Lin Yue Pays a Visit

After entering the Spirit Medium Realm, Li Yi clearly felt that his body's demand for Cosmic Energy—in other words, pure spiritual energy—had increased, while his rate of evolution had slowed. Even after cultivating all night, there had been no obvious change, utterly unlike the feeling of making progress every day before.

And that was while using the incomplete extraordinary item.

Without the extraordinary item, Li Yi estimated that cultivating for an entire night would hardly be any different from getting some sleep.

The change made Li Yi feel extremely uncomfortable.

He was a good young man who wanted to improve every day. Preventing him from making progress was simply unbearable.

However, after drinking the Nutrient Solution that cost one hundred thousand yuan per vial, Li Yi felt after a night of cultivation that most of his injuries had healed. His body was filled with strength, and his mind felt sharper as well. It seemed that this stuff really worked and was not some fake product created through hype.

The next day.

In the morning.

A phone call jolted Li Yi awake from his cultivation.

After putting down his phone the previous night, he had forgotten to turn on silent mode.

Li Yi frowned and picked up his phone for a look, only to discover that the caller was Lin Yue.

The moment he answered,

Lin Yue's voice rang out from the phone. "Li Yi, where are you right now? I'm coming to find you."

"I'm cultivating at home, Sister Lin. What's the matter?" Li Yi asked curiously.

"Good, then it's settled. I know your address. We'll talk when we meet." After saying that, Lin Yue immediately hung up.

This left Li Yi completely baffled.

What urgent matter had prompted her to come looking for him so suddenly?

Then Li Yi remembered that Lin Yue had said last time that she wanted to come over and take a look at his place.

With that thought, he stopped cultivating. He immediately got up and moved his body around, then tidied his messy home and cleaned the place as well.

After all, someone was coming over as a guest. He had to show some respect.

He had just finished cleaning when a knock came from the door.

"Li Yi, it's me, Lin Yue. Open the door." Lin Yue's voice came from outside.

"Coming." Hearing her voice, Li Yi immediately opened the door.

Lin Yue smiled and said, "This is my first time visiting, and I came in such a hurry that I didn't bring anything. I bought you ten Nutrient Solutions. You should be able to use them—wait, what's that on your dining table?"

Her eyes suddenly glanced to the side and caught a flash of gold.

Lin Yue immediately rushed inside in surprise. Staring at the Golden Nutrient Solution on the table, she said, "Well, well, Li Yi, you really are extravagant. You just made some money and immediately bought Nutrient Solutions costing one hundred thousand yuan each. You really don't deny yourself anything. If I'd known, I would've just brought two pounds of apples to visit you."

After saying that, she looked at Li Yi with undisguised envy.

"Ah, you heard about my work?" Li Yi scratched his head.

Lin Yue rolled her eyes. "The cultivation circle in Tianchang City is only so big. The news spread long ago. Yang Yilong joined forces with Qin Qing to enter the Danger Zone and hunt an Extraordinary Creature, while you, Li Yi, hunted a Fierce Beast, Biao, all by yourself. Yang Yilong then bought it for twenty million. Any cultivator with decent connections knows about these things."

"Yang Yilong probably deliberately spread the news, so he reported the good news but not the bad. A great many cultivators were lost in the Danger Zone this time," Li Yi said.

"You knew it was dangerous, and you still went to the Danger Zone? I only introduced you to a job as a guide. The pay was high and the risk was low, but you went running into that place. Were you trying to get yourself killed?" After saying that, Lin Yue looked Li Yi up and down.

"Fortunately, I didn't lose any limbs. I only injured my back, and it's almost healed."

As she spoke, she reached out and touched the bandaged wound on Li Yi's back. Only after confirming that his bones were unharmed did she nod slightly.

"If I want to make money, I have to take a gamble. I had no choice—I've been poor for too long. Cultivation costs money, and my parents' Nutrient Solutions cost money too. It wasn't easy to find such an opportunity, so I didn't want to give it up," Li Yi said.

Lin Yue rolled her eyes. "Even if you make money, you need to be alive to spend it. I don't even dare set foot in the Danger Zone casually, yet you, a hotheaded rookie who hasn't been cultivating for even a month, charged straight in. Luckily, you had a big enough life and came back alive. If you'd died there, how would I explain it to your parents afterward?"

As she spoke, she glanced left and right. Seeing that the door was still open, she immediately shut it, then leaned close to Li Yi's ear and lowered her voice. "Li Yi, other people may not know you, but I know you inside out. I was the one who introduced you to cultivation back then. An ordinary person couldn't possibly enter the Spirit Medium Realm in less than a month. You must be hiding some huge secret. I'm very good at keeping my mouth shut. Can you tell me what's really going on?"

She was extremely curious, her heart itching like a cat's claws were raking at it.

Thus, when she heard the news about Li Yi, her first reaction had been that she had mistaken the person. It was probably merely someone with the same name.

Li Yi had still been an ordinary person before and did not even understand cultivation. How could he possibly enter the Spirit Medium Realm in less than a month, let alone hunt a Fierce Beast, Biao?

But after repeatedly confirming it, Lin Yue had no choice but to admit that this Li Yi really was the person she had introduced to cultivation back then.

That was why Lin Yue had hurried over first thing in the morning. She wanted to see what was going on.

Lin Yue also understood that such a huge change in Li Yi must involve a secret. She did not dare reveal anything about him to anyone, afraid that it would bring trouble.

Looking at Lin Yue's inquisitive expression, Li Yi did not know how to explain himself for a moment.

Ordinary excuses might deceive others, but they could not deceive Lin Yue.

Besides, if Old Crow learned about his current situation, he would most likely immediately guess that Li Yi might have an extraordinary item in his possession.

Just as Lin Yue had said,

the cultivator circle in this city was only so big.

Li Yi understood that the secret of his incomplete extraordinary item would soon be impossible to conceal. All he could do was grow stronger quickly and gain the strength to deal with danger. Before then, he would hide the extraordinary item for as long as possible.

After hunting Biao, he had made money, but he had also become famous. On top of that, Yang Yilong had deliberately fanned the flames. It seemed that he might have done himself more harm than good.

How should I explain away the matter of the extraordinary item? Li Yi weighed his options inwardly.

But soon, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind.

When faced with two harms, choose the lesser.

The secret of the incomplete extraordinary item could not be exposed, but the matter of the Fist Technique could be revealed.

He could use the Fist Technique to cover up the extraordinary item. As long as this explanation was firmly established, perhaps the matter of the incomplete extraordinary item could remain hidden.

With that thought,

Li Yi composed himself and immediately said, "Given my cultivation level, it would naturally have been impossible for me to enter the Spirit Medium Realm in such a short time. But during my trip to the Danger Zone, I encountered some special opportunities. Not only did my strength improve, I also learned a Fist Technique."

As he spoke, he briefly recounted how he had entered Ghost Street and learned the Fist Technique.

"A Fist Technique from an unknown world? What kind of Fist Technique is so powerful that it allowed you to kill a Fierce Beast with your bare hands? Can you demonstrate it for me?" Lin Yue's eyes lit up instantly, and she became intensely interested.

But soon, she realized that she had been too rash and immediately said, "No, Fist Techniques are extremely precious. Don't demonstrate it. I'm afraid I won't be able to resist secretly learning it."

"It's fine. Before I demonstrated this Fist Technique for Sister Lin, Yang Yilong had already set his sights on it. You aren't the first person to see it." Li Yi revealed another matter.

Lin Yue was shocked and furious. "Him? How could that be? He actually set his sights on your Fist Technique? What happened in the end?"

Having some understanding of Yang Yilong, she found it hard to believe that he would do such a thing.

Li Yi shook his head. "When I was leaving yesterday, someone manipulated the elevator and sent me alone to the underground training grounds. Yang Yilong was waiting there by himself. Judging by the situation, if I hadn't handed over the Fist Technique, I probably wouldn't have been able to leave that building. Although he offered to buy it, I didn't name a price. I demonstrated it once for free, and only then was I able to escape."

"What? Something like that happened?"

Lin Yue grew angry at once, her face flushing. "Damn it, Yang Yilong really had the nerve to say he wanted to buy it. He took you alone to the underground training grounds—that was clearly meant to pressure and coerce you. He was forcing you to sell it, whether you wanted to or not. What's his strength now, and what's yours? That transaction wasn't equal at all."

"In that situation, who would've dared name a price?"

"I must have been blind to think Yang Yilong was a righteous and generous good person. I never expected that even in front of a Fist Technique, he wouldn't be able to control his own desires."

"Good, good, very good. What he did wasn't only bullying you; he was also slapping me, Lin Yue, in the face. Li Yi, I'll remember this. From now on, Yang Yilong and I are enemies." Lin Yue was terribly humiliated and regretful. If she had known this would happen, she never should have introduced Li Yi to that job.

No wonder Yang Yilong had been willing to buy the Fierce Beast at twice the price.

Now, cultivators in Tianchang City's cultivation circle were all praising Yang Yilong for his generosity, trustworthiness, and righteousness. He did not say a word about learning a Fist Technique from Li Yi for free.

Li Yi said, "A Fist Technique was right in front of him, within easy reach. Who wouldn't be tempted? To be honest, the fact that I managed to leave unharmed was already lucky."

"Exactly. Some people are like that. They seem fine normally, but when the benefits become great enough, their hidden nature is exposed." Lin Yue said, "You did the right thing then, Li Yi. In that situation, you couldn't name a price and sell the Fist Technique to him. You could only lower your head and teach it to him for free. That way, he would care about his reputation and wouldn't attack you again."

"If you'd been greedy and demanded several billion, he might have agreed on the surface. But once he finished learning the Fist Technique, who knew what would happen?"

"You raised him high above yourself. Yang Yilong is an arrogant man. After obtaining the Fist Technique, he naturally chose to let you go."

Lin Yue broke out in a cold sweat for Li Yi.

She knew what Yang Yilong was like. Therefore, the moment Li Yi appeared in the underground training grounds, it meant that Yang Yilong had already broken his own principles. If he had genuinely wanted to buy it, he would only have negotiated with Li Yi through her, the person who had introduced them.

That would have been open and aboveboard, without any hint of coercion, rather than personally arranging a private meeting with Li Yi.

Once Yang Yilong had broken through his bottom line, he could have done anything.

Fortunately, Li Yi had also handled himself intelligently. By teaching the Fist Technique for free, he had blocked Yang Yilong completely.

"Before I left, Yang Yilong said that he owed me a favor and that I could ask him for help if anything happened," Li Yi added. He had not embellished anything, merely recounting what he had experienced and letting Lin Yue analyze the situation.

"He owes you a favor? Bah!" Lin Yue, a grown young woman, actually spat. The saliva landed directly on the floor.

"Obtaining a Fist Technique is enough to pass it down through a family. At worst, he could open a school and sell lessons to teach martial arts. If he priced each membership at ten million—no, even twenty million—people would still be willing to learn. He could easily rake in tens of billions. Is Yang Yilong's favor worth that much? He should at least spit on the ground and look at his reflection. Qin Qing must have been blind to follow him."

"Uh..."

Looking at the spit on the floor, Li Yi had not expected Lin Yue to become even angrier than he was after hearing about it.

Lin Yue paced back and forth, furious. "No. The more I think about it, the more I can't swallow this anger. I'm going to tell Qin Qing about it, and I'll spread the word about Yang Yilong forcing you to sell it. I'll ruin his reputation."

"Sister Lin, you know that woman with the blue vertical pupils?" Li Yi asked in surprise.

"I know her. What about it?" Lin Yue stopped and looked at him.

Li Yi said, "I heard from a security guard at Yang Yilong's company named Zheng Fei that Qin Qing was severely injured by an Extraordinary Creature while covering for Yang Yilong. Several of her vertebrae were shattered, and her condition is not optimistic. I heard Yang Yilong is contacting various medical companies to find a way to treat her. I think you shouldn't disturb Qin Qing right now."

"What? Something like that happened? Why didn't I know? Yang Yilong hasn't released any such news." Lin Yue suddenly opened her eyes wide.

Li Yi shrugged. "I don't know either. Maybe they're keeping it confidential."

"No, that's not right."

Lin Yue lowered her head and furrowed her brows, thinking. As she did, she said, "If that were all there was to it, Yang Yilong would have had no reason to conceal Qin Qing's injury or the arrangements for her treatment. An injury that serious would cost a fortune to heal. Given the Yang family's style, they would definitely publicize it to build Yang Yilong's momentum and enhance the Yang family's reputation, telling cultivators how righteous they were. After all, even the matter of Yang Yilong buying your prey for twenty million has spread. Qin Qing's situation is far more important than your twenty million."

"Unless..."

After hearing her analysis, Li Yi understood as well. "Unless Yang Yilong has no intention of spending a fortune to treat Qin Qing. That's why he suppressed news of her injury, then used my matter to divert everyone's attention and make them overlook the fact that Qin Qing was injured. After all, not many people know about it."

"No, impossible. No matter what, Yang Yilong couldn't possibly do something like that." Lin Yue's expression changed drastically. She had been startled by her own deduction.

"Who knows? In any case, it has nothing to do with me," Li Yi said. "Besides, Sister Lin, that's only your speculation. Maybe things aren't like that."

"We'll wait a few days and see. We'll soon know whether my guess is right." Lin Yue's eyes shifted slightly as she decided to wait.

Even she had not expected so many things to happen over the next few days.