Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• After Jin Lou’s attack, Li Yuan confronts Principal Yin, jokingly asking whether he has been arranging events to target Lingshan No.1 High School. His warning that he will investigate the incident frightens Yin.
• Principal Yin reflects on his past favoritism toward his nephew Yin Yi and the connected teacher Jin Fan, while sidelining Li Yuan and others. The school’s improved competition results under Li Yuan’s leadership make Yin question his old judgments.
• The school group attends the rest of the Teaching Lecture. In their private discussion afterward, teachers reject the idea that student interest alone can sustain Martial Dao training: beginners may improve quickly, but many will quit when progress plateaus. They affirm a practical approach aligned with Li Yuan’s methods.
• Li Yuan and Chen Yong review video footage of the attack. It captured enough of Jin Lou’s face to support the claim that he was the masked assailant, though the Jin Family may try to dispute or suppress the evidence.
• Li Yuan’s father-in-law, Xia Cheng, calls and says he is coming to Lingshan City with a Physician to examine him, despite Li Yuan insisting he is unharmed.

Character developments

• Li Yuan demonstrates confidence and political awareness. He uses humor to challenge Principal Yin while making clear that the attack will be investigated and that powerful allies can help ensure it is not buried.
• Principal Yin begins to recognize the damage caused by his favoritism and the weakness of his past decisions. His fear of Li Yuan signals how much the balance of influence at the school has shifted.
• Xia Cheng shows strong personal concern for Li Yuan, prioritizing an in-person visit and a medical examination over Li Yuan’s assurances.

Significant themes

• Accountability and consequences: Li Yuan intends to identify everyone involved in the attack, while the Jin Family’s influence may complicate the pursuit of justice.
• Merit versus favoritism: The school’s better results under Li Yuan contrast with its poor performance when opportunities went to favored, well-connected people.
• Practical teaching and perseverance: Interest can motivate beginners, but sustained progress requires more than novelty—especially when students encounter a plateau.
• Family care: Xia Cheng’s insistence on having Li Yuan examined underscores his concern and the growing closeness between them.

Character interactions

• Li Yuan confronts Principal Yin in front of others, combining teasing language with a serious warning; Yin responds nervously and defensively.
• Lingshan No.1 High School’s teachers openly exchange views and broadly support Li Yuan’s practical teaching philosophy.
• Li Yuan and Chen Yong examine the attack footage together, confirming that they have evidence against Jin Lou.
• Xia Cheng checks on Li Yuan by phone and overrides his claim that he is fine by bringing a Physician to assess him.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yuan returns to Lingshan City after surviving an attack by Jin Lou, a powerful Ninth-Rank Martial Artist. Xia Cheng and Xia Ping arrive with four Physicians and have him examined; he is unharmed.
• Xia Cheng and Xia Ping scold Li Yuan for putting himself in danger. Li Yuan admits he deliberately used himself as bait, reasoning that confronting Jin Lou now was better than letting him escape and prepare a more careful attack later.
• Li Yuan explains the precautions he took, including counter-surveillance and his confidence in using the Space Breaking Technique. His video footage may help implicate Jin Lou, though the Jin Family could muddy public opinion. Xia Cheng says the Xia Family’s public-relations team will handle the response and expects Jin Lou to go into hiding.
• Li Yuan says he must become stronger before Jin Lou tries again. Xia Ping then introduces Luoshan Island, a notorious lawless place where people may be more dangerous than the Wilderness’s Fierce Beasts.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan shows himself to be calculated as well as daring: he took a serious risk, but had prepared for the possibility of an attack and believes in confronting threats rather than waiting helplessly.
• Xia Cheng’s fear and anger give way to respect for Li Yuan’s resolve. Xia Ping, usually protective of his grandson, agrees with the criticism at first but also comes to admire Li Yuan.
• The Physicians confirm Li Yuan has no injuries, easing the elders’ immediate concern.
• Xia Cheng offers practical support by mobilizing the Xia Family’s PR firm, while Xia Ping points Li Yuan toward Luoshan Island as a possible next step.

Significant themes

• Strength as protection: For Martial Artists, safety comes from becoming powerful enough to face danger, not simply avoiding it.
• Taking initiative and accepting risk: Li Yuan believes passivity would leave him perpetually vulnerable, though his gamble alarms those who care about him.
• Truth versus public perception: Evidence alone may not settle the dispute; media tactics can blur the line between truth and lies.
• Human danger: Luoshan Island is presented as a place where people can be more frightening than monsters.

Key plot points and events

• Xia Cheng recommends that Li Yuan travel to Luoshan Island, a lawless former island kingdom where dangerous conditions make it a place to test and strengthen oneself.
• Xia Ping tells Li Yuan a rumor that a cold pool on the island may once have been infused with Life Tempering Fluid, which can aid cultivation. Xia Cheng cautions that the substance is almost certainly long gone and urges Li Yuan to focus on training rather than chasing rumors.
• Xia Cheng gives Li Yuan a payment card usable internationally, including on Luoshan Island.
• Li Yuan asks about Xia Zhao’s silence. Xia Cheng says she is on a long-term classified mission and is capable, though Li Yuan privately recalls that she has faced mortal danger before.
• Li Yuan decides to go to Luoshan Island because his progress at seventh rank has slowed. After arranging matters at school, he expects to leave in about a week.
• On Monday, Principal Yin takes extended leave, likely hoping to avoid his responsibilities. Director Zeng approves it and would prefer Li Yuan to take over as principal.
• Director Zeng only learns during the school day that Li Yuan and others faced danger at a teaching lecture over the weekend.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan recognizes that his unusually strong physique, developed through Heavenly Refining Body, has made further advancement difficult. He is willing to seek danger and new insight to progress.
• Xia Cheng offers practical advice and material support, while expressing confidence in Xia Zhao’s abilities.
• Xia Ping is optimistic about Li Yuan’s luck and encourages him to watch for the rumored opportunity, despite Xia Cheng’s skepticism.
• The Xia elders intend to greet Li Yuan’s parents before leaving, showing respect for their family relationship.
• Director Zeng increasingly trusts Li Yuan and sees him as a strong candidate to lead Lingshan No.1 High School.

Significant themes

• Growth through hardship: Li Yuan believes advancing in martial cultivation requires leaving familiar surroundings and confronting danger.
• Practicality versus fortune: Xia Cheng favors realistic training goals, while Xia Ping leaves room for luck and destiny.
• Power and disorder: Luoshan Island’s history shows how outside martial forces can destabilize a nation until strength replaces law.
• Responsibility and incomplete knowledge: Xia Cheng’s confidence in Xia Zhao contrasts with Li Yuan’s firsthand awareness of the dangers she has faced.

Plot points and events

• Video of Jin Lou’s sneak attack on Li Yuan spreads online. Mass takedowns only fuel speculation and public anger, especially because Jin Lou is a ninth-rank martial artist.
• Li Yuan suspects the Xia Family’s public-relations team is deliberately amplifying the controversy, countering the Jin Family’s strategy of waiting for attention to fade before minimizing the facts.
• Li Yuan’s colleagues and Director Zeng worry about his safety. Over lunch, Zeng recognizes that Li Yuan had anticipated danger by asking Elder Ren to return.
• Li Yuan tells Zeng he needs time to strengthen his Martial Dao and may take more leave. Zeng agrees to oversee the school.
• At a Jin Family meeting, the elders report that the family’s younger martial artists are facing exclusion, especially from the Xia Family and its allies. They have ordered family members training at the border to return.
• The elders criticize Jin Lou for bringing trouble upon the clan, but his status as one of the family’s two ninth-grade martial artists makes serious punishment unlikely.
• Instead, the elders blame Jin Fan as the source of the conflict. They sentence him to three years of confinement and cut off all related clan resources.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan remains cautious and focused on improving his strength, while balancing his responsibilities at school.
• Director Zeng shows genuine concern for Li Yuan and supports his decision to prioritize training.
• Jin Lou accepts responsibility in public, though he knows the clan is unlikely to punish him meaningfully.
• Jin Fan loses the last of his support within the family. The resource ban devastates him, striking at the hope he has continued to cling to.
• The Jin elders’ anger reflects a conflict between accountability and self-preservation: they condemn Jin Lou’s recklessness but protect him because the clan depends on his strength.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Public anger grows because people expect powerful martial artists to obey the rules.
• Family interests versus individual justice: The Jin Family shields a valuable fighter while sacrificing the more vulnerable Jin Fan.
• Public opinion as a weapon: Both families use media strategy to shape the fallout, but attempts to suppress information intensify scrutiny.
• Hope and despair: Jin Fan’s punishment threatens to extinguish the hope he has been holding onto.

Plot points and events

• At a Jin Family meeting, the elders cut off Jin Fan’s resources, arguing that the family had already spent heavily on him and that his injury and conflict with the Xia Family had become a burden.
• Jin Fan’s cousins back the decision, comparing their meager support with his privileged upbringing and accusing him of endangering the family. He returns to his courtyard devastated.
• Jin Lou promises to deal with Li Yuan, but revenge no longer comforts Jin Fan. He now resents his cousins and the Jin elders more than Li Yuan.
• Li Yuan sets out for Luoshan Island, a lawless island populated by criminals, martial artists, and people seeking experience, information, or contraband. He learns that reaching the island is straightforward, but returning is difficult, and stocks up before boarding a boat.
• On the boat, Li Yuan observes that passengers—including children—act threatening and guarded because nobody feels safe. After the eight-hour crossing begins, a child about ten approaches and sits beside him.

Character developments and interactions

• Jin Fan shifts from anger at Li Yuan toward bitterness at his own family, whose support proves conditional.
• Jin Lou remains determined to avenge Jin Fan and sees Li Yuan as a future threat, though his reassurance cannot reach his nephew.
• Jin Yu and other cousins side with the elders, using family loyalty and Jin Lou and Ding Xiaoyue’s sacrifices to pressure Jin Fan.
• Li Yuan is confident in his strength after measuring himself against Jin Lou; he believes few on Luoshan Island could seriously threaten him. His calm presence contrasts with the boat passengers’ suspicion and hostility.

Significant themes

• Conditional family loyalty and resentment: Jin Fan’s privileged status turns into isolation when he becomes a liability.
• Power, resources, and obligation: The family treats past investment in Jin Fan as a debt he has failed to repay.
• Fear and self-protection: On Luoshan Island’s route, people use menace as a substitute for security.
• Escalating revenge: Jin Lou remains committed to retaliation even as Jin Fan’s priorities change.

Key plot points and events

• During the boat ride to Luoshan Island, a boy tries to steal Li Yuan’s travel bag and threatens him with a weapon capable of injuring martial artists. Li Yuan throws him into the sea, establishing that he will not be an easy target.
• Li Yuan observes that most of the passengers look alert but lack the trained posture and practical fighting ability of experienced martial artists.
• After eight hours, he reaches Luoshan Island. The dock and streets are unexpectedly clean, with workers maintaining them, though most people remain visibly wary.
• Old Qin approaches, saying Xia Cheng asked him to look after Li Yuan. He has arranged lodging, for which Li Yuan must pay the usual rate.
• Old Qin warns Li Yuan to prepare his own food and explains why Luoshan Island’s disorder persists: powerful countries tolerate it as a cautionary example of life without laws. He predicts that, after a relatively stable year, unrest will soon return.
• Li Yuan asks about the calm-looking workers in red vests. Old Qin explains that they have lost their martial foundations and are generally ignored because they pose no threat.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan remains watchful and composed. He responds decisively to the attempted theft, assesses the people around him, and approaches the island’s dangers with practical curiosity rather than fear.
• Old Qin presents himself as a rough, roguish guide but proves knowledgeable and willing to share hard-earned advice. His connection to Xia Cheng helps Li Yuan accept his assistance.
• The boy tests Li Yuan with theft and a blade, but is quickly overpowered and thrown into the sea.
• Li Yuan and Old Qin establish a cautious but cooperative relationship: Old Qin offers guidance and lodging, while Li Yuan listens and asks questions.

Significant themes

• Vigilance and survival: In an insecure place, people must judge threats carefully; appearances and displays of alertness do not necessarily indicate real competence.
• Order and law: Even a chaotic society develops its own systems, while the chapter argues that rules protect the powerful as well as the weak.
• Power and vulnerability: Martial ability can make someone dangerous, but without stable institutions even strong people live anxiously. Those stripped of power may survive by being overlooked.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yuan learns that Luoshan Island’s red-vested sanitation workers are powerless outcasts who have surrendered self-defense because they can no longer protect themselves.
• He asks Old Qin about the island’s power structure. Five years earlier, Sheng Wang unified the island, but his rule has since divided into three competing factions: those led by his daughters Minte and Anan, and his general Nalong.
• Everyone on the island belongs to one of these factions; any group trying to establish a fourth would likely prompt the others to unite against it.
• The factions’ main prize is Snow Iron Ore, a rare and highly valuable material needed to strengthen martial-artist weapons. Its profits explain why the island’s impoverished inhabitants continue fighting.
• Li Yuan asks which faction Xia Kingdom supports. Old Qin says the kingdom is not backing anyone: it will negotiate only with whoever wins.
• Over food, Li Yuan asks about the rumored Life Tempering Fluid. Old Qin insists it is a fabricated lure, pointing out that searches—including in Sheng Wang’s dangerous back garden—have produced nothing. He warns Li Yuan not to chase the rumor.
• Old Qin leaves after sharing the meal, reminding Li Yuan to stay alert in the dangerous environment.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan shows political insight and pragmatism, asking direct questions about power, resources, and his own freedom to choose sides. He accepts that he can wait before aligning with a faction, and does not reveal whether he believes the Life Tempering Fluid exists.
• Old Qin acts as an experienced guide, explaining the island’s factions and economy while cautioning Li Yuan against naïve assumptions and dangerous pursuits. He is candid about his own skepticism and appreciates Li Yuan’s clear-headedness.
• Their conversation is practical but increasingly frank; sharing scarce, appealing food adds a small note of camaraderie.

Significant themes

• Power and survival: On the island, even the most vulnerable must choose a faction, while the powerless may surrender self-defense simply to survive.
• Resource-driven conflict: Scarcity alone does not explain prolonged turmoil; valuable Snow Iron Ore and the wealth it brings keep the factions fighting.
• Strategic restraint: A powerful nation can afford to wait for a clear winner rather than gamble on a side early.
• Rumor and temptation: The Life Tempering Fluid illustrates how enticing stories can draw people into danger, even when there is little evidence they are true.

Plot points and events

• On Luoshan Island, Li Yuan stays alert at night, setting warning traps and sleeping dressed with his blade nearby. The island’s residents largely avoid one another.
• On the third night, fighting erupts near his house. A group of armed men, having already killed three people, intends to kill Li Yuan and use his body to disguise another person’s death.
• Li Yuan refuses to be an easy victim. When the group’s leader attacks, Li Yuan severs his arm and kills him, then swiftly defeats the other assassins with the Wind River Art and his blade.
• One intended hostage survives. After letting the man’s fear build in silence, Li Yuan asks which of the island’s three factions he belongs to. The chapter ends before the man answers.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan shows disciplined caution, then reveals overwhelming combat skill and composure. He uses silence deliberately to pressure the survivor before questioning him.
• The assassins’ leader is forceful and pragmatic, impatient with delay; his confidence collapses when Li Yuan turns the attack around.
• The ritual-minded assassin insists on his own “ceremony,” promising to burn three incense sticks for Li Yuan. His companion mocks him, and the leader pushes him aside. Li Yuan later returns the promise after killing him.
• The survivor shifts from a captive in danger to a grateful witness, but hesitates when Li Yuan asks about his faction.

Significant themes

• Vigilance and survival: Life on the island demands constant alertness; Li Yuan’s preparations help him respond before danger overwhelms him.
• Violence and dehumanization: The attackers treat people as interchangeable bodies to conceal their crimes.
• Power and false confidence: The assassins assume Li Yuan is an easy target, while their internal quarrels expose weaknesses that his skill exploits.
• Fear as leverage: Li Yuan uses silence and the survivor’s uncertainty to gain information.

Key plot points and events

• After rescuing Nate from an attack, Li Yuan questions him about his identity and the attackers. Nate says he is a geological expert employed by Miss Anan and believes the mercenaries were likely hired by one of her rivals, Minte or Nalong.
• Nate offers to bring Li Yuan to Anan, promising influence, rewards, and possible opportunities. Li Yuan agrees to let him stay the night, then accompany him to her base the next morning.
• The two conceal the bodies and blood, rest, and leave for Anan’s commercial district. On the way, Nate says Anan controls a valuable deep pool that may aid Martial Arts cultivation, though he cannot explain how he knows this.
• They arrive at Anan’s busy, guarded street, where force is forbidden. Nate leads Li Yuan to a teahouse and then to an upper-floor lounge. Anan’s middle-aged representative arrives with guards, visibly relieved that Nate has returned safely.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan remains cautious and pragmatic. He questions Nate’s claims rather than immediately trusting him, and considers what practical benefit Anan’s faction might offer. His willingness to escort Nate suggests a tentative openness to meeting her.
• Nate is frightened at first and carefully tries to judge Li Yuan’s allegiance. Once he realizes Li Yuan does not intend to kill him, he becomes more relaxed and helpful, while maintaining respect. His value to Anan comes from his financial and commercial role, not Martial Arts strength.
• Their relationship shifts from captor-and-survivor to wary cooperation: Li Yuan protects Nate, while Nate provides information and guides him to Anan.

Significant themes

• Survival and self-interest: Nate’s choices are driven by fear and the need to preserve his life; Li Yuan weighs alliances by what they can offer.
• Power and order: Anan’s commercial district is kept safe through armed enforcement, highlighting how authority—not shared civic trust—maintains order on Luoshan Island.
• Trust under uncertainty: Li Yuan tests Nate’s information, while Nate watches for signs of Li Yuan’s allegiance.
• Scarcity and competition: Nate explains that poor prospects and fierce competition outside the island made Anan’s generous pay worth the risk.

Key plot points and events

• Nate reunites with Anan, the approachable leader of the Star-Moon Street faction, and credits Li Yuan with saving him from assassins.
• Anan welcomes Li Yuan and shows him around the district, whose thirty-three shops generate substantial daily revenue despite Luoshan Island’s limited trade and high living costs.
• After learning Li Yuan is a Seventh-Rank martial artist, Anan offers him a place in her faction and access to Luoshan Island’s Cultivation Deep Pool. She explains that repeated visits can help martial artists break through stalled realms, but candidly warns that rumors of hidden treasures there have never been verified.
• Trusting her frankness, Li Yuan accepts. Anan arranges for him to cultivate in the pool and assigns him the temporary duty of protecting Nate, leaving him time for his own training.
• Nate takes Li Yuan to a local health club. They discuss the island’s strongest fighters: the most powerful are reportedly in the middle stage of the Eighth Rank. Nate says Ninth-Rank martial artists have little reason to hide on the island, since it is too small and cannot protect them from their enemies.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan remains guarded, revealing little about himself. He weighs Anan’s offer by asking about its benefits and the rumored treasures, then accepts once she proves straightforward.
• Anan presents herself as warm and respectful, but also as a practical leader seeking capable allies. Her willingness to correct exaggerated claims helps build Li Yuan’s confidence in her.
• Nate shows gratitude and loyalty by publicly praising Li Yuan’s rescue, then shares what he knows about the island and accompanies him during his downtime.

Significant themes

• Trust and honesty: In a place marked by deception, Anan’s candidness is a valuable way to establish trust.
• Pragmatism over rumor: The deep pool’s real cultivation benefits matter more than unsubstantiated claims of treasure.
• Mutual obligation: Anan offers resources and opportunity in exchange for Li Yuan’s service, while Li Yuan accepts a modest protective duty in return.
• Isolation and vulnerability: Luoshan Island’s small scale and limited protection make it an imperfect refuge, especially for powerful people fleeing enemies.

Plot points and events

• Li Yuan learns that Luoshan Island’s factions are short on capable fighters: the island’s strongest martial artist is at the middle stage of the Eighth Rank, while Anan, Minte, and Nalong each have an Eighth-Rank guardian.
• The next morning, Anan keeps her promise and sends a maid to escort Li Yuan to the deep pool, a heavily guarded cultivation site where he is allowed thirty hours.
• Li Yuan enters the frigid pool and finds he can swim through it—something even Grandmasters have reportedly been unable to do. His unusually resilient physique, shaped by Heavenly Refining Body and Life Essence Fluid, lets him endure the cold.
• He notices the water seems to well up from below and recalls unfamiliar inscriptions on the pool wall. Using his memory and insight talents, he understands instructions for removing a hidden restriction.
• Li Yuan follows the sequence, opens a concealed passage beneath the pool, and descends into even colder water. At the bottom, he discovers a small puddle of liquid that remains separate from the surrounding water.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan shows consideration and independence: he declines the maid’s help changing and tells her to rest, while also approaching the possible discovery cautiously rather than assuming it is valuable.
• His exceptional physical conditioning and intellectual talents are emphasized as he withstands the pool’s cold, recalls the inscriptions, and operates the hidden mechanism.
• Anan’s reliability is established through her follow-through on her promise. The maid serves as Li Yuan’s guide and contact during his visit.

Significant themes

• Cultivation through pressure: Effective training pushes the body to its limits without exceeding what it can endure, allowing it to adapt and grow stronger.
• Preparedness and capability: Li Yuan’s unusual training and talents enable him to accomplish what even powerful martial artists could not.
• Curiosity tempered by caution: He investigates the pool’s mystery while keeping his expectations modest.
• Scarcity and protection: The island’s shortage of strong fighters highlights the difficult balance between guarding territory and protecting valuable specialists.

Key plot points and events

• After thirty hours in the frigid deep pool, Li Yuan collects just over 100 milliliters of an unusual liquid from its bottom.
• He suspects it may be the legendary Life Tempering Fluid, but discovers it does not mix with water, unlike the ancient texts’ instructions for dilution.
• Unwilling to risk taking an unknown dose himself, he tests tiny amounts on rabbits and sheep. After half an hour, none show any ill effects, so he concludes the liquid is not acutely poisonous.
• He then swallows a single drop and meditates to monitor its effects. The liquid produces a pleasant, refreshing sensation and makes him feel clearer and stronger.
• Li Yuan becomes convinced he has found Life Tempering Fluid: a rare substance that nourishes and enhances a Martial Artist’s physique and strength. Its scarcity and inability to be diluted remain concerns.

Character development

• Li Yuan acts cautiously and methodically, refusing to gamble with his health before testing the liquid.
• Once reassured, he is willing to experiment on himself and is thrilled by the discovery.
• He reflects that Martial Artists must avoid overtaxing their bodies, showing a practical approach to cultivation.

Character interactions

• A maid tells Li Yuan that most people cannot endure thirty hours in the pool’s extreme cold; he came out later than usual.
• Li Yuan arranges for animals to be brought in and uses them for preliminary safety tests. The attendant who delivers them asks no questions.

Significant themes

• Caution and experimentation: Li Yuan balances the potential value of the liquid against the danger of an unknown substance.
• Rarity and discovery: A legendary substance long known only through records may truly exist, making his journey worthwhile.
• Cultivation and physical limits: Strength gains matter, but pushing the body too far can cause lasting harm.

Key plot points

• Li Yuan tests the Life Tempering Fluid in larger doses. Ten milliliters dramatically improves his strength, bringing him to Great Perfection Seventh-Rank Martial Dao. He believes the remaining supply could eventually help him reach Eighth-Rank, though he plans to consolidate before pushing further.
• Li Yuan begins an assignment protecting Nate, a geological expert surveying northern Luoshan Island for new Snow Iron Ore deposits. He deliberately avoids interrupting Nate’s work.
• Nate faces three assassination attempts in five days, all stopped by Li Yuan. Li Yuan estimates he can now hold his own against a Ninth-Rank opponent and defeat most Eighth-Rank fighters.
• On the tenth day, Nate locates a promising new deposit about three kilometers from the old mine.
• Nate then reports that rival faction leaders Minte and Nalong have suffered life-threatening injuries. Their possible deaths threaten to plunge the island into chaos and could make Anan a target of suspicion and retaliation.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan grows rapidly stronger through the fluid, but remains measured: he intends to adapt to his new power rather than rush ahead. Though eager to return to Xia Kingdom, he stays on Luoshan Island because he feels he owes Anan for her help.
• Nate becomes increasingly confident in Li Yuan after seeing him foil repeated attacks. Their growing trust helps them work smoothly together.
• Anan demonstrates how much she values Nate’s survey by assigning one of the island’s few Seventh-Rank fighters to protect him. The discovery of a new mine could greatly benefit her faction, but the news about Minte and Nalong may soon draw her attention elsewhere.

Significant themes

• Power and physical limits: Li Yuan’s unusually strong physique normally makes progress difficult, but the Life Tempering Fluid seems to bypass those limits.
• Loyalty and reciprocity: Li Yuan chooses to repay Anan’s kindness rather than leave as soon as he has gained what he came for.
• Trust under threat: Repeated attacks strengthen the partnership between Li Yuan and Nate.
• Political instability: The new mine offers wealth, while the rival leaders’ severe injuries threaten factional conflict and accusations.

Key plot points and events

• Nate advises Li Yuan that crises are chances to earn “the merit of backing a rising ruler” by helping Anan. Li Yuan avoids committing to Anan’s cause, and Nate understands his position.
• Nate is ordered to stop surveying after Minte and Nalong, leaders of rival factions, die from their severe injuries. Their deaths spark suspicion that Anan was responsible and leave their followers angry and potentially united against her.
• King Sheng is furious that the struggle has turned deadly. He fears Anan may threaten him too, and the deaths push him toward opposing her. Anan suspends her activities, making fieldwork too dangerous.
• During the pause, Li Yuan takes another dose of Life Tempering Fluid, noting that it improves his body and wondering when repeated use might lose its effect.
• Five days later, Li Yuan and Nate accompany Anan to a meeting at King Sheng’s residence. Anan brings a sizable guard, as do the dead leaders’ factions, whose followers are cooperating uneasily.
• King Sheng asks Anan publicly whether she had a hand in Minte and Nalong’s deaths. Li Yuan suspects father and daughter have already reached a private understanding, and that the question gives Anan a chance to explain herself.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yuan remains cautious and prioritizes protecting Nate over advancing politically. He observes the shifting power balance and continues testing the limits of the Life Tempering Fluid.
• Nate recognizes the political opportunity Anan’s crisis presents, but accepts Li Yuan’s reluctance to get involved. He also reflects on the work ethic and low pay of his former Xia Kingdom colleagues.
• Anan faces growing distrust, hostile followers, and conflict with her father, while halting operations to manage the crisis.
• King Sheng appears visibly aged and politically weakened. Though angry and suspicious, his public question seems designed to let Anan defend herself.
• The two factions’ followers have begun cooperating after their leaders’ deaths, but longstanding rivalry leaves them distrustful of one another.

Significant themes

• Political opportunism versus caution: A crisis may offer advancement, but involvement carries serious risks.
• Legitimacy and suspicion: Those who benefit from leaders’ deaths are readily blamed, whether or not the accusations are proven.
• Power and loyalty: Shared loss brings rival groups together, but does not erase their mistrust.
• Self-reliance and cultivation: Li Yuan treats the fluid as an aid, while recognizing that overreliance may diminish its value.

Anan blamed her Protector, Li Yuan, for wounding Minte and Nalong, claiming he had acted without her orders. King Sheng accepted the accusation and prepared to punish Li Yuan, leaving him surrounded by the victims’ furious followers.

• King Sheng demanded that Anan explain Minte and Nalong’s deaths, and she admitted that one of her martial artists had wounded them without her orders.
• King Sheng declared that the culprit had to be severely punished and pressed Anan to name him.
• Anan pointed to Li Yuan and identified him as her Protector, making him the scapegoat.
• Nate defended Li Yuan, but Li Yuan moved him behind himself and stopped him from speaking further.
• King Sheng accused Li Yuan of killing Minte and Nalong and chose not to investigate further, while their followers waited for his orders.

Li Yuan confronted Anan and Qin Song after they blamed him for Minte and Nalong’s deaths, then exposed their accusation by overpowering Qin Song. With Qin Song’s legs broken and Li Yuan’s saber at his neck, Li Yuan asked King Sheng whether anything else needed explaining.

• Anan chose to sacrifice Li Yuan to protect the interests of her inner circle, while Qin Song accused him of attacking Nalong and fleeing.
• Li Yuan challenged Qin Song to prove he had forced him to run, and Qin Song underestimated Li Yuan’s strength.
• Li Yuan broke Qin Song’s legs with two saber strikes and held his blade to Qin Song’s neck.
• Li Yuan pointed out that Qin Song could not have stopped him if he had truly intended to eliminate witnesses, exposing the accusation as a lie.
• Li Yuan asked King Sheng whether the matter needed further explanation, and King Sheng realized Li Yuan’s strength could threaten his life.

Li Yuan exposed Anan’s plot and forced King Sheng to punish those responsible for the deaths of Minte and Nalong. After killing Qin Song and Anan, Li Yuan accepted King Sheng’s offer to discuss cooperation and updated Xia Cheng on the outcome.

• Li Yuan challenged King Sheng to punish Anan, but King Sheng initially tried to avoid acting against her.
• Li Yuan killed Qin Song when Qin Song looked for a chance to fight back.
• King Sheng confronted Anan, who denied responsibility and blamed Gulawi for injuring Minte and Nalong.
• King Sheng had Gulawi restrain Anan and killed her with the instrument of punishment.
• King Sheng apologized to Li Yuan, seated him as an honored guest, and discussed cooperation over Luoshan Island’s snow iron ore.
• Li Yuan called Xia Cheng and reported that Qin Song had plotted against him and was dead.

Li Yuan settled a snow iron ore deal with King Sheng, returned to Lingshan City, and gave diluted Life Essence Fluid to his parents and Chen Yong. Worried about Xia Zhao, he traveled to the wilderness camp near Qijia Town, where its lack of sentries made him fear that chaos had broken out.

• Li Yuan and King Sheng agreed to trade snow iron ore directly with the Xia Kingdom, and Li Yuan introduced Nate as the lead for future dealings.
• Li Yuan returned to Lingshan City with Life Tempering Fluid and began sharing diluted Life Essence Fluid with his parents and Chen Yong.
• Li Yuan called Xia Cheng and learned that Xia Zhao was still listed as being on her mission, then bought a ticket to Qijia Town.
• Li Yuan drove to the camp near Qijia Town and found that no sentries stopped him from entering, suggesting the camp was in disarray.

After learning that Xia Zhao's Field Team had gone missing, Li Yuan rushed into the Wilderness Regions to search for her. At the team's last known location, he found no human tracks and began to suspect they were trapped underground.

• Li Yuan questioned the camp about Xia Zhao and learned that the Field Team had lost contact.
• Liu Shuang gave Li Yuan the team's last known coordinates after he insisted he only wanted to find his wife.
• Li Yuan ignored the camp members' warnings and entered the Wilderness Regions alone.
• Li Yuan reached the last known location and found only fierce beast tracks, with no signs that people had passed through.
• Li Yuan climbed a tree and wondered whether Xia Zhao's group was underground.

Li Yuan followed signs of human activity to a deep canyon and descended to search for Xia Zhao and the missing people. At the canyon floor, he discovered corrosive poison gas and protected himself with the Space Breaking Technique before following the stream into the dim depths.

• Li Yuan searched southeast toward a fault on the terrain map, fought several fierce B-level beasts, and found a deep canyon.
• He chose a spot marked by human traces, spent hours making a rope, and descended into the canyon when it was finished.
• At camp, Liu Shuang learned that Li Yuan had gone deep into the Wilderness Forest, then led five people out to search before the expected downpour.
• Li Yuan reached the canyon floor after descending the final twenty meters with his movement technique.
• Li Yuan sensed corrosive poison gas, used the Space Breaking Technique to shield himself, and followed the flowing water downstream.