Chapter Summaries

Shen Qian was taken to the Martial Law Bureau’s illegal torture room, where Chai Mu tried to force him to sign a fabricated confession. As Chai Mu drove a Spirit Breaking Needle toward him, Shen Qian realized he might have no vital energy to corrode.

• Chai Mu escorted Shen Qian to a hidden torture room beneath the Martial Law Bureau and admitted that its instruments were illegal.
• Chai Mu presented Shen Qian with a confession accusing him of multiple crimes and threatened him with a long prison sentence.
• Chai Mu ordered the Spirit Breaking Needles used on Shen Qian, claiming they would corrode his vital energy and cause extreme pain.
• As Chai Mu stabbed a needle toward his arm, Shen Qian remembered that he seemed to have no vital energy.

Liu Changqing rescued Shen Qian from torture at the Martial Law Bureau and learned that Shen Qian had reached Eight Orifices. After hearing the truth behind the case, Liu Changqing captured Bureau Director Zhao Guangshou and took Shen Qian along to get revenge.

• Shen Qian endured Chai Mu’s interrogation until Liu Changqing arrived carrying a captured man in black.
• Liu Changqing crushed Chai Mu and the other interrogators with his power, destroyed the torture room, and freed Shen Qian.
• Shen Qian confirmed he had reached Eight Orifices and told Liu Changqing about his conflict with Zhao Xin and the truth he and Song Ye had uncovered.
• Liu Changqing identified the Martial Law Bureau’s director as Zhao Guangshou and asked Shen Qian whether he wanted to deal with him later.
• Shen Qian declined, and Liu Changqing seized Zhao Guangshou before telling Shen Qian to come along and get revenge.

Liu Changqing took Shen Qian to the Chengdong Police Warriors station, where Shen confronted Zhao Guiying and broke her leg. Liu Changqing then brought Shen and the Zhao father-daughter pair to the Jing City Martial Arts Bureau, where he requested an audience with Minister Han.

• Liu Changqing carried Shen Qian and Zhao Guangshou out of the underground facility and landed in the Chengdong Police Warriors station courtyard.
• Shen Qian spotted Zhao Guiying fleeing her office, and Liu Changqing brought him there.
• Shen Qian dared Zhao Guiying to kick him, then broke her leg when she failed to strike him.
• Liu Changqing tied Zhao Guangshou and Zhao Guiying together, promised to reimburse the station for repairs, and flew away with Shen Qian and the pair.
• Liu Changqing ignored a warning at the Jing City Martial Arts Bureau, landed at its supervisory department, and called for Minister Han.

After Liu Changqing brought Shen Qian to the Internal Oversight Department, Shen Qian learned that his new teacher was not a Mountain Sea Martial Artist. As they entered the Sky-Reaching Tower, Liu Changqing explained the difficulty of treating Shen Qian’s mother, but suggested that Teacher might be able to help.

• Liu Changqing handed Zhao Guangshou and his daughter over to Han Lu after Shen Qian recounted how they had harmed him.
• Han Lu promised to report the case’s outcome to Shen Qian, while an elderly man said he had sensed no vital energy from the youth.
• Liu Changqing took Shen Qian to the Sky-Reaching Tower and explained that he was the sixth of Teacher’s eight personal students.
• Shen Qian asked whether Liu Changqing was a Mountain Sea Martial Artist and explained that he hoped to find help treating his mother’s organ failure.
• Liu Changqing said a specialist or rare medicine would be needed, then suggested Teacher might know a way to help.
• Shen Qian realized that Teacher might be Gao Wenyuan, the Marquis of Jingcheng.

Liu Changqing brought Shen Qian to meet Shi Dingyan, who healed Shen Qian’s broken leg and admitted he could not cure Shen Qian’s mother. Shi Dingyan offered to take Shen Qian as his disciple, but after Liu Changqing objected, both men received word that their teacher wanted to see Shen Qian.

• Liu Changqing took Shen Qian to the seventeenth floor and introduced him to Shi Dingyan, a Mountain Sea Realm expert.
• Shi Dingyan gave Shen Qian tea mixed with bruise medicine, which eased his broken leg and was expected to heal it within three to five days.
• Shi Dingyan told Shen Qian he could not cure his mother’s illness, and Liu Changqing promised to seek help from a medical expert in the Mountain Sea Realm.
• Shi Dingyan praised Shen Qian’s Eight Orifices and asked him to become his disciple, prompting Liu Changqing to angrily challenge the offer.
• Shi Dingyan said Liu Changqing’s path would not suit Shen Qian in the future, then he and Liu Changqing sensed a message from their teacher summoning Shen Qian.

Shen Qian visited Gao Wenyuan atop the Sky-Reaching Tower, where the Marquis punished Liu Changqing and declared that he would teach Shen Qian himself. Gao Wenyuan demonstrated his powers by summoning a table, chair, and cola, leaving Shen Qian stunned.

• Shen Qian followed Shi Dingyan and Liu Changqing to the Sky-Reaching Tower’s unfinished ninety-ninth floor and climbed to the platform above it.
• Shen Qian saw Jing City’s Weather Adjustment System and admired the platform before Gao Wenyuan invited him to look down at the city.
• Gao Wenyuan ordered Liu Changqing to spend three days facing the wall in the underground grottoes for failing to judge fairly.
• Liu Changqing protested that Shi Dingyan had tried to take Shen Qian as a disciple, but Gao Wenyuan declared that neither man could teach him and said he would.
• Gao Wenyuan sent Liu Changqing underground for ten days and ordered him to copy Exhortation to Learning three thousand times.
• Gao Wenyuan summoned a table, chair, and bottle of cola, leaving Shen Qian shocked by the display.

Shen Qian learned that Gao Wenyuan had recognized his Ten Apertures Body and showed him an ancient cultivation diagram that only a perfect body might be able to cultivate. After accepting Shen Qian as his ninth student and promising to treat his mother, Gao Wenyuan watched as Shen Qian's system activated and made him lose consciousness.

• Gao Wenyuan sent Shi Dingyan away and told Shen Qian that he had a Ten Apertures Body.
• Shen Qian explained how he opened his tenth aperture, and Gao Wenyuan revealed that he had found an eighteen-thousand-year-old cultivation diagram beneath the Kunlun Mountains.
• Gao Wenyuan explained that the diagram was from an earlier era of spiritual energy and that the human body was innately blocked from cultivating it.
• Shen Qian bowed to Gao Wenyuan and became his ninth student, with Liu Changqing set to instruct him after emerging from seclusion.
• Gao Wenyuan told Shen Qian that he could treat Wang Xiaojuan once her body was strong enough to withstand vital energy.
• Shen Qian's system detected Gao Wenyuan as a valuable knowledge-bearing target, activated idle mode, and caused Shen Qian to lose consciousness.

Shen Qian woke in Shi Dingyan’s residence with broken ribs and learned that Ji Ruoshui, his Eighth Senior Sister, had thrown him from the Sky-Reaching Tower. He read the AFK Record to discover what the system had done, and the chapter ended with a record saying he had gotten handsy with Ji Ruoshui.

• Shi Dingyan told Shen Qian that he had fallen from the Sky-Reaching Tower, suffered seven broken ribs, and been thrown by Little Junior Sister rather than Gao Wenyuan.
• Shi Dingyan warned Shen Qian that Ji Ruoshui was aloof and should not be disturbed without an important reason.
• Shen Qian read the AFK Record and saw that the system had discussed advanced theories with Gao Wenyuan, who promised to open the tower’s seventh floor when the time was right.
• Shen Qian saw that the system had visited Ji Ruoshui to discuss religious practices and then recorded that it had gotten handsy with her.

After recovering from Ji Ruoshui's assault, Shen Qian learned that Zhao Guangshou would be sent to a military base in the Forbidden Zone and reflected on his new security as the Marquis of Jingcheng's final disciple. He reconnected with Wang Yangming and Ding Yi, then walked home beneath the moon.

• Shen Qian read the AFK Record of his system harassing Ji Ruoshui and worried about the impression he had made on his Eighth Senior Sister.
• After Shi Dingyan treated his injuries, Shen Qian met Captain Song, who said Zhao Guangshou would likely be sent to the Forbidden Zone with his cultivation crippled.
• Song Ye returned Shen Qian's belongings, and Shen Qian left the plaza feeling safer now that the Marquis of Jingcheng was backing him.
• Wang Yangming called to check on Shen Qian and thanked him for supposedly giving up the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam to help him.
• Shen Qian checked his messages, called Ding Yi, and explained why he had been unreachable during the day.

After recovering from his injuries, Shen Qian used the system to study Big Shot Gao’s prehistoric cultivation scroll and obtained two cultivation methods. He tried the Mental Power visualization, nearly lost himself to fear, and relied on the system to pull him back.

• Shen Qian recovered enough for the system to resume and intensify its physical training, then returned to Jiuzhou Martial Arts Hall.
• Shen Qian used the AFK interface to analyze the prehistoric scroll and received the methods “Primordial - Body Refining First Chapter” and “Primordial Spirit - Spirit Refining First Chapter.”
• Shen Qian extracted the Mental Power method and learned that it required visualizing a strange two-headed figure without giving in to fear.
• Shen Qian’s visualization turned into terrifying monsters that overwhelmed him until the system automatically activated AFK mode.
• Shen Qian regained his senses, felt his Mental Power had increased, and decided the scroll was dangerous but manageable with the system.

Shen Qian grew stronger through training, received an unexpected million-yuan top-up from Zhu Deyong, and found something beneath Uncle Hu’s bed. At home, he learned that Wang Xiaojuan’s condition had improved enough for her to stop taking synthetic drugs regularly, though she still needed conditioning before Origin Energy Marrow Cleansing.

• Shen Qian tested his progress at Jiuzhou Martial Arts Hall and measured a Burst Strength of 369 kilograms after training with the Archaic Body Refining Chapter.
• Xiao Xuan told Shen Qian that Zhu Deyong had added a million yuan to his membership card, and Shen Qian asked her to deduct a thousand yuan as a tip each visit.
• Shen Qian found Uncle Hu’s guard booth empty, took some edible fruit, left a thousand yuan beneath Uncle Hu’s pillow, and spotted something under the bed.
• Shen Qian returned home and found Shen Liang and Wang Xiaojuan emotional after visiting the hospital.
• Wang Xiaojuan told Shen Qian that Professor Shi had given her medicine, her follow-up examination showed improvement, and she no longer needed regular synthetic drugs, though she had to be conditioned before Origin Energy Marrow Cleansing.

Shen Qian reflected on the hardships carried by himself and those around him, then toasted the past as his mother’s condition improved. The next morning, his class buzzed over early college admissions while Shen Qian focused on his studies and headed to Training Class, hoping to mend things with Liu Changqing.

• Shi Dingyan's treatment halted the spread of toxins in Wang Xiaojuan's body and greatly extended her expected lifespan, bringing relief to Shen Liang and Shen Qian.
• Shen Qian reflected on his ordinary life and the struggles of his family and friends, then raised his father's liquor to the past before spitting it out in disgust.
• Shen Qian saw that twenty-two days remained before the college entrance exam and noted that his Burst Strength had risen to 430 kilograms.
• Zhang Liangwei told Class 109 that admissions representatives from Martial Arts Colleges in Magic City, including Shenwu University, had arrived for a second round of early admissions.
• Shen Qian ignored the class's excitement about early admissions because he wanted to take the exam normally and earn its possible rewards.
• Shen Qian left for Training Class, hoping to improve his strained relationship with Liu Changqing now that Liu Changqing should have left the Sky-Reaching Tower.

Shen Qian returned to No.7 High School's Training Class, where Principal Huang Tao praised the students and announced that their final outdoor trial would serve as their graduation exam. Students who passed could earn school rewards and a chance to enter the Sky-Reaching Academy through Liu Situ's gift.

• Shen Qian accidentally destroyed a synthetic beast-hide basketball with one punch, surprising Zheng Shaoyang, and said he could defeat Zhou Xiaoguang with a single punch.
• Zhou Xiaoguang overheard Shen Qian and Zheng Shaoyang, while Huo Ling'er confronted Shen Qian for ignoring her messages and disappearing for a week.
• Huang Tao praised Zhou Xiaoguang, Huo Ling'er, and other Training Class students, noting that several were Quasi-Martial Artists and two had already become Martial Artists.
• Huang Tao announced that the Training Class would end the following week and that its final outdoor trial would also be the graduation exam.
• Huang Tao revealed that students who passed the trial might receive Liu Situ's gift: an opportunity to enter the Sky-Reaching Academy, which left Shen Qian unimpressed.

Huang Tao revealed that standout trainees could earn probationary places at Sky-Reaching Academy, while Liu Changqing had abandoned plans to take personal disciples. Shen Qian met Liu Changqing for martial arts guidance, then contacted Wei Sijian about stamina-replenishing pills; meanwhile, Ding Anbai arrived at Wei Sijian’s hotel to ask why he would not hand over the finished Stamina Potion formula.

• Huang Tao told the Training Class that outstanding trainees could qualify for Sky-Reaching Academy, but would have to enroll directly at Jingcheng Martial University instead of taking the college entrance examination.
• Huang Tao said Liu Changqing had given up on taking personal disciples, disappointing the trainees and darkening Zhou Xiaoguang’s expression.
• Liu Changqing met Shen Qian in a grove, criticized his progress, and offered to answer his martial arts questions; Shen Qian asked how to spend less time eating, and Liu Changqing suggested specific pills.
• Shen Qian called Wei Sijian to ask about stamina-replenishing pills, and Wei Sijian invited him to meet at his Jing City residence.
• Ding Anbai arrived at the Jing City Galaxy Grand Hotel with a gift, intending to find out why Wei Sijian would not hand over the finished Stamina Potion formula.

Shen Qian visited Wei Sijian, received medicinal tea and Satiety Pills, and was persuaded to accept a share of the Stamina Potion’s revenue rights. He left with the agreement still needing his bank account information.

• Wei Sijian gave Shen Qian rare medicinal tea that could temper the internal organs and increase Mental Power, and Shen Qian agreed to answer ten of Wei Sijian’s alchemy questions.
• After Shen Qian’s AFK instruction answered the questions, Wei Sijian tearfully called him his lifelong mentor.
• Wei Sijian gave Shen Qian three hundred military-standard Satiety Pills in ten flavors.
• Wei Sijian showed Shen Qian an agreement granting him five percent of the Stamina Potion’s revenue rights, explaining that his teacher had approved adding Shen Qian’s name.
• Shen Qian refused the revenue share at first, but Wei Sijian insisted until Shen Qian reluctantly agreed and raised one small request.

Ding Anbai discovered that Shen Qian was the young alchemy talent Wei Sijian admired and the person behind the Stamina Potion, despite having repeatedly mistaken Shen Qian’s intentions. He realized Shen Qian did not know his connection to Ding Yi and was left dreading the humiliation of being recognized later.

• Ding Anbai saw Shen Qian chatting with Ding Yi, denied knowing her, and watched Shen Qian leave without realizing Ding Anbai was her father.
• Ding Anbai visited Wei Sijian, who revealed that he had signed the agreement and added Shen Qian as a beneficiary.
• Wei Sijian told Ding Anbai that Shen Qian had guided him through a difficult alchemy problem and helped develop the Stamina Potion.
• Ding Anbai called Ding Yi and confirmed that she had never told Shen Qian who he was.
• Ding Anbai realized Shen Qian’s past approaches may have been attempts to sell him the Stamina Potion formula, and imagined the embarrassment of Shen Qian eventually recognizing him.

Ding Anbai discovered Shen Qian had added both himself and Ding Yi as beneficiaries to the agreement, while Wei Sijian began arranging a recommendation for Shen Qian to Northern Martial University. Shen Qian learned Grandpa Xu was away on family business, left him valuable gifts, and tested his growing strength in the Bronze Man Formation, where he finally faced a real challenge.

• Ding Anbai saw that Shen Qian and Ding Yi held 2% and 3% of the agreement's added benefits, respectively.
• Wei Sijian told Shen Qian the agreement was settled and called Senior Brother Liu to recommend Shen Qian to Northern Martial University's School of Pharmacy.
• Shen Qian learned Grandpa Xu had taken the week off to help his older brother's family and left a gift box containing mountain ginseng and a Qi Condensing Potion.
• Zhang Chuan inspected Shen Qian's gift and realized it was exceptionally valuable.
• Shen Qian entered the Simulation Machine to train in the Bronze Man Formation, easily defeating five and eight bronze men before eleven overwhelmed him.
• Shen Qian prepared a Satiety Pill and Super Concentrated Fruit Juice and started the eleven-man stage again.

Shen Qian reached his limit against fourteen bronze men, then had the system clear the formation and produce a vivid AFK Record. He watched the system-controlled version of himself defeat the fourteen men and immediately begin the fifteen-man challenge.

• Shen Qian spent the afternoon challenging the Bronze Man Formation and repeatedly fell to the combined assault of fourteen bronze men.
• After recovering, Shen Qian told the system to perfectly clear the formation and lost consciousness as it began its AFK session.
• Shen Qian woke more than two hours later and loaded the system's unusually vivid AFK Record, reliving the battle without controlling his body.
• The system-controlled Shen Qian broke through the fourteen bronze men's formation and defeated them with precise, fluid attacks.
• The system-controlled Shen Qian ignored the results panel, selected fifteen-man mode, and entered the battle again.

Shen Qian used the system to clear the first seventeen stages of the Bronze Man Formation, then struggled through repeated attempts at the weapon-wielding, linked-protection Eighteen Bronze Men. The system found a weak point and won, and Shen Qian returned to reality to see an SSS-Class rating.

• "Shen Qian" cleared the Fifteen through Seventeen Bronze Men Formations in seventeen to nineteen seconds, displaying precise, overwhelming combat instincts.
• After a short recovery, "Shen Qian" entered the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation, where all eighteen opponents wielded weapons and shared a golden Body Protection Martial Skill.
• "Shen Qian" failed the first attempt, then repeatedly challenged the formation while Shen Qian observed the system learning its patterns.
• On a later attempt, "Shen Qian" took a saber strike and struck the saber-wielding Bronze Man's armpit, breaking its protection and defeating all eighteen opponents.
• The system completed the challenge and uploaded the results, and Shen Qian returned to reality to find an SSS-Class stage rating on the data panel.

Shen Qian learned that he had cleared the Bronze Man Formation with an SSS rating and likely broken its record, then heard how his father had handled Zhao Guangzhi’s apology. At the Martial Arts Department’s monitoring center, an intern received an alert that the Bronze Man Formation record had changed.

• Shen Qian reviewed his Bronze Man Formation results and noticed his flawless martial skill completion rating had reached the highest level.
• Shen Liang told Shen Qian that Zhao Guangzhi had brought Zhao Xin and fifty thousand yuan to apologize, and that he had accepted only twenty thousand yuan as repayment of an old debt.
• Shen Liang left the rest of the matter to Shen Qian and said their family would have nothing more to do with Zhao Guangzhi’s family.
• Shen Qian offered to help Shen Liang buy a car, and they joked about using the money as a down payment.
• At the Martial Arts Department’s Data Monitoring Center, an intern received a notification that the Bronze Man Formation record had been updated.