Chapter Summaries

Chapter 221 Summary

Key plot points

• Li Zi realizes that Ran Zirou has also been reborn and believes the hairpin contains the Demon Prince’s soul fragment. Ran accuses Li Zi of stealing her opportunities and trying to take Si Le, but Li Zi dismisses the accusation.
• Li Zi tries to destroy the hairpin, first by striking and stomping on it. The system explains that it is an ancient demonic artifact protected by more than a thousand layers of formations.
• Li Zi takes the hairpin back to the Sect and asks Fu Chaoqing to refine it. When he senses the dark, bloodthirsty presence inside, he urges her to give it to the Sect’s leaders.
• The hairpin accidentally falls into Fu Chaoqing’s alchemy furnace. Even after two hours in intense flames, it remains unharmed, confirming that ordinary methods cannot destroy it.
• Nearby cultivators report the incident to their Sect Masters, who decide to let Li Zi keep the artifact because they trust her more than they trust fate or the risks of taking it themselves.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi remains determined to neutralize the danger rather than claim the Demon Prince for herself. She is blunt with Ran Zirou and seeks help from Fu Chaoqing, though she is unsettled by the artifact’s potential threat.
• Ran Zirou reacts with jealousy and desperation, insisting that Si Le belongs to her and demanding the hairpin back. She is left behind when Li Zi returns to the Sect.
• Fu Chaoqing is initially willing to help, but panics when he learns the hairpin contains a fragment of the Demon Prince’s soul. His caution contrasts with Li Zi’s practical attempts to destroy it.
• The system suggests that Li Zi could awaken and win the Demon Prince’s devotion, echoing Ran Zirou’s former path. Li Zi rejects the idea, and Fu Chaoqing is equally alarmed by it.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and rivalry: Ran Zirou views Li Zi as a threat to her relationship and her former opportunities.
• Power and responsibility: Li Zi’s possession of a dangerous ancient artifact makes her responsible for containing a threat that others fear handling.
• Fate versus choice: The Sect Masters’ decision to trust Li Zi reflects the hope that her unpredictable presence may change events for the better.
• Romantic tropes questioned: Li Zi rejects the system’s suggestion to manipulate the Demon Prince into loving her.

Key plot points and events

• Li Zi returns to the Spirit Sword Sect with the Hairpin containing Demon Prince Si Le’s soul. Fu Chaoqing accompanies her to seek the Fourth Elder’s help.
• The Sect is unusually busy: disciples are training for the upcoming five-year competition, while several elders are away exploring No-Man’s Land after the Reclusive Clans reopened an entrance.
• The Fourth Elder warns that the Hairpin is too dangerous for him to destroy and adds multiple protective barriers. He also learns that Ran Zirou may have already used her blood to try to awaken the soul.
• The Hairpin suddenly heats up and floats, apparently releasing Si Le. Li Zi attacks it with her sword before anyone can stop her—and cuts the hazy soul in two. She keeps striking as it screams and weakens.
• At the same time, ominous black clouds and rain briefly appear in the Spirit Beast Forest and over a distant town. Jin Clan experts at the Medicine King Sect sense the evil aura, but the disturbances quickly disappear.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi remains practical and unromantic: she rejects the system’s suggestion that she secure Si Le’s affection, and responds to the Hairpin’s awakening with immediate violence.
• Fu Chaoqing is protective of Li Zi and wary of both Si Le and the system’s advice. His earlier attempt to burn the Hairpin now seems especially reckless.
• The Fourth Elder treats the Hairpin as a serious threat and protects Li Zi and Fu Chaoqing. Though cautious, he feels a deep, personal satisfaction as Li Zi harms the fiend.
• The system first encourages Li Zi to win over Si Le, then reverses course when the soul appears, urging her to finish him off.

Significant themes

• Dangerous power and containment: The Hairpin is both a prison and a threat, and the elders’ barriers prove unable to prevent its contents from stirring.
• Conflicting loyalties and manipulation: The system’s advice about romance clashes with Li Zi’s instincts and Fu Chaoqing’s distrust.
• The weight of history: The Fourth Elder’s reaction suggests that Si Le’s past threat cost earlier generations dearly.
• Wider supernatural consequences: The brief signs of darkness elsewhere imply that Si Le’s awakening may affect the broader world, even as Li Zi weakens the soul.

Chapter 223 Summary

• Si Le is captured, not killed. As Li Zi repeatedly strikes the Demon Prince’s weakened soul, the system warns that his awakening has drawn hidden Devil Race members out of hiding. The Fourth Elder stops Li Zi and seals Si Le’s soul inside the Hairpin, arguing that it may help them locate the other demons.
• The Sects plan a trap. After reaching the Hehuan Sect, the Fourth Elder reports what happened to its Sect Master, who convenes the leaders of the major Sects. They agree to keep Si Le in secure custody and use his awakening to lure the concealed Devil Race forces into the open. The Sect Master of Thunder God Hall is especially eager for a confrontation, noting signs of demonic activity near Dragon Turtle Pool.
• Li Zi questions the decision. Back in her Cave Abode, she worries that sparing Si Le is dangerous given the atrocities he commits in the original story. The system argues that keeping the Hairpin close and controlled may be safer than hiding it elsewhere, while joking about Si Le’s looks.
• The system explains Ran Zirou’s cultivation. Li Zi wonders how Ran Zirou became so striking at a young age. The system reveals that the dual-cultivation method Si Le gave her is actually a demonic technique designed to cultivate his own power. Ran Zirou mistakenly believes it is a Heaven Tier method; the system describes its gains as hollow and artificially forced. It also reveals that Si Le created the technique himself and possesses a naturally compelling Bewitching Fragrance.
• The Fourth Elder takes responsibility for the Hairpin. He overhears the explanation at the doorway, realizes the Hairpin is dangerous, and locks it in a box.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Li Zi remains wary and decisive, wanting to kill Si Le before he can cause further harm, but she accepts the Fourth Elder’s intervention. Her curiosity about Ran Zirou leads to important revelations about Si Le’s methods.
• The Fourth Elder acts cautiously, restraining Li Zi and prioritizing a broader strategy against the hidden Devil Race. His reaction after overhearing the system suggests growing alarm about the Hairpin.
• The Sect leaders cooperate on a plan to use Si Le as bait, though the Thunder God Hall Sect Master is eager to fight.
• The system balances strategic warnings with teasing commentary, while revealing crucial information about Si Le’s powers and Ran Zirou’s cultivation.

Significant Themes

• Pragmatism versus justice: killing Si Le might prevent future atrocities, but keeping him alive could expose the wider Devil Race threat.
• Hidden danger and manipulation: Ran Zirou’s apparent gift is actually a means for Si Le to advance his own cultivation.
• Power with concealed costs: the demonic method produces outward results without genuine, lasting cultivation.

Chapter 224 Summary

Plot points and events

• The Fourth Elder entrusts Li Zi with the Hairpin containing the severely wounded Demon Prince Si Le’s soul. The sects plan to use it as bait to lure Demonic Beasts into a trap during the Sect Competition.
• Li Zi is chosen because the elders believe her Dao Heart is firm and that Si Le won’t be able to beguile her. The Fourth Elder also trusts the System’s warnings and believes Li Zi can be monitored through her thoughts.
• Li Zi promises to carry out the mission and is told to enter the competition simply to blend in, not to win.
• After the Fourth Elder leaves, Li Zi asks whether Si Le is alive. The System says he has only one breath left and is unconscious.
• Hoping to keep him alive, Li Zi tries feeding him a Mental Power-restoring pill. It harms him because Spiritual Power clashes with the Demon Race’s Demonic Aura. She then gives him a Glazed Fruit, which he absorbs.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi accepts a dangerous responsibility, partly out of loyalty to the Fourth Elder, despite her private doubts about the promised rewards of cultivation.
• The Fourth Elder’s confidence in Li Zi is mixed with guilt: he knows the task is dangerous and intends to compensate her if possible.
• The System punctures the elders’ praise, joking that Li Zi is merely too food-focused to be tempted by Si Le. It also guides her attempts to help him.
• Li Zi shows compassion toward Si Le, but her reluctance to spend valuable treasures makes her help cautious and comically practical.
• Si Le remains unconscious, but his soul reacts to the offerings; the medicinal pill causes him pain, while the fruit is absorbed.

Significant themes

• Trust and responsibility: Li Zi is selected to carry a perilous object because others trust her character and the System’s oversight.
• The gap between reputation and reality: The elders call Li Zi’s Dao Heart exceptionally firm, while she and the System know her motivations are less lofty.
• Care tempered by self-interest: Li Zi tries to save Si Le, but refuses to use her rarest resources.
• Opposing forces: The pill’s harm illustrates the fundamental incompatibility between Spiritual Power and Demonic Aura.

• Competition selection and rumors: Li Zi learns that the Sect Competition allows ten contestants per sect, all under twenty. At eleven and already at Golden Core, she stands out on the posted list. Other disciples resent her rapid progress and assume she has powerful backing, especially after hearing that the Hall of Samsara’s Sect Master personally requested her participation. Rumors spread that she is his illegitimate daughter, that he is courting Immortal Ziyang, or that the Fifth Elder arranged the favor. Li Zi rejects the insulting gossip and otherwise pays little attention to it.
• Plans against the Devil Race: The Fourth Elder brings Li Zi to a remote meeting of sect leaders, who are coordinating with mortal rulers to find the Devil Race after its demonic aura disappears. With the enemy’s hiding methods making them difficult to locate, the leaders settle on a dangerous plan. The Fifth Elder warns Li Zi to use her hairpin to alert a Sect Master or senior disciple if she detects the Devil Race. The Fourth Elder also tells her not to kill the Demon Prince’s Soul if it awakens. Li Zi promises to protect herself, though she privately considers destroying Si Le’s soul.
• Si Le awakens: That night, while Li Zi nods off over a storybook, the hairpin rises and releases a translucent soul: a strikingly beautiful man whose eyes are clear but confused. He recognizes Li Zi—“It was you…”—and she immediately fears he remembers her earlier attacks and plans to retaliate, preparing to draw her sword if he accuses her.
  Character developments and interactions: Li Zi’s confidence and bluntness show in her sharp response to the jealous disciple, while her impatience, irreverence, and tendency to doze through serious matters remain unchanged. The Fifth Elder and Fourth Elder act protectively, giving her practical warnings rather than assuming she can handle the danger alone. Li Zi and the newly awakened Si Le face an uneasy reunion: he seems to recognize her, and she expects their past violence to become a source of conflict.
  Themes: The chapter contrasts merit with perceived favoritism, as Li Zi’s genuine talent is dismissed as the result of connections. It also highlights the gap between lighthearted personal concerns and looming danger, along with the uncertainty and mistrust surrounding the hidden Devil Race and Si Le’s awakening.

Key plot points and events

• Li Zi asks the newly awakened Si Le whether she saved him. He assumes she did, though Ran Zirou’s blood was what awakened him.
• Si Le asks for food, but Li Zi uses a soul-subduing treasure to knock him unconscious and send him back into the hairpin.
• Li Zi resumes cultivating and approaches the Ninth Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Ran Zirou returns to the Spirit Sword Sect, learns that the elders are away investigating uninhabited lands and that the Sect Competition is approaching, then goes to Li Zi’s cave to reclaim the hairpin.
• As Li Zi nears a breakthrough, the hairpin suddenly moves by itself, leaving the immediate cause unresolved.

Character developments

• Li Zi remains wary of Si Le and prioritizes her cultivation over dealing with Ran Zirou.
• Si Le appears fragile but is also imperious and manipulative; his mistaken belief that Li Zi is his savior gives him a new attachment to her.
• Ran Zirou reflects on her past relationship with Si Le. Though she once loved him, she now recognizes that his possessiveness became controlling and abusive as his strength returned.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Si Le’s vulnerable appearance masks a domineering nature.
• Memory and mistaken identity: Si Le credits Li Zi with saving him despite Ran Zirou being the one whose blood awakened him.
• Love, dependence, and control: Ran Zirou distinguishes her former affection for Si Le from the coercion that followed.
• Cultivation amid conflict: Li Zi’s breakthrough is interrupted just as Ran Zirou and the hairpin return to the scene.

Character interactions

• Li Zi bluntly manages Si Le’s requests, then knocks him out when he asks her to approach.
• The System explains Si Le’s mistaken assumption and encourages Li Zi to accept the convenient misunderstanding.
• Ran Zirou questions Sect disciples, conceals her history, and gathers information about Li Zi before heading to her cave.

Plot points and events

• Li Zi gathers spiritual energy to break through to the Ninth Foundation Establishment Realm. Aware that disturbing her could cause Qi Deviation, Si Le’s soul guards the entrance to her cave.
• Ran Zirou storms into the courtyard and recognizes Si Le. He says he remembers her, but accuses her of trying to kill him after awakening him with her blood.
• Ran claims that she and Si Le were husband and wife in a previous life. Si Le rejects this, saying they do not know each other.
• Li Zi’s breakthrough releases a shock wave that weakens Si Le’s soul and knocks Ran Zirou down, leaving her coughing blood. Li Zi emerges successfully at the Ninth Realm.
• Si Le warns Li Zi that Ran has wicked intentions. Li Zi gives him Spirit Fruits to help him recover.
• Ran insists that Li Zi stole the Hairpin and tried to kill Si Le. Prompted by the system, Li Zi pretends not to know him and asks how Ran recognizes him.

Character developments and interactions

• Si Le is protective of Li Zi, yet wary and hostile toward Ran, whom he remembers as someone who tried to kill him. His apparent memory of her conflicts with his claim that he cannot recall his own identity or former life.
• Ran Zirou is overwhelmed by seeing Si Le again and tries to restore their former bond, but his rejection and Li Zi’s denials leave her confused and increasingly distraught.
• Li Zi reaches a new cultivation realm and carefully conceals what she knows about Si Le, presenting herself as innocent and confused. She remains concerned for his survival.
• The system urges Li Zi to act as though Si Le is a stranger, reinforcing her deliberate deception of Ran.

Significant themes

• Unreliable memory and identity: Si Le’s statements about remembering Ran clash with his denial of knowing her or recalling his past.
• Jealousy and competing claims: Ran and Li Zi appear to vie over Si Le and the Hairpin, each offering a different account of events.
• Trust and deception: Si Le distrusts Ran, while Li Zi hides her knowledge to protect herself and maintain her cover.
• Cultivation and vulnerability: Li Zi’s breakthrough empowers her, but its force nearly destroys Si Le’s fragile soul and injures Ran.

Key plot points and events

• Si Le asks Li Zi to give him a personal name. She jokingly calls him “Goudan,” and his pleased expression vanishes.
• Li Zi binds Ran Zirou and takes her back to Reflection Cliff to keep her from causing trouble. She has no intention of killing her, partly out of consideration for Ran Zirou’s parents and her own godmother.
• Li Zi receives Datura Spirit Grass and a letter from the Fifth Elder urging her to strengthen her cultivation before the Sect Competition. She begins seclusion to consolidate her recent breakthrough.
• Unaware that the grass needs to be processed and combined with gentler herbs, Li Zi absorbs it directly. The medicine causes excruciating heat and pain, followed by intense itching.
• Fu Chaoqing arrives to help prepare the grass and finds Li Zi suffering through its effects. He realizes she took it raw, but stays outside to guard her.
• That night, Si Le—his soul strengthened after eating the Glazed Fruit—uses a hairpin to sneak away. He plans to question Ran Zirou about how she obtained his Dual Cultivation Method.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi is increasingly powerful and practical: she restrains Ran Zirou rather than killing her, then focuses on stabilizing her cultivation. Her playful teasing of Si Le contrasts with her serious concern for the Sect Competition.
• Fu Chaoqing shows care and responsibility by rushing to Li Zi’s aid and keeping watch, even after realizing she made a painful mistake.
• Si Le regains enough strength to act independently and becomes suspicious of Ran Zirou’s possession of his technique. His attempt to sneak out also gives him a mischievous, secretive edge.
• The System monitors events and mocks both Li Zi’s unintentional ordeal and Si Le’s escape, while Li Zi reacts with frustration and amusement.

Significant themes

• Care despite conflict: Li Zi restrains Ran Zirou and protects her from harm, even though Ran has caused trouble.
• Growth and preparation: The approaching Sect Competition motivates Li Zi to endure hardship and improve her cultivation.
• Mystery and altered fate: Ran Zirou has Si Le’s Dual Cultivation Method despite never having met him in this timeline. Li Zi recalls that Si Le had amnesia when they met in the original story, suggesting a key discrepancy in the current events.

Key plot points and events

• Li Zi realizes Si Le’s memory loss is probably an act: although he claimed to have forgotten his own name, he remembers his Dual Cultivation Method. The system confirms her suspicion.
• Fu Chaoqing watches from outside while Li Zi absorbs medicine, ready to intervene if her cultivation is disrupted.
• At Reflection Cliff, Ran Zirou frees herself and encounters Si Le’s soul. He recognizes that she is cultivating Ten Thousand Bones Wither, a method he developed, and demands to know where she learned it.
• Si Le suspects Ran Zirou may be connected to people who know the method. When she cannot explain herself, he uses his remaining soul power to lift her by the throat. Fu Chaoqing recognizes that Si Le is bluffing with limited strength, but Ran Zirou—remembering Si Le’s power from her past life—is frightened.
• Ran Zirou names Ji Gui. Si Le recognizes him as an old friend and concludes that Ran Zirou may have been sent by him, though he doubts she is the capable servant he expected.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi grows more wary of Si Le after spotting inconsistencies in his supposed amnesia.
• Fu Chaoqing quietly protects Li Zi and observes Si Le’s behavior, understanding the limits of his soul’s power.
• Ran Zirou shifts from mockery to fear when Si Le confronts and overpowers her. She uses knowledge from her previous life to answer him, but must endure the humiliation of being treated as a possible servant.
• Si Le appears cold and calculating. His former love and obsession with Ran Zirou are gone; he regards her as a stranger and interrogates her about the method and her allegiance.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden motives: Si Le’s amnesia appears false, while Ran Zirou conceals what she knows.
• Power and vulnerability: Si Le’s actual strength is limited, yet his reputation and Ran Zirou’s memories make his threat effective.
• Changed relationships across lives: Ran Zirou expects the Si Le she knew, but faces someone emotionally detached and unfamiliar.

Key plot points and events

• Si Le tells Ran Zirou that her constitution is unsuited to cultivating Ten Thousand Bones Wither and that the method has likely damaged her foundation. This contradicts what he told her in her previous life.
• Ran suspects the difference may be connected to Li Zi’s Myriad Flower Divine Bone and challenges Si Le about his attachment to Li Zi. Si Le rebukes her, calls her jealous, and orders her—as his servant—to prepare a body so he can fulfill his mission.
• Fu Chaoqing witnesses the exchange and realizes Si Le plans to cooperate with the Devil Race in an attack from both inside and outside. He decides Si Le must be stopped and heads back to warn the sect leadership.
• Near Li Zi’s cave, Fu hears Li Zi and her system teasingly replay Si Le’s dismissive remarks. He then returns to write to the Sect Masters and elders.
• After medicine takes effect, Li Zi feels dramatically stronger. Her Divine Bone shines more brightly, now with a golden light among its colors, and nine acupoint whirlpools absorb spiritual energy as she cultivates.
• Two days later, Li Zi has stabilized at the Ninth Foundation Establishment Realm. In half a month, she is due to attend the Sect Competition with nine other young sect members, led by Yu Lin and Fu Chaoqing.

Character developments and interactions

• Ran Zirou is shaken by the revelation about her damaged foundation and by Si Le’s apparent preference for Li Zi. Her composure breaks as she questions whether his feelings for her in her previous life were genuine.
• Si Le treats Ran with contempt, insists Li Zi is exceptional, and frames his interest in her as gratitude for awakening him—not romance. His plans to obtain a body and work with the Devil Race reveal a continuing threat.
• Li Zi gains a major cultivation boost and becomes much stronger, though her small, eleven-year-old appearance makes her seem out of place among the older competition team.
• Fu Chaoqing shifts from observing Si Le’s conflict with Ran to taking action against the danger he poses, while privately struggling not to laugh at the exchange he overhears.

Significant themes

• Rebirth and changed circumstances: Ran’s experience in her previous life no longer matches the present, raising questions about what has altered.
• Jealousy, attachment, and self-worth: Ran confronts the painful contrast between her past relationship with Si Le and his current devotion to Li Zi.
• Power and transformation: Li Zi’s renewed Divine Bone and rapid cultivation show her potential growing markedly.
• Hidden danger amid personal drama: Si Le’s disdainful personal exchanges occur alongside a covert plan that threatens the sect.

• The sects gather at the Mountain Gate: Li Zi’s group arrives at the Hall of Samsara and finds an unusually large number of elders and powerful figures assembled for the Sect Competition. The Thunder God Hall has even sent a Void Refining Stage Ancestor, while the Five Elements Sect’s five Void Refining elders are present together. Their combined power is said to rival a Mahayana cultivator.
• The Heavenly Sound Temple makes an impression: Its imposing warrior monks arrive in gleaming gold, their presence radiating Buddhist power. Li Zi asks whether the Spirit Sword Sect has any comparable treasures to protect it. The Second Elder says no, prompting her to privately judge the Sect as lacking anything impressive.
• The Spirit Sword Sect’s sacrifice is recalled: The Second and Third Elders defend their Sect, explaining that its sword cultivators took the most dangerous positions in the previous war against the Devil Race. The Sect lost heavily, despite once having seven Mahayana powerhouses. The system bluntly observes that the Spirit Sword Sect sent all its strongest cultivators into battle, while the Five Elements Sect preserved its own trump cards by withdrawing. The elders—and the Five Elements elders—are embarrassed by the remark.
• The Lineages arrive: A giant Roc appears, then dissolves into light, revealing members of the Pu and Jin Clans, along with apparent representatives of the Hu and Li Clans. Their young members are all exceptionally powerful—above Golden Core, with one at the fifth rank—and openly look down on the sect disciples. The Sect disciples resent the display but avoid confrontation because relations with the Lineages remain fragile.
• Character developments and interactions: Meng Ning has advanced to the Ninth Foundation Establishment Realm since Li Zi last saw her. Li Zi remains irreverent, criticizing her Sect’s lack of protective treasures and calling out the Lineage youths’ arrogance. The Second and Third Elders respond defensively, while the system’s candid commentary exposes the differences between the Spirit Sword Sect’s self-sacrificing ideals and other groups’ caution.
• Significant themes: The chapter contrasts self-sacrifice with strategic self-preservation, highlights the uneven distribution of power among sects and Lineages, and shows how pride and resentment threaten cooperation before the coming war against the Devil Race.

Key plot points and events

• As sect masters greet the four ancient lineages, Li Zi and the System privately joke that the lineages need to marry outside their own families to bring in “fresh blood.” They suggest potential matches, including Zhu Lu with Pu Yunsheng and Zuo Qingqing with the golden-haired Jin Clan member. Zuo Qingqing spots him and clearly approves.
• The group enters the normally secluded Hall of Samsara. Its concealed entrance gives way to an enormous, ornate palace, impressing both sect disciples and lineage members. Li Zi remarks that the Spirit Sword Sect looks shabby by comparison.
• A mysterious, husky male voice speaks directly into the powerhouses’ minds, offering to build Li Zi a similar residence. Fu Chaoqing recognizes the voice as the Demon Prince Si Le.
• Li Zi dismisses Si Le and insults his syrupy manner. The System reveals it has blocked Si Le’s soul-communication, letting Li Zi complain freely. Her remarks leave those listening astonished and amused.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi is outspoken and irreverent, turning matchmaking into a source of enthusiasm and treating the feared Demon Prince with casual disdain.
• Zuo Qingqing responds eagerly to Li Zi’s recommendation, showing interest in the Jin Clan’s golden-haired young man.
• Si Le reveals a surprisingly flirtatious, affectionate side, calling Li Zi “Zi’er” and offering to build her a palace—very different from his fearsome reputation.
• The System manages the soul-communication and teases Li Zi, while Fu Chaoqing identifies Si Le for the assembled powerhouses. The Fifth Elder is left baffled by the strange voice.

Significant themes

• Reputation versus reality: The dreaded Demon Prince’s intimate, awkwardly sweet behavior clashes with his terrifying legend.
• Thoughts and private feelings exposed: Mind-to-mind communication turns private commentary into a source of embarrassment, comedy, and new insight.
• Connection beyond tradition: The matchmaking discussion frames inter-lineage relationships as a way to prevent close-kin marriages and strengthen ties between groups.

Key plot points and events

• The Sect competition moves to the top of a towering arena, where the disciples and sect leaders gather.
• Li Zi is still forced to hear Si Le’s voice through the Hairpin. Their exchange is flirtatious and irritating to her; the System admits it never blocked him because it wanted to listen to the “excitement.”
• The System reports that Ran Zirou has located remnants of the Devil Race by following memories from her previous life and using insignias associated with Si Le. The Sect leaders, who have searched unsuccessfully, grow alarmed and order their people to strengthen security.
• The competition’s first round is announced: one-on-one matches, with losers eliminated. More than two hundred young Golden Core cultivators draw lots. Li Zi draws Guan Yan of the Bright Light Church.
• The opening match features a Flame Hall disciple against a mysterious, fully covered contestant from the Ghost Shadow Sect. The chapter introduces the Sect’s secretive reputation and its unusual, supernatural origins.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi remains wary of Si Le’s attention and frustrated by the System’s failure to silence him. She is also curious about the competition and the gossip surrounding the Bright Light Church.
• Si Le continues teasing Li Zi, shifting from a possessive outburst about the System to a gentle, indulgent tone that only makes her more uncomfortable.
• The System provides intelligence about Ran Zirou and the Devil Race, but admits its own curiosity took priority over helping Li Zi.
• The Sect leaders and experts move from curiosity about the arena to heightened vigilance when they hear Ran Zirou has found Devil Race remnants.
• Ran Zirou, though absent, emerges as a significant figure: she appears devoted to serving Si Le and unusually capable of locating his former allies.

Significant themes

• Hidden threats and unequal knowledge: Ran Zirou’s ability to find Devil Race remnants suggests that past-life memories and connections give her access others lack.
• Trust and protection: The Sects prepare defensively, while the System warns Li Zi to avoid being alone.
• Comedy amid tension: Si Le’s flirtation and the System’s nosiness undercut the serious political and security concerns.
• Mystery and the supernatural: The Ghost Shadow Sect’s secrecy and ghostly origin add a new, uncanny element to the competition.

• The Ghost Shadow Sect’s reputation: The chapter recalls the sect’s unusual practice of accepting all kinds of outcasts, rather than choosing disciples for conventional cultivation talent. Its members are reputed to be formidable and unpredictable. A story about a half-bodied ghost infant—once dismissed as a rumor—adds to the sect’s eerie mystique.
• The match: A fully robed Ghost Shadow Sect disciple faces a Flame Hall disciple. He offers his opponent the chance to surrender, but the Flame Hall fighter insists on battling and summons a flaming crimson sword. Unable to sense the stranger’s cultivation, he grows nervous.
• A startling display: The robed fighter moves behind his opponent almost instantly, leaves a handprint on his shoulder, and returns to his starting position without being detected. The Flame Hall disciple realizes he was spared a potentially fatal blow and admits defeat. The watching sect leaders praise the movement technique, while Li Zi marvels that it surpasses her own.
• The reveal: The system identifies the mysterious fighter as Niu Da, the Ghost Shadow Sect’s youngest disciple. He was born into a farming family with no cultivation talent; ten years earlier, the sect’s Grand Elder took him as a direct disciple because he was an excellent cook. The chapter ends before explaining how he became so powerful.
• Character interactions and tone: Li Zi watches eagerly, and the system repeatedly laughs, provoking curiosity—and irritation—from her and the powerful spectators. The sect leaders speculate that the fighter must be hiding his cultivation with a magical artifact, showing that even they cannot explain his abilities.
• Themes: The scene challenges conventional ideas about who can become powerful, emphasizes the Ghost Shadow Sect’s eccentricity and mystery, and uses the contrast between Niu Da’s ordinary origins and extraordinary skill for comic effect.

Plot points and events

• Niu Da, a hooded Ghost Shadow Sect competitor, faces Meng Xiongchao of Flame Hall. His intimidating manner makes the spectators think he must be a powerful cultivator.
• Li Zi asks the System to verify Niu Da’s strength. It confirms that he is an ordinary Mortal with no cultivation, admitted to the sect because he can cook.
• Despite being urged to surrender, Meng chooses to fight. Niu Da tries to discourage him by claiming Ghost Shadow Sect techniques are lethal and that an injury could make him miss the rest of the tournament.
• Meng ignores the warnings, tackles Niu Da, and pins him until he surrenders. He then removes Niu Da’s hood, exposing his entirely ordinary appearance.
• Niu Da leaves the platform, and the System jokes that he is returning to warn fellow sect members that bluffing will not get them through their matches.

Character developments and interactions

• Niu Da begins as a convincing, arrogant-seeming “mysterious master,” but his act collapses when Meng attacks. His fear and clumsy retreat reveal that his confidence was only a bluff.
• Meng Xiongchao is initially hesitant to risk an embarrassing loss, but Li Zi’s encouragement helps him commit to the fight. He proves determined and unfooled by Niu Da’s excuses.
• Li Zi is amused by the deception and cheers Meng on, while the System repeatedly punctures Niu Da’s performance with sarcastic commentary.
• The sect leaders debate Niu Da’s apparent power and criticize or defend Ghost Shadow Sect’s unconventional ways. Their mistaken assumptions heighten the reveal.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Niu Da’s imposing costume and manner conceal his lack of skill.
• Bluffing and courage: Niu Da relies on intimidation and persuasion, while Meng chooses to face him directly.
• Comedy through dramatic irony: The audience knows Niu Da is a Mortal even as the spectators mistake him for a formidable expert.

Chapter Summary

• Key events: As a tournament match begins, Li Zi learns from the System that the mysterious Ghost Shadow Sect is a loose, unconventional group of about a hundred people. Its members have unusual conditions or abilities—such as poisonous blood, wings, animal-like transformations, or partly invisible bodies—and meet only once a year, while living ordinary lives under other identities. Some are even hidden among other sects. A few such disciples, afraid that their origins will be exposed, quietly try to leave.
• Character developments: Li Zi initially finds the sect’s members strange, but quickly reframes their differences as potential strengths. She points out that their abilities could be invaluable in combat, especially against the Devil Race, and says she would be glad to befriend them. Her perspective prompts other cultivators to reconsider their assumptions.
• Character interactions: The other disciples first wonder whether people around them may secretly belong to the Ghost Shadow Sect. They then warmly stop several uneasy members from leaving, offering friendship and practical support. Wei Cong, one of those held back, catches Li Zi’s eye and silently expresses gratitude.
• Significant themes: The chapter emphasizes belonging and mutual support among people rejected for being different. It also shows how a change in perspective can turn perceived weaknesses into strengths, and how acceptance can give isolated people a place among others.

Plot points and events

• Li Zi watches a match between a Demon-Refining Sect disciple and a Spirit Beast Sect disciple. Their heated accusations sound romantic, but the system explains that they had agreed to breed their spirit beasts—and one beast mated with someone else’s first.
• Li Zi faces a Foundation Establishment assassin from the Hall of Samsara. Before they fight, the system warns her that Ran Zirou and a Devil Race member have arrived: the Devil wants Li Zi dead, while Ran intends to capture her and steal her Divine Bone.
• Li Zi considers conceding to avoid being injured, but her opponent unexpectedly concedes first. Li Zi wins without fighting, and the Hall of Samsara’s Sect Master approves.
• Meanwhile, Ran Zirou enters the venue disguised in Spirit Sword Sect robes and heads toward the medicine room, planning to drug Li Zi after she is hurt and take her away. A sinister, weakened Devil Race member accompanies her and urges her to kill Li Zi. Ran instead wants to abduct and torment Li Zi to obtain what she desires.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi remains observant and wary, using the system’s warning to recognize the danger surrounding her. Her easy victory surprises her, given the Hall of Samsara’s reputation for ruthless competition.
• Ran Zirou reveals that she is willing to deceive others and exploit the competition’s aftermath to capture Li Zi. She lies about Li Zi’s treatment of the Devil’s “Her Highness,” presenting herself as respectful while pursuing her own goal.
• The Devil Race member is weak but confident in its ability to deal with Li Zi, and presses Ran to kill her.
• The Hall of Samsara opponent breaks expectations by conceding immediately, while the sect’s leader welcomes the outcome.
• The system informs Li Zi of the threat, prompting powerful cultivators from the gathered sects to intervene as Ran arrives.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and comic innuendo: The spirit-beast dispute sounds like a lovers’ quarrel until its mundane cause is revealed.
• Hidden danger beneath public spectacle: The competition continues while an abduction plot unfolds nearby.
• Deception and conflicting motives: Ran’s stated concern for “Her Highness” masks her plan to seize Li Zi.
• Subverted expectations: The feared assassin yields without a fight, turning Li Zi’s anticipated danger into an effortless win.

Plot and events

• Ran Zirou learns that Si Le’s four Ancient Fiend guardians are recovering their strength as the Demon Prince grows stronger. They are searching for materials to restore him to a physical body.
• Wanting the Myriad Flower Divine Bone, Ran Zirou agrees to help the fiends in exchange for their assistance. Cultivators secretly listening are appalled by her betrayal and decide to wait for the Demon Prince’s allies to reveal themselves.
• Li Zi’s system reports that the four guardians are not human: they are strange creatures connected to the Demon Prince’s bloodline. The guardian accompanying Ran Zirou is a green caterpillar concealed on her.
• Si Le claims he feels weak and asks Ran Zirou to take him to a pharmacy, apparently hoping to meet one of his men. Li Zi instead feeds him medicinal energy through his hairpin. Because the medicine is harmful to demons, it causes him severe pain; she gives him another dose, and he passes out.

Character developments and interactions

• Ran Zirou openly prioritizes her desire for the divine bone over loyalty to the Cultivation World, confirming her willingness to work with the Devil Race.
• The cultivators and elders move from suspicion to certainty that a threat is growing. Their anger at Ran Zirou is tempered by the need to uncover the fiends’ plans.
• Li Zi remains irreverent and deliberately foils Si Le’s attempt to leave, using medicine to incapacitate him.
• Si Le tries to manipulate Ran Zirou through a show of weakness, but Li Zi’s intervention exposes how vulnerable he is to potent spiritual medicine.
• Ran Zirou and the guardian negotiate a bargain; Li Zi and Si Le have a comic, adversarial exchange, while the watching cultivators struggle to conceal their reactions.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and self-interest: Ran Zirou’s bargain contrasts with the sacrifices made by cultivators in past wars.
• Hidden threats and deception: The guardians’ nonhuman forms explain how they evaded detection, while Si Le disguises his intentions as illness.
• Power and vulnerability: The guardians’ strength is tied to the Demon Prince, yet Si Le himself can be incapacitated by medicine.
• Humor amid danger: Li Zi’s casual treatment of a grave demonic threat provides comic relief.

Plot points

• Li Zi monitors Ran Zirou, who is hiding in the pharmacy and waiting for a chance to subdue her. The system warns that Ran Zirou plans to act if Li Zi gets hurt.
• Li Zi expects to lose her next match to a Medicine King Sect prodigy, and she and the system look forward to exploring the Hall of Samsara afterward. But the prodigy deliberately collapses to avoid fighting her, apparently to keep her safe and prevent her from roaming freely. Li Zi advances again without competing.
• Si Le wakes and tries to slip away inside the Hairpin to get some air. A senior brother spots him and returns the Hairpin to Li Zi.
• Li Zi openly tells the elders that a handsome, amnesiac man’s soul is inside the Hairpin and asks permission to take him outside. Her casual candor alarms the elders and terrifies Si Le, who fears the powerful cultivators will recognize him as the Demon Prince.
• In the pharmacy, Ran Zirou’s caterpillar senses Si Le calling for help and warns her that the Cultivation World may have discovered him.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi remains carefree and unexpectedly trusting: she is more interested in exploring than competing, and she treats Si Le’s secret with disarming openness.
• Si Le grows increasingly suspicious of Li Zi, wondering whether she intends to expose or kill him despite having saved his life.
• The elders are taken aback by Li Zi’s blunt disclosure; the Fifth Elder is especially embarrassed, while the Great Elder initially agrees before realizing what she has revealed.
• Ran Zirou and her caterpillar remain poised to intervene, with the creature’s warning heightening the danger around Si Le.

Themes

• Comic irony and misunderstandings: Li Zi’s innocent, straightforward behavior looks threatening to Si Le and shocking to the elders.
• Secrecy versus trust: Si Le needs to hide his identity, while Li Zi treats his secret as no cause for concern.
• Manipulation and protection: The staged forfeiture suggests others are quietly controlling events to keep Li Zi safe—or contained—while Ran Zirou waits for her own opportunity.

Plot points

• Ran Zirou loses her composure and wants to seize Li Zi’s hairpin, but the Green Insect dismisses her as useless and summons the other guardians.
• Li Zi deliberately takes Si Le outside, using concern and the promise of another medicinal pill to keep him talking while the System alerts her to hidden experts waiting nearby.
• Si Le’s four guardians are gathering to rescue him. Through the System, Li Zi and the surrounding experts overhear their plan: restore Si Le in a prepared body, open the way for the Devil Race, and launch an invasion of the Cultivation World.
• Si Le tells his guardian not to kill Li Zi, revealing that he has developed unusual, possessive feelings toward her. The hidden experts prepare for the arriving guardians.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi appears gentle and caring to Si Le, but is strategically manipulating him to draw out information and buy time. She remains unaware of the full extent of the danger around her.
• Si Le begins to trust Li Zi’s apparent kindness, despite the harm her medicinal pills have caused him. His suspicion gives way to warmth and a desire to protect—or claim—her.
• Ran Zirou is humiliated by the Green Insect’s insult, which contrasts sharply with the respect she remembers receiving in her previous life.
• The Green Insect and Si Le communicate about the rescue and invasion plot, while Li Zi’s System relays their words to the gathered experts.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden motives: Li Zi’s innocent manner conceals her tactical purpose, while the guardians’ long-hidden conspiracy threatens the Cultivation World.
• Trust and manipulation: Si Le mistakes Li Zi’s calculated concern for genuine kindness and grows emotionally attached to her.
• Past status versus present reality: Ran Zirou’s remembered authority clashes with her current powerlessness.