Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Grounds Master explains the cultivation system to the residents, revealing that the first major realm is the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm, which contains ten levels.
• He admits that he only reached the second level during his own cultivation and had been unable to advance further. By contrast, Chen Changan and the others rapidly reach the third level, already surpassing him in cultivation realm.
• The Grounds Master compares their progress to the city’s two dominant cultivation families, the Guan Family and the Wei Family. Their strongest experts have only reached the fifth level, despite developing over many generations.
• Chen Changan continues breaking through at an astonishing pace, eventually reaching the fifth level in a single day, causing the Grounds Master to become nervous and suspect that the newcomers possess extraordinary origins and talent.
• Chen Changan stops because his current cultivation technique can only support advancement up to the fifth level. To progress further, he will need a new technique.
• The group’s rapid cultivation drains much of the surrounding energy of heaven and earth. The Guan and Wei Families notice the abnormal depletion and send people to investigate, each fearing that the other family will gain an advantage.
• Chen Changan gives the Grounds Master one hundred thousand taels of gold as a promised reward for supporting them. The Grounds Master is shocked by both the amount and Chen Changan’s casual attitude toward such wealth.
• Chen Changan clarifies that the money is not entirely a gift: he expects the Grounds Master to answer some questions in return.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan and his companions demonstrate overwhelmingly powerful cultivation potential. Their progress confirms that they are far from ordinary, even by the standards of Ultimate Heaven.
• The Grounds Master shifts from being a teacher and protector to someone clearly weaker than his new disciples. He is impressed, anxious, and increasingly curious about their true identities and goals.
• The Grounds Master’s respect and caution toward Chen Changan grow after witnessing his rapid breakthroughs and immense wealth.
• The Guan and Wei Families are shown to be ambitious rivals. Their leaders react quickly to the unexplained loss of spiritual energy, worried that the other family may discover an opportunity first.

Significant Themes

• Heaven-defying talent: Chen Changan and the others achieve in a short time what powerful families require generations to accomplish.
• The limits of conventional cultivation: Their progress is restricted not by talent but by the quality of their cultivation technique and the lack of available resources.
• Power reversal: The Grounds Master, once the strongest figure present, is quickly surpassed by those he recruited.
• Wealth and status: Chen Changan treats a vast sum of gold as insignificant, emphasizing the gap between worldly wealth and the perspective of powerful cultivators.
• Competition and opportunity: The Guan and Wei Families’ reactions highlight the constant struggle for resources and dominance among local powers.

Character Interactions

• The residents repeatedly question the Grounds Master about Chen Changan’s strength, while he attempts to explain their progress and maintain order.
• The Grounds Master respectfully questions Chen Changan when he stops cultivating, only to learn that Chen Changan has reached the technique’s maximum limit.
• Chen Changan reassures the Grounds Master by giving him the promised reward, though he immediately establishes that the payment comes with questions he wants answered.
• Within the Guan and Wei Families, leaders order investigations into the disappearing spiritual energy, each urging their subordinates not to fall behind their rival.

Chapter Summary: “Exquisite Grotto”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Chen Changan’s increased strength becomes apparent, the arena master treats him with much greater respect and abandons his previous arrogance.
• Chen asks about the arena master’s mysterious former teacher. The arena master explains that his master was a wandering rogue cultivator who took him along for a time before eventually sending him away. He does not know where his master is now.
• The arena master recalls hearing about the Exquisite Grotto, an immensely powerful faction whose strength far surpasses that of the Guan and Wei Families. He believes it may be located in the River of Forgetfulness Territory, though he cannot confirm this.
• Chen reveals that he intends to seek stronger cultivation techniques. His current technique has reached its limit, and he refuses to become complacent in his cultivation.
• Before leaving the area, Chen asks about the Guan Family’s newly discovered low-grade Extreme Origin Stone mine. The arena master confirms that the mine exists but knows few details because the Guan Family has kept it heavily guarded and secret.
• Chen initially considers taking the mine, but because he and his companions may soon leave and have little time to benefit from it, he devises another plan: offering to protect the mine in exchange for Extreme Origin Stones.
• Chen predicts that outside factions—particularly the Wei Family—will eventually target the mine. Since the Guan Family has refused to cooperate with the Wei Family, the Wei Family may seek allies and attempt to divide the mine’s profits.
• The chapter ends with Mu Yunyao questioning whether the Guan Family would believe Chen’s warning or agree to his proposed arrangement.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan is increasingly confident and strategic. He recognizes the limitations of his current cultivation technique and begins planning to seek more advanced methods. He also demonstrates political and economic cunning by transforming a potential act of seizure into a mutually beneficial “protection” arrangement.
• The arena master becomes noticeably more deferential toward Chen. Though his knowledge is limited, he provides valuable information about the Exquisite Grotto and the potential threat to the Guan Family’s mine.
• Da Huang remains skeptical and sarcastic, openly mocking Chen’s claim that they are “good people,” while also questioning the practicality of his plans.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba react awkwardly to Chen’s moral posturing, recognizing that he would likely have seized the mine outright if circumstances had not changed.
• Mu Yunyao acts as a practical voice, questioning whether Chen’s proposal can succeed if the Guan Family does not trust him.

Significant Themes

• Power changes social status: The arena master’s shift in attitude shows how respect and treatment are determined by strength.
• The limits of cultivation: Chen emphasizes that arrogance and complacency are dangerous, and that continued advancement requires finding increasingly powerful cultivation techniques.
• Adaptability and pragmatism: Chen abandons his original plan to seize the mine once he realizes they may not remain long enough to benefit from it, replacing it with a more efficient strategy.
• Human greed and political conflict: Chen understands that valuable resources inevitably attract challengers, and that the Wei Family may ally with outsiders against the Guan Family.
• Morality versus self-interest: Chen jokingly presents the protection-fee scheme as an act of kindness, while his companions recognize that it is essentially a more acceptable form of exploitation.

Character Interactions

• Chen questions the arena master about his master, past travels, and knowledge of powerful factions.
• The arena master provides information cautiously, revealing both his limited experience and his respect for Chen.
• Chen discusses the Extreme Origin Stone mine with the arena master, who realizes that Chen may intend to intervene in the Guan Family’s affairs.
• Da Huang challenges Chen’s reasoning and mocks his self-image as a benevolent protector.
• Chen explains his prediction about the Wei Family’s likely actions, using the arena master’s own perspective to validate his plan.
• Mu Yunyao questions the feasibility of approaching the Guan Family, leaving the proposed alliance unresolved at the chapter’s conclusion.

Chapter Summary: “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao discuss how to deal with the Wei Family’s likely attempt to seize the mine vein controlled by the Guan Family.
• Rather than confronting the families immediately, Chen Changan plans to wait until the Wei Family initiates a conflict. If the Guan Family continues supporting the Wei Family, Chen Changan’s group will intervene and reclaim the resources from whoever loses control of the mine.
• He warns that the Guan Family can preserve most of its benefits if it cooperates, but if it refuses, it will bear the consequences of failing to protect the mine.
• Chen Changan orders Guan Ao and Wang Ba to closely monitor both the Guan and Wei Families. Their goal is to detect any unusual movements and determine when the conflict over the mine begins.
• The local people ask whether they truly have the potential to become cultivators. Chen Changan encourages them not to be discouraged by their current limitations, emphasizing perseverance and hard work.
• He explains that talent determines a person’s potential, but effort is essential to reaching it. Even if they cannot cultivate now, they may eventually succeed or follow the path of Body Cultivation.
• Inspired by his words, the people leave with renewed determination to improve themselves and change the fate of their Lineage.
• After the others disperse, Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao go for a rare peaceful walk through the city. Da Huang instead asks for money to visit the local brothels, claiming that he values the “atmosphere” and “emotional value.”

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates strategic patience and political awareness. He avoids unnecessary confrontation while preparing to exploit the inevitable conflict between the Guan and Wei Families.
• He also takes on a mentor-like role, motivating the aspiring cultivators and helping them develop confidence in their future.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba are entrusted with an important surveillance mission, showing their growing reliability within Chen Changan’s group.
• The local people shift from uncertainty to determination after Chen Changan’s encouragement. They become willing to work harder and endure hardship to change their lives.
• Mu Yunyao reveals her emotional exhaustion and longing for a peaceful, ordinary life after their long journey and constant battles.
• Da Huang remains comic and shameless, taking advantage of Chen Changan’s generosity to pursue his own pleasures.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance versus innate talent: Talent sets limits, but effort and persistence are necessary for any progress. Current failure does not determine future potential.
• Strategic patience: Chen Changan chooses to wait for his opponents to act, allowing him to intervene with greater justification and advantage.
• The desire for peace: Beneath the characters’ pursuit of power lies a longing for ordinary warmth, stability, and time together.
• Responsibility and protection: Chen Changan continues striving for strength because he fears losing the people he cares about and cannot yet afford to withdraw from conflict.
• Changing one’s fate: The aspiring cultivators are encouraged to take control of their destinies through effort, discipline, and courage.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan explains his plan to Mu Yunyao, Guan Ao, and the others, while Guan Ao questions what will happen if the Guan Family refuses to cooperate.
• He assigns Guan Ao and Wang Ba to monitor the two rival families.
• The aspiring cultivators respectfully seek Chen Changan’s reassurance, and he responds with an inspiring lesson about persistence and Body Cultivation.
• Chen Changan lightly argues with Da Huang over the dog’s request to visit brothels before reluctantly giving him money.
• During their walk, Mu Yunyao asks whether Chen Changan can adapt to a slower, more peaceful life. Their conversation exposes her longing to return to the ordinary warmth of the Great Profound Realm.
• Chen Changan reassures her that peace will come once all their enemies and troubles are dealt with, promising that they will eventually travel and live freely.

Chapter Summary: “Need a Hand?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao spend a period enjoying a quiet, ordinary life, temporarily putting aside their other concerns.
• Their peaceful routine ends when Wang Ba and Guan Ao return with news that the Wei Family has mobilized its forces.
• The Wei Family, having learned about the Guan Family’s hidden mine, joins with the Li and Yuan Families to seize it.
• Chen Changan and his companions follow the allied forces to the mine, deliberately keeping their distance so they can benefit from the ensuing conflict.
• The Wei, Li, and Yuan Families surround the mine before the Guan Family can respond.
• Patriarch Wei is angered that the Li Family secretly brought the Yuan Family into the alliance. The Li Family Head explains that a three-family alliance will minimize casualties and make it easier to defend the mine afterward.
• The Guan and Wei Families exchange accusations. The Guan Family claims the Wei Family is greedy and opportunistic, while the Wei Family blames the Guan Family for refusing to share the mine.
• Patriarch Wei initially offers to let the Guan Family withdraw peacefully, hoping to avoid a costly battle. The Guan Family Head hesitates because protecting his people matters more than retaining the mine.
• The Li Family Head rejects the offer, declaring that the Guan Family must be killed to prevent them from returning with reinforcements.
• This betrayal removes the Guan Family’s hesitation and convinces them to fight to the death.
• Just as the battle is about to begin, Chen Changan and his group suddenly appear. He offers to help the Guan Family—but demands “protection money” in return.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates patience and strategic thinking by allowing the Wei, Li, Yuan, and Guan Families to weaken one another before intervening. His playful demand for payment reveals his confidence and opportunistic nature.
• Mu Yunyao remains alongside Chen Changan during his temporary retreat into peaceful daily life, though she does not take a major active role in the confrontation.
• Patriarch Wei is shown as ambitious but somewhat pragmatic. He wants the mine, yet he understands the cost of open conflict and is willing to let the Guan Family leave.
• The Li Family Head emerges as the most ruthless and uncompromising figure. He secretly expands the alliance and advocates eliminating the Guan Family entirely.
• The Guan Family Head struggles between preserving his family and defending their valuable mine. His initial hesitation reflects his sense of responsibility, but the Li Family’s threat forces him to choose resistance.

Significant Themes

• Greed and competing claims to resources: The mine represents wealth and power, driving the three families toward betrayal and violence.
• Trust and betrayal: The Li Family’s decision to involve the Yuan Family without informing the Wei Family creates tension within the alliance, while the Guan Family feels betrayed by the Wei Family’s attack.
• Pragmatism versus principle: The Wei Family presents withdrawal as a practical solution, whereas the Li Family prioritizes eliminating future threats.
• Survival and family responsibility: The Guan Family Head must decide whether preserving the mine is worth risking the destruction of his entire family.
• Strategic opportunism: Chen Changan waits for both sides to reveal their intentions and weaken each other before offering assistance for profit.

Character Interactions

• Chen Changan consults with Wang Ba and Guan Ao about the Wei and Guan Families’ movements and plans to exploit the conflict.
• Patriarch Wei confronts the Li Family Head over secretly bringing in the Yuan Family; the Li Family Head defends the decision as necessary for long-term security.
• Patriarch Wei and the Guan Family Head trade accusations over selfishness, greed, and responsibility for the confrontation.
• Patriarch Wei offers the Guan Family a chance to withdraw, but the Li Family Head overrides this apparent mercy by demanding their deaths.
• The Guan Family responds to the Li Family’s threat by abandoning negotiation and preparing for a desperate battle.
• Chen Changan interrupts the standoff with a humorous but calculating offer to protect the Guan Family in exchange for payment.

Chapter Summary: “Never See Each Other Again”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan unexpectedly offers to protect the Guan Family’s mine in exchange for only the Extreme Origin Stones, rather than claiming the mine itself.
• He argues that the Guan Family should trust him because he could have waited for the other families to weaken one another before taking the mine for himself.
• Chen exposes the unstable alliance between the Wei, Li, and Yuan Families. He warns that once the Guan Family is destroyed, the Li and Yuan Families will likely eliminate the Wei Family and divide the mine between themselves.
• The Wei Family Head begins to recognize that the Li Family may have manipulated him and invited the Yuan Family without truly intending to share the spoils.
• Chen also reveals the Li Family Head’s possible plan to have the Yuan Family attack the Wei Family, allowing the Li Family to technically keep its promise.
• With the situation turning against him, the Wei Family Head withdraws from the conflict and asks the Guan Family for permission to leave.
• The Guan Family Head agrees to let them go, but declares that the Guan and Wei Families will sever ties permanently and never meet again.
• The Wei Family departs, while the Guan Family reflects sadly on how the mine destroyed their former relationship.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates confidence, sharp judgment, and strategic intelligence. He controls the conversation, exposes hidden motives, and pressures both the Wei and Guan Family Heads into reconsidering their choices.
• The Wei Family Head shifts from greed and ambition to regret and self-awareness. He realizes that he has endangered his family by trusting the Li Family and ultimately chooses survival over further conflict.
• The Guan Family Head shows both caution and emotional restraint. Though betrayed by the Wei Family, he chooses not to pursue revenge and allows them to withdraw.
• The Li Family Head is revealed as manipulative and opportunistic. His attempt to reassure the Wei Family fails once Chen exposes the loophole in his promise.
• The Yuan Family Head is aggressive and dismissive toward Chen, but becomes passive once the alliance begins to fracture.

Significant Themes

• Greed destroys relationships: The mine exposes the selfishness and hidden desires of both the Guan and Wei Families.
• Betrayal and political manipulation: Alliances based on profit are shown to be fragile, with each family prepared to sacrifice another for greater gains.
• The danger of misjudging allies: The Wei Family realizes too late that the Li and Yuan Families never regarded them as true partners.
• Regret and irreversible consequences: Although the Wei Family withdraws peacefully, the trust between the two families is permanently destroyed.
• Human nature under pressure: The chapter suggests that neither side is entirely innocent; ambition and possessiveness blinded both families.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen confronts the Yuan Family Head and dismisses his threat, establishing his dominance.
• Chen directly challenges the Li Family Head’s “gentlemanly” assurances and exposes the family’s likely scheme.
• Chen negotiates separately with the Guan and Wei Family Heads, offering protection to one while encouraging the other to abandon a dangerous alliance.
• The Wei and Guan Family Heads share a final emotional exchange, acknowledging their former bond but accepting that it can never be restored.

Chapter Summary: “Boundary-Breaking Pill”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Wei Family withdraws without interference from the Li or Yuan Families, removing one obstacle while leaving the Guan Family isolated.
• The Li Family Head confidently claims that the mine vein will belong to the Li and Yuan Families and orders Chen Changan’s group to leave.
• Chen Changan points out that neither opposing family bothered to inspect their cultivation. It is revealed that Chen Changan, his companions, and even the dog are all at the Fifth Layer of the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm.
• This discovery initially gives the Guan Family hope, since the Li and Yuan Families should struggle against five additional experts of that level.
• The Li Family Head reveals that both the Li and Yuan Families possess three Fifth-Layer experts each. He also produces a Boundary-Breaking Pill, which can temporarily—or permanently—raise a cultivator to the Sixth Layer at the cost of losing any chance to advance further.
• The Guan Family Head condemns the pill’s consequences, but the Li Family Head accepts the sacrifice, believing Sixth-Layer cultivation is sufficient to dominate the region and secure the family’s future.
• Chen Changan dismisses the threat, claiming that even Seventh-, Eighth-, or Ninth-Layer experts would not concern him. The Guan Family is told to stand aside and collect its protection fee afterward.
• The Li and Yuan Families launch their attack while the Li Family Head consumes the Boundary-Breaking Pill.
• Chen Changan’s group overwhelms the attackers with astonishing ease, demonstrating strength far beyond the Fifth Layer.
• The Guan Family realizes that Chen Changan’s group is vastly more powerful than their apparent cultivation suggests.
• Just as the Li Family Head appears to be at a disadvantage, the Guan Family notices that he possesses multiple Boundary-Breaking Pills. Despite the danger of taking more than three, he swallows a third pill, leaving his ultimate strength and survival uncertain.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan remains calm, mocking, and completely confident. His refusal to take the Li Family’s threat seriously establishes that his group possesses hidden or extraordinary power beyond their cultivation levels.
• The Li Family Head is revealed to be ambitious, ruthless, and willing to sacrifice his own future for immediate dominance. His decision to use the Boundary-Breaking Pill reflects his belief that power and family advancement justify extreme costs.
• The Guan Family Head shifts from confidence to relief, then to alarm. He recognizes the danger posed by the Boundary-Breaking Pill but also realizes that Chen Changan’s group may be far stronger than expected.
• The Li and Yuan Families are shown to have greater resources than the Guan Family anticipated, including six Fifth-Layer experts and access to rare pills.
• The Guan Family becomes increasingly dependent on Chen Changan’s group for survival, despite initially treating them as outsiders.

Significant Themes

• Power versus cultivation level: The chapter emphasizes that a person’s displayed realm does not necessarily reflect their true combat strength.
• Sacrifice for ambition: The Boundary-Breaking Pill represents the willingness to destroy one’s future for immediate power, raising questions about whether victory is worth permanent personal loss.
• Short-term gain versus long-term development: The Li Family Head values securing the mine vein now over preserving his ability to cultivate later.
• Arrogance and misjudgment: Both the Li and Guan Family Heads initially underestimate Chen Changan because they fail to investigate his group properly.
• The harshness of cultivation society: Limited access to superior techniques leaves ordinary families struggling for advancement, making rare resources and dangerous shortcuts extremely valuable.
• Hidden strength and dramatic reversal: The balance of power repeatedly shifts as each side reveals new information.

Character Interactions

• The Li Family Head attempts to intimidate Chen Changan and negotiate his withdrawal, but Chen Changan turns the exchange into an insult by exposing his failure to check their cultivation.
• The Guan Family Head and the Li Family Head argue over the consequences of the Boundary-Breaking Pill. The Guan leader sees it as a destructive gamble, while the Li leader views it as an acceptable sacrifice.
• Chen Changan dismisses the Guan Family Head’s concerns and orders the Guan Family to remain uninvolved, promising to handle the battle themselves.
• The battle exposes the vast gap between Chen Changan’s group and the opposing families, shocking the Guan Family.
• The chapter ends with the Li Family Head consuming a third Boundary-Breaking Pill, creating suspense over whether he can survive the transformation and challenge Chen Changan’s overwhelming group.

Chapter Summary: “Medicine Couldn't Save You Either”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Li Family Head consumes three Boundary-Breaking Pills, forcibly advancing from his original cultivation to the Eighth Layer of the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm.
• Despite the immense power and confidence gained from the pills, he is severely burdened physically by the breakthrough.
• He attacks Chen Changan, believing his new cultivation makes him invincible, but Chen kills him instantly with a single sword strike.
• Chen explains that cultivation realm does not equal true strength, especially when obtained through pills. The Li Family Head’s death causes the Li and Yuan Family forces to panic and attempt to flee.
• Chen Changan refuses to let anyone escape and orders a complete slaughter of the hostile forces. The Li and Yuan Families’ elite forces are wiped out.
• The Guan Family retains control of the mineral vein. Chen clarifies that he and his companions do not want the vein itself, only a substantial one-time protection fee.
• The Guan Family Head agrees to pay and invites Chen and the others back to the Guan Family while the Extreme Origin Stones are prepared.
• Meanwhile, the Wei Family relocates its entire clan, causing widespread rumors that the Guan Family has defeated them and become the city’s dominant power.
• At the Guan Family, the head reveals his concern that the conflict is not truly over. The Li Family’s possession of three extremely valuable Boundary-Breaking Pills suggests that a stronger force may be backing them.
• The Guan Family Head decides to investigate the source of the pills while preparing Chen’s payment.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates overwhelming confidence and combat superiority. He remains calm even against an opponent who has reached the Eighth Layer, reinforcing that his real strength far surpasses ordinary cultivation levels.
• The Li Family Head becomes arrogant after his pill-induced breakthrough, but his confidence collapses when Chen kills him effortlessly. His dependence on external medicine exposes the weakness behind his apparent power.
• The Guan Family Head shifts from fear and uncertainty to cooperation with Chen. He is grateful that the mineral vein has been preserved but remains cautious and politically aware, recognizing the possible threat behind the Li Family.
• Da Huang displays blunt confidence, dismissing the possibility of future danger because Chen and the group are powerful.
• The Guan Family members and city residents become fearful and awed by Chen’s group after witnessing their destruction of the enemy forces.

Significant Themes

• True strength versus cultivation level: A higher realm does not guarantee victory, particularly when achieved artificially through pills.
• The dangers of relying on external power: The Boundary-Breaking Pills grant rapid advancement but place tremendous strain on the body and cannot compensate for a lack of genuine strength.
• Power and deterrence: Chen’s group could seize the mineral vein but chooses only to demand protection fees, demonstrating both restraint and overwhelming authority.
• Consequences of greed and ambition: The Li and Yuan Families’ attempt to eliminate Chen and exploit the situation ends in total destruction, while the Wei Family abandons the city.
• Hidden forces and unresolved threats: The mysterious source of the Boundary-Breaking Pills suggests that the conflict may involve a larger power operating behind the Li Family.

Character Interactions

• The Li Family Head arrogantly confronts Chen after breaking through, but Chen responds with a single decisive attack and verbally ridicules his reliance on medicinal pills.
• The Guan Family Head warns Chen to be careful, then later negotiates respectfully with him over the protection fee.
• Chen reassures the Guan Family that he has no interest in managing the mineral vein, provided they pay for protection.
• The Guan Family Head shares his suspicions about the Li Family’s pills with Chen, while Da Huang dismisses the threat confidently.
• Chen agrees to remain with the Guan Family while they prepare payment and investigate who supplied the pills.

Chapter Summary: “Because It Was Low-Level Enough”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan approves of the Guan Family Head’s willingness to investigate the Li Family’s involvement in the conflict over the Extreme Origin Stone Vein. He promises to handle anyone supporting the Li Family, allowing the Guan Family to investigate without fear.
• The Guan Family Head assures Chen Changan that his family will compensate him generously with Extreme Origin Stones, acknowledging that Chen’s intervention saved the family from destruction.
• Chen asks about the Wei Family. The Guan Family Head explains that although the Wei Family betrayed or opposed them over the mine, he cannot bring himself to destroy them because his mother and many Guan family members are connected to the Wei Family through marriage.
• Da Huang criticizes the Guan Family for refusing to share the mine with the Wei Family in the first place, arguing that cooperation would have prevented the present conflict. The Guan Family Head admits that greed and short-sightedness blinded them.
• Da Huang asks the Guan Family Head about brothels and jokingly suggests that the Guan Family establish a new one for him. Chen stops the increasingly awkward exchange, while Da Huang reveals his grand ambition to create brothels throughout the All Heavens and Myriad Worlds.
• During his stay with the Guan Family, Chen repeatedly visits the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds. The disciples and grounds master revere him because they know he was responsible for saving the Guan Family.
• Chen encourages the grounds master to recruit more disciples and find Body Cultivation techniques so the martial grounds can develop along two cultivation paths.
• Da Huang notices Chen’s repeated visits and suspects he has a hidden motive. Chen explains that he wants to support the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds because it has potential and may benefit future generations.
• When Da Huang asks why Chen chose that particular institution, Chen gives the blunt answer: it was “low-level enough,” meaning it was accessible and had room for growth.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan shows himself to be protective, farsighted, and increasingly interested in cultivating institutions rather than merely solving immediate problems. He values responsibility and believes that helping a weak but promising organization may benefit future generations.
• Family Head Guan demonstrates accountability and regret. He accepts responsibility for the Guan Family’s role in provoking the Wei Family and reveals that family ties make revenge emotionally impossible.
• Da Huang remains shameless, humorous, and pleasure-seeking, especially in his obsession with brothels. At the same time, he is perceptive enough to recognize that Chen’s actions usually have a deeper purpose.
• The grounds master is encouraged by Chen’s support but becomes suspicious that Chen’s visits may conceal a larger plan.

Significant Themes

• Greed and its consequences: The Guan and Wei Families’ conflict originated from the Guan Family’s unwillingness to share the mine, demonstrating how greed destroyed a previously close relationship.
• Family bonds versus revenge: The Guan Family Head cannot simply eliminate the Wei Family because their blood and marital ties are deeply intertwined.
• Foresight and investment in the future: Chen’s support for the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds reflects the idea that helping something weak grow can benefit future generations.
• Responsibility and mutual benefit: The chapter contrasts selfish competition with cooperation, suggesting that alliances and shared prosperity are wiser than short-term gain.
• Humor amid serious affairs: Da Huang’s brothel obsession provides comic relief and highlights his carefree, unconventional personality.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen and the Guan Family Head discuss the Li Family investigation, compensation, and the unresolved relationship with the Wei Family.
• Da Huang challenges the Guan Family Head over his family’s treatment of the Wei Family, forcing him to acknowledge past mistakes.
• Da Huang embarrasses the Guan Family Head by proposing that the family open a brothel, prompting Chen to intervene.
• Chen and the grounds master discuss the future of the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds and the need to develop Body Cultivation.
• Da Huang questions Chen’s repeated visits, leading Chen to reveal his intention to nurture the martial grounds as a long-term investment.

Chapter Summary: “The Person Behind the Li Family”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao discuss why the relatively weak Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds are worth supporting. Chen believes weaker factions have fewer selfish interests, are more likely to remember assistance, and can be guided through rules rather than manipulated through constant interference.
• Chen reflects on his father’s repeated interventions during the third trial of the Ascension Road, where Chen experienced countless resets and lives. He contrasts this with his own plan: to prepare opportunities for future descendants without controlling their choices.
• Chen decides to connect the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds with the Guan Family. The Guan Family’s Extreme Origin Stone mine will provide resources, while Chen’s group will protect it.
• Chen also plans to send cultivation techniques and resources to the martial grounds, allowing ordinary people to cultivate and increasing the chance that hidden geniuses will emerge.
• Patriarch Guan arrives with troubling news: a member of the Li Family was accepted as a disciple by a powerful expert, who provided the Boundary-Breaking Pill. This expert may be connected to the formidable Exquisite Grotto.
• The Guan Family fears that provoking the Li Family has now implicated them in a conflict with the Exquisite Grotto, which reportedly contains Ultimate Immortal Ascension Realm experts.
• Chen remains confident, believing that despite his cultivation level, his combat strength allows him to fight across realms. Da Huang even suggests eliminating the Exquisite Grotto and taking its resources, though Chen notes that the expert’s connection has not yet been confirmed.
• Chen uses the crisis to renegotiate the Guan Family’s protection arrangement. In exchange for continued protection, he demands that one-tenth of the mine’s annual Extreme Origin Stone production be sent to the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds.
• Patriarch Guan is shocked to learn that Chen’s group is connected to the martial grounds, but ultimately agrees to the demand.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan: Demonstrates strategic foresight and a strong desire to protect future generations from the manipulation he suffered. He acts as a planner and institution-builder, prioritizing long-term development over immediate power. He also displays confidence and ruthlessness when considering possible conflict with the Exquisite Grotto.
• Mu Yunyao: Questions Chen’s plans and raises practical concerns about whether future descendants or allies will remain grateful. Her questions help clarify Chen’s philosophy of establishing rules and safeguards.
• Da Huang: Provides an aggressive, opportunistic perspective, immediately focusing on the possibility of seizing the Exquisite Grotto’s mine and resources.
• Patriarch Guan: Develops from a negotiating partner into a worried subordinate who recognizes the seriousness of the situation. He is visibly stunned by Chen’s confidence toward the Exquisite Grotto and agrees to the increased tribute.
• Chen’s Father: Though absent, he is characterized through Chen’s memories as someone who repeatedly manipulated Chen’s lives and paths in pursuit of a successful outcome, contrasting with Chen’s less intrusive approach.

Significant Themes

• Preparation versus interference: Chen wants to prepare opportunities and safeguards for the future without dictating his descendants’ lives, unlike the excessive control he experienced from his father.
• Power and social perspective: The chapter highlights how a faction’s understanding of “true power” depends on its position. The Guan Family views Ultimate Immortal Ascension experts as terrifying, while Chen considers them manageable threats.
• Gratitude, rules, and political loyalty: Chen believes gratitude eventually fades, so stable rules and obligations must be established to preserve cooperation.
• Hidden potential in ordinary people: The Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds represent the belief that talent can emerge from humble backgrounds if people receive resources and cultivation opportunities.
• Strategic alliance and resource distribution: Chen uses protection, information, and political leverage to redirect the Guan Family’s wealth toward developing the martial grounds.
• Uncertainty beneath confidence: The possible involvement of the Exquisite Grotto introduces a larger threat, though Chen refuses to act before its connection to the Li Family is confirmed.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen and Mu Yunyao debate whether supporting a weak faction is wise and whether future generations can be trusted.
• Chen reflects on his father’s controlling actions while explaining how his own plans differ.
• Chen and Da Huang discuss the possibility of confronting or destroying the Exquisite Grotto, revealing their confidence and willingness to seize resources.
• Patriarch Guan reports the Li Family’s hidden backing and the possible Exquisite Grotto connection.
• Chen leverages Guan’s fear to demand a larger protection payment, tying the Guan mine directly to the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds.

Chapter Summary:

Li Ming of the Li Family

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Guan Family Head accepts Da Huang’s proposal: the Guan Family will give the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds ten percent of its annual profits in exchange for protection and a powerful alliance.
• Chen Changan agrees to let the Guan Family help oversee the resources taken from the Exquisite Grotto, provided the family strengthens itself and proves capable of guarding that fortune.
• The Guan Family currently possesses slightly more than ten thousand low-grade Extreme Origin Stones, which Chen Changan accepts as sufficient for the moment.
• Chen Changan confirms that the Primordial Jade Bottle can no longer be upgraded in Ultimate Heaven, limiting their ability to generate resources effortlessly.
• Rather than immediately attacking the Exquisite Grotto, Chen Changan decides to investigate the person backing the Li Family. He and Mu Yunyao leave with the others to visit the Li Family.
• Meanwhile, the Li Family’s descendant, Li Ming, unexpectedly returns home after making rapid cultivation progress while traveling with his master.
• Li Ming discovers that the Li Family has been devastated. Most of its members have been killed, and the surviving family members are struggling against enemies who now seek revenge for the family’s former arrogance.
• The survivors explain that the Guan Family is somehow responsible, though they cannot understand how such a weak family could defeat the Li and Yuan Families, especially after the Li Family Head took all three Boundary-Breaking Pills.
• Li Ming refuses to believe the Guan Family could have accomplished this alone and suspects that hidden circumstances are involved.
• The surviving family members urge Li Ming to summon his master, believing only the master can save the ruined Li Family. Li Ming reacts angrily, feeling that they underestimate his own abilities.

Character Developments

• Guan Family Head: Demonstrates political wisdom and long-term vision by accepting the profit-sharing agreement. He recognizes that associating with Chen Changan and the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds could secure the Guan Family’s future and deter potential enemies.
• Chen Changan: Shows strategic caution and generosity. He is willing to grant the Guan Family access to future benefits but emphasizes that strength and capability are necessary. He also chooses to investigate the Li Family’s backer before proceeding against the Exquisite Grotto.
• Da Huang: Continues to provide comic relief through his jokes about the Primordial Jade Bottle and lost opportunities to make money, while also helping raise practical concerns.
• Li Ming: Returns confident after significant cultivation improvement, but his confidence is immediately challenged by the Li Family’s destruction. His pride emerges when his relatives suggest that he cannot resolve the crisis without his master.

Significant Themes

• Strategic alliances and long-term investment: The Guan Family accepts an apparent financial loss to secure protection and future influence.
• Strength as the foundation of survival: Chen Changan stresses that opportunities are meaningless without the power to defend them.
• The fall of arrogant powers: The Li Family’s former dominance has made them targets now that they have weakened, showing how quickly status can reverse.
• Pride versus reality: Li Ming believes his new strength is enough, but the ruined state of his family forces him to confront a much larger crisis.
• Uncertainty and hidden forces: The true reason the Guan Family defeated the Li and Yuan Families remains unclear, hinting at deeper powers or secrets behind the conflict.

Important Character Interactions

• Da Huang and the Guan Family Head negotiate the alliance, with the Family Head openly acknowledging the future value of Chen Changan and his companions.
• Chen Changan sets conditions for the Guan Family’s involvement, making clear that loyalty must be supported by real strength.
• Chen Changan and Da Huang discuss whether the Li Family’s backer has already learned of the family’s destruction, leading Chen Changan to investigate the Li Family directly.
• Within the Li Family, the survivors appeal to Li Ming to seek help from his master, while Li Ming interprets their request as a challenge to his own capability and pridefully asks whether they look down on him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ming, confident after significant cultivation growth, initially believes he can handle the Guan Family’s threat without relying on his master.
• His family warns him that the Guan Family Head possessed three Boundary-Breaking Pills yet was still killed, proving the enemy is extremely powerful. They urge Li Ming to seek his master’s help.
• The Li Family reveals that the Guan Family controls a newly discovered Lowest-Grade Extreme Origin Stone Vein. Realizing the vein may persuade his master to intervene, Li Ming leaves to find him.
• Three days later, Chen Changan, Da Huang, Wang Ba, and Guan Ao arrive at the weakened Li Family, asking about Li Ming.
• The Li Family explains that Li Ming has gone to find his master. Chen Changan realizes Li Ming is likely preparing to return with reinforcements and decides to wait inside the Li Family rather than attack immediately.
• Chen Changan and his companions become guests of the Li Family, secretly waiting to confront Li Ming and his master. Chen deliberately plans to let the Li Family unknowingly host their enemies, maximizing their eventual shock and humiliation.
• Meanwhile, Li Ming finds his master. His master initially has little interest in helping, but changes his mind after learning about the Extreme Origin Stone Vein and promises to seek justice for the Li Family.

Character Developments

• Li Ming is shown to be increasingly powerful but also overly confident and concerned that asking for help would make him appear incompetent. Ultimately, he recognizes the danger and turns to his master.
• Li Ming’s master is portrayed as pragmatic and motivated by valuable resources. He agrees to help not only because of loyalty to his disciple, but because of the opportunity to obtain the Extreme Origin Stone Vein.
• Chen Changan demonstrates patience, cunning, and psychological cruelty. Rather than eliminating the Li Family immediately, he chooses to wait for Li Ming’s return so he can cause greater emotional devastation.
• Da Huang enthusiastically supports Chen Changan’s ruthless strategy and openly rejects moral hesitation.
• Guan Ao remains conflicted. He understands the need to eliminate enemies decisively but still retains a sense of morality and discomfort with Chen Changan’s methods.

Significant Themes

• Overconfidence versus prudence: Li Ming’s confidence nearly causes him to underestimate the danger, while his family emphasizes the importance of recognizing stronger opponents.
• Ruthlessness and survival: Chen Changan argues that enemies in a life-and-death conflict should never be pitied, since hesitation can endanger oneself and one’s allies.
• Relative morality: The characters debate whether good and evil matter when survival and protection are at stake. Chen Changan and Da Huang view morality as secondary to achieving their goals.
• Psychological warfare and humiliation: Chen’s plan focuses not merely on killing the Li Family but on breaking their hearts by making them unknowingly shelter their enemies.
• Power and resource-driven alliances: Li Ming’s master’s decision to intervene is heavily influenced by the Extreme Origin Stone Vein, highlighting how material gain shapes loyalty and conflict.

Character Interactions

• The Li Family pressures Li Ming to seek his master’s help, warning him that the Guan Family may destroy the entire clan.
• Chen Changan politely questions the Li Family about Li Ming, concealing his hostile intentions.
• The Li Family welcomes Chen Changan’s group as honored guests despite their hostility.
• Wang Ba suggests destroying the Li Family immediately, but Chen Changan insists on waiting for Li Ming’s return.
• Guan Ao questions the morality and necessity of Chen’s plan, prompting Chen to explain his philosophy of decisive killing.
• Li Ming appeals to his master for aid, and his master reassures him that the Li Family’s enemies will be punished.

Chapter Summary: “Who Was Actually Talking Big?”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ming returns to the Li Family with his master, confident that the master can destroy the Guan Family and seize the mineral vein.
• The Li Family welcomes the master, who boasts that the Guan Family is insignificant and promises to avenge them.
• Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, and their companions reveal that they were present when the Li and Yuan Families attacked the Guan Family.
• Chen Changan shocks everyone by admitting that he and his companions—not the Guan Family—were responsible for wiping out the Li Family forces.
• Li Ming’s master initially dismisses them because they appear to be only at the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm, Fifth Stage. He claims their strength cannot compare to the Li Family Head’s pill-enhanced power.
• The master attacks Chen Changan, but Chen Changan effortlessly neutralizes the attack and realizes that the man has only reached the Peak Stage of the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm, not the Ultimate Immortal Ascension Realm.
• Chen Changan and his allies counterattack. Chen Changan captures Li Ming’s master while Mu Yunyao and the others slaughter the remaining Li Family members.
• Under interrogation, the master admits that his supposed connection to the Exquisite Grotto was a lie. He had merely known one of its disciples long ago and used the association to enhance his reputation.
• Chen Changan demands the cultivation technique the master uses. The master begs for his life, but Chen Changan refuses to let him bargain.

2. Character Developments

• Li Ming: His confidence grows after bringing his master back, but he becomes frightened and helpless when the master is defeated. His boastful support of his master is exposed as empty bravado.
• Li Ming’s master: Initially arrogant and certain of his superiority, he underestimates Chen Changan and falsely presents himself as connected to the Exquisite Grotto. After being overpowered, he becomes fearful and submissive.
• Chen Changan: Remains calm and confident throughout the confrontation. He quickly assesses his opponent’s true cultivation, defeats him with overwhelming ease, and exposes his lies.
• Mu Yunyao and the others: Demonstrate their strength by efficiently eliminating the Li Family members while Chen Changan handles the master.

3. Significant Themes

• Arrogance versus true strength: The Li Family and the master rely on confidence, reputation, and numerical advantage, but genuine power quickly exposes their weakness.
• Empty boasts and false prestige: The master’s supposed Exquisite Grotto connection is revealed to be an inflated lie used to intimidate others.
• Underestimating opponents: The master assumes that Chen Changan’s visible cultivation level reflects his actual power, leading to his defeat.
• Justice and retribution: The group confronts the Li Family directly for their attack on the Guan Family and delivers punishment without allowing them to rely on outside protection.
• Power and coercion: Chen Changan makes clear that the defeated master has no leverage and must surrender his cultivation technique.

4. Character Interactions

• The Li Family treats the master with respect and depends on him for protection, while he confidently promises to destroy the Guan Family.
• Li Ming questions Chen Changan’s group, mistakenly assuming they may be seeking a reward for identifying the killers.
• Chen Changan openly reveals that his group carried out the destruction of the Li Family forces, provoking disbelief and shock.
• The master exchanges threats with Chen Changan, but his confidence collapses once his attack is effortlessly blocked.
• After the Li Family is annihilated, Chen Changan interrogates the master about the Exquisite Grotto and forces him to admit his deception.
• The chapter ends with the master pleading for his life and Chen Changan demanding his cultivation technique, leaving the master’s final fate unresolved.

Chapter Summary: “A Windfall of Fortune Had Arrived?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan examines the cultivation manuals surrendered by Li Ming’s master. He discovers both a mortal-grade body-refining manual, the Body Tempering Art, and a spirit-grade manual, the Heavenly Spirit Art.
• He learns that cultivation manuals are ranked from mortal-grade to spirit-grade and then immortal-grade, with spirit-grade manuals capable of supporting cultivation up to the Ultimate Immortal Ascension Realm.
• After confirming that Li Ming’s master has no further useful information and that he has no connection to the Exquisite Grotto, Chen Changan kills him with a single sword strike.
• Chen Changan returns to the Guan Family and explains that the threat has been resolved. He gives them the Heavenly Spirit Art to copy, strengthening their cultivation foundation.
• He then travels to the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds to discuss its future with the grounds master.
• Chen Changan offers to provide resources and cultivation manuals, while the Guan Family agrees to contribute one-tenth of its annual mineral-vein income.
• He gives the Martial Grounds both the Body Tempering Art and the Heavenly Spirit Art, believing they can help its existing disciples become cultivators and attract more students.
• Chen Changan instructs the grounds master to make future admissions stricter, emphasizing talent, perseverance, hard work, and especially moral character.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates overwhelming strength and decisive judgment by killing Li Ming’s master without hesitation. He also reveals a strategic and generous side, investing in the long-term development of the Guan Family and Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds.
• Li Ming’s master is exposed as a powerful but ultimately insignificant fraud. Despite possessing a spirit-grade manual and reaching the Peak of the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm, he is unable to resist Chen Changan.
• The Guan Family Head becomes more enthusiastic and trusting toward Chen Changan after receiving the spirit-grade manual. He recognizes that Chen Changan’s support is intended to strengthen cooperation between the Guan Family and the Martial Grounds.
• The Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds’ grounds master shows practical self-awareness. Rather than blindly accepting Chen Changan’s offer, he questions why the Martial Grounds deserves such an investment and admits his lack of confidence. This honesty satisfies Chen Changan and makes him easier to guide.

Significant Themes

• Power and hierarchy: The discussion of cultivation manuals establishes a broader hierarchy of cultivation paths and hints at even higher realms beyond the characters’ current understanding.
• Strategic generosity: Chen Changan’s gifts are not purely charitable; they build alliances, increase the strength of his allies, and create a useful network around the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds.
• Foundation over immediate power: The Martial Grounds lacks heritage, resources, manuals, and connections. Chen Changan focuses on building a lasting foundation rather than seeking instant success.
• Character as a basis for leadership: Chen Changan stresses that moral character must be considered alongside talent and effort, suggesting that the future strength of a faction depends on the quality of its disciples.
• Humility and self-awareness: The grounds master’s willingness to acknowledge his limitations contrasts with blind ambition and becomes one of the reasons Chen Changan chooses to support him.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Changan interrogates Li Ming’s master about cultivation manuals and the limits of spirit-grade techniques before executing him.
• Chen Changan reassures the Guan Family Head that the danger has passed and gives him the Heavenly Spirit Art, deepening their cooperation.
• In a private discussion, Chen Changan challenges the grounds master to consider what the Martial Grounds needs to grow.
• The grounds master identifies resources, manuals, connections, and foundation as its weaknesses, while Chen Changan offers to supply most of them.
• Chen Changan sets clear expectations for the Martial Grounds: develop independently, train its current disciples successfully, expand its reputation, and reject applicants with poor character regardless of their wealth or conditions.

Chapter Summary

• Chen Changan establishes authority over the Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds. He grants the Martial Arena Master resources and cultivation methods but demands that he, his descendants, and those closely connected to him retain absolute authority over the organization forever. The Martial Arena Master agrees, making this condition an unbreakable “iron law” that future leaders must obey or be expelled.
• The Martial Arena Master is encouraged to pursue greater strength. Chen Changan tells him not to accept his supposed cultivation limit and challenges him to prove that he has never been weak. Inspired, the Martial Arena Master becomes highly motivated, and the entire Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds enters an enthusiastic period of cultivation.
• The Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds begins expanding its influence. Chen Changan expects newly successful cultivators to return to their hometowns in glory, serving as living advertisements. Their achievements will spread the organization’s reputation and present it as an opportunity for ordinary people to change their fate through cultivation.
• Chen Changan remains to supervise development. He observes the Martial Grounds while cultivating himself and only departs with his companions once its operations are stable.
• The group discovers that higher-level cultivation is unexpectedly difficult. Da Huang questions why their progress has slowed after switching from Mortal-Grade to Spirit-Grade cultivation methods, despite using better resources. Chen Changan concludes that the methods are not fake and that their strength has improved significantly, but Spirit-Grade cultivation consumes vastly more energy and is subject to stronger restrictions.
• Chen Changan identifies systemic suppression in Ultimate Heaven. He theorizes that the world imposes strict cultivation ceilings: without access to higher-level methods, even talented people cannot continue advancing. Since ordinary cultivators lack the connections or background needed to obtain such techniques, countless geniuses may be permanently trapped at low levels.
• The group questions Ultimate Heaven’s structure and purpose. Chen Changan and the others recognize that the world’s hierarchy suppresses people both socially and through restricted cultivation methods. They wonder whether this oppressive system is deliberate—possibly designed to keep most people weak while allowing only a select few to rise—and whether it relates to the changes Chen Changan’s father and others once sought.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Chen Changan demonstrates strategic foresight by securing long-term control of the Martial Grounds and encouraging the Martial Arena Master to challenge his limitations. He also becomes increasingly critical of Ultimate Heaven’s unfair system.
• The Martial Arena Master shifts from a confident visionary who inspires others to someone personally reignited by Chen Changan’s words. He accepts the new authority structure and commits to rebuilding the Martial Grounds.
• Da Huang raises the practical concern about the group’s slowed cultivation, prompting the discussion about Ultimate Heaven’s restrictions.
• Mu Yunyao and the others become serious and concerned as they recognize that Ultimate Heaven’s oppression is deeper and more deliberate than the inequalities they have encountered elsewhere.

Significant Themes

• Power, inheritance, and political control: Chen Changan ensures that authority remains with his bloodline and allies.
• The importance of opportunity: The Heavenly Origin Martial Grounds offers ordinary people a path to improve their lives.
• Systemic inequality and suppression: Ultimate Heaven appears structured to restrict advancement and preserve existing hierarchies.
• Ambition versus resignation: Chen Changan urges the Martial Arena Master to reject predetermined limits and continue pursuing strength.
• Uncertainty about Ultimate Heaven: The group begins questioning whether the world’s restrictive laws are natural, intentional, or part of a larger plan.

Chapter Summary: Heavenly Profound Sect

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan and his companions enter Forgetfulness River territory after traveling through Ultimate Heaven.
• They notice that the social hierarchy is much harsher there: ordinary people behave extremely humbly toward cultivators, who possess overwhelming authority over their lives.
• Chen Changan explains that this fear and submission developed because ordinary people cannot predict a cultivator’s temperament and have gradually learned to protect themselves by lowering their status.
• The group remains determined to find higher-level cultivation techniques. Although they already possess spirit-grade techniques, Chen Changan still considers the Exquisite Grotto their known best opportunity.
• Da Huang spends three days gathering information—while also enjoying himself at a brothel—and discovers that Forgetfulness River contains three major factions:
  • The Exquisite Grotto
  • The Carefree Abode
  • The Heavenly Profound Sect
• He learns that the Heavenly Profound Sect is likely the strongest and has a strict disciple-selection system based on talent and potential value. Unlike the other factions, it emphasizes quality, rigorous training, and nurturing its disciples.
• Da Huang recommends the Heavenly Profound Sect, believing it to be less morally complicated and more suitable for their group.
• Chen Changan agrees and immediately decides to visit it. The group travels for three months because the distance is considerable and the world’s laws restrict prolonged flight.
• They finally reach the Heavenly Profound Sect and begin examining its unusual mountain surroundings.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates realism and restraint. Although he dislikes the oppressive social conditions in Forgetfulness River, he recognizes that he cannot change the entire system and chooses to focus on matters within his ability.
• He remains goal-oriented, refusing to settle for spirit-grade techniques and seeking stronger cultivation resources.
• Da Huang proves useful as an information gatherer despite his frivolous behavior. His investigation provides crucial knowledge about the region’s major factions and leads the group toward what may be the best path for advancement.
• Guan Ao continues to provide comic relief through his misunderstandings and limited perception, while Da Huang mocks him for being weaker.
• The group shows growing confidence in their own abilities, particularly their expectation that their potential values may impress the Heavenly Profound Sect.

Significant Themes

• Social inequality and power: The chapter highlights how the extreme gap between cultivators and ordinary people produces fear, dependence, and ingrained submission.
• Adaptation versus reform: Chen Changan accepts that some problems are too deeply rooted for him to solve immediately, emphasizing survival and adaptation over idealistic intervention.
• Choosing the right path: The contrast between the Exquisite Grotto, Carefree Abode, and Heavenly Profound Sect introduces the importance of selecting allies and institutions carefully.
• Potential and merit: The Heavenly Profound Sect’s recruitment system suggests that talent and future potential matter more than wealth, status, or bribes.
• Pursuit of greater strength: Obtaining better cultivation techniques remains the group’s central objective.

Character Interactions

• Da Huang questions why ordinary people are so submissive, prompting Chen Changan’s explanation of status and fear.
• Chen Changan humorously exposes Da Huang’s real reason for gathering information, accusing him of wanting to visit a brothel.
• Da Huang and Guan Ao exchange insults over perception and intelligence, reinforcing their comedic rivalry.
• Da Huang presents his findings to Chen Changan and persuades him that the Heavenly Profound Sect is a better option than the Exquisite Grotto or Carefree Abode.
• Chen Changan quickly accepts the recommendation and leads the group toward the sect, ending the chapter as they arrive and encounter its distinctive mountain.

Chapter Summary: “Self-Proclaimed Prodigies?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Changan, Da Huang, Wang Ba, Guan Ao, and the others arrive at the Heavenly Profound Sect, whose mountain resembles a dragon and may contain an extraordinary Spiritual Vein.
• They attempt to join the sect outside the normal recruitment period. Since the next recruitment is six months away, Chen Changan refuses to wait.
• Da Huang boldly claims that the group consists of five “prodigies” and asks the guards to make an exception.
• The guards report the matter to an outer sect Elder, who debates whether the visitors are genuine talents or merely arrogant impostors.
• The Elder decides to bring them to the Testing Stone Tablet. If they are truly gifted, the sect cannot afford to reject them; if not, their false claims may warrant punishment.
• News of the unusual visitors spreads, attracting many outer sect disciples to watch.
• Chen Changan and the others remain completely calm despite the disciples’ mockery and disbelief.
• Chen Changan warns that they might accidentally destroy the Testing Stone Tablet, provoking further laughter and skepticism.
• The Elder begins the assessment, ordering Wang Ba and Guan Ao to test first. The chapter ends before their results are revealed.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates confidence, composure, and cleverness. He challenges the sect’s procedures without hesitation and subtly intimidates them by suggesting their testing tablet might be too fragile.
• Da Huang acts outspoken, humorous, and easily irritated when the guard fails to count him as one of the five prodigies. He insists that being nonhuman does not prevent him from possessing extraordinary talent.
• Wang Ba and Guan Ao show confidence based on their previous testing experience and willingly step forward to be examined.
• The outer sect Elder is cautious but pragmatic. Though skeptical of the group’s self-proclaimed status, he recognizes that dismissing them could cause the sect to lose genuine talents.
• The mountain-guarding disciple is respectful and fair-minded. Despite his doubts, he reports the group instead of dismissing them outright.
• The outer sect disciples represent conventional judgment, ridiculing the visitors for naming themselves prodigies before any test confirms it.

Significant Themes

• Confidence versus arrogance: The group’s certainty appears absurd to others, but the narrative leaves open whether their confidence is justified.
• Talent and recognition: The chapter questions whether prodigies should be identified by established institutions or whether exceptional individuals can recognize their own abilities.
• Rules versus exceptional circumstances: The sect normally follows fixed recruitment periods, but extraordinary talent may justify breaking those rules.
• Public judgment and composure: Chen Changan and his companions remain unaffected by ridicule, suggesting that true confidence does not depend on others’ opinions.
• Testing and proof: Claims of greatness are ultimately meaningless without demonstrated ability; the Testing Stone Tablet will determine whether the group’s boasts are credible.

Character Interactions

• Da Huang argues with the guard after being excluded from the count of human “prodigies,” turning the exchange into a humorous defense of his identity.
• The guards and the Elder discuss whether the visitors should be trusted, tested, or punished.
• Chen Changan confidently challenges the Elder and the sect’s testing method, while the Elder observes him carefully for signs of genuine confidence.
• The outer sect disciples mock the group, but Chen Changan and the others refuse to respond emotionally.
• Wang Ba and Guan Ao cooperate with the testing process, prepared to prove the group’s claims.

Chapter Summary: “Testing Under a Hundred?”

Plot and events

Chen Changan, Wang Ba, Guan Ao, and the others arrive at the Heavenly Profound Sect’s higher-grade Testing Stone Tablet. Wang Ba and Guan Ao are hopeful that their talent potential can improve, since the previous test used a low-grade tablet. Chen Changan explains that testing tools can limit or obscure someone’s true potential, encouraging them to trust the new test.
The Outer Sect Elder warns them that poor results could lead to punishment, but the group remains confident. Wang Ba is chosen to test first. As he activates the tablet, it releases an astonishing light visible throughout the entire sect. The tablet records Wang Ba’s talent potential as thirty million points, shocking the Outer Sect disciples, the Elder, and even the Inner Sect experts. Many initially assume the tablet is broken because the result far exceeds their understanding of talent rankings. Wang Ba returns happily to Chen Changan, and Guan Ao is told to take the test next.

Character developments

• Wang Ba changes from anxious and uncertain about whether his talent can improve to excited and thrilled after receiving an unprecedented result. His confidence is dramatically validated.
• Guan Ao remains confident and expectant, though his own result has not yet been revealed.
• Chen Changan continues to act as a calm and reassuring mentor, confidently explaining the limitations of the previous testing tool.
• The Outer Sect Elder shifts from skepticism and suspicion to complete shock after witnessing Wang Ba’s result.
• The Heavenly Profound Sect’s disciples and elders move from mocking or underestimating the group to recognizing them as potentially unparalleled geniuses.

Significant themes

• The limitations of outward judgment: Ordinary testing methods may fail to reveal a person’s true abilities.
• Hidden potential and recognition: Wang Ba’s result demonstrates that apparently unimpressive talent can be vastly underestimated.
• Confidence versus prejudice: The group’s self-assurance contrasts with the sect disciples’ dismissive assumptions.
• The emergence of extraordinary talent: The sect’s excitement suggests that exceptional individuals can transform an organization’s future and reputation.
• Ambition and growth: The discussion of the former record-holder emphasizes that true talents must continue seeking opportunities rather than remaining confined to one place.

Character interactions

Chen Changan reassures Wang Ba and Guan Ao, while Da Huang teasingly hints to the Elder that the group has something extraordinary. The Elder repeatedly warns them and doubts their abilities, creating tension with their confidence. The sect disciples speculate that Wang Ba will score below one hundred, making his thirty-million-point result even more dramatic. Afterward, Wang Ba eagerly reports his success to Chen Changan, who praises him before directing Guan Ao to test next.

Chapter Summary: Heavenly Profound Sect Shaken

Key Plot Points and Events

• Guan Ao takes the talent test after Wang Ba and produces a similarly astonishing result of roughly thirty million, causing the Heavenly Profound Sect to erupt in confusion.
• The Sect Master and Inner Sect Elders struggle to understand how two previously unknown geniuses could emerge from the Outer Sect.
• Guan Ao and Wang Ba jokingly argue over who is superior, revealing that both are servants of Chen Changan but claim different levels of seniority.
• Da Huang takes the test next, confidently expecting to surpass the others. His result shocks everyone: his talent potential reaches 150 million, far exceeding the thirty-million results.
• News of Da Huang’s result reaches the Sect Master, who is so stunned that he accidentally damages the ground with his strength.
• The Sect Master realizes that such extraordinary talents cannot remain in the Outer Sect and immediately orders that they be brought into the Inner Sect.
• Chen Changan and Da Huang question whether the Testing Stone Tablet can accurately measure Da Huang’s full potential. They suspect the tablet may have an upper limit and may be inferior to artifacts found in the wider world of Ultimate Heaven.
• Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao prepare to test their own talents to determine whether identical results would reveal the tablet’s maximum limit.
• The Sect Master and several Inner Sect Elders arrive at the testing grounds, immediately competing to recruit the newly discovered geniuses as disciples.

Character Developments

• Guan Ao displays pride and competitiveness after achieving a thirty-million potential value, though he remains playful and argumentative with Wang Ba.
• Wang Ba maintains his arrogant personality, asserting superiority based on his relationship and seniority as Chen Changan’s servant.
• Da Huang becomes even more self-confident after achieving the unprecedented score of 150 million. Rather than being fully satisfied, he wonders whether the tablet has failed to measure his true potential.
• Chen Changan remains calm and confident amid the uproar. His casual evaluation of the Heavenly Profound Sect as insignificant compared with Ultimate Heaven emphasizes his broader perspective and hidden status.
• Mu Yunyao is positioned to test her talent alongside Chen Changan, suggesting that her abilities may also challenge the limits of the sect’s artifact.
• The Sect Master and Inner Sect Elders shift from bewilderment to urgency, recognizing the opportunity to claim disciples whose potential may be unmatched in the region.

Significant Themes

• Hidden greatness and underestimated talent: The Outer Sect, long ignored by the Inner Sect, unexpectedly produces multiple beings of extraordinary potential.
• Limits of knowledge and measurement: The Testing Stone Tablet’s results may not represent absolute ability, raising questions about the limitations of local institutions and standards.
• Pride and competition: Wang Ba, Guan Ao, and Da Huang each display confidence in their superiority, while the Inner Sect Elders compete aggressively for the right to recruit them.
• Contrast between local and greater worlds: Chen Changan’s comments imply that the Heavenly Profound Sect is powerful only within its small region and insignificant compared with the vastness of Ultimate Heaven.
• Power disrupting established order: The arrival of several unprecedented talents forces the sect’s leadership to reconsider the importance of the Outer Sect and react immediately.

Character Interactions

• Wang Ba and Guan Ao exchange insults over their relative status as servants, turning their rivalry into comic relief.
• Chen Changan interrupts their bickering and directs Da Huang to take the test.
• Da Huang proudly presents his result to Chen Changan, who acknowledges it while entertaining the possibility that the score is still incomplete.
• Da Huang proposes using Chen Changan and Mu Yunyao’s results to determine whether the Testing Stone Tablet has a fixed ceiling.
• The Sect Master and Elders argue over who should recruit the geniuses, but their dispute ends when the Sect Master arrives and assumes control of the situation.

Chapter Summary: “Too Outstanding”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Outer Sect Elder reports Da Huang and the other tested disciples to the Heavenly Profound Sect’s Sect Master after they reveal astonishing potential values: two at thirty million and one above one hundred million.
• Rather than immediately celebrating, the Sect Master becomes wary. He questions why such extraordinary prodigies would choose the relatively ordinary Heavenly Profound Sect and whether the sect can retain them.
• Chen Changan explains that the sect is currently the safest and most suitable place for them to cultivate. Although they will eventually leave for greater opportunities, they will always carry the Heavenly Profound Sect’s name and may contribute to it while they remain.
• Reassured by Chen Changan’s honesty, the Sect Master accepts their reasons and recognizes that Chen Changan is the group’s real leader.
• Chen Changan points out that the sect’s Testing Stone Tablet has a limit. Mu Yunyao then tests her potential, causing the tablet to tremble and release a beam of light into the clouds.
• The tablet displays its maximum value: two hundred million. Everyone realizes this is only the tablet’s upper limit, meaning Mu Yunyao’s true potential is even greater.
• Chen Changan declines to test, noting that the tablet cannot measure beyond two hundred million. Given the others’ results, no one doubts his confidence.
• The Sect Master officially declares Chen Changan, Mu Yunyao, Da Huang, and the others members of the Heavenly Profound Sect.

Character Developments

• The Sect Master shifts from excitement to caution, demonstrating political awareness and concern about the sect’s ability to control or retain geniuses far beyond its normal level. Chen Changan’s explanation restores his confidence.
• The Outer Sect Elder becomes hopeful about receiving promotion and status because he discovered and brought in the exceptional newcomers.
• Chen Changan establishes himself as the group’s spokesperson and strategist. His direct, pragmatic explanation shows that he understands both the group’s ambitions and the sect’s concerns.
• Mu Yunyao confirms her extraordinary status by reaching the Testing Stone Tablet’s maximum measurable potential of two hundred million.
• Da Huang and the others are recognized as unprecedented prodigies, attracting intense attention from the sect’s leadership and elders.

Significant Themes

• Extraordinary talent and institutional limitations: The prodigies’ abilities exceed the Heavenly Profound Sect’s measuring tools and perhaps the sect itself.
• Mutual benefit and loyalty: Though the group views the sect as a temporary foothold, Chen Changan argues that association with them will permanently benefit the sect.
• Honesty and trust: Chen Changan’s frank admission that they will eventually leave earns the Sect Master’s respect more effectively than false promises would have.
• Power attracting suspicion: Exceptional ability is not treated as purely fortunate; it also raises questions about motives, allegiance, and whether the sect can provide adequate protection.
• The temporary nature of alliances: The group joins the sect for cultivation and safety, but their long-term destiny clearly lies beyond it.

Important Character Interactions

• The Outer Sect Elder reports the newcomers directly to the Sect Master, hoping to gain recognition.
• The Sect Master questions Da Huang and the group about why they chose the Heavenly Profound Sect.
• Chen Changan answers on their behalf, negotiating their relationship with the sect and emphasizing their future value.
• The Sect Master challenges the logic of investing in disciples who will eventually leave, prompting Chen Changan to explain the lasting benefits of their affiliation.
• Chen Changan signals Mu Yunyao to test herself, drawing the entire sect’s attention and producing the chapter’s greatest revelation.
• The Sect Master and the Inner Sect Elders ultimately accept the group after witnessing their overwhelming potential.

Chapter Summary: “Identity Is Only a Symbol”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After witnessing Chen Changan and the others’ extraordinary talents, the Heavenly Profound Sect’s Elders eagerly compete to accept them as disciples.
• The Sect Master cautions the Elders against rushing to decide the group’s future and insists that Chen Changan and his companions should have a say.
• The Grand Elder appears and proposes creating an Elder Council. The council would rank below the Sect Master but above the Inner Sect Elders.
• The council would include both internal sect members and powerful outsiders. External members would enjoy high status and access to the sect but would have no authority over internal affairs. In exchange for the sect’s support, they would be expected to aid the Heavenly Profound Sect during important crises.
• The Sect Master raises concerns about outsiders’ loyalty, but the Grand Elder argues that clear rules and obligations can protect the sect’s interests.
• The Grand Elder initially suggests that Chen Changan and the others could eventually become part of this council, though their current cultivation is too low to assume such a position immediately.
• Since they are only at the Seventh Layer of the Ultimate Mortal Transformation Realm, the Sect Master points out that they could not defeat or convince the established Inner Sect Elders, who are at the Ultimate Immortal Ascension Realm.
• The Grand Elder clarifies that the group will first be given time and resources to grow. The sect will prioritize their development because of the immense benefits they may bring in the future.
• They will be designated as Personal Disciples of the Heavenly Profound Sect, but without actual masters or restrictive obligations. Their titles are merely symbolic and will allow them to cultivate freely.

Character Developments

• Chen Changan demonstrates confidence and a willingness to challenge assumptions, questioning how the group can prove its qualifications.
• The Heavenly Profound Sect Master acts cautiously and pragmatically. He recognizes the group’s potential but remains focused on their present cultivation and the practical difficulties of gaining the Elders’ respect.
• The Grand Elder reveals himself as a farsighted strategist who has long considered the sect’s future. He values talent over current strength and is willing to restructure the sect to secure powerful allies.
• The Inner Sect Elders shift from competing for disciples to considering the possible effects of the new Elder Council on their authority and advancement.

Significant Themes

• Potential versus present strength: The chapter emphasizes that extraordinary talent may justify investment even when a person’s current cultivation is weak.
• Freedom versus institutional affiliation: Chen Changan and the others can benefit from belonging to the sect without being restricted by masters or conventional disciple roles.
• Long-term planning and sacrifice: The Grand Elder argues that the sect must temporarily sacrifice or redistribute some Elders’ interests to secure greater future power.
• Trust and vigilance: The sect must cooperate with outsiders while remaining cautious of hidden motives.
• Identity as a tool: Titles and status are presented as symbols that can provide protection and resources without necessarily defining a person’s obligations or authority.

Character Interactions

• The Elders’ eager competition contrasts with the Sect Master’s call for restraint and fairness.
• The Grand Elder commands immediate respect, overriding the Elders’ ambitions and introducing a broader institutional vision.
• The Sect Master challenges the Grand Elder’s proposal by questioning the loyalty of external council members and the group’s lack of current strength.
• Chen Changan engages the Sect Master directly, asking how the group can prove itself, while the Grand Elder supports them by explaining that their advancement will come before formal authority.
• The final agreement establishes a compromise: Chen Changan and the others belong to the Heavenly Profound Sect in name, receive its support, and remain free from the constraints of ordinary discipleship.