Chapter Summaries

Yue Wen and Wang Shoucai discussed the Youth Cultivators' Assembly before intervening in a disturbance at the Bow Banquet, where Yue Wen overpowered Xiao Chubei. Wang Shoucai later reported another failed attempt to recruit Yue Wen, then received an urgent request from him to lend ten thousand yuan.

• Wang Shoucai explained that powerful outside cultivators made the independent cultivator track especially competitive, and Qi Dian realized he would have to compete on it.
• Wang Shoucai confronted cultivators causing trouble in a neighboring room and restrained them with his ancient bronze sword.
• Xiao Chubei resisted Wang Shoucai's sword technique, but Yue Wen pushed the sword back in and demanded that the offenders apologize.
• A buzz-cut man apologized for harassing a server, and Wang Shoucai left with Yue Wen after restoring order.
• Wang Shoucai told Perfected One Fengguang that Yue Wen had again refused recruitment, then received Yue Wen's message asking to borrow ten thousand yuan urgently.

Yue Wen met his team of veteran and first-time Wasteland Zone explorers at the River City checkpoint, including Xiao Chubei, with whom he had clashed the previous night. After agreeing to work together, the group passed through the fortress and entered the Wasteland Zone.

• Yue Wen waited at the checkpoint café and met veteran cultivators Luo Bawen and Immortal Fish.
• Dong Mengyao and Xiao Chubei arrived to join the team, and Yue Wen recognized Xiao Chubei from their clash at the Bow Banquet.
• Yue Wen made peace with Xiao Chubei, who told Dong Mengyao that their contest had left him with nothing gained and Yue Wen with nothing lost.
• Yue Wen and the others bought exit tickets, received identification wristbands, and entered the passage through the fortress.
• Yue Wen emerged with the group into the Wasteland Zone and saw its murky spiritual energy and demonic stench.

Yue Wen joined Luo Bawen, Fat Auntie, Dong Mengyao, and Xiao Chubei on a trip through the Wasteland Zone, where he repeatedly detected and killed Evil Spirits. His ruthless attacks alarmed the group, and Luo Bawen asked whether Yue Wen discriminated against Evil Spirits.

• Luo Bawen led the group into the Wasteland Zone and assigned everyone positions while warning them to stay alert.
• Yue Wen detected and killed a concealed Phantom Lizard Beast and an underground Grass-Headed Mantis Demon, impressing Dong Mengyao and frustrating Xiao Chubei.
• When Xiao Chubei prepared to attack a Spotted Giant Leopard, Yue Wen killed it first, then struck down a one-eyed snake watching from the opposite side.
• Yue Wen chased and killed a Big-Headed Demon Creature that was trying to flee, prompting Luo Bawen to ask whether he discriminated against Evil Spirits.

The party entered a valley covered in vines, where Xiao Chubei’s attack on a Vine Ram’s decoy enraged a tree Monster and triggered a dangerous escape. Dong Mengyao survived with Yue Wen and the plump auntie’s help, but after refusing to carry her, Yue Wen left her to continue on foot.

• Luo Bawen warned the party not to attack the vines, but Xiao Chubei cut one and provoked the tree Monster.
• The party fled as vines surged through the valley, and Yue Wen escaped ahead on his Flying Sword.
• Vine Rams ambushed Dong Mengyao; Yue Wen killed one with his sword, while the plump auntie held the exit open and burned the vines with her manifestation.
• Luo Bawen explained that the Vine Rams had used the tree Monster’s limbs as a trap, and the party reproached Xiao Chubei for striking without checking.
• The plump auntie said Dong Mengyao’s injured leg was poisoned, but Yue Wen refused to carry her and went to keep watch; Dong Mengyao also refused Xiao Chubei’s offer and stood up herself.

Yue Wen’s group crossed a river in the Dark Marsh Creeklands and encountered a Shadow Nightmare Wraith that possessed Xiao Chubei. While Luo Bawen and Sister Yu went to gather wood to drive it out, Yue Wen stayed behind with Dong Mengyao and began considering how to lure out the Water Ghosts.

• Luo Bawen warned the group to avoid the swamps, and they crossed a river on a single-log bridge after spotting an extra shadow in the water.
• Luo Bawen identified the shadow as a Shadow Nightmare Wraith and told everyone to make themselves difficult to imitate.
• Yue Wen used the Trace-Hiding Art to hide himself, but the Shadow Demon copied Xiao Chubei’s shadow and possessed him.
• Luo Bawen explained that burning Xiao Chubei on a pyre of shade-facing wood could drive out the creature, so he and Sister Yu left to gather wood.
• Yue Wen stayed with Xiao Chubei while Dong Mengyao circulated her energy, then considered using Xiao Chubei to lure the hidden Water Ghosts out.

Yue Wen used unconscious Xiao Chubei as bait to draw water ghosts from the Dark Marsh Creeklands and killed them while guarding him. Luo Bawen and Fat Auntie burned the Shadow Demon out of Xiao Chubei with Shade-Facing Wood, and Xiao Chubei woke with a new appreciation for his teammates as the group prepared to move on.

• Yue Wen tied Xiao Chubei to a pole and dipped him into the water to lure out water ghosts, then killed the creatures with his sword.
• Yue Wen kept using Xiao Chubei to attract evil spirits and monsters, including a headless-bodied fish monster, and slaughtered them while keeping Xiao Chubei safe.
• Luo Bawen and Fat Auntie returned with Shade-Facing Wood and burned the Shadow Demon out of Xiao Chubei without harming him.
• Xiao Chubei woke, learned how Yue Wen and the seniors had saved him, and thanked them for their care.
• Xiao Chubei found a river crab in his shoe, but Yue Wen pulled him up and welcomed him back to the team.

At Autumn Cloud Lake, Yue Wen helped the party harvest Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses while seeking enough Evil-Suppressing Money to obtain the Dragon-Snake Escape Art. He drew nearly every Ripple-Wave Swallow to himself, and Luo Bawen mistook his monster hunting for a selfless sacrifice to help the others.

• Luo Bawen explained that the party needed to pick Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses quickly before the guarding Ripple-Wave Swallows attacked.
• After the lotuses emerged under the moonlight, the party split up to pick them, with Yue Wen heading for the farthest patch of mist.
• Yue Wen killed the first Ripple-Wave Swallows that attacked him, then realized he could attract more birds by staying near the lotus.
• Yue Wen used Shadow Talismans and his Sword-Controlling Technique to draw in and kill a huge flock of Ripple-Wave Swallows instead of prioritizing the lotuses.
• After picking a second lotus, Xiao Chubei wondered what Yue Wen was doing, and Luo Bawen concluded that Yue Wen was gathering the monsters to give the others time to harvest.

Yue Wen fought off the Ripple-Wave Swallows while his companions harvested Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses, then drew the enraged flock away from them. He led the birds to Vermilion Bird Peak and found the hidden treasure, whose golden light came from a wrecked helicopter.

• Yue Wen battled the Ripple-Wave Swallows with his Shadow Talismans and flying sword while Luo Bawen and the others gathered Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses.
• After his companions called him back, Yue Wen plucked the last Snow Lotus, enraging the entire flock and sending it after him.
• Yue Wen told his companions to return without him, and Xiao Chubei and the others believed he had sacrificed himself to protect them.
• Yue Wen flew toward Vermilion Bird Peak with the flock in pursuit, using the birds to clear a path through the dangerous area.
• Yue Wen sensed unusual ripples on the northern side of the peak, followed a photograph to the crash site, and found a golden glow inside a wrecked helicopter.

Yue Wen found a powerful demon-cleansing sword in the wrecked helicopter and began the slow journey back to the city with it. Meanwhile, Qi Dian learned that Yue Wen was presumed dead, but Yue Wen unexpectedly replied to his message.

• Yue Wen found the golden corpses and a small brass sword inside the helicopter, then discovered that it could expand into a blazing golden weapon by draining his astral qi.
• Yue Wen used the sword’s protective ripples to recover his cultivation and set out toward the city, intending to take the sword home.
• Qi Dian received Luo Bawen, Fat Auntie, Dong Mengyao, and Xiao Chubei, who reported that Yue Wen had lured away the Ripple-Wave Swallow Flock and was presumed dead.
• Qi Dian decided to ask his father to send cultivators to search for Yue Wen, while the visitors left Snow Lotuses and money as condolences.
• Qi Dian messaged Yue Wen to check whether he was alive, and Yue Wen replied, “Keep it for now.”

The author described escaping an apartment fire with their cat after running down from the twenty-fifth floor through thick smoke. They waited outside for help and planned to get themselves and the cat checked, while warning that they might need to take the next day off.

• The author smelled smoke in the apartment but initially assumed it came from people burning fields.
• Someone pounded on the door and warned the author that there was a fire downstairs.
• The author grabbed their cat and ran down the fire stairs, struggling to breathe through the smoke.
• The author, an old lady, and a property management worker were trapped behind a locked stairwell door until a firefighter cut the lock.
• The author waited outside with their cat, both coughing after inhaling smoke, and planned to seek medical checks.

Wang Miaomiao checked on the Meow-Meow Cult’s Cat Demons, who were supposed to be studying human elementary school lessons in a basement. After discovering that Black Meow’s completed homework had been used to wipe White Meow’s nose, she left them to bicker while their martial arts movie played.

• White Meow cried over a romance drama while Black Meow and the orange cat girl argued about what to watch.
• When Wang Miaomiao arrived, the Cat Demons pretended to be studying, but she caught them watching television and scolded them for neglecting their lessons.
• Wang Miaomiao warned that she would take the television remote’s batteries if their homework was unfinished when she returned.
• Black Meow bragged that he had already completed his homework, then discovered White Meow had used it to wipe his nose.
• Black Meow and White Meow fought over the ruined homework as the martial arts movie played.

Yue Wen returned from the Wasteland Zone with a powerful sword, Evil-Suppressing Money, and evidence that a growing Spirit Infant might be killing cultivators. Back at the Agency, he planned to return his teammates’ Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses until Zhao Xing'er’s breakthrough and request for astral-refining funds made them reconsider.

• Yue Wen found two drained corpses marked with baby-sized handprints, photographed the wounds, buried the bodies, and took their bracelets to notify their families.
• Yue Wen returned to Jiangcheng City and chose to keep the money his teammates had sent while planning to return the four Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses.
• Yue Wen reunited with Qi Dian at the Agency and found four Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses waiting in the fridge.
• Zhao Xing'er announced that she had reached the Unity Realm late stage by gaining cultivation from fighting Big White.
• Zhao Xing'er asked to borrow four million for astral-refining materials, and Yue Wen and Qi Dian reconsidered returning the snow lotuses.

Yue Wen decided to return the Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses and planned to fund Zhao Xing'er's astral refining through the Youth Cultivators' Assembly. He learned the Dragon-Snake Escape Art and examined a strange brass sword, while Big White began glowing beneath the full moon.

• Yue Wen told his teammates he was alive and insisted on returning the Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses, earning their goodwill.
• Yue Wen, Zhao Xing'er, and Qi Dian discussed entering the Jiangcheng City Youth Cultivators' Assembly points competition, and Yue Wen claimed he would take first place.
• Yue Wen paid Da Long 499 pieces of Evil-Suppressing Money and received the Dragon-Snake Escape Art Visualization Diagram.
• Da Long identified the brass sword's materials and formation, saying it was not dangerous despite its hostility toward him.
• Big White howled at the full moon, but Zhao Xing'er kicked him and ordered him to be quiet; moonlight then began glowing from his fur.

On the full moon, Big White gained human form and revealed that his strength had risen to the peak of the Fifth Realm. He warned Yue Wen, Zhao Xing'er, and Qi Dian that someone was spying on their Agency, and they decided to confront the watcher that night.

• Zhao Xing'er and Yue Wen discovered that Big White had taken the form of a little boy and called them Mom and Dad.
• Big White explained that Howling Moon Sky Wolves gained intelligence and power from moonlight on full-moon nights, and he called Qi Dian his little brother.
• Big White revealed that his full-moon strength reached the peak of the Fifth Realm, though he lacked the abilities and equipment of a human cultivator at that rank.
• Big White told the family that a strand of divine sense had been watching their Agency from a nearby residential building.
• Yue Wen suspected the watcher might belong to the Hu family and asked Big White if he could deal with them.
• Big White said he could defeat the watcher that night, so Yue Wen ordered them to act immediately.

Yue Wen, Zhao Xing'er, Qi Dian, and Big White ambushed the man following them, only to discover he was Lao Si, Zhao Xing'er's guardian and a retainer of the Zhao Family. Zhao Xing'er explained why she had left home and sent Lao Si back with her stolen weapons, insisting she would make her own way at the Yue Family Cultivation Office.

• Yue Wen and the others lured their pursuer into the woods, where Big White attacked him and the group joined in.
• Zhao Xing'er recognized the man as Lao Si, who revealed that he had secretly protected her since she ran away and that many cultivation families already knew her identity.
• Lao Si urged Zhao Xing'er to return home, but she explained that she had left to stop her actions from burdening her father and to prove herself without the Zhao Family's protection.
• Zhao Xing'er returned the weapons she had taken from the family armory and told Lao Si she would become strong enough to surpass the Zhao Family through the Yue Family Cultivation Office.
• Yue Wen and Qi Dian assured Lao Si that Zhao Xing'er was safe with them, while Big White corrected Qi Dian's form of address.

After returning to the Agency, Zhao Xing'er revealed the Divine Artifact replica her mother had given her and chose a name for it while using it to swat Big White. Yue Wen settled debts and returned the Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses, receiving useful gifts and new business connections before Xiao Chubei proposed taking him as an adoptive father.

• Lao Si took Zhao Xing'er's Storage Bracelet back to the Zhao Family, while Big White transformed at dawn and knocked Yue Wen, Qi Dian, Zhao Xing'er, and the donkey off their vehicle.
• Zhao Xing'er revealed her mother's replica of the As-You-Will Iron Rod, unlocked its staff form, and named it the Mother's Love Is as Deep as the Sea Staff after striking Big White.
• Yue Wen gave Qi Dian the Xun Sword True Formula Visualization Diagram and repaid his debts to Zhao Xing'er, Qi Dian, and Wang Shoucai.
• Yue Wen returned Cloud-Wave Snow Lotuses to Luo Bawen, Fat Auntie, and Xiao Chubei, who gave him detoxification pills, a Starlight Pearl, and Cicada-Wing Treasure Armor in return.
• Xiao Chubei proposed becoming sworn brothers with Yue Wen, then offered to take him as his adoptive father when Yue Wen declined.

Yue Wen received a valuable Dao-Comprehension Companion from Dong Mengyao and agreed to attend her gathering of young independent cultivators. Seeking a group-attack supernatural art for the upcoming points competition, he considered three sword techniques and was impressed by the Sword Heart Resonance Method.

• Yue Wen escaped Xiao Chubei's enthusiastic admiration and visited Dong Mengyao at the Dream Bar.
• Dong Mengyao gave Yue Wen a bottle of her family's Dao-Comprehension Monkey Wine and offered to recommend him for commissions.
• Dong Mengyao invited Yue Wen to a gathering of young independent cultivators, and he agreed to attend.
• Yue Wen decided he needed a group-attack supernatural power to improve his performance against crowds of enemies in the Wasteland Zone and the points competition.
• Yue Wen asked Da Long for a group-attack art that worked with a flying sword, and Da Long presented three options.
• Yue Wen watched the demonstrations and became excited by the Sword Heart Resonance Method, which could turn objects—and even opponents—into sword-like attacks.

Yue Wen bought and mastered the Sword Heart Resonance Method, then tested it by turning nearby objects with Sword Intent into flying weapons. He accidentally summoned a fried fish and the old skewer vendor, leaving the vendor floating outside his window.

• Yue Wen chose the Sword Heart Resonance Method from Da Long and spent 179 pieces of Evil-Suppressing Money on it.
• Yue Wen visualized the method overnight and learned how swords resonated with swordsmen through shared spiritual rhythms.
• Yue Wen used the Sword-Controlling Technique to make his sneaker fly, discovering that resonance could turn ordinary objects into lethal weapons.
• Yue Wen resonated with three nearby sources of Sword Intent, sending a fried spirit fish crashing through the floor and startling Zhao Xing'er, Qi Dian, and Big White.
• Yue Wen discovered that the third source of Sword Intent was the old skewer vendor, whom he had accidentally lifted into the air.

Yue Wen accidentally used Sword Heart Resonance to lift Old Soldier, then joined Zhao Xing'er and Qi Dian for a meal and exposed Zhao Xing'er as the thief of the second Fried Spirit Fish. Afterward, Miyun Zi of the Celestial Venerables' Society offered to pay them to protect his contestants in the Youth Cultivators' Assembly, but Yue Wen said they were aiming for the top three themselves.

• Yue Wen apologized to Old Soldier after accidentally lifting him with Sword Heart Resonance and tested how the method worked on objects.
• Yue Wen, Zhao Xing'er, and Qi Dian argued over who had eaten the second Fried Spirit Fish, and Yue Wen accused Zhao Xing'er of stealing it.
• The three prepared to return to cultivation ahead of the points competition, with Qi Dian studying the Xun Sword True Formula and Zhao Xing'er practicing with her Silver Staff.
• Miyun Zi arrived at the Agency and offered to pay Yue Wen, Zhao Xing'er, and Qi Dian to protect the Celestial Venerables' Society contestants in the points competition.
• Yue Wen rejected Miyun Zi's offer, explaining that they also intended to place in the top three, and Miyun Zi scoffed at the possibility of a local independent cultivator doing so.

Yue Wen refused Miyun Zi’s offer to hire him and his companions as bodyguards for the Independent Cultivator Track, insisting that they would compete for first place. That night, Yue Wen successfully completed a breakthrough in his visualization practice.

• Miyun Zi explained that the Celestial Venerables' Society wanted to hire Yue Wen, Zhao Xing'er, and Qi Dian as bodyguards to help its contestants qualify, but Yue Wen refused.
• Miyun Zi warned Yue Wen that he was out of his depth, then left the Agency after Zhao Xing'er and Qi Dian stood by Yue Wen’s decision.
• Yue Wen joked that he had turned down the offer because even eight hundred thousand would not cover Zhao Xing'er's Astral Refining, and said he would rather try for first place.
• Zhao Xing'er noted that the Celestial Venerables' Society would likely gather the strongest force in the competition by hiring other bodyguards.
• Yue Wen practiced with the Visualization Diagram that night, moved through an opening in the visualization world, and emerged successfully.