Chapter Summaries

Ronan deepened his understanding of the Mountain-Water Stance during meditation, but his Contemplation Graphic revealed the Dark Heavy Chains imprisoned within his Inscribed Sphere. He was forced out of the Meditative State and opened his eyes to find Xiu Shenyu and Xue Lei beside him.

• Ronan identified Acupoints and sensed how they resonated throughout his body while practicing the Mountain-Water Stance.
• Ronan reshaped the connections between Acupoints into a pyramid-like Contemplation Graphic after a voice outside ordered him to continue.
• Ronan gathered vital energy into the Inscribed Sphere, where it vanished into an empty space within the Contemplation Graphic.
• Ronan saw enormous Dark Heavy Chains filling that space and a faint firelight trapped deep within them, recalling the words “My Heart is a Prison.”
• Ronan was thrown out of the Meditative State and opened his eyes as Xue Lei asked why he was sitting up.

Xiu Shenyu explained that Ronan’s cultivation method had become an external force that constrained him, leaving him as a vessel rather than its master and causing his imbalance between form and spirit. The chapter ended with Ronan asking whether his method was flawed, and Xiu Shenyu confirming that it was.

• Xiu Shenyu told Ronan that his contemplation had produced an ice mountain that overwhelmed him instead of serving him.
• Xiu Shenyu compared Ronan’s Format Theory to a spinning metal sphere and Ronan to its bowl-shaped support, explaining that Ronan had been rejected by the method.
• Xiu Shenyu said Ronan’s cultivation had reversed spirit and form, causing his imbalance because Format Theory could not feed power back into the physical body.
• Ronan recognized that his abilities worked only within Format Theory’s rules, while his attempts to affect the Material Layer failed.
• Ronan asked whether his cultivation method had flaws, and Xiu Shenyu answered that it did.

Ronan confronted Xiu Shenyu over the flaws in Format Theory and realized that his cultivation lacked a true connection to his physical self. Remembering his grandfather and refusing to abandon the old man’s life work, Ronan asked Xiu Shenyu to help him strengthen his body so he could continue experimenting.

• Ronan stopped the Tai Chi Ball and asked Xiu Shenyu whether his method failed to account for Xing Hai.
• Xiu Shenyu argued that cultivation must be grounded in the practitioner's body, while Ronan's method relied on pure consciousness.
• Xiu Shenyu advised Ronan to abandon Format Theory and start over, but Ronan thought of his ill grandfather and resolved to preserve the theory.
• Ronan bowed to Xiu Shenyu and asked him to help correct Format Theory's flaws; Xiu Shenyu said he could only strengthen Ronan's physique.
• Ronan accepted Xiu Shenyu's offer, and Xiu Shenyu warned him to prepare to suffer.

Ronan began Xiu Shenyu’s demanding morning practice, using a set of physical exercises and eye-focused movements to strengthen his body and connect his Essence, Qi, and Spirit. He left the dojo feeling clearer and more hopeful, then prepared to head to school with Xue Lei.

• Ronan woke before dawn after a strange vision of shadows in his Inner Prison, and Xiu Shenyu ordered him to repeat the previous night’s practice.
• Ronan completed nine rounds of breathing, massage, stretching, and eye-tracking exercises while Xiu Shenyu corrected his form.
• Xiu Shenyu explained that Ronan needed to cultivate his weak body through the nine orifices, especially the eyes, which governed the spirit.
• After nearly an hour of practice, Ronan felt sore but focused and recognized that Xiu Shenyu’s concrete training gave him a path forward.
• Xue Lei told Ronan to take a public bike to school while he ran, and Xiu Shenyu urged both of them to leave.

Ronan cycled with Xue Lei to Zhi Xing Institute, where Xue Lei explained how focused awareness was essential to cultivation. Ronan began to understand the scale of the attention Xiu Shenyu expected him to develop as he stood dazed among the passing crowd.

• Ronan called Bai Xinyan to miss a treatment session and continued cycling toward Zhi Xing Institute behind Xue Lei.
• After finishing his intense morning training, Xue Lei told Ronan that opportunity and disciplined effort were central to martial arts and cultivation.
• Xue Lei explained that cultivation required the mind to guide energy and strength, and Ronan realized his body was more exhausted than his mind.
• Xue Lei advised Ronan to direct his attention through his eyes to his movements and surroundings, then admitted Master had told him to wait until they arrived to explain further.
• Ronan considered trying to observe every movement around him and every change within his own body, and gained a new understanding of Xiu Shenyu's warning about preparation for hardship.

Ronan continued cultivating the Eye Aperture, learning to read people through subtle physical cues while building a reservoir for his Soul Power. Xue Lei noticed his rapid progress, but Ronan’s heart lamp began to leak as his Soul Power surged, and Xie Junping arrived to take them away.

• Ronan practiced predicting which people would pass closest to him and recorded his accuracy and training results.
• He used Master Xiu’s eye medicine and reflected on how the Eye Aperture could gradually store and control Soul Power.
• Ronan sensed passersby through the traces they left on his developing heart lamp, even with his eyes closed.
• Xue Lei caught Ronan from behind and praised how quickly he had begun sensing people without mental perception.
• A surge of Soul Power made Ronan’s heart lamp brighten and lose stability before Xie Junping called him and Xue Lei to the car.

Ronan examined the dangerous interaction between his Eye Aperture Heart Lamp and the External Neuron, which repeatedly struck the lamp with electricity after cultivation. As the sixtieth shock overloaded the lamp, he used Talisman Paper to relieve the pressure and created a small paper figure.

• Ronan reviewed how the External Neuron’s electric shocks had alternately extinguished and strengthened his Eye Aperture Heart Lamp, leaving him afraid of cultivation deviation.
• Ronan traced the instability to his soul’s long-standing reliance on the External Neuron’s Akashagarbha function and the conflict between his soul and body.
• Ronan recalled how he had strengthened his Eye Aperture structure through repeated adjustments, allowing it to withstand fifty-three shocks despite his continuing concerns.
• Xie Junping teased Ronan about his tired appearance and mentioned Tang Yi, while Xue Lei told him not to disturb Ronan’s cultivation.
• Ronan sensed that the sixtieth electric shock had overfilled the Heart Lamp and folded Mr. Gao’s Talisman Paper to draw out the excess, producing a small paper figure in his hand.

Ronan recorded his experiments with paper figures and discussed the competing groups interested in Gear with Xie Junping and Xue Lei. After stopping at the Dressing Hall to collect a device for repair, Ronan saw a familiar-looking young woman emerge.

• Ronan recorded four successful paper figures from his Eye Aperture experiments and let his Heart Lamp recover naturally.
• Xie Junping told Ronan and Xue Lei that the Life Cycle Research Fund had become a major backer in the bidding for Gear, and he invited them to a mysticism salon.
• Ronan and Xue Lei declined the salon invitation, and Ronan considered checking whether Xie Junping had been affected by his Gestalt beliefs.
• Ronan reminded Xue Lei to retrieve the broken mechanism inside the Tai Chi Ball, so Xie Junping drove them to the Dressing Hall.
• Ronan studied Gear's blueprints and wondered why the Life Cycle Research Fund, the Justice Cult, and the Seven Colors Fund wanted it.
• A woman emerged from the Dressing Hall, and Ronan recognized her as familiar.

Ronan, Xie Junping, and Xue Lei attended a five-school cosplay mixer at Cloud Capital Shuiyi, where Ronan learned he had been assigned a doctor costume. The three reached the spectacular marine exhibit venue and met Hu Huaying, who had given up his companion slot so Xue Lei could attend.

• Ronan recognized Tian Si outside the hall, and she said she was attending the party as someone’s female companion.
• Xie Junping teased Tian Si before driving Ronan and Xue Lei toward Cloud Capital Shuiyi, while Xue Lei grew upset at the memory of Shuiyi Bluestone Hotel and Chen Weican.
• At their suite, Ronan discovered the event was a profession-themed cosplay party and put on an oversized doctor’s coat; Xue Lei wore his Daoist Robe, and Xie Junping wore a sequined formal suit.
• The three entered the enormous underwater venue inside Sea Sky Cloud Capital and admired its vast marine exhibit.
• Hu Huaying met them at the mixer and had given up his companion slot so Xue Lei could attend.

Ronan and his friends attended an interschool gathering to seek a connection to Tang Yi, while Ronan discovered that the enormous Crystal Pillar interfered with spirit waves. The group met Yao Feng and his companions, including the intimidating He Donglou and martial arts coach Feng Jiajun, as the gathering began.

• Hu Huaying confirmed that Blood Peony would attend, and Ronan sensed an enchantment-like interference in the Crystal Pillar.
• Xie Junping explained that Yao Feng had arranged the venue and urged Xue Lei to use their shared interest in martial arts to build a connection.
• Xie Junping led Ronan, Xue Lei, and Hu Huaying to meet Yao Feng and the other guests at a dim corner bar.
• He Donglou asked about Frost River Reality, but Xie Junping held back after Hu Huaying identified him as someone from Sky He.
• Yao Feng introduced Feng Jiajun as a young senior coach, and Feng Jiajun noticed the three-legged cauldron emblem on Xue Lei's Daoist Robe.

At a party in Bo Mountain Building, Xue Lei clashed with Feng Jiajun over the Shenyu Dojo’s premises, while Ronan pieced together the history behind their dispute. A dangerous Aberrant Species manta ray appeared in the Crystal Pillar, and Yao Feng revealed that he had to curry favor with powerful people to keep his sea business afloat as Ronan received a message on Six Ears.

• Feng Jiajun tested Xue Lei’s strength and made pointed remarks about the Shenyu Dojo’s ten-year tenure in Bo Mountain Building, prompting He Donglou to postpone their confrontation.
• Ronan and Xue Lei concluded that Feng Jiajun likely resented the dojo’s premises after losing a bet to Xiu Shenyu, and Xue Lei went to contact the master.
• A huge, mutated manta ray swept through the Crystal Pillar, slaughtering fish and shrimp before vanishing into a bloody vortex.
• Xie Junping criticized Yao Feng for releasing the Aberrant Species, and Yao Feng admitted he had to curry favor with powerful families to avoid trouble for his sea business.
• Ronan received an incoming contact through Six Ears before finding anyone on the Spirit Wave Network.

Ronan tried to contact Rock Blast but found the Spirit Wave Network’s restricted communications malfunctioning, then observed how the simulated ecosystem affected his eye-aperture cultivation. He met Tian Si, who revealed that she had used Ronan’s family history and his mother’s Coupling Design theory to develop a research topic that won Professor Pan Wen’s approval.

• Ronan discovered that the Spirit Wave Network was still malfunctioning and could not reach Rock Blast or an unfamiliar caller.
• Xie Junping questioned Yao Feng about the Aberrant Species he had stored, while Hu Huaying and Xie Junping tried to draw him into helping them contact Tang Yi.
• Ronan watched the fish in the simulated marine ecosystem and noticed that information from the Material and spiritual Layers subtly nourished his eye aperture.
• Tian Si nearly collided with Ronan, picked up his fallen Paged Notebook, and began chatting with him while a hostile young man watched nearby.
• Tian Si told Ronan she had learned he was the child of Zhongheng and Qingwen, then explained that she had based her accepted research topic on Qingwen’s Coupling Design theory.

Ronan pressed Tian Si for information about his mother and Zhongheng, but Ju Maoxun interrupted and tried to intimidate him. Tian Si then began explaining how Sea Sky Cloud Capital was connected to Coupling Design, leaving Ronan poised to hear more.

• Ronan asked Tian Si how she knew about Gear, Qingwen, and Zhongheng, and she explained that she had studied the records and their work remained influential.
• Ju Maoxun interrupted their conversation and tried to make Tian Si pair up with him, but she introduced Ronan and pretended she had promised to show him around.
• Ju Maoxun grabbed Ronan's collar and threatened him, but Ronan met his gaze, freed himself, and sent Ju Maoxun stumbling away in fear.
• Tian Si apologized, then reflected on the Crystal Pillar and how appearances could conceal unpleasant realities while Ronan studied the ecosystem in its water.
• Tian Si told Ronan that Cloud Capital Shuiyi was the only complex besides Gear built with reference to Coupling Design theory, and that Sea Sky Cloud Capital was legally most closely connected to it.

Ronan obtained Tian Si’s research materials about his parents and hurried to the 142nd-floor Observation Deck to look for Gear. As the Devil Fish violently struck the Crystal Pillar, Ju Maoxun pursued Ronan and Tian Si, but an unnerving stranger in his elevator left him disoriented.

• Ronan urgently asked Tian Si for materials about his parents, and she shared her cloud-storage collection with him.
• Tian Si showed Ronan a design proposal for Sea Sky Cloud Capital and told him the 142nd-floor Observation Deck might offer a view of Gear.
• Ronan headed for the Observation Deck, and Tian Si followed as Ju Maoxun approached with several companions.
• The mutated Devil Fish slammed into the Crystal Pillar, covering it with cracks as Ronan and Tian Si escaped upward in an elevator.
• Ju Maoxun followed toward the 142nd floor, but a bizarre man with a beetle-covered tie and patterned black teeth unsettled him and left his group confused about where they were.

Ronan visited the Cloud Capital Shuiyi Observation Deck with Tian Si, asked about Professor Pan Wen and Coupling Design, and tried to locate Gear from afar. Zhang Yingying then warned him that headquarters investigators wanted to question him over the Frost River Reality incident and urged him to stay with Xue Lei, but Ronan admitted Xue Lei was elsewhere making a call.

• Ronan asked Tian Si about Professor Pan Wen, and she described Pan as a leading design theorist who had mentored Qingwen and cared for her like a daughter.
• Tian Si explained the institute's ideas about Coupling Design as Ronan searched the distant academy for Gear from the Observation Deck.
• Ronan received Zhang Yingying's call, and she warned him that headquarters investigators suspected he knew secrets about the Frost River Reality incident and had summoned him for questioning.
• Zhang Yingying told Ronan to stay somewhere crowded with Xue Lei and refuse to leave with anyone unless the Secretary confirmed it.
• Ronan said Xue Lei was making a call, and Zhang Yingying angrily ordered him to go to Xue Lei immediately.

Ronan detected several threats approaching through Sea Sky Cloud Capital and tried to get Tian Si to safety. Their escape route ended at an elevator where a deranged security guard attacked them, and Ronan stood between the guard and Tian Si.

• Ronan used mental perception to locate a suspicious person hidden in an elevator and warned Zhang Yingying and Xue Lei.
• Ronan spotted a Devil Fish rising rapidly beside another concealed person, then changed course with Tian Si toward elevators on the west side.
• Ronan reported the two threats to Xue Lei and discarded a small metal bottle as he hurried Tian Si along.
• Ronan pulled Tian Si away when a Mad Security Guard emerged from an elevator with an electrified baton and charged them.
• Ronan blocked the Mad Security Guard's attack while Tian Si hid behind him.

Ronan escorted Tian Si toward the fire exit while the elevators were disabled and danger gathered around Sea Sky Pool. He discovered Black Beetle was attacking with a swarm of beetles, and tracked his elevator to the 142nd floor.

• Ronan stopped Tian Si from taking a baton or Riot Gun and learned from Zhang Yingying that the String Handler could control people through hypnosis.
• Ronan and Tian Si headed for the Fire Exit as the power failed and tremors and splashing came from Sea Sky Pool.
• A poisoned beetle ambushed Ronan at the fire-exit door, but a paper figure from his Paged Notebook kicked it away.
• More beetles swarmed the paper figure, and Zhang Yingying identified their controller as Black Beetle and warned Ronan about his close-range attacks.
• Ronan recognized Black Beetle as an Animation Stream user and locked onto his location on the elevator at the 142nd floor.

Ronan used his Eye Aperture Heart Lamp and mental sensing to evade the beetle swarm while helping Tian Si escape down the Fire Exit. As Black Beetle approached, Ronan summoned the Human-Faced Spider and activated the Siege Hammer.

• Zhang Yingying warned Ronan that Black Beetle and the others could counter his abilities, but Ronan said he would avoid meeting them head-on.
• Ronan sent Tian Si through the Fire Exit while his paper figures distracted the beetles, then stayed behind as Devil Fish’s attack sent Sea Sky Pool into chaos.
• Tian Si fled down the stairs as the beetles took flight and Black Beetle advanced toward Ronan across the Viewing Platform.
• Ronan used the Heart Lamp and mental sensing to track the beetles, dodged aside, and shut them outside the stairwell door.
• Ronan ran downstairs, summoned the Human-Faced Spider, and activated the Siege Hammer.

Ronan faced the Black Beetle on the 141st floor, relying on his mental perception and Eye Aperture cultivation while retreating toward the elevators. The Black Beetle exploited Ronan’s physical strain and knowledge of the Logic Boundary to launch an attack, but the chapter ended as Ronan’s mental impact revealed an unexpected, transparent light.

• Ronan used the Human-Faced Spider’s invisible shockwave against the Black Beetle, but it barely slowed him.
• Ronan left the stairwell and moved toward the elevators as the Black Beetle caught up and destroyed the paper figures in his hand.
• The Black Beetle taunted Ronan about his training and physical limits while Ronan analyzed him and continued backing away.
• Ronan’s eyes reddened from the strain of combining Eye Aperture Heart Lamp cultivation with mental perception.
• The Black Beetle asked what Ronan had seen in the Logic Boundary, then seized Ronan’s momentary distraction to rush him.
• Ronan’s mental impact reached the Black Beetle’s protective spell, but instead of a normal collision, a strange breeze or beam of light passed through it.

Ronan used a mental attack to disorient the Black Beetle, then escaped by exploiting the elevator and paper decoys. The Black Beetle realized Ronan had returned to the Viewing Platform and was left raging at the empty elevator.

• Ronan's mental attack pierced the Black Beetle's defenses, causing intense pain and making him crash into the wall.
• Ronan sent the Black Beetle a taunting mental message before falling silent and escaping in the elevator.
• The Black Beetle guessed that Ronan had fled and pursued him to the 133rd floor after the String Handler reported the elevator's position.
• The Black Beetle knocked out a white-collar worker waiting by Elevator No. 15 and found a paper man inside the empty car.
• The Devil Fish told the Black Beetle that Ronan had returned to the Viewing Platform, and the Black Beetle smashed the elevator doors in fury.