Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “What It Turned Out to Be”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun defends Yi Jue after Xuanyuan Buqi casually questions her. He emphasizes that friendship requires trust, especially after Yi Jue was recently injured while protecting him.
• Xuanyuan Buqi accepts Feng Jun’s bluntness, and the group—including more than thirty Xuanyuan cultivators and a Bai Family True Immortal—travels from Huanqiong to the Heavenly Zither Main Plane using Feng Jun’s rapid “minibus.”
• They arrive in the Icefield Sector, chosen because it is closest to the mysterious coordinate and less politically disruptive than landing in one of the Grand Void Gate’s major sectors. Feng Jun leaves Profound Ice behind as compensation for startling the local Profound Water Sect.
• At the coordinate, the group finds an enormous, seemingly empty region of space. Feng Jun, Yi Jue, Qian Zhong, and Xuanyuan Hullie use different methods—technology, deduction, and divination—to investigate it.
• They determine that the location contains an interdimensional passage. Feng Jun explains that, without interference, it would take three or four years to open fully, but something has accelerated its formation.
• Yi Jue reveals that the invading force is the Asuras, who have been watching Heavenly Zither for more than a decade. The revelation sparks discussion about whether multiple Asura Godkind can unite and whether they understand Heavenly Zither’s true strength.
• The group debates which major faction first discovered the Asura invasion. Yi Jue claims the Spirit Plant Dao, together with Feng Jun, calculated it first. Qian Zhong challenges this claim, suggesting other factions—especially the Golden Crow Sect or Chess Dao—may have known earlier.
• Feng Jun argues that the Golden Crow Sect could not have known in advance, since it committed major forces to the long-term war in the Insectoid World rather than preparing for an Asura invasion. The chapter ends with Qian Zhong continuing to press Yi Jue over the Spirit Plant Dao’s claim.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun displays strong loyalty and protectiveness toward Yi Jue. His willingness to confront Xuanyuan Buqi shows that he values personal principles over deference to status.
• Xuanyuan Buqi initially feels embarrassed and irritated by Feng Jun’s directness, but he proves flexible and understanding, accepting Feng Jun’s reasoning rather than escalating the conflict.
• Yi Jue remains composed and authoritative. She supports Feng Jun, confirms the nature of the dimensional passage, and confidently presents the Spirit Plant Dao’s intelligence.
• Qian Zhong becomes unusually confrontational and inquisitive. Her interest in the Asuras’ resources and suspicion of Yi Jue’s account reveal both her ambition and her insistence on testing claims rigorously.
• Xuanyuan Hullie and Xuanyuan Youdao contribute knowledge about Asura alliances and past invasions, though Buqi jokingly reprimands Youdao for showing off.
• The Bai Family True Immortal acts as an apparently naïve questioner, prompting explanations about Asura power and history, though his role may be partly deliberate.

Significant Themes

• Trust and loyalty: Feng Jun believes friendship demands defending an ally when she is treated unfairly.
• Political hierarchy and factional pride: The discussion contrasts the Upper Realm’s superior attitude toward the Lower Sects with the practical need for mutual aid.
• Strategic intelligence and secrecy: The group debates who knew about the invasion first, exposing competition among major factions and the difficulty of verifying hidden deductions.
• Expansion and long-term conflict: Heavenly Zither’s campaigns into the Insectoid World and possible expansion toward the Asura realm suggest a broader struggle over resources and territory.
• Uncertainty beneath apparent emptiness: The empty coordinate conceals a major threat, reinforcing the danger of relying only on visible conditions.
• Different forms of knowledge: Technology, deduction, divination, inherited history, and political observation are combined to uncover the truth.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Xuanyuan Buqi clash briefly over questioning Yi Jue, but their exchange ends in mutual understanding.
• Yi Jue quietly reinforces Feng Jun’s position, presenting them as closely aligned partners.
• Qian Zhong repeatedly challenges Yi Jue’s conclusions, turning the investigation into an intellectual and political dispute.
• Feng Jun joins the debate to defend Yi Jue and criticize the idea that Golden Crow had prior knowledge.
• Xuanyuan Hullie corrects the Bai Family True Immortal’s assumptions about Asura Godkind, while Xuanyuan Youdao adds historical context.
• The group’s banter—especially Buqi’s teasing of his younger relatives—lightens the otherwise serious discovery of an impending invasion.

Chapter Summary: “Spirit Plant Dao’s Stance”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Yi Jue explain that more than a decade earlier, Shouzhong the True Immortal discovered abnormalities in spirit rice across multiple regions. Feng Jun’s deduction revealed that these problems were signs of an impending Asura invasion.
• Many powerful cultivators, including Venerables and possibly Spirit Division Lords, are returning from abroad because of the threat.
• Yi Jue confirms that three Asura invasion passages have been identified:
  • Two have already been relocated to designated areas.
  • The third is the spatial point where the group is currently gathered.
• Xuanyuan Buqi asks whether the Spirit Plant Dao intends to relocate or monopolize the third passage. Yi Jue says she lacks the authority to decide, but believes forcibly taking it is unlikely.
• The Spirit Plant Dao appears willing to cooperate with other factions rather than claim the passage entirely. This preserves its reputation and avoids the immense burden of guarding and developing an Other Plane passage alone.
• Xuanyuan Buqi asks whether the passage can be moved to a battlefield of his choosing, offering to negotiate the cost, but Yi Jue cannot help because she does not even know which expert performed the relocation.
• Feng Jun and Yi Jue leave for the Spirit Plant Dao, while Xuanyuan Buqi, Qian Zhong, and the Xuanyuan group remain behind to discuss their next actions.
• Qian Zhong confirms that the invaders are truly Asura and reveals that the coordinates were originally deduced by the Chess Dao.
• Despite Feng Jun’s conflict with the Chess Dao, Xuanyuan Buqi refuses to withdraw. He declares that the Xuanyuan Family will participate in resisting the invasion, though he intends for younger family members to guard the passage and gain experience.
• When Feng Jun and Yi Jue return, Yi Jue announces that the Spirit Plant Dao fully supports Xuanyuan Buqi guarding the passage for the cultivators of the Heavenly Zither Plane.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Exhausted by repeated disputes, he abandons the argument and allows the practical issue to take priority. His strained relationship with the Chess Dao remains an important complication.
• Yi Jue: Acts as the Spirit Plant Dao’s representative and demonstrates tact, caution, and political awareness. She explains sensitive matters without overstepping her authority and successfully obtains the Dao’s support.
• Qian Zhong: Displays her firm, uncompromising temperament while defending her position. She supports the Yao Family’s policy of seclusion and remains wary of the conflict between Feng Jun and the Chess Dao.
• Xuanyuan Buqi: Shows determination, strategic confidence, and strong family pride. He is willing to confront the Asura threat but also thinks practically, intending to use the crisis to train younger Xuanyuan cultivators and secure the family’s participation and benefits.
• The Yao Family: Through Qian Zhong, they reaffirm their decision to remain uninvolved unless circumstances change.
• The Spirit Plant Dao: Emerges as cooperative but cautious. It seeks influence and leadership without appearing greedy or attempting to monopolize the passage.

Significant Themes

• Cooperation versus monopolization: Major factions must balance personal gain with the need to collectively defend the Heavenly Zither Plane.
• Responsibility and reputation: The Spirit Plant Dao avoids forcibly taking control of another faction’s discovered passage, recognizing the moral and political consequences of such an act.
• Family survival and cultivation through adversity: Xuanyuan Buqi views the invasion as both a threat and an opportunity for younger family members to prove themselves.
• Hidden strength and political uncertainty: Characters cannot be sure which powerful seniors remain active or why they refuse to intervene, emphasizing the secretive and hierarchical nature of cultivation society.
• Rivalries within broader alliances: The Asura invasion unites factions against an external enemy, but tensions between the Chess Dao, Golden Crow Sect, Spirit Plant Dao, and Xuanyuan Family remain.
• Pragmatism over personal conflict: Feng Jun’s hostility toward the Chess Dao does not prevent others from pursuing strategic opportunities connected to the passage.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Qian Zhong clash indirectly over the Chess Dao, though Feng Jun ultimately stops arguing.
• Yi Jue mediates the discussion by explaining the Asura threat and the Spirit Plant Dao’s position.
• Xuanyuan Buqi questions Yi Jue about the number, relocation, and ownership of the passages, testing the Spirit Plant Dao’s intentions.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi debate whether their families should intervene. Qian Zhong favors the Yao Family’s seclusion, while Buqi insists the Xuanyuan Family must contribute.
• Qian Zhong warns Buqi about Feng Jun’s conflict with the Chess Dao, but Buqi dismisses excessive caution and emphasizes that the Xuanyuan Family will not be intimidated.
• At the conclusion, Yi Jue formally confirms the Spirit Plant Dao’s support for Xuanyuan Buqi’s plan to guard the passage.

Chapter Summary: “Descent and Ascent”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xuanyuan Buqi decides to support the Spirit Plant Dao by sending an incarnation to guard a spatial coordinate threatened by Asuras. Although he suspects the Spirit Plant Dao is using the Xuanyuan Family to strengthen its control over the passage entrance, he accepts the cooperation because it benefits his family and confirms their standing among the major powers.
• Buqi orders Xuanyuan Hullie to:
  1. Gather supplies from the Lower Realm.
  2. Monitor the spatial coordinate.
  3. Send more disciples into the Virtual Combat System to fight Asuras.
• The Xuanyuan Family, like the Seven Gates and Eighteen Daos, faces too many competing opportunities: the Insectoid World, Void Treasure Hunts, Lower Realm supply gathering, passage defense, and virtual combat training.
• Yi Jue returns to Libo Shoal, allowing Magic Treasure refinement to resume. Feng Jun produces five more treasures, earning another hundred Ultimate Spirit Stones, which he divides with the Mirror Spirit.
• The Painting Dao purchases the cheaper standard configuration rather than the top version. Their decision influences other buyers, making the standard configuration increasingly common. Feng Jun becomes annoyed and temporarily stops refining after another five treasures.
• The Mirror Spirit intimidates the Painting Dao representatives after they privately complain about Feng Jun’s “snobbishness,” defending his decision to rest because their cheaper purchase reduced its earnings.
• Feng Jun remains busy despite pausing Magic Treasure refinement. He helps Elder Bianji study the Deduction of the Fake-Death Pill, performs cultivation deductions, heals injuries, and handles requests related to advancement beyond the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Two cultivators recently fail at the Embracing Core Realm. One dies and the other survives, leading the surviving cultivator’s family to seek revenge against Feng Jun. Elder Cang Jing protects Feng Jun and drives them away.
• The failures weaken the Kindred-Path Aura surrounding Libo Shoal. Feng Jun must persuade some cultivators to leave, despite their willingness to accept the risks. One extreme cultivator even kills members of the hostile family and brings their heads as proof of loyalty, hoping Feng Jun will allow him to remain.
• Ji Niang True Immortal’s potential breakthrough, aided by Feng Jun, spreads his reputation. More cultivators seek his help with Nascent Soul advancement and higher realms, though Feng Jun explains that higher-level deductions should ideally be performed on the Heavenly Zither Main Plane.
• Luanxiong Venerable arrives to question Feng Jun about Yue Yi and the newly occupied spatial coordinate. He wants to understand the situation before confronting the Xuanyuan Family, since the passage may lead to another dimension and contain valuable opportunities.

Character Developments

• Xuanyuan Buqi demonstrates political pragmatism. He recognizes the Spirit Plant Dao’s hidden motives but is willing to cooperate when doing so advances the Xuanyuan Family’s interests. He also takes responsibility for defending the passage and organizing his family’s resources.
• Xuanyuan Hullie is placed in charge of several important logistical and military tasks, showing the growing burden on the Xuanyuan Family’s younger or subordinate cultivators.
• Yi Jue remains composed and dependable. She politely responds to the Mirror Spirit’s rare concern and avoids asking Feng Jun for an item he cannot personally provide.
• Feng Jun becomes increasingly influential but also increasingly burdened. His businesses, deductions, healing work, and cultivation guidance attract powerful clients, while his reputation forces him to deal with political and interpersonal complications.
• The Mirror Spirit reveals a rare emotional reaction. Its concern for Yi Jue and anger at the Painting Dao show that, despite its aloofness, it is deeply invested in protecting its resources and interests.
• Elder Cang Jing proves protective and decisive by defending Feng Jun from a family seeking compensation for a failed breakthrough.
• Ji Niang True Immortal and Liuhe Venerable become important supporters of Feng Jun after he helps Ji Niang find a path toward the Soul Emergence Realm.
• Luanxiong Venerable is portrayed as stern but loyal and sentimental. Rather than immediately acting against Yue Yi or the Xuanyuan Family, he seeks information first.

Significant Themes

• 利益 and political cooperation: Major sects and families cooperate not out of pure loyalty but because mutual benefit makes cooperation worthwhile. The Spirit Plant Dao’s support of the Xuanyuan Family illustrates how power is negotiated.
• Expansion and overwhelming opportunity: Cultivators have more possible paths than they can realistically pursue, forcing sects and families to prioritize some activities while abandoning or reducing others.
• Reputation and influence: Feng Jun’s growing reputation brings wealth and prestige but also creates obligations, unwanted visitors, and political pressure.
• Risk and responsibility: Cultivation deductions cannot guarantee success. The failed Embracing Core breakthroughs highlight the danger of treating Feng Jun’s abilities as foolproof.
• Loyalty and relationships: Dao companions, sect affiliations, family ties, and personal gratitude strongly influence decisions. Luanxiong’s concern for Yue Yi and Ji Niang and Liuhe’s gratitude toward Feng Jun demonstrate the importance of emotional bonds.
• Greed and commercialization: The dispute over Magic Treasure configurations shows how even powerful sects weigh prestige against cost, while Feng Jun and the Mirror Spirit focus on the financial consequences.
• Control of valuable passages: The spatial coordinate represents access to a potentially wealthy new dimension, setting up a likely conflict among the Xuanyuan Family, the Golden Crow Sect, and other major powers.

Character Interactions

• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong discuss whether a Venerable or incarnation should guard the coordinate, revealing the differing resources and strategies of their families.
• Buqi directs Hullie to manage the Xuanyuan Family’s response to the Asuras and the newly occupied passage.
• Yi Jue and the Mirror Spirit exchange a rare, respectful interaction concerning her safety.
• Feng Jun’s relationship with the Mirror Spirit is shown through their shared profits and the Mirror Spirit’s defense of his decision to rest.
• Feng Jun and Elder Cang Jing become indirectly allied when Cang Jing protects him from the family angry over a failed breakthrough.
• Feng Jun’s connection with Ji Niang True Immortal and Liuhe Venerable expands his reputation among high-level cultivators.
• Feng Jun and Luanxiong Venerable clash mildly over Yue Yi. Feng Jun resists being questioned, while Luanxiong remains patient and explains that he needs information about the passage before deciding what to do.

Chapter Summary: Bountiful Gains

Key Plot Points and Events

• Venerable Luanxiong questions Feng Jun about a mysterious coordinate that leads to another dimension. Feng Jun confirms that it is an invasion passage the Asura intended to use against Heavenly Zither.
• The passage is one of three entrances, all drawn to different locations by the Spirit Plant Dao. Yi Jue clarifies that her sect does not intend to monopolize the entrances; they will be shared among Heavenly Zither cultivators opposing the Asura.
• The Spirit Plant Dao supports Xuanyuan Buqi’s management of the third passage, while the Grand Void Sect is involved in negotiations. Luanxiong decides to meet Xuanyuan Buqi to discuss the matter.
• Luanxiong reports that the Myriad Illusions Sect will release the imprisoned True Immortal Jingmai in roughly a year. However, he refuses to personally take responsibility for her, focusing instead on punishing the Thief Lineage for corrupting her and cooperating with demonic cultivators.
• Concerned that the Thief Lineage may ambush cultivators traveling to Libo Shoal, Feng Jun and Yi Jue establish bounties for members of the organization. The measure is well received and reinforces Libo Shoal’s reputation as a responsible and secure place.
• Feng Jun travels to the Insectoid World and meets Xuan Gao, who has obtained extensive supplies: nanorobots, holographic diagnostic equipment, limb-regeneration medicine, treatment pods, and two production lines for the medicine.
• Xuan Gao reveals that he financed the purchases through loans and attracted the attention of the Human Federation while investigating the sensitive pharmaceutical technology. Rather than stopping him, the Federation chose to support his continued contact with Feng Jun’s civilization and helped procure the supplies.
• In exchange, the Federation asks for help saving a severely injured division commander who defended Left Capital against the Insectoids and was poisoned while protecting civilians.
• Feng Jun agrees to attempt treatment but suspects the Federation has a larger objective. Xuan Gao confirms that nobles are interested in Feng Jun’s civilization because of its possible longevity-related genetic advantages. The Federation hints that successful cooperation could eventually lead to access to a Life Potion production line.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and practical. He refuses to overreach by claiming another passage entrance and recognizes the danger of trying to possess more than he can safely manage. He also becomes increasingly alert to hidden motives behind the Federation’s offers.
• Venerable Luanxiong demonstrates directness and political awareness. Though he claims not to care about Jingmai personally, he takes the Thief Lineage’s actions seriously because of their connection to the Golden Crow Sect. He also begins engaging with the passage issue through Xuanyuan Buqi.
• Yi Jue shows diplomatic growth and strategic leadership. She presents the Spirit Plant Dao as cooperative rather than domineering and helps Feng Jun formulate the bounty policy against the Thief Lineage.
• Xuan Gao is portrayed as resourceful, loyal, and morally grounded. Although involved in gray-market business, he is willing to cooperate with the Federation because of his concern for humanity and remains honest with Feng Jun about the loans, surveillance, and negotiations.
• Xuanyuan Buqi becomes a central political figure in managing the third dimensional passage, although his private discussions with Luanxiong remain undisclosed.

Significant Themes

• Power-sharing versus monopolization: The characters debate who should control the dimensional passages, with the Spirit Plant Dao advocating shared access against a common enemy.
• Caution and restraint: Feng Jun’s refusal to seize every opportunity reflects the principle that excessive ambition can invite disaster.
• Political maneuvering and hidden agendas: Alliances, negotiations, and apparent goodwill conceal deeper interests, particularly in the Federation’s request for medical assistance.
• Responsibility and collective defense: The bounty system and the shared passage policy emphasize the importance of protecting cultivators as a community.
• Loyalty and moral boundaries: Xuan Gao’s actions show that profit-seeking can coexist with racial loyalty and ethical limits, while Luanxiong’s response reflects sectarian responsibility.
• The value of life and longevity: The injured commander’s treatment and the possibility of Life Potion technology introduce the broader pursuit of survival, health, and immortality.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Luanxiong: Their conversation reveals the passage’s true nature and Luanxiong’s concern over Feng Jun’s role in its discovery. Luanxiong also informs Feng Jun about Jingmai and the Thief Lineage.
• Luanxiong and Yi Jue: Luanxiong recognizes Yi Jue’s role in directing the other passage entrances and acknowledges how her presence has strengthened the Spirit Plant Dao.
• Yi Jue and Feng Jun: They cooperate closely in shaping a defensive policy against the Thief Lineage, ultimately creating a bounty system for Libo Shoal.
• Luanxiong and Xuanyuan Buqi: Luanxiong privately discusses the third passage with Buqi, suggesting an emerging political arrangement among the major powers.
• Feng Jun and Xuan Gao: Their exchange combines business, trust, and strategy. Xuan Gao explains how he acquired the supplies and exposes the Federation’s interest in further cooperation.
• Feng Jun and the Human Federation: Their relationship develops from cautious trade toward potential technological and medical collaboration, though Feng Jun remains suspicious of the Federation’s ultimate goals.

Chapter Summary: “You Mean Me”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun reflects on privilege, accepting that unequal access to resources exists in every advanced civilization. His main interest in the Federation’s negotiations is the possibility of obtaining a Life Potion production line, though he denies possessing longevity genes.
• Xuan Gao questions Feng Jun about the extraordinary lifespan and physical strength of his people. Feng Jun explains that their longevity comes from cultivation, which develops the body’s innate potential rather than relying on medicine.
• Feng Jun accidentally reveals that cultivated humans can live far longer than Federation citizens and that he is only about half Xuan Gao’s age, despite being powerful enough to withstand a battleship’s main cannon. He refuses to give more precise details, emphasizing that he is an exception.
• While Feng Jun talks with Xuan Gao, his companions independently transport the Energy Stones from the warehouse. Xuan Gao realizes Feng Jun can divide his attention and that his faction possesses multiple powerful individuals.
• Xuan Gao asks Feng Jun to treat a badly injured Federation division commander, both as an act of goodwill and because the commander’s condition is worsening. Feng Jun initially points out that saving the entire Xingzheng Star should already count as goodwill, but agrees out of respect for the commander and concern for future relations.
• The commander is being kept in a heavily guarded military hospital in Left Dragon City. Since Xuan Gao cannot safely remove him, Xuanyuan Buqi intervenes, infiltrates the hospital, incapacitates the staff, and secretly takes the commander away.
• Two days later, the commander is returned to the hospital. Although the high-tech hospital bed and equipment have been taken, the commander is now breathing independently, a dramatic improvement from his previous state, when he required an artificial lung because of severe toxin damage.
• Witnesses realize that Feng Jun’s group has treated the commander. News spreads quickly despite attempts to keep the matter secret.
• Xuan Gao is contacted by Boss Zhi, who praises him for arranging the treatment and suggests that the Federation’s higher authorities now want to discuss further cooperation.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates greater openness toward the Federation, revealing limited information about cultivation while carefully concealing its true scale. He remains wary of political manipulation but is willing to show goodwill when it serves moral or strategic purposes.
• He also displays humility and irritation at being treated as an object of speculation, repeatedly insisting that he is an exception rather than a representative example of his civilization.
• Xuan Gao becomes increasingly fascinated by cultivation and Feng Jun’s civilization. He is politically cautious, understands the Federation’s bureaucracy, and tries to balance official interests with practical diplomacy.
• Xuanyuan Buqi acts decisively and pragmatically, bypassing the hospital’s bureaucracy when Feng Jun agrees to treat the commander.
• The division commander changes from a barely surviving war hero dependent on life support into a patient capable of breathing unaided, demonstrating the effectiveness of Feng Jun’s group’s methods.
• Federation officials and medical personnel begin to recognize that Feng Jun’s faction is far more capable than previously assumed.

Significant Themes

• Privilege and inequality: Feng Jun accepts that privilege is an unavoidable feature of intelligent societies, while also recognizing the tension between ordinary citizens’ needs and the ambitions of the powerful.
• Cultivation versus technology: The Federation relies on medicine and advanced machinery to extend life, whereas Feng Jun’s civilization develops the body through cultivation, suggesting a fundamentally different path to power and longevity.
• Goodwill and reciprocity: Feng Jun treats the commander partly because the Federation provided Energy Stones and partly because saving lives should be reciprocated. The act also serves as diplomatic goodwill.
• Misunderstanding and secrecy: The Federation struggles to interpret Feng Jun’s abilities, repeatedly assigning him and his companions mysterious collective identities. Feng Jun deliberately withholds information to prevent dangerous misunderstandings.
• Bureaucracy versus action: Federation procedures make it difficult to move or treat the commander, while Feng Jun’s companions solve the problem directly and efficiently.
• The value of heroes and human life: The commander’s status creates political complications, but his recovery exposes the Federation’s respect for military sacrifice and the importance of preserving its heroes.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Xuan Gao engage in a probing, half-humorous negotiation. Xuan Gao asks increasingly personal questions about Feng Jun’s age, strength, cultivation, and companions, while Feng Jun deflects or answers selectively.
• Feng Jun reprimands Xuan Gao for making him a joke among his companions, but the tension fades when Xuan Gao explains that the battleship incident killed its entire crew.
• Xuan Gao appeals to Feng Jun’s sense of diplomacy by asking him to treat the division commander. Feng Jun counters that his group has already demonstrated goodwill by saving Xingzheng Star, but ultimately agrees.
• Xuan Gao and Federation authorities are caught between their desire to obtain Feng Jun’s help and their fear of responsibility if anything happens to the commander.
• Xuanyuan Buqi acts on Feng Jun’s behalf, removing the commander from the hospital and returning him after treatment.
• Boss Zhi’s call to Xuan Gao marks a shift from suspicion and uncertainty toward formal recognition and possible higher-level negotiations with Feng Jun’s civilization.

Chapter Summary: “Monitoring Lifted”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun, Qian Zhong, Yi Jue, and Xuanyuan Buqi collectively treat the Hero Division Commander. Feng Jun provides the deduction and medical expertise, Qian Zhong assists, Yi Jue supplies medicinal ingredients, and Xuanyuan Buqi handles transportation. Feng Jun clarifies that he only purged the commander’s toxins; the remaining injuries require gradual recovery.
• Feng Jun decides not to immediately negotiate with the powerful group seeking longevity treatment. He believes appearing too eager would weaken his bargaining position and could lead to overwhelming demands if one person’s treatment became widely known.
• His intended exchange is straightforward: extend someone’s life by several decades in return for purchasing a Life Potion production line at market price. He wants the purchasing qualification and the ability to bring the technology back to benefit others, rather than simply seeking wealth.
• Qian Zhong reports that surveillance on Chen Jiu in Lower Capital has been lifted, as well as monitoring around Chen Jiu’s abandoned businesses and hospital. Feng Jun concludes that the authorities are encouraging renewed contact with his side.
• Feng Jun visits Chen Jiu at the abandoned Metal Recycling Company. Chen confirms that surveillance has apparently ended and explains that he had been unable to arrange a pharmaceutical production line because he was monitored, injured, and concerned about endangering his contacts.
• Feng Jun asks Chen to investigate and reserve any available production lines, promising to return in three to five months.
• Chen reveals that influential figures have asked whether Feng Jun’s people possess a longevity secret, after detecting an unusual substance in their warriors’ blood. Feng Jun dismisses the inquiry and insists that anyone seeking longevity must first provide several Life Potion production lines.
• After consulting with Robert, Chen learns that an important person wants Feng Jun’s help extending their lifespan. Feng Jun refuses to negotiate further, repeating that the production lines must come first.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Becomes increasingly strategic and guarded. He recognizes the danger of revealing his medical capabilities and refuses to let powerful factions exploit him. His opposition to privilege remains firm, but he is willing to use the Life Potion technology to earn Merit and help ordinary people, especially in the Kunhao Realm and the mysterious Small World connected to him.
• Qian Zhong: Demonstrates her immense surveillance and information-gathering abilities by identifying that Chen Jiu is no longer monitored. She also subtly probes Feng Jun about the world behind him while presenting the Life Potion as something that could benefit it.
• Xuanyuan Buqi: Remains openly contemptuous of the people who refer to Feng Jun’s group as “it,” viewing them as primitive and beneath him. However, he is willing to support Feng Jun’s goals and acknowledges that the potion could help the Mortal World of Kunhao.
• Chen Jiu: Shows caution, loyalty, and practical judgment. Although he failed to secure the production line, his inaction was justified by surveillance and concern for his friends’ safety. He remains impressed by Feng Jun’s power and sincerity and continues to act as his intermediary.
• Robert and the unnamed powerful faction: Their interest shifts from observation to active negotiation after witnessing the Hero Division Commander’s recovery. They clearly possess extensive influence and surveillance capabilities but have not yet gained leverage over Feng Jun.

Significant Themes

• Power and negotiation: Feng Jun deliberately avoids appearing desperate, understanding that eagerness would allow powerful groups to exploit him. He sets a firm price before offering longevity treatment.
• Privilege and equality: Feng Jun strongly resents elites expecting special treatment. He argues that those seeking extended lives must first provide resources that can benefit broader society.
• Merit and helping mortals: The Life Potion is valuable not only for personal gain but because extending ordinary people’s lifespans could generate Merit and improve the Mortal World.
• Surveillance and trust: The lifting of Chen Jiu’s monitoring creates an opening for contact, but both Feng Jun and Chen remain wary of deception. Their relationship depends on careful confirmation rather than blind trust.
• Civilizational superiority: The Federation’s perception of Feng Jun’s group as an alien or “Humanoid Civilization” highlights the imbalance between the two sides. Chen recognizes their technological and medical superiority, while Xuanyuan Buqi sees the Federation as ignorant and insignificant.
• Secrecy and responsibility: Feng Jun is concerned that revealing Heavenly Zither’s secrets or his group’s abilities could create dangerous consequences, including a flood of desperate requests and hostility from other cultivators.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun’s cooperation with Qian Zhong, Yi Jue, and Xuanyuan Buqi demonstrates the effectiveness of their group working together, with each contributing a different essential skill.
• Feng Jun and Xuanyuan Buqi disagree in tone but share the same general position: Xuanyuan dismisses the Federation’s insults, while Feng Jun prefers to ignore them and focus on practical benefits.
• Qian Zhong’s comments about the Small World behind Feng Jun reveal her habit of combining helpful suggestions with subtle probing.
• Feng Jun and Chen Jiu interact with mutual respect. Chen admits his failure to prepare the production line, but Feng Jun accepts his explanation because he understands the risks caused by surveillance.
• Chen’s report about the longevity request becomes the first direct sign that the Federation’s powerful figures want to negotiate. Feng Jun responds firmly, making clear that medical assistance will not be granted without the production lines he requested.

Chapter Summary: “All Cold-Blooded”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Chen Jiu negotiate over the purchase of a Life Potion production line and Feng Jun’s offer to extend human lifespans beyond the Life Potion’s fixed limit of 180 years.
• The Federation’s leaders demand that Feng Jun first undergo a lengthy verification process to prove his life-extension ability. Feng Jun rejects this condition, arguing that such verification could take decades and has no reliable standard.
• Feng Jun insists that the Federation should first provide the production line, after which the results of his longevity method can be observed. He makes clear that he is willing to wait—or find other clients—if the Federation refuses.
• He reveals that he can personally live as long as the warrior previously examined by the Federation, though he admits battle could still kill him. He also discloses that he fought the Insectoids and was the person struck by a battleship’s main cannon.
• Feng Jun reminds Chen Jiu that his group already demonstrated goodwill by saving a heroic division commander. He hints that, if not for concerns about provoking conflict between civilizations, they might attempt to seize a Life Potion factory by force.
• Chen Jiu asks Feng Jun to delay departure for one day so he can relay the negotiations to the Federation’s most powerful figures. Feng Jun agrees reluctantly and gives him a Quantum Handset for communication.
• After rejoining Yi Jue and the others, Feng Jun is criticized by Xuanyuan Buqi for being too diplomatic. Feng Jun defends his approach as “courtesy first, force afterward,” emphasizing that he represents his civilization in first contact.
• The chapter ends by shifting to a powerful Federation figure, who angrily condemns Feng Jun’s demands.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates extreme patience, confidence, and negotiating strength. He refuses to let the Federation dictate terms and stresses that he is not dependent on the Life Potion.
• His apparent coldness becomes more pronounced: he is willing to wait for an entire generation of Federation citizens to die before compromising, though his stance is partly strategic rather than purely cruel.
• Feng Jun also reveals more about his combat capabilities and longevity, showing that he is both a powerful fighter and a long-lived individual.
• Chen Jiu increasingly sympathizes with Feng Jun’s position. Although he serves as an intermediary for Federation interests, he recognizes the unfairness of the verification demand and fears being punished by his superiors for relaying Feng Jun’s blunt statements.
• Xuanyuan Buqi remains openly contemptuous of the Federation’s powerful leaders and urges Feng Jun to respond more aggressively.
• Yi Jue and Qian Zhong appear to share some of Xuanyuan Buqi’s doubts about Feng Jun’s excessive politeness, though they do not directly challenge him.
• The unnamed Federation leader’s anger establishes that Feng Jun’s words have provoked influential figures at the highest level.

Significant Themes

• Power and leverage: Feng Jun’s refusal to show desperation reverses the expected balance of power. The Federation needs him more urgently than he needs its Life Potion.
• The value of human life: Both sides treat ordinary citizens as expendable compared with powerful figures. Feng Jun’s cold remarks expose the same ruthlessness found among Federation elites.
• Trust versus verification: The Federation wants proof before surrendering control of its production technology, while Feng Jun views their demands as deliberately obstructive and insulting.
• Diplomacy and strength: Feng Jun believes civility should come before violence, but he makes clear that politeness should not be mistaken for weakness.
• Civilizational representation: Feng Jun sees his behavior as reflecting the refinement of his civilization during first contact, while Xuanyuan Buqi views such restraint as potentially humiliating.
• Mortality and longevity: The Life Potion’s 180-year limit contrasts with Feng Jun’s claim that far greater lifespans are possible, challenging the Federation’s scientific and political assumptions.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Chen Jiu share a tense but increasingly candid negotiation. Chen Jiu explains the Federation’s position, while Feng Jun bluntly rejects its conditions and forces Chen Jiu to confront the imbalance in the relationship.
• Feng Jun’s comments about waiting for Federation leaders to die unsettle Chen Jiu, who recognizes the ruthlessness behind them but also sees its similarity to the Federation’s own treatment of common people.
• Feng Jun threatens, indirectly, that his group could use force against Life Potion factories, prompting Chen Jiu to remain cautious rather than challenge him.
• Afterward, Xuanyuan Buqi criticizes Feng Jun’s diplomacy, while Feng Jun explains that restraint is intentional and that force remains an option if necessary.
• The final scene suggests that Federation leaders are preparing to respond angrily, increasing the likelihood of further political confrontation.

Chapter Summary: “An Excuse”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Robert urgently arranges for a message to be sent to Chen Jiu, since the opposing side has allowed only one day for a response.
• Chen Jiu contacts Feng Jun at dawn to relay the news, but Feng Jun is temporarily unreachable because his group is dealing with surveillance.
• A professional detective company in New Prosperity Tower is monitoring Feng Jun’s movements for a large fee. Its employees debate whether to alert the authorities, unaware of how dangerous their target is.
• Yi Jue traces the surveillance system, while Xuanyuan Buqi uses Divine Thought to destroy two monitoring satellites. Qian Zhong locates the company’s surveillance personnel in Lower Capital.
• Feng Jun decides not to kill the investigators immediately. Instead, he orders Chen Jiu to give the company half a day to leave Xingzheng Star, warning that anyone who remains will face a worse fate.
• Chen Jiu delivers the ultimatum. The detective company initially relies on the influence of its client, but becomes cautious after learning that Feng Jun destroyed two satellites.
• Robert contacts Chen Jiu, pretending not to know about the surveillance operation and claiming that someone may have acted independently to curry favor.
• Chen Jiu openly challenges Robert’s excuses and refuses to arrange a meeting between Robert and Feng Jun’s group.
• Robert finally drops much of his arrogance and asks about Feng Jun’s reaction to the proposal, clearly worried that failure will provoke punishment from the powerful “Second Master.”

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates restraint and strategic authority. Although angered by the surveillance, he chooses an ultimatum over immediate slaughter, offering the offenders a final chance to leave.
• Chen Jiu becomes more assertive. He stops deferring to Robert and makes clear that he is merely delivering Feng Jun’s orders, not accepting responsibility for them. His contempt for Robert’s manipulation becomes increasingly open.
• Robert is exposed as evasive and politically calculating. He denies responsibility for the surveillance while subtly threatening Chen Jiu with the power behind the operation. However, once he realizes the consequences of failure, his confidence gives way to anxiety and reluctant respect.
• Xuanyuan Buqi, Yi Jue, and Qian Zhong reinforce the overwhelming capabilities of Feng Jun’s group: they detect, locate, and neutralize sophisticated surveillance with ease.
• The detective-company employees shift rapidly from excitement over a lucrative contract to panic when their satellites are destroyed and they realize their target can retaliate effortlessly.

Significant Themes

• Power and intimidation: Advanced surveillance and institutional authority prove useless against Feng Jun’s group, whose abilities place them far above ordinary political or technological forces.
• Political evasion and plausible deniability: Robert attempts to distance himself from the operation while still benefiting from it, using vague explanations and the influence of powerful backers as an “excuse.”
• Respect earned through strength: Chen Jiu’s treatment of Robert changes once he no longer needs to seek Robert’s favor, while the detective company and Robert become cautious only after witnessing Feng Jun’s power.
• Restraint versus revenge: Feng Jun’s decision to issue a warning instead of killing the investigators shows deliberate control and suggests that mercy can also function as a threat.
• Local power versus outside influence: Chen Jiu’s Chen Clan Kinship Association has strong local authority, but even it cannot safely oppose the greater forces behind Robert’s mission.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Jiu and Feng Jun: Chen Jiu reports the situation, while Feng Jun firmly prioritizes dealing with the surveillance before discussing Robert’s proposal.
• Feng Jun and his companions: Yi Jue offers to kill the investigators, but Feng Jun chooses a more measured response. Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong support him by eliminating the surveillance network.
• Chen Jiu and the detective company: Chen Jiu delivers Feng Jun’s ultimatum, and the company’s confidence collapses once it understands the seriousness of the threat.
• Chen Jiu and Robert: Their conversation is openly adversarial. Robert hides behind denial and influential sponsors, while Chen Jiu mocks his excuses and refuses to help him control the situation.
• Robert and Feng Jun’s unseen group: Although they do not speak directly, Robert’s fear of their reaction drives his behavior. Their power forces him to abandon his usual condescension and seek information urgently.

Chapter Summary

• Robert’s diplomatic failure: Chen Jiu reports that the alien civilization has refused to listen until the detective agency’s affairs are settled. Feng Jun is unconcerned by the accusation that he has a “bad temper,” distinguishing between following proper diplomatic procedure and having a gentle personality. He argues that fear can be more effective than goodwill.
• Why the detective agency matters: Robert explains that detective agencies provide valuable intelligence to the Federation, including information about insectoids, resistance groups, cults, and illegal organizations. Their Border Star branch is strategically important because frontier regions offer the best opportunities for gathering intelligence, though recruiting and maintaining staff there is difficult.
• The agency is ordered to withdraw: Chen Jiu makes clear that the people of Border Star will not tolerate the agency’s actions and that Feng Jun is not personally trying to negotiate with them. Robert therefore tells the agency to leave Xingzheng Star. The agency’s manager protests, citing financial losses and three unfinished investigations.
• Robert’s manipulative compromise: Robert suggests that most employees depart while one liaison officer remains to continue the investigations with local assistance. When the manager insults the local workers as unreliable, Robert angrily ends the conversation. Privately, however, he reveals his sinister motive: he intends to leave the liaison officer behind as a test or “whetstone,” using the person’s fate to observe how the alien civilization responds.
• Feng Jun and the others decide to act: Qian Zhong recognizes Robert’s plan as sinister. Xuanyuan Buqi says the abandoned liaison officer gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their strength, and Feng Jun agrees that they must deal with her. This marks a shift from tolerance and observation toward direct action against those provoking them.
• The agency’s departure: The agency seals its documents and sends more than twenty outside employees away on two starships. Sixty or seventy local part-time workers remain, while the designated liaison officer is the young woman who had been working the dawn shift.
• The liaison officer’s fear: The woman immediately understands that staying behind is dangerous, but she cannot refuse the assignment without damaging her career. Her strong survival instinct leads her to remain inside New Prosperity Tower, eat there, sleep in the company break room, and wear a placard identifying herself as a “Liaison Officer” so she will not be mistaken for a covert operative. Her anxiety prevents her from resting properly.
• Cliffhanger in the gym: Hoping exercise will calm her nerves, she joins a women’s aerobics session. After only a few minutes, another woman screams. A neatly severed arm lies on the floor, and the liaison officer recognizes the mole on its wrist as strangely familiar, suggesting that the horror has already reached her surroundings—or that someone close to her has been attacked.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Feng Jun: Remains calm and confident but becomes willing to retaliate when the other side deliberately leaves someone behind. His patience has limits, especially when others attempt to manipulate or test him.
• Chen Jiu: Acts as the mediator and accurately conveys the alien civilization’s hostility, emphasizing that the confrontation is not being initiated solely by Feng Jun.
• Robert: Reveals himself as politically cautious but morally calculating. He avoids responsibility publicly while deliberately allowing the liaison officer to become a sacrificial test case.
• Qian Zhong: Sees through Robert’s scheme and criticizes its sinister nature.
• Xuanyuan Buqi: Enjoys the chance to respond forcefully and views the situation as an opportunity to demonstrate power.
• Detective agency manager: Protects the company’s financial interests and reputation, even at the expense of the liaison officer’s safety.
• Liaison officer: Develops from a professional employee into an unwilling target whose fear and survival instincts dominate her actions.

Major Themes

• Courtesy versus force: Diplomacy is presented as a matter of procedure, not necessarily kindness; the chapter suggests that intimidation may sometimes be more effective than politeness.
• Political manipulation and expendability: Robert and the detective agency treat the liaison officer as disposable, highlighting how institutions sacrifice individuals to protect influence, profit, or reputation.
• Cultural misunderstanding: Federation officials underestimate Border Star’s people and misread their priorities, while the frontier civilization’s pride and hostility make ordinary diplomatic tactics ineffective.
• Fear and survival: The liaison officer’s behavior shows how terror changes ordinary professional decisions, while the final image of the severed arm turns abstract danger into immediate horror.
• Power and retaliation: Feng Jun and his companions shift from restraint to action, framing the liaison officer’s abandonment as provocation that must be answered.

Chapter Summary: “The People Do Not Complain”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A female liaison officer from the detective company is mysteriously attacked while exercising in New Prosperity Tower. Both of her arms are severed without any visible attacker or weapon. Despite massive blood loss, she remains conscious and continues dancing briefly because her balance is unusually strong.
• The gym’s bystanders panic. The facility has no surveillance cameras, leaving no immediate evidence. The severed arms are recovered, and the woman is rushed to New Prosperity Tower’s medical station, which possesses advanced equipment capable of reattaching or regenerating limbs.
• The blood sprayed across the floor forms the words “Get lost!”, making it clear that the attack was an intentional supernatural warning rather than an accident.
• The Patrol Bureau questions the injured woman. Although terrified, she claims it may have been an accident and does not formally complain. Following the principle that there can be no investigation without a complaint, the Bureau temporarily refrains from pursuing the matter, though it recognizes that the incident must eventually be investigated.
• The detective company’s branch head contacts Robert, angrily demanding an explanation. Robert reminds him that leaving behind a liaison officer was only a suggestion, not a guarantee of safety, and that the officer’s self-appointed badge may have been interpreted as a provocation.
• Chen Jiu offers a similar interpretation: the attack was a warning rather than an attempt to kill. Feng Jun later confirms that the woman may remain on Xingzheng Star for up to one month, but she cannot conduct detective work or stay in New Prosperity Tower.
• Robert proposes providing a locked production line for Life Potions in exchange for the other civilization demonstrating effective life-extension methods. Feng Jun agrees in principle but negotiates the verification period down from one year. The two sides continue bargaining, eventually reaching a counteroffer of six months.

Character Developments

• The female liaison officer is shown to be physically capable and remarkably composed, remaining conscious despite losing both arms. However, the incident leaves her deeply frightened, and her refusal to complain reflects her awareness that she may have provoked a dangerous power.
• The branch head becomes furious and anxious after realizing that his decision to leave someone behind has placed her in danger. He feels the detective company acted peacefully and cannot understand why the other side interpreted its actions as provocation.
• Robert balances responsibility with self-protection. He refuses to accept blame but agrees to help cover treatment costs and negotiate with the natives.
• Chen Jiu acts as a pragmatic intermediary. He recognizes the attack as restrained compared with what the natives could have done and warns that continued arrogance will lead to worse consequences.
• Feng Jun emerges as firm but relatively reasonable. He enforces the one-month limit and restrictions on the liaison officer while showing willingness to negotiate a technological exchange.
• Xuanyuan Buqi remains distrustful and irritated by the Federation’s cautious, withholding attitude, viewing its locked technology as evidence of limited ambition and excessive suspicion.

Significant Themes

• Warnings versus punishment: The severing of the woman’s arms is brutal, but because she survives and receives a clear warning, it is framed as a restrained lesson rather than an execution.
• Cultural misunderstanding: The detective company believes its liaison badge demonstrates peaceful intentions, while the natives interpret the officer’s continued presence as defiance or provocation.
• Technology and mystery: The unexplained attack exposes the limits of a technologically advanced society. The chapter contrasts scientific explanations with supernatural possibilities and argues that genuine truth-seeking should not reject either side prematurely.
• Responsibility and negotiation: Both civilizations attempt to avoid appearing weak or unreasonable while still protecting their own interests. Their exchange over the Life Potion production line becomes a test of trust.
• Power and boundaries: The natives establish strict territorial rules, while the Federation learns that technology and confidence do not guarantee safety in another civilization’s domain.

Character Interactions

• The gym-goers react with a mixture of shock, curiosity, and inappropriate opportunism, while more observant witnesses recognize that the blood-written message signals something beyond an ordinary crime.
• The Patrol Bureau questions the victim but respects her refusal to make a complaint, illustrating the society’s procedural limits.
• The branch head argues with Robert over who is responsible for the attack. Robert counters that the officer’s presence was voluntary and potentially provocative.
• Chen Jiu speaks separately with the branch head and Robert, giving both the same warning and refusing to promise the officer’s continued safety.
• Feng Jun communicates the final terms through Chen Jiu: the injured woman has one month to remain, must avoid detective work, and must stay away from New Prosperity Tower.
• Feng Jun and Xuanyuan Buqi debate how to respond to Robert’s proposed technology exchange, while Feng Jun ultimately chooses negotiation over retaliation.

Chapter Summary: “Officials Do Not Pursue It”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Robert finalize a deal for a Life Potion production line. Payment will be made in Energy Stones at a strategic warehouse on Xingzheng Star, while the production line will be delivered to a remote off-world warehouse within twenty days.
• Feng insists that no surveillance equipment be left behind. The extremely high price—billions of tons of Energy Stones—allows Feng to purchase only one production line for now.
• The transaction demonstrates the immense influence of Robert’s organization, which is able to use an official strategic-reserve warehouse and arrange rapid delivery.
• The Patrol Bureau continues investigating the female detective whose severed arm was restored. She refuses to cooperate after being warned that her attacker had deliberately spared her.
• The detective agency pressures the Patrol Bureau to stop pursuing the matter. The bureau agrees in principle but demands some acknowledgment of its authority and threatens to affect the agency’s rating.
• The standoff ends when Robert intervenes through an influential figure in Lower Long City. The responsible patrol officer is taken away by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
• The officer later tries to seek Chen Jiu’s help through the Chen Clan Kinship Association. After consulting Feng Jun, Chen Jiu agrees to put in a word, largely to prevent the incident from attracting further attention.
• Feng returns to Libo Shoal to assist Elder Bianji with the Deduction of the Fake-Death Pill. Two days later, he returns to Luohua Manor and informs Beauty Lin that the limb-regenerating medicine and production line are nearly secured.
• Beauty Lin explains that numerous regions in Xia Nation are competing to host the production line, including Jincheng, Jiangxia, the northwest, the capital, the northeast, Peng City, Xizi, Thousand Province, and Jinzhou. Several propose using vacant factories, wartime caves, or abandoned mines.
• Xiayang University invites Feng to an economic forum in Jiangxia and offers extraordinary accommodations, including allowing him to select the attendees. Feng declines, suggesting they invite Liu Menglong instead, and offers to donate fifty million.
• Feng avoids becoming publicly involved because he is now an immortal cultivator and wishes to reduce his worldly connections.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious, pragmatic, and strongly opposed to unnecessary trouble. He accepts the exorbitant production-line price because the medicine is effectively priceless, but he remains unwilling to become entangled with governments or public attention.
• Robert’s organization is shown to possess exceptional resources and political influence, capable of arranging warehouses, transactions, and intervention at high levels.
• Chen Jiu demonstrates caution and political awareness. He worries about being implicated in the investigation and consults Feng before helping the disgraced patrol officer.
• Xuanyuan Buqi treats Energy Stones casually, reflecting his lack of attachment to wealth from the current world.
• The female detective becomes increasingly unwilling to cooperate with authorities after realizing that the people involved had intentionally spared her.
• Beauty Lin is shocked by Feng’s progress and must confront the political competition surrounding the placement of the production line.
• Xiayang University and local governments reveal their eagerness to associate with Feng and benefit from his influence, wealth, and technology.

Significant Themes

• Influence versus official authority: The chapter shows a struggle between the detective agency and the Patrol Bureau, with both sides using higher-level connections to protect their interests.
• The value of life: The enormous price of the Life Potion production line is justified by the fact that it can extend life and regenerate limbs; its worth cannot be measured by production cost alone.
• Avoidance of worldly entanglements: Feng increasingly distances himself from ordinary social, political, and economic affairs as his cultivation advances.
• Power and discretion: Feng and the cultivators are not afraid of conflict, but they prefer to avoid exposure and cumbersome consequences.
• Regional competition and economic development: Local governments compete aggressively to host the production line, hoping to gain investment, prestige, jobs, and industrial revitalization.
• Officials “not pursuing” matters: Authorities may let an incident go, but they still expect respect, compensation, or acknowledgment of their institutional power.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Robert’s side: They negotiate the production-line deal, balancing secrecy, delivery arrangements, surveillance concerns, and price.
• Feng Jun and Chen Jiu: Chen reports that the price is excessive and later asks whether he should help the disgraced patrol officer. Feng permits limited intervention to keep the affair from escalating.
• Detective agency and Patrol Bureau: Their confrontation becomes a political stalemate, with each side relying on influential backers.
• Robert and Lower Long City officials: Robert uses his connections to resolve the conflict, resulting in the patrol officer’s removal.
• Chen Jiu and the patrol officer’s intermediaries: The officer’s network repeatedly pressures Chen Jiu to intervene, forcing him to seek Feng’s approval.
• Feng Jun and Beauty Lin: Feng reports the impending arrival of the production line, while Beauty Lin warns him about the fierce competition among regions.
• Feng Jun and Xiayang University: The university offers an elaborate invitation and attempts to appeal to his personal ties, but Feng declines and recommends Liu Menglong instead.

Chapter Summary: “Who Are You Looking Down On?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun reflects on Liu Menglong’s success. Liu became the dominant figure in Xia Nation’s secondhand electromechanical-equipment market largely because Luohua supported him from the beginning, helping him secure startup capital and providing a reliable buyer.
• As Kunhao’s industrialization advances, Luohua increasingly relies less on imported secondhand machinery. Feng Jun feels Liu no longer needs Luohua’s assistance, though Luohua remains willing to help when necessary.
• Liu continues to show gratitude by visiting Feng Jun during festivals and bringing gifts, despite having increasingly limited access to Luohua Manor.
• Xiayang University continues trying to recruit Feng Jun. To persuade him, the university enlists Liu Menglong and Zheng Sike, Feng’s former roommates.
• Zheng Sike, once a close college friend, endured a difficult career after graduation. He eventually obtained a secure but exhausting public-institution position. Xiayang University promises to transfer him to a more comfortable university post if he can persuade Feng to visit.
• Feng hosts Liu and Zheng at the manor. Zheng is astonished by Feng’s wealth, the manor, and the diverse women who all address Feng as “Boss.”
• After drinking, Feng learns about Xiayang University’s offer. He is offended that the university has offered Zheng only a basic transfer rather than a high-ranking position, joking that inviting someone as important as him should warrant at least a department-head role.
• Yang Yuxin and Yu Qingzhu explain that Zheng could qualify under special-talent recruitment policies—not because of his own achievements, but because he is capable of bringing Feng to the university.
• Zheng initially assumes they are joking, but Yu Qingzhu urges him to test the claim by demanding a department-head position as the condition for Feng’s visit.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates loyalty toward old friends and confidence in his current status. He dislikes flaunting his wealth, yet his remarks reveal that his influence has become so great that institutions must treat him as an exceptional figure.
• Liu Menglong: Has grown into a highly successful businessman while remaining humble and grateful toward Feng. He acts as a bridge between Feng and their old classmates and shows concern for Zheng’s difficult circumstances.
• Zheng Sike: Is hardworking, modest, and somewhat insecure after years of overwork and marginalization. His pride prevents him from asking Feng for help directly, but the chapter hints that his connection to Feng may transform his career.
• Yang Yuxin and Yu Qingzhu: Reveal how highly Luohua values Feng’s influence. Their serious support of Feng’s demand shows that the situation is not merely a joke.
• Feng’s Luohua associates: Their respectful treatment of Liu and constant deference to Feng emphasize the difference between Feng’s current position and his ordinary college past.

Significant Themes

• Influence and social status: Feng’s ability to attract institutions has made his personal connections extraordinarily valuable.
• Loyalty and repayment of kindness: Liu’s continued gratitude reflects the lasting impact of Feng’s earlier support.
• Changing identities: Former classmates who once stood on equal footing now occupy very different social and economic positions.
• Institutional hypocrisy and special treatment: Xiayang University is willing to bend its rules and create an exceptional position simply to gain access to Feng.
• Pride and dignity: Zheng does not want to exploit Feng’s success, while Feng insists that Zheng should not be undervalued merely because he is asking for help.
• Humor amid status disparity: The friends use teasing and jokes to soften the awkwardness caused by their vastly different circumstances.

Character Interactions

• Liu repeatedly encourages Feng to consider Xiayang University’s request and explains Zheng’s situation when Zheng is too embarrassed to do so.
• Zheng tries to minimize his hardships and insists that Feng should only help if it is convenient.
• Feng challenges the university’s low-level offer, arguing that Zheng deserves a senior position if his connection to Feng is the reason for the recruitment.
• Yang Yuxin and Yu Qingzhu reinforce Feng’s position, telling Zheng that his ability to bring Feng to Xiayang makes him a “special talent.”
• The conversation ends with Zheng stunned and uncertain, while the others treat the possibility of his promotion as entirely realistic.

Chapter Summary: “Feng Ersai”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zheng Sike asks Feng Jun whether his influence can secure him a better position at Xiayang University. Feng insists that since the university used Zheng’s employment as leverage to attract him, it should also show him proper respect.
• With Feng’s encouragement and Liu Menglong’s support, Zheng contacts the university’s vice principal. The university agrees to consider improving his position, though it warns that an immediate department-head appointment would cause controversy.
• The proposed solution is to place Zheng in a university-controlled company as a grassroots leader, rapidly promote him, and eventually transfer him back to the university in a more senior administrative role. The process is expected to take six months to a year.
• Feng decides to donate another fifty million yuan, bringing his contribution to one hundred million. Liu Menglong also pledges fifty million, strengthening Zheng’s standing with the university.
• Feng explains that his true influence is much greater, but he avoids directly intervening because his public involvement would attract unwanted attention and make him a target for political or commercial exploitation.
• Zheng and Liu begin organizing a university forum connected to Jiangxia’s economic-development plans. The city initially hopes to use Feng’s projects and reputation to attract investment, especially his advanced technologies and valuable production lines.
• Feng refuses to bring his major production line to Jiangxia, offering only the donation to his alma mater. City officials repeatedly pressure Zheng to persuade him and even hint at giving Zheng a position in the city government.
• Jiangxia eventually abandons its own large-scale economic forum after realizing that it should not rely on Feng as a publicity tool. Xiayang University instead holds a smaller, academically framed “Jiangxia Economic Development Forum,” inviting economists and successful alumni to preserve the university’s prestige.

Character Development

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates enormous influence and financial power while remaining cautious about using it openly. He is protective of his friends but also understands that excessive privilege could damage Zheng’s character. His insistence that Zheng advance gradually shows concern for his roommate’s ability to handle status and flattery.
• Zheng Sike: Begins uncertain and intimidated by the idea of challenging the university, but Feng’s backing and alcohol-fueled courage lead him to act. He gradually realizes that Feng’s influence is genuine, not mere boasting, and becomes more confident in managing negotiations.
• Liu Menglong: Acts as a practical supporter and stabilizing influence. He encourages Zheng to trust Feng, contributes fifty million yuan, and reinforces the idea that meaningful work is better than simply living off wealth.
• The university and city officials: Both recognize Feng’s value but are cautious about openly granting favors. Their attempts to accommodate Zheng and attract Feng reveal how institutions seek to benefit from his power while avoiding public controversy.

Significant Themes

• Influence beyond wealth: Money alone does not guarantee unlimited power, especially within Xia Nation’s institutional and political system. Feng’s real influence comes from his technology, connections, reputation, and strategic importance.
• Power and discretion: Feng understands that visibility can be dangerous. He avoids becoming a convenient symbol or “material” for others to exploit.
• Gradual advancement and personal stability: Feng believes Zheng should rise step by step rather than be abruptly placed in a senior role and overwhelmed by status and flattery.
• Institutional compromise: The university creates an indirect career path for Zheng to balance favoritism, reputation, and political practicality.
• Wealth and purpose: Liu argues that financial freedom without meaningful work can become empty, emphasizing the value of responsibility and productive engagement.
• Publicity versus substance: Jiangxia initially wants to use Feng’s name and projects to elevate the city, but the plan is revised when officials realize that relying too heavily on him would be inappropriate and ineffective.

Character Interactions

• Feng and Zheng share a close, teasing friendship: Feng pushes Zheng to be bolder, while Zheng mocks Feng for acting arrogantly or “like a rich young master.”
• Liu serves as the dormitory group’s other influential figure, backing Feng’s promises and showing that Zheng is supported by more than one powerful friend.
• Zheng becomes the intermediary between Feng, Xiayang University, and Jiangxia officials, placing him at the center of negotiations over appointments, donations, and the forum.
• Feng rejects invitations involving Zhang Yunzhen and her associates, showing that old personal conflicts still influence his social decisions.
• The university and city both treat Zheng as a gateway to Feng, but Zheng increasingly asserts his own judgment and refuses to exploit his friendship irresponsibly.

Chapter Summary: “Is Feng Jun Coming?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiayang University organizes a deliberately low-profile economic forum and tells invited alumni and experts not to publicize it. The secrecy is due to the planned attendance of Feng Jun, whose background and influence are highly sensitive.
• Most invitees do not recognize Feng Jun’s name, though many know of Luohua. The university admits that even it lacks a complete understanding of Feng Jun’s achievements, since much of his wealth, technology, and influence is classified or deliberately concealed.
• Rumors spread despite the university’s warnings. Security personnel connected to “Beauty Lin” monitor the situation but avoid suppressing inquiries, since the people involved are prominent scholars, officials, and business leaders.
• Once word spreads, calls to the event organizers increase dramatically. People mainly want to know whether Feng Jun will truly attend and how they can obtain admission.
• The richest man in the province offers a donation of 99.99 million yuan for a seat, deliberately staying below Feng Jun’s 100-million-yuan donation. He hopes to repair past hostility with Feng Jun and possibly establish cooperation.
• A high-ranking alumnus serving as Thousand Province’s second-in-command personally requests to attend. His involvement creates a political and logistical dilemma because his arrival could be interpreted as competing with Jiangxia for a major project and would require significant official reception and security.
• The senior official tries to ease the problem by insisting that he is only returning as an ordinary alumnus, though his security requirements and status make complete informality impossible.
• Zheng Sike, concerned that the official may interfere with Jiangxia’s interests, tries to contact Feng Jun. Feng Jun is unreachable because he is at Libo Shoal deducing a magic treasure.
• After five days, Feng Jun returns briefly to Blue Star and learns from Liang Siyu that Zheng Sike has been looking for him. Feng Jun then contacts Zheng and gives him his position on the matter.
• Zheng calls the senior alumnus’s office and states that Feng Jun is willing to represent himself through Zheng, but that Feng Jun’s schedule is uncertain. He emphasizes that he is Feng Jun’s roommate, causing the secretary to fall silent before requesting Zheng’s identity and contact information.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: His growing status becomes clear through the secrecy surrounding him, the attention of wealthy businessmen and high-ranking officials, and the involvement of security agencies. Despite his enormous influence, he remains largely absent from the event preparations, focused instead on cultivating and deducing magical treasures.
• Zheng Sike: He becomes more assertive and protective of Feng Jun’s dignity and local interests. Though initially intimidated by the senior official’s status, he uses Feng Jun’s authority to speak firmly on his behalf.
• The richest man in the province: Shows a pragmatic desire to erase past conflicts with Feng Jun. His carefully calculated donation reflects both respect and awareness of Feng Jun’s financial standing.
• The senior Thousand Province official: Demonstrates political sophistication and respect for his alma mater, while his attendance also suggests an interest in Jiangxia’s business opportunities. He is portrayed as powerful but tactful, attempting to minimize the burden his status creates.
• The university organizers: Become increasingly overwhelmed as the supposedly small forum attracts influential figures. Their lack of complete information about Feng Jun highlights how far beyond ordinary institutions his influence has grown.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power and restricted knowledge: Feng Jun’s true achievements are known only to a few, and even official institutions possess incomplete information about him.
• Influence and status: The forum becomes important not because of its formal scale but because Feng Jun’s presence attracts business leaders, officials, and security agencies.
• Political etiquette and institutional difficulty: The university and local authorities must navigate complicated rules of reception, security, hierarchy, and regional competition.
• Respect and personal dignity: Feng Jun’s insistence that others not casually disregard him shapes Zheng Sike’s behavior. The chapter emphasizes that even powerful people must defend their dignity and interests.
• The contrast between ordinary appearances and extraordinary reality: The event is presented as a modest alumni gathering, yet it quietly draws some of the most influential people in the region.

Important Character Interactions

• The university gives evasive answers to curious invitees, indirectly revealing how mysterious Feng Jun is.
• Business and political figures contact the event team to secure access to Feng Jun.
• The richest man seeks entry through a major donation as a gesture of reconciliation.
• The senior official personally contacts the university, forcing organizers to confront the complications of receiving someone of his rank.
• Zheng Sike attempts to contact Feng Jun, later relays Feng Jun’s position to the official’s secretary, and asserts that he can represent Feng Jun because they are roommates.

Chapter Summary: “Outstanding Alumnus”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zheng Sike gives his name and phone number in support of Feng Jun, accepting that the decision might damage his own career. He believes helping his “Third Brother” preserve his dignity is worth any consequences.
• He receives a call from Tao, an influential alumnus from Thousand Province. Tao asks about Feng Jun’s two advanced production lines and where they might be established.
• Zheng Sike explains that Feng Jun is not interested in ordinary commercial projects and avoids making his position known because others might exploit his statements to create trouble.
• Tao reveals his confusion about Luohua’s unusual business model. Despite possessing extremely valuable technologies—including a cancer-treatment center and production lines for treating age-related illnesses and diabetes—Luohua does not appear eager to commercialize or operate all of them directly.
• Tao attempts to recruit Zheng Sike as his secretary, offering career advancement in exchange for obtaining a production line from Feng Jun.
• Zheng Sike refuses, prioritizing Feng Jun’s interests over his own advancement. He argues that asking Feng Jun for favors would create the very trouble Feng Jun dislikes.
• Tao then asks Zheng Sike to learn more about the production-line allocation system and later requests an introduction to Feng Jun. Zheng Sike cautiously resists the first request but does not completely reject the second.
• After the call, Zheng Sike is visibly shaken by Tao’s authority. He tries to inform Feng Jun about the conversation, but Feng Jun is unreachable for several days.
• When contact is finally established, Feng Jun jokes that becoming Tao’s secretary would be less appealing than remaining a carefree university idler.

Character Developments

• Zheng Sike: Demonstrates loyalty, courage, and moral resolve. Although tempted by a powerful offer and aware of the personal benefits involved, he refuses to exploit Feng Jun for career advancement. His willingness to withstand pressure shows that he has firmly chosen Feng Jun’s side.
• Feng Jun: Remains distant and difficult to reach, reinforcing his mysterious status and independence. His humorous response suggests that he is unconcerned with conventional authority or prestigious positions.
• Tao, the outstanding alumnus: Appears highly influential, confident, and politically powerful. He speaks directly and exerts considerable pressure, but he is also personable, humorous, and capable of recognizing Zheng Sike’s integrity. His intense interest in Luohua’s technology reflects both strategic ambition and uncertainty about its true capabilities.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty versus self-interest: Zheng Sike sacrifices a potentially major promotion rather than use Feng Jun’s connections for personal gain.
• Power and influence: Tao’s status allows him to speak with authority and offer rapid career advancement, while Zheng Sike’s resistance highlights the moral challenge of dealing with powerful figures.
• The mystery of Luohua: The organization’s technologies and finances are clearly extraordinary, but its goals, origins, and operating methods remain obscure even to high-ranking officials.
• Avoidance of conflict and political danger: Feng Jun’s reluctance to state his position reflects his desire to avoid becoming involved in political or commercial struggles.
• Independence from conventional success: Feng Jun’s preference for being a “carefree idler” contrasts with Tao’s emphasis on office, status, investment, and institutional power.

Character Interactions

• Zheng Sike and Tao: Tao questions Zheng about Feng Jun, pressures him to secure a production line, and offers him a secretary position. Zheng responds respectfully but firmly, refusing to compromise Feng Jun’s interests.
• Zheng Sike and Feng Jun: Zheng attempts to report the conversation out of loyalty and caution. Feng Jun responds lightly, treating the prestigious secretary position as less desirable than his current freedom.
• Tao and Feng Jun, indirectly: Tao’s questions and requests show his desire to understand, control, or attract Luohua’s resources, while Feng Jun’s indirect statements and avoidance preserve his independence.

Chapter Summary: “Ostentation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun prepares to attend the Jiangxia Economic Development Forum at Xiayang University. Although he dislikes publicity and lobbying, he recognizes that the event will involve people seeking his support and influence.
• He arrives early with seven members of the Luohua group: Gao Qiang, Zhang Caixin, Yang Yuxin, Gu Jiahui, Yu Qingzhu, and Tang Wenji. Zheng Sike, nicknamed “Old Fifth,” guides them to the university guesthouse on a shared bicycle.
• Feng Jun is relieved that the forum’s banner does not prominently feature his name. However, the university records his arrival on camera despite his request to avoid filming, explaining that the footage is valuable for its archives.
• University officials, including the vice president, welcome Feng Jun with considerable formality because of his donations and contributions to the university. Feng Jun repeatedly downplays his importance, uncomfortable with the attention.
• During breakfast, Feng Jun and his companions occupy a table together. Their striking appearance—especially the five beautiful women accompanying him—draws widespread attention from classmates and other attendees.
• Feng Jun deliberately maintains a flamboyant, aloof image, hoping people will mistake him for a playboy and avoid approaching him with serious requests or lobbying.
• Numerous former classmates greet him, aware that he has become wealthy and influential after donating a hundred million yuan. Several want to sit with him, but the crowded table leaves them at neighboring tables.
• Senior Tao, a prominent alumnus from Hengzhou, arrives surrounded by aides and security. He approaches Feng Jun and politely introduces himself, but Feng Jun pretends not to recognize him because they have never met.
• Senior Tao’s companions notice that Feng Jun’s female companions do not stand to greet him. Senior Tao interprets their behavior with mild amusement, then learns that all five women came with Feng Jun.
• After breakfast, Feng Jun and his group head toward a detached villa arranged for them instead of ordinary rooms. The chapter ends when two former classmates, Chu Tianshu and the once-famous class beauty Wan Qiong, approach and greet him.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Remains wary of public attention and political or financial entanglements. He uses ostentation—arriving with a group of glamorous women and adopting an indifferent attitude—as a deliberate defensive strategy to discourage lobbying. Despite his wealth and influence, he still feels awkward about the university’s praise and formal treatment.
• Zheng Sike: Acts as Feng Jun’s guide and intermediary at the forum, handling logistics while explaining the university’s decisions. His role highlights his loyalty and close association with Feng Jun.
• Senior Tao: Is established as another influential alumnus with considerable status, attendants, and security. He is socially confident and observant but does not force an interaction after Feng Jun gives him a distant reception.
• Feng Jun’s companions: Their unified presence reinforces Feng Jun’s unusual status. Their confidence—particularly their refusal to stand for Senior Tao—signals that they recognize and support Feng Jun’s position.
• Former classmates: Their eagerness to greet Feng Jun shows how dramatically his social standing has changed since graduation.

Significant Themes

• Public image as self-defense: Feng Jun intentionally cultivates an extravagant image to make himself appear unserious and inaccessible, using spectacle to protect himself from demands and manipulation.
• Wealth and changing relationships: Former classmates and university officials treat Feng Jun differently because of his donations and financial success, revealing how status reshapes old social connections.
• Humility versus recognition: Feng Jun insists that he is merely a former student, yet the university views him as an important benefactor whose presence deserves special treatment.
• Social hierarchy and etiquette: The breakfast scene emphasizes formal greetings, seating arrangements, introductions, and the subtle power dynamics between influential alumni.
• Visibility and privacy: Feng Jun’s concern over cameras and archival footage reflects his desire to remain influential without becoming publicly identifiable or overly exposed.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Zheng Sike discuss the forum’s publicity and the university’s filming, showing Feng Jun’s desire for privacy and Zheng’s limited ability to shield him.
• Feng Jun exchanges polite but restrained words with the vice president, who praises his donations while Feng Jun tries to minimize their significance.
• Classmates approach Feng Jun throughout breakfast, treating him warmly but also acknowledging his elevated status.
• Senior Tao makes the first move toward establishing a relationship, but Feng Jun responds with formal distance and feigned unfamiliarity.
• Senior Tao’s aides discuss Feng Jun’s female companions, highlighting how the group’s appearance affects others’ perceptions.
• Chu Tianshu and Wan Qiong’s arrival introduces a more personal connection to Feng Jun’s past and suggests that old classmates may play a larger role in the coming events.

Chapter Summary: “Fobbing Them Off”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun reunites with former classmates Chu Tianshu and Wan Qiong at the university alumni event. Wan Qiong is more interested in the five striking women accompanying him than in catching up with him.
• Feng Jun’s former classmates notice that he no longer carries or uses a phone, reflecting how completely he has separated himself from his old life after his breakup with Zhang Yunzhen and later conflicts involving Young Master Wu.
• Feng Jun and his group settle into a villa, but they have little time to rest before attending the salon.
• Yang Yuxin explains that the women deliberately remained seated when Feng Jun arrived so that influential alumni or their subordinates would not use the opportunity to approach him. Their primary purpose is to act as a social buffer around him.
• At the economic salon, Feng Jun is seated prominently between the university’s former and current leadership. Although he intends to remain silent, his position, wealth, and entourage make him the center of attention.
• Professor Zhang discusses Jiangxia’s economic development, while the alumni gradually become more engaged in the discussion.
• Liu Menglong begins debating a well-known economist, causing the moderator to call on Feng Jun to contribute.
• Feng Jun initially claims he has no qualifications to discuss economic theory and then says that practical details of his business involve state secrets. He offers to provide official provincial- and higher-level certifications as proof rather than disclose sensitive information.
• Fang Qiong accuses him of being evasive, prompting friendly teasing among the old classmates. The chapter ends when Chu Tianshu asks when Luohua’s Cancer Center will open a branch.

2. Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Appears increasingly powerful, private, and detached from his former social identity. He avoids drawing attention to himself but naturally commands it because of his wealth, status, mysterious business operations, and entourage. His controlled, humorous evasiveness allows him to avoid revealing Luohua’s secrets.
• Yang Yuxin: Demonstrates strategic awareness and a protective attitude toward Feng Jun. She understands the social maneuvering surrounding powerful figures and organizes the women to prevent unwanted approaches.
• The five women accompanying Feng Jun: Function as both companions and a deliberate protective barrier. Their coordinated behavior shows their loyalty and awareness of Feng Jun’s social position.
• Liu Menglong: Emerges as a confident and wealthy entrepreneur with strong opinions about economic development. His debate with the economist also reveals his playful familiarity with former classmates.
• Fang Qiong: Remains outspoken and sociable. She challenges Feng Jun directly and helps revive the informal atmosphere of the reunion.
• Chu Tianshu and Wan Qiong: Represent Feng Jun’s old social circle. Their curiosity shows that his transformation and mysterious current life have made him a source of fascination among former classmates.

3. Significant Themes

• Power and social status: Seating arrangements, greetings, smoking privileges, and the attention given to Feng Jun emphasize how influence changes social rules.
• Privacy and secrecy: Feng Jun’s refusal to explain Luohua’s operations reinforces the importance of protecting sensitive information and maintaining control over his hidden capabilities.
• The contrast between past and present: Feng Jun has moved far beyond his ordinary student days, while his classmates still interact with him through memories and old relationships.
• Protection and social boundaries: The women’s presence illustrates how Feng Jun manages access to himself and prevents others from exploiting personal connections.
• Public image versus reality: Feng Jun presents himself as modest and reluctant, yet everyone recognizes that he possesses extraordinary financial and institutional influence.
• Old friendship and playful familiarity: Despite the surrounding formality, jokes and arguments allow the former classmates to reconnect naturally.

4. Character Interactions

• Wan Qiong studies Feng Jun’s companions rather than speaking with him, highlighting both her curiosity and the unusual impression his entourage creates.
• Yang Yuxin advises the women to avoid giving influential attendees an opening to approach Feng Jun; Zhang Caixin supports her reasoning.
• Zheng Sike and Liu Menglong privately recognize that Feng Jun has cleverly brought the women as a buffer against social pressure.
• Feng Jun receives special treatment at the salon when Gu Jiahui lights his cigarettes and staff provide ashtrays despite the no-smoking rule.
• The vice president deliberately calls on Feng Jun to energize the discussion and satisfy the audience’s curiosity.
• Feng Jun responds with polite but humorous refusal, while Fang Qiong challenges him and Liu Menglong jokes about national security.
• The chapter closes by shifting from teasing to a practical question about the future expansion of Feng Jun’s Cancer Center.

Chapter Summary: “Private Kitchen Cuisine”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the morning academic salon, Chu Tianshu asks Feng Jun whether he plans to open branches of his business. Feng Jun avoids committing, saying he will consider it when conditions are right.
• The salon concludes, and the attendees take a group photo. Although university officials and Senior Tao try to place Feng Jun in the front row, Feng Jun deliberately chooses the back, claiming that he should respect the school’s hierarchy and rules.
• During lunch arrangements, Feng Jun considers taking Tang Wenji and the people from Luoxia out for a private meal and drinks rather than eating at the university cafeteria. The vice president repeatedly tries to persuade him to stay, citing regulations and the afternoon salon.
• Feng Jun’s classmates enthusiastically ask to join him, creating an increasingly awkward situation for the vice president. The old university president eventually arrives and announces that he will host everyone for dinner, which suppresses the crowd’s demands.
• Senior Tao then invites Feng Jun to drink with him. Feng Jun accepts, recognizing that Senior Tao has gone out of his way to meet him and that their relationship must eventually be addressed.
• Feng Jun insists that Senior Tao’s accompanying officials remain outside the private room, making his boundaries clear.
• Feng Jun invites Zheng Sike—whom he calls “Fifth”—to join them and ride in Senior Tao’s car, deliberately giving him an opportunity to interact with the powerful alumnus.
• Liu Menglong and Expert Zhang also join the meal. Expert Zhang’s participation particularly matters to the university because he is an influential academic who can strengthen Xiayang University’s reputation.
• Senior Tao uses his influence to secure a last-minute reservation at a highly sought-after private kitchen, despite the restaurant normally requiring reservations several days in advance and full prepayment.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: He continues to balance independence with social and institutional obligations. His choice to stand in the back and his reluctance to join the university’s arrangements show that he wants distance from the school’s attempts to benefit from his status. However, he is not completely cold or disrespectful: he ultimately accepts Senior Tao’s invitation, honors the old president, and brings Zheng Sike along to help him.
• Senior Tao: He demonstrates political influence and patience by personally inviting Feng Jun and arranging an elite private dining venue. His behavior suggests that he considers Feng Jun important and wants to establish a closer relationship.
• Zheng Sike: He eagerly responds to Feng Jun’s invitation, revealing his desire for advancement and networking. Feng Jun’s decision to seat him near Senior Tao may give him a valuable opportunity.
• Liu Menglong: He acts confidently and independently, joining the gathering without worrying about university approval. He also shows consideration by allowing Zheng Sike to ride with Senior Tao rather than taking him himself.
• Expert Zhang: He emerges as a significant academic figure whose connection to the university is highly valuable. His decision to join the meal highlights his interest in Feng Jun, Senior Tao, and the university’s network.
• The vice president: He becomes increasingly frustrated as Feng Jun attracts more influential people away from the university’s planned arrangements, but he has no choice but to tolerate the situation.

Significant Themes

• Power and influence: The chapter emphasizes how social status, political authority, wealth, and academic prestige interact. Senior Tao’s ability to secure a restaurant instantly illustrates his practical influence.
• Independence versus institutional exploitation: Feng Jun resists being publicly used by his alma mater, especially when university officials repeatedly imply that he should support or promote the school.
• Respect and obligation: Feng Jun struggles between maintaining personal boundaries and showing proper respect to his former university, teachers, and seniors.
• Networking and opportunity: The lunch becomes more than a meal; it is a strategic gathering where Zheng Sike and others may gain access to influential figures.
• Hidden strength: Feng Jun’s public image as arrogant and overbearing contrasts with his deliberate restraint, courtesy, and awareness of others’ interests.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the university officials: Their relationship is tense but polite. The officials want to control his movements and associate the school with his success, while Feng Jun resists being managed.
• Feng Jun and Senior Tao: Their interaction is respectful but cautious. Feng Jun accepts the invitation while making clear that he will not submit completely to Senior Tao’s entourage or demands.
• Feng Jun and Zheng Sike: Feng Jun acts as a patron of sorts, intentionally bringing Zheng Sike into contact with Senior Tao.
• Feng Jun and his classmates: His former classmates are enthusiastic and familiar, but their eagerness to join him contributes to the university’s discomfort.
• Senior Tao and Expert Zhang: Their presence together reinforces the gathering’s political and academic importance, while also making Feng Jun the central figure connecting both spheres.

Chapter Summary: The Shock of an Outstanding Alumnus

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun’s group arrives at Private Cuisine, where their status grants them access to an exclusive Eastern Continent-level athletic training base for parking—something ordinary people could never obtain.
• Private Cuisine has expanded significantly, yet remains heavily oversubscribed, requiring reservations three days in advance and full payment.
• Because of Senior Tao’s influence as an outstanding Jiangxia University alumnus, the restaurant offers to clear the premises for the group. He instead requests a quiet private room and asks for the food to be served quickly.
• Jiangxia officials host the meal but are excluded from the private discussion. Even Senior Tao’s attendants and security personnel leave the room, indicating that the gathering involves highly confidential or important matters.
• Senior Tao leads the meal, encouraging everyone to drink and sharing humorous stories about Xiayang University. He treats Feng Jun warmly, repeatedly placing food in his bowl.
• The five women accompanying Feng Jun barely eat because they are accustomed to Spirit Rice and Spirit Grain, making ordinary high-quality cuisine seem inadequate. Feng Jun eventually tells them to eat something so they do not waste the food.
• Expert Zhang recognizes Yang Yuxin as the powerful platinum- and iron-ore tycoon behind Xia Nation’s improved position in the international iron-ore market.
• Senior Tao is shocked to learn Yang Yuxin’s identity and realizes that Gu Jiahui is the niece of Boss Gu, another extraordinarily influential figure. He becomes increasingly curious about the identities of the three women seated ahead of them.
• At Senior Tao’s request, Zhang Caixin, Tang Wenji, and Yu Qingzhu introduce themselves, though Yu Qingzhu does so reluctantly.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates immense influence through the privileges extended to his group, though he remains modest and avoids explaining the women’s true identities. He also exercises quiet authority over them, persuading them to eat.
• Senior Tao: Initially confident because of his own outstanding status and connections, he is gradually humbled and surprised by the hidden power surrounding Feng Jun. His attitude shifts from host-like casualness to cautious respect and curiosity.
• Yang Yuxin: Revealed to be a major resource tycoon controlling platinum-group metals and iron-ore interests. Despite her enormous status, she remains quiet, detached, and uninterested in social drinking.
• Gu Jiahui: Appears to occupy a low-ranking, service-oriented role within Feng Jun’s group, but is revealed to be Boss Gu’s niece, making her far more prominent than she initially appears.
• Expert Zhang: Shows strong economic awareness and recognizes Yang Yuxin’s importance. His decision to accompany Feng Jun was motivated partly by a desire to build connections and investigate Feng Jun’s remarkable network.
• Zhang Caixin, Tang Wenji, and Yu Qingzhu: Remain reserved and inscrutable. Their refusal to eat or speak much heightens the mystery surrounding their identities and status.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power and mistaken assumptions: Feng Jun and his companions repeatedly appear less important than they truly are, causing others to underestimate them.
• Status and social hierarchy: The chapter emphasizes how reputation, family background, and influence determine access and treatment more than money alone.
• Humility versus prestige: Senior Tao is highly respected, yet he discovers that several supposedly junior or subordinate figures possess power equal to or greater than his own.
• The gap between ordinary and extraordinary life: Exclusive restaurants, protected training bases, and Spirit Rice show how far Feng Jun’s circle has moved beyond normal society.
• Mystery and concealed identities: The women’s true positions remain unclear, while each small revelation increases the sense that Feng Jun is surrounded by extraordinary people.

Character Interactions

• The restaurant staff defer to Senior Tao, but their treatment of Feng Jun’s group shows that the gathering carries unusual importance.
• Senior Tao politely dismisses the Jiangxia host and his attendants, signaling that the meal is a private discussion.
• Senior Tao warmly engages Feng Jun, urging him to eat and drink, while Feng Jun responds with understated politeness.
• Expert Zhang directly questions Yang Yuxin, recognizes her identity, and eagerly attempts to toast her. Yang Yuxin responds with only a restrained sip, reinforcing her aloofness.
• Senior Tao becomes visibly cautious after learning Yang Yuxin’s identity and her connection to Boss Gu.
• Feng Jun encourages the five women to eat, while Senior Tao attempts to make them feel comfortable and asks them to introduce themselves.
• The women’s reserved behavior contrasts sharply with Senior Tao’s outgoing hospitality, leaving him increasingly curious about who they really are.

Chapter Summary: “Do You Dare Listen?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At a banquet, Yu Qingzhu feels slighted when Zhang Caixin shows greater respect toward Yang Yuxin, despite Yu’s belief that she will eventually surpass Zhang in cultivation.
• A distinguished Xiayang University alumnus, referred to as Senior Tao, recognizes Yu Qingzhu as the granddaughter of the influential Old Master Yu. This establishes a connection between Yu’s family and Senior Tao’s past.
• Yu reveals that she cured her uncle Yu Zhiyong’s chronic leg condition, reinforcing the Yu Family’s connection to Luohua and its extraordinary capabilities.
• Senior Tao questions Feng Jun about Luohua’s involvement in recent military exercises and its various major enterprises. Feng avoids giving direct answers, but his drinking-based responses effectively confirm Luohua’s involvement.
• Feng discloses that Luohua has established production lines for advanced pharmaceuticals, including a Limb-Regeneration Potion. The revelation shocks everyone who was unaware of the project.
• Senior Tao asks why Feng does not personally operate such profitable ventures. Feng explains that he is too busy, dislikes unnecessary complications, and considers contributing to national development more important than maximizing profit.
• Feng states that Luohua has already grown powerful enough and that he is deliberately avoiding further expansion to prevent political suspicion and preserve balance.
• He firmly distances himself from the military exercises, describing them as a political “red line” that he would be foolish to cross.
• As an example of another supposedly “unimportant” Luohua project, Feng reveals that Yu Qingzhu is connected to the mysterious source of crude oil entering the country. Her father helped establish the necessary connections.
• Senior Tao realizes that Luohua and the Yu Family are behind the mysterious oil tanker, recognizing the immense strategic significance of the discovery.
• The chapter ends with Feng hinting that Luohua possesses even more extraordinary secrets, asking Senior Tao whether he would truly dare to hear them.

Character Developments

• Yu Qingzhu: Displays youthful jealousy and sensitivity regarding her status, but remains composed in conversation. Her identity as Old Master Yu’s granddaughter and her role in curing her uncle establish her as powerful, capable, and well-connected.
• Feng Jun: Demonstrates confidence, restraint, and strategic awareness. He refuses to pursue influence or wealth for their own sake and emphasizes avoiding political suspicion. His casual attitude toward projects of enormous national importance highlights both his power and his detachment.
• Senior Tao: Initially acts as a knowledgeable and authoritative senior, but becomes increasingly shocked by the scale of Feng Jun’s hidden operations. His curiosity grows as each “minor” revelation proves more significant than the last.
• Yang Yuxin: Speaks frankly on behalf of Luohua and reinforces Feng Jun’s claims, particularly regarding the relative profitability of their various enterprises.
• Zhang Caixin and the Luohua women: Remain largely unfazed by the revelations, showing that they are already accustomed to Luohua’s extraordinary achievements.
• Xiao Wang: Provides comic relief and practical concern, especially when Senior Tao repeatedly drinks despite his serious health conditions.

Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: Feng Jun possesses immense influence but deliberately limits Luohua’s expansion to avoid destabilizing the existing political balance.
• National interest versus personal profit: Luohua’s advanced technology is presented as something Feng is willing to hand over for national development rather than exploit for maximum financial gain.
• Secrecy and revelation: The conversation gradually exposes Luohua’s hidden influence, with every “minor” project revealing a greater level of power.
• Political suspicion and balance: Feng understands that excessive strength can provoke fear and opposition, so he consciously avoids crossing sensitive boundaries.
• Status and identity: Yu Qingzhu’s surname and family background carry significant weight, while her emotional reaction shows the tension between inherited status and personal recognition.
• The limits of comprehension: Senior Tao struggles to understand Feng’s definition of Luohua’s “limit,” suggesting that the organization’s true capabilities far exceed what outsiders imagine.

Character Interactions

• Yu Qingzhu and Senior Tao: Their discussion reveals her family background and establishes mutual recognition between the Yu Family and Senior Tao’s generation.
• Feng Jun and Senior Tao: The chapter centers on their increasingly candid exchange. Senior Tao probes for information while Feng answers indirectly, often using humor, alcohol, and carefully chosen revelations to maintain control.
• Feng Jun and Yang Yuxin: They jointly explain Luohua’s projects and philosophy, presenting a united front regarding the organization’s wealth and political strategy.
• Feng Jun and Yu Qingzhu: Feng publicly reveals her connection to the crude-oil operation, while Yu corrects his wording to protect her father from being exaggeratedly labeled a tycoon.
• Senior Tao and Xiao Wang: Their interaction adds humor, as Xiao Wang worries about Tao’s health while Tao ignores his secretary’s warnings and continues drinking.