Chapter Summaries

Liang Zhenhuan won the first martial contest through a loophole in its rules, and Feng Liancheng faced Zhang Gen in the second contest by the river. Their battle escalated from arrows and spells to powerful techniques, leaving Feng Liancheng unleashing wind and thunder against Zhang Gen’s seven-arrow attack.

• Liang Zhenhuan refused to fight Chen Feiyan again, and Chen Feiyan left after losing the first contest.
• Si Ming praised Liang Zhenhuan and promised him the True Yang Vermilion Blaze Saber manual.
• Master Wuguo led the martial artists to a shallow river, where Feng Liancheng and Zhang Gen began the second contest on slippery rocks.
• Zhang Gen fired rapidly at Feng Liancheng, who evaded the arrow and summoned a golden-armored heavenly god for protection.
• Feng Liancheng’s spirit sword pressured Zhang Gen, but Zhang Gen used the Six Jade Finger Rays to knock it away.
• Zhang Gen readied seven arrows with the Big Dipper Soul-Hooking Technique, and Feng Liancheng answered by gathering wind and thunder before Zhang Gen declared his seven-arrow attack.

Zhao Jiaren faced Li Xunrong, the woman who had once transferred an Anomaly to him, in the third match between the Heavenly Martial Alliance and the aristocratic families. As their fierce duel continued, Si Ming suspected Zhao Jiaren’s lingering feelings would keep him from defeating her.

• Feng Liancheng defeated Zhang Gen after his arrows and quiver were destroyed, giving the Heavenly Martial Alliance the second match.
• Feng Liancheng thanked Si Ming for his advice on combining martial arts with spellcraft, while Si Ming concealed that he had secretly learned spellcraft’s general principles.
• Zhao Jiaren entered the flower-filled fighting ground and recognized his opponent, Li Xunrong, whose legs had recovered.
• Li Xunrong and Zhao Jiaren exchanged attacks, with her lightning-powered sword assault pressing against his calculated defenses.
• Si Ming explained that both fighters had Lightning-Attribute Dao Physiques and suspected Zhao Jiaren’s old feelings for Li Xunrong would prevent him from taking his chance to win.

Li Xunrong defeated Zhao Jiaren after he hesitated to strike her, giving the Aristocratic Family Alliance its first victory. Si Ming rebuked Zhao Jiaren for holding back and chose Kou Feng to fight next, where he expected to face Shen Wumian.

• Li Xunrong unleashed Nine Heavens Wild Thunder Rush, but Zhao Jiaren blocked most of its force with Thousand Crags Sword Wall and counterattacked as her Qi waned.
• Zhao Jiaren disarmed Li Xunrong but veered his sword aside instead of striking her, and she used the opening to knock him down with a palm strike.
• Master Wuguo declared the Aristocratic Family Alliance the winner of the third match, surprising the crowd.
• Zhao Jiaren admitted to Si Ming that he had not done his best, and Si Ming decided to teach him the Beast Blood Berserk Transformation.
• Si Shuiyun offered to fight next, but Kou Feng asked to face Shen Wumian over their old score, and Si Ming accepted.

The fourth martial contest was announced as a race to reach a rock pillar atop a cliff, and Hongdou volunteered to compete. Si Ming challenged Master Wuguo’s attachment to preaching compassion, injuring him through a clash of logic, and then noticed a mysterious ugly man among the aristocratic families.

• Master Wuguo announced that the fourth contest would be won by the first contestant to touch a rock pillar at the peak without flying or soaring.
• Si Shuiyun offered to compete, but Hongdou volunteered because she preferred a contest that did not require hurting anyone.
• Si Ming argued with Hongdou about seeking peace through strength and then questioned Master Wuguo’s attachment to delivering others.
• Master Wuguo suffered internal injuries and fell into a seated position after Si Ming’s words left him shaken.
• Si Ming sensed an unusual gaze and identified an ugly man who stood apart from the aristocratic families’ group.

Hongdou and Zhou Qian raced up a cliff in the climbing contest, where Zhou Qian attacked her and knocked her into a fall, but she survived by using a spatial technique. As Hongdou rapidly caught up again, Zhou Qian unleashed an avalanche of rocks at her, and the chapter ended with her swallowed by the rubble.

• The great families chose Zhou Qian to face Hongdou, and both contestants began climbing the cliff using their unusual abilities.
• Hongdou gained the climbing skill of a goat phantom and quickly caught up to Zhou Qian, who attacked her with his staff.
• Hongdou evaded Zhou Qian's attack, but he shattered the cliff beneath her and sent her falling.
• Hongdou used Boundary Wall Isolation to stop her fall, recovered, and resumed climbing as Si Ming and Si Shuiyun suspected the patriarchs had an undisclosed scheme.
• Zhou Qian triggered another collapse, and Hongdou continued climbing until the falling rocks swallowed her.

Hongdou defeated Zhou Qian in the climb, but he suddenly succumbed to poison and fell to his death, exposing the great families’ attempt to frame the Heavenly Martial Alliance. Si Ming and Master Wuguo recognized the scheme, and Si Ming admitted that the great families had won this round by preparing for an unexpected opportunity.

• Hongdou used Boundary Wall Isolation to stop Zhou Qian’s staff, overwhelmed him with her True Qi, and reached the summit of the stone peak.
• Hongdou offered to pull Zhou Qian up, but he began bleeding black blood and realized the Zhou family patriarch had arranged his poisoning.
• Zhou Qian lost his strength and fell to his death while Hongdou cried out in alarm.
• Si Shuiyun questioned how Zhou Qian had fallen, while Si Ming suspected the great families had staged the match to frame the Heavenly Martial Alliance.
• Master Wuguo recovered from his Qi deviation and told Si Ming that he had lost the round.
• Si Ming realized the great families had poisoned Zhou Qian in advance and seized the chance created by Master Wuguo’s inability to inspect the contestants.

After Zhou Qian’s death, Si Ming admitted to the accusation and declared the Heavenly Martial Alliance had forfeited the round, turning the noble clans’ attempt to shame them into a loss of face for themselves. With the contest tied two to two, Si Ming chose Si Shuiyun to face Shen Wumian in the fifth match, which would be a duel on the lake beneath the Yin River Waterfall.

• Hongdou told Si Ming she had not caused Zhou Qian’s death, and Si Ming promised to help her get even with the noble clans.
• The noble clans accused the Heavenly Martial Alliance of poisoning and killing Zhou Qian, but Si Ming brazenly accepted the accusation and declared his side had forfeited the round.
• Si Ming mocked the noble clans for being unable to fight back, leaving them unable to attack without breaking their agreement and losing face.
• Master Wuguo ruled the fourth match a loss for the Heavenly Martial Alliance, making the score two to two.
• Si Ming expected the noble clans to send Shen Wumian next and assigned Si Shuiyun to challenge him instead of Kou Feng.
• Master Wuguo set the fifth match as an ordinary duel on the lake beneath the Yin River Waterfall, where the only place to stand above the water was a small island.

Si Shuiyun fought Shen Wumian on the island, using her unorthodox techniques to surprise him before his Mystic Frost Sword Technique turned the battle against her. She regained the initiative with a hidden fist strike, but Shen Wumian’s ultimate sword move swept toward her as the chapter ended.

• Si Shuiyun opened with Saber Snake Phantom, but Shen Wumian drew the Crimson Snow Sword and used the Mystic Frost Sword Technique to counter her attacks.
• Shen Wumian adapted to Si Shuiyun’s style, drove her to the island’s edge, and defended against her Wolf Shadow Thousand Kills.
• Onlookers debated Si Shuiyun’s identity and cheered as she appeared to press Shen Wumian, though his defense gradually gained the upper hand.
• Shen Wumian knocked the Wave-Severing Dagger-Axe from Si Shuiyun’s grip, but she struck him with Stars Fall and Moon Sinks and recovered her weapon.
• Shen Wumian unleashed Sword River, Surging Snow, sending a wave of Mystic Frost Sword Qi toward Si Shuiyun as she formed a hand seal and sacrificed True Qi to invoke divine power.

Si Ming’s analysis of Shen Wumian’s swordplay helped Si Shuiyun turn their duel around, and she began driving him back with a fast, continuous style combining the Void Shadow Killing Technique and the Water Moon Precious Mirror. Shen Wumian unleashed a vast attack that split the island and froze the lake, leaving the fight at a decisive moment.

• Si Shuiyun rejected Shen Wumian’s question about why she was a maid and resumed their duel.
• Si Ming publicly explained the Mystic Frost Sword Technique, helping Si Shuiyun anticipate Shen Wumian’s moves despite Gu Changsheng’s objections.
• Si Shuiyun used her growing understanding of Shen Wumian’s swordplay to attack faster and wound his shoulder.
• Shen Wumian unleashed surging Mystic Frost Sword Qi, freezing the islet, but Si Shuiyun remained steady and pressed her attack.
• Si Shuiyun developed a continuous, simplified fighting style that forced Shen Wumian backward.
• Shen Wumian split the island with Sword Qi, took to the air, froze the lake, and invoked Jade Dragon Howls at the Snow Abyss.

Si Shuiyun defeated Shen Wumian in the fifth martial contest, winning respect from the Heavenly Martial Alliance while the aristocratic families turned against their champion. The sixth contest was set above the waterfall, and the aristocratic families proposed a ban on outside interference as they awaited Si Ming's decision.

• Si Shuiyun pierced Shen Wumian's chest with her Wave-Severing Dagger-Axe, and Shen Wumian conceded defeat rather than strike her after losing by an inch.
• Master Wuguo declared the Heavenly Martial Alliance the winner of the fifth match, while Shen Wumian's clansmen berated him for losing.
• Shen Wumian shot Sword Qi through the chests of the clansmen who insulted him, then sat down to heal.
• The Heavenly Martial Alliance praised Si Shuiyun, and martial artists began discussing what nickname suited her.
• Master Wuguo announced that the sixth contest would take place above the waterfall, where the first to land would lose.
• Gu Changsheng proposed that neither side interfere in the contest, and Master Wuguo asked Si Ming to decide whether to accept the rule.

Si Ming fought the great families’ chosen challenger, an exceptionally ugly man with profound internal cultivation, while concealing his physical strength. He repeatedly attacked with saber Qi, leaving his opponent puzzled when he simply switched hands after exhausting one.

• Si Ming refused the usual arrangement of three matches followed by a final trump-card battle and declared that he would fight the sixth match himself.
• The great families hesitated to challenge Si Ming after seeing Si Shuiyun’s strength, until an ugly man volunteered and warned them their chances of winning were slim.
• Si Ming and the ugly man climbed to the cliff above the waterfall, where Si Ming asked why the man was fighting for the great families; the man said he was interested in him.
• The ugly man tested Si Ming with a palm strike, and they discovered that the challenger’s internal cultivation was much deeper.
• Si Ming hid his divine strength and repeatedly sent True Yang Vermilion Blaze Saber Qi at the man, who blocked each wave with finger Qi.
• When the ugly man thought Si Ming’s True Qi was nearly spent, Si Ming switched hands and continued attacking.

Si Ming overwhelmed his disguised opponent with repeated blade Qi attacks but abandoned their duel after learning that the Monster Race was targeting Hongdou. His opponent revealed himself as a handsome monk, while monsters created chaos below by burying members of the great families beneath an earthen wall.

• Si Ming exhausted the ugly man's True Qi with repeated uses of Thousand Blades Scorching the Plains and shattered his Golden Bell Cover.
• The ugly man warned Si Ming that the Monster Race was targeting Hongdou because only the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King's blood relatives could kill him permanently.
• Si Ming stopped fighting and leaped off the cliff, pulling the ugly man down with him.
• Si Ming demanded that the ugly man remove his mask, revealing a handsome, bald monk.
• The Monster Race attacked the great families to create an opening to approach Hongdou, burying most of their gathered members beneath a massive earthen wall.

Anomalies attacked the gathered martial artists, and Si Shuiyun organized the Heavenly Martial Alliance's response while Hongdou fought off a series of assaults. Hongdou crushed a gigantic centipede with her Dragging Star-Piercing Seal, but a needle-wasp and shadow-wolf immediately attacked her.

• Trees, flowers, fruits, and the earth turned into anomalies and attacked the nearby martial artists, throwing the gathering into chaos.
• Si Shuiyun silenced the arguing alliance members, sent Duan Jinsu and Feng Liancheng to help the great families, and ordered the others to hold their positions.
• Needles rained from above, then the gathered people's shadows became snakes and beasts that targeted Hongdou; Si Shuiyun and Hongdou fought them off.
• A gigantic centipede erupted from the ground and lunged at Hongdou, while Wuguo blocked its charge and was injured.
• Hongdou used the Dragging Star-Piercing Seal to compress the centipede into a ball, but a giant needle-wasp and a shadow-wolf attacked her as she called out the Blazing Sun Heavenly Saber.

Si Ming and Xilai defeated the attackers and settled the contest in the Heavenly Martial Alliance’s favor, forcing the aristocratic families to honor their wager. Xilai asked to speak with Si Ming privately, but Si Ming remained wary of his reputation for attracting disaster and demanded a better explanation.

• Si Ming killed the needle wasp, while Xilai burned the shadow wolf to ash, then Si Ming defeated Xilai according to the contest’s rules.
• Xilai healed Master Wuguo, advised him about his cultivation, and introduced himself to Si Ming as Xilai, known as Calamity Tathāgata.
• Gu Changsheng publicly accepted the aristocratic families’ defeat and pledged to honor their wager with the Heavenly Martial Alliance.
• Xilai observed that Si Ming had used the contest’s delay to expand the alliance’s territory and surround the Zhang, Chen, and Gu families.
• Xilai asked to speak with Si Ming privately, but Si Ming refused because of Xilai’s reputation for bringing disaster and challenged him to convince him in one sentence.

Si Ming and Si Jingyu questioned Xilai about the Glazed Temple’s offer to help them return to the Sea Continent. Xilai admitted the temple had helped Illusion Ji escape the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King and had considered directing the Spirit King’s invasion toward the Sea Continent.

• Si Ming learned that Xilai was a gifted but controversial monk whose claims about the Sea Continent came from observing the Heavenly Martial Alliance and the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King’s earlier attempt to open a passage.
• Xilai explained that the Glazed Temple had a space-time treasure, but needed a special ritual to locate the Sea Continent, and Si Jingyu deduced that the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King held the ritual method.
• Si Jingyu asked whether Xilai had helped Illusion Ji reach the Sea Continent, and Xilai admitted that he had.
• Si Jingyu accused the Glazed Temple of encouraging the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King’s invasion, and Xilai admitted that the temple had considered diverting the threat eastward.
• Xilai argued that the Eternal Barrier would strip the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King of his supernatural powers and immortality, while Si Ming rejected his appeal to understand the temple’s desperation.
• Xilai said he had opposed the plan but that his senior martial uncles had insisted on it, while Si Ming watched him with hostility.

Si Ming questioned Xilai about the Glazed Temple’s failed plan and the Kings of Monsters, learning why the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King sought the Sea Continent and how the Anye Beast King revived. Xilai asked Hongdou to help kill the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King, but Si Ming defended her choice and secured Xilai’s promise that the Glazed Temple would not force her.

• Si Ming punched Xilai as punishment, then asked how the Glazed Temple planned to seal the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King, and Xilai described the Tower of Sealing as a deterrent.
• Xilai explained the Glazed Temple’s centuries of losses against the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King and revealed that the invasion plan had sought to draw him into the Sea Continent.
• Xilai described the Anye Beast King’s temperament and resurrection, saying that even destroying his body only delayed his return.
• Xilai asked Hongdou to help rid the world of the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King, but Si Ming said she should not be pressured to kill her grandfather.
• Xilai promised that the Glazed Temple would not force Hongdou to do anything against her will.

Si Ming, Hongdou, and Xilai traveled toward the Glazed Temple while Xilai explained his inheritance and weighed whether to ask Hongdou for help against the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King. Xilai diverted them to Dragon Gate Temple to confront the Buddha-Slaying Monk, but upon arrival he killed a monk at the gate, leaving Si Ming wary of him.

• Si Ming asked Xilai about reincarnation, and Xilai explained the Nirvana Heart Seal and revealed it was his secret lineage inheritance.
• Xilai considered whether Hongdou could be persuaded to risk her life against the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King, then decided to change their destination.
• Xilai told Si Ming about the Buddha-Slaying Monk and said he might attack Dragon Gate Temple; Si Ming agreed to help stop him.
• The three hurried to Dragon Gate Temple, where Si Ming sensed no fighting or blood before they entered.
• Xilai suddenly cut down the monk sweeping the temple entrance, and Si Ming stepped in front of Hongdou and watched him warily.

Xilai explained that the Glazed Temple had created the Buddha-Slaying Monk as bait to draw the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King into a trap, after Dragon Gate Temple’s monks willingly died at his hands. Si Ming agreed to join the operation, though Hongdou remained troubled by the sacrifice.

• Xilai killed all 103 monks of Dragon Gate Temple, including its abbot, as part of the Glazed Temple’s plan.
• Xilai told Si Ming and Hongdou that the Buddha-Slaying Monk was meant to earn the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King’s trust and lure him into a trap.
• Xilai explained that the Glazed Temple had informants among the Monster Race and had identified traitors within its own ranks to feed them false information.
• Hongdou questioned why the Glazed Temple had sacrificed its own monks instead of using a Monster Race spy as bait, but Xilai could not persuade her.
• Si Ming agreed to help eliminate the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King, despite disagreeing with Xilai’s methods.

Si Ming agreed to help the Glazed Temple disguise himself as the Buddha-Slaying Monk and learned several of its supreme arts. By the time he reached the Glazed Temple, he had mastered the Brahma Sea Asura Art in five days, astonishing Xilai.

• Si Ming agreed to help the Glazed Temple mislead the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King by impersonating the Buddha-Slaying Monk.
• Si Ming chose to learn the Brahma Sea Asura Art and the Tathagata Dharma Body, while Xilai explained the risks and difficulty of the temple's supreme arts.
• Si Ming began cultivating the Brahma Sea Asura Art during the journey and briefly struggled to control the surge of his demonic nature.
• Si Ming reached minor accomplishment on the third day and learned to restrain his demonic nature without help.
• Si Ming mastered the Brahma Sea Asura Art on the fifth day, and Xilai was stunned that Si Ming had surpassed his record.

Si Ming reached the Glazed Temple with Xilai and Hongdou, tested the newly mastered Brahma Sea Asura Art by stopping a runaway ma, and learned how its power worked. After Xilai explained why similar martial arts did not simply stack, Si Ming began considering whether techniques from other races could help him grow stronger.

• Xilai pointed out that the Glazed Temple was five li ahead as the group approached its vast grounds.
• Si Ming stopped a runaway ma with the Asura Divine Power and saved a fallen child from being trampled.
• Xilai explained that the Asura Divine Power was still developing and that it strengthened the bloodline rather than the flesh.
• Si Ming asked whether combining the Brahma Sea Asura Art with the Vajra Demon-Subduing Divine Ability could multiply his strength, and Xilai explained that overlapping training methods diminished their effects.
• Xilai said the two ultimate arts trained different aspects of the body, and Si Ming considered learning martial arts from other races to bypass human limits.