Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ling was born prematurely in a dangerous cultivation world and used his achievement-based Golden Finger to gain Growth Talents that helped him survive and strengthen his malnourished body. By the end of the chapter, he had learned to walk and resolved to catch up with the gifted children around him.

• Zhou Ling was born to Li Ru and Zhou Shan after they survived an encounter with Black Fur Wolves, and his Golden Finger activated the Stronger from Adversity talent.
• When Li Ru could not produce milk, Zhou Shan fed Zhou Ling wolf blood, which helped improve his dangerously weak physique and fulfilled the task for No Mother's Milk Feeding.
• During ten days at the wilderness camp, Zhou Ling gained Crisis Reaction and used his cries to alert his injured parents to poisoned blood and a Poison Scorpion.
• After the family returned to Lingxia City, Zhou Ling learned that his achievement-based Golden Finger granted Growth Talents for completed tasks and gained Physique Evolution by crawling a thousand times.
• Over the following months, Zhou Ling exercised by crawling and walking, steadily improving his strength until he could walk and began pursuing growth to catch up with other children.

Zhou Shan returned from a dangerous trip to the mountains with ordinary herbs, while he and Li Ru worried about providing for Zhou Ling and saving for his education. Zhou Ling unlocked the Mountain Treasure Hunt talent by identifying herbs and learned how children entered the Dao Academy and pursued cultivation professions.

• Zhou Shan returned home exhausted and bloodied, explaining that winter crowds had left him with only ordinary Seven Star Grass and that he planned another trip to earn Spirit Stones.
• Li Ru urged Zhou Shan to rest and avoid the mountains, but he said the family needed Spirit Food and savings for Zhou Ling's future Dao Academy enrollment.
• Zhou Ling unlocked the Mountain Treasure Hunt talent, which required him to identify thirty types of Spirit Herbs.
• Zhou Ling identified Seven Star Grass and Spirit Eye Grass, gaining one point of progress for each and sensing details about the Seven Star Grass.
• Zhou Shan and Li Ru discussed Zhou Ling's possible future as a cultivator and explained how the Dao Academy tested children's Spiritual Roots and assigned students to different paths.

Zhou Shan and Li Ru took Zhou Ling into Black Cloud Mountain to gather spirit herbs before winter, and Li Ru taught him to recognize the plants as he rode in her Medicine Basket. After earning two Spirit Stones, Zhou Shan and Li Ru decided to search the South Side for a valuable herb the next day, while Zhou Ling identified his thirtieth herb and unlocked the Mountain Treasure Hunt Talent.

• Li Ru persuaded Zhou Shan to bring Zhou Ling on one more trip into Wild Mountain before winter so they could gather more spirit herbs and support the family.
• As they searched Black Cloud Mountain, Li Ru explained several spirit herbs to Zhou Ling, who gained identification progress while riding in her Medicine Basket.
• The couple returned to the Herb Seekers' Camp with more than twenty herbs, including a Hundred Treasures Grass, worth about two Spirit Stones in total.
• Zhou Shan proposed searching the South Side for Mystic Spirit Grass, and Li Ru agreed to go with him rather than let him travel alone.
• Zhou Ling identified his thirtieth spirit herb, Crimson Crow Grass, and unlocked the Mountain Treasure Hunt Talent.

Zhou Ling used his Mountain Treasure Hunt talent to help his parents find spirit herbs and avoid danger, greatly improving their harvest. More than half a year later, Zhou Shan gave Li Ru an introductory cultivation book and planned for Zhou Ling to take the Dao Academy’s Spiritual Root test at year’s end, as Zhou Ling gained the Immortal Root Aptitude talent.

• Zhou Ling sensed an Ink Essence Grass and used a feigned need to pee to lead Li Ru to it, where Zhou Shan harvested the herb.
• Zhou Ling sensed danger on the mountain path and urged his parents to leave without revealing what he had noticed.
• Over twelve days in the mountains, Zhou Ling helped his parents find spirit herbs and avoid Demon Beasts, earning them far more than usual.
• More than half a year later, Zhou Shan gave Li Ru a Dao Academy introductory cultivation book and said he planned for Zhou Ling to take the Spiritual Root test at the end of the year.
• Zhou Ling gained the Immortal Root Aptitude talent, which could improve cultivation speed and comprehension after he read fifty ancient books.

Li Ru taught Zhou Ling about cultivation and took him to Lingyun Marketplace to buy books that would help him prepare for Lingxia Dao Academy. Zhou Ling gained new talents and found a Low-grade Spirit Stone, while his parents celebrated a profitable sale and bought him treats.

• Li Ru explained Lingxia Dao Academy’s disciple ranks and taught Zhou Ling basic cultivation runes, which he finished studying in a few days.
• Zhou Ling’s study increased his Immortal Root Aptitude and comprehension, and he learned the importance of spiritual roots and comprehension in cultivation.
• Li Ru and Zhou Shan took Zhou Ling to Lingyun Marketplace, where his running improved his physique and he found a Low-grade Spirit Stone.
• Li Ru took Zhou Ling to You Shu Zhai and bought him more than a dozen preparatory books, while Zhou Ling gained Basic Insight by observing the shopkeeper.
• Zhou Shan sold spirit herbs for eleven Spirit Stones and thirty-six Broken Spirit, and the family headed to buy Zhou Ling a Fire Pattern Chicken and glutinous rice cakes.

Zhou Ling’s family enjoyed a rare Fire Pattern Chicken feast, and his growing abilities helped them find a valuable Black Gold Hammer. As he approached the age to enter the Dao Academy, Zhou Shan and Li Ru worried about the costs and planned for his Spiritual Root test the next day.

• Zhou Ling shared Fire Pattern Chicken soup with Zhou Shan and Li Ru, and his sincere concern increased his Basic Insight.
• Over the next half year, Zhou Shan and Li Ru calculated the costs of sending Zhou Ling to a mid-grade Dao class, while Zhou Shan resolved to search deeper in Black Cloud Mountain for spirit herbs.
• Zhou Ling’s physique, comprehension, and treasure-sensing range improved, and he secretly found a low-grade Magic Artifact, the Black Gold Hammer, by the river.
• Li Ru arranged to sell the Black Gold Hammer and began taking Zhou Ling with her whenever she went out.
• Li Ru worried about Zhou Ling’s Spiritual Root test at the Dao Academy the next day, and Zhou Shan reassured her that Zhou Ling could practice Body Tempering if needed.

Zhou Ling’s parents prepared him for his Spiritual Root test and insisted on enrolling him in the Mid-Grade Dao Class, despite his wish to attend the cheaper Low-Grade class. At Lingxia West Academy, he registered and met Wang Yu and her daughter Wang Xin while waiting for the test.

• Li Ru served Zhou Ling a costly Purple Spirit Grass and Fire Pattern Chicken Decoction before his test, while Zhou Ling urged his parents to choose the Low-Grade Dao Class to save money.
• Zhou Ling’s parents refused to change their plan, and he gained Spiritual Energy by consuming the spirit food and breathing the richer air at the academy.
• Zhou Shan and Li Ru took Zhou Ling to Lingxia West Academy, where he registered and received an Identity Jade Token for the Spiritual Root test.
• Li Ru met Wang Yu beneath a tree in the plaza, and the two mothers chatted while Zhou Ling met Wang Xin; both families planned to enroll their children in the Mid-Grade Dao Class.

Zhou Ling passed the Spiritual Root test with a Five-Attribute Low-Grade Spiritual Root and enrolled in the Dao Academy, where he discovered a new talent tied to academic assessments. The chapter ended with Zhou Ling and Wang Xin assigned as deskmates, while their parents noticed that Wang Xin had not spoken.

• Zhou Ling took the test on the Cloud Platform and was found to have a Five-Attribute Low-Grade Spiritual Root, while Wang Xin had a Wood-Attribute Mid-Grade Spiritual Root.
• Zhou Shan, Li Ru, and Wang Yu registered the children at the Dao Academy and brought them to their Study Hall.
• Liu Yan introduced the classes and quarterly assessments, and Zhou Ling gained the Born to Excel talent for achieving top-three results in official competitions or assessments.
• Zhou Ling sat beside the silent Wang Xin as he breathed in the Study Hall's spiritual energy and listened to the curriculum.
• Wang Yu asked Zhou Ling to help Wang Xin if anyone bullied her, and both families left the Dao Academy with the children.

Zhou Ling attended his first day at Jiaqi Study Hall, where Instructor Liu Yan explained the disciples’ cultivation requirements and the children compared their awakened Spiritual Acupoints. The lesson left Zhou Ling aware of the pressure to keep up as he continued breathing in spiritual energy.

• Zhou Ling greeted Yuan Hu while secretly breathing in spiritual energy and thinking about cultivation.
• Instructor Liu Yan welcomed the children as Outer Sect Disciples and entertained them with stories from the Wild Domain.
• Liu Yan asked who had awakened Spiritual Acupoints, and several children revealed they had activated between three and seven.
• Liu Yan explained the cultivation milestones required to remain at the Dao Academy and qualify for the Inner Disciple assessment.
• Zhou Ling continued absorbing spiritual energy, then ate lunch with the other children.

Zhou Ling finally sensed qi and placed second in the Dao Academy’s monthly theory exam, while his deskmate Wang Xin ranked first. After Zheng Youwei scorned Yuan Hu, Zhou Ling gained the Roar talent and planned to practice it alongside the Great Yang Fist.

• Zhou Ling improved his qi sense through daily breathing and continued practicing the Great Yang Fist with Yuan Hu and Wang Xin.
• Liu Yan handed out the monthly exam results, where Zhou Ling came second and Wang Xin came first.
• Zheng Youwei mocked Yuan Hu for being a Rogue Cultivator, and Zhou Ling gained the Roar talent after the insult triggered Stronger from Adversity.
• Liu Yan warned the students that those who ranked in the bottom three again next month would be punished at the Outer Sect.

Liu Yan rewarded Zhou Ling with the Five Elements Breath and Absorption Method, and after three months of cultivation he activated his first Spiritual Acupoints and discovered his strongest affinity was fire. When Wang Xin told him Yuan Hu had been beaten up, Zhou Ling went to investigate.

• Liu Yan taught Zhou Ling the Five Elements Breath and Absorption Method and advised him to build a foundation before choosing a primary cultivation method.
• Zhou Ling practiced daily for three months, despite his worries about his injured father and the family’s tight finances.
• Zhou Ling activated two Spiritual Acupoints and sensed that his spiritual power was fire attribute, but decided to wait before choosing a method.
• Wang Xin told Zhou Ling that Yuan Hu had been beaten up, and Zhou Ling headed to see what happened.
• Zhou Ling’s daily Great Yang Fist practice had made him strong enough to lift a thirty-kilogram stone pedestal and outmatch the other children in fist techniques.

Zhou Ling defended Yuan Hu from Zheng Youwei’s accusation, but Liu Yan punished him and canceled his monthly Dao Academy reward for disrupting the lounge. Wang Xin gave Zhou Ling a precious Qi Gathering Pill, which he swallowed and used to open another Spiritual Acupoint.

• Zhou Ling found Zheng Youwei and two children restraining Yuan Hu over missing Spirit Stones, then used his awakened roar talent to make them stop.
• Zhou Ling challenged Zheng Youwei to provide evidence, but Liu Yan arrived and ordered Zhou Ling to stand punishment until the afternoon lesson ended, canceling his monthly reward.
• Yuan Hu apologized, and Wang Xin offered Zhou Ling a pill to make up for his punishment.
• Wang Xin explained that her mother was an alchemist and that the pill was a rare One-Pattern Qi Gathering Pill; Zhou Ling accepted it and swallowed it.
• Zhou Ling circulated the Five Elements Breathing Technique, absorbed the pill’s power, and opened another Spiritual Acupoint.

Zhou Ling’s cultivation stalled after opening his ninth Spiritual Acupoint, so he decided he needed a fire-attribute cultivation method to advance. His parents were delighted by his progress and revealed that they had saved Spirit Stones to help him choose a method, while Zhou Shan considered asking Old Chu for his Yellow-grade mid-tier Condensing Fire Art.

• Wang Xin regularly gave Zhou Ling Qi Gathering Pills and Spirit Food, and he agreed to protect her from bullies at the Dao Academy.
• Zhou Ling’s mother became a Spirit Chef, easing the family’s finances, while his father continued spending most of each month in the mountains.
• After opening his ninth Spiritual Acupoint, Zhou Ling went more than three months without opening the tenth and decided to seek an additional fire-attribute cultivation method.
• At four and a half years old, Zhou Ling had reached Qi Condensation First Layer 99/100 and become a first-rank Body Cultivator, ranking among the Study Hall’s top five.
• Zhou Ling told his parents he was nearing the Qi Condensation Second Layer and needed a primary cultivation method; Li Ru said they had saved Spirit Stones, while Zhou Shan proposed asking Old Chu about the Condensing Fire Art.
• Li Ru warned that Old Chu’s method only supported cultivation through Late Qi Condensation and offered no path to Foundation Establishment.

During the Sky Lantern Festival, Zhou Ling explored Market Street with Yuan Hu and Wang Xin while looking for ways to earn Spirit Stones. Studying the inscriptions inside lanterns awakened a new talent and helped him settle on artifact refining as a promising cultivation path.

• Zhou Ling told his parents he would ask his Dao Academy Instructor for advice about cultivation techniques and turn to Uncle Chu if needed.
• Yuan Hu arrived for Zhou Ling, and Zhou Ling went with him and Wang Xin to Market Street despite preferring to cultivate at home.
• Zhou Ling watched puppet and Spirit Beast performances, gaining Basic Insight, and searched the crowded festival for ways to earn Spirit Stones.
• At a lantern stall, Zhou Ling observed a Five-Color Inscription and gained the Growth Talent, which required him to analyze twenty Magic Artifact inscription structures.
• Zhou Ling decided that becoming an Artifact Refiner suited his circumstances better than becoming an Alchemist, then questioned the stall owner about the inscriptions in several lanterns.

Zhou Ling chose artifact refinement as a way to earn Spirit Stones, then returned to the Dao Academy, where Wang Xin secretly offered him three cultivation methods from her family. He accepted the Jade Slips and began comparing the fire-attribute techniques.

• Zhou Ling bought a Jade Chicken Sky Lantern to study its inscriptions, and Wang Xin paid for it and one for Yuan Hu.
• Zhou Ling told Wang Xin and Yuan Hu that he planned to learn artifact refinement and earn Spirit Stones to support his household.
• At the lantern festival, Zhou Ling used Mountain Treasure Hunt to find a Low-grade Spirit Stone and treated Wang Xin and Yuan Hu to Spirit Meat Wontons.
• After the holiday, Wang Xin brought Zhou Ling three Jade Slips containing Yellow-grade cultivation methods and urged him to choose one.
• Zhou Ling accepted the Jade Slips and read about the Five Elements Art, Crimson Fire Art, and Spirit Flame Art.

Zhou Ling chose to study the Spirit Flame Art despite lacking the costly materials that would speed his cultivation. When its obscure formulas overwhelmed him, he discovered that persisting through the difficulty activated his [Stronger from Adversity] and [Born to Excel] talents, and he continued practicing.

• Zhou Ling borrowed the Spirit Flame Art from Wang Xin and returned the other two cultivation arts because their required materials were too expensive.
• Zhou Ling planned to reach the Qi Condensation Second Layer and then learn inscriptions so he could pursue artifact refining.
• Instructor Liu Yan entered the Study Hall while Zhou Ling was considering the challenges of becoming an artifact refiner.
• After dinner, Zhou Ling read the Spirit Flame Art and struggled to understand its difficult formulas.
• Zhou Ling's talents eased his mental strain and improved his comprehension and cultivation progress as he persisted in studying the art.
• Zhou Ling pressed the Jade Slip to his forehead again and continued reading, triggering further gains from his talents.

Zhou Ling cultivated the Spirit Flame Art until he reached the Qi Condensation Second Layer, then told his parents about his breakthrough and his plans to earn tuition relief at the Dao Academy. His parents celebrated his progress as Zhou Ling tried to keep his father from risking a dangerous trip into the Inner Mountain.

• After two months of practicing the Spirit Flame Art, Zhou Ling reached its entry level and continued cultivating toward the Qi Condensation Second Layer.
• Nearly half a year later, Zhou Ling activated his tenth Spiritual Acupoint, doubled his spiritual energy absorption, and stabilized his cultivation at the Qi Condensation Second Layer.
• Zhou Ling decided to borrow books on basic Inscriptions at the Dao Academy and learn the craft so he could help support his family.
• Li Ru urged Zhou Shan to avoid the Inner Mountain and use their remaining Spirit Stones for his cultivation, but Zhou Shan wanted to gather valuable Spirit Herbs there.
• Zhou Ling told Zhou Shan and Li Ru about his breakthrough, his resolved cultivation technique, and the chance to win tuition relief by placing in the top ten of the Dao Academy assessment.

Zhou Ling prepared for the upcoming class placement assessment by choosing Artifact Crafting and receiving basic inscription materials from Liu Yan. He began studying the Basic Inscription Primer, leaving practical inscription training for later.

• Zhou Ling told Zhou Shan and Li Ru that Wang Xin had lent him the cultivation method, and Li Ru said the family would thank Wang Xin with a meal.
• At the start of term, Liu Yan explained the assessment, its rewards, and how disciples should choose skills suited to their Spiritual Roots and cultivation methods.
• Wang Xin asked Zhou Ling whether to focus on Alchemy or Array Formation, and he advised her to make one her primary skill and the other an auxiliary skill.
• Zhou Ling chose Artifact Crafting as his primary skill, with Body Tempering and Herb Seeking as electives.
• Liu Yan gave Zhou Ling three Jade Slips, a first-grade low-rank Inscription Brush, and practice paper in recognition of his progress.
• Zhou Ling reviewed the Basic Inscription Primer and decided to practice drawing inscriptions after returning home.

Zhou Ling practiced drawing the Basic Fire Inscription, wasting two sheets of Spirit Paper before identifying his mistakes and exhausting his spiritual energy. After recovering with food and cultivation, his parents worried about his health, and Zhou Shan discussed buying meat to nourish him.

• Zhou Ling studied the Basic Fire Inscription and drew it on Spirit Paper, but his first attempt failed when his brushwork faltered at a turn.
• Zhou Ling analyzed the ruined inscription, corrected his understanding, and failed a second attempt because his spiritual energy output was too gentle.
• Zhou Ling began a third attempt but stopped when drawing rapidly drained his spiritual energy and caused pain in his meridians.
• Zhou Ling cultivated the Spirit Flame Art to recover, then ate a late-night meal Li Ru had prepared before returning to cultivate.
• Li Ru and Zhou Shan worried that Zhou Ling was overworking himself, and Zhou Shan said he had arranged to get a Fire Horn Sheep from Old Chu.

Zhou Ling rapidly advanced in inscription drawing and entered the Dao Academy assessment hoping to win a place in the key Daoist class and ease his parents’ burdens. He placed exactly tenth, making his parents proud while avoiding the attention that a higher rank might bring.

• Zhou Ling practiced inscriptions for months, mastered several patterns, and learned to draw three, though his success remained inconsistent.
• Zhou Shan and Li Ru prepared a celebratory breakfast and escorted Zhou Ling to the Dao Academy assessment.
• Zhou Ling completed the Spiritual Power and Skill assessments, earning Grade A in Spiritual Power and Rank Sixth in inscription drawing.
• Zhou Ling told his parents he had placed exactly tenth overall and showed Li Ru his score sheet.
• Li Ru and Zhou Shan celebrated Zhou Ling’s result and left the Dao Academy with him.