Chapter 21: Cultivating Objects

Hearing the notification sound ringing in his ears, Li Jing was slightly taken aback.

He had several speculations about how to trigger the equipment bar on the status panel.

Among them was the idea of triggering it by acquiring an item that the status panel could recognise as equipment.

The fact that the standard steel knife issued by the Assistant Inspector’s Department triggered the status panel wasn’t a surprise, but it was a bit unexpected.

What he didn’t expect was...

The status panel did more than merely log the equipment.

Once logged, the equipment would continue to be nurtured by his internal Spiritual Power, consequently increasing its durability, strength, and quality; it had the effect of "nurturing a weapon".

This function, it’d have to be said, was a bit of a loophole.

Nurturing a weapon is something that any cultivator can do.

However, not every item can be kept within the body and nurtured.

To nurture and grow a weapon with one’s own power...

The weapon itself must first have the potential for growth.

Items with the potential for growth must be at least Precious Items of grade eight and above.

The quality of items in this world...

Is divided into five categories: Mortal Tools, Precious Items, Spirit Weapons, Immortal Items, and Taoist Items.

Within each of these five categories, there are ten further levels.

A Precious Item of grade eight is a top-tier Precious Item and is extremely difficult to forge.

Its price, at least tens of millions to begin with.

After meeting the condition of being a Precious Item of grade eight, a cultivator must also establish a connection with the weapon, imprint their own mark onto it and only then can the weapon be taken inside their body and nurtured with care as they conduct their daily cultivations.

Having the ability to log equipment into his status panel allows Li Jing to nurture Mortal Tools directly without any extra effort on his part.

This was more than just convenient.

The key point was that Mortal Tools now had potential for growth in his hands.

Li Jing looked around and quietly thought "Log In" in his mind.

"Logged in successfully, Standard Steel Knife acquired, Mortal Tool grade four."

"With the current Spiritual Power Intensity, it will take 27 days to enhance to Mortal grade five."

Following the sounds of two notifications, the standard steel knife disappeared from Li Jing’s hands.

From the perspective of others, Li Jing had stored the steel knife in his storage space.

However, to his senses, the steel knife had shrunk exponentially and appeared in his sea of consciousness, the place where his Spiritual Power was most concentrated.

Host: Li Jing

Experience Points: 310/747

Level: 8

Skill Points: 1

Spiritual Power Intensity: 72

Equipment: Standard Steel Knife (Mortal Tool Grade Four 19%)

Passive Skills: Momentary Space, Clothing Protection Spirit (5/5), Vanishing Skill (5/5)

Active Skill: Palm Thunder (5/5)

Upon pulling up his status panel, Li Jing felt a sense of disappointment.

The standard equipment issued by the Assistant Inspector Department couldn’t be expected to be too fantastic.

But being merely a Mortal Tool of grade four was admittedly a bit shabby.

A Mortal Tool of grade four could be bought for barely more than a hundred thousand.

Being a patrol officer really does seem more promising...

The Patrol Bureau’s mass-produced standard flying swords might not reach the level of Precious Items grade eight.

But they would at least be in the levels of Precious Items grade four or five, far superior to the cheap flying swords on the market.

Considering that this was a free item he received, he shouldn’t be too demanding. Li Jing calmed his thoughts.

Anyway, with the equipment bar for logging and nurturing, at least he had potential for growth.

The remaining part was to take his time nurturing it.

Find ways to level up, improve his Spiritual Power Intensity, and boost the nurturing efficiency.

Meanwhile...

Seeing that the nine people present had all chosen their respective standard equipment, Kong Wu waved his hand to conjure a table, and then took out nine sets of uniforms labeled with nameplates, one by one.

"These are your uniforms. Each of you should take one according to the names on the nameplates. Your identification and communication devices are in the uniform pockets, keep them safe."

Continuing, he elaborated.

"Identification must be kept on hand at all times and communication devices worn at all times during duty hours. Eleven channels are preset in the communication device, corresponding to your nine-person group, me, and the patrol hotline, and you can select channels by adjusting the Spiritual Qi. Under different circumstances, you can contact each other or report to me. In emergencies, directly contact the patrol hotline to seek the patrol bureau’s support."

Watching the nine individuals, including Li Jing, come forward to receive their uniforms, Kong Wu’s expression turned solemn.

"From this moment onwards, you are officially deputy inspectors."

"Personally, I am fond of joking around in my free time. Chatting and laughing is fine. However, as your superior officer, I do not wish for anyone to take work-related matters as a joke."

"The work of a deputy inspector seems relatively relaxed, but it is still a formal occupation within a formal system. I hope you all will take your roles seriously and avoid committing acts that disgrace the position of a deputy inspector."

After speaking formally, Kong Wu turned to the three-person group comprised of two women and a man.

"Our Patrol Ninth Group is mainly responsible for the eastern coastal areas of North City. Zhao Junfeng, your group will be named Flying Immortal Group, and you will be the group leader, responsible for the upward direction of the eastern coastal patrol. Do you have any issues with that?"

The one who was called out was the only male in the three-person group.

Hearing that he was to be the team leader of the Flying Immortal group, he straightened his back.

"No problem."

Getting a response from him, Kong Wu turned his gaze to the other group.

"Deng Ying, your group will be named Eternal Night Group, and you will be the group leader, responsible for the lower direction of the eastern coastal patrol."

The Eternal Night Group, in contrast to the Flying Immortal Group, consisted of two men and one woman.

Deng Ying was the only woman in the group.

Meeting Kong Wu’s words, Deng Ying was somewhat taken aback; she didn’t expect that she, being a woman, would be appointed as the team leader.

She stood straight and replied after glancing at her two fellow group members.

"Understood."

Kong Wu nodded silently and finally looked at Li Jing.

"Li Jing, your group will be called the Heavenly King Group and will be in charge of patrolling the central area of the eastern coast."

"..."

Li Jing.

Heavenly King Group.

The name sounds domineering, but he didn’t feel great.

His name was Li Jing.

Not Li Jing...

...

Standard equipment, uniforms, and identification had all been prepared.

Specific responsibilities for each area were also assigned.

Kong Wu didn’t waste words, added some details that needed to be paid attention to during the patrols, and then told everyone to change their clothes and head to their respective areas.

North City is vast.

It occupies about two-fifths of Jianghai City’s territory.

The location on the eastern coast is quite far from the Assistant Inspector Department.

It’s over three hundred kilometers from the Assistant Inspector’s courtyard.

Driving normally would take more than three to four hours.

The patrol teams have the authority to Sky Control within the city, and a few hundred kilometers is not such a big deal.

Compared to walking on the ground, flying in the sky is much more efficient.

In less than half an hour, Li Jing and the other two arrived in the area they were responsible for via Sky Control.

Upon arrival, Li Jing chose to land on a tall building, turned around and looked at Yi Xiuzhu and Lu Yangcheng who also landed.

"Do you two want to rest a bit first?"

"I’m fine."

Yi Xiuzhu took a breath, then turned her head towards Lu Yangcheng.

"How about you?"

"I’m also okay."

Lu Yangcheng instinctively responded, then thought it was odd and looked puzzled.

Yi Xiuzhu had always been indifferent to him.

Now she was actively starting a conversation with him, and even showing concern. What was going on?

Upon hearing this, Li Jing was also a bit surprised and looked at Yi Xiuzhu more carefully.

At first, he didn’t notice.

Now thinking about it, ever since Yi Xiuzhu called him "Brother Li", she seemed not to have chatted much with him.

Her ignoring Lu Yangcheng was somewhat disdainful.

But fundamentally, her character doesn’t seem so bad, is she just not good with people?

The Heavenly King Group may be saved after all!

Li Jing was secretly pleased and spoke up.

"The patrolling demands that we inspect our area of responsibility every hour, so there’s no rush. We’ve traveled more than three hundred kilometers, you both don’t need to push yourselves, let’s take a break."

Lu Yangcheng was a man of understanding.

Through Yi Xiuzhu’s previous answer, he also realized that this guy didn’t seem as bad as he had imagined.

Seeing Li Jing speaking, Lu Yangcheng agreed eagerly.

"Alright, let’s sit down and chat. Flying here all the way has depleted us both quite a bit, it would be good to rest."

While talking, he pulled out three cans of cola from his storage space and handed one to Yi Xiuzhu.

"Want a can of happiness water?"

When faced with Lu Yangcheng’s cola diplomacy, Yi Xiuzhu hesitated for a while, then nodded and accepted without refusal.

Seeing this, Lu Yangcheng confirmed his suspicion, he didn’t bother to strike a conversation and casually handed a can to Li Jing, jokingly.

"King Li, have a drink."

"Thanks."

Li Jing smiled, gratefully accepted the coke and sat down.

The depletion from this journey was almost negligible for him.

After all, his Vanishing Skill was already maxed out, at the Great Perfection level.

The low consumption was one aspect.

His Sky Control speed was also very fast.

He wasn’t sure just how fast his limit was.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to test it.

But Yi Xiuzhu and Lu Yangcheng’s Dragon’s Flight and Wind Manipulation were only at the initial stage, he couldn’t just leave his members behind to soar, could he?

Through this journey, Li Jing also discovered that Yi Xiuzhu and Lu Yangcheng were not ordinary.

Sky Control and Wind Control skills could be learned in the Second Realm.

However, the Spiritual Qi of the Second Realm was not enough for long-term Sky Control.

The half-hour journey did not leave the two of them panting or blushing, which was impossible for ordinary Second Realm cultivators.

Just about to find a topic to chat, Lu Yangcheng mysteriously started to speak.

"The repeated monster transformations we saw yesterday haven’t continued, and the patrol bureau is still investigating without any official announcement. But I have some news that you guys might be interested in."

Then he lowered his voice.

"My dad’s business is manufacturing various detection instruments. During dinner last night, I heard him mention that in the afternoon, the patrol bureau urgently ordered a large batch of top-end instruments for detecting Demon Miasma. The quantity is large and the price offered is very high, requiring him to complete the delivery by tomorrow morning."