Chapter Summaries

Chu Xinghe assigned Wei Xin, a Cloud Firmament Sect spy, to the Dark Moon Palace, believing it would be a harsh but useful place for him. Wei Xin celebrated the assignment as a chance to steal the palace’s secrets and help bring down the Vast Heaven Sect.

• Chu Xinghe, Ma Liang, and An Lan debated where to place Wei Xin, and An Lan proposed sending him to the Dark Moon Palace.
• Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang agreed that the Dark Moon Palace would suit Wei Xin, where the Great Sage could modify techniques to help him improve.
• Ma Liang told Wei Xin about his assignment, and Wei Xin eagerly accepted, intending to infiltrate the palace and pass its secrets to the Cloud Firmament Sect.
• Wei Xin thanked Chu Xinghe, who arranged a teleportation array to send him directly to the Vast Heaven Sect.
• Wei Xin arrived at the Vast Heaven Sect’s mountain gate and vowed to uncover its secrets from within.

Wei Xin arrived at the Vast Heaven Sect and insisted on joining the Dark Moon Palace, unaware that the other disciples considered it a dreadful assignment. After entering the City of Dark Moon, he encountered a huge demonic beast and collapsed in terror.

• Wei Xin entered the Vast Heaven Sect with help from a gatekeeping disciple, while the other gatekeepers discussed how unusual it was for anyone to accept a place in the Dark Moon Palace.
• The escort showed Wei Xin ordinary inner sect disciples consuming fifth-grade pills and explained that Wei Xin might receive sixth-grade pills at the Dark Moon Palace.
• The Grand Elder offered Wei Xin a place in another palace, but Wei Xin vowed to remain in the Dark Moon Palace for life, and the Grand Elder approved his choice.
• Wei Xin collected his inner disciple robes and entered the City of Dark Moon, excited to begin his rise and uncover the palace's secrets.
• Wei Xin came face-to-face with an enormous demonic beast, wet himself, and collapsed as distant voices debated whether to let it eat him.

Wei Xin woke in the Dark Moon Palace after a demonic beast frightened him unconscious, then insisted on staying despite the senior brothers urging him to leave. The Dark Moon clansmen celebrated having a timid disciple to watch their death performances, and Wei Xin fainted again when one senior brother let a demonic beast eat him.

• The Dark Moon clansmen killed the demonic beast that had frightened Wei Xin and carried him to a room to recover.
• After waking, Wei Xin learned the senior brothers thought he was too timid for the Dark Moon Palace and wanted him to choose another palace.
• Wei Xin swore he would remain in the Dark Moon Palace because Senior Brother Xinghe had arranged for him to join.
• The Dark Moon clansmen were excited to have Wei Xin as an audience for their death performances, recalling how other disciples and the Savage Wilderness Tribes had disappointed them.
• Senior Brother An Zhen delayed Wei Xin's visit to the Great Sage and promised to teach him about demonic beasts.
• A senior brother brought in a demonic beast, which ate him in one bite, and Wei Xin fainted again.

Wei Xin woke repeatedly to gruesome spectacles staged by the Dark Moon Clan’s senior brothers, who insisted they were following the Saint’s instructions to toughen him up. Meanwhile, Chu Xinghe heard Lu Chengqing report on the Southern Branch’s booming businesses and Haotian Mirror income, while Ma Liang marveled at Chu Xinghe’s apparent dissatisfaction with their success.

• Wei Xin woke to An Zhen beheading himself and An Shen, then fainted after another senior brother demonstrated how to burst a heart.
• Wei Xin woke beside headless corpses and blinking severed heads, then passed out again in terror.
• The Dark Moon Clan members reattached their heads and agreed that scaring Wei Xin was the Saint’s way of tempering him, so they planned to continue once he woke.
• Chu Xinghe learned that southern business stewards had come to Rong City with lists of embezzlers and promises to increase profits.
• Lu Chengqing reported that the Voice of Vast Heaven auditions and sect advertisements had brought in enormous fees through the Haotian Mirror.
• Ma Liang struggled to stay calm as Lu Chengqing described their earnings and wondered how Chu Xinghe could seem dissatisfied.

Chu Xinghe traveled to Ice City to interfere with the Vast Heaven Sect’s disciple selection and ensure more good-for-nothings could advance. There, a thief secretly marked him, and Chu Xinghe eagerly let the mark remain, hoping to be robbed of the spirit stones in his spatial ring.

• Chu Xinghe decided the sect’s first-round selection needed to admit more unqualified candidates and told Ma Liang and An Lan he would inspect it in the north.
• Ma Liang accused Deacon Yang of using personal connections, prompting Chu Xinghe to privately recall Ma Liang’s own role in recommending the Muyue Kingdom.
• Chu Xinghe, Ma Liang, and An Lan traveled to Ice City, where young candidates had gathered for the Vast Heaven Sect’s first-round assessment.
• A passing thief secretly placed a tracking mark on Chu Xinghe, but Ma Liang detected it and An Lan prepared to pursue the thief.
• Chu Xinghe stopped Ma Liang and called An Lan back, then decided to keep the mark so the thief could steal his spirit-filled spatial ring.

Chu Xinghe tried to lure a thief into stealing his storage ring by flaunting his wealth at the Green Hairpin Tower, but the thief never appeared. When Hunter Alliance leader Zhang Dongkui stormed in to confront the Thousand-Faced Fox, he mistook Chu Xinghe for the notorious thief because of a mark on him.

• Chu Xinghe took Ma Liang and An Lan to the Green Hairpin Tower and displayed his wealth in hopes of attracting the thief who had marked him.
• Chu Xinghe waited in the crowded hall with his storage ring exposed, but nobody tried to steal it.
• Zhang Dongkui and his men burst into the Green Hairpin Tower, and Zhang accused the Thousand-Faced Fox of stealing the Wu Lineage’s resources after helping poison its members.
• Zhang Dongkui recognized a Hunter Alliance mark on Chu Xinghe and declared that Chu Xinghe was the Thousand-Faced Fox.
• Chu Xinghe realized the mark was not a thief’s tag but the Hunter Alliance’s mark, and that Zhang Dongkui had mistaken him for someone else.

Chu Xinghe was mistaken for Thousand-Faced Fox and watched An Lan swiftly kill Zhang Dongkui and the Hunter Alliance men before killing Thousand-Faced Fox on his order. The people in Green Hairpin Tower were stunned by Chu Xinghe’s apparent power until Deacon Yang arrived and greeted him as Xinghe.

• Zhang Dongkui ordered his men to seize Chu Xinghe, but An Lan killed the attackers and beheaded Zhang Dongkui before Chu Xinghe could stop him.
• The witnesses mistook An Lan’s invisible strikes for Chu Xinghe’s power and were terrified by how easily he had killed a Seventh Rank Martial Saint.
• Chu Xinghe told An Lan to kill Thousand-Faced Fox, and An Lan returned with the fox’s severed head after killing him outside Ice City.
• The people in Green Hairpin Tower wondered if Chu Xinghe could make his words law when Thousand-Faced Fox’s head arrived in response to his order.
• Deacon Yang of the Vast Heaven Sect entered, recognized Chu Xinghe, and greeted him, shocking the young people gathered there.

Chu Xinghe revealed himself at the Green Hairpin Tower after Deacon Yang arrived and recognized him, then announced his plan to send low-talent candidates into the next round of Vast Heaven Sect’s selection trials. He left the gathered hopefuls clamoring for his attention, determined to master the “trash archetype” and avoid repeating his previous failure.

• Deacon Yang rushed to the Green Hairpin Tower after hearing that a young man had killed Zhang Dongkui and sent his head flying into Ice City.
• Deacon Yang recognized Chu Xinghe by Ma Liang’s respectful service and ordered his stewards to greet him as Senior Brother Xinghe.
• Chu Xinghe removed his Fox-Pattern Mask and greeted Deacon Yang, while the crowd realized who he was and begged him for help entering the Vast Heaven Sect.
• Chu Xinghe agreed with a candidate who asked for a chance for people with low talent and resolved to fill the second round with such candidates.

After arriving in Ice City, Chu Xinghe found the Vast Heaven Sect’s disciple assessment overwhelmed by applicants and agreed to meet influential lineages seeking favors. He was delighted to learn their connections could help send unsuitable candidates into the first round, and eagerly welcomed Hu Buqi’s son Hu Wenhai, who had scored six points on a talisman assessment.

• News of Chu Xinghe killing Zhang Dongkui spread through Ice City, drawing crowds of hopeful applicants to the Vast Heaven Sect branch.
• Deacon Yang explained that the Millennial Grand Sacrifice had restored Spiritual Qi and that many lineages had sent calling cards requesting meetings with Chu Xinghe.
• Deacon Yang warned Chu Xinghe that the Vast Heaven Sect sometimes let the disciples of allied lineages pass the first round as repayment for past favors.
• Chu Xinghe realized he could use the connections to bring weak candidates into the second round and told Deacon Yang to arrange meetings with the lineages.
• Hu Buqi brought his son Hu Wenhai to meet Chu Xinghe and explained that Hu Wenhai had scored six points on his talisman assessment.
• Chu Xinghe enthusiastically declared that Hu Wenhai had to join the Vast Heaven Sect.

Chu Xinghe admitted Hu Wenhai to the Vast Heaven Sect after Hu Wenhai quickly made a failed talisman, praising his speed and confidence. He then approved disciples from numerous other lineages for admission, leaving Deacon Yang baffled.

• Hu Buqi claimed Hu Wenhai was a rare talisman prodigy despite his six-point assessment score, and Chu Xinghe agreed that the sect needed him.
• Hu Wenhai rapidly made a Thunder Talisman, but it failed when it hit the ground; Hu Buqi praised his improved speed, and Hu Wenhai accepted the praise confidently.
• Chu Xinghe called Hu Wenhai an unparalleled talent, exempted him from the first round, and promised to guarantee his admission.
• Hu Buqi celebrated Chu Xinghe's decision, while Deacon Yang doubted Hu Wenhai's ability and Ma Liang assumed Chu Xinghe had recognized hidden talent.
• Chu Xinghe approved disciples from many other lineages for admission, including those with low or falsified assessment scores, as Deacon Yang watched in dismay.

Chu Xinghe responded to protests over his preferential admissions by lowering the first-round passing threshold to six points, leaving Deacon Yang unsure how to proceed. Ma Liang interpreted the change as requiring six perfect scores and convinced Deacon Yang with a bizarre mathematical argument.

• Chu Xinghe accepted nearly a thousand lineage disciples with scores around six, provoking examinees who had scored higher but failed the first round.
• Deacon Yang went to Chu Xinghe after angry examinees blocked the Vast Heaven Sect branch, and Chu Xinghe ordered that anyone scoring six points could pass.
• Deacon Yang sought Ma Liang's advice, and Ma Liang argued that the assessment was unfair because it had ranked him above Chu Xinghe despite their different abilities.
• Ma Liang concluded that six points meant six perfect scores across the ten assessment categories, then claimed a sixty-point candidate was better than a ninety-point candidate because they won more categories.
• Deacon Yang was left bewildered by Ma Liang's mathematical reasoning.

Chu Xinghe’s Six-Point Assessment Method let applicants pass the Vast Heaven Sect’s first round either by scoring above nine overall or by earning full marks in six categories. After the Grand Elder and palace heads approved it, Deacon Yang posted the new rules in Ice City, where the young people who had been protesting were stunned.

• Ma Liang explained to Deacon Yang why full marks in six assessment categories could matter more than a high total across all ten.
• Deacon Yang realized Chu Xinghe’s method gave applicants suited to a particular palace another way to qualify, and he sent the proposal to the Vast Heaven Sect by spirit bird.
• The Grand Elder convened the palace heads, who unanimously supported the Six-Point Assessment Method and authorized Deacon Yang to implement it.
• Young people gathered outside the Vast Heaven Sect branch in Ice City and criticized Chu Xinghe for letting disciples from great families pass without assessment.
• Deacon Yang posted the new assessment rules, leaving the protesting applicants stunned to learn that six full-mark categories could qualify them.

Chu Xinghe’s six-point assessment, requiring full marks in six categories, gave unevenly talented candidates a new chance to pass the Vast Heaven Sect’s first round and unsettled rival sects that relied on overlooked talent. As the Ten Great Sects began adopting the system, the Cloud Firmament Sect also announced recruitment, leaving young people surprised because they thought it was not accepting disciples this year.

• Deacon Yang posted Chu Xinghe’s notice lowering the Vast Heaven Sect’s qualifying score to six points, earned through full marks in six categories, and hopeful candidates celebrated while others questioned the rule.
• Young people protested that candidates with higher overall scores could fail, so Ma Liang used the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grand Formation to explain why a candidate with six perfect categories could be better than one with nine strong categories.
• News of the assessment spread, alarming other sects that feared the Vast Heaven Sect would discover talented candidates they had previously recruited after the Vast Heaven Sect rejected them.
• Martial Emperor City adopted the six-point assessment, and the other members of the Ten Great Sects followed, including the Cloud Firmament Sect.
• Young people were stunned by the Cloud Firmament Sect’s announcement because they had believed it was not accepting disciples this year and doubted they could reach or qualify for it.

Ling Su blamed Chu Xinghe for a rumor campaign against the Cloud Firmament Sect and urged Wei Xin to steal the Formless Heart Sutra from the Dark Moon Palace. Meanwhile, Chu Xinghe adapted to the six-point assessment by deciding that Vast Heaven Sect recruits would take elective courses in their weakest areas.

• Ling Su concluded without evidence that Chu Xinghe had orchestrated rumors spread by several sects, then contacted Wei Xin and asked him to obtain the Formless Heart Sutra.
• Ma Liang’s claim that a candidate who excelled in six categories could surpass one who scored higher overall helped the six-point assessment gain acceptance across the sects.
• Three young people earned full marks in six categories, including an alchemy prodigy, an elemental specialist whom Elder He chose as a personal disciple, and Hu Wenhai, who excelled at the speed test.
• Chu Xinghe saw the recruits’ weaknesses as an opportunity and decided Vast Heaven Sect would make them study elective courses in the areas where they lacked talent.

Wei Xin endured the Dark Moon Clan’s lethal games after being assigned to the Dark Moon Palace, then discovered that the Savage Wilderness Tribes and Ouyang Lineage were raising demon beasts to barbecue. His grim experiences made him famous as the Vast Heaven Sect’s greatest warrior, while the outer sect recommended Chu Cheng for a place in the Dark Moon Palace.

• The Grand Elder praised Chu Xinghe’s six-point assessment system and successful tour of the sect’s holdings, which brought other businesses into line.
• Wei Xin was made to kill Dark Moon Clan senior brothers in daily demonstrations and at their masked mutual slashing parties.
• Wei Xin secretly investigated the Savage Wilderness Tribes, suspecting they had found a way to control demon beasts.
• Wei Xin discovered the Ouyang Lineage and the Savage Wilderness Tribes were catching demon beasts to grill and eat, and they learned he was Wei Xin, the Vast Heaven Sect’s greatest warrior.
• The sect widely praised Wei Xin for choosing the Dark Moon Palace, and outer sect disciples unanimously recommended Chu Cheng for promotion there.

Wei Xin received the Formless Heart Sutra from the Great Sage and secretly sent it to the Cloud Firmament Sect, believing he was fulfilling his duty as a spy despite growing fond of the Vast Heaven Sect. When two elders were injured after cultivating it, Ling Su concluded Wei Xin had been exposed and cut off contact with him.

• The Great Sage taught Wei Xin the Formless Heart Sutra and promised to find him more suitable techniques.
• Wei Xin considered staying in the Vast Heaven Sect but decided his spy past left him no way to turn back.
• Wei Xin sent the Formless Heart Sutra to Ling Su through a spirit bird.
• Ling Su summoned two elders, who began cultivating the sutra while he kept the message from the sect master in seclusion.
• The two elders erupted in blood and collapsed after cultivating the sutra, warning Ling Su that something was wrong with it.
• Ling Su assumed Wei Xin had been exposed and sent a fake sutra, so he cut off all contact with him.

Chu Xinghe investigated the Silver Star Mountain Range after learning that mysterious ghostly figures had driven both the Vast Heaven Sect and Cloud Firmament Sect away from its valuable ore. The figures resisted Ma Liang’s formation and Evil Repeller, and Chu Xinghe claimed the range for the Vast Heaven Sect if they could clear it, while Xie Songlin privately believed the task was impossible.

• Ma Liang told Chu Xinghe that the Silver Star Mountain Range had been abandoned after endless vengeful ghosts appeared, and Deacon Yang said the Cloud Firmament Sect’s Silver Star Ore sales had increased despite its supposed withdrawal.
• Chu Xinghe traveled to the mountain range with Ma Liang and An Lan, where the ghostly figures ignored Ma Liang’s Ten Thousand Ghosts Grand Formation and Evil Repeller and kept coming despite An Lan’s attacks.
• Chu Xinghe ordered the group to retreat from the mist after concluding that the figures were not ordinary ghosts, then crossed into Cloud Firmament Sect territory to investigate.
• Xie Songlin claimed the Cloud Firmament Sect had repeatedly failed to clear the range and said the ore vein mattered to his sect, but Chu Xinghe declared that the Vast Heaven Sect would claim it if they succeeded.
• Xie Songlin watched Chu Xinghe leave and privately believed that no force could clear the seemingly endless ghostly figures.

Xie Songlin believed the Cloud Firmament Sect’s secret treasure created the endless Evil Qi Puppets in the Silver Star Mountain Range, and he expected Chu Xinghe’s attempt to clear them out to fail. Chu stopped Ma Liang from calling Feng Yuzheng and sent Ma and An Lan back to obtain Xie’s recorded promise not to reclaim the range, while Chu prepared a larger plan of his own.

• Xie Songlin recalled that the Cloud Firmament Sect had used an ancient secret treasure to drive the Vast Heaven Sect from the Silver Star Mountain Range, where the treasure’s Evil Qi continually spawned Evil Qi Puppets.
• An Lan explained to Chu Xinghe and Ma Liang that the puppets could not be eliminated unless they found their source, and Ma Liang proposed asking Feng Yuzheng to locate it.
• Chu Xinghe stopped Ma Liang from contacting Feng Yuzheng, then ordered Ma Liang and An Lan to return to Snow City and record Xie Songlin confirming that the Cloud Firmament Sect would not claim the range if the Vast Heaven Sect cleared it.
• After Ma Liang and An Lan left, Chu Xinghe sent a spirit bird toward the Vast Heaven Sect, pleased with the larger plan he was preparing.
• Ma Liang returned to Snow City and got Xie Songlin to state that the Cloud Firmament Sect would take no share of the Silver Star Mountain Range if the Vast Heaven Sect cleared it.

Chu Xinghe announced that the Vast Heaven Sect would clear ghosts from the Silver Star Mountain Range, then secretly arranged for the Dark Moon Clan to destroy the entire range. The blast flattened the mountains and left Ma Liang realizing that Xinghe had sacrificed the territory to wipe out the Cloud Firmament Sect’s forces and Evil Qi Puppets.

• Ma Liang and An Lan delivered Xie Songlin’s answer to Chu Xinghe, who issued a notice warning people away from the Silver Star Mountain Range.
• Xie Songlin dismissed the notice, kept watch for Vast Heaven Sect forces, and personally oversaw the range as no one arrived for three days.
• Chu Xinghe told Ma Liang to wait, then sat with him in Ice City as snow fell that night.
• A blinding light and immense explosions shook Ice City, halted the snowfall, and flattened the Silver Star Mountain Range.
• Deacon Yang rushed to Chu Xinghe, who calmly clapped while Ma Liang realized the Dark Moon Clan had destroyed the mountains to eliminate the Cloud Firmament Sect’s hidden forces and Evil Qi Puppets.

Chu Xinghe’s destruction of the Silver Star Mountain Range killed Cloud Firmament Sect elders Xie Songlin and Liu, and Xing Yushen arrived to seize him. Just as Xing Yushen reached for Chu Xinghe, an unseen hand emerged from the shattered void.

• Ma Liang admired Chu Xinghe’s precautions after seeing the Silver Star Mountain Range reduced to craters and realizing the Cloud Firmament Sect had ignored the warning to withdraw.
• Ma Liang and Chu Xinghe learned that Xie Songlin and Elder Liu had been inside the Silver Star Mountain Range, and they struggled to suppress their laughter.
• Cloud Firmament Sect Master Xing Yushen arrived with the sect’s elders after Xie Songlin’s and Liu’s soul lamps went out, and mistook Chu Xinghe for the culprit.
• Xing Yushen tried to capture Chu Xinghe, while Chu Xinghe kicked Ma Liang away to keep him from fighting the Half-Step Martial God.
• An invisible force shattered the void before Xing Yushen could seize Chu Xinghe, and a hand appeared.