Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Nine-leaf Sword Grass, Luo God Princess!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Chen, a transmigrator, has become a Nine-leaf Sword Grass in the Great Thousand World’s Spirit Road. A sign-in system granted him the plant form of the legendary Nine-leaf Sword Grass, but he currently lacks its true inheritance and remains extremely weak.
• He has survived in the forest for a year by absorbing sunlight and moonlight, reaching roughly the late Spirit Movement Stage, while waiting for the Spirit Road to open.
• Zhao Chen explains the Spirit Road: a trial realm created by the Five Great Academies to test geniuses from across the Great Thousand World. Successful participants can enter the academies and eventually pursue the Heavenly Sovereign realm.
• His greatest need is the Grass-Character Sword Art, the Nine-leaf Sword Grass’s supreme inheritance and one of the Ten Vicious Arts. Without it, he cannot properly cultivate or unlock his true potential.
• Zhao Chen suddenly hears a battle and realizes that the Spirit Road has already opened. He sees a wounded silver-haired girl being pursued by more than a dozen powerful trial-takers.
• He identifies the girl as Luo Li, the direct imperial daughter of the powerful Luo God Clan and heir to its pure Luo God Bloodline.
• Luo Li is being hunted by five late-stage and seven mid-stage Spirit Wheel Stage opponents. Though she is normally a peak Spirit Wheel Stage expert, her injuries and exhaustion have severely weakened her.
• Luo Li notices the unusual sword qi radiating from Zhao Chen’s nine leaves. Before she can investigate further, the pursuing geniuses launch another coordinated attack.
• The chapter ends as Luo Li prepares to counterattack with the sword technique: “A single leaf can slash suns, moons, and stars!”

Character Developments

• Zhao Chen: Establishes himself as an intelligent but frustrated protagonist. Though trapped as a plant and unable to move, he carefully observes his surroundings and analyzes the cultivation levels of the incoming enemies. His hopes of obtaining cultivation techniques or escaping the forest rise when he realizes the Spirit Road has opened.
• Luo Li: Introduced as an elite and noble warrior from the Luo God Clan. Despite being injured and surrounded, she remains composed and focused, immediately recognizing the extraordinary sword intent within Zhao Chen rather than panicking.
• The pursuing geniuses: Presented as a coordinated group of hostile Spirit Road participants. Their numerical advantage and Spirit Wheel Stage cultivation make them a serious threat, though they appear to fear Luo Li’s potential trump cards.

Significant Themes

• Power versus limitation: Zhao Chen possesses the potential of the legendary Nine-leaf Sword Grass but is currently restricted by his plant body and lack of inheritance.
• Patience and opportunity: His immobility forces him to wait for others, but the opening of the Spirit Road finally creates an opportunity to acquire cultivation methods and change his situation.
• Hidden strength: Zhao Chen appears to be an ordinary weed, yet his sword qi is powerful enough to attract Luo Li’s attention.
• Trial and survival: The Spirit Road is portrayed as a brutal competition where geniuses must endure combat, danger, and betrayal to advance.
• Legacy and destiny: Luo Li’s bloodline and imperial status suggest that her future is tied to the revival and continuation of the Luo God Clan.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Chen observes Luo Li and her pursuers from the forest, assessing their cultivation and strategic situation.
• Luo Li senses the extraordinary sword aura from Zhao Chen’s leaves and focuses on him despite being hunted.
• The pursuing group notices Luo Li’s distraction and immediately attacks, forcing her to abandon her investigation and defend herself.
• Their confrontation sets up a potential alliance or important connection between Zhao Chen and Luo Li, with the mysterious Nine-leaf Sword Grass likely becoming significant to her survival.

Chapter Summary: Grass-Character Sword Art, Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast!

Plot Points and Events

• A silver sword leaf suddenly manifests from the Nine-leaf Sword Grass, releasing countless sword energies powerful enough to crack the Spirit Road’s space.
• Luo Li and the pursuing Spirit Wheel Stage geniuses are shocked because spiritual arts normally cannot be used within the Spirit Road. The sword leaf’s attack appears to violate this restriction.
• Realizing the sword leaf is assisting rather than targeting her, Luo Li cooperates with it and swiftly kills all of her pursuers.
• The Nine-leaf Sword Grass absorbs the spiritual energy contained in their blood. Zhao Chen, its sentient consciousness, breaks through from the late Spirit Movement Stage to the Spirit Wheel Stage.
• Luo Li investigates the grass and recognizes that it possesses intelligence and extraordinary potential. She offers to take it with her, help it assume human form, and guide it toward the Supreme Realm.
• Zhao Chen agrees, hoping to leave the Spirit Road, enter the Great Thousand World, and gain access to the Luo God Clan’s resources.
• When Luo Li transplants the Nine-leaf Sword Grass, Zhao Chen receives a system mission: reach the Spirit Crown Platform, the endpoint of the Spirit Road, and obtain the reward known as the Grass-Character Sword Art.
• Zhao Chen realizes that completing the mission requires Luo Li to win the Spirit Crown. The endpoint will be a decisive battle among King-Sealing geniuses such as Yang Hong, Ji Xuan, Mu Chen, Wu Ling, Wu Yingying, and Wen Qingxuan.
• Luo Li explains that she still cannot break into the Divine Soul Stage. She needs either a level-seven spiritual herb or the soul of a high-tier Divine Soul Stage spirit beast.
• Zhao Chen proposes hunting a nearby Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast. Luo Li becomes alarmed when she reveals that this creature is an Earth Ranking heavenly beast, potentially powerful enough to slaughter every trial-taker in the Spirit Road.

Character Developments

Zhao Chen/Nine-leaf Sword Grass

Zhao Chen demonstrates intelligence, combat ability, and strategic thinking. By absorbing blood and spiritual energy from slaughtered enemies, he advances to the Spirit Wheel Stage. He also begins planning how to exploit the Spirit Road’s powerful spirit beasts to help Luo Li reach the endpoint and complete his system mission.

Luo Li

Luo Li remains ruthless and highly capable, killing her pursuers without hesitation. She also shows insight and ambition by recognizing the grass’s potential and offering it a path toward human transformation and the Supreme Realm. Despite her strength, she is still blocked from the Divine Soul Stage and must seek a major opportunity.

Relationship between Luo Li and Zhao Chen

Their relationship shifts from accidental cooperation to a mutually beneficial partnership. Luo Li gains a powerful sword-based companion suited to the Luo God Sword, while Zhao Chen gains protection, resources, and a route out of the Spirit Road.

Significant Themes

• Power through slaughter: The chapter emphasizes that absorbing the essence and blood of defeated enemies or spirit beasts is an extremely rapid method of cultivation.
• Unusual cultivation and rule-breaking: Zhao Chen’s sword-energy attack functions like a spiritual art despite the Spirit Road’s restrictions, marking the Nine-leaf Sword Grass as an extraordinary existence.
• Strategic survival: Victory will depend not only on individual strength but also on alliances, manipulation of spirit beasts, and avoiding being surrounded by rival geniuses.
• The limits of realm progression: Luo Li’s inability to break through using ordinary Spirit Wheel Stage spirit beasts highlights the enormous gap between the Divine Soul Stage and the Three Heavens Realms.
• Ambition and danger: The Spirit Crown represents status, power, and immense rewards, but every top genius will compete for it, making the endpoint the most dangerous battlefield in the Spirit Road.

Key Character Interaction

Luo Li approaches the intelligent Nine-leaf Sword Grass and offers to take it into the Great Thousand World. Zhao Chen accepts and becomes her ally. Later, he suggests hunting the Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast to help both of them advance, but Luo Li is stunned because the beast is not an ordinary high-tier spirit beast—it is an Earth Ranking heavenly beast of potentially overwhelming power.

Chapter Summary: “The Consequences of One’s Own Actions! I’ll Make the Spirit Road Run Red with Blood!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Chen proposes that Luo Li hunt a Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast cub, rather than an adult Earth Ranking Heavenly Beast. Though dangerous, the cub is still powerful enough to rival a Divine Soul Stage cultivator, and its beast soul could help Luo Li break through.
• Zhao Chen develops a more ruthless plan: after killing the cub, they will use its blood to lure the adult Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast into slaughtering the geniuses who have been pursuing Luo Li.
• Luo Li agrees, accepting the danger because she urgently needs greater strength. Her goals are to obtain the Spirit Crown, enter one of the Five Great Academies, reach the Supreme Realm, and eventually protect the Luo God Clan.
• At the end of the Spirit Road, Luo Li deliberately leaves traces to draw her pursuers toward the cub’s territory.
• Zhao Chen locates the young Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast and instructs Luo Li to place him on her Luo God Sword. Together, they prepare a single fatal attack and plan to retreat immediately afterward.
• Luo Li launches Zhao Chen’s sword technique, Slay All Sun, Moon, and Stars, through the Luo God Sword. The attack pierces the cub’s golden defenses and kills it instantly.
• Luo Li quickly extracts the cub’s essence soul and essence blood. Zhao Chen also tells her to collect ordinary blood so they can smear it on their enemies and make the adult beast target them.
• Before they can escape, Yang Hong arrives and demands that Luo Li hand over the cub’s essence soul. The confrontation threatens to trigger the planned bloodbath.

Character Developments

• Luo Li demonstrates growing resolve and ruthlessness. Although initially alarmed by the danger, she chooses to proceed because becoming stronger is essential to her responsibility toward the Luo God Clan.
• She also shows increasing trust in Zhao Chen, immediately following his instructions and relying on his power to kill the cub.
• Zhao Chen reveals himself as highly strategic, calculating, and merciless toward those who persecute Luo Li. He is willing to manipulate the adult beast into killing their enemies rather than confront all of them directly.
• Zhao Chen’s confidence has increased since his earlier difficulties with the cub; he now treats the opportunity to kill it as a chance for revenge.
• Yang Hong remains arrogant and predatory, attempting to seize the cub’s essence soul immediately after Luo Li obtains it. His arrival confirms that he and the other geniuses are still relentlessly pursuing her.

Significant Themes

• Consequences of one’s actions: Zhao Chen argues that those who hunt and oppress Luo Li have brought their own destruction upon themselves.
• Survival and ruthless competition: The Spirit Road is portrayed as a genuine life-or-death trial where even elite geniuses can be killed by stronger spirit beasts or rival cultivators.
• Power and responsibility: Luo Li seeks strength not for personal ambition alone, but to protect her clan and eventually inherit the Luo God’s power.
• Strategy over brute force: Zhao Chen uses the beast’s instincts and the pursuers’ greed against them, turning the environment into a weapon.
• Risk and decisive action: Success depends on striking quickly, killing in one blow, and escaping before the adult beast retaliates.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Chen and Luo Li work as partners, with Zhao Chen providing strategy and combat power while Luo Li executes the attack.
• Zhao Chen persuades Luo Li that the dangerous hunt is worthwhile and then encourages her to use the cub’s death to eliminate her pursuers.
• Their coordinated attack through the Luo God Sword shows their growing combat synergy and mutual trust.
• Yang Hong’s sudden appearance interrupts their retreat and creates a direct confrontation over the cub’s essence soul, setting the stage for the promised slaughter on the Spirit Road.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yang Hong confronts Luo Li, demanding that she hand over the Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast’s essence. He arrogantly claims that only he can protect her from Ji Xuan and offers to make Ji Xuan apologize.
• Luo Li rejects him with a sword strike. Despite her previous battles and exhaustion, she has reached the peak of the Spirit Wheel Stage and is far stronger than Yang Hong expected.
• Realizing he cannot defeat her, Yang Hong attempts to flee, but Luo Li kills him instantly with the Luo God Sword, enhanced by Zhao Chen’s Nine-leaf Sword Grass.
• Zhao Chen warns Luo Li that the Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast has awakened. They flee before the terrifying Earth Ranking Heavenly Beast can pursue them.
• Luo Li takes Yang Hong’s storage pouch. Inside are the top-grade spiritual artifact Heaven-Breaking Spirit Halberd and the incomplete low-grade divine-grade Heaven-Breaking Divine Canon.
• Because Zhao Chen is a plant-type entity, the Spirit Road’s restrictions do not affect his cultivation. He intends to use the trial’s environment and Yang Hong’s inheritance to surpass Luo Li.
• The awakened Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast devastates the surrounding mountain range, killing numerous cultivators and spirit beasts. Its strength is so great that even Divine Soul Stage geniuses would struggle to defeat it.
• Luo Li and Zhao Chen set their sights on the Spirit Road championship. Luo Li plans to refine the beast’s essence and enter the Divine Soul Stage, while Zhao Chen seeks the Grass-Character Sword Art by holding out at the Champion’s Platform for ten days.

Character Developments

• Luo Li demonstrates that she is far stronger and less weakened than Yang Hong assumed. Her cultivation has reached the peak of the Spirit Wheel Stage, and she decisively eliminates a powerful rival.
• Yang Hong is exposed as overconfident and opportunistic. His attempt to exploit Luo Li’s apparent weakness ends in his immediate death.
• Zhao Chen reveals increasing ambition and confidence. He recognizes that the Spirit Road’s restrictions give him a unique advantage and believes he may eventually surpass Luo Li.
• Luo Li begins to suspect that Zhao Chen is far more intelligent and unusual than an ordinary spirit beast. His humanlike speech and reasoning make her question what kind of existence he truly is.

Significant Themes

• Overconfidence and miscalculation: Yang Hong underestimates Luo Li and pays for assuming she is exhausted.
• Power and opportunity: The characters constantly seek treasures, inheritances, and breakthroughs to gain an advantage in the competition.
• Unique paths to cultivation: Zhao Chen’s plant form allows him to bypass restrictions that hinder human cultivators, suggesting that unconventional identities can provide extraordinary advantages.
• Partnership and ambition: Luo Li and Zhao Chen cooperate toward the championship, but Zhao Chen’s growing strength and secrets introduce uncertainty into their relationship.
• The danger of the Spirit Road: The awakening of the Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast emphasizes that even the strongest contestants remain vulnerable to the trial’s supreme monsters.

Character Interactions

• Yang Hong attempts to dominate Luo Li through threats and an offer of protection, but she responds with contempt and kills him.
• Zhao Chen supports Luo Li during and after the confrontation, helping her benefit from Yang Hong’s storage pouch and inheritance.
• Luo Li and Zhao Chen discuss the Golden Armored Dragon-Tiger Beast and their plans to seize the Spirit Road championship.
• Luo Li’s final question—what realm Zhao Chen must reach before taking human form—shows her growing curiosity and suspicion about his true potential.

Chapter Summary: “So Big, Really Too Big!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Luo Li reflects on her isolation and the enormous responsibility of reviving the declining Luo God Clan. Her status prevents her from forming normal friendships, while the dangers of the Spirit Road have made her a target for powerful factions.
• She considers the Nine-leaf Sword Grass—Zhao Chen—the one being she can genuinely trust, since he rescued her and has remained by her side.
• Luo Li asks when Zhao Chen will be able to take human form. He speculates that he may need to reach the Three Heavens Realm, though he is uncertain because Nine-leaf Sword Grass is an extremely rare spirit-beast species.
• Luo Li offers to hunt powerful spirit beasts and provide him with their essence after she reaches the Divine Soul Stage. Zhao Chen refuses, prioritizing his goal of obtaining the Grass-Character Sword Art by checking in ten times at the Champion’s Platform.
• Moved by Zhao Chen’s willingness to support her rather than seek resources for himself, Luo Li vows to win the Spirit Road’s championship.
• The Champion’s Platform is introduced: a nine-tiered structure whose highest seat is the Spirit Crown. The crown grants a massive spiritual-energy infusion capable of pushing its bearer into the Three Heavens Realm or even higher, provided their body can withstand it.
• The major factions and their leaders are presented: Ji Xuan, Bing Qing, Wen Qingxuan, Wu Ling, Fang Zhong, and the unaffiliated Mu Chen.
• Zhao Chen evaluates the faction leaders and dismisses Mu Chen as no immediate threat, while noting that Mu Chen’s different experiences have affected his temperament and that he has lost the opportunity to grow close to Luo Li.
• Zhao Chen identifies Ji Xuan as the most dangerous immediate opponent. Ji Xuan orchestrated the attacks against Luo Li, including Yang Hong’s pursuit, because Luo Li rejected his control and refused to become his “canary.”
• Zhao Chen advises Luo Li to eliminate Ji Xuan first, reasoning that the other academies would welcome an attack on the dominant Holy Spiritual Academy and might support her against it.
• Luo Li accepts the challenge, focuses on Ji Xuan, and declares, “Ji Xuan, die!”

Character Developments

• Luo Li: Her loneliness and burden become clearer, but her relationship with Zhao Chen gives her emotional support and renewed determination. She moves from merely surviving the Spirit Road to actively committing herself to winning the championship and restoring her clan.
• Zhao Chen: He demonstrates loyalty and strategic intelligence. Although he wants to advance and eventually take human form, he places his deeper goal—the Grass-Character Sword Art—and Luo Li’s success above immediate cultivation resources. He also shows confidence in assessing political alliances and threats.
• Ji Xuan: He is established as a manipulative, ruthless antagonist. His polished appearance conceals his willingness to use others and destroy what he cannot possess.
• Mu Chen: Zhao Chen views him as talented but comparatively less hardened because he avoided the suffering that would have resulted from being expelled from the Spirit Road. His lost chance to bond with Luo Li also weakens his position in this altered situation.
• Other faction leaders: Bing Qing, Wen Qingxuan, Wu Ling, Fang Zhong, and their respective backgrounds are introduced as the major competitors surrounding the Champion’s Platform.

Significant Themes

• Isolation and trust: Luo Li’s position leaves her unable to trust most people, making Zhao Chen’s companionship especially meaningful.
• Duty versus personal desire: Luo Li must sacrifice ordinary relationships and personal freedom for the survival of her clan.
• Loyalty and mutual support: Zhao Chen prioritizes Luo Li’s goals, while Luo Li responds by committing herself to his hopes and supporting his eventual evolution.
• Power struggles and political alliances: The Spirit Road is shaped not only by individual strength but also by factional rivalries, particularly resentment toward the Holy Spiritual Academy’s dominance.
• Destiny and transformation: Zhao Chen’s desire to take human form parallels Luo Li’s own transformation into a leader capable of carrying her clan’s future.
• Control and possessiveness: Ji Xuan’s hatred arises because Luo Li refuses to be controlled, highlighting the contrast between his domination and Zhao Chen’s supportive companionship.

Important Character Interactions

• Luo Li and Zhao Chen: Their trust deepens through a conversation about Zhao Chen’s future. Luo Li offers resources to help him evolve, while he instead asks her to win the championship, strengthening their partnership.
• Zhao Chen and Luo Li regarding Ji Xuan: Zhao Chen provides tactical advice, urging her to attack Ji Xuan first. Luo Li immediately responds with determination, marking the beginning of a direct confrontation.
• Luo Li and Ji Xuan: Though they do not yet fight in the chapter, their conflict is defined: Ji Xuan pursued and tried to control her, while Luo Li rejects him and now intends to kill him.
• Zhao Chen and Mu Chen: Zhao Chen regards Mu Chen with cautious detachment, acknowledging his background but deciding not to provoke him unless necessary.

Chapter Summary

Plot and Key Events

• Luo Li suddenly appears with intense killing intent, publicly confronting Ji Xuan. The surrounding geniuses are shocked because Ji Xuan is considered the strongest contender for the Spirit Crown.
• Ji Xuan explains that he admires Luo Li and had hoped to make her submit, but her open opposition enrages him. He attacks her with power surpassing the Spirit Wheel Stage and reaching the Divine Soul Stage.
• Luo Li counters with the Luo God Sword, assisted by the Nine-leaf Sword Grass hidden within it. Her sword strike is overwhelmingly powerful, cutting through Ji Xuan’s followers and demonstrating strength far beyond what anyone expected.
• Ji Xuan panics and flees, using his own subordinates as shields. Luo Li relentlessly pursues him, declaring that he hunted her previously and must now pay with his life.
• Realizing he cannot escape, Ji Xuan calls for the Heavenly Sage Dean of Holy Spiritual Academy to save him.
• The Heavenly Sage Dean intervenes directly, sending down a massive palm that surpasses the Spirit Road’s limits and threatens everyone nearby.
• Another Supreme Realm expert from the Five Great Academies counters the attack, creating a clash that freezes the surrounding space and time.
• Despite the pressure suppressing her, Luo Li sends the Luo God Sword after Ji Xuan. The sword pierces through the crisis and kills him.
• Enraged, the Heavenly Sage Dean prepares to personally kill Luo Li, but a representative of Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy warns that harming her would provoke a deadly conflict with the Luo God Clan. The chapter ends at this confrontation.

Character Developments

• Luo Li reveals overwhelming combat power and becomes the dominant figure on the Spirit Road. Her earlier victimization has transformed into decisive vengeance, and she shows no hesitation in eliminating Ji Xuan or his followers.
• Ji Xuan shifts from arrogant and confident pursuer to desperate fugitive. His belief in his own superiority collapses when Luo Li’s attack completely overwhelms him.
• The Nine-leaf Sword Grass/Zhao Chen demonstrates that it is actively controlling or empowering the Luo God Sword, giving Luo Li an advantage even against Ji Xuan’s Divine Soul Stage strength.
• The Heavenly Sage Dean displays extreme partiality toward his chosen disciple, violating the Spirit Road’s normal rules to save Ji Xuan.
• The Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy and Luo God Clan emerge as powerful forces willing to protect Luo Li and challenge Holy Spiritual Academy.

Major Themes

• Strength and authority: True power determines who can enforce rules, as the academies’ leaders intervene despite the Spirit Road’s restrictions.
• Retribution: Luo Li’s declaration that “those who kill shall be killed” reflects the chapter’s central idea that violence eventually returns to the aggressor.
• Arrogance versus helplessness: Ji Xuan, once a feared genius who treated others as ants, experiences the same terror and powerlessness he inflicted on his victims.
• Political conflict and protection: Luo Li’s survival is tied not only to her own strength but also to the rivalry between the Five Great Academies and the influence of the Luo God Clan.
• Hidden power: The Luo God Sword and Nine-leaf Sword Grass reveal that Luo Li’s strength is greater and more mysterious than the other geniuses understood.

Character Interactions

• Ji Xuan attempts to frame his pursuit of Luo Li as admiration, but she rejects him completely and treats him as an enemy.
• The surrounding prodigies watch the confrontation with anticipation, hoping Luo Li and Ji Xuan will weaken each other.
• Luo Li and Ji Xuan’s confrontation turns into a one-sided hunt, with Ji Xuan begging for mercy and calling on his dean.
• The Heavenly Sage Dean intervenes to protect Ji Xuan, while another academy expert blocks him.
• The final exchange establishes a broader conflict: Holy Spiritual Academy threatens Luo Li directly, while Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy warns that doing so could trigger war with the Luo God Clan.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Luo Li kills Ji Xuan, the Heavenly Sage Dean of the Holy Spiritual Academy attempts to enter the Spirit Road and kill her in revenge.
• The deans of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy and Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy intervene, warning that the Holy Spiritual Academy would be violating the rules jointly established by the Five Great Academies.
• Luo Li’s identity as a member of the Luo God Clan forces the Heavenly Sage Dean to reconsider. Although Ji Xuan’s death damages his reputation, the Holy Spiritual Academy cannot risk provoking the powerful, ancient Luo God Clan over a relatively minor genius.
• The dean retreats, taking Ji Xuan’s corpse with him. His failure to avenge Ji Xuan shocks the Spirit Road’s participants and confirms the strength of Luo Li’s background and position.
• Wen Qingxuan declares that Luo Li is “hers,” implying her intention to defeat Luo Li and claim the Spirit Crown.
• Luo Li ascends effortlessly to the ninth-tier Champion’s Platform and takes the golden throne, effectively establishing herself as the Spirit Road Champion and leading candidate for the Spirit Crown.
• The remaining prodigies—including Wen Qingxuan, Wu Ling, Wu Yingying, and Mu Chen—leave with their respective groups to improve their strength during the final ten days.
• Luo Li privately admits that the Heavenly Sage Dean’s intervention frightened her and made her understand how vast the gap was between her current strength and the Supreme Realm.

Character Developments

• Luo Li: Her victory over Ji Xuan and effortless ascent to the Champion’s Platform establish her as the strongest participant. However, she remains humble and realistic, recognizing that even with the Luo God Sword and her clan’s protection, she is still vulnerable before a Supreme Realm expert. Her ambition to protect and restore the Luo God Clan becomes clearer.
• The Heavenly Sage Dean: Though enraged by Ji Xuan’s death, he is forced to suppress his pride and retreat because of political and military realities. His inability to act reveals the Luo God Clan’s influence and the Holy Spiritual Academy’s limits.
• Wen Qingxuan: She becomes more interested in directly challenging Luo Li, viewing her as the main obstacle to obtaining the Spirit Crown.
• Mu Chen and the other prodigies: They acknowledge that Luo Li currently stands above them and decide to make one final effort to strengthen themselves rather than challenge her immediately.
• Zhao Chen: He apologizes to Luo Li for the danger surrounding the battle. His helplessness as merely a “blade of grass” emphasizes his current inability to support her despite his concern.

Significant Themes

• Power and political influence: Strength is not the only source of authority; Luo Li’s Luo God Clan heritage is powerful enough to restrain one of the Five Great Academies.
• Rules versus personal vengeance: The Heavenly Sage Dean’s desire to avenge Ji Xuan clashes with the Spirit Road’s established rules and the need to preserve institutional balance.
• The gap between realms: Luo Li’s encounter with Supreme Realm power reminds her that reaching the highest levels of cultivation will require far more than defeating fellow trial participants.
• Ambition and competition: The final ten-day period becomes a race for cultivation and advancement, with the remaining geniuses preparing to challenge Luo Li’s dominance.
• Responsibility and legacy: Luo Li’s desire to shoulder the Luo God Clan’s burden gives her pursuit of greater strength a purpose beyond personal victory.

Character Interactions

• The academy deans unite to prevent the Heavenly Sage Dean from violating the Spirit Road’s rules, demonstrating cooperation against a common threat.
• Wen Qingxuan openly singles out Luo Li as her future rival, while Wu Yingying comments on how difficult it will be for anyone to defeat her.
• Luo Li and Zhao Chen share a quieter exchange after the crisis. Zhao Chen apologizes for the danger, while Luo Li reassures him, then reflects on the terrifying strength of Supreme Realm experts.

Chapter Summary: “Helping You Is Helping Me, and Helping Me Is Helping You!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• On the tenth day at the Champion’s Platform, Zhao Chen completes his accumulated check-in and receives the Grass-Character Sword Art.
• The inheritance manifests as a Nine-leaf Sword Grass whose sword qi destroys an entire starry sea, revealing the technique’s terrifying, world-destroying potential.
• Zhao Chen gains confidence that, despite his current cultivation, he can defeat opponents at or above his level.
• Luo Li finally rises from the Champion’s Platform after completing ten days of cultivation. With Zhao Chen’s enhancement and the Luo God Sword, she releases a silver sword light vastly surpassing Divine Soul Stage power.
• Wen Qingxuan, Wu Ling, Wu Yingying, Mu Chen, and the other King-Sealing Prodigies are unable to challenge her. Wen Qingxuan admits defeat, while Mu Chen and the others accept that Luo Li is unmatched.
• The defeated prodigies prepare to receive the first-rate spiritual energy empowerment awarded for reaching the end of the Spirit Road. Mu Chen looks forward to returning to the Northern Spiritual Realm as a future Fusion Heavenly Realm expert.
• Luo Li receives the Spirit Crown and breaks the Spirit Road’s three-year record.
• The heads of four of the Five Great Academies—Martial Heavenly King, Dean Tiansong, Dean Ta Cang, and Dean Tang Qiu—arrive to congratulate her and discuss her future.
• Dean Tang Qiu offers Luo Li personal training and vast resources at the Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy, but Luo Li politely declines, explaining that she may not remain in any of the Five Great Academies.
• Luo Li expresses gratitude to Dean Ta Cang for defending her against the Heavenly Sage Dean and states that she intends to return to the Luo God Clan.

Character Developments

• Zhao Chen: Gains the powerful Grass-Character Sword Art and a major boost in confidence. His bond with Luo Li becomes more openly mutual, and he expresses his wish for her to help him after they return to the Great Thousand World.
• Luo Li: Demonstrates overwhelming growth and authority, securing the Spirit Crown without difficulty. She remains calm and dignified under pressure, while also revealing genuine happiness and affection toward Zhao Chen.
• Wen Qingxuan: Though proud, she accepts defeat without resentment and feels pleased by Luo Li’s success.
• Wu Ling and Wu Yingying: Wu Ling struggles with losing, while Wu Yingying treats the result casually and teases her brother.
• Mu Chen: Accepts the gap between himself and Luo Li but gains valuable advancement through the Spirit Road. He becomes hopeful about surpassing his rivals and strengthening the Mu Domain after returning home.
• Dean Tang Qiu: Shows strong interest in recruiting Luo Li and confirms her influential position, while also revealing her strategic motives in protecting Luo Li earlier.
• Dean Ta Cang: Maintains a principled and impartial attitude, having intervened because the Holy Spiritual Academy violated its own rules.

Significant Themes

• Mutual aid and partnership: Zhao Chen’s assistance enables Luo Li to win the Spirit Crown, while Luo Li’s future support will help Zhao Chen pursue his own goals. Their relationship is framed as mutually beneficial and emotionally sincere.
• The limits of talent and power: Even the strongest King-Sealing Prodigies are forced to acknowledge Luo Li’s overwhelming advantage after her ten-day improvement.
• Acceptance and ambition: Mu Chen accepts his defeat while still looking toward future growth and revenge against those who underestimated him.
• Independence and destiny: Luo Li refuses to let the Five Great Academies determine her path, choosing instead to return to her own clan and follow her personal ambitions.
• Political influence and hidden motives: The academies’ leaders offer praise and protection, but their actions are also connected to recruitment, prestige, and the power of Luo Li’s lineage.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Chen and Luo Li share a tender exchange, making a symbolic “pinky promise” to remain unchanged and support each other.
• Luo Li defeats the assembled prodigies, including Wen Qingxuan, Wu Ling, Wu Yingying, and Mu Chen, establishing her dominance over the Spirit Road.
• Wen Qingxuan warmly acknowledges Luo Li’s achievement despite being defeated.
• Wu Yingying mocks and comforts Wu Ling after his loss.
• Dean Tang Qiu praises Luo Li, offers her a place at the Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy, and acknowledges the competition with Dean Ta Cang.
• Luo Li thanks both Tang Qiu and Ta Cang but declines academy affiliation, reaffirming her intention to return to the Luo God Clan.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Luo Li confirms her decision to return to the Luo God Clan rather than join one of the Five Great Academies. Although the deans regret losing her, they respect her choice and promise to welcome her if she changes her mind.
• The spiritual energy empowerment begins through the Starburst Spiritual Array. Unexpectedly, Zhao Chen—still a Nine-leaf Sword Grass rooted in the Luo God Sword—is included.
• Zhao Chen receives an empowerment comparable to that of the strongest trial participants. He advances from the Divine Soul Stage to the middle stage of the Fusion Heavenly Realm, entering the Three Heavens Realm far earlier than expected.
• The chapter explains the importance of the Divine Soul Stage and spirit beast essences. Normally, cultivators refine powerful beast essences to strengthen themselves, especially essences from high-ranking Heavenly Beasts. However, surpassing the Divine Soul Stage does not prevent someone from refining a suitable essence later.
• Zhao Chen does not need a spirit beast essence because his own existence is that of a powerful plant-type spirit beast: a Nine-leaf Sword Grass.
• He decides to travel to the Northern Spiritual Realm to find and claim a Nine Netherbird that supposedly failed its tribulation. He also receives a system mission requiring him to sign in at Black Eerie Abyss, with the reward being the powerful “True Phoenix Art.”
• Before Luo Li is sent back to the Luo God Clan, Zhao Chen tells her about his plan. She supports his decision and agrees that traveling alone will be more practical than accompanying her into the war-torn Little Western Heaven Realm.

Character Developments

• Zhao Chen: His unexpected breakthrough greatly increases his strength and independence. He becomes confident enough to explore the Great Thousand World alone and begins planning to acquire a Nine Netherbird as a powerful companion or mount. His ambition and adventurous nature become more apparent.
• Luo Li: She remains committed to restoring and protecting the Luo God Clan, intending to cultivate in seclusion and inherit its ancient legacy. She proves considerate and supportive by encouraging Zhao Chen to pursue his own opportunities rather than restricting him.
• The Five Academy Deans: Though disappointed by Luo Li’s choice, they demonstrate respect for her autonomy and continue to support her.
• The Nine Netherbird: Though it does not appear directly, it becomes an important future objective for Zhao Chen. Its rare bloodline and potential evolution make it a highly valuable target.

Significant Themes

• Respecting individual choices: Luo Li’s decision to return to her clan is accepted despite the academies’ desire to recruit her.
• Growth through opportunity: Zhao Chen’s advancement shows how unexpected opportunities can accelerate a person’s development.
• Potential and bloodline: The discussion of Heavenly Beasts, divine beasts, and Super Divine Beasts emphasizes how lineage can determine future power.
• Freedom versus responsibility: Luo Li chooses duty to her clan, while Zhao Chen chooses exploration and personal growth.
• Unusual companionship: The humorous idea of a grass riding a bird highlights Zhao Chen’s strange but increasingly advantageous existence.

Character Interactions

• The academy deans respectfully discuss Luo Li’s decision and offer her a future place at the academies.
• Luo Li and Zhao Chen have a warm, understanding exchange. She anticipates his desire to explore, reassures him that she will not object, and recognizes that their separate paths are currently best for both of them.
• Luo Li is surprised by the rarity of Zhao Chen’s intended Nine Netherbird and explains its immense potential, while Zhao Chen becomes more determined to seek it out.

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Luo Li and Zhao Chen part ways after discussing their separate goals and future meeting place.
• Zhao Chen invites Luo Li to join him at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy after she finishes refining the Luo River Spirit. He believes the academy will provide the training and challenges she needs to reach the Supreme Realm through her own efforts.
• Luo Li agrees, becoming more motivated about returning to the Luo God Clan and later meeting Zhao Chen again.
• Zhao Chen travels an immense distance from the West Heaven Continent to the Northern Spiritual Realm on multiple Fusion Heavenly Realm flying spirit beasts.
• He arrives in the Northern Spiritual Realm, which contains nine domains. The Mu Domain has risen to first place, and Mu Chen is implied to have reached or nearly reached the Three Heavens Realm.
• Zhao Chen ignores the possibility of meeting Mu Chen and focuses on locating the tribulation-wounded Nine Netherbird in the dangerous Black Eerie Abyss.
• The Black Eerie Abyss is filled with lethal toxic miasma, poisonous insects, vicious beasts, and powerful flying spirit beasts. Zhao Chen realizes that ordinary defenses or direct flight through the area would consume too much energy.
• Using his devouring ability, Zhao Chen absorbs and refines the toxic miasma. His silver Nine-leaf Sword Grass takes on green coloration, and the refined poison increases his cultivation.
• Zhao Chen discovers that he has already begun breaking into the Transforming Heaven Realm and realizes that absorbing environmental forces such as poison, flames, and lightning may become a powerful cultivation method.

Character Developments

• Luo Li: Her attachment to Zhao Chen becomes clear, as does her anxiety about his safety. Although she must return to the Luo God Clan, she accepts the need for personal cultivation and training. Her agreement to meet Zhao Chen at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy gives her a concrete goal and renewed motivation.
• Zhao Chen: He demonstrates concern for Luo Li’s future and wants her to become strong enough to handle the Luo God Clan’s crisis without being overwhelmed. He remains confident in his own rapid advancement and develops a new cultivation strategy by refining the Black Eerie Abyss’s toxic miasma.
• Mu Chen: Though absent from the chapter, he is shown to have benefited from Zhao Chen’s previous actions. His status has risen significantly, and he is close to—or may already have entered—the Three Heavens Realm.

Significant Themes

• Parting and mutual concern: Zhao Chen and Luo Li separate not because of conflict, but because both understand that growth requires facing danger independently.
• Training through hardship: Talent and inherited power are portrayed as insufficient without real trials and experience.
• Responsibility versus personal growth: Luo Li must balance her obligations to the Luo God Clan with her need to strengthen herself.
• Adaptation and unconventional cultivation: Zhao Chen turns a deadly environmental hazard into a source of power, showing his ability to exploit his unique nature as a Nine-leaf Sword Grass.
• Future partnership: Their planned reunion at Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy establishes a shared objective and suggests that their relationship will continue developing despite their separation.

Character Interactions

• Luo Li and Zhao Chen share an emotionally restrained farewell. Luo Li tells him not to worry, while privately fearing the dangers he may face.
• Zhao Chen reassures her indirectly by proposing that they meet at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy and encouraging her to seek strength through experience.
• Their conversation reveals mutual trust, affection, and a willingness to give each other space to grow.
• Zhao Chen’s interaction with the toxic miasma is effectively a confrontation with the Black Eerie Abyss itself, turning a dangerous obstacle into an opportunity for advancement.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• After returning from the Spirit Road, Mu Chen has become the most renowned figure in the Northern Spiritual Realm. He is now a Three Heavens Realm expert and a King-Sealing Prodigy, making him a preselected disciple of one of the Five Great Academies.
• Although Mu Domain has overwhelming strength, Mu Chen cannot simply destroy Liu Domain or unify the Northern Spiritual Realm without provoking the other domains and becoming their common enemy.
• After obtaining a copper fragment containing information about the legendary Nine Netherbird, Mu Chen leads Mu Domain’s forces to the forbidden Black Eerie Abyss to find and subdue it before Liu Domain can act.
• Black Eerie Abyss is unexpectedly free of its deadly poisonous miasma. Mu Chen suspects that the awakening or recovery of the Nine Netherbird has consumed it.
• Mu Chen and Mu Feng lead their forces through the dangerous abyss, surviving hazards such as the Spirit Devouring Bee Swarm and the Black Marsh.
• In the depths, they discover a vast plain filled with the skeletons of countless spirit beasts, including Heavenly-Grade beasts. The massacre reveals the immense power and brutality of the Nine Netherbird.
• Convinced that the beast will greatly increase his power, Mu Chen enters a crater-like pit alone to search for it.
• Despite using the copper fragment to locate the beast, he finds no trace of it. He concludes that the Nine Netherbird survived its tribulation, recovered, and has already left Black Eerie Abyss—leaving him shocked that his prize has “flown away.”

2. Character Developments

• Mu Chen has grown extraordinarily confident after his return from the Spirit Road. His success, new title, and Three Heavens Realm cultivation have made him feel nearly unstoppable.
• His ambition has shifted toward entering the Five Great Academies and overwhelming the powerful geniuses there. He views the Nine Netherbird as the only spiritual beast worthy of accompanying him.
• Despite his confidence, Mu Chen’s discovery at the end introduces his first major setback: the beast he expected to claim is no longer where it should be.
• Mu Feng is proud of his son’s achievements and trusts his judgment, but he remains cautious about the danger posed by the possibly awakened Nine Netherbird.
• The relationship between Mu Chen and Mu Feng is supportive and affectionate. Mu Feng provides advice and protection, while Mu Chen takes the initiative and attempts to shoulder the greatest danger himself.
• Liu Domain remains an unseen but important rival. Its ambition to dominate the Northern Spiritual Realm drives Mu Chen’s urgency in finding the Nine Netherbird first.

3. Significant Themes

• Overconfidence and unexpected reversal: Mu Chen believes that everything is proceeding according to plan, but the missing Nine Netherbird abruptly overturns his expectations.
• Power and political restraint: Even overwhelming personal strength cannot be used recklessly, since destroying Liu Domain would destabilize the region and unite the other domains against Mu Domain.
• The danger of legendary power: The mass slaughter of spirit beasts demonstrates that the Nine Netherbird is not merely a valuable companion but an extremely dangerous Super Heavenly Beast.
• Ambition and advancement: Mu Chen sees the Nine Netherbird as a means of gaining an advantage before entering the wider world of the Five Great Academies.
• The limits of human control: Although Mu Chen has become the strongest figure in the Northern Spiritual Realm, he cannot control the movements of an ancient, powerful creature that has already recovered and departed.

4. Character Interactions

• Mu Chen informs Mu Feng that the Nine Netherbird should be inside Black Eerie Abyss, while Mu Feng warns him about the region’s deadly dangers.
• Mu Chen proposes that the vanished miasma may indicate the Nine Netherbird’s awakening, and Mu Feng accepts his reasoning because of his confidence in Mu Chen’s abilities.
• Mu Feng asks whether Mu Chen is certain they can confront the beast, but Mu Chen responds confidently and insists that he will obtain it.
• After entering the abyss, Mu Chen tells Mu Feng to remain behind and guard against high-grade spirit beasts while he searches the crater alone.
• The chapter ends with Mu Chen alone in the empty pit, realizing that despite all his preparations and confidence, the Nine Netherbird has already escaped.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mu Feng arrives with the Mu Domain’s forces after realizing Mu Chen has been gone too long, fearing that his son has encountered danger.
• Mu Chen reveals that the Nine Netherbird has disappeared, apparently leaving the Black Eerie Abyss and possibly the entire Northern Spiritual Realm. Their attempt to obtain its essence soul has therefore failed.
• Mu Feng offers to find Mu Chen another powerful spirit beast essence soul, but Mu Chen refuses because none of the beasts in the Northern Spiritual Realm are suitable for his cultivation.
• Mu Chen announces that he intends to leave the Northern Spiritual Realm and enter one of the Five Great Academies.
• After considering the academies, he rejects:
  • Holy Spiritual Academy, because of its domineering dean and the danger of offending such a powerful institution.
  • Myriad Phoenix Spiritual Academy, because it accepts only female students.
  • Azure Heavens Spiritual Academy, because its philosophy centers on harmony with spirit beasts, while Mu Chen prioritizes combat strength.
  • Martial Spirit Academy, because of its brutal cultivation methods and the likelihood of conflict with Wu Ling and Wu Yingying.
• Mu Chen chooses the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, believing its individualistic system will allow him to compete for resources and stand out among fewer King-Sealing Prodigies.
• Mu Feng supports the decision and promises to provide Mu Chen with additional high-grade spiritual arts before he leaves.
• As Mu Chen departs, the chapter reveals that Zhao Chen has been observing events through a Water-Fire Crane. Zhao Chen criticizes Mu Chen for choosing what he considers the easiest path and declares that he will await him at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.

Character Developments

• Mu Chen suffers a major disappointment after missing the Nine Netherbird, but quickly turns his attention toward broader opportunities outside the Northern Spiritual Realm. His decision shows ambition, self-confidence, and a desire to grow stronger independently.
• His judgment is also questioned: he dismisses the more demanding or prestigious academies and chooses Northern Heavens partly because he believes it will be easier to distinguish himself there.
• Mu Feng demonstrates his concern for Mu Chen and the Mu Domain’s future. Although he worries that Mu Chen’s departure may destabilize the domain, he ultimately supports his son’s cultivation and future prospects.
• Zhao Chen views Mu Chen’s confidence as a weakness. He believes Mu Chen has become overpraised after returning from the Spirit Road and is now avoiding the most difficult challenges. Zhao Chen positions himself as a future rival.

Significant Themes

• Missed opportunities and regret: The lost Nine Netherbird represents Mu Chen’s failure to seize a rare chance, while Zhao Chen believes Mu Chen is continuing to waste opportunities through his academy choice.
• Ambition versus security: Mu Chen refuses to remain in the relatively safe Northern Spiritual Realm and seeks growth in the wider world, even though his departure could endanger the Mu Domain’s stability.
• Reputation and pressure: Mu Chen’s fame as a King-Sealing Prodigy shapes his choices and creates expectations that he must continue proving himself.
• Independence and competition: The Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy appeals to Mu Chen because success there depends on personal ability rather than inherited status or institutional protection.
• The dangers of overconfidence: Zhao Chen suggests that excessive praise has caused Mu Chen to believe that everything will proceed smoothly, foreshadowing future setbacks.

Character Interactions

• Mu Chen and Mu Feng: Their exchange reflects a close father-son relationship. Mu Feng worries about Mu Chen’s safety and future, while Mu Chen honestly explains his disappointment and plans. Mu Feng eventually encourages him rather than restraining him.
• Mu Chen and the Five Great Academies: Mu Chen evaluates each academy according to its culture, power structure, and compatibility with his goals, revealing his priorities and concerns.
• Mu Chen and Zhao Chen: Though they do not meet directly, Zhao Chen’s final remarks establish a looming rivalry. Zhao Chen believes Mu Chen has chosen the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy out of convenience and looks forward to challenging him there.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Chen travels from the Black Eerie Abyss toward Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, riding between the Water-Fire Crane and the Snow Eagle while carrying the Nine Netherbird’s egg.
• The Nine Netherbird explains that she needs powerful divine beast blood essence to overcome her Black God Lightning Tribulation and transform into a Nine Netherworld Dark Bird.
• Zhao Chen intends to obtain a drop of blood essence from the Northern Sea Dragon Kun, a Peak Ninth-grade Sovereign and Super Divine Beast stationed at Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.
• The Nine Netherbird doubts that they can enter the academy or acquire such a valuable resource, but Zhao Chen confidently says they will enter openly because he has “connections.”
• Since the Nine Netherbird’s Black Flame is overwhelming the Water-Fire Crane and Snow Eagle, Zhao Chen asks her to use her power to help the Water-Fire Crane advance to the Three Heavens Realm, allowing it to become strong enough to transport her safely.
• Zhao Chen produces a blue jade communication pendant and prepares to contact one of his connections on the Northern Heavens Continent.

Character Developments

• Zhao Chen demonstrates confidence, foresight, and a willingness to help the Nine Netherbird despite having no immediate personal benefit. He values her potential as a future divine and even Super Divine Beast.
• His unusual identity as a sentient Nine-leaf Sword Grass remains a source of frustration, especially because the Nine Netherbird repeatedly calls him “Grass” or “little grass.” He looks forward to eventually transforming into human form.
• The Nine Netherbird becomes increasingly trusting of Zhao Chen. She reveals her pride, ambition, and deep resentment toward those who once oppressed or underestimated her.
• She remains extremely powerful despite her failed tribulation, capable of killing Fusion Heavenly Realm experts and potentially defeating Sovereign Three Difficulties experts by triggering another Black God Lightning Tribulation.
• The Water-Fire Crane and Snow Eagle are shown to be struggling under the Nine Netherbird’s Black Flame and bloodline pressure, establishing the practical need to strengthen the Crane.

Significant Themes

• Trust and mutual benefit: The Nine Netherbird trusts Zhao Chen because he recognizes her value and saved her from being refined by Mu Chen. Their relationship is built on shared confidence and future potential.
• Power, transformation, and evolution: The Nine Netherbird’s goal of becoming a divine beast reflects the chapter’s focus on breaking through limitations and reclaiming lost strength.
• Revenge and restored pride: Her thoughts of returning to those who once looked down on her emphasize the “thirty years east, thirty years west” theme of eventual reversal and vindication.
• Connections and influence: Zhao Chen’s confidence that personal connections can grant access to Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy contrasts with the Nine Netherbird’s concern about its powerful guardians.
• Foreshadowing: The planned contact through the jade pendant suggests that Zhao Chen’s connections will play an important role in obtaining the Dragon Kun’s blood essence.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Chen and the Nine Netherbird exchange sarcastic and teasing remarks, particularly over his being called “Grass.”
• The Nine Netherbird questions Zhao Chen’s motives, and he explains that he is helping her because he could not stand by while Mu Chen refined her.
• She challenges his plan to enter the academy openly, but his confidence in his connections reassures her.
• Zhao Chen also considers the condition of the Water-Fire Crane and Snow Eagle, showing responsibility toward the spirit beasts accompanying them.
• The chapter ends as Zhao Chen activates a jade pendant and sends a message: “I’m here. Are you well?”

Chapter Summary

• Setting and Luo Li’s goal: In Northern Heavens City, a bustling metropolis under the influence of Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, Luo Li waits in a teahouse while wondering whether Zhao Chen—formerly the Nine-leaf Sword Grass from the Spirit Road—has arrived. She is determined to reunite with him and knows she must reach the Supreme Realm within a few years. If she is forced to unseal the Luo God Sword, her grandfather will take her back to the Luo God Clan, where she would have to complete her inheritance and help resolve the clan’s crises before regaining her freedom.
• Confrontation with the Demon Gate: Five arrogant men wearing the Demon Gate’s insignia enter the teahouse and make vulgar comments about Luo Li. Other patrons explain that the Demon Gate was founded by He Yao, the fourth-ranked student on the academy’s Heavenly Ranking, and is one of Northern Heavens City’s strongest factions. Luo Li admits she knows nothing about the Demon Gate or the Heavenly Ranking, then calmly approaches the men.
• Luo Li demonstrates her strength: With a single flash of sword light, Luo Li defeats all five Demon Gate members, leaving them severely wounded but alive. Her effortless victory shocks everyone in the teahouse, since the men are academy students who should possess at least Divine Soul Stage strength. Her ruthless composure makes the bystanders wonder whether she is an unknown academy student or an outsider powerful enough to challenge the academy’s factions.
• The Demon Gate retaliates: As Luo Li reaches the city gates, a black-robed Demon Gate member attacks her with a powerful arrow. The attacker is in the late Fusion Heavenly Realm, and the shot could seriously injure a weaker cultivator. Luo Li casually evades it, realizing that the Demon Gate has acted quickly and is willing to use lethal force inside the city.
• Challenge to the Demon Gate’s authority: The attacker accuses Luo Li of killing Demon Gate members and academy students within Northern Heavens City, claiming that she deserves death. Luo Li points out the hypocrisy of the Demon Gate’s behavior and suggests that it considers itself above Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. She then provocatively asks how much stronger He Yao, the Demon Gate’s leader, is compared with Dean Ta Cang, ending the chapter on a direct challenge to the faction’s status and power.

Character Development

• Luo Li: She is shown as calm, independent, and fiercely protective of her dignity. Her longing for Zhao Chen reveals a softer, emotionally attached side, but she refuses to sacrifice his freedom—or her own—for personal desires. In combat, she remains confident and merciless, immediately punishing those who threaten or insult her.
• Zhao Chen/Nine-leaf Sword Grass: Though absent, he remains central to Luo Li’s thoughts and future plans. Their reunion is one of her main motivations.
• He Yao: He does not appear directly, but his reputation as the Demon Gate’s founder and fourth-ranked Heavenly Ranking student establishes him as the likely major opponent.
• Demon Gate members: They are portrayed as arrogant, predatory, and emboldened by their faction’s influence. Their rapid retaliation demonstrates both their reach and their belief that academy affiliation gives them authority.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus obligation: Luo Li’s desire to reunite with Zhao Chen conflicts with the restrictions imposed by her clan inheritance and responsibilities.
• Power and authority: The chapter questions whether strength and factional influence have placed the Demon Gate above the academy’s rules.
• Justice and hypocrisy: The Demon Gate condemns Luo Li for violence while attempting to kill her themselves, exposing their selective use of “justice.”
• Hidden strength and reputation: Luo Li’s unfamiliarity with the academy’s rankings contrasts sharply with her overwhelming combat ability, suggesting that true strength does not always correspond to public reputation.
• Defiance against established powers: Luo Li refuses to fear the Demon Gate and directly challenges its leader’s status.

Character Interactions

• Luo Li privately reflects on her relationship with Zhao Chen and her obligations to the Luo God Clan.
• Teahouse patrons explain the Demon Gate’s position to Luo Li and silently fear the consequences of her actions.
• Luo Li humiliates and defeats five Demon Gate members with a single sword strike.
• A stronger Demon Gate cultivator attacks her and attempts to justify killing her through accusations of wrongdoing.
• Luo Li responds by exposing the Demon Gate’s arrogance and questioning whether He Yao is truly comparable to the academy’s dean.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Yu, a member of the Demon Gate, tries to suppress Luo Li after she accuses the faction of abducting her. Hoping to control the narrative, he attacks her with the powerful Feather Heaven Slash.
• Luo Li effortlessly counters with the Luo God Sword, splitting Chen Yu’s attack and spiritual-energy barrier in one strike. She leaves a sword mark across his neck and warns that the Demon Gate will be destroyed if it provokes her again.
• Luo Li departs Northern Heavens City, leaving onlookers stunned by her overwhelming strength. Many speculate that she has reached the Transforming Heaven Realm and recognize that the Demon Gate has finally encountered someone it cannot intimidate.
• Luo Li then reunites with Zhao Chen, who arrives riding a Snow Eagle alongside a Water-Fire Crane carrying a huge black egg.
• The egg contains a recovering Nine Netherbird, which has undergone Nirvana after failing the dangerous Black God Lightning Tribulation.
• Zhao Chen explains that he obtained the Nine Netherbird and hopes to acquire Northern Sea Dragon Kun Divine Beast Blood Essence with Luo Li’s assistance.
• Little Nine Netherbird is initially disappointed that Zhao Chen’s important “connection” is merely a human girl rather than a Supreme Realm expert. Luo Li immediately proves the value of her background by producing a droplet of Luo River Divine Dragon essence blood.

2. Character Developments

• Luo Li demonstrates extraordinary growth and confidence. She defeats Chen Yu instantly and shows no fear of the Demon Gate or its powerful allies. Her fusion with the Luo River Spirit has also enhanced her beauty, temperament, and likely her future potential.
• Chen Yu is humbled after his strongest attack is destroyed effortlessly. His confidence collapses when Luo Li leaves a sword mark on his neck, exposing the limits of relying on the Demon Gate’s reputation.
• Zhao Chen reunites with Luo Li and reveals that he has successfully secured the Nine Netherbird. He remains calm and confident in his ability to use Luo Li’s connections and Spiritual Value to obtain rare treasures.
• Little Nine Netherbird shifts from skepticism to amazement. She realizes that Luo Li possesses an extraordinary lineage and resources, especially after seeing the divine dragon essence blood.
• The Demon Gate suffers a major loss of prestige. Its long-standing tyranny has been challenged publicly, and spectators begin to hope that its influence will finally be weakened.

3. Significant Themes

• Power versus reputation: The Demon Gate’s intimidating reputation proves meaningless against genuine strength, as Luo Li defeats Chen Yu without difficulty.
• Connections and resources: Zhao Chen’s plans depend not only on cultivation but also on valuable relationships and access to rare treasures. Luo Li’s royal heritage gives the group advantages far beyond what Little Nine Netherbird expected.
• Growth through separation: Luo Li and the Nine-leaf Sword Grass have both changed and strengthened during their time apart, emphasizing how separation can lead to development.
• Hidden potential and lineage: The Luo River Divine Dragon bloodline and the Nine Netherbird’s Primordial Undying Bird bloodline reveal the importance of ancestry, divine blood, and future transformation.
• Defiance against injustice: Luo Li’s confrontation with the Demon Gate represents resistance against a powerful faction that has long abused its influence over ordinary people.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen Yu attempts to intimidate and silence Luo Li, but she responds by defeating him decisively and issuing a direct threat to the entire Demon Gate.
• Zhao Chen and Luo Li warmly reunite, with Luo Li immediately focusing on the Nine Netherbird and its condition.
• Zhao Chen explains his arrangement with Little Nine Netherbird and seeks Luo Li’s help in obtaining divine beast blood essence.
• Little Nine Netherbird questions Zhao Chen’s confidence in Luo Li, but her doubts vanish when Luo Li reveals the Luo River Divine Dragon’s essence blood.
• The reunion ends on a humorous and astonished note, with Little Nine Netherbird marveling that the Nine-leaf Sword Grass’s “connections” are far more impressive than expected.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Luo Li reveals that she possesses a drop of blood essence from the Luo River Divine Dragon, a First-grade Supreme Realm divine beast.
• Although the blood essence could help Luo Li rapidly improve her cultivation, she decides it would be more valuable for Little Nine Netherbird, whose talent and potential make it capable of breaking through its tribulation and reaching the Supreme Realm.
• Zhao Chen hesitates to accept Luo Li’s sacrifice, since the blood essence originally belonged to her. He proposes that Luo Li refine it herself while they earn enough Spiritual Value to purchase the Northern Sea Dragon Kun’s blood essence for Little Nine Netherbird.
• Little Nine Netherbird reluctantly accepts this arrangement after Zhao Chen assures it that completing missions for Spiritual Value should be easy, given Luo Li’s strength and its own Quasi-Sovereign-level foundation.
• Luo Li agrees to enroll in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. She conceals Zhao Chen, Little Nine Netherbird, and the other heavenly beasts inside the Divine Artifact Qiankun Bracelet so Dean Ta Cang will not discover them.
• Dean Ta Cang personally welcomes Luo Li, delighted that the academy has gained the Spirit Crown genius. He gives her a first-class residence and allows her free access to higher-level Spirit Gathering Arrays.
• Because Luo Li won the Spirit Crown, Dean Ta Cang grants her 100,000 Spiritual Value and explains that it can be exchanged for cultivation resources, spiritual arts, artifacts, expert guidance, and even protection.
• Luo Li checks the Spiritual Value Hall and discovers that the Northern Sea Dragon Kun’s blood essence costs seven million Spiritual Value—far more than she currently possesses.

2. Character Developments

• Luo Li demonstrates selflessness and loyalty by prioritizing Little Nine Netherbird’s breakthrough over her own cultivation. She also shows confidence in her clan’s resources, knowing she can continue advancing without relying solely on this blood essence.
• Zhao Chen acts cautiously and fairly, refusing to take advantage of Luo Li’s generosity. He instead creates a practical plan to obtain better resources through missions.
• Little Nine Netherbird remains eager to regain its Supreme-level power but shows restraint because Luo Li belongs to the powerful Luo God Clan. It accepts Zhao Chen’s leadership despite its disappointment.
• Dean Ta Cang is shown to be politically perceptive and enthusiastic. He recognizes Luo Li’s value to the academy and immediately gives her exceptional treatment.
• Luo Li’s status is elevated from an outstanding newcomer to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy’s most important new student, effectively making her the academy’s symbol of future prestige.

3. Significant Themes

• Self-sacrifice and mutual loyalty: Luo Li willingly gives up a major cultivation opportunity for Little Nine Netherbird, reflecting her bond with Zhao Chen and his companions.
• Trust and cooperation: Zhao Chen, Luo Li, and Little Nine Netherbird settle their disagreement through mutual understanding rather than force or selfishness.
• The value of resources and power: Spiritual Value functions as the academy’s central currency, allowing students to obtain nearly anything—from cultivation treasures to expert protection.
• Talent receiving special treatment: Luo Li’s Spirit Crown status grants her privileges far beyond those of ordinary students, emphasizing how elite talent shapes institutional priorities.
• The vast scale of cultivation: Even an enormous reward of 100,000 Spiritual Value is insufficient to buy the Northern Sea Dragon Kun’s blood essence, highlighting the immense gap between ordinary and supreme-level resources.

4. Character Interactions

• Luo Li and Little Nine Netherbird share a warm but practical exchange over the divine beast blood essence. She treats its advancement as important, while it respects her identity and refuses to simply seize the treasure.
• Zhao Chen mediates between them, protecting Luo Li’s interests while reassuring Little Nine Netherbird that its breakthrough will only be delayed.
• Luo Li and Dean Ta Cang establish a respectful relationship. She thanks him for defending her during the Spirit Road, while he explains that his intervention was motivated by justice rather than a desire to recruit her.
• Dean Ta Cang’s generous treatment of Luo Li reflects both genuine appreciation and the academy’s desire to benefit from her reputation.
• The chapter ends with Luo Li and the others facing a new practical challenge: earning seven million Spiritual Value to obtain the Northern Sea Dragon Kun’s blood essence.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Luo Li is shocked to learn that the Northern Sea Dragon Kun Divine Beast Blood Essence costs 700,000 Spiritual Value, vastly more than the 100,000 she received for winning the Spirit Crown.
• Dean Ta Cang explains that Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy offers extremely valuable resources, including Divine-grade Spiritual Arts and Peerless Spiritual Artifacts, but warns Luo Li not to leave the academy casually.
• He reveals that the Northern Heavens Continent is extremely dangerous, especially for academy students, many of whom have been brutally hunted and killed outside the academy.
• After Dean Ta Cang leaves, Luo Li investigates the danger with Zhao Chen. He identifies the academy’s ancient enemy as the Dragon Demon Palace, a powerful force that once nearly unified the continent.
• Dragon Demon Palace previously fought Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy and was defeated, but survived underground. It has now resurfaced and specifically targets academy students and instructors.
• Because the academy and Dragon Demon Palace’s Supreme Realm experts restrain one another, their conflict is largely fought by the younger generations. Students from both sides hunt and avenge one another.
• Luo Li realizes that the highest-paying missions in the academy’s Task Hall likely involve killing Dragon Demon Palace members and considers taking such missions.
• Zhao Chen stops her, warning that she is not yet strong enough to face the strongest Dragon Demon Palace prodigies. He suggests spending her 100,000 Spiritual Value on twenty days inside a seventh-level Spirit Gathering Array.
• With the help of the Luo River Divine Dragon’s blood essence, Zhao Chen, and the Little Nine Netherbird, Luo Li is expected to break through from the middle phase of the Transforming Heaven Realm to the Heaven-reaching Realm. Zhao Chen also hopes to use the array to attempt the same breakthrough.

Character Developments

• Luo Li: Her ambition becomes clear when she immediately considers dangerous missions to obtain the divine beast blood essence. She also learns that her current strength, despite being impressive, is insufficient for the continent’s most dangerous conflicts.
• Dean Ta Cang: He demonstrates concern for Luo Li by giving her a serious warning about leaving the academy. His discomfort suggests the Dragon Demon Palace remains a deeply troubling and unresolved threat.
• Zhao Chen: He acts as Luo Li’s strategist and protector, restraining her impulsiveness and proposing a practical method to strengthen both her and himself.
• Little Nine Netherbird and Nine-leaf Sword Grass: They remain Luo Li’s companions and sources of strength, accompanying her as she prepares for further cultivation.

Significant Themes

• Power and danger: Valuable rewards require facing proportional risks, and the path to strength involves confronting powerful enemies.
• Old rivalries and unresolved threats: The conflict between Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy and Dragon Demon Palace continues despite the academy’s past victory.
• Generational conflict: Since the strongest experts cannot openly fight, the younger generations bear the burden of continuing the feud.
• Ambition versus preparation: Luo Li wants to pursue high-reward missions immediately, but Zhao Chen emphasizes that she must first cultivate enough strength to survive.
• Resources and advancement: Spiritual Value functions as a crucial currency, allowing characters to access powerful cultivation environments and accelerate their breakthroughs.

Character Interactions

• Dean Ta Cang warns Luo Li about the dangers outside the academy and hints that her future actions will determine whether she can surprise him.
• Luo Li questions Zhao Chen about the source of the danger, relying on his knowledge of the Northern Heavens Continent.
• Luo Li wants to visit the Task Hall and pursue dangerous missions, but Zhao Chen intervenes and persuades her to cultivate first.
• Zhao Chen and the Little Nine Netherbird plan to help Luo Li refine the divine beast blood essence, making their cooperation central to her impending breakthrough.

Chapter Summary: “An Ran!”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Twenty days after entering the Seventh-level Spirit Gathering Array, Luo Li, Zhao Chen, and Little Nine Netherbird have made significant progress:
  • Luo Li refined the Luo River Divine Dragon’s essence blood and advanced from the middle Transforming Heaven Realm to the early Heaven-reaching Realm.
  • Zhao Chen reached the late Transforming Heaven Realm.
  • Little Nine Netherbird recovered part of her strength.
• Their cultivation consumed the 100,000 Spiritual Value awarded to Luo Li by Dean Ta Cang, forcing them to visit the Task Hall to earn more.
• At the Task Hall, Luo Li meets An Ran, a beautiful and powerful senior student in the early Fusion Heavenly Realm.
• An Ran invites Luo Li to join an upper-rank Human Grade mission involving the exploration of ruins, the verification of a Spirit Treasury, and possible traces of the Dragon Demon Palace. The mission offers roughly 200,000 Spiritual Value, to be split equally.
• Luo Li declines because she needs to earn far more than 100,000 Spiritual Value and does not want to waste time on a relatively small reward.
• Instead, Luo Li asks whether she can accept a bounty mission to kill members of the Dragon Demon Palace, leaving An Ran stunned.

2. Character Developments

• Luo Li becomes stronger and more focused. Her advancement into the Heaven-reaching Realm gives her a stable foundation, while her long-term goal of obtaining seven million Spiritual Value makes her highly practical and ambitious.
• She demonstrates confidence by refusing what appears to be an easy and generous opportunity. Her priorities are firmly centered on rapidly accumulating resources.
• Zhao Chen continues progressing quickly and is expected to surpass Luo Li soon.
• Little Nine Netherbird begins recovering its former condition, while its immense bloodline pressure attracts An Ran’s attention.
• An Ran is introduced as a skilled Three Heavens Realm student who is accustomed to being admired and sought after. Luo Li’s lack of recognition and unexpected refusal surprise her.
• An Ran is also perceptive: she senses that Little Nine Netherbird possesses an extraordinary bloodline, possibly belonging to one of the rarest Super Heavenly Beasts.

3. Significant Themes

• Cultivation and resource competition: Spiritual Value is essential for advancement, and even major rewards can seem insignificant compared with the cost of reaching higher realms.
• Ambition and efficiency: Luo Li refuses to settle for modest gains, prioritizing missions that directly support her larger objective.
• Hidden power and bloodlines: Little Nine Netherbird’s unusual aura hints at a terrifying origin and emphasizes that appearances can conceal extraordinary strength.
• Social expectations and misunderstanding: An Ran expects Luo Li to welcome her offer, but Luo Li’s unfamiliarity with An Ran’s reputation and her refusal create an amusing mismatch.
• The growing threat of the Dragon Demon Palace: Both the exploration mission and Luo Li’s desired bounty missions establish the organization as a major source of danger and opportunity.

4. Character Interactions

• An Ran approaches Luo Li warmly and offers to share her mission reward equally.
• Luo Li responds politely but remains distant and businesslike, explaining that she needs better-paying missions.
• An Ran studies Luo Li and Little Nine Netherbird, recognizing the bird’s frightening bloodline despite not knowing its identity.
• When Luo Li asks about directly hunting Dragon Demon Palace members, An Ran is left speechless, highlighting the contrast between An Ran’s relatively safe mission and Luo Li’s aggressive goals.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Luo Li asks An Ran about the dangerous Dragon Demon Palace. An Ran immediately warns her to abandon the idea, explaining that the palace is hostile toward the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy and has killed even powerful Heavenly Ranking experts.
• An Ran recounts the gruesome fate of a top-ranked Transforming Heaven Realm expert whose corpse was turned into lamp oil and whose head was displayed as an insult to the academy.
• An Ran explains the structure of the Task Hall:
  • The outer hall serves Divine Soul Ranking students and offers mostly Human Grade missions.
  • The inner hall is for Heavenly Ranking and Three Heavens Realm students, with mostly Earth Grade missions.
  • Heaven Grade and Dragon Demon Palace bounty missions are restricted to the academy’s strongest experts.
• She brings Luo Li to the Bounty Ranking, where the most wanted enemies are listed:
  1. Mo Xingtian — ten million Spiritual Value, a Peerless Spiritual Artifact, and a Divine-grade Spiritual Art.
  2. Demon Dragon Son — eight million Spiritual Value and a Divine-grade Spiritual Art.
  3. Blood Dragon Man Mu Gu — five million Spiritual Value.
• Luo Li becomes excited rather than frightened, viewing the wanted figures as sources of Spiritual Value and recognizing that killing one could easily fund her goal of obtaining the Northern Sea Dragon Kun Divine Beast Blood Essence.
• She identifies Demon Dragon Son as her target and proposes accompanying An Ran to investigate possible Spirit Treasury ruins in White Dragon City, intending to use the ruins as bait to lure him out.
• Luo Li then shocks An Ran by asking her to accept the bounty mission for Demon Dragon Son.
• Finally, Luo Li reveals that the creature on her shoulder is truly the Nine Netherbird, confirming An Ran’s earlier suspicion and suggesting that Luo Li possesses extraordinary strength. An Ran, overwhelmed, agrees to help as much as she can.

2. Character Developments

• Luo Li: Displays calm confidence, strategic thinking, and an unusually high tolerance for danger and bloodshed. Her interest in the bounty is motivated by both ambition and practical rewards. Her revelation about the Nine Netherbird establishes that her power is far greater than An Ran had assumed.
• An Ran: Acts as a responsible and protective senior sister, repeatedly trying to restrain Luo Li and keep her safe. She becomes increasingly shocked by Luo Li’s boldness, especially when Luo Li chooses Demon Dragon Son as a target. Her fear and disbelief turn into reluctant acceptance after learning about the Nine Netherbird.
• Demon Dragon Son: Though absent from the chapter, he is characterized as an exceptionally dangerous enemy whom even Shen Cangsheng, the academy’s strongest current student, has failed to defeat.
• The Nine Netherbird: Its presence is confirmed as a major hidden source of Luo Li’s confidence and implied combat power.

3. Significant Themes

• Danger versus fearlessness: The chapter contrasts An Ran’s realistic fear of the Dragon Demon Palace with Luo Li’s calm, almost eager response to danger.
• Hidden strength and underestimated characters: Luo Li appears harmless or inexperienced to An Ran, but her past, abilities, and connection to the Nine Netherbird reveal that she is far more formidable than expected.
• Ambition and opportunity: Luo Li treats dangerous enemies as opportunities to gain resources and advance her goals.
• Reputation and vengeance: The Bounty Ranking reflects the Dragon Demon Palace’s brutality toward academy students and the academy’s desire to retaliate.
• Trust and protection: An Ran’s warnings come from genuine concern, while Luo Li’s revelation begins to justify her confidence and deepens their understanding of one another.

4. Character Interactions

• An Ran repeatedly cautions Luo Li against recklessly investigating the Dragon Demon Palace.
• Luo Li reassures An Ran but privately plans to exploit the White Dragon City mission to lure out Demon Dragon Son.
• At the Bounty Ranking, An Ran assumes Luo Li’s quickened breathing indicates fear, while Luo Li is actually excited by the rewards.
• Luo Li’s request to accept the Demon Dragon Son bounty leaves An Ran speechless and horrified.
• Luo Li then whispers her secret about the Nine Netherbird, completely overturning An Ran’s perception of her and leaving An Ran able only to promise that she will do her best.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• An Ran shocks the Task Hall elder by accepting the highest-ranked bounty: killing Mo Xingtian. The elder rebukes her, pointing out that she is only in the early Fusion Heavenly Realm and would almost certainly die.
• An Ran reveals that she is not the one intending to complete the mission. She points to Luo Li, claiming that Luo Li may be strong enough to kill Demon Dragon Son—the second-ranked bounty target—or even Mo Xingtian.
• Luo Li confidently declares that she is informing the Task Hall of her decision rather than asking permission. The elder warns her that the academy will not be responsible for her death, but she refuses his protective jade token.
• Luo Li instead reveals a Nine-Colored Spiritual Value Token. The elder is stunned because only Dean Ta Cang can issue one, confirming Luo Li’s extraordinarily privileged status and likely protection.
• Following Zhao Chen’s plan, Luo Li and An Ran head toward White Dragon City. They intend to destroy the Dragon Demon Palace branch there, knowing that this will lure Demon Dragon Son into confronting them.
• An Ran catches up with Luo Li and learns that Luo Li is the current Spirit Road Champion and possesses an impressive cultivation level beyond what her young appearance suggests.
• Luo Li promises An Ran the eight million Spiritual Value reward and the divine spiritual art associated with the bounty once Demon Dragon Son is defeated.
• An Ran becomes flustered by Luo Li’s kindness and begins to realize that she may be romantically attracted to her, though she struggles to accept the possibility.

Character Developments

• Luo Li is portrayed as extremely confident, powerful, and unafraid of authority. She openly challenges the Task Hall’s caution and relies on her strength, her Nine-Colored Spiritual Value Token, and Zhao Chen’s strategic guidance. Despite her domineering behavior, she is also generous toward An Ran.
• An Ran begins as a capable but impulsive student whose ambition exceeds her current strength. She quickly becomes impressed by Luo Li’s power and background, shifting from skepticism to admiration and emotional attachment. Her willingness to follow Luo Li also suggests growing trust.
• The Task Hall elder changes from sternly reprimanding Luo Li and An Ran to being shocked and restrained after seeing Luo Li’s token. He recognizes that Luo Li’s connection to Dean Ta Cang places her far above ordinary students.
• Zhao Chen remains offstage but influences the events through his plan to use White Dragon City as bait for Demon Dragon Son and his advice that Luo Li reveal her token.

Significant Themes

• Power and authority: Luo Li’s strength and Nine-Colored Spiritual Value Token allow her to disregard normal rules and even silence an elder’s objections.
• Talent and privilege: Her status as Spirit Road Champion and personal connection to Dean Ta Cang mark her as an exceptional newcomer with unusual institutional support.
• Risk and ambition: The bounty represents both a deadly challenge and a chance to gain enormous cultivation resources, highlighting the dangers students face in pursuing advancement.
• Generosity and loyalty: Luo Li’s willingness to share the reward and divine spiritual art strengthens her bond with An Ran.
• Unexpected attraction: An Ran’s admiration gradually develops into romantic feelings, creating the chapter’s humorous central tension as she insists that she could not possibly fall for another girl.

Character Interactions

• The elder’s confrontation with An Ran and Luo Li establishes the danger of the bounty and emphasizes Luo Li’s arrogance.
• Luo Li uses a pointed accusation—suggesting the elder does not want the academy to avenge Dragon Demon Palace victims—to force him into allowing her mission.
• The elder’s disbelief at Luo Li’s token contrasts sharply with Luo Li’s calm confidence.
• An Ran acts as both Luo Li’s senior guide and future teammate, while Luo Li treats her with unusual warmth and generosity.
• Their growing partnership is paired with An Ran’s increasingly obvious embarrassment and attraction, ending the chapter on a lighthearted romantic note.