Great

The highest openly acknowledged rank in the Ao-Jing Sect, reached after three Dung-Beetle Ascensions; previously thought to be a title exclusively used by Zuowandao impostors.

Definition

The highest openly acknowledged rank in the Ao-Jing Sect, reached after three Dung-Beetle Ascensions; previously thought to be a title exclusively used by Zuowandao impostors.

Story context

The Zuowandao have gone conspicuously quiet, and Li Huowang’s paranoia sharpens to a razor’s edge. While the chapter may seem like a transitional breather—travel, inn stops, awkward new worshipers—it actually drops a lore bomb that quietly reshapes everything we thought we knew about the *Thousand Greats Record*. Li Huowang discovers that three Dung-Beetle Ascensions have altered his relationship with Bashe at a fundamental level. He no longer needs the book. He *is* the offering point. And while that sounds like a power-up in any normal xianxia, here it feels like moving one chair closer to the furnace.

Why it matters

If this chapter feels strangely quiet, that’s exactly the point. The calm before a storm is a staple of the genre, and here the silence of the Zuowandao is *deafening*. Li Huowang’s logic is airtight: they tried small strikes, got nowhere, and are now probably rolling out the heavy artillery—the Four Joys. But the bigger gut-punch is the personal cost. Li Huowang gets a power-up he never asked for, one that moves him closer to the entity he least wants to be close to. Every “advantage” in this novel comes with a shadow. Enjoy the breather, reader—the butcher’s knife is definitely being sharpened off-screen.