Chapter Summaries

Ren Qianxing attacked Yan Zangfeng and the others with World Separating Sword, but Liao Ru Shen intervened and fought him to protect them. As Ren Qianxing unleashed another strike, dozens of strands of sword Qi suddenly burst out, leaving Liao Ru Shen’s fate unclear.

• Yan Zangfeng and the others collapsed, badly wounded by the residual sword Qi from Ren Qianxing’s World Separating Sword.
• Liao Ru Shen stepped between Ren Qianxing and the injured group and asked him to stop, but Ren Qianxing attacked him.
• Liao Ru Shen blocked Ren Qianxing’s first sword strike, then dodged another while calculating his next move.
• Liao Ru Shen abruptly launched himself into a fierce fight with Ren Qianxing and refused to retreat despite his injuries.
• Ren Qianxing unleashed World Separating Sword again, and dozens of strands of sword Qi suddenly shot out.

Ren Qianxing's World Separating Sword caused his internal energy to leak, leaving him near death as Liao Ru Shen exposed the technique's fatal flaw. Lian Chixue rescued him, and as Ren Qianxing began breaking his cultivation, she fought Liao Ru Shen.

• Ren Qianxing's repeated use of the World Separating Sword caused sword Qi to leak from his body, and Liao Ru Shen explained that the technique had triggered a cultivation deviation.
• Liao Ru Shen urged Xiaoyao Lang to avenge his master, but Ren Qianxing knocked him away and announced he would break his cultivation.
• Lian Chixue rescued Ren Qianxing and sent Xiaoyao Lang flying with a palm strike.
• Ren Qianxing began regulating his breath to vent his internal energy, while Lian Chixue confronted Liao Ru Shen.
• Liao Ru Shen tried to turn Lian Chixue against Guan Yutian, but she attacked him and began a fast sword fight.

Lian Chixue overwhelmed Liao Ru Shen with her blinding speed and Clone Demon Shadow, wounding him before Yan Zangfeng and the others intervened. Yan Zangfeng offered to heal his uncle, but Liao Ru Shen refused and urged him to focus on Lian Chixue.

• Lian Chixue attacked Liao Ru Shen with rapid sword strikes and Clone Demon Shadow, forcing him to defend himself with his bare hands and true qi.
• Yan Zangfeng, Sai Hua Tuo, and the others watched from nearby as Xiaoyao Lang and Drunken Immortal recovered from their injuries and discussed Lian Chixue’s sudden improvement.
• Lian Chixue kept Liao Ru Shen under pressure and stabbed him in the waist and abdomen after he failed to find an opening.
• Lian Chixue moved in to finish Liao Ru Shen, but Yan Zangfeng arrived with Sai Hua Tuo and his wife and blocked her attack with a sword strike.
• Yan Zangfeng offered to heal Liao Ru Shen with the Ling Shuang Sword, but Liao Ru Shen refused and told him to deal with Lian Chixue first.

Yan Zangfeng seized Ren Qianxing to stop Lian Chixue, then tried to use him as leverage. Lian Chixue countered by threatening Yan Zangfeng’s companions, and Liao Ru Shen fled while the two sides argued.

• Yan Zangfeng distracted Lian Chixue by claiming he knew her weakness, then grabbed Ren Qianxing and held him at sword-point.
• Lian Chixue refused to surrender, explaining that she did not care enough about Ren Qianxing to trade her freedom for his life.
• When Yan Zangfeng’s group tried to leave with Ren Qianxing, Lian Chixue revealed that Ren Qianxing was indeed her weakness but threatened Liu Yiyi, Xiaoyao Lang, Drunken Immortal, Sai Hua Tuo, and Sai Shi Shi in return.
• Xiaoyao Lang and Lian Chixue argued over whose side was more treacherous while neither group trusted the other.
• Liao Ru Shen sealed her own qi with acupoint taps and fled the scene.

Lian Chixue and the others were caught in a battle that ended when Ren Qianxing’s World Separating Sword erupted, leaving him gravely injured and his martial arts destroyed. After waking, Ren Qianxing tried to kill himself, but Lian Chixue stopped him and dismissed his loss of martial arts as a minor matter.

• Lian Chixue held back from attacking Yan Zangfeng because he had captured Ren Qianxing.
• Ren Qianxing’s violent World Separating Sword qi burst from his acupoints, gravely wounding Yan Zangfeng, Xiaoyao Lang, Sai Hua Tuo, Sai Shi Shi, the Drunken Immortal, and Ren Qianxing.
• Liao Ru Shen assessed the battlefield and fled, while Lian Chixue stayed to help Ren Qianxing.
• Lian Chixue found that Ren Qianxing was alive but that the eruption had destroyed his dantian, meridians, and acupoints.
• Ren Qianxing woke, realized his internal energy was gone, and tried to commit suicide, but Lian Chixue knocked away his sword and called his condition a minor matter.

Ren Qianxing learned that his injuries might be cured, but Lian Chixue toyed with his hopes before telling him to return to Sword Casting City. When Ren Qianxing tried to kill the unconscious Yan Zangfeng, a powerful old man appeared and defeated Lian Chixue, leaving her gravely injured.

• Lian Chixue told Ren Qianxing that the Ling Shuang Sword and Sai Hua Tuo could not help him, and revealed that Sai Hua Tuo had collapsed.
• Lian Chixue said the Nine Dragon Stone could heal Ren Qianxing, then joked that another one would not be available for five hundred years before assuring him his father could cure him.
• Ren Qianxing asked Lian Chixue to help him stand, then raised his sword to execute the unconscious Yan Zangfeng.
• An elderly man in white appeared and knocked Ren Qianxing's sword away.
• Lian Chixue attacked the old man with more than twenty sword strikes, but he deflected them and sent her flying with a single palm, gravely injuring her.

An unknown old man nearly killed Lian Chixue while protecting the unconscious Yan Zangfeng, but Wang Ming arrived and saved her. Wang Ming confronted the old man over spying on him, and their fight continued after the old man used the Ling Shuang Sword against Wang Ming’s Innate Gang Qi.

• The old man struck at Lian Chixue, but a crimson giant sword intercepted his attack and saved her.
• Lian Chixue recognized Wang Ming as the one who had thrown the sword, and Wang Ming questioned the old man about his identity and purpose.
• Wang Ming revealed that he had followed Ren Qianxing and Lian Chixue to draw out the person secretly monitoring him, then attacked the old man.
• The old man overwhelmed Wang Ming with repeated palm strikes, but Wang Ming’s Innate Gang Qi shield held.
• The old man pulled the Frost Heart Sword into his hand and slashed at Wang Ming, whose shield withstood the sword strike.

Wang Ming fought a mysterious elder whose power shattered his Innate Stellar Qi barrier, then agreed to attend the Chess of Life and Death match at King's Chess City on the Day of Mars Convergence. Back in Sword Casting City, he learned the elder was the person who had saved Yan Zangfeng and the others.

• The elder struck Wang Ming with increasingly powerful sword attacks, forcing him to dodge a blow that carved a ravine into the Grand Training Field.
• The elder broke Wang Ming's Innate Stellar Qi barrier and sent him flying, while Lian Chixue considered escaping.
• The elder stopped the fight and ordered Wang Ming to participate in the Chess of Life and Death match at King's Chess City on the Day of Mars Convergence.
• Wang Ming agreed to attend the match and returned to Sword Casting City, where he worried that the elder's Ling Shuang Sword could pierce his Indestructible Vajra Body.
• Lian Chixue brought Wang Ming intelligence identifying the elder as the person who had saved Yan Zangfeng and his companions.

Wang Ming learned the Chess Saint's Residence sweeper sought the destiny behind the Chess of Life and Death, then returned to Sword Casting City to seek a weapon. When Ren Qianxing's blood stirred the lava and Wang Ming used the Heshibi Jade to reach into it, the chapter left the Demon Sword's emergence unresolved.

• Wang Ming realized the sweeper wanted the Chess of Life and Death's power to plunder destiny and knew the Ling Shuang Sword could transfer destiny by killing a destined person.
• The sweeper let Wang Ming take the gravely injured Ren Qianxing away because Yan Zangfeng and Ren Qianxing needed urgent treatment and a prolonged fight would be costly.
• Wang Ming learned from Jian Xiong that his weapon would take about sixty years to forge, so he considered drawing out the Ling Shuang Demon Sword from the lava.
• Wang Ming's blood caused a small reaction in the lava, and he sent Jian Xiong to summon Ren Qianxing.
• Ren Qianxing's blood made the lava surge as it absorbed him, and Wang Ming used the Heshibi Jade's power of faith to reach into the lava.

Wang Ming discovered that the Frost Demon Sword had merged with the weapon he was forging, then began teaching Ren Qianxing chess. After studying the Thousand Spirits Chess Manual, Wang Ming suspected it had been corrupted from the beginning and was connected to Ying Shuntian.

• The lava pool erupted, but Wang Ming protected Jian Xiong and Ren Qianxing with a Qi wall, and they saw that the Frost Demon Sword had merged with Wang Ming's weapon in the furnace.
• Wang Ming stayed in the Sword Casting Palace to continue forging and taught Ren Qianxing chess, suspecting that Ren Qianxing and Yan Zangfeng were reincarnations of Ying Shuntian and the Chess Saint Sword Ancestor.
• Bai Yuer brought Wang Ming the Thousand Spirits Chess Manual, which he found unusually aggressive and bloodthirsty for a manual attributed to the benevolent Chess Saint Sword Ancestor.
• Wang Ming questioned whether the manual had been replaced, but Bai Yuer confirmed it was genuine and showed him her childhood marks in it.
• Wang Ming concluded that the manual had been problematic from the start and suspected it shaped Ren Qianxing's unorthodox chess style and reflected Ying Shuntian's influence.

At Sword Casting Palace, Wang Ming learned that his weapon would take ten years to finish and heard Lian Chixue’s discovery that the mysterious old man might be the Chess Saint Sword Ancestor’s disciple from five hundred years ago. After concluding the old man’s aging body could not wield all his power, Wang Ming tried to reassure the others that his strength was easy to catch up to.

• Sword Master and Jian Xiong told Wang Ming that the Ling Shuang Sword had transformed his weapon, but it would still take ten years to forge.
• Lian Chixue reported that she had found no records of the old man and showed the group an old portrait from Sword Casting City’s library.
• Sword Master recognized the portrait as the Chess Saint Sword Ancestor’s disciple, prompting the group to fear the old man was over five hundred years old.
• Wang Ming confirmed the identification and reasoned that the old man’s decaying body limited how much of his internal energy he could use.
• Wang Ming told the frightened group that even a hundred or two years of internal energy would be easy to catch up to.

Wang Ming learned that Wu Xin and Liu Yiyi had taken refuge in the Heart Asunder Sect after Liao Ru Shen’s schemes left them injured, so he devised a dangerous martial arts manual to draw them in. He sent Lian Chixue to plant the aged-looking manual at the sect, hoping they would find it.

• Lian Chixue told Wang Ming that Liao Ru Shen had killed Wu Xin and Liu Yiyi, but Wang Ming correctly suspected Liu Yiyi had survived.
• Lian Chixue explained how Wu Xin uncovered Liao Ru Shen’s true nature, failed to persuade Yan Zangfeng and Xiaoyao Lang, and was injured when Xiaoyao Lang attacked her; Huangfu Changhen rescued her.
• Lian Chixue confirmed that Wu Xin and Liu Yiyi were recovering in the Heart Asunder Sect.
• Wang Ming wrote a martial arts manual based on the sect’s Seven String Zither techniques and warned Lian Chixue not to practice it after it began captivating her.
• Wang Ming ordered Lian Chixue to bind and antique the manual, then secretly leave it where Wu Xin and Liu Yiyi would find it.

Wang Ming explained that the Chess of Life and Death was part of a centuries-old scheme to strip destiny from those chosen by heaven and that he had become a target himself. Sword Master revealed that the Frost Demon Sword had transformed Wang Ming’s unfinished weapon into a usable weapon embryo, leaving Wang Ming with a chance to face the gatekeeper.

• Bai Yuer and Ren Qianxing urged Wang Ming not to attend the Chess of Life and Death, but Wang Ming explained why they could not avoid it.
• Wang Ming told his disciples that the Chess of Life and Death stripped destiny from people chosen by heaven to nourish the man of destiny, and that the outcome had been planned long ago.
• Wang Ming suspected that someone had arranged the appearance of the Frost Demon Sword, the blood jade, and the Thousand Spirits Chess Manual as part of a hidden game.
• Wang Ming realized that the gatekeeper sought both the disciples’ destiny and his life, while his own disciples’ Mandate of Heaven had made him powerful for twenty years.
• Sword Master told Wang Ming that the Frost Demon Sword had transformed his unfinished weapon into a weapon embryo that could already be used and might match the Frost Heart Sword.

Wang Ming confronted Yan Zangfeng's group at Chess King Cave and entered the Chess of Life and Death. As Ren Qianxing and Yan Zangfeng began the duel, Wang Ming exposed the Chess Saint's Residence elder's five-century reliance on the Ling Shuang Sword, leaving the elder alarmed.

• Wang Ming brought Lian Chixue, Ren Qianxing, Bai Yuer, and Jian Xiong to King's Chess City to meet Yan Zangfeng's group.
• Liao Ru Shen used the Nameless Heavenly Books to reveal a map through Chess King Cave, and Yan Zangfeng opened the stone gate with the Ling Shuang Sword.
• Wang Ming's group reached Mirror Reflection Lake, where the old man from the Chess Saint's Residence declared that the Chess of Life and Death would decide the contest between the chosen ones.
• Ren Qianxing and Yan Zangfeng argued over their motives before stepping onto opposite stone chairs to begin the game.
• Wang Ming accused the old man from the Chess Saint's Residence of surviving for five hundred years with the Ling Shuang Sword and said the sword's power was reaching its limit.

Ren Qianxing and Yan Zangfeng fought a Chess of Life and Death match on a giant board rising from Mirror Reflection Lake, trading pieces according to the Thousand Spirits Chess Manual. Wang Ming exposed that the old man at the Chess Saint's Residence had forged the manual, and the game reached a stalemate with Yan Zangfeng holding the stronger remaining pieces.

• Ren Qianxing opened by using his cannon to capture Yan Zangfeng's horse, and Wang Ming recognized the exchange-heavy strategy of the Thousand Spirits Chess Manual.
• Ren Qianxing claimed he had found the manual, while Yan Zangfeng began copying its tactics and the two players rapidly traded away their pieces.
• Wang Ming confronted the old man at the Chess Saint's Residence and learned that he had forged the Thousand Spirits Chess Manual from a chess manual left by Ying Shuntian.
• The old man revealed he had let Yan Zangfeng learn the genuine manual so Ren Qianxing would become overconfident and careless.
• The match reached a stalemate with six pieces remaining, and Yan Zangfeng held a horse and chariot against Ren Qianxing's chariot and cannon.

Ren Qianxing lost to Yan Zangfeng in chess but overpowered him in their sword fight, thanks to the Crimson Blood Sword and his World Separating Sword. As Yan Zangfeng’s defeat became clear, Wang Ming challenged the old man from the Chess Saint’s Residence to a fight.

• Ren Qianxing lost the Chess of Life and Death match to Yan Zangfeng because his volatile temperament undermined his chess skills.
• Ren Qianxing and Yan Zangfeng fought in the bamboo grove, where Ren Qianxing’s World Separating Sword suppressed Yan Zangfeng despite the Frost Heart Sword.
• Ren Qianxing relied on the Crimson Blood Sword, which matched the Ling Shuang Sword in hardness and amplified his sword qi.
• Wang Ming had given Ren Qianxing the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill to strengthen his body and help him withstand World Separating Sword’s dangerous sword qi.
• As Yan Zangfeng neared defeat, the old man from the Chess Saint’s Residence prepared to intervene, and Wang Ming challenged him.

At King's Chess City, Yan Zangfeng and Ren Qianxing fought a deadly duel as their old grievances and rivalries reached their breaking point. Meanwhile, Wang Ming blocked the Chess Saint's old gatekeeper's powerful sword strike and suspected the man was hiding his true motive for helping Yan Zangfeng.

• The chapter recalled how Ying Shuntian and the Chess Saint Sword Ancestor had played the Chess of Life and Death five hundred years earlier, and framed Yan Zangfeng and Ren Qianxing's duel as a continuation of that match.
• Yan Zangfeng and Ren Qianxing clashed over their accumulated resentments, including their rivalry over Liu Yiyi and the influence of Liao Ru Shen.
• Ren Qianxing's World Separating Sword and Crimson Blood Sword gave him the advantage, but Yan Zangfeng endured his attacks with the Frost Heart Sword's healing ability and his fifty years of internal energy.
• The Chess Saint's old gatekeeper revealed the General's Reflection Sword and struck at Wang Ming with overwhelming sword Qi.
• Wang Ming blocked the attack, then accused the old man of helping Yan Zangfeng to gain human dao destiny and the Frost Heart Sword, suspecting he had concealed a way to strengthen Yan Zangfeng.

Yan Zangfeng kept fighting Ren Qianxing with the Frost Heart Sword healing him, while Liao Ru Shen stopped Xiaoyao Lang from joining the battle because it could provoke a group fight. As Wang Ming and the old man from the Chess Saint’s Residence fought amid the city’s ruins, unexpected newcomers confronted Liao Ru Shen and accused him of hiding behind a hypocritical mask.

• Ren Qianxing repeatedly wounded Yan Zangfeng, but the Frost Heart Sword healed him each time and let him continue attacking.
• Xiaoyao Lang offered to help Yan Zangfeng, but Liao Ru Shen warned that joining in could turn the fight into a four-on-two.
• Liao Ru Shen watched Wang Ming and the old man from the Chess Saint’s Residence devastate King’s Chess City in their battle.
• A qin sounded behind Liao Ru Shen, and his palm strike sent the unprepared Xiaoyao Lang flying.
• The newcomers told Liao Ru Shen to remove his mask and accused him of deceiving everyone.

Liu Yiyi reappeared during Yan Zangfeng and Ren Qianxing’s battle, while Wu Xin and the others exposed Liao Ru Shen’s schemes. Liao Ru Shen admitted the accusations were true, leaving Yan Zangfeng confronting his uncle’s betrayal.

• Liu Yiyi appeared alive, stopping Yan Zangfeng and Ren Qianxing from continuing their fight, but she ignored their questions and approached in silence.
• Xiaoyao Lang recognized Wu Xin, and Sai Hua Tuo, Sai Shi Shi, and Drunken Immortal accused Liao Ru Shen of plotting to kill them.
• Drunken Immortal attacked Liao Ru Shen, but Yan Zangfeng intercepted the blow and defended his uncle.
• Huangfu Changhen accused Liao Ru Shen of murdering Tianji Twenty-Five, while Yan Zangfeng insisted someone must be framing him.
• Lian Chixue revealed that Liao Ru Shen had arranged the events that led to Yan Zangfeng’s parents’ deaths and the theft of the Thousand Spirits Chess Manual.
• Liao Ru Shen admitted that all the accusations against him were true.

Liao Ru Shen revealed his ambition and easily defeated Yan Zangfeng’s group, while Wang Ming continued fighting the old man from the Chess Saint's Residence and learned about his centuries-long attempts to seize the throne and loosen the Heavenly Dao’s restraints. The two remained evenly matched as Liao Ru Shen’s opponents struggled against his untouched strength.

• Liao Ru Shen admitted that he had manipulated others to obtain the Chess of Life and Death treasure and the national fortune within them.
• Yan Zangfeng froze as Drunken Immortal urged him to join the fight, so the others attacked Liao Ru Shen without him.
• Liao Ru Shen repelled the attackers with a wave of his feather fan, sending the Three Wandering Heroes and the others flying back.
• Wang Ming accused the old man from the Chess Saint's Residence of exploiting Liao Ru Shen’s plans, and the old man admitted that he wanted the Frost Heart Sword and the Son of Destiny’s fortune.
• The old man explained that repeated attempts to rule had failed without national fortune, and that unifying the world loosened the Heavenly Dao’s restraints on his cultivation.
• Liao Ru Shen effortlessly handled Yan Zangfeng’s group, while Wang Ming observed that they could not make him reveal his full abilities.