My supernatural profession is too unique.

"Congratulations, Brother Song, on becoming a Level 1 Police Officer. You'll have to take care of me from now on."

As soon as Li Ling entered the front hall, he saw several trainee police officers fawning over Song Qinghe.

"Being a first-level police officer isn't a big deal."

Song Qinghe didn't seem to care about what he said, but he looked quite smug.

He clearly already knew about the possibility of being officially hired at the end of the month.

The number of trainee police officers who are promoted to full-fledged officers each year is relatively fixed.

If the trainee officers meet all the requirements, the final assessment will be based on their performance rating.

And this rating will be decided by Lu Lingyun.

"Brother Song, do I have any hope?"

A short, stocky trainee officer asked with a fawning expression.

"As far as I know, there's only one spot left. You have a chance, but the competition will be fierce."

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Qinghe glanced at Li Ling and chuckled, "As for those whose cultivation hasn't reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining, they have no chance."

Li Ling glanced at him, knowing that Song Qinghe was mocking him, but pretended not to hear it.

"Ah Ling, today we're patrolling West Lake Street."

Yang Wenping walked over and said to him.

"it is good."

Li Ling nodded.

Holding a water bottle, I filled a cup with water from the water dispenser.

Then he and Yang Wenping walked out of the hall.

No sooner had he stepped out of the hall than he faintly heard Song Qinghe's mocking voice behind him, "Qi Refining Level 3, wanting to become a full-fledged official? Dream on. After two more days of inspection, go back to the countryside to farm."

Li Ling paused in his tracks.

Yang Wenping whispered, "Don't listen to his nonsense."

"His family runs a chain of pharmacies, so he's got some money, but finding out the inside story of the police station isn't that easy."

Li Ling let out a breath and walked towards the parking lot as if nothing had happened.

[Warrior] Affection -1 (Patience has its limits)

A line of small text floated across the panel, and Li Ling's eye twitched.

One favorability point is gone.

[Lishi] has a fiery temper.

But he knew his own limitations; with his current strength, he was no match for Song Qinghe.

Song Qinghe had already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining last month.

However, this person mainly relied on elixirs to break through, and his foundation was weak.

The main reason was that Song Qinghe's background was not something to be trifled with.

Yang Wenping spoke casually, implying that his ability to operate a chain of pharmacies in the county was quite impressive.

Li Ling shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it anymore. The key for the next two days was to get himself in the right mindset.

The day after tomorrow, I will attempt to reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Whether or not he will be officially appointed will only be clear when the official announcement is released at the end of the month.

Soon, the two piloted the shuttle and left the police station.

······.

The shrine of the police station is located in the main position of the back courtyard.

It is a county-level temple.

The statues inside are mainly of the fire and thunder attributes.

It has the effect of warding off evil spirits and demons.

It is one of the twelve main temples in the entire county.

There are different historical versions regarding the origin of these statues.

Some say it came from a high-ranking cultivator of the Immortal Alliance, whose soul remained after death and thus entered the temple to receive the offerings of human food.

Some of them come from ancient myths and legends.

There are other theories as well.

However, these two are the main ones.

At 8:50, Li Ling arrived at the General Affairs Office.

Receive the jade token for entering the temple from Officer Du.

"You only have three hours to cultivate. After you finish, you will be automatically teleported out of the temple. You need to make good use of your time."

"Every year, some officers in our station fail to achieve their breakthroughs due to time constraints."

After explaining some precautions to Li Ling, Sister Du gave him some more instructions.

"After entering, sit cross-legged on the futon, choose a deity that matches your profession, and meditate on it."

"Remember, fate cannot be forced. If you gain something or make a breakthrough, that is fortunate. If you gain nothing, it proves that your fate and strength are not yet there. Do not have any distracting thoughts, lest you leave behind a seed of disaster and be attacked by the Heavenly Demon, which would be a loss rather than a gain."

Sister Du spoke solemnly, noting that interns like Li Ling lacked experience and this month was their probationary period.

They are more prone to being impatient and eager for quick results, which can easily lead to problems.

He might go astray and become possessed by evil spirits, attracting the attention of extraterrestrial demons.

"Thank you, Sister Du."

Li Ling took a deep breath, thanked Du Ye, and left the General Affairs Office.

Follow the corridor to the front of the temple.

Two lifelike jade beasts stand outside the temple, resembling lions but with an extra pair of wings.

The people in the area called it the Tianlu Beast.

There was a magic array outside the temple gate to check the access. Li Ling placed the jade token inside, and the gate slowly slid open after the access was confirmed.

Li Ling stepped inside.

Inside was a hall of about thirty square meters, with three futons on the floor and simple spirit-gathering arrays engraved on the walls and floor.

On the table in the very center, there are three statues of gods.

In the middle is a thunder statue.

On the right is a fire image, which is the Kitchen God image that Li Ling is familiar with.

On the left is another fire-themed statue, but it's a different fire-attribute deity.

He first lit three sticks of sandalwood incense, offered them devoutly to the image of the Kitchen God, and then placed the sandalwood incense sticks in the incense burner in front of the Kitchen God.

He then sat down on the futon.

He took his time, first closing his eyes to harmonize his body and mind and keep his mind clear.

Feeling that he had adjusted his state, Li Ling opened his eyes and looked at the Kitchen God statue on his right.

Previously, when I was at Jinyang Academy, after awakening the profession of the Kitchen God, I also visualized the image of the Kitchen God in this way.

Having mastered the method of opening the stove by the Kitchen God, one can thus draw upon the power of the Kitchen God's statue.

At first, the statue was blurry and unclear, as if it were covered by something.

This continued for about thirty minutes.

[Kitchen Official Trainee Police Officer] Favorability +1 (Diligent Training)

Immediately, the image began to become clearer.

Wisps of flame light surged on the surface.

He began reciting the "Kitchen God's Furnace Opening Method," hoping to invite the Kitchen God to possess him and assist in his breakthrough.

His voice was extremely faint, yet it sounded incredibly grand in the silent temple.

Soon after, wisps of crimson light from the statue fell onto his palm.

He felt a flame gathering within him, and the flame grew stronger, giving him an aura of fiery energy.

Just then, the surrounding spiritual energy began to flow into his body like a flood along with the flames.

At the same time, the statue condensed into a phantom image, as if possessing divinity, and merged into his body, helping him to quickly absorb and refine the surrounding spiritual energy and channel it into his meridians.

Li Ling focused his mind on the image of the Kitchen God, feeling as if he were a burning ember.

The spiritual energy flowing into the body was incredibly intense, rapidly expanding along the meridians.

It is unknown how much time has passed, but the blazing spiritual energy, like a fire dragon, converged into the Qi Sea with unstoppable momentum.

It sounded like a dull thud.

Li Ling felt an invisible bottleneck in his Qi Sea being broken open.

The entire Qi Sea instantly doubled in size.

From one inch to two inches.

The gas sea has successfully expanded.

You've reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

From now on, Li Ling's body will be able to hold several times more spiritual energy than before.

Until the next time the bottleneck is broken, the Qi Sea expands again.

An unprecedented sense of power instantly arose within Li Ling's body, and the spiritual energy within him gradually formed a new cycle, nourishing and expanding his meridians.