Chapter Summaries

Chu Xinghe gave the Zhao Lineage a Medicine Saint pill formula that might save Old Master Zhao, and the Grand Elder decided to risk refining it while stabilizing the old man. As the Zhao Lineage gathered ingredients by force and became notorious for potent medicines, Zheng Yu learned that one ingredient had made an elephant explode and suspected Chu Xinghe was behind it.

• The Grand Elder agreed to let Chu Xinghe attempt the treatment and promised to protect the Zhao Lineage if Old Master Zhao died or lost his mind.
• Zhao Yuanzhen ordered the Zhao Lineage to obtain ten portions of every ingredient, while the Grand Elder used an Origin-Nurturing Pill to stabilize Old Master Zhao.
• Little Squirrel visited Chu Xinghe under the pretense of seeking guidance, and Chen Xuewang warned Chu Xinghe to stay away from her.
• The Zhao Lineage spent two days buying or seizing potent ingredients, prompting rumors that Zhao Yuanzhen was pursuing medicines for himself and earning the family a reputation as the martial world's number one potent medicine lineage.
• Zheng Yu heard that an elephant had exploded after eating the fifth ingredient and wondered whether Chu Xinghe was behind the Zhao Lineage's actions.

Chu Xinghe refined a divine pill for Old Master Zhao while the Zhao Lineage and its guests watched. The pill burst into the sky as thunderclouds gathered, and lightning descended just as it emerged.

• Zhao Yuanzhen apologized to Chu Xinghe for the commotion around the Zhao Lineage, then presented the gathered medicinal ingredients.
• Little Squirrel selected the finest ingredients, and Chu Xinghe began refining the medicine in the Vermilion Bird Furnace.
• The furnace shook and boomed, but golden light revealed that Chu Xinghe had successfully created a divine pill.
• The divine pill broke through the pill room’s roof and rose over the Zhao compound as dark clouds gathered.
• A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens toward the divine pill.

Chu Xinghe refined a divine pill to cure Old Master Zhao’s evil fire, but its effects caused the old man to rampage and left him seemingly dead. The evil fire was ultimately purged, and Old Master Zhao survived, while Chu Xinghe was left stunned that his treatment had succeeded.

• Chu Xinghe’s divine pill endured two lightning tribulations and smashed the second one apart before he sealed it in a purple jade bottle.
• Chu Xinghe gave the pill to Old Master Zhao, who woke in a frenzy and wrecked much of the Zhao residence as his spiritual power ran wild.
• Old Master Zhao spat blood and unleashed the green evil fire burning within him, then collapsed motionless after the flames erupted.
• The first elder and Wu Qun confirmed that Old Master Zhao had survived and that all the evil fire had dissipated, though he needed months to recover.
• Zhao Yuanzhen and the Zhao Lineage celebrated Old Master Zhao’s recovery, while Chu Xinghe stood dumbfounded.

Chu Xinghe's divine pill cured Old Master Zhao's evil fire, and the First Elder named it the Evil Repeller Pill after Chu Xinghe gave him the honor. News of the pill spread across the world, while a demonic sect's attempt to use its formula ended in disaster.

• The First Elder treated Old Master Zhao and confirmed that he would recover after the pill dispelled his evil fire.
• The First Elder asked Chu Xinghe to name the divine pill, but Chu Xinghe credited his mentor and let the First Elder choose its name.
• The First Elder named the pill the Evil Repeller Pill, and the Zhao Lineage celebrated and spread news of its discovery.
• Word of the pill raised the First Elder's standing in alchemy and drew praise for Chu Xinghe from across the world, including from Zheng Yu.
• Wu Xingyun gave a pill made from the Zhao Lineage's formula to the Demonic Shadow Sect's Ancestor, who exploded after taking it.

After Chu Xinghe helped the Grand Elder save Old Master Zhao, the Zhao Lineage celebrated their recovery and gave Chu Xinghe a potent medicine as a keepsake. As the Grand Elder and Chu Xinghe returned to the Vast Heaven Sect for the approaching New Year festival, the Grand Elder’s teleportation array left them in Haotian City before he hurried them back to the Spirit Crane Palace.

• Old Master Zhao woke and thanked Chu Xinghe for saving his life, while the Grand Elder made sure he had pills to recover.
• The Zhao Lineage held a banquet honoring Old Master Zhao, the Grand Elder, and Chu Xinghe; Palace Master Wu Qun and the Heavenly Medicine Palace guests later departed.
• Little Squirrel gave Chu Xinghe a potent medicine as a keepsake, and Chen Xuewang privately resolved to win her attention by outdoing him.
• After snowfall at Lake of the Moon, the Grand Elder and Chu Xinghe left the Zhao Lineage with gifts, including a storage ring full of potent medicines.
• The Grand Elder’s teleportation array deposited them in Haotian City, and he explained that he had meant to inspect the recruitment site before taking Chu Xinghe to the Spirit Crane Palace.

Chu Xinghe returned to the Vast Heaven Sect and was assigned to oversee the second stage of its upcoming disciple selection, which he secretly planned to sabotage. After visiting the palaces and celebrating the Ouyang Lineage’s continued failures, he was confronted by Wang Tieniu, who arrived with more bad news.

• The Spirit Crane Palace disciples congratulated Chu Xinghe on creating the Evil Repeller Pill, and he paid his respects to Gu Mingchao in Haotian Palace.
• Gu Mingchao invited Chu Xinghe to listen to the sect’s annual reports and put him in charge of the second stage of the next disciple selection; Chu Xinghe privately resolved to reject talented candidates and recruit failures.
• Chu Xinghe visited the seventeen other palaces, where disciples praised him and promised to vote for him in the New Year popularity poll.
• At the Artifact Refining Palace, Chu Xinghe encouraged Ouyang Ming to keep using sect resources after another furnace exploded and celebrated Ouyang Ling’s declining success rate with Sacred Heart Spirit Imbuing.
• As New Year preparations and annual reports began, Wang Tieniu returned to the sect as a core disciple, embraced Chu Xinghe, and brought him new bad news.

Chu Xinghe heard how Wang Tieniu became the world’s top stone appraisal master and how Qin Xiangqian’s successful mining policies drew a flood of applicants and earned him a promotion. As the New Year approached, Chu Xinghe was left fearing that more good news would ruin his plans for a peaceful holiday.

• Wang Tieniu won the Stone Appraisal Conference, defeated the Shi Clan’s hidden ancestor, and credited his success to Chu Xinghe’s guidance.
• The Vast Heaven Sect promoted Tieniu to core disciple and his students to inner sect disciples, while the sect master left any future elder promotion to Chu Xinghe.
• Qin Xiangqian reported that the Tianyi Spirit Mine’s output kept rising and that its miner disciples were being promoted into the outer sect.
• Qin Xiangqian introduced a difficult recruitment test and limited miner recruitment to once a year after applicants overwhelmed the spirit mine.
• Qin Xiangqian told Chu Xinghe he had become vice president of the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce and vowed to keep following his guidance.
• Chu Xinghe silently endured the reports and worried that the stream of good news would prevent him from enjoying the New Year.

Vast Heaven Sect celebrated the New Year with ancestral rites, votes, and a banquet, where Chu Xinghe won the cohort award unanimously and dominated the popularity vote. The results revealed Chu Cheng had received one vote, leading the disciples to assume he had shamelessly voted for himself while he remained in the outer sect.

• The Grand Elder dressed Chu Xinghe in a personal disciple's uniform with purple patterns arranged by the sect master, then led him to the ancestral rites.
• Chu Xinghe voted for himself as the cohort's most outstanding disciple and cast his popularity vote for Chu Cheng.
• Chu Cheng, believing Chu Xinghe had threatened him through Fathead Fish, wrote Chu Xinghe's name on his ballot while vowing to surpass him after recovering.
• The Grand Elder announced that Chu Xinghe had won the outstanding disciple vote unanimously with 2,986 votes.
• The Grand Elder revealed that Chu Xinghe received 295,678 votes for most popular disciple while Chu Cheng received one, and the crowd assumed Chu Cheng had voted for himself.
• Fathead Fish Liu Bo silently cursed Chu Cheng for his shamelessness while Chu Cheng remained in bed in the outer sect.

At the Vast Heaven Sect’s New Year’s banquet, Chu Xinghe defended Chu Cheng from expulsion and won overwhelming recognition in the year’s votes. The celebration ended with Xinghe accepting the title of the sect’s most disliked person as a joke, while Gu Mingchao drank in delight.

• The Grand Elder learned that Chu Cheng had received a vote for most popular disciple and grew furious when outer sect disciples described Chu Cheng as vicious and troublesome.
• Chu Xinghe pleaded with the Grand Elder not to expel Chu Cheng, so the Grand Elder revoked Chu Cheng’s resources for half a year instead.
• Chu Xinghe received all eighteen palace elders’ votes as the disciple with the most potential, while the Grand Elder revealed that he had abstained and Gu Mingchao had also voted for Xinghe.
• The disciples chose Chu Xinghe for numerous humorous awards, including most disliked person, and laughed as Wan Lin and others teased him.
• Chu Xinghe delivered an acceptance speech for the most disliked award and vowed to retain the title next year, leaving Gu Mingchao happily drunk.

After the New Year banquet, Chu Xinghe was assigned to lead the second round of disciple selection in Haotian City, which he planned to use to recruit candidates he hoped would bring disaster to the Vast Heaven Sect. As Qin Xiangqian and Tieniu departed for Spirit City, Tieniu casually boasted of stone-identification yields that left Chu Xinghe increasingly uneasy.

• Chu Cheng stayed home during the banquet, then Liu Bo and other outer disciples broke into his room and beat him.
• Chu Xinghe attended the deacons' conference, where the sect master and elders unanimously put him in charge of the second round of disciple recruitment.
• Deacon Yang promised to assist Chu Xinghe and let him make all decisions during the selection.
• Qin Xiangqian said he hoped Chu Xinghe would visit Spirit City again, while Chu Xinghe privately dreaded the idea.
• Tieniu promised to raise his stone yield beyond one hundred percent and train his disciples to reach at least seventy percent, leaving Chu Xinghe alarmed.

Chu Xinghe was assigned to supervise the Vast Heaven Sect’s second-round disciple selection in Haotian City, and he recruited Ma Liang and a group of juniors to help him. The announcement stunned the city, where hopeful candidates scrambled to claim connections to Chu Xinghe before he arrived.

• The Grand Elder asked Chu Xinghe to oversee disciple recruitment, and Chu Xinghe agreed to let Ma Liang bring friends who had failed the first selection for another look.
• Chu Xinghe formed a group of juniors who were willing to consider personal connections when choosing disciples, then set off for Haotian City with Ma Liang.
• Candidates in Haotian City worried about which elder would supervise the second round and how that person’s temperament might affect their chances.
• The Vast Heaven Sect announced Chu Xinghe as the supervisor, shocking the candidates because he had joined the sect only the previous year and was still a disciple.
• People throughout Haotian City claimed ties to Chu Xinghe, while others declared their ambition to join the Vast Heaven Sect before he arrived.

Chu Xinghe arrived in Haotian City to oversee the Vast Heaven Sect’s disciple selection, where rumors about his tastes had turned the city’s prodigies into conspicuously polite street cleaners. After finding the candidate registers full of exceptional talents, he eagerly awaited the failed applicants Ma Liang had contacted, hoping to recruit them for his trash cultivation style.

• Haotian City’s prodigies tried to impress Chu Xinghe by behaving nobly, returning lost belongings, sweeping the streets, and wearing purple after rumors spread about his preferences.
• Chu Xinghe arrived in Haotian City with Ma Liang, was welcomed by the crowds, and entered Haotian Villa with Deacon Yang.
• Chu Xinghe declined Deacon Yang’s welcome banquet and asked to focus on recruiting disciples.
• Chu Xinghe read the candidate registers and was dismayed that the applicants were all talented, while Ma Liang revealed he had scored ten in both categories in the previous selection.
• Chu Xinghe asked whether Ma Liang had contacted the applicants who had failed the selection, and Ma Liang confirmed that they were on their way.

Chu Xinghe rejected the top three candidates, claiming their perfect records made him suspect they were spies, then learned about the useless Wood Spirit geniuses from Muyue Kingdom. He eagerly decided to accept all three hundred of them into the Vast Heaven Sect.

• Chu Xinghe reviewed the candidate rosters and crossed out the names of the top three, Mo Kai and two other prodigies, telling them to seek another sect.
• Chu Xinghe called the three candidates possible demonic sect spies, while Deacon Yang and the connections crew struggled to understand his decision.
• The rejected candidates left Haotian City and vowed to join Martial Emperor City and surpass the Vast Heaven Sect, but Chu Xinghe stopped Ma Liang from going after them.
• Ma Liang told Chu Xinghe that he had contacted three hundred geniuses from Muyue Kingdom, whose Wood Spirit Power was rare, difficult to cultivate, and nearly useless beyond healing.
• Chu Xinghe ordered Ma Liang to keep all three hundred Muyue Kingdom geniuses, thrilled that their poor abilities might help him avoid recruiting capable disciples.

Chu Xinghe admitted all three hundred geniuses from the disgraced Muyue Kingdom to the Vast Heaven Sect as inner disciples, promising them exceptional resources and winning their loyalty. When Deacon Yang sought guidance from the sect, he was told to wait and see, so he left the recruitment in Chu Xinghe’s hands.

• Ma Liang told Mu Bai and the other Muyue Kingdom geniuses that all three hundred had passed and could join the Vast Heaven Sect without further assessment.
• Chu Xinghe welcomed the group, praised their abilities, and promised them the sect’s best resources and top-disciples’ treatment.
• Mu Bai and the other Muyue Kingdom disciples swore loyalty to Chu Xinghe and the sect.
• Chu Xinghe registered all three hundred as the first candidates admitted without assessment in the recruitment round, causing an uproar in Haotian City.
• Deacon Yang reported Chu Xinghe’s decision to the sect and received the instruction to wait and see.
• Deacon Yang handed the affairs of Haotian City over to Chu Xinghe and stopped trying to interfere.

Chu Xinghe drove talented candidates away by admitting Muyue Kingdom warriors without an examination and making the second assessment consist of standing in heavy snow. As the Vast Heaven Sect’s reputation suffered and nearly half the candidates left, people questioned how the sect could recover.

• Chu Xinghe’s decision to admit three hundred Muyue Kingdom warriors without an examination enraged gifted youths, who left Haotian City and were recruited by other sects.
• Chu Xinghe learned that his actions were also harming the Vast Heaven Sect’s reputation and celebrated the departure of more candidates.
• Deacon Yang asked Chu Xinghe how to conduct the second assessment, and Chu Xinghe ordered the candidates to gather at the martial arts field and stand there.
• After Chu Xinghe failed to appear, candidates left in batches; he ordered Ma Liang to keep the rest standing, and more left through three days of heavy snow.
• Zheng Yu argued that Chu Xinghe must have a deeper purpose, but people across the world condemned the assessment and worried about the Vast Heaven Sect’s future.

Ma Liang interpreted Chu Xinghe’s three-day trial in the wind and snow as a test of perseverance and rallied the remaining geniuses, whose states of mind then broke through in succession. Chu Xinghe was horrified when Ma Liang brought him to see the disciples praising him, while Deacon Yang also concluded that Xinghe’s seemingly reckless methods had produced remarkable results.

• Ma Liang decided Chu Xinghe had made the geniuses endure the wind and snow to test their state of mind, then confronted those who were about to leave and defended Xinghe’s intentions.
• The wind and snow stopped as Ma Liang spoke, and a young man experienced a breakthrough in his state of mind after hearing him.
• More of the geniuses who had stayed behind entered states of enlightenment and thanked Ma Liang, who credited Chu Xinghe and hurried to report the news.
• Chu Xinghe heard Ma Liang’s report, broke the stool beneath him, and was brought to the training ground, where the disciples bowed to him and praised his care.
• Deacon Yang arrived, saw the disciples’ breakthroughs, and became convinced that Chu Xinghe’s methods had deliberately tested them and helped them improve.

Chu Xinghe’s selection in Haotian City led 2,581 candidates to breakthroughs in their mental state, and the Vast Heaven Sect accepted them into its new intake. Although everyone else believed Chu Xinghe had planned the outcome, he privately hoped the three hundred Muyue Kingdom geniuses would still derail his plans.

• Deacon Yang realized Chu Xinghe had used the selection to identify candidates with firm resolve, while sect representatives and rejected geniuses learned that many who stayed had achieved breakthroughs.
• The Vast Heaven Sect’s sect master and elders received the news from Haotian City and praised Chu Xinghe’s strategy, while Zheng Yu defended his Senior Brother Xinghe in Martial Emperor City.
• Haotian City tallied 2,581 mental-state breakthroughs, and Ma Liang registered those candidates before selecting additional recruits to bring the intake to three thousand.
• Ma Liang believed Chu Xinghe trusted him as his favorite, while Chu Xinghe struggled to contain his anger at Ma Liang and hoped the Muyue Kingdom geniuses could still save his plans.
• Chu Xinghe checked on Mu Bai and the other Muyue Kingdom geniuses, saw that they had made no progress, and regained confidence that his plans could still succeed.

At the new disciples’ banquet in Haotian City, Chu Xinghe discovered that the Muyue Kingdom’s three hundred recruits felt like pawns in his plans and reassured Mu Bai that he valued them and had arranged for them to join the Spirit Crane Palace with superior resources. He left Mu Bai hopeful, while privately counting on the Muyue Kingdom and the Ouyang Lineage to consume the sect’s resources and help him deal it a heavy blow.

• Chu Xinghe attended the banquet for the three thousand newly admitted disciples, who praised him for their breakthroughs and his guidance during the selection.
• Chu Xinghe gave the disciples a brief welcome, and Ma Liang stopped them from taking turns toasting him before Chu Xinghe shared a drink with everyone.
• Chu Xinghe noticed the three hundred recruits from the Muyue Kingdom sitting apart, and Mu Bai admitted he feared they had only been used as pieces in Chu Xinghe’s plan.
• Chu Xinghe told Mu Bai that the Muyue Kingdom recruits were his greatest gain from Haotian City and promised they would enter the Spirit Crane Palace with better resources than ordinary disciples.
• Mu Bai vowed that the Muyue Kingdom disciples would meet Chu Xinghe’s expectations, while Chu Xinghe privately regarded them and the Ouyang Lineage as trump cards for draining the sect’s resources.

Chu Xinghe returned to the Vast Heaven Sect with the three thousand disciples he had selected, and the sect’s palaces competed fiercely to recruit them. He also placed all three hundred Muyue Kingdom disciples in Spirit Crane Palace, while the Great Elder entrusted him with deciding how to handle them.

• Chu Xinghe led the three thousand new disciples from Haotian City back to the Vast Heaven Sect, where Sect Master Gu Mingchao and the elders welcomed them.
• The Great Elder explained the sect’s rules, then the palaces began selecting disciples; the elders readily accepted Chu Xinghe’s three hundred Muyue Kingdom disciples into Spirit Crane Palace.
• Mu Bai and the other Muyue Kingdom disciples cried with relief when Chu Xinghe secured their places in Spirit Crane Palace.
• The palaces argued over Chu Xinghe’s unusually talented recruits, and Sect Master Gu Mingchao helped distribute them among the eighteen palaces.
• The Great Elder told Chu Xinghe to use his own judgment in handling the Muyue Kingdom disciples and to take responsibility without reporting every detail.

Chu Xinghe arranged generous resources for the Muyue Kingdom geniuses and encouraged Ouyang Ming after another failed attempt at forging. At the Ouyang ancestral home, Ouyang Ling recovered the complete Sacred Heart Spirit Imbuing inheritance and resolved to master it before surprising Chu Xinghe.

• Chu Xinghe gave the three hundred geniuses from Muyue Kingdom core-disciple resources, and Mu Bai thanked him through Shen Chun.
• Chu Xinghe encouraged Ouyang Ming after his spirit-weapon furnace exploded again and insisted that the Artifact Refining Palace continue supplying him with the finest materials and furnaces.
• Ouyang Ling returned to Zhaoyang City with Ouyang disciples and reclaimed the Ouyang ancestral home from the Liu Lineage at double the agreed price.
• Ouyang Ling and the disciples repaired the ancestral graves, where she found the complete Sacred Heart Spirit Imbuing inheritance in the Eighth Ancestor's coffin.
• Ouyang Ling decided to master the inheritance before revealing it to Chu Xinghe and celebrated with a feast for the Ouyang Lineage.