Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Ning Qing attends a fieldwork session at the Nawa Plateau’s high-altitude cosmic observation base. While her class focuses on basic observation of the Plane Barrier, she pursues her own research: revisiting Ling Boxin’s theories, studying other planes, and analyzing Spirit Power arriving from beyond their plane.
• The base has detected a neighboring plane that emits no Spirit Power and seems to block all Spirit Power from its direction. Ning Qing suspects it may be the plane destroyed in a conflict with the Deities. Her observations lead her to fear that the Deities may still be guarding against whatever destroyed it.
• Meanwhile, Chen Shu travels to the Spirit Sect while Ning Qing is away. In a group chat, he learns Zhang Suannai has been detained, apparently in keeping with the Sword Sect’s unruly habits.
• Chen visits the Vice Sect Master, discusses his cultivation progress, and learns that the sect has saved two rare Eighth-Tier Otherworldly Beast Cores to help him reach the Seventh Tier. The Vice Sect Master hints that the younger generation may one day face an important task, though the Deities and older cultivators will bear the greatest burdens.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Qing is focused, ambitious, and increasingly convinced that Ling Boxin’s theories may be true. Her scientific curiosity turns to anxiety as she considers the implications of the silent plane—and what its destruction might mean for her future with Chen Shu.
• Chen Shu is approaching the threshold of High Tier cultivation and is surprised by the value of the resources set aside for him. He remains modest and lighthearted, joking about his losses at Go and his gifted childhood sweetheart and younger sister.
• The Vice Sect Master encourages Chen Shu’s advancement and reassures him that senior figures will protect the younger generation, while quietly implying that a future crisis may demand Chen Shu’s strength.
• Their visit is framed by a friendly Go game: the Vice Sect Master tests Chen Shu’s progress, but Chen Shu is once again defeated.

Significant themes

• Scientific discovery and existential danger: Ning Qing’s research suggests the neighboring plane’s silence may be evidence of destruction rather than natural emptiness.
• The burden of the future: Chen Shu’s accelerated cultivation and the Vice Sect Master’s hints point toward a looming responsibility for the younger generation.
• Love and vulnerability: Ning Qing’s fear is not simply of death or catastrophe, but of losing the vivid life and relationship she has only recently found.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu studies several new spells obtained through the Vice Sect Master: the Seventh-Tier Mountain-Piercing Technique to replace the Tracer Technique as his main attack, the Divine Binding Technique to replace Cage, three defensive spells, and the Great Blazing Sun Art, which he will learn once his Spirit Power meets its demands.
• He plans to adapt the Tracer Technique into a defensive interception spell, using his unusually large Spirit Sea to store and manage more techniques.
• At home, he shares a quiet, affectionate evening with Peach, who watches an animated show and later curls up against Chen Shu as he cultivates.
• Days later, Chen Shu returns to Jade Capital after his class’s field placement. His classmates have gained wilderness experience with only minor injuries, and Zhang Suannai has been released from detention. Chen Shu meets her over a meal and finds her entirely unfazed.
• Chen Shu chats with Huang Chu, asking her to send him Eastern Continent meat in exchange for Spirit Sect tea. She offers several unusual tonic ingredients, which he declines.
• Qingqing tells Chen Shu she will return in two days and says she misses him. Their playful exchange is briefly interrupted by Chen Shu’s clumsy typing; he finally admits he misses her too.

Character developments

• Chen Shu shows a practical, forward-looking approach to cultivation, matching spells to his current abilities and planning to revise older techniques rather than discard them.
• He grows more comfortable and affectionate with Peach, who trusts him and seeks the comfort of his Spirit Power while Qingqing is away.
• Chen Shu continues building friendships with Demon Race acquaintances, especially Huang Chu and fellow Daoist Hu.
• Zhang Suannai’s easygoing reaction to detention reinforces her unconventional, unbothered personality.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu teases Peach about becoming a cat demon; Peach understands him but cannot communicate in a way he understands, silently judging him.
• Peach settles against Chen Shu as he cultivates, then sleeps on his chest.
• Chen Shu and Huang Chu trade jokes and favors, with Huang Chu enthusiastically offering local specialties.
• Chen Shu and Qingqing exchange affectionate messages, teasing each other over his repeatedly started-and-deleted replies.

Significant themes

• Cultivation through adaptation: Chen Shu tailors his techniques to his strengths and limitations.
• Companionship and trust: Peach’s closeness, Chen Shu’s friendships, and his longing for Qingqing provide warmth alongside his training.
• Humor in everyday life: Domestic teasing, odd food offers, and awkward messaging keep the chapter lighthearted.

Key plot points and events

• In October, Zhang Suannai sits down to choose a graduation-thesis topic, initially determined to write something spectacular after being mocked by her friends.
• She considers four thesis styles—surveys, experiments, tactical analysis, and theory—but finds the demanding options poorly suited to her lack of theoretical and statistical expertise. She briefly decides that simply graduating is enough.
• After pretending to write when a younger girl catches her, Zhang settles on a survey of Jade Capital’s traditional swordsmanship schools, hoping to pass easily while exposing the industry’s weaknesses.
• Her advisor, Zhang Ping, rejects the topic outright: he forbids surveys as academically weak and notes that Sword Sect disciples have already cleaned up the industry. Zhang Suannai gives up in frustration.
• On October 2, Chen Shu and the girl eat Luosifen in the courtyard. The girl tells Chen she plans to attempt a breakthrough to the Fourth Tier after her sister returns.
• Chen teases her about shaving her hair if she passes out during the attempt. He then tricks Peach into eating a bit of broth-soaked egg. Peach hides her discomfort to avoid revealing that she is more than an ordinary cat.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Suannai shifts from grand ambitions of dazzling everyone to choosing the easiest route, but even her practical plan is blocked. Her pride and comic frustration remain clear.
• The younger girl is quietly observant: she catches Zhang faking work, leaves without pressing her, and later demonstrates impressive cultivation progress and confidence by preparing to attempt the Fourth Tier.
• Chen Shu is playful and teasing, both about the girl’s cultivation and while coaxing Peach to eat.
• Peach carefully conceals her unusual nature, pretending to share a cat’s ordinary tastes even as she reluctantly accepts Chen’s food.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus practicality: Zhang’s wish to prove herself gives way to a pragmatic effort to graduate, only for academic rules to frustrate her.
• Expertise versus formal scholarship: Zhang trusts practical swordsmanship and Spirit Sense, while academic writing demands theory, data, and recognized authorities.
• The hidden burdens of appearances: Peach’s comic effort to act like an ordinary cat reflects the gap between how she appears and what she actually is.
• Affection through teasing: The courtyard scene shows familiar warmth in Chen’s banter with the girl and Peach.

Key plot points and events

• Ning Qing returns from a field placement and tells her class assistant she will not go back to school with the other students.
• Chen Shu, Xiaoxiao, and Peach greet her outside the terminal. Ning Qing’s classmates watch from the bus and speculate about her relationship with Chen Shu.
• The group returns to their Small Courtyard, where Chen Shu cooks and Ning Qing helps. They talk about her placement in the Nawa Uninhabited Zone and agree she may visit again, perhaps taking Chen Shu with her.
• Ning Qing proposes that they start dating after she finishes cultivating the Seven Emotions. She frames the decision partly around the vastness of the universe and the value of enjoying life while young.
• Chen Shu objects to her deciding the timing and treating him as a cultivation aid. He insists she confess her feelings. Ning Qing openly admits she has long wanted to hold, kiss, and embrace him and love him in an ordinary way.
• Chen Shu playfully demands that she repeat the confession later while wearing a particular outfit. Their teasing ends without a final agreement on when they will officially date.

Character developments

• Ning Qing shows warmth beneath her reserved exterior: she thanks the class assistant, smiles at her family’s welcome, and speaks frankly about her affection for Chen Shu. Her field placement has deepened her appreciation for life and personal happiness.
• Chen Shu is affectionate and playful, but also asserts that his feelings and dignity matter; he does not want Ning Qing to dictate their relationship as though it were merely part of her cultivation.
• The class assistant is surprised by Ning Qing’s courteous response and glimpses a softer side of her.
• Xiaoxiao and Peach help make Ning Qing’s return feel like a familiar, affectionate homecoming.

Significant themes

• The contrast between cosmic vastness and ordinary human intimacy: contemplating the universe and a dying plane leads Ning Qing to value love and youth.
• The desire to live and love freely, rather than treating relationships only as a means to an end.
• The gap between outward reserve and inner affection, especially in Ning Qing.
• Mutual agency in romance: Chen Shu’s objection highlights that a relationship should not be arranged solely on one person’s terms.

Character interactions

• Ning Qing’s brief exchange with the class assistant reveals unexpected politeness.
• Her classmates’ excited, judgmental commentary contrasts with the couple’s comfortable familiarity.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing’s domestic conversation shifts from fieldwork and cooking to a candid discussion of dating, blending genuine vulnerability with flirtatious teasing.
• The lighthearted family scene—Ning Qing holding Peach, Xiaoxiao defending the cat, and Chen Shu managing the luggage—underscores their established closeness.

Key plot points and events

• After dinner, Chen Shu and Ning Qing enjoy fruit together on the Swing. Ning Qing notices how thoroughly he cleaned the courtyard after she returned, and Chen Shu cheerfully admits that he and Xiaoxiao had been careless while she was away.
• They discuss Ning Qing’s cultivation of the Seven Emotions. She has only Shock left, but says it may be difficult because she rarely feels surprised or startled. Chen Shu learns that she cultivated Fear during her internship, after seeing a dead plane and imagining the loss of its Plane Will.
• Ning Qing describes a dream in which Deities from another plane invade, forcing the couple into war and exile. Chen Shu agrees that such a conflict would be terrifying but encourages her to focus on what they can do now: work toward High Tier and live well rather than exhaust themselves worrying about distant threats.
• Their serious conversation slips into teasing over Ning Qing’s “tally” of Chen Shu’s romantic behavior. She denies that her earlier confession was genuine, calling it a rehearsal; he playfully repeats her private words until she silences him with a Spell. She also recounts a dream in which Chen Shu grew distant after they moved, but refuses to reveal her third dream.
• Upstairs, Xiaoxiao finishes her homework and studies an Ancient Spell that enhances hearing.
• By mid-October, Chen Shu has learned the Mountain-Piercing Technique. He tests its concentrated, piercing force against barriers and a hardened earth wall. It penetrates three of five Defensive Barriers and nearly breaks through the wall. He concludes that the Spell can threaten both Spirit Power and physical defenses, though he still needs practice and refinement.

Character developments

• Ning Qing reveals a rare vulnerability: her dreams and memories of a dead plane have made her contemplate catastrophic possibilities. Despite her composed manner, she is receptive to Chen Shu’s reassurance.
• Chen Shu shows that beneath his teasing and carefree attitude, he can offer thoughtful perspective. He is also methodical in testing and analyzing his new Spell.
• Xiaoxiao continues to show diligence, completing her homework and studying independently.

Significant themes

• Living in the present amid uncertainty: Chen Shu argues that it is wiser to pursue reachable goals than to be consumed by distant dangers.
• Intimacy through teasing: The couple’s banter, mock arguments, and shared memories reveal affection as well as their different ways of expressing it.
• Learning through experimentation: Chen Shu’s practical tests show how mastery comes from repeated trials, careful observation, and adapting knowledge to one’s abilities.

Character interactions

• Ning Qing gently calls out Chen Shu’s laziness while choosing not to scold him; their domestic teasing establishes their comfortable familiarity.
• Chen Shu holds Ning Qing’s hand and offers sincere comfort, but their exchange quickly returns to playful negotiation over romance and her earlier confession.
• Ning Qing shares personal dreams and fears with Chen Shu, while he responds with reassurance rather than alarm.
• Chen Shu tests the Mountain-Piercing Technique alone, comparing it against defenses he designed with Zhang Suannai’s combat style in mind.

Chen Shu returns to his dorm and finds Meng Chunqiu copying the Sacred Character Stele, the ancient standard for written and spoken language. They debate whether the Sacred Ancestor created it all himself; Chen believes he was a transmigrator, while Meng favors the idea of a peerless genius.
Meng reflects that he is not the era’s protagonist, naming his imperial brother, Zhang, Jiang, and Yan as figures whose hardships and exceptional destinies set them apart. He dismisses Chen as too fortunate and unremarkable, unaware that Chen is offended. Chen leaves after criticizing Meng’s calligraphy.
At Teacher Shi Qian’s residence, Chen asks for help adapting the Tracer Technique. Since its offensive power is no longer as useful to him, he wants to reverse its usual development: weaken its damage and penetration while making its projectiles more numerous, unstable, and sensitive to Spirit Power, so they can intercept incoming attacks. Shi endorses the plan and suggests enlarging the projectiles and borrowing disruptive Runes from shield-breaking spells. He also gives Chen the structure of a Spirit-Sensing Mine as a reference for detecting Spirit Power.
Studying the mine’s ability to detect and pursue Spirit Power sparks a new idea for Chen, and Shi’s knowing reaction suggests he anticipated it.
Character developments and interactions: Meng is talented but self-deprecating, convinced that a smooth life means he lacks the hardships of a true protagonist; his judgment of Chen reveals his blind spot. Chen is resourceful and willing to reshape familiar techniques for practical needs. Shi acts as an experienced mentor, offering targeted guidance while leaving Chen room to innovate. The teasing exchange between Chen and Meng contrasts with the focused, collaborative teacher-student discussion.
Themes: The chapter plays with the idea of who deserves to be called a protagonist, contrasting visible hardship and destiny with quieter ability. It also highlights the value of historical continuity and technical innovation, especially the idea that progress can come from deliberately reversing a tool’s original purpose.

Chapter summary

Chen Shu begins designing an improved version of the Tracer Technique: a Spirit Power Secondary Cannon projectile that can intercept incoming attacks automatically. Because a pure-Spirit-Power projectile lacks the sensors and steering mechanisms of a physical missile, he rules out directly copying the Spirit-Sensing Mine model. He also rejects mind-controlled guidance as too technically difficult and costly, deciding to first build a conventional interception version and consider intelligent guidance later. He plans two versions: a High Tier spell for himself and a Rune module for his online friend, Mr. Cat, to adapt for modern use.
That night, Chen Shu reconnects with Mr. Cat on Gray Web after months away. Their conversation confirms that Mr. Cat is in Duqin, where the fighting against Lanya continues. Mr. Cat asks about the cannon, and Chen Shu agrees to provide a standard-grade Rune module the following month, refusing payment because he is making a version for himself anyway. Though he jokes about the exchange, Chen Shu reflects that Mr. Cat may be lonely and worn down by the ongoing conflict.
The next day, Chen Shu continues his research until Ning Qing invites him to lunch. He agrees to let her borrow Peach, the dog, on the pretext that its purring will help him sleep and cultivate, while Peach protests. Over lunch, Ning Qing’s younger sister mentions that Zhang Suannai is struggling to choose a thesis topic and prepare for a year-end match against Wu Eiwei, who is approaching Sixth-Tier Peak. Chen Shu avoids guessing who will win.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu shows technical persistence, breaking a difficult problem into stages rather than forcing an impractical solution. He also reveals concern for Mr. Cat beneath his teasing manner and gives him the cannon design as repayment for past kindness.
• Mr. Cat comes across as isolated and burdened by Duqin’s war, though he remains guarded about his circumstances. He accepts Chen Shu’s offer with surprise and gratitude.
• Ning Qing and Chen Shu share easy, affectionate banter. She invites him to eat and asks to borrow Peach, while he playfully indulges her.
• Ning Qing’s younger sister is earnest and blunt, offering Zhang Suannai a thesis topic that insults Sword Cultivation and calling her an idiot.
• Zhang Suannai is under pressure from both her thesis and the coming match with Wu Eiwei.

Significant themes

• Innovation under practical constraints: A workable, affordable defense system may matter more than an ambitious but costly ideal.
• Friendship and reciprocity: Chen Shu’s gift to Mr. Cat repays an old kindness and maintains a connection across distance and war.
• Conflict’s personal toll: Mr. Cat’s messages hint at the loneliness behind the broader struggle in Duqin.
• Everyday warmth alongside larger stakes: Research, cultivation, meals, pets, and academic worries provide a light domestic contrast to war and military technology.

Plot points and events

• Wu Eiwei searches for a sparring partner to help her study Seventh-Tier sword cultivators. Two Sword Sect disciples refuse: one after learning she is his opponent, the other because she has not yet reached High Tier. She accepts that no suitable opponent is available, locks her cultivation chamber, and resumes training, nearing Sixth-Tier Peak.
• Ning Qing, Xiaoxiao, and Zhang Suannai return to their dorm. Zhang asks where the sisters intend to live and work after graduation. Ning says they will stay in Jade Capital and that she plans to buy their current rental home in two years. Zhang jokes that Ning’s prophetic abilities make such certainty possible, then becomes touched when Ning tells her to focus on her thesis.
• Chen Shu relaxes instead of resuming work on his Tracer Technique after lunch with Ning. His roommate Meng Chunqiu tells him that the Thirteenth Cube was unearthed in Cold England that morning. Chen regrets that Yi Nation will have little chance to investigate it.
• In a group chat, friends ask for easy ways to make money. Chen teases one friend, while Ning unexpectedly offers investment advice: Andong Technology is expected to hit its daily price limit for nine more trading days. Her friends eagerly thank her and discuss how much to invest.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Eiwei remains disciplined and composed despite the Sword Sect’s dismissive treatment; she is focused on learning her enemy’s methods.
• Ning Qing is decisive about her future with Chen Shu and quietly considerate toward Zhang, while also showing a new willingness to share financial advice with friends.
• Zhang Suannai is anxiously planning for life after graduation, but her theatrical worry gives way to delighted speculation that Ning is looking out for her.
• Chen Shu recognizes that he is procrastinating, though he knowingly indulges in rest. He banters with his friends and is surprised by Ning’s generosity.

Significant themes

• Preparation and self-improvement: Wu seeks to understand an opponent before fighting, while Chen struggles to regain focus on his research.
• Friendship and care: Practical questions about housing, studies, and money reveal characters’ concern for one another.
• Unequal access and opportunity: The Sword Sect’s rare expertise and Cold England’s discovery of the Cube highlight how power and resources shape who gets to learn or participate.

Plot and events

• During the season’s first snowfall, Meng Chunqiu admires the view with Chen Shu. Chen teases him about his feminine appearance; Meng takes it in stride, and they exchange lines of poetry.
• Chen decides to share the snow with Ning Qing. At her academy, he secretly draws a heart in the snow with “nq” and “520” inside, then invites her downstairs.
• Ning Qing understands that Chen chose the moment because her Shock Emotion temporarily seals her abilities. She calls the gesture childish but is pleased, changes into winter clothes, and joins him. They walk together, discuss a possible winter-break trip, and play in the snow—ending with Chen putting snow down her collar.
• Meanwhile, Chen completes a defensive interception version of the Tracer Technique. He has made its shots weaker and more numerous, designed them to explode when they meet enemy attacks, and altered them to damage Spirit Power structures. He plans to adapt and weaken it before sending it to Mr. Cat.
• About a week later, Meng Chunqiu sees Chen’s complex Spell design on his computer and learns it is the modified Tracer Technique. The sight makes him realize how far ahead Chen is in Spell-Rune mastery.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is playful and affectionate with Ning Qing, using the snowfall for a romantic surprise while also supporting her cultivation. He is also a highly capable and inventive Spell designer who takes care to protect sensitive technology.
• Ning Qing responds warmly despite calling Chen’s gesture childish. Their teasing, easy conversation, and snowball play show their growing intimacy and comfort with each other.
• Meng Chunqiu remains good-natured about being mistaken for a woman, but Chen’s work humbles him and forces him to reassess his own skill.
• Zhang Suannai dismisses the snow confession as silly, then is surprised to see Ning Qing genuinely smile. She trades teasing remarks with Ning Qing’s little sister, who quickly changes her stance when defending Chen.
• The dorm girls watch the scene from above; Peach accompanies Ning Qing outside.

Significant themes

• Affection expressed through playful gestures: Chen’s snow drawing and invitation reveal tenderness beneath his joking manner.
• Winter and shared beauty: The snowfall prompts characters to pause, connect, and create memories together.
• Talent and humility: Meng’s encounter with Chen’s Spell design highlights the gap between confidence and true expertise.
• Innovation balanced with responsibility: Chen adapts the Tracer Technique while limiting its power and guarding its core technology.

Key plot points

• Chen Shu finishes a Rune design for Mr. Cat: a projectile with offensive and defensive modes, built mainly from simple, stable lower-level Runes. It meets the requested national standard, though its final power depends on the user’s technology.
• Luo Huai’an announces that he has reached the peak of the Sixth Tier and challenges Zhang Suannai to fight after exams. They settle on a date, but Chen Shu points out that it conflicts with his trip home. The group teases him and places bets on the outcome; Chen Shu chooses a draw, suspecting the monk organizing the wager has worded it to suggest that result.
• At university, Chen shows Teacher Shi Qian his improved Tracer Technique. Shi praises its unusual, mutually reinforcing use of Spirit Power sensitivity and instability, and encourages Chen to keep refining it.
• Chen visits Qingqing’s Small Courtyard through the snow and finds snow figures labeled “Brother-in-law,” “Xiaoxiao,” and “Qingqing,” along with a carefully made snow cat.

Character developments

• Chen’s satisfaction after a month of hard work shows his pride in his craft, while his careful attention in class reflects his continued willingness to learn despite his expertise.
• Teacher Shi recognizes Chen’s talent and originality, particularly his ability to turn unconventional ideas into workable Spell structures.
• Luo’s cultivation progress brings him closer to the long-awaited confrontation with Suannai, whose confidence and competitive spirit are clear.

Character interactions

• Chen and the group chat trade insults and jokes, especially Chen and Suannai, while other members make playful bets about the duel.
• Chen privately weighs the fighters’ strengths and styles. He believes their ancestral feud could make the fight dangerous, though powerful institutions would prevent either from being killed.
• Shi gives Chen constructive, enthusiastic feedback rather than asking him to change the design.
• The snow figures at Qingqing’s courtyard suggest warmth and affection within her circle.

Significant themes

• Craft and originality: Chen’s long, self-directed study has produced ideas that distinguish his work.
• Competition and restraint: The duel promises a fierce contest, but politics and relationships place limits on its danger.
• Belonging and affection: The group’s teasing and the snow figures offer a lighthearted contrast to Chen’s intense work and the looming fight.

Key events

• Chen Shu visits Ning Qing and jokes with her younger sister Xiaoxiao, who is shoveling snow while Qingqing reads indoors. They tease one another about who should tell Qingqing to help.
• Exhausted from a month of overtime spent revising the Tracer Technique, Chen Shu tries to rest with his head on Qingqing’s lap. She initially points out that he has used up his “credit” by watching provocative content, but eventually lets him lie there.
• Their playful argument over gaming turns into teasing about dating. Qingqing says that if they were together, she would massage him and allow other affectionate gestures without keeping count. Chen Shu insists he is not tempted, though his rapid heartbeat gives him away. He eventually begs her for a head massage, and she obliges.
• Chen Shu falls asleep on the sofa. Qingqing leaves him a pillow and blanket, then returns to tending her flowers, using a warming rune and winter fertilizer to protect them from the cold.
• The next day, Chen Shu again tries to secure a lap pillow and massage, but Qingqing refuses. Later, in late November, he reads a Moral Cultivation paper Xiaoxiao commissioned from a forum ghostwriter and jokingly sees himself in its praise of virtuous modern practitioners.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing: Their familiar banter reveals a close, affectionate bond and growing romantic tension. Qingqing is usually reserved, but she indulges Chen Shu, cares for him while he sleeps, and playfully describes what dating would change. Chen Shu acts shamelessly, yet is visibly affected by her affection.
• Ning Qing: Her gentle care contrasts with her composed manner. She also shows practical attentiveness in protecting her flowers through the winter.
• Xiaoxiao and Peach: Xiaoxiao handles the snow shoveling, while Peach plays a fishing game and communicates selectively. Both add domestic humor to the scene.

Significant themes

• Intimacy through everyday care: Affection appears in small gestures—holding Chen Shu’s head, massaging him, covering him with a blanket, and caring for plants.
• Romance and restraint: The pair behave like a couple but have not formalized their relationship; Qingqing keeps some privileges for “when they’re dating,” while Chen Shu tries to bargain around that boundary.
• Playful hypocrisy and self-image: Chen Shu criticizes gaming and praises moral cultivation while being an avid gamer and readily identifying with a flattering paper.

Key events

• Chen Shu takes a demanding exam on spell principles. The rune-array questions are familiar from his discussions with Professor Shi Qian, giving him an advantage—but also leaving him feeling he must produce an exceptional answer.
• Zhang Suannai, alone in her dorm, remembers failing a sword-technique course despite already understanding its principles through practice. She is also stuck choosing a thesis topic: her advisor has rejected her ideas or noted that others have covered them. Rather than answer his impatient message, she pretends to be offline.
• After his exam, Chen Shu meets his older sister, Chen Banxia, for lunch. She advises him to choose a sensible thesis advisor, talks about her own upcoming defense and plan to return to teaching, and offers to fund and drive a winter-break trip to western Yuanzhou.
• The siblings reminisce and bicker over who looked after whom as children. Banxia orders more food than she can finish, as usual, and Chen Shu eats the leftovers. She ends the scene by jumping onto his back for a ride.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is confident about the exam and has a close, teasing relationship with Banxia. Though he resists her fussing, he accepts her travel offer tentatively and continues to indulge her.
• Chen Banxia is affectionate and proud of her big-sister role, showing it through advice, generosity, and plans to spend time with him. Her playful insistence on being the elder contrasts with Chen Shu’s recollection that he often cared for her.
• Zhang Suannai is academically frustrated but recognizes that practical experience and theory can reinforce each other. Her thesis dilemma leaves her avoidant and overwhelmed.

Significant themes

• The exam setting emphasizes academic integrity and self-discipline, while the university’s difficult grading makes even talented students struggle.
• The chapter contrasts theory with lived experience: Zhang Suannai discovers that formal principles can describe skills she already learned through practice.
• Family affection appears through teasing, food, and acts of care rather than earnest declarations.
• Academic advising and thesis work can be arbitrary and stressful, underscoring the importance of choosing a supportive mentor.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• After his final exam, Chen Shu packs for winter break. His roommates, Meng Chunqiu and Jiang Lai, watch with envy as he prepares to go home.
• Jiang Lai plans to return to the children’s home briefly, then stay on campus to train and compete in Martial King Tournament ranking matches. Since his new Originating Spirit Power has attracted attention from the Royal Family, government, and military, competing under Boss Li for a while is his way of repaying the man who helped him.
• Chen Shu returns to Yuanzhou and spends the eighth day of the month making Laba porridge. He carefully chooses grains, beans, fruit, and nuts to suit his family’s tastes and needs, while Lawyer Wei watches instead of helping.
• Ning Qing, Xiaoxiao, and Peach join him in the kitchen. Their teasing over sugar and chili fills the home with warmth, and Professor Chen and Lawyer Wei quietly observe their lively, affectionate dynamic. Chen Shu also sends a photo of the meal to his distant elder sister, Chen Banxia.
• During the quiet break, Chen Shu checks his online groups and studies Great Blazing Sun Art. He learns how it builds on Little Blazing Sun Art to evoke a weakened form of the exceptionally destructive Blazing Sun True Flame.
• As Zhang Suannai’s long-awaited match with Wu Eiwei approaches, the Ancient Cultivator Group discusses watching it. Zhang insists she is relaxed, though she has been training intensely; other members catch her at Jade Peace Temple before she claims she has already returned to school. Chen Shu follows the exchange from bed and laughs.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu enjoys the freedom of break, shows care through cooking for his family, and continues developing his magical knowledge. His banter with Ning Qing and laughter at the group chat reveal his playful side.
• Jiang Lai is balancing his rapid rise and powerful new status with loyalty to Boss Li. He intends to honor their relationship through tournament fights, despite outgrowing the role Boss Li once envisioned for him.
• Ning Qing appears more expressive and playful than before. Her easy familiarity with Chen Shu and his family suggests growing closeness; Professor Chen and Lawyer Wei even wonder whether dating has brought out this change.
• Zhang Suannai talks casually about her upcoming bout but has been training late into the night, revealing both her excitement and determination to defeat Wu Eiwei.
• Chen Shu’s roommates, the family, and the online group all offer contrasts to his solitary studying: his roommates envy his freedom, his family shares domestic warmth, and the group provides lively comic companionship.

Significant themes

• Loyalty amid change: Jiang Lai’s tournament plans express gratitude to Boss Li even as powerful institutions pull him toward a larger future.
• Care expressed through everyday acts: Chen Shu’s thoughtful porridge-making reflects affection for his family and friends.
• Growing intimacy and belonging: Ning Qing’s ease in the household and playful rapport with Chen Shu show relationships becoming warmer.
• Power and responsibility: The True Flame’s capacity for uncontrolled destruction emphasizes the danger inherent in powerful techniques, while Chen Shu remains far from mastering it.
• Humor and community: Teasing, group-chat antics, and domestic banter provide levity during an otherwise quiet winter break.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu spends a sunny day at home amusing himself with Peach, teaching the cat to say “cat” by repeating “cat.” She eventually says it, and Chen Shu celebrates.
• In the Jade Capital, Zhang Suannai and Wu Eiwei meet for their long-anticipated private duel in the woods behind Jade Peace Temple. Zhang arrives late on purpose, hoping her casual attitude will make a victory seem even more impressive. She plans to use only one of her two Divine Swords unless she is at risk of losing.
• The duel begins at full intensity. Zhang’s Sword Sect technique, Myriad Swords Return to the Sect, fills the air with blades, while Wu’s King Court Ultimate Sword Dao lets her merge with her sword and perceive the paths of moving things. The match lasts only ten minutes.
• At home, Chen Shu cooks a special lunch for Professor Chen and Lawyer Wei, then checks the group chat for the result. The other members describe the fight as spectacular and closely matched, but Zhang claims victory and demands that Chen Shu and Jiang Lai honor their wager by calling themselves dogs.
• The group tries to pressure Chen Shu into conceding without clearly confirming the outcome. Jiang Lai gives in, and several members avoid answering. Chen Shu recognizes the attempted setup and uses a joking declaration of love to test Qingqing’s response. She sees through it, while Jiang Lai briefly falls for the exchange.
• Chen Shu points out that the chat is full of injured people, evasive witnesses, and would-be tricksters. He refuses to take the bait and waits for everyone else to confess.

Character developments

• Chen Shu is playful and mischievous, whether coaching Peach or plotting imaginary business ventures. In the group chat, he proves observant and difficult to fool, staying composed despite Zhang’s pressure.
• Zhang Suannai is boastful and strategic off the battlefield, carefully staging an appearance of nonchalance to enhance the prestige of a win. After the duel, she aggressively insists that others honor their bet.
• Wu Eiwei is presented as controlled and formidable, answering Zhang tersely and fighting with the refined, predictive technique of the King Court’s sword art.
• Jiang Lai gives in to the group’s pressure and calls himself a dog, then is caught out when he briefly mistakes Chen Shu’s teasing message for a genuine confession.
• Qingqing remains unimpressed by Chen Shu’s playful declaration, showing she knows him well and is not easily fooled.

Significant themes

• Pride and reputation: Zhang treats the duel not only as a contest but as a chance to demonstrate the Sword Sect’s superiority.
• Discipline versus apparent carelessness: Zhang’s casual group-chat behavior conceals intense training and preparation.
• Rival traditions and skill: The duel highlights the contrasting strengths of the Sword Sect and King Court sword styles.
• Teasing and social maneuvering: The group chat turns the wager into a battle of bluffing, peer pressure, and sharp observation.
• Everyday domestic comedy: Chen Shu’s cooking and antics with Peach provide a lighthearted contrast to the high-stakes martial contest.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu patiently coaches Peach, treating her mispronounced “cat” as a success and joking about hiring her as a “lucky cat.”
• Zhang and Wu exchange almost no words before fighting; their focus and techniques carry the confrontation.
• Chen Shu’s warm lunch for Professor Chen and Lawyer Wei shows his role in the household, even as he neglects his own meal to follow the chat.
• Zhang needles Chen Shu and Jiang Lai over their wager, while other group members dodge acting as reliable witnesses. Chen Shu counters the pressure with humor and exposes the group’s collective attempt to trick him.

Key events

• Chen Shu pressures the group chat to confess, and several people—including Zhang Suannai, the future emperor, and other prominent cultivators—post, “I’m a dog.” Chen Shu screenshots their messages and threatens to display them at their future milestone birthdays. Grandpa Always Says reveals he has screenshots too, turning Chen Shu’s joke back on the group.
• Chen Banxia returns home from a trip, complains about the airline food, and eagerly eats the popcorn Chen Shu made. She plans to rest, meet friends, and leave on a trip with Chen Shu, Qingqing, and Xiaoxiao the day after tomorrow.
• In the hospital, Zhang Suannai privately reflects on her draw with Wei Eiwei, the King Court Sword King’s disciple. Though she tells herself she narrowly won, the fight has shaken her confidence: she fears the King Court may surpass the Sword Sect, and that Wei could eventually outgrow her.
• Zhang responds to her adviser’s deadline by proposing a thesis on traditional Sword Sect combat methods against King Court sword cultivators, using her recent duel as firsthand material. She then replays the fight, dwelling on missed opportunities and how she might have won.
• After learning Chen Banxia’s group is taking a trip without her, Zhang realizes she has not replied to her friend and starts a video call.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu enjoys teasing his friends and preserving their embarrassing confessions as future blackmail material. At home, he is relaxed and considerate toward Banxia.
• Chen Banxia returns in high spirits and is affectionate and playful with her brother; their easy banter shows their close sibling relationship.
• Zhang Suannai appears comically compliant with hospital staff but secretly uses her phone. Beneath her bravado, she is unsettled by the duel and intensely competitive. Her reflections show both self-criticism and a desire to learn from the fight.
• The group chat responds to Chen Shu’s taunts with reluctant confessions and playful counter-moves, especially Grandpa Always Says’s screenshots.
• Zhang and her adviser settle on a difficult thesis topic based on her battle experience; the adviser accepts it despite doubts about how easily it can be written.

Significant themes

• Humor and camaraderie: Teasing, screenshots, and sibling banter create a lighthearted contrast with the chapter’s more serious reflections.
• Rivalry and insecurity: Zhang’s draw with Wei challenges her belief in her own destined superiority and raises broader concerns about the Sword Sect’s decline.
• Growth through reflection: Replaying the duel turns regret into potential learning, as Zhang examines what she could have done differently.
• Ambition and belonging: Zhang’s commitment to her sect, her friendship with Banxia, and her academic obligations all compete for her attention.

Chapter summary

On the twenty-second day of the twelfth month, Chen Shu drives a group from Bai City toward Yan City: Ning Qing and their younger companions Xiaoxiao, Chen Banxia, and the recently recovered Zhang Suannai. The winter journey is warm and scenic, and the passengers chat, watch the fields and mountains, or relax. Zhang Suannai secretly reads over Chen Banxia’s shoulder, evading detection with her quick reflexes, until she laughs at a funny passage and gives herself away.
The group reaches Yan City, where Chen Banxia has booked three hotel rooms. She and Zhang Suannai decide to share one. Xiaoxiao tries to arrange the remaining rooms so she can stay with Peach instead of her sister, but Ning Qing sees through her plan. Xiaoxiao gets into a room with Peach and shuts the door, leaving Ning Qing and Chen Shu to share the last room. Chen Shu insists he did not arrange this outcome with Xiaoxiao; Ning Qing dryly credits him with having “taught her well.”

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing: Their easy intimacy shows in small gestures during the drive—Ning Qing feeds Chen Shu grapes and catches the seeds he spits out. Their teasing continues at the hotel, where Chen Shu is pleased by the room arrangement but pretends innocence.
• Xiaoxiao: She is determined to avoid sharing with Ning Qing and tries to manipulate the room assignments. When her sister sees through her, she retreats to a room with Peach and shuts the door.
• Chen Banxia and Zhang Suannai: The friends bicker playfully. Zhang Suannai boasts about her rapid recovery, then secretly follows Chen Banxia’s novel until her laughter exposes her.
• Ning Qing: Quiet and observant, she recognizes Xiaoxiao’s scheme without needing to explain herself; her calm, penetrating gaze is enough to make Xiaoxiao retreat.
• Zhang Suannai: Her confidence, physical resilience, quick reactions, and mischievous streak are emphasized, alongside her close, playful friendship with Chen Banxia.

Significant themes

• Affection through everyday gestures: The grape-sharing and teasing convey closeness more subtly than direct declarations.
• Playful scheming and family dynamics: Xiaoxiao’s attempts to escape her sister and the others’ responses make the hotel-room arrangements a comic contest of wits.
• Companionship and relaxation: The scenic drive, casual conversations, and shared laughter give the chapter a warm, leisurely travel atmosphere.

Plot and key events

• Chen Shu’s group explores Yan City’s Ancient City, viewing its tiled rooftops from a hillside and later eating cured-pork-rib soup as sunset falls. Zhang Suannai recalls wanting to accompany an older martial nephew who came to the city to deal with crooked guides.
• After nightfall, Chen Banxia and Zhang Suannai head out for drinks, leaving Chen Shu, Ning Qing, and Xiaoxiao at the hotel.
• While Ning Qing showers, Chen Shu is tempted to watch her and eventually catches a glimpse through the bathroom glass. Ning Qing notices, calmly blocks his view when he tries to look lower, and lets the encounter pass without confrontation.
• Afterward, Chen Shu compliments her beauty. He then learns that Ning Qing has completed her cultivation of Deep Shock and Without Shock—and had been acting deliberately.
• Ning Qing asks Chen Shu, “Want to date me?” He enthusiastically says yes.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is openly attracted to Ning Qing but tries to balance his desire with playful justifications. Her composed response and his discovery that she planned the situation leave him surprised, but he accepts her proposal without hesitation.
• Ning Qing remains cool and controlled throughout the intimate encounter, subtly steering events rather than reacting with embarrassment. Her finished cultivation marks the moment she chooses to make her feelings explicit.
• Zhang Suannai is cheerful and more perceptive than before, joking with Chen Shu and arranging milk tea for the group. She and Chen Banxia share an easy friendship and go out together.
• Chen Banxia participates in the sightseeing and reminisces with Zhang Suannai; their decision to spend the evening together gives Chen Shu and Ning Qing privacy.
• Xiaoxiao remains quiet and reserved, joining the group and later handing Chen Shu a drink without prying.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts the Ancient City’s enduring history with the changing reputation and commercial life surrounding it.
• It portrays travel and nightlife as forms of escape from ordinary routines.
• Its central relationship theme is the shift from flirtation and mutual attraction to an openly acknowledged commitment, with Ning Qing’s deliberate timing underscoring her agency.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing begin dating with a deliberately limited “two-hour kiss.” Ning Qing sets the boundaries and keeps track of the time; Chen Shu eagerly tests them, going a few minutes over before she stops him.
• Afterward, Ning Qing agrees to let Chen Shu hold her while they sleep, but stresses that greater intimacy will be unlocked gradually.
• They wake still cuddling and share a quiet morning routine, including their first kisses of the day.
• At breakfast, Chen Shu checks on Chen Banxia and Zhang Suannai, who arrive late after drinking and gaming until around 3 a.m.
• Chen Banxia reveals that Zhang Suannai fought several people the previous night. Zhang says she threatened them and expects they will not report her. Chen Banxia criticizes her for being impulsive and says she could have used a fast-acting poison instead.

Character developments

• Ning Qing remains composed and self-possessed, setting clear limits while showing affection and trust. She treats dating as a gradual process rather than a sudden transformation.
• Chen Shu is openly affectionate and playful, eager to make the most of their new relationship but willing to accept Ning Qing’s rules.
• Chen Banxia is blunt and practical, but her suggestion of poisoning people reveals a darkly comic, ruthless streak.
• Zhang Suannai is energetic and confident, with the Sword Sect’s stubborn, uncompromising attitude reflected in how she handles conflict.

Significant themes

• Boundaries and gradual intimacy: The couple’s relationship advances through negotiated permissions and mutual trust.
• Affection in everyday life: Their shared sleep, morning routine, and breakfast show romance as part of ordinary domestic life.
• Sect identity and justice: The Sword Sect’s poverty and refusal to pay compensation make its members intimidating in a different way from wealthier sects.
• Humor and contrast: Tender romance is juxtaposed with the group’s casual discussion of fighting, threats, and poison.

Character interactions

• Ning Qing guides the intimacy with Chen Shu, balancing affection with firm limits; he teases her but accepts her decisions.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing share a comfortable, affectionate morning together.
• At breakfast, Chen Shu questions Banxia and Zhang about their late night, while Zhang defends her actions and Banxia suggests a more covert alternative.
• The chapter briefly contrasts Chen Shu and Ning Qing’s romantic moment with a little girl watching a documentary and trying to brush Peach’s teeth with a spell.

Plot and events

• Over breakfast, Zhang Suannai reveals that she and Chen Banxia secretly flew around the ancient city on swords the night before. Chen Shu worries that Chen Banxia could get in trouble, while Banxia tries to keep her younger brother from scolding her in front of her friend.
• The group travels to the White Dragon Scenic Area near New Ming City. Suannai objects to paying for entry because she can fly in, arguing that the landscape belongs to everyone; she eventually flies over the gate while the others buy tickets.
• Suannai explores from the air and spots a lake, while the group walks through the park’s autumn scenery. She jokes that resting on a tree avoids using the park’s paid paths.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing grow more openly affectionate: he holds her hand and later puts an arm around her shoulders, and she accepts this without protest.
• At White Dragon Snow Mountain, Chen Shu refuses the expensive cable-car tickets. He and Ning Qing fly up with Xiaoxiao and Peach, while Suannai takes Banxia. Their flight draws envious attention from visitors.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is protective and practical, warning Banxia about the consequences of illegal sword flight and refusing the costly cable car. He also becomes increasingly comfortable showing affection toward Qingqing.
• Ning Qing quietly accepts Chen Shu’s affection, signaling a shift in their closeness.
• Zhang Suannai remains mischievous, irreverent, and delighted by bending rules. Her cheeky arguments about ticket prices and dragons repeatedly frustrate Chen Shu, though she also acts as the group’s enthusiastic aerial scout.
• Chen Banxia is embarrassed at being lectured by her younger brother, but joins Suannai in the nighttime flight. Their teasing friendship continues, especially over Banxia’s self-description as a medicine-maker rather than a poison-maker.
• Xiaoxiao is earnest and attentive, while Peach explores the streambank.

Significant themes

• The chapter plays with rule-breaking and privilege, contrasting Suannai’s claim that scenery should be free with Chen Shu’s reminder that the park provides infrastructure—and that she would not tolerate trespass onto Sword Sect grounds.
• Intimacy and acceptance emerge through Qingqing’s relaxed response to Chen Shu’s public affection.
• Humor and everyday wonder shape the chapter, from Suannai’s extravagant breakfast and dubious dragon theory to the contrast between ordinary tourists and cultivators who can simply fly up the mountain.

Key plot points and events

• On White Dragon Snow Mountain, Ning Qing cultivates Eye Desire, the first of the Esoteric Sect’s Six Desires. The practice is meant to restore an appreciation for beauty to practitioners whose detached, far-seeing outlook can make the world seem cold.
• Ning Qing admires the mountain, clouds, and sky, reflecting on humanity’s smallness and the wonder of life. But Chen Shu’s playful snow antics—and the pleasure he takes in sharing the moment—draw her attention more than the grand landscape.
• Zhang Suannai joins the fun by learning to freeze tossed boiling water. The group tries to take a photograph together; Suannai initially ends up behind the camera, then uses her sword-riding technique to float the phone so she can join them.
• Later, back at their guesthouse, Ning Qing and Chen Shu share a room. Their playful conversation turns intimate: after Chen Shu rests in her arms, Ning Qing kisses him.
• Meanwhile, Chen Banxia tells Suannai she saw the pair enter the same room. Suannai refuses to believe it, and the two trade insults and wrestle before deciding to investigate.

Character developments

• Ning Qing becomes more openly attentive and affectionate toward Chen Shu. Eye Desire heightens her pleasure in looking at him, and she initiates a kiss.
• Chen Shu remains playful and teasing, joking with Ning Qing and comfortably leaning on her.
• Zhang Suannai is enthusiastic, impulsive, and eager to join in, but skeptical about Ning Qing and Chen Shu’s relationship progressing.
• Chen Banxia is confident she witnessed the pair sharing a room and persists despite Suannai’s disbelief.

Significant themes

• Beauty and perception: Eye Desire teaches that seeing beauty is an ability, not merely a matter of having good eyesight. Emotional connection can make an ordinary person more captivating than a spectacular landscape.
• Detachment versus feeling: The Esoteric Sect’s cultivated distance can become a limitation; reconnecting with desire and appreciation restores warmth.
• Human smallness and wonder: The ancient mountain’s perspective makes humanity seem fleeting, while the existence of life—and of these particular people—feels remarkable.
• Intimacy and companionship: Quiet teasing, shared play, and physical closeness deepen Ning Qing and Chen Shu’s bond.

Character interactions

• Ning Qing and Chen Shu flirt through gentle teasing, then share an intimate kiss.
• Chen Shu and Zhang Suannai play with snow and freezing water, while the group’s awkward photo-taking becomes a comic moment.
• Chen Banxia and Suannai’s close, bickering friendship shows through their sharp insults, wrestling, and eventual alliance to spy on the couple.