Chapter Summaries

Xiao Baidao attacked Tang Wenwan aboard her cloud ship and revealed that the Xiao Clan had sealed Mystic City to lure Qi Tianji and his allies into a trap. With the clan threatening to slaughter the city in three days, Qi Lin decided to strike first.

• Qi Lin and Qi Tianlong hid in a secret chamber as Xiao Baidao boarded Tang Wenwan's cloud ship and announced Mystic City's confinement.
• Xiao Baidao slapped Tang Wenwan, dragged her by the hair, and threatened her, but she stopped him by holding a dagger to her throat.
• Xiao Baidao told Tang Wenwan that the Xiao Clan planned to use Qi Tianji as bait and would slaughter Mystic City if their enemies did not appear within three days.
• After Xiao Baidao left, Tang Wenwan departed Mystic City with Qi Lin and explained that he was only one of many Xiao Clan branch heads.
• Qi Lin asked whether Divine Strategy Manor could legally kill, then declared that he would attack the Xiao Clan and cut off its lifeline before the three days were up.

A woman from the Qi Clan killed Xiao Baidao and sent his head to the City Lord's Manor, escalating the battle for Mystic City. In the Divine Capital, Tang Guochang offered to recommend Qi Lin to the Divine Strategy Manor, where entry required approval because a special person was staying there.

• The woman in pink revealed she was from the Qi Clan, killed Xiao Baidao with a strand of hair, captured his soul, and fed it to Little White Dragon.
• Xiao Baidao's head landed at the City Lord's Manor, where its Dharma-Restricting Gang Qi killed City Guards; Su Fengxuan warned that the fight for Mystic City would continue until one side was dead.
• Qi Lin found his sister asleep aboard the cloud ship, then traveled with her and Tang Wenwan to the Divine Capital.
• Tang Guochang told Tang Wenwan that Xiao Baidao was dead and the Xiao Clan planned to slaughter Mystic City in three days, then offered to recommend Qi Lin to the Divine Strategy Manor.
• Tang Guochang went to seek the manor master's approval, while Tang Wenwan explained that a special person's presence had led to strict checks at the Divine Strategy Manor.

Tang Guochang sought Manor Lord Jiang’s help to admit a talented commoner to the Divine Strategy Manor, but Qi Tianlong revealed herself as the Long Emperor and killed Jiang Daoyuan after he recognized her. She secured a blank Divine Strategy Token for her younger brother and warned Tang Guochang to keep her identity secret.

• Tang Guochang offered immortal ginseng wine to Jiang Daoyuan and asked him to recommend a commoner who had reached Mystic Sea Frost Descent at thirteen, but Jiang refused because of the boy’s origins.
• Tang Guochang encountered Qi Tianlong near Jiang Daoyuan’s pavilion and insulted her before Jiang recognized her as the Long Emperor and bowed in fear.
• Qi Tianlong crushed Jiang Daoyuan into a ball of flesh when he tried to speak, then took his void ring.
• Qi Tianlong asked Tang Guochang what was needed for her younger brother to join the Divine Strategy Manor, and he said a blank Divine Strategy Token would suffice.
• Qi Tianlong gave Tang Guochang the token, ordered him to keep her identity secret, and left; Tang took the wine and departed.

Tang Guochang enrolled Qi Lin in the Divine Strategy Manor’s Three Stars Pavilion, where Qi Lin learned how students earned credits and what he could study. Determined to gain the skills needed to help his grandfather and family in Mystic City, he headed to a national law class and encountered a girl.

• Tang Guochang told Tang Wenwan that Su Fengxuan was finished and that he would help her become Mystic City’s new city lord, then sent her back to Mystic City.
• Tang Guochang brought Qi Lin to Three Stars Hall, where Jiang Xinghai accepted his enrollment and gave him a Divine Strategy Token and study materials.
• Jiang Xinghai became captivated by Qi Tianlong and asked to paint her portrait, but she threatened him when he persisted.
• Qi Lin settled into the Three Stars Pavilion residence while Qi Tianlong claimed the room and went to sleep.
• Qi Lin read about the manor’s classes and credit system, then set out with his swords to attend a class on Great Cang’s national law.
• A girl behind Qi Lin asked if he was new to the Divine Strategy Manor.

Qi Lin met Ling'er and other students at the Divine Strategy Manor, then learned that Ling'er was Xiao Tianyang’s sister and recognized him as Qi Tianji’s grandson. Xiao Ling'er turned against him and ordered Lan Ming and Yan Dinghao to kill him despite the classroom’s combat prohibition.

• Qi Lin met Ling'er, who welcomed him as a classmate, while Lan Ming and Yan Dinghao questioned his background.
• Qi Lin followed Ling'er to kingdom law class, where Master Fu explained the rules for legitimate self-defense in combat-prohibited areas.
• When Master Fu asked Qi Lin where he came from, Qi Lin said Mystic City, and the students’ reactions changed immediately.
• Xiao Ling'er asked whether Qi Lin’s grandfather was Qi Tianji, revealed that her brother was Xiao Tianyang, and ordered Master Fu to close the classroom door.
• Lan Ming sealed the door and Yan Dinghao closed the windows as Xiao Ling'er ordered them to cut off Qi Lin’s head and place it on the law book.

Qi Lin killed Lan Ming after warning him three times, then fought Xiao Ling'er when she claimed she was the law. He used the black wooden sword to pierce her head and revealed that he had also killed her brother.

• Lan Ming attacked Qi Lin, who warned him three times before beheading him and taking his void ring.
• Yan Dinghao and the other Three Stars Pavilion students backed away as Xiao Ling'er confronted Qi Lin with a flaming sword.
• Xiao Ling'er declared that she was the law and attacked Qi Lin, whose lower realm left him struggling against her swordsmanship.
• Qi Lin drew the black wooden sword, and its terrifying illusion made Xiao Ling'er falter.
• Qi Lin pierced Xiao Ling'er through the mouth and back of the head, then told her he had killed her brother too.

Qin Zheng and Master Fu arrived at the National Law School after violence had already taken place, while Xiao Chiyan brought Su Lianxi and other young nobles to confront the supposed culprit. The doors burst open to reveal a black-clad boy emerging through blood with a copy of the national law, a severed head, and a young woman's corpse.

• Master Fu urged Qin Zheng to hurry to the National Law School, but Qin Zheng dismissed his pleas and criticized him for clinging to the law.
• Master Fu regretted asking the boy to reveal his family background as he and Qin Zheng reached the silent, shut National Law School.
• Xiao Chiyan arrived with young nobles from the Two Moons Pavilion and introduced Su Lianxi, the Mystic City's lord's daughter, to Qin Zheng.
• Qin Zheng agreed to open the doors after chatting with Xiao Chiyan and Su Lianxi, while Master Fu watched in dismay.
• The National Law School's doors burst open, and a black-clad boy stepped outside carrying a law book with a severed head on it and dragging a young woman's corpse.

Qi Lin defended himself against Xiao Chiyan and challenged Punishment Master Qin’s attempt to arrest him despite testimony supporting his innocence. As Qin moved to seize him, a clear voice from the Kingdom Law Academy intervened.

• Qi Lin used a burst of crimson fire to burn Xiao Chiyan after Xiao Chiyan attacked him, and Qin Zheng extinguished the flames.
• Qin Zheng accused Qi Lin of murder and tried to take him to the Blood Prison, while Qi Lin cited the Great Cang Kingdom Law and explained that he had acted in self-defense.
• Master Fu confirmed that Qi Lin would be innocent if he had warned his attackers three times, and Tang Biao testified that Xiao Ling'er and Lan Ming had attacked first.
• Xiao Chiyan dismissed Tang Biao’s testimony and urged other students to speak against Qi Lin, prompting Yan Dinghao and several others to give conflicting accounts.
• Qi Lin condemned Qin Zheng for abusing the law to serve powerful clans, and Qin lunged for him before an unidentified voice challenged him from inside the Kingdom Law Academy.

Empress Huangxi revealed herself in the Divine Strategy Manor classroom and punished those who had falsely accused Qi Lin, including Qin Zheng, for abusing the kingdom’s laws. She invited Qi Lin to join her at a demon-slaying public lesson the next morning, explaining that she valued his defense of justice.

• Empress Huangxi revealed herself as the Great Cang Kingdom’s sovereign and said she had been listening from a secret chamber.
• Huangxi burned Yan Dinghao and the students who had falsely accused Qi Lin, declaring that false testimony deserved death.
• Huangxi condemned Qin Zheng for knowingly tolerating the false accusations and abusing his authority.
• Qin Zheng attacked Huangxi and was crippled by her black-robed attendant, then killed by her white-robed attendant after he taunted the empress about the late emperor.
• Huangxi invited Qi Lin to attend the next morning’s demon-slaying public lesson and praised his respect for the kingdom’s laws.

After the girl emperor left the Divine Strategy Manor, Qi Lin learned from Master Fu how the late emperor and his heirs had been brutally killed, leaving Great Cang Kingdom near collapse. The chapter ended with Qi Lin recognizing that Empress Huangxi was the kingdom’s last hope and fearing what would happen if she fell.

• Xiao Chiyan threatened Qi Lin and left with his people to collect the bodies, while Tang Biao warned Qi Lin to be wary of him.
• Qi Lin helped Master Fu clean the classroom, and Master Fu warned him not to use the treasures taken from Xiao Ling'er and Lan Ming in public.
• Master Fu explained that the late emperor had been killed three years earlier and that his consorts had been murdered, while the culprit remained unknown.
• Master Fu revealed that forty-nine princes and princesses had been refined into blood puppets and placed beside the path to the Great Cang Hall to damage the kingdom’s fortune.
• Master Fu credited the Nation-Protecting Divine Church with protecting Her Majesty Huangxi and securing her ascension to the throne.
• Qi Lin realized that Empress Huangxi was all that remained of Great Cang Kingdom and feared that her fall would leave its people defenseless.

At a banquet in the Cloud-Watching Tower, Xiao Chiyan plotted to torment the grandson of an enemy while boasting about his plan to use demon blood. He suddenly suffered an acute attack of Fire Burning Disease, and the guests fled in fear as Su Lianxi left the scene.

• Xiao Chiyan told Xiao Xuanxing to warn the Xiao Clan disciples not to harm the enemy's grandson before he could torment him himself.
• Xiao Chiyan flirted with Su Lianxi and discussed the planned torture with Huangfu Yu, who said his chamber of commerce would profit by selling corpses after a massacre.
• Xiao Chiyan announced that he would use a drop of demon blood on his target, then abruptly began burning from within and coughing up fire.
• Huangfu Yu identified Xiao Chiyan's condition as an acute attack of Fire Burning Disease, and Xiao Chiyan begged the guests for Ice Mystic Pills before collapsing encased in ice.
• Lan Qian panicked about catching the disease, Huangfu Yu rejected her, and the students fled the tower while Su Lianxi disappeared into the darkness.

The Xiao Clan ordered Mystic City's immediate destruction while Qi Tianji strengthened the city's protection and medical care. The Qi Clan Escort Agency and the newly acquired Qi Clan Medical Hall stood beside the ancestral hall as Qi Tianji recalled the Qitian Imperial Dynasty and awaited its scattered descendants.

• The Xiao Clan patriarch ordered Yan'er's replacement, authorized an investigation into his poisoning, and approved decisive action against Shen Xintang.
• The Xiao Clan patriarch ordered Mystic City slaughtered and burned immediately, with its victims' heads delivered to the Tang Clan and the Shen Clan.
• The female escort chief trained Han Yuan and the former City Guardsmen at the Qi Clan Escort Agency and promised Lin Xiaoyu that a visiting friend might heal her tongue.
• Qi Tianji brought Physician Dan to examine Xiao Tao'er, and Physician Dan said another ten Ice Mystic Pills could bring her close to a complete cure.
• Doctor He agreed to give up his medical hall without payment on the condition that Physician Dan continue treating Pingyang District's people free of charge.
• Qi Tianji renamed the hall the Qi Clan Medical Hall and reflected on restoring the Qitian Clan as its escort agency and medical hall began recruiting.

Qi Lin received a sword manual from Jiang Xinghai and learned that Xiao Chiyan’s fire-burning disease had worsened after Qi Lin’s attack. After caring for his sleeping sister, Qi Lin resolved to study the items he had collected and attend the next day’s demon-slaying lecture with Her Majesty Huangxi.

• Su Lianxi told Qi Lin that Xiao Chiyan’s fire-burning disease had flared up and that Xiao Ming planned to recommend her to the Nation-Protecting Divine Church, and Qi Lin told her to join if she could.
• Jiang Xinghai visited Qi Lin’s residence with a painting for Miss Qi, but Qi Lin interrupted him and asked for a lethal sword technique.
• Jiang Xinghai gave Qi Lin the Lesser Star and Moon Sword Technique as an advance of two hundred and fifty credits, then left and privately wondered whether an expert protected Qi Lin and his sister.
• A dark blue figure confronted Jiang Xinghai about Father, crushed his shoulder, and received Jiang Xinghai’s sarcastic wish that his whole family die early.
• Qi Lin carried his sleeping sister back to bed and heard her cry out in a dream about their parents, then remembered the Divine Ash Ruins.
• Qi Lin laid out Xiao Ling’er’s and Lan Ming’s void rings and the sword manual, intending to study them before attending the demon-slaying lecture with Her Majesty Huangxi.

Qi Lin studied the pill and artifact manuals he found in Xiao Ling'er and Lan Ming's void rings, but learned from Pangpang that he lacked the soul talent to practice those arts. After enduring another attack of the Five Decays of the Heavenly Dao and discovering his flesh had grown stronger, Qi Lin began studying a sword technique and unexpectedly grasped it with ease.

• Qi Lin collected valuable pills, Rosy Flame, divine stones, and manuals from Xiao Ling'er and Lan Ming's void rings, then tried to study pill and artifact refinement.
• Pangpang told Qi Lin he could not sense soul power and lacked the talent to learn pill and artifact refinement, while Qi Lin reflected on the limits of his own talent.
• Qi Lin suffered another attack of the fire burning disease and used all eight Ice Mystic Pills to suppress it; he realized the attack had burned and rapidly reforged his flesh, while the little mouth on his finger had eaten the pills.
• Qi Lin accepted Pangpang's lesson that cultivation depended on seizing opportunities rather than talent and began studying the Lesser Star and Moon Sword Technique.
• Qi Lin thrust a twig at the stone table and unexpectedly performed the sword technique's Point at the Star move, piercing the stone without breaking the twig.

Qi Lin learned that his damaged Life Soul prevented him from practicing advanced disciplines, while his unusually powerful Spirit Mist let him master combat techniques through instinct. The chapter ended with someone arriving at Master Fu's flower-filled courtyard and asking whether the begonias had bloomed.

• Qi Lin practiced the Lesser Star and Moon Sword Technique with a branch and quickly mastered its movements.
• The little black beast explained that the Life Soul governed power control while Spirit Mist governed bodily control, and that Qi Lin could not learn essence formations, forbidden arts, artifact refining, or pill refining.
• The little black beast concluded that Qi Lin's two Fire Burning flare-ups had strengthened his Spirit Mist, improving his ability to learn combat methods.
• The little black beast pointed out that Symbol God Two and the seven Hun Dun Gods could grant supreme flesh-and-blood talent, then declared that it was hungry.
• At the hour of the tiger, Master Fu watered his begonias in the Divine Strategy Manor courtyard as an unknown figure stopped outside and asked whether they had bloomed.

Shen Xintang visited Fu Yun before dawn, and they discussed the clans and the Nation-Protecting Divine Church worsening Great Cang’s suffering. She asked him to join the Demon-Slaying Division and marry her, but he refused, so she left after destroying his flowering crabapples, and he wept in the mud.

• Shen Xintang visited Fu Yun and admired the flowering crabapples in his courtyard while he put ornaments in her hair.
• Shen Xintang and Fu Yun discussed the Xiao Clan’s dealings with demons and the Nation-Protecting Divine Church’s use of fertility drugs in disaster relief food.
• Shen Xintang urged Fu Yun to leave the Divine Strategy Manor and join the Demon-Slaying Division, but he refused to abandon his post upholding kingdom law.
• Shen Xintang asked Fu Yun to marry her, but he rejected her, saying he was unworthy and telling her not to wait for him.
• Shen Xintang slapped Fu Yun, destroyed the flowering crabapples, and left; Fu Yun gathered the ruined flowers and confessed that he was crippled and might not have long to live.

After Xiao Chiyan developed Fire Burning Disease, his father killed him and vowed to avenge him by holding a sacrifice at the Hall of Law Enforcement. Meanwhile, Qi Lin headed to a demon-slaying lesson, and Master Fu found a reason to return for a pot of Evening Breeze begonias.

• Xiao Chiyan blamed Qi Lin for causing his Fire Burning Disease, but his father said he knew and killed him after Xiao Chiyan rejected his offer to be freed from the illness.
• Xiao Chiyan's father vowed to avenge him and begin by holding a sacrifice at the Hall of Law Enforcement in the Divine Strategy Manor.
• Qi Lin left the students' quarters with Tang Biao to attend a demon-slaying lesson and learned that Shen Xintang would conduct a demon bone test.
• Tang Biao told Qi Lin that Shen Xintang and Master Fu had once been lovers and criticized Master Fu for failing to dodge Xiao Ling'er's attack.
• Master Fu saw a pale-yellow begonia called Evening Breeze at a flower shop, left without buying it, then returned and asked the shopkeeper for a pot.

Shen Xintang prepared to teach at the Hall of Law Enforcement while Xiao Qian brought her son Xiao Xuanxing and secretly planted a demonic flag. Qi Lin sensed the Xiao Clan’s hostile presence among the students and elders, then Empress Huangxi called him to sit beside her.

• Shen Xintang spoke with Xiao Qian, who brought Xiao Xuanxing to the demon bone test and praised his prospects.
• Xiao Qian left a small black-and-red flag that took root and gathered Demonic Qi.
• Qi Lin and Tang Biao watched thirty-five Xiao Clan youths enter the hall, while ten Xiao Clan elders maintained order.
• Tang Biao explained the Xiao Clan’s influence at Divine Strategy Manor, and Qi Lin sensed their souls had fixed on him despite their apparent indifference.
• Qi Lin steadied himself under the pressure, then Empress Huangxi called him to sit beside her.

Qi Lin attended a demon-slaying class at the Divine Strategy Manor, where students publicly tested their compatibility with a devil bone. After the young empress and many others failed or received varying results, Qi Lin was called to take the test.

• Qi Lin sat beside the young empress as Shen Xintang announced that the class would begin with a devil bone test.
• The young empress gave the devil bone a drop of blood, but it showed no compatibility, leaving her visibly disappointed.
• Xiao Xuanxing received medium compatibility, and the testing revealed that many students had some degree of compatibility.
• Xiao Yao'er displayed high compatibility and was invited to enter the Demon-Slaying Headquarters and choose a Division Saint as her master.
• Qi Lin noticed that the Xiao Clan accounted for most of the students who passed and sensed the young empress's anger at Xiao Yao'er's result.
• Shen Xintang called Qi Lin to take the devil bone test.

Qi Lin passed the devil-bone compatibility test with barely enough potential to forge a Demon-Slaying Blade, then listened as Shen Xintang taught the students about devils and the dangers of Boundless Passages. As Shen Xintang declared the lecture over, devil Qi erupted inside the hall.

• Qi Lin’s blood made half a segment of the devil bone glow, and Shen Xintang told him he would have about a ten percent chance of forging a Demon-Slaying Blade.
• The young empress congratulated Qi Lin and suggested he try to become a devil-banishing master; he replied that he needed one more blade.
• Shen Xintang taught the students about the major devil bloodlines, their conflict with humanity, and how devil-banishing masters used Demon-Slaying Blades to kill them.
• Shen Xintang explained that devils used Boundless Flags to open shifting passages between the Divine Scion Continent and the Nine Nether Purgatory, warning students to report any they found.
• Xiao Qian and the other Xiao Clan experts smiled as Shen Xintang concluded the lecture, then devil Qi surged through the hall amid thunder and rain.