Chapter Summaries

Si Ming fought Mengying and his allies in a decisive clash of ultimate moves while Si Huaruo and Ying Zhou battled Hujia. The fight left Si Ming injured and ended with Hujia capturing Ying Zhou and threatening to kill him.

• Si Ming charged Mengying through the insect swarm, then began gathering power for an ultimate move as the formation's cold weakened Mengying.
• Mengying, Xu Ming, and Shentu Chuang unleashed their attacks against Si Ming, who answered with Nine Suns Return to One, Formless Tathagata.
• The clash injured Si Ming and forced him back, while Mengying realized that Si Ming's real target was Hujia.
• Si Huaruo used the freezing formation to outmaneuver Hujia and wear down his Cultivation Body as Ying Zhou harried him from the side.
• When Hujia appeared frozen, Ying Zhou attacked, but Hujia trapped the Conquest Demon Saber in his scissors and seized Ying Zhou.
• Hujia threatened to kill Ying Zhou unless Si Huaruo came to him.

Murong Qing fought Youtong in the snow and gained the upper hand through her swordsmanship and unwavering confidence. Ling Huanxi stopped Youtong from escaping, and Murong Qing’s ultimate move cornered the wounded demon marshal, who faced a surprise attack from behind.

• Murong Qing and Youtong exchanged sword attacks until Murong Qing shattered Youtong’s demonic sword and pierced her heart.
• Youtong fled as a mass of shadow, but Ling Huanxi sealed Shiying and used her ice phoenix spear to force Youtong back into view.
• Murong Qing unleashed Stars Sway, Moon Stands Alone, Shadows of a Thousand Mountains, while Youtong gouged out her eyes and fired poisonous black blade currents at the sword clones.
• Murong Qing’s clones overwhelmed Youtong’s defenses, and one circled behind her as she prepared to sacrifice her wrist to escape.

Si Ming’s group nearly defeated Demon King Mengying’s forces, but a giant centipede broke the formation and helped the enemies escape. After the battle, Si Ming met Ji Shichen, a Heaven’s Will Palace ally, and approached her while she read by a stream.

• Murong Qing killed Youtong with her Vast Cold Immortal Sword Art, while Si Ming killed Hujia and urged the remaining enemies to surrender.
• Mengying’s forces fled when a giant centipede smashed through the formation, knocking Si Ming aside and disappearing underground.
• Si Ming learned that the formation’s keeper was Ji Shichen, a chief priest of the Mohist Religion and fellow member of Heaven’s Will Palace.
• Yu Shuying explained that she had summoned Hualiu to bring reinforcements, though Ji Shichen and the class monitor had arrived instead.
• Si Ming found Ji Shichen reading beside a stream and asked what book she was reading.

Ji Shichen visited Si Ming to discuss his novels and her plans to write a fanfiction, while Si Ming learned that her reading tastes included stories about male characters. After checking the group’s injuries following their battle, Si Ming saw Ying Zhou prepare to leave so he could repair his damaged saber.

• Ji Shichen admitted that she was reading a naughty book and offered it to Si Ming, who accepted before later returning it.
• Ji Shichen asked Si Ming about romantic interpretations of characters in his Three Kingdoms novels and explained that she wanted permission to write a story about Zhou Gongjin, Zhuge Kongming, and Sima Zhongda.
• Si Ming explained parallel worlds to Ji Shichen, who said his novels had inspired her to write stories about their characters.
• Si Ming checked the group’s injuries and found that Murong Qing’s wounds were mostly external, while her victory over a Demon Marshal had greatly advanced her cultivation.
• Ying Zhou asked to leave the group so he could have his damaged Conquest Demon Saber repaired.

Xing Daozhuang’s allied forces prepared to launch a decisive assault after secretly poisoning most of the Demon Race’s demonic beasts with Wu Xiu’s Blood-Rupturing Powder. As battle erupted, Xing Daozhuang wrestled with the burden of his heroic identity and the risk that his true allegiance to the Monster Race would be exposed.

• Xing Daozhuang’s officers and Spirit Transformation Grandmasters waited anxiously for the appointed time, while Lord Yunxia and others praised his strategy and Wu Xiu’s poison.
• Xing Daozhuang’s plan had used Si Ming as bait to distract the demon king while the allies poisoned the demonic beasts and completed their preparations.
• Xing Daozhuang ordered the commanders of every military district to begin the all-out assault, and messengers sent the signal.
• The allied forces launched their attack with drums, explosions, and battle cries filling the air.
• Xing Daozhuang reflected on his decades-long disguise and feared how people would react if they learned he belonged to the Monster Race, then overturned the sand table.

Wu Xiu and Xing Daozhuang stopped the Demon King Mengying’s surprise attack on the central army, though Lord Yunxia was badly wounded. Xing Daozhuang’s Eight Clouds Purple Thunder Halberd injured Mengying, who launched another swarm of insects at him.

• Six demon generals attacked Xing Daozhuang, but Wu Xiu poisoned them with Three Paths Gu and destroyed their bodies with a catalyst.
• Mengying’s insect swarm overwhelmed Lord Yunxia’s defenses and left her covered in venomous bites.
• Xing Daozhuang summoned the Eight Clouds Purple Thunder Halberd and struck through the swarm with Startling Thunder Drinks the Rainbow.
• The lightning burned many insects and wounded Mengying, who re-formed and asked the halberd’s name.
• Mengying sent another vast swarm of insects toward Xing Daozhuang, accompanied by a mind-rending noise.

After the allied army routed most of the demon beasts, Yu Shuying warned that the Nation of Valor would face greater pressure as the Demon Race concentrated its forces there. Si Ming then disguised himself to investigate the Divine Pillar and discovered how to create a face-blindness effect by manipulating light.

• Shi Yuan struck the centipede Demon Marshal with his hammer, shattering its carapace and leaving it unable to rise.
• Xing Daozhuang fought Mengying until reinforcements approached, forcing Mengying to flee with the wounded centipede.
• At a secret Mohist Knight Guard base, Yu Shuying explained that poison made from Wu Xiu had routed the demon army, but the Nation of Valor would likely be left to face the remaining demons alone.
• Si Ming questioned whether his slight disguise could fool others, and Ji Shichen explained how True Qi could blur the light reflected from a person's face.
• Si Ming realized his Blazing Yang Battle Art could manipulate light and began trying to create a face-blindness effect.

Si Ming and his companions infiltrated the Nation of Valor to investigate the Divine Pillar, while Yu Shuying suspected that an influential traitor was spreading news to undermine Ba Shenhuang. Ji Shichen found no sign that the Remote Heaven Society had acted, but Hualiu sensed a sealed presence beneath the pillar, possibly a King of Monsters.

• Si Ming struggled to disguise his face, then joined the others as they left the Mohist Knight Guard's hideout and traveled through the city unnoticed.
• The group heard that someone inside the Nation of Valor was spreading news of the allied forces' victory, and Yu Shuying suspected the person sought to weaken Ba Shenhuang or distract troops from the Divine Pillar.
• Si Ming's group reached the military-controlled Divine Pillar site and entered its core area after knocking out the soldiers guarding it.
• Ji Shichen used the Steps of Yu to investigate and found no abnormalities, estimating that the Divine Pillar would shift into the Prime Material Plane in ten days.
• After the group escaped, Hualiu told Si Ming she had sensed one of her kind flickering beneath the Divine Pillar, and Yu Shuying suggested it might be suppressing a King of Monsters.

Si Ming and his companions returned to the Divine Pillar, where the garrison had gathered to defend it, and Si Ming tested a new technique against their crossbow attack. He drove the soldiers back without killing them, but recognized that his move still had serious limits against equally strong opponents.

• Si Ming and his companions found that the garrison had withdrawn its patrols and fortified the Divine Pillar area.
• Si Ming went out alone to frighten the soldiers with his appearance, voice, and Dragon-Elephant Stomp.
• The commander ordered the soldiers to fire crossbow bolts at Si Ming.
• Si Ming used his new Receive, Transform, Channel, Release technique to deflect the bolts and send them back without their arrowheads.
• Si Ming reflected on the technique’s strengths and its flaw: he had to withstand an attack he might not be able to survive.

Si Ming subdued the Nation of Valor garrison with his reflection technique and Hualiu’s archery, then learned that the Monster Race had gathered many powerful fighters near the Divine Pillar. Ji Shichen explained how the Heaven-Defying Society could summon a Divine Pillar by uniting the consciousnesses of the living or the dead, leaving their plans and the threat of a battlefield-fueled summoning unresolved.

• Si Ming reflected the garrison soldiers’ attacks, defeated two level-ten experts with their own combined ultimate move, and had Hualiu shoot down the fleeing guards.
• Ji Shichen and Hualiu used the Star Staff to scout the area and discovered at least ten Monster Race experts at Spirit Transformation level, along with many other powerful members.
• Si Ming concluded that their group needed reinforcements and wondered whether the Heaven-Defying Society was targeting another Divine Pillar instead.
• Ji Shichen explained that summoning a Divine Pillar required the right arrival window and the united consciousnesses of tens of thousands of living or dead people.
• Si Ming realized the Heaven-Defying Society had exploited the killings during the unrest in France to gather the dead’s thoughts, and noted that a battlefield could provide them with even more.

Ling Huanxi taught Si Huaruo that spear techniques were built around killing, unlike the staff’s emphasis on subduing. She demonstrated the spear’s killing intent, prompting Si Huaruo to instinctively defend herself before lowering her staff.

• Ling Huanxi explained that the main difference between staff and spear techniques was that staffs subdued while spears killed.
• Si Huaruo asked about the saying that mastering the spear took a lifetime.
• Ling Huanxi dismissed the saying and explained that a spear was easy to use for killing, making it common on battlefields.
• Ling Huanxi demonstrated her spear’s killing intent, and Si Huaruo instinctively raised a defensive stance before recovering.

Ling Huanxi trained Si Huaruo in spear intent while Ji Shichen taught Hualiu archery, and Si Ming listened as Murong Qing and Yu Shuying argued over military leadership and caution. After Murong Qing apologized, Yu Shuying admitted she was jealous of her advancement to Spirit Transformation and vented her frustration on a pillow bearing Murong Qing's name.

• Ling Huanxi corrected Si Huaruo's attempts to cultivate killing intent, while Ji Shichen instructed Hualiu to focus on archery technique.
• Murong Qing explained that Ling Huanxi had achieved her skill through single-minded devotion, and Si Ming questioned whether diligence could compensate for limited talent.
• Yu Shuying and Murong Qing argued over whether a commander should protect himself from assassination, and Si Ming intervened to calm them.
• Murong Qing apologized and told Si Ming to comfort Yu Shuying, who had become upset after learning of Murong Qing's Spirit Transformation advancement.
• Yu Shuying told Si Ming she was jealous, then wrote Murong Qing's name on a pillow and pounded it.

Si Ming told Yu Shuying that she and Murong Qing did not need to reconcile, and Yu Shuying explained that she saw Murong as the light that threatened to erase her shadow. Meanwhile, Qingyan complained that the Blood Pupil Society had no assassination work for him, rejecting another building demolition commission as beneath an assassin.

• Si Ming argued that Yu Shuying and Murong Qing could remain at odds while cooperating against the Remote Heaven Society, and Yu Shuying admitted she would join forces with Murong if needed.
• Yu Shuying said she disliked Murong because she represented honorable success while Yu Shuying had not yet found her own path.
• Si Ming suggested Yu Shuying use a pillowcase bearing Murong Qing’s photo to relieve stress, and Yu Shuying agreed to try it.
• Qingyan asked Hongyi why he had not received another mission after completing one, and Hongyi reminded him that he had turned down a demolition job.
• Qingyan dismissed demolishing old buildings as unsuitable work for an assassin.

Qingyan accepted an open assassination mission targeting a girl close to Mad Ink, despite the danger of provoking Mad Ink and the Mohist Knight Guard. Meanwhile, Si Ming bought sugar-roasted chestnuts and casually discussed how food could be used for poison, unaware that his words had alarmed the old woman selling them.

• Hongyi offered Qingyan a chance to change careers, but a new assassination commission arrived from the same client as before.
• Qingyan refused to target Mad Ink, judging the famous powerhouse far too strong to assassinate safely.
• Hongyi explained that the commission also targeted a girl close to Mad Ink and warned that harming her would invite retaliation.
• Qingyan asked whether the girl's assassination was an open mission, then decided to accept it despite Hongyi's concern.
• Si Ming sent Ji Shichen and Hualiu back to base while he went to the shopping street for food.
• Si Ming bought sugar-roasted chestnuts and joked about fictional poisonings, prompting the old woman to insist her food was safe and refuse to discount it.

Si Ming stopped an assassination attempt on the street, then rushed to help Ji Shichen and Hualiu when he realized the attack might be a diversion. Ji Shichen defeated the assassins surrounding her, and Si Ming went to check on the others.

• A group of disguised assassins attacked Si Ming with knives, guns, claw strikes, and a poisoned smoke bomb.
• Si Ming redirected the attackers’ weapons and neutralized the poison, while Li Shuang escaped under cover of smoke.
• Si Ming suspected the attack was a diversion and hurried toward the sounds of fighting.
• Si Ming found Ji Shichen surrounded by four sword-wielding assassins and Hualiu injured nearby.
• Ji Shichen used the Falling Star Staff Technique to shatter the assassins’ swords and kill all four.
• Ji Shichen told Si Ming to check on the others, and he left Hualiu in her care before rushing off.

Yu Shuying received a shipment and learned that her gang’s claw-machine business was thriving as its members moved into legitimate work. Daoist Crow attacked her, but after she defeated his crows and countered his poison, he launched a second attack that left Diao Bao wounded and Yu Shuying facing his claw strike.

• Diao Bao delivered Yu Shuying an overweight suitcase of materials and reported that the gang’s claw-machine business had spread to neighboring states and filled orders through March of next year.
• Yu Shuying’s factories attracted gang members with steady pay and benefits, and Diao Bao proposed renaming the Azure Flood Dragon Gang the Azure Dragon Gang.
• Daoist Crow sent thousands of crows diving at Yu Shuying and Diao Bao, but the birds burst apart within three zhang of Yu Shuying.
• Daoist Crow used a skull formed from the crows’ resentment to draw in and burn up the Three Paths Gu poison, then explained how he had prepared to counter it.
• Daoist Crow attacked Yu Shuying with scarlet finger force, and Diao Bao blocked the strikes before Daoist Crow shattered his air barrier and wounded him.
• Daoist Crow reached for Yu Shuying, who anticipated his move with her Mind-Reading Technique and thrust two water-parting spikes toward his palm.

Yu Shuying killed Daoist Crow with the Three Paths Gu, but an illusion and a pair of assassins left her trapped and paralyzed. The naked woman and her partner prepared to take Yu Shuying hostage and punish Diao Bao, while Yu Shuying warned them to flee.

• Yu Shuying revealed that she had poisoned Daoist Crow with the Three Paths Gu, and his body exploded before his skeleton lunged at her.
• Yu Shuying realized she was caught in an illusion, evaded an attack, and burned the disguised woman with a phosphorus fire bomb.
• A man in a skintight outfit trapped Yu Shuying in a poisoned net and sealed her acupoints while the woman urged him to capture her.
• The woman decided to spare Diao Bao’s life but gouge out his eyes, then threatened to torture Yu Shuying despite needing her as a hostage.

Qingyan attacked the assassins who had captured Yu Shuying, but Si Ming arrived and killed them before Qingyan could strike her. After Murong Qing and the others reported demonic beasts attacking across the Nation of Valor, Si Ming and Yu Shuying realized their enemies were trying to distract them from the Divine Pillar.

• Qingyan ambushed the three captors and used his sword technique to create an opening to attack Yu Shuying.
• Si Ming arrived and killed the three captors with a punch, then freed Yu Shuying from the net and unsealed her acupoints.
• Qingyan warned Si Ming that someone had put a price on his head, then left without completing the mission.
• Yu Shuying urged Si Ming to hurry to protect the Divine Pillar, and Murong Qing and the others arrived.
• Murong Qing and Si Huaruo reported that scattered demonic beasts had attacked people across the Nation of Valor, delaying their group.
• Yu Shuying concluded that their enemies had released the beasts to occupy them and force a choice between protecting the Divine Pillar and the people.

Murong Qing and the others followed Yu Shuying’s plan to defend the Divine Pillar and stop the demonic beasts. At the pillar, the Nether Lord summoned it with a ritual, and the Moth Emperor prepared to attack it with the divine sword Wheel of Time.

• Murong Qing proposed a vote over whether to protect the Divine Pillar or fight the demonic beasts, but Yu Shuying said she had already arranged reinforcements.
• Yu Shuying sent Si Ming and Ji Shichen to stall the attackers at the Divine Pillar while the others intercepted the demonic beasts.
• The Moth Emperor and the Nether Lord reached the Divine Pillar, where a black-armored general had killed the defending soldiers.
• The Nether Lord used the soldiers’ dark Qi and a cyan jade dragon to summon the Divine Pillar, then explained that Spiritual Qi could not harm it.
• The Nether Lord gave the Moth Emperor the divine sword Wheel of Time, which she recognized as a powerful weapon capable of controlling time.

Si Ming intercepted the Moth Emperor as she tried to cut down the Divine Pillar, and fought to melt the Wheel of Time Sword before she could damage it. When the Moth Emperor landed beside Xuan Kai, Ji Shichen launched a Great White Arrow at the Nether Lord.

• The Nether Lord explained that the Eternal Barrier had suppressed the divine powers of weapons, and the Moth Emperor waited for the Divine Pillar to fully descend.
• Si Ming struck the Moth Emperor into the Divine Pillar and tried to melt the Wheel of Time Sword with the Vermilion Flame Sword.
• The Moth Emperor broke free, counterattacked with her wind and sword techniques, and Si Ming destroyed her clones with a burst of white light.
• Si Ming continued attacking the Wheel of Time Sword, scorching and melting its blade while preventing the Moth Emperor from reaching the Divine Pillar.
• The Nether Lord said Xuan Kai could fight on the ground, and the Moth Emperor landed beside the black-armored general after Si Ming cut her ear.
• Ji Shichen fired Great White Arrow: Fierce Destruction and Slaughter at the Nether Lord.