Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan invites the wheelchair-using Lu Yiyi home and cooks her scallion-oil noodles with eggs and braised side dishes. She enjoys the meal.
• While Xu Yuan cooks, Lu Yiyi’s hidden attendants report that armed agents from an underground organization have been watching his apartment. Remembering that she will soon leave him to face danger alone, she orders the agents killed.
• Lu Yiyi notices Xu Yuan’s portrait of cultivator and arts-world celebrity Tang Yunyu. She also corrects a mistake in his artifact-refining homework.
• When Xu Yuan mentions Nine Luminaries University, Lu Yiyi says she transferred from there to Luofu University, describing Luofu as more welcoming. Xu Yuan agrees, criticizing teachers who look down on students.
• Lu Yiyi recalls that Xu Yuan once trusted and helped her in Border City despite being only at the Qi Refining Second Layer. Moved by the memory, she secretly orders her student records transferred to Luofu, making her claimed transfer true.
• Tang Yunyu calls Xu Yuan to tell him he has won a grand prize for buying her limited-edition spirit portrait. During the video call, she recognizes Lu Yiyi—though Lu Yiyi keeps her face hidden—and is stunned that the woman is visiting an ordinary student’s home. She decides the usual prizes will not be enough.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows consideration by inviting Lu Yiyi in, preparing her food, and offering to take her back to the hospital. He is modestly capable at everyday tasks, enthusiastic about university life, and proud of his self-image as a “peerless hero,” though he comes across as sincere rather than arrogant.
• Lu Yiyi shifts from guarded observer to someone quietly protective and emotionally invested in Xu Yuan. She uses her authority decisively to deal with the watchers, helps him with his studies, and arranges to join him at Luofu. She also teases him and enjoys his earnestness.
• Tang Yunyu begins the call as a celebrity contacting a fan, but recognizing Lu Yiyi makes her anxious and deferential. The chapter ends as she tries to impress her powerful, unseen guest.
• The three-way contrast drives the scene: Xu Yuan treats Lu Yiyi naturally, Lu Yiyi hides her status while steering events behind the scenes, and Tang Yunyu recognizes the extraordinary situation unfolding.

Significant themes

• Kindness and trust: Xu Yuan’s simple care for Lu Yiyi echoes the deeper trust he once showed her in danger.
• Hidden power and ordinary life: Domestic scenes—cooking, homework, and a video call—unfold alongside secret agents, powerful cultivators, and political authority.
• Status and respect: Xu Yuan’s dislike of condescending teachers resonates with Lu Yiyi, while her choice to join his university reflects her growing regard for him.
• Fame and power: In this world, cultural celebrity belongs to elite cultivators, and even a seemingly routine fan prize can become a matter of high-level significance.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Yunyu offers Xu Yuan a choice of one valuable prize for winning her livestream giveaway: a powerful cultivation scripture, a realm-breaking pill, a sword, protective armor, or a combat talisman.
• Xu Yuan chooses the Hundred Meridians Return to Truth Scripture, hoping it will accelerate his cultivation and serve him up to the early Golden Core stage. Tang promises to send it and invites him to her Dharma Lecture Assembly.
• After ending the call, Tang privately reports to her master that she gave away the scripture without permission. Her master first reacts with alarm, then approves when she learns Lu Yiyi prompted the gift. She describes the scripture as a secret foundational method with far greater significance than Tang had suggested, and orders Tang to transfer to the Heavenly Palace and wait for an opportunity as “the heavens are about to change.”
• Back at the residence, Lu Yiyi warns Xu Yuan that Daoist scriptures are carefully tracked and cannot be passed on casually. Xu offers to share it with her, but she explains the rules and history behind protecting such knowledge.
• Xu pushes Lu Yiyi back to the hospital. They talk about her return to school, his hopes of entering Luofu, and his request for cultivation guidance. Lu Yiyi refuses to give her name but tells him to call her “big sister.”
• At the hospital, Zhao Shulan welcomes them and tells Xu to go to evening study while she keeps Lu Yiyi company.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan chooses practical long-term cultivation knowledge over the other flashy prizes. He offers to share it with Lu Yiyi, showing generosity, but accepts her explanation of the restrictions. He is attentive to her comfort and easily flustered by her teasing.
• Lu Yiyi remains guarded about her identity, yet acts warmly toward Xu Yuan. She cautions him about the consequences of passing on the scripture, hints that she will return to school, and enjoys teasing him into calling her “big sister.”
• Tang Yunyu initially presents the gift as a fan prize, then reveals her respect and fear of her master by reporting her unauthorized decision. Her master’s response suggests Tang has unknowingly taken part in a much larger political or spiritual development.
• Tang’s master shifts from stern concern to delight once she hears Lu Yiyi’s involvement, implying that Lu Yiyi’s return could affect a major succession or power struggle.
• Zhao Shulan continues to care for both young people, treating Lu Yiyi warmly and urging Xu to attend evening study.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as power: Cultivation methods are guarded because they represent generations of sacrifice and carry serious consequences when shared.
• Destiny and upheaval: The master’s remarks about Lu Yiyi’s return and the coming change in the heavens foreshadow larger conflicts.
• Trust and generosity: Xu’s willingness to share his prize contrasts with the strict rules governing sacred knowledge.
• Affection through teasing and care: Xu and Lu Yiyi’s banter, along with his careful attention to her wheelchair, deepens their bond.

Plot points and events

• After reaching the third layer of Qi Refining, Xu Yuan heads to evening study to adjust to his new level.
• At a bar, the Six-Armed man learns that a plan to deal with Xu Yuan has apparently gone wrong.
• Lu Yiyi speaks warmly with Xu Yuan’s mother, Zhao Shulan, but privately decides that Xu Yuan may be better off staying away from her.
• Lu Yiyi’s brother, Lu Chenzhou, arrives and takes back the Zhou Tian Instrument. He says he wants to prove to Yiyi that Xu Yuan is weak and doomed, and that her closeness to him will end badly.
• Lu Chenzhou flies to Jiangbei No. 5 High School and uses the instrument to recreate the Border City Battle. Lu Yiyi follows, determined to stop him. Two officials try to dismiss the confrontation as harmless.
• Xu Yuan enters the battle simulation automatically as he arrives at school. He finds himself back on the overpass, where a little boy asks him to flee the city. Xu Yuan realizes the boy can invite him into the Training Match and is pleased that entering this way costs no gold.
• Seeing that training can help him advance, Xu Yuan agrees to escape with the boy and picks him up to run.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan is practical and quick to draw conclusions: he sees the simulation as an opportunity to train, save money, and build a useful connection with the boy. His concern about Yiyi and the unexplained note remains unresolved.
• Lu Yiyi is conflicted: she initially tries to distance herself from Xu Yuan, but fiercely protects him when Lu Chenzhou threatens him.
• Lu Chenzhou is controlling and convinced that Xu Yuan is unworthy of Yiyi. He frames his intervention as a “fair assessment” and uses the Zhou Tian Instrument to force a confrontation.
• Zhao Shulan senses that something is wrong between Yiyi and her brother, but feels unable to intervene.
• The boy appears more lifelike than before, though Xu Yuan does not notice. He wants to escape and objects when Xu Yuan carries him.

Significant themes

• Protection versus control: Lu Yiyi’s brother claims to protect their bond, while Yiyi’s actions show that his interference is itself a threat.
• Power, vulnerability, and judgment: Lu Chenzhou wants Xu Yuan’s weakness exposed; the training match will test whether that judgment is justified.
• Complicated connections: Yiyi’s concern for Xu Yuan clashes with her desire to keep her distance, while Xu Yuan sees the boy as a potentially valuable ally.
• Opportunity in danger: Xu Yuan treats the recreated disaster not only as a crisis but also as a chance to gain experience and grow stronger.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan enters the ruined city carrying the Little Boy, who is initially irritated and refuses to explain what he needs.
• A dragon’s roar draws their attention, and Xu Yuan discovers that the streets are covered with grotesque, decaying hands. The Little Boy can see them too, but is overwhelmed by memories of a similar catastrophe from ten years earlier.
• Trying to keep moving without revealing that he can see the supernatural hands, Xu Yuan searches for a usable car. He finds an SUV, removes the dead driver, and drives off with the Little Boy.
• Xu Yuan tries jokes and conversation to bring the child out of her shock. His jokes mostly fail, though she eventually responds. He also gives her his coat as snow begins to fall.
• A police radio announces that personnel should gather at Drum Tower Street Subway Station to make a last stand against the monsters. The Little Boy recognizes the speaker, Lu Chenzhou, and remembers that this is where events previously led.
• The Little Boy insists they must escape the city. Xu Yuan accelerates toward an underground hand and crushes it with the SUV. A message awards him driving experience, revealing that the Training Match can help him develop skills by using them against enemies.
• Xu Yuan hides that he can see the hand and pretends the road is clear. Warned that monsters may rise from underground, he speeds onward.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan stays pragmatic and curious, weighing whether to leave the Training Match against the chance to explore and test his abilities. He shows compassion by comforting the frightened child, while concealing what he can perceive.
• The Little Boy shifts from angry and withdrawn to openly traumatized by memories of the disaster. After hearing the radio broadcast, she regains some resolve and clearly states her goal: to get out of the city.

Significant themes

• Trauma and survival: The Little Boy’s present fear is tied to a catastrophe she has tried to forget.
• Concealment and trust: Xu Yuan hides his ability to see the hands, while the child slowly begins cooperating with him.
• Learning through danger: The Training Match turns combat into a chance to improve skills, making perilous encounters potentially valuable.
• Hope amid catastrophe: Snow and New Year imagery contrast with the ruined city and the threatened lives of its inhabitants.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan’s teasing, awkward humor contrasts with the Little Boy’s irritation and emotional numbness, but his attempts to comfort her help draw her back into the present.
• The Little Boy clings to Xu Yuan while reliving painful memories; he responds gently and protects her with his coat and seat belt.
• Their priorities differ at first—Xu Yuan wants to investigate and test himself, while the Little Boy wants to survive—but they settle on trying to escape the city together.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan drives through monster-infested streets while the Little Boy warns him that underground creatures can sense them. The boy knows how to navigate the danger but initially offers little explanation.
• At Drum Tower Street subway station, Lu Chenzhou organizes cultivators to prepare for a monster attack, expecting to repeat a battle he remembers from ten years earlier. The demons arrive much sooner than he anticipates, and a massive, spiked flesh-tendril carrying armed people emerges. Lu is overwhelmed by terror and loses his composure.
• Xu Yuan and the boy evade a towering skeleton, then use the boy’s precise directions to avoid further monsters. They crash the car as a diversion, slip through a house, and escape back onto the road.
• When a bony claw attacks, Xu Yuan follows the boy’s warning and cuts it with his sword. The fight earns Xu Yuan a combat experience point, which he spends on cultivation, advancing from the Third to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining and increasing his Spiritual Power.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan shows confidence, quick reflexes, and remarkable trust in the boy’s directions, even when he cannot see the danger. His cultivation breakthrough excites him, and his casual humor remains intact.
• The Little Boy moves from fear and painful memories toward trust and hope. Xu Yuan’s unquestioning cooperation makes him feel supported after years of being disbelieved and forced to face danger alone. He becomes more assertive and animated as they work together.
• Lu Chenzhou begins self-assured, believing his past experience will make the crisis easier to handle. The unexpected timing and horrifying monster presence shatter his confidence.

Significant themes

• Trust and partnership: Xu Yuan’s willingness to rely on the boy contrasts with the boy’s past isolation.
• Trauma and memory: The monster at the station revives Lu Chenzhou’s buried terror, while the boy reflects on the painful experience of not being believed.
• Adaptability and growth: Xu Yuan’s teamwork and combat experience lead directly to a tangible increase in power.
• The limits of past knowledge: Lu’s assumptions about how events will unfold prove unreliable.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan questions how the boy knows about the monsters, but respects his silence and follows his urgent instructions.
• Their escape relies on the boy’s battlefield awareness and Xu Yuan’s driving, swordsmanship, and quick obedience; the boy’s trust in him deepens.
• After Xu Yuan’s breakthrough, the boy identifies his new level and jokes that his talents would suit a criminal or ambush master. Xu Yuan objects, keeping their banter light amid the danger.

Summary

• The author reflects on the difficulty of finishing their previous book, explaining that real-life problems made writing especially hard. They credit Gu Qingshan with stepping in to help complete the worldbuilding.
• Determined to move forward and improve as a writer, the author began a new, independent story with a fresh setting. After a month of posting, they invite readers to judge its progress and promise to keep working on it.
• The author thanks Blue Light, May, Qidian, and their readers for their support.
• In a playful shift, the author announces the book’s midnight release for sale and asks readers to subscribe and vote, promising at least four updates on launch day and extra chapters for reader support.

Character and relationship notes

• No fictional characters or plot events appear; the chapter is an author’s note.
• The author describes Gu Qingshan as a key source of practical help during the previous book’s difficult completion.

Themes

• Perseverance and recovery after hardship.
• Growth through continued effort and learning.
• Gratitude toward readers and publishing supporters, alongside a direct appeal for their involvement.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan’s cultivation reaches Qi Refining level four, granting him four points of Agility and improving his movement.
• He and Little Boy approach the city wall cautiously, using buildings for cover. In a house, Xu Yuan offers her a pistol; she refuses, saying guns represent the world’s cruelty. He argues that understanding that cruelty matters.
• The pair discover that the streets and wall are strangely free of monsters. From atop the wall, they see that Border City is isolated in a vast darkness, surrounded by an abyss filled with eerie green flames.
• Realizing there seems to be no way out, Little Boy breaks down. She believes the city is doomed and that Lu Chenzhou’s plan to escape with a few people was right.
• Xu Yuan comforts her and insists that their survival still gives them reason to investigate. They climb down the outside of the wall, reaching dirt but no clear explanation for the city’s impossible surroundings.
• Xu Yuan proposes continuing downward to find what lies beneath the city. Little Boy regains hope and asks him to take her to the very bottom of the earth. He agrees.

Character development

• Xu Yuan proves practical and resourceful, choosing stealth over a direct rush to the wall. When their apparent escape fails, he remains hopeful and turns despair into a reason to investigate.
• Little Boy / Lu Yiyi begins excited by the prospect of escape, but the abyss makes her confront the likely failure of their mission. Xu Yuan’s encouragement helps her move from grief toward renewed resolve.

Significant themes

• Hope and perseverance: Failure to escape does not mean there is nothing left to do.
• Knowledge in the face of catastrophe: Even one new discovery may matter to humanity’s history.
• Survival and choice: As long as they are alive and able to act, the characters can choose to keep searching.
• Appearances and uncertainty: The darkness seems to prove the city is doomed, but its true nature remains unknown.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Little Boy work together, balancing his caution and practical reasoning with her knowledge and perspective.
• Xu Yuan challenges Little Boy’s rejection of the pistol, though he does not force her to take it.
• When she despairs, he offers comfort without denying the danger, then gives her a concrete purpose: investigate what lies below.
• Their final exchange—her request to go to the bottom and his immediate agreement—shows renewed trust and shared determination.

Key events

• Xu Yuan and Little Boy descend into the abyss beneath Border City, with Xu Yuan carefully using his Metal Spirit power and recovery pills to manage the dangerous climb.
• They encounter a vast foundation made of tightly packed corpses. Xu Yuan tests the bodies for stability and continues downward, distracting Little Boy with stories about pretending ants had conversations.
• Little Boy identifies the dead as people buried in the frontier’s traditional red-and-yellow burial clothes, raising the disturbing question of who removed them from their graves and assembled them beneath the city.
• As they descend, Xu Yuan shares music with Little Boy and tries to keep her calm. When he senses what lies below, he warns her not to scream.
• They discover an enormous, indistinct monster in the darkness. Its immense tongue supports the corpses—and, by extension, all of Border City.
• Little Boy believes the creature is maintaining a powerful spell that isolates the city. Xu Yuan immediately climbs back up, shaken by the sight.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains determined to uncover the truth, pushing past Little Boy’s repeated concerns despite the physical danger. He also shows a protective, playful side, using stories and music to ease her fear.
• Little Boy is observant and knowledgeable: she recognizes the corpses’ burial customs and proposes an explanation for the monster’s role. Though frightened, she stays beside Xu Yuan and helps interpret what they see.
• Their exchanges mix anxiety with humor and growing trust. Little Boy corrects Xu Yuan’s childhood story about ants, then asks him what people live for; he puts off answering, telling her to keep climbing.

Significant themes

• The hidden cost beneath ordinary life: Border City’s stability rests literally on the dead and on a terrifying creature.
• Truth versus fear: Xu Yuan’s determination to investigate carries him into danger, but what he finds is more frightening than either expected.
• Companionship under pressure: Humor, conversation, and music help Xu Yuan and Little Boy endure the descent together.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan and Little Boy flee upward through a mass of corpses as ghosts rise from the black mist. Xu Yuan uses his Flying Sword, a Metal Spirit thread, and the sword lodged in the corpses as an improvised pulley, carrying them rapidly toward safety.
• Little Boy fires Xu Yuan’s pistol to hold off pursuing ghosts. When it runs out of ammunition, Xu Yuan swiftly reloads it, and they continue their escape until the ghosts turn back, apparently unable to leave their patrol route.
• Xu Yuan is pulled into a vision of a Pure White Room, where a monstrous old man reveals that Border City will be destroyed and curses Xu Yuan: when he ceases to be human, a memoryless Ghost Entity will emerge from his body and devour him.
• The Training Match announces a special “boss battle”: Xu Yuan must defeat this future Ghost Entity or die. He reasons that, as a person from ten years in the future, he has time before the curse takes effect—and will face a Ghost Entity, not the original monster.
• Saving his strength in case of further danger, Xu Yuan and Little Boy make it back to the house. Exhausted but alive, they share water and relief. Xu Yuan ends the chapter by declaring that they have found the truth.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan demonstrates quick thinking, courage, and resourcefulness under pressure. He reassures Little Boy, praises her shooting to steady her, and takes charge of their escape. Even after witnessing the curse, he remains composed and finds a reason to hope.
• Little Boy sets aside her earlier reluctance to use the pistol and actively helps defend them. She trusts Xu Yuan’s instructions, follows his lead, and shares his relief once they reach safety.
• Their relationship grows more cooperative and protective: Xu Yuan guides and encourages Little Boy, while she supports him in the escape.
• The old man is revealed as a cruel, powerful being behind the impending catastrophe, treating the destruction of the city and Xu Yuan’s death as inevitable.

Significant themes

• Survival through ingenuity: Xu Yuan turns limited tools and Spiritual Power into a practical escape plan.
• Trust and teamwork: Their survival depends on Xu Yuan’s planning and Little Boy’s willingness to fight.
• Hope amid catastrophe: Though Border City appears doomed, Xu Yuan sees a path forward in the delay before the curse takes effect.
• Identity and transformation: The curse threatens to replace Xu Yuan with a creature that carries none of his memories, raising the stakes around what it means to remain oneself.
• Truth as a hard-won discovery: Xu Yuan’s final pride suggests that learning what lies behind the battle matters, even when they cannot yet prevent disaster.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan and the little boy—Lu Yiyi, though he does not know her identity—realize they have uncovered the truth behind Border City’s destruction: a hidden monster’s enormous tongue holds the city up.
• With the city’s cultivators fighting outside and the sky turning blood-red, they consider their options. Lu Yiyi identifies a Boundary-Breaking Teleportation Array as their only likely means of escape, though such arrays are extremely rare.
• Before they can act, the Training Match dissolves. Xu Yuan returns to the school gates and learns he cannot resume someone else’s match. Exhausted, he abandons his plans for the evening and heads home.
• In the Imperial Capital, Lu Yiyi and her brother Lu Chenzhou report to their father, the Sacred Sovereign. He reviews the match through the Zhou Tian Instrument and learns of the monster beneath Border City.
• The Sacred Sovereign decides to protect Xu Yuan by adding him to the Royal Guest List, while also arranging for a visiting delegation to test his abilities and bring him into public view.
• Lu Yiyi reveals that five Demon Race cities have recently suffered destruction like Border City’s. The Sacred Sovereign finally asks her to explain everything she has seen since childhood.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan takes pride in helping uncover the truth, showing resolve to act rather than simply wait for death. He also remains cautious, choosing not to investigate the underground threat directly, and recognizes the limits of relying on someone else’s Training Match.
• Lu Yiyi moves from relief and tentative celebration to fear and uncertainty as the crisis escalates. Her father’s willingness to listen gives her hope that the strange things she has reported since childhood may finally be taken seriously.
• The Sacred Sovereign shifts from amused scrutiny to serious concern as he sees evidence of the monster and hears about the destroyed cities. He remains politically shrewd, planning both to protect Xu Yuan and to assess him.
• Lu Chenzhou explains that he only tried to retrieve the Zhou Tian Instrument after Lu Yiyi took it, then leaves when his father dismisses the matter.

Significant themes

• Truth and disbelief: Long-hidden horrors are finally exposed, and Lu Yiyi’s previously dismissed claims gain credibility.
• Trust and reliance: Xu Yuan trusts Lu Yiyi’s directions, while the Sacred Sovereign wonders whether Xu Yuan could become someone she can depend on.
• Escalating catastrophe: The threat is no longer confined to one city; similar disasters threaten multiple cities and potentially entire races.
• Protection and power: The Royal Guest List offers safety, while the proposed public test shows how status and political influence can be used to shape someone’s future.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Lu Yiyi share a small celebratory toast, then calmly weigh whether to seek an escape route as danger intensifies.
• Xu Yuan respects Lu Yiyi’s reluctance to approach the underground threat and does not press her about her uncertain past.
• The Sacred Sovereign gently questions Lu Yiyi, watches her exchanges with Xu Yuan, and ultimately invites her to recount her experiences—signaling a major change in how seriously he takes her.

Plot points and events

• In the Imperial Capital, First Highness Lu Chenzhou vents his frustration that, despite his hard work and rising cultivation, he still cannot surpass the Crown Prince. He is especially resentful that the Crown Prince is investigating events from ten years earlier.
• Lu Chenzhou’s anger turns violent: he kills Qingyu, a low-status woman who had been comforting him, and arranges for the palace’s defensive array to erase her body. He then summons Jing, another attendant, and treats her with deceptive warmth while struggling with violent impulses toward her.
• A strange, two-headed scorpion-like creature enters the room, but the palace array destroys it before anyone notices. Jing survives when an urgent summons interrupts Lu Chenzhou.
• In council, Lu Chenzhou learns that the Demon Race has formally sought peace. He puts aside his personal concerns and joins his advisers in assessing the momentous news. They persuade him not to worry yet about Xu Yuan, the commoner who helped Yiyi, dismissing him as insignificant.
• The next morning, Xu Yuan receives a 250-coin Newcomer Contribution Award for uncovering key intelligence in the Training Match: the truth behind the destruction of Border City ten years earlier. His total rises to 300 coins.
• Xu Yuan considers how to spend the money and discovers that his shop can now randomly stock items and equipment from the historical Border City Battle. The shop clarifies that it will not sell people.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Chenzhou presents himself as a composed, considerate prince, but privately reveals himself as entitled, cruel, and murderous. His resentment toward the Crown Prince is tied to both rivalry and fear that old secrets will be exposed. His advisers reinforce his confidence and shape his priorities.
• Jing remains devoted to Lu Chenzhou and tries to comfort him, unaware—or unable to act on—the danger she faces. The interruption gives her a chance to survive.
• Xu Yuan is pleased by the reward but considers its value small compared with the danger and effort involved in uncovering the truth. His practical interest in equipment and the shop shows his focus on preparing for future challenges.
• The advisers encourage Lu Chenzhou to focus on the Demon Race’s peace overture and to disregard Xu Yuan for now.

Significant themes

• Power and impunity: Lu Chenzhou’s status lets him kill a servant and erase the evidence with little risk of scrutiny.
• Masks and hidden motives: His gentle public manner contrasts sharply with his private brutality.
• History reshaping the present: Xu Yuan’s discovery about Border City is important enough to alter the current situation and earn recognition.
• Recognition versus effort: Xu Yuan’s reward acknowledges his contribution, but he questions whether the modest payment is worth such peril.
• Political priorities: The Demon Race’s peace proposal shifts attention away from personal rivalries and unresolved historical truths.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan learns from his mother, Zhao Shulan, that Yiyi has left the hospital with her brother. Remembering a note addressed to “My Yiyi” that promised a farewell gift from her mother, he suspects she may be the note’s intended recipient.
• He considers messaging Yiyi about her childhood in Border City but decides against revealing the note. Worried that questions about his knowledge could endanger his ordinary family, he resolves to investigate discreetly later.
• At school, Xu Yuan is excused from swordsmanship practice because he has already mastered Flying Swallow Chain, Sword Shakes the Eight Wastes. His teacher tells him to attend an afternoon sparring event with visiting senior students from Xiaoxiang Province.
• Xu Yuan spends gold coins refreshing his store. After several unhelpful items, he buys a rare spatial waist pack that holds 300 cubic meters and can be opened by thought.
• He finds a free notebook containing sewer maps of Border City and a plea directing its finder to Shelter No. 2, where its owner left bombs and asks someone to destroy them. Xu Yuan decides to honor the request.
• A Formation Disc carrying a message from Luofu University teacher Lin Weiliang teleports Xu Yuan to a small training ground. Lin observes that he has reached the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan becomes more cautious after recognizing that his knowledge of Yiyi’s past could put him at risk. He keeps the possible connection secret while continuing to investigate, and remains curious and resourceful in exploring the store.
• Zhao Shulan shows sympathy for Yiyi, worrying that the girl seems to lack affection and control over her own life.
• Xu Yuan and his mother share a brief, affectionate exchange before he leaves for school; she reminds him to pay attention and not copy answers.
• Xu Yuan and his teachers: His homeroom teacher encourages him to learn from the visiting team, while Lin Weiliang’s sudden summons hints at a possible university opportunity.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and self-preservation: Xu Yuan weighs the desire to help Yiyi against the danger of exposing what he knows.
• Compassion and responsibility: He takes the notebook’s anonymous plea seriously and intends to deal with the bombs.
• Preparation and adaptability: The store’s unpredictable stock gives Xu Yuan useful tools, while the unfamiliar world’s dangers keep him alert.
• Progress and opportunity: Xu Yuan’s swordsmanship and cultivation advancement set up the possibility of recognition by Luofu University.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan tells Teacher Lin Weiliang that he has advanced to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining and learned two Flying Sword Art moves. Lin is delighted: his progress strengthens her case for recommending him to Luofu’s Special Admission Test.
• Lin teaches Xu how to use attribute-based Spiritual Power. Her Wood attribute boosts her Pill Flame; Xu’s Metal-Dark Dual Spiritual Root gives him a smaller boost in each attribute but greater versatility.
• Xu tests Metal Spirit on his Qiong Jia Sword, greatly enhancing its cutting power, then demonstrates a Flying Sword move by sending it out to sever a pennant and return to its sheath. Lin formally uses her recommendation quota for him.
• Back in an empty classroom, Xu experiments further. Metal Spirit extends from a pen like a blade, while Dark Spirit can conceal both a thread of light and his entire body. The concealment is powerful but rapidly drains his Spiritual Power, so he restores it with a pill.
• Xu hears from Zhao Afei that a police officer is looking for him. Recognizing the man as the six-armed monster who previously hid most of his arms, Xu realizes this encounter belongs to a separate Nightmare-Level Competition, “Funeral Hymn,” rather than the delayed competition he had expected.
• The monster confronts Xu and dismisses his Special Admission Test as meaningless. Xu challenges the man’s earlier claim that he does not deserve what he has received, pointing out that his family is poor and he has no obvious wealth or privilege.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan grows more confident and technically capable, learning to combine his Spiritual Root attributes with weapons and concealment. He also shows quick thinking under pressure, recognizing the monster and trying to understand the motive behind the threat.
• Lin Weiliang is proud of Xu’s progress and actively advances his prospects, while also acting as a practical mentor by explaining his attributes and watching him demonstrate his skill.
• The six-armed monster is revealed to have infiltrated the school disguised as a police officer. His hostility appears tied to something he believes Xu has received or does not deserve, though Xu does not understand what he means.
• Zhao Afei remains a helpful friend, warning Xu about the officer’s presence.

Significant themes

• Merit and entitlement: Xu questions why the monster believes he is undeserving, especially given his humble circumstances.
• Power through adaptability: Xu’s dual attributes offer flexibility—Metal for sharpness, hardness, and extension; Dark for concealment—rather than overwhelming strength in one area.
• Preparation before danger: Xu uses the opportunity to train and refine his abilities, but the unexpected confrontation arrives before his plans can unfold.
• Hidden identities and unseen threats: Xu’s newly developed concealment mirrors the monster’s disguise, while the looming competition suggests that danger may begin before anyone formally enters it.

Character interactions

• Lin praises Xu, teaches him about attribute-based techniques, and secures his recommendation after seeing his Flying Sword skill.
• Xu independently tests Lin’s lessons, discovering practical uses—and the spiritual cost—of his abilities.
• Afei warns Xu about the suspicious officer.
• Xu confronts the disguised monster verbally, while the monster belittles Xu’s opportunity and insists he does not deserve what he has gained.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan confronts Six-Armed, who reveals he is acting on behalf of an organization and claims Xu Yuan’s father had been holding the organization’s property. Six-Armed’s hostility appears personal, and Xu realizes his father’s Netherworld Passage Art may have been intended to protect him.
• Xu distracts Six-Armed with questions, then uses Spirit Light Thread to hurl classroom furniture at him. While Six-Armed destroys it with his six arms, Xu escapes using Netherworld Passage Art, which consumes about 30% of his Spiritual Power.
• Six-Armed discovers that Xu’s file is inaccurate and tries to have him marked as a fugitive. Instead, he learns Xu is on the Imperial Whitelist and under royal protection—an unexpected development whose source he cannot identify.
• Having escaped, Xu receives a message that evading the Nightmare-Level Competition “Funeral Hymn” has awakened a seed of personal power, which he names “Peerless Hero.” The system offers him a chance to track the Competition and further develop this personal Competition.
• Despite the danger, Xu decides he cannot rely on escape alone and returns toward the school. At the gate, a young man meets his gaze; a prompt tells Xu to maintain contact. Xu follows him to the river.
• The young man claims the organization did not order an attack on Xu and says Six-Armed acted from personal animosity. Xu doubts the explanation, pointing out that nobody stopped Six-Armed.
• The man proposes Xu join Nine Luminaries University and later retrieve something for the organization. Xu refuses, insisting the arrangement benefits the organization, not him. When the man suggests Jade Balance instead, Xu pretends to have sworn an oath against that school too. The exchange ends with the man angrily suspecting Xu is mocking him.

Character development

• Xu Yuan shows quick thinking and growing self-reliance: he escapes a stronger opponent, recognizes the danger posed by the organization, and weighs caution against the need to build power. His sarcasm also helps him resist being manipulated.
• Six-Armed is revealed as both dangerous and vindictive. His confidence falters when he learns Xu has royal protection.
• The young man from the organization presents himself as reasonable and conciliatory, but Xu suspects his claims and refuses to accept a one-sided deal.

Significant themes

• Power and survival: Xu must balance retreating from immediate danger with taking risks to become stronger.
• Trust and manipulation: The organization’s reassurances conflict with Six-Armed’s actions, leaving Xu wary of its intentions.
• Fate and agency: Xu’s escape shifts his Fate Thread and awakens a personal Competition, suggesting he can influence his future.
• Family legacy: Xu is endangered because of his absent father’s past and protected by a technique his father taught him.

Character interactions

• Xu and Six-Armed trade taunts and questions before Xu escapes; Six-Armed’s attempt to enlist official channels is thwarted by Xu’s Whitelist status.
• Xu and the young man negotiate at the river. The man offers explanations and a university-based arrangement; Xu challenges his logic, refuses the terms, and uses fabricated oaths to reject alternative placements.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan confronts Xia Yin, a Spirit Communicator from the Funeral Hymn organization. He refuses to attend Jade Balance University, citing its hostility toward his father, but says he may consider Luofu.
• Xia Yin reveals that Xu Yuan’s father leads their branch and that Xu Yuan may inherit his authority if his father dies. Xu Yuan’s Netherworld Passage ability and appearance on the Empire’s whitelist have made him valuable to the organization.
• Xia Yin explains that the Scorpion Demon Envoy, leader of Treasure Communicator, wants Xu Yuan dead. He offers Xu Yuan protection and power, then relays the higher-ups’ order for him to attend Nine Luminaries under a powerful patron.
• Xu Yuan refuses the offer, calling the promised leadership a “dog leash.” Xia Yin warns him of the consequences but does not attack.
• Xu Yuan’s resistance triggers a system event: the Peerless Hero Series. Its first match, “Dead End” (Hard), will begin at 3 p.m. at Fifth Middle School. Xu Yuan must defeat a visiting provincial squad provisionally admitted to Nine Luminaries. Victory will weaken the Funeral Hymn’s event and earn rewards; failure will bring back the organization’s nightmare-level threat.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan shows increasing resolve and independence. He recognizes Xia Yin’s manipulation, rejects an apparently advantageous path, and insists on choosing his own terms—even when refusal puts him in danger.
• Xia Yin presents himself as a helpful negotiator, but his motives are self-serving: he hopes to gain influence whether Xu Yuan accepts, inherits power, or is eliminated. Xu Yuan’s defiance unsettles him.

Significant themes

• Free will versus control: Xu Yuan rejects being treated as a pawn, and his refusal becomes the basis for his own competition.
• Power and manipulation: The organization cloaks coercion in promises of safety, status, and opportunity.
• Competition as resistance: Xu Yuan’s competitive identity turns personal defiance into a direct challenge to his enemies.
• Trust and uncertainty: The whitelist, the organization’s intentions, and Xu Yuan’s own emerging abilities remain unexplained.

Character interactions

• Xia Yin tests Xu Yuan, shares selective information, and tries to recruit him with offers of authority and protection.
• Xu Yuan probes Xia Yin about the organization and the threat against him, while staying ready to escape.
• Their conversation shifts from negotiation to open refusal, culminating in Xu Yuan accepting a challenge that puts him in direct opposition to the Funeral Hymn.

Plot points and events

• Xia Yin gives Xu Yuan a box containing the severed head of his father’s former right-hand man, using it to pressure him into joining the organization. Xu Yuan refuses to yield.
• Xia Yin decides to have Xu Yuan publicly executed that afternoon, hoping his death will lure a powerful figure from the Nine Luminaries.
• While Xia Yin is walking through a mall, his men disappear. He summons a supernatural protector, which hides him from thirty-two Royal Armed Guards. The guards pass by, discussing a plan to slaughter Jiangnan Province and attack other targets. Xia Yin recognizes the danger but restrains his protector from fighting.
• Xu Yuan realizes that activating the Power of the Three Realms has set the “Peerless Hero” Competition in motion. He believes winning may weaken the Funeral Hymn, though he does not yet know how.
• Rather than risk exhausting himself with further training, Xu Yuan prepares carefully: he bathes, rests, reviews his past battles, eats, visits his hospitalized mother, meditates, and sleeps.
• He arrives at school shortly before the Competition is due to begin. After listening to the crowd and centering himself, he enters the gymnasium as the countdown begins.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan remains defiant despite threats and the grisly gift. Though he recognizes how vulnerable he is, he focuses on the contest as his best chance to fight back. His disciplined preparations show growing maturity and resolve.
• Xia Yin presents himself as calm and ruthless, casually arranging Xu Yuan’s death. But the Royal Armed Guards’ appearance exposes his fear and the limits of his control.
• Yang Xiaobing, through messages, is shown competing in the exchange event and holding her own, though her side has suffered losses.
• Xu Yuan’s visit with his mother, Zhao Shulan, briefly emphasizes his continuing ties to ordinary family life amid escalating danger.

Significant themes

• Agency under threat: Xu Yuan has little control over the organization’s immediate plans, but chooses how to prepare and where to place his hope.
• Composure and discipline: His deliberate routine contrasts with the surrounding violence and helps him reach his peak before the Competition.
• Hidden power and political danger: Xia Yin’s supernatural protector and the Royal Armed Guards reveal that the conflict extends far beyond his organization.
• Sacrifice and moral cost: The organization treats people as disposable materials, while the guards’ stated plan to slaughter an entire province suggests an even larger threat.

Character interactions

• Xia Yin tries to intimidate Xu Yuan with an offer, a threat, and the box containing a human head; Xu Yuan gives him no indication that he will comply.
• Xia Yin commands his supernatural protector to defend rather than attack, then stays hidden as the Royal Armed Guards pass.
• Xu Yuan exchanges brief messages with Yang Xiaobing and speaks with his teacher, who summons him to the gymnasium.
• Xu Yuan shares a quiet meal and conversation with his mother before returning to prepare for the fight.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan arrives late at a martial-arts exchange between Jiangbei No. 5 Middle School and a team of standout Xiaoxiang Province students, all already admitted early to the Nine Luminaries. The visitors have dominated: Zhang Pengcheng has won five bouts, while Jiangbei’s Yang Xiaobing is the only local student to have won more than one.
• After Liu Mingdao privately urges Xu Yuan to fight hard, Xu Yuan enters the competition. Yang Xiaobing watches with both concern and encouragement.
• Xu Yuan’s first opponent, a boastful girl with Ice Spirit-enhanced gauntlets, rushes him. He predicts her movement and disarms her in a single exchange, holding his sword at her neck. She is defeated before she can land a blow.
• A burly ax-wielder challenges Xu Yuan and mocks his sword. Xu Yuan answers with a swift, precise strike that cuts the man’s throat superficially, ending the bout without serious injury.
• Xu Yuan’s performance earns respect from the Xiaoxiang teachers. They identify his technique as the first form of the Swallow Song Sword Art, Falling Leaves, and explain that he defeated the girl through anticipation and timing—not Spiritual Power.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shifts from quiet observer to confident competitor. He stays composed despite the crowd and his opponents’ taunts, relying on sharp judgment and refined swordsmanship.
• Liu Mingdao’s initial caution gives way to a discreet demand that Xu Yuan punish the visitors’ arrogance, revealing the school’s frustration at its poor showing.
• Yang Xiaobing silently urges Xu Yuan to be careful, showing her concern and support.
• The defeated girl is shocked and struggles to accept how decisively she lost. The white-haired elder uses the bout to correct her overconfidence and encourage the team to learn from Jiangbei’s fighters.
• Xu Yuan’s present-day competition stirs memories of his former life and its imagined contests. He wishes that the friends from that life could see him compete in reality.

Significant themes

• Composure and mastery: Xu Yuan’s calm observation and anticipation overcome brute force and confidence.
• Humility and learning: The visiting teachers emphasize that the exchange should broaden their students’ experience, while the elder warns against assuming superiority.
• Past and present: Xu Yuan’s memories connect his current real-world competition to the dreams and friendships of his previous life.
• Respect earned through action: Xu Yuan changes the atmosphere of a lopsided event through skill rather than boasting.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan defeats Zhao Xiaoguang with a precisely controlled sword thrust, using his Metal Spirit to cut only the surface of Zhao’s throat. Observers realize his victory came from extraordinary control, not luck.
• Ma Changshan, a fast swordsman with a Wind Spiritual Root, challenges Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan appears to rest while fighting, then disarms and defeats him with a strike too quick to see. Ma recognizes the immense gap between them and resolves to learn from watching.
• Xu Yuan recalls a past mentor’s advice: in competition, he should fight honestly rather than hold back to spare opponents’ pride. He remembers the friends, training, and shared dream of reaching the Summit—now lost.
• Liu Yang, who combines swordsmanship and crafting, faces Xu Yuan in homemade battle armor. Xu Yuan overwhelms him with a rapid chain of attacks and knocks him off the platform without giving him a chance to counter.
• Bai Kui, skilled in swordsmanship and arrays, challenges Xu Yuan and sets a trap formation across the arena. Before she can exploit it, she finds Xu Yuan’s flying sword at her neck, revealing that he has already defeated her.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan demonstrates precise control, speed, and mastery of linked attacks, all while apparently avoiding the use of Spiritual Power. His calm honesty and respectful manners contrast with the frightening force of his technique.
• Ma Changshan moves from anger and disbelief to humility, recognizing that his own speed has limits and that he can learn from the fight.
• Liu Yang and Zhao Xiaoguang accept their defeats without resentment and begin watching Xu Yuan as a source of instruction.
• Bai Kui enters confidently, but her surprise at the flying sword leaves her stunned.
• The white-haired elder and teachers shift from assessing Xu Yuan to recognizing him as an extraordinary opponent.

Significant themes

• True competition and respect: Fighting wholeheartedly, rather than pretending to give opponents a chance, can earn genuine respect and help them improve.
• Humility and growth: Defeat can expose complacency and become an opportunity to learn.
• Skill beyond raw power: Xu Yuan’s precision, timing, and technique prove more decisive than strength or elaborate equipment.
• Memory and loss: Xu Yuan’s recollection of his former friends and their shared Summit dream gives his present victories a note of grief; the future they imagined is gone.

Character interactions

• The teachers discuss Xu Yuan’s control and technique, while the elder selects successive students to challenge him.
• Xu Yuan treats each opponent courteously, thanking them after matches; his sincerity helps turn defeat into respect rather than resentment.
• Ma, Liu, and Zhao watch together after losing, sharing their disbelief and learning from Xu Yuan’s abilities.
• Bai Kui and Xu Yuan exchange respectful introductions before her formation is suddenly outmaneuvered by his flying sword.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan wins his match against Bai Kui, revealing that the Dark Spirit can conceal his flying sword until it is nearly impossible to see. The spectators recognize how frightening this ability could be in battle.
• Xu Yuan asks the opposing team to send their strongest fighter for one final match. Zhang Pengcheng, a confident swordsman with a Wind-Earth Spiritual Root, accepts.
• A bizarre, invisible-to-everyone-else monster appears beside Zhang. It follows his movements and attacks Xu Yuan in tandem with him. Xu Yuan realizes it is a Ghost Entity that someone has sent to kill him, disguising its assault as part of the match. He suspects the Spirit Communicator and Treasure Communicator factions are behind it.
• Zhang’s powerful sword strikes drive Xu Yuan to the edge of the arena. With no room left to retreat and the monster poised to attack, Xu Yuan silently uses his mysterious shop, spending 73 gold on rapid refreshes and buying several swords.
• Xu Yuan draws the swords from his storage pack and uses the incomplete ancient Dual-Spirit Sword-Flight art, Night Rain, to control ten weapons at once. Their Metal Spirit power forms a radiant, circular formation behind him, while a vision of sunset and poetic characters appears in the air. The chapter ends with a spectator recognizing the phenomenon as imagery.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan remains composed under pressure, conceals that he can see the Ghost Entity, and turns a seemingly impossible two-against-one fight into an opportunity to reveal a remarkable sword technique.
• Zhang Pengcheng is revealed as a formidable, enthusiastic fighter who respects Xu Yuan and wants a fair, exciting match. Unaware of the monster, he believes Xu Yuan’s apparent risk-taking may signal a powerful technique.
• Yang Xiaobing is still frustrated about her earlier loss, but becomes genuinely alarmed and warns Xu Yuan when she senses he is in danger.
• Bai Kui is left unsettled by Xu Yuan’s invisible sword, while the spectators’ reactions shift from contempt and suspicion toward fear and astonishment.

Significant themes

• Hidden danger beneath public appearances: The Ghost Entity turns a sportsmanlike exchange into an attempted assassination, unseen by everyone but Xu Yuan.
• Adaptability under pressure: Xu Yuan’s calm, quick decisions and unconventional resources let him respond when retreat and ordinary swordplay are no longer enough.
• Legacy and grief: A cutaway to Earth shows people remembering a deceased champion—his skill, generosity, competitive spirit, and impact on those around him. Their recollections suggest that Xu Yuan is connected to this celebrated figure, though the exact relationship is left unstated.
• Artistry and mastery: Xu Yuan’s sword formation transforms combat into a vivid spectacle, presenting technical skill as both power and beauty.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Bai Kui exchange polite remarks before Bai questions how Xu Yuan’s sword struck without being seen.
• Zhang and Xu Yuan trade courteous but pointed warnings, each acknowledging the other’s strengths. Zhang also mentions his admiration for Xu Yuan’s absent teammate, Jiang Xueyao, and his respect for Yang Xiaobing.
• Yang Xiaobing breaks the crowd’s silence to urge Xu Yuan to dodge.
• On Earth, former rivals, a teammate, and a coach remember the absent champion, combining praise for his competitive greatness with personal affection and unresolved sorrow.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan reveals an Imago—a sword skill transformed through mastery and recognized by the Heavenly Dao—while fighting Zhang Pengcheng. Teachers and students recognize the feat as extraordinary, and Xu Yuan’s school staff celebrate his prospects.
• Xu Yuan uses Swallow’s Return to command ten flying swords. Zhang Pengcheng initially parries them, but the swords regroup and attack again. Xu Yuan adds the Qiong Jia Sword’s Swallow Song: Three Questions, forcing Zhang to concede.
• Xu Yuan redirects the swords after Zhang yields, using their strikes to kill a hidden Demonic Beast that had been waiting to ambush him. He had concealed his true intentions and held back his Dark Spirit, making the monster believe it had an opening.
• With the beast dead and Zhang defeated, Xu Yuan’s apparent exhaustion wins the crowd’s concern. Yang Xiaobing rushes onto the stage to protect and support him. Xu Yuan privately admits he was pretending, but continues the act.
• Xu Yuan praises Zhang and learns he has been admitted to Nine Luminaries. Xu Yuan invites him to apply to Luofu instead, suggesting they could study together.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan demonstrates exceptional sword skill, tactical foresight, and composure. He protects the crowd from the hidden beast while keeping his strategy secret, then shows respect for Zhang and recruits him.
• Yang Xiaobing is moved to tears by Xu Yuan’s Imago and his long effort. She believes his victory fulfills his promise to stand up for her, and boldly risks joining him onstage to guard him.
• Zhang Pengcheng proves himself a skilled and honorable opponent, fighting ten swords with one before recognizing his limits and conceding. He admires Xu Yuan and is surprised Nine Luminaries did not recruit him.
• Xu Yuan’s teachers and principal are impressed and excited, imagining his future success.

Significant themes

• Years of effort and recognition: Xu Yuan’s Imago represents the hard work behind his achievement.
• Strategy and concealed strength: His apparent vulnerability masks a plan to catch the beast, showing that victory depends on judgment as well as power.
• Trust and devotion: Yang Xiaobing’s concern leads her to protect Xu Yuan despite the danger, while he quietly worries about her safety.
• Respect and opportunity: Xu Yuan treats Zhang as a worthy rival and offers him a chance to pursue a different path at Luofu.