The Post Sky Tipping Era

The dull sound of impacts echoed along the third floor hallway.

Blood spattered accompanied by screams.

No matter how Wu Zhen begged for mercy, Li Yi showed no mercy, replying with attacks, each more ferocious than the last. Gradually, Wu Zhen stopped begging, his body slowly going limp, unable even to defend himself subconsciously.

"Li Yi, if you keep hitting him, he's going to die, and we certainly aren't hiring a murderer as a guide,"

At that moment, manager Xu Ming, having heard the commotion, appeared. He stood at the other end of the hallway, not intervening, merely admonishing.

Hearing this, Li Yi reluctantly let go, setting down his blood-stained knee.

"Wu Zhen, very sorry, I might have gone a bit too far, but please give me a break, let's pretend this never happened, don't hold a grudge, let bygones be bygones. I'll treat you to a meal later; we're still good brothers, good friends, how does that sound?" Li Yi said earnestly.

"I give your mom... a break, cough cough," Wu Zhen, not yet unconscious, said through a bloodied face, his words garbled.

Li Yi crouched down, looked at him, "So, you also don't like giving face to others, huh? Funny, I don't like it much either. You should be thankful this is AnDing District, if this were the Ruined District, you would have been dead by now."

"Cough cough, you dare kill someone? I don't believe it."

Wu Zhen forced his blurry eyes open, his eyes, now lacking any fierce light, were just a blur of blood-red.

"Who knows? We can't exactly go and try it," Li Yi said as he touched his head.

Wu Zhen shuddered, feeling as if a wild beast were licking his scalp, giving him an eerie chill. He had a feeling that Li Yi really did want to kill him; this was no joke.

Seeing that he remained silent and motionless, Li Yi lost interest, stood up, and turned to look at the others.

"This guy..." the others tensed.

Li Yi stared at them seriously, "You still owe me a favor."

"Li Yi, the whole misunderstanding earlier...there was no need to suddenly attack. If you don't want to accept our earlier offer, then forget it. We won't force you," Zhao Xiaoxiao said, her expression clearly filled with fear and unease.

Perhaps Li Yi had no power or money, just a poor guy, but that didn't change the fact he dared to strike, and he did so dishonorably with a sneak attack.

Li Yi glanced at them, said no more, only looked towards manager Xu Ming, then pointed at Wu Zhen lying on the ground, "How are we going to handle this?"

"This was a private fight; we won't intervene," Xu Ming said in his official capacity. "Next time you want to fight, go down to the first basement floor; there's a training area there that's more suited for fighting."

"That's better."

Li Yi nodded, "I'm broke, can't afford to pay for damages, but I've got a remedy. Buy two hot eggs, wrap them in a towel, apply them, and the wounds will heal quickly."

"His condition isn't something hot eggs will fix," Xu Ming pointed out. "You do whatever it is you're doing, we won't intervene, but work at midnight can't be delayed. If it's not carried out on time, it would be a breach of contract, necessitating a compensation payment according to the contract."

"Don't worry, I won't delay work. Since everyone's okay, I'll head back to my room to rest now, call me if you need anything."

Li Yi entered his room and then closed the door.

Manager Xu Ming merely instructed his assistant, "Have someone clean up, don't leave any blood smells."

"Damn it, this Li Yi, really thinks highly of himself. If it weren't for his sneak attack, he definitely might not have beaten Wu Zhen," one Cultivator angrily remarked after the others had left.

"You're so arrogant, why didn't you do something earlier? Like I've always said, barefoot is not afraid of wearing shoes. You should have just mentioned the earlier offer; be polite, don't try to threaten people. Zhao Xiaoxiao, you said it yourself, Li Yi's Cultivation Value is high, once he opens the Spirit Medium and starts seeking revenge, can you handle it?" another person now sobered up and remarked dismissively.

"Cultivation isn't just about human relations; it includes fighting and killing. You'll never understand the violence inherent in Cultivators' bones. Wu Zhen was a bit over the line earlier; remember, cutting off someone's livelihood is akin to murdering their parents. We assumed Li Yi would compromise, but that was wishful thinking on our part as we all have something of a nest egg, not really destitute. But Li Yi is different, right now he doesn't even have the money for a bus ride home."

"Having come to this, you still plot against others, it's no wonder they fight you for their lives, and besides, others can afford to gamble with their lives, can you?"

"I..." Zhao Xiaoxiao's complexion kept changing, and a sense of panic inexplicably rose in her heart.

Once Li Yi activated the Spirit Medium, cultivating ahead of them, it would indeed be dangerous if he decided to take revenge.

"Alright, let's end this matter here. The earlier proposal is null and void. Just take care of yourselves and stop dragging others down."

The temporarily-formed group immediately fell apart, ignoring Wu Zhen who had been severely beaten, and returned to their own rooms with heavy hearts.

Everyone was in a bad mood.

Because it seemed they had offended a cultivator with great potential.

"Damn, this Li Yi really dares to strike hard. That was beating to kill, not just a fight. If that supervisor hadn't intervened, Wu Zhen would have been beaten to death," Zhang Gao secretly peeked from the doorway of Room 6, feeling both shocked and scared.

He hadn't shown himself before because he had been threatened too. Although annoyed, it didn't affect his own interests, so he did nothing. Little did he know that these people would cause such a mess after finding Li Yi.

"I'm glad I refused to join them in messing with Li Yi, otherwise I would have offended him too."

Luckily, Zhang Gao felt relieved that he hadn't gotten involved, otherwise Li Yi would surely hold a grudge against him too.

"Now, Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others must be sleeping with one eye open, fearing every moment. Once Li Yi activates the Spirit Medium, with his ruthless streak, it's hard to guarantee he won't come after them unawares. Even if they don't die, they'd be paralyzed. If I were in their shoes, I'd rather quit this job immediately and stay far away, instead of constantly worrying... Oh right, they can't even quit because they'd have to pay a breach of contract fee."

Seeing these detestable people come to grief made Zhang Gao quite happy.

However, this incident made Zhang Gao start to admire Li Yi a little, feeling that this person was somewhat extraordinary and definitely had a promising future.

Soon.

The corridor returned to silence.

Everyone stayed quietly in their rooms, resting, and by unspoken agreement, selectively forgot about the earlier incident, never to mention it again.

At this moment, Li Yi was calming his emotions, attempting to meditate.

He could clearly feel a huge change in himself. Ever since his life-or-death experience in the Ruined District, it seemed like his soul had transformed; he had felt not a ripple when he struck Wu Zhen, and at one point he even wanted to kill him.

"I'm a good young man, how did I become so violent all of a sudden? Could it be that I'm naturally evil, as the resentment within the 'Sword Coin' suggested? No, definitely not, I must have been influenced by that resentment; it's a side effect of the incomplete wonders. Yes, that must be it, I'm a good person," Li Yi argued with himself.

"But beating him felt really good, heh heh," Li Yi thought.

This rationale quickly convinced his conscience, and he gradually settled down, eventually succeeding in meditation.

After entering meditation, Li Yi did not guide the cosmic energy within the Sword Coin; he was saving that energy to sell for money at night. So, he tried to guide the surrounding cosmic energy himself to see what his cultivation would be like on his own.

As a result, the returns of four full hours of effort were less than even ten minutes with the Sword Coin.

He exerted himself to guide and absorb cosmic energy, yet his cultivation value dropped to sixty percent.

Moreover, he didn't even capture one hundred units of cosmic energy during those four hours.

"This is the state of a regular cultivator; it's too difficult... Without mysterious objects, one definitely needs to hire a guide, otherwise, cultivation is just too slow." Li Yi lamented internally, but he was not impatient and continued refining his cultivation skills.

Whether guiding or absorbing cosmic energy, he practiced repeatedly, aiming to eventually turn these skills into instincts.

He had heard online that some powerful cultivators had developed an instinct for cultivation, and those with this instinct could cultivate autonomously twenty-four hours a day, improving daily.

And what young people like Li Yi loved most was making progress.