Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao leads Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing to an overwhelming victory in a game, impressing both his companions and the livestream audience with his speed and skill.
• Chen Siyao announces that she’ll visit Gusu during the National Day holiday and plans to stream outdoors. Viewers joke about local flooding and a mythical Flood Dragon.
• A few days later, Chen Siyao, Chen Hao, Yang Wanqing, Cai Jingwen, Li Li, and Moontrace meet at Pengcheng International Airport and board a flight to Gusu.
• In business class, flight attendant Yue Yuting takes special notice of Chen Hao. She offers him service and introduces herself, then returns with a blanket and pillow, but he politely declines everything.
• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing notice Yue’s interest. In the galley, Yue’s colleague Xiao Zhou teases her for paying unusual attention to Chen Hao—and for being rebuffed.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains quiet and self-assured. He shows off his gaming ability but responds to Yue’s advances with reserved politeness and little interest.
• Chen Siyao is excited by her brother’s performance and playful about the trip, teasing him when she suspects Yue is attracted to him.
• Yang Wanqing shares Chen Siyao’s enthusiasm and confirms her impression of Yue’s interest.
• Yue Yuting shifts from polished professionalism to visible embarrassment and frustration when Chen Hao does not respond to her overtures.
• Xiao Zhou enjoys teasing Yue, while another colleague joins in, turning Yue’s rejection into workplace gossip.

Significant themes

• Skill, status, and admiration: Chen Hao’s effortless victory earns him praise from viewers and friends.
• Attraction and rejection: Yue’s attention contrasts with Chen Hao’s indifference, creating light romantic comedy.
• Public image and private behavior: Yue maintains a courteous service persona, but her colleagues reveal that her attention to Chen Hao is unusual.

• Key events: As the group arrives in Gusu, flight attendant Yue Yuting gives Chen Hao her phone number. He ignores it, and Chen Siyao throws it away, teasing him and acting possessive. The group then visits Dragon Mound, a hill said to imprison a Flood Dragon, and eats at a restaurant nearby. Two elderly diners debate whether the legend is supernatural or a story invented to conceal officials’ responsibility for a failed dike. Cai Jingwen recounts the tale: during a catastrophic flood, a Flood Dragon allegedly broke out of the hill and destroyed the dike, until a Black Dragon and a White Dragon defeated it and it vanished beneath the river.
• Character developments and interactions: Chen Hao remains quiet and detached, accepting Siyao’s company without comment. Siyao is playful and protective, discarding the flight attendant’s number and eagerly drawing the group into the outing. Yang Wanqing jokes about the romantic attention Chen Hao receives, then becomes engrossed in the legend. Cai Jingwen takes on the role of local guide and storyteller; Siyao and Wanqing listen closely, while Li Li privately needles Cai Jingwen about having rivals.
• Themes: The chapter contrasts folklore with historical explanation, leaving open whether the Flood Dragon story is merely a convenient myth or something more. It also explores how legends preserve local memory—and how fascination with mystery can persist alongside skepticism. The final question, about whether the Flood Dragon ever returned, leaves the legend unresolved.

Plot and events

• During lunch, the group discusses a local legend about a Jiaqing-era flood and a Flood Dragon said to have been defeated by two True Dragons. Chen Hao doubts the tale: a True Dragon’s bloodline should be enough to subdue a Flood Dragon. He briefly looks toward Dragon Mound, then changes the subject.
• The group enjoys the meal and plans to visit Gusu’s gardens. When a fine Jiangnan drizzle begins, a livestream viewer suggests taking a boat ride. Cai Jingwen knows a nearby dock, so the group sets off.
• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing share an umbrella, while Li Li deliberately hurries ahead, leaving Cai Jingwen and Chen Hao to walk together beneath Cai Jingwen’s umbrella. Siyao secretly photographs them.
• At the dock, the group meets an elderly boatman and his wife. She has brought him lunch despite his protests, showing their affectionate concern for each other. The boatman welcomes the visitors and prepares a black-awning boat.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao appears knowledgeable and composed when discussing the dragon legend, but his lingering glance toward Dragon Mound hints that the subject may have personal significance.
• Cai Jingwen is quietly shy around Chen Hao. When they are left together, he takes the umbrella and they walk close beneath it.
• Li Li seems to encourage the pair by going ahead and later looks pleased with herself; Siyao and Wanqing also give them space, and Siyao captures the moment.
• The boatman grumbles about his wife bringing food, but accepts it and keeps it close. Their teasing exchange conveys long-standing affection.

Significant themes

• Legend and truth: The chapter contrasts local folklore with historical records and Chen Hao’s confident explanation, while leaving his connection to the legend ambiguous.
• Quiet romance and companionship: Sharing an umbrella creates a tender moment between Chen Hao and Cai Jingwen.
• Enduring love and care: The elderly couple’s everyday gestures offer a warm contrast to modern, fast-paced romance.
• Atmosphere and place: Gusu’s drizzle, old houses, canals, and black-awning boats create a gentle, picturesque setting for the group’s outing.

Key plot points and events

• During a gentle boat ride through rainy, picturesque Gusu, the group admires the river scenery. Cai Jingwen recites a poem about rain and a fisherman; Chen Siyao’s camera captures her glances toward Chen Hao.
• A sudden flash flood rushes down the river, trapping the group in their boat between steep stone banks. The boatman tries to steer them toward a lower section of the wall, while the livestream viewers panic.
• Chen Hao calmly takes the boatman’s pole and tells everyone to stay seated. With one push, he sends the boat racing downstream, quickly widening the gap between them and the flood.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains composed under pressure and displays striking, apparently extraordinary strength and skill.
• Chen Siyao shifts from filming the scenery to focusing on the danger and urging the boatman to escape first.
• Cai Jingwen shows a tender, reflective side through her poem and her quiet attention to Chen Hao.
• Yang Wanqing is initially alarmed by the flood but reacts with exhilaration once Chen Hao speeds the boat away.
• The old boatman is frightened but puts his passengers’ safety first, insisting that the younger people escape before him.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts tranquil natural beauty with nature’s sudden, overwhelming danger.
• Calm leadership and trust become essential in a crisis.
• The poetic, familiar landscape proves capable of turning perilous without warning.

Character interactions

• Chen Hao steadies Siyao as she boards and later takes charge when the boatman’s efforts fail.
• Wanqing notices Jingwen looking toward Chen Hao as she recites; Siyao silently records the moment.
• Siyao urges the boatman to let Chen Hao pull him to safety, while the boatman refuses to abandon his responsibility.
• Chen Hao’s firm instructions reassure the passengers, and his decisive action gives them a chance to escape.

Key events

• Chen Hao propels the old boatman’s black-canopied boat across the river at astonishing speed, leaving passengers, the boatman, and livestream viewers stunned.
• A young man, Young Master Shen, tries to race the boat in his Ferrari. Despite his confidence in the car, Chen Hao’s boat quickly pulls ahead and disappears from view.
• On the riverbank, car enthusiast and influencer Hou Liang (“Monkey”) films the race, initially mistaking the boat’s speed for a stunt. His companions are equally amazed when they see it.
• The boat reaches a dock. Grateful to Chen Hao for saving him from the flood, the old boatman waives the fare. Chen Siyao discreetly pays him anyway and warns him that the river is dangerous.
• A series of deep roars comes from Dragon Mound. The boatman believes a legendary Flood Dragon has caused the sudden flood and warns the group to stay away. Chen Hao watches the mound in silence as Moontrace seeks comfort at his feet.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao displays extraordinary control and calm under pressure, effortlessly outpacing the Ferrari. His quiet response to the boatman’s gratitude suggests humility; his attention remains fixed on Dragon Mound after the roars.
• Chen Siyao moves from filming the excitement to showing practical concern, cautioning the boatman and quietly ensuring he receives payment.
• Yang Wanqing jokes with the Ferrari driver once the danger has passed, but grows uneasy when the roars are heard. She holds Moontrace protectively.
• The old boatman shifts from stunned gratitude to fear, interpreting the sounds as evidence of the Flood Dragon legend.
• Young Master Shen’s arrogance collapses into disbelief when his Ferrari loses to a pole-driven boat. Monkey and his companions go from skepticism to astonishment as they witness it themselves.
• Moontrace reacts anxiously to the sounds from Dragon Mound and stays close to Chen Hao.

Significant themes

• The extraordinary versus the ordinary: The boat’s impossible speed turns a routine river journey into a spectacle.
• Legend and belief: The Flood Dragon story raises the possibility that old folklore may explain present-day events.
• Humility and gratitude: Chen Hao saves the boatman without seeking credit, while the boatman offers the trip for free.
• A looming mystery: The unexplained flood and roars point toward a larger danger near Dragon Mound.

Key plot points and events

• After the previous day’s flash flood, Chen Siyao decides not to post her own footage, hoping to avoid renewed attention. Rain continues through the night.
• The next morning, the group sees a trending topic claiming a flood dragon caused the Gusu flood. Online reactions are divided between local legends, skepticism, and demands for proof; the Gusu Museum notes that the legend lacks physical evidence.
• Video of the flood’s aftermath shows damage along the river. Siyao and Yang Wanqing recall hearing a strange roar near the dock.
• Asked directly, Chen Hao confirms that flood dragons exist. He clarifies that the story he previously called fabricated was the tale about two true dragons fighting one—not the flood dragon itself.
• Chen Hao offers to take Siyao to see one. Though startled, she agrees. Wanqing, Cai Jingwen, and Li Li also decide to join.
• After breakfast, Siyao starts a livestream and announces that they are going to see a flood dragon, thrilling her viewers.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao shifts from cautious secrecy about the flood to eager anticipation. She trusts Chen Hao enough to accept his invitation and share the outing with her audience.
• Chen Hao remains composed while revealing a major supernatural truth. His casual invitation contrasts with the danger the others associate with flood dragons, and he shows particular warmth toward Siyao.
• Yang Wanqing moves from recalling the roar with uncertainty to open excitement, even rushing to join the expedition.
• Cai Jingwen expresses curiosity about how a flood dragon might compare with the Three Blue Birds.
• Li Li hesitates but agrees to go, partly because Chen Hao will be there.
• The women react together with shock to Chen Hao’s confirmation, then gradually turn toward curiosity and anticipation.

Significant themes

• Legend versus reality: Public debate treats the flood dragon as folklore, but Chen Hao’s confirmation establishes that mythical creatures exist.
• Curiosity overcoming fear: The group’s alarm gives way to a desire to witness the creature firsthand.
• Public attention and spectacle: Even without Siyao’s footage, the flood becomes a viral mystery, and she turns the planned encounter into a livestream event.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao tells her online followers that Chen Hao is taking her to see the Flood Dragon, but leaves their shocked questions unanswered.
• Chen Hao, Siyao, Yang Wanqing, Cai Jingwen, and Li Li set off for Dragon Mound, with Chen Hao carrying Moontrace.
• On the way, a little girl recognizes Siyao from the viral “alien spaceship” video and mistakes her for an alien. Siyao kindly poses for a photo, then clarifies to the girl’s mother that she is a streamer, not an actress.
• Siyao discovers that footage of their boat has become a major online trend. Viewers debate whether it was special effects, while some recognize Chen Hao.
• Asked about the boat’s speed, Chen Hao says it reached about 400 kilometers per hour. Yang Wanqing is astonished; Siyao jokes that she and the others rode in a “spaceship,” while Wanqing says she would rather be a fairy.

Character developments and interactions

• Siyao is excited but unafraid about visiting Dragon Mound because her brother is with her. She handles the child’s curiosity warmly and laughs off the public’s misconceptions.
• Chen Hao remains quiet and composed despite the viral attention, and shows Moontrace gentle affection by carrying it.
• Wanqing reacts with genuine amazement to the boat’s speed and trades playful jokes with Siyao.
• The little girl’s enthusiasm contrasts with her mother’s practical confusion: the child sees an alien and expects a spaceship, while her mother assumes the video was a film or influencer stunt.

Significant themes

• Truth versus public perception: Real events are dismissed online as special effects or publicity, while witnesses interpret them through familiar ideas like aliens and influencers.
• Viral fame and misunderstanding: Siyao and Chen Hao attract attention because of the spaceship footage, but online recognition does not mean people understand what happened.
• Trust and security: Siyao’s confidence about facing the unknown at Dragon Mound comes from having Chen Hao beside her.
• Wonder and humor: The extraordinary boat and Flood Dragon are approached alongside ordinary, amusing encounters with curious fans and confused bystanders.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao leads Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, Cai Jingwen, and Moontrace up a muddy, overgrown trail on Dragon Mound. Moontrace reacts uneasily to something in the bamboo, and Chen Hao senses a powerful presence beneath the hill.
• They reach the ruined Dragon-Suppressing Temple. Chen Hao explains that the temple is an entrance and searches inside for a way down.
• Behind the offering table, they find two stone formation disks with faded flags. Cai Jingwen reads their inscription: in the Jiaqing era, Daoist Zhuoting of Dragon-Tiger Mountain discovered a flood dragon causing destructive floods and sealed it underground with a formation. The inscription warns future generations not to disturb the formation or excavate the earth veins.
• The discovery confirms the old man’s tale in an altered form: the flood dragon was suppressed by a Daoist master, not defeated by a true dragon. Livestream viewers argue over whether the account is genuine or superstition. The chapter ends before the group investigates underground.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains calm and decisive, sensing the underground energy before anyone else and guiding the group to the temple. He reassures Moontrace when it becomes frightened.
• Chen Siyao is curious and films the expedition for her livestream; she voices the group’s confusion about why a temple is part of their search.
• Yang Wanqing worries about the danger and whether a dragon could fit beneath the small temple. She comforts and carries Moontrace.
• Cai Jingwen draws on her knowledge of ancient writing to interpret the inscription, revealing the temple’s history to the group.
• Moontrace shows heightened sensitivity, reacting first to something hidden in the bamboo and later watching the main hall intently.
• The livestream audience shifts from ridicule to astonishment, though skeptics continue to question the story.

Significant themes

• Legend versus evidence: The inscription lends historical weight to the flood-dragon story, while leaving its truth open to debate.
• Respect for the unknown: The warning against disturbing the formation frames caution as essential when confronting forces beyond ordinary understanding.
• Appearance and hidden reality: The dilapidated temple seems insignificant, yet conceals a powerful underground presence.

Chen Siyao and the others discover that the temple’s formation conceals a passage to an underground river cave. Chen Hao confirms that a Flood Dragon is held below, but claims it could leave whenever it wished and stays because something in the cave aids its cultivation. He opens a hidden entrance beneath the altar despite Perfected One Zhuoting’s warning not to disturb the formation’s core.
Chen Hao leads Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, Cai Jingwen, and Li Li down the narrow, damp stairs, with Moontrace in Yang Wanqing’s arms. The passage becomes a vast natural cave, lit by glowing fluorite and filled with the sound of rushing water. They encounter enormous, unusually strong spiderwebs; Yang Wanqing tests one and finds it difficult to break. The group then reaches a clear underground river populated by large, white, meat-eating fish. Moontrace reacts tensely to them, suggesting it senses danger.
The group’s curiosity and confidence give way to fear as the cave’s unsettling features emerge. Yang Wanqing spots a gigantic, sow-sized spider suspended in a web spanning much of the ceiling. Its multiple red eyes and dark, hairy legs terrify the women, leaving the chapter on a suspenseful cliffhanger.
Character developments and interactions: Chen Hao remains calm and authoritative, reassuring Siyao and guiding everyone forward. Siyao is nervous but chooses to follow, while the others stay close to Chen Hao. Wanqing’s curiosity—first touching the web and then reaching toward the fish—turns to panic when she sees the spider; her sudden retreat knocks Cai Jingwen off balance, and Li Li steadies her.
Themes: The chapter contrasts the beauty of the glowing cave with its hidden dangers, builds suspense through exploration, and highlights the tension between curiosity and caution. It also introduces the possibility that the formation, Flood Dragon, river, and strange creatures are connected.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao leads the group beneath an enormous spider while Chen Siyao livestreams. The spider attacks by dropping a web over them, but Chen Hao burns it away with a golden-white flame.
• When the spider lunges, Chen Hao pierces it with a strand of fire. It burns until it becomes a charred corpse.
• Siyao shows the remains to her viewers. A verified biology professor identifies it as resembling a huntsman spider, but says its size and other traits cannot be explained by known biology.
• Chen Hao jokingly offers high oxygen levels as an explanation, then urges the group onward.
• Following the sound of water through a brighter, fluorite-lit passage, they encounter several more giant spiders. Chen Hao burns them—and their webs—to ash in seconds.

Character development

• Chen Hao remains composed and protective, dispatching the monsters effortlessly. He calls his Samadhi True Fire a “minor spell” and offers a deliberately unconvincing scientific explanation for the spiders.
• Chen Siyao is frightened but keeps filming, turning the encounter into a livestream and seeking answers from her viewers.
• The other women react with fear and cling closer to Chen Hao; after the first spider is defeated, teasing briefly eases the tension.
• Moontrace stays relaxed beside Chen Hao, showing complete trust in him.

Character interactions

• Chen Hao tells everyone to stay close and shields them from the spiders. Siyao questions him about his fire and later challenges his oxygen theory; he avoids answering her question about his own power.
• The livestream audience reacts with shock and jokes about Chen Hao using a legendary fire spell on a spider. A biology professor adds a scientific perspective, emphasizing that the creature is beyond established biology.
• The women seek safety near Chen Hao, while Moontrace follows confidently at his feet.

Significant themes

• The supernatural versus science: The spiders defy biological explanation, while Chen Hao’s magic is treated casually.
• Protection and trust: The group relies on Chen Hao, and Moontrace’s calmness underscores its faith in him.
• Humor amid danger: Chen Hao’s understatement and Siyao’s teasing soften the horror of the encounter.

Plot points and events

• After escaping the giant spider, Chen Hao and the women follow Moontrace through a cavern that grows brighter with blue fluorite.
• The passage becomes crowded with snakes of many sizes and colors. They remain still but alert, and Chen Hao says they will not attack unless provoked. As he walks past, they draw back from him, then close ranks behind the group.
• The group reaches a deep underground pool. It churns, and a colossal black python rises from the water—eventually towering above them and far exceeding the size of any known snake.
• The python lunges at Chen Hao. Instead of using the fire he used against the spider, he knocks it out of the water with a single slap, smashing it into the cavern wall.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains calm in the face of danger, guiding the group through the snakes and stepping forward to confront the python.
• Chen Siyao is frightened but keeps filming, while her companions react with escalating terror. Yang Wanqing notices the snakes seem afraid of Chen Hao.
• Moontrace initially leads the way, then retreats to Chen Hao’s feet when surrounded by snakes.
• The livestream viewers provide reactions and attempted explanations, heightening the spectacle and emphasizing how extraordinary the python is.

Significant themes

• Power and mystery: The snakes’ deference to Chen Hao and his effortless defeat of the python suggest his abilities are far beyond ordinary human limits.
• Fear and composure: The women’s panic contrasts with Chen Hao’s steady confidence.
• The uncanny natural world: The cavern’s creatures and impossible giant python challenge scientific understanding.

Key plot points and events

• After a brutal slap sends the giant python crashing into a wall, Chen Hao finishes it with repeated strokes of golden Sword Aura, cutting it into pieces. The livestream audience recognizes the technique from his earlier fight with a Gu Diao.
• The group continues through the cavern and finds claw marks and crushed rock, leading to a huge chamber lit by fluorite.
• At its center lies an enormous, pearl-scaled shed skin. Chen Hao identifies it as a Flood Dragon’s skin and explains that the creature shed it while evolving.
• He says the dragon’s painful thrashing underground disturbed earth veins and underground rivers, unintentionally causing the floods above.
• The women discover many colorful, translucent stones scattered among the rubble and begin collecting them.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains composed and decisive: he kills the python, leads the group onward, identifies the shed skin, and explains the flooding.
• Chen Siyao is shaken by the bloody snake remains but keeps filming. She is later curious and excited by the Flood Dragon evidence and the stones.
• Yang Wanqing shields Moontrace’s eyes from the gruesome scene, though the curious animal peeks anyway.
• Cai Jingwen, Yang Wanqing, and Li Li enthusiastically search for and admire the stones; their excitement contrasts with the cavern’s ominous signs.
• The livestream viewers react with awe, recognizing Chen Hao’s Sword Aura and treating the Flood Dragon’s skin as a historic discovery.

Significant themes

• Myth becoming reality: The Flood Dragon’s remains confirm that legendary creatures exist.
• Understanding nature: The floods were caused by the dragon’s painful evolution, not malice.
• Wonder amid danger: The group moves from a deadly monster encounter to fascination with the cavern’s strange treasures.

Chapter summary

• The treasure and the mystery beneath the earth: The group finds glittering stones in the Flood Dragon’s lair, and Chen Siyao, Yang Wanqing, Cai Jingwen, and Li Li pocket some. Chen Hao ignores the stones and studies the Flood Dragon’s shed skin. Its treasure-hoarding and near-dragon evolution are unusual: true dragons instinctively collect treasures, but the depleted spiritual energy of the world should make such an evolution impossible. Using his Divine Sense, Chen Hao detects a powerful, ancient energy pulsing deep underground and suspects it may explain the creature’s growth.
• The Flood Dragon appears: Following the underground river, the group reaches a stone bridge and hears enormous, rumbling breaths in the darkness. Two golden lights emerge as the creature’s eyes. The colossal, horned Flood Dragon reveals a long, blue-black body, four-clawed feet, and an overwhelming presence that terrifies the girls and astonishes the livestream audience. Viewers speculate that it may be close to becoming a true dragon.
• The confrontation begins: The Flood Dragon notices the stones the girls took and rumbles in apparent displeasure. When Yang Wanqing wonders aloud if it is angry about the theft, the creature lunges at them with its jaws open. The girls recoil in panic, while Chen Hao calmly raises a hand—prompting viewers to suspect he intends to stop it with another slap, despite its immense size.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains observant and composed, shifting from investigating the Flood Dragon’s unusual evolution to protecting the group when it attacks.
• Chen Siyao is initially playful enough to take treasure, but is visibly terrified when the creature appears. She nevertheless steadies herself and keeps livestreaming.
• Yang Wanqing shares in the treasure-taking, then voices the group’s concern that it may have angered the Flood Dragon.
• Cai Jingwen and Li Li also take stones, joining the girls’ lighthearted excitement before the danger becomes clear.
• The girls experience awe and fear together, while the livestream viewers react with disbelief, alarm, and concern for Chen Hao.

Significant themes

• Myth becoming reality: The Flood Dragon’s appearance overturns scientific expectations and leaves the audience questioning the limits of biology and legend.
• Hidden forces and evolution: The mysterious energy deep underground may allow creatures to surpass limits imposed by the world’s dwindling spiritual energy.
• Wonder turning to danger: The girls’ playful treasure-taking leads directly into a tense encounter with the creature guarding it.
• Courage under pressure: Chen Siyao forces herself to keep filming, and Chen Hao faces the attack without visible panic.

Plot points and events

• The flood dragon attacks Chen Hao, but he stops it with one hand, lifts its enormous body, and hurls it into the cavern wall.
• Defeated and frightened, the dragon submits. Chen Hao spares it but warns it not to damage the earth veins again.
• Reassured by Chen Hao, the women approach and pet the now-docile dragon. It tolerates their attention despite its obvious discomfort, amusing the livestream audience.
• Chen Hao asks what caused the dragon to evolve. The dragon appears to recall something and leads the group upstream through the underground river.
• The route grows increasingly hot, and the rock walls and underground glow turn dark red, suggesting they are approaching a source of intense heat.

Character developments

• Chen Hao demonstrates overwhelming strength and restraint: he defeats the dragon but spares it, then calmly investigates its origins.
• The flood dragon shifts from arrogant aggressor to fearful, obedient guide. Its submission extends to allowing the women to touch it.
• Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing move from caution to excitement as they realize the dragon is harmless under Chen Hao’s protection. Cai Jingwen and Li Li also join in.
• The livestream viewers continue to treat Chen Hao as an all-powerful figure and jokingly label the dragon a “simp.”

Significant themes

• Power and mercy: Chen Hao’s strength is unquestionable, but he chooses to spare the defeated creature.
• Hierarchy and protection: The dragon obeys Chen Hao and consequently poses no threat to the people with him.
• Humor through contrast: A legendary, fearsome creature becomes a nervous “pet,” while the chat turns its humiliation into a running joke.
• Curiosity and discovery: The dragon’s unexplained evolution becomes the next mystery, drawing the group deeper underground.

Character interactions

• Chen Hao establishes control over the dragon, then gives it a chance to submit rather than destroy it.
• The women test the dragon’s docility one by one, with Chen Siyao leading the way and Yang Wanqing celebrating the experience.
• The dragon repeatedly checks Chen Hao’s reaction and seeks his help when the women crowd around it.
• The dragon then communicates nonverbally with Chen Hao, leading him and the others toward whatever caused its transformation.

Key plot points

• The Flood Dragon leads Chen Hao and the women to a new lair: a vast, funnel-shaped cavern with a deep shaft at its center, from which scorching air rises.
• Chen Hao senses an ancient, powerful presence far below and decides to investigate. He gives Chen Siyao a protective wooden sword and tells the women to wait.
• The Flood Dragon is terrified of the shaft but obeys Chen Hao’s order to guide him down. Chen Hao and the dragon descend for about an hour through increasingly hot, fire-scarred rock.
• Chen Hao shields both himself and the dragon from the heat. They eventually reach a ledge overlooking an immense sea of magma.
• His divine sense detects several living creatures far beneath the magma. Their auras are stronger than the Flood Dragon’s and unlike anything he recognizes.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains calm and decisive, pursuing the mysterious presence despite the danger. He also shows concern by protecting the Flood Dragon from the extreme heat.
• Chen Siyao is frightened for her brother but trusts him, accepts the sword, and stays behind as he asks.
• The Flood Dragon reveals intense fear of whatever lies below, yet submits to Chen Hao and continues the descent. It shows gratitude when he shields it.
• Cai Jingwen comforts Chen Siyao while the women wait. Moontrace also reacts anxiously to the shaft.

Significant themes

• Curiosity versus danger: Chen Hao chooses to investigate an unknown force despite the risks.
• Power and submission: The Flood Dragon’s fear contrasts with Chen Hao’s authority and confidence.
• Trust and loyalty: Siyao lets her brother go, while the Flood Dragon follows his command even when terrified.
• The ancient and unknown: The creatures beneath the magma suggest a primal world untouched by civilization.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao leaves the frightened Flood Dragon in a rock hollow and plunges into the magma, strengthening his protective barrier for the crushing heat and pressure.
• Deep below, he encounters a huge, legless, dragon-like creature. Though its strength rivals the deity transformation stage, it shows no intelligence—only hostility. Chen Hao kills it with a formation of golden swords and discovers a blood-red stone inside it, rich in strange, violent energy.
• As he descends farther, Chen Hao meets and kills more of these creatures. Each carries a similar stone, and both the creatures’ strength and the stones’ size and purity increase with depth. The fifteenth is approaching the body integration stage, but remains instinct-driven.
• Below the creatures’ territory, the mysterious underground power grows dense enough to seem almost solid. The magma appears to be changing into another substance, while the increasing pressure strains Chen Hao’s barrier.
• Chen Hao stops rather than risk going farther. His divine sense reaches about fifty kilometers below before an unknown force blocks it, leaving him unable to determine what lies beneath.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains composed and methodical despite the escalating danger. He tests his divine sense and ultimately chooses caution when his barrier weakens and his perception is obstructed.
• The Flood Dragon is revealed to fear powerful beings beneath the magma so intensely that it refuses to follow Chen Hao down.
• The dragon-like creatures appear to have been transformed or evolved by the underground power, gaining immense strength while losing intelligence.

Character interactions

• Chen Hao tells the Flood Dragon to wait; it eagerly complies.
• The creatures react to Chen Hao as an intruder and attack without negotiation or apparent awareness. He responds by killing them, collecting their stones as he descends.
• Chen Hao’s only direct engagement with another character is his brief exchange with the Flood Dragon; the rest of the chapter focuses on his encounters with the creatures and the mysterious depths.

Significant themes

• Power at a cost: The underground force seems to strengthen the creatures but strip them of their minds.
• Escalating danger and restraint: Each descent brings stronger foes and greater environmental pressure, while Chen Hao’s decision to stop shows that confidence must be balanced with caution.
• The unknown: The growing density of the power, the stones, and the barrier to Chen Hao’s divine sense deepen the mystery of what lies beneath the magma.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao crushes and absorbs energy from unusual stones found underground. The warmth strengthens his muscles, bones, and marrow, and his cultivation stirs for the first time in ten thousand years.
• He names the stones Flame Spirit Stones and suspects their energy may offer a new path to advancement in a world that cannot support his old cultivation methods.
• Chen Hao leaves the Flood Dragon in the magma depths, where it feels comfortable and can cultivate far faster than above.
• After waiting anxiously for more than two hours, Chen Siyao and the others see Chen Hao return unharmed. He explains that the Flood Dragon is staying below.
• The group prepares to leave. Yang Wanqing, who had once been terrified of the Flood Dragon, jokes that she had hoped to ride it.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao discovers a possible breakthrough through physical cultivation, showing renewed curiosity about what lies underground. His usually restrained manner softens as he comforts his worried sister.
• Chen Siyao reveals how deeply she fears losing her brother: she paces while he is gone, then embraces him and checks that he is unhurt.
• Cai Jingwen supports Chen Siyao and welcomes Chen Hao back; Moontrace also eagerly confirms his return.
• Yang Wanqing shifts from fear of the Flood Dragon to playful fascination with riding it, prompting teasing and laughter from the group and livestream audience.
• The Flood Dragon appears affectionate toward Chen Hao and chooses to remain underground for the better cultivation conditions.

Significant themes

• Renewal and possibility: The Flame Spirit Stones may let Chen Hao overcome a cultivation ceiling that has held him back for millennia.
• Care beneath composure: Chen Hao’s calm exterior contrasts with Chen Siyao’s visible worry and his gentle response to it.
• Unexpected change: The Flood Dragon’s attachment to Chen Hao—and Yang Wanqing’s reversal from terror to enthusiasm—add warmth and humor.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao and his companions emerge from the temple tunnel into daylight, where Qin Zheng and a Special Affairs Bureau team are waiting.
• Chen Siyao ends her livestream at Qin Zheng’s discreet signal.
• Qin Zheng asks whether the Flood Dragon might leave its underground lair and endanger people. Chen Hao assures him it will stay below, having been warned.
• Chen Hao advises the Bureau to avoid the Flood Dragon’s treasure lair and bring weapons, since other dangerous creatures remain underground. Qin Zheng begins organizing a cautious exploration.
• After Chen Hao’s group leaves, Qin Zheng rejects a team member’s suggestion to bring heavy equipment, citing his trust in Chen Hao and the risk of disturbing the site. He orders checkpoints around the lair and tells researchers they may enter the next day, under strict safety rules.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains calm and authoritative, giving practical guidance without lingering to manage the Bureau’s response.
• Qin Zheng shows himself to be disciplined and cautious, but his experience has led him to place exceptional trust in Chen Hao. He once dismissed Chen as a likely fraud; after watching his livestreams and learning his file was classified, Qin now recognizes his extraordinary abilities.
• Chen Siyao follows Qin’s signal and ends the stream, then leaves with Chen Hao.
• Qin and Chen interact with mutual respect: Qin seeks Chen’s judgment, and Chen gives him clear reassurance and advice. Qin later firmly defends that trust to his subordinate.

Significant themes

• Trust in extraordinary ability: Qin’s confidence in Chen outweighs conventional caution and incomplete technical data.
• Power and secrecy: Chen’s abilities are so significant that the authorities have classified his information.
• Caution around the unknown: The Bureau permits research but imposes boundaries to protect people and avoid provoking the Flood Dragon.
• Modern institutions confronting the legendary: Official personnel and scientific research teams must adapt to creatures and forces beyond ordinary experience.

Key plot points and events

• After leaving the Dragon-Suppressing Temple, the group returns to their hotel. Yang Wanqing is still thrilled about her encounter with the Flood Dragon, while Chen Siyao packs away glittering stones she found in its lair.
• The group decides to visit Magic City the next day. Cai Jingwen recommends it, and Chen Hao agrees when Siyao asks.
• They travel by high-speed train from Gusu to Magic City. At Hongqiao Station, Wanqing eagerly photographs the skyline.
• Cai Jingwen has reserved a table at the Pearl Revolving Restaurant. The group enjoys dinner above the Huangpu River as the sun sets.
• Siyao starts a livestream, drawing over a million viewers. Wanqing sneaks bread to Xiao Yue, who pleads for more until Siyao reluctantly allows one extra piece.
• Diners recognize Chen Hao as the celebrated “God Chen” and ask for photos. He agrees to one fan’s request, and Siyao takes their pictures.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao remains close to Chen Hao and looks to him for reassurance before committing to the trip. She also shares the experience with her livestream audience and gently keeps Wanqing from overfeeding Xiao Yue.
• Yang Wanqing is exuberant and impulsive, delighted by Magic City and eager to photograph everything. Her fondness for Xiao Yue shows when she sneaks the pet food.
• Cai Jingwen acts as the group’s local guide, choosing the destination and arranging dinner. Though familiar with the city, she is still moved by the river view.
• Chen Hao is calm and accommodating, letting Siyao choose the next destination. His fame becomes clear when diners recognize him, though he handles the attention quietly.
• Xiao Yue provides light comedy, copying Wanqing’s ear-popping gesture in the elevator and using a pleading look to win extra bread.

Significant themes

• The chapter shifts from supernatural adventure toward travel, leisure, and shared discovery.
• The group’s close, affectionate friendships are reflected in their relaxed banter and small acts of care.
• Chen Hao’s modest response to public attention contrasts with his growing celebrity status, while Siyao’s livestream connects the group’s travels to their online audience.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao is dining in a restaurant when patrons recognize him from his online appearances and politely line up for photos.
• Actress Du Ling and her agent, Lin Jiaxing, notice him. Lin is an enthusiastic fan, while Du Ling is unfamiliar with Chen Hao and doubts the extraordinary claims about his abilities. Lin gets his autograph and a photo, then promises to show Du Ling his videos.
• During Chen Siyao’s livestream, a viewer named Ying Zheng offers to arrange a yacht outing for her group. Siyao initially declines the expensive gesture and says they can rent one themselves.
• The following morning, Ying Zheng’s company has already arranged complimentary yacht services. Siyao is unsure how to respond, but Chen Hao encourages her to accept small favors when comfortable. She agrees to let the company’s manager guide them.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains calm and gracious as fans approach him. He also offers practical reassurance to Siyao about accepting help.
• Lin Jiaxing reveals herself as a devoted, excitable Chen Hao fan, in sharp contrast to her professional demeanor.
• Du Ling is skeptical of Chen Hao’s supposed supernatural feats, though his appearance and presence pique her curiosity.
• Chen Siyao is cautious about imposing on a generous viewer, but accepts the yacht arrangement after her brother’s advice.
• Ying Zheng shows his enthusiasm for Siyao by arranging a lavish outing through his family’s company.

Significant themes

• Celebrity and fandom: Chen Hao’s online fame brings him admirers even among people in public, while others remain unaware of him.
• Skepticism versus belief: Lin believes Chen Hao’s extraordinary reputation; Du Ling treats it as internet exaggeration.
• Generosity and boundaries: Siyao tries not to let a fan spend excessively, while Chen Hao encourages her to accept kindness without feeling obligated.

Character interactions

• Restaurant patrons approach Chen Hao respectfully for photos, while curious diners wonder who he is.
• Lin excitedly introduces Du Ling to Chen Hao’s online fame, then meets him for an autograph and photo.
• Siyao consults her friends about the proposed sea trip; they eagerly agree.
• At the marina, Manager Zhou explains that Ying Zheng has covered the arrangements. Siyao looks to Chen Hao for guidance, and he reassures her before she accepts.