Surging Forward by Leaps and Bounds

The night breeze whispered softly. Scarlet radiance swayed among the fire bamboo, while green lotuses in the spirit pool drifted gently with the waves. Qin Ming sat calmly in the small courtyard, sipping tea as he studied the Immortal Seals deep within his flesh.

Outside Image-Seizing City, a giant beast's sparse, distant howls drifted from the depths of the night fog, blending into the mortal bustle within the city and becoming a unique background note to its peaceful life.

The slightly cool night breeze lifted Qin Ming's robes. His eyes were clear, and the Light of the Mind expanded, brushing over the spirit pool, threading through the glowing-red bamboo forest, crossing the courtyard wall, and flowing down the long streets like a trickling stream.

At night, the entire city blazed with brilliant lamplight. Pedestrians came and went without end, children chased one another and played, and cries from shops and roaming stalls rose and fell along the streets.

Qin Ming's Light of the Mind merged into the bustling scene as he sensed the fluctuations of every kind of emotion.

A child's thoughts were the purest, with joy and sorrow written plainly across his face. The candied hawthorn he had just bought accidentally slipped to the ground and became covered in dust, instantly reddening his eyes. When his grandmother, who had been following behind him, handed him another skewer, two tears still hung on his little face, yet he broke into a happy smile on the spot.

A group of adult acquaintances gathered together. Some wore smiles while bitterness filled their hearts as they calculated tomorrow's firewood, rice, oil, and salt. Others said that their own families were having an even harder time, when in truth they feared outsiders might ask to borrow money.

A wealthy gentleman slowly strolled over with