Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Murong Brothers are badly wounded by Li Mofei’s sneak attack, which leaves a spiraling, difficult-to-stop wound in his shoulder. Ning Qing helps him retreat.
• Despite his injury, Murong remains furious and threatens to slaughter Li Mofei’s entire family. Duan Yun silently gives him a thumbs-up, deeply moving him; Murong jokingly—or sincerely—declares his love for Duan Yun, prompting spectators to mistake their friendship for a romantic relationship.
• Li Mofei publicly challenges Duan Yun to come up the Black Tower, attempting to establish himself as the heroic leader of the demon-slaying operation.
• Rather than immediately accepting the challenge, Duan Yun uses the Northern Darkness Divine Skill to drag Gu Tian and three Minotaurs out of hiding. He absorbs their energy while mocking Gu Tian’s medicinal cultivation.
• Li Mofei refuses to save Gu Tian, claiming he will care for Gu Tian’s three daughters after his death. Duan Yun condemns the Ink Sect’s supposed brotherhood and completely drains Gu Tian and the Minotaurs, leaving Gu Tian shriveled and near death.
• Gu Tian’s final anger is directed not at Li Mofei or Duan Yun’s killing of him, but at Duan Yun’s insult that his medicine was impure. Duan Yun, meanwhile, is delighted by the unusually powerful and refined energy he has absorbed.
• Empowered by the absorption, Duan Yun ascends the Black Tower through the air, using his unusual footwork and sword techniques while spectators marvel at his appearance and strength.
• On the ninth floor, bronze puppets attack him with scorching golden, magma-like light. Duan Yun blocks it with Body-Breaking Sword Qi and destroys the puppets with the Chivalric Fire Lotus.
• On the tenth floor, nine mechanical black dragons attack. Duan Yun uses Seventh Spring Rain, deforming the dragon heads into turtle-like shapes. Their internal flame mechanisms backfire, causing three dragons to explode.
• Li Mofei retreats, then suddenly returns and launches another sneak attack with a powerful kick, trying to destroy Duan Yun’s momentum and knock him down the tower.
• Duan Yun unexpectedly catches Li Mofei’s big toe with his legs using the Heart-to-Heart Clamp, injuring Li’s toenail and trapping him. Both men strike each other with their elbows, ending the chapter in a direct close-quarters clash.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun continues to show his cunning, theatrical confidence, and ability to turn seemingly disadvantageous situations to his benefit. Rather than rushing into Li Mofei’s challenge, he first eliminates hidden enemies and absorbs their strength.
• His combat abilities have advanced significantly. He can now use his techniques with greater ease, move through the air, and combine swordsmanship, fire techniques, and absurd physical maneuvers effectively.
• The Murong Brothers remains hot-tempered and boastful, but his emotional response to Duan Yun’s encouragement reveals a strong desire for recognition and loyalty from friends. Even while injured, he remains competitive and resents Duan Yun stealing the spotlight.
• Li Mofei is established as a calculating, shamelessly opportunistic schemer. He repeatedly relies on ambushes, retreats, and attacks timed for moments of weakness rather than fighting openly.
• Gu Tian is exposed as dependent on medicinal enhancement. His confidence in his “pure” medicine survives even as Duan Yun drains him, making his final moments both pathetic and comedic.
• Feng Ling’er acts as a skeptical observer, criticizing the spectators’ exaggerated reactions to Duan Yun’s handsomeness and performance.

Significant Themes

• Reputation and public perception: The battle is performed before a large audience, and both Duan Yun and Li Mofei constantly compete for the image of heroic protagonist. The spectators quickly praise whichever side appears dominant.
• Friendship and affirmation: Murong’s emotional reaction to Duan Yun’s thumbs-up shows how meaningful encouragement can be, even to an arrogant and violent character.
• Deception versus open heroism: Li Mofei claims the posture of a righteous leader but repeatedly uses sneak attacks and manipulation, while Duan Yun openly mocks his hypocrisy.
• Strength gained through absorption and adaptation: Duan Yun turns his enemies’ power into his own, demonstrating that flexibility and opportunism matter as much as raw cultivation.
• Comedy amid violence: Brutal injuries, executions, romantic misunderstandings, and absurd techniques such as catching an opponent’s toe with a leg clamp are presented for comic effect.
• Appearance and charisma: Duan Yun’s handsomeness becomes almost as influential as his martial prowess, attracting enthusiastic supporters and provoking Murong’s jealousy.

Character Interactions

• Murong Brothers and Ning Qing: Ning Qing helps control and evacuate the wounded Murong, who must temporarily hand leadership over to Duan Yun.
• Murong Brothers and Duan Yun: Duan’s silent thumbs-up earns Murong’s heartfelt loyalty, though Murong later becomes jealous when Duan receives more admiration.
• Duan Yun and Gu Tian: Their exchange is dominated by mockery over Gu Tian’s medicinal power. Duan absorbs Gu Tian’s energy and kills him after ridiculing the supposed purity of his medicine.
• Duan Yun and Li Mofei: Their rivalry escalates from public provocation to a direct battle. Li relies on ambushes and momentum, while Duan counters with unexpected techniques and humiliating physical tricks.
• Duan Yun and the spectators: His dramatic ascent and combat victories inspire intense admiration, especially from female spectators, further intensifying his rivalry with Murong.
• Li Mofei and Gu Tian: Li abandons Gu Tian to die while framing the sacrifice as service to the Ink Sect, revealing the cold and manipulative nature of their supposed brotherhood.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Second Elder Li Mofei attacks Duan Yun with his signature elbow technique, accompanied by the unusual battle cry “mua!”
• The cry originates from Li Mofei’s former senior and mentor, whom he regarded as a half-father. This mentor taught him the elbow technique and inspired his pursuit of the Ink Sect’s ultimate martial arts.
• Li Mofei’s mentor died in an accident involving the dangerous Sky-Ascending Flying Wheel Sea, an event that devastated the Ink Sect. Li Mofei has since carried on his legacy by mastering the Ink-Flesh Flying Thunder God.
• Li Mofei’s first elbow overwhelms Duan Yun’s Elbow Sword technique, but Duan withstands it. A second elbow leaves Duan at a slight disadvantage.
• Duan Yun realizes that Li Mofei’s repeated “mua!” cry enhances the circulation of his qi, blood, and fighting spirit. He imitates the cry, causing his own elbow and knee strikes to become dramatically stronger.
• The two fighters exchange a prolonged series of elbows and knees, spinning through the air and damaging the surrounding buildings. Their clashes even influence spectators, who instinctively shout “mua!” and accidentally elbow one another.
• After their final simultaneous elbow collision cracks the Black Tower, both realize that simple elbow and knee strikes will not decide the battle.
• Li Mofei activates the strange powers of his Ink Flesh. Flesh-like tendrils suddenly emerge from his body, attacking from unexpected angles, changing between soft and hard forms, and extending and retracting freely.
• Duan Yun struggles against these bizarre attacks but counters with Sword Qi, Cloud-Repelling Palm, and the Sixteen-Style Strange Fist. Although he lands many blows, Li Mofei’s flesh tendrils prevent him from gaining a decisive advantage.
• Li Mofei attempts to overwhelm Duan with a close-range assault and bear hug, but Duan escapes after the tendrils pierce his shoes.
• Duan Yun draws Demon Blade Tenderness and the Golden Sword, combining them into a scissor-like weapon technique. He repeatedly slashes at Li Mofei, cutting off numerous flesh tendrils and drawing blood.

Character Developments

• Li Mofei is shown to be deeply shaped by his late mentor. His “mua!” battle cry is not merely a technique but an emotional inheritance and symbol of filial devotion. His anger at Duan Yun copying it reveals how personally he values that bond.
• Duan Yun demonstrates resilience, adaptability, and quick analytical thinking. After initially losing ground, he identifies the secret behind Li Mofei’s strength and immediately incorporates it into his own fighting style.
• Duan’s confidence and irreverent humor remain intact even in danger. He treats the battle as both a serious contest and an opportunity to mock Li Mofei’s grotesque transformations.
• Li Mofei’s mastery of Ink-Flesh Flying Thunder God is presented as both powerful and unsettling, emphasizing his evolution into an exceptional body cultivator.

Significant Themes

• Inheritance and remembrance: Li Mofei’s combat style preserves the teachings and spirit of his deceased mentor.
• Adaptation and innovation: Duan Yun turns an opponent’s signature technique into his own weapon, showing that martial ability depends on understanding as much as raw power.
• Pride and identity: Li Mofei sees “mua!” as a private symbol of his relationship with his mentor and feels personally violated when Duan Yun imitates it.
• The grotesque versus the absurd: The chapter contrasts terrifying body-transformation techniques with deliberately ridiculous humor, especially the repeated battle cries and accidental spectator elbows.
• Escalation in combat: The fight progresses from elbows and knees to sword qi, palms, fists, flesh tendrils, and finally a combined blade-and-sword technique.

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun and Li Mofei: Their duel is intensely physical and competitive, with both refusing to retreat or surrender the initiative. Their rivalry becomes comedic when Duan imitates Li Mofei’s “mua!” cry.
• Li Mofei and his former mentor: Though the mentor is absent, his influence dominates Li Mofei’s actions and motivation. Li’s technique and ambitions are effectively a continuing tribute to him.
• Duan Yun and the spectators: The battle’s rhythm affects the crowd, causing several spectators to imitate the fighters and accidentally strike those around them.
• Duan Yun and the Murong Brothers: The brothers cheer when Duan appears to gain the upper hand, but the fight quickly turns again when Li Mofei’s flesh tendrils counterattack.
  The chapter ends with Duan Yun taking control of the battle through his scissor-like blade-and-sword technique, brutally cutting away Li Mofei’s bizarre flesh extensions.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun battles Li Mofei, the Ink Sect’s Second Elder, inside Black Tower. Li initially retreats upward after narrowly avoiding Duan Yun’s scissor-like Blade Qi.
• Duan Yun follows him to the tower’s pitch-black top floor, which is covered in unsettlingly lifelike carved faces. He breaks through a heavily reinforced vermilion stone door, triggering a fire mine but escaping unharmed.
• Li Mofei reveals that his retreat was deliberate. In the shrine-like chamber, he activates his ultimate technique, “Ink Flesh, fully unleashed,” causing strips of flesh and Meat Eggs to erupt from his body.
• The fight becomes a close-quarters contest. Li uses powerful techniques such as Venomous Dragon Drill and Flying Thunder Exorcises Demons, while Duan counters with Body-Breaking Sword-Qi Pillars, Heart-to-Heart Clamp, and other blade and sword techniques.
• The confined chamber strengthens Li’s Meat Eggs: they ricochet off the walls, increasing in speed and power. Duan is gradually pushed onto the defensive, though he remains fascinated rather than afraid.
• Several Bloodthirsty Storytellers rush to the tower to witness Duan’s supposed death. Two are killed by ricocheting Meat Eggs, and two more are burned alive when they approach during the final exchange.
• Duan unleashes Thousand-Stalk Chivalric Fire Lotus and Thunderfire Greatsword, filling the chamber and rooftop with fire and lightning. The resulting inferno convinces the onlookers that both combatants may have died.
• Duan emerges alive, dragging a severely burned and defeated Li Mofei behind him. Li is reduced to kneeling helplessly, unable even to speak.
• Duan beheads him, raises the severed head, and shouts, “Who else!” The common people erupt in thunderous cheers, while Ink Sect supporters mourn.

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun demonstrates overwhelming resilience, combat creativity, and confidence. Even when trapped by Li’s specialized techniques, he remains calm and treats the battle as an opportunity to study the Ink Sect’s abilities.
• His identity as the self-proclaimed founder and defender of Chivalric Land becomes increasingly tied to his victories. He sees Li not merely as an enemy but as someone obstructing the creation of a new order.
• Li Mofei reveals himself as far more dangerous than his earlier injuries suggested. His apparent retreat was a trap, and his transformation into fully unleashed Ink Flesh makes him a terrifying body cultivator.
• Despite his pride and boasts about being “number one under heaven,” Li is ultimately overwhelmed by Duan Yun’s fire-and-lightning techniques. His final attempt at reconciliation shows that his confidence has completely collapsed.
• Old Li and the Bloodthirsty Storytellers are shown to be more capable and personally invested than they initially appeared. Their eagerness to witness Duan Yun’s death exposes their deep hatred of him, while their reckless deaths emphasize their fanaticism.
• The common people emerge as Duan Yun’s genuine supporters, contrasting sharply with the martial artists and Ink Sect loyalists who oppose him.

3. Significant Themes

• Power versus ideology: The battle represents more than a personal grudge. Duan Yun frames Li’s defeat as punishment for resisting the establishment of Chivalric Land.
• Public perception and propaganda: The Ink Sect’s intelligence disciples immediately imagine heroic headlines and donation campaigns, showing how martial factions manipulate events for reputation and resources.
• The divide between elites and ordinary people: Most jianghu observers support the Ink Sect, but the poor local populace cheers Duan Yun. His victory becomes a symbolic triumph for those who feel neglected by the martial establishment.
• Confidence, spectacle, and humiliation: Both fighters loudly proclaim their superiority, but the dramatic battle ultimately turns Li’s boasts into public humiliation.
• Innovation against specialization: Li’s techniques are strongest in the enclosed chamber, where his Meat Eggs can ricochet endlessly. Duan Yun overcomes this tactical disadvantage by creating an even more destructive battlefield with thunderfire.
• Darkness and transformation: The black tower, carved faces, grotesque flesh techniques, and burning rooftop create an atmosphere of horror, while the final fire symbolizes Duan Yun’s violent emergence as the victor.

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun repeatedly taunts Li about his injuries and weak kidneys, while Li responds with boasts about his strength and claims that he is invincible inside the chamber.
• Li attempts to overwhelm Duan Yun through grappling, drilling attacks, and volleys of Meat Eggs, deliberately exploiting the confined space.
• Duan counters with a mixture of mockery, defensive techniques, sword qi, blade force, and finally devastating fire and lightning.
• The Bloodthirsty Storytellers’ movements mirror the battle’s tension: they rush to watch Duan Yun die, only to become casualties themselves.
• The final interaction is entirely one-sided: Li, burned and unable to speak, silently pleads for mercy, but Duan Yun answers by executing him and proclaiming victory to the watching crowd.
• The chapter ends by contrasting the Ink Sect’s grief with the common people’s ecstatic cheers, cementing Duan Yun’s growing popular appeal.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• After Duan Yun kills Ink Sect Second Elder Li Mofei, Springwatch City erupts in forced and genuine celebration. Most residents quickly abandon the Ink Sect, even stripping off their robes, while remaining disciples flee or pretend to support Duan Yun.
• The city effectively comes under the control of Duan Yun and the Jade Pearl Heroes, becoming a new “Chivalric Land” under the Xia banner.
• Two storytellers attempt to incite the crowd against Duan Yun, but the people pelt them with cow dung. One dies from rage after being struck and humiliated.
• The Jade Pearl Heroes issue a series of Chivalric Edicts:
  • Gambling houses and strong-tobacco shops are shut down.
  • Brothels face health inspections.
  • Rape, murder, forced trade, and protection fees are forbidden.
  • Farmers will no longer pay grain taxes.
• The grain-tax abolition produces the greatest public enthusiasm, since the Ink Sect had previously seized most harvests and burdened people with debt, exploitation, and bodily mutilation.
• Martial artists object to being forced into peaceful labor and farming. The Murong Brothers tell them they can use their strength for construction, farming, and public works, and may eventually learn better martial arts from the heroes.
• A Red Tower woman, disguised within the crowd, privately believes Duan Yun’s policies will alienate martial artists and cause his regime to collapse.
• Duan Yun identifies her, exposes her affiliation, and brutally executes her using his techniques of urinary collapse and unbearable itching. His display frightens the remaining dissenters and potential Ink Sect conspirators into submission.
• Duan Yun declares that Chivalric Land exists to let ordinary people live and work safely. He acknowledges that building such a society will require time, organization, rules, and intimidation.
• Determined to prove that his ideals are correct, he resolves to oppose the entire martial world if necessary and commands World-Shaking Wisdom to break through.

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun fully embraces his role as both protector and ruler. He moves beyond revenge against the Ink Sect and begins constructing a social order centered on safety, justice, and ordinary people’s welfare.
• He shows a mixture of idealism and extreme brutality: he wants peace and prosperity, but uses terrifying punishment to enforce them.
• The Murong Brothers act as Duan Yun’s public spokesmen, presenting his policies in an arrogant but persuasive manner and translating his vision into practical rules.
• Ink Sect disciples reveal their fear and opportunism by abandoning their uniforms immediately after Li Mofei’s death, though many privately resent the people they believe have betrayed the sect.
• The Red Tower woman shifts from confidence to terror. She initially believes Duan Yun’s policies will fail, but her miscalculation leads to her public execution.
• The local martial artists lose their remaining confidence in resisting Duan Yun after witnessing his punishment and hearing his promise to protect the city.

3. Significant Themes

• The instability of power: Once the Ink Sect’s authority collapses, its followers and subjects rapidly switch allegiance, showing how loyalty often depends on fear and survival.
• Justice versus traditional martial values: Duan Yun’s Chivalric Land rejects the martial world’s culture of violence, exploitation, pleasure, and impunity.
• Ordinary people as the foundation of society: Ending grain taxes and protection fees gives farmers security and exposes how deeply the city’s prosperity depends on their labor.
• Idealism enforced through violence: Duan Yun seeks to create a humane society, but relies on horrifying punishments and fear to establish order.
• Social reform as gradual construction: Duan Yun recognizes that laws alone cannot create a just society; it requires people, institutions, and persistent effort to maintain it.
• Defiance of the martial world: Duan Yun’s determination to prove his ideals reflects his growing willingness to challenge the entire established order.

4. Character Interactions

• The crowd collectively turns against the Ink Sect, while Ink Sect disciples outwardly join the celebrations despite their inner resentment.
• The Murong Brothers debate with martial artists who question the purpose of their training, arguing that strength should serve farming, construction, and protection rather than violence.
• The Red Tower woman silently judges Duan Yun’s policies and predicts his downfall, but Duan Yun confronts her directly and punishes her before she can act.
• Duan Yun’s final speech addresses both ordinary citizens and martial artists, welcoming those willing to become true heroes while threatening anyone who obstructs his vision.

Summary of Chapter

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• After killing Li Mofei, the Jade Pearl Heroes occupy his lavish mansion in Springwatch City. They distribute his twenty-seven wives: most stay as servants, while Duan Yun gives the elderly women and the black twin sisters to the Murong Brothers and Ning Qing.
• The group discusses how to govern their first conquered city. Zi Yu proposes a major canal project to drain flooding from Jade Pearl Manor's lake and irrigate farmland—Duan Yun funds it.
• The Murong Brothers suggest setting up a brothel health-inspection station; everyone rejects it in disgust.
• Zi Yu quickly recruits over a hundred body cultivators and the Donkey-Driving Sect to dig the canal. Duan Yun inspects and approves.
• News spreads across the martial world that Duan Yun has seized Springwatch City and established new laws (no killing, stealing, protection fees, or grain taxes).
• In the Gu Family ancestral residence, Young Madam Lei Ying is practicing her signature saber draw—pulling a blade from her cleavage. She learns of the city's fall and, ignoring her servant’s warnings about Duan Yun’s invincible reputation, decides to personally capture him. She refuses to inform her husband, who is in seclusion.

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Shows investment in governance and infrastructure, experiencing the satisfaction of building something lasting ("farming saga" feeling).
• Zi Yu: Reveals practical skills beyond writing erotic novels—she has researched water management and proves an effective project manager.
• Murong Brothers: Remain comically lecherous and shallow, but also begin adapting to their new roles (Murong Brother takes on health examinations, albeit with inappropriate criteria).
• Feng Ling'er: Positions herself as the city’s business manager, using her experience running docks.
• Young Madam Lei Ying (new antagonist): Introduced as arrogant, self-obsessed ("I am invincible"), and defined by her bizarre saber technique. She embodies the old power structure’s contemptuous response to Duan Yun’s rebellion.

3. Significant Themes

• Gradual establishment of order: The protagonists pivot from pure violence to governance, infrastructure, and rule-making—contrasting with the old martial world’s exploitation.
• Arrogance vs. reality: Lei Ying’s blind confidence (and her servants’ silent doubt) foreshadows a clash with Duan Yun’s unprecedented success.
• Comic absurdity in wuxia: Cleavage-drawn sabers, brothel-inspection proposals, and “Star Rage” jargon keep the tone irreverent.

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun, Zi Yu, the Murong Brothers, and Feng Ling’er debate projects in a lively back-and-forth marked by mutual mockery (e.g., teasing Duan Yun about The Fallen Goddess Constable and his rumored fetish for the constable sisters).
• Zi Yu and Duan Yun negotiate her canal proposal, with her offering to become his “Star Rage” if it fails.
• Lei Ying’s interaction with her servant highlights her stubbornness and the divide between the wealthy Gu Family and ordinary people—she speaks of “poor people” with disdain, while the servant is pragmatic enough to fear Duan Yun.

Summary of the Chapter

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Springwatch City, ruled by Duan Yun ("Young Hero Duan"), has become orderly and prosperous. Common folk no longer pay heavy taxes or protection fees; they can farm their own land and keep their harvest.
• Liu Zi, an honest laborer, finds work digging the canal and enjoys his new life. He goes to a noodle stall for a large bowl of noodles (no meat, extra chili).
• The stall owner and a bystander falsely claim Liu Zi ate two bowls. A crowd pressures him, and in desperation, Liu Zi slashes open his own belly to prove he ate only one.
• Zi Yu (the heroine) arrives and sends for Duan Yun. Duan Yun stops Liu Zi's bleeding, then uses his memory-reading ability (Northern Darkness Divine Skill) to extract the truth from the stall owner and the bystander.
• The two men are revealed to be Bloodthirsty Storytellers, enemies of Duan Yun who set up the false accusation to undermine his justice system and kill people. Duan Yun tortures them grotesquely: he severs their limbs and tongues, leaving them to itch to death alive.
• Duan Yun heals Liu Zi completely with Fingertip Lightning, demonstrating his care for his people.
• The scene shifts: Lei Ying, the arrogant young madam of the Gu Family, travels in a moving house carried by nearly a hundred strongmen. She has issued a proclamation to capture Duan Yun alive, and she plans to do so openly. Her subordinate Zhi Xin worries about her high profile, but she dismisses him.
• Two lurking sisters (second and third) see Lei Ying as their chance to rescue their "big sister" and plot to coordinate with her against Duan Yun.

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Shows both sides of his nature—ruthless and merciless to enemies (tortures them to death) yet genuinely protective and caring toward ordinary people (heals Liu Zi and upholds his rules). His ability to solve cases instantly via memory retrieval makes him a terrifyingly effective judge.
• Liu Zi: Represents the common man who has finally tasted hope. His desperation leads him to self-harm, but he is saved and remains loyal to Duan Yun.
• Zi Yu: Acts as Duan Yun's capable ally; quick to call him for emergencies.
• Lei Ying: Introduced as an arrogant, domineering, and powerful figure (claimed to have beaten ten grandmasters). She is confident to the point of recklessness.
• The Bloodthirsty Storytellers: Villains who exploit Duan Yun's rule of law by manufacturing false cases. They are revealed as persistent enemies of Duan Yun, but their plan fails.

3. Significant Themes

• Justice vs. Manipulation: Duan Yun's justice is absolute but can be gamed by those who hide behind appearances. His solution—reading memories—bypasses all deception.
• Protection of the Common People: Duan Yun's rule gives ordinary folk dignity, but also creates a fragile trust that must be defended ruthlessly.
• Cruelty as Deterrent: Duan Yun's extreme torture serves both revenge and a warning: he will utterly destroy those who harm his people.
• Power and Arrogance: Lei Ying's pride may be her weakness, foreshadowing a conflict between her overconfidence and Duan Yun's unconventional methods.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zi vs. Noodle Stall Owner / Bystander: Accusation, gaslighting, and public shaming escalate until Liu Zi mutilates himself.
• Duan Yun & Liu Zi: Duan Yun saves his life and jokes ("I don't like men"), while Liu Zi tearfully declares his gratitude.
• Duan Yun & Villains: He exposes their scheme, tortures them with deliberate cruelty, and vows to exterminate their kind.
• Zi Yu & Liu Zi: She responds to his distress by immediately summoning Duan Yun.
• Lei Ying & Zhi Xin: She dismisses his caution, showcasing her hubris; he secretly plans to flee if things go wrong.
• Second & Third Sisters: They assess Lei Ying as a powerful ally and decide to act when the time comes.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Gu Family arrives in force at Springwatch City, publicly declaring its intention to capture Duan Old Devil alive. Their arrival causes excitement and anxiety because the Gu Family is renowned for defeating Grandmasters and possesses a century-old foundation.
• Rumors exaggerate Duan Yun’s reputation, claiming his cellar is filled with women he has captured and tormented. Similar gossip surrounds the Gu Family’s young madam, who is said to have defeated numerous Grandmasters with her Heavenly Fragrance Fire-Phoenix Blade.
• While everyone expects Duan Yun to prepare for battle, he remains completely relaxed. He spends his time:
  • Digging lotus roots with extraordinary precision using his blade and true qi.
  • Supervising Zi Yu’s large-scale river excavation project.
  • Occasionally breaking difficult granite that even other martial artists cannot handle.
• The Murong Brothers and Feng Ling’er warn Duan Yun that the Gu Family’s arrival is serious and that the young madam may possess a special move designed specifically to defeat him.
• Feng Ling’er explains the background of the Gu Family’s young lord, Gu Dile, a frightening genius who became heir after secretly mastering the Gu Family’s Spirit-Shocking Finger and killing his uncle during a hostage rescue. His infamous phrase, “I don’t eat beef,” reflects his ruthlessness.
• She also reveals that the young madam, Lei Ying, was formerly first on the Heavenly State Beauty Ranking and is considered an undefeated expert, with only first-rate Grandmasters qualified to fight her.
• Duan Yun becomes more interested in Lei Ying’s beauty than her martial ability, irritating Feng Ling’er and causing her to accuse him of shamelessness.
• The river project continues successfully. Ink Sect researchers assist Zi Yu and Duan Yun, contributing improved designs such as stone sluice gates. Duan Yun and Zi Yu enforce a humane two-hour work shift with high wages, contrasting sharply with the exploitative Ink Sect system.
• As news spreads, residents gather to witness the confrontation. Some support Duan Yun because his rule has given them hope and freedom, while former Ink Sect loyalists hope the Gu Family will defeat him and restore the old order.
• The chapter ends with the spectacular arrival of the Gu Family: an entire moving residence approaches, carrying Lei Ying seated beneath a pine tree on a golden chair.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Remains calm, confident, and unconcerned by the Gu Family’s threat. His willingness to perform ordinary labor, such as digging lotus roots, highlights both his versatility and his lack of arrogance. His interest in Lei Ying’s beauty also reinforces his irreverent and playful personality.
• Feng Ling’er: Acts as a practical source of information and shows concern for Duan Yun’s safety. Her frustration with his apparent frivolity reveals both her seriousness and her personal irritation toward his behavior.
• Murong Brothers: Demonstrate their awareness of the Gu Family’s power but admit that their knowledge is limited. Their usual confidence is temporarily weakened by the seriousness of the situation.
• Zi Yu: Continues developing the river project, demonstrating initiative and administrative ability. Her work gains technical support from former Ink Sect researchers.
• Lei Ying: Is introduced as the Gu Family’s undefeated young madam, a renowned beauty, and a powerful blade expert. Her arrival establishes her as Duan Yun’s likely opponent.
• Gu Dile: Though absent, he is characterized as a terrifying, highly intelligent, and ruthless genius whose actions secured his position as Gu Family heir.

Significant Themes

• Reputation versus reality: Exaggerated rumors depict both Duan Yun and the Gu Family in almost monstrous terms, showing how martial-world gossip distorts truth.
• Power and intimidation: The Gu Family’s enormous procession and moving residence are meant to display overwhelming authority before the battle even begins.
• Freedom versus exploitation: Duan Yun’s short work shifts, generous wages, and public works sharply contrast with the Ink Sect’s oppressive rule and its belief that people must surrender their labor and resources.
• Leadership through practical action: Duan Yun governs not only through strength but also by improving infrastructure, protecting workers, and personally participating in useful work.
• Confidence and composure: Duan Yun’s calm behavior contrasts with the anxiety of those around him, suggesting that he either possesses tremendous confidence or has a plan hidden from everyone else.
• Beauty and martial strength: Lei Ying’s status as both the top-ranked beauty and an undefeated expert combines two ideals highly valued in the martial world and sets up the chapter’s central confrontation.

Character Interactions

• The Murong Brothers and Feng Ling’er urge Duan Yun to take the Gu Family threat seriously, but he dismisses their anxiety by pointing out that they are not the ones being targeted.
• Feng Ling’er educates Duan Yun about Gu Dile and Lei Ying, while Duan Yun’s focus on Lei Ying’s beauty annoys her and leads to a brief quarrel.
• Duan Yun and Zi Yu cooperate on the river project, emphasizing their shared interest in improving Springwatch City.
• Former Ink Sect members work alongside Zi Yu’s people, transforming former enemies or oppressed locals into contributors to the city’s reconstruction.
• The city’s residents divide into supporters who now admire Duan Yun’s reforms and reactionaries who want the Gu Family to restore the old system.
• The chapter concludes by positioning Duan Yun and Lei Ying for a major confrontation, with the crowd eagerly awaiting their meeting.

Summary of Chapter:

1. Key Plot Points

• Little Yin is managing the reconstruction of Jade Pearl Manor. Her second and third sisters secretly arrive, proposing a strike back against Duan Yun (“Old Devil”) with the Gu Family’s help. Little Yin, initially hesitant, agrees to coordinate their actions and signals them to hide.
• Gu Family’s young madam, Lei Ying, arrives in a massive house-carriage and arrogantly demands Duan Yun kneel and lick her feet.
• Duan Yun refuses with crude insults. Lei Ying unleashes her signature move, “Fire Phoenix Abyss-Rising Blade,” drawing a thunderfire blade from her cleavage.
• Duan Yun counters with his own Thunderfire Greatsaber. The clash forces both back.
• Lei Ying reveals she only has that single move; Duan Yun follows up with another slash. Her subordinate, Zhao Qiangdong, saves her using his “Thousand-Mile Journey” speed technique, but Duan Yun severs his limbs. Zhao escapes by forming blood-based replacement legs.
• Duan Yun captures Lei Ying, seals her cultivation (striking her navel), and takes her as a prisoner.

2. Character Developments

• Little Yin: Recovers some courage and leadership bearing in front of her sisters, but remains wary of Duan Yun’s strength.
• Duan Yun: Shows his combat adaptability, mastery of the blade, and ruthless, vulgar arrogance. He is unimpressed by Lei Ying’s fame and easily defeats her.
• Lei Ying: Exposed as overconfident and one-dimensional—relies entirely on a single powerful strike; her beauty and status do not save her from humiliation and capture.
• Zhao Qiangdong: Demonstrates fierce loyalty and incredible escape skills, but is brutally maimed.
• Second & Third Sisters: Display a mix of wishful thinking and realism—second sister wrongly believes Duan Yun is crippled; third sister points out that Lei Ying only lasted one move.

3. Significant Themes

• Arrogance and fall: Lei Ying’s pride leads to her swift downfall.
• Underestimation: The Gu Family and the sisters misjudge Duan Yun’s true power.
• Humiliation as power play: Feet-licking demands, forced urination, and mutilation reinforce Duan Yun’s dominance.
• Reunion and hope: The sisters’ plan gives Little Yin a faint chance of escape/revenge, but their confidence is misplaced.

4. Character Interactions

• Little Yin ↔ Her Sisters: Emotional reunion; they propose a strike-back plan, but Little Yin remains cautious and takes charge.
• Duan Yun ↔ Lei Ying: Crude confrontation; battle; Duan Yun captures her.
• Duan Yun ↔ Zhao Qiangdong: Duan Yun maims and attempts to capture him; Zhao escapes with a desperate legless running technique.
• Second & Third Sisters: Observe and debate the battle, highlighting the gap between their expectations and reality.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Gu Family’s young mistress, Lei Ying, arrives in Springwatch City to confront Duan Yun, also known as Duan Old Devil, in order to avenge past grievances and rescue her side.
• Lei Ying launches a spectacular blade attack, creating widespread excitement among onlookers. However, her technique turns out to be largely a single impressive move. Duan Yun withstands it, captures her, and humiliates her by forcing her to kneel.
• The storytellers dramatize the battle, with Wang Wanhe insisting Lei Ying only suffered a “narrow defeat,” while others mock her for losing quickly and wetting herself during the confrontation. Despite this, Duan Yun’s reputation and public support in Springwatch City grow further.
• Duan Yun suffers lingering visual and mental effects from Lei Ying’s dazzling blade technique. While performing eye exercises on his golden toilet, he keeps being distracted by her appearance and ultimately shocks her unconscious with his Electric Finger technique.
• Lei Ying becomes another hostage in Duan Yun’s cellar, where she is placed beside Leopard-Pattern Auntie. Little Yin worries that her younger sisters may also fall into Duan Yun’s hands and bring shame upon the Yellow Jade Island lineage.
• Lei Ying’s residence and possessions are taken over by Duan Yun’s group. The valuable furniture, paintings, and other treasures will help fund the construction of the New Chivalric Land.
• Duan Yun claims Lei Ying’s dark-blue weapon, the Famous Blade, as his spoils of war. The blade is said to be cursed, having caused the deaths or misfortunes of many former owners.
• The chapter ends by shifting to Zhao Qiangdong, the Gu Family’s extraordinary runner. Although he attempted to rescue Lei Ying, he failed and escaped with great difficulty after being injured by Duan Yun’s bizarre attack involving Lei Ying’s urine. He returns toward the Gu Family while travelers mistake his half-bodied, legless appearance for a ghost.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun grows more confident and influential after defeating another powerful opponent. He treats Lei Ying’s defeat humorously and views her residence, possessions, and blade as valuable additions to his growing domain.
• Lei Ying is revealed to possess great pride and confidence in her beauty, reputation, and blade skills. Her arrogance collapses after her swift defeat, though she continues to insult Duan Yun’s companions and privately hopes her husband will avenge her.
• Little Yin becomes increasingly anxious and protective toward her younger sisters. Her relationship with Duan Yun has become psychologically complicated: she no longer fears him as intensely as before, but she now fears what may happen to her family.
• Murong Brothers is shown to be vain and interested in acquiring the Famous Blade, partly because of its association with Lei Ying. He quickly backs down after Ning Qing angrily challenges him.
• Ning Qing displays strong jealousy and protectiveness, warning Murong Brothers not to take the blade.
• Zhao Qiangdong is characterized as an unmatched escape artist whose proudest achievement was outrunning the Sword Demon until the latter broke down. Despite his confidence, Duan Yun’s power leaves him shaken and injured.

Significant Themes

• Reputation versus reality: Public storytellers transform Lei Ying’s defeat into a heroic “narrow loss,” showing how martial-world legends distort actual events.
• The unstable nature of power: Duan Yun’s victories increase his prestige, but the narration emphasizes that no one can remain undefeated forever.
• Humiliation and pride: Lei Ying’s beauty, status, and confidence cannot protect her from defeat, while her continued arrogance becomes a source of comedy.
• Spoils and conquest: Duan Yun treats defeated enemies, their homes, weapons, and wealth as trophies that support his ambitions.
• Objectification and beauty as power: The ranking of famous beauties treats women’s bodies as weapons, especially Lei Ying, whose appearance and presence have literal effects on others.
• Chivalry as parody: The chapter repeatedly mocks conventional heroic ideals. Duan Yun is called a “great hero” despite behaving like a tyrant, while Zhao Qiangdong’s greatest achievement is fleeing from danger rather than defeating it.
• Building a new order: Beneath the comedy, Duan Yun is steadily gathering resources and creating the New Chivalric Land as a future center of the martial world.

Character Interactions

• The storytellers argue over whether Lei Ying suffered a defeat or merely a narrow setback, providing comic commentary on the battle.
• Murong Brothers asks for the Famous Blade, but Ning Qing accuses him of wanting it because it came from Lei Ying. He immediately withdraws his request.
• Lei Ying and Murong Brothers trade insults over the blade’s supposed smell and purity, with Lei Ying fiercely defending her weapon and dignity.
• Duan Yun casually orders Little Yin to imprison Lei Ying beside another hostage, causing Little Yin momentary panic that he has discovered her sisters.
• Zi Yu criticizes Duan Yun for damaging the residence, while Duan Yun excuses the destruction by saying Lei Ying’s opening attack made him expect a far stronger fight.
• Zhao Qiangdong’s failed rescue attempt reinforces the gap between Duan Yun’s strength and the abilities of even elite martial-world figures.

Chapter Summary: “Men Really Are Too Bad!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Qiangdong, severely mutilated after escaping Duan Yun—missing both legs and one arm—reaches the Gu Family Ancestral Residence to report that Gu Dile’s wife, Lei Ying, has been captured.
• Although the guards initially refuse him entry because Gu Dile is in secluded cultivation, Gu Dile eventually orders that Zhao be admitted.
• Gu Dile is revealed to be taking a break from cultivation while barbecuing, dressed in a bizarre style with pink twin ponytails. His seventeen burly brothers, the “Seventeen Arhats,” wear matching hairstyles.
• Zhao explains that Duan Yun defeated Lei Ying and cut off three of his limbs when he tried to save her.
• Gu Dile reassures Zhao that he does not blame him, but becomes determined to rescue Lei Ying. He estimates only a seventy-percent chance of defeating Duan Yun immediately, so he orders himself and the Seventeen Arhats to master the “Heavenly Flight Divine Skill” over one hundred days.
• Using their spinning twin ponytails, Gu Dile and the Arhats fly away in formation. Zhao is awed by their technique, then realizes that Lei Ying may remain captive for at least one hundred days.
• The chapter shifts to Li Qin, a pregnant and abusive wife whose husband, Zhang Erli, has finally left her after years of humiliation and exploitation.
• Zhang Erli sells their house, takes his mother away, and disappears, leaving Li Qin homeless and penniless. She blames the Great Hero Sect’s teachings about male independence for influencing him.
• After failing to find either her husband or the child’s biological father, Li Qin spends the night on the street and dreams of a horrifying iron-and-flesh child.
• She awakens to find the same monstrous object from her dream before her. Several people nearby have iron tubes inserted into their heads, and an unseen voice commands them to “Become my Star Rage.”

Character Developments

• Zhao Qiangdong: Despite catastrophic injuries, he remains loyal to Gu Dile and successfully delivers the warning. His admiration for Gu Dile grows into near-religious awe, though he belatedly recognizes the absurd consequences of the rescue plan.
• Gu Dile: His socially anxious, ruthless personality is further revealed. He considers himself “kind” despite having killed roughly one hundred thousand people to avoid interacting with strangers. His love for Lei Ying motivates him to begin a major training campaign.
• The Seventeen Arhats: They function as Gu Dile’s loyal brothers and enforcers. Their intimidating appearance is undercut by their ridiculous twin ponytails and enthusiastic support of Gu Dile.
• Lei Ying: Though absent, she is established as Gu Dile’s beloved wife and a powerful martial artist who resisted Duan Yun before being captured.
• Li Qin: Her self-centeredness and abusive treatment of Zhang Erli are exposed. When abandoned, she shifts from arrogance and anger to panic, vulnerability, and desperation.
• Zhang Erli: Though not shown directly, he undergoes a major off-screen transformation, finally rejecting his wife’s mistreatment and taking his mother with him.
• Duan Yun: He is portrayed as overwhelmingly dangerous, defeating Lei Ying and crippling Zhao with ease while continuing to threaten the wider martial world.

Significant Themes

• Absurdity and parody of cultivation tropes: “Secluded cultivation” is mocked through Gu Dile’s barbecue breaks, social anxiety, bizarre hairstyles, and a comical flying technique.
• Devotion and loyalty: Zhao’s desperate journey and Gu Dile’s determination emphasize loyalty within the Gu Family.
• Gender resentment and hypocrisy: Li Qin repeatedly condemns “awful men” while ignoring her own cruelty, infidelity, and exploitation of her husband. The chapter satirizes one-sided blame in relationships.
• Consequences of abuse: Zhang Erli’s departure represents a man finally reclaiming agency after prolonged humiliation and control.
• The grotesque and supernatural: The chapter ends by shifting from comedy and domestic satire to horror, introducing the mysterious iron-flesh entity and the “Star Rage” transformation.

Character Interactions

• Zhao and the Gu Family guards: The guards initially mistake Zhao for a beggar but quickly recognize and assist him once they realize who he is.
• Zhao and the Seventeen Arhats: The Arhats block his way out of obedience to Gu Dile, despite understanding that his injuries signal a crisis.
• Zhao and Gu Dile: Gu Dile questions him about Lei Ying’s defeat, comforts him, and turns the report into a call for vengeance and rescue.
• Gu Dile and the Seventeen Arhats: Their interaction is exaggeratedly theatrical: they encourage him, receive his command, and fly away together while training their divine skill.
• Li Qin and Zhang Erli: Though Zhang Erli is absent, their relationship is defined through Li Qin’s recollections of insulting, controlling, and exploiting him. His disappearance is his response to that abuse.
• Li Qin and the mysterious entity: The chapter concludes with Li Qin confronting the horrifying creature from her dream, creating a cliffhanger about her fate and the meaning of “Star Rage.”

Here is a concise summary of the chapter:

Key Plot Points and Events

Li Qin's Transformation

• Li Qin, a resentful, hungry woman, encounters a bizarre "flesh-iron" ball that speaks and emits a tempting fragrance.
• It offers her wealth and revenge on her cousin (who married well) if she "becomes its Star Rage."
• She eats the flesh-iron ball, enters a trance-like state, and experiences a vision of a desolate "Heaven Court."
• She awakens with strange powers, exuding an aura of divinity, and declares she will "build a world with neither beauty nor ugliness, only great love" to those kneeling before her.

Duan Yun's City Management

• Duan Yun captures and publicly executes three men who were "Gu Family Flesh Loudspeakers"—propagandists planted to undermine Springwatch City and praise Red Earth City.
• The Chivalric River project reaches its preliminary completion. Duan Yun personally breaks the final barrier between the lake and the river, successfully diverting the water amid celebration.
• Zi Yu, delighted, sets out along the river to plan the next phase.

The Omen

• Duan Yun dreams of an underwater stone sculpture (a woman) who warns him to stop digging—claiming the lake belongs to the "Palace of Origin."
• A colossal, grotesque carp with a red crest appears and smiles sinisterly.
• He wakes, dismisses it as a dream, but Steward Fan Gao arrives to report trouble at the canal. Zi Yu reveals the cause: a dream.

Character Developments

• Li Qin: Transforms from a passive, envious woman into an empowered—yet likely corrupted—figure claiming godhood. Her resentment is weaponized.
• Duan Yun: Fulfills his role as the leader of the Chivalric Land—decisive in executing enemies, joyful in civic projects, but uneasy after the ominous dream.
• Zi Yu: Achieves fulfillment through engineering, growing happier and more ambitious as her designs become real.
• The Flesh-Iron: A mysterious entity that recruits "Star Rages" (servants/chosen) by exploiting desires.

Significant Themes

• Exploitation of Resentment: Li Qin's envy is used to recruit her; power is offered as revenge on those who wronged her.
• Civilization vs. Corruption: The "Chivalric Land" represents order, fairness, and construction, contrasted with the Gu Family's deceptive propaganda and the supernatural forces opposing progress.
• Pride Before a Fall: The celebration of the river project is undercut by the dream—a warning that arrogance draws supernatural wrath.
• Nature's Revenge: Duan Yun's river project violates a sacred lake, suggesting consequences for destroying nature.

Character Interactions

• Li Qin & the Flesh-Iron: Seduction and temptation—the entity offers her revenge and glory; she accepts by consuming it.
• Duan Yun & the Flesh Loudspeakers: Disguised dissenters are exposed and executed without hesitation, showing his ruthless justice.
• Duan Yun & Zi Yu: Mutual appreciation—she admires his investment and faith; he trusts and supports her engineering.
• Duan Yun & the Stone Sculpture/Carp: A prophetic encounter—supernatural beings warn and threaten his plans, hinting at an ancient, hidden power structure opposing the Chivalric Land.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• During a mandatory paid noon break at the riverside construction camp, the workers awaken from identical dreams involving a fish and a stone statue warning them to stop digging or they would offend a powerful being beneath the water.
• The shared dream creates panic among the martial artists and laborers, especially after they discover that Wang Mazi, an inventive worker involved in the excavation, is missing.
• Duan Yun investigates the two construction tunnels. He finds no one in the first, but discovers an unexplained opening, strange marks, and a fish scale in the second.
• Following the tunnel, Duan Yun and Zi Yu enter an underground body of water. Zi Yu becomes separated from Duan Yun and follows a mysterious figure that appears to imitate him.
• The figure reveals itself as a terrifying aquatic entity. Zi Yu barely escapes, surfacing just before it attacks her.
• Duan Yun dramatically kicks the creature away, then pursues it underwater instead of retreating. He captures it using his martial techniques, including a leg clamp, and drags it to the surface.
• The creature is revealed to be the same talking stone statue from the shared dream. Duan Yun brutally interrogates it about the missing workers.
• Unable to speak normally and only making “aba aba” sounds, the statue points toward another underwater opening. Before it can explain further, Duan Yun kills it by crushing its head between his legs.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun remains fearless, decisive, and absurdly aggressive in the face of supernatural danger. His confidence reassures the frightened workers and Zi Yu, while his instinct is not merely to defend others but to actively hunt down the threat.
• Zi Yu shifts between fear and curiosity. Although terrified by the supernatural events, she insists on joining the investigation because the river project is hers and because her writer’s fascination with strange phenomena draws her onward. Her trust in Duan Yun grows as she depends on him for protection.
• Wang Mazi is established as an unusually thoughtful and technically minded martial artist, making his disappearance especially concerning. His disappearance motivates the search.
• The workers are shown to be brave physically but deeply superstitious. Their fear of ghosts and fish spirits causes them to cling to one another despite their strength.
• The stone creature is presented as a frightening supernatural presence but is quickly reduced to helplessness and comic terror by Duan Yun’s relentless attack.

Significant Themes

• Fear of the unknown: The identical dreams, missing worker, underwater tunnels, and supernatural statue create an atmosphere of dread rooted in ancient beliefs about ghosts and spirits.
• Rational courage versus superstition: Duan Yun refuses to be paralyzed by supernatural explanations. Rather than fleeing, he investigates and attacks the threat directly.
• Protection and responsibility: Duan Yun sees the workers as people under his protection and refuses to accept their deaths, motivating his urgent pursuit of Wang Mazi.
• Comedy undercutting horror: Terrifying scenes are repeatedly turned comic through the workers’ exaggerated fear, Zi Yu’s frantic thoughts, Duan Yun’s absurd martial techniques, and the statue’s inability to communicate.
• Curiosity and discovery: Zi Yu’s willingness to explore the unknown reflects both her literary interests and her growing role in the strange events beneath the river project.

Character Interactions

• The workers exchange accounts of their identical dreams, amplifying one another’s fear.
• Zi Yu summons Duan Yun because his presence brings stability and authority, while the Murong Brothers are noted as useful for lightening the mood.
• Duan Yun and Zi Yu investigate the tunnels together, with Zi Yu following closely despite her fear.
• Underwater, Zi Yu mistakes the supernatural creature for Duan Yun and is nearly attacked before Duan Yun intervenes.
• Duan Yun rescues Zi Yu, then orders her to pursue the fleeing creature with him.
• Duan Yun interrogates and torments the statue while Zi Yu watches in astonishment, ending with her incredulous reaction to his bizarre but effective method of defeating a ghostly enemy.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun and Zi Yu discover a hidden opening beneath Jade Lake and enter a gloomy underwater cave filled with giant fireflies, ruined statues, red vines, and a waterfall.
• They observe two enormous red carp repeatedly attempting to swim up the waterfall. Duan Yun suspects the carp are connected to Wang Mazi’s disappearance and follows them.
• Above the waterfall, they find a vast, ruined manor surrounding a deep lake, including a nine-story palace identified as the Palace of Origin, the mysterious location mentioned in Zi Yu’s dream.
• The pair pursue the carp underwater and discover a chamber filled with numerous giant carp kissing. The carp emit a seductive, aphrodisiac-like influence.
• Under the spell of the carp, Zi Yu impulsively kisses Duan Yun. Afterward, Duan Yun kills all the carp with powerful palm strikes, claiming he is eliminating the source of the temptation.
• They continue through a passage frequently used by the carp and discover signs of human blood and bones.
• Inside a sealed room in the decaying palace, they find a large collection of human corpses—apparently the victims of the disappearances around Jade Lake. Duan Yun orders Zi Yu to search for Wang Mazi among them.

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun remains bold, irreverent, and aggressive in the face of danger. His suspicion of the carp quickly turns into a determination to punish them, especially because he believes they may be accomplices in Wang Mazi’s kidnapping.
• He also demonstrates courage and decisiveness by confronting the seductive carp magic and destroying the entire group.
• Zi Yu proves perceptive by sensing something in the waterfall before Duan Yun notices it. However, she is vulnerable to the carp’s seductive influence and kisses Duan Yun while temporarily affected.
• Afterward, Zi Yu becomes embarrassed and defensive, worrying about Shen Ying’s reaction and joking that she must record the incident as material for her writing.
• Their relationship becomes more intimate and teasing, though both try to deny responsibility for the kiss.

3. Significant Themes

• Decay beneath former splendor: The Palace of Origin was once magnificent but has become a moss-covered, corpse-like ruin, suggesting the destructive passage of time and the corruption of something once noble.
• Temptation and self-control: The carp’s strange mating behavior acts like an aphrodisiac, testing Duan Yun and Zi Yu’s willpower. Zi Yu succumbs briefly, while Duan Yun responds by destroying the source of temptation.
• Horror beneath ordinary life: The long-standing rumors about people disappearing in Jade Lake are revealed to be true. The palace contains the missing victims, preserved like stored food.
• Humor amid horror: The chapter repeatedly contrasts grotesque imagery—blood, corpses, ruined buildings, and giant carp—with comedic dialogue and romantic embarrassment.
• Trust and romantic tension: The forced kiss deepens the playful intimacy between Duan Yun and Zi Yu while also creating complications involving Shen Ying and Zi Yu’s guilt.

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun and Zi Yu cooperate closely while exploring the cave, waterfall, lake, and palace.
• Zi Yu warns Duan Yun about danger and follows his pursuit of the carp, while Duan Yun takes the lead in confronting threats.
• The carp appear to mock the pair, using their kissing behavior and seductive scent to provoke them.
• Zi Yu kisses Duan Yun under the carp’s influence; afterward, the two argue humorously over who was responsible and whether the kiss counts as a loss or an act of rescue.
• Zi Yu worries that Shen Ying will misunderstand, while Duan Yun insists that he merely helped cure her of the carp’s aphrodisiac effect.
• The chapter ends with Duan Yun and Zi Yu facing the palace’s mass grave and beginning the search for Wang Mazi.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zi Yu and Duan Yun search a corpse-filled room for Wang Mazi, following signs that aquatic demons had dragged him there.
• They discover that the corpses have been unnaturally drained of blood, leaving their bodies thin and dried out. Wang Mazi is found alive but severely weakened from blood loss.
• Although Zi Yu wants to return with Wang Mazi, Duan Yun decides to pursue the culprit. He follows the trail of water stains deeper into the nine-story palace.
• They reach a hall filled with medicine jars and encounter a beautiful woman in a Rainbow Phoenix Garment resting against a strange gray-flowered tree.
• Duan Yun immediately attacks after realizing that a corpse is attached to the woman by a branch. The woman is revealed to be a blood-drinking demon, and the tree’s branches have been draining the blood from the corpses and Wang Mazi.
• The demon’s flowers spray a thick liquid that weakens Duan Yun’s saber light. When he attacks again, the tree avoids the blow, loses several branches, and releases gray fluid.
• Trumpet-shaped flowers emerge from the medicine jars, filling the hall with mist and emitting a disturbing demonic sound. Zi Yu suffers from the sound, while Duan Yun remains unaffected and pursues the fleeing demon.
• The demon and her tree leap from the palace. Duan Yun follows, but a colossal carp suddenly erupts from the lake and crushes him into the ground.
• Believing Duan Yun may be dead, Zi Yu attacks the enormous carp with Sword Qi. Her desperate effort allows her to release powerful sword energy without a weapon.
• Her attacks wound the carp but are insufficient to kill it. Just as the demon appears confident, Duan Yun reveals that he survived beneath the fish and combines his saber light with Zi Yu’s Sword Qi.

Character Developments

• Zi Yu demonstrates growing courage and initiative. Her fear for Duan Yun pushes her to unleash Sword Qi without a physical sword, showing a breakthrough in her abilities.
• Duan Yun remains reckless, confident, and aggressive. He refuses to retreat after rescuing Wang Mazi and insists on confronting the demon immediately. Even after being crushed by the giant carp, he survives and prepares a counterattack.
• The Moonlike Woman/Demon is revealed to be a deceptive and terrifying blood-draining monster. Her beautiful, fragile appearance conceals her cruelty and supernatural power.
• Wang Mazi is confirmed to be alive but gravely injured, having lost a dangerous amount of blood.
• The giant carp is established as an enormously powerful lake creature, far larger and stronger than the smaller carp Duan Yun previously fought.

Significant Themes

• Beauty concealing evil: The demon’s cold, celestial beauty contrasts sharply with her role in draining humans of their blood.
• Recklessness and heroism: Duan Yun’s impulsive pursuit places him in extreme danger, but his boldness also allows him to confront the true source of the killings.
• Emergence of hidden potential: Zi Yu’s emotional shock awakens greater control over her sword energy, marking an important step in her cultivation.
• Cooperation under pressure: The chapter ends with Duan Yun and Zi Yu combining saber and sword power, suggesting that teamwork may be essential against overwhelming enemies.
• The supernatural corruption of the palace: The corpses, medicine jars, gray flowers, demonic music, and giant carp create an atmosphere in which the palace and lake seem interconnected with the demon’s unnatural power.

Character Interactions

• Zi Yu and Duan Yun disagree over whether to retreat after finding Wang Mazi, but Zi Yu ultimately follows Duan Yun.
• Duan Yun takes the lead in tracking the demon and repeatedly mocks or challenges it with exaggerated confidence.
• Zi Yu is emotionally affected by the demon’s beauty, while Duan Yun focuses immediately on the corpse attached to her and attacks without hesitation.
• When Duan Yun is crushed by the carp, Zi Yu abandons caution and fights desperately to save him.
• The chapter concludes with Duan Yun and Zi Yu joining their saber and sword attacks against the giant carp, transforming their individual efforts into a coordinated assault.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun and Zi Yu combine their Blade Qi and Sword Qi, creating a powerful crescent-shaped attack that slices into the enormous Big Carp.
• The injured carp retaliates with its massive tail. Duan Yun shields Zi Yu and uses Death Qi and a Body-Breaking Sword-Qi Pillar to block the attack.
• As they fight together as “wings,” Duan Yun and Zi Yu establish a true-qi cycle. Their combined techniques greatly amplify Zi Yu’s Moon-Cloaking Light-Shaming Sword.
• The sword technique reflects the Big Carp’s decayed appearance, causing it to feel intense shame and weakening its attacks. Duan Yun uses this opening to lift, slam, and repeatedly slash the creature.
• Duan Yun performs a devastating rolling-blade assault, carving deep wounds into both sides of the carp. However, the creature suddenly unleashes blood-like spikes from beneath its scales, blasting Duan Yun and Zi Yu away.
• The Big Carp enters a blood-frenzied state and retreats into dense mist, attacking through the darkness while eerie horn calls and the repeated command “Blow the horn for me!” echo through the cavern.
• The masked woman riding the twisted flowering tree reappears and attacks Duan Yun with branches and poisonous flower sprays. Duan Yun cuts through her defenses and reaches the tree’s trunk.
• The woman changes the rhythm of the surrounding horn sounds, causing the flowering tree’s branches to move like deadly chain swords. Her strange dance and voice disrupt Duan Yun’s rhythm and begin influencing his movements.
• Duan Yun turns the spinning attack against her, using Eightfold Spring Rain to destroy the branches and tear apart her outer garment.
• Before he can finish the assault, the Big Carp returns and launches a surprise spike attack. Duan Yun blocks it, then counters by combining his Sixteen-Style Strange Fist: Ultimate Hatred with Little Qing’s Dharma Aspect.
• Their combined blows strike the carp’s existing wounds, rolling it into a cave wall and collapsing part of the cavern. The chapter ends with the carp’s eyes turning red as it shouts, “I Want to Be a Great Hero!”

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun demonstrates increasingly impressive control over combined combat techniques, adapting quickly to both the carp and the flowering tree’s unpredictable attacks.
• He becomes more effective when fighting alongside Zi Yu, using their wing formation and shared true qi to multiply the power of her sword technique.
• Duan Yun’s battle style remains aggressive and improvisational: he uses the carp’s momentum, his own spinning, and its existing wounds to create openings.
• Zi Yu grows more comfortable acting as Duan Yun’s exclusive wing. Though embarrassed by their close physical contact and the altered appearance of her sword technique, she cooperates effectively and sustains the attack.
• Zi Yu also shows protectiveness and awareness by warning Duan Yun of danger and reacting sharply to the masked woman’s provocative behavior.
• The Big Carp evolves from a powerful but straightforward monster into a more dangerous opponent by entering a blood-frenzied state, using hidden weapons beneath its scales, and coordinating attacks with the horn calls.
• The masked woman and flowering tree reveal a more unsettling and theatrical side. The woman’s cold exterior gives way to bizarre, provocative movements that appear to control or synchronize with the tree and its attacks.
• Little Qing’s Dharma Aspect supports Duan Yun at a critical moment, allowing him to unleash a much stronger counterattack.

3. Significant Themes

• Cooperation and synchronization: The chapter emphasizes how combat partners can greatly magnify one another’s abilities through shared energy and timing.
• Shame as a weapon: Zi Yu’s sword technique turns physical ugliness and inner corruption into psychological weakness, showing that mental disruption can be as effective as physical damage.
• Adaptation under pressure: Duan Yun repeatedly changes tactics—using sword pillars, mirrored sword intent, spinning attacks, and fist techniques—to counter shifting threats.
• Appearance versus reality: The masked woman’s moonlike, distant image contrasts sharply with her wild behavior, while the Big Carp’s grotesque body hides considerable resilience and unexpected abilities.
• Chaotic, theatrical combat: Horns, cries, mist, dancing, and bizarre transformations make the battle feel like both a supernatural performance and a deadly psychological assault.
• Persistence against overwhelming opponents: Despite facing enormous durability, surprise attacks, and multiple enemies, Duan Yun and his allies continue exploiting small weaknesses rather than relying on brute force alone.

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun and Zi Yu fight in extremely close coordination, with their bodies and true qi forming a shared combat cycle. Their partnership produces powerful attacks but also causes Zi Yu considerable embarrassment.
• Zi Yu’s sword intent is strengthened and expanded by Duan Yun’s sword intent, making her technique far more powerful than she has previously experienced.
• Duan Yun uses the Moon-Cloaking Light-Shaming Sword to weaken the Big Carp psychologically, while Zi Yu maintains the technique and supports his physical attacks.
• The masked woman and Duan Yun engage in a rapidly escalating duel: her flowering tree attacks through branches and mist, while Duan Yun cuts through them and directly assaults the trunk.
• Zi Yu reacts strongly to the masked woman’s provocative dance and appearance, criticizing her while remaining focused on supporting Duan Yun.
• The Big Carp repeatedly interrupts Duan Yun’s fight with the masked woman, forcing him to divide his attention and eventually launching a surprise attack from behind.
• Duan Yun and Little Qing’s Dharma Aspect synchronize their fists to deliver the final counterattack, combining their strength to severely batter the carp.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The spirit-like Big Carp declares that it wants to become a great hero, but Duan Yun refuses to forgive it for its sneak attack and destruction of his clothes.
• Duan Yun activates his Thousand-Stalk Chivalric Fire Lotus technique and repeatedly strikes the wounded carp with flaming fists. The spiritual fire enters its wounds and cooks it from the inside.
• Using the enormous braised carp as a weapon, Duan Yun performs a devastating sweeping attack against the woman fused with the flower tree.
• The woman attempts to block the attack with blood-sucking branches, but Duan Yun’s strength uproots and damages the tree. He then severs her connection to it, embraces her while covered in Chivalric Fire, and performs Fire Lotus Crash, smashing her into a crater.
• The flower tree tries to escape after its mistress is defeated, but Duan Yun destroys it with another Chivalric Fire attack.
• The remaining disturbing trumpet-like voices are revealed to come from Flesh Loudspeakers inside ceramic jars. Duan Yun hurls the cooked carp into the nine-story palace, silencing most of them.
• Searching the woman’s remains, Duan Yun discovers a strange moon-colored stone known as the Moon Palace Lust Jade, marked with ancient seal script from the Ancient Moonwheel Kingdom.
• Duan Yun and Zi Yu find a stone stele describing the origins of the Palace of Origin’s distinguished guest.
• Duan Yun locates and kills the carp’s remaining offspring, then returns to the surface carrying the drained Wang Mazi and the stele.
• To save Wang Mazi, Duan Yun obtains blood from death-row prisoners. The only prisoner with the required blood type is Li Dayi, who angrily claims that being forced to save someone has ruined his reputation as a villain. He dies after the transfusion, believing the good deed has tarnished his name.
• That evening, Zi Yu announces that she has deciphered the stele, learned the origin of the Palace of Origin guest, and discovered how to use the Moon Palace Lust Jade. The chapter ends as the others react with curiosity.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun is portrayed as brutally decisive and theatrically heroic. He treats the battle as an act of justice, but his methods are exaggerated, ruthless, and often comical. His growing curiosity about the Lust Jade also reveals his interest in unusual treasures.
• Zi Yu continues to serve as Duan Yun’s companion and interpreter. She is impressed—and somewhat frightened—by his merciless treatment of the beautiful tree-woman. Her knowledge of Ancient Moonwheel script makes her increasingly important to uncovering the mystery.
• The Palace of Origin woman is revealed to be something other than a normal human, with a porcelain-like body, cold skin, and a moonlike stone embedded within her remains.
• Wang Mazi survives despite appearing to be a dried corpse, showing the practical value of Duan Yun’s bizarre rescue methods.
• Li Dayi provides comic relief as a proud criminal whose greatest fear is accidentally performing a good deed.
• Feng Ling’er and the Murong Brothers remain supportive allies, helping with Wang Mazi’s rescue and reacting to the strange events beneath the Chivalric Land.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus cruelty: Duan Yun sees himself as a great hero delivering justice, yet his violence is excessive and often indistinguishable from villainy.
• Heroism and moral inversion: The chapter humorously reverses conventional morality, especially when a condemned villain desperately tries to avoid saving Wang Mazi because it would count as a good deed.
• The grotesque and the comic: Violent battles, living trees, flesh loudspeakers, cooked fish attacks, and blood transfusions are presented with absurd humor.
• Ancient mysteries and hidden evil: The underground Palace of Origin, the Ancient Moonwheel script, and the Lust Jade suggest a larger supernatural history beneath the apparently peaceful Chivalric Land.
• Appearance versus reality: The beautiful tree-woman is not human, the carp is a spirit, and Wang Mazi’s apparently dead body can still be revived.

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun and Zi Yu cooperate closely in battle, with Zi Yu witnessing both his strength and his frightening ruthlessness.
• Duan Yun’s attacks directly counter the tree-woman’s attempts to restrain him, culminating in their close-range struggle and his Fire Lotus Crash.
• Duan Yun teases and distrusts Zi Yu by warning her not to use the Lust Jade secretly, prompting her indignant denial.
• The Murong Brothers immediately assist when Duan Yun requests prisoners to help save Wang Mazi.
• Li Dayi’s interaction with Duan Yun becomes a comic confrontation: Duan Yun forces him to donate blood, while Li Dayi protests that the act will destroy his villainous reputation.
• At the conclusion, Zi Yu’s revelation about the stele and Lust Jade shifts the group’s attention from the battle’s aftermath to the deeper secrets of the Palace of Origin.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zi Yu identifies the strange artifact recovered from the Palace of Origin as a “Moon Palace Lust Jade,” an object used in conjunction with the Great Moon-Dream Scripture to create powerful dream realms.
• The group learns from a stone stele that the Great Moon-Dream Scripture originated in the Moon Palace of Heaven, where its fairies used dream-building techniques alongside the jade.
• Zi Yu reveals the hidden history of the Moon Palace fairies:
  • They were forced to descend into the mortal world after a calamity struck the Moon Palace.
  • After losing much of their power, they were persecuted and exploited by demons.
  • Their descendants formed branches such as the Palace of Origin and the Red Tower Women, both of which still seek a way back to Heaven.
• The Palace of Origin noblewoman killed by Duan Yun was a descendant of the original fairies. Her faction has long searched for two divine swords capable of piercing Heaven and reaching the Yellow Springs.
• The swords are supposedly held by a powerful Great Tengu on Fusang Island, whom Duan Yun immediately decides to investigate—and potentially attack under the pretense of protecting the swords for the world.
• The group’s discussion of the jade eventually shifts into an attempt to study the Great Moon-Dream Scripture. Qing Yu, presenting herself as Zi Yu’s more flirtatious “older sister” personality, accompanies Duan Yun to the cellar to experiment with the technique.
• The chapter ends with Duan Yun holding the jade, facing Qing Yu, and activating “World-Shaking Wisdom.”

Character Developments

• Duan Yun remains reckless, domineering, and opportunistic. He treats the divine swords as a potential treasure while disguising his greed as heroic protection. He also becomes genuinely interested in the dream-building art and plans to apply it to reform or “purify” criminals.
• Zi Yu/Qing Yu is established as having two distinct personalities. Zi Yu is more reserved and scholarly, while Qing Yu is bold, teasing, and deliberately provocative. Qing Yu eagerly seeks private time with Duan Yun to study the jade.
• Little Yin reveals a clever, ambitious, and vengeful side. After being punished by Duan Yun, she secretly plans to rise through the Jade Pearl Heroes until she can overthrow him. She also deliberately provokes Feng Ling’er’s jealousy.
• Feng Ling’er becomes increasingly jealous and frustrated by Qing Yu’s shameless behavior and apparent closeness with Duan Yun.
• The Murong Brothers continue to provide comic relief through exaggerated self-importance, lewd curiosity, and cowardly reversals when Ning Qing objects.
• Ning Qing acts as a moral check on the group, particularly by rejecting the Murong Brothers’ interest in experimenting with the jade.

Significant Themes

• Heavenly mythology intruding into the martial world: The chapter expands the setting beyond ordinary wuxia, introducing celestial factions, fallen fairies, divine swords, and ancient supernatural bloodlines.
• The corruption and distortion of ideals: The Moon Palace fairies’ desire to return to Heaven has become entangled with exploitation, bloodlines, factional prejudice, and the sexualized customs of the martial world.
• Identity and divided selves: Zi Yu and Qing Yu’s dual personalities create both genuine complexity and comedic opportunities, especially regarding responsibility and romantic behavior.
• Ambition and revenge: Little Yin’s private plan shows how subordinate characters can harbor long-term ambitions beneath outward obedience.
• Comedy through absurdity: Grand heavenly legends, divine artifacts, and serious historical revelations are constantly undercut by crude jokes, petty jealousy, and Duan Yun’s shameless behavior.

Character Interactions

• The Murong Brothers and Zi Yu discuss the jade in deliberately evasive language, while Feng Ling’er reacts with disgust and Ning Qing condemns the idea of using it.
• Zi Yu’s explanation of the Moon Palace history causes the entire group to reassess the strange Palace of Origin and Red Tower Women.
• Duan Yun and the Murong Brothers enthusiastically discuss claiming the divine swords, though Duan Yun’s intentions are clearly more violent and self-serving.
• Duan Yun punishes Little Yin for criticizing his plans, but Little Yin outwardly submits while secretly plotting revenge.
• Qing Yu flirts with Duan Yun and taunts Feng Ling’er, intensifying Feng Ling’er’s jealousy.
• Little Yin intentionally encourages Feng Ling’er’s resentment, hoping to create conflict within Duan Yun’s romantic circle.
• The chapter concludes with Qing Yu and Duan Yun preparing to experiment together, while Feng Ling’er remains angry and suspicious.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Qing Yu watches Duan Yun activate World-Shaking Wisdom, admiring him while secretly plotting to rise alongside him and eventually gain leadership influence within the Jade Pearl Heroes.
• Duan Yun examines a stone stele containing the incomplete Great Moon-Dream Scripture, but cannot read its Ancient Moonwheel Kingdom script. Qing Yu teaches him, using the opportunity to flirt and remain physically close.
• Once translated, the scripture proves vague and incomplete, describing the use of the Moon Palace Lust Jade to stimulate sensitivity, circulate true qi, and “suddenly form a world.”
• Duan Yun interprets the instructions literally and experimentally. He rubs the jade against Qing Yu and links his true qi with hers, producing intense sensations but no apparent “world” or illusion.
• Feng Ling’er and Ning Qing investigate after hearing Qing Yu’s cry. Duan Yun draws them into the cellar as well, then also captures the fleeing Murong Brothers when he decides to test whether they are “sensitive.”
• The experiments become increasingly chaotic and embarrassing. The Murong Brothers proves highly sensitive at his Yongquan acupoint, but Duan Yun incorrectly attributes this to weak kidneys and accidentally overwhelms him.
• Lei Ying, the imprisoned “Number-One Beauty,” expects to be tested next, but Duan Yun instead returns his attention to the stele and Qing Yu’s reactions.
• By reviewing the wording and recalling his earlier encounters with the Palace of Origin noble, Duan Yun suddenly believes he has understood the true meaning of the scripture.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun remains confident, eccentric, and completely absorbed in cultivation. His lack of conventional understanding leads him to interpret the scripture in an absurdly literal manner, though his World-Shaking Wisdom may be uncovering a deeper principle.
• Qing Yu openly schemes to become Duan Yun’s closest and most influential woman within the Jade Pearl Heroes. She is jealous of Zi Yu’s earlier intimacy with him and uses “teaching” as an excuse to flirt and stay close.
• Feng Ling’er and Ning Qing become increasingly protective and suspicious of Qing Yu’s intentions. Their attempt to supervise Duan Yun instead results in them being pulled into his experiment.
• Murong Brothers shifts from concerned protector to terrified victim, attempting to rescue the women before being dragged into the cellar himself. He comically insists that his kidneys are strong despite fainting under the test.
• Lei Ying shows a surprising mixture of fear, pride, and disappointment. Though frightened by Duan Yun’s reckless behavior, she is offended when he does not choose her as the next subject.
• Little Yin, Da Bai, and Little Gray recognize the danger and wisely flee rather than become involved.

Significant Themes

• Misinterpretation and unconventional enlightenment: Duan Yun’s inability to read the scripture normally forces him to rely on World-Shaking Wisdom, turning obscure language into bizarre but potentially meaningful experimentation.
• Power, ambition, and proximity: Qing Yu views intimacy with Duan Yun as a path to political and martial influence, reflecting the growing importance of the Jade Pearl Heroes.
• Desire versus cultivation: The chapter repeatedly contrasts romantic or sensual distractions with Duan Yun’s single-minded focus on understanding the technique.
• Comedy through literalism: Vague mystical phrases are interpreted as physical instructions, producing escalating misunderstandings and slapstick consequences.
• Jealousy and competition: Qing Yu, Zi Yu, Feng Ling’er, Ning Qing, and even Lei Ying are positioned in relation to Duan Yun’s attention, creating rivalry and comic tension.

Character Interactions

• Qing Yu teaches Duan Yun the ancient script while deliberately flirting and pressing close to him, though he remains focused on deciphering the stele.
• Duan Yun questions Qing Yu about her sensitivity, then experiments on her with the Lust Jade and connected true qi.
• Feng Ling’er and Ning Qing interrupt the experiment out of concern and jealousy, but Duan Yun captures and tests them as well.
• The Murong Brothers attempts to rescue Ning Qing, only to be dragged into the cellar and subjected to Duan Yun’s technique.
• Lei Ying watches from hiding, simultaneously fearing and craving Duan Yun’s attention.
• The chapter ends with Duan Yun experiencing a breakthrough in understanding, suggesting that the absurd experiments may have helped him grasp the scripture’s real meaning.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun suddenly declares that he has fully understood the principles behind the Great Moon-Dream Scripture, startling the Murong Brothers and everyone else present.
• He identifies Qing Yu as especially sensitive and then accepts Lei Ying’s challenge to serve as the test subject for his experimentation. Lei Ying volunteers partly because she hopes to gain Duan Yun’s favor and eventually use that position for revenge.
• Using the Moon Palace Lust Jade, true qi, and increasingly intense manipulation of Lei Ying’s body, Duan Yun tries to recreate the rhythm used by the Palace of Origin noblewoman. His attempts produce bizarre postures and sounds, including the repeated phrase “Blow my trumpet!”
• Duan Yun realizes that the technique does not depend solely on bodily rhythm. Its true mechanism involves brainwaves: by influencing the brain’s rhythm and tempo, he can induce dreams, illusions, and mental effects.
• Lei Ying becomes unconscious after enduring Duan Yun’s experiments, while Duan Yun continues refining the technique through his own mind and the Great Yin Jade.
• Duan Yun successfully places the Murong Brothers and the others into a shared dream. They repeatedly witness him ascending like an immortal or Sword Immortal, accompanied by absurd chants such as “Pineapple, pineapple honey!”
• After awakening, the victims are exhausted and nauseated from experiencing Duan Yun’s ascension more than a hundred times. They realize that he has mastered the Great Moon-Dream Scripture at a level even more extreme than its original user.
• Duan Yun reveals that he can also create illusions while remaining face-to-face with someone. Even powerful martial artists can only temporarily dispel the illusion through pain or self-injury.
• The chapter ends with everyone recognizing that Duan Yun’s new ability is terrifying: weaker opponents could be trapped in dreams or visions immediately upon meeting him, while stronger opponents might be forced to mutilate themselves repeatedly to resist the illusion. Little Yin resolves to spread the news of Duan Yun’s frightening new power.

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun advances from merely experimenting with the Great Moon-Dream Scripture to genuinely mastering its core principles. His understanding shifts from physical stimulation to the scientific manipulation of brainwaves.
• His confidence and ambition increase dramatically. He is dissatisfied with merely inducing a single dream and wants eventually to impose thousands of repeated dream trials instantly through direct eye-to-eye or face-to-face contact.
• Lei Ying displays both courage and cunning. She volunteers for the experiment, hoping to turn her captivity into an opportunity to get close to Duan Yun and eventually take revenge. Her confidence collapses when the experiment overwhelms her.
• The Murong Brothers remain fascinated and frightened by Duan Yun. Their admiration is mixed with jealousy, protectiveness toward beautiful women, and growing fear that Duan Yun is becoming impossibly powerful.
• Feng Ling’er and Qing Yu show mutual hostility and jealousy, objecting together when Lei Ying tries to compete with them. Both are relieved that Lei Ying, rather than themselves, becomes the subject of Duan Yun’s harsh experiment.
• Ning Qing and Zi Yu contribute practical observations. Ning Qing detects that the strange voice originates from Lei Ying’s body, while Zi Yu quickly discovers that pain can disrupt Duan Yun’s illusions.

3. Significant Themes

• Power through comprehension: Duan Yun’s strength grows not through conventional cultivation alone but through sudden insight into the underlying principles of a divine art.
• Science and martial arts: The chapter humorously frames dream manipulation as a scientific process involving rhythm, brainwaves, and neurological influence.
• Domination and psychological warfare: Duan Yun’s ability is dangerous because it attacks the mind rather than the body, forcing enemies to experience illusions, inferiority, exhaustion, or repeated punishment.
• Jealousy and possessiveness: The Murong Brothers, Feng Ling’er, and Qing Yu react emotionally when Duan Yun gives attention to other women, blending comedy with romantic rivalry.
• Beauty, captivity, and manipulation: Lei Ying attempts to exploit her status as a famous beauty, believing she can manipulate Duan Yun from within captivity, but instead becomes subject to his overwhelming control.
• Repetition as torture: Even spectacular visions become unbearable when repeated endlessly, turning grand images of ascension into a form of psychological torment.

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun teases Qing Yu and Feng Ling’er by comparing their sensitivity with Lei Ying’s, provoking their immediate objections.
• Lei Ying challenges Duan Yun to use her, creating a theatrical, warlike exchange that leaves the others stunned.
• The Murong Brothers plead for Duan Yun to treat Lei Ying gently, revealing their sympathy for her beauty despite their fear of Duan Yun.
• Duan Yun subjects Lei Ying to the technique while the others watch, transforming her body into a tool for testing rhythm and dream induction.
• After mastering the technique, Duan Yun forces the group into a shared dream, where they repeatedly witness his supernatural ascension.
• Upon awakening, the group confronts Duan Yun about the frightening extent of his power. He demonstrates the face-to-face illusion effect, causing them to injure themselves to break free temporarily.
• Little Yin witnesses the demonstration and concludes that Duan Yun has gained the ability to cripple or mentally overwhelm people the moment he encounters them.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun masters the Great Moon-Dream Scripture, a powerful mental technique that allows him to use brainwaves to create hallucinations. His growing strength excites the Jade Pearl Heroes but also makes the Murong Brothers and other companions feel increasingly inferior.
• The Murong Brothers briefly intensify their martial training, though they quickly return to their preferred pastime of visiting brothel women. Several female characters, including Lei Ying, become even more determined to attach themselves to Duan Yun, whom they regard as a powerful man worthy of possessing them.
• After Duan Yun destroys Big Carp’s household and the nobles of the Palace of Origin, the river-digging project resumes. The people of Springwatch City prosper under Jade Pearl Heroes’ rule, viewing Chivalric Land as a place of safety, low taxation, and hope.
• Outside Springwatch City, however, surrounding sects begin suffering major losses as farmers, slaves, and brothel women flee toward Duan Yun’s territory. In response, those sects intensify exploitation rather than reforming their rule, deepening resentment toward Chivalric Land.
• The chapter introduces Li Kun, known as “Turtle Man Slayer Iron Fist Li.” After awakening to the destructive nature of men who submit completely to domineering wives, he dedicates himself to killing “turtle men” and the women who exploit them.
• Li Kun forms and joins the Dragon-Men Alliance, a movement committed to preventing men from becoming submissive “turtle men” and punishing women who forcibly control or abuse them. The alliance grows into a serious martial force.
• The Dragon-Men Alliance is ambushed by the revived Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect, whose strengthened Thunder Listeners badly injure Li Kun and kill many of his comrades. Li Kun escapes and begins fleeing toward Springwatch City, hoping to survive, continue his crusade, and meet his idol Duan Yun.
• Meanwhile, Duan Yun enjoys the autumn rain and imagines Springwatch City’s future beauty once the river, roads, and willow trees are completed.
• Duan Yun’s Dream-Building Art causes Lei Ying and Leopard-Pattern Auntie to become mentally disoriented from repeated forced dreaming. Lei Ying remains especially aggressive in her dreams, repeatedly attempting to seduce Duan Yun and insisting that possessing her would help him dominate the world.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Becomes significantly more formidable through the Great Moon-Dream Scripture. He also continues shaping Chivalric Land into a prosperous and attractive society, though his cultivation methods cause problems for his companions and prisoners.
• Murong Brothers: Feel jealous and discouraged because Duan Yun has widened the gap between them. Their brief attempt to train harder collapses when their old habits prove more appealing.
• Lei Ying: Fully embraces her attraction to strength and hopes Duan Yun will defeat or replace her husband. In dreams, she becomes unusually forceful and shamelessly pursues Duan Yun.
• Li Kun: Undergoes the chapter’s most important transformation. Once insecure and dependent on gaining a woman’s approval, he recognizes the destructive nature of his former mindset, kills his first “turtle man,” and becomes a zealous anti-turtle hero.
• The common people: Gain dignity and hope under the rule of Chivalric Land, with farmers and laborers taking pride in contributing to Duan Yun’s project.
• The Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect: Return as a revived and more powerful threat, targeting the Dragon-Men Alliance and demonstrating that Duan Yun’s enemies remain active.

Significant Themes

• Power and social reform: Chivalric Land’s low taxes and better treatment of commoners threaten the established martial sects by encouraging mass migration.
• Freedom versus exploitation: The flight of laborers and brothel women highlights the contrast between Duan Yun’s society and the abusive systems maintained by neighboring sects.
• The dangers of blind submission: Li Kun’s story satirically condemns men who sacrifice their dignity, families, and morality to satisfy domineering spouses.
• Heroism and extremism: Li Kun begins with a desire to uphold justice but becomes increasingly violent, raising questions about whether his crusade is truly heroic or simply another form of fanaticism.
• Ideological conflict: Duan Yun’s “chivalry” inspires movements far beyond his direct control, including the Dragon-Men Alliance, while opponents label his reforms demonic.
• Desire and power: Many characters equate strength with sexual or romantic worth, especially in their attitudes toward Duan Yun, Lei Ying, and other powerful figures.
• Dreams and reality: Duan Yun’s mental techniques blur the boundary between the two, particularly for Lei Ying and Leopard-Pattern Auntie.

Character Interactions

• The Murong Brothers react to Duan Yun’s advancement with a mixture of pride, envy, and comic inferiority.
• The female heroes compete psychologically for a place beside Duan Yun, while Lei Ying openly imagines herself as a prize for the strongest man.
• Li Kun’s confrontation with a “turtle man” forces him to reject both that man’s behavior and his own former willingness to endure humiliation for the sake of having a wife.
• The Dragon-Men Alliance unites Li Kun with other men who share his beliefs, but this brings them into conflict with turtle-man factions and the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect.
• Duan Yun’s interactions with Lei Ying in dreams are marked by her relentless seduction and his irritation, as he rejects her claims that his harsh treatment proves his interest in her.