I Want to Resign

The next evening at midnight, Li Yi, Zhang Gao, Lu Jue, and others began their guiding work again.

With the experience from the first time, everyone was significantly more proficient this time. Wu Zhen, thanks to his improved injuries, did not wake up midway through his meditation and it was believed he would receive his desired wages today.

Li Yi, however, was contemplating how much money would be appropriate to earn today.

More precisely, he was thinking about how much money he could earn without arousing suspicion.

In the end, Li Yi decided to cap his daily earnings at under 300,000. It could fluctuate slightly, but it absolutely could not exceed the 300,000 limit, as that was considered the ceiling for a genius. Earning more would lead others to suspect other motives.

Still, Li Yi sometimes wished he could freely guide Cosmic Energy without any restrictions.

If he could, he would earn millions from them in a single day, and within a few days, he wouldn't have to worry about money ever again.

But ultimately, Li Yi suppressed his inner greed.

Soon.

A day's work concluded.

At 6:10 AM, everyone gathered in the cafeteria again for breakfast and to collect their wages.

Everyone else's wages remained the same, unchanged: 54,000 for six hours. But Li Yi's wages had once again broken through, reaching an astonishing 280,000, an amount that surprised the others once more.

"As expected, Li Yi's potential still has room for further excavation. I thought yesterday was due to luck, but now it seems there's no such thing as luck. He's a genuine genius, and it doesn't seem like he's reached his limit today either," Lu Jue marveled inwardly.

"My guess from last night was correct. His cultivation stats are at least 200%. My decision to invest in him was right, I just missed the timing. If he continues earning at this rate, he'll have the initial funds for his cultivation within ten days to half a month. Once he has the seed capital, Li Yi's terrifying talent will be fully revealed."

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoxiao was filled with envy. She understood that as Li Yi's cultivation level increased, so would his opportunities to earn money. And the more money he earned, the faster his cultivation speed would become.

It was a virtuous cycle.

As for issues like poverty and needing to support his parents, these were not problems at all for Li Yi with his rapid progress and could be easily resolved.

"This Li Yi."

Wu Zhen's face was grim as he ate alone in a corner. He was beginning to realize that his chances of getting revenge on Li Yi were shrinking.

He was even starting to feel an inexplicable fear.

With this earning speed and cultivation stats, Li Yi not seeking trouble with him was already a blessing. If he foolishly went after Li Yi now, he would likely die a terrible death.

"I can't stay here any longer. I need to resign. Otherwise, once Li Yi activates his Spirit Medium abilities and gains the means of a Cultivator, I fear I'll be the first to suffer." Afterward, the awakened Wu Zhen sensed a strong sense of crisis.

He quickly finished his meal, collected his wages for the day, and then found the supervisor, Xu Ming.

"I'm not doing this guiding job anymore. I'm resigning."

Supervisor Xu Ming understood Wu Zhen's reason for resigning. He didn't try to stop him and readily agreed. After all, guides like Wu Zhen could be hired at any time and were not worth retaining.

When the others didn't see Wu Zhen on the third day of work, they realized Wu Zhen had secretly run off.

"The pressure Li Yi put on him was too great. He was scared away."

Zhang Gao, Lu Jue, Zhao Xiaoxiao, and the others quickly understood what had happened.

Otherwise, why would someone give up such a good, high-paying job so readily?

"He made the right choice to run. Today, Li Yi's eyes are even brighter than when I first met him. His evolution speed is visibly fast. If this continues, it won't be long before he activates his Spirit Medium and officially enters the ranks of Cultivators. If Wu Zhen doesn't run now, he won't be able to in a few days."

Zhao Xiaoxiao thought to herself, secretly glancing at Li Yi, who had just sat down.

Li Yi didn't pay much attention to Wu Zhen's departure. He was currently constantly adjusting his state to quickly enter meditation.

"I need to earn more today too."

After successfully entering meditation, he immediately began guiding Cosmic Energy into the cultivation pod before him, while also absorbing some pure energy from the Knife Coin energy field into his body.

Working and cultivating simultaneously, with room and board provided, Li Yi had fallen in love with this job.

However, after more than three hours of meditation, Li Yi's consciousness suddenly detected a change in the Knife Coin energy field. Everything that was previously calm seemed to be stirred up, and then energy surged like a storm. This anomaly made it impossible for him to guide Cosmic Energy.

Moreover, the appearance of this anomaly also represented a bad omen.

The lingering resentment of the deceased on the incomplete Knife Coin had reawakened.

"How unlucky. It seems I meditated for a bit too long last night, and an abnormality occurred at this very moment."

However, Li Yi already had experience dealing with this. His consciousness had long prepared and retreated from the Knife Coin energy field.

As long as he wasn't caught in the crossfire, his consciousness wouldn't be captured, and he could wake up from meditation at any time, avoiding the near-death experience he had the first time.

"You naturally evil Earth Prisoner."

That familiar angry voice reappeared. The energy of the incomplete Knife Coin gathered, forming a transparent figure with only an upper body. However, compared to the first time, this figure seemed increasingly blurry, not as solid as before.

It looked as if it might dissipate at any moment.

"It's not an illusion; this resentment has indeed weakened considerably. But even so, its power far exceeds my imagination. It seems it will take a long time for it to completely dissipate, or perhaps I'll have to find a way to deal with it once I reach a certain level of cultivation," Li Yi thought.

But the incomplete resentment seemed to sense Li Yi and roared, lunging towards him as if it were about to break free from the Knife Coin energy field's restraint and crush his consciousness.

"No way, not again?"

Li Yi was startled and immediately woke up from his meditation.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

It was a false alarm.

He looked around.

Zhang Gao, Lu Jue, and Zhao Xiaoxiao were all meditating, guiding Cosmic Energy. The dangerous middle-aged man nearby, who looked like a bodyguard, also sat with his eyes closed, motionless.

It was quiet all around.

No one noticed Li Yi's abnormality, nor did anyone sense the Mysterious Artifact he wore.

"What deep hatred does that incomplete Knife Coin have for me? It goes berserk the moment it sees me, trying to kill me with all its might. It was the same last time. Waking this thing today means my subsequent guidance work will be hindered."

Li Yi thought to himself, but he couldn't do anything about it. After all, it was just an incomplete Mysterious Artifact, and it was normal for it to have hidden dangers.

Since the Knife Coin could no longer be used, he could only guide the Cosmic Energy himself to complete the remaining work of more than two hours.

After calming his mood, Li Yi meditated again.

At this moment, without the help of the Mysterious Artifact, he instantly went from a genius to a mediocrity. The feeling of freely obtaining Cosmic Energy was gone. He could only fish for scattered Cosmic Energy in the gray world like everyone else. This little bit of energy wasn't even enough to sell for money, let alone for his own Cultivation.

He persisted for another two hours.

At six in the morning, everyone's guidance work ended again.

They went to the cafeteria to eat as usual.

Supervisor Xu Ming and his assistant distributed the day's wages to them. However, unlike yesterday, today's wages were higher than usual.

"Xu Ming, shouldn't I have received fifty-four thousand today? Why did you give me a hundred and ten thousand? Did you miscount?" Zhang Gao asked with confusion.

Supervisor Xu Ming explained, "Because the employer might wake up from the Cultivation Pod after tomorrow, and your guidance work might be stopped midway. To avoid losses for everyone, we've decided to pay you an extra day's wages in advance. At the same time, our cooperation might also end tomorrow. We hope you can all prepare."

"What? After only a few days, you're not hiring anymore?" Zhang Gao was suddenly surprised.

Supervisor Xu Ming explained, "We needed a large number of guides only for a short period. If you want to apply for a long-term guide position, you'll need to pass a screening. At the very least, you'll need a guide certificate to be qualified, unless you're a special talent like Li Yi, whom we can hire exceptionally."

Zhang Gao was greatly disappointed upon hearing this. He had wanted to work here for ten days to half a month, but it seemed there was no hope.

Lu Jue said at this moment, "We understand the situation. After all, your offer is already twice the market rate. You only do this when you urgently need guides for a short term. However, if you have similar work in the future, you can still contact me. Even working for three to five days is fine."

"No problem. We've already collected everyone's information. We'll definitely contact you first when there's a need," Supervisor Xu Ming said.

Zhao Xiaoxiao also looked regretful after receiving her money. She said, "I'm going to be unemployed after only working for four days. It looks like I'll have to look for a job again."

Supervisor Xu Ming then specifically found Li Yi. He said, "Li Yi, your income today is a hundred and ninety thousand. Although it's much lower than the previous two days, we are still willing to settle your wages for tomorrow at three hundred thousand per day. So, in total, we'll give you four hundred and ninety thousand today."

"Hey, no way! You give us normal wages, but you give him special treatment. Isn't that too unfair?" a Cultivator nearby who had just received his wages immediately said.

Zhao Xiaoxiao pouted and said, "If you had Cultivation stats like Li Yi, others would also give you extra subsidies. If you don't have the capital, of course, you're not worth preferential treatment. Do you still have to ask about it? Aren't you embarrassed?"

The Cultivator immediately reacted to her words and left dejectedly.

The others smiled without speaking. Zhao Xiaoxiao was right. Li Yi was given preferential treatment because the employer saw his Cultivation talent and was willing to pay more. For ordinary Cultivators with mediocre stats, they naturally wouldn't catch the employer's eye. Being able to settle a little extra salary was already generous.

"Thank you, Supervisor. I hope you'll give me some consideration for future work," Li Yi said smoothly. After receiving the money, he immediately said a few pleasant words.

"You're too kind. Your Cultivation stats are very high, and we often need talents like you. As long as there's a need, I'll definitely contact you immediately. Moreover, I believe that with your Cultivation speed, Li Yi, you won't need us to provide work for long. There will be plenty of people willing to invest in you. Perhaps after our employer finishes their Cultivation tomorrow, they'll be happy to sponsor you," Supervisor Xu Ming said with a smile.

Even so, Li Yi still felt a bit disappointed.

Such a good job would be gone tomorrow, and he had only earned nine hundred and ninety thousand in total.

Although this amount of money was not small, Li Yi's expenses had also increased. He didn't know how long it would last, so he could only think about finding another job later.

As Supervisor Xu Ming left, everyone's appetite for food decreased.

It's hard to go from luxury to frugality; everyone understood this.

"Li Yi, after you resign tomorrow, what do you plan to do? Will you continue looking for a job, or will you go back to cultivate for a while?"

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoxiao voluntarily walked over with her meal tray. She seemed to intend to ease the relationship.

Li Yi replied calmly, "I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll cultivate for a while. The money I earned this time is enough for now, and I don't want to look for a job."

Zhao Xiaoxiao continued, "Cultivation is very expensive. Medical Pods, Nutrient Solution, guides, and you even have to hire a private tutor. Your million also needs to be saved to take care of your parents. How much can you truly spend on yourself? So, Li Yi, you should give me a chance to invest in you."

Although Li Yi had refused last time, Zhao Xiaoxiao felt that the more Li Yi refused, the more confident she was in his future achievements. If he blindly accepted all sorts of investments, Zhao Xiaoxiao would hesitate.

Li Yi shook his head. "I'm not interested in your investment. Go invest in someone else. There are plenty of Cultivators who need investment these days. There's no need to focus on me. I just want to earn money myself now and am unwilling to accept financial aid."

"Alright, then," Zhao Xiaoxiao sighed helplessly.