By the time Yang Wenqing and Li Ming returned to District 3, the colleagues from the Fifth Patrol Squad taking over their shift had already arrived. The four of them chatted briefly before parting ways.

Back in the office area of the security station, Captain Xiao Liang was already there, writing something at his desk. When he saw Yang Wenqing and Li Ming return, he looked up at them and said, "The conflict in District 2 will count as a merit for you both."

"Thank you, Captain!"

The two thanked him in unison before heading toward the locker room.

The police department had a very strict merit system, which was tied to their seniority. Patrolling for a cumulative total of ten days earned one merit. For a regular officer to be promoted to senior officer by accumulating seniority, they would need a total of three hundred merits.

Of course, one could also be promoted directly to the rank of Senior Sergeant by advancing to the Qi Cultivation Stage. Reaching the Fifth Refinement would grant eligibility to take the exam for promotion to Police Commissioner. Within the entire security station, only Chief Wang Ren held the rank of Police Commissioner.

Reaching Police Commissioner meant one was at the command level, able to serve as a security station chief, a precinct department head, or a frontline unit commander.

The final use for merits was to exchange them for various Spirit Grasses and medicinal pills. The total number of recorded merits would not decrease after an exchange, so it didn’t affect an officer’s accumulated seniority. The White Dragon Ginseng in Yang Wenqing’s possession was something he had exchanged merits for after patrolling with his captain for half a year.

In the locker room, Ye Yong had already taken off his gear and was chatting with his teammate, Zhou Kun. Seeing Yang Wenqing and Li Ming enter, he immediately said to them, "Zhao Qin from Team One wants to invite us to Fengtai Restaurant. You guys going?"

"Are you asking for a beating?"

Zhou Kun slapped Ye Yong on the back of the head.

Yang Wenqing glanced at Ye Yong and said with a smile, "If you want to go, go ahead. I’m not going."

Li Ming also shook his head. "My wife’s pregnant. I have to get back early."

Hearing this, Ye Yong immediately got up, walked over to Yang Wenqing, and said with a grin, "That guy Zhao Qin has loved showing off since we were kids. I’ll go scout it out and see what he’s up to tonight."

He was clearly the type who couldn’t sit still, and it seemed he had known Zhao Qin for a long time.

Yang Wenqing maintained his smile, quickly shed his gear, and secured the lock on his locker.

Throughout this process, Ye Yong stayed by his side, recounting Zhao Qin’s past misdeeds from their school days, mostly disparaging him. He clearly didn’t want this incident to create a rift between himself and the members of Team Two. After all, when they were on missions and encountered heretical cultivators or sudden rampages of Spiritual Qi, they were comrades who had to trust each other with their lives.

Yang Wenqing exchanged a few casual words with him, then said goodbye to his teammates and left. He had no plans for the afternoon, so after leaving the security station, he headed straight back to the dormitory building.

As soon as he entered the small courtyard, he saw a middle-aged man in a police-issue vest practicing a boxing form under a banyan tree. Yang Wenqing recognized the man. He was practicing the basic fist techniques of the Energy-Introducing Skill. This technique could help the Spiritual Qi in one’s body circulate through the Spiritual Veins. Without the aid of medicine or a Spirit-Gathering Array, it was the best Cultivation Technique for Qi Cultivation.

Given the concentration of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in this world, even an ordinary person practicing this Cultivation Technique scientifically would have a chance of advancing to the Qi Cultivation Stage. It would just probably take more than twenty years—time that ordinary people didn’t have, as they spent most of their lives supporting their families.

Take Yang Wenqing himself, for example. He had to be on duty at the police station for most of the day, leaving only the time after work and in the morning to cultivate. Sometimes, he had to work overtime and might not get back until the early hours of the morning, leaving no time for his morning and evening practice.

Back in his dorm, Yang Wenqing first took off his city defense uniform and checked the collar. Deciding it could be worn for another day, he didn’t bother changing and washing it. He then walked over to a wooden barrel in the corner, opened the lid to reveal the brown rice inside—rations his parents had asked someone to bring him.

Yang Wenqing needed to make some rice cakes for later. An hour later, when more than ten rice cakes were steamed and ready, he ate three of them in one go with some pickled vegetables to sate his hunger.

After tidying up the messy corner, Yang Wenqing stood before the windowsill and inscribed another Immobilization Spell Rune paper, which he then put away.

’I’m a regular officer now. I can go to the county precinct to receive the pattern for my second Spell. Then I can try to draw it with Spiritual Qi. The day after tomorrow is Saturday, so I’ll have a day off.’

Before advancing to the Qi Cultivation Stage, one could only learn basic Spells. These Spells were fixed runic formulas that required using the Spiritual Veins in one’s body to trace a set runic path. If it could be completed within a certain time and condensed without dissipating, it would produce the corresponding effect.

For his second Spell, Yang Wenqing planned to learn the Golden Light Body Protection Spell. It could create a protective golden light around a Cultivator, making it one of the best defensive and life-saving techniques in the early stages.

Having made his decision, Yang Wenqing grabbed his keys and police badge and left. For the next several hours until bedtime, he would be practicing his fist techniques in the courtyard below to guide his Qi Sea and Spiritual Veins to absorb and circulate the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

The colleague who was practicing his forms earlier was still there, but now he was sitting cross-legged under the banyan tree, meditating. He was clearly digesting the Spiritual Qi gathered in his Qi Sea while also using it to repair his damaged Spiritual Veins. Without the help of a Golden Core World, this step would take up most of his time, making his daily cultivation progress at a snail’s pace.

Yang Wenqing paid him no mind. He walked to an empty corner, assumed the opening stance of the Energy-Introducing Skill, and calmed his mind. He guided the faint Spiritual Qi from the Qi Sea in his lower Dantian to flow slowly through his Spiritual Veins.

When he felt a slight sense of Qi Sensing, his fist techniques slowly unfolded, his movements fluid and rhythmic.

The fist techniques of the Energy-Introducing Skill held no power for defeating enemies. Its essence lay in the "guiding" aspect—using specific movements and breathing rhythms, coordinated with one’s will, to maximally draw and absorb the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into the body and guide it along fixed paths within the Spiritual Veins.

For Cultivators who had not yet formed a complete circulatory cycle in their Spiritual Veins, this was a process of slow, patient work. They often had to practice the entire set of fist techniques more than ten times just to barely accumulate enough Spiritual Qi for a single complete circulation through the main Spiritual Veins.

Of course, those with good aptitude could complete this step much faster.

Although Yang Wenqing’s aptitude wasn’t good, he had the Golden Core World.

As he began his practice, a sliver of his consciousness naturally split off to form the Golden Core in his spiritual platform. Inside the Golden Core World, his clear, illusory projection reappeared.

The projection could clearly see the state of the Spiritual Qi flowing in his body as his fist techniques unfolded. By using his will to guide the flow of Spiritual Qi, he could avoid most wasted effort.

After performing the set of techniques three times, the Spiritual Qi had already completed one full circle through his main Spiritual Veins.

But Yang Wenqing didn’t stop. Taking advantage of the fact that the Spiritual Qi in his body had not yet completely settled, he once again assumed the opening stance.

With the aid of the Golden Core World, he could clearly see every minute expansion and strengthening of his Spiritual Veins during the circulation process. He could also keenly sense the minor damage that might occur at certain nodes from the scouring of the Spiritual Qi.

As he circulated his Spiritual Qi, he also directed a portion of the refined Spiritual Qi to prioritize nourishing and repairing the damaged Spiritual Veins, making his cultivation process almost free of hidden dangers.

A second Grand Circulation...

A third Grand Circulation...

His mind was free of distractions, completely immersed in this slow but tangible process of growing stronger. The Qi Sensing in his body grew more and more distinct with each circulation, and the rotation of the Qi Sea in his lower Dantian became increasingly stable and powerful.

When the fifth Grand Circulation was complete, Yang Wenqing slowly came to a stop. After exhaling a long breath tinged with impurities, he looked up at the sky. It was now completely dark, and bright lights shone from many of the dormitory windows.

The courtyard was long empty, leaving only the RUSTLE of the evening wind blowing through the banyan tree’s leaves.

"Huh?"

Yang Wenqing looked down. He had already stopped circulating his energy, yet a faint stream of Spiritual Qi was still flowing through his Spiritual Veins. According to the records of the Energy-Introducing Skill, this was the state just before breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Stage.

Suppressing the joy in his heart, Yang Wenqing used his fist techniques to guide his Spiritual Qi through another Grand Circulation, but there was no change.

He tried again, but it was still the same.

SLAP!

As he instinctively began to circulate the Spiritual Qi from his Qi Sea for a third time, Yang Wenqing slapped himself hard across the face. The stinging pain on his cheek snapped him to his senses. He stood stunned for more than ten seconds, then let out a breath, looked up at the crescent moon, and shook his head.

"You have a much wider path ahead of you. There’s no need to be hasty. If you cause permanent damage to your Spiritual Veins, it won’t be worth it."

Yang Wenqing seemed to be convincing himself. After standing there for a little longer, he headed toward the dormitory building. By now, only a few windows in the building were still lit.