Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Infinite Experiences?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao agree that the strange circumstances surrounding the trials will only become clear after they complete them. Chen decides to enter the third trial the following day.
• A large crowd gathers to watch Chen attempt the trial. Many spectators benefited from the insights he shared after the second trial, including Proud Lord and his companions.
• Unlike previous successful challengers, who either kept their knowledge private or shared it only with their own factions, Chen is praised for his generosity. He allows everyone to observe and encourages his companions to attempt the trial later.
• Chen, Mu Yunyao, and the others enter the third trial, titled “Transcendence.”
• Inside, Chen finds a dark, empty space containing a projection of his entire life. The playback rapidly shows his experiences from birth until he enters Ascension Road, where it abruptly stops.
• The trial then presents alternate versions of Chen’s life. In each one, he possesses the Fetal Pearl but experiences different circumstances—such as remaining with the Chen Family and never meeting Mu Yunyao or Da Huang.
• The alternate lives continue appearing—second, third, fourth, and countless others—and every one ends when Chen enters Ascension Road. No explanation or conclusion is provided.
• Chen becomes increasingly confused and begins questioning whether these are genuine past lives, alternate realities, repeated attempts, or possible failures from previous cycles.
• He connects the visions to his father, Chen Tian, whose mysterious timeline suggests that Chen may not be the only person to have experienced countless lives. Chen suspects that his father and his allies may have repeatedly searched for a path toward true transcendence.
• The chapter ends with Chen still unable to determine what the trial is trying to reveal or what, exactly, must be transcended.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan: Shifts from calm curiosity to deep psychological confusion. He begins seriously questioning the nature of his identity, past, existence, and destiny. His ability to analyze the visions leads him to speculate about reincarnation, parallel lives, repeated failures, and his father’s long-term plans.
• Mu Yunyao: Remains supportive and closely aligned with Chen, accompanying him into the third trial and sharing his determination to uncover the truth.
• Proud Lord and the spectators: Show growing respect for Chen because of his willingness to share knowledge. Their dependence on Chen’s insights also highlights the gap between his generosity and the selfishness of past trial-clearers.
• Chen Tian: Though absent, becomes increasingly important in Chen’s thoughts. Chen suspects his father may have endured similar cycles and may be involved in a much larger struggle against an unknown enemy or cosmic limitation.

Significant Themes

• Transcendence and liberation: The trial raises the question of whether transcendence means escaping the world, surpassing fixed laws, breaking free from fate, or overcoming an established cosmic framework.
• Identity and alternate selves: The repeated versions of Chen challenge the idea that identity is defined by a single history or set of experiences.
• Reincarnation and endless cycles: The visions suggest that Chen may have lived through countless different lives, possibly repeating the same journey until finding a successful path.
• Failure and persistence: The possibility that previous lives ended in failure introduces a theme of despair balanced by continued determination.
• Hidden design and destiny: Chen wonders whether his life has been arranged by his father or by the creators of Ascension City, suggesting that his experiences may be part of a deliberate experiment or grand plan.
• Knowledge as cooperation: Chen’s open sharing of his insights contrasts with the secrecy of previous challengers and allows others to progress more easily.

Character Interactions

• Chen and Mu Yunyao discuss the need to complete the trials rather than rely on speculation, establishing their shared resolve.
• Proud Lord explains why the crowd has gathered and praises Chen for helping others pass the earlier trial.
• Chen responds modestly, saying he never considered sharing his insights important, and permits the crowd to watch.
• Chen encourages Proud Lord and the others to enter the third trial, but they decline, preferring to wait for Chen’s explanation before attempting it themselves.
• Within the trial, Chen has no direct interaction with others; his main “interaction” is with the many alternate versions of himself and the implications of his father’s mysterious history.

Chapter Summary: “The Timing Wasn’t Right Again”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan exits the third trial unexpectedly, unsure whether he has passed or what the trial was meant to teach him.
• Mu Yunyao, Da Huang, Guan Ao, Wang Ba, and the others emerge with similar experiences: they relived their past lives and felt they were transcending a predetermined existence or external control.
• The group concludes that the third trial may have tested whether they could transcend the lives and arrangements imposed upon them. Compared with the first two trials, it appears relatively straightforward.
• Those who cleared the trial are summoned to the center of Ascension City and escorted to a sealed, heavily protected building.
• Inside, Chen Changan meets an individual who addresses him as “Young Master” and reveals that Ascension City and the three trials were prepared by Chen’s father, referred to as “Lord.”
• The messenger explains that Ascension Road is contested by two opposing sides. Chen’s allies control Ascension City, while the rest of the road—especially the route to Ultimate Heaven—is controlled by the enemy.
• Chen learns that he will not be able to meet his father immediately. Their meeting would likely trigger the final battle, so Chen must first grow stronger in Ultimate Heaven.
• His identity and existence are described as essential to the allies’ plan because he is a crucial link who is not fully subject to the enemy’s control.
• The messenger refuses to reveal the true nature of the enemies, repeatedly insisting that “the timing is not right.”
• Chen and his companions will be temporarily concealed from the enemy after entering Ultimate Heaven, but this protection cannot last forever.
• The messenger adds that Chen’s companions are also unexpected variables who were never supposed to advance this far and may likewise be beyond the enemy’s control.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan: Becomes increasingly suspicious and frustrated by the repeated withholding of information. He recognizes that his role is far more important than he understood, but he remains uncertain about the meaning of the third trial, his father’s plans, and the nature of the enemy.
• Mu Yunyao: Interprets her trial as an attempt to transcend a predetermined life and external control. Her experience aligns closely with the others’, reinforcing the idea that the trial was personal rather than a conventional test of strength.
• Da Huang and the others: Share their confusion but become hopeful that they passed the trial. Their reactions also highlight their trust in Chen and their dependence on his interpretation of events.
• Chen’s father (“Lord”): Though absent, he is revealed to have designed Ascension City and the trials specifically for Chen. His continued secrecy suggests that he is preparing Chen gradually for a larger conflict.
• The Messenger: Acts as a guarded intermediary. He provides Chen with important strategic information but obeys strict orders not to reveal too much before the proper time.

Significant Themes

• Predestination versus freedom: The third trial focuses on whether the characters can transcend lives that have been arranged or controlled, suggesting that true transcendence involves breaking free from predetermined paths.
• The burden of destiny: Chen is portrayed as an indispensable figure whose existence could determine the outcome of the final conflict.
• Secrecy and delayed revelation: The phrase “the timing is not right” recurs, emphasizing that knowledge can be dangerous if received prematurely and that Chen must mature before learning the full truth.
• Preparation for an ultimate conflict: The chapter shifts from trial-based progression to a larger cosmic struggle involving Ultimate Heaven, opposing factions, and a coming final battle.
• Uncontrolled variables: Chen and his companions are valuable partly because they were not included in the enemy’s original plans, making them unpredictable threats.
• Strength and isolation: Chen must enter Ultimate Heaven without direct support from his allies and become strong enough to face dangers that even his current protectors cannot confront.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen discusses the third trial with Proud Lord, Mu Yunyao, Da Huang, Guan Ao, and Wang Ba, comparing their experiences and collectively trying to understand its purpose.
• The group’s shared confusion turns into cautious optimism when Chen suggests that they may have passed.
• Chen questions the messenger directly about his father, the trials, Ultimate Heaven, the enemy, and his own importance.
• The messenger repeatedly restrains Chen’s questions, explaining that some truths must remain hidden until the proper moment.
• The conversation establishes Chen’s future separation from his current allies and sets up his independent journey into Ultimate Heaven.

Chapter Summary: “From Quantitative Change to Qualitative Transformation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan learns that the appearance of certain figures in the Ultimate Land was not part of the original plan. His existence has caused repeated deviations, and these accumulated changes may eventually produce a major transformation that determines the final outcome.
• He asks whether the many lives and experiences seen during the third trial’s Transcendence were real. The other party cannot answer, saying only the mysterious “Lord” may know.
• The supposed rewards for clearing the trials are revealed to be false. The figures appearing after the trials are actually checking whether the trial-taker has been controlled by the enemy. Those compromised are eliminated; those who remain unaffected are allowed to continue.
• Da Huang asks for resources to help them prepare for Ultimate Heaven, but this request is denied. Any resources from Ascension City carry their owners’ aura, which could allow the enemy to track Chen Changan and expose the entire hidden plan.
• Da Huang’s most important personal question turns out to be whether Ultimate Heaven has brothels. The answer reassures him, preserving his comedic obsession.
• Chen Changan and his companions leave Ascension City and begin preparing for the journey to Ultimate Heaven, which is described as the final battlefield and a place where they will operate directly beneath the enemy’s attention.
• After leaving, they notice that the oppressive suppression of the road has weakened. Chen Changan explains that the three trials have given them greater self-understanding, though he warns that this does not mean the suppression has disappeared completely.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan recognizes that his unpredictability is his greatest strategic advantage. Because neither his allies nor the enemy can fully predict his actions, he has unknowingly altered established plans and created new possibilities for victory.
• He becomes more aware of the danger ahead and accepts that he and his companions must rely largely on themselves in Ultimate Heaven. Despite this, he maintains confidence and promises not to let anyone under his protection die.
• Chen also shows practical judgment by refusing to press for information when he senses the other party is unwilling to reveal more.
• Da Huang remains comedic and irreverent, focusing on rewards, resources, and brothels even during a moment of grave strategic importance. However, he also expresses genuine fear and self-doubt about the coming battle.
• Da Huang and the others gain confidence and improved self-awareness from surviving the three trials. Their realization that the road’s suppression has weakened suggests that their strength and understanding have grown.

Significant Themes

• Uncertainty as a weapon: Chen Changan’s uncontrollable nature disrupts the enemy’s predictions and becomes central to the group’s hopes of winning.
• Accumulated change leading to transformation: Small deviations from the original plan may eventually build into a decisive upheaval, reflecting the chapter’s central idea that quantitative change can produce qualitative transformation.
• Concealment and surveillance: The enemy is powerful enough to track individuals through spiritual aura, making even helpful resources dangerous. Protection depends on maintaining secrecy.
• Self-belief and inner enemies: Chen warns that the greatest danger is not only the external enemy but also surrendering to fear and doubt before the real confrontation begins.
• Preparation without certainty: The group receives few direct answers about Ultimate Heaven, emphasizing that they must move forward without knowing the exact trials or dangers awaiting them.
• Comedic relief amid existential danger: Da Huang’s fixation on brothels contrasts with the serious discussion of annihilation and the final battlefield, lightening the atmosphere while reinforcing his distinctive personality.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan questions the mysterious representative about the original plan, the reality of his past lives, and the true purpose of the trials.
• Da Huang challenges the representative over the lack of rewards and resources, prompting the explanation about aura tracking and the need for concealment.
• Da Huang’s brothel question shocks the representative and earns a dry confirmation, while Chen responds with helpless amusement.
• After leaving Ascension City, Da Huang asks why Chen did not seek more information. Chen explains that they already learned enough and that the rest must be discovered through experience.
• Chen reassures the anxious group, encourages them not to defeat themselves through doubt, and reminds them that the trials have already strengthened their understanding of themselves.

Chapter Summary: Ninety-Nine-Story Tower

Key Plot Points and Events

• After completing the Three Trials, Chen Changan’s group continues deeper into the area, where the suppression gradually intensifies.
• When Guan Ao and the others reach their limit, Chen Changan instructs everyone to stop and cultivate, setting the goal of reaching the Late-Hongmeng Dominion Realm.
• In only a few decades, the entire group—including Guan Ao—breaks through to the late stage.
• Guan Ao is astonished by his rapid progress and wonders whether the Three Trials secretly strengthened him.
• Chen Changan explains that the trials transformed them spiritually rather than physically:
  • The first tested strength.
  • The second improved comprehension and control.
  • The third required transcendence and made them revisit their entire lives, allowing them to transcend their former limitations.
• The group then advances directly to the location of the next trial and discovers a massive ninety-nine-story tower.
• Inside, they learn that the trial requires challengers to fight upward through all ninety-nine floors:
  • The first floor has one opponent.
  • Each successive floor adds another opponent.
  • The ninety-ninth floor contains ninety-nine opponents.
• The opponents are fixed Late-Hongmeng Dominion Realm cultivators rather than copies whose strength matches each challenger.
• Though other participants consider the trial extremely difficult, Chen Changan believes the fixed strength makes it considerably easier.
• He asks whether the group can challenge the tower simultaneously and, after learning that they can, declares that they will begin immediately.

Character Developments

• Guan Ao experiences a dramatic breakthrough and gains a deeper understanding of how the Three Trials changed him.
• The entire group benefits from the trials, showing accelerated cultivation and reaching the Late-Hongmeng Dominion Realm.
• Chen Changan continues to act as the group’s calm leader and teacher, explaining the spiritual significance of the trials.
• Da Huang remains confident and outspoken, initially dismissing the tower’s challenge as easy, though he becomes more cautious after hearing the details.
• Chen Changan’s confidence appears justified by his hidden strength, but he chooses not to argue with skeptics and prefers to demonstrate his ability through action.

Significant Themes

• Spiritual transformation over physical power: The Three Trials reshape the group’s souls and understanding rather than their bodies.
• Transcendence and self-overcoming: True advancement requires surpassing one’s past, inner limitations, and forces that control one’s life.
• Perception versus reality: Outsiders assume the newcomers are inexperienced, while Chen Changan’s group possesses abilities far beyond what others expect.
• Progress through adversity: Each challenge prepares the characters for greater trials, turning hardship into rapid growth.
• Confidence backed by action: Rather than wasting time proving themselves verbally, Chen Changan and his companions move directly into the tower trial.

Character Interactions

• Guan Ao openly questions his sudden improvement, prompting Chen Changan to explain the deeper meaning of the Three Trials.
• Da Huang jokes that the tower challenge is simple, provoking laughter from the others and criticism from veteran challengers.
• The veteran participants warn Chen Changan’s group that even a few Late-Hongmeng Dominion Realm opponents are difficult to defeat, emphasizing the tower’s danger.
• Chen Changan calmly questions the rules, determines that the opponents’ strength is fixed, and reassures the group that the challenge is manageable.
• The chapter ends with Chen Changan deciding that the group will enter the tower and challenge it together.

Chapter Summary: “Rapid Ascent”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, Da Huang, Guan Ao, and Wang Ba immediately accept the tower’s challenge instead of observing first, surprising the spectators.
• The challenge displays the challengers’ progress through glowing markers on each floor, though their actual battles remain unseen.
• Chen Changan effortlessly defeats his Late-Hongmeng Dominion Realm opponents, often appearing to advance almost instantly. Mu Yunyao and Da Huang advance at a similar pace, while Guan Ao and Wang Ba are slightly slower.
• The group rapidly climbs from the first floor to the thirtieth, stunning everyone watching below. Their speed suggests that they are defeating opponents with overwhelming strength, possibly in a single move.
• On the thirtieth floor, all five temporarily stop. Chen Changan faces thirty opponents but chooses to wait rather than fight immediately.
• Chen Changan explains to Hongchen that he wants to wait for Mu Yunyao, Da Huang, Guan Ao, and Wang Ba so that everyone can advance together. He is especially concerned that Guan Ao and Wang Ba might lose confidence if they believed the others had already completed the challenge.
• Mu Yunyao and Da Huang independently make the same decision to wait. Guan Ao and Wang Ba, however, remain focused only on pushing forward and stop solely to recover their strength.
• After resting for three days, the group resumes climbing. Their continued rapid progress amazes the spectators, who begin speculating that their true combat strength may have reached the Peak Hongmeng Dominion Realm.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates overwhelming combat power and calm confidence. Beyond his strength, he shows consideration and strategic awareness by prioritizing the morale of Guan Ao and Wang Ba over finishing first.
• Mu Yunyao and Da Huang prove that they are nearly as powerful as Chen Changan. Their decision to wait reveals their loyalty and sensitivity toward their companions.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba are portrayed as slightly weaker or slower than the others, but determined and hardworking. Their concern about holding the group back motivates them to keep advancing rather than relying on others.
• Hongchen remains puzzled by human emotional complexity and provides a contrast to Chen Changan’s understanding of morale, pressure, and companionship.
• The spectators’ opinions shift from mocking doubt to awe and respect as the group’s extraordinary strength becomes undeniable.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming strength and hidden potential: The group’s rapid ascent reveals that their apparent cultivation level does not reflect their true combat ability.
• Companionship and mutual support: Chen Changan’s decision to wait emphasizes that success is more meaningful when the entire group advances together.
• Psychological pressure and confidence: The chapter highlights how comparison with stronger companions can weaken a person’s performance, while reassurance can help them fight at their full potential.
• The gap between ordinary cultivators and monsters: The spectators recognize that the group is beyond the level of ordinary geniuses, though Ultimate Heaven is hinted to contain even greater dangers.
• Perception versus reality: The group initially appears arrogant for challenging the tower immediately, but their results prove that their confidence is justified.

Character Interactions

• The spectators mock and underestimate Chen Changan’s group before becoming shocked by their speed.
• Chen Changan discusses his strategy with Hongchen, explaining why he refuses to leave the tower ahead of the others.
• Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Da Huang show an unspoken understanding by choosing to wait for their companions.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba do not share this waiting strategy; their determination to catch up creates a contrast with Chen Changan’s protective leadership.

Chapter Summary: “Clearing the Ninety-Ninth Floor”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan’s group continues climbing the Ascension Tower, stopping to rest after every ten floors while maintaining an exceptionally fast pace.
• By the fiftieth floor, Chen Changan and his companions are still overwhelming their opponents. Guan Ao and Wang Ba, though slower, have grown significantly stronger from their time traveling with Chen Changan and successfully keep advancing.
• Their progress inspires the spectators below. Some stop watching and begin cultivating, determined to improve themselves rather than rely on the achievements of others.
• Chen Changan, Guan Ao, Wang Ba, and the other two companions eventually reach the ninety-ninth floor.
• Unlike the previous floors, Chen Changan finds only one opponent: a Peak Hongmeng Dominion Realm expert who reveals himself as the administrator of the Ascension Tower.
• The administrator explains that he wants to personally test Chen Changan, whom he considers the strongest challenger ever to appear in the tower.
• Their clash is powerful enough to shake the entire Ascension Tower, alarming everyone inside. However, Chen Changan effortlessly neutralizes the administrator’s full-strength attack.
• Recognizing the overwhelming difference between them, the administrator concedes without continuing the fight. He declares Chen Changan and all four companions to have passed the tower.
• When the group returns to the lowest floor, the spectators applaud and praise them for clearing all ninety-nine floors on their first attempt.
• Chen Changan explains that his final-floor challenge was different because the tower’s administrator personally fought him.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan: Demonstrates overwhelming strength and composure against a Peak Hongmeng Dominion Realm opponent. He remains cautious about revealing his origins, especially after the administrator mistakenly assumes he was exiled from Ultimate Heaven.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba: Continue improving through repeated battles and their association with Chen Changan. Although they struggle more on the later floors, they successfully overcome every challenge.
• Ascension Tower Administrator: Initially confident in his strength, he becomes deeply surprised when Chen Changan effortlessly withstands his strongest attack. He acknowledges Chen Changan’s superiority and ends the fight voluntarily.
• The Spectators: Shift from stunned observers to motivated cultivators. Chen Changan’s achievement inspires them to focus on strengthening themselves.

Significant Themes

• Inspiration through example: Chen Changan’s performance encourages others to cultivate and pursue their own improvement.
• Hidden strength and restraint: Chen Changan possesses power far beyond what others expect but deliberately avoids revealing his identity or full capabilities.
• Testing and growth: The tower’s challenges serve not only as trials but also as opportunities for Guan Ao and Wang Ba to strengthen themselves.
• Humility and self-reliance: The spectators recognize that admiring powerful figures is not enough; true progress depends on their own cultivation.
• Recognition of supremacy: Even the tower’s administrator admits that Chen Changan is an extraordinary existence beyond the level of ordinary challengers.

Character Interactions

• The spectators debate whether Chen Changan’s group can clear the tower, with some eventually abandoning observation to cultivate.
• The administrator personally challenges Chen Changan and comments that someone of his caliber should not have been exiled.
• Chen Changan avoids correcting the administrator’s misunderstanding and responds diplomatically, treating the tower as a useful place for training.
• After the victory, the crowd praises and questions Chen Changan, while he modestly downplays the battle by describing it as merely a spar with the administrator.

Chapter Summary: “Unknown Trial?”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The group discovers that the Ascension Tower has a hidden manager who personally challenged Chen Changan on the ninety-ninth floor.
• Although the manager was powerful enough to cause the earlier tremors, Chen Changan passed the floor, implying that he either defeated or thoroughly convinced the manager to concede.
• Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, Da Huang, Guan Ao, and Wang Ba leave the tower and continue along the Ascension Road.
• After another period of travel, Guan Ao and Wang Ba reach their limits, so the group cultivates for one hundred years and breaks through to the Peak Hongmeng Dominion Realm.
• Soon afterward, they encounter travelers moving backward along the road. One of them explains that he failed the next trial and suffered a severe punishment: his cultivation regressed from the Peak Hongmeng Dominion Realm to the late stage, forcing him to return to the Ascension Tower and start over.
• The next trial is revealed to be exceptionally mysterious. There are no instructions, clues, or even other people present to explain what must be done.
• When Chen Changan’s group reaches the trial site, they find only an empty clearing with no visible enemies, objects, energy fluctuations, or signs of a challenge.
• Despite everyone’s concern that simply walking forward might count as failure, Chen Changan refuses to waste time investigating and leads the group directly through the area.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Changan remains confident and decisive. He accepts difficult challenges without hesitation and trusts his strength and instincts rather than overanalyzing uncertain situations.
• Mu Yunyao continues to follow Chen Changan loyally, showing complete trust in his judgment.
• Da Huang enjoys the direct combat trials and recognizes that actual battles significantly improve combat ability. He is puzzled by the new, invisible trial but still follows Chen Changan.
• Guan Ao grows excited about the benefits of practical combat and later becomes cautious when he learns how severely failure is punished.
• Wang Ba shares Guan Ao’s concern and argues that the group should investigate the empty clearing before proceeding.
• The group’s successful cultivation to the Peak Hongmeng Dominion Realm marks another major advancement, but the unknown trial introduces a new kind of challenge beyond simple strength.

3. Significant Themes

• Strength versus uncertainty: The group excels at trials based on combat, but the mysterious stage suggests that raw power may not be enough.
• The cost of failure: Regression in cultivation and forced repetition make failure extremely punishing, emphasizing the brutal nature of the Ascension Road.
• Trust and leadership: The others worry about moving forward blindly, but they ultimately follow Chen Changan because of their trust in his judgment.
• Perseverance and progression: The journey follows a repeated cycle of travel, cultivation, breakthrough, and trial, showing the group’s long-term determination.
• Known challenges versus hidden tests: The empty clearing creates suspense by suggesting that the true trial may be concealed, psychological, or based on recognizing something others have overlooked.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen Changan openly questions the returning traveler about the punishment and nature of the trial.
• The traveler warns Chen Changan that the upcoming test has no clues and cannot be explained by others.
• Da Huang asks Chen Changan how they can possibly complete a trial with no instructions.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba strongly object when Chen Changan decides to walk directly through the empty clearing, fearing that doing so may trigger failure.
• Chen Changan dismisses their concerns, and Mu Yunyao and Da Huang immediately follow him. Guan Ao and Wang Ba reluctantly join them, reinforcing Chen Changan’s dominant leadership within the group.

Chapter Summary: “Making a Simple Problem Complicated”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan, Wang Ba, and Guan Ao leave the open ground and step onto the Ascension Road without suffering any loss in cultivation, confirming that they passed the previous trial.
• Chen Changan explains that the trial tested courage and discernment rather than combat ability.
• The mysterious person they encountered had claimed, through his actions, that the area was subject to terrifying suppression. However, his cultivation was too low to have resisted that suppression, revealing that he had deliberately deceived them.
• The deception was designed to make them overthink the situation and remain trapped on the open ground. The group realizes they had made a simple trial complicated by assuming every challenge on the Ascension Road had to be extremely difficult.
• Chen Changan reveals that he and Mu Yunyao noticed the inconsistency early but waited until they could confirm it.
• The group continues along the Ascension Road, expecting the final trial to involve breaking through to the Great Perfection Realm and eventually entering Ultimate Heaven.
• The road proves unexpectedly long. Even after traveling for months and greatly increasing their speed, they still do not reach the end.
• Da Huang suggests that they may be trapped in an illusion or may not have truly passed the previous trial. Chen Changan rejects this possibility because the suppression continues to change, proving they are genuinely advancing.
• Chen Changan orders everyone to move at full speed. After more than another month, Wang Ba and Guan Ao finally reach their limits.
• The group stops to cultivate in preparation for what they believe will be the final and most difficult trial.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates sharp observation, calm judgment, and confidence. He recognizes the flaw in the deception and teaches the others how psychological assumptions can become their own trap.
• Wang Ba and Guan Ao realize that they have become overly dependent on Chen Changan. Their failure to observe and reason independently allowed them to fall for a simple trick.
• Mu Yunyao supports Chen Changan’s explanation and helps clarify the inconsistency in the false suppression.
• Da Huang remains energetic and eager about reaching Ultimate Heaven, though he also voices doubts when the road becomes unnaturally long.
• Wang Ba and Guan Ao gain renewed awareness of the need for independent thinking and careful observation.

Significant Themes

• Overthinking and psychological traps: People can make simple problems difficult by assuming that every challenge must be complicated.
• Courage and discernment: The trial tests whether the travelers will act despite fear and uncertainty.
• The danger of assumptions: Prior experience with difficult trials causes the group to expect an even harder challenge, preventing them from recognizing the obvious solution.
• Dependence versus independent judgment: Relying too heavily on a powerful leader can weaken one’s own ability to think and act.
• Perseverance: Despite exhaustion and uncertainty, the group continues forward rather than surrendering to doubt.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan questions Wang Ba and Guan Ao about the suspicious traveler, guiding them to discover the deception themselves.
• Wang Ba and Guan Ao react with embarrassment when Chen Changan points out that they relied on him instead of thinking independently.
• The group discusses whether the endless road is an illusion, with Da Huang expressing doubts and Chen Changan logically disproving them.
• Chen Changan directs the group to accelerate, then later orders everyone to cultivate once Wang Ba and Guan Ao can no longer continue.

Chapter Summary: “Guardian Statues”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and his companions finally break through to the Grand Completion of the Hongmeng Dominion Realm after spending more than two hundred years cultivating on the Ascension Road.
• They reach the end of the Ascension Road, where the entrance to Ultimate Heaven is guarded by two powerful stone statues.
• Several dozen cultivators are gathered near the entrance but are unable to proceed. They explain that the statues attack anyone who approaches and are far stronger than ordinary Grand Completion cultivators.
• The group speculates that the statues come from Ultimate Heaven, making the trial seem nearly impossible for Hongmeng Dominion Realm cultivators.
• Da Huang volunteers to test the statues. Although the statues’ first combined attack forces him back one step, he successfully withstands it.
• Under Chen Changan’s encouragement, Da Huang unleashes his full strength and fights both statues evenly, even gaining a slight advantage.
• Before Da Huang can defeat them, the statues abruptly stop fighting and announce that he has passed and may enter Ultimate Heaven.
• The others realize that the trial does not require defeating the statues; surviving against them for a set period is sufficient.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan remains calm and strategic, recognizing the statues’ strength and using Da Huang to investigate the trial’s limits.
• Da Huang demonstrates extraordinary combat ability far beyond what would normally be expected from someone at the Grand Completion Realm. His true form is revealed or identified as a Qilin, and he proves capable of confronting beings from Ultimate Heaven.
• Guan Ao continues to serve as a humorous and practical counterpoint to Da Huang, teasing him about his obsession with brothels and suggesting that he settle down.
• The previously defeated cultivators shift from skepticism to amazement as they witness Da Huang withstand and challenge the guardian statues.

Significant Themes

• The difficulty of advancement: Reaching the final realm requires more than two centuries, emphasizing the increasing hardship of cultivation at the highest levels.
• Exceptional talent versus ordinary standards: Da Huang’s performance shows that extraordinary combat ability can transcend the limitations normally associated with one’s cultivation realm.
• Perseverance over outright victory: The guardian trial teaches that success does not always require defeating an opponent; enduring the challenge can be enough.
• Uncertainty and hidden rules: The statues never explain the trial beforehand, forcing the cultivators to discover its conditions through action.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan and the others joke about the long cultivation period, with Guan Ao criticizing Da Huang’s constant references to brothels.
• The stranded cultivators warn Da Huang not to underestimate the statues, believing he will only understand their strength after fighting them.
• Chen Changan gives Da Huang permission to test the statues and later urges him to stop holding back.
• Da Huang confidently challenges the statues, while Chen Changan observes and evaluates the battle.
• The statues’ sudden declaration that Da Huang has passed surprises everyone and reveals the true nature of the final trial.

Chapter Summary: Ultimate Heaven, Within Reach

Key Plot Points and Events

• Da Huang reveals that defeating the two stone statues is unnecessary; challengers only need to survive their attacks for the duration of one incense stick.
• Da Huang, Wang Ba, and Guan Ao all successfully pass the trial. Da Huang even complains that the battle ended before he could truly enjoy himself, implying he was far stronger than the statues.
• Mu Yunyao challenges the statues and defeats both with two punches, narrowly missing Chen Changan’s prediction that she could win in one move.
• Chen Changan then confronts the statues. They hesitate upon seeing him, seemingly sensing his overwhelming strength, but attack anyway. With a single sword strike, he defeats both and leaves cracks in their bodies.
• The group is now only one entrance away from Ultimate Heaven, but Chen Changan pauses to question the other challengers about life there.
• The challengers explain that they came from Ultimate Heaven not for training, but to survive. Ultimate Heaven’s laws naturally grant newborns strength comparable to the Hongmeng Dominion Realm, while individuals must reach the Grand Completion of that realm merely to withstand the world’s laws.
• In Ultimate Heaven, even Grand Completion Hongmeng Dominion experts are considered ordinary people, making survival difficult for those who have not reached that level.

Character Developments

• Da Huang is shown to possess overwhelming combat ability and a casual, almost playful attitude toward danger.
• Wang Ba demonstrates significant improvement after traveling with Chen Changan, though he still has considerable room to grow.
• Guan Ao proves that he can endure the statues’ attacks and pass the trial.
• Mu Yunyao displays tremendous confidence and explosive strength, defeating both statues in only two punches. Her playful exchange with Chen Changan also reveals their competitive familiarity.
• Chen Changan remains calm and completely dominant. His single sword strike surpasses everyone’s expectations, while his decision to gather information before entering Ultimate Heaven shows caution and strategic thinking.
• The group’s companions increasingly recognize that Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and Da Huang are extraordinary figures unlike ordinary ascenders.

Significant Themes

• Strength versus endurance: The trial initially appears to require defeating the statues, but the actual requirement is simply surviving for a set period, emphasizing the difference between brute-force victory and meeting the true conditions.
• Hidden levels of power: Da Huang and Chen Changan’s casual attitudes contrast sharply with the other challengers’ desperate struggles, highlighting the vast gap between them.
• The harshness of Ultimate Heaven: Ultimate Heaven is revealed not as a paradise of effortless advancement, but as a dangerous world whose natural laws impose severe survival requirements.
• Perspective and humility: Even overwhelming experts may become ordinary upon entering Ultimate Heaven, suggesting that power is always relative to one’s environment.
• Preparation before advancement: Chen Changan’s refusal to rush through the entrance demonstrates the importance of understanding a new world before entering it.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan encourages Wang Ba and Guan Ao to test themselves after Da Huang succeeds.
• Mu Yunyao and Chen Changan engage in a lighthearted contest over how quickly they can defeat the statues, revealing mutual confidence and camaraderie.
• The spectators react with astonishment to the group’s strength and speculate that they must have come from Primordial Heaven rather than Ultimate Heaven.
• Chen Changan questions the other challengers, prompting them to explain Ultimate Heaven’s brutal laws and the reason they were sent onto the Ascension Road.

Chapter Summary: “The Terrifying Laws of Heaven and Earth”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and his companions learn that Ultimate Heaven’s ordinary inhabitants are far stronger than cultivators from the Ascension Road. Even the two powerful stone statues they fought would rank near the bottom there.
• They receive limited information about Ultimate Heaven’s cultivation system, including the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm and the Ultimate Immortal Ascension Realm. Reaching the latter makes someone a regional powerhouse.
• The group also hears that the area their informants knew was controlled by the Three Great Families, whose strongest members had only reached the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm.
• After saying farewell to their informants, Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, Guan Ao, Wang Ba, and Da Huang enter Ultimate Heaven.
• Upon arrival, they are immediately suppressed by its terrifying laws of heaven and earth. Their powerful cultivation is reduced to roughly the level of ordinary mortals, leaving them unable to fly, move quickly, or use their former strength.
• The group experiences hunger and physical exhaustion for the first time in ages. After traveling slowly, they reach a city but discover they possess no local currency and have no clear way to obtain food or shelter.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan remains calm and pragmatic. He recognizes the danger of revealing that they are outsiders and prioritizes finding shelter, gathering information, and learning how to cultivate in Ultimate Heaven.
• Mu Yunyao is similarly affected by the suppression but remains part of Chen Changan’s dependable core group.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba suffer especially from the loss of their cultivation and are shocked to find themselves physically weak and vulnerable.
• Da Huang becomes anxious and frustrated after realizing that his former strength is insignificant in Ultimate Heaven. His complaints provide comic relief, especially when Chen Changan suggests he could beg for food because he is a dog.
• The group as a whole must confront the unfamiliar experience of beginning cultivation and survival from nothing.

Significant Themes

• The relativity of power: Strength that is overwhelming in one world may be nearly meaningless in another.
• The terrifying hierarchy of Ultimate Heaven: The realm is portrayed as fundamentally superior, with natural laws capable of suppressing even peak cultivators.
• Starting over: The real challenge is not simply losing power, but having to rebuild without understanding the new world’s rules.
• Adaptation and resilience: Despite their predicament, Chen Changan encourages the group to accept reality and find practical solutions.
• Humility and vulnerability: Formerly powerful characters are reduced to hunger, fatigue, and dependence, emphasizing how quickly status can disappear in a higher realm.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan explains Ultimate Heaven’s power structure to Guan Ao and Da Huang, reassuring them that their strength may still allow them to progress quickly once cultivation becomes possible.
• Da Huang reacts bitterly to learning that the stone statues were only slightly stronger than ordinary people in Ultimate Heaven.
• The group respectfully questions their informants about cultivation levels and local factions before departing.
• After entering the city, everyone discusses their hunger and lack of money. Chen Changan tries to maintain confidence, while Da Huang protests when jokingly assigned the task of begging.

Chapter Summary: “Mundane Things”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and his companions enter an ordinary city in Ultimate Heaven without attracting attention. The city is populated mostly by ordinary people and resembles the mundane cities of the Great Profound Realm.
• Guan Ao jokes about visiting a brothel, but he and the others are actually starving. Da Huang runs off to find food after Guan Ao promises to treat him to a brothel once they have money.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao sense that the city’s extreme ordinariness resembles the Great Profound Realm, which makes them nostalgic for their former home.
• Chen Changan discovers that gold and silver are used as currency. He retrieves old silver he had stored away and uses it to buy a small item and pay for a meal.
• At a restaurant, Wang Ba and Guan Ao order nearly every dish on the menu and begin eating ravenously. Chen Changan explains that cultivation resources cannot serve as ordinary currency because they are difficult to obtain and would attract the attention of cultivators.
• Da Huang returns with a piece of meat, only to discover that the others have begun eating without him. Feeling betrayed, he angrily demands another full serving of every dish.
• The chapter ends with Da Huang learning that gold and silver are accepted as payment in the city.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates practical knowledge and adaptability by recognizing the city’s currency system and using silver from his stored possessions.
• Mu Yunyao shares Chen Changan’s emotional connection to the Great Profound Realm, reinforcing their shared history and nostalgia.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba are revealed to have enormous appetites after enduring hunger. Their confusion about mundane currency also highlights their unfamiliarity with ordinary life.
• Da Huang remains mischievous and gluttonous but also shows a strong sense of entitlement and loyalty. He tries to find food for the group and becomes comically offended when they eat without him.
• Chen Changan and Guan Ao’s humorous exchange about the “unlimited” brothel promise emphasizes their playful relationship.

Significant Themes

• Mundane life and nostalgia: The ordinary city reminds Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao of the Great Profound Realm, showing that seemingly insignificant places can carry emotional meaning.
• The value and danger of wealth: Chen Changan explains that cultivation resources cannot function as ordinary wealth because ordinary people could not protect them. Wealth is only beneficial when it can be safely retained.
• Adaptation across worlds: The group must adjust to unfamiliar customs, currency, and social norms despite their cultivation backgrounds.
• Comedic survival and camaraderie: Hunger, food, and Da Huang’s exaggerated outrage create humor while emphasizing the group’s close, teasing dynamic.

Character Interactions

• Guan Ao and Da Huang joke about brothels, food, and future promises, with Chen Changan interpreting the consequences of Guan Ao’s careless wording.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao connect over their shared feeling that the city resembles the Great Profound Realm.
• Chen Changan patiently explains mundane economics to Wang Ba and Guan Ao.
• Wang Ba and Guan Ao bond over their hunger and eat excessively, while Chen Changan tries unsuccessfully to encourage better manners.
• Da Huang confronts the group for eating without him, turning the restaurant scene into a humorous display of their familiar, chaotic companionship.

Chapter Summary: The Warmth of Mortal Life

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan discovers that gold and silver are still useful in Ultimate Heaven, even though it is a higher realm. He gives Da Huang silver to spend at a brothel.
• Da Huang uses the brothel not only for pleasure but also to gather information, since such places attract people from many social circles.
• Chen Changan reflects on the rarity of experiencing ordinary mortal life after spending so long amid combat and killing. He values the chance to experience human emotions, daily routines, hunger, travel, and peace.
• While Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, Wang Ba, and Guan Ao settle into an inn, Wang Ba questions why they are not urgently searching for a cultivation method. Chen Changan insists that rushing is unwise while they remain unfamiliar with the region.
• After three days, Da Huang returns with intelligence:
  • Their current city contains only ordinary people and no cultivators.
  • A city located five or six days to the east contains cultivators.
  • That city has two cultivation lineages.
  • It also has a martial training ground founded by someone from a major power, which teaches talented ordinary people cultivation in exchange for payment.
• Chen Changan decides that the eastern city will be their next destination. After resting and buying provisions, the group sets out on foot.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan displays patience, composure, and adaptability. Rather than panicking about their loss of cultivation, he treats their current condition as a valuable opportunity to experience mortal life and develop resilience.
• Da Huang demonstrates that beneath his shameless and pleasure-seeking behavior, he is practical and reliable. He gathers useful intelligence while enjoying himself and returns promptly with important information.
• Wang Ba and Guan Ao struggle with being ordinary mortals. They are unused to walking long distances, feeling hunger, and being vulnerable to cultivators who would once have been insignificant to them.
• Mu Yunyao observes Chen Changan’s relaxed attitude and lightly questions his willingness to let Da Huang visit the brothel.
• Chen Changan takes on a guiding, almost mentoring role toward Wang Ba and Guan Ao, encouraging them not to be arrogant or discouraged.

Significant Themes

• The value of mortal experience: Ordinary life, with its emotions, desires, limitations, and daily hardships, provides a kind of warmth and insight that endless cultivation and combat cannot.
• Adaptability and personal growth: Chen Changan teaches that every change in identity or environment is a form of tempering. The ability to adapt is essential for survival and future success.
• Patience over impulsiveness: The group’s unfamiliarity with Ultimate Heaven makes careful observation more useful than immediate action.
• Humility: Losing their former power forces Wang Ba and Guan Ao to confront their dependence on strength and recognize that they must not become either arrogant or self-pitying.
• Information as power: Da Huang’s intelligence-gathering shows that knowledge of the local world is as important as physical strength.

Character Interactions

• Da Huang jokes openly with Chen Changan about using silver for the brothel, while Chen Changan indulges him because he trusts Da Huang’s judgment.
• Mu Yunyao teases Chen Changan about not stopping Da Huang, reinforcing the relaxed and familiar atmosphere among the group.
• Wang Ba and Guan Ao question Chen Changan’s strategy, revealing their anxiety about remaining powerless. Chen Changan responds by explaining the importance of waiting, observing, and adapting.
• Da Huang proudly defends himself against Guan Ao’s implication that he only went to the brothel for pleasure, emphasizing that he combined enjoyment with useful intelligence work.
• During the journey, Chen Changan reassures Wang Ba and Guan Ao that their current weakness is not a disgrace but an opportunity to gain experiences they never had before.

Chapter Summary: “A Qualified Little Follower”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Chen Changan advises them to adjust themselves instead of complaining during the journey, Wang Ba and Guan Ao understand his meaning and quietly work to improve their condition.
• Upon reaching another city, Chen Changan takes the group to an inn to gather information rather than acting immediately.
• They overhear that the Guan and Wei Families, once allied through friendship and marriage, have entered repeated conflicts over a newly discovered low-grade Extreme Source Stone Vein.
• Chen Changan recognizes Extreme Origin Stones as the cultivation spirit stones of Ultimate Heaven and realizes the vein could provide the group with valuable cultivation resources.
• Da Huang jokingly suggests robbing the vein, while Chen Changan pretends that taking control of it would be an altruistic effort to restore peace between the two families. Despite his claims, everyone recognizes that his plan is essentially robbery.
• Guan Ao proposes joining one of the families as hired talent, but Chen Changan rejects the idea because unknown outsiders would not be trusted or welcomed.
• Da Huang explains that Chen Changan’s actual plan has always been to use the Martial Arena. By paying money, they can directly obtain cultivation techniques and avoid relying on either major family.
• The group agrees that the Martial Arena is the more practical and straightforward path, though the conflict between the Guan and Wei Families may offer an unexpected opportunity later.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates patience, strategic thinking, and shameless pragmatism. He gathers information before acting and prioritizes the Martial Arena as the safest route to cultivation.
• Da Huang proves that he understands Chen Changan’s intentions better than the others. His explanation of Chen Changan’s plan earns him recognition as a “qualified little follower,” though his humor and willingness to rob remain obvious.
• Guan Ao initially misunderstands the situation and believes their supposed talent could earn them a place with one of the families. After Chen Changan challenges his assumption, he realizes the impracticality of the idea.
• Wang Ba supports Chen Changan’s moral façade and criticizes Da Huang’s criminal suggestions, although the group’s supposed righteousness is clearly sarcastic.
• Mu Yunyao joins Da Huang in laughing at Chen Changan’s shameless justification.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba become envious of Da Huang’s ability to anticipate Chen Changan’s thoughts and resolve to become better followers themselves.

Significant Themes

• Pragmatism over idealism: The group chooses the Martial Arena because it offers a direct exchange—money for cultivation knowledge—rather than depending on unreliable alliances.
• Hypocrisy and moral pretense: Chen Changan repeatedly describes potential theft as an effort to preserve peace, humorously exposing how easily moral language can disguise self-interest.
• Loyalty and understanding: Da Huang’s value lies not only in obedience but in his ability to understand Chen Changan’s intentions before they are explained.
• Power and resources: The Extreme Source Stone Vein demonstrates how valuable cultivation resources can transform alliances into bitter rivalries.
• Growth through observation: Wang Ba and Guan Ao learn to think more strategically by watching Chen Changan and Da Huang.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan and Da Huang exchange playful arguments over whether their actions constitute robbery, with Chen Changan maintaining a deliberately absurd claim of righteousness.
• Guan Ao’s suggestion that the group offer its “talent” is dismissed by Chen Changan and Da Huang, who explain why powerful families would distrust unknown outsiders.
• Da Huang’s explanation of Chen Changan’s Martial Arena strategy clarifies the group’s objectives and earns him Guan Ao and Wang Ba’s admiration.
• The chapter ends with Guan Ao and Wang Ba aspiring to become “qualified little followers,” while Da Huang smugly implies that true followers should already understand what needs to be done.

Chapter Summary: Extreme Origin Stone Mineral Vein

Key Plot Points and Events

• Da Huang goes to a nearby table of guests to gather information about the city’s Martial Arena.
• By treating the strangers to drinks and engaging them in conversation, Da Huang learns that joining the Martial Arena costs ten thousand taels of gold per person.
• The Martial Arena claims to provide ordinary people with access to cultivation, since many possess wealth but lack cultivation techniques or a path into the cultivation world.
• The guests explain that the Arena’s owner is a genuine cultivator, though they mock him for allegedly spending his earnings on numerous beautiful women.
• Da Huang returns proudly and reports what it has learned to Chen Changan, Guan Ao, and Wang Ba.
• Chen Changan is not concerned about the cost, since the group possesses more than enough gold. His main concern is whether the Arena’s owner is truly capable of providing useful cultivation techniques and whether visiting him will waste their time.
• Da Huang argues that the owner must at least be a legitimate cultivator, since the city also contains two major cultivation lineages that would have exposed him if he were a complete fraud.
• The group decides to visit the Martial Arena to obtain cultivation techniques, rather than relying on the owner to personally teach them.
• As they leave, Wang Ba worries that the lustful owner may take an interest in Chen Changan’s female companion. Da Huang dismisses the concern, pointing out that her dignified bearing differs from the seductive women the owner supposedly favors.

Character Developments

• Da Huang demonstrates intelligence, social skill, initiative, and loyalty. It anticipates Chen Changan’s needs, gathers information independently, and proves itself a highly capable “follower.”
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba initially underestimate Da Huang’s methods but become genuinely impressed by its ability to read situations and act effectively.
• Chen Changan remains cautious and practical. He is willing to spend money but refuses to waste time, focusing on whether the Martial Arena can provide something genuinely useful.
• Wang Ba shows concern for the group’s safety, particularly regarding the potential behavior of the Arena’s owner toward Chen Changan’s companion.
• The chapter also hints at the companion’s strong personality, as she reacts sharply when Da Huang praises her beauty and Wang Ba discusses her attractiveness.

Significant Themes

• Practical intelligence and initiative: Da Huang succeeds not through force, but through observation, charm, and timely action.
• Access to cultivation: The Martial Arena represents a commercial route into cultivation for wealthy ordinary people who lack inherited techniques or connections.
• Wealth and worldly desire: The Arena’s high fees and the owner’s rumored indulgence highlight the connection between cultivation, money, status, and personal appetite.
• Judging competence versus appearances: Although the owner is portrayed as morally frivolous, Chen Changan recognizes that he may still possess useful knowledge.
• Loyalty and usefulness: The interactions emphasize that a capable companion is one who understands the group’s goals and acts without needing constant instruction.

Character Interactions

• Da Huang skillfully wins over the drinking guests, using humor and generosity to obtain information.
• It later boasts to Guan Ao and Wang Ba, teaching them that effective followers must know when to act.
• Chen Changan acknowledges Da Huang’s reliability while teasing Wang Ba about his occasional lack of reasoning.
• The group debates whether the Martial Arena’s owner is trustworthy enough to approach.
• Wang Ba’s concern about the owner’s interest in Chen Changan’s companion leads to playful banter, with Da Huang contrasting her dignified beauty with the seductive women favored by the owner.

Chapter Summary: Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and his companions—Mu Yunyao, Da Huang, and Guan Ao—arrive at the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds seeking a place to cultivate.
• The guards initially question their purpose, since the martial grounds generally do not accept outsiders. They reveal that joining costs ten thousand taels of gold per person, including Da Huang despite his status as a pet.
• One guard privately warns them that the Grounds Master is greedy and that they should only proceed if they can truly afford the fee.
• Chen Changan confidently pays forty thousand taels of gold for all four of them and hints that he will offer even more if they successfully cultivate.
• The Grounds Master, secretly suffering financial problems because his expenses exceed his dwindling income, eagerly accepts them. He arranges accommodations and explains that conflicts must be settled in the designated practice arena rather than through private fighting.
• The group is told to rest for the day and begin learning about cultivation the following day.
• At their residence, Chen Changan explains that the Grounds Master delayed teaching them because he was eager to use their money to deal with his expensive personal affairs.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates confidence, wealth, and sharp observational skills. He quickly recognizes the Grounds Master’s financial desperation and deliberately uses it to secure entry and favorable treatment.
• Da Huang remains outspoken and argumentative, first objecting to being treated as a mere pet, then becoming curious about the Grounds Master’s behavior. His exchanges with Wang Ba and the others provide comic relief.
• Guan Ao displays straightforwardness and practical confusion, initially unable to understand how someone charging such exorbitant fees could still be poor.
• Mu Yunyao remains mostly quiet but attracts the Grounds Master’s brief attention due to her beauty.
• The Grounds Master is portrayed as greedy, financially irresponsible, and somewhat hypocritical. Though he charges enormous fees, he has failed to produce successful cultivators and is now dependent on new students to support his extravagant lifestyle.
• The guards appear pragmatic rather than malicious. They criticize the Grounds Master’s fees but continue working for him to earn a living.

Significant Themes

• Greed and exploitation: The Grounds Master uses high fees to profit from aspiring cultivators, despite offering limited results.
• Talent versus opportunity: The chapter emphasizes that possessing a cultivation technique does not guarantee success; ordinary people may lack the talent required to advance.
• Financial irony: Despite his exploitative business model, the Grounds Master is nearly bankrupt because his lavish lifestyle costs more than his declining income.
• Class and privilege: Chen Changan’s wealth allows him to bypass obstacles that would be insurmountable for ordinary people.
• Pragmatism and observation: Chen Changan succeeds by reading people and understanding their motives rather than acting impulsively.

Character Interactions

• Da Huang and Wang Ba bicker humorously before the group reaches the martial grounds.
• Da Huang challenges the guard’s suggestion that he is merely a pet, but the guard’s economic reasoning leaves him momentarily speechless.
• Chen Changan negotiates indirectly with the Grounds Master by paying immediately and promising future rewards, causing the man to treat the group favorably.
• The group later analyzes the Grounds Master together. Chen Changan explains his financial situation, while Guan Ao and Da Huang react with surprise.
• The final discussion contrasts the group’s natural advantages with the hardships faced by ordinary cultivators and exiles along the Ascension Road.

Chapter Summary: “Could He Be a Swindler?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter explains that ordinary people in Ultimate Heaven possess latent strength due to the realm’s nature, but its laws suppress them. Cultivating within Ultimate Heaven is therefore extremely difficult.
• Chen Changan, Guan Ao, Da Huang, and their companions arrive at the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds and gather with the existing disciples.
• The disciples reveal that none of them has successfully cultivated, despite spending years training and paying large sums—forty thousand taels of gold for the newcomers.
• Formerly, the martial grounds had more than a hundred disciples, but most left after becoming disappointed. The remaining disciples stay because their families sacrificed heavily to send them there, making it difficult to return home empty-handed.
• The disciples describe the grounds master’s method: he first teaches general concepts, then makes students train their bodies for years without clearly defining the standard. Only afterward does he test their talent individually, give them a cultivation technique, and require them to comprehend it alone.
• Chen Changan and Da Huang begin suspecting that the grounds master may be running a scam, especially since he takes money without apparently helping anyone cultivate.
• When Chen Changan asks to inspect the disciples’ cultivation techniques, they refuse, explaining that the grounds master forbids disciples from sharing them.
• The grounds master arrives, proudly welcomes the four new disciples, and delivers an optimistic speech about hard work and changing one’s fate, despite the existing disciples’ lack of enthusiasm.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan becomes increasingly suspicious and analytical. He questions the logic behind the grounds master’s training process and focuses on obtaining the cultivation techniques.
• Da Huang openly voices the group’s suspicion, asking whether the grounds master could be a swindler.
• Guan Ao reflects on the difficulty ordinary people face in changing their lives, though the group soon decides to investigate rather than continue lamenting.
• The existing disciples are portrayed as discouraged and emotionally numb after years of failure. Their original ambition has been replaced by resignation and anxiety about disappointing their families.
• The grounds master presents himself as confident, energetic, and inspirational, but his behavior appears increasingly exploitative and unreliable.

Significant Themes

• The difficulty of changing one’s fate: Even people with great latent potential may be unable to advance because of environmental laws and restrictive circumstances.
• False hope and exploitation: The martial grounds may be profiting from people’s dreams while providing little practical instruction.
• Disillusionment: The disciples’ fading ambition illustrates how repeated failure can destroy confidence and enthusiasm.
• Hard work versus proper guidance: The grounds master emphasizes effort, but the chapter questions whether effort alone is meaningful without talent assessment, instruction, or a reliable cultivation method.
• Appearance versus reality: The grounds master’s passionate speeches contrast sharply with the disciples’ experiences, raising doubts about his true motives.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan and his companions question the existing disciples about their experiences at the martial grounds.
• The disciples warn the newcomers that cultivation here has failed for everyone and encourage them to prepare for disappointment.
• Chen Changan challenges their account by asking whether they had ever properly received cultivation techniques.
• Da Huang and Chen Changan privately discuss their suspicions about the grounds master.
• The grounds master publicly welcomes the newcomers, but his enthusiasm is met only with restrained, symbolic applause from the demoralized disciples.

Chapter Summary: “Talent Test”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The master of the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds gives Chen Changan and his companions an impassioned speech about cultivation, effort, and surpassing others. While intended to inspire them, the speech comes across as an attempt to “paint them a pie” or brainwash them.
• Da Huang and Chen Changan interrupt the speech, demanding that the master stop making vague promises and explain how he will actually help them cultivate.
• Chen Changan insists that they simply want access to cultivation techniques and proposes that they undergo the talent test immediately.
• The master agrees, realizing that proving someone can cultivate at the martial grounds could restore its reputation and attract new confidence from the disciples.
• He leads them to the Testing Stone Tablet, explaining that it can determine whether someone possesses cultivation talent and display a potential value, though it cannot identify the exact nature of their abilities.
• The master reveals that the existing disciples have generally shown poor or nonexistent cultivation talent. He had encouraged them to train their bodies in hopes of obtaining a body-tempering technique for them, but his efforts had failed.
• This confession changes the disciples’ view of him. They had believed he was irresponsible and only interested in pleasure, but now realize that he had genuinely tried to help them.
• The talent test begins, with Wang Ba volunteering to go first. Nervous about being left behind, he receives encouragement from Chen Changan to remain calm and believe in himself.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan remains direct, confident, and difficult to manipulate. He cuts through the master’s rhetoric and focuses on practical results, while also recognizing that the master is under pressure to prove the martial grounds’ value.
• Da Huang provides blunt comic relief by pointing out that he is technically not a disciple because he did not pay the fees.
• The master is shown to be more responsible and sincere than the disciples had assumed. Although he admits that self-interest motivated much of his cultivation journey, he has also worked to preserve the martial grounds and find a path for his disciples.
• The disciples experience a shift from resentment and discouragement to guilt and sympathy after learning about the master’s efforts.
• Wang Ba displays insecurity and fear that he may lack the talent needed to continue alongside Chen Changan and the others, but he is willing to face the test.

Significant Themes

• Actions versus empty promises: Chen Changan rejects inspirational speeches without concrete methods or results.
• Hope after disillusionment: The disciples have lost faith in cultivation, but the talent test offers a possible chance to change their fates.
• Misunderstood responsibility: The master’s apparent laziness concealed genuine efforts to help his disciples.
• Talent and perseverance: The chapter raises the question of whether success depends on innate potential, hard work, or both.
• Changing destiny: The master and disciples are united by the desire to use cultivation to escape their limitations and improve their lives.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan challenges the master’s speech, forcing him to abandon vague promises and act.
• Da Huang humorously supports Chen Changan’s criticism before realizing he is not officially a disciple.
• The master and Chen Changan engage in a subtle contest of confidence and persuasion, with the master becoming wary of Chen Changan’s composure.
• The master’s confession causes the disciples to reassess their relationship with him and feel remorse for judging him unfairly.
• Chen Changan encourages Wang Ba before the test, reinforcing his role as a calm and supportive leader.

Chapter Summary: “Terrifying Potential Value”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wang Ba is the first to test his cultivation potential using the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds’ Testing Stone Tablet.
• The tablet emits an extraordinarily bright light and displays a potential value exceeding ten million—an unprecedented result for everyone present.
• The grounds master explains that most people test below ten, while the greatest talent he has heard of had a value below ten thousand. He concludes that Wang Ba could eventually become an overlord of Ultimate Heaven.
• Chen Changan suspects that the low-grade testing tablet has a maximum capacity and may not be accurately measuring Wang Ba’s true potential.
• Guan Ao undergoes the test and also receives a value above ten million, confirming that Chen Changan’s group consists of extraordinary individuals.
• Da Huang tests himself and produces an even greater result: twenty million, apparently reaching the tablet’s upper limit.
• Mu Yunyao also records twenty million.
• When Chen Changan tests himself, the tablet displays the same maximum value rather than breaking. He reveals that he deliberately suppressed his potential to avoid damaging the grounds master’s tablet.

Character Developments

• Wang Ba: Gains confidence and excitement after learning that his potential is exceptionally high. He begins to understand that he may have a remarkable future in cultivation.
• Guan Ao: Demonstrates potential nearly equal to Wang Ba’s, reinforcing his status as a powerful and unusual talent.
• Da Huang: Reveals potential higher than both Wang Ba and Guan Ao. His dissatisfaction with the “mere” twenty million highlights his arrogance and his awareness that the test cannot capture his true ability.
• Mu Yunyao: Shows that she is equally extraordinary, also reaching the tablet’s apparent maximum.
• Chen Changan: Displays restraint and consideration by limiting his test result so the tablet will not be destroyed. His casual control over his already terrifying potential further establishes his overwhelming strength.
• Grounds Master: Becomes ecstatic at the prospect of gaining several unmatched disciples. He imagines the fame and influence their presence will bring to the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds.

Significant Themes

• Hidden and immeasurable potential: The testing tablet proves inadequate for measuring the group’s true abilities, suggesting their talents surpass ordinary standards.
• The contrast between appearance and reality: A humble martial grounds becomes the testing site for beings capable of becoming legendary figures.
• Awe and disbelief: The onlookers struggle to accept that such overwhelming talents—including a dog—could exist in their small community.
• Humility and restraint amid overwhelming power: Chen Changan’s decision to hold back contrasts with everyone else’s astonishment and emphasizes his extraordinary control.
• Opportunity and ambition: The grounds master sees the group as a chance to transform his struggling martial grounds into a renowned institution.

Character Interactions

• Wang Ba seeks reassurance from both the grounds master and Chen Changan after testing.
• Chen Changan encourages the tests and questions the tablet’s limitations.
• Guan Ao eagerly follows Wang Ba’s example, while Da Huang turns the event into a display of superiority.
• Da Huang and Mu Yunyao interact through his suggestion that she test herself.
• The grounds master reacts with growing excitement as each member produces an unprecedented result, while the surrounding spectators respond with shock, envy, and disbelief.
• Chen Changan’s final explanation leaves everyone stunned: unlike ordinary cultivators, he can consciously suppress the potential shown by the testing device.

Chapter Summary: “Breakthrough on the Spot”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Master of the Grounds is stunned when Chen Changan and the other four newcomers achieve extraordinarily high potential scores—around twenty million each. He realizes that the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds has unexpectedly acquired five unprecedented prodigies.
• Chen Changan asks to begin cultivation immediately. The Master warns them that the only method available, the Clear Breeze Formula, is merely Mortal-grade and has limited potential, though it should be easy for talented individuals to master.
• Chen Changan memorizes the formula after one glance, shares it with Mu Yunyao and the others, and begins cultivating at once.
• Chen Changan successfully enters cultivation almost immediately and breaks through with astonishing speed—within only a few dozen breaths. He continues advancing instead of stopping at the first breakthrough.
• Mu Yunyao and the others begin cultivating and soon break through into the Ultimate Transcendent Mortal Realm as well. Their success proves that their previous inability to cultivate was due to their poor talents and inadequate compatibility with the method, not because cultivation itself was impossible.
• The Master realizes that the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds has been revived by these exceptional disciples. He also reflects that future disciples should perhaps be tested for talent before being accepted, rather than relying solely on fees.
• The Master explains the situation to his older disciples, admitting that their low aptitude prevented them from cultivating the Clear Breeze Formula. He reassures them that their body training was intended to prepare them for a future body-tempering method.
• The older disciples regain their confidence and apologize for doubting him. The Master encourages them to train twice as hard.
• When asked about the newcomers’ progress, the Master reveals that they are not only cultivators already but have surpassed his own strength.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates overwhelming talent, instantly mastering the cultivation method and advancing far faster than anyone expects. His calm, decisive attitude contrasts with the Master’s shock.
• Mu Yunyao and the other newcomers prove that their potential is genuinely extraordinary by cultivating successfully almost immediately after Chen Changan.
• The Master of the Grounds moves from disbelief to excitement and strategic reflection. He recognizes the flaws in his previous approach and begins considering a more sustainable recruitment system based on talent rather than money alone.
• The older disciples shift from suspicion and discouragement to renewed faith in their master and the martial grounds. They reinterpret their body training as preparation rather than abandonment.
• The Master privately acknowledges that his earlier decisions were made out of desperation, but he maintains a dignified image by presenting them as part of a deliberate plan.

Significant Themes

• Talent versus resources: The chapter suggests that extraordinary aptitude can overcome the limitations of even a low-grade cultivation method.
• Misjudgment and hidden potential: The older disciples’ inability to cultivate had caused them to doubt the institution, but the newcomers reveal that the method itself was not fraudulent.
• Leadership and responsibility: The Master accepts responsibility for the martial grounds’ future and recognizes the need to change his methods for long-term survival.
• Hope and revival: The arrival of five prodigies transforms the declining Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds into a promising force.
• Appearance versus reality: The Master exaggerates the intentionality of his past decisions, while the disciples believe he had planned their training all along.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Changan confidently directs the pace of events, asking for the cultivation method and immediately putting it into practice, making the Master appear almost subordinate.
• The Master warns Chen Changan and the others about the Clear Breeze Formula’s low grade, but their rapid success completely exceeds his expectations.
• The Master addresses the older disciples’ doubts directly, explaining the purpose of their training and promising them a future opportunity through body tempering.
• The disciples respond with gratitude and apology, reaffirming their loyalty.
• The final revelation—that the newcomers already surpass the Master—emphasizes both their astonishing strength and the dramatic change they bring to the martial grounds.