Recaps

Murong Qing fought Lian Buqi, who used banned firearm-inspired martial arts and challenged her beliefs about the purpose of martial arts. The chapter ended with Lian Buqi stopping her powerful returning-horse spear thrust against his chest without being pierced.

• Lian Buqi refused to pursue Murong Qing and provoked her into attacking with Shoot the Heavenly Wolf.
• Lian Buqi used Shotgun Shell Seal to block her spear attack and wound her, while Zhong Lingxiu identified the move as part of a banned martial arts series.
• Murong Qing and Lian Buqi argued over whether martial arts existed to stop conflict or to help the strong kill more effectively.
• Lian Buqi countered Murong Qing's swift spear thrust with Bullet Fist, then suppressed her spear feints with a sweeping technique.
• Lian Buqi advanced with Hundred Beasts Fight for Their Lives, but Murong Qing rebounded with Hegemon's Returning Horse Spear.
• Lian Buqi stopped Murong Qing's powerful spear thrust with his chest, leaving her shocked.

Lian Buqi defeated Murong Qing and taunted her, prompting Si Ming to step in and challenge him. As Murong Qing struggled with her defeat, Si Ming reflected on what kind of path he should follow, then asked a referee about the rules for private fights.

• Murong Qing’s spear attack failed to harm Lian Buqi because his Phase Transfer Body-Protecting Divine Art absorbed the physical force, and he defeated her before the referee stopped him.
• Lian Buqi mocked Murong Qing and declared that justice and evil had no necessary connection to strength, but Si Ming blocked him and told him to leave.
• Lian Buqi taunted Si Ming about their upcoming match, then dismissed Nan Kemeng’s concerns about his changed temperament and techniques.
• Si Ming helped Murong Qing up, but she pushed him away and walked off unsteadily; Lu Mao advised Si Ming to keep an eye on her.
• Si Ming examined Murong Qing’s spear and asked a referee what the tournament rules were for contestants arranging a private fight.

Si Ming decided to study the Phase Transfer Body-Protecting Divine Art as a reference and sought a private fight with Lian Buqi to break through his bottleneck. The chapter ended as Lian Buqi attacked Si Ming with his newly mastered Grenade Hammer Hands.

• Si Ming asked Zhong Lingxiu about the art’s confidentiality and announced that he had found his own path.
• Lian Buqi destroyed a thick tree with Grenade Hammer Hands and celebrated mastering the technique.
• Si Ming told Lian Buqi that he wanted to defeat him to clear his thoughts and break through his bottleneck.
• Si Ming persuaded Lian Buqi to fight privately, offering him a pill to restore his stamina.
• After recovering, Lian Buqi charged at Si Ming and struck toward his chest with Grenade Hammer Hands.

Si Ming fought Lian Buqi and used his observations of Lian Buqi’s techniques to counter his attacks. After disrupting Lian Buqi’s ultimate move and striking him with Bull Demon Brute Force, Si Ming pursued him as he tried to retreat.

• Si Ming and Lian Buqi traded an opening blow, and neither gained an advantage.
• Lian Buqi used Bullet Fist to drive Si Ming into the woods, but Si Ming counterattacked with Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain and confirmed that Lian Buqi’s power weakened over distance.
• Si Ming interrupted Lian Buqi’s Bullet Fist counter and struck both his shoulders, then dodged Shotgun Shell Seal and tore away more of Lian Buqi’s clothing with another palm strike.
• Lian Buqi launched Hundred Beasts Fight for Their Lives, but Si Ming used Ape Demon Wild Grasp to scatter its force and break the move.
• Si Ming rammed Lian Buqi with Bull Demon Brute Force, and Lian Buqi retreated through the woods while Si Ming claimed he had seen through his movement technique.

Si Ming overwhelmed Lian Buqi by reading and countering his martial arts while reflecting on why he pursued martial arts. He realized he wanted the strength to punish evil and uphold good, and remained focused despite Lian Buqi challenging his right to judge others.

• Si Ming used his talent to discern Lian Buqi's martial arts patterns, repeatedly interrupting his attacks and keeping him on the defensive.
• As the fight continued, Si Ming recalled his childhood fascination with martial arts and reconsidered what he hoped to achieve through them.
• Si Ming reflected on people and events that had stirred his respect, sympathy, anger, and sense of responsibility.
• Si Ming realized his heart's desire was to become a hero who punished evil and upheld good, using martial arts to carry out justice.
• Lian Buqi tried to unsettle Si Ming by questioning who could judge good and evil, but Si Ming said he had his own measure for distinguishing them.

Si Ming overwhelmed Lian Buqi after entering the Solar Prominence State, learning his opponent’s defensive art and Bullet Fist during their fight. He left Lian Buqi defeated and unconscious beneath a relentless barrage of punches.

• Si Ming entered the Solar Prominence State and drove Lian Buqi into a defensive stance.
• Lian Buqi broke through under pressure, learned Turbo Sprint, and attacked Si Ming with Shotgun Shell Seals and Grenade Hammer Hand.
• Si Ming survived the hammer strike with the Phase Transfer Body-Protecting Divine Art and countered Lian Buqi with a punch to the abdomen.
• Si Ming revealed he had learned the Phase Transfer Body-Protecting Divine Art and Bullet Fist by studying and experiencing them during the fight.
• Si Ming advanced Bullet Fist to major mastery and overwhelmed Lian Buqi until his defenses failed and he lost consciousness.

At the Mohist Knight Guard base, Yan Jinghong and the doctor investigated how Han Lin had been possessed through Super Martial Dao and discussed Si Ming’s talent and future training. Yan Jinghong decided to advance Si Ming’s cultivation, but revealed that a girl who could peer into people’s hearts seemed better suited to become the next Grandmaster.

• Yan Jinghong learned that artificial soul strings had been transferred into Han Lin, likely using a Super Martial Dao scripture tied to the Eight Asura Sin Lord.
• Yan Jinghong and the doctor discussed Germany’s attempt to study the taboo Heat Death Tome and the possibility that the Blazing Yang Battle Art countered Super Martial Dao’s hidden dangers.
• The doctor explained that Si Ming’s Bullet Fist and imitation of Lian Buqi’s Phase Transfer technique did not prove the Blazing Yang Battle Art had protected him from side effects.
• Yan Jinghong decided to have Si Ming cultivate the Supreme Plain Decay True Scripture early because he had awakened to his Dao heart and danger was approaching.
• Yan Jinghong told the doctor that he had met Snake’s candidate for Grandmaster and believed she was better suited than Si Ming because she could peer into people’s hearts.

In a future side branch where he had not awakened any talent, Si Ming traveled through France, a country shaped by the Legalist School’s strict laws and obsession with symmetry. After helping catch a thief, he checked into an inn and told the innkeeper about his travels, while the innkeeper rambled about his unmarried son.

• Si Ming stopped a thief who had stolen a woman’s bag, and the police awarded him three Law and Discipline Points.
• Si Ming reflected on France’s rigid rules and uniform, symmetrical customs, which had begun to oppress him after two months.
• Si Ming went to an inn, where the innkeeper checked his Law and Discipline Certificate and praised his 156 points.
• Si Ming told the innkeeper he was twenty-one and had traveled through several countries after spending three years exploring his home country.
• The innkeeper spoke at length about worrying that his eighteen-year-old son would remain unmarried.

Si Ming lost his tournament subsidy after being disqualified and considered how to earn money without plagiarizing other writers. He decided to test the waters by copying a novel he had written in his previous life, leaving him poised to begin a new writing venture.

• Si Ming reflected on his loss of financial support from the Mohist Academy of Science and worried about maintaining his income.
• Si Ming rejected returning to music or plagiarizing other authors for profit, since he wanted to preserve his conscience.
• Si Ming chose to try writing novels, reasoning that an urban superpowers story might interest readers in a world dominated by martial arts fiction.
• Si Ming began copying his old novel Ghosts and Gods Metropolis, about a powerless aspiring hero who gains access to a trove of martial arts manuals.

Si Ming met Yan Jinghong at the Mohist Knight Guard base, where his master gave him an untitled cultivation manual to try. As Si Ming studied it, the chapter explained how Internal Cultivation depended on navigating the body's meridians and answering increasingly complex route choices.

• Si Ming visited the Mohist Knight Guard base and reunited with Yan Jinghong.
• Yan Jinghong checked Si Ming's progress and handed him a thick, untitled cultivation manual to learn.
• Si Ming began reading the manual attentively.
• The chapter explained how cultivators memorized meridian routes, with basic arts using single-choice sequences and advanced arts splitting True Qi along multiple paths.

Si Ming learned a demanding cultivation method that used nuclear radiation to strengthen Jing Essence, then received a summer assignment from Yan Jinghong. Yan Jinghong left after speaking of his willingness to die protecting the country, leaving Si Ming worried that a dangerous event was approaching.

• Si Ming asked Yan Jinghong about the nameless cultivation method, and Yan Jinghong gave him a box of radioactive metal to use as energy.
• Si Ming split the energy into eighty-one streams, completed a Lesser Celestial Circuit, and learned that the method strengthened Jing Essence rather than Qi Essence.
• Yan Jinghong told Si Ming to cultivate the method once a day and assigned him to visit the Deep Blue Plateau during summer vacation, meet someone, and bring a Sunlight Beast to Dr. Huang Gang.
• Yan Jinghong revealed his plans for his estate and remains after death and said he would give his all to protect the country before passing its future to young people like Si Ming.
• Si Ming joked that Yan Jinghong needed a mistress, and Yan Jinghong left without scolding him, deepening Si Ming's suspicion that something serious was coming.

Si Ming learned that Yao Bilian was leaving for half a month and that Lu Mao had transferred to a boarding school, leaving him and Hongdou at the orphanage. He entered Hongdou’s basement studio and was stunned by the paintings there.

• Si Ming tried to learn about Pan De’s master but found that Pan De knew nothing, and he returned home troubled.
• Yao Bilian showed Si Ming a dog-shaped autonomous suitcase developed by her lineage’s company and explained that it was being tested for mass production.
• Yao Bilian told Si Ming she would be away for about half a month, Ying Zhou was going abroad for treatment, and Lu Mao had transferred to a boarding school.
• Yao Bilian said she had left a recipe for an aphrodisiac dish on the dining table and warned Si Ming not to get Hongdou pregnant.
• Si Ming returned to the orphanage, went to Hongdou’s studio, and was captivated by the paintings inside.

Si Ming discovered that Hongdou was an extraordinary artist but an airheaded shut-in with almost no self-care skills. After learning he would look after her while Auntie Liu was abroad, he agreed to accompany Hongdou on an outing and insisted she change out of her pajamas first.

• Si Ming admired Hongdou’s paintings, then found her asleep at her drawing table and woke her by poking her cheek.
• Hongdou woke up mumbling about combining, and Si Ming backed away before wiping her face with a warm towel.
• Hongdou asked why Si Ming was there, and he explained that Auntie Liu had gone abroad and he would be taking care of her.
• Si Ming learned that Hongdou could barely manage her daily needs, despite being a celebrated young artist.
• Hongdou said she planned to go out to observe something for a new painting, so Si Ming agreed to accompany her.
• Hongdou tried to go out in her pajamas, and Si Ming ordered her to change into proper clothes.

Si Ming got Hongdou ready to go out, and the two walked to a movie rental store near a theater. They arrived at the store, where Hongdou revealed that Auntie Liu had told her the owner sometimes rented illegally copied movies still in theaters.

• Si Ming made Hongdou change into a long-sleeved outfit and tied up her hair before they left.
• Hongdou said she wanted to visit a movie rental store and described the film she wanted as a “romantic art action movie.”
• Hongdou struggled to walk and asked Si Ming to carry her, but she continued on her own after he teased her about calling him “Xiao Ming.”
• Hongdou and Si Ming reached a rental store in an alley near the movie theater.
• Hongdou told Si Ming that Auntie Liu had said the owner sometimes secretly copied movies still showing in theaters and rented them out.

Si Ming and Hongdou rented an educational film, and Hongdou teased him about choosing one featuring a female sword heroine. After Hongdou abruptly ran to sketch a car accident, Si Ming found her absorbed in drawing the wrecked cars.

• Hongdou searched the rental shop’s educational shelf and asked Si Ming to choose a film, saying his taste would inform her next work.
• Si Ming picked a film at random, and Hongdou concluded that he liked women dressed as sword heroines.
• Si Ming snapped at Hongdou, who fell silent and then ran across the road with her sketchbook.
• Si Ming followed Hongdou to a collision between two True Qi-powered sedans, where two injured people lay unconscious and passersby gave first aid.
• Hongdou ignored Si Ming and rapidly sketched the cars’ point of impact.

Si Ming struggled with the loneliness Hongdou revealed after he found her absorbed in drawing, then realized his failure to respond had widened the distance between them. He decided to seek more information about their past so he could try to repair their relationship.

• Si Ming moved Hongdou aside so police could investigate the accident, then waited with her until she finished drawing at sunset.
• Hongdou recalled that Si Ming used to stay beside her while she drew, but later left her alone, and described how her parents and classmates had also rejected her.
• Si Ming could not find the right words to comfort Hongdou, and she walked away saying she had long ago gotten used to being alone.
• After returning to the orphanage, Hongdou resumed her usual behavior but stopped going out, leaving Si Ming aware of a barrier between them.
• Si Ming concluded that he had mishandled Hongdou's attempt to open up and decided to ask someone about their shared past.

Si Ming investigated Hongdou’s school life but found conflicting rumors alongside praise for her painting talent. Liu Qingqing asked him to encourage Murong Qing after her tournament loss, and Si Ming went to find her after school.

• Si Ming interviewed Hongdou’s former classmates and teachers, learning about her isolation, false rumors, and exceptional talent as a painter.
• Liu Qingqing startled Si Ming and explained that Murong Qing had been discouraged since losing her last match.
• Si Ming agreed to comfort Murong Qing and learned that Liu Qingqing and Murong were friends and medical studies class representatives.
• After school, Si Ming found that Murong Qing had gone to the art room and headed to the extracurricular laboratory building.

Murong Qing explained to Si Ming that she was using her painting to channel the emotions from her earlier defeat, but Teacher Xu later told her that Hongdou would represent the school instead. The chapter left Murong Qing facing the news that even her excellent work could not compete with Hongdou’s.

• Si Ming visited Murong Qing in the art room and learned she was painting for the county-wide competition, not dwelling on her martial arts defeat.
• Murong Qing told Si Ming that painting helped her turn emotional pressure into what she believed would be her best work.
• After Si Ming left, Teacher Xu told Murong Qing that her painting would not represent the school because there was a better work.
• Teacher Xu revealed that Hongdou would enter the competition, and Murong Qing recognized her as a renowned young artist.
• Murong Qing accepted that Teacher Xu was not at fault after he explained that the principal had wanted Hongdou to promote the school.

Murong Qing learned why Teacher Xu had chosen Hongdou’s painting for the competition and asked to meet her. She went to Minggui Orphanage, where Si Ming told her Hongdou was asleep and would wake soon.

• Teacher Xu showed Murong Qing Hongdou’s innovative painting and admitted that he had agreed it was superior to hers.
• Murong Qing accepted the school’s choice but insisted on meeting Hongdou rather than conceding without facing her.
• Teacher Xu warned Murong Qing not to give up pursuing art, then gave her Hongdou’s address.
• Murong Qing went to Minggui Orphanage and asked Si Ming to see Hongdou.
• Si Ming told Murong Qing that Hongdou was asleep and suggested she wait for her to wake up.

Murong Qing visited Hongdou’s studio and saw paintings whose skill and impact far surpassed her own, leaving her questioning whether she could ever catch up. When she confronted Hongdou about the school’s competition entry, Hongdou seemed unaware of it.

• Si Ming led Murong Qing into Hongdou’s studio, where the paintings overwhelmed her with their artistic power.
• Murong Qing realized Hongdou’s works were far beyond her own and wondered whether continuing to paint was worthwhile.
• Hongdou woke and greeted Murong Qing, who explained that she had come to see her work.
• Murong Qing asked Hongdou what she thought about having a work entered in the school’s competition, but Hongdou responded that she knew nothing about it.

Murong Qing learned that Hongdou’s painting had replaced hers in a competition and, overwhelmed by the comparison, ran away in despair. Si Ming tried to comfort Hongdou and urged her to face people rather than withdraw, while Hongdou sent him after Murong Qing.

• Murong Qing confronted Hongdou about her painting being chosen over Murong Qing’s work for a competition, then became furious when Hongdou calmly offered to withdraw.
• Murong Qing ran from Hongdou’s home, thinking that her painting would only make her a foil for geniuses, and recalled her father’s warning about the despair of striving to catch up to one.
• Si Ming pieced together that Murong Qing’s earlier defeat by Lian Buqi might have deepened her distress, but he struggled to decide whether to stay with Hongdou or pursue Murong Qing.
• Hongdou blamed herself for upsetting Murong Qing, and Si Ming told her that avoiding relationships would not solve the pain caused by their connections.
• Hongdou insisted that Murong Qing was suffering more than she was and urged Si Ming to go after her.

Si Ming chased Murong Qing after her despair over her failed painting competition entry and Hongdou’s work drove her away. He forced her to fight and grappled with her until she regained some composure, but their scuffle ended with Murong Qing biting his neck as a passerby misread the scene.

• Si Ming left Hongdou and used his lightness skill to follow Murong Qing through the streets.
• Si Ming caught up with Murong Qing, who begged him to leave her alone, but he insisted they communicate as martial artists.
• Murong Qing countered Si Ming’s punch with Command the Fierce Wind, but his Phase Transfer Body-Protecting Divine Art absorbed the strike.
• Si Ming tripped Murong Qing and pinned her in a grapple, refusing to let go until she exhausted herself.
• Si Ming teased Murong Qing about losing, and she bit his neck while a passing woman criticized them for embracing on the park path.

Si Ming helped Murong Qing understand that her frustration with Hongdou came from comparing their achievements without considering their very different effort and lives. Murong Qing went home to consider his invitation to visit the Deep Blue Plateau, then arrived early at school and found someone already in the art room.

• Murong Qing admitted she had blamed others for her disappointment and decided to apologize to Hongdou.
• Si Ming pointed out that Hongdou devoted at least twelve hours a day to painting, while Murong Qing spent only two or three hours and valued other parts of her life.
• Murong Qing realized she envied Hongdou's talent but not her isolated life, and felt better after talking with Si Ming.
• Si Ming invited Murong Qing to visit the Deep Blue Plateau after the semester, and she left saying she needed to think about it.
• Murong Qing arrived early at school the next morning and found an unexpected person in the art room.

Murong Qing regained her confidence in painting after Liu Qingqing reminded her how much others admired and cared about her. Later, Murong Qing befriended Hongdou, while Si Ming’s novel Ghosts and Gods Metropolis was published and began building a readership as its deeper class-conflict plot approached.

• Liu Qingqing told Murong Qing that she had joined the art group because Murong Qing’s painting “Nebula Chain” inspired her, and urged her not to give up painting.
• Murong Qing promised she would keep painting for anyone willing to look, then read Teacher Xu’s apologetic note and realized how many people cared about her.
• Murong Qing visited Hongdou with pastries to apologize, and Hongdou accepted them and asked Murong Qing to be her friend.
• Yao Bilian returned, and Auntie Liu came back with Ying Zhou after his surgery; she told Si Ming that Prince Publishing House had signed Ghosts and Gods Metropolis.
• Ghosts and Gods Metropolis found a modest readership, while Si Ming anticipated the novel’s later turn toward class conflict and the League of Legends’ betrayal of ordinary people.

After placing third in the city on the high school entrance exam, Si Ming learned that Liu Qingqing had missed admission to Tange No. 1 Middle School by two places. Murong Qing proposed using special admission qualifications to secure an extra school place, but their search for another eligible student failed.

• Several months passed as Si Ming cultivated and wrote novels, and he improved physically without making progress in Internal Cultivation or repairing his relationship with Hongdou.
• Si Ming placed third in the city on the high school entrance exam, while Murong Qing placed second at their school and discussed attending the same high school.
• Liu Qingqing revealed that she had ranked twentieth, two places short of admission, despite improving with Si Ming's tutoring.
• Murong Qing explained that special admission could earn their school an extra place and that her painting ability qualified her for the program.
• Si Ming and Murong Qing went looking for another student who met the special admission requirements, but both returned disappointed.