Chapter 10: Is Cultivation Really This Expensive for Practitioners?

"Ha~"

Rubbing his sleepy eyes and letting out a yawn, Lin Li sat up from the sofa.

He turned his head to look at the clock hanging on the wall behind the television and realized it was already 1:30 PM.

"I took a nap, but I didn't expect to sleep for nearly two and a half hours."

This sleep had been incredibly satisfying, leaving Lin Li feeling fully refreshed and sweeping away his previous drowsiness and fatigue.

"Gurgle..." The sound coming from his stomach reminded Lin Li to hurry up and eat lunch.

He picked up his phone from the side and opened a food delivery app. Just as he was about to place an order like he usually did, his hand suddenly paused.

"I only have 500,000 left in savings, and there are many places I'll need money for later. I need to be frugal; I shouldn't order delivery. I'll just cook for myself!"

Lin Li exited the delivery app, locked his phone, set it aside, and got up to head to the kitchen.

He had the 300-yuan worth of exotic beast wild boar meat he’d bought that morning in the fridge. He could tidy that up and make himself a bowl of egg and shredded meat noodles that was at least presentable.

…………

He heated the pan, added oil, and sautéed green onions and ginger until fragrant. Then, he added the sliced exotic wild boar meat, stir-frying it until it changed color before adding water.

Once the water boiled, he added the noodles. When they were cooked, he poured in an egg, and finally added salt, chicken essence, and a sprinkle of chopped green onions. A fragrant bowl of egg and shredded meat noodles was ready.

Lin Li carried the steaming bowl of noodles out of the kitchen and placed it on the dining table.

He sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and was just about to dig in when the doorbell rang.

"Ding-dong..."

Who is it? Can't they wait until I finish my lunch to ring the doorbell... Lin Li muttered to himself, then set down his chopsticks and walked toward the door.

"Click."

Opening the door, a beautiful stranger appeared before Lin Li. She looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, stood 1.68 meters tall, and was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

With long hair draped over her shoulders and an oval face, she had an air of scholarly refinement that made it clear at a glance that she was the gentle, soft-spoken type.

"Hello, is there something you need?" Lin Li asked the stranger.

"Hello, my name is Xia Qing. I moved in next door last night. Please look after me in the future, thank you." Xia Qing greeted Lin Li with a smile.

The house that had been empty for nearly two years finally had someone living in it... Lin Li nodded at her, responding politely.

"Hello, my name is Lin Li. Neighbors should help each other out. If you run into any trouble in the future, feel free to come find me."

Xia Qing was naturally timid. She had dawdled at home for quite a while, gathering her courage before finally coming to ring her neighbor's doorbell.

She hadn't expected the neighbor to be a young man in his early twenties who looked like he might still be in college. This gave Xia Qing, who was a few years older, a bit more confidence.

Hearing Lin Li's polite response, she felt that her new neighbor was a kind-hearted person.

"Mom, didn't you go out to buy soy sauce? Why haven't you gone yet?"

A little girl of about five or six years old, wearing a white dress with her hair in a small ponytail and sporting chubby cheeks, poked her head out from the gap in the door behind Xia Qing and asked in confusion.

So the new neighbor is a family... Lin Li smiled slightly at the cute little girl.

Seeing this, Xia Qing greeted her daughter, "Zhou Tongtong, this is Brother Lin Li. We're neighbors now, go ahead and say hello to him."

"Hello, Brother Lin Li." The little girl named Zhou Tongtong looked up, staring at Lin Li with large, round, dark, and shiny eyes, and greeted him very politely.

"Hello." No one could dislike such a cute little girl. Lin Li replied with a chuckle, then turned to his new neighbor, "I have extra soy sauce at home. Let me get you a bottle!"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly, I'll just go out and buy some." Xia Qing quickly shook her head. She had just moved in and finished introducing herself; she felt bad about troubling him so soon.

"It's fine, I bought several bottles during the 618 shopping festival," Lin Li said with a smile.

Without waiting for her to speak again, he turned back into his apartment, walked into the kitchen, opened the cabinet, and took out an unopened bottle of soy sauce.

"Here, take this!" Returning to the door, Lin Li handed the soy sauce to Xia Qing.

"Thank you. How much is it? I'll transfer the money to you." Seeing that Lin Li had already brought it out, Xia Qing stopped refusing. After accepting the soy sauce, she took out her phone to transfer the money.

"No need, it's just a bottle of soy sauce, it's not worth much." Although Lin Li was a bit strapped for cash, he could still afford a bottle of soy sauce.

"No, if you don't take the money, I can't accept the soy sauce," Xia Qing said very seriously.

"Alright then! It was on sale during the last shopping festival, it was 9.9 yuan." Sensing her firm attitude, Lin Li took out his phone and opened his payment QR code.

After paying, the two exchanged a few more pleasantries before returning to their respective homes.

"Oh no, I need to eat my noodles quickly, or they'll get soggy."

As soon as he closed the door, Lin Li ran to the dining table, sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat heartily.

…………

"Whoosh..."

The sound of running water came from the kitchen, and after a short while, it stopped.

Having finished washing the dishes, Lin Li came out of the kitchen. He wiped his wet hands with a dry towel and walked into the living room.

"Well-rested, well-fed, I'm in great shape now. Time to start cultivating."

Lin Li sat on the living room sofa, took the exquisite gift bag, and pulled out the gift box containing the spirit stones.

Opening the box, ten crystal-clear, pigeon-egg-sized spirit stones appeared before him.

He took one out and observed it up close; the crystal-clear stone was incredibly beautiful.

At 50,000 yuan a piece, how could it not be beautiful?

He muttered to himself, then sat cross-legged and held the spirit stone in his right palm.

He channeled the spiritual energy within his body to gather in his right hand, and a pale golden light bloomed from his palm.

The spiritual energy in his body began to draw out the energy contained within the stone. Soon, the energy was pulled out and slowly absorbed by Lin Li.

Ten minutes later, the spiritual energy in Lin Li's body was fully restored. He continued to absorb the energy from the stone while simultaneously consuming his own energy to temper his body, increasing his maximum capacity.

Nearly fifty minutes later, the spirit stone in Lin Li's hand was drained dry; not a single trace of energy could be absorbed from it anymore.

"What the f***?!!!"

"50,000 yuan only lasted me an hour of cultivation? Is cultivating this expensive for practitioners?"

…………

(End of chapter)