Chapter Summaries

Lin Qingtong defeated Lin Qingxiang and Liu Qingqing, but Si Ming struck her and forced her to flee. Lin Qingxiang caught up with her and explained that he had resisted betraying their master because he felt responsible for protecting his sisters, leaving Lin Qingtong laughing and crying at his answer.

• Liu Qingqing restrained Lin Qingtong's sword, allowing Lin Qingxiang to stab her with the Xiaolian Sword, but Lin Qingtong broke the divine weapon and severely wounded him.
• Lin Qingtong defeated Liu Qingqing in close combat and declared that she would accept any condemnation to change her fate.
• Si Ming arrived and hit Lin Qingtong with a powerful punch, but she recovered and escaped; he carried Liu Qingqing after her while Lin Qingxiang pursued ahead.
• Lin Qingxiang trapped Lin Qingtong in a vortex of black fire and red water, then told her he had resisted betraying their master because he had to protect his sisters as their eldest brother.
• Lin Qingtong burst into laughter and tears and asked why Lin Qingxiang had not told her sooner.

Lin Qingxiang and Lin Qingtong fought to the death, and both were left near death after their clash. Before he died, Lin Qingxiang revealed to Liu Qingqing that he had killed their father and explained why he had tried to keep Lin Qingtong from learning martial arts.

• Lin Qingxiang unleashed his forbidden move against Lin Qingtong and asked whether she regretted her choices, but she refused to yield.
• Lin Qingtong summoned a gigantic Peng bird and met Lin Qingxiang’s apocalyptic attack, leaving both of them broken and near death.
• Lin Qingtong apologized to Lin Qingxiang and died, turning into a rust-mottled statue with her hand reaching toward the sky.
• Si Ming arrived with Liu Qingqing, and Lin Qingxiang told Liu Qingqing that he had killed their father after their father succumbed to his martial art and slaughtered his comrades.
• Lin Qingxiang confessed that he had driven Liu Qingqing and Auntie Liu away and held Lin Qingtong back because he feared she would become like their father.

Two years after his brother's death in a parallel-world account, Si Ming led Linked Mountains University's Second Martial Arts Club to its third consecutive National Martial Dao League championship. After the victory, Yan Jinghong asked Si Ming about his cultivation, and Si Ming revealed he had reached level eighteen.

• Lin Qingxiang placed Liu Qingqing's hand in Si Ming's and asked him to protect her before dying peacefully.
• Si Ming accepted the championship cauldron as Linked Mountains University won its third consecutive league title.
• Spectators debated whether the dominant team could extend its championship streak and whether its success would hurt the league's appeal.
• Si Ming left the contestants' lounge to meet Yan Jinghong in a private guest lounge.
• Yan Jinghong asked Si Ming about his Internal Cultivation, and Si Ming said he had reached level eighteen.

Si Ming learned that the Military God had rebelled in the Nation of Valor and agreed to help Ba Shenhuang oppose him, suspecting ties to the Remote Heaven Society. He prepared to travel with his companions, leaving his master to congratulate him on winning the league championship three times in a row.

• Yan Jinghong discussed Si Ming’s progress and his continued inability to sense a breakthrough to Spirit Transformation.
• Yan Jinghong told Si Ming that the Military God had staged a coup and rebelled, and that the Shadow Hero Guard suspected he belonged to the Remote Heaven Society.
• Si Ming agreed to help Ba Shenhuang privately, both to repay his favor and to prevent the Military God from destroying the Northern Continent’s Divine Pillar.
• Yan Jinghong teased Si Ming about his romantic relationships and reminded him that several of his partners were connected to important figures.
• Yan Jinghong congratulated Si Ming on winning the league championship three times consecutively.
• Si Ming decided to bring his companions and loved ones on the trip to the Nation of Valor.

Si Ming tried to find companions for his next journey, but Murong Qing, Liu Qingqing, Yu Shuying, Hongdou, and the Si sisters were all unavailable for their own duties. He agreed to travel with Murong Wu and Ying Zhou, though the destination and dangers of the trip remained unstated.

• Murong Qing and Liu Qingqing told Si Ming they could not join him, explaining their assignments and plans.
• Murong Qing said she was escorting investigators to examine the Divine Pillar remains in Li State, where the Mohist Academy of Science planned to test a repair method.
• Si Ming learned Yu Shuying was staying on the Barbarian Continent to build influence, with Hualiu watching over her and Hongdou helping her unite the Monster Race.
• Si Ming discovered the Si sisters had returned home and asked Murong Wu to accompany him; Murong Qing warned that her own Southern Continent mission was dangerous.
• Ying Zhou revealed he wanted to join Si Ming after finding the Martial Dao League fights unsatisfying, and Si Ming accepted him.

Si Ming and his companions sailed toward the Nation of Valor, where Xia Guanxue briefed him on the unrest and its connection to the war between humans and demons. The intelligence revealed that the Military God may have engineered the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, while the Nation of Valor was left to face the demon army alone.

• Si Ming's group boarded a Mohist Knight Guard yacht and set sail for the Nation of Valor.
• Ying Zhou and Xia Guanxue argued until Si Ming stopped them and reminded them to focus on the mission.
• Si Ming learned that Xia Guanxue had reached Spirit Transformation and asked him about the unrest.
• Xia Guanxue gave Si Ming intelligence disguised inside a book about postpartum care for sows.
• Si Ming read that the Heaven-Defying Society had caused the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, and the Mohist Knight Guard suspected the Military God had used it to conceal his role.
• Si Ming learned that the allied forces had abandoned the Nation of Valor after the demon army concentrated its remaining forces there.

Si Ming and Xia Guanxue discussed the Military God’s political struggle in the Nation of Valor and decided not to interfere rashly. When a giant octopus attacked their passenger ship, Si Ming killed it with lightning, but a swarm of creatures immediately devoured its corpse.

• Si Ming explained that their expedition should avoid drawing attention or interfering in Ba Shenhuang’s affairs, and Xia Guanxue agreed that yielding would help cooperation.
• The passenger ship lurched as a giant octopus wrapped its tentacles around the hull, and Ying Zhou struggled to cut them free.
• Si Ming punched the octopus away from the ship, then grabbed a tentacle and shocked it with Thunderous Lightning Hell.
• The octopus flung Si Ming into the air, but he struck it with Tribulation-Transcending Extreme Lightning and split its head open.
• A swarm of black creatures rushed in and devoured the giant octopus’s corpse.

Si Ming and the others fought off a vast horde of demonic beasts and killed the giant sea snake that attacked their ship. Suspecting either a coincidence or a traitor had revealed their location, Si Ming split the group and sent the Shadow Hero Guards back while he continued with Ying Zhou, Murong Wu, and Xia Guanxue.

• A giant sea snake smashed the ship apart as thousands of demonic beasts attacked the group.
• Murong Wu used Mind-Confounding Powder to make the beasts turn on one another, but the sea snake lunged at him.
• Ying Zhou and Xia Guanxue wounded the sea snake while protecting Murong Wu, and Si Ming unleashed a powerful lightning technique that killed many beasts and brought the snake to the surface.
• The sea snake feigned death and attacked Murong Wu, but Si Ming struck it down and Ying Zhou severed its head.
• Si Ming and Xia Guanxue considered whether the attack had been planned, and Ying Zhou suggested a traitor had disclosed their location.
• Si Ming divided the group, sending the Shadow Hero Guards back while he, Ying Zhou, Murong Wu, and Xia Guanxue continued together.

Si Ming brought Xia Guanxue, Ying Zhou, and Murong Wu to the Nation of Valor after sending the Shadow Hero Guards back amid suspicions of a spy. They reached the besieged royal palace and watched Ba Shenhuang charge the army, where he faced Yi Rihai and Bai Fengshan.

• Si Ming dismissed the Shadow Hero Guards and ordered them to return, explaining that sending them away would limit the risk of a spy leaking information.
• Si Ming and his three companions crossed the sea by lightness skills, and Murong Wu said Shennong's Three Fists had improved his stamina and recovery.
• The four reached the Nation of Valor's royal palace, which was surrounded by the Military School's army.
• Ba Shenhuang charged through the eastern lines, smashing obstacles and knocking soldiers aside as he headed for the central camp.
• Yi Rihai and Bai Fengshan attacked Ba Shenhuang, but he crushed Bai Fengshan's sword strike before Yi Rihai launched a hidden spear attack.

Ba Shenhuang forced his way through Huang Yan’s camp, defeating or driving back the Spirit Transformation Grandmasters who tried to stop him. Huang Yan emerged to face him, and Ba Shenhuang demanded that he withdraw his troops or die, while explaining that he had come because Huang Yan had used his reputation as a stepping stone.

• Ba Shenhuang broke through the camp’s defenses, injuring Yi Rihai and the archer who shot at him, then drove off two more Spirit Transformation experts.
• A female general stopped Ba Shenhuang outside the commander's tent, and eight more Spirit Transformation Grandmasters arrived to join her.
• Ba Shenhuang challenged the nine defenders, who hesitated because they were unwilling to risk their lives fighting him.
• Huang Yan came out of the commander's tent and asked Ba Shenhuang why he was risking his life for the ruler on the throne.
• Ba Shenhuang said he did not care who ruled, but would not let Huang Yan use his reputation as a stepping stone, and demanded Huang Yan's choice: withdraw or die.

Huang Yan and Ba Shenhuang argued over sincerity and the Military God’s choice of allegiance, while Ba Shenhuang demanded that Huang Yan kneel and beg. After the masked female general’s attack failed, Huang Yan proposed a relay battle three days later to decide whether he would enter the palace or Ba Shenhuang would leave.

• Huang Yan told Ba Shenhuang that he was being used, but Ba Shenhuang said the old man’s sincere attitude had persuaded him to help.
• Ba Shenhuang challenged Huang Yan to kneel and beg, and the masked female general attacked him in fury.
• Ba Shenhuang and the masked female general exchanged hundreds of blows before his palm strike defeated her, and Huang Yan gently slowed her fall.
• Si Ming, Xia Guanxue, Murong Wu, and Ying Zhou discussed Ba Shenhuang’s demand and the choice facing Huang Yan.
• Huang Yan challenged Ba Shenhuang to a three-person relay battle in the imperial palace’s rear mountains three days later, with the loser required to leave or enter the palace.

Ba Shenhuang withdrew from the Military God's camp after accepting his challenge, and Si Ming's group debated why he had not attacked before entering the palace to assist him. Ba Shenhuang tested Si Ming's strength and then invited him into the inner hall to discuss the battle plan.

• Ying Zhou questioned why Ba Shenhuang had left the enemy camp without attacking, while Xia Guanxue and Si Ming explained the military risks of his choices.
• Si Ming, Xia Guanxue, and Ying Zhou entered the palace and met Ba Shenhuang, who accepted Si Ming's offer to help against the Military God and the Heaven-Defying Society.
• Ba Shenhuang suddenly tested Si Ming with Annihilate All Living Beings, and Si Ming countered with a palm strike that dispersed the attack.
• Ba Shenhuang praised Si Ming's improved strength and said his arrival and preparation had raised their odds of winning the coming battle.
• Ba Shenhuang invited Si Ming into the inner hall to give him the battle plan.

After Ba Shenhuang arranged to test Huang Yan’s resolve, he agreed to give Si Ming and his companions martial arts instruction for three days. On the third night, Ba Shenhuang and Huang Yan met on the mountain behind the imperial city, while a disguised figure watched from the city wall.

• Si Ming told Ying Zhou, Xia Guanxue, and Murong Wu that Ba Shenhuang’s provocation had tested the Military God’s stance and that the result would become clear in three days.
• Si Ming said Ba Shenhuang had agreed to instruct the group in martial arts for the next three days.
• On the third night, spectators gathered on the mountain and debated whether the Military God and the War God would appear and what was at stake.
• Ba Shenhuang and Huang Yan arrived at the summit, where Huang Yan questioned his decision and Ba Shenhuang urged him to run.
• A refined, handsome figure climbed onto the imperial city wall unnoticed by the patrolling soldiers and watched the mountain, wondering who would prevail amid the deception.

Huang Yan tried to seize the emperor while a poisoned Liang Hao was trapped by a barrier, but Ba Shenhuang had anticipated the plot and stayed behind. Ba Shenhuang confronted Huang Yan in the imperial kitchen, where their fight began with Huang Yan revealing Peak Spirit Transformation cultivation.

• Huang Yan confronted Liang Hao at the imperial kitchen and explained his plan to exploit the appointed fight to seize the throne.
• Huang Yan's companion's barrier silenced the area, and poison weakened Liang Hao before the black-armored general attacked him.
• Huang Yan entered the kitchen and found the apparently unconscious emperor, but the figure stopped his strike and revealed himself as Ba Shenhuang.
• Ba Shenhuang explained that he had sent a double to the appointed fight and challenged Huang Yan's scheme to take the emperor and end the war.
• Ba Shenhuang attacked Huang Yan, who redirected the blow and demonstrated that his cultivation had reached Peak Spirit Transformation.

Huang Yan fought Ba Shenhuang in the imperial kitchen but was badly injured and had his divine sword broken. He revealed that the duel had been meant to draw Ba Shenhuang into a trap, only for the formation surrounding him to shatter at the last moment.

• Huang Yan and Ba Shenhuang exchanged powerful techniques, and Huang Yan pierced Ba Shenhuang's chest before Ba Shenhuang trapped him and forced a devastating clash.
• Ba Shenhuang broke Huang Yan's divine sword, treated his wound, and told Huang Yan that his lack of combat experience had cost him the fight.
• Huang Yan explained that he had come to draw Ba Shenhuang into an ambush, since killing the person on the throne would not end the war while Ba Shenhuang remained alive.
• A shifty-looking old man, the Nether Lord, and a black-armored general joined Huang Yan and surrounded Ba Shenhuang, while a formation suppressed him.
• Ba Shenhuang warned that the attackers were too late, and the ground shook as the formation in the sky shattered.

Si Ming arrived to help Ba Shenhuang confront Huang Yan, Nether Lord, the black-armored general, and the Hundred-Harm Witch Doctor. As the battle began, Si Ming targeted the witch doctor, who summoned a Stiff Corpse King to defend him.

• Si Ming recognized the black-armored general and learned that the Hundred-Harm Witch Doctor was Wei Chunxi's master.
• Si Ming rejected Huang Yan's peace proposal and declared that he would help Ba Shenhuang fight.
• Huang Yan and the Hundred-Harm Witch Doctor weakened Si Ming and Ba Shenhuang with their powers as Nether Lord and the black-armored general attacked.
• Xia Guanxue and Ying Zhou intercepted the attackers, allowing Si Ming to strike at the Hundred-Harm Witch Doctor with his Dragon Scale Sword.
• The witch doctor escaped Si Ming's sword strike and summoned a Stiff Corpse King, which blocked Si Ming's hand-blade attack.

Si Ming overwhelmed Hundred-Harm Witch Doctor and destroyed his Zombie King, though the witch doctor escaped. Ba Shenhuang sealed himself and Huang Yan inside a stone lotus for a decisive duel, leaving their battle about to begin.

• Hundred-Harm Witch Doctor unleashed the berserk Zombie King and a Gu worm against Si Ming, but Si Ming’s sword attacks battered the Zombie King despite its divine armor.
• Si Ming struck the Zombie King into a pit and blasted it with Evil-Slaying Sword Qi, badly damaging the creature and destroying Hundred-Harm Witch Doctor’s ten-year trump card.
• Hundred-Harm Witch Doctor summoned the Gu God and fled underground before Si Ming could stop him.
• Huang Yan acknowledged that Si Ming’s strength had ruined his plans, but insisted that he could fight Ba Shenhuang another day.
• Ba Shenhuang raised a huge stone lotus around himself and Huang Yan, trapping them together and declaring that only one of them—or neither—would leave alive.

Huang Yan turned the battle against Ba Shenhuang by revealing that his azure flames activated poison already circulating in Ba Shenhuang’s body, weakening the War God’s Black Phoenix Dharma Body. As Huang Yan’s silver-white fire dragon charged, Ba Shenhuang summoned a demonic halberd and launched a powerful counterattack.

• Ba Shenhuang dominated their prolonged fight, but Huang Yan used white flames to block a claw strike and drive them both back.
• Huang Yan gathered the flames in his palms and struck Ba Shenhuang, activating poison from the earlier sword wound and reversing the fight’s momentum.
• Huang Yan explained that he had planned the poison and cultivated his azure flames to counter Ba Shenhuang’s Black Phoenix Dharma Body.
• Ba Shenhuang’s poisoned body stopped him from using Eight Phoenixes Defy the Dao, so he used Reverse Heaven and Earth and then Nine Evils God-Extinguishing Palm to resist Huang Yan’s attacks.
• Huang Yan formed a silver-white fire dragon and sent it toward Ba Shenhuang.
• Ba Shenhuang summoned a demonic halberd from the earth and unleashed Rahu Sun-Shattering Slash at the dragon.

Ying Zhou fought a black-armored general whose armor resisted his attacks and whose stamina seemed endless. When the stone lotus exploded nearby, Ying Zhou split an incoming stone petal with his saber and dodged through it.

• Ying Zhou used Six Paths Fall Together against the black-armored general, but his blades barely dented the armor.
• Ying Zhou grew exhausted while trading blows with the stronger general and considered risking everything to end the fight.
• The stone lotus erupted nearby, sending enormous stone petals flying across the imperial palace.
• Ying Zhou split a stone petal hurtling toward him and dodged through the gap.

Ying Zhou, Xia Guanxue, Si Ming, and Ba Shenhuang confronted the fallout from the Military God's alliance with the Demon Race as two powerful waves of Yao Qi approached. They retreated from the incoming enemies, leaving Si Ming behind to test one of them and buy the others time.

• The black-armored general stopped short of Ying Zhou as Xia Guanxue, the Nether Lord, and Si Ming sensed two immense waves of Yao Qi approaching.
• Xia Guanxue and Si Ming questioned the Nether Lord about the Heaven-Defying Society's connection to the Military God, and he denied that his organization had allied with the Demon Race.
• The Nether Lord and the black-armored general escaped amid swirling petals while Si Ming, Xia Guanxue, and Ying Zhou decided to retreat with the wounded Ba Shenhuang.
• When the two waves of Yao Qi pursued them, Si Ming chose to stay behind and gather information about the powerful enemies, while Ba Shenhuang urged the others to leave.