Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• The Left Envoy and Qing Ru suspect Lin Xiaosu may have entered and left the Bridge Realm undetected—and may also have caused the upheaval in the Abyssal Depths.
• The Ancestral Hall elders emerge from the Temple’s basement and confront the Flying Eagle Army. The Third Elder opens the Sacred Lotus, casting an illusion that makes the soldiers attack one another.
• An apparent charge by the Earthfall Beast Army forces the Seventh and Ninth Elders to defend their group. They discover the beasts are another illusion, not the Third Elder’s work.
• While the elders are distracted, the Third Elder loses consciousness and the Moon Lotus vanishes. The soldiers recover from the illusion and shoot him dead.
• The Left Envoy deduces that someone used the Moon Lotus’s power to create the false beast attack, steal the Lotus, and incapacitate the Third Elder. Then the Grand Elder reveals that Qing Ru died months earlier: the man traveling with them was an impostor.
• The impostor’s identity remains unknown. Having manipulated the Left Envoy, the Temple, the Ancestral Hall, and perhaps even Lin Xiaosu, he escapes with the Moon Lotus.
• Lin Xiaosu returns to Phoenix City after two and a half months underground and reconnects with those who missed him, including his friends, Miao Ruolan, and his parents.

Character developments and interactions

• The Left Envoy’s confidence in his judgment collapses when he learns his longtime companion was an impostor. He reconstructs the stranger’s scheme but cannot identify him.
• The Seventh and Ninth Elders fight the beasts, then flee with the Left Envoy as the Flying Eagle Army turns its weapons on them.
• The Third Elder is exposed as vulnerable while channeling the Lotus and dies in the army’s barrage.
• Lin Xiaosu’s return reassures Changye, Yi Xiang, Ding Ruoshui, Miao Ruolan, and his parents in different ways.

Significant themes

• Deception and misdirection: Illusions shape the battle, while the impostor’s disguise hides his identity and intentions.
• Power and vulnerability: Even formidable elders and sacred treasures can be overcome when their users are distracted or manipulated.
• Strategy and control: The mysterious thief appears to treat every faction as a piece in a larger game.
• Homecoming and connection: After the intrigue and danger, Lin Xiaosu’s return brings the chapter back to personal bonds and domestic life.

Chapter Summary: “Wang Zhongze’s Mysterious Death”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu returns to Old Pagoda Mountain after being away for several months. He reassures his parents by explaining his absence through the detective agency and transfers them another 200,000 yuan.
• His family tells him that his elder brother’s marriage has been arranged for the following May. The family paid a 200,000-yuan bride price, with Lin Xiaosu’s brother treating the money as a loan.
• Lin Xiaosu discovers that his father has transformed the family courtyard into a beautiful garden, largely following Xiaoye’s design. He spends a peaceful afternoon reconnecting with rural family life.
• That night, Lin Xiaosu continues cultivating. He forms his fourth Heavenly Star Tear, reaches the Four-Star Radiance Realm, and moves closer to the Peering into Heaven Realm.
• The next day, Changye arrives to meet him. She had previously entered the Temple to search for him after his dangerous mission, showing how deeply she had worried about him.
• Changye and Blue Demon take Lin Xiaosu aboard a flying car and reveal the central crisis: Wang Zhongze has died suddenly before his interrogation could begin.
• Interrogation footage shows Wang Zhongze collapsing without warning. His body has no external injuries, no signs of poisoning, and completely intact brain cells, yet his consciousness was erased.
• The death does not match the Living Soul Gu, which destroys brain cells. Suspicion therefore falls on Miaoyin Heavenly King, who was overseeing the interrogation and possessed the ability to use infrasound to kill.
• Miaoyin claims her known infrasound technique always damages brain cells, but Lin Xiaosu recognizes that a higher level of the technique might theoretically erase consciousness without leaving physical evidence.
• Miaoyin has been placed under effective house arrest. Meanwhile, Wang Zhongze’s death destroys Qianlong’s attempt to uncover Hydra’s long-term arrangements in Daxia.
• Changye and Blue Demon ask Lin Xiaosu to investigate. They reveal that the Dragon Head has already authorized his entry into Qianlong headquarters.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Returns to his family with greater maturity and power. Despite enjoying his former rural life, he realizes that his cultivation and dangerous work have made it difficult to return permanently to a peaceful existence. He also demonstrates his investigative importance by identifying the limitations of the available interrogation footage and considering the technical possibility behind Wang Zhongze’s death.
• Xiaoye: Remains calm and trusting about Lin Xiaosu’s long absence. She does not interrogate him or demand explanations, treating his return as natural. Her emotional steadiness contrasts with the intensity of the wider crisis.
• Changye: Her concern for Lin Xiaosu is emphasized. She personally entered the dangerous Temple to search for him, showing that her feelings are rooted in both romantic attachment and loyalty as a comrade. She now seeks his help with the Wang Zhongze case.
• Blue Demon: Acts as the messenger and a practical intermediary. She explains the forensic and political complications surrounding the death and helps secure Lin Xiaosu’s authorization to enter headquarters.
• Miaoyin Heavenly King: Becomes the principal suspect despite the lack of conclusive evidence. Her expertise in infrasound places her in a politically dangerous position, leaving her unable to prove her innocence.
• Lin Xiaosu’s parents: Their worries about him ease after he returns and provides financial support. Their growing comfort reflects the stability his success has brought the family.

Significant Themes

• Peaceful family life versus dangerous destiny: Lin Xiaosu briefly reconnects with ordinary rural life, but his cultivation and investigative responsibilities prevent him from fully returning to it.
• Trust and emotional restraint: Xiaoye’s lack of questioning and Changye’s willingness to risk herself for Lin Xiaosu both demonstrate different forms of deep trust and affection.
• Invisible threats and uncertainty: Wang Zhongze’s death leaves no obvious physical evidence, creating a mystery involving erased consciousness and potentially undetectable techniques.
• Political suspicion and collateral damage: Miaoyin is not proven guilty, yet circumstantial evidence is enough to restrict her freedom. The case illustrates how powerful institutions respond when certainty is impossible.
• The fragility of strategic victories: The successful Middle East operation and Wang Zhongze’s capture had promised major intelligence gains, but his unexplained death eliminates the fruits of that success.
• Cultivation as continual advancement: Lin Xiaosu’s formation of another Heavenly Star Tear marks steady progress, even as his personal life becomes increasingly separated from ordinary human routines.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and his parents reunite warmly, with his financial support reassuring them about his safety and success.
• His father credits Xiaoye with designing the garden, linking her closely to the family’s home life.
• Xiaoye welcomes Lin Xiaosu without jealousy or interrogation, maintaining a quiet and comfortable intimacy with him.
• Changye teases Lin Xiaosu about Xiaoye and his supposed self-restraint, revealing their romantic closeness and playful familiarity.
• Blue Demon interrupts their reunion because Wang Zhongze’s death is too important to delay. Her presence shifts the mood from personal affection to political crisis.
• Changye, Blue Demon, and Lin Xiaosu discuss the evidence and possible suspects, ultimately positioning Lin Xiaosu as the investigator capable of uncovering what happened.

Plot points and events

• After Hydra agents infiltrate Great Xia and Wang Zhongze is murdered at Qianlong Headquarters, Dragon Head concludes that a high-level mole is likely operating inside the organization. He asks Lin Xiaosu to enter headquarters and help investigate.
• Lin accepts, despite recognizing the risks of exposing Qianlong’s most sensitive location and secrets. His decision ends his brief rest after returning home.
• During the sealed, untraceable flight to headquarters, Lin tells Changye and Blue Demon about his recent journey to the Bridge Realm, an immense world beyond the Temple’s Five Elements Gate. It contains 193 races, many more dangerous than the Litian Tribe.
• Lin explains that most Bridge Realm races cannot survive outside their world—but warns that pure-blooded Inner-Earth Outsiders may eventually break through their restrictions. The inner-earth seal and other looming changes could threaten the human world, so Qianlong must prepare.
• The group arrives at headquarters, hidden in a mountain-enclosed valley by a formation. Lin recognizes how it is concealed but promises not to investigate its location or other secrets. He proposes that they begin by examining Wang Zhongze’s body.

Character developments

• Lin Xiaosu accepts the responsibility of entering Qianlong despite his reservations. He remains focused on the immediate investigation while taking seriously the larger danger posed by the Inner-Earth World.
• Changye acts as a trusted guide and confidante, supporting Lin while cautioning him against probing headquarters’ defenses.
• Blue Demon is shaken by the potential power of the Bridge Realm’s inhabitants, but turns her concern into resolve to study more.
• Dragon Head is shown as willing to break precedent and admit an outsider when the threat of a traitor endangers the whole organization.

Significant themes

• Trust and secrecy: Qianlong’s hidden headquarters protects its secrets, yet the suspected mole makes secrecy itself a source of danger.
• Preparation for looming threats: The Bridge Realm’s existence suggests that the human world may face upheaval beyond the current Hydra crisis.
• Knowledge and responsibility: Lin’s discoveries carry immense strategic value, and he believes Qianlong must be informed even if he receives no reward.
• Loyalty and restraint: Lin honors the trust shown by his admission and refuses to exploit his ability to uncover headquarters’ location.

Character interactions

• Changye and Blue Demon eagerly question Lin about his disappearance, then react with astonishment and alarm to his account of the Bridge Realm.
• Blue Demon raises the key question of whether its inhabitants can leave their world; Lin’s answer shifts their attention to the possibility of stronger, pure-blooded outsiders.
• Changye urges Lin to share his warning with Dragon Head and discourages him from testing headquarters’ security.
• Lin reassures both women that he will respect Qianlong’s rules and directs their attention to Wang Zhongze’s body.

Chapter Summary: “Lesser-Divinity Killing”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Blue Demon leads Lin Xiaosu, Changye, and Lin Xiaosu’s companion into Qianlong’s underground facilities using her Level Three clearance.
• They examine Wang Zhongze’s frozen, autopsied corpse. Although conventional forensics have found nothing, Lin Xiaosu uses his heightened spiritual perception and Spacetime Reversal to reconstruct the moment of death.
• He discovers that Wang Zhongze’s consciousness was destroyed by an invisible, mysterious force rather than by physical damage or infrasound.
• To determine the attack’s direction, Lin Xiaosu visits the interrogation room where Wang Zhongze died and sits in the same position as the victim.
• Through another temporal reconstruction, he observes three interrogators: Li Feng, Qing Yan, and Miaoyan. The decisive clue is that Miaoyan presses the tip of a pen just before Wang Zhongze’s consciousness is annihilated. The pen is aimed directly at Wang Zhongze’s head.
• Lin Xiaosu concludes that the murder was carried out using a Lesser Divine Art, specifically a Spiritual Power Secret Art—not infrasound.
• This rules out Miaoyin Heavenly King, whom Changye and Blue Demon had feared might be responsible because of her association with infrasound techniques.
• Lin Xiaosu requests the files of the three interrogators, focusing especially on Miaoyan and his suspicious use of an ordinary pen during interrogation.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates the growing power and precision of his abilities. His knowledge of the human brain, strengthened by the Lost-Road Lotus and the opening of his “Heavenly-Human Lock,” allows him to investigate beyond the limits of normal forensic science.
• His mastery of Spacetime Reversal has advanced: it now exceeds its former two-month limit and reveals not only past events but the exact mechanism and direction of the killing.
• Lin Xiaosu’s familiarity with Lesser Divine Arts is emphasized. Having survived or witnessed several such attacks, he can identify the technique with complete confidence.
• Blue Demon shifts from confidence to anxiety as the investigation suggests a spiritual technique unknown within Qianlong. Her concern is partly personal because Miaoyin Heavenly King is her closest friend and “sister.”
• Changye remains observant and analytical, initially suspecting infrasound and later offering a rational explanation for Miaoyan’s use of a pen as psychological pressure.
• Miaoyan is introduced as a highly accomplished interrogator whose apparent ordinary behavior may conceal the method behind the murder.

Significant Themes

• Limits of conventional investigation: Even after a complete autopsy, the case remains unsolvable until Lin Xiaosu applies supernatural abilities.
• Invisible violence and proof: Lesser Divine Arts leave no obvious physical evidence, making them especially dangerous and difficult to prosecute.
• Appearance versus reality: The pen appears to be an ordinary interrogation tool, but its movement may have been the trigger for a lethal spiritual attack.
• Fear of betrayal: The possibility that Miaoyin could be responsible creates emotional tension because of Blue Demon’s deep trust in her.
• The fusion of technology and cultivation: Qianlong’s advanced facilities, robots, surveillance, and forensic procedures coexist with ancient or supernatural powers.
• Interrogation as psychological warfare: Pens, silence, posture, and routine actions are presented as tools capable of influencing or destroying the mind.

Important Character Interactions

• Changye asks about Blue Demon’s clearance level, leading to an explanation of Qianlong’s hierarchy and Lin Xiaosu’s unusually high Level Five clearance.
• Blue Demon and Changye observe Lin Xiaosu’s methods with both excitement and uncertainty, trusting his ability despite not understanding how he finds clues.
• Blue Demon cooperates with Lin Xiaosu by granting access to the interrogation room and later supplying information about the interrogators and the pen.
• Changye and Blue Demon react with alarm when Lin Xiaosu identifies Lesser Divinity as the murder weapon, fearing it could implicate Miaoyin.
• Lin Xiaosu firmly reassures them that Miaoyin was never the culprit, then redirects the investigation toward the three interrogators—especially Miaoyan.

Chapter Summary: “Meeting the Interrogation Expert”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu decides to confront Miaoyan, the head of the Interrogation Bureau, whom he suspects of murdering Wang Zhongze.
• Blue Demon and Changye warn that Miaoyan is both an interrogation master and an expert at resisting interrogation. They also lack the authorization needed to question someone of his rank.
• Instead of formally interrogating him, Lin Xiaosu plans a private “conversation” designed to pressure Miaoyan into revealing his guilt.
• Lin Xiaosu enters Miaoyan’s office alone and immediately accuses him of being Wang Zhongze’s murderer.
• He reveals that he knows Miaoyan possesses a Lesser Divine Art and identifies the pen hidden in Miaoyan’s third drawer as the weapon used in the murder.
• Miaoyan responds by activating his own Lesser Divine Art. He transforms the mental space into a scene filled with monstrous versions of himself and binds Lin Xiaosu’s consciousness with countless tentacles.
• Miaoyan intends to control Lin Xiaosu rather than kill him, forcing him to falsely accuse Miaoyin Heavenly King and conceal the truth from the Dragon Head.
• Lin Xiaosu reveals that this confrontation was deliberately staged to provoke Miaoyan into using his power. Blue Demon’s absence was part of the trap.
• Just as Miaoyan begins infiltrating and controlling Lin Xiaosu’s consciousness, Lin Xiaosu activates the Heavenly-Human Lock, which absorbs and removes the tentacles.
• Miaoyan attacks with the pen, channeling his Lesser Divinity into a powerful cutting force. Lin Xiaosu retreats into the Lesser-Divine Secret Realm, where the attack is absorbed and converted into Lesser-Divine Avatar power.
• Exhausted after his attacks, Miaoyan is left vulnerable. Lin Xiaosu touches his forehead and hints that the clash has revealed a new possibility: merging and infiltrating Lesser Divinity to open a new “Gate.”

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates exceptional confidence, strategic intelligence, and psychological insight. Rather than trying to overpower Miaoyan directly, he manipulates him into exposing his abilities. His mastery of the Heavenly-Human Lock and Lesser-Divine Secret Realm also proves far greater and more unconventional than Miaoyan expected.
• Miaoyan: Initially appears calm and completely composed, maintaining perfect control over his expressions and conversation. Once Lin Xiaosu identifies his secret, however, his composure breaks. He reveals his willingness to manipulate and frame others, as well as the terrifying control-based power of his Lesser Divine Art.
• Blue Demon: Shows caution and procedural awareness, recognizing both the legal danger of confronting Miaoyan and the risks of Lin Xiaosu’s plan. Her decision to let Lin Xiaosu enter alone ultimately supports the trap.
• Changye: Serves as a voice of concern, emphasizing Miaoyan’s reputation as an interrogation and anti-interrogation expert.

Significant Themes

• Strategy over direct confrontation: Lin Xiaosu succeeds by provoking Miaoyan into revealing himself rather than attempting a conventional interrogation.
• Pressure exposing hidden truth: The metaphor of draining a pond reflects the chapter’s central method: increasing pressure until the hidden “fish” reveal themselves.
• Power and control: Miaoyan’s Lesser Divine Art represents the terrifying ability to control others and rewrite the apparent truth through them.
• Deception and counter-deception: Both men attempt to manipulate the other, but Lin Xiaosu’s deeper preparation allows him to reverse Miaoyan’s trap.
• Limits of conventional authority: Bureaucratic authorization and standard interrogation methods are ineffective against someone like Miaoyan, requiring unconventional tactics.
• Growth through confrontation: Lin Xiaosu gains insight into a potentially new application of Lesser Divinity by observing and surviving Miaoyan’s techniques.

Character Interactions

• Blue Demon and Changye question whether Lin Xiaosu is prepared to confront Miaoyan, highlighting the danger and procedural complications.
• Lin Xiaosu reassures Blue Demon while making clear that he intends to face Miaoyan alone.
• During the interrogation, Lin Xiaosu directly challenges Miaoyan by naming his Lesser Divine Art and accusing him of using the pen to kill Wang Zhongze.
• Miaoyan attempts to psychologically and mentally dominate Lin Xiaosu, planning to use him as a puppet and scapegoat.
• Lin Xiaosu turns the confrontation around by revealing that Miaoyan’s attack was exactly what he had intended to provoke.
• The chapter ends with Lin Xiaosu gaining the upper hand and preparing to explore a new method of using Lesser Divinity against Miaoyan.

Key plot points

• Lin Xiaosu questions Miaoyan about Wang Zhongze’s murder. When the Ninth Bureau Chief, Liu Ye, arrives and tries to seize him, Blue Demon intervenes. Jing Lei stops her, but the Dragon Head appears and orders everyone to cooperate with Lin Xiaosu’s investigation.
• Under Lin Xiaosu’s questioning, Miaoyan admits he killed Wang Zhongze using a Lesser Divine Art and a Godslayer Pen containing a fragment of the Sun Lotus. The fragment amplified his mind-controlling art enough to erase Wang’s consciousness.
• Miaoyan says Liu Ye supplied the fragment and ordered the murder. He also reveals that Liu Ye had blackmailed him for ten years and names eight Qianlong members working for Liu.
• The Dragon Head orders Red Banner to arrest the named traitors. Lin Xiaosu then questions Liu Ye, who reveals that his own handler is Cai Qin, the Second Bureau Chief—one of Qianlong’s seven supreme leaders.
• The Dragon Head sends Jing Lei to arrest Cai Qin. Lin Xiaosu immediately follows Jing Lei, leaving Changye to continue questioning Liu Ye. Liu Ye keeps confessing, naming more Qianlong members, but Blue Demon suspects Lin Xiaosu distrusts Jing Lei.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu shows that his Lesser Divine Art can compel truthful answers, turning an apparently ordinary interview into a rapid exposure of a major conspiracy. His decision to pursue Jing Lei suggests he suspects the investigation—or the arrest—may not be safe in Jing Lei’s hands.
• Blue Demon defies hierarchy to protect Lin Xiaosu from Liu Ye’s men, even knowing the consequences. Her loyalty and protectiveness are clear, and she later shares suspicions about Jing Lei.
• Changye helps contain Liu Ye and is unexpectedly left to continue the interrogation. Her surprise when he keeps answering suggests Lin Xiaosu’s influence remains active.
• Miaoyan is exposed as Wang Zhongze’s killer and as a coerced operative, though he also implicates Liu Ye and other conspirators.
• Liu Ye shifts from attempting to stop the investigation to becoming a source of increasingly serious revelations. Jing Lei, meanwhile, remains powerful and inscrutable: he obeys the Dragon Head’s order, but Lin Xiaosu’s pursuit casts doubt on his reliability.

Significant themes

• Truth versus power: Lin Xiaosu’s art cuts through concealment, while Qianlong’s senior ranks and hidden loyalties complicate justice.
• The danger of supernatural abilities: A Lesser Divine Art can both erase a person’s consciousness and expose secrets, making interrogation itself potentially more frightening than violence.
• Corruption within institutions: The conspiracy reaches from a coerced operative to a bureau chief and then toward one of Qianlong’s highest leaders.
• Trust and suspicion: Even after the Dragon Head intervenes, the characters remain uncertain whom they can trust.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu and Jing Lei pursue Cai Qin, head of the Second Strategy Bureau. Lin Xiaosu exposes Cai Qin’s holographic decoy and getaway attempt; Jing Lei destroys the fleeing Qianlong Flyer and captures him.
• Lin Xiaosu uses the Divine Control Technique to make Cai Qin reveal seventeen known Qianlong moles, including five new names. Red Banner takes over the interrogation, and the ensuing arrests uncover at least twenty-three moles in half a day.
• Changye meets with the Dragon Head and asks him to promise never to abandon the man she cares about. He says Qianlong’s Iron Rule already requires this: it never abandons those who serve the country and its people.
• Changye returns to Unit 101, leaving the Dragon Head a bundle containing thirty-eight vials of life medicine—one for each birthday he has left before turning one hundred—and a message wishing him a long life. The gift moves him to tears.
• After the exhausting interrogations, Lin Xiaosu collapses. While unconscious, his Lesser-Divine Power recovers and rises beyond its former level. He realizes the Lesser-Divine Secret Realm absorbed and converted Zhang Yan’s trapped level-28 power into his own, suggesting he may grow stronger by absorbing others’ power.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu proves both tactically clever and willing to risk himself to stop the moles escaping. His partnership with Jing Lei shifts from apparent rivalry to mutual respect: each compliments the other’s methods.
• Jing Lei demonstrates extraordinary speed and strength, capturing Cai Qin by hand as the flyer falls.
• Blue Demon arrives after the capture and supports Lin Xiaosu when he falters, carrying him away to rest. Red Banner then handles the investigation.
• Changye gives up the honors she has earned—including the prospect of a Qianlong Medal—in favor of securing the Dragon Head’s promise. Her approaching death gives her request added urgency.
• The Dragon Head responds with affection and grief, but frames his assurance as an institutional duty rather than a personal favor. Changye’s gift reveals the depth and history of their bond.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and duty: Qianlong’s Iron Rule insists that those who serve the country and its people will not be abandoned.
• Sacrifice and mortality: Changye’s limited time makes her value reassurance and the future of someone she loves above recognition.
• Trust and cooperation: Lin Xiaosu and Jing Lei overcome apparent tension to work together, while others step in to complete the operation.
• Power through risk: Lin Xiaosu’s near-collapse unexpectedly leads to a breakthrough, suggesting his dangerous abilities may have a remarkable new potential.

Plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu wakes after eighteen hours of recovery. Blue Demon tells him that Qianlong’s purge has uncovered twenty-six traitors, including two high-ranking members of the Eighteen Strategy Bureau. The organization is now investigating the damage and assigning responsibility.
• Blue Demon warns Lin not to use the Divine Control Technique casually. Its recent subjects have suffered severe neurological damage, and exposing people’s deepest secrets can leave them with no friends. Lin privately understands that the damage comes from his incomplete mastery: he can break down a person’s consciousness but cannot yet rebuild it. He also reveals that using the art nearly exhausted him.
• They discuss Jing Lei, whom Lin admires for his extraordinary strength. Blue Demon suspects Lin was behind the upheaval in the Middle East, and Lin confirms he engineered it: he abducted Wang Zhongze, framed the Litian Tribe, provoked conflict between the Tiger Army and the tribe, assassinated General Ge Pei, attacked the Temple, and killed Flute Elder.
• Lin explains that his goal was to force Utopia to reveal its trump card. The revealed threat was the Moon Lotus, but he believes Utopia has another trump card already on its way.
• Blue Demon reports that five people recently emerged from underground near the Temple. Their illusion caused the Flying Eagle Army to attack its own forces across roughly thirty square kilometers. When the effect ended, the army killed one Litian elder, while the other four escaped.
• Lin suspects the illusion was caused by the Moon Lotus, but doubts that the lotus’s power would simply expire. He asks Blue Demon to investigate the Temple and keep watch for further developments. He reveals that the lotus is central to the Litian Tribe’s Nation-Building Plan.
• Blue Demon sends an order overseas, then invites Lin to take a walk and relax.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu shows the cost and limits of his power, while remaining calculating and confident. He openly confesses his role in the Middle East conflict because he expects to act again and needs Blue Demon’s help.
• Blue Demon shifts between trusted friend, investigator, and operative. Her warning about the Divine Control Technique comes from personal concern, though she initially attributes its victims’ condition to the art itself. She recognizes Lin’s motives and quickly acts on his request.
• Their candid, teasing exchange—including Lin’s joking demand for payment and disability insurance—underscores their familiarity. Blue Demon’s closing invitation brings a personal warmth to an otherwise dangerous conversation.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Lin’s interrogation technique can devastate its targets and nearly incapacitated him as well.
• Trust and secrecy: Seeing too deeply into others can destroy relationships; Blue Demon advises restraint as a friend, not merely a colleague.
• Deception and strategic escalation: Lin’s carefully staged actions reveal one enemy weapon while anticipating another.
• Uncertainty and looming danger: The Moon Lotus’s unexplained illusion and its role in the Litian Tribe’s larger plan signal that a more serious conflict may be approaching.

Chapter Summary:

Level Three Clearance: Lust Heavenly King

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu leaves Blue Demon’s residence and sees Qianlong Headquarters’ riverside settlement, including Blue Demon’s house marked by a blue plaque.
• He and Blue Demon intend to visit another Heavenly King. Bloodmark Heavenly King is absent on a mission, so Blue Demon suggests visiting Miaoyin Heavenly King instead.
• They find Miaoyin’s residence, Zither Terrace, empty. Blue Demon deduces that Miaoyin has gone to the Mechanical Bureau to resume work on decrypting Wing Blade now that her suspicions in the Wang Zhongze case have been cleared.
• Lin Xiaosu worries that, as an outsider whose investigation is complete, he may not be permitted into Qianlong’s core research facilities. Blue Demon tells him to check his Dragon Eye.
• Lin discovers that he has been granted permanent Level Three clearance, allowing access to nearly every area of headquarters. Blue Demon jokingly declares him the new “Lust Heavenly King,” based on Xin Yue’s nickname for him and his talent for reading people’s expressions.
• The authorization demonstrates that the Dragon Head and Qianlong now genuinely trust Lin Xiaosu. Blue Demon is especially pleased because the former barrier between Lin and Qianlong has disappeared.
• At the Mechanical Bureau, Lin’s identity and clearance are verified at the entrance. He, Blue Demon, and Miaoyin meet there.
• Miaoyin thanks Lin for helping clear her name. He reassures her that she was never truly guilty and need not feel indebted.
• Miaoyin brings them to the Wing Blade research team, led by the rigid but methodical Zhu Ban.
• They discover Zhu Ban arguing with a young researcher who believes Wing Blade possesses three forms and should be tested. Zhu refuses because the experiment has nearly a ten percent chance of killing someone and would consume Wing Blade’s only energy source.
• Lin recognizes the argumentative young man as Ding Dong, the legendary wastrel and the elder brother of Ding Ruoshui. Ding Dong jokingly complains that Qianlong has “fleece[d]” the Ding family by recruiting both him and his brother-in-law.
• Miaoyin supports Ding Dong’s proposal, while Zhu insists that the limited energy source must be preserved for later research. Ding Dong argues that refusing to attempt a major breakthrough means sacrificing the essential goal for lesser concerns.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Gains permanent Level Three clearance, marking his transition from a tolerated outsider to a trusted member of Qianlong. He becomes more directly involved in high-level research and is humorously assigned the title “Lust Heavenly King.”
• Blue Demon: Shows her playful, teasing personality, especially toward Lin and Miaoyin. She is also deeply relieved and happy that Qianlong now trusts Lin, seeing the new clearance as proof that the organization’s reservations have ended.
• Miaoyin Heavenly King: Returns to the Mechanical Bureau after being cleared of suspicion. She remains grateful to Lin and demonstrates confidence by supporting the Wing Blade experiment.
• Zhu Ban: Is portrayed as extremely rigid, cautious, and scientifically rigorous. His refusal to approve the experiment stems from concern over risk and the scarcity of Wing Blade’s energy source.
• Ding Dong: Appears as energetic, outspoken, reckless, and intellectually bold. Despite his wastrel reputation, he shows genuine insight into Wing Blade’s potential and is willing to challenge authority for scientific progress.

Significant Themes

• Trust and acceptance: Lin’s Level Three clearance symbolizes Qianlong’s complete acceptance of him after the Wang Zhongze investigation.
• Risk versus caution: The debate over Wing Blade’s energy source pits Ding Dong’s willingness to pursue a transformative breakthrough against Zhu Ban’s careful scientific restraint.
• Scientific progress: The chapter highlights the tension between preserving resources for future study and risking them to achieve an immediate, potentially revolutionary discovery.
• Reputation and vindication: Miaoyin’s return to the Mechanical Bureau reflects the restoration of her reputation after being wrongly suspected.
• Humor and intimacy: Blue Demon’s teasing and the “Lust Heavenly King” nickname lighten the serious political and scientific developments while revealing growing camaraderie.

Character Interactions

• Blue Demon teases Lin about sleeping in her residence and jokes that Miaoyin should repay him for “saving” her reputation.
• Lin and Blue Demon discuss his new clearance, with Blue Demon playfully mocking his new title.
• Miaoyin and Lin share a sincere conversation in which she expresses gratitude and he tells her not to feel burdened by what he did.
• Zhu Ban and Ding Dong engage in a heated argument over whether Wing Blade’s possible additional forms justify consuming its only energy source.
• Ding Dong’s recognition of Lin creates an unexpected personal connection between the research dispute and Lin’s ties to the Ding family.
• Miaoyin sides with Ding Dong, bringing her into direct opposition with Zhu Ban’s cautious approach.

Key plot points and events

• Zhu Ban and Ding Dong clash over whether to conserve Wing Blade’s limited energy or pursue a breakthrough. Ding Dong leaves with Lin Xiaosu, still determined to see Wing Blade’s third form.
• Ding Dong reveals that his physics research is complete, but admits he wants to stay long enough to test the weapon. Lin Xiaosu gets him permission to show the research data.
• The holographic display presents Wing Blade’s forms: its original humanoid form, a disc that appears to function as a shield, and a predicted third form—a sword with a theoretical speed of Mach 300.
• Lin Xiaosu recognizes the sword as Wing Blade’s true expression of power and praises Ding Dong’s insight. When Ding Dong doubts whether they can test the third form, Lin Xiaosu says he can solve the energy problem.
• Zhu Ban, Blue Demon, and Heavenly King Miaoyin reveal they have been secretly monitoring the conversation. Lin Xiaosu announces that Wing Blade’s energy-flow system is a formation.

Character developments

• Lin Xiaosu shows how quickly he can absorb and connect technical information. His confidence in identifying a solution shifts the discussion from theoretical analysis toward a possible test.
• Ding Dong is playful and self-interested, joking about exploiting his mother’s reward money, but his curiosity and excitement about Wing Blade reveal genuine scientific passion. He also takes pride in his work.
• Zhu Ban remains cautious about the project’s scarce energy, but his anger gives way to intense interest once Lin Xiaosu suggests a solution.
• Blue Demon and Miaoyin act as observers, sharing the others’ concern about the project’s competing priorities.

Significant themes

• Breakthrough versus restraint: Ding Dong prioritizes discovery, while Zhu Ban weighs the risks to the larger project.
• Form and hidden potential: Wing Blade’s earlier forms conceal its ultimate identity and power as a blade.
• Science and unconventional insight: Lin Xiaosu’s recognition of a formation in the energy system may bridge technical research and a different kind of knowledge.
• Curiosity as motivation: Despite his complaints about being confined, Ding Dong stays because he cannot bear to leave the third form unexplored.

Character interactions

• Ding Dong and Zhu Ban’s sharp, teasing arguments reveal both their frustration and their shared investment in the research.
• Lin Xiaosu encourages Ding Dong’s curiosity, secures access to the data, and helps him articulate Wing Blade’s importance.
• The joking exchange about the family reward shows Lin Xiaosu’s familiarity with Ding Dong and his mother.
• Zhu Ban, Blue Demon, and Miaoyin quietly monitor Lin Xiaosu and Ding Dong, then confront Lin Xiaosu’s surprising claim about the energy system.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu identifies the Wing Blade’s mysterious energy source as an extremely rare Five Elements Formation Stone, one capable of sustaining metal, wood, water, fire, and earth attributes in balance.
• He proposes a substitute: five separate Formation Stones, one for each attribute, which should reproduce the same energy effect.
• Lin Xiaosu secretly retrieves five Formation Crystal Pillars from his hidden Mystic Realm Space. He possesses tens of thousands of such stones, stolen from formation masters in the Abyssal Depths, though no one knows the true extent of his hoard.
• At Qianlong’s testing facility, Brain Heavenly King’s technological work has already decrypted and optimized the Wing Blade’s control system.
• Lin Xiaosu inserts the five Formation Crystal Pillars into the Wing Blade, successfully restoring its energy source.
• Ding Dong activates the Wing Blade’s second form, transforming it into a disc that generates powerful formation shielding:
  • It stops an incoming missile.
  • It protects everything behind it from the missile’s explosion.
  • It remains unaffected by high-powered lasers.
• The successful test demonstrates that ancient formations and modern technology can be combined to create a weapon capable of countering Hydra’s Wing Blade.
• The group then attempts to activate the third form, which transforms the Wing Blade into a sword. However, the modern controller burns out before the weapon can display its destructive power.
• Zhu Ban considers the experiment a success because the second form worked and the third-form concept was confirmed. Ding Dong angrily argues that adding modern technology to ancient technology is fundamentally flawed.
• The chapter ends by identifying the remaining major problem: the energy source has been solved, but the Wing Blade’s control system cannot withstand the third form.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates his exceptional knowledge of formations and reveals another aspect of his mysterious ability to conceal objects. His immense hidden stockpile of Formation Stones also highlights his resourcefulness and connection to past conflicts.
• Blue Demon becomes increasingly aware that Lin Xiaosu hides far more than she realizes. She is shocked by the magically heavier bag but quickly promises to keep his secret. She also recognizes the significance of combining technology and formations.
• Zhu Ban, usually rigid and skeptical, becomes visibly excited when the substitute energy source works. His rare praise of Ding Dong shows his growing respect for the younger inventor.
• Ding Dong displays technical brilliance and enthusiasm, successfully operating the Wing Blade’s second form. However, his frustration over the controller’s failure reveals his impatience and strong confidence in his own theories.
• Miaoyin Heavenly King shifts from skepticism to astonishment as the formation-based energy source succeeds. Ding Dong’s criticism also causes her to question whether Qianlong’s technological approach is fundamentally misguided.
• Brain Heavenly King is established as a technological genius who decrypted and improved the Wing Blade’s control system in only three days.
• Lin Xiaosu reflects deeply on the broader implications of technology, considering whether humanity’s mastery of technology was what allowed it to defeat the Heavenly and Earthly Daos.

Significant Themes

• Fusion of ancient and modern knowledge: The successful second form shows that traditional formations and advanced technology can complement each other.
• Limits of technological progress: Although technology appears nearly limitless, the failed third-form test reveals that modern systems may be unable to withstand the power of ancient weapons.
• Humanity’s rise through technology: Lin Xiaosu considers whether humanity ultimately surpassed other paths because technology could reproduce or rival abilities once limited to bloodlines or cultivation.
• Secrecy and hidden power: Lin Xiaosu’s concealed Formation Stones and unknown storage ability emphasize that his true resources and capabilities remain far greater than others understand.
• Strategic and national stakes: Improving the Wing Blade could allow Qianlong to suppress Hydra, making the experiment important not merely scientifically but politically and militarily.
• Innovation versus tradition: Ding Dong’s claim that modern additions to ancient technology are “the wrong path” raises a central conflict about whether progress should come through integration or preservation of original designs.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu explains the Formation Stone theory to Zhu Ban, Miaoyin Heavenly King, and the others, persuading them that the energy source can be replicated.
• Blue Demon confronts Lin Xiaosu about the mysteriously heavier bag, but instead of exposing him, she agrees to protect his secret and joins him in the experiment.
• The assembled researchers rely on Lin Xiaosu’s formations, Brain Heavenly King’s technical modifications, Ding Dong’s control skills, and Zhu Ban’s leadership.
• Zhu Ban praises Ding Dong after the successful second-form test, but Ding Dong rejects the compliment and criticizes the modern control system.
• Ding Dong’s criticism unsettles Zhu Ban and causes Miaoyin Heavenly King to reconsider the assumptions behind their technological approach.

Key plot points and events

• Qianlong’s team concludes that the modern control attachment on Wing Blade cannot withstand the strain of its third form. Ding Dong argues that simply asking another technical expert to improve the same approach will not work; they must reconsider the underlying design.
• Ding Dong asks to inspect Wing Blade’s original control structure. The projection reveals mysterious patterns, which he identifies as Puppet Art: Wing Blade was originally designed as a puppet, not as a machine controlled by technology. He is eager to study the design, but Zhu Ban and Miaoyin refuse to let him take the top-secret plans outside. He agrees to work on them at headquarters.
• Zhu Ban asks Lin Xiaosu for more Formation Crystal Pillars, and Lin promises to bring some to Blue Heavenly King.
• Blue Demon jokes about Lin’s reward for uncovering twenty-six moles and helping restore Wing Blade’s usefulness. Their conversation turns to whether he should meet Dragon Head or visit the Three-Thirty-Three Pagoda.
• Blue Demon explains that the pagoda is a combat test, with increasingly difficult floors culminating in the Heavenly King domain. Eighty-two people have cleared floor thirty; only Jing Lei has reached floor thirty-three.
• Lin becomes interested when he learns that the blind man Lu Yun—who once stayed at Unit 101 and wrote the Mountains and Rivers Classic—designed and built the pagoda. Its name connects to the repeated “thirty-three” measurements Lin once noticed in Lu Yun’s footprints. Lin decides he wants to visit.

Character developments

• Ding Dong shows that his mechanical and physics expertise can lead him beyond his specialty. His recognition of Puppet Art opens a promising new direction for understanding Wing Blade.
• Lin Xiaosu remains irreverent and money-minded, but the connection between Lu Yun and the pagoda sharply captures his curiosity. He also wants to measure his combat ability against Qianlong’s strongest fighters.
• Blue Demon acts as Lin’s guide and confidante, steering him toward the pagoda while teasing him about money and marriage.
• Zhu Ban is protective of classified research, though he is enthusiastic about obtaining Lin’s Formation Crystal Pillars.

Significant themes

• Innovation through changing assumptions: Wing Blade’s limitations may stem from treating a puppet as a technological device; a breakthrough requires rethinking its nature.
• Security versus discovery: Ding Dong’s research is encouraged, but access to sensitive information remains strictly controlled.
• Hidden strength and ambition: Qianlong’s true power exceeds its official roster, and the pagoda offers a way to test individual ability.
• Mystery and recurring patterns: The number thirty-three links Lu Yun’s past actions to his creation, hinting at a larger significance.

Character interactions

• Ding Dong’s proposal initially meets Zhu Ban’s resistance, while Miaoyin ultimately permits him to study the plans under supervision. Lin helps clarify that Ding Dong wants the physical design, not the control code.
• Blue Demon and Lin exchange playful, teasing banter about his rewards, his reluctance to display his skills, and his supposed betrothal needs.
• Blue Demon’s account of Lu Yun prompts Lin to connect the pagoda’s name with his earlier observations, changing his decision from reluctance to keen interest.

Plot and events

• Lin Xiaosu enters the Three-Thirty-Three Pagoda, whose four physical floors contain thirty-three simulated stages. His climb is watched by Blue Demon, Heavenly King Miaoyin, Jing Lei, and Snow Wind Heavenly King.
• On the first floor, Lin chooses his weapons at random, relying on whatever the environment offers. He uses Great Void Spiral to defeat opponents with leaves, stones, and sand, clearing all ten stages in 9 minutes, 17 seconds—a new record, beating Jing Lei’s 9:36.
• He clears the second floor, which tests Gold-Medal-level combat. Rather than rushing, he studies the simulated opponents’ techniques and cultivation. His time is 18 minutes, 23 seconds.
• On the third floor, the enemies reach the Peering into Earth Realm and grow close to Blue Demon’s strength. Lin adapts, finds openings, and clears the twenty-ninth stage with a leaf strike. A golden signal announces that someone has reached the Heavenly-King Realm, setting Qianlong Base abuzz.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin demonstrates formidable combat skill, improvisation, and careful observation. His slower pace on the second floor reflects his habit of analyzing opponents, not a lack of ability.
• Jing Lei responds to Lin’s record with genuine admiration rather than jealousy, saying he hopes to fight alongside him someday.
• Blue Demon has encouraged Lin to climb because he is already caught up in the struggle for influence; she wants to strengthen his position. She and Miaoyin debate whether he might reach the thirty-second or even thirty-third stage.
• Miaoyin teases Blue Demon about her feelings toward Lin, prompting an embarrassed, irritable response. During the third-floor fight, she and Blue Demon watch tensely together.
• Snow Wind Heavenly King is excited by Lin’s progress and initially mistakes his technique, while Jing Lei identifies it as Great Void Spiral.

Significant themes

• Skill through adaptability: Lin succeeds by turning ordinary objects and changing surroundings into weapons.
• Observation and learning: He studies opponents even in a simulation, treating each encounter as useful experience.
• Recognition and rivalry: His record and apparent breakthrough draw public attention, while Jing Lei’s gracious reaction contrasts with the potential for competition.
• Power and political pressure: Blue Demon sees Lin as already at the center of larger forces, making his achievement both a personal test and a shift in the balance around him.

Chapter Summary

Key events

• Lin Xiaosu enters the Three-Thirty-Three Pagoda’s Heavenly-King Realm, becoming the eighty-third person in Qianlong history to reach it. His achievement ignites an uproar on the headquarters forum, where members question why the Audit Group once rejected him.
• Blue Demon reveals to Heavenly King Miaoyin that the public spectacle was partly intended to pressure Qianlong’s leadership into revisiting the Audit Group’s decision. Though twenty-six traitors were uncovered in earlier interrogations, none implicated the Audit Group, leaving unanswered questions about who blocked Lin’s entry and why.
• Lin faces a sword-wielding guardian on the thirtieth floor. Using a branch as a wooden sword, he kills the Peering into Heaven Realm swordsman with a single, exceptionally sharp strike.
• He then confronts a vastly stronger, saber-wielding guardian in the Heaven-Peering High-Realm. Rather than evade its powerful attacks, Lin repeatedly meets them head-on with the second form of the Parting Sword Dao, Parting Weight.
• Jing Lei realizes Lin is exploiting his Rejuvenation Lineage technique: its rapid energy recovery may let him outlast the guardian. Lin is being driven back less with each clash, suggesting he could soon match his opponent.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu reveals the combat skill he had concealed on the lower floors. His one-strike victory demonstrates the precision of his Sword Dao; his stubborn exchanges with the second guardian show a willingness to fight through endurance rather than follow conventional tactics.
• Blue Demon confirms that she arranged Lin’s trial partly to strengthen his standing and expose the circumstances of his rejection. She openly supports his rise, even though he may surpass her in direct combat.
• Heavenly King Miaoyin recognizes the political implications of Blue Demon’s plan and reacts with surprise to Lin’s victories. She and Blue Demon share excitement after his first one-strike triumph.
• Jing Lei understands Lin’s strategy before the others do and explains how his regenerative technique may turn the second battle in his favor. His own history—reaching the thirty-third floor by evasion, speed, and a decisive counterattack—contrasts with Lin’s approach.
• The Snow Wind Heavenly King is startled by Lin’s strength and later struggles to believe that regeneration could overcome the guardian’s energy expenditure.

Significant themes

• Merit versus institutional injustice: Lin’s achievement forces Qianlong to confront the decision that kept him out, raising questions about accountability and trust.
• Hidden strength and unconventional behavior: Lin’s mild conduct toward weaker opponents contrasts with the force he displays before powerful observers.
• Adaptation in combat: Lin breaks the established pattern of evasion, relying instead on direct resistance and endurance.
• Public success as political leverage: His climb is both a personal trial and a means of compelling powerful institutions to answer for the past.

Plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu defeats the pagoda’s final guardian. His Secret Rejuvenation Art lets him withstand repeated blows until he gains the upper hand, then he finishes the fight with the Parting Sword Dao.
• He reaches the pagoda’s previously empty thirty-third floor, becoming only the second person to do so after Jing Lei.
• Qianlong’s forum erupts over the Audit Group’s earlier rejection of Lin. The Dragon Head responds by ordering all seven members suspended and a new group formed, and requests a meeting with Lin.
• On the rooftop, Lin reflects on Daoist Lu Yun’s likely purpose in building the pagoda. He discovers hidden formation lines and opens a secret Formation Dao scene.
• A butterfly inside the formation exerts pressure comparable to an Enlightened Realm titan and hurls Lin back out. He concludes that the butterfly is real, and may be a safeguard Lu Yun left at Qianlong Headquarters against threats too powerful for the world.
• Lin leaves the pagoda and is met by a messenger summoning him to see the Dragon Head.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin proves himself a Super Heavenly King-level fighter, combining endurance, recovery, and swordsmanship to overcome the final guardian. His curiosity and Heavenly Insight Eye also let him uncover the pagoda’s hidden secret.
• Jing Lei recognizes Lin’s strength and welcomes the prospect of another person reaching the pagoda’s highest level.
• The Dragon Head chooses decisive action over procedural caution, taking responsibility for suspending the Audit Group and moving to meet Lin.
• Blue Demon and Miaoyin celebrate Lin’s achievement and joke about preparing food together, revealing their affection and easy rapport.

Significant themes

• Endurance as a trump card: Lin’s recovery ability turns a losing exchange into victory.
• Accountability and public trust: Qianlong’s leaders must respond when credible criticism spreads among their own members.
• Hidden purpose and preparation: The pagoda is more than a measure of combat strength; its secret may be a defense against future existential threats.
• Limits of power: Even a seemingly harmless butterfly can overwhelm Lin, showing how far Enlightened Realm strength exceeds the world’s known hierarchy.

Plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu meets the Dragon Head in a secluded office at Qianlong Headquarters. They discuss the uproar on the headquarters forum after the Audit Group denied Lin entry.
• The Dragon Head reveals that he has dismissed all seven Audit Group members—not simply to appease public opinion, but to flush out a suspected traitor among them by removing their power and watching what they do next.
• Lin thanks the Dragon Head for sending Red Banner to protect his family and agency. The Dragon Head explains that the protection reflects the danger posed by Lin’s enemies, not favoritism.
• Lin recognizes that Level-Three Clearance is an invitation to share information, not just a reward or token of trust. He and the Dragon Head agree to work openly and cooperate.
• Lin asks what Qianlong could do against threats from the Kun Cang Enlightened Realm or the sealed Inner-Earth Outsiders. The Dragon Head mentions the legendary Three Heavens, which might appear if civilization faced extinction, though Qianlong knows little about it.
• Lin reveals that a formation atop the Three-Thirty-Three Pagoda leads to a world containing a Daoist temple called the Three Heavens. The Dragon Head, astonished, goes with Lin to investigate.
• Lin warns that a living butterfly inside the formation is extraordinarily powerful—possibly beyond what he and Jing Lei could withstand. The chapter ends as Lin begins opening the formation.

Character developments

• Lin Xiaosu shows growing confidence and political insight: he understands the Dragon Head’s maneuver against the suspected traitor and the strategic meaning of his clearance.
• The Dragon Head emerges as a careful strategist, willing to take risks once Qianlong’s internal situation is cleaner. His surprise at Lin’s discovery exposes how much remains unknown even to Qianlong.
• Their relationship shifts from official dealings toward reciprocal trust and partnership, formalized by their handshake and agreement to share intelligence.

Significant themes

• Power and accountability: Removing the Audit Group’s authority is designed to expose hidden corruption.
• Trust through reciprocity: Clearance is framed as an exchange of candor and cooperation, rather than a simple reward.
• The limits of institutions: Qianlong’s intelligence and defenses may be inadequate against forces beyond the mortal world.
• Hidden worlds and looming danger: The Three Heavens and the powerful butterfly suggest that ancient, extraordinary forces exist within reach of Qianlong.

Character interactions

• Lin and the Dragon Head move from veiled, metaphorical small talk to frank discussion of politics, protection, intelligence, and existential threats.
• The Dragon Head acknowledges Lin’s contribution to Qianlong’s recent cleanup, while Lin credits the Dragon Head for protecting his family and granting access.
• Their mutual respect becomes an explicit working agreement, then leads directly to their joint journey to the pagoda.

Plot and key events

• Lin Xiaosu and Dragon Head discover that the image of the “Three Heavens” inside the formation is a clue to the real place, not the destination itself. Lin Xiaosu photographs it with the Dragon Eye.
• A dangerous jade-colored butterfly appears, but Dragon Head’s jade pendant calms it. They realize Daoist Master Lu Yun left both the butterfly and pendant behind: the pendant is not only the butterfly’s key, but also opens a passage into the formation.
• Dragon Head concludes the Three Heavens are guardians who will emerge when a Civilization Rupture threatens. He and Lin Xiaosu agree to leave them undisturbed and focus on their own generation’s responsibilities.
• Dragon Head grants Lin Xiaosu Level-Three Clearance and hints that he should visit the mountain where Changye will be around Mid-Autumn. Lin Xiaosu understands the matchmaking implication and agrees awkwardly.
• On his way back, Lin Xiaosu reflects on what he has gained at headquarters: a major increase in his Lesser Divinity mastery, a place beside Jing Lei after climbing the Three-Thirty-Three Pagoda, and knowledge of the Three Heavens.
• At Blue Demon’s cottage, Blue Demon and Miaoyin appear to be cooking Lin Xiaosu a celebratory meal. Blue Demon has actually cooked the food herself and jokingly takes credit for Miaoyin’s supposed first attempt. After dinner and a few symbolic drinks, Miaoyin leaves.
• Blue Demon invites Lin Xiaosu to stay and tells him that news has arrived from the Temple. The chapter ends as he eagerly prepares to hear it.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu moves from anxiety about the butterfly to relief and greater confidence once he understands its connection to Lu Yun and the pendant. He also recognizes the Three Heavens as a source of hope, and responds tactfully to Dragon Head’s hint about Changye.
• Dragon Head shows trust in Lin Xiaosu, shares the discovery with him, and encourages him with a broader view of guardianship: each generation has its own duty. Their exchange is warm and respectful.
• Blue Demon and Miaoyin reveal a playful, domestic side that contrasts with their stature as Heavenly Kings. Blue Demon teases Miaoyin while seeking Lin Xiaosu’s praise; Miaoyin calls out the deception, and Lin Xiaosu plays along.
• The meal and relaxed conversation deepen Lin Xiaosu’s easy rapport with Blue Demon, before the Temple report shifts the mood toward the next mystery.

Significant themes

• Guardianship across generations: Different people and institutions protect the world in their own eras, while the Three Heavens stand watch over a much longer span.
• Hope and confidence: Knowing that unseen guardians may intervene gives people strength to face overwhelming threats.
• Trust and inherited responsibility: Lu Yun’s pendant and the butterfly show that careful preparations can support those who come later.
• Human warmth beneath power: The Heavenly Kings’ joking dinner and Dragon Head’s personal encouragement make formidable figures feel approachable.

Key plot points

• Lin Xiaosu learns that Qing Ru betrayed the Ancestral Hall during the Moon Lotus operation. While the Third Elder used the treasure to confuse the Flying Eagle Army, Qing Ru secretly created a second illusion, stole the Moon Lotus, and erased the elder’s consciousness. The army then killed the helpless elder.
• The betrayal is even more startling because the real Qing Ru had died long ago: the man impersonating him had deceived the perceptive Left Envoy for an extended period.
• Lin Xiaosu fears the Ancestral Hall may retaliate if the loss of the Moon Lotus leaves it with no other path forward. It could unleash the Earthfall Beast Army, risking catastrophe across the Middle East and eventually threatening Daxia.
• Blue Demon invites Lin Xiaosu to Unit 101 for Mid-Autumn. She tells him it is Changye’s birthday, but privately reveals it is actually the day Changye is expected to die. She hopes Lin Xiaosu will spend Changye’s final Mid-Autumn with her.
• The next morning, Blue Demon drives Lin Xiaosu and Ding Dong toward River City. Ding Dong appears exhausted, supposedly from staying up to say goodbye to his robot maid, Xiao You. Once they arrive, he admits he was really studying runes and asks Lin Xiaosu to help with a plan to reproduce them for someone who can decipher them.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu recognizes that his focus on the Left Envoy caused him to overlook the more dangerous figure beside him. He weighs the Ancestral Hall’s possible desperation and agrees to visit Changye, unaware of the real reason for the invitation.
• Blue Demon shows concern about the danger of a cornered Ancestral Hall, then turns to the personal matter of Changye’s approaching death. Her sadness under the stars contrasts with her outwardly casual invitation.
• Ding Dong displays his sentimental side by claiming to have feelings for Xiao You, prompting Lin Xiaosu’s disbelief and Blue Demon’s exasperated reaction. He then reveals that this was a cover story: he has been memorizing runes and needs Lin Xiaosu’s help.
• The chapter contrasts Lin Xiaosu and Blue Demon’s serious political concerns with Ding Dong’s comic behavior, while the invitation to Mid-Autumn quietly establishes a looming personal tragedy.

Significant themes

• Deception and overlooked threats: Qing Ru’s impersonation and betrayal show how a seemingly minor attendant can overturn the plans of powerful strategists.
• Desperation and escalation: Losing the Moon Lotus may push the Ancestral Hall toward extreme measures, with consequences far beyond its own conflict.
• Mortality and parting: The coming Mid-Autumn gathering is framed by Changye’s approaching death and Blue Demon’s wish to give her sister one final meaningful moment.
• Affection and attachment: Ding Dong’s apparent bond with Xiao You—whether genuine or exaggerated for cover—adds a lighter, humorous counterpoint to the chapter’s impending loss.

Key plot points and events

• Ding Dong reveals the secret behind his mechanical genius: as a boy, he bought a tiny blood-red coffin from an antique shop. An old man emerged from it and taught him the ancient Puppet Art, especially its machinery and rune-pattern techniques.
• Ding Dong is unsure whether his teacher is human or a ghost. Lin Xiaosu recognizes the coffin as another Blood Coffin, like the one in his own secret realm, and becomes eager to meet its occupant.
• The two return to the Ding family villa. Ding Dong claims he was kidnapped by a scam ring after being lured abroad by a respectable woman, and that Lin Xiaosu rescued him. His story is theatrical and partly designed to manipulate his family.
• Mrs. Ding is relieved but refuses to pay the promised reward, insisting Lin Xiaosu is family. She instead orders Ding Dong grounded and tells the servants to keep watch.
• Mrs. Ding and Ding Ruoshui discuss the reward’s actual terms: Ding Ruoshui had promised Lin Xiaosu either a hundred million yuan or herself. Mrs. Ding insists the promise means Ding Ruoshui must marry him, turning the exchange into a comic family dispute.
• In the basement, Ding Dong admits his tale may have failed. Lin Xiaosu says it did, because Ding Dong overplayed his own agenda.

Character developments

• Ding Dong explains that his passion for machines and exceptional skill come from years of study under the mysterious coffin-dwelling teacher. He remains a schemer, trying to use his rescue story to obtain money and avoid consequences.
• Lin Xiaosu learns of the second Blood Coffin and its possible connection to ancient arts, making meeting the old man a priority. He is also reluctant to participate in Ding Dong’s family-money scheme, though he agrees not to expose it.
• Mrs. Ding shows deep affection and relief at her son’s return, but responds by restricting him and treating his misadventure as proof that he cannot be trusted.
• Ding Ruoshui becomes caught between her earlier promise to Lin Xiaosu and her mother’s insistence that it be honored literally.

Significant themes

• The supernatural and the ancient: The Blood Coffin and Puppet Art suggest hidden forces and forgotten knowledge persist in the modern world.
• Family loyalty and obligation: The family welcomes Ding Dong back, while promises and kinship complicate the question of reward and repayment.
• Deception and performance: Ding Dong dramatizes his experience to influence his mother, but his self-serving embellishments undermine the story.
• Comedy through opportunism: Characters turn money, romance, and even national prosperity into excuses for self-interest.

Character interactions

• Ding Dong confides in Lin Xiaosu as a trusted brother-in-law and asks for help investigating his teacher’s nature.
• Lin Xiaosu challenges Ding Dong’s plan to extract money from his mother, while agreeing not to interfere.
• The household welcomes Ding Dong’s return, but his mother scolds and confines him; he then blames his troubles on women and argues against her interpretation.
• Mrs. Ding and Ding Ruoshui clash over whether the old reward should be paid in money or fulfilled through marriage.
• Lin Xiaosu later punctures Ding Dong’s confidence, explaining that his rescue story failed because he made his own motives too obvious.

Chapter Summary: “Puppet Grandmaster”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu criticizes Ding Dong’s earlier attempt to use an unusual story to promote his personal agenda of finding a wife. Ding Dong accepts the criticism and decides to consult Lin Xiaosu before pursuing future plans.
• Ding Dong reproduces the complex Puppet Talisman Pattern he saw in Wing Blade’s mind. Although he memorized it through immense effort, Lin Xiaosu immediately spots five errors: five figures mistakenly drawn as pentagrams should be hexagrams.
• After correcting the pattern, Ding Dong and Lin Xiaosu visit the Blood Coffin, which contains an ancient Elder Remnant Seed.
• Ding Dong opens the miniature blood-red coffin and summons the old man within. The old man angrily accuses him of violating their agreement and demands that Lin Xiaosu leave.
• When the old man attacks Lin Xiaosu’s Sea of Consciousness, Lin Xiaosu’s Primordial Spirit easily repels him. The old man is shocked that someone in the Dharma-Degenerate Era possesses a Primordial Spirit and realizes he cannot defeat Lin Xiaosu.
• Ding Dong shows the old man the Puppet Talisman Pattern. The old man identifies it as a Fifth-Level Puppet Technique and notices that part of the pattern is missing, explaining why Wing Blade cannot be fully controlled.
• The old man restores the missing section by transforming into smoke and completing the design. The finished pattern contains eighty-one stars—seventy-two pentagrams and nine hexagrams—and matches the true pattern within Wing Blade.
• Ding Dong asks how to activate the puppet technique. The old man explains that true qi and a suitable talisman or formation brush are required.
• Ding Dong reveals that he has developed a technological substitute for true qi: a low-voltage device that transforms electricity into a similar effect.
• Lin Xiaosu provides a formation brush and Five-Element Spirit Stones. Ding Dong attaches the brush to his electric device and successfully uses an electrical arc to draw the completed talisman pattern in the air, demonstrating that modern technology can reproduce the effects of true qi.

Character Developments

• Ding Dong demonstrates extraordinary memory, precision, and mechanical talent. Though careless and unserious in ordinary matters, he is highly disciplined and meticulous when working with machinery and puppet technology.
• He also proves himself genuinely innovative by solving the problem of lacking true qi through electrical engineering rather than cultivation.
• Lin Xiaosu displays his exceptional memory and powerful Primordial Spirit. He can instantly identify details in the talisman and effortlessly defeat the ancient remnant’s spiritual attack.
• Lin Xiaosu becomes increasingly excited by the possibility of restoring Wing Blade’s true power, recognizing that the missing talisman pattern is the key to activating its genuine third form.
• The old man, once arrogant and threatening, becomes cautious after discovering Lin Xiaosu’s strength. He is revealed to be a grandmaster of Puppet Dao, knowledgeable but weakened after ten thousand years.

Significant Themes

• Technology and cultivation: The chapter explores whether modern technology can imitate or replace traditional cultivation methods. Ding Dong’s electrical device successfully reproduces the function of true qi.
• The importance of precision: A few incorrectly drawn symbols prevent the puppet from functioning, emphasizing that advanced techniques require exactness rather than approximate imitation.
• Rediscovering lost ancient knowledge: The completed talisman reconnects modern characters with an ancient Puppet Dao technique that had been damaged or forgotten over ten thousand years.
• Hidden genius and unconventional solutions: Ding Dong’s unusual methods reveal that innovation can arise outside traditional cultivation paths.
• Power and survival across eras: The weakened ancient remnant initially relies on intimidation, but Lin Xiaosu’s Primordial Spirit exposes the vast difference between ancient glory and present vulnerability.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu teases and critiques Ding Dong, while Ding Dong accepts his judgment and treats him as a trusted adviser.
• Ding Dong and Lin Xiaosu work together to verify and correct the Puppet Talisman Pattern.
• The old man initially insults both Ding Dong’s judgment and Lin Xiaosu’s age, but Lin Xiaosu’s effortless spiritual counterattack forces him to acknowledge Lin Xiaosu’s strength.
• Ding Dong respectfully consults his former master about the puppet technique, though his frustration leads him to mock the old man for withholding important information.
• Lin Xiaosu ultimately provides the missing formation brush, allowing Ding Dong to combine ancient Puppet Dao with modern electrical technology and successfully recreate the talisman.