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When it came to filling the Aperture Cyclone, this step required a strong physical body, innate talent, and relentless effort.
The Aperture Cyclone was fragile—one careless mistake could damage it. That’s why nurturing the body was crucial.
However, Lu Ding’s body was already terrifyingly strong, so his cyclones could withstand his aggressive method of forcefully filling them with spiritual energy.
Moreover, Oneness with Formlessness played a vital role once again.
As soon as he entered Oneness with Heaven and Man, it was like Zhang Fei threading a needle—rough on the surface but precise in execution.
It might have looked reckless, but every step was a perfect infusion of energy.
With all these factors combined, Lu Ding’s cultivation speed skyrocketed overnight, breaking through from the first level of the Zhaoxuan Realm to the sixth level in one go.
If his meridians could have handled it, he would have continued cultivating. But after breaking through so many times in a single night, forcing another circulation of energy could cause damage. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn’t have stopped.
Lu Ding stretched, feeling the newfound power coursing through him.
“I’ll let my body recover first. Once my meridians are healed, I’ll continue cultivating.”
As he spoke, he opened his wardrobe.
He didn’t bring many clothes to begin with—conditions didn’t allow it before. Yesterday, he had even dirtied one of his outfits.
The 749 Bureau uniform wasn’t exactly fashionable either.
Now, aside from the uniform, only one set of casual clothes remained.
Lu Ding took it out and put it on. “Once my patrol district is assigned, I’ll buy some new clothes when I go out on duty.”
Just as he finished speaking, as the saying goes—speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
His phone vibrated with a new message.
It was about his district assignment.
[Respectable Intern Investigator Lu Ding, your patrol district has been assigned. Please report to the Bao Fan District Public Security Bureau in Yunhai City within twelve hours to complete the transfer process.]
“We’re working with the local public security bureau?”
“That makes sense. If I had to patrol on my own, a district that large would be impossible to cover. The public security bureau is the only way to efficiently gather intelligence.”
As a Yunhai native with only household registration but no property, Lu Ding was no stranger to the name Bao Fan District.
The name spoke for itself—prosperous and expensive.
It was just a step below the top central districts.
And the only reason it wasn’t at the very top was that the land prices were too high, making redevelopment difficult. Several decades ago, this was the heart of Yunhai’s economy. Though its prime had passed, it was still full of wealthy individuals—throw a brick, and you’d probably hit someone worth tens of millions.
At the same time, the district was chaotic.
Lu Ding hadn’t expected to be assigned to such a place.
Just then, a message from Yan Feifan popped up.
"Lu-ge, are you awake? You looked exhausted yesterday, so I didn’t want to disturb you. I’ve been assigned my patrol district. I bought you some breakfast and left it by your door. Make sure to eat when you wake up. I’m heading off to my district now. I probably won’t be able to do missions with you for a while."
Lu Ding took a sip of water.
"I’m awake. Have you eaten yet?"
"Lu-ge, you’re up so early? I haven’t eaten yet, kind of in a hurry. I wanted to report in early so my colleagues wouldn’t pick on me."
"Eat first. One of your new colleagues is me. I won’t pick on you."
Lu Ding chuckled as he sent the message.
Yan Feifan was as dependable as ever. His mindset was both a strength and a weakness—changing it overnight wouldn’t be easy.
Might as well let things take their course.
"Lu-ge, for real!?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
Knock, knock, knock…
A knock on the door.
Lu Ding walked over and opened it to see Yan Feifan standing there with breakfast in hand.
“Lu-ge! I can’t believe we got assigned to the same district! That’s amazing! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to handle it alone.”
Yan Feifan had been a little scared when he first saw his district assignment.
After all, he had heard of Bao Fan District’s reputation—it was bustling, chaotic, and full of all sorts of people. On top of that, paranormal incidents occurred frequently.
With his current level of skill, being assigned there felt like a joke.
But knowing that Lu Ding would be there with him?
Now it was fine. He’d just be the assistant.
Lu Ding was the real combat power.
And he loved being the assistant.
Slipping on a pair of shoe covers, Yan Feifan entered and placed the breakfast on the table.
Lu Ding took a bite of a steamed bun. “What’s there to be afraid of? Bao Fan District doesn’t have teeth—it can’t bite you.”
“Lu-ge, you don’t know the half of it. Bao Fan District is chaotic, and its paranormal incident rate is top three in Yunhai. The Bureau usually only assigns Formal Investigators there. So tell me—why would an Intern Investigator like me get sent there? Of course, I’d be nervous.”
“Not to mention, the other patrol officer could be a Formal Investigator I don’t know. I’ve barely interacted with Formal Investigators, and when I have, they found me annoying… Sigh.”
“Oh? You know a lot about Bao Fan District?” Lu Ding asked while drinking his porridge.
“I know a bit. The last patrol officers there were Formal Investigators Bei Heguang and Ming Jun from our bureau. Heard they were tough characters, but they didn’t serve long before getting reassigned.”
“They made a major mistake during patrol, causing heavy casualties.”
“A major mistake? Tell me more—I want to hear about it.”
Since he was about to take up this post, Lu Ding needed to gather intel.
He trusted his own strength, but he wasn’t some brainless brute who charged in blindly.
“I only heard bits and pieces. Late last month, there was a land collapse in Bao Fan District. Turned out there was an ancient tomb beneath it. Yunhai, being an Ancient Capital of Three Dynasties, is full of tombs, so that wasn’t the surprising part.”
“But this tomb was different.”
“It housed a White-Furred Hou, along with a hoard of valuable artifacts. When the tomb collapsed, the White-Furred Hou broke free and attacked civilians. So Bei Heguang and Ming Jun went to handle it.”
“They managed to severely injure the White-Furred Hou and force it back into the tomb. But then… they tied it up and went hunting for treasure instead.”
“This gave the White-Furred Hou a chance to escape again, and it killed a lot of people before the local Cultivators of Qi in Bao Fan finally put it down.”
“Then, over the tomb’s treasures, our investigators and the local cultivators got into a huge conflict—and our guys lost.”
Hearing this, Lu Ding thought these two were unbelievably stupid.
At the very least, kill the White-Furred Hou first before looting the place!
Letting others handle it was one thing. But picking a fight over the loot and losing?
Pathetic.
Absolutely pathetic.
Still, he had a question. “When this tomb appeared and local cultivators intervened, why didn’t the Bureau step in?”
“Lu-ge, the 749 Bureau manages Cultivators of Qi, but these practitioners have existed for centuries. The Bureau’s only been around for a few decades. We can’t just erase their existence.”
“Besides, if these artifacts fell into ordinary hands, they’d be disasters, not treasures.”
“And honestly? Compared to what’s in our Bureau’s vaults, these so-called treasures are nothing. The Bureau allows them some leeway—it’s how civilian cultivators survive.”
“It’s like in novels—when a secret realm appears, even the dominant sect or empire wouldn’t monopolize it. That’d make management impossible.”
Lu Ding found this perspective interesting.
He was new to the Bureau, so this was all fresh information to him.