Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Gu Chen, a writer in a parallel world, uses a system that turns widely believed fiction into reality. His National Martial Arts novel has become a sensation, earning him enough Origin Points to make its cultivation path real.
• He creates a Pillaring Vigorous Strength Grandmaster clone modeled on himself, then sends it to Cloud Hidden Mountain to demonstrate martial arts publicly and generate more belief.
• During a livestream, streamer Sun Na and her friend Pan Xiaoli film the barefoot martial artist walking along a sheer cliff. Onlookers and viewers are stunned and speculate that he is a hidden master.
• When a young child falls into the river, the clone leaps from the cliff, lands on the water without sinking, and rushes across it to rescue the child.

Character developments

• Gu Chen is ambitious and strategic: he intends to use spectacular demonstrations to make people believe in National Martial Arts and earn the Origin Points needed to bring more supernatural abilities into reality.
• The clone is revealed as both extraordinarily powerful and decisive. Rather than merely display his abilities, he immediately uses them to save a child.
• Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli shift from managing a routine livestream to documenting an apparently impossible event, responding to their viewers’ demands.

Significant themes

• Belief shapes reality: public faith in Gu Chen’s fiction is the mechanism that makes its martial arts real.
• The spectacle of the impossible: livestreaming and viral attention turn the clone’s feats into a public demonstration that could spread belief.
• Power and responsibility: the grandmaster’s abilities are first showcased for Gu Chen’s plan, but become meaningful when used to save a life.

Character interactions

• Viewers’ comments direct Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli to film the cliff, and their reactions amplify the event’s public exposure.
• The watching crowd moves from astonishment to panic when the child falls into the river.
• The clone responds to the family’s desperate cries by rescuing the child, leaving the crowd stunned.

Plot points and events

• Gu Chen’s clone rescues a child who falls into a river, leaping from a cliff and walking across the water—feats that astonish the witnesses.
• Streamer Sun Na asks him how he did it. Gu Chen denies being a martial arts expert, but explains that advanced National Martial Arts training lets practitioners manipulate force and use the movement of water to walk on it.
• He names several martial arts levels, including Manifesting Strength, Hidden Strength, Transformation, and Core Condensation, then leaves by striding rapidly across the river.
• Sun Na ends her livestream and, with her friend Pan Xiaoli, searches online for the novel Dragon Snake, whose cultivation system matches Gu Chen’s explanation.
• In Coastal City, the real Gu Chen disconnects from his clone. He reflects on how powerful the clone’s body was and plans to use Origin Points to strengthen his own body.
• As Gu Chen intended, footage of the rescue spreads across social media. People argue over whether it is genuine, while interest in Dragon Snake surges.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chen presents his extraordinary abilities as the result of National Martial Arts rather than magic, while deliberately feeding the public a story designed to make the video—and the martial arts system—seem plausible. He also becomes more determined to upgrade his own body.
• Sun Na shifts from stunned observer to curious interviewer, then investigates the martial arts system after the livestream.
• Pan Xiaoli shares Sun Na’s amazement and nervousness, and joins her in looking up Dragon Snake.
• The rescued child’s parents regain their composure and thank Gu Chen. The witnesses and livestream viewers react with disbelief, fascination, and debate.

Significant themes

• The extraordinary entering everyday life: An apparently impossible feat challenges ordinary assumptions about what the human body can do.
• Belief, skepticism, and viral media: The video’s rapid spread produces competing explanations—special effects, fiction, or proof of real martial arts.
• Fiction shaping reality: Viewers connect Gu Chen’s terminology to Dragon Snake, driving interest in the novel and blurring the boundary between its imagined system and the real world.
• Power and ambition: Gu Chen’s experience through the clone deepens his desire to gain comparable strength himself.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Chen discovers that a viral video of a National Martial Arts master has sent readers of Dragon Snake into a frenzy. Online commenters debate whether the feats are real, speculate about the author’s skill, and resolve to train themselves.
• The attention earns Gu Chen 150,000 Origin Points in a day. With his remaining funds, he brings several Transforming Strength practitioners into reality, giving them identities and memories in nearby cities.
• Gu Chen links his mind to his Pillaring Vigorous Strength Grandmaster avatar and heads toward Fuzhou. On the way, he encounters livestreamer Sun Na and her companion, Pan Xiaoli.
• Sun Na loses control of the car when she sees the avatar keeping pace with it. He stops the speeding vehicle barehanded, impressing both women and even astonishing Gu Chen.
• Seeing a chance to attract more attention—and earn more Origin Points—Gu Chen introduces the avatar as Li Hansha and accepts a ride to Fuzhou.
• In the car, Li Hansha says he has trained in seclusion for eighteen years and has come down from the mountain to test his martial arts against the world. He hints that a great upheaval is coming and that beings with extraordinary powers may appear. He then closes his eyes, leaving the women eager to learn more.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chen grows more strategic: he uses his new resources to populate the world with martial artists and turns a chance encounter into an opportunity for publicity and further gains.
• Li Hansha, Gu Chen’s avatar, presents himself as a modest but formidable seeker of the Way. His effortless rescue demonstrates the immense physical power of his body.
• Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli shift from terror to awe and curiosity. Excited by Li Hansha’s name and mysterious claims, they see the encounter as a potential path to online fame and try to draw him out.
• Gu Chen and Li Hansha remain mentally linked, allowing Gu Chen to guide the avatar’s actions and appreciate its abilities from within.

Significant themes

• Fiction becoming reality: Gu Chen’s system turns martial arts figures and abilities from fiction into real-world phenomena.
• Power and public belief: Viral media and online discussion help make National Martial Arts seem credible—and can generate resources for Gu Chen.
• A coming age of upheaval: Li Hansha’s cryptic warnings suggest larger conflicts and increasingly extraordinary beings ahead.
• Performance and identity: Gu Chen shapes a public persona for his avatar, using mystery and storytelling to influence how others perceive him.

Key plot points and events

• Li Hansha arrives in Fuzhou and heads to the Wing Chun White Crane Boxing Gym to find a worthy sparring partner. Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli follow, turning the encounter into a livestream.
• The receptionist mistakes his request to spar for a challenge to the gym. Coach Chen Jing confronts him, boasting of his combat experience.
• Li dismisses Chen as having no Internal Force. When Chen attacks, Li defeats him with one palm strike, sending him flying into a wall.
• Gym owner Fang Xiu returns and demands to know why Li is challenging her gym. Li judges that neither she nor the other students have reached Manifesting Strength.
• An elderly janitor steps forward, revealing himself as Fang Hansong, an inheritor of Wing Chun White Crane Fist. Li recognizes his command of Internal Force and believes he has reached Transforming Strength. The two salute and prepare to spar.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Hansha is confident and eager to test himself against a genuine martial artist. He treats the confrontation as a search for deeper martial knowledge, not merely a fight.
• Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli see Li’s skill as a chance to grow their audience. Their livestream amplifies the gym’s surprise and excitement.
• Chen Jing goes from confident coach to stunned victim, demonstrating the enormous gulf between ordinary combat training and Li’s martial ability.
• Fang Xiu is protective of her gym but becomes confused by Li’s criticism—and especially by the revelation that her janitor may be a master.
• Fang Hansong transforms the gym’s understanding of him by revealing his hidden expertise. He steps in to defend the reputation of Wing Chun White Crane Fist and accept Li’s challenge.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The quiet janitor may be the gym’s most accomplished martial artist.
• Different levels of martial skill: Conventional fighting experience is portrayed as far below mastery of Internal Force and the stages of traditional martial arts.
• Respect and lineage: Li’s challenge is rooted in his desire to meet a true practitioner, while Fang Hansong acts to protect his art’s reputation.
• Spectacle and modern media: The livestream turns a private martial encounter into public entertainment, with viewers’ reactions heightening the drama.

• The showdown: Li Hansha and Fang Hansong, the martial arts school’s seemingly ordinary older janitor and a Wing Chun White Crane Fist grandmaster, face off. Fang opens with a rapid, vicious assault, but Li counters with the Tiger Crane Dual Form and overwhelming Core Condensation Gang Qi. Li drives Fang back through the school, then punches through a concrete wall. Fang concedes defeat, recognizing Li as an exceptionally young Pillaring Grandmaster.
• After the fight: Li helps Fang to his feet and praises his skill. He says their sparring is only a small matter compared with the coming upheaval and struggles ahead. The two quickly shift from fierce opponents to respectful fellow practitioners. Li then leaves as abruptly as he arrived; Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli hurry after him.
• Character developments and interactions: Fang’s hidden mastery is revealed, and his willingness to admit defeat underscores his humility. Li proves not only immensely powerful but respectful and focused on larger concerns. Fang Xiu, the school’s owner, sees her art in a new light, while the onlookers and Sun Na’s livestream audience are stunned by the fighters’ abilities.
• Significant themes: The chapter celebrates the extraordinary potential of national martial arts, the value of humility and mutual respect between rivals, and the contrast between ordinary appearances and hidden strength. The damage to the school and the crowd’s disbelief emphasize how martial arts have surpassed ordinary human limits—and hint that greater conflicts are coming.

Plot points and events

• After Pillaring Grandmaster Li Hansha leaves, the gym’s owner, Fang Xiu, turns to the apparently unassuming cleaner Fang Hansong for guidance. Hansong reveals that he is a Wing Chun White Crane Fist Transformation Grandmaster and was asked by Fang Xiu’s grandfather to look after her.
• Hansong explains Pill Embrace Cross-Legged Sitting: a Transformation Master gathers all their internal force, blood, and intent into a core to become a National Arts Grandmaster. The process is so dangerous that failure can mean death, and such talent is rare in the current era.
• Elsewhere, Gu Chen ends his mental link with his Li Hansha avatar and considers the staged encounter a success. Videos and photos of the fight quickly spread online, intensifying the National Martial Arts craze.
• Public discussion ranges from disbelief and scientific skepticism to excitement about learning martial arts. Dragon Snake, Gu Chen’s novel, becomes popular again, and readers flood its comments asking him for training videos and claiming he must be a real master.
• Gu Chen refuses to reveal himself. Instead, he posts, “All methods are contained within. Take from them what your insight and talent allow.” His anonymous online identity remains protected, and he gains nearly 100,000 Origin Points in half a day—enough to recover what he spent creating the Transformation Boxer.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Xiu shifts from seeing Hansong as a cleaner to respecting him as a hidden master. Learning of his connection to her grandfather gives her hope that she, too, might advance.
• Fang Hansong admits that Li Hansha nearly overwhelmed him, underscoring the vast gap between a Transformation Master and a Pillaring Grandmaster. He agrees to help Fang Xiu, once he has recovered.
• Gu Chen is pleased with how effectively his plan has stirred public interest, but remains cautious about protecting his identity. He sees the growing craze—and its Origin Point rewards—as an opportunity to create an even stronger supernatural system.

Significant themes

• Hidden strength and mistaken appearances: a gym cleaner proves to be a master, while Li Hansha’s power surpasses even Hansong’s.
• The danger and rarity of mastery: reaching the highest level demands extraordinary talent and risks death.
• Viral culture and belief: dramatic footage rapidly turns a niche subject into a public obsession, with people arguing over whether what they see is possible.
• Knowledge, interpretation, and anonymity: Gu Chen directs readers to his novel rather than teaching openly, letting people draw what they can from its contents while he stays hidden.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Over two days, Gu Chen uses his Core Condensation Gang Qi avatar, Li Hansha, to seek out and fight hidden Transforming Strength masters brought into reality by Refine Falsehood Into Truth.
• Streamers Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli follow Li Hansha, livestreaming his encounters with masters of Xingyi, Bagua, and Tai Chi. The bouts go viral, bringing the women hundreds of thousands of followers and nearly 600,000 yuan in a few days.
• The broadcasts and Gu Chen’s novel Dragon Snake spark widespread interest in National Martial Arts. Many people begin practicing, earning Gu Chen nearly 400,000 Origin Points.
• Only one of the five hidden masters remains: a peak Transforming Strength boxer concealed in Liucheng Prison.
• Li Hansha brings Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli to the prison. His battle intent and unusual explanation of a master’s heightened senses unsettle them.
• A roar comes from an isolation cell. The prisoner smashes through its iron door and charges out with astonishing speed and strength, setting up the final encounter.

Character developments

• Li Hansha remains focused on testing his martial arts and advancing toward the Way. He recognizes that the livestreams benefit Gu Chen by spreading National Martial Arts and generating Origin Points.
• Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli shift from chasing a viral opportunity to actively attaching themselves to Li Hansha, helping with transport and expenses to keep access to his fights. Their excitement is tempered by growing awareness of the fighters’ frightening power.
• Gu Chen benefits indirectly from Li Hansha’s public bouts: the attention surrounding the fights and Dragon Snake brings him a major increase in Origin Points.
• The imprisoned boxer is revealed as an exceptionally powerful, physically mature fighter, though his identity and history remain unknown.

Significant themes

• Power made public: Livestreams and fiction turn secret martial arts into a public phenomenon, inspiring people to seek strength and longevity.
• Ambition and mutual benefit: Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli profit from Li Hansha’s fame, while he accepts their help because their broadcasts serve Gu Chen’s larger aims.
• The cost of extraordinary strength: Li Hansha’s immense appetite shows that great physical power demands substantial energy.
• Martial discipline and perception: The chapter presents advanced boxing as not only physical mastery but also refined control of the body and heightened awareness.

Character interactions

• Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli film Li Hansha’s fights and cater to his needs, while he knowingly allows their association because it helps spread the art.
• During a meal, the women marvel at Li Hansha’s appetite and physique. He tells them that Transforming Strength can improve digestion, prompting their disbelief.
• At the prison, their nervous questions contrast with Li Hansha’s calm anticipation. His explanation of masters’ “perfect sincerity” and foreknowledge deepens their unease.
• The chapter ends with the imprisoned boxer bursting into view, foreshadowing a confrontation with Li Hansha.

Key plot points and events

• Wang Tianba, a peak Transforming Strength boxer hidden in Liucheng Prison, escapes by scaling the wall and crossing the electrified fence.
• Outside, he encounters Li Hansha, Gu Chen’s Core Condensation Gang Qi avatar. The two greet each other respectfully and begin an eagerly anticipated martial-arts contest, streamed live by Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli.
• Their fight quickly escalates. Wang uses techniques including Iron Sand Palm and Three Emperors Cannon Punch, while Li counters with the Roaring Tiger Golden Bell Shield and Pill Embracement Gang Qi. Their impacts damage the road and smash trees in the nearby woods.
• Gu Chen, linked to Li Hansha, is struck by how completely Wang embodies the martial-arts obsession built into his creation. He gives the avatar control so Li can focus on the fight, while Gu observes through God Vision.
• Prison guards arrive, mistake the destruction for evidence of an escape, and order the fighters to surrender. Since neither man is paying attention, the captain orders guards to shoot at their legs.
• The bullets trigger a sudden crisis. The threat sharpens both fighters’ awareness: Wang begins to enter the Pill Embrace state, while Li’s cultivation advances into “Shattering the Void and Seeing God and Not Being Bad.”

Character developments

• Wang Tianba proves to be more than a formidable fighter: he is wholly devoted to martial arts and welcomes Li’s powerful techniques as opportunities to grow. The life-threatening moment appears to bring him close to a breakthrough.
• Li Hansha matches Wang’s intensity and strength, then moves beyond his previous mental cultivation under the pressure of the incoming bullets.
• Gu Chen recognizes Wang’s convincing personality and chooses not to interfere, allowing Li Hansha to fight with full concentration.
• Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli serve as witnesses and livestream hosts; their growing anxiety contrasts with the viewers’ excitement.

Significant themes

• Martial arts as a path of self-transcendence: combat and danger push both fighters toward new levels of insight.
• The clash of equals: Wang and Li meet with mutual respect, treating each exchange as a chance to test and improve themselves.
• Obsession and total commitment: Wang’s single-minded pursuit of martial skill makes him disregard the surrounding danger.
• Spectacle versus real peril: the livestream audience sees thrilling entertainment, while the guards confront destruction and the risk of an escaped prisoner.

Character interactions

• Wang and Li begin with a formal, respectful greeting, then engage in an increasingly destructive contest that fuels Wang’s pursuit of insight and Li’s breakthrough.
• Gu Chen steps back and lets his avatar handle the fight, shifting from participant to observer.
• The guards attempt to impose authority on the absorbed fighters, but their warnings go unanswered; gunfire abruptly turns the contest into a life-or-death test.

Key plot points and events

• Wang Tianba and Li Hansha end their sparring match after both reach new milestones: Wang achieves Pill Embrace Cross-Legged Sitting, while Li enters Shattering the Void, Seeing God and Not Being Bad.
• Through his mental link with Li, Gu Chen shares the breakthrough and briefly experiences the heightened awareness associated with Li’s new state of mind.
• When prison guards order the fighters to surrender, both men expel the bullets from their wounds using Internal Force, astonishing the guards and livestream viewers.
• Wang and Li part amicably. Wang leaves for the woods; Li vanishes into the night. Sun Na feels unexpectedly sad to see Li go.
• The prison captain reports the incident. Verified footage and the damage caused by the fight bring it to the authorities’ attention, while the livestream triggers a major public reaction.
• Gu Chen ends his link with Li and considers his own mental change. He sees the outside-the-prison fight as the planned conclusion to his “Pillaring Vigorous Strength Grandmaster descending the mountain” script and waits to see how the authorities respond.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Hansha reaches a profound mental breakthrough and parts from Wang with mutual respect rather than hostility.
• Wang Tianba gains insight into advancing his Pill Embrace and leaves satisfied with the encounter.
• Gu Chen inherits Li’s insight and becomes curious—and slightly unsettled—by his sharper awareness, though he trusts he can strengthen himself later.
• Sun Na realizes she has grown attached to Li despite knowing him only briefly, and feels reluctant to see him leave.
• The guards and public move from disbelief to alarm as they witness the fighters’ extraordinary resilience.

Significant themes

• The limits of ordinary human understanding: The fighters’ abilities challenge what guards and viewers believe is possible.
• Mind and body: Li’s awareness surpasses Gu Chen’s physical capacity, highlighting the gap between mental insight and bodily strength.
• Respectful rivalry and impermanence: The duel ends in mutual benefit and a calm farewell, while Sun Na’s sadness underscores the emotional weight of brief connections.
• Power and social consequences: The fight’s public setting forces the authorities to confront the potential danger posed by such powerful individuals.

Key plot points and events

• A viral livestream showing martial artists surviving bullets, smashing concrete, and moving at extraordinary speeds triggers widespread debate about the danger of National Martial Arts.
• Central Province officials investigate the footage, including incidents at Liucheng Prison. Researchers conclude that Li Hansha and the other fighters possess abilities far beyond ordinary human limits—enough to make them nearly impossible to stop in a city.
• Traditional martial arts masters are asked to reproduce the feats, but they cannot. Officials realize the martial arts shown in the videos are fundamentally different from the styles these masters practice.
• Streamer Sun Na and her friend Pan Xiaoli are questioned. They explain that Li Hansha came down from the mountain to spar and pursue martial progress, and relay his warning of an approaching upheaval and struggle for a new era.
• Officials connect the footage to the novel Dragon Snake, which details a progression through National Martial Arts levels. They suspect its descriptions are real, but discover its anonymous author cannot be identified or contacted.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Hansha emerges as both an extraordinary fighter and a mysterious figure with a larger purpose: advancing his martial path ahead of an impending upheaval.
• Sun Na and Pan Xiaoli cooperate with authorities, recounting their encounters with Li Hansha and providing crucial information about his motives.
• The traditional martial artists are stunned and embarrassed by the gap between their abilities and those shown in the footage; their silence confirms they cannot explain or replicate the feats.
• Officials and researchers shift from disbelief to alarm, treating the martial artists as potential security threats and seeking information from witnesses, experts, and the author of Dragon Snake.

Significant themes

• Power and public safety: The videos raise fears that individuals with superhuman abilities could evade ordinary law enforcement or threaten officials.
• Science and the limits of understanding: The feats defy researchers’ expectations, challenging established beliefs about the human body.
• A hidden world becoming visible: Online discussion, official investigations, and the novel reveal that National Martial Arts may be real and more widespread—or consequential—than previously thought.
• Foreshadowing of upheaval: Li Hansha’s warning hints at a major coming conflict and gives his arrival a significance beyond personal training.

Plot points and events

• Officials grow suspicious of the sudden appearance of Li Hansha, Wang Tianba, and other powerful National Martial Arts practitioners, whose backgrounds cannot be found in any records.
• Their own martial-arts experts cannot reproduce the fighters’ extraordinary feats, leading officials to conclude that National Martial Arts is both real and dangerously powerful.
• Authorities decide to suppress the movement: they block videos and discussions, warn people against imitation, and begin searching for the two Pillaring Grandmasters.
• The ban sparks online debate and prompts fans to download Dragon Snake. Copies of the videos spread overseas, where they renew interest in kung fu.
• Officials find they cannot remove the novel itself, which seems beyond their control.
• Gu Chen calmly observes the response. He has deliberately created the martial artists to attract official attention and has planted rumors about an approaching upheaval and a coming age of conflict.
• With 650,000 Origin Points accumulated, Gu Chen prepares to use Refine Falsehood Into Truth again. His next planned creation is an upgraded Human Immortal Martial Dao, whose practitioners could resist most firearms, live for centuries, and use powerful techniques.

Character developments and interactions

• The officials shift from investigation to containment, fearing that powerful fighters could threaten public order. Their debate reflects uncertainty about how to handle an ability they cannot explain or reproduce.
• Gu Chen is revealed as deliberate and strategic: the supposed martial artists and ominous rumors are tools in a larger plan, not merely experiments or people in hiding.
• Online commenters react with alarm, curiosity, and enthusiasm. Some support the crackdown, while others rush to preserve the novel and videos.
• Foreign audiences become interested in kung fu after encountering the surviving footage.

Significant themes

• Power and social control: The authorities fear abilities that could make individuals nearly unstoppable.
• Information and censorship: Removing videos and discussions proves ineffective when copies spread and the novel itself cannot be erased.
• Reality shaped by belief: Gu Chen uses Refine Falsehood Into Truth to turn fictional martial systems into real forces.
• Escalation: National Martial Arts is still vulnerable to modern weapons, prompting Gu Chen to envision a much more powerful system.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Gu Chen considers using Refine Falsehood Into Truth to create Martial Dao Human Immortals, but learns each would cost 500,000 Origin Points—far too much.
• He devises a cheaper alternative: create ancient Wu Ming Ruins containing fragments of Human Immortal Martial Dao cultivation, allowing the system to emerge gradually and plausibly.
• After researching Ming-era architecture, clothing, and burial customs, he creates several hidden ruins across the Central Continent for 300,000 Origin Points. He then places the first three cultivation methods—Five Organs, Marrow Refining, and Blood Changing—inside them for another 250,000.
• With only 100,000 Origin Points remaining, Gu Chen delays having his doubles, Li Hansha and Wang Tianba, discover the ruins. Instead, he plans to finish his novel Dragon Snake and develop his own strength.
• He spends 50,000 Origin Points to make his ordinary body a Pillaring Vigorous Strength Grandmaster. His new power proves difficult to control: a punch creates an explosive crack, and an overpowered step sends him into a wall, tearing his clothes.

Character development

• Gu Chen shows strategic restraint, abandoning an expensive plan in favor of a gradual, less costly way to introduce Human Immortal Martial Dao.
• Though his mind has already reached the realm of Shattering the Void and Seeing the Divine, his body had remained ordinary. He now has Grandmaster-level strength, but must learn to use it safely.
• He recognizes that possessing a powerful body is not the same as having trained with it: his mind’s connection to Li Hansha did not prepare him for the physical change.

Character interactions

• The chapter focuses primarily on Gu Chen’s interaction with the Refine Falsehood Into Truth system, whose cost estimates shape his plans.
• Li Hansha and Wang Tianba are discussed as future agents who may draw attention to the ruins, but they do not act in this chapter.
• Gu Chen’s brief self-directed remarks after testing his strength reveal both his surprise and his caution.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and resource management: Gu Chen balances ambition against limited Origin Points.
• Manufacturing a plausible history: The ruins and gradual release of cultivation methods are designed to make the supernatural system seem rooted in the past.
• Power versus control: A sudden increase in strength brings risk as well as capability; Gu Chen must adapt before he can use his new body reliably.

Plot points and events

• Gu Chen spends several days adjusting to his new body as a Pillaring Vigorous Strength Grandmaster. His mental state of Shattering the Void and Seeing the Divine helps him control his Internal Force, though fine movements such as typing remain difficult.
• Unable to remove Dragon Snake, officials instead study its National Martial Arts methods. With scientific monitoring and their decades of boxing experience, several martial arts masters quickly reach Manifesting Strength.
• Officials recruit promising practitioners and decide to invite the Transforming Strength Great Boxers shown in the video to train the military. Fang Hansong is approached by the elite Dragon Tooth Unit and accepts an instructor position.
• At the Wing Chun White Crane Boxing Gym, Fang Hansong has been personally training owner Fang Xiu. She reaches Manifesting Strength in under a week and is progressing toward Hidden Strength.
• Gu Chen joins the online Central Continent Martial Arts Seminar, where he observes discussions, occasionally offers guidance, and makes friends.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chen grows more comfortable in his powerful new body, while learning that controlling extraordinary strength requires care even in ordinary tasks. He engages with fellow martial-arts enthusiasts online.
• Fang Xiu develops rapidly under Fang Hansong’s direct teaching. He urges her to study the white crane’s form, find her own path, and guard the gym’s deeper techniques rather than sharing Internal Force, combat methods, or killing moves indiscriminately.
• Fang Hansong shifts from private teacher to official instructor. Though wary of being pressured by the authorities, he accepts the Dragon Tooth Unit’s offer.
• Officials and researchers move from trying to suppress the novel to using it as a guide for research, training, and military recruitment.

Significant themes

• Fiction becoming reality: The novel’s martial arts produce measurable physical changes and reshape institutions.
• Power and responsibility: Advanced skills can be dangerous, so Fang Hansong stresses discretion in teaching them.
• Adaptation and discipline: Gu Chen and the newly trained boxers must learn to control and develop their abilities.
• Tradition meets science: Researchers use modern instruments to investigate methods rooted in ancestral martial arts.

Key events

• In the martial arts group chat, He Wu announces that she has reached Manifesting Strength after three days of seclusion. Ye Liangchen and Ji Taibao soon reveal that they have also broken through, prompting jokes, boasts, and a bout of envy from members still struggling.
• Gu Chen, posting as Gu Beichen, explains that merely reading about Wang Chao’s experience can create misleading expectations. He suggests that an unprepared encounter with external danger can help someone feel Internal Force and break through.
• Far away, Cute Pink Rabbit follows this advice by telling his master what he has learned. His master, Wang Tianba, abruptly attacks him with a powerful punch. The sudden threat triggers Rabbit’s breakthrough into Manifesting Strength, though Wang Tianba scolds him for taking so long.
• Rabbit reports his success to the group, where the others congratulate him. Invincible Little Wave Rider proposes an offline meetup to discuss National Martial Arts, and Gu Chen decides he wants to attend.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chen shows practical insight into martial arts training and offers advice that immediately helps someone achieve a breakthrough. His interest in meeting the group also connects the online banter to his wider plans.
• He Wu, Ye Liangchen, Ji Taibao, and Cute Pink Rabbit all reach Manifesting Strength, while their joking rivalry turns their progress into a shared source of pressure and motivation.
• Cute Pink Rabbit and Wang Tianba have a startling teacher-student interaction: Wang Tianba deliberately creates a life-threatening shock to force a breakthrough, then dismisses Rabbit’s slow progress.
• The group’s teasing and exaggerated praise—from mock declarations of devotion to accusations of shameless flexing—establish a playful, close-knit dynamic.

Significant themes

• Pressure as a catalyst: Competition and sudden danger push the martial artists past their limits.
• Experience over theory: Understanding a technique requires more than reading about it; direct physical experience is essential.
• Community and rivalry: The group’s banter both entertains and motivates its members, turning individual progress into a collective challenge.
• Online connection becoming real-world collaboration: The proposed meetup may give the group—and Gu Chen—new opportunities beyond the chat.

Key plot points and events

• Several members of the group chat accept the proposal to meet in person, with Ji Taibao insisting it happen on a weekend and not too far away.
• Fang Xiu, already impressed by how quickly the others have reached Manifesting Strength, agrees and suggests they spar.
• Li Xingming, a high school student trained by Tai Chi master Yang Chan, also agrees. He hopes to discover whether the other chat members are similarly gifted.
• Ye Zhen, trained in Swimming Dragon Bagua Palm by the Green-Robed Taoist, boasts that reaching Manifesting Strength was effortless. His master reprimands him and advises him to master Manifesting Strength before using the art’s paired weapon to explore the Dark Realm. Ye enthusiastically approves the meetup under his online persona, Ye Liangchen.
• Liu Qing’er offers to pay travel expenses for anyone who needs help. Her Xingyi teacher, Tang Ye, then calls her back to training, where she is learning Snake Form as a step toward Hidden Strength.
• Once the weekend meetup is settled, the chat goes quiet. Gu Chen anticipates the gathering and considers that the talented members might eventually become useful in a larger plan.

Character developments and interactions

• Fang Xiu, Li Xingming, and Liu Qing’er are each progressing in martial arts under the direct guidance of a Transforming Strength Great Boxer. Their rapid advances make them curious about their peers’ abilities.
• Ye Zhen’s online bravado contrasts with his master’s blunt discipline. The Green-Robed Taoist repeatedly knocks him down and warns that his arrogance could get him beaten, while still giving him practical guidance.
• Liu Qing’er’s generous, playful chat persona contrasts with her obedient manner during training.
• The chapter highlights the gap between the group’s goofy online behavior and the serious martial-arts instruction shaping their lives.

Significant themes

• Talent and accelerated growth: The group’s quick progress draws attention and creates mutual curiosity.
• Master–student relationships: Each disciple’s advancement depends on guidance, correction, and practice under an experienced teacher.
• Comedy and contrast: Boastful personalities and teasing exchanges lighten the serious world of martial arts.
• Potential collective significance: Gu Chen’s thoughts suggest the meetup may matter beyond socializing, as the group could become part of a larger scheme.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Chen travels to Jiangnan for a meetup with members of his martial-arts chat group, held at the upscale Zhi Ya Xuan leisure club.
• At the entrance, he meets Cute Pink Rabbit, who turns out to be a towering, muscular man rather than the cute girl Gu Chen expected. The teen Ji Taibao also arrives.
• Inside, they meet Invincible Little Wave Rider—wealthy Liu Qing’er—and He Wu, whose real name is Fang Xiu. The group share their real names and react with equal disbelief at Wang Xiaoai’s appearance and name.
• Ye Liangchen is late because he has started an argument outside. The others go with Liu Qing’er to intervene.
• Gu Chen senses that Ye Liangchen’s opponents—a cold-faced man and two companions—smell of damp earth and carry an aura associated with the Wu Ming Ruins. He suspects they are tomb robbers who may have found a nearby ancient site.
• Liu Qing’er defuses the confrontation by waiving the men’s bill. They leave after warning Ye Liangchen to curb his arrogance.

Character developments

• Gu Chen’s mastery of Manifesting Strength earns Cute Pink Rabbit’s enthusiastic admiration. Gu Chen also realizes that other group members may have access to valuable training and mentorship.
• Liu Qing’er is revealed to be wealthy and influential, as well as practical and capable of resolving a dispute.
• Fang Xiu’s rapid martial-arts progress makes sense to Gu Chen once he learns she has received guidance from a Transforming Strength Great Boxer.
• Ye Liangchen lives up to his reputation as an arrogant, theatrical troublemaker.
• Wang Xiaoai’s imposing physique sharply contradicts his cute screen name, while his real name is unexpectedly delicate.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus reality: Several members’ real identities and appearances clash with their online personas.
• Martial-arts growth and privilege: Progress requires time, resources, and guidance—not merely talent.
• Comic contrast: The group’s eccentric personalities provide humor, especially against the more ominous possibility of tomb robbers.
• Suspense and coincidence: Gu Chen’s suspicion that the men have uncovered something near the Wu Ming Ruins raises the possibility that his actions have drawn unexpected attention.

Character interactions

• Gu Chen awkwardly breaks free when Wang Xiaoai eagerly grabs his hand, then joins him and Ji Taibao in meeting the others.
• Liu Qing’er and Fang Xiu, like the rest, react with surprise to Wang Xiaoai’s appearance.
• The group waits for Ye Liangchen, then supports Liu Qing’er by accompanying her outside.
• Liu Qing’er mediates between Ye Liangchen and the three men, while Gu Chen watches them closely and silently assesses their connection to the ruins.

• Ye Liangchen’s confrontation: Back at the Elegant Garden, Ye Liangchen boasts that he provoked three strangers by revving his car and trading insults, insisting he would have defeated them if the others had not intervened. His companions dismiss his dramatic version of events.
• Gu Chen’s plan: Recognizing that the strangers carried an aura linked to the Wu Ming Ruins, Gu Chen decides to use the chance encounter to set a larger chain of events in motion. If the young martial artists discover clues to the ruins, their powerful teachers—and eventually the authorities—may investigate, bringing the Human Immortal Martial Dao back to light. He prefers this plan to having his double, Li Hansha, expose the ruins directly.
• The men are identified: Gu Chen interrupts a discussion of Manifesting Strength to point out that the three men looked and smelled as though they had spent time in underground tombs. He suspects they are tomb robbers. The group becomes eager to investigate, while Liu Qing’er uses the club’s surveillance system to locate them.
• The scroll’s revelation: The men are meeting with Second Master Sun, a shady antiques dealer, and an elderly scholar examining a worn scroll. The scholar says it describes the Wu Ming Ruins and a “Martial Dao Human Immortal.” He reads that such a figure established the Human Immortal Martial Dao, lived for three hundred years, possessed immense vitality, and could shatter mountains with a punch. Both rooms hear the reading, and the young martial artists realize the possible clue is close at hand.
  Character developments and interactions: Ye Liangchen remains boastful and impulsive, while the others respond with exasperation. Gu Chen shows himself to be a strategic manipulator, shaping events toward his larger goal. Liu Qing’er demonstrates her access to the club’s surveillance systems, and the group’s curiosity quickly turns to excitement at the possibility of discovering a martial art far beyond their current abilities.
  Themes: The chapter emphasizes ambition and the pursuit of greater power, the way coincidence can be deliberately turned into opportunity, and the uncertain boundary between martial legend and reality.

Key plot points and events

• Second Master Sun buys the stolen Fragmented Ancient Scroll from three tomb robbers for one million, then prepares to study it with an appraiser. Unknown to them, a hidden camera records the transaction.
• The group watching the feed concludes the scroll may reveal secrets of the Human Immortal Martial Dao and decides to take it. They split into two teams: Gu Chen, Fang Xiu, and Liu Qing’er will seize the scroll; Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai will question the tomb robbers.
• After waiting through the day, Gu Chen’s team follows Second Master Sun to his auction house. They disable cameras and silently take down the guards.
• When the final two bodyguards approach together, Fang Xiu incapacitates one. The other draws a gun on Liu Qing’er. Gu Chen intervenes by flicking a tile fragment, striking the gunman’s wrist and spoiling his aim. The shot still fires, and the chapter ends with the gunshot echoing through the corridor.

Character developments

• Fang Xiu and Liu Qing’er commit to their first robbery. Both show strong martial skill, though Liu Qing’er becomes nervous when confronted with a gun.
• Gu Chen remains calm and casually effective, using precise Internal Force to disable cameras and then stop the gunman.
• Wang Xiaoai, Liu Qing’er, Ye Zhen, and Li Xingming reveal their eagerness to pursue a dangerous opportunity tied to martial advancement.

Significant themes

• Seizing opportunity: The group frames the scroll as a rare chance to advance along a possibly supernatural martial path.
• Ambition and risk: Their desire to uncover the Human Immortal Martial Dao leads them to plan a theft, while the gunman’s attack makes the danger immediate.
• Skill versus modern weapons: The fighters’ martial arts give them an advantage against guards, but a close-range firearm nearly overwhelms them.

Character interactions

• Fang Xiu and Liu Qing’er work together to ambush the bodyguards, relying on timing and coordination.
• When Liu Qing’er is threatened, Fang Xiu cannot reach her in time, prompting Gu Chen to intervene.
• The team’s earlier discussion establishes a shared goal but divides their responsibilities: one group targets the scroll, while the other seeks information from the tomb robbers.

Plot points and events

• During the auction-house raid, a bodyguard fires at Liu Qing’er. Fang Xiu attacks him while Gu Chen secretly catches the ricocheting bullet with his palm, revealing just how formidable he is. Fang Xiu knocks the guard unconscious.
• Alarmed by the gunshot, Second Master Sun tries to escape with the Fragmented Ancient Scroll. Fang Xiu catches and incapacitates him and the appraiser, then retrieves the scroll.
• Gu Chen helps Liu Qing’er recover. She thanks him and wonders whether his skill with the ceramic fragment came from hidden-weapon training. He modestly downplays it. The group leaves, with Gu Chen secretly crushing the bullet before discarding it.
• Elsewhere, Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai ambush three tomb robbers by staging a car collision. They quickly overpower and interrogate the men, obtain the information they need, knock them unconscious, and set off to reunite with the others.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Chen protects Liu Qing’er while keeping his Pillaring Grandmaster abilities—and his authorship of Dragon Snake—secret. He is amused when the women praise the book and its imagined author.
• Fang Xiu acts decisively under pressure, protecting Liu Qing’er and securing the scroll. She shows little sympathy for the people who threaten the group.
• Liu Qing’er recovers quickly from the shooting scare and remains focused on obtaining the scroll. Her admiration for martial arts highlights her aspiration to grow stronger.
• Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai work efficiently as a team, using their Manifesting Strength skills to subdue and question the robbers.

Significant themes

• Hidden strength and secret identities: Gu Chen’s extraordinary ability goes unnoticed by his companions.
• Martial arts versus firearms: The women discuss how advanced martial artists might withstand or evade gunfire, while Gu Chen quietly demonstrates that level of skill.
• Composure and teamwork: Both groups respond rapidly to danger, overcome their opponents, and continue the mission.

Plot points and events

• Ye Zhen, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai reunite with Fang Xiu, Liu Qing’er, and Gu Chen after their separate operation. Liu Qing’er explains that their group was nearly shot by bodyguards, but Boss Beichen intervened.
• The group examines the Fragmented Ancient Scroll, but its old writing and unclear illustrations are difficult to interpret without an expert.
• Li Xingming and Wang Xiaoai recount what they learned from three tomb raiders: the men accidentally discovered a mysterious tomb complex while digging near a Ming Dynasty tomb. Inside, their companions became unable to move, a roar sounded, and an unseen monster killed three people. Guns and explosives failed to stop it. Only three of the ten who entered escaped.
• The survivors sold the scroll they had taken from the ruins to the Sun Family and planned to abandon tomb raiding.
• The group concludes that the Wu Ming Ruins are too dangerous for them to enter alone. They agree to ask their martial arts teachers for help and, if possible, explore the ruins together under senior masters’ guidance.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Qing’er is shaken by the near-shooting and, after considering the danger of the ruins, proposes consulting their teachers.
• Fang Xiu and Li Xingming assess the risks, emphasizing the immobilizing force, the monster, and the failure of modern weapons.
• Gu Chen feigns surprise, though he already knows the ruins’ dangers because he created them. He understands that ordinary explorers would be vulnerable to being controlled.
• Wang Xiaoai voices the group’s frustration at having a possible treasure within reach but being unable to pursue it safely.
• Ye Zhen continues his theatrical “Ye Liangchen” persona, and the others routinely ignore his grandstanding.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus caution: The prospect of discovering the Human Immortal Martial Dao is tempting, but survival takes priority.
• Limits of ordinary power: Firearms and explosives are useless against the ruins’ threat; only elite martial artists or a specialized government force might manage it.
• Trust and cooperation: The group chooses to involve their teachers and approach the danger collectively rather than act alone.