Volume One: The Awakening of All Things, Where Every Season Is Spring Chapter Five: The Unblemished Body, Walking into the Mist

The Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit passed quietly, overwhelmed by the endless flood of news about evolution. Mo Wen’s life was simple: studying scriptures, working at the archive, and occasionally visiting Aunt Zhao.

On February 2nd, 2023, Mo Wen was seated in the archive, pushing his practice of the scriptures to its utmost limit. Surging energy pounded through his muscles, bones, and veins; beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and wisps of white steam drifted from his hair. After another full circulation of the inner breath, it suddenly turned gentle and harmonious. This entirely new sensation thrilled Mo Wen. Glancing around, he saw black impurities seeping from all over his body. He hurried to bathe, washing away the filth until his skin became crystal clear, as if reborn.

He had reached the Immaculate Realm.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Mo Wen silently recited the scriptures. The once colorless inner breath now glowed gold. Channeling it into his palm, he struck out, and the reinforced concrete wall of the archive was instantly punched through, leaving a large hole.

Such a palm strike?

Mo Wen gazed in delight at his hand. Now, within a few meters, a single blow could turn a person into pulp.

With that thought, Mo Wen walked straight to Su Qiang’s office. At the moment, Su Qiang was frowning, a file in his hand. When Mo Wen entered, he didn’t even look up.

"Mo, is there something you need?"

Mo Wen sensed that Su Qiang was in a bad mood and abandoned his idea of sparring. "No, nothing really."

Su Qiang, hearing Mo Wen’s hesitation, finally looked up—and was instantly astonished.

"You’ve reached the Immaculate Realm?"

Su Qiang stared in disbelief. In just over twenty days, Mo Wen had leapt into the Immaculate Realm, while it had taken Su Qiang himself half a year with the unique inner cultivation method of his own family, combined with medicinal herbs and special diet—a record in itself. Witnessing the talent he’d discovered achieve this so quickly, Su Qiang felt a pang of bitterness, but more than that, genuine joy.

Mo Wen scratched his head, a little shy. "I think so. Chief, I’d like to spar with you!"

Su Qiang regarded him with interest and laughed heartily. "Alright, you want to test your strength. As it happens, there’s a task I need help with. Are you willing to go?"

Mo Wen felt a jolt of nerves. A task? Was he about to move from a desk job to the front lines?

Su Qiang handed him the file with a smile, gesturing for him to read it. "You have ten minutes to decide. After that, Lin Xi and I will set out. As for the others, if they haven’t reached the Immaculate Realm, they’d only be throwing their lives away."

Mo Wen skimmed the file and fell into thought.

"February 1st, 2023. At midday, a sudden mist enveloped the Huangpu Bridge in the Magic City. All cars crossing the bridge stalled simultaneously, and all electronic signals vanished. People had no choice but to abandon their vehicles and leave on foot. The first three young people to step off the bridge were instantly turned to ash, their bodies weathered away and scattered on the wind. Twenty-one people remain on the bridge, too afraid to move, waiting for rescue."

This must be another rule-triggered incident! Mo Wen looked earnestly at Su Qiang and declared, "I’ll go give it a try. After all, I’m a survivor of the Death Rule."

Su Qiang patted his shoulder, wanting to say something but holding back. At that moment, Lin Xi burst in energetically. She glanced at Mo Wen, ready to tease the shy young man as usual, when she suddenly reacted as if she’d seen a ghost.

"Little brother, you’ve reached Immaculate?"

Lin Xi covered her mouth in disbelief, then rolled up Mo Wen’s sleeve, marveling as she stroked his smooth, jade-like arm, her envy plain on her face.

Su Qiang cleared his throat and said sternly, "Let’s go. We have another pair of hands now."

The three of them drove along the river. From afar, the entire Huangpu River was shrouded in mist, especially thick at the center, where the haze appeared almost solid—a deep brown mist, unlike the morning fog of winter, evoking a sense of dread.

The car stopped at the entrance to the bridge. A few meters ahead, on the main span, several people could be seen sitting motionless, faint sounds of weeping carrying through the air.

"See, the trapped people are all there. Our primary task is to rescue them safely. I’ll go in first, Lin Xi follows, Mo goes last."

Su Qiang’s expression was solemn—the bearing of a soldier of China, always willing to lead in times of crisis.

The three entered the mist with their high-powered flashlights, proceeding cautiously. The moment Mo Wen set foot on the bridge, he felt as though he’d crossed into another world. Inside the fog, even his footsteps made no sound—only his heartbeat was audible.

Drawing closer, the three approached the stranded group, glancing back to see the mist forming a space of its own, denser at the edges and thinner within, enclosing the entire bridge.

Seeing the three police officers arrive, hope rekindled among the trapped, who raised their arms and called out for help.

Standing before them, where the mist was thinnest, Su Qiang quickly inquired about their situation.

"How many of you are there? Is everyone here?"

A young man in a white down jacket, still composed, replied, "There were 21 of us. Five couldn’t wait any longer and walked out—they turned to ash."

It matched the report. Su Qiang reassured the group, telling them to stay put, then led Lin Xi and Mo Wen toward the center of the bridge to investigate.

"Chief, from my deduction, this is a one-way entrapment rule: you can enter, but not exit. In theory, as long as you don’t leave the mist, you’re safe."

Mo Wen, thinking aloud, followed closely behind Su Qiang, speaking in a low voice.

Lin Xi had shed her usual playfulness and shot Mo Wen a look. "Then you can spend your whole life on this bridge. Maybe once you reach the Realm of Freedom, you can break the rule with force and leave."

Mo Wen gave a sheepish grin, but Lin Xi’s words gave him an idea—break the rule with force! It was worth a try.

He tugged gently at Lin Xi’s sleeve, calling both of them back. "From what I see, the mist is densest toward the center of the river. There’s no need for us to go further in. Let’s return to the bridgehead and see if we can break the mist where it’s weakest."

His suggestion reminded Su Qiang as well, and the three retraced their steps to the stranded group.

"Everyone, move behind us!"

Su Qiang’s authority brooked no argument. The group complied, and Su Qiang planted his feet in a solid stance, clenching his fists.

"Break!"

He punched the mist, which parted briefly before quickly closing again. Shaking his head, Su Qiang stepped back. Lin Xi, unwilling to admit defeat, threw a punch of her own, dispersing the mist for an instant before it closed once more.

Their full-strength attacks were like striking cotton candy—utterly ineffective.

Watching the two exchange helpless glances, Mo Wen stepped forward, silently reciting the scriptures, channeling his golden breath into his right hand, and unleashed a palm strike. The golden energy exploded forth, burning a hole the size of a basketball in the mist, the air filling with the scent of scorched matter.

Yet, just as quickly, the mist healed itself, the hole closing within ten seconds as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Su Qiang pulled out a small flamethrower and directed it at the mist, but the flames had no effect. He had no choice but to give up.

The hope that had briefly flickered in the eyes of the trapped was extinguished once more. Sixteen pairs of eyes were clouded with despair. A middle-aged woman, already on the verge of collapse, broke down and wept in utter hopelessness.

Su Qiang frowned and habitually lit a cigarette. For once, Mo Wen reached out for one as well, lighting up and inhaling deeply, only to cough violently, tears streaming down his face.

"Chief, Lin Xi, I have an idea—maybe it’s worth a try."