Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Jun Ruofeng leaves after confirming Ye Chuqi will attend the Beast Tide in Monte City, hinting that he expects something noteworthy to happen. Ye Shiyi refuses to go with him and insists on staying with Ye Chuqi.
• The investigation is effectively complete: Ye Chuqi’s team was meant to gather information and check the Town Office’s report, not fight. Cooperation with Herman’s group has broken down, since neither side shared its findings.
• The suspected Sea Demon remains unconfirmed, and the Sea Serpents’ arrival through the underground river is still unexplained. Ye Chuqi suspects the Sea Demon story may be a deliberate distraction.
• San San notices that Xiao Bu and the Griffins smell unusual. A conversation between Big Black Fish and the creatures reveals that they encountered and ate Sea Serpents near an inland water source. The Sea Beasts use tunnels linking rivers to the underground river and appear to be settling in the Freshwater River.
• To make the return journey more manageable, the others offer the Griffins treasures from Mussel Bay, hoping to win their goodwill.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains confident and protective, telling Jun Ruofeng that Bai Fenghua can ask her for help if needed. She also reassures Ye Shiyi through her affection, though his clinginess shows he still fears being abandoned.
• Ye Shiyi is openly devoted to Ye Chuqi and hostile toward Jun Ruofeng, but delighted by Xiao Bu. Xiao Bu, usually bold with Ye Chuqi, is so cautious around the boy that it freezes rather than risk hurting him.
• San San helps identify the connection between the Griffins’ strange smell and the Sea Beasts, while Big Black Fish reluctantly serves as interpreter.
• The Griffins are shown to be formidable hunters and enthusiastic fish-eaters; the group treats them with a mix of amusement and wary diplomacy.

Significant themes

• Family and attachment: Ye Shiyi’s dependence on Ye Chuqi, and Xiao Bu’s unusual gentleness with him, emphasize bonds built through care.
• Cooperation and distrust: The failed information-sharing with Herman contrasts with the teamwork required to understand the Sea Beasts.
• Hidden danger beneath the ordinary: The inland rivers may no longer be safe, as Sea Beasts are spreading through underground waterways.
• Humor amid uncertainty: The Griffins’ messy appearance, Big Black Fish’s awkward errand, and the treasure-bribing plan provide comic relief while the larger threat remains unresolved.

Chapter summary

• Key events: Cyril remains concerned that Mussel Bay’s Town Chief may be involved in the town’s problems, but Ye Chuqi says their assignment was to gather clues, not reach a verdict. She suspects the Town Chief cannot be entirely uninvolved, though she lacks enough information to judge his role.
• The group returns to the Imperial Capital safely on the Griffins, who fly faster and shield their passengers from the wind—confirming they had been teasing them on the way out.
• At the Royal Griffin Legion’s base, the soldiers joyfully reunite with their runaway Griffins, though the animals greet them with disdainful swats. Ye Chuqi briefly meets the gaze of Jelous, the Legion’s commander and the Empire’s Third Prince.
• Akes offers Ye Chuqi time to talk with Jelous, but Ye Chuqi declines, saying there is nothing to discuss. She expects their future contact will likely be about ending their engagement. Jelous watches her leave, stung by her rejection, and tells Vice Commander Harry not to comment.
• As the others depart, Cyril stops at the moat, apparently considering a possible connection between it and the underground river Ye Chuqi discovered.

Character development and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains cautious about drawing conclusions and emotionally distant from Jelous. She sees their engagement as an unwanted obligation rather than a relationship.
• Jelous appears less imposing to Ye Chuqi than when they first met, but her blunt rejection unsettles him. He recognizes that her dislike may be shaped by the engagement and her father Ye Qinglan’s hostility toward him.
• Akes notices the significance of Ye Chuqi and Jelous’s exchange and tries to give them an opportunity to talk.
• Harry is curious about the pair and senses an unusual tension between them, though he wisely keeps his thoughts to himself.
• Cyril’s pause at the moat hints that he may have noticed a meaningful link between the waterway and the investigation.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and incomplete evidence: Ye Chuqi distinguishes suspicion from proof in assessing the Town Chief.
• Freedom versus obligation: Her resistance to a politically or religiously sanctioned engagement reflects her desire to decide her own future.
• Misread signals and strained relationships: Jelous and Ye Chuqi interpret their engagement and each other very differently, while onlookers speculate about hidden feelings.
• Homecoming and attachment: The Griffins’ return brings both comic disorder and genuine relief to their waiting handlers.

Plot and events

• Cyril explains that Duke Hubert is widely suspected of being behind the Noble Blood Vial practice. It began with young women who reportedly volunteered for payment, but over time the nobles’ blood-taking became cruel and secretive. Repeated imperial bans failed because powerful families obstructed them.
• The Empire now appears willing to use the scandal to weaken the old nobility. Ye Chuqi wonders whether the Second Prince is involved, but suspects he is more likely being used as a pawn.
• The group discusses the city’s water and defenses. Kailan clarifies that the moat and the palace and noble districts draw on flowing groundwater, unlike ordinary residents’ river water; Holly suggests consulting Kailan and Kagel, whose families work in city defense.
• Back in the Imperial Capital, Ye Chuqi tells Ye Qinglan about Mussel Bay and her suspicions. She leaves Ye Shiyi in his care. Ye Shiyi tries to win her sympathy, but she warns that Ye Qinglan’s strict training may keep him too occupied to see her.
• Ye Chuqi reports her findings to Bai Fenghua. He is impressed by how much she uncovered. When she asks why Duke Hubert remains powerful, Bai explains that removing one noble would not solve the problem: another powerful family would take his place. He also notes that the practice originally involved women who accepted payment, complicating its history.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows strong investigative instincts, connecting separate clues, while also wrestling with how entrenched injustice can survive. She is affectionate but teasing with Ye Shiyi.
• Cyril gives Ye Chuqi the background others have kept guarded, helping her understand the scandal’s political context.
• Ye Shiyi is clingy and playful, but his fear of Ye Qinglan’s discipline tempers his usual mischief.
• Ye Qinglan is established as a strict guardian and trainer, with considerable authority as the Ye Family’s heir.
• Bai Fenghua acts as a mentor, answering Ye Chuqi’s questions while offering a broader view of noble power and political consequences.

Significant themes

• Entrenched power and political compromise: Removing one culprit may not dismantle a system sustained by powerful families.
• Exploitation and moral ambiguity: The Blood Vial practice is abusive, yet its origins and participants’ circumstances are more complicated than a simple account suggests.
• Investigation and secrecy: Restricted records and guarded conversations leave Ye Chuqi piecing together the truth from scattered clues.
• Family care and discipline: Ye Chuqi’s affection for Ye Shiyi contrasts with Ye Qinglan’s firm approach to his upbringing.

Key plot points

• Ye Chuqi and Bai Fenghua discuss the Noble Blood Vial affair. Its perpetrators expanded their exploitation until they harmed innocent people; the case drew attention because it threatened other nobles’ interests. The dispute is becoming a struggle between the new nobles and the Old Nobility, and Bai promises to help move the investigation forward.
• Ye Chuqi reports that she and Big Black found no evidence of a Sea Demon near the coast. Since they searched even hidden underwater locations, she suspects there was no Sea Demon at all: a person may have driven the Sea Beasts to attack Mussel Bay.
• The chapter explains Beast-Taming Contracts and Mental Power. Contracts are inscribed using Mental Power, which is stored in the Sea of Consciousness; its limited capacity restricts how many Beast Companions someone can command. The culprit’s ability to direct so many Sea Beasts would therefore suggest extraordinary power.
• Bai reveals that Teacher Marcus has been found alive on the outskirts of the Far North after disappearing through a Spatial Vortex during an experiment. Big Black helped track him through a Spatial Rift.
• Bai considers rewarding Big Black with Spatial Bluestone, but Ye Chuqi points out that the stone sold at auction had originally come from Big Black himself. They agree to wait for a more suitable reward.
• Bai asks about Ye Chuqi’s classmates and their potential as connections. She jokes that his advice sounds like a suggestion to build a faction, not simply make friends.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows sharp investigative judgment, reasoning from the missing Sea Demon evidence toward human involvement. She also remains protective of Big Black’s interests and has a dry, teasing rapport with Bai.
• Bai Fenghua supports Ye Chuqi’s investigation, appreciates Big Black’s contributions, and takes an interest in her social life and future connections.
• Big Black is portrayed as capable and resourceful—he helped find Marcus—and as a devoted hoarder who would be upset if someone bought back his donated treasure.
• Marcus is confirmed safe, resolving the uncertainty surrounding his disappearance.

Significant themes

• Power and exploitation: the Noble Blood Vial affair shows how greed can escalate from taking advantage of vulnerable people to harming innocents.
• Political rivalry: investigations can become weapons in the contest between emerging nobles and the Old Nobility.
• Reasoning and hidden causes: the absence of evidence for a Sea Demon shifts suspicion toward human manipulation.
• Limits and exceptional ability: Mental Power both enables Beast Taming and constrains how many creatures a person can command.
• Friendship versus strategy: noble society treats relationships as potential alliances, while Ye Chuqi is wary of turning ordinary friendships into political recruitment.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi discusses building her own circle of companions, starting with Akes, whose spirit she hopes will not be crushed by family obligations. She also takes an interest in Cyril, an impoverished but capable alchemy student.
• She urges Bai Fenghua to support promising students at the Comprehensive Academy. Many struggle to afford the materials and practice needed to pass increasingly demanding assessments. Ye frames this as “talent investment” that could also build useful connections for the Bai Family.
• Bai Fenghua jokes that her advice echoes his own counsel about cultivating allies, while warning that involvement could provoke the Comprehensive Academy’s dean. Ye also congratulates him on becoming Dean of the Combat Academy and teases him about the previous dean’s reaction.
• Ye gives Bai Fenghua a mutated Red Sun Fruit. He recognizes its extraordinary value: the fruit could potentially produce a healing potion more powerful than the one that recently saved the Empire’s gravely injured War God.

Character developments

• Ye Chuqi shows strategic ambition alongside genuine concern for talented students with limited means. She is willing to use her resources and influence to help people she believes deserve a chance.
• Bai Fenghua is amused by Ye’s initiative and increasingly receptive to her influence. His reaction to the fruit reveals how rare and consequential her gift is.
• Akes and Cyril are established as people Ye hopes to support: Akes for her independent, spirited nature, and Cyril for his intelligence despite his poverty and social isolation.

Significant themes

• Building alliances: Companions and networks are presented as essential to a noble family’s strength.
• Opportunity and inequality: Students’ talent can be overshadowed by the cost of supplies and practical experience.
• Investment and reciprocity: Supporting capable people may benefit them directly while fostering future loyalty and connections.
• Healing and sacrifice: The War God’s survival came at great effort, but his injuries have ended his ability to return to battle.

Character interactions

• Ye and Bai trade playful, affectionate banter, including his teasing and ruffling her hair.
• Ye persuades Bai to look beyond the Combat Academy and consider supporting students in another department.
• Her gift shifts the conversation from joking to astonishment, as Bai realizes the fruit’s potential significance.

Key plot points and events

• Bai Fenghua considers giving Ye Chuqi’s unusually powerful Red Sun Fruit to someone important. Ye Chuqi warns him to keep its origin secret and points out that a sudden recovery would need explaining. Bai Fenghua is determined to deliver it personally and leave the explanation to the recipient.
• Ye Chuqi returns to intensive training and study. She trains classmates, helps correct their form, practices Fighting Spirit, and spends much of her time in the academy library. As word spreads that her advice improves strength and control, more students seek her guidance, and working on credit-earning tasks with her becomes so popular that people book her in advance.
• Her investigations into the Mussel Bay Sea Beasts and the Noble Blood Vial stall. The sea beasts disappear after the academy and noble families get involved, while research into the vial yields no breakthrough. After repeatedly encountering the Second and Third Princes at the royal library, Ye Chuqi stops visiting.
• As the three-yearly Beast Tide approaches Monte City, students and teachers prepare to go. The academy discourages Intermediate- and Junior-Class students from participating, while Advanced-Class students may take on limited hunting, collection, or research assignments.
• Bai Fenghua confirms that the Empire’s God of War has recovered and returned to the Beast Abyss Frontline. Ye Chuqi guesses that Bai gave him the Red Sun Fruit. The recipient later sends Ye Chuqi a Spatial Ring as thanks.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows sound judgment and discretion, warning Bai Fenghua about the risks of revealing the fruit and considering the consequences of its use.
• Bai Fenghua’s loyalty to the God of War drives his decision to share the fruit. His teasing exchange with Ye Chuqi also shows their affectionate, familiar relationship.
• Ye Chuqi becomes an increasingly respected mentor among her peers. At first, classmates resist her advice, but visible improvement convinces them to trust her.
• When Ye Chuqi asks why Bai Fenghua has no promising student to bring to the Beast Tide, he jokes that she is already someone to be proud of. She confidently agrees, and they laugh together.

Significant themes

• Trust and discretion: The fruit’s extraordinary value makes secrecy essential, and Ye Chuqi and Bai Fenghua consider the dangers of disclosure.
• Growth through discipline: Ye Chuqi’s sustained training and study—and her classmates’ willingness to follow her guidance—lead to meaningful improvement.
• Responsibility and loyalty: Bai Fenghua risks sharing a rare remedy to help the God of War, who returns to defend the Empire.
• Unresolved mysteries: The stalled investigations and the princes’ repeated appearances at the royal library leave questions hanging as the Beast Tide approaches.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi is stunned by the valuable high-grade ores and unpurified beast cores she has acquired. San San explains that the Black Iron Ore Vein will take time to adapt and become part of her space’s self-sustaining cycle. The prospect of acquiring even more resources worries Ye Chuqi, whose divine sense has only recently recovered.
• Bai Fenghua plans to bring Ye Chuqi to Monte City, and Akes joins her after Ye Chuqi reminds her of their plan to travel together. Cyril also comes along, eager for the Teleportation Array.
• The ten-person group from Mussel Bay reunites as part of Bai Fenghua’s team. Fermowen proposes naming them like a mercenary group; although his brother dismisses the idea, Ye Chuqi unexpectedly takes it seriously.
• Ye Chuqi begins imagining a future mercenary corps of like-minded companions, inspired by her dream of restoring Lush Mountain’s glory and helping sword cultivators thrive. Cyril, meanwhile, reconsiders whether Alchemists must remain in laboratories rather than support people in the field.
• At the Archmage Guild, Ye Chuqi encounters Ye Qinglan. He announces he will accompany her to Monte City, where the Beast Tide and crowds make him uneasy about her traveling without him. He has sent Ye Shiyi home first.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi increasingly thinks beyond immediate missions, considering how to build lasting connections and possibly form a mercenary corps. She also feels an unusual, almost instinctive awareness of Ye Qinglan’s presence.
• Cyril is working relentlessly, buying materials and experimenting with unfamiliar creations. Ye Chuqi’s advice has helped him make progress and broaden his ideas about an Alchemist’s role; Bai Fenghua quietly supports him by arranging suitable work.
• Akes initially hesitates to join the trip but agrees when Ye Chuqi reminds her of their promise.
• Bai Fenghua observes and encourages the young people, pleased by their camaraderie and interested in Cyril’s potential.
• Ye Qinglan shows his protectiveness by insisting on accompanying Ye Chuqi. His decision to send Ye Shiyi away is practical: otherwise, the boy might cause trouble trying to follow them.

Significant themes

• Found family and fellowship: The group’s lively reunion and Ye Chuqi’s mercenary-corp dream suggest a future built on shared growth and loyalty.
• Purpose and possibility: Cyril’s doubts about the limits of an Alchemist’s work echo Ye Chuqi’s ambition to create new paths for herself and others.
• Protection and independence: Ye Qinglan’s concern for Ye Chuqi contrasts with her growing desire to travel and build a life with companions.
• The costs of power and abundance: The valuable resources promise great potential, but developing them—and recovering Ye Chuqi’s strength—takes time.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi and her companions arrive safely in Monte City by teleportation. Because the Beast Tide is imminent, the group is expected to stay where others can keep watch and prevent Ye Chuqi from slipping away to Monte City alone.
• The students split up rather than stay at the Imperial Capital Academy’s city base. Ye Qinglan and Bai Fenghua disagree over which family residence to visit, but Ye Chuqi avoids choosing sides by laying out her own errands: the Adventurers’ Guild, Beast-Tamer Guild, and City Lord’s Residence.
• Ye Chuqi and Ye Qinglan explore the busy streets, sampling food. She playfully offers him sweets despite knowing he dislikes them; he eats them anyway because her amusement matters to him.
• At the Adventurers’ Guild and Beast-Tamer Guild, Ye Chuqi asks after Xiaojiu, who was supposed to meet her in Monte City. He has left no message and has not visited either guild, so she leaves word for him.
• At the City Lord’s Residence, the gate guard recognizes Ye Chuqi from her previous visit and welcomes her. Ye Qinglan reflects that she is becoming increasingly noticeable in her own right.
• The chapter introduces the Adventurers’ Camp as the first defensive line against the Beast Tide, where adventurer teams fight the many weaker beasts emerging from the Lost Forest.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi and Ye Qinglan: Their playful food-shopping scene shows their close, affectionate sibling bond. Ye Qinglan indulges her teasing because he enjoys seeing her act carefree and her age, rather than always behaving like a capable adult.
• Ye Chuqi: She is practical and independent, handling several errands while also showing concern for Xiaojiu. Her growing presence is noticed by others.
• Ye Qinglan: Though reserved, he is indulgent toward Ye Chuqi and quietly pleased by her growing confidence and visibility.
• The group: The awkward disagreement between Ye Qinglan and Bai Fenghua over lodging is resolved when Ye Chuqi makes plans that let the others depart without forcing a choice.
• Akes and Xiao Wu: Akes remembers Xiao Wu’s strength and feels too wary to laugh at the earlier mishap involving the Shadow Guard.

Significant themes

• Family affection and indulgence: Ye Qinglan’s willingness to endure food he dislikes reflects his care for Ye Chuqi.
• Growing independence and recognition: Ye Chuqi is becoming a figure in her own right, rather than being overlooked beside her brother.
• Community preparation and vigilance: The approaching Beast Tide shapes travel plans and highlights the organized defense system, from adventurer teams to the city’s other institutions.

Key plot points and events

• As Monte City’s Beast Tide approaches, the fighting follows established rules: forces of similar strength face each other, while powerful figures such as Bai Fenghua hold back to deter High-Rank Beasts or a catastrophic Demon Beast.
• Bai Fenghua recommends that Ye Chuqi and her academy friends gain experience at the Adventurers’ Camp, where they should face only Small and Low-Rank Magic Beasts and can retreat if necessary. She tells Ye Chuqi and Ye Qinglan not to dominate the fights.
• Xiaojiu arrives in Monte City after six months away, waiting outside the City Lord’s Residence until Ye Chuqi returns. The next day, he joins her group on its way to meet the Beast Tide.
• Old Barnard gives Ye Chuqi a supply of potions, revealing that his health and internal Formation have recovered enough to last another six months to a year.
• Xiaojiu leads the group to a more open campsite beside the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group’s camp, rather than the Imperial Capital Academy’s usual site.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi is trusted by Bai Fenghua to judge the danger and lead her friends into real combat. She jokes with Xiaojiu and playfully challenges him to show how he has improved.
• Xiaojiu has grown taller and tanner, and his bond with Ye Chuqi is clear. His fierce natural expression makes attempts at friendliness look intimidating; he explains that Captain Bone Wolf taught him to smile, though he cannot beat the man.
• Ye Qinglan is known for his formidable, ferocious fighting style, so Bai Fenghua warns him not to take opportunities away from the students.
• Ye Chuqi’s classmates feel some jealousy when they realize Xiaojiu, as her junior disciple, holds a particularly important place in her life. Xiaojiu, meanwhile, recognizes that they share time with Ye Chuqi in a way Joshua no longer does.

Significant themes

• Rules and balance in warfare: Comparable opponents are expected to meet each other, preventing either side from using overwhelming force and inviting even greater retaliation.
• Growth through experience: The younger fighters are given a chance to face real danger, while stronger companions are asked to hold back.
• Belonging and changing relationships: Xiaojiu’s reunion with Ye Chuqi highlights the importance of their bond and the subtle jealousy of friends who see themselves as less close to her.
• Humor amid danger: The preparations for battle are lightened by teasing, especially around Xiaojiu’s intimidating “friendly” smile.

Chapter 210 Summary

• Key events: Xiaojiu finds a spacious place for the group to camp, where Starry can play; Little White is still asleep and recovering. Ye Chuqi returns the Tree Fern Eagle chick to Xiaojiu, explaining that it has grown stronger while in her care but will need careful, costly raising. Though Xiaojiu tries to persuade her to keep it, he accepts responsibility and names it Gungun. The chick soon settles on his head and becomes a source of amusement—and a way for him to bond with the others.
• Character developments: Xiaojiu shows both reluctance about the expense and a growing sense of responsibility toward the chick. His regular training and skill at cooking also earn the group’s respect. Gungun is affectionate with Ye Chuqi and Xiaojiu, but its cute appearance hides a fierce, protective temperament.
• Character interactions: Ye Chuqi firmly reminds Xiaojiu that the chick is his responsibility, while still helping by providing suitable food and advice. Gungun’s closeness to Xiaojiu helps him connect with the group, but it avoids Nora’s attempt to pet it and nearly pecks her. Ye Chuqi questions Xiaojiu’s chosen name; he tests whether the chick responds to her alternatives, but it does not.
• Themes: The chapter explores responsibility and the costs of caring for others, affection growing through daily care, and the contrast between appearances and nature: Gungun looks harmless but is a dangerous Demon Beast.

Plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi’s childish argument with Xiaojiu over naming Gungun turns into playful teasing, lifting the mood at camp.
• The Beast Tide arrives later than expected. Its first wave, made up of Small Magic Beasts, seems weak compared with the earlier rhinoceros charge.
• The adventurers use the first wave as a rare opportunity to earn resources and practice. Ye Chuqi stays back, joking that her strength would leave little for others; Xiaojiu stays beside her.
• After half a day of fighting, the adventurers clear the first wave and collect what materials they can before the next arrives.
• The second wave is more dangerous: mostly Low-Rank Magic Beasts, including scattered Second-Rank beasts and Third-Rank beasts lying in wait. Adventurers organize into coordinated teams, while Martial Grandmasters intercept the strongest enemies and break up the horde.
• Imperial Capital Academy students join the fight, but their lack of field experience makes them less efficient than the seasoned adventurers.
• The beasts charge toward Monte City with unnerving single-mindedness, revealing that the tide’s purpose is to overwhelm the city.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows a playful, youthful side while teasing Xiaojiu about Gungun’s name. Xiaojiu indulges her, answering each time she calls him.
• Xiaojiu’s habitual closeness to Ye Chuqi is emphasized: he remains beside her even when others rush into battle.
• Ye Chuqi’s confidence in her own strength is evident, though she recognizes that the first wave is also meant to give weaker fighters a chance.
• Cyril appears newly eager and focused on practicing, suggesting a change in his attitude or recent growth.
• The adventurers and academy students demonstrate teamwork, though the adventurers’ greater practical experience sets them apart.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and preparation: Fighters divide into roles and teams, relying on one another to survive.
• Experience versus ability: Strong academy students are less effective than seasoned adventurers because combat skill depends on practice as well as power.
• Opportunity and resourcefulness: The first wave offers weaker fighters a chance to train and everyone a chance to gather valuable materials.
• An ominous, organized threat: The beasts’ unwavering focus on Monte City suggests the tide is more than a random migration.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi and Xiaojiu observe the Beast Tide, a recurring danger that humans have learned to use for training and gathering resources, though the city walls still bear the marks of past sacrifices.
• Xiaojiu enters the battle while Gungun, perched on his head, eagerly hopes for Beast Cores. Ye Chuqi watches to assess Xiaojiu’s progress after six months of training.
• Xiaojiu has improved greatly in movement and strength and has awakened Fighting Spirit, which glows faintly around his punches. Ye Chuqi recognizes his talent.
• Ye Chuqi joins the fight, deliberately limiting herself to movement techniques and Fighting Spirit so she can better coordinate the two. Her abundant Spiritual Power keeps disrupting her Fighting Spirit, which remains weak.
• Despite that limitation, her technique and strength astonish onlookers when she sends a Second-Rank Magic Beast flying. Some praise her skill; others criticize her weak Fighting Spirit or lack of a companion.
• Ye Chuqi notices that people are distracted by discussing her, just as someone nearby is injured. She refocuses on the battle and keeps fighting, though her blunt Greatsword struggles to damage armored beasts.

Character developments

• Xiaojiu demonstrates substantial growth, including newly awakened Fighting Spirit and improved combat control. His potential impresses Ye Chuqi.
• Ye Chuqi shows confidence in her own talent while continuing to work through the difficulty of balancing Spiritual Power with Fighting Spirit. She proves highly capable even while holding herself back.
• Gungun is revealed as especially fond of Ye Chuqi’s Purified Beast Cores, which Xiaojiu knows he cannot provide without her help.

Character interactions

• Ye Chuqi teases Xiaojiu about joining the fight for Beast Cores, while he privately worries whether he can afford Gungun’s treats.
• San San reminds Ye Chuqi that her own talent is exceptional; she responds with humor before entering combat.
• Bystanders debate Ye Chuqi’s abilities, exposing a mix of admiration, skepticism, and envy. Their chatter contrasts with the immediate danger of the Beast Tide.

Significant themes

• Talent and perseverance: Xiaojiu’s rapid progress and Ye Chuqi’s own achievements highlight differing paths to strength.
• Control and balance: Ye Chuqi’s struggle to coordinate Spiritual Power and Fighting Spirit makes mastery more than a matter of raw power.
• Danger amid opportunity: The Beast Tide provides training and resources, but its numbers remain perilous.
• Appearance versus ability: Ye Chuqi’s slight build and weak visible Fighting Spirit lead others to underestimate her, despite her striking combat skill.

Plot and events

• Ye Chuqi struggles to balance the spiritual power and fighting spirit within her. She suppresses her unruly spiritual power long enough to channel fighting spirit into her greatsword, then lands a precise strike that pierces a low-rank beast’s skull.
• The effort nearly empties her fighting-spirit reserves, but she discovers they replenish quickly—and that using and recovering either power gradually improves its quantity and purity.
• San San questions why Ye Chuqi avoids using spiritual power. Ye Chuqi says she finds the coexistence of the two power systems intriguing, especially since they seem to have wills and rivalries of their own.
• The second wave of the beast tide ends at nightfall. The students are set to return to Monte City to join its defenses, but Ye Chuqi wants to stay near the Lost Forest.
• She tells Xiaojiu that the tide’s beasts seemed unusually uncommitted. While that might make the fighting easier, their restraint could mean a more intelligent force is organizing them—or that something worse is coming.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi shows growing control over fighting spirit and begins treating its rapid recovery as a path to cultivation gains. Her curiosity leads her to question the apparent ease of the battle rather than welcome it.
• San San acts as a skeptical, practical foil, urging her to use spiritual power and teasingly dismissing her interest in a new cultivation system.
• Xiaojiu understands Ye Chuqi’s suspicion because of his familiarity with demon beasts. Though he initially saw the tide’s weak attacks as a benefit, her reasoning makes him reconsider.

Significant themes

• Cultivation through effort: Exhaustion and recovery bring small, lasting improvements.
• Power and inner conflict: Ye Chuqi’s spiritual power and fighting spirit behave almost like rival personalities.
• False security: An easy battle may conceal a deeper threat, and apparent weakness in an enemy can signal deliberate restraint.

Key plot points

• Ye Chuqi and Xiaojiu decide to investigate the Lost Forest during the Beast Tide, suspecting something is wrong with it. Xiaojiu has recently been traveling trade routes to earn money and remains a recruit in the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group.
• Ye Chuqi’s friends from Imperial Capital Academy want to join, but recognize they are not strong enough. Ye Qinglan’s presence discourages them from arguing, and he makes clear he will accompany his sister.
• The group plans to avoid the Beast Tide’s main routes rather than confront it. Xiao Bu is left outside the forest to avoid attracting Demon Beasts, while San San scouts because the forest’s unusual magnetic field limits how far he can sense.
• Before they enter, Ye Qinglan contacts Bai Fenghua. Bai warns Ye Chuqi to investigate cautiously, trust her companions, and avoid rushing into a fight.
• At night, Ye Chuqi leads the way through the dangerous forest, using her Divine Sense and San San’s scouting to keep the group alert.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi takes responsibility for the mission and for her companions’ safety, remaining careful despite her confidence and experience.
• Xiaojiu readily joins her and knows the forest well. Remembering their first adventure there, he finds the present journey amusingly reminiscent of the past.
• Ye Qinglan quietly commits to protecting Ye Chuqi while letting her and Xiaojiu handle the investigation unless an emergency arises. His concern is affectionate rather than a lack of trust.
• Bai Fenghua’s warning shows the group’s wider support for Ye Chuqi; she responds obediently, though she wonders whether others see her as troublesome.
• San San is eager to help but worries that Ye Chuqi may overuse her Divine Sense, which she recently spent heavily gathering an ore vein.

Significant themes

• Care and trust: Ye Chuqi’s companions worry about her while recognizing her abilities and encouraging her to rely on them.
• Responsibility and caution: Investigating the Beast Tide requires balancing curiosity with the dangers of the forest and the limits of the group’s strength.
• Loyalty and companionship: Xiaojiu, Ye Qinglan, Bai Fenghua, and San San each contribute support in different ways.

Plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi, Xiaojiu, and Ye Qinglan encounter a group of unusually sluggish Mid-Rank Magic Beasts in the Lost Forest. The beasts’ behavior suggests the Beast Tide’s usual instinctive drive may be weakening.
• As they move deeper into the forest, a powerful creature attacks Ye Chuqi from a tear in space. She repels its claw with her Spiritual Power, and Ye Qinglan follows with a forceful sword strike.
• The creature is revealed to be a Demon Beast with the ability to move through space—an especially serious threat to Monte City, since it could bypass normal defenses and bring powerful beasts directly into the city.
• San San sends Big Black Fish to help. Instead of fighting the Demon Beast, he distorts the space with Spatial Blades, making it harder for the creature to track the fleeing group, then retreats.
• The three companions continue running, deciding to leave the Lost Forest rather than risk another encounter.
• Meanwhile, Monte City’s residents underestimate the danger. Confident in Lord Yuges and accustomed to successful defenses, many stay behind to watch what seems like a weaker-than-usual Beast Tide.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi acts quickly and decisively, using concealment medicine to protect her companions and Spiritual Power to counter the surprise attack.
• Ye Qinglan demonstrates calm courage, stepping between Ye Chuqi and the Demon Beast and striking without hesitation. His concern for her is clear.
• Xiaojiu remains concealed and follows Ye Chuqi’s instructions.
• San San responds instantly by deploying Big Black Fish to cover the group’s escape.
• Big Black Fish is frightened but resourceful: he fulfills the order in a limited, tactical way, then escapes rather than confronting the Demon Beast directly.

Significant themes

• False security: Monte City’s residents mistake a seemingly mild Beast Tide for safety, while a much greater threat gathers nearby.
• Pragmatism and survival: The group prioritizes escape over fighting an overwhelmingly powerful enemy.
• Uncertainty and changing patterns: The beasts’ subdued behavior hints that the Beast Tide may no longer follow familiar rules.
• Protective loyalty: Ye Qinglan shields Ye Chuqi, while the group cooperates to get everyone out alive.

Plot points and events

• As the group travels through the Lost Forest, Ye Chuqi senses they are surrounded. Ye Qinglan prepares to summon Xiao Bu, but Ye Chuqi shoves him clear just before a gigantic vine erupts and swallows her.
• Ye Qinglan panics, recalling the earlier time she vanished into a Space-Time Vortex. Ye Chuqi reassures him through their connection, then cuts her way out of the vine with a powerful Sword Aura. She kills it and extracts its emerald Crystal Core; the other Demon Beasts hold back.
• Her Greatsword breaks from the strain of channeling her Spiritual Power. Ye Chuqi reflects that her blunt, forceful fighting style—and lack of suitable techniques or a durable weapon—leave her with few good options.
• With a more dangerous presence approaching, she calls on Big Black Fish to get the three of them out. It swallows them, and uses repeated short-range teleports through the forest; the chaotic magnetic field makes a direct jump to Monte City too risky.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi acts decisively to protect Ye Qinglan, then demonstrates the strength of her Sword Intent. Despite her confidence in surviving the vine attack, she remains frustrated by the limits of her weapon and training.
• Ye Qinglan is shaken by seeing Ye Chuqi swallowed and resolves to take her back to the Ye Family once the Beast Tide ends. Her rescue also makes him recognize how others must have felt when a beast swallowed her before.
• Xiaojiu is outwardly stoic and accustomed to Ye Chuqi’s dangerous escapes, though he remains fiercely concerned.
• Big Black Fish is nervous of Ye Qinglan’s killing intent but proves resourceful, relying on its knowledge of the Lost Forest to ferry the group safely.

Significant themes

• Protection and trust: Ye Chuqi risks herself to save Ye Qinglan, while their bond lets her reassure him even when he cannot reach her.
• Power and its costs: Her strength can overcome formidable threats, but her Spiritual Power destroys the weapon meant to channel it.
• The Lost Forest’s danger: Even a successful fight does not end the threat; survival depends on caution, cooperation, and adapting to hostile terrain.

Key plot points and events

• Big Black Fish escapes the Demon Beast by spatially transporting Ye Chuqi, Ye Qinglan, and Xiaojiu out of the Lost Forest. As soon as they emerge, a group of Adventurers hits them with a combined magic-and-Fighting-Spirit attack.
• Big Black Fish takes the blow, spits out the three travelers, then retreats into Ye Chuqi’s space to hide. A sea of fire nearly engulfs them, but Ye Qinglan scatters it with a powerful strike of icy Sword Aura.
• The newcomers land in the middle of a standoff between two human groups. One side recognizes Ye Qinglan and warns him of an incoming attack; the other decides that, because of his identity—and Ye Chuqi’s, it seems—they cannot be allowed to leave.
• Ye Qinglan deflects a bolt of unusual white Fighting Spirit. San San identifies it as belonging to people from the Kabu Continent, whose inhabitants should have been separated from Raila by the impassable Beast Abyss and Lost Abyss Sea.
• The opposing group’s young leader recognizes Ye Chuqi as the Ye Family’s long-lost young lady. He introduces himself as Lu and addresses Ye Qinglan as the Ye Family heir.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qinglan demonstrates his formidable strength by extinguishing the fire and casually deflecting an attack from a fighter apparently near his level. He stays calm despite being recognized and targeted.
• Ye Chuqi takes a defensive position behind Ye Qinglan, holding a dagger to guard his back. She also closely studies the strangers and connects their names and appearance to the mysterious history of the Ye, Bai, and Jun families.
• Xiaojiu recognizes that he cannot contribute to the fight and withdraws, cautiously standing beside the person who warned Ye Qinglan.
• Big Black Fish proves his spatial abilities can get the group out of the Lost Forest, but his strength is limited: he can survive the ambush only by retreating into Ye Chuqi’s space.
• The chapter ends with both sides sizing each other up, as the strangers’ knowledge of the Ye family raises the stakes.

Significant themes

• Unexpected danger and fragile escape: Leaving one threat does not mean reaching safety; the travelers emerge directly into a human conflict.
• Hidden history and divided worlds: The Kabu–Raila divide, and the Ye family’s connection to it, suggest that the accepted history of the world may be incomplete.
• Power and vulnerability: Ye Qinglan’s mastery contrasts with Xiaojiu’s and Big Black Fish’s need to avoid the fight, while even a strong traveler can be caught off guard.
• Identity and recognition: Ye Chuqi’s family status and Ye Qinglan’s lineage make them targets before they have a chance to understand who the strangers are.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Ronghua, a smiling but watchful member of the Kabu Continent group, approaches Ye Chuqi and comments on her Beast Companion. When he realizes it is the spatially mobile Big Black Fish, he asks her to give it to him. Ye Chuqi rejects the request with a mocking retort.
• One of Lu Ronghua’s companions urges him to stop talking and remember their mission. Lu privately recognizes that his group has been using “keeping their movements secret” as an excuse to kill people—sometimes deliberately provoking others so they can eliminate witnesses.
• Xiaojiu reports that the group has repeatedly attacked people from the Raila Continent, even interfering with their efforts to clear Demon Beasts. The confrontation escalated after the Kabu group’s origins were exposed and they tried to kill everyone who knew.
• The Kabu fighters had already killed two City Defense Army soldiers. Their bodies disappeared, seemingly swallowed by the group’s white shadows. Ye Qinglan identifies these as Beast Souls.
• Ye Chuqi challenges the Kabu group to stop talking and fight. Ye Qinglan grows visibly more threatening, while the surrounding Raila forces remain prepared to defend the area.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi remains bold and irreverent: she defends her Beast Companion, dismisses Lu Ronghua’s audacious demand, and shows open disgust toward the Kabu group’s conduct.
• Lu Ronghua maintains a friendly smile, but his cold eyes and private thoughts reveal that he is more perceptive and less naïve than his companions. He recognizes their recklessness, though he has limited control over them.
• Ye Qinglan stays outwardly composed, but his presence sharpens as he learns the extent of the group’s crimes. He also supplies key knowledge about Beast Souls.
• Big Black Fish reacts humorously from Ye Chuqi’s space, pleased by her refusal to part with it, though it objects to her claim that the earlier attack did not hurt.
• Lu Ronghua’s companions dismiss him and push the conflict forward; Xiaojiu’s account helps Ye Chuqi and Ye Qinglan understand why the fighting began.

Significant themes

• Secrecy as a pretext for violence: the Kabu group claims to be concealing its mission while repeatedly creating situations that let it kill witnesses.
• Cultural and historical division: Raila and Kabu differ in cultivation and combat methods, and conflict over those methods helped trigger the continent’s split. Ye Qinglan notes that this was only one cause among many.
• Power, loyalty, and possession: Lu’s attempt to claim Ye Chuqi’s Beast Companion contrasts with her clear sense of attachment and refusal to treat it as an object.
• Hidden history: crucial details of the old conflict—including the significance of Beast Souls—are kept in secret family archives rather than public records.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chuqi and San San realize that the Kabu Continent fighters’ “Beast Souls” are Demon Beast soul forms fused with their Seas of Consciousness. Their power combines Fighting Spirit and Soul Power, which Lu Ronghuan calls “Spiritual Power”—a description Ye Chuqi rejects.
• Ye Chuqi challenges the group over their attempt to kill the witnesses. When Xiao Bu arrives, the Kabu fighters regard him as a valuable potential Beast Soul and discuss devouring him to gain power.
• Lu Ronghuan decides not to risk confronting the Ye family or Bai Fenghua. He teleports away, while his companions follow.
• Ye Chuqi, San San, and Big Black Fish tamper with the others’ Teleportation Scrolls, turning their fixed destinations into random ones and scattering the group. They cannot determine where Lu Ronghuan went, though they infer his intended destination may matter.
• With the attackers gone, Ye Chuqi’s party prepares to return to Monte City and report their discovery to Bai Fenghua.

Character developments

• Ye Chuqi’s strong convictions—and anger at the Kabu group’s methods—are clear. She refuses to accept their borrowed Beast Soul power as Spiritual Power.
• Lu Ronghuan shows caution and strategic self-preservation: unlike his companions, he recognizes the danger of provoking the Ye family and leaves rather than fight.
• The other Kabu fighters appear reckless and motivated by power, treating the devouring of enemies as routine.
• San San and Big Black Fish demonstrate their skill at disrupting teleportation magic.

Significant themes

• Power and exploitation: The Kabu system draws strength from Demon Beast souls, while devouring is treated as a shortcut to greater power.
• Clashing beliefs about cultivation: Ye Chuqi’s rejection of the label “Spiritual Power” highlights how differently people understand and name power.
• Caution versus ambition: Lu Ronghuan prioritizes survival and his mission, while his companions’ greed and haste lead them into danger.

Character interactions

• Ye Chuqi and San San discuss what Beast Souls really are and dispute Lu Ronghuan’s explanation.
• Ye Chuqi confronts the attackers; Xiao Bu’s arrival shifts the balance, but also makes him a target.
• Lu Ronghuan warns his companions that staying is dangerous, then abandons them when they refuse to leave.
• Ye Chuqi, San San, and Big Black Fish cooperate to sabotage the attackers’ escapes, after which Xiaojiu watches Ye Chuqi and Ye Qinglan ride away on Xiao Bu.

Key plot points and events

• Xiaojiu remains behind with Starry while Xiao Bu carries Ye Chuqi and Ye Qinglan toward Monte City. Xiaojiu is pained to be left behind, and Starry appears to share his hurt.
• The Demon Beast reaches Monte City ahead of the siblings. A Black Vortex opens over the city, dropping countless Mid- and High-Rank Magic Beasts into its streets. At the same time, another huge wave of beasts charges from the Lost Forest.
• Monte City raises its Protective Barrier, trapping the beasts already inside while keeping out the incoming ones—and also preventing Ye Chuqi and other stragglers from entering. The soldiers and Adventurers outside are forced to form small groups and fight.
• Ye Qinglan heads toward the Lost Forest to help face the advancing tide. Ye Chuqi stays to assist elsewhere and uses his Crystal Ball to contact Bai Fenghua. She warns that if more than one Demon Beast has appeared, Monte City may not withstand the attack.
• The chapter ends with daylight blocked by the beast swarm and the Black Vortex looming over the city.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chuqi and Ye Qinglan recognize the urgency and divide their efforts without hesitation, exchanging a brief, affectionate farewell. Ye Chuqi refuses Ye Qinglan’s sword, keeping her own dagger instead.
• Ye Qinglan’s knowledge of Space Magic leads him to suspect that the barrier can only delay the Demon Beast, not stop it.
• Ye Chuqi is increasingly anxious about the scale of the threat but acts decisively, coordinating with Bai Fenghua and warning him of the possibility of multiple Demon Beasts.
• Xiaojiu’s hurt at being left behind, mirrored by Starry’s expression, adds a quieter note of loyalty and separation amid the crisis.

Significant themes

• Duty and sacrifice: The characters accept separation and danger to defend others.
• Urgency and uncertainty: The city’s defenses are overwhelmed by a threat that may exceed what they can handle.
• Limits of protection: The barrier offers some defense but cannot solve the danger—or protect those stranded outside.
• Family and loyalty: Ye Chuqi and Ye Qinglan trust one another and part with mutual concern.