Chapter Summaries

Chen Shouyi returned from the Otherworld with Shell Girl and tried to conceal his plans and new strength from his family. After arranging to leave home for an intensive martial exam course, he realized his swordsmanship had become powerful enough to cause trouble at home.

• Chen Shouyi carried Shell Girl out of the Unfinished Building and noticed that her once-glowing shell had lost its supernatural colors on Earth.
• Chen Shouyi bought doll-sized clothes, tape, rope, scissors, and honey, then wandered the city before returning home.
• Chen Shouyi told Mother Chen that he had met the Martial Apprentice exam fitness requirement and lied that he planned to attend a fifteen-day prep course costing eighteen thousand.
• Chen Shouyi freed Shell Girl from her bindings, dressed her in a Princess Dress, and offered her honey, but she remained numb and refused to eat.
• Chen Shouyi practiced with his Wood Sword, accidentally making a strike that nearly reached the speed of sound and alarming his younger sister.

Shell Girl nearly escaped from Chen Shouyi’s bedroom, but her dress caught under the door; Chen Shouyi later resumed training in the Otherworld and sold the gold she collected. After securing money and arranging a temporary place to stay, he visited Chuansheng Archery Hall to practice the skill he needed for his Martial Apprentice examination.

• Shell Girl crawled under Chen Shouyi’s bedroom door but got caught by her Princess Dress, and Chen Shouyi found and restrained her the next morning.
• Chen Shouyi bought supplies, booked a room, and returned to the Otherworld, where he had Shell Girl gather Gold Sand while he trained.
• Chen Shouyi sold the melted gold Shell Girl had collected and found 110,000 yuan in his account.
• Chen Shouyi went to Chuansheng Archery Hall and bought a single-visit pass to practice archery.

Chen Shouyi learned archery by copying an expert’s movements and began studying the Otherworld’s language with Shell Girl. He realized that her repeated word “Peppa” referred to the cartoon Peppa Pig.

• Chen Shouyi watched a skilled archer, memorized his movements, and practiced until his archery reached Beginner (10).
• Chen Shouyi received three books about the language spoken by barbarians and other creatures in the Otherworld.
• Chen Shouyi freed Shell Girl, gave her glass beads and honey, and let her watch cartoons.
• Chen Shouyi tried speaking a phrase from his language book, but Shell Girl ignored him until he turned off the television.
• Shell Girl shouted “Peppa,” and Chen Shouyi realized she was referring to Peppa Pig.

Chen Shouyi discovered that Entering Tranquility to Refine the Self had sharpened his Perception and improved his control over his body. At the Youth Martial Arts Training Center, he met Guo Qianqian and Lin Feng before the tutor called him up to demonstrate defense.

• Chen Shouyi tied Shell Girl to himself for the night, then entered a deep state of Entering Tranquility to Refine the Self.
• Chen Shouyi sensed nearby objects with a new short-range awareness, found a coin he had sensed behind the bed, and saw that his Perception had reached 11.
• Chen Shouyi noticed his body moved with greater coordination and believed his sword strikes would be faster.
• At the Youth Martial Arts Training Center, Guo Qianqian told Chen Shouyi that their former classmate Zhu Shaoqiang had joined the army.
• Lin Feng stood up in frustration but backed down under Chen Shouyi's gaze and distracted Guo Qianqian with talk of couple's rings.
• The tutor began teaching defense and asked Chen Shouyi to put on a Protective Suit and demonstrate with her.

Chen Shouyi impressed Teacher Wang with his sword-dodging ability, leading her to offer him private lessons. Back in the Otherworld, he made progress communicating with Shell Girl and discovered that praise flustered her.

• Chen Shouyi easily dodged Teacher Wang’s first sword thrust, then evaded her faster lunge through instinctive reactions.
• Chen Shouyi deliberately slowed down and let Teacher Wang strike him so she could explain his supposed mistake to the trainees.
• Teacher Wang told Chen Shouyi that he had outgrown the class and offered three private lessons, beginning the following evening.
• Chen Shouyi returned to the Otherworld and found that Shell Girl had gathered another pile of gold sand.
• Chen Shouyi recognized an insult from Shell Girl and used a glass bead to calm her before praising her from a language book, making her blush intensely.

Chen Shouyi ambushed and killed two barbarians who came to fetch water on Small Island, then sent their dugout and bodies out to sea. When he returned, he discovered Shell Girl had disappeared.

• Chen Shouyi spotted two barbarians rowing toward Small Island and considered retreating, but used the Memory Leaf to judge their strength and went back to prepare an ambush.
• Chen Shouyi watched the barbarians approach the Water Pool and attacked them with a wooden stick, killing both.
• Chen Shouyi carried the bodies to the dugout, found fish, tools, and spears aboard, and pushed the boat out to sea.
• Chen Shouyi returned near the passage and found that Shell Girl had escaped while he was away.

After escaping the barbarians, Chen Shouyi recaptured Shell Girl and returned to his hotel, where he bought her a large glass bead. Realizing the Small Island was no longer safe, he ordered a secondhand War Bow and Alloy Sword to prepare for future threats.

• Chen Shouyi lured Shell Girl down with promises of large glass beads, tied her up, and carried her back through the passage.
• At the hotel, Chen Shouyi gave Shell Girl a bead as large as her head, and she cheered up while watching cartoons.
• Chen Shouyi concluded that barbarians might return to the Small Island and decided to prepare better weapons.
• Chen Shouyi found that new War Bows were beyond his budget, so he bought a secondhand War Bow and Alloy Sword for 105,000.

After a street brawl, Chen Shouyi visited his tutor, Wang Ruyue, for a private lesson in real combat. Their wooden-sword sparring escalated until both swords shattered, leaving the outcome unclear.

• Chen Shouyi reassured Mother Chen over the phone, then fought off young men who attacked him after a street brawl erupted around his barbecue stall.
• Chen Shouyi left before the police arrived, finished dinner, and called his tutor, Wang Ruyue.
• Chen Shouyi went to Wang Ruyue’s home and entered her training room for a private lesson.
• Wang Ruyue ordered Chen Shouyi to attack her with wooden swords, and they exchanged increasingly fast blows.
• Chen Shouyi and Wang Ruyue’s wooden swords collided and shattered into splinters.

Chen Shouyi continued sword training with Wang Ruyue, then tested the new Alloy Long Sword and powerful War Bow he had bought. On the Small Island in the other world, he set up a moving-target exercise and discovered how difficult it was to hit the swinging balls under triple gravity.

• Wang Ruyue taught Chen Shouyi several thrusting forms and told him to focus on mastering the Sting Sword.
• Chen Shouyi freed Shell Girl, opened his deliveries, and examined his secondhand Alloy Long Sword and 500-pound War Bow.
• Chen Shouyi drew and fired the War Bow, marveling at its power, then practiced his new sword techniques in the Memory Space.
• Chen Shouyi returned to the Small Island, found no barbarians nearby, and assembled the War Bow.
• Chen Shouyi hung fifteen bouncy balls from a tree and practiced stabbing them with his wooden stick, but missed when one swung back toward him.

Chen Shouyi improved his sword practice while a distant tribe’s shaman learned that danger was coming from the north. The chapter left the tribe alarmed by the warning, while Shell Girl continued collecting Gold Sand and hiding her glass-bead treasure.

• Chen Shouyi realized that his swordsmanship needed repeated practice and resumed striking the moving ball.
• A tribe living beneath a vast tree sacrificed a beast to their Tree God after two fishers went missing at sea.
• The shaman communicated with the Tree God and warned the tribe that danger was coming from the north.
• Chen Shouyi practiced for several hours and improved his ability to hit the ball before stopping to eat.
• Shell Girl showed Chen Shouyi her Gold Sand, accepted three glass beads as a reward, and secretly added them to her buried shell.

Chen Shouyi practiced his language skills and trained on the other-world island while learning more about Shell Girl. As a storm struck, Shell Girl warned him that the giant from before had returned from the sea.

• Chen Shouyi questioned Shell Girl about her origins, age, and name, and she said she had been born from a Yata Flower.
• Chen Shouyi practiced archery and swordsmanship for three days, sold more gold, and saw his Strength reach 12.7.
• A sudden storm battered the island, and Chen Shouyi ran toward the passage for shelter.
• Shell Girl flew through the rain to Chen Shouyi and warned him that the same giant as last time had come from the sea.

Chen Shouyi spotted twenty-three barbarians approaching the island in dugout canoes and prepared to stop them from reaching the Space Channel. He killed the five barbarians from the first canoe, but a warrior on the next boat threw a spear at him and challenged him.

• Shell Girl alerted Chen Shouyi that many giants were coming from the sea, and she counted twenty-three of them.
• Chen Shouyi reached the Space Channel, then decided to attack the barbarians while they were still wading ashore.
• Chen Shouyi charged to the beach and shot down all five barbarians from the first dugout canoe.
• Chen Shouyi retrieved an arrow from a fallen barbarian as the next canoe approached.
• A tall barbarian threw a short spear at Chen Shouyi and shouted that he would die.

Chen Shouyi fought off six Barbarians from behind a boulder as they approached the shore. He killed the weaker attackers with arrows, then brought down their chief just before the last canoes landed.

• Chen Shouyi abandoned his long-range shot and took cover behind a boulder as the chief hurled a spear at him.
• After the six Barbarians jumped from their canoe, Chen Shouyi exchanged arrows and spears with them from behind cover.
• Chen Shouyi changed tactics and shot down the weaker Barbarians while the chief charged through the seawater.
• Chen Shouyi rose and fired two arrows at close range, killing the chief as the other canoes reached shore.
• A Barbarian saw the chief fall and cried out that their chief was dead.

After surviving the Barbarians’ attack, Chen Shouyi watched the remaining attackers flee, then searched the beach and found a strange crystal-like object on the dead chief. Touching it triggered a mysterious voice that fled in terror, leaving the object cracked and Chen Shouyi feeling hot.

• With their chief dead, the Barbarians panicked and rowed their canoes away from Small Island.
• Chen Shouyi turned back, fired arrows toward the fleeing Barbarians, and taunted them until they escaped.
• After resting on the beach, Chen Shouyi searched the two bodies and took the chief’s unusual animal hide.
• A crystal-like object rolled from the hide, and Chen Shouyi picked it up.
• A whisper clouded Chen Shouyi’s mind, then shrieked and fled; the object cracked, and Chen Shouyi noticed his body felt hot.

After defeating the Barbarian Tribe chief, Chen Shouyi discovered that his attributes had increased and suspected the Book of Knowledge had caused the change. He secured the barbarians’ canoes and rewarded Shell Girl for warning him about the giant.

• Chen Shouyi checked his Status Panel and found that his Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, and Will had increased after the battle.
• Chen Shouyi suspected the Book of Knowledge had reacted to the fruit pit, then crushed the pit and discarded its remains.
• Chen Shouyi disposed of the chief’s corpse and tied the two dugout canoes to shore so the barbarians could not reclaim them.
• Chen Shouyi recovered the arrows he could find and headed toward the passage entrance with his War Bow and the other belongings.
• Shell Girl excitedly told Chen Shouyi that he had killed a giant and scared another away, and Chen Shouyi gave her two glass beads as a reward.

After returning from Small Island, Chen Shouyi assessed the barbarians’ defeat, ordered more arrows, and settled in at the hotel. A citywide power outage interrupted his evening, and he went into the hallway to find out what had happened.

• Chen Shouyi returned to his hotel room, showered, and let Shell Girl out to watch cartoons.
• Chen Shouyi reasoned that the defeated barbarians would be unable to organize another attack soon.
• Chen Shouyi ordered a hundred Swift Arrows, twenty Spinning Arrows, and ten Whistle Arrows for 28,000 yuan.
• The power went out, and Chen Shouyi left his room to ask about it after hearing hotel guests say the outage affected all of Dongning City.

As power, communications, and Chen Shouyi’s self-healing talent began to fail, he left the hotel to investigate the growing disorder. He returned home to check on his family and, after assuring them he was strong and still working toward the Martial Apprentice exam, let his accumulated fear and pressure show.

• Chen Shouyi noticed his Beginner Self-Healing talent had grown faint, while his phone lost signal and the hotel lighter produced only a weak flame.
• Chen Shouyi tied up Shell Girl, left the hotel, and found blocked traffic, stranded drivers, and a fight in the street.
• Chen Shouyi worried that the mysterious force field might be affecting the whole world and hurried home to check on his family.
• Mother Chen, Chen Dawei, and Chen Xingyue appeared at the window, and Chen Shouyi told them he was strong and would pass the Martial Apprentice exam.

After returning to the hotel amid the citywide blackout, Chen Shouyi learned that a guest on his floor had been murdered. Exhausted and gloomy, he was cheered by Shell Girl’s dance, which revealed faint points of light and hinted at her mysterious abilities.

• Chen Shouyi returned through streets patrolled by military police and heard that a guest at his hotel had been stabbed to death during an argument in the blackout.
• Chen Shouyi went to his room, released Shell Girl, and rested without trying to cheer her up as usual.
• Shell Girl demanded Beiqi, and Chen Shouyi told her it needed to rest before admitting he hoped the next day would be better.
• Shell Girl noticed Chen Shouyi was unhappy and began dancing to cheer him up.
• Chen Shouyi turned off his flashlight and saw faint points of light flickering around Shell Girl as she danced.
• Shell Girl said she had been able to dance that way since birth, but she did not know whether the dance had any use.

Chen Shouyi dispelled a ghost haunting a hotel guest, then left to look for news about the widespread blackout and communications outage. The city remained gridlocked and tense, while the newspaper offered no details about the crisis beyond Dongning.

• A newly dead engineer wandered into his hotel room and terrified his former colleague, who screamed for help.
• Chen Shouyi approached the frightened older man, and his powerful vitality drove away the invisible ghost.
• Chen Shouyi returned to his room and went back to sleep after checking that Shell Girl was unharmed.
• The next morning, Chen Shouyi found that power, phone service, and the internet were still down, while soldiers and repair workers were out in the streets.
• Chen Shouyi bought a newspaper, but it reported only that repairs were underway and supplies remained plentiful, without explaining what was happening beyond Dongning.

Chen Shouyi prepared for the worsening crisis by withdrawing cash and stockpiling food, then discovered that the Book of Knowledge could optimize his Thirty-Six Body Tempering Forms again. The chapter ended as he began the optimization and sensed a mysterious vital aura.

• Chen Shouyi withdrew cash from a crowded bank, where security guards limited withdrawals to ten thousand yuan per person.
• Chen Shouyi bought water and long-lasting food amid a frantic supermarket rush, then returned to his hotel and decided to stay inside.
• Chen Shouyi let Shell Girl out and told her Beiqi had not returned, leaving her disappointed.
• Chen Shouyi saw that the Book of Knowledge could optimize the Thirty-Six Body Tempering Forms and chose it over Entering Tranquility to Refine the Self.
• Chen Shouyi entered the optimization dream, practiced the forms as they changed, and sensed a mysterious vital aura.