Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Red Dust Stains Causality”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Shun discovers that the mysterious purple-and-cyan aura greatly improves the quality of his Life Qi—nearly doubling it compared with an ordinary cultivator’s.
• Using the [Strength] character formula, he tests his enhanced power and finds that he can lift a stone stool weighing roughly three hundred jin with ease. His strength has reached nearly a thousand jin, comparable to a high-grade Mortal Embryo Realm cultivator.
• He realizes that the aura does not consume his Life Qi; instead, it uses its superior quality to stimulate his ordinary Liqi. He suspects that directly using the purple-and-cyan Life Qi might produce an even greater enhancement.
• Li Qing visits after hearing the disturbance caused by Li Shun’s cultivation. He is shocked to discover that Li Shun has entered the Mortal Embryo Realm and advanced to its middle grade within a single day.
• Li Shun explains his rapid progress as the result of decades of accumulated study, surviving the Cold Mountain calamity, and finally receiving Fang Xun’s recognition. He also reassures Li Qing that Fang Xun does not appear to harbor malicious intentions.
• Li Shun reveals that he is approaching the next breakthrough but senses that his Earth Pass is linked to someone in East Mountain Town. Since the Earth Pass concerns mortal causes and effects, he believes he must resolve a karmic entanglement to advance.
• He suspects Jiang Chongguang may be the person connected to him, possibly because of their history involving Fang Xun. Li Shun orders Fang Xun’s constables to search the town, but no clue is found.
• Upon returning home and entering the Square Inch Space, Li Shun discovers that the space blocks the ideological influence of the Spring-Autumn Brush lineage. He realizes this may protect him from being spiritually reshaped by the Hundred Schools.

Character Developments

• Li Shun: Demonstrates extraordinary cultivation speed and physical strength. He becomes more cautious and analytical about the mysterious aura, his borrowed lifespan, and the karmic conditions governing his breakthrough. He also recognizes that his consciousness remains independent within the Square Inch Space.
• Li Qing: Moves from astonishment to concern, initially fearing that Fang Xun may have ulterior motives. He accepts Li Shun’s explanation but remains attentive to the danger posed by the Censorate and the Earth Pass.
• Fang Xun: Though absent from the chapter, his position as Li Shun’s master and Square Inch Puppet becomes important. Li Shun believes Fang Xun cannot yet perceive the full truth of his borrowed lifespan and does not currently pose a threat.
• Jiang Chongguang: Emerges as a possible source of Li Shun’s karmic entanglement, suggesting that unresolved tensions from the past may affect Li Shun’s cultivation.
• Li Shun’s relationship with the Hundred Schools: He begins to distinguish between using a cultivation system and being ideologically absorbed by it.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation and accumulated potential: Li Shun’s rapid advancement is presented as the eruption of decades of preparation, study, and hidden foundations.
• Quality versus quantity of power: The purple-and-cyan aura strengthens Life Qi not by increasing its amount, but by improving its fundamental quality.
• Causality and karmic responsibility: Advancement through the Earth Pass requires confronting unresolved relationships and consequences in the mortal world.
• The danger of ideological influence: The Hundred Schools do not merely provide techniques; their philosophies gradually shape practitioners’ identities and beliefs.
• Independence of mind: The Square Inch Space offers Li Shun a refuge from external doctrinal influence, allowing him to study the Spring-Autumn tradition without treating it as absolute truth.

Character Interactions

• Li Shun and Li Qing: Li Qing questions Li Shun about his sudden cultivation breakthrough and warns him to seek help if the Earth Pass becomes dangerous. Li Shun responds openly but remains guarded about the deeper secrets of his lifespan and aura.
• Li Shun and Fang Xun: Their master-disciple relationship is discussed indirectly. Li Shun defends Fang Xun, arguing that he lacks the ability to see through Li Shun’s hidden condition and has not shown malicious intent.
• Li Shun and Jiang Chongguang: They do not meet directly, but Li Shun’s suspicion that Jiang may be tied to his Earth Pass establishes a future conflict rooted in past causality.
• Li Shun and the Hundred Schools: Through comparing his real-world cultivation with his experience inside the Square Inch Space, Li Shun recognizes the difference between internal conviction and external influence.

Plot and events

• Li Shun realizes Square Inch Space preserves his unaltered “original heart,” regardless of how his body and beliefs change.
• This insight causes the puppet [Li Shun] to transform from an aged copy into a vigorous seventeen-year-old, gaining Li Shun’s current cultivation. Li Shun concludes that puppets can be manually synchronized with his real-world state, allowing them to improve through cultivation while retaining the ability to return to their stored condition.
• He tests the puppet’s ability to nurture Cold Mountain Grass. Synchronization boosts its output from five plants per year to roughly thirty-six, but the supply remains inadequate for creating Cold Mountain Venerables or repeatedly using Threefold Self-Reflection.
• Reflecting on the relationship between himself, Square Inch, and the puppet, Li Shun decides that the space—and perhaps his identity—belongs to him. [Li Shun] and the grass disappear from the central core and reappear elsewhere.
• Li Shun attempts to claim the two sections occupied by the stone statues. They resist with a powerful force, injuring him and knocking him unconscious. On waking, he senses a memory of two wounded figures fighting before a mysterious collision, and concludes that he was the newcomer to this place.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shun’s understanding of Square Inch deepens: he sees it not just as storage, but as a manifestation of his essential self and a possible means of restoring himself through the puppet.
• His puppet [Li Shun] becomes a potentially powerful cultivator and resource, though its productivity still falls short of Li Shun’s needs.
• Li Shun asserts his will over Square Inch, but the stone statues—and an unseen figure associated with the Threefold Self-Reflection statue—actively resist his attempt to expand his territory. The confrontation reveals that the space has powers and prior occupants beyond his control.

Significant themes

• Identity and selfhood: Li Shun distinguishes his true self from the life and body he inherited in this world.
• Preservation and transformation: Square Inch can preserve a person’s state while allowing later growth to be synchronized back into that preserved copy.
• Power and limits: Li Shun’s new abilities promise great advantage, but the statues demonstrate that his authority over Square Inch is incomplete.
• Belonging and arrival: The closing realization reframes Li Shun as an outsider who entered an already contested realm.

Key plot points and events

• Li Shun recalls an apparent past in which two figures fought over the Square Inch, leaving him to claim it. He realizes the memories may have been planted by the complete stone statue.
• The statue’s attempt to rewrite his past threatens to undermine his claim to the Square Inch. Li Shun rejects the false memories and asserts that the space is his heart.
• His consciousness surges outward, reclaiming one-fifth of the territory held by the two statues and forcing them back.
• Li Shun identifies the complete statue’s power as Heavenly Man Book: it can make falsehood real and create causes from nothing. He fears its full power may extend far beyond what he can currently use.
• He recognizes that neither statue is fully subdued. He plans to expand his control of the core space and begins by focusing on Threefold Self-Reflection.
• After two days of secluded practice, Li Shun has improved his ability to activate Heavenly Man Book, though he still relies mainly on the statue’s power and knows its use may be detected.

Character developments

• Li Shun becomes more cautious and resolute after nearly accepting an artificial past as his own. He distinguishes between genuine memory and implanted experience, firmly reaffirming his ownership of the Square Inch.
• He acknowledges both the power of the statues and his own limitations, while beginning to develop independent understanding of their abilities.

Character interactions

• Li Shun mentally confronts the complete stone statue, accusing it of trying to usurp control and ordering the space to suppress the statues.
• The stone statues resist his dominance; the two puppets, Li Shun and Fang Xun, witness the struggle as the central area expands.
• Li Shun’s relationship with the statues remains one of uneasy control: he can use their powers, but has not yet fully mastered or subdued them.

Significant themes

• Memory and identity: Rewriting the past could remake a person, making fabricated memories a threat to Li Shun’s very self.
• Ownership and control: The contest over territory in the Square Inch reflects the struggle over who truly commands it.
• Power and risk: Divine abilities offer great potential but carry costs, dangers, and limits.
• Self-reliance: Li Shun’s growing understanding of the statues’ powers may reduce his dependence on them.

Plot points

• Li Shun tests the Heavenly Man Book’s ability to plant memories on his younger brother, Li Qing. He invents shared childhood experiences and discusses them as if recalling real events.
• The memories take hold, deepening Li Qing’s sense of closeness to his brother. Li Shun ends the conversation when the effort leaves him pale.
• Li Shun concludes that fabricated memories must fit a person’s experience and be introduced gradually. The ability is more likely to work on someone close to him, but using it drains his own mental strength.
• Meanwhile, constables searching for Jiang Chongguang and Han Sushu keep finding convincing paper figures instead. Li Shun suspects Han’s inheritance is behind them and wonders what the two fugitives are planning.
• Li Shun senses his Earth Pass’s Causality approaching just before a tear opens in the sky and a scarlet meteor crashes into his courtyard. Protected by “No Harm Can Touch the Body” and the Taixu Brush, he survives the destruction and finds Jiang Chongguang in the crater.
• Jiang recognizes Li Shun as the laborer who reported him and threatens him. Li Shun realizes Jiang is also connected to his breakthrough and tries to defuse the danger by claiming they are brothers.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shun becomes more cautious about the Heavenly Man Book, recognizing its limits and personal cost. He also faces a sudden, dangerous test tied to his breakthrough.
• Li Qing remains trusting and affectionate, unaware that his brother has fabricated their “memories.” He interprets Li Shun’s questions as nostalgia and offers support when Li Shun appears unwell.
• Jiang Chongguang appears unexpectedly, still in the Mortal Embryo Realm despite growing stronger from tomb treasures. He is hostile toward Li Shun, while Li Shun responds with a desperate attempt at deception.
• Li Shun and Li Qing’s warm conversation contrasts with Li Shun’s secret manipulation; Li Shun and Jiang shift immediately into a tense confrontation.

Significant themes

• Memory, trust, and manipulation: Artificial memories can shape emotional bonds, especially between people who already trust one another.
• Power and cost: Divine abilities have limits, and their use exacts a price from either the user or the tool.
• Uncertainty and hidden schemes: The paper decoys and unexplained meteor suggest larger plans unfolding beyond the characters’ understanding.
• Fate and opportunity: Li Shun’s path to breakthrough is tied to an unexpected person who may also pose an immediate threat.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Chongguang and Li Shun meet, with Li Shun claiming to be Jiang's long-lost brother.
• Jiang Chongguang attacks Li Shun, but Li Shun uses the Heavenly Man Book to defend himself and confuse Jiang.
• Jiang Chongguang hesitates due to Li Shun's words and memories of his childhood.
• They are interrupted by the approach of constables, so Jiang Chongguang takes Li Shun to a hidden cave.
• In the cave, Jiang Chongguang questions Li Shun about their parents, suspecting Li Shun's claim.

Character Developments

• Jiang Chongguang: Struggles with his belief in Li Shun's claim due to memories and emotions, but ultimately becomes suspicious.
• Li Shun: Uses the Heavenly Man Book to deceive Jiang Chongguang, but his plan falters when Jiang asks about their parents.

Significant Themes

• Identity and belonging: Li Shun's claim to be Jiang Chongguang's brother raises questions about identity and family.
• Trust and deception: Jiang Chongguang's struggle to trust Li Shun highlights the theme of trust and deception in their relationship.
• Memory and reality: Jiang Chongguang's memories of his childhood brother clash with his current reality, causing internal conflict.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Chongguang and Li Shun: Their interaction is marked by tension, deception, and conflict, as Jiang Chongguang tries to determine Li Shun's true identity and intentions.
• Jiang Chongguang and Han Sushu: Though not physically present, Han Sushu's absence and Jiang Chongguang's desire to find him influence Jiang's actions and thoughts.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Chongguang nearly kills Li Shun with his sledgehammer, but pauses after learning that Li Shun possesses the [Heavenly Man Book], a divine ability associated with the History School Sage.
• Li Shun realizes that the intact stone statue’s power was not merely an ordinary killing technique. Its terrifying aura came from the accumulated slaughter recorded throughout history—massacres, famines, wars, and the destruction of entire populations.
• To prove that he truly possesses the Heavenly Man Book, Li Shun implants an embarrassing childhood memory into Jiang Chongguang’s mind. Jiang is forced to admit that Li Shun is likely connected to the History School.
• Jiang explains that the History School preserved the true history of the Great Xiang Kingdom after Emperor Gan destroyed it and attempted to erase its existence. Because of this, Jiang refuses to kill Li Shun, viewing the History School as a benefactor of Xiang’s royal house.
• Although Jiang remains angry that Li Shun humiliated him, Li Shun points out that Jiang attacked him first and that his actions were merely self-defense. Their argument reveals that Jiang is impulsive and immature despite his powerful lineage.
• Li Shun tells Jiang that the real culprit behind the disaster in Cold Mountain County was Zhou Xunzhen of Jixia Academy, who used the lives of an entire county in a tribulation scheme involving [Greed-for-Wealth Ruins-the-Seal] to break through into the Creation Stage.
• Jiang realizes that his rage and actions in Cold Mountain County were manipulated by the scheme. He also understands that Han Sushu had likely recognized the danger earlier but failed to explain it to him.
• Jiang reveals that he learned the county yamen’s layout by kidnapping and coercing the family of Fang Xun’s son’s wet nurse. Despite his preparations, he still fell into Fang Xun’s trap.
• Li Shun privately vows to take revenge on Zhou Xunzhen.
• At the end, someone who looks and sounds exactly like Han Sushu arrives. Jiang initially welcomes him, but quickly detects that he is an impostor. The stranger admits to borrowing Han Sushu’s appearance and declares that he intends to burn the underground site to the ground.

Character Developments

• Li Shun: Demonstrates composure, cleverness, and psychological manipulation. He uses the Heavenly Man Book and verbal provocation to control Jiang’s reactions, while also uncovering the deeper history behind the stone statues and the History School.
• Jiang Chongguang: Shifts from murderous hostility to reluctant restraint after learning Li Shun’s identity. His loyalty to Great Xiang and reverence for its preserved history are revealed. He also begins to recognize that he was manipulated in Cold Mountain County and redirects his anger toward Zhou Xunzhen.
• Zhou Xunzhen: Though absent, he is established as the chapter’s main hidden antagonist, having sacrificed Cold Mountain County to achieve a higher realm.
• Han Sushu’s impostor: Introduced as a mysterious and dangerous figure wearing Han Sushu’s skin. His calm insanity and intention to destroy the underground palace create a new immediate threat.

Significant Themes

• History versus erasure: The History School preserved Great Xiang’s true past despite Emperor Gan’s attempt to eliminate it, emphasizing the power of written records to resist political control.
• The destructive weight of history: The killing intent associated with the statue embodies the accumulated violence recorded in historical annals—human slaughter becoming a force capable of destroying minds and worlds.
• Manipulation and hidden schemes: Jiang’s actions were influenced by Zhou Xunzhen’s tribulation plan, showing how individuals can be driven into violence without understanding the forces controlling them.
• Justice, revenge, and misplaced hatred: Jiang initially directs his anger at Li Shun and Fang Xun’s family, but learns that his true enemy is the strategist who engineered the disaster.
• Appearance versus identity: The false Han Sushu demonstrates that familiar appearances and voices cannot guarantee trust or authenticity.

Character Interactions

• Li Shun and Jiang Chongguang engage in a tense exchange combining threats, mockery, and negotiation. Li Shun repeatedly provokes Jiang while preventing him from acting rashly.
• Jiang’s reverence for the History School transforms their relationship from attempted execution to reluctant mutual recognition.
• Li Shun exposes the truth behind Jiang’s actions in Cold Mountain County, forcing Jiang to reconsider his assumptions and confront his manipulation.
• The chapter ends with Jiang interacting with the apparent Han Sushu, only to recognize that the visitor is an impostor, shifting the conflict toward the newcomer’s destructive plan.

Chapter Summary: “Great Jun Grinds All Things”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Chongguang confronts the man disguised as Han Sushu, demanding that he return the real Han Sushu.
• The impostor effortlessly overwhelms Jiang: crimson flames enlarge Jiang’s body, but a single glance freezes him in place. He then hurls Jiang into the underground palace wall with tremendous force.
• Li Shun senses that the impostor’s power involves burning Life Qi, leaving behind the aura and smell of something reduced to ashes.
• Rather than kill them, the impostor seals Jiang and Li Shun inside a chamber filled with rare treasures and spirit foods. He orders them to remain there until he completes his objective.
• Jiang repeatedly attacks the stone barrier with his hammer, but cannot damage it and eventually exhausts himself.
• During their confinement, Jiang reveals that the impostor belongs to the mysterious Jun Family.
• Li Shun recalls that the Jun Family is a forbidden, nearly extinct faction whose doctrine centers on the circulation and destruction of all things. They believe immortality is unnatural and that life must burn fiercely before returning to the cycle of Heaven and Earth.
• The Jun Family opposes the Twelve Longevity Method, regards Emperor Gan as the chief culprit behind the disruption of natural balance, and considers the Imperial Tombs a legitimate target for destruction.
• Li Shun deduces that the Jun Family likely recruited or used Han Sushu because they lacked the ability to bypass the Imperial Tomb Commandery’s powerful restrictions.
• He further suspects that political unrest within Great Qian allowed Jiang Chongguang and Han Sushu to enter the imperial mausoleum, giving the Jun Family an opportunity to infiltrate it.

Character Development

• Jiang Chongguang: His confidence and physical strength are exposed as insufficient against the impostor. Although furious and determined to escape, he is forced to recognize the overwhelming difference in power between himself and the Jun Family disciple.
• Li Shun: He remains calm and observant under confinement, analyzing the enemy’s aura and using his knowledge of Fang Xun’s memories to identify the Jun Family. His deductions reveal increasing strategic insight.
• The disguised Han Sushu: He is revealed as an extraordinarily powerful and ruthless Jun Family member. He demonstrates contempt for ordinary strength but initially considers recruiting Jiang and Li for his plan. His willingness to burn Life Qi suggests that he is prepared to sacrifice himself to achieve his goal.
• The real Han Sushu: His absence and apparent involvement with the Jun Family’s entry into the tombs remain unresolved.

Significant Themes

• Life, death, and natural circulation: The Jun Family believes that life exists to burn, transform, and return to the cycle of Heaven and Earth. They reject immortality as a violation of this process.
• Conflict between longevity and impermanence: The Jun Family’s doctrine directly opposes Great Qian’s widespread pursuit of longevity through the Twelve Longevity Method.
• Fanaticism and self-sacrifice: Jun cultivators disregard their own lifespans and are willing to consume their Life Qi in battle, making them dangerous because they may seek mutual destruction rather than survival.
• Equality in death: The Jun Family sees emperors and common corpses as ultimately identical—both destined to become ashes and fertilizer.
• Political manipulation: The imperial court’s internal instability and deliberate testing of the mausoleum’s defenses may have enabled the Jun Family’s intrusion.

Character Interactions

• Jiang openly attacks the disguised Han Sushu, but the latter humiliates him without effort.
• The impostor speaks to Jiang with a mixture of regret and condescension, claiming he had hoped to work with him.
• Li Shun advises Jiang to stop wasting his strength, creating a contrast between Li Shun’s calm pragmatism and Jiang’s impulsive anger.
• Jiang reluctantly explains the Jun Family’s identity and philosophy to Li Shun.
• Through their conversation, Li Shun and Jiang piece together the impostor’s motives and the likely connection between the Jun Family, Han Sushu, and the Imperial Tombs.

Key plot points

• Li Shun realizes a Jun Family heir may use Han Sushu’s appearance to enter the Imperial Tomb and set it on fire—a catastrophe that would endanger East Mountain Town and bring severe consequences. He decides to act, while Fang Xun sends Dong Chunqiu a secret warning about the infiltration.
• In the palace’s sealed chamber, Li Shun questions Jiang Chongguang and learns that, despite the fall of Great Xiang, its descendants have quietly supported Jiang, the kingdom’s legitimate heir.
• Their conversation reveals a larger political danger: Emperor Gan has no heirs, and the rest of the imperial bloodline has died out. His absence from public life is fueling unrest; if he falls, Great Qian could collapse into chaos.
• Jiang explains that he and Han Sushu used a hidden storehouse inside the Imperial Tomb to stash supplies they could not carry out during their limited visits. He says Sushu was a childhood friend and saved him from Fang Xun, but warns that some of what he has shared is deliberately false.
• Liun claims he can free them. After Jiang reluctantly calls him “big brother,” Li Shun explains that the Jun Family’s seal can be countered by overwhelming it with Life Qi. The wall begins to fade, but Li Shun shows signs of age and decline.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shun moves from assessing the threat to quietly gathering information and taking charge of the escape. He uses teasing and a playful demand for “big brother” to draw Jiang into cooperation, then reveals his knowledge of the Jun Family’s techniques.
• Jiang Chongguang shifts from suspicion and defiance toward reluctant trust. He shares his background and the storehouse’s purpose, but remains guarded, openly admitting he has mixed truth with lies.
• Han Sushu emerges as Jiang’s loyal friend and rescuer, though his fate—and how he was trapped by the Jun heir—remains unknown.
• Fang Xun responds to the danger by reporting the infiltration, while Li Shun and Jiang trade teasing challenges that gradually become a working partnership.

Significant themes

• Political instability and succession: Great Qian’s lack of an heir leaves the empire vulnerable, especially while Emperor Gan remains absent.
• The weight of history: The former kingdoms are not merely distant memories; their surviving communities and long-lived figures keep old loyalties alive.
• Trust and deception: Jiang’s partial truths and Li Shun’s probing show how cooperation must be negotiated amid suspicion.
• Cost and weakness: The Jun Family’s sealing technique can be overcome through Life Qi, but doing so may exact a serious personal toll, foreshadowed by Li Shun’s sudden air of decline.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The author reflects on the upcoming premium release of a new book, "Master of Square Inch," on April 20, 2026, at 12 noon.
• The book will have five updates on its premium day and maintain 6,000 characters of updates daily afterward.

Character Developments

• The author expresses growth in their writing journey, feeling their "craft" has improved but still has room for development.
• The author's dedication to writing the stories they want to tell remains unchanged.

Significant Themes

• Growth and Maturation: The author reflects on their personal growth as a writer over the four years since their last premium release.
• Creativity and Inspiration: The ideas for "Path to Immortality" and "Master of Square Inch" originated from deep personal experiences and historical contexts.
• Gratitude and Recognition: The author acknowledges the support of their editor, Whisk, and various readers who contributed through donations.

Character Interactions

• The author interacts with their editor, Whisk, who provided valuable suggestions during the new-book period.
• The author interacts with readers by thanking them for their donations, continued reading, and support.

Plot points and events

• Li Shun sacrifices nearly all of his remaining lifespan to break a seal trapping him and Jiang Chongguang. He ages dramatically, but Jiang carries him out while shielding him from falling debris.
• The Imperial Tomb Commandery erupts into catastrophe: the sky turns red, mountains collapse, and countless burial effigies burn. Li Shun realizes they contain Life Qi that Great Qian had sealed away.
• The disaster consumes the realm, killing nearly ten million people. Jiang’s usual method of escaping the commandery fails, suggesting the way out has been deliberately sealed. He and Li Shun are left searching for safety.
• The Jun Family successor appears and publicly explains the destruction. He condemns Emperor Gan for building a vast tomb to defy death, and attacks the Hundred Schools for helping construct and protect it.
• As his body begins to burn away, the successor declares that he will destroy the tomb with his own courage and the “flame” within him. He becomes a blaze of Life Qi, and the Imperial Tomb is engulfed in fire.

Character developments

• Li Shun proves resolute and self-sacrificing, choosing to break the seal despite the devastating cost to his lifespan. He also understands that the Jun Family’s destruction is driven by a deliberate ideology, not mere madness.
• Jiang Chongguang shows loyalty by protecting and carrying Li Shun through the collapse. Though he remains confused by the Jun Family’s motives, he begins to sympathize with their criticism of Emperor Gan’s tomb.
• The Jun Family successor emerges as a committed revolutionary, willing to die to destroy the Imperial Tomb and publicly justify his family’s cause.

Significant themes

• Life, death, and fear of mortality: The successor argues that a ruler’s worth lies in how he lived, not in preserving his corpse after death.
• The cost of resisting nature: Great Qian’s attempt to seal away Life Qi and halt the cycle of life and death ultimately produces catastrophe.
• Power and complicity: The successor condemns the Hundred Schools for serving the emperor’s obsession, exposing how institutions can betray their stated principles.
• Conviction and sacrifice: Both Li Shun and the successor accept immense personal costs for what they believe must be done.

Character interactions

• Jiang urgently tries to stop Li Shun from sacrificing his lifespan, then protects him during their escape.
• Li Shun explains to Jiang that the Jun Family must proclaim its reasons for destroying the tomb; Jiang remains skeptical but finds the critique of Emperor Gan persuasive.
• The Jun Family successor addresses the entire realm, denouncing Emperor Gan and the Hundred Schools before giving himself over to the catastrophe he unleashed.

Key plot points

• As the Imperial Tomb world collapses, Jun Family heir Shentu Xin reveals his name and leaves a final proclamation challenging who will rule the future world of Mystic Yellow. His death triggers the tomb’s destruction.
• Li Shun realizes the catastrophe is too great to escape and considers using Fang Xun to report Shentu Xin’s infiltration. He also wonders whether he has been drawn into another powerful figure’s scheme.
• Golden hands descend from the sky, lift the Imperial Tomb world as though it were a page, and turn it over. Li Shun senses a connection to his own time-reversal ability before blacking out.
• He awakens in East Mountain Town on June 15—the day before Shentu Xin burns the tomb—and discovers his memories of the page-turning were suppressed. Entering Square Inch Space restores them.
• Li Shun concludes that the History School’s “immortality” is literal: the Imperial Tomb is like a book whose pages can be turned to reset its world. He identifies this power with the Heavenly Man Book’s ability to make history real.
• He calculates that the reset erased two days inside the tomb but did not alter time in Great Qian. His second reflection should therefore end on June 17, leaving two days. He is unsure what the reset means for outsiders who entered the tomb, including Shentu Xin and Jiang Chongguang.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shun shifts from reacting to the apocalypse to analyzing its cause. He uses Square Inch Space to recover blocked memories and methodically works out the reset’s effects and limits.
• Shentu Xin is portrayed as a fiercely committed revolutionary whose final words and self-sacrifice make a deep impression on Jiang Chongguang, even though Jiang rejects his doctrines.
• Jiang Chongguang is shaken by Shentu Xin’s resolve. The two have no direct exchange in this passage; Jiang’s reaction underscores the impact of Shentu’s death.

Significant themes

• History and immortality: Recording history becomes the power to recreate a world, not merely preserve its memory.
• Time, memory, and identity: The reset changes the Imperial Tomb’s timeline while leaving Li Shun with gaps in his recollection.
• Revolution and legacy: Shentu Xin’s death becomes a political testament about who will inherit the future.
• Uncertainty and agency: Li Shun must determine whether he is caught in a larger scheme and how a world reset affects those connected to it.

Key plot points and events

• Li Shun discovers that the Heavenly Man Book’s reset restored Imperial Tomb Commandery to June 15, but did not rewind Square Inch Space. The sixth plot of land he had opened remains, preserving his progress.
• Unsure whether changing his behavior might attract Imperial Tomb Heaven’s attention, Li Shun initially repeats his earlier actions. Fang Xun again accepts him as a disciple, and Li Shun cultivates in seclusion.
• When Li Shun approaches the Earth Pass, he senses that the breakthrough opportunity has shifted far beyond Imperial Tomb Commandery. On June 16, Jiang Chongguang does not appear, and Shentu Xin never burns Burning Tomb.
• Li Shun realizes the reset erased the disaster—and Shentu Xin’s actions—from the current version of events. He later visits Elder Wei to ask how the Heavenly Man Book and Threefold Self-Reflection work.
• Elder Wei explains that Emperor Gan’s tomb uses a world-scale imitation of the Heavenly Man Book, created through the Hundred Schools’ combined efforts. Turning its pages can reset the world, but the cost increases with each page; this time, it rewound only two days.
• Shentu Xin, an intruder with no place in the earlier pages, was destroyed by the reset. Elder Wei retained his memories because the tomb’s power is below a Sage’s level and he has endured its resets before.
• Elder Wei says he cannot remember Threefold Self-Reflection because he rejects Confucian principles. Each Sage’s divine ability contains a loophole that offers some protection to those who accept that school’s teachings—but doing so raises a question of which school they then belong to.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shun is increasingly cautious and analytical, weighing whether to test the reset’s limits or avoid drawing attention. He probes Elder Wei for explanations and recognizes the deeper implication behind his answer.
• Elder Wei shifts from casual instruction to a sharper, more philosophical discussion. He explains the limits of the tomb’s power and hints that the Hundred Schools’ competing doctrines share a hidden aspiration.
• Shentu Xin is absent from the reset timeline: his sacrifice and rebellion have been erased, and he is confirmed dead.
• Fang Xun again takes Li Shun as his disciple, unaware that the event has already happened once.

Significant themes

• History, memory, and erasure: The reset changes what the world records, while Li Shun and Elder Wei retain knowledge that others have lost.
• Power and its limits: Even a dramatic sacrifice cannot overcome a world-altering divine ability; the Heavenly Man Book itself is powerful but constrained by cost.
• Unity versus identity: The Hundred Schools have long sought “unification,” yet accepting another school’s principles may blur one’s own identity.
• Caution and agency: Li Shun can choose to deviate from events, but must consider the risk of being noticed by forces beyond his understanding.

Plot points and events

• Elder Wei tells Li Shun that the Sages of the Hundred Schools are rare, and that their realm is known as the Heaven and Earth Realm. He names Emperor Gan as the person most likely to have united the schools, then trails off, hinting at painful history. He also reveals his own name: Wei Wuqi.
• Li Shun realizes Wei can sense someone repeatedly thinking his name, suggesting frighteningly powerful abilities. Wei ends the conversation, and Li Shun returns to his courtyard to plan for the last of his Three Reflections.
• On June 17, Li Shun shuts himself away. The mysterious power of Three Reflections Upon Myself triggers, making the third reflection the final, irreversible reality.
• Li Shun follows his plan: he calms the unrest in East Mountain Town without bloodshed, reunites with Li Qing, mourns Xiao Yuan, and visits Wei Wuqi. Wei’s pause when handing him the Sword Branch is more pronounced this time, and Li Qing notices.
• That night, Li Shun visits Wei to learn how to evade the coming Heaven’s Lifespan Demand. Wei has him examine the seemingly ordinary branch, then reveals its hidden, impersonal killing intent. Li Shun experiences a vivid vision of his own death.
• Li Shun recognizes that the branch’s danger is concealed by its apparent harmlessness. Wei teaches him “Empty Boat, Self-Erasure”: evade death by abandoning personal fixation and becoming one with Heaven and Earth’s laws. The technique carries a severe cost—once begun, it must be maintained for life; acting with intent would erase his progress. Li Shun accepts without hesitation.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shun grows more cautious and strategic, recognizing that his strength is inadequate and that survival requires preparation. His willingness to accept a lifelong constraint shows how urgently he wants to escape the coming calamity.
• Wei Wuqi shifts from guarded teacher to direct mentor, demonstrating the technique through the Sword Branch and explaining its philosophy and cost. His knowledge and powers remain mysterious.
• Li Qing notices Wei’s unusual pause, adding a quiet note of suspicion to the encounter. He and Li Shun reunite after Li Shun settles the town’s unrest.

Significant themes

• Self-erasure versus self-preservation: Survival may require relinquishing the very desire to live.
• Intent and danger: A threat can be most deadly when it is not personal hostility but an impersonal law of reality.
• Commitment and sacrifice: The method offers a possible escape, but demands lifelong discipline and the surrender of action.
• Mystery and hidden history: Wei’s reaction to Emperor Gan and his extraordinary abilities suggest unresolved events and powers beyond Li Shun’s understanding.

Chapter Summary: “Square Inch Is My Heart”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wei Wuqi teaches Li Shun the secret art Empty Boat, Self-Erasure, transferring its principles directly into Li Shun’s mind through a touch between the brows.
• The technique is illustrated through the image of two boats carried helplessly toward each other by a raging current. Li Shun realizes that cultivation requires becoming like an “empty boat”—erasing the self so completely that others find it difficult to perceive or target him.
• Wei Wuqi explains that mastering the art takes time, but merely reaching the introductory stage should be enough to deceive Imperial Tomb Heaven and evade the approaching Lifespan-Seizing Shadow.
• When Li Shun questions why such a valuable technique was given so freely, Wei Wuqi dismisses its importance. He reveals that the only thing he truly cares about is Emperor-Slaying, openly declaring his ambition despite the oppressive authority of Imperial Tomb Heaven.
• Li Shun begins to suspect that Wei Wuqi may be connected to the historical ban on swords in Great Qian. Since Wei Wuqi clearly follows the sword path and harbors murderous intent toward the emperor, Li Shun theorizes that Emperor Gan may have abolished sword cultivation because Wei Wuqi once attempted—and failed—to kill him.
• Returning home, Li Shun tells Li Qing that he intends to cultivate the new art and asks him to stand guard. Li Qing agrees without hesitation.
• Li Shun enters deep meditation and reaches the introductory stage of Empty Boat, Self-Erasure in only an hour.
• He then reflects within Square Inch Space, considering whether Wei Wuqi may have hidden a trap in the technique. Li Shun concludes that, because only the puppet body is cultivating it, he can abandon or destroy that body if necessary.
• This leads to a major shift in his worldview: Li Shun realizes that his true existence lies in Square Inch Space and his consciousness, not in any particular puppet body. He decides he must become bolder and test dangerous possibilities rather than remain excessively cautious.

Character Development

• Li Shun gains a powerful method for concealing himself from Imperial Tomb Heaven and demonstrates remarkable talent by mastering its introductory stage almost immediately.
• His caution remains, but it is balanced by growing confidence and strategic ruthlessness. He is willing to sacrifice the puppet body if necessary and no longer regards it as indispensable.
• Li Shun’s understanding of his own identity deepens. He recognizes that his essence is his consciousness within Square Inch Space, rather than the physical body he inhabits.
• Wei Wuqi is further revealed as an enigmatic and potentially terrifying figure. His apparent laziness conceals deep power, sword mastery, and an intense fixation on killing the emperor.
• Li Qing continues to show loyalty and trust toward Li Shun, quietly waiting for him and readily agreeing to protect him during cultivation.

Significant Themes

• Self-erasure and concealment: The Empty Boat technique symbolizes eliminating personal presence so that one may move unnoticed through hostile forces.
• Identity beyond the body: Li Shun’s realization that “Square Inch is my heart” suggests that consciousness and inner essence matter more than any physical vessel.
• Courage versus excessive caution: Li Shun reflects that years of hiding and avoiding risks have limited his progress. He resolves to act more boldly.
• Political oppression and forbidden power: Wei Wuqi’s declaration of “Emperor-Slaying” highlights the danger of dissent under Imperial Tomb Heaven and the Great Qian imperial system.
• Cause and effect: Li Shun reexamines history, wondering whether the emperor’s ban on swords was a response to Wei Wuqi’s failed attempt to kill him.

Character Interactions

• Wei Wuqi and Li Shun: Wei Wuqi acts as a reluctant but highly capable mentor, imparting the secret art while dismissing its value. Their exchange also reveals Wei Wuqi’s emperor-slaying ambition.
• Li Shun and Li Qing: Li Shun trusts Li Qing enough to request protection during cultivation. Li Qing responds with solemn support, reinforcing their cooperative relationship.
• Li Shun and himself: Much of the chapter centers on Li Shun’s internal debate over the safety of the technique, the value of his puppet body, and the nature of his true self.

Chapter Summary: “Three Reflections Suddenly Changed”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Shun successfully begins cultivating Elder Wei’s [Empty Boat, Self-Erasure] method. The Lifespan-Seizing Shadow does not appear at its expected time, confirming that the technique can help him evade Heaven’s pursuit.
• The method greatly changes Li Shun’s demeanor. He becomes calm, detached, and seemingly much older, resembling a peaceful old man rather than a teenager.
• Li Shun reveals to Li Qing that he has borrowed two hundred years of lifespan from Heaven, causing Imperial Tomb Heaven to regard him as an aberration. He warns Li Qing to keep this secret, and Li Qing solemnly promises.
• Li Qing learns that Imperial Tomb Heaven takes thirty percent of all borrowed lifespan, and becomes determined to help Li Shun escape the Imperial Tomb. Li Shun reassures him that there is no immediate danger and keeps his true plans hidden.
• Li Shun purchases the neighboring courtyard for Li Qing. By implying that he is close to Fang Xun and will soon become Fang Xun’s disciple, he indirectly persuades the neighbors to sell the property cheaply and arranges for Li Qing’s labor assignment to be changed.
• Li Shun and Li Qing visit Xiao Yuanzi’s human figurine. While mourning her, Li Shun reflects on the strange presence of Life Qi sealed within the countless human figurines throughout the Imperial Tomb.
• Li Shun suspects that the enormous accumulation of Life Qi is part of a larger plan connected to Emperor Gan, but not simply to prolong the emperor’s life. He also remains concerned about how Shentu Xin previously ignited all the figurines at once.
• Fang Xun receives a response from the Censorate. Li Shun may temporarily enter Fang Xun’s school as a registered disciple, but must reach the Grand Simplicity Realm within one year to become a formal direct disciple.
• Regarding Fang Xun’s warning about criminals infiltrating East Mountain Town, the Censorate replies, “A gentleman’s thoughts do not exceed his station,” apparently telling him not to involve himself in matters beyond his authority.

Character Developments

• Li Shun becomes more composed and emotionally detached as the secret method takes effect. He is increasingly strategic, concealing his lifespan borrowing even from Fang Xun and using his anticipated apprenticeship for protection and influence.
• He also shows growing curiosity about the Imperial Tomb’s deeper mysteries, especially the human figurines, Life Qi, and Shentu Xin’s destructive ability.
• Li Qing demonstrates loyalty and affection toward his brother. He is shocked by Li Shun’s secret but immediately vows to protect it and begins worrying about Li Shun’s imprisonment and unfair treatment.
• Li Qing’s trust in Li Shun grows, though he remains concerned that Fang Xun might discover the truth.
• Fang Xun acts decisively by reporting both Li Shun’s situation and the suspicious activity in East Mountain Town, though the Censorate’s response limits his authority.

Significant Themes

• Self-erasure and survival: Li Shun’s cultivation method works by reducing his presence and emotional turbulence, allowing him to avoid Heaven’s attention.
• Secrets and trust: Li Shun must conceal his borrowed lifespan, while Li Qing’s willingness to protect the secret reinforces their brotherly bond.
• Control versus freedom: Li Shun’s confinement in the Imperial Tomb contrasts with his plans to gain influence through Fang Xun and eventually secure greater freedom for himself and Li Qing.
• The hidden cost of power: Lifespan Borrowing grants immense benefits but marks Li Shun as an aberration and subjects him to Imperial Tomb Heaven’s extraction and pursuit.
• Death, Life Qi, and exploitation: The human figurines suggest that the Imperial Tomb systematically stores the vitality of the dead. Li Shun questions who benefits from this vast accumulation and what larger purpose it serves.
• Bureaucratic indifference: The Censorate’s cryptic reply suggests that officials may prefer maintaining hierarchy and avoiding responsibility rather than confronting the danger threatening the region.

Character Interactions

• Li Shun and Li Qing share a candid late-night conversation in which Li Shun reveals his greatest secret and Li Qing promises absolute loyalty.
• Li Shun subtly manipulates the property transaction by invoking his relationship with Fang Xun, while Li Qing handles the practical arrangements.
• The brothers discuss whether Fang Xun can detect Li Shun’s abnormal lifespan. Li Shun remains confident that his secret method will conceal the truth.
• At Xiao Yuanzi’s figurine, Li Qing mourns her death and recalls her concern for Li Shun, while Li Shun uses the visit to investigate the deeper nature of the Imperial Tomb.
• Fang Xun’s relationship with Dong Chunqiu becomes important, as Fang Xun’s recommendation provides Li Shun with a possible path to protection and advancement.

Chapter Summary: Strife and Calamity Among the Hundred Schools

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fang Xun interprets Dong Chunqiu’s letter as a warning not to interfere in the upheaval surrounding East Mountain and the Imperial Tomb.
• He realizes that Shentu Xin’s burning of the tomb was not merely an attack on Emperor Gan or the Jun Family. It was also a deliberate humiliation of the Mohist, Military, Legalist, Yin-Yang, and History Schools, all of which contributed to the tomb’s construction.
• The Confucian School was absent from the tomb’s construction, meaning the disaster could damage its rivals while strengthening Confucian influence in the struggle among the Hundred Schools.
• Li Shun concludes that the tomb-burning is part of a larger scheme involving multiple factions. He decides not to oppose the calamity and instead considers exploiting the aftermath.
• Fang Xun publicly accepts Li Shun as his disciple on June 14. He then secretly inventories East Mountain Town’s treasury, planning to move its treasures into his Square Inch Space before the calamity destroys or resets everything.
• Fang Xun also searches the underground palace for treasures previously looted by Jiang Chongguang.
• Li Shun resumes cultivation but finds it more difficult because the calamity-avoidance technique Empty Boat, Self-Erasure conflicts slightly with his Confucian cultivation principles.
• Despite the obstruction, he advances to the middle stage and then the completion of the Mortal Embryo Realm, preparing to break through the Earth Pass.
• On June 16, Jiang Chongguang suddenly descends from the sky into Li Shun’s courtyard, apparently because Li Shun is connected to his breakthrough opportunity.
• Jiang initially intends to kill Li Shun, but Li Shun’s appearance reminds him of a kind laborer who once cared for him when he was lost and starving as a child.
• Jiang instead takes Li Shun and flees from East Mountain Town. He brings him to the underground palace, only to discover that its treasures have already been stolen. His furious roar suggests Fang Xun’s plan has succeeded.

Character Developments

• Li Shun: Becomes more politically aware, recognizing that the Hundred Schools are using the Imperial Tomb crisis to weaken one another. He chooses pragmatism over heroism, refuses to fight the larger tide, and focuses on preserving his own opportunities and resources. His cultivation also reveals the difficulty of reconciling the doctrines of different schools.
• Fang Xun: Publicly establishes Li Shun as his disciple while secretly acting opportunistically. He plans to preserve East Mountain’s treasures inside the Square Inch Space and shows increasing willingness to profit from the coming calamity.
• Dong Chunqiu: Though mostly absent, he influences events through his letter, subtly urging Fang Xun to remain within his proper role and avoid interfering in the broader conflict.
• Jiang Chongguang: Arrives as a forceful but simple-minded figure seeking the source of his breakthrough. His memories of childhood kindness awaken compassion and uncertainty, causing him to spare Li Shun. He also suffers a major setback when he finds the underground palace emptied.

Significant Themes

• Political struggle among the Hundred Schools: The Imperial Tomb is both a physical site and a battlefield for ideological competition. One school’s disgrace becomes another’s opportunity.
• The limits of duty and intervention: Dong Chunqiu’s advice emphasizes staying within one’s position rather than trying to control forces beyond one’s authority.
• Pragmatism amid calamity: Li Shun and Fang Xun choose survival and advantage over moral intervention, treating the disaster as something to endure and exploit.
• Conflict between cultivation systems: Li Shun’s difficulty demonstrates that techniques from different schools can interfere with one another, making the unification of the Hundred Schools extremely challenging.
• Karma and repayment: Jiang’s connection to Li Shun may derive from a debt of kindness from childhood, suggesting that personal fate and breakthrough opportunities are shaped by past actions.
• Impermanence and preservation: The possibility that the Imperial Tomb and its contents will be reset drives Fang Xun’s attempt to hide treasures outside the normal world.

Important Character Interactions

• Fang Xun and Dong Chunqiu: Dong’s letter indirectly guides Fang Xun toward noninterference, allowing him to understand the political meaning of the tomb-burning.
• Fang Xun and Li Shun: Fang publicly takes Li Shun as his disciple, while privately using the coming calamity to secure treasures for himself.
• Jiang Chongguang and Li Shun: Jiang believes Li Shun is tied to his breakthrough and initially prepares to kill him. Memories of a similar childhood benefactor cause him to hesitate, ultimately leading him to take Li Shun away instead.
• Jiang Chongguang and the underground palace: Jiang expects to find his stolen treasures but discovers that Fang Xun has already removed them, ending the chapter with his furious reaction.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Chongguang discovers his treasures stolen from the underground palace.
• He uses a talisman to reveal the thief: Fang Xun, assisted by Li Shun.
• They witness Shentu Xin using Earth-Seeking Mystic Kudzu to survey the underground palace.
• Jiang Chongguang returns to East Mountain Town, intending to kill Fang Xun.
• He encounters Fang Xu (Fang Xun's son) and kills him, then faces off against the town's constables.

Character Developments

• Jiang Chongguang: His hatred for Fang Xun intensifies, leading him to act rashly.
• Li Shun: He reveals his loyalty to Fang Xun, even at the risk of his own life.
• Fang Xu: He dies at Jiang Chongguang's hands, avenging his uncle's capture and stolen treasures.

Significant Themes

• Revenge: Jiang Chongguang's single-minded pursuit of revenge drives his actions.
• Loyalty: Li Shun's unwavering loyalty to Fang Xun contrasts with Jiang Chongguang's betrayal.
• Power and Corruption: The constables' empowerment by official seals highlights the corrupt use of power.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Chongguang vs. Li Shun: Jiang Chongguang is torn between gratitude and resentment towards Li Shun, who is now loyal to his enemy.
• Jiang Chongguang vs. Fang Xu: Their confrontation ends with Jiang Chongguang killing Fang Xu, fulfilling his revenge.
• Jiang Chongguang vs. East Mountain Town constables: Jiang Chongguang faces off against the constables, empowered by official seals, after killing Fang Xu.

Key plot points and events

• After killing a Great Qian official, Jiang Chongguang is pursued by unusually powerful Blood Armored Guards. He escapes the Imperial Tomb, wounded, and heals himself with his Life Qi.
• A paper crane leads him to Han Sushu, who has been bound in a cave. Jiang frees him by activating the ropes with his Life Qi.
• Han explains that Great Qian’s ministers had intended to use the intruders to test Emperor Gan’s condition. Shentu Xin, a Jun Family inheritor, captured Han, impersonated him, and entered the tomb to set it alight.
• The tomb burning is expected to cause catastrophic upheaval, but the mausoleum and the Great Xiang Witch Soul will ultimately remain. Jiang will simply have to wait.
• Han predicts that the tomb burning is only the beginning of wider unrest across Great Qian. He also teaches Jiang how to fight the regenerative Blood Armored Guards.
• As Shentu Xin disperses into tribulation ash, Li Shun collects some of it and stores it in his Square Inch Space. A hazy figure of Shentu Xin then appears on its newly opened sixth plot of land.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Chongguang proves resilient in battle and acts loyally, rushing to free Han. Though he is confused by Han’s strategic explanations, he eagerly absorbs advice on defeating the guards.
• Han Sushu admits he misjudged the situation and was outmaneuvered, but responds with excitement rather than despair, vowing to win the next round. He suspects that Fang Xun and a laborer may be connected to the strange chain of events, though he lacks proof.
• Shentu Xin emerges as a deliberate, self-sacrificing agent of the Jun Family: the point of his mission is to set the tomb alight, whether or not he can destroy it.
• Li Shun turns Shentu Xin’s ash into a surprising new development by preserving it in the Square Inch Space, where Shentu’s apparition appears.

Significant themes

• Strategy and deception: Impersonation and competing plans shape events, while even Han acknowledges that no one can account for everything.
• Unrest and escalation: The burning of the tomb signals that wider turmoil is beginning.
• Uncertainty and hidden connections: Han questions whether apparent coincidences involving Fang Xun and the laborer are meaningful.
• Transformation and persistence: The tomb survives its apparent destruction, and Shentu Xin seems to reappear in a new form after death.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Li Shun gathers some of Shentu Xin’s calamity ash before time is reversed by the Heavenly Man Book. Shentu Xin is partially preserved as a “half-puppet” inside Square Inch Space.
• When summoned into the real world, Shentu Xin is only a faint, voiceless shadow with no Life Qi or accessible memories. Li Shun regrets that the useless puppet occupies a valuable slot.
• By concentrating on Shentu Xin’s shadow, Li Shun discovers a trait called [Life-Qi Furnace]. It has survived even though only a small part of Shentu Xin’s remains were collected.
• Li Shun realizes Square Inch Space can use a puppet’s traits to help him reshape his own body. The Furnace makes Life Qi burn violently and increases its activity, but drastically shortens the bearer’s lifespan.
• Though Li Shun rejects the trait for himself, he applies it to Fang Xun. Fang Xun’s presence changes, and after Li Shun briefly summons him into the real world, something about his bearing is different.

Character developments

• Li Shun moves from frustration at acquiring a seemingly worthless puppet to discovering a new use for Square Inch Space—and a possible way to forge a body suited to himself.
• Shentu Xin remains a nearly empty remnant, but his surviving trait proves valuable and reveals an unexpected capability of Square Inch Space.
• Fang Xun receives the Life-Qi Furnace trait, which appears to make him more intense and Shentu Xin-like. The consequences are not yet clear.

Significant themes

• Power and cost: The Life-Qi Furnace greatly intensifies Life Qi but consumes the bearer’s lifespan.
• Transformation and identity: Li Shun considers remaking his body, while a puppet’s defining trait can alter another character’s nature.
• Unexpected value: What first seems like a failed acquisition becomes the key to a new discovery.

Character interactions

• Li Shun studies and summons Shentu Xin, probing his shadow until he uncovers the Furnace trait.
• He then directs that trait toward Fang Xun, whose altered demeanor signals the beginning of a potentially dangerous transformation.

Summary

• Li Shun discovers a new use for the Life Qi Furnace trait. Through his puppet Fang Xun, he realizes the trait can build from a small spark into a destructive blaze, consuming its bearer’s Life Qi. Since puppets can be destroyed and later restored from the Square Inch Space, they can use the trait with far less risk than living people. Li Shun suspects a puppet could burn its Life Qi to temporarily exceed its normal power—and considers the possibility of someday granting the trait to a body of his own.
• His ambitions expand. Li Shun concludes that other exceptional people may possess rare traits he can extract, allowing him to create a “perfect body.” He regrets letting Jiang Chongguang escape, but recognizes that taking him as a puppet would be difficult: Jiang is unlikely to submit, and even Fang Xun might not be strong enough to defeat him. Rather than despair, Li Shun hopes Jiang grows stronger, especially since he is seeking a treasure that could transform his physique. Li Shun now sees puppets not merely as tools whose strength he borrows, but as a means of strengthening himself.
• News of Shentu Xin’s attack spreads. Shentu Xin is dead, and the Imperial Tomb has been restored to its state before the blaze, thanks to a History School divine ability. Nevertheless, the announcement that a Jun Family madman set the tomb alight stirs intense discussion across Great Qian.
• Jiang Chongguang and Han Sushu discuss what happened. At a teahouse in Langya Commandery, Jiang excitedly praises Han’s earlier prediction and wishes he had witnessed the fire. Han warns that Jiang had not yet entered the tomb, so there could not have been a second version of him there; had he failed to escape, he might have met Shentu Xin’s fate. Han says he has a way to save Jiang but that it will be very troublesome.
• A new arrival draws their attention. Han and Jiang are waiting for someone. The person arrives: Luo Qiwu, son of Langya’s governor, riding an imposing black horse. Jiang admires the horse and asks who the young man is.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shun shifts from viewing puppets as vessels for borrowed power to imagining them as a path toward his own perfected body. His curiosity about rare traits fuels a more ambitious, possessive vision of gathering the world’s extraordinary people.
• Jiang Chongguang remains impulsive and exhilarated by danger, even after narrowly avoiding death. He trusts Han Sushu’s judgment and relies on him for protection.
• Han Sushu acts as Jiang’s cautious counterbalance, explaining the danger he avoided and hinting at a difficult plan to keep him safe.
• Luo Qiwu is introduced through his striking entrance, setting up a likely new encounter.

Significant themes

• Power at a cost: The Life Qi Furnace can grant tremendous strength, but its flames consume life.
• Life, death, and puppetry: Li Shun exploits the difference between living people and restorable puppets, turning a lethal trait into a strategic advantage.
• Ambition and control: Li Shun’s growing desire to collect exceptional traits reflects his aim to control not just powerful bodies, but the people and talents within them.
• Fate and survival: Jiang’s absence from the tomb’s restored timeline saved him, while Han’s warning underscores how narrowly he escaped destruction.