Colin saw Yan Feng off, and Wang Qiwen asked Lin Xiao with some curiosity, "Captain, do you feel something's wrong?"

Lin Xiao shook his head: "I just feel that things went much more smoothly than I expected. Maybe the higher-ups at Happy Paradise were just unlucky."

Lin Xiao didn't say much about this topic.

Lu Ning and the others didn't ask any further questions.

…………

Another week has passed.

late at night.

Lu Ning leaned back on the bed, holding a soul crystal in his hand, and closed his eyes to absorb the spiritual radiation within the soul crystal.

Just then, an invisible storm spread out from Lu Ning.

The desks and chairs around were shaking, and items on the desks were being thrown around and landing on the floor.

This storm came quickly and went quickly.

In just a few breaths, the storm subsided.

Lu Ning slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were deep and dark, with faint flashes of divine light.

After such a long period of tempering, his mental strength finally broke through to the third level.

His mental energy, which was originally the size of a bucket, surged again and now reached the size of a small pool.

He could clearly feel that his mental energy had become more refined and powerful than before.

He thought for a moment, then grabbed his left hand and pulled hard, ripping it off completely, the sound of bones breaking echoing through the air.

However, the next second, his left hand recovered completely, and the recovery speed was much faster than before.

Moreover, he could feel that the transmission efficiency of his spiritual power was also higher, which would have a better effect when using Soul Weapons.

Finally, the transformation of the spirit also led to the transformation of the physical body.

Lu Ning had been using physical tempering techniques to improve his physical strength, and after this transformation, his power doubled.

Overall, there has been considerable progress.

Lu Ning smiled with satisfaction.

With his improved strength, he was one step closer to joining the Mist Exploration Team, and one step closer to exploring the mist and finding a way back.

This is something to be happy about for him.

…………

The next morning.

After washing up, Lu Ning arrived at the branch office.

Colin and Wang Qiwen were on night duty last night, and they were already in the activity room.

Upon seeing Lu Ning, Colin smiled and said, "You're here? We've already ordered breakfast, come and eat."

Lu Ning nodded.

Soon after, Lin Xiao, Qiu Yuelin, and Wei Xuan arrived one after another.

The group ate breakfast, chatting and laughing.

There have been virtually no cases of illness in the past few days, so they are quite relaxed.

During this process, Lin Xiao would glance at Lu Ning from time to time, his expression somewhat puzzled.

Wang Qiwen asked with some confusion, "Captain, why are you always looking at Lu Ning? Is there a problem?"

Lin Xiao frowned as he looked Lu Ning up and down, muttering, "...I wonder if it's just my imagination? I feel like your mental strength has increased a lot?"

Colin, who was standing next to him, took a sip of sweet tofu pudding, adjusted his glasses, and said, "You felt it too? I thought I was imagining things."

Lu Ning calmly took a bite of the steamed bun and said, "Oh, I'm at the third level now, and my mental strength has improved somewhat."

"Pfft!" Wang Qiwen, who was drinking porridge, spat out a grain of rice from his nose.

He coughed repeatedly, then looked up at Lu Ning: "...What the hell?! You're at level three?!"

Wei Xuan and Qiu Yuelin also looked up at Lu Ning in shock.

"Really?! I've only been feeling the bottleneck for a few days, and you're already at the third level?! Is there no justice in this world?!" Wei Xuan, who was usually quite composed, couldn't care less about his composure at this moment and started shouting.

Qiu Yuelin nodded repeatedly: "Brother Lu Ning, this is too outrageous! We were both at level one at the beginning, how did you get to level three? How did you do that?"

"I just tempered my mental energy normally, and I broke through as I continued to temper it," Lu Ning answered truthfully.

The three fell silent.

Aren't they also tempering their spiritual power?

Why haven't they broken through to the second tier yet?

All three of them were starting to question the meaning of life.

Not to mention Wei Xuan and the other two, even Lin Xiao and Colin looked completely bewildered when they heard Lu Ning's words.

They exchanged a glance, both looking shocked.

Lin Xiao's lips twitched slightly: "...If it weren't for the fact that your mental pollution level has always been 0%, I would really think you're a monster."

Colin said slowly, "I've been an Awakened for over ten years now, and Lu Ning, you're the fastest I've ever seen to break through. It's only been a little over four months, right? You've already gone directly from the first rank to the third rank. That's incredible."

Lu Ning asked, puzzled, "Is it that exaggerated?"

Colin smiled wryly and said, "You have no idea how exaggerated it is, it's simply outrageous."

"Has anyone ever improved as quickly as me before?"

Lin Xiao rolled his eyes: "Of course there are people who improve quickly, but I've never seen anyone like you. To be honest, I don't know if anyone has ever improved at such an exaggerated speed since the Mist was born."

Colin then said, "However, Lu Ning's mental pollution level will not increase; it will always remain at 0%. This seems to be the first case in human history. Perhaps it's because he is special that his mental strength increases so quickly?"

Lin Xiao nodded slightly: "Perhaps so, Lu Ning, you're just special."

Lu Ning nodded slightly: "Perhaps."

Because of the shock of Lu Ning breaking through to the third rank, Lin Xiao and the others were stunned for half a day.

After lunch, Lin Xiao suddenly remembered something and said, "I'm going to visit Mu Mu today. Do you guys want to come along?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yuelin's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Captain, are you talking about Senior Li Mu? Can we go together?"

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Her mental state has been quite stable during this period. Although it hasn't declined much, her mental pollution hasn't continued to worsen either. Perhaps letting her see you will improve her mood and might be beneficial."

At this point, Lin Xiao looked at Lu Ning, thought for a moment, and said, "Lu Ning, why don't you go too? Perhaps letting Mu Mu know that you pose no threat will help her recover faster."

Lu Ning was a little surprised: "Can I go?"

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "This wasn't my idea; it was proposed by the treatment department at headquarters."

Colin thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Perhaps it's possible. After all, Lu Ning was one of the triggers when Mu Mu fell ill. If we can address the root cause of the problem, there might be hope to reduce Mu Mu's mental pollution."

"I have no objection."

"Let's go then. I'll have Xiao Ran tell Lao Qin and the others that we'll go together."

After the group went downstairs, Lin Xiao asked Yu Ran to call Qin Feng to take the stand, and then led everyone to the headquarters of the Mist Bureau.

As a member of the Mist Bureau, Li Mu's mental pollution is now at the brink of complete deterioration, so he is naturally receiving treatment at headquarters.

Arriving at headquarters once again, Lu Ning stopped and looked at the building.

This was the first place he woke up after emerging from the fog.

"Lu Ning, let's go, what are you standing there for?" Lin Xiao turned around and saw Lu Ning looking at the headquarters building, and called out to him.

“Okay.” Lu Ning followed.