Surprise and Regret

In the living room.

The multicolored glow of the Spirit-Gathering Formation around Yang Wenqing cast him in the likeness of an immortal from legend.

Ten minutes slipped by quietly. Then, a burst of agonizing pain far beyond his expectations suddenly struck. Even the Foundation-Stabilizing Formation could not suppress it, and Yang Wenqing lasted less than three seconds before crying out.

He immediately stopped cultivating.

"Just as I thought..."

Yang Wenqing's discouragement flashed by only briefly before he quickly calmed down and began to think.

This was because his physical foundation was not yet strong enough. Forcing himself to cultivate would likely damage his foundation. Ordinary cultivators had to follow the steps strictly, one by one, precisely because their bodies could not withstand the infusion of spiritual energy. Forcing cultivation risked exploding to death, or turning into a puddle of flesh and blood.

Then he thought of how the Golden Core had previously nourished his skin, blood, and internal organs, and decided to try cultivating the first four refinements together using that approach.

This had been one of his planned backup options all along. He had simply been unwilling to give up, wanting to try beginning directly from the Fifth Refinement like the geniuses described in those records.

Yang Wenqing began channeling spiritual energy to repair his damaged meridians. The process lasted an hour. Once his injuries had settled, he began cultivating according to his backup plan.

His consciousness sank completely into that mysterious Golden Core World. Here, his control over himself had reached its peak; with the slightest shift of thought, the spiritual energy surging through his body obeyed him as easily as his own arms and fingers.

He intended to use his mind four ways at once, simultaneously advancing the first four refinements of the Ninefold Refinement Method.

Very quickly, beneath the clear projection of the Golden Core World, the vast spiritual energy was exquisitely divided into four tributaries with distinct properties:

The main current still followed the method of Bones and Muscles Resonance, tempering the bones and muscles throughout his body again and again, producing a muffled rumble like thunder.

At the same time, an extremely fine and gentle strand of spiritual energy separated out. Following the path recorded in the Secret Art, it softly and continuously brushed beneath the skin membrane all over his body. Under this unique stimulation, his skin seemed to be gently stretched by invisible hands.

Another stream of spiritual energy quietly merged into his rushing blood. Accompanying the powerful beat of his heart, it drove his blood to circulate faster, making it increasingly heavy, faintly radiating the gleam and force of flowing lead and mercury.

The final stream, and also the gentlest, seeped slowly into his five viscera and six bowels like spring rain nourishing all things. It gently stimulated the vitality of his internal organs, washing away the subtle lingering ailments accumulated over the years.

At first, controlling four streams of spiritual energy at once was like keeping four wavering threads suspended in the air. Several times, the spiritual energy nearly ran out of control, but fortunately, the Golden Core World assisted him.

Yet after a long while, Yang Wenqing's brows slowly furrowed in meditation.

Controlling four streams of spiritual energy at once was like steering four small boats through a storm. The mental drain was immense, and the spiritual energy occasionally became chaotic. He realized that biting off more than he could chew would only lead to twice the effort for half the result if he forced himself to keep all four lines moving forward. He might even lose all his previous gains, because he still needed to guide spiritual energy to repair the damaged areas.

As thoughts raced through his mind, Yang Wenqing decisively adjusted his strategy. He abandoned the cultivation of the Second, Third, and Fourth Refinements, focusing mainly on the First Refinement. Once the Golden Core World absorbed the overflowing spiritual energy and sent it surging back into his body, he would guide that backlash within the Golden Core World.

In an instant, his taut mind abruptly relaxed, and cultivation became smooth once more!

Another three hours passed. When Yang Wenqing felt that the injuries within his body had reached their limit, he decisively stopped cultivating and began channeling spiritual energy to repair his damaged muscles and bones. Another hour passed like this.

"Though it isn't as good as I expected, my cultivation speed will probably still advance a thousand miles in a single day. Perhaps I can break through to the Fourth Refinement in one stroke within a few years. Then I can try taking the Police Commissioner examination. Besides, this speed isn't much slower than those geniuses."

"Also, if I can buy spiritual medicine suited to cultivation at every Qi Refining Stage, this speed can increase even further!"

Yang Wenqing let out a breath. After so many years of development, the Secret Art of the Qi Refining Stage had already identified the best spiritual medicines for each refinement. Unfortunately, he could not afford them. Ever since he had become old enough to understand, he had been trying to find ways to make more money. But in a small place like this, every source of income had long since been carved up. Some methods consumed too much energy, and even if he made something big of them, he would only become some important figure's white glove.

Casting aside unnecessary thoughts, Yang Wenqing gathered his focus and took out the Azure Edge shortsword.

A Qi Refinement Practitioner's flying sword needed to be nurtured day and night with its owner's spiritual energy before it could move as naturally in battle as an arm or finger. He extended his right hand and lightly gripped the cold hilt. The gentle spiritual energy within him flowed slowly into the blade like a stream.

This was a task of grinding water through stone. At the shortest, it would take several months; at the longest, more than a year. Only then could the flying sword truly communicate with his heart and mind, fulfilling the initial requirements for practicing the Sword-Controlling Art.

He was in no hurry. He shut down the Spirit-Gathering Formation in the bracelet and used ordinary Qi Refining methods, meditating as he cultivated while nurturing the flying sword. Before he knew it, he had entered meditation.

Time quietly passed amid the silent nurturing. Only when the sky outside the window turned the pale white of a fish's belly did Yang Wenqing slowly finish his practice. He laid the shortsword flat across his knees, inspected it once, and put it away.

Then he got up and cast a Dust-Cleansing Technique on himself. After checking the consumption status of the Foundation-Stabilizing Formation, he walked to the desk and began imprinting today's batch of talisman paper. This would be his main source of income in the future.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

The chill outside the window had long since faded, and the warm spring sun made people feel lazy.

During this month, Yang Wenqing and the Third Squad had been handling disputes among the Public Security Offices in the various districts under the branch bureau. For example, East City District and the West City Public Security Station had come to blows with weapons over unclear jurisdictional boundaries. Then there were the Public Security Offices of two towns, which had made a scene at the branch bureau over competing for the credit of capturing a fugitive.

These cases were neither major nor minor, but all involved many parties and were endlessly complicated.

Yang Wenqing's main task was to take Wu Yan and Liu Qin around to maneuver among the various sides, gather evidence, and mediate. Relying on his solid grasp of regulations from the Security Academy and his increasingly steady bearing, he handled these wrangling cases in good order.

Every successful mediation earned the Third Squad a merit entry in the case files. Though each was minor, they were steady. There were also red envelopes and gifts, which brought in more than five thousand yuan after being converted into cash and added to the Third Squad's treasury, leaving him somewhat better off. More importantly, he gained a deeper understanding of the tangled web of relationships throughout the county city.

He gradually came to understand that the Third Squad's position within the Major Crimes Unit was more like a stabilizing force for handling internal major crimes and complex regional cases. It was completely different from the First and Second Squads, which mainly handled Concealment-related major cases outside the city and often had to work with the Operations Division in battle.

As for cultivation, he had not slackened in the slightest. By drawing and selling talisman paper, he finally scraped together enough money. Through the connections provided by Deputy Director Gao, he bought a new piece of Radiant Jade from within the City Defense System for ten thousand yuan, replacing the old jade in his Spirit-Gathering Bracelet, whose glow had already dimmed.

He had never interrupted his work of nurturing the Azure Edge shortsword either. Every day, he soaked it in his own spiritual energy. The thread of connection between him and the sword had now become much clearer, though he was still far from truly controlling it against enemies.

That morning, Yang Wenqing was on duty in the Third Squad office as usual. Near noon, Deputy Commander Gao's stern voice sounded from the Communication Formation in his badge: "Come to Forest No. 19, ten li outside East City District, immediately. A Spiritual Energy Riot has occurred here."

Yang Wenqing immediately rose to his feet and called to Wu Yan, who was maintaining his pistol, "Old Wu, come with me." Then he instructed Liu Rong, whom he had just recruited into the Third Squad, "You and Xiao Qin stay in the office. Without orders, don't go anywhere for now."