Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The Mo Family gives Jun Wangchen one of its two reserve slots for the Mythic Heavenly Palace assessment. Mo Long holds the other. The assessment is expected the day after tomorrow, though its location and length remain undisclosed.
• Jun suspects the arrangement may be a scam, prompting the veiled Xiaomin—already a full member of the Heavenly Palace—to explain how the assessment is organized. Their conversation turns into a comic argument when Jun teases her about her appearance and points out that one of her buttons is undone.
• At the Wang residence, Wang Shanzhi reports that his severed arm is regrowing through Gu arts. He has been using Soul-Devouring Gu on students with a constitution like his to gather the energy needed.
• Wang He reveals he secured Shanzhi a slot for the same assessment. Shanzhi intends to pass and later take revenge on Jun.
• Shanzhi admits arranging the attempted kidnapping of Fu Fubin’s daughter to retaliate against Fu. Wang He orders him to stop further attacks while authorities are investigating and focus on the assessment. Wang He privately vows to deal with Jun later.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun accepts the Mo Family’s slot despite his suspicions, showing both interest in the Heavenly Palace and his usual irreverent, provocative humor. He needles Xiaomin until she becomes furious and embarrassed; Mo Long struggles to hide his amusement.
• Xiaomin establishes her authority by showing her Heavenly Palace token, though Jun immediately turns the exchange into another joke.
• Shanzhi is recovering quickly and has become a Gu Master, but his ambition and desire for revenge remain central to his choices.
• Wang He is protective of his son and politically cautious: he restrains Shanzhi’s vendetta for now, while harboring his own hostility toward Jun.

Significant themes

• Power, status, and opportunity: A rare assessment slot represents prestige and a chance to join Huaxia’s strongest ability-user organization.
• Revenge and restraint: Both Wang men want retaliation, but Wang He prioritizes avoiding scrutiny until the assessment is over.
• Dark costs of power: Shanzhi’s recovery depends on Gu insects draining the soul force of students.
• Comic irreverence amid danger: Jun’s crude humor contrasts with the serious stakes of the assessment and the Wang Family’s schemes.

Key plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen returns home and finds his mother, Shen Luoying, safe and unaware she was kidnapped. Mo Long explains by message that Xiaomin erased her memories of the incident.
• Grateful for Mo Long’s help, Jun arranges for his friend Ji Ruyu to work as Shen’s assistant. In truth, he wants Ji to protect his mother. Ji agrees and arrives that evening.
• Shen and Ji quickly bond: Shen takes a strong liking to Ji, while Ji—an orphan who has rarely experienced affection—is moved by Shen’s warmth.
• With the Mythic Heavenly Palace assessment two days away, Jun enters a virtual training area in the Mist Mountain Range to sharpen his swordsmanship.
• He encounters a late Black Tier Spiked Wolf and Steel Bull. The beasts stop fighting each other and attack him together. Jun drives back the lightning-wielding Steel Bull, evades the Spiked Wolf’s ambush, and begins using his technique, “Red Sword at the Fingertips,” against it.

Character developments

• Jun Wangchen shows concern for his mother and takes practical steps to protect her. He also remains calm and confident when facing two powerful beasts, treating the fight as focused training.
• Shen Luoying is relieved and welcoming, quickly embracing Ji Ruyu as a potential daughter-in-law.
• Ji Ruyu accepts the bodyguard role and responds deeply to Shen’s kindness, discovering a sense of familial warmth.
• Mo Long demonstrates consideration by arranging for Shen’s traumatic memories to be erased.

Significant themes

• Family and protection: Jun’s response to the kidnapping is to safeguard his mother without alarming her.
• Warmth and belonging: Shen’s kindness gives Ji a glimpse of the affection she lacked growing up.
• Preparation through adversity: Jun deliberately seeks a dangerous challenge to improve before his assessment.

Character interactions

• Jun reassures Shen, conceals the kidnapping aftermath, and introduces Ji as a prospective assistant.
• Shen and Ji form an immediate, affectionate connection, while Jun quietly steps aside and lets them talk.
• In the virtual arena, Jun’s interaction with the beasts is a tactical confrontation: he repels the Steel Bull, avoids the Spiked Wolf’s attack, and presses his advantage with a powerful sword technique.

Plot points and events

• In the Mist Mountain Range, Jun Wangchen’s ordinary sword strikes wound the Spiked Wolf and Steel Bull but fail to kill them. Their tough bodies withstand attacks that would easily kill human martial artists.
• When the two beasts attack together, Jun drives the wolf back with a series of slashes and senses the bull losing its nerve. He uses the third form of the Green Lotus Sword Art, “Shadow Moves, Sword Resounds, Subduing All Things,” combining sword intent and force to kill both beasts with one devastating strike.
• Jun tests the technique on more Exotic Beasts, gradually improving his control. He discovers that it consumes a great deal of Spiritual Power: at his current level, he can use it only twice without help. He relies on Spirit-Restoring Pills and resolves to grow stronger.
• After two hours of training in the Virtual Platform, Jun returns to the real world. He misses a red packet in the chat group, then finds urgent messages from the Earth God, who is being pestered by young immortals demanding the next book. Jun accepts the promised Merit Points and immortal supplies, buys the next volume, and sends it to the Earth God. He adds the immortal soil and water to his backyard before going to bed.

Character developments

• Jun Wangchen demonstrates growing confidence and skill, but also recognizes the limits of his strength. His discovery that the new sword form is powerful yet costly reinforces his determination to improve.
• The Earth God is overwhelmed by the young immortals’ demands for the next volume and turns to Jun for help, offering rewards in return.

Significant themes

• Power and its limits: Jun’s technique can overwhelm formidable beasts, but its high Spiritual Power cost makes it risky.
• Practice and progress: Repeated combat helps Jun master the sword form and understand its limitations.
• Unexpected consequences of entertainment: Jun’s books have become so popular among the immortals that the Earth God is caught in the resulting frenzy.

Character interactions

• Jun faces the Steel Bull and Spiked Wolf, first fighting them separately and then together; the beasts’ fear grows as his attacks prove effective.
• The Earth God appeals to Jun through WeChat, offering Merit Points, immortal soil, and immortal water in exchange for another book. Jun responds by sending the next volume and keeping the supplies.

Plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen returns to campus and goes to a nearby park to practice swordsmanship.
• He notices Li Tianshuai demonstrating impressive martial skill: a punch shatters a boulder behind a tree. Jun assesses Li as late black tier.
• Jun begins practicing. His swordsmanship releases tangible sword energy that pulverizes a boulder, astonishing Li.
• Li introduces himself and asks Jun to spar. Jun declines, warning that he might hurt Li.
• To prove the gap between them, Jun flicks a leaf past Li’s face. It cuts Li’s cheek and splits a tree, revealing Jun’s strength is far beyond Li’s.
• Li abandons the challenge, humbled by the discovery that someone younger and stronger exists. Jun leaves, but Li follows, eager to become friends.
• Their conversation turns comic when Li proposes a visit to a luxurious bathhouse. Jun fixates on Li calling him “handsome,” then boasts that Li has uncovered Jun’s secret: he is more handsome than Li.

Character developments

• Jun Wangchen is calm, confident, and overwhelmingly powerful. He avoids unnecessary conflict and treats his superiority matter-of-factly, while showing a playful, self-admiring side in conversation.
• Li Tianshuai begins as a proud, accomplished young martial artist eager to test himself. After witnessing Jun’s power, he recognizes his limits and responds with humility, curiosity, and persistent friendliness.

Character interactions

• Li’s admiration for Jun’s swordsmanship leads him to challenge Jun; Jun’s leaf demonstration ends the challenge without a fight.
• Their exchange shifts from a serious display of strength to humorous banter, with Li trying to befriend Jun and Jun turning the invitation into an opportunity to praise his own looks.

Significant themes

• There is always someone stronger: Li’s confidence is shaken when he encounters Jun’s vastly greater ability.
• Skill and power revealed through action: Jun’s sword practice and leaf strike demonstrate his strength more convincingly than words.
• Humility and growth: Li’s defeat of expectations opens him to learning and connection.
• Comedy through contrast: Jun’s formidable power contrasts with his shallow, playful vanity.

Plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen and Li Tianshuai stroll through Jinling City after their time at the bathhouse, joking crudely. Jun learns that Li is Zhou Rou’er’s older cousin.
• Jun spots Xu Youyue dining with a middle-aged man who strokes her hair and serves her food. Misreading their closeness, Jun assumes she has found a new older lover and becomes furious.
• Jun orders Li to attack the man. Li charges into the restaurant with a folding stool, but the man breaks it with a kick. Li and the man exchange powerful blows; Li’s advantage becomes clear when the collision shatters the restaurant’s front windows.
• Jun stops Li and approaches the man himself. The man reveals that he knows Jun is the person Xu thinks about constantly, and addresses her affectionately as “Yueyue.” Jun’s jealousy intensifies, and his turbulent soul power floods the restaurant, pressing down on everyone inside.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Wangchen goes from joking along with Li to displaying intense jealousy and possessiveness toward Xu Youyue. He acts impulsively on a mistaken assumption, then takes over the confrontation himself.
• Li Tianshuai remains a shameless, crude comic foil, but proves to be a formidable fighter. He readily yields to Jun, suggesting he recognizes Jun’s greater hidden strength.
• Xu Youyue appears comfortable with the middle-aged man, but her urgent attempt to stop the fight suggests Jun’s interpretation may be wrong. She calls Jun “A Chen,” showing their familiarity and closeness.
• The middle-aged man is composed and capable in combat. Rather than letting Xu explain, he deliberately engages Jun, apparently curious to test him.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and misunderstanding: Jun interprets an affectionate meal as romantic betrayal and acts before learning the truth.
• Comedy beside danger: The men’s vulgar banter and the absurd folding-stool attack contrast with the serious martial-arts violence.
• Power and restraint: Li’s skill is established, while Jun’s overwhelming aura signals that his strength may far exceed what he initially shows.
• Affection and rivalry: Jun’s possessiveness and the man’s pointed familiarity with Xu turn the encounter into a personal contest.

Plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen sees Xu Youyue laughing with a middle-aged man and, jealous and enraged, attacks him.
• Jun pins the man with soul power, knocks him into a wall, dislocates his arm, and threatens to keep beating him.
• Xu intervenes and reveals that the man is her eldest uncle—not a rival pursuing her. Jun is horrified to realize he has badly beaten her relative.
• Jun tries to win the uncle over with absurd, exaggerated praise and a melodramatic apology. He admits he mistook him for a man trying to seduce Xu.
• Jun attempts to set the uncle’s dislocated arm, but ends the scene by declaring he has set it the wrong way.

Character developments

• Jun’s sudden jealousy reveals that, despite believing he had moved on after six years, he still has strong feelings for Xu. His fierce confidence quickly collapses into panic and shameless damage control.
• Xu is protective of her uncle and angry at Jun for his reckless violence, though she allows him to treat the injury.
• The uncle remains composed despite his pain and responds with a mixture of irritation and amusement, even acknowledging Jun’s fighting ability.
• Li Tianshuai acts as a bemused bystander, confirming the damage and teasing Jun as the situation spirals.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and mistaken assumptions: Jun acts before learning who the man is.
• Comedy through reversal: His fierce attack is undercut by the discovery that he has assaulted Xu’s family.
• Pride and embarrassment: Jun tries to hide his guilt behind flattery, boasting, and jokes.
• Consequences of impulsiveness: His attempt to repair the damage only creates a new problem.

Character interactions

• Jun’s confrontation with the uncle is interrupted by Xu, who tries to protect him and then angrily tends to him.
• Jun and Xu argue over his behavior, with Jun alternately apologizing and teasing her.
• Jun flatters the uncle and tries to distract him while setting his arm; the uncle tolerates the performance, while Li watches with barely restrained laughter.

Key plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen resets the middle-aged man’s dislocated arm. Xu Youyue initially thinks he has hurt him and shoves him, but the man confirms Jun helped and that his arm is fixed.
• Li Tianshuai apologizes for the damage to the restaurant and compensates its owner with two cases of cash. He then invites the middle-aged man and Xu Youyue to his villa.
• At the villa, Xu goes to a separate hot spring, while Li leaves for a massage. Alone with Jun, the middle-aged man reveals that Xu is the daughter of Beijing’s Xu family head.
• The man says Xu has a fiancé through a childhood marriage pact with a powerful young martial artist from one of Beijing’s Four Great Superfamilies. He has come to take her back to Beijing and warns Jun that he is outmatched by the capital’s younger generation.
• Jun admits that he still likes Xu and refuses to be discouraged. He claims he reached his current level in half a month, then demonstrates his speed by appearing atop a distant villa almost instantly.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Wangchen remains playful and self-assured despite being pushed aside and underestimated. His feelings for Xu are still present, and his confidence in his strength grows into a direct challenge to the middle-aged man’s warning.
• Xu Youyue shows concern for her uncle and distrust of Jun’s intentions, though she realizes she misjudged the injury.
• Li Tianshuai displays wealth and generosity by paying for the restaurant damage, then hosts the others at his villa.
• The middle-aged man shifts from assessing Jun’s abilities to testing his resolve and cautioning him about the obstacles surrounding Xu’s engagement.

Significant themes

• Love versus social and family obligation: Xu’s arranged engagement threatens Jun’s hopes.
• Power, status, and rivalry: The gap between Jinling’s martial artists and Beijing’s elite is presented as daunting.
• Confidence and exceptional talent: Jun counters warnings of inferiority with an extraordinary claim and a striking display of ability.

Plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen demonstrates abilities far beyond what the middle-aged man expected: he rapidly grows and manipulates plants, makes a flower bloom, straightens a tree, and animates hot-spring water.
• Playing the harmonica, he unleashes destructive sound waves that shatter marble, chains, and a platform.
• He then uses runes to greatly enrich the area’s spiritual energy and restore the damaged objects, before restraining and levitating the middle-aged man with mental power.
• Confronted with these feats, the man accepts that Jun’s abilities exceed those of ordinary martial artists—even potentially those of Heavenly-Rank practitioners.
• Jun declares he will defeat Xu Youyue’s fiancé in three months, well before her wedding in six months.

Character developments

• Jun reveals the scale and variety of his powers, while remaining calm and playful as he demonstrates them. His confidence grows into a bold promise to dominate his future rival.
• The middle-aged man shifts from astonishment and disbelief to conviction in Jun’s extraordinary potential, then encourages him to use the time before the wedding.

Themes

• Rapid growth and limitless potential: Jun argues that present differences do not predict future strength.
• Power beyond conventional limits: His control over nature, sound, spiritual energy, and minds challenges the established martial hierarchy.
• Confidence and ambition: Jun’s determination to overcome his rival is presented as a sign of his rising dominance.

Character interactions

• Jun uses demonstrations to answer the middle-aged man’s doubts about the gap between him and Xu Youyue’s fiancé.
• The man reacts with escalating shock, then acknowledges Jun’s ability and urges him to prepare for the coming marriage deadline.
• Jun responds with an uncompromising vow to defeat the fiancé, leaving the man anticipating the rival’s eventual shock.

Plot points and events

• With the Mythic Heavenly Palace trainee assessment approaching, Jun Wangchen returns to Jinling University to see his roommates and old friends before leaving for two weeks.
• He jokes around with his roommates, then treats them to drinks at the Blue Night Charm Bar. They reminisce about how much their lives have changed; the roommates get drunk, while Jun stays sober.
• Jun spends the rest of the day visiting people important to him: the Bai and Gu families, the Mo and Zhou families, Feng Mei, Wang Lengbo and Wang Hanyan, and Zi Hanyan. He later returns home to Ji Ruyu and Shen Luoying.
• That evening, Xu Youyue asks him to meet her on a rooftop. Their conversation reveals that she plans to leave the next day and knows about the Marriage Pact. She says her happiness is right beside her, clearly referring to Jun.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun’s teasing with his roommates shows their easy, long-standing friendship, while his many visits reveal how closely connected he remains to his community.
• The roommates share in Jun’s success but also joke about it; their drunken nostalgia highlights how dramatically their circumstances have improved.
• Jun and Xu Youyue share a tender, emotionally charged farewell. He recognizes her reluctance to leave and understands that she is aware of the pact, while she openly expresses her feelings for him.

Significant themes

• Happiness and attachment: Jun suggests that poverty matters more when love and attachment are involved, because wealth can provide confidence as well as comfort.
• Change and fate: The friends reflect on how far they have come from their ordinary plans, underscoring life’s unpredictability.
• Love and sacrifice: Xu Youyue’s decision to leave, despite her feelings, gives their parting its bittersweet weight.

Plot points and events

• Xu Youyue confesses that Jun Wangchen is the source of her happiness. Though their six years apart have diminished his feelings, he admits she still holds a place in his heart and promises to be her happiness.
• Overcome with emotion, Xu Youyue cries, thanks him, and kisses him. They embrace on the rooftop, sharing a quiet moment beneath the stars.
• Jun tells her the story of Zhizun Bao and Fairy Zixia: Zhizun Bao must give up ordinary love to become Sun Wukong and save Zixia, who dies protecting him. After completing his pilgrimage, he returns to the past, where his Golden Headband shatters when he sees her again.
• Using the story to reassure Xu, Jun vows to fight anyone who tries to take her away. A shower of meteors accompanies his declaration, and she smiles.

Character developments

• Jun Wangchen moves from uncertainty about his feelings to recognizing Xu’s importance and a powerful desire to protect her.
• Xu Youyue openly entrusts her happiness to Jun. Though she may soon return to the Capital and never come back to Jinling, his promise gives her comfort and hope.

Character interactions

• Xu’s confession prompts Jun’s promise; her tears and kiss deepen their emotional bond.
• Jun shares a story that mirrors his own feelings, and Xu responds first with sadness, then delight at its hopeful ending.
• The chapter closes with Jun’s vow and Xu’s warm, radiant reaction.

Significant themes

• Love and regret: The story within the story warns against failing to cherish love before it is lost.
• Sacrifice and reunion: Love may demand painful choices, but separation need not be the final outcome.
• Commitment and protection: Jun promises not to let distance or outside threats keep him from Xu.

Key plot points and events

• After returning home, Jun Wangchen waits for the Mythic Heavenly Palace’s candidate assessment. At midnight, a masked guide arrives through the triangular pyramid Mo Long gave him and transports him to the assessment site.
• Jun joins more than three hundred masked candidates from across Huaxia. Four leaders, the Mythic Heavenly Palace’s Four Heavenly Kings, arrive.
• The Thunder Heavenly King’s voice exerts enough pressure to make many candidates stumble, but Jun remains completely steady. The Thunder King notices him and signals the Flame Heavenly King.
• The Flame Heavenly King introduces the Palace as Huaxia’s elite national defense force and explains that successful recruits gain exceptional resources, status, and opportunities. Of 320 available places, candidates have been drawn from 400 cities.
• The assessment has three rounds. The first tests physical toughness, speed, and strength. Its opening test begins when a huge, hundred-step staircase appears before the candidates.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Wangchen is alert and composed, reacting quickly to the guide and following instructions without hesitation. His ability to withstand the Thunder Heavenly King’s sonic pressure reveals unusual resilience and draws the leader’s attention.
• The Thunder Heavenly King initially assesses the candidates casually but is surprised by Jun’s immunity to his pressure.
• The Flame Heavenly King addresses the candidates, explains the stakes and format, and begins the first test.
• The candidates remain silent and attentive, while the guides show deference to the Four Heavenly Kings.

Significant themes

• Merit and competition: A limited number of places make the assessment a contest among the country’s promising martial artists.
• Power and hierarchy: The Heavenly Kings’ presence makes the gap between top-ranked masters and ordinary candidates unmistakable.
• Hidden potential: Jun’s distinctive response suggests that exceptional abilities may set some candidates apart before the formal tests even begin.

Key plot points and events

• The Flame Heavenly King explains the first assessment: 320 probationary members must climb a staircase under the combined Earth Tier pressure of ten martial artists. Anyone who fails to reach the sixtieth step within two hours is eliminated.
• Number 77 is immediately forced off the first step and removed from the assessment, making the danger clear to everyone else.
• As the candidates struggle upward, their varying physical abilities become apparent. Most remain around the twentieth or thirtieth steps; only a few reach the fortieth or fiftieth.
• Jun Wangchen, wearing the Swallowing Heaven Ring, feels no pressure. He initially stays on the twentieth step, then begins leaping five steps at a time, drawing the Flame Heavenly King’s attention.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Wangchen remains relaxed and confident, treating the climb as effortless after his experience on Sky-Piercing Mountain. His unusual progress contrasts sharply with the candidates’ visible strain.
• The Flame Heavenly King is concerned that the candidates are physically weak, then becomes intrigued by Jun’s calm manner and unexpected leaps.
• The Thunder Heavenly King argues that the palace should admit only genuine geniuses, even if very few pass. The Flame Heavenly King agrees in principle but worries about how a poor result will reflect on him.
• Other candidates show determination, frustration, and shame as they compare themselves with stronger climbers. One late Black Tier martial artist is especially disheartened by being stuck at the thirtieth step—until Jun suddenly leaps past him.

Significant themes

• Merit through trial: The assessment is designed to separate exceptional candidates from the rest, regardless of how many fail.
• Perseverance and pride: Many candidates continue despite believing they may not pass, driven by ambition and fear of humiliation.
• Appearances can mislead: Jun’s slender build and slow start conceal his extraordinary ease and ability.

Plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen races up the Heavenly Ladder with astonishing ease, taking five steps per stride. After step thirty-five, he hops up the ladder on one foot, while the other candidates struggle against the crushing pressure.
• The four Heavenly Kings notice his performance. Thunder and Flame Heavenly Kings are impressed by his strength and by his ability to withstand Thunder’s earlier sound pressure. Cold Heavenly King doubts Jun can go beyond the eightieth or ninetieth step, much less reach the summit.
• Charm Heavenly King predicts that Jun will reach the summit. Her confidence unsettles Cold, who knows her intuition is often right.
• By the time many candidates reach step fifty, Jun lands there in a single hop. Finding the ladder’s pressure trivial compared with Sky-Piercing Mountain, he decides to use the climb as a warm-up.
• Jun then begins walking up the ladder on his hands, leaving the other candidates stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Wangchen remains relaxed and playful under extreme pressure, treating the test as a chance to warm up rather than a serious challenge.
• The candidates grow increasingly frustrated and incredulous as Jun’s effortless progress exposes the gap between his abilities and theirs.
• Thunder and Flame Heavenly Kings become intrigued by Jun’s unusual physical strength and resilience.
• Cold Heavenly King is skeptical, insisting Jun’s apparent ease will not hold as the pressure increases.
• Charm Heavenly King counters Cold’s skepticism with a confident prediction, turning Jun’s climb into a point of disagreement among the judges.

Significant themes

• Perception versus reality: Jun’s peak Black Tier rank suggests limits that his performance repeatedly defies.
• Talent and uncertainty: The Heavenly Kings disagree over whether his early dominance signals extraordinary ability or will falter under greater pressure.
• Humor amid competition: Jun’s increasingly absurd feats contrast with the candidates’ exhausting struggle, turning a severe test into a comic spectacle.

Key plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen continues up the pressure-filled staircase upside down, leaving the other probationary members far behind. His progress makes it clear that the pressure barely affects him.
• At the seventy-second step, he catches up with Wei Mingzhe, the leading climber among the strongest candidates. Wei has been resting between steps and is already exhausted.
• Wei learns that Jun reached the upper steps through a series of increasingly absurd stunts: hopping on both feet, hopping on one foot, handstand-climbing, and finally backflipping.
• Jun jokes that the pressure is too light, encourages Wei, then flips rapidly up to the ninetieth step.
• Wei is stunned but regains his resolve and continues climbing. Other candidates below are left demoralized and irritated by Jun’s effortless, flamboyant ascent.

Character developments

• Jun Wangchen is revealed as an extraordinary, almost superhuman outlier. His calmness and playful confidence contrast sharply with everyone else’s struggle.
• Wei Mingzhe, proud of his reputation as a genius and hopeful of attracting one of the Four Heavenly Kings’ attention, is forced to reconsider what “genius” means. Though shaken by Jun’s ability, he refuses to give up.
• The other probationary members shift from amazement to frustration as Jun’s antics make their own hard-won progress seem insignificant.

Character interactions

• Jun speaks to Wei as if encouraging a junior, praising him and casually patting his shoulder. Wei finds the tone irritating but cannot hide his disbelief.
• Their conversation exposes the gulf between them: Wei treats each step as a major effort, while Jun describes the ordeal as too easy.
• The climbers below react to Jun with a mix of awe, envy, and comic indignation.

Significant themes

• True ability versus reputation: Wei’s standing as a leading young talent is challenged by Jun’s seemingly limitless strength.
• Perspective and humility: Jun’s performance forces Wei to reassess his sense of his own greatness.
• Perseverance: Despite the shock, Wei chooses to continue rather than surrender.
• Humor amid competition: Jun’s unconventional climbing turns a demanding test into a spectacle, intensifying both the awe and the resentment around him.

Key plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen reaches the Heavenly Ladder’s ninetieth step with absurd ease, using jumps, backward steps, and somersaults while remaining calm and unstrained.
• Probationary Members watching are stunned. Some give up after comparing themselves with him; others are inspired and climb farther than they otherwise would have.
• The Charm Heavenly King points out that the Cold Heavenly King wrongly predicted Jun’s limit at eighty or ninety steps. Jun has already passed that mark, amusing the Flame and Thunder Heavenly Kings as well.
• The ten earth-tier martial artists overseeing the ladder realize Jun is only at peak black tier. Afraid his performance will damage their reputations, they secretly multiply the pressure—concentrating most of it on him.
• Jun notices their intimidation and, irritated, continues up the ladder. When they reach the summit and order him to “Get down,” he steps onto it and challenges them: “What right… do you have?”

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Wangchen is revealed as a remarkably powerful and composed climber, far exceeding expectations. His playful, self-aggrandizing confidence turns to defiance when the officials unfairly target him.
• Mo Long and Wang Shanzhi, fellow probationary members, marvel at Jun’s strength; Mo briefly wonders if he is someone he knows, then dismisses the possibility.
• The Charm Heavenly King shows confidence in Jun and openly teases the Cold Heavenly King for underestimating him. The Cold Heavenly King is visibly embarrassed, while the Flame and Thunder Heavenly Kings quietly enjoy the reversal.
• The ten earth-tier martial artists shift from evaluators to antagonists, letting pride and fear of ridicule drive them to interfere unfairly.

Significant themes

• Merit versus institutional pride: Jun’s achievement exposes how authority figures may bend rules to protect their standing.
• Inspiration and discouragement: His success has opposite effects on the other candidates—some lose heart, while others push beyond their limits.
• Defiance and self-confidence: Jun refuses to be intimidated by power or unjust demands, asserting that the officials have no right to make him retreat.

Key plot points and events

• Jun Wangchen, a Peak Black Tier martial artist, reaches the Heavenly Ladder’s summit in a single step, remaining unmoved by the combined pressure of ten Earth Tier martial artists.
• The other probationary candidates are stunned. Li Tianshuai resumes climbing, hoping to reach at least the eightieth or ninetieth step; Mo Long and Wang Shanzhi recognize how exceptional Jun is. Wei Mingzhe, resentful of the gap between them, vows not to give up and continues upward.
• Outside the test, the Charm Heavenly King teases the Cold Heavenly King for repeatedly misjudging Jun. The Cold Heavenly King wonders whether Jun used a pressure-resisting treasure, but rules it out because the assessment can detect cheating. The Flame and Thunder Heavenly Kings are amused and impressed.
• At the summit, the ten Earth Tier martial artists intensify their physical pressure, but Jun remains relaxed. Angered by his composure and apparent contempt, they disregard the Kings’ prohibition and unleash soul pressure against him.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Wangchen demonstrates astonishing composure and strength, treating the test’s pressure as little more than an inconvenience.
• The probationary members react with awe, disbelief, and rivalry: Li is inspired to keep climbing, while Wei’s shock turns into defiance.
• The Heavenly Kings reveal contrasting reactions: the Charm Heavenly King enjoys the Cold Heavenly King’s embarrassment; the Flame and Thunder Heavenly Kings find Jun intriguing; the Cold Heavenly King is baffled but considers whether Jun cheated.
• The ten Earth Tier martial artists move from confidence to humiliation and anger. Unable to force Jun back with physical pressure, they resort to soul pressure despite the risk of lasting harm.

Significant themes

• Exceptional talent and perseverance: Jun’s achievement sharply exposes the gap between him and the other candidates, while Wei and Li respond by pushing themselves onward.
• Pride and rivalry: The Earth Tier martial artists’ wounded dignity drives them to escalate the test beyond its rules.
• Power and restraint: Physical pressure proves ineffective, but the shift to soul pressure raises the stakes because it can cause permanent damage.

Key plot points and events

• Ten masked Earth Tier martial artists unleash their soul pressure on Jun Wangchen at the Heavenly Ladder’s summit, expecting to force him down.
• Jun remains unaffected. An unknown power absorbs the attackers’ soul pressure and drains their soul power. He then sends the power back, leaving all ten badly shaken.
• The martial artists suspect Jun has a rare soul-cultivation technique. He denies knowing anything about such methods and distracts them with an absurd, boastful story about his looks.
• When they demand that he descend, Jun refuses, trading insults with them despite their threats to make his life difficult if he joins the Mythic Heavenly Palace.
• The ten offer him a spirit stone to leave. After learning that spirit stones help martial artists cultivate—especially those at Earth Tier and above—Jun agrees, but demands one hundred instead.

Character developments

• Jun Wangchen demonstrates overwhelming and mysterious soul power, along with confidence, humor, and a knack for turning pressure into negotiation. He avoids seriously harming the ten but makes clear he will not be intimidated.
• The ten Earth Tier martial artists shift from aggressive confidence to surprise and wariness after their soul attack backfires. Unable to bully Jun into leaving, they resort to bargaining.
• The Cold Heavenly King and the other observers are astonished that Jun withstands the combined attack.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Even high-tier martial artists can be endangered when their soul power is countered.
• Confidence and defiance: Jun refuses to yield to threats or intimidation.
• Humor amid conflict: His ridiculous self-praise punctures the tension and frustrates his opponents.
• Practical self-interest: Jun’s interest in spirit stones comes from their usefulness to others, despite his own alternative means of cultivation.

Character interactions

Jun counters the ten martial artists’ attack with his mysterious soul ability, then answers their suspicion with denial and comic self-flattery. Their threats provoke more banter rather than submission. When they change tactics and offer a reward, Jun turns the exchange into a sharper negotiation, asking for a hundred spirit stones instead of one.

Plot points

• Jun Wangchen extorts the ten Earth Tier guards on the summit, first demanding three spirit stones each. After he leaves and returns, he tricks them into paying another thirty stones as “compensation” for making him climb back up.
• Rather than continue toward the summit, Jun waits on the ninetieth step as the physical-strength test continues. After an hour and a half, seventy of the original 320 probationary members have been eliminated.
• Wei Mingzhe, the leading climber, eventually reaches the ninetieth step but is too exhausted to go farther. Jun offers to help him reach the summit and proposes they split any spirit stones they can extract from the guards: seventy percent for Jun, thirty for Wei.
• Jun uses a formation to transfer the pressure on Wei onto himself, allowing Wei to move freely. Impressed, Wei accepts the arrangement.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun is shown to be shamelessly clever, confident, and opportunistic. He exploits the guards’ restrictions against harming probationary members and turns even a return trip into another chance to profit.
• Wei is ambitious and eager to gain both recognition from the Heavenly King and spirit stones, but initially distrusts Jun’s offer. His wariness becomes admiration when Jun demonstrates his formation.
• The guards’ outward politeness masks their fury and helplessness: they pay rather than risk Jun bringing more people to the summit.
• Jun and Wei’s exchange is comic and combative. Wei mistakes Jun’s offer to carry him for romantic interest, while Jun protests and then redirects the conversation toward a business deal.

Significant themes

• The chapter uses comic exaggeration to portray greed, bargaining, and manipulation.
• The ladder tests more than physical endurance: the climbers’ struggle is framed as a battle against inner demons, with perseverance tied to future cultivation.
• Jun’s exceptional ease on the ladder contrasts with the exhaustion of the other candidates, highlighting both his ability and his confidence—though he mainly applies his talents to schemes for profit.

• A staged Heavenly Ladder scam: Jun Wangchen and Wei Mingzhe pretend that Wei is struggling to reach the summit. To protect their prestige, the ten Earth Tier Martial Artists pay Jun thirty spirit stones to get him to stop. The pair then reveal their scheme, split the money, and bargain over the spoils. The physical-strength assessment ends with 200 of the original participants remaining; the Flame Heavenly King restores their strength before announcing the next test.
• The speed assessment begins: The survivors are divided among forty arenas, each containing five contestants and ten fast leopards carrying wooden tokens. In half an hour, the three contestants in each arena who collect the most tokens will advance, eliminating eighty participants.
• Promising rivals emerge: The Heavenly Kings notice Hete Xixi and Liu Doudou for their strong martial skills and speed. In Jun’s Arena Three, Chen Zijun uses a lightness technique to seize tokens quickly, impressing the other contestants and drawing their envy.
• Jun’s strategy—and a surprise: Jun remains still while the others pursue the leopards, leading them to assume he is slow and unlikely to qualify. Chen, meanwhile, collects several tokens partly to impress the Heavenly Kings. Just as he reaches for another, Jun suddenly darts ahead of him and announces, “Sorry. This is a robbery!”
  Character developments and interactions: Jun is resourceful, opportunistic, and confident, turning both the earlier assessment and the token contest to his advantage. Wei proves a willing partner in the staged trick, while their joking negotiation over the spirit stones highlights their playful, self-interested rapport. Chen is capable and ambitious, but Jun’s sudden intervention threatens his lead.
  Themes: The chapter emphasizes deception and cleverness as tools for survival, the harsh competition built into the Mythic Heavenly Palace’s trials, and the difference between judging someone by appearances and recognizing their true ability.

Key events

• Jun Wangchen announces he intends to take Chen Zijun’s wooden tokens. Chen tries to escape using his lightness technique, but Jun catches him almost instantly.
• Jun’s movement astonishes both Chen and the observing Charm Heavenly King: his speed seems to leave no afterimage or spatial disturbance, despite his apparent peak black-tier strength.
• Jun demonstrates his power by launching himself so forcefully that he cracks the arena floor. He then takes Chen’s three tokens and swiftly collects all seven tokens from the leopards.
• Chen and the other three probationary members assume they are doomed to fail. Just as Chen is preparing to give up, Jun offers to sell him three tokens for thirty million.

Character developments and interactions

• Jun Wangchen reveals not only extraordinary speed and strength but also a shrewd, entrepreneurial streak: he has gathered the tokens to make money rather than simply eliminate his rivals.
• Chen Zijun shifts from confidence in his speed to shock, fear, and resignation. His reputation as a local genius does little to prepare him for Jun’s overwhelming abilities.
• The Charm Heavenly King is intrigued and puzzled by Jun, whose movement defies what she expects even from powerful martial artists.
• The other probationary members watch helplessly, first overwhelmed by Jun’s performance and then astonished by his offer.

Significant themes

• Talent and humility: Chen’s confidence collapses when he meets someone far beyond his abilities.
• Power and spectacle: Jun’s inexplicable speed and force suggest hidden potential that even experienced observers cannot explain.
• Opportunism and humor: Jun turns a test of strength and competition into a business venture, ending the chapter on an absurdly commercial twist.