Xi Xuan Shang calling the sword spirit “Fairy Sister” even after being corrected is just adorable. The heroine’s deadpan response “I’m a sword spirit” and him going “Fairy Sister” anyway shows a cute dynamic. It makes me anxious though because we know he’s supposed to become a bloody demon later.
The reveal of the top of the Hidden Dragon List is perfectly executed. Peng Feng? Who the hell is that? Five Tigers Broken Door Saber? It sounds like a joke! The strategist saying the technique has a move called "Black Tiger Pounces on the Heart" absolutely killed me. The sheer disbelief from everyone that a nobody from a ninth-rate sect beat out all the elites of the capital and the military is exactly the kind of chaos I wanted to see.
I have a slight worry about the pacing slowing down now that he’s in the academy. The high school test was a perfect mini-arc. But now he’s entering the big school. There could be dangerous competitive arcs, training arcs, and wars against zombies. The story could become bloated if it becomes "Xu Yi goes to school and fights bullies." I really hope they jump straight into the zombie hunting. The condition to kill ten Purple Zombies is a perfect mission statement for the next arc. No schoolyard drama, please. Let’s get to the hunting and the cultivation.