Chapter Summaries

Benhong consulted Benzhen about Qin Tiexin’s extraordinary Arhat Fist and learned he might have an innate Buddha heart, prompting him to seek a way to test and recruit Qin. After three days of training at the Lin residence, Qin Tiexin went out because his supply of Demon Beast flesh and blood had run out.

• Benhong told Benzhen about Qin Tiexin’s powerful punch and Benzhen explained that Qin might possess an innate Buddha heart.
• Benzhen advised Benhong to test Qin with a difficult Buddhist martial technique and recruit him for Brahma Sound Valley if he proved exceptional.
• Benhong decided to find an opportunity to put martial technique jade slips into Qin Tiexin’s hands.
• Qin Tiexin spent three days practicing Buddhist martial techniques and improving his body tempering at the Lin residence.
• On the fourth day, Qin Tiexin went out because his supply of Demon Beast flesh and blood had been depleted.

Qin Tiexin prepared to leave the Lin Residence to buy cultivation supplies, consider his Foundation Establishment options, and meet Chen Xi at the Star Spirit Inn for news about his senior brother. He reached the inn through crowded Cloud Ford Ward, with no sign of the Xiao Household’s watchers or other expected threats.

• Qin Tiexin realized he had reached the peak of Qi Refining and needed a balanced five-phase Spiritual Qi environment to establish his foundation without disrupting the Primordial Unity Instruction or the Five Phases Conversion Pearl.
• Qin Tiexin decided to visit the Star Spirit Inn to meet Chen Xi, who had been investigating the whereabouts of a medical cultivator connected to Qin Tiexin’s senior brother.
• Qin Tiexin checked his possessions, took his refined iron staff, and told Madam Lin he was going out to buy a few things.
• Madam Lin, uneasy about the people watching the city, quietly instructed a steward after Qin Tiexin left the residence.
• Qin Tiexin watched for pursuers as he crossed Cloud Ford Ward, saw no suspicious figures, and made his way through the crowded streets toward the Star Spirit Inn.

Qin Tiexin waited at the Star Spirit Inn for Chen Xi, who warned him that someone was following him and arranged to meet at a teahouse outside the north gate. Qin Tiexin disguised himself and left the city, where he saw crowds of cultivators arriving for the Star Selection.

• Qin Tiexin arrived at the crowded Star Spirit Inn and waited in Heaven Room Three for Chen Xi.
• A tiny insect delivered Chen Xi's warning that someone was following Qin Tiexin and directed him to a teahouse three li beyond the north gate.
• The insect changed Qin Tiexin's appearance and gave him the look of a thin, long-haired Rogue Cultivator.
• Qin Tiexin hid his refined iron staff, slipped out through the inn's rear courtyard, and took secluded routes toward the north gate.
• Qin Tiexin left the city without trouble and saw a long line of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators entering for the approaching Star Selection.

Qin Tiexin went to a teahouse north of the city to meet Chen Xi, who was disguised as its fat shopkeeper. Chen Xi led him into a soundproof room and revealed himself, leaving the brothers alone to speak.

• Qin Tiexin walked north of the city to a teahouse near a fork in the road and waited for Chen Xi.
• Qin Tiexin ordered ordinary spirit tea and watched the customers, unsure which one might be his disguised senior brother.
• Chen Xi, disguised as the fat shopkeeper, deliberately spilled tea on Qin Tiexin and offered to take him to the back courtyard to dry his clothes.
• Chen Xi dismissed the serving boy and brought Qin Tiexin into a brick room, where he activated a soundproof barrier.
• Chen Xi dropped his shopkeeper's manner and revealed himself to Qin Tiexin.

Chen Xi told Qin Tiexin that the medical cultivator they sought was inside the imperial palace, which he could not breach. He proposed using the upcoming Centennial Grand Star Selection to enter the palace and contact her.

• Chen Xi revealed his Illusory Face Insect disguise and said he had searched Illustrious Dao Ward, Cloud Ford Ward, and Ten Thousand Stars City for the medical cultivator.
• Chen Xi explained that his jade talisman pointed to the imperial palace, but its defenses prevented him from entering or communicating with the person inside.
• Chen Xi told Qin Tiexin that he had bought a teahouse near the north gate to gather information and had found another possible route into the palace.
• Chen Xi showed Qin Tiexin records of the Star Selection and explained that the Centennial Grand Star Selection offered extraordinary rewards and access to the imperial palace.
• Chen Xi proposed that they place among the top three in the Centennial Grand Star Selection so they could enter the palace and seek the medical cultivator.

Chen Xi arranged for Qin Tiexin to enter the Star Selection so he could get a jade puppet into the imperial palace and help Chen Xi find a medical cultivator. Qin Tiexin accepted the plan, gathered advice and supplies, and left to prepare for the selection.

• Chen Xi gave Qin Tiexin a jade puppet containing a sliver of his soul and explained that Qin Tiexin could leave it inside the palace for Chen Xi to use as a means of entering.
• Chen Xi shared past Star Selection questions and explained the five rounds, warning that Qin Tiexin's weak academic foundation made the written test his greatest challenge.
• Qin Tiexin agreed to prepare for the selection and asked Chen Xi to obtain a large supply of Demon Beast flesh and blood.
• Chen Xi gave Qin Tiexin Form-Changing Talismans and warned that two groups had followed him, including one probably sent by the Lin Residence.
• After reviewing registration details and precautions, Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin left the tea stall; Qin Tiexin changed back into Mingjue and headed toward the northern city gate to make preparations.

While waiting to enter Ten Thousand Stars City for the Star Selection, Qin Tiexin read about how the examinations had developed into a five-trial system. He finished the history as he continued toward the city, with the details of the trials still ahead.

• Qin Tiexin joined the long queue at the north gate and estimated that it would take about a double-hour for his turn to enter.
• Qin Tiexin read that Chenshu had created the Star Selection after taking the throne, forcing the great clans to open their resources and accept merit-based selection.
• Qin Tiexin learned that the Star Selection added character and written trials after arena fighters proved unfit for some duties, then later added secret realm and skills trials.
• Qin Tiexin learned that later emperors granted the clans limited recommendation quotas, but candidates who skipped early trials faced deductions in their final scores.
• Qin Tiexin reflected that the system had given cultivators such as Lin Boyuan a path to rise without powerful backing.

Qin Tiexin read about the Star Selection’s written exam and temperament test, then decided to take the preliminary stages rather than use the Lin Household’s recommendation. The chapter left him registering at the city gateway under the name Mingjue.

• Qin Tiexin read that the Star Selection would draw more than two thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators to Ten Thousand Stars City for five examination stages.
• Qin Tiexin remembered the Jade Slip from True Person Zhou Heng and resolved to study its methods for training and using Divine Sense before the written exam.
• Qin Tiexin learned that the temperament test would use illusions to reveal candidates’ regrets and judge their instinctive reactions.
• Qin Tiexin decided not to use the Lin Household’s recommendation slot because he had declined Lin Chuan’s offer and did not want to ask the Lin Household for more help.
• Qin Tiexin reached the registration guard and presented his identity jade token as Mingjue of Zhaoming Temple.

Qin Tiexin registered for the Star Selection and read about its five trials while waiting at the Star Selection Bureau. He resolved to test whether he could still refine artifacts with one hand and remained determined to reach the palace examination to help Chen Xi find a medical cultivator.

• A city guard verified Qin Tiexin's identity jade token and let him enter the city.
• Qin Tiexin went to the Star Selection Bureau, registered, and received waiting number forty-seven.
• Qin Tiexin read that the Secret Realm Trial used ancient, dangerous realms and could last more than a month.
• Qin Tiexin learned that the Arts Trial included artifact refining and worried that losing his right arm would prevent him from earning points in it.
• Qin Tiexin read that the Arena Trial carried the most points and that the top ten candidates would enter the palace examination.
• Qin Tiexin decided he needed to try artifact refining at a shop before the Skills Trial and reaffirmed his plan to reach the imperial palace for Chen Xi.

Qin Tiexin registered for the Star Selection and planned how to prepare for its exams and skills round. As he left the bureau, a little novice monk recognized him and rushed over, calling him Senior Brother.

• Qin Tiexin reviewed his plans for studying, advancing his cultivation, and practicing martial techniques and artifact refining.
• Qin Tiexin registered for the Star Selection, received number 2135, and was told to arrive at the Morning Star Training Ground for the written exam in ten days.
• A little novice monk arrived at the Star Selection Bureau and searched the crowd for someone.
• The novice saw Qin Tiexin, recognized him as Senior Brother, and ran toward him in tears.

Qin Tiexin recognized the starving child who found him as Ming'an, a novice from Zhaoming Temple. After taking him somewhere private and giving him food, Qin Tiexin listened as Ming'an began recounting how the temple had burned and its people had disappeared.

• Ming'an rushed to Qin Tiexin in the Star Selection Bureau lounge, clung to him, and cried that Zhaoming Temple and its people were gone.
• Qin Tiexin recognized Ming'an from the information about Zhaoming Temple and carried him out before the onlookers could interfere.
• Qin Tiexin brought Ming'an to a secluded tea stall, where Ming'an drank water and ate spirit cakes.
• Ming'an told Qin Tiexin that a month earlier he had sneaked up the back mountain to catch fireflies after Abbot Huiming scolded him for breaking a wooden fish.
• Ming'an said he heard someone shout, then watched Zhaoming Temple catch fire, saw his senior brothers' meditation rooms burn, and never saw Abbot Huiming come out.

Ming'an told Qin Tiexin how Golden Summit Temple's monks burned Zhaoming Temple and took its ancient bell, then gave him a charred bundle containing a mysterious white grain. Qin Tiexin realized the sect might target him next because he was living under the missing monk Mingjue's identity.

• Ming'an recounted hiding in a pond while dark-gold-robed monks searched Zhaoming Temple, took its bell, and burned the remaining buildings.
• Ming'an showed Qin Tiexin the charred remains of his master and a faintly glowing white grain he had found among the ashes.
• Ming'an explained how he had traveled across the Myriad Stars Dynasty to find Qin Tiexin, and noticed his missing right arm.
• Qin Tiexin identified the attackers as members of Golden Summit Temple, one of the Great Brahma Dynasty's three great Buddhist sects.
• Qin Tiexin realized Golden Summit Temple might pursue him because he was using the identity and belongings of Mingjue, Zhaoming Temple's absent member.

Qin Tiexin brought Ming'an to the Lin Residence and introduced him as his junior brother seeking shelter. Madam Lin welcomed the frightened child and arranged a room, hot water, and clothes for him.

• Qin Tiexin used Shape-Changing Talismans to disguise himself and Ming'an, then told Ming'an to call him Uncle Tie outside.
• Qin Tiexin brought Ming'an to the Lin Residence and informed Lin Boyuan and Madam Lin that Ming'an was his junior brother.
• Ming'an bowed nervously to Lin Boyuan and Madam Lin and asked forgiveness for intruding.
• Madam Lin welcomed Ming'an and ordered the steward and servants to prepare a room, hot water, and clothes for him.
• Madam Lin led Ming'an away and said he could wear Lin Chuan and Lin Feng's childhood clothes.

Qin Tiexin settled Ming'an into the Lin Residence, where Madam Lin cared for the boy and he asked to sleep beside his senior brother. Meanwhile, three monks in dark gold robes entered Ten Thousand Stars City and performed a mysterious ritual at the Star Spirit Inn; the next morning, Ming'an enjoyed Madam Lin's pastries and fruit.

• Madam Lin washed Ming'an, gave him Lin Chuan's old clothes, and arranged food for him at the Lin Residence.
• Ming'an asked Qin Tiexin not to leave him alone, and Qin Tiexin let him sleep in his room.
• After Ming'an fell asleep, Qin Tiexin studied the Jade Slip Chen Xi had given him for the written examination.
• Three monks in dark gold robes entered Ten Thousand Stars City with a gold token and booked rooms Heaven Two and Heaven Four at the Star Spirit Inn.
• A faint golden light and distant bell-like hum came from Heaven Two before a soundproofing formation isolated the rooms.
• Madam Lin fed Ming'an spirit fruit the next morning while Qin Tiexin watched them in the courtyard.

With twenty-five days until the Star Selection written exam, Qin Tiexin followed an intense daily training schedule, strengthening his Qi and Blood, practicing martial techniques, and beginning Divine Sense exercises. He ended the day struggling through the painful task of reading two lines at once with his Divine Sense, then tried again.

• Qin Tiexin refined Spiritual Qi with the Five Phases Conversion Pearl and chose to keep strengthening his foundation instead of advancing to Foundation Establishment.
• Qin Tiexin stewed and ate half an Iron-Horned Ox with spirit herbs, further refining his Essence Blood.
• Qin Tiexin made a breakthrough in flexibility and repeatedly practiced Heavy Savage Chop, then trained with his staff and Buddhist martial techniques.
• Qin Tiexin studied Chen Xi's written exam questions and True Person Zhou Heng's Divine Sense method, splitting his Divine Sense to read two lines at once.
• Qin Tiexin endured ten breaths of the painful exercise, recovered, and extended his Divine Sense into the Jade Slip to try again.

Qin Tiexin trained his divine sense and studied for the written examination while noticing Ming'an’s uncanny good fortune. With fifteen days left before the exam, Chen Xi sent a coded message that the Demon Beast flesh was ready for pickup.

• Qin Tiexin sorted the examination questions by what he already knew and what he needed to memorize, then used True Person Zhou Heng’s Divine Sense Splitting Method to read more at once.
• Qin Tiexin kept to his daily cultivation routine, while Ming'an quietly meditated nearby and remained too young to begin formal cultivation.
• Qin Tiexin saw stones veer away from Ming'an and watched Madam Lin recover a long-lost hairpin after Ming'an shifted a flowerpot.
• Ming'an continued to experience fortunate accidents, and Qin Tiexin concluded that his good fortune was more than ordinary luck but did not question him about it.
• After ten days, Qin Tiexin could read a whole page at once for a few breaths, though doing so brought on a severe headache.
• With fifteen days remaining before the written examination, Chen Xi contacted Qin Tiexin through a coded message and arranged to meet at the Water Cloud Tea Room at noon the next day.

Qin Tiexin took Ming'an to meet Chen Xi, who gave him a supply of Demon Beast corpses and reported that the missing medical cultivator remained confined in the imperial palace. Qin Tiexin left with Ming'an, still unsure whether he could keep the child with him.

• Ming'an asked Qin Tiexin to help him buy a memorial tablet for Abbot Huiming, and Qin Tiexin agreed to take him out.
• Qin Tiexin disguised himself and Ming'an with Shape-Changing Talismans, then took a circuitous route to the Water Cloud Tea Room.
• Chen Xi put Ming'an to sleep and listened as Qin Tiexin explained how the boy had survived Zhaoming Temple's destruction and found him.
• Qin Tiexin said he could not abandon Ming'an while Golden Summit Temple's people were still searching for him.
• Chen Xi gave Qin Tiexin a Frost Storage Bag containing eight Golden Core Early Stage Demon Beast corpses and more than thirty Foundation Establishment Late Stage corpses.
• Chen Xi said the medical cultivator was still in the imperial palace, apparently detained, and Qin Tiexin left to prepare for his Star Selection.

Qin Tiexin took Ming'an to buy a blank memorial tablet and sandalwood for prayer beads, then encountered an old monk selling three jade slips in an alley. When Qin Tiexin examined the unreadable third slip, the Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts translated it as the Arhat Dharma Aspect Body.

• Ming'an bought a blank sandalwood memorial tablet and Qin Tiexin bought sandalwood to make him prayer beads.
• Qin Tiexin followed Ming'an to a candied hawthorn vendor, where Ming'an offered him the first bite before eating.
• Qin Tiexin and Ming'an found an old monk selling jade slips to raise spirit stones to repair his temple in Azure Rock Village.
• The old monk introduced the Vajra Flame and Golden Light Incantation, then offered the unreadable third jade slip for free with either purchase.
• Qin Tiexin examined the third slip, and the Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts translated its title as Arhat Dharma Aspect Body.

Qin Tiexin bought three Buddhist techniques from a disguised Benhong, who hoped their cultivation would reveal whether Qin Tiexin had an innate Buddha heart. While preparing intensely for the written examination, Qin Tiexin found a way to ignite Vajra Flame using the fire of life in his body.

• Qin Tiexin bought three jade slips from the disguised old monk for a hundred lower-grade spirit stones and left with Ming'an.
• Benhong revealed that he had disguised himself to test whether Qin Tiexin could master the techniques and planned to take him to Brahma Sound Valley if he showed an innate Buddha heart.
• Qin Tiexin returned to the Lin Residence and trained for the examination, eventually learning to read and memorize ten lines at once.
• Qin Tiexin tried to cultivate Vajra Flame but could not ignite it with his spiritual power alone.
• Qin Tiexin routed spiritual Qi through the fire of life in his heart and ignited a crimson-gold lotus flame in his palm.

Qin Tiexin practiced three Buddhist martial skills while advancing his Qi and Blood cultivation, and Ming'an made his own prayer beads. On the morning of the written exam, Qin Tiexin left the Lin Residence for the Morning Star Training Ground.

• Qin Tiexin learned the Vajra Flame and Golden Light Incantation quickly, but only managed to form a faint, unstable phantom while practicing the Arhat Dharma Aspect Body.
• Qin Tiexin ate Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Demon Beast meat to strengthen his Essence Blood, discovering that the Principle fragment in his wounded shoulder increased its purity.
• Ming'an carved twelve sandalwood prayer beads by hand and began reciting sutras with them, while Qin Tiexin made himself a heavy string of iron prayer beads to suit his Mingjue identity.
• Qin Tiexin reviewed his exam materials, checked his tokens, entrusted Ming'an to Madam Lin, and left for the Morning Star Training Ground to take the written exam.