Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• In a secret chamber, the white-haired old man regrets wasting much of his immense lifespan through the Life as Thin as Paper trait. Once able to gain nearly two years of lifespan each month and spend it freely on cultivation, he now has only a little over 3,000 years remaining.
• With only about a year before the contest for the Sole King, he abandons his lifespan-consuming cultivation method and begins searching for a way to make the Pingxi King surrender his position without killing him.
• After more than 120 days of seclusion, Chen Qiu breaks through from the First to the Fifth Layer of the Void Refinement Realm. His spiritual energy, physical strength, pressure, and overall combat power improve significantly.
• His three accumulated trait-selection opportunities merge into a single choice among three Supreme-Grade traits. Using Divine Hand and a wisp of Earth Prodigy Fortune, he ensures the options are aligned with his desire for faster cultivation.
• The initial choices are:
  • Advancement at Every Step, which gradually increases cultivation speed over centuries;
  • Overlooking the World, which reduces the cultivation progress required for every minor realm to 60%;
  • Supreme-Grade Dual Cultivation, a powerful set of six synergistic traits.
• Chen Qiu considers choosing Overlooking the World, since its benefits are immediate and useful in the short term. However, he spends 100,000 Merit Value to reroll the third option and obtains Man Without Opportunity.
• Man Without Opportunity allows him to travel freely between the other eleven Lower-Rank Continents despite their Heavenly Dao Shackles. Each new continent grants a tenfold cultivation-speed increase, potentially adding 110 times his cultivation speed.
• Because this trait synergizes perfectly with his Far-Reaching Fame trait, Chen Qiu selects it immediately. By spreading his name across the eleven continents, he hopes to gain enormous additional cultivation benefits before the Sole King contest.
• Chen Qiu summons Liu Zide, the Dao Sect Master, and the Sky Axe Sect Master. He orders Liu Zide and the Dao Sect Master to travel to the other continents and promote his reputation, while the Sky Axe Sect Master takes over their existing Spirit Stone operation in Mystic Heaven Province.
• The three men are given three days to transfer responsibilities and prepare. Chen Qiu chooses to rest, stabilize his cultivation, and reflect on his former life in the Great Xia Kingdom.
• During the handover, the Dao Sect Master is furious at losing control of a profitable project at the critical moment. The Sky Axe Sect Master calms him by promising not to take the Dao Sect’s share of the profits—and finally wins him over by agreeing to stop obstructing his relationship with the Sky Axe Sect Master’s elder sister.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu demonstrates increasingly strategic judgment. He prioritizes cultivation progress over direct combat enhancements, recognizing that reaching the Body Integration Realm is the only way to achieve a true qualitative increase in strength.
• He also shows greater long-term planning by exploiting the interaction between Man Without Opportunity and Far-Reaching Fame, turning publicity and influence into cultivation resources.
• Despite his rapid advancement and growing power, Chen Qiu reveals a more reflective and nostalgic side when he thinks about the Great Xia Kingdom and his old friends.
• The white-haired old man is portrayed as anxious and regretful. His previously reckless use of lifespan has left him under pressure, forcing him to seek a nonlethal political solution before the Sole King contest.
• Liu Zide is enthusiastic about the new mission because spreading Chen Qiu’s name resembles operating an entertainment and marketing company. He views the task as a perfect opportunity to use his former-world expertise.
• The Dao Sect Master shifts from anger and disappointment to cooperation after securing compensation and personal freedom in his romantic affairs.
• The Sky Axe Sect Master is both awed by Chen Qiu’s terrifying cultivation speed and excited by his new authority. He carefully conceals his shock while remaining respectful.

Significant Themes

• Time versus long-term growth: Advancement at Every Step is potentially overwhelming after centuries, but Chen Qiu cannot afford to wait because the Sole King contest is imminent.
• Strategic use of abilities: The chapter emphasizes that the best trait is not necessarily the strongest in isolation, but the one that synergizes most effectively with existing powers and immediate objectives.
• Cultivation as resource management: Lifespan, Spirit Stones, fame, fortune, and manpower are all treated as interconnected resources that must be balanced.
• Reputation as power: Chen Qiu’s name and public influence become a direct means of increasing cultivation speed, blending fame, propaganda, and cultivation into one strategy.
• Delegation and organization: Chen Qiu’s advancement depends not only on personal strength but also on assigning suitable people to manage finances, publicity, and regional operations.
• Nostalgia amid rising power: Even as Chen Qiu approaches overwhelming strength, he remains emotionally connected to his origins and longs to reunite with old companions.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu gives Liu Zide and the Dao Sect Master responsibility for spreading his reputation across the eleven continents, while instructing the Sky Axe Sect Master to manage the Mystic Heaven Province operation.
• The Dao Sect Master initially objects because leaving would endanger the profitable Spirit Stone business, but Chen Qiu reassures him that the Sky Axe Sect Master will assume control and compensate the Dao Sect for losses.
• The Sky Axe Sect Master apologizes for taking over the project, then offers the Dao Sect Master unrestricted freedom to pursue his elder sister, instantly transforming their tense exchange into cooperation.
• Liu Zide listens to the operational briefing and becomes excited about using publicity, sensational events, and marketing tactics to turn Chen Qiu into a continent-wide celebrity.

Chapter Summary: Arrival at Pingxi Continent

Key Plot Points and Events

• After three days of preparation, Dao Sect Master Zhang Qing and Liu Zide depart for the Celestial Palace with several hundred people, a flying vessel, and large quantities of Spirit Stones.
• During the journey, Zhang Qing reveals the bitter history between the Dao Sect and Sky Axe Sect. Their feud began with Cao Ping, a former Dao Sect formation prodigy who betrayed the sect after his master’s mysterious death and later created a powerful mountain-protecting formation for the Sky Axe Sect.
• Zhang Qing explains that he and the Sky Axe Sect Master, Lao Kui, were once close friends despite belonging to rival sects. They secretly worked to reconcile their sects and eventually succeeded in becoming their respective sect masters.
• Their friendship collapsed when Zhang Qing fell in love with Lao Kui’s intellectually disabled sister. She possesses the Fallen Immortal Physique, a Gray Trait that causes anyone who loves her to gradually lose their intelligence. Despite knowing this, Zhang Qing’s love has endured for centuries, and he intends to marry her after completing the mission.
• At the Celestial Palace, Zhang Qing gives Chen Qiu over three million Mid-Grade Spirit Stones as compensation for the success of his formation plates. Chen Qiu declines publicly, but his simple-minded follower accepts the payment on his behalf.
• Chen Qiu transports the group to Pingxi Continent, a Lower-Rank Continent, and warns them that communication will be impossible once he leaves. He gives them one month to complete their work.
• Chen Qiu promises Liu Zide that if he successfully handles eight of the continent’s eleven provinces, he will be promoted to the Fourth Elder of the Mocking Heaven Sect.
• After leaving Pingxi Continent, Chen Qiu visits the remaining Lower-Rank Continents. His “Man Without Opportunity” trait increases his cultivation speed by 110 times.
• Chen Qiu theorizes that the world is structured like a pyramid, with higher-grade continents overseeing twelve lower-grade continents each. If his theory is correct, traveling to higher-grade continents could raise his cultivation speed to astronomical levels, potentially allowing him to reach Immortal Emperor-level cultivation naturally.
• Meanwhile, in Pingxi Province, the elderly ancestor of Peaceful Prefecture seeks a way to abandon the dangerous Pingxi Throne. He discovers that descendants on Pingxi Continent can summon him through ancestral incense-prayer. A dried-up well connected to the Yin Realm may allow him to fake his death or escape the throne’s burden, though he still must solve the problem of how to be “killed” so the throne can pass to someone else.

Character Developments

• Zhang Qing is revealed as deeply devoted and emotionally sincere. Despite the danger of the Fallen Immortal Physique, he remains committed to Lao Kui’s sister and is willing to sacrifice even his path to immortality for her.
• Liu Zide grows in confidence and ambition. Chen Qiu’s promise of making him the Mocking Heaven Sect’s Fourth Elder gives him a powerful new motivation to prove himself.
• Chen Qiu continues to think strategically, using his traits, subordinates, and continent-travel system to accelerate his cultivation. He increasingly recognizes the enormous potential of combining “Man Without Opportunity,” “Far-Reaching Fame,” and Liu Zide’s promotional abilities.
• The Peaceful Prefecture ancestor shows fear and pragmatism. Though powerful, he feels unworthy of the Pingxi Throne and prefers the humiliation of abandoning it to the danger of losing his life during the coming Sole King Contest.

Significant Themes

• Love versus immortality: Zhang Qing’s willingness to sacrifice his future cultivation for love contrasts with the cultivators’ usual pursuit of power and eternal life.
• The consequences of fate and physical traits: The Fallen Immortal Physique demonstrates how supernatural gifts can also impose devastating personal costs.
• Ambition and opportunity: Liu Zide’s sudden promotion prospects show how individuals can rise rapidly when given the right opportunity and responsibility.
• Strategic use of talent: Chen Qiu recognizes that a subordinate does not need overwhelming strength if they possess a uniquely valuable ability.
• Fate versus personal choice: The Peaceful Prefecture ancestor attempts to escape what appears to be his predetermined role, while the chapter’s closing advertisement reinforces the broader theme of challenging or manipulating destiny.

Important Character Interactions

• Zhang Qing confides in Liu Zide about his past with Lao Kui, his love for Lao Kui’s sister, and the dangerous effects of her physique. Liu Zide reacts with surprise and humor, calling him a “warrior of pure love.”
• Chen Qiu and Zhang Qing interact respectfully over the Spirit Stone payment, with Chen Qiu maintaining his dignity while secretly benefiting from the reward.
• Chen Qiu gives Liu Zide direct encouragement and a concrete promotion goal, significantly strengthening Liu Zide’s determination.
• After Chen Qiu departs, Liu Zide immediately takes command, ordering the group to locate a city and gather intelligence.
• The Peaceful Prefecture ancestor interacts indirectly with his deceased parents and their descendants through incense-prayer, discovering a possible route to escape his political and personal crisis.

Chapter Summary: “Ant Carrying a Hammer”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In Mystic Heaven Province, Chen Qiu continues cultivating inside the Celestial Palace on the Mystic Heaven Throne. His cultivation speed has increased dramatically, consuming more than 50,000 Spirit Stones daily.
• The Young Chief of the Brown Bear Clan helps maintain the Spirit-Gathering Array while guarding the palace. His clansmen also cultivate within the sect, benefiting from the abundant spiritual energy despite their low realms.
• Meanwhile, Liu Zide, the Dao Sect Master, and their companions arrive in Pingxi Continent to spread Chen Qiu’s fame within a one-month deadline.
• Liu Zide explains that simply hiring storytellers to recount Chen Qiu’s past achievements will not work because the people of Pingxi Continent have no prior connection or awareness of him.
• He first orders storytellers across the continent to repeatedly chant Chen Qiu’s name, prioritizing widespread recognition over detailed stories.
• When this produces lackluster results, Liu Zide adopts a more aggressive strategy: the Dao Sect Master will rob major powers in Chen Qiu’s name, suppressing or killing those who resist, while storytellers publicize Chen Qiu’s supposed atrocities.
• After more than ten days, Chen Qiu breaks through to the Sixth Layer of Void Refinement. He estimates that he may reach Peak Void Refinement within half a year rather than a year, giving him time to prepare a Twelfth-Grade External Incarnation.
• Chen Qiu receives four possible Traits:
  1. Ant Carrying a Hammer — summons an immortal Qi Refining Realm ant that relentlessly attacks an enemy’s head.
  2. Certain Hit — guarantees spells will hit a locked-on target, but reduces their speed by 99%.
  3. Bridal Chamber Candles — allows self-dual cultivation under specific conditions.
  4. Otherworld Flower — randomly increases or decreases cultivation speed and spell power by ninefold or one-tenth each month.
• Finding the choices largely useless or unreliable, Chen Qiu chooses Ant Carrying a Hammer because it has no drawbacks.
• He discovers that the Trait can target anyone whose appearance and name he knows, without needing to lock onto them with divine sense. The ant may have potential uses as an immortal scout, messenger, or future defensive tool if he finds a Trait that can strengthen or enlarge summons.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu continues his rapid advancement and remains committed to reaching the highest possible quality in his cultivation, especially insisting on creating a Twelfth-Grade External Incarnation.
• He shows a strong preference for reliability and stability, rejecting Traits that create unpredictable fluctuations in power even when their maximum effects are impressive.
• His attitude toward strange Traits has become more pragmatic. Although he initially dismisses the ant as useless, he quickly identifies possible applications and begins thinking creatively about how it might combine with future Traits.
• Liu Zide demonstrates strategic intelligence and adaptability. He recognizes that conventional propaganda will fail in Pingxi Continent and is willing to use increasingly extreme methods to meet Chen Qiu’s deadline.
• The Dao Sect Master shifts from skepticism to enthusiasm, first questioning Liu Zide’s chanting strategy but eagerly accepting the later plan to rob the continent in Chen Qiu’s name.
• The Brown Bear Young Chief acts as a loyal, diligent guardian and caretaker, maintaining the formation even while half-asleep.

Significant Themes

• Reputation and relevance: People only care about a figure’s history after that person has become personally or socially relevant to them.
• Propaganda and manufactured fame: Liu Zide’s campaign shows how reputation can be created through repetition, spectacle, fear, and association rather than genuine achievement.
• Power and absurdity: The chapter humorously contrasts Chen Qiu’s overwhelming cultivation with bizarre Traits whose effects sound powerful but are impractical in high-level combat.
• Stability versus randomness: Chen Qiu values dependable strength over dramatic but unpredictable power fluctuations, revealing his cautious and security-minded approach to cultivation.
• Potential hidden value: Even seemingly useless abilities may become valuable through creative combinations, emphasizing the importance of synergy and long-term planning.
• Cultivation as resource management: Chen Qiu’s progress depends not only on talent but also on immense quantities of Spirit Stones, powerful formations, and careful Trait selection.

Character Interactions

• The Brown Bear Young Chief quietly supports Chen Qiu’s cultivation while watching over the sect and his clansmen.
• Liu Zide teaches the Dao Sect Master why storytelling worked in Mystic Heaven Province but cannot immediately work in Pingxi Continent.
• The Dao Sect Master initially doubts Liu Zide’s simplistic name-chanting plan but accepts his reasoning and later embraces the more violent approach.
• Chen Qiu interacts with the summoned ant after selecting the Trait, examining its behavior and considering possible future uses.
• Chen Qiu’s internal reflections connect his current Trait choice to his past fears of appearance-based killing abilities and his possession of defensive Traits against rule-based attacks.

Chapter Summary: “Twelfth-Grade External Incarnation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu continues cultivating inside the Celestial Palace while waiting for Liu Zide and the others to return from Pingxi Continent.
• His Pink Trait, “Far-Reaching Fame,” increases his cultivation speed dramatically. After Liu Zide’s actions on Pingxi Continent, the boost rises from ninetyfold to one hundred and eightfold.
• Liu Zide and nearly one hundred Dao Sect disciples return after spreading Chen Qiu’s reputation—primarily through bad fame—across Pingxi Continent. They bring thousands of storage rings, large quantities of Spirit Stones, and over four hundred thousand pieces of Manifest Spirit.
• Chen Qiu accepts their results, emphasizing that even while spreading a bad reputation, Mocking Heaven Sect should maintain etiquette by sending “fruit baskets” before causing trouble.
• Liu Zide’s group is immediately sent to another Lower-Rank Continent to repeat the operation, showing that Mocking Heaven Sect functions more as Chen Qiu’s personal power network than a traditional sect.
• A Regional Heavenly Dao Edict announces the opening of a Void Refinement cave abode containing trials and Trait Jade Slips. Chen Qiu refuses to participate, prioritizing cultivation because the battle for the title of “Sole King” is approaching.
• After several more days of cultivation, Chen Qiu breaks through from the Sixth Layer to the Seventh Layer of Void Refinement, entering the Late Void Refinement Realm.
• He rejects three Traits:
  • “Merit External Incarnation,” because it only produces a Ninth-Grade incarnation.
  • “More Children, More Fortune,” because he does not want to have children merely to increase his luck.
  • “Immortality,” because it permanently fixes cultivation at the Qi Refining Realm.
• Using his reroll ability, Chen Qiu obtains the Pink Trait “Twelve Volumes of Military Records, Every Volume Bears My Father’s Name,” which increases his cultivation speed fivefold whenever he is named in a Heavenly Dao Edict.
• Chen Qiu studies the requirements for different grades of External Incarnations and confirms that he possesses everything needed for a Twelfth-Grade External Incarnation: a Twelfth-Grade Golden Core, Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul, Permanent Rainbow Trait, one million Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, Peerless Fortune of Heaven’s Chosen, and Heavenly Dao Fortune.
• He spends the required resources and successfully forges the incarnation. It is a featureless, milky-white, semi-translucent humanoid that he can control as naturally as an extra limb.
• Immediately afterward, a continent-wide Heavenly Dao Edict resounds across the Vast Continent, once again announcing Chen Qiu’s name and reminding all cultivators of his earlier achievements and role in the battle for the Twelve Thrones.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu becomes increasingly focused and single-minded about cultivation. He refuses distractions, including the newly opened cave abode, because he wants to reach the Body Integration Realm before the coming battle.
• His confidence and ambitions grow. He dismisses a Ninth-Grade External Incarnation as inadequate, insisting on pursuing the highest possible grade in keeping with his established path toward the Heavenly Dao Apex and Twelfth Grade.
• Despite his ruthless pragmatism, Chen Qiu retains personal moral boundaries. He rejects the childbearing-based Fortune Trait because he cannot accept having many children merely for personal benefit and abandoning responsibility for them.
• Liu Zide demonstrates initiative and effectiveness. He acts without waiting for permission, successfully spreads Chen Qiu’s fame through unconventional means, and expands Mocking Heaven Sect’s wealth and influence.
• The shopkeeper suffers severe mental and physical exhaustion from opening the endless stream of storage rings. His former hobby has become unbearable labor, reinforcing the need for Chen Qiu to recruit assistants.
• The Brown Bear continues serving as a loyal gatekeeper and messenger, helping manage the Celestial Palace and its growing organization.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation versus opportunity: Chen Qiu rejects external opportunities because he believes steady cultivation is more important than temporary treasures or trials.
• The transformation of reputation into power: Fame directly increases Chen Qiu’s cultivation speed, making public perception a tangible resource. Even negative fame is useful if it spreads his name.
• Organization as a personal machine: Mocking Heaven Sect is portrayed less as an institution built for future generations and more as a coordinated force dedicated to Chen Qiu’s advancement.
• Ambition and perfectionism: Chen Qiu refuses to settle for lower-grade achievements, especially regarding his External Incarnation. His goal is always the highest possible grade.
• Moral restraint amid self-interest: Although Chen Qiu exploits fame, wealth, and other people’s efforts, he still rejects methods that violate his personal values, particularly using children as tools for luck.
• The cost of relentless productivity: The shopkeeper’s exhaustion shows that Chen Qiu’s efficient system depends on overworked subordinates, hinting at the darker and increasingly absurd side of his organization.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu praises Liu Zide’s results but questions whether his reputation-spreading methods can be reused elsewhere. Liu admits that he deliberately used slander because it was faster and apologizes for provoking powerful lineages.
• Chen Qiu reassures Liu that the operation is acceptable as long as proper etiquette—sending “fruit baskets”—was observed.
• The shopkeeper overhears the arrival of thousands of storage rings and reacts with dread, revealing how badly the endless workload has affected him.
• Chen Qiu recognizes that he has forgotten his promise to find the shopkeeper assistants and resolves to recruit disciples and maidservants after the current seclusion.
• Chen Qiu orders the Brown Bear to warn outsiders away from Mocking Heaven Sect’s territory following the cave-abode announcement.
• Chen Qiu summons the Buddhist patriarch through the Sky Axe Sect Master to investigate how a one-day Rainbow Trait was used to create a high-grade Nascent Soul.
• The chapter ends with the new Twelfth-Grade External Incarnation completed and Chen Qiu’s name being proclaimed once again by a continent-wide Heavenly Dao Edict, setting up renewed attention and conflict.

Chapter Summary: “Statue, Upgraded!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Heavenly Dao Edict announces that Chen Qiu has forged the first Twelfth-Grade, Heavenly Dao Apex External Incarnation in the Vast Continent’s history. He receives Prodigy Fortune and Fortune of a Hundred Calamities.
• The announcement shocks cultivators across the continent. The Sky Axe Sect Master realizes that Chen Qiu will eventually possess a guaranteed Twelfth-Grade Body Integration Killing Move, potentially allowing him to dominate even late-stage Integrated Body cultivators.
• The Buddhist Sect Patriarch and Azure Mountain Palace Patriarch, summoned to the Dao Sect, acknowledge that Chen Qiu’s strength has likely increased enormously, despite not fully understanding the significance of the achievement.
• At the Celestial Palace, Chen Qiu discovers that his twelve milestone-mission statues are reacting to his breakthrough. The first statue shatters and replays his feat of slaughtering the Evil Race while at the Golden Core Realm.
• The statue’s power enters his External Incarnation, raising it from Twelfth Grade to Thirteenth Grade. The remaining eleven statues do the same, ultimately elevating the External Incarnation to an unprecedented Twenty-Fourth Grade.
• This means Chen Qiu will eventually possess a Twenty-Fourth-Grade Body Integration Killing Move, an ability so powerful that even peak Integrated Body experts would likely require special life-saving treasures or rule-based Traits to survive it.
• The twelve statues reform as small, powerless decorations, which Chen Qiu stores in his Minor World.
• The upgrade also affects other former milestone-mission holders. Because some are already in the Body Integration Realm, their External Incarnation upgrades convert directly into improvements to their Body Integration Killing Arts.
• Xian Yi, a powerful Integrated Body Peak Stage cultivator from the Endless Continent, sees his killing art rise from Ninth Grade to Eleventh Grade. Despite this increase, he is horrified by Chen Qiu’s Twenty-Fourth-Grade potential and begins hoping Chen Qiu will fail to reach Body Integration before the Sole King Contest.
• The former King of Pingxi, now living as a spectator after abandoning his throne, remains unconcerned by Chen Qiu’s rise. He reflects on how the Mocking Heaven Sect has accumulated enormous wealth and resources to support Chen Qiu’s cultivation.
• The chapter ends with a mysterious barefoot fairy visiting the Peaceful Prefecture Patriarch. After their encounter, his lost Red Trait, “Fairy’s First Night,” returns, granting him lifelong good fortune. The fairy explains that the favor is repaying a debt owed to his ancestor and declares that their karmic connection is now severed.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu: Advances from possessing an extraordinary Twelfth-Grade External Incarnation to an completely unprecedented Twenty-Fourth-Grade one. His future combat power becomes practically unmatched, reinforcing his status as the leading contender for the Sole King.
• Sky Axe Sect Master: Becomes increasingly convinced that Chen Qiu is destined to dominate the upcoming struggle, while maintaining a rational understanding of the difference between theoretical and actual combat strength.
• Buddhist Sect Patriarch: Though still uneasy because of his past grievances with Chen Qiu, he now feels pride in Chen Qiu’s achievements and hopes his own past assistance contributed to Chen Qiu’s rise.
• Xian Yi: His confidence collapses. Once proud of being an unrivaled prodigy and strongest expert in Endless Province, he now sees Chen Qiu as an overwhelming threat and fears dying before reaching the Third-Grade Continent.
• Peaceful Prefecture Patriarch: Fully embraces his role as an observer after abandoning the Pingxi Throne. His encounter with the fairy restores his fortune-based Red Trait, potentially protecting him from future danger.

Significant Themes

• Accumulation and delayed rewards: Chen Qiu’s earlier milestone missions and statue rewards ultimately produce an extraordinary benefit only after he forges an External Incarnation.
• The gap between genius and supremacy: Even elite prodigies such as Xian Yi are rendered insignificant when faced with Chen Qiu’s unprecedented advancement.
• Fate, fortune, and karmic ties: Fortune repeatedly shapes the characters’ destinies, especially through Chen Qiu’s rewards and the fairy’s restoration of the Peaceful Prefecture Patriarch’s Trait.
• The importance of timing: Chen Qiu’s decision to forge the correct External Incarnation before activating the statue rewards prevents him from wasting an opportunity that could have permanently caused regret.
• Survival over pride: The former Pingxi King chooses humiliation and safety over continuing a contest that would likely end in death.

Important Character Interactions

• The Sky Axe Sect Master discusses Chen Qiu’s achievement internally while awaiting his arrival.
• The Buddhist Sect Patriarch and Azure Mountain Palace Patriarch travel together to meet Chen Qiu, with the Buddhist Sect Patriarch showing both apprehension and admiration.
• Chen Qiu instructs the Brown Bear to notify him when the Sky Axe Sect Master arrives, reflecting his continued control over the Celestial Palace.
• Chen Qiu reassures the Brown Bear through a simple gesture, while the guard’s reverence for him deepens after witnessing the upgrade.
• The Peaceful Prefecture Patriarch recalls the Mocking Heaven Sect’s resource-gathering activities and their visit to his clan.
• The mysterious fairy interacts directly with the Peaceful Prefecture Patriarch, restoring his Trait while formally ending the karmic relationship between their lineages.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Peaceful Prefecture Ancestor regains the powerful Red Trait “Fairy’s First Night” after another fairy descends and temporarily uses his body. This restores his confidence that, within a year, his randomized combat traits will return him to peak strength.
• Although he realizes he could once again compete for the Sole King position, he ultimately chooses not to pursue it. After a lifetime of rises and falls, he decides that survival and a comfortable place among the upper-middle ranks are more valuable than risking everything for supremacy.
• He speculates that Chen Qiu, Master of the Mocking Heaven Sect, is the most likely future Sole King due to his mysterious strength, powerful external incarnation, and growing influence.
• The Sky Axe Sect Master and the Buddhist Sect Ancestor visit Chen Qiu at the Celestial Palace. Chen Qiu asks about the Rainbow Trait “Heavenly Dao Apex,” which the Buddhist Sect once used in a temporary form.
• The trait’s true effect is revealed: whenever the possessor breaks through a major realm, their Golden Core, Nascent Soul, domain, External Incarnation, killing art, and similar foundations are automatically upgraded to Twelfth Grade—the Heavenly Dao Apex, without prerequisite conditions or materials.
• Chen Qiu learns that the Buddhist Sect’s one-day version of the trait only helped its disciple satisfy the requirements for a Ten-Rank Nascent Soul; the trait’s full effect did not activate because the Heavenly Dao does not recognize temporary possession as sufficient.
• Chen Qiu gives the visiting sect leaders tea from his hometown and returns to seclusion. He plans to cultivate to the Peak Void Refinement Realm, then prepare for Body Integration.
• The chapter briefly shows the consequences of Chen Qiu’s earlier actions: Young Master Qi and the White Crane Daoist remain imprisoned in separate spiritless Minor Worlds. Young Master Qi has fallen into mental numbness and despair, while White Crane Daoist resorts to crude self-entertainment to cope with endless isolation.
• A catastrophic Heavenly Dao Edict announces that Pingxi Continent has collapsed completely, killing all its inhabitants and removing it from existence. Because the Vast Continent has lost one of its twelve supporting Lower-Rank Continents, the entire Vast Continent will gradually collapse within ten thousand years.
• Chen Qiu realizes that Pingxi Continent’s destruction has removed the cultivation-speed bonus from his “Far-Reaching Fame” trait, reducing his cultivation speed twentyfold.
• The announcement causes widespread panic, though many low-level cultivators dismiss the disaster because they expect to die long before the ten-thousand-year deadline. An immortal Qi Refining cultivator, however, becomes deeply worried because he may still be alive when the Vast Continent collapses.

Character Developments

• Peaceful Prefecture Ancestor: Regains ambition but ultimately chooses caution and longevity over domination. His outlook shifts from competing for supremacy to preserving a peaceful, stable life.
• Chen Qiu: Demonstrates his overwhelming advantage over ordinary cultivators. The Heavenly Dao Apex trait, while extraordinary for others, is inferior to his already superior foundations. He remains focused on cultivation and shows increasing awareness of the broader structure and fragility of the world.
• Sky Axe Sect Master and Buddhist Sect Ancestor: Treat Chen Qiu with great respect, recognizing his growing authority and power. Their interactions show how completely Chen Qiu’s status has risen.
• Brown Bear: Acts as the formal gatekeeper of the Mocking Heaven Sect, maintaining a cold and dignified appearance to represent the sect despite his low cultivation.
• Young Master Qi: Has been psychologically broken by prolonged isolation and the absence of spiritual energy. His resentment toward Chen Qiu remains, but his mind is gradually becoming dull and unstable.
• White Crane Daoist: His dignity as a Body Integration expert has collapsed under imprisonment and boredom, leading him to engage in humiliating behavior simply to occupy himself.
• Wang Jiu, the immortal tavern customer: Revealed to possess the Gray Trait “Immortality.” Unlike ordinary cultivators, he has a personal stake in the distant destruction of the Vast Continent and realizes that his immortality may ultimately become a curse.

Significant Themes

• Choosing survival over ambition: The Peaceful Prefecture Ancestor embodies the decision to withdraw from competition rather than risk death pursuing the highest position.
• The snowball effect of foundations: Chen Qiu reflects on how small advantages early in cultivation can compound into enormous differences later. The Heavenly Dao Apex trait represents the ultimate correction of flawed foundations.
• The limits of temporary power: A temporary or one-day trait may satisfy a technical requirement but cannot necessarily reproduce the lasting effects of a permanent trait.
• Isolation and psychological deterioration: Young Master Qi and White Crane Daoist demonstrate how endless solitude, sensory deprivation, and lack of spiritual energy can destroy even powerful cultivators.
• Individual indifference versus long-term responsibility: Ordinary people dismiss the ten-thousand-year catastrophe because it lies beyond their lifetimes, while immortal beings and future generations face the consequences directly.
• The fragility of the world: The Vast Continent is compared to a table supported by twelve legs; the destruction of Pingxi Continent reveals that the entire world may be much closer to collapse than anyone realized.

Character Interactions

• The Peaceful Prefecture Ancestor privately reflects on his relationship with the two fairies who granted him the same advantageous trait and discusses Chen Qiu’s likely rise to power.
• The Sky Axe Sect Master respectfully asks the Brown Bear to announce his arrival, acknowledging the authority of even a low-level Mocking Heaven Sect gatekeeper.
• The Buddhist Sect Ancestor submits the jade slip describing Heavenly Dao Apex to Chen Qiu and explains why its temporary version failed to show its full power.
• Chen Qiu courteously rewards the visiting sect leaders with tea, contrasting his overwhelming status with his casual, almost friendly treatment of them.
• The tavern conversation between the drunken cultivator and the owner contrasts short-lived cultivators’ indifference toward the future with Wang Jiu’s fear of surviving long enough to witness the world’s destruction.

Chapter Summary: “My... My Hometown Is Gone???”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wang Jiu reflects on his immortality. His lifespan is infinite, but his cultivation is permanently stuck at the Qi Refining Realm. However, his immortality allows him to use lifespan-consuming techniques without fear, giving him overwhelming combat power within his realm.
• In Cloud City, Zhang Kui and the Beast Taming Sect Master discuss the apparent destruction of the world. They believe the disaster may occur thousands of years later, but recognize that they are unlikely to reach a higher realm before then.
• July Cat remains confident that Chen Qiu can solve the crisis. Her faith comes from having secretly watched Chen Qiu rise from the Foundation Establishment Realm onward, even though he has never noticed her existence.
• Chen Qiu deduces that the world is structured like a pyramid of continents:
  • Twelve First-Grade Continents support each Second-Grade Continent.
  • Higher-grade continents rest upon the layers beneath them.
  • If enough low-grade continents collapse, the destruction will spread upward until the entire world is annihilated.
• Using a tower of blocks as an analogy, Chen Qiu realizes that low-grade continents—not the powerful upper continents—are the true foundation of the world.
• He suspects that powerful figures from higher-grade continents have been descending to repair “Sky Caverns” and delay the collapse. He wonders whether the Mystic Heaven Sect Saintess was one such agent, sent to repair Mystic Heaven Continent.
• Chen Qiu regrets exiling the Saintess before interrogating her, though he recognizes that her Merit Attack Token made her too dangerous to question safely.
• He concludes that the higher continents may simply lack the manpower and resources to repair every damaged lower continent. He resolves to focus on cultivation, believing greater strength is his only reliable means of surviving the crisis.
• Pingxi Continent is destroyed. An elderly survivor in Pingxi Province realizes that his relatives and ancestral descendants on the continent have died, while he survived only because he returned early. He is disturbed by the suggestion that he alone was recognized as the true surviving member of his ancestral line, but chooses not to investigate further.
• The destruction of Pingxi Continent causes widespread grief throughout the Vast Continent, especially in Pingxi Province. Public attention briefly shifts away from Chen Qiu’s powerful external incarnation.
• In an isolated Minor World, Young Master Qi remains trapped, lonely, spiritually exhausted, and mentally unstable. He uses his own faceless Void Refinement Avatar for stimulation and blames Chen Qiu for reducing him to this miserable state.
• Chen Qiu successfully breaks through to the Void Refinement Eighth Layer. He hopes to eventually reach the Body Integration Realm and obtain stronger Supreme Grade Traits.
• Upon breaking through, Chen Qiu receives three possible Traits:
  1. Time Freeze — extends summon durations to one hundred years.
  2. Oxen and Horses in Herds — allows summoned creatures to randomly gain one of Chen Qiu’s Traits.
  3. Purple Qi Surging — strengthens Purple Traits but weakens all other grades.
• Chen Qiu rejects the first Trait because his summons already have no time limit, and rejects the third because weakening his non-Purple Traits would damage his overall combinations.
• He prepares to select Oxen and Horses in Herds, which could potentially turn his immortal Little Ant into an extraordinarily powerful summon.
• Using Fortune Approaches, he rerolls the third option. The replacement Trait is so strange that Chen Qiu is left speechless.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu becomes more aware of the world’s larger structure and the severity of the continental collapse. Rather than panic, he adopts a pragmatic strategy: cultivate first and investigate later.
• His intelligence and strategic thinking are emphasized through his deduction that the world functions as a hierarchical, collapsing foundation.
• July Cat demonstrates unwavering faith in Chen Qiu, based on her long-term observation of his growth. Her persistence and secret attachment to him become clearer.
• Young Master Qi suffers severe psychological deterioration from isolation and confinement, turning toward increasingly bizarre behavior while directing intense hatred at Chen Qiu.
• The elderly survivor of Pingxi Continent experiences grief and survivor’s guilt, while also becoming suspicious about the legitimacy of his ancestral relatives.
• Wang Jiu is presented as nearly powerless against the world-ending crisis despite his immortality, highlighting the limitations of his fixed cultivation.

Significant Themes

• The fragility of civilization: The strongest regions depend on the weakest layers beneath them, making low-grade continents more important than their inhabitants realize.
• The limits of immortality and power: Infinite lifespan does not guarantee influence or survival when one’s cultivation is restricted.
• Cultivation as security: Chen Qiu views strength as the only dependable protection in an unstable world.
• Hidden powers and incomplete knowledge: The origins of the Saintess, the true workings of the continents, and the causes of the Sky Caverns remain uncertain.
• Isolation and psychological collapse: Young Master Qi’s imprisonment illustrates how loneliness and helplessness can destroy a person’s sanity.
• Absurdity amid catastrophe: The destruction of continents is contrasted with humorous or bizarre moments, including July Cat’s meowing and Young Master Qi’s behavior with his avatar.
• Trait synergy over raw quality: Chen Qiu values how Traits interact rather than judging them solely by grade, reinforcing his analytical and inventive approach to power.

Important Character Interactions

• Zhang Kui and the Beast Taming Sect Master argue over whether the world’s destruction is worth worrying about, while July Cat silently reflects that death may come from Chen Qiu before the cosmic disaster.
• Xiao Yue questions why July Cat makes cat noises despite being a fox, but July Cat cannot explain herself and simply ignores her.
• Chen Qiu mentally revisits his encounter with the Mystic Heaven Sect Saintess, considering what her actions may reveal about the higher continents.
• Young Master Qi’s “interaction” with his own avatar reflects both his mental deterioration and his hatred toward Chen Qiu.
• Chen Qiu studies and experiments with his Little Ant, treating it as a potentially immortal scout, weapon, and future vessel for powerful Traits.

Chapter Summary: “Automatic Wooden Fish, AFK Worship!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu rerolls a trait and obtains the Pink Trait “Nightly Revelry,” which doubles all cultivation progress after bedding one thousand opposite-sex members of the same race, with the bonus increasing dramatically as the number rises.
• Although the trait could produce absurd cultivation speed, Chen Qiu rejects it because it conflicts with his values, consumes enormous physical and spiritual resources, encourages immoral behavior, and would leave him weak in combat despite his high cultivation.
• He instead selects “Oxen and Horses in Herds,” which allows summoned creatures to randomly gain traits.
• A continent-wide Heavenly Dao Edict announces several changes:
  • Trait panels now have anonymous Comment Sections.
  • Series Traits and Series-Trait Secret Realms are introduced.
  • New immortal residences, mounts, and realms become available.
  • The highest-grade collapsed continent so far is Grade 3, signaling that the destruction of the continents is accelerating.
• Chen Qiu realizes the Heavenly Dao’s urgent tone suggests it may possess consciousness. He becomes more determined to cultivate quickly before the collapse of higher continents destroys the Vast Continent.
• He examines the Comment Section for his “Self-Destruct Trait,” discovering that cultivators disagree sharply about its usefulness. Wealthy cultivators can use it to discard unwanted traits, while ordinary cultivators often cannot afford to sacrifice any of their limited traits.
• Chen Qiu discovers that his “Dantian Expansion (Unique)” trait is unique across all continents. He posts the first comment under it and receives a wisp of Human Prodigy Fortune as a reward.
• He learns that the Heavenly Dao rewards the first person to comment under a trait, explaining why many cultivators rushed to post meaningless messages when the Comment Sections first appeared.
• While browsing comments, Chen Qiu finds examples of unusual and powerful trait combinations:
  • “Ant Carrying a Hammer” + “Slippery as an Eel” + “Fearless of Life and Death” can trap an enemy in uncontrollable teleportation for centuries, effectively creating permanent exile.
  • Some cultivators use ants to strike wooden fish mounted on their heads, allowing them to gain cultivation progress and Merit Value while remaining idle.
  • Others use swarms of ants to torment Buddhist cultivators by constantly striking them.
• The chapter ends with Chen Qiu realizing that the Comment Sections provide both entertainment and valuable inspiration for discovering trait combinations.

Character Development

• Chen Qiu demonstrates strong moral restraint by rejecting “Nightly Revelry,” despite recognizing its enormous potential. He prioritizes a proper cultivation path over shortcuts based on exploitation and indulgence.
• His fear of continental destruction deepens. He is not afraid of dying in battle, but he strongly resents the possibility of helplessly perishing because a higher continent collapses.
• Chen Qiu becomes more open to learning from other cultivators. The Comment Sections reduce his previous sense of isolation by revealing others who possess similar traits and creative strategies.
• He also becomes more aware of the Heavenly Dao’s apparent intelligence and its ability to reward, organize, and filter information.

Significant Themes

• Power versus morality: The strongest trait is not necessarily the right choice; Chen Qiu refuses power that would require corrupt or exploitative behavior.
• Creative trait combinations: The chapter emphasizes that even seemingly weak traits can become terrifying when combined intelligently.
• Information and communication: The Comment Sections create a new cross-continental network, allowing cultivators to exchange knowledge, although most remain unwilling to reveal truly valuable secrets.
• The looming collapse of the continents: The Heavenly Dao’s warning raises the stakes and forces cultivators to abandon slow, long-term plans in favor of rapid advancement.
• Isolation versus community: Chen Qiu’s discovery of people with similar traits gives him a rare sense of companionship and liveliness.
• Unexpected uses of power: Traits can be exploited in ways their creators never intended, such as using an ant to strike a wooden fish automatically while the cultivator cultivates passively.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu interacts primarily with the Heavenly Dao through its Edicts and Comment Sections.
• He indirectly encounters numerous anonymous cultivators whose comments reveal their successes, failures, grievances, and rivalries.
• Several commenters argue over Buddhist cultivators, demonic cultivation, and whether certain traits are useful or worthless.
• Chen Qiu particularly studies the stories of cultivators trapped by their own trait combinations, gaining insight into both the dangers and possibilities of trait-based cultivation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu studies the latest Heavenly Dao changes. The most important additions are:
  • Trait comment sections, though they currently contain little useful information.
  • Series Traits, upgradeable Traits that grow stronger through resources and cultivation.
  • Series-Trait Heavenly Dao Secret Realms, which temporarily have an increased chance of producing Series Traits.
• He wonders whether grades beyond Rainbow Traits may exist, given the vast gap between Great Xia Kingdom and higher-level continents. He asks the Sky Axe Sect Master to inform him if a Series-Trait Secret Realm appears in Mystic Heaven Province.
• Chen Qiu continues cultivating toward the Peak Void Refinement Realm, intending eventually to break through to Body Integration and compete for the title of “Sole King.”
• In the Great Xia Kingdom, the Boundless Ice Wastes grow catastrophically colder. Fierce Baleful Wood spreads throughout Fat Prefecture, apparently as a natural defense against the cold. The Fat City Lord and Flying Fish City Lord fear that an unknown sealed monster may be awakening beneath the wastes.
• A Heavenly Dao Edict announces that Xia Xundao, the current emperor, has broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, becoming Great Xia’s first Nascent Soul Sky Prodigy. The Nascent Soul shackles throughout the kingdom disappear, allowing other Golden Core Peak cultivators to attempt breakthroughs.
• The Wang Family Head secretly gathers Fierce Baleful Wood and remains in Fortune City rather than leaving with Chen Qiu. His greatest secret is a horrifying Weird Buddha statue that grants wishes in exchange for his flesh and blood.
• He uses one of his wishes to obtain a Nascent Soul Body, preparing for a stronger cultivation foundation. The Buddha has thirty-one beads, each corresponding to a wish; twenty-seven are now activated. He believes that lighting all the beads will reveal an unprecedented opportunity, unaware that the Buddha is becoming increasingly ferocious and pained as the Fierce Baleful Wood stockpile grows.
• On the Third-Grade Qi Tian Continent, a mutated Body Integration Realm youth learns that Pingxi Continent has been destroyed. He views Chen Qiu as a potential source of nourishment and intends to crush him if Chen Qiu reaches Qi Tian Continent.
• The Qi Tian youth possesses a terrifying Fifteenth-Grade Body Integration killing move, far beyond the Heavenly Dao Apex level, establishing him as a major future antagonist.
• After more than a month of cultivation, Chen Qiu reaches the Ninth Layer of Void Refinement and prepares to select his final Void Refinement Trait.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu becomes increasingly aware that his achievements may not represent the limits of the wider cultivation world. He remains focused and disciplined, continuing to cultivate despite discovering stronger realms, Trait grades, and opponents.
• Fat City Lord and Flying Fish City Lord shift from despair to hope after realizing the Nascent Soul shackles have vanished. They now believe they can eventually leave Great Xia and fight alongside Chen Qiu.
• Xia Xundao establishes himself as a historic figure by breaking through the kingdom’s Nascent Soul barrier, apparently benefiting from changes brought about by the Imperial Preceptor.
• The Wang Family Head is revealed as an ambitious, cautious, and secretive cultivator. He values Fortune City, preserves his connection to Chen Qiu’s past, and relies on the Weird Buddha to create his own path to power.
• The Weird Buddha becomes more ominous. Its growing pain and hostility suggest that its wishes may carry hidden consequences or that it is connected to the spreading crisis in Great Xia.
• The Qi Tian Continent youth is introduced as arrogant, predatory, and highly confident. He sees lower-continent prodigies as prey and takes pleasure in destroying their confidence.

Significant Themes

• The vastness of the cultivation world: Achievements considered miraculous in Great Xia may be ordinary or even primitive on higher-grade continents.
• Progress versus complacency: Chen Qiu’s success does not make him assume he has reached the pinnacle; he recognizes that stronger Trait grades and techniques may exist.
• Hope amid catastrophe: Great Xia faces possible annihilation, but the removal of the Nascent Soul shackles gives its cultivators a chance to rise and survive.
• Power and hidden costs: The Weird Buddha grants seemingly miraculous rewards, but each wish consumes the Wang Family Head’s flesh and may involve dangers he does not understand.
• The difference between courage and recklessness: The Qi Tian youth reflects on how prodigies often mistake reckless confidence for true courage, while preparing to test Chen Qiu’s limits.
• Pollution and mutation: Qi Tian Continent’s restricted Traits have transformed its people physically, showing how a continent’s environment and Heavenly Dao can shape—and distort—its cultivators.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu communicates with the Sky Axe Sect Master, asking him to monitor for Series-Trait Secret Realms.
• The Fat City Lord and Flying Fish City Lord discuss the Boundless Ice Wastes, the possible awakening beneath them, and the Great Xia Kingdom’s desperate situation. Their conversation changes after the Heavenly Dao Edict restores their hope.
• The Imperial Preceptor’s past actions connect Chen Qiu, the Great Xia cultivators, and the disappearance of the Nascent Soul shackles, though his current whereabouts remain unknown.
• The Wang Family Head’s history with Chen Qiu and Liu Zide explains why he was offered the chance to leave Great Xia but chose to stay behind.
• The Qi Tian youth’s interest in Chen Qiu establishes an impending confrontation between the lower-continent prodigy and a far more powerful opponent.
• The chapter ends with Chen Qiu standing at the threshold of his final Void Refinement Trait selection, while distant threats and opportunities begin converging around him.

Chapter Summary: “Heavenly Dao Trait Set, Grand Nine!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu remembers that he had never completed the trait roll granted by “Oxen and Horses in Herds.” He summons his small pitch-black ant and uses the trait, causing it to receive “Tenfold Casting.”
• Although the ant cannot cast spells and the trait initially seems useless, Chen Qiu discovers that it makes the ant swing its hammer ten times faster, giving the trait a limited practical use.
• After breaking through to the Ninth Layer of Void Refinement, Chen Qiu receives three trait choices:
  1. “Flames Traversing the World” — leaves a trail of flames wherever he moves.
  2. “Devour the Starry Sky” — massively strengthens the body through devouring and grants two additional body-cultivation traits, but consumes all existing traits and prevents future trait acquisition.
  3. “No Attacks on the Parents” — redirects attacks involving children and parents.
• Chen Qiu is impressed by “Devour the Starry Sky,” recognizing its potential to create a powerful body cultivator. However, he rejects it because it would erase his current traits, limit his future potential, and force him away from his stronger spell-cultivation path.
• He rerolls the second option and receives “Digital Life,” which grants an additional one-out-of-three trait selection. The trait requires him to choose a number from one to nine; Chen Qiu selects nine.
• The new choices are:

“Nine Oxen and Two Tigers”

“Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine Trait”

“Ninefold Casting”

• Chen Qiu realizes that “Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine Trait” introduces the concept of a Heavenly Dao Trait Set. Collecting all identical four-number traits from “One-One-One-One” through “Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine” will form the set “Grand Nine.”
• He rerolls “Nine Oxen and Two Tigers,” but receives the useless “Strength of Nine Oxen.”
• After comparing “Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine Trait” with “Ninefold Casting,” Chen Qiu chooses the former. He realizes its increased chance of obtaining other pure-number traits applies to all future trait draws, including those from the Trait Prize Pool, rather than only breakthrough selections.
• Chen Qiu sends the Sky Axe Sect Master to investigate Heavenly Dao Trait Sets and immediately travels toward the Heavenly Hall to begin collecting the remaining traits needed for “Grand Nine.”

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu demonstrates increasing caution and strategic foresight. He considers not only immediate combat strength but also long-term potential, trait compatibility, and possible loopholes or counters that future enemies might possess.
• His refusal to choose “Devour the Starry Sky” reinforces his commitment to the spell-cultivation path and his unwillingness to sacrifice a high upper limit for short-term power.
• He continues to think creatively about trait interactions, as shown by his discovery that “Tenfold Casting” improves the ant’s hammer speed and that “Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine Trait” can be exploited through the Trait Prize Pool.
• His ambitions expand from simply acquiring powerful traits to uncovering and completing a Heavenly Dao-recognized trait set.

Significant Themes

• Luck and inequality: Traits can overturn social status and destiny, allowing an overlooked person to rise rapidly—but random fortune can also create enormous, unfair gaps between people.
• Long-term strategy versus immediate power: Chen Qiu rejects an extremely powerful body-cultivation combination because it would damage his future potential and eliminate his existing advantages.
• Rules, loopholes, and preparation: The chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding the rules behind traits and preparing counters against rare, rule-level abilities such as “Permanent Exile.”
• The vastness of possibility: Across countless continents and worlds, even extraordinarily unlikely trait combinations are bound to appear somewhere.
• Collection and set-building: The discovery of Heavenly Dao Trait Sets introduces a new progression goal, suggesting that exact combinations recognized by the Heavenly Dao may possess effects beyond ordinary trait synergies.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu briefly interacts with Little Ant, experimenting with its new trait and discovering its enhanced hammer speed.
• He reflects on the Brown Bear Clan, whom he supports despite their limited practical value because they make his secluded home feel lively.
• He recalls a former Heavenward Sect true disciple with the “Sky-Piercing Giant” trait, highlighting how certain traits can transform an ordinary cultivator into a powerful body-cultivation talent.
• He orders the Sky Axe Sect Master to research Heavenly Dao Trait Sets, showing Chen Qiu’s influence and his reliance on subordinates to investigate newly discovered mysteries.
• The chapter also includes Chen Qiu’s imagined scenario of a downtrodden youth whose childhood rival receives “Devour the Starry Sky,” illustrating how traits reshape relationships, status, and personal destiny.

Chapter Summary: “So Then, Let the Gambling Begin!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu returns to Heavenly Hall to draw from the Trait Prize Pool, hoping to complete the Heavenly Dao Trait Set “Grand Nine.”
• His reputation as a ruthless powerhouse causes nearby cultivators to flee in fear. He has recently killed dozens of Void Refinement cultivators and created the first Twelfth-Grade External Incarnation in the Vast Continent.
• On his second draw, Chen Qiu obtains the One-One-One-One Trait, a Green Trait that permanently presets his breakthroughs and major abilities to First Grade in exchange for increased damage against higher-grade enemies. He considers it nearly useless but keeps it inactive because it is required for the Grand Nine set.
• Chen Qiu realizes that Heavenly Dao Trait Sets differ from folk Trait Sets:
  • Folk sets synergize through their effects.
  • Heavenly Dao sets are grouped primarily by matching names, even when their effects have no connection.
• He stays at the Heavenly Hall Inn to cultivate while waiting for the next day, since the prize pool can only be used once per day.
• Chen Qiu reflects on Liu Zide’s repeated journeys to gather Spirit Stones and cultivation resources. He jokingly compares Liu Zide to a “Traveling Frog” and plans to make him an elder responsible for the Mocking Heaven Sect’s external expansion and publicity.
• Meanwhile, the Sky Axe Sect’s sect master investigates Heavenly Dao Trait Sets but finds no information about them. He does acquire a rare Series Trait, “Lightning Encirclement,” which creates four permanent lightning halos around the user. The trait provides constant damage but is awkward, inconvenient, and of limited value to high-level cultivators.
• On the second day, Chen Qiu initially fails seven draws before obtaining the Two-Two-Two-Two Trait, a Purple Trait that grants an extra opportunity to choose one trait from three whenever he breaks through a major realm.
• On the third day, he spends sixty thousand Spirit Stones to obtain Four Four Four Four, a trait he had previously discarded but now needs for the Grand Nine set.
• By this point, Chen Qiu possesses the One, Two, Four, and Nine numerical traits. He concludes that his luck is naturally better than average and expects to complete Grand Nine within days.
• On the fourth day, he decides to use a rare wisp of Human Prodigy Fortune and draw from the other prize pools as well, setting up the chapter’s next round of gambling.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu remains calm, confident, and increasingly strategic. He does not waste Human Prodigy Fortune until ordinary Spirit Stone draws prove insufficient.
• He becomes more accepting of apparently useless traits, recognizing that collecting them is necessary to complete the Grand Nine set.
• His planning expands beyond personal cultivation: he intends to develop the Mocking Heaven Sect into a large-scale organization with Liu Zide and the sect master handling exploration, publicity, and resource gathering across many continents.
• Chen Qiu’s immense reputation continues to grow, giving him both wealth and psychological influence over ordinary cultivators.
• Liu Zide is portrayed humorously as Chen Qiu’s dependable “Traveling Frog,” repeatedly returning from expeditions with Spirit Stones and cultivation-speed benefits.
• The Sky Axe Sect’s sect master remains obedient and practical, gathering information and presenting questionable new traits to his mysterious senior for evaluation.
• The shopkeeper is increasingly nervous around Chen Qiu, fearing that bad luck in the prize pool might provoke the powerful cultivator.

Significant Themes

• Luck versus preparation: Chen Qiu distinguishes between traits that improve prize effects and genuine fluctuations in fortune. The Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine Trait influences what he obtains, but not whether a prize drops.
• Risk and gambling: The prize pool functions as a literal gamble, with Chen Qiu balancing Spirit Stone costs against rare consumables and potential rewards.
• Official versus folk systems: The chapter contrasts organically synergistic folk Trait Sets with Heavenly Dao sets formed through superficial numerical naming patterns.
• Power and reputation: Chen Qiu’s violent achievements make others fear him, while his Qiu Array Plates and miraculous history inspire hope and admiration among weaker cultivators.
• Resource networks and organizational power: Chen Qiu’s strength depends not only on cultivation but also on followers, expeditions, sect infrastructure, fame, and the steady acquisition of resources.
• Absurdity in cultivation culture: Traits with powerful-sounding names may have bizarre or crippling drawbacks, such as permanently surrounding oneself with lightning halos.

Character Interactions

• The shopkeeper treats Chen Qiu with extreme deference, congratulating him on lucky draws and worrying that failures may anger him.
• Chen Qiu notices supporters wearing Qiu Array Plates and silently praises them for contributing Spirit Stones to his cultivation.
• Chen Qiu’s relationship with Liu Zide is both exploitative and affectionate: he relies on Liu Zide’s expeditions but also recognizes the need to improve his cultivation and lifespan.
• Chen Qiu plans to promote Liu Zide and delegate major responsibilities to him, transforming their personal arrangement into an official sect role.
• The Sky Axe Sect’s sect master discusses the newly discovered Series Trait with his senior, leaving the final judgment of its usefulness to him.
• The increasingly large crowd around the prize pool shifts from fear to curiosity after seeing that Chen Qiu did not attack anyone, allowing his public image to evolve from terrifying murderer to legendary prodigy.

Chapter Summary: “Special Red Trait, Ten-Ten-Ten-Ten!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• On the fourth day of drawing traits, Chen Qiu consumes a wisp of Human Prodigy Fortune before entering the Trait Prize Pool.
• He obtains a Purple Trait, Ninefold Casting, on his first attempt. He then spends Spirit Stones on the other five prize pools, successfully acquiring treasures from six of seven attempts.
• His additional rewards include:
  • A decorative fountain-like special building for the Mocking Heaven Sect.
  • A lower-grade Void Refinement water-element spell.
  • A water-element spirit treasure.
  • The Night Assaults Heaven domain, which allows instant movement between opposite edges of the domain.
  • An incense stick that enables communication with anyone whose name and appearance Chen Qiu knows, regardless of distance or Heavenly Dao restrictions.
• Chen Qiu continues drawing traits over several days, spending enormous amounts of Spirit Stones. Eventually, he obtains the final missing trait: the Green Eight-Eight-Eight-Eight Trait.
• With all nine numbered four-repeated-digit traits assembled, he forms the

Heavenly Dao Trait Set, Grand Nine

• One-One-One-One through Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine.
• The Heavenly Dao announces throughout the Vast Continent that Chen Qiu is the first person in its history to create a Heavenly Dao Trait Set.
• He receives:
  • A fragment of the Heavenly Dao Trait Compendium.
  • One wisp of Heavenly Dao Fortune.
• Grand Nine grants three major effects:
  1. The effects of all activated traits from One-One-One-One through Eight-Eight-Eight-Eight are doubled.
  2. Chen Qiu obtains the unique Red Trait Ten-Ten-Ten-Ten, which cannot be acquired by other means.
  3. The grade of a Body Integration Killing Art increases by one level.
• Chen Qiu examines the trait’s comment section and learns that Grand Nine is relatively easy to assemble compared with other Heavenly Dao Trait Sets, though it is still rare across all continents.
• The compendium fragment reveals information about other sets, including:
  • Thousand-Hand Guanyin, formed through Dual Casting and Tenfold Casting.
  • Immortal at the Bottom of the Well, formed from four “well”-themed traits.
• Chen Qiu learns that there are eighty-one Heavenly Dao Trait Sets in total. Some have guiding traits, while others do not; twelve sets remain completely unclaimed.

Character Development

• Chen Qiu’s patience and willingness to invest enormous resources pay off. He continues drawing traits despite repeated failures and eventually completes Grand Nine.
• He develops a clearer understanding of how Human Prodigy Fortune works. It improves his probability of obtaining valuable or suitable rewards but cannot guarantee exactly what he wants.
• His reaction to Ninefold Casting shows his pragmatic judgment: although it is powerful, he recognizes that it is not immediately necessary and accepts acquiring it later.
• Completing Grand Nine significantly strengthens Chen Qiu’s long-term potential:
  • He can gain multiple trait-selection opportunities during future breakthroughs.
  • He can potentially guarantee access to Supreme Grade Traits.
  • His future Body Integration Killing Art will be raised from twenty-fourth-grade to twenty-fifth-grade.
• His status rises dramatically. He is now publicly recognized as the first Sky Prodigy of the Vast Continent to create a Heavenly Dao Trait Set.
• Despite this achievement, Chen Qiu remains aware of the enormous gap between different levels of Sky Prodigies and remembers feeling inferior upon arriving on the Vast Continent.

Significant Themes

• Luck versus control: Human Prodigy Fortune improves Chen Qiu’s odds but cannot perfectly fulfill his wishes, emphasizing that fortune is influence rather than absolute destiny.
• Persistence and resource investment: Chen Qiu’s repeated spending of Spirit Stones demonstrates how wealth, patience, and determination can eventually overcome low probability.
• The power of rules and combinations: Individually, the four-repeated-digit traits have limited synergy, but the Heavenly Dao’s rules transform them into an overwhelmingly powerful set.
• Recognition and hierarchy: Becoming a Sky Prodigy is not an absolute achievement; the chapter stresses that Sky Prodigies themselves exist within a strict hierarchy.
• The psychological burden of advancement: Chen Qiu recalls the disparity he felt when entering the Vast Continent, foreshadowing the challenges of reaching even higher levels.
• Knowledge as power: The fragment of the Heavenly Dao Trait Compendium expands Chen Qiu’s understanding of the wider system and reveals future goals and possibilities.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu has only minimal interaction with the shopkeeper and the surrounding spectators during his daily draws; the crowd reacts with increasing astonishment at his extraordinary success rate.
• He previously relied on the Sky Axe Sect Master to investigate Heavenly Dao Trait Sets, but the public Heavenly Dao announcement provides the information before that investigation reaches a conclusion.
• The communication incense gives Chen Qiu a potential means of contacting Liu Zide on the First-Grade Continent, overcoming the distance and restrictions separating them.
• The comment sections for Nine-Nine-Nine-Nine and Ten-Ten-Ten-Ten reveal a broader community of Heavenly Dao Trait Set owners, whose pride and elitism contrast with cultivators possessing ordinary White Traits.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu finishes his Heavenly Hall trip after spending nearly a million Spirit Stones to obtain the Heavenly Dao Trait Set “Grand Nine.”
• He examines his new Red Trait, “Ten-Ten-Ten-Ten,” which creates a temporary defensive shield when he kills an opponent of the same major realm in one strike.
• Before leaving, Chen Qiu hears that a Golden Core cultivator has jumped into the Trait Prize Pool and disappeared, but he does not investigate further.
• Upon returning to the Celestial Palace, Chen Qiu receives a distress call from the Seventh Prince, his former disciple and companion from the Great Xia Kingdom.
• The Seventh Prince is severely injured and imprisoned by the Chen Family, whose young prodigy, Chen Pingde, resents Chen Qiu for overshadowing him. After Chen Qiu left the Mystic Heaven Continent, the family took out their accumulated hatred on the Seventh Prince.
• Chen Qiu arrives on the Lower-Rank Continent, rescues the Seventh Prince, and confronts the Chen Family.
• Chen Pingde openly admits that he captured the Seventh Prince because he was jealous of Chen Qiu’s fame and refused to remain a “backdrop” to another prodigy.
• Although Chen Pingde offers his life in exchange for sparing the family, Chen Qiu kills the entire Chen Family after they have humiliated him by harming his disciple. Using his Void Refinement Domains, he reduces the family and their mountain to ash.
• Afterward, Chen Qiu and the Seventh Prince discuss the prince’s escape from Great Xia Kingdom. The prince explains that he defeated the Sword Cultivator Puppet only because a Heavenly Dao Phenomenon briefly paralyzed it during his ninth attempt.
• The Seventh Prince chooses to remain on the Mystic Heaven Continent and grow independently rather than follow Chen Qiu to the Vast Continent.
• To protect him, Chen Qiu uses a stored Heavenly Dao Edict to publicly threaten the entire continent: if his disciple dies in any province, everyone in that province will be buried with him.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Qiu remains overwhelmingly powerful, confident, and methodical, but his reaction to the Seventh Prince reveals strong attachment and pride. He is also highly conscious of reputation and sees an attack on his disciple as an insult to himself.
• He shifts from merely rescuing the Seventh Prince to formally acknowledging him as a true disciple, fulfilling his old promise that escape from Great Xia Kingdom would earn that recognition.
• The Seventh Prince has developed into a determined sword cultivator who escaped Great Xia Kingdom in only one year and became the Great Xia Kingdom’s strongest sword cultivator. Despite his defeat and near-death experience, he refuses to rely permanently on Chen Qiu and chooses to build his own strength.
• His belief in effort, persistence, and luck allows him to interpret his miraculous escape as something he earned rather than mere coincidence.
• Chen Pingde is revealed as a proud, insecure prodigy whose resentment comes from constantly being overshadowed. His dramatic willingness to die shows both genuine courage and a strong desire for recognition.

3. Significant Themes

• Pride, reputation, and face: Chen Qiu’s vengeance is motivated not only by concern for his disciple but also by the humiliation of having his disciple defeated and imprisoned by a weak faction.
• Mentorship and parental responsibility: The chapter humorously treats Chen Qiu as a powerful parent figure who must intervene when his “child” loses, while also emphasizing that the Seventh Prince must eventually stand on his own.
• Independence versus protection: The Seventh Prince rejects the safety of following Chen Qiu, choosing hardship and personal growth instead.
• Effort and luck: The discussion of the prince’s escape suggests that miracles arise when persistence creates the opportunity for luck to matter.
• The absurd gap between realms: Chen Qiu treats continent-shaking Heavenly Dao Edicts and the destruction of a Spirit Transformation faction almost casually, highlighting how far he has surpassed the people of the Lower-Rank Continent.
• Performative heroism: Chen Pingde’s dramatic speech and desire for a glorious death are mocked as a “script-driven” personality, contrasting theatrical pride with Chen Qiu’s effortless dominance.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu and the Seventh Prince reunite as master and disciple. Their conversation mixes genuine affection with sarcasm, as Chen Qiu criticizes him for only calling home when he is about to die.
• Chen Qiu gives the prince healing pills, rescues him, and questions the reason for his persecution.
• The Seventh Prince confidently explains his escape and argues that his persistence earned him the miracle that saved him.
• Chen Qiu mocks the prince’s exaggerated pride but ultimately acknowledges his achievement and formally accepts him as a disciple.
• Chen Qiu confronts the Chen Family ancestor, who begs for mercy and offers Chen Pingde as a sacrifice.
• Chen Pingde challenges Chen Qiu directly, confessing his jealousy and demanding that his family be spared.
• Chen Qiu rejects the offer, destroys the entire family, and then issues a continent-wide warning to ensure that no one will dare harm the Seventh Prince again.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu formally accepts the Seventh Prince as his disciple, honoring his earlier promise that he would do so if the prince escaped the Great Xia Kingdom.
• He gives the Seventh Prince a storage ring filled with valuable cultivation resources, including Trait Jade Slips, sword techniques, spiritual treasures, talismans, Spirit Transformation resources, threads of Prodigy Fortune and Heavenly Dao Fortune, and 100,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• The Seventh Prince is initially determined to rely on himself, but the abundance of resources overwhelms his resolve, and he gratefully accepts them.
• Chen Qiu returns to the Vast Continent and resumes cultivation in the Celestial Palace. Factions on the Mystic Heaven Continent, fearing his influence, investigate their past interactions with the Seventh Prince and try to distance themselves from any possible wrongdoing.
• After nearly a year of seclusion, Chen Qiu reaches the Peak Void Refinement Realm. However, Mocking Heaven Sect’s Spirit Stones are nearly exhausted, forcing him to end his seclusion.
• The sect possesses vast quantities of heavenly materials, treasures, spiritual weapons, and miscellaneous resources, but converting them into usable Spirit Stones is difficult.
• Fat Dragon emerges from cultivation and asks Chen Qiu to find stronger female dragon partners because his current Spirit Transformation partners are no longer sufficiently effective. Chen Qiu agrees to look for suitable partners among the Dragon Race’s main lineage.
• Fat Dragon asks about the twelve statues formerly displayed in the Celestial Palace. Chen Qiu reveals that he has reduced them to twelve miniature statues, but gives no further explanation.
• Ao Tian learns that Chen Qiu has reached Peak Void Refinement while he remains only halfway to the Second Level. Feeling that he may eventually become a burden, Ao Tian considers returning to the Dragon Race’s main lineage once the Province-Land Shackles disappear.
• Chen Qiu reassures Ao Tian that companionship and loyalty matter more than cultivation speed, and encourages him to continue following him.
• A massive combined Heavenly Tribulation suddenly descends on Chen Qiu. Because previous Void Refinement tribulations never appeared, the Heavenly Dao has seemingly merged them into one overwhelming trial involving Thunder, Fire, Wind, and Heart-Demon Tribulations.
• While Chen Qiu faces the tribulation, the Brown Bears remain focused on hibernating and relieving their winter constipation, providing comic relief and highlighting the contrast between Chen Qiu’s crisis and their indifference.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu demonstrates generosity and loyalty by investing heavily in the Seventh Prince’s future, despite privately regretting the loss of his precious Fortune resources. He also shows that he values friendship and personal bonds over pure strength.
• The Seventh Prince officially becomes Chen Qiu’s disciple. His determination to cultivate independently weakens when faced with Chen Qiu’s overwhelming generosity, revealing both his pride and his practical willingness to accept help.
• Ao Tian experiences a crisis of confidence after realizing how far Chen Qiu has surpassed him. He begins to doubt whether he can remain useful, but Chen Qiu restores his confidence by affirming that friends do not need to match one another’s strength.
• Fat Dragon continues to advance through dual cultivation, reaching the Sixth Level of Spirit Transformation, but remains dependent on stronger partners to maintain his progress.
• The Brown Bears remain comically lazy and instinct-driven, choosing hibernation over cultivation despite having access to excellent resources.

Significant Themes

• Friendship beyond strength: Chen Qiu insists that companions do not need to be equally powerful to have value. Emotional support and shared experiences are presented as essential on the lonely path of cultivation.
• Generosity and loyalty: Chen Qiu keeps his promise to the Seventh Prince and supports him despite the cost, showing that his relationships are not based solely on utility.
• The burden of overwhelming talent: Ao Tian’s discouragement illustrates how Chen Qiu’s extraordinary growth can make even hardworking allies feel insignificant.
• Resource abundance versus practical wealth: Mocking Heaven Sect owns enormous quantities of valuable goods, but cannot easily convert them into Spirit Stones, emphasizing the difference between possessing resources and having usable wealth.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter contrasts enormous cultivation crises—such as the Heavenly Tribulation—with mundane or absurd behavior, especially Fat Dragon’s requests and the Brown Bears’ hibernation and constipation.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu and the Seventh Prince share a master-disciple exchange marked by Chen Qiu’s teasing, the prince’s deadpan reactions, and his eventual amazement at the gift.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon discuss cultivation partners, dragon offspring, and the mysterious missing statues, reinforcing their informal and humorous relationship.
• Chen Qiu comforts Ao Tian after Ao Tian expresses fear of falling behind and eventually separating from him. Their conversation deepens their brotherly bond.
• Chen Qiu orders Fat Dragon to investigate the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples’ progress after their year of seclusion.
• The Young Chief and Old Chief of the Brown Bears argue over their clan’s refusal to cultivate during winter, adding comic commentary while Chen Qiu’s tribulation unfolds in the background.

Chapter Summary: “Body Integration Tribulation, Descend!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu undergoes an immense heavenly tribulation after accumulating the tribulations from breaking through the nine minor realms of Void Refinement.
• Hundreds of lightning bolts, along with Wind, Fire, and Heart-Demon Tribulations, descend simultaneously. However, their individual power is surprisingly weak, and Chen Qiu easily endures them.
• His traits—especially Exquisite-Grade Lightning Dharma Physique, Merit Protection, and multiple protective-casting traits—allow him to absorb the lightning and strengthen his body and Lightning-Channeling Art rather than suffer harm.
• After the tribulation ends, Chen Qiu deliberately sustains violent wind and rain with his Lightning-Channeling Art, enjoying the calm atmosphere it creates.
• He reflects on his many accumulated advantages, including his immense Merit Value, powerful cultivation foundation, high-grade External Incarnation, and twenty-four Nascent Souls.
• Convinced that he is fully prepared, Chen Qiu begins attempting his breakthrough into the Body Integration Realm.
• A vastly more terrifying tribulation forms. Its pressure spreads across thousands of miles, forcing humans, beasts, and even normally immobile Tree Demons to flee.
• The Sky Axe Sect’s sect master arrives with gifts, expecting to congratulate Chen Qiu after his breakthrough, only to realize that the earlier tribulation was merely an appetizer and that the true Body Integration Tribulation is now descending.
• The chapter ends as tens of thousands of lightning arcs gather overhead, with everyone questioning whether even Chen Qiu can survive the seemingly near-Immortal-Ascension-level tribulation.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu remains overwhelmingly confident in his abilities. He treats the earlier combined tribulations as harmless training and views the lightning as beneficial to his cultivation.
• His character also shows a quieter, more reflective side: he enjoys storms because their violence brings him inner peace and a sense of purification.
• Despite his confidence, the enormous pressure of the true Body Integration Tribulation causes him a brief moment of doubt. He reassesses his methods, eats an Eight Desolations Fruit for additional insurance, and acknowledges that he may have begun the breakthrough too impulsively.
• Fat Dragon continues to display absolute faith in Chen Qiu, treating the terrifying tribulation as merely an impressive spectacle.
• Ao Tian provides a more realistic assessment, warning that the tribulation could kill even a late-Body-Integration cultivator.
• The Sky Axe Sect’s sect master becomes increasingly shocked by Chen Qiu’s abnormal foundations and begins to realize how extraordinary—and dangerous—the Mocking Heaven Sect is.

Significant Themes

• The disproportionate consequences of extraordinary talent: Chen Qiu’s supreme-grade cultivation foundations cause the Heavenly Dao to produce an absurdly powerful tribulation.
• Heavenly tribulation as both punishment and reward: The lightning fails to harm Chen Qiu and instead strengthens his body and techniques.
• Confidence versus fate: Chen Qiu believes his Merit Value and defensive traits can overcome anything, yet he recognizes that survival ultimately depends on whether fate permits it.
• The Dao as something personal: Chen Qiu’s ability to create rain and wind according to his mood represents cultivation as more than pursuing immortality—it is also achieving freedom over nature and one’s surroundings.
• The absurdity and humor of power escalation: What should be an ordinary breakthrough becomes a disaster on a continental scale, while the characters casually debate whether it resembles an Immortal Ascension Tribulation.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu’s followers, led by Fat Dragon, gather at the Celestial Palace to encourage him before the breakthrough. Their behavior resembles a farewell ceremony, though Chen Qiu finds their reaction excessive.
• Fat Dragon confidently assures the others that Chen Qiu will survive and suggests they can protect his Dao if necessary.
• Ao Tian challenges this optimism, stating that the tribulation could kill even a late-Body-Integration cultivator. His comment makes the proposed “protection” sound more like suicide.
• The Sky Axe Sect’s sect master overhears that Fat Dragon possesses an impossibly high-grade Five-Clawed Golden Dragon bloodline and is stunned, though he ultimately accepts it as another inexplicable feature of the Mocking Heaven Sect.
• The chapter closes with the observers retreating instinctively from the forming tribulation while Chen Qiu prepares to face it alone.

Chapter Summary: “First-Rank Heavenly Tribulation, Heaven-Slayer Thunder Tribulation!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A terrifying Heavenly Tribulation descends as Chen Qiu attempts to break through from the Peak Void Refinement Realm. The first bolt is revealed to be an unprecedented First-Rank Heavenly Tribulation, far beyond any ordinary Body Integration Tribulation.
• Chen Qiu returns briefly to the Celestial Palace while badly bloodied, retrieves the Demon-Subduing Pagoda, and deliberately draws the tribulation away from the others.
• The Sky Axe Sect’s sect master initially considers fleeing, but remains because he trusts Chen Qiu and believes Chen Qiu would not endanger them without a purpose. Fat Dragon instead morbidly researches whether dying in the tribulation would allow them to continue their relationship in the Yin Realm.
• Chen Qiu endures the first Thunder Tribulation using his massive Merit Value and the Merit Protection trait. The lightning is accompanied by increasingly powerful Wind, Fire, and other tribulation forces, destroying dozens of defensive spirit treasures.
• Before the second bolt, Chen Qiu activates five Fourteenth-Grade Domains: Infinite Spiritual Energy, Three Thousand Thunder Motions, Snow Gives Birth to All Things, Spell Amplification, and Physical Body Amplification.
• He attempts to use the Ten-Ten-Ten-Ten trait by killing captives from the Demon-Subduing Pagoda to generate protective shields. His initial timing fails because the Thunder Tribulation destroys the shield before the Wind Tribulation arrives, but he adjusts his method and successfully blocks much of the third tribulation’s Wind Tribulation.
• By the fifth tribulation, the captives in the pagoda have been exhausted, and the mixed Fire Tribulation makes the shield strategy increasingly ineffective. Chen Qiu then activates Body-Magic Conversion, greatly strengthening his physical body and allowing him to withstand the sixth, seventh, and eighth tribulations.
• The ninth bolt is vastly stronger than the previous eight combined. Chen Qiu disappears beneath its destructive force, causing everyone to fear that he has died.
• A Heavenly Dao Edict announces that Chen Qiu has successfully overcome the “Heaven-Slayer Thunder Tribulation,” becoming the first person in Vast Continent history to survive a First-Rank Heavenly Tribulation. He receives Peerless Fortune, Heavenly Dao Fortune, and a temporary Rainbow Trait.
• Fat Dragon, Ao Tian, and the others rush to the devastated site and find Chen Qiu unconscious in a massive crater, covered in grievous wounds and barely alive. He still tightly holds the broken Heavenly Secrets Umbrella, while countless spirit treasures and several shattered Nascent Souls lie scattered around him.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu demonstrates exceptional preparation, adaptability, and ruthlessness. He uses Merit Value, Domains, spirit treasures, captives, healing pills, and bodily enhancement traits in succession, constantly revising his tactics when his plans fail.
• Although he appears severely injured, Chen Qiu internally recognizes that the first tribulation caused mainly superficial wounds. His condition deteriorates drastically only during the final tribulations, particularly the ninth.
• The Sky Axe Sect’s sect master proves his loyalty by suppressing his instinct to flee. His motivation is practical—he hopes Chen Qiu will eventually help him reach a higher-grade continent—but he nevertheless chooses to stand by Chen Qiu during the crisis.
• Fat Dragon remains comically pessimistic and irreverent, preparing for death even while trusting Chen Qiu. His later relief shows how deeply anxious he was about Chen Qiu’s survival.
• Ao Tian provides important historical knowledge about ranked Heavenly Tribulations, continent advancement, and the Dragon Race’s fragmented records.
• Scholar acts as a calm observer, correctly assessing that Chen Qiu’s early injuries are mostly superficial and that he appears capable of surviving the tribulation.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation under overwhelming pressure: Chen Qiu survives not through one effortless technique, but by combining countless resources and altering his strategy after each setback.
• Preparation and sacrifice: His large stockpile of spirit treasures and the expendable captives in the Demon-Subduing Pagoda become essential tools, emphasizing the cost of challenging Heaven.
• Trust and loyalty: The Sky Axe Sect master’s decision to remain reflects the influence Chen Qiu has gained over others, even when survival appears impossible.
• The hidden scale of the world: The revelation that First-Rank Heavenly Tribulations exist—and that continents can advance in grade—expands the setting’s history and suggests much greater realms and dangers beyond the Vast Continent.
• Survival at the edge of death: Chen Qiu’s victory is not clean or effortless. Although Heaven recognizes his achievement, he ends the chapter unconscious and close to death, showing that extraordinary success comes with an enormous price.

Character Interactions

• The Sky Axe Sect master asks Chen Qiu how he can help, choosing trust over escape despite fearing the tribulation will implicate him as a Dao protector.
• Chen Qiu says nothing and simply retrieves the Demon-Subduing Pagoda, leaving the others to interpret his actions.
• Fat Dragon jokes about dying together and dragging the sect master into the afterlife, prompting only silent displeasure from the latter.
• Fat Dragon questions Ao Tian about the tribulation’s classification, leading to an explanation of ranked versus unranked Heavenly Tribulations and the lost history of continent advancement.
• Scholar and the Sky Axe Sect master discuss Chen Qiu’s apparent condition, gradually regaining confidence before the devastating ninth tribulation shatters their optimism.
• After the final strike, Fat Dragon, Ao Tian, and the others immediately travel to Chen Qiu’s location, where their concern is confirmed by his near-death state.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• After enduring the terrifying ninth Thunder Tribulation, Chen Qiu collapses unconscious in the pit. Fat Dragon panics, but Scholar organizes the rescue while Star Dipper and the Pill Hall disciples stabilize Chen Qiu’s injuries.
• Chen Qiu’s body enters a protective coma caused by severe injuries and spiritual-energy depletion. Star Dipper estimates that he will awaken in several days, though the group ultimately avoids forcibly waking him.
• The Sky Axe Sect Master secretly contacts an ally, hoping to create a dangerous situation that will let him earn merit and gain permission to follow Chen Qiu to the Third-Grade Continent.
• A masked late-Void-Refinement cultivator arrives and attempts to kill the weakened Mocking Heaven Sect. Ao Tian prepares to fight him, while Fat Dragon considers forcibly awakening Chen Qiu.
• Before the battle begins, the Sky Axe Sect Master suddenly appears and kills the attacker with his “Fourth Axe, Heaven-Severing.” It is later revealed that the attack was staged: the attacker was his friend’s Void Refinement avatar, sacrificed to make the rescue appear convincing.
• Fat Dragon and the others expose the Sky Axe Sect Master’s plan. He admits that he wanted to gain trust and prove his usefulness, not genuinely harm Chen Qiu or the sect.
• Rather than punishing him immediately, Fat Dragon agrees to speak on his behalf when Chen Qiu awakens. The Sky Axe Sect Master then remains outside the Celestial Palace for ten days, guarding Chen Qiu and strengthening the trust he hopes to earn.
• After ten days, Chen Qiu finally wakes. He dismisses the emotional group gathered around him, then reflects on the devastating Thunder Tribulation, the destruction of many treasures, and the enormous danger of future tribulations.
• Chen Qiu discovers that possessing a Heavenly Dao Trait Set increases the power of his Heavenly Tribulations. Despite the losses, he receives exceptionally generous rewards: two wisps of Peerless Fortune of Heaven’s Chosen, two wisps of Heavenly Dao Fortune, and two temporary Rainbow Traits.
• He concludes that the rewards are likely so generous because he passed a First-Rank Heavenly Tribulation while still on a lower-grade continent and at only Peak Void Refinement cultivation. He becomes confident that the upcoming struggle for the Sole King position will heavily favor him.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Qiu: Survives an almost fatal tribulation and gains a deeper understanding of the costs and dangers of his cultivation path. He learns that his many extraordinary abilities and traits dramatically amplify future Heavenly Tribulations, but his new rewards greatly increase his advantage over rival kings.
• Fat Dragon: Shows intense loyalty and emotional concern for Chen Qiu. Though willing to risk his life, he is restrained because his Rainbow Trait transfers injuries to the dragon hatchlings.
• Ao Tian: Demonstrates his willingness to sacrifice himself for Chen Qiu and Black Dragon. He views the battle as a chance to prove that he is not cowardly and entrusts Black Dragon’s future to Fat Dragon and Chen Qiu.
• Black Dragon: Reveals deep affection and dependence on his father, begging to fight beside him. Ao Tian’s farewell emphasizes their strong bond.
• Sky Axe Sect Master: Develops from an ambitious outsider into a calculating but loyal protector. His manipulation is exposed, but his willingness to sacrifice a powerful avatar and guard Chen Qiu for ten days earns him sympathy and potentially genuine trust.
• Star Dipper: Acts competently as Chen Qiu’s healer, stabilizing his injuries and monitoring his recovery.
• Young Chief of the Brown Bears: Accepts his role as the Mocking Heaven Sect’s “security guard,” taking pride in having a recognized place within the sect.

3. Significant Themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: Several characters are willing to risk or surrender their lives for Chen Qiu, though their methods differ—from Ao Tian’s sincere self-sacrifice to the Sky Axe Sect Master’s calculated sacrifice of an avatar.
• Trust and deception: The Sky Axe Sect Master manipulates events to gain trust, but his deliberately obvious deception paradoxically makes him appear less threatening. The chapter explores how trust can be built through both genuine loyalty and strategic performance.
• Family and chosen bonds: The Dragon Race’s relationships, especially between Ao Tian and Black Dragon, parallel the Mocking Heaven Sect’s found-family structure around Chen Qiu.
• Power and consequences: Chen Qiu’s overwhelming abilities bring equally overwhelming Heavenly Tribulations. Extraordinary talent offers great rewards but also attracts greater danger.
• Ambition and social advancement: The Sky Axe Sect Master’s scheme reflects the desire to rise alongside Chen Qiu and gain access to the Third-Grade Continent, even at considerable personal risk.
• Comic relief amid danger: Dramatic scenes of sacrifice are undercut by humorous details, such as the Sky Axe Sect Master trying to become a “security guard” and Chen Qiu bluntly telling his tearful companions to leave.

4. Character Interactions

• Fat Dragon and Scholar: Scholar takes command when Fat Dragon is overwhelmed, demonstrating their complementary roles and mutual understanding.
• Fat Dragon and Star Dipper: Fat Dragon initially wants to fight the enemy, while Star Dipper proposes forcibly awakening Chen Qiu; both are stopped by Ao Tian.
• Ao Tian and Black Dragon: Ao Tian comforts his son, tells him to obey Chen Qiu and the others, and asks him to live well after his death.
• Ao Tian and Fat Dragon: Ao Tian entrusts Black Dragon to Fat Dragon and asks him to help guide his son.
• Fat Dragon and the Sky Axe Sect Master: Fat Dragon exposes the staged assassination, but ultimately responds with forgiveness and offers to advocate for him.
• Sky Axe Sect Master and the Young Chief of the Brown Bears: Their silent competition to guard the Celestial Palace creates a comic contrast, with both treating “security guard” duty as a meaningful position.
• Chen Qiu and his followers: When Chen Qiu awakens, his followers react with overwhelming emotion, but he immediately dismisses them, restoring the chapter’s humorous tone after the prolonged tension.

Chapter Summary: Rainbow Traits, Thousandfold Spellcasting

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu recovers from the severe injuries he suffered during the First-Rank “Heaven-Slayer Thunder Tribulation.” He reflects that without the Merit Protection Trait and his accumulated Merit Value, the tribulation would almost certainly have killed him.
• He examines the rewards gained from surviving the tribulation and discovers two temporary Rainbow Traits:
  • Thousandfold Spellcasting: Every spell he casts is automatically cast one thousand additional times at no cost. Combined with his existing multiple-casting Traits and Lightning-Channeling Arts, this could let him unleash tens of millions of lightning attacks simultaneously.
  • Great Fortune Approaches: When choosing one Trait from three, he gains 100 chances to reshuffle an individual Trait, while his cultivation progress is reduced by 50%, greatly accelerating advancement.
• Chen Qiu considers Great Fortune Approaches more valuable in the long term because it can help him build a highly coordinated and powerful Trait Set before the one-year duration expires. He realizes he must obtain enough Spirit Stones and cultivation resources to advance through several realms during that period.
• He decides not to test Thousandfold Spellcasting yet because his injuries are too severe and the resulting attack would require a remote wasteland to avoid destroying his surroundings.
• His cultivation changes after reaching the

Body Integration Realm

• His Twelfth-Grade Nascent Soul and Twenty-Fourth-Grade External Incarnation merge completely into his body.
• Only seven smaller Nascent Souls remain; the others shattered while resisting the tribulation.
• Chen Qiu prepares to use Great Fortune Approaches on the three-out-of-one Trait selection produced by his Body Integration breakthrough. He is relieved that he inspected the Rainbow Traits first, since using them in the wrong order might have wasted the synergy between the two abilities.
• He remembers his obligations to Liu Zide and the others, whom he has neglected for over a month while unconscious and recovering. He plans to retrieve them and send them to another continent to obtain more resources.
• He considers finding a Trait that would let Liu Zide travel between Lower-Rank Continents independently, allowing Chen Qiu to gain resources without personally managing every task.
• Chen Qiu also decides he needs servants or a secretary to remind him of logistical matters.
• Finally, he examines his immortal black ant companion. The ant, previously at Qi Refining, has unexpectedly advanced to Foundation Establishment after enduring the tribulation. Because of this increase, Chen Qiu can once again use Oxen and Horses in Herds to grant it another Trait.

Character Development

• Chen Qiu becomes more aware of the danger created by his increasingly powerful foundation. He recognizes that stronger cultivation and more powerful Traits also produce more terrifying Heavenly Tribulations, making Merit Protection essential to his survival.
• He shifts from focusing solely on immediate combat strength to planning long-term growth. He values Great Fortune Approaches because it can refine his Trait Set and accelerate his cultivation before it expires.
• His immense power is balanced by practical weaknesses: he is seriously injured, lacks a Body Integration Killing Art, and struggles with organizing his responsibilities.
• He also displays a pragmatic and self-indulgent personality. Rather than endure unnecessary pain, he chooses to rest, and he seeks assistants to handle routine tasks he finds irritating.
• His relationship with the ant develops subtly: although he views it as weak and limited in combat, he still remembers to care for it and considers how to improve it.

Significant Themes

• Power and danger are intertwined: Greater foundations and stronger Traits do not guarantee survival; they also make Heavenly Tribulations more destructive.
• Long-term cultivation versus immediate strength: Temporary combat abilities such as Thousandfold Spellcasting are impressive, but cultivation acceleration and Trait optimization may produce greater lasting benefits.
• Luck, preparation, and timing: Chen Qiu’s survival depends on Merit Protection, while the usefulness of Great Fortune Approaches depends on using it before selecting his next Trait.
• The burden of power and responsibility: Even as the strongest cultivator in Mystic Heaven Province, Chen Qiu must manage resources, allies, continents, and future breakthroughs.
• Unexpected growth: The ant’s advancement demonstrates that even seemingly insignificant companions can benefit from Chen Qiu’s opportunities and become more useful.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu and the Heavenly Tribulation: The tribulation acts as both a deadly threat and a source of extraordinary rewards, severely injuring him while granting him two powerful Rainbow Traits.
• Chen Qiu and Liu Zide’s group: Though they are not physically present, Chen Qiu realizes he has abandoned them for an extended period and plans to bring them back into his broader resource-gathering strategy.
• Chen Qiu and his ant companion: He recalls using the ant during the tribulation, though its small size made it ineffective as a shield. Its unexpected advancement gives him another chance to grant it a Trait.
• Chen Qiu and his Trait system: He evaluates his existing Traits strategically, recognizing that some—particularly Rise at Every Step, Merit Protection, and Great Fortune Approaches—are most valuable when obtained early and used together.

Chapter Summary: “Supreme-Grade Rainbow Trait!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After surviving a First-Rank Heavenly Tribulation, Chen Qiu’s summoned Little Ant unexpectedly rises from Qi Refining to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• The ant’s breakthrough allows it to randomly acquire another trait. Chen Qiu uses “Oxen and Horses in Herds”, causing it to obtain the permanent trait “Thousandfold Spellcasting.” Since the ant’s hammer swings count as spellcasting, its attack power is greatly amplified.
• Chen Qiu formally breaks through into the First Layer of Body Integration and receives three Supreme-Grade trait choices:
  • Blessing Descendants, which transfers cultivation progress from descendants to him.
  • Recalling Bitterness, Savoring Sweetness, which increases cultivation speed through extreme emotional pain.
  • This Life Is Over, which grants numerous traits after reincarnation.
• Finding the initial choices unsuitable, Chen Qiu uses his reroll opportunities. He first encounters and selects “Far-Reaching Fame (Supreme Grade)”, which increases cultivation speed based on how many people know his name.
• At the last possible moment, a rainbow-colored trait appears. Chen Qiu abandons the previously selected Pink Trait and chooses the unknown Rainbow Trait without even reading its name or effects.
• The trait is revealed as “Rise at Every Step (Supreme Grade)”:
  • Each time Chen Qiu advances by a minor realm, he receives both an ordinary trait choice and a choice among three Supreme-Grade traits.
  • The Supreme-Grade version ensures that he gains one Supreme-Grade trait at every minor breakthrough.
• Overjoyed by obtaining his second permanent Rainbow Trait, Chen Qiu burns incense before twelve ancestral statues and laughs uncontrollably, alarming those outside the Celestial Palace.
• He appoints the Young Chief of the Brown Bear Clan as his personal steward, naming him Xiong Gao. Xiong Gao will manage Chen Qiu’s daily affairs, messages, clothing, and other personal matters, without overseeing the Mocking Heaven Sect itself.
• After Chen Qiu retreats to rest, the sect members immediately begin treating Xiong Gao as an influential figure. Xiong Gao returns to his clan and celebrates his sudden rise in status, while his father creates a genealogy to commemorate the clan’s newfound prestige.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu: Reaches the Body Integration Realm and becomes more confident about his future cultivation. His obsession with cultivation speed is reinforced, but obtaining “Rise at Every Step” gives him something even more valuable: guaranteed access to powerful traits with every minor breakthrough. His usually calm demeanor briefly gives way to intense excitement and gratitude.
• Little Ant: Breaks through to Foundation Establishment and gains the permanent “Thousandfold Spellcasting” trait, making its hammer attacks dramatically stronger.
• Xiong Gao: Transforms from an obscure Brown Bear spirit pet and clan member into Chen Qiu’s trusted personal steward. His willingness to accept responsibility demonstrates courage and ambition.
• Fat Dragon: Loses some of his informal responsibility for Chen Qiu’s personal arrangements but remains an important subordinate. He recognizes Xiong Gao’s superior attention to detail and helps organize his new position.
• Brown Bear Clan: Gains prestige through Xiong Gao’s promotion and becomes increasingly connected to Chen Qiu’s power and influence.

Significant Themes

• Power through accumulation: Traits and cultivation realms combine to create exponential growth. Chen Qiu values steady, overwhelming advancement rather than relying solely on combat reserves or special techniques.
• Fortune and opportunity: Chen Qiu’s success depends heavily on lucky trait selections, rerolls, and last-second decisions. His acquisition of the Rainbow Trait emphasizes how sudden opportunities can radically alter one’s destiny.
• Status and social ascent: Xiong Gao’s promotion illustrates how association with a powerful figure can elevate even a previously insignificant individual.
• Ambition and the pursuit of the Dao: The chapter contrasts different paths to power—descendants, emotional suffering, reincarnation, fame, and trait accumulation—while emphasizing Chen Qiu’s relentless desire to ascend.
• Comic relief amid grand cultivation: Chen Qiu’s exaggerated reaction to the trait, the ancestral “prayer,” the fruit platters, and Xiong Gao’s enthusiastic self-promotion provide humor after the serious heavenly tribulation.

Important Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu experiments with the Little Ant’s new spellcasting ability and orders Fat Dragon to capture a Foundation Establishment demonic beast for testing.
• Fat Dragon, Star Dipper, and the Sky Axe Sect Master speculate about Chen Qiu’s unusual laughter, assuming it results from either surviving the tribulation or obtaining an exceptionally powerful trait.
• Chen Qiu praises the Brown Bear Young Chief’s meticulous preparation of different peach platters and recruits him as his steward.
• Chen Qiu names him Xiong Gao, orders Fat Dragon to arrange his clothing and training, and instructs him to report back the following day.
• Afterward, Fat Dragon, Scholar, Star Dipper, Qu Gui, and the Sky Axe Sect Master all attempt to establish a favorable relationship with Xiong Gao, hoping he can relay their requests to Chen Qiu.
• Xiong Gao’s father proudly encourages him to be careful in his new role, while the clan begins recording his achievement as the foundation of their family history.

Chapter Summary: “Those Who Seek Immortality—Why Fear Death?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiong Gao celebrates his newfound status as the Brown Bear Clan’s first Great Emperor, believing his life has finally begun improving after years of hardship.
• Old Ancestor Qin reflects on Chen Qiu’s successful First-Rank Heavenly Tribulation. Chen’s immense rewards and terrifying power confirm that his cultivation and Body Integration Killing Art have advanced dramatically.
• Qin is relieved that he abandoned the Pingxi Throne before Pingxi Continent was destroyed. The man who later took the throne ignored Qin’s warning and is now likely doomed.
• Xian Yi, the King of Endless Province, realizes that Chen Qiu’s twenty-fourth-grade External Incarnation makes the coming Sole King Contest nearly impossible for him to survive. He considers escaping to the Land of Eternal Life, despite its severe restrictions and shortened remaining lifespan.
• In Heaven-Rending Province, a powerful young woman reveals that her Body Integration Killing Art has also reached the twelfth grade. She gained this advancement from a mysterious mortal town known as the Land of Heavenly Destiny, where she unknowingly obtained a rainbow-emitting jade ornament.
• Her sworn younger sister, from the powerful Bai Family, is upset because the woman ignored the three treasures she had repeatedly asked her to retrieve from the town: a Green Peach, a purple harmonica, and a rainbow seven-leaf clover.
• The younger sister secretly returns to a portable Minor World and breaks down in front of her guardian, Bai Yisheng.
• Bai Yisheng explains the girl’s tragic condition: she suffers from “Immortal Cancer,” a rare illness that causes her cultivation and lifespan to decline, especially on higher-grade continents.
• The Bai Family brought her to the Vast Continent to slow the illness and sought the Land of Heavenly Destiny’s treasures to help her sworn sister. The girl had even surrendered her own chance to enter the Land so her sister could obtain the treasures.
• The young woman instead took only the jade ornament, unknowingly wasting the opportunity. The chapter ends with Bai Yisheng revealing that the family has found clues to the Yin Emperor Fortune, the key ingredient needed to cure the girl.

Character Developments

• Xiong Gao: Becomes openly proud and joyful after achieving status and security, contrasting his former poverty and insecurity.
• Old Ancestor Qin: Demonstrates his cautious, survival-oriented philosophy. He fears death despite pursuing immortality and feels vindicated for abandoning the dangerous Pingxi Throne.
• The King of Endless Province/Xian Yi: Shifts from confidence to despair after realizing the overwhelming gap between his power and Chen Qiu’s. His pride prevents him from easily retreating.
• The Heaven-Rending Province woman: Reveals herself as exceptionally talented, ambitious, and confident. Her belief that a prodigy must never retreat drives her willingness to risk death.
• The Bai Family’s young miss: Is compassionate and self-sacrificing but emotionally wounded by her sworn sister’s apparent indifference. Her illness makes her future uncertain, though she continues hiding her pain.
• Bai Yisheng: Acts as a protective grandfather figure, comforting the young miss and supporting the search for a cure.

Significant Themes

• Fear of death versus the pursuit of immortality: The chapter contrasts Qin’s practical fear of death with the ambitious declaration, “Those who seek immortality—why fear death?”
• Pride and survival: Characters must choose between preserving their lives and defending their pride, reputations, or ideals.
• Fate and opportunity: The mysterious Land of Heavenly Destiny grants treasures according to instinct and chance, while missed opportunities may never return.
• Injustice and arbitrary suffering: The young miss’s Immortal Cancer has no cause and reflects the cruel randomness of fate and the Heavenly Dao.
• Hidden power and unequal worlds: The chapter reveals that the Vast Continent contains figures and forces connected to higher-grade continents, making the apparent struggle for supremacy more complicated.
• Self-sacrifice and unrecognized affection: The young miss gives up a life-changing opportunity for her sworn sister, only to feel that her love and effort were not valued.

Important Character Interactions

• Xiong Gao and his father: His father departs while Xiong Gao joyfully imagines his brighter future.
• Old Ancestor Qin and the former Pingxi throne-holder: Qin warns him that the throne may be fatal, but the man responds with heroic confidence and later appears destined for disaster.
• The Heaven-Rending woman and her younger sister: The younger sister worries about her safety, while the elder dismisses the danger and insists that retreat would destroy a prodigy’s spirit.
• The Bai young miss and Bai Yisheng: She confesses her hurt to him, and he comforts her like a grandfather.
• The Bai young miss and her sworn elder sister: Their relationship is strained by the elder sister’s ambition and apparent lack of consideration, though the younger sister still deeply cares for her.