Gao had said, Zhao Xiaoxiao wasn't someone who focused solely on cultivation. She was a opportunist among cultivators, always looking to climb the social ladder, play both sides, and build connections.

Of course, such behavior wasn't inherently malicious. After all, he was genuinely poor, and being looked down upon was normal.

However, yesterday's incident with Wu Zhen had made Li Yi very uncomfortable, especially since Zhao Xiaoxiao was one of the participants.

"I'm going to sleep. We can talk about anything tomorrow," Li Yi refused coldly, without opening the door.

But Zhao Xiaoxiao didn't leave. She continued, "I have something very important I need to tell you. Please open the door. Don't worry, I have no ill intentions. It's just me outside."

"Something very important?" Li Yi's expression shifted. He asked, "Does it concern me?"

"It's about you," Zhao Xiaoxiao said from the doorway.

Li Yi thought for a moment and finally opened the door with a degree of caution.

Indeed, Zhao Xiaoxiao was alone.

"What is it? Speak," Li Yi said.

"Let's talk in your room. It's not convenient to talk out here," Zhao Xiaoxiao said.

Li Yi frowned. "What trick are you trying to pull now?"

Zhao Xiaoxiao said earnestly, "I think there's been some misunderstanding between us. I truly have no ill intentions coming to you this time. Please believe me just this once. If I do anything that harms you, you can act immediately, and I won't resist."

"Fine, I'll see what this is all about. If you can't give me a satisfactory reason, don't blame me for throwing you out," Li Yi said coldly.

Zhao Xiaoxiao walked into the room and immediately closed the door. As if she were already at home, she sat down on the nearby sofa.

Li Yi had no idea what this woman was up to. He stood nearby, watching her with a hint of wariness.

Zhao Xiaoxiao smiled. "I'm not afraid to come find you so late at night as a girl. What are you afraid of?"

"When you're out, boys also need to learn to protect themselves. There are female hooligans these days," Li Yi said seriously. "Tell me why you're here."

At the same time, he turned on his phone's recording function, gathering evidence.

Zhao Xiaoxiao's smile faded, and she said with a serious expression, "First, I want to apologize for yesterday's incident with Wu Zhen. I hope you can be magnanimous and not hold a grudge."

Li Yi replied, "I'm not angry about Wu Zhen's behavior, nor will I truly resent any of you. These things have happened before, and they will happen again. But if they happen to me, no matter how many times, I will resist."

"If pushed too far, it's nothing more than a life for a life. Although I know it's reckless, even impulsive, this is the way a poor kid survives. After all, my life isn't worth much, but yours might be."

"I didn't understand before, but now I do."

Zhao Xiaoxiao stood up from the sofa again and walked over. "But Li Yi, have you ever considered that with your cultivation talent, you shouldn't be wallowing in the mud? You deserve a better future."

"Whether it's me, Wu Zhen, Lu Jue, or Zhang Gao, we are fundamentally not on the same path as you. You are a genius. The reason you're in this situation is because your family and life have held you back. If someone could help you solve these problems, I believe the potential you would unleash would be immense."

Li Yi glanced at her. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Today's guidance session opened my eyes and showed me the true gap between cultivators. People with money can afford cultivation pods and hire four guides. My cultivation value is only seventy-five percent, not high, not low. My family background is also ordinary. These factors combined mean I can only be mediocre."

Zhao Xiaoxiao took a deep breath. "But I have my own way of surviving. So, I want to invest in you."

"Invest in me? Why?" Li Yi frowned.

This was the first time in his life he had heard someone say they wanted to invest in him, and it was coming from Zhao Xiaoxiao.

Zhao Xiaoxiao smiled. "I've already made my intentions clear. Your potential is immense, and you're worth investing in."

"Immense potential?" Li Yi said. "Just because my cultivation value is a bit higher than yours?"

"A bit higher? Li Yi, you really don't understand cultivation. You're not just a bit higher; you're three times higher. What does three times mean? It's a chasm that ordinary cultivators like us can never cross. And I believe you definitely held back during your first guidance of cosmic energy. Lu Jue estimated your cultivation value at one hundred and eighty percent, but I don't think so."

"Your cultivation value has definitely broken through two hundred percent. I've only heard of people with such high cultivation values; I've never personally met anyone like that. So, I want to take a gamble."

Zhao Xiaoxiao said, taking a bank card out of her pocket and handing it to Li Yi with both hands. "This is my entire fortune, a total of 1.37 million. It's not much, but it proves my sincerity. As long as you accept my investment, starting today, I will do my best to provide you with cultivation funds and act as your guide, so you can cultivate with peace of mind."

Investor?

Li Yi remembered now. This sort of thing did happen to cultivators.

Some talented individuals would receive sponsorship, and even some genius cultivators would become key investments for big bosses and wealthy magnates.

Because this world had changed. Top cultivators could already influence the course of events, and this was only ten years after the Great Collapse. If another twenty or thirty years passed, the future was destined to be an era ruled by cultivators.

Under the winds of the era, investment trends would naturally emerge.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoxiao was also very nervous, but she felt her actions today were correct. Li Yi was definitely a protagonist-like figure from a novel, destined to soar to the heavens. If she could just latch onto his coattails, it would be far better than her own hard cultivation.

Silence fell in the room.

Li Yi said nothing, and Zhao Xiaoxiao waited for his reply.

Faced with this situation, the twenty-year-old Li Yi would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted. He had never encountered such a good thing in his life. Not only could he get over a million for free, but he could also gain a free laborer. Zhao Xiaoxiao had put it so well – she could continuously earn money to invest in him, allowing him to focus on cultivation without any worries.

In the face of such sincerity, all previous conflicts and disagreements seemed to fade into insignificance.

As for whether Zhao Xiaoxiao would regret it in the future, that didn't seem important.

Investment, by its very nature, involved both gains and losses.

However, Li Yi quickly resisted the temptation. First, he wasn't a genius, and his cultivation stats weren't two hundred percent. Second, the secret of the Mysterious Artifact could not be exposed. Otherwise, Old Crow and his group would definitely not let him go, and it might even lead to a fatal disaster, which he currently lacked the ability to handle.

Of course, there was a third point: he found Zhao Xiaoxiao very off-putting.

If she would invest in him today, she might just sell him out later if she encountered an even more promising cultivator.

Inviting so many hidden dangers for temporary gain was not worth it.

Moreover, Li Yi was already earning over two hundred thousand a day. Zhao Xiaoxiao's money wasn't something he urgently needed.

With this thought, he made his decision.

"Zhao Xiaoxiao, I refuse your investment," Li Yi said without politeness.

"Why?" Zhao Xiaoxiao trembled, looking at Li Yi with disbelief.

She didn't understand why Li Yi would refuse her investment.

There was no reason for it.

"Li Yi, don't be impulsive. You desperately need investment right now. Don't refuse because of a little unpleasantness before. There's no hatred in the adult world, only interests. You shouldn't be impulsive," Zhao Xiaoxiao tried to persuade him again, thinking he was young and being stubborn.

But Li Yi interrupted her: "No, you're wrong. I'm not being impulsive."

"Then what's your reason for refusing the investment?" Zhao Xiaoxiao urgently wanted to know why she had been rejected.

After all, most cultivators were very willing to accept investments from others; it was a benefit that fell into their laps for free.

Li Yi said, "There's no reason. If you have nothing else, you can leave."

He didn't explain.

"I understand."

Zhao Xiaoxiao took a deep breath. "But I still hope you'll think it over, Li Yi. During the time we work together, if you change your mind, tell me immediately. I will still firmly stand by the choice I made tonight."

Li Yi didn't speak.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaoxiao couldn't help but sigh. "In that case, I won't disturb you any longer. I'm going back."

She didn't continue to pester him and instead turned to leave Li Yi's room.

"Bang!"

As soon as Zhao Xiaoxiao left, the door closed behind her, showing no intention of asking her to stay.

"It seems your actions today weren't very smooth."

When Zhao Xiaoxiao returned to her room, Lu Jue's door next door opened. He stood at the entrance, speaking with a half-smile.

"I wanted to invest in Li Yi," Zhao Xiaoxiao said.

Lu Jue heard this and shook his head. "Invest? Then you're too late. Li Yi earned twenty-two thousand today. If he works for a while longer, saving a few million won't be a problem. Your capital isn't enough to invest in him. This guide job is the beginning of Li Yi's transformation."

"Unless you had invested in him when you first met him. Unfortunately, back then, you saw he didn't even have money for a taxi and were unwilling to even acknowledge him, causing you to miss a good opportunity for nothing."

Zhao Xiaoxiao said, "Yes, if I had invested then, Li Yi definitely would have agreed. But unfortunately, I misjudged him."

"It's more than just misjudging him; you also offended him. You were indifferent before, and now you can't reach him," Lu Jue said with a laugh.

"Shut up." Zhao Xiaoxiao said angrily, and after walking into her room, she slammed the door shut.