Recaps

Group 749 successfully purified Azure Gold Spirit Ore into spiritual liquid and stored it in a container made from the same material. Their attempt to awaken Lu Li’s jade pendant with the liquid failed, leaving them wondering whether only Lu Li could activate it.

• Wang Zhiwen and the Group 749 researchers began the seventh purification experiment under Li Yuanchao’s supervision.
• The Azure Gold Spirit Ore released spiritual power, which the protective liquid condensed into spiritual liquid with 80% purity.
• The researchers stored the spiritual liquid in a container made from Azure Gold Spirit Ore powder, preventing its energy from escaping.
• Wang Zhiwen and Li Yuanchao brought the spiritual liquid to the command hall to test whether it could awaken Lu Li’s jade pendant.
• Two drops of spiritual liquid failed to activate the pendant, and a young researcher wondered whether only Lu Li could use it.

Lu Li suspected the strange Ye Chenfeng was a hidden protagonist and resolved to keep his distance while cultivating cautiously. After months in the menial quarters, Lu Li broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining and prepared to enter the Azure Pool Sect’s outer sect.

• After Ma Liu vanished, Bai Sheng intensified searches of the mining area, so Lu Li stayed cautious and focused on cultivation and communicating with Great Xia.
• Lu Li noticed Ye Chenfeng’s unusual confidence and behavior, suspected he was a hidden protagonist, and decided to avoid him.
• Lu Li reached the third layer of Qi Refining, while Ye Chenfeng advanced to the fourth layer and left for the outer sect.
• Over the following months, Lu Li continued cultivating as other menials advanced and new menials arrived.
• Lu Li broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, received congratulations from the menials, and walked outside ready to enter the outer sect.

After reaching the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, Lu Li was promoted to the Azure Pool Sect’s outer sect and learned that Bai Sheng wanted to recruit him for Upper White Peak. He arrived at the outer sect to register, planning to call Great Xia back.

• Lu Li reported his breakthrough to Bai Sheng, who warmly agreed to take him into the outer sect.
• Bai Sheng explained the outer sect’s missions and inner sect competition, then offered Lu Li a Bai Household token and invited him to remember Upper White Peak.
• Bai Sheng told Lu Li that sect factions recruited menial disciples once they gained strength and became useful, and Lu Li accepted the token while reconsidering the sect’s treatment of menials.
• Bai Sheng brought Lu Li to the outer sect registration hall, told him to find him at Yi Five Cave if he needed help, and departed.
• Lu Li took in the outer sect’s grand landscape and decided it was time to call Great Xia back.

Lu Li became an outer sect disciple of the Azure Pool Sect and found his assigned cave abode, then prepared to contact Great Xia through the Twin Fish Jade Pendant. In Great Xia, Li Yuanchao and the research team had made little progress until the pendant lit up and Lu Li’s voice came through.

• Lu Li received his outer sect identity Jade Slip, Storage Bag, supplies, and instructions to complete three missions each month.
• Lu Li followed the Jade Slip’s guidance to a remote cave abode and found its spiritual energy denser than the menial disciples’ area.
• Lu Li reflected that the Twin Fish Jade Pendant might eventually let him return to Blue Star, then shut the cave door and took it out to contact Great Xia.
• Wang Zhiwen reported that Great Xia’s research had found no usable information about Azure Gold Spirit Ore or cultivation, and Li Yuanchao silently waited beside the pendant.
• The Twin Fish Jade Pendant blazed with light, and Lu Li’s voice reached the command hall as he asked whether Li Yuanchao could hear him.

Lu Li contacted Group 749, reported his progress in the Azure Pool Sect, and learned that the country had purified azure gold spirit liquid and begun investigating cultivation. The Battle Command Department advised him to stay safe and grow stronger, while its analysis supported Lu Li’s suspicion that Ye Chenfeng had an old grandpa with him.

• Lu Li contacted Li Yuanchao and Wang Zhiwen, reassured them that he was safe, and described his entry into the outer sect and what he had learned there.
• Lu Li shared his cultivation insights, while Wang Zhiwen revealed that Group 749 had successfully purified azure gold spirit liquid and sent him ten portions.
• Wang Zhiwen asked why the selected soldiers could not cultivate, and Lu Li explained that cultivation required both a Spirit Root and Spiritual Qi before promising to send a Spirit-Testing Stone.
• Li Yuanchao relayed the Battle Command Department’s advice for Lu Li to choose safe missions, improve his cultivation, gather resources, and avoid leaving the sect.
• The Battle Command Department concluded there was a seventy-five percent chance that Ye Chenfeng had an entity known as an old grandpa with him.

Lu Li read Great Xia’s strategic analysis of Ye Chenfeng and followed its plan to stay safe, train, and eventually establish his foundation. He began testing industrially purified Azure Gold Spirit Liquid, which strengthened his cultivation as he absorbed more bottles.

• Lu Li read the report’s assessment that Ye Chenfeng was likely a protagonist and took its advice to keep his distance and remain vigilant.
• Lu Li accepted the Battle Command Department’s plan to choose safe missions, learn cultivation arts, and delay Foundation Establishment until age forty-eight.
• Lu Li decided to study artifact refining so Great Xia could combine its industrial technology with cultivation techniques.
• Lu Li opened a bottle of Azure Gold Spirit Liquid and absorbed it through his skin, enduring its sharp metallic Spiritual Power as he refined it for several hours.
• Lu Li found that one portion was worth about a month of cultivation and began absorbing more bottles, steadily growing stronger.

Lu Li searched for safe outer-sect missions and secured a long-term Artifact Hall assignment that let him observe artifact refining. An astonished observer then recognized him and wondered whether Elder Jian had misjudged him.

• Lu Li examined the outer sect’s missions and expenses, realizing that safe missions were heavily contested and the sect’s prices made it difficult for disciples to save contribution points.
• Xu Xiong took the available patrol and Hundred Arts missions, and a disciple explained that he preferred staying inside the sect despite his strong cultivation.
• Lu Li used a Spirit Stone to attract the duty disciple’s attention and register for the furnace slag cleanup mission, which offered two contribution points per assignment and a monthly chance to observe artifact refining.
• Lu Li left the General Affairs Hall pleased with his safe, long-term mission, while someone watching from a corner recognized him and asked whether Elder Jian had misjudged him.

Lu Li gathered records about the Azure Pool Sect and the surrounding world, then sent his latest observations to Great Xia. The chapter ended with Wang Zhiwen announcing a breakthrough in the research into the Five Elements Instruction cultivation method.

• Ye Chenfeng accepted several dangerous missions after Elder Jian urged him to temper his sword heart through slaughter.
• Lu Li visited the Scripture Repository and studied histories, geography, cultivation knowledge, and other records about Eastern Desolation Star and the Azure Pool Sect.
• Lu Li questioned the sect’s claims of protecting the common people after noticing that the population figures for its three commanderies had remained unchanged for thousands of years.
• Lu Li recorded his observations and concerns, then sent the booklet to Director Li through their cross-world communication.
• Lu Li asked about Spirit-Testing Stones, and Li Yuanchao told him Great Xia would prioritize his cultivation resources instead.
• Wang Zhiwen told Lu Li that the research team had made a major breakthrough in studying the Five Elements Instruction cultivation method.

Lu Li tried the nation's improved Five Elements Instruction and used it to break through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. Ye Chenfeng arrived at his cave abode after sensing signs of an advanced cultivation method and was stunned to recognize him.

• Wang Zhiwen showed Lu Li the version 3.0 Five Elements Instruction, which researchers had optimized through millions of computer simulations.
• Lu Li followed the new cultivation method, felt Spiritual Qi gather around him, and realized it rivaled the Advanced Five Elements Instruction.
• Lu Li used two bottles of Azure Gold Spirit Liquid and broke through from the Qi Refining Fourth Layer to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
• Lu Li hid the holographic player and spirit liquid when someone knocked, then opened the stone door to find Ye Chenfeng.
• Ye Chenfeng recognized Lu Li and sensed that he had reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

Lu Li concealed his sudden breakthrough and advanced insight from Ye Chenfeng, then left to take an artifact-refining mission after stabilizing at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. At the Artifact Hall, his unexpectedly powerful Water Ball Technique caught Master Wu’s attention.

• Lu Li told Ye Chenfeng that he had gained an epiphany while cultivating, and Ye Chenfeng left after Elder Jian urged him not to pursue the matter.
• Lu Li planned to obtain protective, Spirit Gathering, and offensive formations, then continued consolidating his cultivation.
• The next day, Lu Li went to the Artifact Hall to complete a mission and met Master Wu, who told him to cool and clear the forging furnace.
• Lu Li used an unusually powerful Water Ball Technique on the furnace, and Master Wu recognized it as the Advanced Five Elements Instruction.

Lu Li mastered a demanding furnace-cleaning task, collecting slag and ash that still contained traces of spiritual essence to send to Great Xia for research. After reporting to the staff on duty, he planned his next steps toward learning artifact refining and building a protective formation, hoping Great Xia could help him become the first to ascend to immortality.

• Wu Changgeng observed Lu Li's advanced mastery of the Five Elements Instruction but decided the first-tier method was not worth further attention.
• Lu Li struggled to pry spiritual slag from the forging furnace, recognized it might retain value, and stored a sample.
• Lu Li spent five or six hours clearing the furnace, collecting around a hundred lumps of slag and several handfuls of ash before washing the furnace clean.
• Lu Li contacted Great Xia from his cave abode and sent the slag and ash to the staff member on duty, giving them a few instructions.
• Lu Li reviewed his plans to complete tasks, save contribution points, study artifact refining, and eventually acquire a protective formation.
• Lu Li wondered whether Great Xia's researchers could refine a surprise from the discarded slag.

Wang Zhiwen and researchers at Group 749 investigated whether particle bombardment could restore or awaken the properties of artifact-refining residue. After thousands of simulations, Li Ming discovered a successful set of parameters, leaving the researchers ready to pursue the breakthrough.

• Wang Zhiwen arrived at Group 749 after learning that Lu Li had sent artifact-refining residue for analysis.
• Zhang Yi proposed using a particle collider to reorganize the residue’s disrupted molecular structures and possibly awaken its properties.
• Wang Zhiwen ordered the researchers to carefully divide the samples and run computer simulations before attempting physical experiments.
• After several days and many failures, Li Ming spotted a successful result in the 38,962nd simulation, where particle bombardment made the residue’s molecules glow.
• Li Ming checked the results and called Wang Zhiwen to report that the simulation had awakened the residue.

After Wang Zhiwen’s simulations showed promise, Great Xia reorganized Group 749 into Bureau 749 and moved its research operations to a vast underground base beneath Mount Baiwang. Meanwhile, Lu Li returned to the Azure Pool Sect’s Artifact Hall for his furnace-slag task and came face-to-face with a familiar, stubbled man.

• Wang Zhiwen urged preparations for a physical experiment, including a large particle collider and a controlled nuclear fusion power supply.
• Li Yuanchao secured approval to move the research base and elevate Group 749 into Bureau 749, appointing Wang Zhiwen as research group head and Lu Li as honorary group leader.
• Bureau 749 relocated to the underground base inside Mount Baiwang and brought Lu Li’s fish-shaped jade pendant to its command hall.
• Lu Li completed his cultivation, reflected on the value of the Azure Gold Spirit Ore he had saved, and went to the Artifact Hall to clear furnace slag.
• Lu Li opened the side hall door and recognized a familiar, stubbled man.

Lu Li watched Xu Xiong attempt to refine a Law Artifact, discovering that the senior brother repeatedly forgot the steps and failed. After absorbing the process through Xu Xiong’s repeated recitations, Lu Li began to understand artifact refining and finally offered him a correction.

• Lu Li recognized Xu Xiong at Master Wu’s hall, where Xu Xiong invited him to watch an artifact being refined.
• Xu Xiong began refining a first-tier, intermediate-grade magic armor but repeatedly forgot the process and ruined each batch.
• As Xu Xiong recited the steps before each attempt, Lu Li memorized them and asked questions about the forging methods and artifact runes.
• Over two hours, Xu Xiong failed twelve times while Lu Li gained a rough understanding of artifact refining.
• When Xu Xiong prepared for a thirteenth attempt, Lu Li told him to use one-tenth of his spiritual power to warm the furnace.

Lu Li guided Xu Xiong through refining a suit of magic armor, and Xu Xiong successfully inscribed its artifact patterns. Wu Changgeng witnessed the process and was astonished by Lu Li’s talent, while Xu Xiong noticed his master only after celebrating the finished artifact.

• Lu Li instructed Xu Xiong to control the furnace and add the materials at precisely timed stages.
• Xu Xiong shaped the spiritual material into magic armor and began carving its artifact patterns while Lu Li observed closely.
• Wu Changgeng arrived unseen and watched Lu Li guide Xu Xiong through the entire refining process.
• Xu Xiong completed the final stroke, awakening the armor’s spiritual light, and excitedly told Lu Li he had succeeded.
• Xu Xiong turned, saw Wu Changgeng at the door, and stopped short as he addressed his master.

Lu Li impressed Wu Changgeng by helping Xu Xiong refine enchanted armor, so Wu offered him a chance to attend artifact-refinement lessons alongside Xu Xiong without making him a disciple. Xu Xiong thanked Lu Li and began explaining why he did not truly count as Wu Changgeng’s disciple.

• Wu Changgeng examined Xu Xiong’s enchanted armor and realized Lu Li’s help had brought it close to first-tier advanced-grade quality.
• Wu Changgeng invited Lu Li to study artifact refinement alongside Xu Xiong, offering him a long-term furnace-slag task and access to lessons without a master-disciple commitment.
• Lu Li accepted Wu Changgeng’s offer, and Wu hurried away to visit his senior brother’s spirit.
• Xu Xiong thanked Lu Li for helping him and said he did not really count as Wu Changgeng’s disciple.
• Xu Xiong began explaining that his father had originally been Wu Changgeng’s senior brother.

Lu Li earned ten Spirit Stones and arranged to help Xu Xiong study artifact refining in exchange for future payment and experience. After sending Blue Star more slag and his notes on artifact refining, Lu Li left Wang Zhiwen astonished by how simple the process seemed.

• Xu Xiong told Lu Li that his father, Master Wu's senior brother, had been killed by Bandit Cultivators before he could become an artifact refining grandmaster.
• Xu Xiong paid Lu Li ten Spirit Stones for helping him refine a first-tier mid-grade Law Artifact and asked him to assist with future artifact refining.
• Lu Li agreed to help Xu Xiong and exchanged Jade Slip imprints with him so they could meet for a lesson in half a month.
• Lu Li cleared more slag, recorded his artifact refining observations, and sent the notes and over a hundred and thirty pieces of slag to Blue Star.
• Wang Zhiwen read Lu Li's notes and asked whether the simple process described was really artifact refining.

After Wang Zhiwen recognized artifact refinement as a major opportunity for Great Xia, he urged Lu Li to master it and suggested it might help him return home. Lu Li received updates confirming his family was thriving, which strengthened his resolve to keep progressing.

• Wang Zhiwen told Lu Li that artifact refinement could transform Great Xia's technological research and urged him to learn everything he could about it.
• Wang Zhiwen speculated that immortal artisans might wield power connected to the Dao and that artifact refinement could help Lu Li return home.
• Li Yuanchao told Lu Li that Group 749 had become Bureau 749 and that Lu Li was its honorary group leader in the Pioneer Group.
• Li Yuanchao gave Lu Li reports on Bureau 749 and his family's recent updates, and Lu Li read that his parents had advanced in their careers while Lu Yao had entered the National Defence University.
• Lu Li stored the family report and resolved not to fall behind his younger sister.

Lu Li spent a year cultivating and studying artifact refining, reaching the Seventh Layer of Qi Refinement and gaining the ability to fly on a sword. After securing his cave with a formation and preparing an old forging furnace, he learned that the first phase of the artifact-refining plan had succeeded and was asked to begin a cross-realm experiment.

• Lu Li studied a report on awakening the properties of slag materials and continued cultivating, using a Spirit Stone to accelerate his progress.
• Lu Li trained in artifact refining with Xu Xiong and Master Wu, completed his slag-clearing work, and advanced by two minor realms over the year.
• Lu Li reached the Seventh Layer of Qi Refinement, flew on his standard-issue sword, and installed a Lesser Five Elements Concealment Formation around his cave abode.
• Lu Li prepared an old forging furnace and contacted Wang Zhiwen, who announced that the first phase of the artifact-refining plan had succeeded and called for the first cross-realm artifact refining.

Lu Li and Blue Star's Bureau 749 jointly refined artifact armor using cultivation and technology, but the machine-made armor showed no signs of life until Lu Li brought it across worlds. The armor activated in his hands, revealing a futuristic design that left him wondering whether Blue Star had copied Iron Man.

• Wang Zhiwen and Li Yuanchao prepared Bureau 749's laboratory for the first cross-world artifact refinement and asked Lu Li to begin.
• Lu Li and the Blue Star researchers synchronized their work, using his instructions and the laboratory's machines to shape the artifact and engrave its patterns.
• Lu Li's armor activated with spiritual light, while the armor made by the machine remained inert and the researchers feared the experiment had failed.
• Lu Li asked Li Yuanchao and Wang Zhiwen to send him the machine-made armor for inspection.
• The armor activated as soon as it arrived in Lu Li's world, and he marveled at its futuristic appearance and wondered whether it had been based on Iron Man's designs.

After Blue Star's Law Armor became a Law Artifact but could not function properly, Lu Li proposed sending a Spirit Vein back to supply Spiritual Qi. The leaders urged him to wait until he was strong enough, then advised him to prepare for Foundation Establishment and recruit loyal disciples.

• Lu Li confirmed that the Great Xia Law Armor had become an early first-grade Law Artifact, and Wang Zhiwen suspected Blue Star's laws prevented it from working properly.
• Lu Li and Wang Zhiwen connected the artifact's failure to Blue Star's lack of Spiritual Qi, and Lu Li suggested sending back a Spirit Vein.
• Lu Li explained that the jade pendant might transmit a Spirit Vein if he could move it, but said he would not attempt it before reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Wang Zhiwen asked Lu Li to test the Law Armor, while Li Yuanchao warned him to prioritize his safety.
• Li Yuanchao told Lu Li that Foundation Establishment Pills cost thousands of Spirit Stones and recommended recruiting and training loyal disciples to support him.

Lu Li tested the nation-made armor and learned that Xu Xiong was leaving the sect to temper his Dao heart before attempting Foundation Establishment. He gave Xu Xiong three powerful Spirit Fire Grenades, then watched him depart and resolved to take more artifact-refining orders to save Spirit Stones.

• Lu Li reviewed the strategic report, considered preparing for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and decided to watch for a potential disciple while improving his artifact-refining skills.
• Lu Li put on the machine-refined armor and flew toward the back mountain to test it, where Xu Xiong praised its design and asked to learn how it was made.
• Xu Xiong told Lu Li that he was leaving the sect that day because his master wanted him to temper his Dao heart before attempting Foundation Establishment.
• Lu Li gave Xu Xiong three Spirit Fire Grenades for protection, and Xu Xiong accepted them before saying farewell and flying away.
• Lu Li watched Xu Xiong depart and decided to take more artifact-refining orders to save Spirit Stones.

Lu Li tested the enchanted armor from his country and found it could withstand powerful spells and attacks. At the Artifact Hall, a crowd of disciples sought his popular, unconventional artifact commissions, and he headed deeper into the hall after arranging their orders.

• Lu Li reflected on his Spirit Fire Grenade experiments and imagined combining Spirit Stones with firearms and artifact refining.
• Lu Li tested the enchanted armor with fire, other elemental spells, and a flying sword, then recorded its properties after finding it comparable to a mid-level first-tier artifact.
• Lu Li arrived at the Artifact Hall, where disciples crowded around to commission his artifacts.
• Lu Li accepted unusual commissions, including a flying sword with bloodthirst, armor-piercing, and corrosive poison patterns and a breastplate with dizziness, paralysis, and deafening patterns.
• Lu Li collected materials instead of Spirit Stones, set pickup for a month later, and went deeper into the Artifact Hall.

Lu Li sold four Law Artifacts to fund another Artifact Inscription lesson, where True Person Zhang taught the origins and uses of the Shatter inscription. After leaving class, Lu Li planned to study more cultivation arts and eventually share what he learned with Great Xia.

• Lu Li exchanged two first-tier low-grade Law Artifacts for contribution points and two for Spirit Stones at the Artifact Hall.
• Lu Li paid thirty contribution points to attend True Person Zhang's Artifact Inscription class.
• True Person Zhang taught the history of the Shatter inscription and guided the disciples in contemplating it.
• Lu Li considered how the Shatter inscription could be applied to weapons and armor, including for protection and displacement.
• After class, Lu Li decided to study pills, formations, talismans, and beast taming so he could pass his knowledge to Great Xia.

Lu Li encountered Ye Chenfeng on his way to visit the Pill Hall and Formation Hall, then rejected Ye Chenfeng’s invitation to explore a Foundation Establishment cave abode. Ye Chenfeng returned to the Artifact Hall to seek repairs for his flying sword, while Lu Li left wary of their apparent karmic connection.

• Lu Li sent Great Xia artifact-refining materials, Great Xia Law Armor test data, and images of newly comprehended artifact inscriptions before cultivating.
• Lu Li ran into Ye Chenfeng while traveling through the sect and learned that Ye Chenfeng had just returned from a year away.
• Elder Jian sensed a concealed ferocity in Lu Li and urged Ye Chenfeng to invite him to explore a Foundation Establishment cave abode.
• Ye Chenfeng invited Lu Li to join him on a hunt-and-kill mission and cave-abode expedition, but Lu Li warned him that ruins were dangerous and flew away.
• Ye Chenfeng sought help repairing his flying sword, then posted a repair mission when the Artifact Hall refiners could not help him.
• Lu Li wondered whether Ye Chenfeng or Elder Jian had designs on him and resolved to keep his distance.