Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Chengming initially mistakes Qin Qing, founder of the Longlife Sect, for an agent of the wicked Longevity Sect because of their similar names and her intimidating restriction.
• Deputy Commander Liu clarifies Qin Qing’s background: she was once a powerful elder of the Hunyuan Sect, later left to establish the Longlife Sect, and is now a renowned artifact-refining grandmaster.
• Qin Qing agrees to forge Gu Chengming a third-tier sword for free, but imposes a condition: he must learn and master one of her body techniques before she will begin forging it.
• She takes him to the Town Night Division’s training ground and teaches him the principles of her unfinished technique, the Myriad Forms Life-Generating Fist.
• Qin Qing explains that the technique has no fixed form. Instead, intent generates form, allowing a punch to manifest as anything from a mountain to a tsunami.
• Gu Chengming quickly grasps the technique’s basic circulation method due to his exceptional physical control from the Hundred Bones Chime. By sunset, he can perform a basic punch carrying a trace of intent.
• Qin Qing gives him a Jade Slip containing her insights and instructs him to develop a single image that resonates deeply with him before returning for the sword-forging.
• That night, Gu struggles to choose a suitable image. Hundred Bones Chime unexpectedly provides the answer, comprehending a new technique based on the domineering image of the Hundred Heavenly Emperor.
• The resulting move, “CG/Hundred Heavenly Emperor, Help Me!”, concentrates all of Gu Chengming’s bodily strength into one supreme punch.
• Though eager to test it, Gu delays until the next day because he is uncertain of the technique’s power and possible side effects.

Character Developments

• Gu Chengming becomes more comfortable with Qin Qing after realizing her condition is not a test of his morality but of his ability to protect the artifact from falling into enemy hands. He also begins learning to apply his immense physical strength through actual combat techniques.
• Qin Qing is revealed as eccentric, blunt, and highly capable. She is both an artifact-refining master and an innovative cultivator still developing her own fist art. Her teaching also shows that she values talent and experimentation over conventional methods.
• Deputy Commander Liu helps resolve the initial misunderstanding and provides important context about Qin Qing’s history.
• Hundred Bones Chime demonstrates independent thought and extraordinary comprehension by deriving an image based on the Hundred Heavenly Emperor. Its enthusiasm contrasts with Gu Chengming’s caution.

Significant Themes

• Misunderstanding and reputation: The similarity between “Longlife Sect” and “Longevity Sect” highlights how names and reputations can create fear or confusion.
• Mutual benefit over charity: Qin Qing’s “free” instruction is actually an exchange—Gu contributes his talent and insights to help her perfect the technique. This makes the relationship more balanced and trustworthy.
• Form versus intent: The chapter explores the idea that true mastery does not depend on rigid movements. Intent can shape technique, allowing one method to express countless forms.
• Innovation and incompleteness: Qin Qing’s fist art is still unfinished, and every practitioner contributes something unique to its development. Cultivation is presented as an evolving, collaborative process rather than a fixed tradition.
• Power and restraint: Gu gains access to a potentially devastating attack, but his decision to wait before testing it shows caution and awareness of the risks of uncontrolled strength.

Character Interactions

• Gu and Qin Qing move from suspicion and awkwardness to a teacher-student relationship based on mutual respect.
• Qin Qing’s teasing and blunt remarks—especially about Zhou Qingmu and Gu’s character—create a humorous but direct dynamic.
• Liu acts as the mediator who explains Qin Qing’s past and eases tensions.
• Qin Qing teaches Gu through demonstration, showing him the overwhelming power of her fist art rather than merely explaining it.
• Gu’s relationship with Hundred Bones Chime becomes increasingly collaborative: the Chime actively analyzes techniques and offers solutions, while Gu balances its enthusiasm with practical caution.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Chengming successfully awakens the CG interface connected to the Hundred Heavenly Emperor, though the unlock progress is only at 10%. He begins wondering what conditions are required to increase it.
• He discovers that Elder Yu Wenqiu has been secretly observing him. He invites her to share pastries and tea, creating a relaxed opportunity for conversation.
• Yu Wenqiu explains Qin Qing’s history:
  • Qin Qing was once the Hunyuan Sect’s foremost artifact refiner among its younger elders.
  • She created the powerful Six Harmonies Spirit-Sealing Bell, a linked set of artifacts capable of suppressing spiritual power and mystical arts within an enclosed domain.
  • The Longevity Sect stole the artifacts and used them to ambush and slaughter elite cultivators across the Nine Provinces.
  • Because her creation caused immense suffering, Qin Qing left the Hunyuan Sect, sealed her furnace, and became reluctant to forge artifacts for others.
• Gu Chengming realizes that Qin Qing’s demanding test—requiring him to master the Myriad Forms Life-Generating Fist before she would forge his Flood Dragon Core Magic Sword—was motivated by guilt, caution, and a desire to judge his character.
• He concludes that seemingly unrelated people and events are connected through hidden karmic ties. He suspects that resolving or engaging with these connections may help him obtain the “mortal world qi” he needs.
• The next morning, Gu Chengming summons Qin Qing to the Training Ground and claims that he has comprehended the fist art’s required “image” after only one night.
• Qin Qing is skeptical, since even talented cultivators usually need weeks to discover a suitable image. She nevertheless agrees to guard him while he demonstrates.
• Gu Chengming secretly invokes the Hundred Heavenly Emperor through the CG system. A powerful white-haired phantom appears behind him and mirrors his movements.
• As he begins the fist technique, his aura changes dramatically: the mist scatters, stones levitate, and the Training Ground fills with suppressed power, leaving Qin Qing stunned.

Character Developments

• Gu Chengming becomes more perceptive about the deeper connections between cultivation factions, historical tragedies, and his own encounters. He also grows more respectful of Qin Qing after learning the truth behind her withdrawal from artifact refining.
• He demonstrates increasing confidence and strategic patience by concealing the true source of his breakthrough while using the Hundred Heavenly Emperor’s power.
• Qin Qing is presented as a traumatized but principled former genius. Her harsh conditions toward Gu Chengming stem from responsibility and caution rather than simple arrogance.
• Her usually lazy and irritable demeanor contrasts with her willingness to protect Gu Chengming during a potentially dangerous demonstration.
• Yu Wenqiu shows a more informal, curious, and affectionate side. Her appetite and gossip lighten the chapter, while her knowledge provides crucial background information.

Significant Themes

• Hidden karmic connections: The chapter emphasizes that people, factions, and events are linked by unseen causes and consequences.
• Responsibility and guilt: Qin Qing’s retreat from artifact refining reflects the moral burden of creating something powerful that was later used for mass violence.
• Power and its misuse: The Six Harmonies Spirit-Sealing Bell demonstrates how a tool created to equalize battles can become a weapon of terror in the wrong hands.
• Growth through relationships: Gu Chengming’s progress depends not only on isolated cultivation but also on interacting with figures such as Qin Qing and Yu Wenqiu.
• Identity and concealment: Gu Chengming’s apparent mastery of the fist art is enabled by the Hundred Heavenly Emperor, raising questions about how much of his power he can reveal safely.

Character Interactions

• Gu Chengming and Yu Wenqiu share pastries and tea, allowing her to explain Qin Qing’s past while their teasing conversation establishes familiarity and trust.
• Yu Wenqiu’s praise of Gu Chengming’s luck contrasts with his recognition that his opportunities arise from complex karmic circumstances.
• Gu Chengming and Qin Qing continue their mentor-student-like relationship: she doubts his progress, but still comes to evaluate and protect him.
• The chapter ends with Qin Qing witnessing Gu Chengming’s extraordinary transformation and realizing that his “image” is far beyond an ordinary natural phenomenon.

Key events

• Gu Chengming unleashes a single punch infused with the white-haired Phantasmal Image. Its shockwave destroys the training ground’s equipment, punches a massive hole through a wall of Profound Iron Rock, and devastates a nearby grove. The power leaves him physically exhausted, though his True Essence remains intact.
• Qin Qing is stunned by the attack, which bears little resemblance to the life-preserving purpose of her Myriad Forms Life-Generating Fist. She nevertheless accepts that Gu Chengming has made the art his own, gives him a valuable recovery pill, and warns him not to use the move casually because his body is still too weak for it.
• Gu Chengming gives Qin Qing the materials for his Magic Sword. She waives her refining fee and pays for the training ground’s repairs, prompting him to resolve to repay her generosity.
• Two days later, Fu Xiaoxiao announces she is returning to her sect. She leaves Gu Chengming an extravagant collection of gifts, joking that the gifts will create bonds of cause and effect to help him cultivate the Mortal World Art. Her careful goodbyes suggest the parting is harder for her than she lets on.
• The next morning, Gu Chengming senses a familiar distortion that slows everything around him. He assumes Qin Qing is testing him again, but turns to find someone else in the alley. The chapter ends before the stranger is revealed.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chengming demonstrates overwhelming power but also recognizes its physical cost. He accepts Qin Qing’s advice, appreciates her kindness, and begins to think seriously about repaying those who help him.
• Qin Qing shifts from skeptical examiner to impressed mentor. Though exasperated by the destructive, violent form her art has taken, she supports Gu Chengming and treats him with unexpected generosity.
• Fu Xiaoxiao adopts a playful, teacherly tone while preparing to leave, but her hesitation and slow departure reveal genuine affection and reluctance to part. Gu Chengming senses that her departure may have a deeper reason.

Significant themes

• Power and its cost: Gu Chengming’s extraordinary strength comes at the price of temporary physical collapse, underscoring the need for restraint.
• Unexpected transformation: Qin Qing’s life-nurturing technique becomes a devastating combat art in Gu Chengming’s hands.
• Kindness and obligation: Qin Qing’s generosity inspires gratitude, while Fu Xiaoxiao deliberately frames gifts and emotional ties as “cause and effect.”
• Parting and hidden feelings: Fu Xiaoxiao’s farewell carries more emotion—and perhaps more significance—than her casual explanation suggests.

Key plot points

• A black-robed steward from the Longevity Sect traps Gu Chengming in a secluded alley with the Six Harmonies Spirit-Sealing Bell, restricting the area and suppressing Gu’s ability to use most of his true essence.
• The steward claims the sect has no hostile intent. He warns Gu not to trust the Great Qian court or Zhou Qingmu, arguing that powerful young cultivators are often exploited or destroyed. He invites Gu to join the Longevity Sect and promises access to its resources.
• Gu senses that the steward truly came alone, but rejects his assumptions about Gu’s dependence on spiritual power. He channels the Myriad Forms Life-Generating Fist with help from the Hundred Heavenly Emperor and kills the steward with a devastating physical blow, breaking the bell and ending the restriction.
• Gu discovers that violent kills advance the Hundred Heavenly Emperor’s CG-unlock progress. He takes the damaged bell and the steward’s Storage Bag, recovers his strength, and packs the remains as evidence to remove them from the street.

Character developments

• Gu Chengming remains calm under pressure and perceptive enough to recognize the sealing artifact and assess the steward’s sincerity. He demonstrates that his strength extends beyond spiritual techniques: even when his true essence is suppressed, his raw physical power can overwhelm a cultivator’s defenses.
• The Longevity Sect steward presents himself as a sincere recruiter and warns Gu about the court, but his confidence in the bell’s restriction proves misplaced.
• Hundred Bones Resonance / the Hundred Heavenly Emperor is eager for the fight and celebrates the carnage, while Gu reacts to the killing with practical concern—and curiosity about the CG reward.

Themes and interactions

• Power beyond conventional cultivation: Gu’s physical strength defeats an opponent who expects spiritual energy to be his only source of combat ability.
• Recruitment, distrust, and competing interests: The steward tries to turn Gu against the court and Zhou Qingmu, but Gu does not accept his warnings or offer.
• Violence treated with dark humor: Gu’s brutal victory contrasts with his matter-of-fact cleanup and thoughts about unlocking the CG.
• Character interaction: The steward’s measured pitch and warning meet Gu’s skepticism; afterward, Hundred Bones Resonance’s excited prompting contrasts with Gu’s weary, practical response.

Key events

• Gu Chengming brings the mangled body of a Longevity Sect Steward to Deputy Commander Liu, who is astonished by the sheer force that killed him. Gu explains that the Steward ambushed him and tried to recruit him, but reveals little about the Sect’s plans.
• Liu warns that the Sect will likely target Gu again. He explains that its demonic artifacts are vessels for flesh, souls, and resentment, made either from scratch or by corrupting existing artifacts.
• Gu shows Liu a cracked subsidiary bell from Qin Qing’s lost Six Harmonies Spirit-Sealing Bell set. Liu confirms its origin and sends it back with Gu to Qin.
• Qin recognizes it as the “Dui” bell and burns away the resentment within. Since its materials can help temper Gu’s Flood Dragon Core, she melts it down and reforges his sword.
• Three days later, Qin gives Gu a powerful, third-tier magic sword. Gu names it Flood Dragon-Slaying, prompting Qin to joke that the East Sea’s old flood dragon may take offense.
• The new sword fills Gu’s fifth sword slot, activating and upgrading his sword-bond effect. The Huiyuan Sword Art is delighted by the weapon and imagines it will help it outshine Gu’s other techniques.
• The chapter ends by shifting to the Longevity Sect’s branch altar, hinting at events unfolding in response to Gu’s actions.

Character development and interactions

• Gu remains calm and practical under pressure, reporting the ambush and using the recovered bell to improve his weapon.
• Liu shows both concern for Gu’s safety and anger toward the Longevity Sect, while entrusting him with an artifact tied to Qin.
• Qin’s reaction to the damaged bell reveals her personal connection to the lost set and lingering resentment toward the Sect. She rewards Gu by forging the bell’s materials into his sword.
• Gu and Qin share a respectful, lightly teasing rapport; she approves of his boldness but warns him about the consequences of naming the sword.
• The Huiyuan Sword Art’s comic jealousy—especially toward the Pure Heart Art—adds a playful contrast to the Sect’s growing threat.

Significant themes

• The Sect’s corruption: The Longevity Sect turns living beings, spiritual power, and even ordinary artifacts into tools for its doctrine.
• Transformation and reclamation: A weapon once used against Gu is repurposed into a stronger sword, turning an enemy’s tool into an asset.
• Growing power and risk: Gu’s upgraded sword formation marks real progress, but his provocative sword name may invite dangerous attention.

Chapter Summary: Martial Saint

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Longevity Sect intelligence operative reports that the sect’s Steward has been killed by Gu Chengming, a Second Realm Sword Cultivator.
• The Steward’s protective barrier was destroyed by a single physical punch, and his body was reduced to pulp. Most shocking, Gu Chengming used neither Spiritual Power nor True Essence.
• The Longevity Sect’s branch leader, Jintian, discusses the incident with four Fourth Realm elders. He orders Elder Kurong to kill Gu Chengming, but Kurong and the other elders each invent excuses to avoid entering the Capital City, where Dragon Qi would suppress their strength and Gu Chengming has powerful backing.
• Jintian changes tactics. He argues that Gu Chengming’s savage, decisive killing proves that “demonic nature” lies within him, despite Gu being regarded as a righteous-path cultivator. The sect decides to recruit him rather than attack him.
• Jintian assigns Wang Zheng, a lower-ranking intelligence operative, to lure Gu Chengming into joining the Longevity Sect. In exchange, Wang is promised a Lesser Longevity Pill and consideration for promotion to Cauldron Guardian.
• Wang returns to a hidden chamber beneath an abandoned Land God Temple and prepares his Seven Baleful Blood Womb Dolls. This evil technique divides his soul among seven lamps and creates replacement bodies, allowing him to survive if killed.
• Believing that Gu responds poorly to force but may accept an apparent opportunity, Wang creates an ordinary-looking puppet to serve as his disguise and messenger.
• The next day, Wang intercepts Gu Chengming in Jishan Ward and openly identifies himself as a Longevity Sect believer. He claims to have come peacefully to apologize for the Steward’s offense and begins offering Gu an opportunity.
• Gu’s reaction is unexpectedly eager: instead of viewing Wang merely as an enemy, he sees the Longevity Sect as a source of potential combat and advancement, since his cultivation progress requires brutal physical battles.

Character Developments

• Jintian is shown to be calm, manipulative, and highly perceptive. Rather than reacting emotionally to the Steward’s death, he turns the incident into a recruitment strategy and exploits the elders’ fear and selfishness.
• Elder Kurong and the other Cauldron Guardians are revealed as hypocritical and self-preserving. They loudly advocate killing Gu Chengming but immediately make excuses when ordered to do so themselves.
• Wang Zheng is cautious, resourceful, and ambitious. He understands that direct combat would be dangerous, relies on his survival art, and carefully constructs a deceptive approach. His promised reward motivates him despite the risk.
• Gu Chengming appears increasingly dangerous and battle-hungry. His recent killing was not fueled by spiritual techniques but by overwhelming physical force. He is also frustrated by the stalled progress of his mysterious cultivation ability and is actively looking for opportunities to fight powerful or evil opponents.

Significant Themes

• Hypocrisy within supposedly righteous and demonic paths: The Longevity Sect interprets Gu’s brutality as proof that he belongs with them, revealing how easily moral labels can be twisted to serve recruitment and propaganda.
• Self-preservation versus loyalty: The elders praise the sect’s cause but refuse to risk themselves, exposing the gap between ideological devotion and personal survival.
• Violence as spiritual advancement: Gu’s physical brutality is connected to the progress of his Hundred Bones Resonance ability, making combat not only necessary but potentially transformative.
• Manipulation and perception: Jintian and Wang attempt to control Gu by reframing his actions as evidence of a “demonic nature,” while Gu independently views the encounter through the lens of his own cultivation goals.
• The danger of underestimating opponents: The Steward’s arrogance contributed to his death, and Wang explicitly plans to avoid the same mistake by using persuasion instead of force.

Character Interactions

• Jintian calmly pressures Kurong and the other elders, exposing their cowardice when they try to avoid confronting Gu.
• Jintian and the elders reinterpret Gu’s killing of the Steward as evidence that he should become the Longevity Sect’s future “holy son.”
• Jintian assigns Wang the recruitment mission, using the promise of advancement to secure his obedience.
• Wang studies both the Steward’s failure and Gu’s personality, concluding that Gu must be approached with an apparent apology and opportunity rather than intimidation.
• Wang finally confronts Gu in disguise, but Gu’s unusually enthusiastic reaction suggests that the recruitment trap may instead give him exactly the kind of enemy and opportunity he has been seeking.

Plot points and events

• Gu Chengming kills Wang Zheng’s first Blood Embryo Clone before Wang can explain himself. The clone’s death advances Gu’s progress bar, and Wang’s true body suffers a backlash.
• Wang repeatedly sends new clones to approach Gu, each time presenting the Longevity Sect’s supposed offer: first a position as Holy Son, then attempts at a distance and in disguise. Gu kills them all, refusing to hear him out.
• After five failed visits, Wang realizes that Gu does not want negotiation: he sees Longevity Sect members as targets for training. Terrified, Wang decides to flee.
• Gu tracks Wang’s hidden true body, apparently using the karmic traces left by the dead clones. He breaks into the underground chamber and kills Wang with a powerful punch, filling his progress bar.
• At the Longevity Sect’s altar, the elders hear what happened and fall into uneasy silence. Their earlier efforts to portray Gu as merely “deeply demonic” now seem inadequate; one elder wonders whether his demonic nature is too strong.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chengming remains blunt, cheerful, and relentlessly violent toward Longevity Sect members. He treats their repeated approaches less as diplomacy than as convenient training opportunities, and he is pleased when the final kill completes his progress.
• Wang Zheng shifts from self-assured emissary to confused, enraged, and finally terrified. Each clone’s death brings physical and emotional strain, until he recognizes that negotiation is futile and attempts to escape.
• The Longevity Sect elders lose their composure and avoid speaking openly about Gu. Jintian appears ready to spin the news favorably, but the others’ silence and cautious question reveal their growing alarm.

Significant themes

• Failed diplomacy and incompatible assumptions: Wang expects humility, status, and promises of power to persuade Gu; Gu’s immediate attacks make meaningful communication impossible.
• Karma and consequence: Each clone’s death leaves a trace that allows Gu to find Wang’s supposedly secure hiding place.
• Violence played for dark comedy: Wang’s increasingly elaborate approaches are repeatedly cut short, while Gu treats the deaths—and the completed progress bar—with satisfaction.
• Fear of the uncontrollable: The sect’s leaders struggle to explain Gu’s behavior, realizing that their usual language of demonic cultivation may not capture how dangerous he is.

Key plot points and events

• After defeating Wang Zheng, Gu Chengming unlocks a new Hundred Bones Ming technique: “Hundred Heavenly Emperor, Aid Me,” an ultimate punch whose damage grows after enough kills. His favorability with Hundred Bones Ming surpasses 200, granting +1 to every attribute.
• Gu gathers the remains of Wang Zheng’s Seven Baleful Blood Womb Dolls, intending to have Senior Qin Qing examine them and potentially add what she learns to the Town Night Division’s resources.
• At the Division, Deputy Commander Liu confirms Wang Zheng’s identity and praises Gu for eliminating a dangerous Longevity Sect operative. The kill earns special-grade merit, and Liu gives Gu a command token to collect his reward.
• Rumors spread through the Capital. The Longevity Sect’s local followers flee, while public storytellers turn Gu’s victory into an exaggerated tale of a warrior who can find and crush hidden enemies.
• At the Imperial Observatory, Song Zhixing and Chen Mo discuss Gu’s rapid rise in the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Chen questions whether frequent changes will draw criticism. Song begins to challenge Chen’s understanding of what the ranking measures, but his explanation is cut off at the chapter’s end.

Character developments

• Gu Chengming grows stronger through his bond with Hundred Bones Ming and gains a new, potentially scalable combat technique. His blunt, ruthless approach to Evil Cultivators also becomes increasingly well-known.
• Deputy Commander Liu shifts from concern about Gu’s methods to wholehearted approval, deciding that Gu’s forceful treatment of Evil Cultivators is justified.
• Song Zhixing appears to view the Hidden Dragon Ranking as measuring something broader than potential, strength, and past achievements; his perspective remains unexplained.
• The Longevity Sect’s operatives become fearful of Gu, seeing him as a threat who can overcome concealment, formations, and karmic protections.

Significant themes

• Power and growth: Gu’s new technique and attribute gains reward both combat and accumulated bonds.
• Reputation versus reality: Gu’s real victory quickly becomes a sensationalized legend among the public.
• Justice and brutality: The chapter considers whether extreme violence is acceptable when directed at Evil Cultivators.
• Merit and recognition: Gu’s success earns institutional reward and prompts debate over how his standing should be measured.

Character interactions

• Gu reports Wang Zheng’s death to Liu and defends his harsh methods; Liu ultimately agrees and rewards him.
• Gu’s growing connection with Hundred Bones Ming is reflected in its happiness and the bond feedback it grants.
• Chen Mo questions Song Zhixing about Gu’s ranking, prompting Song to suggest that the ranking’s purpose is more complex than Chen assumes.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Song Zhixing argues that the Hidden Dragon Ranking measures overall “momentum”—including both physical strength and spiritual ability. Because Gu Chengming killed two Third Realm Longevity Sect enemies inside the Capital City, apparently without being rejected by Great Qian’s Dragon Qi, Song believes his accomplishments are extraordinary.
• Song revises the ranking, replacing the previous twentieth-place entry with Gu Chengming at tenth place, despite his being only at the Early Second Realm. The official record emphasizes that he killed both enemies through overwhelming physical force, without Spiritual Power or mystical arts.
• The ranking causes a stir in the Capital City. Gu’s colleagues are impressed, while Song Qing admits he no longer envies Gu’s position, fearing he could not survive the attention that comes with it. Gu himself is more amused than proud, especially when Hundred Bones Cry urges him to aim for first place.
• A major demon calamity erupts along the Northern Border. Reports describe coordinated attacks, the loss of two cities, heavy casualties among local Town Night Division forces, and signs of a Fifth Realm great demon leading the assault.
• Director Zhou Qingmu orders the Hidden Dragon Courtyard’s Tian Shu and Tian Xuan squads north, taking many of the Capital City’s young elites—including Gu, Song Qing, and Li Dujiang.
• Gu welcomes the prospect: the Northern Border offers abundant demons to fight, which may help him increase the power multiplier of his ability. His Elder Yu Wenqiu is equally eager to join, insisting the region is safe because her senior sister, Luo Jinyao, is stationed there.
• Gu discovers that Luo is seventh on the Heaven Ranking: a Fourth Realm Perfection sword cultivator who has guarded the Northern Border for ten years, killed many powerful demons, and once slew a Fifth Realm demon king while badly wounded. Yu plans for their group to stay near Luo and benefit from the battles around her.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Zhixing recognizes that Gu’s achievements go beyond ordinary combat strength and elevates him into the ranking’s top ten. His private reflections suggest he suspects Gu’s connection to Great Qian’s imperial power is more complicated than the ranking’s public account reveals.
• Gu Chengming remains modest and pragmatic about his fame. He treats the northern assignment as both a duty and an opportunity to test his abilities and build his power.
• Hundred Bones Cry is enthusiastic about Gu’s rising status and the chance to fight demons, while Gu’s dry reply reminds readers that, despite his overwhelming physical feats, he still considers himself a sword cultivator.
• Zhou Qingmu shifts from administrative concern to decisive leadership, mobilizing the Capital City’s strongest young cultivators to respond to the border crisis.
• Yu Wenqiu surprises Gu by eagerly joining the expedition. Her confidence rests on her trust in Luo Jinyao, and she presents the trip as a chance to follow the senior cultivator and share in the spoils of her victories.

Significant themes

• Reputation versus true ability: Gu’s low cultivation rank contrasts sharply with his extraordinary achievements, showing that conventional measures do not capture his full strength.
• The cost and opportunity of fame: Gu’s new prominence draws attention and potential danger, but it also places him among elite cultivators and gives him access to major conflicts.
• Crisis as opportunity: The Northern Border is a genuine disaster zone, yet Gu and Hundred Bones Cry also see it as a chance to fight freely and grow stronger.
• Dependence on powerful allies: Yu Wenqiu’s confidence highlights how much safety and opportunity can depend on the presence of someone vastly stronger, such as Luo Jinyao.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter balances the grim border reports with Gu’s and Yu’s irreverent, game-like outlook on fighting, rankings, and “farming” demons.

Plot points and events

• As Gu Chengming prepares to leave the Capital for the Northern Border, he makes quiet farewells. Qin Qing wishes him safe travels; Li Suizhuang reflects on everyone pursuing the cultivation path and hopes the wind favors him; the owner of Crisp Fragrance House notices his absence and hears he has gone north to fight demons.
• Gu departs aboard a flying boat with Elder Yu Wenqiu. Yu treats the trip like a comfortable outing, confident that Senior Sister Luo will protect them and recalling how fiercely Luo once defended her.
• Gu’s inner cultivation methods and other voices bicker and react to the journey: the Clear Heart Art expresses devotion, the Huiyuan Sword Art jealously answers in kind, the Great Emperor anticipates ancient treasures and powerful demons, and other voices voice bizarre plans and appetites. Their noise comforts Gu, who feels he has companions and a place to belong.
• The story then resumes the northward journey. The Town Night Division’s formidable Director Zhou Qingmu stands at the flying boat’s bow, effortlessly keeping clouds and demonic birds at bay.
• Gu asks why Yu is aboard. She produces an old Town Night Division Sub-flag Officer’s token, explaining that she served in the Capital before returning to her sect. Though she no longer receives a stipend, her old status is still recognized.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chengming leaves behind meaningful connections but faces the Northern Border with renewed steadiness. His inner voices’ competing affection and eccentricity make him feel less alone.
• Yu Wenqiu remains carefree and self-indulgent, but reveals a past connection to Great Qian’s Town Night Division. Her confidence in Senior Sister Luo also shows deep trust and affection.
• Qin Qing and Li Suizhuang express their care through restrained farewells, underscoring the bonds Gu leaves behind.
• Zhou Qingmu’s quiet presence establishes her immense authority and the security she provides the expedition.
• Gu and Yu’s teasing exchange highlights their familiar, affectionate dynamic.

Significant themes

• Farewell and connection: Parting is imperfect, but having met is itself a blessing.
• Belonging amid uncertainty: Gu draws strength from companions, memories, and even the chaotic voices within him.
• Loyalty and protection: Yu’s stories about Luo and the farewells from the Capital show how fiercely people care for those they consider their own.
• The road ahead: The Northern Border promises danger and opportunity, but Gu accepts the journey with confidence.

Key plot points and events

• Before returning to his meditation chamber, Gu Chengming chats with Yu Wenqiu and asks her to look after him on the journey north. She happily agrees, joking that she is an expert at finding places to slack off.
• Gu Chengming studies the Mortal World Illusory Body Technique, a movement art that uses a practitioner’s charm and connections to the mortal world to create convincing, karmically linked illusory bodies—not merely visual afterimages.
• He recognizes that his strong physique and affinity for mortal-world qi suit the technique, then begins practicing aboard the Flying Boat.
• During meditation, he senses the karmic threads connecting him to Yu Wenqiu, Zhou Qingmu, Fu Xiaoxiao, Senior Qin Qing, and even the lingering resentment of the Longevity Sect. He realizes the technique draws on genuine relationships and worldly attachments.
• His attempt to form an illusory body fails because the karma surrounding him is far too powerful for the technique’s basic framework. The failed construct’s energy rebounds into him, and his existing techniques absorb it.
• The influx breaks his bottleneck, advancing him from the Third to the Fourth Layer of the Second Realm. He still has not mastered the movement technique, but gains a deeper understanding of mortal-world qi.
• Back on deck, Yu Wenqiu notices his breakthrough and is dismayed that a cultivation mishap has benefited him. Gu Chengming cheerfully takes a piece of her candied fruit as the Flying Boat continues north.

Character developments

• Gu Chengming shows a growing understanding of karma and human connection, while his rapid, unconventional cultivation continues to strengthen him. He remains modest about his progress and good-humored about its absurd circumstances.
• Yu Wenqiu is established as relaxed and practical, but Gu Chengming’s effortless breakthrough briefly shakes her confidence and makes her jokingly lament the unfairness of the world.
• The karmic threads reveal that several characters remain emotionally or reputationally connected to Gu Chengming, even across great distances.

Significant themes

• Connection and karma: The “mortal world” is portrayed as a web of relationships, attachments, reputation, and resentment.
• Unintended growth: Gu Chengming fails at his intended technique but turns the failure into a breakthrough.
• Strength as both gift and burden: His accumulated reputation and connections empower him, yet their sheer weight makes the new technique difficult to control.

Character interactions

• Gu Chengming and Yu Wenqiu maintain an easy, teasing rapport: he asks for her protection, later takes her snack, and she responds with mock despair at his progress.
• Gu Chengming’s meditation also brings him into contact with the lingering influence of Zhou Qingmu, Fu Xiaoxiao, Senior Qin Qing, and the Longevity Sect through the karmic ties he senses.

Chapter summary

As Gu Chengming’s fleet approaches Luoxue Pass, Yu Wenqiu jokes that the journey has been suspiciously peaceful. The calm ends when a gigantic black hand tears through the clouds and nearly crushes the Town Night Division’s flagship. Zhou Qingmu counters with a powerful sword strike, then faces three Fifth Realm demon kings: Dark North Wolf Lord, Azure Dome Bat Lord, and Mount Yue Rock Venerable. Ordered to scatter and escape, the fleet breaks formation.
Gu Chengming suspects the attack is part of a larger ambush. His fear proves justified when a vast demon-beast host surges from the mountains, including Fourth Realm greater demons. A Green-Scaled Eagle Demon attacks Gu and Yu Wenqiu’s flying boat, breaking its defenses and trapping them aboard.
Yu Wenqiu uses her Heavenly Eye Technique to find a safe point for spatial displacement, but the eagle demon attacks while she is concentrating. Gu Chengming steps in front of her and, with no time to draw his sword or set a formation, calls upon the Hundred Heavenly Emperor. The emperor’s will takes control of Gu’s body and concentrates his strength into a single fist. Gu punches at the demon as the chapter ends.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chengming is alert to danger even during the fleet’s apparently uneventful journey. When Yu Wenqiu is exposed to the eagle demon’s attack, he instinctively protects her, revealing his courage and trust in the power within him.
• Yu Wenqiu shifts from teasing and relaxed to decisive and protective. She recognizes the danger, tries to escape using her specialized technique, and positions herself between Gu and the demon before he intervenes.
• Zhou Qingmu demonstrates formidable strength and authority, wounding the first attacker and staying behind to hold off three demon kings so the fleet can flee.
• The Hundred Heavenly Emperor answers Gu’s desperate call, taking command of his body and enabling his counterattack.
• Gu and Yu Wenqiu’s bond is emphasized through her urgent instruction to hold on to her during the escape attempt and his choice to shield her when that attempt is interrupted.

Significant themes

• Deceptive calm and looming danger: The peaceful journey masks a carefully prepared ambush.
• Sacrifice and protection: Zhou risks herself to save the fleet; Gu risks himself to protect Yu Wenqiu.
• Power and its cost: The emperor’s intervention gives Gu strength, but drains his own power completely.
• Trust under pressure: Yu Wenqiu relies on her technique and Gu’s cooperation, while Gu acts without hesitation when she is threatened.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Chengming’s punch buys Yu Wenqiu a moment to use her spatial escape technique. She carries him away from the Green-Scaled Eagle Demon, while Zhou Qingmu stays behind and kills another demon king.
• Yu Wenqiu and Gu arrive safely at Luoxue Pass, where they reunite with Luo Jinyao. Gu is exhausted, but an examination reveals no serious injuries, and he recovers quickly after taking a pill.
• Their warning and the timely reinforcements help turn the battle into a major victory: Zhou Qingmu kills the Dark North Wolf Lord and Azure Dome Bat Lord, and badly wounds the Mount Yue Rock Venerable, whose demon soul escapes.
• After resting, Gu formally settles at Luoxue Pass. Luo gives him a garrison token and assigns him a nominal post among North Suppression Manor’s personal guards, keeping him nearby while she organizes the border defenses.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu shows unexpected combat strength by repelling a fourth-realm demon’s attack with a single punch, and surprising resilience by recovering rapidly. He wonders whether his technique has a hidden effect.
• Yu Wenqiu’s concern for Gu is evident: despite her own rough landing, she immediately asks Luo to check him. Her protective, affectionate treatment of him is also clear in her private nickname, “Xiao Gu.”
• Luo Jinyao is introduced as a formidable Heaven Ranking cultivator, but she behaves warmly and attentively toward Gu. She explains the pass’s rules, welcomes him into its ranks, and offers to show him around.
• The reunion has a comic note: Yu Wenqiu clings to Luo’s thigh after teleporting, while Gu initially mistakes the dignified woman for Yu.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and teamwork: Gu’s punch creates the opening Yu needs, and their timely warning enables reinforcements to save the wider defense.
• Unexpected strength and resilience: Gu’s performance challenges others’ assumptions that he needs constant protection.
• Care amid wartime danger: Yu and Luo’s concern for Gu contrasts with the grim, deadly conditions of the Northern Border.
• Adaptation to a new frontier: Gu’s arrival at Luoxue Pass marks a shift from the Town Night Division’s usual structure to a military world governed by merit and defense priorities.

Plot points and events

• Luo Jinyao takes Gu Chengming through Luoxue Pass, whose busy streets and thriving trade surprise him. She explains that the city’s safety attracts travelers and that its population strengthens Great Qian’s dragon qi, helping defend the frontier against demons.
• At the central plaza, she introduces the Myriad Demons Ranking, which lists demon targets and determines the battle merits hunters can earn. Gu Chengming, already tenth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, is himself likely a target for ambitious demons.
• Luo warns him to be cautious and promises he can come to her if he faces danger. Later, she gives him Snow-Returning Pills to resist the cold and sword talismans infused with her sword intent.
• The next day, Gu studies the rankings. He confirms that the Azure-Scaled Eagle King—an injured Fourth Realm demon who previously attacked him—is still alive. Unable to face the powerful demon yet, Gu identifies the Eagle King’s Second Realm descendant, the Iron-Feathered Goshawk, as a more attainable target and heads to claim its bounty.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chengming learns how Luoxue Pass’s economy and population contribute to its defenses. He is intrigued by the rewards for demon hunting, but remains practical about his limits and channels his desire for revenge toward a weaker target.
• Luo Jinyao shows herself to be a capable, protective mentor. Her thoughtful preparation and personal care overwhelm Gu, who is more accustomed to Elder Yu’s hands-off style. Luo jokes about making up for Yu’s laziness.
• Gu and Luo grow closer through her guidance and gifts. Gu accepts her help despite initial embarrassment and gratitude.
• Gu’s sword art appears to take inspiration from Luo’s dependable manner, suggesting it may develop a nurturing, protective aspect.
• Hundred Bones Cry angrily vows to avenge Gu by defeating the Eagle King once they grow stronger.

Significant themes

• Safety as the foundation of prosperity: Luoxue Pass thrives because it offers refuge in a dangerous frontier.
• Collective strength and national defense: The people’s vitality sustains dragon qi, making the city itself part of Great Qian’s protective system.
• Ambition balanced by prudence: Gu wants to earn rewards and pursue vengeance, but chooses a target suited to his current strength.
• Care, mentorship, and contrast: Luo’s attentive support highlights the different ways elders care for their juniors.

Plot

• At Luoxue Pass, Gu Chengming claims a mission to kill an Iron-Feathered Goshawk, a second-realm-perfection demon. He intends to avenge himself, test his newly improved Emperor technique, and build its damage multiplier.
• He travels alone to Shattered Stone Canyon and finds the goshawk. Though it initially dismisses him as easy prey, Gu’s five-sword formation destroys its feather attack and traps it with his Entangle sword intent.
• The goshawk breaks free and tries to flee, but Gu changes his formation and forces it back down. Desperate, the demon burns its blood essence and dives at him with a potentially devastating attack.
• Gu activates Emperor State and uses Hundred Heavenly Emperor, Aid Me—a single punch that obliterates the goshawk. The system records his first kill, raises Hundred Bones Cry’s favorability, and increases the technique’s damage multiplier to 1.05.

Character developments

• Gu demonstrates greater confidence and tactical skill, using swords and sword intent to control the fight before relying on his punch.
• He confirms his suspicion that Aid Me is a clash-based technique. Its newly revealed trait lets his Emperor’s will suppress an opponent completely when his clash power is greater, preventing reflected damage, backlash, and recoil. If he is weaker, the enemy avoids recoil; if their power is evenly matched, the attack cancels out.

Themes and interactions

• The chapter emphasizes revenge and resolve, with Gu turning his anger into a practical mission.
• It also explores testing power through combat and the value of understanding the rules behind one’s abilities.
• Hundred Bones Cry cheers Gu on with gleefully violent encouragement. Gu largely ignores its unsettling phrasing, but their bond strengthens, and the system reflects this through increased favorability.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Chengming kills a Second Realm Iron-Feathered Goshawk with overwhelming physical force, crushing its Demon Core and most of its remains. Though the core’s value is reduced, he salvages feathers and talons.
• He finds a mysterious, palm-sized token in the demon’s remains. It bears an Azure Luan and ancient cloud-and-thunder markings; he cannot activate it.
• At Luoxue Pass’s Merit Hall, the damaged demon materials earn him 380 merit points. The old clerk is astonished by the unusually thorough beating.
• Gu returns to North Suppression Manor and finds Yu Wenqiu asleep. He now understands that she is recovering from severe Divine Soul damage caused by using the Heavenly Eye Technique to teleport them away from the Azure-Scaled Eagle King’s attack. He leaves her food without waking her.
• Luo Jinyao examines the token. Her Fourth Realm Sword Intent makes it briefly resonate, and she concludes it is likely an ancient key or identity token for passing through a restriction—possibly one connected to a secret realm.
• Luo reports that the border crisis has eased: Director Zhou helped kill two Demon Kings, causing the assembled Demon Tide to retreat. Luoxue Pass is safer for now, though the victory depended heavily on Zhou’s strength.

Character developments

• Gu Chengming remains confident in brute force but wonders whether it will suffice against higher-realm cultivators. He shows practical thrift by salvaging even ruined demon remains, and growing curiosity about the token.
• Yu Wenqiu is revealed to have concealed the serious spiritual cost of saving Gu. Her exhaustion reflects sacrifice and recovery, not laziness.
• Luo Jinyao serves as a knowledgeable and reassuring guide, identifying the token’s likely purpose and explaining the Northern Border’s history.
• Hundred Bones Ming quickly shifts from grieving over the shattered Demon Core to fantasizing about the riches of a secret realm. The Huiyuan Sword Art, by contrast, voices caution about possible dangers.
• Director Zhou, though absent, is established as a formidable figure whose intervention prevented a potentially disastrous invasion.

Significant themes

• Power and its limits: Gu’s overwhelming strength works well against current opponents, but he recognizes that higher realms may require more than raw force.
• Sacrifice and concealed suffering: Yu Wenqiu’s quiet recovery reveals the hidden cost of protecting others.
• Fortune, risk, and ambition: The mysterious token may lead to great treasures, but ancient restrictions could also bring danger.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter balances a looming border conflict and serious injuries with comic reactions to Gu’s violent methods and the techniques’ arguments.

Character interactions

• Gu’s imagined conversation with Hundred Bones Ming highlights their shared opportunism—and the technique’s awkward attempts to console him.
• The Merit Hall clerk reacts with disbelief to Gu’s methods, while still treating him fairly under the rules.
• Gu shows consideration for Yu Wenqiu by leaving her hot food undisturbed.
• Luo and Gu discuss the token and the military situation; her assessment reassures him that the immediate threat has receded, while reminding him how precarious the defense remains.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Jinyao tells Gu Chengming that the truce with the Demon Race is effectively over: two Demon Kings have been killed, creating a blood feud likely to reignite the Northern Border conflict.
• Zhou Qingmu survived her battle, but overused her vital essence and carries lingering poison and Killing Intent. Luo has orders to escort her to the Capital City for treatment. With Zhou and the surviving Demon King both badly weakened, powerful Fifth Realm fighters will be absent from the border for a time, leaving opportunities—and danger—for cultivators of lower realms.
• The Hundred Bones Ming enthusiastically urges Gu to make his name by defeating Demon Race prodigies, though it also insists he avoid unnecessary risks. Gu realizes its concern is partly jealousy over his earlier interaction with another cultivation technique.
• Gu visits Yu Wenqiu, who is recovering in a comfortable room at North Suppression Manor. She wakes from a romantic dream about him, embarrasses herself by denying it, and then happily eats the food he brought. Her damaged Divine Soul appears to have weakened her usual self-control.
• Gu and Yu decide to remain in the manor’s secure rear courtyard. Since the room lacks basic supplies, Gu goes to the Yi Market to buy bedding and necessities.
• At the rough, practical border market, Gu sees a public bounty board. Its notices target criminals, informants, and traitors, revealing that private bounties help police the dangerous border community.
• Gu understands that the official Myriad Demons Ranking can expose hunters’ plans, but that vulnerability also lets authorities identify spies: assignments may be monitored or even planted as traps.
• A lavish bounty for the thief cultivator Nuo Pao catches his eye. The thief allegedly stole twelve high-grade Second-tier artifacts from the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion and must be captured alive. Gu recalls Luo’s explanation that thief cultivators specialize in stealth, escape, and breaking into places—skills poorly suited to the heavily monitored Capital City but valuable in the lawless Northern Border.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chengming shows strategic insight by recognizing how the absence of top-tier fighters could shift the balance of the conflict and how the bounty system can expose traitors. He also enjoys Yu’s flustered behavior but avoids openly embarrassing her.
• Yu Wenqiu is affectionate and comically unguarded while recovering. Her dream and awkward denial hint at her feelings for Gu, while her appetite and gradual recovery restore her spirits.
• Luo Jinyao acts as a responsible protector, monitoring Yu and preparing to escort the injured Zhou to safety.
• The Hundred Bones Ming alternates between grand ambitions for Gu and anxious concern for his safety, with a touch of jealousy.
• Gu and Yu’s relationship remains warm and teasing: he brings her food and supplies, while she slips into an intimate dream and then tries to reclaim her senior dignity.

Significant themes

• War’s aftermath and shifting power: The weakened leaders on both sides leave the Northern Border vulnerable to renewed conflict and competition among lesser cultivators.
• Trust, betrayal, and surveillance: The bounty board shows how information can endanger hunters—and how that same risk can be used to uncover traitors.
• Life on the frontier: The Yi Market’s practical barter, rugged goods, and strict enforcement reflect a society shaped by cold, danger, and constant fighting.
• Care and vulnerability: Zhou’s injuries and Yu’s damaged Divine Soul reveal the personal costs of conflict, while Gu’s attentiveness offers a quieter counterpoint.
• Humor and affection: Yu’s embarrassing dream and the Hundred Bones Ming’s jealousy lighten the chapter’s ominous political and military developments.

Key plot points

• At Luoxue Pass’s market, Gu Chengming recalls that skilled thief cultivators can see through Storage Bags and leaves without lingering over a wanted notice.
• He is secretly watched by Nuo Tao, an orthodox successor of the Thousand Thieves Gate. Using her Ten Thousand Thefts Spirit Eye, she examines his Storage Bag and spots a profound-iron token bearing a blue luan—the missing half of the secret-realm key she has been seeking. She already possesses a matching milky-white phoenix token.
• Gu senses a faint disturbance in karma as he leaves, suspects someone may be targeting him, and returns to North Suppression Manor. The presence watching him is too well concealed for him to identify.
• After two uneventful days, Luo Jinyao prepares to escort the injured Director Zhou back to the capital. The journey will take at least half a month. She warns Gu and Yu Wenqiu to be cautious while she is away; the chapter ends as she begins giving Gu further instructions.

Character developments and interactions

• Nuo Tao is introduced as a playful, exceptionally skilled thief cultivator. Her attraction to Gu’s looks briefly distracts her, but professional curiosity wins out when she inspects his belongings. Finding the token turns her stakeout into a major discovery.
• Gu Chengming remains alert and pragmatic: he notices the karmic disturbance, considers the risk, and returns to the manor rather than investigating recklessly.
• Luo Jinyao shows her protective, “mother-hen” concern for both juniors, especially Yu Wenqiu, while expressing greater confidence in Gu.
• Yu Wenqiu responds obediently to Luo’s warning, lightly protesting that she is not a child.

Significant themes

• Stealth, perception, and concealed intentions: Nuo can evade ordinary notice and see through Gu’s Storage Bag, while Gu detects only an indistinct karmic trace.
• Caution amid uncertainty: Gu treats an unexplained warning seriously without acting rashly.
• The ethics and consequences of theft: Nuo’s lineage frames theft in terms of karma and repayment; the accompanying author’s note emphasizes that stolen goods—and any debt incurred—must ultimately be accounted for.
• Protection and separation: Luo’s departure leaves the younger characters to manage dangers at the border without her direct supervision.

Chapter summary

• Luo Jinyao leaves North Suppression Manor, warning Gu Chengming that his growing fame—as tenth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking and a name on the Myriad Demons Ranking—has made him a target. She gives him the token for the manor’s protective formation and asks him to avoid dangerous missions and care for Yu Wenqiu. Yu appreciates her concern but admits that Luo’s presence makes her feel like a pressured child again.
• Gu spends the following days cultivating and trying to master the Mortal World Illusory Body Technique. He realizes the difficulty comes from the distance to his strongest karmic connections: drawing Mortal World Qi from people and sources far away gives him too little control for such precise work. He needs a nearby, strongly connected anchor.
• He asks Yu Wenqiu to help by deepening their bond. Yu mistakes this for a romantic proposal and becomes flustered, but Gu clarifies that he means ordinary shared routines—meals, tea, and conversation. She agrees, partly out of gratitude for the pastries he brought.
• Their daily life gradually grows more intimate: Gu prepares Yu’s breakfast and combs her hair, refills her tea while they read together, and practices while she watches. For Gu, these are steps in his cultivation plan; Yu increasingly experiences them as tender, companionable moments and wonders whether she is becoming attached to him.
• At last, Gu feels their karmic connection has become a stable channel for Mortal World Qi. Drawing on Yu’s trust and dependence, he pushes the technique to its limit and commands: “Illusory Body, form!”

Character developments and relationships

• Gu Chengming is methodical and focused on solving the technique’s practical problem, though his gentle attention unintentionally creates emotional closeness.
• Yu Wenqiu shifts from playful suspicion to growing, conflicted affection. She enjoys Gu’s care while trying to dismiss the romantic meaning she reads into it.
• Luo Jinyao shows protective concern for both Gu and Yu, entrusting them with safeguards before leaving.

Significant themes

• Karma as both cultivation resource and human bond: Gu’s progress depends on a connection strengthened through everyday care.
• Intimacy and misunderstanding: Yu interprets practical closeness romantically, allowing genuine feelings to emerge beneath the cultivation arrangement.
• Reputation and danger: Gu’s rising prominence brings attention and risk, prompting Luo’s warning and preparations.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Chengming masters the basics of the Mortal World Illusory Body Technique. Its realization triggers a surge of power, breaking him through to the fifth layer of the Second Realm. He can now summon a lifelike illusory double and feels formidable even without relying on a Sword Formation.
• The technique manifests as a cautious, person-like presence in his Sea of Consciousness. It warns Gu about hidden threats, urges him to conceal his abilities, and recommends using his illusory body as a trap—concealing explosives or poison to create an escape opportunity.
• Gu rejects its extreme suspicion toward Elder Yu and the Wenjian Sect, but agrees to be more careful. His response raises the technique’s favorability slightly.
• Meanwhile, Nuo Tao, heir and current “Walker” of the Thousand Thieves Gate, investigates Gu. She learns he is a prominent Wenjian Sect disciple and a Town Night Division guard, ranked tenth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
• Nuo Tao carries one half of the Fire Phoenix Token. Her trial is to steal the other half from the person fate has tied to her as her “tribulation”—Gu. Though attracted to him, she resolves to steal the token and considers offering him a share of the secret-realm treasures.
• When the Fourth Realm Sword Cultivator guarding North Suppression Manor leaves, Nuo Tao sees her chance. Gu then exits the manor dressed for movement, apparently heading outside the city, and she prepares to act.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chengming grows significantly stronger and gains a more versatile technique, while showing confidence tempered by willingness to heed practical advice. He remains loyal to Elder Yu and his sect.
• The Mortal World Illusory Body Technique is introduced as paranoid and survival-focused, but also sincerely committed to Gu’s longevity. Its cautious counsel contrasts with Gu’s more direct temperament.
• Nuo Tao is torn between her mission and her romantic interest in Gu. She reframes the theft as a manageable challenge, revealing both her playful nature and her practical thief’s mindset.

Significant themes

• Power and survival: New strength matters, but the technique stresses that surviving is essential to achieving the Dao.
• Trust versus suspicion: The technique sees danger everywhere, while Gu trusts his allies and sect.
• Fate and entanglement: Nuo Tao’s cultivation trial links her to Gu as her destined obstacle.
• Comedy and contrast: The technique’s excessive paranoia and Nuo Tao’s fondness for her intended target undercut the chapter’s martial tension.