Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Glory Grenade”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Four enemy Martial Masters rapidly approach the defenders, forcing the Deng brothers, Lone Wolf, and Feng Jun to assign targets based on quick visual distinctions rather than careful assessment.
• Lang Zhen deliberately chooses the enemy’s only High-Rank Martial Master to demonstrate his loyalty and usefulness. Armed with a crossbow, he engages the powerful opponent at range.
• Lang Zhen throws a boomerang while pretending it is a throwing knife, hoping to force Lone Wolf to dodge. Lone Wolf correctly identifies the weapon and remains still, using the opening to fire.
• The High-Rank Martial Master blocks the first crossbow bolt with a reinforced glove and charges. Lone Wolf surprises him by producing a second crossbow and firing at close range. The bolt pierces his clothing but is stopped by Golden-Silk Soft Armor.
• Lone Wolf follows with sleeve arrows, one of which releases poisonous powder when struck. The enemy retreats, while Lone Wolf narrowly avoids the returning boomerang.
• At the same time, Feng Jun uses his firearm against the two Martial Masters approaching him. Its rapid, repeated shots shock the enemies, who are unfamiliar with such technology.
• Feng Jun quickly kills the Beginner Martial Master. The Intermediate Martial Master manages to block several bullets with his saber techniques, but the effort slows him and leaves him vulnerable.
• Feng Jun throws a grenade with an extremely short fuse. It explodes amid the opponent’s blade barrier, overwhelming him with shrapnel and blast force and throwing him backward.
• The remaining Beginner Martial Master becomes frightened, mistaking the explosion for “lightning magic” and hesitating to attack someone he believes may possess immortal arts.
• The chapter ends as Lord Luo, the Innate Expert, finally loses patience and roars that he will kill the “kid,” presumably Feng Jun.

Character Developments

• Lang Zhen/Lone Wolf: Demonstrates exceptional composure, tactical awareness, and adaptability. He recognizes the boomerang immediately, uses multiple crossbows in succession, and combines ranged weapons, sleeve arrows, poison, and evasive movement to hold off a stronger opponent.
• The High-Rank Martial Master: Initially confident and aggressive, he becomes increasingly frustrated and cautious after Lone Wolf repeatedly surprises him. His superior cultivation protects him from the first attacks, but he is forced to retreat when confronted with poison and unconventional tactics.
• Feng Jun: Establishes himself as a terrifyingly effective combatant through modern weapons. His calm, rapid gunfire and precise use of a short-fuse grenade allow him to defeat or severely injure opponents who vastly underestimate his equipment.
• The enemy Martial Masters: Their confidence collapses as they encounter firearms and explosives. The Intermediate Martial Master’s skill lets him block bullets temporarily, but he cannot withstand Feng Jun’s broader arsenal. The surviving Beginner Martial Master is intimidated into hesitation.
• Lord Luo: His anger builds as his subordinates are overwhelmed. His final roar signals that he is abandoning patience and preparing to personally intervene.

Significant Themes

• Technology versus cultivation: Firearms and grenades challenge the assumptions of martial experts who are accustomed to conventional weapons and inner energy.
• Adaptability and deception: Lone Wolf succeeds by misleading his opponent about the boomerang and constantly changing weapons and tactics.
• Preparation and equipment: Feng Jun’s victory depends not only on personal ability but also on the group’s stockpile of specialized weapons, particularly the short-fuse grenade.
• Psychological warfare: Strange weapons create fear and confusion. The enemies’ inability to understand firearms and explosives makes them hesitate and misjudge Feng Jun as an immortal-art user.
• Strength versus strategy: Even superior cultivation does not guarantee victory when opponents exploit timing, surprise, poison, armor, and ranged attacks.

Character Interactions

• Lang Zhen versus the High-Rank Martial Master: Their duel is defined by mutual attempts to exploit openings. Lang Zhen’s calm reading of the boomerang counters the enemy’s trick, while the enemy’s armor and strength prevent the initial crossbow attacks from defeating him.
• Feng Jun versus the two approaching Martial Masters: Feng Jun controls the engagement from a distance, killing one with gunfire and forcing the other into a defensive advance before finishing the exchange with a grenade.
• The enemy Martial Masters among themselves: The surviving fighters are visibly shaken by the rapid defeat of their companions, and their fear spreads as they realize the defenders possess unfamiliar and devastating weapons.
• Lord Luo and Feng Jun: Though they have not yet directly clashed in the chapter, Lord Luo’s final threat establishes the next major confrontation as he turns his fury toward Feng Jun.

Chapter Summary: “Registering a Weibo Account Mid-Battle”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun confronts a group led by a High-Rank Martial Master after the grenade explosion reveals the destructive potential of his modern weapons.
• The High-Rank Martial Master initially wants revenge but becomes frightened when Feng Jun points the firearm at him. He attempts to flee, but Feng Jun shoots him in the leg.
• One bullet grazes the man’s femoral artery, causing severe bleeding and forcing him to abandon the battle.
• Feng Jun then notices Lord Luo, an Innate Expert, arriving dramatically through the air. Lord Luo demonstrates his overwhelming strength by launching a powerful palm strike from a distance.
• Feng Jun fires at Lord Luo, but the Innate Expert deflects the bullets with his inner qi. Although the attack cannot seriously injure him, the barrage makes him cautious.
• Lord Luo decides to kill Feng Jun immediately. He is driven by greed for Feng Jun’s apparent “immortal” techniques and fears that Feng Jun may be backed by a powerful immortal.
• When Lord Luo strikes, Feng Jun escapes into the Cultivation Space, causing him to vanish before everyone’s eyes. Lord Luo interprets this as proof that Feng Jun is an immortal or possesses genuine immortal techniques.
• Feng Jun briefly returns to the real world to search online for ways to attack an airborne, highly durable opponent. He considers drones and net guns but finds them unreliable.
• He eventually decides to exploit Lord Luo’s likely moment of distraction when Feng Jun disappears and prepares a two-kilogram TNT charge with a short-fuse detonator.
• Feng Jun reenters the Cultivation Space while Lord Luo’s palm strike is still arriving, then accesses his modern communication devices. He checks Sister Hong’s chat room before switching to Ye Qingyi’s, where he sees her working and staring at her phone.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Becomes increasingly resourceful and pragmatic. Rather than confronting Lord Luo directly, he combines modern technology, the Cultivation Space, online research, and psychological tactics. His willingness to use explosives shows his determination to overcome the overwhelming power gap.
• The High-Rank Martial Master: Changes from an aggressive pursuer into a terrified, wounded survivor. His confidence in martial cultivation is shaken when Feng Jun’s firearm pierces his defenses and causes potentially fatal bleeding.
• Lord Luo: Reveals himself as powerful, proud, cautious, and greedy. Though confident in his superiority, he is unsettled by Feng Jun’s weapons and disappearance. His fear of possible immortal backing causes him to act decisively before Feng Jun can reveal his identity.
• Ye Qingyi: Appears in a brief but important scene as someone Feng Jun can contact through the modern communication system. She is still at work and seems distracted while looking at her phone.
• Sister Hong: Her chat room appears inactive or unreachable, possibly because her phone has run out of power.

Significant Themes

• Modern technology versus traditional cultivation: Guns, grenades, computers, drones, and explosives allow Feng Jun to challenge martial experts who possess superior physical abilities.
• The limits of raw power: Lord Luo’s Innate strength is overwhelming, but he still must account for unfamiliar weapons and tactics.
• Fear and misinterpretation: Feng Jun’s disappearance is only a strategic use of the Cultivation Space, but Lord Luo mistakes it for an immortal technique, illustrating how ignorance magnifies Feng Jun’s apparent power.
• Resourcefulness under pressure: Feng Jun cannot rely on strength alone, so he improvises using internet searches, psychology, explosives, and his unique access to two worlds.
• Greed and self-preservation: Lord Luo’s desire to obtain immortal techniques conflicts with his fear of provoking a hidden immortal force, ultimately pushing him toward a preemptive attack.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the High-Rank Martial Master engage in a brief confrontation in which Feng Jun’s firearm overwhelms the martial expert’s defenses and forces him to retreat.
• Lord Luo openly challenges Feng Jun, dismissing him as insignificant and attacking him with projected palm force.
• Feng Jun responds with a barrage of bullets, provoking Lord Luo but also making him wary.
• Lord Luo attempts to kill Feng Jun without questioning his identity, while Feng Jun escapes through the Cultivation Space and turns the encounter into a psychological battle.
• Feng Jun also interacts indirectly with Sister Hong and Ye Qingyi through their chat rooms, using his modern contacts while preparing his counterattack.

Chapter Summary: The Opponent Knelt

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun repeatedly uses his ability to enter and exit the Cultivation Space to evade Lord Luo’s attacks and prepare a counterattack.
• After lighting a two-kilogram TNT explosive pack in the real world, Feng Jun reenters the Cultivation Space and throws it at Lord Luo.
• Lord Luo hesitates to retreat because of his pride as an Innate Expert. His rushed palm strike fails to stop the explosive, which detonates in midair.
• The blast severely injures Lord Luo, throws him more than a li away, and incapacitates many people from Zhao Family Fort. Feng Jun himself avoids the explosion by temporarily leaving the space.
• Feng Jun reaches Lord Luo before he can recover and attacks him with the Dog-Leg Saber. The blade cannot penetrate Lord Luo’s protective equipment or qi-enhanced defenses.
• Feng Jun then produces a powerful Spirit Hedgehog Spine. Recognizing it as a rare and formidable object, Lord Luo begs for mercy.
• Feng Jun refuses, reminding Lord Luo that he had shown no mercy when launching his original attack. He impales Lord Luo through the neck, killing him.
• The explosion brings every nearby battle to a halt. Lang Zhen and the Deng brothers are injured, while the remaining martial masters are weakened or terrified.
• Feng Jun charges the still-capable High-Rank Martial Master, but the man throws down his weapon and surrenders. After Lang Zhen explains that surrender traditionally involves kneeling, the martial master drops to one knee and begs to live.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates increasing tactical ruthlessness and adaptability. He combines modern explosives, spatial movement, and unfamiliar weapons to defeat a vastly stronger opponent.
• His hesitation about beheading Lord Luo reveals a brief uncertainty about local customs and the brutality of killing in public, but he ultimately prioritizes survival and eliminates the threat.
• Feng Jun also remains comically unfamiliar with martial-world conventions, especially the rules surrounding surrender and kneeling.
• Lord Luo suffers a dramatic fall from arrogant Innate Expert to helpless victim. His pride prevents him from retreating immediately, and his hesitation allows the TNT to overwhelm him.
• His recognition of the Spirit Hedgehog Spine strips away his remaining confidence, leading him to beg for mercy. His attempt to reveal Feng Jun’s identity is cut off before he can finish.
• Lang Zhen acts as a practical guide, understanding Feng Jun’s ignorance of local customs and explaining the significance of kneeling surrender.
• The surviving martial masters and Zhao Family Fort villagers lose their willingness to fight after witnessing Feng Jun’s overwhelming destructive power.

Significant Themes

• Modern technology versus traditional martial power: TNT allows Feng Jun to injure and defeat an Innate Expert despite the enormous gap in cultivation.
• Pride and hesitation: Lord Luo’s concern for dignity prevents him from escaping, showing how arrogance can become fatal.
• Survival over morality or honor: Feng Jun kills Lord Luo while he is incapacitated because leaving him alive would create future danger.
• The collapse of established power structures: Once the supposedly invincible Innate Expert is defeated, everyone else immediately loses their courage.
• Cultural misunderstanding: Feng Jun’s confusion about surrender customs provides humor while emphasizing his outsider status in the martial world.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Lord Luo engage in a battle of strategy, with Feng Jun exploiting Lord Luo’s pride and using spatial movement to avoid retaliation.
• Lord Luo’s final plea for mercy contrasts sharply with Feng Jun’s reminder that mercy was absent from Lord Luo’s initial attack.
• Feng Jun’s interaction with Lang Zhen highlights their developing relationship: Lang Zhen understands Feng Jun’s unfamiliarity with local rules and gives him practical advice.
• The High-Rank Martial Master’s surrender, followed by his desperate kneeling, changes the confrontation from a battle into a display of Feng Jun’s dominance.

Chapter Summary: “Fulfillment”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Feng Jun’s group defeats the attackers from Zhao Family Fort and the Tian Family, the surviving martial artists surrender. A wounded High-Rank Martial Warrior kneels on his uninjured leg, while another Beginner Martial Master also gives up because of his severe injuries.
• More than two hundred Zhao Family Fort villagers suddenly flee. Feng Jun throws grenades to stop them, killing or injuring several, but ultimately abandons the pursuit because he cannot realistically capture everyone and must protect his wounded companions.
• Returning to the group, Feng Jun discovers that the TNT blast destroyed their houses, roofs, canopy, and xenon lamps.
• He retrieves medicine from the Gu Clan of Yangshan, which significantly improves the condition of the injured Deng brothers and Lang Zhen.
• Feng Jun confronts the captured Intermediate Martial Master, who refuses to surrender despite being badly injured. Declaring that he would rather die than be humiliated, the man is killed by Feng Jun with a Spirit Hedgehog spine.
• The surviving High-Rank Martial Warrior explains that the dead man was Luo Wendao’s disciple. Luo Wendao was the Innate Expert Feng Jun had killed earlier, making surrender impossible for the disciple according to the martial world’s code of honor.
• The High-Rank Martial Warrior identifies himself as a member of the Dongmu Tian Clan and argues that surrender is not shameful when one is simply weaker. He offers compensation and explains that the Tian Family had originally intended to mediate between Zhao Family Fort and Feng Jun, but Luo Wendao’s presence turned the encounter into a test of strength.
• Deng Lao’er worries that Feng Jun’s deliberate execution of the captured Martial Master could attract official investigation and provoke further retaliation. Lang Zhen counters that Zhao Family Fort would be reluctant to report the fight because doing so would violate the customary rules governing private clan conflicts.
• The Tian Family warrior warns that Zhao Family Fort has connections in Xiyin City and Long City and might still manipulate the authorities against Feng Jun’s group.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates both overwhelming power and pragmatic restraint. He is willing to kill opponents who defy him, but he does not waste time pursuing every fleeing villager. His mysterious smile also suggests that he is concealing resources or plans unavailable to the others.
• The Intermediate Martial Master remains committed to martial honor and loyalty to his deceased master. His refusal to surrender leads directly to his death, presenting him as courageous but rigid.
• The High-Rank Martial Warrior proves practical rather than prideful. He accepts surrender as a rational response to defeat and attempts to protect the Tian Family through negotiation.
• Lang Zhen continues to act as the group’s experienced strategist. Despite his injuries, he assesses the political and customary consequences of the battle more realistically than Deng Lao’er.
• Deng Lao’er shows a stronger awareness of formal law but less understanding of how law functions within the world’s clan-based society. He remains concerned about future retaliation and the group’s safety.
• Feifei and Huanhuan survive unharmed because they hid during the battle, though Feifei is deeply traumatized by the violence.

Significant Themes

• Honor versus survival: The dead Martial Master embodies absolute martial honor, while the Tian Family warrior represents the belief that surrender is acceptable when defeat is certain.
• Law versus custom: Formal authorities may punish murder, but social conventions discourage clans from reporting private conflicts. Reputation, strength, and reciprocal retaliation often matter more than legal rules.
• Strength as protection: Feng Jun’s demonstrated power gives him leverage. Zhao Family Fort must fear not only official consequences but also retaliation from those behind Feng Jun.
• Pragmatism and unfinished threats: Feng Jun’s choice not to kill every fleeing villager is practical, but it leaves open the possibility of future revenge.
• Violence and moral judgment: The chapter contrasts killing in battle with deliberate execution afterward, raising questions about whether Feng Jun’s actions are justified, dangerous, or simply consistent with the world’s harsh moral order.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun commands the surrendering martial artists and later questions the High-Rank Martial Warrior’s willingness to submit.
• Feng Jun kills the Intermediate Martial Master after the latter rejects surrender, while still grudgingly admiring his courage.
• The High-Rank Martial Warrior clarifies the dead man’s loyalty to Luo Wendao and negotiates on behalf of the Tian Family.
• Deng Lao’er challenges Feng Jun’s decision to leave survivors and warns of legal consequences.
• Lang Zhen defends Feng Jun’s actions by explaining that Zhao Family Fort is unlikely to involve the authorities without risking retaliation.
• The Tian Family warrior deepens the group’s concerns by revealing Zhao Family Fort’s connections to powerful cities and officials.

Chapter Summary: “Immortal, Alive!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Feng Jun defeats the attackers, Tian Yangni, a High-Rank Martial Master of the Tian Family, quickly surrenders and offers his family’s support.
• Tian Yangni proposes that the Tian Family pressure Zhao Family Fort and compensate Feng Jun for the conflict. He frames the Tian Family as regretful rather than hostile, claiming they were blinded by profit and provoked the wrong person.
• Feng Jun questions whether the Tian Family truly intends to overlook the death of one of its Martial Masters. Tian Yangni insists that Feng Jun is not to blame and accepts responsibility for the family’s mistake.
• Feng Jun orders Tian Yangni to treat his injured clansman while Lang Zhen cleans up the battlefield and claims the fallen enemies’ possessions.
• Feng Jun then asks what compensation the Tian Family can offer. Tian Yangni admits that the family possesses neither Spirit Stones nor Immortal Crystals, though he offers to help Feng Jun gather them.
• Rather than demanding wealth, Feng Jun asks the Tian Family to rebuild the rooms destroyed during the battle. Tian Yangni is stunned by the simplicity of the request but realizes Feng Jun views the Tian Family as insignificant compared with an immortal.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains calm, detached, and confident. He recognizes the Tian Family’s attempt to curry favor but accepts their submission pragmatically. His concern for compensation is casual, and his modest request to rebuild his home highlights how little he values worldly wealth.
• Tian Yangni shifts from an enemy commander to a cautious servant and negotiator. After witnessing Feng Jun vanish and reappear instantly, he becomes convinced that Feng Jun is a genuine immortal and surrenders to protect the Tian Family from annihilation.
• Lang Zhen continues acting as Feng Jun’s experienced adviser and protector. His warning prevents Tian Yangni from saying anything reckless, and his behavior reveals that he also understands Feng Jun’s extraordinary identity.
• The Tian Family moves from aggression to submission, prioritizing survival and future favor over revenge for their fallen member.

Significant Themes

• Power and perception: Feng Jun’s mysterious ability to disappear causes Tian Yangni to reinterpret the entire encounter. Fear of Feng Jun’s possible immortality matters more than the actual damage inflicted.
• Pragmatic surrender: The chapter presents surrender as a sensible way to preserve one’s family rather than as a dishonorable act. Knowing when to stop is treated as part of the plane’s social order.
• Hierarchy and perspective: The Tian Family considers Immortal Crystals priceless, while Feng Jun sees them as ordinary “stones.” Conversely, rebuilding a house—trivial to the Tian Family—is the practical favor Feng Jun values.
• Currying favor and survival: Tian Yangni tries to demonstrate the Tian Family’s usefulness by offering political pressure, resources, and service, hoping to transform a dangerous defeat into an opportunity.
• Immortals among mortals: Feng Jun’s identity remains ambiguous to most people, but those who witness his powers immediately fear and revere him as a living immortal.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun repeatedly tests Tian Yangni’s sincerity by questioning the Tian Family’s compensation, willingness to forgive, and lack of retaliation.
• Lang Zhen subtly warns Tian Yangni not to speak carelessly, showing their shared understanding that Feng Jun must not be irritated or burdened.
• Tian Yangni treats Feng Jun with exaggerated respect while trying to preserve his family’s dignity and secure its future.
• Feng Jun’s dismissive attitude toward battlefield spoils and Immortal Crystals contrasts with Tian Yangni’s desperate attempts to offer something valuable.
• The chapter ends with Tian Yangni realizing that, from Feng Jun’s perspective, the Tian Family is as insignificant as ordinary people are to them.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tian Yangni tries to persuade Feng Jun to stay at the Tian Family’s residence while his family handles the collection of talc, but Feng Jun firmly refuses. He insists on living alone at the remote site to protect his secrets and avoid attracting powerful martial experts.
• Feng Jun agrees to wait ten days for the Tian Family to construct a talc house rather than accepting a temporary wooden one. He then begins inspecting the abandoned building and its generator.
• Tian Yangni uses a Message Conch to contact nearby Tian Family members. Lang Zhen realizes the Tian Family had prepared reinforcements, but Tian explains that he intends to remain as a hostage until Feng Jun forgives him.
• Two riders arrive, collect the corpse of the Tian Family’s fallen Beginner Martial Master, and leave without protest. Tian explains that the man died in a fair fight and that excessive protection would weaken the clan.
• Feng Jun joins the conversation and agrees that excessive indulgence damages children and prevents them from developing resilience. He contrasts this with the Phone Plane’s harsher philosophy of allowing people to grow through hardship.
• Tian Yangni and Lang Zhen then begin openly competing for Feng Jun’s favor and possible instruction. Both imply that Feng Jun represents a major opportunity, likely connected to his medical abilities.
• Tian proposes that he and Lang Zhen cooperate in handling Feng Jun’s mundane affairs, prompting Lang Zhen to realize Tian is more calculating than his seemingly direct manner suggests.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Becomes more cautious and security-conscious, recognizing how vulnerable he remains against Innate Experts. He values the remoteness of his location and deliberately maintains the image of a mysterious “immortal,” benefiting from others’ assumptions without confirming them. His comments about child-rearing reveal strong personal convictions shaped by his experiences in the real world.
• Tian Yangni: Continues adapting his behavior, presenting himself as humble and obedient while subtly maneuvering to remain close to Feng Jun. He shows strategic thinking by preparing backup communication, accepting his status as a hostage, and attempting to cooperate with Lang Zhen for mutual advantage.
• Lang Zhen: Remains protective of Feng Jun and suspicious of Tian Yangni. He warns Tian not to damage his own opportunity with Feng Jun, but his discussion of clan growth shows that he is capable of learning from Tian’s philosophy.
• The Tian Family: Is portrayed as disciplined and pragmatic. It accepts losses when members die fairly, believing that hardship strengthens the family and that excessive protection creates weakness.

Significant Themes

• Self-reliance versus overprotection: The chapter argues that people must face danger and hardship to become strong; excessive parental or familial protection can produce weakness.
• Pragmatic survival: The Tian Family’s willingness to accept fair deaths reflects a harsh but long-term approach to preserving the clan’s strength.
• Secrecy and vulnerability: Feng Jun’s refusal to relocate emphasizes the danger of exposing his powers and attracting stronger enemies before he has adequate means of defense.
• Perception and reputation: Feng Jun benefits from being mistaken for an immortal, showing how reputation and misunderstanding can provide influence and protection.
• Competition disguised as cooperation: Tian and Lang Zhen appear willing to cooperate, but both are ultimately competing for access to Feng Jun and the opportunities he represents.

Character Interactions

• Tian Yangni and Feng Jun interact with a clear imbalance of power: Tian is deferential and eager to serve, while Feng Jun remains distant and uncompromising.
• Tian and Lang Zhen exchange veiled warnings while discussing the Tian Family’s reinforcements and Feng Jun’s safety. Their mutual respect is mixed with rivalry.
• Their conversation about the fallen clansman leads to a philosophical exchange on whether protecting family members is loving or harmful.
• Feng Jun’s intervention strengthens Tian and Lang Zhen’s understanding of his values, especially his opposition to indulgent child-rearing.
• Tian and Lang Zhen finally acknowledge that they are rivals for Feng Jun’s favor, though Tian cleverly suggests cooperation in managing Feng Jun’s practical needs.

Chapter Summary: “Parental Responsibility”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tian Yangni recognizes that gaining Feng Jun’s favor is crucial, but avoids approaching the divine physician too aggressively. Instead, he tries to befriend Lang Zhen, hoping to use their relationship to understand and satisfy Feng Jun’s needs.
• Lang Zhen remains cautious. He is willing to cooperate with the Tian Family but insists that they first obtain Feng Jun’s forgiveness before discussing any alliance.
• After the destruction of their shelters, Feng Jun uses modern equipment—including a parasol, xenon lamps, a generator, and an electric hot plate—to provide lighting, warmth, and cooking facilities. Tian Yangni works personally to improve the group’s shelter, revealing both his practical skills and willingness to humble himself.
• Tian Yangni questions the others about Feng Jun. Lang Zhen stays guarded, but Deng Lao’er unwittingly reveals information about Feng Jun’s medicines, his treatment of Lang Zhen, and his past as a healer of sick children.
• These revelations convince Tian Yangni that Feng Jun is a newly arrived and unusually powerful “immortal” who needs reliable people around him. Tian Yangni begins privately imagining that he might eventually surpass Lang Zhen in Feng Jun’s favor.
• The next morning, the Tian Family arrives in force, bringing Martial Masters, Martial Warriors, craftsmen, supplies, and Zhao Second Lord’s corpse. They claim Zhao Second Lord committed suicide to atone for the Zhao Family Fort’s mistreatment of outsiders.
• Feng Jun suspects this is a politically arranged “suicide,” but Tian Yangni explains the local system of parental or clan responsibility: a senior figure can take responsibility for his subordinates’ crimes and die to protect the rest of the clan.
• Lang Zhen challenges the idea that Zhao Second Lord’s death is sufficient, pointing out that there was an instigator and numerous accomplices. Feng Jun leaves the punishment arrangements to Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni.
• Three additional members of Zhao Family Fort are executed later that day, with Lang Zhen supervising.
• Nearly a hundred more members of the Dongmu Tian Clan arrive. They construct a large shelter and begin building wooden houses for Feng Jun despite his objections, believing that such work is necessary to demonstrate respect.
• The chapter ends with the gathered martial artists staring in awe at Feng Jun’s xenon lamps, treating the modern technology as an extraordinary “strange artifact.”

Character Developments

• Tian Yangni: Reveals himself as politically perceptive, pragmatic, and highly ambitious. He understands his family’s advantages in wealth and manpower, but also recognizes that Feng Jun’s favor is more important than direct confrontation. His willingness to perform menial labor and provide shelter shows how far he will go to curry favor.
• Lang Zhen: Remains suspicious of the Tian Family and protective of his position with Feng Jun. He is careful not to reveal too much information and insists that justice extend beyond Zhao Second Lord to the instigator and accomplices. He is pleased when Feng Jun repeatedly seeks his judgment.
• Feng Jun: Continues to rely on Lang Zhen for guidance about local customs while trying to maintain authority. He demonstrates generosity and practicality by providing shelter, medicine, lighting, and cooking equipment, but remains skeptical of Tian Yangni’s explanation regarding Zhao Second Lord’s death.
• Deng Lao’er: His lack of caution makes him an inadvertent source of intelligence for Tian Yangni. His admiration for Tian Yangni’s cultivation advice causes him to reveal sensitive information.
• Feifei: Shows adaptability and trust by accepting Feng Jun’s unfamiliar technology and learning to use the electric hot plate.
• The Tian Family: Establishes itself as disciplined, well-organized, and eager to serve Feng Jun, despite the death of one of its Martial Masters.

Significant Themes

• Political maneuvering and alliance-building: Tian Yangni seeks influence indirectly, recognizing that personal loyalty and usefulness may matter more than status or strength.
• Power and dependency: Although the Tian Family possesses overwhelming numbers and resources, it still submits to Feng Jun because of his mysterious power and superior access to medicine and technology.
• Trust and suspicion: Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni cooperate while remaining wary of one another. Feng Jun likewise depends on Lang Zhen but does not blindly trust the Tian Family.
• Justice and collective responsibility: The chapter explores a social system in which clan leaders bear responsibility for their followers, sometimes through ritualized or coerced suicide. Lang Zhen questions whether such punishment truly satisfies justice.
• Cultural misunderstanding: Feng Jun interprets local customs through modern concepts, while the martial artists interpret his everyday technology as supernatural artifacts.
• Service as a form of ambition: Tian Yangni’s labor and humility are not purely selfless; they are deliberate efforts to gain proximity to Feng Jun and possibly replace Lang Zhen as his closest ally.

Character Interactions

• Tian Yangni and Lang Zhen: Their conversation establishes a cautious potential alliance. Tian Yangni offers cooperation, while Lang Zhen refuses commitment until Feng Jun forgives the Tian Family.
• Tian Yangni and Feng Jun: Tian Yangni tries to impress Feng Jun through practical service, shelter-building, and respectful explanations of local customs. Feng Jun remains polite but unconvinced.
• Tian Yangni and Deng Lao’er: Tian Yangni gains information by offering cultivation and recovery advice. Deng Lao’er’s openness later frustrates Lang Zhen.
• Feng Jun and Lang Zhen: Feng Jun repeatedly looks to Lang Zhen to interpret local rules and determine appropriate punishments, reinforcing Lang Zhen’s privileged position.
• The Tian Family and Feng Jun’s group: Their relationship shifts from confrontation to formal submission and service, with the Tian Family attempting to prove its usefulness by providing labor, protection, and construction.

Chapter Summary: “Collecting Cultivation Techniques (Second Update)”

Plot Points and Events

• After the previous discussions, the Tian family’s people begin constructing housing for Feng Jun. Within several days, more than three hundred workers arrive from Dongmu County to quarry and process jade for a grand “white-jade hall.”
• Feng Jun continues living under the grass shelter because he promised to do so, although his possessions—including jade materials, his motorcycle, and diesel—are moved into a newly built wooden house.
• Tian Yangni explains that the huge workforce is necessary because jade is extremely hard to mine and shape. The Tian family also intends to build seven to ten jade rooms so Feng Jun can live comfortably and have dedicated storage space.
• Feng Jun reviews the spoils taken from Luo Wendao and his forces:
  • A highly valuable Jiaoxiao Soft Armor that protects the chest and abdomen.
  • Healing medicine and roughly ten Meridian Opening Pills.
  • More than twenty taels of gold.
  • A treasured saber.
  • A Breathing cultivation manual carried by Luo Wendao’s disciple.
• Lang Zhen presents the armor to Feng Jun but requests Luo Wendao’s treasured saber as his reward. Although Feng Jun likes the weapon and owns an unused saber manual, he gives it to Lang Zhen because Lang Zhen genuinely values it and Feng Jun cannot conveniently carry such a weapon in the Blue Star Realm.
• Feng Jun asks the Deng brothers to assess the seized cultivation manual. Deng the Elder concludes that it is superior to the technique he and his brother practice.
• Rather than directly asking Tian Yangni and risking the appearance of coveting the Tian family’s technique, Feng Jun initially hesitates. Deng Lao’er, however, informs Tian Yangni, who volunteers to appraise the manual.
• Feng Jun insists that Tian Yangni compare it honestly with the Tian family’s technique and warns him against deception. Tian Yangni agrees, recognizing that the manual may be valuable.
• Tian Yangni confirms that the seized technique is better than his family’s. To demonstrate its value and strengthen his relationship with Feng Jun, he reveals the Tian family’s own manual and several ancestral cultivation notes.
• Feng Jun realizes that the Tian family’s technique is essentially a more detailed, simplified version of his Tai Chi Breathing technique.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes increasingly aware of his elevated status. He is amused and somewhat incredulous that the Tian family is extravagantly anticipating his every need, yet he also enjoys their deference and generosity.
• He demonstrates practicality and restraint by keeping the Jiaoxiao Soft Armor for himself, despite initially considering giving it away, because he recognizes its enormous defensive value.
• Feng Jun also shows fairness toward Lang Zhen, surrendering a saber he personally likes because Lang Zhen truly appreciates it and can make better use of it.
• His confidence in Tai Chi Breathing grows. His rapid advancement from sensing qi to the Intermediate Martial Master level in less than a month convinces him that ordinary clan techniques are far inferior.
• Lang Zhen displays loyalty and humility by giving Feng Jun the valuable armor rather than keeping it. His request for the saber reveals his personal preferences and martial interests.
• Tian Yangni acts opportunistically but also sincerely tries to please Feng Jun. He willingly shares his family’s secret technique and ancestral insights because he wants both access to the seized manual and Feng Jun’s favor.
• Deng Lao’er continues to act as a loyal intermediary, ensuring that Feng Jun obtains an honest appraisal without appearing to pressure the Tian family.
• Feng Jun’s broader goal becomes clearer: he wants to acquire a suitable cultivation technique for Xu Leigang and possibly introduce martial cultivation to the Blue Star Realm.

Significant Themes

• Power and status: Feng Jun’s casual requests produce massive responses from the Tian family, illustrating how people in positions of power receive excessive service from those beneath them.
• Reciprocity and loyalty: Valuable rewards are distributed according to trust and genuine need. Lang Zhen gives Feng Jun the armor, while Feng Jun rewards him with the treasured saber.
• Cultivation knowledge as currency: Manuals and techniques are treated as priceless clan secrets, but Feng Jun’s superior Tai Chi Breathing places him in a position where even the Tian family’s treasured inheritance seems ordinary.
• Practicality versus extravagance: Feng Jun only wants a simple residence, while the Tian family constructs an elaborate jade compound to demonstrate its sincerity.
• Cross-world ambitions: Feng Jun’s interest in obtaining techniques is not merely personal. He is considering how martial cultivation might benefit people in the Blue Star Realm.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the Tian family: The Tian family tries to win Feng Jun’s favor through lavish construction and complete compliance. Feng Jun appreciates their attitude but remains wary of appearing to covet their secrets.
• Feng Jun and Lang Zhen: Their interaction reflects mutual respect. Lang Zhen offers Feng Jun a precious item, and Feng Jun repays his loyalty with the treasured saber.
• Feng Jun and the Deng brothers: Feng Jun relies on them to examine the cultivation manual, while Deng Lao’er actively protects Feng Jun’s interests by involving Tian Yangni.
• Feng Jun and Tian Yangni: Their exchange is direct and strategic. Feng Jun demands honesty, while Tian Yangni uses openness and generosity to secure Feng Jun’s trust.
• Feng Jun and his future plans for Xu Leigang: The chapter establishes that the acquired manual may eventually be used to help Xu Leigang begin cultivation and perhaps serve as a foundation for spreading martial arts in the modern world.

Chapter Summary: “Light Causes a Sensation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun considers whether to teach Xu Leigang his rare nine-form, thirty-six-diagram Tai Chi Breathing technique. Though he wants to promote martial cultivation, he is unwilling to risk someone surpassing him too easily.
• Since Xu’s physical foundation may be weaker than Feng Jun’s, Feng Jun decides to seek a different but still respectable cultivation method for him. This leads Feng Jun to request the Tian Family’s nine-form, twenty-seven-diagram technique.
• Tian Yangni readily agrees and offers both the cultivation manual and ancestral insights. The exchange benefits both sides: Feng Jun gains knowledge, while the Tian Family believes it is securing a valuable connection with the mysterious Divine Physician.
• Feng Jun laments that Luo Wendao carried no cultivation manuals, joking about storage pouches. Tian Yangni becomes nervous because such talk touches on the taboo subject of immortals.
• Feng Jun admits he wants to learn more about martial cultivation methods. He deliberately mixes genuine ignorance with ambiguous hints about his abilities, encouraging others to speculate about his identity without revealing the truth.
• Tian Yangni offers to provide general cultivation knowledge and collect manuals from other families. Feng Jun says he will not remain with the Tian Family for long, prompting Tian Yangni to increase his efforts to satisfy him quickly.
• The four extremely bright lamps at the riverbank attract nearby villagers. At first frightened, the villagers gradually begin using the light for studying, sewing, socializing, and playing Pebble Chess.
• The crowd grows to nearly five hundred people, including hundreds of local residents. The Tian Family considers driving them away, but Feng Jun permits them to remain as long as they stay orderly and at a distance.
• Just as Tian Yangni promises that outsiders will be kept away once Feng Jun’s house is built, a relative arrives with several people demanding to play with the strange glass lamp, leaving Tian Yangni furious.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Reveals his cautious, self-interested nature. He is generous toward friends but still prioritizes maintaining his advantage. He becomes increasingly interested in gathering martial knowledge and skillfully manages his mysterious reputation.
• Xu Leigang: Although absent from the chapter’s events, his excellent physical-tempering results make Feng Jun seriously consider his future cultivation.
• Tian Yangni: Becomes increasingly deferential and anxious around Feng Jun. He tries to anticipate Feng Jun’s wishes, offer valuable resources, and prevent anyone from offending him.
• The local villagers: Shift from fear and suspicion to curiosity and practical use of the lamps. Their behavior shows how quickly ordinary people adapt to and benefit from unfamiliar technology.
• The Tian Family: Demonstrates its considerable local power but becomes unusually restrained because it fears displeasing Feng Jun.

Significant Themes

• Self-interest versus loyalty: Feng Jun wants to help Xu but refuses to endanger his own position, showing that friendship does not erase his caution.
• Knowledge as currency: Cultivation manuals are exchanged like valuable commodities, and mutual benefit allows people who distrust one another to cooperate.
• Mystery and manipulation: Feng Jun carefully balances truth and deception, allowing others to form exaggerated theories about him while concealing his actual origins and abilities.
• Power and social hierarchy: The Tian Family can dominate local villagers but must submit to Feng Jun, revealing how power shifts according to perceived strength.
• Technology’s social impact: The lamps become a communal resource, transforming nighttime activities and exposing the villagers’ practical ingenuity.
• Control versus public benefit: Feng Jun does not want the crowds interfering with his work, but he also does not insist on depriving them of the light.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Tian Yangni conduct a mutually advantageous exchange of cultivation knowledge, though each believes he is gaining the better bargain.
• Feng Jun’s ambiguous remarks about martial arts and immortals make Tian Yangni nervous, reinforcing the imbalance between them.
• Tian Yangni offers continued assistance to persuade Feng Jun to remain with the Tian Family, while Feng Jun keeps his future plans deliberately uncertain.
• The Tian Family struggles to control the villagers without offending Feng Jun, who ultimately orders only distance and discipline rather than expulsion.
• The chapter ends with a new conflict between Tian Yangni and his own relative, whose demand to use the lamp threatens the strict control Tian Yangni is trying to maintain.

Chapter Summary: White Jade Hall

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tian Yangni is revealed to be the eldest member of his generation, despite being called “Seventh Brother” because of the Tian family’s cousin-ranking system.
• The Tian family learns that Bao Ge’er, the youngest son of Old Earl Beiyuan and Tian Yangni’s nephew by marriage, intends to visit Feng Jun. Bao Ge’er is intensely curious about Feng Jun’s technology, especially his xenon lamp.
• Although Bao Ge’er is an earl’s son and is protected by four Martial Masters, Tian Yangni warns him not to provoke Feng Jun, whose power and temper make him far more dangerous than Bao Ge’er realizes.
• Bao Ge’er asks Feng Jun how the lamp works. Feng Jun dismisses the question and walks away, irritating Bao Ge’er. Bao Ge’er nearly touches the lamp in anger, but Tian Yangni stops him and threatens to forcibly send him home if he causes trouble.
• By the eighth day, two jade rooms are completed for Feng Jun, with nine more rooms—including a main hall—still being built. Feng Jun moves into his room and begins installing electrical wiring.
• Deng Lao’er takes over the wiring under Feng Jun’s guidance. Feng Jun installs another lamp, astonishing Tian Yangni, who had assumed Feng Jun’s original lamps were unique and limited.
• Feng Jun discovers the house lacks windows and orders transparent glass from the modern world. The glass, like the electric lighting, amazes the Tian family, though they are becoming increasingly accustomed to his extraordinary possessions.
• The completed jade residence attracts thousands of spectators. What begins as public curiosity develops into a bustling nighttime market, with villagers selling refreshments, liquor, meat, and other goods.
• Feifei opens a cigarette stall and sells Feng Jun’s cigarettes at extremely high prices. As the crowd grows and disorder begins to spread, Feng Jun realizes he may have unintentionally created a night market and considers organizing security.
• The chapter ends when a disturbance breaks out near Feifei’s cigarette stall.

Character Development

• Feng Jun remains confident, detached, and unconcerned with noble status or government authority. He treats Bao Ge’er’s curiosity as an annoyance and shows that he is more troubled by genuine martial threats than by political figures.
• Tian Yangni acts as a cautious intermediary and protector of the Tian family’s interests. He understands Feng Jun’s danger and firmly restrains Bao Ge’er, even threatening him with force.
• Bao Ge’er is shown as inquisitive, impulsive, and prideful. His noble background makes him accustomed to being treated with respect, but he is forced to restrain his temper after realizing Feng Jun cannot be provoked safely.
• Deng Lao’er becomes more involved in Feng Jun’s technology, learning to install electrical wiring and demonstrating the Tian family’s growing willingness to study and adopt modern inventions.
• The Tian family shifts from treating Feng Jun’s inventions as isolated marvels to actively integrating them into the construction of White Jade Hall.

Significant Themes

• Power beyond social status: Noble rank and official authority have little effect on Feng Jun, whose strength and ability to leave the region make him difficult to control.
• Curiosity versus restraint: Bao Ge’er’s desire to understand Feng Jun’s inventions conflicts with the need to respect dangerous boundaries.
• Technological disruption: Electricity, glass, and modern materials radically transform the surrounding society and challenge traditional assumptions.
• Civilization and commerce: Feng Jun’s illuminated residence becomes a center of public activity, spontaneously generating trade, entertainment, and a primitive night market.
• The spread of influence: Even without intentionally seeking leadership, Feng Jun’s presence reshapes the Tian family’s architecture, economy, and daily life.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Bao Ge’er: Their first interaction establishes mutual tension. Bao Ge’er approaches Feng Jun too casually, while Feng Jun responds with deliberate indifference, provoking Bao Ge’er’s anger.
• Tian Yangni and Bao Ge’er: Tian Yangni reprimands Bao Ge’er like a strict elder, emphasizing that noble privilege cannot protect him from Feng Jun.
• Feng Jun and Deng Lao’er: Feng Jun allows Deng Lao’er to learn electrical installation, creating a practical exchange between modern knowledge and local craftsmanship.
• Feng Jun and Tian Yangni: Tian Yangni repeatedly seeks Feng Jun’s approval, while Feng Jun treats the Tian family’s construction efforts casually and focuses on practical improvements.
• The Tian family and the local population: The family’s construction project attracts crowds, vendors, and storytellers, turning White Jade Hall into a public spectacle and commercial gathering place.

Chapter Summary: Yu’s Second Young Master

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun leaves Deng the Elder guarding the entrance and hurries to the night market after hearing of trouble, but arrives after the conflict has ended.
• Feifei’s cigarette stall has poor business because her products are expensive luxury goods in an impoverished area. She also occupies the market’s best location beneath the xenon lamp, frustrating the other tobacco sellers.
• Wangcai, an older villager from Feifei’s hometown, and his nephew place their tobacco stall directly in front of hers, hoping to take advantage of the prime spot.
• When Feifei protests, Wangcai dismisses her because she is an orphan and speaks to her as though his age and village status give him authority. His nephew shoves her.
• Feifei, overwhelmed by memories of being mistreated in the village, begins crying loudly. A Martial Warrior from the Yu Family intervenes and severely beats Wangcai and his nephew for bullying a young girl.
• The Tian Family’s people arrive and discover that the rescuer is Yu’s Second Young Master, a member of the Yu Family Carriage and Horse Agency.
• Tian Yangni questions why the Second Young Master came without notifying the Tian Family. The young man claims he encountered the place by chance, but his knowledge of the land deed suggests he deliberately came prepared.
• The Second Young Master announces that he intends to remain for several days because the area and its unusual goods interest him.
• Tian Yangni warns him to respect Feng Jun, revealing that the land deed was given to Feng Jun and that Feng Jun killed Luo Wendao without hesitation.
• The Second Young Master is amused that even Tian Yangni fears someone, while Tian Yangni becomes stern and threatens to report his disrespect to his father. The young man retreats behind a claim of joking.
• The chapter ends with Tian Yangni demanding to know the real purpose of his visit.

Character Developments

• Feifei becomes more assertive. Although she initially hesitates because of her low status within Feng Jun’s group, she finally defends her stall instead of silently accepting abuse. Her crying also shows that she is beginning to trust that someone will protect her.
• Feng Jun is shown as protective of Feifei and concerned about order at the market, though he arrives too late to intervene personally.
• Tian Yangni demonstrates both authority and caution. He defends Feng Jun’s status and warns the Second Young Master, but must remain diplomatic because of the Yu Family’s influence.
• Yu’s Second Young Master is presented as confident, observant, and politically shrewd. His refined appearance contrasts with his guards’ decisive violence. He clearly knows more about Feng Jun and the land than he admits and appears to have come for a deliberate reason.
• Wangcai and his nephew represent the lingering social prejudice against Feifei. Their belief that age, seniority, and village customs justify mistreating her is decisively challenged.

Significant Themes

• Social hierarchy and protection of the vulnerable: Feifei’s treatment reflects how orphans and socially powerless people are easily bullied, while the intervention shows that authority must be backed by strength.
• Economic inequality: The night market has many more sellers than buyers, and most vendors barely earn anything. Feifei’s luxury-priced cigarettes are especially unsuited to the poor local market.
• Changing social status: Feifei’s connection to Feng Jun gives her protection and a new identity, but others test whether that protection is genuine.
• Power, influence, and political caution: The exchange between Tian Yangni and the Second Young Master reveals the importance of family networks, official connections, martial strength, and reputation.
• Appearances versus reality: The market looks active, but most vendors make little money; the Second Young Master claims coincidence while clearly having investigated the area beforehand.

Character Interactions

• Feifei and Wangcai: Their confrontation exposes Feifei’s past humiliation and her growing willingness to resist it.
• Feifei and the Yu Family guard: The guard acts immediately when she is bullied, reinforcing the chapter’s emphasis on protecting the young and powerless.
• Yu’s Second Young Master and Tian Yangni: Their polite but tense conversation is a contest of status and hidden intentions. Tian Yangni warns him not to offend Feng Jun, while the Second Young Master probes how much authority Feng Jun truly possesses.
• Tian Yangni and Feng Jun’s reputation: Though Feng Jun is absent from the conversation, his ability to kill Luo Wendao and command respect dominates the exchange, establishing him as a dangerous figure even to powerful families.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Tian Family’s construction of soapstone houses near Zhige County attracts attention, and the arrival of outsiders confirms that the secret cannot be kept.
• Tian Yangni asks Feng Jun to return to Dongmu County, but Feng refuses. Tian Yangni then proposes that the Tian Family formally guard Feng Jun’s territory, hoping to secure the “immortal opportunity” associated with serving him.
• Feng Jun rejects the idea, preferring to let matters develop naturally rather than effectively becoming dependent on or attached to the Tian Family.
• The nearby night market struggles because of poor location and low foot traffic, though a few merchants and performers gradually arrive. A drizzle on the third night benefits vendors selling umbrellas and rain gear.
• Before dawn, two highly skilled thieves infiltrate Feng Jun’s courtyard. They are caught when they trigger the electric fence, which has become even more powerful because of the rain.
• The captives are identified as likely members of Masterful Hands Pavilion, a notorious organization specializing in theft, robbery, murder, and commissioned intelligence work.
• Lang Zhen concludes that the thieves were probably hired by an unknown third party. Since Masterful Hands Pavilion never reveals its clients, he recommends killing the prisoners rather than allowing the organization to rescue them or learn what they disclosed.
• Feng Jun agrees, reasoning that the thieves’ criminal history makes their deaths justifiable. Lang Zhen and Tian Lewen execute them.
• When Tian Yangni returns, he is furious that the Tian Family acted without waiting for him. He fears retaliation from Masterful Hands Pavilion, while Tian Lewen argues that the men were simply bandits who died while committing a crime.
• The argument escalates when Tian Lewen insists that he is stronger and better supported than Lang Zhen and therefore has no reason to fear comparing himself to him. Tian Yangni, however, believes Lang Zhen’s confidence comes from serving Feng Jun, whom he regards as an immortal-like protector, and goes to complain to Feng Jun.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and independent. He refuses both another invitation to Dongmu County and the Tian Family’s offer to guard him, showing that he does not want to become tied to their household or use himself as bait for enemies.
• Tian Yangni becomes increasingly anxious about protecting the Tian Family’s exclusive access to Feng Jun and securing the benefits of their association. His fear of Masterful Hands Pavilion contrasts with his earlier confidence and reveals his awareness of the family’s vulnerability.
• Lang Zhen demonstrates decisiveness and ruthlessness. He is unconcerned about the thieves’ possible retaliation and prioritizes eliminating future threats over extracting more information.
• Tian Lewen emerges as a confident, principled, and somewhat headstrong rising talent. He supports Lang Zhen’s decision and refuses to defer automatically to Tian Yangni, even challenging the elder’s assessment of his abilities.
• The Tian Family is shown to be powerful enough to kill Martial Masters and dominate weaker forces, but still cautious and intimidated by major organizations such as Masterful Hands Pavilion.

Significant Themes

• Power and protection: The Tian Family wants Feng Jun’s authorization to guard him, but Feng rejects the arrangement, emphasizing the difference between genuine protection and political opportunism.
• The danger of reputation and information: The construction project cannot remain secret because rare experts, unusual activity, and the Tian Family’s conspicuous actions inevitably attract attention.
• Ruthlessness and justice: The characters treat thieves as legitimate targets for execution because banditry is viewed as an offense that can destroy families and livelihoods. The chapter explores how easily justice becomes violent retribution.
• Human intentions are difficult to judge: Tian Yangni imagines Feng Jun can identify anyone with hostile intent, but Feng privately recognizes the limits of his ability to read people’s hearts.
• Confidence versus caution: Tian Lewen’s boldness clashes with Tian Yangni’s fear, while Lang Zhen’s certainty is enabled by his trust in Feng Jun’s backing.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Tian Yangni: Their conversation highlights Tian Yangni’s attempts to bind the Tian Family more closely to Feng Jun and Feng Jun’s reluctance to accept such dependence.
• Feng Jun and Lang Zhen: Feng trusts Lang Zhen’s judgment regarding the captured thieves and accepts his recommendation to eliminate them.
• Lang Zhen and Tian Lewen: The two cooperate in interrogating the captives and reach the conclusion that they belong to Masterful Hands Pavilion.
• Tian Yangni and Tian Lewen: Their heated dispute reflects a generational and strategic divide: Tian Yangni favors caution and fears powerful enemies, while Tian Lewen values decisive action and personal confidence.
• Tian Yangni and Feng Jun: After the execution, Tian Yangni seeks Feng Jun’s intervention, likely hoping to justify his concerns or prevent the Tian Family from suffering consequences.

Chapter Summary: “Nearby” (First Update, Lollipop 45)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tian Yangni warns Feng Jun that the Masterful Hands Pavilion is still targeting him and may launch a direct attack next time.
• Lang Zhen argues that the Pavilion’s previous involvement was probably commissioned by someone else, so they may not resort to killing Feng Jun themselves.
• Feng Jun feels unfairly blamed for the deaths of the two thieves he previously captured, since he neither ordered nor carried out their execution. Nevertheless, he realizes he must strengthen his defenses rather than rely on the electric fence or others.
• Concluding that cultivation and personal strength are his best protection, Feng Jun experiments with his phone’s supernatural applications.
• He first tries the “Imitation Map,” hoping it will reveal allies and enemies, but finds himself trapped in a featureless white digital space. He realizes the map requires satellite positioning, which is unavailable in this world.
• After eating an unusually large meal while distracted, Feng Jun experiments with Liaoliao’s “People Nearby” function.
• The function transports him into a virtual room containing a map-like screen. It detects people within roughly thirty meters and marks them with colored dots.
• Feng Jun discovers that five nearby people are detected: Feifei, Bao-ge, Lang Zhen, Deng Tianxiang, and Deng Tianrui. Four are members of his own group, while Bao-ge—revealed to be Zhu Tianbao, a High-Rank Martial Warrior—is the apparent outsider and possible threat.
• He then realizes the labels of these virtual functions can be edited. Changing “People Nearby” to “Nearby Mineral Resources” dramatically expands the detection radius to over three hundred meters.
• The new scan reveals numerous deposits, including Cold Copper Ore and Refined Gold.
• Excited by the discovery, Feng Jun changes the function again to “Nearby Immortal Crystals,” intending to search for cultivation resources.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes more proactive and resourceful. Instead of relying solely on defensive measures or his companions, he focuses on improving his cultivation and exploiting his phone’s hidden capabilities.
• His curiosity and persistence are emphasized: although he expects the map and nearby-person functions to fail, he continues experimenting until he uncovers the editable-function mechanic.
• Tian Yangni acts cautiously, warning Feng Jun about the seriousness of the Masterful Hands Pavilion threat.
• Lang Zhen remains skeptical and argumentative, offering a less alarmist interpretation of the Pavilion’s motives.
• Feifei is shown as a young, vulnerable orphan who contributes by cooking for the group. Her timid complaints about Feng Jun’s enormous appetite add humor and highlight the informal household dynamic.
• Deng Lao’er and Deng the Elder engage in lighthearted bickering over the stolen food, while their earlier failure to prevent the thieves’ entry is indirectly mocked.
• Zhu Tianbao/Bao-ge is identified as a powerful outsider located near Feng Jun’s group, raising questions about his intentions.

Significant Themes

• Self-reliance and preparedness: Feng Jun recognizes that depending on allies or passive defenses is insufficient against increasingly dangerous enemies.
• Hidden potential and experimentation: The phone’s functions contain unexpected capabilities, and success comes from testing assumptions rather than accepting apparent limitations.
• Technology in a cultivation world: Modern digital concepts such as maps, satellite positioning, personal hotspots, and scanning are reinterpreted through supernatural means.
• Resource acquisition: The discovery of mineral-detection abilities shifts Feng Jun’s attention from merely surviving threats to finding valuable materials that may advance his cultivation.
• Misunderstanding and responsibility: Feng Jun reflects on how others may associate him with the deaths of the thieves, despite his limited involvement.

Character Interactions

• Tian Yangni and Lang Zhen debate whether the Masterful Hands Pavilion will attack Feng Jun directly, reflecting differing assessments of danger.
• Feng Jun listens to their argument but privately focuses on practical preparation rather than resolving their disagreement.
• Feifei, Deng Lao’er, and Deng the Elder humorously argue over Feng Jun eating all the food, revealing a familiar but teasing group relationship.
• Feng Jun’s discovery that Feifei, Lang Zhen, and the Deng brothers are nearby confirms the group’s physical proximity, while Bao-ge’s presence introduces a potential conflict.
• The chapter ends with Feng Jun alone, manipulating the phone’s interface and preparing to search for immortal crystals, suggesting a new opportunity amid the growing external threat.

Summary

Feng Jun discovers that the phone’s search function can locate not only ordinary objects but also resources from the cultivation world. After unsuccessfully searching for “Immortal Crystal,” he searches for “Spirit Stone” and finds a purple marker labeled “Spirit Stone Ore.” Elated—and annoyed that he had not thought of this sooner—he realizes the discovery could save him from endlessly searching the plane manually. He reflects that his earlier poverty and limited energy supply had prevented him from testing the phone more thoroughly, and that recent events, especially the deaths of two Martial Masters connected to Masterful Hands Pavilion, finally pushed him to take greater risks.
His excitement is interrupted when the phone’s battery rapidly drops to fifteen percent because he had used a personal hotspot inside the Phone Space. Worried about what might happen if the phone dies while he is inside, he connects it to a charger and decides to use a spare phone for his next search.
Meanwhile, Bao Ge’er visits Feng Jun’s courtyard with expensive tribute tea from Northern Garden Count’s Manor. He tries to question Lang Zhen and the others about the previous night’s attack, but Feng Jun bluntly tells him that the attackers have already been killed and mocks Bao Ge’er’s excessive curiosity. Huanhuan returns from catching fish, while Feifei brings food and reminds him to wash his hands. Feng Jun eats heartily and orders Lang Zhen to coordinate with Tian Yangni and compile a list of everyone seen near the courtyard recently, suggesting that he is investigating possible threats or accomplices.
Unable to restrain his curiosity, Feng Jun immediately uses another phone to locate the Spirit Stone Ore. The signal leads him to a swollen, fast-flowing river. He hesitates because the river may contain dangerous Exotic Beasts, far more powerful than the Spirit Beasts he has previously encountered. With no boat nearby, he considers how to reach the ore until a large two-deck boat drifts downstream.
Deng the Elder arrives carrying Feng Jun’s submachine gun and offers to force the boat to stop, revealing that even the normally cautious Deng family members are willing to use violence when necessary. Feng Jun is surprised by his readiness to threaten the boat, though he recognizes it as consistent with the Deng Family’s background as escort guards.
The occupants of the boat turn out to be the Yu Family’s Second Young Master and an Intermediate Martial Master. The Second Young Master recognizes Feng Jun and agrees to let him board, but insists that they charge him for passage. His subordinate is astonished, since the Tian Family is eager to win Feng Jun’s favor. The Second Young Master explains that genuinely capable people should not be manipulated through trivial gifts or excessive favors; strong individuals should interact according to clear merits rather than allowing personal grudges and obligations to obscure what matters.

Character Development and Interactions

• Feng Jun becomes more confident and proactive in using the phone’s abilities, while remaining cautious about its limits and the dangers of the cultivation world. His interactions with Bao Ge’er are sarcastic and dismissive, whereas he is more comfortable and authoritative with Lang Zhen, Deng, Huanhuan, and Feifei.
• Bao Ge’er continues to display intense curiosity, attempting to investigate the previous night’s events despite being warned not to interfere.
• Huanhuan and Feifei show signs of improving stability and affection within Feng Jun’s household: Huanhuan is lively and trusting, while Feifei acts responsibly and protectively.
• Deng the Elder reveals a more forceful side by offering to stop the boat at gunpoint, reflecting his family’s pragmatic and martial nature.
• The Yu Family’s Second Young Master is introduced as elegant, calculating, and proud. His decision to charge Feng Jun demonstrates his belief in independence, clear boundaries, and merit-based relationships rather than opportunistic flattery.

Major Themes

• Adaptation and gradual growth: Feng Jun recognizes that knowledge and success require experimentation, resources, and time.
• Technology intersecting with cultivation: The phone’s search function becomes a powerful tool for locating spiritual resources in the cultivation world.
• Risk versus opportunity: The Spirit Stone Ore may be extremely valuable, but reaching it could expose Feng Jun to dangerous river creatures.
• Power, dignity, and transactional relationships: The Second Young Master argues that strong people should not rely on petty favors or emotional entanglements, emphasizing direct and principled dealings.
• Family and community: The household’s interactions, especially involving Huanhuan and Feifei, contrast with the chapter’s violence and political maneuvering.

Chapter Summary: Beyond Reach (Third Update)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and his companions board a boat to search for a Spirit Stone Ore detected somewhere beneath or near the river.
• The Second Young Master of the Yu Family argues that refusing to charge Feng Jun would unnecessarily compromise their principles. Feng Jun pays the fare without protest.
• Deng the Elder nearly falls into the river while leaping onto the boat, but Feng Jun immediately recognizes the danger and uses a volley of copper coins to give him footholds, allowing him to land safely.
• The Second Young Master recognizes that Feng Jun’s real strength lies not merely in martial technique but in his sharp perception and ability to predict danger. Impressed, he attempts to visit Feng Jun and sends a calling card.
• Feng Jun rejects the visit, dismissing the Yu Family group as “irrelevant people” and asking the boat to stop in midriver. The Second Young Master is amused rather than angered and instructs his subordinate to ask whether Feng Jun wants a fishing rod.
• Feng Jun uses the stop to search for the Spirit Stone. His detection ability can locate the object only within roughly ten meters, but he cannot determine its exact depth. He suspects it may be buried beneath the riverbed.
• After failing to sense the Spirit Stone and learning that entering the river may be dangerous because of venomous creatures and unknown underwater conditions, Feng Jun abandons the search temporarily.
• His decision reflects his growing self-discipline: rather than forcing the matter, he accepts that he can search for other Spirit Stones in the future.
• Feng Jun returns to his courtyard to replenish his energy points.
• Later, Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni deliver a roster of more than nine hundred people who have recently appeared near the courtyard and riverbank. Although incomplete, it includes Tian Family members, workers, visitors, and merchants.
• Feng Jun orders the listed people to enter the courtyard in groups of one hundred, intending to use his detection ability to identify the person or people he is searching for.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates heightened perception, quick judgment, and considerable martial ability when he saves Deng the Elder. At the same time, he remains blunt, independent, and unconcerned with social hierarchy.
• He also shows emotional restraint and strategic maturity by abandoning the Spirit Stone search when conditions become unfavorable, trusting that future opportunities will arise.
• The Second Young Master is revealed to be proud and confident but also perceptive and flexible. Rather than becoming offended by Feng Jun’s refusal, he becomes more intrigued and curious about him.
• Deng the Elder proves that although he is awkward and somewhat clumsy, his martial foundations are solid. Feng Jun’s assistance allows him to recover from his failed leap.
• Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni show efficiency and responsibility by quickly compiling an initial roster despite the difficulty of tracking thousands of people.
• The Intermediate Martial Master remains highly status-conscious and easily angered by Feng Jun’s dismissive behavior, contrasting with the Second Young Master’s calmer perspective.

Significant Themes

• True strength versus superficial face: The Second Young Master argues that a genuinely formidable expert should not be ruled by petty concerns about honor or social recognition.
• Perception and judgment: Feng Jun’s ability to foresee Deng’s accident highlights the importance of awareness and discernment over flashy technique.
• Self-restraint and long-term strategy: Feng Jun chooses not to force the Spirit Stone search, showing that patience and the ability to abandon a tempting opportunity can be forms of strength.
• Independence from status and authority: Feng Jun treats the powerful Yu Family with the same indifference he shows everyone else, refusing to be pressured by rank or reputation.
• Adaptability: When direct detection proves insufficient, Feng Jun changes tactics and brings people into the courtyard so he can search them within his limited detection range.

Character Interactions

• The Intermediate Martial Master warns the Second Young Master that refusing to give Feng Jun special treatment could create an enemy, but the Second Young Master dismisses the concern.
• Feng Jun assists Deng the Elder without making a show of it, while the Yu Family Martial Master criticizes the apparent crudeness of his technique.
• The Second Young Master corrects that criticism, emphasizing Feng Jun’s predictive insight rather than the number of copper coins used.
• The Second Young Master attempts a courteous approach, but Feng Jun rejects the visit and labels them irrelevant, provoking the Intermediate Martial Master while amusing his young master.
• Deng the Elder cautiously advises Feng Jun against entering the river, and Feng Jun ultimately accepts the warning.
• Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni cooperate with Feng Jun’s investigation, bringing him the roster and preparing to execute his new plan.

Chapter Summary: Divine Eye

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun orders Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni to bring groups of one hundred people into the courtyard while he remains inside cultivating. The subjects must stand quietly in the cold rain, without umbrellas; men are encouraged to bare their upper bodies.
• The first group consists mostly of local craftsmen and laborers, including only a small number of Tian Family members. After observing them from inside, Feng Jun identifies two suspicious individuals: Lin Erwa and Zhang Tieniu.
• Zhang Tieniu attempts to escape immediately. He reveals himself to be a concealed Beginner Martial Master rather than the Beginner Martial Warrior and stonemason he pretended to be. He injures a Tian Family member during his escape attempt but is quickly subdued by Tian Yangni and other Martial Masters.
• Zhang Tieniu insists that he has not betrayed the Tian Family or harmed Feng Jun, but Tian Yangni argues that concealing his cultivation and attacking a Tian Family member justify his arrest. He is taken away for interrogation.
• Lin Erwa tries to present himself as an innocent local fruit and vegetable seller and attempts to provoke regional resentment against the Dongmu Tian Clan. Feng Jun exposes his claim of being a local as false. Lin Erwa admits nothing directly but becomes visibly frightened and is also arrested.
• The remaining ninety-eight people are dismissed and warned not to discuss what happened. Their fear of both the Tian Family and Feng Jun keeps most of them silent.
• Tian Yangni asks Feng Jun to privately warn him or Lang Zhen about future suspects so that no one can escape. Feng Jun agrees to continue screening additional groups.
• In the second group, Feng Jun identifies a female Tian Family maid as suspicious. Tian Yangni attacks and restrains her before she can explain herself.
• At the same time, a bare-chested middle-aged man attempts to flee. He is captured using a coordinated formation and a large net, then claims to have been sent by the County Magistrate.
• Tian Yangni dismisses the claim as a cover story, arguing that a legitimate government agent would not act so secretly. He threatens to kill the man if he continues invoking the County Magistrate’s name.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains calm, distant, and strategically deceptive. Rather than personally examining the suspects, he uses his mysterious abilities from behind a partially closed door. His accuracy reinforces his image as an almost omniscient “Divine Physician.”
• Tian Yangni becomes increasingly impressed and dependent on Feng Jun’s judgment. His initial confusion turns into confidence, and he readily enforces Feng Jun’s decisions, even when the accused appear outwardly innocent.
• Lang Zhen acts as the practical organizer, managing the crowds and dismissing those Feng Jun clears. He follows instructions carefully and helps maintain secrecy.
• Zhang Tieniu is exposed as a highly capable but concealed martial cultivator. His desperate escape and refusal to show remorse reveal both his caution and his rigid, self-justifying logic.
• Lin Erwa is revealed to be living under a false local identity after fleeing a murder case. His attempt to manipulate public resentment collapses once Feng Jun exposes his background.
• The second group introduces further hidden threats, including a seemingly loyal Tian Family maid and a man who claims government authority, suggesting that infiltration extends even into trusted circles.

Significant Themes

• Hidden identities and concealed intentions: Ordinary workers, trusted servants, and supposed government agents may all be spies or criminals.
• Power and surveillance: Feng Jun’s unexplained ability to identify suspects gives him overwhelming authority, while the people being examined have little opportunity to defend themselves.
• Justice versus arbitrary force: The Tian Family treats suspicion as sufficient grounds for arrest, intimidation, or even execution. The chapter raises questions about whether their actions are justified or merely enabled by superior power.
• Fear and obedience: The people comply because they fear Feng Jun and the Tian Family. Even those who are innocent are too frightened to challenge the process.
• Loyalty and secrecy: The Tian Family’s security operation depends on controlling information, warning people not to speak, and rooting out infiltrators before they can act.
• Regional and political tension: Lin Erwa attempts to exploit resentment toward the powerful Tian Family, while the second escapee’s claim of serving the County Magistrate hints at possible conflict between local government and the clan.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Tian Yangni: Feng Jun gives terse commands, while Tian Yangni treats him with increasing reverence and curiosity. Tian Yangni seeks his guidance and adapts the screening process to protect Feng Jun’s methods.
• Tian Yangni and Zhang Tieniu: Their confrontation becomes personal after Zhang Tieniu injures a Tian Family member. Tian Yangni rejects his excuses and orders him imprisoned and interrogated.
• Tian Yangni and Lin Erwa: Tian Yangni initially relies on Feng Jun’s accusation, but Feng Jun’s exposure of Lin Erwa’s false identity confirms the arrest and strengthens Tian Yangni’s faith in him.
• Tian Yangni and the second group’s suspects: He attacks the maid on Feng Jun’s authority and confronts the fleeing man, demonstrating the Tian Family’s readiness to use violence against anyone deemed suspicious.
• The Tian Family and the local population: The locals are treated as potential threats and are subjected to harsh, humiliating conditions. Their fear reflects the unequal power relationship between the clan and the surrounding community.

Chapter Summary: “Reasons of Every Kind (Second Update)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A captured man claims that the county magistrate ordered action against the Tian Family. Tian Yangni refuses to acknowledge the accusation, arguing that the man is likely an impostor. When the man refuses to repeat the claim out of fear of being killed, Tian Yangni orders him taken away for interrogation.
• Feng Jun, secretly identifying spies through information on his phone, marks several people for investigation without explaining his reasons. Tian Yangni trusts him completely and orders the suspects detained or tortured.
• A Tian Family maidservant is accused of betrayal. When she insists she is innocent, Lang Zhen orders her searched. A gold leaf hidden in her shoe reveals that she had been bribed by the captured middle-aged man.
• Across several groups of people, Feng Jun identifies multiple spies. Among them are four ordinary infiltrators, a coachman from Northern Garden Count’s Manor, and eventually a Tian Family Martial Master. Tian Yangni becomes increasingly alarmed by the number of spies but continues relying on Feng Jun’s judgment.
• Tian Yangni politely asks Feng Jun to explain the accusations so the family can understand, but Feng Jun refuses, preserving his mysterious and authoritative image. Lang Zhen helps smooth over the tension by reminding Tian Yangni that the Divine Physician’s abilities are beyond their understanding.
• When Feng Jun identifies Tian Leqian, a respected Beginner Martial Master of the Tian Family, the clan erupts in protest. Tian Leqian is the posthumous son of a branch elder who died defending the family, making the accusation especially shocking and politically sensitive.
• Tian Lewen demands an explanation, insisting that Tian Leqian’s status and his late father’s contributions must be respected. Under pressure, Tian Yangni finally reveals the accusation: Tian Leqian is not actually of Tian Family blood and should never have borne the surname Tian.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Continues cultivating an image of an all-knowing, untouchable “Divine Physician.” Although he lacks a conventional method of identifying spies, he uses his hidden information and deliberately refuses to explain himself, reinforcing the family’s belief in his extraordinary powers.
• Tian Yangni: Demonstrates ruthless authority toward suspected infiltrators but also becomes increasingly dependent on Feng Jun’s judgment. His unquestioning trust culminates in allowing a beloved family Martial Master to be seized, despite the outrage this causes.
• Lang Zhen: Acts as a perceptive intermediary. He recognizes the maidservant’s suspicious behavior, orders the search that uncovers the bribe, and helps Tian Yangni interpret and manage Feng Jun’s cryptic conduct.
• The maidservant: Initially appears terrified and wrongfully accused, but the gold leaf proves she accepted a bribe and was involved in the espionage plot.
• Tian Leqian: Maintains that he is willing to accept punishment if he is truly at fault, but his anger and confidence reveal that he expects a legitimate explanation. His hidden identity becomes the chapter’s major revelation.
• Tian Lewen: Emerges as a defender of family justice and tradition, challenging Tian Yangni when the accusation threatens the honor of a respected branch.

Significant Themes

• Authority and unquestioning trust: Tian Yangni chooses to trust Feng Jun even when the evidence is invisible, showing how perceived power can override normal standards of proof.
• Appearance versus truth: The chapter repeatedly contrasts public claims with hidden realities—the alleged county order, the spies’ identities, the maidservant’s apparent innocence, and Tian Leqian’s supposed family lineage.
• Power and intimidation: The Tian Family uses threats, torture, and the possibility of staged “accidents” to control servants and suspects, while Feng Jun maintains power through silence and mystique.
• Family identity and legitimacy: The revelation that Tian Leqian is not blood-related to the Tian Family challenges the meaning of clan membership, loyalty, inheritance, and honor.
• Political and social hierarchy: Characters calculate whether authorities, noble households, clan elders, or family martyrs will defend an accused person, revealing how status determines who can be punished safely.

Character Interactions

• Tian Yangni and the captured man clash over the alleged county magistrate’s orders; the man’s fear undermines his credibility.
• Tian Yangni threatens the maidservant, while Lang Zhen’s investigation exposes her bribery.
• Tian Yangni repeatedly tries to obtain explanations from Feng Jun, but Feng Jun responds with silence, irritation, or implied superiority.
• Lang Zhen mediates between Feng Jun and Tian Yangni, encouraging the elder to accept the Divine Physician’s unexplained decisions.
• The seizure of Tian Leqian creates open conflict within the clan, with Tian Family members protesting Lang Zhen’s actions and Tian Lewen demanding accountability.
• Tian Yangni ultimately delivers the shocking declaration that Tian Leqian is not a true Tian by blood, leaving the family confrontation unresolved.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun reveals that Tian Leqian is not actually a member of the Tian Family by blood, stunning everyone present.
• The revelation is especially damaging because Tian Leqian’s mother was already pregnant when his father died in battle, suggesting she had been unfaithful while married.
• Tian Lewen and other family members question whether Feng Jun’s judgment is certain, since Tian Leqian is a talented and well-regarded young member of the clan.
• Tian Six-Finger points out that Tian Leqian’s father was often away managing business in Xiyin City, indirectly raising doubts about the child’s parentage. Tian Leqian angrily threatens him for insulting his late father.
• Tian Yangni orders the outsiders present to remain in the Tian residence and delays the next round of bloodline examinations while the matter is investigated.
• He respectfully asks Feng Jun how he determined Tian Leqian’s identity. Feng Jun refuses to explain, claiming that Tian Yangni would be unable to understand or replicate his methods.
• Feng Jun also refuses to say whether Tian Leqian is merely of the wrong bloodline or poses an actual threat to the Tian Family.
• Lang Zhen suggests that the answer concerns “heavenly secrets,” allowing Tian Yangni to interpret Feng Jun’s silence as the consequence of divine punishment for revealing too much.
• Feng Jun approves of this explanation because it helps preserve his mysterious image.
• The chapter ends with Feng Jun insisting on eating before continuing the examinations. Tian Yangni agrees, believing that divining heavenly secrets has exhausted him.

2. Character Developments

• Tian Yangni: Initially confident in Feng Jun, he becomes anxious because the accusation could lead to Tian Leqian’s execution and his mother’s forced suicide. He admits that he feels some regret because Leqian is a good child, but ultimately prioritizes the family’s bloodline and reputation. He also becomes increasingly convinced that Feng Jun possesses supernatural divination abilities.
• Tian Leqian: Changes from a respected young clan member into the center of a potential family scandal. He is enraged and frightened by the accusation, especially when Tian Six-Finger questions his father’s fidelity and circumstances.
• Feng Jun: Maintains an aloof, mysterious persona. In reality, he only knows that Tian Leqian’s records do not match his true identity and does not know whether Leqian is dangerous or even aware of his origins. He is more concerned with protecting his reputation and getting food.
• Lang Zhen: Continues acting as Feng Jun’s blunt but useful supporter. His sarcastic remarks provoke Tian Yangni, but his “heavenly secrets” explanation successfully gives Feng Jun a convenient excuse for withholding information.
• Tian Lewen: Acts cautiously, trying to defend family interests while avoiding directly challenging Tian Yangni or worsening the scandal.
• Tian Six-Finger: Uses the situation to make a pointed observation about Tian Leqian’s father, revealing resentment toward the privileged legitimate branches.

3. Significant Themes

• Bloodline and family identity: The chapter explores how biological ancestry determines belonging, inheritance, loyalty, and even the right to live within the Tian Family.
• Family honor and reputation: The alleged adultery is treated as a stain on the entire clan, and execution is considered a means of restoring honor.
• Power and social hierarchy: Legitimate and illegitimate children receive unequal access to resources, while younger members must defer to elders—even when serious accusations are involved.
• Mystery and constructed authority: Feng Jun’s refusal to explain himself strengthens his image as an all-knowing divine physician. The idea of “heavenly secrets” becomes a convenient justification for his secrecy.
• Appearance versus reality: Feng Jun appears to possess profound supernatural knowledge, but his actual information is limited. Likewise, Tian Leqian appears to be a Tian family member, yet his identity may be entirely different.
• Pragmatism versus compassion: Tian Yangni recognizes that Leqian is a good person but still considers killing him because family rules and honor take precedence over personal feelings.

4. Character Interactions

• Tian Lewen cautiously challenges Tian Yangni’s conclusion, showing concern for Tian Leqian’s history and reputation.
• Tian Leqian angrily confronts Tian Six-Finger after the latter implies that his father’s absence made his mother’s infidelity possible.
• Tian Yangni suppresses internal doubts while publicly insisting that the matter must be investigated fairly.
• Feng Jun refuses Tian Yangni’s request for an explanation, while Lang Zhen intervenes with sarcasm and an invented explanation about heavenly secrets.
• Tian Yangni accepts Lang Zhen’s explanation and becomes even more respectful toward Feng Jun.
• The tension between Tian Yangni and Lang Zhen remains comic but sharp: Lang Zhen repeatedly voices uncomfortable truths, while Tian Yangni rebukes him but cannot dismiss his usefulness.
• The chapter closes on a humorous interaction in which Feng Jun’s hunger is interpreted by the Tian Family as evidence of the tremendous spiritual cost of his “divination.”

Chapter Summary: “What Is a Bottleneck?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun asks Lang Zhen to prepare a large amount of food, then offers Tian Yangni the choice of ending the investigation. Tian refuses, seeing the investigation as a valuable opportunity to expose threats within and around the Tian Family.
• The investigation expands to about 1,000 people. Feng Jun identifies twenty-six suspicious individuals, while more than ten others flee before being examined. Their disappearance strongly suggests guilt, raising the likely number of spies to around forty-one or more.
• Lang Zhen criticizes the Tian Family for allowing news of the investigation to spread. The family’s lack of secrecy enabled many spies to realize they were being investigated and escape.
• Interrogations reveal that the area around Feng Jun’s courtyard has been infiltrated by numerous forces. Among them are agents from Dongmu County, whose young magistrate is attempting to weaken powerful local clans. Masterful Hands Pavilion’s actions had triggered the Tian Family’s sudden vigilance.
• The Tian Family sends another hundred martial cultivators and bloodline-testing equipment to strengthen security. Shortly afterward, Tian Leqian, a prominent younger-generation expert, dies after falling into a river while drunk.
• Security around the courtyard is greatly tightened. The Tian Family clears the area within thirty zhang, permits no one to approach without inspection, and eventually registers more than 6,000 people within five li. A buffer zone is established to reduce the burden on Feng Jun and make patrols easier.
• Feng Jun remains in seclusion for three days. When he emerges, he has advanced from Intermediate Martial Master to High-Rank Martial Master.
• Tian Lewen is shocked by Feng Jun’s breakthrough and asks how he overcame the usual cultivation bottleneck. Feng Jun claims he felt no barrier at all and simply advanced through focused cultivation, leaving Tian Lewen stunned and frustrated.
• After emerging, Feng Jun eats a tremendous amount of food, then listens to Lang Zhen’s report. He proposes using equipment to improve security and personally inspecting the surrounding area for additional spies.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Continues to display mysterious abilities and an abnormal cultivation speed. His casual attitude toward major breakthroughs highlights how far he is from ordinary martial cultivators. He also reveals a practical, technological approach to security, intending to use surveillance equipment and alarms.
• Tian Yangni: Shifts from embarrassment and anxiety to a more pragmatic understanding of the situation. He realizes the Tian Family’s opportunity has attracted outside attention and wisely establishes a buffer zone rather than overburdening Feng Jun with another massive investigation.
• Lang Zhen: Remains blunt and sarcastic, but provides clear strategic guidance. He helps Tian Yangni interpret the spy situation and encourages him to focus on carrying out Feng Jun’s instructions rather than worrying about uncontrollable threats.
• Tian Lewen: His pride and confidence are shaken by Feng Jun’s effortless advancement. He becomes respectful and even offers to become Feng Jun’s disciple, revealing his recognition of Feng Jun’s extraordinary potential.
• Tian Leqian: His death removes a dangerous and controversial figure from the Tian Family’s younger generation, though the circumstances surrounding his drunken fall add an ominous element to the family’s internal instability.
• Deng Tianrui/Deng Lao’er: Acts as a guard and observer. Unlike Tian Lewen, he is already accustomed to Feng Jun’s unreasonable rate of advancement and reacts with amusement rather than disbelief.

Significant Themes

• The danger of opportunity: The Tian Family’s unexplained opportunity attracts spies and hostile attention from many factions, showing that valuable chances inevitably invite competition.
• Trust and secrecy: The family’s inability to keep its investigation confidential allows spies to flee, emphasizing how internal gossip can undermine security.
• The limits of conventional knowledge: Ordinary cultivators believe breakthroughs require overcoming bottlenecks, while Feng Jun advances naturally, exposing the limitations of their understanding.
• Practicality versus reverence: Others interpret Feng Jun’s refusal to cut down trees as compassion toward living things, while he mainly keeps them because they help his surveillance system. This contrast highlights the gap between his modern pragmatism and the spiritual assumptions of the local cultivators.
• Power and vulnerability: Even a powerful family can be infiltrated from multiple directions. Strength alone is insufficient without organization, screening, and intelligence.
• Misunderstanding Feng Jun’s identity: His behavior continues to be interpreted as evidence of an immortal’s wisdom and compassion, although his actual motivations are often more practical and rooted in his modern background.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun calmly directs Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni, establishing his authority over the investigation.
• Lang Zhen repeatedly uses sharp remarks to challenge Tian Yangni’s fears, while still offering useful advice and reassurance.
• Tian Yangni and Lang Zhen discuss whether the Tian Family has become the target of widespread hostility, eventually concluding that the family’s opportunity—not its reputation—is attracting spies.
• Feng Jun’s security measures cause formerly arrogant visitors such as Brother Bao and the Yu Family’s Second Young Master to behave cautiously toward the guards.
• Tian Lewen questions Feng Jun about his breakthrough, but Feng Jun’s straightforward answers only deepen the younger man’s confusion and admiration.
• Feng Jun ends the chapter by taking responsibility for the next stage of the investigation, combining the Tian Family’s manpower with his own equipment and abilities.

Chapter Summary: “Surveillance Equipment (Part 2)”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tian Yangni offers to send guards with Feng Jun while he searches for spies, but Feng Jun arrogantly refuses, confident that his new High-Rank Martial Master strength is enough to protect him.
• Lang Zhen assumes Feng Jun has advanced to the Innate Expert realm after his secluded cultivation. Feng Jun realizes that, given his access to the Blue Star Realm, such a rapid breakthrough would seem plausible, though he has actually only reached the High-Rank Martial Master realm.
• Feng Jun explains internally that excessive use of his phone’s dimensional travel and identification abilities drained nearly all his energy points and placed physical strain on his body. He therefore spends three days cultivating and recharging, accidentally breaking through.
• He travels to Blue Star to purchase surveillance cameras, transformers, cables, recording devices, controllers, tools, and other installation supplies. The purchases cost over two hundred thousand and are too large to transport personally, so merchants deliver them to his villa.
• Feng Jun debates whether to recharge in Blue Star or return immediately to the martial world to search for Spirit Stones. Although charging in Blue Star is cheaper and more efficient, his curiosity wins out, and he transports the equipment back through the phone.
• With Lang Zhen’s help, he moves the equipment into a study. Feng Jun avoids explaining its sudden appearance, realizing that maintaining ambiguity about his abilities is safer than revealing too much.
• Feng Jun leaves the courtyard to create the impression that he is merely taking a walk, while also using the opportunity to scan for Spirit Stones and demonstrate that he is not confined to the Tian Family compound.
• A Tian Family Martial Master confronts him, but a High-Rank Martial Warrior quickly apologizes and explains that the family has only increased security around him. Feng Jun accuses them of nearly placing him under house arrest, then continues on his way.
• The new Martial Master privately expresses hatred toward Feng Jun because Feng previously killed his cousin, a member of the Tian Family’s third branch. His companion warns him not to provoke Feng Jun, reminding him that he is not stronger than Luo Wendao.
• Feng Jun overhears them but remains unconcerned. He recognizes that his public walk also helps prevent the Tian Family from becoming too comfortable with keeping him inside.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes increasingly confident and theatrical in presenting himself as an immortal-like figure. His arrogance is partly deliberate, helping deter enemies and preserve the mystery surrounding his powers.
• He also shows a practical side: he understands the limits of his energy points, the risks of excessive dimensional travel, and the importance of keeping his abilities ambiguous.
• Feng Jun’s recent breakthrough to High-Rank Martial Master strengthens his confidence, but his dwindling energy reserves make him more cautious about using the phone.
• Lang Zhen remains fiercely loyal and protective. He worries about Feng Jun leaving alone despite believing in his strength, and he efficiently assists with moving the equipment despite having only one arm.
• Tian Yangni and the Tian Family are increasingly cautious around Feng Jun. They treat him as an extremely important guest, while some family members resent his authority and the death of their relative.

Significant Themes

• Maintaining appearances and mystery: Feng Jun deliberately behaves like an untouchable immortal, using pride and unpredictability to discourage interference.
• Power versus vulnerability: Although Feng Jun is powerful enough to intimidate Martial Masters, his energy points and physical condition remain serious limitations.
• Strategic deception: He carefully avoids explaining how the surveillance equipment arrived, allowing others to invent their own explanations.
• Freedom versus control: Feng Jun’s walk is not merely recreational; it asserts that the Tian Family cannot quietly confine or manage him.
• Curiosity overcoming caution: Despite knowing that he should recharge, Feng Jun’s desire to search for Spirit Stones leads him to take a risk.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun rejects Tian Yangni’s offer of protection and dismisses Lang Zhen’s concerns about his safety.
• Lang Zhen helps transport the surveillance equipment and later warns Feng Jun that multiple factions may attack him.
• Feng Jun confronts the Tian Family guards with hostility, while a more experienced family member smooths over the situation to prevent escalation.
• The resentful Martial Master’s hatred contrasts with the High-Rank Martial Warrior’s cautious respect, highlighting Feng Jun’s intimidating reputation.
• Feng Jun overhears their private criticism but treats it as proof that he remains in control of the situation.