June twenty-ninth.
Lu Zhao had received no transfer orders, nor had any official dispatch arrived commanding him to cease the investigation.
Tapping on the desk, Lu Zhao concluded with certainty, "Someone is protecting me. That means someone has taken an interest, or perhaps they're still wavering."
His teacher had once told him that even great figures were only human; when confronted with sudden developments, they wavered just the same.
The confessions of the two Lü brothers alone were not enough to draw them into the fray. It was just like buying groceries at the market: the quality and the price of the meat dictated the buyer's willingness.
Now was the time to raise the stakes.
Lu Zhao placed a phone call to Zhang Like, asking him to bring over another document held exclusively by the border defense station—solid physical evidence of the goods smuggled by the two Lü brothers.
He instructed Zhang Like, "Help me deliver this directly to the General Security Bureau, bypassing the usual chain of command."
Puzzled, Zhang Like asked, "Why not send it to Cangwu through the special investigation team?"
Skipping rank violated regulations, and its authority was far inferior to that of the special investigation team.
"Confessions can be overturned, but physical evidence is hard to destroy," Lu Zhao explained. "The General Security Bureau belongs to the Lin family, which will prevent the Chen family from getting wind of it beforehand. It also puts the choice into the hands of the higher-ups, saving us from shouldering the risk alone."
Zhang Like asked, "What if the people backing Leader Lin refuse to cooperate?"
Lu Zhao replied, "Then before they can transfer me away, I will organize both the witnesses and the material evidence and present them all together. I believe the higher-ups will understand this as well once they see this report."
It was coercion—dignified coercion.
His teacher had once said to give people a choice, yet leave them no real choice at all.
A direct threat would trigger the other party's sense of danger, leading to irrational retaliation. When one lacked absolute certainty, one could never make others feel backed into a corner.
After hearing Lu Zhao's explanation, Zhang Like drew in a sharp breath. "Why are you so practiced at this?"
"I had guidance from an expert."
Lu Zhao did not elaborate, and Zhang Like did not press the matter further, simply leaving with the report.
With the trump card of the smuggling evidence played, there was nothing left for him to busy himself with.
Taking his life supplement, Lu Zhao sat cross-legged and began to cultivate. He spent an hour digesting it through his daily qi refining, then moved on to refining his spirit.
Cultivation required perseverance; only long accumulation would yield results.
Lately, Lu Zhao had felt an itch in his head, a constant undercurrent of restlessness within his spirit.
As his spiritual five senses steadily improved, he found himself occasionally slipping into a semi-detached state, though he could not completely separate from his body.
It was like gaining a third-person perspective, similar to playing a game.
First rank: outer form. Second rank: inner form. Third rank: spirit projection.
These were the universal traits of psychic superhumans, yet while still at the first rank, Lu Zhao had already developed the rudimentary forms of higher stages.
Just like life-force development, forty points of life force allowed one to control the contraction of certain muscles, thereby stopping blood flow.
Upon breaking through to the second rank, the hallmark was self-healing. The scope of muscle control expanded further and grew more refined, allowing one, for instance, to reset broken bones using only muscular contraction.
Breaking through to the third rank allowed a superhuman to control every muscle in their body, reaching a realm where not even a mosquito could alight upon them.
The moment a mosquito touched their body, a jolt of force would flick it away.
As its name implied, life-force development was a systematic progression, not an instantaneous acquisition of miraculous power upon breaking through a certain threshold.
The development of psychic power ought to work the same way, yet the Federation had an absolute blank slate in this field.
Three hours passed in training, but Lu Zhao's psychic power remained completely stagnant despite several attempts.
"I'll eat first, then go ask Teacher later."
Lu Zhao went downstairs for a meal, chatted with a few officers along the way, and finally returned to his room in high spirits.
The police station had been temporarily converted into a garrison for the border defense company. Sleeping merely meant finding a clean spot to toss down a sleeping bag, and bathing meant heading straight to the washroom for a cold shower.
Lu Zhao simply took up residence in the temporary archives office to prevent anyone from being bribed to stage an arson attack and burn the records.
Closing his eyes to nurture his spirit, he sank his consciousness into the Primordial.
***
The Primordial.
Inside the Taoist temple, Lu Zhao sat facing the old Taoist.
"Teacher, your student is perplexed regarding cultivation."
"Speak."
"Previously when refining spirit, I could swallow a hundred needles a day, and my soul grew noticeably. Today, it suddenly stopped growing altogether."
The old Taoist lifted his eyelids slightly, his gaze piercing through Lu Zhao's three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls like a divine beam of light.
In just fifty-odd days, the embryonic inner form had already taken shape—half a step from completeness.
A true immortal talent indeed.
Although it was built on a solid foundation of life cultivation—Lu Zhao having essentially boarded the train before buying the ticket—his innate comprehension was still astonishing.
The old Taoist answered, "You are now merely one step away from completeness."
Lu Zhao asked, "May I ask Teacher, what counts as a breakthrough?"
The old Taoist shook his head. "This master does not know."
Lu Zhao was stunned. This was the first time his master had ever pleaded ignorance regarding cultivation.
Then he realized. "Does Teacher mean that I must comprehend the Dao before I can take the next step?"
Clever students were always a relief.
The old Taoist gave a slight nod. "Perhaps in the next breath, perhaps decades from now, or perhaps you will never comprehend it until the day you die. This master gave you six months, of which five remain."
If Lu Zhao failed to comprehend the Dao within six months, he would have to receive an impartation.
Once, the old Taoist had hoped Lu Zhao would comprehend it on his own; any master was pleased when a disciple excelled. But now, he felt it might be better for Lu Zhao to simply accept an impartation.
When a disciple was too exceptional, a master couldn't help but feel a touch disgruntled.
Curious, Lu Zhao asked, "In ancient times, if no one gave an impartation, would one never be able to break through in an entire lifetime?"
"Have you ever seen a grandmaster without a sect or an inheritance?"
The old Taoist shut him down in a single sentence. It was like asking whether an illiterate person could attend university.
"A master's transmission is not absolute, yet it cannot be absent. How could there be water without a source in this world? Even a sage like Laozi served as the Keeper of the Archives for the Zhou before he comprehended the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
"There is no need to be discouraged if you cannot grasp it. Throughout history, countless grandmasters attained it through their masters' impartation. The so-called impartation is merely a key, a seed."
A smile appeared on the old Taoist's face. Rather than offering further comfort, he teased:
"'Youth bears proud ambition, trusting in the Dao rather than bending to the times.' This is only natural. Many grandmasters and sages were just like you in their youth, and most of them eventually accepted transmission and impartation."
Lu Zhao fell into thought. Before he could speak, a ferule struck down hard.
*Smack!*
No matter how many times it happened, Lu Zhao still winced in pain.
Now that his soul possessed the five senses, the pain was even sharper.
Holding the ferule as if reading his mind, the old Taoist said, "In this new dynasty, people's hearts are impetuous, and even someone like you cannot escape it. Just because this master said you might not manage it does not mean you shouldn't try.
"Do not neglect to cultivate simply because the gain seems small, and do not fail to guard against harm simply because the loss seems minor. If you do not run headfirst into a brick wall today, you will leave a flaw in your heart tomorrow, and it would hardly be good if an inner demon took root."
A good teacher had to prevent a disciple from straying, nipping even the slightest error in the bud.
The old Taoist valued his reputation; he wouldn't stoop to holding back secrets when teaching his disciple.
Lu Zhao bowed respectfully. "Your student understands."
"Do you have any other questions?"
"Lately, my soul frequently enters a semi-detached state, and I cannot control it."
Chapter 81