Chapter Summaries

After returning to the Artisan God's Vault, Li Xiao resumed his stream and offered magical treasures as payment for experts willing to help stop Aiona from devouring the world. He agreed to give Zhixing the Moonlike Bottle and Ou Zhizi a fire-wreathed hammer in exchange for their help arranging powerful allies.

• Mother returned Li Xiao to the Mirror Space with his equipment intact, and he reentered the Artisan God's Vault and restarted his stream.
• Li Xiao claimed he had defeated the Treasurelight Pixiu after awakening the Overclock State, then promised magical treasures to contributors who helped save the world.
• Li Xiao said viewers would need to meet a watch-time requirement to qualify for gifts, and he dismissed one viewer who protested his conditions.
• Zhixing identified the Moonlike Bottle as Zhao Yuemian's former treasure and struck a deal with Li Xiao to obtain it in exchange for asking a senior to help.
• Ou Zhizi recognized a fire-wreathed hammer as being made of sun true gold, and Li Xiao agreed to give it to him in exchange for help recruiting a senior.

Li Xiao launched the Li Xiao Cup streamer tournament after magical treasures failed to persuade powerful fighters to confront Aiona. As entrants flooded in, he saw that Myriad Live could imprison Aiona and suspected its creator was a Transcendent One.

• Li Xiao failed to recruit more powerful fighters, so he activated the Li Xiao Cup and used tens of thousands of magical treasures to build an arena that restrained Aiona and the Abyssal Dragon.
• Ouyang Le accidentally accepted a tournament invitation on his wedding night and vanished, leaving Huang Lianrong searching for him.
• Bai Jingtian accepted an invitation after a century of cultivation and disappeared from the Crimson Flame Realm.
• Viewers and powerful fighters across many worlds accepted invitations, hoping to win rewards or gain streamer status, and the number of entrants rapidly increased.
• Li Xiao observed the tournament arena and concluded that Myriad Live could imprison a Half-Step Unity being like Aiona, suggesting its creator might be a Transcendent One.

Li Xiao launched the competition to gather strength against Aiona, whose aura made the contestants realize the danger was real. As competitors entered the arena and began hunting monsters, Li Xiao watched the livestream and discovered Ouyang Le was struggling to survive alone.

• The contestants appeared around the arena, read the rules, and learned that they could earn points by killing monsters, dealing damage, and helping defeat Aiona, while top finishers could take an item or piece of equipment with them.
• Li Xiao warned that Aiona would break free within three weeks and urged the contestants to preserve their strength before starting the competition.
• Aiona's aura swept across the arena, frightening the contestants and prompting them to leave their starting points and enter the forest.
• Candle Spirit appeared as the competition's host, while Li Xiao watched the livestream and followed Ou Zhizi, who swiftly killed a monster with his axe.
• Ouyang Le, injured after a monster attacked him, treated his wound and decided he needed to find allies; Li Xiao and viewers discussed Ouyang Le's reputation for pursuing women across worlds.

Feng Wu, an ordinary viewer accidentally pulled into the competition, struggled to find a team that would protect him. After helping Hua Di defeat an Armored Boar by spotting its weak point, he joined her, leaving his chances of survival uncertain but improved.

• Ouyang Le refused Feng Wu's request to join his team, and Feng Wu left after narrowly avoiding suspicion from the contestants.
• Feng Wu explained to Li Xiao's viewers that he had entered the arena by accident and needed a team to survive.
• Feng Wu found Hua Di fighting an Armored Boar and called out the location of its weak point.
• Hua Di struck the weak point and killed the Armored Boar, then accepted Feng Wu into her team.

Chapter Summary: “Team Formation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Wu explains the dangers of the survival competition to Hua Di, concluding that the two of them need additional teammates.
• Hua Di gives Feng Wu a portion of her Overlord Flower Dew, a substance produced by her plant-like body. Drinking it dramatically restores his vitality and elevates him from a frail ordinary person to the peak of normal human physical ability.
• Despite this improvement, Feng Wu remains too weak to fight powerful monsters. Hua Di is extremely fast but lacks the strength to kill tougher enemies, so they begin searching for both monsters and compatible contestants.
• They follow Hua Di’s sense of smell to a wounded woman named Ye Hua, who has suffered a severe abdominal injury.
• Feng Wu cautiously approaches Ye Hua, explaining that they want to form a team rather than harm her. Although she initially mocks their weakness and questions their motives, she eventually agrees to join them.
• The chapter ends with tension and humor as Hua Di and Ye Hua argue over clothing, bodies, and “Mother’s gift,” while Feng Wu struggles to manage their misunderstanding.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu: Gains improved physical strength from Hua Di’s flower dew but remains aware of his limitations. His intelligence, caution, and ability to analyze risks become the foundation of the team. He demonstrates diplomacy by approaching Ye Hua carefully and persuading her that joining them is safer than remaining alone.
• Hua Di: Shows deep admiration and trust toward Feng Wu, whom she considers exceptionally intelligent. Although impulsive and socially naïve, she proves valuable through her speed, heightened senses, and willingness to defend him. Her belief that “smart people” should be followed reveals both her innocence and dependence on Feng Wu’s judgment.
• Ye Hua: Introduced as suspicious, injured, and sarcastic. Despite her hostility, she recognizes Feng Wu’s reasoning and accepts his proposal. Her decision suggests practical judgment and a willingness to cooperate when survival requires it.

Significant Themes

• Cooperation as a survival strategy: Individual strength is insufficient in the arena; contestants must form teams whose abilities complement one another.
• Intelligence versus brute force: Feng Wu’s greatest contribution is strategic thinking rather than combat ability. Hua Di’s trust in his intelligence emphasizes the value of planning.
• Trust under extreme conditions: Because contestants may attack one another, Feng Wu must establish trust carefully. His argument that the organizer discourages contestant-on-contestant murder helps persuade Ye Hua.
• Difference and misunderstanding: Hua Di’s plant-based nature and unusual customs create comic misunderstandings, especially regarding her body and clothing. These differences also reinforce the diversity of beings participating in the competition.
• Vulnerability and dependence: Feng Wu needs Hua Di’s physical advantages, Hua Di needs his judgment, and Ye Hua needs assistance because of her wounds. Their cooperation begins not from equality, but from recognizing mutual weaknesses.

Character Interactions

• Feng Wu and Hua Di develop a practical partnership built on his strategy and her physical abilities. Hua Di’s admiration makes her receptive to his plans.
• Feng Wu treats Ye Hua cautiously and respectfully, avoiding confrontation while offering medical assistance and a place on the team.
• Hua Di aggressively defends Feng Wu when Ye Hua insults him, demonstrating loyalty but also her impulsive nature.
• Hua Di and Ye Hua immediately clash over their different bodies and cultural assumptions, creating comic tension within the newly formed team.
• Feng Wu acts as mediator between them, attempting to control Hua Di’s blunt remarks while explaining that Ye Hua is a different species.

Feng Wu and Hua Di recruited the injured Ye Hua, whose explosive Iron Fist made her a powerful but limited attacker. The group found an Iron Bull Monster, and Hua Di began testing it before its powerful tail attack forced her to dodge.

• Hua Di shared Overlord Flower Dew with Ye Hua, healing her abdominal wound and bringing her into the team.
• Ye Hua explained that a lightning-tailed, weasel-like monster had injured her, and Feng Wu decided they should avoid it.
• Ye Hua demonstrated her Iron Fist's immense power and explained that its strongest attacks required long rests.
• Feng Wu, Hua Di, and Ye Hua detoured around the speed monster and found an Iron Bull Monster in a clearing.
• Feng Wu sent Hua Di to test the Iron Bull Monster and warned her about its horns, tail, and armored body.
• The Iron Bull Monster opened its square-pupiled eyes and swung its tail at Hua Di, who narrowly dodged as the attack shattered a large rock.

Chapter Summary: “Rich Flavor”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Iron Bull Monster recovers from Hua Di’s initial attack and reveals its powerful, heavily muscled legs.
• It appears to flee, but this is actually a deceptive maneuver: it launches forward, uses an iron body segment to pivot sharply, and charges Hua Di from an unexpected direction.
• Hua Di uses her emergency ability, opening the flower-like “pants” on her legs and spraying highly corrosive urine into the monster’s face. The attack destroys its eyes and allows her to escape by reducing her weight and increasing her speed.
• Blinded and enraged, the Iron Bull Monster begins spinning in place, projecting its iron blocks outward to attack anything nearby.
• Feng Wu devises a strategy: Ye Hua will climb a tree and prepare to attack from above, while Hua Di will lure the monster into position by throwing stones.
• The monster initially refuses to pursue Hua Di, instead counterattacking the exact locations from which her stones are thrown. Feng Wu realizes that a single attacker cannot force it to abandon this defensive pattern.
• Feng Wu constructs a simple belt-and-branch launcher to create the illusion of a second attacker without exposing himself to the monster’s supersonic counterattacks.
• The presence of two attack sources causes the monster to change tactics. It deploys a chain from its tail, transforms its horns into chained pincers, and enters a far more aggressive combat mode.
• Hua Di guides the monster toward Ye Hua’s tree while continuing to evade its attacks. The monster now attacks in multiple directions, trying to overwhelm both opponents.
• Feng Wu concludes that the monster has limited stamina. Facing two enemies, it abandons its conservative strategy and commits to an all-out attack in hopes of defeating at least one opponent.

Character Developments

• Hua Di demonstrates extraordinary reflexes, courage, and adaptability. Her bizarre corrosive-urine attack proves to be a decisive survival technique, and she quickly follows Feng Wu’s instructions afterward.
• Feng Wu grows as a strategist. Despite lacking information about the monster and being physically vulnerable, he studies its behavior, identifies its limitations, and invents a remote launching mechanism to manipulate its responses.
• Ye Hua acts quickly and independently in a crisis, moving into position before Feng Wu can fully direct her. She prepares to use the tree as a vantage point for a charged attack.
• Iron Bull Monster is revealed to possess multiple combat modes, strong defensive instincts, advanced weapon-like body parts, and enough intelligence to alter its behavior when faced with multiple threats.

Significant Themes

• Strategy versus raw power: The humans cannot overpower the monster directly, so they rely on deception, positioning, and teamwork.
• Adaptation under pressure: Both the characters and the monster continually change tactics in response to new circumstances.
• The danger of incomplete knowledge: Feng Wu’s lack of information forces him to rely on observation, probability, and calculated risks.
• Teamwork and trust: Hua Di, Ye Hua, and Feng Wu coordinate their abilities, with each person serving a distinct role in the plan.
• Resourcefulness and unconventional abilities: Hua Di’s humiliating but effective biological weapon and Feng Wu’s improvised launcher show that survival depends on practical usefulness rather than appearance.
• Stamina and behavioral limits: The monster’s shift from defense to offense reveals that even overwhelming strength may be constrained by endurance.

Character Interactions

• Feng Wu gives Hua Di tactical instructions, and she follows them effectively without hesitation.
• He acknowledges Ye Hua’s quick reaction, blaming his own weakness rather than criticizing her for acting independently.
• Hua Di serves as the primary lure, repeatedly provoking and redirecting the monster.
• Feng Wu supports the plan indirectly by creating a second “attacker” through his launcher.
• Ye Hua waits above the battlefield, positioned to strike once Hua Di brings the monster beneath the tree.
• The group’s coordinated pressure forces the Iron Bull Monster to abandon its defensive counterattack pattern and expose itself to a more aggressive but potentially exploitable strategy.

Chapter Summary: “Iron Bull Horn”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Wu identifies the Iron Bull Monster’s main weakness: after its eyes were damaged, its horns and tail focused on defending its sides and rear, leaving it vulnerable to attacks from above.
• Ye Hua ambushes the monster from a tree and kills it with her Meteoric Iron Fist, breaking its neck and crushing it into the ground.
• The monster drops an Iron Bull Horn, an item capable of summoning a Steel Giant Bull that fights for its summoner until death.
• Feng Wu, Ye Hua, and Hua Di test the horn and discover that each person can summon one smaller Iron Bull. However, the same person cannot summon a second bull after using the horn, at least under current conditions.
• Feng Wu concludes that the bulls significantly increase their combat power but also make the team conspicuous and likely to attract attacks from other contestants.
• The group acquires a low-grade storage pouch. Feng Wu learns that it requires blood recognition and contains an unexpectedly large internal space, nearly the size of a football field.
• Riding their three Iron Bulls through the forest, the group finds no other contestants or monsters for some time, though traces of previous battles suggest others have been progressing successfully.
• After traveling for about an hour, they finally encounter another monster.

Character Developments

• Ye Hua demonstrates tactical awareness and decisive combat ability by exploiting the Iron Bull Monster’s aerial blind spot and delivering the killing blow.
• Hua Di remains energetic and playful, enthusiastically testing the horn and imagining the possibility of forming an Iron Bull cavalry force.
• Feng Wu continues to act as the team’s strategist. He analyzes the horn’s limitations, anticipates how other contestants might react to their visible strength, and urges the group to remain cautious.
• Feng Wu also becomes more familiar with supernatural tools, particularly the storage pouch, and is impressed by the capabilities of the supernatural world.
• The trio’s cooperation strengthens as they share the dropped item, coordinate the summons, and accept Feng Wu’s strategic leadership.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and tactical observation: Success depends on identifying weaknesses rather than relying on brute force or passive defense.
• Power and visibility: Greater strength brings greater danger, since the three summoned bulls may reveal that the team possesses a valuable, shareable item.
• Trust and caution: The characters agree that they cannot rely on other contestants’ possible mercy and must treat everyone as a potential enemy.
• Contrast between worlds: Feng Wu’s ordinary technological background is contrasted with the supernatural world’s enormous storage spaces, summoning items, and advanced formations.
• Teamwork and shared resources: The Iron Bull Horn becomes valuable because all three members can use it, allowing the team to multiply its combat strength.

Character Interactions

• Ye Hua and Hua Di discuss who should use the horn and willingly give it to Feng Wu, recognizing his intelligence.
• Feng Wu explains the horn’s mechanics and warns the women not to become careless.
• Hua Di jokes about forming an “Iron Bull Knight Order,” while Feng Wu explains why cavalry would be impractical in the dense forest.
• Ye Hua teaches Feng Wu how to activate the storage pouch and explains the principles behind its Energy-Gathering Formation.
• The group travels together on their summoned bulls, maintaining a cooperative but increasingly vigilant alliance.

Feng Wu, Ye Hua, and Hua Di tested an unfamiliar monster with two iron bulls, which killed it after adapting to its silent underground ambushes. The group continued onward, and Feng Wu saw a notice that one contestant had killed another.

• Feng Wu and the others spotted signs that the monster had killed a contestant and sent Ye Hua and Hua Di’s iron bulls to test it.
• The monster burrowed without leaving a hole and ambushed the bulls, but the bulls countered by dragging it from the ground and tearing off its head.
• Hua Di collected the gold coins, and Feng Wu explained which kinds of contestants the group should recruit or avoid.
• Ye Hua and Hua Di argued over whether they were foolish loners before a notice announced that a contestant had been killed by another contestant.

Chapter Summary: “Greedy Meow”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After one contestant kills another, Feng Wu realizes that the competition has entered a more dangerous phase. He orders Ye Hua and Hua Di to stop searching for opponents and focus on killing monsters and leveling up before other contestants begin hunting them.
• Li Xiao, the competition’s organizer and livestream host, is angered by the first contestant-on-contestant murder. He had intended the competition to gather powerful fighters to oppose Aiona, not encourage internal slaughter, though he cannot directly interfere without disrupting the event.
• The killer is revealed to be Sigler, a powerful Vampire. After draining a light-element mage’s blood, he activates the Ascension Canticle, a necklace that absorbs blood from beings with opposing attributes and may allow him to evolve.
• Sigler’s transformation appears unstable, and he hides inside a sealed cave. Once Li Xiao leaves, Sigler reveals that the transformation has only just begun, concealing the true nature of his power to prevent enemies from learning his secret.
• Li Xiao chooses to continue following Feng Wu’s weaker group, believing their struggles will be more entertaining for viewers than the effortless victories of stronger contestants.
• After another day of fighting monsters, Feng Wu’s group accumulates thirty-six Gold Coins but receives no equipment drops. They begin worrying about food and water, since their intense battles are exhausting and Hua Di’s Overlord Flower Dew cannot be wasted as ordinary nourishment.
• Hua Di detects an enticing smell and leads the group to a strange cottage in the forest. Despite Feng Wu’s suspicions that it may be a monster trap, she rushes inside.
• The cottage is run by an apron-wearing cat named Greedy Meow, who operates Salty Fish Cottage. It offers a huge variety of powerful equipment, potions, defensive items, and even resurrection coins, all in exchange for Gold Coins.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu becomes more cautious and strategically minded after recognizing that the contestants may soon turn on one another. He prioritizes rapid growth and tries to protect the group from unknown dangers.
• Ye Hua proves dependable in combat and follows Feng Wu’s instructions, landing the finishing blows against monsters. She also tries to restrain Hua Di when the latter recklessly charges into the cottage.
• Hua Di remains impulsive and appetite-driven. Her exceptional sense of smell leads the group to Greedy Meow’s shop, but her inability to resist the food-like scent nearly causes her to enter a possible trap alone.
• Iron Bull continues serving as transportation and a combat partner, cooperating with Hua Di while Ye Hua delivers the final attacks.
• Li Xiao is shown to be conflicted: he opposes contestant killings but must preserve the competition’s rules and entertainment value. He shifts his attention to Feng Wu’s group because their vulnerability creates more dramatic viewing.
• Sigler is revealed as ambitious, secretive, and willing to kill for advancement. He carefully hides the true process of his transformation and waits until Li Xiao is gone before completing it.
• Greedy Meow appears commercially minded and selectively polite, addressing Feng Wu as the “honored guest” because he controls the group’s money while treating the others as poor customers.

Significant Themes

• The collapse of restraint: Once the first contestant murder occurs, others are likely to follow, transforming the competition from monster hunting into a struggle for survival against both monsters and fellow participants.
• Power through dangerous transformation: Sigler’s use of the Ascension Canticle highlights the temptation to obtain greater strength through morally questionable or unstable means.
• Information as power: Sigler understands that revealing his abilities could make him vulnerable, emphasizing the importance of secrecy in a competitive environment.
• Survival and resource management: The group must balance fighting, leveling, food, water, healing resources, and equipment, showing that survival depends on more than raw combat ability.
• Commerce and greed: Greedy Meow’s shop introduces a new form of power acquisition, where Gold Coins can potentially buy extraordinary abilities—but only if the group can afford them.
• Entertainment versus responsibility: Li Xiao must balance his role as organizer, his concern for the contestants, and the expectations of the livestream audience.

Character Interactions

• Feng Wu warns Ye Hua and Hua Di that they must stop seeking other contestants and become stronger quickly; Ye Hua accepts his judgment.
• Li Xiao observes and condemns Sigler after the Vampire kills another contestant, while viewers speculate about Sigler’s possible evolution into a Blood Angel.
• Sigler waits until Li Xiao has departed before beginning the real stage of his transformation, demonstrating his caution and distrust.
• Feng Wu, Ye Hua, Hua Di, and Iron Bull cooperate in monster battles, with Hua Di and Iron Bull weakening enemies and Ye Hua finishing them.
• Feng Wu and Ye Hua discuss the danger of the cottage, but Hua Di ignores their caution and enters first.
• Greedy Meow offers Feng Wu an overwhelming selection of powerful goods, creating the possibility that the group may soon spend its hard-earned Gold Coins on equipment or transformative items.

Chapter Summary: Damaged Divine Artifact

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Wu visits Greedy Meow’s shop with Ye Hua and Hua Di to purchase equipment or potions, but he can afford only ten of his thirty-six Gold Coins.
• Greedy Meow presents several damaged divine artifacts, each retaining a strange or unreliable version of its original power:
  • The Pig-Head Ring produces only pig ears.
  • The Oath-Failure Sword causes its holder to fail in bizarre and unpredictable ways.
  • The Witch’s Broom can no longer fly and is useful only for sweeping.
  • The Fusion Ring temporarily fuses beings together, but may cause body parts to be permanently exchanged when the fusion ends.
  • The Sure-Hit Gun has become an outline gun whose bullets trace a target without actually striking them.
  • The Delusion Fool’s Hat can make assumptions come true, while overthinking may produce the opposite result.
  • The Universal Rest Chair allows rest anywhere but may cause the user’s leg to break.
  • The Magic Pen can alter the future through a diary, though its damaged condition makes its effects unreliable and potentially distorted.
• Hua Di suggests buying the inexpensive Ten Dragons, Ten Tigers Godlike Potion for Feng Wu’s summoned Iron Bull. The potion grants immense power but may cause bizarre temporary transformations, such as dragon horns or a dragon-like tongue.
• Feng Wu buys the potion for one Gold Coin, accepting the risk because its effects might work on the Iron Bull and greatly increase its combat strength.
• Feng Wu purchases the damaged Magic Pen for ten Gold Coins, judging that even one successful future prediction would make it worthwhile.
• He gives Ye Hua and Hua Di the remaining money to choose equipment suited to themselves.
• Hua Di reveals that damage to her petal-like protective clothing from the earlier battle may worsen and cause its internal liquid to leak. Feng Wu asks Greedy Meow for a repair item, prompting the shopkeeper to produce an ointment.

Character Development

• Feng Wu demonstrates caution, practicality, and strategic thinking. He refuses to buy dangerous items blindly but recognizes that flawed artifacts can still be exploited creatively.
• His decision to use the potion on the Iron Bull shows his willingness to gamble when the potential combat benefit is high, while avoiding the potion’s disturbing effects on himself.
• Buying the Magic Pen reveals Feng Wu’s appreciation for high-risk, high-reward abilities and his ability to assess an artifact’s value despite its defects.
• Hua Di proves observant and imaginative by identifying a useful application for the potion. She is also trusting of Feng Wu’s judgment and openly seeks his help.
• Ye Hua remains skeptical and sharp-tongued, particularly when Greedy Meow promotes the dangerous chair.
• Greedy Meow acts as an irritable but honest merchant. Though greedy and easily embarrassed, it follows the shop’s rules by disclosing every artifact’s drawbacks.

Significant Themes

• Power through imperfection: Even damaged artifacts remain valuable, and their flaws can sometimes create unexpected advantages.
• Risk and strategy: Feng Wu repeatedly weighs severe drawbacks against potential benefits rather than rejecting dangerous items outright.
• Unpredictability: The artifacts’ broken powers introduce uncertainty, making both combat and ordinary actions potentially chaotic.
• Resourcefulness: Characters must make the most of limited money and incomplete or unreliable tools.
• Trust and judgment: Hua Di and Ye Hua rely on Feng Wu to help select equipment, while Feng Wu must decide whether Greedy Meow’s descriptions are worth believing.

Character Interactions

• Feng Wu bargains with Greedy Meow, who mocks his limited budget but still searches for affordable products.
• Hua Di challenges Greedy Meow’s contradictions and criticizes its poor customer service.
• Hua Di proposes using the potion on the Iron Bull, influencing Feng Wu’s final purchase.
• Feng Wu explains the strategic value of the Magic Pen and instructs Ye Hua and Hua Di to select equipment based on their personal needs.
• Hua Di shows Feng Wu the damage to her petals, prompting him to seek a solution from Greedy Meow.
• Ye Hua and Greedy Meow exchange sarcastic insults over the supposedly useful but dangerous Universal Rest Chair.

Chapter Summary: Mutant Iron Bull

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Wu, Hua Di, and Ye Hua visit Greedy Meow’s Salty Fish House to purchase healing and survival items.
• They buy Radiation Ointment for Hua Di. It can heal wounds while strengthening the injured area, but may cause unpredictable mutations, such as roots or leaves growing from Hua Di’s petals.
• Ye Hua searches for a stronger healing option and considers several damaged items:
  • A Healing Ring that increases recovery speed by only ten percent.
  • The Blade of Eternal Life, which accelerates wound healing at the cost of reducing cultivation speed and potentially preventing future advancement.
  • The Loser’s Welfare Flag, which provides ten minutes of recovery time during battle, but is judged too impractical.
  • The Emergency Syringe, which turns any liquid into a life-saving medicine, though its effects can be deadly or grotesque, such as reducing lifespan or causing an eyeball to explode.
• Feng Wu bargains with Greedy Meow and purchases both the broken blade and the syringe for ten Gold Coins.
• Hua Di successfully persuades Greedy Meow by petting and flattering it, revealing a clever and manipulative side beneath her usually innocent demeanor.
• After leaving the shop, the group tests the Ten Dragons, Ten Tigers Godlike Potion on Feng Wu’s Iron Bull.
• The Iron Bull undergoes constant, violent transformations, rapidly shifting between bull, dragon, tiger, and other forms. Despite its unstable appearance, it demonstrates tremendous power by destroying a massive boulder and blasting through the stone slope behind it.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu remains cautious and practical, repeatedly questioning the drawbacks of every item before buying. He also notices Hua Di’s unexpected scheming ability and takes responsibility for testing the potion.
• Hua Di proves willing to accept frightening mutations from the Radiation Ointment. She also displays unexpected social intelligence by exploiting Greedy Meow’s fondness for being petted and using promises of future business to secure a better bargain.
• Ye Hua is direct, demanding, and highly skeptical. She rejects items that offer unreliable or insufficient protection, prioritizing genuine healing and practical survival.
• Greedy Meow is shown to be miserly but vulnerable to affection and persuasion. Though irritated by the group’s bargaining, it ultimately gives in to Hua Di’s coaxing.
• The Iron Bull is transformed into an unstable mutant creature, but its immense increase in strength suggests that the potion may be highly effective despite its dangerous side effects.

Significant Themes

• Power versus cost: Nearly every item provides a major benefit at a serious price, such as lost cultivation potential, reduced lifespan, mutation, or physical disfigurement.
• Survival and desperation: The characters are willing to gamble with dangerous items because their current weakness leaves them few alternatives.
• Appearance versus usefulness: The Iron Bull’s grotesque, constantly changing body seems disastrous, but its overwhelming strength proves that outward instability may conceal practical power.
• Cleverness over wealth: Although the group has limited money, Hua Di’s manipulation and negotiation allow them to obtain valuable items.
• Unpredictability of advancement: The potion’s effects demonstrate that growth can be chaotic and uncontrollable, raising questions about whether increased power is worth sacrificing stability.

Character Interactions

• Feng Wu and Hua Di discuss whether she can accept the ointment’s mutations, with Hua Di calmly agreeing to the risks.
• Ye Hua repeatedly challenges Greedy Meow to produce better healing items, creating a tense but humorous bargaining exchange.
• Hua Di charms Greedy Meow by stroking and flattering it, surprising Feng Wu and making Ye Hua question how easily the cat can be persuaded.
• After the purchase, Ye Hua asks Hua Di how she managed to negotiate so successfully.
• The group jointly observes the Iron Bull’s transformation and reacts with shock when its chaotic mutations culminate in extraordinary destructive strength.

Chapter Summary: “Heterogeneous Bloodlines”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Wu’s mutated Iron Bull displays astonishing power, possessing the combined strength of ten dragons and ten tigers. Its body repeatedly changes form, manifesting traits such as an Eastern dragon head, Western dragon wings, enormous organs, bone spikes, and the ability to breathe fire.
• The Iron Bull’s transformations are unstable, but its strength and loyalty remain constant. It does not attack its master, allowing Feng Wu and the others to trust it despite its dangerous mutations.
• Feng Wu is injured when a bone spike suddenly grows from the Iron Bull’s back, forcing him to dismount. Ye Hua finds the incident amusing and laughs at his expense.
• The group spends the night in a cave. The next morning, Feng Wu checks the Magic Pen and realizes that the future event he recorded has not occurred: the predicted rain, monster encounter, and acquisition of a repair item never happened.
• Feng Wu decides to keep testing the Magic Pen, since six days remain before the competition’s deadline. The hoped-for repair item could potentially restore the Blade of Eternal Life, making it strategically valuable despite the blade’s restriction against achieving Transcendence.
• Feng Wu organizes the group for more efficient hunting. Hua Di becomes the scout, Ye Hua gathers food, and the Iron Bull handles combat.
• With Hua Di’s scouting and the Iron Bull’s overwhelming strength, the group quickly finds and kills monsters. Most enemies are defeated in a single charge, transforming into energy and producing Gold Coins.
• Li Xiao explains to viewers that they are still in the arena’s beginner zone. The monsters there are generally weaker or possess exploitable weaknesses, while deeper regions contain creatures with fewer weaknesses and far greater power.
• Grandpa Xiao identifies numerous powerful heterogeneous divine-beast bloodlines within the Iron Bull, including the Gold-Devouring White Tiger, Scarlet Radiance Tiger Lord, Heaven-Shaking Mountain King, Demon-Eyed Iron Dragon, White Cang Dragon God, and Purple Firmament Emperor Dragon. The viewers realize that the mutation potion has combined an extraordinary number of elite bloodlines.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu becomes more confident in the Iron Bull’s usefulness, accepting its bizarre appearance and instability because its strength dramatically improves the group’s chances in the competition. He also takes on a clearer leadership role by assigning everyone specific duties.
• Ye Hua remains practical and observant, recognizing how terrifying the Iron Bull has become. She also shows a playful side by laughing at Feng Wu’s injury.
• Hua Di shifts into a support role as the team’s scout and food gatherer, helping the group maximize its hunting efficiency.
• The Mutant Iron Bull is established as both immensely powerful and highly unpredictable. Its many transformations suggest that it contains numerous conflicting bloodlines, yet it remains loyal and combat-capable.
• Li Xiao provides strategic information about the arena’s structure and monster hierarchy for the audience.
• Grandpa Xiao demonstrates expert knowledge by recognizing the Iron Bull’s various divine-beast traits and emphasizing how valuable and extravagant its bloodline composition is.

Significant Themes

• Power versus stability: The Iron Bull’s strength is undeniable, but its uncontrolled mutations raise questions about the risks of unstable power.
• The value of strategic strength: Even flawed or dangerous abilities can be worthwhile if they provide overwhelming advantages in life-threatening situations.
• Hidden potential and mixed bloodlines: The Iron Bull’s body symbolizes the extraordinary power that can arise from combining multiple elite lineages, while also suggesting the chaos such combinations create.
• Adaptation and teamwork: The group improves its performance by assigning roles according to individual strengths and using the Iron Bull as their primary weapon.
• Limits of prediction and control: Feng Wu’s failed Future Diary entry shows that the Magic Pen’s power is uncertain, reminding him that supernatural abilities cannot be relied upon without verification.
• Competition and survival: The arena is structured as a progression of increasingly dangerous regions, requiring contestants to grow stronger and exploit weaknesses before facing truly formidable monsters.

Character Interactions

• Feng Wu and Ye Hua discuss the Iron Bull’s transformations, with Ye Hua expressing concern and Feng Wu reassuring her that its strength matters more than its appearance.
• Hua Di reacts fearfully when the Iron Bull breathes fire, while Feng Wu assures her that it will not harm its master.
• Feng Wu’s accidental injury from the Iron Bull’s bone spike becomes a source of humor between him and Ye Hua.
• Feng Wu gives Hua Di and Ye Hua distinct responsibilities, establishing a more organized and efficient team dynamic.
• Li Xiao and Grandpa Xiao interpret the Iron Bull’s abilities for the audience, with Grandpa Xiao’s observations revealing the astonishing number of powerful bloodlines it possesses.

Earth Relic — Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Viewers react enviously to Feng Wu’s acquisition of rare Variant Divine Beast bloodlines, especially the valuable Mutant Iron Bull, which could be worth around a billion top-grade spirit stones.
• Feng Wu’s team—Feng Wu, Hua Di, and Ye Hua—pushes into the arena’s second area after killing many monsters. The enemies there possess greater range, speed, and senses.
• A massive, rock-covered turtle-like beast attacks by uprooting and throwing trees. Feng Wu nearly dies when one crashes toward him, but Hua Di saves him by carrying him out of the impact zone.
• The group’s Iron Bulls engage the giant beast. Although the Mutant Iron Bull is physically stronger, the enemy gains an advantage by using a tree trunk as a weapon.
• Feng Wu realizes that relying solely on the Mutant Iron Bull is dangerous. Ye Hua successfully uses the horn to summon another Iron Bull, proving that replacements can be summoned whenever one dies.
• Feng Wu develops a strategy: Hua Di and Ye Hua’s Iron Bulls attack from both sides, distracting the giant beast while the Mutant Iron Bull charges from the front. Its horns transform into dragon horns and pierce the beast’s thigh, causing it to fall and effectively deciding the battle.
• The defeated monster drops an Earth Relic, a powerful gemstone that grants Earth Power to five allies for ninety minutes. The ability greatly strengthens physical bodies and creates a regenerating Earth Barrier that triggers an earthquake when destroyed.
• Feng Wu, Hua Di, Ye Hua, and the Mutant Iron Bull test the relic. Their physical abilities increase dramatically: Feng Wu can jump over four meters, Ye Hua over eighty meters, and Hua Di even higher.
• Feng Wu gives the Earth Relic to Ye Hua, insisting that valuable items be distributed among the group rather than concentrated in one person.
• The team continues hunting monsters and kills fifty by the end of the day, earning 366 Gold Coins.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu: Becomes aware of his own vulnerability after nearly being killed. He recognizes that his summoned beast cannot protect him from every threat and resolves to grow stronger personally. He also demonstrates tactical leadership by devising the pincer strategy and shows fairness by entrusting the Earth Relic to Ye Hua.
• Hua Di: Displays quick reflexes and courage by rescuing Feng Wu from the falling tree. She is briefly saddened by the loss of her Iron Bull but quickly returns to action and contributes to the team’s coordinated attack.
• Ye Hua: Endures injuries while protecting the group and successfully summons a replacement Iron Bull. She gains the Earth Relic and experiences its power directly, becoming one of the team’s strongest beneficiaries.
• Mutant Iron Bull: Proves superior to the giant beast in direct physical combat and delivers the decisive attack by using its transforming dragon horns.
• The Viewers: Their envy and regret over not joining the arena intensify as they witness Feng Wu’s growing wealth and access to rare bloodlines and powerful items.

Significant Themes

• Risk and opportunity: The viewers’ jealousy contrasts with Gu Granny’s observation that those who avoided danger cannot complain when others gain rewards.
• Growth through adversity: The arena favors weaker contestants because even small upgrades significantly improve them, while stronger contestants require more expensive and specialized equipment.
• Teamwork over individual strength: The giant beast cannot be defeated by the Mutant Iron Bull alone; victory requires coordination, replacement summons, and Feng Wu’s strategy.
• Personal empowerment: Feng Wu learns that relying on summoned creatures is insufficient and that he must strengthen himself.
• Shared resources and trust: Feng Wu distributes valuable items to prevent the group from becoming dependent on or vulnerable through a single member.
• The hidden power of nature: The Earth Relic reveals the earth as a vast, active source of strength rather than something passive and unchanging.

Character Interactions

• Hua Di protects Feng Wu and checks on his condition after the attack.
• Feng Wu notices and questions Ye Hua’s injury, while Ye Hua downplays it as minor.
• Hua Di and Ye Hua follow Feng Wu’s tactical instructions, using their summoned Iron Bulls to flank and distract the giant beast.
• Hua Di discovers the Earth Relic and proudly presents it to Feng Wu.
• Feng Wu and Ye Hua discuss testing and distributing the relic, reinforcing their mutual trust and cooperative leadership.

Feng Wu and his companions found another Salty Fish House and spent their gold on unusual weapons. After leaving, Feng Wu tested his new Formless Ring on the Mutant Iron Bull, ending the chapter as he tried to fuse with it.

• Feng Wu, Hua Di, and Ye Hua found a Salty Fish House run by Kindhearted Woof and browsed its weapons.
• Kindhearted Woof demonstrated several weapons, including the Wishful Flying Sword, a spellcasting staff, the Formless Ring, and the Flower Bow Fruit Arrow.
• Ye Hua bought the Wishful Flying Sword, Hua Di bought the Flower Bow Fruit Arrow, and Feng Wu bought the Formless Ring.
• After the group left the shop, Hua Di wondered aloud what kind of fruit Kindhearted Woof would produce if she shot it twice.
• Feng Wu pressed the Formless Ring against the Mutant Iron Bull and tried to fuse with it.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Wu’s attempt to fuse with the Mutant Iron Bull fails, so he, Ye Hua, and Hua Di settle beneath a giant tree for the night.
• Hua Di experiments with her Flower Bow Fruit Arrow on the Mutant Iron Bull. Two arrows cause a strange bronze-like fruit to grow from its head, absorbing and killing the bull.
• Feng Wu eats the fruit and undergoes a dramatic transformation. He grows bull horns, expands to over three meters tall, develops ridged bones along his back, and gains mismatched golden and purple eyes with vastly enhanced vision.
• The bull’s power stabilizes and balances the dragon and tiger forces already within Feng Wu. A glowing “Si” character appears on his chest, dividing his body’s power between the dragon and tiger sides.
• Feng Wu discovers that he has gained numerous abilities, immense physical strength, heightened senses, and a powerful predictive sixth sense. Although he feels capable of destroying the world, he remains mentally composed.
• After accidentally destroying his clothing, Ye Hua and Hua Di leave to purchase replacements. Feng Wu uses the opportunity to test his new power.
• He leaps more than one hundred thousand meters into the air, learns to move through the sky, and crashes into a powerful multi-eyed bear monster, killing it instantly and creating a massive crater and magma pool.
• Feng Wu continues hunting monsters, gradually improving his control and precision. Within minutes, he collects more than a hundred Gold Coins.
• Observers, including Li Xiao, Gu Granny, and Grandpa Xiao, debate Feng Wu’s strength and recognize that he has rapidly surpassed most ordinary fighters. His transformation is described as a rare rise from obscurity to greatness.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu: Changes from an ordinary mortal into a gigantic, highly powerful being possessing the strength of multiple divine beasts. Despite his monstrous appearance and overwhelming abilities, he retains his reason and self-control. He also proves intelligent and methodical, learning to regulate his power rather than relying solely on brute force.
• Ye Hua: Shows consistent concern for Feng Wu’s safety, worrying that the fruit’s power might physically destroy him or overwhelm his mind. Her anxiety eases when she sees that he remains calm. She also displays curiosity about his new body.
• Hua Di: Remains adventurous and carefree, willingly taking the risk of testing the Flower Bow Fruit Arrow on the Mutant Iron Bull. She is delighted by the successful fruit and treats Feng Wu’s transformation with playful curiosity.
• Spectators: Move from skepticism to surprise and envy as they realize Feng Wu’s sudden power is genuine and far greater than expected. They acknowledge that his success comes from both extraordinary luck and intelligence.

Significant Themes

• Opportunity and sudden advancement: The chapter emphasizes how a single opportunity can allow a previously insignificant person to rise dramatically.
• Power and control: Raw strength is dangerous without discipline. Feng Wu must learn to control his newly acquired abilities to avoid harming allies or destroying everything around him.
• Fusion and balance: The Mutant Iron Bull’s power does not merely add to Feng Wu’s strength; it balances the opposing dragon and tiger forces within him, creating a stable combination.
• Luck versus ability: Although Feng Wu benefits from an extraordinary opportunity, his efficient hunting and rapid mastery show that intelligence and talent are equally important.
• Transformation and identity: Feng Wu becomes increasingly beastlike in appearance, but his calm mind and human reasoning remain intact, suggesting that true identity depends on consciousness rather than appearance.
• Hidden genius: The spectators compare Feng Wu to talented individuals constrained by limited circumstances, reinforcing the idea that greatness may remain dormant until the right opportunity appears.

Character Interactions

• Feng Wu calmly encourages Hua Di to test the Flower Bow Fruit Arrow on the Mutant Iron Bull and accepts the risk of losing it.
• Ye Hua supports Feng Wu’s decision while remaining concerned about the consequences.
• Hua Di presents the resulting fruit to Feng Wu enthusiastically and later pokes and examines his hardened body.
• Feng Wu asks both women to find him new clothes, prompting their teasing amusement.
• The spectators and elders analyze Feng Wu’s transformation from afar, with Grandpa Xiao defending the significance of the “ten dragons and ten tigers” power against skeptics.
• Li Xiao and the other observers conclude that Feng Wu’s sudden rise exemplifies a hidden genius finally given the chance to excel.

Chapter Summary: “Convince by Reason”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Wu returns to the team after testing his newly enhanced strength. Hua Di and Ye Hua are relieved, though Ye Hua jokingly suspects he has lost control of his beastly power.
• Feng Wu reveals that he earned more than one hundred Gold Coins in only fifteen minutes by killing monsters. He proposes a new strategy: Hua Di and Ye Hua will locate monsters while he destroys them quickly, with the goal of earning ten thousand Gold Coins the next day.
• Rather than abandoning his teammates now that he has become powerful enough to fight alone, Feng Wu decides to help Hua Di and Ye Hua grow stronger and escape the arena together.
• Feng Wu carries the two women through the air by making an enormous leap, impressing and amusing them. He takes them to Greedy Meow’s Salty Fish House instead of Kindhearted Woof’s shop because he believes Greedy Meow is more likely to sell unusual, powerful equipment.
• Greedy Meow offers several weapons, including strength-enhancing gauntlets and the Sacrificial Pillar, but neither suits Feng Wu. It eventually presents him with a massive octagonal spiked club named Convince by Reason.
• The weapon has no special ability beyond being extraordinarily heavy and durable, but its weight and design match Feng Wu’s enormous strength. Feng Wu purchases it for one hundred Gold Coins and adds an auto-repair enchantment.
• Feng Wu tests the weapon with a single swing, generating devastating wind pressure that destroys countless trees, levels a distant mountain, and causes Gold Coins to rain from the wreckage.
• Hua Di and Ye Hua are stunned by the scale of his power. Feng Wu reminds them to collect the coins quickly before other players come to investigate.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu: Becomes more confident and strategically minded after gaining immense strength. Despite no longer needing assistance, he remains loyal and grateful to Hua Di and Ye Hua. He recognizes the importance of choosing equipment suited to his new abilities and shows caution by acknowledging that he is not necessarily invincible.
• Hua Di: Continues to respond enthusiastically to Feng Wu’s transformations and abilities. She jokes with Greedy Meow, enjoys Feng Wu’s dramatic displays of strength, and is visibly awed by his weapon’s destructive power.
• Ye Hua: Displays confidence and ambition, refusing to remain dependent on Feng Wu. She believes she and Hua Di can eventually catch up to him. She also contributes practical skepticism, warning that Greedy Meow’s risky merchandise could be a trap.
• Greedy Meow: Shows its shamelessly profit-driven personality, immediately becoming courteous when Feng Wu displays money. Nevertheless, it searches seriously for a suitable weapon and successfully identifies Convince by Reason as the best choice.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and gratitude: Feng Wu chooses to support the teammates who helped him rather than becoming a lone warrior.
• Growth through opportunity: Ye Hua recognizes that the arena offers endless chances to become stronger, and Feng Wu’s transformation proves that the right resources can radically change a person’s abilities.
• Adaptation and strategy: Feng Wu’s success depends not only on raw strength but also on selecting equipment that complements his physical power.
• Power and responsibility: Although Feng Wu now possesses overwhelming destructive ability, he remains aware of potential threats and avoids assuming that he is unbeatable.
• Trust versus caution: The group must balance the potential rewards of Greedy Meow’s unconventional items against the danger of being deceived by a greedy merchant.

Character Interactions

• Ye Hua and Hua Di tease Feng Wu about his disappearance and react with excitement to his newfound ability to leap through the air.
• Ye Hua argues that Feng Wu should be considered the team’s temporary “star attraction,” while Hua Di suggests the term “trump card.” Ye Hua insists that they will soon grow strong enough to stand beside him.
• Feng Wu playfully launches both women through the air, strengthening their camaraderie.
• Ye Hua warns Feng Wu about Greedy Meow’s possible traps, but Feng Wu counters that cleverness can prevent them from being deceived.
• Hua Di jokes with and pinches Greedy Meow after it instantly changes from insulting the group to flattering Feng Wu once he produces Gold Coins.
• The chapter ends with Hua Di and Ye Hua witnessing the terrifying effectiveness of Convince by Reason and helping Feng Wu gather the resulting Gold Coins.

Chapter Summary: “Alliance Contract”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Wu’s devastating attack earns the group fifty Gold Coins by destroying numerous monsters. Ye Hua and Hua Di realize that repeating such attacks could quickly fund their growth.
• The group recognizes that their strength must increase rapidly. Feng Wu had previously been the weakest member, but after gaining his new power, Ye Hua and Hua Di now risk becoming burdens.
• Ou Zhizi, a powerful contestant, confronts them. He criticizes Feng Wu for attacking without considering that other contestants might have concealed themselves within the strike’s range.
• Feng Wu acknowledges his mistake, realizing that sensing no one nearby does not mean others could not hide their auras.
• Ou Zhizi invites the group to a secluded forest and proposes cooperation. He has discovered a valuable treasure and needs two contestants to help him obtain or use it.
• Because Feng Wu distrusts him, Ou Zhizi offers an alliance contract that prevents either side from harming the other.
• Feng Wu insists on having the contract independently examined at Salty Fish House, where Greedy Meow confirms that it contains no traps and explains its terms.
• The contract is comprehensive and humane, restricting harmful behavior while protecting both parties’ interests.
• Greedy Meow reveals that the Ten Dragons, Ten Tigers Godlike Potion is out of stock, prompting questions about how Salty Fish House obtains its goods and whether it exists outside their world.
• After leaving the shop, Feng Wu remains uncertain—not about the contract, but about whether Ou Zhizi’s treasure is valuable enough to justify the time and risk of cooperation.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu shows rapid growth in power but also recognizes the dangers of inexperience. He accepts criticism, admits his reckless mistake, and demonstrates strong caution and analytical thinking by demanding neutral verification of the contract.
• Ye Hua and Hua Di become more conscious of their need to strengthen themselves so they do not slow Feng Wu down. Their concern reflects their commitment to functioning as an effective team.
• Ou Zhizi is established as powerful, knowledgeable, and strategic. Rather than forcing cooperation, he uses a formal contract and neutral verification to make his proposal more credible.
• Greedy Meow remains secretive about Salty Fish House’s origins but is anxious about accidentally revealing forbidden information. Her love of being a shopkeeper and earning money adds a humorous, practical side to her character.
• Feng Wu’s observations about Greedy Meow suggest that he is beginning to perceive deeper truths about the arena and its mysterious commercial system.

Significant Themes

• Trust and caution: In a supernatural world filled with hidden abilities and potential traps, trust must be earned through safeguards and independent confirmation.
• Team responsibility: Strengthening every member is essential; a team cannot afford weak links during the coming confrontation with Aiona.
• Power and inexperience: Sudden strength can lead to reckless decisions if it is not accompanied by knowledge and self-control.
• Time as a resource: The contestants must use every moment to acquire money, items, and power before the next stage of the competition.
• Mystery of the arena: Salty Fish House’s unexplained restocking system and possible connection to another world raise questions about the arena’s creator and the vanished Eternal Kingdom.

Character Interactions

• Ye Hua and Hua Di discuss Feng Wu’s attack and their need to grow stronger.
• Ou Zhizi reprimands Feng Wu, but Feng Wu responds respectfully and accepts responsibility.
• The three contestants introduce themselves, revealing their differing backgrounds: Feng Wu is a Chinese teacher, Ye Hua practices Iron Fist martial arts, and Hua Di belongs to the Overlord Flower Tribe.
• Feng Wu consults Ye Hua and Hua Di about the alliance contract before seeking Greedy Meow’s appraisal.
• Greedy Meow explains the contract while evading questions about her organization, and Ou Zhizi quietly speculates about its connection to other worlds.
• After the contract is verified, Feng Wu and Ou Zhizi remain partners in principle, but Feng Wu still questions whether the treasure—and the alliance itself—is worth sacrificing valuable preparation time.

Chapter Summary: “Mirror Match”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ou Zhizi offers Feng Wu, Ye Hua, and Hua Di a choice: abandon the treasure and receive 10,000 Gold Coins each, or join him in claiming the treasure.
• Feng Wu refuses to settle for a fixed payment and negotiates a guarantee that their group will receive at least 30% of the treasure’s value, with the possibility of a larger share based on their contributions.
• Believing the treasure is worth far more than 30,000 Gold Coins, Feng Wu chooses the gamble. He and the others sign a contract with Ou Zhizi.
• Ou Zhizi reveals that he bought a Treasure Map from Salty Fish House for 100,000 Gold Coins. The map led him to the treasure, but opening it required three additional people.
• During the journey, Ou Zhizi explains that the competition is extremely dangerous. Even powerful contestants like himself may become “cannon fodder,” and he estimates that as many as 90% of the contestants could die.
• The group reaches a strange, perfectly symmetrical forest and passes through it into a hidden, folded spatial domain still located within the arena.
• They encounter two pillars marked with handprints and several mysterious vortices. The Treasure Map contains cryptic instructions based on the saying: “The Dao gave birth to One; One gave birth to Two; Two gave birth to Three; Three gave birth to all things.”
• After testing the vortices, Ou Zhizi discovers that each contains a Mirror Space. The portals are paired, and anyone entering must fight the duplicate of another participant.
• The chapter ends when Feng Wu realizes the deadly consequence: one person in each matchup must defeat and kill the other. Since duplicates appear to have equivalent abilities, victory may depend on whether one fighter is inherently stronger than the other.

Character Developments

• Feng Wu becomes more calculating and willing to take risks. Rather than accept guaranteed money, he demands a minimum share and gambles on the treasure being extraordinarily valuable.
• He also recognizes that his previous understanding of “self-protection” is inadequate. After learning how powerful Aiona and other contestants may be, Feng Wu decides he must adopt a more aggressive strategy for survival and growth.
• Ou Zhizi is revealed to be a strategic gambler rather than someone who simply discovered the treasure by chance. His willingness to spend 100,000 Gold Coins reflects his belief that survival requires bold risks.
• Ou Zhizi also establishes himself as vastly stronger and more experienced than Feng Wu’s group, though he admits that even he may only be slightly stronger than ordinary cannon fodder.
• Ye Hua remains cautious and practical, questioning the danger of the vortices and proposing the possibility that one may be a death trap.
• Hua Di continues to trust Feng Wu’s judgment, confidently assuming he will find a solution when the group encounters difficulties.

Significant Themes

• Risk versus guaranteed reward: Feng Wu must choose between immediate, certain payment and the uncertain possibility of obtaining a far greater treasure.
• Survival through ambition: The competition is portrayed as a brutal struggle where merely becoming strong enough to survive is insufficient. Participants must continually gamble and grow stronger.
• Limits of perspective: Feng Wu realizes that his image of powerful figures like Ou Zhizi was incomplete. Even apparent powerhouses may be insignificant compared with the true forces involved.
• Fate and sacrifice: The Mirror Spaces create a situation in which survival seems to require another person’s death, raising the possibility that the treasure itself is designed to force unavoidable conflict.
• Identity and duplication: The mirror mechanism introduces the question of what it means to fight an exact copy and whether strength, strategy, or circumstance determines which version survives.

Character Interactions

• Feng Wu negotiates directly with Ou Zhizi, demonstrating that he will not accept an arrangement without safeguards.
• Ye Hua and Hua Di rely on Feng Wu to make the final decision about the treasure, reinforcing his leadership role.
• Ou Zhizi gradually treats the group as temporary allies, explaining the Treasure Map and the true danger of the competition.
• The group collaborates when confronted by the vortices: Feng Wu suggests using summoned Iron Bulls as scouts, while Ou Zhizi independently tests the portals with eyeballs.
• The discovery of the Mirror Spaces changes the group’s mood from anticipation to alarm, as they realize the treasure trial may force them into lethal matchups against duplicates.

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

The treasure stage requires contestants to fight mirror versions of one another. These copies retain the entrants’ physical condition at the moment they enter but cannot use external equipment. Li Xiao discovers that contestants can exploit this rule by storing weapons and treasures in Storage Rings before entering, since the mirrors will not copy them. Feng Wu and Ou Zhizi take about an hour and a half to realize the solution, aided by Ou Zhizi’s extensive collection of magical items.
Feng Wu enters heavily equipped, while Ou Zhizi’s mirror appears completely unarmed. Despite this, the mirror’s natural strength overwhelms Feng Wu and repeatedly batters him. Viewers learn that Ou Zhizi uses the “Hammer-Forging Technique,” a method originally designed to process metal that he applies to Feng Wu as though he were material being forged. Feng Wu eventually activates restraining equipment supplied by Ou Zhizi, including a ring that releases Mysterious Water Ice Lightning. He then strikes Ou Zhizi’s mirror in the head, badly deforming it but failing to kill him.

Character developments

Li Xiao demonstrates his insight by quickly identifying the stage’s hidden rule, though he acknowledges that the solution is much harder to discover from inside the trial. Ou Zhizi proves that his strength does not depend entirely on magical treasures: even without equipment, he remains an extraordinarily powerful fighter with great physical resilience and technical skill. Feng Wu initially gains confidence from his defensive equipment but becomes humbled when Ou Zhizi’s unarmed mirror dominates him. He recovers his determination and begins fighting back by using equipment specifically chosen to counter Ou Zhizi’s strengths.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes that true strength comes from innate ability and accumulated skill, not merely external tools. It also explores intelligence as a double-edged sword: overthinking can make a seemingly simple problem more difficult. Another major theme is the importance of preparation and versatility. Although cultivation methods may specialize in certain attributes, experienced practitioners must maintain a broad range of tools to handle opponents who can exploit their weaknesses.

Character interactions

Li Xiao explains the stage mechanics to the livestream audience, while Grandpa Xiao impatiently presses him to reveal the answer. Viewers amusedly watch Feng Wu and Ou Zhizi struggle with the puzzle. During the trial, Ou Zhizi prepares countermeasures for his own mirror and lends Feng Wu, Hua Di, and others equipment suited to defeating their opponents. Feng Wu and Ou Zhizi’s mirror engage in a brutal physical contest, with Feng Wu relying on defensive gear and later elemental weapons to counter the mirror’s superior barehanded strength.