Chapter Summaries

The Wang brothers confronted Ke Chajing and Hu Jixian, and Si Ming stood up to them before Chu Gengyin stopped a fight from breaking out. Back at the club, Chu arranged for the brothers to face Ke Chajing and Hu Jixian in the next day’s doubles match and secretly gave them pills to enhance their performance.

• Chu Gengyin greeted Ke Chajing’s team, but she condemned him for bringing the disgraced Wang brothers back onto the team.
• Wang Ya shoved Hu Jixian and taunted him, while Wang Qing and Wang Ya made threatening remarks toward Nie Wanzhi and the other women.
• Si Ming knocked Wang Ya down with a seemingly casual bump and mocked the brothers until Chu Gengyin intervened to prevent a fight.
• Ke Chajing challenged the Wang brothers to face her and Hu Jixian in the next day’s doubles match, and they accepted.
• Back at the martial arts club, Chu Gengyin acknowledged the Second Martial Arts Club’s strength and assigned the Wang brothers to the second match.
• Chu Gengyin gave the Wang brothers pills to take before the match, and they swallowed them while he explained how to conceal the drug use.

Chu Gengyin used the Wang brothers’ drug use to remove them from the Martial Arts Club and arranged a public story about his team deliberately losing, after realizing the Second Martial Arts Club was overwhelmingly strong. Meanwhile, Si Ming and Yuezheng Qiong gave their final street performance and agreed that Yuezheng Qiong would reveal her identity to the city.

• The Wang brothers returned to negotiate with Chu Gengyin, who secretly gave them banned pills while handing the other students legal energy pills.
• Chu Gengyin told the club members he would report the Wang brothers after the match, then privately admitted he was cutting them loose because the Second Martial Arts Club was far stronger than he had expected.
• Chu Gengyin ordered his aide to spread a rumor that Linked Mountains University’s Martial Arts Club planned to deliberately lose to the Second Martial Arts Club.
• Si Ming and Yuezheng Qiong performed for a crowd and a television crew, and Yuezheng Qiong told Si Ming they had been invited to perform at the closing ceremony.
• Yuezheng Qiong decided to reveal her identity after the performance, while Si Ming confidently predicted that the Second Martial Arts Club would win the championship.

Linked Mountains University’s Second Martial Arts Club faced rumors that its upcoming match against the First Martial Arts Club was fixed, while Chu Gengyin’s tactics fueled suspicion before their semifinal. Nie Wanzhi opened the contest with an overwhelming victory, and the chapter left the internal match underway.

• Hu Jixian told the Second Martial Arts Club that rumors claimed the First Martial Arts Club would deliberately lose to let them qualify, and Yu Shuying explained the campaign’s purpose.
• Ke Chajing refused Hao Shuai’s suggestion to secretly help the Glacier Martial Arts School, saying they would compete honorably.
• The Glacier Martial Arts School defeated Linked Mountains Medical and Martial University three to one, conserving key fighters for its match against the official martial arts club.
• Chu Gengyin encouraged both teams to fight without regrets while public suspicion spread, and his team sent a substitute to face Nie Wanzhi.
• Nie Wanzhi used the skills she had developed under Si Ming’s guidance to dominate her opponent and win the first match decisively.

Hu Jixian and Ke Chajing used Yu Shuying’s advice to expose the Wang brothers’ drug use and entered their match determined not to hold back. Their planned attack separated the brothers and put Wang Ya under pressure, but Wang Qing intervened with a dangerous strike at Hu Jixian.

• Yu Shuying told Hu Jixian that the Wang brothers had taken banned drugs and advised him and Ke Chajing not to show mercy.
• Hu Jixian and Ke Chajing ran to the edge of the ring, drawing the Wang brothers into a pursuit before Ke Chajing turned to attack Wang Ya with her Iron Refining Hand.
• Ke Chajing scorched Wang Ya’s hand and forced him back with the True Yang Vermilion Blaze Saber while Hu Jixian attacked Wang Qing with a series of kicks.
• Hu Jixian and Ke Chajing coordinated a front-and-back assault on Wang Ya, but his tiger’s roar weakened their attacks and he unleashed a temporary burst of strength.
• Wang Qing rushed to help Wang Ya and attacked the back of Hu Jixian’s head, leaving Hu Jixian instinctively aware that the blow threatened his brain.

At a naval base, Xing Daozhuang confirmed with a peacock-masked Remote Heaven Society representative that their Heaven-Breaking Scheme was ready to begin the next day. He noticed her nervousness and suggested she could still withdraw, leaving her unsettled.

• Xing Daozhuang met with a peacock-masked representative of the Remote Heaven Society at the naval base.
• The woman asked whether replicas of the Taicu Jade Zither had been placed for the Heaven-Breaking Scheme.
• Xing Daozhuang said he had positioned the replicas throughout Linked Mountains City according to the formation diagram and prepared backups.
• Xing Daozhuang noticed the woman was nervous and told her she could still withdraw and repent.
• The woman was startled that Xing Daozhuang had detected her unease despite her mask.

Peacock Woman reaffirmed her commitment to the Remote Heaven Society despite Xing Daozhuang’s warning that the Heaven-Breaking Scheme would make them enemies of the world. At the semifinals, Glacier Martial Arts School earned the second national tournament berth, while Si Ming prepared to perform with Yuezheng Qiong at the awards ceremony.

• Peacock Woman read Yan Jinghong’s letter, discussed his plans with Xing Daozhuang, and disappeared after Xing warned her that he would show no mercy once the scheme began.
• The Second Martial Arts Club defeated Linked Mountains Medical and Martial University, while Glacier Martial Arts School beat the Linked Mountains University Martial Arts Club 3–2 to qualify for the national tournament.
• Spectators discussed Linked Mountains University’s surprising results, and Chu Gengyin blamed the Second Martial Arts Club for setting him up after his team’s elimination.
• Yu Shuying explained that she had helped force the First Martial Arts Club to field an injured contestant in the decisive match, and Si Ming agreed the matter did not warrant further concern.
• Si Ming met Yuezheng Qiong, who wore a Vermilion Bird mask and brought a jade-green harmonica for their planned performance after the championship trophy presentation.

Si Ming and Yuezheng Qiong performed at the Martial Dao League awards ceremony, using the Taicu Harmonica replicas hidden throughout Linked Mountains City to draw the citizens’ beliefs toward the God-Sealing Platform and reveal a Heavenly Divine Pillar. Lin Qingtong and Wei Chunxi prepared to sever it as part of the Heaven-Breaking Scheme, while the city’s citizens prayed in a daze.

• Si Ming and Yuezheng Qiong performed masked at the awards ceremony, and the live broadcast carried their music throughout Linked Mountains City.
• The hidden Taicu Harmonica replicas resonated with the performance, leaving citizens dazed and sending their beliefs toward the God-Sealing Platform.
• A gigantic Heavenly Divine Pillar appeared above the platform, while the citizens repeated a prayer to sever it and defy heaven’s decree.
• Lin Qingtong and Wei Chunxi discussed the Heaven-Breaking Scheme and the lives it would sacrifice; Wei insisted that the cost was justified.
• Lin Qingtong readied the Fallen Sun Devil Saber, but Wei told her to wait until the divine pillar fully descended into their plane.

Yuezheng Qiong and Wei Chunxi helped destroy the Divine Pillar, while Lin Qingtong died in the backlash. Yuezheng Qiong revealed herself as a Remote Heaven Society spy and defeated Fifth Uncle, leaving the venue in chaos.

• Lin Qingtong released the Fallen Sun Devil Saber and struck the Divine Pillar with Wei Chunxi’s aid, but the pillar’s backlash shattered the saber and killed her; Wei Chunxi fled with her remains.
• Yuezheng Qiong attacked Si Ming while the crowd watched the Divine Pillar, then revealed her peacock mask and confessed that she had served the Remote Heaven Society.
• Yuezheng Qiong explained that she and Yuezheng Yao had secretly alternated as the masked performer, and said she had joined the Heaven-Breaking Scheme in exchange for greater strength.
• Fifth Uncle confronted Yuezheng Qiong and tried to capture her, but she overwhelmed him with the No-Void Sound Barrier and sent him crashing into the mountainside.

Yuezheng Qiong revealed that she had joined the Heaven-Defying Society and destroyed Su State’s divine pillar, while explaining her long-held resentment toward Yuezheng Yao. As Si Ming and Yuezheng Yao tried to stop her, the pillar’s destruction awakened the demon god sealed beneath the God-Sealing Platform.

• Yuezheng Qiong destroyed the divine pillar and told Si Ming she had joined the Heaven-Defying Society, then tried to leave.
• Yuezheng Qiong confronted Yuezheng Yao, explaining that she resented being pitied and treated as though her achievements were charity, before declaring herself Xinxi, the Sound Princess.
• Si Ming recovered enough to attack Yuezheng Qiong, and Yuezheng Yao joined him in trying to keep her from escaping.
• Yuezheng Qiong revealed that the divine pillars had sealed a demon god beneath the God-Sealing Platform and warned that destroying one would have consequences.
• The ground shook, rocks fell into the canyon, and the God-Sealing Platform bulged upward as something enormous began to emerge.

Yuezheng Qiong escaped after warning Yuezheng Yao that they would be enemies, while Si Ming stayed behind to save people and investigate the spreading demonic cocoon. As Xing Daozhuang faced a demonic beast invasion and the cocoon trapped thousands, the Explosive Little Fists production crew cautiously explored its interior.

• Yuezheng Qiong repelled Yuezheng Yao and fled, leaving Yuezheng Yao unable to stop her.
• Si Ming suppressed the underground disturbance, but monstrous growths spread across thirty li and trapped the crowd, including the Second Martial Arts Club.
• Si Ming sent Yuezheng Yao and Fifth Uncle to escape while he charged into the mass of plants and beast bones to find its source.
• Xing Daozhuang recognized the Withered Moth Emperor's presence and realized the Heaven-Defying Society had arranged a demonic beast attack to divert him.
• Xing Daozhuang ordered his forces to prepare for battle and told them to let any demon general through so he could handle it himself.
• The Explosive Little Fists production crew found themselves inside an empty chamber of the cocoon and began cautiously exploring its passages.

Mantou and the production crew fled through a strange nest as carcass-and-plant monsters attacked, while Lulu and the cameraman helped hold off their pursuers. Elsewhere, Ke Chajing and the Second Martial Arts Club fought an endless monster swarm and prepared to break out.

• Mantou spotted giant hornet-like monsters closing in and ran after the production crew, who had already fled.
• Lulu crushed the fastest monster with her Life-Taking Scissor Kick and warned Mantou to duck as a mantis-like monster attacked.
• The cameraman struck the mantis monster with his shoulder-mounted camera, knocking it into the pursuing hornets.
• Ke Chajing, Nie Wanzhi, Hao Shuai, Hu Jixian, and Chen Shimi defended themselves against waves of monsters near the nest wall.
• Ke Chajing told the others to prepare to break out and said she would use her ultimate move to open a gap.

Chen Shimi unleashed his transformed dragon claw and cut down the monsters before Murong Qing's group fought through the nest and discovered the real enemy was hidden beneath them. They broke into the lower level and found a pulsing cocoon whose presence seemed to combine Devil Qi and Yao Qi.

• Chen Shimi revealed his scaled, clawed arm and used Dragon Claw Form to slice the monsters in half.
• Yu Shuying mapped the nest and directed Murong Qing's group toward its core, where they fought through a vast horde of corpse monsters.
• Murong Qing froze the corpse monsters with her sword while Hongdou smashed them apart with Primal Qi.
• Liu Qingqing warned that the giant cocoon was empty, and Yu Shuying deduced that the true body was concealed beneath the nest.
• Murong Qing drilled through the floor with the Moon God's Tear, and the group descended into a lower nest.
• Yu Shuying examined the pulsing cocoon below and wondered whether it belonged to the Demon Race or the Devil Race.

Hongdou attacked the demon cocoon with karmic fire, freeing the Moth Empress and wounding her face. Si Ming arrived and struck the Moth Empress, but she returned and hit him with a beam of seven-colored aurora.

• Hongdou unleashed the Purple Primal Emperor Slash, burning through the cocoon's defenses and cutting into it.
• The Moth Empress emerged and attacked Hongdou, but Hongdou's defenses deflected her strikes and left a wound on her face.
• The Moth Empress created clones and launched an assault on Murong Qing and the others.
• Si Ming arrived and punched the Moth Empress, sending her through the cocoon's inner walls.
• The Moth Empress returned and blasted Si Ming in the back with seven-colored aurora.

Si Ming fought the Moth Emperor after she transformed into a giant golden moth, using Solar Prominence Eruption to keep up with her speed but failing to regain the upper hand. As his True Qi dwindled, Liu Qingqing and the others searched for a way to help, but her prophetic art could not reliably guide another person's attack.

• Si Ming struck the Moth Emperor twice, but she recovered quickly and transformed into a giant golden moth.
• The Moth Emperor attacked Si Ming too quickly for him to see, then blasted open the demon cocoon with her Light of the End; Si Ming narrowly escaped and counterattacked with the Great Brahma Sacred Palm.
• Si Ming activated Solar Prominence Eruption and could barely keep up with the Moth Emperor, who continued attacking with hundreds of clones while taunting him.
• Murong Qing, Hongdou, Liu Qingqing, and Yu Shuying watched the battle and discussed how they might help Si Ming.
• Liu Qingqing explained that her divine art could foresee an enemy's actions only for herself, so Hongdou's suggestion to attack where the Moth Emperor would appear would not work.

Si Ming and his companions wounded the Moth Emperor with a coordinated attack, allowing Si Ming to land a devastating ultimate strike, but she escaped. In the aftermath, Linked Mountains City mourned the many dead, while Si Ming and Yu Shuying discussed the Remote Heaven Society’s likely ties to powerful figures in the government.

• Liu Qingqing used her prophetic divine art to guide Murong Qing’s Moon God's Tear, powered by Hongdou, into severing half of the Moth Emperor’s wing.
• Si Ming seized the opening and struck the Moth Emperor with his ultimate move, badly injuring her, but she fled before he could catch her.
• The citizens of Linked Mountains City mourned the nearly ten thousand people killed in the calamity, and the Second Martial Arts Club saw Chu Gengyin remembered at a university memorial.
• Si Ming learned that Chu Gengyin had died after being separated from his teammates and overwhelmed by corpse monsters; Chen Shimi was recovering in the hospital after using his powerful claw strike.
• Si Ming told Yu Shuying and Murong Qing that the Remote Heaven Society’s objective had been exposed, and Yu Shuying suspected that a government insider, possibly an elder, belonged to the society.

Yu Shuying explained why powerful people might belong to the Remote Heaven Society, while Si Ming and Murong Qing discussed their plans to strengthen their cultivation. Yuezheng Yao revealed that the society planned to target the second Divine Pillar in France, and the following scene showed Hongdou pulling Si Ming toward a bath after a banquet.

• Yu Shuying theorized that the Remote Heaven Society drew its power from influential members who used separate public and criminal identities.
• Si Ming planned to strengthen his Jade-Clad Dharma Body, obtain the complete Nine Shao Pitch-Setting Art, and choose an internal cultivation method, while Murong Qing planned to resume training.
• Yu Shuying said weakened Eternal Barrier power had allowed rune technology to advance toward portable Profound Armor.
• Yuezheng Yao rushed in with a decoded message revealing that the Remote Heaven Society's next target, the second of the Four Heavenly Divine Pillars, was in the capital of France.
• After the birthday banquet, Hongdou pulled a reluctant Si Ming toward the Yuezheng Lineage mansion's bath, and he entered the changing room with her.

Si Ming bathed with Hongdou at the Yuezheng Lineage and struggled to control his attraction to her. The chapter ended with Hongdou asking to touch his chest so she could make her artwork more realistic.

• Si Ming admired the Alpine scenery and watched Hongdou undress before they went to bathe.
• Hongdou entered the bath first, and Si Ming followed her into the Yuezheng Lineage's steaming pool.
• Hongdou noticed Si Ming staring at her and asked if he wanted to touch her breasts.
• Si Ming insisted that he should restrain his desires, then realized his hand was already touching her.
• Hongdou asked to touch Si Ming's chest to study its firmness and elasticity for her artwork.

Ying Zhou told Murong Wu that Murong Wu and Si Ming would not be coming home for the New Year because they were focused on cultivation. He urged Murong Wu to become independent, though Murong Wu only looked at him with sympathy.

• Ying Zhou ended a phone call and unplugged the telephone before the caller could continue.
• Murong Wu asked whether his sister and Si Ming would come home for the New Year, and Ying Zhou confirmed that they would not.
• Ying Zhou said Murong Wu and Si Ming had become cultivation maniacs after realizing their weakness at university.
• Ying Zhou urged Murong Wu to learn independence and pointed to his own years living alone as an example.
• Murong Wu gave Ying Zhou a sympathetic look, which Ying Zhou rejected.

Ying Zhou’s father confronted him after Ying Zhou tried to advise Murong Wu to become more wolf-like. The encounter brought back Ying Zhou’s childhood memories of his father’s brutal training and the fear that had followed him ever since.

• Ying Zhou tried to persuade Murong Wu that a man needed greed, cruelty, and wildness, but Murong Wu questioned his reasoning until Ying Zhou fled the house.
• Passersby recognized Ying Zhou as the Claw King for clearing the shopping district’s claw machines of their dolls.
• In an alley, Ying Zhou encountered a refined man in a black trench coat who called him his son and said he had gone from a wolf to a dog.
• Ying Zhou remembered how his father had imprisoned and interrogated him, trained him to kill, and forced him to kill animals.
• Ying Zhou recalled escaping and helping the Mohist Knight Guard imprison his father for child abuse and murder, then remembered seeing a cat in his courtyard after returning to his empty home.

Ying Zhou encountered his father, Qin Wujun, who had been released from prison and revealed that he had controlled Ying Zhou’s life for years. When Qin Wujun tortured Murong Wu, Ying Zhou fought back and tried to escape with him, but Qin Wujun blocked their way while wielding a controlled, savage power.

• Qin Wujun explained how his prison achievements had earned him a reduced sentence and told Ying Zhou that he had arranged Ying Zhou’s life, including his time at the orphanage.
• Qin Wujun slapped Ying Zhou and seized Murong Wu after Murong Wu tried to protect him with a flying locust stone.
• Qin Wujun immobilized Murong Wu with True Qi and caused him pain to provoke Ying Zhou into resisting.
• Ying Zhou attacked Qin Wujun with the Five Demon Fists, used a feint to pull Murong Wu free, and surprised Qin Wujun with a powerful palm strike.
• Ying Zhou fled with Murong Wu, but Qin Wujun blocked the alley with a tiger-roaring punch and revealed his red-eyed, controlled savage power.