I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: A Genius?

Back in the Squad 3 office, Yang Wenqing sat at his desk. His gaze fell back on the case file as he prepared to finish the final report.

When he closed the report and handed it to Liu Qin to enter into the City Defense System, the sky outside suddenly darkened. It was the prelude to a storm. He subconsciously stood by the window, watching the sky and waiting for the downpour.

After some time, the office door was pushed open gently. Wu Yan walked in. When Yang Wenqing looked at him, Wu Yan made a gesture indicating everything was taken care of.

Half an hour later, news of a major public disturbance in the northern part of the city reached the Major Case Team. They needed to send someone to follow up. Wu Yan volunteered, and Yang Wenqing let him go.

As closing time approached, Liu Qin said softly, ”Captain, the case file has been entered.”

Yang Wenqing glanced at the time and instructed, ”Go file the case documents, then you can leave for the day.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Qin immediately tidied up, grabbed the case file, and happily left the office.

Outside, the storm that had been brewing for so long finally broke. Raindrops the size of beans hammered against the windows, creating a dull, continuous sound.

Yang Wenqing listened to the rain. He didn’t get up until the hands of the wall clock pointed to closing time. Then, he turned off the lights, locked the door, walked downstairs, and stepped unhesitatingly into the downpour.

Back in Apartment 305, Building 3 of Dongning Community, the room was silent save for the ceaseless SPLASHING of the rain outside. He didn’t turn on the lights, walking straight to the center of the living room. The Solid Yuan Array here could still be used for a while.

He took off his jacket, leaving him in a simple set of training clothes. He sat cross-legged in the center of the array, took a deep breath to calm the chaotic thoughts stirred by the case and the storm, and focused his attention on the Spirit Gathering Bracelet on his left wrist.

’All my troubles stem from my own weakness. That weakness is the root of the problem.’

Yang Wenqing formed a hand seal, sending a barely perceptible ray of Spiritual Light into the bracelet. The Spirit Gathering Bracelet on his wrist trembled slightly. The intricate runes on the inner circle lit up one by one, and the piece of Radiant Jade set in its groove became crystal clear at a visible rate.

The next moment—

HUM!

A torrent of Spiritual Qi, with Yang Wenqing at its center, was forcibly gathered from the surrounding space. This was more than ten times faster than when he relied on the community’s ambient environment and his own breathing exercises!

Yang Wenqing didn’t dare to be complacent. He immediately began circulating the technique for the First Refinement of the Nine Refining Secret Skill, ’Bones and Sinews Resonating.’ The once-calm Spiritual Qi in his Qi Sea was stirred, surging along a complex path and once again imbued with that special vibrational frequency.

However, the sensation this time was completely different from before!

Supported by such vast and pure Spiritual Qi, the unbearable sensations of aching numbness, sharp pain, and itching tightness grew even more intense, causing the Solid Yuan Array to deplete faster as well.

BUZZ BUZZ~

A sound like countless tiny thunderclaps rolled through his bones and sinews.

Yang Wenqing could clearly see the projection of himself within the Golden Core World. Under the vibration and nourishment of the Spiritual Qi, the microscopic cracks on the surface of his bones were repairing at an accelerated rate, becoming even stronger. His muscle fibers felt as if they were being repeatedly torn and re-formed, becoming tougher and more vibrant.

’The effect of the Spirit Gathering Array is this significant!’

Yang Wenqing’s spirits soared. He completely immersed his mind, guiding the surging Spiritual Qi with all his might, tempering his muscles, bones, and skin again and again. The sound of the storm outside became a distant backdrop. His entire world was reduced to the thundering roar of refinement within his body and the fulfilling sense of his strength steadily growing.

He felt that at this rate, the First Refinement, ’Bones and Sinews Resonating,’ might only take a year. And he hadn’t even used the Dragon-Sinew Tiger-Bone Grass yet.

Suddenly, Yang Wenqing noticed that a considerable portion of the overflowing Spiritual Qi was being absorbed by the Golden Core. He immediately sank a part of his consciousness into the Golden Core World to carefully observe the specific state of his body’s projection.

At this moment, the Golden Core was acting like an efficient energy relay station, converting the excess Spiritual Qi it absorbed into a gentle, peaceful energy that it fed back into his physical body.

Moreover, this energy wasn’t limited to the bones and muscles currently being tempered. His skin and membranes, nourished by this energy, were becoming tougher. This was precisely the initial effect to be achieved in the Second Refinement of the Nine Refining Secret Skill, ’Skin and Membranes Like a Drum.’

Furthermore, it was as if Spiritual Qi had merged with his blood, which now carried a faint warmth as it flowed. This was the effect of practicing the Third Refinement, ’Qi and Blood Like Mercury.’

Even his internal organs felt clearer and more comfortable under the caress of this gentle energy. Some subtle, hidden ailments that were usually imperceptible were silently dissolved. This was a reaction from practicing the Fourth Refinement, ’Organs Brimming with Splendor.’

Observing these changes, Yang Wenqing could no longer suppress his joy. He awoke from his state of meditative cultivation and immediately got up, went to his desk, and pulled out some notes he had taken at the Police Academy.

Soon, the joy on his face deepened. Just as he remembered, his current situation was a state only geniuses with superior cultivation aptitude experienced. Such geniuses could practice the first four refinements simultaneously just by meditating and performing Qi Cultivation. Furthermore, their meditation and Qi Cultivation was itself a form of ’clearing and expanding meridians,’ which served to widen the Twelve Main Meridians. And that was the Fifth Refinement.

Additionally, outside of their regular practice, they would also slowly expand their Divine Sense, which was the Sixth Refinement. Therefore, these geniuses only needed to meditate and cultivate normally to reach the Sixth Refinement in five or six years. An ordinary Cultivator, however, might already be over fifty by the time they reached this stage.

Beyond that was the process of expanding the eight extraordinary meridians, opening the qi apertures, and fusing the Spiritual Qi within the body to enter the Marrow Cleansing Realm. For those with excellent aptitude, their meridians were already wide and Spiritual Qi already flowed through their qi apertures, so their progress was as natural as water carving a channel.

But such people were almost one in ten thousand. If one was ever discovered, they were sent directly to the General Bureau for training. You would never see them in ordinary places.

And now, Yang Wenqing had discovered that he himself was one of these legendary geniuses. How could he not be ecstatic? He couldn’t help but get up halfway through reading his notes and pace back and forth in the living room.

After he finished reading the notes, he let out a long breath. With the great willpower forged from two lifetimes of experience, he managed to suppress his elation. Only then did he realize the Spirit Gathering Bracelet on his wrist was still active. The whole time, the Golden Core in his mind had been continuously absorbing Spiritual Qi to nourish his body, though the process was very slow without his guidance.

This caused the joy he had just suppressed to bubble up again, but he immediately reined in his delight. Leaving it active could easily attract prying eyes, and more importantly, he couldn’t afford the rate at which it consumed the Radiant Jade.

After all, this was a world of cultivation. The General Bureau had plenty of old monsters who had lived for over a thousand years!

After a long moment, Yang Wenqing suppressed his ecstasy and various worries, sitting cross-legged in the center of the Solid Yuan Array once more. He decided to test it himself and see if he could truly cultivate like the geniuses described in his notes.

He activated the Spirit Gathering Bracelet again. This time, however, he didn’t immediately circulate his energy along the specific path of the First Refinement of the Nine Refining Secret Skill. Instead, he attempted to guide the pure Spiritual Qi in his Qi Sea through a grand circulatory cycle, slowly flowing it through his body to try and widen the Twelve Main Meridians.