Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Months after Springwatch City became part of Chivalric Land, the region prospers under Duan Yun’s rule. Farmers keep their harvests, merchants no longer pay oppressive fees, and population and property values rise.
• Former residents who abandoned the city in fear or greed regret selling their homes cheaply. Some return but cannot afford to buy back their old property. Others remain bitter, insisting that Springwatch City is still a “Demon Grotto” despite its success.
• Enemies of the Jade Pearl Heroes begin using “Hero Traitors”—criminals who commit evil acts while pretending to act on the heroes’ orders, damaging their reputation. Duan Yun executes several, while Murong Brothers and Ning Qing pursue those who flee, intending to eliminate both them and their households.
• As outsiders injured by hostile martial-world factions flood into Springwatch City, the Great Hero Medical Hall becomes overwhelmed. Duan Yun’s reputation expands from powerful martial artist to extraordinary physician.
• Li Dakang summons Duan Yun to treat a nearly dead patient. The man has catastrophic injuries: torn intestines containing blood-draining metal fragments, destroyed lungs and organs, a grotesquely mangled arm, and an old injury where his genitals were obliterated.
• Duan Yun uses lightning, qi techniques, and the Northern Darkness Divine Skill to repair the patient’s internal injuries, remove the metal fragments, and patiently untangle the damaged meridians and blood vessels in his arm.
• During treatment, a hidden red lightning force erupts from the patient’s arm and attacks Duan Yun. He destroys it, but it delivers a threat: “Thunder Accumulation Day” will be the day Duan Yun dies, and identifies its sender as “Star Rage.”
• The chapter ends with Duan Yun angered by the provocation, while Li Dakang is delighted by the strange lightning phenomenon and wants to capture it for crossbreeding experiments.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun: His governance is shown to have transformed Springwatch City into a prosperous, orderly refuge. His medical abilities have advanced dramatically, combining medicine with martial and supernatural techniques. He also becomes increasingly irritated by his exaggerated reputation and by enemies who openly threaten him.
• Li Dakang: He shifts from former Ink Sect elder to devoted subordinate and admirer of Duan Yun. A brilliant but eccentric researcher, he values knowledge and practical experimentation above factional loyalty. His fascination with the red lightning reveals his obsession with biological and supernatural “crossbreeding.”
• Li Mofei’s former followers: Their envy and denial expose their inability to accept that Duan Yun’s rule has improved the city.
• The injured patient: Though almost beyond saving, his body contains evidence of a powerful enemy’s attack and a concealed warning mechanism, suggesting he is connected to a larger conflict.

Significant Themes

• Prosperity versus prejudice: Springwatch City thrives, but former residents cling to their old beliefs rather than admit they were wrong.
• The consequences of greed and poor choices: Those who sold their property or abandoned the city lose out when Duan Yun’s reforms succeed.
• Reputation and propaganda: Hero Traitors attempt to frame the Jade Pearl Heroes, showing how easily public trust can be manipulated.
• Innovation challenging tradition: Duan Yun’s unconventional medical techniques—lightning treatment, blood transfusion, and supernatural qi—surpass conventional doctors and blur the boundary between medicine and cultivation.
• Order versus violence: Duan Yun’s Chivalric Edict suppresses killing and robbery, creating safety and prosperity but provoking resentment from people who value unrestricted freedom.
• Absurdity amid danger: The severe injuries and deadly threat are contrasted with Li Dakang’s comic enthusiasm about breeding the mysterious lightning.

Character Interactions

• Former residents clash with current citizens over whether Springwatch City is prosperous or cursed.
• The Jade Pearl Heroes respond to enemies who attack their reputation indirectly, with Murong Brothers and Ning Qing hunting the Hero Traitors.
• Li Dakang treats Duan Yun as both his employer and idol, relying on him whenever a patient exceeds his own abilities.
• Duan Yun and the Great Hero Medical Hall’s doctors represent competing approaches to medicine: conventional expertise versus Duan Yun’s supernatural, martial-based methods.
• During the operation, the patient’s concealed red lightning directly confronts Duan Yun, turning a medical rescue into a warning from a powerful enemy.

Chapter Summary: "Duan Old Devil Goes to See Fairies Without Taking Me!"

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• While treating patients at the Great Hero Medical Hall in Springwatch City, a speaking red lightning bolt appears and delivers a threat: "Duan Old Devil, on Thunder Accumulation Day, your life shall be buried!" It also mockingly references "my first love, my beloved Star Rage." The doctors panic (two even wet themselves), believing it's divine retribution.
• Duan Yun suspects the lightning is connected to the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect he previously destroyed—specifically its sect master, an ugly man with an upturned nose whom Duan Yun had killed.
• Duan Yun treats the injured patient Li Kun, whose arm was struck by a vicious whip technique ("Lightning Five-Strike Whip"). He saves Li Kun's life, but the arm remains permanently crippled. This enrages Duan Yun and deepens his resolve to eliminate the attacker.
• Li Dakang, the Mohist scholar, becomes obsessed with capturing and dissecting the "immortal," offering to forfeit ten years of salary for a specimen (dead or alive).
• Duan Yun rationalizes that the entity is likely an extraterrestrial rather than a true immortal, comparing it to the "Moon Palace fairy" who was previously violated by martial-world devils.
• Later, the Murong Brothers arrive, but Duan Yun immediately launches himself into the sky using Left-Foot-on-Right-Foot Flight, intending to search the clouds for his enemy before Thunder Accumulation Day arrives.
• The Murong Brothers, feeling left out (and joking about "finding fairy girls"), attempt to follow—one of them develops a comical "backstroke" swimming technique to fly into the sky.
• The chapter ends with Duan Yun ascending through thin, freezing air to reach the cloud layer, preparing to search inside the clouds for the hidden enemy.

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Demonstrates his dual nature—ruthless toward enemies yet devoted to saving the innocent. His rational, pseudo-scientific worldview is reinforced (he prefers "extraterrestrial" over "immortal"). His belief that he must eliminate all evil before growing old is a core motivation. He is proactive, fearless, and treats even divine threats as a challenge to be hunted down.
• Li Dakang: Portrayed as a comic but driven researcher. His philosophy that "all things can be crossbred" reveals his morally loose scientific curiosity (he previously proposed human-pig crossbreeding, which Duan Yun restricted to corpses for public deterrence). His willingness to work for free shows both his obsession and his value to Duan Yun.
• Li Kun (the patient): Unconscious but still shouting "I want to become a hero!" and "Li Kun follows his fate, not Heaven's!"—showing remarkable resilience and heroic spirit, earning Duan Yun's approval.
• Murong Brothers: Comic relief; loyal but competitive, they refuse to be left behind and display their own quirky flying ability (the "swimming" technique).

3. Significant Themes

• The Demystification of Immortals: Duan Yun reframes supernatural threats as "extraterrestrials" to strip away their awe and make them vulnerable. Even gods can be killed or violated—faith is replaced by science and force.
• The Hero's Responsibility and Ruthlessness: Duan Yun's philosophy—good people deserve good deaths, evil must be utterly exterminated (down to "killing the entire family")—drives his actions.
• Proactive Defense: Rather than waiting for Thunder Accumulation Day, Duan Yun chooses to hunt the enemy first. This reflects the martial world's core rule: constant improvement, never resting.
• Ambition and Fearlessness: The chapter celebrates daring curiosity—both Li Dakang's scientific craving to dissect an immortal and Duan Yun's literal ascent into the clouds.
• Humor in the Face of the Supernatural: The tone treats cosmic threats with irreverence (e.g., the Murong brothers' jealousy about "finding fairies").

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun & Li Dakang: Playful but weighty dialogue about monsters vs. immortals. Li Dakang's excitement contrasts with the terrified doctors; Duan Yun teases his age and dreams, while Li Dakang expresses "yearning for monsters." Their relationship is mutually beneficial—Duan Yun respects talent but guides Li Dakang's moral boundaries.
• Duan Yun & the terrified physicians: Their panic highlights the gap between common people and Duan Yun's extraordinary worldview.
• Duan Yun & Li Kun (implicit): Duan Yun mentally praises Li Kun's spirit, seeing him as "excellent material" for Chivalric Land.
• Duan Yun & Murong Brothers: Brief—they arrive to investigate, but Duan Yun immediately departs. The brothers' reacting with competitive frustration (and the "fairy girls" accusation) adds comedic closure to the chapter.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun experiments with Left-Foot-on-Right-Foot Flight, rising into the enormous rain clouds above Springwatch City.
• Inside the clouds, he experiences intense cold, darkness, isolation, and disorientation. He suspects the clouds may conceal a powerful creature, possibly even a dragon.
• He hears an eerie, humanlike voice and follows it, believing it may belong to a spirit creature imitating human speech. Something extremely fast flies past him, but it disappears when Duan Yun exits the clouds.
• Duan Yun abandons the search because his eyesight and hearing are insufficient for cloud exploration—and because he becomes hungry. He returns to the city covered in frost and deeply affected by the loneliness of the upper sky.
• Upon entering Springwatch City, Duan Yun is stopped for violating his own ban on flying within the city. He calmly pays the two-tael fine to a young constable, whose strict impartiality impresses him.
• The chapter explains that the flight ban has significantly reduced crime by preventing criminals, especially flower-picking bandits, from easily escaping. Duan Yun recalls a violent incident in which a disguised Red Tower woman was killed while attempting to flee.
• Duan Yun encounters a bizarre business: residents pay a woman to whip them and force her foul-smelling foot into their mouths. The citizens are suffering from a strange “heart sickness” caused by suddenly experiencing prosperity and freedom after the oppressive Ink Sect rule; they seek punishment to recreate the familiar misery of the past.
• At Hero Manor, Ning Qing informs Duan Yun that the Murong Brothers have been badly injured.
• The Murong Brothers reveal that he attempted to imitate Duan Yun’s flight, became dizzy and began falling, then crashed through a tree and struck a granite rock with his crotch.
• Duan Yun examines him and discovers that his kidney weakness has worsened because he stopped properly practicing the Jade Sword True Canon. He reassures him that the injury is serious-looking but ultimately manageable, while teasing him about possibly replacing the injured organ.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun displays curiosity, courage, and a strong spirit of exploration, but also recognizes his current sensory limitations and the psychological danger of isolation.
• His experience in the clouds broadens his awareness of the world’s mysteries and leaves him intrigued by the possibility of hidden creatures.
• He demonstrates responsible leadership by enforcing his own laws impartially, accepting punishment rather than demanding special treatment.
• Duan Yun’s governance continues to reshape Springwatch City: crime is declining, laws are being respected, and prosperity is spreading—although the citizens are adapting in strange ways.
• The young constable is introduced as stern, principled, and committed to enforcing rules even against someone who might be a powerful martial expert.
• The old constable is cautious and fearful, attempting to prevent his apprentice from offending Duan Yun.
• Ning Qing is shown as genuinely concerned for the Murong Brothers and eager for Duan Yun’s medical assistance.
• The Murong Brothers remains reckless, boastful, and comically vain. He imitates Duan Yun without understanding the risks, then hides his pain in front of others while privately begging for help.
• His failure to continue practicing the Jade Sword True Canon reveals a weakness in his discipline and explains the decline of his kidney strength.

Significant Themes

• Exploration and the unknown: The cloud journey represents Duan Yun’s desire to investigate mysteries beyond ordinary human experience, while the unseen creature hints at larger supernatural dangers.
• Human vulnerability: Despite his great abilities, Duan Yun is limited by poor visibility, cold, hunger, fear, and loneliness.
• The importance of discipline: The Murong Brothers’ injury and declining kidney strength show that abandoning training leads to regression and danger.
• Law and social order: Duan Yun’s flight ban illustrates how firm rules can reduce crime and restrain harmful habits.
• Adjustment to freedom and prosperity: The citizens’ desire to be whipped satirically shows how deeply oppression can shape people’s habits and psychology. Even freedom may initially feel uncomfortable to those accustomed to hardship.
• Comedy through contrast: Grand adventures, supernatural possibilities, civic administration, grotesque entertainment, and a ridiculous medical injury are juxtaposed to create a humorous and unpredictable tone.

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun and the constables demonstrate the difference between reckless authority and proper law enforcement: the young constable insists on the rules, while Duan Yun accepts the fine and praises his integrity.
• Duan Yun observes the citizens’ strange whipping business with confusion, highlighting the contrast between his practical perspective and the townspeople’s distorted nostalgia for oppression.
• Ning Qing urgently brings Duan Yun to the injured Murong Brothers and worries about his condition.
• The Murong Brothers first pretends to be stoic but privately admits the severity of his injury. Duan Yun responds with medical expertise, sarcasm, and reassurance.
• Their exchange emphasizes their familiar brotherly relationship: the Murong Brothers is impulsive and boastful, while Duan Yun acts as the competent, teasing caretaker.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun finishes treating the severely injured Murong Brothers, realizing that their ability to chop trees and smash granite—and survive with only superficial wounds—demonstrates how powerful they have all become.
• The Murong Brothers compensate Duan Yun for delaying his dinner by treating the Jade Pearl Heroes to a lavish meal at Lei Batian Restaurant.
• During the meal, Duan Yun explains his confrontation with a mysterious red lightning entity connected to the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect. He suspects that the legendary Thunder Lord and Mother may be behind the attack.
• He also reveals that he entered the clouds to search for these supposed immortals, though the cold and poor visibility forced him to retreat.
• The Jade Pearl Heroes are shocked by his recklessness but ultimately become more vigilant, recognizing that powerful supernatural enemies still threaten them. After eating, they practice martial arts until midnight.
• The next morning, Duan Yun visits a martial-arts bookshop in Springwatch City to find a manual that can improve his eyesight for future cloud exploration.
• After searching through shelves filled with bizarre and suggestive novels, he purchases the Bedside Pupil Technique, supposedly an eye-training art created by the legendary Flying Eagle Hand. He also buys two novels, including The Eldest Princess Battles the Blood Moon Old Devil in the Cellar.
• His purchase enrages a sleep-deprived customer who had been saving the novel’s ending, creating a humorous final scene.

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun reflects on his rapid growth from a fearful young man into a renowned hero capable of challenging supernatural beings and even exploring the heavens.
• His confidence and initiative continue to expand. Rather than waiting for his enemies to act, he plans to seek out Thunder Lord and Mother directly.
• He remains practical and opportunistic, intending to enhance his vision so that the clouds’ limited visibility will no longer restrict him.
• The Murong Brothers are shown to be both physically powerful and comically stingy, though they still maintain their pride and generosity when necessary—especially in front of women.
• The Jade Pearl Heroes shift from relaxed complacency to renewed determination after hearing about Duan Yun’s enemies. They recognize the need to train harder.
• Little Yin is bewildered by the group’s sudden burst of discipline after their meal.
• The bookshop owner is portrayed as shamelessly commercial, exaggerating the value and origins of his manuals while bargaining with Duan Yun.
• The dark-circled customer reveals an unhealthy obsession with serialized fiction, providing the chapter’s closing joke.

3. Significant Themes

• Growth and changing perspectives: Duan Yun considers how time and experience have transformed him from an anxious youth into a powerful martial hero.
• Fear of the supernatural: The group’s encounters with dragons, immortals, zombies, and other strange beings have gradually weakened their fear of gods and ghosts.
• Confidence versus recklessness: Duan Yun’s courage allows him to confront threats others would consider impossible, but his willingness to challenge immortals also borders on absurd bravado.
• Complacency and renewed effort: The heroes’ peaceful routine has made them careless, but the appearance of new enemies reminds them to keep improving.
• Humor through contrast: Grand supernatural dangers are juxtaposed with everyday concerns such as dinner expenses, restaurant food, bargaining, and obsessive reading.
• Commercial and literary satire: The bookshop scene mocks dubious martial manuals, exaggerated advertising, and popular fiction addiction.

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun teases and pressures the Murong Brothers into paying for the entire group’s feast, exploiting Murong pride.
• The group discusses Thunder Lord and Mother during dinner, with Feng Ling’er expressing disbelief that Duan Yun actually went into the clouds to search for immortals.
• The Jade Pearl Heroes react collectively to Duan Yun’s dangerous initiative, admiring his boldness while recognizing its madness.
• At the bookshop, Duan Yun haggles aggressively with the owner, reducing the price of the eye-training manual from eighty taels to eight.
• He unknowingly deprives another customer of the ending to his favorite novel, leaving the customer devastated and resentful as Duan Yun departs.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun realizes the secret martial-arts manual he bought for eight taels is genuine and unusually well annotated.
• The manual, created by the lecherous Master Flying Eagle Hand, teaches an eye technique originally intended for voyeurism. Duan Yun humorously repurposes it as a legitimate method for seeing through clouds and detecting evil.
• Through his enhanced comprehension and unusually strong cultivation talent, Duan Yun quickly masters the technique. By increasing its breathing rhythm tenfold, he gains:
  • Vision that can pierce mist and clouds.
  • Sharper perception and clearer sight.
  • A heightened sense of time, making other people appear to move in slow motion.
• Overusing the technique reveals that even Duan Yun has physical limits; attempting to exceed ten times the normal rhythm causes his breathing and body to “lag.”
• The technique permanently leaves his pupils glowing blue, with an eerie light flowing from the corners of his eyes.
• During a follow-up visit with Murong Brothers, Duan Yun experiments with combining his frightening gaze and illusion abilities. Murong Brothers hallucinates that his crotch is on fire and frantically attacks himself before realizing he has been tricked.
• Duan Yun declares Murong Brothers healthy, while Murong Brothers resumes training to ensure his treatment remains effective.
• Meanwhile, at the Gu Family Ancestral Residence, Gu Dile finally emerges from seclusion. His divine art produces numerous tornadoes, including a spectacular pink one around himself.
• The Gu Family disciples kneel and celebrate, believing Gu Dile’s new power will allow him to rescue his wife from Duan Yun and defeat the “Duan Old Devil.”

Character Development

• Duan Yun: Demonstrates his characteristic cleverness, confidence, shameless humor, and talent for transforming questionable techniques into useful abilities. He pushes the eye art beyond its intended limits, discovers its effects on perception and reaction speed, and begins experimenting with psychological warfare.
• Master Flying Eagle Hand: Though absent, he is characterized as a gifted but morally dubious martial artist who developed the eye technique for voyeurism and his work as a gigolo.
• Murong Brothers: Shows increased caution but is still easily caught off guard by Duan Yun’s new ability. His willingness to injure himself to break the hallucination highlights his practical combat instincts.
• Gu Dile: Makes a dramatic return after prolonged seclusion, presenting himself as a powerful, almost divine figure. His theatrical appearance and pink tornado contrast humorously with the solemn reactions of his followers.

Significant Themes

• Repurposing knowledge: A technique created for immoral purposes can become valuable when placed in the hands of someone with different goals.
• Talent versus limitations: Duan Yun’s exceptional abilities let him master and improve the art rapidly, but the chapter emphasizes that even he cannot completely overcome bodily limits.
• Perception and deception: The eye art enhances not only physical vision but also Duan Yun’s ability to manipulate what others believe they see.
• Heroism and hypocrisy: Duan Yun jokingly presents himself as righteous while exploiting a voyeuristic manual and tormenting Murong Brothers for amusement.
• Theatrical power and anticipation: Gu Dile’s grand emergence builds suspense for the coming confrontation with Duan Yun while maintaining the story’s comedic tone.

Important Character Interactions

• Duan Yun mentally mocks the merchant and Master Flying Eagle Hand while studying the manual.
• He encounters two women who are alarmed by his glowing blue eyes, prompting him to inspect his appearance.
• His interaction with Murong Brothers becomes a prank: Duan Yun’s gaze and illusion make Murong believe his crotch is burning, leading to frantic slap-and-dance movements before Murong breaks the illusion.
• Gu Dile’s dramatic appearance inspires the Gu Family disciples to submit to him and proclaim that his newly mastered divine art will bring about Duan Yun’s defeat.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• After two incense sticks of violent cultivation energy, Gu Dile emerges from seclusion having mastered the legendary Ten-Break Ancient Force. His pink ponytails glow with power, astonishing the Gu Family elders.
• The Gu Family views this breakthrough as a sign that its former glory—once associated with the mighty Ink Sect—can be restored.
• The family has recently suffered severe humiliation at the hands of Duan Old Devil, who seized Springwatch City, turned it into a Demon Grotto, and captured and abused Gu Dile’s wife, Lei Ying.
• During a speech to the Gu Family, Gu Dile declares his love for Lei Ying and demands that the disciples recognize her as their mistress. When one nervous disciple mistakenly calls her “everyone’s wife,” Gu Dile kills him instantly with his newly acquired force.
• Gu Dile orders the Gu Family to kill Duan Old Devil, destroy Springwatch City, and rescue Lei Ying. The family’s morale rises dramatically, and they begin marching toward the city.
• The stated goal is revenge and family honor, but the Gu Family’s disciples privately acknowledge that destroying and rebuilding Springwatch City would also generate enormous profits through reconstruction contracts and imperial funding.
• News of Gu Dile’s breakthrough spreads throughout the martial world. Martial artists, storytellers, and spectators rush toward Springwatch City to witness the coming confrontation.
• A separate group of sects—including the Red Tower Women, Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect, White Socks Divine Cult, and Netherworld Manor—forms a secret Demon-Slaying Alliance against Duan Old Devil.
• The alliance plans to meet Gu Dile and combine forces to eliminate Duan Old Devil and destroy his stronghold.

2. Character Developments

• Gu Dile is revealed as immensely powerful, theatrical, possessive, and vindictive. His mastery of the Ten-Break Ancient Force transforms him from a passive family leader into an aggressive champion seeking revenge.
• Although Gu Dile presents his campaign as an act of love for Lei Ying, his actions also reveal his concern for family prestige, authority, and financial gain.
• Lei Ying remains absent from the chapter but becomes the symbolic focus of Gu Dile’s speech and the Gu Family’s retaliation. Her humiliation is treated as an insult to the entire family.
• The Gu Family shifts from demoralization and public embarrassment to intense confidence and fanaticism. Its members are eager to restore the family’s reputation and exploit the conflict for profit.
• Ordinary Gu Family disciples are shown to be highly trained, disciplined, and ruthlessly loyal, though also expendable when they make mistakes.
• The Bloodthirsty Storytellers regain hope because Gu Dile’s rise appears to reverse Duan Old Devil’s recent dominance.
• Members of the newly formed alliance are portrayed as embittered survivors united by their shared persecution at Duan Old Devil’s hands.

3. Significant Themes

• Restoration of prestige: The Gu Family sees Gu Dile’s breakthrough as the return of its ancestral greatness and a chance to reclaim lost authority.
• Power and humiliation: The chapter emphasizes how public disgrace affects political influence, business dealings, and morale in the martial world.
• Hypocrisy and self-interest: Gu Dile frames the invasion as devotion to his wife, while the Gu Family’s underlying motives include revenge, power, and lucrative reconstruction profits.
• Propaganda and reputation: Speeches, storytellers, and public slogans shape how the conflict is understood, often exaggerating or distorting events.
• Violence and loyalty: The Gu Family’s loyalty is absolute but dangerous; even an accidental verbal mistake can result in death.
• Factionalism and opportunism: Various sects unite not out of genuine virtue but because they share hatred of Duan Old Devil and see an opportunity to defeat him.
• Gender and social satire: The teahouse argument mocks gender stereotypes, regional prejudice, racialized admiration, and the chaotic nature of martial-world discourse.

4. Character Interactions

• Gu Dile interrogates the Gu Family disciples about their relationship to Lei Ying, using the exchange to assert her importance and demand collective loyalty.
• His interaction with the unfortunate disciple ends in sudden execution, demonstrating both Gu Dile’s temper and the terrifying speed of his new technique.
• Gu Dile rallies the Gu Family through an emotional speech, while the disciples answer with repeated chants promising to kill Duan Old Devil and rescue their mistress.
• Gu Family members privately discuss the economic benefits of destroying and rebuilding Springwatch City, exposing the contrast between public rhetoric and private motives.
• In a teahouse, storytellers, martial artists, and sect members argue over men, women, beauty, regional identity, and the Black Spring Sect, creating comic chaos while rumors of the coming battle spread.
• The Red Tower elder speaks for the secret alliance and proposes joining forces with Gu Dile, setting up a large-scale coalition against Duan Old Devil.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points / Events

• Gu Dile, the Gu Family’s young master, travels from Heavenly State to Cloud Prefecture in only six days using her “Ten-Break Ancient Force,” making her twin ponytails famous as a terrifying weapon. She pauses in Yu Prefecture to build momentum for her challenge against Duan Yun (“Duan Old Devil”).
• Gu Family propaganda spreads her reputation through “Flesh Loudspeakers” and the “Bloodthirsty Storyteller,” stirring the martial world.
• The “Old Devil Victims’ Alliance” forms outside Springwatch City and sends Red Tower’s grand elder, Hong Hong, to negotiate an alliance with Gu Dile.
• Gu Dile arrogantly rejects the alliance, saying she can slaughter Duan Yun alone and that they are merely defeated underlings.
• The alliance fractures: White Socks members want to kill a crippled Duan Yun for glory; Netherworld Manor assassins demand payment; the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect rely on prophecy; only the Red Tower fairies remain.
• Duan Yun, eating in a restaurant and listening to martial-world gossip, decides to confront Gu Dile directly. He sends word that he will “smash the enemy” while the others defend Springwatch City.
• Feng Ling’er r

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Ling’er confronts two Thousand-Mile Journey Sect disciples who have come to rescue the imprisoned Gu Family members. She quickly defeats them with her improved swordsmanship. One disciple uses his injured companion as a human shield, but Feng Ling’er kills both before Da Bai pins down the escaping survivor.
• Feng Ling’er keeps Lei Ying at swordpoint while the two women trade increasingly vicious insults over Duan Yun, beauty, strength, and romantic attachment. Lei Ying claims she admires powerful, handsome men and enjoys Duan Yun’s violence, while Feng Ling’er dismisses her as shameless and pathetic.
• Their quarrel escalates until Feng Ling’er slaps and then grabs Lei Ying by the neck. Leopard-Pattern Auntie watches the argument while eating melon seeds, treating it like entertainment.
• Shen Ying suddenly emerges from a coffin buried beneath the cellar. White crystalline threads surround her body, forming a striking black-and-white silk outfit. The sight reminds Feng Ling’er of Duan Yun’s Dharma Aspect and suggests that Shen Ying’s cultivation may be designed partly to appeal to Duan Yun.
• Lei Ying recognizes Shen Ying’s technique as the legendary Nine-Death Dream Silkworm Silk and identifies her as the long-lost Nine-Death Dream Maiden, once renowned as the Heavenly State’s greatest beauty.
• Shen Ying immediately insults both Leopard-Pattern Auntie and Lei Ying, provoking Lei Ying by dismissing her title of “Heavenly State’s Number-One Beauty” as something associated with the brothel world.
• After learning about the enormous changes that occurred while she slept—including Springwatch City’s transformation, the rise of New Chivalric Land, and the canal project—Shen Ying decides to find Duan Yun in Yu Prefecture before his decisive battle.
• Feng Ling’er tries to stop her, but Shen Ying says Duan Yun may need to “merge” with her and combine their strength before the battle. She leaves, deeply irritating Feng Ling’er, who also wants to join Duan Yun but remains behind because he entrusted her with protecting the area.

Character Developments

• Feng Ling’er: Her swordsmanship has advanced significantly under the pressure of Duan Yun’s rapid progress. She displays greater confidence and composure, resisting Lei Ying’s provocations at first, but her jealousy and emotional attachment to Duan Yun eventually become obvious.
• Lei Ying: She remains proud, provocative, and obsessed with powerful men, especially Duan Yun. Although she boasts about her beauty and desirability, Shen Ying’s appearance exposes her insecurity about losing her status as the world’s foremost beauty.
• Shen Ying: She awakens as a powerful and mysterious figure connected to the legendary Nine-Death Dream Maiden lineage. Her new silk-based cultivation appears elegant, dangerous, and possibly tailored to Duan Yun’s preferences. She is blunt, confident, and immediately determined to reunite with him.
• Leopard-Pattern Auntie: She acts as an amused spectator to the women’s quarrel, though Shen Ying’s insult about her rustic appearance angers her.
• Duan Yun: He does not appear directly, but his influence dominates the chapter. His advancement motivates Feng Ling’er, his methods may have aided Shen Ying’s burial and cultivation, and the approaching battle drives Shen Ying to seek him out.

Significant Themes

• Jealousy and rivalry: Feng Ling’er, Lei Ying, and Shen Ying compete over beauty, status, and their connection to Duan Yun.
• Beauty versus true strength: Lei Ying’s title and reputation are challenged by Shen Ying’s legendary appearance and cultivation, suggesting that fame and public recognition may be temporary or manipulated.
• Transformation and progress: Shen Ying awakens to a rapidly changing martial world, reflecting how dramatically Duan Yun and his allies have reshaped society in only a few months.
• Devotion expressed through cultivation: Shen Ying’s transformation implies that martial improvement can also be a way of seeking affection or recognition from someone important.
• Comedy amid danger: Brutal combat, imprisonment, and an impending decisive battle are undercut by exaggerated insults, absurd romantic rivalry, and Leopard-Pattern Auntie’s casual melon-seed snacking.

Important Character Interactions

• Feng Ling’er and Lei Ying engage in a sustained battle of insults centered on Duan Yun’s affection and Lei Ying’s beauty.
• Feng Ling’er defeats the rescuers while Da Bai assists by crushing the final escaping disciple.
• Shen Ying’s emergence immediately creates a new rivalry with Lei Ying, whose pride is wounded by Shen Ying’s dismissive comments.
• Feng Ling’er and Shen Ying clash indirectly over Duan Yun: Shen Ying leaves to join him, while Feng Ling’er stays behind out of duty despite her own desire to go.
• The chapter ends with Feng Ling’er questioning why she is taking Duan Yun’s orders so seriously, revealing her growing emotional conflict between duty and personal longing.

Chapter Summary: Gathering at the Summit, Final Battle atop Kui Star Tower

Duan Yun travels rapidly toward Yishui City after learning that Gu Dile is there. He uses his increasingly refined lightness skill, Left-Foot-on-Right-Foot Flight, to cross the mountains and the dangerous Black Bamboo Sea. Shen Ying follows him effortlessly, having emerged from her coffin with greatly improved powers.
During her slumber, Shen Ying completed another “dream death” associated with the Nine-Death Silkworm Art. Although Duan Yun had previously interrupted her third death, she later chose to undergo it again. The delayed breakthrough proved exceptionally effective: her cultivation rose by two heavens, and she gained mastery over a new form of silk called Dream Silk. Her silk can now be controlled as naturally as a limb, allowing her to propel herself through the air. She has also developed sharper senses and a clearer, more powerful consciousness known as World-Shaking Wisdom. This ability previously helped her overpower or influence people such as Lei Ying and Feng Ling’er. Having reached the sixth heaven, she is now the revived Nine-Death Dream Maiden, restoring an inheritance that had been lost for more than a century.
As Duan Yun crosses the Black Bamboo Sea, the narration describes its eerie reputation. The forest is associated with disappearances, ghosts, vicious beasts, and people becoming hopelessly lost. A local story tells of a child who was led to his dead grandfather’s corpse, reinforcing the forest’s supernatural atmosphere. Duan Yun, however, is more intrigued than frightened. He enjoys investigating strange phenomena and hopes that ghosts or monsters may possess valuable treasures, though he has little time to explore because he is pursuing someone who intends to kill him.
After emerging from the bamboo forest, Duan Yun passes through a quiet mountain settlement. He lands in the courtyard of a large, bearded man to ask for directions, but the supposedly intimidating man panics and begs not to be robbed or assaulted. Duan Yun casually borrows the man’s latrine, then asks how to reach Yishui City. The absurd encounter ends with the man’s husband returning and being angrily blamed for frightening him.
Duan Yun eventually reaches Yishui City, a prosperous mountain city beside the Jialing River and one of Yu Prefecture’s largest urban centers. He pays the city’s entry fee and records the expense in a booklet, vowing that if the city’s authorities are exploiting the people, he will punish them severely. This reveals his impulsive but self-appointed sense of justice.
Inside the city, Duan Yun observes its steep roads, skilled carriage drivers, busy docks, and numerous laborers known as “bangbangs,” who carry goods and even people for a living. He hires one of them to transport him up the mountain. The porter carries him toward Kui Star Tower, the city’s tallest landmark, which houses its most famous restaurants and brothels. The porter proudly presents Yishui City as the leading entertainment center of the region, especially after Springwatch City became a Demon Grotto.
The chapter ends as Duan Yun approaches Kui Star Tower, the apparent meeting place for the coming confrontation. The porter’s crude discussion of brothels and “exciting” illnesses contrasts with Duan Yun’s own view of enjoyment, which centers on fighting demons and eliminating evil.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Shen Ying undergoes a major power increase after completing another dream death. She becomes more confident and formidable, gaining Dream Silk, enhanced perception, and World-Shaking Wisdom.
• Duan Yun continues to combine powerful martial ability with irreverent humor, curiosity, and a strong—if exaggerated—sense of justice. He is focused on reaching Yishui City to confront the person targeting him.
• Duan Yun and Shen Ying travel separately but remain connected by the events surrounding Shen Ying’s cultivation and Duan Yun’s journey.
• Duan Yun and the bearded resident have a comic misunderstanding, with the resident assuming Duan Yun intends robbery or sexual assault.
• Duan Yun and the bangbang porter interact as employer and guide. Their conversation introduces Yishui City’s reputation and directs Duan Yun toward Kui Star Tower.

Significant Themes

• Transformation through suffering: Shen Ying’s dangerous dream deaths produce extraordinary cultivation gains, showing how hardship and endurance can lead to rebirth and power.
• Death, dreams, and identity: The Nine-Death Silkworm Art treats death as a repeated transformative process, blurring the boundary between dying, dreaming, and awakening.
• The supernatural within the ordinary: The Black Bamboo Sea’s ghost stories and ominous atmosphere coexist with mundane travel, local gossip, and city life.
• Justice and authority: Duan Yun’s reaction to Yishui City’s entry fee reflects his suspicion of corruption and his willingness to impose his own form of justice.
• Comedy amid danger: Frightening forests, supernatural cultivation, and an impending battle are repeatedly undercut by absurd encounters and vulgar humor.
• Approaching confrontation: The journey toward Kui Star Tower builds anticipation for the promised summit gathering and final battle.

Chapter Summary

Setting: Kui Star Tower, the highest point in Yishui City—once a scholar’s shrine, now a brothel. The Gu Family’s young master, Gu Dile, has booked the entire tower and filled it with courtesans.

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• Gu Dile debases himself by using his supernatural pink hair to suspend and pleasure 112 courtesans (and one unlucky attendant) while tearfully professing love to “Ying.”
• Duan Yun arrives at the tower. A burly guard arbitrarily kicks a bystander to demonstrate the Gu Family’s authority; Duan Yun kills the guard with his Jade Sword Finger.
• Duan Yun enters the tower, kills more guards, and then kills a steward-like “Brawling Vajra” even after the man offers him any woman in the city, including the city lord’s wife.
• Duan Yun ascends, deliberately insults the Gu Family to force members to reveal themselves, then kills twenty Gu Family members with his Famous Saber. He accidentally kills one attendant who was “Gu Family in spirit” rather than blood.
• Reaching Gu Dile’s room, Duan Yun kicks through the door with Romantic Toe Force, disrupting the orgy. Gu Dile calmly says, “You shouldn’t have come.” Duan Yun replies, “I still came.”

2. Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Ruthlessly enforces his personal code: no wrongful kills, no one spared. He tests and verifies targets before killing, but extends guilt to anyone who willingly identifies with the Gu Family. He mirrors his enemies’ arrogance back at them.
• Gu Dile: Portrayed as emotionally obsessed with “Ying,” yet grotesquely self-indulgent. He presents a sorrowful, devoted exterior while committing cruel debauchery—suggesting corruption beneath a noble facade.

3. Significant Themes

• Hypocrisy of the “righteous path”: The Gu Family is supposed to represent justice and the future of the martial world, yet its new master is degenerate and tyrannical.
• Power and impunity: The Gu Family’s name shields them from consequence—until Duan Yun refuses to respect that power.
• Moral ambiguity of vengeance: Duan Yun’s “no wrongful kills” coexists with an expansive definition of guilt, including spiritual allegiance to the enemy.

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun vs. Gu Family servants/guards: He punishes cruelty and arrogance with instant, lethal force.
• Duan Yun vs. the steward: He rejects bribes and intimidation, killing a man who represents Gu Family influence.
• Duan Yun vs. Gu Family members: He uses provocation to expose them, then executes them without mercy.
• Duan Yun vs. Gu Dile: Their first direct meeting—a tense, minimal exchange signaling the coming duel.

Chapter Summary: "Decisive Battle! I'm Going to Die, I'm Going to Die!"

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• Duan Yun ambushes Gu Dile in a brothel (Kui Star Tower) in Yishui City, rather than waiting for their arranged public duel in Springwatch City.
• Gu Dile is enraged because he wanted to defeat Duan Yun in front of a massive crowd; Duan Yun’s unexpected arrival ruins his perfect plan.
• Gu Dile uses Echo-Stacking Art to proclaim Duan Yun’s presence, sending the whole city into a frenzy. Martial artists abandon meals, baths, and even sex to watch the fight.
• Duan Yun uses Cloud-Repelling Palm to safely push all the naked brothel women out the window—they fall as "a rain of asses," amusing the crowd.
• Gu Dile summons his elite retinue, the Seventeen Arhats (formerly the Fifty-Three Buddhas), to test Duan Yun.
• The Seventeen Arhats spin their twin ponytails to create a devastating whirlwind, pressuring everyone in the room. Several spectators are literally scared to death.
• Duan Yun stands immovable, then steps forward into the pressure, shifting the momentum and leaving the crowd breathless.

2. Character Developments

• Gu Dile: Obsessed with his wife (Lei Ying) who was captured by Duan Yun, he has practiced the Ten-Break Ancient Force to master-level. He is arrogant, perverted, and obsessed with public face—wanting revenge witnessed by as many as possible. Losing his composure over Duan Yun's early arrival briefly shakes his confidence, but he recovers.
• Duan Yun: Remains calm, provocative, and ruthless toward enemies. He proposes a grotesque wager: the loser gets his genitals cut off, stuffed into the corpse's mouth, and paraded through several cities. He shows mercy to commoners (the brothel women) by using soft palm force.

3. Significant Themes

• Public spectacle & humiliation: The entire fight is framed around who gets to be seen winning, and how many people witness the loser's shame.
• Perverted absurdity: The tone is deliberately over-the-top—talking about cock-stuffing corpse mouths, free views of prostitutes' asses, and martial artists dying of excitement or fright.
• Reversed expectations: Duan Yun, called an "old devil," acts with chivalrous restraint toward civilians, while the "young master" Gu Dile is depraved and self-centered.
• Martial arts as exaggerated power: Whirlwinds from ponytails, pressure that kills, and Sword Qi manifesting as "white fur" show the genre's hyperbole.

4. Character Interactions

• Duan Yun & Gu Dile: Exchange taunts. Gu Dile accuses Duan Yun of cowardice; Duan Yun sarcastically proposes a mutually humiliating punishment. Their mutual hatred is deeply personal—Gu Dile's wife is Duan Yun's captive.
• Gu Dile & the Seventeen Arhats: He treats them as disposable testers, ordering them to force Duan Yun to reveal 70% of his skill. They accept death as an honor.
• The crowd: Panicked, thrilled, and opportunistic (porters scalping viewing spots). They are simultaneously terrified and ecstatic, serving as the audience Gu Dile craves.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun immediately disrupts the Seventeen Arhats’ seemingly overwhelming formation. Although their combined Killing Intent is powerful, their coordination contains a critical weakness: the seventeen fighters are linked together but lack a dominant, perfectly synchronized core.
• The Arhats use poetry to generate and intensify their Killing Intent. However, Duan Yun adds Deep Chivalric Aura to a punch, causing one Arhat to accidentally change his recited verse to “I Want to Be a Great Hero!” This breaks the formation’s rhythm.
• Duan Yun exploits the opening with his Lightning Swords, electrically numbing the Arhats and preventing them from reciting poetry properly. Their speech degenerates into garbled fragments, stopping them from generating more Baleful Intent.
• He follows with the Sixteen-Style Strange Fist, whose overwhelming speed and ferocity shatter the Arhats’ accumulated Baleful Intent. Seven Arhats are knocked down, and several spectators are accidentally killed by stray attacks.
• The remaining ten Arhats unleash a desperate technique called Thrusting Force, transforming their hair and Baleful Intent into massive, spear-like weapons.
• Duan Yun counters with Odd Fist: Extreme Hatred, aided by the Dharma Aspect of a white-stockinged boxer. He withstands the attack and defeats all ten remaining Arhats.
• Rather than simply killing them, Duan Yun humiliates them by tearing off their long hair and wrapping it around their bodies in a grotesque, underwear-like covering. The spectators erupt in delighted cries over the “ultimate humiliation.”
• Duan Yun then challenges Gu Dile directly. Gu Dile accepts, confidently remaining seated while preparing to fight. The defeated Arhats stay alive to watch the upcoming duel, hoping Gu Dile will avenge them and reduce the shame of their defeat.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun demonstrates exceptional combat intelligence. He identifies the structural weakness in the Arhats’ linked formation and attacks their coordination rather than confronting their combined strength head-on.
• His fighting style is shown to be both brutally powerful and psychologically aggressive. He uses speed, electricity, Chivalric Aura, and humiliation to destroy not only the Arhats’ bodies but also their composure and morale.
• The Seventeen Arhats shift from confident attackers to desperate survivors. Their reliance on perfect teamwork becomes a liability once Duan Yun disrupts their rhythm. Their final attack is driven by terror and the instinct to survive.
• Gu Dile remains calm and self-assured despite watching his elite fighters decisively defeated. His willingness to add further humiliation to their punishment reveals a cruel, sadistic personality and suggests strong confidence in his own ability.
• The spectators, initially aligned with Gu Dile and the Gu Family, instinctively begin cheering for Duan Yun because of the spectacle and overwhelming nature of his victory.

Significant Themes

• Strength versus coordination: Collective power is meaningless if the links between fighters are not perfectly synchronized.
• Speed as a tactical weapon: Duan Yun’s lightning-fast attacks prevent the Arhats from using their core technique and overwhelm their physical limits.
• Humiliation and reputation: In the martial world, losing face can be worse than suffering physical injury. The Arhats’ defeat becomes especially devastating because Duan Yun publicly turns their own hair and techniques into instruments of disgrace.
• Spectacle and brutality: The audience treats deadly combat as entertainment, celebrating both terrifying power and comic humiliation.
• Confidence before a greater battle: The Arhats’ defeat serves as a dramatic prelude to the anticipated confrontation between Duan Yun and Gu Dile.

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun disrupts the Arhats’ teamwork by forcing one of them to alter his poetic chant, then capitalizes on their confusion with sword and fist attacks.
• The Arhats communicate through coordinated poetry and techniques, but their synchronization collapses under Duan Yun’s pressure.
• After defeating them, Duan Yun taunts Gu Dile, warning that anyone who loses later may receive the same humiliating treatment.
• Gu Dile responds with an even more sadistic proposal, escalating the verbal challenge before inviting Duan Yun to fight.
• The defeated Arhats silently become spectators to the next duel, emotionally invested in Gu Dile’s victory as a way to recover some of their lost dignity.

Summary: "Inject Me with Seventeen-Dragon Ancient Force! Settle This Once and for All!"

Key Plot Points

1. Opening: The Seventeen Arhats kneel in humiliation after defeat—losers' treatment includes kneeling, pissing themselves, and having their hair tied to birds (Duan Yun's signature humiliations).
2. Duel Begins: Gu Dile launches a ponytail-driven dark Baleful Intent Blade Qi at Duan Yun, who deflects it with the Famous Saber (actually Gu Dile's wife's saber, which angers Gu Dile further).
3. Escalation: Gu Dile unleashes "Frenzied Saber Gale" (pink Blade Qi storm); Duan Yun counters with saber and sword combined, then "Seventh Spring Rain! Spin!" vs "Ancient Force! Seven Breaks!"
4. Back-and-Forth Power Escalation: Both fighters cycle through Eight, Nine, and Ten Breaks/Layers of power. Duan Yun repeatedly uses "Infinite Love" (merging with his Dharma Aspect, Black-Silk Little Jade) while Gu Dile uses increasingly potent "Ancient Force" techniques.
5. Climax: Gu Dile uses "Seventeen-Dragon Force"—he absorbs all seventeen Arhats into his body as "Great Medicine" (their feet stabbed into his flesh), becoming immensely powerful and revealing "Seventeen Dragons Hauling the Coffin."
6. Final Stand: Duan Yun draws his Thunderfire Greatsword from his crotch, collecting the Arhats' fresh Death Qi to forge the "Thunderfire Mystic-Penetration Sword" as both prepare their final clash.

Key Details

• The twelve-story Kui Star Tower is completely destroyed by the clash, leaving a massive pit.
• Spectators (the "Bloodthirsty Audience") suffer repeated seven-orifice bleeding but keep watching; some wear iron pots as helmets.
• Gu Dile's techniques are toad-themed; his power level is signaled by pink everything—even his blood, piss, and shit are pink.
• Both fighters use "Left-Foot-on-Right-Foot Flight" to fight midair after floors collapse.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Confident, crude-mouthed, adaptable. He prefers defeating opponents "where they are most proud," deliberately matching Gu Dile's power level progression rather than ending it quickly. Shows stamina through continuous "Infinite Love" usage despite numbness.
• Gu Dile: Rises from 80% to 100% confidence, then grows increasingly unhinged as Duan Yun refuses to fall. His possessiveness over his wife (symbolized by her saber) fuels his fighting spirit. He's willing to sacrifice his own loyal guards as disposable "medicine."
• The Seventeen Arhats: Reduced from proud warriors to literal power-ups—absorbed into Gu Dile's body like seventeen syringes. Their agonized deaths provide Duan Yun's sword fuel.
• The Spectators: Numbed by excessive spectacle; some are Gu Family loyalists who cheer Gu Dile's "pink toad" dominance.

Significant Themes

• Victory as total humiliation: Losers are to be utterly degraded; the victor's methods (kneeling, public humiliation) matter as much as the win itself.
• Escalating power and egos: Both fighters push themselves to extremes rather than yield; neither can stop until the other drops.
• Jealousy/possession as motive: Gu Dile's hatred stems from Duan Yun having his wife—wielding her saber is portrayed like wielding her body.
• Human life as resource: The Arhats become fuel for both fighters—Gu Dile drains their life force, Duan Yun weaponizes their death energy.
• Absurdist martial-arts parody: Toilet humor (pink excrement, athlete's-foot jokes) mixed with celestial-level combat; the universe operates on comedic-puerile logic.

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun vs. Gu Dile: Banter-laden combat; Duan Yun's wisecracks ("Could you wipe your ass clean before you talk?") provoke Gu Dile into sloppy, rage-fueled attacks.
• Gu Dile vs. the Arhats: Cold utilitarianism—he treats their devotion as a power pump, not loyalty.
• The Audience: Acts as Greek chorus; their fanatical adoration of Gu Dile's "pink toad" style and near-death persistence highlight the absurd spectacle culture.
  Duan Yun's final line implies he will meet Gu Dile's ultimate attack with his own ultimate sword, collecting the freshly dead Arhats' hatred as his power source—setting up the chapter's epic conclusion.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points & Events

1. Backstory revealed: The chapter opens with lore about the "Emperor of Ten Thousand Ages" — a tyrant who was both supreme martial artist and ruler, brutally suppressing the martial world. His tomb (the Tomb of Gods) was never found, giving rise to the ancient saying.
2. Gu Family secret: The Gu Family ancestor once found the Tomb of Gods, saw the emperor's bronze coffin pulled by seventeen dead dragon carcasses, and comprehended the Seventeen-Dragon Force — the true, complete version of what the Gu Family calls the Ten-Break Ancient Force.
3. Gu Dile unleashes the Seventeen-Dragon Force: With the Ten-Break Ancient Force failing against Duan Yun, Gu Dile gambles his life, using seventeen drained arhat corpses as his "dragons" and injecting himself with seventeen doses of "dragon medicine."
4. Climactic battle: Duan Yun fights back with his Thunderfire Greatsword, Electromagnetic Sword Field (Hundred Thousand Horsepower), and Thousand Stalks of Chivalric Fire Lotuses. The clash levels the area and terrifies onlookers.
5. Gu Dile's death: The drug backfires due to Gu Dile's insufficient tolerance. As he lies dying, he tears off his own manhood, blows it up, and swallows it — denying Duan Yun the agreed-upon "bird-stuffing" humiliation.
6. Duan Yun's response: He vows to dig the manhood out and stitch it back on, refusing to let Gu Dile escape humiliation even in death. Gu Dile dies spraying blood like a fountain — "just how much pent-up rage did that take?"

Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Demonstrates unyielding defiance — he refuses to kneel even to perceived imperial divinity ("even if that emperor came back to life, he would not kneel"). Shows pride in his craft as a gynecologist and stubborn commitment to humiliating Gu Dile. His powers (World-Shaking Wisdom, Electromagnetic Sword Field) prove formidable but stretched to their limit.
• Gu Dile: Portrayed as the prideful, spoiled genius who cannot stand losing. His final act (self-mutilation and swallowing) shows his spiteful, unyielding nature — he would rather die than suffer the bird-stuffing humiliation. Also fiercely protective of his "dragon medicine," which he considers pure.
• The Emperor (lore): Established as the most powerful tyrant in history, so fearsome that even his corpse is coveted but unreachable.

Significant Themes

• Pride and humiliation: The ongoing "bird-stuffing" rivalry reaches its climax — Gu Dile's suicide-by-manhood is an extreme act of pride to avoid shame.
• Imperial power vs. martial world: The legend explores the tension between central authority and the prideful martial arts world; Gu Dile channels imperial pressure to force others to kneel.
• Legacy and inheritance: The Gu Family's secret art is a diminished fragment of a greater divine inheritance — a theme of lost glory.
• Defiance before authority: Duan Yun's refusal to kneel reinforces that the only thing that matters is right/wrong, not rank or species.

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun vs. Gu Dile: The main duel — Gu Dile dominates initially with overwhelming dragon force, but Duan Yun outlasts him. Their verbal exchange includes Duan Yun diagnosing the drug backlash ("the medicine isn't pure enough") and Gu Dile furiously defending it.
• Onlookers/crowd: Hundreds kneel involuntarily before Gu Dile's imperial pressure; spectators endure crushing injuries and even death (two killed by flying arhat manhoods) to watch.
• Shen Ying: Briefly noted, located in the outskirts, resisting the pressure using white silk that turns from semi-transparent to thick black.
• Bloodthirsty Storyteller: His eyes bleed as he narrates the carnage — physically harmed by the violence he witnesses.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gu Family’s young master is defeated and killed by Duan Yun after using medicine to greatly enhance his strength. Although he had briefly gained the upper hand, Duan Yun ultimately survives the brutal clash with serious internal and external injuries.
• Rather than healing immediately, Duan Yun deliberately preserves his wounds to stimulate a breakthrough in Twelvefold Spring Rain. His extreme pain sharpens his mind and allows him to comprehend the essence of Tenfold Spring Rain.
• Duan Yun realizes that the technique’s highest form requires suffering: only by enduring immense pain can he produce Blade Qi capable of inflicting similar pain upon the martial world.
• The Bloodthirsty Storytellers exploit the moment, claiming that Duan Yun is critically crippled and urging the Gu Family’s supporters to attack. They consume Taisui Flesh, which greatly enhances their ability to manipulate and bewitch others.
• Under the storytellers’ influence, thousands of martial artists—including former neutrals—charge Duan Yun. His Body-Breaking Sword Qi instinctively kills the first attackers while he remains focused on his breakthrough.
• Duan Yun successfully advances to Tenfold Spring Rain. His Sword Qi transforms into fine, tangible red strands of Blade Qi, creating the appearance of ominous red hair covering his body.
• The Bloodthirsty Storytellers mistake this transformation for weakness and continue ordering attacks. Duan Yun’s new Blade Qi pierces and immobilizes the attackers, causing them unimaginable pain.
• He then targets the Bloodthirsty Storytellers themselves, torturing the ten who consumed Taisui Flesh. Their enhanced bodies make the pain even more intense, leaving them unable to die or escape.
• When the remaining martial artists flee, Duan Yun releases thousands of strands of Tenfold Spring Rain across the city, inflicting overwhelming agony on nearly all of them.
• The event becomes infamous in martial-world history: the would-be demon slayers are left psychologically and physically broken, while Duan Yun’s reputation grows even more terrifying.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Grows stronger through suffering and demonstrates that his greatest breakthroughs arise from deliberately pushing himself to the brink. He advances from using Blade Qi as an external technique to housing and controlling it within his own body. His playful, irreverent personality remains intact, as he objects to being called an “old devil” even while torturing an entire city.
• Gu Family’s young master: Despite possessing immense strength and using enhancement medicine, he is decisively defeated, showing that raw power alone cannot overcome Duan Yun’s experience and techniques.
• Bloodthirsty Storytellers: Their confidence and belief in their ability to manipulate the martial world collapse. Their attempt to exploit Duan Yun’s apparent weakness instead leads to their own horrifying defeat.
• Gu Family followers and neutral martial artists: Their courage proves largely dependent on numbers and outside manipulation. Once Duan Yun reveals his true power, their mob mentality turns into panic and flight.

Significant Themes

• Suffering as a path to power: Physical pain and adversity become the foundation of Duan Yun’s breakthrough. The chapter emphasizes that greatness is forged through hardship rather than comfort.
• Appearance versus reality: Duan Yun appears exhausted and crippled, while the “Ominous Red Hair” appears to be a sign of corruption or weakness. In reality, both conceal his greatest advancement.
• Mob mentality and manipulation: The Bloodthirsty Storytellers use propaganda and supernatural influence to turn fear and resentment into collective violence. The crowd follows them without independent judgment.
• Justice and power: The chapter mocks the belief that numerical superiority or moral condemnation can defeat overwhelming strength. Those claiming to “slaughter the devil” become victims themselves.
• Pain as retaliation: The Bloodthirsty Storytellers’ own methods—inciting hatred and suffering throughout the martial world—are turned against them through Tenfold Spring Rain.

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun defeats the Gu Family’s young master in a direct contest of strength.
• The Bloodthirsty Storytellers attempt to rally the Gu Family’s supporters against Duan Yun and use Taisui Flesh to control the crowd.
• Duan Yun ignores the attackers while comprehending his breakthrough, killing or incapacitating them through instinctive Sword Qi.
• After achieving Tenfold Spring Rain, he confronts and tortures the Bloodthirsty Storytellers, taunting them for trying to flee after provoking him.
• He then turns his Blade Qi on the fleeing martial artists, transforming the entire city’s attempted assault into a massive display of his new power.

Summary: "The Heroine Emerges from Her Coffin, the Young Hero Brings Ill Omens"

Key Plot Points & Events

1. Aftermath in Yishui City: Those struck by Duan Yun's Tenfold Spring Rain became "crooked-mouthed cripples"—disfigured and powerless. Martial wanderers now beat them endlessly for pleasure, since they can't retaliate, reinforcing Duan Yun's terrifying reputation. Slapping them is described as a satisfying release of pent-up anger that carries no consequences.
2. Shen Ying Emerges from Her Coffin: Her silkworm silk has broken through to a new level—Nine-Death Silkworm Dream Silk, which repels dust and is impervious to water and fire. She appears barefoot, her white silk flawless.
3. Duan Yun's Account Inspection: Duan Yun decides to audit the city's accounts, tracking his one-mace entrance fee to see if taxes were spent on the people. He traces the funds to Verdant Seclusion Manor, a summer retreat hidden in the mountains outside the city.
4. The Escape Attempt: Fierce Crane Gang leader Ai Dalei and County Magistrate Zhang Bohu—who had prudently avoided siding with the Gu Family—panic upon learning Duan Yun is coming. They attempt to flee through a hidden passage but are intercepted.
5. Confrontation and Execution: Duan Yun reveals the entrance fees were "unreasonable"—not a single tael was spent on the common people. Both men are tortured into crooked-mouthed cripples, then killed: Zhang Bohu's head is exploded by Shen Ying's punch; Ai Dalei's head is severed by Duan Yun's blade.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Underscores his dual nature—petty and vengeance-driven (punishing even harmless supporters of his enemies), yet genuinely moral about protecting common people from corrupt officials. His hypocrisy is noted: he calls fees "unreasonable" that others see as "justified by heaven and earth," but his judgment is absolute.
• Shen Ying: Her cultivation breakthrough enhances her "pure, untouched-by-dust" aura. Despite her ethereal appearance, she remains violently capable—demonstrated by exploding a man's head with a punch. Her playful, teasing dynamic with Duan Yun persists.

Significant Themes

• Retribution Run Amok: The crooked-mouthed cripples suffer perpetual humiliating beatings—a nightmare existence that serves as a gruesome deterrent against crossing Duan Yun.
• Vigilante Justice vs. Corruption: Duan Yun acts as judge, jury, and executioner against officials who exploit the people—using the arbitrary standard of whether collected silver ever reached the commoners.
• Ruthlessness of the "Hero": The chapter emphasizes that "young hero" is a misnomer; Duan Yun is a devil whose kindness is conditional and whose cruelty is casual.
• Dark Comedy: The narrative treats horrific violence with sardonic humor (the "stockings enthusiast" commentary on Shen Ying's silk).

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun & Shen Ying: Playful, bickering like an old married couple. He teases her about not wearing shoes; she nearly falls for his trick to see her foot. Their dialogue shifts seamlessly from flirtation to coordinated violence, ending with them returning home together "husband and wife."
• Ai Dalei & Zhang Bohu: A study in misplaced confidence. They pride themselves on their foresight in avoiding the Gu Family connection, then flee in terror at Duan Yun's approach, attempting to stall him with ice maidens before being caught.
• The Flattery Exchange: Ai Dalei claims Duan Yun's heart is "as broad as the sea," which Duan Yun seems to accept—only to immediately reveal he intends to punish them anyway, exposing the emptiness of the flattery.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter opens in Millstone City, a gloomy mountain settlement known for its unusually dark skies and disappearances. Beneath the city lies an underground structure belonging to Thunderclap Hall, where three blue-robed members communicate with the terrifying entity known as Taisui.
• Taisui is furious and in pain because the sect’s “Divine Mouths,” which had consumed Green Taisui flesh, were defeated by Duan Yun’s demonic technique. The sect members conclude that Duan Yun has become a serious threat.
• The leading disciple volunteers to sacrifice himself to calm Taisui. He is pierced and suspended by red threads, while his companions privately envy what they perceive as his “enjoyment.”
• After defeating and executing Gu Dile in Yishui City, Duan Yun and Shen Ying leisurely return toward Springwatch City, stopping to eat, drink, and gather bamboo shoots. Duan Yun has achieved a breakthrough by comprehending the Tenfold Spring Rain technique.
• Duan Yun regards the battle as only the beginning of his plan to spread chivalry throughout Yu Prefecture and eventually establish it as another “Chivalric Land.” However, he still lacks the strength and manpower to control such a distant region, so he intends to consolidate Springwatch City first.
• The defeat of Gu Dile shocks the martial artists gathered in Springwatch City, many of whom had expected a dramatic final battle. Duan Yun’s victory occurs so quickly that spectators complain bitterly about missing the spectacle.
• Residents of Springwatch City celebrate because Duan Yun’s victory protects their prosperous and peaceful lives. A restaurant even offers half-price meals for three days.
• Former supporters of the Ink Sect and Gu Family, especially those who had sold their properties cheaply when the Jade Pearl Heroes took over, become consumed by jealousy and hatred. Some openly call for the destruction of Springwatch City, while others are so resentful of its prosperity that they commit suicide in front of their former homes. Their deaths are met with the cold response that they received a “good death.”
• Jade Pearl Manor also celebrates the victory, although Feng Ling’er, Little Yin, and the others remain anxious because Duan Yun and Shen Ying have not yet returned. Feng Ling’er imagines that the two may have become romantically involved during their journey.
• When Duan Yun finally returns, Feng Ling’er confronts him about Lei Ying, Gu Dile’s woman and now prisoner. Lei Ying claims to possess an important secret and again offers herself to Duan Yun, insisting that she is the Heavenly State’s Number-One Beauty.
• Feng Ling’er mocks Lei Ying, while Lei Ying argues that collecting beautiful women and divine artifacts could help Duan Yun gain control of the martial world. Duan Yun dismisses her boasts and declares that whether she lives or dies depends on the value of her secret.
• The chapter ends as Lei Ying prepares to reveal this secret.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun grows more confident after effortlessly defeating Gu Dile and advancing to the Tenfold Spring Rain realm. He remains ambitious, planning to spread his ideal of chivalry across Yu Prefecture, but recognizes that he needs time to strengthen his organization.
• Shen Ying continues traveling with Duan Yun and appears close enough to him that Feng Ling’er becomes jealous and suspicious of their relationship.
• Gu Dile is definitively removed as a political and martial threat, dying before the anticipated showdown in Springwatch City.
• Taisui and Thunderclap Hall are shown to view Duan Yun as a dangerous enemy capable of causing even a divine entity pain. Their fear and anger suggest future conflict.
• Feng Ling’er displays jealousy and insecurity regarding Duan Yun’s relationship with Shen Ying, while also asserting her position within the household and challenging Lei Ying.
• Lei Ying uses her beauty, confidence, and supposed knowledge as tools of survival. Though imprisoned, she remains provocative and manipulative, attempting to make herself indispensable to Duan Yun.
• The former Ink Sect supporters reveal the destructive effects of envy and resentment, choosing self-destruction rather than accepting the success of those who replaced them.

Significant Themes

• The spread of chivalry: Duan Yun’s victory is presented as part of a larger ideological project to transform Yu Prefecture into a “Chivalric Land,” not merely as a personal triumph.
• Power and public perception: The same event produces celebration among Springwatch’s residents, disappointment among spectators, and despair among Gu Family supporters. Victory reshapes the social and political atmosphere instantly.
• Jealousy and resentment: Former elites cannot bear seeing others enjoy the prosperity they once possessed. Their hatred exposes how envy can become more painful than personal hardship.
• The contrast between spectacle and reality: Martial artists travel far and suffer to witness a great battle, only to find that Gu Dile is defeated almost immediately. The chapter mocks the audience’s appetite for dramatic violence.
• Beauty as power and manipulation: Lei Ying treats her beauty as a political asset, suggesting that beauty, romance, and the gathering of powerful women or artifacts can influence the martial world.
• Human and divine vulnerability: Taisui is portrayed as a godlike being, yet even it can experience pain and anger, emphasizing that Duan Yun’s abilities may threaten forces far beyond ordinary martial artists.

Character Interactions

• Taisui’s servants debate who should sacrifice himself, revealing both fear of their god and darkly comic jealousy over the punishment.
• Duan Yun and Shen Ying travel together in a relaxed, companionable manner after their victory, contrasting with the anxiety and chaos their battle has caused elsewhere.
• Duan Yun and Feng Ling’er exchange skeptical remarks about Lei Ying. Feng Ling’er’s sarcasm reveals her jealousy, while Duan Yun remains focused on extracting useful information.
• Feng Ling’er and Lei Ying clash over beauty, status, and Duan Yun’s attention. Lei Ying provokes Feng Ling’er by presenting herself as an irresistible prize.
• Duan Yun and Lei Ying negotiate from opposite positions: she tries to seduce and intrigue him, while he treats her as a prisoner whose survival depends entirely on the importance of her secret.

Chapter Summary: The Untouchable Fairy

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lei Ying reveals that Gu Dile’s strength came not only from the Gu Family’s Ten-Break Ancient Force, but also from a secret connected to the legendary Emperor of Ten Thousand Ages.
• The emperor had mastered an ultimate cultivation method and supposedly buried his lifelong arts and treasures in the mysterious Tomb of Gods. Countless people once searched for it, but the expedition ended after many searchers died sudden, unexplained deaths, creating a reputation that the tomb brought misfortune.
• Gu Dile’s ancestor entered the Tomb of Gods, and a fragment of the emperor’s technique was preserved within the Gu Family’s secret cavern. Lei Ying claims she knows how to locate it.
• Duan Yun becomes interested in the emperor’s secret, though he rejects the Ten-Break Ancient Force as corrupt and dangerous because it treats people as cultivation medicine.
• He immediately decides to travel to the Gu Family Ancestral Residence, both to investigate the secret and to ransack the Gu Family after defeating Gu Dile.
• Because the Gu Family may retaliate, Duan Yun leaves Springwatch City with Lei Ying and Little Yin while the others remain behind to protect the city.
• Duan Yun humorously designates Lei Ying as his “second mount,” alongside Little Yin. Despite her initial outrage at being treated like a beast of burden, Lei Ying gradually accepts—and even enjoys—the humiliating contrast between her former status and her current role.
• During the journey through Qing Prefecture, local admirers recognize Lei Ying and attempt to defend her honor. More than twenty “Turtle Men” block the road, threatening to kill themselves if Duan Yun refuses to release her.
• Duan Yun mocks their threats and simply rides away. The men actually stab themselves, but their sacrifice has no effect. Lei Ying ignores them and follows Duan Yun willingly.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun: Becomes determined to uncover the Tomb of Gods’ secret. He remains arrogant, pragmatic, and irreverent, treating the journey as both an adventure and an opportunity to seize the Gu Family’s wealth. His dominance over Lei Ying becomes increasingly clear.
• Lei Ying: Completely abandons loyalty to her deceased husband and openly submits to the strongest person. She reveals the Gu Family’s greatest secret, accepts Duan Yun as her new master, and gradually embraces her role as his mount. Her admiration shifts entirely toward Duan Yun.
• Little Yin: Acts as Duan Yun’s companion and fellow mount. She confidently asserts her own status as Jade Guanyin’s daughter when Lei Ying claims superiority as Heavenly State’s Number-One Beauty.
• Feng Ling’er and Shen Ying: Remain connected to the group’s plans but do not accompany Duan Yun. Feng Ling’er prioritizes Shen Ying’s training and usefulness at Springwatch City.
• Gu Dile: Though dead, his tragic character is emphasized. He trusted Lei Ying with the Gu Family’s greatest secret, only for her to immediately betray him and serve the man who killed him.

Significant Themes

• Power determines loyalty: Lei Ying’s philosophy is that she belongs to whoever is strongest, making strength the basis of love, allegiance, and respect.
• Humiliation and reversal of status: The once-revered “untouchable fairy” is reduced to carrying Duan Yun, creating a comic contrast between public image and private submission.
• Greed and forbidden knowledge: The Tomb of Gods represents the dangerous attraction of ultimate power, while the deaths of previous seekers suggest that some knowledge carries a curse or hidden cost.
• Satire of chivalry and possessiveness: The “Turtle Men” claim to defend Lei Ying’s dignity but behave foolishly and self-destructively. Duan Yun’s refusal to romanticize their actions mocks exaggerated notions of male protection and heroic morality.
• The victor’s right to claim spoils: Duan Yun treats Gu Dile’s defeat as justification for taking both his possessions and his wife, reflecting the chapter’s deliberately provocative martial-world logic.

Character Interactions

• Lei Ying explains the Gu Family’s secret to Duan Yun and openly offers her allegiance to him.
• The Murong Brothers are shocked by Lei Ying’s betrayal and pity Gu Dile, recognizing how quickly she has transferred her loyalty.
• Feng Ling’er questions Lei Ying about the Tomb of Gods and the emperor’s technique, helping clarify the importance of the secret.
• Duan Yun and Little Yin argue humorously with Lei Ying over beauty, status, and who deserves to be considered the superior mount.
• Qing Prefecture admirers confront Duan Yun to defend Lei Ying, but their threats and self-sacrifice only amuse him.
• By the end of the chapter, Lei Ying’s attention is fixed entirely on Duan Yun, whom she now regards as the strongest person worthy of her complete devotion.

Chapter Summary: “Gu Family Secret Cavern: Truly Scaring Themselves”

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• With Gu Dile dead, the Gu Family is leaderless. The family elders try to find the clan’s hidden secret in the ancestral residence, but panic when they hear Duan Yun is coming, so they grab valuables and flee.
• Duan Yun, Lei Ying, and Little Yin arrive at the Gu Family ancestral residence. Lei Ying guides them to a vast underground treasury full of gold, silver, and jewels.
• Little Yin reveals there is also treasure under Yellow Jade Island and offers to take Duan Yun there

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Duan Yun becomes enraged when a gigantic White Snake attacks Little Yin and Lei Ying, whom he considers his mounts.
• Using his House-Pupil Technique, he searches the foggy cavern for the snake but fails to notice that it is hiding inside hollow passages within the stone wall.
• The White Snake ambushes him from behind and knocks him off a seemingly bottomless cliff. Duan Yun survives by using his Left-Foot-on-Right-Foot Flight technique.
• When the snake tries to retreat, Duan Yun pursues it and embeds himself in its head with a powerful kick and blade strike.
• The White Snake repeatedly smashes itself and Duan Yun into the mountain walls, but Duan Yun withstands the impacts through Sword Qi and counters with Demon Blade Tenderness’s painful “Tenfold Spring Rain” blade intent.
• The snake attempts to fight back by hurling stones with its tail, but Duan Yun overwhelms it with more Blade Qi. He ultimately slices its head apart, killing the enormous creature.
• A strange red temple is discovered embedded in the White Snake’s skull. Inside sits the corpse of an extraordinarily beautiful woman, preserved so perfectly that she appears merely asleep.
• Duan Yun removes the corpse from the shrine, believing it may be useful, and orders Little Yin and Lei Ying to carry it.
• Lei Ying is found alive but badly shaken and injured after being smashed into the wall. Duan Yun uses Demon Lightning Finger Force to clear her blocked meridians, restoring her strength.
• Although both women are reluctant to carry the corpse, Lei Ying is ultimately forced to do so. As the group leaves, the headless snake’s body continues slapping against the cliff, which Duan Yun humorously compares to a giant spicy strip.

Character Developments

• Duan Yun displays extreme combat ability, resilience, and ruthlessness. The ambush only provokes him further, and once he gains an advantage, he refuses to let the White Snake escape.
• He also demonstrates medical knowledge by treating Lei Ying’s injuries with precise internal-energy techniques.
• Little Yin remains highly sensitive to danger and initially panics when Duan Yun is knocked from the cliff, but quickly regains confidence when he survives.
• Lei Ying suffers significant physical trauma but recovers rapidly after Duan Yun’s treatment. Her interactions with Little Yin reveal her pride, sarcasm, and unwillingness to submit easily.
• The White Snake is revealed to be highly intelligent, capable of planning ambushes, navigating hidden passages, and throwing stones, but its intelligence cannot overcome Duan Yun’s persistence and overwhelming power.
• The beautiful female corpse is introduced as a mysterious new figure whose origin and purpose remain unknown.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming persistence and brutality: Duan Yun’s defining trait is his refusal to stop once he targets an enemy. The White Snake’s enormous vitality only prolongs its suffering.
• Hidden dangers and deceptive appearances: The snake’s ability to travel through secret passages and the shrine concealed within its skull emphasize that danger and mystery can exist beneath seemingly ordinary surroundings.
• Power and control: Duan Yun treats both the White Snake and his female companions in a domineering, irreverent manner, reinforcing the chapter’s darkly comedic power dynamics.
• Dark humor amid violence: Graphic combat is repeatedly undercut by absurd jokes, including comparisons of the snake’s bodily functions and corpse-like remains to a “giant spicy strip.”
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The perfectly preserved corpse and unusual temple suggest a larger supernatural mystery that will likely become important later.

Character Interactions

• Duan Yun reacts protectively and possessively toward Little Yin and Lei Ying after the snake attacks them.
• Little Yin expresses faith in Duan Yun’s near-invincibility, quickly abandoning her fear once he returns from the cliff.
• Duan Yun and the White Snake engage in a prolonged battle of endurance, with the snake relying on ambushes and brute force while Duan Yun counters through skill, pain-based blade techniques, and relentless pursuit.
• Duan Yun treats Lei Ying after her injury, leading her to mistake him for a “divine physician.”
• Little Yin and Lei Ying bicker over who should carry the eerie female corpse, with both trying to avoid responsibility until Lei Ying is forced to take it.