Chapter Summaries

Su Xinghe revealed his Water Conception during a ranking match, overwhelming Wu Cangqing and drawing the attention of the Demon Suppression Bureau commanders. After the match, the commanders competed to recruit and reward him, while he remained focused on martial cultivation.

• Su Xinghe used his Water Conception to pin Wu Cangqing in midair, and Shangguan Jing rushed in to stop the fight.
• A mysterious observer recognized Su Xinghe's Water Conception, canceled the arrest assignment, and decided to report his discovery to the Military Department.
• Gong Hao ended the ranking matches, then questioned Su Xinghe about when he had comprehended Water Conception.
• Shangguan Jing and Wu Ganming offered Su Xinghe homes, and Gong Hao tried to entice him with Yue Ni before Su Xinghe declined and said he was devoted to martial cultivation.
• Wu Ganming gave Su Xinghe fifty points and a vial, while Shangguan Jing and Gong Hao each presented him with another vial and Gong Hao arranged a welcoming feast.

Su Xinghe explored Qingzhou Prefecture's inner city, received valuable gifts from the commanders, and discovered that the Starry Sky Empire's biological-energy lamp was drained by Little White Bat. He refined Force-Forging Pills to complete the Force Condensation stage and advanced his sixth-rank realm to Liquid Transformation 15%, but still lacked enough astral qi to form a core.

• Su Xinghe learned from Wu Cangqing that the inner city’s technological goods came from the Starry Sky Empire and that the Desolate Region was a battlefield of ruins rather than a planet.
• At the banquet, Wu Cangqing gave Su Xinghe Bone-Forging Pills and foreign specialties, while the commanders showered him with gifts and Su Xinghe relied on Gong Hao for guidance.
• Su Xinghe returned to his rented house, where Little White Bat drained the biological desk lamp by sucking its energy, leaving him to wonder whether it came from Demon Cores of Outer Demons.
• Su Xinghe counted his gifts, including Force-Forging Pills, Bone-Forging Pills, an alloy saber, and Demon Suppression Bureau points, then cultivated through the night.
• Su Xinghe refined twenty-three Force-Forging Pills, completed Force Condensation, and circulated the Iron Body Art until his astral qi became concentrated essence, though he still lacked enough to form a core.

Su Xinghe continued strengthening himself while avoiding entanglement with Qingzhou’s factions, but Governor Han Zhi arrived at his home and began courting him for Qingzhou Academy. Su Xinghe remained unsure whether Han Zhi also knew of the Lin County Lu Family Massacre Case as the governor hinted that the Demon Suppression Bureau was an unsuitable place for his talent.

• Su Xinghe calculated that he needed 284 more Force-Forging Pills and resolved to challenge the top ten white-robed guards next month.
• Su Xinghe received many visitors after his victory, learned that others had attributed it to his Listening to Tides Art, and eventually turned away the factions seeking to recruit him.
• More than half a month passed, and a black carriage brought Qingzhou Governor and Qingzhou Academy head Han Zhi to Su Xinghe’s home.
• Han Zhi introduced himself as a fourth-rank Baleful Convergence expert, while constable captains prevented Lu Sandao and Zhou Hao from leaving the courtyard.
• Han Zhi praised Su Xinghe’s Water Conception and suggested that his talent was wasted in the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Han Zhi tried to recruit Su Xinghe as the Crown Prince’s study companion, but Su Xinghe refused and resisted Han Zhi’s attempt to force him to sign a document. Xu Lie intervened and drove Han Zhi away, leaving Su Xinghe recovering beside Gong Hao and the imposing newcomer.

• Han Zhi offered Su Xinghe wealth and glory by inviting him to serve as the Crown Prince’s study companion in the Eastern Palace.
• Su Xinghe declined, citing his sixth-rank cultivation and his position in the Demon Suppression Bureau.
• Han Zhi presented Su Xinghe with a parchment qualifying him for Qingzhou Academy’s martial examination and used force to try to make him sign it.
• Su Xinghe resisted Han Zhi’s killing intent until Xu Lie burst into the pavilion and struck Han Zhi with scarlet saber light.
• After Han Zhi fled, Su Xinghe recovered some Spirit Sea energy with the Listening to Tides Art and saw Gong Hao standing beside the blood-red-mist-shrouded Xu Lie.

Su Xinghe met Xu Lie, Qingzhou's Demon Suppression Bureau chief, after Xu saved him from a blood-baleful aura. Xu rewarded Su with points and merit, offered him access to the exchange catalog, and prepared to obtain the items he chose before his month-long visit ended.

• Xu Lie revealed himself after Su Xinghe awakened, and Gong Hao introduced him as Qingzhou's A-One Commander and bureau chief.
• Xu Lie moved Su Xinghe and Gong Hao into the bureau hall, then ordered Gong Hao to investigate how information about Han Zhi had leaked.
• Xu Lie reviewed Su Xinghe's file and gave him two million points, one major merit, and an A-One Token with additional resources.
• Su Xinghe chose five hundred sixth-rank Force-Tempering Pills, the Demon-Slaying Blade true art, Nine Revolutions of the Thunder Blade, and the Starfire Mental Secret Art.
• Xu Lie agreed to obtain the pills and two arts immediately, said he would travel to the Capital for Starfire, and set out to arrange Su Xinghe's lodging.

Su Xinghe moved into the Demon Suppression Bureau’s Guardian Tower, rapidly advanced his cultivation with Force-Forging Pills, and learned the Demon-Slaying Blade. After the monthly ranking battles interrupted his seclusion, he found that the guards he wanted to challenge were away on missions and returned to cultivate.

• Su Xinghe settled into his protected room in the Guardian Tower and began secluded cultivation with the Force-Forging Pills.
• In three days, Su Xinghe used all 295 pills and filled his dantian with liquid Astral Qi.
• Su Xinghe studied the Demon-Slaying Blade, a fourth-rank true art, and recorded it on his Fate Panel in under half an hour.
• After five more days of practice, Su Xinghe left seclusion for the monthly ranking battles and learned that the remaining 205 pills had arrived.
• Su Xinghe tried to challenge Yi Nine, but Shangguan Jing told him the top-ranked Grade-B guards were away on missions.
• Su Xinghe declined dinner invitations and returned to secluded cultivation.

Lu Xuanji investigated Su Xinghe’s past and traveled to Qingzhou, while Su Xinghe began breaking through to Grandmaster inside the Guardian Tower. Little White Bat devoured the tower’s energy core, and Dai Gu attacked Su Xinghe’s nascent domain as the breakthrough continued.

• Lu Xuanji received Su Xinghe’s dossier, found clues connecting him to his family’s massacre, and went to Qingzhou to investigate.
• Su Xinghe reached Perfect Mastery in Demon-Slaying Blade and began forming a core, spreading his nascent domain into the Guardian Barrier.
• The barrier struck back at Su Xinghe, and Little White Bat flew to the tower’s peak and devoured its energy core.
• Gong Hao disabled the barrier and ordered the guards away from the tower, while they realized Yi Thirteen was attempting a breakthrough to Grandmaster.
• Dai Gu arrived, noticed the missing energy core, and hurled his spear toward Su Xinghe’s nascent domain.

Su Xinghe completed his breakthrough to become a Core Embrace Grandmaster while the Demon Suppression Bureau fought off the Inspection Bureau’s attack on the Guardian Tower. His newly formed domain reached thirty zhang, and Gong Hao recognized that Su Xinghe had broken through.

• Gong Hao and Shangguan Jing confronted the Inspection Bureau’s Dai Gu and his forces as they tried to seize the tower and interrupt Su Xinghe’s breakthrough.
• The barrier blocking Su Xinghe’s breakthrough vanished, allowing his domain to spread and his Astral Qi to condense into Grandmaster True Essence.
• Su Xinghe circulated his new Core Embrace True Qi, strengthened his body, and formed a domain that soon reached thirty zhang.
• Su Xinghe sensed the battle outside the tower through his domain and recognized that Gong Hao and the others were protecting him.
• Gong Hao detected Su Xinghe’s powerful domain and asked whether he had broken through.

Su Xinghe broke through to fifth-rank core embrace and fought Han Zhi after the governor arrived to attack the Demon Suppression Bureau. Just as Han Zhi’s chains threatened him, Su Xinghe connected with Little Beggar through the Heavenly Will Sword Network and received permission to transfer its powers.

• Dai Gu tried to flee, but Gong Hao brought down his flying mount and pinned him in the drill ground.
• Su Xinghe used his mastered water conception to incapacitate many Inspection Bureau martial warriors, then leaped from the tower to join the fight.
• Han Zhi arrived and overwhelmed Su Xinghe and Gong Hao with his fourth-rank baleful convergence power.
• A scaled avian exotic beast appeared above Qingzhou Prefecture City, and Su Xinghe recognized the Heavenly Will Sword Network around it.
• Little Beggar contacted Su Xinghe through the network, and a brilliant orb granted his request to transfer permissions.

Su Xinghe borrowed martial saint-level power through the Heavenly Will Sword Network and used it to kill Han Zhi and several Inspection Bureau fighters. The network revoked his access, but Little Beggar’s remaining power helped him finish another enemy as the unseen forces behind the attack remained unclear.

• The Heavenly Will Sword Network surged through Su Xinghe, lending him martial saint-level power and greater mastery of water conception.
• Su Xinghe decided to seize the chance to kill Han Zhi, and his borrowed power destroyed Han Zhi’s chains before Su Xinghe split his skull with an alloy saber.
• Han Zhi accused Lu Xuanji of involvement before dying, prompting Lu Xuanji to flee toward the military camp.
• Su Xinghe ignored a warning not to slaughter Sky Patrol Palace members and killed an Inspection Bureau grandmaster, while the network revoked his access and his borrowed power faded.
• Little Beggar’s remaining power let Su Xinghe kill another Inspection Bureau grandmaster before the mountain phantom dissipated.

Chapter Summary: “Life Origin Damaged”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Xinghe unleashes his newly mastered Grandmaster-level Core Qi Domain, killing more than twenty masked martial artists from the Inspection Bureau, including several powerful True Force experts. He justifies the massacre as necessary retaliation for obstructing his path and believes he can repay humanity’s losses by killing demons and monsters on the Outer Battlefield.
• Xia Xiaoqi, formerly known as the “Little Beggar,” arrives on an armored monstrous bird. Su Xinghe realizes she is actually a young woman who had disguised herself as a boy while living in poverty to avoid being sold to Snowfall Tower.
• The powerful Martial Saint Yue Shan appears and neutralizes the remaining danger over Qingzhou Prefecture. He reveals that he came specifically to recruit Su Xinghe into the Heavenly One Sword Sect.
• Yue Shan praises Su Xinghe for quickly comprehending the true intent of Listening to the Tides and explains the rarity of such talent. He argues that the Demon Suppression Bureau cannot provide Su Xinghe with a suitable future and asks whether it will release him.
• Yue Shan examines Su Xinghe’s body and discovers that his Life Origin is severely damaged. This injury threatens his future cultivation: without sufficient Life Origin, Su Xinghe may be unable to perfect his Golden Body, break through the Genetic Locks, or reach the highest realms.
• Su Xinghe is confused because he has never felt any obvious damage. He recalls several possible causes, including his transmigration after the original body’s death, his near-death experience beneath White Deer Cliff, and Princess Red Lotus stealing energy from his Spirit Sea.
• Despite the damage preventing him from becoming a true disciple of Azure Fall Island, Yue Shan offers him the chance to become an Inner Sword disciple, assuring him that the Heavenly One Sword Sect could still help him reach the Martial Saint realm.
• Su Xinghe declines the offer. His loyalty is complicated by the support he has received from the Demon Suppression Bureau, particularly the two million points granted by Director Xu Lie.
• Gong Hao explains that Xu Lie has gone to the capital to exchange for a secret art intended for Su Xinghe. Yue Shan realizes the Bureau is investing heavily in Su Xinghe, likely because of the upcoming Hundred Races Tournament.
• Yue Shan decides to remain at the Demon Suppression Bureau while his companions prepare for the Heavenly One Sword Sect’s disciple recruitment.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe demonstrates the frightening power of a Grandmaster and becomes more confident in his combat strength. However, his brutal actions also show his willingness to abandon conventional moral restraints when he believes his future or mission is threatened.
• His reunion with Xia Xiaoqi reveals a softer, more personal side. He is surprised by her transformation from a thin “boy” into a mature young woman and learns the reason behind her disguise.
• Su Xinghe’s refusal of Yue Shan’s offer shows his growing sense of loyalty and obligation toward the Demon Suppression Bureau. He is no longer motivated solely by personal advancement.
• Xia Xiaoqi is revealed to have grown significantly during their year apart. She is now both physically mature and exceptionally talented, possessing possible aptitude for the Law Path.
• Yue Shan is established as a powerful but perceptive Martial Saint. Though he initially views Su Xinghe’s recruitment as routine, he becomes concerned after discovering the damage to Su Xinghe’s Life Origin.
• Gong Hao is placed in a difficult position between the Heavenly One Sword Sect and the Demon Suppression Bureau. His discomfort suggests how valuable and contested Su Xinghe has become.

Significant Themes

• Power and moral compromise: Su Xinghe’s slaughter of the masked martial artists raises questions about justice, revenge, and how far he is willing to go to protect his path.
• Talent versus physical limitation: Su Xinghe possesses rare comprehension and extraordinary potential, but his damaged Life Origin may permanently restrict his advancement.
• Loyalty and obligation: His decision to remain with the Demon Suppression Bureau reflects the influence of past assistance and personal bonds over pure cultivation benefits.
• Hidden identities and survival: Xia Xiaoqi’s disguise demonstrates how vulnerable people must conceal themselves to survive in a predatory society.
• The importance of foundations: The chapter emphasizes that high-level cultivation depends not only on talent or breakthroughs but also on the integrity of one’s Life Origin and Golden Body.
• Institutional rivalry: The Heavenly One Sword Sect and the Demon Suppression Bureau compete for Su Xinghe, indicating his growing strategic importance, especially with the Hundred Races Tournament approaching.

Important Character Interactions

• Su Xinghe reunites with Xia Xiaoqi and discovers her true identity, creating an awkward but affectionate exchange.
• Yue Shan addresses Su Xinghe directly, praises his comprehension of Listening to the Tides, and attempts to recruit him.
• Yue Shan challenges Gong Hao over whether the Demon Suppression Bureau is willing to release Su Xinghe, placing the Bureau’s commitment under scrutiny.
• Yue Shan’s examination of Su Xinghe exposes the Life Origin damage, fundamentally changing the recruitment discussion.
• Gong Hao reveals Xu Lie’s efforts to obtain a secret art for Su Xinghe, strengthening the impression that the Bureau is determined to protect and develop him.

Xia Xiaoqi told Su Xinghe about the ranks beyond Grandmaster and the wider powers surrounding the Zhou Martial Sage Dynasty, while Liuyun explained why the Heavenly One Sword Sect wanted to recruit him. After the visitors left, Su Xinghe considered the political consequences of his recent killings and the protection he had gained from the sect.

• Xia Xiaoqi reunited with Su Xinghe, fed Little White Bat a Blood Essence Pill, and explained that Martial Saints were only apprentice ninth rank, with Stellar-Tier cultivation above them.
• Xia Xiaoqi described higher Stellar-Tier ranks and said the Zhou Martial Sage Dynasty had not produced one of the more advanced experts in nearly seven hundred years.
• The tower shook when Su Xinghe asked about his origin, and Liuyun arrived to meet him.
• Liuyun explained that the Heavenly One Sword Sect wanted Su Xinghe because he had comprehended Water Conception, and offered resources to compensate the Demon Suppression Bureau.
• Xia Xiaoqi gave Su Xinghe a booklet and left with Liuyun, while Su Xinghe concluded that the Heavenly One Sword Sect's protection would shield him from consequences for killing Han Zhi, Lu Xuanji, and two Inspection Bureau Grandmasters.

Su Xinghe studied Xia Xiaoqi’s notes on mental cultivation and began training after reaching the fifth-rank Grandmaster realm. He found that cultivation progressed slowly even with his sixteenfold Psychic Power amplification, while Qi-Gathering Pills greatly improved the pace.

• Su Xinghe realized Little White Bat had brought home the Guardian Barrier’s energy core and decided not to panic about possessing it.
• Su Xinghe read Xia Xiaoqi’s notes, learning how his mental power amplification worked and how Water Conception could lead toward a Water Domain.
• Su Xinghe checked his Fate Panel and accepted that his damaged origin did not prevent him from cultivating as a Grandmaster.
• Su Xinghe practiced the Demon-Slaying Blade and found that his martial realm progress barely increased, even when he activated all sixteen figures in his Consciousness Space.
• Su Xinghe refined a Qi-Gathering Pill through his meridians and discovered that pills made cultivation roughly ten to twenty times more efficient, then took out the second pill.

Su Xinghe advanced Nine Thunder Blade Slashes and returned to Prefecture Front Street, where his rapid rise stunned Lu Sandao and Zhou Hao. He planned to move his family from Niu Family Village, while Demon Suppression Bureau commanders worried that he might leave for the Heavenly One Sword Sect.

• Su Xinghe discovered that reaching fifth-rank core embrace required two thousand Qi-Gathering Pills, then practiced Nine Thunder Blade Slashes through the night until it reached Hall-Entering.
• Su Xinghe measured the ninth slash at over a hundred and ten thousand jin and credited his qi-blood foundation to his earlier training.
• Su Xinghe returned to Prefecture Front Street with Xia Xiaoqi, surprising Lu Sandao and Zhou Hao with their martial progress.
• Su Xinghe asked Lu Sandao to send a letter severing the White Ape Martial Academy's ties with Lin County and planned to bring his family to Qingzhou Prefecture City.
• Gong Hao and Shangguan Jing discussed persuading Su Xinghe to stay in the Demon Suppression Bureau, but decided to wait for Director Xu Lie to return.

Chapter Summary: “Xu Lie’s Helplessness”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gong Hao and Shangguan Jing discuss how to build a relationship with Su Xinghe, recognizing his extraordinary potential and possible future status above the Martial Saint level.
• Shangguan Jing considers approaching Su Xinghe through his family in Lin County, but Gong Hao warns her not to exploit them. Su Xinghe deeply values his family and has carefully hidden them because of Lu Xuanji’s hostility toward Lin County martial artists.
• Shangguan Jing proposes secretly luring out and killing Lu Xuanji. Gong Hao is briefly tempted but rejects the plan, realizing that Lu Xuanji’s Fourth-Rank Baleful Convergence cultivation makes the operation extremely dangerous. They decide to wait for their Director to return.
• Su Xinghe unexpectedly arrives with Xia Xiaoqi, whose Psychic Power allows her to conceal their presence. He thanks Gong Hao and Shangguan Jing for their help and agrees to celebrate his breakthrough with them.
• During the celebration, Wu Cangqing treats Su Xinghe with renewed humility. Su Xinghe learns that Commander Wu Ganming has been absent to avoid becoming entangled in Su’s conflict with Empress Xiao and the Crown Prince’s faction.
• Su Xinghe returns home and enters seclusion. His Water Conception advances from Perfect Mastery to Transcendent Mastery, increasing its power by fifty percent. He can now kill an ordinary Core Embrace Grandmaster within ten breaths and challenge veteran Psychic Power users such as Gong Hao and Shangguan Jing.
• Despite this progress, Su Xinghe recognizes that his Force-Amplification Secret Technique is no longer strong enough to maintain his previous advantage at the Core Embrace level.
• Meanwhile, Xu Lie learns that the Demon Suppression Bureau rejected his request for Su Xinghe to study the Starfire secret technique. The Military Department also denies his request for a Martial Saint Seed training position.
• Xu Lie realizes that without special resources, Su Xinghe may need twenty or thirty years to reach Baleful Condensation, even though his exceptional talent suggests he could reach Baleful Convergence before thirty with proper support.
• After failing to obtain help from Mending Heaven Pavilion and finding the world changed after decades on the Outer Battlefield, Xu Lie leaves in disappointment and helplessness.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe: Becomes more powerful after advancing his Water Conception and gains confidence in fighting elite Grandmasters. However, he also recognizes the limitations of his current force-amplification technique and the dangers surrounding his family and political position.
• Gong Hao: Acts cautiously and responsibly. Though he understands the value of cultivating Su Xinghe’s connections, he refuses to endanger himself or his clan in a reckless assassination attempt.
• Shangguan Jing: Shows strong ambition and strategic thinking by considering Su Xinghe’s family as a possible point of connection. Her willingness to eliminate Lu Xuanji also reveals her fierce protectiveness and boldness.
• Wu Cangqing: His attitude toward Su Xinghe becomes markedly more respectful and humble, demonstrating Su’s growing influence.
• Xu Lie: Experiences frustration and powerlessness after repeatedly failing to secure the resources Su Xinghe needs. His concern for Su’s future highlights his investment in the young genius.

Significant Themes

• Talent versus resources: Su Xinghe possesses extraordinary natural ability, but institutional barriers and limited resources may greatly slow his progress.
• Political danger and divided loyalties: Su’s conflict with imperial factions forces others, including the Wu Clan, to distance themselves from him to avoid suspicion.
• Family as both strength and vulnerability: Su Xinghe’s devotion to his family earns respect but also creates a potential avenue for enemies to threaten or manipulate him.
• Caution versus ambition: Shangguan Jing favors decisive action against Lu Xuanji, while Gong Hao emphasizes the risks and consequences of reckless confrontation.
• Institutional helplessness: Xu Lie’s failure to secure support shows how even powerful individuals can be constrained by bureaucratic and political structures.

Important Character Interactions

• Gong Hao and Shangguan Jing: Debate how to connect with Su Xinghe and whether Lu Xuanji should be assassinated. Their exchange reveals differing levels of ambition and caution.
• Su Xinghe, Gong Hao, and Shangguan Jing: Reunite warmly after Su’s breakthrough; their relationship becomes more personal as they celebrate together.
• Su Xinghe and Wu Cangqing: Wu Cangqing abandons his former arrogance and addresses Su respectfully after drinking with him, reflecting Su’s rising status.
• Xu Lie and Mending Heaven Pavilion: Xu seeks assistance for Su Xinghe but is denied, reinforcing the chapter’s concluding sense of disappointment and helplessness.

Su Xinghe reunited with Zhan Yun and Gong Yueni, learned of Zhao Ya’s life as an Outer Disciple, and worried about Zhou Hao’s chances in the recruitment assembly. As he cultivated at home, the director arrived beneath an overwhelming aura of blood balefulness, leaving Su Xinghe uneasy.

• Zhan Yun and Gong Yueni visited Xia Xiaoqi and discovered that her cultivation and mental will had advanced remarkably.
• Su Xinghe met Zhan Yun and Gong Yueni, received Zhao Ya’s letters, and invited them and Xia Xiaoqi to dinner, where they assessed Zhou Hao’s recruitment prospects as promising but uncertain.
• Su Xinghe read Zhao Ya’s letter about her Outer Disciple life, then wrote her a reply and enclosed a thousand-tael Treasure Note for Zhan Yun to take back.
• The first-tier powers began recruiting promising young martial warriors, while Su Xinghe declined Gong Hao’s offer to help select apprentices because he was focused on cultivation.
• On November twenty-fifth, the director appeared in Su Xinghe’s room amid a powerful blood-baleful force field, and Su Xinghe sensed danger.

After failing to secure the Starfire secret art, Su Xinghe received a major merit and fifty thousand points from Xu Lie, but found that the Demon Suppression Bureau’s pill quotas could not meet his cultivation needs. He headed to the Martial Dao Bureau to seek pills, leaving his next move unresolved.

• Xu Lie told Su Xinghe that he could not obtain approval for the Starfire secret art, then transferred a major merit and fifty thousand points to him before returning to Southguard Pass.
• Su Xinghe learned from Kong Yuan that he had no quota for Qi-Gathering Pills until his commander appointment was finalized, and Gong Hao explained the branch’s strict monthly allocations.
• Gong Hao offered Su Xinghe two or three pills from his own quota each month, but Su Xinghe refused to take resources that could help his senior advance.
• Su Xinghe spotted the Lin County Lu Family Massacre Case on the Martial Dao Bureau noticeboard, then revealed his Core Embrace true qi and announced that he wanted to buy pills.

Chapter Summary: “The Convention Begins”

Key plot points and events

• Su Xinghe regrets spending nearly all his Martial Dao Bureau points: Fifth-Rank Qi-Gathering Pills cost 10,000 points each, and he left without buying Bone-Forging Pills.
• His Nine Revolutions of the Thunder Blade reaches Perfect Mastery, allowing him to unleash all nine blades and fully exploit his strength of 256,000 jin. However, the force’s recoil is beginning to injure him. He concludes he must either reach Fourth Rank and temper his body with Killing Intent or find a specialized body-cultivation method.
• Senior Gong Hao cannot provide such a method, but recommends Extreme Dao Mountain Academy for physical cultivation and the awakening of Martial Dao Will. He gives Su Xinghe the Sixth-Rank Midnight-Noon Disc, which supposedly restores qi and blood through meditation at noon and midnight. Su’s attempts mostly leave him sleeping well and feeling less stressed.
• On the first day of the twelfth month, the four super-first-rate forces hold their disciple recruitment convention alongside the Bureau’s monthly ranking battles. Su Xinghe is exempt from the battles after reaching Fifth Rank.
• Su Xinghe, Lu Sandao, and Zhou Hao make their way through enormous crowds to the south gate, where Extreme Dao Mountain Academy is recruiting. Zhou Hao enters the queue alone to compete for one of roughly fifty local places among thousands of candidates.
• Su Xinghe surveys the crowd and recognizes Zhou Hao’s exceptional progress, but remembers Zhan Yun’s earlier doubts, which temper his confidence in Zhou Hao’s prospects.
• While waiting, Su Xinghe studies First Insight into Light and Darkness. He reasons that its true principle should concern light itself rather than merely using Astral Qi as a medium, and aims to reduce the technique’s energy cost and reach the Light-Ray Artistic Conception.

Character developments

• Su Xinghe has become exceptionally powerful, but his physical durability has not kept pace with his strength. He responds by investigating body cultivation and reconsidering the underlying principles of his secret techniques.
• Zhou Hao has advanced rapidly through inherited training and abundant resources. The convention now puts his talent and progress to a difficult public test.
• Gong Hao supports Su Xinghe with practical advice and the Midnight-Noon Disc, even though the technique’s immediate effects are more restorative and stress-relieving than clearly martial.

Character interactions

• Su Xinghe consults Gong Hao about his body’s limitations; Gong Hao points him toward Extreme Dao Mountain Academy’s expertise and provides a cultivation art.
• Lu Sandao accompanies Su Xinghe and Zhou Hao to the convention. Once they reach the academy’s gate, he and Su have done what they can, leaving Zhou Hao to compete.
• Su Xinghe observes Zhou Hao’s determination and potential, but privately weighs it against Zhan Yun’s earlier assessment.

Significant themes

• Strength has limits: Raw power and technique are insufficient if the body cannot withstand their consequences.
• Martial arts as inquiry: Su Xinghe treats cultivation as something governed by discoverable principles, applying scientific reasoning to understand light and martial techniques.
• Competition and opportunity: The vast turnout reveals how scarce the academy’s places are and how uncertain the path to advancement can be.
• Persistence and self-improvement: Su’s Fate Panel rewards sustained effort, while the chapter shows him continuing to explore both physical training and deeper understanding of his abilities.

Summary of “Saving Someone”

Key Plot Points and Events

• While waiting at the recruitment assembly, Su Xinghe hears a disturbance at the front of the line. Public Security Office constables are allowing wealthy or connected candidates to skip ahead, despite protests from poorer teenagers.
• The constables justify the favoritism by mocking the protesters and implying that only those with money or powerful backing have a real chance of being selected.
• The Heavenly One Sword Sect arrives, signaling that the recruitment assessment is about to begin. Several other elite sects and powers also appear, each represented by powerful Core Embrace Grandmasters.
• Su Xinghe observes that the Martial Saint who had previously overseen the area is absent. As a result, the Heavenly Will Sword Network’s range and strength are greatly reduced, revealing how dependent large-scale power is on individual cultivation.
• The major sects seal off the military camps with powerful Core Qi Domains and begin testing candidates. Teenagers are eliminated rapidly, many being thrown out in tears.
• Although the super first-rate powers reject many candidates, other city factions immediately compete to recruit those with sufficient talent. This demonstrates that rejection by one elite organization does not necessarily mean a candidate lacks ability.
• The Extreme Dao Mountain Academy’s line remains slow because connected candidates continue cutting in. The unfairness is now accepted in silence because ordinary applicants fear retaliation from the Martial Dao Bureau.
• Several factions begin fighting over an eliminated candidate. The conflict escalates between the Demon Suppression Bureau and Qingzhou Academy, while nearby Public Security Office officers refuse to intervene.
• The fighting endangers three children. Su Xinghe immediately acts, using a pale golden Core Qi Domain to shield and rescue them.
• His intervention frightens the combatants, but the conflict between Ji Xuanye and Wu Cangqing continues. Ji Xuanye appears to redirect an attack toward a vulnerable youth who has only recently reached Ninth Rank, setting up the chapter’s final confrontation.

Character Developments

• Su Xinghe: Remains observant and detached while studying the recruitment process, but his priorities become clear when innocent children are endangered. He abandons his cultivation to intervene immediately, demonstrating compassion, responsibility, and rapidly increasing mastery of Core Qi and Psychic Power.
• Zhou Hao: His decision not to accept the earlier invitation to the constable’s gathering contrasts with the corruption now visible at the recruitment assembly. His slow progress through the line reflects the disadvantages faced by people without connections.
• Public Security Office constables: They are shown abusing their authority by accepting bribes, favoring connected candidates, and ignoring factional violence when intervention might offend powerful groups.
• Ji Xuanye and Wu Cangqing: Their rivalry becomes central to the developing conflict. Both represent major powers competing over talented candidates, and their willingness to endanger weaker martial artists reveals how ruthless their competition is.
• Rejected candidates: Their reactions range from despair to resilience. Some leave in humiliation, while others seek opportunities with lesser powers or try another recruitment camp.

Significant Themes

• Corruption and inequality: Wealth and connections allow candidates to bypass ordinary rules, while unbacked teenagers are pushed aside.
• The harshness of competition: Recruitment is portrayed as a ruthless selection process in which even promising youths may be discarded if stronger candidates are available.
• Power and influence: The absence of the Martial Saint dramatically weakens the surrounding network, emphasizing that true authority depends on personal strength.
• Moral courage: Su Xinghe’s rescue of the children contrasts with the selfishness of the factions and officials. He acts even though the children are unrelated to him and the conflict involves powerful organizations.
• The exploitation of talent: Major powers fight over rejected candidates, treating them as valuable resources rather than people.
• The vulnerability of the weak: Ordinary teenagers, inexperienced martial artists, and children are placed in danger by systems and conflicts controlled by powerful adults.

Character Interactions

• Protesters confront the Public Security Office constables over queue-jumping but are silenced through intimidation.
• Su Xinghe observes the constable he previously encountered, linking the recruitment corruption to the earlier invitation and implied bribery.
• Rival powers compete aggressively for eliminated candidates, eventually leading to violence.
• Ji Xuanye and Wu Cangqing openly challenge one another over the right to claim a candidate.
• Su Xinghe intervenes between the fighting factions and the endangered children, temporarily forcing the combatants to recognize his superior presence.
• The chapter ends with Ji Xuanye seemingly targeting a newly advanced Ninth-Rank martial artist, prompting Su Xinghe—or another powerful figure—to confront the danger.

Su Xinghe intervened when Ji Xuanye of Qingzhou Academy nearly killed a young Martial Warrior, then met He Wu of Extreme Dao Mountain Academy. After learning Zhou Hao followed Golden Baleful Peak’s Divine Ape Lineage, He Wu accepted him into the outer court and invited Su Xinghe to register as well.

• Su Xinghe caught the injured youth and used Water Conception to suppress the astral force in his body as the youth reunited with A-Xue and Xiao Lan.
• Su Xinghe struck Ji Xuanye down with his golden domain, then used Water Conception to repel the Qingzhou Academy Grandmaster who tried to stop Wu Cangqing from attacking him.
• He Wu arrived, identified Su Xinghe’s connection to Extreme Dao Mountain Academy, and offered to recommend him to Golden Baleful Peak’s inner court.
• Su Xinghe introduced Zhou Hao to He Wu and told him about the Veteran’s Trade House and its destruction by the Lu Family.
• He Wu tested Zhou Hao, confirmed he was a seventeen-year-old Dark Force Martial Warrior of the Divine Ape Lineage, accepted him into Golden Baleful Peak’s outer court, and invited Su Xinghe to register.