Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Advancement in Seclusion
Li Ming was on leave today, so Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun patrolled District 3 together. Around noon, Li Ming’s voice came over the squad’s private comms channel, announcing that the cultivator’s skeleton had sold for thirteen thousand.
Yang Wenqing felt a pang of regret, but he was broke. He wasn’t in the habit of borrowing money, and even if he were, he had no one to ask. Besides his captain, Xiao Liang, everyone else on the team was likely tight on funds. Not to mention, he still had an outstanding debt of his own.
After finally making it through the day to the afternoon shift change, Yang Wenqing and Zhou Kun headed straight back to the Second Squad’s station, though each was anticipating something different.
Zhou Kun was the first to burst into the room. After a quick scan, he saw no sign of Li Ming. Just then, Sister Liu stood up. "The money’s with me," she said, holding up two thick envelopes.
Just as they took the envelopes, Xiao Liang walked in with Ye Yong. Li Ming had announced the sale of the skeleton over the squad channel at noon, so when Ye Yong saw the envelopes in Yang Wenqing’s and Zhou Kun’s hands, he immediately started clamoring, "Hey, big brothers, you’ve gotta treat us!"
Hearing this, Sister Liu gave Ye Yong a light smack on the back of the head. "Is eating and drinking all you ever think about?" she said, exasperated. "You should be saving your money. It’ll cost a fortune to get a wife in the future."
Ye Yong instantly clammed up.
Afterward, everyone went into the locker room, chatting as they removed their gear. When they came out, Xiao Liang walked up to Yang Wenqing and said, "Wenqing, come with me for a moment."
Yang Wenqing got the hint. After saying a quick word to Zhou Kun and Sister Liu, he followed Xiao Liang out of the building.
As soon as they stepped outside, Yang Wenqing said in a low voice, "I’m going to go buy a White Dragon Ginseng first."
Although he felt he could probably advance to the Qi Cultivation Stage without the help of medicinal pills, now that he had a small sum of money, he still planned to buy a White Dragon Ginseng just in case.
Xiao Liang stopped in his tracks. Looking at Yang Wenqing, he said, "I happen to have a Dragon Ginseng Pill. Let me lend it to you. You can pay me back once you have enough merit points."
His tone was casual, as if he were lending Yang Wenqing something completely ordinary. Before Yang Wenqing could respond, he added, "Let’s just say you’ll owe me one."
As he spoke, he held out a small wooden box, about half the size of his palm. A preservation Array on it was glowing faintly. Yang Wenqing met Xiao Liang’s gaze and found it hard to refuse such a kind gesture.
...
The two arrived at the county sub-bureau. Just as they entered the main gate, a middle-aged man in a Senior Sergeant’s uniform hurried over to greet them.
"Old Xiao!" the middle-aged man greeted Xiao Liang enthusiastically.
"Old Zhang!" Xiao Liang shook his hand politely, then looked at Yang Wenqing and made the introduction. "Wenqing, this is Brother Zhang from the Logistics Department."
"Brother Zhang," Yang Wenqing greeted him respectfully.
"Don’t be so formal. Follow me." Brother Zhang waved his hand, leading the two down a small path to the left of the main building. They came to a standalone structure with an Array at the entrance for security screening. Once their access was confirmed, a large metal door slid open.
Behind the door was a bright corridor flanked by closed metal doors. Complex sound-dampening runes were inscribed on them.
Brother Zhang led them to a door halfway down the corridor. He took out a Jade Talisman and pressed it into a slot beside the door. The door slid open without a sound, revealing a Quiet Chamber of about ten square meters. Inside was a single meditation cushion, and the walls and floor were inscribed with a simple Spirit Gathering Array.
"This is the one. Here’s the Jade Talisman to activate the Spirit Gathering Array," Brother Zhang said, handing a small Jade Talisman to Yang Wenqing. "The Spiritual Qi gathered here has already been refined. There’s a call Array next to the cushion. If there’s an emergency, just press it, and we’ll be notified."
With that, Brother Zhang produced an oil-paper package. "Here are rations and water for three days. There’s a restroom to the side."
As he finished, he glanced at Xiao Liang. Xiao Liang then said to Yang Wenqing, "The cost, equivalent to three months’ worth, has already been deducted from your merit points."
"Thank you, Brother Zhang! Thank you, Captain!" Yang Wenqing thanked them sincerely.
"Focus on your cultivation. We’ll be waiting for your good news outside." Xiao Liang patted Yang Wenqing’s shoulder and left the Quiet Chamber with Brother Zhang.
After they watched the metal door close, Brother Zhang couldn’t help but sigh, "So young."
Xiao Liang nodded. "The world is an unfair place. Some young geniuses only need to guide their Spiritual Qi for a few years before they naturally break through to the Qi Cultivation Stage."
Brother Zhang continued, "The true prodigies don’t even need to temper their physical foundation during the Qi Cultivation Stage. They just practice Qi Cultivation and meditate daily, and they can break through to the Bone Marrow Cleansing stage in a little over a decade. And here I am, after cultivating for decades, still only at the Third Refinement."
With that said, he looked at Xiao Liang and asked, "Do you think this young man can succeed?"
Xiao Liang thought for a moment before replying, "There’s a high probability. You should be able to sense that his Qi Sea is full. He’s only a step away from the Qi Cultivation Stage."
Brother Zhang stared at the door in silence for over ten seconds, then asked, "You’ve been at the Fifth Refinement for many years. Are you going to try for the exam this year?"
The exam he mentioned was for promotion to Police Commissioner.
"We’ll see," Xiao Liang replied. Changing the subject, he said, "You must have plenty of good tea here. I didn’t come all this way just to stand around waiting, did I?"
"Haha, come on. Let’s go to my office."
Chatting and laughing, the two walked deeper into the corridor.
「Inside the Quiet Chamber.」
Yang Wenqing walked to the meditation cushion in the center of the Quiet Chamber and sat down cross-legged. He first focused on regulating his breath, letting his agitated mind settle. Only when his heart felt as placid as a still well did he pick up the activation Jade Talisman and, following Brother Zhang’s instructions, infuse it with a faint wisp of Spiritual Qi.
HUMMM...
The Jade Talisman glowed with a soft white light. Simultaneously, the Array Patterns of the Spirit Gathering Array on the walls and floor lit up in sequence. He quickly felt the concentration of Spiritual Qi within the Quiet Chamber begin to rise steadily. This Spiritual Qi was also exceptionally docile, far easier to absorb and refine than the Spiritual Qi from the outside world or the energy that had been gathered by the spinal bone.
Yang Wenqing wasted no time. He immediately closed his eyes and sent his consciousness deep within his body. Activating the "Basic Qi Cultivation" technique, he began to slowly absorb the ambient Spiritual Qi while simultaneously guiding the energy from the overflowing Qi Sea in his lower Dantian. He circulated it slowly along the Spiritual Veins he had long since opened.
One Grand Circulation...
Two Grand Circulations...
He was extremely patient, not rushing the process. With the help of the Spirit Gathering Array, the docile external Spiritual Qi was continuously absorbed, supplementing the circulation in his Qi Sea and Spiritual Veins and making the process much smoother than usual.
A third Grand Circulation...
An eighth Grand Circulation...
He repeated the process over and over. The rotation of his Qi Sea unconsciously quickened, and his Spiritual Veins began to grow slightly warm under the continuous, stable flushing.
As the tenth Grand Circulation was about to complete and the Spiritual Qi in his body had become a tame stream, a mysterious and profound feeling suddenly washed over him!
The next moment, the Spiritual Qi circulating in his Spiritual Veins suddenly accelerated without warning. If Yang Wenqing’s Qi Sea hadn’t been so full of Spiritual Qi at that moment, it would have been drained in an instant, causing the breakthrough to fail.
Yang Wenqing knew that success or failure would be determined in the next ten or so seconds. He currently had enough Spiritual Qi in his Qi Sea to complete three more Grand Circulations through his Spiritual Veins, and the Spirit Gathering Array could provide a continuous supply to replenish his Qi Sea.
But he still took out the wooden box containing the Dragon Ginseng Pill.
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