Chapter Summaries

Wang Qi met Chen Youjia, Chen Feng’s other partner, but his resentment toward her father and their opposing mathematical views made the first gathering a failure. Chen Feng hoped the three could support one another, yet Wang Qi left without reconciling with Chen Youjia.

• Wang Qi learned that Chen Youjia was Chen Jingyun’s daughter and immediately felt ill-disposed toward her.
• Chen Feng suggested they eat, and the three shared an elaborate meal before returning to an awkward silence.
• Chen Feng tried to make Wang Qi and Chen Youjia get along, but both admitted they lacked a favorable impression of the other.
• Chen Youjia and Wang Qi argued over mathematical intuition, the well-ordering theorem, and their conflicting approaches to proof.
• Chen Youjia warned Wang Qi that he was in trouble, and the first gathering ended on bad terms.
• Chen Feng told Wang Qi that both his and Chen Youjia’s cultivation theories followed a similar path and that their papers cited each other.

Wang Qi reflected on his mathematical disagreement with Chen Youjia before discovering that beggars in Divine Capital were disguised Foundation Establishment cultivators. He fought back against their ambush but lost his sword when one attacker used Martial Dao Fist Intent to catch him off guard.

• Wang Qi argued with Zhen Chanzi that he and Chen Youjia were divided by opposing mathematical philosophies, though their cultivation and sword arts had similarities.
• Wang Qi reasoned that Chen Youjia’s Foundation Base likely involved number theory and computing artifacts, then wondered why her field belonged to Calculus Lord’s lineage.
• Wang Qi noticed that the beggars in a quiet alley were concealing their auras and called them out as Foundation Establishment experts.
• The disguised cultivators revealed themselves and attacked Wang Qi with the Drifting Cloud Sect’s Frigid River Heaven-Net.
• One attacker’s eyes turned crimson as he unleashed Martial Dao Fist Intent, struck Wang Qi’s hand, and kicked away his sword.

Wang Qi was ambushed by five Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Chen Clan of Piaoyun, who had trapped his Kunshan Sword and mocked him over a fallen Myriad Dharma Sect disciple. He injured their leader and used the blinded man’s uncontrolled attacks to strike down the others.

• Wang Qi evaded the cultivators’ combined attack and learned that the Chen Clan of Piaoyun had arranged the ambush in retaliation for his earlier fight with them.
• The leader mocked Wang Qi and joked about a Myriad Dharma Sect True Disciple who had died after losing his sword, provoking Wang Qi’s fury.
• Wang Qi used the Unpredictable Heavenly Change Formula to slip past the leader’s guard and damage both of his eyes.
• Wang Qi’s scattered aura confused the leader’s spiritual sense, and Wang Qi used the man’s pain and wild attacks to make him strike his own subordinates.
• Wang Qi kicked the leader in the back of the head as the final subordinate collided with the leader’s frenzied fists.

Wang Qi defeated the Chen Lineage’s hidden death warrior and learned why Shenjing’s aristocratic families raised enslaved fighters. An Immortal Alliance Enforcement Officer then detained him for questioning about the brawl.

• Wang Qi used the Tian Shang Jue to collapse the leader’s Protective Astral Qi, then struck him deaf and recovered the sealed longsword.
• Wang Qi broke the aura-blocking restriction with the longsword and left the scene, angry about the attack.
• Zhen Chanzi explained that the attackers were likely unregistered household slaves and death warriors raised by the Chen Lineage.
• Wang Qi resolved to remember Piaoyun and the Chen Lineage, but an Immortal Alliance Enforcement Officer seized him over the brawl in Bai Shui Alley.

Chen Yan arranged for Wang Qi to be punished for injuring her brother, but Wang Qi learned that she and the Chen family were behind his trouble. With Zhen Chanzi’s advice, he began plotting a way to make them suffer without directly defying the Immortal Alliance.

• Chen Yan thanked Qin Xuan for helping target Wang Qi and blamed him for injuring her brother, while Qin Xuan promised that the law would hold him accountable.
• After leaving Qin Xuan, Chen Yan revealed to Lü Qiao that she had only pretended to be grateful and explained why she placated officials with long tenures in Shenjing.
• Zhen Chanzi told Wang Qi that Chen Yan and the Chen family had orchestrated his troubles, and Wang Qi vowed to remember their actions.
• Wang Qi asked Zhen Chanzi how to make the Chen family destroy itself, and Zhen Chanzi advised him to avoid directly challenging the Immortal Alliance’s interests.
• An unseen speaker addressed Wang Qi as Senior Brother Wang and questioned how he could still be smiling.

Wang Qi waited in the Immortal Alliance prison after Qin Xuan had him detained, while he and Zhen Chanzi discussed their lack of a way to contact anyone and Wang Qi turned to reading. His studies were interrupted by Du Bin, an old acquaintance from the immortal academy, who recognized him at the cell door.

• Wang Qi saw Ai Zhenwu and learned that Hou Benli had also been beaten by the Ancient Method Cultivators.
• Wang Qi told Ai Zhenwu that Chen Feng was unlikely to visit for about four days, then advised the injured men to treat their wounds.
• Wang Qi and Zhen Chanzi discussed how to get out of prison, but Wang Qi had no communication signal and decided to wait and read.
• Wang Qi studied Basic Set Theory and reflected on the possibility of advancing mathematics in Divine Land.
• Du Bin came to Wang Qi's cell, and Wang Qi eventually remembered him from their days at the same immortal academy.

Wang Qi learned that Du Bin was willing to help secure his release and suspected the Divine Capital scion wanted to befriend him because he was a Banished Immortal. After Zhen Chanzi suggested using Du Bin to enter the circle of Divine Capital’s scions and undermine the Chen family, Wang Qi agreed to the plan and waited for Du Bin to return.

• Wang Qi encountered Du Bin in prison, where Du Bin explained that he had come to bail out his younger brother and offered to ask Warden Luo to release Wang Qi.
• Du Bin recognized Wang Qi’s victim as the youngest son of the Chen Clan of Piaoyun and praised Wang Qi before leaving to speak with the warden.
• Wang Qi and Zhen Chanzi considered why Du Bin had become friendly, and Wang Qi concluded that the scions valued him as a possible Ancient Method Nascent Soul cultivator because he was a Banished Immortal.
• Zhen Chanzi proposed that Wang Qi cultivate a friendship with Du Bin to gain access to Divine Capital’s scions and exploit the Chen family’s internal conflicts.
• Wang Qi agreed to the plan and waited for Du Bin to return.

Wang Qi confronted Qin Xuan in the Penal Law Division and used his entropy-increasing spiritual power to overpower him through the cell bars. After Fu Silu revealed that Wang Qi was a True Disciple of the Myriad Dharma Sect, Wang Qi refused to leave the cell and chose to wait for his friend.

• Qin Xuan taunted Wang Qi and boasted that his Foundation Establishment cultivation gave him the advantage over an unarmed Qi Refining cultivator.
• Wang Qi seized Qin Xuan through the cell bars with a palm strengthened by Tian Shang Jue, overwhelming Qin Xuan's spiritual power.
• Ai Zhenwu urged Wang Qi to release Qin Xuan, but Wang Qi began dragging him against the bars until Fu Silu intervened.
• Fu Silu identified Wang Qi as a True Disciple of the Myriad Dharma Sect, shocking Qin Xuan.
• Wang Qi refused Fu Silu's offer to leave the cell, saying he did not trust the Divine Capital's Enforcement Officers and would wait for his friend.

Chen Youjia discussed Wang Qi’s impending trouble with Chen Feng, while Fu Silu handled the aftermath of Wang Qi’s fight with Qin Xuan. The chapter left Qin Xuan unconscious after Fu Silu silenced him, with Chen Feng arguing that the Chen family servants should face punishment.

• Chen Youjia shared a late-night tofu pudding meal with Chen Feng and explained that Wang Qi would face opposition from Myriad Dharma Sect disciples once his paper appeared.
• Chen Feng received a message confirming that Wang Qi was in trouble and asked Chen Youjia whether she wanted to switch to Bai Ze Calculation.
• Fu Silu considered Wang Qi’s influence and concluded that a severe punishment would likely be overturned.
• Qin Xuan accused Wang Qi and Chen Feng of defying Immortal Alliance law and demanded harsh punishment.
• Chen Feng argued that mediation would suffice for Wang Qi, while the Chen family servants who attacked him should be punished.
• Fu Silu sealed Qin Xuan’s mouth with spiritual power, and Qin Xuan fainted.

After leaving confinement, Wang Qi and Chen Feng met Du Bin, who explained that Shenjing’s old-method descendants served as a public pledge of the Immortal Alliance’s trustworthiness. Wang Qi reconsidered the Alliance’s scale and purpose, while Chen Feng warned him not to cause trouble during the next few days.

• Du Bin warmly greeted Wang Qi and Chen Feng at the gate, and Wang Qi thanked him for helping secure his release.
• Wang Qi complained about the Piaoyun Chen Family breaking Immortal Alliance Laws, prompting Du Bin to explain the story of the cauldron placed at the palace gates.
• Du Bin said Shenjing’s noble scions served as the Immortal Alliance’s pledge of credibility, but warned that the Alliance could purge them if their harm outweighed their value.
• Chen Feng praised Du Bin’s understanding, while Wang Qi privately wondered whether Du Bin’s friendly approach concealed ulterior motives.
• Wang Qi viewed Shenjing as a cauldron for the Immortal Alliance and reflected that its stable rule supported prosperity and research.
• Chen Feng told Wang Qi not to cause trouble in the coming days and instructed him to come to work honestly.

Chen Feng lectured Wang Qi on the foundations of soul theory and cultivation, but Wang Qi interrupted repeatedly and demanded to know what work he was being hired to do. Chen Feng said he studied the human heart and planned to have Wang Qi begin work after a test.

• Chen Feng explained how spiritual energy formed souls and how humans cultivated by using special methods of thought to activate their souls.
• Wang Qi interrupted Chen Feng’s lesson, complained that he had already learned the basics, and argued with him about his mathematical research.
• Wang Qi objected to being taught at a child-sized desk in a classroom visible to passersby, then broke the desk when he slapped it.
• Wang Qi asked Chen Feng what work he was expected to do, and Chen Feng said he studied the human heart.

Chen Feng explained his research into the formation of the human heart and how morality, instinct, and Human Dao interact. He assigned Wang Qi to help develop After Tomorrow's Will, an artificial intelligence project that would support Chen Feng's studies and cultivation.

• Wang Qi challenged Chen Feng to specify his research subject, and Chen Feng described his study of how the human heart forms through the interaction of Primordial Beginning, morality, and Numinous Treasure.
• Chen Feng explained that human morality arose from Human Dao and human sociality, which he called pseudo-sociality because it was not hereditary like the social behavior of ants and bees.
• Chen Feng kept the ultimate goal of his Human Dao research confidential but explained that his studies of nerves and souls would support his cultivation, while his research into the human heart would strengthen his Illusion Technique spells.
• Chen Feng revealed that he planned to build After Tomorrow's Will, an artificial intelligence that would help him study the spirit and incorporate research on the human heart.
• Wang Qi realized he would handle computational devices and logic for After Tomorrow's Will, while Yujia would build Human Dao computation models, and Chen Feng added that Wang Qi would also process data.

Wang Qi argued that theoretical mathematics deserved respect even when its practical applications came generations later, but his examples struck a painful nerve with Chen Youjia. Chen Feng revealed that she aspired to applied mathematics like Feng Luoyi, leaving Wang Qi to wonder whether he had unsettled her resolve to oppose her father.

• Chen Feng assigned Wang Qi to work with Chen Youjia on research into the Human Dao, and the two immediately argued over their approaches to mathematics.
• Chen Youjia defended applied mathematics while Wang Qi argued that apparently useless theories could later become essential, citing mathematicians whose work had been recognized long after their deaths.
• After Wang Qi spoke of the lonely, sad names in mathematics, Chen Youjia turned pale, began to cry, and left the study.
• Chen Feng told Wang Qi that Chen Youjia dreamed of becoming an applied mathematician like Feng Luoyi and had praised Wang Qi for arguing with Chen the Sect Leader.
• Wang Qi realized that his speech might have shaken Chen Youjia's resolve to fight her father.

Chen Feng persuaded Chen Youjia to return to the meeting, where Wang Qi and Chen Youjia set aside their conflict and discussed Chen Feng’s ambitions for researching Human Dao and humanity’s evolution. The two resumed work on better terms, and Chen Youjia asked Wang Qi to write out the story he had mentioned.

• Chen Feng brought Chen Youjia back, and she asked Wang Qi whether Chen Feng had made him feel wronged.
• Wang Qi told Chen Youjia he had made up the story and claimed he had written it for her, while Chen Feng secretly praised his effort.
• Chen Feng explained that researching Human Dao could illuminate humanity’s evolution and described evolution as the elimination of the unfit.
• Chen Feng left to follow up on empirical evidence, and Wang Qi and Chen Youjia resumed processing data without arguing.
• Chen Youjia asked Wang Qi to write out the complete version of his story.

Chen Feng oversaw the apprentices’ brain-and-soul experiments, then found Wang Qi and Chen Youjia debating how to model their research data. After they agreed that Wang Qi needed more practical instruction, Chen Feng gave him a soul-forging method and scheduled experiments and lessons.

• Chen Feng demonstrated how to prepare mouse brains and souls for analysis, then assigned the apprentices to process large batches of mice.
• Chen Feng discovered that the laboratory was nearly out of stain and went to the study to send Wang Qi on an errand.
• Chen Feng found Wang Qi and Chen Youjia discussing a twenty-eight-variable model and criticizing Chen Feng’s ability to visualize higher-dimensional figures.
• Wang Qi and Chen Youjia agreed that Wang Qi needed more practical guidance, and Chen Feng sent him to buy stain.
• When Wang Qi returned, Chen Feng gave him a soul-forging method and assigned him practice, afternoon experiments, and evening lessons.

Wang Qi learned the soul-forging method Qu Jian Ji quickly and discussed its theory with Chen Feng. He understood that his past experience rebuilding his thoughts had prepared him for it, but kept that secret before heading to the empirical department for practical verification.

• Wang Qi practiced Qu Jian Ji for three days and found that it strengthened his soul, though his first attempt at entering the method's state failed.
• Chen Feng explained that Qu Jian Ji emptied the mind's Descartes Theater and let the soul think without the brain's usual functions.
• Wang Qi questioned how he had come to Shenzhou, since its theories suggested souls could not preserve memories, then set the speculation aside.
• Wang Qi realized that rebuilding his logic after the entropy-increasing fiend disrupted his memories had helped him master Qu Jian Ji quickly.
• Wang Qi concealed that experience from Chen Feng, who ordered him to perform practical verification at the empirical department before processing data with Chen Youjia.

Wang Qi practiced observing souls with holy light and impressed Chen Feng with how quickly he learned and grew stronger. After finishing his experiment, he brought Chen Youjia more pages of The Saddest Man, but her reaction gave him no clue why the story mattered to her.

• Wang Qi used holy light to keep a soul stable while studying its structure, but the soul collapsed after a quarter of an hour.
• Wang Qi hesitated to continue practicing on Chen Feng's expensive white mice until Chen Feng arrived and said his understanding was already sufficient for an assistant.
• Chen Feng recognized that Wang Qi had mastered An Introduction to Souls unusually quickly and that his soul power had grown at an alarming rate.
• Wang Qi happily headed to the study, unaware that Chen Feng had been giving him ordinary mice while claiming they were costly specimens.
• Wang Qi gave Chen Youjia another stack of pages from The Saddest Man, and she put them away without showing the reaction he had hoped to see.

Chen Jingyun discussed his missing daughter and the Lord of Mathematics’ imminent return with Deng Jiaxuan, who urged him to apologize to Wang Qi. Pang Jialai then returned from the Immortal Path, asked to meet Mister Xi, and gave Chen Jingyun a paper for Mister Xi and Wang Qi to read.

• Chen Jingyun told Deng Jiaxuan that Chen Youjia had not come home and explained their strained relationship.
• Chen Jingyun revealed that the Lord of Mathematics was about to return, and he and Deng Jiaxuan discussed the risks of crossing the Immortal Path.
• Deng Jiaxuan advised Chen Jingyun to apologize to Wang Qi and recall him from Divine Capital, but Chen Jingyun said Teacher Feng was overseeing Wang Qi’s trial.
• Pang Jialai pulled Chen Jingyun from the Myriad Immortal Illusion Realm and asked him to arrange matters and set up a meeting with Mister Xi.
• Pang Jialai gave Chen Jingyun a paper he had written during the crossing and instructed him to ensure Mister Xi and Wang Qi saw it, then entered meditation.

Wang Qi and Chen Youjia sparred, showing how quickly Wang Qi’s mathematical approach was advancing his swordsmanship. Their exchange was interrupted when Huangfu Lian brought Wang Qi a paper by Pang Jialai that left him stunned.

• Li Zhengguo watched Wang Qi and Chen Youjia’s dangerous sword exchange until Chen Feng explained how Myriad Dharma Sect disciples estimated their opponents’ abilities.
• Wang Qi and Chen Youjia ended their sparring match and discussed how it felt, while Chen Feng was pleased to see them progressing.
• Huangfu Lian rushed in and handed Wang Qi Pang Jialai’s paper, On New Advances in the Foundations of Mathematics.
• Wang Qi froze after reading the paper’s title.

Wang Qi read Master of Calculation Pang Jialai’s attack on his Law of Completeness, which dismissed his proof as a clever but worthless logical trick. Rather than feel intimidated, Wang Qi took leave to prepare for a clash with the Master of Calculation.

• Huangfu Lian told Wang Qi that Pang Jialai’s new paper had been published alongside papers on the School of Separation’s long-running disputes.
• Wang Qi read Pang Jialai’s argument that mathematical intuition, not logic, created mathematics, and that infinity and other concepts beyond finite definition should be rejected.
• Wang Qi called Pang Jialai’s criticism a declaration of war, while Chen Youjia and the onlookers noticed his trembling fingers.
• Chen Feng realized Wang Qi felt fighting spirit rather than fear, and Wang Qi quoted, “We must know. We shall know.”
• Wang Qi asked Chen Feng for a few days off and left to pack at the Myriad Dharma Sect’s residence, brushing off Mo Zhenzhen’s papers as utter nonsense.