By the time Lin Yi returned home, it was already late at night.

Lin Dazhi and Liu Hongmei were already asleep.

Lin Yi went to the bathroom, gave his face a quick wash, and returned to his room.

He had made a good bit of money tonight.

Adding that to his previous earnings, Lin Yi was now quite well-off.

He stuffed all his money into his backpack.

When he went to school on Monday, he would go register first thing.

Then he would find a place to rent.

That way, he could finally escape this cold, loveless home.

Lin Yi had been looking forward to this moment for a very long time.

Now, he could finally fulfill his wishes one by one.

He then pulled out his phone and opened the Fifth Demon Hunting Team group chat.

When he killed the Cat Demon earlier, he had wanted to personally thank Snow Angel.

If it hadn’t been for her help, Lin Yi would have had a very difficult time finding the Cat Demon tonight.

’Who would have thought that a Cat Demon would actually cooperate with an orphanage?’

’And run off to such a remote place to make a deal...’

But Snow Angel had already disappeared.

He had no choice but to thank her in the group chat.

But before he sent the message, he first changed his group display name.

He named it after the clown mask.

Mr. Clown: @Snow Angel, thanks for the information. The Demon Hunting mission is complete.

Just as he sent that message,

a few of the group’s night owls emerged.

Old Timer: Who’s Mr. Clown?

Mystic: Is this person in our group?

Little Shrimp: @Mr. Clown, how did you get into the group?

Seeing that everyone in the group was questioning him,

Lin Yi replied with a smile.

Mr. Clown: Forgot to mention, guys. It’s me, the Demon Hunter. I changed my display name. I’ll be going by this from now on.

Once they saw Lin Yi clarify his identity,

the others all had a moment of realization.

Old Timer: You’re that high school student? Is the Demon Hunting mission finished?

Mr. Clown: Just got back from turning in the mission. It’s all thanks to Snow Angel.

North Nether Wanderer: Snow Angel? She actually helped you? That’s rare.

Mystic: This Snow Angel has never said a word since joining the group. Pretty mysterious.

Little Shrimp: If you guys hadn’t mentioned her, I’d have almost forgotten she existed. Snow Angel, come out and say something.

Everyone in the group shifted their attention from Lin Yi to Snow Angel.

Seeing that the conversation no longer involved him, Lin Yi put his phone away.

He opened the Demon Hunting file pouch and took out the information for his next mission.

[Mission Target: Mouse Demon]

[Target Realm: 3rd-Order]

[Sin Index: 2 Stars]

[Crimes Committed: A cunning rat that frequently appears in residences to commit theft.]

[Mission Requirement: Hunt and kill or capture it within 7 days.]

[Mission Reward: 8,000 yuan, 5 Demon Hunting Points]

Lin Yi’s brow furrowed slightly as he read about the mission’s difficulty and the target demon.

Compared to the previous two missions, the Mouse Demon mission was relatively much simpler.

The difficulty lay in the Mouse Demon’s unpredictable movements.

There wasn’t even a map of its active locations; he had to find it entirely on his own.

Furthermore, the mission deadline was a full week.

This was enough to show that a large amount of time would need to be spent just looking for the Mouse Demon.

Lin Yi took out his phone again.

He opened the Fifth Demon Hunting Team group chat.

Mr. Clown: I might have to trouble everyone again. New mission, target is a Mouse Demon, 3rd-Order cultivation. It’s a thieving demon beast. Please help me keep an eye out for it...

After he sent the message,

several of the more active members in the group confidently agreed to help.

’There’s strength in numbers.’

Lin Yi now understood this deeply.

Ever since joining this group, he’d realized that even though a few of the members enjoyed shooting the shit,

they really did get things done.

Although they weren’t the ones who had found the Cat Demon in the end,

they had been helping Lin Yi search for its whereabouts every day.

With this group, future hunting missions would go much more smoothly.

Putting the file pouch away, Lin Yi took out the Lei Family Diary.

It recorded the cultivation method for the Golden Light Fist, as well as some incantations and key tricks.

After he had completely memorized the cultivation method for the Golden Light Fist,

he knew he wouldn’t be able to practice it tonight; he would have to wait until he went to the Martial Arts Hall tomorrow to try it.

Lin Yi tidied up the things on his bed.

Then he sat cross-legged, facing the window.

He closed his eyes and silently recited the incantations of the Star River Qi Transformation Technique in his mind.

Slowly, Lin Yi entered a space.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of the cosmos.

Everything around him was still pitch-black.

However, what was different was that another star had appeared before him.

But this star’s light was dim and faint; only one of its points was lit.

Another point glowed faintly.

The other three points were completely hidden in the darkness.

Lin Yi closed his eyes, maintaining his cross-legged meditative posture.

Gradually... the sound of the Dao being preached wafted toward him.

Next, waves of a chilling sensation washed over Lin Yi’s entire body.

It felt as if it was enveloping him completely.

However, today Lin Yi discovered that the sound of the Dao was no longer so ethereal and illusory.

He could faintly make out some of its content.

But when he tried to listen carefully,

the sound of the Dao would strangely vanish.

After trying several times and failing to hear the content of the Dao’s sound, Lin Yi decisively gave up.

’The reason I can’t hear the content of the Dao’s sound is probably because my realm isn’t high enough.’

’At my current realm, I can’t yet explore this strange and mysterious cosmos.’

’Perhaps when my cultivation level increases in the future, I’ll be able to hear its content then.’

Lin Yi had a strong feeling.

That when he could finally hear the content of the Dao’s sound,

it would be of immense help to his own improvement.

...

「Early morning.」

When the first ray of sunlight passed through the window and fell upon Lin Yi,

his biological clock woke him.

Lin Yi opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He hadn’t slept in his bed all night.

Yet he felt incredibly refreshed and clear-headed.

All of yesterday’s fatigue was completely gone.

"Falling asleep by meditating and cultivating the ’Star River Qi Transformation Technique’ is actually more refreshing than a full night’s sleep!"

Lin Yi looked out the window at the bright, sunny weather.

He was in an excellent mood.

He then walked out of his bedroom. Lin Dazhi was sitting in the living room, his face completely expressionless.

The sound of SIZZLING came from the kitchen every now and then.

Liu Hongmei was cooking.

The door to Lin Yu’s room was shut tight; he was clearly still asleep.

As Lin Yi came out of the bathroom, Old Lin glanced back at him.

"Just what were you doing last night?"

Hearing this, Lin Yi sat down on the sofa and said nonchalantly, "I had some personal business. You don’t need to worry about it!"

"You..."

Seeing Lin Yi’s cold attitude,

Lin Dazhi’s expression grew even more sullen.

After a long moment, he finally said, "Do you have personal business today, too? If not, I wanted to take you..."

"Yes. I don’t have time!"

Lin Yi cut Lin Dazhi off before he could finish.

He glanced toward the kitchen and said, "Aunt Liu, I won’t be home for breakfast. I have to go out and might be back late... You don’t need to save dinner for me, either. I won’t be eating at home!"

Old Lin: "..."

Liu Hongmei: "..."