Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Twenty-year-old student Chen Shu is questioned by police about an attack on Li Jiatu and his father, who were assaulted the previous day. Chen denies involvement and says he was traveling home from school at the time.
• Police ask about Chen’s cultivation history, his Spirit Sea Opening Potion, and the earlier traffic accident in which Li Jiatu drove drunk. Chen had refused to forgive him and says he has had no contact with him since.
• The officers characterize the interview as routine and drive Chen home through heavy rain. Chen believes the attack bears the distinctive mark of Puluo people, making it unlikely that he could have carried it out.
• At home, Chen speaks briefly with his father, a young-looking professor. Later, Chen exchanges messages with Qingqing, his childhood sweetheart, and says he will visit her the next day.
• The following morning, Chen wakes before dawn, still uncertain whether he had dreamed.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is polite and academically strong, but anxious that the investigation could jeopardize his entrance exam. He maintains his innocence and gradually calms himself by reasoning that the attack’s method points to outsiders.
• The officers treat Chen considerately, emphasizing his rights and offering him a ride, though their questions make clear that he is a potential suspect.
• Chen’s father offers a mild warning to keep focused, then returns to his phone, suggesting a restrained, practical relationship.
• Qingqing checks whether Chen got caught in the rain. Their brief, familiar exchange establishes their closeness.

Significant themes

• Cultivation in a modern society: Spirit Seas, potions, and cultivators coexist with police procedures, cars, phones, and entrance exams.
• Suspicion and social unrest: The attack is linked to tensions involving Puluo people, while Chen’s past grievance makes him a plausible suspect despite his denial.
• Ordinary life amid uncertainty: Police questioning and possible danger sit alongside family routines, school concerns, and plans with a childhood friend.
• A transitional era: The slogan on the factory wall—“The old era has passed away”—echoes the chapter’s setting between an earlier age and a modern one.

Plot points and events

• Chen Shu visits Ning Qing on a pleasant morning, bringing her sour candied tangerine peel. She asks about his recent police questioning; he says it was routine.
• While exploring her flower-filled courtyard, Chen Shu sniffs a rare “Deep Sleep Flower” and promptly loses consciousness. Ning Qing assures him it is harmless, while her younger sister Xiaoxiao calls him “Brother-in-law” and eventually props his head on a pillow.
• About half an hour later, Chen Shu wakes and starts to complain, but sees Ning Qing quietly mending the torn seam of his jacket. He drops the argument and enjoys the peaceful moment.
• Chen Shu stays through the afternoon, chatting and reading a book of advanced spell-theory problems. Ning Qing tells him to leave before the rain and refuses to lend him the book because it is beyond his exam syllabus. She lends him her small motorbike instead.
• After Chen Shu departs, Xiaoxiao notices that Ning Qing seems different. Ning Qing takes the book to her room and begins reading it herself.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is casual, teasing, and easily distracted, but the upcoming exam is weighing on him. He uses time with Ning Qing’s family to relax and finds unexpected comfort in the sunshine and quiet.
• Ning Qing remains reserved and cool, yet shows care through actions: she mends Chen Shu’s jacket, lets him rest, and lends him her bike. Her decision to read the book he chose hints at private interest in his habits or concerns.
• Xiaoxiao is matter-of-fact and playful, repeatedly calling Chen Shu “Brother-in-law.” She offers him snacks, encourages him about the exam, and silently observes her sister’s behavior.
• Their exchanges suggest easy familiarity: Chen Shu freely enters Ning Qing’s home and teases her, while she responds with dry remarks and understated kindness.

Significant themes

• Affection shown through actions rather than words: Ning Qing’s sewing and practical help contrast with her emotionally restrained manner.
• Comfort and rest: The flower’s enforced sleep, the warm sunshine, and Chen Shu’s unhurried visit offer a pause from exam pressure.
• Playful intimacy and foreshadowing: Xiaoxiao’s “Brother-in-law” nickname and Ning Qing’s subtle behavior suggest a close bond whose nature is left unstated.
• Academic pressure and personal choice: Chen Shu worries about his exam but is drawn to challenging material beyond the syllabus; Ning Qing initially urges him to focus on practical preparation, then reads the book herself.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu returns home in the rain. Professor Chen warns him to avoid getting sick and staying out in dangerous Yuanzhou, and checks that he has contacted Professor Shi Qian for academic help.
• Chen Shu abandons his physics textbook to work through a collection of spell problems. He solves nearly all of them and asks Shi Qian for help with one difficult question.
• He cultivates that night, reaching the limits of his second tier but not yet advancing. The chapter explains the Spirit Sea, the nine-tier system, and the modern, government-supported process for opening it. Cultivation is exhausting and requires daily discipline.
• At school, Chen Shu ignores a history lesson and repeatedly teases Ning Qing by playing with her hair. The class takes a group photo; he puts an arm around her, while she keeps her composure.
• The students then write messages for a school time capsule, intended to be kept for at least twenty years. Chen Shu urges Ning Qing to take the activity seriously, though she sees it as pointless.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is curious and persistent when faced with challenging spell theory, but also playful and inconsiderate in his teasing of Ning Qing. He is already unusually advanced in cultivation for his age.
• Professor Chen shows practical concern for his son’s health and studies, while keeping their conversation brief.
• Shi Qian is introduced as a potential mentor: a university teacher in the ancient cultivation department and an old friend of Professor Chen.
• Ning Qing remains restrained and emotionally unreadable, though her irritation surfaces in a shove and repeated attempts to stop Chen Shu’s teasing. Despite this, she follows him to the time-capsule activity and sits beside him.
• Their relationship is familiar and teasing, with Chen Shu persistently provoking her and Ning Qing tolerating him more than she welcomes it.

Significant themes

• Modernity and tradition: Spiritual cultivation and rune technology coexist with ordinary physics, modern education, and scientific research.
• Discipline and effort: Cultivation offers no easy, immediately visible rewards; progress depends on sustained daily practice.
• Potential and the passage of time: The time capsule asks the students to consider who they will become and whether they will remember their present selves decades later.

Key plot points and events

• News reports that Chen Jianan, a prominent Peng City entrepreneur, has been killed in another attack attributed to unknown militants using Blue Nation’s Tracer technology. With the big exam approaching, military and police forces search the province and guard schools.
• Chen Shu visits an internet café and logs into the Deep Web under the name Green Vegetable White Jade Soup. He has bought Blue Asia’s military Tracer Technique from the contact Mr. Cat.
• Mr. Cat proposes a new job: reverse-engineer a military Bodyguard Divine Light Generator and improve a defensive spell’s core rune array. In return, he offers the equipment, a spell, and 3,000 coins. Chen Shu says the work is risky and makes no firm commitment.
• Afterward, Chen Shu realizes their exchange has helped each man infer something about the other’s identity. He considers this a fair balance.

Character developments

• Chen Shu is cautious and observant. He understands the political and security implications of the attacks, assesses Mr. Cat’s influence and motives, and recognizes the danger in accepting the job.
• Mr. Cat appears well-connected and wealthy, but unable—or unwilling—to use someone close to him for the spell analysis. His request suggests he needs advanced protection he cannot obtain openly.
• Professor Chen remains notably unconcerned about Chen Shu’s safety, even as the province faces heightened security.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and mistrust: The militants hide their affiliations, while Chen Shu and Mr. Cat cautiously probe each other through online dealings.
• Control of magical technology: Military spells and defensive arts are tightly regulated, making access to them a matter of power and security.
• Risk and opportunity: Chen Shu’s expertise could earn him substantial payment, but the work carries danger.
• Ordinary life amid unrest: Police searches and military deployments coexist with mundane scenes such as buying milk tea, watching a street performer, and using an internet café.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Professor Chen share a quiet moment watching the news; Professor Chen offers little reaction to his son’s plans.
• Online, Chen Shu and Mr. Cat negotiate bluntly over money, technical ability, delivery, and trust. Their relationship remains transactional, though each is increasingly able to read the other.
• At the café, Chen Shu takes a computer a young boy had been using and tells him to study, showing a casual, somewhat inconsiderate side.

Plot points and events

• Two police officers discuss the investigation into Li Jiatu’s death. The younger officer suspects Chen Shu may have helped the Puluo attackers, but the older officer points out that the student lacks the required access, abilities, and opportunity. He discourages further scrutiny, and they expect a Puluo group to claim responsibility.
• Chen Shu recalls why he pursued Li Jiatu: months earlier, a drunk, drugged driver struck him and his classmates Li Zhu and Yu Tong. Li Zhu died, and Yu Tong was badly injured. Though the driver was imprisoned, he was soon released for medical treatment and acquired a new car.
• Chen Shu refused to forgive the driver and pursued complaints and petitions, despite the pressure this placed on Yu Tong’s family. Remembering his promise to Li Zhu—and wanting to live with a clear conscience—he ultimately feels at peace after Li Jiatu’s death.
• Chen Shu cultivates for four hours and channels his Spirit Power into a mysterious Crystal that has repeatedly returned to him since childhood.
• A Puluo civilian group claims responsibility for the recent attacks. Chen Shu then contacts his long-term Deep Web trading partner, Mr. Cat, to arrange a later exchange after the national exam, choosing a cemetery near Sea Beast Harbor as the meeting place.
• On the rainy morning of the exam, Chen Shu heads out. A prolonged rumble sounds from across Mirror Sea, but he continues on his way. A driver offers him a ride to the examination site; Chen Shu politely declines.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is shown as capable but reluctant to involve himself in trouble. His pursuit of justice stems less from ambition than from loyalty to his friends and the need to keep his conscience clear. He is also a disciplined cultivator and an experienced Deep Web trader.
• The older officer is pragmatic and protective of the status quo, advising his junior not to make a case against Chen Shu without evidence. The younger officer remains suspicious but ultimately defers.
• Yu Tong shares Chen Shu’s determination not to forgive the driver, though his family bears pressure for supporting the case. Li Zhu’s dying words remain a lasting influence on Chen Shu.
• Mr. Cat and Chen Shu have a familiar, teasing relationship built on years of reliable trades, though their identities remain unknown to each other.

Significant themes

• Justice versus legal process: The driver’s release undermines Chen Shu’s faith in the system, even though the law had formally punished him.
• Conscience and responsibility: Chen Shu accepts the burden of keeping his promise because ignoring it would leave him unable to live peacefully with himself.
• Power and privilege: The driver’s wealth and Yu Tong’s family’s vulnerability reveal unequal treatment and pressure within society.
• Secrecy and uncertainty: The officers’ suspicions, the Deep Web dealings, the Crystal, and the unexplained rumble all hint at larger forces beyond what the characters know.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu begins the four-day national exams feeling relaxed. He expects to do especially well in history, mathematics, music, and Runes, while accepting that biology and physics are less certain. Yi Nation’s two-stage admissions system means he can still qualify for Yujing University through strong scores in subjects relevant to his intended major.
• On the first day, a history question asks when the Sage Ancestor was born. Chen Shu answers immediately: 134 BC. His deep knowledge comes from years spent studying records and artifacts about the founder of the Xia Dynasty.
• After the first exam day, Chen Shu watches the news with his father, Professor Chen. A landslide at Beauty Mountain has killed four people and exposed what appears to be a Sage Ancestor Cube, an enormous and mysterious ancient structure. Professor Chen confirms he has inspected it and may be able to bring Chen Shu along as an assistant once excavation begins.
• Chen Shu is eager to investigate the Cube, though he recognizes that several have already been found and that none has yielded confirmed evidence of the Sage Ancestor’s tomb or remains.
• Online, Chen Shu finally replies to Mr. Cat, who has been trying to reach him. Mr. Cat arranges for an item to be left near a cemetery on the sixth of the following month and warns Chen Shu not to lose it.
• On the final afternoon, Chen Shu finishes the Runes exam unusually early. The last question is far above the expected level, but he recognizes it from a problem in Ning Qing’s book and has already worked out an approach with help from Teacher Shi Qian.
• A local television crew interviews him outside the exam hall. Wearing a mask, Chen Shu gives the name “Ning,” claims the exam was easy, and uses his on-camera moment to complain that Highness Cinnabar has stopped showing her thighs in dance performances.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Shu remains confident, irreverent, and self-assured. His academic strengths reflect extensive knowledge and preparation, especially in history and Runes, while his limited study time explains his weaker science subjects. His curiosity about the Sage Ancestor Cube hints at a strong personal investment in history and archaeology.
• Professor Chen treats the Cube as a serious discovery and considers Chen Shu capable of helping with its investigation. He also shows affection through an awkwardly bland exam-night dinner and a joking promise of an extra drumstick.
• Chen Shu’s mother worries that talk of the Cube could distract him during exams and quickly silences Professor Chen.
• Qingqing checks in about Chen Shu’s exam day. Their light teasing turns into a casual exchange about dinner.
• Mr. Cat is frustrated by Chen Shu’s delayed reply but continues to trust him with a difficult-to-obtain item.
• Ning Qing and Teacher Shi Qian do not appear directly, but their earlier study materials and assistance help Chen Shu tackle the unusually difficult Runes question.
• Chen Shu’s interview shows his mischievous public persona: he dodges personal questions, boasts about the exam, and uses the broadcast to make a shameless joke about a celebrity.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and specialization: The admissions system rewards subject-specific ability, and Chen Shu’s broad but uneven preparation illustrates the trade-offs of limited time.
• History’s lasting influence: The Sage Ancestor’s legacy shapes civilization and remains a source of fascination thousands of years later.
• Mystery and discovery: The newly exposed Cube raises questions about the past, but the chapter tempers dramatic speculation with the fact that earlier discoveries have produced no definitive answers.
• Humor and irreverence: Chen Shu’s relaxed attitude toward exams, family banter, and televised antics contrast with the deaths and archaeological significance in the news.

Key plot points and events

• With the national exams over, Chen Shu invites Ning Qing on a trip to Sea Beast Harbor. She agrees, and he books their flights.
• Chen Shu’s irreverent exam interview goes viral, though he insists the person in the clip isn’t him.
• He and Ning Qing invite her younger sister, Xiaoxiao, along. Xiaoxiao accepts, though she privately prefers trips with either of them separately: when all three travel together, she tends to become their photographer.
• After Chen Shu attends his graduation party, the three fly to Sea Beast Harbor on May 2. Bai City is rainy, but their destination is sunny and open.
• At the airport, Chen Shu notices Xiaoxiao has applied sunscreen unevenly and makes Ning Qing fix it. Ning Qing rubs it across her sister’s face while Xiaoxiao quietly submits.

Character development

• Chen Shu is playful and teasing, eager to enjoy his new freedom after exams. He also remains focused on cultivation and money, and takes a caring, almost parental role toward Xiaoxiao.
• Ning Qing stays cool and composed, but her practical actions reveal affection beneath her stern manner. She agrees to the trip and takes care of Xiaoxiao when prompted.
• Xiaoxiao is shy and strongly attached to Chen Shu, whom she says raised her. She also loves her sister, though she is a little intimidated by her.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing trade teasing messages and banter, including jokes about his interview, his interest in a celebrity, and their seaside plans.
• Chen Shu gently looks after Xiaoxiao, inviting her along and reminding the sisters to use sunscreen.
• Xiaoxiao’s comment that Chen Shu raised her unsettles Ning Qing, while the sunscreen scene shows their affection through a mixture of Chen Shu’s prompting, Ning Qing’s hands-on care, and Xiaoxiao’s trust.

Significant themes

• Family affection expressed through everyday care: The sisters’ bond is understated, while Chen Shu helps bring them together.
• Growing up and changing routines: Finishing exams marks a transition from student life toward greater freedom.
• Humor and teasing as intimacy: The characters’ jokes and mild embarrassment reveal their closeness.

Plot points and events

• Chen Shu, Ning Qing, and Xiaoxiao spend several days at Kaguya Seaview Hotel. They walk the beach, take photos, eat seafood, ride speedboats, dive, visit an island, and celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival.
• On the evening before their return, Chen Shu runs to South Mountain. He notices police pursuing a fast-moving fugitive, who tries to escape through the cemetery. Chen Shu hides, watches the chase, and retrieves a package left in Section Three.
• Back at the hotel, he opens the package: a military defensive insert that can provide non-cultivators with continuous Bodyguard Divine Light. He begins analyzing it, hoping to reconstruct the spell from the spiritual energy stored inside.
• The next day, the three take a high-speed train home. Chen Shu watches videos featuring Ning Qing and jokes that another creator is “riding his coattails.” When Xiaoxiao asks why he watches other attractive women when he has Ning Qing, he says his passing interests change, but he will always like her sister.

Character developments

• Chen Shu remains playful and flirtatious, but also shows his practical, investigative side by retrieving and studying the defensive device. He is confident in Ning Qing’s place in his affections despite his casual interest in online videos.
• Ning Qing stays quiet and composed throughout the trip. She responds to Chen Shu’s teasing—including his request that she wish him good night—with restrained patience, while her popularity online begins to fade.
• Xiaoxiao is observant and increasingly willing to speak up. Her question on the train shows her curiosity about Chen Shu and Ning Qing’s relationship, though she remains shy around her sister.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu repeatedly seeks Ning Qing’s attention, asking Xiaoxiao to photograph them and messaging Ning Qing a view from the mountain.
• Xiaoxiao often watches the couple quietly, including when Chen Shu jokes with Ning Qing at the hotel. On the train, she directly questions his apparent interest in other women.
• Chen Shu reassures Xiaoxiao that his online crushes are temporary but his feelings for Ning Qing are lasting.

Significant themes

• Romance and teasing: Chen Shu’s playful pursuit contrasts with Ning Qing’s reserved manner, while his declaration distinguishes fleeting attraction from lasting affection.
• Secrecy and supernatural crime: The police chase illustrates the dangers and limits of law enforcement in a world where cultivators and martial artists can exceed ordinary human capabilities.
• Technology and cultivation: The defensive insert represents an effort to make a cultivator’s protective magic available to ordinary soldiers; decoding it requires deep knowledge of spiritual energy and runes.

Key plot points and events

• With his parents—historian Professor Chen and lawyer Wei Yan—usually away, Chen Shu orders dinner and receives a tiny squeaky-pig toy. The next day, he gives it to Ning Qing, who silently accepts it.
• Chen Shu visits Ning Qing’s flower garden, admires her newly blooming Dawn and Dusk rose, and discusses summer plans. He expects to help excavate and catalog the contents of a Sacred Ancestor’s cube.
• Professor Chen invites him to watch the excavation at Beauty Mountain. The cube, revealed after a massive landslide, is a five-thousand-year-old structure made of strategic Cold Star Stone. Officials, soldiers, archaeologists, historians, and representatives of the Daoist and Buddhist Orders oversee its careful excavation.
• Chen Shu meets historians Professor Shi and Professor Liu. They learn he is interested in history but intends to study spell principles, perhaps at Yujing Academy. The cube is uncovered, but opening and safety checks will take until at least the next day.
• That night, unable to sleep, Chen Shu examines a crystal he possesses. He recalls a passage from Chronicles of Zhou He describing the aged Sacred Ancestor quietly turning a crystal in a moonlit palace corridor—and wonders what the emperor was thinking.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is curious, easygoing, and deeply fascinated by the Sacred Ancestor. He also shows a thoughtful respect for archaeology, distinguishing careful cultural preservation from destructive tomb raiding. His private attention to the crystal suggests a personal connection to the historical passage.
• Ning Qing remains reserved and composed. She accepts Chen Shu’s toy without outward reaction, shares little about herself, and ends the conversation when he refuses to explain his interest in the Sacred Ancestor.
• Professor Chen supports his son’s involvement in the excavation, while their brief exchanges show their familiar, casual relationship.
• Professors Shi and Liu initially assume Chen Shu may follow his father into history; his plans to study spell principles surprise them. They respond politely and encourage him.
• The Daoist and Buddhist representatives’ presence underscores the powerful institutions involved in protecting the cube, alongside government and academic authorities.

Significant themes

• Preserving history: Archaeology is presented as careful, often rescue-driven work that protects cultural heritage, unlike profit-seeking grave robbery.
• The Sacred Ancestor’s legacy: The cube’s unusual appearance and strategically valuable contents distinguish it from ordinary ancient ruins and deepen its historical importance.
• Loneliness and vulnerability: The remembered image of the aged Sacred Ancestor invites speculation about the private solitude hidden behind public greatness.
• Curiosity and mystery: Chen Shu’s fascination with the cube and crystal links the present-day excavation to unresolved questions about the past.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu and Professor Chen enter the Western Cube after security checks. Inside, they find a rune-covered chamber, crates of ancient objects, a central Space Stone, and a stele inscribed with “Western Province,” the god Ping Cang, and a date.
• Chen Shu wonders why the stele names a god and why the discovery has apparently been kept from public view. He reflects that archaeologists should preserve the truth, even when some discoveries are too destabilizing to reveal widely.
• After the day’s work, Professor Chen explains that Ping Cang was an ancient Western Province god. One theory is that the Cubes were built for the gods named on their steles, rather than by the Sacred Ancestor.
• That night, Chen Shu dreams of a strange landscape and repeatedly hears, “When shall we trim the candle by the western window together?” He wakes unable to recall the dream.
• The other researchers report the same experience: everyone dreamed, but no one can remember what happened. The authorities plan to bring in a ninth-tier expert and a research team from Jade Capital. The group prepares to continue work while investigating the mystery.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu demonstrates archaeological knowledge and curiosity, earning Professor Shi’s respect. He also questions Professor Chen about the stele and the possibility that the accepted history of the Cubes is wrong.
• Professor Chen is practical and protective, advising Chen Shu to rest until specialists investigate. Chen Shu resists, suggesting he is not easily frightened.
• The shared dream creates a new bond of unease among the researchers, who compare notes and realize the experience was collective. Chen Shu privately suspects his crystal necklace may be involved.

Significant themes

• History and truth: The chapter weighs the duty to preserve evidence against the risks of revealing discoveries that could overturn cherished beliefs.
• Uncertainty and revision: The Cubes’ purpose and authorship remain unresolved, challenging established historical assumptions.
• The uncanny and the unknown: A shared, forgotten dream suggests the Cube—or something connected to it—may be communicating with the researchers.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu’s team continues cataloguing the Cube’s contents, including the first discovered artifacts made from Otherworldly Beasts. A Ninth Tier expert and a specialist team investigate, but find nothing unusual.
• For three nights, Chen Shu and the professors share a strange dream in which a voice recites poetry. Chen Shu realizes the verses may be a password or signal and eventually responds with the matching lines.
• The dream reveals a snowy city and a message from Emperor Shengzu, who confirms that he and Chen Shu came from the same homeland. Shengzu says he could not return, but found a way home for Chen Shu.
• Shengzu instructs Chen Shu to conserve the Crystal’s energy, reach Transcendent Grade, and eventually assemble seven Array Core fragments hidden in Cubes arranged like the Big Dipper. He has left the precise method to Chen Shu, accessible when he reaches First Grade.
• Chen Shu also sees eighteen secret realms linked to the Cubes, containing everything from artifacts and supplies to military forces, a Sky Carrier, a research base, and a city model. Some have already been partly accessed by modern nations. The realms begin connecting to Chen Shu, but he refuses to claim them and stops the military’s analysis when he senses a reaction.
• The next day, his father tactfully sends him home to receive his exam results and choose a university, while the professors acknowledge that the Cube’s anomalies make it safer for him to leave for now.

Character developments

• Chen Shu’s longing to return to Earth becomes clearer. Although he grew up in this world and feels connected to it, he needs to know that returning is possible.
• He learns that Emperor Shengzu shared his origins and spent his life searching for home. Shengzu’s message gives Chen Shu a concrete path forward, along with a gift of secret realms.
• Chen Shu acts cautiously and responsibly: despite gaining a connection to valuable realms, he avoids claiming them and intervenes when the Cube’s activity seems dangerous.
• Professor Chen shows concern for his son while disguising it as practical advice. The professors also recognize Chen Shu’s importance to their work.

Significant themes

• Home and belonging: Chen Shu’s mixed upbringing leaves him uncertain which world is truly home, yet he feels compelled to return to Earth at least once.
• Legacy across time: Shengzu’s message bridges centuries, turning one exile’s failed journey home into guidance for another.
• Knowledge, patience, and responsibility: Research proceeds slowly, and Chen Shu must weigh the value of discovery against the risks of disturbing powerful forces.
• Connection across distance: The moon and shared cultural references—especially poetry—link Chen Shu to Shengzu despite the vast separation.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu consults the professors about the recurring dream; they confirm that even the Ninth Tier expert and specialists are affected but cannot explain it.
• In the dream, Shengzu speaks directly to Chen Shu as a fellow countryman, leaving him instructions, warnings, and resources.
• Professor Chen urges Chen Shu to take the day off and focus on university decisions. Professors Shi and Liu join the conversation, each promoting a different university, while Chen Shu agrees to go home.

Plot and events

• Ning Qing is idly playing with a squeaky toy at work when her younger sister, Xiaoxiao, asks for help with a problem. Ning Qing puts her off until they get home.
• Chen Shu messages Ning Qing that he has the day off. They agree to meet at her home and look at her flowers. Ning Qing leaves work despite her boss’s protest and rides her small motorcycle home.
• Ning Qing catches Xiaoxiao arriving on a shared scooter. She discovers Xiaoxiao used Chen Shu’s ID and an Illusion Magic trick to unlock it, despite being underage. Ning Qing sternly warns her about the danger and the illegal spell.
• At the courtyard, Chen Shu admits he gave Xiaoxiao his ID, though he claims he thought she wanted it for games. He and Ning Qing discuss the recent excavation of a mysterious Cube; Chen Shu recounts events while hiding his own connection to them.
• Chen Shu’s exam results arrive: he scored 1271 out of 1350, with perfect marks in Spiritual Principles, Runes, and Spiritual Power Aptitude. Ning Qing had guessed 1270. Their playful wager ends with Ning Qing giving him a brief kiss.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Qing remains composed and stern, especially as Xiaoxiao’s older sister and at work, but her teasing bet with Chen Shu and eventual kiss reveal her affection for him.
• Chen Shu is tired and uneasy about becoming involved in something significant, yet jokes and flirts with Ning Qing. His high score confirms his academic strength and makes him a strong candidate for Spell Principles.
• Xiaoxiao is mischievous and resourceful, but her earnest, literal replies and habit of tuning out others provide comic relief. Ning Qing’s protectiveness contrasts with Chen Shu’s more indulgent attitude.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing share comfortable intimacy, teasing each other while discussing serious matters. Xiaoxiao’s repeated trips to the water dispenser create a running joke as she remains oblivious to their conversation.

Significant themes

• Affection expressed through teasing and care: Ning Qing’s sternness and Chen Shu’s jokes mask a close, familiar bond.
• Responsibility and rule-breaking: Xiaoxiao’s underage scooter ride prompts concern about safety and regulated magic.
• Uncertainty and hidden stakes: Chen Shu’s account of the Cube hints that larger events may be unfolding, though he conceals his personal involvement.
• Academic achievement: His exam results establish his abilities and potential future path.

Key events

• Chen Shu submits his university application to Yujing University’s Ancient Cultivation Department, choosing Spell Principles Studies and refusing the option to transfer majors. He has full marks in the relevant subjects, but admission results will come after applications close in seven days.
• He and Ning Qing discuss why the major suits him: he has both strong talent and genuine interest in it, a rare combination. Ning urges him to choose a path he won’t regret.
• Chen Shu considers the poor career prospects for civilian cultivators. The state tightly regulates harmful spells, while the strongest training and offensive magic are available through military service—which usually means a lifelong military career. Yujing’s program survives because of its academic and research standing, and its graduates often join the military or weapons institutes.
• That evening, Chen Shu leaves to go “over there,” and Ning Qing says she will stay by his side the whole time. He teases her by proposing that she kiss him in exchange for a month of meals; she ignores him.
• Xiaoxiao, finally allowed out of her room after a day spent supposedly doing homework, is ordered by Ning Qing to return to her studies. Xiaoxiao tries to retaliate by declaring she won’t wash her face, but Ning Qing responds by pursuing her with spare keys to unlock her bedroom door.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu shows confidence in his chosen field and jokes about relying on Ning Qing financially if he cannot find work. He also keeps testing her affection with flirtatious teasing.
• Ning Qing supports Chen Shu’s ambitions with thoughtful, sincere advice, then returns to her usual stern, no-nonsense manner. She promises to accompany him, suggesting quiet concern and loyalty beneath her composure.
• Xiaoxiao is mischievous and resistant to homework, while Ning Qing is strict and persistent about making her study. Their comic standoff ends with Xiaoxiao’s threats about calling the police meeting Ning Qing’s deadpan reply.

Significant themes

• Choosing a life path: Talent and interest together can make a fitting career unusually hard to find, so Chen Shu is fortunate to recognize his.
• The costs of regulation: The state’s limits on civilian spellcraft shape cultivators’ careers, leaving military service as the main route to advanced training and combat work.
• Affection expressed through teasing and care: Chen Shu and Ning Qing trade jokes, but their exchanges also reveal mutual trust and support.
• Family discipline and humor: Ning Qing’s strictness toward Xiaoxiao creates a playful contrast with her gentler support for Chen Shu.

Chapter Summary: “A Busy Vacation”

• Chen Shu tests the crystal’s effect on the Cube. After concluding that the crystal likely triggered the strange dreams, he leaves the real one at home and brings an imitation to the archaeological camp. The next morning, neither he nor Professor Chen has dreamed, but the Cube’s mechanism has stopped functioning for now. Experts remain baffled about where the mechanism is and what it was meant to do.
• The secret realm is opened and inventoried. The military cracks the realm, and historians enter to catalogue its contents. The space holds a remarkable collection from five thousand years earlier: magical artifacts, books, clothing, crafts, preserved spiritual plants, rare minerals, precious materials, and objects made from strange beasts. The preservation is exceptional, and the books and rare items excite the scholars most.
• Chen Shu contributes historical knowledge. He connects an ordinary wooden hairpin to a story about the Sacred Emperor granting justice to a wronged woman, and he offers a theory that a polished skull cup may have been made from the remains of the Sacred Ancestor’s enemy, Xu Li—not his beloved general Zhang Chi. The scholars appreciate his insights while treating the skull-cup explanation as speculation.
• The relics are distributed. After several days, most items are sent to Jade Capital for further study, with a smaller collection going to the Yuanzhou Museum. The military retains control of the secret realm and plans to leave the Cube on Beauty Mountain for visitors to photograph.
• Chen Shu’s vacation remains packed. He agrees to paid support work for Professor Shi, while continuing his own cultivation, analyzing Bodyguard Divine Light, spending time with Qingqing, and watching dance videos. He jokes that his busy schedule is wearing him out.

Character developments and interactions

Chen Shu shows growing confidence and usefulness as a historian: he offers informed interpretations but distinguishes evidence from guesswork. His exchanges with Professor Shi are warm and playful, especially when he agrees to help in return for pay. Professor Chen remains understated and dry, while Chen Shu tries—and fails—to make him react to the dream mystery. The scholars take Chen Shu’s knowledge seriously and invite his input.

Significant themes

The chapter highlights the value of preserving and studying history, the limits of archaeological certainty, and the extraordinary ingenuity of ancient technology. It also contrasts the mystery of the Cube’s lingering mechanism with the practical work of cataloguing its contents.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu, now a familiar source of answers at work, admits he cannot explain the phrase “Dong Shi imitates a frown,” despite knowing its meaning. He also announces that his school admission notice has arrived and takes time off to celebrate.
• He meets Xiaoxiao after her final exam. She finished early, and the two share a spicy meal, with Xiaoxiao paying. On the way out, they see a student confessing to Ning Ji—Xiaoxiao’s full name.
• Chen Shu initially treats the confession as a general spectacle, then realizes it is aimed at Xiaoxiao. He warns her against dating and advises waiting until adulthood, while she says she does not want romance at all.
• Xiaoxiao explains that her sister, Ning Qing, might have rejected love too if Chen Shu had not been part of her life. Chen Shu offers that Xiaoxiao can live with him and her sister if she never marries.
• The next day, Chen Shu visits Anning Martial Arts Hall, where he exercises and spars. Despite being around rank three, he is routinely beaten by members who train more seriously.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is cheerful and considerate, teasing Xiaoxiao but taking her feelings seriously rather than dismissing her as too young. He shows his protective side when he thinks a boy may be pursuing her. He also remains modest about his martial-arts ability and understands it is only a secondary pursuit.
• Xiaoxiao (Ning Ji) is academically exceptional, straightforward, and unusually reflective about independence and relationships. She sees romance as unnecessary and fears that forcing someone into her life could become a burden, like her parents’ troubled relationship.
• Ning Qing is absent, but Xiaoxiao describes her as deeply attached to Chen Shu and says their life together gives her sister something to look forward to.
• Chen Shu’s long-standing closeness with the sisters is reinforced through their meal, conversation, and his recollections of caring for them since childhood.

Significant themes

• Love and independence: Xiaoxiao questions whether partnership is worthwhile if it does not improve one’s life, while Chen Shu argues for waiting until one is older and better able to understand love.
• Family and emotional security: The sisters’ difficult home life contrasts with the stability Chen Shu has provided; his presence has shaped Ning Qing’s outlook and offers Xiaoxiao a possible home.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: Chen Shu’s inability to explain a familiar phrase highlights the limits of what can be established without evidence.
• Effort and specialization: The martial-arts section contrasts Chen Shu’s casual training with practitioners who devote themselves to it, while describing how modern technology and resources have made martial artists far more powerful.

Key plot points

• Chen Shu trains at Anning Martial Arts Hall, where he enjoys a massage from Number Nine and follows online coverage of artifacts recovered from the Sage Ancestor Cube. The discoveries—especially objects linked to the Xia Dynasty—are generating widespread national pride and revealing how much of the dynasty’s culture had been lost.
• After his massage, Chen Shu takes an expensive medicinal bath and swallows bone-strengthening capsules to help advance his martial rank. The treatment is painful, and the cost highlights how quickly his earnings disappear into training and pharmaceutical expenses.
• Meanwhile, he finishes a month-long project: improving a defensive spell diagram for Mr. Cat. His basic tests show protection comparable to or better than the original, though the revised automatic-activation function remains untested. Mr. Cat pays him 1,000 Black Gold Coins.
• With the project finished and his museum job nearly complete, Chen Shu expects more free time before classes begin at Jade Capital Academy—but feels uneasy at the prospect of a less crowded schedule.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu remains practical and money-conscious, but his training shows how determined he is to improve despite the high cost and discomfort. He also demonstrates technical skill and caution by testing the spell diagram, noting its limitations, and leaving further verification to the client.
• Chen Shu’s thoughts reveal his affection for Qingqing: he compares Number Nine’s considerate manner unfavorably with Qingqing’s. Number Nine is professional and kind, though their interaction remains casual.
• Mr. Cat is impatient and persistent, repeatedly asking about the project’s progress. Chen Shu answers directly, sets expectations about the untested features, and collects payment before delivering the work.

Significant themes

• Cultural memory and national identity: The Cube’s artifacts restore knowledge of the Xia Dynasty and fuel public pride.
• The cost of advancement: Martial progress demands expensive medicines, facilities, and time.
• Expertise and uncertainty: Chen Shu completes sophisticated work but is honest about the limits of his testing.
• Changing routines: Finishing a demanding job brings relief, yet Chen Shu is already unsure how to handle the free time it creates.

Key events

• Chen Shu video-calls Ning Qing and invites her shopping; she readily agrees and asks to bring her younger sister, Xiaoxiao.
• At work, Ning Qing rejects a push toward luxury furniture, arguing that the company should focus on affordable, well-designed products and reliable service. Her father, President Ning, trusts her to decide. She also mischievously sends him a recording of his complaint about her mother—who then messages to ask whether he has “a death wish.”
• The next day, Chen Shu takes Ning Qing and Xiaoxiao shopping. He brings homemade soy-milk desserts, and Xiaoxiao shares two small joys: a shop owner’s kind note and cookie, and her mother’s having given their father a beating.
• Chen Shu buys Xiaoxiao several outfits and shoes. On the walk home, he admires Ning Qing’s height and jokes with Xiaoxiao, who earnestly insists he is too handsome to look like a rich older man.
• At Ning Qing’s courtyard, Chen Shu admires her roses, especially the rare, delicate Queen bloom. Ning Qing explains her plans for the flowers while she studies in the Jade Capital: Xiaoxiao will care for them temporarily, and she hopes to find a new home with a courtyard near school.
• A neighbor again visits to ask for the sisters’ study secrets. Ning Qing avoids the conversation, while Xiaoxiao answers with dry, literal humor. Once the neighbor leaves, Xiaoxiao admits to Chen Shu that the visitors are annoying.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Qing shows confidence and sound business judgment, while remaining playful and affectionate with Chen Shu. Her trust in her father’s approval is matched by a teasing, mischievous streak.
• Chen Shu expresses care through small gestures: making treats, taking the sisters shopping, and remembering Xiaoxiao needs clothes. His admiration for Ning Qing’s roses also reveals his fondness for her interests.
• Xiaoxiao comes across as sweet, observant, and increasingly witty. She values small kindnesses, enjoys time with Chen Shu, and handles intrusive adults with blunt, deadpan replies.
• President Ning defers to his daughter’s judgment, though his complaints about his wife expose the couple’s combative humor. The mother’s response suggests she is more than capable of answering back.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing share easy banter and mutual trust; Chen Shu and Xiaoxiao have a warm, sibling-like bond; the sisters’ different ways of handling unwanted attention are gently contrasted.

Significant themes

• Practical values and integrity: Ning Qing prioritizes quality, affordability, and service over status or luxury.
• Family affection in everyday acts: Food, shopping, flower care, and teasing show closeness more than grand declarations do.
• Privacy and boundaries: The neighbors’ persistent questions about the sisters’ academic success feel intrusive, especially to Xiaoxiao.
• Appreciation of imperfection and resilience: Chen Shu loves the temperamental Queen rose despite its many flaws, while Ning Qing’s careful gardening reflects patience and long-term care.

Plot points and events

• Before leaving for Jade Capital, Chen Shu checks on Xiaoxiao and repeatedly reminds her to eat properly, dress warmly, and make friends. She agrees quietly, but his departure clearly weighs on her.
• At home, Chen Shu arranges flowers and discusses the trip with Lawyer Wei. Wei urges him and Ning Qing to define their relationship; Chen Shu jokes that their current behavior is “immoral.”
• Chen Shu rides around Mirror Sea to Beauty Mountain, where the Cube is now closed and restricted after the landslide. He lies down and uses his improvised Hypnosis Technique, confirming he can still activate the Cube’s mechanism and may inherit part of a compatriot’s legacy.
• The next morning, Chen Shu and Ning Qing leave Bai City for Jade Capital by train. They share a homemade meal and beer, then hold hands. Ning Qing mentions Chen Shu’s earlier claim that making a relationship official too soon increases the chance of a breakup. He says he is simply “holding her hand in advance” and will wait to formalize things.
• Chen Shu asks about the legacy Ning Qing inherited. She confirms it belongs to the mysterious Esoteric Sect. He then rests his head on her shoulder, joking that the gesture goes on his “tab.”

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu shows how deeply he cares for Xiaoxiao, worries about leaving her alone, and remains curious about the Cube’s hidden mechanisms and legacy. With Ning Qing, he is affectionate but deliberately patient, framing their closeness as a gradual courtship.
• Xiaoxiao remains restrained and gives little outward reaction, but her declining spirits suggest she will miss Chen Shu and Ning Qing.
• Ning Qing is comfortable and trusting with Chen Shu: she shares food, accepts his hand, and openly discusses her inherited legacy. Her teasing reveals she recognizes his growing impatience.
• Lawyer Wei takes a practical, teasing role, advising Chen Shu to make his relationship with Ning Qing official.
• The train journey brings Chen Shu and Ning Qing closer through small gestures—sharing an earbud, a meal, a drink, handholding, and a shoulder to nap on.

Significant themes

• Care and separation: Chen Shu’s reminders to Xiaoxiao express affection, while his departure highlights the loneliness it may leave behind.
• Patience in love: Chen Shu believes a relationship should develop gradually rather than be rushed into formal commitment; his playful “tab” metaphor captures their growing intimacy.
• Mystery and inheritance: The Cube’s mechanism and Ning Qing’s Esoteric Sect legacy point toward larger supernatural mysteries.
• Everyday intimacy: Domestic routines, shared food, and gentle teasing make the characters’ affection tangible.

Chapter summary

The chapter opens with a history of cultivation. The Spirit Sect pioneered the use of runes to control spiritual energy and became the first organized cultivation system. Although it lost dominance to the Sword Sect and later to other traditions, it remained an enduring second-place power. The more recent Esoteric Sect was feared but poorly understood; after the Yi court and major sects searched for its disciples, it disappeared. Its surviving cultivation method later influenced the practice taught across Yi Nation.
On the train to Jade Capital, Ning Qing quietly watches Chen Shu sleep with his head on her shoulder and his hand in hers. While he rests, she uses his phone to browse videos, calmly marking a dancing woman’s clip “Not interested.” When Chen Shu wakes, she tells him exactly how long he held her hand and leaned on her shoulder; he jokes that the time should be rounded down to zero. They arrive in Jade Capital that evening.
Chen Shu and Ning Qing are headed to separate elite universities—Yujing University and Ling’an Academy, whose campuses are next to each other. They check into a hotel near the schools, arriving early so Chen Shu can visit his older sister the next day. He reviews his finances: he has saved a little over fifty thousand, plus Black Gold Coins he does not plan to spend. University costs are handled through long-term, interest-free loans, while students receive a monthly campus allowance. Chen Shu expects the standard allowance to be inadequate for his spending habits. Ning Qing knocks and invites him to dinner.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Qing shows quiet affection and attentiveness: she supports Chen Shu’s sleeping head, handles his phone, and keeps track of their contact on the train. Her dry, precise accounting contrasts with his teasing.
• Chen Shu is relaxed and playful with Ning Qing, but is also practical about money and aware that his lifestyle may exceed a student’s allowance.
• Their easy teasing and familiar closeness suggest a strong bond, while their separate universities mark the beginning of a new stage in their lives.

Significant themes

• Change and persistence: cultivation systems rise and fall, yet the Spirit Sect endures.
• History and uncertainty: the Esoteric Sect’s disappearance leaves unanswered questions about what happened to it.
• Intimacy in everyday life: affection emerges through small gestures, shared jokes, and comfortable familiarity.
• Independence and transition: Chen Shu and Ning Qing are moving into university life, with new routines, costs, and responsibilities ahead.

Key plot points and events

• After dinner, Chen Shu and Ning Qing stroll through Jade Capital and shop at a large supermarket. Chen eagerly compares prices and fills their cart with snacks, fruit, drinks, and a few toiletries, then grumbles at the cost of watermelon.
• Their walk introduces the city’s varied inhabitants and layered history: humans, Celestials, Nightfolk, Barbarians, and demons share its streets, while old, weathered buildings preserve its everyday charm.
• Chen reflects on Yi Nation’s constitutional monarchy and its royal family, explaining how its recent transition from absolute rule and the dynasty’s history have kept the monarchy broadly accepted—for now.
• Chen asks Ning Qing about the Esoteric Sect. She explains that it is an exceptionally rare cultivation path, derived from a Celestial system, whose practitioners use innate talent to harness deep laws of the world. Its methods are difficult to obtain, and practitioners avoid danger.
• When Chen asks about their future, Ning Qing says her calculations suggest that if they marry before twenty-three, they have a 68.4% chance of breaking up; if they wait until after twenty-five, they could stay together for life.
• Back at the hotel, Chen gives Ning Qing most of the snacks and fruit, keeps a few favorites for himself, and asks her to tell him good night.

Character developments

• Chen Shu is curious, observant, and practical, enjoying both supermarket browsing and explaining the city’s history. Ning Qing’s rare abilities impress him, and he jokingly begins to view her as someone powerful to rely on.
• Ning Qing remains calm and matter-of-fact, sharing details about her unusual training and her uncertain origins. Her precise relationship prediction hints at both her deep attachment to Chen and the care with which she has considered their future.

Significant themes

• Tradition and change: Yi Nation’s monarchy endures amid modern constitutional government, though Chen expects it to eventually disappear.
• Hidden knowledge and exceptional talent: The Esoteric Sect’s rarity and secretive methods set it apart from ordinary cultivation systems.
• Everyday life amid grandeur: Jade Capital’s diverse population and historic atmosphere coexist with ordinary errands, price complaints, and domestic warmth.
• Love and timing: Ning Qing’s forecast frames their relationship as something shaped by choices and the right moment.

Character interactions

• Chen and Ning Qing share an easy, affectionate rhythm: he asks questions and makes observations, while she answers patiently and occasionally teases him.
• Their lighthearted conversation about marriage reveals the seriousness beneath their banter. The hotel’s good-night exchange closes the chapter on a tender, domestic note.