Recaps

Zhang Yuanqing learned that the Stop-Killing Palace Lord had saved him by stitching his shattered soul with part of her own, and that his father, Zhang Zizhen, was tied to the vanished Carefree Organization. He began investigating his father’s past, while Fu Qingyang revealed the organization’s members and its role in the Light Compass struggle.

• Zhang Yuanqing confronted the Stop-Killing Palace Lord, who admitted that Zhang Zizhen had saved her as a child and that she had later used part of her soul to repair Zhang Yuanqing’s shattered spirit body.
• The Stop-Killing Palace Lord explained that Zhang Zizhen and Chu Shang had founded the Carefree Organization, whose disappearance and shared illness might be connected to something Zhang Zizhen left inside Zhang Yuanqing.
• Zhang Yuanqing planned to investigate the Carefree Organization, question his mother, and seek information from Zoo’s artifact spirit, while the Stop-Killing Palace Lord secretly warned Zhang Yuanqing’s mother that he had learned about the soul stitching.
• Zhang Yuanqing searched the official database for the organization but found no useful records, then asked Fu Qingyang to investigate it.
• At breakfast, Princess Yinyao described her fight with Guan Ya, awkwardly revealing that she would not pretend to lose to help remove a romantic rival.
• Fu Qingyang reported that the Carefree Organization operated from 1994 to 2000, comprised Chu Shang and Celestial Master Zhang as the Solar Twins and two unidentified Shadow Twins, and vanished after all four fought over the Light Compass in 2000.

Zhang Yuanqing learned that the Light Compass’s prophecy may connect the Carefree Organization’s disappearance and his father’s death, then agreed to attend Qin Feng Academy. After failing to reach his mother, he decided to investigate his father’s hometown.

• Zhang Yuanqing studied records about the Carefree Organization and decided to ask Fu Qingyang about the Light Compass and contact his mother.
• Zhang Yuanqing warned Xie Lingxi to avoid the Stop-Killing Palace Lord after she threatened to hang Xie Lingxi from Songjiang Bridge.
• The Stop-Killing Palace Lord punished Great Sage of Love Madness by suspending him in Good Music Hotel, then ordered Wang Qian to hang him for another three hours.
• Fu Qingyang explained that the Light Compass’s prophecy foretold the gods awakening and a new cycle of war, and said its fragments had been divided among factions.
• Fu Qingyang told Zhang Yuanqing to attend a seven-day course at Qin Feng Academy, where Sun Miaomiao, Zhao Chenghuang, and Yuan Ting would also study.
• Zhang Yuanqing failed to reach Chen Shu by phone and decided to investigate his father’s hometown.

Zhang Yuanqing visited his father’s relatives in Ji'an Community to investigate Zhang Zizhen’s death and uncovered a childhood claim that the Carefree Sect had survived an ancient apocalypse. In Flower City, a possessed young man pawned a Dream Bead at the House of Myriad Treasures and bought a list of Taiyi Sect’s Night Wanderers.

• Zhang Yuanqing visited Zhang Zitao and learned that Zhang Zizhen had been sent to Carefree Temple as a child, while his supposed car accident had been reported by Zhang Zitao’s father.
• Zhang Zitao recalled that Zhang Zizhen had claimed the Carefree Sect was an ancient sect that survived the end of the world and had spoken of finding a way to save the world.
• Zhang Yuanqing drew a Zombie Suppressing Talisman, and Zhang Zitao recognized it as the kind of talisman Zhang Zizhen used to draw.
• A masked young man entered Lian Sanyue’s House of Myriad Treasures and pawned a Saint-grade Dream Bead for access to the black market.
• The young man bought a list of Night Wanderers stationed at Taiyi Sect branches nationwide and recognized the seller’s approach as a deliberate setup.

Zhang Yuanqing used a detective pipe to profile his father and concluded that the Carefree organization had pursued a prophecy about an approaching apocalypse before its members vanished. After learning his mother had simply blocked him, he rejoined Guan Ya and received evidence that lawful organizations had changed their behavior after the Light Compass appeared, leaving him to suspect a connection between the apocalypse and Evil Professions.

• Zhang Yuanqing learned from Zhang Zitao that the Carefree Temple had been destroyed, then used the Great Detective Pipe to reconstruct Zhang Zizhen's history and infer that Carefree had sought the prophesied sun, moon, and stars before encountering an enemy.
• Zhang Yuanqing identified the Shadow Twins' identities as a key mystery and tried to contact his mother, but discovered both her phones were off; Mr. Bill then revealed that she had blocked Zhang Yuanqing.
• Zhang Yuanqing vented his anger after learning his mother was fine, and Guan Ya picked him up and comforted him by sharing stories about their difficult mothers and Fu Qingyang's childhood.
• Free Eagle told Zhang Yuanqing that lawful organizations overseas had deepened cooperation and distanced themselves from Evil Professions between 1999 and 2004, after the Light Compass appeared.
• Zhang Yuanqing connected the organizations' changes to the prophecy and wondered whether Evil Professions were related to the coming apocalypse.

Zhang Yuanqing considered the Light Compass prophecy and listened to a recording of Demon Lord discussing Night Wanderers, redemption, and escaping confrontation instances. He uncovered new leads about Demon Lord’s mysterious backer, then received a nervous call from Asano Ryo asking for help.

• Zhang Yuanqing speculated that spiritual power’s decline and the Spirit Realm’s birth had marked successive cycles, but decided he lacked evidence to draw firm conclusions.
• Guan Ya told Zhang Yuanqing that Fu Qingyang regarded him as a kindred spirit, and Fu Qingyang revealed Qin Feng Academy’s uncompleted hidden mission and its mermaid inhabitants.
• Zhang Yuanqing returned to the living room bruised after a foot massage and a scuffle with Fu Qingyang, then planned to visit home before entering Qin Feng Academy.
• Zhang Yuanqing used the Cat King Speaker to hear Demon Lord discuss the Light Compass, his murdered friend, the Fallen Holy Grail, and using a Void Profession item to leave a confrontation instance.
• Zhang Yuanqing suspected the mysterious man who had invested in Demon Lord arranged Demon Lord’s final battle and took Little Sun, giving him a new lead to investigate.
• Asano Ryo called Zhang Yuanqing late at night and nervously asked him for help.

Zhang Yuanqing agreed to hear out Asano Ryo’s secret request to capture a Thousand Crane Group traitor, after consulting Guan Ya and arranging a cautious meeting at Fu Family Bay. Asano revealed that the traitor stole a key to the legendary High Plain of Heaven, and Guan Ya recognized its emblem from Qin Feng Academy.

• Asano Ryo asked Zhang Yuanqing to secretly capture the Thousand Crane Group traitor Edo Swordsman, who had stolen an important treasure, and offered a reward of one hundred million Fuso yen.
• Zhang Yuanqing consulted Guan Ya, who judged that the Thousand Crane Group had reason to pursue the matter and advised him to meet Asano at Fu Family Bay with safeguards.
• Zhang Yuanqing asked the Cat King Speaker for Demon Lord’s true identity, but it produced only static.
• Asano arrived at Fu Family Bay and told Zhang Yuanqing and Guan Ya that Edo Swordsman had stolen the key to the High Plain of Heaven.
• Asano explained that the High Plain of Heaven was believed to be a hidden refuge of ancient superpowered individuals and showed them a jade-disc emblem tied to it.
• Guan Ya recognized the emblem from Qin Feng Academy.

Zhang Yuanqing deduced that Xu Fu had founded Takamagahara to keep a Qin-era treasure and negotiated with the Thousand Crane Group for a share of its treasures. After divining Edo Swordsman’s whereabouts, he discovered the swordsman had teamed up with the Lord of Weapons Cult and sought a powerful ally, but Jiang Jingwei was unavailable, leaving him to ask Little Round.

• Zhang Yuanqing and Guan Ya reasoned that Xu Fu had stayed in Japan to claim a treasure desired by the First Emperor, and Guan Ya proposed sending Zhang’s yin corpses or Spirit Servants into Takamagahara.
• Zhang Yuanqing demanded five hundred million yen and a share of Takamagahara’s treasures in exchange for retrieving the jade-disc key, and the Thousand Crane Group agreed if he kept his promise.
• Zhang Yuanqing used the Great Luo Star Chart to divine Edo Swordsman’s allies and identified a Level 5 Fog Master called Blooddrinking Mad Blade from the Lord of Weapons Cult.
• Zhang Yuanqing decided he needed another fighter to help capture Edo Swordsman and considered asking Jiang Jingwei or Little Round.
• Zhang Yuanqing called Jiang Jingwei, but her mother told him she was undergoing Spirit Realm training, so he resolved to ask Little Round instead.

Zhang Yuanqing gathered his team and Little Round for a covert mission to hunt a level-five Swordsman and Fog Master in Spring City. After arriving, he received identical messages from Guan Ya and Little Round asking him to come to their rooms, leaving him caught between them.

• Zhang Yuanqing persuaded Little Round to join the mission for a fee of two million five hundred thousand and gathered his team for the trip to Spring City.
• Zhang Yuanqing arranged a private jet and introduced Little Round to the team, whose members were wary of her as a Spirit Medium.
• Xie Lingxi revealed that Guan Ya was Zhang Yuanqing's girlfriend, prompting Little Round to react with surprise and disappointment and Guan Ya to suspect that she had feelings for him.
• During the flight, Little Round warned the team about powerful northern Evil Professions, and she and Guan Ya exchanged tense remarks about the danger ahead.
• After the group reached their hotel, Zhang Yuanqing planned to locate the targets and attack at ten that night.
• Zhang Yuanqing received simultaneous messages from Guan Ya and Little Round, and both told him to come to their rooms.

Zhang Yuanqing used Ling Jun’s advice to defuse the tension between Guan Ya and Little Round, then tracked Edo Swordsman to a villa stronghold. After the group infiltrated a neighboring villa and located him, Xie Lingxi overheard that the Fear Heavenly King was expected to arrive.

• Zhang Yuanqing followed Ling Jun’s advice to reassure Little Round and Guan Ya, securing Little Round’s help and calming Guan Ya’s jealousy.
• Zhang Yuanqing used Edo Swordsman’s bloodstain and the Red Dancing Shoes to find a villa estate he believed was a Blooddrinking Mad Blade stronghold.
• Zhang Yuanqing gathered the team to plan a swift attack, assigning Li Chunfeng to disable surveillance and Xie Lingxi to locate Edo Swordsman.
• Zhang Yuanqing’s team infiltrated a neighboring villa, subdued its occupants, and used its surveillance feeds to spot Edo Swordsman drinking with Blooddrinking Mad Blade.
• Xie Lingxi overheard Edo Swordsman asking when the Fear Heavenly King would arrive.

Zhang Yuanqing and his allies launched an ambush on the Edo Swordsman and Blooddrinking Mad Blade before Fear Heavenly King could arrive. The Edo Swordsman escaped the first assault and ran into the courtyard, where a four-meter-tall Werewolf blocked his path.

• Guan Ya warned that Fear Heavenly King had alliance leader-level combat power, and Xie Lingxi overheard that he had not yet arrived at the manor.
• After Little Round prepared a blessing, Zhang Yuanqing ordered the team to wait until the banquet ended and the Edo Swordsman was distracted.
• Guan Ya and Zhang Yuanqing attacked the Edo Swordsman in his room while Princess Yinyao rushed toward the manor.
• The Edo Swordsman injured Guan Ya, but Zhang Yuanqing struck him with the Little Pumpkin and broke his Jade Cutter before he unleashed a rain of weaponized objects and fled through the window.
• Little Round's spirit and Princess Yinyao's ally attacked Blooddrinking Mad Blade in the dining room, while the Edo Swordsman reached the courtyard and encountered a towering Werewolf.

Zhang Yuanqing’s team defeated Edo Swordsman, seized the High Plain of Heaven Key, and fled toward Songhai before Fear Heavenly King could arrive. The group worried about the demigod’s pursuit, while the weakened Blooddrinking Mad Blade received a call from him.

• Edo Swordsman fought the Werewolf until a thrown saber and his final sword strike brought the beast down, while Blooddrinking Mad Blade emerged from the villa with the injured one-armed girl.
• Zhang Yuanqing cleared Blooddrinking Mad Blade’s fog, and Little Round poisoned him before Princess Yinyao and Little Round pursued him.
• Asano Ryo froze the exhausted Edo Swordsman, and Zhang Yuanqing revealed that Little Doubi had found the High Plain of Heaven Key in a safe.
• Zhang Yuanqing ordered the team to retreat, and they escaped by private plane with the jade disc while leaving Blooddrinking Mad Blade behind.
• On the plane, the team discussed the danger of Fear Heavenly King and their return to Songhai, while Zhang Yuanqing went to check on Princess Yinyao.
• Blooddrinking Mad Blade, weakened and hiding in a countryside house, received a phone call from Fear Heavenly King.

Zhang Yuanqing returned to Songhai with the key to High Plain of Heaven and told Fu Qingyang about the secret and the threat from Fear Heavenly King. Fu Qingyang arranged to conceal the key’s existence from headquarters and prepare to lie low, but the jade disk’s appearance visibly startled him.

• Fear Heavenly King learned that Yuanshi Tianzun had taken the key and said he would go to Songhai, while Asano Ryo reported the mission’s success and the danger to Kobe Ichiro.
• Asano Ryo returned to the cabin and discovered that Xie Lingxi and the others had overheard her call and learned of her expected promotion.
• Zhang Yuanqing tried to persuade Princess Yinyao to become his Yin corpse, and she agreed on the condition that he respect three boundaries.
• After landing at Songhai International Airport, Zhang Yuanqing sent his companions to a hotel and returned alone to Fu Family Bay.
• Zhang Yuanqing told Fu Qingyang about High Plain of Heaven, and Fu Qingyang proposed reporting a different account to headquarters while arranging for them to leave town temporarily.
• Zhang Yuanqing presented Fu Qingyang with the jade disk, and Fu Qingyang’s pupils contracted when he saw it.

Fu Qingyang recognized the jade disc as a key connected both to High Plain of Heaven and a hidden instance at Qin Feng Academy, so he and Zhang Yuanqing set out to explore it before the Thousand Crane Group could reclaim it. Zhang Yuanqing traveled to Shizuoka Prefecture in Princess Yinyao’s body and arrived at a hot spring inn near Mount Fuji, where the Thousand Crane Group’s leader was waiting.

• Fu Qingyang told Zhang Yuanqing that the jade disc matched a keyhole behind stone doors in a hidden Qin Feng Academy instance and advised exploring High Plain of Heaven before borrowing the key from the Thousand Crane Group.
• Fu Qingyang reported that Pure Yang Sect Leader was suspected of killing three Night Wanderers in Soup Province and sent headquarters fabricated intelligence to prepare for Fear Heavenly King’s arrival.
• Zhang Yuanqing swore an oath not to force Princess Yinyao to serve him or control her body without permission, then inscribed Spirit Talismans on her.
• Zhang Yuanqing traveled in Princess Yinyao’s body to Edo with Asano Ryo, who told him the Thousand Crane Group leader was waiting in Shizuoka Prefecture.
• Zhang Yuanqing and Asano Ryo arrived at a hot spring inn near Mount Fuji, where two guards greeted them and Asano announced their arrival to the group leader.

Zhang Yuanqing met with Kobe Ichiro and the Thousand Crane Group’s leaders, learned how they had found the High Plain of Heaven inside Mount Fuji, and negotiated an agreement over its spoils. The group reached the hidden cavern and Zhang Yuanqing placed the jade disk in the eye socket of a three-legged bird statue, beginning to open the passage.

• Zhang Yuanqing confronted the Thousand Crane Group’s leaders for drinking before their mission, then used their discussion of Xu Fu and the First Emperor to explain how the High Plain of Heaven might preserve spiritual power.
• Kobe Ichiro revealed that the Thousand Crane Group had located the High Plain of Heaven inside Mount Fuji, and Watanabe Yoshita identified Zhang Yuanqing’s jade disk as the missing eye of the entrance statue.
• Zhang Yuanqing and Kobe Ichiro agreed to divide the treasures under a contract witnessed by a brass book, with the Thousand Crane Group claiming whatever the First Emperor desired in exchange for compensation.
• Kobe Ichiro’s group traveled up Mount Fuji, and Watanabe Yoshita opened a shaft that dropped them into a cavern containing a gigantic, one-eyed bird statue.
• Zhang Yuanqing used the Star Escape Art to reach the statue’s head and inserted the jade disk into its empty eye socket.

Zhang Yuanqing and the Thousand Crane Group entered the High Plain of Heaven, explored its desolate mountain, and discovered three powerful treasures beneath an enormous bronze tree. Onodera finished reading the bamboo slips, leaving the group poised to learn what they revealed.

• Onodera Yosuke sent drones through the light gate, confirmed there was no immediate danger, and identified the High Plain of Heaven as a Spirit Realm.
• Zhang Yuanqing and the Thousand Crane Group crossed into a desolate world and climbed its mountain, finding ruined buildings but no valuables.
• Zhang Yuanqing spotted an enormous bronze tree at the summit and a seated corpse beside a deep pool, with bamboo slips and three treasures before it.
• Kobe Ichiro, Furugori Magatsu, and Watanabe Yoshita took the bronze sword, Brass Mirror, and magatama, discovering their powerful abilities.
• Zhang Yuanqing identified the magatama as a healing and protective item, and Kobe Ichiro used it to heal a deep wound.
• Onodera Watanabe finished reading the bamboo slips and reacted with a sharp breath.

Zhang Yuanqing investigated Xu Fu’s history and the Bronze Divine Tree in High Plain of Heaven, then used Fu Qingyang’s deductions to suspect that a key to understanding the tree lay in Qin Feng Academy. He clashed with the Thousand Crane Group over the three Sovereign-grade artifacts and demanded compensation, the secret-realm key, and the right to borrow the artifacts.

• Onodera read Xu Fu’s autobiography, which described his discovery of High Plain of Heaven, his rise as Amaterasu, and the drying of the Immortal Spring.
• Zhang Yuanqing examined the Bronze Divine Tree and the dry pool, but found no secret; Little Doubi failed to enter the tree through its roots.
• Zhang Yuanqing called Fu Qingyang, who deduced that Xu Fu had returned to the Central Plains to seek a way to understand the tree and that the answer might lie behind the stone doors beneath Mermaid Lake in Qin Feng Academy.
• Zhang Yuanqing demanded one of the three Sovereign-grade artifacts, but Furugori Magatsu refused, so Zhang Yuanqing wounded him with the Thunderstorm Cannon and threatened the Thousand Crane Group.
• Zhang Yuanqing leveraged the threat of exposing the artifacts to Heaven’s Punishment and proposed a settlement of one billion Island Nation yen, the High Plain of Heaven Key, and three chances to borrow the artifacts.

Zhang Yuanqing negotiated a contract with the Thousand Crane Group, borrowed the Eight-Span Mirror, and returned from the High Plain of Heaven with the jade disc. Meanwhile, the Fear Heavenly King set out to rescue Magic Eye but was confronted by a mysterious figure, while Zhang Yuanqing prepared to enter Qin Feng Academy and asked his grandmother about his father.

• Zhang Yuanqing and the Thousand Crane Group agreed that he could borrow each of their three artifacts for a month, with the group gaining ownership afterward, and signed a contract with compensation terms for lost items.
• Zhang Yuanqing chose the Eight-Span Mirror as his first borrowed artifact, then took the jade disc from the three-legged Golden Crow and left the High Plain of Heaven.
• The Fear Heavenly King rode through Songhai toward Magic Eye, but a water-like figure confronted him in a mirror world and warned him not to interfere in the sovereigns' affairs.
• The Fear Heavenly King refused to abandon his plan to rescue Magic Eye and prepared to fight the figure as a voice asked whether he was ready to be resurrected.
• Zhang Yuanqing withdrew from Princess Yinyao's consciousness, planned to enter Qin Feng Academy the next day, and learned that his aunt wanted to introduce him to her niece.
• Zhang Yuanqing asked his grandmother whether she had been close to his father.

Zhang Yuanqing learned that Dog Elder had known his father, Zhang Zizhen, and wondered what had connected them. Meanwhile, Fear Heavenly King recovered in a mall clothing store as Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yu'er arrived there, bringing them close to an encounter.

• Zhang Yuanqing questioned his grandmother about his father and learned that a Curly Teddy had attended Zhang Zizhen's funeral and bowed beside the coffin.
• Zhang Yuanqing suspected Dog Elder had been close to his father, but decided not to ask Dog Elder about Zhang Zizhen without more evidence.
• Jiang Yu'er returned from shopping, and Zhang Yuanqing used his Star Eyes to spot an upcoming social opportunity before accompanying her to Nine Light Mall.
• Dog Elder discussed Fear Heavenly King's rescue attempt with Demon Eye Heavenly King, who suspected Fear had another motive for coming to Songhai.
• Zhang Yuanqing learned from Fu Qingyang that an artificer could modify his artifact for use in the Spirit Realm, then arranged to meet Stop-Killing Palace Lord at midnight.
• Fear Heavenly King recovered, bought ten suits, and spotted Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yu'er entering the clothing store.

Zhang Yuanqing encountered Fear Heavenly King, who cursed him and forced him to swear to rescue Demon Eye within a month without telling anyone. Fu Qingyang arrived after Fear left, and Zhang Yuanqing learned the Palace Master had pursued him.

• Zhang Yuanqing recognized Fear Heavenly King in a clothing store and freed Aunt and the sales staff from the barrier by charming them and sending them away.
• Fear Heavenly King questioned Zhang Yuanqing about High Plain of Heaven, its key, and the Bronze Divine Tree, then explained that Nuwa was a powerful ancient cultivator.
• Fear Heavenly King cursed Zhang Yuanqing to die if Demon Eye was not rescued within a month, and forced him to swear secrecy and never remove the curse.
• Fear Heavenly King gave Zhang Yuanqing his contact information, left him the High Plain of Heaven Key, and made him pay for the clothes before leaving.
• Fu Qingyang arrived and told Zhang Yuanqing that the Palace Master had gone after Fear Heavenly King after Dog Elder reported the situation.

Zhang Yuanqing removed Fear Heavenly King's Mark, learned more about the curse tied to rescuing Demon Eye, and told the Stop-Killing Palace Lord about the bronze divine tree. The next morning, he entered Qin Feng Academy with Blood Rose and Princess Yinyao, while other students and a hidden agent also prepared for the academy.

• Fu Qingyang explained that Fear Heavenly King had marked Zhang Yuanqing and said the alliance leaders would decide how to deal with him; Zhang Yuanqing paid for Fear's suit and got the money back after demanding it.
• Zhang Yuanqing confirmed that an Evil-Breaking Talisman could remove the Mark without lifting his curse, then decided he could use Demon Eye's name to question Fear about the Zoo.
• Zhang Yuanqing told the Stop-Killing Palace Lord about the bronze divine tree at the High Plain of Heaven, and she agreed to investigate it with him after he left Qin Feng Academy.
• Yuan Ting, Sun Miaomiao, and Zhao Chenghuang looked forward to their seven-day advanced studies at Qin Feng Academy, while a hidden agent was told to watch Mermaid Lake for a supreme treasure.
• Xiahou Aotian's parents urged him to avoid making enemies at the academy, recalling that his bizarre offer to make their ancestor his old grandpa had earned him the ancestor's enmity.
• At nine the next morning, Zhang Yuanqing entered the Qin Feng Academy Spirit Realm with Blood Rose and Princess Yinyao for a seven-day study quest.

Zhang Yuanqing and the other trainees arrived at Qin Feng Academy for an advanced study class, where Xiahou Aotian became class monitor and the group toured the academy and Mermaid Lake. The chapter ended when a strange song drifted over the lake.

• Zhang Yuanqing reunited with Sun Miaomiao, Zhao Chenghuang, Yuan Ting, and other familiar trainees, while Zhu Mingxu and Zhao Feiwen showed hostility toward him.
• Principal Li Yanqi introduced the academy staff and named Zhang Yuanqing as his proposed class monitor, but Xiahou Aotian objected and declared himself the destined candidate.
• Zhang Yuanqing endorsed Xiahou Aotian, and Principal Li Yanqi appointed him class monitor.
• Song Man led the trainees around Qin Feng Academy and explained its facilities, fees, and rules about Mermaid Lake.
• During the boat tour, Zhang Yuanqing showed off Princess Yinyao and Blood Rose, and Song Man warned the trainees about mermaids and told them how Ling Jun had once angered the Mermaid Queen.
• A melodious song drifted into the trainees' ears as they traveled across Mermaid Lake.

Zhang Yuanqing toured Qin Feng Academy’s islands with the advanced study class, then set out at night to find the stone door beneath Mermaid Lake. He found it below Beast Island, but sensed something approaching just as he prepared to open it.

• Sirens’ song stirred the trainees’ desires until the administrator drove the sirens away, and Three Yang Opens Madam broke down before the class.
• In Fuzhou, Love of Summer Trees and the Taiyi Sect elders investigated the Pure Yang Sect Leader’s murders and learned that a Lunar Power Sovereign was concealing his aura.
• Song Man led Zhang Yuanqing and the trainees around the academy islands, where Red Chicken Bro ate poisonous fruit and later provoked the Tiger King by stealing a chicken.
• Zhang Yuanqing returned to the dormitory, rejected Song Man’s advances, and waited until night to sneak out toward Mermaid Lake.
• Zhang Yuanqing found the stone doors beneath Beast Island and hid when an unusual undercurrent approached.

Zhang Yuanqing abandoned his attempt to enter the stone gate after an armored intruder drew the merfolk’s attack, then returned to his dorm and wondered whether the stranger was an enemy or ally. Dean Li Yanqi summoned the students to investigate the lake intrusion and began questioning them, stopping at Zhang Yuanqing.

• An armored figure examined the stone gate on Beast Island, and Zhang Yuanqing watched unseen from the lakebed.
• The mermaid queen and her warriors attacked the armored figure, who escaped; Zhang Yuanqing then left the lake without entering the stone gate.
• Back in his dorm, Zhang Yuanqing told Princess Yinyao what had happened and considered how to identify the armored intruder.
• The Mermaid Lake caretaker reported the incident to Dean Li Yanqi, who ordered the teachers to investigate and summoned all students.
• At Splendor Library, Li Yanqi had the students searched and questioned Zhao Chenghuang, then asked Zhang Yuanqing whether he had entered Mermaid Lake.

Zhang Yuanqing avoided suspicion when the dean investigated the Mermaid Lake intrusion, but the armored intruder remained unidentified. The next morning, he joined the other trainees for breakfast and learned that the lake concealed a secret important to powerful factions, before heading to his first academy classes.

• Dean Li Yanqi questioned the trainees about the Mermaid Lake intrusion, but Zhang Yuanqing used the Ghost Mirror's cost to conceal his emotional fluctuations and passed the investigation.
• Song Man reported a misunderstanding, and the dean dismissed most trainees while taking Zhao Chenghuang, Sun Miaomiao, Xie Lingzhou, Zhao Feiwen, Liu Yushu, Zhu Mingxu, and Xiahou Aotian aside.
• Zhang Yuanqing discussed the unidentified armored intruder with Princess Yinyao, who suggested the intruder might be a Night Wanderer or an academy teacher, while Zhang argued the intruder seemed to be scouting the lake.
• The next morning, Sun Miaomiao borrowed Little Doubi for the day, and Red Chicken Bro started a brawl with a cafeteria chef over breakfast.
• All Under Heaven Returns to Fire speculated that the dean's investigation concerned a powerful secret beneath Mermaid Lake, and Zhang Yuanqing suggested a student or teacher might be seeking it.
• The trainees went to the library for their scheduled lessons, beginning with Spirit Realm History.

Li Yanqi taught the Saints about the history of the Spirit Realm, ancient practitioners, and mysteries that scholars had failed to solve. When Zhang Yuanqing claimed he knew clues about three of the mysteries, he offered to share them for a million per student.

• Li Yanqi explained how ancient practitioners and Spirit Realm Walkers fit into history, and Zhu Mingxu described the Spirit Realm’s regions and the progression of ancient dynasties.
• Li Yanqi discussed Nuwa Sovereign and the uncertain origins of mythologies, while Zhang Yuanqing connected Nuwa’s Embrace to the secrets behind the stone door at the High Plain of Heaven.
• Li Yanqi recounted the hardships faced by early Spirit Realm Walkers and listed four enduring mysteries, including spiritual energy depletion and the unopened District Three.
• Zhao Feiwen suggested spiritual energy had run out of resources, and Liu Yushu relayed his family’s theory that an alien civilization created the Spirit Realm.
• At Xiahou Aotian’s urging, Zhang Yuanqing claimed to know clues about three mysteries and demanded a one-million tuition fee from each student who wanted to hear them.