Yang Wenqing returned to the dormitory at three in the afternoon.
He first placed the badge carefully into his wardrobe, then went to the window to settle his emotions. After that, he dipped a finger in a little water and slowly traced the spell seal on the glass according to his memory.
Once, twice, three times—his emotions remained extremely steady as he kept trying and practicing. Before he knew it, an hour had passed. Only when he could completely trace the spell seal within ten seconds did he stop.
Afterward, he rested for fifteen minutes. Once he had drunk a cup of water, his consciousness sank inward, gathering a Golden Core in his mind, and he smoothly entered the Golden Core world.
Simulating the imprinting of the spell seal in the Golden Core world consumed far less energy; twenty attempts there were only enough for two attempts in reality. At present, the qi sea within his body could only support two real attempts before he would need to rest for an entire night.
After Yang Wenqing’s consciousness entered the Golden Core world, he first observed the spiritual veins within his projection. Based on what had happened back at the Security Academy and with Liao Feng’s breakthrough into the Qi Refining stage, he could confirm that advancing into the Qi Refining realm definitely required the assistance of a large amount of spiritual qi. At the same time, one’s spiritual veins had to expand to a certain extent.
As for pills and a Spirit Gathering Array, Yang Wenqing could only obtain pills—the Dragon Ginseng Pill he had exchanged for with eighty merit points. But that was clearly not enough. He would still need to draw in sufficient spiritual qi and refine it within his qi sea. The only method was to strengthen his body’s qi sense through the spiritual veins.
“I’ll try to get it done within two years!”
He softly spoke a time limit. By then, he would only be twenty-one. Although that might be slightly inferior compared to geniuses who advanced into the Qi Refining realm at eighteen, compared with the vast majority of people, he could absolutely be called a genius as well.
Given the circumstances of his family in this life, achieving such a result would already be more than fortunate. It was also thanks to the advanced cultivation civilization of this world. The fundamental methods of cultivation had undergone countless evolutions and had already become something even ordinary people could practice.
Yang Wenqing let out a long breath. Having lived two lives gave him sufficient patience, and he soon gathered his thoughts, focusing all his attention on imprinting the spell seal of the “Golden Light Body-Protection Incantation.”
Inside the Golden Core world, his projection raised both hands. As his ten fingers moved nimbly, the spell seal from his memory rapidly took shape before him…
On his first attempt, he strove for precision, so his speed was inevitably somewhat slow. When the rune had been outlined nearly halfway, the spell seal collapsed into specks of golden light because the spiritual qi connection at one subtle turn had failed to flow together seamlessly.
Yang Wenqing’s expression did not change. In his consciousness, he quickly replayed the process just now.
On the second attempt, he adjusted the rhythm of his spiritual qi output. The early stage went quite smoothly, but in the last few strokes before completion, because he had underestimated the overall consumption of spiritual qi, it disintegrated again just before taking form.
The third attempt…
On the eighth attempt, a complete but extremely dim wheel of light barely appeared, yet it failed to last even a single breath before shattering.
Yang Wenqing was not discouraged. He continued…
On the thirteenth attempt, he cast aside all distracting thoughts. As his fingertips moved, golden rune lines rapidly interwove.
With the experience accumulated from the previous twelve failures, this time he precisely controlled the force at every turn and skillfully balanced the distribution of spiritual qi across the overall structure of the spell seal. The instant the final rune line ended perfectly…
“Buzz!”
A faint tremor rang out within the Golden Core world.
A dazzling pale-golden wheel of light suddenly took shape, hovering steadily before the projection. Flowing light shimmered over its surface, giving off a stable and reassuring aura. It lasted for a full three breaths before slowly dissipating.
He had succeeded!
An uncontrollable joy was just about to surge up from the depths of his heart when Yang Wenqing forcefully suppressed it. He knew very well that succeeding within the Golden Core world did not mean he could cast it successfully in reality on the first try.
At a time like this, he needed calm all the more.
He did not get greedy and immediately withdrew from the Golden Core world.
When his consciousness returned to reality, the sky outside the window was already close to dusk. After taking a deep breath, he sensed the state of the qi sea within his body. Roughly a little more than half of his spiritual qi remained, enough to support one real attempt.
He did not hesitate. Recalling the feeling from the moment he had succeeded just now, he raised his right hand, drove the spiritual qi within his body, and swiftly yet steadily traced the spell-seal lines of the “Golden Light Body-Protection Incantation.”
Spiritual light once again bloomed at his fingertips, outlining complex trajectories in the air. His movements carried an unprecedented smoothness and confidence.
Several breaths later, as the final rune was completed…
“Buzz!”
The same faint tremor rang out inside the quiet dormitory.
Then a pale-golden barrier about half a meter in diameter, solid and stable, appeared before Yang Wenqing. Golden light flowed across its surface. Though it could not compare with the radiance it had shown inside the Golden Core world, it truly emitted the power of protection.
It worked!
The golden barrier lasted around five or six seconds before dissipating due to insufficient follow-up spiritual qi.
Yang Wenqing let out a long breath. At last, a relieved and gratified smile appeared on his face. Sensing the spiritual qi in his body that was almost exhausted, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.
He sat down by the bed, enjoying the joy of this moment alone. Then he looked toward the last streak of sunset glow at the edge of the sky outside the window, his heart filled with anticipation and confidence for the path of cultivation ahead.
Because he had to be on duty for four hours tomorrow, on the weekend—standing guard at the rear courtyard passage from four in the morning until eight—he rested for a short while, made himself something to eat, and after finishing his meal, went to the courtyard to practice three sets of boxing. Then he returned to the dormitory early to rest.
The weekend was somewhat quiet. After Yang Wenqing finished his duty shift, he returned to the dormitory and seized the time to meditate and cultivate. In the blink of an eye, Monday arrived again.
On Monday morning, after roll call.
The members of the Second Patrol Squad did not immediately set out on patrol. Instead, under the leadership of their captain, Xiao Liang, they came to a training ground in the back courtyard of the security office paved with sand and gravel.
They needed to carry out the routine Monday program here: practical combat drills.
“Same rules as always. Groups of three. Draw lots to decide opponents and teammates.” Xiao Liang held a bamboo tube in his hand. Inside were several bamboo sticks carved with names.
“Take this seriously. Don’t even think about fooling around!”
The results of the draw were soon decided. Yang Wenqing was grouped with Li Ming and Zhou Kun. Their opponents were Zhu Lin, Ye Yong, and Wang Yuanfeng.
“Wenqing, stay close to me and pay attention to covering the flank. Zhou Kun, you’re in charge of support.” Li Ming quickly assigned roles. Although he was usually all smiles, once he entered combat mode, he became exceptionally steady.
Across from them, Zhu Lin was also arranging tactics in a low voice. “Ye Yong, you and I will press them from the front. Wang Yuanfeng, look for a chance to use your Binding Curse to interfere with them. Your priority target is Li Ming!”
The two sides took their positions at opposite ends of the training ground. With Xiao Liang’s command, the sparring match began!
“Go!” Zhu Lin shouted in a low voice. He and Ye Yong, one on the left and one on the right, charged straight toward Li Ming’s group like fierce tigers released from their cage. Zhu Lin used a police-issue long staff, and when he swung it, it whistled with force, carrying a sense of pressure. Ye Yong held a short sword, his figure nimble as he waited for an opportunity from the side.
As the core of the group, Li Ming stepped forward without the slightest fear. The standard wooden sword in his hand knocked back Zhu Lin’s long staff, while Yang Wenqing took the initiative to intercept Ye Yong and forced him back in just two exchanges…
The first match ended quickly. Naturally, Li Ming’s group won.
The second match ended with the same result. That was because Ye Yong was genuinely too weak. In the end, even Captain Xiao Liang could no longer bear watching and changed the group sparring into individual matches.
Yang Wenqing kept a very low profile. In the individual matches, he only defeated Ye Yong. When sparring against the others, after tempering his own combat skills, he deliberately exposed flaws and lost.
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