I Start with a Mysterious Island

GULP.

His mouth watering, Lin Li couldn’t wait to stuff the fragrant, egg-sized red fruit into his mouth.

CRUNCH... CRACK...

His teeth came together, instantly crushing the red fruit to bits.

Sweet juice flowed between his lips and teeth. The delightful flavor captivated Lin Li. It tasted exactly the same as the two little fruits he’d eaten before—so delicious it was intoxicating.

’It’s coming...’

A moment later, just as Lin Li had hoped after eating the Magical Little Fruit, the warm current of Spiritual Energy appeared.

As he felt the warm current inside him swell, the joyful expression on his face deepened.

’The last two times, I was knocked out. But I’m much stronger now. This time, I’m definitely not going to pass out like before.’

Lin Li felt the warm current in his body grow more and more ferocious as it poured into his Dantian. Unlike the previous two times, he didn’t just stand there blankly, doing nothing.

This time, he drew Spiritual Energy from his nearly-full Dantian and, by his will, circulated it rapidly through his body, tempering his flesh over and over again.

’Ugh... Damn it, I can’t hold on! This little fruit has more than double the Spiritual Energy of the previous ones!’

Lin Li circulated the Spiritual Energy in his Dantian to temper his body, but after just a moment, he realized the warm current was only growing stronger, showing no signs of stopping. Its sheer force far exceeded his expectations.

Even as he desperately circulated Spiritual Energy to temper his body, the amount he expended was nothing compared to the massive flood of energy pouring into his Dantian.

’Slow down! Don’t be so ferocious! I can’t take it anymore! I don’t want to pass out again...’

’Damn it... Next time... I swear I won’t pass out next time...’

Feeling as though the immense Spiritual Energy was about to burst his Dantian, Lin Li’s face flushed crimson. With a final cry, just as he had the previous two times, he passed out.

THUD.

The second time he ate a little fruit, he hadn’t been careful and had landed face-first when he fainted, leaving his face aching for a while after he woke up.

So this time, Lin Li had the foresight to lean back just before he fainted, ensuring he landed on his back, face-up.

That, at least, was some consolation for fainting yet again after eating a Magical Little Fruit.

After Lin Li passed out, a dazzling, pale golden Spiritual Light erupted from his body, enveloping him like a cocoon.

While the Spiritual Energy from the Magical Little Fruit filled his Dantian, it was also improving his cultivation aptitude.

...

On the Mysterious Small Island, shrouded in a vast white mist, a mumble broke the silence.

"Ugh... Eaten three Magical Little Fruits, passed out three times. Good thing no one saw me, or I’d die of embarrassment."

After waking up, Lin Li pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time. He saw that he’d been unconscious for about fifteen minutes, five minutes longer than after he ate the small green fruit the second time.

Climbing to his feet from the grass, Lin Li sensed the changes within his Dantian.

Unsurprisingly, the maximum amount of Spiritual Energy his Dantian could hold had increased. He mobilized the Spiritual Energy within it, and instantly, a Spiritual Energy Wave far more powerful than that of the Second Order Initial Stage radiated from his body.

He had reached the Second Order Middle Stage.

From this moment on, Lin Li was officially a Second Order Middle Stage Cultivator.

In just a little over a month, he had gone from an unremarkable, ordinary person who couldn’t become a Cultivator no matter how much he wanted to, to possessing the power of the Second Order Middle Stage. If word of this got out, no one would believe it.

When an ordinary person awakens their Spirituality, they become a Cultivator through training.

Once on the path of a Cultivator, breakthroughs become progressively more difficult as one’s cultivation level rises.

Even a Cultivator with exceptional aptitude would need a very long time to advance from the Second Order Initial Stage to the Middle Stage. It was unheard of to make such a breakthrough in less than half a month, as Lin Li had done.

Take that dandy from Dongwu City in the Spirit Realm, Zhou Tianci, for example. For him to break through from the Second Order Initial Stage to the Middle Stage would take at least a year and a half.

Yet Lin Li had managed it in less than half a month. If Zhou Tianci ever found out, he would probably explode with jealousy on the spot.

Haaa... Lin Li took a deep breath, savoring the power of the Second Order Middle Stage.

’I saw in some featured posts on the Exotic Beast Hunter app that even though it gets harder for Cultivators to break through at higher levels, every time they do, their power increases tremendously—far more than the boost a Tier One Cultivator gets with each breakthrough.

’Now it seems what the posts said is true! An ordinary Second Order Middle Stage Cultivator would have no problem taking on three at the Initial Stage.

’And since I’ve eaten the Magical Little Fruits, not only has my Dantian’s Spiritual Energy capacity increased, but my strength, speed, and endurance have been enhanced as well. At my current Second Order Middle Stage, taking on four or five Second Order Initial Stage Cultivators by myself should be no problem. Haha, I’m so strong!’

Feeling the immense power within his body, Lin Li couldn’t help but grin before letting out a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha... I’ve taken another huge step toward my dream of marrying a rich beauty and reaching the pinnacle of my life!"

After his breakthrough to the Second Order Middle Stage, Lin Li found that creating a Fireball was even more effortless.

’At my current level, hunting Tier One Mutant Beasts should be as easy as slicing vegetables...’

"Fireball."

Lin Li channeled the Spiritual Energy from his Dantian. He raised his left hand, and with a single thought, a small, apple-sized Fireball instantly materialized in his palm.

Just as he was about to swing his arm and shout, "Go!" to hurl the Fireball toward the distant water, he suddenly noticed that the Mysterious Small Island beneath his feet had expanded again with his breakthrough.

A thought flickered in his mind, and information about the Mysterious Small Island appeared out of nowhere in his head.

Island Area: 1000 square meters

’This time, breaking through from Second Order Initial Stage to Middle Stage expanded the Mysterious Small Island from five hundred to one thousand square meters. If I reach the Second Order High Rank next, will it double again to two thousand?’

...