Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Martial Dao Fundamentals

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun realizes that his original Body Tempering technique, while extremely comprehensive and powerful, would be far too complicated and time-consuming for ordinary cultivators. Mastering it might require more than 150 years, making it impractical.
• He decides to simplify the technique without sacrificing its fundamental purpose, embracing the principle that “the Great Dao is simplest.”
• After taking Spirit-Communing Pills to sharpen his thoughts, Chen identifies three foundations of Body Tempering: nourishment, physical exercise, and breathing methods. He determines that breathing is the most important.
• He combines breathing techniques with the Heavenly Cycle Stellar Acupoint Diagram, using the body’s acupoints to draw in the energy of heaven and earth. This reduces the need for expensive spiritual pills and special nourishment.
• Chen creates three levels of training—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—with corresponding movements and breathing methods. The beginner level is accessible, while the higher levels provide significantly greater results.
• To help learners understand the technique, he paints a visualization-based training diagram inspired by the Sitting-in-Oblivion Scripture. Because of his exceptional painting abilities and mastery of the “finishing touch,” the diagram naturally guides viewers toward the correct movements and breathing.
• He writes a detailed, unusually straightforward manual explaining not only the exercises but also their principles. He includes martial techniques, combat applications, and insights drawn from his immense martial arts foundation.
• After several hours of work, Chen completes the roughly 80,000-word manuscript and names it Martial Dao Fundamentals. He signs it under his alias, Kunlun Daoist, hoping the reputation attached to that name will help the book spread.
• Chen decides not to rely on ordinary booksellers, fearing that powerful organizations might restrict the book’s distribution after recognizing its value. Instead, he plans to oversee its dissemination himself.
• He visits Wan Fei, one of Shengjing City’s most influential booksellers, whose printing and distribution network can circulate books throughout the capital, surrounding towns, and eventually the entire country.
• Chen appears before Wan Fei as Kunlun Daoist rather than as the Appraisal Grandmaster. Wan Fei is initially frightened by Chen’s arrival through the air but quickly regains his composure and respectfully welcomes him.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun develops from merely possessing vast martial knowledge into an original creator and teacher. Writing the manual forces him to organize and distill his accumulated understanding into a coherent cultivation path.
• He demonstrates practicality and consideration for ordinary cultivators by rejecting an overly demanding technique in favor of one that can be learned within a reasonable lifespan.
• Chen also reveals a broad-minded attitude toward inheritance. Unlike many people of this world, he does not strongly object to others learning his techniques and even welcomes the possibility that they may become powerful.
• His use of the identity Kunlun Daoist shows that he is increasingly willing to build a public legacy and use his reputation strategically.
• Wan Fei is characterized as a capable, self-made merchant. His calm response to Chen’s supernatural entrance highlights his strong mentality, experience, and social confidence.

Significant Themes

• Simplicity versus complexity: True mastery lies in reducing complicated principles to an accessible and efficient form without losing their essence.
• Practical cultivation: A technique’s value depends not only on its ultimate power but also on whether ordinary people can realistically practice it within their lifetimes.
• Creation and legacy: Martial Dao Fundamentals represents the crystallization of Chen’s personal cultivation, knowledge, and philosophy.
• Knowledge as a force for change: Chen believes that widely spreading the manual could strengthen many people and produce new experts, rather than merely preserving knowledge for a single school or lineage.
• Reputation and dissemination: Chen sees the spread of his book as both a way to establish the Kunlun Daoist legacy and a method of increasing his spiritual power through the feedback generated by its influence.

Character Interactions

• Chen’s main interaction is with his own accumulated knowledge and inspiration as he refines his technique.
• He indirectly contrasts his approach with inefficient but powerful arts such as the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, emphasizing usefulness over theoretical perfection.
• His relationship with the future readers of the manual is unusually generous: he writes in plain language so that even people with limited education can understand it.
• Chen’s encounter with Wan Fei begins a likely business alliance. Chen values Wan Fei’s printing infrastructure and distribution network, while Wan Fei recognizes Chen as a powerful and mysterious senior figure.
• Wan Fei’s respectful reaction confirms his ability to remain composed in front of influential or dangerous individuals, explaining how he rose from humble origins to become a major merchant with extensive connections.

Chapter Summary: “One Million Copies”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun, operating under the alias Kunlun Daoist, asks Wan Fei, owner of Wansheng Bookshop, to print and publish a book he has written.
• He reveals that the book is Martial Dao Fundamentals, a genuine martial cultivation manual, and orders one million copies to be printed and distributed throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.
• Wan Fei initially assumes the work is an ordinary travelogue or biography, but after reading the first illustrated breathing and cultivation technique, he immediately enters a state of cultivation.
• The manual helps Wan Fei refine his body and unexpectedly advances his stagnant cultivation from the fourth to the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Shocked by the manual’s value, Wan Fei warns Chen that such a powerful technique should be submitted to the imperial family or kept secret rather than sold publicly.
• Chen explains that the manual is his own creation and that he wants ordinary people to benefit from it. He orders the books to be sold cheaply at one tael of silver per copy, while insisting that news of the manual remain secret until distribution.
• Wan Fei promises to personally supervise the printing process, secure the materials, prevent information from leaking, and have the books available in three days.
• He even offers to cover the printing expenses himself, hoping to earn Chen’s favor and secure future business.
• After Chen leaves, Wan Fei reads the entire manual and realizes that it contains profound martial principles accessible even to beginners and valuable enough to benefit higher-level Martial Warriors.
• Wan Fei briefly considers concealing the manual and keeping its knowledge for himself, but fear of Chen’s possible retaliation and his own practical judgment restrain him.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun/Kunlun Daoist is shown to be extraordinarily confident, wealthy, and generous. Unlike conventional cultivators who guard their techniques, he deliberately spreads his creation to the masses. His true motivation is to gain spiritual-power feedback when people benefit from his work.
• Chen also demonstrates foresight by keeping the manual secret before publication and pricing it low enough for ordinary people to afford.
• Wan Fei develops from a cautious, deferential bookseller into the first ordinary beneficiary of the manual. His cultivation breakthrough proves the technique’s power.
• Wan Fei’s admiration for Chen deepens as he recognizes the manual as something close to a sacred contribution to the martial world. However, his greed briefly surfaces when he imagines keeping it for himself.
• His years of commercial experience and fear of Chen help him suppress that temptation, reinforcing his characterization as shrewd, cautious, and fundamentally practical.

3. Significant Themes

• Knowledge as a public good: Chen believes martial arts should be used to help people rather than hoarded by elites, challenging the traditional secrecy surrounding cultivation techniques.
• Generosity versus self-interest: Chen seeks to benefit countless ordinary people, while Wan Fei momentarily struggles with the temptation to monopolize the manual.
• The value of widespread influence: The million-copy publication is not primarily a commercial venture; Chen hopes the manual’s impact will generate spiritual feedback and accelerate his own growth.
• Power and social hierarchy: Wan Fei’s extreme caution reflects the danger of offending powerful cultivators, while Chen’s casual behavior emphasizes the gulf between them.
• Opportunity and risk: Publishing such a valuable technique could bring enormous fame and benefit, but it could also provoke powerful factions to interfere or seize control of it.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen speaks politely but firmly with Wan Fei, while Wan Fei responds with exaggerated respect and repeatedly assures him of his loyalty.
• Wan Fei tries to protect Chen’s interests by warning him about the manual’s immense value and suggesting that the imperial family could offer greater rewards.
• Chen rejects the conventional path and insists on broad, affordable distribution, revealing his unconventional ideals.
• Wan Fei attempts to gain Chen’s long-term patronage by offering to cover the costs and promising exceptional service.
• After Chen departs, Wan Fei’s private thoughts reveal both profound respect and envy: he sees Chen as possibly sage-like, yet briefly wishes to conceal the manual and cultivate it alone. Fear and prudence ultimately prevent betrayal.

Chapter Summary: Unwilling to Be Ordinary, Content to Be Ordinary, Truly Ordinary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wan Fei briefly considers keeping Chen Shaojun’s Martial Dao Fundamentals for himself, but realizes that Senior Kunlun could easily arrange for someone else to distribute it and punish him for obstructing its spread.
• He quickly organizes the printing of one million copies, placing the printing workshop under strict guard and ordering that the books be distributed throughout Shengjing City, nearby towns, and remote regions.
• Chen Shaojun eagerly anticipates the manual’s success. He expects widespread cultivation of his method to increase his spiritual power, improve his appraisal abilities, and allow him to identify increasingly powerful treasures.
• The chapter reflects on how many ordinary people dream of practicing martial arts but are forced by poverty and circumstance to abandon those ambitions, gradually becoming “truly ordinary.”
• The next morning, Chen Shaojun arrives at the Lin Clan’s Number One Appraisal Hall, which is crowded with appraisers, officials, influential figures, and spectators.
• Seventeen pawnshops, each possessing an Appraisal Grandmaster, arrive with guarded treasures to challenge the pawnshop’s claim to the title “Number One Appraisal Hall.”
• The rules are explained: Chen Shaojun’s side must successfully appraise one treasure from each pawnshop. Success will earn the rival appraisers’ formal acknowledgment; failure will allow them to publicly destroy the signboard.
• Chief Appraiser Qin Wenshan admits that he lacks confidence and leaves the challenge to Chen Shaojun.
• Lin Ze, a fifth-rank official and Lin clan elder, warns Chen Shaojun to concede if necessary to protect the Lin Family’s reputation. Chen rejects this concern, asserting that appraisers stake their lives on their judgments and that clan prestige is insignificant by comparison.
• The first challenger is Xu Yumin of Heavenly Elegance Pawnshop, who presents enormous bloodstained scissors filled with eighteen years of murderous intent.
• Chen uses his Spirit Eye Technique to understand the treasure immediately and confidently states that he can fully appraise it within the time needed to burn one incense stick.
• Xu Yumin considers this arrogant and angrily gives Chen one hour, warning that he may not survive the appraisal unharmed.

Character Developments

• Wan Fei shifts from greed and hesitation to pragmatic cooperation. His fear of Senior Kunlun’s power motivates him to become an efficient distributor of the martial manual.
• Chen Shaojun displays growing confidence in both his martial cultivation and appraisal abilities. He remains focused on helping ordinary people while showing no concern for social status or political reputation.
• Qin Wenshan retreats from the challenge after acknowledging that the treasures selected by the rival pawnshops are beyond his current abilities. He effectively accepts Chen as the true leader of the appraisal hall.
• Lin Ze is revealed as cautious and status-conscious, prioritizing the Lin Family’s reputation over the appraisers’ professional courage. Chen’s forceful response intimidates him into silence.
• Xu Yumin is proud and easily provoked. Chen’s effortless confidence wounds his professional pride, leading him to respond with hostility.
• Chen’s reputation begins to change publicly. Although many spectators initially know little about him, his rapid rise from Certified Appraiser to apparent Appraisal Grandmaster makes them reconsider his abilities.

Significant Themes

• The struggle between aspiration and ordinary life: Many people dream of becoming martial artists but are forced into mediocrity by poverty and limited access to cultivation methods.
• The spread of knowledge: Chen’s manual represents an attempt to make martial arts accessible to everyone, potentially transforming the lives of ordinary people.
• True ability versus reputation: The contest tests whether Chen’s claim to be Number One is supported by real skill rather than empty ambition.
• Courage and professional integrity: Chen values the life-and-death responsibility of appraisal above family prestige, official status, or public image.
• Pride and humility: Chen’s calm confidence contrasts with the rival appraisers’ wounded pride and suspicion.
• Social hierarchy versus personal strength: Lin Ze relies on official rank and clan standing, but Chen’s spiritual power and composure demonstrate that genuine ability commands greater authority.

Character Interactions

• Wan Fei acts under the implied threat of Senior Kunlun, whose reputation controls his decisions.
• Chen reflects privately on the potential impact of his manual and the improvement of his future appraisal abilities.
• Shopkeeper Liu politely receives the rival pawnshops despite knowing they expect the appraisal hall to fail.
• Lin Ze confronts Chen over the danger to the Lin Family’s reputation, but Chen dismisses his concerns and intimidates him with a powerful aura.
• Qin Wenshan silently yields the central role to Chen, confirming Chen’s authority before the assembled appraisers.
• Xu Yumin publicly challenges Chen with the bloodstained scissors, while Chen responds with calm certainty, provoking Xu’s anger and setting up the first appraisal contest.

Chapter Summary: Single Finger of Spiritual Rapport, Dragon-Tortoise Statue

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun appraises a pair of large scissors that contain intense Blood Baleful Qi and a powerful Vengeful Ghost.
• Using the Myriad Spirits Unsealing Technique, he easily crushes the scissors’ baleful aura. When the ghost attacks him, his overwhelming vital blood destroys it instantly.
• Chen then removes the weapon’s former owner’s residual spiritual will and cleanses all bloodstains and impurities from the scissors.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror reveals the scissors’ history: they once belonged to a martial expert who used them to kill the demonic cultivator Jiu Tian. Before dying, Jiu Tian used the Bone-Adhering Technique to bind his soul to the weapon, eventually corrupting its owner and causing his death.
• The scissors are appraised as Lower Spirit Rank, rewarding Chen with the martial art Single Finger of Spiritual Rapport.
• Chen immediately masters the technique, which allows him to catch or deflect weapons by precisely identifying their weak points. He demonstrates its power by crushing a fly between two fingers.
• Chen completes the appraisal in only a few dozen breaths, far faster than the promised time of one incense stick.
• The assembled appraisers are shocked, especially Xu Yumin of Heavenly Elegance Pawnshop, who knows how dangerous the scissors are. After inspecting the cleansed weapon, Xu is forced to admit that Chen has passed the test and publicly acknowledges Number One Appraisal Hall’s signboard.
• Chen confidently calls for the next challenge. Myriad Pawnshop presents a massive Dragon-Tortoise Statue.
• Before Chen can begin, Zhao Wen of Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop demands that the appraisal be conducted publicly so everyone can observe Chen’s methods.
• Chief Appraiser Qin and Shopkeeper Liu strongly object, warning that distractions during appraisal and Baleful Intent Cleansing can cause deadly backlash. Zhao Wen insists that a true “Number One Appraiser Under Heaven” should be able to tolerate such minor disturbances, though his request is clearly intended to pressure or expose Chen.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates overwhelming confidence, mental strength, martial power, and composure. His Peak Innate Realm cultivation and extraordinary vital blood allow him to destroy a Vengeful Ghost that would threaten even Appraisal Grandmasters.
• He remains calm and indifferent toward the scissors’ tragic history, showing that he has become emotionally detached from the endless violence and grudges of the martial world.
• Chen’s mastery of the Single Finger of Spiritual Rapport further expands his abilities, giving him a powerful defensive martial technique.
• Xu Yumin shifts from disbelief and hostility to reluctant acknowledgment after witnessing that Chen truly cleansed the scissors.
• Shopkeeper Liu continues to defend Chen and protect the reputation of Number One Appraisal Hall.
• Chief Appraiser Qin shows professional concern for Chen’s safety and openly condemns Zhao Wen’s unreasonable demand.
• Zhao Wen presents himself as sincere and eager to learn, but his insistence on a public appraisal suggests rivalry and an attempt to undermine Chen.

Significant Themes

• True ability versus reputation: Chen’s astonishing performance proves his skill despite the other pawnshops’ reluctance to recognize him.
• Confidence backed by power: Chen’s calm attitude is justified by his immense cultivation, mental strength, and experience.
• Professional rivalry and jealousy: The competing pawnshops want to test Chen not only out of curiosity but also because they resent Number One Appraisal Hall’s growing prestige.
• Danger of arrogance and deception: The request for a public appraisal violates standard safety practices and may conceal hostile intentions.
• Release from the past: By destroying the ghost and cleansing the scissors, Chen ends the cycle of resentment that had bound the weapon and its former owners.

Character Interactions

• Lin Ze cautiously asks Qin whether Chen can succeed, while Shopkeeper Liu confidently assures him that Chen never acts without certainty.
• Xu Yumin challenges Chen indirectly through the scissors but is forced to admit defeat after the appraisal succeeds.
• Shopkeeper Liu confronts Xu over his hesitant wording, insisting that Chen’s victory be acknowledged without qualification.
• Chen dismisses the opposition’s doubts and immediately asks for the next treasure.
• Zhao Wen attempts to alter the testing conditions, while Qin and Liu defend Chen’s right to conduct the appraisal in a safe, private environment.

Chapter Summary: “What a Pity”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chief Appraiser Qin and Shopkeeper Liu recognize that Zhao Wen’s proposal for a public appraisal is not a genuine misunderstanding or learning opportunity. They believe the rival pawnshops are testing Chen Shaojun because they fear he will establish himself as the undisputed Number One Appraiser.
• Zhao Wen asks Chen Shaojun to publicly appraise several treasures. Although Chen initially considers refusing, he senses spiritual power continuously flowing toward him from the spectators. He realizes that demonstrating his appraisal methods publicly will greatly increase his spiritual power, much like teaching the Dao.
• Chen agrees to the challenge. Shopkeeper Liu attempts to protect him by demanding compensation for every treasure successfully appraised. After negotiation, the parties settle on ten thousand taels of silver per treasure.
• The appraisal resumes in the crowded rear courtyard of Wan Fei Printing Workshop. More than twenty Appraisal Grandmasters, hundreds of Certified Appraisers, shopkeepers, martial artists, and influential observers gather to watch. A formation is established to isolate Chen and contain Killing Intent.
• Chen’s first challenge is a Dragon-Tortoise Statue, a mysterious stone carving containing profound Daoist charm. His Spirit Eye Technique detects little Killing Intent but reveals a powerful spiritual barrier preventing him from examining the treasure’s interior.
• To ensure the appraisal is safe, Chen performs divination with three copper coins. The result is auspicious, so he proceeds.
• Chen unleashes his spiritual power. The force is so immense that it visibly distorts the air and wrinkles space, shocking everyone present.
• The shopkeeper explains that several Appraisal Grandmasters—and even Bai Bingwen, the city’s only Appraisal Grandmaster-Patriarch—had been unable or unwilling to fully appraise the statue because of its barrier and unknown contents.
• Chen shatters the supposedly impenetrable spiritual barrier almost instantly and begins cleansing the statue’s Killing Intent.
• The statue suddenly emits a dragon-like roar. Its shell glows, and a gigantic Dragon-Tortoise phantom materializes before charging directly at Chen.
• The observers panic, with many assuming that Chen is about to die. Some call his apparent downfall tragic, believing that his impatience has destroyed the future of a potentially unrivaled appraiser.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: Demonstrates confidence, composure, and strategic intelligence. He recognizes the spiritual benefits of public appraisal and willingly accepts the risk. His power is shown to be far beyond what the gathered appraisers expect, as he breaks the statue’s barrier with ease. His calmness contrasts sharply with the crowd’s growing panic.
• Shopkeeper Liu: Shows genuine concern for Chen and attempts to prevent him from undertaking a dangerous public appraisal. When Chen insists, Liu supports him while protecting his interests by negotiating payment for each treasure.
• Chief Appraiser Qin: Also worries about Chen’s safety and warns that public appraisal could cause dangerous backlash. His concern emphasizes the seriousness of the test.
• Zhao Wen: Acts as the instigator of the public challenge. Though he presents it as an opportunity for learning, his real intention is to expose or defeat Chen.
• The rival pawnshops and appraisers: Their jealousy and fear become clear. They are willing to risk Chen’s reputation and safety to prevent him from securing the title of Number One Appraiser.
• The spectators: Their attitudes shift from curiosity to awe, then to fear and premature pity as the Dragon-Tortoise phantom attacks. Their reactions highlight how far Chen’s abilities exceed ordinary appraisal knowledge.

Significant Themes

• Envy and hidden motives: The public appraisal is disguised as a learning opportunity, but it is actually a calculated attempt to challenge Chen’s reputation.
• Knowledge as power: Chen’s public demonstration functions like teaching the Dao. By sharing his methods, he gains spiritual power from the understanding and anticipation of others.
• Confidence versus recklessness: Chen’s willingness to accept danger is interpreted by observers as arrogance or a lack of composure, though his successful destruction of the spiritual barrier suggests that his confidence is justified.
• Limits of conventional expertise: Even Bai Bingwen, the city’s most respected appraisal authority, had hesitated before the Dragon-Tortoise Statue. Chen’s effortless breakthrough establishes him as an extraordinary figure who may surpass established masters.
• Appearance versus reality: The crowd assumes Chen is doomed when the phantom attacks, but the chapter leaves open the possibility that appearances are misleading. Their premature judgment reflects their inability to understand Chen’s true strength.
• The danger of treasure appraisal: The statue contains not only material mystery but also spiritual defenses and autonomous power, showing why appraisers must possess both technical skill and mental fortitude.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Wen pressures Chen into accepting the public challenge, while Qin Wenshan and Shopkeeper Liu try to dissuade him.
• Chen reassures Liu and Qin, explaining that a steady mind is essential for an appraiser and that fear of minor distractions would make the profession impossible.
• Liu negotiates with the rival pawnshops, ensuring that Chen’s success will bring financial compensation rather than allowing the others to benefit for free.
• The Myriad Directions Pawnshop’s shopkeeper publicly describes the statue’s history and Bai Bingwen’s inability to fully appraise it, unintentionally heightening the tension around Chen’s attempt.
• Chen’s performance transforms the spectators’ view of him: they move from skeptical curiosity to astonishment at his spiritual power, then to alarm when the Dragon-Tortoise phantom attacks.
• The chapter ends on a dramatic cliffhanger, with the crowd believing Chen has been overwhelmed just after he has begun demonstrating his overwhelming mastery.

Chapter Summary: “Godslaying Art”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun faces the Dragon Turtle Apparition released from the Dragon-Tortoise Statue. Though the apparition possesses power comparable to a sixth- or seventh-level Qi Sea cultivator or a mid-to-late Dao Foundation cultivator, Chen remains calm.
• He manifests his spiritual power into a sword and destroys the apparition in a single strike, shocking everyone present.
• Chen completes the appraisal of the fossilized statue, revealing that it is the corpse of a genuine Dragon Tortoise. Its shell and Demon Core are extremely valuable, proving that the pawnshop clients have received far more than their appraisal fee was worth.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror rewards Chen with the Upper Spirit Rank technique Godslaying Art, a spiritual attack method that condenses spiritual power into a destructive beam.
• Chen realizes that the technique has no fixed upper limit: its power will increase as his spiritual power grows. At his current level, it can kill or severely injure cultivators below the Core-Formation Realm and martial artists below the Innate Realm.
• The third trial treasure is a sealed Silver Gourd containing ten Foundation-Building Spirit Pills. The gourd is protected by thirty-two powerful immortal restrictions that have defeated previous appraisers.
• Using his mastery of the Seventy-Two Restriction Method, Chen dismantles the restrictions without suffering backlash and successfully appraises the gourd.
• The Mirror rewards him with a Death-Substitute Talisman, which can automatically save him from a fatal attack.
• Chen continues appraising the fourth, fifth, and subsequent treasures. By this point, the gathered pawnshops and spectators acknowledge his extraordinary abilities and begin hoping that he will complete the trial and claim the title of Number One Appraiser Under Heaven.

Character Development

• Chen Shaojun: Demonstrates not only unparalleled spiritual power but also remarkable control and hidden combat ability. He carefully conceals his Daoist and martial techniques, preferring to explain his achievements through spiritual-power methods. His confidence grows as he acquires increasingly powerful rewards and realizes the potential of the Godslaying Art.
• The spectators and rival pawnshops: Their initial certainty that Chen will fail turns into shock, respect, and reluctant admiration. Even those unwilling to surrender their status now recognize that his appraisal ability may surpass that of established Appraisal Grandmasters and rival Appraisal Grandmaster-Patriarchs.
• Qin Wenshan, Shopkeeper Liu, and the apprentices: They shift from fear for Chen’s safety to pride and excitement as he repeatedly succeeds.

Significant Themes

• Strength transcending conventional methods: Chen’s immense spiritual power allows him to overcome opponents and restrictions that normally require martial or Daoist techniques.
• Hidden ability and strategic concealment: Chen deliberately limits what he reveals, using spiritual-power techniques to disguise the full extent of his cultivation.
• Recognition and reputation: The chapter shows Chen earning public acknowledgment through repeated accomplishments, moving closer to becoming the foremost appraiser.
• Treasure appraisal as cultivation: Each appraisal provides not only wealth and prestige but also powerful techniques and protective artifacts, making the trials a path for Chen’s continued advancement.
• Power through mastery and technique: The Silver Gourd demonstrates that understanding the nature of restrictions can be more important than brute force.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen’s confrontation with the Dragon Turtle Apparition contrasts his calm confidence with the crowd’s fear and disbelief.
• The spectators debate whether Chen can survive and later reconsider their judgments after witnessing him destroy the apparition effortlessly.
• The pawnshop representatives and clients recognize that the Dragon Tortoise shell and Demon Core make the appraisal exceptionally profitable.
• Observers question whether Chen can overcome the Silver Gourd’s restrictions, but he again disproves their doubts by using the Seventy-Two Restriction Method.
• By the chapter’s end, the various pawnshops no longer treat Chen as an uncertain challenger; they collectively anticipate his success and the establishment of his “Number One Appraisal Hall.”

Chapter Summary: “Phantom God Pearl, Borrowing Treasures”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The seventeen pawnshop owners and Appraisal Grandmasters become increasingly anxious as Chen Shaojun successfully appraises treasure after treasure. They fear he will win the title of “Number One” and establish the prestigious “Number One Appraisal Hall,” drawing customers away from their businesses.
• The rival pawnshops decide that their originally prepared treasures are insufficient to defeat Chen. They secretly coordinate to borrow more dangerous and difficult-to-appraise treasures from the powerful forces supporting them, ideally martial Divine Weapons or Daoist Immortal treasures containing overwhelming Fierce Baleful Intent.
• Informants from Lin Clan Pawnshop report the rivals’ plotting to Shopkeeper Liu. Liu and Chief Appraiser Qin worry that Chen may face treasures far beyond the difficulty of the earlier tests.
• Chen remains confident. His spiritual power has grown to a range of ninety-three meters due to continuous cultivation and the spiritual particles supplied by Wan Fei’s printing workshop. This greatly strengthens his ability to suppress Baleful Intent and safely unseal treasures.
• Chen appraises the sixth treasure, an Eight-Trigram Furnace. Although it is not an alchemy furnace, it is a powerful ritual vessel connected to heaven and the netherworld. Its protective aura is difficult for ordinary Appraisal Grandmasters to dispel, but Chen destroys and suppresses it with ease.
• The furnace grants Chen the spell Heaven-Shaking, Earth-Stirring, a large-scale technique capable of causing earthquakes and forcing enemies out of underground hiding places.
• Chen then appraises five more treasures in succession. Their ranks range from Treasure Rank to Upper Spirit Rank, and they reward him with various martial arts and spells, though most are not especially exciting to him.
• One Upper Spirit Rank treasure grants him the Phantom God Pearl, a physical magical treasure capable of creating highly convincing illusions and killing opponents within an illusory realm. Chen values it both as a powerful weapon and as a means of concealing the use of his martial and Daoist abilities during the appraisal test.
• The eleventh and twelfth treasures grant Chen the martial technique Three-Part Returning Qi and the powerful lightning spell Twelve Divine Firmament Thunder Arts, the latter being especially effective against ghosts and demonic entities.
• The rival pawnshop owners return with borrowed treasures. Golden Canon Pawnshop obtains a gigantic weapon weighing more than seven thousand jin, once used by a Barbarian general and saturated with Fierce Baleful Intent. Great Sun Pawnshop brings out a treasure excavated from the ancient Cloud-Heaven Tomb, the burial site of Mu Yuntian, leader of a ten-thousand-year-old Longevity Clan.
• Their success shocks the spectators and reveals the immense strength of the forces backing these pawnshops. Everyone then turns expectantly toward Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop, suggesting that it too has prepared an extraordinary treasure.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun grows noticeably more confident as his spiritual power improves. He can now appraise and cleanse treasures that would overwhelm ordinary Grandmasters while protecting himself from backlash.
• Chen also expands his arsenal through the rewards from the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror, gaining earthquake-inducing magic, lightning arts, martial techniques, and the Phantom God Pearl.
• The pawnshop owners and Appraisal Grandmasters shift from confidence to desperation. Realizing that ordinary competition cannot stop Chen, they temporarily cooperate and call upon their hidden connections and political or clan backing.
• Shopkeeper Liu becomes protective of Chen and angry at the rival pawnshops’ possible schemes, emphasizing Lin Clan Pawnshop’s willingness to defend its interests.
• Chief Appraiser Qin remains cautious and concerned for Chen’s safety, contrasting with Chen’s growing confidence.
• The owners of Golden Canon Pawnshop and Great Sun Pawnshop reveal the extraordinary depth of their alliances, particularly their connections to the Situ Clan and the forces associated with the Cloud-Heaven Tomb.

Significant Themes

• Competition and threatened status: The rival pawnshops’ fear of losing business demonstrates how Chen’s talent threatens the established appraisal hierarchy.
• Power hidden behind institutions: The pawnshops are supported by influential clans and ancient legacies, showing that commercial rivalry is also a contest between powerful factions.
• Growth through cultivation and experience: Chen’s improving spiritual power transforms previously dangerous appraisals into manageable tasks.
• Ingenuity versus brute force: Chen relies not only on raw spiritual power but also on clever tools such as the Phantom God Pearl to conceal his true abilities and adapt to stronger challenges.
• Ancient treasures and inherited power: The borrowed weapons and artifacts are connected to barbarian generals, ancient tombs, and lost longevity clans, emphasizing the importance of history and relics in the world’s power structure.
• Escalation: Each side raises the stakes, moving from ordinary difficult treasures toward fierce weapons and potentially legendary artifacts.

Character Interactions

• The rival owners privately coordinate after recognizing that Chen may defeat them all, with Zhao Wen, the Golden Canon owner, and the Great Sun owner leading the discussion.
• Informants warn Shopkeeper Liu about the meeting, and Liu orders them to continue monitoring the rivals and respond firmly if they break the rules.
• Chief Appraiser Qin warns Chen that the newly borrowed treasures may be even more dangerous than those prepared originally. Chen reassures him that his improved abilities make such challenges worthwhile.
• The returning pawnshop owners boast about the treasures they borrowed, impressing and alarming the gathered appraisers and spectators.
• Their revelations create suspense around Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop, whose representative is now expected to unveil an even more formidable treasure.

Chapter Summary: “Mental Power Breaks One Hundred”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop, Shengjing’s largest and most prestigious pawnshop, prepares a major challenge to Lin Clan Pawnshop’s planned rebranding as “Number One Appraisal Hall.”
• Ancient-Surpassing reveals that it has borrowed the legendary Mountain-Suppressing Stele, causing other pawnshop owners to believe Chen Shaojun will finally be defeated. They suggest that the treasure involves matters beyond even specialized treasure-unsealing experts.
• Meanwhile, Chen Shaojun successfully appraises two more treasures, bringing his total to fourteen. Both are Upper Spirit Rank treasures, rewarding him with a Wish Talisman and a Myriad-Mile Treasure-Seeking Talisman.
• His fifteenth challenge is an enormous Barbarian Tribe spiked club, weighing 7,800 catties and saturated with the killing intent of countless deaths. Golden Canon Pawnshop’s shopkeeper warns Chen to withdraw, claiming that the weapon exceeds the normal limits of appraisal.
• Chen refuses to surrender, recognizing that the weapon may be of Immortal Grade and could provide an exceptionally valuable reward.
• Through his Spirit Eye Technique, Chen witnesses the club’s overwhelming Blood Baleful Qi manifest as a terrifying blood cloud and gigantic beast-like figure.
• His divination produces an auspicious result. He then uses the Myriad Spirits Unsealing Technique, engaging in a visible clash between his mental power and the club’s Killing Intent.
• The public is shocked by the intensity of the battle and gains a deeper appreciation for the danger and importance of the appraisal profession.
• As the crowd’s recognition and respect for appraisers increase, Chen’s mental power breaks through to a range of one hundred meters.
• This breakthrough transforms and greatly strengthens his mental power, more than doubling the efficiency of his technique. He rapidly purifies the club’s Killing Intent and appears to have advanced beyond the level of an Appraisal Grandmaster.
• Observers begin referring to him as an Appraisal Grandmaster-Patriarch, potentially placing him on equal footing with or even beyond Bai Bingwen.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun becomes increasingly confident and fearless. Rather than being intimidated by the club’s terrifying aura, he welcomes the challenge because of the potential rewards.
• His mental power develops dramatically through repeated high-pressure appraisals and the public’s growing belief in his abilities.
• His breakthrough to a hundred-meter mental range marks a major advancement, improving both control and appraisal speed.
• Chen’s reputation rises from extraordinary appraiser to a figure possibly worthy of the title Appraisal Grandmaster-Patriarch.
• The pawnshop owners and spectators shift from skepticism and opposition to admiration and genuine respect for Chen’s abilities and for the appraisal profession.
• Golden Canon Pawnshop’s shopkeeper acts as a cautious opponent rather than a purely hostile figure, sincerely warning Chen because of the weapon’s danger, though Chen rejects the advice.

Significant Themes

• Mastery through pressure: Extreme challenges force Chen’s abilities to evolve, showing that danger and difficulty can produce breakthroughs.
• Recognition and belief: The crowd’s growing respect directly contributes to Chen’s mental-power advancement, emphasizing the connection between public faith, reputation, and personal strength.
• The hidden danger of treasures: Appraisal is shown to be a life-threatening confrontation with concealed Killing Intent, not merely a technical examination.
• Professional respect: Witnessing Chen’s struggle helps ordinary people understand why appraisers deserve high fees and social status.
• Rivalry and prestige: The contest over the title “Number One” is both a commercial struggle among pawnshops and a test of Chen’s growing supremacy.
• Limits being surpassed: Chen’s progress suggests that established rankings and titles—such as Appraisal Grandmaster—may no longer fully describe his abilities.

Character Interactions

• Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop and the other pawnshops coordinate indirectly to prevent Lin Clan Pawnshop from smoothly claiming the “Number One” title.
• Pawnshop owners excitedly discuss the Mountain-Suppressing Stele, confident that its unusual nature will defeat Chen.
• The Golden Canon shopkeeper personally advises Chen to give up, but Chen politely refuses and proceeds.
• The spectators watch Chen’s confrontation with the spiked club, discussing the visible collision between mental power and Killing Intent.
• Their conversations gradually transform Chen’s public image, with observers openly debating whether he has already surpassed the Grandmaster level.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun completes the appraisal of the wolf-toothed club, despite its immense Killing Intent and the countless resentful souls trapped within it.
• His transformed spiritual power allows him to dissolve the Killing Intent far more easily than before.
• When the resentful souls emerge and attack, Chen uses the Godslaying Art to destroy them. The technique proves exceptionally effective against Yin Souls, though its power depends on the strength of his spiritual power.
• After the souls vanish, the aura of the club’s original owner—a powerful Barbarian general—erupts. The weapon becomes spiritual and launches itself at Chen, unleashing a strike comparable to its former master’s power.
• Chen secretly uses the Phantom God Pearl to conceal his true strength. To observers, he appears to struggle greatly while blocking and redirecting the club’s attack. In reality, he suppresses it with a single palm and expends little effort.
• Chen completely removes both the Killing Intent and the Barbarian general’s aura, successfully completing the appraisal.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror reveals the club’s history: it belonged to a brutal Barbarian warrior who killed over a thousand Great Zhou soldiers before being slain by the Great Zhou’s Mighty General at Wolf Fang Mountain. The weapon later became a trophy in the general’s vault.
• The treasure is graded Lower Immortal Rank, rewarding Chen with a Copying Talisman.
• The Golden Canon Pawnshop’s proprietor concedes defeat and adopts a respectful attitude, proposing that Chen be recognized as an Appraisal Grandmaster-Patriarch and even offering to hang a “Number One Appraisal Hall” sign for him.
• The other appraisers increasingly regard Chen as worthy of the title “Appraisal God.”
• The trial proceeds to the Great Sun Pawnshop’s treasure: a strange bronze cauldron so heavy that eight trained men, including two Qi Sea Realm Martial Warriors, struggle to carry it.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: Demonstrates overwhelming spiritual power, mastery of soul-attacking techniques, and exceptional combat control. He becomes increasingly confident in his abilities while continuing to hide his true strength from the crowd. The new Copying Talisman renews his interest in acquiring powerful martial and Daoist techniques.
• Golden Canon Pawnshop’s proprietor: Shifts from attempting to challenge or suppress Chen to openly respecting and accommodating him. He recognizes that Chen’s talent cannot be contained and decides it is safer to avoid becoming his enemy.
• The appraisers and observers: Their opinion of Chen changes from admiration to near-worship. They begin treating him as a figure beyond ordinary Grandmasters and potentially the greatest appraiser in history.

Significant Themes

• True strength versus perceived strength: Chen deliberately disguises his effortless victory, allowing others to believe he barely survived the weapon’s backlash.
• Recognition of extraordinary talent: Chen’s performance forces rivals and experts alike to acknowledge that he has surpassed conventional standards.
• The dangers of appraisal: Powerful treasures carry the wills, auras, and accumulated violence of their former owners, making appraisal a potentially deadly profession.
• Release from suffering: Chen views the resentful souls not as enemies but as pitiful beings trapped by the weapon, and he destroys them to grant them peace.
• Adaptability and pragmatism: The pawnshop proprietor quickly changes his attitude once he realizes opposition is futile.
• Accumulation of power: The Copying Talisman represents Chen’s growing ability to acquire techniques and abilities from powerful figures.

Character Interactions

• Chen confronts the resentful souls and grants them release through the Godslaying Art.
• The wolf-toothed club, acting through its former owner’s aura, attacks Chen; Chen suppresses it while misleading the witnesses about the true extent of his power.
• Appraisers explain the weapon’s spiritual nature and the dangers of aura backlash, effectively praising Chen’s accomplishment.
• The Golden Canon Pawnshop’s proprietor publicly acknowledges Chen’s superiority, addresses him as “Grandmaster-Patriarch,” and offers to promote him.
• The crowd collectively elevates Chen’s reputation, with many considering him deserving of the title “Appraisal God.”
• The chapter ends as the Great Sun Pawnshop introduces a far heavier bronze cauldron, setting up the next appraisal challenge.

Chapter Summary: “A Powerful Expert’s Thought”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Great Sun Pawnshop presents Chen Shaojun with an ancient cauldron as his next appraisal challenge. The cauldron was excavated from the tomb of Mu Yuntian, head of the Mu Family, an ancient Longevity Clan.
• The cauldron is extraordinarily heavy because it once served as a suppressive artifact at the center of the tomb. It also appears to contain something mysterious, hidden behind gray haze and possibly resembling primordial chaos.
• The Sun Pawnshop’s shopkeeper, impressed by Chen’s earlier achievements, offers to recognize his appraisal abilities and support his pawnshop’s claim to the title of “Number One Appraisal Hall.” Chen dismisses the offer, knowing that success or failure—and the danger of Killing Intent—will determine everything.
• Chen uses divination and receives an auspicious result, indicating that the appraisal is dangerous but within his capabilities.
• He begins using the Myriad Spirits Unsealing Technique. His spiritual power clashes violently with the cauldron’s immense Yin Baleful Intent, producing a visible, battlefield-like confrontation between black Killing Intent and white spiritual energy.
• The commotion attracts two famous martial experts: Yun Dingtian, one of Great Zhou’s Eight Great Heroes, and the Life-Taking Scholar. Both are shocked that an ordinary appraiser can generate spiritual power powerful enough to seriously injure even Spirit Astral Realm experts.
• Chen gradually suppresses and disperses the cauldron’s Killing Intent. Just as victory seems near, a gigantic demonic shadow emerges from within the cauldron.
• The shadow has two heads, four arms, and fleshy wings. It celebrates its release and speaks of finally being removed from a “damned place.”
• Chen realizes the apparition may not be a mere Yin Soul, but a remnant thought left behind by an immensely powerful being—possibly a Devil Realm powerhouse connected to the ancient mausoleum.
• Fearing that awakening the thought may alert the original entity, Chen immediately activates the Phantom God Pearl and prepares to use the Godslaying Art.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: Demonstrates overwhelming spiritual power, confidence, and careful judgment. He remains focused despite the ancient cauldron’s dangerous origins and the presence of powerful observers. His discovery of the demonic thought creates genuine unease, showing that even he recognizes the potentially catastrophic implications.
• Great Sun Pawnshop Shopkeeper: Quickly changes from an opponent or competitor into a conciliatory supporter once he recognizes Chen’s ability. His offer is politically motivated and intended to secure goodwill.
• Yun Dingtian: Initially unfamiliar with the true limits of appraisers, he gains profound respect for Chen after witnessing his spiritual power. He acknowledges that even top-tier martial experts would be vulnerable to Chen’s appraisal technique.
• Life-Taking Scholar: Shares Yun Dingtian’s shock and comes to agree that Chen’s spiritual power and the cauldron’s Killing Intent would be extremely difficult for martial artists to withstand.
• The Demonic Shadow: Appears to be a fragment of consciousness belonging to a powerful, possibly Devil Realm, entity. Its joy at being released implies that the cauldron may have been imprisoning or suppressing it.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power beneath ordinary appearances: The cauldron looks mundane externally but contains a vast, mysterious inner world and terrifying energy.
• The danger of ancient history: The Mu Family’s tomb and the Devil Realm invasion reveal that past catastrophes continue to threaten the present.
• Spiritual power versus martial strength: The chapter emphasizes that appraisers may appear physically ordinary yet possess abilities capable of overwhelming powerful martial artists.
• Suppression and imprisonment: The cauldron’s role as a suppressive object suggests that ancient artifacts may serve not merely as treasures but as seals holding back dangerous entities.
• Consequences of discovery: Chen’s appraisal uncovers secrets that may have been better left buried, turning a seemingly routine challenge into a potential disaster.

Character Interactions

• The Sun Pawnshop shopkeeper attempts to win Chen’s favor by promising recognition and support, but Chen remains skeptical and focused on the appraisal itself.
• Chen’s performance profoundly impresses Yun Dingtian and the Life-Taking Scholar, who discuss the limits of their own martial abilities in comparison with his spiritual power.
• Chen observes the visiting experts but feels no need to fear them, particularly because his Phantom God Pearl can conceal his unusual abilities.
• The demonic shadow’s emergence directly confronts Chen with a new and far greater threat, prompting him to abandon hesitation and launch the Godslaying Art.

Chapter Summary: “Earth Cauldron, Kaiza Demon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun destroys a powerful remnant thought belonging to a Devil Race expert with his Godslaying Art. Although the thought is far stronger than ordinary spirits, it cannot withstand Chen Shaojun’s current spiritual power.
• He investigates a massive cauldron and discovers that it contains nine wisps of Earth-Mother Essence, an extremely heavy substance comparable to nine mountains. This explains the cauldron’s extraordinary weight and suggests that it was created for suppression.
• Through the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror, Chen Shaojun learns the cauldron’s history:
  • It once belonged to Earth Mother, an ancient expert capable of refining Earth-Mother Essence.
  • Ten thousand years earlier, demons from the Heavenly Demon Realm invaded the world.
  • The injured Mu Family patriarch, Mu Yuntian, feigned death and used numerous treasures and the Earth Cauldron to suppress Kaiza Demon, a powerful Devil Race expert.
  • Kaiza Demon was sealed beneath the Mu Family patriarch’s tomb, later known as the Cloud-Heaven Tomb.
• Over a century earlier, the tomb was uncovered after geological changes weakened its formations. The Great Zhou imperial family and numerous experts excavated it, but the chief eunuch Xue Yungui secretly took the Earth Cauldron.
• Chen Shaojun receives 3,600 points of Merit Golden Light, equivalent to roughly one hundred years of cultivation. Combined with his existing cultivation, this should greatly increase his strength and allow him to contend with early-stage Martial Saints.
• After completing the appraisal, Chen Shaojun warns those present that removing the cauldron may have weakened the seal imprisoning Kaiza Demon.
• The shopkeeper attempts to dismiss Chen Shaojun’s warning as unfounded, clearly fearing that the cauldron’s stolen origins and the potential demonic threat will attract unwanted investigation.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates overwhelming spiritual strength and increasingly confident judgment. He is no longer merely appraising treasures; he recognizes their historical and world-threatening consequences.
• His concern for the wider world becomes evident when he deliberately reveals the truth about Kaiza Demon, hoping other experts will investigate before the demon can escape.
• Chen Shaojun’s power rises substantially through the Merit Golden Light reward, bringing him closer to the level of Martial Saint experts.
• Mu Yuntian is revealed as a heroic ancient figure who sacrificed himself to protect the world and his clan after suppressing Kaiza Demon.
• Kaiza Demon is established as a terrifying Spirit Severing Realm-level existence whose release could devastate the world.
• The Great Sun Pawnshop shopkeeper becomes visibly anxious because Chen Shaojun’s appraisal exposes the cauldron’s dubious acquisition and threatens the interests of powerful people connected to Xue Yungui.
• The surrounding appraisers and onlookers shift from skepticism to deep respect and fear after repeatedly witnessing Chen Shaojun’s extraordinary appraisal ability.

Significant Themes

• Suppression versus release: The Earth Cauldron represents the fragile barrier holding back an ancient evil. Removing a single artifact may destabilize a seal maintained for ten thousand years.
• The danger of forgotten history: Modern people know little about the ancient demonic invasion, demonstrating how easily major threats can disappear from collective memory.
• Responsibility and warning: Chen Shaojun chooses to reveal dangerous information rather than remain indifferent, suggesting that knowledge carries a duty to protect others.
• Power and sacrifice: Mu Yuntian and the ancient experts endured death and immense hardship to defend the world, contrasting with the selfish theft of the cauldron by Xue Yungui.
• The consequences of greed and corruption: The cauldron was secretly pocketed during an imperial excavation, and its removal may have endangered the entire world for personal gain.
• Cultivation and tangible strength: Merit Golden Light is portrayed as an invaluable resource because it directly and dramatically accelerates Chen Shaojun’s cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Chen Shaojun confronts and destroys the Devil Race thought, establishing his superiority over the remnant consciousness.
• Through his appraisal, he reconstructs the relationship between Earth Mother, Mu Yuntian, and Kaiza Demon.
• He addresses the crowd and the Great Sun Pawnshop manager, explaining the cauldron’s origin and its role in the ancient suppression formation.
• The crowd reacts with shock when Chen Shaojun reveals that Kaiza Demon came from another world and may still be imprisoned beneath the Cloud-Heaven Tomb.
• The shopkeeper attempts to undermine or minimize Chen Shaojun’s warning, creating tension between public safety and the pawnshop’s desire to conceal its involvement in the cauldron’s questionable history.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun warns that the Kaiza Demon may still be alive and could eventually escape, urging the imperial court to send experts and strengthen the sealing formation. Most people remain skeptical or lack the influence to act on his warning.
• Attention turns to the final stage of the appraisal contest: Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop’s last treasure. By this point, Chen Shaojun has successfully appraised sixteen increasingly extraordinary treasures, convincing the other pawnshops that his abilities are unmatched.
• A discussion spreads about the profession of Treasure Unsealing and the mysterious Jie Bao Appraisal Grandmaster Chen Ping’an, who supposedly unsealed a Divine Dragon from a Spirit-Sealing Stone. Rumors claim that Martial Hero Marquis Ren Tiancheng and the White Snake Demon King intervened over the dragon.
• The crowd does not realize that Chen Ping’an is actually Chen Shaojun in disguise, nor that the Divine Dragon was never truly taken by the White Snake Demon King. Chen Shaojun has secretly returned to Shengjing City, while the embarrassed demon king has kept the truth hidden.
• Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop publicly concedes that Chen Shaojun deserves the title of “Number One” appraiser and the right to display the Number One Appraisal Hall signboard. However, it insists that he appraise one final treasure, claiming it was requested by an important figure.
• Shopkeeper Liu and Chief Appraiser Qin angrily condemn the pawnshop for using priceless cultivator treasures to deliberately make the test impossible. The Ancient-Surpassing shopkeeper refuses to withdraw because he had promised the important figure that the treasure would be appraised.
• The final treasure is revealed to be a mysterious stone stele, shaped like an inverted triangle and covered in indistinct writing. No one has ever successfully uncovered its secret.
• Shopkeeper Liu and Chief Appraiser Qin identify it as possibly the legendary Divine Office Stele, rumored to contain the secret to becoming a god.
• Chief Appraiser Qin explains that the stele once caused a tremendous sensation. Even the emperor summoned appraisers and Treasure Unsealers to examine it, but many were severely injured or killed by its backlash.
• Fearing for Chen Shaojun’s life, Qin and Liu urgently urge him to abandon the appraisal despite the possible loss of the title.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: Demonstrates confidence, composure, and a growing willingness to confront unprecedented treasures. He remains calm despite the danger, partly because previous appraisals have already rewarded him with valuable abilities and Merit Golden Light. His hidden identity as the famed Chen Ping’an remains undiscovered.
• Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop’s shopkeeper: Shifts from arrogance to reluctant submission, acknowledging Chen Shaojun’s superiority while still pursuing his secret objective. His anxiety reveals that the final appraisal is tied to a powerful patron.
• Shopkeeper Liu: Becomes openly hostile toward Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop, abandoning politeness to defend Chen Shaojun and the interests of his own pawnshop.
• Chief Appraiser Qin: Acts as a sincere protector and voice of caution. Unlike the Ancient-Surpassing shopkeeper, he prioritizes Chen Shaojun’s safety over reputation or victory.
• Yun Dingtian and Life-Taking Scholar: Their interest in the rumors surrounding the Divine Dragon, Martial Hero Marquis, and White Snake Demon King emphasizes the importance of Chen Shaojun’s concealed achievements.
• White Snake Demon King: Though absent from the present events, he is portrayed as secretive and humiliated, hiding the fact that Chen Shaojun and the Divine Dragon escaped him.

Significant Themes

• Hidden identities and concealed victories: Chen Shaojun’s true identity and successful escape remain unknown, allowing him to operate while powerful figures misunderstand what happened.
• Dangerous pursuit of power: The Divine Office Stele represents humanity’s obsession with immortality and godhood, even at the cost of many lives.
• Recognition versus genuine ability: Although Chen Shaojun is formally acknowledged as the foremost appraiser, the final challenge suggests that reputation can still be tested by forces beyond conventional knowledge.
• Courage balanced by caution: Chen Shaojun’s confidence contrasts with Qin and Liu’s concern, raising the question of whether bravery is wisdom or recklessness when facing an unknown supernatural danger.
• Human–demon conflict: The Divine Dragon’s fate and the possible rise of a future Demon Emperor highlight the fragile peace between humans and demons.

Character Interactions

• Chen Shaojun warns the assembled experts about the Kaiza Demon, but receives little support.
• Onlookers discuss Chen Ping’an’s exploits, unknowingly praising Chen Shaojun himself.
• Yun Dingtian and Life-Taking Scholar question the rumors because of their respect for the powerful figures involved.
• Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop formally acknowledges Chen Shaojun’s superiority but pressures him to complete the final appraisal.
• Shopkeeper Liu and Chief Appraiser Qin confront the pawnshop, accusing it of hypocrisy and deliberate provocation.
• After the Divine Office Stele is revealed, Qin and Liu unite in urging Chen Shaojun to stop, while Chen remains intrigued and seemingly willing to proceed.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun prepares to appraise a mysterious Divine Office Stele, despite the Lin Clan Pawnshop staff’s fears that the process may be dangerous. The appraisal has become tied to the shop’s reputation and future.
• He uses the Spirit Eye Technique and sees that the seemingly ordinary stele contains immense radiance and the vague image of a godlike figure.
• Divination initially produces Lesser Fortune, indicating no fatal danger but considerable difficulty. To prepare, Chen consumes his accumulated Merit Golden Light to strengthen his Arcane Cultivation.
• He spends all 3,600 points of Merit Golden Light, raising his cultivation from one hundred to two hundred years. Afterward, a second divination produces Great Fortune, confirming that the appraisal should now proceed safely.
• Chen activates the Myriad Spirits Unsealing Technique. The stele releases Five-Colored Divine Light, which appears auspicious to onlookers but is actually a defensive mixture of Earth Sha and lethal intent.
• He identifies the force resisting his appraisal as exceptionally dense Faith Power, then begins dismantling and dispersing it with his spiritual power.
• A powerful humanoid phantom emerges from the stele, presenting itself as a compassionate deity. Its presence causes many spectators to worship and kneel.
• The phantom demands that Chen bow before it and attacks when he refuses, attempting to blind him with a corrosive stream of power.
• Chen sees through the figure’s divine appearance, recognizing it as a wandering soul supported by illusions and deceptive techniques. He responds with the Godslaying Art, showing that he is prepared to destroy the false deity.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates exceptional confidence, caution, and strategic judgment. Although he believes the appraisal is possible, he does not act recklessly and strengthens himself before proceeding.
• His cultivation reaches a major milestone of two hundred years, greatly increasing his power and confidence. His Innate Dao Body allows him to absorb and control the added cultivation almost instantly without destabilizing his foundation.
• Chen’s understanding of spiritual forces deepens as he correctly identifies Faith Power within the stele and adapts his appraisal method accordingly.
• His mental strength and resistance to manipulation are emphasized: unlike ordinary spectators, he remains unaffected by the phantom’s aura of divinity.
• The apparent deity is revealed to be arrogant, vindictive, and deceptive rather than truly benevolent. Its immediate attempt to blind Chen exposes its malicious nature.

3. Significant Themes

• Power and preparation: Chen’s decision to increase his cultivation before the appraisal shows that caution and preparation are essential even for a powerful cultivator.
• True divinity versus illusion: The chapter contrasts genuine strength with manufactured holiness. The phantom appears godlike through radiance, faith, and psychological influence, but Chen recognizes that its authority is fraudulent.
• Faith as power: Faith Power is presented as a complex and potent force formed from the beliefs of countless beings. It can protect treasures, influence minds, and imitate divine power.
• Discernment and mental resilience: Ordinary people are overwhelmed by the phantom’s presence, while Chen remains clear-minded because of his powerful spirit and unwavering will.
• Growth through cultivation: Chen’s doubling of his Arcane Cultivation marks a significant advancement and reinforces the relationship between accumulated merit and practical strength.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen Shaojun and Shopkeeper Liu: Liu sincerely worries that Chen may be harmed and urges caution, but Chen reassures him and proceeds. Their exchange highlights Liu’s loyalty and Chen’s confidence.
• Chen Shaojun and Chief Appraiser Qin: Qin helps withdraw from the formation’s range, participating in the cautious preparation for the appraisal.
• Chen and the spectators: The spectators initially wait anxiously, assuming Chen is merely recovering his spiritual power. They do not realize he is secretly increasing his cultivation.
• The phantom and the crowd: The phantom’s aura inspires reverence, causing many people to kneel and worship it as a descending deity.
• Chen and the false deity: The phantom demands submission, while Chen openly rejects its authority and calls it a wandering soul. Their confrontation escalates when the phantom attacks his eyes, prompting Chen to counter with the Godslaying Art.

Chapter Summary: “Earth-Ruling God, Earth-Traversing Golden Light”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun discovers that the “god” inhabiting the Divine Office Stele is actually a powerful wandering soul. It was likely once a Nascent Soul Realm or higher Daoist cultivator whose physical body had been destroyed.
• The soul has been pretending to be a god and terrifying or killing previous treasure appraisers and Treasure Unsealers.
• When it attacks Chen Shaojun, he counters with the Treasure-Fixing Divine Light, freezing its attack, then uses the Godslaying Art, a technique particularly effective against ghosts and disembodied souls.
• His first attack severely damages the soul, reducing its strength and solidity. When the soul tries to flee, Chen Shaojun kills it with a second strike, scattering its soul completely.
• The surrounding worshippers initially believe a true god has died, but they soon realize that the being was an evil or false god who had deceived them. Their anger shifts toward the dead soul, while their respect for Chen Shaojun greatly increases.
• With the false god eliminated, Chen Shaojun completes the appraisal of the Divine Office Stele. He removes the corrupted and mottled energies covering it, revealing its true appearance and inscription: “Earth-Ruling God.”
• Through the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror, Chen Shaojun learns that Divine Office Steles were ancient treasures created to regulate the laws of heaven and earth. Different steles governed domains such as land, wind, rain, thunder, seas, and celestial constellations.
• The Earth-Ruling Stele can allow a yin soul or ghost to become a local Land God, control the weather and stability of a limited territory, establish a temple, and receive the people’s faith and incense.
• Chen Shaojun concludes that the former false god had intended to refine the stele and obtain genuine godhood but had been unable to do so because the stele was heavily contaminated.
• The Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror ranks the Divine Office Stele as Immortal Rank—Upper Grade and rewards Chen Shaojun with the divine ability Earth-Traversing Golden Light.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun demonstrates overwhelming confidence and composure. He correctly identifies the false god’s nature and refuses to be intimidated despite its former status as a Nascent Soul Realm expert.
• His ability to use the Godslaying Art shows that he is especially dangerous to ghosts, souls, and other beings without physical bodies.
• Chen Shaojun’s reputation rises sharply among the spectators. Even powerful Dao Martial Arts experts can no longer dismiss him as merely a pawnbroker appraiser.
• Initially disappointed that his reward is another speed-based technique rather than an offensive ability, Chen Shaojun quickly recognizes Earth-Traversing Golden Light’s exceptional potential.
• He realizes that the new divine ability complements rather than duplicates his Secret Art of Movement: Earth-Traversing Golden Light directly raises his base speed, while the Secret Art of Movement amplifies that enhanced speed.
• This gives him confidence that he can now match the White Snake Demon King in speed and potentially escape or avoid defeat even against opponents with vastly greater cultivation.

Significant Themes

• False divinity versus true power: The chapter exposes the “god” as merely a powerful but deceptive wandering soul. Genuine power and divine status are shown to be different things.
• The danger of appearances and worship: The crowd’s worship is based on fear and deception, demonstrating how easily people can mistake supernatural force for legitimate godhood.
• Knowledge overcoming intimidation: Chen Shaojun defeats an ancient, powerful soul because he accurately understands its nature and employs the correct countermeasure.
• The limits of immortality: Even beings who gain divine offices, avoid ordinary mortal decay, and live for thousands of years still face eventual limits. Godhood does not grant truly infinite life.
• Complementary abilities and strategic strength: Chen Shaojun’s growing power comes not only from stronger techniques but from combining abilities effectively. His movement techniques together may allow him to overcome enormous differences in cultivation.
• The remnants of ancient civilization: The Divine Office Stele reveals a world shaped by ancient supreme beings, fallen gods, and long-forgotten wars that left powerful divine artifacts scattered across the present age.

Character Interactions

• Chen Shaojun and the false god: Their confrontation begins with the soul trying to intimidate and attack Chen Shaojun. Chen remains calm, freezes its attack, and destroys it with the Godslaying Art. The soul reacts with disbelief because it has never encountered an appraiser capable of harming it.
• Chen Shaojun and the crowd: The crowd first kneels to the false god, then becomes confused when it disappears. After realizing it was an evil spirit, they turn against it and regard Chen Shaojun with awe as the slayer of a supposed god.
• Chen Shaojun and the White Snake Demon King: Although she does not appear directly, she serves as an important point of comparison. Her previously demonstrated speed had surpassed Chen Shaojun’s, but Earth-Traversing Golden Light may now allow him to match or exceed her movement speed.
• Chen Shaojun and the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror: The mirror reveals the stele’s history, nature, rank, and reward, guiding Chen Shaojun to a deeper understanding of the treasure and its potential.

Chapter Summary: “A Surge in Spiritual Power”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun reflects on the enormous spiritual energy required to use Earth-Traversing Golden Light, realizing that his current two hundred years of arcane cultivation only allows him to maintain it for the time it takes to burn an incense stick.
• After completing the appraisal of all seventeen treasures, he emerges from seclusion and announces his success.
• The final treasure, the Divine Office Stele, is revealed to be capable of producing an Earth-Ruling God. Representatives of the Divine Martial Hall arrive to collect it.
• Their leader gives Chen Shaojun a Divine Martial Token, granting him access to Zhou Yinong—the sole surviving imperial uncle of the Great Zhou Dynasty—and promising Zhou’s assistance with one request.
• Chen’s successful appraisals of the Wolf Fang Mace, Earth Cauldron, Divine Office Stele, and numerous other dangerous treasures cause the crowd to proclaim him the “Appraisal God.”
• Public interest in Chen’s past and writings surges. His Appraiser’s Handbook spreads throughout the appraisal profession and becomes regarded as a sacred authority.
• The book’s popularity causes Chen’s spiritual power to increase rapidly, reaching new heights within days.
• Chen anticipates an even greater increase when Martial Dao Fundamentals, his new book aimed at martial artists, goes on sale in one million copies. He expects its audience of more than ten million martial practitioners to vastly exceed that of the appraisal community.
• The next day, Number One Appraisal Hall officially opens under the joint endorsement of seventeen Shengjing pawnshops. Business immediately flourishes, attracting a flood of treasures and numerous appraisers seeking employment and guidance.
• Chen continues appraising treasures and fills two additional Stacking Talismans—one Lower Immortal Rank and one Middle-Grade Immortal Rank.
• Rather than unseal them immediately, he decides to wait until he can use Wish or Fortune Talismans to influence the rewards and ensure that they provide abilities he genuinely needs.
• The chapter ends with Chen reaffirming his cautious approach and awareness of hidden dangers, especially the Kaiza Demon and other powerful beings concealed in the world.

Character Development

• Chen Shaojun remains humble and self-aware despite his rapidly increasing reputation and strength. He continually focuses on those stronger than himself rather than becoming arrogant.
• His priorities have evolved: instead of seeking random powerful rewards, he now wants reliable, carefully chosen abilities that strengthen his long-term foundation.
• Chen’s strategic thinking and sense of crisis deepen. He recognizes that his current power is significant but not enough to place him at the pinnacle of the world.
• His writings establish him as not only an unmatched treasure appraiser but also an influential teacher and creator within both the appraisal and martial arts communities.
• Zhou Yinong, though absent, gains greater significance through the Divine Martial Hall and the token offered to Chen. His status as the surviving imperial uncle and leader of the only officially recognized martial force is emphasized.
• The shopkeepers, appraisers, and guards increasingly view Chen with reverence, admiration, and a desire to associate themselves with him.

Significant Themes

• Humility amid success: Chen’s awareness of his limitations prevents his fame from turning into arrogance.
• Preparation and long-term planning: He stockpiles Stacking Talismans and postpones using them until he can control their potential rewards.
• Influence through knowledge: Chen’s books allow his power and reputation to grow indirectly, showing that knowledge can be as influential as personal strength.
• Reputation and authority: His extraordinary appraisals transform him into a legendary figure whose name reshapes the appraisal industry.
• Hidden dangers and insecurity: Despite his achievements, Chen remains wary of stronger beings and unseen threats, particularly the Kaiza Demon.
• Growth through merit and recognition: Public respect and the spread of his teachings contribute directly to the rise of his spiritual power.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen reports the successful appraisal of the seventeen treasures to the pawnshop shopkeeper and Zhao Wen, an Appraisal Grandmaster.
• The Divine Martial Hall’s guards collect the Divine Office Stele and present Chen with Zhou Yinong’s Divine Martial Token.
• The crowd and fellow appraisers react enthusiastically to Chen’s accomplishments, repeatedly chanting “Appraisal God.”
• Readers, apprentices, and professionals across the appraisal world seek out and study Chen’s Appraiser’s Handbook.
• Shopkeeper Liu expands Number One Appraisal Hall by recruiting appraisers from other pawnshops, while many Certified Appraisers and Grandmasters are drawn by the chance to work near Chen and receive his guidance.
• Chen works alongside Chief Appraiser Qin and the staff of Number One Appraisal Hall as the new institution becomes overwhelmed by demand.

Chapter Summary: Ye Tianquan’s Path to Martial Arts

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter introduces Ye Tianquan, a villager from Ye Family Village who has dreamed of becoming a martial artist ever since witnessing a powerful battle near his home.
• Although his family can only afford to send him to a cheap private school, Ye studies diligently enough to become literate while secretly pursuing martial arts.
• He trains daily under Uncle Jia, the village hunter, learning basic fist and kicking techniques and accompanying him on hunts to earn money.
• Dissatisfied with these rudimentary skills and unable to afford a proper martial arts school, Ye buys inexpensive martial arts manuals and practices on his own. His strength improves significantly, allowing him to defeat several ordinary youths and spar evenly with Uncle Jia.
• After killing an injured fox demon, Ye sells its valuable pelt for five taels of silver. He plans to buy the Three Body-Tempering Forms, a manual that might help him formally enter the Body Tempering realm, and a hairpin for his younger sister.
• At Wansheng Bookshop, Ye encounters a newly promoted book titled Martial Dao Fundamentals, written by the mysterious Kunlun Daoist.
• Though initially assuming the book is expensive, Ye learns it costs only one tael. When he opens it, the first illustration gives him an extraordinary insight into posture, movement, and breathing, revealing a martial art far deeper than anything he has previously encountered.
• Convinced that the book is priceless and will transform his martial path, Ye immediately purchases it.

2. Character Developments

• Ye Tianquan is portrayed as poor but determined, practical, filial, and unusually perceptive. His dream of martial arts remains constant despite limited resources.
• His self-discipline is demonstrated through years of training, hunting, saving money, and studying manuals independently.
• Ye progresses from an inexperienced village boy into someone with genuine martial potential. His reaction to Martial Dao Fundamentals marks a major turning point: he recognizes profound martial principles instinctively, suggesting that he may possess considerable aptitude.
• His love for his younger sister reveals a compassionate and responsible side. Even while pursuing his own ambitions, he intends to use part of his hard-earned money to buy her a hairpin.
• Uncle Jia functions as Ye’s first martial mentor. Though only a modestly skilled hunter, he provides Ye with his earliest training and practical support.
• The shopkeeper is largely dismissive of martial arts and promotes the new book only because of orders from higher authorities. His indifference contrasts sharply with Ye’s excitement.
• Kunlun Daoist is introduced indirectly as a mysterious hidden expert and author whose influence is beginning to spread.

3. Significant Themes

• Perseverance despite poverty: Ye’s lack of money prevents formal training, but he compensates through effort, resourcefulness, and self-study.
• Opportunity and destiny: A chance encounter with Martial Dao Fundamentals may place an extraordinary inheritance in the hands of an ordinary villager.
• The value of true foundations: The chapter emphasizes that physical cultivation, breathing, posture, and internal principles are more important than flashy techniques alone.
• Hidden greatness: The world contains powerful figures beyond the famous masters, and Kunlun Daoist’s work suggests that profound knowledge may appear in unexpected places.
• Family devotion: Ye’s desire to buy his sister a hairpin highlights his affection and sense of duty, balancing his personal ambition.
• Contrast between appearances and worth: The shopkeeper and others view martial arts manuals as crude or inferior, while Ye discovers that this seemingly ordinary book contains exceptional wisdom.

4. Character Interactions

• Ye’s relationship with his father reflects parental concern and modest hopes: his father wants him to escape a life of exhausting labor, even if he cannot become a scholar.
• His training relationship with Uncle Jia is informal but important. Uncle Jia teaches him basic skills and brings him into contact with hunting and the practical world.
• Ye’s interaction with the bookshop clerk and shopkeeper shows his familiarity with the store and his low social position among wealthy scholars and young masters.
• The shopkeeper initially treats Martial Dao Fundamentals as an unwanted, externally imposed product, while Ye immediately recognizes its potential.
• Ye’s internal connection with the illustrated martial artist is especially significant: he experiences the painting almost as if he has entered it, suggesting the manual communicates martial principles directly to those capable of understanding them.
  The chapter ends with Ye Tianquan purchasing Martial Dao Fundamentals, establishing the beginning of a potentially extraordinary martial-arts journey.

Chapter Summary: “Spreading Across Shengjing City”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ye Tianquan buys both Martial Dao Fundamentals and Three Body-Tempering Forms from a bookshop, despite feeling reluctant about spending six taels of silver. He also purchases a silver hairpin for his younger sister.
• After returning home, Ye immediately studies Martial Dao Fundamentals. He discovers that it contains a genuine and highly advanced Body Tempering method, along with clear explanations of Martial Dao theory and training.
• He then examines Three Body-Tempering Forms, the manual he had originally wanted, and realizes that it is filled with errors, misleading explanations, and flawed postures. The comparison makes him regret spending three taels on it and deepens his admiration for Kunlun Daoist’s work.
• As the book spreads through Shengjing City and nearby regions, martial artists, beginners, wealthy families, and scholars recognize its exceptional value. Many buy copies and recommend them to relatives and friends.
• Wansheng Bookshop’s one-copy-per-person rule prevents wealthy buyers from monopolizing the entire supply, though many households still purchase copies in bulk. Hundreds of thousands of copies circulate outside wealthy families, and the book soon sells out.
• Rumors spread that people have already committed murder to obtain the manual, as owners hide their copies and practice in secret.
• The book’s reputation reaches martial arts lineages, aristocratic families, government offices, and eventually the imperial court.
• Meanwhile, Chen Shaojun senses that his spiritual power is steadily increasing as more people read and learn from the manual. He also begins faintly perceiving the directions and identities of those contributing spiritual power to him.
• With his enhanced spiritual strength, Chen appraises treasures more efficiently, effortlessly neutralizing the Killing Intent surrounding them.
• In court, the Shengde Emperor asks about Martial Dao Fundamentals and Kunlun Daoist’s identity. Officials report that Kunlun Daoist is a powerful Daoist cultivator who may also possess martial attainments equal to or greater than his Daoist cultivation.

Character Developments

• Ye Tianquan: His cautious skepticism gives way to astonishment, gratitude, and determination. He recognizes the superiority of Martial Dao Fundamentals and resolves to study it diligently so he can begin practicing properly.
• Chen Shaojun: He gains increasing spiritual power from the widespread circulation of his book. His awareness and appraisal abilities improve, and he starts discovering that the spiritual energy he receives carries faint traces of emotion and location.
• Kunlun Daoist: Though not physically present, his reputation grows dramatically. He is viewed as an unusually generous and enlightened sage for distributing a peerless cultivation method at an extremely low price.
• Shengde Emperor: His interest in the manual indicates that its influence has become a matter of imperial concern. He is particularly interested in identifying Kunlun Daoist and assessing the threat or significance of his abilities.

Significant Themes

• Knowledge as power: A cultivation manual that would normally be guarded as a secret inheritance is made broadly available, potentially transforming the martial world.
• Generosity versus selfishness: Kunlun Daoist’s selfless distribution contrasts with the possessiveness of buyers who hide the manual or attempt to acquire multiple copies.
• Recognition through comparison: Ye Tianquan only fully understands the value of Martial Dao Fundamentals after comparing it with the inferior and fraudulent Three Body-Tempering Forms.
• Cause and effect: Chen Shaojun’s act of spreading knowledge directly produces spiritual benefits, linking public influence with personal cultivation.
• Rumor and social momentum: Conversations in teahouses and among officials rapidly magnify the manual’s reputation, turning it into a subject of fascination, desire, and suspicion.
• The danger of valuable knowledge: Once the manual becomes scarce, secrecy, competition, and violence begin to surround it.

Character Interactions

• Ye Tianquan and the shopkeeper: The shopkeeper pressures Ye into buying both books, while Ye reluctantly spends the money before leaving with his purchases.
• Ye Tianquan and his sister: Although he buys her a silver hairpin, his excitement over the manual causes him to postpone giving it to her.
• Readers and their acquaintances: Those who obtain the book enthusiastically urge friends and relatives to buy it, accelerating its spread.
• The two men in the teahouse: Their discussion reflects the public’s curiosity, admiration, disbelief, and frustration over the manual selling out.
• Chen Shaojun and his spiritual benefactors: Though they do not meet directly, the people who study his book unknowingly strengthen him spiritually.
• Shengde Emperor and his officials: The Emperor questions the court about Kunlun Daoist, while an official explains the Daoist’s past and suggests that he is a dual cultivator of Dao and martial arts.

Chapter Summary: “Sense of Crisis”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The Martial Dao Fundamentals written by Kunlun Daoist is discussed in the Great Zhou imperial court. The Shengde Emperor recognizes that it is far more profound than an ordinary introductory manual, containing Body Tempering methods, martial techniques, cultivation guidance, and deep martial principles.
• Grand Duke Jiang Weixin praises the book’s exceptional Body Tempering method but warns that its accessibility could cause widespread unrest. Since even ordinary people can cultivate it and gain strength within a few years, he urges the Emperor to declare it a forbidden book and burn all circulated copies.
• Several ministers support Jiang’s proposal, fearing that empowered commoners and reckless martial practitioners could threaten social order.
• Martial Hero Marquis Ren Tiancheng, a peak Martial Saint, opposes the ban. He argues that the book has already spread too widely to suppress and that its benefits outweigh its dangers. Because the Outer Origin Realm is in a difficult military situation, he suggests distributing the manual throughout the army to create more capable soldiers.
• The Shengde Emperor postpones the decision but asks anyone who knows Kunlun Daoist to convey his desire to meet him. Ren Tiancheng likewise requests an opportunity to discuss martial principles with the mysterious author, treating him as an equal in intellectual and martial understanding.
• Unaware of the court’s debate, Chen Shaojun continues his routine between the pawnshop and his home. His spiritual power rapidly increases as the influence of Martial Dao Fundamentals spreads, reaching over two hundred meters.
• Believing his enhanced spiritual power may now be sufficient, Chen attempts to appraise and unseal the Three-Legged Nine-Dragon Cauldron. His Divination Art immediately warns him that the attempt is “greatly ominous,” forcing him to abandon it.
• Chen realizes that spiritual power alone is insufficient for handling extraordinarily powerful treasures. The true danger lies in the treasures’ backlash force, which corresponds to their grade and may exceed his physical strength.
• This failed attempt awakens a strong sense of crisis in Chen. He reassesses his cultivation: his Daoist abilities and spiritual power are impressive, but his martial strength remains inadequate.
• Chen is at the peak of the Innate Realm, with 1,287 acupoints opened. Although most of the Five Directional Divine Apertures and Two Intelligence Apertures are already connected due to his Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart physique, he has not located the crucial Heaven-and-Earth Two Apertures needed to enter the Spirit Astral Realm.
• Determined to improve quickly, Chen decides to unravel the largest Spirit-Sealing Stone he previously obtained from Master Wang Heng, using its spiritual energy to strengthen his martial cultivation and pursue the Perfectly Flawless Physique.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: Moves from confidence and excitement over his rapidly expanding spiritual power to sobering self-awareness. He recognizes that exceptional spiritual perception does not equal sufficient combat strength, especially when dealing with immortal treasures or powerful enemies. His priorities shift toward urgently improving martial cultivation.
• Shengde Emperor: Demonstrates both admiration for the manual and concern over its political consequences. His personal request to meet Kunlun Daoist shows that he views the author as an unusually important and potentially valuable figure.
• Jiang Weixin: Acts as a cautious defender of imperial stability. Though he acknowledges the manual’s value, he prioritizes preventing social disorder and believes its circulation must be suppressed.
• Ren Tiancheng: Reveals his open-mindedness and high regard for genuine martial insight. Despite being a ninth-level Divine Profound Realm Martial Saint, he admits that the manual surpasses some of his own creations and wishes to discuss martial principles with its author.
• The imperial court: Becomes divided between fear of the manual’s disruptive potential and recognition of its practical value, particularly for military use.

3. Significant Themes

• Power versus control: The court debates whether knowledge should be restricted because of the danger it may create when placed in ordinary hands.
• Knowledge as a transformative force: A simple, widely accessible manual has the potential to reshape both society and the military.
• Political stability versus military necessity: Jiang fears domestic rebellion, while Ren emphasizes the Great Zhou Dynasty’s urgent need for stronger forces in the Outer Origin Realm.
• Humility before greater power: Chen’s failed attempt to appraise the cauldron reminds him that progress in one area does not make him universally capable.
• The limits of spiritual power: The chapter distinguishes spiritual perception from actual strength, emphasizing that powerful treasures require both mental ability and physical cultivation.
• The need for continued growth: Chen’s realization that he remains vulnerable creates the chapter’s central “sense of crisis” and motivates his next breakthrough attempt.

4. Character Interactions

• Jiang Weixin and the Shengde Emperor: Jiang formally advises the Emperor to ban the manual, framing the issue as one of protecting the dynasty from unrest. The Emperor listens but seeks the opinions of the wider court.
• Ren Tiancheng and Jiang Weixin: Ren directly challenges Jiang’s recommendation, arguing that banning the book is impractical and that its benefits—especially for the army—should be exploited.
• Ren Tiancheng and the Shengde Emperor: Their exchange shows Ren’s extraordinary standing. Although he disagrees with the court’s prevailing view, the Emperor treats his opinion seriously because of their friendship, Ren’s loyalty, and his unmatched martial authority.
• The Emperor and Kunlun Daoist: The Emperor’s unprecedented request to meet Kunlun Daoist elevates the mysterious author’s importance and suggests possible recruitment, investigation, or collaboration.
• Ren Tiancheng and Kunlun Daoist: Ren’s invitation to “sit and discuss the Dao” implies that he considers Kunlun Daoist’s martial understanding worthy of equal scholarly exchange.
• Chen and the Three-Legged Nine-Dragon Cauldron: Chen’s attempted appraisal ends in a silent confrontation with the treasure’s overwhelming danger, forcing him to acknowledge the gap between his current abilities and the cauldron’s power.

Chapter Summary: “All 1,296 Acupoints Ignited”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun prepares to unseal a massive golden Spirit-Sealing Stone containing eighty-nine layers of restrictions and an enormous amount of mixed spiritual energy.
• He uses divination to confirm that unsealing the stone is auspicious, then employs the Myriad Spirits Unsealing Technique.
• The stone’s energy initially surges violently, but Chen restrains, absorbs, and transforms it into pure Innate True Essence.
• He uses this energy to ignite the remaining unlit acupoints in his body:
  • The Five Directional Divine Apertures
  • The Two Intelligence Apertures, named Cong and Ming
  • The previously unknown Heaven-and-Earth Two Apertures
• After the Five Directional and Two Intelligence Apertures are ignited, Chen gains insight into the locations of the Heaven-and-Earth Apertures—one above his head and one at the end of his tailbone.
• He breaks open and ignites these final two acupoints, completing all 1,296 acupoints.
• This allows him to achieve the legendary Perfectly Flawless Physique, triggering a profound transformation in his body, strength, lifespan, and perception of the world.

Character Development

• Chen’s spiritual power and control have reached an extraordinary level. He can restrain vast quantities of dangerous energy and guide it through delicate areas of his body without causing harm.
• His deep martial foundation and heightened perception allow him to discover the Heaven-and-Earth Apertures, something he had previously been unable to locate.
• Upon completing the acupoint ignition, Chen’s body undergoes a qualitative transformation. He becomes increasingly attuned to heaven and earth and gains the ability to sense and influence the surrounding power of rules.
• His lifespan increases dramatically from the normal limits of powerful martial cultivators. While Divine Profound Martial Saints can live for roughly eight hundred years, Chen can now live for about three thousand years, with the possibility of extending it further through cultivation.
• Chen experiences intense joy and satisfaction, recognizing that he has attained a physique comparable to the legendary “child of the world.”

Significant Themes

• Perfection through cultivation: The ignition of all 1,296 acupoints represents the completion of Chen’s martial foundation and the attainment of an ideal, flawless state.
• Unity with heaven and earth: The Perfectly Flawless Physique allows Chen to align with natural laws, draw upon heaven-and-earth energy, and perceive the fundamental rules underlying reality.
• Danger and precision in advancement: Igniting the acupoints—especially those in the brain—requires immense energy and absolute control, emphasizing that cultivation is both powerful and perilous.
• Transformation and transcendence: Chen’s achievement is not merely an increase in strength; it changes his life level, physical nature, lifespan, and relationship with the world.
• The value and cost of power: Although the Spirit-Sealing Stone provides enough energy for his breakthrough, more than half its energy remains unused at the key moment, highlighting both the abundance of his opportunity and the waste involved in completing the transformation.

Character Interactions

• Chen interacts primarily with the Spirit-Sealing Stone, using his spiritual power to suppress its dangerous energy and convert it into cultivation energy.
• The little white dragon reacts instinctively to the Martial Dao Fragrance produced by Chen’s advancing cultivation. Chen releases it from his Sleeve Space, and it settles on his shoulder to absorb the fragrance greedily.
• Chen has no direct interaction with other human characters in the chapter, remaining isolated during his breakthrough behind an array that conceals his aura.
• His relationship with the little white dragon is portrayed as casual and familiar: the dragon eagerly seeks benefits from his cultivation, while Chen acknowledges it briefly and remains focused on his own advancement.

Chapter Summary: Perfectly Flawless Physique Achieved, Divine Weapon Spear

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Shaojun completes his breakthrough and forms the Perfectly Flawless Physique, a transformation that greatly surpasses ordinary martial bodies.
• His lifespan increases dramatically: up to 3,000 years at his current level, and potentially 9,999 years—effectively eternal longevity—once he reaches the Divine Profound Realm.
• The breakthrough releases a powerful Martial Dao Fragrance. Although Chen seals it quickly, the fragrance spreads through the pawnshop, clearing people’s minds, increasing their spiritual power, and helping martial artists improve.
• The juvenile white dragon benefits the most. Its body nearly doubles in size, its scales harden, its intelligence improves, and its aura becomes far more powerful.
• Chen easily destroys the backlash from the Spirit-Sealing Stone, using a casual palm strike empowered by the laws of heaven and earth. His physical and spiritual strength has more than doubled.
• Inside the Spirit-Sealing Stone, he discovers a terrifying spear infused with blood and overwhelming Killing Intent. He identifies it as a rare Divine Weapon, likely nurtured for over a century by a powerful Martial Warrior.
• Chen uses divination and the Myriad Spirits Unsealing Technique to appraise the spear. His immense spiritual power withstands and eventually dissolves its murderous force.
• The blood on the spear then transforms into a tiny demonic being: Jun Sheng Old Devil, who claims to have been resurrected and freed after a long imprisonment.
• Jun Sheng assumes Chen is weak and attempts to dominate him by sending demonic blood into his body, promising him power and eternal life.
• Chen reacts with contempt and strikes Jun Sheng with a palm. The chapter ends as Jun Sheng realizes that an immense pressure has descended upon him.

Character Developments

• Chen Shaojun: Reaches a major new stage of cultivation, gaining the Perfectly Flawless Physique, vastly increased longevity, stronger spiritual power, and greater confidence. His strength is now sufficient to casually destroy powerful restriction backlash and confront the former owner—or an entity within—of a Divine Weapon.
• White Dragon: Receives a major boost from Chen’s Martial Dao Fragrance. It advances within its juvenile stage, becoming physically stronger, more intelligent, and more imposing, though it remains far from maturity.
• Jun Sheng Old Devil: Is introduced as an ancient and arrogant demonic figure who survives within the spear’s blood. He believes he can manipulate Chen, but badly underestimates his opponent.

Significant Themes

• Transcendence and longevity: Chen’s Perfectly Flawless Physique represents a fundamental evolution beyond ordinary martial cultivation, granting him an almost heavenly lifespan.
• Power benefiting others: Chen’s breakthrough unintentionally strengthens everyone nearby and significantly advances the white dragon, suggesting that his cultivation has effects beyond himself.
• Confidence born from strength: Chen’s improved body and spiritual power give him a new level of assurance, allowing him to confront treasures and threats that would previously have been dangerous.
• Arrogance and misjudgment: Jun Sheng’s confidence rests on outdated assumptions about his own superiority. His failure to recognize Chen’s strength sets up a conflict between an ancient devil and a newly transformed cultivator.
• The danger hidden within treasures: The Divine Weapon is not merely an object of power; it contains a surviving demonic consciousness, revealing that sealed treasures may conceal unexpected threats.

Character Interactions

• Chen’s breakthrough affects everyone in the pawnshop through the Martial Dao Fragrance, granting them temporary enlightenment and cultivation benefits.
• The white dragon remains close to Chen and absorbs the fragrance directly, strengthening its bond and development through his power.
• Chen interacts with the Divine Weapon through spiritual appraisal, overcoming its Killing Intent rather than relying on a conventional restriction-breaking method.
• Jun Sheng treats Chen as an inferior subordinate and offers him demonic power in exchange for obedience.
• Chen rejects Jun Sheng’s offer without discussion and attacks him immediately, reversing the expected power dynamic.