Chapter Summaries

Deng Bingding and the other examiners watched candidates face temptations in the Dao Heart Test, while they dismissed poor first-year student Zhang Yu as easy to buy off. Zhang Yu indulged in the free cultivation resources but rejected an offer that required him to abandon the Foundation Establishment Certificate, prompting the examiners to propose a new test for him.

• Deng Bingding explained that the examiners were judging how much temptation candidates could resist, then branded Zhang Yu a failure because of his poverty.
• Zhang Yu refused expensive food and lowered the Spiritual Energy concentration, fearing that the luxurious accommodations would leave him bankrupt.
• After being offered free pills, Spiritual Roots, training resources, and a two-month contract, Zhang Yu began using them and grew increasingly absorbed in the luxuries.
• When the examiners expected Zhang Yu to withdraw from the exam, he rejected the Cauldron companions’ offer and insisted he would never give up the Foundation Establishment Certificate.
• Huang Zichou suggested arranging ten handsome male Cauldrons to test whether Zhang Yu would accept them.

During the Dao Heart Test, students faced illusions that offered wealth and opportunity in exchange for giving up the Foundation Establishment Exam. Deng Bingding recorded their valuations as Yu Xinghan, Bai Zhenzhen, and Yun Jing yielded to offers tied to their deepest vulnerabilities, while Zhang Yu remained trapped in his illusion.

• Zhang Yu resisted an illusion that used ten handsome men to tempt him, though the Ritual prevented him from choosing to give up.
• Deng Bingding assigned Huang Zichou to oversee Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, while students across the test began surrendering for large offers.
• Yu Xinghan accepted an offer to transfer his contract with Spark True Person to Oasis Group, and Deng Bingding valued his surrender at 1.3 billion.
• Bai Zhenzhen agreed to give up her exam opportunity only if Zhang Yu received the same resources without having to withdraw, earning a combined valuation of 1.2 billion.
• Yun Jing accepted a contract that would provide liquid capital to revive the Yun Family in exchange for his high school Foundation Establishment Certificate, and Deng Bingding valued it at 5 billion.

During the Dao Heart Test, Zhang Yu refused increasingly valuable offers to abandon the Foundation Establishment Exam and demanded an extraordinary opportunity for himself and Bai Zhenzhen. Deng Bingding ended the test before the illusion collapsed and recorded Zhang Yu’s valuation as unknown because his limit had not been determined.

• Deng Bingding discovered that Ye Lingxiao had asked about using a Goodwill Talisman on someone and found Zhang Pianpian’s archived file had been tampered with.
• After sensing danger in the archive, Deng Bingding concealed what she had found and received a Department of All People directive to set Ye Lingxiao’s valuation at 5.5 billion.
• As Zhang Yu rejected increasingly lavish offers in the illusion, Deng Bingding and the others realized the temptation was making the illusion unstable.
• When asked what he wanted, Zhang Yu demanded a better chance to advance on Immortal Dao than earning a Foundation Establishment Certificate on his first try, with Bai Zhenzhen included.
• Deng Bingding ordered the Dao Heart Test to end and recorded Zhang Yu’s valuation as unknown because the illusion had not tested his limit.

After the Dao Heart Test, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen received interest-free loans as rewards and returned home from Immortal Capital City. Pressured by stronger students and Fu Ji’s urging to hunt Evil Gods, they decided to borrow more money to accelerate their cultivation.

• Deng Bingding reported the test results, and the gods above approved rewards for Zhang Yu, Ye Lingxiao, Yun Jing, and Bai Zhenzhen, as well as eliminations for several students.
• Deng Bingding gave Zhang Yu a 300,000 interest-free loan and encouraged him to pursue a Foundation Establishment Certificate.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen confirmed the test was over, learned that Bai had received a 150,000 interest-free loan, and boarded a train home.
• Fu Ji revealed she had sensed divine power during the exam and urged Zhang Yu to hunt the Evil God connected to Mo Tianyi’s boss so she could regain strength and improve their concealment.
• Zhang Yu decided he needed more money and strength to keep up with advanced students and prepare to hunt Evil Gods.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen opened the loan platform and borrowed heavily, feeling the money surge through them and boost their Immortal Dao potential.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen borrowed heavily to accelerate their cultivation, while Zhang Yu added new training methods and practiced martial arts with Yu Xinghan. As the First Round Foundation Establishment Exam approached, Lan Ling arrived to test Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, apparently acting on pressure from other students.

• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen borrowed another 1 million and 900,000 respectively, then returned to Songyang City to resume cultivating.
• Zhang Yu bought a Cultivation Skin that continuously restrained his body and trained him, and he used intense spotlights to cultivate Scarlet Marrow Primordial Qi.
• Bai Zhenzhen accepted Demon Beast Meat from An An and arranged to buy surplus meat cheaply, while An An worried she was betraying the company.
• Zhang Yu considered renting a Muscle Growth Spiritual Root, but rejected the 2-million-yuan monthly rate and chose hourly rentals instead.
• Zhang Yu trained with Yu Xinghan using Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm while concealing that his own technique had reached Level 3.
• Lan Ling brought second-year students to the first-year campus to test Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, encouraged by Zhou Chechen and Le Jingchen.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s cultivation advanced rapidly, but a second-year combat exchange arranged by Lan Ling targeted the first-years. Bai Zhenzhen headed to the Training Field, where Qian Shen challenged the seniors’ training methods while Zhao Tianxing endured Zhou Ke’s attacks.

• Lei Jun received notice of a second-year and first-year combat exchange and reluctantly warned Lan Ling not to let anyone get hurt.
• Zhao Tianxing secretly warned Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen that Lan Ling was looking for trouble, then Zhou Ke began knocking him down during their sparring.
• Zhang Yu reflected on his rapid cultivation progress and Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm reaching Level 10 as Bai Zhenzhen rushed toward the Training Room.
• Zhao Tianxing endured Zhou Ke’s repeated kicks without injury, while Qian Shen objected that the exercise wasted time and did not prepare students for the Gaokao Practical Exam.

Bai Zhenzhen overwhelmed Lan Ling with speed, combat tactics, and taunts while Lei Jun explained the principles of true combat to the students. As Lan Ling grew rattled, Zhou Chechen confronted Zhang Yu outside the Training Field and said he was more interested in Zhang Yu’s master, Zhang Pianpian.

• Lan Ling sent Zhou Ke aside and stepped forward to fight Bai Zhenzhen, who immediately struck him and launched a rapid assault.
• Lan Ling used the Heart Origin Great Handprint and Lion's Roar, but Bai Zhenzhen evaded his attacks and countered while Lei Jun explained sneak attacks and provocation.
• Bai Zhenzhen cut Lan Ling’s clothes and skin to write “College student” on his chest, then taunted him as Lei Jun explained the Dao of Insult.
• Lan Ling became enraged and insisted Bai Zhenzhen could not match his actual strength, while Zhao Tianxing recognized that Lan Ling had become rattled.
• Outside the Training Field, Zhou Chechen confronted Zhang Yu and said he was more interested in Zhang Yu’s master, Zhang Pianpian.

Zhou Chechen arrived at the Training Field and tried to use his authority and mental cultivation to condemn Bai Zhenzhen for humiliating Lan Ling. Zhang Yu challenged him to knock him down within ten moves, and Zhou Chechen launched his first attack, promising to pin Zhang Yu down in three.

• Zhou Chechen warned Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen to stay out of the upcoming first-year Dao Heart Competition, then entered the Training Field and defended Lan Ling.
• Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Qian Shen argued that Bai Zhenzhen's competition results gave her the right to humiliate Lan Ling, leaving Lan Ling furious and unable to respond.
• Zhou Chechen unleashed the fear-inducing pressure of his Frost Prison Art, but Zhang Yu suppressed it with the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Art.
• Fu Ji warned Zhang Yu that Zhou Chechen's Frost Heaven Freezing Qi Field and Frost Prison Art would weaken him over time, so he needed to attack Zhou Chechen's confidence.
• Zhang Yu offered to take ten of Zhou Chechen's moves without attacking, defending, or dodging, and said Zhou Chechen should accept Bai Zhenzhen humiliating Lan Ling if he failed.
• Zhou Chechen promised to pin Zhang Yu down within three moves and struck at him with a palm through the freezing qi.

Zhang Yu endured Zhou Chechen’s three-move assault, resisted his freezing Qi, and made him vomit with a counterattack. Zhou Chechen left after Lei Jun stopped the fight, and Zhang Yu contacted Le Mulan about offering Purple Cloud a paid way to keep him and Bai Zhenzhen out of upcoming competitions.

• Zhou Chechen attacked Zhang Yu with his Frost Heaven Freezing Qi Field and Frost Prison Art, but Zhang Yu switched to the Remnant Ox Abandoning Self Heart Sutra and resisted the mental assault and cold.
• Zhang Yu survived Zhou Chechen’s third move and countered by driving his knee into Zhou Chechen’s stomach, making him vomit in front of the gathered students.
• Lei Jun explained that Zhang Yu had turned Zhou Chechen’s attempt to humiliate him into a public disgrace, then intervened to stop Zhou Chechen from continuing as the other students shivered.
• Zhou Chechen left with Lan Ling, while notices appeared in group chats warning students not to share photos or videos of the clash.
• Zhang Yu asked Le Mulan for the Purple Cloud Student Union leader’s contact information and offered to let Bai Zhenzhen and him skip upcoming competitions for payment.

Zhang Yu arranged for himself and Bai Zhenzhen to withdraw from the Dao Heart Competition in exchange for payments from the Three Great High Schools. After securing 2.3 million in total, he planned to use Zhang Pianpian’s Freezing Talisman to bluff Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling.

• Zhang Yu asked Le Mulan, Xiong Wenwu, and Yu Xinghan to negotiate payments for him and Bai Zhenzhen to skip the upcoming competitions.
• Le Mulan told Le Jingchen that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had strong wills and could place in the Dao Heart Competition, making it worthwhile to pay them to withdraw.
• Xiong Wenwu recommended paying 700,000, while Yu Xinghan persuaded Song Hailong to approve one million from White Dragon High School.
• Yu Xinghan agreed to pay one million, and Zhang Yu calculated that the three schools’ offers totaled 2.3 million, leaving him and Bai Zhenzhen 1.1 million each after Yu Xinghan’s kickback.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen discussed how Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling might harass them, and Zhang Yu prepared to use Zhang Pianpian’s Freezing Talisman to scare them off.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen continued cultivating while Zhou Chechen investigated the forces behind them. The chapter ended as Bai Zhenzhen’s Evolutionary Spirit Root transformed into a bluish-green seed and she began sensing its new abilities.

• Zhou Chechen learned that Zhang Yu had taken Le Jingchen’s money and would skip the remaining first-year Dao Heart Competitions, then discovered his bank account had been frozen for a tax audit.
• Zhang Yu thanked Zhang Pianpian’s contact for sending a talisman and freezing Zhou Chechen’s account, while Zhou Chechen ordered Lan Ling to stay calm and investigate Zhang Yu’s backers.
• Zhang Yu broke through to seventy units of magical power at the Protected Area, where Xiong Wenwu told him An An had to lead the staff in accepting pay cuts.
• Bai Zhenzhen and Song Hailong trained at White Dragon High School, and Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan charged spectators admission to watch.
• By late July, Zhang Yu had reached 81.5 magical power and 7.52 Physical Strength, while his bank balance fell to just over two hundred thousand.
• Bai Zhenzhen noticed her belly protruding and her True Spirit Root shrinking into a bluish-green seed, and Fu Ji explained that it had evolved before she began sensing its new abilities.

Bai Zhenzhen’s True Spirit Root evolved, allowing her to derive improvements to Martial Arts she had mastered at Level 10. As she and Zhang Yu headed to tutoring, he began deriving the Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm.

• Bai Zhenzhen discovered that her evolved True Spirit Root deepened her connection to her body and mind, enhancing her Martial Dao comprehension and letting her identify flaws in cultivation methods.
• Bai Zhenzhen derived a new Level 10 effect for High School Basic Swordsmanship that infused weapons with Sword Qi and accelerated their movement, then explained that the True Spirit Root grew by absorbing Zhang Yu’s mastered Martial Arts.
• Fu Ji confirmed that the True Spirit Root was evolving toward Martial Dao and could continue growing by absorbing more Martial Arts.
• Bai Zhenzhen urged Zhang Yu to try deriving Martial Arts as she carried him toward tutoring in their disguised identities, Ma Yunteng and Le Mulan.
• Zhang Yu found that deriving an Expert-level method would take months and chose the Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm for his first derivation.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered the Spirit Realm with Yu Xinghan for Dao Heart tutoring at Xianyun Corporation’s Asking Dao Hall. As they began a shared training session, an unseen observer monitored them and saw Yu Xinghan fighting striking workers in a simulated factory dispute.

• Bai Zhenzhen ran with Zhang Yu using the Electro-optic Step, and Fu Ji considered their mutual growth and her investment in them a stroke of luck.
• After school, Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, Qian Shen, and Zhao Tianxing ate together while students discussed Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s exam results and their treatment of Student Union members.
• He Dayou sent Demon Beast Meat to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s table, then worried whether his class could still secure a top-ten spot.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered the Spirit Realm with borrowed masks and followed Yu Xinghan to Xianyun Corporation’s Asking Dao Hall for Dao Heart tutoring.
• Yu Xinghan explained the tutoring methods and prepared a shared Dao Heart tempering classroom for their cultivation arts.
• An observer used Mo Tianyi’s access to watch the classroom and saw Yu Xinghan, training the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Art, fight striking workers as a company security guard in a simulated factory dispute.

Song Xu investigated Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen in an illusion, hoping to discover why they had grown so quickly and improve his own chances of ranking in the top ten. The illusion showed their cultivation arts taking shape in the factory, where Zhang Yu’s hope faded as Bai Zhenzhen imposed harsher conditions.

• Song Xu explained to Mo Tianyi that he was investigating Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen to learn the reason for their rapid growth.
• Yu Xinghan fought workers in the illusion, and the battle helped him cultivate the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Art.
• Bai Zhenzhen, acting as factory boss, led Yu Xinghan around the factory and ordered him to discipline workers who resisted.
• Song Xu learned that Bai Zhenzhen practiced the Frost Soul Ice Heart Art and reasoned that managing the factory’s pressures suited its cultivation.
• Zhang Yu struggled through illness on the assembly line, while Bai Zhenzhen cut salaries, denied leave, and borrowed money using employees’ ID cards, causing his hope to fade.

In the Illusion Realm, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen reinterpreted their heart methods, leading Zhang Yu to resist exploitation and Bai Zhenzhen to improve workers’ conditions, though the factory ultimately went bankrupt. As they prepared to leave the Illusion Realm, Song Xu secretly readied a ritual to find Zhang Yu’s Evil God.

• Bai Zhenzhen fired the workers who refused overtime and planned to deny them compensation, leaving Zhang Yu without hope.
• Zhang Yu realized the Remnant Ox Self-Sacrifice Heart Art meant fighting for hope, then attacked Bai Zhenzhen and battled Yu Xinghan and the Security Guards.
• The workers joined Zhang Yu’s resistance, and Bai Zhenzhen stopped the fighting, improved their benefits, and raised their wages.
• Bai Zhenzhen gained a deeper understanding of the Frost Soul Ice Heart Art, but the factory went bankrupt under its increased costs.
• Song Xu rejected Mo Tianyi’s hope of trusting Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, then prepared a ritual to find Zhang Yu’s Evil God as the group neared the end of the Illusion Realm.

After discovering that an Evil God follower had planted a Shadow Gu on him through the Spirit Realm, Zhang Yu teamed up with Fu Ji to trace the attacker. He returned to the Unfinished Building and began arranging a Ritual to take control of the Shadow Gu.

• Song Xu spotted Zhang Yu in the Spirit Realm and activated a Curse Shadow Ritual to plant a Shadow Gu on him.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen left Asking Dao Hall after gaining new insights into their cultivation arts, while Yu Xinghan invited them to return for another costly visit.
• Fu Ji revealed that a Shadow Gu was spying on Zhang Yu and offered to help control it and identify its master.
• Zhang Yu suspected an Evil God follower connected to Songyang High School or White Dragon High School was investigating him, then informed Bai Zhenzhen and left alone.
• Zhang Yu returned to the Unfinished Building and, following Fu Ji's instructions, began setting up a Ritual with a candle, phone, flashlights, teddy bear, and electrical wire.

Zhang Yu and Fu Ji uncovered and destroyed a Shadow Gu planted to spy on them, while Song Xu waited for it to reveal their secrets. As Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen arrived in Immortal Capital for the First Round Foundation Establishment Exam, they entered the Spirit Realm determined to pass despite mounting debts and medicine side effects.

• Under Fu Ji's guidance, Zhang Yu performed a Ritual that drew a Shadow Gu from his shadow, and Fu Ji absorbed its power and learned how its owner transmitted intelligence.
• Fu Ji planned to impersonate the Shadow Gu in the Spirit Realm, feed its owner false information, and investigate the Evil God behind it; Song Xu separately waited for Zhang Yu to log in so he could learn his secrets.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen promoted Xianyun Corporation's cheaper Imitation Demon Muscle modifications, and Yu Xinghan explained that the product was an inferior version of the original.
• Le Mulan questioned Zhang Yu's heavy training and medicine use after he suffered chest pain, while Zhang Yu continued toward his goal of reaching the exam.
• On the train to Immortal Capital, Zhang Yu had 87.75 Magical Power and 8.06 Physical Strength, while he and Bai Zhenzhen faced dwindling savings, loan payments, and medicine side effects.
• After declaring that their potential had been fully stimulated and they would pass the exam, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered the Spirit Realm.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen joined the other examinees in an underground hall, where Immortal Capital students demanded the previous test rankings. The Dao Heart Test results revealed an unknown No. 55 in first place, leaving Dai Xingzhi wondering who could outrank Yun Jing and Ye Lingxiao.

• Zhang Yu arrived in an underground passage, met Dai Xingzhi, and caught up with Ye Lingxiao, who was practicing Red Envelope Talismans.
• Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen criticized the students demanding rankings, while Dai Xingzhi defended scores and rankings as measures of qualification for the Immortal Dao.
• Deng Bingding agreed to reveal the previous test rankings after students pressed the examiners.
• The examinees focused on the Dao Heart Test results, which showed No. 55 in first place with an unknown appraisal, Ye Lingxiao in second with 5.5 billion, and Yun Jing in third with 5 billion.
• Dai Xingzhi recognized Yun Jing and Ye Lingxiao among the top three but could not identify No. 55.

After Zhang Yu’s unknown Dao Heart Test valuation made the other contestants mistake him for a fabulously wealthy rival, the Foundation Establishment Exam began its Magical Power round. As the candidates competed with standardized External Spirit Roots, Yun Jing and Ye Lingxiao surged into the lead while Zhang Yu’s score remained far behind.

• Ye Lingxiao and Dai Xingzhi learned that Zhang Yu had received an unknown valuation in the Dao Heart Test, and the contestants began treating him as a wealthy contender.
• Bai Zhenzhen worried that Zhang Yu’s inflated reputation would make his later performance embarrassing, while Zhang Yu resigned himself to keeping up the act.
• Chief examiner Deng Bingding announced that the exam would test Magical Power, physical education, and Martial Arts, and that only the top twenty would advance and receive an Expert-level Cultivation Method.
• The contestants received standardized External Spirit Roots and testing equipment, and Zhang Yu asked how to use the ring, prompting others to speculate about his wealth.
• The Magical Power test began, and Yun Jing and Ye Lingxiao raced for first place as Dai Xingzhi noticed Zhang Yu’s score was far behind.

Yun Jing, Ye Lingxiao, and the Songyang students competed in the Foundation Establishment Exam’s magical power test. Zhang Yu realized his control had fallen behind and resolved to push harder as the exam intensified.

• Deng Bingding and the other gods monitored the exam while discussing the contestants and exchanging messages over their network.
• Yun Jing activated his second dantian and seized first place, but Ye Lingxiao unleashed Thunderbolt Heavenly Gang Qi and began closing the gap.
• Yu Xinghan’s full effort only brought him to seventeenth place, while Bai Zhenzhen used Surging Waves Nine Revolutions to reach nineteenth place at the risk of losing control.
• Deng Bingding saw that Zhang Yu had placed twenty-first, and Zhang Yu recognized that his magical power control had stagnated while he focused on Body Tempering.
• Zhang Yu faced the pressure with renewed fighting spirit and decided that the danger was still not enough to stop him.