Chapter Summaries

The Soul Hall’s Great Heavenly Venerate fought the white-robed old man while the Soul Hall Vice Hall Master and Gu You sought a way out of the ice prison. The Vice Hall Master and Gu You escaped through a spatial crack, leaving the Great Heavenly Venerate behind as the old man’s ice spear destroyed his bone blade and struck toward him.

• The Great Heavenly Venerate attacked the white-robed old man with bone spikes and a soul-infused bone blade, but the old man stopped his attacks with black frost energy.
• The Soul Hall Vice Hall Master headed for the top of the prison while Gu You broke away from Bing Kuang and followed him.
• The Great Heavenly Venerate, realizing he had become an abandoned pawn, poured souls into his bone blade and unleashed Soul Annihilation Slash.
• The Great Heavenly Venerate tore open the ice prison’s energy screen and spatial seal, allowing the Soul Hall Vice Hall Master and Gu You to escape.
• The white-robed old man shattered the Great Heavenly Venerate’s bone blade with a black ice spear and sent the spear toward his body.

The Soul Hall Vice Hall Master escaped Ice River Valley’s ice prison after Great Heavenly Venerate sacrificed himself, while the white-robed old man and Bing Kuang discussed the danger of exposing Ice River Valley’s secrets. Afterward, the Vice Hall Master questioned Gu You, ordered him to become the new Great Heavenly Venerate, and prepared to report what had happened to the Hall Master.

• The white-robed old man killed Great Heavenly Venerate with a black ice spear, but the Soul Hall Vice Hall Master escaped through a gap in the ice prison.
• Bing Kuang urged the white-robed old man to pursue the Vice Hall Master, but the old man said catching him was impossible and worried that Soul Hall had discovered them.
• Bing Kuang reminded the old man that the ancient clan pact restricted experts above the Four-star Battle Saint level from acting freely, and the old man grew confident that Ice River Valley could defend itself.
• The white-robed old man withdrew the ice prison, took Great Heavenly Venerate’s Storage Ring, and vanished, leaving Bing Kuang to clean up the battlefield.
• The Soul Hall Vice Hall Master met Gu You on a distant mountaintop, declared that Great Heavenly Venerate had sacrificed himself for the Hall, and heard Gu You’s account of the events in Ice River Valley.
• The Vice Hall Master said he would report the matter to the Hall Master and appointed Gu You as the new Great Heavenly Venerate.

Gu He broke through to Three-star Battle Saint and returned to the Misty Cloud Sect. Xiao Yi Xian traveled to the Cloud Mist Empire, where Poison Sect elders debated the Mercenary Guild’s growing influence.

• Gu You reported to Gu He that the Soul Hall Vice Hall Master had escaped after using the Great Heavenly Venerate as a pawn, and Gu He told Gu You to leave Ice River Valley’s affairs alone.
• After seven days of seclusion, Gu He broke through to Three-star Battle Saint and judged that he could now contend with ordinary Five-star Battle Saints.
• Gu He returned to the Misty Cloud Sect, and Xiao Yi Xian asked permission to visit the Cloud Mist Empire to gather poisonous insects and Poisonous Herbs.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver arrived at the Poison Sect, where Hua An presided over a meeting about the Mercenary Guild’s rapid expansion.
• Elder Xiu argued that the Mercenary Guild’s broad membership and system would improve the Cloud Mist Empire, while other elders warned that its growth was weakening the Poison Sect’s influence.

Xiao Yi Xian returned from seclusion and endorsed the Poison Sect’s support for the Mercenary Guild’s expansion in the Cloud Mist Empire. She rewarded Hua An for his service and appointed Xie Shan Right Protector before speaking privately with Hua An.

• Hua An and Elder Xiu persuaded most of the Poison Sect elders to support the Mercenary Guild’s establishment in the Cloud Mist Empire.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver appeared in the hall, and the elders greeted Xiao Yi Xian as their Sect Leader.
• Xiao Yi Xian praised Hua An and gave him a medicinal pill that could regenerate his severed arm.
• Xiao Yi Xian ordered the Poison Sect to carry out Hua An’s policies toward the Mercenary Guild.
• Xiao Yi Xian appointed Xie Shan as Right Protector and kept Hua An behind after the meeting.

Xiao Yi Xian inspected the Poison Sage Ruins with Hua An and learned that they produced poisonous materials at fifteen times the Cloud Mist Empire’s annual output. She praised the mining operation and ordered that its workers remain in the ruins for security, while allowing them to bring their families there.

• Xiao Yi Xian appointed Xie Shan the Poison Sect’s Right Protector as a reward for his loyal service.
• Xiao Yi Xian asked Hua An about the ruins’ excavation, and Hua An reported the enormous yield and superior quality of its poisonous materials.
• Xiao Yi Xian, Little Silver, and Hua An traveled through spatial rifts to the Poison Sage Ruins, where Hua An showed her the six mining outposts.
• Xiao Yi Xian praised the outposts’ sustainable mining approach and addressed the gathered workers as their Sect Leader.
• Xiao Yi Xian told the workers they could not leave for several years to keep the ruins secret, but offered to arrange for their families to join them.

Xiao Yi Xian ordered Hua An to prepare Green Water Lake for her future cultivation, then traveled with Little Silver to the Mercenary Guild headquarters to see Liu Ling and Qing Lin. At a Guild meeting, Qing Lin pushed for an immediate expansion into the Central Plains, but Liu Ling postponed the decision, and Qing Lin confronted him afterward.

• Xiao Yi Xian ordered Hua An to clear a safe route to Green Water Lake and have the sect's stored poison dumped there within about half a year.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver left the Poison Sage Ruins three days later and headed to the Mercenary Guild headquarters to reunite with Liu Ling and Qing Lin.
• Qing Lin urged Liu Ling to lead the Mercenary Guild into the Central Plains, and most of the gathered elders supported advancing.
• Liu Ling cited the dangers of the Central Plains and said he needed more time to consider the move, ending the meeting.
• After the other attendees left, Qing Lin complained that Liu Ling was too cautious.

Liu Ling declined to send the Mercenary Guild to develop in the Central Plains, frustrating Qing Lin, until Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver appeared and reunited with their fellow disciples. After catching up, Qing Lin again urged Liu Ling to reconsider the guild’s expansion.

• Qing Lin criticized Liu Ling for refusing to send the Mercenary Guild to the Central Plains, while Heavenly Fire Venerable and Liu Long Venerable defended his decision.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable sensed someone watching and confronted two powerful Dou Zuns who emerged from distorted space.
• Qing Lin recognized Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver, rushed to greet them, and reunited with her senior sisters.
• Liu Ling and Xiao Jin welcomed Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver, and the disciples exchanged news about their years apart.
• Liu Long Venerable wondered about the strength of the disciples’ master, while Heavenly Fire Venerable learned Xiao Yi Xian was Liu Ling’s junior sister.
• Qing Lin told Xiao Yi Xian that Liu Ling was being too cautious about expanding the Mercenary Guild into the Central Plains.

Liu Ling overcame his doubts and decided that the Mercenary Guild would expand into the Central Plains, then reunited with Xiao Yi Xian, Little Silver, and Yue Mei at a family banquet. Xiao Yi Xian warned the group that hidden experts in the region could be far stronger than its public factions, leaving Liu Ling and the others concerned about the dangers ahead.

• Xiao Yi Xian and Heavenly Fire Venerable reassured Liu Ling that the Central Plains were not as dangerous as he feared, and Liu Ling decided to take the Mercenary Guild there.
• Qing Lin celebrated Liu Ling's decision, and Liu Ling invited Xiao Yi Xian, Little Silver, Heavenly Fire Venerable, and Liu Long Venerable to a gathering; the two Venerables declined.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Little Silver met Yue Mei at Liu Ling's private estate, and the group entered the banquet hall together.
• Qing Lin asked about the strength of the Central Plains' factions, and Xiao Yi Xian warned that an inconspicuous old man had killed two Eight-star Dou Zuns with one slap.
• Xiao Yi Xian reassured Liu Ling and the others that hidden experts rarely interfered in unrelated matters, though the group remained shocked by their power.

Xiao Yi Xian warned Liu Ling and Qing Lin that Ice River Valley concealed formidable experts, prompting Liu Ling to plan a cautious expansion into the Central Plains. Meanwhile, Gu You and the Soul Hall prepared for the Hall Master to personally handle Ice River Valley.

• Xiao Yi Xian told Liu Ling and Qing Lin that Ice River Valley held dangerous secrets and that her identity should remain hidden until the threat was resolved.
• Liu Ling announced that the Mercenary Guild would establish itself in the Central Plains' Northern Region and instructed its elders to avoid rash confrontations.
• Liu Ling ordered the guild's elders to prepare and set a gathering in five days to inform all members of the expansion.
• The chapter described the Soul Hall's Human Hall and its force of thousands of experts, including thirty-two Dou Zun.
• Gu You learned from the Soul Hall Vice Hall Master that the Hall Master would personally deal with Ice River Valley.

The Soul Hall Master learned that Ice River Valley had killed three Heavenly Venerates and traveled to its ruins to confront the survivors. As he sensed them beneath the ice, Bing Kuang and his Martial Ancestor prepared to emerge.

• The Soul Hall Master arrived at the Black Giant Hall and praised Gu You for becoming a Great Heavenly Venerate.
• The Soul Hall Vice Hall Master reported that Ice River Valley's Martial Ancestor had killed the Great Heavenly Venerate and that three Soul Hall Heavenly Venerates had died.
• The Soul Hall Master declared that Ice River Valley must pay for the deaths and traveled there with Gu You and the others.
• The Soul Hall Master sensed Bing Kuang and his Martial Ancestor beneath the ice mound, while the Martial Ancestor recognized his powerful soul force.
• Bing Kuang and his Martial Ancestor shattered the ice and shot upward as a deep fissure opened across the ice sheet.

Hun Miesheng confronted Bing Kuang and his Martial Ancestor, Bing Li, after they emerged from beneath the ice. Their battle left Bing Li trapped inside his own vortex technique, overwhelmed by Hun Miesheng’s soul power.

• Bing Kuang and Bing Li emerged from the icy abyss and faced the Soul Hall members.
• Bing Li warned Bing Kuang that Hun Miesheng and the Soul Hall Vice Hall Master would be difficult to defeat, then Hun Miesheng attacked him.
• Bing Li summoned a vast black vortex to gather icy energy, but Hun Miesheng pursued him into its center.
• Hun Miesheng released black mist filled with soul power, which the vortex absorbed until Bing Li admitted defeat and cracks spread across it.

Hun Miesheng defeated Bing Li’s black vortex, but Bing Li fled with Bing Kuang into a hidden black lake beneath the ice. There, Bing Li absorbed the lake’s icy energy and rose to the peak of the Four-star Battle Saint stage, leaving him nearly equal to Hun Miesheng in strength.

• Hun Miesheng shattered Bing Li’s black vortex, forcing Bing Li to admit defeat.
• Bing Li stopped Bing Kuang from completing a complex hand seal, grabbed him, and fled into a deep ravine as Hun Miesheng and the Soul Hall forces pursued them.
• Hun Miesheng blasted through the ice layers and found Bing Li and Bing Kuang waiting in a black lake beneath the ice.
• Bing Li absorbed the lake’s icy energy and advanced to the peak of the Four-star Battle Saint stage.
• The Soul Hall Vice Hall Master and Gu You worried that Bing Li might reach the Five-star Battle Saint stage, while Hun Miesheng remained calm.

Bing Li used the Black Water Cold Lake to match Hun Miesheng’s apparent Four-star Battle Saint strength and attacked him relentlessly. After Hun Miesheng showed no signs of exhaustion, he revealed his true power by breaking through to the initial Five-star Battle Saint realm.

• Bing Li drew on the Black Water Cold Lake to reach the peak of the Four-star Battle Saint realm, while Bing Kuang taunted Hun Miesheng.
• Gu You secretly informed Gu He, who revealed that Hun Miesheng had suppressed his true Five-star Battle Saint strength under the ancient clans’ pact.
• Bing Li attacked Hun Miesheng with massive spears and energy blasts, but Hun Miesheng destroyed each attack with palm strikes.
• Bing Li and Hun Miesheng fought for over a hundred exchanges, and Bing Li noticed that Hun Miesheng showed no signs of exhaustion.
• Hun Miesheng formed a hand seal and raised his aura to the initial stage of the Five-star Battle Saint realm.

Hun Miesheng revealed that he had reached the early Five-star Battle Saint stage and attacked Bing Li, overwhelming him despite the power he drew from Black Water Cold Lake. Just as Hun Miesheng moved to kill Bing Li, Bing Yu appeared and stopped him, leaving the two Five-star Battle Saints facing off.

• Hun Miesheng broke through to the early Five-star Battle Saint stage and dismissed concerns that he had violated the ancient clans' agreement.
• Hun Miesheng destroyed Bing Li's Frost Giant Dragon with a finger flick, then tore a chunk of flesh from Bing Li's shoulder.
• Hun Miesheng pursued the wounded Bing Li and aimed a strike at his heart.
• Bing Yu appeared, deflected Hun Miesheng's attack, and told Bing Li to recover while he took over.
• Bing Li withdrew as Hun Miesheng recognized Bing Yu as a middle Five-star Battle Saint from Ice River Valley.

Bing Yu, an Ice River Valley expert stronger than Hun Miesheng, intervened to protect Bing Li and attacked the Soul Hall Master. Hun Miesheng was wounded by Bing Yu’s axe strikes, but the chapter ended with his counterattack piercing through Bing Yu’s dark mist.

• Gu You reported Bing Yu’s arrival and strength to Gu He, who ordered him to keep watching.
• Bing Yu reassured Bing Kuang, learned that Hun Miesheng led the Soul Hall group, and attacked him with a black axe.
• Bing Yu split Hun Miesheng’s soul sphere and wounded him with a series of powerful axe strikes.
• Hun Miesheng used Soul Burial Technique to fill the sky with black mist and blunt Bing Yu’s attacks.
• Hun Miesheng’s final black line pierced into the mist, and Bing Yu spat blood as the dark clouds dispersed.

Bing Yu and Bing Li forced Hun Miesheng and the other Soul Hall members to retreat, but spared them to avoid provoking the Soul Clan and disrupting Ice River Valley’s plan. After the escape, Gu You suggested asking the Soul Clan’s experts to deal with Ice River Valley, following Gu He's instructions to expose its secrets.

• Bing Yu wounded Hun Miesheng, who used medicinal liquid and his healing ability to recover enough to flee with the Soul Hall Vice Hall Master, Gu You, and Second Heavenly Venerate.
• Bing Kuang chased after the fleeing Soul Hall members, but Bing Yu stopped him and refused to pursue them.
• Bing Yu and Bing Li explained that killing Hun Miesheng could provoke the Soul Clan, whose intervention would disrupt the Ancestor's plan.
• Bing Kuang accepted their reasoning, while Bing Li revealed that he had stopped Bing Kuang from summoning Bing Yu for that same reason.
• After the Soul Hall group regrouped beyond the Cold Fall Mountain Range, Gu You suggested calling in the Soul Clan's experts to deal with Ice River Valley, as Gu He had instructed.

Gu He planned to steal the Soul Origin stored in the Soul Hall’s Human Hall after arranging for its strongest guards to leave. Meanwhile, Liu Ling and Qing Lin oversaw the Mercenary Guild’s new Northern Region headquarters and discussed the possibility of trouble at its upcoming gathering.

• Gu You suggested that the Soul Clan bring in experts to investigate Ice River Valley, but Hun Miesheng refused to avoid drawing the other ancient clans’ attention.
• Gu You reported the events to Gu He, who told him not to raise the matter again unless the Soul Hall made new arrangements.
• Gu He realized Gu You would lead the Human Hall’s Soul Hall guards and decided to destroy the hall and seize its stored Soul Origin once Hun Miesheng and the Vice Hall Master departed.
• In the Northern Region, Qing Lin praised the rapid construction of the Mercenary Guild’s headquarters on the Gale Plains, and Liu Ling explained that it would help connect the Northwest Continent and the Northern Region.
• Qing Lin warned that the Myriad Swords Pavilion might attend the upcoming gathering and cause trouble, but Liu Ling said the Mercenary Guild would welcome uninvited guests unless they openly became enemies.

Liu Ling, Qing Lin, and Xiao Yi Xian discussed the Mercenary Guild’s upcoming gathering and whether Gu He might give Liu Ling another power transmission. Qing Lin then questioned whether Gu He had been far stronger all along, leaving Liu Ling and Xiao Yi Xian wondering whether his revealed Four-star Battle Saint strength was his true limit.

• Qing Lin urged Liu Ling to stay cautious about the Northern Region’s factions, but Liu Ling said he would welcome the guests and respond only if they became enemies of the Mercenary Guild.
• Xiao Yi Xian asked Liu Ling about his plan to host the Northern Region’s powerful figures, and he confirmed the gathering was expected in ten days.
• Xiao Yi Xian suggested that Gu He’s power transmission could help Liu Ling break through to Dou Zun, and Liu Ling considered asking his master for one.
• Liu Ling and Xiao Yi Xian discussed Gu He’s unusual cultivation and rapid advancement after years of transmitting power to his disciples.
• Qing Lin speculated that Gu He might have possessed immense strength from the beginning, prompting Liu Ling and Xiao Yi Xian to question whether his revealed Four-star Battle Saint cultivation was his full strength.

As the Mercenary Guild completed its new Northern Region headquarters, its leaders and guests prepared to celebrate at a grand banquet. Xiao Yan attended with Xiao Yu and his companions, but he was expected to leave for Starfall Pavilion to seek Venerable Wind.

• Liu Ling, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin discussed whether Gu He's revealed Four-star Battle Saint strength was his limit, then vowed to work harder for his expectations.
• Liu Ling postponed his return to the Misty Cloud Sect until after the banquet, and the Mercenary Guild completed its new headquarters ten days later.
• Xiao Yan arrived at the banquet with Xiao Yu and three other captains, having advanced to Three-Star Battle King during his two years in the Mercenary Guild.
• Xiao Yu urged Xiao Yan to meet the Northern Region's powerful guests, then asked whether he planned to leave; Xiao Yan said they would talk after the banquet.
• Xiao Yan and his companions entered the headquarters and sat at a table in the banquet square, where he observed the many Battle Kings, Battle Emperors, and Dou Zong experts.

Xiao Yan attended the Mercenary Guild’s banquet and learned more about Elder Yao’s old friend Venerable Wind, while the guild’s young leaders drew the attention of Northern Region experts. The chapter ended with Elder Yao discovering that Liu Ling’s Soul Realm had reached the Spirit Realm, putting him on the threshold of becoming an Eighth-grade Alchemist.

• Elder Yao praised Liu Ling’s rapid growth of the Mercenary Guild, and Xiao Yan asked whether Venerable Wind could be trusted.
• Elder Yao described his life-and-death friendship with Venerable Wind, and Xiao Yan said he would leave the Dream Chasing Mercenary Group’s affairs to Xiao Yu and the squad leaders after the banquet.
• Lin Feng and Fu Fan discussed the banquet and turned their attention toward the platform, where the Mercenary Guild’s leaders were about to appear.
• Liu Ling, his two vice guild masters, and two supreme elders stepped onto the platform as guests praised the guild’s young leaders and welcomed them with cheers.
• Elder Yao noticed that Liu Ling’s Soul Realm had reached the Spirit Realm, and Xiao Yan realized Liu Ling was nearing the level required to become an Eighth-grade Alchemist.