’A text from Pang Yunrui?’

After reading the message, Yang Qi replied with a short, "Okay."

His phone vibrated again moments later. Pang Yunrui was asking if he could add him on WeChat.

"No problem. My phone number is my WeChat ID," Yang Qi replied.

The next moment, a friend request popped up. The user had a large orange cat as their profile picture and the nickname "Fatty Rui."

After he accepted the request, the chat window was immediately flooded with several screens’ worth of messages from Pang Yunrui, the core of which was still his sincere gratitude.

Immediately after, a video link was sent over.

He tapped it and saw that it was the video of him pulling the "tooth" from the tiger’s mouth.

Pang Yunrui followed up with a string of thumbs-up emojis and exclamation marks.

"Junior, you’ve really been hiding your skills. You’re way cooler than you were back in school. That aura... it’s just incredible!"

Yang Qi was taken aback and replied with a smile—

"That’s because the video had a beauty filter on."

The other side of the screen went silent for a few seconds before Pang Yunrui sent a head-scratching emoji.

They chatted a bit about how they’d been.

Pang Yunrui suddenly asked—

"Junior, you really love animals, don’t you? The look in your eyes when you were with the tiger in the video... it didn’t seem fake."

Yang Qi’s fingertips paused for a moment, then he replied—

"Of course. Animals are more sincere than most people."

"Yeah..."

Pang Yunrui sent a sighing emoji, then said the nurse was rushing him to get a check-up, so they would have to talk next time.

"Okay."

Putting away his phone, Yang Qi shook his head and smiled.

He returned to his work area, picked up his tools, and continued the work he had paused earlier.

...

The sun sank in the west, and the Zoo gradually fell into twilight.

Yang Qi instructed Bai Wan to keep a good eye on Overlord.

Then, he took Xiaojiu and drove to the Hongshu Public Security Branch.

The branch’s cafeteria was much livelier than usual tonight.

Li Hongqi and Sun Zhenghong were personally waiting at the entrance, followed by a number of other people—some Yang Qi recognized, and many new faces.

Without exception, all of them were looking curiously at Xiaojiu, who was perched on Yang Qi’s shoulder.

"Haha, our ’police cat’ is finally here!"

Li Hongqi greeted him with a loud laugh.

"Captain Li, Captain Sun," Yang Qi greeted them in turn.

"Come on, let’s go inside."

Sun Zhenghong turned and led the way, his gaze sweeping over Xiaojiu with obvious interest.

The two men enthusiastically led Yang Qi to the main table.

Meanwhile, Xiaojiu was "taken over" by several female officers with stars in their eyes, who carried him to a chair that had been specially prepared with a soft cushion.

Dried fish, special-blend cat food, and even a small toy were laid out on a table for him. However, Xiaojiu merely gave them a lazy glance, licked a paw, and then tucked its front paws under its chest, putting on an aloof and noble air. This made the female officers feel both disappointed and utterly charmed.

The cafeteria’s master chef served his specialty dishes, and the atmosphere quickly grew lively.

Li Hongqi took a sip of tea and gave Yang Qi a thumbs-up. "Advisor Yang, you’re really something! Old Tan is praising Bai Wan to the heavens. He said his tracking, his coordination, his cleverness... he’s a whole league above decorated police dogs that have been trained for years. Most importantly, he holds his ground when it counts!"

Sun Zhenghong chimed in, "Isn’t that the truth. So many eyes in our system are watching. A ’house dog’ not even officially on the force has performed such a great service... he’s the talk of the town now. Your training skills are incredible!"

"Captain Li, Captain Sun, you’re too kind."

Yang Qi put down his chopsticks and said earnestly, "It’s mainly because Bai Wan himself is so capable. I just provided the right environment and a little guidance."

"Now you’re just being too modest."

Li Hongqi pointed at Yang Qi and laughed. "Old Wang from the Police Dog Base couldn’t believe it when he heard. He’s been clamoring to come and learn from you. We know all too well how difficult it is to train a qualified police dog."

"Exactly."

Sun Zhenghong nodded. "Advisor Yang, your Bai Wan could never have stood out this much just by being ’capable’ on his own."

No matter how smart an animal is, it’s still an animal.

Without someone to guide and train it, how could it possibly understand so much?

...

Amid laughter and conversation, the meal concluded with both guests and hosts thoroughly satisfied.

When it was time to leave, Xiaojiu’s "fan club" was reluctant to see him go. Yang Qi had to promise he’d bring him back to "inspect the work" again before he could get away.

Taking Xiaojiu back to the Zoo, Yang Qi first went to the back mountain to pick up Ta Xue.

Then he drove back to his dorm.

Bai Wan was already sitting by the door, its tail wagging gently.

Overlord squeezed its fluffy head through the crack in the door, but shrank back after getting a glare from Xiaojiu.

"You guys go play for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon."

He said casually, then started washing the Spirit Rice to make porridge.

While waiting for it to cook, he went to the backyard and set up the Demon Extermination Array.

The Spirit Rice Porridge was ready. He let it cool until it was lukewarm.

Yang Qi took out their dedicated food bowls and gave a bowl each to Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, and Ta Xue, as well as to an eagerly watching Overlord.

He also ladled out half a small bowl for himself and slowly finished it.

A bowl of Spirit Rice Porridge every night had become a routine.

After the meal, Yang Qi patted Bai Wan’s head, then gave instructions to Xiaojiu and Ta Xue.

"Guard downstairs and the main gate."

His gaze swept over Overlord, who was trying to sneak into the backyard, and he added, "And keep an eye on Overlord. Don’t let it cause trouble back there."

WOOF!

Bai Wan gave a steady bark in acknowledgment. Ta Xue responded with a low whine, while Xiaojiu just flicked its tail and hopped onto the windowsill.

"MEOOW~"

Overlord blinked its eyes and cried out in protest.

’Two-legged Beast, you’re slandering me!’

’When have I ever caused trouble?’

’I was just inspecting the territory for the boss!’

’Right, boss?’

Overlord sidled up to Xiaojiu conspiratorially.

"MEOW~"

Xiaojiu shot it a look.

’Get lost.’

"WHIMPER!"

Overlord immediately scrambled to the other side.

’You got it, boss.’

’I’m getting lost.’

...

Yang Qi shook his head, ignoring the little ones. He turned and went upstairs, deliberately entering a spare room he had cleaned out beforehand, and shut the door tightly.

He turned off his phone and set it on the table.

Then, he took a deep breath to calm his mind. He took out five Five Elements Spirit Stones, each with a different attribute and emitting a faint, hazy glow, as well as a Universal Array Plate whose surface was covered in flowing, subtle Spirit Patterns.

Following the instructions for the Array he had received as a system reward, Yang Qi focused his mind and calmed his breath. He methodically placed the five Spirit Stones in five different positions, then released his Magical Power to activate the Array Plate and connect it to the five stones.

Once the connection was complete, the Spirit Patterns on the Array Plate—gold, green, blue, red, and yellow—lit up in sequence and began to flow.

In less than two breaths, a ball of five-colored Spiritual Light converged at the center of the Array Plate, forming a tiny, slowly rotating vortex.

An invisible yet tangible force field spread out from the center of the Array Plate, and the air in the room seemed to become fresher and somewhat heavier.

A success on the first try!

Yang Qi exhaled, his heart settling.

He placed the Meditation Cushion in the center of the Array.

Sitting cross-legged on the cushion, Yang Qi formed the hand seals for his Techniques. With his eyes observing his nose and his nose observing his heart, he silently began to circulate his energy along the paths of the first level of the Great Derivation Spirit-Controlling Technique. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

In just a few moments, he clearly felt an experience that was completely different from when he took Spirit Rice Elixirs.

An energy that was purer, richer, and imbued with five different properties began to seep into his body, thread by thread.

This "Five Elements Spiritual Qi" slowly traveled along his meridians. Wherever it passed, it was as if a dry riverbed was being nourished, bringing with it a faint warmth and a pleasant tingling sensation.

Finally, it flowed into his Dantian, merging with his original Magical Power and strengthening it.

His previously stagnant Cultivation, with the help of the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array, finally began to advance!