I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 296: Chapter 163: The Indispensable Method of Artifact Refining

Yang Wenqing waved his hand, deactivating the Communication Array. The voices from the Major Case Team abruptly fell silent. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping a rhythmic beat on the smooth surface of his desk.

After a moment, he called in Liu Min, who was waiting outside. ”What has Director Zhu been busy with lately?” he asked.

Liu Min seemed taken aback for a moment, then replied, ”I’m not sure, but I’ve heard that Internal Affairs Inspection has been extremely busy lately. Even when Director Zhu was injured, very few people had the time to visit him.”

Her answer was clever.

’The Internal Affairs Inspection Division is responsible for internal disciplinary reviews, corruption investigations, and preventing infiltration. They wouldn’t be this busy for no reason, especially after the recent series of incidents—the explosion, the Water Race attack, and the hijacked supplies. It seems the Inspection System has another mission, probably also under orders to root out the mole.’

’They’re in a much better position to investigate this than other divisions. They have their own independent personnel files and routinely monitor every officer in the jurisdiction.’

’Zhu Yunchuan not proactively reporting on Internal Affairs Inspection’s activities is consistent with their principles of independent investigation and confidentiality. They only need to report to the director and their superiors in the oversight department upon completing an investigation or making a major discovery.’

A wry smile suddenly touched Yang Wenqing’s lips. ’This is interesting.’

He hadn’t felt this entertained in a long time. For six years, he had held absolute authority in the Lingshan New District, usually acting as the grand strategist, the one moving all the pieces.

But things were different now. It was as if a thick fog had descended around him, and he was standing right in the middle of it. This uncertainty, this subtle sensation of multiple factions wrestling for control, stirred a long-dormant desire for a challenge deep within him.

’The struggle against other people is truly an endless source of joy!’

Yang Wenqing sighed to himself. The arena of power was never black and white. It was about finding a path through a gray fog, maintaining balance amid a web of intricate relationships, and seizing the advantage in silent clashes.

”That’s all. You can head home if you have things to attend to. I’ll be staying at the bureau for the next few days.” Yang Wenqing waved his hand dismissively.

”I don’t have anything pressing at home, Director. You can summon me at any time,” Liu Min replied, respectfully backing out of the office.

After Liu Min left, Yang Wenqing walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window and gazed out. Because of the lockdown, the cityscape lacked its usual blaze of lights. All he could see were the occasional streaks of light from patrolling Flying Shuttles and the silhouettes of officers on duty at intersections.

After standing in silence for a long time, he turned and walked into the private lounge connected to his office.

The room was small and sparsely furnished. Besides a simple bed, there was only a meditation cushion and a small Spirit Gathering Array Plate.

Yang Wenqing sat cross-legged on the cushion. From his Storage Bag, he took out the jade slip on basic Artifact Refining that his master, Qin Huaiming, had given him, along with a fist-sized piece of ’Scarlet Flame Star Iron’.

This Artifact Refining Secret Technique centered on refining with ’Heart Fire’. The Yuqing ’Heart Fire’ was no ordinary flame of the Five Elements. Instead, it was founded upon the Five Yang Qi—specifically, it was a wisp of Pure Yang True Fire, ignited by the fusion of the Yang from the Heart and the Yin from the Kidneys.

This fire was gentle, not volatile; it was pure and full of vitality. It excelled at extracting the essence from materials and purging impurities. Furthermore, it allowed the refiner to better integrate their consciousness and Spiritual Qi into a Magical Artifact, enhancing its Spiritual Attribute and attunement. An ordinary Cultivator, lacking a Yuqing foundation or a specific fire-attribute Spiritual Vein, would be completely unable to summon or control such a flame.

Yang Wenqing closed his eyes and focused, his consciousness sinking into the mysterious projection of his Golden Core World. He planned to first practice and master this Artifact Refining method through simulation.

Within the projection of his Golden Core World, he focused his intent on his heart and kidneys. Guided by the Heart Method, the Yang of fire ascended while the Yin of water descended. The two forces attracted and merged along a profound trajectory until, moments later, an extremely faint, illusory flame exuding a gentle, clear light flickered to life in the center of the projection.

This was the embryonic form of the Heart Fire.

After two hours of this practice, once he could stably maintain the simulated Heart Fire, he withdrew from the Golden Core World of his Introspection.

Then, Yang Wenqing took an iron ingot from his Storage Bag and placed it in his left palm. With his right hand, he formed a Spell, and a wisp of Heart Fire instantly materialized. When the flame touched the metal, the ingot didn’t immediately melt. Instead, a hazy halo of light bloomed across its surface.

As time went on, the ingot’s internal structure became clearly visible as the Heart Fire seeped into it. Dim motes of light, representing impurities, were slowly peeled away by the flame’s power.

The entire process was slow and meticulous, demanding extremely precise control over the Five Yang Qi. The slightest mistake would destabilize the Heart Fire; either its heat would be insufficient for refinement, or it would become too fierce, damaging the material and even causing a backlash against him.

But with the experience gained from the Golden Core World simulation, Yang Wenqing managed it with ease.

After an unknown amount of time, all impurities had been purged from the ingot, leaving a mass of pure, refined iron. With a mere thought from Yang Wenqing, the Yin-attribute qi from his kidneys flowed out like an invisible hand, guiding the molten iron to stretch and transform.

A rough sword embryo gradually took shape. The heavy qi of Earth from the spleen stabilized its form. Then, the sharp qi of Metal from the lungs was injected to enhance its properties. Finally, the vital qi of Wood from the liver swept over it, imbuing it with a trace of nimble essence.

But with a soft SNAP, the short sword broke in two.

His first attempt at Artifact Refining had failed.

Yang Wenqing wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. On the contrary, his face was filled with interest. He picked up the broken pieces of the short sword and carefully observed the fracture. ’The material was too brittle. I’ll need to add other alloys.’

He picked up the jade slip again and began to study it, noting the various metal alloy ratios recorded within.