Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao speaks with his mother, Li Xia, who asks when he will come home for New Year. He jokes that he will not return, then reveals that he has started a company, bought a car, and has a girlfriend he plans to bring home.
• His father, Chen Yong, doubts his claims and accuses him of bragging, though his reaction masks how much he misses his son. Chen Hao is proud to have succeeded after growing up poor and hopes to improve his parents’ lives.
• Liu Yan overhears the call. Though she is embarrassed by the idea of meeting Chen Hao’s parents so soon, she says she is serious about him and that both families’ approval matters. Chen Hao realizes he must speak properly with her father, Liu Shan.
• Chen Hao continues practicing talisman-drawing in Guanghan Palace. Having made good progress with Diamond Talismans, he decides to try an Invisibility Talisman to complement their defensive power.
• CC returns after more than ten days away, claiming a female dog helped him recover from an explosion. Chen Hao suspects he was pursuing her, but gives him dragon meat; CC immediately disappears again.
• Liu Yan’s work on acquiring Dihao Group advances smoothly with backing from Long Guangsheng and Dragon Sea International, positioning Blue Light Pharmaceuticals for a major expansion.
• Chen Hao experiments with alchemy using samadhi true fire, but it burns up the ingredients. The Alchemy Boy explains that he does not know how to refine pills himself; Supreme Lord Lao’s furnace operates through spells that automate the process.
• Chen Hao deduces that he needs an alchemy furnace and Supreme Lord Lao’s alchemy incantations. The furnace should be easy to obtain, but persuading the shrewd deity to share his methods will be difficult.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao shows increasing confidence in his success and commitment to Liu Yan, while remaining ambitious about strengthening his supernatural abilities. His conversation with his parents reveals both affection and a desire to repay them.
• Li Xia is delighted by her son’s news and eager to see him; Chen Yong expresses affection indirectly through skepticism and scolding.
• Liu Yan makes clear that she sees the relationship as serious and wants family approval. Chen Hao responds by agreeing to meet her father.
• CC returns with his usual shameless humor and appetite, while Chen Hao treats him with exasperated familiarity.
• The Alchemy Boy candidly admits his limited role, helping Chen Hao understand how the furnace works.

Significant themes

• Family and filial love: Chen Hao’s success is meaningful partly because he hopes to improve his parents’ lives; his father’s sternness conceals affection.
• Commitment and approval: Chen Hao and Liu Yan’s relationship is moving toward marriage, with both recognizing the importance of their families.
• Ambition and ingenuity: Chen Hao steadily builds his business and seeks ways to expand his magical skills, using practical reasoning to solve the alchemy problem.
• Humor and irreverence: The teasing exchanges with Liu Yan, CC’s antics, and Chen Hao’s jokes about celestial bureaucracy keep the chapter’s tone light.

Key plot points

• Chen Hao dresses formally to meet Liu Yan’s father, Liu Shan. Liu Yan warns him to behave, while joking that they could elope if her father objects.
• The family greets the couple warmly, especially Liu Yan’s brother, Liu Qi, who calls Chen Hao “brother-in-law.” Liu Shan, however, remains wary and disapproving.
• During dinner, Liu Yan abruptly claims she is pregnant with Chen Hao’s child. The men are so shocked they spit out their food and drink; Liu Shan then chases Chen Hao around the table with a liquor bottle.
• After Liu Yan stops the chaos, Chen Hao notices that Liu Shan is still furious. He uses a bottle of his family’s rare Peach Blossom Wine to catch the father’s interest.
• Liu Qi and then Liu Shan taste the wine and are captivated. Liu Shan moves beside Chen Hao, admits his reluctance comes from fearing the loss of his only daughter, and listens as Chen Hao promises to make Liu Yan happy. The two end up drinking and joking together.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao tries to win Liu Shan over with politeness and reassurance rather than pressuring him through the family business. His wine becomes an unexpected bridge between them.
• Liu Yan stands up for her relationship with a provocative false pregnancy claim. Once her father’s anger subsides, she feels relieved and grateful that Chen Hao did not use his business leverage.
• Liu Shan shifts from hostile, protective father to a more receptive one after recognizing Chen Hao’s sincerity and sharing his wine.
• Liu Qi enthusiastically supports the couple, teasing his father and bonding with Chen Hao over the wine, until Liu Shan drags him aside to claim a seat.

Significant themes

• Parental protectiveness and acceptance: Liu Shan’s resistance stems from love and fear of losing his daughter, not simply hostility toward Chen Hao.
• Sincerity over leverage: Chen Hao chooses to build trust personally rather than exploit the family’s business interests.
• Humor and hospitality as peacemaking: The pregnancy bluff, chase, and shared wine turn a tense meeting into an affectionate family interaction.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao and Liu Yan share an affectionate evening after he wins over her father, Liu Shan, with Peach Blossom Wine. Chen Hao asks Liu Yan to spend New Year with his family, and she happily agrees. Liu Shan insists Chen Hao bring more wine next time.
• Chen Hao checks the Heavenly Court Chat Group and sees that the immortals are absorbed in their Super Phones—posting videos and selfies instead of fighting. Some clips are amusing or shocking, including Tang Sanzang’s sermon to the heavenly horses and Princess Iron Fan punishing Red Boy.
• Supreme Lord Lao asks Chen Hao for exclusive rights to distribute Super Phones and more cigarettes. Chen Hao refuses both requests, resentful that their cigarette arrangement has left him in debt. Lao Jun retaliates by removing him from the group and blocking him.
• Chen Hao appeals to Sun Wukong, but Lao Jun warns the immortals not to help Chen Hao rejoin. The group members message Chen Hao with questions and sympathy; the God of Wealth, meanwhile, remains eager to continue their business.
• Shut out from the group, Chen Hao becomes despondent. Liu Yan tries to cheer him up by taking him shopping, where Su Xiaoxiao joins them. Chen Hao ends up carrying their many year-end gift bags while onlookers mock him. The women reveal they have only just begun shopping for gifts for their families—and Liu Yan is preparing to meet Chen Hao’s parents.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao moves from confidence to panic and regret after underestimating Lao Jun’s authority. His dependence on the Heavenly Court group becomes clear: losing access feels like losing his greatest source of support.
• Liu Yan is affectionate and committed, agreeing to spend New Year with Chen Hao’s family and carefully preparing gifts for his parents. She also tries to lift his spirits, though she misunderstands—or dismisses—his serious distress about the group.
• Supreme Lord Lao shows that he controls the group and will use exclusion to enforce his authority, making an example of Chen Hao to deter others.
• Sun Wukong sympathizes and offers to confront Lao Jun, but Chen Hao persuades him to prioritize getting back into the group. Sun explains that only Lao Jun can approve Chen Hao’s return.
• The other immortals show concern or curiosity about Chen Hao’s expulsion, while the God of Wealth keeps the business relationship separate from the dispute.
• Su Xiaoxiao and Liu Yan shop together and leave Chen Hao burdened with their bags, creating a comic contrast with his earlier crisis.

Significant themes

• Consequences of pride and misjudgment: Chen Hao assumes Lao Jun will not risk angering him, then learns that the group owner has far more power than he expected.
• Dependence and loss: Chen Hao’s panic reveals how much his opportunities and security rely on the Heavenly Court group.
• Power and control: Lao Jun’s public blacklist demonstrates how authority can be used to punish one person and intimidate the rest.
• Romance and everyday comedy: Liu Yan’s plans to meet Chen Hao’s family show their growing commitment, while the shopping trip turns his misery into a humorous domestic ordeal.

Key plot points and events

• While shopping, Su Xiaoxiao asks Liu Yan whether she is serious about Chen Hao. Liu Yan says she wants to spend her life with him and admits she has gradually fallen in love with him.
• At a café, Chen Hao receives a system notification: his Golden Cudgel has gained the Demon Edict skill, which lets him command the yin spirits it absorbs. To raise the cudgel to advanced grade, he needs Sun Wukong’s essence blood.
• Chen Hao tricks Erlang Shen into agreeing to obtain a drop by challenging his pride and promising him a divine artifact. He then persuades Sun Wukong to cooperate by offering him delicious fruit.
• Chen Hao sends Sun Wukong a fruit platter from the café. Liu Yan is unsurprised by his apparent magic, but Su Xiaoxiao is astonished.
• Their meal is interrupted by Ji Fan, a technology executive who knows Su Xiaoxiao. When she tries to postpone talking with him, he presses to join them. Chen Hao orders him to leave them alone; Ji Fan’s bodyguards try to intimidate Chen Hao but retreat under his menacing stare.

Character developments

• Liu Yan openly recognizes her love for Chen Hao and her wish to build a future with him.
• Su Xiaoxiao shows both her playful closeness with Liu Yan and her growing competence in managing the Su family’s businesses, though she keeps Chen Hao’s role in that success secret.
• Chen Hao uses quick thinking, bluffing, and charm to arrange the Golden Cudgel’s upgrade. He also acts protectively toward Su Xiaoxiao.
• Ji Fan is established as persistent and presumptuous, while his unease around Chen Hao hints that Chen Hao’s intimidating presence is formidable.

Significant themes

• Love developing through shared time: Liu Yan’s feelings have grown beyond the practical reasons that first brought her close to Chen Hao.
• Secrecy and loyalty: Su Xiaoxiao hides Chen Hao’s contribution to her family’s success because she promised to keep it secret.
• Cunning and persuasion: Chen Hao achieves his goal by appealing to Erlang Shen’s pride and Sun Wukong’s appetite rather than using force.
• Power and intimidation: Chen Hao’s supernatural abilities and fierce presence contrast with his comic exhaustion from shopping and his casual, humorous dealings with the immortals.

Character interactions

• Su Xiaoxiao teases Liu Yan about loving Chen Hao, and the two share a warm, playful friendship.
• Chen Hao negotiates separately with Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong, manipulating each through a different incentive.
• Liu Yan explains Chen Hao’s fruit-sending “magic” to the startled Su Xiaoxiao.
• Chen Hao confronts Ji Fan on Su Xiaoxiao’s behalf; Ji Fan ignores his objections until Chen Hao’s glare makes both him and his bodyguards hesitate.

Plot points

• Ji Fan, a privileged but inept executive at Fengshang Technology, continues harassing Su Xiaoxiao despite her dislike of him. Chen Hao has Haizi investigate Ji Fan and orders Ji Fan and his father removed from the Dihao Group.
• When Ji Fan becomes aggressive, Chen Hao twists his finger, then swiftly defeats his four bodyguards. Su Xiaoxiao explains that her family depends heavily on Fengshang’s distribution network and worries about the fallout.
• Chen Hao assures her the problem will be settled. Minutes later, Ji Fan returns in tears: Fengshang has a new owner, and he begs Chen Hao for mercy. Chen Hao rejects him, then leaves with Su Xiaoxiao.
• At home, Chen Hao reflects that Dragon Sea International’s rapid takeover of Fengshang signals its growing campaign against the much larger Dihao Group. He and Liu Yan flirt and cuddle.
• Erlang Shen sends Chen Hao a bottle of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s blood essence. Chen Hao applies it to the Golden Cudgel in Guanghan Palace. The staff absorbs the blood and transforms: it grows longer, reveals a red shaft with golden cloud-patterned runes, and releases enormous spiritual power. Chen Hao is swept into the air and lands with a forceful strike that shakes the palace.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao moves from trying to avoid trouble to using both physical strength and business influence to protect Su Xiaoxiao. His power and confidence are underscored by his effortless defeat of Ji Fan’s guards and his control over Fengshang’s fate. He also advances his cultivation through the Golden Cudgel.
• Su Xiaoxiao is initially caught between Ji Fan’s harassment and her family’s commercial dependence on his company. She asks Chen Hao to spare Ji Fan, then is astonished when Chen Hao resolves the business threat and follows him happily.
• Ji Fan shifts from arrogant intimidation to helplessness and desperate submission once Chen Hao defeats him and strips him of his position.
• Liu Yan supports Su Xiaoxiao and later teases Chen Hao, sharing an affectionate, playful moment with him.
• Qin Meng and the Saintess witness the Golden Cudgel’s transformation and are astonished by its extraordinary spiritual energy, which they regard as beyond what should exist on Earth.

Significant themes

• Power and its limits: Ji Fan’s inherited status and threats prove useless against Chen Hao’s strength and influence.
• Protection and dependence: Su Xiaoxiao’s family relies on Fengshang, but Chen Hao’s intervention removes that vulnerability.
• Expanding influence: Dragon Sea International’s quiet advance against Dihao suggests a larger business conflict underway.
• Transformation and cultivation: The Great Sage’s blood awakens the Golden Cudgel’s legendary form and channels immense spiritual power into Chen Hao.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao absorbs a drop of Sun Wukong’s blood essence. It upgrades the Golden Cudgel, improves his cultivation and spells, and raises his strength to the middle of the third realm, close to the late third. His Qi Armor becomes much more solid.
• He tests the cudgel’s new Myriad Transformations skill, creating nearly eighty controllable clones. However, making and maintaining them consumes enormous spiritual power, so he recalls them and decides to use the skill only in emergencies.
• Chen Hao watches videos of Erlang Shen sucker-punching Sun Wukong, stealing a drop of his blood, and posting the footage to the Heavenly Court chat. Sun Wukong retaliates, triggering a massive battle that damages parts of the Heavenly Court. Chen Hao blames Erlang Shen’s lack of “martial honor” and advises Red Boy to stop watching violent videos.
• In the days that follow, Chen Hao cultivates while Liu Yan works on absorbing the Dihao Group. As New Year approaches, they plan to visit Chen Hao’s hometown the following week.
• Qin Yumo calls and then visits, partly to acknowledge the Qin Family’s major investment in Blue Light Pharmaceuticals. Her arrival sparks a jealous standoff with Liu Yan. A teasing exchange over Chen Hao peeling fruit worsens the tension—until Chen Hao receives a call from Xiang Wencun and reacts with alarm.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao gains considerable power but recognizes the limits of his new cloning technique. He remains playful and tactful, though his attempts to placate Liu Yan and Qin Yumo only make their rivalry more awkward.
• Liu Yan is affectionate with Chen Hao but openly jealous of his familiarity with Qin Yumo. She ultimately storms off to sulk.
• Qin Yumo shows her loyalty and investment in Chen Hao, joking flirtatiously with him and deliberately—or at least provocatively—playing along with the tension.
• Erlang Shen is portrayed as a boastful, underhanded fighter, while Sun Wukong responds to the public humiliation with force. Red Boy serves as Chen Hao’s source for the Heavenly Court footage.

Significant themes

• Power and its costs: Chen Hao’s new abilities are impressive but drain his spiritual energy.
• Honor versus publicity: Erlang Shen’s surprise attack and public bragging turn a personal clash into a spectacle.
• Jealousy and comic rivalry: Liu Yan and Qin Yumo compete for Chen Hao’s attention, with his innocent gestures easily becoming provocations.
• Loyalty and trust: Qin Yumo’s substantial financial support reflects her confidence in Chen Hao, while Liu Yan and Chen Hao are building a life together.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao speaks by phone with Xiang Wencun, now the Nine Blades clan’s Saintess. She says she feels trapped by the role but reassures him that she is joking and is gradually adapting.
• Xiang tells Chen that Cloud Valley Adept has fled to Guanglan City and is connected to the Qi Refiner group Rakshasa. She warns Chen to be careful around them and asks him to visit her mother in Dongchuan City.
• Chen learns from Horse Face that the Earthly Realm’s sacred fire is yellow springs blackfire, guarded by Emperor Fengdu. He still has no lead on the Mortal Realm’s sacred fire, both of which he needs to upgrade the Golden Cudgel.
• Qin Yumo leaves after speaking privately with Liu Yan. Liu confirms that Qin is investing in Blue Light Pharmaceuticals, with the Qin Family receiving a seat on its board.
• As the New Year approaches, the factory empties. Chen and Liu travel to Dongchuan, while some colleagues return home and Long Guangsheng and Haizi stay to work.
• Chen visits Xiang Wencun’s mother before going to his own home. He finds her apartment covered in threatening “Pay up” graffiti and learns from a neighbor that loan sharks have harassed her for years.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen and Xiang’s warm but hesitant conversation reveals that they still care deeply about each other, though neither voices everything they feel. Chen is alarmed by her apparent confinement and offers to rescue her.
• Xiang shows concern for Chen by sharing information about Cloud Valley Adept and warning him about Rakshasa. Chen agrees to check on her mother.
• Qin’s feelings for Chen deepen despite her knowing that his heart belongs elsewhere. She teases him, but her thoughts reveal how much he matters to her.
• Liu handles the business arrangements with Qin, while Chen remains largely uninvolved in company decisions.
• Discovering Xiang’s mother’s plight angers Chen and makes him wonder why Xiang kept it from him.

Significant themes

• Unspoken affection and divided loyalties: Chen, Xiang, and Qin are connected by feelings that remain unresolved or unspoken.
• Duty and confinement: Xiang’s position as Saintess gives her authority but limits her freedom.
• Loyalty and care: Chen follows through on Xiang’s request and reacts strongly to the suffering of someone she loves.
• Escalating challenges: The search for sacred fires and the Rakshasa connection hint at larger supernatural dangers ahead.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao visits the impoverished apartment of Liu Ailing, Xiang Wencun’s elderly mother. He explains that he was Wencun’s high-school classmate and says Wencun is doing well but may not return for New Year.
• Liu Ailing is overjoyed to hear her daughter is happy. Chen gives her 100,000 yuan, saying it is a gift from Wencun.
• Local debt collectors arrive to harass Liu. Chen intervenes, physically restraining their leader, Brother Dog, when he tries to force his way inside.
• Liu throws the 100,000 yuan at the collectors, angrily saying she has already repaid far more than her original 200,000-yuan debt. Brother Dog falsely claims she still owes one million.
• Chen agrees to pay the million yuan on the condition that the collectors never bother Liu again. Intimidated by him and pleased to receive the money, they leave.
• Liu insists the money is a loan and promises to repay it. Chen agrees, allowing her to preserve her pride.
• Liu then receives a call from her supervisor demanding that she work overtime on Little New Year’s Eve, threatening her job if she refuses. She reluctantly agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao shows compassion toward Liu and decisive protectiveness when the collectors threaten her. He uses both physical force and money to resolve the immediate crisis, while trying not to humiliate her.
• Liu Ailing is weary and frightened after years of hardship, but her love for Wencun shines through in her relief that her daughter is happy. Despite accepting help, she fiercely maintains her dignity by insisting on repayment.
• Brother Dog shifts from bullying Liu to cautious compliance after Chen demonstrates his strength and resolve. He exploits Liu’s debt by inventing an inflated balance.
• Liu and Chen develop a warm, trusting rapport: she welcomes him as Wencun’s classmate, and he reassures her and helps her without demanding anything in return.
• Liu and her supervisor have a brief, one-sided exchange that reveals how little control she has over her working life.

Significant themes

• Family devotion and sacrifice: Liu’s chief concern is her daughter’s well-being, while Chen acts on Wencun’s behalf.
• Poverty and exploitation: Liu’s bleak living conditions, abusive debt collectors, and precarious job expose her vulnerability.
• Kindness balanced with dignity: Chen provides substantial help, but Liu insists on treating it as a loan so she does not feel indebted or pitied.
• Power and protection: Chen’s wealth and strength allow him to confront people who prey on Liu, though the chapter’s final phone call shows that other pressures remain.

Plot points and events

• After visiting Liu Ailing, Xiang Wencun’s estranged mother, Chen Hao accepts her handwritten IOU and promises to pass along her message: she regrets how her parents treated Xiang Wencun and hopes she will visit.
• Chen Hao follows Liu Ailing to Linmu Furniture, where she works long hours as a factory laborer. He asks Liu Yan to investigate the company and learns that acquiring it may be difficult, but that Langsheng Group could help through its supply-chain connections.
• At the factory, Chen Hao asks for the manager and has Liu Ailing brought to the office. He announces that she is now the company’s sales director. The manager and workshop supervisor mock the idea, pointing to her lack of education, while Liu Ailing herself doubts she can do the job.
• Chen Hao calls Langsheng Group head Ning Yu. After confirming who he is, Chen Hao asks him to support Linmu Furniture. Ning Yu understands and promises to redirect all of Langsheng’s furniture-related business to the factory.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao shows compassion toward Liu Ailing and takes concrete steps to improve her circumstances. His calm authority contrasts with the manager and supervisor’s dismissiveness.
• Liu Ailing is hardworking, humble, and uncertain of her abilities. Though she regrets her past treatment of Xiang Wencun, she is still reluctant to accept a position beyond her experience.
• Liu Yan supports Chen Hao by investigating the factory and identifying a possible business connection.
• The factory manager and Supervisor Jiang initially treat Chen Hao’s announcement as a joke, but become uneasy when they realize he can speak directly to Langsheng Group’s leader.
• Ning Yu is eager to please Chen Hao and quickly agrees to provide business support.

Significant themes

• Second chances and reconciliation: Liu Ailing hopes to mend her relationship with Xiang Wencun.
• Empowerment and social mobility: Chen Hao seeks to lift Liu Ailing from factory work into a leadership role, despite others judging her by her education and status.
• Power and patronage: Chen Hao’s influence can rapidly change the prospects of a small factory.
• Dignity and recognition: The scene challenges the assumption that a worker like Liu Ailing is incapable of greater responsibility.

Plot points and events

• After speaking with Langsheng Group’s general manager, Ning Yu, Chen Hao says the group’s business could bring Linmu Furniture hundreds of millions of yuan in work. The factory manager and Director Jiang suspect he has staged the call and dismiss him as a fraud.
• Their skepticism vanishes when clients call with orders redirected to Linmu Furniture on Langsheng’s instructions: first Yuan Shi Woodworks’ orders, then furnishing work for a new residential development.
• The factory manager realizes Chen Hao’s influence is genuine and apologizes. Chen Hao makes the new business conditional on recognizing Liu Ailing as Sales Director. The factory manager promptly appoints her, raising her pay from 3,000 to 20,000 yuan a month and improving her commission.
• Outside the factory, Liu worries she lacks the experience for the role. Chen reassures her that he will arrange things and that she mainly needs to pass messages along.
• Chen video-calls Xiang Wencun to show her that the “mission” is complete. Mother and daughter, who have grown distant, reconnect emotionally. Liu then teases them about dating; both deny it, and Xiang ends the call in embarrassment.
• Chen says goodbye to Liu and heads home for New Year with Liu Yan. Xiang sends him a grateful message, which he answers casually.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Hao demonstrates decisive influence and generosity, using his connections to secure business for Linmu Furniture and a new position for Liu without seeking credit. He also helps restore contact between Liu and her daughter.
• Liu Ailing moves from an ordinary production-line job to Sales Director, but her initial excitement is mixed with anxiety about her abilities. Her reunion with Xiang Wencun reveals the pain of their years of distance and their lingering affection.
• The factory manager and Director Jiang shift from dismissive suspicion to respect and gratitude once the promised orders arrive. The manager quickly recognizes Liu’s value to the company.
• Xiang Wencun and Liu Ailing share a tender, overdue conversation. Liu’s playful suggestion that Chen and Xiang are dating hints at their closeness and embarrasses them both.
• Liu Yan accompanies Chen as he leaves for the New Year holiday.

Significant themes

• Power and reputation: Chen’s influence is doubted until concrete results prove it.
• Opportunity and social mobility: Liu’s life changes dramatically through a new role and financial security.
• Family reconciliation: Chen’s assistance creates an opening for mother and daughter to reconnect.
• Generosity and gratitude: Chen helps without demanding thanks, while Liu and Xiang express heartfelt appreciation.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao brings his girlfriend, Liu Yan, to his mountain hometown for New Year. Along the way, they joke about a villager calling him “Hao,” which Liu Yan mistakes for a childhood nickname meaning “Mouse.”
• At Chen Hao’s family home, they find village Party secretary Fan Wei and his men—including the thug Brother Dog—pressuring Chen Hao’s parents to surrender their land for supposed government reclamation.
• Chen Hao’s father, Chen Yong, resists, but Brother Dog threatens him with a dagger. Chen Hao intervenes, breaks Brother Dog’s wrist, and prevents Fan Wei’s men from arresting him.
• Chen Hao demands proof of the alleged government order. Fan Wei admits no official directive has arrived, exposing the weakness of his claim. Chen Hao orders the group out, and they leave as the watching villagers mock them.
• After the confrontation, Chen Hao introduces Liu Yan to his parents. His mother and father awkwardly tease him about his looks, making Liu Yan laugh. Liu Yan then offers to help Chen Hao’s mother prepare lunch.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao shifts from playful and relaxed with Liu Yan to fiercely protective when he sees his parents threatened. He uses both physical force and pointed questioning to challenge Fan Wei’s authority.
• Liu Yan is amused by Chen Hao’s village nickname and the family’s teasing. She is friendly and considerate toward his parents, quickly offering to help.
• Chen Yong and Li Xia stand firm against the land grab despite pressure. They are delighted to see their son return; Li Xia is outspoken, while both parents show affection through blunt, embarrassing teasing.
• Fan Wei uses official-sounding claims and intimidation to seize control of the village’s land, but falters when asked for formal authorization. His apparent alliance with Chen Hao’s uncle, Chen Yan, raises suspicions.
• Brother Dog escalates the confrontation with a dagger but is swiftly disabled by Chen Hao. The watching villagers, long resentful of Fan Wei’s group, openly celebrate their retreat.
• Chen Yan, Chen Hao’s capable and wealthy second uncle, claims he is merely helping persuade the family. His evasive reaction leaves his true role uncertain.

Significant themes

• Abuse of authority and land exploitation: Fan Wei disguises a private scheme as government policy and uses thugs to pressure villagers.
• Standing up to intimidation: Chen Hao’s intervention gives his parents—and the watching villagers—a rare chance to resist powerful local figures.
• Family loyalty and warmth: Beneath the jokes and awkward remarks, Chen Hao’s family’s affection is clear, and Liu Yan begins to bond with them.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao discusses the village land dispute with his father, Chen Yong, who accuses his brother Chen Yan and village secretary Fan Wei of trying to take villagers’ farmland. Hao agrees to support his father.
• Chen Yong tells Hao that their Third Uncle, Chen Kuang, has been badly injured in a fall. Hao visits him with his girlfriend, Liu Yan.
• Hao uses his Heavenly Eye Art to discover that Kuang’s thigh has a serious fracture. Kuang’s wife suspects Fan Wei, Chen Yan, and their associate Brother Dog arranged the fall after Kuang refused to give up his land. Kuang is cautious because they have no proof.
• Hao promises to pursue justice and treats Kuang with Golden Needles and a Blue Light Potion. Kuang’s pain quickly disappears, and he can walk again.
• Kuang’s son, Chen Qiang, returns home and reunites with Hao. He mentions that their cousin Chen Gang is getting married the next day, though Hao received no invitation.
• As Hao and Liu Yan walk home, they are watched by armed men in the forest. The men discuss killing Hao as part of their mission.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao shows loyalty to his father and uncle, compassion toward Kuang, and confidence in his healing abilities. He also begins to suspect that the earlier punishment of Brother Dog was not enough.
• Chen Yong is angry and determined to resist the land seizure, with Hao firmly backing him.
• Chen Kuang remains cautious about accusing others without evidence, while his wife is more outspoken and convinced the fall was deliberate.
• Liu Yan supports Hao’s treatment and is warmly introduced to the family. Kuang’s wife is impressed by her business background and immediately suggests she help Qiang.
• Chen Qiang is happy to see Hao but remains distant from Chen Gang, reflecting the family’s strained relationships.
• Chen Gang’s failure to invite Hao underscores his family’s longstanding disdain for Hao and his branch of the family.

Significant themes

• Land and livelihood: The threatened farmland is central to village survival and fuels the conflict.
• Family loyalty and responsibility: Hao supports his father and cares deeply for his uncle and cousin.
• Justice versus caution: Kuang fears escalating trouble without evidence, while Hao vows to act.
• Hidden danger: The suspected attack on Kuang and the surveillance of Hao reveal that the family dispute is part of a more serious threat.

Plot points and events

• Back in his childhood home, Chen Hao shares a playful, affectionate evening with Liu Yan. She finds his old love letters and discovers that he wrote them to the same girl, Xiang Wencun, from high school through college—but never sent them.
• The couple go to bed, where their flirtation is interrupted by a huge explosion on the nearby mountainside. A barrage of rocks begins rolling toward the house.
• Chen Hao orders Liu Yan to get his parents, Chen Yong and Li Xia, to safety. He stays behind to protect the house, using Qi Armor, the Giant Spirit Art, the Tiger-Subduing Arhat Fist, and several magical weapons to smash the falling boulders.
• A second, stronger explosion sends an even larger wave of rocks downhill. Chen Hao realizes the blasts are deliberate, not a natural landslide. The danger overwhelms him, so he uses the Golden Cudgel’s Myriad Transformations ability to create clones that fight the barrage.
• Chen Yong, Li Xia, and Liu Yan see the glowing figures in the woods. Though Liu Yan urges them to retreat as Chen Hao instructed, Chen Yong rushes toward his son, Li Xia follows him, and Liu Yan goes after them.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Yan’s teasing curiosity reveals Chen Hao’s youthful, unspoken devotion to Xiang Wencun. Their playful banter and affectionate closeness show their comfort as a couple.
• Chen Hao’s old letters expose a sentimental, timid side: he loved Xiang Wencun for years but lacked the courage to confess.
• During the crisis, Chen Hao acts decisively and selflessly, putting himself between the falling rocks and his family. His parents, in turn, show fierce loyalty by refusing to leave him behind.
• Liu Yan tries to protect Chen Hao’s parents by following his instructions, but ultimately risks herself to keep them from facing danger alone.

Significant themes

• Love and loyalty: Chen Hao protects his family, while his parents and Liu Yan refuse to abandon him.
• Courage and responsibility: Chen Hao shoulders the danger alone, even as the scale of the threat grows beyond what he can easily manage.
• Past and present romance: The unsent letters contrast Chen Hao’s hesitant younger self with his present relationship with Liu Yan.
• Escalating danger and mystery: The explosions appear intentional, setting up an unknown attacker or larger threat.

Plot points and events

• Five hostile men watch Chen Hao from the mountainside as he struggles to stop a landslide. His many clones intercept falling rocks, but rapidly drain his spiritual energy, forcing him to dismiss most of them.
• Chen Yong arrives with another wave of enormous boulders behind him. Chen Hao knocks his father out of danger, but Li Xia and Liu Yan rush into the danger zone, leaving him torn between saving his family and protecting their home.
• The Saintess lends Chen Hao her spiritual power and controls his arms to draw Nine Blades’ Wood Grain—an ability Chen Hao possesses but cannot normally use. The Wood Grain animates the forest: trees form a massive barrier, and vines reinforce it until it withstands the boulders.
• The Saintess explains that using the technique severely depletes her soul power and that she will need at least half a month to recover.
• With the immediate danger over, Chen Hao sends Liu Yan and his parents away, then heads into the woods to confront the attackers. He identifies their hiding place and calls them out. One man makes a lewd threat about Liu Yan, provoking Chen Hao’s anger; another asks if Chen Hao remembers him, ending the chapter on a reveal.

Character developments

• Chen Hao shows resourcefulness and concern for his family, but also recognizes that his power has limits. After the crisis, he shifts from defense to confronting those responsible.
• The Saintess proves to be a powerful ally, but her help comes at a serious cost: the Wood Grain leaves her weakened and unable to use it again for at least half a month.
• Chen Yong, Li Xia, and Liu Yan put themselves in danger by coming to Chen Hao’s aid. Chen Hao takes charge and insists they leave before he faces the attackers alone.
• The attackers reveal themselves as greedy and cruel. Their mockery and sexual threat make them personal enemies, while the black-mole man’s apparent recognition of Chen Hao hints at a prior connection.

Significant themes

• Family protection and sacrifice: Chen Hao risks himself to save his loved ones and their home.
• Power and its costs: His clones drain his energy, while the Saintess’s rescue technique depletes her soul power.
• Allies and dependence: Chen Hao’s survival depends on the Saintess’s intervention, showing that his strength is not entirely his own.
• Escalating danger and revenge: The landslide is revealed as part of a deliberate attack, setting up a confrontation.

Character interactions

• Chen Hao angrily but protectively pushes Chen Yong out of danger, then orders Liu Yan and his parents to flee.
• The Saintess intervenes directly and later explains the limits of her power.
• The attackers joke among themselves about killing Chen Hao and stealing his artifacts; one threatens Liu Yan, drawing Chen Hao’s icy reaction.
• Chen Hao challenges the hidden men to reveal themselves, and the black-mole man addresses him as if they have met before.

Key events

• Chen Hao recognizes the black-pimpled man as the Rakshasa operative he encountered months earlier in Yunjiang. The man blames Chen for destroying a spirit array and burning Rakshasa’s drug supply, and vows revenge.
• The four Rakshasa fighters surround Chen Hao. He says he had no wish to oppose the organization until it threatened his family, then attacks.
• Chen’s Overlord Blade Slash is absorbed by the fat fighter, whose spiritual attribute lets him devour spiritual-energy attacks. Chen’s Tiger-Subduing Arhat Fist badly breaks the skinny fighter’s bones, but the man unnaturally repairs himself and keeps fighting.
• The crotch-scratching fighter uses a strange force to immobilize and slam Chen to the ground. The fat man follows with a crushing attack, but Chen counters with his Golden Cudgel. It pierces the fat man’s Qi Armor and kills him.
• Enraged, the skinny fighter reveals tattooed blades that can cut Chen through his Qi Armor. The controller restrains Chen again, allowing the skinny man to concentrate the blades against his chest and break the armor.
• The Vajra Talisman activates on its own, blasting away the blades and breaking the controller’s hold. Chen keeps the source of the power secret. Recognizing the group’s coordinated roles, he charges the controller first.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen shifts from defensive caution to targeted strategy. He remains composed enough to identify how the enemies complement one another: the fat man absorbs attacks, the skinny man deals damage, and the crotch-scratching man controls movement.
• The black-pimpled man’s grudge against Chen is personal as well as organizational, rooted in the earlier drug operation and the punishment he suffered afterward.
• The skinny and fat men’s taunting rivalry masks genuine closeness. The skinny man’s grief over the fat man’s death turns into a furious attack.
• The Rakshasa team’s coordination gives them an advantage, but their surprise at the fat man’s death and Chen’s unexpected defenses disrupt their confidence.

Significant themes

• Consequences and revenge: Chen’s earlier interference with Rakshasa’s crimes returns as a direct threat, while his decision to protect his family makes conflict unavoidable.
• Power and deception: Each fighter has an unusual ability, and Chen conceals the Vajra Talisman’s role rather than revealing all his advantages.
• Teamwork and tactical thinking: Chen recognizes that defeating the group requires disrupting its support structure, not simply attacking its strongest fighter.
• Loyalty amid cruelty: The skinny man’s grief shows that genuine bonds can exist even among brutal enemies.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao counters Crotch-Pants Man’s apparent telekinesis by driving his Golden Cudgel into the ground, then pins him to a rock wall. When Samadhi True Fire ignites, Crotch-Pants Man escapes by severing his own arm.
• The black-pimpled man attacks with Ghost Claw, but Chen Hao’s Tiger-Subduing Arhat Fist shatters it. The opponent then uses endless claws rising from the ground to exhaust Chen Hao’s spectral white tiger.
• The skinny man launches a storm of spiritual blades. Chen Hao answers with Demon Edict, releasing the Golden Cudgel’s vast army of yin spirits. They overwhelm and kill the skinny man, then corner the black-pimpled man.
• The black-pimpled man calls for Hei Meng. Hei Meng traps Chen Hao in steel-hard black gauze that binds his body and produces needles when he channels spiritual energy.
• Chen Hao escapes by entering Guanghan Palace. His disappearance also causes the yin spirit army to vanish, leaving the surviving enemies confused and shaken.
• As the group searches for him, Chen Hao reappears behind the wounded Crotch-Pants Man and pierces his chest with a dragon-claw-shaped hand.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao demonstrates quick tactical thinking, confidence in his techniques, and a new, devastating weapon in Demon Edict. He is briefly frightened and forced to retreat when Hei Meng’s unusual ability catches him off guard, but returns on his own terms.
• Crotch-Pants Man proves ruthless by cutting off his trapped arm to survive. Despite his injury, he remains focused on finding Chen Hao.
• The skinny man’s bravado collapses when his blades fail against Chen Hao’s yin spirits; he is killed.
• The black-pimpled man shifts from attacking Chen Hao to relying on Hei Meng, then vows to search for him after Chen Hao vanishes.
• Hei Meng remains composed and methodical, but Chen Hao’s sudden disappearance leaves him uncertain. His black gauze appears to be an extension of his body and a powerful restraint.
• The surviving enemies depend on one another’s abilities: Crotch-Pants Man provides crowd control, the black-pimpled man uses ghostly attacks, and Hei Meng is called in as a specialist when Chen Hao proves too strong.

Significant themes

• Power and adaptation: Chen Hao repeatedly overcomes unfamiliar abilities by identifying their mechanics or using a stronger technique.
• The cost of survival: Crotch-Pants Man sacrifices an arm to escape, while Chen Hao retreats to Guanghan Palace rather than risk being immobilized.
• Reversals of confidence: The enemies’ early certainty gives way to panic as Chen Hao’s Demon Edict overwhelms them; Chen Hao, in turn, discovers that Hei Meng can genuinely threaten him.

Plot points and events

• Chen Hao kills Crotch Man with the Dragon Claw Immortal Artifact, leaving Rakshasa’s surviving fighters, Hei Meng and Luo Xin, badly shaken.
• Luo Xin begins drawing a blood-fueled spirit array while Hei Meng fights Chen Hao to buy him time.
• Chen Hao uses Samadhi true fire to burn Hei Meng’s black gauze, then batters Hei Meng with his Tiger-Subduing Arhat Fist. Hei Meng counters with the gauze but is driven to his knees by the attack’s roar.
• When Chen Hao tries to stop Luo Xin, Hei Meng sacrifices his remaining strength to block him. The black gauze destroys Chen Hao’s Overlord Blade Slash.
• Luo Xin completes Rakshasa’s Ghost-Controlling Spirit Array. It consumes his essence blood to gather spiritual energy and produce explosive blood-red skulls, but prolonged use threatens to drain him to death.
• The skulls’ assault appears to have no effect on Chen Hao. He calmly blocks them with the Golden Cudgel—and even checks his phone—while Luo Xin feeds the array more blood.
• Chen Hao reveals why he welcomes the barrage: the Golden Cudgel now contains only Samadhi true fire, because using Demon Edict earlier consumed all its yin spirits. Luo Xin’s skulls provide a chance to replenish them.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains composed despite exhaustion and adapts quickly, using the Golden Cudgel to turn Luo Xin’s attack to his advantage. He regrets spending his collected yin spirits but recognizes an opportunity to recover them.
• Hei Meng fights tenaciously to protect Luo Xin, repeatedly putting himself between Luo Xin and Chen Hao. His black-gauze powers can obstruct Chen Hao, but fire and the white tiger’s roar overwhelm him, leaving him severely injured.
• Luo Xin is desperate to fulfill Rakshasa’s mission and avoid punishment. Confident in his secret technique, he becomes increasingly furious and alarmed when Chen Hao withstands it.
• The fight shifts from Hei Meng’s defensive struggle to Luo Xin’s blood-costly offensive, while Hei Meng’s loyalty gives Luo Xin the time to finish the array.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness under pressure: Chen Hao turns an enemy’s attack into a potential source of recovery.
• The cost of power: Luo Xin’s strongest technique consumes his essence blood, while Chen Hao’s Demon Edict has already cost him his stored yin spirits.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: Hei Meng risks his remaining strength to shield Luo Xin.
• Overconfidence and misjudgment: Luo Xin assumes Chen Hao’s calm is weakness, underestimating the Golden Cudgel’s role in his apparent invulnerability.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Xin’s Ghost-Controlling Spirit Array fails to harm Chen Hao, despite draining much of Luo Xin’s essence blood. The array collapses, and Chen Hao realizes his Golden Cudgel has absorbed hundreds of its skulls.
• Chen Hao attacks Black Veil. Black Veil throws the helpless Luo Xin into the attack to escape, and Luo Xin is killed. Black Veil disappears into the night.
• Chen Hao meets his father, Chen Yong, and a group of villagers who came to help. He tells them the danger has passed, and they return home. Liu Yan, frightened by the earlier events, embraces him.
• Worried that Rakshasa will strike again, Chen Hao resolves to bring his parents to Zhonghai City, though they resist leaving their home. He also wonders about the progress of Chu Jinliang’s planned operation against Rakshasa.
• The next day is Chen Gang’s wedding. Chen Yong is hurt that Chen Gang’s family invited the whole village except his own, while relatives tease Chen Hao about when he will marry.
• At the crowded wedding celebration, an unexpected convoy of Rolls-Royces, Maybachs, and Bentleys arrives. Mayor Li gets out and says he has come looking for Chen Hao.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains powerful and decisive, but the attack makes him more conscious of the danger to his parents. He shares a tender moment with Liu Yan and later tries to reassure his family.
• Luo Xin is revealed as a talented spirit-array practitioner, but his confidence and skill cannot overcome Chen Hao. Black Veil abandons him to save himself.
• Black Veil shows his self-preservation when he sacrifices Luo Xin, then escapes Chen Hao.
• Chen Yong and Li Xia express concern about Chen Hao’s unmarried status and hope to help raise his future children. Chen Hao deflects their questions and proposes moving them to the city.
• Liu Yan reacts to Chen Hao’s safe return with relief and affection.
• Chen Yan and Gui Fen take pride in the lavish wedding and its display of wealth. Secretary Fan eagerly welcomes the visiting mayor and offers to help him find someone—only to learn that the person is Chen Hao.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and betrayal: Black Veil abandons his fellow Rakshasa member, sharply contrasting with the villagers’ willingness to help Chen Hao.
• Family and protection: Chen Hao’s fear for his parents shapes his plan to move them, while family tensions surface around the wedding.
• Pride and social status: The wedding’s extravagant preparations and Chen Yong’s wounded pride highlight the village’s concern with public standing.
• A growing threat: Rakshasa’s attack suggests Chen Hao’s conflict is far from over, and Mayor Li’s arrival hints at a new development in his affairs.

Plot points and events

• Mayor Li Hua arrives with Dongchuan’s leading businesspeople, asking for Chen Hao. Fan Wei and Chen Yan realize the mayor is looking for the same Chen Hao whose family they had troubled the day before, and rush after the convoy in alarm.
• Chen Hao’s family is surprised when Li Hua respectfully introduces himself and explains that he and the businesspeople have come to make his acquaintance. Chen Hao recognizes Ning Yu of the Langsheng Group; Lin Zidong of the powerful Fenghua Group also greets him humbly.
• The businesspeople seek Chen Hao’s favor because they learned he is the force behind Dragon Sea International, which has taken over the Dihao Group. Ning Yu, worried that his own company might be vulnerable, alerted Lin Zidong and Li Hua, who arranged the visit.
• The villagers gather and marvel at Chen Hao’s influence. His parents take pride in the attention, and his uncle Chen Kuang praises him.
• A wedding convoy arrives at the otherwise deserted family courtyard. The groom, expecting a crowd and firecrackers, is bewildered to find almost everyone gone.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains calm and modest despite being treated as a powerful figure by the mayor and prominent business owners.
• Fan Wei and Chen Yan shift from smug confidence to fear when they learn the visitor is the mayor and remember their recent mistreatment of Chen Hao’s father.
• Chen Yong and Li Xia move from ordinary family concern to open pride as their son’s status becomes apparent.
• Ning Yu is revealed as anxious and cautious, prompting the visit after learning Dragon Sea International had made inquiries about him.
• The groom arrives expecting a celebratory welcome but is left confused by the empty courtyard.

Themes and interactions

• Status and power: Chen Hao’s influence becomes visible as officials and wealthy executives approach him deferentially.
• Reputation and reversal: Fan Wei and Chen Yan’s earlier arrogance gives way to apprehension, while Chen Hao’s success earns his family and village new respect.
• Family pride and community judgment: Chen Yong and Li Xia enjoy the villagers’ admiration, while neighbors compare Chen Hao’s achievements with their own families.
• Key interactions: Li Hua respectfully approaches Chen Hao; Ning Yu and Lin Zidong compete to establish friendly ties; the villagers crowd around to watch; and the arriving wedding party’s absence of a welcome sets up a new moment of confusion.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Gang arrives for his wedding and finds the guests gathered at Chen Hao’s home instead. His bride and her relatives grow angry and demand an explanation.
• Mayor Li suggests everyone go to a hotel, but Chen Hao declines, wanting to spend time with his parents. Chen Yan offers to host the gathering at his home because his son’s wedding is taking place.
• Chen Yong publicly objects, accusing Chen Yan and village Party secretary Fan Wei of seizing farmers’ land and leasing it to Chen Yan for their own benefit. The villagers back him up, and they identify Brother Dog as Fan Wei’s enforcer, used to intimidate families who resisted.
• Mayor Li recognizes the seriousness of the allegations and questions Fan Wei. When Chen Hao mentions that his uncle’s limbs were broken, Fan Wei panics and blames Brother Dog; Brother Dog retaliates by threatening to expose Fan Wei’s other wrongdoing.
• Li Hua removes Fan Wei from his post and calls for police to investigate and arrest those involved. The villagers cheer his intervention.
• Chen Gang arrives, confused by the scene. Seeing his father in trouble, Chen Yan begs Chen Hao to ask Li Hua for mercy, invoking their family ties and the fact that it is his son’s wedding. Chen Hao steps aside, leaving the response to his father.

Character developments

• Chen Yong moves from being a victim of land abuse to openly confronting the people responsible, emboldened by the presence of an authority figure.
• Mayor Li Hua shifts from cordial host to decisive official, taking action once the villagers’ accounts corroborate Chen Yong’s charges.
• Fan Wei and Brother Dog lose control of the situation and turn on each other to avoid blame, exposing their partnership and mutual distrust.
• Chen Yan goes from offering to host the gathering to panicking and pleading for help when his alleged role in the land scheme is exposed.
• Chen Hao uses the discussion of his uncle’s injuries to intensify pressure on Fan Wei, then deliberately leaves the family confrontation to his father.
• Chen Gang arrives expecting wedding festivities but finds his family embroiled in a public scandal.

Significant themes

• Abuse of power and corruption: Fan Wei allegedly uses his official position and intimidation to take villagers’ land.
• Collective resistance and accountability: The villagers’ united testimony gives their accusations force and prompts official action.
• Justice versus family loyalty: Chen Yan appeals to his relationship with Chen Hao, but the chapter leaves open whether family ties will soften the consequences.
• Public exposure and self-preservation: Under pressure, Fan Wei and Brother Dog betray one another rather than accept shared responsibility.

Character interactions

• Chen Yong confronts Chen Yan in front of Mayor Li, then accuses Fan Wei of exploiting the villagers.
• Villagers support Chen Yong and describe how Brother Dog enforced Fan Wei’s demands.
• Fan Wei and Brother Dog blame each other when their crimes are exposed.
• Chen Yan turns to Chen Hao for help, while Chen Hao steps aside so his father can decide how to respond.