Recaps

Zuo Xiaoduo arranged a coin ritual to protect Zuo Xiaonian, but Qin Fangyang’s call interrupted them. Earlier, Qin had encountered Meng Chentian, who approached him with a sunny smile and endured Qin’s hostile mockery.

• Zuo Xiaoduo used his blood in a money jar and explained that his sincere wish would help protect Zuo Xiaonian.
• Zuo Xiaoduo gave Mu Yanyan and Zuo Xiaonian instructions for placing coins at the Meng Group, the Ning Lineage’s ancestral graveyard, and several lakes.
• Zuo Xiaoduo asked Zuo Xiaonian to keep the remaining money jar beneath her bed, then joked that he would change her fate.
• Qin Fangyang wandered the streets waiting for assassins, then headed toward the Shen Group when none appeared.
• Meng Chentian stopped his limousine in front of Qin Fangyang and introduced himself as Meng Tianyue’s son.
• Qin Fangyang mocked Meng Chentian’s dramatic entrance, while Meng Chentian apologized and kept smiling.

Meng Chentian brought Qin Fangyang to the Meng Group headquarters at the request of Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng. Qin Fangyang remained hostile and unreceptive, and the chapter ended as the two men came to greet him.

• Meng Chentian praised Qin Fangyang’s battle at Phoenix Tail and invited him to meet Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng.
• Qin Fangyang agreed to go after Meng Chentian said his father would come invite him in person if necessary.
• During the drive, Meng Chentian tried to make conversation, but Qin Fangyang repeatedly rebuffed him.
• Meng Chentian wondered why Qin Fangyang was hostile despite the Meng Group’s good ties with Second High School.
• Meng Chentian led Qin Fangyang to the hundred and eighth floor of the Meng Group headquarters, where two men waited by the elevator.

Qin Fangyang met with Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng, who praised his revealed strength and offered him rare tea. They presented him with ninety-eight severed heads, claiming they had wiped out the Shen Family and two other families involved in a bounty against him.

• Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng welcomed Qin Fangyang to Meng Tianyue's office and praised his battle the previous night.
• Qin Fangyang drank rare Star Moon Ancient Tree Tea while the two men showered him with compliments.
• Qin Fangyang pressed Meng Tianyue to explain why they had summoned him, and Meng ordered the attendants to bring in their offering.
• Ninety-eight young women placed sandalwood boxes before Qin Fangyang, and the opened boxes revealed the heads of Shen Yushu and ninety-seven others.
• Meng Tianyue said the Shen Family and two families that had joined Shen Yushu's bounty were wiped out, while Ning Suifeng claimed they spared three other families because they believed Qin Fangyang was not cruel.

Qin Fangyang learned that Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng had wiped out three families to prevent them from retaliating against society, though he objected to their extreme methods. Meng Tianyue apologized for acting without his consent and offered Qin the proceeds, which left him furious.

• Meng Tianyue told Qin Fangyang that the three families remained under surveillance and their fates depended on his decision.
• Ning Suifeng and Meng Tianyue explained that the families could retaliate against ordinary people, citing a past attack by the Hua Family that killed nearly ten thousand victims.
• Qin Fangyang ordered the captives taken away and challenged Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng over the legality of wiping out entire families.
• Ning Suifeng defended their actions as justice and showed Qin a civic commendation from Phoenix City's Legal Affairs Division.
• Meng Tianyue apologized for acting without Qin's consent and offered him the proceeds, prompting Qin to question what the proceeds were.

Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng offered Qin Fangyang wealth and gifts after intervening in a problem, hoping to win his favor. Unsure how to respond, Qin called Zuo Xiaoduo for advice, then returned while the two men reassured themselves that Qin would owe them a favor.

• Meng Tianyue offered Qin Fangyang a billion Star Origin Coins, cultivation resources, and a manual, while Ning Suifeng asked him to accept their goodwill.
• Qin Fangyang left the room, flew into the clouds, and called Zuo Xiaoduo to explain the situation and ask what to do.
• Zuo Xiaoduo advised Qin on how to handle the men, and Zuo Xiaonian and Mu Yanyan praised his scheme after the call.
• Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng exchanged thoughts with their eyes and concluded that Qin would have to accept their favor because they had already helped him and offered him wealth.

Qin Fangyang confronted Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng over the wealth they had taken from Shen Yushu, arguing that he deserved a much larger share for settling their feud and exposing his hidden identity. He demanded fifty billion and a large number of pills, leaving the two men to respond to his terms.

• Qin Fangyang returned to the sofa, praised Ning Suifeng's tea, and asked the two men to state what they wanted from him.
• Qin Fangyang rejected their claim that their gift was only meant to make friends and accused them of giving him too little of Shen Yushu's fortune.
• Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng explained that they had detained and killed Shen Yushu and divided his assets, expecting Qin Fangyang to be satisfied.
• Qin Fangyang said the outcome had forced him to reveal his hidden identity and demanded fifty billion, a hundred Star Soul Flame Pills, and another hundred pills of the same grade.

Qin Fangyang demanded most of Shen Yushu’s wealth and possessions from Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng, then angrily threatened them when they refused. He ended the confrontation in a furious, openly menacing state, while both men were left shocked by his behavior.

• Qin Fangyang demanded a hundred stalks of ten-thousand-year-old heavenly treasures, five hundred thousand pieces of upper-grade star soul jade, and all of Shen Yushu’s ancient cultivation manuals.
• Ning Suifeng questioned whether Qin Fangyang was joking, and Qin slammed the desk and insulted him.
• Qin accused Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng of pocketing Shen Yushu’s property and disguising their actions as goodwill.
• Meng Tianyue explained that most of Shen Yushu’s assets were tied up and argued that Qin’s demands were unreasonable.
• Ning Suifeng refused to provide the requested wealth, and Qin threatened to slaughter his way through the Ning Family.
• Qin’s fury left Ning Suifeng and Meng Tianyue shocked and alarmed.

Qin Fangyang confronted Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng over Shen Yushu’s assets, threatening their lineages until Meng Chentian stepped in to calm the dispute. Meng Chentian began explaining that the lineages’ apparent wealth was tied up in business operations, goods, property, and unpaid accounts.

• Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng regretted interfering in Qin Fangyang’s plans to take over Shen Yushu’s assets.
• Ning Suifeng insulted Qin Fangyang, who declared war on both lineages and threatened their descendants.
• Qin Fangyang realized his threat went too far and worried that harming the lineages would disrupt Phoenix City’s economy and livelihoods.
• Meng Chentian arrived, eased Qin Fangyang and the two patriarchs back into their seats, and urged them to discuss the matter calmly.
• Meng Chentian criticized his father and Ning Suifeng for letting pride and temper hinder their lineages’ businesses.
• Meng Chentian told Qin Fangyang that the lineages’ apparent wealth was mostly tied up in goods, property, and payments owed by business partners.

Qin Fangyang negotiated compensation from Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng for Shen Yushu’s assets, then accepted their offer and prepared to collect it. The deal left the three men on friendly terms, though Qin Fangyang remained aware of the families’ hidden strength.

• Meng Chentian argued that his family and Ning Suifeng had not embezzled Shen Yushu’s property and urged Qin Fangyang to consider their difficulties.
• Meng Tianyue offered Qin Fangyang ten billion Star Origin Coins, pills, spirit herbs, star soul jade, and the cultivation manual in exchange for settling the dispute.
• Ning Suifeng reluctantly agreed, and Qin Fangyang declared the deal settled without bargaining further.
• Meng Chentian went to arrange the supplies while Qin Fangyang asked Ning Suifeng to have his shadow bodyguards stand down.
• Ning Suifeng said his shadow bodyguards were necessary when facing a supreme Grandmaster like Qin Fangyang.

Qin Fangyang collected the payment and supplies from Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng, then returned to Second High School and met with Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian. They prepared to move forward with their plans once Teacher Mu returned, but still needed to know when Qin's people would be in position.

• Meng Chentian delivered Qin Fangyang's payment and a Space Ring of star soul jade, spirit medicines, and medicinal pills, and Qin departed.
• Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng discussed their failed attempt to recruit Qin, suspected his involvement in Shen Tienan's death, and decided to watch him and seek other ways to pressure him.
• Meng Chentian suggested Qin's mysterious phone call had changed his behavior, but reported that the call could not be traced.
• Ning Suifeng advised Meng Chentian to spend time with Ning Qingcheng while respecting her choice about their proposed marriage.
• Qin returned to Second High School, changed clothes, concealed himself in the clouds, and went to Zuo Xiaoduo's room.
• Zuo Xiaoduo told Qin that Teacher Mu had begun preparations and asked when Qin's people could be in position.

Qin Fangyang revealed the enormous haul from their scheme and planned to donate it, while Zuo Xiaoduo demanded credit before hiding his identity. After Mu Yanyan confirmed the planted coins were secure, the group prepared to begin the next phase outside the city.

• Qin Fangyang told Zuo Xiaoduo they had obtained ten billion Star Origin Coins, pills, spirit medicine, jade, and a cultivation manual.
• Qin Fangyang said he planned to donate the proceeds to Second High School, the Imperial Military Department, and the Academy of Sciences, and Zuo Xiaoduo insisted on naming credit before deciding to remain anonymous.
• Mu Yanyan reported that she had placed the coins at the Meng Group headquarters, the Ning Lineage's ancestral graves, and beneath the artificial lakes' springs without risk of discovery.
• Zuo Xiaoduo declared that the next phase was beginning, and Qin Fangyang summoned Sister Lan and Luo Lie to meet them outside the city.
• Qin Fangyang carried Zuo Xiaoduo into the air by the neck as Zuo Xiaonian and Mu Yanyan followed with the Money Jar.

Zuo Xiaoduo directed a nighttime plan to secure coins in two artificial lakes and prepare to split the mountains, then nearly broke through to the Innate realm while Qin Fangyang carried him. The chapter ended with Qin Fangyang interrupting his breakthrough and Sister Lan astonished by his aptitude.

• Qin Fangyang carried Zuo Xiaoduo to a hill outside the city and scolded him for losing control of his breathing during flight.
• Zuo Xiaoduo instructed Zuo Xiaonian to secure coins at the deepest points of the two lakes, and Mu Yanyan flew with her to complete the task.
• Qin Fangyang checked the lakes' inlets and outlets, then returned while Zuo Xiaoduo waited for Zuo Xiaonian and Mu Yanyan.
• After the coins were secured, Zuo Xiaoduo assigned Mu Yanyan, Luo Lie, and Zuo Xiaonian to the western site and set off with Qin Fangyang and Sister Lan.
• Zuo Xiaoduo practiced internal circulation during flight and nearly broke through the Innate bottleneck, so Qin Fangyang stopped and slapped him out of his meditative state.

Qin Fangyang stopped Zuo Xiaoduo from making an uncontrolled breakthrough and warned him to hold his cultivation steady. At Carefree Peak, Qin Fangyang and Sister Lan began reshaping the gorge and lake to reverse the river’s flow, leaving Zuo Xiaoduo amazed at their strength and precision.

• Qin Fangyang interrupted Zuo Xiaoduo’s breakthrough and cautioned him not to break through his current bottleneck.
• Qin Fangyang, Sister Lan, and Zuo Xiaoduo reached Carefree Peak, where Zuo Xiaoduo explained how to block the gorge and redirect the lake’s water westward.
• Qin Fangyang used concealed force to collapse the gorge’s ridges and block the Wenshui River’s outlet.
• Sister Lan carried a massive section of mountain across the lake and dropped it beside the dam.
• Qin Fangyang and Sister Lan continued moving and shaping mountain rock to raise the riverbanks while preserving the vegetation.

Zuo Xiaoduo led Qin Fangyang, Sister Lan, Mu Yanyan, Zuo Xiaonian, and Luo Lie in redirecting water from Heaven Pearl Lake and Spirit Pearl Lake through altered waterways toward the Wenshui and Coldwater Rivers. After the groups finished concealing their work, they inspected Spirit Pearl Lake and found the new route flowing without visible traces of their intervention.

• Zuo Xiaoduo told Qin Fangyang and Sister Lan to lower the opening at Heaven Pearl Lake further, and they redirected the lake water into the Wenshui River.
• Qin Fangyang and Sister Lan reinforced the riverbanks and followed Zuo Xiaoduo west, where they watched the eastern current overwhelm the weakened western flow.
• Zuo Xiaoduo, Qin Fangyang, and Sister Lan met Mu Yanyan and the others, who had finished altering the river route on their side.
• Zuo Xiaoduo led the group to inspect Spirit Pearl Lake, where they confirmed the water flowed through a tunnel beneath Phoenix Ridge into the Coldwater River without leaving visible traces.
• Luo Lie said he had bored the tunnel through the mountain and asked Qin Fangyang to treat him to a feast and drinks.

After the group celebrated their success, Mu Yanyan took Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian home to secure the Money Jar before sunrise. Qin Fangyang defended his determination to find Qianqian, arguing that she deserved to know her sacrifice had not been wasted.

• Qin Fangyang offered to pay for a victory feast, but Sister Lan stayed behind to care for the Former Principal.
• Zuo Xiaoduo urged everyone to get Zuo Xiaonian home and put the Money Jar under her bed before sunrise, so Mu Yanyan carried her and Zuo Xiaoduo away.
• Sister Lan noted that Qin Fangyang was close to a breakthrough and asked what he would do afterward; he said he would search for Qianqian first.
• Sister Lan questioned whether Qin Fangyang should keep searching for his possibly deceased wife, but he insisted he would sense it if she had died.
• Qin Fangyang argued that he had to find Qianqian and tell her that her sacrifice had not been wasted, then angrily challenged the others for granting her wish without considering what she truly needed.

Qin Fangyang returned to Phoenix City grieving over He Yuanyue, while Sister Lan feared that revealing his suspicions would devastate her. Meanwhile, Zuo Xiaoduo, Zuo Xiaonian, and Mu Yanyan finished hiding the Money Jar, and Zuo Xiaoduo said their arrangement would work if the Qi-Observing Art was genuine.

• Qin Fangyang watched the Wen River and returned to Phoenix City after the sun rose, overwhelmed by grief for the woman he loved.
• Sister Lan realized Qin Fangyang had guessed something about He Yuanyue and decided she could not tell He Yuanyue.
• Luo Lie wondered whether Sister Lan was Qin Fangyang's long-lost wife, then flew away dismissing romance as troublesome.
• Mu Yanyan brought Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian into the bedroom, where Zuo Xiaonian secured the Money Jar in its hidden compartment.
• Zuo Xiaoduo reviewed their work and assured Mu Yanyan that the arrangement would work if the Qi-Observing Art was real.

Zuo Xiaoduo confirmed the Qi-Observing Art’s pattern around Phoenix Dance Garden while Zuo Xiaonian rested. Jiang Changbin failed to persuade the Director-General to send the Dragon Blood Team to Phoenix City and remained determined to obtain reinforcements.

• Mu Yanyan praised Qin Fangyang’s selflessness, told Zuo Xiaonian to rest and recover, then left.
• Zuo Xiaoduo fled after Zuo Xiaonian teased him, and she fell asleep from exhaustion.
• Zuo Xiaoduo mapped the Meng Group, the Ning Lineage’s sites, Spirit Pearl Lake, and Heaven Pearl Lake, finding that their lines converged at Phoenix Dance Garden.
• Jiang Changbin asked the Director-General for reinforcements in Fenghai City, but the Director-General refused to send the Dragon Blood Team and offered only two people.
• Jiang Changbin refused to leave and threatened to accept dismissal rather than shoulder responsibility without the requested support.

Jiang Changbin confronted Director-General Jiang Dagui and demanded at least four members of the Dragon Blood Team, using their fraught family history to pressure him. Jiang Dagui defended his past and refused to accept the Former Principal’s claims about a Phoenix Vein, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Jiang Changbin demanded the Dragon Blood Team and threatened to quit if Jiang Dagui would not send him at least four members.
• Jiang Changbin shouted that Jiang Dagui had abandoned him and his mother, and the two men traded furious accusations about their past.
• Jiang Dagui slapped Jiang Changbin, who pretended to suffer an epileptic fit and threatened to expose him as his illegitimate son.
• Jiang Changbin admitted he repeatedly used the family scandal because it was the only way to get Jiang Dagui to help him.
• Jiang Dagui said the Central Plains King’s people had found no Phoenix Vein in Phoenix City and insisted he could not disregard their decision.

Jiang Changbin confronted Jiang Wenzhou for abandoning his mother, then tried to force the Dragon Blood Team to help him. After Jiang Wenzhou evaded him, Jiang Changbin staged a public striptease and began revealing his father’s identity before two figures knocked him out and abducted him.

• Jiang Changbin denounced Jiang Wenzhou for leaving his mother and demanded the Dragon Blood Team.
• Jiang Wenzhou sent Jiang Changbin to wait in the lobby, then left him behind when the Star Shield Bureau closed.
• Jiang Changbin, stranded outside the bureau, decided to attract attention by threatening to strip in public.
• Jiang Changbin climbed the Star Shield Bureau flagpole, announced that he was an illegitimate child, and started to reveal who his father was.
• Two figures knocked Jiang Changbin unconscious, bundled him into a sack, and carried him away.

Jiang Changbin forced Jiang Wenzhou to send two Cloud Transformation experts, Han Song and Yang Yu, to Phoenix City to help with an urgent matter. The next morning, Sister Lan began telling He Yuanyue about the help Teacher Qin Fangyang had requested.

• Jiang Changbin refused to leave unless Jiang Wenzhou provided help, threatening to strip in public.
• Jiang Wenzhou sent Han Song and Yang Yu, the two remaining Dragon Blood Team members at headquarters, to assist Jiang Changbin.
• Jiang Changbin flew to Phoenix City with Han Song and Yang Yu, warning Jiang Wenzhou that people might have filmed the incident.
• Sister Lan told He Yuanyue that she had helped Teacher Qin Fangyang the previous night and began explaining what happened.

He Yuanyue investigated Zuo Xiaoduo’s feng shui arrangement and discovered that it formed a vast configuration with severe consequences for the Meng and Ning families but great benefits for Phoenix City. She decided to keep its details secret and let the arrangement remain in place.

• Sister Lan told He Yuanyue that Zuo Xiaoduo’s group had reversed the Wenshui River and that Mu Yanyan and Zuo Xiaonian had placed something in Spirit Pearl Lake and Heaven Pearl Lake.
• He Yuanyue suspected Zuo Xiaoduo was redirecting stolen fortune and called Mu Yanyan to learn how the formation had been arranged.
• Mu Yanyan described the operation in detail, including placing coins on the Meng Group building.
• He Yuanyue mapped the arrangement, realized how extensive and effective it was, and said the Meng and Ning families would suffer karmic consequences.
• He Yuanyue sent Mu Yanyan and Sister Lan away and resolved to keep the formation secret and leave it in place.

He Yuanyue realized Zuo Xiaoduo’s formation would siphon the Meng and Ning families’ fortune, suppress their lineages, and nourish Zuo Xiaonian and Phoenix City. In class, Qin Fangyang explained that he had stopped Zuo Xiaoduo from breaking through to the Innate Realm and began a lesson on fighting opponents above one’s level.

• He Yuanyue analyzed how Zuo Xiaoduo’s formation would seize the Meng and Ning families’ fortune and prevent them from prospering, while sending much of that fortune to Zuo Xiaonian and Phoenix City.
• He Yuanyue worried about Zuo Xiaoduo’s ruthless disposition and wished to pave the way for him and Zuo Xiaonian.
• Qin Fangyang taught Class Nineteen, with all forty-eight students present, and revealed that he had interrupted Zuo Xiaoduo’s imminent breakthrough to the Innate Realm the previous night.
• Qin Fangyang asked the students why he had stopped Zuo Xiaoduo, then began discussing how martial artists could defeat opponents of higher realms.

Qin Fangyang taught the class that a Martial Artist’s strength depended not only on rank but also on the reserves accumulated in the dantian before breaking through to Innate. He urged those certain to reach Innate to delay their breakthrough and maximize their reserves, then Zuo Xiaoduo asked how to recognize the dantian’s limit.

• Qin Fangyang explained that cultivation techniques and combat experience only accounted for some differences between Martial Artists of the same rank.
• Qin Fangyang said he had stopped Zuo Xiaoduo from breaking through because Innate required accumulating strength and maximizing the dantian’s capacity.
• Qin Fangyang used balloons of different sizes to show that a larger dantian reserve could give a Martial Artist an advantage over those who broke through earlier.
• Qin Fangyang warned that insufficient early reserves could prevent Martial Artists from advancing beyond later ranks.
• Zuo Xiaoduo asked how they could tell when their dantians had reached their maximum capacity.

Qin Fangyang explained how students should judge when to break through and stressed how much their innate-stage foundation shaped their future strength. After class, Zuo Xiaoduo asked for the afternoon off to have weapons forged and met with He Yuanyue, who sent Qin Fangyang and Sister Lan away before questioning him.

• Qin Fangyang told students to suppress their true qi until they could no longer control it, but warned those nearing twenty to break through as soon as they could.
• Qin Fangyang explained that cultivators could improve a weak foundation by enduring the Thorny Road’s extreme pain and completing it with more pressures.
• Zuo Xiaoduo worried about Qin Fangyang’s condition, then asked for the afternoon off to have weapons forged by a skilled blacksmith near his home.
• Zuo Xiaoduo asked to see the former principal, and Qin Fangyang agreed to take him to He Yuanyue.
• He Yuanyue sent Qin Fangyang and Sister Lan out, then asked Zuo Xiaoduo why she had wanted to speak with him alone.
• Zuo Xiaoduo guessed that He Yuanyue meant to secretly teach him an unrivaled cultivation technique.

Zuo Xiaoduo revealed to He Yuanyue that he had created a vast yin-yang reversal formation to drain the Ning and Meng Clans’ fortune across hundreds of lifetimes. He explained that altered rivers and terrain had made the formation nearly impossible to destroy.

• He Yuanyue recognized Zuo Xiaoduo’s formation as the All-Heaven Stars Three Souls and Seven Spirits Yin-Yang Reversal and warned that it harmed the harmony of heaven.
• Zuo Xiaoduo defended his plan, saying the Ning and Meng Clans deserved punishment for threatening Phoenix City and the Star Soul Continent.
• Zuo Xiaoduo told He Yuanyue that the coins in his childhood Money Jar would make the formation drain the clans’ fortune for three to five hundred lifetimes.
• He Yuanyue worried that someone could sabotage the formation, but Zuo Xiaoduo said it was complete and could no longer be destroyed by ordinary means.
• Zuo Xiaoduo explained that changes to Phoenix Ridge, Carefree Slope, Heaven Pearl Lake, Spirit Pearl Lake, and two great rivers had made breaking the formation virtually impossible.