Chapter Summaries

At a hotpot meal, Fang Xingyun encouraged Jiang Xiaopi to enter the World Cup singles competition and tested whether he could stand on his own. After he survived her intense training, Fang Xingyun gave him a Letter of Recommendation praising his courage and bearing.

• Jiang Xiaopi told Fang Xingyun that classmates had mocked him for having nine Star Slots, and she used instant-boiled mutton to explain that different fighters could serve the nation equally well.
• Fang Xingyun offered to recommend Jiang Xiaopi if he proved himself, then learned he planned to enter the World Cup singles competition alone.
• Fang Xingyun warned Jiang Xiaopi about the strength gap he would face, while he insisted that winning mattered and that he had a nation behind him.
• Fang Xingyun challenged Jiang Xiaopi to survive her attacks, and he accepted the test rather than use Space-Time Gap to escape.
• Fang Xingyun unleashed repeated Skyfall Meteor Fire in the Other Dimension Space, and Jiang Xiaopi fought through the barrage with Green Glow and close-combat techniques.
• Fang Xingyun judged Jiang Xiaopi worthy after the test, and he later found her Letter of Recommendation describing him as having great wisdom, courage, and the bearing of a great general.

Jiang Xiao trained relentlessly to reach the Star River Stage and sought a Letter of Recommendation for the school's selection tournament. After Jiang Hong refused him, Jiang Xiao challenged him again, but the confrontation ended when Principal Yang summoned Jiang Xiao upstairs.

• Jiang Xiao continued pushing his physical limits while waiting for Teacher Hu Hu and worrying about the March 10 registration deadline.
• With Qin Wangchuan's help, Jiang Xiao fought Instructor Jiang Hong, who used teleportation and lightning but gave him no Letter of Recommendation.
• Jiang Xiao told Qin Wangchuan he knew Jiang Hong did not believe a Star Cloud Stage support should enter a solo competition, then resumed running instead of showing defeat.
• Jiang Xiao asked to take leave, teleported to the Administration Building, and demanded another three-minute duel with Jiang Hong.
• Jiang Hong refused and proposed a rematch at the stadium in two years, but the old gatekeeper interrupted to say Principal Yang wanted Jiang Xiao upstairs.

Jiang Xiao sought Principal Yang’s approval for his World Cup individual competition application after earning recommendation letters from Qin Wangchuan and Fang Xingyun. Principal Yang approved the application, revealing that Fang had placed fourth in the 2005 World Cup and that Jiang Xiao was the first student she had recommended in twelve years.

• Jiang Xiao waited outside Principal Yang’s office after Instructor Jiang Hong attacked him with lightning and fled before explaining the recommendation criteria.
• Jiang Xiao told Principal Yang he had two recommendation letters and was entering the World Cup individual competition.
• Principal Yang asked Jiang Xiao to bring the letters, and Jiang Xiao returned with Qin Wangchuan’s and Fang Xingyun’s recommendations.
• Principal Yang read the letters and learned Fang Xingyun had written her first recommendation in twelve years of teaching.
• Principal Yang approved Jiang Xiao’s application and told him Fang had placed fourth in the 2005 World Cup, urging him not to disappoint her.

After Jiang Xiao was detained for forcing his way into the Administration Building, he considered the hurdles ahead before he could reach the National Team and worried about living up to Fang Xingyun’s recommendation. Song Chunxi, Han Jiangxue, and Xia Yan visited him, but Xia Yan’s impulsiveness got her detained too, leaving the two as cellmates for the night.

• Jiang Xiao was sent to the detention room by Captain Black Cheng after forcing his way into the Administration Building, where Xie Ala made him attend a poetry lesson.
• While Xie Ala quizzed him, Jiang Xiao reflected on Principal Yang’s recommendation, the upcoming selection tournaments, and his desire not to disappoint Fang Xingyun.
• Song Chunxi and Han Jiangxue visited Jiang Xiao, and Xia Yan joined them after returning from a mission.
• Xia Yan charged into Jiang Xiao’s cell and was detained for a day by Xie Ala and the prison guards.
• After Han Jiangxue and Song Chunxi left, Jiang Xiao sang outside his cell, while Xia Yan gave up on kicking through the door and returned to her bed.

After leaving confinement, Jiang Xiao learned about Star Pearls that could combine offense and purification and chose the Tear Spirit Star Pearl as his target. Qin Wangchuan began arranging a training trip for Jiang Xiao and the other Pioneer Apprentices, leaving them on standby.

• Jiang Xiao and Xia Yan left confinement with buzz cuts, and Xia Yan explained that her hair had been burned and torn out during a battle.
• Jiang Xiao told Song Chunxi and Han Jiangxue that he planned to enter the World Cup solo, while Xia Yan imagined competing alongside him in a doubles event.
• Qin Wangchuan showed Jiang Xiao Star Pearl options, including the rare Centaur Spirit and the domestic Gold Companion, and Jiang Xiao selected the Tear Spirit Star Pearl.
• Qin Wangchuan proposed taking the Pioneer Apprentices on a training trip and told Jiang Xiao to keep his teammates ready while he made arrangements.

Jiang Xiao reunited with his friends over dinner and told them that Instructor Qin Wangchuan would take him and the team to Ba Min Province to investigate the Tear Spirit Star Bead. After learning that its Star Skills required crying, Xia Yan teased Jiang Xiao about becoming a crybaby.

• Jiang Xiao watched a cartoon with Xia Yan and joked with Wu Yao before helping bring dinner to the table.
• Jiang Xiao and Xia Yan competed over the sweet-and-sour pork, and he nearly checked her final exam score before the conversation shifted to his three Letters of Recommendation.
• Jiang Xiao told the group that Qin Wangchuan planned to take him on a mission to Ba Min Province, where he would absorb a Tear Spirit Star Bead while the others trained.
• Xia Yan read the Tear Spirit Star Bead's Star Skills from Jiang Xiao's notes, including its tear-summoning skills and rare Domain Tear.
• Han Jiangxue realized the Tear Spirit Star Skills could address Jiang Xiao's weakness, while Xia Yan joked that he would become a little crybaby.

Pioneer Group One entered the Tear Rain Forest for a seven-day mission, where Han Jiangxue took command and began guiding the team through the fog. The chapter left Jiang Xiao’s teammates recognizing that Han Jiangxue’s offer to let him lead revealed how much they trusted his abilities.

• The team flew to Lu Island City and traveled with local Pioneering Army soldiers to the sealed Brahma Temple.
• Jiang Xiao and the others changed into Pioneering Army uniforms, met Instructor Jiang Hong, and followed him to the Space Gate.
• Jiang Hong and Qin Wangchuan entered the Tear Rain Forest with the team and warned the students that they would have to handle danger themselves.
• Han Jiangxue asked Jiang Xiao whether he wanted to command, then arranged the team into a two-one-one formation and assigned their positions.
• Song Chunxi and the instructors realized Han Jiangxue trusted Jiang Xiao’s strength, judgment, and leadership enough to offer him command.

Jiang Xiao’s decoy advanced his blade skills while teaching Two Tails, and the team encountered a Tear Demon in Tear Rain Forest. As its cries confused their senses, Jiang Xiao’s Bell Chime calmed the team and let them continue forward.

• Jiang Xiao discovered that his decoy had raised Xia Family Blade Art to Gold Quality Lv.6 while teaching Two Tails to wield a great blade.
• The four-person team followed the Tear Demon’s sobbing after Song Chunxi sensed it approaching through the forest.
• The Tear Demon filled the area with Mist Tears and used its cries to confuse the team and make its members see one another as monsters.
• Han Jiangxue attacked with Ice Roar as the team advanced, but the Tear Demon’s influence intensified and began affecting even Han Jiangxue.
• Jiang Xiao’s Bell Chime rang through the team, quieting their hearts and allowing them to keep moving without attacking one another.

Han Jiangxue and Jiang Xiao defeated the Tear Demon hidden in the fog, but a Platinum Rank Tear Ghost ambushed Song Chunxi and Xia Yan and expanded its Tear Domain. As the siblings retreated from the spreading rain, Jiang Xiao urged Han Jiangxue to use Chain Lightning against the fast-moving foe.

• Han Jiangxue used Ice Roar while Jiang Xiao silenced the Tear Demon, allowing the team to locate and destroy it in the fog.
• The team advanced through the frozen clearing, where Xia Yan found a Star Pearl but no corpse.
• A Platinum Rank Tear Ghost ambushed Song Chunxi and knocked her and Xia Yan away with a powerful strike.
• The Tear Ghost summoned Tear Rain and flew through its expanding domain, forcing Han Jiangxue and Jiang Xiao to retreat.
• Jiang Xiao told Han Jiangxue to use Chain Lightning because the Tear Ghost was too fast for him to silence directly.

Han Jiangxue, Jiang Xiao, Song Chunxi, and Xia Yan worked together to kill a Tear Ghost after it activated its Domain Tear. The team recovered its Star Pearl and learned they could absorb its skills, but had to surrender it if they chose not to.

• Han Jiangxue summoned her Flame Puppet and used Chain Lightning to stun the Tear Ghost while Jiang Xiao vanished from its reach.
• Song Chunxi’s pain-linked Star Skill hurt the Tear Ghost, and Xia Yan’s giant Star Power blade knocked it out of its domain.
• Jiang Xiao struck the Tear Ghost with Powerful Strike, and Song Chunxi and Xia Yan followed up until it was killed.
• Xia Yan retrieved the Tear Ghost Star Pearl, and Jiang Xiao learned it held Claw Tear, Domain Tear, and the Platinum-quality Exploding Tear.
• Qin Wangchuan explained that the team could absorb the Star Pearl’s skills but had to hand it over to the local Guardian Legion if they did not.

Jiang Xiao and the instructors advised Xia Yan on choosing Star Skills from the Tear Ghost Star Pearl, and she tried to absorb one but failed. The chapter left Xia Yan disappointed as Jiang Xiao attempted to comfort her.

• Qin Wangchuan explained the Tear Ghost Star Skills and warned Xia Yan that Exploding Tear could destroy its user, though a powerful Medical Star Warrior could heal them.
• Jiang Xiao and Instructor Jiang Hong explained that Claw Tear could summon a weapon for Desperate Blade and encouraged Xia Yan to consider it alongside Domain Tear and Exploding Tear.
• Xia Yan decided to trust Jiang Xiao’s judgment and crushed the Tear Ghost Star Pearl to absorb a Star Skill.
• Xia Yan failed to absorb the Star Skill, and Jiang Xiao tried to cheer her up by recalling how she had absorbed eight Platinum Star Pearls before.

After three days of searching the Tear Rain Forest, Jiang Xiao and his team finally encountered Tear Spirits, whose rain drained their life force. The team hid and watched as more Tear Spirits gathered, leaving Han Jiangxue to weigh when to attack.

• Han Jiangxue sent Little Firemen out to scout, and the team hunted seven Tear Demons and four Tear Ghosts over the next three days.
• Song Chunxi detected unfamiliar crying and rain, leading the team toward what they suspected were Tear Spirits.
• Song Chunxi spotted Tear Spirits playing around a Giant Tree, and more gathered as the team watched from hiding.
• A Tear Spirit flew toward the group and expanded its poisonous rain over them, causing their life force to decline.
• Han Jiangxue ordered Song Chunxi to extinguish her flames and planned to wait for more Tear Spirits before using Bell Chime and Silence.

Jiang Xiao’s team defeated a Tear Ghost and collected its Star Pearls, while Jiang Xiao secretly absorbed and upgraded three Tear Spirit Star Skills. Xia Yan also used Domain Tear, and Jiang Xiao discovered that their senses matched within the rain before his abilities advanced.

• Song Chunxi guided the team as Jiang Xiao and Han Jiangxue controlled the Tear Spirits with Silence and Ice Roar, while Xia Yan and Song Chunxi attacked them.
• Han Jiangxue’s Lightning Chains shattered a Tear Spirit and ended its rain, leaving a Star Pearl for the team to collect.
• Song Chunxi identified the Tear Ghost’s Star Pearl and gave a Tear Spirit Star Pearl to Jiang Xiao, who secretly absorbed its three Star Skills.
• Xia Yan activated Domain Tear, then Jiang Xiao secretly activated his own and sensed everything within the rain, including Xia Yan’s presence above him.
• Jiang Xiao absorbed the Star Pearl again and upgraded Purifying Tear to Gold Quality Lv.0 and Wounding Tear and Domain Tear to Lv.2.

Jiang Xiao failed to absorb the Tear Spirit Star Skill despite upgrading his existing skills, while Xia Yan tested her new Domain Tear and was urged to develop her command abilities. The group left Jiang Xiao discouraged but rallied around him with food before his remaining four days to try again.

• The Little Firemen delivered a Star Pearl to Jiang Xiao before Domain Tear’s rain extinguished them, and Jiang Xiao absorbed it without gaining the desired Star Skill.
• Han Jiangxue gave Jiang Xiao Song Chunxi’s final Tear Spirit Star Pearl and encouraged him to keep trying, while Song Chunxi defended supporting comrades.
• Qin Wangchuan praised Xia Yan’s Domain Tear and told her to develop her battlefield awareness and command skills, while Jiang Hong emphasized that she would need to accept greater responsibility.
• Xia Yan resisted Qin Wangchuan’s order to activate Domain Tear in every battle, but he insisted she obey.
• Jiang Xiao pretended to despair over his failed absorption, then perked up when Xia Yan suggested they eat instant noodles, and he and Xia Yan asked Han Jiangxue for spicy-beef flavor.

Over four days in the Tear Rain Forest, Xia Yan’s Domain Tear helped the team find and protect Tear Spirits while Jiang Xiao sought to raise his Star Skills to Platinum. After absorbing Tear Spirit Star Pearls, Jiang Xiao revealed that three of his Star Skills had reached Platinum quality, astonishing the group.

• Xia Yan used her Domain Tear to guide the team past Tear Demons and Tear Ghosts while they followed a Tear Spirit and drove off its hunters.
• Jiang Xiao supplied Star Power to Xia Yan so she could keep tracking the Tear Spirit, which found three companions hiding among the branches.
• Han Jiangxue led the team in attacking the Tear Spirits, and Xia Yan and Song Chunxi returned with four Tear Spirit Star Pearls.
• Jiang Xiao absorbed the Star Pearls as Qin Wangchuan warned that the team had to return on the seventh day if he did not succeed.
• Jiang Xiao announced that he had gained three Platinum Skills: Purifying Tear, Wounding Tear, and Domain Tear.

Jiang Xiao discovered that his upgraded Tears could purge negative effects and inflict devastating physical and emotional pain, leaving him overwhelmed by memories and exhaustion. Far away, Nine Tails embraced Two Tails before walking into the wilderness alone, and she followed him.

• Jiang Xiao confirmed that his One Star Double Technique was Purifying Tear and Wounding Tear, then used Purifying Tear to extinguish Jiang Hong's white flame.
• Jiang Xiao activated Platinum Wounding Tear, whose rain burned and drained everyone nearby while driving them into profound sadness; Jiang Hong fled, Xia Yan sobbed about missing home, and Song Chunxi begged Jiang Xiao to stop.
• Jiang Xiao ended the rain but remained weighed down by its effects, recalling the deaths in the Snowfield and feeling exhausted and dissatisfied with his life.
• Near Evil Night Mountain, Nine Tails embraced Two Tails in silence, and she comforted him without asking what had happened.
• Nine Tails released Two Tails and walked into the dark wilderness to be alone, while Two Tails followed him.

After returning from Tear Rain Forest, Jiang Xiao learned that Emperor Capital Star Warrior University’s World Cup individual-selection competition would begin on April 1. Confident in his abilities, he planned to defeat every senior student competing for a recommendation.

• Han Jiangxue failed to absorb any Star Skills from the Tear Spirit and Tear Ghost Star Beads, while Jiang Xiao considered what auxiliary ability or Star Pet she might need and Xia Yan searched for a weapon-type Star Skill.
• Jiang Xiao and his teammates returned to Emperor Capital Star Warrior University on March 18, where he found his classmates subdued by their Black Rock Mountain training.
• The school announced that twelve students had recommendations for the World Cup individual competition, with Hou Mingming and Zhao Wenlong considered near-certain selections.
• Jiang Xiao valued his three Letters of Recommendation and recognized that his performance would also reflect on the teachers who recommended him.
• Jiang Xiao decided to defeat all the senior students in the individual-selection competition.

Jiang Xiaopi entered Imperial Capital Star Warrior University’s individual qualification trials, where the rules put him at the bottom of the rankings and exposed him to the top contestants’ choices. Hou Mingming warned Zhao Wenlong not to choose Jiang Xiaopi, revealing that both she and her mother liked him.

• Jiang Xiaopi arrived at the crowded stadium with prominent friends and supporters gathered to watch him compete.
• Li Liang announced that twelve contestants would be split into two groups, with Group A choosing opponents from Group B and two wins required to advance.
• Jiang Xiaopi joked confidently about reaching the next round while his friends predicted he would lose to Hou Mingming and Zhao Wenlong.
• Li Liang summoned first-ranked Hou Mingming, while Hou Mingming and Zhao Wenlong prepared in separate, solitary areas of the stands.
• Hou Mingming told Zhao Wenlong not to choose Jiang Xiaopi, citing her mother’s fondness for him and adding that she liked him, too.

Hou Mingming overwhelmed Wu Jia with relentless tracking arrows, while the tournament’s next matchup drew nearer. After Zhao Wenlong called out Number Eight, Hou Mingming waved at Jiang Xiao, leaving him worried that she had chosen him as her next opponent.

• Hou Mingming defeated Wu Jia by bombarding her Flame Shield with successive volleys of black feather arrows until Li Liang stopped the match.
• Jiang Xiao called Hou Mingming a pea shooter, and Han Jiangxue considered how her and Jiang Xiao’s Star Skills might counter Hou Mingming’s attacks.
• Medical support carried the unconscious Wu Jia away in a Water Sphere, while Zhao Wenlong told Hou Mingming that her match had taken twenty-five seconds and that she was too slow.
• Zhao Wenlong entered the field and called for Number Eight, prompting the contestant ranked eighth to dread facing him.
• Hou Mingming waved at Jiang Xiao from the stands, and he feared she planned to choose him as her next opponent.

At the selection tournament, Jiang Xiao learned that Hou Mingming’s friendly gesture had been meant for him, then watched Zhao Wenlong overpower his opponent. Fang Xiao chose Jiang Xiao as his opponent, mocked him as a weakling, and grew furious when Jiang Xiao called him a lackey and barked at him; the match began.

• Wu Yao explained that Hou Mingming had rejected the World Cup team’s invitation, but Song Chunxi clarified that Hou Mingming had greeted Jiang Xiao, not the team.
• Jiang Xiao watched Zhao Wenlong use shadow doubles and blazing, star-like strikes to defeat his opponent.
• Fang Xiao, ranked third, chose last-ranked Jiang Xiao and challenged him in front of the stadium.
• Jiang Xiao calmly walked onto the field and told Fang Xiao that he had picked the wrong person.
• Fang Xiao said he had come to teach Jiang Xiao a lesson on behalf of the Student Union vice presidents, and Jiang Xiao called him a lackey.
• Jiang Xiao barked at Fang Xiao, who became enraged as the match began.