That morning, Lin Li had gone to the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild to take the qualification exam.
Although he passed the exam without a hitch, he had sustained some minor injuries.
In fact, the right arm he was holding the phone with was covered in bruises—a direct result of that exam.
Although Lin Li had already rubbed them with Honghua Oil, the bruises weren't going to fade that quickly.
'If I go to Su Yue's for dumplings now, she's bound to see the bruises on my arm. When she asks about them, I won't have an explanation.'
'I can't just tell her that I've suddenly become powerful, that I'm now a Tier One Peak Cultivator who passed the Exotic Beast Hunter qualification exam this morning.'
'After all, Su Yue knows my cultivation aptitude is awful. She thinks I have no hope of ever becoming a Cultivator, let alone passing the Exotic Beast Hunter exam.'
'A total rookie just a few days ago, and now I'm an expert... It... it just doesn't make any sense.'
"Thanks! But it's raining, and I'm too lazy to head out. You go ahead and eat them!"
"It's not even raining that hard outside! It'd only take you ten minutes to get here with an umbrella, and you're *still* too lazy... Fine! More for me, then!"
Hanging up, Lin Li pictured himself eating egg and shredded pork noodles for dinner again, and a gloomy expression clouded his face.
'I'll go take a shower first.'
Having missed out on the dumplings Su Yue had made by hand, Lin Li had lost his appetite. He returned to his bedroom to grab a change of clothes and take a shower.
...
By the next morning, the all-night rain had finally stopped.
As the morning sun crested the horizon, its golden rays struck the dewdrops clinging to the plants and trees, refracting a brilliant, colorful light.
After waking up early, brushing his teeth, washing his face, and eating breakfast, Lin Li changed into a set of camouflage fatigues.
He shouldered his backpack, picked up the wooden box containing the Spiritual Longsword, and set off.
As Lin Li walked out of the stairwell of Building Six in Ping'an Garden District, he ran into an older woman out for her morning exercise.
The woman knew Lin Li. Seeing his getup, she asked curiously, "Lin, where are you off to dressed like that?"
"Ms. Wang, good morning! I'm going camping with some friends," Lin Li replied offhandedly.
"Camping? Lin, you're not planning on camping in the wilderness, are you? The wilds are full of Mutant Beasts these days. It's incredibly dangerous..." Ms. Wang said with a worried expression.
"Don't worry, Ms. Wang. The wilderness is so dangerous now, we wouldn't dare camp there. My friend found a campsite in a designated safe zone in the suburbs..."
Lin Li chatted with Ms. Wang for another moment before heading toward the entrance of the district.
...
Outside the district, Lin Li—with only fifty-five yuan to his name—hailed a taxi. After getting in, he gave an address. "Sir, to Chenghua Avenue."
The driver seemed a little surprised to hear the destination was Chenghua Avenue. After a brief pause, he started the car and began driving toward the outskirts of the East District.
Once the taxi was moving, Lin Li closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves.
After all, he would soon be fighting terrifying Mutant Beasts in the wilderness. For someone like Lin Li, who had never fought a Mutant Beast before, the psychological pressure was immense.
The taxi driver, a man in his mid-forties, glanced in the rearview mirror at the young man in the back seat, who looked to be about the same age as his own son.
"Young man, are you heading out to the wilderness to hunt Mutant Beasts?" the driver asked curiously.
Lin Li, who was in the middle of calming his nerves, opened his eyes at the driver's question. "Yes, I am."
"You look to be about my son's age.
To be brave enough to hunt Mutant Beasts in the wilderness at your age... that's really impressive!" the driver exclaimed in admiration.
Hearing the driver's genuine praise, Lin Li found his anxiety surprisingly starting to subside.
...
"That'll be twenty-five yuan."
Once they reached Chenghua Avenue, Lin Li paid the fare and got out of the taxi.
Chenghua Avenue was still a ways from the wilderness. For safety reasons, taxi drivers would generally only drop customers off here, leaving them to cover the rest of the distance on foot.
'Once I make some real money, I'm definitely buying a car,' Lin Li muttered to himself while standing in the shade of a tree, dressed in his fatigues with a backpack on and the wooden box in hand. Then, he started walking toward the wilderness.
Even though it had rained all night, the road was surprisingly free of puddles.
It was a testament to the excellent underground drainage system, even in an area so close to the wilderness.
The weather in July was already getting hot, with temperatures normally breaking thirty degrees Celsius.
However, thanks to yesterday's rain, the temperature today was a bit cooler.
As Lin Li walked toward the wilderness under the shade of the roadside trees, an occasional breeze brought a refreshing coolness.
As he walked on from Chenghua Avenue, the surrounding buildings became increasingly sparse.
Half an hour later, a boundless wilderness stretched out before Lin Li.
Behind him lay the bustling, prosperous, and peaceful city district; before him, a boundless wilderness fraught with hidden dangers. The stark contrast left Lin Li momentarily dazed.
He took a deep breath, clenched and unclenched his fists, his expression hardening with resolve.
CLICK.
He opened the wooden box and took out the Spiritual Longsword that had cost him half his savings.
Holding the Spiritual Longsword in his right hand and the empty wooden box in his left, Lin Li faced a dilemma. 'What should I do with this box? Toss it?'
He glanced around. There wasn't another person in sight.
'If I throw it away, I won't have a case for the Spiritual Longsword anymore. I know, I'll just put it on the Mysterious Small Island!' The instant the thought formed in Lin Li's mind, the wooden box in his hand simply disappeared.
'It can do that?!!'
Lin Li had originally planned on taking the box *with* him into the Mysterious Small Island. He never imagined he could just send an object there without his body having to enter as well.
'Come back.' With a mere thought, the box instantly reappeared in his hand.
He focused on the flow of Spiritual Energy within him and realized that sending an item to the Mysterious Small Island consumed far less energy than it took for his own body to enter it.
"Haha! It really works! Does this mean I can use the Mysterious Small Island as my personal Storage Space from now on?"
Having accidentally discovered a new function for the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li stood in the middle of the deserted wilderness and laughed like a fool.
Next, he also sent his backpack, which weighed over ten pounds, to the Mysterious Small Island.
Then, tightening his grip on the Spiritual Longsword, he cautiously stepped into the wilderness ahead.
...