Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei confronted Yuanyuan’s grandmother and Supreme Qinghu after they discovered the Qi Gathering Array on Half-Star Island. The group tried to settle the matter without conflict, but Qinghu learned that Supreme Nelson had told Qu Jianlei she was in seclusion.

• Ordinary Woman directed Qu Jianlei to Half-Star Island, but Yuanyuan warned that entering would bring trouble; Qu Jianlei asked the visiting Supreme for her name, and she refused.
• Qu Jianlei recognized Supreme Qinghu, dropped his demand for an explanation, and said he would take the equipment away; Yuanyuan’s grandmother tried to negotiate and apologized.
• Yuanyuan revealed that Qu Jianlei had been hired to help Luo Hanshuang and that the island held a Qi Gathering Array used only by her and Qu Jianlei.
• Yuanyuan urged Qinghu and Qu Jianlei to keep the discovery secret, while her grandmother asked to pretend the visit had never happened; Qinghu warned she might still be held accountable.
• Qinghu asked who had claimed she was in seclusion, and Qu Jianlei named Supreme Nelson; Qinghu accepted the explanation and let the matter go.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with Qinghu and Grandma over the Qi Gathering Array, Half-Star Island, and his work for the Luo Family. After inviting them inside, he showed them the added Defense Array built by Ran Bingluan.

• Qinghu questioned Qu Jianlei about choosing Yuanyuan for the Qi Gathering Array, and he said her Ion Armor suited his ideas.
• Grandma asked about the Luo Family's Mystic Mansion test and Qu Jianlei's fee, while Qu Jianlei refused to discuss the test and defended his work.
• Qinghu revealed that she owned Half-Star Island and asked to look around, but Yuanyuan said she would first ask Brother Bingluan whether he wanted the Qi Gathering Array taken back.
• Qu Jianlei invited Qinghu, Grandma, and Yuanyuan into Half-Star Island after Grandma arranged for the others to guard the entrance.
• Grandma was surprised to find a second Defense Array, and Yuanyuan explained that Ran Bingluan had built it himself.

Qu Jianlei and Supreme Qinghu spent the afternoon and evening exchanging technical and cultivation knowledge, discussing arrays, armor, and elemental compatibility. The next morning, Qinghu asked whether he and Yuanyuan had built the Qi Gathering Array to advance to Supreme, and Qu Jianlei admitted that was their plan, though now he was unsure.

• Qu Jianlei and Qinghu exchanged knowledge about the Qi Gathering Array and Ion Purification Armor, while Yuanyuan and her Grandma struggled to follow their discussion.
• Qinghu noticed the Defense Arrays protecting the third layer, and Qu Jianlei explained that he had derived them from a fragmentary diagram but declined her offer to publish and patent his work.
• Qu Jianlei asked about Qinghu’s Sand and Earth attributes, and she explained her efforts to become compatible with other attributes after advancing to Supreme.
• Qu Jianlei cooked dinner, and he and Qinghu continued discussing cultivation late into the night.
• The next morning, Qinghu asked Qu Jianlei whether he and Yuanyuan had set up the Qi Gathering Array to advance to Supreme, and he said the plan had become uncertain.

Qu Jianlei and Yuanyuan prepared Half-Star Island for a secluded attempt to reach supreme level, accepting Qinghu’s advice and arranging hidden guards. After three months of cultivation, energy surged into Qu Jianlei’s room, signaling that his breakthrough had begun.

• Qinghu advised Qu Jianlei to keep the island’s location, defenses, and guards in mind, and proposed using a Five Elements Array to aid his breakthrough.
• Qu Jianlei declined to use the array before advancing, while Qinghu promised not to expose his secret and arranged to send an array diagram.
• Qinghu and Grandma left Half-Star Island, leaving four trusted guards behind, and Grandma planned to send more hidden sentries to protect Yuanyuan.
• Qu Jianlei and Yuanyuan activated the Qi Gathering Array after a day of rest, then began formal cultivation once its energy stabilized.
• Over three months, Ran Bingluan cultivated far more relentlessly than Yuanyuan, who settled into a pace that suited her.
• Yuanyuan sensed energy pouring into Qu Jianlei’s cultivation room and realized that his breakthrough had begun.

Qu Jianlei successfully advanced to the Supreme after more than six days of seclusion, releasing a Coercive Pressure that stunned Yuanyuan. Dark clouds and violent winds then gathered over Half-Star Island, and Qu Jianlei warned Yuanyuan to move away because lightning was about to strike.

• Yuanyuan maintained the Qi Gathering Array and watched Qu Jianlei's breakthrough while its Energy Block consumption climbed sharply.
• After more than six days, Qu Jianlei released an immense Coercive Pressure, confirming that he had successfully advanced to the Supreme.
• Yuanyuan sensed that Qu Jianlei's new aura might already surpass Qinghu's and noticed that the clear sky had suddenly darkened.
• Dark clouds and rising waves unsettled Yuanyuan and the guardians outside Half-Star Island.
• Qu Jianlei warned Yuanyuan to move away from his room because lightning would strike, realizing that his advancement had brought a tribulation he could not keep hidden.

Qu Jianlei underwent a violent lightning tribulation while advancing his cultivation, and Yuanyuan fled the area after being hurt by nearby bolts. He survived and appeared the next morning, having succeeded in his advancement, though the cultivation site and Qi Gathering Array were destroyed.

• Qu Jianlei warned Yuanyuan to leave the Qi Gathering Array as lightning began striking the cultivation room, and she retreated while the bolts repeatedly overwhelmed the island’s protections.
• Yuanyuan waited through the storm, worried that Ran Bingluan had been killed, until his voice told her he was safe but needed a day to recover.
• Yuanyuan refused to reveal details to a concerned B-rank guard, then tried to cook a meal with the seasonings Ran Bingluan used.
• The next morning, Yuanyuan found the cultivation site blasted apart and the Qi Gathering Array ruined, then Qu Jianlei appeared in good condition.
• Qu Jianlei said he had succeeded by luck and credited another fortunate encounter with helping him survive the tribulation.

After surviving seven tribulation lightning bolts with the help of Stone Milk, Qu Jianlei recovered and tried to keep the incident quiet. He and Yuanyuan assessed the damage and began arranging repairs, but the next day she woke him because people from the authorities had arrived.

• Qu Jianlei recovered from the tribulation lightning and explained that he had endured it by using his reserve of Stone Milk.
• Yuanyuan questioned Qu Jianlei about the lightning, and he told her to ignore it and avoid discussing it with the guards.
• Qu Jianlei and Yuanyuan inspected the damage to the Defense Arrays, the Qi Gathering Array, and other equipment.
• Yuanyuan arranged for the guards to procure replacement components and materials while Qu Jianlei began making sensitive parts by hand.
• Qu Jianlei slept while Yuanyuan took the night watch, then woke near noon when she shouted that people from the authorities had arrived.

Qu Jianlei faced an investigation by the Abnormal Affairs Management Department over the strange thunderstorm, while he and Yuanyuan hid evidence on Half-Star Island. He bought time to erase traces and conceal their procurement as the investigators decided to summon a Supreme.

• Yuanyuan told Qu Jianlei that the Abnormal Affairs Management Department had arrived to investigate the thunderstorm and had given her five minutes before entering.
• Qu Jianlei injured an A-rank investigator who probed the island with his spiritual senses, then refused to cooperate with the department’s demands.
• An investigator threatened to call in battleships, but Qu Jianlei accepted the threat, and the investigators instead decided to bring a Supreme to the island.
• Qu Jianlei used the delay to erase traces and told Yuanyuan to stop the procurement, while she said she had already halted it using Secret Code.
• Qu Jianlei decided not to summon Xiao Hu, whose evolution and core data could be exposed to the mysterious department.

Qu Jianlei let the Department of Anomalous Affairs inspect Half-Star Island after Driver invoked its authority, while Yuanyuan insisted they follow procedure and refused to answer most of their questions. The investigators uncovered signs of the unusual lightning, and Qu Jianlei privately acknowledged that their advanced technology had detected the tribulation energy.

• Driver arrived at Qinghu's gate and challenged Qu Jianlei, but backed down after Qu Jianlei warned him and the Department of Anomalous Affairs claimed authority to inspect.
• Qu Jianlei asked Yuanyuan whether the Department had the right to investigate, then withdrew while she verified the investigators' identities and paperwork.
• The investigators explained that instruments had detected an unknown, intense energy in the lightning over Half-Star Island, and Yuanyuan accompanied them as they began their inspection.
• Yuanyuan summoned trusted guards to prevent evidence from being planted and gave the investigators evasive answers about the lightning, defenses, and the island's occupants.
• Yuanyuan left the investigators and asked Qu Jianlei what he thought of their questions, and he recognized that their technology had detected the tribulation lightning's abnormal energy.

After the Department of Anomalous Affairs investigated Half-Star Island, Qu Jianlei and Yuanyuan kept the Qi Gathering Array out of use and prepared to repair the Defense Array while staying put. When Qu Jianlei spotted government drones and satellites surveilling the island, Yuanyuan took up a mounted machine gun to shoot the drones down.

• Driver questioned Qu Jianlei about erased aura traces, but Qu Jianlei refused to answer, and Yuanyuan and the Half-Star Island Supreme stopped investigators from sealing the site or taking part of the Defense Array.
• Qinghu told Yuanyuan that she had warned the Celestial Hook Star Government not to meddle with her friends, and Qu Jianlei decided to remain on Half-Star Island while keeping a low profile.
• Qu Jianlei postponed use of the Qi Gathering Array and began repairing the Defense Array after Yuanyuan arranged for components to be purchased.
• Qinghu contacted Yuanyuan again, saying she planned to return soon and hoped Qu Jianlei would stay.
• Qu Jianlei noticed drones and satellites monitoring Half-Star Island, and Yuanyuan flew to a rooftop and fired a mounted machine gun at the drones.

Yuanyuan and Qu Jianlei resisted surveillance on Half-Star Island while Qu Jianlei repaired its Defense Arrays and tested his new Supreme abilities. Qinghu returned to Sky Hook and refused to visit the Department of Anomalous Affairs, telling them to come to her home instead.

• Yuanyuan shot down the drones and confronted a City Garrison figure who objected, saying the island had an owner.
• Qu Jianlei and Yuanyuan used the Defense Arrays and Water Mist to block surveillance while Qu repaired both arrays at night.
• Qu Jianlei tested his Supreme abilities after rain fell, as observers discussed the classified abnormal energy readings and Qinghu's impending return.
• Qinghu arrived at the starship passageway, where officials from the Department of Anomalous Affairs asked her to come in.
• Qinghu told the officials to find her on Half-Star Island and said they could keep coming after already breaking into her home.

Qinghu visited Qu Jianlei on Half-Star Island, examined the lingering Exotic Energy, and questioned him about his lightning-struck advancement to Supreme. When Chiyang and Driver confronted her from the gate, Qu Jianlei used a sonic attack to interrupt Chiyang and weaken him.

• Qinghu arrived at Half-Star Island, recognized Qu Jianlei as a newly advanced Supreme, and investigated the lightning damage left at his cultivation site.
• Qinghu detected lingering Exotic Energy, and Qu Jianlei gave her a capsule containing liquid Exotic Energy for her to study.
• Qinghu questioned Qu Jianlei about the lightning strike and suggested that his attempt to unify the Electromagnetic Attribute might have caused it, while he concealed his abilities.
• Chiyang and Driver arrived with representatives of the Department of Anomalous Affairs, and Chiyang challenged Qinghu for turning them away.
• Qu Jianlei intervened with a strange sonic attack that stopped Chiyang mid-sentence and left him dizzy and struggling to steady his Inner Breath.

Chiyang confronted Qinghu and Qu Jianlei on Half-Star Island, but Qu Jianlei’s targeted attack and their dismissive treatment undermined his authority. After the Department of Anomalous Affairs questioned Qu Jianlei’s abilities, he demonstrated lightning, and Chiyang left without answers.

• Chiyang realized Qu Jianlei’s attack could threaten him, and Driver confirmed it had been targeted.
• Qinghu let Chiyang enter Half-Star Island but ordered Driver to stay outside, then told Chiyang to explain his purpose.
• An A-rank agent said the Department of Anomalous Affairs had detected unusual energies and invited Qinghu to review confidential records, but she refused.
• The younger A-rank questioned how Qu Jianlei could produce electromagnetic attacks as a Metal Attribute Supreme, so Qu Jianlei demonstrated a bolt of lightning.
• Yuanyuan explained Attribute Unification and pointed out her own A-rank abilities, and Chiyang left in frustration.

The Department of Anomalous Affairs left after Qu Jianlei’s display was explained as an attempt to unify the Electromagnetic Attribute. Qinghu pieced together his hidden identity and past, but mistakenly believed he was concealing that he had unified the attribute while still Rank A, and revealed that she had left the Divine Script Society.

• The two Rank As reported they would inform their superiors, while Qinghu told them to send a Supreme if they returned; Guardian Supreme then departed with them.
• Qu Jianlei explained to Qinghu that sound, electromagnetism, and Mental Strength were all waves, prompting her to reflect on her research.
• Qinghu examined the damaged Qi Gathering Array and confronted Qu Jianlei with footage and clues linking him to the strange man Bai Jinhan had encountered.
• Qinghu connected Qu Jianlei’s movements between Hope Star and Tianrui Star to the strange man and accused him of killing Cohen and Arindell.
• Qinghu guessed Qu Jianlei was hiding his Rank A unification of the Electromagnetic Attribute and said she would not reveal it.
• Qinghu said the Divine Script Society’s trouble began with greed and revealed that she had left the society because she could not stand its atmosphere.

Qinghu joined Qu Jianlei and Yuanyuan at Half-Star Island, helped them plan to repair the Qi Gathering Array, and drove away the authorities' surveillance. After the island's defenses were restored, Qu Jianlei repaired the array with Qinghu watching.

• Qinghu told Qu Jianlei that she no longer cared about the Divine Script Society and agreed that people should bear responsibility for their choices.
• Qinghu proposed repairing the Qi Gathering Array and said she would buy its components while they made the rest by hand.
• Qinghu gave Qu Jianlei a fragmentary diagram for an aura-concealing array, and he promised to share a copy if he deciphered it.
• Qinghu brought attendants and guards to Half-Star Island and destroyed surveillance equipment and aircraft that approached Lone Leaf Lake.
• Qu Jianlei and Qinghu restored three independent Defense Arrays, then repaired the Qi Gathering Array three days later.

Qu Jianlei left Half-Star Island to test whether he was still being watched, and he warned off observers before confronting the City Garrison and rejecting Supreme Chiyang’s inquiry. He released Xiao Hu in a secluded place and learned it was gathering intelligence about the Department of Anomalous Affairs; back on the island, Yuanyuan confirmed the department was still persistently looking for him.

• Qu Jianlei left Half-Star Island, sensed observers around Lone Leaf Lake, and released Coercive Pressure to warn them off.
• Qu Jianlei went to Heart of Heaven, refused to show identification during a City Garrison inspection, and told Chiyang’s messenger to leave; Chiyang considered acting but was persuaded that Qinghu’s protection could prevent his investigation.
• Qu Jianlei drove into the suburbs and released Xiao Hu from the Smart Terminal, where Xiao Hu claimed it had undergone Phoenix Nirvana and began gathering intelligence.
• Xiao Hu told Qu Jianlei that the terminal was slow, he could not afford a Large Machine, and Lone Leaf Lake was no longer safe.
• Qu Jianlei returned to Half-Star Island, where Yuanyuan said the Department of Anomalous Affairs had asked about his background but had revealed nothing about why it wanted him.

Qu Jianlei learned that the Department of Anomalous Affairs had identified him as Ran Bingluan and quietly left Lone Leaf Lake to watch its response. He remained hidden as the department prepared to surround the lake with fifteen squads and three Battalion-level Warships, while the number of Supremes in its force remained unknown.

• Xiao Hu completed the Gathering Spirit Array and continued calculating the Stealth Array while Qu Jianlei and Qinghu spent three months researching and cultivating.
• Xiao Hu told Qu Jianlei that the Department of Anomalous Affairs had confirmed his identity as Ran Bingluan.
• Qu Jianlei told Qinghu and Yuanyuan he would leave for an uncertain amount of time, took the Energy Blocks and funds, and slipped away to a farm more than fifty kilometers from Lone Leaf Lake.
• Qu Jianlei learned through Xiao Hu that the department had added fifteen squads to surveillance of Lone Leaf Lake, though the squads did not realize he had already left.
• Xiao Hu reported that supporting forces would surround Lone Leaf Lake the next morning with three Battalion-level Warships, but the number of Supremes was concealed.

Qu Jianlei secretly warned Yuanyuan and Qinghu to dismantle their arrays before the Department of Anomalous Affairs surrounded Lone Leaf Lake searching for Ran Bingluan. With Ran gone, Qinghu faced questioning and learned that the Department suspected his advancement and tribulation lightning were connected to the unification of the Electromagnetic Attribute and the forgotten Electrocution Rooms.

• Qu Jianlei sent Yuanyuan a warning through Xiao Hu, and Yuanyuan and Qinghu dismantled the Qi Gathering Array and Defense Array.
• Three warships and a force of Awakened Ones, including Prosperous Star Supreme, the female Supreme, Driver, and Chiyang, surrounded Lone Leaf Lake and demanded Ran Bingluan.
• Qinghu told the Department of Anomalous Affairs that Ran Bingluan had left, and the search party found no trace of him before ordering a search across the planet.
• Xiao Hu broadcast the questioning through Chiyang's Wristwatch, and Yuanyuan's answers confirmed that lightning had struck during Ran Bingluan's advancement.
• Prosperous Star Supreme suggested Ran Bingluan might have unified the Electromagnetic Attribute and explained that Electrocution Rooms had once changed Awakened One cultivation, a subject Qinghu had never heard of.

Prosperous Star explained the Empire’s abandoned research into lightning-assisted cultivation and why the Department of Anomalous Affairs had pursued Ran Bingluan. Qinghu challenged the Supremes’ motives and defended Ran, but Prosperous Star revealed that the Empire knew he had advanced at Lone Leaf Lake, leaving Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu worried that the Defense Array would expose them.

• Prosperous Star told Qinghu and Qu Jianlei that the Empire had once funded Electrocution Rooms to study whether lightning could strengthen cultivators, but shut them down after the research proved fraudulent and ineffective for Primal Warriors.
• Prosperous Star explained that the Department of Anomalous Affairs investigated the abnormal lightning on Half-Star Island after learning Ran Bingluan had advanced from Rank A to Supreme, but Ran escaped before they could corner him.
• Qinghu accused Prosperous Star of using the story to justify making trouble for her, while the female Supreme argued that Ran’s cultivation method could benefit Awakened Ones and that his power made him dangerous.
• Yuanyuan suggested Ran’s results might come from a special physique, and Qinghu rejected the claim that he was prone to losing control, saying he had never lost control around her.
• Prosperous Star confronted Qinghu about Ran’s advancement at Lone Leaf Lake and asked whether he had used crystals; Qinghu said the Defense Array had been Ran’s own work.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu realized that tracing the Defense Array could implicate Panda, and Qu Jianlei regretted not taking it when he left.

Qu Jianlei evaded the search for Ran Bingluan and spent six months hiding in Tianxin City under the identity of Tesla, working at a factory. As Xiao Hu pressed him about delivering the Large Machine, an unfamiliar number called his Wristwatch.

• Prosperous Star Supreme and Arc Light questioned Qinghu about Qu Jianlei and his Defense Array, but she refused to give them information.
• Qu Jianlei hid from two inspections of the farm, then left at night after covering his Secret Camp and erasing his aura.
• Six months later, Qu Jianlei worked at the Precision Factory in Tianxin City as Tesla, using the identity of a gambler whose life he had learned before killing him.
• Qu Jianlei corrected three student interns’ design through his factory persona, while his coworkers discussed Tesla’s skills and gambling debts.
• Qu Jianlei warned Xiao Hu to avoid risky intelligence gathering after its intrusion into Chiyang’s Wristwatch was detected and its access to sensitive information was restricted.
• Xiao Hu alerted Qu Jianlei that an unfamiliar number was calling his Wristwatch.