Chapter Summaries

Xu Wuyi completed seven days of conditioning, stabilizing his foundation and bringing his Heart Image close to perfection. After spending the winter with his parents in Honghe, he left to return to Star Martial University for his final months before graduation.

• Xu Wuyi used the Anchoring Stone, Earth Vein Nectar, and a Nine-Orifice Essence-Congealing Pill to condition his body and Heart Image during seven days of seclusion.
• During Xu Wuyi’s retreat, the Lin Family declared bankruptcy and moved west, while the Qiao Family led plans for a Martial Artist Cultural Exchange Center in Honghe.
• Xu Wuyi emerged with a Level 44 life energy rating, a 97.5-point foundation score, and an instability index of 0.3%.
• Xu Wuyi shared breakfast with his parents and reassured them that he felt fully recovered.
• In February, Xu Wuyi said goodbye to his parents and left with Zhou Zheng for the spaceport to return to Star Martial University.

Xu Wuyi returned to Star Martial University and met his teacher Han Mo, who challenged him to a sparring match on the Battle Net. Their fight began with Xu Wuyi demonstrating his precise defense and gravity field against Han Mo’s sword attacks.

• Xu Wuyi arrived in Yuntai City and returned to Star Martial University without notifying anyone.
• Xu Wuyi visited Han Mo at Lingyun Cottage and revealed that he had reached Level 44 after gaining insight into his Heart Image.
• Xu Wuyi told Han Mo that he would continue walking the path of Grandmaster Yue Lianshan’s legacy.
• Han Mo invited Xu Wuyi to spar, and they entered a private training space on the Star Martial Battle Net.
• Han Mo attacked with his sword, but Xu Wuyi precisely blocked his thrust and then used his gravity field to disrupt Han Mo’s next assault.

Xu Wuyi and Han Mo fought to a draw, with Xu Wuyi using Heavy Flame and Heavy Water to withstand Han Mo’s quasi-Grandmaster sword technique. Afterward, Han Mo praised Xu Wuyi’s potential, and Xu Wuyi decided to spend his final months of school quietly on campus.

• Han Mo increased the pressure with the Mountain Form of the Azure Underworld Sword Art, and Xu Wuyi countered with Heavy Flame, knocking Han Mo back.
• Xu Wuyi and Han Mo exchanged hundreds of attacks and remained evenly matched.
• Han Mo used Heavenfall, but Xu Wuyi’s Heavy Water Domain slowed the sword phantom, and their final clash ended with both fighters sent flying.
• Han Mo told Xu Wuyi that his Heart Image and understanding of the rules were strong, but he still needed to build up his Life Energy Level.
• Xu Wuyi told Han Mo he had not decided whether to go to the front lines or teach after graduation, and planned to spend his final months at school.

After the war, Xu Wuyi sought guidance on how to advance toward becoming a quasi-Grandmaster. He studied martial arts insights and consulted several experts, but realized that he would have to find his own way to manifest his Heart Image.

• Xu Wuyi reflected on how far he had advanced since arriving at Star Martial University and resumed his daily training.
• He Yifeng gave Xu Wuyi a list of Grandmasters and quasi-Grandmasters who were open to visitors and advised him to learn from different teachers.
• Xu Wuyi spent an afternoon in the university library studying differing theories of Heart Image manifestation and concluded that none fully suited him.
• Xu Wuyi visited Professor Liu, who described Heart Image manifestation as forming a stable energy structure.
• Professor Chen advised Xu Wuyi to find harmony between the Heavy Water and Golden Crow in his Heart Image, while Instructor Wang urged him to focus on making it effective in combat.
• Xu Wuyi listened to the experts' conflicting views, took notes, and returned to consider them on his own.

Xu Wuyi graduated from Star Martial University after reaching Life Energy Level 46 and delivered a speech about the martial path as a means to protect others and pursue one’s values. As his classmates shared their plans for the future, he spotted Zeng Bonan entering the auditorium.

• Xu Wuyi’s Life Energy Level rose to 45 in mid-April and reached the threshold of 46 by the end of May.
• Xu Wuyi attended Star Martial University’s graduation ceremony and gave a speech as the outstanding graduate representative.
• After the ceremony, Shen Wei told Xu Wuyi he planned to serve in the Western Desert border defense army, while Yu Peiling said she would pursue graduate research at Star Martial.
• Xu Wuyi reunited with classmates who described their plans, including Qin Rui joining his family’s development corps, Zhao Qingwei returning to Xingjing, and Tana returning to the Western Desert.
• As Xu Wuyi prepared to leave the auditorium, Zeng Bonan entered through a side door.

After graduating, Xu Wuyi said farewell to Zeng Bonan, who had become a formidable martial artist and planned to work at Cosmos Martial Arts Hall. Xu Wuyi set off for the Western Desert to visit Flame Venerable, traveling aboard Tana’s family aircraft as she returned to take on tribal affairs.

• Xu Wuyi congratulated Zeng Bonan on his progress, and Zeng Bonan explained his plans to cultivate and work as an assistant instructor at Cosmos Martial Arts Hall.
• Zeng Bonan thanked Xu Wuyi for helping him persevere, and the two parted ways.
• The day after graduation, Xu Wuyi prepared to travel to the Western Desert to visit Flame Venerable.
• Tana invited Xu Wuyi to join her family’s aircraft, and he accepted her offer.
• Xu Wuyi boarded the aircraft with Tana and two royal guards, and they departed Yuntai City for the Western Desert.
• Tana told Xu Wuyi that her father expected her to become involved in tribal affairs and that she would spend most of her time in the Western Desert.

Xu Wuyi traveled to the Western Desert with Tana and reunited with Ta Shan before visiting Flame Venerable. After testing Xu Wuyi’s Heart Image, Flame Venerable recognized that it embodied the concept of weight, and Xu Wuyi explained how it had transformed.

• Xu Wuyi told Tana he planned to travel and learn from Grandmasters and quasi-Grandmasters.
• Xu Wuyi and Tana arrived in the Western Desert, where Ta Shan welcomed them and arranged a visit with Flame Venerable.
• Xu Wuyi rested at the palace, then went with Ta Shan to Flame Cottage to meet Flame Venerable.
• Flame Venerable tested Xu Wuyi’s Heart Image and sensed its unusual concept of weight.
• Xu Wuyi explained how his Heart Image of the mountain and great sun had transformed into a marsh and the Golden Crow after he comprehended gravity.

Flame Venerable warned Xu Wuyi about the tension between Heavy Water and his Heart Fire, then suggested a way to make his Heart Image more dynamic and offered to contact Grandmaster Liang Sixian for guidance. The next morning, Tana brought Xu Wuyi to meet her father, Prince Tamur.

• Flame Venerable told Xu Wuyi that his Heart Image’s heaviness and yin softness lay beyond Flame Venerable’s expertise and could threaten its balance with the Golden Crow.
• Flame Venerable recommended that Xu Wuyi seek guidance from Grandmaster Liang Sixian and offered to contact her through his connections.
• Flame Venerable advised Xu Wuyi to let undercurrents animate his Heavy Water and allow the Golden Crow to move within it, giving Xu Wuyi a new idea for his Heart Image.
• The next morning, Tana invited Xu Wuyi to visit her father, and she drove him to an independent courtyard in the palace’s core district.
• Prince Tamur sat brewing tea in the courtyard pavilion as Xu Wuyi and Tana arrived.

Xu Wuyi visited Tamur at the Western Desert Royal Family and agreed to guide its younger generation. At the training ground, Tana introduced him to the gathered royal youths, including her younger sister Wufei.

• Tamur welcomed Xu Wuyi warmly, praised his achievements on the Astral Battlefield, and asked him to guide the Royal Family's young people.
• Xu Wuyi agreed to offer guidance without payment, and Tamur arranged for the session to take place at two that afternoon.
• Tana told Xu Wuyi that more than thirty young royals had signed up to meet him and led him to the inner training ground.
• Tana introduced Xu Wuyi to the gathered youths, including the Martial Master Talun and several young Martial Artists.
• Tana introduced her younger sister Wufei, who was in her final year of high school and preparing for the College Entrance Examination.

Xu Wuyi began coaching Tana’s young royal relatives by challenging them to fight him in the Battle Net while he used only Level 10 Life Energy and the Basic Body Tempering Method. He defeated Taji and identified flaws in his technique, leaving the others impressed as the training continued.

• Tana introduced Wufei, who hoped to enter Star Martial University, and the other young royal relatives to Xu Wuyi.
• Xu Wuyi told the group to log into the Battle Net and said he would coach anyone who could defeat him while he suppressed his Life Energy Level to 10.
• Taji volunteered for the first match and attacked Xu Wuyi with the Flame Fist.
• Xu Wuyi evaded Taji’s attacks with basic footwork, then stopped him with a precise strike near his throat.
• Xu Wuyi advised Taji to practice the Flame-Walking Step and control his impatience, while the gathered relatives reacted with surprise at his defeat.

Xu Wuyi defeated more than thirty young royal Martial Artists while keeping his Life Energy Level at 10, then gave Su Ya, Tana, and Wufei advice on their fighting techniques. The chapter left Wufei reflecting on how to develop the intent behind her moves, having admitted she had little real combat experience.

• Xu Wuyi defeated Su Ya and advised her to practice Silk-Winding Force with her bare hands so she would not rely too heavily on her whip.
• Xu Wuyi won more than thirty matches using only the Basic Body Tempering Method and told Tana that her hammer techniques needed soft force.
• After no one else volunteered, Wufei challenged Xu Wuyi, and he let her complete a full set of Basic Flame Fist techniques.
• Xu Wuyi demonstrated how an opponent could disrupt Wufei's jab and explained that she needed to understand her moves' intent and use.
• Wufei admitted she had few opportunities for real combat.

Xu Wuyi guided the Western Desert Royal Family’s young Martial Artists, then attended a dinner hosted by Prince Tamur. Afterward, he advised Ta Shan on his Fire Mountain Heart Image and learned that Wufei admired him.

• Xu Wuyi accepted that Wufei should not risk harming her mind through Battle Net training, then gave detailed guidance to the young Martial Artists.
• Prince Tamur thanked Xu Wuyi at a family dinner and offered him access to the Western Desert Royal Family’s secret realms and cultivation resources.
• Ta Shan contacted Xu Wuyi to ask how to make his Fire Mountain Heart Image more solid, and Xu Wuyi suggested connecting it to the earth beneath it.
• Ta Shan told Xu Wuyi that Wufei had been excited and kept asking Tana questions about him, and Xu Wuyi replied that she had good talent but lacked experience.

Xu Wuyi traveled from the Western Desert to Northland to exchange martial insights with Fang Fu while Grandmaster Liang Sixian remained in seclusion. He reached Black Stone Academy and was brought to the meditation room where Fang Fu was waiting.

• Flame Venerable told Xu Wuyi that Grandmaster Liang Sixian was in a Star Realm secret realm and offered him the choice to wait or meet her disciple Fang Fu in Northland.
• Xu Wuyi chose to leave the next day and received contact details for Chen Zhang, a senior steward of Skyscraper Tower.
• Xu Wuyi bade Prince Tamur farewell, then flew from the Western Desert to Northland as Tana and Ta Shan saw him off.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at Frost Airport, contacted Chen Zhang, and rode with him to Black Stone Academy.
• Chen Zhang led Xu Wuyi to the meditation room on the fourth floor, where Fang Fu was waiting.

Xu Wuyi met Lecturer Fang Fu at Black Stone Academy to exchange insights about their water-based Heart Images. Fang Fu’s guidance gave him a new way to consider balancing Heavy Water with Heart Fire, though he still had to discover how to fuse his distinct Heart Images himself.

• Fang Fu welcomed Xu Wuyi and explained that her Still Water Heart Image shared aspects of his newly formed Heavy Water Heart Image.
• Xu Wuyi released his Heart Image, and Fang Fu recognized that its heaviness carried the weight of his will as well as physical force.
• Fang Fu demonstrated her Still Water Heart Image and explained how stillness could contain movement without losing its harmony.
• Xu Wuyi asked how to prevent Heavy Water’s sinking nature from suppressing Heart Fire, and Fang Fu advised him to find life and flow within the sinking.
• Fang Fu showed Xu Wuyi water that was still on the outside but moving within, leaving him with a vague insight into his more difficult task of fusing two Heart Images.

Xu Wuyi settled into his residence at Black Stone Academy and used Fang Fu’s insights about stillness and movement to rethink his Heavy Water Heart Image. Over several days of study and discussion, he learned to let the great marsh flow naturally, and it began to surge steadily from within.

• Fang Fu gave Xu Wuyi a temporary pass and urged him to explore Black Stone Academy’s library and training areas.
• Xu Wuyi observed the dark-gold great marsh in his sea of consciousness and realized that Heavy Water contained a concealed inner flow.
• Xu Wuyi settled into his Academy residence, reviewed his access to its resources, and planned to visit the library.
• Xu Wuyi practiced, studied, and met Fang Fu every other day to discuss his Heart Image.
• Fang Fu told Xu Wuyi to allow the great marsh to move naturally instead of deliberately driving its flow.
• Xu Wuyi relaxed his mind, and the Heavy Water in his Heart Image began to surge steadily along interconnected paths.

Xu Wuyi advised Zhai Zidu on how to bring his Ice Soul Heart Image to completion, then agreed to spar with him in the Battle Net. The chapter ended as Zhai Zidu charged Xu Wuyi in a match using only martial techniques.

• Xu Wuyi improved his Heavy Water Heart Image under Fang Fu's guidance.
• Zhai Zidu contacted Xu Wuyi and visited him at the Black Stone Academy library to ask about completing his Ice Soul Heart Image.
• Xu Wuyi suggested that Zhai Zidu study a real glacier and observe how it changes beneath its still appearance.
• Zhai Zidu asked to spar with Xu Wuyi in the Battle Net without using Heart Images, and Xu Wuyi agreed.
• Zhai Zidu charged Xu Wuyi with the Northland Frost Fist as their match began.

Xu Wuyi defeated Zhai Zidu in two Battle Net matches and gained a reputation at Black Stone Academy for his fighting skill and guidance. As Northland visitors began arriving in droves, the Xiantian Martial Master Yan Song sought his advice on the oppressive, lifeless quality of his Heart Image, and Xu Wuyi led him to reconsider the purpose of battle.

• Xu Wuyi defeated Zhai Zidu twice in the Battle Net and advised him on his combat experience and tactics.
• Zhai Zidu thanked Xu Wuyi after they discussed martial insights, and word of their exchange spread through Northland.
• Martial Artists from Black Stone Academy visited Xu Wuyi for sparring and guidance, causing his reputation to grow.
• Chen Zhang brought Yan Song, the Northland Frost Blade, to meet Xu Wuyi and seek advice about his Frozen Plains Blade Domain.
• Xu Wuyi asked Yan Song what his blade domain was for beyond killing enemies, then pressed him to consider the purpose of battle.

Xu Wuyi guided Yan Song to reconsider his blade domain, then spent days exchanging martial insights with Northland Martial Artists. As his Heart Image changed, he discovered its breathing rhythm and began exploring what would happen if he pushed its contraction to the limit.

• Yan Song told Xu Wuyi that he questioned whether his martial skills existed only to kill, and Xu Wuyi suggested that life could exist within the ice plains and within Yan Song’s blade domain.
• Yan Song thanked Xu Wuyi and left to contemplate his insight, while Chen Zhang predicted that more visitors would seek Xu Wuyi’s guidance.
• Xu Wuyi welcomed Northland Martial Artists for sparring and discussions, and their exchanges quietly changed his Heart Image.
• On the seventh night, Xu Wuyi sensed his dark-gold marsh contracting and expanding in rhythm with his breathing, giving it a sense of life.
• Xu Wuyi synchronized himself with the marsh’s pulse and wondered what would happen if he pushed its contraction to its absolute limit.

Xu Wuyi developed Heavy Water Sphere by compressing his Great Marsh’s Heavy Water into a dense, crushing attack, then spent two days stabilizing the technique. After saying farewell to Fang Fu and Chen Zhang, he prepared to leave Northland for the Star Realm Research Institute.

• Xu Wuyi compressed Heavy Water from one percent of his Great Marsh and crushed a testing post, realizing the method could become a martial art.
• Xu Wuyi spent two days practicing the compression, found that he could reliably handle about eight percent of the Great Marsh, and named the technique Heavy Water Sphere.
• Xu Wuyi completed his final breathing adjustment, bringing the rhythm of the Great Marsh and the Golden Crow into harmony.
• Xu Wuyi called Fang Fu to bid farewell, and she offered to notify him when her master returned in about half a month.
• Xu Wuyi told Chen Zhang he planned to leave Northland for the Star Realm Research Institute, and Chen Zhang offered to arrange a private aircraft.
• Chen Zhang told Xu Wuyi that Yan Song had made progress in seclusion, gaining a thread of “life in the frozen plains” in his blade domain and loosening more than half of his bottleneck.

Xu Wuyi returned from the Northland to the Star Realm Research Institute to turn his Heavy Water Sphere insight into a martial art. Ye Guanlan proposed improving its compression and eventually combining it with Xu Wuyi’s Golden Crow Heart Fire.

• Chen Zhang arranged a hovercar to take Xu Wuyi to Frost Airport, and his private jet carried him from the Northland to Capital Planet Jing.
• On the flight, Xu Wuyi reviewed his gains from the Northland and decided to solidify his new Heavy Water Sphere insight at the institute.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at the Star Realm Research Institute and met Ye Guanlan in the Heart-Image Martial Art Department.
• Xu Wuyi demonstrated his dark gold water sphere and explained its compression, energy consumption, and duration to Ye Guanlan.
• Ye Guanlan analyzed Xu Wuyi’s Heart Image and proposed using a new compression technique to improve the Heavy Water Sphere while reducing its mental burden.
• Xu Wuyi agreed to explore a second-stage technique that would combine compressed heavy water with Golden Crow Heart Fire.