Chapter Summaries

Wu Bao fought through the Mid-Autumn Festival Gathering’s brutal tournament to win one million lower-grade spirit stones after losing his fortune gambling. Exhausted after reaching ten consecutive victories, he faced Senior Brother Yang and kept fighting as the crowd’s competition grew more desperate.

• Wu Bao entered the platform and defeated the challenger with seven consecutive wins, then continued fighting to build his streak.
• Driven by his need to recover his lost fortune and prepare to ask Ye Yuan's family for her hand, Wu Bao defeated nine opponents in succession.
• Wu Bao overcame the tenth challenger, a beautiful female Heavenly Prodigy, and secured ten consecutive victories and one million lower-grade spirit stones.
• After finding only two bottles of eighth-grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills, Wu Bao was confronted by Senior Brother Yang, who attacked while Wu Bao was exhausted.
• Wu Bao and Senior Brother Yang traded brutal blows as the spectators watched the tournament turn into a desperate fight for spirit stones.

Wu Bao continued his desperate winning streak despite his exhaustion, then faced a Northern Territory Heavenly Prodigy who quickly gained the upper hand. He dragged his opponent off the platform, where the crowd trampled the man, while Zhou Duoduo’s friends questioned her sudden literary talent.

• Wu Zhifeng, Zhou Duoduo, Zhang Lin, and Du Xiangmei discussed Wu Bao’s desperate fighting and the fortunes they had won after Zhou Duoduo’s poem won the wager.
• Yun Shan drew everyone’s attention to Wu Bao, who had won eighteen matches and was facing a challenger from the Northern Territory.
• The Northern Territory man urged Wu Bao to surrender, then dodged his attacks and battered him while Wu Bao struggled to defend himself.
• Wu Bao seized the man and charged off the platform with him, crashing into the crowd below.
• The crowd trampled the Northern Territory man, who later cursed his unseen attackers and limped away with his companions.

Yang Jihua entered the arena to earn money toward her crushing debt and was relentlessly attacked by cultivators furious about losing their fortunes in Zhou Duoduo’s wager. After defeating nine challengers, Yang Jihua faced Zhou Duoduo while exhausted and injured, and began recovering before their fight.

• The tournament drew Heavenly Prodigies and desperate cultivators eager to compete for a million lower-grade spirit stones.
• Yang Jihua entered the arena and faced a furious young man who blamed her for losing his fortune; she beat him and sent him off the platform.
• A burly man seized Yang Jihua and repeatedly smashed her against the ground, but she kicked him away and defeated a stream of challengers.
• Yang Jihua defeated nine Heavenly Prodigies, suffering severe injuries as challengers attacked her to vent their anger.
• Zhou Duoduo arrived, suppressed her cultivation to Yang Jihua’s realm, and taunted her while Yang Jihua sat down to recover before their fight.

Zhou Duoduo ambushed Yang Jihua after promising her time to recover, then beat her brutally and threw her off the platform. Mu Ying challenged Zhou Duoduo next, but Zhou quickly subdued her and began beating her as the arena fell silent in fear.

• Zhou Duoduo attacked Yang Jihua from behind, pinned her to the platform, and mocked her for demanding a fair fight.
• Zhou Duoduo kicked Yang Jihua for several minutes despite the protests of Mu Ying, Aodejiao, and Lu Ding, then threw her off the platform.
• Zhou Duoduo provoked Mu Ying, who leaped onto the platform and challenged her to avenge Yang Jihua.
• Zhou Duoduo dodged Mu Ying's attacks, taunted her, swept her down, and pinned her beneath a foot.
• Zhou Duoduo stomped Mu Ying until her cries grew hoarse, leaving the watching disciples shocked and wary of her strength.

Zhou Duoduo brutally beat Mu Ying in the arena, then fought Odin and Rahhan after provoking them into challenging her. She defeated both men and continued stamping Rahhan into the shattered floor as the crowd cheered.

• Zhou Duoduo kicked Mu Ying repeatedly while the crowd cheered, and taunted Odin and Rahhan as they tried to intervene.
• Zhou Duoduo challenged the men to fight her one at a time, prompting Odin and Rahhan to leap into the arena and attack.
• Zhou Duoduo kicked the unconscious Mu Ying into the crowd and dodged Rahhan's attacks before countering with a series of blows.
• Zhou Duoduo overwhelmed Rahhan in their fierce exchange, then knocked Odin and Rahhan into a crater in the arena floor.
• Zhou Duoduo stomped Rahhan's face and kept beating him as the crowd roared, while Lu Ding watched helplessly.

Zhou Duoduo and the Zhou Family disciples defeated Aodejiao and the Western Region Heavenly Prodigies who attacked them. Zhou Duoduo left Aodejiao writhing after a brutal kick to his groin.

• Aodejiao attacked Zhou Duoduo, but Wu Zhifeng intercepted him and fought him in midair.
• Fifty or sixty Western Region Heavenly Prodigies charged Zhou Duoduo, and Zhang Lin, Du Xiangmei, and the Zhou Family disciples met them in battle.
• The Zhou Family fighters overwhelmed their opponents, while Zhou Duoduo and the others kicked Odin, Rahhan, Yang Jihua, and Mu Ying as they lay defeated.
• Wu Zhifeng beat Aodejiao until he fell, and Aodejiao begged Zhou Duoduo to stop kicking him.
• Zhou Duoduo ordered Wu Zhifeng to strike Aodejiao's face; when he uncovered his groin to protect his broken nose, she kicked him there with Thunderous Might.

The Mid-Autumn Festival Gathering continued through the night, with Lü Kong dominating the martial contests before Lu Ding brought the event to a close at dawn. Zhou Duoduo and her companions safely returned to the Zhou Family Residence after a suspicious fleet watched their journey and Zhou Family ships escorted them.

• Lu Ding stopped the brawl on the Martial Platform, and Guard Army soldiers carried the injured Heavenly Prodigies away for treatment.
• Lü Kong defeated the brocade-clad Heavenly Prodigy and then beat more than a dozen challengers, while Nangong Jin restrained herself from confronting him.
• At dawn, Lu Ding ended the gathering, and the Guard Army later arrested Heavenly Prodigies who refused to pay their boat fares and sent them to the Heavenly Prison.
• Zhou Duoduo and her companions left Purple Mist Shore aboard a Zhou Family merchant ship and noticed unfamiliar ships and signs of fighting along the route.
• Several Zhou Family ships escorted Zhou Duoduo and her companions safely home, after which the watchers withdrew.

Zhou Duoduo, Yun Shan, and Yun Shui returned safely to the Zhou Family after escaping a group of powerful ships, then divided the fortune taken from the Heavenly Prodigies. Zhou Duoduo gave Yun Shan an additional share in gratitude, leaving him to decide whether to accept it.

• Zhang Lin and Wu Zhifeng described the terrifying ships that had followed them on the river, while Zhou Duoduo insisted she would fight any attackers.
• Zhou Duoduo brought Yun Shan and Yun Shui to a sealed sitting room and gave Yun Shan the Heaven Mountain Snow Lotus, which he passed to Yun Shui along with spirit stones and a weapon.
• Zhou Duoduo, Yun Shan, and Yun Shui spent more than two hours counting and dividing the enormous haul into two shares.
• Zhou Duoduo thanked Yun Shan for helping her defeat her rivals and win the gathering, then pushed another substantial portion of her own share toward him.

Yun Shan persuaded Zhou Duoduo to accept a greater share of their spoils so she could strengthen her position and resist her family’s plans for her future. Afterward, Zhou Duoduo hid Yun Shan’s role in her surprising poetic talent from her parents, determined to protect his secret.

• Yun Shan and Zhou Duoduo argued over the resources until he urged her to use them to gain independence and influence within the Zhou Family.
• Zhou Duoduo accepted the Storage Ring and promised to help Yun Shan whenever he needed her.
• Zhou Duoduo and Yun Shan went downstairs without telling anyone about their division of the spoils.
• A servant summoned Zhou Duoduo to meet her parents, and the Zhou Family Head questioned how she had composed a poem that astonished everyone.
• Zhou Duoduo concealed Yun Shan’s involvement, believing that revealing his abilities could put him in danger.

Zhou Duoduo invented a reclusive poetry master to explain her poems, then handed her resources to her mother for safekeeping. Her parents accepted the story but turned to pressing her about marriage, leaving her overwhelmed by matchmaking suggestions.

• Zhou Duoduo told her parents that an unnamed master had passed the poems to her and asked them to keep the secret.
• The head of the Zhou Family warned Zhou Duoduo to stay in because she had attracted attention and advised her to entrust her resources to Zhou Mother.
• Zhou Duoduo handed her resources to Zhou Mother, who agreed to keep them safe and consult her daughter before anyone used them.
• The head of the Zhou Family said Zhou Duoduo's feud with the Yang Family, the Mu Family, and Western Region forces had likely ended a planned marriage arrangement.
• Zhou Mother and the head of the Zhou Family pressed Zhou Duoduo to consider marriage and suggested Xiao Wu and other candidates, while Zhou Duoduo resisted.

After escaping her parents' marriage demands, Zhou Duoduo took out her frustration on Wu Zhifeng for failing to learn where Ying Ming Hao and Ye Hua had gone. Ying Ming Hao led Ye Hua and Nangong Jin to a secluded residence, where they shared breakfast and rice noodle rolls.

• Zhou Duoduo returned to her courtyard after more than two hours of her parents pressing her to marry and slapped Wu Zhifeng when he teased her.
• Zhou Duoduo demanded to know why Ying Ming Hao and Ye Hua had left, then repeatedly struck Wu Zhifeng after learning they had been gone for over an hour.
• Ying Ming Hao asked Ye Hua whether she wanted to return to the Misty Sect, took her hand, and led her and Nangong Jin to a secluded residence.
• The residence's steward recognized Ying Ming Hao's token, welcomed him as Young Master, and sent word for four lords to come while servants prepared breakfast.
• Ying Ming Hao served Ye Hua rice noodle rolls and dumplings, then offered rice noodle rolls to Nangong Jin, who accepted with tears gathering in her eyes.

Ying Ming Hao met with Zhao Jun and the other three, heard that the Song Family's efforts to frame them had failed, and praised the thriving Fragrant Pavilion. He gave each subordinate a Storage Ring full of resources, leaving them overwhelmed and protesting that they had not earned the reward.

• Ying Ming Hao invited Zhao Jun, Qian Da, Sun Chuan, and the fourth subordinate to breakfast after they arrived to greet him.
• Zhao Jun reported that the Song Family had failed to produce evidence against them and that the City Lord's Residence had forced the Song Family to pay compensation.
• Ying Ming Hao discussed the Fragrant Pavilion's success, and Qian Da credited Lady Yu's management with its booming business.
• Ying Ming Hao produced four Storage Rings containing resources meant to raise their strength by a major level.
• Zhao Jun and the other three knelt and repeatedly refused the gifts, saying they had not earned such lavish rewards.

Ying Ming Hao gave Zhao Jun and the other three abundant cultivation resources and advised them on strengthening their forces. He then visited the popular Fragrant Pavilion with Ye Hua and Nangong Jin, and the three were led to a luxury private room.

• Ying Ming Hao ordered Zhao Jun and the other three to accept a large supply of cultivation resources despite their protests.
• Zhao Jun and the other three reported on their operations, and Ying Ming Hao gave them detailed advice on managing and expanding their forces.
• Ying Ming Hao arrived at the Fragrant Pavilion with Ye Hua and Nangong Jin, where courtesans crowded around them at the entrance.
• Ye Hua slapped away a woman who tried to grope her, while Ying Ming Hao calmed the courtesans and led his companions inside.
• Ying Ming Hao requested the most luxurious private room, and a stewardess guided the three upstairs.

Ying Ming Hao brought Ye Hua and Nangong Jin to the Fragrant Pavilion and summoned its proprietor, Yu Qinghuan, using a powerful token. He asked Yu Qinghuan to take Nangong Jin in, leaving her awaiting his further instructions.

• Ying Ming Hao showed the steward his token, prompting her to summon the proprietor, Lady Yu.
• Ying Ming Hao told Ye Hua that he intended to settle Nangong Jin at the Fragrant Pavilion, alarming Nangong Jin and Ye Hua.
• Yu Qinghuan arrived, recognized Ying Ming Hao, and thanked him for supporting her cultivation and protecting her daughter, Yu Wanchuan.
• Ying Ming Hao reassured Yu Qinghuan that Yu Wanchuan was safe in the Secret Realm and then revealed his important request.
• Ying Ming Hao asked Yu Qinghuan to place Nangong Jin in the Fragrant Pavilion, and Yu Qinghuan agreed to make arrangements.

Ying Ming Hao placed Nangong Jin and Yu Qinghuan in charge of turning the Fragrant Pavilion into a discreet intelligence network across the South Sea Continent. After learning that Song Bin and Song Muyang regularly visited, he began devising a way to teach them a lesson without driving away their business.

• Nangong Jin removed her disguise, revealing her extraordinary beauty and surprising Yu Qinghuan.
• Ying Ming Hao ordered Nangong Jin to learn the Fragrant Pavilion’s operations and appointed her and Yu Qinghuan to run the enterprise directly under his authority.
• Ying Ming Hao instructed Yu Qinghuan to recruit and train orphans and other vulnerable people, prioritize intelligence gathering, and use resources and guards he provided.
• Yu Qinghuan accepted the assignment and promised to expand the Fragrant Pavilion into a far-reaching intelligence network.
• Yu Qinghuan told Ying Ming Hao that Song Bin and Song Muyang often came to see Chen Xiyuan, along with other young men from prominent families.
• Ying Ming Hao decided not to blacklist the Song Family’s young men and quietly formed a plan to make them suffer a loss and lose face.

Ying Ming Hao devised a scheme to provoke Song Bin and Ye Xiangyong’s groups and ordered infected women at the Fragrant Pavilion to target Song Bin’s men. After Nangong Jin pledged to serve him, Ying Ming Hao carried Ye Hua to the bed when she teased him.

• Ying Ming Hao ordered Yu Qinghuan to alternate bookings for Song Bin’s and Ye Xiangyong’s groups, using staged complaints and visible injuries to inflame their rivalry.
• Ying Ming Hao told Yu Qinghuan to send the Fragrant Pavilion’s most severely ill women to serve Song Bin’s group and reward them afterward.
• Nangong Jin thanked Ying Ming Hao, and he told her to learn management from Yu Qinghuan and promised that she might regain her freedom.
• Ye Hua teased Ying Ming Hao about calling Nangong Jin back, then pinched his waist when he took her suggestion seriously.
• Ying Ming Hao lifted the struggling Ye Hua and carried her toward the bed as she cried for him to put her down.

Ying Ming Hao and Ye Hua were interrupted by Lady Yu’s musicians just as they were becoming intimate, and he stopped while trying to comfort Ye Hua. Later, the Fragrant Pavilion reserved its leading courtesans for Ye Xiangyong and his companions, leaving Song Bin dissatisfied with the women he was offered.

• Lady Yu’s musicians entered while Ying Ming Hao and Ye Hua were embracing, leaving them and the women stunned.
• Ying Ming Hao told the musicians to stay and perform, then released Ye Hua, straightened her clothes, and held her hand as they listened.
• Song Bin arrived with his friends, but the steward told him Chen Xiyuan and the other leading courtesans were booked, so they chose other women instead.
• Ye Xiangyong and his companions arrived, and the steward arranged for Chen Xiyuan and the other leading courtesans to attend them.
• Chen Xiyuan and the others entered Ye Xiangyong’s private room, while Song Bin and his companions watched them pass by and grew disgruntled.

Ascension City’s factions pursued their own schemes as Zhou Duoduo’s gambling winnings made her wealthy and drew a flood of marriage proposals, while the Fragrant Pavilion prospered. Song Bin finally secured a meeting with Chen Xiyuan, unaware that she and the other women were preparing to deceive him with staged wounds.

• Ye Hua and Ying Ming Hao spent their days together in Ascension City and cultivated at night, while their relationship remained awkwardly unchanged.
• Zhou Duoduo collected the gambling debts, gained wealth and freedom from her family’s marriage plans, and attracted numerous new proposals.
• Chu Wei, Yan Xi, Zhao Xu, and the others searched unsuccessfully for Ying Ming Hao and Ye Hua, while the Fragrant Pavilion grew popular under Lady Yu and Nangong Jin’s management.
• Song Bin and his companions arrived before dawn and were told Chen Xiyuan and the other women were available, then showered the manager with spirit stones.
• Chen Xiyuan and the women painted realistic wounds on her back as the manager warned them to follow their plan and keep quiet.

Chen Xiyuan and the other women used their seductive charms and staged injuries to inflame Song Bin and his companions against whoever had supposedly hurt them. Ye Xiangyong and Yang Xiao arrived hoping to see Chen Xiyuan, but were turned away and settled for other women while Ying Ming Hao watched the plan unfold.

• Chen Xiyuan welcomed Song Bin and accompanied him upstairs, where he noticed the apparent scars on her back and promised to avenge her.
• Song Muyang and the other guests saw similar apparent scars on their chosen women and grew furious, then continued indulging themselves.
• Ye Xiangyong and Yang Xiao arrived demanding Chen Xiyuan and the other women, but the steward claimed they were entertaining guests.
• Ye Xiangyong reluctantly chose three other women, while Yang Xiao and the rest of their group selected women of their own.
• Ying Ming Hao watched from the top-floor room and recognized that the women’s charms and staged grievances were advancing his plan.

Ye Xiangyong and Song Bin repeatedly competed to book Chen Xiyuan and the other women at the Fragrant Pavilion, while Ying Ming Hao arranged to infect them with Cauliflower Disease and provoke a fight between the two groups. Lady Yu left to carry out his plan, as Ye Hua continued guarding him from the songstresses.

• Ye Xiangyong and Song Bin repeatedly failed to book Chen Xiyuan and the others, and their frustration grew as they noticed the women's worsening back wounds.
• Ying Ming Hao asked Lady Yu about the women infected with Cauliflower Disease and learned that hundreds had been arranged to serve Song Bin and his companions.
• Lady Yu reported that Chen Xiyuan and the others had taken Ying Ming Hao's preventive pills, which temporarily suppressed the disease's symptoms.
• Ying Ming Hao gave Lady Yu pills to dissolve in Ye Xiangyong's and Song Bin's wine and ordered her to provoke a clash between them.
• Lady Yu left to arrange the confrontation, while Ye Hua continued warding off the songstresses trying to approach Ying Ming Hao.