In the living room.

The colorful light of the Spirit Gathering Array surrounded Yang Wenqing, making him look like a deity from legend.

Ten minutes passed quietly. Suddenly, a jolt of pain, far more intense than he had anticipated, shot through him. The Solid Yuan Array couldn’t suppress this agony, and Yang Wenqing cried out after enduring it for barely three seconds.

He immediately stopped his cultivation.

’Just as I thought... it’s not working,’ Yang Wenqing thought. The feeling of discouragement was fleeting; he quickly calmed down and began to analyze the situation.

This happened because his physical foundation wasn’t strong enough. Forcing his cultivation would likely damage his core constitution. Ordinary Cultivators had to follow the steps strictly, one by one, precisely because their bodies couldn’t withstand the infusion of Spiritual Qi. Forcing it risked exploding into a bloody mess or turning into a grotesque monster of flesh and gore.

He then recalled how his Golden Core had previously nourished his skin, blood, and organs, and decided to try cultivating the first four refinements together using the same principle.

This had been his backup plan all along. He had just been too stubborn not to try starting directly from the Fifth Refinement, like the geniuses in the records.

And so, Yang Wenqing began to circulate his Spiritual Qi to repair his damaged meridians. The process took an hour. Once his injuries had stabilized, he started cultivating according to his backup plan.

His consciousness sank completely into the profound Golden Core World. Here, his control over his own body was absolute; a mere thought was enough to command the rushing Spiritual Qi within him as if it were an extension of his own limbs.

He planned to divide his focus four ways, simultaneously advancing the first four refinements of the Nine Refining Secret Skill.

Soon, under the clear projection of the Golden Core World, the vast Spiritual Qi was exquisitely divided into four distinct streams, each with different properties:

The main body of Spiritual Qi continued to follow the method of ’Sinews and Bones Resonating,’ hammering away at his bones and muscles, producing a dull, thunderous roar.

At the same time, an extremely fine and gentle stream of Spiritual Qi split off. Following the path recorded in the Secret Technique, it softly and continuously brushed beneath the surface of his skin, which, under this unique stimulation, felt as if it were being gently stretched by an invisible hand.

Another stream of Spiritual Qi silently merged with his rushing blood. Carried by the powerful beat of his heart, it accelerated his circulation, making his blood grow heavier and giving it the lustrous, powerful quality of flowing mercury.

The final and gentlest stream of Spiritual Qi, like a spring rain nourishing all life, slowly permeated his organs, mildly stimulating their vitality and washing away the subtle, hidden ailments accumulated over the years.

At first, controlling the four streams of Spiritual Qi simultaneously was like trying to keep four wavering threads suspended in mid-air. He nearly lost control of the Spiritual Qi several times, but fortunately, the Golden Core World provided support.

But after a long while, Yang Wenqing, deep in his meditation, frowned slightly.

Juggling four streams of Spiritual Qi at once was like steering four small boats in a storm. The mental strain was immense, and the Spiritual Qi frequently became disordered. He realized he was biting off more than he could chew. If he forced himself to maintain all four processes, his efforts would be half as effective, and he might even lose all his progress. After all, he still needed to guide Spiritual Qi to repair the damage being done.

In a flash of insight, Yang Wenqing decisively adjusted his strategy. He abandoned his cultivation of the second, third, and Fourth Refinements to focus solely on the First Refinement. He would wait for the Golden Core World to absorb the excess Spiritual Qi and feed it back into his physical body, at which point he would guide that feedback process from within the Golden Core World.

Instantly, the tension in his mind vanished, and his cultivation became smooth and unimpeded once more!

Another three hours passed. When Yang Wenqing felt the damage inside his body reaching its limit, he decisively stopped cultivating and began circulating Spiritual Qi to repair his damaged muscles and sinews. Another hour went by like this.

’It’s not as good as I’d hoped, but at this rate, my cultivation speed will still be astonishingly fast. I might be able to break through to the Fifth Refinement in a single decade. Then I can try for the police commissioner exam. Besides, this pace isn’t much slower than those geniuses.’

’And if I could afford the Spiritual Medicines designed for each stage of Qi Cultivation, I could get even faster!’

Yang Wenqing let out a breath. Over many years of development, the best Spiritual Medicines had been identified for each refinement of the Qi Cultivation Stage’s Secret Techniques. Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford them. Ever since he was old enough to understand, he’d been trying to make more money, but in a small place like this, all the revenue streams were already carved up. Some methods were too draining, and even if he did manage to build something big, he’d just end up as a puppet for some powerful figure.

Pushing aside these unnecessary thoughts, Yang Wenqing composed himself and took out the short sword, Cyan Blade.

A Qi Cultivator’s flying sword must be nourished day and night with their own Spiritual Qi before it can be wielded as an extension of their body in battle. He reached out his right hand and gently gripped the cool hilt. A gentle stream of Spiritual Qi flowed from his body into the blade.

This was a slow, grinding process. It could take several months, or even over a year, to form a true bond with the flying sword and meet the initial requirements for practicing the Sword Control Technique.

He was in no rush. Deactivating the Spirit Gathering Array on his bracelet, he began nourishing the flying sword while meditating and performing his regular Qi Cultivation. Before he knew it, he had entered a state of deep meditation.

Time slipped by in quiet nourishment. When the sky outside the window began to show the first light of dawn, Yang Wenqing slowly withdrew his power. He placed the short sword flat on his lap, observed it for a moment, then put it away.

He then stood up and cast a Dust Clearing Skill on himself. After checking the energy level of the Solid Yuan Array, he walked over to his desk and began inscribing the day’s batch of rune paper. This would be his main source of income for the foreseeable future.

Time flew, 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 one feel pleasantly lazy.

Over the past month, Yang Wenqing and Team Three had been handling disputes between the various public security offices in the sub-bureau’s jurisdiction. For instance, there was an armed brawl between the East City and West City Public Security Offices over an unclear jurisdictional boundary, and another case where two town-level offices were fighting over the credit for catching a transient criminal, a dispute that escalated all the way to the sub-bureau.

These cases weren’t major, but they weren’t minor either. Each one involved multiple parties and was incredibly tedious.

Yang Wenqing’s main job was to lead Wu Yan and Liu Qin in navigating between the various parties, gathering evidence, and mediating. With his solid knowledge of regulations from the Police Academy and his increasingly steady demeanor, he managed to handle these bureaucratic squabbles in an orderly fashion.

With every successfully mediated case, Team Three earned a merit point in the records. Although they were minor merits, they were a steady source of them. There were also red envelopes and gifts, which, when converted to cash, added over five thousand to Team Three’s coffers, giving him a bit more financial flexibility. More importantly, he gained a deeper understanding of the county’s intricate web of connections.

He also gradually came to understand Team Three’s role within the Major Case Team. They were more of a stability-maintenance force, handling internal major cases and complex regional issues. This was a stark contrast to Teams One and Two, which primarily handled major, covert cases outside the city and often had to coordinate with the operations division.

As for his cultivation, he hadn’t slacked in the slightest. By drawing and selling rune paper, he had finally saved up enough money. Using a connection provided by Vice Director Gao, he paid ten thousand yuan to purchase a new piece of "Huang Jade" from within the City Defense System, replacing the old, dim piece of jade in his spirit-gathering bracelet.

He also never stopped the task of nourishing his short sword, Cyan Blade. He immersed it in his Spiritual Qi daily, and the connection between him and the blade had grown much clearer, though he was still a long way from actually using it for Sword Control in a real fight.

One morning, Yang Wenqing was on his usual shift at the Team Three office. Just before noon, Vice Director Gao’s stern voice echoed from the Communication Array in his badge: "Get to Forest 19, ten li outside East City, immediately. There’s been a Spiritual Qi surge."

Yang Wenqing shot to his feet. "Old Wu, you’re with me," he said to Wu Yan, who was maintaining his pistol. Then he gave an order to Liu Rong, a recent recruit to Team Three. "You and Xiaoxian stay here in the office. Don’t go anywhere until you receive new orders."