Heaping Earth into Mountains to Amass Cultivation

Li Banfeng was heading to Yaowanggou. Ma the Fifth helped him obtain a travel permit and bought his train ticket. Ma the Fifth was quite weak during his advancement process, but he still saw Li Banfeng off at the station. Returning from the station, Ma the Fifth wanted nothing more than to sleep soundly for a few days, only to find someone had arrived at the newspaper office. Ah Qin had come. How could Ah Qin possibly come to Heishipo? Under normal circumstances, she couldn't leave the newland at all. Later he learned that Ah Qin had missed Ma the Fifth and gone to Qiu Luoye. Qiu Luoye had agreed to Ah Qin's request and in turn asked Shui Yongquan to conceal her aura. Ah Qin had arrived at Lanyang Village, found Ma the Fifth's men, obtained a travel permit and a train ticket, and traveled all the way to Heishipo. Having Ah Qin here was certainly wonderful. Yet Huo Ling was here too. How would the two of them get along? It seemed he wouldn't be sleeping peacefully over the next few days. As it turned out, Ma the Fifth had worried for nothing. Ah Qin and Huo Ling already knew each other and got along quite well. Upon learning that Ma the Fifth was on the verge of advancing, the two worked together to help him step up his cultivation. Once Ma the Fifth was thoroughly exhausted and fell into a deep sleep, the two didn't disturb him, heading out together to watch movies. *Bloodblade Detective 6* was currently screening in Heishipo, drawing long queues in front of the theater. Bai Qiusheng pulled some strings to buy movie tickets for Ah Qin and Huo Ling. After watching one screening, they thought it was truly fantastic, so they asked Bai Qiusheng to get them two more tickets and went to watch it again that evening. …… Yuezhou University, academic lecture hall. The nanomaterials expert Zhang Xuanming had just concluded his presentation, and thunderous applause echoed through the hall without stopping. Once the lecture concluded and the students dispersed, He Jiaqing disguised himself as a staff member and went onto the podium to pack up the microphone. He took a battery out of the microphone's base; anyone who didn't know better would have assumed he was simply inspecting the equipment. Putting the battery away, He Jiaqing left the academic lecture hall, went into an inn beside the university, and booked a room. Once inside the room, He Jiaqing placed the battery into the charger's slot and plugged it into the power socket. Before long, a white ring reappeared on the battery's surface. He Jiaqing took the battery out, attached a wire to each terminal, positive and negative, and plugged them into his own head. Smoke began rising from He Jiaqing's head. The effect was decent enough, though it was a bit rough on his scalp. Once the battery finished discharging, He Jiaqing put it away in a box. Just as he lay down on the bed to rest, the button on his chest began to vibrate. "Jiaqing, the attendance rate for the new film has reached eighty percent." He Jiaqing nodded. "I knew you were capable, Sister." "Part seven has already begun filming, but we don't have much film stock left. I told the producers to go buy some more, but they said the film stock has to be procured by you in person." "Sis, the film stock we use is special, so it really does have to be bought by me. Tell them to use what they have sparingly for now; I'll be able to send more film over within a day or two." Ending the transmission, He Jiaqing rubbed his scalp, rubbing off a good amount of hair. *Not good. I really am going bald.* *Even if I go bald, I have to endure it. I can't slow down now.* Leaving the inn, He Jiaqing stood on the street. Watching the endless stream of people flowing by, He Jiaqing saw countless sources—sources of cultivation. Piling earth into mountains: only by ceaselessly scouring for resources could a mountain be built up. Third Uncle was still lying in the hospital for him, and he would have to keep lying there for a long time yet. Back when he still had his journey cultivator skills, he hadn't needed to find a stand-in. As long as he planned his route in advance, he could get everything done in just a few minutes, and no one would even know he had left the hospital room. Now that his journey cultivator skills were used up, things had become troublesome. He had to replenish those techniques as quickly as possible. Go to the stadium again tonight? No rush. Wait a bit longer—he couldn't visit the same place too frequently. Where else had popularity and crowds on par with a stadium? He Jiaqing headed toward the subway station. The evening rush hour was about to begin. …… Ma the Fifth slept for a full day and night. His body had recovered by seventy to eighty percent, and his advancement had succeeded. He was now a tier-three Joy Cultivator, which meant his requirements for cultivation were even higher. Both Huo Ling and Ah Qin were here—robust in physique, superb in technique, and seamlessly coordinated with one another. They were sure to guarantee the necessary intensity of his cultivation. Ma the Fifth ate a bite of food and soon got into the mood, only to learn that neither beauty was at the newspaper office; they had gone together to watch movies again. Watching movies again? Was it really that good? Bai Qiusheng came to Ma the Fifth's room, closed the door, and said, "Fifth Master, something isn't right with the two madams." "What's not right?" "That film, *Bloodblade Detective 6*—the two madams have already watched it five times. They won't eat, they won't sleep, just watching screening after screening." Ma the Fifth smiled. "Let them watch. They didn't watch many movies back in the newland, so they're probably just enjoying the novelty." Bai Qiusheng shook his head. "That's what I thought at first, too. I even bought season passes for both madams so they could watch whatever movies were playing in the cinema. But the two madams will only watch this one. They won't spare a single glance for any other film, not even our own *Bloodgun Detective*." Ma the Fifth paused for a moment and asked Bai Qiusheng, "Is this *Bloodblade Detective* exceptionally good?" "I haven't watched it. I haven't had the time. But everyone who has seen it says it's great." Ma the Fifth grew a bit uneasy. The popularity of *Bloodblade Detective* was catching up to *Bloodgun Detective*. What was the reason? A great script? Great actors? Or had they pushed the boundaries on adult content? *I have to go check it out. I can't underestimate the competition and take a huge loss.* Even as his business grew larger and larger, Ma the Fifth had never slacked off when it came to movies. Just as he was about to head out the door, Ah Qin and Huo Ling returned. "Fifth Bro, you're awake!" The two were overjoyed. They intended to catch the next screening, and had only rushed back to check on Ma the Fifth out of concern for him. Ah Qin asked, "Fifth Bro, how have you recovered?" "Seventy or eighty percent back to normal." Seeing Ah Qin and Huo Ling's charming and lovely looks, Ma the Fifth was still deliberating whether to go see the film or seize the time to cultivate. To his surprise, Ah Qin had no intention of accompanying Ma the Fifth in cultivation: "Fifth Bro, since you've recovered, come watch a movie with us." Huo Ling agreed as well. "This film is truly wonderful. No matter how many times you watch it, you never get sick of it." Ma the Fifth nodded. "I was just thinking of going to check it out myself." "Hurry up then, Fifth Bro." "Wait for me to change my clothes." "No need to change, Fifth Bro! Going to watch a movie isn't such a big deal." Ma the Fifth said, "Hold on a moment, it won't take long." "Hurry, or we won't make the next showing." Ma the Fifth froze for a second, then suddenly cupped Huo Ling's chin. Huo Ling lowered her head with a hint of bashfulness. "What are you doing? Look at that greedy look on your face. Once we finish the movie, we'll cultivate." "Ling'er, don't move." Ma the Fifth peeled back Huo Ling's eyelid. Huo Ling didn't move; she was very obedient to Ma the Fifth. On the white of her eye, Ma the Fifth saw a blood-red thread. He lightly scraped his fingernail across the blood thread. It ruptured, releasing a trace of fresh blood. "Ow!" Huo Ling cried out in pain and reproached Ma the Fifth, "What are you doing? You cut my eye!" Ma the Fifth looked at the trace of blood on his finger, then shifted his gaze to Ah Qin. There was a blood-red thread in Ah Qin's eye as well. Now he understood why the attendance rate for *Bloodblade Detective* had improved. …… Flower Lake Park. He Jiaqing was taking a stroll. Big Head strolled over nonchalantly to his side, and the two walked shoulder to shoulder. "Tonight Xiao Zhenggong is on duty at the bureau." "He actually takes duty shifts?" "He regularly skips handling cases and attending meetings, and he's usually nowhere to be seen during normal working hours, but he has never missed a duty shift. He'll definitely be there tonight." He Jiaqing nodded. After loitering for a little while, he left the park. …… At six in the evening, Xiao Zhenggong arrived at the Dark Star Bureau. Everyone in the bureau had clocked out for the day, except for the newcomer Qin Minghui, who hadn't left yet. Xiao Zhenggong sat on Qin Minghui's desk, looked at him for a moment, and said, "Chuuni?" He remembered Qin Minghui's code name. Qin Minghui hurried to his feet and said, "Deputy Captain!" Xiao Zhenggong gave a short laugh. "You just had to stick that fucking 'deputy' in front, didn't you? Why haven't you left yet?" "I'm still in my probationary period. According to the bureau's latest regulations, starting this month, I have to take duty shifts alongside the two captains." "What a wicked rule. You barely earn a few bucks, and they make you suffer like this? Go home. I give you permission." Qin Minghui shook his head. "I cannot leave. Regulations are regulations." Xiao Zhenggong frowned. "Don't you know what's good for you? When you're told to go home, just go home! Isn't getting a good, peaceful sleep much better?" Qin Minghui still shook his head. Xiao Zhenggong said impatiently, "Fine, suit yourself. Stay and suffer through the night!" In the blink of an eye, it was midnight. Xiao Zhenggong had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, playing on his phone in his office. He glanced out the door; Qin Minghui was still sitting in the office reading a book. Xiao Zhenggong walked over and saw that Qin Minghui was reading a combat manual. "What pathway are you?" "Pathway? Do you mean my class? I only crossed the threshold last month. I chose Combatant." "Another Combatant?" Xiao Zhenggong chuckled. "Didn't you study law? Why did you pick Combatant?" "I can't just possess legal knowledge; I must also possess the capabilities of an enforcer of the law." "What capabilities? The capability to brawl?" "The capability to subdue evil criminals!" Qin Minghui answered every word with utter seriousness. "All right, ambitious! Reading books alone won't do you any good. Come spar with me; I'll give you some pointers." Qin Minghui shook his head. "What's wrong? Scared? Afraid of pain or afraid of dying?" Xiao Zhenggong smiled with a touch of provocation. Qin Minghui looked at the duty phone before him. "I am on duty. I cannot abandon my post." "Don't worry, just a short while. I'll only show you a couple of moves; I wouldn't bother teaching you any more than that." Qin Minghui resolutely refused to leave. A vicious glint appeared in Xiao Zhenggong's eyes. "What, refusing my orders?" Before Qin Minghui could speak, the duty phone suddenly rang. Qin Minghui immediately picked up the phone. Following procedure, after confirming twice, he promptly reported to Xiao Zhenggong: "An unidentified organism has appeared at the Ruirong Textile Factory on Chengyun Road. It is suspected to be a dark energy anomaly. Two children have been attacked and are trapped inside the factory grounds." Xiao Zhenggong nodded. "Understood." "Deputy Captain..." "What are you looking at me for? Didn't you study the protocols? Don't you know what you should be doing right now?" Qin Minghui immediately yanked open the drawer beneath the duty phone and pressed the red button. Qin Minghui's and Xiao Zhenggong's phones rang at the same time; the phones of everyone in the Dark Star Bureau's Security Team rang. Xiao Zhenggong followed up, "Don't just stand there blankly! Explain the situation!" Qin Minghui picked up the microphone and explained the situation. All team members were to rush to the scene immediately. Qin Minghui looked at Xiao Zhenggong. Xiao Zhenggong raised an eyebrow. "Looking at me for what? I'm the designated duty personnel; I can't abandon my post. You're just a trainee; if you want to go, you can go." Qin Minghui hesitated. Xiao Zhenggong sighed. "The Ruirong Textile Factory is very remote, and today is the weekend. Who knows where the rest of the team went off fooling around. Looks to me like those two kids are in grave danger." Qin Minghui immediately put on his coat, holstered his service gun, and bolted toward the elevators. Xiao Zhenggong shouted after him, "How are you getting there? Running? By the time you run all the way there, they'll already be cold! I'll contact the duty driver to drive you over shortly!" Qin Minghui left. Xiao Zhenggong sat quietly in the office for a moment, then lit a cigarette. There was no flame on the cigarette, yet the smoke pouring from it was thick. Xiao Zhenggong took a deep drag and blew out a massive cloud of smoke. As if possessing a spirit of its own, the smoke enveloped him completely. He left the office, entered the stairwell, and passed beneath the surveillance cameras. Not a single image of him was captured on camera. He followed the stairs up to the twelfth floor. Exiting the stairwell, an iron door stood before him. The iron door had no keyhole, nor did it have any device for inputting fingerprints or passcodes. Only two small lamps were lit. These two small lamps were not meant for illumination—they were used for retinal scanning. Xiao Zhenggong did not have authorization to open this door. Even if he had authorization, he couldn't use it, as he didn't want to leave any record of entry or exit. However, he possessed a magical treasure, one he had bought from Puluo Province at a steep price. He pulled out a black glove and slipped it onto his hand. His hand felt around on the iron door for a moment, and the iron door opened, leaving behind no record of opening whatsoever. Xiao Zhenggong stepped through the iron door. Inside the pitch-black, windowless room stood dozens of rows of archive shelves. Xiao Zhenggong scanned the archive shelves one by one. He knew what he was looking for, and this wasn't his first time coming to the archive room, but all the files in the archive room had their positions rearranged every day. After searching for a long time, he found the file he wanted on the sixth row of shelves. On the document box were only two words: Boundary.