Chapter Summaries

Zuo Changlu introduced Zuo Xiaoduo to his longtime friend, Uncle Nan, and promised that Nan would share stories about the world beyond. Zuo Xiaoduo pressured Nan into giving him a gift, then hinted that his older sister deserved one too, leaving Nan frustrated with Zuo Changlu’s teasing.

• Uncle Nan met Zuo Xiaoduo at the shop, and Zuo Changlu introduced them.
• Zuo Changlu said Uncle Nan had traveled widely and would tell Zuo Xiaoduo about the wider world over dinner.
• Zuo Xiaoduo repeatedly hinted that Uncle Nan should give him a first-meeting gift.
• Uncle Nan gave Zuo Xiaoduo a blood-colored Small Flying Knife from his pouch.
• Zuo Xiaoduo hinted that his older sister might take the knife and suggested she should get a gift too.
• Zuo Changlu scolded Zuo Xiaoduo and called Uncle Nan stingy, prompting Nan to protest that he had already given away the knife.

Zuo Xiaoduo learned that his father and Uncle Nan shared a close bond, and he noticed that Uncle Nan had the same rare, auspicious physiognomy as his parents. Meanwhile, Blind Hong asked Zuo Changlu if he could stay at the shop briefly when his lease ended.

• Zuo Changlu scolded Zuo Xiaoduo for worrying about giving his sister a gift and insisted Uncle Nan would give her something better.
• Uncle Nan tried to leave, but Zuo Changlu persuaded him to stay for dinner, making Zuo Xiaoduo suspect they had a deep friendship.
• Zuo Xiaoduo read Uncle Nan's face and told him he had an exceptionally fortunate physiognomy like Zuo Changlu and Wu Yuting.
• Blind Hong visited Zuo Changlu and asked to stay at his shop for seven or eight days when his lease ended in about two months.
• Zuo Changlu agreed to let Blind Hong stay at the shop.

Qin Fangyang and Li Changjiang were ambushed by bombs in a crowded commercial district, while Zuo Xiaoduo rushed toward the blast after recognizing Qin Fangyang’s voice. The attackers remained nearby as civilians fled and the injured were moved.

• Qin Fangyang drove into the crowded commercial district with Li Changjiang and five students in the car.
• Qin Fangyang sensed an attack and used spiritual energy to deflect three bombs, while Li Changjiang shielded the students.
• The explosions overturned the car, and Qin Fangyang charged away as a streak of sword light.
• Qin Fangyang urged the crowd to help the injured, contact hospitals, and take cover from the attackers.
• Zuo Xiaoduo heard Qin Fangyang’s voice, rushed out, and left Zuo Changlu and Uncle Nan locked inside the shop.
• Uncle Nan read Liu Jiansheng’s message identifying the Azure Dragon Gang as the group that had tried to abduct Zuo Xiaoduo.

Qin Fangyang and Li Changjiang fought off a coordinated ambush by eleven gray-clad attackers while protecting five students. Zuo Xiaoduo watched from hiding as Qin Fangyang killed one enemy and shifted his sword assault toward Li Changjiang’s opponents.

• Li Changjiang rescued five students from the wrecked van, while Qin Fangyang guarded against further attacks.
• Four gray-clad attackers appeared and attacked Qin Fangyang and Li Changjiang, who stood their ground to protect the students.
• Six more attackers arrived, and Qin Fangyang and Li Changjiang fought the eleven enemies while Zuo Xiaoduo hid nearby.
• Li Changjiang told the students to stay together and wait for an opening so he could lead them out.
• Qin Fangyang pierced one attacker through the chest, then redirected his sword attack toward the enemies facing Li Changjiang.

Li Changjiang and Qin Fangyang broke through Broken Army’s ambush, but the attackers used Soul Confusion to turn the students against Li Changjiang and a powerful enemy moved in to kill him. Zuo Xiaoduo threw the Blood-Colored Small Flying Knife at the attacker, and its uncanny speed surprised him as he prepared to strike.

• Li Changjiang escaped with the five students while Qin Fangyang used a duplicate’s self-detonation to hold off their pursuers.
• Broken Army attacked with a storm of needles and a song that placed the five students under Soul Confusion.
• The students stabbed Li Changjiang, who realized they were controlled and continued shielding them from the needles.
• A powerful black-mist enemy appeared behind Li Changjiang and raised his saber to kill him while Qin Fangyang remained trapped.
• Zuo Xiaoduo hurled the Blood-Colored Small Flying Knife, which shot toward the attacker in a flash.

Zuo Xiaoduo’s throwing knife interrupted a powerful enemy’s attack and saved Li Changjiang and Qin Fangyang, though no one understood why the expert fled in terror. After the attackers escaped, Zuo Xiaoduo revealed that he had thrown the knife, leaving Li Changjiang and Qin Fangyang shocked by its mysterious effect.

• A red throwing knife pierced the gray-clad man’s palm and disrupted his attack, giving Li Changjiang a chance to block the lethal saber strike.
• The gray-clad man panicked after seeing the knife and retreated, then ordered his group to flee with their fallen comrade.
• Li Changjiang knocked the five students unconscious and joined Qin Fangyang as they wondered who had thrown the knife.
• Zuo Xiaoduo arrived, picked up the throwing knife, and casually admitted that he had thrown it.
• Li Changjiang and Qin Fangyang realized the knife had driven off their powerful attackers, but neither understood why.

Li Changjiang and Qin Fangyang survived an assassination attempt and uncovered evidence of a vast conspiracy involving bewitched students and a suspected traitor at Second High School. As officials rushed to investigate, Zuo Xiaoduo returned home to find his father and Uncle Nan ready to celebrate.

• Qin Fangyang removed the Ox-Hair Needles from Li Changjiang, and the two agreed the students had been bewitched.
• Li Changjiang and Qin Fangyang left with five students, while Qin warned Li not to reveal anything about Zuo Xiaoduo's throwing knife.
• Qin Fangyang headed for Crystal Pass as Li Changjiang went to detain Mu Yunfeng and report the incident.
• Governor Wan Pingyuan requested reinforcements, then ordered all available experts to surround Second High School and arrest everyone there.
• Zuo Xiaoduo returned to the shop, where Zuo Changlu and Uncle Nan closed up and invited him to buy food and liquor for a drink at home.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian hurried home after learning that Zuo Changlu was bringing Uncle Nan over for a family meal. When Zuo Changlu introduced Zuo Xiaonian to Uncle Nan, he was struck by how fortunate Zuo Changlu was to have such children.

• Zuo Xiaoduo called Zuo Xiaonian and told her to come home for a family feast with a guest.
• Wu Yuting put Zuo Xiaoduo to work preparing vegetables, garlic, wine, and water while Zuo Xiaonian teased him.
• Wu Yuting warned Zuo Xiaonian to stop bullying her brother, and Zuo Xiaonian pretended her foot hurt to escape chores.
• Zuo Changlu and Uncle Nan arrived, and Zuo Changlu introduced Zuo Xiaonian to Uncle Nan.
• Uncle Nan admired Zuo Changlu's children and said he envied him.

Uncle Nan visited the Zuo family, where Zuo Xiaonian received a Youth-Preserving Pearl but chose to save it until she reached her most beautiful years. During dinner, Wu Yuting revealed that she and Zuo Changlu worried about their children’s cultivation methods, and Uncle Nan offered to help.

• Uncle Nan praised Zuo Changlu’s children, then gave Zuo Xiaonian a Youth-Preserving Pearl as a gift.
• Zuo Xiaonian considered swallowing the pearl but put it away to take when she was older.
• Wu Yuting greeted Uncle Nan, and the family sat down to a meal together.
• Wu Yuting said she and Zuo Changlu lacked the knowledge to guide their children’s cultivation, and Uncle Nan offered to provide suitable methods.

Uncle Nan gave Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo the Moon Soul True Scripture and Flame Sun True Scripture and promised to leave them Thousand Illusions Gold. Wu Yuting and Zuo Changlu pressured him into agreeing to provide fifteen tons, leaving him horrified but unable to refuse.

• Uncle Nan gave Zuo Xiaonian the Moon Soul True Scripture and Zuo Xiaoduo the Flame Sun True Scripture, promising to teach them the arts directly.
• Wu Yuting said her children needed materials for future weapons, and Uncle Nan offered them Thousand Illusions Gold.
• Wu Yuting pretended to mistake his offer for ten tons, and Zuo Changlu raised the request to fifteen tons while acting as though he was defending Uncle Nan.
• Uncle Nan turned pale and reluctantly insisted that the fifteen tons of Thousand Illusions Gold would be no trouble.

Uncle Nan tried to leave after giving Zuo Changlu and Wu Yuting rare materials, but Wu Yuting accepted the gifts and pressed him to stay. He agreed to teach Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo that night before departing the next morning.

• Uncle Nan offered eight tons of thousand illusions gold, then added eight tons of heavenly shaman copper and Star Soul Jade to the gifts.
• Zuo Changlu and Wu Yuting accepted the materials, and Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo toasted Uncle Nan in thanks.
• Uncle Nan said he had to leave the next morning, but Zuo Xiaoduo urged him to stay because he wanted to ask for his help with Nian Nian Cat's problem.
• Wu Yuting cited the unpaid Star Soul Stone shipment as a reason for Uncle Nan to stay, and he agreed to settle the account on a future delivery.
• Uncle Nan said he would leave for the Witch Clan Continent in July and might be away for years, then agreed to teach Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo that night.

Uncle Nan forcibly transferred the Flame Sun True Scripture to Zuo Xiaoduo and Moon Soul teachings to Zuo Xiaonian before fleeing Phoenix City in the night. The next morning, Zuo Xiaoduo woke with a painful head, asked about Uncle Nan, and learned that his parents had no cultivation of their own.

• Uncle Nan completed the knowledge transfers to Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian, then left in the middle of the night carrying his heavy truck through the sky.
• Phoenix City authorities discovered that the Azure Dragon Gang’s leader, senior members, and more than four hundred gang members had been killed.
• Zuo Xiaoduo woke with a distending headache from receiving the Flame Sun True Scripture and rushed outside to look for Uncle Nan.
• Wu Yuting told Zuo Xiaoduo that she and Zuo Changlu had met Uncle Nan while traveling and saved his life, but neither of them had cultivation.
• Zuo Xiaoduo comforted Wu Yuting and promised that he and Zuo Xiaonian would take good care of their parents.

Zuo Xiaoduo studied the Flame Sun True Scripture and discovered its unusual effects, then learned that Uncle Nan’s infusion had helped him enter the first stage. Zuo Xiaonian demonstrated the Moon Soul True Scripture and invited him to test his progress against it.

• While brushing his teeth, Zuo Xiaoduo read the Flame Sun True Scripture’s annotations, which included baffling accounts from past practitioners.
• Zuo Xiaoduo examined his cultivation and found that the scripture had changed his spiritual-energy circulation, strengthening the Star Soul Flame in his dantian.
• Zuo Xiaoduo channeled spiritual power into his palm and felt heat rise through his body, concluding that he had reached the scripture’s entry stage.
• Zuo Xiaonian explained that Uncle Nan’s infusion had helped them get started, then Zuo Xiaoduo bragged that he would soon defeat her.
• Zuo Xiaonian released a thread of power from the Moon Soul True Scripture and asked Zuo Xiaoduo to attack it with his Flame Sun True Scripture.

Zuo Xiaoduo considered what weapon he might use and chose hammers as a possibility, while Zuo Xiaonian left urgently after receiving a message. At school, Zuo Xiaoduo discovered that the men who had blocked him were chained up and being interrogated amid heavy security.

• Wu Yuting asked Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian to consider what weapons they wanted, and Zuo Xiaonian said she wanted a longsword.
• Zuo Xiaoduo tentatively suggested using two hammers, but Zuo Xiaonian urged him to think it over.
• After receiving a phone message, Zuo Xiaonian changed clothes and flew away without eating breakfast.
• Zuo Xiaoduo checked his phone and worried that the Azure Dragon Gang might come after him.
• Zuo Xiaoduo arrived at Second High School, where soldiers and experts guarded the school and ten men who had blocked him were chained to trees and interrogated.
• Zuo Xiaoduo left the interrogation area when ordered to and found Li Chenglong watching from a distance.

Zuo Xiaoduo learned that the Azure Dragon Gang had been wiped out and was summoned to the principal’s office, where Director Jiang of the Star Shield Bureau questioned him. The chapter left Zuo Xiaoduo presenting himself as an innocent, polite student while concealing what he knew about the previous day.

• Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo that the principal had been targeted, investigators suspected Witch Alliance spies at the school, and the Azure Dragon Gang had been wiped out.
• Li Chenglong explained that Zheng Deyi was the gang’s young leader and that the surviving gang members had been at school when the massacre occurred.
• Qin Fangyang warned Zuo Xiaoduo to remember that he had taken no action the previous day and knew nothing.
• Qin Fangyang brought Zuo Xiaoduo to the principal’s office, where Director Jiang of the Star Shield Bureau and several officials were waiting.
• Zuo Xiaoduo greeted the officials politely and flattered Director Jiang when he asked whether Zuo Xiaoduo feared him.

Director Jiang interrogated Zuo Xiaoduo about his attacks on Class One, but the Clear Heart Mirror confirmed that Zuo had told the truth and knew nothing suspicious. The officials then revealed that Mu Yunfeng had disappeared and all fifty students in Class One had been affected by the Broken Army Soul Confusion Lure, while Director Jiang blamed the Martial Education Bureau.

• Director Jiang frightened Zuo Xiaoduo with an abrupt interrogation about why he had repeatedly attacked Class One.
• Zuo Xiaoduo said he was avenging a classmate and kept attacking the students because he found them irritating, while denying that he had talked back to Teacher Mu.
• Director Jiang dismissed Zuo Xiaoduo, and another official confirmed that the Clear Heart Mirror showed he had been truthful.
• Li Changjiang recalled Zuo Xiaoduo's unusual resistance to illusions but concealed his thoughts because he feared the school might be compromised.
• Director Jiang announced that Mu Yunfeng had disappeared and all fifty students in Class One had been affected by the Broken Army Soul Confusion Lure.
• Director Jiang reprimanded Director Sun for the Martial Education Bureau's failure and warned that the incident would cause a public uproar.

Director Jiang ordered a sweeping investigation into Mu Yunfeng’s former students and associates, while Qin Fangyang asked Zuo Xiaoduo to read his romantic fate. Zuo Xiaoduo confirmed Qin had been separated from his beloved for eighty-two years and was left to answer whether they could reunite.

• Director Jiang ordered Mu Yunfeng’s nine graduating classes, his students, and Vice Principal Gao Yi’s recommended associates investigated and tested, while the fifty students were isolated.
• Li Changjiang warned Director Jiang that the investigation could implicate tens of thousands, but Director Jiang insisted he would bear no risks; Gao Yi was brought in.
• Qin Fangyang took Zuo Xiaoduo to his office and asked him to read his marriage fate.
• Zuo Xiaoduo read Qin Fangyang’s face and said his relationship had been marked by separation, longing, and a poor bond of fate.
• Qin Fangyang revealed that he and his beloved had been apart for eighty-two years and four months, then asked whether he could still find her.

Zuo Xiaoduo read the character 芊 and warned Qin Fangyang that the woman he sought might already be near him, but forcing their reunion could lead to her death. Qin Fangyang recalled how Lü Qianqian had vanished after sacrificing her martial path to save him, and he was left contemplating the cost of continuing his search.

• Qin Fangyang wrote 芊 for Zuo Xiaoduo, who interpreted it as a sign that Lü Qianqian did not want to be found and might already be close by.
• Zuo Xiaoduo warned Qin Fangyang that if he forced the bond and found her, Lü Qianqian might die at that moment.
• Qin Fangyang remembered how two companions had ambushed him and Lü Qianqian while they gathered Star Spirit Grass.
• Lü Qianqian took a sword meant for Qin Fangyang, leaving her dantian shattered, and the Star Spirit Grass helped save her life but could not restore her martial path.
• After Qin Fangyang left to seek a physician in Dragon Head City, Lü Qianqian disappeared, leaving him a poem; he searched for her for two years without finding her.

Qin Fangyang’s memories traced his decades-long search for Lü Qianqian, from his years of vengeance and military service to settling as a teacher in Phoenix City. After a recent injury and renewed fear that he would lose her forever, he urgently sought Zuo Xiaoduo’s help.

• Qin Fangyang avenged Lü Qianqian by killing one of the two ambushers, while the other escaped, then searched for her for twenty-eight years.
• Remembering Lü Qianqian’s fondness for phoenix legends, Qin Fangyang traveled through cities with phoenix in their names and found peace near Second High School in Phoenix City.
• Qin Fangyang became a teacher at Second High School, where he spent decades training students to defend their land against the Witch Alliance.
• Lately, Qin Fangyang’s heart had grown troubled, and he feared his intuition meant Lü Qianqian was nearing the end of her life.
• After a recent injury and the appearance of the Witch Alliance’s Broken Army, Qin Fangyang sought Zuo Xiaoduo’s help, seeing him as his last hope.

Zuo Xiaoduo’s face reading helped Qin Fangyang understand why Qianqian had left, but Qin chose not to search for her, believing that finding her would only bring more pain. Qin then asked why Zuo had kept attacking Class One, and Zuo admitted he had used their bad luck as an excuse to keep beating them.

• Zuo Xiaoduo explained that Qianqian had left because their lifespans and aging would diverge, and Qin Fangyang realized she was nearby but decided not to pursue her.
• Qin Fangyang told Zuo Xiaoduo not to read people’s faces lightly in the future.
• Qin Fangyang asked why Zuo had repeatedly troubled Class One, and Zuo said he had noticed their bad-luck energy and claimed his beatings helped dispel it.
• Qin Fangyang realized Zuo had planned to keep making the students suffer until he intervened, then told Zuo to have everyone remain in class and cultivate while they awaited the principal’s word.