Chapter Summaries

Xu Wuyi’s rapid response unit finished its homeland defense mission as Sirius attacks dwindled and the Federation shifted toward a war of attrition. After receiving his rewards and a rest period, Xu Wuyi returned to Cloud Sea Residence, where his mother welcomed him home.

• Xu Wuyi’s second squad outperformed Tang Xiuqi’s first squad at clearing scattered werewolf forces, while Tang Xiuqi noted that Sirius attacks were decreasing.
• Xu Wuyi and Tang Xiuqi read reports that the Federation had killed the Sirius Civilization’s seventh deity and was beginning the attrition stage of its campaign.
• The command center lowered Dongjiang Province’s alert level, ended the first rapid response unit’s mission, and awarded Xu Wuyi 10,800 merit points and the team a collective third-class merit citation.
• Xu Wuyi maintained his equipment, left the command center, and took a taxi to Cloud Sea Residence.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at his family’s villa, where Mother Xu welcomed him and asked why he had returned early.

Xu Wuyi returned home after the frontline fighting, spent several days resting and cultivating, then went to the provincial command headquarters for a ceremony honoring the homeland defense operation. The ceremony began with casualty figures and an announcement that awards would be presented.

• Xu Wuyi reunited with his parents and reassured them that everyone on his mission had made it through.
• Xu Wuyi studied the Fire Source Stone and cultivated, strengthening his Heart Image while reflecting on the distant path ahead.
• On the fourth day of his rest, Xu Wuyi received orders to attend the summary and medal conferment ceremony at provincial command headquarters.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at the ceremony, where Tang Xiuqi, Li Shuang, Ji Shanhai, and other military personnel had gathered.
• The director of the Dongjiang Province Martial Arts Department reported casualties of seventeen killed, thirty-four seriously wounded, and more than two hundred lightly wounded before beginning the awards announcement.

After receiving a Third-Class Merit, Xu Wuyi met with Qiao Tongyu, who lifted Dongjiang Province’s full alert and asked him to join the military as a regular officer. Xu Wuyi declined the appointment but agreed to consider a mission against the Feathered Human Civilization, which depended on him developing his Heart Image into a complete martial art.

• Tang Xiuqi, Zhao Kun, and other fighters received individual honors before Xu Wuyi accepted a Third-Class Merit medal.
• Qiao Tongyu told Xu Wuyi that Dongjiang Province’s full alert had ended and that the battle group members could return to their units or choose new assignments.
• Qiao Tongyu asked Xu Wuyi to become a regular military officer, but Xu Wuyi declined so he could focus on martial arts and retain control of his time.
• Qiao Tongyu proposed that Xu Wuyi fight on the Feathered Human Civilization front, where his Heart Image could counter their airborne units.
• Xu Wuyi agreed to go, and Qiao Tongyu warned that he needed to turn his embryonic Heart Image domain into a complete Heart-Image Martial Art first.

Xu Wuyi agreed to have the Star Realm Research Institute refine his Golden Crow Heart Image into an inheritable martial art, taking on a discounted fee rather than joining the military. He arrived at the institute three days later and met Ye Guanlan, who prepared to begin the collaboration.

• Qiao Tongyu offered Xu Wuyi the institute's optimization project, requiring him to give the refined martial art to the Federation and pay one hundred thousand merit points.
• Xu Wuyi declined Qiao Tongyu's offer to waive the fee in exchange for joining the military and agreed to repay the debt in installments within three years.
• Qiao Tongyu arranged for Xu Wuyi to visit the institute in three days and told him Ye Guanlan would oversee the project.
• Xu Wuyi traveled to the institute's underground headquarters near Xingjing and met Ye Guanlan, who explained that his Golden Crow Heart Image would be the department's eighteenth project.
• Ye Guanlan led Xu Wuyi into a laboratory to discuss the collaboration and begin refining his martial art.

Xu Wuyi worked with Ye Guanlan at the research institute to analyze his Heart Image and develop a martial arts system to strengthen it. After a comprehensive scan and three days of supplementary tests, Ye Guanlan prepared to present three proposed frameworks.

• Xu Wuyi explained how his Golden Crow Bearing the Earth Heart Image formed, and Ye Guanlan identified its imbalance between solar fire and earth.
• Ye Guanlan proposed a system called Golden Crow Burns the Heart to refine Xu Wuyi’s solar fire abilities, while offering research support to help him complete the earth portion.
• Xu Wuyi agreed to begin, and Ye Guanlan scanned his Heart Image to establish a baseline model.
• Ye Guanlan told Xu Wuyi that the institute would simulate a hundred thousand martial arts frameworks and select three options over three days.
• Xu Wuyi stayed at the institute and cooperated with Ye Guanlan on supplementary tests of his body and Heart Image.

Xu Wuyi reviewed three martial arts frameworks designed around his Heart Image and entered the Federation research institute’s virtual combat zone to test them. He tried Plan One against a werewolf priest, then selected group combat to continue testing as fifty werewolf warriors appeared.

• Ye Guanlan presented Xu Wuyi with three Golden Crow Burns the Heart plans: Extreme Flame, Wildfire, and Chain Inferno.
• Xu Wuyi asked to test all three plans, and Ye Guanlan led him to the research institute’s Virtual Combat Zone.
• Xu Wuyi entered a spherical pod and loaded the martial arts frameworks into a high-fidelity virtual battlefield.
• Xu Wuyi tested Extreme Flame against a level 46 virtual werewolf priest and destroyed it in under two seconds, using about five percent of his Heart Image power.
• Xu Wuyi switched to group-target mode, where fifty level 35 werewolf warriors appeared in formation.

Xu Wuyi combined three flame techniques into the long-range area attack Wildfire, then spent ten days refining and archiving the martial art. As he finished his final cultivation period, Hong Nianyi unexpectedly arrived at his door.

• Xu Wuyi tested three Heart Image flame techniques and decided to combine their strengths into a battlefield-focused martial art.
• With Ye Guanlan and the researchers' help, Xu Wuyi developed a long-range area attack that could strike up to fifty targets within three hundred meters.
• Xu Wuyi spent ten days training until he could reliably generate more than thirty flame true seals, and Ye Guanlan recorded the martial art's improved performance.
• Xu Wuyi named the martial art Golden Crow Burns the Heart; Wildfire, and the institute archived its cultivation method and energy pathways.
• Xu Wuyi returned to the guest quarters for two days of quiet cultivation, but Hong Nianyi unexpectedly came to visit.

Xu Wuyi completed Golden Crow Burns the Heart; Blazing Prairie and prepared to leave for the Feathered Human Civilization front, while Hong Nianyi continued treatment for her damaged origin. After two days of cultivation, he used an Epiphany to raise the martial art’s Beginner proficiency to 29.8%.

• Hong Nianyi visited Xu Wuyi, explained her origin treatment, and warned him that the Feathered Human battlefield would be difficult.
• Xu Wuyi told Hong Nianyi he planned to leave for the Feathered Human Civilization front in a few days, and she asked him to return alive.
• Xu Wuyi confirmed that Golden Crow Burns the Heart; Blazing Prairie had been recorded by the [Martial Dao Diligence Record] at Beginner (0.1%).
• Xu Wuyi repeatedly rehearsed the martial art in the meditation chamber until he earned an Epiphany.
• Xu Wuyi integrated his insights and raised Golden Crow Burns the Heart; Blazing Prairie to Beginner (29.8%).

Xu Wuyi reached Minor Achievement in his Heart-Image Martial Art after five days of intense cultivation, gaining a trait that strengthened his flame seals through resonance. He tested the technique against a simulated Feathered Human force, where it devastated their aerial formation.

• Researchers observed Xu Wuyi’s unusually rapid, near-daily leaps in martial art proficiency and predicted he was approaching Minor Achievement.
• On the evening of the fifth day, Xu Wuyi broke through to Minor Achievement and gained the trait “Fire Seals resonate, increasing their power.”
• Xu Wuyi entered the Virtual Combat Zone and summoned one hundred level 35-to-38 Feathered Human warriors in aerial formation.
• Xu Wuyi designated the densest part of the formation and ignited more than sixty resonating flame true seals across the airspace.
• The flames killed more than forty Feathered Human warriors in ten seconds, while the survivors fled with their formation broken.

Xu Wuyi rapidly advanced Golden Crow Burns the Heart; Scorching Prairie at the Star Realm Research Institute, where it was assessed as a powerful battlefield martial art. After a month of training, he received orders to deploy to the Quicksand Star Realm and prepare to fight the Feathered Human Civilization.

• Xu Wuyi used Golden Crow Burns the Heart; Scorching Prairie to devastate a simulated Feathered Human force, prompting Ye Guanlan to classify his combat data as encrypted and report it to the military.
• Xu Wuyi advanced the martial art from Minor Achievement to Major Achievement, unlocking the Heart Fire Undying, Embers Reignite trait.
• After one month at the institute, Xu Wuyi reached Major Achievement (34.7%), and the Federation assessed the martial art as B+-rank; he chose to list it for 1.2 million Federal Credits.
• Xu Wuyi received an encrypted dispatch ordering him to report to the Quicksand Star Realm within forty-eight hours and join the Sixteenth Rapid Response Cluster.
• Xu Wuyi told Ye Guanlan he would leave the next day, and Ye Guanlan said the Quicksand Star Realm's enemies were suitable for sharpening his blade.

Xu Wuyi left the research institute for the Quicksand Star Realm, but was diverted to meet Deputy Minister Feng Zhuohua before departing. Feng explained that Flame Venerable had asked him to protect Xu Wuyi and offered him safer assignments, then asked whether he still chose to face the dangers of the Quicksand Star Realm.

• Ye Guanlan gave Xu Wuyi three enhanced mental recovery potions and warned him about the Feathered Humans’ Wind Whisper Priests.
• Xu Wuyi boarded a shuttle from the research institute and headed toward the Quicksand Star Realm.
• The shuttle landed at a military restricted zone near Xingjing, where a major escorted Xu Wuyi to meet Minister Feng.
• Feng Zhuohua told Xu Wuyi that Flame Venerable had gone to the Molten Fire Abyss front and had asked him to keep Xu Wuyi from charging into danger.
• Feng explained that Xu Wuyi could be reassigned to the Greenwood Realm or Bedrock Defense Line, then asked whether he still wanted to go to the Quicksand Star Realm.

Xu Wuyi explained why he intended to fight in the Quicksand Star Realm, and Feng Zhuohua warned him about its dangers before giving him Starcore Sinking Gold to upgrade his spear. Xu Wuyi brought the materials to the Weapon Forging Chamber, where Supervisor Qin began assessing them.

• Xu Wuyi told Feng Zhuohua he wanted combat experience, merit, and a chance to complete his Heart Image in the Quicksand Star Realm.
• Feng Zhuohua described the Feathered Human Civilization and warned that its Wind Shadow Hunters would target Xu Wuyi.
• Feng Zhuohua gave Xu Wuyi Starcore Sinking Gold and sent him to have it fused into his Long Spear before traveling to the Quicksand Star Realm.
• Feng Zhuohua told Xu Wuyi to come back alive, and Xu Wuyi promised he would.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at the Weapon Forging Chamber and handed his Long Spear and Starcore Sinking Gold to Supervisor Qin for inspection.

Xu Wuyi received a newly forged spear, named it Prairie Fire, and traveled to the Quicksand Star Realm. The chapter left him at Sandstone Base, a Federation frontline installation in the desert.

• Supervisor Qin and the other two master craftsmen spent eighteen hours forging Xu Wuyi’s Long Spear with Starcore Sinking Gold.
• Xu Wuyi bound the finished spear to himself and named it Prairie Fire.
• At the No. 19 Plane Passage base, Xu Wuyi met Shi Yue, who offered to have his company protect him in the Quicksand Star Realm.
• Xu Wuyi and the other Martial Artists teleported to the Quicksand Star Realm.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at Sandstone Base and surveyed the Federation’s desert outpost.

Xu Wuyi arrived at Sandstone Base in the Quicksand Star Realm, where Zhao Rui explained that the military planned to use his area-clearing Heart-Image Martial Art in a major strike against the mobile Feathered Humans. As the base prepared its bait, Xu Wuyi spent five days acclimating and waiting for the operation.

• Shi Yue brought Xu Wuyi to meet Zhao Rui, commander of Sandstone Base, who briefed them on the Feathered Humans’ airborne guerrilla tactics.
• Zhao Rui explained that Xu Wuyi’s 300-meter Heart-Image Martial Art could counter massed enemy forces, but the military would wait for a chance to lure a large force into a decisive strike.
• Zhao Rui said the bait was already laid and the operation would begin within a week, while Shi Yue arranged Xu Wuyi’s accommodations and described the base’s forces.
• Xu Wuyi spent five days cultivating, adjusting to the realm’s gravity, and observing Sandstone Base’s defenses instead of joining patrols or combat missions.

Xu Wuyi and the Federation prepared an ambush at Wind Erosion Valley, while the Feathered Human priests debated whether the trapped reconnaissance company was bait and decided to proceed cautiously. As the encirclement neared completion, Xu Wuyi prepared to strike their command post, and the chapter ended just before the battle began.

• Shi Yue told Xu Wuyi that a Federation reconnaissance company was being used as bait at Wind Erosion Valley and assigned him to attack the Feathered Humans from behind with Prairie Fire.
• The Feathered Human priests questioned whether the apparent trap was genuine, but the young priest persuaded them to continue the encirclement while staying alert for danger.
• Zhao Rui briefed Xu Wuyi and the other Xiantian Martial Artists, ordering Xu Wuyi to target the Feathered Human command post as Shi Yue led a feint attack.
• Xu Wuyi focused on Golden Crow Burns the Heart and Prairie Fire as the Federation forces prepared to launch their assault.
• At five seventeen in the morning, Wind Erosion Valley remained dim beneath the not-yet-risen suns.

Xu Wuyi struck the Feathered Human command post and used his Heart Image power to devastate the enemy forces surrounding Wind Erosion Valley. As the Feathered Humans fell into chaos, the Deputy Commander led the Federation Martial Artists in a counterattack while Xu Wuyi continued his slaughter.

• The Deputy Commander kept the encircled Federation Martial Artists in position as the Feathered Humans began their assault.
• Xu Wuyi crashed into the Feathered Human command post and used Flame True Seals to kill three priests and more than two hundred nearby warriors.
• Xu Wuyi spread his Heart Image perception across Wind Erosion Valley and ignited several dense groups of Feathered Human troops.
• The Deputy Commander ordered the Federation Martial Artists to counterattack as the Feathered Human formations descended into chaos.
• Xu Wuyi swept through the enemy ranks, leaving more than half of the 2,100 Feathered Humans dead within ten minutes while surviving priests fled.

Xu Wuyi devastated the Feathered Humans at Wind Erosion Valley, while the Federation and the Feathered Human leadership assessed the battle’s consequences. The Feathered Humans faced immense losses, and their priests gathered as the threat Xu Wuyi posed became clear.

• Xu Wuyi killed three fleeing priests with Ultimate Flame, then incinerated a large group of Feathered Human warriors with more than three hundred true flame seals.
• Shi Yue reported that the Feathered Humans suffered 1,834 confirmed deaths and 41 priest-level deaths, while the Federation’s bait unit lost 21 people and the Third Squadron had no casualties.
• Xu Wuyi ordered the battlefield cleared and the wounded treated, then noted that the battle had increased his Golden Crow Burns the Heart proficiency.
• Zhao Rui received reports that Feathered Human outposts and forces were withdrawing, but warned that their civilization would likely send experts to target Xu Wuyi.
• Seven Feathered Human priests reviewed the battle footage and learned that fewer than three hundred of their 2,107 troops survived, including the loss of a High Priest.

After Xu Wuyi’s devastating attack forced the Feathered Humans to retreat, their priests identified him and requested elite assassins from their homeland. At Sandstone Base, Zhao Rui advised Xu Wuyi to withdraw, but Xu Wuyi proposed faking his departure to draw out the enemy.

• The Feathered Humans’ priests identified Xu Wuyi as the source of the fire that devastated their forces and resolved to investigate him and request at least three Wind Shadow Hunters.
• Xu Wuyi woke at Sandstone Base after three days of battle and meditation, having advanced his Prairie Fire martial art to 39.8% Major Mastery.
• Zhao Rui reported that the Feathered Humans had suffered 1,674 deaths, lost eleven outposts, and retreated to their main base as the Federation advanced eighty kilometers.
• Zhao Rui urged Xu Wuyi to leave because the enemy might summon experts to assassinate him, but Xu Wuyi asked what would happen if they falsely announced that he had returned to the Federation.

Xu Wuyi arranged a military ruse to lure Feathered Human experts into an ambush, and the command approved his plan. With Lei Hong and Ye Guanlan secretly supporting him, Xu Wuyi prepared to wait at Sandstone Base while the enemy was given a chance to strike.

• Xu Wuyi and Zhao Rui planned to make the Feathered Humans believe Xu Wuyi had left, then lure them into an ambush with hidden support fighters.
• The military approved the plan and assigned Lei Hong and Ye Guanlan to protect Xu Wuyi and help counter any Feathered Human experts.
• Lei Hong introduced himself to Xu Wuyi, while Ye Guanlan explained that he had joined to study Xu Wuyi's combat technique and analyze the enemy's curses.
• Zhao Rui said a skiff would openly leave the Quicksand Star Realm the next morning and that defenses around secondary strongholds would be loosened for three days.
• Xu Wuyi, Lei Hong, and Ye Guanlan prepared to lie low at Sandstone Base and wait for the Feathered Humans to take the bait.

Xu Wuyi stayed hidden while the Feathered Humans regained several strongholds, drawing them into a counteroffensive that the Federation intended to exploit. As five Wind Shadow Hunters arrived at Feathered Human headquarters, the old priest grew wary that the Federation was luring his forces into a trap.

• Xu Wuyi, Lei Hong, and Ye Guanlan remained in seclusion at Sandstone Base while the Feathered Humans tested the Federation's defenses and recaptured an outpost.
• The Feathered Humans captured two more outposts, and the old priest authorized localized counterattacks to reclaim outer strongholds.
• Xu Wuyi told Lei Hong and Ye Guanlan that he was ready to strike and planned to use the Feathered Humans' counteroffensive as a combat opportunity.
• The Feathered Humans recaptured six strongholds and advanced thirty kilometers while Zhao Rui assured Federation officers that Xu Wuyi would act at the right time.
• The old priest grew suspicious that the Federation was deliberately retreating, then learned that the Wind Shadow Hunters had arrived at headquarters.