Chapter Summaries

Dong Zhongshu agreed to help Wen Weng kill a Ba Snake that threatened floods in Shu, hoping the effort would help Wen Weng divert water and attract students to his academy. Wen Weng revealed that the snake’s gallbladder might help Dong Zhongshu break through the Divine Ability Realm, and Dong Zhongshu stopped him in surprise.

• Dong Zhongshu decided to avoid involvement in the imperial succession scheme and remain in Shu Commandery.
• Wen Weng told Dong Zhongshu about a six-zhang Ba Snake at the Great Peace Weir that stirred up floods and damaged riverbanks.
• Dong Zhongshu agreed to help Wen Weng eliminate the snake so water could be diverted into the Shu Region and fertile fields opened.
• Wen Weng struggled to start a fire in the rain, while Zhang Xuezhou asked about Fire Techniques and the Ba Snake’s gallbladder.
• Wen Weng said the gallbladder might give Dong Zhongshu an opportunity to advance from the Divine Ability Realm, and Dong Zhongshu interrupted him in surprise.

Dong Zhongshu agreed to help Wen Weng hunt the Ba Snake for its gallbladder, which could help him reach the Sole Self Realm, and warned Zhang Xuezhou to stay away from Chang'an City. Zhang Xuezhou initially refused to join the hunt but followed after Dong Zhongshu offered advice about his cultivation.

• After Wen Weng explained the Ba Snake gallbladder’s effects, Dong Zhongshu eagerly decided to hunt the snake despite its danger.
• Dong Zhongshu borrowed the treasured fan from Zhang Xuezhou and warned him not to go to Chang'an City, hinting that a court upheaval could make the trip dangerous.
• Wen Weng ordered Zhang Shu and Zhao Liang to prepare nets, weapons, mounts, rain capes, and pig's blood for the hunt.
• Dong Zhongshu invited Zhang Xuezhou along and pointed out that his cultivation had realm power but lacked killing strength.
• Zhang Xuezhou refused at first, but followed Dong Zhongshu after he offered to give him cultivation advice.

Wen Weng led Dong Zhongshu, Zhang Shu, Zhao Liang, and Zhang Xuezhou into the rain to hunt the Ba Snake, which had grown far more dangerous than expected. The serpent appeared near Shu Commandery, repelled Wen Weng’s attack, and spoke of finally returning.

• Dong Zhongshu taught Zhang Xuezhou to use Law Power to repel rain across his body, and Zhang Xuezhou quickly mastered the trick.
• Wen Weng explained that the Ba Snake had been lured with livestock blood for years and had become accustomed to its smell.
• Wen Weng smeared pig’s blood on his horse, and the scent drew the Ba Snake, which had roamed much farther than expected.
• Wen Weng, Zhang Shu, and Zhao Liang attacked the towering Ba Snake, but it brushed aside Wen Weng’s suppressing seal.
• The Ba Snake’s swollen belly revealed human forms inside, and it spoke of finally returning as its Demon Power swept out.

Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu fought the Ba Snake, whose powerful Demon Power resisted their attacks and whose Yin-Yang Eyes blinded anyone nearby. With Zhang Xuezhou and the others missing, the two men were left trying to escape before the Ba Snake could strike again.

• Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu attacked the Ba Snake, and Dong Zhongshu wounded one of its eyes with a concealed wind blade.
• The Ba Snake breathed poisonous gas, which Dong Zhongshu deflected, and Wen Weng warned that they would need repeated strikes to pierce its head.
• The Ba Snake used its Yin-Yang Eyes to blind Wen Weng and knock him from his horse, which it then swallowed.
• Dong Zhongshu pulled Wen Weng to safety and called for Zhang Xuezhou, Zhang Shu, and Zhao Liang, but could not find them.
• Wen Weng admitted that his powerful water-prison Technique took too long to cast, while Dong Zhongshu said he could not reach the Ba Snake’s other eye without help.
• The Ba Snake blinded Dong Zhongshu, who cut his horse’s tail to make it bolt away with both men.

Zhang Xuezhou fled after the Ba Snake drove off Dong Zhongshu, Wen Weng, and their companions. The Ba Snake revealed that it was Zhu Shiyin, reborn through the Six-Lifetime Reincarnation Method, and slipped away into the Jian River to begin again.

• Zhang Xuezhou watched the Ba Snake recover from its fight and flee after Dong Zhongshu and Wen Weng escaped.
• The Ba Snake spotted Zhang Xuezhou, called him a human demon, and swallowed the horse Zhang Xuezhou had abandoned.
• Zhu Shiyin’s shattered eye began to regenerate as he recalled his past life and his survival through the Six-Lifetime Reincarnation Method.
• Zhu Shiyin feared that powerful human experts could kill him and decided to avoid drawing their attention while he recovered.
• Zhu Shiyin entered the Jian River, resolved to leave his past as the Ten Yin Holy Son behind and seize control of his own fate.

After the Ba Snake escaped, Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu decided they would have to find and ambush it without help from the court. Dong Zhongshu explained to Zhang Xuezhou why powerful Techniques were tightly controlled, leaving Zhang alarmed by the dangers of spreading them.

• Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu questioned Zhang Xuezhou about the Ba Snake, but he had no useful information and had lost his horse.
• Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu concluded that the distant court would not send help in time, so they had to deal with the Ba Snake themselves.
• Dong Zhongshu proposed finding the Ba Snake and ambushing it, while Wen Weng agreed to consider how to restrain it with a spell.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked why Wen Weng's high cultivation did not make him as effective in combat as Dong Zhongshu, and Dong explained that Wen Weng lacked well-practiced Techniques.
• Dong Zhongshu explained that dangerous high-level Techniques such as Zhang Xuezhou's Supreme Purity True Technique were restricted because people might injure themselves to master them, leaving Zhang horrified.

Zhang Xuezhou discussed the dangers of controlling cultivation knowledge with Dong Zhongshu, who began considering how the Han Dynasty might educate and gather talent. Dong Zhongshu then offered Zhang Xuezhou the Vast Righteous Qi Art, claiming it could balance his yin and yang and let him learn techniques from any school.

• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Dong Zhongshu about whether people could become useful while cultivation knowledge remained tightly controlled, and Dong Zhongshu said the court could never fully control talent or prevent war.
• Zhang Xuezhou took comfort in the Han Kingdom's many impractical cultivation techniques, while Dong Zhongshu began imagining a broader plan to educate people and decided to test it on Zhang Xuezhou.
• Dong Zhongshu questioned Zhang Xuezhou about his cultivation and concluded that he had a high realm but few practical abilities.
• Dong Zhongshu offered Zhang Xuezhou a volume of the Vast Righteous Qi Art, claiming it could balance his yin and yang and remove restrictions on learning combat techniques.
• Dong Zhongshu said he had learned 148 different techniques and challenged Zhang Xuezhou to teach him a Yin-Yang School technique so he could demonstrate his ability to learn it.

Dong Zhongshu taught Zhang Xuezhou the Vast Righteous Qi Art after Zhang refused to become his disciple, explaining that the support doctrine would not conflict with Zhang’s cultivation. Zhang began to see its potential when he learned that reciting its instruction took no time.

• Dong Zhongshu mastered Zhang Xuezhou’s Drowsiness Technique and offered to teach him the Vast Righteous Qi Art as his student.
• Zhang Xuezhou refused to become Dong Zhongshu’s disciple because he was already bound to a master and could not take another.
• Dong Zhongshu offered to teach Zhang the Vast Righteous Qi Art in exchange for the Drowsiness Technique, assuring him it would not hinder his realm cultivation.
• Zhang agreed, and Dong Zhongshu explained the doctrine’s principles while Zhang listened carefully and sensed a subtle change.
• Dong Zhongshu told Zhang that reciting the Vast Righteous Qi Instruction could gather heaven and earth’s righteous Qi and required no extra time, making Zhang eager to practice it.

At the commandery governor’s residence, Dong Zhongshu taught Zhang Xuezhou the Vast Righteous Qi Instruction while discussing how Confucian teachings could complement other schools. The search for the Ba Snake ended without a trace, leaving Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu unsure how to find it.

• Zhang Xuezhou found temporary lodging at the commandery governor’s residence and recited Dong Zhongshu’s Vast Righteous Qi Instruction while waiting to return to reality.
• Wen Weng questioned why Zhang Xuezhou was learning Confucian cultivation, and Dong Zhongshu explained that he hoped to introduce cultivators from other schools to Confucian teachings.
• Dong Zhongshu admitted Zhang Xuezhou had not become his disciple, while Wen Weng warned him to be careful about teaching cultivation before Zhang joined the school.
• Dong Zhongshu reminded Wen Weng that obtaining the Ba Snake’s gallbladder could help him advance, as they waited for the search party to return.
• The investigators reported finding no trace of the Ba Snake near the Great Peace Weir, apart from a missing father and son, and Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu worried about how to track it down.

After waking in Shu Commandery City, Zhang Xuezhou worried that his prolonged sleep could leave him starving and sought ingredients for Grain Avoidance Powder. He admired Dong Zhongshu’s unusual cultivation of both literary techniques and martial arts, then revealed his limited knowledge of pill refining and Yin-Yang formations, prompting Dong Zhongshu to consider asking him to help with the Ba Snake.

• Zhang Xuezhou woke after three days and worried that his increasingly long absences would leave him unable to eat in this world.
• Zhang Xuezhou advanced his Grain Avoidance Instruction and decided to ask Dong Zhongshu for ingredients to make Grain Avoidance Powder.
• Zhang Xuezhou watched Dong Zhongshu display literary techniques and martial arts through the Vast Righteous Qi Instruction.
• Dong Zhongshu offered to teach Zhang Xuezhou his cultivation method, but Zhang Xuezhou refused because it had not yet advanced beyond the Divine Ability Realm.
• Zhang Xuezhou praised Dong Zhongshu for developing his own cultivation method and asked him to help obtain medicinal ingredients.
• Dong Zhongshu learned that Zhang Xuezhou knew a little about pill refining and Yin-Yang formations, and considered using his skills to help with the Ba Snake.

Dong Zhongshu persuaded Zhang Xuezhou to teach him feng shui so they could locate the Ba Snake’s lair at Great Peace Weir, promising that Wen Weng would obtain the ingredients for Zhang’s Grain Avoidance Powder. Zhang refused to join the search until Wen Weng returned with a treasure to resolve the dispute.

• Dong Zhongshu asked Zhang Xuezhou to teach him feng shui site surveying so they could find the Ba Snake, and Zhang agreed in exchange for medicinal ingredients.
• Wen Weng arranged to obtain the ingredients, and Zhang taught Dong Zhongshu what he remembered about surveying feng shui sites.
• Dong Zhongshu gained confidence after learning the technique and proposed searching Great Peace Weir for the Ba Snake’s lair and preparing an ambush.
• Dong Zhongshu insisted that Zhang accompany them, but Zhang refused, saying he fainted at the sight of snakes and did not trust Dong to protect him.
• Wen Weng returned after making preparations and took out a treasure to settle the matter between Zhang and Dong.

Zhang Xuezhou admired Wen Weng’s Mountain-Subduing Stone and declared that he wanted to become an official so he could obtain rare treasures from the imperial court. At the Great Peace Weir, Dong Zhongshu surveyed the flooded river and began using feng shui to search for an auspicious site.

• Wen Weng explained the Mountain-Subduing Stone’s protective power and said that an official might request Dushan Jade from the imperial court.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he wanted to become an official, and Wen Weng offered him a letter of recommendation.
• Wen Weng described the Great Peace Weir’s flooded channels, and Dong Zhongshu identified the river as a place of vital waters.
• Zhang Shu and Zhao Liang laid bamboo poles toward the river’s center, and Dong Zhongshu crossed them to survey the site.
• Dong Zhongshu identified the river’s center as the dragon’s spine and sent a glimmer of blue light downstream to search for the dragon’s mouth.

Wen Weng, Dong Zhongshu, and Zhang Xuezhou investigated a deep pool where Dong Zhongshu’s Feng Shui technique had detected a possible Ba Snake lair. They found the wounded Ba Snake recovering from a Lightning Tribulation, and Dong Zhongshu and Wen Weng attacked as it tried to escape.

• Wen Weng chose to investigate the deep pool, and Zhang Shu prepared bait while Zhao Liang dove into the water.
• Zhang Xuezhou spotted faint ripples and warned Dong Zhongshu and the others, who were on a bamboo raft above the Ba Snake’s lair.
• The Ba Snake rose beneath the raft and swallowed the bait, while Dong Zhongshu struck its right eye and noticed its sluggishness and Lightning Tribulation scars.
• Dong Zhongshu realized the Ba Snake had survived the Lightning Tribulation, and Wen Weng froze it as it tried to dive away.
• The Ba Snake regained its senses, threatened its attackers, and shrank to escape; Dong Zhongshu’s wind blade lodged in its eye socket and forced the eyeball into the river.

After Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu failed to capture the Ba Snake, Zhang Xuezhou pursued its severed eyeball and claimed it as a demon treasure. The treasure let him manifest the Kunpeng Combat Technique, while the wounded Ba Snake escaped and Zhang Xuezhou wondered what its other eye might do.

• Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu discussed tracking the Ba Snake with its body parts after it escaped their second encounter.
• Dong Zhongshu and Wen Weng realized the Ba Snake's eyeball had been lost in the river and decided to search again the next day.
• Wen Weng sensed that Zhang Xuezhou and the Mountain-Subduing Stone had moved downstream while the group helped rescue Zhao Liang.
• Zhang Xuezhou kept the Ba Snake at bay as they both pursued its floating eyeball, and the Ba Snake eventually retreated across the river.
• Zhang Xuezhou seized the eyeball and used his Law Power to shrink it into a black bead called the Eye of the Ba Snake.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the treasure to manifest the Kunpeng Combat Technique and wondered whether the Ba Snake's other eye could do the same.

After losing track of Zhang Xuezhou and the Mountain-Subduing Stone, Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu searched the floodwaters and found Zhang Xuezhou floating downstream. They rescued him alive and suspected his Innate Water Body had kept him breathing, while Wen Weng reflected on the Han Dynasty’s difficult road ahead.

• Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu failed to sense Zhang Xuezhou or the Mountain-Subduing Stone and worried that both were lost in the flood.
• Wen Weng discussed the scarcity of practical cultivation techniques with Dong Zhongshu and turned back to the academy and Great Peace Weir’s affairs.
• Zhao Liang spotted someone floating in the river, and Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu recognized Zhang Xuezhou.
• Dong Zhongshu entered the river and found Zhang Xuezhou still breathing, then Zhang Shu helped pull him from the water.
• Dong Zhongshu suggested Zhang Xuezhou had an Innate Water Body, and Wen Weng lamented the loss of the Water Element Sect before reflecting on the Han Dynasty’s long road ahead.

After waking from a week-long sleep, Zhang Xuezhou feared that his body in the other world had drowned and struggled to recover his composure. His spirits lifted slightly when he learned about his parents’ genetic results, then improved further when he discovered Ren Wuyang had tried the Sunflower Manual and suffered for it.

• Zhang Xuezhou woke in the Xuanshi Building after a week asleep, panicked about having fallen into a flood in the other world, and learned Ren Anran and Zhang Weimeng had been watching over him.
• Zhang Xuezhou washed up and went to eat guinea fowl, while Zhang Weimeng asked him about having sheep genes.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that genetic similarities did not mean Zhang Weimeng had sheep genes, then learned both of his parents had sheep-related results in their sequencing.
• Zhang Xuezhou brooded over the decisions that had left him in danger, then tried to numb himself by eating several portions of guinea fowl.
• Ren Wuyang told Zhang Xuezhou that he had cultivated the Sunflower Manual, lost a body part, and noticed only that the tree in his perception had grown leaves.
• Zhang Xuezhou realized Ren Wuyang had been drawn into trying the manual and remarked that a normal person would not do such a thing.

Zhang Xuezhou revealed that Ren Wuyang had cultivated a difficult version of a martial arts technique without needing the castration its manual prescribed, leaving Ren Wuyang regretful and confused. Ren Anran considered how the new cultivation path could be improved, while a woman secretly observing Zhang Xuezhou learned about Hongku and approached his table.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Ren Wuyang had mastered an advanced version of the Heart Incantation and could have done so without the operation.
• Ren Wuyang realized he had damaged his body and made cultivation harder, while Zhang Xuezhou claimed he regretted choosing the same difficult path.
• Ren Wuyang suspected Hongku's influence explained Zhang Xuezhou's unusual behavior and left in a hurry.
• Ren Anran compared the two realm techniques and considered how more examples might help create a simpler cultivation method.
• Ren Wuyang told Ren Anran that Zhang Xuezhou's material came from an ascetic named Hongku.
• A woman with glasses who had been secretly observing Zhang Xuezhou learned Hongku's name, wiped her lips, and walked toward his table.

Zhou Yueyan approached Zhang Xuezhou in the dining hall and offered him her blood-serum services, while Ren Anran warned him against trusting her. Zhang Xuezhou recovered from his despair and, after eating a large amount of guinea fowl, sensed a change in his body that felt like the Heavenly Robe’s power.

• Zhou Yueyan introduced herself to Zhang Xuezhou as a genetics researcher and left him her business card, then exchanged a pointed greeting with Ren Anran.
• Ren Anran warned Zhang Xuezhou not to associate with Zhou Yueyan, who teased him about a genetically modified alternative to guinea fowl.
• Zhang Xuezhou continued eating despite Ren Anran’s warning, while Ren Anran became distracted by thoughts about mental abilities and forgot his name.
• Ren Anran’s forgetfulness lifted Zhang Xuezhou’s spirits, and he resolved to accept the possible loss of his other body and focus on escaping the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon’s control.
• After eating more guinea fowl, Zhang Xuezhou felt his body grow lighter and sensed the Heavenly Robe’s effect, wondering if he was about to fly.

Zhang Xuezhou discovered he could fly backward by combining the Crane Form Fist with mental power, while Ren Anran worked out how Gene Fighting Techniques and mental techniques could be joined. The chapter left Ren Anran facing two possible paths into Realm Entry.

• Zhang Xuezhou used the Crane Form Fist to launch himself backward and struck a landscaping tree before testing his flight again.
• Zhang Weimeng mistook Zhang Xuezhou's backward flight for the Flying Sheep Wall Running martial art, while Ren Anran recognized that he was combining mental power with the Crane Form Fist.
• Ren Anran recalled Zhang Xuezhou's ability to keep rain away and reasoned that he had made the Crane Form Fist more effective by adapting it to himself.
• Ren Yisheng called Ren Anran, and she realized that a Realm Technique might bridge mental power and Gene Fighting Techniques.
• Ren Anran connected the Heart Incantation and the Sunflower Manual to two possible routes into Realm Entry, which appeared to her as a choice between left and right.

Zhou Yueyan watched Zhang Xuezhou demonstrate Crane Form Fist while assessing whether Ren Yisheng could help the Zhou Household, then started a livestream that unexpectedly attracted Lao Luo and Zhou So-and-so's Bleak Life. The viewers recognized Ren Yisheng in her camera view, leaving Zhou Yueyan worried she had missed something important.

• Zhou Yueyan used a telescope to watch Zhang Xuezhou perform Crane Form Fist and considered whether Ren Yisheng could become a valuable ally to the Zhou Household.
• Zhou Yueyan noted that she wanted to try crane blood serum, then opened a livestream to pass the time.
• Several viewers entered Zhou Yueyan's stream, and one tipped her a hundred yuan.
• Lao Luo and Zhou So-and-so's Bleak Life joined the stream, and Zhou Yueyan recognized them from their accounts and familiar manner of speaking.
• Zhou Yueyan aimed the camera at the scene outside, where Zhang Xuezhou hopped through the woods and the viewers commented on his jumps.
• Lao Luo spotted Ren Yisheng in the camera view and asked why he was not doing research, while Zhou Yueyan realized she might have missed important information.