Chapter Summaries

Plot and key events

• Chen Shu studies the constraints of designing runes for Martial Artists, then spends a week creating a set for his roommate, Jiang Lai.
• The finished design resembles a sun and moon and has two functions: its primary setting releases a Shockwave, while its secondary setting adds impact to Jiang Lai’s attacks. Chen Shu explains that the design is unusual for Martial Artist runes, which are generally simple and inflexible.
• Jiang Lai is astonished and promises to use multiple engravers so Chen Shu’s design will not be leaked. Chen Shu is unconcerned about copying and realizes that rune design gives him a satisfying sense of accomplishment. He imagines building Jiang Lai a full suite of runes.
• In the Ancient Cultivator group, “Grandma Always Says” asks Chen Shu to conceal a spiritual-energy bug. She plans to catch a suspected drug courier in the act so she can bring him down decisively. Chen Shu modifies and tests the device, then mails it back.
• With the National Spell Principles Championship approaching, Chen learns that Xiaoxiao is coming to Jade Capital with her teacher, Peach, and President Ning. He offers to visit her and take her out if her teacher permits it, then messages Qingqing to arrange a visit as well.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu shows growing skill and confidence as a rune designer, while remaining characteristically lazy: he enjoys contributing to the investigation remotely rather than taking a direct role. He also acts warmly toward Jiang Lai and Xiaoxiao.
• Jiang Lai responds with awe to Chen Shu’s inventive design and shows loyalty by offering to protect it from being copied. Chen Shu encourages him and jokes that he is “raising” a future star.
• Grandma Always Says reveals a determined, patriotic motive for pursuing the drug investigation, but acknowledges the danger and doubts Chen’s toughness. Chen insists he is willing to help.
• Xiaoxiao is excited about the trip and eager for independence, but Chen advises her to ask her teacher rather than simply disobey. Chen also reconnects the upcoming visit with Qingqing.

Significant themes

• Innovation and specialization: Chen adapts cultivator knowledge to Martial Artists’ physical and spiritual-energy limits, producing a flexible design unlike conventional runes.
• Mentorship and potential: Chen sees the possibility of helping Jiang Lai develop into an exceptional Martial Artist.
• Caution amid danger: The bug’s concealment highlights the risks and technical challenges of surveillance, while Grandma’s plan demands a careful, coordinated approach.
• Laziness as a form of efficiency: Chen prefers useful work he can do from home, finding satisfaction in helping others without being directly involved.

Key plot points and events

• Ning Qing waits outside Ling’an Academy for Chen Shu. He startles her by jumping onto her back, but she catches him easily and silently rebukes him for breaking his promise not to surprise her.
• On the bus, Chen Shu reads a message from his cultivation group. Senior Brother Grandma Always Says asks him to plant listening devices in two rooms at Sandalwood Creek Tower, where target Zhao Haojiang frequently visits. The hotel is mostly legitimate, but discreetly offers sexual services on its top floor. Because the senior brother has been barred by its security staff, he gives Chen Shu the task and advises him to go early in the morning.
• Chen Shu researches the hotel and decides to visit first for a meal and to learn its layout. He plans to use President Ning’s presence as cover if anything goes wrong.
• They meet Xiaoxiao, her school group, and President Ning at the Tuanzi Hotel. Chen Shu greets them warmly, while President Ning remains reserved. The teacher allows Chen Shu to take the sisters to dinner as long as an adult accompanies them.
• Chen Shu reunites with Peach, the white cat, which clearly prefers Ning Qing’s aloof attention to his affection.
• The group goes to Sandalwood Creek Tower. Chen Shu orders dinner, and President Ning considers the hotel as a possible venue for business meetings. Chen Shu offers to inspect its meeting facilities with him after the meal, creating an opportunity to explore the building.

Character developments

• Chen Shu is playful and affectionate with Ning Qing and the younger girl, but also practical and resourceful as he investigates the hotel and plans his covert task.
• Ning Qing remains composed and restrained, even when Chen Shu teases her. Her calm demeanor contrasts with his exuberance.
• President Ning is still cool and businesslike, but he shows interest in the hotel’s facilities and may be willing to use it for work.
• Xiaoxiao is excited to reunite with Chen Shu and her sister, while remaining quiet around the adults.
• Peach reinforces its preference for Ning Qing, whose indifference seems to win the cat’s affection.

Significant themes

• Trust and teasing: Chen Shu’s playful ambush tests Ning Qing’s patience, while their familiar closeness shows their comfort with each other.
• Covert work amid ordinary life: Chen Shu’s secret assignment unfolds alongside everyday travel, family greetings, and dinner plans.
• Appearance versus reality: Sandalwood Creek Tower presents itself as a respectable hotel while concealing illegal services.
• Different kinds of affection: Chen Shu openly fusses over Peach, but the cat gravitates toward Ning Qing’s quiet, detached manner.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing share a teasing, familiar dynamic: he startles her, plays with her hair, and later walks with her to meet Xiaoxiao.
• Chen Shu warmly reunites with Xiaoxiao and Peach, while President Ning acknowledges him briefly and keeps his distance.
• The teacher sets a boundary by requiring an adult to accompany the younger girls; Chen Shu invites her to join but accepts her refusal.
• Chen Shu and President Ning discuss the hotel as a potential business venue, and Chen Shu offers to help inspect it—also advancing his own plan to scout the building.

Key events

• After dinner at Sandalwood Creek Tower, Chen Shu and President Ning inspect the building. Chen probes about the restricted tenth floor, learning it offers private VIP services, but the server won’t let them see it.
• Chen takes Xiaoxiao to Ning Qing’s courtyard. He shows her around, tells her Qingqing misses her, and reassures her that she can stay there. Xiaoxiao is curious and affectionate toward her sister, though Qingqing follows quietly without joining the conversation.
• The next day, Chen receives two listening devices and two pieces of Bewitching Immortal Incense from his group-chat contact, Grandma Always Says. He investigates the venue by dining and getting massages, learning how its discreet, unofficial services operate.
• After staying overnight, Chen uses Spirit Eye to identify the tenth-floor occupants. With the attendant briefly away, he uses the incense to put a woman to sleep and plants a listening device in her room.
• He leaves the second device for later, then messages Grandma Always Says as though he and a friend are doing the job together—claiming the friend can’t handle visiting too often.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen is resourceful and cautious, balancing his assignment with his principles: he refuses to plant devices by paying for private services because he considers that disrespectful to Qingqing.
• His banter with Xiaoxiao is warm and teasing; she worries that he might seek improper services, while he indulges her curiosity and encourages her bond with Qingqing.
• Qingqing remains reserved and silent during the visit, while Peach follows her closely.
• President Ning is formal and detached; he leaves without saying goodbye. Chen responds lightly, then takes Xiaoxiao back to Qingqing’s home.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and boundaries: Chen’s concern for Qingqing shapes how he carries out a potentially compromising task.
• Trust and deception: He conceals his real plan from Grandma Always Says while using the group’s tools to complete it.
• Appearance and secrecy: The venue presents itself as an ordinary hotel and leisure center while maintaining a hidden VIP operation.
• Family affection: Chen helps Xiaoxiao reconnect with her sister, even as Qingqing struggles to express her feelings openly.

Key plot points and events

• Ning Ji takes the second day of the national junior Spell Principles exam. The top twenty contestants may attend training in the Jade Capital, with six later selected for the world competition.
• After the exam, Chen Shu persuades her teacher to let her stay in the city for a few days with him and her sister, Ning Qing. Ning Ji is pleased, though her excitement barely shows.
• Back at Ning Qing’s courtyard, Ning Ji cuddles Peach, the cat, and tells Chen Shu that it has been buying food on credit—especially to feed neighborhood strays—and draining her allowance.
• Chen Shu continues messaging an online contact about placing listening devices near Zhao Haojiang’s rooms.
• When Ning Qing returns, she finds Chen Shu and Ning Ji sitting in nearly identical, relaxed poses and feels excluded. The two then conspire to make Ning Qing promise not to hit Ning Ji after completing her Stillheart Way: Chen Shu physically makes Ning Qing nod, and Ning Ji carefully secures the promise.
• That evening, President Ning attends a business dinner. His associates arrange for him to receive a “proper massage” at the same building where Chen Shu has gone for another massage.
• Police raid the massage establishment and order its customers and workers into the corridor. Chen Shu insists he only purchased a discounted massage and does not resist. He unexpectedly finds President Ning among those detained. The two recognize each other, feel awkward, and look away.

Character developments

• Ning Ji is quietly excited to spend extra time with her sister and brother-in-law. Her teasing, cautious effort to secure Ning Qing’s promise suggests she is comfortable with them and still wary of her sister’s eventual reaction.
• Chen Shu shows continued protectiveness toward Ning Ji—reminding her to dress warmly, arranging her stay, and inviting her to return to the hotel after the exam. His seemingly innocent massage visit becomes embarrassing when the police raid begins.
• Ning Qing remains reserved, but her reaction to the pair’s closeness reveals a rare sense of being left out. She is also nearing the end of her Stillheart Way.
• President Ning remains emotionally inscrutable, maintaining his usual calm even during the police raid.

Significant themes

• Family closeness and belonging: Chen Shu and Ning Ji’s easy rapport makes Ning Qing feel like an outsider, despite the affection between the sisters.
• Care expressed through everyday actions: Chen Shu’s concern about Ning Ji’s clothing and plans contrasts with their father’s absence.
• Humor through awkwardness and misunderstandings: The siblings’ maneuvering, Peach’s spending, and Chen Shu’s encounter with President Ning during the raid provide comic tension.
• Appearance versus reality: The massage establishment’s actual services are uncertain, and the raid leaves Chen Shu—and President Ning—caught in a compromising-looking situation despite their differing circumstances.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Ning Ji share a relaxed, teasing bond, with Chen Shu acting as a caring older-brother figure.
• Ning Ji and Ning Qing’s relationship is affectionate but cautious; Ning Ji seeks reassurance that Ning Qing will not punish her.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing work together to secure Ning Ji’s stay, though their closeness unintentionally leaves Ning Qing feeling excluded.
• Chen Shu and President Ning share an uncomfortable, wordless recognition while squatting among the raid’s detainees.

• Key events: Chen Shu and Ning Pei are detained during a police raid on a massage parlor. Chen insists he paid for a legitimate massage and did nothing illegal. The police find no evidence against either man, but initially require a relative to collect them. Ning Pei threatens to tell his daughter Ning Qing; Chen persuades him to keep quiet and agrees to explain everything to her himself.
• Rescue: Chen calls Xiaoxiao, who leaves the courtyard to help despite initially refusing. At the station, she identifies herself as Chen’s girlfriend and Ning Pei’s daughter. Though she first says she came only for Chen, she ultimately takes both men home.
• Character developments: Chen is embarrassed and anxious, chiefly because he fears the incident could disrupt Ning Qing’s cultivation and damage her trust in him. He tries to reassure Xiaoxiao that he went only for a massage and promises to tell Ning Qing the truth. Xiaoxiao is loyal but conflicted, worrying that her sister will be furious. Ning Pei remains stern and guarded, but agrees to Chen’s plan. Ning Qing watches Xiaoxiao leave without showing any outward reaction.
• Interactions: Chen and the officer spar over the detention and its implications; Chen and Ning Pei negotiate how to handle the situation; and Xiaoxiao’s rescue brings her into a comic exchange with the officer about her age and family relationships. Afterward, she warns Chen that Ning Qing may “beat [him] to death.”
• Themes: The chapter mixes comic embarrassment with family loyalty, trust, and the importance of honesty. It also contrasts Chen’s worry about Qingqing’s fragile cultivation with the mundane chaos of a late-night police-station ordeal.

Plot and events

• In a group chat, Chen Shu learns that police have shut down a venue connected to Zhao Haojiang. Grandma Always Says reveals she has secretly gathered intel about Zhao’s next planned deal and intends to ambush the people involved, break their legs, and hand them over to the police.
• Back home, Chen Shu tells Ning Qing that he was caught by the police while investigating in the name of justice. He tries to soften the news and seeks her approval, but she listens without reacting, then returns to her book. Xiaoxiao briefly interrupts, teasing them for leaving the bedroom door open.
• Chen Shu decides to sleep on the sofa and suggests taking Ning Qing and Xiaoxiao hiking the next day.
• The following morning, Peach walks across Chen Shu while he sleeps. Xiaoxiao admits she watched him for forty-six minutes and found it entertaining not to rescue him. Chen Shu asks her to wake Ning Qing so they can go hiking.
• Xiaoxiao heads upstairs but collides with Ning Qing, who is already coming down. Nervous under her sister’s cool gaze, Xiaoxiao insists that Chen Shu really sent her.

Character developments

• Chen Shu is mischievous and self-justifying, but eager to reassure Ning Qing and keep the peace. He also encourages the group’s vigilante plan, despite claiming he would not join it.
• Ning Qing remains composed and emotionally unreadable when Chen Shu confesses his police encounter. Her restraint may reflect her cultivation of the Stillheart Way—or simply her usual reserve.
• Xiaoxiao is observant, deadpan, and mischievous, enjoying both watching Chen Shu get pestered by Peach and provoking her sister. She is still wary of Ning Qing’s authority.
• Grandma Always Says emerges as a proactive, forceful investigator who intends to take action against Zhao Haojiang’s operation.

Themes

• Justice versus vigilantism: The group’s plan to assault suspects before calling the police contrasts with Chen Shu’s claim that he was acting to uphold justice.
• Restraint and emotional control: Ning Qing’s calm response contrasts with Chen Shu’s nervous attempts to manage her reaction.
• Family teasing and awkward affection: Chen Shu’s closeness with Ning Qing and Xiaoxiao’s teasing create a playful domestic atmosphere, with clear sibling authority beneath it.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu tries to charm and reassure Ning Qing, but she maintains distance and returns to reading.
• Xiaoxiao playfully labels the pair’s private moment as intimacy, then later watches Chen Shu sleep and admits she found his discomfort amusing.
• Chen Shu asks Xiaoxiao to wake Ning Qing; Xiaoxiao uses him as an excuse when confronted by her intimidating older sister.
• In the group chat, Chen Shu and Grandma Always Says trade teasing remarks, while she refuses to share details until he acknowledges their partnership is over.

Plot and events

• Chen Shu, Ning Qing, Xiaoxiao, and the spirit cat Peach hike up Red Mountain Ridge. They admire the misty mountain scenery, while Chen Shu and Xiaoxiao dawdle and tease Ning Qing, who keeps a calm, observant pace.
• From the summit, they see Jade Peace Temple, the Daoist Order’s ancestral seat, and nearby structures that gather spirit energy from celestial bodies. Chen Shu reflects on how immense the universe is compared with human life and civilization.
• After their picnic, Chen Shu spots wild dandelions and suggests gathering them to cook later. Xiaoxiao enthusiastically picks them; when she complains that Ning Qing isn’t helping, Chen Shu jokingly claims they’ll withhold the food from her.
• At home, Chen Shu washes and cooks the greens into a dandelion omelet while the sisters watch. A weather report announces that the first snow of winter is expected the following night.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is playful and irreverent, teasing Ning Qing and indulging Xiaoxiao’s curiosity. His reflections on mortality give way to a nostalgic response as he prepares a dish associated with his childhood.
• Xiaoxiao is curious, eager, and readily drawn into Chen Shu’s suggestions. She enjoys gathering the greens and watching them become a meal, and looks to him to settle her complaint about her sister.
• Ning Qing remains quiet and composed, observing rather than joining the gathering or the teasing. Her silence becomes part of the playful contrast with the other two.
• Peach trails the group and even carries a used tissue to the trash, displaying unexpectedly humanlike behavior. The family’s teasing and shared meal preparation convey their easy domestic closeness.

Significant themes

• Human smallness and mortality: Chen Shu considers how brief human lives are against the vastness of the cosmos and the abundance of spirit energy.
• Nature and everyday wonder: The hike shifts from grand mountain scenery and cosmic ideas to the modest discovery of edible plants.
• Memory and belonging: Cooking dandelions reconnects Chen Shu with his childhood, blending past memories with present family life.
• Quiet companionship: Much of the chapter’s warmth comes from small acts—walking together, teasing, gathering food, and watching it cook.

Plot and key events

• At dinner, Ning Qing finds the food ordinary but deliberately takes dandelion omelet from Xiaoxiao’s plate. Xiaoxiao objects, but eventually gives up and eats in silence.
• Chen Shu checks his stocks after learning that Azure Boat Spirit Energy has fallen. Despite having previously sold, he buys back in with all his available funds, joking that he can enjoy either a windfall or someone else’s hospitality.
• In the cultivators’ group chat, Zhang Suannai announces that she will catch Zhao Haojiang smuggling drugs. Her boast about being exceptionally handsome becomes a running joke, while a previously silent member, “Illumination at Night,” briefly joins the conversation.
• The next morning, Zhang waits on Gusu Mega Bridge for two groups meeting below. She leaps from the bridge and confronts them, revealing that she plans to incapacitate the smugglers and turn them over to the police.
• When the group opens fire, Zhang deflects several bullets with her sword, then lets her protective spirit-energy defense absorb the rest. She retaliates with multiple sword-light attacks, piercing the criminals’ lower legs and leaving them unable to escape.
• Zhang answers a call from Zhao Haojiang, refuses his offers of part or all of the goods, and hangs up when he becomes frustrated. She then prepares to call the police, delighted at the prospect of receiving a public-service commendation.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Qing and Xiaoxiao: Their dinner-table teasing shows Ning Qing’s mischievous, domineering side and Xiaoxiao’s frustration at being unable to stand up to her.
• Chen Shu: He remains relaxed and risk-tolerant, treating his stock decision humorously rather than anxiously.
• Zhang Suannai: She proves confident, powerful, and capable in combat, but her self-important jokes and excitement about a commendation make her playful and vain. She treats dangerous criminals with casual humor rather than fear.
• Zhang and the smugglers: The criminals try to intimidate and bargain with her; she dismisses both tactics and defeats them without killing them, intending to let the police handle the case.
• Zhang and Zhao Haojiang: Their phone exchange is a comic battle of threats and offers. Zhang’s refusal makes clear that she wants recognition for doing good more than the contraband.

Significant themes

• Justice and civic responsibility: Zhang chooses to report the crime and leave prosecution to the authorities.
• Power and confidence: Her effortless victory contrasts sharply with the armed group’s numbers and weapons.
• Comedy amid danger: Banter, boasting, and Zhang’s fixation on a commendation lighten the violent confrontation.
• Everyday relationships and risk: The dinner scene and Chen Shu’s investment decision balance the action with domestic teasing and casual uncertainty.

Plot and events

• Zhang Suannai helps police break up a major drug-trafficking operation, single-handedly capturing ten criminals while the ringleader, Zhao Haojiang, escapes. She boasts about the arrest in her group chat, jokes with other members, and slips away before police can identify her.
• During a heavy snowfall, Chen Shu’s younger sister watches the snow with Ning Qing, who has just finished cultivating the Stillheart Way. Chen Shu and the girl scheme to prank Ning Qing with a bun stuffed with hot peppers and mustard. Ning Qing sees through them, makes the girl eat it, and leaves Chen Shu to defend their failed plan.
• The news reports the drug bust and keeps the assisting sect disciple’s identity confidential.
• The family builds snowmen before taking the younger girl to the airport. Chen Shu offers her snow, falsely claiming it is sweet; she plays along, then provokes Ning Qing about the previous night’s punishment.
• At the airport, Chen Shu thinks Ning Qing has become gentler. She immediately challenges him about whether the massage girls at Sandalwood Creek Tower were any good, proving otherwise.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Suannai is capable and fearless, but also boastful and playful; she treats a dangerous arrest as an opportunity for jokes and group-chat banter.
• The younger sister is curious and mischievous, though easily intimidated by Ning Qing. She joins Chen Shu’s prank, suffers the consequences, and still manages to tease her sister later.
• Ning Qing remains observant and formidable even while cultivating. Her detached Stillheart practice does not erase her personality, temper, or jealousy.
• Chen Shu acts as affectionate brother-in-law and co-conspirator, but quickly abandons the younger girl when the prank backfires. His teasing and apparent admiration for Ning Qing’s gentleness are both undercut by her final accusation.

Significant themes

• The chapter humorously contrasts cultivated composure with ordinary human emotions: the Stillheart Way does not make Ning Qing gentle or prevent her from getting angry.
• Family affection is expressed through teasing and practical jokes, though it can come with painful consequences.
• Public heroism and private identity intersect in Zhang’s anonymous assistance to the police, while the family’s snowy outing offers a quieter contrast to the earlier crime story.

Chapter summary

This is an author’s release-day note, not a story chapter. Jasmine announces that the book will go on sale at noon the next day, with eleven chapters available.

• Key events: Jasmine thanks readers, editor Qilin, and supporters of the book, then asks readers to subscribe to the first paid chapter on Qidian and continue supporting official releases. She also reminds them that monthly votes count double from the 1st through the 7th.
• Character development: Jasmine presents herself as lazy and usually reluctant to write announcements, but shows sincere gratitude and a desire to repay her editor’s support with a better performance.
• Interactions: Jasmine addresses readers warmly, apologizes to Qilin for the trouble and asks for more recommendations, and uses playful bows to express thanks.
• Themes: Gratitude, reader–author support, loyalty to an editor, and the value of supporting officially published work.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Suannai proudly shares her “Courageous Action” award with the Sword Master’s disciples, expecting praise. Instead, they reveal they have piles of similar awards and commendations, turning her attempt to show off into a joke.
• Ning Qing returns to the dorm after spending two days with her younger sister, Ning Ji. She brings home Peach, a white cat, and explains that she has completed her Silence Meditation.
• Suannai recognizes Ning Qing’s interest in the snowy campus and tries to draw her into conversation. She also watches news coverage of the drug-trafficking bust she helped stop, secretly reveling in public praise.
• Suannai boasts about the unknown hero’s skill, not realizing Ning Qing has already guessed her identity. When Ning Qing points this out, Suannai admits she was the disciple who took on the traffickers.
• Ning Qing corrects Suannai’s redundant phrase “last final disciple,” then introduces Peach as her roommate—though she says the cat had been insulting Suannai.
• Suannai invites Ning Qing to build a snowman after the snow stops, but Ning Qing declines. Later, Ning Qing sees Suannai’s loneliness and considers joining her another time.
• On the way to class, Ning Qing approaches Professor Ouyuangong and tells him she has finished Silence Meditation. He is relieved and pleased, and asks her to participate in class discussions again.

Character developments

• Zhang Suannai is proud of her award and heroic deeds, but also lonely and eager for companionship and recognition. Her exuberant bragging contrasts with her embarrassment when Ning Qing sees through her.
• Ning Qing has completed her meditation and seems more willing to engage with others, approaching Ouyuangong herself. Though reserved, she notices Suannai’s isolation and shows emerging concern for her.
• Ouyuangong remains gently supportive, worrying about Ning Qing without pressuring her. Her progress reassures him.
• Peach is introduced as Ning Qing’s cat and quickly becomes a playful presence in the dorm.

Significant themes

• Loneliness and companionship: Suannai’s jokes and chatter conceal how much she wants company; Ning Qing’s quiet consideration hints at a growing bond.
• Recognition and modesty: Suannai craves praise for her courage, while her sect’s veterans treat such honors as routine.
• Personal growth and communication: Completing Silence Meditation marks a shift for Ning Qing, who begins reconnecting with school and people.
• Humor and contrast: Suannai’s loud, boastful personality plays off Ning Qing’s calm literalness, creating much of the chapter’s comedy.

Character interactions

• The Sword Sect disciples tease Suannai in the group chat, outdoing her with their own collections of awards and banners.
• Suannai peppers Ning Qing with questions about her absence, sister, and cat; Ning Qing answers briefly and often deadpan.
• Ning Qing exposes Suannai’s attempt to praise the heroic disciple anonymously, leading Suannai to confess and invite Ning Qing to seek her help.
• Suannai tries to include Ning Qing in a snowman outing, while Ning Qing initially refuses but privately recognizes her loneliness.
• Ning Qing’s straightforward conversation with Ouyuangong restores their teacher-student connection and signals that she is ready to participate again.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu returns to the dorm during a heavy, unusually early snowfall and finds Meng Chunqiu posing on the balcony, hoping for inspiration.
• Chen shares two snow-themed lines he remembers from the internet. Meng praises them and asks to borrow them; later he posts one on social media, and Jiang Lai and Chen like it.
• In an online cultivator group, Grandma Always Says offers a reward for information leading to the capture of fugitive Zhao Haojiang. Chen pretends to be a Daoist diviner, but quickly gets caught in holes in his story. He covers by claiming he was baiting an actual Daoist disciple, Gate of Myriad Wonders.
• The Daoist disciple agrees to use a treasured tool to locate Zhao within roughly a kilometer, for 150,000 yuan if the fugitive is found. Grandma promises Chen a 10,000-yuan cut for his quick thinking.
• Chen then persuades Meng and Jiang Lai to try the durian he brought home. Despite their initial disgust, both enjoy it.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is practical, irreverent, and quick-witted: he values living well and having a clear conscience over fame, and improvises his way through the group-chat bluff. He also enjoys teasing and nudging his friends into new experiences.
• Meng Chunqiu remains vainly convinced of his poetic gifts and longs for lasting fame, yet is receptive to Chen’s advice and eager to borrow memorable lines. Chen contrasts Meng’s ambition with his own preference for a life without regrets.
• Jiang Lai joins Meng in trying durian and discovers he likes it, showing his trust in Chen’s encouragement.
• The group-chat exchange brings Chen into contact with the real Daoist Gate of Myriad Wonders, who is willing to help—but charges for the service.

Significant themes

• Fame versus a meaningful life: Meng longs for his name to endure; Chen prioritizes personal fulfillment, honesty, and keeping his obligations.
• Talent, originality, and borrowed art: Meng’s confidence in his poetry is undercut by his admiration for lines Chen recalls, which he mistakes for a lost masterpiece.
• Adaptability and persuasion: Chen uses humor and quick thinking to navigate both online bargaining and his friends’ reluctance.
• Changing perceptions: The friends’ shift from recoiling at durian to enjoying it suggests that unfamiliar things can become appealing once given a chance.

Key plot points and events

• After a heavy snowfall in Jade Capital, Chen Shu posts two lines of poetry online. In the Eastern Palace, a robed man reads them, admires them, and searches unsuccessfully for their source, while someone nearby praises the poems.
• Chen Shu wakes late and exchanges teasing messages with Qingqing, who is already on her way to class. Their banter reveals their growing familiarity and shared jokes.
• In the Ancient Cultivator group, Chen Shu learns that Zhang Suannai—“Grandma Always Says”—has located Zhao Haojiang near Auspicious Garden, though searching the crowded neighborhood proves fruitless. A member with divination abilities, “Gate of Myriad Wonders,” reports that Zhao may leave Jade Capital late that night.
• Chen Shu and Meng Chunqiu shop for ingredients and make a rich beef hotpot. Meng suspects Chen wrote the poems, but Chen denies it and claims he found them on an old website.
• The group organizes a nighttime roadblock operation. Zhang assigns members to watch the three roads out of the area, offers payment, and tells them not to confront Zhao rashly. Chen, posing as “Greens and Cocoa,” joins the plan while trying to limit the risk of being identified.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu remains easygoing and playful, but carefully guards his secrets. He conceals the poems’ true origin and worries that the operation could expose his identity. He also enjoys watching—and participating in—the group’s comic arguments.
• Qingqing and Chen trade affectionate, sarcastic messages about sleep, work, and laziness, suggesting comfort and closeness.
• Meng Chunqiu shows genuine interest in poetry and suspects Chen’s authorship. Chen deflects his questions, mindful that the poems are tied to the Cube’s password and his memory.
• Zhang Suannai is energetic and boastful, but also practical in planning the search. He is repeatedly muted by the strict group owner, “Righteous Vital Energy,” and grumbles about it.
• Chen and Zhang spar over whether Zhang might spy on the others during the operation. Chen gets Zhang to swear not to; when Zhang demands a matching oath from Chen, Chen points out that he never agreed to swear one. Zhang is left fuming while Chen laughs.
• The robed man in the Eastern Palace is intrigued by Chen’s poems, hinting that Chen’s online posts may be attracting attention beyond his immediate circle.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and identity: Chen hides the source of his poetry and keeps his participation in the investigation cautious.
• Comedy and camaraderie: The group’s muting, teasing, and loophole-filled arguments contrast with the seriousness of tracking Zhao.
• Everyday warmth: Snow, shared meals, and casual messages provide comfort amid the larger investigation.
• Uncertainty and risk: The group has a lead on Zhao’s escape route, but the search remains difficult, and the operation could expose its members.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shu disguises himself as an ordinary pedestrian and waits on a rooftop overlooking one of the roads out of the city, hoping to intercept Zhao Haojiang, a drug-trafficking boss.
• The group’s Daoist diviner, Gate of Myriad Wonders, can only obtain slow, difficult-to-interpret glimpses of past events, so the group members search the possible escape routes themselves.
• Chen Shu spots Zhao’s black SUV, disables it with a rune array, and watches Zhao flee on foot.
• Before Chen Shu can pursue, a masked swordswoman known as the Moonlit Heroine intercepts Zhao. She condemns his belief that the strong should prey on the weak, then kills him with a sword thrust through the eye.
• Unknown Person arrives moments later and finds Zhao dead. Chen Shu, watching remotely through a concealed camera, catches a glimpse of the heroine’s futuristic mask before the camera feed is cut off.
• The group suspects the Moonlit Heroine committed the killing. Chen Shu finds her arrival in the Jade Capital—and her ability to locate Zhao—suspiciously well timed, and begins examining the group’s membership for clues.

Character developments

• Chen Shu is cautious and resourceful: he studies the routes, prepares a rune trap, and avoids being caught at the scene. His curiosity turns to suspicion after the heroine’s appearance.
• The Moonlit Heroine is portrayed as a severe, self-appointed avenger. Her actions suggest she believes some criminals deserve immediate execution, though her brutality raises questions about her motives and judgment.
• Unknown Person is eager to assert his strength, claiming the killer was powerful but not his equal; Grandma Always Says dismisses this as showing off.
• Grandma Always Says remains blunt and irreverent, teasing the group while quickly identifying the likely killer.

Significant themes

• Justice versus vigilantism: Zhao’s crimes warrant severe punishment, but the heroine chooses execution outside the law.
• Strength, inequality, and responsibility: Zhao justifies exploitation as the natural order; the heroine counters that death is the great equalizer.
• The limits of institutions and supernatural aid: Police surveillance, the Daoist Order’s scarce resources, and imperfect divination all shape the search.
• Coincidence and hidden motives: The heroine’s sudden arrival and precise timing suggest that events may not be accidental.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu coordinates with the group through chat while the members watch different routes; their banter contrasts with the seriousness of the hunt.
• Zhao challenges the heroine’s morality, invoking survival of the fittest, while she answers with a sentence of death rather than debate.
• Afterward, Unknown Person reports the killing, and the group discusses the wound and the heroine’s identity. Chen Shu stays silent, privately questioning how she found Zhao.

Plot and key events

• After someone knocks at his door, Chen Shu finds no visitor—only a broken hallway camera. He reasons that the sword-wielding woman who killed Zhao Haojiang likely noticed she was being watched and traced the camera back to him. Her appearance at the scene suggests she is also in the group chat.
• In the chat, Chen Shu pretends to be “Greens and Cocoa.” He says he saw a woman with a sword but withholds details that might identify her. He persuades Unknown Person to take responsibility for possible traces left by his disposable Runes, claiming he is socially anxious and would rather stay out of it.
• Chen Shu leaves his musty inn room, forfeiting the deposit. The owner later finds the key card and considers it another stroke of luck.
• Unknown Person reports that the police may still award the group the promised 500,000 yuan if they confirm the members did not kill Zhao Haojiang. The chatmates celebrate and joke about how they will spend their shares: Greens plans to buy gifts for her boyfriend, while “Grandma Always Says” claims he has a beautiful girlfriend and promises to provide a photo.
• The next morning, Chen Shu cheerfully wakes Meng Chunqiu by banging on his door, then joins Meng and Jiang Lai for breakfast and heads to class.
• In a lecture on cultivation history, the teacher explains how ancient cultivators memorized Rune-based spells through pronunciations, incantations, and mnemonic techniques. Chen Shu asks how Buddhist and Daoist abilities work when they do not use Runes.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu is observant and calculating, piecing together how the heroine found him and carefully protecting her identity in the group chat. He is also playful and mischievous, especially when rousing the sleepy Meng Chunqiu, and remains curious about cultivation beyond his formal studies.
• Unknown Person is earnest and trusting: he worries about Greens, calls the police, and readily agrees to take responsibility for the Rune traces. His envy of the others’ relationships hints at loneliness.
• Greens and Cocoa presents herself as anxious and affectionate toward her boyfriend, while Chen Shu uses that persona to conceal what he knows.
• Grandma Always Says teases Unknown Person and boasts about a girlfriend, though the group doubts his story.
• Chen Shu and Meng Chunqiu have a familiar, teasing dynamic: Chen Shu prods him out of bed, and Meng complies with mild resentment. Jiang Lai joins them for breakfast.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and uncertainty: Chen Shu’s expertise helps him reason about events, but non-Rune cultivation remains outside his understanding.
• Deception and trust: Chen Shu protects the heroine’s secrets while exploiting Unknown Person’s trust to keep himself uninvolved.
• Everyday humor amid danger: The tense murder aftermath quickly gives way to jokes about money, romance, deposits, and dorm life.
• Ordinary routines and learning: After a strange and unsettling night, students return to daily life and Chen Shu continues pursuing the questions that interest him.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• In a cultivation lecture, Chen Shu hears a broad explanation of cultivation as the discovery and use of the universe’s rules. The teacher offers to explain more in second-year courses and gives Chen Shu his Feixin contact.
• Chen Shu meets Ning Qing for lunch. They trade playful remarks about the campus pavilion, Xiaoxiao’s first-place finish in the National Championship, and their own results.
• Chen Shu jokingly complains that Qingqing is too strict about affection, then rests his head in her lap. She lets him stay briefly before lifting him back up.
• A group-chat message reports that the police may award the students money for helping find Zhao Haojiang, pending an investigation into his death and confirmation that they were not involved. Chen Shu also jokes with a junior about proving he has a girlfriend; he says Qingqing dislikes being photographed.
• After lunch, Qingqing and Chen Shu part ways for class. She watches him leave before heading back to her dorm.
• Meanwhile, Zhang Suannai is struggling to honor her claim that she has a girlfriend. She decides Ning Qing’s figure would suit the supposed girlfriend photo, but hesitates to take pictures without asking. When she does ask, Ning agrees, and Zhang takes several shots that hide her face.

Character developments

• Chen Shu remains affectionate, teasing, and openly proud of the people close to him. His comfort around Qingqing shows the trust built over their long relationship.
• Ning Qing continues to show affection in restrained ways: she indulges Chen Shu’s antics and agrees to Zhang’s photo request, though she remains calm and hard to read.
• Zhang Suannai is anxious about maintaining her boast, but her reluctance to photograph Ning without consent reveals a considerate side beneath her comic scheming.

Character interactions

• Chen Shu and Qingqing banter like a familiar, near-couple: he seeks closeness, while she keeps firm but playful limits.
• Their trust is apparent when Qingqing does not pry into Chen Shu’s private group chats.
• Zhang tries to enlist Qingqing for her pretend-girlfriend plan. Qingqing’s simple consent surprises her, while Peach the cat watches Zhang suspiciously.

Significant themes

• Rules and knowledge: Cultivation, like science and civilization, is presented as the study and application of underlying rules.
• Trust and intimacy: Chen Shu and Qingqing’s long familiarity lets them relax around each other without possessiveness.
• Consent and consideration: Zhang ultimately asks before taking Qingqing’s picture, despite being tempted to do so secretly.
• Humor in everyday life: Teasing, misunderstandings, and Zhang’s increasingly elaborate photo scheme give the chapter its light tone.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Suannai tells Ning Qing that the fish in the campus lake are raised by the biology department and that the university holds an annual catch, serving the fish free in the cafeteria. Ning Qing had asked because Chen Shu was curious about the lake. She starts to message him the information, then decides to tell him in person the next time they walk there.
• Jiang Lai returns to the dorm with Chen Shu’s custom rune design engraved on his back. He says the runes are extremely powerful and has registered the design’s copyright. Chen Shu and Meng Chunqiu inspect the moon-and-sun pattern; Meng jokes that it resembles a toilet-flush button, but Jiang Lai genuinely likes it.
• Chen Shu attends an engaging cultivation class, eats dinner, and finishes solidifying his Tracer Technique. He believes its destructive power will scale dramatically as he advances, and feels confident that his abilities could let him contend with even a Fourth-Tier cultivator.
• In an ancient-cultivator group chat, a member called Grandma Always Says boasts about a secret photo of “her girlfriend,” taken from behind. Chen Shu recognizes the woman as Ning Qing from her clothes, boots, hair ribbon, and figure. He concludes the group member is a woman, trusts Ning Qing completely, and decides to tease her before asking who the admirer is.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Qing remains reserved and hard to draw into conversation. Though she withholds details from Zhang Suannai, she shows quiet consideration for Chen Shu and anticipates seeing him again.
• Chen Shu continues developing his combat abilities and gains confidence in his growing power. His recognition of Ning Qing in the group photo reveals both his familiarity with her and his unwavering trust in her.
• Jiang Lai is enthusiastic about Chen Shu’s rune work and comfortable expressing his preferences. His martial prowess contrasts with his less polished academic background.
• Meng Chunqiu keeps the dorm conversation lively with teasing and praise, while Chen Shu responds with dry humor.
• Zhang Suannai tries to draw Ning Qing into conversation, becoming exasperated by her short answers.
• The group-chat exchange turns into a playful rivalry: Grandma boasts, another member defends Ning Qing’s privacy, and Chen Shu silently recognizes the truth behind the photo.

Significant themes

• Trust and intimacy: Chen Shu’s immediate confidence in Ning Qing reflects the strength of their bond, even though their relationship is described as not officially dating.
• Privacy and playful jealousy: The secretly taken photo prompts Chen Shu’s curiosity, but he chooses teasing over suspicion or confrontation.
• Talent, skill, and confidence: Jiang Lai’s successful rune test and Chen Shu’s progress with the Tracer Technique highlight the practical rewards of specialized ability and disciplined cultivation.
• Contrasting personalities: Ning Qing’s reserve, Zhang Suannai’s talkativeness, and the dormmates’ banter create much of the chapter’s humor and warmth.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Suannai teases Chen Shu in their cultivation group chat by posting a photo of her roommate, Ning Qing, and pretending she is Zhang’s girlfriend. Chen Shu, still unaware of the deception, compliments Ning Qing’s figure and describes his own partner as talkative and gentle.
• Chen Shu shares a photo of a woman he claims is his partner. Zhang is startled to realize the figure rivals Ning Qing’s. Their chat becomes increasingly odd when they discover that both supposed partners have cats named Peach and similar habits.
• Chen Shu privately video-calls Ning Qing and asks about her roommate, Zhang Suannai. He says he wants to know Ning Qing’s friends, though she suspects he is unusually interested in Zhang. After the call, he playfully asks Ning Qing for a picture of her legs.
• The next morning, Ning Qing recalls a message before Chen Shu can see it. He becomes convinced it may have been the requested photo and spends the morning lamenting its loss. Ning Qing ignores his protests, reminds him he has class, and agrees to meet him later.
• In physical-combat class, Chen Shu demonstrates his improved strength and accuracy by hitting the bullseye with all ten arrows from ten meters. Ning Qing arrives to take him to dinner. He keeps asking for the missing picture, while she distracts him by talking about the university’s fish and inviting him to try them.

Character developments

• Chen Shu is playful and flirtatious, but his teasing reveals how eagerly he hopes for greater intimacy with Ning Qing. His cultivation also shows in his effortless archery performance.
• Ning Qing remains composed and difficult to fluster. She responds to Chen Shu’s teasing with dry humor, quietly remembers his invitations, and makes the effort to pick him up.
• Zhang Suannai enjoys provoking Chen Shu, but her private feelings complicate her boastful persona: she wishes Ning Qing were more talkative with her, even as she tells Chen Shu the opposite.
• Meng Chunqiu briefly checks on Chen Shu after hearing his early-morning outburst, offering help as a roommate.

Significant themes

• Misunderstandings and hidden identities: Both Zhang and Chen discuss partners without realizing their descriptions overlap, creating comic irony.
• Teasing as affection: Chen and Ning Qing’s banter—and Zhang’s provocation—serves as a playful way to express interest and attachment.
• Longing beneath humor: Zhang’s envy of the closeness she describes, and Chen’s exaggerated distress over the missing photo, reveal genuine emotional hopes beneath the jokes.
• Everyday intimacy: Their relationship develops through ordinary routines—messages, calls, class, meals, and shared plans—rather than dramatic declarations.

Character interactions

• Zhang and Chen trade competitive, flirtatious messages, with Zhang baiting him and Chen unknowingly praising Ning Qing.
• Chen questions Ning Qing about Zhang, prompting Ning Qing to suspect his interest while keeping her response restrained.
• Chen and Ning Qing continue their affectionate push-and-pull: he pesters her for the recalled photo, while she sidesteps him with food talk and arranges to meet him.
• Meng Chunqiu offers Chen concern and companionship, though Chen refuses to explain his distress.

Key plot points

• Chen Shu and Ning Qing return home, discuss learning archery and someday traveling to see the northern lights, and enjoy the ripe persimmons. They share fruit with Peach and decide to leave most of the tree’s persimmons for wintering birds.
• Chen Shu sees a police notice that fugitive drug-ring leader Zhao Haojiang has been found dead. The authorities suspect the Moonlit Goddess may be involved and note Zhao’s connection to the Dream Moon Cult.
• Concerned that the cult may be linked to an earlier incident involving Miss Jiang, Chen Shu asks Teacher Shi Qian about it. Shi explains that the cult has a casual online outer membership and a more secretive inner circle of ambitious people who exchange resources and pursue their own aims.
• Chen Shu tells Shi about his encounter with the group. Shi advises him not to worry, to contact the police if trouble arises, and offers help himself—provided it is self-defense.
• Chen Shu shares the police screenshots in the Ancient Cultivator group chat. The group’s member “Unknown Person” says the bounty payment is being processed. Grandma Always Says asks to borrow money, then claims she is taking her girlfriend out to eat.
• Chen Shu teases Grandma about the supposed girlfriend, pointing out that he saw someone matching the photo at his university—with Peach. Grandma scrambles to deny the connection, while the group catches on and watches the awkward exchange.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Shu remains playful and affectionate, but is also cautious: he avoids exposing “Unknown Person” outright because doing so could draw trouble toward Ning Qing. He seeks reliable information and takes Shi’s safety advice seriously.
• Ning Qing is quiet and practical, showing affection through small gestures—sharing her persimmon with Chen Shu—while pushing away his attempts to put an arm around her.
• Teacher Shi Qian acts as a reassuring mentor, explaining the Dream Moon Cult’s hidden structure and offering support.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing share domestic ease and gentle teasing; their conversation about fruit and the northern lights underscores their closeness.
• The group chat provides comic relief as Chen Shu playfully tests Grandma’s story and the other members join in with knowing reactions.

Significant themes

• Ordinary happiness amid danger: Home life, food, and companionship offer calm against the uncertainty surrounding the cult and the unexplained death.
• Trust and caution: The Dream Moon Cult’s loose public face conceals a more connected, potentially dangerous inner circle; Chen Shu responds by gathering information and protecting those close to him.
• Community and support: Shi and the police are presented as dependable sources of help, while the group chat offers a more mischievous form of camaraderie.
• Affection expressed indirectly: Shared food, playful banter, and quiet acts of care reveal intimacy more than declarations do.

Plot and events

• Zhang Suannai watches the group chat as Greens and Cocoa proposes investigating her real identity. The group leader, Righteous Vital Energy, funds the plan with a 200-yuan red packet, and several other members contribute more. Enraged but unable to resist checking the chat, Zhang throws her phone across the cafeteria and vows never to open the group again.
• On Sunday night, Chen Shu finishes cultivating early and goes to Ning Qing’s room to escape boredom. He persuades her to let him lie beside her while they talk, though she eventually sends him downstairs to sleep on the sofa.
• Chen Shu asks Ning Qing to predict why they might break up someday, hoping they can prevent those problems. She refuses to use her prophetic abilities and makes an ordinary guess: he might change his mind. They tease each other about jealousy, fickleness, and being petty, without resolving the question.
• On Monday, Chen visits Teacher Shi Qian for a Spiritual Power Converter. While browsing Shi Qian’s extensive spell collection, Chen asks him to choose useful spells. Shi Qian gives him several older versions to study and modify, including the military alert spell Absolute Spiritual Perception.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Suannai is increasingly exasperated by the group’s willingness to treat her identity as a prize, yet her curiosity keeps drawing her back into the chat.
• Chen Shu and Ning Qing show growing comfort and intimacy through their playful arguing. Chen uses jokes and shameless persistence to stay close, but his question about how their relationship could fail reveals genuine anxiety about their future. Ning Qing resists being pressured into predictions while still indulging his company.
• Shi Qian acts as a knowledgeable mentor, sharing practical spells and encouraging Chen to develop his skills by modifying older versions.
• The group’s members interact with Zhang through teasing, red packets, and a muted protest; Chen and Ning Qing’s exchanges mix affection with mock accusations; Chen and Shi Qian’s relationship is more instructional and technical.

Significant themes

• Privacy and boundaries: Zhang’s identity becomes a target for group entertainment, while Ning Qing firmly states limits even as she allows Chen some closeness.
• Intimacy and uncertainty: Chen wants to anticipate and prevent future heartbreak, but affection cannot be reduced to prediction or a checklist.
• Modern cultivation and technology: The alert spell illustrates how spells integrated into automated systems can outperform older, manually controlled methods—especially in military applications.
• Humor and everyday life: Banter, stubbornness, and mundane boredom balance the chapter’s cultivation-world details.