Ch. 61Undercurrents
Key plot points and events
- Cai Miejue is condemned across Xia Kingdom’s internet and on foreign websites for her actions. She responds by disabling comments on her blog but otherwise stays silent.
- At night, Zhang Hongxing leaves his sleeping family at the Hilltop Homestay and heads into the deep sea to find the sunken spaceship that carried Princess Ziyue and her servant.
- He uses a piece of mulberry wood essence to lure sea creatures, but the deep-sea behemoth he seeks does not appear until he puts it away.
- The behemoth hunts and kills several giant turtle-like creatures. Zhang attacks it while it is distracted, striking its vulnerable belly. After it tries to flee, he knocks it unconscious with three full-strength punches.
- Rather than kill it, Zhang begins tracing markings over its body, intending to tame it as a pet and use it to carry his family around the sea.
Character developments and interactions
- Cai Miejue faces widespread public scorn and retreats from online engagement, though she shows no sign of responding directly.
- Zhang Hongxing reveals himself as a Stellar Level expert. He is confident enough to investigate the dangerous deep sea alone, and his interest in the behemoth is partly practical but also driven by pride: he wants to impress his grandchildren after having lost face before them.
- Granny Shen sees Zhang fly away and realizes how powerful he is. She worries that Earth’s apparent strength could bring trouble to Bluewater Planet.
- The behemoth is a fearsome predator, but Zhang’s speed and strength overwhelm it. The turtle-like creatures flee both it and the toxic liquid released when Zhang kills one of them.
Significant themes
- Public judgment and reputation: Cai is vilified worldwide, while Zhang’s actions are motivated in part by preserving his standing with his family.
- Power and hidden strength: Zhang’s flight and effortless defeat of the sea monster reveal that Earth may be far more powerful than outsiders expect.
- Pride and affection: Zhang’s boastful desire to tame the behemoth is comic, but it also reflects his affection for his grandchildren and eagerness to please them.
- Danger and the unknown: The sunken spaceship and the deep-sea ecosystem hint at mysteries and risks still unexplored.