Chapter Summaries

Zuo Xiaoduo learned that He Yuanyue had asked Ye Changqing to protect him, and he saved a photo of her email as a keepsake. When he mentioned that his current residence left him unable to practice, Ye Changqing realized Zuo Xiaoduo had another hidden fighting method and asked who had taught him the Flame Sun True Scripture.

• Zuo Xiaoduo read He Yuanyue's email and, moved by her words, took photos of it to keep.
• Ye Changqing warned Zuo Xiaoduo to keep the email's contents secret, and Zuo Xiaoduo said he trusted him.
• Zuo Xiaoduo explained that he could not practice at his current residence, prompting Ye Changqing to suspect he had a hidden weapon beyond his sword.
• Ye Changqing recalled Zuo Xiaoduo's many revealed skills and asked who had taught him the Flame Sun True Scripture.
• Zuo Xiaoduo said Uncle Nan had taught it to him, and Ye Changqing began coughing in surprise.

Ye Changqing brought Zuo Xiaoduo to a secluded training ground, where Zuo revealed the Nine-Nine Kitty Hammers and demonstrated their power. The chapter ended with Zuo unleashing a rapid sequence of hammer strikes that Ye Changqing met head-on.

• Ye Changqing transported Zuo Xiaoduo to a secluded space and asked to see the secret technique he planned to practice.
• Zuo Xiaoduo summoned the Nine-Nine Kitty Hammers, and Ye Changqing identified their rare materials.
• Ye Changqing asked Zuo Xiaoduo to attack him with all his strength, and Zuo agreed.
• Zuo Xiaoduo launched a twin-hammer assault, while Ye Changqing halted the first blow with a palm strike.
• Zuo Xiaoduo used the force of Ye Changqing's parries to intensify his attacks, delivering thirty-six hammer blows and hovering like a whirlwind.

Zuo Xiaoduo demonstrated the overwhelming power of his hammer technique, impressing Ye Changqing despite struggling to stop the heavy weapons. Ye Changqing decided to give him a mysterious black pagoda, while privately wondering about Zuo Xiaoduo’s background and powerful benefactors.

• Ye Changqing stopped Zuo Xiaoduo’s uncontrolled spinning by gripping his hammers and let him turn several more times before bringing him to a halt.
• Zuo Xiaoduo complained that the hammers were too heavy, while Ye Changqing judged his final strike powerful enough to threaten an ordinary early-stage Infant Transformation cultivator.
• Ye Changqing reflected on Zuo Xiaoduo’s Flame Sun True Scripture, hammers, and sword, and decided not to ask about the implications of his surname.
• Ye Changqing praised Zuo Xiaoduo, returned him to the lawn, and brought out a palm-sized black object resembling an iron pagoda.

Ye Changqing explained the history and limited abilities of the Annihilation Sky Pagoda, a surviving relic of a research project destroyed by Great Witch Dan Kong. He gave Space-Erasing Tower Seven to Zuo Xiaoduo and warned him not to cultivate inside for more than three days at a time.

• Ye Changqing told Zuo Xiaoduo that researchers had spent seventy-five years trying to create spaces where time flowed faster than it did outside.
• Ye Changqing recounted how Great Witch Dan Kong destroyed the Research Base, killing its researchers and ending the project, while a few unfinished pagodas were saved.
• Ye Changqing explained that Space-Erasing Tower Seven offered a stable space but lacked spiritual energy and could not support breakthroughs.
• Ye Changqing gave the Annihilation Sky Pagoda to Zuo Xiaoduo and instructed him to enter it through his divine sense and limit each session to three days.
• Zuo Xiaoduo was delighted and surprised to receive the pagoda.

Ye Changqing gave Zuo Xiaoduo the Annihilation Sky Pagoda on the condition that he meet expectations by the semester’s final assessment, and asked him to kill Dan Kong if he reached the required strength. Zuo Xiaoduo then read Ye Changqing’s face and warned that Hidden Dragon High Martial seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

• Ye Changqing gave Zuo Xiaoduo the Annihilation Sky Pagoda, requiring him to make progress by the final assessment.
• Ye Changqing told Zuo Xiaoduo to consolidate his foundations before the great war and, if he became strong enough, kill Dan Kong for the fallen heroes.
• Zuo Xiaoduo accepted the pagoda and promised to crush Dan Kong beneath his hammers.
• After Ye Changqing began coughing and turned pale, Zuo Xiaoduo claimed his physiognomy was first under heaven.
• Zuo Xiaoduo examined Ye Changqing and described his fate as beset by trouble and ill fortune, warning that Hidden Dragon High Martial appeared close to collapse.

Zuo Xiaoduo identified the turmoil undermining Hidden Dragon High Martial and prompted Ye Changqing to explain how his injury and the vice principals’ power struggles had weakened the school. Ye Changqing asked whether Zuo Xiaoduo could fix the crisis, and Zuo Xiaoduo asked him to write a character for him to examine.

• Zuo Xiaoduo told Ye Changqing that his position and prospects were under attack, prompting the principal to believe he had discerned the truth.
• Ye Changqing explained that an old injury had forced him to reduce his oversight, while Xiang Kuangren’s condition and the misfortunes of other vice principals had left the school without its main pillars.
• Ye Changqing described how vice principals sent from the Martial Education Department had fueled factional infighting, leaving Hidden Dragon High Martial in decline and its teachers discontented.
• Ye Changqing said he could not purge the discordant forces while his health was poor and he lacked a successor, fearing the school would collapse if he died.
• Ye Changqing asked Zuo Xiaoduo whether he had a way to resolve the crisis, and Zuo Xiaoduo asked him to write a character.

Zuo Xiaoduo interpreted Ye Changqing’s written character for “kill” as a sign that an outside force would help him unleash his killing intent, and noticed that the character faintly resembled a hidden dragon. He persuaded Ye Changqing to inspect the school’s qi from above, and Ye Changqing carried him into the sky.

• Ye Changqing wrote the character “kill,” revealing his pent-up frustration and desire to punish the school’s wrongdoers.
• Zuo Xiaoduo interpreted the character as showing that Ye Changqing needed an outside force to help him act, with assistance likely coming from the east.
• Zuo Xiaoduo wiped the character and observed that its shape faintly resembled a dragon, linking it to Hidden Dragon High Martial’s name.
• Ye Changqing explained that the school was not built over any of Fenghai City’s eight known dragon veins, while Zuo Xiaoduo insisted that he could see traces of one.
• Zuo Xiaoduo asked to use his inherited Qi-Viewing Technique from above, and Ye Changqing took his hand and shot them hundreds of meters into the air.

Zuo Xiaoduo surveyed Fenghai City’s Dragon Veins with Ye Changqing and discovered that they all avoided the area around Hidden Dragon High Martial. Unable to explain the strange blank space, he noticed a faint Qi Vein to the southeast and asked Ye Changqing where it led.

• Ye Changqing flew with Zuo Xiaoduo high above Fenghai City so he could inspect its terrain and Dragon Veins.
• Zuo Xiaoduo identified eight Dragon Veins and pointed out the ancient royal city where Dragon Qi gathered.
• Zuo Xiaoduo observed that the Dragon Veins all skirted the area around Hidden Dragon High Martial, despite converging elsewhere.
• Zuo Xiaoduo questioned whether his observations conflicted with the character Ye Changqing had written and the principles in his books on Qi-Observing Art.
• Zuo Xiaoduo spotted a faint Qi Vein extending from the southeast and asked Ye Changqing what lay in that direction.
• Ye Changqing told Zuo Xiaoduo that the direction led back toward Phoenix City, recalling the mountain ranges they had crossed on their journey.

Zuo Xiaoduo failed to understand the strange dragon veins over Fenghai City before Ye Changqing returned him home. There, Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing asked him for aged Orchid Fragrance Grass, which he denied having.

• Zuo Xiaoduo saw the eight dragon veins converging northwest, but could not make sense of the strange sight.
• Ye Changqing carried Zuo Xiaoduo back to his villa and left after mentioning that Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing had come to see him.
• Li Chenglong came out with Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing, whose unusually polite manner made Zuo Xiaoduo wary.
• Xiang Bing asked Zuo Xiaoduo for aged Orchid Fragrance Grass, and he insisted he had none.

Zuo Xiaoduo gave Li Chenglong sole credit for the Orchid Fragrance Grass and let him decide whether to give it to the Xiang Family. Xiang Chong promised the family would reward Li Chenglong, and the chapter ended with him asking to inspect the herb.

• Zuo Xiaoduo told Xiang Chong that the Orchid Fragrance Grass belonged to Li Chenglong, whom he had only been keeping it for.
• Zuo Xiaoduo explained that Li Chenglong had searched more than a hundred caves and had stopped looking for resources once he found the herb.
• Xiang Chong promised that the Xiang Family would not leave Li Chenglong's hard work unrewarded.
• Zuo Xiaoduo joked that Li Chenglong's beatings of Xiang Bing could count as an apology, and Xiang Chong said the sparring was good for both of them.
• Li Chenglong said sparring with Xiang Bing had helped him improve, making her nearly choke with anger.
• Xiang Chong asked to see the Orchid Fragrance Grass, and Zuo Xiaoduo agreed.

Zuo Xiaoduo presented the Xiang siblings with the ten-leaf Orchid Fragrance Grass, which he and Li Chenglong had jointly cultivated. Xiang Family head Xiang Tianfei arrived to inspect it and thanked Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong.

• Zuo Xiaoduo brought the Orchid Fragrance Grass out and surprised Xiang Chong with its ten leaves.
• Zuo Xiaoduo teased Li Chenglong about giving the herb to Xiang Bing, and Li Chenglong clarified that the gift came from both him and Zuo Xiaoduo.
• Zuo Xiaoduo urged the Xiang siblings to contact their family quickly because the herb made them targets outside the villa.
• Xiang Chong sent his family a photo, and Xiang Tianfei and other Xiang Family members rushed to the villa.
• Xiang Tianfei inspected the ten-leaf Orchid Fragrance Grass, introduced himself, and apologized to Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong for his haste.

Zuo Xiaoduo gave Xiang Tianfei the Orchid Fragrance Grass, which Xiang Tianfei hurried home to use. After teasing Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing about their childhood nicknames, Zuo Xiaoduo turned to Li Chenglong and suggested they eat at a luxurious restaurant in Fenghai City.

• Zuo Xiaoduo acted modestly as Xiang Tianfei accepted the Orchid Fragrance Grass and promised to repay the gift.
• Xiang Tianfei put the grass in his Space Ring and left with sixteen Xiang Family experts, while Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing stayed behind.
• Zuo Xiaoduo laughed at Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing's nicknames, Little Bug and Little Ice Egg, and Xiang Bing angrily demanded that Xiang Chong hit him.
• Xiang Chong reflected that the favor Zuo Xiaoduo had done for their family meant he could not retaliate, while Xiang Bing continued to glare at Zuo Xiaoduo.
• Zuo Xiaoduo complained that he and Li Chenglong were hungry and described a lavish Fenghai City restaurant serving Star Beast meat, Spirit Plant dishes, and alcohol made with spiritual ingredients.

Zuo Xiaoduo talked Xiang Chong into treating the group to a month of meals at Heaven First-Class, provoking Xiang Bing into attacking him. After Xiang Bing healed her injuries, the four set out for the exclusive restaurant, gaining access to a special table through Xiang Chong’s family.

• Zuo Xiaoduo persuaded Xiang Chong to pay for meals at Heaven First-Class, then claimed the offer covered a whole month.
• Xiang Bing became furious and chased Zuo Xiaoduo, while Li Chenglong questioned why he would help her beat up their boss.
• Xiang Bing healed her injuries in the principal’s Nutrient Pod before joining the group.
• Xiang Chong obtained his father’s Membership Card and arranged for a God-Imperial cultivator from his lineage to accompany them.
• The four went to Heaven First-Class and qualified to dine at one of its special tables reserved for God-Imperial cultivators.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong dined with Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing at Heaven First-Class, where Zuo Xiaoduo gathered information and used the costly meal to clear the debt between them. After they left, Xiang Tianxiang explained that Zuo Xiaoduo wanted to be their friends rather than remain their benefactor.

• Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing brought Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong to Heaven First-Class, where they shared an expensive meal.
• Zuo Xiaoduo studied the restaurant’s materials and questioned the lobby manager to gather information.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong left, saying that they and the Xiang Family owed each other nothing.
• Xiang Tianxiang explained to Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing that Zuo Xiaoduo had arranged the meal to restore their sense of equality and make friendship possible.

Xiang Tianxiang urged Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing to understand the intentions behind Zuo Xiaoduo’s words and actions. Meanwhile, Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo that their orchid fragrance grass had been meant to help him find a cure for Xiang Kuangren, and accused him of using the favor to build connections for Li Chenglong.

• Xiang Tianxiang explained that the Xiang Family owed Zuo Xiaoduo a favor, then pointed out that Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing would protect him despite wanting to beat him up.
• Xiang Tianxiang told Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing that Zuo Xiaoduo never spoke without a purpose and urged them to reconsider the meaning of the dinner.
• Xiang Tianxiang wondered why Zuo Xiaoduo had asked where the ingredients came from and suspected Li Chenglong had also noticed something important in the introductory materials.
• Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo that Former Principal He had asked him to find orchid fragrance grass to help Zuo Xiaoduo, after explaining that Xiang Kuangren had been poisoned with forgetting river water.
• Li Chenglong said the orchid fragrance grass belonged to both of them and accused Zuo Xiaoduo of passing him the credit to build connections, while Zuo Xiaoduo denied being that calculating.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong reaffirmed their friendship while exploring Fenghai, then returned to the villa and discussed why they were safe from attack. Li Chenglong began describing the powerful leadership of Hidden Dragon High Martial.

• Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo he wanted them to remain sincere friends who shared both burdens and benefits, and Zuo Xiaoduo reassured him with jokes and cotton candy.
• The two browsed the crowd together, but Zuo Xiaoduo vehemently stopped Li Chenglong from buying a white jade dog carving.
• After returning to the villa, Li Chenglong noted that nobody had followed them, and Zuo Xiaoduo explained that their enemies would risk retaliation if they harmed students newly arrived at Hidden Dragon High Martial.
• Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo that Hidden Dragon High Martial's senior leadership was formidable and began listing its principal, vice principals, and department heads.

Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo about the suspicious tragedies that had driven four vice principals from Hidden Dragon High Martial and the powerful lineages behind their replacements. The chapter left Zuo Xiaoduo weighing the dangers of the school as Li Chenglong seriously suggested transferring.

• Li Chenglong explained that Xiang Kuangren had been disgraced with Forgetting River Water, leaving Hidden Dragon without its strongest second-in-command.
• Li Chenglong recounted how Vice Principal Liu lost his cultivation protecting students, Vice Principal Shi was framed in a scandal before dying in battle, and Vice Principal Cheng vanished while investigating his family's murders.
• Li Chenglong identified the replacement vice principals as men connected to Principal Ye Changqing and powerful Upper Capital lineages, including the Wu and Gao lineages.
• Li Chenglong pointed out that Zuo Xiaoduo and he had received a villa beside the principal's home and warned that Hidden Dragon was a dangerous political whirlpool.
• Li Chenglong seriously proposed that he and Zuo Xiaoduo transfer schools.

Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo about the corruption and dirty schemes undermining the academy, and Zuo Xiaoduo warned him to investigate suspects one at a time. Zuo Xiaoduo went upstairs to rest, while Li Chenglong remained furious and heard him mutter that these people had never encountered someone who would not listen to reason.

• Zuo Xiaoduo argued that they still had a chance to confront the academy's schemers and said they could be more ruthless if forced.
• Li Chenglong described how powerful families could frame teachers and erase evidence, leaving victims unable to obtain justice.
• Zuo Xiaoduo told Li Chenglong to investigate each person separately rather than assume one group was behind everything.
• Zuo Xiaoduo told Li Chenglong to rest before their matches the next day, then went upstairs.
• Li Chenglong stayed on the sofa, enraged, and heard Zuo Xiaoduo murmur that the schemers had never met someone who would not listen to reason.

Li Chenglong realized Zuo Xiaoduo intended to strike back without waiting for proof, while Zuo Xiaoduo calmed himself and began training in the Annihilation Sky Pagoda. In Class One’s first formal lesson, Wen Xingtian explained that his assessments had led him to change several students’ cultivation methods.

• Li Chenglong inferred that Zuo Xiaoduo would pursue their enemies directly rather than gather evidence and reason with them.
• Zuo Xiaoduo cheered himself up, equipped his weights and training hammers, and entered the Annihilation Sky Pagoda to train.
• Wen Xingtian examined several students’ meridians and said some needed different, simpler cultivation manuals.
• Wen Xingtian’s students recognized how thoroughly he had assessed their abilities and combat traits over three sleepless days.
• Wen Xingtian recalled a veteran teacher’s warning that High Martial teachers had to identify and correct students’ mistakes during their first month.

Wen Xingtian reflected on his years of teaching and the care he put into correcting his students’ flaws, then organized Class One by cultivation and combat strength. He made Zuo Xiaoduo a challenge target worth a thousand points, allowing up to ten students to team up against him.

• Wen Xingtian recalled his mentor’s instructions to study every student closely and correct their combat flaws with wholehearted care.
• Wen Xingtian remembered the students lost on the battlefield and the teachers who mourned them, and he finished detailed files for Class One’s thirty-six students.
• Wen Xingtian set aside Zuo Xiaoduo’s file, deciding the class monitor could only be handled by beating him hard.
• Wen Xingtian divided Class One into nine groups based on cultivation and combat strength and offered points to students who defeated higher-ranked opponents.
• Wen Xingtian declared that anyone who defeated Zuo Xiaoduo would earn a thousand points, and up to ten students could challenge him together.