Investors

Investors

"My eyes seem to have developed night vision."

After returning to his room and finishing his meal, Li Yi cultivated for another day. But when night fell, he suddenly realized that although he had not turned on the lights, he could still see everything clearly. Moreover, this kind of vision was strange—it was no longer the normal vision he had before.

The colors had become somewhat unusual, as if he had switched on a night-vision device.

"It looks like my body has evolved to yet another stage. What a marvelous feeling." At that moment, Li Yi's eyes glimmered in the darkness, like those of a ferocious beast prowling through the jungle at night.

Many of nature's top predators had better vision at night than during the day. This was the result of hunters evolving over countless years to increase their chances of a successful nighttime hunt and thus survive and reproduce more effectively.

After evolving, cultivators also gained night vision. This meant that cultivators, too, were constantly improving their position in the food chain.

Li Yi did not continue cultivating. Instead, he kept adapting to his nighttime vision.

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

"Who is it?"

He shouted in a low voice.

This change in his body was not limited to his eyes. His hearing had also become keener. He heard faint footsteps in the corridor and even determined that the footsteps had stopped outside his door.

Moreover, the appearance of this ability did not feel out of place to Li Yi. It felt more like an instinct.

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

Zhao Xiaoxiao?

Li Yi immediately furrowed his brows. He did not have a good impression of Zhao Xiaoxiao. Just as Zhang Gao had said, Zhao Xiaoxiao was not the kind of person who devoted herself wholeheartedly to cultivation. She was an opportunist among cultivators, always trying to curry favor with the powerful, shun the weak, win everyone over, and build up her connections.

Of course, this behavior was not particularly heinous. After all, he really was poor, so it was only normal for people to look down on him.

However, what happened with Wu Zhen yesterday had left Li Yi very uncomfortable. After all, Zhao Xiaoxiao had also been one of the participants.

"I'm going to sleep. Whatever it is, let's talk about it tomorrow." Li Yi did not open the door and simply refused her coldly.

But Zhao Xiaoxiao did not leave. She continued, "There's something especially important I want to tell you. Please open the door. Don't worry, I didn't come with any ill intentions this time, and I'm the only one outside."

"Something especially important?" Li Yi's expression shifted slightly. He continued asking, "Does it concern me?"

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

Li Yi thought for a moment, then opened the door with a hint of wariness.

There really was no one outside but Zhao Xiaoxiao.

"What is it? Go ahead," Li Yi said.

"Let's talk in your room. It's inconvenient to talk out here," Zhao Xiaoxiao said.

Li Yi frowned. "What kind of scheme are you plotting this time?"

Zhao Xiaoxiao said seriously, "I think there are some misunderstandings between us. And I truly have no ill intentions in coming to see you this time. Please trust me just once. If I do anything detrimental to you, you can attack me immediately. I absolutely won't resist."

"All right. I'd like to see what you really want this time. If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, don't blame me for throwing you out." Li Yi remained cold.

Zhao Xiaoxiao entered the room and immediately closed the door. Acting as if she were already familiar with the place, she sat down on the sofa nearby.

Li Yi had no idea what medicine this woman was selling. He merely stood to the side, watching her warily.

Zhao Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "I'm a girl who came to see you alone in the middle of the night, and I'm not afraid. What are you afraid of?"

"When you're away from home, even men have to learn to protect themselves. It's not as if female hooligans don't exist these days." Li Yi spoke seriously. "Tell me why you came."

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

Zhao Xiaoxiao's smile faded. She then said solemnly, "First, I want to apologize to you for what happened with Wu Zhen yesterday. I hope you'll be magnanimous and not hold it against me."

Li Yi said, "I'm not angry about Wu Zhen's behavior, nor will I truly hold a grudge against people like you. Things like this have happened before, and I believe they'll happen again in the future. But as long as it happens to me, no matter how many times it occurs, I'll resist."

"If you push me into a corner, at worst it'll be one life exchanged for another. I know that's reckless, even impulsive, but that's how a poor boy survives. My life may not be worth much, but yours may not be worth the same."

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

Zhao Xiaoxiao stood up from the sofa and walked over as she said, "But Li Yi, have you ever thought about this? With your cultivation talent, you shouldn't be rolling around in the mud. You should have a better future."

"Whether it's me, Wu Zhen, Lu Jue, Zhang Gao, or the others, we'll never truly be on the same path as you. You're a genius. The reason you've ended up like this is because your family and your life have tied your hands and feet. If someone could help you solve those problems, I believe the potential you unleash would be enormous."

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

"Today's guidance work opened my eyes. I saw the true gap between cultivators. I learned that wealthy people could afford Cultivation Pods and hire four batches of guides. My cultivation value is only seventy-five percent—not high, but not low either. My family is also fairly ordinary. Put all these things together, and I'm destined to remain mediocre."

Zhao Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and said, "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 ever heard someone say they wanted to invest in him, and it had come from Zhao Xiaoxiao, of all people.

Zhao Xiaoxiao smiled. "I already made myself very clear. Your potential is enormous, and you're worth investing in."

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

"A little higher? Li Yi, you really don't understand cultivation very well. You're not just a little higher than us—you're three times higher. Do you know what three times means? It's a chasm that ordinary cultivators like us can never cross. And I think you definitely held back when you guided Cosmic Energy for the first time. Lu Jue estimated your cultivation value at one hundred and eighty percent, but I don't think that's the case."

"Your cultivation value has definitely surpassed two hundred percent. In my entire life, I've only heard of people with such a high cultivation value. I've never personally encountered one. So I want to take a gamble."

As Zhao Xiaoxiao spoke, she took a bank card from her pocket and handed it to Li Yi with both hands. "This contains all my assets, a total of 1.37 million. It isn't much, but it can prove my sincerity. As long as you accept my investment, from today onward I'll do everything I can to provide you with cultivation funds and serve as your guide, allowing you to cultivate at ease."

An investor?

Li Yi remembered that such a thing did indeed happen among cultivators.

Some talented people received financial backing, and even certain genius cultivators were heavily invested in by big bosses and wealthy tycoons.

That was because the world had already changed. Top cultivators could influence the direction of events, and this was only the tenth year after the Skyfall. In another twenty or thirty years, the future would inevitably belong to an era ruled by cultivators.

With the winds of the times shifting, a wave of investment was bound to emerge.

Zhao Xiaoxiao was also very nervous at that moment, but she felt that she had done nothing wrong today. Li Yi was definitely the kind of protagonist one found in novels, destined to soar into the heavens. Once that happened, simply benefiting from his success would be far better than working hard at cultivation herself.

The room fell silent.

Li Yi said nothing, while Zhao Xiaoxiao waited for his answer.

Faced with this, it was impossible for twenty-year-old Li Yi not to be tempted. He had never encountered such a good thing in his life—not only could he take more than a million for free, he could also gain a free laborer. Zhao Xiaoxiao had made it sound wonderful: she could keep earning money to invest in him, freeing him from all worries so he could focus on cultivation.

Before such sincerity, their previous conflicts and clashes seemed as though they could simply be ignored.

As for whether Zhao Xiaoxiao would regret it in the future, that did not seem important.

Investments were inherently a matter of gains and losses.

But Li Yi quickly resisted the temptation. First, he was not a genius, and his cultivation value was nowhere near two hundred percent. Second, the secret of the strange artifact could not be exposed. Otherwise, Old Crow and his group would certainly not let him off, and he might even invite a fatal disaster upon himself. At present, he had no ability to deal with any of that.

Of course, there was a third point: he strongly disliked Zhao Xiaoxiao.

She might invest in him today, but if she encountered a cultivator with greater potential in the future, she might turn around and sell him out.

It was not worth inviting so many hidden dangers for a momentary benefit.

Besides, Li Yi could earn more than two hundred thousand a day now. He was not in urgent need of Zhao Xiaoxiao's money.

With that thought, he made his choice.

"Zhao Xiaoxiao, I refuse your investment," Li Yi said without the slightest courtesy.

"Why?" Zhao Xiaoxiao's body trembled. She looked at Li Yi in disbelief.

She did not understand why Li Yi would refuse her investment.

There was no reason for it at all.

"Li Yi, don't act out of spite. You urgently need investment right now. Don't refuse just because of a little unpleasantness before. In the adult world, there's no hatred, only interests. You shouldn't act out of spite." Zhao Xiaoxiao tried persuading him again. She thought Li Yi was young and merely throwing a tantrum.

But Li Yi interrupted her. "No, you're wrong. I'm not acting out of spite."

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

Most cultivators were more than willing to accept other people's investments. After all, it was free money.

Li Yi said, "There's no reason. If you don't have anything else, you can leave."

He did not bother explaining.

"I understand."

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

Li Yi said nothing.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaoxiao could not help sighing. "Since that's the case, I won't disturb you anymore. I'm going back."

She did not continue pestering him. Instead, she turned and left Li Yi's room.

"Bang!"

The moment Zhao Xiaoxiao left, the door closed behind her. There was not the slightest intention of asking her to stay.

"It looks like things didn't go very smoothly for you tonight."

When Zhao Xiaoxiao returned to her room, the door of the room next to hers opened. Lu Jue stood in the doorway, wearing a smile that was not quite a smile.

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

Lu Jue shook his head when he heard this. "Invest in him? Then you're already too late. Li Yi earned 220,000 today. As long as he works for a while longer, saving several million won't be a problem. Your little bit of capital isn't enough to invest in him at all. This guidance 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 that he was so poor he couldn't even afford a taxi and didn't even want to associate with him. You ended up missing a golden opportunity for nothing."

Zhao Xiaoxiao said, "Yes. If I had invested back then, Li Yi definitely would have agreed. Unfortunately, I misjudged him."

"It's not as simple as misjudging him. You offended him too. You treated him coldly before, and now you can't reach him even by standing on tiptoe." Lu Jue smiled.

"Shut up." Zhao Xiaoxiao flew into a rage. After entering her room, she slammed the door shut.