Recaps

Chu Xinghe tried to get expelled from the Vast Heaven Sect so the Misfortune Compass would grant him peak Martial Emperor cultivation, but his confession was mistaken for a heroic deed. The Grand Elder promoted him to elite disciple and expelled Chu Cheng from the inner sect instead, leaving Chu Xinghe still desperate to leave the sect.

• Chu Xinghe learned that the Misfortune Compass would reward him with peak Martial Emperor cultivation if he was expelled from the Vast Heaven Sect, while Chu Cheng threatened him to keep quiet about the trial.
• The Grand Elder questioned Chu Xinghe's squad about two disciples who had died during their entrance trial and offered to expel the culprit.
• Chu Xinghe confessed, hoping to be expelled, but the Grand Elder revealed that the dead disciples were Demonic Shadow Sect spies and praised Chu Xinghe for stopping them.
• Chu Xinghe tried to redirect the credit to Chu Cheng and asked the Grand Elder to expel him, but the Grand Elder demoted Chu Cheng to an outer sect disciple and promoted Chu Xinghe to elite disciple.
• The Grand Elder accepted Chu Xinghe as his disciple and rewarded him with ten Spirit Gathering Pills, while Chu Xinghe lamented that he still had not been expelled.

After arranging for his former squadmates to break Chu Cheng’s arm, Chu Xinghe discovered that ruining an alchemy test could bring the punishment and cultivation gains he wanted. He deliberately lost control of his spirit fire at the Vermilion Bird Hall, leaving the pill furnace and room destroyed as Feng Fei tried to stop him.

• Chu Xinghe welcomed his former squadmates, hinted that they should break Chu Cheng’s arm, and later heard they had beaten Chu Cheng and injured him.
• Chu Xinghe studied the Misfortune Compass and found that confinement or losing elite disciple status could rapidly increase his cultivation.
• After hearing Shen Chun might be punished for blowing up a pill furnace, Chu Xinghe hurried to the Spirit Crane Palace to learn alchemy.
• Feng Fei warned Chu Xinghe that losing control of spirit fire could destroy the furnace and bring severe punishment, then guided him through the spirit-fire test.
• Chu Xinghe deliberately intensified his spirit fire after Feng Fei tried to suppress it, causing the pill furnace to explode and the Vermilion Bird Hall room to burn down.

Chu Xinghe’s attempt to get expelled after causing a furnace explosion instead revealed his ability to summon Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire, making him the Vast Heaven Sect’s prized successor. The grand elder rewarded him with personal pill-refining instruction, while the Spirit Crane Palace disciples praised him and vowed to defend him from Chu Cheng.

• Chu Xinghe took full responsibility for the fire in Vermilion Bird Hall and tried to keep Feng Fei from being punished.
• The grand elder brought Chu Xinghe back to the testing room and asked him to repeat the fire test, where another furnace exploded.
• The elders recognized the crimson-gold flames as Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire, which had not appeared in the Vast Heaven Sect for four hundred years.
• Chu Xinghe asked the grand elder to punish him, but the grand elder declared him innocent, ended punishment for accidental furnace explosions, and arranged for the elders to teach him pill refinement.
• Feng Fei and the Spirit Crane Palace disciples thanked Chu Xinghe and offered to confront Chu Cheng over the rumors, but Chu Xinghe urged them not to hurt his fellow villager.

Spirit Crane Palace stopped withholding the outer sect’s pills after disciples beat Chu Cheng, while Chu Xinghe began his first pill-refining lessons under the Grand Elder. The chapter ended with Xinghe wondering whether he could damage the Vermilion Bird Furnace to escape his tedious training.

• Spirit Crane Palace cut off the outer sect’s pill supply because Chu Cheng had accused Chu Xinghe of breaking his arm, prompting outer sect disciples to beat Chu Cheng and restore their own supply.
• Feng Fei told Chu Xinghe about Chu Cheng’s past bullying and explained that the Grand Elder was waiting to teach him pill refining.
• The Grand Elder showed Chu Xinghe the Vermilion Bird Furnace and began teaching him to identify medicinal ingredients.
• Chu Xinghe struggled to distinguish similar herbs and learned that mastering medicine identification could take years, leaving him discouraged.
• Feng Fei reminded Chu Xinghe not to damage the Vermilion Bird Furnace, and Chu Xinghe wondered if doing so could help him escape his lessons.

Chu Xinghe hoped to be punished by damaging the Vermilion Bird Divine Furnace, but his Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire instead awakened it and earned him the Spirit Crane Palace’s admiration. After the celebration, he stayed behind alone with the furnace, still intent on doing something reckless.

• Shen Chun told Chu Xinghe that the Spirit Tomb would open soon and offered to help him find a suitable spirit weapon.
• The grand elder taught Chu Xinghe fire control and instructed him to communicate carefully with the Vermilion Bird Furnace.
• Chu Xinghe’s Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire touched the furnace, awakening it and restoring its dormant power.
• The grand elder and the Spirit Crane Palace elders celebrated the furnace’s revival with a banquet honoring Chu Xinghe.
• After the banquet, Chu Xinghe sent the others away and remained alone beside the Vermilion Bird Divine Furnace.

Chu Xinghe deliberately overheated the Vermilion Bird Divine Furnace, causing the Medicine King Palace to explode and catch fire. A Vermilion Bird then emerged and began a Spirit Communion with him, opening the Medicine Saint Lu Changfeng’s long-lost inheritance.

• Chu Xinghe fed Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire into the Vermilion Bird Divine Furnace until it cracked, then fled as it exploded and set the Medicine King Palace ablaze.
• The Grand Elder and others rushed to fight the fire, and the Grand Elder realized Chu Xinghe’s Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire had likely caused the destruction.
• The Medicine King Palace exploded again, and a Vermilion Bird emerged from the flames and struck Chu Xinghe, drawing him into a world of fire.
• Feng Fei and the gathered elders witnessed the Vermilion Bird Spirit Communion, which they recognized as the opening of Medicine Saint Lu Changfeng’s inheritance.
• The Grand Elder ordered everyone to stop fighting the blaze and retreat so they would not disrupt Chu Xinghe’s inheritance.

Chu Xinghe accidentally triggered the Medicine Saint’s inheritance, destroyed the Medicine King Palace, and was celebrated instead of punished. The Grand Elder promoted him to core disciple, and Chu Xinghe ended the day lamenting that he still could not get punished.

• The Medicine King Palace burned as Chu Xinghe completed the Vermilion Bird Spirit Communion and received the Medicine Saint’s inheritance.
• The Grand Elder rescued Chu Xinghe and revealed that the Vermilion Bird Divine Furnace had survived and returned to its true form.
• Chu Xinghe admitted he had obtained the inheritance, and the Grand Elder promoted him to core disciple.
• Chu Xinghe humbly asked the elite disciples to keep addressing him as before when they were alone, winning their admiration.
• Feng Fei took Chu Xinghe back to his residence, where Chu Xinghe cried over how hard it was to get punished.

Chu Xinghe helped rebuild the Medicine King Palace and used pills to persuade Liu Bo to look after his fellow villager Chu Cheng, while secretly hoping Chu Cheng would be beaten again. Chu Cheng was attacked once more, and the Grand Elder praised Chu Xinghe’s humility and character.

• Chu Xinghe received his core disciple robes, then helped the Spirit Crane Palace disciples clear the burned Medicine King Palace and distribute pills.
• Chu Xinghe recognized Liu Bo as the outer-sect disciple who had beaten Chu Cheng and gave him pills to take care of Chu Xinghe’s fellow villager.
• Feng Fei warned Chu Xinghe that Chu Cheng might not appreciate his kindness, but Chu Xinghe said he would give more pills if Chu Cheng were beaten again.
• Liu Bo overheard Chu Xinghe and Feng Fei, then led a group to Chu Cheng’s room and beat him while pretending to protect him.
• The Grand Elder and other elders saw Chu Xinghe working at the Medicine King Palace and praised his humble nature.

Chu Xinghe learned that the Grand Elder and Shen Chun planned to help him obtain a divine sword from the Spirit Tomb, despite his wish to break the sect’s rules and get expelled. After receiving secret information about the swords, he found a new chance to sabotage his prospects by misleading the other disciples.

• The elders praised Chu Xinghe’s actions by rebuilding Medicine King Palace on a much larger scale, while Shen Chun offered to arrange information to help him choose a spirit weapon.
• Chu Xinghe asked Feng Fei whether the arrangement broke sect rules, but Feng Fei explained that favored disciples commonly received such help and hinted that the Grand Elder could secure a divine sword for him.
• Chu Xinghe considered exposing the backdoor dealings but decided against it, then dreamed that Chu Cheng came seeking revenge and ate two meat-filled zongzi to calm himself.
• While Medicine King Palace was rebuilt, Chu Xinghe watched the construction and pondered ways to sabotage his future before Shen Chun brought him a map showing four divine swords and instructions for obtaining three.
• Shen Chun warned Chu Xinghe not to mislead other disciples, explaining that a previous disciple had been expelled for giving random directions, and Chu Xinghe secretly resolved to do exactly that.

Chu Xinghe memorized the great elder’s detailed instructions for finding four divine swords, then entered the Spirit Tomb Gathering with three thousand inner disciples. Instead of heading straight for a sword, he offered to guide the confused disciples, winning their admiration as the elders watched through the Haotian Mirror.

• Chu Xinghe read and memorized the great elder’s instructions for finding Falling Star, Marquis of Xinting, Lone Swan, and Spirit Slayer, then burned the paper at Feng Fei’s urging.
• Chu Xinghe learned that the Spirit Tomb would open the next morning, and the great elder would preside over the gathering in the sect master’s absence.
• The great elder explained the Spirit Tomb’s rules to the gathered disciples, and Chu Xinghe entered through the underground passage into the cavern-like tomb.
• Wan Lin asked Chu Xinghe for help choosing a spirit weapon, and he invited her and the other bewildered disciples to follow him.
• The elders watched through the Haotian Mirror as Chu Xinghe put his own search for a divine sword aside to guide his fellow disciples.

Chu Xinghe led his fellow disciples to the Spirit Pool, where they accused him of directing them toward inferior spirit weapons. He defended the pool by recounting the Vast Heaven Sect’s history and its ancestors’ weapons, leaving the disciples and elders reflecting on their original aspiration.

• Chu Xinghe guided an ever-growing group of disciples through the Spirit Tomb while the elders watched his generosity through the Haotian Mirror.
• Chu Xinghe brought the disciples to the Spirit Pool and told them to choose spirit weapons there, prompting them to accuse him of setting them up with inferior choices.
• Chu Xinghe silenced the angry crowd and told them how the first-generation Great Emperor Haotian wielded the Black Iron Sword and the tenth-generation Great Emperor Haotian wielded the Mercury Sword.
• Chu Xinghe urged the disciples to honor their ancestors’ legacy and question whether they were worthy of the Vast Heaven Sect if they cared only about powerful spirit weapons.
• The disciples and elders fell silent and reconsidered how the sect had lost sight of its original aspiration.

Chu Xinghe urged the disciples to pursue cultivation without relying on powerful spirit weapons, then chose an ordinary sword himself. His words and actions awakened the Haotian Sword Casket, which recognized him as its master and left the Vast Heaven Sect’s disciples with soul-fused spirit weapons; Sect Master Gu Mingchao arrived and watched Chu Xinghe through the Haotian Mirror.

• Chu Xinghe persuaded Wan Lin and the other disciples to choose spirit weapons and cultivate through their own efforts.
• Chu Xinghe selected an ordinary spirit sword, but it flew back into the pool as every spirit weapon in the Vast Heaven Sect began to tremble.
• Nine divine swords and the Haotian Sword Casket burst from the shattered pillar and circled Chu Xinghe before the casket recognized him as its master.
• The Haotian Sword Casket’s light gave the disciples who had chosen spirit weapons sudden enlightenment and fused their weapons with their souls.
• The Haotian Sword Casket entered Chu Xinghe’s left shoulder as a mark, and Sect Master Gu Mingchao arrived and fixed his attention on him.

After the Haotian Sword Casket chose Chu Xinghe, it broke his cultivation bottleneck and helped the disciples who had trusted him advance as well. Sect Master Gu Mingchao witnessed Chu Xinghe’s flying sword and offered to take him as his personal disciple.

• Gu Mingchao emerged from seclusion, and the Grand Elder and other elders told him about Chu Xinghe’s recent achievements.
• The Haotian Sword Casket fused with Chu Xinghe, advancing him to Second-Rank Martial Master and helping the disciples who had chosen spirit weapons break through too.
• Wan Lin and the other awakened disciples thanked Chu Xinghe, while those who had hesitated regretted missing the blessing.
• Chu Xinghe encouraged the disappointed disciples to keep searching for spirit weapons, then led the others out of the Spirit Tomb to greet Gu Mingchao and the elders.
• Chu Xinghe summoned Flying Locust, and Gu Mingchao recognized it as a true flying sword before offering to take Chu Xinghe as his personal disciple.

Chu Xinghe refused Gu Mingchao’s offer to become his personal disciple, choosing to remain with the great elder at the Spirit Crane Palace. Gu Mingchao still granted him the Haotian Token and agreed to teach him Haotian Battle Intent, and Chu Xinghe arrived at the Haotian Palace for his first lesson.

• Gu Mingchao offered to take Chu Xinghe as his personal disciple, but Chu Xinghe declined because he wanted to stay with the great elder at the Spirit Crane Palace.
• Gu Mingchao praised Chu Xinghe’s character and promised to teach him Haotian Battle Intent despite his refusal.
• The great elder made Chu Xinghe his personal disciple, and Gu Mingchao gave him a Haotian Token to enter the Haotian Palace and learn Haotian Battle Intent.
• News of Chu Xinghe’s achievements spread through the Vast Heaven Sect, while Chu Xinghe envied other disciples who were punished after the Spirit Tomb Gathering.
• Feng Fei brought Chu Xinghe his new robes, and Chu Xinghe then went to the Haotian Palace to meet Gu Mingchao for his lesson.
• Gu Mingchao told Chu Xinghe he would teach him Haotian Battle Intent but first needed to warn him about several things, making Chu Xinghe hopeful that trouble might follow.

Chu Xinghe learned the Haotian Battle Intent from Gu Mingchao in one day, then volunteered to help Feng Fei with the Medicine King Palace’s procurement. He altered a purchase order to request three million stalks of rare Shen Spirit Herb, and confirmed the order to a bewildered Wei Deqian.

• Gu Mingchao taught Chu Xinghe the Haotian Battle Intent, and Chu Xinghe memorized it in one day.
• Chu Xinghe returned to the Spirit Crane Palace and offered to help Feng Fei review procurement lists for the Medicine King Palace.
• Chu Xinghe changed an order for three million stalks of Middle Spirit Herb to three million stalks of Shen Spirit Herb.
• Wei Deqian questioned the Shen Spirit Herb order, but Chu Xinghe confirmed that the list was correct.

Chu Xinghe used the Haotian Token to approve a purchase of three million Shen Spirit Herbs, then endured the Grand Elder’s demanding medicine-refining lessons while waiting for the order to arrive. When the costly mistake was discovered, the Spirit Crane Palace disciples all pleaded for Chu Xinghe, leaving Wei Deqian astonished by how popular he was.

• Chu Xinghe signed a contract for three million Shen Spirit Herbs using his Haotian Token after Wei Deqian said the Grand Elder’s token was required.
• As supplies arrived and the Medicine King Palace resumed work, the Grand Elder trained Chu Xinghe in medicine refinement and demanded that he produce only supreme-grade pills.
• Chu Xinghe refined a fourth-grade Fire Spirit Pill on his first attempt, but the Grand Elder still called the ordinary-grade result a failure.
• Feng Fei discovered the three-million-herb order and brought the contract to the Grand Elder, who was shocked to see Chu Xinghe’s signature and the Haotian Token’s mark.
• Feng Fei and Chu Xinghe each accepted blame, while disciples throughout the Spirit Crane Palace knelt to ask the Grand Elder to forgive Chu Xinghe.

After Chu Xinghe misused the Haotian Token, the Spirit Crane Palace and its elders pleaded for him, and the Great Elder sentenced him to three months of confinement in the Medicine King Palace. The Misfortune Compass rewarded him with Peak Second-Grade Martial Master cultivation, while the sect master approved the punishment and ordered Chu Xinghe to keep training.

• The Spirit Crane Palace disciples and elders knelt to plead for Chu Xinghe, and Wei Deqian falsely claimed Chu Xinghe had been unable to find the Great Elder before using the Haotian Token.
• The Great Elder punished Feng Fei by withholding six months of resources and confined Chu Xinghe to the Medicine King Palace for three months, reclaiming the Haotian Token.
• The Misfortune Compass marked Chu Xinghe's punishment complete and raised his cultivation to Peak Second-Grade Martial Master.
• Chu Xinghe's senior brothers and the elders comforted him, while Feng Fei apologized for the purchasing mistake.
• The Great Elder returned the Haotian Token to the sect master, who approved his decision and told him to ensure Chu Xinghe continued training in Haotian Battle Intent.
• News of the Spirit Crane Palace's plea spread through the Vast Heaven Sect, and Wan Lin declared she would risk her life to help Chu Xinghe.

Chu Xinghe served his confinement in the Medicine King Palace, where the grand elder continued to teach him, while sects across the region tried to buy Shen Spirit Herb from the Daxing Chamber of Commerce. Chu Xinghe realized his purchase had not earned a Misfortune Compass reward because the herbs still counted as assets, and he resolved to find a more concrete way to cause the sect a loss.

• Vast Heaven Sect disciples praised Chu Xinghe and supported him after he received three months of confinement, while Chu Cheng angrily accused him of deceiving everyone.
• The grand elder watched Chu Xinghe for signs of resentment, then continued teaching him the Haotian Battle Intent and alchemy when Chu Xinghe remained outspoken and sincere.
• Wei Deqian warned his shopkeepers never to offend Chu Xinghe, then learned that Elder Ma of the Star Moon Sect wanted five hundred thousand stalks of Shen Spirit Herb, which the Vast Heaven Sect had bought up.
• Elder Shangguan of the East Moon Pavilion and Elder Xu of Northern Nether City also requested five hundred thousand stalks each, but Wei Deqian told them he could not supply the herb.
• Chu Xinghe concluded that the Misfortune Compass had not rewarded him because the Shen Spirit Herb retained its value, and he decided he needed a more concrete way to cause the sect a loss.

Chu Xinghe trained in combat and medicine refining at the Medicine King Palace while Feng Fei struggled to find buyers for three million Shen Spirit Herbs. When elders from three major sects came to purchase a total of one and a half million herbs, the Grand Elder unexpectedly refused, leaving Chu Xinghe suspecting a conspiracy.

• The Grand Elder trained Chu Xinghe in combat and medicine refining until he could regularly produce supreme-grade Blood Spirit Pills.
• Feng Fei found that the Vast Heaven Sect's merchant caravan had little hope of selling the three million Shen Spirit Herbs and considered discounting them.
• Shen Chun told the Grand Elder that elders from the Star Moon Sect, East Moon Pavilion, and Northern Nether City had arrived, and the Grand Elder brought Chu Xinghe to meet them.
• Elder Ma, Elder Shangguan, and Elder Xu each asked to buy five hundred thousand Shen Spirit Herbs.
• The Grand Elder claimed the Vast Heaven Sect could not supply one and a half million herbs and refused the sale, baffling Feng Fei and Chu Xinghe.

Chu Xinghe’s accidental purchase of three million Shen Spirit Herbs revealed a spirit grotto discovered by three sects, letting the Vast Heaven Sect negotiate for one hundred places. The sect celebrated the opportunity and lifted Chu Xinghe’s confinement, appointing him to lead the grotto expedition, while he resolved to sabotage it.

• Elders from three sects confronted the Grand Elder over the Vast Heaven Sect’s purchase of Shen Spirit Herbs, believing it had learned about their spirit grotto.
• The Grand Elder negotiated one hundred of the grotto’s three hundred places for the Vast Heaven Sect and secured the herbs and Stone-Breaking Pills for the three sects.
• The Grand Elder reported the grotto’s location and benefits to Gu Mingchao, who recognized Chu Xinghe’s mistake as an opportunity for the sect.
• The Vast Heaven Sect’s halls and disciples celebrated the grotto places and the prospect of Marrow-Cleansing Pills for its new disciples.
• The Vast Heaven Sect lifted Chu Xinghe’s confinement and appointed him leader of the grotto party, and Chu Xinghe planned to lead them into trouble.

Chu Xinghe prepared to lead the Vast Heaven Sect’s disciples to the spirit grotto while secretly looking for a way to sabotage the trip without endangering anyone. After receiving a wealth of supplies, he pledged to surrender his status as a personal disciple if the group failed to claim more than seventy percent of the resources.

• The sect master agreed to appoint Chu Xinghe as leader, and Wan Lin told him that the Vast Heaven Sect’s arrival depended on its teleportation array and Stone-Breaking Pills, inspiring him to consider delaying the other sects by missing the grotto’s opening.
• The Grand Elder arranged for Medicine King Palace to refine a vast supply of Stone-Breaking Pills, gave Chu Xinghe medicine and an elder’s token, and instructed him to be cautious.
• Feng Fei and other Spirit Crane Palace senior brothers gave Chu Xinghe pills, spirit stones, and treasures for the journey.
• The sect master and Grand Elder addressed the selected disciples before their departure, and the sect master told Chu Xinghe to protect the group and bring back as many resources as possible.
• Chu Xinghe pledged to surrender his personal-disciple status if the group failed to obtain more than seventy percent of the resources, and the sect master accepted his pledge.

Chu Xinghe brought the sect’s disciples to Yu City, hoping their detour and exhaustion would delay their arrival at the Spirit Grotto. When Ma Liang returned injured after visiting the Myriad Flowers Festival, Chu Xinghe rallied the others to hunt down the attacker.

• The sect master teleported Chu Xinghe and the other disciples to Yu City, where Chu Xinghe ordered them to rest for a day before traveling onward.
• Chu Xinghe booked the entire Fan House and warned the disciples not to visit the Myriad Flowers Festival, while secretly hoping they would go and become too exhausted to travel.
• Wan Lin and Ma Liang sneaked out of the inn, followed by fewer than thirty junior brothers.
• Ma Liang returned with a severe arm wound after a rival attacked him at the festival, and the other disciples said the attacker had escaped.
• Chu Xinghe treated Ma Liang’s wound, then called more than a dozen junior brothers together and set out to find the person who had hurt him.

Chu Xinghe led a hundred Vast Heaven Sect disciples to avenge Ma Liang after Huang Shaohua had attacked him, violently confronting the Myriad Flowers House and then marching on the Huang Clan. When they revealed their sect uniforms, Huang Yongtang realized the attackers belonged to the Vast Heaven Sect, the number one sect under heaven.

• Ma Liang expected Chu Xinghe to punish him for disobeying orders, but Chu Xinghe gathered disciples to avenge him at the Myriad Flowers House.
• Chu Xinghe and his group beat the guards, threatened the manager, and set fire to the staircase until the manager identified Huang Shaohua as Ma Liang's attacker.
• Chu Xinghe returned to Fan House, announced that the Huang Clan was responsible, and led the hundred-strong group to its residence at dawn.
• Huang Yongtang gathered the Huang Clan to confront the intruders, believing they were not Star Moon Sect disciples.
• Chu Xinghe and the others broke through the Huang Clan's gates, entered the courtyard, and revealed their Vast Heaven Sect uniforms.
• Huang Yongtang recognized that the attackers were disciples of the Vast Heaven Sect and struck Huang Liang after he celebrated their apparent lack of affiliation with the Star Moon Sect.

Chu Xinghe led the Vast Heaven Sect disciples to punish the Huang Clan for Huang Shaohua injuring Ma Liang, then accepted responsibility for the delay on their journey to the Spirit Grotto. His protection of his junior disciples changed their view of him, and Ma Liang resolved to become more like Senior Brother Xinghe.

• Chu Xinghe confronted Huang Yongtang, slapped him, and demanded that Huang Shaohua surrender an arm for injuring Ma Liang.
• Huang Yongtang offered spirit stones, but Chu Xinghe rejected them and gave him ten breaths to produce Huang Shaohua.
• Huang Yongtang brought out Huang Shaohua, and Ma Liang severed his arm before Chu Xinghe led the Vast Heaven Sect group away.
• On the road outside Yu City, Ma Liang apologized for disobeying Chu Xinghe, who took responsibility for the delay and told the others not to blame him.
• The disciples admired Chu Xinghe for protecting Ma Liang and accepting the consequences, and Ma Liang vowed to become someone as outstanding as Senior Brother Xinghe.

At Haotian Palace, Gu Mingchao and the elders praised Chu Xinghe’s actions as they watched him lead the disciples toward the spirit cave. When Chu Xinghe arrived late that night expecting punishment for missing the deadline, Guo Qizhen told him the Vast Heaven Sect had arrived half a day early, leaving him baffled.

• Gu Mingchao and the elders watched Chu Xinghe confront the Huang Clan and praised his courage and loyalty to his fellow disciples.
• Chu Xinghe led the exhausted group toward the spirit cave, telling Ma Liang not to confess that his injury had delayed them.
• Chu Xinghe expected the sect to punish him for missing the spirit cave deadline and for the other sects losing their chance to enter.
• Chu Xinghe arrived at the spirit cave late that night and met Guo Qizhen, who said the Vast Heaven Sect had arrived half a day early.