I Start with a Mysterious Island

Normally, if someone walked in wanting to sell pearls, Xiaoyun would have simply shaken her head and said the shop only sold pearls, it didn’t buy them.

But she knew her boss was having some issues with her supply chain right now. So, when she heard Lin Li say he had some high-quality pearls to sell, she didn’t turn him away immediately.

"Sir, please wait a moment. I’ll go ask my boss," Xiaoyun said.

"Okay, thank you," Lin Li said with a nod.

As Xiaoyun went to find her boss, Lin Li browsed around the jewelry shop, which specialized in pearls.

The display cases inside the shop held all sorts of pearl jewelry.

The pieces were exquisitely designed; a single glance told you they were the work of a master.

’Last year, Su Yue got me a gift for my birthday. I should get her something for her birthday this year.

This pearl jewelry is all beautifully designed. Maybe I’ll get her a piece of pearl jewelry for her birthday!’

Just as Lin Li was short-listing the pearl jewelry as a potential birthday gift, a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, about the same age as Su Yue, walked over to him with Xiaoyun.

This beautiful woman’s name was Zhang Yuxi. She was twenty-five years old and the current owner of ’Jiabao Pearl’.

The shop had originally been managed by Zhang Yuxi’s mother. But after a serious illness, she no longer had the energy to run the business, even after recovering.

So, she had her daughter take over for her.

"Sir," Xiaoyun called out to Lin Li, who was still looking at the jewelry.

Hearing his name, Lin Li turned around. Standing next to the employee who had gone to find the owner was a beautiful young woman with shoulder-length hair, willow-leaf brows, a delicate oval face, and a tailored black blazer.

Zhang Yuxi looked the young man over and said with a smile, "Hello, I’m the owner of Jiabao Pearl. My name is Zhang Yuxi. And you are...?"

"Hello, Boss Zhang. I’m Lin Li," Lin Li replied politely.

"Xiaoyun told me you have some high-quality pearls you’re looking to sell?" Zhang Yuxi asked.

"That’s right. I was wondering if you might be interested, Boss Zhang," Lin Li said.

"Could I see them first? If the quality is as good as you say, I’ll buy them. And I’ll give you a fair price," Zhang Yuxi said.

"Of course." Lin Li was pleased to see she was interested.

He then took a small, sealed plastic bag from his pocket containing five pearls he’d prepared earlier and handed it to her.

"These pearls are in perfect condition!" Xiaoyun exclaimed from the side, her eyes wide as she saw the five flawless, perfectly round white pearls in the bag.

Zhang Yuxi’s expression was one of astonishment as she took the pearls from Lin Li.

Although the young man had claimed his pearls were high-quality, she had initially assumed he was just boasting—like a street vendor praising their own wares.

’But he actually produced pearls of high quality... no, of exceptional quality. This made Zhang Yuxi a little suspicious. Could these five pearls be synthetic, man-made ones?’

"Mr. Lin, are these from your own pearl farm?" Zhang Yuxi asked.

"They aren’t farmed. They’re all completely natural," Lin Li said.

’Back in Dongwu City, Lin Li had spoken with Wang Gui, who told him that the oysters sold at his restaurant were all harvested from a giant, wild lake.

In a place like the Spirit Realm, the wilderness was fraught with danger. Who would dare to set up a farm in a wild lake? Did they have a death wish?

So the oysters were wild, which meant the pearls they produced were, of course, completely natural.’

Seeing Lin Li’s calm expression, devoid of any hint of deception, Zhang Yuxi gave a slight internal nod. Then she said to him,

"Mr. Lin, I’ll need to test these pearls with a Spiritual Artifact."

"Of course. Test them however you’d like, Boss Zhang," Lin Li said, unfazed.

"Please follow me to my office. The Spiritual Artifact for the test is in there," Zhang Yuxi said.

Lin Li nodded and followed Zhang Yuxi to her office.

Zhang Yuxi’s office was on the second floor of the shop. At around fifty square meters, it was quite spacious.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Lin."

After leading Lin Li into the office, Zhang Yuxi gestured for him to sit on the sofa.

Then, she walked over to a cabinet, opened it, and took out a pair of black metal frames that had no lenses.

’I can’t believe the Spiritual Artifact Miss Zhang mentioned is a pair of glasses...’ Lin Li thought, watching as Zhang Yuxi took out the lensless metal frames and sat on the adjacent sofa.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

There was a knock at the office door.

"Come in."

CLICK. Xiaoyun, dressed in a qipao and carrying a tray with two cups of tea, entered the office.

She walked over to the sofas and placed a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of Lin Li and another in front of Zhang Yuxi.

"Thank you,"

Lin Li said to Xiaoyun. She gave him a small smile before leaving the office.

He picked up his cup, took a sip of tea, and then turned his gaze to Zhang Yuxi, who had put on the frames.

"Mr. Lin, I’m going to begin testing your pearls now," Zhang Yuxi said, the lensless frames perched on her face.

"Mm, go right ahead." Lin Li, completely confident in the pearls from the Spirit Realm, gave her a relaxed smile.

A very faint Spiritual Energy Wave emanated from Zhang Yuxi.

’This Miss Zhang’s Spiritual Energy Wave is so weak. She has a long way to go before she can become a Cultivator...’

Lin Li perceived the Spiritual Energy Wave coming from Zhang Yuxi, allowing him to roughly gauge her cultivation level.

Although Zhang Yuxi had awakened her Spirituality, her cultivation aptitude was so poor that it would likely take her another six or seven years to become a First Rank Initial Stage Cultivator.

Zhang Yuxi’s cultivation aptitude wasn’t great, but even so, it was still far better than Lin Li’s had been before he ate the Magical Little Fruit.

At least she had some hope of one day becoming a First Rank Initial Stage Cultivator. As for the old Lin Li, if he hadn’t suddenly acquired his ’Mysterious Small Island’ cheat, he would have never reached the First Rank Initial Stage in his entire life.

Zhang Yuxi mobilized the scarce Spiritual Energy within her body, gathering it at her fingertip. A very faint, pale gold Spiritual Light materialized there.

She touched the frame of the glasses with her glowing fingertip, and the faint Spiritual Energy was swiftly absorbed by the Spiritual Artifact.

...