Chapter Summaries

Ye Changqing refused to abandon Hidden Dragon High Martial’s principles, even when Vice Principal Cheng argued that retaliation was necessary, and Vice Principal Liu affirmed his support. Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong returned to the villa shaken by the exchange and reflected on the respect students owed teachers who upheld their convictions.

• Vice Principal Cheng challenged Ye Changqing to abandon his principles, but Ye Changqing insisted that teachers could not act unscrupulously, even at the cost of their lives and school.
• Vice Principal Cheng respected Ye Changqing’s convictions but refused to forgive his own hatred, then left the secret chamber before Ye Changqing could reply.
• Xiang Kuangren questioned whether their convictions were still useful, while Vice Principal Liu defended them as Hidden Dragon’s foundation and pledged his support for Ye Changqing.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong returned to the villa and considered whether students could respect teachers who schemed for power and profit.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong agreed to lie low and cultivate after realizing they had drawn too much attention. Wen Xingtian accepted Ye Changqing’s defense of Hidden Dragon High Martial’s principles, then left with a renewed resolve.

• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong discussed how their actions might have influenced Principal Ye and the others to oppose their enemies, even without using underhanded methods.
• Zuo Xiaoduo warned Li Chenglong that his deductions had been reckless, and the two vowed to keep a low profile, grow stronger, and rein each other in.
• Li Chenglong said they could focus on cultivating, and Zuo Xiaoduo warned him not to jinx their plans.
• Wen Xingtian asked Ye Changqing whether he truly meant that Hidden Dragon High Martial could not use shameless methods, and Ye Changqing explained that doing so would destroy the school and make them sinners.
• Wen Xingtian accepted the Space Ring Zuo Xiaoduo had given Ye Changqing and left the secret chamber with a firmer resolve.
• Ye Changqing opened the Space Ring with his Divine Sense.

Zuo Xiaoduo harshly reprimanded Class One for celebrating Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing’s safe return, accusing them of lacking real-world experience and composure. He left them facing the lesson that the pair had survived their trial through luck, not preparation.

• Ye Changqing found two thousand pieces of Top-Grade Star Soul Jade in the ring and accepted the gift after reading Wen Xingtian’s note telling him not to be precious.
• Ye Changqing resolved to use the resources to restore his body and cultivation and teach the students properly.
• Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing returned safely to Class One, and their classmates crowded around them with relief and excitement.
• Zuo Xiaoduo silenced the class and criticized the students for celebrating instead of recognizing their lack of experience and combat readiness.
• Zuo Xiaoduo told the class that Xiang Chong and Xiang Bing had survived their ordeal through luck and warned that they might not be so fortunate next time.

Wen Xingtian imposed nightly ambushes and individual penalties on Class One to toughen the students, while Zuo Xiaoduo’s reputation continued to grow. The chapter left the class enduring the relentless training as Zuo Xiaoduo became increasingly respected across Hidden Dragon High Martial.

• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong eased the class’s tense mood before Wen Xingtian announced a new ambush regime with school-credit stakes and punishments.
• For several days, the students split into two groups and attacked each other at night, while Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong were barred from joining in during the first week.
• Xiang Bing confronted Zuo Xiaoduo for not saving her a Thunderbolt White Tiger, then left in shame and trained even harder.
• Zuo Xiaoduo noticed that Grandma Shi seemed more lively when he visited her for meals.
• Zuo Xiaoduo defeated challengers from second-year Class Six who tried to take his table, and students increasingly addressed him with respect as Class Monitor Zuo or Sword King.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong discussed recruiting a talented Heaven First-Class manager, while the Li, Gao, and Wu Lineages became entangled in escalating fights at Hidden Dragon High Martial. The chapter ended with Zuo Xiaoduo comparing his recruiting problem to Song Jiang’s methods in Water Margin, prompting Li Chenglong to ask to read the book.

• The Gao and Wu Lineages’ younger members grew friendlier toward Zuo Xiaoduo, while the Li Family declared that the Life-and-Death Arena dispute should end there.
• The Wu and Gao Lineages retaliated against the Li Family’s statement, and the three families began fighting one another in shifting alliances at school.
• Teachers encouraged students to fight and seize other classes’ desks, accelerating Hidden Dragon High Martial’s chaotic season of battles.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong monitored calls and worked on their internet company, discussing a talented Heaven First-Class manager they hoped to recruit.
• Zuo Xiaoduo recalled Song Jiang’s ability to recruit people from Water Margin, and Li Chenglong eagerly asked to read the book.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong considered how to recruit Manager Cai, while Li Chenglong acquired a struggling media company and turned it into an internet-trolling operation. The company began work under the name Handsome Zuo Film, Television, Entertainment and Media Co., Ltd., with its staff intimidated by the mysterious new owner's wealth and power.

• Zuo Xiaoduo said they could not destroy Manager Cai's family to force him to join, and wondered whether Fang Yinuo could help without exposing his Witch Alliance identity.
• Li Chenglong bought a struggling internet company, renamed it Handsome Zuo Film, Television, Entertainment and Media Co., Ltd., and retained its employees with much higher salaries.
• Li Chenglong ordered the company to become the internet's biggest troll operation within a month, giving it an initial budget of one hundred million.
• Ancient Qi and the staff learned that the new owner's trace led to the Three Pure Ones Hall on the Dao Alliance Continent, and realized they had little choice but to follow his orders.
• The company completed its preparations, and Ancient Qi was surprised that the Handsome Zuo name was available to register.

Zuo Xiaoduo reassured his father that he was behaving himself, while Zuo Changlu learned that his son was behind the online abuse aimed at the family. The Zuo Shuai company’s setup and recruitment proceeded remarkably smoothly, though many new hires quit after hearing about its work.

• Zuo Changlu called Zuo Xiaoduo, who claimed he was behaving like an adorable little white bunny and offered to retaliate against people insulting his father.
• Zuo Changlu told Wu Yuting that their son had caused the online trouble, and Wu Yuting became angry that he had not let her speak to Xiao Duo.
• Ancient Qi and his colleagues found that the Zuo Shuai company’s registration and paperwork were completed with extraordinary ease.
• A crowd of highly qualified job applicants joined the company, but more than half resigned after Ancient Qi described its new direction of influencing online public opinion.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong found that their new company had quickly recruited hundreds of elite online trolls, and they assigned them to praise Hidden Dragon High Martial. General Manager Ancient Qi organized the first campaign, and the eager staff immediately began working on it.

• Hundreds of experienced online trolls joined Commander Zuo Film, Television, Entertainment and Media Co., Ltd. within a day and night.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong learned of the rapid recruitment and decided to test the new company's ability by assigning a campaign about Hidden Dragon High Martial's revered teachers.
• Ancient Qi called a senior management meeting, where the staff proposed tracing the school's history and celebrating its teachers, alumni, and heroes.
• Ancient Qi assigned Team One to write an introductory article about Hidden Dragon High Martial, and the employees immediately began work.

Marshal Zuo Company’s online campaign rapidly boosted Hidden Dragon High Martial’s reputation with documented stories of its history and heroes. Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong remained unaware that their company was becoming a powerful force for guiding public opinion.

• A powerful but unseen backing turned Marshal Zuo Company into a tool for influencing public sentiment without the government appearing directly.
• Reporters from Marshal Zuo Company gathered evidence and interviewed witnesses about Hidden Dragon High Martial’s history across the nation and its borders.
• Articles about Hidden Dragon High Martial spread rapidly online, making the school hugely popular and stirring a greater wave of coverage.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong succeeded as company bosses while remaining confused about the forces driving their success.

The school struggled to decide how many credits to award Zuo Xiaoduo after he submitted an unprecedented number of Star Beasts, all of them malnourished. Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian recognized the likely cause and set symbolic credit totals for Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong.

• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong headed to school, anticipating the Trial Commendation Ceremony and their credits.
• The Academic Affairs director reported that Zuo Xiaoduo had submitted 45,678 Star Beasts and might earn over 400,000 credits under the usual calculation.
• The director revealed that all 45,678 of Zuo Xiaoduo’s Star Beasts were malnourished, leaving the school’s senior staff baffled.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian dismissed the issue, suspecting Zuo Xiaoduo’s Flame Sun True Scripture and possibly a Demonic Dagger were responsible.
• Ye Changqing set Li Chenglong’s award at 22,000 credits and Zuo Xiaoduo’s at 22,222 credits.

Ye Changqing cut Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong’s Star Beast reward to 22,222 school credits because they had been drinking and taking away nutrient solution from the Nutrient Pods. Wen Xingtian confronted them in his office, where they admitted the solution tasted good and promised not to do it again.

• Ye Changqing reduced Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong’s Star Beast credits after discovering they had been drinking nutrient solution and taking containers of it home.
• Ye Changqing explained the deduction to Wen Xingtian, who gave up arguing for the students.
• Wen Xingtian summoned Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong to his office, and they arrived expecting the awards ceremony.
• Wen Xingtian exposed their nutrient-solution drinking, and Zuo Xiaoduo accidentally admitted they had tried it.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong defended themselves weakly, while Wen Xingtian scolded them and revealed Li Chenglong had been drinking it several times a day.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong were caught sneaking energy fluid and reprimanded by Wen Xingtian, then discovered Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian had overheard them insulting the principal. The freshman trial commendation ceremony went ahead, but the two received fewer school credits than expected.

• Wen Xingtian scolded Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong for secretly drinking energy fluid and warned them that another incident would cost them their school credits.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong suspected Ye Changqing had reported them after realizing the pair had stopped drinking water at home.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian revealed they had overheard the boys calling them devious, and Ye Changqing told them they had four years to explain themselves.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong accepted their commendations at the ceremony looking dejected, despite receiving their prizes.
• The school awarded Zuo Xiaoduo 22,222 credits, Li Chenglong 22,000 credits, and third-place Meng Changjun 21,000 credits.

After the award ceremony, Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong realized Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian had used the Nutrient Liquid incident to conceal their School Credit deductions and keep them cautious. They left resigned to the loss while the two instructors celebrated having fooled them, and Class One’s students kept their distance.

• Class One dominated the rankings, and the principal awarded School Credits to the new students at the ceremony.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong wondered why the expected punishment never came and concluded the instructors had used the Nutrient Liquid incident to take their School Credits.
• Zuo Xiaoduo figured that he had lost several hundred thousand School Credits and that Meng Changjun had also been docked, while Li Chenglong understood only part of the scheme.
• Ye Changqing and Wen Xingtian discussed how they had frightened the pair and agreed that the School Credit loss would not hinder Zuo Xiaoduo’s future cultivation or missions.
• Class One’s students avoided Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong, wary of their moods and of being targeted after the recent trouble.

Zuo Xiaoduo used a staged self-criticism to warn Wen Xingtian that Vice Principal Xiang would be targeted that night, but Wen destroyed the paper and sent him away. Wen then traded barbed remarks with Vice Principal Wu, leaving the warning unresolved.

• Meng Changjun and the other students panicked after Wen Xingtian overheard their talk about being attacked and suggested they needed to experience knives sinking into their flesh.
• The students beat Hao Han for speaking carelessly, while Zuo Xiaoduo approached Wen Xingtian and insisted on admitting his mistake.
• In Wen Xingtian's office, Zuo Xiaoduo wrote that Vice Principal Xiang faced danger that night and described a plot against him, then outlined countermeasures.
• Wen Xingtian tore the self-criticism to pieces, ordered Zuo Xiaoduo to rewrite it, and kicked him out of the office.
• Vice Principal Wu came to speak with Wen Xingtian, who mocked leaders who collected high salaries without teaching before walking away.

After Wen Xingtian punished Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong, Zuo fantasized about defeating his teachers while the pair returned to their online projects. As their fame grew, organized critics began attacking Zuo Xiaoduo for being an Innate Martial Artist who had not contributed to society.

• Vice Principal Wu watched Wen Xingtian leave and privately decided Wen was another obstacle he had to remove.
• Wen Xingtian beat Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong in class, and they went home injured after being barred from the Nutrient Pods for a week.
• Zuo Xiaoduo celebrated the return of the Annihilation Sky Pagoda and imagined defeating Qin Fangyang, Wen Xingtian, and Ye Changqing, frightening Li Chenglong with his laughter.
• Xiang Kuangren told Wen Xingtian that Lei Datou had returned to Fenghai and invited him for a drink, prompting Wen to question the sudden reunion before agreeing to walk with him.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong watched their online series gain popularity as members of the Wu Lineage and Gao Lineage visited them.
• Online critics began disparaging Zuo Xiaoduo's fame and lack of contributions, and organized commenters traded insults with the Steel-Iron Divine Cult and Sword King's supporters.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong watched their online campaign backfire when their hired team began attacking them while steering debate toward the Steel-Iron Divine Cult and the Sword King. The company’s manager took the boss’s approval as confirmation that the plan was working, and the team prepared to keep escalating the public conflict.

• Posts detailing the founders of Hidden Dragon High Martial and their heroic deeds shifted public opinion against the Steel-Iron Divine Cult and the Sword King's supporters.
• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong realized their team had opened the campaign by insulting them, but decided to let the attacks continue and make those responsible bear the consequences.
• The boss messaged Ancient Qi, “Good work,” encouraging Manager Gu and the company to continue their strategy.
• The company planned to keep attacking the Sword King and Cult Leader, then provoke celebrity fans before entering the debate with facts and stories about heroic seniors.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong’s company gained overwhelming online exposure and sponsorships while the school’s students and staff carried on with their usual routines. Vice Principal Gao was then gravely injured in a late-night fight, and the next morning the school’s senior figures confronted Xiang Kuangren over the attack.

• Zuo Xiaoduo and Li Chenglong’s company secured advertising fees and enthusiastic promotion from major websites, rapidly attracting attention across the industry.
• Zuo Xiaoduo compressed his spiritual qi for the sixteenth time, Li Chenglong suppressed his for the fifth time, Ye Changqing kept watch, and Class One students continued scheming against one another.
• Xiang Kuangren fought Vice Principal Gao in the middle of the night, leaving Gao gravely injured and unconscious before fleeing when Vice Principal Wu arrived.
• At four in the morning, Vice Principal Wu accused Xiang Kuangren of attacking Gao, and Vice Principal Wei questioned Xiang’s earlier remarks about Gao’s guilty expression.
• Xiang Kuangren denied the accusation, while Wen Xingtian demanded to know what evidence linked him to the attack.

Wen Xingtian and Xiang Kuangren challenged Vice Principal Wu to provide evidence that Xiang had attacked Vice Principal Gao. Ye Changqing ordered a fair investigation based on evidence from both sides, but Wu argued that Gao’s words and the wounds left by the Overlord Halberd implicated Xiang.

• Wen Xingtian berated Vice Principal Wu and demanded conclusive evidence against Xiang Kuangren, threatening to drive out anyone who interfered with Ye Changqing’s recovery.
• Ye Changqing silenced the room despite coughing blood and said the attack on Vice Principal Gao required an impartial investigation.
• Ye Changqing explained that Gao had accused Xiang while Xiang had denied responsibility, and insisted both sides needed supporting evidence.
• Vice Principal Wu argued that Gao’s shout during the battle implicated Xiang and demanded proof that Xiang had not been at the scene.
• Xiang Kuangren rejected Gao’s words as evidence, and Vice Principal Wu claimed the Overlord Halberd’s distinctive traces could identify the attacker.

Xiang Kuangren tried to clear his name by calling Lei Datou and his son as witnesses, but Lei Datou claimed they had stopped drinking at eleven, leaving Xiang without an alibi for the attack on Vice Principal Gao. Xiang then produced a miniature disc and demanded a projector.

• Xiang Kuangren brought Lei Datou and his son in as witnesses and said they had drunk together at the Supreme Hotel until after two in the morning.
• Lei Datou confirmed that he and his son had joined Xiang for drinks, but said the drinking had ended at eleven.
• Vice Principal Wu pointed out that Vice Principal Gao had been attacked at one in the morning, so Lei Datou's account did not clear Xiang.
• Xiang questioned Lei Datou about his testimony, accused him of betraying their long friendship, and demanded a projector.
• Xiang took a miniature disc from his pocket.

Xiang Kuangren used hotel surveillance footage to prove that Lei Datou had drunk with him until after three in the morning, undermining Lei’s claim that they had met earlier. Jiang Wenzhou arrived to testify for Xiang and began showing a separate recording of Lei’s movements, leaving the evidence against him unresolved.

• Xiang Kuangren played footage showing him and Lei Datou entering the Supreme Hotel at 6:47 p.m. and drinking together until 3:20 a.m.
• Lei Datou claimed the room’s clock was broken and said he had only echoed Xiang’s guesses about the time.
• Jiang Wenzhou arrived with Star Shield Bureau officers and said the hotel’s owner and manager were already in his custody.
• Jiang Wenzhou said he had recorded Lei Datou and another man repeatedly leaving their room, then started a recording of Lei heading toward the restroom.