Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Foundation Establishment Technique”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Medicine Master contacts Wandering Monk Profound Principle through the Nine Provinces Number One Group, requesting the Vajra Foundation Fist and True Self Meditation Scripture for Song Shuhang’s Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment.
• The techniques are exchanged for a top-grade mutated Poison Dragon Grass. Profound Principle agrees to send them through a Flying Sword Message, after Medicine Master fixes the transmission coordinates.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator explains that the Vajra Foundation Fist originated from the long-lost Vajra Temple and is unusually powerful for a Foundation Establishment technique, comparable to a First-Grade martial technique.
• Medicine Master and Song Shuhang prepare to leave and rent a quiet, well-insulated place where they can refine more Body Tempering Liquid.
• Song Shuhang packs his induction cooker and hot pot, which he relies on for alchemy, but Medicine Master provides the ingredients so Shuhang does not have to use his limited stock.
• They begin searching for a large standalone apartment capable of accommodating Medicine Master’s alchemy furnace. Medicine Master offers to pay the rent.
• Song Shuhang asks how cultivators support themselves financially. Medicine Master explains that his alchemy work provides a normal source of income, prompting Shuhang to admit that he is worried about the growing expenses associated with cultivation.

Character Development

• Song Shuhang becomes increasingly aware of the practical burdens of cultivation, especially the costs of renting a private space, obtaining resources, and maintaining secrecy from ordinary people.
• He remains cautious with his limited supplies, refusing to waste his thirty-two sets of Body Tempering Liquid ingredients.
• Medicine Master demonstrates his generosity and responsibility as a senior by providing the ingredients and offering to pay for accommodations. His awkwardness with modern technology is also highlighted by his difficulty typing messages.
• Medicine Master’s confidence and pride in his alchemy are apparent, particularly when he arranges the Flying Sword Message and insists on suitable facilities for his furnace.
• Mad Saber Three Waves is shown to be unusually restrained after Northern River warns him that Venerable Spirit Butterfly may be monitoring Soft Feather’s account.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation adapting to modern life: The cultivators use phones, online chat, rented apartments, and ordinary financial systems while still relying on ancient techniques and magical communication.
• Mentorship and generosity: Medicine Master takes responsibility for Song Shuhang’s training and expenses, reinforcing the supportive relationship between senior and junior.
• Practical realities of cultivation: Spiritual advancement requires money, privacy, equipment, ingredients, and space—not merely talent or determination.
• Lost heritage and preserved knowledge: The Vajra Foundation Fist represents powerful techniques that disappeared with the Vajra Temple, emphasizing the fragility and value of cultivation legacies.
• Humor through contrast: Ancient magical practices, such as Flying Sword Messages, are juxtaposed with mundane concerns like rent, phones, and cooking equipment.

Character Interactions

• The group members tease Medicine Master about helping Song Shuhang and joke that Soft Feather may have been influenced by him.
• Soft Feather denies being “fed soup,” while Three Waves nearly turns the phrase into a vulgar joke before Northern River warns him that her father may be logged into the account.
• Medicine Master and Profound Principle conduct a brief but cryptic exchange involving a red-glowing finger and a sword image, arranging the delivery of the two techniques.
• Medicine Master reassures Song Shuhang that he will cover the costs of the alchemy materials and housing.
• Song Shuhang openly discusses his financial concerns with Medicine Master, revealing a growing trust and willingness to treat him as a mentor.

Chapter Summary: The Altar Master Who Was Scared Out of His Wits

Key Plot Points and Events

• Medicine Master explains to Song Shuhang that “wealth” is essential for a Rogue Cultivator. He means not ordinary money, but cultivation resources such as medicinal herbs, pills, treasures, weapons, and suitable cultivation locations.
• Medicine Master offers to teach Shuhang how to refine medicinal liquids that are useless to cultivators but valuable to ordinary people. After Shuhang reaches Foundation Establishment, they will use these products to earn secular wealth.
• In exchange for Medicine Master’s instruction and employment, Shuhang agrees to:
  • Refine the medicinal liquid regularly.
  • Provide Medicine Master with twenty special deep-sea medicinal herbs each year.
  • Give Medicine Master forty percent of the earnings, keeping the remaining sixty percent as compensation.
• While walking through the alley where Shuhang had saved a woman the previous day, Medicine Master senses people secretly following him. He explains that others often track him to curry favor, obtain pills, or collect medicinal herbs from places he discovers.
• The chapter shifts to the Altar Master, who is hiding nearby. He is terrified by Medicine Master’s overwhelming spiritual pressure and realizes the enormous gap between their true qi.
• The Altar Master has followed Shuhang to Jiangnan because he wants to obtain one of the Spirit Ghosts possessed by Shuhang or Soft Feather. He considers Soft Feather impossible to deal with, so he hopes to exchange something with Shuhang.
• After receiving Shuhang’s personal information, the Altar Master is shocked to discover that “Senior Song” appears to be an ordinary eighteen-year-old university student.
• Unsure whether the information is false, the Altar Master personally follows Shuhang to determine whether he is truly a powerful cultivator or merely a mortal.
• He initially plans to attack Shuhang if he proves ordinary, but while secretly observing him, he is noticed by Medicine Master. Medicine Master’s frightening gaze causes the Altar Master to panic.
• The Altar Master decides to wait until Shuhang and Medicine Master separate before attempting anything, once again relying on the hope that an opportunity will arise.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang becomes increasingly familiar with the Nine Provinces Number One Group’s transactional culture. He readily accepts Medicine Master’s business proposal and shows a practical understanding that cultivation resources require effort and payment.
• Medicine Master is portrayed as both generous and commercially minded. He is willing to help Shuhang develop financially, but he expects a long-term exchange in return. His ability to locate medicinal herbs and his resentment toward followers also reveal his eccentric and possessive side.
• The Altar Master is revealed to be cautious, fearful, and desperate. Although he imagines himself taking revenge on Shuhang, his confidence collapses whenever he encounters someone truly powerful. His obsession with obtaining a Spirit Ghost drives him into increasingly dangerous schemes.

Significant Themes

• The importance of resources in cultivation: Talent and power alone are insufficient; cultivators need wealth, medicines, treasures, companions, and places to train.
• Mutual exchange and obligation: Assistance within the cultivation world is rarely free. Even friendly arrangements are framed as contracts or prepayments.
• Appearance versus reality: Shuhang looks like an ordinary university student despite being connected to powerful cultivators, causing the Altar Master serious confusion.
• Fear and power disparity: The Altar Master’s terror emphasizes the vast differences between cultivators of different levels and shows how quickly arrogance disappears before genuine strength.
• Misunderstanding and mistaken identity: The Altar Master believes Shuhang is an unfathomably powerful “Senior,” while Shuhang remains largely unaware of the danger and confusion surrounding him.

Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang and Medicine Master: They establish a future business partnership based on medicinal refinement and the exchange of herbs and profits. Their conversation also shows growing trust and familiarity.
• Medicine Master and the hidden followers: Medicine Master recognizes that he is being watched and dismisses his pursuers as annoying opportunists.
• Medicine Master and the Altar Master: Their brief exchange is one-sided; Medicine Master merely notices him, but his glance is so intimidating that the Altar Master nearly breaks down.
• The Altar Master and Song Shuhang: Though Shuhang does not know it, the Altar Master is secretly tracking him and considering either bargaining for or forcibly taking his Spirit Ghost.
• The Altar Master and Soft Feather: The Altar Master views Soft Feather as too powerful and wealthy to negotiate with or challenge, making Shuhang his only realistic target.

Chapter Summary: “Grain-Repelling Pill”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang helps Medicine Master search Great Fortune District for a suitable residence and alchemy room, but Medicine Master rejects more than ten rental properties.
• Medicine Master becomes interested in a beautifully designed five-story detached house that is clearly a private residence. Despite the owner’s refusal to rent it, Medicine Master offers enough money to purchase the entire property.
• The owner rapidly moves his family out, and Medicine Master and Shuhang officially acquire the house and land-use rights.
• Medicine Master explains that the spacious house will allow them to convert one floor into an alchemy room, where they can refine the Simplified Body Tempering Liquid.
• He gives Shuhang a low-quality Grain-Repelling Pill, explaining that it can replace a month’s worth of meals for a cultivator. Shuhang uses it to eliminate his hunger, then removes and saves it for future use.
• With forty-five ingredients prepared, Shuhang begins refining the Body Tempering Liquid under Medicine Master’s supervision. He carefully repeats the process from his previous attempt, using a hotpot and induction cooker.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang shows increasing competence and confidence in alchemy. He remembers the previous refining process clearly and demonstrates precise control over timing, heat, and ingredient changes.
• Shuhang also recognizes Medicine Master’s thoughtfulness, realizing that the Grain-Repelling Pill was given because Medicine Master remembered he had not eaten lunch.
• Medicine Master remains eccentric, impulsive, and unconcerned with ordinary social conventions, but he is generous and considerate toward Shuhang. He also begins seriously considering modernizing alchemy equipment.
• Medicine Master’s admiration for Shuhang grows as he observes the young man’s concentration and natural talent.

Significant Themes

• Money and material reality: The chapter humorously demonstrates that almost anything can be obtained when the offer is high enough, even a cherished private home.
• Modernization versus tradition: Shuhang’s use of an induction cooker and hotpot challenges traditional ideas of alchemy. Medicine Master recognizes that modern technology can provide better heat control than conventional furnaces.
• Mentorship and care: Medicine Master teaches Shuhang practical cultivation knowledge while quietly looking after his basic needs.
• Emerging talent: Shuhang’s focused, intuitive approach suggests that he may possess genuine aptitude for alchemy.

Character Interactions

• Medicine Master’s blunt insistence on buying the house embarrasses Shuhang, who repeatedly tries to restrain or correct him.
• The homeowner initially reacts with irritation but quickly changes his attitude after Medicine Master offers an irresistible price.
• Medicine Master explains the Grain-Repelling Pill’s uses to Shuhang and warns him not to leave it in his mouth too long.
• During the alchemy session, Medicine Master deliberately remains silent so he will not interrupt Shuhang’s concentration, observing him with growing approval.

Chapter Summary: The Medicine Master’s Key

Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang successfully completes another refinement of the Body Tempering Liquid using an alternate procedure triggered by a mistake at the forty-first step.
• The refinement produces an extremely foul-smelling black medicinal paste, confirming that the process has succeeded.
• Medicine Master tests the finished liquid and determines that its effects are roughly half as strong as his simplified Body Tempering Liquid.
• Despite being weaker, the new version has an important advantage: cultivators need far less preparation before taking it. This could allow sect disciples—especially young ones—to begin body tempering earlier and progress toward Foundation Establishment more efficiently.
• Medicine Master realizes that Song Shuhang’s method may serve as a practical “patch” or improvement to his pill formula, while also reducing wasted ingredients caused by inexperienced pill refiners.
• He begins carefully recording the experiment and plans to continue refining and improving the formula with Song Shuhang’s help.
• Song Shuhang becomes increasingly anxious about receiving Master Profound Principle’s Flying Sword Message, which is expected to contain the Vajra Foundation Fist and True Self Meditation Scripture.
• Medicine Master explains that the message will likely arrive at Song Shuhang’s dormitory, so Song Shuhang returns there to wait.
• Before he leaves, Medicine Master gives Song Shuhang the keys to the house and offers him the top floor as a place to live, solving Song Shuhang’s financial and privacy problems.
• Song Shuhang takes the keys and remembers to bring the induction cooker and hot pot back so his roommates will not become suspicious.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang demonstrates increasing skill and confidence in pill refinement. He remains cautious about the terrible smell but successfully adapts to the unusual refining process.
• His eagerness to obtain genuine cultivation techniques becomes clear; he is restless and impatient to begin true cultivation.
• Song Shuhang also becomes more comfortable accepting help from Medicine Master, though he remains respectful and grateful.
• Medicine Master shows his expertise, scientific curiosity, and meticulous nature. He immediately analyzes the medicinal effects, recognizes the formula’s potential, and records extensive experimental data.
• His generosity becomes evident when he lends Song Shuhang part of his house without hesitation.
• Medicine Master’s reputation as a “genius” is reinforced by the chapter’s emphasis on his years of hard work and disciplined research.

Significant Themes

• Progress through experimentation: Mistakes can lead to valuable discoveries when handled intelligently.
• The practical improvement of knowledge: A weaker medicine may be more useful if it is safer, easier to use, and better suited to beginners.
• Hard work behind genius: Medicine Master’s many notebooks symbolize the effort and discipline supporting his talent.
• Mentorship and generosity: Medicine Master supports Song Shuhang both spiritually, through cultivation guidance, and materially, by providing him a place to live.
• Impatience versus patience: Song Shuhang eagerly awaits his cultivation manuals, while Medicine Master emphasizes careful observation and documentation before rushing ahead.

Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang and Medicine Master work as partners during the pill-refining experiment.
• Medicine Master evaluates Song Shuhang’s results, explains their significance, and asks for continued cooperation.
• Song Shuhang respectfully expresses his willingness to help but cannot hide his impatience about the incoming Flying Sword Message.
• Medicine Master lightly teases him for being impatient, then gives him the house keys as a practical gesture of trust and support.

Chapter Summary

• Plot and events: After leaving Medicine Master’s residence, Song Shuhang encounters a familiar scene in Great Fortune District: eleven punks are harassing a petite short-haired girl against a wall. Although Shuhang intends to intervene, the girl attacks first. She headbutts the leader unconscious, then defeats the remaining ten punks in seconds with powerful punches, kicks, throws, and acrobatic techniques. After confirming that the punks are alive, Shuhang leaves them where they fell and heads back toward his dormitory to await Master Profound Principle’s Flying Sword Message.

Character developments

• Song Shuhang continues to demonstrate his instinctive kindness and willingness to help others, even when he suspects the girl may resent his interference. However, he is also pragmatic: once he confirms the punks are not dying, he does not bother calling an ambulance. His thoughts remain focused on the excitement of receiving his first genuine Flying Sword Message and the cultivation manuals it will contain.
• The short-haired girl is revealed to be far more formidable than her delicate appearance suggests. Her cold, aloof personality contrasts sharply with her explosive martial ability. She clearly recognizes Shuhang from a previous similar incident and is annoyed by his repeated “rescue” attempts, though she is fully capable of protecting herself.
• The punks, initially confident and predatory, are quickly humbled by the girl’s overwhelming strength. Their harassment exposes their foolishness and lack of awareness of the danger they face.

Character interactions

• The punks crudely flirt with and threaten the girl, while she responds with silence and contempt.
• When Shuhang approaches, the girl becomes visibly irritated, apparently believing he is meddling again.
• She defeats the punks herself, then gives Shuhang a cold, triumphant look before leaving. Shuhang interprets her reaction as proof that he interfered unnecessarily and jokingly wonders whether she possesses a constitution that attracts harassment.
• Afterward, Shuhang checks the leader and confirms he is alive, showing concern but little willingness to take further responsibility.
• Significant themes: The chapter uses comedic irony to subvert the “damsel in distress” scenario: the apparently helpless girl is actually the most dangerous person present. It highlights appearances versus reality, especially through the contrast between her petite, beautiful appearance and her overwhelming combat skill. The chapter also reinforces Shuhang’s good-natured but sometimes intrusive heroism, while shifting toward the cultivation plot as he eagerly anticipates the Flying Sword Message and the arrival of new techniques.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang returns to his dormitory, expecting it to be empty because his roommates’ leave slip has been collected.
• He hears voices and discovers Gao Moumou speaking with Zhuge Yue, a blond, gender-ambiguous classmate and Gao’s childhood sweetheart.
• Zhuge Yue explains that she recently went on a date with a girl named Xiao Mei. Nervousness caused her to grip Xiao Mei’s hand too tightly, and she now wants advice before their next date.
• Zhuge Yue asks Gao to let her practice kissing with him. Gao firmly refuses, concerned about betraying his girlfriend, but Zhuge Yue persists and even suggests practicing through plastic wrap.
• Song Shuhang waits outside, misunderstanding the struggle inside and wondering whether Gao is secretly consenting despite his protests.
• Zhuge Yue eventually exits looking satisfied, while Gao lies on the bed in a traumatized, vacant state, implying that she forcibly kissed or overwhelmed him despite his refusal.
• Song awkwardly attempts to dismiss the situation as youthful romance. Zhuge Yue introduces herself as Gao’s childhood sweetheart and exchanges a guarded handshake with Song.
• Although Zhuge Yue behaves politely and elegantly afterward, Song remains unsure of her gender and is puzzled by how thoroughly she seems to have “broken” Gao.
• Zhuge Yue recognizes Song’s name and ominously asks whether he has offended someone recently, hinting that trouble may be approaching.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Becomes more observant and cautious but also comically misinterprets the situation. His improved eyesight lets him notice Zhuge Yue’s physical details, though he still cannot determine her gender. His final interaction suggests he may have unknowingly attracted an enemy.
• Gao Moumou: Acts as the practical, impatient roommate who tries to maintain boundaries and remain loyal to his girlfriend. Despite his resistance, he is unable to control the situation and ends up emotionally devastated.
• Zhuge Yue: Is introduced as bold, shameless, energetic, and socially unpredictable. She is romantically interested in Xiao Mei, inexperienced with physical intimacy, and willing to ignore Gao’s objections in pursuit of “practice.” Her cheerful, refined public demeanor contrasts sharply with her aggressive behavior in private.
• Xiao Mei: Does not appear directly, but her relationship with Zhuge Yue motivates the entire encounter and reveals Zhuge Yue’s sincere desire not to betray her.

Significant Themes

• Romantic inexperience and misguided preparation: Zhuge Yue treats kissing as a skill to be practiced, creating comic tension through her excessive literalness.
• Boundaries and consent: Gao repeatedly refuses, while Zhuge Yue continues pursuing him, turning the scene into an exaggerated comedic violation of personal boundaries.
• Appearance versus reality: Zhuge Yue’s androgynous appearance and elegant manners conceal her forceful, chaotic personality.
• Misunderstanding and comic awkwardness: Song misreads the sounds from the room, while Gao’s situation becomes increasingly embarrassing.
• Foreshadowing: Zhuge Yue’s recognition of Song’s name and question about whether he has offended anyone suggests that Song may soon face conflict connected to his past actions.

Character Interactions

• Zhuge Yue and Gao Moumou: Their childhood familiarity allows Zhuge Yue to behave recklessly, while Gao responds with irritation, refusal, and attempts to redirect her. Their exchange highlights their contrasting personalities.
• Song Shuhang and Gao Moumou: Song worries about Gao after hearing the struggle but delays entering, prioritizing awkwardly avoiding interference.
• Song Shuhang and Zhuge Yue: Their first meeting is polite on the surface, but Song is immediately suspicious of Zhuge Yue’s identity and behavior. Zhuge Yue’s final question transforms the encounter from comic awkwardness into a possible threat.

Chapter Summary: “This Was Just a USB Drive”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhuge Yue warns Song Shuhang that someone has been investigating him, uncovering personal information about his class, age, residence, friends, and relatives. She suspects the person may be planning to ambush him.
• Song Shuhang becomes uneasy, especially because the investigation extends to people close to him. He decides to ask Medicine Master for help identifying the person behind it.
• In the dormitory, Song Shuhang finds Gao Moumou emotionally devastated after Zhuge Yue kissed him. Gao refuses to explain the situation clearly, leaving Shuhang convinced that he is overreacting to an unexpected romantic encounter.
• Gao later invites Song Shuhang to drink with Tubo and Yangde. Song agrees but warns that he may arrive late because Medicine Master is coming to retrieve something.
• Medicine Master arrives and announces that Master Profound Principle’s Flying Sword Message is about to reach them. The two wait on the balcony.
• A black-iron flying sword arrives through the sky, visibly defying ordinary physical laws. Song Shuhang wonders whether strange aerial objects reported by modern people might actually be cultivators using flying swords.
• Song expects the sword to carry scrolls or secret manuals, but Medicine Master removes a small jade cylinder from its hilt.
• Mistaking it for a Transmission Jade Slip, Song Shuhang imagines receiving cultivation knowledge directly into his mind. Medicine Master corrects him: the object is merely a modern USB drive containing the Foundation Establishment technique, likely along with video instructions.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang becomes more cautious about the threat posed by the unknown investigator, realizing that the danger may involve his loved ones as well as himself. At the same time, he continues to approach supernatural events with a mixture of curiosity, humor, and increasingly resigned acceptance.
• Medicine Master is presented as experienced, practical, and comfortable blending cultivation methods with modern technology. His matter-of-fact attitude repeatedly undermines Song Shuhang’s romanticized expectations about cultivation.
• Gao Moumou is emotionally crushed after being kissed by Zhuge Yue and plans to drink heavily to forget the incident. His exaggerated despair provides comic relief and contrasts with Song Shuhang’s amused interpretation.
• Zhuge Yue appears sweet and friendly but also observant and well-informed, using her position in the school news department to investigate unusual activity. Her warning suggests she may understand more about the threat surrounding Song Shuhang than she reveals.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation versus modern technology: Traditional magical objects and methods are shown functioning alongside ordinary devices. A supposedly mystical transmission container turns out to be a USB drive.
• The collapse of expectations: Song Shuhang repeatedly imagines events according to cultivation-novel conventions, only to have Medicine Master explain their mundane or practical reality.
• Adaptation and modernization: Cultivators are not isolated from technological progress; they actively use modern inventions because they are efficient and convenient.
• Hidden danger and surveillance: The investigation into Song Shuhang and his associates introduces a growing sense of danger beneath the chapter’s comedic surface.
• Humor through contrast: Song’s dramatic imagination, Gao Moumou’s exaggerated misery, and Medicine Master’s blunt practicality create much of the chapter’s comedy.

Character Interactions

• Zhuge Yue casually warns Song Shuhang about the investigation and leaves him concerned about a possible attack.
• Song Shuhang teases and consoles Gao Moumou, mocking his reaction while promising not to reveal the kiss to Gao’s girlfriend.
• Gao invites Song to join the group’s drinking session, showing the continuing friendship among the roommates.
• Medicine Master and Song Shuhang share the balcony while waiting for the flying sword. Their exchange highlights Song’s fascination with cultivation lore and Medicine Master’s grounded, experienced perspective.
• Medicine Master’s revelation that the “mystical” transmission device is simply a USB drive humorously punctures Song Shuhang’s expectations.

Chapter Summary: “Dharma Is Not Lightly Passed Down”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Medicine Master removes the seal from Master Profound Principle’s flash drive, which contains the Vajra Foundation Fist and True Self Meditation Scripture.
• He gives Song Shuhang Master Profound Principle’s black flying sword and instructs him to return it by courier. Shuhang is confused that the sword cannot simply fly back on its own, but Medicine Master explains that it requires its owner’s energy and spiritual mark.
• Medicine Master reassures him that the sword is invisible to ordinary people because of its concealing array, can be safely mailed, and can be tracked if lost.
• Before Shuhang studies the techniques, Medicine Master explains the cultivators’ strict rule that cultivation techniques must not be passed on without the owner’s permission.
• Shuhang scans his computer for viruses, disconnects from the internet, and cautiously opens the flash drive.
• The Vajra Foundation Fist consists of eighteen illustrated forms with extremely plain names such as “Foundation Fist Form One” and “Basic Fist Technique XVIII,” disappointing Shuhang’s expectations of dramatic martial-arts titles.
• Medicine Master begins explaining the early stages of cultivation, especially foundation establishment and the opening of the heart aperture.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang continues adjusting to the bizarre practical realities of cultivation. His humorous expectations about flying swords and impressive martial-arts names contrast with the mundane truth.
• Despite his excitement, Shuhang demonstrates caution and responsibility by scanning his computer before opening the flash drive. Medicine Master recognizes this calm temperament as valuable for his future cultivation.
• Shuhang begins to understand that cultivation involves rules, obligations, and respect for others’ knowledge—not merely magical techniques and treasures.
• Medicine Master acts as Shuhang’s mentor, explaining both the practical details of cultivation and its social taboos. He is patient but matter-of-fact, emphasizing usefulness over appearances.

Significant Themes

• Respect for intellectual and spiritual inheritance: Cultivation techniques are treated as private foundations of sects and individuals. Passing them on without permission is a serious violation that can destroy one’s reputation and future access to teachings.
• Practicality versus fantasy: Shuhang imagines self-returning flying swords and spectacularly named techniques, but cultivation is shown to involve energy limitations, courier services, computer safety, and ordinary administrative concerns.
• The importance of foundation: Before becoming a true cultivator, one must strengthen the body, accumulate Blood Qi, and open the heart aperture through disciplined practice.
• Trust and responsibility: Receiving a technique is a privilege that comes with the obligation to protect it and follow the rules attached to it.

Character Interactions

• Medicine Master and Song Shuhang have a humorous mentor-student dynamic. Shuhang questions the inconvenient mechanics of flying swords, while Medicine Master calmly explains them.
• Medicine Master’s warning about the transmission of Dharma establishes a serious ethical boundary between them: he has obtained permission from Master Profound Principle before teaching Shuhang.
• Their discussion of the fist forms highlights their contrasting attitudes—Shuhang cares about dramatic presentation, while Medicine Master values effectiveness.
• Medicine Master then shifts from casual instruction to formal teaching, explaining the cultivation realms while Shuhang listens attentively and begins his education as a cultivator.

Cultivation Information Introduced

Foundation establishment begins with external body training through fist, leg, or sword techniques. Once the body’s Blood Qi becomes abundant, meditation gathers it into the heart aperture. After roughly one hundred days of cultivation without pills, the aperture opens, transforming the accumulated Blood Qi into Blood Qi power. This marks entry into the First-Grade Mortal Transcendence Realm, the true beginning of cultivation.

Summary

• Plot and events: Medicine Master explains Song Shuhang’s cultivation progression: after opening the four physical apertures and connecting them to the Heart Aperture, he can advance to the Second-Stage True Master realm, transforming Blood Qi into tangible True Qi. Medicine Master then gives Shuhang the eighteen-form Vajra Foundation Fist and instructs him to memorize it from a computer image.
  While studying the first form, Shuhang is drawn into a hypnotic illusion: a vast grassland where a blurry-faced master repeatedly demonstrates the three stances of the First Form. He carefully observes the movements and gains an unusually deep understanding of the technique, though less than a minute passes in reality. Medicine Master reveals that the illusion was embedded in the fist manual itself through the arrangement of its illustrations and classical text. He then assigns Shuhang to study the remaining forms and the True Self Meditation Scripture.
• Character development: Shuhang remains cautious and easily startled by supernatural events, but he quickly recognizes the illusion as a valuable opportunity and focuses intensely on learning from it. His memory and concentration are enhanced by the Soul-Sealing Ice Pearl, allowing him to memorize the difficult classical Chinese text. His practical, modern mindset also leads him to imagine unconventional uses for the hypnotic technique, including immersive storytelling.
  Medicine Master appears knowledgeable, confident, and slightly mischievous. He takes pride in the ancient technique’s sophistication and begins acting more like a strict mentor, testing Shuhang’s discipline and promising to correct his forms.
• Themes: The chapter emphasizes the contrast between modern technology and ancient cultivation, showing that a simple digital image can preserve a powerful technique. It also highlights disciplined learning, hidden knowledge, and the importance of exact memorization, since omitting even one character could cause cultivation deviation. Another theme is the difference between apparent simplicity and profound mastery: the basic-looking fist form contains complex principles and a carefully constructed hypnotic method.
• Character interactions: Medicine Master teaches Shuhang about cultivation and supervises his training, while Shuhang repeatedly questions him about the strange vision. Medicine Master explains the illusion’s mechanism, reassures him that it is an ancient instructional trick rather than an attack, and assigns further practice. Their exchange establishes a mentor-student relationship marked by Medicine Master’s expertise and teasing confidence, alongside Shuhang’s curiosity, respect, and occasional irreverent imagination.

Chapter 50 Summary: “The Correct Way to Use Foundation Establishment Fist”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang finishes memorizing the remaining seventeen forms of the Vajra Foundation Fist, along with the True Self Meditation Scripture, using Medicine Master’s hypnotic instructional images.
• Although the training lasts only a little over an hour in reality, the intense mental immersion leaves him more exhausted than four hours of refining Body Tempering Liquid.
• Eager to test the technique, Song Shuhang suggests practicing somewhere private rather than on the public lawn. Medicine Master agrees to use the rooftop of Shuhang’s dormitory.
• Medicine Master explains that the complete Vajra Foundation Fist consists of eighteen moves. When properly performed, it should cause Blood Qi to surge through the body, after which the practitioner uses the True Self Meditation Scripture to refine and store that energy in the heart aperture.
• Song Shuhang performs all eighteen forms smoothly, thanks to his flexible, strengthened body and the intense memorization process. However, he feels no Blood Qi at all.
• Medicine Master reveals that Shuhang has only copied the external movements, treating the fist like ordinary exercise. The real power lies in the accompanying fist formula, breathing, and application of force.
• On his second attempt, Song Shuhang recites the formula internally, coordinates his breathing, and imitates the force and intent demonstrated by the mysterious blurry-faced instructor.
• His first properly executed punch produces a powerful reaction: he senses energy gathering from the surrounding world, his body heats up, and his muscles experience the strain of countless repetitions compressed into a single movement.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang demonstrates rapid learning and strong physical adaptability. His body, improved by the Body Tempering Liquid, can perform the difficult forms with ease.
• He also reveals his cautious and practical side by worrying about outsiders accidentally learning the technique and by avoiding the embarrassment of practicing martial arts in public.
• His initial misunderstanding shows that he is still inexperienced in cultivation. He assumes mastering the visible forms is enough, but learns that true techniques require internal formulas, breathing methods, intent, and controlled strength.
• Medicine Master continues acting as Shuhang’s mentor, though his amused silence allows Shuhang to make the mistake first. He corrects Shuhang by emphasizing the difference between appearance and genuine cultivation.
• Medicine Master’s playful, possibly mischievous personality becomes more apparent as he laughs at Shuhang’s first ineffective performance.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus substance: The external movements of the Vajra Foundation Fist are meaningless without the hidden formula and internal method.
• True cultivation requires understanding, not imitation: Memorizing techniques mechanically is insufficient; the practitioner must grasp their principles and embody their intent.
• Foundation through disciplined effort: The fist is designed to push the body to its limits and refine physical potential.
• Mentorship and learning through mistakes: Shuhang’s error becomes an important lesson, showing that practical guidance is necessary even after memorization.
• The integration of body and mind: Successful practice requires synchronized movement, breathing, mental recitation, force, and spiritual energy.

Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang repeatedly seeks Medicine Master’s guidance and questions his instructions, especially regarding where it is safe and appropriate to practice.
• Medicine Master reassures him that the technique cannot be learned merely by watching its forms, explaining that the accompanying scripture is the true secret.
• After Shuhang performs the routine incorrectly, Medicine Master teases him and then gives a direct correction, telling him to use the formula, regulate his breathing, and strike with genuine strength.
• Their interaction reflects a mentor-student relationship marked by trust, humor, and Shuhang’s growing dependence on Medicine Master’s cultivation knowledge.

Chapter Summary: “Keep Going!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang discovers that reciting the incantation of the Basic Fist Technique attracts spiritual energy from Heaven and Earth. This energy strengthens his punches and tempers his body.
• Medicine Master explains that the incantation is the crucial feature of a cultivator’s Body Tempering Method. A single spiritually enhanced punch can equal thousands of ordinary martial-arts punches.
• Medicine Master confirms that Shuhang possesses Spiritual Energy Affinity, the basic aptitude required for cultivation and Foundation Establishment.
• Shuhang proceeds through the Basic Fist Technique’s forms:
  • The Second Form greatly increases the strain on his fists and shoulders.
  • The Third Form causes the remaining medicinal power of the Body Tempering Liquid to spread through his body, awakening a powerful warmth identified as Blood Qi.
  • By the Fourth Form, Shuhang is drenched in sweat, exhausted, and struggling to move.
  • He forces himself through the Fifth Form, whose power begins tempering his bones and internal body as well as his muscles.
• Medicine Master secretly observes Shuhang’s progress, knowing that most beginners cannot complete the eighteen-form Vajra Foundation Fist in one attempt. He deliberately allows Shuhang to believe that finishing the entire set is necessary before receiving instruction in the True Self Meditation Scripture.
• After the Fifth Form, the Body Tempering Liquid’s medicinal energy is completely exhausted. Without its support and restorative effects, Shuhang’s fatigue begins to increase dramatically.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang gains confidence after confirming that he has genuine cultivation potential. He becomes increasingly determined to endure the pain and exhaustion rather than waste the opportunity given to him.
• His motivation deepens from curiosity into commitment. He recalls his decision to pursue cultivation after joining the Nine Provinces Number One Group and refuses to give up, even when his body is nearly overwhelmed.
• Shuhang begins sensing and controlling Blood Qi, marking his first real progress toward Foundation Establishment.
• Medicine Master is revealed as both a knowledgeable guide and a subtle evaluator. He encourages Shuhang while testing his limits and concealing the true difficulty of the technique.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance and willpower: Shuhang’s central challenge is continuing despite overwhelming fatigue and pain.
• Opportunity and gratitude: He recognizes his good fortune in meeting Medicine Master, Soft Feather, and the other cultivators, and feels responsible for making use of that chance.
• Innate aptitude versus effort: Spiritual Energy Affinity determines whether cultivation is possible, but Shuhang’s advancement also depends on discipline and endurance.
• Transformation: The fist technique changes Shuhang from an ordinary person into someone capable of sensing spiritual energy and generating Blood Qi.
• Hidden tests and mentorship: Medicine Master guides Shuhang indirectly, allowing him to discover his own limits and potential.

Character Interactions

• Medicine Master explains spiritual energy, Spiritual Energy Affinity, and the importance of the fist technique’s incantations to Shuhang.
• He repeatedly urges Shuhang to continue without pausing, emphasizing that greater exhaustion produces stronger body-tempering effects.
• Shuhang responds with determination, accepting Medicine Master’s guidance and pushing himself through each successive form.
• Their relationship develops as a mentor testing a promising student: Medicine Master remains outwardly calm and encouraging while privately assessing how far Shuhang can go.

Chapter Summary: “With Meditation, Beholding One’s True Self”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang continues practicing the Vajra Foundation Fist, pushing himself through the sixth move despite severe exhaustion.
• Medicine Master observes that the original medicinal energy from the Body Tempering Liquid is nearly gone. To test Shuhang’s endurance and demonstrate the value of the refined medicine, he gives him another dose midway through the exercise.
• The new Body Tempering Liquid replenishes Shuhang’s strength and allows him to complete all eighteen moves of the fist technique.
• Completing the technique causes Song Shuhang’s Blood Qi to overflow throughout his body.
• Medicine Master instructs him to immediately sit and practice the True Self Meditation Scripture, using the moment before the Blood Qi disperses.
• Through meditation, Shuhang forms a mental image of his “True Self.” Contrary to his expectations, it appears as an ordinary, gentle-looking version of himself wearing casual clothes.
• The meditation produces Song Shuhang’s first wisp of spiritual power, which he uses to guide the overflowing Blood Qi into his Heart Aperture.
• Once the Blood Qi is fully absorbed, the burning sensation in his body fades, leaving him with a warm, powerful, and apparently healthy heartbeat.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang demonstrates remarkable endurance and determination for someone with no prior cultivation foundation. His single-minded desire to complete the entire fist technique shows his growing commitment to cultivation.
• He begins developing both Blood Qi and spiritual power, taking his first genuine steps toward becoming a cultivator.
• His meditation reveals that, despite his fantasies of becoming a legendary hero or immortal cultivator, his inner self remains fundamentally ordinary, gentle, and grounded.
• Medicine Master is shown as observant, experimental, and encouraging. He deliberately supplies additional medicine to test Shuhang’s limits and is pleased by Shuhang’s unexpected success.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance and willpower: Shuhang succeeds by enduring exhaustion and focusing entirely on completing the technique.
• The relationship between body and spirit: Physical cultivation produces Blood Qi, while meditation creates the spiritual power needed to control it.
• Self-knowledge and identity: The True Self Meditation Scripture emphasizes that one’s inner self changes with life experiences, cultivation, and personal development.
• Ordinariness as authenticity: Shuhang’s True Self is not a grand hero or terrifying demon but simply himself, suggesting that genuine cultivation begins with accepting one’s real nature.
• Foundations of cultivation: The chapter explains why spiritual power is essential for safely guiding increasingly powerful energies and avoiding cultivation deviation.

Character Interactions

• Medicine Master monitors Shuhang’s progress and evaluates the remaining medicinal energy in his body.
• He directly provides Shuhang with another dose of Body Tempering Liquid, enabling him to continue.
• After Shuhang completes the fist technique, Medicine Master immediately directs him into meditation, acting as both instructor and mentor.
• Shuhang internally reflects on what Medicine Master’s teachings mean for his identity and future as a cultivator.

Chapter Summary: “Good Guy Song Shuhang”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang awakens after practicing the True Self Meditation Scripture, only to collapse because he drew too much overflowing Blood Qi into his Heart Aperture.
• Medicine Master explains that the weakness is temporary and advises him to leave some Blood Qi behind during future cultivation.
• Shuhang celebrates having taken the first step toward Foundation Establishment and imagines the abilities he might gain after completing it.
• Medicine Master examines Shuhang’s “True Self,” represented by a gentle, comforting smile, and concludes that it reflects Shuhang’s fundamentally good nature.
• Medicine Master praises Shuhang’s mastery of the Vajra Foundation Fist, warns him not to overtrain, and reminds him to seek guidance rather than become trapped in confusion.
• Medicine Master leaves by sword-light, accidentally abandoning the immobile Shuhang on the scorching rooftop.
• While recovering, Shuhang remembers that he still needs to ask Medicine Master about the person secretly investigating him.
• A couple arrives on the rooftop seeking privacy. Shuhang initially considers asking for help, but remains silent after realizing their intentions.
• Once he regains enough strength to move, Shuhang decides to “help” them fulfill their wish of being seen, embracing his self-image as a good person.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang makes meaningful progress in cultivation, successfully learning both the True Self Meditation Scripture and the Vajra Foundation Fist.
• His strong motivation and excitement about Foundation Establishment reveal his growing commitment to the cultivation world.
• His True Self confirms that kindness and a desire to help others are central aspects of his personality.
• However, his interpretation of “helping” the couple is mischievous, showing that his goodness is accompanied by humor and playful retaliation.
• Medicine Master acts as a knowledgeable mentor, praising Shuhang’s aptitude while emphasizing moderation, discipline, and the importance of asking questions.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation and self-knowledge: The True Self Meditation Scripture reveals that cultivation reflects a person’s identity and inner nature.
• Moderation and discipline: Shuhang’s weakness demonstrates the dangers of greed and overexertion, while Medicine Master stresses the need to respect the body’s limits.
• Kindness and moral identity: Shuhang’s gentle True Self establishes “being a good person” as an important part of his character.
• Comedy through contrast: The serious breakthrough in cultivation is undercut by Shuhang being left helpless in the sun and accidentally sharing the rooftop with an intimate couple.
• Growth into the cultivation world: Shuhang is gaining skills, mentors, and responsibilities, but still responds to supernatural events with ordinary human humor.

Character Interactions

• Medicine Master patiently explains Shuhang’s condition, evaluates his True Self, praises his techniques, and offers continued cultivation guidance.
• Shuhang expresses gratitude and respect toward Medicine Master, while also being comically frustrated when the senior departs without helping him downstairs.
• Shuhang internally reacts to the couple’s behavior, first hoping they will rescue him, then deciding to observe and interfere in accordance with his exaggerated “good person” persona.

Chapter 54 Summary: “Zhao Yaya”

Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang discovers two martial-arts experts fighting on the university rooftop. Rather than interrupting their duel immediately, he waits until the battle is reaching its climax.
• He then reveals himself with a casual greeting, startling both fighters—especially the male expert, who was preparing a powerful finishing move. Song Shuhang jokes about having witnessed their fight and reminds them to lock the rooftop before leaving.
• Feeling pleased with himself, Song Shuhang returns to his dorm, only to experience the proverb that excessive happiness is followed by misfortune.
• Inside, he finds Zhao Yaya sitting on his bed and reading his notebook, which contains the formula for the Simplified Body Tempering Liquid.
• Zhao Yaya, a medical professional, notices Song Shuhang’s pale appearance and assumes he has been experimenting with dangerous medicines. She warns him that combining numerous potent ingredients could create a deadly poison and urges him to see a doctor.
• Realizing that Zhao Yaya might inform their family and have him hospitalized, Song Shuhang quickly invents an explanation for the formula.
• He claims that he was accidentally added to an eccentric group of people obsessed with xianxia novels. When someone posted the prescription, he copied down the ingredients available online so Zhao Yaya could determine whether the mixture was dangerous.
• Song Shuhang’s explanation is technically based on his original intentions, though he conceals the truth that the group consists of genuine cultivators.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Shows his mischievous and opportunistic side by deliberately interrupting the rooftop battle for amusement. He also demonstrates quick thinking and caution when forced to hide his involvement with cultivation. His weakened state from practicing the True Self Meditation Scripture makes him appear ill, creating additional problems.
• Zhao Yaya: Is introduced as a caring, perceptive, and medically knowledgeable older cousin. She is protective of Song Shuhang, immediately recognizes that something is wrong with him, and is capable of detecting his lies because of their close relationship.
• Their family bond is emphasized: Zhao Yaya has protected Song Shuhang from punishment since childhood, even while exposing his misbehavior privately.

Significant Themes

• Excessive joy followed by misfortune: Song Shuhang’s satisfaction after teasing the martial artists is immediately overturned when he encounters Zhao Yaya and risks being exposed.
• Secrecy and concealment: Song Shuhang must hide the existence of cultivation from his family, forcing him to tell a carefully constructed half-truth.
• Medicine and danger: The chapter highlights the potentially lethal nature of the Body Tempering Liquid and Zhao Yaya’s rational, scientific concern about mixing powerful substances.
• Family protection and trust: Zhao Yaya’s concern comes from genuine affection, while Song Shuhang’s deception is motivated by a desire to prevent unnecessary worry and interference.

Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang humorously disrupts the rooftop fighters, treating their intense battle as an amusing spectacle.
• Zhao Yaya confronts Song Shuhang over the dangerous prescription and his poor appearance.
• Their conversation reflects their long history: Zhao Yaya scrutinizes him like a protective older sister, while Song Shuhang struggles to deceive someone who knows his habits and expressions extremely well.

Chapter Summary: “Zhao Yaya’s Heir-Breaking Kick”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Yaya accepts Song Shuhang’s explanation about the dangerous traditional-medicine prescription. She warns him that combining many powerful tonics could seriously harm someone and tells him to caution the people in the online group against taking them recklessly.
• Song Shuhang hides the fact that he is actually one of the people taking the medicines. He also explains away his earlier pale complexion and weak breathing by claiming he had overexerted himself after neglecting exercise.
• After seeing his improved physique and healthy appearance, Zhao Yaya is reassured, though she notices he smells strongly of sweat and orders him to shower.
• Zhao Yaya reveals that she is in Jiangnan University Town for a six-month internship as a school doctor during the university’s upcoming sports meet.
• She teases Song Shuhang about participating in the sports meet and finding a girlfriend. He privately dismisses romance as unimportant compared with cultivation.
• After Song Shuhang showers, the two leave the dormitory. He offers to have dinner with her and his friends, but she declines because she plans to meet her classmates.
• At the dorm entrance, a male student mistakes Zhao Yaya for the beautiful “sister” he previously saw with Shuhang—Soft Feather—and makes lewd, boastful remarks about wanting her phone number and becoming Shuhang’s brother-in-law.
• Zhao Yaya immediately punishes him with a precisely controlled but extremely painful kick. Song Shuhang introduces her as his actual sister, leaving the student humiliated and suffering.
• The second student laughs at his friend but quickly pretends to be innocent when Zhao Yaya glares at him. After the siblings leave, both students continue admiring Zhao Yaya and joking about becoming Song Shuhang’s brother-in-law.

Character Development

• Song Shuhang: Continues balancing his supernatural cultivation life with ordinary family and university life. He successfully conceals his cultivation-related weaknesses from Zhao Yaya and shows concern for her, his parents, and their future health. His increased strength and muscular physique also become noticeable.
• Zhao Yaya: Demonstrates her protective, perceptive, and teasing personality. Although she respects Shuhang’s privacy, she remains attentive to his health. Her medical training is reflected in her ability to control the force of her kick, and she reacts decisively to harassment.
• The two male students: Serve as comic relief. Their crude enthusiasm and immediate fear of Zhao Yaya contrast with her confidence and authority.

Significant Themes

• Secrecy and dual identities: Song Shuhang must hide his cultivation and unusual experiences while appearing to live a normal university life.
• Family concern and affection: Despite his secrets, Shuhang cares deeply about Zhao Yaya and hopes to obtain safe strengthening medicine for her and his parents in the future.
• The collision of ordinary and extraordinary life: Sports meets, internships, dating jokes, and dormitory teasing exist alongside dangerous elixirs and cultivation techniques.
• Female strength and self-defense: Zhao Yaya’s “Heir-Breaking Kick” comically establishes her ability to defend herself and punish disrespect.
• Humor through misunderstanding: The students’ confusion between Zhao Yaya and Soft Feather creates the chapter’s main comedic incident.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Yaya questions and examines Song Shuhang, while he flatters and reassures her to keep his secrets safe.
• She teases him about exercise, sports competitions, and romance; he internally prioritizes cultivation instead.
• Song Shuhang and Zhao Yaya share a warm sibling relationship, shown through her concern for his health and his offer to accompany her.
• The dormitory students’ flirtatious comments provoke Zhao Yaya’s violent but carefully measured response, while Song Shuhang awkwardly clarifies the misunderstanding and quickly escorts her away.

Chapter Summary: “Keeping One’s Guard Up Against Others”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Yaya questions Song Shuhang about the mysterious “older sister” seen with him and suspects she may actually be his girlfriend.
• Although Shuhang insists the woman is not his girlfriend, Zhao Yaya cleverly gets him to admit that an older woman recently accompanied him out of the men’s dormitory.
• Zhao Yaya leaves after teasing him about older-woman-younger-man relationships and asks him to tell her if he ever gets a girlfriend.
• Shuhang reflects on how easily Zhao Yaya sees through his lies. He resolves to keep his connection to cultivation secret, especially after Northern River’s Loose Cultivator warned him about the danger this knowledge could bring to his family.
• He also remembers that someone may be secretly investigating him and decides that, while he should not harm others, he must remain cautious.
• At Yangde’s rented apartment, Song Shuhang finds Gao Moumou devastated and drunk after the bizarre incident involving Zhuge Yue. Gao repeatedly cries that he has been “defiled” and is “impure,” while Lin Tubo drunkenly comforts him.
• Shuhang explains the situation to Li Yangde, omitting the dangerous detail that someone may have been following him. They jokingly speculate about Zhuge Yue’s identity while pitying Gao.
• The roommates order food and allow Gao and Tubo to drink themselves senseless.
• Li Yangde reveals that the school’s sports meet is approaching and that Shuhang has been signed up for the men’s 5,000-meter race without his consent.
• Though initially upset, Shuhang realizes that his recent cultivation has greatly improved his physical abilities and confidently accepts the challenge, hoping to earn extra credits.
• Tubo suddenly reveals that he was pretending to be drunk and had likely used the opportunity to coax secrets from Gao.
• Shuhang concludes that he must stay prepared and vigilant for the sake of Zhao Yaya and his three kind-hearted roommates.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Becomes more aware of the risks surrounding his cultivation identity. He grows cautious and protective, determined to shield his family and friends from danger. His improved physical abilities also give him new confidence.
• Zhao Yaya: Remains perceptive, teasing, and skilled at exposing Shuhang’s lies. Her close understanding of him highlights their strong sibling-like bond.
• Gao Moumou: Suffers an emotional breakdown after the Zhuge Yue incident and becomes heavily intoxicated.
• Lin Tubo: Appears drunk and supportive but is secretly sober, revealing a sly and mischievous side.
• Li Yangde: Acts as a practical friend, arranging food and alcohol while teasing Shuhang about the sports meet.
• Shuhang’s roommates: Their concern for Gao shows their loyalty and kindness, reinforcing the warmth of their friendship.

Significant Themes

• Secrecy and self-protection: Shuhang understands that revealing cultivation could endanger both himself and his loved ones.
• Trust and friendship: Despite hiding important truths, Shuhang cares deeply for his friends and tries to keep them away from danger.
• Caution versus innocence: Ordinary people dismiss cultivation as fantasy, while Shuhang knows the supernatural world is real and dangerous.
• Comedy amid danger: The chapter balances the serious threat of hidden enemies with humorous misunderstandings, drunken behavior, and the forced sports-meet registration.
• Growing strength: Shuhang’s cultivation begins affecting everyday life, turning the previously exhausting 5,000-meter race into a manageable challenge.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Yaya interrogates and teases Shuhang about his mysterious female companion, exposing his attempt to conceal the truth.
• Shuhang and Zhao Yaya’s exchange demonstrates her familiarity with his personality and his inability to deceive her.
• Shuhang and Li Yangde discuss Gao’s breakdown and Zhuge Yue, using humor to cope with the strange situation.
• Lin Tubo pretends to be drunk while comforting Gao, secretly taking advantage of Gao’s vulnerable state.
• The roommates unite around Gao, giving the chapter a strong sense of camaraderie despite the absurd circumstances.

Chapter Summary: “Mighty Man Nan Haomeng”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After consuming an enormous amount of alcohol, Song Shuhang discovers that Foundation Establishment, combined with the Body Tempering Liquid and his cultivation techniques, has greatly increased his physical endurance and alcohol tolerance. He easily outdrinks Lin Tubo and Li Yangde, then carries the unconscious men to bed.
• While returning to the dormitory through Great Fortune District, Shuhang remembers that someone had previously followed him while he was with Medicine Master. Suspecting that he is being stalked again, he turns around and boldly orders the person to reveal himself, secretly preparing to call Medicine Master if necessary.
• The follower is Nan Haomeng, a massive, bald student and vice president of the Sanda Club. He explains that two members of his club had harassed a girl and were defeated by Shuhang the previous night.
• Nan Haomeng clarifies that he is not seeking revenge. He punished the two delinquents himself for mistreating the girl, but followed Shuhang because he wanted to test the strength of the person who had defeated them.
• Nan openly admits that he simply wants a fight and assumes a combat stance. Shuhang accepts the challenge.
• Nan launches a powerful straight punch, but Shuhang effortlessly catches and immobilizes his wrist using the third form of the Foundation Fist. Shuhang realizes that, despite Nan’s intimidating size and momentum, the man’s strength feels extremely weak to him—almost like that of a child.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: His cultivation has begun transforming him physically and mentally. He is now highly resistant to alcohol, more confident, and no longer intimidated by a large, trained fighter. However, he remains cautious and inexperienced, relying on bluffing and keeping Medicine Master’s number ready in case the encounter becomes dangerous. His newly acquired martial techniques also function naturally in combat.
• Nan Haomeng: Introduced as an imposing but unexpectedly honest and harmless-looking giant. He is strong by ordinary human standards, naturally powerful, and skilled in Sanda, but values direct combat more than revenge. His eagerness to find a worthy opponent reveals an enthusiastic, straightforward personality.

Significant Themes

• The gap between ordinary humans and cultivators: Nan is physically formidable in the normal world, yet Song Shuhang’s cultivation has placed him far beyond ordinary strength.
• Growing confidence and power: Shuhang’s recent training is rapidly changing his self-image; he now faces danger with composure rather than fear.
• Appearance versus reality: Nan looks terrifying because of his enormous build, but is honest and kind-hearted. Conversely, Shuhang’s smaller body conceals vastly superior strength.
• Combat as communication: Nan prefers to “let his fists speak,” framing the fight as a means of testing and understanding strength rather than settling a personal grudge.

Character Interactions

• Shuhang treats Nan cautiously but confidently, questioning his motives and teasing the apparent contradiction between Nan’s claim of being quiet and his lengthy explanation.
• Nan respects Shuhang’s reputation and seeks him out as a possible worthy rival. Their interaction begins with suspicion but shifts toward mutual recognition through combat.
• Nan’s condemnation and punishment of his own club members positions him as morally different from the delinquents he leads, while Shuhang privately recalls that the supposedly helpless girl was actually extraordinarily capable.

Chapter Summary: “True Lord White”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang realizes that Nan Haomeng’s punches seem weak not because Nan is lacking strength, but because Shuhang’s body has become dramatically stronger after consuming the Body Tempering Liquid and practicing the Foundation Fist Technique.
• Nan launches an unconventional knee strike, but Song counters with a dragon-claw technique, lifting Nan’s enormous body off the ground with one arm.
• While Nan is airborne, Song uses the second form of the Foundation Fist to land more than ten rapid punches. He deliberately limits his strength and avoids using spiritual energy so he will not seriously injure Nan.
• Nan is defeated and admits that Song’s strength and fist technique are far beyond his own.
• Rather than demand money, Song asks Nan to investigate the person who gathered information about him the previous afternoon. Nan agrees to use his delinquent connections and school contacts.
• After the fight, Song reflects that real combat has improved his understanding and efficiency with the Vajra Foundation Fist more effectively than theoretical training alone.
• Back in his dormitory, Song checks the Nine Provinces Number One Group and learns that True Lord White is nearing the end of a 150-year secluded cultivation period.
• The group members anxiously discuss who will be responsible for meeting True Lord White when he emerges. Their nervousness suggests that White’s return is potentially troublesome or dangerous.
• Copper Trigram hints that he has a secret plan, causing Song Shuhang to sense danger. Song wisely avoids speaking in the chat, shuts down his computer, and goes to sleep.

2. Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Demonstrates a major increase in physical strength, combat ability, and confidence. He shows restraint by limiting his attacks and avoiding spiritual energy, indicating growing control over his powers. He also becomes more practical and strategic by using Nan’s information network to investigate the person targeting him.
• Nan Haomeng: Despite his intimidating size and innate strength, he is decisively outmatched. He recognizes the gap between himself and Song, admits defeat, and agrees to help with the investigation after sensing Song’s intimidating pressure.
• Copper Trigram Diviner Immortal: Maintains his mysterious and evasive personality, claiming to have a plan concerning True Lord White while refusing to reveal it.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator and Mad Saber Three Waves: Their reactions show that even experienced cultivators are wary of dealing with True Lord White. Three Waves humorously pretends to enter seclusion to avoid the responsibility.

3. Significant Themes

• Growth through practical experience: Song’s battle confirms that actual combat improves his technique more effectively than isolated practice or artificially implanted knowledge.
• Power and restraint: Although Song has gained overwhelming strength, he consciously limits himself to avoid causing permanent injury or legal trouble.
• The consequences of cultivation: True Lord White’s return is treated with fear rather than simple excitement, suggesting that powerful cultivators can create unpredictable problems for those around them.
• Resourcefulness and social connections: Song uses Nan’s network instead of relying solely on his own abilities, showing an increasing willingness to combine martial strength with investigation and strategy.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter balances serious cultivation developments with comedic exchanges, especially the group’s attempts to avoid picking up True Lord White and Song’s ominous reaction to Copper Trigram’s “brilliant plan.”

4. Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang and Nan Haomeng: Their confrontation begins as a challenge but ends with Nan admitting defeat and accepting an investigative task as the price of losing. Their exchange establishes Song’s dominance while preserving a humorous, relatively nonlethal tone.
• Song Shuhang and the Nine Provinces group: Song observes the conversation rather than participating, sensing that involvement could bring him trouble.
• Northern River and Copper Trigram: Their teasing relationship is emphasized. Copper Trigram deliberately withholds his plan, while Northern River becomes suspicious and vows to defeat him in their upcoming battle.
• The group and True Lord White: Though White does not appear directly, the members’ fear and avoidance reveal his powerful reputation and foreshadow the disruption his return may cause.

Chapter Summary: “Poisonous”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A black-clad assassin infiltrates Song Shuhang’s dormitory by leaping onto the second-floor balcony and picking the locked window without making a sound.
• Song Shuhang is sleeping deeply after an exhausting day involving cultivation practice, alchemy-related work, and a fight. Because of his inexperience, he remains completely unaware of the intruder.
• The assassin confirms Shuhang’s identity and locates the Soul-Sealing Ice Pearl hanging around his neck. His mission is to reclaim the Spirit Ghost sealed inside it.
• Tempted by the possibility of gaining greater rewards and status, the assassin decides not only to steal the pearl but also to kill Shuhang.
• Before he can touch the pendant or attack, the assassin is suddenly struck by a powerful poison. He becomes dizzy, weak, nauseated, and unable to use his Blood-Qi Power.
• He realizes that he has fallen into a trap and retreats, dropping his weapon and vomiting blood. His detoxifying pills have no effect.
• In his poisoned confusion, he makes the dangerous decision to return to the Altar Master for help, unintentionally risking exposure of the Altar Master’s location.
• Meanwhile, the Altar Master is hiding in a hotel, frightened by his earlier encounter with Medicine Master and uncertain whether Song Shuhang is merely an ordinary person or a powerful cultivator.
• After waiting anxiously for the assassin’s report, the Altar Master hears someone knocking at his door, apparently signaling the assassin’s return.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Though still inexperienced and lacking cultivation vigilance, he is revealed to possess an effective defense against intruders. His apparent helplessness may be deceptive, as the poison seems connected to him or his belongings, and his faint smile suggests he may have anticipated the attack.
• The Black-Clad Assassin: Initially confident and highly skilled in infiltration, lockpicking, and combat, he becomes greedy and overconfident when he considers killing Shuhang for extra rewards. His failure leaves him poisoned, panicked, and mentally impaired.
• The Altar Master: His fear of Medicine Master and uncertainty about Shuhang’s identity reveal his caution and vulnerability. He relies on subordinates to investigate threats but is now endangered by the poisoned assassin’s return.

Significant Themes

• Overconfidence and greed: The assassin’s decision to kill Shuhang, rather than simply complete his mission, directly leads to disaster.
• Hidden strength and deceptive appearances: Shuhang appears defenseless while asleep, but the situation proves that appearances are misleading.
• Inexperience versus true power: Shuhang lacks awareness and experience, yet benefits from powerful protections or preparations beyond the assassin’s understanding.
• Cultivation’s danger and brutality: Poison, assassination, secret organizations, and the willingness to sacrifice subordinates demonstrate the ruthless nature of the cultivation world.
• Fear and uncertainty: The Altar Master’s anxiety over Medicine Master and Shuhang drives the plot and prevents him from acting directly.

Character Interactions

• The assassin observes and approaches the sleeping Shuhang, intending to steal the Soul-Sealing Ice Pearl and kill him.
• Shuhang does not consciously interact with the assassin, but his apparent trap defeats him before he can act.
• The assassin’s relationship with the Altar Master is based on obedience and ambition; he risks everything to earn the Altar Master’s favor.
• The Altar Master remains psychologically affected by Medicine Master and is indirectly threatened by the assassin’s poisoned return.

Chapter Summary: “Lingering Fear and Delight”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The altar master’s subordinate returns to the hotel after being poisoned, collapsing dead against the door before he can report anything.
• The altar master discovers that the subordinate’s blood has been transformed into highly toxic blood. Even its smell causes dizziness, forcing him to take an antidote.
• Realizing that Song Shuhang possesses frightening abilities and that the subordinate may have unintentionally led Song Shuhang to his location, the altar master hastily destroys the corpse with Corpse-Dissolving Liquid and escapes through the window.
• He decides to abandon his current plan, recover from the poison, and later find another way to approach “Senior Song” in order to trade for the Spirit Ghost.
• At five in the morning, Song Shuhang wakes in his dormitory and notices an unexplained smell of blood, an open door, and a blade lying on the floor.
• He realizes that the intruder was not a thief but an assassin who attempted to kill him while he slept. The failed attack leaves him frightened, but he quickly regains control through meditation.
• By accepting that he is no longer an ordinary person but a cultivator, Song Shuhang advances the True Self Meditation Scripture.
• Rather than remaining afraid, he begins to feel excited and even delighted by the dangerous situation. He concludes that the assassination is probably connected to whoever investigated him earlier and begins considering possible enemies, especially those linked to Soft Feather.

Character Developments

• The altar master becomes increasingly wary of Song Shuhang. He abandons his confidence in the original intelligence report and recognizes that Song is far more dangerous and mysterious than an ordinary university student.
• His poisoning exposes his vulnerability and forces him to act defensively. He becomes cautious, pragmatic, and focused on survival rather than pursuing the Spirit Ghost immediately.
• Song Shuhang experiences a major psychological shift. Though initially shaken by realizing he narrowly escaped death, he controls his fear through the True Self Meditation Scripture.
• He consciously accepts his new identity as a cultivator, strengthening both his resolve and his cultivation. His unexpected excitement at danger also suggests that he is beginning to adapt to the extraordinary world around him.

Significant Themes

• Fear and transformation: Song Shuhang’s terror gradually changes into composure and determination, marking his transition from ordinary student to genuine cultivator.
• The danger of hidden identities: The altar master realizes that appearances and intelligence reports can be deliberately misleading.
• Life-and-death cultivation: Facing assassination becomes a trial that strengthens Song Shuhang’s spirit and cultivation.
• Unexpected delight in danger: The chapter contrasts ordinary fear with the exhilaration of entering a larger, more exciting world.
• Cause and consequence: The subordinate’s poisoned return exposes the altar master’s location, while the failed assassination prompts Song Shuhang to investigate his enemies more seriously.

Character Interactions

• The altar master cautiously confronts his dying subordinate, but the subordinate is unable to speak before succumbing to the poison.
• The altar master’s relationship with his subordinate is shown to be utilitarian and frustrated; he destroys the corpse to erase evidence and blames the subordinate for possibly leading Song Shuhang to him.
• Song Shuhang does not directly encounter the assassin, but the assassin’s attack profoundly affects his thoughts and self-perception.
• Song’s suspicions connect the assassination to earlier investigations into him, the people associated with Medicine Master, or the unresolved incident involving Soft Feather.