Chapter Summaries

Si Ming was ambushed by contestants who formed an alliance to eliminate him, then trapped in a formation that used illusions and warped light. He broke through their attacks and struck back at Gu Xinglie and another opponent, but a fourth contestant fired an arrow at the back of his head.

• Gu Xinglie and two allies lured Si Ming into their fight and attacked him together, while an archer watched from a distance.
• The attackers revealed they had joined forces because Si Ming’s strength and actions against Sun Wu University made him a target.
• Si Ming recognized the formation’s illusion and used the Fuxi Phoenix Arrival Dance to expose the real woman attacking him.
• Gu Xinglie intercepted Si Ming’s Mighty Vajra Palm, but Si Ming tracked the pair through the formation and unleashed Tiger-Roaring Emperor Fist.
• The distant archer fired an arrow toward the back of Si Ming’s head to save Gu Xinglie and his companion.

Si Ming defeated the alliance led by Gu Xinglie, then chose to embrace his fearsome reputation and hunt fighters across the island. At dusk, two fleeing martial artists hid from the powerful pursuer they believed was tracking them.

• Si Ming weathered Gu Xinglie's sword attacks and Deng Er's saber technique while their formation failed to overcome his defenses.
• Gu Xinglie ordered the group to retreat, and Si Ming shattered their formation and pursued Xie Jiaohan while the others abandoned her.
• The female archer surrendered her wristband to Si Ming, who decided to travel through all sixteen regions and challenge everyone he encountered.
• Si Ming appeared across the competition's broadcast screens as audiences watched his rampage.
• At dusk, a senior brother and junior sister fled through a forest, and the man warned her not to look back in case their pursuer had concealed his presence.

Si Ming hunted contestants on Smokeless Island, using his strength and the Heaven-Howling Art to take two more bracelets and exceed the survival threshold. On the second day, spectators discussed his improved championship odds, while Lord Yunxia rebuked a noblewoman for misreading his strategy.

• Si Ming tracked two fleeing contestants to a cave, knocked the woman unconscious, and defeated the sword-carrying man after he tried to resist.
• Si Ming took both contestants’ bracelets, bringing his divinity total to twenty-five after defeating nineteen people on the first day.
• Si Ming decided to rest overnight and hunt again the next day, when fewer contestants would remain and each would be worth more divinity.
• Blade-Wielding Boy announced that Si Ming’s championship odds had improved from eight to one to three to one.
• A noblewoman praised Si Ming for supposedly securing three days of rest, and Lord Yunxia rebuked her for misunderstanding his intentions.

Ying Zhou fought the Vast Azure Swordsman’s two disciples, Yuan Liang and Lü Mo, beneath a waterfall, where their teamwork and mastery of the water-rich terrain gradually wore him down. He launched a decisive saber strike against Yuan Liang, and the chapter ended as Yuan Liang met it with a desperate counterattack.

• Ying Zhou fought Yuan Liang and Lü Mo together as their coordinated sword techniques and water-element Primal Qi kept him on the defensive.
• Ying Zhou used Universal Radiance Illuminates the World to cut through Yuan Liang’s vortices and force him to retreat, while Lü Mo’s Void Sword Qi helped her partner recover.
• Yuan Liang urged Ying Zhou to admit defeat, but Ying Zhou rejected him and traded insults with Lü Mo.
• Ying Zhou activated his Asura Bloodline and proposed deciding the match with one move, catching Yuan Liang off guard.
• Yuan Liang unleashed Raging Tide Sweeps Up Snow, but Ying Zhou used Cloud Thunder Drums and Lightning Flashes to tear through the icy whirlwind.
• Yuan Liang suppressed his fear and swung his azure jade sword to meet Ying Zhou’s saber strike.

Ying Zhou and Lü Mo and Yuan Liang fought until Ying Zhou used poison to defeat them, after which he and Murong Wu took their bracelets. Si Ming arrived and learned that people called him the “World-Ending Mad Demon,” then considered how his reputation and his companions’ need for points affected their chances in the competition.

• Lü Mo joined Yuan Liang’s attack with Void Sword Qi, but Ying Zhou’s Conquest Demon Saber broke the Green Jade Sword and he defeated Yuan Liang with a poisoned strike.
• Ying Zhou argued with Lü Mo about fighting two against one, then whistled for Murong Wu, who arrived and accidentally knocked Yuan Liang underwater before rescuing him.
• Ying Zhou and Murong Wu took Lü Mo’s and Yuan Liang’s bracelets and absorbed their divinity.
• Si Ming landed at the waterfall, and Lü Mo recognized him as the World-Forgotten Mohist Luminary; Ying Zhou corrected her, saying his title was the World-Ending Mad Demon.
• Si Ming accepted that the new title might suit him, while Ying Zhou and Murong Wu warned that their stronger remaining opponents would make it difficult for the whole team to earn enough points.

Murong Wu found a mysterious diagram, while Fu Feng gathered contestants to ambush Si Ming but failed to locate him. As the group began to lose patience, Gaoyang Wuji warned Fu Feng that they might be walking into a trap.

• Murong Wu showed Si Ming and Ying Zhou a gold-traced diagram depicting a mountain and a golden-combed rooster, but they could not solve its meaning and decided to seek Yu Shuying.
• Fu Feng rallied dozens of contestants to trap Si Ming, promising to lead the bait and even give up his wristband to whoever contributed most.
• Fu Feng’s group waited for Si Ming and sent scouts to search nearby areas, but they found no trace of him for six hours.
• Contestants began leaving because they needed time to earn points before the deadline, and Fu Feng tried to persuade them to stay.
• Gaoyang Wuji stopped Fu Feng from letting a frustrated contestant leave, warning that the group might fall into a trap and criticizing Fu Feng for not investigating Si Ming.

Gaoyang Wuji concluded that Si Ming had vanished to make his opponents turn on one another, while Sun Zaizhi and the Martial King Cup spectators discussed the contestants and the arrival of Huang Yan. The chapter ended when three screens broadcasting the competition flickered and went blank.

• Gaoyang Wuji explained to Fu Feng that Si Ming had staged his disappearance to sow suspicion and provoke his enemies into fighting each other.
• Gaoyang Wuji announced that he was leaving with his people and warned Fu Feng to withdraw before the contestants’ rivalries erupted into a brawl.
• Sun Zaizhi celebrated that Gaoyang Wuji and the other Sun Wu University contestants remained in the competition, and teased several Spirit Transformation experts whose disciples had been eliminated.
• Huang Yan, the Hundred-Victory Military God and younger brother of the Nation of Valor’s emperor, arrived at the venue and greeted the guests.
• The spectators discussed why Huang Yan had come and noted that Si Ming’s enemies were fighting among themselves while he stayed out of sight.
• Three screens broadcasting the Martial King Cup flickered and went blank, prompting the spectators to wonder whether the signal had been disrupted.

Yu Shuying explained the treasure-map riddle to Si Ming, who realized the treasure might be the Military School's Profound Armor. When a mysterious formation began transporting people off the island, Si Ming and Yu Shuying suspected the Remote Heaven Society was targeting the Four Heavenly Divine Pillars, and Si Ming attacked a formation node to stop their own transfer.

• Yu Shuying explained that the rooster on the map represented a mountain whose shadow would look like a rooster at five in the afternoon, and reasoned that the treasure was likely the Profound Armor.
• Yu Shuying asked Si Ming to help her earn points and revealed that she had survived by poisoning food supplies.
• Si Ming and Yu Shuying watched pillars of light form a formation that transported away the spectators, including nearly a hundred Spirit Transformation Grandmasters.
• Yu Shuying and Si Ming suspected the Remote Heaven Society was behind the transfer and that its target was the Four Heavenly Divine Pillars, so Si Ming prepared to alert the Nation of Valor.
• A second formation began surrounding the island, and Si Ming used Star Core Decay Blazing Sun Descent against a formation node before the transfer could take them.

Si Ming and Yu Shuying discovered a demon tide approaching Smokeless Island and planned to gather its inhabitants, while Ying Zhou fought demon beasts and struggled against the influence of his saber. The island’s situation worsened as beasts broke through, and Ying Zhou regained control of himself and cleared the area around him.

• Si Ming told Yu Shuying that an immense demon tide was approaching, and they debated whether to flee for reinforcements or stay to help the island’s inhabitants.
• Si Ming chose to gather everyone, and he and Yu Shuying divided the island into search areas before agreeing to meet at the waterfall in the fourth district.
• A beetle-like demon beast attacked Si Ming and Yu Shuying, and Si Ming killed it before mantis-like beasts emerged around them.
• Si Ming and Yu Shuying kept their plan to gather the others, and Si Ming used Earth-Piercing Annihilation Tyrant Wave to create a powerful blast as a signal.
• Ying Zhou fought demon beasts with the Conquest Demon Saber, but its influence stirred his Asura Bloodline until Murong Wu’s mind-clearing incense helped him regain control.
• Ying Zhou used the Bodhi Heart Art and Wondrous Great Cloud of Compassionate Intent to clear his thoughts and sweep away the nearby demon beasts.

Ying Zhou and Murong Wu concluded that a demon tide had struck the island and set out to find Si Ming, but Ying Zhou encountered Xia Guanxue fighting a poisoned scorpion demon. Ying Zhou intervened and battled the demon, who revealed he had concealed his skill with the Demon Blade Art.

• Murong Wu suspected the island was in the grip of a demon tide and that something had happened to the competition's organizers.
• Ying Zhou and Murong Wu decided to find Si Ming, following the sounds of fighting to the south.
• Ying Zhou found the scorpion demon suppressing Xia Guanxue with its blades and poisonous tail, and stepped in to help.
• Ying Zhou clashed with the scorpion demon, whose armored tail resisted his saber and whose attacks left cuts on Ying Zhou's arm.
• The scorpion demon used Demon Blade: Gale Form and admitted he had pretended not to know saber techniques to catch his opponents off guard.

Ying Zhou and Murong Wu rescued Xia Guanxue from Jie Gou, but the scorpion yao escaped after a mysterious bombardment drew near. Si Ming arrived and began driving the poison from Xia Guanxue, though he warned that curing him would take too long while they still needed to escape the island.

• Ying Zhou attacked Jie Gou, but the scorpion yao resisted the poison and wounded Ying Zhou with his tail.
• Jie Gou tried to kill Xia Guanxue before fleeing, but Murong Wu struck him with Shennong Fist and Ying Zhou wounded him, forcing him to escape.
• Murong Wu injected Xia Guanxue with the island's general antidote, which stabilized him temporarily but did not cure the scorpion venom.
• Ying Zhou called out to the approaching Si Ming, who landed and learned that Xia Guanxue was poisoned.
• Si Ming used Blazing Sun True Qi to drive some poison from Xia Guanxue, then stopped because a full cure would take at least six shichen.

Si Ming gathered the surviving contestants and Martial King Cup staff beneath the waterfall, then proposed leading anyone willing to trust his orders. The group hesitated over his conditions, but Gaoyang Wuji and his companions joined Si Ming, leaving Fu Feng’s attempt to nominate a different commander exposed.

• Si Ming left Murong Wu and Ying Zhou to carry the poisoned Xia Guanxue toward the waterfall gathering point while he continued searching for survivors.
• Nearly sixty people gathered beneath the waterfall, and Si Ming realized that the many tournament staff among them made his planned breakout more difficult.
• Yu Shuying suggested targeting the Demon Race commander, while Si Ming argued that survival depended on trust and obedience to a commander’s orders.
• Si Ming told the contestants they could join him only if they followed his orders without question, and said those who refused could find their own way.
• Fu Feng tried to nominate Gaoyang Wuji as commander, but Gaoyang Wuji had already joined Si Ming with Hou Fei, Jin Ganggang, and their companions.

Murong Wu insisted on using his medicinal blood and a Divine Art to save the poisoned Xia Guanxue, despite Ying Zhou’s worries about the danger. Si Ming backed Murong Wu’s choice and then gathered the followers who had agreed to obey his commands as they prepared to break through the encirclement.

• Murong Wu argued with Ying Zhou that his duty as a doctor compelled him to risk weakening himself to treat Xia Guanxue.
• Si Ming learned that Murong Wu had cultivated the Hundred-Refinement Medicinal Body and confirmed that his blood might help purge the poison and extend Xia Guanxue’s life.
• Ying Zhou continued to object, but Si Ming challenged him to prove he could protect Murong Wu, and Ying Zhou agreed to let the transfusion proceed.
• Murong Wu explained that he could use the Blood Transfusion Art, a Divine Art granted through his worship of the Holy Mother of Eastern Yin and Kun Origin Who Saves Lives.
• Si Ming left to meet the followers gathered near the waterfall, where nearly forty people—about two-thirds of the group—had agreed to follow his orders.

Si Ming left Gaoyang Wuji in charge of the group while he raced toward the demon army to assassinate its commander. He pierced through the horde and reached the commander, who unleashed a giant-whale attack as Si Ming closed in.

• Si Ming explained his plan to kill the demon army's commander and told the others to follow Gaoyang Wuji while he was away.
• Gaoyang Wuji and the others came to respect Si Ming, while Si Ming recognized that Yu Shuying's plan had shaped their change of heart.
• Si Ming raced through the forest to the shore, assessed the demon beast army, and found its commander among the Demon Race experts.
• The Demon Race commander ordered his forces to stop Si Ming, but Si Ming broke through the horde and killed a mantis-armed demoness with a backhanded punch.
• The demon generals retreated to attack from range as the commander flew backward and launched Dragon Whale Raises a Hundred Tides at Si Ming.

Si Ming failed to kill the Demon Race commander and returned to the cave, where he prepared the survivors for a breakout before dawn. Yu Shuying revealed the Military School Profound Armor she had found, giving Si Ming a possible way to pursue the flying commander.

• Si Ming's attack on the Demon Race commander was interrupted by the commander's Hundred-Eyed Divine Light, so he pretended to be injured and escaped into the sea.
• Si Ming returned to the survivors' hiding place and announced they would break out before dawn.
• Yu Shuying removed a Blood Marrow Worm from a wounded fighter and warned everyone to avoid the giant bugs' blood and attacks.
• Si Ming told Yu Shuying that he needed Profound Armor to pursue the flying commander, and Yu Shuying showed him the Military School Profound Armor she had found.
• With Yu Shuying's help, Si Ming learned to put on the bulky armor, which included oversized leg and shoulder guards.

Si Ming tested the Military School Profound Armor, named it Lightning Zaku, and used it to draw the Demon Race’s forces away from the retreating group. Its amplified power let him devastate the demon beasts, and he then flew toward the Demon Race commander.

• Si Ming tested the armor’s weapons and flight system, then named the suit Lightning Zaku.
• Yu Shuying explained that Si Ming was trusted to use the armor because he had proven both his strength and loyalty.
• Si Ming entrusted Gaoyang Wuji with leading the group away through the mountain forest.
• Si Ming activated Lightning Zaku and drew the flying demon beasts toward himself as the group escaped.
• Si Ming’s amplified Blazing Sun Heavenly Saber strike burned and cut down the demon beasts, setting the island’s forest ablaze.
• Si Ming pursued the Demon Race commander, who tried to flee and ordered the other demon beasts to intercept him.

Si Ming killed the demon commander, who revealed that a human had targeted his companions, and Si Ming rushed back to them. At the shore, Ying Zhou and the others fought through a demon-beast ambush, and Ying Zhou went to rescue Lü Mo when Murong Wu urged him to help.

• Si Ming resisted the demon commander's Hundred-Eyed Divine Light, countered his Dragon Turtle Shatters a Thousand Waves, and killed him with a saber strike.
• The dying demon commander told Si Ming that a human had made a move against his companions, so Si Ming flew back toward them.
• Gaoyang Wuji and the others were overwhelmed by demon beasts at the shore, while Ying Zhou fought to protect Murong Wu and the unconscious Xia Guanxue.
• Ying Zhou spotted Lü Mo being dragged away by spider silk as Yuan Liang struggled against hornets, and Murong Wu told Ying Zhou to save her.
• Ying Zhou charged toward Lü Mo and tried to sever the spider silk with his saber Qi.

Ying Zhou rescued Lü Mo from the spider demon and rushed back to protect Murong Wu, while Xia Guanxue revealed he had recovered and severed Jie Gou’s scorpion tail. Ying Zhou arrived in time to save Xia Guanxue from Jie Gou, and the fight continued as Jie Gou tried to retreat.

• Ying Zhou cut through the demon beasts, freed himself from spider silk, killed the spider demon, and rescued Lü Mo.
• Lü Mo thanked Ying Zhou while Yuan Liang explained why he had not reached her sooner, and Ying Zhou hurried away after spotting Jie Gou attacking Murong Wu.
• Jie Gou broke through Murong Wu’s Qi defense and tried to bind him, but Xia Guanxue woke and severed the scorpion tail with his short sword.
• Jie Gou exploited a flaw in Xia Guanxue’s sword technique, but Ying Zhou blocked Jie Gou’s attack and struck him with lightning-like force.
• Xia Guanxue chased Jie Gou with Ghostly Gloom Sword Qi, and Ying Zhou brought down his demon saber as Jie Gou attempted to retreat.

Ying Zhou and Xia Guanxue killed Jie Gou, but Qin Wujun abducted Murong Wu and lured Ying Zhou into pursuit. Meanwhile, Xing Daozhuang learned the war had begun and discussed the Heaven-Defying Society’s plans with the Nether Lord.

• Ying Zhou and Xia Guanxue combined their attacks to defeat Jie Gou, whose poisoned blood left him vulnerable, and Ying Zhou killed him.
• Murong Wu explained that he had used toxins from Xia Guanxue’s body to trigger the deadly poison already inside Jie Gou.
• Qin Wujun appeared, knocked Murong Wu unconscious, and carried him away, telling Ying Zhou to follow if he wanted to save him; Ying Zhou gave chase.
• Xing Daozhuang watched the city and recognized that the war had begun before the Nether Lord arrived with a proposed list of allied forces commanders and recruits.
• The Nether Lord invited Xing Daozhuang to join the Heaven-Defying Society, but Xing Daozhuang refused and burned the list.
• The Nether Lord explained that the society had asked about the King of Monsters’ bloodline to help a new member pass his power to offspring, and claimed they had no plan to harm Xing Daozhuang’s side.

Qin Wujun tried to force Ying Zhou to embrace his Asura bloodline by trapping him in an illusion array and using the Conquest Demon Saber to overwhelm his mind. As Ying Zhou neared losing control and Qin Wujun moved to kill Murong Wu, Xia Guanxue attacked Qin Wujun, but her sword failed to pierce him.

• Qin Wujun confronted Ying Zhou after Ying Zhou brought the unconscious Murong Wu to a cliff, and the two argued over Ying Zhou's nature and his Asura bloodline.
• Qin Wujun activated an illusion array that trapped Ying Zhou in a vision of the River of Forgetfulness and surrounded him with vicious ghosts and wronged souls.
• Ying Zhou used the Prajna Demon-Subduing Heart Method to resist the illusion and suppress his bloodline's killing intent.
• The Conquest Demon Saber released its slaughtering saber intent, tipping the struggle against Ying Zhou and pushing him toward losing control.
• Murong Wu awoke and called out to Ying Zhou, so Qin Wujun prepared to kill him.
• Xia Guanxue struck Qin Wujun with her sword, but the blade stopped against his head as if it had hit iron.