The Changes on the Mysterious Small Island

"..."Lin Li stared blankly at the Spiritual Stone in his hand, which had already been drained dry, feeling his heart ache terribly.

He had spent five hundred thousand to buy ten Spiritual Stones, yet they could only let him cultivate for ten hours. He had never expected this at all.

Still, there was a silver lining. After consuming this Spiritual Stone for cultivation, he could feel that he was one small step closer to breaking through. Once all ten Spiritual Stones were used up, he would basically be guaranteed to break through to First-Order Peak.

"Let's keep cultivating! There's no turning back once the bow is drawn. Since I've chosen to walk this path, I'll persevere and walk it to the end."

Lin Li took a deep breath. After his emotions had calmed, he reached into the box and took out another Spiritual Stone, gripping it in his palm.

A pale golden Spiritual Light blossomed over Lin Li's right hand. Wisps of Spiritual Energy seeped out from within the crystal-clear Spiritual Stone before being drawn into Lin Li's body.

His cultivation continued. One Spiritual Stone after another was drained dry by Lin Li, and he drew closer and closer to breaking through to First-Order Peak.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

Aside from going to the bathroom and eating dinner, Lin Li spent almost all his time cultivating.

It was nearly midnight when the final Spiritual Stone was drained dry by Lin Li.

When he slowly opened his eyes, a trace of pale golden Spiritual Light flashed through them, along with an abundance of excitement.

First-Order Peak. After spending half his savings and more than ten hours, Lin Li had finally broken through. Now, he could continue advancing his plans.

"Hiss..."

Lin Li, who was preparing to rise from the sofa, sucked in a breath of cold air. Holding the same sitting posture for so long had made his lower back ache.

"My back is so sore. I won't cultivate in this position next time. Cultivation is the same no matter what, so cultivating while lying on the bed would be more comfortable. Why bother sitting cross-legged?"

Lin Li muttered under his breath, then climbed down from the sofa and stood up, moving around his aching old back, which had grown sore from cultivating.

It was already past midnight, and most of the people in the residential compound had fallen asleep.

Having just finished cultivating and successfully broken through to First-Order Peak, Lin Li was still a little excited and could not sleep for the time being.

After thinking it over, he stirred his thoughts. Spiritual Light flashed over his body, and then he vanished from his home.

White mist, clear water, a Small Island, a Small Tree, and a person who had appeared out of thin air.

"This... How did this Small Island get bigger?" After arriving on the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li looked at the visibly expanded island, his face filled with astonishment.

At that moment, a message appeared out of nowhere in Lin Li's mind.

Current area of the Small Island: two hundred square meters!!!

"This Mysterious Small Island can actually grow larger? Its area doubled in one go? What exactly caused the area of this Mysterious Small Island to expand?"

Lin Li furrowed his brows and racked his brains. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he came up with a tentative theory.

"Could this Mysterious Small Island have changed because I just broke through in cultivation?

"Uh... When I previously broke through to First-Order High Stage, I didn't see it get any bigger. Forget it, I won't think about it for now. When I break through to Second-Order Early Stage in the future, I'll see whether it grows again, and then I'll know."

Compared to the Mysterious Small Island's doubled area, Lin Li was more concerned with the Miracle Small Tree at its center. After all, the little fruits that grew from this Miracle Small Tree concerned whether he could become a powerful Cultivator in the future.

He walked two laps around the Miracle Small Tree, carefully examining it from top to bottom, then reached out and touched its

trunk.

There was not the slightest change. It seemed that without the flesh and blood of a beast, this Miracle Small Tree would not change at all.

"Tomorrow, I'll go to the Beast Hunter Guild and take the Beast Hunter License exam. Then I'll make the necessary preparations and head into the wild to hunt beasts." Lin Li looked at the completely unchanged Miracle Small Tree before him and muttered to himself.

Then he stirred his thoughts, left the Mysterious Small Island, and returned to the real world.

The next morning.

The sky was gloomy, and the air was somewhat hot and stuffy. After checking the weather forecast, Lin Li saw that Rong City would have a light rain today.

The Beast Hunter Guild in Rong City was located in the central district. Several buildings dozens of stories high made up the Rong City Beast Hunter Guild, which covered an area of more than twenty thousand square meters.

The office area inside was not open for outsiders to enter freely. Only the service building near the main entrance could be freely accessed.

Before coming, Lin Li had already looked into it online. He knew that the place to obtain a Beast Hunter License was inside the service building.

After entering the lobby of the service building, Lin Li found that there were not many people inside. That made sense, since people capable of becoming Beast Hunters were ultimately in the minority.

Even if someone came here to take the Beast Hunter License exam, they could not possibly all flock here to take it on the same day.

"Hello, I'd like to take the Beast Hunter License exam. Do I need to complete any procedures?" Lin Li approached the service desk in the lobby to ask.

"You only need to pay a one-thousand-yuan registration fee. Then wait about ten minutes, and we'll arrange the exam for you. Once you pass, we'll issue you a license." The staff member gave Lin Li a simple explanation.

Unlike yesterday, when he had gone to the Official Institution to have his cultivation level tested and register as a Cultivator, the Beast Hunter Guild's qualification exam was not free.

"All right. Can I pay by phone?" Lin Li nodded and asked.

"Yes. Open your payment code," the staff member said.

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

"Finally." Lin Li felt somewhat nervous. He rose and walked toward the staff member, following behind him toward the examination area.

For a Cultivator who had reached First-Order Peak to obtain a Beast Hunter License, he had to fight a match against an examiner arranged by the Beast Hunter Guild.

The battle lasted three minutes. As long as the candidate could hold out for three minutes under the examiner's attacks and still stand afterward, he would pass the exam.

Lin Li's examination site was Exam Room No. 6.

This examination room covered an area of five hundred square meters and had three arenas in total.

When there were many applicants, three examiners would simultaneously test the candidates' strength in the arenas. Today, however, Lin Li was the only candidate in the examination room.

Lin Li's examiner was a tall man in his thirties, a head taller than Lin Li's one-meter-eighty height.

The man was probably just over two meters tall, and his body was covered in knotted muscles.

Because he wore a short-sleeved training uniform, the terrifying scars, like centipedes, covering his exposed chest and arms could be seen clearly.

He was a veteran Beast Hunter who had fought beasts to the death and ultimately survived.