Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• During Cloud Cliff Sect’s triennial recruitment ceremony, Elder Li Shouyi searches for a disciple whose poor aptitude will trigger rewards from his newly awakened “Mediocre Talent System.”
• He notices Lin Shuishui, a beautiful young woman notorious for sleeping constantly. She misses her test because she falls asleep beneath a tree, irritating the other candidates.
• Li persuades the examiners to let her test, framing her journey to the sect as proof of sincerity. When she touches the testing pillar, it reveals a Void Spiritual Root—a legendary constitution so ineffective that spiritual energy supposedly leaks away, making cultivation impossible.
• The examiners reject Lin, but Li intervenes and offers to take her as his disciple. He defends her with an impassioned speech about perseverance and the irrelevance of talent, despite privately valuing her precisely for her extreme uselessness.
• Lin accepts and begins bowing to her new master, but falls asleep halfway through. Li has her taken to his cave abode and looks ahead to finding another exceptional recruit, whom he calls the “Fledgling Phoenix.”

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi is a newly transmigrated Core Formation elder facing a deadly duel with a Nascent Soul expert in three years. His system gives him strength for recruiting low-potential disciples, so his search for a worthy student is driven by both ambition and his unusual criteria. He presents himself as principled and compassionate while cleverly persuading others to accept his choice.
• Lin Shuishui is introduced as a habitual sleeper, seemingly indifferent to the embarrassment and rejection surrounding her. Her acceptance of Li’s offer shows she is willing to become his disciple, though sleep immediately overtakes her again.
• The examiners and candidates initially resent Lin for delaying the test, then sympathize with her after learning about her Void Spiritual Root. They oppose Li’s decision, but his rhetoric leaves them unable to answer him.

Significant themes

• Talent versus effort: Li publicly insists cultivation depends on hard work rather than natural aptitude, while the story humorously contrasts that ideal with his private search for the least capable students.
• Reframing weakness: Lin’s disqualifying spiritual root becomes, in Li’s eyes, an extraordinary asset.
• Comic contradiction: Li’s lofty, righteous speeches mask a self-interested strategy, and Lin’s attempt at a solemn master-disciple ceremony is interrupted by her overwhelming sleepiness.

Key plot points

• Li Shouyi is waiting for the system to assess the disciples he recruited and hoping its rewards will help him reach the Nascent Soul Realm before a duel scheduled in a month.
• At the recruitment ceremony, he spots Shen Wan’er running a betting game. Though wealthy, she is infamous for losing—and for continuing to gamble.
• Seeing her wastefulness as an ideal match for his needs, Li invites her to join the Cloud Cliff Sect. Shen, who has repeatedly been rejected by other sects because of her poor aptitude, is moved to tears and formally accepts.
• As Li prepares to take Shen to Endless Cliff Peak, the Great Zhou’s fourth prince, Zhou Kangyong, asks to become his disciple. Despite his superior true spiritual root and royal status, Li dismisses him and flies off with Shen.
• The spectators are shocked by Li’s rejection, while Zhou is left humiliated and furious.

Character developments

• Li Shouyi is driven by desperation over his coming duel, but his recruiting strategy is unconventional: he values disciples for their flaws because he expects the system to reward them.
• Shen Wan’er shifts from a carefree, compulsive gambler to a solemn and emotional disciple after receiving the acceptance she had long hoped for.
• Zhou Kangyong reveals both confidence in his talent and entitlement rooted in his royal standing. Li’s refusal shatters his assumption that he is an obvious prize.

Significant themes

• Worth and acceptance: Shen’s poor aptitude has led to repeated rejection, making Li’s offer profoundly meaningful to her.
• Unconventional ambition: Li seeks disciples whom other sects would avoid, believing their shortcomings may benefit him through the system.
• Pride and status: Zhou assumes talent and rank guarantee him a place, only to be rebuffed.
• Hope after hardship: Shen’s acceptance restores a sense of hope after years of disappointment.

Character interactions

• Li interprets Shen’s persistent gambling as “unwavering” dedication and recruits her, while Shen initially suspects he may be a con artist.
• Cloud Cliff disciples confirm Li’s identity and defend him when Shen questions his offer.
• Zhou approaches Li respectfully but with hidden arrogance and strategic motives; Li refuses him bluntly, leaving the prince and the onlookers stunned.

Key plot points and events

• Li Shouyi brings his two new disciples, Shen Wan’er and Lin Shuishui, to his home on Endless Cliff Peak. He privately worries that Zhou Kangyong’s rejection may have disrupted his plans.
• Li tells Shen that he values devotion to the Dao over talent, praising her above Zhou. Shen is deeply moved and vows to cultivate diligently.
• Li’s Mediocrity System rewards him for having inept disciples. Desperate to strengthen himself before a duel in one month, he resolves to keep Shen and Lin from pursuing cultivation by indulging their personal habits.
• Lin is almost impossible to wake and falls asleep again even after tumbling to the floor. Li gives her a specially enchanted white jade pillow as her life-bound treasure, ostensibly encouraging her to cultivate through sleep. Lin is touched and vows to prove herself by sleeping exceptionally well.
• Li gives Shen a set of mahjong tiles made from high-grade spirit stones and explains the game. He encourages her to make them her life-bound treasure and play against other disciples, promising to cover any wagers.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi presents himself as a caring, discerning master, but privately schemes to keep his disciples unambitious so he can collect system rewards. He justifies this by telling himself he will protect them once he becomes powerful.
• Shen Wan’er is earnest and easily inspired: Li’s praise strengthens her resolve, while the mahjong set excites her in a way that may steer her away from cultivation.
• Lin Shuishui is extraordinarily sleepy and feels accepted for it. Li’s pillow makes her believe she has finally found a master who understands her; she leaves determined to excel at sleeping.
• The contrast between Li’s manipulative intentions and his disciples’ sincere gratitude drives the chapter’s humor.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus intention: Li’s generous gifts and encouraging words conceal his plan to hinder his disciples.
• Misguided devotion: Shen and Lin interpret his schemes as genuine guidance and respond with heartfelt loyalty.
• Ambition, talent, and survival: Li distrusts his own cultivation prospects and relies on the system—and his disciples’ supposed mediocrity—to prepare for a dangerous duel.

Plot points and events

• Li Shouyi encourages his new disciple, Shen Wan’er, to pursue gambling—especially mahjong—as if it could be her cultivation path. In reality, he hopes she will neglect cultivation and qualify as a useless disciple for rewards from his Mediocrity System.
• Shen Wan’er interprets his encouragement as profound guidance to make gambling her Dao. Moved by his acceptance, she vows to prove herself at the Cloud Cliff Sect’s tournament in a month.
• Worried that his disciples may not be as useless as he needs, Li checks on his eldest disciple, Lin Shuisui. She is still sleeping, and Shen is happily playing mahjong, briefly easing his fears.
• The system evaluates Lin Shuisui: despite her poor aptitude, it identifies her devotion to sleep as a path toward “Dreamscape True Understanding” and declares she has the makings of a Great Sage. Li fails the assessment and receives no reward.
• Li rushes to Shuisui’s room and finds spiritual energy surging around her as she sleeps. She rapidly breaks into Qi Refining and begins advancing toward Foundation Establishment.

Character developments

• Li Shouyi is revealed as a self-interested but increasingly anxious master, trying to engineer failure in his disciples for system rewards. His confidence collapses when the system recognizes Shuisui’s extraordinary potential.
• Shen Wan’er shifts from uncertainty to fierce resolve. She takes Li’s manipulative advice sincerely and believes she has discovered her personal Dao.
• Lin Shuisui, previously presented as a languid, sleepy disciple, is revealed to possess startling cultivation potential linked to her devotion to sleep.

Character interactions

• Li’s attempt to steer Shen toward idleness becomes an unintended source of inspiration; she responds with gratitude and reverence.
• Li secretly monitors both disciples, relieved by Shuisui’s sleep and Shen’s mahjong playing—until the system reveals Shuisui’s promise.
• The chapter ends with Li witnessing Shuisui’s unexpected breakthrough, overturning his expectations.

Significant themes

• Misunderstood guidance: Li’s cynical advice is received as genuine wisdom.
• The Dao in ordinary pursuits: Shen sees gambling, and the system sees sleep, as possible paths to cultivation.
• Irony and unintended consequences: Li’s efforts to cultivate uselessness instead uncover remarkable potential.
• Appearance versus reality: Shuisui seems idle and inept, yet may become a supreme figure.

Plot points

• Li Shouyi discovers that Lin Shuishui has advanced astonishingly while asleep: she has completed Qi Refining and is approaching Foundation Establishment. The system explains that she has awakened Dreamscape True Understanding, letting her cultivate a thousand times faster in dreams.
• Her Void Spiritual Root causes most of her gathered qi to leak away, slowing her progress, though the qi she retains is exceptionally pure. Li Shouyi realizes he has accidentally taken on a formidable prodigy instead of the useless disciple he wanted.
• When Lin wakes, Li scolds her for becoming too capable. Thinking she has disappointed him, she vows to work harder—but promptly falls asleep again and dreams she is an emperor ruling a cosmos.
• Li then asks the system to reassess Shen Wan’er. It confirms her poor aptitude, but Shen rushes in to announce that she has understood the deeper meaning of his mahjong lessons.
• Shen believes gambling creates bonds of cause and effect: losses become debts that can burden opponents as their cultivation grows, potentially disrupting them during tribulations. The system confirms she has gained insight into the Way of Cause and Effect and may eventually manipulate causal ties across the heavens.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi is increasingly exasperated and anxious. He wants weak disciples to secure a reward and help him face a powerful challenger, but both disciples keep developing extraordinary abilities against his wishes. He reprimands Lin, who mistakenly takes this as a sign to train harder.
• Lin Shuishui is earnest and eager to please her master, but her dream-born cultivation and tendency to fall asleep make her efforts unintentionally spectacular.
• Shen Wan’er turns her mahjong habit into a surprising spiritual insight. She remains enthusiastic and assumes Li deliberately designed the game to teach her, while Li is bewildered by her interpretation.

Significant themes

• Accidental talent and unintended consequences: Li’s attempt to acquire worthless disciples instead produces exceptional ones.
• Cultivation through unconventional paths: Lin advances through dreams, while Shen discovers spiritual principles through gambling.
• Miscommunication and dramatic irony: The disciples interpret Li’s actions as deliberate instruction, even as he struggles to understand—or contain—their breakthroughs.

Plot points and events

• Li Shouyi, furious after receiving a bad system message, orders Su Wan’er to reflect outside. She misreads his anger as a lesson meant to keep her humble and leaves admiring him even more.
• Deciding he needs new disciples to improve his chances of survival, Li Shouyi leaves the next day and asks Su Wan’er to watch over Lin Shuishui.
• While he is away, Su Wan’er runs a gambling operation among the sect’s outer disciples. Law-enforcement elder Yan Hai catches her and threatens to report Li Shouyi for failing to discipline his disciple.
• News arrives that Lin Shuishui has collapsed in the dining hall. Though she has reached Foundation Establishment, she still goes there out of habit—and falls asleep in her food.
• Disciples mock Lin Shuishui and make crude jokes. Su Wan’er defends her, claiming she is cultivating through sleep. When the teasing escalates, Su Wan’er challenges the crowd: she and Lin will enter the sect’s rising star competition and settle accounts with them.
• A man in the crowd watches with a mysterious, satisfied smile, suggesting the confrontation may have been deliberately provoked.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi grows more desperate about his future and plans to seek additional disciples, while remaining unaware of the trouble his students cause in his absence.
• Su Wan’er interprets her master’s scolding as caring guidance, deepening her admiration and loyalty. She also shows a fiery protective streak when others attack Li Shouyi or ridicule Lin Shuishui.
• Lin Shuishui remains comically oblivious and prone to falling asleep anywhere, including during meals.
• Yan Hai uses Su Wan’er’s gambling as an opportunity to target Li Shouyi, whom he already resents.
• Su Wan’er repeatedly steps between her fellow disciples and their critics: first confronting Yan Hai over his judgment of Li Shouyi, then defending Lin from the dining-hall crowd.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and overinterpretation: Su Wan’er turns Li Shouyi’s genuine anger into proof of his thoughtful mentorship.
• Loyalty and protection: Su Wan’er defends her master’s reputation and her senior sister despite public ridicule.
• Reputation and conflict: A minor rule violation becomes a pretext for Yan Hai’s broader feud with Li Shouyi.
• Comic contrast: Su Wan’er treats gambling and sleeping as signs of exceptional promise, while everyone else sees misconduct and absurdity.

Plot and key events

• Li Shouyi returns to the Cloud Cliff Sect after three fruitless days searching for recruits who fit his mysterious system’s requirements. He found talented children, but other sects claimed them.
• The sect master summons him. Law Enforcement Elder Yan Hai accuses Li of encouraging his disciples’ gambling and idleness, then learns that Li’s disciple Su Wan’er has broken Yan Hai’s son Yan Shang’s leg.
• Yan Hai demands an explanation before the incident has been investigated. Sect Master Tang Que intervenes and orders Shi Yaoqian to bring in the people involved.
• Yan Shang arrives crying and claims Su attacked him. Yan Hai gives him pills that quickly restore him.
• Su explains that Yan Shang had insulted Li Shouyi, so she challenged him to a wager: the loser would be at the winner’s mercy. Yan Shang lost. Her account shifts blame toward Yan Shang, and Yan Hai prepares to leave with his son.
• Li stops him and insists Yan Hai enforce the rules against insulting an elder. He then demands Yan Hai’s bottle of pills as compensation. Yan Hai hands it over, warning that they will meet again.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi is frustrated by his failed recruitment search but stays composed when Yan Hai confronts him. He defends Su’s right to explain herself, then uses Yan Hai’s own position and rules to secure compensation.
• Su Wan’er shows loyalty and impulsive courage by defending her master, though her chosen method—gambling and violence—creates trouble. She struggles to explain herself while Li publicly scolds her.
• Yan Hai acts with hostility and lets his anger over his son cloud his judgment. His authority is checked when the sect master backs a fair hearing.
• Yan Shang presents himself as the victim, but Su’s account suggests he provoked the conflict by insulting Li.
• Tang Que acts as the calm authority in the room, stopping the elders’ quarrel and ensuring the incident is heard.
• The exchange between Li and Yan Hai ends in a tense, openly adversarial bargain, while the sect master and Yan Hai share a meaningful but unexplained glance.

Significant themes

• Fairness versus abuse of authority: Yan Hai’s personal grievance threatens to override proper investigation, but the sect master’s intervention restores procedure.
• Loyalty and consequences: Su’s devotion to Li is genuine, yet her reckless response creates a disciplinary dispute.
• Power and leverage: Li turns Yan Hai’s own rules against him, while the elders’ influence and rivalry shape how the conflict is resolved.
• Comedy and irony: Li’s disappointment over his failed “system” recruitment contrasts with the dramatic dispute over his unruly disciples.

Plot points and events

• After the earlier dispute is settled, Sect Master Tang Que tells Li Shouyi to discipline his new disciple, Su Wan’er. Once Li leaves, Tang reveals to the elders that he wants Li gone because the small sect cannot spare resources for a low-ranking elder.
• Elders Shi Yaoqian and Chen Hui propose sabotaging Li’s disciples in the upcoming sect tournament: give them difficult first-round opponents and spread rumors to humiliate Li. Tang approves their plan.
• Back at his courtyard, Li scolds Su Wan’er for wagering with Yan Shang, orders her to stay inside, and reminds her that a cultivator should “set their own heart right, not pursue personal gain.”
• Lin Shuishui helps Su understand that Li has endured criticism for taking them as disciples. Su interprets his lesson as a profound insight into resisting temptation and karma.
• Su’s realization triggers a breakthrough: she advances to foundation establishment, reaches a new level in the Dao of Karma, and manifests a rotating yin-yang symbol. She claims Li taught her the technique “Myriad Laws Cannot Invade,” though he did not.
• The system raises the difficulty of Li’s recruitment mission but improves its reward: completing it will take him to the late nascent soul stage, with the comic drawback that he will be unable to “raise his gun” for a month.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi tries to discipline his impulsive disciple and exploit the system for a major cultivation reward. Su’s accidental breakthrough frustrates him because it makes his recruitment task harder. He also awkwardly carries the sleepy Lin Shuishui back to her room, then flees after becoming flustered.
• Su Wan’er remains eager to defend her master but misreads his reprimand as deep instruction. Her sincere reflection unexpectedly produces a major cultivation breakthrough, leaving her confused by Li’s reaction.
• Lin Shuishui offers Su a more thoughtful perspective on Li’s sacrifices, then falls asleep standing up.
• Tang Que and the elders reveal their self-interest, plotting to drive Li out by harming his disciples’ tournament prospects and reputation.

Significant themes

• Self-cultivation and sincerity: Su’s breakthrough comes from taking Li’s advice to heart, even though she misunderstands its intended context.
• Miscommunication and unintended consequences: Li’s ordinary scolding becomes a Dao insight in Su’s eyes and complicates his plans.
• Sect politics and greed: Tang and the elders treat Li as a drain on resources and scheme to protect their own stipends.
• Mentorship and loyalty: Su’s wish not to disappoint Li reflects her growing attachment to him and his role as her teacher.

Plot and key events

• Su Wan’er has rapidly reached Foundation Establishment, alarming her master, Li Shouyi, who fears her and Lin Shuishui’s sudden breakthroughs will bring trouble. He tells her to focus on losing money to fellow disciples and not cause him problems.
• Su Wan’er assumes his advice has a hidden meaning. Lin Shuishui, sleepy after cultivating through dreams, tells her that Master may sometimes mean the opposite of what he says.
• Taking that as permission to make trouble, Su Wan’er drags Lin Shuishui to the mission hall and signs them up for the Newcomer Grand Competition, convinced they can win glory for their master.
• Li Shouyi senses disaster and tries to stop them, but Zhou Kangyong arrives with a new sect rule requiring Li’s disciples to enter the competition. The rule appears designed to pressure Li, whose stagnant cultivation and long-term stipend have made him a target for removal.
• Zhou, whom Li previously refused to take as a disciple, delivers the message and leaves on an extravagant flying sword. Li realizes the sect is maneuvering against him and hopes his disciples will place well enough to help him remain there.
• Su Wan’er returns and proudly announces that she enrolled herself and Lin Shuishui. Li can only react with exasperation.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Wan’er remains cheerful and exceptionally quick to cultivate, but her habit of reading hidden meanings into ordinary instructions leads her into increasingly risky decisions.
• Lin Shuishui has gained some control over her dream-based cultivation, though resisting sleep is uncomfortable. She gives Su Wan’er a casual, misleading interpretation, then is hauled off to compete.
• Li Shouyi is anxious about both his disciples’ talent and his own precarious position in the sect. He tries to keep them quiet, but must rely on them once the competition becomes unavoidable.
• Zhou Kangyong remains resentful of Li’s rejection and conveys the sect’s new requirement with pointed, passive-aggressive remarks. His flashy sword underscores his wealth and status.

Significant themes

• Comic misunderstanding: Su Wan’er treats her master’s warnings and Lin Shuishui’s offhand advice as coded instructions.
• Unintended consequences: Li’s attempts to keep his disciples out of trouble lead to the opposite outcome.
• Institutional pressure and survival: Li is caught between sect politics, his stalled cultivation, and the need to use his disciples’ success to protect his place.
• Talent and absurdity: The disciples’ effortless breakthroughs contrast with Li’s desperate struggle to improve.

Key plot points

• Su Wan’er reveals that Lin Shuishui helped her understand Li Shouyi’s advice, prompting Li to realize his senior disciple had been “stabbing him in the back.” He leaves to learn what the tournament means for his position in the sect.
• Zhou Kangyong reports to Sect Master Tang Que and Shi Yaoqian that he has pressured Li to leave. The three agree to use the Freshman Tournament against him: Li’s disciples must place in the top three, and the sect can arrange for them to face stronger opponents.
• Li enters the main hall and clashes with Zhou and Shi. After they leave, he asks Tang Que whether his disciples can withdraw from the tournament. Tang refuses, citing the rule that withdrawing would expel both disciples and their master.
• Tang further points out that Li has exhausted his Merit Points and has not completed the missions required to retain his elder’s position. Li learns that even first place in the tournament earns only 10,000 points, the minimum contribution needed to meet the requirement.
• Li exchanges his remaining points for basic armor for Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui, then returns home discouraged. He finds his disciples enjoying an elaborate meal, and Lin offers him a chicken drumstick while clearly hoping he will not take it.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi recognizes that the sect leadership is deliberately cornering him, but he has few options and worries about losing the sect’s protection. His bluntness also antagonizes Zhou and Shi, though Zhou tries to maintain a polite appearance.
• Tang Que reveals himself as calculating and determined to remove Li, disguising a targeted scheme as enforcement of sect rules.
• Zhou Kangyong seeks revenge because Li refused to accept him as a disciple. He has helped stir up hostility against Li and supports using the tournament to force him out.
• Shi Yaoqian flatters Tang and backs the plan, while treating Zhou with deference as the Fourth Prince’s master.
• Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui remain cheerfully focused on food and each other, providing comic contrast to Li’s mounting troubles.

Significant themes

• Power and manipulation: The sect’s leaders use rules, public opinion, and tournament conditions to disguise a personal campaign against Li.
• Precarious status: Li’s position as an elder depends on both institutional service and the success of his disciples.
• Comic contrast: Political scheming and Li’s anxiety are undercut by his disciples’ carefree eating and Lin’s reluctant offer of a drumstick.

Chapter summary

On the eve of the new disciples’ tournament, Li Shouyi gives Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui two pieces of armor—but then discovers that Su, being from a wealthy family, already owns an impressive collection of protective gear. He asks her to share some with Lin. While Su takes the sleepy Lin back to rest, Li stays behind and happily devours the expensive food she has brought.
At the tournament, senior disciples mock Lin for having no spiritual root and Su for supposedly relying on money. Li tells his disciples to remain united, endure insults, and keep their focus. His advice unexpectedly helps them comprehend the mental technique Immovable Wisdom King Form, strengthening their souls and earning Li a reward from his system. The reward comes with a strange demand: he must eventually accept a uniquely “good-for-nothing” disciple. Despite his irritation, he orders the girls to place in the top three; both are now fiercely determined to win for him.
Lin enters her first match. Her opponent, a sleazy, notorious disciple skilled in earth techniques, propositions her and then attacks when she refuses, unleashing Rockfall. Li is alarmed and nearly intervenes, but sees something strange happen in the arena.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi remains outwardly stern but shows concern for his disciples. His frugality and envy are played for comedy, especially when he sees Su’s wealth and later indulges in her food. His encouragement also has a powerful, if unintended, effect on the girls.
• Su Wan’er reveals just how wealthy and well-equipped her family is, and readily offers to share her protective gear with Lin.
• Lin Shuishui is unusually awake at the tournament, takes Li’s advice to heart, and faces her first opponent with composure. She interprets Li’s warning not to get hurt as evidence of his hidden concern.
• The disciples’ bond with Li deepens: both girls take his words as profound guidance, become more devoted to him, and resolve to fight hard on his behalf.
• The opponent shifts from crude flirting to violence after Lin rejects him, setting up the chapter’s cliffhanger.

Significant themes

The chapter mixes comedy with tournament tension. It emphasizes loyalty, perseverance, and unity in the face of ridicule, while contrasting Li’s poverty with Su’s wealth. It also plays with the gap between Li’s ordinary intentions and his disciples’ extraordinary reverence, as well as the tension between his gruff manner and genuine care.

Key events

• Lin Shuishui survives a crushing attack because she is wearing Thorn Armor, a costly protective treasure given by Su Wan’er. The armor reflects a powerful strike back at her opponent, earning Lin the win.
• Sect Master Tang Que responds by banning armor beyond Foundation Establishment level, a rule aimed at limiting the pair’s advantage. Li Shouyi suspects the sect leaders are deliberately making things difficult for him.
• Lin returns to Li Shouyi, announces her victory, and immediately falls asleep. Before he can question Su Wan’er about other treasures, she is called to fight.
• Su Wan’er faces a Foundation Establishment opponent. The crowd recognizes her as the “Gambling Goddess” and places bets, expecting her to win through her Way of Money.
• Su Wan’er lets her opponent attack first. He unleashes a stream of fire, but a rotating Yin-Yang Diagram appears behind her and absorbs the flames. The exhausted man eventually collapses to his knees.
• Tang Que and the elders recognize the technique as Myriad Laws Cannot Invade, an exceptionally profound Dao art. The crowd instead assumes it is a magical treasure or formation.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Shuishui proves resilient thanks to the Thorn Armor, though her habit of falling asleep immediately after acting remains unchanged.
• Su Wan’er is excited by her growing fame and wants to win first place for Li Shouyi. Her confidence—and willingness to let her opponent strike first—worries her master, but her hidden mastery surprises everyone.
• Li Shouyi remains protective and exasperated, hoping his disciples will reveal more advantages while suspecting the sect leadership of scheming against him.
• Tang Que and Shi Yaoqian recognize the threat posed by the disciples’ resources and abilities. They first impose the armor restriction, then are astonished by Su Wan’er’s skill.
• Su Wan’er’s opponent underestimates her and attacks aggressively, only to be defeated by the Dao art’s effortless defense.

Significant themes

• Wealth and fairness: Su Wan’er’s expensive armor prompts officials to change the rules, raising questions about whether competition can be fair when contestants have unequal resources.
• Appearance versus ability: What the crowd mistakes for a treasure is actually Su Wan’er’s formidable Dao art.
• Recognition and reputation: Su Wan’er delights in becoming famous, while the audience’s expectations of the “Gambling Goddess” contrast humorously with how she actually wins.
• Comic tension: Li Shouyi’s anxious inner commentary contrasts with his disciples’ calm confidence and unexpectedly impressive performances.

Key plot points and events

• Su Wan’er defeats her opponent in the tournament after he mistakes her defensive technique, Myriad Laws Cannot Invade, for something else and exhausts his true essence. He concedes, and Su Wan’er wins.
• She celebrates by showing off to her master, Li Shouyi, who is embarrassed and flees. The crowd presses Su Wan’er to explain her technique, then returns to betting.
• At Upside-Down Mountain, Tang Que explains that Myriad Laws Cannot Invade blocks spell damage but not physical attacks. Zhou Kangyong is reassured because he has trained in martial arts.
• Shi Yaoqian and Tang Que suggest Zhou Kangyong pursue Su Wan’er as a Dao companion. Zhou rejects the idea, imagining her gambling away his wealth.
• At Li Shouyi’s residence, he cautions Su Wan’er not to grow proud after one victory. His remarks unexpectedly trigger her enlightenment: she gains the ability to transfer her bad-luck karma to someone weaker than herself. Li, alarmed by her new power, orders her to stay in her room until her next match.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Wan’er remains exuberant and gambling-obsessed, but shows an uncanny ability to gain enlightenment from casual advice. Her new power may let her shift the consequences of her bad luck onto others.
• Li Shouyi is both embarrassed by Su Wan’er’s public antics and increasingly worried by her unpredictable growth. He tries to guide her, only to provoke another breakthrough.
• Zhou Kangyong is nervous about facing Su Wan’er, then dismisses the prospect of marrying her because of her gambling.
• Tang Que and Shi Yaoqian reassure Zhou about countering Su Wan’er’s technique and encourage the match, though they concede her gambling is extreme.

Significant themes

• Unexpected enlightenment: A simple lesson about patience and long-term goals sparks a major breakthrough.
• Power and its limits: Su Wan’er’s defense has a specific vulnerability, while her new karma ability also has a strength restriction.
• Pride, discipline, and ambition: Li warns that one victory means little without continued progress.
• Comic mismatch: Su Wan’er’s extraordinary abilities contrast with her impulsive behavior and her master’s constant exasperation.

Plot points and events

• Frustrated that his disciples keep succeeding instead of qualifying as “good-for-nothings,” Li Shouyi leaves the sect to look for suitable disciples elsewhere.
• A sudden system mission offers him a minor cultivation breakthrough if Lin Shuishui and Su Wan’er lose their next matches. He rushes back, hoping to stop them from winning.
• Lin Shuishui’s bout against sword-focused Li Zuoshou begins. Most spectators bet heavily on Li Zuoshou, while Su Wan’er wagers 100,000 spirit stones on her senior sister.
• Li Zuoshou’s first strike appears to run Lin through, but she is unharmed: her Dreamscape True Understanding let him attack her dreamscape rather than her physical body.
• Encouraged by Su Wan’er, Lin faces Li Zuoshou’s ultimate technique: thousands of swords merge into a massive blade aimed at her.
• Before the outcome is shown, the system declares Li Shouyi’s mission failed. He realizes the match has already gone against his hopes, lamenting that the “romance” he anticipated ended before it began.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi swings from despair to excitement when the system offers him a chance to advance, then panics when he cannot find his disciples and races back to the arena. His desperation to make them lose underscores his self-serving, exasperated relationship with them.
• Lin Shuishui seems sleepy and bewildered, but her instinctive dreamscape ability protects her from Li Zuoshou’s attack. Su Wan’er’s encouragement briefly stirs her resolve, and she meets the next attack without backing down.
• Su Wan’er shows unwavering confidence in Lin, cheering her on and staking a huge sum on her victory.
• Li Zuoshou is devoted entirely to the sword. He respects the result of a fair contest and prepares his strongest move after Lin appears to dismiss his first attack.
• The spectators and sect leaders are confused by Lin’s apparent impalement and lack of injury; even the leaders cannot explain what happened.

Significant themes

• Dramatic irony and comic misfortune: Li Shouyi’s wish for his disciples to fail clashes with their apparent strength and confidence.
• Hidden ability and mistaken appearances: Lin’s sleepy, unassuming manner conceals a power that lets her evade a seemingly lethal strike.
• Contrasting paths and motivations: Li Zuoshou’s disciplined sword obsession contrasts with Lin’s poorly understood “path of sleep,” while Li Shouyi views the match chiefly through the lens of his system rewards.

Plot points and events

• Lin Shuishui defeats Li Zuoshou with “True Meaning of Dreams,” trapping him in an illusion that feels like ten years of helpless defeat. Though he appears unharmed, his soul is trapped until Lin releases him.
• Li Shouyi arrives expecting the worst, then scolds Lin for winning—partly because he is baffled by her secret technique and partly because his own plans have gone awry.
• Yan Hai, Li Zuoshou’s master, angrily demands punishment and challenges Li Shouyi to a duel. He backs down, however, and leaves with his shaken disciple after Lin wakes him.
• Li Shouyi learns Su Wan’er advanced to the semifinals on a bye. He is frustrated that the system counts her progress toward his failed mission despite her not fighting.
• The disciples return to the courtyard. Meanwhile, spectators credit Li Shouyi for Lin’s rapid improvement and rush to seek him as a teacher.
• Three debt-ridden bettors, who owe a million Spirit Stones, decide to ask Su Wan’er for leniency rather than flee.
• Li Shouyi remains preoccupied with an enemy expected to arrive in two days—a man whose wife he stole—and sees no obvious way to escape or survive.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Shuishui reveals formidable, previously unknown power. She is confident enough to calmly ask the referee whether she has won, but afterward hides her embarrassment from Su Wan’er by pretending to understand Li Shouyi’s anger.
• Li Shouyi swings between relief at Lin’s safety and irritation at her surprise abilities, the system, and his disciples’ antics. His fear of the approaching enemy undercuts his bluster.
• Su Wan’er trusts Lin’s explanation and resolves to fight brutally next time to please their master; Lin privately admits she has fooled her.
• Yan Hai begins furious and threatening, but retreats rather than risk a duel with Li Shouyi. Li Zuoshou, once released, is reduced to tears and clings to his master.
• The system offers an unhelpful explanation of Lin’s talent, prompting Li Shouyi to curse it in his thoughts.

Significant themes

• Hidden talent and rapid growth: Lin’s victory overturns her former reputation and makes others credit Li Shouyi’s instruction.
• Comedy through misunderstanding and frustration: Li misreads the situation, Lin misreads—or pretends to understand—his mood, and Su Wan’er accepts her senior sister’s fabricated explanation.
• Power and humiliation: Lin’s overwhelming technique leaves Li Zuoshou helpless, while Yan Hai’s retreat and his disciple’s tears wound his pride.
• Bravado versus genuine danger: Li Shouyi talks tough to Yan Hai but privately fears the far more serious enemy approaching.

Key plot points and events

• Li Shouyi returns to the courtyard angry at Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui for acting timid. He scolds Su Wan’er for her choices, then confines her to the courtyard for two days after she questions whether her understanding of the Great Dao of Cause and Effect was wrong.
• Before Li can ask Lin Shuishui what happened, dozens of disciples gather outside, hoping to become his students. They have heard how quickly Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui have advanced under his guidance.
• Li refuses to take on more disciples, warning the crowd to leave or face punishment. The disciples misread his sternness as proof of his excellent teaching.
• Li worries briefly that he has upset other disciples, then remembers his looming competition and goes off to seek some way to survive.
• The three debt-ridden brothers visit Su Wan’er to repay a bet she won on Lin Shuishui. Unable to pay the full amount, they offer installments and a contract.
• Su Wan’er proposes a bargain: they can keep the unpaid balance if they help her understand what her master meant. The brothers eagerly agree.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi remains frustrated and anxious, torn between hiding his true motives and maintaining the appearance of a strict, capable master. He sends Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui away when they try to encourage him to accept more students.
• Su Wan’er is cautious around her master but also increasingly curious about her cultivation and his words. Her excitement at collecting her first winnings gives way to practical bargaining.
• Lin Shuishui stays mostly silent in this chapter, but the rapid progress she and Su Wan’er have made attracts attention from other disciples.
• The three brothers arrive hoping to settle their gambling debt, but their financial trouble leads them to accept Su Wan’er’s unusual offer. Their eagerness—and their distrust of one another—continues to shape their dealings.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The disciples interpret Li’s reluctance and strictness as signs of a master’s wisdom, while his private thoughts reveal fear and self-interest.
• Misunderstanding and reputation: Li’s students’ progress builds his reputation, even as he doubts his own ability.
• Karma and coincidence: Su Wan’er views the brothers’ timely visit through the lens of her Great Dao of Cause and Effect, seeing a possible connection between them.
• Debt and bargaining: The brothers’ inability to repay their wager turns a simple collection visit into a deal.

Plot points and events

• Su Wan’er asks three debt-ridden senior brothers to interpret her master Li Shouyi’s repeated scoldings. She suspects his words have a deeper meaning and threatens to involve him if their answer disappoints her.
• The eldest brother improvises an elaborate explanation: Li scolds her after advances in cultivation to keep her from becoming complacent and remind her to aim higher. Su Wan’er accepts this, deciding she should hide future breakthroughs for a few days and wait for Li to ask.
• Pleased with the explanation, Su Wan’er forgives the trio’s debt except for the principal. They pay her 100,000 spirit stones and hurry away.
• Elsewhere, disciples rejected by Li Shouyi return to their rooms, apparently inspired to leave their current masters. Yan Hai’s disciples ask him to release them so they can join Li. Furious, Yan Hai drives them off and declares Li his sworn enemy.
• Li Shouyi sneezes while travelling and wonders whether more “unruly subjects” are plotting against their emperor.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Wan’er remains innocent and confidently misreads the eldest brother’s self-serving lecture as profound guidance. She believes her understanding of the Dao of cause and effect has improved.
• The eldest brother proves quick-witted but nearly overplays his performance; his brothers defer to him, while Su Wan’er’s threat reminds him she is also their creditor.
• Yan Hai is humiliated and enraged when his disciples choose Li over him. His outburst escalates the rivalry between the two masters.
• Li Shouyi remains unaware of the disciples’ plans and the conflict he has inspired.
• Su Wan’er’s exchange with the trio mixes coercion, flattery, and bargaining; Yan Hai’s confrontation with his disciples turns their departure into an open feud.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and irony: Su Wan’er mistakes a practical explanation for deep spiritual insight, while Li misinterprets his sneeze.
• Ambition and loyalty: Disciples’ desire to study under Li disrupts existing master-disciple bonds.
• Comic rivalry and consequences: Li’s influence—intentional or not—provokes resentment, while the trio’s debt is settled through a cleverly tailored explanation.

Plot points and events

• Cloud Cliff Sect leaders discover that Li Shouyi has persuaded disciples from several elders’ lineages—including Tang Que’s heir—to seek him as their master. Their earlier efforts to undermine him have failed, as both of his disciples reached the semifinals.
• Zhou Kangyong proposes expelling Li Shouyi for neglecting his sect contribution assignments. The elders agree to hold the expulsion vote after the tournament semifinals.
• Li Shouyi, unaware of the plan, returns from a fruitless search for weak recruits and worries that the sect may not be strong enough to deter his enemies.
• At the tournament, spectators loudly cheer for Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui, angering the elders. Tang Que eventually starts the matches: Su Wan’er faces Zhou Kangyong, while Lin Shuishui faces Lu Renjia.
• Zhou Kangyong attacks Su Wan’er with a sword and no magic, exploiting the fact that her “Myriad Laws Cannot Invade” ability does not protect her from physical harm. After he tears her sleeve and presses his advantage, Su Wan’er retreats into the air. Li Shouyi calls out that she can still use spells even if Zhou does not.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Que and the elders grow increasingly threatened by Li Shouyi’s popularity and influence; their frustration turns into a formal plan to expel him.
• Zhou Kangyong channels his old resentment toward Su Wan’er into the semifinal, presenting an ostentatious new sword and insisting she once humiliated him. He fights strategically, using physical attacks rather than magic.
• Su Wan’er is carefree and dismissive of Zhou’s dramatic speech, but her weak combat instincts leave her on the defensive until Li Shouyi points out her tactical mistake.
• Li Shouyi remains oblivious to the elders’ scheme, while acting as a blunt mentor when Su Wan’er struggles.
• The disciples’ cheers and claims to be the girls’ “junior brothers” show how strongly Li Shouyi’s students have captured the sect’s admiration, intensifying the elders’ resentment.

Significant themes

• Power, loyalty, and influence: Li Shouyi’s appeal is reshaping disciples’ loyalties and destabilizing the sect hierarchy.
• Rules and loopholes: Zhou exploits the limits of Su Wan’er’s defensive ability by choosing physical combat.
• Pride and resentment: Zhou’s match is driven as much by wounded ego as by competition.
• Comic contrast: The elders’ political maneuvering and Zhou’s elaborate theatrics are undercut by the disciples’ irreverence and Li Shouyi’s candid criticism.

Plot points and events

• Su Wan’er remembers that she can use Dao techniques herself, thanks to Li Shouyi’s reminder, and faces Zhou Kangyong.
• Zhou reveals his Golden Thread Treasure Armor, which should protect him from attacks below peak Foundation Establishment. Su Wan’er counters with Three Thousand Cause-and-Effect Devour, linking him to her through invisible threads.
• When Zhou tries to use his magical power, he collapses. Su Wan’er explains that she has blocked his ability to attack and made him prone to misfortune. His sword slips, and a series of mishaps ends with it striking his crotch. He flees the arena in agony.
• The referee declares Su Wan’er the winner. After learning Zhou has suffered no more serious injury, Tang Que names Lin Shuishui champion, Su Wan’er runner-up, and Zhou third. Su Wan’er had offered to concede to her senior sister.
• Before Tang Que can act on his plan to expel Li Shouyi, a powerful enemy arrives through a black hole, accompanied by lightning, and calls Li out to die. Li recognizes the voice as belonging to his sworn enemy and senses that the newcomer is at the Spirit Severing Realm.
• A mysterious voice speaks in Li’s consciousness, leaving him stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Wan’er displays quick thinking, confidence, and a frighteningly effective command of the Cause-and-Effect Dao. Her playful attitude toward Li Shouyi contrasts with her decisive combat skill. She willingly gives Lin Shuishui the championship.
• Li Shouyi acts as Su Wan’er’s coach, though he is exasperated by her distractions. He is impressed—and unnerved—by her power. The tournament’s comic relief quickly gives way to danger when his sworn enemy arrives.
• Zhou Kangyong relies on expensive armor and confidence, but is humiliated by Su Wan’er’s technique and a cascade of bad luck. Shi Yaoqian rushes after him, concerned about the political consequences.
• Tang Que accepts Su Wan’er’s concession and recognizes the value of keeping both young women in the sect, while still intending to expel Li Shouyi.
• Lin Shuishui becomes champion without facing Su Wan’er in a final match.

Significant themes

• Cleverness over brute force: Su Wan’er defeats superior protection by using a Dao technique rather than conventional attacks.
• Cause and effect, and bad luck: Her power turns Zhou’s actions and minor mishaps into a disastrous chain of consequences.
• Comedy amid danger: The crowd’s bawdy mockery and Zhou’s farcical defeat sharply contrast with the sudden arrival of a deadly enemy.
• Rising stakes: The tournament’s comic resolution is interrupted by a powerful threat directly targeting Li Shouyi.

Plot points and events

• Wu Dalang, now a Spirit Severing powerhouse, appears at the Boundless Sect tournament and threatens to kill Li Shouyi over an old accusation that Li seduced his wife.
• Li invokes the Dao Alliance’s rules, but sect leaders Tang Que, Yan Hai, and the Transmission Elder immediately disown him and urge Wu Dalang to take revenge.
• Li argues that expelling an elder requires a vote. The disciples quickly vote against him, despite having previously sought his favor.
• Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui refuse to abandon Li. They stand between him and Wu Dalang, even as the danger becomes imminent.
• Wu Dalang attacks. At the last moment, Li receives a system notification: his two disciples have completed a hidden tournament mission, granting him temporary power at the Spirit Severing peak. The chapter ends with Li smiling at Wu Dalang.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Shouyi is frightened and defensive, but tries to use sect rules and his relationships with the disciples to protect himself. He is shocked and moved when his two disciples remain loyal.
• Wu Dalang is powerful, furious, and deeply sensitive about both his height and his unfaithful wife. His resentment toward Li is intensified by seeing Li’s devoted disciples.
• Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui demonstrate genuine loyalty, choosing to risk their lives rather than leave their master. Lin’s drowsiness remains a defining trait, but she pushes through it to help.
• Tang Que and the other sect leaders reveal their cowardice and self-interest by abandoning Li as soon as Wu Dalang threatens him. The disciples follow suit, exposing how quickly their apparent respect turns to condemnation.

Significant themes

• Loyalty versus self-preservation: The sect and disciples abandon Li, while Su Wan’er and Lin Shuishui stand by him.
• Hypocrisy and fickle judgment: The disciples’ rapid reversal and the leaders’ convenient excuses highlight opportunism.
• Comedic escalation: The scene’s absurd accusations, Wu Dalang’s insecurities, and Li’s irreverent inner commentary undercut the threat—until the system’s last-second power-up sets up a reversal.