Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Humiliated by Huo Hai, Prince Yun Di loses control and orders his guards to kill him inside the Imperial City Academy library.
• Huo Hai stops Ji Mu and Fang Biya from joining the fight, wary that their attacks could damage the library or reveal Fang Biya’s Ice Flame.
• With his Star Gu unavailable, Huo Hai tests a newly developed Spell Spirit Master technique. He uses Silver Pearl’s Spider Silk as casting material, shaping it with spiritual power and hand seals.
• The spell releases a mass of unusually strong, sticky silk that instantly cocoons one of the two Spirit Practitioner guards. The guard’s companions cannot free him: the silk traps hands and weapons, making attempts to cut or pull it away costly.
• Onlookers assume Huo Hai simply used a powerful insect, concealing the fact that he cast a spell. Yun Di recognizes Huo Hai as the kingdom’s rare Insect Spirit Master but still insists that he be killed. The remaining guard approaches cautiously as the others struggle with the silk.

Character developments

• Huo Hai shows restraint and tactical awareness by protecting the library and keeping his allies out of the fight. His successful spell gives him a new confidence: for the first time, he feels he can wield his own power directly rather than relying only on insects or conventional combat.
• Yun Di grows more vindictive after being slapped and insulted. Though he understands Huo Hai’s potential value to the Imperial Family, his wounded pride outweighs any practical concern.
• Ji Mu and Fang Biya defer to Huo Hai’s judgment and step back, trusting his ability to handle the guards.

Significant themes

• Power and identity: Huo Hai’s spell reveals a new dimension to his abilities, while his reputation as an Insect Spirit Master helps hide it.
• Pride versus judgment: Yun Di’s rage blinds him to the dangers of attacking Huo Hai and the consequences of causing trouble in the Academy.
• Control and restraint: Huo Hai’s decision to avoid destructive attacks contrasts with Yun Di’s reckless aggression.
• Misunderstanding and appearances: Bystanders attribute Huo Hai’s success to an insect, overlooking the spell he actually cast.

Character interactions

• Yun Di’s orders turn his humiliation into an attempted execution, while Huo Hai responds calmly and decisively.
• Huo Hai directs Ji Mu and Fang Biya to protect Yun’er and leave the fight to him; they comply.
• The guards’ efforts to free their cocooned comrade only worsen their predicament, and Yun Di reacts with mounting frustration as his attack falls apart.

Chapter Summary: “Chaotic Library”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yun Di orders his guards to attack Huo Hai, expecting his status as a prince to make Huo Hai submit.
• A Spirit Practitioner Realm Battle Spirit Master charges Huo Hai, but Huo Hai secretly commands Little Butterfly to use Mental Chaos. The attack disrupts the guard’s thoughts and temporarily incapacitates him.
• Huo Hai lightly knocks the Spirit Adept aside with a seemingly harmless burst of spirit energy. The guard suddenly loses control and begins destroying bookshelves, books, walls, and crystal windows throughout the library.
• Yun Di, furious and embarrassed, orders his remaining subordinates to attack Huo Hai directly.
• Huo Hai refuses to fight personally because he does not want to damage the Academy library or give anyone grounds to blame him for its destruction. He instead prepares a refined mental-affecting technique using altered medicinal powder and his spiritual energy.
• When Huo Hai flicks his sleeve, invisible streams of spirit energy enter the approaching attackers. The technique causes them to lose control of their minds and attack one another.
• The madness spreads when members of the Four Great Families are accidentally struck. Their relatives retaliate, and the library erupts into a large brawl involving Yun Di’s people and the surrounding spectators.
• Yun Di finally realizes that provoking Huo Hai has created a disastrous confrontation with numerous powerful families.
• Several perceptive observers identify Huo Hai’s likely method: rare insects or insect-based spiritual attacks capable of affecting the mind.

Character Developments

• Huo Hai demonstrates his intelligence, restraint, and versatility. Rather than relying on brute force, he combines Little Butterfly’s mental abilities, spiritual energy, and medicinal knowledge to defeat his opponents indirectly.
• Huo Hai’s concern for the library reveals a strong sense of principle. He deliberately avoids personally damaging it, even while defending himself.
• Yun Di is exposed as arrogant, impulsive, and dependent on his status. He assumes Huo Hai will submit and fails to understand either Huo Hai’s real strength or the consequences of his orders.
• Yun Di’s guards are shown to be overconfident and incompetent, largely because his position has shielded them from serious opposition.
• The surrounding spectators begin to recognize Huo Hai’s exceptional abilities and cleverness.
• Members of the Four Great Families react fiercely when one of their own is attacked, demonstrating their pride and unwillingness to tolerate insults from Yun Di’s faction.

Significant Themes

• Intelligence over direct strength: Huo Hai wins by manipulating the battlefield and his enemies’ minds rather than engaging in a straightforward fight.
• Arrogance and misjudgment: Yun Di’s belief in the power of his status blinds him to Huo Hai’s capabilities.
• Restraint and moral positioning: Huo Hai carefully avoids damaging the library himself, ensuring that his enemies—not he—create the visible destruction.
• Chaos as a weapon: Huo Hai turns his opponents’ anger and confusion against them, causing them to destroy their own alliances.
• Hidden power and perception: The observers initially underestimate Huo Hai, but his unusual insect-based abilities force them to reconsider what an Insect Spirit Master can do.

Character Interactions

• Huo Hai silently controls Little Butterfly to disrupt the charging Battle Spirit Master.
• Yun Di repeatedly commands his guards to attack Huo Hai, while Huo Hai responds with controlled, indirect techniques rather than open combat.
• Huo Hai’s mental technique causes Yun Di’s subordinates to attack one another.
• An innocent member of the Four Great Families is struck during the confusion, prompting retaliation against Yun Di’s forces and escalating the conflict into a widespread brawl.
• Yun Di and Huo Hai share an implicit power struggle: Yun Di relies on authority and intimidation, while Huo Hai calmly exposes the weakness behind that authority.
• Astute observers analyze Huo Hai’s techniques and become increasingly impressed by his rare mental-affecting insects.

Summary: “Controlling the Situation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chaos in the library escalates as the drug-induced madness continues affecting the Fifth Prince Yun Di and members of the Four Great Families.
• Enraged and humiliated by Huo Hai, Yun Di orders his subordinates to kill him, refusing to accept defeat.
• In his fury, Yun Di attacks his own Spirit Adept subordinate. The subordinate, consumed by violent emotions, retaliates with a powerful punch that severely injures Yun Di and sends him flying.
• Although Yun Di has Spirit Adept-level cultivation, his strength comes primarily from pills and a forced breakthrough using a Profound-Grade Source Spirit Stone. His actual combat ability is poor, leaving him helpless and terrified of death.
• The crazed subordinate prepares to kill Yun Di. A trapped guard attempts to stop him by loudly declaring loyalty to the Fifth Prince, but cannot intervene.
• Before Yun Di is killed, the Enforcement Squad arrives and blasts the attacker into a wall, restraining him and the other rampaging individuals.
• Huo Hai deliberately refrains from intervening directly because he knows the situation would become far more serious if a prince died. He had already anticipated that someone would report the incident.
• Tan Wu arrives with the Enforcement Squad and discovers the library in ruins, with the Fifth Prince and powerful descendants among those restrained.
• The vice principal then arrives on a flying Spirit Beast. His powerful Spirit General aura overwhelms everyone in the room, including Huo Hai, and emphasizes the enormous gap between their strengths.
• The drug’s effects begin to fade after a short time, allowing the affected people’s consciousness and self-control to return.
• Furious over the destruction of the library and worried that the Imperial Clan and Four Great Families may have been poisoned, the vice principal demands an explanation.
• After realizing his aura is preventing everyone from speaking, he withdraws it but makes clear that status will not protect the Fifth Prince or the others from consequences.

Character Developments

• Yun Di: His arrogance collapses into panic and terror. Despite his royal status and inflated cultivation, he proves physically weak and unable to protect himself when his own subordinate attacks him. His hatred toward Huo Hai remains, but fear temporarily overwhelms it.
• Huo Hai: Demonstrates restraint and strategic awareness. Rather than openly taking responsibility or intervening, he allows the Enforcement Squad to resolve the violence while carefully calculating the vice principal’s strength. He recognizes that he must remain cautious until he possesses greater power.
• The Spirit Adept subordinate: Completely loses control under the spell’s influence and attacks Yun Di with lethal intent. As the drug’s effects fade, his aggression begins to lessen.
• The trapped Spirit Adept guard: Shows self-preservation and political loyalty by loudly defending Yun Di, even though he is relieved not to have been affected in the same way as the others.
• Tan Wu: Arrives to restore order and is angered by the library’s destruction, though he becomes troubled upon realizing that influential members of the Imperial Clan and Four Great Families are involved.
• The vice principal: Reveals overwhelming strength and authority. Though initially furious and intimidating, he recognizes his mistake in suppressing everyone with his aura and insists that even powerful backgrounds will not excuse the incident.

Significant Themes

• Power versus true ability: Yun Di possesses a high cultivation level only because of pills and external resources, but his lack of genuine combat experience leaves him vulnerable.
• Loss of control: The spell strips away reason and social restraint, causing subordinates to attack allies and powerful figures to behave irrationally.
• Political danger and accountability: Because princes and descendants of major families are involved, the incident carries consequences far beyond the physical destruction of the library.
• Strategic restraint: Huo Hai understands that surviving in a powerful political environment requires caution, patience, and avoiding unnecessary confrontation.
• Authority and hierarchy: The vice principal’s strength and refusal to defer to royal or aristocratic status establish that Imperial City Academy possesses authority of its own.
• Appearance versus reality: Yun Di’s royal position suggests protection and power, but in the crisis he is helpless; conversely, Huo Hai’s calmness gives him greater practical control over the situation.

Character Interactions

• Yun Di repeatedly provokes and blames Huo Hai, viewing him as the cause of his humiliation.
• Yun Di’s own subordinate turns against him, exposing the danger of the spell and the prince’s inability to command genuine loyalty while people are mentally affected.
• The trapped guard attempts to protect Yun Di verbally, hoping to preserve his own standing and survival.
• Huo Hai observes the conflict from the doorway, allowing events to unfold while indirectly benefiting from Yun Di’s downfall.
• Tan Wu confronts the aftermath and prepares to hold everyone involved accountable, regardless of their social rank.
• The vice principal confronts the entire group, making it clear that neither the Imperial Clan nor the Four Great Families can avoid responsibility for the destruction and violence.

Chapter Summary: “Debate”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the confrontation in the library, Yun Di recovers enough to stand and immediately blames Huo Hai, claiming Huo Hai caused his injuries.
• The vice dean suppresses Yun Di with his authority and demands an explanation from Huo Hai.
• Huo Hai argues that Yun Di initiated the conflict by demanding that Huo Hai surrender his wife, sister, and friends for the prince’s amusement, and by ordering his guards to attack him.
• Huo Hai admits to slapping Yun Di twice in response to the prince’s insults but denies responsibility for the guard who violently attacked Yun Di.
• Witnesses confirm that Yun Di ordered the attack and that his own subordinates caused the destruction in the library.
• The Fifth Prince accidentally incriminates himself while trying to claim that Huo Hai used supernatural abilities to control his guards.
• Realizing the damage has been done to the Academy library, Yun Di attempts to shift all blame onto Huo Hai to avoid punishment.
• The vice dean rejects Yun Di’s excuses, declares the situation clear, and orders the offenders to be taken before the ruler. The Enforcement Squad binds and removes Yun Di’s subordinates, though Yun Di himself is not physically restrained because of his royal status.

Character Developments

• Huo Hai remains calm, confident, and verbally strategic. He carefully frames the incident as legitimate self-defense and makes sure no evidence can be used against him.
• Yun Di is revealed as arrogant, vindictive, and cowardly. Despite his royal status, he immediately panics when he realizes the library’s destruction may bring severe punishment and repeatedly tries to lie his way out of responsibility.
• The vice dean demonstrates impartial authority and growing contempt for spoiled nobles. Though he recognizes Huo Hai’s normally reckless nature, he trusts the evidence and refuses to let Yun Di abuse his position.
• The battered guard realizes that attacking the Fifth Prince has likely ruined his life, since Yun Di is unlikely to forgive even his own subordinate.
• A rival wastrel from one of the Four Great Families turns against Yun Di after being beaten, providing testimony that helps Huo Hai.
• Huo Hai’s political position is strengthened because the Southern Cloud Kingdom still needs him as its only Insect Spirit Master and as an important figure in the fight against the Demon Spirit Masters.

Significant Themes

• Abuse of power and social privilege: Yun Di assumes his royal identity should protect him from consequences, but the vice dean makes clear that even a prince can be punished for abusing others and damaging Academy property.
• Truth versus manipulation: Huo Hai uses precise wording and witnesses to expose Yun Di’s contradictions, while Yun Di’s desperate lies only reveal his guilt.
• Self-defense and moral responsibility: The chapter distinguishes between initiating violence and resisting it. Huo Hai argues that Yun Di created the conflict and must bear responsibility for its consequences.
• Political influence and pragmatism: Huo Hai is protected not only by the facts but also by his strategic importance to the kingdom. His usefulness limits how severely the authorities can treat him.
• The danger of petty resentment: Minor villains and personal grudges become politically useful when directed against a more powerful enemy.

Character Interactions

• Yun Di aggressively accuses Huo Hai, but the vice dean silences and intimidates him.
• Huo Hai confronts Yun Di through a series of rhetorical questions, forcing everyone to recognize the prince’s immoral demands and role in starting the conflict.
• Yun Di and Huo Hai exchange contradictory accounts, with Yun Di becoming increasingly emotional while Huo Hai remains composed and mocking.
• A hostile witness supports Huo Hai and confirms Yun Di’s responsibility.
• The vice dean sides with the evidence rather than the prince’s status, condemning Yun Di and ordering the Enforcement Squad to remove his followers.

Summary: “Conflict Put on Hold”

Key plot points and events

• After the library confrontation, Huo Hai tries to leave, but the vice dean dismisses everyone else—including the Enforcement Squad—to speak with him privately. The vice dean has largely set aside the library’s damage, judging that the greater concern is the Academy’s reputation and the kingdom’s struggle against the Demon Spirit Masters.
• A member of the Fang family promises that his relatives will support Huo Hai against the Fifth Prince, Yun Di, and quietly asks him to protect Fang Biya. Huo Hai suspects the young man is her brother or close relative and decides to ask Fang Biya about him later.
• At the vice dean’s request, Huo Hai has Silver Pearl devour the remaining Spider Silk. The vice dean recognizes the creature as a Silver-Thread Sky Spider and remarks on its exceptional strength.
• The vice dean reveals that he knows about Huo Hai’s purchases at the auction, including the spider and other unusual items. Huo Hai realizes this is unsurprising given the vice dean’s position and the Academy card he used.
• The vice dean asks to see the insect responsible for affecting people’s mental states. He wants to study its abilities as a possible clue to countering the Demon Spirit Masters’ toxin.
• Huo Hai agrees only after securing a promise that the vice dean will keep the insect’s existence secret and not harm it. The vice dean also offers a favor in return, provided any request is within his power and does not harm the Academy or the kingdom.
• Huo Hai summons Little Butterfly for the vice dean to examine.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Hai remains wary and guarded, especially around powerful people, but balances caution with practical negotiation. He protects his insects and is careful not to reveal more than necessary. His attachment to them is clear in his insistence that Little Butterfly be kept safe.
• The vice dean shows political judgment and a strong commitment to the kingdom. Though initially angry about the library, he prioritizes the Demon Spirit Masters’ threat and is willing to overlook Huo Hai’s role in the incident to pursue research. He respects Huo Hai’s right to keep secrets, but is eager to study Little Butterfly.
• Silver Pearl demonstrates her usefulness by rapidly consuming the Spider Silk, while Huo Hai discreetly keeps her hidden afterward.
• The Fang family youth expresses loyalty to Huo Hai and concern for Fang Biya, suggesting a supportive relationship that Huo Hai does not yet fully understand.
• The vice dean and Huo Hai negotiate cautiously: the vice dean offers a valuable favor, while Huo Hai secures protection for his insect before cooperating.

Significant themes

• Trust and secrecy: Huo Hai guards the identity and safety of his insects, while the vice dean must earn his cooperation.
• Personal bonds: Huo Hai’s concern for Little Butterfly—and the Fang youth’s concern for Fang Biya—shows growing emotional ties beneath the political conflict.
• Pragmatism in wartime: The vice dean puts aside blame and institutional pride to pursue knowledge that may help defend the kingdom.
• Power and responsibility: The vice dean’s offer is explicitly limited by the welfare of the Academy and the kingdom, emphasizing that personal favors cannot override broader obligations.

Key plot points and events

• Huo Hai reveals Little Butterfly, his rare mind-oriented Spirit Insect, to the vice dean. He explains that it evolved from an Illusion Butterfly and can influence minds.
• The vice dean is impressed and requests some of Little Butterfly’s wing powder for research, hoping it may help develop ways to counter a strange toxin. Huo Hai agrees, briefly upsetting Little Butterfly but reassuring it that its wings will recover.
• Pleased with Huo Hai’s cooperation, the vice dean offers him a reward. Huo Hai asks for the method to open a summoning space, where Spirit Insects or Spirit Beasts can be housed and nurtured.
• The vice dean warns that creating one is extremely difficult and cannot be done under the conditions available in the Southern Cloud Kingdom. He gives Huo Hai a scroll explaining the method and says the Bright Yang Kingdom may offer a better chance.
• The vice dean promises to speak with the ruler so the Fifth Prince will not trouble Huo Hai soon. Huo Hai avoids acknowledging the vice dean’s disparaging remark about the ruler’s sons and leaves to study the scroll.

Character developments

• Huo Hai shows careful political awareness: he presents Little Butterfly to reassure the vice dean and chooses a long-term, personally useful reward over more immediate gains. His resolve remains firm even after hearing how difficult his goal will be.
• The vice dean becomes impressed by Huo Hai’s unusual abilities and determination. Though he suspects Huo Hai has a way to help insects surpass their limits, he respects his privacy and chooses not to press him.
• Little Butterfly displays affection toward Huo Hai and displeasure at having its wing powder removed, highlighting their close bond.

Significant themes

• Ambition and perseverance: Huo Hai sees difficulty as a reason to commit rather than retreat.
• Trust and discretion: The vice dean protects Huo Hai’s secrets, while Huo Hai carefully manages what he reveals.
• Regret and missed opportunities: The vice dean’s comment about his past suggests that staying within familiar limits can lead to lifelong regret.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Huo Hai’s bond with Little Butterfly is evident in how he comforts it after taking the powder.

Character interactions

• Huo Hai demonstrates Little Butterfly’s abilities and shares its origin, easing the vice dean’s suspicions.
• The vice dean asks for the butterfly’s powder; Huo Hai cooperates, balancing the insect’s displeasure with reassurance.
• Their exchange of favors leads to Huo Hai receiving the summoning-space scroll.
• Before Huo Hai leaves, the vice dean offers protection from the Fifth Prince, while Huo Hai discreetly avoids reacting to the vice dean’s private criticism of the royal family.

Key plot points and events

• Huo Hai returns from meeting the vice dean while the Enforcement Squad guards Huang Xiaotian’s sealed courtyard. Rumors about the morning’s two major incidents spread through the Academy.
• At home, Fang Biya, Ji Mu, and Yun’er anxiously examine Huo Hai. He reassures them that he is unharmed, then privately tells Fang Biya and Ji Mu that he was responsible for what happened to Huang Xiaotian. He warns them to keep quiet—even from Yun’er—because being linked to a Demon Spirit Master could put him in danger.
• Huo Hai studies the scroll given to him by the vice dean. It explains how to create a summoning space: first master a Spirit Beast Refining Formation, then gather spirit creatures of the required attributes and refine them into its foundation.
• Spatial-attribute creatures would be ideal but are extremely rare. A space made from earth, water, fire, wind, and mental attributes can be comparable in grade and better for nurturing creatures. Huo Hai’s expanding inner space can serve as the spatial foundation, so he prioritizes strengthening his insects.
• Each attribute requires at least ten spirit beasts—or at least a thousand small insects—and every creature must reach the Spirit Bone Realm or higher. The Southern Cloud Kingdom lacks enough suitable insects, so Huo Hai considers raising them himself.
• He plans a trip to Mijia Mountain to investigate Blood-Red Dragonflies for their possible fire attribute and to search for another Icefire Bird, which could help Yun’er obtain a source spirit treasure. He has nearly three months before the vice dean’s deadline.

Character developments

• Huo Hai is cautious about concealing his involvement in Huang Xiaotian’s case, but becomes energized by the summoning-space method. He approaches the challenge as a long-term project and starts planning how to cultivate the insects he needs.
• Fang Biya and Ji Mu show deep concern for Huo Hai and quickly understand the danger of discussing his secret.
• Yun’er is distressed by the vice dean, whom she calls a bad man, and remains unaware of Huo Hai’s role in Huang Xiaotian’s downfall.
• Little Butterfly shares Yun’er’s indignation, while Little Gold helps Huo Hai check for eavesdroppers.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and danger: Rumors and suspicion make even a small trace of evidence potentially dangerous.
• Preparation and cultivation: Building strength requires study, rare resources, and careful planning rather than quick solutions.
• Adaptation: Huo Hai works around the scarcity of spatial-attribute creatures by using his inner space and considering raising insects himself.
• Care and domestic warmth: The family’s anxious welcome contrasts with the political uncertainty and technical challenges outside.

Character interactions

• The three women fuss over Huo Hai, prompting his embarrassed attempt to stop their examination.
• Huo Hai confides in Fang Biya and Ji Mu but deliberately excludes Yun’er, who is occupied comforting Little Butterfly.
• The women agree to keep silent; afterward, Ji Mu insists Huo Hai accompany them shopping, and he reluctantly agrees.
• Alone, Huo Hai studies the scroll and weighs how the summoning-space requirements fit his own abilities and future plans.

Chapter Summary: “Demonic Insects Descend Upon the World”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Academy covers up the incident involving Huang Xiaotian’s poisoning, claiming he was accidentally poisoned by contaminated food. In reality, the poisoned servants and chefs were secretly used as experimental subjects by the Academy and the kingdom to investigate the effects of demonic energy.
• The library battle is also concealed. After being closed for two days, the library is completely renovated, erasing all evidence of the confrontation.
• Huo Hai spends the intervening days studying spell techniques, basic hand seals, and Spirit Formations. He recognizes that advanced techniques are currently beyond his spiritual strength and focuses on mastering the fundamentals.
• His primary goal is to understand the Spirit Beast Refining Grand Formation, which is necessary to complete his Summoning Space and properly nourish his spirit insects.
• The vice principal informs the king about Fifth Prince Yun Di’s actions. Yun Di is publicly punished with confinement, though Huo Hai suspects the king will ultimately protect his own son.
• While studying, Huo Hai senses a powerful surge of Demonic Energy coming from the Star Gu in his courtyard. More than five thousand Star Gu are nearing the end of their metamorphosis after absorbing demonic energy.
• Fearing that the Academy’s detection methods will expose the insects—and cause him to be accused of aiding Demon Spirit Masters—Huo Hai quickly constructs a sealing Spirit Formation.
• The Demonic Energy becomes so intense that the formation begins to shake, forcing Huo Hai to reinforce it with large quantities of Spirit Stones. He successfully contains the energy and prevents a catastrophe.

Character Development

• Huo Hai becomes more cautious and technically capable. Rather than relying on powerful but unsuitable techniques, he adopts a practical approach by strengthening his foundation through basic hand seals and formation research.
• His understanding of Spirit Formations directly saves him from disaster. The chapter demonstrates that his preparation and willingness to study are as important as his combat abilities.
• Huo Hai also shows greater awareness of political danger. He understands that, in the current crisis, even innocent possession of demonic insects could make him a target for both the Academy and his enemies.
• Huang Xiaotian is portrayed as the public scapegoat for the poisoning incident, while the truth surrounding his condition remains hidden.
• Fifth Prince Yun Di suffers a nominal punishment, but the situation reveals the tension between royal family interests and the Academy’s need to control the Demon Spirit Master crisis.

Significant Themes

• Truth versus public deception: The Academy and kingdom manipulate events, hiding experiments, battles, and demonic research from ordinary students and citizens.
• Preparation and foundational knowledge: Huo Hai’s mastery of basic techniques and Spirit Formations proves more valuable than attempting advanced abilities prematurely.
• Fear of contamination and suspicion: Because demonic energy is associated with enemies of humanity, even Huo Hai’s Star Gu could lead to his condemnation despite his true intentions.
• Political self-interest: The king’s response to Yun Di shows that personal and royal loyalties may override justice.
• Power gained through risk: The Star Gu’s metamorphosis promises major benefits, but its process creates a dangerous situation that could expose Huo Hai.

Character Interactions

• The Academy’s leadership, medical specialists, and various Spirit Masters collaborate secretly to study Illusion Butterfly powder and demonic poisoning.
• The vice principal reports Yun Di to the king, while Huo Hai recognizes that the king is unlikely to seriously punish his own son.
• Huo Hai has no direct confrontation with others in the chapter, but his actions are shaped by the Academy’s suspicion, the kingdom’s political calculations, and the threat posed by enemies who might exploit his Star Gu.
• His interaction with the metamorphosing Star Gu is central: he treats them as precious resources and risks exposing himself to protect them, ultimately using his newly acquired formation knowledge to preserve them.

Summary of “Demonicized Star Gu”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huo Hai spends more than half a day containing the Demonic Energy released by 5,000 transforming Star Gu. He uses over ten thousand Spirit Stones and two Spirit Jade to reinforce the formation, prioritizing safety over cost.
• The Spirit Formation eventually withstands the Demonic Energy, which peaks and then gradually recedes. Once the energy returns to the Star Gu, Huo Hai discovers that they have completed their transformation and emerged from their cocoons.
• Although the danger has passed, Huo Hai reestablishes the Sealing Spirit Formation to prevent possible accidents. The Star Gu devour their cocoons and stabilize their new bodies and powers.
• Huo Hai tests the transformed Star Gu and confirms that they have reached the Spirit Practitioner Realm. Their bodies, speed, durability, concealment, and offensive abilities have all improved greatly.
• The Star Gu gain the ability to absorb spiritual energy from other creatures or objects and convert it into Demonicized Spiritual Power. By biting a target, they can inject this power and rapidly demonize the victim, though Huo Hai cannot control the resulting Demonfolk or Magic Beasts.
• Huo Hai discovers a serious drawback: the Demonic Energy has not increased the Star Gu’s intelligence and may have reduced Little Star’s intelligence. More importantly, continued advancement could eventually cause the Star Gu to become fully demonized and possibly break free of Huo Hai’s control.
• Despite fearing future backlash, Huo Hai decides to continue using the Star Gu for the time being because of his attachment to them and the enormous resources already invested in their cultivation.
• The Star Gu successfully follow every command, proving that their low intelligence makes them highly obedient. One Star Gu demonstrates enough speed and force to pierce a steel plate instantly.
• Huo Hai plans to travel to Mijia Mountain next, where he will cultivate insects with special attributes and use them to refine spirit insect essence for the future construction of his Summoning Space.
• Before leaving, he stores the Star Gu in his Inner Space under strict orders not to release Demonic Energy or demonize spiritual energy without permission.
• Huo Hai spends another half day purifying the remaining Demonic Energy from the soil and air. After confirming with a monitoring crystal ball that none remains, he leaves the room, relieved and hungry.

Character Development

• Huo Hai demonstrates caution, resourcefulness, and a willingness to sacrifice valuable resources to survive. He repeatedly prioritizes containment and safety over efficiency.
• He becomes increasingly concerned about the long-term consequences of the Star Gu’s demonization, particularly the possibility of losing control and suffering master-backlash.
• His attachment to the Star Gu is emphasized: despite recognizing their danger and possible limitations, he is unwilling to abandon them immediately.
• Huo Hai also shows practical discipline by testing the insects carefully, enforcing strict behavioral restrictions, and eliminating all traces of Demonic Energy before departing.
• Little Star, the insect king, becomes somewhat stronger than the other Star Gu but suffers a possible decline in intelligence after absorbing excessive Demonic Energy. Its status as Huo Hai’s directly controlled insect prevents the damage from becoming worse.

Significant Themes

• Power versus control: The Star Gu have become vastly stronger, but their new demonic nature threatens Huo Hai’s ability to control them.
• The cost of advancement: Greater strength comes with risks, including reduced intelligence, possible demonization, and eventual backlash against the master.
• Caution and responsibility: Huo Hai’s repeated containment measures show that acquiring power also requires managing its consequences.
• Obedience versus intelligence: The Star Gu’s limited intelligence is presented as an advantage because it ensures absolute obedience, unlike intelligent beings who might resist or betray their master.
• Preparation for future growth: The transformation is not an end in itself; Huo Hai immediately connects the Star Gu’s development to his larger plan for cultivating specialized insects and constructing a Summoning Space.

Character Interactions

• Ji Mu attempts to call Huo Hai out, but he dismisses her by claiming to be busy. She and the others respect his position and avoid disturbing him.
• Huo Hai maintains complete command over the Star Gu, repeatedly testing their movements and confirming that they still obey him flawlessly.
• His internal reflections reveal both affection and anxiety toward the Star Gu: he values them as powerful companions and investments but fears they may eventually become uncontrollable.
• Huo Hai also considers potential judgment from the vice principal, motivating him to remove every trace of Demonic Energy before leaving.

Chapter Summary: “Leaving the Academy Gates”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huo Hai attempts to leave Imperial City Academy but is stopped by the Enforcement Squad, who have been ordered to protect him and prevent him from leaving without authorization.
• The Academy has increased security because Huo Hai is considered a crucial asset in the conflict against the Demon Spirit Masters. Guards check identity cards, prohibit face-covering Hermit’s Cloaks, and use devices to detect Demonic Energy.
• Tan Wu arrives and argues that Huo Hai’s safety is vital to the Southern Cloud Kingdom. He warns that Demon Spirit Masters may attack Huo Hai if they discover he has left the Academy.
• Huo Hai refuses to accept the Academy’s restrictions. He insists that he can protect himself—even against Spirit General–realm Demon Spirit Masters—and declares that his primary goal is improving his own cultivation.
• The argument escalates when Huo Hai states that he has no loyalty to the Southern Cloud Kingdom and would oppose it if it obstructed his progress. Tan Wu interprets this as dangerously rebellious and considers using force to restrain him.
• The vice principal arrives and permits Huo Hai to leave, arguing that becoming stronger benefits the kingdom and that people should not be forced to share Tan Wu’s intensely patriotic outlook.
• Huo Hai leaves the Academy using the vice principal’s written authorization.
• Afterward, the vice principal reminds Tan Wu that resisting the Demon Spirit Masters is the duty of all non-Demon Spirit Masters, but individuals should be allowed to strengthen themselves in their own way. Tan Wu eventually accepts this reasoning, though he remains troubled.

Character Developments

• Huo Hai: Demonstrates his fierce independence, self-centered survival philosophy, and rejection of imposed political obligations. He values cultivation, personal freedom, and his family above national loyalty. His confidence also reveals how greatly his combat ability has advanced, particularly through the strength of his Star Gu.
• Tan Wu: Reveals himself as a deeply devoted patriot who places the kingdom’s survival above individual freedom. His frustration turns into hostility when Huo Hai dismisses the Southern Cloud Kingdom, but he ultimately shows the capacity to reconsider his position.
• Vice Principal: Acts as a calm and pragmatic mediator. He recognizes that Huo Hai’s pursuit of strength is not inherently opposed to the kingdom’s interests and prevents Tan Wu from taking extreme action.
• Enforcement Squad: Their strict obedience to orders contrasts with Huo Hai’s unwillingness to submit, though they avoid violence and try to restrain him peacefully.

Significant Themes

• Individual freedom versus national duty: The central conflict is whether Huo Hai should sacrifice his autonomy for the kingdom’s wartime needs.
• Different forms of patriotism: Tan Wu believes patriotism requires direct loyalty and obedience, while the vice principal accepts that strengthening oneself can also serve the nation indirectly.
• Self-belief and ambition: Huo Hai argues that those who lack faith in their own potential cannot reach the pinnacle of cultivation.
• Pragmatism versus idealism: Tan Wu acts from idealistic devotion to the kingdom, whereas Huo Hai and the vice principal take a more practical view of how to survive and defeat the Demon Spirit Masters.
• Fear of powerful individuals: The Academy wants to protect Huo Hai, but its restrictions also reveal anxiety about someone powerful who does not fully identify with the state.

Character Interactions

• Huo Hai and Tan Wu: Their confrontation exposes their incompatible values. Tan Wu demands responsibility to the kingdom, while Huo Hai rejects any obligation beyond his own advancement and protection of his family.
• Huo Hai and the vice principal: The vice principal supports Huo Hai’s right to leave and implicitly respects his determination, creating a more cooperative relationship than Huo Hai has with Tan Wu.
• Tan Wu and the vice principal: The vice principal gently challenges Tan Wu’s rigid patriotism, leading him to question whether he has been imposing his personal ideals on others.
• Tan Wu and the Enforcement Squad: The Squad follows Tan Wu’s authority but relies on persuasion rather than force, reflecting the Academy’s desire to protect Huo Hai without provoking him.

Chapter Summary: “Reentering Mijia Mountain”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After confronting Tan Wu at the Academy, Huo Hai reflects on his loss of composure and realizes he must learn to speak more carefully around powerful figures.
• He leaves the Academy while concealing himself with the Hermit’s Cloak and uses Star Gu to scout a wide area around him.
• News of his departure spreads quickly because of the confrontation, attracting the attention of the Academy’s infiltrated Lineage factions and other major powers.
• Huang Yu learns that Huo Hai is heading toward Mijia Mountain. Blaming him for Huang Xiaotian’s ruined condition, she authorizes Little Li to mobilize the Huang Family’s forces and kill Huo Hai. She also vows to capture Fang Biya for Huang Xiaotian.
• Several other factions independently decide to eliminate Huo Hai, fearing that his growing achievements will leave them unable to gain merit during the kingdom’s conflict with the Demon Spirit Masters.
• Huo Hai reaches Mijia Mountain in less than a day and camps outside until morning.
• The next morning, he notices that unusually large numbers of people are gathered near the mountain, apparently searching for something. He assumes they are seeking treasures after hearing about his previous gains.
• Huo Hai enters the mountain without realizing that many of the “searchers” are actually hostile groups waiting for him.
• A mercenary band discusses their mission to kill Huo Hai. Rather than attack immediately, they decide to let other forces weaken or kill him and then steal his head to claim the reward.

Character Developments

• Huo Hai: Shows self-awareness by regretting his impulsive exchange with Tan Wu. He recognizes the need to control his temper and develop political tact as his strength and social status increase. His cultivation also advances steadily; he is close to condensing his third Star Core and entering the Late Spirit Practitioner Stage.
• Huang Yu: Her grief over Huang Xiaotian’s mental collapse turns into obsessive vengeance. She is completely biased in her son’s favor and refuses to acknowledge his wrongdoing, focusing instead on punishing Huo Hai and Fang Biya.
• Little Li: Acts as a loyal and efficient subordinate, carrying out Huang Yu’s orders without question and preparing to mobilize hidden Huang Family forces.
• The mercenary captain and his men: Reveal a pragmatic, opportunistic attitude. They fear Huo Hai’s strength but prefer to exploit the conflict among multiple enemies rather than confront him directly.

Significant Themes

• The need for restraint and political awareness: Huo Hai realizes that personal strength alone is insufficient; he must also learn diplomacy and careful speech.
• Jealousy and competition over merit: Various factions want Huo Hai dead not only because of personal grudges but because his achievements threaten their own opportunities to gain recognition.
• Parental partiality and vengeance: Huang Yu’s unconditional defense of Huang Xiaotian demonstrates how grief and familial loyalty can distort judgment and fuel revenge.
• Human opportunism: The mercenaries and other factions seek to benefit from Huo Hai’s death, illustrating how people exploit dangerous situations for rewards.
• The contrast between appearance and reality: The people around Mijia Mountain pretend to be ordinary treasure hunters while secretly waiting to ambush Huo Hai.

Character Interactions

• Huo Hai’s earlier confrontation with Tan Wu continues to influence his thinking, prompting him to reassess his behavior.
• Huang Yu gives Little Li permission to use the Huang Family’s resources against Huo Hai and expresses her plans to punish both Huo Hai and Fang Biya.
• Little Li quietly accepts the order and leaves to organize the operation.
• The mercenary captain warns his team not to underestimate Huo Hai, while an older mercenary explains their strategy of waiting for others to kill him and then claiming the bounty.
• Huo Hai remains unaware of these plots, entering Mijia Mountain while numerous enemies monitor his movements.

Chapter Summary: “Assassination Attempt”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huo Hai travels through Mijia Mountain toward the Blood-Red Dragonfly’s habitat, relying on his previous knowledge of the terrain rather than a map.
• An assassination team secretly follows him. The attackers use insect-repelling powder and camouflage cloth to evade detection, knowing that Huo Hai possesses powerful scouting abilities.
• The group ambushes Huo Hai with multiple Spirit-Breaking Arrows, coordinating their attack to block every possible escape route while he is airborne.
• Huo Hai remains calm and uses the Star Gu to form a shield, blocking the arrows. He identifies the weapons as Spirit-Breaking Arrows and realizes the attackers underestimated his abilities as an Insect Spirit Master.
• The assassins attempt to flee, but the Star Gu pursue and kill nearly all of them. The final survivor reveals that a new mission had been posted at the Underground Mercenary Guild offering a large reward for Huo Hai’s death, with his head required as proof.
• Huo Hai considers possible enemies, including the Huang Family and the Third and Fifth Princes, but cannot determine who organized the assassination. He suspects the conspirator has access to a powerful intelligence network and may even have informants within the Academy or Enforcement Squad.
• Reflecting on the ambush, Huo Hai realizes the Star Gu’s intelligence has declined because of the Demonic Energy within them. Although they have grown stronger, they can no longer think or adapt independently.
• He plans to investigate ways to disperse the Demonic Energy without harming the Star Gu, possibly using Spirit Formations and the interaction between light and darkness.
• Huo Hai continues toward his destination, compensating for the Star Gu’s reduced intelligence by deploying more of them and remaining personally vigilant.

Character Development

• Huo Hai demonstrates composure, tactical skill, and confidence under pressure. He effortlessly turns a carefully planned assassination into a complete victory.
• He becomes more cautious and analytical after learning that his movements and abilities have been closely monitored.
• Huo Hai shows concern for the long-term condition of the Star Gu. Rather than treating them merely as weapons, he recognizes their loss of intelligence as a serious problem and begins considering experiments to restore or stabilize them.
• His uncertainty about the identity of his enemy introduces a new threat: someone powerful and well-informed is targeting him from the shadows.

Significant Themes

• Hidden enemies and political intrigue: The assassination reflects the growing dangers surrounding Huo Hai and suggests a larger conspiracy involving influential factions.
• Strength versus intelligence: The Star Gu have become more powerful but less capable of independent thought, emphasizing that raw strength does not replace adaptability.
• Vigilance and preparation: Huo Hai survives because of his calm judgment, previous experience, and willingness to compensate for weaknesses.
• Power and experimentation: Huo Hai’s interest in Spirit Formations and Demonic Energy shows his continuing pursuit of knowledge and willingness to explore risky, unfamiliar methods.
• Identity and misdirection: The assassins misunderstand Huo Hai because they assume his Insect Spirit Master identity fully explains his abilities, while his true capabilities remain concealed.

Character Interactions

• The assassins communicate nervously as they approach Huo Hai, with their leader warning them to remain silent and focused.
• Their surprise at the Star Gu’s defensive power reveals how poorly they understand Huo Hai’s actual strength.
• A surviving assassin begs for mercy and discloses the existence of the Underground Mercenary Guild’s assassination mission before Huo Hai kills him.
• Huo Hai has no direct interaction with the suspected masterminds, but his thoughts weigh the likelihood of involvement by the Huang Family, the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, or another unknown power.

Plot points

• Drawn by the enormous bounty on Huo Hai, mercenaries and adventurers repeatedly try to track and ambush him as he travels deeper into Mijia Mountain.
• Huo Hai uses the Star Gu to detect and kill pursuers who come within range, while the mountain’s dangerous spirit beasts claim many others before they reach him.
• At the river, he finds a swarm of Blood-Red Dragonflies. The strengthened Star Gu quickly overwhelms most of them, and Little Butterfly captures hundreds for Huo Hai’s research.
• Huo Hai examines a dragonfly and confirms it contains both blood qi and a weak fire attribute. He estimates he will need several thousand to produce sufficiently strong flame insect essence, and refuses to risk refining an inferior essence that could damage his spiritual power.
• He camps and cultivates, ordering the Star Gu to kill anyone who approaches. Meanwhile, nightfall brings out more dangerous beasts, leaving the surviving mercenaries fleeing in panic.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Hai is confident in his growing strength and no longer hides it: he openly uses the Star Gu against pursuers. He remains cautious about cultivation, preferring to gather enough dragonflies rather than gamble on a potentially harmful, low-quality essence.
• The mercenaries and adventurers are driven by greed but badly underestimate Mijia Mountain. Their pursuit turns into a disastrous struggle for survival; many die, and the survivors’ retreat discourages those behind them.
• Huo Hai, the Star Gu, and Little Butterfly work in concert: the Star Gu scouts, corners, and subdues threats and dragonflies, while Little Butterfly captures the insects for Huo Hai.

Significant themes

• Greed and its cost: the bounty tempts people to risk their lives, often with fatal results.
• Nature’s indifference and danger: Mijia Mountain is a threat in its own right, and nighttime makes it even deadlier.
• Preparation over recklessness: Huo Hai relies on scouting and force, but avoids a dangerous cultivation shortcut.
• Strength as deterrence: Huo Hai’s willingness to display his power helps establish his reputation and discourage challengers.

Chapter Summary: Refining Dragonflies

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huo Hai ignores the fate of the mercenaries who previously attacked him, viewing them as enemies and refusing to feel responsible for their survival.
• He travels deeper into Mijia Mountain and follows a river upstream in search of Blood-Red Dragonflies. Because the dragonflies reproduce rapidly and are common near the water, he is able to capture them efficiently.
• By midday, Huo Hai has gathered approximately 7,000 Blood-Red Dragonflies, filling the available space in his Inner Space.
• He constructs a low-grade Spirit Beast Refining Formation using Spirit Stones and powdered Spirit Stones. The formation is designed to extract elemental essence from Spirit Insects.
• Huo Hai releases the dragonflies in groups of one hundred. Little Butterfly uses its mental power to control them and force them into the formation, while Huo Hai supports Little Butterfly with his own spiritual power.
• The formation rapidly destroys and refines the dragonflies, vaporizing everything except their Fire Attribute Essence.
• After roughly 1,000 dragonflies, the first Fire Attribute Essence begins to form. Huo Hai continues the process, using thousands more insects to strengthen it.
• Once nearly 6,000 dragonflies have been refined, the essence reaches the Perfection Stage, becoming a flawless, fist-sized red sphere.
• Huo Hai realizes that adding more dragonflies has no effect because the Fire Attribute Essence is already complete. He releases the remaining dragonflies and allows them to escape.
• After removing the essence, the Spirit Formation collapses and burns itself to ash, conveniently erasing evidence of his activities.
• Huo Hai obtains the first of the five elemental essences needed to complete his Perfect Summoning Space and prepares to continue searching for the remaining four.

Character Developments

• Huo Hai remains practical, ruthless toward enemies, and unwilling to accommodate others’ needs at his own expense. However, after achieving his goal, he shows a rare moment of generosity by freeing the surviving dragonflies.
• His growing mastery of Spirit Formations demonstrates that his time at the Academy has produced meaningful technical progress.
• Huo Hai also displays greater confidence in handling large quantities of Spirit Insects and coordinating Little Butterfly’s abilities.
• Little Butterfly proves crucial to the process, using mental control to restrain thousands of extremely fast dragonflies despite the heavy strain placed on its spiritual power.

Significant Themes

• Pragmatism and self-interest: Huo Hai prioritizes his own goals and refuses to feel obligated to people who have previously harmed or ignored him.
• Power through knowledge: His understanding of Spirit Formations allows him to accomplish efficiently what brute force or ordinary insect control could not.
• Quantity overcoming quality: Although Blood-Red Dragonflies are low-grade insects, their vast numbers compensate for their weak individual strength and allow them to produce a complete elemental essence.
• Control and sacrifice: The dragonflies are forcibly controlled and consumed by the formation, emphasizing the harsh costs behind Huo Hai’s cultivation progress.
• Progress toward a larger goal: The Fire Attribute Essence is only the first step toward creating a Perfect Summoning Space, establishing the chapter as part of a broader cultivation quest.

Character Interactions

• Huo Hai directs Little Butterfly, relying on its mental abilities to control the dragonflies.
• Little Butterfly struggles under the burden of controlling so many insects, requiring Huo Hai to replenish and support its spiritual power.
• The Blood-Red Dragonflies resist instinctively and attempt to escape, but Little Butterfly forces them into the refining formation.
• Huo Hai’s Star Gu and Little Gold are mentioned as being barely fast enough to keep up with the dragonflies, highlighting their exceptional speed.

Chapter Summary: “Man-Frog Battle”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the Blood-Red Dragonflies disperse, Huo Hai abandons the harvest and turns his attention to finding Icefire Birds deep within Mijia Mountain. He hopes to obtain a Frostflame Crystal for Yun’er’s Source Spirit Treasure.
• Huo Hai believes his upgraded Star Gu, now at the Spirit Practitioner Realm, can endure the Icefire Bird’s Ice Flame long enough to kill it. He still holds a grudge against the bird for nearly killing him during their previous encounter.
• He reflects on Flame Insect Essence and concludes that, despite its immense flame energy, it is only an ordinary Profound Grade Source Spirit Treasure because its power is too stable and poorly suited for combat.
• Meanwhile, the mercenaries pursuing Huo Hai realize that ordinary teams cannot survive deep inside Mijia Mountain. They form a temporary alliance consisting only of their strongest Spirit Practitioner Realm members.
• The mercenary commander becomes the group’s captain and establishes rules for dividing rewards and compensating deaths. Teams without Spirit Practitioner Realm experts are excluded from the rewards.
• Following Huo Hai’s trail, the mercenaries encounter an unusual Three-Eyed Toad. They kill it without realizing that it belongs to a massive nest.
• The toad’s dying cry summons countless Three-Eyed Toads, surrounding the entire mercenary group. Some toads transform, becoming stronger as their skin turns yellow and their eyes grow red.
• A completely golden Three-Eyed Toad appears as the apparent king of the nest. It has reached the Spirit Practitioner Realm, far beyond the level the mercenaries expected from the species.
• The toads launch poisonous rays from their third eyes. The attacks overwhelm the group, poison the captain, and kill at least two mercenaries, whose bodies begin melting from the venom.

Character Development

• Huo Hai: Remains pragmatic, calculating, and revenge-minded. He assesses the strengths and weaknesses of potential treasures and prepares to confront the Icefire Birds with the Star Gu rather than relying on brute force.
• Mercenary Captain: Demonstrates leadership and organization by uniting the strongest mercenaries and negotiating reward distribution. However, his confidence is shaken when the group encounters enemies far more powerful than anticipated.
• Mercenaries: Initially act with confidence and underestimation, assuming a lone Three-Eyed Toad is harmless. Their attitude changes to panic once they are surrounded and confronted with Spirit Practitioner-level poisonous creatures.

Significant Themes

• The danger of underestimating nature: The mercenaries assume Three-Eyed Toads are weak, only to discover that they live in groups and possess unexpectedly powerful variants.
• Preparation versus recklessness: The temporary mercenary alliance reflects the need for cooperation in dangerous territory, but their lack of knowledge about Mijia Mountain still leaves them vulnerable.
• Power and rarity: Huo Hai’s discussion of Source Spirit Treasures emphasizes that immense energy does not automatically create a high-grade artifact; usefulness depends on how that power can be applied.
• Survival in a hostile world: Mijia Mountain is portrayed as an environment where even experienced cultivators can die suddenly, before reaching their actual objective.

Character Interactions

• The mercenary teams negotiate with the captain over leadership, reward distribution, and compensation for deaths before agreeing to cooperate.
• The captain orders the bowman to kill the strange Three-Eyed Toad, unintentionally provoking the entire nest.
• The captain warns the others to break out after being poisoned, but the group is already trapped by the surrounding toads.
• Huo Hai does not directly interact with the mercenaries in this chapter; his trail and pursuit of the Icefire Birds drive their actions.

Key events

• Huo Hai hears a battle ahead and finds mercenaries trapped by a swarm of Three-Eyed Toads. Although he initially considers rescuing them, he recognizes them as hunters sent after him and lets them die.
• When the mercenary commander breaks free, Huo Hai cripples him with two Star Gu. The commander is then overwhelmed by the toads.
• Huo Hai notices the toads’ unusual golden patches and red-tinged eyes. Their leader turns out to be a Golden Toad Gu he had previously refined and released into the wild.
• The Golden Toad Gu learned Huo Hai’s poison-and-antidote method and used it to induce gradual mutations among the mountain’s Three-Eyed Toads. The mutated toads have acquired water-attribute power, which Huo Hai can use to obtain one of the essences he needs.
• At Huo Hai’s request, the Golden Toad Gu summons the mutated toads. Once enough have gathered, Huo Hai tells it to stop.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Hai shifts from considering a rescue to deliberately allowing the mercenaries to perish once he realizes they are his enemies. He also rewards the Golden Toad Gu’s loyalty with the prospect of future advancement.
• The Golden Toad Gu is revealed to be an independent, capable leader: it survived in the wild, learned from Huo Hai’s methods, and built a large community of mutated toads. It still recognizes and obeys him.
• Little Gold acts as interpreter between Huo Hai and the Golden Toad Gu, enabling Huo Hai to learn how the mutations occurred and coordinate the gathering.

Significant themes

• Unintended consequences: Huo Hai’s past experiment continues to evolve after he leaves, ultimately creating a powerful toad population.
• Adaptation and self-directed growth: The Golden Toad Gu applies what it learned to transform its fellow toads without Huo Hai’s guidance.
• Power and loyalty: The toads obey their king, while the Golden Toad Gu remains devoted to the person who created it.
• Pragmatism and opportunity: Huo Hai treats the mercenaries as enemies but recognizes the mutated toads as a valuable resource for his cultivation needs.

Chapter Summary: “They Came at Just the Right Time”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After returning from the forest battle, Huo Hai sets up camp for the night and orders the Star Gu to gather insects as food for the Three-Eyed Toads.
• The Star Gu detects a group of approaching individuals herding insects toward the camp. Huo Hai sends Little Butterfly to investigate.
• Through Little Butterfly’s mental perception, Huo Hai discovers that the approaching group consists of fifty Spirit Adept-level dead soldiers, including two at the Spirit Adept Peak level.
• He realizes they are likely assassins sent by either the Imperial Family or the Huang Family. He considers the Fifth Prince the most probable culprit, though he cannot determine the exact mastermind.
• Rather than attack personally, Huo Hai decides to use the Three-Eyed Toads. This will both test their strength and conceal his own abilities from whoever sent the assassins.
• Through Little Gold and the Golden Toad Gu, he arranges the Three-Eyed Toads in hidden groups around the soldiers’ path.
• When the Golden Toad Gu gives the signal, the toads unleash successive waves of poisonous rays.
• The dead soldiers initially evade the attacks with remarkable discipline. One soldier cuts off part of his poisoned arm without hesitation to prevent the toxin from spreading.
• However, the toads’ coordinated, continuous attacks gradually exhaust the soldiers’ spiritual energy. Their defensive shields weaken, their movements slow, and they are eventually overwhelmed by poison and attrition.

Character Developments

• Huo Hai demonstrates increasing strategic maturity. Instead of confronting a dangerous force directly, he turns the situation to his advantage and uses the Three-Eyed Toads as both weapons and camouflage.
• His suspicion and caution deepen as he considers which powerful faction might be targeting him.
• Huo Hai also shows a sense of responsibility toward the Three-Eyed Toads and the Golden Toad Gu, ensuring they are fed and making use of them rather than treating them as disposable tools.
• Little Butterfly continues to stand out for her intelligence and perception, acting as Huo Hai’s scout and allowing him to observe the enemy safely.
• The dead soldiers are portrayed as exceptionally disciplined, ruthless, and highly trained. Their willingness to sacrifice body parts and fight silently emphasizes their terrifying professionalism.
• The Golden Toad Gu becomes an effective battlefield commander by directing the Three-Eyed Toads in coordinated formations.

Significant Themes

• Strategy over brute force: Huo Hai wins by exploiting the environment and his summoned creatures rather than relying solely on personal combat power.
• Concealing one’s true strength: Huo Hai deliberately allows the enemy to believe the Three-Eyed Toads killed the assassins, protecting his real capabilities.
• Attrition and endurance: Even elite warriors cannot withstand endless, coordinated attacks forever; superior training is ultimately defeated by exhaustion.
• Loyalty and reciprocity: Huo Hai’s decision to feed and preserve the Three-Eyed Toads reflects his willingness to reward those who benefit him.
• The ruthlessness of warfare: Both the dead soldiers and Huo Hai’s tactics reveal a world where survival requires decisiveness, sacrifice, and manipulation.

Character Interactions

• Huo Hai communicates with Little Butterfly, using her mental senses to identify and monitor the approaching assassins.
• He relays orders through Little Gold to the Golden Toad Gu, which commands the Three-Eyed Toads.
• The dead soldiers operate under a silent leader, whose brief commands coordinate their evasive maneuvers.
• Huo Hai observes the soldiers’ combat methods with admiration and amusement while directing the toads’ attacks from a safe position.
• The chapter ends with the soldiers trapped and gradually dying as the Three-Eyed Toads maintain their relentless poisonous assault.

Plot points and events

• Huo Hai watches the suicide fighters die after they repeatedly cut away poisoned flesh—even amputating limbs—to keep fighting. Their brutality deepens his resolve to discover who sent them.
• He suspects either the Imperial Family or the Huang Family. He avoids confronting the powerful Imperial Family for now, but believes he can eventually deal with the Huang Family.
• The next morning, Huo Hai uses a Spirit Beast Refining Formation to create a water-attribute essence crystal from Mutated Three-Eyed Toads. The toads resist, so his Star Gu intimidate them and Little Butterfly mentally guides them into the formation.
• The formation consumes roughly two thousand toads—about half the summoned group—before producing a perfected, fist-sized crystal. Huo Hai realizes the toads count as spirit beasts, not spirit insects, explaining why the essence forms differently.
• In return for the Golden Toad Gu’s help, Huo Hai promises to improve its potential and offers a way for selected toads to evolve into Golden Toad Gu by eating Blood-Red Dragonflies. He cautions it to preserve some dragonflies for future use.
• After packing up, Huo Hai moves to a flat rock and begins drawing blood while reciting the Primordial Witch Incantation.

Character development and interactions

• Huo Hai’s awe at the suicide fighters’ self-mutilation turns into renewed anger toward their unknown employers. He remains pragmatic, postponing conflict with the Imperial Family while treating the Huang Family as a manageable future target.
• Though willing to sacrifice the toads for his goal, Huo Hai feels uneasy about using so many of them. He tries to compensate the Golden Toad Gu with a chance to grow stronger and a method for its kind to evolve.
• The Golden Toad Gu shows fear of the formation but trusts its master once Huo Hai explains it will not be sacrificed. Its intelligence and loyalty are evident, though it does not object to losing its subordinates.
• Little Gold translates between Huo Hai and the Golden Toad Gu; Little Butterfly and the Star Gu help control the toads.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and loyalty: The fighters’ extreme self-harm contrasts with the Golden Toad Gu’s willing service to Huo Hai.
• Power and pragmatism: Huo Hai weighs risks carefully, avoiding a direct clash with the Imperial Family while planning retaliation against the Huang Family.
• Exploitation and obligation: Huo Hai treats the toads as resources but feels some responsibility to repay their king and preserve their future.
• Evolution and cultivation: The new attribute crystal and the proposed path from Three-Eyed Toad to Golden Toad Gu advance Huo Hai’s broader cultivation goals.

Chapter Summary: Spirit-Ascension Shamanic Formation

Key Plot Points and Events

• Huo Hai completes the reconstruction of the legendary Spirit-Ascension Shamanic Formation, a technique designed to raise the potential of Gu Insects.
• He explains that Shamanic Power is a mutated form of spiritual power created by combining spiritual energy, the power generated by the Primordial Shamanic Incantation, and the mysterious force in his blood.
• The formation is based on fragmented records from ancient texts. Huo Hai restored it by applying his knowledge of Spirit Formations, though he remains uncertain about its exact effects.
• The formation uses Huo Hai’s blood to create insect-shaped, unsettling runes. Spirit Stones are placed around it to supply energy.
• The Golden Toad Gu is selected as the first test subject because each insect can use the formation only once.
• Once placed inside, the formation creates a blood-colored cocoon around the Golden Toad Gu, purifying and stabilizing its Bloodline while increasing its innate potential.
• The transformation does not greatly increase the creature’s immediate strength, but it removes the Bloodline conflicts caused by its earlier refinement.
• Afterward, the Golden Toad Gu remains fundamentally a Three-Eyed Toad, though its red eyes, golden skin, and previous enhancements are preserved. Huo Hai leaves it to live in the area.

Character Developments

• Huo Hai demonstrates his ingenuity and independence as a researcher. With no teacher or established tradition to guide him, he reconstructs a lost technique through experimentation and accumulated knowledge.
• He becomes more aware of the limitations and risks of his Gu Insects, especially the danger of unstable or impure Bloodlines.
• Huo Hai’s attitude toward the Golden Toad Gu remains practical and detached. He values it mainly as a test subject and recognizes that its weak innate Bloodline limits its future.
• Despite his detached judgment, Huo Hai is pleased by the formation’s success and regrets not discovering the Bloodline-purification method earlier, since it might have benefited his Star Gu.
• The Golden Toad Gu undergoes a fundamental improvement in potential rather than a dramatic increase in combat power.
• Little Butterfly, Silver Pearl, and the other insects show strong anticipation, revealing that the formation may be especially important to insects that lack other methods of enhancing their potential.

Significant Themes

• Innovation without guidance: Huo Hai must recreate lost knowledge alone, emphasizing the difficulty of pioneering an unknown path.
• Potential versus present strength: The formation improves the Golden Toad Gu’s future possibilities rather than immediately making it powerful.
• Bloodline and identity: The purification process removes internal conflicts but does not change the creature’s essential nature; the Golden Toad Gu remains a Three-Eyed Toad.
• Ancient lost civilizations: The mysterious symbols and incomplete records suggest that the ancient world possessed advanced knowledge that has largely disappeared.
• Experimentation and sacrifice: Because each insect can use the formation only once, Huo Hai must test it carefully and accept the consequences of possible failure.
• Pragmatic attachment: Huo Hai cares about his insects, but he evaluates them according to usefulness, talent, and growth potential.

Important Character Interactions

• Huo Hai reassures the eager insects that they will each have a turn, but chooses the Golden Toad Gu first for testing rather than out of favoritism.
• The Golden Toad Gu responds willingly and eagerly to the formation, while the other insects—including Little Butterfly—watch with longing.
• The Three-Eyed Toads remain submissive and do not interfere while their king undergoes the transformation.
• Chu Yuntian comments that even after its Bloodline is purified, the Golden Toad Gu’s poor innate aptitude will limit its achievements.
• Huo Hai studies the Golden Toad Gu after the transformation, acknowledges the formation’s success, and then releases it to remain in the area.

Chapter Summary: “Potential Enhancement”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After successfully refining the Golden Toad Gu, Huo Hai delays using the Spirit-Raising Witch Formation so he can study it thoroughly. Because the formation can only be used once on each insect, he is determined to avoid wasting the opportunity.
• Over three days, he experiments with the formation and several Three-Eyed Toads. He succeeds in refining additional Golden Toad Gu, though they are weaker and have less potential than his original one. Even so, the refinement represents a major breakthrough for the toads.
• Huo Hai finally masters the formation and redraws it perfectly, preparing to enhance his most important insects.
• Little Butterfly enters first. The formation consumes spiritual power rapidly because of her exceptional potential. Her appearance becomes more vivid, especially her blood-colored markings, while her spiritual power gains greater intensity and control.
• Silver Pearl undergoes the process next. Her body becomes partially translucent, particularly around her legs, and her spider silk becomes tougher, stickier, and easier to produce in greater quantities.
• Little Gold consumes over a thousand Spirit Stones during its enhancement. Its visible changes are limited, but its toxins are substantially strengthened, though Huo Hai cannot immediately measure the exact improvement.
• Little Star consumes Spirit Stones at an even more alarming rate. During the process, Huo Hai discovers that the formation can remove refined Demonic Energy from the Star Gu. About half of Little Star’s Demonic Energy is eliminated, restoring and even improving its intelligence while increasing its strength.
• Realizing the formation can cleanse the other Star Gu as well, Huo Hai sends them into the formation in batches. More than half of the Demonic Energy is removed from most of them, and their intelligence gradually recovers.
• All the Star Gu complete the enhancement just as Huo Hai’s supply of twenty thousand Spirit Stones is nearly exhausted. He accepts the enormous cost because restoring their intelligence makes them far more valuable.
• Once every insect has undergone the process, Huo Hai destroys the formation and the ground beneath it.

Character Developments

• Huo Hai becomes more cautious and methodical, recognizing the risks of using the formation on insects that represent enormous investments of resources. His understanding of the formation also deepens significantly through experimentation.
• His attitude toward his insects becomes increasingly protective and determined. After learning that the formation can remove Demonic Energy, he is willing to spend nearly all his remaining Spirit Stones to help the Star Gu.
• Little Butterfly demonstrates extraordinary innate potential, receiving improvements mainly in spiritual power quality and control.
• Silver Pearl shows that her self-earned evolution has given her considerable potential. Her increasingly translucent body hints at a mysterious future transformation.
• Little Gold confirms that consuming a Heavenly Grade Source Spirit Stone has already brought its potential to the Heaven Grade. Its main improvement lies in its toxins.
• Little Star and the Star Gu regain much of their lost intelligence after the Demonic Energy is removed, making them more reliable and valuable companions and combat assets.

Significant Themes

• Investment and responsibility: Huo Hai’s insects are not disposable tools; the resources invested in them make their safety and development deeply important.
• Potential and evolution: The formation does not merely increase strength but enhances an insect’s underlying potential, allowing future growth to become more powerful.
• Cleansing corruption: The removal of Demonic Energy symbolizes the restoration of the Star Gu’s minds and the reversal of harmful external influence.
• Knowledge through experimentation: Huo Hai advances by carefully observing the formation, testing it on weaker creatures, and adapting his understanding based on the results.
• The cost of power: The enhancements require an enormous number of Spirit Stones, emphasizing that growth and purification come at a steep material price.

Character Interactions

• Huo Hai directly oversees each insect’s transformation, calling Little Butterfly, Silver Pearl, Little Gold, and Little Star into the formation in sequence.
• His reactions range from curiosity and surprise to frustration over the resource consumption, especially when Little Gold and Little Star rapidly exhaust Spirit Stones.
• Little Butterfly and Silver Pearl respond positively to their improvements, displaying joy and signs of enhanced abilities.
• Huo Hai’s relationship with Little Star changes most significantly: once he realizes the formation can restore the Star Gu’s intelligence, he becomes firmly committed to cleansing every member of the group, regardless of cost.