Chapter Summaries

Xu Wuyi passed the military’s combat assessment and earned qualification for a short-term garrison mission. He traveled to Xingjing for the Star Realm Research Institute’s tests, arriving in the Federation capital the evening before his report date.

• Xu Wuyi defeated a Level 39.2 military phantom by piercing its final attack with a spear thrust infused with a trace of the Undying Flame’s artistic conception.
• The system awarded Xu Wuyi qualification for the Ironblood Defense Line Short-Term Rotational Garrison mission and gave him an August 15 reporting time.
• Xu Wuyi booked a flight to Xingjing for August 4 and continued preparing for the research institute’s tests.
• Xu Wuyi boarded a passenger aircraft from Western Desert Royal Capital Airport and flew east to Xingjing.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at Jing Airport that evening and saw the capital’s dense skyscrapers, aerial vehicles, and suspended rail lines.

Xu Wuyi arrived at the research institute for his scheduled evaluation and began its basic tests under assistant researcher Lin Lan. His three punches revealed explosive power near the level-40 threshold and unusually fused fire-element and mental traits.

• Xu Wuyi checked in at the research institute, received his access pass and room key, and learned that his test would take place the next morning.
• Xu Wuyi settled into his room, ate in the staff cafeteria, and completed his nightly visualization routine before the test.
• Lin Lan introduced himself and explained that Xu Wuyi would undergo basic data collection followed by a practical fight against a modified Star Beast commander.
• Xu Wuyi struck the testing device three times, each punch increasing in strength and leaving deeper damage to its target plate.
• Lin Lan recorded Xu Wuyi's final impact force of 43.5 standard units and noted that his power approached the level-40 threshold, with rare fused energy traits.

Xu Wuyi completed basic ability tests that exceeded expectations and began a combat test against T-77, a mutant Ironclad Rock Rhino. After dodging its attacks and testing its armor, he moved to meet its next charge with a Golden Crow-infused spear technique.

• Xu Wuyi's speed, reaction, and mental-strength results impressed Lin Lan and qualified him for A-rank missions.
• Lin Lan briefed Xu Wuyi on T-77's strength, armor, and vulnerable spot before the combat test began.
• Xu Wuyi entered the arena with a standard Long Spear and faced the awakened Ironclad Rock Rhino.
• Xu Wuyi evaded T-77's charge and horn attack, then struck its back armor, leaving only a white mark.
• T-77 released its corrosive Rock Venom Mist and charged again, so Xu Wuyi stepped forward with Golden Crow imagery igniting at his spear tip.

Xu Wuyi earned an S- rating by defeating the Ironclad Rock Rhino and agreed to provide the research institute with post-test combat data in exchange for access to resources. Five days later, he began a three-day assignment in a simulated ecological zone and swiftly subdued a Flame Lizard Chieftain in the lava region.

• Xu Wuyi fought the Ironclad Rock Rhino, evaded its poisonous mist with mental force, and defeated it without seriously injuring it, earning an S- overall rating.
• Lin Lan offered Xu Wuyi additional cultivation resources in exchange for brief interviews after each test, and Xu Wuyi agreed.
• Back at his apartment, Xu Wuyi reflected on how the Ironclad Rock Rhino's defense and endurance might help him understand the concept of earth.
• On August 10th, Xu Wuyi entered the research institute's Third Simulated Ecological Zone for a three-day assignment and learned that his first opponent was a Flame Lizard Chieftain in the lava region.
• Xu Wuyi sensed the Flame Lizard Chieftain hiding beneath a lava pool, dodged its ambush, and pierced its neck with his spear, quickly ending its ability to fight.

Xu Wuyi completed three combat tests at the Star Realm Research Institute, earning S-class ratings and a place on its priority collaborator list before his garrison assignment began. After Zhao Qingwei invited him to her residence, she revealed that someone else wanted to meet him, and a middle-aged man resembling her entered the pavilion.

• Xu Wuyi defeated a Poison Swamp Giant Crocodile and an Earth-Splitting Mountain Ape in the second and third tests after adapting to their environments.
• Lin Lan told Xu Wuyi that he had received S-class practical combat ratings, gave him two Mental Resonance Potions, and confirmed his garrison assignment would begin on August 16th.
• Xu Wuyi accepted Zhao Qingwei's invitation to meet at her residence on Wutong Road the following morning.
• Zhao Qingwei told Xu Wuyi that she was not the only person who wanted to see him, and a middle-aged man resembling her entered Listening Rain Pavilion.

Zhao Cizhou asked Xu Wuyi to approach Qiao Zhiyao on the Zhao Family’s behalf and seek an introduction to Grandmaster Lin Jianyi for Zhao Qingwei. Xu agreed only to pass along the request, accepted Zhao Cizhou’s offer of future introductions and a meeting gift, and the meeting ended.

• Zhao Cizhou met Xu Wuyi and praised his talent and accomplishments.
• Zhao Cizhou explained that Zhao Qingwei wanted to study the unity of heart and sword under Grandmaster Lin Jianyi, but the Zhao Family needed the Qiao Family’s help to arrange an introduction.
• Zhao Cizhou asked Xu Wuyi to relay the Zhao Family’s request to Qiao Zhiyao and offered to arrange an introduction to Grandmaster Yue Lianshan in return.
• Xu Wuyi agreed to pass along the message but made clear that he could not promise the Qiao Family would help.
• Zhao Cizhou gave Xu Wuyi Soul-Nourishing Incense as a meeting gift, and Xu accepted it and called him Uncle Zhao.

Zhao Qingwei warned Xu Wuyi about dealing with prominent families, and he later discussed the advice with Qiao Zhiyao, who was struggling to break through to Martial Master. Xu Wuyi then arrived at the Seventh Star Realm for a fifteen-day patrol assignment and joined Zhou Heng’s Fifth Squad at the Third Outpost.

• Zhao Qingwei advised Xu Wuyi to seek families’ connections and cultivation techniques rather than accept their resources.
• Xu Wuyi told Qiao Zhiyao about the situation, and she said she would inform her father; she also asked why Xu Wuyi had advanced to Martial Master so easily.
• Xu Wuyi told Qiao Zhiyao that perhaps he had succeeded because he was not in a hurry.
• Zhao Tieshan assigned Xu Wuyi to the Fifth Squad for garrison and patrol duties in the Seventh Star Realm Defense Zone.
• Zhou Heng led the Fifth Squad to its barracks at the Third Outpost and assigned Xu Wuyi to share a room with Chen Wu.

Xu Wuyi joined the Fifth Squad on the Seventh Star Realm defensive line and was assigned to escort engineers and mining mechs to the Red Iron Mining Area. The squad departed the next morning, heading into dangerous territory to complete the mining mission and guard the site for three days.

• Xu Wuyi met his barracks roommate Chen Wu, who recognized him as the Youth Tournament champion and warned him about combat in the Star Realm.
• Zhao Tieshan ordered the Fifth Squad to escort three engineers and two mining mechs to the Red Iron Mining Area and guard it for three days.
• Zhou Heng asked the squad if anyone wanted reassignment, but Xu Wuyi and the other members agreed to take the mission for double merit points.
• Zhou Heng assigned Chen Wu and Wang Hai to protect the engineers and mechs, Zhang Yuan and Li Hongwei to reconnaissance, and himself and Xu Wuyi to the assault force.
• Chen Wu warned Xu Wuyi that Ironclaw Wolves hunted in packs and often appeared in Black Wind Gorge and the Withered Bone Woods.
• The Fifth Squad formed around the engineers and mechs and departed through the outpost's side gate.

Xu Wuyi helped Zhou Heng’s squad defeat an Ironclaw Wolf pack on the way to the Red Iron Mining Area, then joined the team in preparing its damaged defenses. As the engineers began work, the squad took up guard duty for the three-day mining operation.

• Xu Wuyi detected seventeen Ironclaw Wolves in Black Wind Gorge, and Zhou Heng ordered the squad to prepare for battle.
• Xu Wuyi used his Long Spear and dark-golden flames to eliminate threats at the rear and flank, helping Zhou Heng’s squad kill all seventeen wolves.
• Zhou Heng’s squad reached the Red Iron Mining Area, where the engineers inspected the equipment and the fighters established guard posts.
• Zhou Heng assigned the squad to repair defenses and inspect the Sensors, while he and Xu Wuyi cleared rubble around the mining area.
• After the squad reported that the fence was repaired and the Sensors were mostly faulty, Zhou Heng told Engineer Wang to begin mining and ordered the workers to retreat to the mechs if Star Beasts breached the defenses.

Xu Wuyi guarded the mining site as waves of Star Beasts attacked, defeating them while maintaining spiritual surveillance. After the second battle, he began to understand guarding as controlling and protecting a limited area, and wondered how it connected to the earth’s qualities.

• Xu Wuyi monitored the mining area until seven Earthwalker Beasts attacked, then killed them with his [Undying Flame] spear.
• During the night watch, Xu Wuyi sensed several Star Beast gathering points approaching and heard Li Hongwei speak about her son.
• A mixed pack attacked from three directions, and Xu Wuyi killed six Ironclaw Wolves before helping Chen Wu defeat three Earthwalker Beasts.
• After the battle, Xu Wuyi rested and reflected on guarding as calm, precise control, possibly an expression of the earth’s qualities.

Xu Wuyi led his squad through three days of increasingly fierce Star Beast attacks while protecting the mining operation. After the mining was completed, the exhausted squad began its quiet return to the outpost, with Xu Wuyi and Zhou Heng keeping watch.

• Xu Wuyi and the squad repelled six waves of Star Beasts on the second day as they coordinated around his precise attacks.
• Xu Wuyi spent the night reflecting on guarding, bearing, and the earth but could not yet connect the ideas.
• On the third day, Xu Wuyi used Golden Crow Space-Splitting Pierce to kill three Heavy-Armored Rhinoceroses, giving the wounded squad time to regroup.
• Xu Wuyi led the defense for two more hours until the mining mech completed its collection, and the Star Beast swarm retreated.
• Xu Wuyi and Zhou Heng stayed awake to keep watch on the journey back to the outpost, where Zhou Heng thanked Xu Wuyi for helping the squad endure.

After completing a fifteen-day deployment, Xu Wuyi rested, continued his cultivation and missions, and steadily improved while reflecting on defense, bearing, and acceptance. In mid-November, he returned to Star Martial University and prepared to enter seclusion.

• Zhao Tieshan welcomed the returning team, arranged treatment for the injured, and gave them half a day to rest.
• Xu Wuyi reflected on how combat had deepened his understanding of defense and bearing, then helped Squad Five improve its patrol efficiency.
• Xu Wuyi completed the fifteen-day deployment with Squad Five and returned to Xingjing, where he spent three days resting before returning to cultivation and missions.
• Xu Wuyi maintained S-rank assessment ratings and completed deployments across several Star Realms as his Life Energy Level reached 38.7 and his mental level remained at 39.9.
• Xu Wuyi declined the next deployment mission, took leave, and returned to Star Martial University to begin seclusion in the underground cultivation chamber.

Xu Wuyi completed the Golden Crow Bearing the Earth Visualization Method’s hundredth round, breaking through spiritual level 40 and forming a complete Heart Image of the Golden Crow, mountain, and earth. He realized he still needed to strengthen his spiritual power before becoming a Xiantian Martial Master, then spent three days cultivating to stabilize his breakthrough.

• Xu Wuyi recalled his experiences and insights before beginning the hundredth visualization of Golden Crow Bearing the Earth.
• The Golden Crow and earth fused through a mountain image, allowing Xu Wuyi to break through to spiritual level 40 and complete his Heart Image.
• Xu Wuyi manifested a miniature dark-gold Heart Image in his palm and recognized that Xiantian was within reach.
• Xu Wuyi sensed that his Heart Image was connected to his qi and blood, spirit, and will, but knew he still needed to strengthen it before manifesting it in the world.
• Xu Wuyi continued the Visualization Method, found that his Heart Image formed a positive cycle with his spiritual power, and cultivated for three days to stabilize his new realm.

Xu Wuyi stabilized his Heart Image at major completion, prompting Han Mo to come inspect it and warn him that his rapid progress would attract attention and possible obstruction. The chapter leaves Han Mo urging Xu Wuyi to stay patient and beware of those who might hinder him.

• After three days of visualization, Xu Wuyi completed his Heart Image and consolidated his spiritual realm at level 40.
• Xu Wuyi told Han Mo about his achievement, and Han Mo urgently came to Hidden Dragon Garden to see it for himself.
• Xu Wuyi manifested his solid, connected Heart Image, and Han Mo confirmed that it had reached major completion.
• Han Mo told Xu Wuyi that he had advanced beyond Hong Nianyi and Pan Yan on the path toward Xiantian.
• Xu Wuyi said that going far mattered more than progressing quickly, and Han Mo praised his mindset before warning that others might target his progress.

Han Mo advised Xu Wuyi to conceal his completed Heart Image, pause garrison assignments, and focus on consolidating his realm before reaching Xiantian. After contacting Flame Venerable, Xu Wuyi tested his Heart Image’s abilities and began exploring how its mountain and Golden Crow powers could strengthen him.

• Han Mo warned Xu Wuyi that revealing his completed Heart Image could attract jealousy and schemes, and urged him to keep it hidden until he broke through to Xiantian.
• Xu Wuyi agreed to limit his Heart Image’s use, pause garrison assignments, and focus on consolidation, control, and the Visualization Method.
• Han Mo suggested Xu Wuyi tell Flame Venerable about his progress, and Xu Wuyi sent him a brief message.
• Xu Wuyi manifested his Heart Image in the training room and found that its mountain intent strengthened his defense while the Golden Crow’s power amplified his offense.
• Xu Wuyi withdrew the Heart Image, recognized that its two intents could be balanced or combined, and resolved to master its power.

Xu Wuyi followed his mentors’ advice to keep his strength hidden and focused on refining his Heart Image and Life Energy. In December, Qiao Zhiyao broke through to Martial Master, and after Xu Wuyi advised her not to rush her cultivation, she challenged him to a Battle Net spar.

• Flame Venerable warned Xu Wuyi not to reveal his strength before reaching Xiantian, so Xu Wuyi abandoned plans to attract resources by showing off.
• Xu Wuyi settled into a steady routine, using Golden Crow Bearing the Earth to refine his mental power and learning from Han Mo to communicate with and control his Heart Image.
• Qiao Zhiyao told Xu Wuyi that she had broken through to Martial Master after a prolonged bottleneck.
• Xu Wuyi congratulated Qiao Zhiyao and advised her to let her foundation settle instead of rushing to keep up with his progress.
• Qiao Zhiyao challenged Xu Wuyi to spar on Battle Net, insisting that combat was the best way to consolidate her new realm.

Xu Wuyi guided Qiao Zhiyao through a spar after her breakthrough, then continued cultivating as his friends advanced along their own paths. By February, he was methodically preparing for a Xiantian breakthrough when a flood of alerts interrupted his meditation.

• Xu Wuyi sparred with Qiao Zhiyao, deflecting her attacks without using his Heart Image or spiritual power, and advised her to consolidate her new Martial Master realm.
• Xu Wuyi monitored his growing Heart Image and spiritual power while his Life Energy Level reached 39.9, just short of the Xiantian threshold.
• Yu Peiling broke through to Martial Master, while Zeng Bonan advanced to Life Energy Level 34 and Tana left Zhao Qingwei's team to focus on cultivation.
• Zhao Qingwei told Xu Wuyi that Grandmaster Lin had agreed to guide her monthly and relayed Zhao Cizhou's promise of support; Xu Wuyi learned that Yue Lianshan was away on an urgent Astral Battlefield mission.
• In February, Xu Wuyi continued rehearsing Heart Image manifestation as his Life Energy Level remained at 39.9, until his personal terminal began vibrating with a stream of alerts.

Xu Wuyi learned that a surprise attack on the Astral Battlefield had killed Grandmaster Yue Lianshan and devastated Federation forces, while Han Mo had just left for the front. The Federation prepared for war, leaving Xu Wuyi to face the limits of his own strength as the crisis escalated.

• Xu Wuyi received urgent news that the Sirius Civilization and Feathered Human Civilization had attacked a Federation stronghold in the Shattered Star Belt.
• Xu Wuyi tried to contact Han Mo but could not reach him outside Federation coverage, then called Zhao Qingwei for details.
• Zhao Qingwei told Xu Wuyi that Han Mo had only departed for the battlefield that day, while Grandmaster Yue Lianshan had been confirmed dead.
• Zhao Qingwei revealed that three Grandmasters, fifteen Xiantian Martial Artists, and the entire Shattered Star special operations brigade had been lost, and Yue Lianshan's body had not been recovered.
• Zhao Qingwei said the Federation had placed all Astral Battlefields on Level One combat readiness and begun requisitioning powerful combatants for a counterattack.

After learning that three Grandmasters had died at the front, Xu Wuyi searched for a way to act but found the Federation restricting access to battlefield missions. He discovered Hong Nianyi’s unsanctioned plan to strike a Sirius resource realm and faced the prospect of joining a nearly suicidal mission.

• Zhao Qingwei warned Xu Wuyi not to act recklessly and promised to share any news about Teacher Han.
• Xu Wuyi read rumors on Star Martial University’s forum about the Grandmasters’ deaths and the possible alliance between Sirius and the Feathered Humans.
• Xu Wuyi found that Federation rules and screening blocked non-military Martial Artists from taking Astral Battlefield missions.
• Xu Wuyi found Hong Nianyi’s Red Star mission seeking two more members for a sabotage operation in the Sirius Fourth Star Realm.
• Xu Wuyi assessed the realm’s defenses and understood that the operation offered little chance of survival and no official support.

Xu Wuyi submitted an application to join Hong Nianyi’s dangerous mission, driven by the deaths and sacrifices on the battlefield. Hong Nianyi summoned him to the Battle Net and explained why she did not recommend he participate.

• Xu Wuyi recalled the warnings from Han Mo, Flame Venerable, and Zhao Cizhou, but submitted his application to Hong Nianyi’s mission.
• Xu Wuyi strengthened his resolve by visualizing his Heart Image and circulating the Golden Crow Bearing the Earth.
• Hong Nianyi invited Xu Wuyi to meet her at the Battle Net private space called Broken Blade Platform.
• Hong Nianyi told Xu Wuyi she did not recommend his participation because his talent made his future contributions more valuable, and because she had found more experienced Martial Masters willing to risk their lives.