Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan defeats Zhang Pengcheng in an extraordinary arena match, controlling eleven Flying Swords despite being only in the Qi Refining Realm. The crowd’s applause grows as the host praises both fighters.
• After the match, Yang Xiaobing supports an exhausted Xu Yuan. She notices his strain and massages his cramped hand while he privately wonders about the image that appeared around him during the fight.
• Xu Yuan receives notice that he has won the first battle in the “Peerless Hero” series, defeating Funeral Hymn and earning a shop renovation, a Blank Historical Branch, and the venue’s unanimous support. His combat-preparation shop will be closed for 24 hours.
• He chooses among rewards and learns that his Hundred Meridians Return to Truth Scripture is Dharma Lord grade, far above the rare-grade cultivation art on offer. He selects another Blank Historical Branch instead.
• In the south, Xia Yin and the Six-Armed Scorpion Demon Envoy await news of an attempted killing. When Xia Yin’s spell fails and he suffers a backlash, they realize their target survived.
• At the imperial palace, Uncle reviews state affairs and watches a recording of Xu Yuan’s match. Impressed by Xu Yuan’s skill and apparent control, he decides to send someone from the Heavenly Palace to recruit him early into imperial service.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows both remarkable combat ability and a playful, self-deprecating inner voice. Though physically drained, he carefully manages his image and makes strategic choices about his rewards.
• Yang Xiaobing expresses concern that Xu Yuan carries his burdens alone. Their affectionate, teasing interaction—especially her determined hand massage—shows their growing closeness.
• Zhang Pengcheng responds to the match with respect, exchanging contact information with Xu Yuan rather than showing resentment.
• Xia Yin and the Six-Armed Scorpion Demon Envoy reveal a shared plan to gain power within their branch. The failed spell exposes the plan’s setback and confirms their intended target is alive.
• Uncle shifts from weary ruler to active patron. After analyzing Xu Yuan’s performance, he resolves to accelerate the young cultivator’s rise and bring him into imperial service.

Significant themes

• Hidden ability and recognition: Xu Yuan’s extraordinary talent earns attention from spectators, experts, and powerful officials.
• Strategic restraint: His victory seems impressive not only because of raw power, but because he appears to know exactly how far to push the fight.
• Ambition amid danger: Xu Yuan’s advancement unfolds alongside political purges, covert killings, and looming conflict.
• Support and companionship: Yang Xiaobing’s concern contrasts with Xu Yuan’s tendency to endure hardship privately.
• Opportunity and uncertainty: Powerful rewards and recruitment prospects open new paths, while the failed assassination hints that greater dangers are ahead.

Key plot points and events

• Zhai Qingya, an agent from Heavenly Palace Arts, offers Xu Yuan a chance to become an entertainer. Though Xu Yuan distrusts the industry’s grand claims, he reads the contract and finds its terms generous.
• A shrine in Xu Yuan’s pouch cracks when he considers refusing. Sensing its displeasure, and remembering that a powerful figure gave it to him for a future purpose, Xu Yuan decides not to dismiss the offer outright.
• Zhai explains that Xu Yuan would begin with livestreams and could later earn money through endorsements, appearances, charity work, and other opportunities. The income and resources could help him advance in cultivation.
• Xu Yuan discusses the offer with his mother, Zhao Shulan, in the hospital. She enthusiastically supports him and suggests having the school’s legal advisers review the contract. Remembering how his family opposed his esports ambitions in his previous life, Xu Yuan is moved by her support.
• He accepts the opportunity, partly because the extra income could fund his cultivation and improve his mother’s care.
• At home, Xu Yuan prepares to use a Blank Historical Branch to complete either the Azure Heaven Draws Yellow Springs technique or his combat art, Night Rain. Prioritizing survival, he writes that he once heard the technique’s missing second half—but the branch rejects this as impossible because it would alter past history.

Character developments

• Xu Yuan moves from suspicion and hesitation to accepting the offer for practical reasons. He remains cautious about publicity and contracts, but recognizes that money and training resources are crucial to his progress.
• Zhao Shulan is warmly supportive of her son’s decision, contrasting with the family opposition Xu Yuan remembers from his previous life.
• Zhai Qingya presents himself as a confident, persuasive agent, emphasizing that the company’s success depends on helping Xu Yuan grow.

Significant themes

• Resources and opportunity: Talent alone is not enough; cultivation also requires money, instruction, and materials.
• Family support and second chances: Xu Yuan’s mother’s encouragement contrasts with his painful past and gives him freedom to pursue his ambitions.
• Balancing privacy and survival: Xu Yuan is wary of public attention but weighs it against the benefits of income and advancement.
• Limits of changing history: The Blank Historical Branch cannot be used to create a past event that would alter history.

Character interactions

• Zhai pitches the entertainment career and answers Xu Yuan’s concerns about the industry and the work involved.
• Liu Mingdao verifies the company’s legitimacy and gives Xu Yuan space to consider the offer.
• Xu Yuan and Zhao Shulan discuss the contract; she encourages him and offers to sign once he has decided.
• Alone at home, Xu Yuan tests the Blank Historical Branch and discovers that his proposed change is forbidden.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan tries to use a Blank Historical Branch to uncover the Truth Set’s origins. His attempts are rejected until he learns that connecting himself to the Truth Set requires three Blank Historical Branches—one more than he has.
• Fascinated by the mystery, he decides to wait for another opportunity to obtain a branch rather than act hastily. Unable to contain his excitement, he calls Zhao Afei with a supposedly secret revelation, then abruptly hangs up, leaving Zhao equally curious.
• Xu Yuan finishes his homework and considers entering a hard-mode Border City Training Match. With only 19 gold coins and the shop closed for renovations, he fears he might not be able to afford to leave if trouble arises, so he chooses safer cultivation instead. The Final Enlightenment Ring helps his Spiritual Power grow faster.
• At school the next morning, Xu Yuan and Zhao Afei test their talisman soldiers in a playful desk-top duel. Zhao invites Xu Yuan to dinner with his grandfather, explaining that his exam ranking rose by more than 200 places and his family credits Xu Yuan’s help.
• Xu Yuan agrees in principle, but his afternoon is crowded: he is due to meet Heavenly Palace Arts Company about a debut contract, and expects a second battle between Peerless Hero and Funeral Hymn. He ends the chapter by revealing a powerful talisman-soldier move: the “Whirlwind Kick.”

Character developments

• Xu Yuan is increasingly captivated by the Truth Set’s mystery. He is impulsive and excitable, but ultimately cautious when the cost and risks of a Training Match become clear.
• Zhao Afei is grateful to Xu Yuan for helping improve his exam standing and wants to show that gratitude, while also seeking a little more ease at home. His enthusiasm and poor reputation for keeping secrets remain a source of humor.

Significant themes

• Unanswered mysteries and ambition: The Truth Set’s elusive history becomes a major puzzle, and Xu Yuan is eager to pursue it.
• Caution alongside ambition: Xu Yuan’s curiosity is strong, but practical limits—such as insufficient money—make him choose safety.
• Friendship and mutual support: Xu Yuan’s influence has helped Zhao academically, and Zhao wants to acknowledge it.
• Everyday life amid danger: Homework, school, cultivation, and friendships continue alongside supernatural battles and hidden historical secrets.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Zhao Afei joke and tease one another, first over Xu Yuan’s fake “secret” and later during their talisman duel.
• Zhao asks Xu Yuan to meet his grandfather at dinner, linking his improved results to Xu Yuan’s help; Xu Yuan accepts conditionally because of his packed schedule.
• Their talisman soldiers mirror their friendly rivalry, with Xu Yuan’s improvised Whirlwind Kick giving him the win.

Key events

• Xu Yuan’s class receives its Monthly Exam results. He and Zhao Afei are praised for their progress and strong team battle; Xu Yuan places fifth in the written exam, a major improvement over his previous ranking.
• Xu Yuan realizes that most of his lost marks came from calculation errors, not gaps in memorized material. After a demanding morning of exam reviews, he feels worn out from both schoolwork and his recent battle.
• Yang Xiaobing meets him and encourages him to practice calculations, reminding him that they matter in many subjects. She uses a simple talisman to keep the rain off them as they walk to lunch.
• Xu Yuan tells Yang Xiaobing he plans to make his debut with Heavenly Palace, after his mother agreed. He sees it as a chance to earn money for future expenses. Yang is initially unsettled by the idea, but accepts his reasoning and expresses support by sharing food and listening to his plans.
• Yang asks Jiang Xueyao to check out the company. Jiang confirms that Heavenly Palace is established and capable, though not famous. Yang also tells her about Xu Yuan’s plans for Luofu and their recent reconciliation.
• At Penglai, Jiang reads Yang’s messages but does not respond. A young man arrives to invite her to a Nine Luminaries swordsmanship lecture and offer to introduce her to its instructors.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows academic progress and recognizes a practical weakness he can address. He is also becoming more forward-looking: he intends to work, support himself, and repay Yang’s long-standing care.
• Yang Xiaobing continues to act as Xu Yuan’s tutor and close companion. She supports his career choice despite her initial concern, and quietly starts investigating whether it is safe. Her hopes of entering Luofu motivate her to practice talisman-making.
• Jiang Xueyao appears concerned for Xu Yuan and willing to use her connections to help. Her silence after Yang recounts the reconciliation suggests the news affects her, though the reason is not explained.
• Xu Yuan and Yang share an easy, affectionate routine—studying, walking, eating, and trading food—while discussing their future plans.

Significant themes

• Progress through effort: Xu Yuan’s improved results show growth, while his calculation mistakes point to the work still ahead.
• Ambition and financial pressure: His debut offers opportunity but may change his social standing; he frames it as a practical way to prepare for college and the future.
• Care and reciprocity: Yang has long supported Xu Yuan, and he now wants to return that care.
• Changing paths and emotional ties: Xu Yuan’s career opportunity, their shared Luofu ambitions, and Jiang’s unresolved reaction hint that personal relationships may be tested by new opportunities.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Xueyao leaves the gathering rather than visit the Nine Luminaries, explaining that she must return because it rejected her classmate, Xu Yuan. She refuses Xu Youqing’s invitation to join him there.
• On the way home, she alerts her father that the emperor intends to continue the dangerous Border City Battle exam and has apparently approved the Heavenly Palace’s recruitment of Xu Yuan. Father and daughter infer that the emperor may be challenging the Crown Prince’s position by reopening scrutiny of the battle’s past decisions.
• The Jiang family’s ties to the Crown Prince are already strained: it saved the Commandery Princess, declined his invitations, and may be expected to provide a consort for First Highness Lu Chenzhou. Jiang Xueyao concludes that the family must openly side with the emperor, despite not knowing who will prevail. She decides not to warn Xu Yuan, since discussing the emperor’s intentions could endanger them both.
• After waiting nearly twenty-four hours, Xu Yuan sees the shop’s upgrade sequence. It depicts criminals Six-Armed and Xia Yin being cornered by police, then fleeing into the mountains, where a mudslide buries and scatters the supplies they hid. The shop registers the lost items as loot.
• The shop upgrades into the Demon, Ghost Monster, and Human Battle Preparation Room. Its highest possible merchandise grade is now Spirit Treasure; refreshes may produce equipment and supplies used by the All Things Unity Society in the Border City Battle ten years earlier. A third upgrade remains undisclosed until the Demon and Ghost Monster shelf is activated.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Xueyao shifts from personal loyalty to a deliberate political stance, recognizing that her family cannot remain neutral. Her refusal of Xu Youqing’s invitation is both personal solidarity with Xu Yuan and a signal of her political alignment.
• Father Jiang moves quickly from arranging a promising match for his daughter to assessing the succession crisis with her. He and Jiang Xueyao reach the same decision without needing further persuasion.
• Xu Youqing respects Jiang Xueyao’s choice, though he is clearly captivated by her, and still hopes to see her at the Nine Luminaries.
• Xia Yin and Six-Armed discover that Xu Yuan is protected by powerful forces. Their attempt to destroy evidence during the police raid—and later hide their remaining goods—ultimately supplies the shop with loot.

Significant themes

• Political uncertainty and loyalty: The Jiang family must choose a side amid a possible struggle between emperor and Crown Prince, with severe consequences either way.
• Personal ties within larger conflicts: Jiang Xueyao’s concern for Xu Yuan shapes her decisions, but she carefully weighs the danger of involving him in court politics.
• Risk, consequence, and unexpected gain: The criminals’ attempts to escape and conceal their supplies lead to the shop’s upgrade, turning their losses into Xu Yuan’s opportunity.

Key plot points

• The System announces that the second Peerless Hero battle will begin in four hours. The upgraded store mentions Demons and Ghost Monsters, but those options remain locked; Xu Yuan is told they will unlock “when the time is right.”
• Xu Yuan visits Zhao Shulan in the hospital. She approves and signs his entertainment contract with Heavenly Palace, along with Xu Yuan and company representative Zhai Qingya.
• Zhai gives Xu Yuan a Spirit Treasure-grade recording Formation Disc and explains that the company will help promote his livestreams and everyday content. Xu Yuan also learns that he will receive a living allowance and a newcomer’s gift.
• After leaving the hospital, Xu Yuan rushes to a secluded park as the second battle begins. The challenge requires him to livestream and reach 10,000 concurrent viewers within half an hour, or face another deadly “Funeral Hymn.” Success will suppress the threat, earn him a Blank Historical Branch, and delay the next battle.
• Xu Yuan sends an urgent message to his contacts. Zhang Pengcheng rallies classmates to watch; Liu Mingdao and the school principal consider notifying the whole school; Lu Yiyi decides to check the livestream herself.
• At a banquet, Jiang Xueyao rebuffs her father’s matchmaking suggestions and then rejects an unwelcome suitor with a dry joke about the phone she is using.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan is excited by his contract and new equipment, and promises to improve Zhao Shulan’s circumstances once he earns money. His warm, attentive care for her contrasts with his growing anxiety about the battle and his desperate scramble to attract viewers.
• Zhao Shulan supports Xu Yuan’s career and encourages him to work hard, though her brief response to his promise carries mixed emotion.
• Zhai Qingya treats Xu Yuan as a promising talent, provides professional resources, and offers to develop his career. Xu Yuan awkwardly accepts the nickname “Duck Bro.”
• Zhang Pengcheng, Bai Kui, Liu Mingdao, and the principal respond to Xu Yuan’s message by mobilizing or considering mobilizing viewers.
• Lu Yiyi is intrigued by Xu Yuan’s unusual plan and chooses to watch in person.
• Jiang Xueyao remains independent and unimpressed by the men proposed to her, including her father’s suggested matches and a stranger seeking her contact details.

Significant themes

• Career and survival collide: Xu Yuan’s public debut is not merely a professional opportunity; it is a life-or-death competition.
• Support and obligation: Xu Yuan’s promise to care for Zhao Shulan reflects his determination to repay her faith in him.
• Public attention as power: The livestream’s audience becomes a weapon against the hidden threat, making friends, classmates, and institutions potentially crucial allies.
• Unresolved mysteries: The locked Demons-and-Ghost-Monsters features and the System’s repeated insistence on waiting for the “right time” foreshadow larger secrets.

Key plot points

• Lu Yiyi tells Jiang Xueyao that the Demon Race insulted the Human Race, prompting the Emperor to propose a contest between the younger generations. The final joint recruitment event of the Nine Luminaries and Luofu will therefore become a battle against the Demon Race.
• Jiang Xueyao readily agrees to compete, despite having already given up her earlier recruitment offer. She resolves to return home and train intensively.
• A message from Xu Yuan makes her stay to watch his livestream. Remembering his unfinished Imago from an earlier match, she sends him a question—and two expensive gifts—to prompt him to demonstrate his skill.
• Xu Yuan completes the Imago, revealing the lines “The sun sets in the west” and “The heartbroken wanderer stands at the edge of the world.” His sword technique fuses the scene of a solitary traveler at dusk with his Sword Qi and the surrounding world.
• Watching the complete Imago gives Jiang Xueyao a sudden breakthrough in her swordsmanship. Meanwhile, Xu Yuan uses the livestream to teach the basic Flying Sword Art openly, an unprecedented opportunity for cultivators.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Xueyao shifts from surprise at the coming contest to fierce determination. She initially believes she might guide Xu Yuan, but his completed technique instead inspires her breakthrough. She recognizes that she had underestimated him and regards helping him gain attention as an apology.
• Xu Yuan demonstrates both technical mastery and generosity by publicly explaining a long-secret art. He interprets Jiang’s gifts and question as an invitation to showcase his abilities, though he keeps one personal detail—his own longing for home—private.
• Jiang Xueyao and Xu Yuan communicate indirectly through the livestream: she offers a carefully phrased prompt, and he responds with a dazzling demonstration. His achievement changes her from an observer hoping to advise him into someone learning from him.
• Jiang Xueyao’s father notices his usually composed daughter acting unusually playful but does not understand why.

Significant themes

• Human–Demon rivalry: The contest represents an unprecedented public test of the two races’ younger generations and the Human Race’s standing.
• Humility and mutual influence: Jiang Xueyao’s confidence gives way to respect when Xu Yuan’s work surpasses her expectations; she learns from the person she meant to guide.
• Art, feeling, and technique: Xu Yuan’s Imago turns emotion—loneliness and longing—into a powerful sword technique, showing that personal feeling can shape martial mastery.
• Knowledge shared and hidden: Xu Yuan openly teaches a rare art, while keeping the Imago’s personal meaning to himself.

Plot points

• Xu Yuan rejects his earlier explanation of “homesickness” and resumes teaching Swallow’s Departure, a Flying Sword Art technique, on his livestream.
• A huge tip from “Swallows Flying in Pairs” brings a surge of viewers. A special host, Zhou Meimei, interviews Xu Yuan about why he is teaching a technique usually kept secret.
• Xu Yuan decides to make the move open-source, offering it freely for anyone to learn, teach, adapt, and improve. He explains his dream of a cultivation world where poverty and family background do not prevent people from accessing knowledge or opportunity.
• Zhou is deeply moved by his speech, and the platform promotes the stream. Xu Yuan reaches the competition’s ten-thousand-viewer goal and wins the round, suppressing the erupting Funeral Hymn.
• The livestream’s audience continues climbing, so Xu Yuan keeps teaching. He notices Lu Yiyi watching from across the street.
• Six-Armed and Xia Yin appear, apparently intending to attack Xu Yuan. Seeing the livestream—and Lu Yiyi guarded by twelve concealed Golden Core cultivators—they realize the attack would expose their underground organization. They pretend they came to support the broadcast instead. Xu Yuan recognizes that the public livestream and Lu Yiyi’s protection have effectively trapped them, leaving both sides in a tense standoff.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shifts from improvising an explanation to expressing a sincere commitment to sharing knowledge. He remains composed during the interview and later uses the livestream’s attention to achieve both his competition goal and increased earnings.
• Zhou Meimei begins as a professional interviewer but is personally affected by Xu Yuan’s vision, recalling how limited access to the right Dao Art shaped her own life.
• Lu Yiyi silently supports Xu Yuan by letting him continue the broadcast, while her guarded presence helps deter his enemies.
• Six-Armed and Xia Yin arrive hostile but quickly become cautious when they understand the risks of attacking on camera and the significance of Lu Yiyi’s protection. Xu Yuan and the two men each grasp the other’s predicament, but none makes a move.

Significant themes

• Equal access to knowledge: Xu Yuan challenges a society where powerful techniques are hoarded by the privileged.
• Collective improvement: Open-source teaching treats knowledge as something a community can share and refine.
• Public accountability and power: The livestream turns visibility into protection, limiting what a secretive organization can do.
• Idealism and pragmatism: Xu Yuan’s public dream is sincere, but the broadcast also serves his immediate competition goal—and, unexpectedly, financial gain.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan, Xia Yin, and the Six-Armed Scorpion Demon Envoy are caught in an awkward standoff during Xu Yuan’s livestream. The two All Things Unity Society officers cannot attack without exposing themselves or risking the city’s defenses.
• Xia Yin tries to disguise the confrontation by singing, but Xu Yuan turns the situation against them: he cues a children’s song and orders his “assistants” to dance. When a powerful Nascent Soul expert appears nearby, the officers abandon their attack and perform rather than risk a fight.
• Viewers interpret the dance as a noble effort to educate children about flying swords and send donations. Xu Yuan’s system reports that the event has lowered the difficulty of his upcoming “Funeral Hymn” match and awarded him a Blank Historical Branch. The two officers escape while still dancing.
• Xu Yuan finishes his flying-sword demonstration and ends the stream. Lu Yiyi introduces Uncle Dong, one of her father’s trusted men. Uncle Dong gives Xu Yuan the supplementary section of the Night Rain sword technique as thanks for helping Yiyi and in recognition of Xu Yuan’s open-source ideas.
• Lu Yiyi tells Xu Yuan that the next Monthly Exam will again be the Border City Battle, this time with tougher combat, rankings, and rewards. Xu Yuan is secretly pleased because he hopes to revisit the training scenario and save a child he encountered there.
• Xu Yuan asks about Lu Yiyi’s condition, but she avoids explaining it. They part warmly, with plans to meet again and discuss breakfast the next day.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan shows quick thinking and a mischievous sense of humor, turning a dangerous encounter into a ridiculous performance. He also reveals compassion through his desire to return to the battle scenario and help the abandoned child.
• Xia Yin and the Scorpion Demon Envoy shift from threatening officers to unwilling dancers. Their fear of the nearby expert outweighs their humiliation, and they escape once the performance gives them cover.
• Lu Yiyi remains guarded about her illness and complicated circumstances, but her visits and practical concern for Xu Yuan suggest growing closeness. She redirects his questions rather than confiding in him.
• Uncle Dong is courteous and observant. He respects Xu Yuan, delivers the technique on behalf of Lu Yiyi’s father, and recognizes that Lu Yiyi has personal reasons for staying near Xu Yuan.

Significant themes

• Humor and improvisation in danger: Xu Yuan uses performance and quick judgment to defuse a potentially lethal confrontation.
• Public perception versus reality: Viewers mistake a coercive, absurd dance for a heartfelt educational act, turning humiliation into praise and donations.
• Compassion and responsibility: Xu Yuan’s concern for the child in the battle scenario shows that he takes imagined or uncertain suffering seriously.
• Unspoken attachment and secrecy: Lu Yiyi’s concealed condition and reluctance to leave hint at a bond with Xu Yuan complicated by her hidden identity and circumstances.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan visits Zhao Afei’s family home, a luxurious cultivation-focused residence, bringing a small gift. He learns that Afei’s father is in prison after being tricked into signing contracts by Afei’s uncle. Their grandfather has responded by leaving his company and property to Afei, excluding the uncle and aunt.
• Afei’s spirit dog attacks Xu Yuan, but Afei swiftly intervenes and tells it Xu Yuan is his brother.
• Xu Yuan receives notice that his improved exam results have earned him a transfer to Class 1, the school’s top class. Afei has also been transferred, and the two joke about becoming each other’s “dad.” Class 1 offers superior training resources.
• Afei plans to study alchemy, while his grandfather doubts that Artifact Refining suits him. Xu Yuan thinks Afei should consider combat training rather than relying only on support specialties.
• To test him, Xu Yuan spars with Afei using their unarmed combat technique. Xu Yuan provokes him with insults, and Afei’s initially clumsy fighting suddenly becomes fast and ferocious. Xu Yuan stops the match and urges him to consider developing that strength.
• Afei is reluctant to fight, but Xu Yuan pushes him to imagine training and fighting alongside him. Afei agrees to think about it and says he may hire a boxing tutor. Xu Yuan praises his natural power, and Afei gratefully accepts the encouragement.

Character development

• Xu Yuan acts as Afei’s friend and mentor, using a deliberately rough sparring match to reveal Afei’s potential. His approach is manipulative but well-intentioned; he ultimately leaves the decision to Afei.
• Zhao Afei shows loyalty and protectiveness when he defends Xu Yuan from his dog. Though insecure and hesitant about combat, he discovers an instinctive fierceness under pressure and begins considering a more active fighting role.
• Afei’s family situation helps explain his timidity: his father is imprisoned, his mother lives nearby, and family inheritance conflict has left him without a stable parental presence.

Significant themes

• Potential revealed through challenge: Afei’s combat ability emerges when he is pushed beyond his usual insecurity.
• Friendship and tough love: Xu Yuan’s teasing and physical provocation are intended to help Afei, though his methods are questionable.
• Support versus frontline strength: The chapter weighs the security of support specialties against the growth, experience, and rewards gained through direct combat.
• Family loyalty and betrayal: The inheritance dispute contrasts the grandfather’s loyalty to family with the uncle and aunt’s pursuit of money.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and Afei share a familiar, joking friendship, including banter about their transfer to Class 1.
• Afei demonstrates his loyalty by protecting Xu Yuan from the spirit dog.
• During the spar, Xu Yuan insults and challenges Afei to provoke his fighting instincts; afterward, he encourages him and frames combat as a way to keep pace with Xu Yuan.
• Afei responds first with anger, then with gratitude, believing Xu Yuan pushed him for his own good.

Plot points and events

• After a tiring visit to Zhao Afei’s home, Xu Yuan returns with a full stomach and many pills. He is too exhausted to train or work, so he decides to rest and postpone earning money for better equipment.
• He remembers he has three Blank Historical Branches and tries to use them to uncover the origins of the Truth Set and its Azure Heaven Draws Yellow Springs technique. His first three attempts fail: the slips say the proposed events are impossible or cannot be realized.
• Xu Yuan concludes that the technique’s lineage vanished before he was born, leaving no historical point of connection between it and his life.
• After falling asleep and waking in the middle of the night, he suddenly sees a possible solution: use the slips to connect the technique’s distant past to his own unusual history.
• He writes that, in a previous life, he studied under the technique’s creator; then proposes that his soul once went to Earth and later returned to this world, rejoining him when he was nailed to the bridge. Neither slip reacts, which Xu Yuan takes as a promising sign. The chapter ends as he prepares to write on the final slip.

Character development

• Xu Yuan is practical and cautious: he refuses the Zhao family’s ancestral Pill Furnace and recognizes he needs money and proper equipment before risking a dangerous training match.
• His exhaustion gives way to intense curiosity and determination. By reconsidering the slips’ rules, he develops a bold theory about how his past lives and Earth connection might let him reach a technique otherwise lost to history.

Character interactions

• Zhao Afei and his grandfather welcome Xu Yuan warmly. The grandfather praises Xu Yuan’s livestream and celebrates his friendship with Afei.
• Xu Yuan is polite and grateful, though overwhelmed by the family’s hospitality and gifts.
• Most of the chapter’s later conflict is internal, as Xu Yuan tests the slips, interprets their responses, and debates his theory.

Significant themes

• The limits of history and fate: Some events and lives may never intersect, making certain knowledge impossible to recover by ordinary means.
• Persistence and reinterpretation: Failed attempts lead Xu Yuan to question his assumptions rather than give up.
• Identity across lives: Xu Yuan’s connection to Earth and the possibility of previous lives may bridge an otherwise unreachable past.
• Rest versus ambition: Though he plans to stop for the night, the mystery ultimately pulls him back into action.

Plot points and events

• Unable to unlock more of the Truth Set’s history, Xu Yuan writes a third Historical Side Quest: before turning eighteen, he will awaken his past-life memories and master the Bluefall Yellow Springs Art.
• The quest succeeds. He learns that, in the Previous Era, he served a great cultivator who taught him the art; Xu Yuan died soon afterward in a ghost tide. His other past-life memories are sealed unless events connected to that era call them forth.
• He performs the complete art, deepening his bond with the Truth Set and transforming his Spiritual Power into Ghost Qi. The Ring and Pendant begin changing, triggering Heaven’s Retribution and nearly draining him.
• Xu Yuan becomes an ordinary ghost with a new talent, Ghost Devour, which can absorb a defeated demon or ghost and randomly acquire one of its key survival traits.
• As the transformation erases his sense of being human and his current-life memories, a ravenous ghost persona takes over. A “Boss Battle” begins: Xu Yuan must defeat this new entity or be consumed by it.
• Xu Yuan resists by recalling his Earth-life memories, which the curse did not erase. While he struggles for control, the Truth Set’s shop recognizes him as nonhuman and offers a task to unlock its ghost-related shelf: perform Ghost Devour and report what it yields.
• With no other ghost available, he tries to devour the emerging persona by eating some of his own hair. The attempt fails; the shop instructs him to bite the other self’s body when it cannot fight back.

Character development and interactions

• Xu Yuan moves from anxious uncertainty about whether his historical quest worked to sudden mastery of an art that reshapes his identity and threatens his life.
• His human self fights the instinctive, predatory ghost self for control. Earth memories—especially familiar culture and personal experiences—serve as an anchor, helping him argue that the ghost is still part of him.
• The Ring and Pendant act as both catalysts and liabilities: their transformation unlocks the art’s hidden rune, but drains the power Xu Yuan needs to defend himself.
• Xu Yuan’s interaction with the Truth Set shifts from using its historical prompts to receiving a new, practical challenge tied to his ghost identity.

Significant themes

• Identity and memory: Losing the memories of his current life makes Xu Yuan doubt his humanity, while memories from another life restore his sense of self.
• The cost of power: Mastering the complete art grants a new ability but triggers a deadly transformation and leaves Xu Yuan dangerously depleted.
• Selfhood and inner conflict: The “new” ghost is simultaneously Xu Yuan and a threat to his continued existence.
• Adaptation and survival: Xu Yuan improvises under extreme pressure, using whatever memories and tools remain to resist the curse.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan’s newly formed ghost self takes control of his body and insists that ghostly existence—hunting, devouring, and growing stronger—is better than human life.
• Unable to reason with it, Xu Yuan realizes Ghost Devour will work only when its target cannot fight back. He pins himself to a wall with the Qiong Jia Sword and repeatedly stabs himself, then cuts his leg, enduring escalating pain while fighting for control.
• When the ghost’s pain and exhaustion leave it unable to use its hands, Xu Yuan dislocates one arm, pins the other, and activates Ghost Devour by biting into his bleeding shoulder. He devours the ghost self, gaining the basic ability to control a ghost body and completing “Raw Material Processing”—though he still needs to obtain something belonging to another Ghost Entity to finish the broader accumulation.
• Injured and barely able to move, Xu Yuan pulls the sword free with his teeth, treats his wounds, and calls Zhao Afei for help.
• Afterward, a system message recognizes that Xu Yuan defeated his ghost-formed self and broke its curse. He unlocks Border City Battle (Nightmare Mode), where he suspects the missing dragon boss may appear.

Character development

• Xu Yuan proves fiercely determined and resourceful, turning self-inflicted injury into a way to weaken the ghost and reclaim his body.
• The ghost self reveals a radically different worldview: it rejects human suffering and meaninglessness in favor of the freedom and simplicity of predation. Its final accusation—that Xu Yuan is the lunatic for choosing human life—underscores their fundamental divide.
• Xu Yuan becomes a Ghost Entity himself, but retains his human identity and resolve.

Significant themes

• Humanity versus survival: Xu Yuan chooses to endure human pain and uncertainty rather than surrender his humanity to ghostly existence.
• Will and self-control: The struggle is both physical and psychological, with bodily control representing the battle over identity.
• The cost of transformation: Xu Yuan’s victory requires severe self-harm, suggesting that power and survival come at a steep price.
• Unanswered history: Xu Yuan wonders whether people in the Previous Era deliberately cultivated split selves to fight ghosts—and whether that strategy contributed to their downfall.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan and his ghost self argue over whether human life is worth its suffering, then battle for control of the same body. Their conflict ends with Xu Yuan devouring the other self.
• Xu Yuan contacts Zhao Afei for help, disguising his condition as food poisoning; Zhao reacts with alarm and hangs up to come over.

Plot points and events

• After clearing the previous challenge, Xu Yuan inspects his equipment. His Ring and Emblem have gone quiet, and his set has expanded from two pieces to eight; the two pieces he owns still grant the Apostle of Truth identity and the Azure Heaven Draws Yellow Springs technique.
• Exhausted and badly wounded, Xu Yuan is found by Zhao Afei, who gives him powerful healing Pills. To explain the blood and injuries, Xu Yuan invents a story about being caught up with gangsters and claims he is retiring from the underworld.
• The next day, Afei covers for Xu Yuan with his aunt while Xu Yuan attends class and recovers. When Li Tao confronts Xu Yuan over Jiang Xueyao’s sword attack, Afei steps in, slaps Li Tao, and scares him off with a convincing show of bravado.
• Yang Xiaobing notices Xu Yuan looks unwell and urges him to rest. Their concern quickly turns into playful bickering.
• Once healed, Xu Yuan prepares to enter the Border City Battle’s Nightmare Mode. Learning that each entry, exit, pause, finish, or restart costs one Gold Coin, he is relieved to discover his first entry and exit are free. Nightmare Mode passes only one second in the real world per entry or exit, but offers no rewards or monster drops.
• Re-activating the event completes “Welcome to the Boss Battle” and grants Xu Yuan a new ability: “You’ve Made Me Excited.” Once per day, he can designate a target as a Boss by saying the phrase, raising it one level and ensuring it drops something valuable if defeated or killed.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan remains curious about Nightmare Mode but weighs its risks and costs before committing. Rather than reveal the truth about his injuries, he invents a safer cover story for Afei.
• Zhao Afei shows genuine concern and loyalty, healing Xu Yuan and protecting him from Li Tao. His tough-guy performance is more convincing than his actual courage: his legs tremble even as he intimidates Li Tao.
• Li Tao confronts Xu Yuan angrily but backs down when Afei intervenes.
• Yang Xiaobing shows concern for Xu Yuan’s health, while their teasing, physical joking, and mutual exasperation reveal an easy closeness.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and trust: Xu Yuan hides the supernatural reality of his experiences, even from a loyal friend, relying on a fabricated story instead.
• Caution amid temptation: Nightmare Mode promises a dangerous challenge, but Xu Yuan considers its price and practical value before entering.
• Loyalty and courage: Afei’s concern for Xu Yuan leads him to act boldly, despite being frightened.
• Power and opportunity: The new Boss-designation ability offers a guaranteed valuable reward, potentially making future challenges more profitable.

Plot and key events

• Xu Yuan discovers that Nightmare Mode costs only one Gold Coin and compresses any time spent inside to a single second in the real world. His first entry is free, so he enters immediately.
• Nightmare Mode places him in Border City 24 hours before the disaster, where he retains the police identity and radio he acquired in Hard Mode. A dispatch sends him to East Gate Hospital.
• There, Xu Yuan sees a Ghost Tree attacking people. He uses his special ability to designate it a BOSS, which guarantees valuable loot if defeated. He rapidly cuts away its branches and trunk, and it drops a black, barbed ring.
• The Ghost Tree survives underground and attacks with the ring. Realizing he cannot defeat it, Xu Yuan pauses the Competition, moves away, and transforms into a Ghost Entity before resuming.
• The Ghost Tree speaks to him but tells him to leave its territory. A three-headed Skeleton explains that Ghosts supposedly need neither work nor conflict because they can protect themselves from being devoured.
• The Ghost Tree then attacks and devours the Skeleton, exposing the danger behind that explanation. Xu Yuan ends the Competition and returns home; only one second has passed.
• Reflecting on the experience, he suspects that Hard Mode offers only limited clues, while Nightmare Mode lets him follow the trail toward the true monster—and perhaps an even higher mode could reveal the real Border City Battle.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan is eager and resourceful, but recognizes when he is outmatched. He tests Nightmare Mode, uses its pause and transformation mechanics strategically, and withdraws rather than risk being killed.
• His encounter with the Skeleton makes him more skeptical of what he is told about Ghost society: the Skeleton’s calm account is immediately contradicted by the Ghost Tree’s predation.
• Xu Yuan communicates with police dispatch, tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with the territorial Ghost Tree, and questions the Skeleton about Ghost life.

Significant themes

• Curiosity versus danger: Xu Yuan’s desire to uncover Nightmare Mode’s secrets drives him into a fight beyond his abilities.
• Deception and survival: The apparent order among Ghosts hides a brutal struggle for survival.
• Escalating reality: The increasingly powerful Competition modes may reveal truths concealed by weaker versions.
• Time and consequence: Nightmare Mode allows Xu Yuan to experience a long, dangerous encounter while barely any time passes outside.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yuan rejects thoughts of changing the past or confronting the city-destroying monster, deciding to focus on becoming stronger.
• He enters Nightmare Mode again, using its time distortion to cultivate the Hundred Meridians Return to Truth Scripture in a secluded corner of the city. While Xu Yuan cultivates, the Shrine observes him and places two projections—one golden, one dark—on guard.
• When the disaster begins, Ghost Entities swarm the city. Xu Yuan disguises himself as one with Azure Heaven Draws Yellow Springs, allowing ghost soldiers to pass him; he then misdirects pursuing human cultivators.
• Seeking a quieter place, he moves from the park to a collapsed old temple and continues cultivating as the city falls apart.
• Xu Yuan reaches the Fifth Qi Refining Layer, then deliberately compresses his Spiritual Power, returning to the Fourth Layer while strengthening his reserves and spells.
• A white-haired monster appears above the collapsing city and devours the souls of its people and ghosts. Xu Yuan recognizes that he is far too weak to challenge it and ends the Training Match.
• Back in his living room, Xu Yuan tries to put the encounter aside. Instead, memories of a vanished city overwhelm him. The Ring and Pendant hum, and he recalls investigating that city in a previous era with a great cultivator, who said, “They’re building a passage.”

Character developments

• Xu Yuan shows greater discipline: despite his excitement about eventually fighting the monster, he forces himself to focus on gradual progress.
• His tactical thinking improves. He uses disguise and the city’s layout to avoid danger and finds isolated places to cultivate.
• His cultivation advances, and he learns to trade visible rank for a stronger foundation by compressing his Spiritual Power.
• The Shrine acts independently, studying Xu Yuan’s scripture and arranging guardians around him, suggesting a growing connection to his cultivation.

Significant themes

• Patience and incremental growth: Xu Yuan must build strength step by step rather than rush toward an impossible fight.
• Opportunity amid danger: Nightmare Mode’s time distortion turns a disastrous scenario into a rare chance to cultivate.
• Knowledge and memory: Xu Yuan’s present experience triggers buried recollections from a previous era, hinting at a larger mystery behind the vanished city.
• Survival through adaptation: Disguise, concealment, and choosing the right ground prove as important as direct combat.

Character interactions

• Xu Yuan briefly speaks with workers before slipping away to cultivate.
• He tricks the ghost soldiers’ pursuers by pointing the human cultivators in the wrong direction.
• The Shrine silently observes and protects him through its projections.
• Xu Yuan witnesses the monster consuming the city’s souls but avoids confronting it.
• The chapter ends by connecting Xu Yuan’s current vision to a past investigation with a great cultivator, whose cryptic remark introduces the next mystery.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan recalls that Ghost Entities need about ten years after destroying a city to consume its inhabitants and form a passage into the Mortal Realm. Since nearly ten years have passed since Border City fell, another invasion may be imminent—and the ghosts will be able to travel through their new passage freely.
• He is more troubled by an earlier era’s discovery of a better way to locate Ghost Entities, but cannot remember what it was. Rather than dwell on the danger, he returns to his homework.
• Sensing someone using the same cultivation technique nearby, Xu Yuan follows the presence and meets a huge White Tiger. She takes him by formation to a teahouse, where he meets Fu Xiuyi, a leader of Luofu University.
• Fu Xiuyi explains that Xu Yuan’s scripture, the Hundred Meridians Return to Truth Scripture, lets its cultivator summon beings from the Three Realms for protection. She reveals that a golden-armored skeleton and a black iron coffin have already appeared beside him.
• Impressed that Xu Yuan reached this threshold after only a few days, Fu Xiuyi invites him to become a True Disciple of the Skyscraping Divine Palace, one of Luofu University’s three ancient cultivation grounds.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan reacts to the looming ghost threat with alarm, but steadies himself by focusing on what he can do. He also shows confidence in his right to practice the scripture, while remaining respectful toward its lineage.
• The White Tiger acts as Xu Yuan’s escort and brings him before Fu Xiuyi, suggesting he has attracted attention from powerful cultivators.
• Fu Xiuyi shifts from testing and evaluating Xu Yuan to recognizing his talent and offering him a place in her sect. Xu Yuan, surprised by the hidden summons and the university’s ancient structure, listens and asks direct questions.

Significant themes

• Preparation amid catastrophe: The coming invasion is frightening, but Xu Yuan chooses practical effort over helpless worry.
• Destiny and spiritual affinity: The scripture’s first threshold marks a rare bond with beings across the Three Realms.
• Hidden power and discovery: Xu Yuan has unknowingly gained supernatural protectors and is beginning to uncover a much larger cultivation world.
• The cost of invasion: Ghost passages are formed through the destruction and consumption of entire cities, making the threat both strategic and deeply human.

Key plot points

• Xu Yuan accepts Fu Xiuyi’s offer to study at Luofu and is formally entered into the Lingxiao Golden Book as a disciple of the Skyscraping Divine Palace. He receives a page that lets him contact her.
• Asked one question as part of his new-disciple initiation, Xu Yuan asks about gods and ghosts. Fu Xiuyi explains that gods and ghosts have not appeared in the current age: supposed divine beings are manifestations of natural laws, while ghosts are associated with the dark attribute and become harder to perceive as they grow stronger. The Netherworld has shattered, though people with unusual constitutions can briefly reach its fragments.
• Fu Xiuyi says the previous human epoch was destroyed by a ghost. Xu Yuan privately connects this warning to the Greater Ghost beneath the Earth Abyss, which he believes will soon reach the human world—but he cannot reveal what he knows.
• Fu Xiuyi asks Xu Yuan to compete in the upcoming Special Admission Test, where human Qi Refining cultivators will face the Demon Race. After a crushing human defeat in earlier matches, the contest has become politically charged; the Demon Race can appoint referees and impose conditions.
• Xu Yuan agrees to participate. Fu Xiuyi gives him a booklet of insights into the Hundred Meridians Return to Truth Scripture and promises to announce his Luofu admission after the test. She sends him back to Jiangbei City.
• After Xu Yuan leaves, Fu Xiuyi discusses him with other elders. Though they approve of her choice, they try to keep her from personally teaching him. She angrily recalls that they similarly sidelined her when Tang Yunyu joined.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan is eager and direct: he accepts discipleship, asks a serious question about the nature of the Three Realms, and welcomes the chance to fight the Demon Race. He is also cautious, concealing his knowledge of the coming ghost threat.
• Fu Xiuyi becomes Xu Yuan’s mentor and shows both her authority and her enthusiasm for debate and teaching. Her confidence in him grows, and she wants to personally guide him, despite resistance from her fellow elders.
• The elders support Xu Yuan’s admission but worry that Fu Xiuyi’s personal involvement will distract her from her responsibilities as sect leader. Their teasing, dismissive history with her fuels her outburst.
• Xu Yuan and Fu Xiuyi establish a trusting but still formal teacher–disciple relationship, with Fu Xiuyi offering instruction, practical support, and a way to stay in contact.

Significant themes

• Hidden knowledge and looming danger: Xu Yuan knows of a threat that contradicts the accepted understanding of ghosts, but cannot safely disclose it.
• Tradition versus evidence: Ancient scriptures describe gods, ascension, and ghosts, while modern discoveries and failed ascensions have led people to revise those beliefs.
• Competition and political pressure: The Special Admission Test is not merely an academic trial; it carries the weight of human–Demon rivalry and potentially unfair rules.
• Mentorship and ambition: Xu Yuan’s entry into Luofu opens a path for growth, while Fu Xiuyi’s eagerness to teach him reveals her own long-suppressed passion.

Key plot points and events

• Fu Xiuyi tries to discuss cultivation with the Divine Palace cultivators, but they all flee, wary of her famously long, exhausting Dao discussions. She then tells Tang Yunyu that Xu Yuan has become her final disciple and asks Tang to discreetly help him during her mission to subdue a peak Golden Core Serpent Demon.
• Xu Yuan studies Fu Xiuyi’s practical cultivation notes, memorizes them, and burns the booklet. He remains puzzled about the ghosts and gods apparently guarding his home, but returns to his studies and practices the Hundred Meridians Return to Truth Scripture.
• The next morning, Xu Yuan receives his livestream earnings and a generous debut gift from Heavenly Palace Arts Company: Flowing Cloud, a Spirit Treasure that can transform into either a supercar or, once he reaches the eighth layer of Qi Refinement, a flying boat.
• Xu Yuan begins a livestream to teach the rest of the Flying Sword Art’s “Swallow’s Departure” formula, fulfilling his promise to make it publicly available. Tang Yunyu joins and helps attract a large audience.
• Zhou Meimei interrupts to report that Mo Daosheng, grand elder of a visiting Demon Race delegation, wants to question Xu Yuan live. Xu Yuan notices the potential danger but agrees after seeing how much money the growing viewership could bring. Mo Daosheng then appears on screen.

Character developments and interactions

• Fu Xiuyi shows warmth and investment in Xu Yuan’s progress, though her eagerness to lecture remains intimidating to her fellow cultivators and Tang Yunyu.
• Tang Yunyu learns Xu Yuan is her new junior fellow disciple. She accepts the task of helping him, then joins his broadcast as an enthusiastic and media-savvy supporter.
• Xu Yuan stays disciplined despite his growing status and wealth: he studies, trains, and follows through on his promise to teach the sword formula. At the same time, his excitement over earnings and traffic reveals a comically practical, money-minded streak.
• Zhou Meimei brings Xu and Tang into a potentially high-stakes exchange, masking concern beneath her professional smile. Xu and Tang both notice her tension.
• The chapter ends by setting up a public confrontation or discussion between Xu Yuan and Mo Daosheng, whose motives are not yet clear.

Significant themes

• Cultivation and scholarship: Fu Xiuyi’s carefully sourced advice presents spiritual practice as something that can be studied methodically.
• Discipline amid distraction: Xu Yuan balances cultivation and schoolwork with supernatural uncertainty and sudden success.
• Public knowledge and media: Xu’s decision to open-source his sword technique turns instruction into a popular livestream event.
• Power, money, and risk: Xu’s commercial gains contrast with the political and racial tensions surrounding the Demon Race delegation.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yuan finishes livestreaming a lesson on the basic Flying Sword Art, Swallow’s Departure. Tang Yunyu demonstrates it successfully.
• Mo Daosheng asks whether the Demon Race may learn the art. Xu Yuan says it is free and encourages demons to learn Human language and culture, and even use Human knowledge to improve their societies.
• While Xu Yuan speaks publicly, Mo Daosheng privately orders Demon Race youths not to study the art. He sees it as a threat to their traditions and identity, believing it could make them adopt Human culture and weaken their will to rule or oppose humans. He also plans to exploit the next Monthly Exam by arranging for someone who resents Xu Yuan to examine him and sabotage his future.
• Mo Daosheng challenges Xu Yuan to a match, claiming he will suppress his cultivation to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining and fight one-handed. Xu Yuan agrees.
• People watching the livestream react: Jiang Xueyao’s father orders the city’s Demon-Slaying Array activated; Lu Yiyi sends Uncle Dong to protect Xu Yuan; Fu Xiuyi believes Mo Daosheng has another motive and notes that an attack on camera would give the emperor grounds to retaliate. The emperor watches the exchange, wondering what Mo Daosheng intends.
• At the pond, Mo Daosheng praises Xu Yuan as the Human Race’s strongest young cultivator, apparently trying to provoke resentment among his peers. Xu Yuan counters by boasting that he is the strongest in the world, then says defeating Mo Daosheng will prove it.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yuan presents himself as generous and confident, treating the Flying Sword Art as knowledge to share rather than a guarded Human secret. He recognizes Mo Daosheng’s praise as a trap but turns it into a bold challenge.
• Mo Daosheng reveals a strategic, culturally defensive side: he fears that shared arts could erode Demon identity and sees Xu Yuan’s generosity as an attack on their civilization. His polite public manner contrasts with his secret orders and plans.
• Tang Yunyu supports Xu Yuan during the lesson but becomes anxious when Mo Daosheng proposes a match.
• Jiang Xueyao’s father, Lu Yiyi, and Fu Xiuyi each take steps or assess the danger, showing that Xu Yuan’s confrontation has drawn powerful Human attention.
• The livestream audience and Demon envoys respond differently: viewers witness the provocation, while the envoys initially welcome the chance to learn the art before Mo Daosheng forbids it.

Significant themes

• Cultural influence and identity: Xu Yuan sees shared knowledge as a bridge; Mo Daosheng sees it as a means of assimilation and loss of tradition.
• Knowledge as power: Teaching a sword technique may reshape relations between races as much as it changes combat.
• Public image and manipulation: Mo Daosheng uses praise and a public challenge to create rivals for Xu Yuan while concealing his intentions.
• Confidence and provocation: Xu Yuan refuses to be boxed in by the “strongest of the younger generation” label and escalates the contest with an extravagant claim.