Recaps

Jiang Man endured the long wait for instruction on Five Elements Unification, memorized the spell art, and left without having his progress recorded so Old Yellow Ox could help him understand it. Meanwhile, Meng Qiewei received a visit from the Immortal Gate and summoned her husband, saying they were bullying her.

• Jiang Man learned about the thirty-thousand Spirit Source bounty on Number 210 and spent ten days cultivating while waiting for the lesson to begin.
• A middle-aged instructor explained Five Elements Unification for three days, and Jiang Man struggled to understand the material but memorized it.
• Jiang Man accepted Number Sixty-Six's ranking bet, revealed that he was Number 210, and left the Secret Realm without recording his progress so he could consult Old Yellow Ox.
• Meng Qiewei initially ordered Qing Dai to turn away two Immortal Gate visitors, but changed her mind after learning they had brought tea and a wedding gift tied to her mother's request.
• After Qing Dai went to admit the visitors, Meng Qiewei brought out a ball of light and told her husband, "Husband, they are bullying me."

Meng Qiewei punished two Immortal Gate investigators and sent a warning, while Jiang Man continued cultivating and scrambling for Spirit Sources as he prepared for the Secret Realm. The chapter ended with Jiang Man asking He Huaian to lend him ten Earth-Origin Pills, and He Huaian realizing they were worth nine thousand Spirit Sources.

• Meng Qiewei ordered Qing Dai to send the silk pouch and two injured investigators to the Immortal Gate and demand an explanation.
• Fang Yong told Jiang Man that the bounty had been canceled, then later gave him three thousand Spirit Sources after sharing information about Jiang Man with Zhang Bai.
• Old Yellow Ox warned Jiang Man that Meng Qiewei’s measures in the Secret Realm might reveal his location, and Jiang Man received her message saying she was being bullied and asking him to stand up for her once he became prominent.
• Jiang Man secured an advance of eighteen thousand Spirit Sources from Yu Wanyi, discussed the Secret Realm and his dao companion, and later advanced to Spirit Fifth Stage.
• After spending his remaining Spirit Sources on wine, Jiang Man visited He Huaian and asked to borrow ten Earth-Origin Pills, shocking his master with their nine-thousand-Source value.

Jiang Man borrowed five Earth-Origin Pills from He Huaian, exchanged them for Water Origin Pills, and advanced to Foundation Establishment Late Stage before entering the Secret Realm. Meng Qiewei sensed that her husband was inside the Secret Realm and narrowed the likely location to the Wuyun Sect, while Old Yellow Ox wondered why his protective measure had not triggered.

• He Huaian gave Jiang Man five Earth-Origin Pills after Jiang Man repeatedly argued that he was a prodigy who deserved an investment.
• Jiang Man exchanged the pills for seven Water Origin Pills and, after a week of cultivation, reached Foundation Establishment Late Stage, though his dense spiritual qi strained his body.
• At the Eighth Courtyard, Jiang Man discussed the Secret Realm and cultivation methods with Cao Cheng, An Rong, Zhao Yaoyao, Zhuo Bufan, and the others before leaving to cultivate the Heavenly Heart Seal.
• Jiang Man entered the Secret Realm at midnight, confident that his good fortune would protect him, while Meng Qiewei sensed his presence and concluded that he was probably in the Wuyun Sect.
• Meng Qiewei told Qing Dai to watch the new prodigy, and Old Yellow Ox wondered why the measure he had left behind had not been triggered.

Jiang Man entered the Secret Realm, cultivated the Five Elements Technique to its ninth level, and left a palm print at the highest point of a mysterious stele. After escaping the foggy central forest, he teamed up with Number 98 and Number 99 and demonstrated his strength when another group tried to recruit them.

• Jiang Man was flung into the central forest, waited as fog filled it, and began cultivating the Five Elements Technique while staying alert to danger.
• Number 66 learned that Jiang Man, Number 210, was ranked last, while the Secret Realm’s rules assigned participants to areas according to their Five Elements Technique mastery.
• Jiang Man advanced to the ninth level of the Five Elements Technique, overcame the forest’s poisonous hazards, and left a palm print at the top of a stele with the sentence, “This is the stone stele's limit, not mine.”
• On the ninth day, Jiang Man followed the Black Hawk out of the central forest and met Number 98 and Number 99, who supplied him with Qi and Blood Pills and joined his team.
• When three people tried to recruit the group based on their Five Elements affinities, Jiang Man revealed overwhelming power, and Number 98 and Number 99 chose to stay with him.

Jiang Man learned the secret realm’s ranking and reward rules, then went looking for Number 66 and challenged him. He defeated Number 66, accidentally knocked out someone who tried to intervene, and took the Superior Visualization Method from the Stone Forest.

• Jiang Man learned that combat rankings included any effective techniques, that higher ranks earned spirit source, and that upper-grade rewards required meeting the five-elements conditions.
• Number 99 and Number 98 found out that Number 66 was in their area, and Xiao Ming offered to lead them to him.
• Jiang Man reached the Stone Forest, where Number 66, Number 82, and Number 106 were competing for a Superior Visualization Method.
• Jiang Man entered the formation and returned with his companions, then waited while Number 66 rested before accepting his challenge.
• Jiang Man disarmed Number 66, overcame his sword arts, and struck him down; he also accidentally sent a newcomer flying when that person tried to stop him.
• Jiang Man told Number 66 he was weak because he wasted time, then left as the Stone Forest formation collapsed, revealing that the Superior Visualization Method had been taken.

Jiang Man obtained a Superior Visualization Method and a Secret Art Qualification while raising his ranking in the Five Elements Secret Realm. After he drove off a powerful team contesting the qualification, news reached Meng Qiewei that someone had left a palm print at the top of the stele and declared it was the stele’s limit, not his.

• Number 66 asked his companions why others had judged Number 210 as ordinary, and they tried to console him after his defeat.
• Jiang Man and his companions reached the edge region, where he found himself ranked forty-second and began searching for more rewards.
• Jiang Man broke a formation and obtained the Superior Spell Art Azure Smoke Zither and a Secret Art Qualification.
• A Foundation Establishment Perfection woman confronted Jiang Man over the qualification, but withdrew after he demonstrated his strength.
• Jiang Man continued defeating demonic beasts and puppets, while Number 66 saw Number 210 climb to twenty-sixth place.
• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei that three palm prints had appeared on the stele, including one at the top accompanied by the claim that the stele, not its maker, had reached its limit.

Meng Qiewei discussed the mysterious palm prints and the Immortal Gate’s investigation while Jiang Man finished his time in the secret realm, collected Spirit Sources, and returned to cultivation. As Fang Yong searched for Number 210, three men appeared behind him and asked whether he was looking for them.

• Meng Qiewei heard that a young genius had left a palm print on the Five Elements Stele and considered rumors that her husband might still be alive.
• Jiang Man noticed additional palm prints on the stele, raised his ranking to twenty-fourth before falling to twenty-fifth, and collected Spirit Sources from Number 66 and grateful competitors.
• Jiang Man left the secret realm with thirty-seven thousand five hundred Spirit Sources, discussed Meng Qiewei’s possible measures with Old Yellow Ox, and reviewed his cultivation plans.
• Jiang Man headed for Zhi Redwater Peak at daybreak, while Fang Yong accompanied Zhang Bai toward the Foundation Establishment Court and listened as people demanded to know who Number 210 was.
• Fang Yong followed the voice but found no one; when he turned to leave, three men appeared behind him and asked whether he was looking for them.

Fang Yong sold the exclusive truth about Jiang Man’s identity as Number 210, while Jiang Man repaid debts, prepared for the annual assessment, and formed a team. The chapter ended with Qing Dai bringing Meng Qiewei a list.

• Fang Yong sold Bai Fan, Jiang Yingcai, and Duan Wu the information about Number 210 for eighty thousand Spirit Source, then gave Jiang Man fifty-five thousand of the proceeds.
• Jiang Man repaid Chang Qiwen and Little Fatty, learned that people were searching personnel files and the village, and said he would enter the annual assessment.
• Jiang Man recruited Lin Qingshan for his assessment team after Zhuo Bufan and Zhao Yaoyao declined to join.
• Wei Beichuan made Cao Cheng and An Rong write apologies after he surpassed them in the courtyard rankings.
• Qing Dai brought Meng Qiewei a list and asked whether she wanted to look at it.

Meng Qiewei learned that Jiang Man might be among the talented cultivators who left palm prints in the Five Elements Secret Realm and recognized his name as her husband's. Jiang Man completed the Seven Stars Visualization Method, learned that the Fate Pattern had already sent him to a secret realm through his palm print, and felt the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny stir as the next assessment approached.

• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei about promising cultivators, including Jiang Man, and Meng Qiewei wondered whether she had seen through her husband's name.
• Jiang Man cultivated and prepared spirit medicines while Old Yellow Ox questioned whether his skill showed he was an all-round Peerless Heavenly Prodigy.
• Old Yellow Ox advised Jiang Man to pair the Seven Stars Visualization Method with compatible upper-grade methods, and Jiang Man mastered the visualization method after two months of study.
• Jiang Man realized his palm print had already fulfilled the Fate Pattern's secret-realm condition, and Old Yellow Ox said Meng Qiewei might arrive in two months.
• Jiang Man agreed to attend the June assessment, while Yan Yiqiu explained the rewards and requirements for the first-place student to serve as a Cloudfront Office chief examiner.
• Ten days later, Jiang Man sensed the Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny stir and complained that it had taken too long to catch up.

Jiang Man’s Fate Pattern gave him a Hundred-Refinement Stone and a punishing new cultivation requirement, while his courtyard discussed how his success could protect their resources. At the June assessment, Zhuo Bufan placed second with a score described as equal to first.

• Jiang Man received a Hundred-Refinement Stone and learned he had to temper himself eighty times daily and enter the Method-Seeking Mist within nine hundred days to record his Glazed Dharma Body.
• Jiang Man endured painful cultivation, learned that only upper-grade methods could activate the stone, and continued strengthening his body.
• Lin Qingshan urged Zhuo Bufan, Zhao Yaoyao, and the others to rely on Jiang Man taking first place to secure their lineages’ support and resources.
• Yu Wanyi learned that Jiang Man might face targeting in other courtyards and planned to prepare more resources for him.
• Jiang Man completed the June assessment, and on June 3 Yan Yiqiu announced Zhuo Bufan’s second-place result: 159 points, equal to first.

Zhuo Bufan accepted second place and urged his clan to invest in him so he could draw closer to Jiang Man, while Jiang Man prepared for the upcoming Annual Assessment and improved his cultivation and physical body. Meng Qiewei arrived at his lodgings and confronted him about hiding from her and leaving a palm print on the Five Elements Stone.

• Zhuo Bufan told a winery manager that Jiang Man had returned and claimed first place would follow him, then urged his clan to provide resources so he could gain Jiang Man's attention.
• Yan Yiqiu questioned Jiang Man about his Annual Assessment team and reminded him that he needed to qualify for a Secret Technique; Jiang Man showed her his qualification Token.
• Jiang Man reviewed his first-place score of 280, planned his training, and spent the following month strengthening his cultivation, spirit, and physical body.
• Jiang Man reached the fifth stage of his physical body, then found two books about understanding a dao companion just before Meng Qiewei appeared at his lodgings.
• Meng Qiewei displayed her power and asked Jiang Man whether he had left the palm print on the Five Elements Stone, leaving him alarmed that his connection to it might have been discovered.

Jiang Man survived Meng Qiewei’s visit, learned why she could attack Old Yellow Ox, and spent the next two weeks mastering the True Martial Art while strengthening his spirit. He then secured He Huaian’s support for buying pills if he took first place in the Annual Assessment, ending with Jiang Man privately dismissing Meng Qiewei as an old woman.

• Meng Qiewei questioned Jiang Man about their first meeting and the palm print on the genuine Five Elements Stone, then froze Old Yellow Ox before leaving.
• Old Yellow Ox explained that Meng Qiewei had left power on Magpie Bridge after fighting the Immortal Gate and warned that investigators might eventually arrive.
• Jiang Man chose to improve his spirit and learned the True Martial Art, mastering it by August first and preparing to pursue the Sixth Level of Spirit.
• Jiang Man visited He Huaian with 4,500 Spirit Sources and asked for help obtaining Fire-Origin Pills and Earth-Origin Pills.
• He Huaian promised Jiang Man access to his pill quota if he took first place for the year, and returned the Spirit Sources as support.
• Jiang Man accepted He Huaian’s challenge and privately thought Meng Qiewei was just an old woman who would eventually become another defeated opponent.

Jiang Man prepared for the Third Courtyard assessment, refined his control over the True Martial Art, and qualified alongside several others. At the assessment site, he and his teammates encountered Zhang Bai and his companions, who recognized Jiang Man as the former number one of the Nine Institutes.

• Jiang Man reached the sixth level of spirit and sparred with Fang Yong, discovering how to keep the True Martial Art stable while activating it.
• Jiang Man placed among those qualified for the Third Courtyard assessment, and Yan Yiqiu told the participants to form teams with people from other institutes.
• Fang Yong qualified as well, and Cheng Yu told him she feared returning home because her mother beat her; Fang Yong said she could stay away this year.
• Jiang Man, Lin Qingshan, and Fang Yong met before the assessment, discussed the rewards, and headed to the Back Mountain of Cloud Glow Peak.
• Zhang Bai and another woman confronted Fang Yong, while Zhang Bai recognized Jiang Man as the former number one of the Nine Institutes; Zhao Yaoyao stepped back to shield the two people in front of her.

Jiang Man defeated Zhang Bai and Bai Qing, obtained the Three Talents Body Refinement Method, and planned to challenge the remaining geniuses in the Seven Peaks Secret Realm. As the competition began, Yu Wanyi sought a Trial Secret Realm place for him, while a wine shopkeeper considered how the results would affect Young Master Zhuo’s resources.

• Jiang Man struck Zhang Bai down and injured Bai Qing after they insulted him and Fang Yong, then learned where to find the middle-grade Body Refinement Method.
• Jiang Man obtained the Three Talents Body Refinement Method and announced that he would challenge everyone in the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Institutes during the Seven Peaks competition.
• Bai Fan worried that his claimed loss to Jiang Man would be exposed as humiliating if Jiang Man’s ranking proved false.
• Yu Wanyi asked Immortal Maiden Huaijing to secure Jiang Man a place in the Trial Secret Realm, and her master agreed to try to make him a team leader.
• The Seven Peaks competition began, and the wine shopkeeper said Young Master Zhuo’s resources would depend on whether someone from Cloud Glow Peak took first place.

Jiang Man single-handedly defeated every competitor from the Seventh, Eighth, and Nine Institutes, leaving the rankings with only his name for days. His victory drew attention from investors and mentors, while Zhuo Bufan admitted that he could only try to keep up with Jiang Man as the story ended with the shopkeeper proposing a beauty as a way to bind him.

• Jiang Man activated a special channel and defeated every genius from the Seventh, Eighth, and Nine Institutes in less than an incense stick’s time, earning the sole first-place ranking.
• Yu Wanyi learned that Jiang Man’s victory had disrupted other investors’ plans, while He Huaian and Mo Zainian reacted to the news of his achievement.
• Jiang Man received the Giant Sword Technique and a Sun Refining Stone, then returned home and considered how to strengthen himself and advance his cultivation.
• The rankings stayed unchanged for three days with only Jiang Man listed, before other names began appearing on the fourth day.
• Zhuo Bufan told the Wine Workshop shopkeeper that he could never catch up to Jiang Man and argued that the clan could not secure him with a contract.
• The shopkeeper suggested that an unrivaled beauty might be able to win Jiang Man over.

Jiang Man received a secret realm training opportunity and visited his friends to pay interest before his departure. News of the Eighth Courtyard's exceptional rankings and late-night cultivation spread through the Outer Sect Seven Peaks, drawing scrutiny toward Yan Yiqiu.

• Zhuo Bufan warned Jiang Man about recruitment attempts and mistakenly credited Jiang Man's strength to his dao companion.
• Yu Wanyi gave Jiang Man a token for a secret realm opening at noon on September first and appointed him team leader, while Old Yellow Ox offered protection.
• Jiang Man visited Little Fatty's shop and rearranged its spirit medicines to prevent harmful interactions and increase spiritual qi.
• Song Qing announced that he had become a Cloudfront Office guard, and Chang Qiwen revealed that he had become a Sect messenger.
• Jiang Man paid Song Qing and Chang Qiwen half a year's interest, advised his friends on cultivation, and received fifty Qi and Blood Pills from Little Fatty.
• Luo Lu regretted discouraging loans to Jiang Man, while news of the Eighth Courtyard's rankings and late-night cultivation prompted investors to target Yan Yiqiu for answers.

Yan Yiqiu was summoned by the Enforcement Hall after many people reported her for teaching illegal cultivation by having her students stay up all night. Meanwhile, Jiang Man entered a dangerous secret realm to hunt demonic beasts despite warnings that it could lock away his convictions, and Meng Qiewei learned that the Wuyun Sect’s all-night cultivation had caused a scandal.

• Yan Yiqiu learned that her leave had been canceled because the Enforcement Hall was investigating her for instructing the Eighth Small Courtyard to cultivate illegally by staying up at night.
• Immortal Maiden Huaijing warned Yu Wanyi that Jiang Man’s secret-realm trial could imprison his mind, then left; the Enforcement Hall soon arrived to see Yu Wanyi as well.
• Jiang Man entered the secret realm despite its warning that the Evil God’s lingering power could lock down a cultivator’s mind, and a guard explained the demonic-beast hunt and its dangers.
• The Manager assigned Jiang Man three Foundation Establishment Late Stage teammates and explained the team’s duties, risks, and Spirit Source rewards, while predicting Jiang Man would eventually fail.
• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei that someone at the Wuyun Sect had been reported for illegal all-night cultivation, and Meng Qiewei questioned whether a first-place cultivator who stayed up all night counted as a Heavenly Pride.

Meng Qiewei and Qing Dai discussed whether Jiang Man’s rapid progress through all-night cultivation made him a Heavenly Pride, while the Immortal Gate investigated Evil Gods in the Depths. On a mission to hunt demonic beasts, Jiang Man protected his companions, defeated the beasts, and drew the attention of an Evil God within the Demon King.

• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei that Jiang Man’s all-night cultivation had sparked debate over whether he was a Heavenly Pride, and reported that the Immortal Gate was investigating Evil Gods in the Depths.
• Jiang Man traveled with three companions to a giant pit, where he cultivated while they waited for the demonic beasts to return.
• Jiang Man sensed danger, threw the woman clear of a blast, and discovered that a Demon King and more than twenty demonic beasts had been roused.
• Jiang Man activated True Martial Art, saved the thin man from a demonic beast, and told his companions to draw some beasts away while he fought the rest.
• Jiang Man killed the demonic beasts and faced the Demon King, whose body began transforming as an Evil God’s gaze took control of it.
• The Small Market Manager sensed the Evil God’s aura on the sand table and immediately reported it.

Jiang Man agreed to become an Evil God’s undercover agent in exchange for rewards, then returned from the Secret Realm with her lock placed on his heart. Old Yellow Ox warned him about the lock, but Jiang Man broke it himself and reaffirmed his confidence in his talent.

• Jiang Man fought the mutated Demon King, then agreed to become her undercover agent in the Wuyun Sect in exchange for demon beast rewards and a lock she could control.
• Jiang Man used Hidden Spirit to kill the Demon King and thirty-eight demon beasts before the returning group found him at the ruined great pit.
• The manager ordered Jiang Man and the other Demon King slayers to leave the Secret Realm early, and Jiang Man returned to his residence the next day.
• Jiang Man told Old Yellow Ox about the Evil God and the lock, and Old Yellow Ox warned that it could hinder his cultivation.
• Jiang Man revealed the lock in his mind, snapped its chains, and dismissed it as unworthy of a Peerless Heavenly Prodigy.

Jiang Man cooperated with the Enforcement Hall’s investigation into his dealings with an Evil God and was cleared after the investigators found no lock on him. As rumors about all-night cultivation spread, a woman named Huo approached him, but Ren Qian later arrived to investigate her suspected ties to an Evil God.

• Jiang Man counted his spirit sources, then answered Meng Qiewei’s questions about the Wuyun Sect rankings and the Immortal Gate’s hunt for Evil Gods.
• Ren Qian and two investigators questioned Jiang Man about his encounter and deal with an Evil God, but found no lock on him and decided not to pursue him further.
• Jiang Man learned that Yan Yiqiu had been taken for questioning after reports that she taught illegal all-night cultivation, and he continued training while the practice gained attention across the Outer Sect Seven Peaks.
• A woman in a pink skirt visited Jiang Man to ask how he had placed first, then left intending to contact the Evil God through his dreams and gain his cooperation.
• Old Yellow Ox recognized that the woman had ties to an Evil God, and Ren Qian arrived at her door the next morning to take Junior Sister Huo in for questioning.

Jiang Man received the Cloud Glow Peak Secret Method and learned that he might be allowed to skip ahead to the First, Second, and Third Courtyards. When the new Spell Arts teacher Ji Hao tested Jiang Man’s spiritual qi, Jiang Man sensed an aura like Peerless Heaven’s Chosen Destiny and realized Ji Hao was from Meng Qiewei’s household and was probing him.

• Jiang Man arrived at the Seventh Courtyard as classes resumed, where the students discussed Teacher Yan’s arrest, staying up late to cultivate, and a newly discovered Secret Realm.
• Yan Yiqiu told the students that Huo Bingzhi remained detained and warned them about increased combat training; she gave Jiang Man the Cloud Glow Peak Secret Method and agreed to look into letting him take assessments for the First, Second, and Third Courtyards.
• Jiang Man read the Purple Rosy Glow, Rising Sun Chapter, an offensive technique that condensed a rising sun and sent rosy light toward targets.
• In the Enforcement Hall prison, Ren Qian explained that Huo Bingzhi was connected to the Evil God and suspected that the person who reported her might come looking for them again.
• Ji Hao arrived as the new Spell Arts teacher and asked Jiang Man to take his hand for a spiritual-qi test; Jiang Man sensed a familiar destiny aura and recognized that Ji Hao was from Meng Qiewei’s household.

Ji Hao tested Jiang Man for the peerless heaven's chosen destiny, failed to detect it, and tried to recruit him into the Ji lineage, but Jiang Man refused because he was already married. Ji Hao reported that Wei Ran was now the likelier candidate, while Jiang Man prepared to enter a secret realm for combat training and treasure gathering.

• Ji Hao probed Jiang Man's aura three times but detected no peerless heaven's chosen destiny, then announced that the students would enter a secret realm for three months of actual combat.
• Ji Hao told the students that the Evergreen Sect was coming for the Immortal Abode Secret Realm and offered to take them to collect overlooked treasures nearby.
• Ji Hao revealed that he had come to Cloud Glow Peak because of Jiang Man's reputation and asked him to marry into the Ji lineage, but Jiang Man refused, saying he already had a dao companion.
• Ji Hao concluded that Jiang Man was not the Fate Pattern bearer and decided Wei Ran was the remaining candidate, though he still hoped to recruit Jiang Man later.
• Old Yellow Ox warned Jiang Man that Ji Hao's detection treasure had nearly broken the protections shielding his Peerless Heaven's Chosen Destiny, while Jiang Man studied Purple Rosy Glow and prepared to leave for the secret realm.
• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei that Ji Hao had tested Jiang Man and now considered Wei Ran the likelier son-in-law candidate.

Meng Qiewei heard that Jiang Man had refused a marriage proposal because he claimed to be married, while Jiang Man prepared for a three-month trip to a dangerous island archipelago. The chapter ended with masked members of the Heretical Demonic Outer Dao planning a nighttime attack on the Seventh Institute, unaware that their target included an acting Envoy.

• Qing Dai told Meng Qiewei that Jiang Man had refused the Lineage’s marriage proposal, claiming he already had a beautiful and loving dao companion whom nobody had seen.
• Jiang Man visited He Huaian, received ten Spirit-Stabilizing Pills, and bought supplies for his three-month training trip.
• Ji Hao led Jiang Man and the Seventh Institute group into the island archipelago, where they discovered that spiritual qi was scarce and all edible things were poisonous.
• Ji Hao warned the group about Demon Beasts, outsiders without Sect Tokens, and the Heretical Demonic Outer Dao, while Jiang Man resolved to keep a low profile and gather resources.
• Two masked men received an Edict to rescue the Envoy and planned a nighttime attack on the Seventh Institute after realizing it was Cloud Glow Peak’s institute and had an acting Envoy.

Manager Chen planned to exploit the Seventh Courtyard’s competition at the Lonely Smoke Archipelago, but found its students cultivating through the night and put his scheme on hold. As the students began practical combat training, Jiang Man crossed the sea with Wandering Dragon, while Huo Bingzhi remained imprisoned and grew furious that he still had not slept.

• Manager Chen recalled how staying up late had contributed to his failed Core Formation attempt, then planned to recruit the Seventh Institute and use an illusion realm to make its people experience despair.
• Chen Yu visited the Seventh Courtyard at midnight and found everyone cultivating in the courtyard, so he left without identifying Jiang Man or making a move.
• Ji Hao sent the students to begin seven-day practical combat training and tasked them with crossing the sea using Wandering Dragon.
• Jiang Man studied the water, crossed to the island with little difficulty, and noticed that the spray had still wet his trouser cuffs.
• Chen Yu watched the students train and continued preparing a plan to throw them into disarray within two months.
• Huo Bingzhi waited from September fifteenth to November fifteenth without receiving a response from Jiang Man and angrily wondered why he would not sleep.

After months of punishing combat training, Jiang Man and the Seventh Courtyard students traveled to the Inner Sect tournament grounds to collect rewards from defeated competitors. Ji Hao turned the outing into further training as an Evil God's followers approached, leaving Yan Yiqiu to face an incoming attack.

• Jiang Man and the others completed Ji Hao's grueling combat lessons, and Ji Hao led them toward the tournament islands to pick up bargains.
• Ji Hao's group rescued the wounded Evergreen Sect disciple An Zhirou, then traded her safety from nearby Demon Beasts for her tournament Spirit Sword and gave it to Lin Qingshan.
• Ji Hao sent the students out to seek more bargains while telling Yan Yiqiu that attackers would soon target them and assigning her to fight them.
• An Zhirou recognized an approaching cloud as the lingering power of an Ancient Well-Type Evil God and warned that it affected people who stayed up late.
• The cloud halted when it reached the group, and Yan Yiqiu explained that the students had not slept in years.