Chapter Summaries

Lin Liren resigned as a councilor to take responsibility for the quota controversy, helping public anger subside. Xu Wuyi reflected on his lack of influence and continued training, determined to build the accumulation needed to advance in the Martial Dao.

• Lin Liren told the Lin Family that he had personally directed the quota to Su Yueling and would resign to take responsibility.
• The Lin Group announced Lin Liren’s resignation, which the Provincial Council accepted, and public outrage gradually faded.
• Principal Zhang Qiming told Xu Wuyi that Lin Liren had resigned; Xu Wuyi saw that others had used him in their struggle and felt his own lack of strength.
• On July 10, Xu Wuyi practiced the Hundred Refinements Furnace at Honghe No. 1 High School and considered how his earlier training had fueled his progress.
• Xu Wuyi resolved to practice every martial art a hundred times each day and continued cultivating with the Martial Dao Diligence Record in his sea of consciousness.

Xu Wuyi broke through to the beginner realm of the Hundred Refinements Furnace and chose Star Martial University after receiving offers from the Three Great Universities. On July 15, he returned to campus for the admission notices and reunited with Zhou Heng.

• Xu Wuyi reached the beginner level of the Hundred Refinements Furnace and saw his progress recorded in the Martial Dao Diligence Record.
• Principal Zhang Qiming and Teacher Wang Wenhai told Xu Wuyi that Star Martial University, Black Stone Academy, and Starry Sky Martial Institute had offered him S-rank freshman scholarships.
• Xu Wuyi chose Star Martial University, and Principal Zhang said he would inform its admissions director.
• On July 15, Xu Wuyi arrived at school and drew attention as the Provincial Top Scholar who was going to Star Martial University.
• Zhou Heng greeted Xu Wuyi, congratulated him, and said he had come to collect his files before reporting the following week.

Xu Wuyi received his Star Martial University admission notice at Honghe City's graduate ceremony and prepared to leave for Yuntai City. He departed the next morning, leaving his family and teachers behind as he began his journey to university.

• Xu Wuyi congratulated Zeng Bonan, learned Hu Haobo had entered Beiming Martial Institute, and greeted Yu Peiling and Su Yueling at the ceremony.
• Xu Wuyi received his Star Martial University admission notice as Dongjiang Province's top student, followed by Yu Peiling, Su Yueling, and Zeng Bonan receiving theirs.
• Shen Wei told Xu Wuyi he had also entered Star Martial University and proposed another weapons spar; Xu Wuyi said he would arrive in Yuntai City that evening, while Shen Wei planned to come later.
• Xu Wuyi's parents, Principal Zhang Qiming, and Teacher Wang Wenhai saw him off at Honghe City airport, where Zhang gave him Director Li's communication code.
• Xu Wuyi boarded his flight and left Honghe City for Yuntai City.

Xu Wuyi arrived at Star Martial University ahead of the official registration period, completed his preliminary enrollment, and received a villa in Hidden Dragon Garden. After exploring its training and visualization rooms, he learned from the handbook that the basement was the villa’s core area.

• Xu Wuyi traveled to Yuntai City and took the high-speed rail to Star Martial University's freshman reception center.
• With the guidance of Smart Brain Anna, Xu Wuyi completed his preliminary registration and signed his S-rank scholarship agreement.
• Xu Wuyi accepted the single-person villa assigned to him in Area 7 of Hidden Dragon Garden and received its electronic key and campus map.
• Xu Wuyi followed the map to Villa No. 7 and used his electronic key to enter the clean, fully equipped home.
• Xu Wuyi inspected the villa’s martial arts training room and visualization room before reading that the basement was its core area.

Xu Wuyi explored the training facilities in his villa, completed his morning cultivation, and asked Anna to assess his martial arts system. Anna recommended advancing the Hundred Refinements Furnace and studying the B-rank Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear, but its acquisition method remained unknown.

• Xu Wuyi inspected the reinforced training room and Virtual Pod, then spent the night cultivating the Mountain Moving Method in the Visualization Room.
• Xu Wuyi completed one hundred sessions each of the Basic Body Tempering Method and the Hundred Refinements Furnace.
• Xu Wuyi asked Anna for an assessment and recommendations for his cultivation plan.
• Anna assessed Xu Wuyi's foundation, Wind-Settling Spear, and Mountain Moving Method, recommending that he prioritize the Hundred Refinements Furnace and learn the Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear.

Xu Wuyi exchanged 150 points for the Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear and learned about Star Martial University's upcoming Freshman Challenge. He planned to train the spear art and test the challenge before its August 31st deadline.

• Xu Wuyi reviewed Anna's analysis and found that the martial arts library offered the rare Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear for 150 points.
• Xu Wuyi confirmed he met the spear art's prerequisites and exchanged 150 points to receive its technique data.
• Anna informed Xu Wuyi about the Freshman Challenge, where students would fight simulated star beasts for points, rankings, and rewards.
• Xu Wuyi decided to learn the spear art quickly and logged into the Star Martial Battle Net to test the challenge's difficulty.

Xu Wuyi entered the Star Martial Battle Net and began the Freshman Challenge, where he faced three Star-Spotted Wolves in the first stage. He killed them all in 4 minutes 27 seconds and was prompted to enter the second stage.

• Xu Wuyi logged into the Star Martial Battle Net and scanned his Life Energy Level of 16.1 and Mental Strength of 13.0.
• Xu Wuyi entered the Star Beast Hunting Ground, where the first stage fixed his Life Energy Level at 13 and set three Star-Spotted Wolves as the target.
• Xu Wuyi struggled to adapt to the wolves’ unpredictable attacks, then used the Hundred Refinements Furnace, Mountain true intent, and Instant Shadow Steps to kill one with a spear thrust to the eye.
• Xu Wuyi killed the remaining two Star-Spotted Wolves within 4 minutes 27 seconds and received the prompt to enter the second stage.

Xu Wuyi cleared the second and third Battle Net stages by exploiting the Iron-Spine Lizards’ weaknesses and surviving the Venom-Fang Bats’ poison. He entered the fourth stage and faced an Earth-Splitting Bear whose power seemed to exceed his own.

• Xu Wuyi entered the second stage, studied the Iron-Spine Lizards, and killed them one by one by targeting gaps in their armor.
• Xu Wuyi cleared the second stage in under eight minutes and recognized that it tested observation and burst power.
• Xu Wuyi entered the third stage and fought ten Venom-Fang Bats, using Instant Shadow Steps and his spear to kill them before the poison overwhelmed him.
• Battle Net reset Xu Wuyi’s condition after he cleared three stages in a row, and he entered the fourth stage.
• Xu Wuyi faced an Earth-Splitting Bear and sensed that its vitality, strength, and defense surpassed those of a normal Level 16 opponent.

Xu Wuyi failed the fourth-stage challenge against the Earth-Splitting Bear after a reckless final strike, then analyzed his mistakes and prepared to study the fight before trying again. He left the Virtual Pod determined to use Anna’s analysis to plan a more careful strategy.

• Xu Wuyi dodged the Earth-Splitting Bear’s attacks and targeted its slower-turning hind leg, but could not cripple it before his qi and blood ran low.
• Xu Wuyi activated Furnace Boiling Blood for a decisive strike, but the bear knocked his spear aside and stomped him, causing the challenge to fail after 8 minutes and 13 seconds.
• Xu Wuyi reviewed his failure and concluded that he should wear down the bear before exploiting its weakness, rather than risk a final attack while depleted.
• Xu Wuyi drank nutrient solution and asked Anna to mark the Earth-Splitting Bear’s attack intervals and qi and blood fluctuations in the battle recording.

Xu Wuyi used the Smart Brain's analysis to challenge the Earth-Splitting Bear again, but lost after it counterattacked as it fell. He entered another attempt and cautiously wore down the beast, with the battle reaching its seventh minute.

• Xu Wuyi reviewed the Smart Brain's data and identified the Earth-Splitting Bear's declining strength and brief opening after each attack.
• Xu Wuyi challenged the Earth-Splitting Bear, evaded its energy spheres, and repeatedly struck its weak points while keeping his distance.
• After Xu Wuyi shattered the bear's hind-leg bone, the beast rolled into him and hit him with an energy sphere, ending the challenge in failure.
• Xu Wuyi recognized that he had grown impatient and entered another attempt, this time waiting until the bear was close before dodging its charge.
• Xu Wuyi steadily evaded and attacked during the bear's openings, and the battle reached its seventh minute.

Xu Wuyi defeated the Earth-Splitting Bear and cleared the fourth stage before returning to the Reinforcement Training Room to study the Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear. His first attempt to cultivate its opening move failed to register as effective practice.

• Xu Wuyi broke the Earth-Splitting Bear's hind leg, then wore it down before killing it with Furnace Flame, Triple Force.
• Xu Wuyi cleared the fourth stage in 9 minutes and 15 seconds, claimed 100 reward points, and left the Star Beast Hunting Ground instead of entering the fifth stage.
• Xu Wuyi checked the Freshman Challenge Leaderboard and saw himself in first place with four stages cleared.
• Xu Wuyi studied the Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear and learned that its Novice move, [Gathering Spirit], integrated Martial Dao True Intent into basic spear movements.
• Xu Wuyi tried a slow thrust using his finger as a spear, but the Martial Dao Diligence Record did not recognize it as an effective cultivation session.

Xu Wuyi learned to link his Mountain True Intent with the Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear, but the demanding practice exhausted his mental energy. After resting, he infused the same intent into the Wind-Settling Spear and discovered that it gave his thrust a heavier, more pressuring quality.

• Xu Wuyi stopped imitating the spear technique mechanically and linked his Mountain True Intent to his thrust, unlocking the Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear at Beginner (0.1%).
• Xu Wuyi repeatedly practiced the technique and followed the Martial Dao Diligence Record's feedback until his progress reached Beginner (1.1%), while his mental energy grew strained.
• Xu Wuyi stopped to recover and decided to consolidate the Wind-Settling Spear instead of continuing to exhaust himself.
• Xu Wuyi infused Mountain True Intent into a Wind-Settling Spear thrust and found that it made the spear's trajectory more condensed and heavy.

Xu Wuyi discovered he could improve his Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear proficiency by practicing the Wind-Settling Spear, then met his new neighbor Xu Zhi. Xu Zhi learned that Xu Wuyi led the Freshman Challenge rankings after clearing four stages and entered the challenge determined to surpass him.

• Xu Wuyi realized that fusing intent into the Wind-Settling Spear increased his Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear proficiency while using less mental energy.
• Xu Wuyi maintained his morning Body Tempering Method training before meeting Xu Zhi, who introduced himself as a new student from Central Province and his neighbor.
• Xu Zhi contacted his cousin Tang Jingfeng, who encouraged him to try the Freshman Challenge and explained its stages, points, and rewards.
• Xu Zhi saw Xu Wuyi ranked first with four stages cleared and declared he would surpass him before entering the Star Beast Hunting Ground.

Xu Zhi entered the Star Beast Hunting Ground and cleared its first two stages, but venomous bats overwhelmed him in the third. Back in his personal space, he admitted to Tang Jingfeng that he had been instantly killed by bats.

• Xu Zhi killed three Star-Spotted Wolves in under four minutes and entered the second stage.
• Xu Zhi discovered the Iron-Spine Lizards' weak points and killed all three just before the ten-minute limit.
• Xu Zhi entered the third stage and was bitten repeatedly by Venom-Fang Bats, whose toxin stopped his qi and blood.
• Xu Zhi failed the challenge before reaching the fourth stage and returned to his personal space.
• Tang Jingfeng asked Xu Zhi how far he had reached, and Xu Zhi confessed that the bats had instantly killed him.

Xu Wuyi continued rapidly improving his Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear before reuniting with Zeng Bonan at Star Martial University. The two met in Battle Net for their first weapon spar, where Zeng Bonan’s shield-and-dagger defense stopped Xu Wuyi’s opening attack.

• Tang Jingfeng explained to Xu Zhi how to overcome the Venom-Fang Bats, and Xu Zhi resolved to train for another attempt at the third stage.
• Xu Wuyi raised his Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear progress to 20.1% Beginner in two days through focused training.
• Zeng Bonan contacted Xu Wuyi after completing registration at Star Martial, and the two arranged to spar in Battle Net.
• Zeng Bonan showed Xu Wuyi his Immovable Mountain shield and Rock-Breaker blade, explaining that Xu Wuyi had inspired his defensive counterattack style.
• Xu Wuyi opened the spar with a fast spear thrust, but Zeng Bonan blocked it and countered toward Xu Wuyi’s wrist.
• Xu Wuyi retreated from the counterattack as Zeng Bonan acknowledged the force of his spear strike.

Xu Wuyi defeated Zeng Bonan in a spear-and-shield sparring match, then advised him to consider a B-rank body tempering method. After half a month of training, Xu Wuyi reached the Beginner realm in Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear and prepared to challenge the White Ape again, but a message from Shen Wei interrupted him.

• Xu Wuyi overwhelmed Zeng Bonan's defense with a sustained spear assault and won the sparring match.
• Zeng Bonan recognized Xu Wuyi's superior blood and qi, and Xu Wuyi suggested he consider cultivating a B-rank body tempering method.
• Xu Wuyi advised Zeng Bonan to consult university teachers before deciding, and Zeng Bonan thanked him for the advice.
• After half a month of practice, Xu Wuyi advanced Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear to the Beginner realm and unlocked its Soul Suppression trait.
• Xu Wuyi considered retrying the fifth stage of the Freshman Challenge against the White Ape, but a message from Shen Wei arrived before he entered Battle Net.

Xu Wuyi tested his entry-level Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear against Shen Wei’s Seven Kill Saber in the Battle Net. Shen Wei resisted the spear’s mental pressure with Martial Dao True Intent and unleashed his secret skill, Seven Kills Consecutive Slashes.

• Shen Wei arrived at Star Martial and invited Xu Wuyi to spar in the Battle Net.
• Shen Wei opened with Seven Kills: Mountain Splitting, and Xu Wuyi blocked while using his spear’s soul-suppressing trait.
• Xu Wuyi’s spear repeatedly disrupted Shen Wei’s mind and movements, weakening his attacks and leaving him exhausted.
• Shen Wei recognized that Xu Wuyi’s spear art was suppressing him and activated Martial Dao True Intent—Kill.
• Shen Wei unleashed Seven Kills Consecutive Slashes, sending seven real saber strikes at Xu Wuyi from different angles.

Xu Wuyi defeated Shen Wei by enduring his Seven Kills Consecutive Slashes and countering with the Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear. Shen Wei entered the Freshman Challenge, saw Zhao Qingwei and Xu Wuyi atop the leaderboard, and resolved to clear four stages.

• Xu Wuyi activated Furnace Boiling Blood and used the Eight Directions Soul-Suppressing Spear to block Shen Wei's Seven Kills Consecutive Slashes, then stopped his spear at Shen Wei's chest and won the spar.
• Shen Wei learned that Xu Wuyi had reached entry level in a B-rank spear technique after only half a month and squatted down to contemplate life.
• Xu Wuyi suggested Shen Wei try the Freshman Challenge against star beasts, and Shen Wei decided to take part.
• Shen Wei checked the leaderboard and saw Zhao Qingwei and Li Hao tied for first with four floors cleared, while Xu Wuyi ranked third.
• Shen Wei recognized Zhao Qingwei as a strong rival and entered the challenge, determined to clear at least four stages.

Shen Wei cleared the first three stages of the Star Beast Hunting Ground and rose to fourth place in the rankings. Meanwhile, Xu Zhi visited Xu Wuyi to celebrate clearing the third stage, then noticed a change on the leaderboard.

• Shen Wei killed the Star-Spotted Wolves in 1 minute 12 seconds and cleared the first stage.
• Shen Wei defeated the Iron-Spine Lizards in 3 minutes 05 seconds and cleared the second stage.
• Shen Wei killed the Venom-Fang Bats in 2 minutes 23 seconds, reached fourth place, and chose to continue.
• Xu Zhi visited Xu Wuyi and said he had passed the third stage after overcoming the Venom-Fang Bats.
• Xu Zhi checked the leaderboard, said his time had put him in fourth, then noticed something unexpected.

Xu Wuyi learned that Shen Wei had taken first place in the Freshman Challenge and heard that Central Province’s top scorer, Qin Rui, would soon join Star Martial University. Determined to keep improving amid the arrival of more powerful students, Xu Wuyi entered the fifth stage to challenge the Mountain-Splitting White Ape.

• Xu Wuyi told Xu Zhi that Shen Wei had beaten him in their spar, and Xu Zhi learned Shen Wei had cleared the third floor in under two and a half minutes.
• Xu Zhi explained that Zhao Qingwei was a famous genius while Li Hao’s background was unknown, then revealed that Central Province top scorer Qin Rui had chosen Star Martial and would arrive late.
• Xu Zhi described Qin Rui’s C-rank Light-Splitting Shadow Sword and its high proficiency, and Xu Wuyi resolved to keep working hard as more geniuses arrived.
• Xu Wuyi checked the leaderboard, where Shen Wei ranked first after clearing four floors, followed by Zhao Qingwei, Li Hao, and Xu Wuyi.
• Xu Wuyi entered the fifth stage at Level 17 and faced the Mountain-Splitting White Ape as the challenge began.