Chapter Summaries

Li Yang used the Tree Tower correctly and led her squad to an unusually abundant haul of Star Cores, including a rare one, then revealed that the Tree Tower belonged to the Agronomy Department. The chapter ended with Ying Qi promising to investigate and apologize if Li Yang was right, leaving the gathered Star Magic Department students stunned.

• Li Yang’s squad found eight Star Cores, including one rare and three excellent-grade cores, after she used the Tree Tower in a way that shocked the Star Magic Department students.
• Li Yang told the squad that the Tree Tower was the Agronomy Department’s, then divided the Star Cores and offered four ordinary ones to the Star Magic Department squad.
• Chu Runxi threatened to stop Li Yang, but Shen Shangchi intervened and warned him that harming a fellow student could bring military punishment and expulsion.
• Li Yang emerged from the Tree Tower and showed Fang Chuyun the four Star Cores she had kept, including the unappraised rare core.
• Ying Qi told Li Yang she would investigate the Tree Tower’s ownership and apologize if it really belonged to the Agronomy Department, shocking the gathered students.

Li Yang revealed that the Star Magic Department's Tree Tower belonged to the Agronomy Department, stirring outrage across Zhongdu Military Academy. After Si Kui retrieved the tower challenge record, Li Yang returned to the Agronomy Department and waited for the controversy to spread before making her next move.

• Li Yang told the crowd that her teacher, a senior from the Agronomy Department, had created the Tree Tower, while Spirit and Pill Department students mocked the Star Magic Department for claiming it.
• Si Kui retrieved the record of Li Yang's tower challenge and told her to return; Li Yang left the Star Magic Department using Hidden Shadow.
• News of the Tree Tower's ownership spread across the academy forum, where Star Magic Department students joined the criticism and posts began disappearing.
• Li Yang told her senior brothers and sister to let public opinion grow before revealing the challenge record, then went to have her Star Cores appraised.
• Si Kui examined Li Yang's Star Cores and remarked that she had obtained green ones as well.

Li Yang learned that she needed to kill a being with spiritual awareness to advance, and Si Kui warned her against relying on pills before helping her forget two dangerous Star Skills. The chapter ended with the Star Magic Department dean, Shen Binghua, calling to explain the Tree Tower dispute to Li Yang.

• Li Yang learned that her blue Star Core was beyond Si Kui’s ability to appraise, and Si Kui warned her that the golden Star Skills could devour her sea of consciousness.
• Si Kui explained that Li Yang needed to kill a being with spiritual awareness to advance and forbade her from using Realm-Breaking Pills.
• Li Yang chose to grow stronger, then spent 81 years of lifespan forgetting Invincible Sun Shield and Willow God's Binding.
• Shen Binghua called Li Yang and asked to meet, while Si Kui challenged her about what she wanted with her student.
• Shen Binghua told Si Kui that the Tree Tower belonged to the Agronomy Department and that she had maintained it because she could not bear to see Cheng Rui’s work wither.

Li Yang confronted Shen Binghua over the Tree Tower and established that Shen Binghua had no claim to it after separating from Cheng Rui. Shen Binghua agreed she had no intention of keeping it, but the costs and risks of maintaining the tower left Li Yang facing a difficult problem.

• Li Yang asked Shen Binghua to return the Tree Tower, and Shen Binghua explained that she had cared for it in memory of Cheng Rui.
• Li Yang pointed out that Shen Binghua and Cheng Rui had separated before his death, and Shen Binghua acknowledged the Tree Tower was not hers.
• Shen Binghua gave Li Yang a document detailing the tower’s upkeep costs, including expensive Phoenix Ling Soil and Bright Moon Water.
• Li Yang confirmed with Si Kui that the maintenance details were true and learned that Si Kui could not leave the Agronomy Department because it was suppressing a dangerous presence.
• Shen Binghua waited as Li Yang considered the tower’s upkeep, while Li Yang realized that obtaining the necessary materials might be difficult even with money.

Li Yang rejected Shen Binghua’s offer to rent the Tree Tower, insisting that the Star Magic Department return the Agronomy Department’s secret treasure. She then explained to Si Kui how the rental deal could let the Star Magic Department occupy it permanently and proposed charging students an admission fee instead.

• Shen Binghua offered Li Yang unrestricted access to the Tree Tower and ten thousand Merit Points a year if the Agronomy Department rented it to the Star Magic Department.
• Li Yang refused the offer and demanded that Shen Binghua return the Tree Tower to its rightful owner.
• Shen Binghua warned Li Yang that the Agronomy Department could not operate the tower and admitted she could delay handing it over, but Li Yang stood firm.
• After Shen Binghua left, Si Kui asked why Li Yang had refused, and Li Yang explained that the Star Magic Department could use excuses to avoid future rent payments.
• Li Yang proposed changing the arrangement into an admission fee so the Agronomy Department could retain control of the Tree Tower and charge students who entered it.

Li Yang posted the Tree Tower recording and a detailed guide to prove that the Agronomy Department knew how to use the tower properly, turning the school forum against the Star Magic Department. She ended by publicly demanding that Shen Binghua return the tower, while students continued debating the evidence.

• Li Yang posted a public demand for the Star Magic Department to return the Tree Tower, and Shen Binghua told her vice dean to ignore it and stall.
• Li Yang released a recording of her tower run, showing her gathering and defeating star plants while the Star Magic team chased her.
• Li Yang posted a guide explaining the Tree Tower's history and mechanisms, including how Agronomy Department students could obtain more and rarer Star Cores.
• Students on the forum rallied against the Star Magic Department, though some questioned whether the video was genuine.
• Li Yang explained that the Tree Tower recorded its three most recent runs for Agronomy Department teachers to review, prompting further discussion about the tower's functions.

Li Yang countered Shen Binghua’s defense of the Star Magic Department’s control over the Tree Tower by proposing to return it to the Agronomy Department and presell tickets to fund its maintenance. The story left Shen Binghua facing pressure from the Masters as Ying Qi publicly apologized to Li Yang and her family reserved the first batch of tickets.

• An Agronomy Department student explained how department marks in students’ mental seas identified them and granted access to the Tree Tower’s functions.
• Shen Binghua posted her account of the Tree Tower dispute, portraying herself as helpful and Li Yang as unreasonable, which reignited criticism of Li Yang on the forum.
• Li Yang said she had rejected Shen Binghua’s offer for the department’s sake and proposed returning the Tree Tower to Agronomy while preselling tickets for maintenance funds.
• Ying Qi asked her great-grandmother whether the Star Magic Department had taken Agronomy’s treasure, then decided to apologize to Li Yang after reading the forum.
• Old Madam Ying posted Ying Qi’s apology and offered Phoenix Ling Soil and Bright Moon Water, announcing that the Ying Family would reserve the first batch of presale tickets.

Li Yang appraised several Star Cores, learned defensive and offensive Star Skills, and improved her proficiency while spending much of her lifespan. The next day, onlookers gathered at the Agronomy Department to witness the Tree Tower's return, but Li Yang rushed toward the wheat field with a sickle first.

• Ying Qi's post prompted Shen Binghua to accept the vice principal's order to return the Tree Tower to the Agronomy Department.
• Li Yang appraised three green Star Cores and learned Earth Spike, Light Blade, and Wood Shield, then spent more lifespan to appraise a blue Star Core.
• The blue Star Core revealed the defensive skill People Need Face, Trees Need Bark, which Si Kui found highly compatible with Li Yang and told her to comprehend.
• Si Kui advised Li Yang to use Wood Shield to conceal the bark skill and Light Blade in a combat combo, and Li Yang raised the proficiency of her skills.
• Li Yang's remark about spending a thousand years in the First Grade Realm made the Ninth-Grade Lianxin tremble, but Si Kui detected nothing when she investigated.
• The next morning, people gathered outside the Agronomy Department to watch the Tree Tower's return, while Li Yang grabbed a sickle and hurried toward the wheat field.

Li Yang waited for the Star Magic Department to return the Tree Tower while harvesting wheat, then sought a bounty mission to help her break through to Second Grade. She joined Teaching Assistant He Song’s recruitment team and learned that his parents had taught in the Agronomy Department before dying in battle in the Astral Realm.

• Li Yang stayed patient as the Tree Tower’s return was delayed, while the Ying Family secured next year’s access by giving her Phoenix Ling Soil and Bright Moon Water.
• After harvesting wheat, Li Yang went to the mission office and searched Second Grade bounty missions for a cultist she could kill to advance.
• Li Yang applied to He Song’s team mission and met him at a campus teahouse to discuss joining the hunt.
• He Song recognized Li Yang as the former Donghua Province top scorer and said his parents had taught in the Agronomy Department before dying in the Astral Realm.
• Li Yang asked He Song why he had not joined the Agronomy Department.

Li Yang joined He Song's team for a dangerous operation to infiltrate a cultist gathering and kill its leader and three deputies. After the team reviewed the plan and introduced their Star Skills, Li Yang began describing her own.

• He Song explained that the team would attack a cultist hideout in two days, with city defense forces drawing attention from the front while the team struck from the rear.
• Li Yang agreed to join the mission after He Song warned her that the team would prioritize safety over helping her break through.
• He Song called the other three teammates to the teahouse, and Li Yang met Zhan Fei, Wang Zaishan, and Sun Anmo.
• He Song sent the operation details to the team chat and explained the battle plan to everyone.
• Zhan Fei, Wang Zaishan, Sun Anmo, and He Song introduced their Star Skills to help Li Yang understand how they could coordinate.
• Li Yang confirmed she had comprehended the blue Star Skill from the Tree Tower and began introducing her four Star Skills.

Li Yang revealed her Star Skills and explained that she had chosen the Agronomy Department simply because she loved studying Star Plants, then prepared with her team for a mission against cultists. After Shen Binghua returned the Tree Tower, Li Yang demanded that she protect her during the upcoming mission, warning that Si Kui would blame Shen if Li Yang died.

• Li Yang clarified that she had two blue and two green Star Skills, and He Song explained that Dean Si was a Half-Step Supreme who had given her one of them.
• Li Yang said she had joined the Agronomy Department because she liked agronomy, prompting He Song to reflect on why Dean Si had reassigned him to the Star Combat Department.
• The five discussed their battle plan and arranged to meet the city defense forces in two days to encircle and eliminate cultists.
• Shen Binghua arrived late at night to return the Tree Tower to Si Kui, but Li Yang stopped her before she could leave.
• Li Yang argued that Shen Binghua would be suspected if anything happened to her off campus and asked Shen to protect her during the mission.
• Si Kui threatened to retaliate against the Star Magic Department if Li Yang were killed, while Shen Binghua angrily challenged Li Yang's demand.

Li Yang prepared for her first mission against a cultist gathering while Shen Binghua realized she might have to protect her after leaving the academy. At the abandoned factory, Li Yang and her companions entered the cultists’ gathering and found a horrific blood ritual underway.

• Li Yang forced Shen Binghua to accept responsibility for protecting her, and Shen Binghua later worried that Li Yang might be killed and the blame pinned on her.
• A hidden group arranged for Red Scorpion to ambush Si Kui’s personal disciple and companions, intending to frame Shen Binghua and provoke Si Kui.
• Li Yang studied mission advice, bought and upgraded weapons and healing pills, then joined He Song, Wala Bro, and Zhan Fei for the operation.
• He Song’s group coordinated with the City Defense Army and moved toward the cultists’ gathering at an abandoned factory as the diversion began.
• Li Yang entered the factory with her companions and saw six young boys tied to pillars around a blood-soaked altar, while He Song charged at the Third Grade hall master.

Li Yang and her teammates fought the cultists after their leader gained twelve Star Apertures and advanced to the Third Grade High Stage. Li Yang helped defeat two deputies, and she and Sun Anmo joined the others against the wounded leader while Red Scorpion waited in hiding for a chance to kill them.

• Zhan Fei and the others held off the Second Grade deputies while He Song fought the strengthened cultist leader, who wounded him badly.
• Li Yang shielded He Song from an attack, allowing him to strike the leader and inflict a serious wound.
• Red Scorpion watched from hiding and planned to kill Li Yang and her teammates after their fight, but he could not see through her Hidden Shadow.
• Li Yang distracted the Peak Second Grade deputy attacking Cool and Dashing Sis, endured his saber strike, and killed him with Light Blade.
• Li Yang helped Wala Bro defeat another deputy, then joined him and Cool and Dashing Sis in supporting He Song against the wounded leader.
• Sun Anmo killed her opponent, and she and Li Yang rushed to join the fight against the leader.

Li Yang and her teammates survived a deadly mission after she shielded them from a cultist leader’s self-destruction and Shen Binghua defeated a Fifth Grade attacker. Back at school, Li Yang reunited with Si Kui, still wondering who had sent the attacker.

• Li Yang used Wood Shield and Bark to knock the self-destructing cultist leader away from her teammates, then survived the blast with severe injuries.
• A masked Fifth Grade Star Wielder called Red Scorpion appeared and immobilized the team, but Li Yang called for Teacher Shen.
• Shen Binghua arrived and attacked Red Scorpion, who self-destructed; she protected the students from the blast and survived unharmed.
• The team returned to school, thanked Li Yang for saving their lives, and wondered why the mission had gone so wrong.
• Li Yang returned to the Agronomy Department, where Si Kui examined her; Li Yang threw herself into her teacher’s arms and pretended to cry while worrying over who had sent Red Scorpion.

After Li Yang persuaded Si Kui to calm down and pushed Shen Binghua into the investigation, she asked Si Kui about the Agronomy Department’s past and learned how the Astral Realm connected different realms. Si Kui explained that Huaxia’s main city in the Astral Realm protected its people from other realms, while humanity’s ability to consume many kinds of life made it both dangerous and isolated.

• Li Yang calmed Si Kui by pretending to cry, then blamed the attempted assassination on Shen Binghua’s enemies and pressured Shen Binghua to investigate.
• Shen Binghua left in a rage, while Si Kui mocked her reluctance to get involved; Li Yang said Shen Binghua could no longer avoid being implicated.
• Li Yang asked Si Kui what had happened to the Agronomy Department, and Si Kui agreed to explain the Astral Realm because Li Yang would soon be strong enough to enter it.
• Si Kui explained that the Astral Realm connected multiple realms and that each realm’s main city guarded the entrance back home; if Huaxia’s city fell, its people would be prey to invading creatures.
• Si Kui told Li Yang that humans could absorb Starlight from almost any living thing, but their broad diet made other realms see humanity as a threat rather than an ally.

Si Kui told Li Yang how the Nature Department’s rise led to an invasion, the deaths of its disciples in an ambush aided by a traitor, and the Star Nexus Pavilion’s refusal to investigate further. Li Yang decided to rebuild the department openly by recruiting prominent families’ children and using her strength to draw support, beginning with the monthly exam.

• Si Kui explained that the Agronomy Department was called the Nature Department in the Astral Realm, where its cultivation philosophy and Tree Tower had helped students grow powerful.
• Si Kui recounted how the Fenglie Clan and other realms invaded twenty-eight years earlier, and how the Nature Department’s disciples won at Starport City before dying in a Huoxing Clan ambush on their journey home.
• Si Kui revealed that someone in Huaxia’s main city had provided false intelligence and a fatal route, and that the Fifth-Grade Star Wielder who attacked Li Yang had been sent by the same hidden enemy.
• Li Yang learned that the Star Nexus Pavilion had discouraged Si Kui’s investigation and warned that Si Kui and Shen Binghua could not protect her in the Astral Realm.
• Li Yang proposed expanding the Nature Department by recruiting children of prominent families and proving its strength at the monthly exam.

Li Yang advanced to Second Grade and planned to recruit prominent students to the Nature Department, while Si Kui considered risking her Ninth-Grade breakthrough. After Li Yang’s friends learned she had saved He Song’s group, she left Yu Hongyuan responsible for gathering monsters in the Tree Tower.

• Li Yang told Si Kui she would persuade prominent family heirs to join the Nature Department, and Si Kui watched over her as she began cultivating.
• Si Kui considered swallowing the Ninth-Grade Lianxin to advance, despite the risk of becoming stuck at Early Ninth Grade.
• Li Yang broke through to Second Grade after meditating overnight and joined the Agronomy Department for breakfast.
• He Song and his companions thanked Li Yang for saving their lives and recounted how she had helped them escape a Peak Third Grade cultist.
• Li Yang left a note telling Yu Hongyuan to gather monsters for the Agronomy Department in the Tree Tower, and He Song offered to train him.

After reaching the Second Grade Realm, Li Yang spent hundreds of years of lifespan raising her physique, then sought a way to earn more by fighting mutated plants in the practical combat training room. She discovered that First Grade plants now yielded only a month of lifespan, while stronger Second Grade plants yielded more, leaving her worried about her wheat harvest.

• Li Yang learned that raising her physique had become extremely costly, spending 600 years to reach 470 points before stopping with only 123 years left.
• Li Yang called He Song, learned about the practical combat training camp, and received 60 merit points from the bounty mission reward.
• Li Yang paid to enter the practical combat training room and killed a Second Grade Initial Stage mutated plant, earning ten years of lifespan.
• Li Yang killed First Grade mutated plants and found each gave only one month of lifespan, then confirmed that Second Grade Middle and High Stage plants gave 20 and 30 years respectively.

Li Yang decided to minor in the Pill Department so she could access Agronomy research and earn money, and she applied just before the deadline. She arrived for the assessment with nearly a hundred other students, carrying the department’s required equipment and hearing complaints about its costs.

• Li Yang learned that plants below her realm yielded little lifespan, and that the Agronomy Department’s former research institute had been reclaimed and sold to the Pill Department for 500,000 merit points.
• Li Yang chose to apply for a Pill Department minor, hoping to find cultivation records and eventually earn money refining pills.
• Li Yang researched the minor options and submitted her application on the final day, then received notice to attend the assessment and buy the required equipment package.
• Li Yang paid ten merit points for the assessment equipment and arrived early at the Pill Department, where nearly a hundred applicants had gathered.
• Applicants complained that the Pill Department’s equipment was poor and costly, while one student reminded them that they had signed up because the department could make money.

Li Yang took the Pill Department’s talent test after Xi Yu earned an S-rank rating and drew a crowd’s attention. The scanner rated her F-rank, but she accepted the result and prepared to continue to the remaining assessments.

• Xi Yu tested as S-rank in pill talent, and the Pill Department teaching assistant invited him to discuss transferring after the assessments.
• Li Yang stepped up to the scanner, where students recognized her as the Tree Tower Plunderer and speculated that she would earn a high rating.
• The scanner rated Li Yang F-rank, shocking the students and prompting the teaching assistant to suspect a device error.
• Li Yang asked whether she could still take the remaining assessments, and the teaching assistant said she could before directing students to the examination venue.