Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Yi Xiang Joins the Battle”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu reveals that he needs Ding Ruoshui’s water-based power to fully unleash his sword techniques. Blue Demon apparently sent Ding Ruoshui to accompany him for this purpose.
• When Earthfall Beasts attack the mountain, Lin Xiaosu takes Ding Ruoshui with him. Her water domain strengthens his swordsmanship, allowing him to kill five beasts instantly with one strike.
• Lin Xiaosu then descends into the valley, using Parting Weight and Parting Tears to kill more Earthfall Beasts near the river. The mountain and river become highly effective defensive positions because both provide access to water.
• Hu Ya’s position comes under heavy pressure. Although she kills several beasts, increasing numbers break through her defensive line. Snow Wind Heavenly King also fails to stop every beast.
• Yi Xiang suddenly appears in the sky with illusory butterfly wings. She controls one Earthfall Beast with a Blood Butterfly, while her small white cat effortlessly decapitates three others. This prevents the beasts from reaching the soldiers behind the defensive line.
• Yi Xiang introduces herself as being from Witch God Mountain and offers to fight alongside Hu Ya, claiming she does not know how to fight despite her impressive performance.
• On the western front, the Thousand-Spirit Saintess’s controlled beasts become far more organized and dangerous after an enemy beast controller strengthens them through flute music. They begin attacking strategically, overwhelming parts of the defensive line.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess uses Spirit-Illuminated Thousand Mountains to sense the surrounding terrain and locates the beast controller in the northwest.
• While she moves to confront him, the Heavenly Kings and Gold Badge agents struggle against the advancing beasts. Bloodmark kills several but loses his weapon; Blue Demon uses bombs and evasive techniques; Xin Yue and Zhao Zhen successfully exploit the beasts’ open mouths to kill some.
• The flute’s influence causes the Earthfall Beasts to keep their mouths shut, eliminating their main vulnerability and making them nearly impossible to kill through ordinary attacks.
• One beast breaks through the final defensive line and attacks the soldiers. The troops respond with desperate self-sacrifice, throwing themselves into the beasts’ mouths and detonating Glory Bombs from inside them.
• The chapter ends by revealing that the beast controller is hiding in a cave and using a flute with sound-transmission techniques to disguise his location.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates the overwhelming power of his sword techniques when combined with Ding Ruoshui’s water abilities. He becomes a crucial defender of the mountain and valley.
• Ding Ruoshui proves that she can fight as Lin Xiaosu’s partner rather than merely support him. Her water domain enables his strongest attacks, and she gains confidence in battle.
• Yi Xiang makes a dramatic entrance, revealing that she is far more capable than Hu Ya expected. Her ability to fly, control beasts with Blood Butterflies, and fight alongside her cat marks her as a major new force.
• Hu Ya remains powerful but is forced to acknowledge her limits when the beasts attack in large numbers. She is especially shocked by Yi Xiang’s strength.
• Snow Wind Heavenly King is impressed and somewhat embarrassed by Yi Xiang’s effectiveness, since she claims to be inexperienced yet kills beasts he struggles against.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess shows her strategic awareness by identifying that the beasts’ sudden coordination comes from an external controller. She prepares to hunt him down.
• Xin Yue and Zhao Zhen prove that unconventional techniques can allow ordinary or less powerful fighters to kill Earthfall Beasts.
• The border soldiers display extraordinary courage, discipline, and willingness to sacrifice themselves for the nation.

Significant Themes

• Strength through cooperation: Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui’s combined abilities show that complementary powers can be more effective than individual strength.
• Hidden potential and prejudice: Hu Ya initially dismisses Yi Xiang as merely a sheltered village girl connected to Lin Xiaosu, but Yi Xiang immediately disproves her assumptions.
• Adaptability in battle: Fighters must discover specific methods to overcome the Earthfall Beasts, whose defenses and behavior change throughout the battle.
• The value of ordinary people: Gold Badges and soldiers without supernatural abilities still create decisive results through strategy, courage, and sacrifice.
• War’s brutality and heroism: The soldiers’ willingness to die inside the beasts emphasizes both the horrifying cost of the battle and the selfless spirit of the border troops.
• Intelligence versus raw power: The beast controller transforms the horde from chaotic monsters into coordinated soldiers, demonstrating how strategy can dramatically alter the battlefield.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui fight together for the first time in a fully coordinated manner, with her water power amplifying his sword techniques.
• Hu Ya witnesses Yi Xiang’s abilities and reacts with surprise, admiration, and embarrassment over having underestimated her.
• Yi Xiang asks Hu Ya to let her fight beside her, presenting herself as inexperienced even after saving the defensive line.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess recognizes the strategic threat posed by the hidden beast controller and moves to confront him.
• Xin Yue and Zhao Zhen fight side by side, using teleportation and bombs to exploit the beasts’ weaknesses.
• The soldiers and their captain embody collective sacrifice, charging into certain death to protect the defensive line and destroy the invading beasts.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the Earthfall Beast Army’s defeat against Daxia’s main defenses, the Litian Ancestral Hall reveals a second strategy. More than a thousand elite Litian Tribesmen emerge from an underground passage in the eastern valley, transform into savage beasts, and ambush the Fourth Battalion of the Southwestern Border Army from the rear.
• The Fourth Battalion, numbering only a few hundred soldiers, is quickly overwhelmed. The battalion commander reports the attack and ultimately orders Daxia to fire on their own position so the Litian Tribesmen cannot break through toward headquarters. He detonates a bomb himself, and Commander Zhang Kang reluctantly orders the artillery strike.
• Ten thousand rockets devastate the mountaintop, killing most of the Litian forces. However, several hundred survive because the Tribesmen possess extraordinary regenerative abilities.
• The surviving Litian warriors are surrounded by Daxia’s Seventh Regiment, Machine Wolves, drones, and artillery. Even after breaking through these defenses, they encounter soldiers who use suicide attacks to kill them at close range. The Litian elites’ superior strength is countered by Daxia’s discipline and willingness to sacrifice.
• The Litian elder, observing from a cave, begins to question whether invading Daxia was a mistake. His assumptions about the weakness of the Dharma-Degenerate Era are shattered by the courage and military spirit of ordinary Daxia soldiers.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess locates and kills the beast tamer who has been directing the Earthfall Beasts. She also kills the Litian elder, piercing his head with a supernatural branch. Her intervention removes the key force making the beast army so difficult to defeat.
• Lin Xiaosu kills the final Earthfall Beasts on the central front, then travels to the western battlefield. Using his blood-based technique, Parting Tears, he turns the blood of fallen soldiers into a crimson mist that destroys more than a dozen remaining beasts.
• Lin Xiaosu reunites with his biological brother, Lin Xiaoyang, who is serving among the soldiers. Of the seventeen brothers from Gongchun Mountain Outpost who came to fight, eight have died. Lin Xiaoyang honors their sacrifice before leading the survivors to clear the battlefield.
• Lone Serpent, despite losing an arm while killing an Earthfall Beast, refuses Lin Xiaosu’s attempt to heal him. He explains that his upcoming Nirvana will restore the limb. His deliberate self-injury is revealed as part of his effective but dangerous combat method: inserting his arm into beasts’ mouths to tear out their Origin Crystals.
• Dawn arrives, and the surviving Heavenly Kings confirm that the Earthfall Beast Army has been completely wiped out. Bloodmark assumes temporary leadership of the Qianlong Heavenly King team after Jing Lei’s death and his own breakthrough into the Peering into Heaven Realm. Lin Xiaosu returns to rest as news of the victory sends shockwaves throughout the world.

Character Developments

• The Litian elder changes from arrogant contempt for modern humanity to stunned respect and doubt. He realizes that Daxia’s strength lies not only in weapons but also in the collective spirit and resolve of its soldiers. His death marks the collapse of his confidence in the invasion.
• Commander Zhang Kang is forced to make an agonizing military decision by ordering artillery fire on his own troops. His hesitation shows his humanity, while his eventual command demonstrates the harsh choices required to protect the larger army and nation.
• The Fourth Battalion commander and his soldiers are portrayed as heroic through their willingness to sacrifice themselves. Their deaths prevent the Litian Tribesmen from reaching the rear command structure.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess demonstrates exceptional perception and power by identifying the beast tamer, killing him, and eliminating the Litian elder. Her actions decisively shift the battle.
• Lin Xiaosu emerges as both a devastating warrior and a compassionate comrade. He protects the western front, reunites emotionally with his brother, mourns the dead, and offers to heal Lone Serpent.
• Lin Xiaoyang represents the ordinary soldier’s courage and sense of duty. Despite losing most of his comrades, he treats their deaths as an honorable sacrifice and continues serving.
• Lone Serpent reveals the terrifying nature of his fighting style and the regenerative power of his Nirvana. His final “nirvana” is described as spiritual as well as physical, reflecting his growth through the battle.
• Bloodmark becomes the practical leader of the Heavenly Kings after Jing Lei’s death, strengthened by both his breakthrough and his close bond with Lin Xiaosu.

Significant Themes

• Human resolve versus supernatural power: The Litian Tribesmen possess immense physical advantages, but Daxia’s soldiers overcome them through courage, coordination, and sacrificial determination.
• The cost of victory: The battle is won only through enormous casualties, including the destruction of the Fourth Battalion and the loss of eight of Lin Xiaoyang’s comrades.
• Military duty and moral burden: Commander Zhang Kang’s order to bombard his own troops illustrates the brutal choices commanders must make in wartime.
• The soul of an army: The Litian elder recognizes that Daxia’s true strength is not merely technology or weapons but the willingness of soldiers to protect one another and die for the nation.
• Transformation through battle: Characters emerge changed—Lone Serpent spiritually renewed, the Litian elder disillusioned, Bloodmark elevated to leadership, and Lin Xiaosu more deeply connected to his comrades and family.
• Brotherhood and sacrifice: Lin Xiaosu’s reunion with Lin Xiaoyang and the Heavenly Kings’ cooperation emphasize bonds formed through shared danger and loss.
• Dawn after catastrophe: The sunrise symbolizes survival and hope, though the devastated battlefield and worldwide reaction make clear that the victory has changed the broader balance of power.

Important Character Interactions

• The Litian elder observes the beast tamer’s strategy and later witnesses Daxia’s artillery and suicide attacks, leading him to question the invasion.
• Commander Zhang Kang communicates with the Fourth Battalion commander and is pushed into ordering the devastating friendly-fire barrage.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess silently targets the beast tamer and elder, directly altering the battle’s outcome.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui move between fronts; Ding is astonished by the strength of Qianlong’s female fighters, while Lin Xiaosu directs him toward the western battlefield.
• Lin Xiaosu reunites with Lin Xiaoyang, sharing a deeply emotional moment over the deaths of their fellow soldiers.
• Lin Xiaosu tries to heal Lone Serpent, but Lone Serpent explains his regenerative Nirvana and the reasoning behind his self-destructive fighting style.
• Bloodmark, Blue Demon, Miaoyin Heavenly King, Snow Wind Heavenly King, and the others reflect on the victory, with Bloodmark taking command and the group preparing for future missions.

Chapter Summary: “Another Detective”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At the Litian Ancestral Hall in Faraway Duerte, the Holy Lord and elders react with shock and fury after the Earthfall Army—three thousand Earthfall Beasts—was completely destroyed by Daxia’s southwestern border forces.
• The elders propose countermeasures, particularly:
  • Strengthening cooperation with Eaglefeather Kingdom, a global military power.
  • Sending five thousand elite Litian warriors across the boundary to infiltrate Daxia and attack from within.
• The Temple’s Left Envoy advises retreating to the Bridge Realm to avoid further danger, but the Holy Lord dismisses the idea and insists on planning a counterattack.
• Realizing that the Ancestral Hall’s leaders are underestimating Daxia’s determination and Lin Xiaosu’s abilities, the Left Envoy leaves the meeting.
• At his residence, the Left Envoy urges the Right Envoy to flee as well. He predicts that Daxia, Qianlong, and Lin Xiaosu will retaliate for the deaths of their soldiers.
• The two envoys discuss the mysterious Hydra Overlord and Moon Lotus, whose return might offer them another path.
• The Left Envoy reveals that someone has volunteered to search for Moon Lotus: a Litian tribesman and detective who once rivaled Lin Xiaosu and survived the Lin Clan Death Trap.
• The Left and Right Envoys immediately leave to find this “another detective.”
• Meanwhile, news of Daxia’s victory spreads worldwide. The Middle East is stunned that the supposedly invincible Earthfall Beast Army has been annihilated.

Character Developments

• Holy Lord: His confidence collapses into anger and gloom after the army’s destruction, but he remains unwilling to consider retreat and instead demands retaliation.
• First and Second Elders: Their arrogance remains intact. They interpret the defeat as a temporary setback and advocate a stronger counterattack rather than caution.
• Left Envoy: Demonstrates clear judgment and strategic insight. Unlike the Ancestral Hall elders, he recognizes the seriousness of Daxia’s military power and Lin Xiaosu’s likely revenge. His decision to leave suggests he values survival over loyalty to a doomed strategy.
• Right Envoy: Initially uncertain, he becomes frightened as he recognizes the danger posed by Daxia and Lin Xiaosu. He ultimately trusts the Left Envoy and follows him.
• Lin Xiaosu: Though absent from the main events, his reputation dominates the chapter. He is portrayed as exceptionally dangerous, unpredictable, and relentless.
• The unnamed detective: Introduced as a potential rival to Lin Xiaosu, he is notable for surviving the Lin Clan Death Trap and may possess the skills needed to locate Moon Lotus.

Significant Themes

• Arrogance versus realism: The Ancestral Hall’s belief in its own superiority prevents it from properly assessing Daxia’s strength.
• The consequences of underestimating an enemy: The destruction of the Earthfall Army removes the Ancestral Hall’s strategic buffer and exposes it to direct retaliation.
• Survival over loyalty: The Left and Right Envoys choose to escape rather than remain trapped by the elders’ reckless decisions.
• Revenge and determination: Daxia’s losses are expected to provoke a fierce response, especially from Lin Xiaosu and Qianlong.
• Mystery and rivalry: The introduction of a second detective establishes a new potential conflict and suggests that the search for Moon Lotus will become important.

Character Interactions

• The Holy Lord suppresses the elders’ arguments but rejects the Left Envoy’s recommendation to retreat.
• The Left Envoy openly warns the Right Envoy that the Temple and Ancestral Hall are in grave danger.
• Their conversation reveals mutual distrust of the Ancestral Hall’s leadership and their shared fear of Lin Xiaosu.
• The two envoys cooperate immediately once they learn that a capable rival detective may be able to locate Moon Lotus.

Chapter Summary: “Doomsday of the Litian Tribe”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the Earthfall Beast Army is completely annihilated in a single night, Eaglefeather Kingdom’s planned speeches and military expectations become useless. The war’s direction has suddenly reversed.
• At Southwest Liang Mountain, Lin Xiaosu wakes after the battle and meets White Water, who explains the heavy casualties: 3,127 soldiers died, with the worst losses caused not by the beasts but by the Litian Tribe.
• The Litian Tribe had secretly dug tunnels and sent one thousand soldiers behind Great Xia’s lines, wiping out the Fourth Battalion. The battalion commander ordered artillery to fire on his own position rather than allow the infiltrators to escape.
• Lin Xiaosu declares that the Litian Tribe must be exterminated. He argues that international law protects civilization, not hostile invaders who violate it.
• White Water agrees and announces that he will activate Plan Four, a decision that abandons existing international restrictions and targets the Litian Tribe directly.
• The Heavenly Kings discuss Yi Xiang’s ability to move through the air. Lin Xiaosu explains that she is not an Enlightened Realm expert; her ability comes from the Gu Path’s Human-Gu Unity and her flying Life-Bound Gu.
• At Sam Temple, the Litian Tribe prepares five thousand elite troops to launch another attack. Before they can depart, an enormous, undetectable missile strikes the temple.
• The explosion destroys the plaza, Divine Temple, surrounding valleys, buildings, vegetation, and the entire five-thousand-man army. The weapon resembles a nuclear strike in power but leaves no radiation and cannot be detected by radar.
• At Dulta’s Supreme Military Staff Headquarters, generals realize that Daxia possesses terrifying stealth missile technology and fear that Daxia may also retaliate against Dulta for supporting the Litian Tribe.
• The five elders of the Litian Ancestral Hall survive only because of their Half-Step Fourth Realm cultivation. They emerge from the ruins to find their temple, army, and sacred grounds completely destroyed.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu becomes more decisive and uncompromising after learning of the Fourth Battalion’s destruction. His anger toward the Litian Tribe leads him to support total extermination rather than conventional retaliation.
• White Water demonstrates his trust in Lin Xiaosu by seeking his opinion on a momentous military decision. After hearing Lin’s stance, he commits to Plan Four and prepares to report the decision to higher leadership.
• Yi Xiang becomes an object of speculation among the Heavenly Kings because of her ability to walk through the void. Lin Xiaosu protects her secret by clarifying the Gu-based source of her power.
• The Litian elders suffer a devastating reversal. Once confident in their military strength and sacred authority, they are reduced to grieving survivors amid the destruction of their temple and army.
• Daxia’s military leadership reveals its willingness to use unprecedented weapons and disregard established restrictions when confronting existential threats.

Significant Themes

• Retribution and justice: The destruction of Sam Temple is presented as punishment for the Litian Tribe’s massacre of Great Xia’s soldiers.
• The limits of civilization and law: Lin Xiaosu argues that international rules should protect civilized societies, not enemies who attack from outside the civilized order.
• Escalation of warfare: The battle shifts from conventional combat and supernatural abilities to overwhelming technological destruction.
• The collapse of old power structures: Sam Temple, the center of Litian authority, is erased almost instantly, showing that ancient institutions can be destroyed by modern military power.
• Fear and deterrence: The missile’s undetectability is as important as its destructive force. Its existence threatens not only the Litian Tribe but also Dulta and any nation aiding Great Xia’s enemies.
• The cost of victory: Although Daxia wins decisively, the enormous military casualties and destruction emphasize that triumph comes after severe sacrifice.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and White Water walk through the devastated military camp, discussing the casualties and the Litian Tribe’s infiltration. Their conversation establishes mutual respect and leads directly to the decision to activate Plan Four.
• Lin Xiaosu and Blue Demon exchange a private, teasing conversation about Yi Xiang’s departure and Lin’s relationships with the women around him.
• The Heavenly Kings question Lin Xiaosu about Yi Xiang’s abilities, revealing both their concern about the coming threats and their hope that she might be an Enlightened Realm powerhouse.
• The Litian Holy Lord and Grand Elder prepare to rally their warriors, but their confidence is abruptly destroyed when the missile strikes.
• The five surviving elders react with shock and grief as they survey the annihilation of their temple, soldiers, and religious center.

Chapter Summary: Litian Holy Lord

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a devastating missile strike destroys much of the Litian Ancestral Hall and its surroundings, the surviving elders fear another attack. Two approaching objects are revealed to be Wing Blades carrying Lin Xiaosu and five elite allies: Ding Ruoshui, Hu Ya, Blue Demon, Bloodmark, and the Thousand-Spirit Saintess.
• Their goal is to eliminate the Litian Holy Lord and prevent the Litian Tribe from threatening Daxia again.
• The group launches a surprise assault on the surviving elders. Hu Ya clashes with the First Elder; Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui confront the Second Elder; Blue Demon and Bloodmark jointly attack the Seventh Elder; and the Thousand-Spirit Saintess battles two other elders.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess severely wounds the Thirteenth Elder with a manifested ancient tree, but the attack damages her own foundation and leaves her vulnerable. Lin Xiaosu protects her by using Parting Tears to draw several elders into its deadly sword domain.
• Before the attack can finish the elders, the Litian Holy Lord erupts from underground in a gigantic, inhuman form. He effortlessly withstands Hu Ya’s punch, snaps Bloodmark’s blade, intimidates Blue Demon, and dispels Lin Xiaosu’s supposedly invincible Parting Tears with a single finger.
• The Holy Lord is revealed to be a true Fourth Realm expert, far beyond the strength of everyone present. The group realizes that their assault has seemingly become hopeless.
• Lin Xiaosu openly confesses that he orchestrated the Litian Ancestral Hall’s earlier disaster in the Abyssal Depths and manipulated the hundred Bridge Realm races into attacking it. He also admits to inciting the missile strike and deliberately branding the Litian Tribe as traitors unworthy of protection.
• After provoking the Holy Lord into fury, Lin Xiaosu declares that he has a special sword prepared for him. Instead of immediately using his own sword, he activates the Wing Blades’ previously unseen third and ultimate form.
• The chapter ends as the transformed Wing Blades launch forward like a sword, setting up the decisive confrontation.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu remains completely calm despite facing the world’s only apparent Fourth Realm expert. His confidence, strategic planning, and willingness to manipulate enemies reveal him as the architect of the Litian Tribe’s downfall.
• Hu Ya demonstrates her reckless, berserk fighting style by repeatedly attacking the vastly powerful First Elder, even after being knocked back and injured.
• Bloodmark and Blue Demon prove their courage by confronting the Seventh Elder, though the battle exposes the gap between their Heavenly King-level strength and a Half-Step Fourth Realm expert.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess displays an unexpected ability to summon an ancient tree even without natural vegetation nearby. However, using this power harms her foundation, showing its heavy cost.
• The Litian Holy Lord emerges as an overwhelming and emotionally cold force. His effortless destruction of Lin Xiaosu’s sword technique establishes the enormous gap between the Fourth Realm and lower levels.
• The surviving elders shift from confidence and rage to dependence on the Holy Lord, treating his arrival as their salvation.

Significant Themes

• Power and hierarchy: The Holy Lord’s arrival emphasizes the seemingly insurmountable divide between the Third Realm and the Fourth Realm.
• Strategy versus overwhelming strength: Lin Xiaosu relies on preparation, deception, technology, and psychological provocation to challenge an opponent who vastly surpasses him individually.
• Sacrifice and political manipulation: The Litian Tribe is deliberately used as a scapegoat and sacrificed to unite humanity against the Inner-Earth Outsiders.
• Humanity versus outsiders: The conflict is framed not merely as a personal revenge mission but as part of an inevitable larger war between humans and the Inner-Earth races.
• Defiance in the face of death: Lin Xiaosu’s calmness and refusal to acknowledge the Holy Lord’s supremacy contrast with everyone else’s fear.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu coordinates the assault while his allies engage the elders in separate battles.
• Hu Ya directly clashes with the First Elder, and their exchanges become a contest of brute force and endurance.
• Ding Ruoshui supports Lin Xiaosu by creating Square-Inch Waters, helping him pressure the Second Elder.
• Blue Demon and Bloodmark fight together against the Seventh Elder but are forced back by his superior cultivation.
• The Thousand-Spirit Saintess nearly falls after her costly attack, and Lin Xiaosu intervenes to save her.
• Lin Xiaosu and the Holy Lord engage in a tense verbal confrontation: Lin Xiaosu confesses his crimes and insults the Litian Tribe, deliberately provoking the Holy Lord into revealing his full power.
• The chapter concludes with the Holy Lord facing Lin Xiaosu’s ultimate prepared weapon—the Wing Blades’ third form.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu unleashes the Wing Blade’s third form, “Heavenly Sword Slays Gods.” The attack transforms the blade into a massive sword imbued with the Heavenly Dao, covering a hundred-mile area and destroying everything beneath it.
• The strike tears apart the Litian Holy Lord, a Fourth Realm expert regarded as the world’s only true god, along with the four elders accompanying him.
• The Wing Blade then shatters completely. Lin Xiaosu explains that the third form consumes all of its energy and destroys the blade’s physical structure, making it an ultimate but single-use attack.
• The group realizes that the third-form Wing Blade may be capable of killing even Enlightened Realm experts, though only three Wing Blades remain.
• Lin Xiaosu borrows Ding Ruoshui’s remaining water to execute “Misty Spring Rain” and eliminate enemies hiding underground. The final remnants of the Litian Ancestral Hall’s delegation are wiped out.
• The group escapes Dulta’s military response aboard the Wing Blade, making two trips to evacuate everyone despite the approaching flying cars and military encirclement.
• At Liangshan, Blue Demon reports the victory to the six Heavenly Kings. They are stunned that the Fourth Realm Holy Lord has been killed.
• The Heavenly Kings discuss whether more Wing Blades might exist, but Blue Demon explains that all four known blades came from an ancient ruin and that its location is unknown. They conclude that only three ultimate counterattacks remain available.
• Bloodmark Heavenly King confirms that Lin Xiaosu and Number 49 also returned safely. They have gone on an informal forest patrol.
• The chapter ends with Miaoyin Heavenly King teasing Blue Demon about her jealousy and reminding her that women connected to Lin Xiaosu appear to experience remarkable increases in cultivation.

2. Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates extraordinary power and composure by mastering the Wing Blade’s ultimate form and killing a Fourth Realm expert. His mysterious perception, apparently connected to the Primordial Spirit, also allows him to detect and eliminate hidden underground enemies.
• Blue Demon shifts from combat confidence to visible relief and emotional concern over Lin Xiaosu’s safety. Her embarrassment and denial reveal possible romantic feelings or jealousy.
• Ding Ruoshui contributes her last remaining water despite reluctance, showing that her abilities and resources are crucial to the group’s victory.
• Thousand-Spirit Saintess becomes increasingly suspicious of Lin Xiaosu’s identity. His ability to perceive without relying on ordinary sight makes her wonder whether he is an ancient figure from ten thousand years ago or possesses a Primordial Spirit like hers.
• The Heavenly Kings move from fear of the Litian Tribe’s Fourth Realm threat to excitement at possessing a weapon capable of challenging the Enlightened Realm, though their optimism is tempered by the Wing Blade’s destruction.
• Miaoyin Heavenly King acts as both a perceptive observer and a playful provocateur, deliberately teasing Blue Demon about Lin Xiaosu.

3. Significant Themes

• Ultimate power and sacrifice: The Wing Blade’s third form is nearly divine, but its strength comes at the cost of destroying itself. Victory is possible, but the group’s most powerful weapon is limited and irreplaceable.
• The threat of higher realms: The death of a Fourth Realm expert changes the balance of power. The characters now know that even supposedly untouchable beings can be killed, though the danger of the Enlightened Realm remains.
• Mystery and hidden identity: Lin Xiaosu’s abilities suggest that his true nature may be far more ancient and powerful than he appears.
• Hope versus realism: The Heavenly Kings briefly imagine obtaining more Wing Blades, but practical limitations force them to confront the scarcity of their advantage.
• Emotional tension beneath battle: After the large-scale conflict, the narrative turns toward jealousy, romance, and teasing, particularly Blue Demon’s concealed feelings for Lin Xiaosu.
• Comradeship and survival: The group cooperates closely during the attack and evacuation, relying on each person’s unique abilities to survive.

4. Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu coordinates with Ding Ruoshui, borrowing her water to destroy the underground enemies.
• Blue Demon and Thousand-Spirit Saintess exchange knowing looks over the ambiguous request for “water,” establishing a playful, suggestive tone.
• Thousand-Spirit Saintess observes Lin Xiaosu closely and internally questions his origins and connection to the Primordial Spirit.
• Blue Demon reports the victory to the six Heavenly Kings, who question her intensely about how the Fourth Realm Holy Lord was defeated.
• Blue Demon and Bloodmark Heavenly King confirm the safety of the returning group.
• In their room, Miaoyin Heavenly King teases Blue Demon about her apparent jealousy and Lin Xiaosu’s effect on women’s cultivation. Blue Demon denies her feelings, but her flustered reaction suggests Miaoyin has touched on a sensitive truth.

Chapter Summary: “Into the Jungle”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Miaoyin Heavenly King suggests that Lin Xiaosu’s unusual method of helping people advance—described as “Human-Gu Unity”—may be responsible for the dramatic growth of several powerful women. She proposes that Blue Demon try it herself, claiming it could improve Blue Demon’s declining combat strength.
• Blue Demon initially rejects the idea, but privately begins reconsidering it. She recognizes that many people connected to Lin Xiaosu—Changye, Hu Ya, Yi Xiang, and others—have experienced extraordinary breakthroughs, while she and Miaoyin have remained comparatively stagnant.
• Lin Xiaosu spends the night with Hu Ya in the forest. Hu Ya achieves both of her goals in the southwest: killing enemies and indulging in her attraction to Lin Xiaosu.
• Great Xia publicly announces that the Earthfall Beasts were creatures from another realm brought into the world by the Litian Tribe to aid the Inner-Earth Outsiders. Great Xia claims responsibility for destroying three thousand of them.
• Great Xia launches the “Skywind 5,” a nuclear-free hydrogen bomb, at the Litian Ancestral Hall in Dulta. The missile crosses several countries undetected at Mach 36 and destroys the Sam Temple, killing or vaporizing more than half of the five thousand Litian elites.
• The strike shocks the world. Dulta, Yi State, and Eaglefeather Kingdom are stunned, while the great northern power and the Eastern bloc support Great Xia. Eaglefeather Kingdom, despite its usual hostility, issues a cautious statement supporting forceful action against extra-realm threats.
• Bloodmark and Windchaser Heavenly King interpret Eaglefeather’s restrained response as proof that Great Xia’s overwhelming military capability has forced Western powers to reassess their position.
• Lin Xiaosu returns to his guest quarters and encounters Ding Ruoshui, who has waited outside for much of the night. Rather than confronting him angrily about Hu Ya, she is quickly pacified when he calls her “baby” and invites her on a business trip to Yangcheng.
• Miaoyin and Blue Demon observe Ding Ruoshui’s surprisingly forgiving reaction and joke that it gives Blue Demon a convenient precedent if she ever becomes involved with Lin Xiaosu.
• Lin Xiaosu then summons Blue Demon to his room. Miaoyin’s teasing causes Blue Demon to suspect that he may be interested in her. When he closes the curtains after they enter, her nervous imagination spirals, leaving the chapter on a comic cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Blue Demon: Her confidence in the old limitations of Gene Humans weakens. Repeated examples of Lin Xiaosu transforming people make her seriously consider whether intimacy with him could open a new path for her. Though outwardly proper and resistant, she is increasingly flustered by her attraction and curiosity.
• Miaoyin Heavenly King: Becomes much more provocative and mischievous than her normally refined image suggests. She actively encourages Blue Demon to pursue Lin Xiaosu, framing the matter as both personal desire and a strategic opportunity for cultivation.
• Lin Xiaosu: Continues to influence people’s strength and fate through mysterious means. He remains casual and apparently unconcerned about romantic complications, smoothly defusing Ding Ruoshui’s resentment and then privately calling Blue Demon to his room.
• Hu Ya: Achieves complete satisfaction from her mission in the southwest, combining battlefield success with her intense relationship with Lin Xiaosu.
• Ding Ruoshui: Demonstrates surprising tolerance and emotional flexibility. Although she has reason to resent Lin Xiaosu, a few affectionate words and the promise of traveling together quickly restore her happiness.
• Bloodmark and Windchaser Heavenly King: Show awareness of the larger political consequences of Great Xia’s attack and interpret the world’s reaction as a major strategic victory.

Significant Themes

• Power and transformation: The chapter questions the limits of established biological and cultivation laws. Lin Xiaosu’s influence appears capable of producing breakthroughs that conventional methods cannot explain.
• Desire versus propriety: Blue Demon and Miaoyin’s conversation contrasts official dignity with private longing. Blue Demon repeatedly tries to justify her interest as a matter of national duty and future strength.
• Political deterrence: Great Xia’s missile strike demonstrates how overwhelming technological force can reshape international politics and silence opposition.
• Civilization versus extra-realm invasion: The Earthfall Beasts and Litian Tribe are presented as threats to the survival of the current world, allowing Great Xia to portray its retaliation as a defense of civilization.
• Comedy through misunderstanding: Blue Demon misinterprets Lin Xiaosu’s invitation and the closed curtains, creating a humorous contrast between her elaborate fantasies and his unknown intentions.

Character Interactions

• Miaoyin repeatedly teases and pressures Blue Demon about pursuing Lin Xiaosu, while Blue Demon tries to maintain her dignity.
• Hu Ya and Lin Xiaosu share an intense night together, fulfilling her personal and combat-related ambitions.
• Lin Xiaosu reassures Ding Ruoshui with affectionate language and immediately redirects her attention toward their upcoming trip.
• Miaoyin and Blue Demon gossip about Ding Ruoshui’s relationship with Lin Xiaosu and imagine how Blue Demon might explain a future affair.
• Lin Xiaosu’s private summons of Blue Demon leaves her uncertain and increasingly nervous, setting up the next chapter’s romantic and comedic tension.

Chapter Summary: “Wing Blade’s Destination”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu reveals Wing Blade behind the curtains and transfers control of the ancient puppet to Blue Demon. Its formation core records Blue Demon’s true appearance, making her the only person able to command it.
• Blue Demon is deeply moved because Wing Blade is an extraordinarily powerful weapon capable of crossing vast distances instantly and killing even Fourth-Realm experts. She recognizes the gesture as Lin Xiaosu’s way of protecting her.
• Lin Xiaosu humorously claims he is merely “selling” Wing Blade to her because he has grown tired of it, asking her to transfer money to his account. He also gives her over a hundred Formation Crystal Pillars, enough to power the puppet for more than a year.
• Blue Demon embraces him and they discuss his upcoming journey. Lin Xiaosu plans to visit Yangcheng before the New Year, then travel to Kun Cang to borrow troops for the Equatorial Sun Rift event on the third day of the third month. In Yangcheng, he intends to consult an old friend about possible dangers connected to the Rift.
• Lin Xiaosu admits that he does not wish to “bear an era” out of ambition; he is driven by fear of regretting inaction later. Blue Demon offers herself as someone he can turn to when he is tired or needs to speak.
• Lin Xiaosu leaves with Ding Ruoshui. Zhao Zhen volunteers to drive them to Yangcheng, and the three share playful banter during the journey.
• In Yangcheng, Zhao Zhen takes them to the luxurious Golden Universe Building and impulsively purchases an annual membership for the presidential suite, intending for Lin Xiaosu to use it whenever he visits.
• After Zhao Zhen leaves to meet his numerous mistresses, Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui settle into the suite, bathe, eat an extravagant meal, and begin flirting as the chapter ends with romantic tension between them.

Character Development

• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates generosity and responsibility by giving Wing Blade to Blue Demon despite its enormous value. His humor masks genuine care, while his conversation about regret reveals the emotional burden behind his continued efforts to protect the world.
• Blue Demon: Her previously uncertain romantic feelings become clearer after receiving Wing Blade. She recognizes Lin Xiaosu’s gift as an intimate expression of concern and affection, and she openly asks for an embrace and offers emotional support.
• Ding Ruoshui: Remains playful and confident, teasing Lin Xiaosu while also showing vulnerability after the exhausting battlefield experience. Her relationship with him becomes increasingly intimate.
• Zhao Zhen: Acts as a flamboyant, generous friend. His extravagant spending and womanizing are treated comically, but he also shows loyalty by personally driving Lin Xiaosu to Yangcheng.
• Ding Ruoshui and Blue Demon: Although they do not directly interact in the chapter, Ding’s suspicious glance after Lin Xiaosu leaves hints at awareness of his closeness with Blue Demon.

Significant Themes

• Protection expressed through sacrifice: Lin Xiaosu gives away his greatest weapon to compensate for Blue Demon’s limitations and keep her safe.
• Unspoken and indirect affection: Lin Xiaosu disguises his meaningful gift as a business transaction, while Blue Demon understands its emotional significance.
• Duty versus personal desire: Lin Xiaosu continues preparing for major threats despite exhaustion, motivated less by glory than by fear of future regret.
• Emotional refuge: Blue Demon offers herself as a source of comfort, emphasizing that even those carrying immense responsibilities need someone to rely on.
• Transition from war to leisure: The journey from the battlefield to Yangcheng shifts the mood from danger and sacrifice to youth, humor, luxury, and romance.
• Technology and dehumanization: Automated vehicles, service systems, and robotic staff create convenience while reflecting a society whose economic difficulties are partly caused by increasing automation.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Blue Demon: Their emotional farewell is the chapter’s central interaction. His transfer of Wing Blade brings her feelings to the surface, leading to an embrace and a sincere exchange about his burdens and future plans.
• Lin Xiaosu and Zhao Zhen: Their friendship is expressed through teasing, shared humor, and Zhao Zhen’s willingness to provide transportation and luxury accommodations.
• Zhao Zhen and Ding Ruoshui: Zhao jokes about her preventing Lin Xiaosu from spending money on other women, prompting her indignation and adding comic energy to the journey.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui: Their interactions in the suite are flirtatious and increasingly intimate. After bathing and dining together, Ding’s exhaustion and teasing create suspense as the chapter closes.

Chapter Summary: “The Third Folded Space”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui travel to White Mountain Residence to meet Professor Lin Weiyang.
• Lin Weiyang welcomes them with You Shui, a short but striking woman whom he describes as something like his girlfriend. Ding Ruoshui and You Shui remain together while the two men speak privately.
• Lin Xiaosu thanks Lin Weiyang for previously warning him about “someone with two lives.” This clue helped him uncover the truth about the White Bone Heavenly King:
  • The White Bone Heavenly King had not been killed by Jing Lei.
  • He had killed Jing Lei, assumed his identity, and infiltrated Qianlong.
  • Lin Xiaosu’s discovery eliminated one of the greatest threats to Qianlong.
• Lin Weiyang explains that Lin Xiaosu’s actions in Luoba Prefecture exposed Hydra’s deepest secrets and gave him hope for the future. Lin Xiaosu, in turn, reveals that he knows Lin Weiyang is the mysterious “Six-Eared Leftbinder” from the Qianlong Codex.
• They discuss the coming Equatorial Sun Transformation on the third day of the third lunar month. Lin Weiyang identifies three important Heavenly Dao nodes within Daxia:
  1. Willow Grove Temple, Lin Xiaosu’s hometown.
  2. Peacock Valley in the Miao Borderlands.
  3. The unnamed island at the center of the Shanhai Club.
• Lin Weiyang reveals that the island’s Folded Space is the most dangerous of the three. A recording from the previous Equatorial Sun Rift shows a vast horde of black-scaled humanoid monsters called Forked Flood Dragons.
• These creatures are five to ten zhang tall, extremely powerful, and capable of tearing apart Archaic Realm beasts. Ten of them could challenge an Enlightened Realm expert; the entire visible horde could be equivalent to roughly one hundred Enlightened Realm experts.
• Lin Weiyang believes at least ten nuclear bombs may be necessary if the Folded Space fully opens. He has already warned Qianlong by email.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu is shown as increasingly influential, perceptive, and deeply involved in defending civilization. His investigation of the White Bone Heavenly King has saved Qianlong from catastrophic infiltration. He also recognizes Lin Weiyang’s hidden identity and contributions.
• Lin Weiyang shifts from a mysterious observer into a clear ally in the struggle against Hydra and the coming catastrophe. Though he once lacked hope, Lin Xiaosu’s actions have convinced him that civilization may still survive.
• Ding Ruoshui accompanies Lin Xiaosu and is introduced to Lin Weiyang and You Shui. Her presence reflects her growing closeness to Lin Xiaosu, though she does not participate directly in the strategic discussion.
• You Shui is introduced as Lin Weiyang’s companion. Her unusual appearance and relationship with Lin Weiyang add to the mysterious atmosphere surrounding White Mountain Residence.
• Lin Xiaosu and Lin Weiyang establish a stronger bond as fellow “night watchmen,” each working independently to protect civilization.

Significant Themes

• Hidden threats and deception: The White Bone Heavenly King’s impersonation of Jing Lei shows how deeply danger has infiltrated trusted institutions.
• Cooperation against catastrophe: Lin Xiaosu and Lin Weiyang acknowledge that their separate efforts have ultimately served the same cause.
• The fragility of civilization: The existence of vast Folded Spaces and monstrous beings suggests that humanity’s survival may depend on preparation and sacrifice.
• Hope amid darkness: Lin Weiyang’s outlook changes after Hydra’s defeat, but this hope is immediately threatened by the coming Equatorial Sun Transformation.
• The limits of human knowledge: Even with advanced surveillance, only a brief glimpse of the Folded Space’s contents is visible, leaving the true scale of the danger unknown.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui share a playful and intimate relationship before departing for White Mountain Residence.
• Lin Weiyang warmly welcomes Ding Ruoshui and compares her name with You Shui’s, creating a lighthearted parallel between the two couples.
• Lin Xiaosu and Lin Weiyang have a candid private conversation in the garden, exchanging thanks and indirectly confirming their knowledge of each other’s secret identities.
• Their mutual respect deepens as they recognize one another as allies protecting the future of civilization.
• While the men discuss the Folded Space, Ding Ruoshui and You Shui bond over the flowers in the garden, contrasting their quiet interaction with the ominous revelations taking place nearby.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu tells Lin Weiyang that Utopia’s mysterious Overlord has found a possible route to the Moon Lotus: the legendary detective He Jiang, who faked his death, has contacted him.
• Lin Weiyang realizes the warning is really a threat. Lin Xiaosu has revealed the Moon Lotus’s location to He Jiang, who has passed it to the Overlord. Utopia will likely target White Mountain Residence, putting Lin Weiyang in danger.
• Lin Xiaosu’s purpose is to use the Moon Lotus as bait: He Jiang hopes to draw out Utopia’s hidden leader and earn his freedom by helping capture him.
• After Lin Xiaosu leaves, You Shui learns the secret has been exposed and fears for her teacher. Lin Weiyang explains that he is not truly angry: forcing the Overlord into the open may be necessary to avert a larger crisis.
• Lin Weiyang proposes a counter-trap. He will prepare a decoy, a fake lotus infused with the real one’s aura, and a double. When Utopia’s agents take the apparent Moon Lotus, Lin Xiaosu can trace the box to whoever receives it.

Character developments

• Lin Weiyang remains composed despite recognizing that Lin Xiaosu has exposed his greatest secret and placed him in mortal danger. He shifts from anger to strategic cooperation, accepting the risk as part of a larger plan.
• Lin Xiaosu shows that his earlier warnings and apparent trust were part of a calculated strategy. He is willing to endanger Lin Weiyang to flush out Utopia’s Overlord—and implicitly demands that Lin Weiyang prove his commitment by helping.
• You Shui moves from shock and anger to understanding her teacher’s reasoning. She also recognizes the contest as a clash between two brilliant strategists.

Significant themes

• Trust and betrayal: Lin Xiaosu’s actions feel like a betrayal, but they may serve a necessary shared objective.
• Strategy and manipulation: Both men use secrets, leverage, and other people as pieces in an ongoing game.
• Sacrifice for the greater good: Lin Weiyang accepts personal danger because Utopia’s hidden leader poses a wider threat.
• Rivalry and cooperation: Lin Weiyang and Lin Xiaosu oppose and challenge one another, yet their plans may ultimately align.

Character interactions

• Lin Xiaosu gives Lin Weiyang a veiled warning about the Moon Lotus, forcing him to understand that its location has reached Utopia.
• Their conversation becomes an unspoken challenge: Lin Xiaosu questions Lin Weiyang’s trustworthiness, while Lin Weiyang recognizes the trap and its purpose.
• After Lin Xiaosu departs with Ding Ruoshui, You Shui confronts Lin Weiyang’s apparent distress; he explains the logic behind the danger and outlines the decoy plan.

Plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu and Professor Lin agree to use Moon Lotus as bait to draw out the elusive Utopia Overlord. Utopia’s agents are expected to seize the lotus from Professor Lin and eventually deliver it to their leader; Lin Xiaosu plans to track its journey and discover the Overlord’s location.
• At the seaside, Ding Ruoshui observes that You Shui is an unusually powerful Peering into Heaven Realm expert, likely with a special bloodline and Teleportation ability. She also questions whether Lin Xiaosu and Professor Lin are allies or enemies, noting that Lin Xiaosu’s decision to bring her to the meeting suggests caution.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui take an uncrewed yacht far out to sea. There, she explains the three stages of a body’s secret realm: Solitary, isolated from the outside world; Exchange, connected to it through a passage; and Replacement, in which the inner realm can overlay and govern a vast area of the natural world.
• Ding Ruoshui reveals that her Water Secret Realm has reached the threshold of Exchange after she completed the Blood Pagoda. While she tests it in the sea, Lin Xiaosu realizes his Spatial Secret Realm is already in Exchange: its connection to the outside is large enough for him to store objects.
• After intimacy, Lin Xiaosu studies the connection between his realm and the sea. He expands the opening from two feet to four, but the Mystic Realm Space becomes unstable, groaning as if it may collapse.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu shows strategic boldness in making the Utopia Overlord their target, while remaining wary of Professor Lin. Ding Ruoshui’s lesson also gives him a new understanding of his own hidden Spatial Secret Realm, prompting him to experiment with its limits.
• Ding Ruoshui demonstrates keen judgment about You Shui and Lin Xiaosu’s guarded relationship with Professor Lin. She takes pride in her progress and openly shares the secret realm knowledge she learned from Li Chunshui.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui mix flirtation and intimacy with serious discussion. Their closeness gives Ding Ruoshui a setting to explain her discoveries and gives Lin Xiaosu a chance to pursue his own.

Significant themes

• Deception and pursuit: Moon Lotus becomes bait in a plan to expose a hidden enemy.
• Knowledge as power: Understanding secret-realm stages reveals new abilities and possibilities.
• Connection and expansion: The movement from isolation to exchange—and potentially replacement—parallels the widening reach and power of a secret realm.
• Risk of ambition: Lin Xiaosu’s attempt to expand his realm produces instability, hinting that greater power may carry danger.

Chapter Summary: “Spatial Law Dao Seed Is Born”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu continues expanding the connection between his Mystic Realm Space and the outside world. Over several days, its storage capacity grows from five feet to roughly one zhang, enough to contain objects as large as a small yacht.
• He reflects on the terrifying potential of Spatial Law: eventually, he might be able to trap enemies inside his Mystic Realm or even replace portions of the real world with his own space. However, he realizes that such power lies far beyond his current cultivation.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui repeatedly practice on the sea. While Lin Xiaosu studies Spatial Law, Ding Ruoshui cultivates her own power and successfully forms an internal “ocean,” though she modestly calls it a small pond.
• After three days of concentrated comprehension, Lin Xiaosu’s two Primordial Spirits merge their insights. A crystalline Spatial Law Dao Seed forms inside the Mystic Realm, marking his formal entry into law comprehension.
• The Dao Seed greatly strengthens his storage ability, doubling its capacity and allowing him to imagine using the Mystic Realm for espionage or transporting military equipment.
• At White Mountain Residence, a masked man from the Litian Tribe appears and seemingly kills Lin Weiyang. He uses a compass to locate a hidden chamber, steals an ancient wooden box containing a mysterious eight-petaled lotus, and escapes.
• The apparent murder is revealed to be staged: Lin Weiyang and You Shui are monitoring the event from a hidden basement. They deliberately allow the assassin to escape and plan to conceal the incident temporarily.
• Lin Weiyang orders You Shui not to contact Lin Xiaosu until five days later, giving Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui time to enjoy themselves while also testing whether Lin Xiaosu can reconstruct the crime despite the delay.
• After five days, You Shui arrives and tells Lin Xiaosu that something happened at White Mountain Residence. He immediately prepares to investigate, bringing Ding Ruoshui with him.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Makes a major breakthrough by forming his first Spatial Law Dao Seed. His understanding of spatial abilities deepens, and he begins seriously considering the future of law cultivation after his original cultivation path was severed. He also demonstrates patience and discipline while supporting Ding Ruoshui’s cultivation.
• Ding Ruoshui: Advances her own cultivation by forming an internal body of water and becomes increasingly playful and confident. She rewards Lin Xiaosu for his cooperation and insists on accompanying him when serious business resumes.
• Lin Weiyang: Shows considerable strategic intelligence by staging her own death and withholding information. She deliberately creates a difficult test for Lin Xiaosu, confident that he can solve the case even after evidence has been concealed.
• You Shui: Reveals her confidence and combat strength, claiming that she is invincible against opponents below the Fourth Realm. She obeys Lin Weiyang’s plan and serves as the messenger who eventually brings Lin Xiaosu into the investigation.
• The masked Litian Tribe expert: Establishes himself as a dangerous and highly capable enemy. His ability to transform his hands into blades identifies him as a member of the Litian Tribe, and his true purpose appears connected to the stolen eight-petaled lotus.

Significant Themes

• The immense potential and danger of Spatial Law: The chapter emphasizes that space can become an overwhelmingly powerful force, capable of storage, transportation, confinement, and eventually reality replacement.
• The uncertainty of cultivation’s future: Lin Xiaosu worries that the end of his original cultivation path may prevent him from progressing into higher realms of law comprehension.
• Growth through comprehension rather than combat: His breakthrough comes from patiently observing spatial changes and merging the insights of his Primordial Spirits.
• Trust, testing, and deception: Lin Weiyang’s staged death tests Lin Xiaosu’s investigative ability while illustrating how allies may conceal the truth for strategic reasons.
• Leisure before crisis: Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui’s carefree days contrast sharply with the hidden danger at White Mountain Residence, creating a temporary calm before the next investigation.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui maintain a teasing, affectionate relationship. She praises his restraint, challenges him after her cultivation breakthrough, and playfully mocks his supposed romantic interest in You Shui.
• Lin Weiyang and You Shui discuss the assassin’s identity, combat ability, and the need to preserve the deception. Their interaction shows a strong teacher-student bond built on mutual trust.
• You Shui and Lin Xiaosu’s meeting marks the transition from romance and cultivation back to investigation. Her carefully delayed report immediately captures his attention.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui leave together for White Mountain Residence, combining their intimate partnership with their shared involvement in the coming crisis.

Chapter Summary: Tracing the Hidden Overlord Across a Thousand Miles

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui leave the hotel and return to White Mountain Residence. Their playful argument reveals Ding’s jealousy and suspicion regarding You Shui’s mysterious age and cultivation.
• Ding realizes that You Shui may be an Enlightened Realm cultivator and begins to suspect that Lin Weiyang is far more powerful or mysterious than he appears.
• At the residence, Lin Weiyang prepares to speak privately with Lin Xiaosu. Using Temporal Reversal, Lin Xiaosu revisits the scene from five nights earlier and confirms that You Shui and Ding Ruoshui are nearby.
• Lin Xiaosu openly acknowledges that Lin Weiyang possesses the Moon Lotus, but insists he does not intend to seize it. He explains that Lesser Divine Arts damage the body, and he prefers to preserve his physical health and enjoy his youth.
• The two establish a sincere alliance. Lin Xiaosu promises not to betray Lin Weiyang and says that they must cooperate against the coming catastrophe. He values comrades who can develop their own strengths and share the burden of the impending crisis.
• Lin Xiaosu’s true reason for disregarding the Moon Lotus is revealed: he secretly possesses the Sun Lotus, an even more powerful treasure for cultivating Lesser Divinity. He also avoids the usual physical consequences of Lesser Divine Arts because his Rejuvenation School cultivation provides immense vitality.
• Lin Xiaosu, Lin Weiyang, and You Shui travel west in a flying car, following the route of a mysterious black-clad man. Though the route spans more than a thousand kilometers, Lin Xiaosu effortlessly tracks the man’s path.
• They arrive at Mongmeng Mountain in Hudong Province, where an ancient, nameless Daoist temple is hidden in dense fog.
• Four apparent Daoist priests confront them. Lin Weiyang immediately recognizes them as members of the Litian Tribe.
• Lin Xiaosu directly identifies them as the Litian Tribe and asks whether the Utopia Overlord is inside the temple. The priests’ shocked silence and growing killing intent confirm that he has exposed their secret.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates confidence, strategic intelligence, and emotional sincerity. He reveals that he is not driven by greed for every treasure and is willing to trust useful allies. His hidden possession of the Sun Lotus and resistance to the bodily costs of Lesser Divine Arts emphasize his exceptional cultivation and advantages.
• Lin Weiyang: Moves from suspicion to cautious trust. He has been worried that Lin Xiaosu might covet the Moon Lotus, but Lin Xiaosu’s direct reassurance convinces him that cooperation is possible. His ability to recognize the Litian Tribe further highlights his extraordinary perception.
• Ding Ruoshui: Remains playful and possessive toward Lin Xiaosu, but her reaction to You Shui’s possible age and realm shows that she is increasingly aware of the immense mysteries surrounding her companions.
• You Shui: Continues to appear enigmatic and powerful. Her reaction to the discovery of the Litian Tribe reflects genuine surprise at Lin Xiaosu’s seemingly impossible tracking ability.
• Lin Weiyang and Lin Xiaosu: Their relationship shifts from guarded cooperation to a more explicit alliance based on mutual reliance and a shared enemy.

Significant Themes

• Trust and alliance: The central emotional development is the honest agreement between Lin Xiaosu and Lin Weiyang. Both recognize that the coming catastrophe is too great to face alone.
• Power versus restraint: Lin Xiaosu’s refusal to pursue the Moon Lotus demonstrates that true strength includes the ability to forgo unnecessary power when one already possesses sufficient advantages.
• Hidden identities and deception: The chapter repeatedly emphasizes concealed strength—the secret of the Sun Lotus, You Shui’s possible Enlightened Realm cultivation, Lin Weiyang’s mysterious background, and the Litian Tribe’s disguise as Daoist priests.
• The cost of cultivation: Lesser Divine Arts offer tremendous spiritual power but damage the body. Lin Xiaosu’s vitality allows him to bypass this traditional weakness, setting him apart from ordinary practitioners.
• Youth and mortality: Lin Xiaosu openly values physical health, pleasure, and the limited nature of youth, contrasting his attitude with cultivators who sacrifice their bodies for power.
• Unnatural investigative ability: Lin Xiaosu’s ability to follow a trail across more than a thousand kilometers without visibly investigating suggests that his “detective skills” may actually derive from a deeper, unexplained power.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui exchange flirtatious insults about old and new lovers, revealing their intimate but combative relationship.
• Ding’s speculation about You Shui’s age prompts concern that You Shui may be an Enlightened Realm expert and that Lin Weiyang may be an ancient or hidden powerhouse.
• Lin Xiaosu and Lin Weiyang have their first fully candid conversation. Lin Xiaosu assures him that possessing the Moon Lotus will not create conflict between them.
• Lin Xiaosu, Lin Weiyang, and You Shui cooperate during the journey, with Lin Xiaosu directing the pursuit and Lin Weiyang observing his astonishing abilities.
• Lin Xiaosu confronts the four disguised Litian Tribe members, immediately stripping away their cover and forcing the confrontation toward violence.

Chapter Summary: The Statue from Three Hundred Years Ago

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Weiyang reveals that the supposed target killed at White Mountain Residence was only his substitute. The real Lin Weiyang, together with Detective Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui, has lured You Shui and the Taoist faction out of hiding.
• The Taoists immediately attack, transforming into savage beasts and attempting to kill everyone to conceal their conspiracy.
• Lin Xiaosu, Ding Ruoshui, and You Shui quickly overpower the attackers:
  • Lin Xiaosu decapitates several enemies with sword techniques and Great Void Spirals.
  • Ding Ruoshui freezes and destroys one Taoist using her water-based combat arts.
  • You Shui uses teleportation-like movement and deadly nail attacks to kill multiple opponents.
• Reinforcements emerge from the Taoist temple, but the three protagonists slaughter them in rapid succession. Lin Xiaosu uses Parting Tears to sever the souls of numerous enemies, briefly surpassing You Shui’s kill count and provoking her competitive spirit.
• A powerful blue-robed Taoist suddenly intervenes. He blocks You Shui’s attack with his bare body and wounds her with a single finger, revealing a strength far beyond the other Taoists.
• Lin Xiaosu recognizes him as the Hydra Overlord, a legendary figure associated with Utopia and a statue in Qingwan that was created three hundred years earlier. His age and power suggest that he has reached the Fourth Realm, allowing him to overcome ordinary limits on lifespan.
• Lin Xiaosu deliberately provokes the Hydra Overlord by revealing that he killed both his son, Shock God, and Li Qing, the Overlord’s former lover or mistress.
• Enraged, the Hydra Overlord launches a full-power attack against Lin Xiaosu. Lin Xiaosu has intentionally baited him into concentrating all his energy at his fingertip, weakening his defenses.
• Ding Ruoshui’s water sphere disrupts the Overlord’s attack, while Lin Xiaosu draws him into the artistic conception of Parting Tears, successfully springing his trap. The chapter ends as the Hydra Overlord begins suffering the technique’s devastating internal effects.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates not only overwhelming combat ability but also exceptional tactical intelligence. Rather than overpowering the Hydra Overlord directly, he manipulates the man’s emotions and fighting style to expose his weakness.
• Ding Ruoshui displays major growth after improving her secret-realm power in the South Sea. Though her first attack fails against a powerful Taoist, she adapts quickly and successfully combines water and ice techniques to kill him.
• You Shui proves to be an extremely fast and lethal fighter, capable of teleportation-like movement and killing several enemies almost instantly. However, her confidence is shaken when the Hydra Overlord effortlessly wounds her.
• Lin Weiyang serves as the strategist behind the initial trap and confirms the identities and crimes of the attackers.
• The Hydra Overlord is revealed as an ancient, highly powerful figure with deep personal ties to Lin Xiaosu’s past enemies. His calm, sage-like demeanor collapses into fury when Lin Xiaosu mentions the deaths of his son and Li Qing.

Significant Themes

• Strategy over brute strength: Lin Xiaosu wins the confrontation by exploiting the Hydra Overlord’s emotional weakness and drawing him into a carefully prepared technique.
• Revenge and family grief: The Hydra Overlord’s rage stems from the deaths of his son and former lover, showing how personal loss can overwhelm even a composed and powerful figure.
• Hidden identities and long history: The discovery that the Taoist leader is the three-hundred-year-old figure from Qingwan expands the story’s historical and mythological scope.
• The danger of pride and anger: The Hydra Overlord’s fury causes him to abandon caution, making him vulnerable despite his superior cultivation.
• Rivalry and mutual respect: You Shui’s desire to compete with Lin Xiaosu highlights both her pride and her recognition of his growing strength, particularly after witnessing Parting Tears.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Weiyang openly reveals the trap to You Shui and redirects the blame toward Lin Xiaosu.
• Lin Xiaosu, Ding Ruoshui, and You Shui cooperate seamlessly in battle despite their differing personalities and fighting styles.
• You Shui and Lin Xiaosu develop a silent competition over who can kill more enemies.
• The Hydra Overlord and Lin Xiaosu engage in a psychological confrontation: Lin Xiaosu uses provocative revelations about Shock God and Li Qing to destroy the Overlord’s composure.
• The chapter concludes with Lin Xiaosu gaining the upper hand over the Hydra Overlord through deception, teamwork, and Parting Tears.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• After the Utopia Overlord is killed, Lin Xiaosu and Lin Weiyang discover a strange, black infant inside his destroyed body. It grows rapidly into a fifty-foot-tall, six-armed being.
• Lin Xiaosu recognizes the creature as a member of the Soft Race, an Inner-Earth species known for its six arms and terrifying ability to parasitize other beings.
• The Soft Race warrior’s arms resist Lin Xiaosu’s Parting Tears technique, even within Ding Ruoshui’s water realm. Lin Xiaosu’s Heavenly Dao Primordial Spirit triggers a new, stronger form of the technique: a world of sword-flowers culminating in the ultimate move, “A hundred flowers wither, and one takes flight.”
• Lin Xiaosu blasts the giant away, but it attacks again, hurling You Shui aside and thrusting at Lin Weiyang. The attack stops at Lin Weiyang’s brow, leaving the Soft Race being momentarily confused.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui combine their powers, and Lin Xiaosu’s final flower drains the vitality of the remaining Utopia fighters. The Soft Race giant also falls, shrinking back to ordinary size.
• The group realizes the Utopia Overlord was not truly a Litian Tribe member: the Soft Race creature had been living inside a Litian host, which served as protection from the world’s laws. The Overlord’s desire to open a route to the Inner-Earth Great World may have stemmed from a wish to return home.
• Lin Xiaosu has spared many Utopia experts so their networks can be investigated. Bloodmark Heavenly King and Blue Demon arrive with forces to take custody of the prisoners.
• Bloodmark meets Lin Weiyang, who confirms that he is also known as Six-Eared Leftbinder.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu reveals a major advance in his sword technique, using its ultimate form for the first time. He remains composed after the battle and prioritizes capturing Utopia’s surviving experts over simply killing them.
• Lin Weiyang remains calm and unarmed through the fight, but the Soft Race attacker’s strike stops at his brow. He is visibly exhausted afterward, and his identity as Six-Eared Leftbinder comes into the open.
• Ding Ruoshui supports Lin Xiaosu by maintaining her water realm and later sending a water dragon into the fight. She urges him to kill the attacker.
• You Shui, initially relieved by the Overlord’s death, is badly injured by the giant. After the battle, she rushes to Lin Weiyang and supports him.
• Bloodmark arrives to secure the prisoners and appears surprised by the scale of Lin Xiaosu’s capture. Lin Xiaosu presents the prisoners as a gift and suggests they be interrogated to uncover Utopia’s network.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden identity: The apparent Litian Overlord is actually an Inner-Earth parasite using a host body as a disguise and shield.
• Adaptation and breakthrough: Lin Xiaosu’s new sword technique emerges when his familiar methods prove ineffective.
• The cost of concealment and exile: The Soft Race’s need for a host suggests it cannot safely exist under the current world’s laws, while Utopia’s plans reflect a desire to return to its origin.
• Cooperation and future alliances: The prisoners become a resource for uncovering Utopia’s connections, bringing Lin Weiyang and the Qianlong Heavenly King’s forces into closer collaboration.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Weiyang jokingly argues that Lin Xiaosu, rather than himself, is better suited to the title “Six-Eared Leftbinder” because of his exceptional scheming and ability to manipulate events.
• After the battle at Mongmeng Mountain, Lin Xiaosu leaves with Ding Ruoshui. They discuss the operation against the Utopia Overlord and the apparent power of Lin Xiaosu’s Parting Tears.
• Lin Xiaosu reveals that he could not have killed the Overlord alone. Lin Weiyang secretly used a Lesser Divine Art to erase the enemy’s Primordial Spirit and consciousness.
• Lin Xiaosu admits that he deliberately placed himself in danger to force Lin Weiyang to reveal his true strength.
• Lin Xiaosu becomes suspicious of Lin Weiyang after noticing that the professor pretended to be mentally exhausted while retaining abundant Lesser-Divine Power. He worries that Lin Weiyang may have intended to lure him into using the Divine Control Technique and exhausting himself.
• Lin Xiaosu reflects on Lin Weiyang’s mysterious mastery of Lesser Divine Arts, which appears to have surpassed the level-thirty Heavenly-Human Lock. This should have required access to the sealed Lost-Road Lotus, raising the possibility that Lin Weiyang is an ancient Remnant Seed or possesses another unknown connection to it.
• Although Lin Xiaosu remains wary, he acknowledges that Lin Weiyang’s help was essential to defeating the Overlord. He chooses not to confront him directly, instead displaying his own ultimate sword techniques as a warning.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui return to River City before the New Year. They discuss spending the holidays together, though Lin Xiaosu avoids promising that Ding Ruoshui can visit his family during Spring Festival because Xiaoye already occupies that place in his family’s life.
• Ding Ruoshui suggests buying jewelry for her wealthy mother. Lin Xiaosu humorously proposes giving her vegetables grown by his mother instead, claiming that sincere family affection is more valuable than luxury.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Reveals himself as highly calculating and deliberately manipulative, having engineered circumstances to expose Lin Weiyang’s abilities. He remains cautious, recognizing both Lin Weiyang’s usefulness and his potential danger. His playful, shameless personality also continues to define his relationship with Ding Ruoshui.
• Lin Weiyang: Is revealed to be far more powerful and mysterious than his frail professor persona suggests. His ability to kill the Overlord with a Lesser Divine Art confirms that his cultivation has surpassed what should be possible under current circumstances.
• Ding Ruoshui: Shows greater emotional intimacy with Lin Xiaosu and openly expects recognition as his “first wife.” Despite frustration with his evasiveness and infidelity, she accepts his nature and continues to enjoy their relationship.
• Blue Demon and Bloodmark: React with surprise and admiration to the suggestion that Lin Xiaosu better fits the title of Six-Eared Leftbinder.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus reality: Lin Weiyang’s weak, scholarly image conceals immense strength, while Lin Xiaosu’s apparent recklessness often masks carefully designed plans.
• Mutual suspicion and strategic alliances: Lin Xiaosu and Lin Weiyang cooperate effectively, but neither fully trusts the other.
• Power concealed behind weakness: The chapter emphasizes that true strength may be hidden beneath ordinary or even vulnerable appearances.
• Emotional manipulation and intimacy: Lin Xiaosu uses humor, charm, and calculated affection to manage Ding Ruoshui, while she knowingly accepts his manipulative personality.
• Family and social expectations: The holiday discussion highlights the complications of Lin Xiaosu’s relationships, especially the established place Xiaoye holds in his family.

Character Interactions

• Lin Weiyang praises Lin Xiaosu’s scheming while indirectly acknowledging his superiority in strategy.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui flirt and bicker over his failure to use her preferred affectionate title, with the exchange turning into a joke about physical appearance.
• Ding Ruoshui questions Lin Xiaosu about the battle, prompting his revelation that Lin Weiyang was the true killer of the Overlord.
• Lin Xiaosu explains his distrust of Lin Weiyang and why he intentionally displayed his swordsmanship as a warning.
• On the journey home, Ding Ruoshui presses Lin Xiaosu about meeting their families during the holidays. He evades the issue, exposing the tension caused by his relationship with Xiaoye.
• Their final exchange about buying vegetables instead of jewelry showcases their playful chemistry and Lin Xiaosu’s talent for turning stinginess into persuasive romantic rhetoric.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui visit the Ding family with homegrown vegetables from Lin’s mother. Lin also gives Mrs. Ding a genuine jadeite bangle, which she believes is worth around 800,000 yuan.
• Ruoshui jokes that the gift matches the fees she has paid Lin’s detective agency and asks whether it signals that their pretend relationship should become real. Lin agrees in principle, but she refuses to fool around at her parents’ home.
• Mrs. Ding reveals that Ruoshui’s brother, Ding Dong, has been absorbed in making robotic-looking pets. Lin recognizes that the cats and dogs are actually puppets made with formations and runes—evidence that Ding Dong has begun mastering the Puppet Dao.
• In the basement, Ding Dong proudly shows Lin his completed Wing Blade control markings, perfected after a hundred days of work. He plans to contact the Wing Blade’s owner, partly because he hopes to flirt with her.
• The family shares dinner, then Lin speaks privately with Ding Lizhong. Ding reveals that his research team has completed a major project: the Earth Eye Project, a communications system designed to function without satellites. It uses ground-based stations and neutrino technology, preparing for a future in which powerful cultivators might destroy satellites. The project advanced after Lin obtained the Purple Demon Stone and is supported by Changsheng Group and Jiangnan Group.

Character developments

• Lin Xiaosu continues to support the Ding family and recognizes the significance of Ding Dong’s work. He also learns that Ding Lizhong’s research is aimed at protecting Earth against future threats.
• Ding Ruoshui is openly playful and affectionate with Lin, but sets boundaries while they are at her family home.
• Ding Dong has made real progress in the Puppet Dao: his animal puppets appear lifelike, and he can now draw complex Wing Blade control markings accurately. His confidence and womanizing humor remain unchanged.
• Mrs. Ding is delighted by Lin’s gifts and proud of her family, especially the pets she believes are robots.
• Ding Lizhong is excited and optimistic about the completion of a groundbreaking national research project.

Significant themes

• Preparation for a changing world: The Earth Eye Project anticipates a future where cultivation powers could undermine modern military and communications systems.
• Tradition and technology: Ding Dong’s rune-based puppets resemble machines but work through formations, while the Ground Eye combines advanced science with strategic foresight.
• Family and affection: Gifts, meals, and teasing strengthen Lin’s bond with the Ding family.
• Innovation through perseverance: Ding Dong’s hundred-day effort and the long-running communications project both show the value of sustained work.

Character interactions

• Lin and Ruoshui exchange teasing remarks about the bangle and the future of their relationship.
• Mrs. Ding welcomes Lin warmly, admires his gift, and shares her enthusiasm for the family’s pets.
• Lin recognizes Ding Dong’s puppets and encourages his work, while Ding Dong responds with pride and jokes about flirting.
• Over tea, Lin and Ding Lizhong discuss the research breakthrough and its importance for Earth’s future.

Chapter Summary: “A Major Breakthrough in the Earth Eye Project”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu’s connection to the Earth Eye Project produces another major breakthrough when he and Zhao Zhen bring He Xin-kai back from Eaglefeather Kingdom. Though He Xin-kai publicly worked for that country, he had secretly spent years thinking about the project and eventually developed a substantial new idea.
• Lin Xiaosu remains convinced that humanity must develop its own military strength, even if modern weapons cannot yet compete with the strongest cultivators.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui spend the night together and discuss their plans. Lin intends to enter Kun Cang after the Spring Festival, despite having antagonized its powerful figures by sealing the Kun Cang Gate. Rather than merely defend himself, he jokingly claims he plans to eliminate or capture them first.
• Ding Ruoshui plans to return to Springwater Palace, where she must light the first heavenly star in order to advance from the Peering into Earth Realm toward the Peering into Heaven Realm.
• The next morning, Ding Dong escorts Lin Xiaosu from River City to Phoenix City. During their journey, Lin explains how the Puppet Dao could be applied to modern warfare, especially by replacing Machine Wolf systems—which can be disabled through electronic warfare—with puppets immune to such interference.
• Inspired, Ding Dong contacts Snow Ying and announces that he has discovered a method that might allow the Wing Blade to reach its third form. However, Snow Ying reveals that Lin Xiaosu had already accomplished this half a month earlier. Ding Dong’s pride collapses, and he becomes frustrated that Lin had once again surpassed him.
• Back at the detective agency, Lin reunites with Miao Ruolan. She informs him that the agency has earned more than seventy million yuan during the year, including tax-free rewards from Unit 101 for Lin’s military achievements.
• Miao Ruolan tries to persuade Lin to pay her a large salary instead of maintaining their equal ownership share. Lin refuses, insisting that their equity must remain evenly divided.
• Miao Ruolan then recounts how she and Zhou Xi dealt with her brother’s greedy future in-laws. They staged a scheme involving a large bank deposit, emotional distance, and a fake alternative marriage prospect. Believing they might lose the marriage entirely, the future bride’s family abandoned their excessive demands and became eager for the wedding to proceed.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu continues to demonstrate exceptional strategic and scientific ability. He values technological progress, applies cultivation concepts to modern warfare, and remains confident—even recklessly so—about confronting Kun Cang’s powerful enemies.
• He Xin-kai is established as a deeply thoughtful and dedicated researcher whose long-term, secret reflection leads to a vital breakthrough for the Earth Eye Project.
• Ding Ruoshui shows both affection and concern for Lin Xiaosu. She worries about the danger of his Kun Cang expedition while also preparing for her own major cultivation advancement.
• Ding Dong evolves from prideful excitement to comical humiliation. He recognizes the military potential of the Puppet Dao but is disappointed to discover that Lin Xiaosu has already achieved an even greater result.
• Miao Ruolan displays loyalty, financial prudence, and considerable cleverness. Although she worries about the unequal amount of work she and Lin perform, she ultimately accepts their partnership and proves capable of devising an effective social scheme.
• Zhou Xi is shown to be Miao Ruolan’s trusted collaborator, helping her plan and execute the strategy against the greedy in-laws.

Significant Themes

• Science and cultivation working together: The chapter emphasizes the fusion of modern technology, military development, and cultivation knowledge.
• Strategic innovation: The Puppet Dao’s possible use in warfare demonstrates that unconventional ideas can bypass established defenses such as electronic warfare.
• Lin Xiaosu’s overwhelming talent: Several characters are inspired by Lin, but he repeatedly surpasses even their greatest achievements.
• Romance and domestic intimacy: Lin’s relationships with Ding Ruoshui and Miao Ruolan are presented through teasing, physical affection, and mutual trust.
• Money, partnership, and fairness: The discussion over agency profits highlights the importance of equal ownership and emotional trust over individual workload.
• Manipulation as self-defense: Miao Ruolan and Zhou Xi use deception not for personal enrichment, but to restrain unreasonable marriage demands and protect their family.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui: They combine romantic intimacy with discussion of dangerous future plans, revealing both affection and concern.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Dong: Lin’s explanation of the Puppet Dao profoundly broadens Ding Dong’s thinking, though Lin’s prior achievement later leaves Ding Dong feeling jealous and embarrassed.
• Ding Dong and Snow Ying: Ding Dong seeks praise for his breakthrough, but Snow Ying bluntly reveals that Lin has already achieved the result, puncturing his confidence.
• Lin Xiaosu and Miao Ruolan: Their affectionate argument over money reinforces their equal partnership, while Miao’s story shows the playful trust between them.
• Miao Ruolan and Zhou Xi: Their cooperation demonstrates their shared loyalty to Miao’s family and their talent for planning.
• Miao Ruolan’s family and the future in-laws: The family’s greed is defeated through carefully staged uncertainty, forcing them to abandon their demands and adopt a more accommodating attitude.

• Key events: After returning to Phoenix City, Lin Xiaosu hears that the Mad Daoist was beaten after interrupting a family dispute to claim a child was not the deceased father’s biological son. Zhou Xi explains the dispute: Ding Shuang, a successful businessman who suffered from depression, apparently died by suicide and left his estate to his wife, Yin Yuxia, and their son. His elderly parents object to losing the house their son had bought for them, while Yin demands they leave before Lunar New Year. Although the will appears legally valid, Lin suspects Ding’s death may have been murder and that Yin may have helped cause it. He persuades Zhou Mei to investigate with him, and they head to Tashan to question the Mad Daoist.
• Character developments: Lin shifts from taking a hands-off approach to the detective agency to actively pursuing a case that may involve murder. His knowledge of the Mad Daoist’s Hairy Figures and their connection to the Law of Cause and Effect underlies his interest. Zhou Mei is initially skeptical of Lin’s suspicions but agrees that, if true, the allegations warrant investigation. Zhou Xi recounts the case but is not part of the trip. The Mad Daoist, bruised and resentful, remains an unpredictable figure whose blunt intervention may have exposed something important.
• Character interactions: Zhou Xi and Zhou Mei describe the beating to Lin and Miao Ruolan. Lin challenges Zhou Mei’s caution with a darker interpretation of the case, prompting her to join him. At the cave, he greets the injured Daoist with teasing remarks, first defending his visit and then bluntly saying the Daoist brought the beating on himself.
• Themes: The chapter contrasts legal rights with family obligations, especially the elderly parents’ claim to a home despite the will. It also raises questions about greed, betrayal, and the limits of judging a case from appearances. The Mad Daoist’s seemingly reckless claim hints at the supernatural role of cause and effect, while Lin’s suspicions turn an apparent civil dispute into a possible crime investigation.

Plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu presses the Mad Daoist to explain his claim that the elderly couple’s grandson was not their biological child. The Daoist says his Insight Eye revealed no blood-based karmic connection between the boy and the old man and his wife, but a connection to the younger cousin. He jokingly counts his farts as extra “words of the Great Dao,” infuriating Zhou Mei.
• Lin realizes the Daoist has used the Law of Cause and Effect as a kind of paternity test. Since Lin has already crossed that threshold, he decides to test it himself.
• Lin and Zhou Mei meet Miao Ruolan and Zhou Xi, then go to Yin Yuxia’s villa. Yin’s cousin refuses to let them in and threatens the elderly couple. Lin kicks the courtyard gate off its hinges.
• Lin publicly accuses the cousin of throwing Ding Shuang from the building, identifies the child as the cousin’s biological son rather than Ding Shuang’s, and says he suspects Yin forged Ding’s suicide note as part of a murder plot to take his property. He pins the cousin in place with an apparently effortless supernatural force.
• Yin threatens to report them and retaliate, but Zhou Mei stands her ground. Lin condemns Yin for murdering her husband and trying to dispossess his elderly parents, ending with a warning that her evil cannot be tolerated.

Character development

• Lin Xiaosu shows growing confidence in applying the Law of Cause and Effect, moving from pondering the Daoist’s explanation to using it in a direct, public confrontation. He is forceful and unconcerned with appearances or the damage caused.
• Zhou Mei is exasperated by the Daoist’s crude humor, but remains a determined police officer when confronting Yin. She also challenges Lin’s disruptive tactics.
• The Mad Daoist stays shameless and comic, turning his farting into a supposed part of his paid spiritual wisdom.
• Zhou Xi is eager to learn from Lin, while Miao Ruolan joins the investigation; both are stunned by Lin’s explosive accusations.
• Yin Yuxia shifts from hostile confidence to visible alarm as Lin exposes the alleged crimes. Her cousin goes from threatening the group to being immobilized.

Significant themes

• Karma and cause and effect: Blood ties are presented as detectable through karmic connections, and Lin may be able to use this principle to uncover truth.
• Justice versus power and appearances: Yin tries to use threats, property, and police complaints to control the situation, while Lin’s accusations challenge the story surrounding Ding’s death.
• Greed and cruelty: The alleged murder and attempt to dispossess Ding’s elderly parents frame Yin’s actions as an extreme abuse of family and wealth.
• Comedy alongside violence: The Daoist’s absurd “enlightenment” contrasts sharply with the serious allegations and supernatural force at the villa.

Character interactions

• Lin and the Daoist argue over the price and value of spiritual instruction, with Zhou Mei reacting in disgust.
• Lin and Zhou Mei head the investigation together, though Zhou Mei is wary of his methods.
• At the villa, Yin and her cousin confront the investigators; Lin’s accusations provoke them, while Zhou Mei backs the official inquiry.
• The gathered residents witness the confrontation, turning the accusations into public scandal.