I Cultivate in a Government Office

"Hoooo..."

Yang Wenqing let out a long breath, suppressing the turbulent thoughts in his mind. He subconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall, then began the most basic Qi Cultivation practice to calm the tumultuous feelings he could barely contain.

Five hours later, Yang Wenqing's mind was completely at peace. He opened his eyes and looked toward the window. The midsummer morning light was already streaming in, brightly illuminating the courtyard outside.

Yang Wenqing stood up and cast a Dust Clearing Skill on himself, whisking away any specks of dust that might have settled on him during his night-long meditation. He straightened his slightly wrinkled casual clothes, then pushed open the door of the Quiet Chamber.

Outside the door, a young, plainly dressed male servant from the estate was already waiting with his hands respectfully at his sides. Seeing him emerge, the servant quickly bowed and said, "Sir, the Master instructed me to take you to the dining hall as soon as you woke. He is waiting for you there."

"I appreciate it."

Yang Wenqing followed the servant through a corridor to a bright and spacious dining hall. Several light yet exquisite breakfast dishes were already laid out on the long dining table.

Vice Director Gao was sitting to one side of the head of the table, reading the latest edition of the Thousand Reefs Briefing. In front of him was a cup of clear tea, with steam gently wafting from it. Hearing footsteps, he put down the newspaper and smiled. "Is your realm stable?"

"Thank you for your concern, Director Gao. It's stable now, and I feel great." Yang Wenqing walked over and sat down opposite Vice Director Gao. A servant immediately served him a bowl of warm grain porridge.

"That's good." Vice Director Gao picked up his teacup and took a sip. "We'll head to the city bureau shortly. I've already discussed the procedures for your promotion to Police Specialist with Director Qin's secretary. It's mostly just formalities—picking up your uniform and new authorization badge. If all goes smoothly, we should be done before noon."

"I'll follow your arrangements, Director Gao," Yang Wenqing replied respectfully.

"Oh, right..."

Vice Director Gao seemed to recall something. He set down his teacup and looked at Yang Wenqing. "With your cultivation method, upon breaking through to the Fifth Refinement, your meridians have likely reached a minor completion naturally. This is a normal phenomenon, so there's no need to be surprised."

"Your cultivation through the first four refinements has, to some extent, nourished and cleansed the connected meridians. Plus, you absorb several times more Spiritual Qi than others. When you broke through to the Fifth Refinement, the power of your internal organs integrated, which naturally fed back into your meridians, causing them to initially expand."

Vice Director Gao's tone was calm. He had used his Divine Sense to protect Yang Wenqing during the breakthrough last night, so he had naturally sensed the unusual width and resilience of the meridians inside Yang Wenqing's body. However, he merely thought this would allow Yang Wenqing to reach the minor completion stage of the Fifth Refinement.

He had never imagined that Yang Wenqing would reach the major completion of the Fifth Refinement, let alone that the Spiritual Qi in his body would become so perfected that he had successfully opened his Sea of Consciousness and crossed the threshold into the Sixth Refinement.

Yang Wenqing's expression remained impassive as he went along with Vice Director Gao's words. "Your insight is keen, Director Gao. That is indeed the case. During the breakthrough, I felt my meridians suddenly open up, which closely matches the descriptions of achieving success in the Fifth Refinement found in the texts."

His admission was intentionally vague.

"Mm, it's already quite an achievement to have felt that." Vice Director Gao was rather pleased with Yang Wenqing's humble attitude. "For now, focus on solidifying your foundation in the Fifth Refinement. Once the Meridian-Passage Purple Spirit Ginseng is ready and you undergo systematic cultivation, you will most likely enter the Sixth Refinement within three years."

"I understand."

Yang Wenqing lowered his head to sip his porridge, hiding the thoughts in his eyes.

Breakfast concluded amidst this seemingly ordinary conversation. As time passed, the sunlight grew brighter, illuminating the green trees and red flowers of the estate and making them burst with life.

"It's about time. Let's get going." Vice Director Gao finished his breakfast, stood up, and straightened his collar. He said to Yang Wenqing, "Starting today, you will have a new life."

Yang Wenqing also stood up, taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air. A flicker of anticipation crossed his eyes.

The two of them boarded a Flying Shuttle, which Vice Director Gao piloted himself, and sped toward Coral City.

As they approached Coral City again, Yang Wenqing couldn't help but feel nervous. Vice Director Gao noticed his mood and made small talk with him. Before he knew it, they could see the city bureau's iconic headquarters.

The main building of the city bureau was a towering silver tower, its surface covered with countless intricate, flowing runes that refracted the sunlight with a cold, efficient gleam.

Surrounding the tower were several shorter but equally magnificent auxiliary buildings. They were connected by enclosed, iridescent runic sky-bridges, fitting together like the precise components of a complex instrument. Huge projections in the sky above cycled through displays of the city bureau's insignia and important wanted notices.

Dotting the spaces between these buildings were meticulously cultivated Spirit Plant Gardens. Dense Spiritual Qi was contained within specific areas by efficient Gathering Spirit Arrays, available for internal personnel to use for cultivation or recovery.

The Flying Shuttle piloted by Vice Director Gao landed on a designated sky platform. As the two of them disembarked, a uniformed staff member wearing an Internal Affairs armband immediately approached to verify their identities.

After being cleared, the two of them entered the middle floors of the main tower directly through a relatively secluded but heavily guarded internal passageway on the high-level platform.

Director Qin's secretary was already waiting in a small reception room. He was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, and his epaulets indicated he was a Senior Police Sergeant. Upon seeing Vice Director Gao and Yang Wenqing enter, he immediately stood up with a practiced yet polite smile.

"Director Gao, it's good to see you. You must be Yang Wenqing," Secretary Chen said, his speech steady and his words clear. "Director Qin is in a meeting and specifically instructed me to help you with the paperwork first."

"I appreciate you handling this, Secretary Chen." Vice Director Gao was clearly familiar with him. He then introduced him to Yang Wenqing: "This is Director Qin's secretary, Chen Zhi."

"Hello, Secretary Chen. Thank you for your help," Yang Wenqing said politely.