Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Ling Quan infers that Zhou Fan’s fight with Tenshiki means he is skilled with spatial powers, then uses Five Spirits: Lockdown to seal the battlefield and restrict spatial techniques.
• Zhou Fan recognizes the tactic but is untroubled: spatial power is only one of his abilities. He and Xia Qingran coordinate to meet Ling Quan’s elemental attacks.
• The fight escalates through a series of counters: Xia freezes Ling Quan’s fire; Zhou Fan’s fire is stopped by Ling Quan’s water; Xia’s ice neutralizes a wind-and-lightning assault; and Zhou Fan uses lightning to disable Ling Quan’s earth giant.
• Pressing their advantage, Zhou Fan and Xia combine a wooden dragon with an ice dragon. Their ice-wood dragon defeats Ling Quan’s five-element dragon and swallows him, but cannot break the spatial barrier.
• Ling Quan emerges battered but alive. Zhou Fan dismisses him—and, by implication, the prestige of his family—as “mere grains of sand.”

Character developments

• Ling Quan shows sharp tactical judgment and control over all five elements. Though his spatial seal limits Zhou Fan, he is ultimately outmatched by the pair’s combined offense.
• Zhou Fan demonstrates adaptability and a broad range of powers, showing that he can fight effectively even when spatial techniques are restricted.
• Xia Qingran proves herself an essential partner, repeatedly countering Ling Quan’s attacks and combining her ice techniques with Zhou Fan’s abilities.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and counterplay: Both sides exploit elemental strengths and weaknesses, while Zhou Fan finds alternatives when his preferred spatial powers are hindered.
• Cooperation: Zhou Fan and Xia Qingran’s complementary abilities make their combined attacks more effective than either fighter’s techniques alone.
• Reputation versus ability: Ling Quan’s status as a young master of a great family is undercut by Zhou Fan’s contemptuous final remark.

Character interactions

• Ling Quan opens by explaining his strategy and acknowledging Zhou Fan’s apparent strength.
• Zhou Fan and Xia Qingran respond to each other’s attacks in close coordination, alternating and combining techniques.
• After surviving their strongest joint attack, Ling Quan faces Zhou Fan’s direct insult, leaving their rivalry sharply intensified.

Key plot points and events

• Ling Quan, humiliated after failing to defeat Zhou Fan and Xia Qingran, is prompted by Zhou Fan’s taunts to remember he brought reinforcements.
• He crushes a jade pendant, opening a spatial passage through which more than a dozen fifth-tier Lingyu Family Guards arrive.
• Ling Quan argues that using the family’s strength is a legitimate privilege of being its young master. Zhou Fan recognizes the logic, if not the shamelessness.
• The Guards coordinate a wind-and-fire assault. Zhou Fan counters with a water technique, then uses Wood Release to scatter their formation and drain the spiritual energy of several Guards.
• Ling Quan, impressed that Zhou Fan has fought Tenshiki, invokes Five Spirits: Soul-Splitting Spirit Separation. Its two expanding rings pass through Zhou Fan and Xia Qingran, causing ten phantom figures to appear around each of them. The chapter ends before the technique’s effects become clear.

Character developments

• Zhou Fan remains bold and mocking, but adapts quickly to the reinforcements and demonstrates how effectively his techniques work against groups.
• Xia Qingran stays alert and critical, warning Zhou Fan that his taunting led Ling Quan to call for help. Zhou Fan shields her when Ling Quan uses his next technique.
• Ling Quan shifts from furious embarrassment to confidence once his Guards arrive. He openly treats family support as part of his own power, and takes Zhou Fan seriously after seeing his abilities.
• The Guards are established as experienced, disciplined fighters whose coordination partly compensates for their lower individual tier.

Significant themes

• Family power and entitlement: Ling Quan sees collective strength as a resource he is entitled to use, rather than a reason for shame.
• Strength versus experience: A higher tier does not guarantee superior fighting ability; the Guards’ training and coordination make them a formidable force.
• Pride and hypocrisy: Ling Quan and Tenshiki boast of superiority but turn to assistance when challenged, a contrast Zhou Fan openly mocks.
• Adaptability in combat: Zhou Fan’s varied techniques let him counter coordinated attacks and exploit the vulnerability of a clustered group.

Character interactions

• Zhou Fan provokes Ling Quan, first criticizing his weakness and then unintentionally reminding him to summon the Guards.
• Xia Qingran blames Zhou Fan for giving Ling Quan the idea, while Zhou Fan protests that he could not have known Ling Quan had forgotten his reinforcements.
• Ling Quan defends his decision to call for help, and Zhou Fan grudgingly concedes that his reasoning makes sense.
• When Ling Quan’s new technique activates, Zhou Fan immediately protects Xia Qingran, signaling both his caution and concern for her safety.

Plot points and events

• Ling Quan reveals that he has separated Zhou Fan and Xia Qingran into ten soul clones each, splitting their power and abilities evenly among them. Losing a clone permanently costs them a tenth of their power; losing all ten would leave them soulless.
• The division leaves each clone far weaker than the original person’s concentrated strength. It also splits their superpowers, so an individual clone can use only one ability.
• Ling Quan’s guards attack. Zhou Fan finds that most of his techniques fail, though he can still use Fire Release. Xia Qingran’s clones are easily overwhelmed by stronger guards, and both she and Zhou Fan are pushed onto the defensive.
• Ling Quan prepares to finish them with his “Five Spirits Killing Move,” but Ye Chen arrives, intercepts the attack with his sword, and knocks back several guards. He offers to fight alongside Zhou Fan.

Character developments and interactions

• Ling Quan boasts about his soul-splitting technique, explaining its rules in detail and taking obvious pleasure in demonstrating his advantage.
• Zhou Fan is intrigued by the clones at first, then frustrated when his usual powers fail. He remains focused on helping Xia Qingran despite his weakened state.
• Xia Qingran quickly recognizes the danger of having her power divided and struggles to defend herself and her clones against the guards.
• Ye Chen unexpectedly arrives as an ally, rescuing Zhou Fan and Xia Qingran at a critical moment. Zhou Fan is surprised by his appearance.

Significant themes

• Strength depends on concentration: Dividing a person’s total power may preserve it in theory, but dispersing it makes each part vulnerable.
• Power and overconfidence: Ling Quan’s confidence leads him to explain and celebrate his advantage, while the sudden arrival of Ye Chen disrupts his apparent control.
• Cooperation in adversity: Zhou Fan and Xia Qingran face overwhelming odds until Ye Chen joins the fight.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Chen arrives just as Ling Quan is about to finish off Zhou Fan and Xia Qingran, and immediately attacks him.
• Ye Chen’s Iron Stream techniques and Silver Fox ability let him break Ling Quan’s defenses and land a minor wound, but Ling Quan’s sixth-tier, one-star strength makes him a formidable opponent.
• Ling Quan’s eight fifth-tier Guards surround the group. Ye Chen offers to handle them, allowing Zhou Fan to face Ling Quan while Xia Qingran stays with him.
• Ye Chen activates an Iron Barrier that seals him and the Guards into a separate battlefield.
• Ling Quan reveals he has five additional Guards. With the odds worsening, Xia Qingran considers using her Ice Spirit Body, despite the danger to her already-damaged body.
• Zhou Fan refuses to let her risk it. He says he has learned something about his ten Soul Clones, then surrounds each with a fiery Tailed Beast Cloak. The chapter ends as this new power appears.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Chen demonstrates quick thinking and versatile control over metal, adapting his attacks when Ling Quan counters them. He trusts Zhou Fan’s judgment and takes on the Guards without hesitation.
• Zhou Fan remains determined to fight rather than retreat. He protects Xia Qingran from further harm and appears to have discovered a way to use his Soul Clones’ abilities.
• Xia Qingran is willing to endanger herself to help Zhou Fan, but he firmly stops her out of concern for her physical limits.
• Ling Quan is confident and ruthless, relying on superior strength and steadily increasing numbers to overwhelm his opponents.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and self-sacrifice: Ye Chen risks himself to give Zhou Fan a chance, while Xia Qingran is prepared to harm herself for the group.
• Protecting others: Zhou Fan’s refusal to let Xia Qingran use her Ice Spirit Body reflects his concern for her well-being.
• Adaptation and resolve: Ye Chen changes tactics against Ling Quan’s defenses, while Zhou Fan insists on confronting the enemy despite the odds.
• Escalating power imbalance: Ling Quan’s strength and reinforcements make the fight increasingly desperate, setting up Zhou Fan’s newly revealed technique as a possible turning point.

Key events

• Ling Quan’s Soul-Splitting Spirit Separation divides Zhou Fan’s soul into ten clones, supposedly weakening him. But the Tailed Beasts and Sage Mode aren’t tied to his soul, so every clone retains a Tailed Beast Cloak and can use Sage Mode. Together, these boosts let each clone reach fourth tier, five-star strength.
• The clones each wield different abilities and coordinate attacks against Ling Quan’s five Guards. They use mist, earth, wind, water, lightning, fire, spatial techniques, and powerful close-combat skills to counter the Guards’ attacks.
• The Guards try to destroy Zhou Fan’s original body, believing the clones will then collapse. Clone No. 6 instead uses Flying Thunder God to redirect their combined five-element attack behind them, turning their own assault back on them.
• Clones No. 7 and 8 join the charge, while the remaining clones launch a coordinated barrage. The Guards are left stunned by how formidable Zhou remains despite the supposed weakening.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Fan demonstrates that his strength comes not only from his soul-bound abilities: his summons, combat experience, and vast range of powers remain effective across the clones. He also shows strong tactical coordination through them.
• Ling Quan and the Guards begin confident that soul-splitting has made Zhou helpless. As the clones repeatedly counter and overwhelm them, their certainty turns to disbelief.
• The clones work as a unified team: one creates cover, another manipulates the terrain, others attack or defend, and one protects Zhou’s original body.

Significant themes

• Adaptability and loopholes: Zhou exploits what the soul-splitting technique cannot divide or suppress.
• Power through coordination: Ten specialized fighters can act together as a formidable whole.
• Overconfidence punished: The Guards underestimate Zhou and misjudge the limits of Ling Quan’s technique.

Key plot points and events

• Zhou Fan’s first eight Soul Clones briefly overwhelm Ling Quan’s five Guards, but the Guards repel them and dismiss them as insufficient.
• Zhou Fan reveals his remaining two clones: one summons a gigantic Complete Body Susanoo, the other a towering Wood Golem. Their combined attacks nearly kill the Guards.
• The clones follow up with Amaterasu, poisonous pollen from a vast flowering forest, and more black flames, killing all five Guards.
• The Soul-Splitting Spirit Separation technique ends, and Zhou Fan’s ten clones return to him. Ling Quan’s power has also expired, leaving him alone, though he insists the fight is not over.
• A blood-red moon appears, signaling that the Void Rift is closing. Xia Qingran warns that everyone must reach the evacuation point soon.
• Ye Chen emerges from a separate battle after fighting eight fifth-tier Guards. He killed three, but is badly wounded. Zhou Fan checks on him; Ye Chen reassures him before collapsing.
• Zhou Fan lays Ye Chen aside and prepares to face Ling Quan directly.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Fan demonstrates that his full set of clones—and especially the last two—can defeat powerful opponents. He remains composed and protective, acknowledging Ye Chen’s contribution before turning back to Ling Quan.
• Ling Quan realizes he underestimated Zhou Fan. With his Guards dead and his time-limited ability exhausted, he faces a far more dangerous situation.
• Ye Chen proves his courage and stamina by taking on eight elite opponents alone. Though gravely injured, he is proud of the fight and seeks Zhou Fan’s approval.
• Xia Qingran recognizes the blood moon and alerts the others to the urgent need to escape.
• Zhou Fan and Ye Chen share a supportive exchange: Ye Chen asks whether he let Zhou Fan down, and Zhou Fan assures him that he helped greatly.

Significant themes

• Power and surprise: Zhou Fan’s strongest abilities remain concealed until needed, overturning the Guards’ confidence.
• Courage and sacrifice: Ye Chen’s stand against overwhelming odds costs him dearly but helps the group.
• Loyalty and mutual support: Zhou Fan values Ye Chen’s help, while Ye Chen’s question shows how much he cares about earning his trust.
• Urgency amid conflict: The blood moon introduces a deadline, complicating the unresolved confrontation with Ling Quan.

Key plot points and events

• With the Red Moon appearing and the Void Rift beginning to close, Ling Quan’s surviving Guards move to protect him and retreat.
• Zhou Fan unleashes an enormous thousand-armed Buddha reinforced with Complete Body Susanoo, then overwhelms the Guards’ combined shield with a barrage of attacks.
• The Five Spirits Space is devastated. The five Guards die defending Ling Quan, leaving him as the sole survivor.
• Ling Quan tries to escape through a Spatial Passage, but Zhou Fan uses Kamui to disrupt it. Ling Quan’s desperate counterattack fails when Zhou Fan turns intangible.
• As Ling Quan’s energy runs low, Zhou Fan summons lightning into the beast-like Kirin and strikes him down.
• Exhausted from the battle, Zhou Fan is caught by Xia Qingran and rests in her arms.

Character developments

• Zhou Fan demonstrates the full scale and versatility of his powers, combining Sage techniques, Wood Release, Susanoo, Amaterasu, Kamui, and Kirin. He wins but is left nearly spent, recognizing that Xia Qingran and Ye Chen helped make victory possible.
• Ling Quan shifts from confident aggressor to trapped and defeated opponent. Even after threatening revenge, he cannot escape or overcome Zhou Fan.
• Xia Qingran shows deep concern for Zhou Fan and supports him after the fight.
• The Guards prove their loyalty by sacrificing themselves to protect Ling Quan.

Significant themes

• Power and its cost: Zhou Fan’s overwhelming abilities secure victory, but the effort leaves him physically depleted.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: The Guards give their lives for Ling Quan.
• Teamwork: Zhou Fan acknowledges that Xia Qingran and Ye Chen’s contributions were crucial.
• Consequences and accountability: Zhou Fan views Ling Quan’s predicament as the result of his own choices.

Character interactions

• The Guards form a defensive line around Ling Quan and combine their powers to shield him from Zhou Fan’s attacks.
• Zhou Fan taunts Ling Quan after the Guards fall, then blocks his escape and counters his attack.
• After defeating Ling Quan, Zhou Fan reassures Xia Qingran that he is only exhausted; she catches him and offers her arms as a place to rest.

Key plot points and events

• Zhou Fan wakes after less than two hours, impressing Xia Qingran with his rapid recovery. Ye Chen is also awake, having recovered with the help of medicine.
• With the blood moon signaling the retreat, Zhou Fan gives Xia Qingran the Xiaoyang Fruit, the goal of their expedition. She can use it to treat her Ice Spirit Body, and thanks him for making the mission possible.
• As Zhou Fan, Xia Qingran, and Ye Chen enter the spatial passage to leave the Void Rift, Ling Quan reveals he survived Zhou Fan’s final attack by feigning death and hiding.
• Ling Quan damages the unstable passage, creating a breach and triggering a spatial storm. He escapes through another rift, but Zhou Fan uses Kamui to tear off his right arm.
• Xia Qingran and Ye Chen’s attacks cannot stop the storm. Zhou Fan catches them with his Complete Body Susanoo, but it begins to disintegrate under the spatial forces. With the trio being pulled toward the breach, Zhou Fan tries to counter it with Kamui.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Fan remains confident in his exceptional recovery and combat abilities. He shares the Xiaoyang Fruit with Xia Qingran and protects both companions when the passage collapses.
• Xia Qingran is delighted to receive the fruit and grateful to Zhou Fan. Even facing danger, she recognizes that escape may be impossible.
• Ye Chen expresses admiration for Zhou Fan, then joins Xia Qingran in trying to resist the spatial storm.
• Ling Quan is driven by humiliation and family pride to pursue revenge rather than escape quietly. His ambush backfires when Zhou Fan maims him, though he still manages to flee.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and cooperation: The group’s shared goal and Zhou Fan’s protection of his companions bind them together.
• Pride and revenge: Ling Quan’s refusal to accept defeat leads him to endanger everyone, including himself.
• Power against overwhelming forces: Zhou Fan’s abilities have repeatedly turned the tide, but the spatial storm poses a threat beyond ordinary attacks.
• Victory shadowed by danger: The Xiaoyang Fruit is secured, yet the successful mission turns into a desperate fight for survival.

Plot points and events

• Zhou Fan uses both Sharingan eyes to unleash Dual Kamui, holding back the unstable spatial energy so Xia Qingran and Ye Chen can escape the collapsing Void Rift.
• The spatial energy suddenly overwhelms Kamui and pulls Zhou Fan into the Abyssal Space. Xia Qingran tries to return for him, but the passage collapses and throws her clear.
• At the Superpower General Bureau, officials discover that abnormal spatial fluctuations are closing the Rift far faster than expected. Most examinees escape, but Zhou Fan is missing.
• Xia Qingran and Ye Chen emerge and report that Zhou Fan was swallowed by the Abyssal Space. With the Rift closed, officials fear he has little chance of surviving or returning.
• Alone in the endless darkness, Zhou Fan repeatedly uses Kamui to search for an exit, despite his dwindling spiritual energy and ocular power. Eventually, he reaches a stable space containing a floating island, grassland, and red moon—but it is still inside the Void Rift.
• The Nightmare Lord, Hei Meng, appears and recognizes Zhou Fan, marking their third encounter.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Fan puts himself at risk to let Xia Qingran and Ye Chen escape, then persists in using Kamui despite the danger of exhaustion.
• Xia Qingran is devastated by Zhou Fan’s disappearance and is willing to risk herself to save him. Ye Chen forcibly takes her out, believing staying would only waste their lives and betray Zhou Fan’s sacrifice.
• Lin Ya remains composed while managing the emergency, but is shaken by the news that Zhou Fan may be trapped.
• Zhou Fan’s earlier encounters with Hei Meng—through a consciousness fragment and a Shadow Clone—give their new face-to-face meeting added significance.

Significant themes

• Self-sacrifice and loyalty: Zhou Fan prioritizes his companions’ safety, while Xia Qingran refuses to abandon him.
• Limits and perseverance: Kamui can breach the strange space, but escaping its seemingly endless layers costs Zhou Fan precious energy.
• Uncertainty and isolation: Zhou Fan’s fate is unknown to those outside, while he faces an immense, apparently inescapable darkness alone.
• Fate and recurring confrontation: Hei Meng describes their repeated meetings as fate, setting up a potentially crucial encounter.

Plot points and events

• Zhou Fan unexpectedly stumbles into the Nightmare Lord’s domain in the Void Rift, meeting him in person for the first time; their earlier encounters were with clones.
• The Nightmare Lord assumes Zhou Fan endured great hardship to seek instruction in illusion techniques, but Zhou Fan explains that he simply got lost.
• Zhou Fan dismisses the Nightmare Lord’s skills as unlikely to help him. Offended but curious, the Nightmare Lord challenges him to an illusion contest.
• The Nightmare Lord says Zhou Fan must win to be sent home safely; otherwise, he risks being lost in a deeper void. Zhou Fan agrees.
• The Nightmare Lord launches an illusion of darkness and vengeful spirits. Zhou Fan counters with his Mangekyō Sharingan, producing a fiery illusion.
• Their powers clash evenly, and the space around them shatters before either gains the advantage.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Fan remains candid, calm, and confident—even when his bluntness insults the Nightmare Lord. Though eager to go home, he accepts the contest because the Nightmare Lord understands the dangerous realm.
• The Nightmare Lord begins as a dignified, approving mentor figure, then becomes indignant at Zhou Fan’s dismissal. His pride in his reputation as Xia Country’s foremost illusionist drives him to test Zhou Fan’s ability.
• Their exchange shifts from a possible lesson to a rivalry: the Nightmare Lord insists on a contest, while Zhou Fan would rather leave.

Significant themes

• Pride and confidence: Both characters believe in their abilities, and the contest tests whether confidence is justified.
• Chance versus intention: Zhou Fan reaches the Nightmare Lord not through determination to find him, but by accident.
• Power and danger: The clash demonstrates their comparable strength, while the Void Rift makes escape dependent on the Nightmare Lord’s help.

Plot points and events

• Zhou Fan and the Nightmare Lord engage in a prolonged genjutsu duel, each adapting to counter the other’s techniques.
• The Nightmare Lord unleashes “Dream Demon Devours Heaven,” but Zhou Fan answers with Complete Body Susanoo and cuts through the demon, shattering the illusion. The exchange establishes Zhou Fan as the first person to counter the Nightmare Lord’s ultimate genjutsu.
• Impressed, the Nightmare Lord asks Zhou Fan’s name and praises him as a rare equal—and potentially his strongest rival had they lived in the same era.
• Zhou Fan asks how to escape. The Nightmare Lord opens a spatial passage toward Blue Star and explains that Zhou must tear through the Abyssal Space himself to return.
• Zhou Fan offers to take the Nightmare Lord back too. The Nightmare Lord confirms he secluded himself in the rift because he could not overcome his inner demons.
• Instead of explaining those demons directly, he asks Zhou Fan what genjutsu is for. Their conversation shifts from combat to whether genjutsu can create a world for its user.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Fan demonstrates exceptional genjutsu skill, combining power with adaptability. He remains respectful toward the Nightmare Lord and shows concern by offering to help him return.
• The Nightmare Lord moves from testing Zhou Fan to admiring him as a genuine peer. He reveals a more reflective side, describing genjutsu not only as a weapon but as an art of creation.
• Their relationship changes from adversaries in a contest to respectful interlocutors. The Nightmare Lord’s questions challenge Zhou Fan’s practical view of genjutsu.

Significant themes

• Power and recognition: The Nightmare Lord, long unmatched and lonely at the peak of his art, finally encounters someone capable of challenging him.
• Genjutsu as creation: The chapter explores whether illusion can be more than a means of defeating enemies—perhaps a way to build a world.
• Dreams versus reality: Zhou Fan questions the value of an invented world if it disappears upon waking, raising the problem of whether imagined happiness can truly satisfy.
• Inner demons and escape: The Nightmare Lord’s isolation is tied to unresolved inner turmoil, which the discussion hints may be connected to his dream of creating a world.

Key plot points and events

• The Nightmare Lord explains that he once created a Genjutsu capable of keeping others in an illusion indefinitely. His true ambition, however, is to use Genjutsu to create a genuine world—or at least a dream he himself can never leave.
• He says reality is cruel and that he has chosen to remain in the hidden space until he develops “Ultimate Genjutsu.” Zhou Fan offers to take him out, but the Nightmare Lord refuses.
• Zhou Fan leaves through the spatial passage opened for him, using Kamui. The Nightmare Lord hopes they will meet again.
• A week after the Void Rift closes, Xi Yan and Jiang Lei are still at the Superpower General Bureau, grieving Zhou Fan’s presumed death. Xi Yan finally accepts that searching the disordered Rift is futile, and the two prepare to leave.
• A spatial storm suddenly forms where the Rift entrance used to be. As Lin Ya, Xi Yan, and Jiang Lei move to contain it, someone emerges from the vortex—Zhou Fan, thrilled to be free.

Character developments and interactions

• The Nightmare Lord reveals the sorrow behind his research: he wants to escape a cruel reality, but remains committed to his work and refuses Zhou Fan’s offer of rescue.
• Zhou Fan respects the Nightmare Lord’s choice, leaves without pressuring him, and returns through the spatial passage.
• Xi Yan moves from desperate hope to reluctant acceptance of Zhou Fan’s apparent loss. Jiang Lei supports him as a close friend.
• Lin Ya responds cautiously to the sudden spatial disturbance, ordering others away and asking Xi Yan and Jiang Lei to help control it.

Significant themes

• Reality versus illusion: The chapter questions whether an unending dream can still be considered false, especially if it feels like a complete life.
• Escapism and grief: The Nightmare Lord seeks refuge from painful reality, while Zhou Fan’s colleagues struggle with the apparent loss of someone they care about.
• Choice and acceptance: The Nightmare Lord chooses to stay behind; Zhou Fan and his friends must each accept decisions and outcomes they cannot control.

Key plot points and events

• Zhou Fan emerges alive from the spatial vortex, astonishing Principal Xi Yan, Lin Ya, and Jiang Lei. He explains that he survived the dark space and met the still-living Nightmare Lord, who chose to remain behind to study genjutsu.
• Zhou Fan also reports meeting people from the Star Realm—the Shikigami and Lingyu families. The officials recognize this as proof that other worlds exist and decide the Superpower General Bureau must investigate.
• Zhou Fan declines to return with Xi Yan, choosing first to check on Xia Qingran.
• At the Xia family residence, Qingran has obtained the Xiaoyang Fruit needed to treat her ice spirit body, but grief and guilt over Zhou Fan’s presumed death have left her unable to use it.
• When she learns that a visitor claims to be her junior schoolmate, she rushes outside and finds Zhou Fan alive. She throws herself into his arms.

Character developments

• Zhou Fan returns calm and upbeat despite his ordeal. He shares important discoveries and prioritizes finding Qingran before going home.
• Xi Yan moves from despair to overwhelming relief at the return of his student.
• Xia Qingran is consumed by grief and blames herself for Zhou Fan’s supposed death, believing he was lost while helping her. His return breaks through her despair.
• The officials shift from suspicion about other worlds to recognizing the Star Realm as a real potential concern.

Significant themes

• Hope after loss: Zhou Fan’s unexpected return reverses what seemed like a permanent tragedy.
• Guilt and sacrifice: Qingran would give up the cure she fought for if it could bring Zhou Fan back.
• The unknown beyond one’s world: The Star Realm’s existence opens the possibility of future contact or conflict.
• Attachment and reunion: The chapter emphasizes the emotional bonds between mentor and student, and between Zhou Fan and Qingran.

Character interactions

• Xi Yan, Lin Ya, and Jiang Lei question Zhou Fan about his survival and listen to his reports; Xi Yan’s relief is especially pronounced.
• Qin Lin gently urges Qingran to use the Xiaoyang Fruit, reminding her that Zhou Fan would want her to be free of her condition.
• Zhou Fan’s cheerful greeting at the Xia family gate is met by Qingran rushing into his arms.

• Zhou Fan returns safely from the Void Rift. Overwhelmed with relief, Xia Qingran rushes into his arms and clings to him until he tells her she is squeezing him too tightly. Embarrassed, she lets go and explains that she is simply glad he survived.
• Qin Lin welcomes Zhou Fan into the Xia family home, his first proper visit there. She is also relieved: Zhou’s disappearance had left Xia Qingran despondent and barely eating, and his return immediately lifts her spirits.
• Xia Qingran asks how Zhou escaped the Void Rift. He credits his own strength, explaining that he could tear open space, and adds that he encountered the Nightmare Lord, Hei Meng, inside. Zhou recounts their meeting, astonishing both women.
• Qin Lin recalls meeting Hei Meng roughly twenty years earlier, before he vanished during a Void Rift expedition. She says he was already a renowned illusionist but was trapped by his inner demons. Xia Qingran wonders what caused them; Qin Lin explains that inner demons are personal and can only be overcome by the person who has them.
• Zhou asks whether Xia Qingran’s Ice Spirit Body has been treated with the Xiaoyang Fruit. She admits preparations have not begun, though she had initially made it sound as if they were underway. Qin Lin steps in and says treatment could begin as early as the day after tomorrow. Xia Qingran reluctantly agrees, and Zhou offers to help; she declines, not wanting to burden him further.
• Qin Lin invites Zhou to stay overnight and rest, hinting that they may need his help later. He agrees.
  Character developments and interactions: Xia Qingran’s relief reveals how deeply attached she is to Zhou, though she quickly tries to regain her composure. Qin Lin’s concern for her daughter motivates her to push forward with treatment, while Zhou remains focused on Xia Qingran’s wellbeing and offers support without insisting.
  Themes: The chapter emphasizes emotional attachment, gratitude, and care expressed through both affection and practical help. Hei Meng’s unresolved inner demons introduce the theme of confronting private struggles that others cannot resolve for us.

Plot points and events

• Zhou Fan stays overnight at the wealthy Xia family estate, where Xia Qingran offers him a luxurious guest room.
• The next morning, Xia Qingran arrives dressed up and asks him to come out with her. Zhou Fan initially assumes she may be going on a date with someone else, then reluctantly agrees to accompany her.
• Instead of revisiting the city center, Xia Qingran takes him to a hillside flower field. At exactly nine, the rare Pale Moon Flowers bloom all at once, creating a vast, colorful sea of flowers.
• They sit together and admire the flowers. Zhou Fan says he would gladly come with her again, prompting a warm reaction from Xia Qingran.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Fan remains casual and somewhat oblivious to Xia Qingran’s romantic signals: he mistakes her dressed-up appearance for preparation for a date with someone else and initially finds the outing unappealing.
• Xia Qingran shows a more playful, affectionate side. She dresses especially nicely for their outing, teases Zhou Fan when he misunderstands, and is delighted by the flower field.
• Their exchange grows more tender as Xia Qingran thanks him for coming and Zhou Fan reassures her that she needn’t be formal, offering to accompany her again. His promise clearly makes her happy.

Significant themes

• Unspoken affection: Xia Qingran’s effort and emotional response suggest deeper feelings, while Zhou Fan remains largely unaware.
• Shared experiences and nature’s beauty: The rare blooming flowers create a memorable moment of quiet closeness.
• Contrast in perspective: Zhou Fan treats the outing as an obligation at first, whereas Xia Qingran clearly cherishes spending time with him.

Plot points and events

• After visiting the Sea of Flowers, Zhou Fan spends the day shopping with Xia Qingran. She thanks him for the time together and explains that she will begin treatment for her ice spirit body the next day at the Qin Family’s secret grounds.
• Zhou Fan insists on accompanying her to the entrance, even though he cannot enter. The next morning, he joins Xia Qingran, her mother Qin Lin, and her father Xia Chuan.
• Zhou Fan and Xia Chuan exchange brief, respectful greetings. Xia Chuan notes that Zhou Fan is the first person in Xia Country’s history to escape the Void Rift, but he remains emotionally distant from Xia Qingran. She responds coldly, and the two leave with Qin Lin.
• At the Qin estate, Xia Qingran reunites warmly with her cousin Qin Nuannuan, who reveals that Qingran was deeply upset while Zhou Fan was missing in the Void Rift. Qingran quickly silences her.
• Qin Shan, the former Qin Family head and Qingran’s grandfather, and Qin Bai, the current head and her uncle, welcome the group. They lead Xia Qingran toward the family’s icy mountain secret grounds.
• Since only people with an ice spirit body can enter, Zhou Fan must stay behind. Xia Qingran tells him she must face the treatment herself, then enters the grounds with Qin Bai.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Fan shows steady care for Xia Qingran by accompanying her despite being unable to help directly. He accepts her decision to enter alone and wishes her well.
• Xia Qingran is hopeful but anxious about the treatment. Her affectionate time with Zhou Fan and her cousin contrasts with her sharp, strained exchanges with her father.
• Xia Chuan acknowledges Zhou Fan’s extraordinary achievement but remains detached from his daughter, underscoring their unresolved tension.
• Qin Nuannuan is openly affectionate toward Qingran and inadvertently exposes how distressed Qingran was over Zhou Fan’s disappearance.
• Qin Lin and the Qin elders support the treatment, which takes place at the Qin Family because the ice spirit body is hereditary there.

Significant themes

• Care and companionship: Zhou Fan’s support matters even when he cannot join or assist with the treatment.
• Family bonds and estrangement: Qingran’s closeness with her mother, cousin, and maternal relatives contrasts with her cold relationship with Xia Chuan.
• Facing personal trials: The treatment is something Qingran must undertake alone, highlighting both her vulnerability and resolve.

Plot points and events

• Xia Qingran enters the Qin Family’s secret grounds with her uncle to suppress her powerful Ice Spirit Body using the Xiaoyang Fruit. Treatment may take ten days to half a month.
• Zhou Fan agrees to return to Xinghai University rather than wait outside, after Qin Lin reminds him that people there are worried about him. Qin Lin also reaffirms her promise to let him train in the Qin Family’s inheritance grounds once Qingran’s treatment is over.
• At Dawn’s base, Zhao Qiu mistakenly tells Jiaoxin and Duan Fei that Zhou Fan died after being swept into a Spatial Storm in the Void Rift. Believing their leader is gone, Jiaoxin plans to leave Dawn, and Duan Fei intends to return to his own group.
• Zhao Qiu urges them to preserve Zhou Fan’s legacy and announces that he will take over as Dawn’s leader—just as Zhou Fan appears, alive and well. After confirming he is real, Zhao Qiu embraces him in relief. Zhou Fan teases him about trying to take his position.
• The group tells Zhou Fan that Lin has been worried about him. He heads to the university to reassure her.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Lin’s worry shows her maternal concern for Qingran, while she also looks after Zhou Fan by urging him to notify the people who care about him.
• Zhou Fan’s devotion to Qingran is clear: he is willing to wait through her long treatment, though he accepts Qin Lin’s advice to return briefly.
• Zhao Qiu’s grief and guilt over Zhou Fan’s supposed death quickly become relief. His attempted succession is played for humor, especially when Zhou Fan catches him.
• Jiaoxin and Duan Fei’s loyalty is evident: both joined Dawn because of Zhou Fan and see little reason to remain without him. Their grief turns to happiness when he returns.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and belonging: Dawn’s members are bound to Zhou Fan, and his return restores their sense of purpose.
• Care and responsibility: Qin Lin reminds Zhou Fan that his absence affects others, while Xia Chuan and the family wait anxiously for Qingran.
• Relief and comedy after danger: The misunderstanding about Zhou Fan’s death creates a brief crisis that ends in an affectionate, humorous reunion.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Qianqian mourns Zhou Fan, arranging the porcelain dolls he gave her and putting away the crescent earrings he once fastened for her.
• Believing he has been killed by the Star Realm’s Lingyu Family, she vows to find them and avenge him—while insisting that only she had the right to defeat him.
• Zhou Fan unexpectedly returns home alive. Lin Qianqian is so stunned that she drops her cup, but he catches it with his Body Flicker Technique.
• She welcomes him home, asks if he is hungry, and makes him noodles. Zhou Fan expects them to be terrible, but they turn out to be surprisingly delicious.

Character development

• Lin Qianqian reveals how deeply she cares for Zhou Fan through her grief, keepsakes, and determination to avenge him. After he returns, she expresses affection indirectly by making him food. Her cooking appears to have improved unexpectedly, though neither she nor Zhou Fan knows why.
• Zhou Fan returns in good spirits and jokes about Lin Qianqian’s restrained reaction. His surprise at the tasty noodles highlights his familiarity with her usually poor cooking—and his cautious approach to teasing her.

Significant themes

• Grief, loyalty, and revenge: Lin Qianqian turns her sorrow over Zhou Fan’s apparent death into a fierce promise to punish those responsible.
• Affection through everyday gestures: The dolls, earrings, warm welcome, and homemade meal convey feelings that Lin Qianqian does not state directly.
• Comic relief after tension: Zhou Fan’s return and his anxious skepticism about the noodles lighten the chapter’s earlier mourning.

Character interactions

• Lin Qianqian’s memories of gifts from Zhou Fan show the emotional weight of their relationship.
• When Zhou Fan appears, he teases her for not seeming surprised; she responds quietly and shifts the conversation to whether he is hungry.
• Their exchange over the noodles is playful: Zhou Fan praises them cautiously, while Lin Qianqian catches his implied criticism of her past cooking.

Plot points and events

• Lin Qianqian asks Zhou Fan how he escaped the Void Rift. He describes the Lingyu Family, spirit-separation techniques, spatial storms, dark space, and meeting the Nightmare Lord, who helped him but chose to remain behind.
• After eating Lin’s noodles, Zhou notices she has removed the crescent-moon earrings he gave her. Their familiar, teasing exchange restores their usual dynamic.
• Zhou realizes the explosion Esper Deidara, who had agreed to join [Dawn], never arrived. Zhao Qiu confirms that Deidara was seen after the rift closed but was overlooked while everyone focused on rescuing Zhou.
• Zhou asks Principal Xi Yan to locate Deidara through the Superpower General Bureau’s records. Xi Yan agrees and advises Zhou to rest.
• That night, Lin visits Zhou wearing the earrings again and gives him a small jade pendant as a “return gift.”

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou is relieved to be home and speaks plainly about his ordeal, but judges the Nightmare Lord’s retreat into illusion as weakness. Lin gently redirects his attention toward what matters to her: Zhou’s safe return.
• Lin’s brief tenderness after Zhou’s return contrasts with her usual cool manner. Their banter about the earrings settles them back into familiar, slightly teasing rapport.
• Zhou acts responsibly toward Deidara, following up on his recruitment rather than forgetting him. Xi Yan supports him by offering to use his institutional connections.
• Lin’s jade pendant signals a personal gesture in return for Zhou’s earlier gift, though she downplays its significance.

Significant themes

• Facing reality: Zhou argues that strength means confronting hardship and improving the real world, rather than escaping into comforting illusions.
• Care and connection: Lin’s concern, hospitality, and gift show affection through quiet actions more than direct declarations.
• Responsibility amid chaos: Zhou’s effort to find Deidara highlights how unexpected crises can disrupt plans—and the importance of following through afterward.

Plot points and events

• Lin Qianqian gives Zhou Fan a small jade pendant engraved with “peace and safety,” explaining it as a return gift for the presents he has given her.
• Zhou Fan complains that it is impractical and says he would have preferred a game console, graphics card, or meal. Lin is hurt and angry, though Zhou accepts the pendant and wears it.
• Lin vents in her room by punching a stuffed toy, then receives a system reminder that the fourth comparison is one day away. She refuses the option to postpone, confident in her newly acquired spatial power.
• The next morning, Zhou receives Deidara’s address from Xi Yan and sets off with Zhao Qiu to find him. On the way, Zhao notices the pendant and deduces Lin gave it to Zhou.
• Zhao explains that the pendant comes from Anfo Temple and requires seven days of twice-daily worship to obtain. Lin undertook the ritual for Zhou, and each person can receive only one pendant—for themselves or someone they truly care about. Zhou realizes the gift meant far more than he understood.

Character developments

• Lin Qianqian shows care through a meaningful, hard-earned gift, but her pride and frustration make her disguise its emotional significance. She is also newly confident in her spatial abilities and determined to face the upcoming comparison.
• Zhou Fan remains blunt and insensitive, initially valuing practical gifts over sentimental ones. Learning how much effort Lin invested begins to change his understanding of her feelings.
• Zhao Qiu acts as a perceptive, teasing friend who recognizes the pendant’s significance and helps Zhou interpret Lin’s intentions.

Significant themes

• Unspoken affection and misunderstanding: Lin’s thoughtful gesture is initially misread because Zhou takes her explanation at face value.
• Sentimental versus practical value: Zhou dismisses the pendant as decorative, while its effort and symbolism make it deeply meaningful.
• Preparation and resolve: Lin’s new spatial power and refusal to postpone the comparison signal her determination to prove herself.

Character interactions

• Lin and Zhou’s exchange blends her affection with irritation at his bluntness.
• Zhao teases Zhou about growing closer to Lin, then explains the sacrifice behind her gift.
• Zhou’s conversation with Zhao turns the pendant from an object he merely agreed to wear into a sign of Lin’s care.