Chapter Summaries

Shi Tiexin tested how the Minor Gambling Method’s winning blessing affected his cultivation and learned that successive wins strengthened it. After betting ten thousand yuan on Iron Leg Black, he watched the rooster lose its head to a seemingly sickly opponent and suffered the first crushing effects of a “Lose” badge.

• Shi Tiexin won a cockfight bet and used the resulting blessing to improve his Mathematics cultivation by about ten percent.
• Shi Tiexin won two more bets, discovered that the winning effect could stack, and noted that the odds affected its strength.
• Shi Tiexin bet ten thousand yuan on Iron Leg Black against a listless-looking rooster, while nearly everyone else backed the black rooster.
• The sickly-looking rooster beheaded Iron Leg Black in one strike, shocking the gamblers.
• Shi Tiexin received his first “Lose” badge, which shattered his “Win” blessing and left him physically and mentally sluggish.

After losing at the cockfight, Shi Tiexin endured the Minor Gambling Method’s mental and physical backlash, then resolved to avoid gambling and rely on steady growth. He perfected the Minor Drawing Method, gained Attack Poison +9, and headed to the athletic field to continue body refining.

• Shi Tiexin’s Essence Lock +9 protected his vital essence from the backlash of losing, while Discernment +3 calmed his urge to gamble again.
• Shi Tiexin saw the gamblers’ frenzied reactions, left the gambling hall, and recovered by nightfall.
• Shi Tiexin concluded that gambling risked a cultivator’s talent and cultivation, and vowed to grow stronger without relying on bets.
• Shi Tiexin raised the Minor Drawing Method to Perfection and gained Attack Poison +9.
• Shi Tiexin sensed the method extracting harmful substances from his body and refining them to preserve their beneficial effects.
• Shi Tiexin grabbed a bag of meat and went to the athletic field to continue body refining.

After perfecting the Freedom Five Methods, Shi Tiexin reached a new limit in essence qi absorption and completed the final stage of One's Own Strength. He recognized that the breakthrough had transformed his entire body, not just his strength.

• Shi Tiexin perfected all five Freedom Five Methods and sensed he could absorb exactly one thousand strands of essence qi per day.
• He ate and drank through the night until his pseudo-core reached the Nascent Core Realm.
• Shi Tiexin used the Vision System's 98% body-tempering chart and trained his legs to fill the remaining gaps with Pink Mist.
• His body suddenly completed its transformation, and the Vision System announced that he had achieved One's Own Strength.
• Shi Tiexin sensed that the breakthrough had improved his whole body across the board.

Shi Tiexin tested One's Own Strength and found that body tempering gave him a stable foundation for his growing power. As his false core expanded toward the Dragon Essence Realm, he encountered a dangerous collapse in its constraining force, then slowed his progress to cultivate Hard Qi Technique; the Olympics opened as the chapter ended.

• Shi Tiexin compared One's Own Strength with the Nascent Core Realm and realized body tempering gave him a lasting foundation and balance between himself and his false core.
• Shi Tiexin ate for several days to add essence qi to his false core, whose growing protective power consumed essence qi even when he was inactive.
• Shi Tiexin's false core expanded until its constraining force collapsed, and Essence Locking +9 limited the essence qi leaking from it.
• Shi Tiexin continued eating until his false core merged in shape with his lower abdomen, then decided to slow its expansion and temper his body to adapt to his power.
• Shi Tiexin began cultivating the second level of Hard Qi Technique as publicity and honors continued, and the Olympics opened.

Shi Tiexin watched the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony with Fengming First High School’s athletics team and reflected on how this Worldline differed from the one he remembered. After Donghua Nation’s small delegation passed almost unnoticed, he declared that four years later he wanted no media outlet to be able to brush past his country.

• The athletics team gathered around a television to watch the Olympics opening ceremony, and Director Xin asked Shi Tiexin what he thought of Tokyo.
• Shi Tiexin calmly compared the prosperous Tokyo on screen with the more developed Tokyo he remembered from his life as Black Lord.
• The students watched the American and Soviet delegations enter, while Shi Tiexin compared the countries on screen with the geography of the Main Worldline.
• Donghua Nation’s thirteen-member delegation received little attention as it passed, and Director Xin asked Shi Tiexin for his thoughts.
• Shi Tiexin said he wanted Donghua Nation to command media attention four years later, and Director Xin praised his ambition.

Shi Tiexin studied and trained while watching Fang Qingjue make astonishing progress in the Gale Leg. At dinner, Fang Qingjue told him that the World Record Committee would not accept their record application for the time being.

• Shi Tiexin watched Fang Qingjue practice the Gale Leg and recognized that her progress after just over a month was extraordinary.
• Shi Tiexin pushed himself to study for the approaching final exams, aiming to return to the Elite Class with certainty.
• Shi Tiexin continued reviewing the Six Fundamental Mind Arts and tested himself using Elite Class mock exam questions from Old Jia.
• Fang Qingjue joined Shi Tiexin at dinner and told him the World Record Committee would not accept their record application for the time being.

Wang Jinquan used the World Record Committee’s refusal to accept Shi Tiexin’s record application to stir up negative publicity, while school officials worried about protecting Shi Tiexin. After Donghua Nation’s Olympic defeats and hostile media coverage intensified public anger, Focus Daily accused Shi Tiexin of being responsible for a campus assault.

• Wang Jinquan called Focus Daily and directed its reporters to Liu Jingsong, Gu Shaohuai, and Teng Chaoguo for information about Shi Tiexin.
• Principal Liu and Director Xin discussed the Committee’s refusal and resolved to protect Shi Tiexin from its effects.
• Donghua Nation’s sports delegation returned without medals after its athletes lost, including the men’s foil athlete in the match for third place.
• The World Record Committee temporarily refused to accept Shi Tiexin’s application for breaking five world records, and an American talk show mocked the claim.
• Focus Daily published reports questioning Shi Tiexin’s records and accused him of being the culprit behind a campus violence assault case.

Shi Tiexin was taken in for questioning over the Teng Chaoguo case, but his classmates and Principal Liu stood between him and the officers’ attempt to handcuff him. He left school calmly in an official vehicle as the students cheered him on.

• Teacher Chu tried to stop the officers from handcuffing Shi Tiexin, and Shi Tiexin calmed him down.
• Zhou Nan and Zhao Qingmiao defended Shi Tiexin, and students from Class 28 and nearby classrooms gathered to support him.
• Principal Liu challenged the officers’ conduct and urged Shi Tiexin to cooperate with the investigation without being handcuffed.
• Shi Tiexin walked to the waiting official vehicle as students surrounded it and shouted their support.

Shi Tiexin used Rhetoric to deny the accusations and persuade two officers to restrain Captain Chen during his interrogation. He suspected Teng Chaoguo's parents had influenced the captain and vowed to outgrow the need for lies and break free of his shackles.

• Shi Tiexin realized he needed to adapt to the Worldline and use its rules rather than oppose them.
• Shi Tiexin used Rhetoric to deny beating Teng Chaoguo and argued that the accusations and media reports were unreliable.
• Captain Chen beat Shi Tiexin, but Shi Tiexin's body endured the blows and his presence grew more intimidating.
• Shi Tiexin's words influenced the two accompanying officers, who dragged Captain Chen out before he could strike him with a baton.
• Shi Tiexin suspected Teng Chaoguo's parents were behind Captain Chen's hostility and vowed to break free of his restraints one day.

Shi Tiexin was interrogated over the alleged campus assault, but his convincing demeanor led the police to release him. Outside the station, he faced waiting reporters and used his thought energy to declare that he had not committed campus violence, leaving many of them believing him.

• Different interrogators questioned Shi Tiexin, while his sincerity and persuasive words made them doubt the testimony against him.
• The officers debated whether Shi Tiexin was innocent until their superior ordered them to close the case and release him.
• Officer Bing Zi Yi Hao removed Shi Tiexin’s handcuffs, accepted the returned exam paper, and escorted him to the lobby.
• Shi Tiexin walked out to waiting reporters, who questioned him about the campus assault as he shook hands with Officer Bing Zi Yi Hao.
• Shi Tiexin used his thought energy to declare, “I, Shi Tiexin, have not used campus violence,” convincing many reporters and making others reconsider their assumptions.

Shi Tiexin used Rhetoric to sway reporters covering the accusations against him, while Principal Liu redirected them to the police and helped him escape the crowd. They left the station together and stopped at a fast-food restaurant, where Principal Liu ordered food so they could talk.

• Shi Tiexin influenced the reporters with Rhetoric and defended himself against accusations of campus violence and unlawful harm.
• Principal Liu pointed the reporters toward Officer Bing Zi Yi Hao, then hurried Shi Tiexin into a car and drove away.
• Officer Bing Zi Yi Hao told the reporters the case was closed and the accusations were slander and a frame-up.
• Principal Liu checked Shi Tiexin's bruise, and Shi thanked him for helping secure his release.
• Principal Liu stopped the car at a fast-food restaurant, ordered a large pile of food, and told Shi Tiexin to sit and talk.

Principal Liu explained to Shi Tiexin that the backlash against him reflected Donghua Nation’s lack of confidence and its tendency to worship foreign countries. He left Shi Tiexin considering how national self-doubt shaped public reactions to his record and the controversy around it.

• Shi Tiexin told Principal Liu he thought his own misconduct and outside troublemakers had caused the recent turmoil.
• Principal Liu said the students supported Shi Tiexin because Donghua Nation had never won an Olympics medal and people felt ashamed of the country’s weakness.
• Principal Liu pointed to the crowded foreign fast-food restaurant and argued that many diners paid for the feeling of status attached to foreign things.
• Shi Tiexin admitted he had never considered why foreign fast food was treated as impressive, while Principal Liu criticized the public’s faith in foreign countries and authorities.

Principal Liu explained why Shi Tiexin’s world-record performance gave Donghua Nation hope and promised to support him, while Shi Tiexin made a request. News reports cleared Shi Tiexin of the accusations, and Fengming First High School began a public commendation ceremony attended by thousands and the Jinling Governor.

• Principal Liu told Shi Tiexin that his athletic achievements could help Donghua people hold their heads high, and promised to honor him and support his Olympic ambitions.
• Shi Tiexin listened to Principal Liu’s hopes and made a request after considering the weight of his support.
• Reporters published accounts based on Shi Tiexin’s and the police’s statements, turning public opinion in his favor and discrediting earlier accusations.
• Fengming First High School announced a Saturday ceremony to honor Shi Tiexin for breaking the world record and invited media outlets to attend.
• Thousands of students, faculty, officials, and reporters gathered for the ceremony, where Principal Liu began the proceedings with the Jinling Governor in attendance.

At Fengming First High School’s commendation ceremony, Shi Tiexin rejected becoming a professional athlete and urged students to help make Donghua prosperous and strong through their talents and studies. He challenged them to wager on his reaching the grade’s top ten in the final examinations, and Principal Liu declared the wager established as the hall erupted in applause.

• Principal Liu introduced Shi Tiexin, who addressed the public uproar over the World Record Committee rejecting his application and said he would not become a professional athlete.
• Shi Tiexin argued that wealth alone could not earn respect and called on students to contribute through their chosen fields, especially science and technology.
• Shi Tiexin described his dreams for a strong, united China, prompting the students to roar their agreement and Ling Xingjian to cry.
• Shi Tiexin challenged the students to bet that he would return to the Elite Class and place in the grade’s top ten; he pledged all future sports-related income to an educational aid foundation if he lost.
• Shi Tiexin recited a poem about uniting Kyushu and urged students to remember their mission and study for Donghua’s rise.
• Principal Liu declared the wager established, and teachers, students, reporters, and leaders stood to applaud.

Shi Tiexin devoted himself to cultivating the Six Heart Arts to prepare for the school exams, while Fengming First High School’s top students raced to stop him from forcing everyone to do twice as much homework. He began the tests confidently and found the first three papers easy enough to earn full marks without using cheats.

• Shi Tiexin shut out distractions and studied across different classes with Principal Liu’s permission and Ling Xingjian’s help, while Fang Qingjue and other top students intensified their own preparation.
• During the college entrance examination break, Shi Tiexin cultivated all six Heart Arts until they reached profound mastery, with Zhou Nan assisting him as he studied at Taigu Building.
• After the exams, Shi Tiexin met Ling Xingjian’s encouragement and Fang Qingjue’s silent challenge before entering the school tests.
• Shi Tiexin judged the Mathematics paper simple and finished it believing he had earned full marks.
• Shi Tiexin found the Physics and Chemistry papers even easier and expected full marks on both without spending money on cheats.

Shi Tiexin struggled through English and the remaining exams, spending Golden Light to perfect his Rhetoric before finishing all nine subjects uncertain how he had done. The school graded the papers immediately, and Principal Liu learned that Shi Tiexin had earned full marks in six subjects and 99 in politics.

• Shi Tiexin breezed through history but found the English listening questions incomprehensible and spent 53 Golden Light to raise Rhetoric to Perfect.
• Shi Tiexin sat the politics, geography, and biology exams, then completed Chinese with no clear sense of his results.
• Shi Tiexin returned to his dormitory and went to sleep after finishing all nine subjects.
• Fengming First High School's teachers graded the exams immediately, and the director of academic affairs brought Shi Tiexin's papers to Principal Liu.
• Principal Liu saw that Shi Tiexin had full marks in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and history, plus 99 in politics.

Principal Liu secretly adjusted Shi Tiexin’s exam scores so he would place tenth and win the wager, but he kept the results from Shi Tiexin, leaving him terrified of the consequences of losing. Shi Tiexin threw himself into training, discovering that consuming essence accelerated his physical techniques as he desperately tried to protect his body and intelligence.

• Principal Liu and the director of academic affairs reviewed Shi Tiexin’s papers and found that he ranked eleventh, just three points short of tenth.
• Principal Liu added points to Shi Tiexin’s Chinese, English, and politics papers, then ordered other near-perfect politics scores raised as well so Shi Tiexin would reach tenth place.
• The school kept the exam results confidential while rumors spread, and Principal Liu’s vague reassurances left Shi Tiexin increasingly anxious.
• Shi Tiexin feared that losing the wager could damage his body or intelligence, so he trained intensely in his private room.
• Shi Tiexin discovered that consuming a thousand strands of essence daily sped up Cloud Veil Leg and Hard Qi Technique, and he continued training whenever fear of becoming an idiot renewed his resolve.

After placing tenth, Shi Tiexin left the Trash Class and returned to Class Three in the Elite Class dormitory, where he completed Destiny Mission 2 and strengthened the connection between his Worldline and the Main Worldline. He reunited with his classmates and friends, then used the star map to return his primary consciousness to his true self.

• Director Xin pulled Shi Tiexin from his intense training and told him he had placed tenth, while the Rattle Drum turned his winning result into a badge.
• Shi Tiexin thanked Zheng Kaiming for motivating him, then said farewell to the Trash Class students and accepted Liu Shufeng's invitation to join the Four Heavenly Kings.
• At the Elite Class dormitory, Shi Tiexin kept his promise to study with Old Jia and returned to Class Three, completing Destiny Mission 2: Poverty Cannot Move.
• Fang Qingjue told Shi Tiexin that she had won and offered to teach him the language, while Ling Xingjian welcomed him back and celebrated her own improved exam ranking.
• After settling into his dorm, Shi Tiexin closed his eyes and followed the star map back to his true self in the Main Worldline.

Shi Tiexin delivered food while testing how his lasting Win buff improved him and calibrating the speed limit for First Level Secrecy. He returned to the Dog Gang’s residential complex, where a resident called for Third Brother to come out.

• Shi Tiexin praised the stinky tofu shop owner's menu and received an extra-large serving of tofu.
• Shi Tiexin reflected that his Win buff had crossed Worldlines with him and boosted his abilities, especially learning and thinking.
• Shi Tiexin delivered food to condition himself psychologically after seeing the sharp-energy shop owner frying tofu.
• Shi Tiexin adjusted his cycling speed and effort to mark the speed line for First Level Secrecy.
• A resident spotted Shi Tiexin at the Dog Gang's complex and called for Third Brother.

Shi Tiexin fought the Dog Gang to test his combat skills and demonstrated a strange drunken-style leg technique against its strongest human-and-dog pair. He continued deeper into the residential complex, still seeking enough opponents to meet his goal.

• Shi Tiexin lured the Dog Gang into attacking him and defeated a fat man and his bulldog with agile kicks.
• He waited for reinforcements, then quickly beat a young man with a Samoyed and a young woman with a Corgi.
• A middle-aged auntie and her Husky, Spring Roll, attacked Shi Tiexin together in a secret realm.
• Shi Tiexin used the Half-Bent Drunken Wind Leg to evade their pincer attack, break the auntie's arm, and kick Spring Roll into the air.
• The auntie withdrew to tend to Spring Roll, while Shi Tiexin rode farther into the residential complex.