Chapter Summaries

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.

Zuo Xiaoduo explained how his formation would protect Zuo Xiaonian and link her fortune to the Flame Martial Empire and eventually the Star Soul Continent. He Yuanyue realized the formation would benefit Zuo Xiaoduo as the dragon vein’s bearer, then praised his rapid progress in the Qi-Observing Art.

• He Yuanyue asked how much of the formation’s returned fortune Zuo Xiaoduo had left for Phoenix City, and he explained that the city would receive a limited share.
• Zuo Xiaoduo revealed that the formation would make attacks against Zuo Xiaonian through feng shui, terrain, or curses backfire on the attacker.
• Zuo Xiaoduo said the formation would eventually connect Zuo Xiaonian’s fate to the Flame Martial Empire’s fortune and later to the entire Star Soul Continent.
• He Yuanyue warned that creating the formation might harm Zuo Xiaoduo, but he said he would rely on Zuo Xiaonian’s fortune and his own future good deeds to offset the damage.
• He Yuanyue realized Zuo Xiaoduo was the dragon vein’s bearer and would benefit from the formation without knowing it, avoiding heavenly punishment.
• He Yuanyue asked whether Qin Fangyang had infused Zuo Xiaoduo with the Qi-Observing Art, then praised his progress and asked where he had found the formation in her teachings.

Zuo Xiaoduo told He Yuanyue that Qin Fangyang was burning his spiritual power while teaching, and He Yuanyue reacted with grief before calling a meeting. Qin Fangyang then visited her and revealed that the Meng and Ning Clans had destroyed the Shen Family and two other families and delivered ninety-eight heads to him.

• He Yuanyue praised Zuo Xiaoduo's study of the Qi-Observing Art and urged him to keep strengthening his cultivation and foundation.
• Zuo Xiaoduo told He Yuanyue that Qin Fangyang was using the Fuel Exhausted, Fire Passed On technique while teaching, and He Yuanyue wept after hearing this.
• He Yuanyue summoned more than twenty school officials and teachers, including Qin Fangyang, to a meeting that afternoon.
• Qin Fangyang visited He Yuanyue and said Meng Tianyue and Ning Suifeng had approached him after his identity as an Infant Transformation Peak cultivator was exposed.
• Qin Fangyang told He Yuanyue that the Meng and Ning Clans had wiped out the Shen Family and two other families and presented him with ninety-eight heads, shocking her.

He Yuanyue accepted Qin Fangyang’s plan to distribute the wealth he had extracted from the Meng and Ning families. Zuo Xiaoduo received weighted gear from Teacher Gu and was told to wear it constantly until he could move normally in it.

• He Yuanyue condemned the Meng and Ning families for slaughtering Shen Yushu’s household and the households of the other students involved in the hunt.
• Qin Fangyang explained that Xiaoduo had urged him to demand money and supplies, and He Yuanyue agreed to keep the pills, medicines, jade, and cultivation manual for Second High School.
• Qin Fangyang and He Yuanyue agreed to distribute the ten billion Star Origin Coins among Second High School, Sun Moon Pass soldiers, and three research and veterans’ organizations.
• Zuo Xiaoduo went to the Gravity Room, where Teacher Gu gave him weighted gear prepared in Qin Fangyang’s name.
• Teacher Gu told Zuo Xiaoduo to wear the weights in daily life until he could move freely, but to remove them for life-or-death fights and periodically reassess his strength and speed.

Zuo Xiaoduo trained in the Gravity Room with added weights until exhaustion, then rushed home starving. There, he barged in on Zuo Xiaonian as she emerged from the bathroom and was kicked back outside.

• Zuo Xiaoduo entered the Gravity Room wearing weights and struggled through his training with help from the Flame Sun True Scripture.
• Qin Fangyang found Zuo Xiaoduo collapsed by the door and dragged him out, while Teacher Gu explained that he had supplied the weights.
• Qin Fangyang warned Teacher Gu that Zuo Xiaoduo would likely attract countless enemies as he grew stronger, so Teacher Gu abandoned the idea of sharing in his future glory.
• Teacher Gu noticed that the other young trainees had also brought weights and wondered how Li Changming could sleep deeply in the Gravity Room.
• Zuo Xiaoduo rushed home starving and accidentally barged in on Zuo Xiaonian after her bath; she kicked him out and hurried to her room in embarrassment.

Zuo Xiaoduo gave Zuo Xiaonian a jade pendant containing a bloodstained coin and insisted she wear it, then the siblings went to a blacksmith shop to have sturdier accessories made. They arrived at Tiejiang Blacksmith Shop and found their father, Zuo Changlu, there.

• Zuo Xiaoduo gave Zuo Xiaonian a jade pendant with a bloodstained coin inside and told her not to remove it.
• Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo left for the blacksmith shop after Zuo Xiaonian knocked Zuo Xiaoduo into a wall.
• Zuo Xiaoduo explained that the pendant was fragile and said they should ask the blacksmith to make something sturdier.
• Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo arrived at Tiejiang Blacksmith Shop beside their family's Changlu Star Soul Stone Shop.
• Zuo Changlu came out of the blacksmith shop, scolded the siblings for waiting outside, and Zuo Xiaoduo asked how skilled the blacksmith was.

Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo visited Wu Tiejiang to have swords forged, and Zuo Xiaonian insisted on adding cute dog designs to her grand Ice Phoenix Sword. Wu Tiejiang agreed to the design after Zuo Changlu clarified the request, then asked Zuo Xiaoduo what he wanted.

• Zuo Changlu introduced Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo to the bronze-skinned blacksmith Wu Tiejiang.
• Zuo Xiaonian showed Wu Tiejiang pictures of the sword she wanted, and he judged the design feasible.
• Zuo Xiaonian asked Wu Tiejiang to forge cute little dogs onto the sword's crossguard, leaving him baffled by the request.
• Zuo Changlu suggested keeping the Ice Phoenix design and engraving a dog on either side of the phoenix, which satisfied Zuo Xiaonian.
• Wu Tiejiang asked Zuo Xiaoduo what he wanted, and Zuo Xiaoduo requested a light, thin, durable three-foot sword.

Zuo Xiaoduo worked with Wu Tiejiang to settle on a sword design and began specifying a pair of customized hammers. The hammer design remained unfinished as Zuo Xiaoduo added concealed blades and a retractable chain.

• Zuo Xiaoduo revised his sword requirements after Zuo Changlu explained that his original demands were unrealistic.
• Wu Tiejiang presented several sword designs, and Zuo Xiaoduo chose one to be forged thin.
• Zuo Xiaoduo asked Wu Tiejiang to make him a pair of hammers and rejected the standard designs.
• Zuo Xiaoduo chose Hundred-Faced Hammers and specified long handles concealing narrow swords.
• Zuo Xiaoduo proposed hollow hammer handles containing chains that could extend for long-range attacks.

Zuo Xiaoduo explained an elaborate, trap-filled hammer design to Wu Tiejiang, who struggled to meet its impossible specifications. The discussion ended with Wu Tiejiang warning that indestructible gold was extremely difficult to obtain.

• Zuo Xiaoduo proposed a hollow hammer handle containing a chain and concealed swords, then described a hammerhead with hidden needle-firing mechanisms.
• Wu Tiejiang was stunned by the design and asked Zuo Changlu whether Zuo Xiaoduo was really his biological son.
• Zuo Xiaoduo sketched the hammer's construction and suggested mechanisms for firing Ox-Hair Needles and cone needles.
• Wu Tiejiang said Ox-Hair Needles could remain lethal only within ten meters, while cone needles could reach fifty meters.
• Zuo Xiaoduo asked for indestructible gold striking faces, and Wu Tiejiang explained that producing even a small amount required a large quantity of Thousand Illusions Gold.

Zuo Xiaoduo commissioned Wu Tiejiang to forge a pair of enormous, feature-packed hammers and insisted on decorating them with adorable kitty ornaments. Wu Tiejiang warned that the weapons would be massive and fearsome, but Zuo Xiaoduo refused to compromise on the cats.

• Zuo Xiaoduo told Wu Tiejiang that materials were plentiful, and Zuo Changlu backed him up by mentioning Xiao Nan had sent some over.
• Wu Tiejiang warned that the dense materials and elaborate designs would make the hammers difficult to wield, and Zuo Xiaoduo said he could lift nearly ten thousand jin at full strength despite being at the peak of the Martial Master realm.
• Zuo Xiaoduo settled on hammers weighing 9,999 jin each and asked for detachable mechanisms, hidden weapons, sturdy chains, and a kitty ornament on each handle.
• Zuo Xiaoduo named them the Nine-Nine Kitty Hammers, while Zuo Xiaonian objected and Zuo Changlu stopped her from attacking him.
• Wu Tiejiang estimated that the hollow hammers would still need to be at least a meter in diameter, and Zuo Xiaoduo insisted the kitty decorations were nonnegotiable.

Zuo Changlu arranged for Wu Tiejiang to forge weapons for Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian, pressuring him to supply the missing materials and accept payment later. After sending the two children away, Zuo Changlu returned to the forge and told Wu Tiejiang not to sign the weapons.

• Zuo Xiaoduo asked Wu Tiejiang to forge Dark-patterned Phoenix designs onto his heavy iron hammers, and Zuo Xiaonian handed over the available materials.
• Zuo Changlu persuaded Wu Tiejiang to supply the missing materials and forge the weapons, promising to settle the bill afterward.
• Wu Tiejiang estimated that the swords would take three days and that the hammers would be more troublesome.
• Zuo Changlu sent Zuo Xiaoduo back to school and Zuo Xiaonian to find her master, then left Wu Tiejiang to work.
• Zuo Changlu returned to the forge and told Wu Tiejiang to leave his signature off the weapons.

Zuo Changlu explained to Wu Tiejiang that leaving his name on the weapons would entangle him in the karma surrounding Zuo Changlu’s children and their coming tribulations. He revealed that an enemy would return decades before he and his wife could act, and asked Wu Tiejiang for a Life-Prolonging Pill to help preserve the balance.

• Zuo Changlu persuaded Wu Tiejiang not to sign the weapons because the children’s dangerous fates could drag the weaponsmith into their karma.
• Wu Tiejiang asked whether Zuo Changlu’s children could survive their tribulations, and Zuo Changlu admitted he did not know and could not intervene.
• Zuo Changlu told Wu Tiejiang that an enemy had discarded his memories and used the Qi-Observing Art to accelerate his return, while the Heavenly Dao kept both sides from acting.
• Zuo Changlu said the enemy might be free within a year or two, decades before he and his wife, and proposed having Tiger maintain the balance.
• Zuo Changlu said the enemy would be blind for his first ten years back and asked Wu Tiejiang for one Life-Prolonging Pill, which Wu Tiejiang had brought.

Zuo Changlu and Wu Tiejiang discussed the limits of extending Blind Hong’s life and the dangers facing Zuo Changlu’s children in the Phoenix Tribulation. Blind Hong arrived at Zuo Changlu’s shop to collect Star Soul Jade, while Wu Tiejiang returned to smithing to avoid him.

• Zuo Changlu explained that a Life-Prolonging Pill might give Blind Hong only a few years because his qi-observing art consumed his lifespan.
• Wu Tiejiang worried about Zuo Changlu’s children facing the Phoenix Tribulation, and Zuo Changlu said outsiders could not interfere with the Heavenly Dao’s configuration.
• Wu Tiejiang expressed disbelief that Zuo Xiaoduo was Zuo Changlu’s biological son, and Zuo Changlu angrily insisted that he was.
• Blind Hong approached the smithy, so Wu Tiejiang shut himself inside while Zuo Changlu went out to greet him.
• Zuo Changlu helped Blind Hong into the Star Soul Stone shop, where Blind Hong asked about the Star Soul Jade he had ordered.

Zuo Changlu treated Blind Hong to life-restoring ginseng tea, and Blind Hong offered to read Zuo’s son’s fortune and help him avoid danger. Blind Hong revealed that people were watching him and intended to exploit the vitality he had regained.

• Zuo Changlu welcomed Blind Hong into his shop and served him rare ginseng tea, which restored much of his vitality.
• Blind Hong offered to examine Zuo Changlu’s children, saying Zuo’s son faced repeated tribulations and he could help him avoid them.
• Zuo Changlu reluctantly agreed to have Blind Hong read his son’s fortune the next time the boy visited.
• Blind Hong said others had long exploited his fortune-telling abilities and were still watching him, so he wanted to spend his restored vitality protecting Zuo’s son.

Zuo Xiaoduo encountered four powerful Qi-Reading Adepts on his way to Second High School, and one warned him of an impending bloody calamity. He left the encounter unconvinced, while the adepts showed interest in his extraordinary bearing and fortune.

• Blind Hong told Zuo Changlu he feared refusing another request because doing so might cost him his life, then stayed to talk with him at the shop.
• Zuo Xiaoduo left Zuo Xiaonian and headed toward Second High School through the crowded pedestrian street.
• Zuo Xiaoduo spotted four Daoists whose faces were surrounded by dense death qi and recognized them as Qi-Reading Adepts.
• One of the adepts stopped Zuo Xiaoduo, and he gave the false name Teng Hao and said he attended First High School.
• The adept warned Zuo Xiaoduo that a bloody calamity might befall him soon, but Zuo Xiaoduo dismissed him as a swindler and prepared to leave.

Zuo Xiaoduo met four Qi-Reading Adepts, rejected Brother Feng’s prediction of a bloody calamity, and resolved to use a Breath Concealment Technique to hide his aura. Meanwhile, Former Principal He Yuanyue called Second High School’s senior staff to a meeting and began announcing an important matter.

• Brother Feng gave Zuo Xiaoduo his business card and predicted he would suffer a bloody calamity, while the other adepts praised Zuo Xiaoduo’s prospects.
• After Zuo Xiaoduo ran off, Brother Feng explained that his prediction was a calculated bluff intended to make Zuo Xiaoduo seek him out after getting injured.
• Zuo Xiaoduo dismissed the prediction but worried that the adepts could see his flourishing aura, so he remembered the Breath Concealment Technique book in his ring.
• Zuo Xiaoduo headed to Second High School, planning to train in the Gravity Room and talk with his classmates about Contribution Points.
• He Yuanyue convened Second High School’s senior staff and said she had an important matter to announce.