Successful Advancement

Yang Wenqing quickly opened the wooden box and took out the Pills inside, no bigger than a longan. Only after cautiously confirming that there was nothing wrong with the Pills did he swallow them in one gulp.

The Pills melted the moment they entered his mouth. Medicinal power several times more majestic than White Dragon Ginseng instantly exploded within him, transforming into a surging flood of spiritual energy that seemed ready to burst his meridians apart.

At that critical moment, the Golden Core deep within the sea of his consciousness generated a powerful suction force, drawing in most of the violent medicinal power before transforming it into gentler spiritual energy and rapidly replenishing his Qi Sea!

At the same time, he frantically absorbed the docile spiritual energy gathered by the Spirit-Gathering Formation, and together they sustained the spiritual energy racing through his spirit veins.

Yang Wenqing focused every shred of his attention within the spirit veins of the Golden Core World Projection, ensuring that the spiritual energy followed an absolutely correct path. Under his watch, the spiritual energy surging through the spirit veins expanded at a visible rate.

He did not know how much time had passed before the rushing spiritual energy, carrying an unstoppable momentum, charged at tremendous speed toward the starting point of the Qi Sea, connecting end to end with the spiritual energy on the other side.

The instant the two met—

"Hum~"

A hum that only Yang Wenqing himself could sense flashed through the spirit veins!

The cycle had formed.

Qi Refining... had succeeded!

From this moment onward, Yang Wenqing's Qi Sea no longer required his deliberate guidance to drive spiritual energy through his spirit veins, forming an end-to-end Greater Celestial Circuit that absorbed and refined the spiritual energy of heaven and earth every moment!

Round and round it went, ceaseless and unending!

An unprecedented sense of fullness instantly spread throughout Yang Wenqing's body. His spirit veins, which had been somewhat swollen and painful, also began to slowly widen and strengthen under the nourishment of this stable cycle.

The joy of successfully stepping into the Qi Refinement Realm surged within him, but Yang Wenqing knew that this was far from the time to relax. The newly formed cycle was still fragile and needed careful stabilization before it could lay a solid foundation.

He forcibly suppressed his roiling emotions and continued maintaining the guidance of the Basic Qi Refining method. With the Spirit-Gathering Formation's continuous assistance, the process went smoothly.

After an unknown amount of time, Yang Wenqing sensed that his Qi Sea was full to the brim once more, while his spirit veins had reached their expansion limit under the current circulation intensity. Only then did he open his eyes from meditation.

The quiet room remained silent, and the Spirit-Gathering Formation's glow was soft and steady. Yet the world in Yang Wenqing's eyes was utterly different from before. He could clearly sense that his control over the spiritual energy in his body had become more direct, and the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea would no longer be exhausted by casting two spells.

He had successfully broken through the first barrier that troubled countless cultivators and officially become a Qi Refinement Practitioner. With spiritual energy nourishing his physical body, he would no longer be affected by ordinary illnesses. So long as nothing unexpected happened, he could live to at least one hundred and twenty.

At last, a relieved yet hopeful smile appeared on Yang Wenqing's face. In this moment, the road of cultivation ahead truly unfolded beneath his feet.

After sitting cross-legged and adjusting his breath for another ten-odd minutes, Yang Wenqing shut down the Spirit-Gathering Formation. When he opened the iron door and stepped out, a cool winter breeze rushed against his face, making him feel as though he had entered a brand-new world.

"Tap tap."

The distinctive sound of police leather boots striking the stone floor echoed down the corridor. Zhang-ge, who had escorted Yang Wenqing into the training room, appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Wen Qing!"

Zhang-ge called out and hurried over.

Yang Wenqing walked toward him as well, though his pace was not as quick.

"Your aura is steady, and spiritual energy is gathering around you. You successfully broke through!" Zhang-ge said, delight written across his face.

"Yes, thanks to this training room." Yang Wenqing wore a perfectly appropriate smile.

"Haha!"

Zhang-ge laughed heartily. He looked Yang Wenqing up and down, then said with a smile still on his face, "Go back and take a shower first, then change into clean clothes. I'll send a message to Old Xiao. Report to the office again tomorrow."

He paused, then added, "You've been in seclusion for two days and two nights. Don't worry, this leave won't count against your five days of Spring Festival vacation."

With that, he first cast a "Dust-Cleansing Technique" on Yang Wenqing.

Only then did Yang Wenqing notice that his undershirt was nearly soaked through with sweat. Even in winter, he carried a heavy odor of perspiration.

"Thank you for looking after me, Zhang-ge."

"No need to be so polite."

After chatting for a few more moments, Yang Wenqing took the opportunity to bid farewell. Once he left the building, he discovered that it was already late. Only patrolling and on-duty security personnel remained in the precinct.

When he reached the precinct gate, he saw Song Yu, a classmate from the same cohort, again.

"When did you go in?"

Song Yu looked Yang Wenqing up and down.

Yang Wenqing replied, "During the day. I borrowed the training room for a bit. Have you been transferred to the night shift?"

Song Yu did not suspect a thing.

The two chatted idly for a few more sentences before Yang Wenqing bade him farewell and left. After Yang Wenqing had walked some distance away, an elderly man wearing the rank insignia of a Senior Police Sergeant emerged from the guard booth beside them and asked Song Yu, "Your classmate?"

"Yeah!"

"He's already advanced to the Qi Refining Stage. He probably used the training room this time to advance."

"Ah!"

Song Yu froze. Then he blankly looked in the direction Yang Wenqing had gone, looked at the old man again, and spat out two words: "Holy shit."

More than half an hour later, Yang Wenqing returned to his dormitory. He first went to the shared washroom cubicle and took a cold shower. When he returned to his room, he instinctively prepared to cook, only to realize that he did not feel hungry in the slightest.

Those in the Qi Refinement Realm could already abstain from food. Eating too much ordinary food would also consume the spiritual energy in the Qi Sea to refine it. Yet many Qi Refinement Practitioners still kept to three meals a day. As the instructors at the Security Academy put it: going too long without eating the five grains would make a person feel empty, and in time, they might even begin to doubt whether they were still human.

Yang Wenqing decided to heed his elders' advice. He steamed half a taro, ate it with white sugar, and then his gaze fell upon the pile of clothes he had changed out of.

He also knew the "Dust-Cleansing Technique," and had learned it long ago in the clan school. It was simply that his Qi Sea had previously contained too little spiritual energy, and he could not bear to use it often.

He stretched out his left hand, drew upon the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea, and formed the hand seal for the "Dust-Cleansing Technique."

As the hand seal formed, spiritual light flickered faintly at his fingertips. An invisible ripple spread outward, gently brushing over the pile of clothes. The grime and even the odors clinging to them seemed to be lightly wiped away by an invisible palm.

In no more than a few breaths, the pile of clothing had become as clean as new, even carrying a trace of freshness left behind by spiritual energy's cleansing.

Yang Wenqing looked at the result with satisfaction, an unconscious smile appearing on his face. Then he murmured, "Cultivation truly is endlessly delightful!"

After saying that, he folded the "washed" clothes and stored them in the wardrobe. Then he sat cross-legged on his bed and entered meditation. However, he did not yet possess a secret method for the Qi Refining Stage. Though he knew the theory, he did not dare try it just to be safe. He could only simulate within the Golden Core World the spell hand seals he had already learned.

Before he knew it, a wave of drowsiness washed over him, and he simply let himself fall into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Yang Wenqing woke as usual before daybreak. Just as he was about to wash up, he remembered that he was already a Qi Refinement Practitioner. He cast a "Dust-Cleansing Technique" on himself, then sat on the bed to meditate, using the basic method to absorb and refine spiritual energy until his Qi Sea was full.

After dawn broke.

He put on his city defense uniform, picked up the envelope containing the money he had received earlier, and took the small piece of steamed taro left in the pot before heading out. He first deposited the money at the self-service deposit machine of the city bank across from the dormitory courtyard, then headed toward the Public Security Office.