Night fell. The dim yellow streetlights flickered on in unison, illuminating the path for pedestrians.
'I'm so full! How did Su Yue's cooking get even better than last time?!'
Feeling stuffed, Lin Li let out a couple of burps as he strolled leisurely out of the Happiness Garden District.
He had helped Su Yue unclog her drain earlier today, and in return, she had treated him to a delicious home-cooked lunch. He had planned to head home right after, but she convinced him to stay and play some video games.
Though Su Yue was a primary school music teacher, she was also an avid gamer. She mainly played mobile games and rarely touched anything on PC.
Time always flew by when they were gaming, and the afternoon was over in the blink of an eye. Soon, it was time for dinner... and naturally, Lin Li ended up staying for that as well.
As the full and satisfied Lin Li slowly walked toward his own apartment complex, a large truck rounded a distant street corner. It was hauling a giant wild boar—three meters long and two meters tall.
Seeing the giant wild boar on the large truck, the pedestrians on the street began to murmur among themselves.
"Whoa... what a huge wild boar! To kill a Mutant Beast that big, the Exotic Beast Hunter who fought it must've been at least Tier Two, right?"
The heavens are fair.
In this wondrous world where Spiritual Energy suffused the air, humans could absorb it to become Cultivators with extraordinary powers...
Likewise, ordinary animals living in the wild could also gain extraordinary powers in the same way.
These animals, capable of using Spiritual Energy, were collectively known by humans as Mutant Beasts.
Mutant Beasts were far more terrifying than ordinary animals. They were more intelligent and ferocious, and most would attack any human that entered their sight.
The number of Mutant Beasts in the wild had grown immense, posing a significant threat to the safety of human cities.
As a result, some Cultivators chose to become Hunters to kill these Mutant Beasts. Cultivators like them, who battled Mutant Beasts in the wild, were known as Exotic Beast Hunters.
By risking their lives to fight Mutant Beasts, Exotic Beast Hunters could protect the cities while also earning a small fortune.
This was because the meat of these Mutant Beasts had something that ordinary chicken, beef, pork, and lamb did not: their flesh contained faint traces of Spiritual Energy.
Although long-term consumption of this Spiritual Energy-infused Exotic Beast Meat wouldn't cause one's cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds, it would still provide some minor benefits.
Therefore, Cultivators aspiring to break through to higher levels now primarily consumed Exotic Beast Meat from the wild.
Where there was market demand, there were naturally many who would become Exotic Beast Hunters to engage in this lucrative business.
With the passage of time, and with the encouragement of local governments, every city has now established an Exotic Beast Hunter Guild.
The Exotic Beast Hunter Guild has also established regulations to prevent underqualified Cultivators from risking their lives hunting Mutant Beasts in the wild just for the money.
The regulations clearly state that only Cultivators who have reached Tier One Peak are qualified to take the assessment at the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild.
Upon passing the assessment, they receive a certificate and officially earn the title of Exotic Beast Hunter. This allows them to legally hunt Mutant Beasts and gain access to all sorts of intel on them from the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild.
...
'A Wild Boar Beast that big must be worth a lot of money!' Lin Li thought, his eyes fixed on the departing truck as he silently appraised the massive Mutant Beast.
Fifty thousand.
A single Wild Boar Beast was worth fifty thousand. Mutant Beasts were plentiful in the wild. If you were strong enough to become an Exotic Beast Hunter and weren't afraid of the danger, you could quickly become a wealthy person.
The truck carrying the giant Mutant Beast disappeared at the end of the street. Lin Li retracted his gaze and continued on his way home.
Before today, Lin Li had given up on the idea of becoming a Cultivator years ago. He had been prepared to live out his life as a complacent homebody.
But ever since he'd acquired that Mysterious Small Island, the once-calm waters of his heart were turbulent again.
Although it seemed the barren island was only good for growing vegetables, Lin Li wasn't ready to resign it to being a simple garden just yet.
He felt the island must have some wondrous secret that he just hadn't discovered yet.
'I've read so many novels in my past life. No one who gets reincarnated into a parallel world gets a useless cheat ability. I refuse to believe my luck is so bad that my 'golden finger' is only good for farming.'
Mulling over the matter of the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li quickened his pace toward home.
...
"In our latest news, at ten o'clock last night, a Leopard Beast snuck past the defense line and attacked a village on the city's outskirts. Fortunately, an Exotic Beast Hunter was passing through the area and killed the Leopard Beast on the spot..."
Lin Li sat in his living room, watching the television silently. He seemed engrossed in the program, but a careful observer would notice his eyes periodically flicking past the screen to the clock hanging on the wall behind it.
Three minutes until ten o'clock. The Spiritual Energy inside his body was almost fully restored.
TICK... TOCK... TICK... TOCK...
'Time is passing so slowly!'
As ten o'clock drew nearer, Lin Li, still on the sofa, grew more and more excited.
The moment arrived. Sensing his Spiritual Energy had fully recovered, Lin Li focused his mind. As if by instinct, he activated his ability to enter the Mysterious Small Island. A faint golden Spiritual Light bloomed from his body, and then he vanished from the sofa into thin air.
"Mr. Li, we have you to thank for yesterday. If it weren't for you, many people would have died at the claws of that Leopard Beast."
"I just did what I had to. Killing those detestable Mutant Beasts is the duty of every Exotic Beast Hunter..."
On the widescreen LCD TV, a reporter was interviewing the man who had killed the Leopard Beast the previous night.
The living room was empty, with only the sound from the television echoing through the space.
...
"I'm back... This time, I'm going to uncover your secrets..."
Lin Li muttered to himself after appearing on the Mysterious Small Island—a hundred-square-meter patch of land surrounded by a vast, white mist.
He looked around, felt and prodded at his surroundings, and even drank some of the sweet water, but he found nothing new.
"You've got to be kidding me. Is this place really only good for growing vegetables?" Lin Li said, dejected, as he stood on the shore and gazed at the white mist in the distance.
Just as he was about to leave the island, his eyes happened to glance at the ordinary-looking little tree growing in its center. That one casual glance was enough to make Lin Li instantly abandon all thought of leaving.
'I don't remember this little tree having any fruit on it before!'
...