Chapter Summaries

• Jiang Yang reaches Qi Refining: At nearly sixteen, Jiang Yang completes his breakthrough after two and a half years of diligent cultivation. His lower-middle-grade Spirit Root makes his progress impressive, and reaching Qi Refining before his birthday may qualify him for promotion to formal disciple—and possibly an inner-sect master.
• His unusual cultivation method: Jiang Yang credits his success to the Dew Essence Consumption Method, granted to him by a Lower Court instructor. Though modest in combat, it lets him recover Spirit Vigor that would otherwise be wasted, improving his cultivation efficiency. His choice reflects the practical judgment he gained from memories of a previous life.
• His hidden secret awakens: Jiang Yang investigates a mysterious withered branch that has been lodged in his Sea of Consciousness since his arrival in this world. Touching it with his newly developed Spirit Sense triggers a violent mental upheaval: strange gold and silver characters flood his mind, leaving him in pain and unable to remember what he experienced.
• The branch’s identity: Jiang Yang learns that it is an incomplete Dao Fruit, supposedly connected to marriage bonds, fortune, lifespan, and cause and effect. Though greatly damaged and almost powerless, its nature is extraordinarily exalted—and Jiang Yang suspects it may not belong to this world.
  Character development: Jiang Yang is ambitious but cautious. His past-life perspective helps him choose a useful technique, while years of disciplined effort show how seriously he values his second chance. His secrecy and careful checks after the branch’s reaction reveal his fear of being discovered, as well as his determination to investigate it.
  Themes: The chapter emphasizes perseverance despite limited talent, the role of opportunity and knowledge in advancement, and the tension between worldly cultivation and forces beyond ordinary understanding. It also introduces fate and cause and effect through the Dao Fruit.
  Character interactions: Jiang Yang’s main direct connection is with the Lower Court instructor who recognized his promise and gave him the cultivation method. The chapter also contrasts him with less diligent fellow students and recalls the blunt Spirit Root assessment that shaped expectations for his future.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yang investigates the peach-branch Dao Fruit in his sea of consciousness, but initially cannot control it.
• A blossom appears, revealing that he must fill the branch’s twigs with flowers and bring them to full bloom before he can fully claim the Dao Fruit.
• Touching the bud with his spiritual sense makes it curl shut and sends him an enigmatic verse. A second attempt causes the branch to surge with light and fragrance, granting him the talent Lush Peach and Plum.
• The talent gradually improves his appearance, physical constitution, and cultivation aptitude. It can also bless a partner he sincerely recognizes, helping her in cultivation and other pursuits.
• Jiang Yang examines his reflection and sees that his appearance and bearing have already subtly improved. He resolves to keep the changes gradual and remain cautious about the mysterious gift.

Character development

• Jiang Yang shifts from uncertainty and frustration to excitement as he learns how to awaken the Dao Fruit’s power.
• His greatest hope is improving his middling aptitude, which he sees as the key to escaping the limitations of his status as a Lower Court disciple.
• Despite his joy, he remains pragmatic: he knows the world is dangerous and intends to avoid attracting attention.

Significant themes

• Fortune and self-determination: The talent may gradually change Jiang Yang’s prospects, but his path remains uncertain.
• Aptitude and social hierarchy: Cultivation potential shapes opportunity, status, and access to the sect’s inner ranks.
• Power and restraint: A remarkable gift offers hope, but Jiang Yang recognizes the need to use it discreetly.
• Dao bonds and mutual benefit: The talent’s blessing for a sincerely acknowledged partner reflects the Dao Fruit’s connection to marital bonds.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yang’s only direct interaction is with the Dao Fruit: he probes its blossom with spiritual sense, and it responds first with a cryptic verse, then with the Lush Peach and Plum talent.
• He also reflects on the sect’s expectations and his fellow disciples’ differing fates, recalling how few of those who entered the branch courtyard earned the gray Lower Court robe.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yang recalls his previous life as a comfortable, successful high-school student and reflects on how abruptly transmigration left him in an unfamiliar cultivation world.
• He awakens in winter as a ragged child beggar, with no memories from the body’s original owner and no ability to speak the local language. Facing hunger and the cold, he decides to survive by pretending to be mute and begging.
• Rather than approach people blindly, he studies the town and reasons about whom it is practical to ask for help. He chooses a prosperous household’s women as likely to be both able and willing to give.
• His first attempt succeeds: a dignified woman has her maid give him seven large coins, and one of the young women secretly slips him a sweet pastry.
• Once he has a little security, Jiang Yang trades half a flatbread to a dim-witted young beggar in exchange for language lessons. He also teaches the boy more effective ways to beg.
• Just as Jiang Yang’s prospects seem to be improving, immortals arrive, setting up the next turn in the story.

Character development

• Jiang Yang is resilient, observant, and pragmatic. Though frightened and grieving the loss of his former life, he quickly focuses on survival and adapts to his circumstances.
• He shows resourcefulness by cleaning himself up, studying the town, and treating begging as a problem to solve rather than a source of shame.
• His plans extend beyond immediate survival: he recognizes that learning the language and gaining information are essential to building a future.

Character interactions

• The woman and her attendants initially notice Jiang Yang as a beggar, but his quiet, nonthreatening manner and appearance win their sympathy. The woman orders a small donation, and an unidentified young woman adds a pastry.
• Jiang Yang silently expresses his gratitude, unable to speak the thanks he instinctively wants to offer.
• He befriends a dim-witted beggar, exchanging food for language practice and later passing on his own practical knowledge.

Significant themes

• Resilience and adaptation: Jiang Yang responds to a drastic loss of status and comfort by finding workable ways to survive.
• Observation and practical intelligence: Careful assessment of people and circumstances proves more useful than acting impulsively.
• Kindness amid hardship: The woman’s donation and the secret gift of food provide small but meaningful relief.
• Survival and self-improvement: Jiang Yang treats immediate needs as a starting point, while working toward language skills and greater independence.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yang first encountered cultivation as a child when an immortal arrived to recruit candidates for Rain Xiang Mountain. Though he was a beggar and could not read, he understood the announcement, passed the spiritual-root test, and was taken to Falling Rain Peak at age eleven and a half.
• Several years later, Jiang Yang has broken through into Qi Refining and become a full disciple. He briefly worries about the “little fool” he left behind when he was recruited, hoping the child has survived.
• Promotion means he must leave the lower courtyard for Morning Rain Peak, collect his new stipend, and take on an annual sect assignment. If a lower-courtyard disciple fails to advance within the allotted time, they become a servant disciple and owe the sect sixty years of labor.
• Jiang Yang collects his full-disciple gear without difficulty: a Storage Bag, a deep-blue robe, an identity token, fifty low-grade Spirit Stones, and twelve Essence-Nourishing Pills. The increased stipend comes with new responsibilities, and he realizes he will need to manage his expenses and find additional income.
• Preparing to move, he reflects on how attached he has become to the modest dwelling he has occupied for three years.

Character development

• Jiang Yang has progressed from an illiterate street beggar to a disciplined Qi Refining cultivator. Wisdom from his previous life has helped him cultivate steadily and avoid being distracted by other people’s choices.
• His excitement over his breakthrough and new status is balanced by self-awareness: he reminds himself not to become arrogant or impatient, since he has only just begun the long path of cultivation.
• He remains compassionate and loyal, still concerned for the child companion he left behind.

Significant themes

• Opportunity and transformation: A chance encounter with the sect changes Jiang Yang’s life, but his rise is the result of sustained effort as well as good fortune.
• The cost of advancement: The sect provides training and supplies, but disciples must meet expectations and repay its investment through service if they fail.
• Scarcity and responsibility: Even after promotion, Jiang Yang’s resources remain limited, and greater status brings duties as well as benefits.
• Humility and perseverance: Jiang Yang recognizes how far he has come without mistaking early success for mastery.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yang’s formative interaction with the immortal recruiter opens the path to cultivation; the examiner confirms his spiritual roots and age.
• His separation from the little fool remains an emotional concern, though they do not meet in this chapter.
• His dealings with the sect are practical and orderly: he registers his identity, receives his supplies, and prepares to relocate under the rules governing full disciples.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yang leaves the austere courtyard compound with only his meditation cushion, newly promoted to the inner sect and no longer bound to its daily routine.
• He meets old friends Liang Jing and Jin Shiqu. Their surprise at his advancement quickly gives way to congratulations and conversation.
• Liang shares practical advice about choosing sect duties. Planting spirit bamboo on Dawn Rain Peak is supposedly light work with few distractions and possible extra rewards, unlike more demanding assignments.
• In return, Jiang explains his cultivation experience clearly and generously. His advice is especially useful to Jin, who has opened all hundred veins but is struggling to break through.
• After parting from his friends, Jiang travels up the mountain. Seeing laborers and stewards—many former disciples who failed to advance—makes him appreciate how uncertain the cultivation path is. He looks ahead with renewed hope, believing his Dao Fruit has given him a glimpse of a brighter future.

Character developments

• Jiang Yang remains diligent and modest despite his promotion. He treats his friends warmly, listens to their advice, and shares what he knows rather than flaunting his status.
• Liang Jing, whose poor aptitude has pushed him away from cultivation, has become observant and socially adept. He hopes to strengthen his connection with Jiang, though his joking speculation about Jiang attracting a patriarch’s favor goes too far.
• Jin Shiqu is shaken by Jiang’s success, since he had considered himself talented. His envy and frustration give way to respect, and Jiang’s guidance renews his determination to break through.

Character interactions

• Jiang greets Liang and Jin without airs, easing their initial awkwardness.
• Liang tactfully carries the conversation and offers insider information about sect duties; Jin is initially too stunned to speak.
• Jiang responds with practical cultivation advice, helping both friends and particularly benefiting Jin.
• The friends’ exchange turns a moment of comparison and envy into mutual goodwill.

Significant themes

• Diligence and uneven talent: Jiang’s hard work has carried him further than expected, while Liang and Jin face different obstacles.
• Friendship and reciprocity: Liang offers useful information, and Jiang returns the favor with knowledge.
• The cost of failure: The laborers on the mountain show what may become of disciples who cannot advance but refuse to quit.
• Hope and uncertainty: Jiang’s promotion is only a small step, yet it marks the beginning of a more promising path.

Key plot points and events

• Newly promoted to full disciple, Jiang Yang travels from Falling Rain Peak to Morning Rain Peak to register and settle into his new life.
• He enjoys the mountain scenery on the way and is especially struck by the view of Dew-Covered Lake, wishing he could fly freely.
• At the Enrollment Registry, Registrar Xie Zhiyan verifies Jiang Yang’s waist token and assigns him a private courtyard. Jiang Yang learns that the formation distributes spiritual energy evenly, so no residence has an advantage.
• Jiang Yang mistakenly calls Xie “Martial Uncle Si,” confusing the registrar’s title with a surname. Embarrassed, he apologizes; Xie accepts the apology and lets the mistake go.
• Xie reminds him to collect his general duties within three months, or he will still have to perform them and have his stipend docked.
• Jiang Yang visits the General Affairs Office, where Senior Brother Zhou is temporarily filling in for the affairs officer, who is in seclusion. Zhou gives him a booklet of available duties to review.

Character developments

• Jiang Yang is eager and curious about his new surroundings, but practical enough to postpone exploring the market until he has handled his registration. His mistaken form of address embarrasses him, yet he responds with sincere humility. He is pleased by the privacy and independence of his new courtyard.
• Xie Zhiyan comes across as brisk but fair-minded. He corrects Jiang Yang’s etiquette mistake without holding it against him.
• Senior Brother Zhou is courteous and helpful, explaining the process and allowing Jiang Yang to browse the duty list while he assists other disciples.

Significant themes

• The transition to greater independence: Full membership brings Jiang Yang private living quarters and more personal space than the crowded lower court.
• Humility and courtesy: Jiang Yang’s apology helps smooth over his social blunder, and both senior disciples respond with patience and respect.
• Rules and obligations: The sect offers privileges, but disciples remain bound by administrative duties and deadlines.
• Wonder and aspiration: Jiang Yang’s awe at the landscape and wish to fly reflect his excitement about a wider world and future possibilities.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yang respectfully registers with Xie Zhiyan, asks for a residence, and apologizes after addressing him incorrectly.
• Xie explains the residence system, assigns Jiang Yang a courtyard, and warns him about the duty deadline.
• Jiang Yang carefully addresses Zhou as “Senior Brother” and waits while Zhou handles other disciples’ reports; Zhou then gives him the duty booklet to choose from.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yang examines the magical Dao Register, which lists sect duties and available positions. He finds a vacancy planting spirit bamboo on Dawn Rain Peak, the job Liang Jing had mentioned.
• Senior Brother Zhou explains that disciples’ duties support the sect and earn Dao Merit, which can be exchanged for supplies and, eventually, cultivation methods and inheritances.
• Zhou lets Jiang Yang choose any available duty, with exceptions for market guards, who need sufficient cultivation, and Pill Spring Island, whose positions are already filled.
• Jiang Yang accepts the Dawn Rain Peak spirit-bamboo job. Zhou registers it through the Dao Register and warns him to report to Rain Listening Pavilion the next day or risk losing part of his stipend and being questioned.
• After chatting until sunset, Jiang Yang finally leaves to find his new cave abode.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yang is cautious and observant, asking for guidance rather than choosing blindly. He quickly recognizes that duties can be a way to earn resources, but favors a low-work, well-rewarded position.
• Zhou Yanwei is friendly, knowledgeable, and eager for company after months of tending the office. He explains the system, uses his administrative discretion to let Jiang Yang choose, and invites him to visit Rain Marsh Peak.
• The two form a warm connection: Jiang Yang listens patiently, appreciates Zhou’s help, and sees building relationships within the sect as valuable.

Significant themes

• Work and cultivation: Sect duties sustain the community while providing members with resources for advancement.
• Rules and discretion: Formal requirements govern assignments, yet administrators have some flexibility in how they apply them.
• Pragmatism and social ties: Jiang Yang seeks an advantageous duty and recognizes that connections can help him navigate sect life.

Key plot points

• Jiang Yang begins his first morning at his new inner-sect residence on Rain Xiang Mountain. The abundant spiritual energy, especially suitable for his Dew Essence Consumption Method, impresses him and makes him optimistic about advancing his cultivation.
• After realizing that cultivation has not freed him from hunger, he eats a modest breakfast and sets out for his assigned duties at the Rain Listening Pavilion on Dawn Rain Peak.
• On the way, he crosses Cold Creek and passes the sect’s extensive spirit fields, where cultivators tend spiritual crops.
• At the pavilion’s peak, Jiang Yang accidentally triggers a formation barrier. His identity token opens a passage, but his mistake draws a sharp rebuke from Steward Li Zhouying.
• Li escorts him inside and explains his work: caring for newly sprouted spirit bamboo. The bamboo must be tended carefully and establish roots within three months to pass inspection.

Character developments

• Jiang Yang is excited by the advantages of inner-sect life and eager to improve, but remains inexperienced in sect customs and formations. His haste and ignorance make a poor first impression.
• Li Zhouying appears disciplined and reserved. She corrects Jiang Yang firmly but does not escalate his mistake; she also makes clear that the new assignment requires diligence.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yang addresses Li respectfully and chooses the more familiar “Senior Sister” rather than “Steward.” She neither encourages nor objects to the choice.
• Li’s warning about the bamboo’s care subtly reinforces her dissatisfaction with his earlier carelessness, while testing whether he is prepared for the responsibility.

Significant themes

• Discipline and responsibility: Jiang Yang’s new position brings practical duties that demand sustained care, not just enthusiasm.
• Growth through unfamiliarity: His mistakes reveal how much he still has to learn as an inner disciple.
• Harmony with nature and cultivation: The mountain’s dew, creek, lake, and cultivated fields connect spiritual practice with the natural environment.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yang accepts the three-month assignment to tend three Clear-Sound Jade Bamboo seedlings, determined to prove Li Zhouying’s doubts about him wrong.
• Li Zhouying supplies the seedlings, a jade shovel, and manuals for two spells: Nurture Spirit, Fortify the Meridians, which supports plant growth, and Finger-Sword Awakening of Insects, which kills tiny pests.
• She explains that the bamboo must be planted apart from other spiritual plants so they do not compete for earth-vein energy. The assessment depends on survival: three plants earn an upper grade, two a middle grade, and one a lower grade.
• Li Zhouying warns that Clear-Sound Jade Bamboo must not hear grief or witness tears; otherwise it becomes Mottled Jade Spirit Bamboo, which Dawn Rain Peak does not value.
• Jiang Yang studies both spells before planting. He digs three separate holes, plants the seedlings, and successfully uses the nurturing spell to revive them.
• After finishing around noon, he realizes the planting grounds have especially rich spiritual energy and decides he can cultivate there while caring for the bamboo.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yang responds to Li Zhouying’s skepticism with pride and resolve. He shows caution by asking about planting and assessment, diligence by learning the spells before acting, and curiosity as he explores the insect-killing technique.
• Li Zhouying is initially skeptical but gives clear, practical instruction and a brief warning about the bamboo’s unusual sensitivity. Their exchange is respectful, though Jiang Yang is eager to demonstrate his competence.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and preparation: Jiang Yang studies the required techniques before committing the seedlings to the soil.
• Pride and self-improvement: His desire to prove himself motivates him to take the assignment seriously.
• The delicate balance of cultivation: The bamboo depends on careful spacing, spiritual energy, and even its emotional surroundings.
• Opportunity within obligation: Jiang Yang discovers that the task also provides a favorable place to cultivate.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yang spends several days cultivating and tending the spirit bamboo at Dawn Rain Peak. He eventually reduces his visits to once every two days, and the bamboo continues to thrive.
• A light rain gives Jiang Yang an especially productive session with the Dew Essence Consumption Method. Afterward, he casts three Meridian-Stabilizing Spells on the bamboo.
• A friendly tabby kitten appears. Jiang Yang gently pets it, and the two grow comfortable together; the kitten eventually curls up purring in his lap.
• Shang Qingzheng arrives searching for the missing kitten, Little Sixteen. She finds it asleep on Jiang Yang’s lap and pauses at the peaceful scene. Jiang Yang breaks the awkward silence by asking whether the cat is hers.

Character developments

• Jiang Yang remains diligent in cultivation and careful in his duties, but his fondness for cats brings out a playful, tender side. He respects the kitten’s discomfort and stops when it struggles.
• Shang Qingzheng is distracted and in a poor mood, unable to settle herself to cultivate. Her concern for Little Sixteen reveals her protectiveness and affection for it. Seeing Jiang Yang with the cat also catches her attention.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yang patiently earns Little Sixteen’s trust through gentle petting; the kitten responds by rubbing against him and falling asleep in his lap.
• Shang Qingzheng’s search brings her face-to-face with Jiang Yang. Their first encounter is quiet and slightly awkward, framed by the serene bamboo grove.

Significant themes

• Quiet cultivation and care: Jiang Yang’s disciplined tending of the bamboo parallels his steady cultivation.
• Gentleness and trust: The kitten’s growing comfort with Jiang Yang reflects the value of patience and respect.
• A peaceful interruption: The warm, tranquil scene contrasts with Shang Qingzheng’s troubled mood and sets the stage for the pair’s introduction.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yang encounters Shang Qingzheng, a beautiful disciple of Dawn Rain Peak, while playing with her cat, Little Sixteen.
• Shang takes the cat back, but Little Sixteen resists and looks to Jiang Yang for help, revealing unusual intelligence.
• Jiang Yang introduces himself and learns Shang is a direct disciple. Rather than defer nervously, he asks why she seems dissatisfied with her status.
• Shang explains that people’s excessive deference makes her feel constrained: even a direct disciple remains bound by the sect until reaching the Purple Mansion realm.
• Jiang asks about Little Sixteen. Shang confirms it is a spirit beast descended from two rare, powerful feline bloodlines.
• Shang reflects that Little Sixteen has never been so friendly with anyone before and wonders whether its choice to approach Jiang was more than chance.

Character developments

• Jiang Yang comes across as sociable, curious, and unburdened by the hierarchy that intimidates others. He is impressed by Shang and intrigued by Little Sixteen’s intelligence, but keeps his questions polite.
• Shang Qingzheng initially appears reserved and shy, but opens up when Jiang treats her as an ordinary person rather than placing her on a pedestal. Her dissatisfaction with the limits of disciplehood emerges.
• Little Sixteen is shown to be clever, mischievous, and unusually attached to Jiang, despite being Shang’s pet.

Significant themes

• Status versus freedom: Even high-ranking disciples remain subject to rules and expectations.
• Respect and genuine connection: Shang dislikes formal deference, while Jiang’s casual warmth helps her relax.
• Destiny and unusual affinity: Little Sixteen’s unexpected bond with Jiang raises the possibility that their meeting was significant.

Character interactions

• Jiang returns Little Sixteen to Shang and exchanges names with her.
• Shang expects the usual respectful distance, but Jiang’s playful questions and lack of fear surprise and amuse her.
• Their conversation shifts from formal introductions to a more relaxed discussion of freedom, cultivation, and Little Sixteen’s origins.

Plot and events

• Jiang Yang and Shang Qingzheng discuss Little Sixteen’s inherited spirit-beast abilities. Shang notes that bloodlines bring both advantages and constraints.
• Jiang Yang compares bloodline differences to the unequal aptitude and status of human cultivators. Shang explains that joining a peak lineage by taking a master is one route to becoming a direct disciple.
• Jiang Yang jokes about becoming Shang’s disciple or joining her peak. She explains that she cannot take disciples and that her master, a Purple Mansion True Person, rarely accepts them—especially men. When Shang asks about his aptitude, Jiang admits it is only average, but he is untroubled because he trusts his own potential.
• Shang asks about the Lower Court. Jiang describes its crowded, informal lessons, the instructors, and the many subjects taught, explaining that it serves as a process of selection. He also recounts students competing to absorb spiritual energy during meditation.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang is curious about cultivation and recognizes that he needs guidance and a stronger cultivation inheritance. His relaxed teasing shows he feels increasingly comfortable with Shang.
• Shang, initially unfamiliar with ordinary group instruction, listens with genuine curiosity. She even sits on the ground beside Jiang—a small sign of growing ease and trust.
• Shang briefly regrets asking about Jiang’s aptitude and apologizes; Jiang reassures her without embarrassment, confident that his prospects can improve.
• Their conversation is warm and playful: Shang gently challenges Jiang’s claims, while he entertains her with stories from his Lower Court days.

Significant themes

• Inheritance and limitation: Bloodlines can empower spirit beasts while also restricting them; cultivation aptitude likewise shapes opportunity.
• Education and social hierarchy: The Lower Court’s crowded training contrasts with Shang’s privileged one-on-one instruction, illustrating differences in status and access.
• Merit and possibility: Though Jiang began with average aptitude and low status, he believes his future is not fixed.
• Growing connection: Shared conversation and humor bridge the gap between their backgrounds.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• At the Rain Listening Pavilion, Shang Qingzheng reflects on her recent conversation with Jiang Yang. Their easy, unguarded companionship has eased her agitation and helped her return to meditation and cultivation.
• Li Zhouying assumes Shang has come to discuss the Jade Bamboo Essence. Shang clarifies that she genuinely wants to listen to the rain, though she privately realizes the misunderstanding gives her an excuse to visit again.
• After the rain clears, Shang wonders aloud what Jiang Yang is really like. She decides to visit him, taking Little Sixteen along despite the cat’s apparent lack of enthusiasm.
• In the bamboo grove, Jiang Yang tends three young bamboo seedlings and practices Finger-Sword Awakening of Insects, a delicate technique intended to remove pests without harming spirit plants.
• Shang arrives and claims Little Sixteen wandered off and she had to chase it. Jiang Yang accepts the story and invites her to sit at the rough stone table he made for his stay.
• The two trade light jokes about word choice and tea utensils. Shang produces her tea set and prepares tea, admitting she mostly carries it for convenience and appearances.

Character developments

• Shang Qingzheng is increasingly curious about Jiang Yang and values the freedom and ease she feels around him. She is becoming more willing to seek his company, even inventing a pretext for the visit.
• Jiang Yang remains practical and diligent: he tends his seedlings, studies a pest-control spell, and improves his simple surroundings. His relaxed humor helps make Shang comfortable.
• Li Zhouying appears attentive and responsible, arranging care for the Jade Bamboo Essence, though she misunderstands Shang’s real reason for visiting.
• Little Sixteen serves as a comic companion and silent witness, especially when Shang speaks for the cat.

Significant themes

• Companionship and emotional relief: Jiang Yang’s unpretentious company gives Shang a rare sense of ease and helps restore her focus.
• Curiosity and growing attachment: Shang’s reflections and visit show her interest in Jiang Yang deepening.
• Practical care and patience: Jiang Yang’s steady cultivation and careful pest-control practice reflect the work required to protect fragile growth.
• Formality versus sincerity: Shang’s tea set is partly for appearances, while her candid admission—and her honest enjoyment of Jiang Yang’s company—reveals a more genuine side.

Character interactions

• Shang and Li Zhouying exchange polite, affectionate courtesies, but Li’s concern for cultivation matters misses Shang’s actual motive.
• Shang treats Little Sixteen as a confidant, playfully interpreting the cat’s silence as agreement.
• Jiang Yang and Shang share easy banter: he defends the cat, she teases his phrasing, and their conversation turns naturally to tea and personal habits.

Key events

• Shang Qingzheng serves Jiang Yang Heqiu Snow Bud, a rare spirit tea from her homeland. Its sweetness and spiritual energy impress him, and she explains its benefits.
• She asks about Jiang Yang’s family. He says he was orphaned young and grew up begging in Weiyang Prefecture. His account is based on the body he inhabits; he has no memories of its former owner’s family.
• Shang Qingzheng sympathizes and says reaching Foundation Establishment may restore his memories. Jiang Yang is untroubled by his past and privately reflects on the limits of relying on costly cultivation resources.
• Little Sixteen returns from playing and tries to drink Jiang Yang’s tea. Shang Qingzheng gives the creature its own cup, then explains that it needs daily pills and enormous amounts of fresh fish because it cannot yet absorb spiritual energy independently.
• Jiang Yang asks how an ordinary disciple might obtain a spirit beast. Shang Qingzheng outlines three routes: buying one, capturing one in the wild, or receiving an offspring from the sect’s beasts—the last being her privileged opportunity. They then discuss spirit pacts, and she shows him the red-corded pact she uses with Little Sixteen.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yang is candid, practical, and humorous. He accepts Shang Qingzheng’s kindness without ceremony, jokes about Little Sixteen’s appetite, and asks thoughtful questions about raising spirit beasts.
• Shang Qingzheng’s sympathy deepens when she hears of Jiang Yang’s orphaned childhood. Her warmth also shows in the way she indulges Little Sixteen, despite lightly scolding its manners.
• Jiang Yang and Shang Qingzheng build an easy rapport through tea, personal conversation, and shared amusement over the pet.

Significant themes

• Privilege and opportunity: Jiang Yang’s interest in keeping a spirit beast contrasts with the special access available to direct disciples like Shang Qingzheng.
• Cultivation’s costs: Spirit tea, pills, and spirit-beast food can aid progress but demand resources Jiang Yang cannot casually afford.
• Memory and identity: Jiang Yang’s past belongs to the body he inhabits, yet he feels no personal grief for memories he does not possess.
• Companionship and care: The conversation about feeding, raising, and binding spirit beasts presents cultivation as involving responsibility as well as power.

Key plot points

• Shang Qingzheng demonstrates the Cat-Binding Spirit Contract, which lets its user locate a cat by name, pray for its protection, and link minds. Its elaborate betrothal ritual reflects the special status of spirit cats: an ancient cat immortal’s prophecy made them impossible to enslave, so they must be accepted as companions through a formal contract.
• She contrasts this with ordinary bloodline contracts, which are easier to obtain but coercive, can leave beast and cultivator at odds, and may fail dangerously when used on adults.
• Jiang Yang asks about immortals. Shang explains that her sect’s Celestial River Tradition descends from the immortal Celestial River Jellyfish, and that Jiang’s Dew Essence Consumption Method cultivates pure qi compatible with any future path. Immortals once walked the world, but after a great upheaval they withdrew to the Nine Heavens and hidden realms, becoming difficult to encounter or even perceive.
• After their conversation, Jiang returns home, practices his Lightness Technique, and uses Finger Sword: Awakening of Insects to clear the overgrown courtyard. Just as he is about to rest, someone calls out to him.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang’s curiosity about the world and cultivation is evident in his many questions; Shang’s explanations significantly broaden his understanding and deepen his appreciation for his sect’s tradition.
• Shang enjoys taking the teacher’s role and finds the conversation with Jiang unusually relaxed and pleasant. Their easy rapport is reinforced by mutual respect.
• Back at home, Jiang applies his spells practically and takes satisfaction in his growing skill.

Significant themes

• Companionship versus control: spirit-cat contracts honor consent, while blood contracts risk coercion and discord.
• Lineage and inherited wisdom: Jiang’s modest cultivation method carries the advantages of an ancient tradition.
• The limits of human understanding: immortals are real, yet distant, elusive, and hard for mortals to recognize.
• Learning through curiosity: Jiang’s questions turn a casual exchange into a lesson that reshapes his view of the world.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Xu, a cultivator living nearby, visits Jiang Yang and says he learned about him through their mutual acquaintance, Zhou Yanwei.
• The two exchange courteous praise and small talk. Jiang Yang is puzzled by Fang Xu’s sudden friendliness but remains polite.
• Fang Xu reveals that he discovered what appears to be a well-preserved ancient cultivator legacy during a routine assignment. He invites Jiang Yang to explore it, promising to discuss how they would divide any treasures.
• Jiang Yang is unconvinced. He recognizes that such explorations often yield little and can be dangerous, especially if valuable finds attract rivals. The chapter ends before he gives Fang Xu an answer.

Character developments

• Jiang Yang shows caution and skepticism beneath his courteous exterior. He dislikes unearned praise and sees Fang Xu’s invitation as a potential trap rather than an opportunity.
• Fang Xu presents himself as sociable and flattering, then becomes animated when describing the legacy. His intentions remain uncertain.

Character interactions

• Fang Xu uses Zhou Yanwei’s praise to establish trust and justify his visit.
• Jiang Yang responds with formal hospitality and reciprocal compliments, while repeatedly redirecting the conversation when the praise makes him uncomfortable.
• Fang Xu’s invitation shifts their encounter from neighborly conversation to a potentially risky proposal.

Significant themes

• Caution versus ambition: The promise of treasure tests whether Jiang Yang will risk danger for possible gain.
• Appearance and trust: Polite manners and flattering words do not reveal a person’s true motives.
• Uncertain rewards: Ancient inheritances may offer opportunity, but damage, missing resources, and competition often make them poor bets.

Key plot points and events

• Fang Xu invites Jiang Yang to join him on a trip to explore a cave abode, promising to share any treasures.
• Wary of Fang Xu’s overly familiar approach and uncertain motives, Jiang Yang avoids agreeing. He first points out that his limited cultivation and skills would make him useless, then claims he must remain at his sect duty for two or three months.
• Fang Xu accepts the excuse and explains that the sect’s Court Examination takes place every ten years at the Dewlit Ancestral Court.
• The examination offers inner disciples a chance to attract a Purple Mansion True Person and become a direct disciple. Its criteria vary, but cultivation generally improves one’s prospects.
• Fang Xu departs. Jiang Yang reflects that he avoided the risky invitation without offending him and considers the exchange a success.

Character developments

• Jiang Yang shows caution and social tact: he conceals his distrust behind polite excuses rather than rejecting Fang Xu outright. He is also eager to learn useful information about sect advancement.
• Fang Xu is generous and persuasive, but his invitation’s motive remains unclear. He shares practical advice about the Court Examination and appears resentful of the possibility that appearance might influence selection.

Significant themes

• Caution and diplomacy: Jiang Yang protects himself while preserving a cordial relationship.
• Advancement and uncertainty: The Court Examination may shape a disciple’s future, but its shifting standards make success difficult to predict.
• Cultivation as preparation: Even without fixed judging criteria, greater cultivation is presented as a reliable advantage.

Character interactions

• Fang Xu presses Jiang Yang to join the expedition and reassures him that he will receive a share of any rewards.
• Jiang Yang responds with respectful praise and carefully constructed reasons to decline.
• Their conversation shifts to sect duties and the Court Examination, with Fang Xu acting as an experienced guide and Jiang Yang listening closely.
• They part amicably, agreeing that Jiang Yang may visit Fang Xu’s residence for future conversations.

Plot and events

• Jiang Yang tends the three Clear-Sound Jade Bamboo seedlings, which are growing well. He checks their sound daily for signs of Bamboo Dusk Weevils and casts a Meridian-Stabilizing Spell on them.
• Little Sixteen wanders into Jiang Yang’s grove. Shang Qingzheng arrives soon after, as her visits have become more frequent.
• Shang catches Jiang Yang murmuring “hakimi” to the cat. Embarrassed, he explains it is country slang and says talking to himself helps ease his emotions. Curious, Shang considers trying it when she feels too troubled to meditate.
• A light rain begins. Jiang Yang uses the Water-Repelling Art, while Shang’s enchanted robes keep her dry. Jiang Yang reflects on how his feelings about rain have changed from dislike to familiarity.
• Shang suggests that the region’s abundant water veins are not the main reason for the persistent rain, then begins explaining its deeper cause.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yang is settling into his cultivation routine and shows care and attentiveness in tending the bamboo. Though usually composed, he is briefly flustered when Shang overhears him being silly with Little Sixteen.
• Shang has grown increasingly eager to visit Jiang Yang, using the cat as a pretext. She is amused by his embarrassment and responds openly to his advice.
• Their exchange is relaxed and increasingly familiar: Shang asks about Jiang Yang’s private habits, and he offers a practical suggestion without pretending it will work for everyone. Little Sixteen playfully ignores Shang and seeks Jiang Yang’s attention.

Significant themes

• Adaptation: Jiang Yang’s changing relationship with rain reflects how repeated hardship can become part of ordinary life.
• Care and cultivation: His daily attention to the bamboo echoes the patience and consistency required in spiritual practice.
• Growing intimacy: Shang’s more frequent visits and their easy conversation suggest a developing closeness.
• Knowledge beyond appearances: Shang’s explanation hints that familiar natural phenomena may have deeper causes.

Plot points and events

• Shang Qingzheng explains that the steady rain at Dawn Rain Peak is created by a Divine Power called Moistening Drizzle, part of the peak’s Nine-Gate Gui Water Dharma.
• Jiang Yang recognizes the phrase “moistening rain slants gently” from a mysterious verse associated with his Dao Fruit. He suspects the Divine Power and its caster may be clues to mastering the Dao Fruit and awakening further talents.
• Shang reveals that the rain is cast by her master, True Person Dawn Rain, and is deliberately spread over several peaks to help newly admitted disciples in the Hundred Meridians Embryonic Breath realm. It has little effect on cultivators who have already reached Qi Refining.
• Jiang Yang realizes that the rain helped him progress before he entered Qi Refining, and expresses sincere gratitude to True Person Dawn Rain.
• Hoping to get closer to her, Jiang asks whether she might accept him as a male disciple. Shang says her master has never accepted male disciples and that only True Person Dawn Rain can change that rule.
• Shang suggests Jiang work hard for the year-end Court Examination, where her master is expected to appear and may be accessible.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yang shifts from curiosity about the rain to excitement when it connects to his Dao Fruit. He is ambitious and resourceful, but also grateful for the help he has received; he disguises his desire to meet True Person Dawn Rain with earnest praise and a request to become her disciple.
• Shang Qingzheng explains her peak’s inheritance with pride and gently teases Jiang when he hopes the rain will boost his Qi Refining. She is amused by his flattery but also sympathetic, offering him a practical chance to meet her master.
• Their conversation is warm and lightly playful: Jiang presses for information, while Shang answers candidly, corrects his assumptions, and encourages him rather than dismissing his hopes.

Significant themes

• Hidden guidance and cultivation: Jiang treats seemingly ordinary events as clues to the deeper workings of his Dao Fruit.
• Gratitude and reciprocity: He recognizes that the Sect’s rain helped make his advancement possible and wants to repay that kindness.
• Limits and patience: Divine Powers have specific effects and cannot bypass cultivation’s natural stages; Jiang must wait for a suitable opportunity to approach his goal.
• Tradition and possibility: True Person Dawn Rain’s rule against male disciples stands in Jiang’s way, though the coming examination leaves a small opening.

Key plot points

• Shang Qingzheng visits Jiang Yang and explains that Li Zhouying—whom Jiang Yang knows from his assignment tending the jade bamboo—is her master’s trusted personal maid and oversees the affairs of the peak.
• After Shang leaves, Jiang Yang reflects on his growing warmth toward her, while sensing she carries hidden worries. He pushes those thoughts aside and decides to visit Chuanwu Market, now that the bamboo seedlings need less constant care.
• Jiang Yang enters the lively market, surprised by the crowds and variety of goods. With only fifty Spirit Stones, he browses cautiously, judging what he can afford and noting that magical artifacts are likely sold in the more expensive shops.
• At a crossroads, he avoids the upscale storefronts and turns into a quieter alley of informal stalls. A shabby, middle-aged disciple calls out to draw him toward a stall piled with strange, unfamiliar objects.

Character developments

• Jiang Yang’s curiosity about Shang Qingzheng deepens into affection, though he deliberately suppresses it in favor of his cultivation ambitions.
• He shows growing independence and practical judgment: with more time after his work, he ventures out, assesses prices, and stays mindful of both his limited funds and current cultivation.
• Shang Qingzheng remains gentle and playful, but Jiang Yang’s impression that she conceals private troubles adds mystery to her character.

Character interactions

• Shang tells Jiang Yang about Li Zhouying’s important role and relationship with her master.
• Jiang Yang and Shang share a warm, understated rapport, though he does not ask about the worries he senses in her.
• At the market, Jiang Yang observes the vendors and shoppers without engaging much, until the stallholder directly invites him to browse.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus attachment: Jiang Yang tries to prioritize cultivation over his feelings for Shang.
• Prudence and limited means: He carefully weighs his modest savings against the market’s goods and his present abilities.
• A wider world opening up: The market introduces Jiang Yang to the bustle, commerce, and varied social strata of the cultivation world.