Chapter Summaries

Zuo Xiaoduo returned to Class Nine, where his cultivation released the spiritual energy he had stored from Meng Chenyu’s Healing Pod and triggered a class-wide cultivation surge. As the mist cleared, students began breaking through, while the chapter left Li Chenglong’s breakthrough attempt underway.

• Zuo Xiaoduo returned to Class Nine and repeated Qin Fangyang’s scolding as a call for the students to cultivate.
• Zuo Xiaoduo circulated the Flame Sun True Scripture, releasing vast quantities of high-quality spiritual energy into the classroom.
• Long Yusheng, Wan Lixiu, Li Changming, and the other students absorbed the dense spiritual energy and cultivated despite the heat.
• Li Chenglong absorbed the energy and drove his spiritual energy against the Martial Warrior barrier.
• The spiritual mist dispersed, and a student exclaimed that they had broken through.

Class Nine’s students made remarkable progress, and five—including Li Chenglong—broke through to the Martial Master tier after Zuo Xiaoduo’s cultivation released stored energy. Qin Fangyang sent the six newly advanced students to temper their foundations in actual combat and planned a second touch test in the Star Soul Tower after the coming incident.

• Long Yusheng, Wan Lixiu, Yu Moyan, and Li Changming broke through to the Martial Master tier, while the rest of Class Nine also grew stronger.
• Li Chenglong unexpectedly broke through and celebrated tearfully, leaving Zuo Xiaoduo heartbroken that his cultivation had benefited the others.
• Qin Fangyang arrived, learned that five students had broken through, and questioned the class about what had happened, but no one answered.
• Zuo Xiaoduo realized the Flame Sun True Scripture had released some of his stored spiritual energy and resolved to make the students who benefited compensate him.
• Qin Fangyang ordered the six newly advanced students to begin actual combat training and said he would send them to the Star Soul Tower for a second touch test after the incident.

Zuo Xiaonian visited Grandma He and told her that the Greedy Wolf, Seven Killings, and Broken Army sects had converged on Phoenix City, forming the Kill Break Wolf Calamity Formation. Grandma He recognized the danger and implied that an old threat had finally arrived.

• Zuo Xiaonian visited Grandma He and brought her Dragon Soul Liquid, though Grandma He said it could no longer help her.
• Zuo Xiaonian asked Grandma He about Phoenix City's hidden secret on behalf of her master.
• Zuo Xiaonian reported that she had intercepted a Greedy Wolf's Heart and that Seven Killings forces had ambushed people outside the city.
• Zuo Xiaonian told Grandma He that Qin Fangyang and Li Changjiang had been severely injured in an ambush involving Broken Army-affiliated forces and a peak Infant Transformation expert.
• Zuo Xiaonian explained that Phoenix City had been sealed off for an investigation and that the three sects' gathering had formed the Kill Break Wolf Calamity Formation.
• Grandma He said she had thought these events would not happen in her lifetime, but that what must come had come.

Grandma He explained to Zuo Xiaonian that Phoenix City’s terrain formed the shape of a crouching phoenix and connected an ancient stele’s prophecy to a surge of gifted female Martial Artists. She revealed that Hu Ruoyun and other unusually talented women had died before reaching maturity, and that she had hidden the identities of Zuo Xiaonian, Meng Chenyu, and Ning Xiaoyue, now known as Ning Qingcheng.

• Grandma He described Phoenix City’s terrain and surrounding mountains as forming a phoenix looking back over the city.
• Grandma He recalled a forty-thousand-year-old stone stele and recited its prophecy about the phoenix, bloodshed, and forty-three thousand years.
• Grandma He said Phoenix City’s female Martial Artists had shown extraordinary talents since roughly forty years earlier, but none of the gifted women had survived to maturity.
• Grandma He cited Hu Ruoyun’s destroyed dantian as one case of a gifted woman meeting an unnatural end.
• Grandma He revealed that she had concealed the identities of Zuo Xiaonian, Meng Chenyu, and Ning Xiaoyue, whose name had been changed to Ning Qingcheng.

Grandma He explained that the Witch Alliance’s Kill Break Wolf forces were targeting Phoenix City’s Phoenix Vein and its accumulated qi, which could not be destroyed without sacrificing a rare chance to produce a supreme expert. She warned Zuo Xiaonian that she, Meng Chenyu, and Ning Qingcheng were the Phoenix Vein’s three destined vessels and would become targets if exposed.

• Grandma He explained that she had hidden Zuo Xiaonian’s background and arranged for her, Meng Chenyu, and Ning Qingcheng to become disciples to keep their unusual destinies secret.
• Grandma He said Phoenix City’s long-gathered momentum might cause a Phoenix Vein soul impact, but she could not explain why the city had produced so few male cultivation geniuses.
• Grandma He concluded that Kill Break Wolf was targeting the Phoenix Vein’s qi, and Zuo Xiaonian asked how to stop the Witch Alliance from taking it.
• Grandma He said the Phoenix Vein could not be destroyed because doing so would sacrifice the city’s accumulated fortune and its chance to produce a supreme expert.
• Grandma He recounted how officials had repeatedly dismissed her warnings, then told Zuo Xiaonian that she, Meng Chenyu, and Ning Qingcheng were the only suitable vessels and would be targeted once discovered.

Grandma He warned Zuo Xiaonian that Kill Break Wolf and the coming Phoenix Vein Soul Impact could target her during her breakthrough, leaving her unable to advance early. After learning that even more powerful forces might intervene, Zuo Xiaonian flew above Phoenix City and longed to see Zuo Xiaoduo.

• Grandma He explained that the Phoenix Vein Soul Impact was expected within months and that Zuo Xiaonian was the likeliest target of Kill Break Wolf.
• Zuo Xiaonian connected the danger to her predicted Death Calamity, while Grandma He told her she could not break through early and would have to survive the trial.
• Grandma He urged Zuo Xiaonian to push through the deadly hurdle and warned her to beware of both the Northern Dipper Nine and Southern Dipper Six, as well as possible Star Lord intervention.
• Zuo Xiaonian flew high above Phoenix City, saw its terrain resemble a phoenix unable to rise, and wished she could be beside Zuo Xiaoduo.

Zuo Xiaonian returned home, fearing her Phoenix Vein breakthrough would be a deadly trap and finding comfort in Zuo Xiaoduo’s room. There she discovered his countdown notebook and notes showing how closely he had been investigating the forces threatening her.

• Zuo Xiaonian hurried home after realizing her breakthrough was a deadly tribulation that would leave her unable to defend herself from the Witch Alliance’s plotting.
• Zuo Xiaonian sat in Zuo Xiaoduo’s room and took comfort in his familiar belongings, believing only he had recognized the danger to her.
• Zuo Xiaonian found Zuo Xiaoduo’s hidden notebook beside his secret savings and read his countdown to her breakthrough.
• Zuo Xiaonian read Zuo Xiaoduo’s notes linking Greedy Wolf, Seven Killings, and Broken Army to suspicious events at school and threats to her life.

Zuo Xiaonian read Zuo Xiaoduo’s notes and learned that he had exposed the conspiracy at Second High School to attract the higher-ups’ attention and help protect her. Meanwhile, Zuo Xiaoduo questioned Li Chenglong about the Witch Alliance and Kill Break Wolf as authorities continued detaining school staff and students.

• Zuo Xiaonian read Zuo Xiaoduo’s disordered notes and realized he had exposed the Broken Army vortex at Second High School while seeking help for her.
• Zuo Xiaonian worried that Zuo Xiaoduo had endangered himself, then felt reassured that he was trying to support her.
• Zuo Xiaoduo called Li Chenglong “Swelly” and asked him to explain the Witch Alliance, especially Kill Break Wolf.
• Several teachers and the vice principal were taken away, and all fifty students of Class One were transported without being placed in criminal detention.
• Authorities also took away cafeteria cooks, political education teachers, and dozens of students from different year groups.

As officials removed nearly three hundred people from Second High School over suspected Witch Alliance infiltration, an elderly woman arrived to confront them. She forced Director Jiang to release the Political Education Office teachers and the Martial Disciple children, but warned him against harming the remaining students.

• Troops and bureau officials withdrew from Second High School after taking nearly three hundred people, leaving the Martial Education Bureau and Star Shield Bureau behind.
• An elderly woman in a wheelchair blocked the convoy at the school gates, and Qin Fangyang recognized her with shock.
• Director Jiang and the other officials greeted the old woman respectfully, and she ordered him to release the three Political Education Office teachers.
• The old woman also demanded the release of the Martial Disciple teacher's children and warned Director Jiang not to injure any Second High School students.
• Director Jiang agreed to release the teachers and children but insisted that spies had been found among the students and that he could not protect them all.

Qin Fangyang rushed toward the old woman after Director Jiang agreed to investigate no more than five suspected brainwashed students. The others protected her, and the chapter revealed her identity as He Yuanyue, the beloved founder of Second High School whom Director Jiang had stayed in Phoenix City to care for.

• The old woman warned Director Jiang that no more than five students could have been completely brainwashed if the Witch Alliance was responsible.
• Director Jiang promised to avoid wrongly accusing students, then agreed to the old woman's limit and prepared to take her back.
• Qin Fangyang stepped forward and urgently asked the old woman who she was.
• Director Jiang, Director Sun, Li Changjiang, and others shielded the old woman from Qin Fangyang.
• The chapter described how He Yuanyue founded Second High School, supported generations of students, and inspired Director Jiang to remain in Phoenix City.

Qin Fangyang defied the officials to ask the elderly woman her name, believing she might be the wife he had lost eighty-two years earlier. After the woman defended him and invited him closer, the officials stepped aside, revealing her aged appearance.

• Qin Fangyang demanded to know the elderly woman's name and whether she recognized him, despite Director Jiang and Director Sun ordering him to stand down.
• Director Jiang and Director Sun confronted Qin Fangyang, who showed strength far beyond what they expected.
• The elderly woman praised Qin Fangyang for supporting his students and asked why he had approached her.
• Qin Fangyang apologized and explained that he had been separated from his wife for eighty-two years and thought the woman might be her.
• The elderly woman invited Qin Fangyang closer and rebuked Jiang Changbin and Sun Yunhe until they stepped aside, revealing her aged face.

Qin Fangyang mistook He Yuanyue for his missing wife, Lü Qianqian, but He Yuanyue denied being her. When Qin revealed his wife’s name, Jiang Changbin realized it was the name He Yuanyue had erased from her past, and she ordered him to search for Qin’s wife.

• He Yuanyue introduced herself to Qin Fangyang and said she was not his wife, leaving him devastated.
• Director Jiang offered to help find Qin Fangyang’s wife, and Qin told him her name was Lü Qianqian.
• Jiang Changbin recognized Lü Qianqian as He Yuanyue’s former name, which he had erased from the records at her request.
• He Yuanyue noticed Jiang Changbin’s reaction and silently warned him not to reveal what he knew.
• He Yuanyue instructed Jiang Changbin to thoroughly search for Qin Fangyang’s wife.

Qin Fangyang collapsed after leaving He Yuanyue, while Jiang Changbin tried to protect the students and keep the old woman safe from interference. Later, Zuo Xiaoduo spent the afternoon learning about the cultivation world's history and factions from Li Chenglong.

• Qin Fangyang swallowed back blood, collapsed, and was carried away as Jiang Changbin urgently ordered others to keep him safe.
• He Yuanyue rebuked Jiang Changbin and warned him not to harm her students or disregard her instructions.
• Jiang Changbin told Director Sun to let Li Changjiang continue running Second High School and asked Li to look after He Yuanyue and contact him if she or Qin Fangyang needed help.
• Jiang Changbin received an order to leave and hurried away before finishing his conversation with Li Changjiang.
• Zuo Xiaoduo questioned Li Chenglong about the Witch Alliance, Kill Break Wolf, Northern Dipper Nine, Southern Dipper Six, and other cultivation-world knowledge.

Li Chenglong explained to Zuo Xiaoduo why people in Phoenix City had to take the war against the Witch Alliance seriously, recounting his uncle’s final warning and the sacrifices made by scientists. The chapter left Zuo Xiaoduo deeply affected by the responsibilities borne by those fighting and working for humanity.

• Zuo Xiaoduo reflected on how Phoenix City’s safety left many martial artists with little firsthand sense of the Witch Alliance’s threat.
• Li Chenglong described how his disabled uncle had condemned local martial artists for idling while people died at the front lines.
• Li Chenglong said his uncle’s words had driven him to keep cultivating and contribute through his knowledge, despite limited talent.
• Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo that ordinary researchers devoted their lives to developing weapons against the Witch Alliance despite their short lifespans and limited strength.

Li Chenglong explained why he wanted to cultivate and eventually fight at Sun Moon Pass, where he hoped to help defeat the Witch Alliance. Moved by Li Chenglong’s resolve and reflecting on the warriors who protected ordinary people, Zuo Xiaoduo began to form the goal of going to Sun Moon Pass himself.

• Li Chenglong told Zuo Xiaoduo that danger could awaken ordinary people to the need for strength, and said he wanted to pass that urgency on to his future students.
• Li Chenglong declared that he would go to Sun Moon Pass and risk his life to become a dragon and help bring brightness to the world.
• Zuo Xiaoduo was deeply moved and recognized Sun Moon Pass as a new goal for himself.
• Zuo Xiaoduo reminded Li Chenglong that warriors protected ordinary people’s peaceful lives and that people needed firsthand experience to understand the front lines.
• Li Chenglong accepted Zuo Xiaoduo’s counsel, while Zuo Xiaoduo began resolving to go to Sun Moon Pass, fight the Witch Alliance, and protect his parents and hometown.

Zuo Xiaoduo spent the afternoon sparring and admiring his own looks, then learned from Zuo Xiaonian that Mu Yanyan was furious with him for turning the Kunlun Dao Sect’s secret techniques into crotch-kicking moves. He resolved to spread the technique anyway, unaware that Mu Yanyan had personally seen him cornered at the school gates.

• Long Yusheng, Wan Lixiu, Yu Moyan, and Li Changming sparred in the Martial Dao Arena while six classmates broke through to the Martial Master Tier.
• Zuo Xiaoduo answered Li Chenglong’s questions, then beat him in a one-sided spar until Li Chenglong erupted in fury and was beaten again.
• Zuo Xiaoduo noticed people watching him, admired his reflection, and decided his face showed the promise of an emperor or hegemon.
• Zuo Xiaonian called Zuo Xiaoduo and told him Mu Yanyan was angry that he had used Dragon Gate Leg and Starry Sky Step to kick opponents in the crotch.
• Zuo Xiaoduo privately vowed to make Crotch-Kicking Leg famous across Star Soul, while Mu Yanyan’s anger was revealed to have begun after she saw him cornered at the school gates.

Mu Yanyan realized Zuo Xiaoduo was using the Kunlun Dao Sect’s signature techniques to target opponents’ crotches and angrily told Zuo Xiaonian to rein him in. When Zuo Xiaoduo learned that Meng Chenyu’s brother had invited Zuo Xiaonian to dinner at Glorious Heaven, he decided to arrange a chance encounter and secretly guard against a rival.

• Mu Yanyan watched Zuo Xiaoduo use Star-Seizing Palm, Dragon Gate Leg, and Starry Sky Step to attack his opponents’ lower bodies.
• Mu Yanyan worried Zuo Xiaoduo’s fighting style would damage the Kunlun Dao Sect’s reputation, so she called Zuo Xiaonian and told her to control him.
• Zuo Xiaonian scolded Zuo Xiaoduo, then told him that Meng Chenyu’s brother had invited her to dinner at Glorious Heaven.
• Zuo Xiaoduo insisted he would come and suggested pretending to run into Zuo Xiaonian there.
• Zuo Xiaonian questioned how they could stage the encounter, while Zuo Xiaoduo assured her he had a plan.

Zuo Xiaonian caught Zuo Xiaoduo flirting with the women outside Glorious Heaven and dragged him inside by the ear. She introduced him to Young Master Meng, who had accompanied her, then refused to let Zuo Xiaoduo leave her sight.

• Zuo Xiaoduo chatted flirtatiously with the women at Glorious Heaven's entrance and asked them personal questions.
• Zuo Xiaonian arrived and seized Zuo Xiaoduo by the ear, demanding to know why he was there.
• Young Master Meng addressed Zuo Xiaonian as “Nian Nian,” and she told him to call her Miss Zuo or use her full name.
• Zuo Xiaonian introduced Zuo Xiaoduo to Young Master Meng as her little brother.
• Zuo Xiaoduo tried to leave, but Zuo Xiaonian caught his ear again and dragged him into Glorious Heaven.

Zuo Xiaonian dragged Zuo Xiaoduo away from the club and introduced him to Meng Chentian, whose courteous manner impressed Zuo Xiaoduo even as his physiognomy made him suspect Meng was dangerous. The three reached Glorious Heaven’s lavish rooftop dining room, where the story paused before their meal.

• Zuo Xiaonian scolded and kicked Zuo Xiaoduo in the elevator for hanging around a club, while Meng Chentian tried to calm her down.
• Zuo Xiaonian introduced Meng Chentian as Meng Chenyu’s older brother and the Meng Group’s executive director, then introduced Zuo Xiaoduo.
• Zuo Xiaoduo studied Meng Chentian’s appearance and concluded that the seemingly reliable man concealed a ruthless and dangerous nature.
• Meng Chentian praised Zuo Xiaoduo’s diligence and training, while Zuo Xiaonian complained that her brother caused trouble.
• Zuo Xiaonian, Zuo Xiaoduo, and Meng Chentian reached Glorious Heaven’s glass-domed rooftop dining room, set up for a candlelit dinner.

Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian joined Meng Chentian for dinner at Glorious Heaven, where Meng's attempts to impress them drew Zuo Xiaoduo's teasing. The meal ended with Zuo Xiaoduo still boasting about his sparring match with Li Chenglong while Zuo Xiaonian had barely eaten.

• Meng Chentian arranged the seats and invited Zuo Xiaonian and Zuo Xiaoduo to dine with him.
• Zuo Xiaoduo teased Meng Chentian for explaining the dishes, then complained when Meng failed to introduce an unusual dish.
• Meng Chentian described the Dark Star Bird he had hunted and its benefits for cultivation.
• Zuo Xiaonian asked about Meng Chentian's martial attainments, and he modestly claimed he was far from reaching the High Embryonic Breathing Stage.
• Zuo Xiaoduo boasted at length about his battle with Li Chenglong as the three ate, finishing the meal with a full belly while Zuo Xiaonian barely touched her food.