Changes to the Mysterious Small Island

"..." Lin Li stared blankly at the dried-out spirit stone in his hand, his heart aching terribly.

He had spent five hundred thousand on ten spirit stones, only to find they could sustain him for a mere ten hours of cultivation—something he had never anticipated.

Still, a silver lining: after consuming this one stone for cultivation, he felt he had taken a small step closer to a breakthrough. Once all ten were used up, it would basically guarantee his advancement to First-Order Peak.

"Keep cultivating. There's no turning back now. Since I've chosen this path, I'll see it through to the end."

Lin Li took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, then reached into the box and pulled out another spirit stone, clasping it in his palm.

A pale golden spiritual light bloomed in his right hand as strands of Spiritual Energy seeped from the translucent stone and were drawn into his body.

Cultivation continued. One by one, Lin Li drained the spirit stones dry, inching closer and closer to First-Order Peak.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

Aside from bathroom breaks and dinner, Lin Li spent virtually all his time cultivating.

Just before midnight, the last spirit stone was drained.

When he slowly opened his eyes, a flash of pale golden spiritual light flickered within them, along with an unmistakable gleam of excitement.

First-Order Peak. It had cost him half his savings and over ten hours, but Lin Li had finally broken through. Now, he could move forward with his plans.

"Sss..."

As he tried to get up from the sofa, Lin Li sucked in a sharp breath. Sitting in the same position for so long had left his lower back stiff.

"My back is killing me. Next time, I'm not cultivating in this posture. Since the principle's the same anyway, lying in bed would be way more comfortable. Why bother sitting cross-legged?"

Lin Li muttered to himself, then slid off the sofa and stood up, stretching his aching back from the long session.

It was past midnight. Most people in the neighborhood were already asleep.

Having just finished cultivating and successfully breaking through to First-Order Peak, Lin Li felt a little too excited to sleep just yet.

He thought for a moment, then with a flicker of spiritual light, he vanished from his home.

White mist, clear water, an island, a small tree, and a man appearing out of thin air.

"This... the island got bigger?" Arriving on the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li stared at its noticeably expanded area, his face full of astonishment.

Just then, a piece of information surfaced in his mind.

Current island area: two hundred square meters!!!

"This Mysterious Small Island can actually grow? The area doubled all at once? What caused it to expand?"

Lin Li furrowed his brow in deep thought. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him, and he formed a tentative hypothesis.

"Could it be that the island grew because I just broke through in cultivation?

Hmm... last time I broke through to First-Order High Stage, it didn't change. Forget it, I'll just wait until I reach Second-Order Early Stage and see if it happens again."

Compared to the island's doubling in size, Lin Li was more interested in the Miracle Small Tree at its center. After all, the little fruits it bore would determine whether he could become a powerful Cultivator in the future.

He circled the Miracle Small Tree twice, examining it closely from top to bottom, and even reached out to touch its trunk.

No change at all. It seemed that without the flesh and blood of a beast, this tree wouldn't budge.

"Tomorrow, I'll go to the Beast Hunter Guild and take the qualification exam. Then I'll prepare and head out to hunt beasts in the wild." Lin Li muttered to himself, staring at the unchanged tree.

With a thought, he withdrew from the Mysterious Small Island and returned to the real world.

The next morning.

The sky was overcast, the air muggy. Checking the weather forecast, Rong City was due for a light drizzle today.

The Rong City Beast Hunter Guild was located in the central district. Several dozen-story buildings formed the complex, covering over twenty thousand square meters.

The office areas weren't open to outsiders; only the service building near the main entrance was freely accessible.

Before coming, Lin Li had already looked things up online. He knew the exam for the Beast Hunter qualification was held inside the service building.

Stepping into the lobby, Lin Li noticed there weren't many people around. He figured that made sense—only a minority could become Beast Hunters.

Even if people came to take the exam, they wouldn't all swarm in on the same day.

"Hello, I'd like to apply for the Beast Hunter qualification exam. What procedures do I need?" Lin Li approached the service counter in the lobby.

"Just pay the one-thousand-yuan registration fee. Wait about ten minutes, and we'll arrange the exam for you. If you pass, we'll issue you a qualification certificate." The staff member gave him a brief explanation.

Unlike yesterday's visit to the Official Institution for cultivation testing and Cultivator registration, the Beast Hunter Guild's certification exam wasn't free.

"Okay, can I pay by phone?" Lin Li nodded and asked.

"Sure, open your payment code." The staff member said.

After paying the one-thousand-yuan registration fee, Lin Li sat on a nearby chair and waited. Soon, the staff member called out to him, "Mr. Lin Li, the examiner for your test has been arranged. Please follow me."

"Finally." Feeling a bit nervous, Lin Li stood up and walked over, following the staff member toward the exam location.

As a First-Order Peak Cultivator, to earn the Beast Hunter qualification, he would have to spar with an examiner arranged by the Beast Hunter Guild.

The battle time is three minutes. As long as the examinee can hold out for three minutes under the examiner's attacks and still be standing by the end, they pass the exam.

Lin Li's exam location was Exam Hall Six.

This hall covered five hundred square meters and contained three fighting rings.

When there were many candidates, three examiners would test their skills on the rings simultaneously, but today, Lin Li was the only examinee in this hall.

Lin Li's examiner was a tall man in his thirties, a full head taller than Lin Li, who stood at 1.8 meters.

The man was over two meters tall, his body covered in bulging muscles.

Since he wore a short-sleeved training uniform, the terrifying scars like centipedes on his exposed chest and arms were clearly visible.

This was a veteran beast hunter who had survived life-and-death battles with aberrant creatures.