Li Ming was off today, so Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun patrolled District 3 together. At noon, Li Ming's voice came through the squad's private communication channel—the cultivator's skeleton had sold for thirteen thousand.
Yang Wenqing found it a pity, but his pockets were empty. He had never been in the habit of asking for loans, and even if he wanted to borrow money, he had no one to turn to. Aside from Captain Xiao Liang, the others around him were probably not well-off either. Besides, he still had an outstanding debt of his own to repay.
After finally enduring until the afternoon shift change, Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun both headed straight back to the Second Squad's station, though they were looking forward to different things.
Zhou Kun charged into the room first, but after sweeping his gaze around, he did not spot Li Ming. Liu-jie rose at that moment and said, "The money's with me." She held two thick envelopes in her hands.
Just as the two accepted the envelopes, Xiao Liang entered the room with Ye Yong. Since Li Ming had openly announced the sale of the skeleton in the squad channel at noon, Ye Yong saw the envelopes in Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun's hands and immediately cried out noisily, "Big brothers, you have to treat us!"
Hearing that, Liu-jie smacked the back of Ye Yong's head irritably. "All you think about all day is eating and drinking. You should save some money too. Getting a wife in the future will cost you plenty."
Ye Yong promptly shut his mouth.
Afterward, everyone entered the changing room, chatting as they removed their equipment. When they came out, Xiao Liang stepped forward and said to Yang Wenqing, "Wen Qing, come with me."
Yang Wenqing understood. After greeting Zhou Kun and Liu-jie, he followed Xiao Liang out of the room.
The moment they stepped outside, Yang Wenqing said quietly, "I'll go buy a White Dragon Ginseng first."
Though he felt that he probably would not need medicinal assistance to advance to the Qi Refining Stage, now that he had a bit of money in hand, he still intended to buy a White Dragon Ginseng just in case.
Xiao Liang halted and looked at Yang Wenqing. "I happen to have a Dragon Ginseng Pill. I'll lend it to you for now; you can repay me when you've earned enough merit."
His tone was casual, as though he were merely lending Yang Wenqing some ordinary item. Without waiting for Yang Wenqing's response, he continued, "Consider it my asking you for a favor."
As he spoke, he handed over a wooden box half the size of his palm. A preservation formation on top glimmered faintly. Yang Wenqing met Xiao Liang's eyes and found it difficult to refuse this kindness.
The two arrived at the county branch office. The moment they entered through the main gate, they saw a middle-aged man in a Senior Police Sergeant's uniform striding toward them.
"Old Xiao!" the middle-aged man greeted Xiao Liang warmly.
"Old Zhang!" Xiao Liang shook his hand politely, then turned to introduce Yang Wenqing. "Wen Qing, this is Zhang-ge from the Logistics Division."
"Zhang-ge." Yang Wenqing greeted him respectfully.
"No need for ceremony. Come with me." Zhang-ge waved his hand and led the two down a small path to the left of the main building, arriving before a standalone structure. A formation at the entrance scanned them, and only after confirming their authorization did the metal doors slowly slide open.
Beyond the doors lay a brightly lit corridor, with tightly shut metal doors on both sides, each engraved with intricate soundproofing runes.
Zhang-ge led them to a door midway down the corridor. He took out a jade talisman and pressed it into a groove beside the door. The door opened silently, revealing a cultivation chamber of roughly ten square meters. There was only a meditation cushion, while simple Spirit-Gathering Formations were inscribed across the walls and floor.
"This is the one. The jade talisman for activating the Spirit-Gathering Formation is here." Zhang-ge handed Yang Wenqing a small jade talisman. "The spiritual energy gathered here has all been refined. There's a calling formation beside the meditation cushion—if anything urgent happens, press it, and we'll know."
After saying that, Zhang-ge took out another oil-paper package. "This has three days' worth of food and water. The restroom is next door."
As he finished, he looked toward Xiao Liang. Xiao Liang said to Yang Wenqing, "The cost has already been deducted in advance from three months of your merit quota."
"Thank you, Zhang-ge. Thank you, Captain!" Yang Wenqing thanked them solemnly.
"Cultivate in peace. We'll be waiting outside for your good news." Xiao Liang patted Yang Wenqing's shoulder, then left the cultivation chamber together with Zhang-ge.
After watching the metal door close, Zhang-ge could not help sighing. "So young."
Xiao Liang nodded. "Many things in this world are simply that unfair. There are younger people with even greater talent; they only need to guide spiritual energy for a few years before naturally entering the Qi Refining Stage."
Zhang-ge picked up the thread. "There are even greater geniuses who, after reaching the Qi Refining Stage, do not need to temper their bones at all. They simply cultivate Qi and meditate every day, and in little more than a decade, they can break through to the Marrow Cleansing Stage. Yet we have cultivated for decades and are still only at the Third Refinement."
After speaking, he looked at Xiao Liang and asked, "Can this young brother succeed?"
Xiao Liang considered it before answering, "There's a high chance. You should be able to sense it too—his Qi Sea is full to the brim. He is only one step away from the Qi Refining Stage."
Zhang-ge stared at the door in silence for over ten seconds before asking, "Will you give this year's exam a try?"
The exam he referred to was the examination for promotion to Police Commissioner.
Xiao Liang answered, "We'll see." With that, he abruptly changed the subject. "You should have quite a bit of good tea here, right? I finally made it here once—you can't possibly make me stand around here waiting, can you?"
"Haha, come on. To my office."
Laughing and chatting, the two headed deeper into the corridor.
Inside the cultivation room.
Yang Wenqing walked to the meditation cushion in the center of the chamber and sat down cross-legged. He first regulated his breathing, calming his somewhat turbulent emotions. Only when his heart was as still as an ancient well did he pick up the activation jade talisman and, following Zhang-ge's instructions, inject a wisp of faint spiritual energy into it.
"Bzzz..."
The jade talisman lit up with a soft white glow. At the same time, the patterns of the Spirit-Gathering Formation inscribed on the walls and floor lit up one after another. Very soon, he felt the density of spiritual energy in the cultivation chamber steadily rising. Moreover, this spiritual energy was extraordinarily docile—far easier to absorb and refine than the spiritual energy outside, or even that gathered by the spinal bone.
Yang Wenqing did not waste any time. He immediately closed his eyes, sank his consciousness into his body, and circulated the Basic Qi Refining method. As he slowly drew in spiritual energy from the outside world, he also guided the spiritual energy within the Qi Sea of his lower Dantian, already full to bursting, through his long-opened Spirit Veins.
One Greater Celestial Circuit...
Two Greater Celestial Circuits...
He proceeded with extreme patience and did not seek speed. With the aid of the Spirit-Gathering Formation, the docile spiritual energy outside was continuously drawn in, replenishing the cycle between his Qi Sea and Spirit Veins, making the process far smoother than usual.
The third Greater Celestial Circuit...
The eighth Greater Celestial Circuit...
He repeated the process again and again. The Qi Sea's rotation gradually accelerated without his noticing, while the Spirit Veins grew faintly hot beneath the continuous, steady wash of spiritual energy.
As the tenth Greater Celestial Circuit neared completion and the spiritual energy within his body turned into tame streams, an indescribably profound sensation suddenly surged into his heart!
The next moment, the spiritual energy within his Spirit Veins abruptly accelerated without any warning. Had Yang Wenqing's Qi Sea not been sufficiently full at that moment, it would likely have been drained dry in an instant, causing his advancement to fail.
Yang Wenqing knew that success or failure would be decided within the next dozen seconds. The spiritual energy in his Qi Sea was enough to complete three Greater Celestial Circuits through his Spirit Veins, and the Spirit-Gathering Formation could continuously provide spiritual energy to replenish his Qi Sea.
Yet he still took out the wooden box containing the Dragon Ginseng Pill.
PS: Brothers, it's been added to the library. Please keep reading, send monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, rewards, and comments. Comments can add weight too, brothers—even typing a "1" would be great.
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