Chapter Summaries

Zhang Pianpian explained the hidden high school Foundation Establishment Certificate Exam and its role in Kunxu’s unequal system. She warned Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen that the exam was dangerous and difficult, then asked Zhang Yu whether he would choose it over the Heavenly Genius Class.

• Zhang Pianpian explained that the Heavenly Court created the exam to select high school geniuses, but Kunxu First Layer’s powerful factions had concealed and monopolized most access to it.
• Zhang Pianpian said Kunxu First Layer had only four annual certificates, awarded through competitions in Dao Heart, Magical Power, physical education, and Martial Arts.
• Zhang Pianpian told Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen that certificate holders who scored above 600 on the Gaokao could enter any of the Ten Great Top Universities without an interview.
• Zhang Pianpian outlined the exam schedule and warned that, after she left, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen would face the exam and threats from Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling without her protection.
• Zhang Pianpian asked Zhang Yu whether he would give up the Heavenly Genius Class for the harder exam, and the Evil God urged him to agree.

After weighing the benefits of the Foundation Establishment Certificate Exam, Zhang Yu decided to stay in Songyang City with Bai Zhenzhen instead of leaving with Zhang Pianpian. Zhang Pianpian explained the exam’s stages and travel requirements, leaving Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen to prepare for a demanding competition in the Immortal Capital.

• The Evil God recalled the political struggle behind the Foundation Establishment Certificate Exam and argued that its authority and university benefits made it safer and more valuable than the Heavenly Genius Class.
• The Evil God urged Zhang Yu to stay, saying his ability to master martial arts quickly gave him a major advantage over high school competitors and that he could keep borrowing Bai Zhenzhen’s True Spirit Root.
• Zhang Yu decided to remain with Bai Zhenzhen and take the exam, while Zhang Pianpian accepted his choice and Bai Zhenzhen felt reassured and considered lending him the True Spirit Root.
• Zhang Pianpian described the exam’s three rounds, which ran from August through early January and tested Dao Heart, Magical Power, physical education, and Martial Arts.
• Zhang Pianpian explained that registration and all exam rounds took place in the distant Immortal Capital and that travel required an Intercity Pass, along with proof of education, income, and housing.

Zhang Pianpian explained the Foundation Establishment Certificate Exam schedule and helped Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen choose specialties and plan how to use their money to grow stronger. At school, Zhang Yu searched for cultivation methods and followed the Evil God’s advice to consider Great Sun Qi Sea, while the Evil God revealed that she could be called Fu Ji.

• Zhang Pianpian explained that students had two chances to earn the Foundation Establishment Certificate and urged Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen to spend their funds on training rather than repaying loans.
• Bai Zhenzhen chose the Martial Arts exam track, while Zhang Yu chose physical competition and planned to keep improving his other abilities as well.
• At Songyang High School, Bai Zhenzhen noticed that the school display praised Zhang Yu’s first-place finish but did not mention her fifth-place result, and Zhang Yu suspected Zhou Chechen of undermining his commercial value.
• Zhao Tianxing reflected that strength determined who became a clown and grew more determined to buy Imitation Demon Muscle.
• The Evil God advised Zhang Yu to search for Great Sun Qi Sea, a slow, light-powered Breath Circulation method that he believed suited him.
• Zhang Yu asked the Evil God what to call her, and she introduced herself as Fu Ji.

Zhang Yu chose the Remnant Ox Abandoning Self Heart Sutra as a mental cultivation method and looked for a rental home to qualify for an Intercity Pass. After receiving the prize money from his competition win, he went to meet a client named Le Mulan.

• Fu Ji recommended the Remnant Ox Abandoning Self Heart Sutra, and Zhang Yu added it to his favorites despite its low rating and exploitative workplace uses.
• Zhang Yu reviewed the Intercity Pass requirements and realized he needed a qualifying rental contract.
• Bai Zhenzhen and Zhao Tianxing discussed the decline of pre-made meals as Synthetic Food gained popularity, while Qian Shen offered to ask his father about available apartments.
• Mo Tianyi invited Zhang Yu to meet the Alliance of the Wealth-Haters' boss, but Fu Ji warned him that the boss might be connected to an Evil God at White Dragon High School.
• Fu Ji told Zhang Yu that his sister Zhang Pianpian was likely walking the Divine Path, though she concealed her true view of its danger.
• Zhang Yu used his competition prize money to send Bai Zhenzhen to have her scars removed, then went to Ziyun High School to meet his client Le Mulan.

Zhang Yu and Le Mulan resumed their combat training, with Le Mulan trying to overcome her disgust toward close contact. Their struggle left their clothes torn and ended with Le Mulan pinning Zhang Yu, while her drug-laced perspiration affected him; afterward, she explained it was harmless and warned him not to touch her with his tongue.

• Le Mulan arrived at training in multiple layers and asked Zhang Yu to drag her into ground combat.
• Zhang Yu quickly overpowered Le Mulan, but she stopped him when his grappling triggered her disgust.
• Le Mulan attacked while Zhang Yu defended, and their struggle tore apart both their pants and much of Zhang Yu’s shirt.
• Zhang Yu squeezed Le Mulan’s thigh, intensifying her distress, while her medicinal perspiration made him hot and left his grip slippery.
• Le Mulan finally controlled Zhang Yu, then released him and rolled away as he lay exhausted in a puddle of perspiration.
• Le Mulan dismissed the bruise on her thigh, explained that her perspiration was harmless drug residue, and told Zhang Yu not to touch her with his tongue.

After sparring with Le Mulan, Zhang Yu found that her medicinal residue boosted his stamina and cultivation, so he continued the lucrative work and bought the Great Sun Qi Sea. He rapidly reached its first level beneath the Bridge Hole, where Bai Zhenzhen noticed that he was glowing and smelled unusually good.

• Zhang Yu left the Training Room exhausted after two hours of sparring with Le Mulan, then realized her medicinal residue had revitalized him and stirred his Magical Power.
• Fu Ji pointed out that the medicinal liquid on the floor could be sold, but Zhang Yu refused to collect it and later accepted replacement pants from Lian Tianji.
• Zhang Yu decided to keep sparring with Le Mulan for the high pay, bought usage rights to the Great Sun Qi Sea, and began cultivating it with Feather Scroll's Specialization.
• Zhang Yu rapidly completed the cultivation method's first cycle as medicinal power accelerated his Magical Power and faint radiance gathered around him.
• By the time Bai Zhenzhen returned to the Bridge Hole, Zhang Yu had reached Level 1 (4/10) of the Great Sun Qi Sea, and she asked why he smelled so good.

Zhang Yu cultivated the Great Sun Qi Sea with help from Bai Zhenzhen’s evolving Spirit Root and searched for a place to rent. He accepted Le Mulan’s cheap, sparring-ready apartment and left with Bai Zhenzhen for practical combat training at White Dragon High School.

• Bai Zhenzhen asked Zhang Yu to bring back Le Mulan’s medicinal sweat and showed him the scars removed by surgery, whose cost Zhang Yu reimbursed.
• Zhang Yu found that Bai Zhenzhen’s True Spirit Root improved his Great Sun Qi Sea’s radiance absorption, and Fu Ji wondered how far the Spirit Root could evolve.
• Zhang Yu’s technique advanced to Level 3 as he cultivated in the morning sun, while its shadowing effect darkened his appearance until he deliberately suppressed it.
• Yu Xinghan offered to share a costly rental with Zhang Yu, then asked him to help slash a shopping-platform price; Zhang Yu declined the room.
• Zhang Yu considered rental offers from Qian Shen and Song Hailong, then accepted Le Mulan’s sixty-square-meter apartment for 2,000 a month, agreeing to spar there.
• Bai Zhenzhen called Zhang Yu to leave for White Dragon High School, where they would take part in practical combat training with Yu Xinghan and Song Hailong.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen visited White Dragon High School to collect sparring fees and recommend Bai as a substitute instructor, where Zhang Yu reflected on the strength they needed for the Foundation Establishment Exam. They reached the training room, where Bai began fighting Song Hailong and Yu Xinghan turned his attention to Zhang Yu as a potential sparring partner.

• Zhang Yu cultivated on the Songyang High School rooftop as his Great Sun Qi Sea reached level 4 and his Magical Power rose to 44.3.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered White Dragon High School, where Chu Qiuhe introduced Zhang Yu to two students who had challenged them and punished the pair for their disrespect.
• Chu Qiuhe led Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen past aging third-year students, prompting Zhang Yu to compare their exam prospects with White Dragon's third-year standards.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen resolved to reach Dao Heart Level 6, more than 70 units of Magical Power, and Physical Strength above level 7.5 before the Foundation Establishment Exam's first round.
• At the training room, Bai Zhenzhen fought Song Hailong while Yu Xinghan considered using Zhang Yu as a sparring partner.

Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu sparred using only physical strength, with Yu Xinghan trying to learn Zhang Yu’s precise control of force. After their first round, Zhang Yu considered learning Yu Xinghan’s Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm, and Yu Xinghan reminded him to click a link.

• Yu Xinghan set rules for their sparring: they would use no Magical Power, and whoever injured the other would pay the medical expenses.
• Chu Qiuhe watched Song Hailong and Bai Zhenzhen fight, envied their connection to Zhang Pianpian, and then watched Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan begin sparring.
• Yu Xinghan attacked Zhang Yu with the level 8 Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm, while studying how Zhang Yu redirected his force.
• After both fighters grew tired, Yu Xinghan stopped to rest and reflected that Zhang Yu was an ideal training partner.
• Zhang Yu saw that learning the Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm required two hundred thousand for usage rights and postponed deciding whether to learn it.
• Yu Xinghan asked Zhang Yu whether he had clicked the link he had sent him earlier.

Zhang Yu raised the Great Sun Qi Sea to Level 10, boosting his cultivation and body-tempering efficiency while recognizing the technique’s lifespan cost. As he and Bai Zhenzhen faced mounting expenses on the path to the Foundation Establishment Exam, Zhang Yu left for Purple Cloud to spar with Le Mulan and rent a house, carrying a bottle to collect her medicinal liquid.

• Yu Xinghan persuaded Zhang Yu to watch ads for Talismans Coupons, then paid him for sparring and transferred 30,000 yuan by mistake; Zhang Yu returned the extra 8,000 yuan.
• After weeks of tutoring and sparring, Zhang Yu raised the Great Sun Qi Sea to Level 10, and his Magical Power reached 46.8.
• Bai Zhenzhen practiced the Formless Sword Art alongside her Level 10 Body Piercing Sword Qi and resolved to get strong enough to pass the Foundation Establishment Exam with Zhang Yu.
• Fu Ji warned Zhang Yu that cultivating the Remnant Ox Abandoning Self Heart Sutra, Scarlet Marrow Primordial Qi, and exam skills would require far more money.
• Bai Zhenzhen sent Zhang Yu to Purple Cloud to spar with Le Mulan and rent a house, insisting that he bring a large bottle to collect Le Mulan’s medicinal liquid.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen moved into an apartment arranged by Le Mulan, who also offered them discounted medicine, and continued cultivating toward the Foundation Establishment Exam. Zhang Yu then visited Xianyun Corporation to film an endorsement and learned that Zhang Pianpian had ranked first in talismans at the Eastern District 12 City Joint Exam.

• Le Mulan gave Zhang Yu the apartment keycard, set conditions for training there, and agreed to sell him medicine at a twenty percent discount.
• Bai Zhenzhen inspected the apartment, welcomed its facilities and low rent, and said the rental contract would let them apply for an Intercity Pass.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen settled into a routine of school, cultivation, and Dark Learning Gang activities while Zhang Yu advanced the Remnant Ox Abandoning Self Heart Sutra.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen arrived at Xianyun Corporation for Zhang Yu's advertising shoot and saw a poster promoting Zhang Pianpian's talisman achievement.
• Zhang Yu asked the prayer beads why Zhang Pianpian's talisman level was so high and what the Divine Path meant.

Zhang Yu learned that Zhang Pianpian may have entered the Divine Path, where the Eight Divine Departments offered cultivation in exchange for decades or centuries of unpaid service. At an advertisement shoot, he sought connections for Spirit Veins and the Spirit Realm while Miao Yun transformed the students’ appearances for the Imitation Demon Muscle commercial.

• Fu Ji explained that Divine Path cultivators received resources and divine guidance but had to join the Eight Divine Departments as unpaid officials after graduating from university.
• Zhang Yu suspected Zhang Pianpian had signed with a powerful Orthodox God, though Fu Ji thought he should focus on his own concerns.
• Zhang Yu asked Yu Xinghan and Song Hailong for Spirit Vein and Spirit Realm connections; Song Hailong recommended Xiong Wenwu and Hu Yuntao, while Yu Xinghan promised to ask his master about the Spirit Realm.
• Miao Yun began preparing the students for the advertisement by using Magical Power to make Song Hailong look scrawny and wretched.
• Miao Yun struggled to alter Yu Xinghan’s External Cultivation Technique-hardened body, then asked Bai Zhenzhen whether she could collect her face model.

Zhang Yu reached Level 10 in both his Breathing Technique and heart method, then began using Le Mulan’s medicinal liquid to speed up his Body Tempering. Meanwhile, pressure from the school and Purple Cloud’s Super Metabolism Surgery led Zhao Tianxing to sign up, while Su Haifeng wondered what the companies were planning.

• Zhang Yu discovered that his face model had already been sold for 2,000 yuan, then received the first 200,000-yuan installment of his endorsement fee.
• Su Haifeng promoted Purple Cloud’s Super Metabolism Surgery to the Demonstration Class, and Zhao Tianxing signed the application after worrying about falling behind.
• Su Haifeng let Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s skipped classes pass, while He Dayou resented their special treatment.
• Zhang Yu’s Remnant Ox Abandoning Self Heart Sutra reached Level 10, strengthening his resolve and giving him greater control over his body.
• Zhang Yu trained with Le Mulan and absorbed the medicinal liquid she produced, deciding to use it for Body Tempering rather than drink it or wash it off.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen accelerated his body-tempering through Le Mulan’s medicinal liquid, injections, and shared Spirit Root cultivation. By early May, they realized their magical power and Dao Heart were progressing too slowly to meet their August goal, so they traveled to a Protected Area to meet Xiong Wenwu about the Spirit Vein.

• Le Mulan offered to bring Zhang Yu body-tempering medicine, and Bai Zhenzhen rubbed the medicinal liquid from his body onto herself.
• Zhang Yu swallowed a Primordial Pill and cultivated Scarlet Marrow Primordial Qi while Bai Zhenzhen lent him her True Spirit Root.
• The next day, Bai Zhenzhen used the Nine Dragons Needle Technique to inject Zhang Yu with body-tempering medicine, increasing his physical sensitivity as she hugged him to send over her Spirit Root.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen alternated between Le Mulan’s medicinal liquid and injections, steadily improving his Physical Strength and helping the True Spirit Root adapt to drawing in spiritual energy from light.
• By early May, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen found their magical power and Dao Heart progress insufficient for their August goal, so they went to a Protected Area to meet Xiong Wenwu about the Spirit Vein.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered Red Pagoda Husbandry’s Spiritual Opportunity Reserve hoping to meet Xiong Wenwu and find an affordable place to cultivate near a Spirit Vein. They were stunned by the reserve’s steep charges and reached the Breeding Base without knowing whether they could afford access to a Spirit Vein.

• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen raced toward the Spiritual Opportunity Reserve while Zhang Yu considered whether his 570,000 yuan could cover a Spirit Vein rental.
• They passed the ruins of a factory destroyed after its owners resisted a tax investigation, and Bai Zhenzhen explained that the Tribute Heavenly Prison Great God had struck it down.
• At the reserve entrance, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen discovered that visitors were charged separately for air, water, Spiritual Energy, and other resources.
• Inside the reserve, they felt the air and Spiritual Energy improve their cultivation, but worried the costs would quickly drain their money.
• They saw wealthy visitors cultivating near protected Spirit Veins and continued toward the Breeding Base to meet Xiong Wenwu.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen toured Red Pagoda Husbandry’s Breeding Base with Xiong Wenwu and learned how Demon Descendants were bred, trained, and assigned to work. Xiong Wenwu brought them to meet his sister An An about accessing the Spirit Vein, but she refused to betray the company.

• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen paid to enter the Breeding Base and met Xiong Wenwu, who showed them the Incubation Room and explained that his demon beast mother had been implanted with True Dragon Bloodline.
• Xiong Wenwu guided them through the Newborn Area and Learning Room, where infants received drug injections and company training from an early age.
• As the tour progressed, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen saw Demon Descendants sorted into work or further study, and Xiong Wenwu explained that Oasis Group’s expansion might force the Breeding Base to close.
• Xiong Wenwu offered to bring Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen into the Breeding Base through a transportation channel to use its Spirit Vein air for eight thousand per hour, but said they needed the sole employee’s approval.
• Xiong Wenwu introduced his elder sister An An, a red panda working at the souvenir counter, but An An angrily refused to sell out the company’s interests.

Xiong Wenwu persuaded An An to let Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen cultivate at the Breeding Base’s Spirit Vein, helping them improve while he planned to repay An An’s Breeding Debt. After the Gaokao ended, Zhang Pianpian told Zhang Yu she was leaving and warned him to watch out for Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling.

• Xiong Wenwu begged An An to help him avoid elimination by letting Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen practice Breath Circulation at the Spirit Vein, and An An reluctantly agreed in exchange for tutoring.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen cultivated in the Incubation Room using the Spirit Vein and Dragon Egg Incubation Lamps, greatly increasing their Breath Circulation efficiency.
• Xiong Wenwu told Zhang Yu he intended to repay An An’s Breeding Debt so she could leave the base and avoid being sold to Oasis Group.
• By early June, Zhang Yu’s Physical Strength had reached 5.99, his Magical Power 60.2, and his Dao Heart level 5 at 25%, while his savings dwindled.
• After the Gaokao ended, Zhang Pianpian told Zhang Yu she was about to leave and warned him that Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling were his chief threats.

Zhang Pianpian said goodbye to Zhang Yu and left for the Kunxu Second Layer, while Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen traveled to Immortal Capital City to register for the Foundation Establishment Exam. The registration countdown ended, and the website instructed them to find a private space before confirming.

• Zhang Pianpian gave Zhang Yu three talismans, contact information for the Songyang City Patrol Team Captain, and advice for surviving on the Kunxu First Layer.
• Zhang Yu arranged two days off for himself and Bai Zhenzhen so they could handle Zhang Pianpian's final request and prepare for exam registration.
• Zhang Pianpian sent Zhang Yu a farewell message before stepping onto the Ascension Platform, and her profile picture went gray.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen traveled by train to Immortal Capital City, where they saw the prosperous Upper City above the dark Lower City.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen opened the registration website in Immortal Capital City, waited for the countdown to end, and read its instruction to find a private space before confirming.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen registered for the reformed Foundation Establishment Exam, where contestants had to pay a steep fee and take an unexpected screening test. At the testing hall, Zhang Yu encountered Yu Xinghan and Ye Lingxiao, then discovered Ye Lingxiao’s red-envelope talisman saddled its recipients with debt—until an unknown person proved immune to it.

• Zhang Yu paid the login fee, arrived at the exam registration office, signed the confidentiality contract, and paid the thirty-thousand-yuan registration fee.
• The registrar assigned Zhang Yu contestant number 55 and told him the reformed exam required an immediate fundamentals test.
• Zhang Yu found Yu Xinghan at the testing hall, and Bai Zhenzhen arrived shortly afterward as another contestant.
• Zhang Yu collected money from Ye Lingxiao’s Red Envelope Talisman, then learned that recipients borrowed from their emergency funds and hurried to repay the debt.
• The contestants backed away from Ye Lingxiao, but another person touched his next red envelope without making it disappear, leaving Ye Lingxiao surprised that the talisman had stopped working on them.

Zhang Yu passed the Foundation Establishment Exam registration tests after witnessing the strength of Immortal Capital students and fighting through a monster-filled Dao Heart trial. In the testing office, Deng Bingding explained the exam reform to her assistants and monitored the candidates’ trials.

• Yun Jing revealed that an Anti-Fraud Talisman made him immune to Ye Lingxiao’s Red Envelope Talisman, then opened the test gate in 0.64 seconds; Ye Lingxiao followed in 0.65 seconds.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen felt the pressure of the Immortal Capital students’ strength, while Yu Xinghan treated the exam as preparation for next year.
• Zhang Yu watched the candidates, opened the gate in 2.3 seconds, passed the monster-filled Dao Heart Test, and confirmed that he had registered successfully.
• After Zhang Yu left the restroom, someone struck him unconscious with a palm.
• Deng Bingding received Goodwill Talismans from four small gods, noticed Huang Zichou had sent only 5,000, and explained that the new tests screened candidates and identified those who could handle higher ranks.