Claiming a New Spell Seal

Saturday.

Outside the precinct station gates in the central district, Yang Wenqing was speaking with a security officer on duty. This was Song Yu, his former classmate from the Security Academy.

After chatting for a while, Song Yu lowered his voice. "Have you heard about Liao Feng?"

Yang Wenqing shook his head and asked with a puzzled look, "What happened to him?"

"His family set up a Spirit-Gathering Formation for him and hired three Daoist cultivators who had reached the fifth practice to help him break through into the Qi Refinement Realm. Unfortunately, he failed. He's taken a long leave to recuperate at home now. Who knows whether he'll ever recover."

Song Yu looked deeply regretful, yet there was a trace of satisfaction in his eyes.

Liao Feng had been quite the influential figure at school. Rumor had it that his family had connections in the Municipal Bureau, and after graduation, the Municipal Bureau had taken him directly. No one knew how many people had turned green with envy over it.

Hearing the news, Yang Wenqing's resentment over failing to break through into the Qi Refinement Realm the night before last eased considerably. After exchanging a few more casual words with Song Yu, he headed toward the precinct station gates.

The precinct compound was a cluster of gray-white pavilions built in a uniform style. A bluestone wall nearly three meters high encircled it, its surface inscribed with intricate runes.

The main gate was made of heavy ironwood, with a huge police emblem hanging above it and security officers standing guard on either side. Although he knew Song Yu, Yang Wenqing still had to show his police badge and explain his purpose before being allowed inside.

Beyond the gates lay a broad plaza paved with enormous bluestone slabs. Faint spiritual light flowed through the gaps between them. A statue of a sword-bearing figure stood in the center of the plaza, and the precinct's motto was engraved upon its pedestal.

At the far end of the plaza stood lower auxiliary buildings on both sides, with only a scattering of people passing in and out.

Facing the plaza was a seven-story main building. Yang Wenqing's destination, however, was not the main building, but a standalone structure at the end of a corridor to its right. It was a three-story building shaped like an octagonal tower, with a black-lettered wooden plaque on a white background hanging to the right of its door: "Thousand Reef County Police Precinct Folk Customs Division."

This was where the police system stored and taught foundational spells and cultivation techniques.

As he approached the tower entrance, the faint scent of sandalwood mingled with that of old paper. A detection formation had been set up at the entrance. Spiritual light swept across Yang Wenqing's police badge, and only after confirming his identity and authorization did the formation's glow shift from red to green.

The inside of the tower was spacious. The first-floor hall was brightly lit, with luminous pearls set into the domed ceiling and giving off a soft white glow. Rows of tall bookshelves stood around the walls, filled with jade slips of various colors.

Several circular counters stood in the middle of the hall. Behind them sat several civilian security officers in dark blue uniforms, each with shoulder insignia marking them as at least senior security officers.

One of them, a gentle-faced female security officer around forty, looked up at Yang Wenqing. Her gaze fell on his shoulder insignia as she asked, "You're here to collect your second spell, right?"

"Yes." Yang Wenqing stepped forward and respectfully handed over his police badge. "I'd like to apply to learn the Golden Light Bodyguard Spell."

The female security officer took the badge and placed it into a groove on the counter. The groove lit with a faint glow. After a moment, she nodded and took out a palm-sized jade slip from beneath the counter. It was pale gold throughout, its surface rippling with a waterlike sheen, with a complex rune carved at its center.

She picked up the jade slip and said to Yang Wenqing, "Do you see the green circle in front of the counter? Stand inside it first."

Yang Wenqing did as instructed and stepped into the green circle before the counter.

The female security officer came out and examined Yang Wenqing from both sides for a moment, then returned behind the counter. She raised the jade slip in her left hand and swiftly formed a hand seal with the other. With her movements, the edge of the green circle immediately lit up with a soft white light, forming a pillar of light that enveloped Yang Wenqing.

"Close your eyes, focus your mind, and empty your Sea of Consciousness," the female security officer reminded him.

Yang Wenqing immediately complied. At once, he felt a gentle yet irresistible force pass through the pillar of light and softly probe into his consciousness.

At the same time, the female security officer tossed the pale golden jade slip into the pillar of light.

The jade slip did not fall. It hovered before Yang Wenqing's brow, its waterlike sheen flowing rapidly as the complex rune at its center seemed to come alive. It detached from the jade slip's surface and transformed into a three-dimensional pattern made entirely of golden light.

"Go!"

The female security officer gave a sharp cry, changing her hand seal.

Guided by some unseen force, the golden rune suddenly shot toward Yang Wenqing's brow.

Yang Wenqing immediately sensed a new spell seal emerging from the depths of his memory. He was not surprised, because this was more or less how he had learned the Immobilization Spell at the academy.

Once the memory had stabilized within Yang Wenqing, the pillar of light around him dissipated, and the jade slip fell back into the female security officer's hand with a smack.

"That's all." The female security officer's voice pulled Yang Wenqing from his inward inspection. "Practice diligently after you return. Remember, this spell must not be lightly passed on to outsiders."

Yang Wenqing gave a military salute. After thanking her, he eagerly left the hall, impatient to return to his dormitory and try engraving the new spell seal.

But as soon as he reached the plaza in front of the precinct station, he was stopped by two classmates from the same graduating class. They also happened to be two of his few friends from the Security Academy.

The two had also come to collect new spell seals. After the three chatted for a few moments, Wu Qi, standing to Yang Wenqing's left, suggested, "It wasn't easy for us to get together. How about we go have a drink?"

Wu Qi was Yang Wenqing's roommate and close friend. His family circumstances were much like Yang Wenqing's, and his theoretical grades had always ranked near the top of the class. Unfortunately, he had little talent for cultivation. He and Yang Wenqing had become friends because they both enjoyed reading historical documents.

"We should go shoot targets instead."

Liu Rong made the suggestion while looking at Yang Wenqing. "I've improved quite a bit lately. Want to compete again?"

His friendship with Yang Wenqing had begun over target shooting. Using the deductions of the Golden Core World, Yang Wenqing could grasp a new gun's ballistic trajectory after firing no more than five test rounds, which had left Liu Rong thoroughly unconvinced. Liu Rong often dragged Yang Wenqing into competitions, and over time, they became familiar with one another.

Yang Wenqing knew Liu Rong's personality well. If he did not agree, there would be no peace for the rest of the day.

"Fine, we'll go shoot targets. Same old rules—the loser buys lunch."

"It's a deal!"

Liu Rong rubbed his fists together, looking brimming with confidence.

Laughing and talking, the three headed toward an independent courtyard behind the main building. This was one of the precinct station's internal training grounds, equipped with a dedicated shooting range. With their badges, they easily completed the procedures for using it and received standard-issue practice revolvers and a small box of ordinary bullets.

Yang Wenqing loaded the bullets with practiced ease, raised the gun, took aim, and fired. For the first five shots, he deliberately slowed down, carefully feeling the practice gun's trigger resistance, recoil, and ballistic characteristics.

From the sixth bullet onward, his shooting became extraordinarily steady. Every shot struck the bullseye.

Liu Rong beside him had indeed improved considerably. His firing rhythm was stable, and most of his bullets landed within the ninth ring. Every now and then, he even hit the tenth ring. After finishing a round, he looked at Yang Wenqing's target sheet. Seeing those densely packed bullet holes in the tenth ring, he could not help clicking his tongue. "You really are a monster!"

Wu Qi did not shoot quickly, but he strove to make every movement standard. His scores hovered around the eighth ring.

The three took turns, exchanging shooting tips in a harmonious atmosphere. The final result held no suspense: Yang Wenqing won by a narrow margin.

Though Liu Rong kept claiming he was unconvinced, he still readily honored the bet.

At noon, the three sat down at an old noodle shop near the precinct station. They ordered three bowls of the shop's signature braised pork noodles, along with a dish of braised dried tofu and a plate of chilled shredded kelp.

When the steaming noodles arrived, Wu Qi picked up a chopstickful of noodles, blew on them, and asked softly, "Have you heard about what happened to Liao Feng?"

Liu Rong bit into a piece of braised dried tofu and said indistinctly, "I heard. Tsk, tsk, it really is..." He shook his head. Unaccustomed to speaking ill of someone behind his back, he did not continue.

Yang Wenqing quietly ate his noodles. Liao Feng's misfortune was like an alarm bell, making him even more determined to advance steadily, one solid step at a time.

Liu Rong swallowed the tofu in his mouth, looked at Yang Wenqing, and asked, "What did you choose for your second spell seal?"

"The Golden Light Bodyguard Spell." Yang Wenqing did not hide it.

"Not a bad choice. Staying alive comes first." Wu Qi nodded in approval. "I'm planning to take the Lightness Charm. It'll help me run faster when chasing criminals."

Liu Rong gave a chuckle. "I'm planning to choose the Sharp-Eye Spell. Next time we shoot targets, just watch how I beat you!"