Chapter Summaries

Yan Qing recognized that the Wandering Star Forest instance was a survival-and-construction challenge and used Jiang Shi’s abilities to fortify the sanctuary before the demons arrived. As a horde of Ferocious Lizards surrounded the Stone House, its ballistae fired automatically and killed one.

• Yan Qing realized the instance required coordinated resource gathering and construction, and Jiang Shi directed Qian Gongyu to move rocks.
• Shang Xin Lei went outside to help, while Jie Yuanshao stayed behind and argued that the approaching hallucinations made the wooden house safer.
• Jiang Shi returned with timber and used it with the gathered stones to transform the wooden house into a Stone House with a wall and six ballistae.
• Jie Yuanshao warned everyone that the demons were indestructible hallucinations and urged them to endure the demonic tide inside the sanctuary.
• A Ferocious Lizard Demon summoned a horde of lesser Ferocious Lizards, and the courtyard ballistae automatically shot and killed one that approached within fifty meters.

Jiang Shi directed Qian Gongyu, Shang Xin Lei, and Jie Yuanshao in defending the Stone House, and they defeated the first wave of Ferocious Lizard Demons with the wooden crossbows. Outside the Wandering Star Forest, the Personal Score Rankings revealed Jiang Shi had earned a commanding lead.

• Jiang Shi told the three Messengers to kill the little Ferocious Lizard Demons attacking the wall while the wooden crossbows targeted the enormous Ferocious Lizard Demon.
• Qian Gongyu, Shang Xin Lei, and Jie Yuanshao suppressed the little demons as the crossbows wounded the enormous one and it smashed through part of the wall.
• The wooden crossbows brought down the enormous Ferocious Lizard Demon, and Jiang Shi ordered the others to protect the crossbows and gather resources before the next wave.
• Luo Weijin exited the Wandering Star Forest and saw that Jiang Shi, Qian Gongyu, Shang Xin Lei, and Jie Yuanshao topped the Personal Score Rankings with 256, 190, 180, and 50 points.

Jiang Shi and the others gathered resources, chose defenses for the next demon wave, and built a Blade Warrior Statue. When the statue awakened to fight the raging bulls, Jie Yuanshao recognized it as the Twin Blade General, the Demon King of the Iron Blood Graveyard Secret Realm.

• Jiang Shi returned from the jungle with a heap of gemstones, while Shang Xin Lei explained that she had found a regenerating stone mine.
• Jiang Shi listed their resources and available structures, and the group agreed to build walls, resource-generating structures, a Blade Warrior Statue, and wooden crossbows.
• Jiang Shi constructed the defenses, including a sapphire Blade Warrior Statue, as the second demonic wave arrived with a Raging Bull Demon and a herd of smaller bulls.
• Nine wooden crossbows slowed the herd but could not kill the bulls quickly, and the creatures soon reached the wall.
• Jie Yuanshao urged the others to wait as the statue awakened and fought the bulls, then identified the warrior as the Twin Blade General.

Yan Qing guided Jiang Shi and the three Jie Family women through the second monster assault, which they survived with their defenses and the Blade Warrior nearly destroyed. After they left the instance, Jie Zilong approached Jiang Shi, but Qian Gongyu stepped in front of her to protect her.

• Shang Xin Lei realized that statues of Demon Kings could fight alongside the defenders, and the group relied on the Blade Warrior against the Raging Bull Demon.
• Yan Qing saw that the defenses had been wrecked and learned that the Blade Warrior would recover too slowly for the next assault.
• Jiang Shi warned that the next wave would be harder and urged the exhausted group to leave before they lost more preparation time.
• The four women emerged from the fog and were met by a crowd and Jie Zilong, Jie Yuanshao's third uncle and a Spearmanship Instructor.
• Qian Gongyu stepped in front of Jiang Shi and asked Jie Zilong to speak to her instead.

Jie Zilong concluded that Jiang Shi was a genius who could perceive secret realms in ways others could not. Meanwhile, Shang Xin Lei befriended Qian Gongyu and gave her spirit jade for the next day, while warning that the Jie Family might not believe Jiang Shi’s ability was unique.

• Jie Zilong examined Jie Yuanshao’s account and argued that Jiang Shi could perceive the true nature of secret realms, calling her a genius among geniuses.
• Shang Xin Lei told Qian Gongyu that the group’s high scores could make the Wandering Star Forest’s rewards strategically important, then admitted she had exaggerated the danger to frighten her.
• Shang Xin Lei and Qian Gongyu grew closer, and Shang Xin Lei said the Jie Family might still believe Jiang Shi’s abilities could be replicated.
• Qian Gongyu refused to accept the spirit jade as payment for Jiang Shi, but Shang Xin Lei explained it was a gift to help her replenish spiritual power and prepare for the next day.
• Shang Xin Lei watched Qian Gongyu return to her carriage and chat with Jiang Shi, concluding that Qian Gongyu was genuinely interesting.

Jiang Shi advanced to Woodland Herald, gaining a major advantage for learning martial arts in the Wandering Star Forest, while Yan Qing recognized its potential to help her surpass Night Four. When Qian Gongyu and Shang Xin Lei prepared to attend a banquet hosted by powerful noble families, Jiang Shi refused to go and challenged their assumption that she feared offending them.

• Jiang Shi reached Level 10 and advanced to Woodland Herald, unlocking Spirit Energy Value and gaining traits suited to the Wandering Star Forest.
• Yan Qing realized that Woodland Herald's comprehension bonus could help Jiang Shi learn advanced martial arts and overcome the Level 20 bottleneck that trapped Night Four.
• A servant invited Qian Gongyu and Jiang Shi to a banquet hosted by Qun Yushu, and Shang Xin Lei agreed to attend with them.
• Shang Xin Lei explained that Qun Yushu and Chen Lincuan represented powerful noble families, leaving Qian Gongyu frightened about offending them.
• Jiang Shi declined the banquet, saying she had food and did not need to attend, then asked why they thought she did not dare offend the noble families.

Jie Zilong and Shang Xin Lei offered Jiang Shi protection as noble families gathered at the banquet, drawn by her extraordinary Personal Score in the Wandering Star Forest. When Qun Yushu and Chen Lincuan came to meet her, Qun Yushu ended the encounter by unexpectedly proposing marriage.

• Jie Zilong argued that the Jie and Shang Families could shield Jiang Shi and Qian Gongyu from the other noble families, while Jie Yuanshao warned Jiang Shi about the dangers of challenging powerful figures.
• Shang Xin Lei pledged to oppose anyone who targeted Jiang Shi, and Qian Gongyu wondered at Jiang Shi’s calm focus on training.
• Qun Yushu arrived at the banquet, joked with Shang Xin Lei and Jie Yuanshao, and invited Jie Zilong and Chen Lincuan to enter the Wandering Star Forest with him the next day.
• Chen Lincuan demanded to meet Jiang Shi, and Qun Yushu led the banquet guests to find her after Jie Zilong said she had declined their invitation.
• The guests found Jiang Shi practicing her blade beside the carriage, and Qun Yushu knelt before her and asked her to marry him.

Qun Yushu defended Jiang Shi from the crowd’s demands for her Wandering Star Forest secret method and offered her a position as a Qun Family Offering. Jiang Shi had not yet answered his offer when the chapter ended.

• Qun Yushu proposed marriage to Jiang Shi, but she ignored him and continued practicing her blade.
• Luo Weijin urged the crowd to demand Jiang Shi’s secret method, and the gathered clansmen pressured her to reveal it.
• Shang Xin Lei worried that the crowd would hunt Jiang Shi for the method, while the Jie Family and Shang Family prepared to protect her.
• Jiang Shi refused to share the secret method and challenged anyone who wanted to fight.
• Qun Yushu silenced the crowd and offered Jiang Shi a stipend, access to the Qun Family’s resources, and protection as a Qun Family Offering.

Jiang Shi revealed that she could identify the abilities of a token at a glance, trading that knowledge for Qun Yushu’s jade pendant. Qun Yushu realized she cared about obtaining tokens above all else, leaving him wary of what might happen if the noble families tried to control her.

• Jiang Shi refused to become a Qun Family offering when Qun Yushu said he would give her five tokens over five years, but agreed when he offered the jade pendant in exchange for identifying its abilities.
• Jiang Shi described the pendant’s Protective Spirit Shield and Explosive Spirit Shield abilities, and Qun Yushu gave it to her before sending the other guests away.
• Shang Xin Lei and Jie Zilong grew alarmed, and Shang Xin Lei explained that Jiang Shi’s ability to discern a token’s powers made the situation far more serious.
• Qun Yushu told Chen Lincuan that Jiang Shi had refused recruitment because she wanted tokens immediately, while Chen Lincuan suspected she was manipulating the noble families.
• Qun Yushu concluded that Jiang Shi cared only about the saber in her hand and feared the Jie Family and Shang Family might provoke her.

Yan Qing weighed the Jie and Shang Families’ recruitment offers and decided to wait for better terms, while Jiang Shi stayed close to Qian Gongyu. The group entered the Wandering Star Forest again, where Yan Qing received milestone information about its stages.

• Yan Qing dismissed the Jie and Shang Families’ offers as inadequate because he wanted artifacts immediately to raise his combat power.
• Qian Gongyu offered to split the spirit jade Shang Xin Lei had given her, and Jiang Shi took half as payment for guarding her.
• The next morning, Jie Zilong, Chen Lincuan, and Qun Yushu entered the Wandering Star Forest ahead of Jiang Shi and her companions.
• Qian Gongyu and Shang Xin Lei each held Jiang Shi’s arm as the group crossed the fog into the shelter.
• Yan Qing received milestone information listing the fifth, tenth, twentieth, and ninety-ninth stages of the Wandering Star Forest.

Yan Qing explored Wandering Star Forest, discovered a Spirit Gathering Stone Seat that permanently upgraded Jiang Shi’s Guardian Jade Pendant into a rare token, and gathered resources for the team. The group upgraded their shelter into a fortress, built a Study and Narcissus Mermaid Statue, easily survived the first wave, and learned that Qian Gongyu had completed her Second Class Advancement.

• Yan Qing inspected the dungeon milestones and found that Forest Lord granted True Damage when enough trees surrounded the player.
• Yan Qing explored the forest’s richer terrain, collected resources, and discovered a Spirit Gathering Stone Seat that upgraded Jiang Shi’s Guardian Jade Pendant into a rare Yugong Jade Pendant.
• Yan Qing returned to the shelter with resources and helped the team upgrade it from a Stone House to a Level 3 Fortress.
• Yan Qing and her teammates built a Study and Narcissus Mermaid Statue before the first wave arrived.
• The Blade Warrior and Narcissus Mermaid defeated the first wave without the team needing to fight.
• Qian Gongyu announced that she had completed her Second Class Advancement.

Jiang Shi revealed that the Spirit Gathering Stone Seat could create Advancement Manuals and enhance relics, drawing warnings about the danger of that knowledge. After upgrading the shelter to Level Four, she built a facility that supplied Blood Weapons and explained how killing demons could transform them into personal relics or materials for enhancing relics.

• Qian Gongyu described how a talking tree gave her a cultivation manual, allowing her to master advanced boxing techniques and advance to Second Rank before she chopped the tree down.
• Jiang Shi showed the Spirit Gathering Stone Seat's jade pendant, and Shang Xin Lei and Jie Yuanshao agreed to keep its abilities secret from the other families.
• Shang Xin Lei explained the deadly cost of obtaining Advancement Manuals, and Jiang Shi teased Qian Gongyu into negotiating a period of service to repay the trouble she had caused.
• After the demon tide ended, Jiang Shi convinced the others to upgrade their Level Four shelter, then used most of their resources to build a new facility.
• Jiang Shi gave everyone Blood Weapons and explained that killing over one hundred enemies could turn them into personal relics, while killing one thousand could yield materials that enhanced relics up to Legendary Relics.

Shang Xin Lei, Jie Yuanshao, and Qian Gongyu discussed the secret of enhancing relics while Yan Qing used Jiang Shi to evolve a Blood Weapon and hunt demons. After the party prepared for the third wave, two Demon Kings appeared, and the Pearl Tear Alliance linked the mermaid statues in a coordinated attack.

• Shang Xin Lei and Jie Yuanshao agreed to keep the enhancement secret for a year, while Qian Gongyu demanded a suitable Legendary Relic in exchange for hers.
• Yan Qing evolved Jiang Shi's Blood Weapon into the Iron Blood Long Blade and used it to kill demons, reaching level 11 and comprehending Advanced Footwork.
• Yan Qing explained that Blood Weapons could become enhancement materials, then gathered resources while the others found opportunities that improved their abilities or supplies.
• The party built a Teleportation Gate, a Hall of Valor, and three statues before the third wave arrived with the White Bat and Venomous Viper Demon Kings.
• The Narcissus Mermaid and Funeral Mermaid coordinated their attacks under the Pearl Tear Alliance effect, freezing and killing dozens of monsters.

Qun Yushu, Chen Lincuan, and Jie Zilong waited outside Wandering Star Forest as the women inside survived successive demon tides, culminating in the appearance of a Fourth Rank Thunder Maned Lion. Yan Qing and Shang Xin Lei faced the lion with six summoned statues and twelve Silver Warriors, while Yan Qing relied on the Comrade Society bond to strengthen three of the statues.

• Qun Yushu, Chen Lincuan, and Jie Zilong heard the warriors survive the third demon tide, then waited as the fourth tide brought five Third Rank Demon Kings.
• After the fifth tide's roars faded, Jie Zilong and the others felt a Fourth Rank Demon enter Wandering Star Forest, and Chen Lincuan identified it as the Thunder Maned Lion.
• Jie Yuanshao explained that the Thunder Maned Lion was a fast, lightning-wreathed Fourth Rank Demon whose attacks could paralyze its enemies.
• The Thunder Maned Lion crossed the distance to the castle and shattered its outer wall with a leap, while Yan Qing deployed six statues and twelve Silver Warriors to fight it.
• Yan Qing could not afford to upgrade his statues, so he used the Reincarnation Hall of Valor to find a bond between Blade Warrior, Chaos Warrior, and Dragon Breaking Warrior.

Yan Qing and the Comrade Society defeated the Thunder Maned Lion, earning Jiang Shi a milestone and unlocking his Blood Weapon. After they left the Wandering Star Forest, Lu Wangji attacked Jiang Shi but Qian Gongyu wounded him with a power he identified as Calamity Force.

• The Comrade Society warriors and the mermaids joined the battle, and Yan Qing controlled Jiang Shi as they gradually wore down the Thunder Maned Lion.
• The Thunder Maned Lion fell after half an hour, and the system awarded Yan Qing a milestone, unlocked Jiang Shi's Iron Blood Long Blade, and announced the next monster wave.
• The group planned to recover and aim for the tenth stage the next day, then left the Wandering Star Forest without the other members' Blood Weapons.
• Jie Zilong and the others surrounded the returning group, but Shang Xin Lei avoided revealing how they had defeated the Thunder Maned Lion.
• Lu Wangji suddenly struck at Jiang Shi, and Qian Gongyu intercepted him and left bloody scratches on his palm.
• Lu Wangji said Qian Gongyu's attack had bypassed his token's defenses and healing, and identified its power as Calamity Force.

Jie Yuanshao demonstrated her swordsmanship and discussed her newly acquired Calamity Force with Jie Zilong, who warned that its appearance often signaled an approaching calamity tied to secret realms. Yan Qing recognized “Calamity” as the theme of a future Herald game version, then received a notification that Qian Gongyu was coming.

• Jie Yuanshao used her silent sword draw and three strikes to wound Jie Zilong, who praised her skill while noting her accuracy still needed work.
• Jie Yuanshao said she had accepted that another person surpassed her and wanted to see who would reach Foundation Establishment first.
• Jie Yuanshao described feeling a helpful wind in the forest when using her Calamity Force, and Jie Zilong inferred it had appeared after the fifth trial and the defeat of a Fourth Rank Demon.
• Jie Zilong explained that the Calamity Force was feared because its appearance often meant a calamity was coming, and he said the secret realms were the underlying taboo.
• Yan Qing remembered that Calamity was the theme of the second-next version of Herald and reasoned that Liang’s people were nowhere near the level needed to experience it.
• The Nesser Game Console notified Yan Qing that Qian Gongyu was approaching.

Qian Gongyu told Jiang Shi about her family and refused the imperial court’s offer to promote the Qian Family in exchange for persuading Jiang Shi to serve Liang. After Qian Gongyu asked to travel with her, Jiang Shi agreed only if she sparred with her using their heirlooms; meanwhile, Lu Wangji proposed a plan to make Jiang Shi endure hardship so the Qun and Chen Families could rebuild their relationship with her.

• Qian Gongyu tied Jiang Shi’s hair ribbon and explained how her father’s death and pressure to marry had left her responsible for preserving the Qian Family.
• Qian Gongyu revealed that Lu Wangji had offered to raise her family’s rank and give her a home in Jiangnan City if she persuaded Jiang Shi to serve the imperial court, but she had refused.
• Jiang Shi said she did not mind serving Liang and would kill anyone who offended her, then told Qian Gongyu she planned to accept patronage from the Jie Family or the Shang Family.
• Qian Gongyu pleaded to travel with Jiang Shi, and Jiang Shi told her to spar using their heirlooms.
• Lu Wangji told Qun Yushu and Chen Lincuan that Liang wanted to cultivate Jiang Shi’s loyalty by making her suffer, and suggested they help create a chance to restore their relationship with her.

Yan Qing dismissed An Wu as useless when Shang Xin Lei confronted him about the dead soldier, then realized his words had made her suspect the truth about him. At the Wandering Star Forest, Shang Xin Lei warned Jiang Shi that his leader would abandon him, and Yan Qing recognized her as the Red Snake who had visited his room that morning.

• Shang Xin Lei asked Yan Qing why he had not saved An Wu, and Yan Qing said An Wu was useless and would have been discarded even if he had survived.
• Yan Qing remembered the names of the soldiers who died at Anguo Temple and wondered if he had sounded like a cold-blooded leader.
• Jie Yuanshao, Qian Gongyu, Jiang Shi, and Shang Xin Lei discussed the distinguished families gathered at the Wandering Star Forest and the coming treasure chest settlement.
• The gathered clan leaders and elders discussed Jiang Shi's allegiance as the young people entered the Wandering Star Forest.
• Shang Xin Lei found Jiang Shi in the forest and warned him not to give his treasure chest to his heartless leader.
• Yan Qing recognized Shang Xin Lei as the Red Snake who had disturbed him that morning.

Yan Qing discovered three unique wonders in a snowy resource zone and chose the Hero Painting, which let the shelter’s members share the bonds of their statues. When the next demon wave began, the new enhancement empowered Shang Xin Lei, Jie Yuanshao, and Qian Gongyu to join Jiang Shi in fighting the thief lizards.

• Shang Xin Lei tried to recruit Jiang Shi away from Yan Qing’s organization, but Jiang Shi refused and went to gather resources.
• In the snowy second resource zone, Yan Qing activated a lighthouse and found a temple containing scrolls that described the Fighter Monument, Rainbow Bridge, and Hero Painting wonders.
• After returning to the shelter, Jiang Shi spent most of the resources to build the Hero Painting, depicting the group together by the fireplace.
• As the demonic tide began, the group felt the statues’ bond enhancements strengthen them, and Qian Gongyu accidentally smashed part of the battlement.
• Jiang Shi charged the thief lizards, and Shang Xin Lei, Jie Yuanshao, and Qian Gongyu followed her into the battle.

Jiang Shi and her companions fought off the fourth demon wave, where Shang Xin Lei mastered her Flying Ring secret art and Jiang Shi repeatedly rescued her allies. They began the fifth wave early, while outside the forest, Jie Zilong and Qun Yushu discussed Jiang Shi before the young master of the Luo Family was found dead.

• The fifth wave brought thousands of red apes led by five Red Ape Kings, and Jiang Shi, Shang Xin Lei, Jie Yuanshao, and Qian Gongyu charged into the horde with the Comrade Society bond strengthening them.
• Shang Xin Lei successfully used the Flying Ring Secret Art: Blood Wheel, but the red apes nearly overwhelmed her before Jiang Shi cut through the horde to save her.
• After the fourth wave ended, Jiang Shi proposed starting the fifth wave early so the group could carry their rest time into the next round, then went outside to fight the Fourth Rank Demon.
• Jieyuanshao and Shang Xin Lei persuaded the exhausted Qian Gongyu to join the fight, while Jiang Shi's companions prepared to face the fifth wave.
• At the forest entrance, Jie Zilong and Qun Yushu discussed Jiang Shi and whether she could become part of the mundane world, then heard that the young master of the Luo Family had been killed.
• Qun Yushu told Jie Zilong he knew something would happen and said he would stand on the side of the mundane world; Jie Zilong agreed that he would too.