Night fell, and the dim streetlights flickered on all at once, illuminating the pedestrians on the road.
"I'm so full! Why does it feel like Su Yue's cooking has improved again since last time?!"
"Burp... burp..."
Lin Li, who had eaten a little too much, let out a burp and slowly walked out of Happiness Garden residential area.
After helping Su Yue clear the clogged drain today, he had enjoyed a delicious lunch cooked by her at her home. He had originally planned to go home after eating, but afterward, she pulled him into staying and playing games with her for a while.
Though Su Yue was an elementary school music teacher, she was actually also a gaming enthusiast. She mainly played mobile games and rarely played computer games.
Time always passed quickly when playing games. An entire afternoon seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for dinner... Then, naturally, Lin Li mooched another dinner at Su Yue's home.
Just as Lin Li, full from food and drink, was slowly walking toward the residential area where he lived, a large truck drove out from a distant street corner. Transported on it was a giant boar measuring three meters in length and two meters in height...
The pedestrians on the road began discussing the giant boar being transported by the large truck.
"Wow... What a huge boar! To kill such a massive Beast, the Beast Hunter dealing with it must at least have Second-Order strength, right?"
Heaven was fair.
In this marvelous world, where Spiritual Energy drifted through the air, humans could absorb the Spiritual Energy floating in the atmosphere and become Cultivators with extraordinary power...
By contrast, ordinary animals living in the wilderness could obtain extraordinary strength through the same method.
Animals capable of using Spiritual Energy were collectively called Beasts by humanity.
Beasts were far more frightening than ordinary animals. They were smarter and fiercer, and if a human appeared in their line of sight, most Beasts would choose to attack.
There were now countless Beasts in the wilderness, posing a considerable threat to the safety of human cities.
Therefore, some Cultivators chose to become hunters and kill those Beasts. Cultivators like them, who fought Beasts in the wilderness, were known as Beast Hunters.
While risking their lives to fight Beasts and protect the cities, Beast Hunters could also earn considerable wealth.
That was because the meat of these Beasts had something ordinary chicken, beef, pork, and mutton did not: their flesh contained traces of Spiritual Energy.
Consuming Exotic Beast Meat containing Spiritual Energy over a long period would not make one's cultivation skyrocket, but it would still provide some degree of help.
Therefore, Cultivators who aspired to break through to higher realms now ate meat from wild Beasts as part of their daily diet.
Where there was demand, there would naturally be plenty of people willing to become Beast Hunters and take up this fast-money business.
With the development of the times, every city had now established a Beast Hunter Guild under the promotion of the local government.
To prevent Cultivators whose strength clearly failed to meet the requirements from risking their lives in the wilderness for money, the Beast Hunter Guild had introduced corresponding regulations.
The regulations clearly stated that only Cultivators who had reached First-Order Peak were qualified to go to the Beast Hunter Guild and take the assessment.
After passing the assessment, they would receive the appropriate certificate and officially obtain the title of Beast Hunter. They could then engage in the work of hunting Beasts and obtain various kinds of information about Beasts from the Beast Hunter Guild.
"A Boar Beast this big should sell for quite a bit of money, right?" Lin Li watched the large truck receding into the distance and secretly estimated the price of the giant Beast.
Fifty thousand yuan.
A Boar Beast was worth fifty thousand yuan. There were countless Beasts in the wilderness, and if you had the strength to become a Beast Hunter and were not afraid of danger, you could soon become a wealthy man.
The large truck carrying the giant Beast vanished at the end of the street. Lin Li also withdrew his gaze and continued walking toward his home.
Before today, Lin Li had given up on becoming a Cultivator several years ago, planning to spend the rest of his life living peacefully at home as a good-for-nothing.
However, after obtaining that mysterious Small Island, the placid surface of his heart began to ripple once more.
Although, judging by the current situation, that barren Small Island seemed capable only of growing vegetables, Lin Li did not want to use it to grow vegetables so soon.
He felt that the Small Island must have something wondrous about it. He simply had not discovered it yet.
"After reading so many novels in my previous life, I know that none of the cheat abilities obtained by people reborn in parallel worlds are useless. I refuse to believe my luck is that bad—that the cheat ability I got can only be used to grow vegetables."
As Lin Li thought about the wondrous Small Island, he hurried toward his home.
"According to the latest news from this station, at ten o'clock last night, a Leopard Beast secretly crossed the defensive line and attacked a village on the outskirts of the city. Fortunately, a Beast Hunter happened to pass nearby and killed the Leopard Beast on the spot..."
Sitting in the living room, Lin Li quietly watched the television, as if the program's content had captivated him. If one observed him carefully, one would notice that his eyes occasionally glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind the television.
Three minutes remained until ten o'clock, and the Spiritual Energy in his body was nearly fully restored.
"Ticktock, ticktock, ticktock..."
Time was passing so slowly!
As the time drew closer and closer to ten, Lin Li's excitement mounted as he sat on the sofa.
The moment arrived. Feeling the Spiritual Energy in his body fully restored, Lin Li seemed to know instinctively how to enter that mysterious Small Island. With a thought, pale golden Spiritual Light blossomed around him, and then his entire body vanished from the sofa out of thin air.
"Mr. Li, thank you for yesterday. Otherwise, quite a few people would have died to that Leopard Beast."
"It was what I should have done. Killing those vile Beasts is the duty of every one of us Beast Hunters..."
On the wide-screen LCD television, a reporter was interviewing the person who had killed the Leopard Beast the previous night.
The empty living room held not a single person. Only the sound from the television echoed through the room.
"I'm back again... This time, I must uncover your secret..."
After appearing on this mysterious Small Island, which covered an area of one hundred square meters and was surrounded on all sides by white mist, Lin Li muttered to himself.
He looked around, touching and examining everything, and drank a little sweet water, but gained nothing.
"No way? Could it really be that this place can only be used to grow vegetables?" Lin Li stood on the shore, looking at the vast white mist in the distance, and said dejectedly.
Just as he was preparing to leave the Small Island, his eyes happened to catch sight of the ordinary Small Tree growing in the center of the island. Because of that careless glance, Lin Li instantly stopped himself from leaving the island.
"I remember this Small Tree didn't have any fruit on it before!"
Before you continue