Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ran used Filial Piety Points to master drawing and basic spirit runes, then examined the broken sword and planned to restore it as his lifebound sword. Meanwhile, Lingzhou Yue and True Person Yinyue relaxed in a hot spring and discussed Xiao Ran’s future as they waited for the Dao Alliance’s reward.

• Xiao Ran bought Max-Level Drawing Skills and Max-Level Spirit Runes Basic Edition from the system shop, leaving him with 184 Filial Piety Points.
• Xiao Ran examined the broken sword and found its ancient internal sword runes exceptionally powerful, though half were missing and he could not determine why the blade had fractured.
• Xiao Ran planned to restore the missing runes, ask True Person Moxia to recast the blade, and slowly nourish it as his lifebound sword.
• True Person Yinyue questioned Lingzhou Yue about acting injured after defeating the Wraith Beast Tide, and Lingzhou Yue said she was merely tired and wanted her disciple to pamper her.
• Lingzhou Yue and True Person Yinyue discussed Xiao Ran’s promise and the delayed Dao Alliance reward, and Lingzhou Yue considered taking him to see a broader world and meet a few master's wives.

Chuyan returned to Flamefree City and learned that Xiao Ran had saved the city with few casualties, then brought gifts from its grateful people back to Sword-Wielding Mountain. Xiao Ran resumed his artistic ambitions and delivered his broken sword and complete sword runes to True Person Moxia, who agreed to restore it.

• Chuyan visited the palace, learned that only 7,345 people had died during Flamefree City's six days in the Great Nether, and discovered that Xiao Ran had led the city's defense while Elder Lingzhou observed.
• Chuyan checked the emperor's condition, reunited with her imperial relatives, and gave elixirs to the emperor's children before Chunwa and Qiuchan joined them for a meal.
• Hundreds of grateful Flamefree City residents gave Chuyan gifts for General Xiao, and she, Chunwa, and Qiuchan returned to Sword-Wielding Mountain with them.
• Xiao Ran showed Chuyan his gravure drawings and said he wanted to make dōjinshi; Chuyan thanked him for saving the city and warned that he might be selected for the Heaven's Chosen Assembly in Chaos City.
• Xiao Ran brought the broken sword and its completed sword runes to True Person Moxia, who promised to personally recast and grind it, then told him Gao Shi had taken a Dao companion and been given time off.

After returning to Zongzhi Mountain, Xiao Ran asked Gao Shi to help build a luxurious sword-riding palace, then took Chuyan to spy on Lingzhou Yue and True Person Yinyue at Hot Spring Valley so he could sketch them. Their struggle over Xiao Ran’s portrait board caused the ground beneath them to collapse, sending them tumbling down together.

• Xiao Ran met Gao Shi at Sword-Tempering Mountain, asked him to build a sword-riding palace, and tested his reaction to the design’s spirit runes.
• Gao Shi agreed to help and hinted that Xiao Ran would soon become a celebrated genius in Chaos City.
• Xiao Ran and Chuyan flew to Hundred Herbs Peak and secretly approached Hot Spring Valley using concealment methods.
• Xiao Ran sketched Lingzhou Yue and True Person Yinyue while Chuyan watched and teased him about his interest in the women.
• Chuyan tried to take Xiao Ran’s portrait board, and their struggle caused the ground to collapse beneath them.

After a cave-in dropped Xiao Ran and Chuyan into the hot spring, Xiao Ran introduced Wraith Cards as a game that could help them train against Wraiths. He was sent away for spying on the women through enchanted tiles, while the game continued and the Dao Alliance’s long-awaited rewards arrived that evening.

• Xiao Ran hid his bamboo notebook and belongings, then guided himself and Chuyan into the hot spring after their bed collapsed; True Person Yinyue concealed them in mist.
• Xiao Ran invented Wraith Cards and taught Lingzhou Yue, True Person Yinyue, and Chuyan how to play, claiming the game could help them resist Wraiths.
• Lingzhou Yue kicked Xiao Ran back to Sword-Wielding Mountain after he proposed a clothing-based penalty, then played the game with True Person Yinyue and Chuyan.
• Xiao Ran secretly used spirit runes to watch the women playing through the tiles and sketched Lingzhou Yue after she lost and put on her robe.
• That evening, a new batch of warmed wine came out of the cellar, and the Dao Alliance’s rewards arrived.

After the Dao Alliance rewarded Zongzhi Mountain for its role in the Flamefree City incident, Li Wuxie visited Xiao Ran and required him to attend the Heaven's Chosen Assembly in Chaos City. Xiao Ran handed over the stone tablet and received a damaged cultivation method suited to his Balanced Five-Elements Endowment, titled Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers.

• Two Dao Alliance officials delivered Zongzhi Mountain's commendation and rewards to Huangfu Qun, including merit points, fewer required missions, and increased spirit-sword imports.
• Li Wuxie assured Huangfu Qun that Xiao Ran would keep his place in Zongzhi Mountain even if he studied at the Academy, and suggested the sect send people to hunt a demonic dragon.
• Xiao Ran watched the ongoing wraith-fighting game at Hundred Herbs Peak before hiding his television and drawing board when Li Wuxie arrived.
• Xiao Ran gave Li Wuxie the stone tablet, and Li Wuxie told him he had to attend the Heaven's Chosen Assembly in Chaos City a month later.
• Li Wuxie revealed that he had rejected the Dao Alliance's other rewards for Xiao Ran but had obtained a damaged cultivation method for his Balanced Five-Elements Endowment.
• Xiao Ran opened the bamboo slip and read its title: Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers.

Xiao Ran chose to improve his combat ability by mastering Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers, then joined Lingzhou Yue at a sect council celebrating their rescue of East Floating City. The chapter ended with Huangfu Qun warning them not to pursue the demonic dragon, while Lingzhou Yue focused on the reward money.

• Xiao Ran learned that the incomplete Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers suited him and decided to master it before the Heaven's Chosen Assembly.
• Xiao Ran persuaded Li Wuxie to give him high-grade Qi Nourishing Pills, then asked for spirit stones, but Li Wuxie left.
• Huangfu Qun announced the Dao Alliance's rewards at an Elder Council, and Lingzhou Yue asked for the rewards instead of a report on their merits.
• Huangfu Qun agreed to convert half of the one million Dao Alliance points into five hundred thousand spirit stones for Sword-Wielding Mountain, earning Xiao Ran 188 filial piety points.
• Huangfu Qun warned Lingzhou Yue and Xiao Ran not to join the hunt for the demonic dragon and told them to return after the Heaven's Chosen Assembly.

Xiao Ran returned to Sword-Wielding Mountain with Lingzhou Yue and Chuyan, then challenged them to a gambling game over his newly brewed wine. After crushing them despite their teamwork and cheating, he gave Lingzhou Yue the wine and gained Filial Piety Points, while she began questioning whether he had rigged the game.

• Huangfu Qun warned Xiao Ran that candidates who lost the Heaven's Chosen position might challenge him before the assembly, and told Chuyan to prepare to take over if her Master died.
• Xiao Ran, Chuyan, and Lingzhou Yue returned to Sword-Wielding Mountain, where Xiao Ran demanded payment for his thousand-catty batch of wine and proposed gambling for it.
• Xiao Ran bought max-level gambling skills from the System Shop, and Lingzhou Yue secretly recruited Chuyan to team up against him.
• The three played through the night on Lingzhou Yue's bed, but Xiao Ran defeated them even after they cheated.
• Xiao Ran gave Lingzhou Yue the wine, gaining 28 Filial Piety Points, and she drank it before asking whether he had built a cheating backdoor into the tiles.

Xiao Ran set out for East Floating City to buy high-tier seeds and herbs, bringing Chunwa and Qiuchan along as guides. After he effortlessly killed a giant sand worm, the girls began suspecting he was a hidden powerhouse and nearly guessed that he was a transmigrator before he hurried them onward to the city.

• Xiao Ran agreed to buy Chuyan tailoring supplies while Lingzhou Yue stayed behind, and Chunwa and Qiuchan joined his trip to East Floating City.
• Xiao Ran flew through the dangerous Flame Mountain with the two girls, who warned him about sand worms and the need for a Golden Core escort.
• A giant Foundation Establishment sand worm swallowed the three, but Xiao Ran protected them and destroyed it with a single palm strike.
• Chunwa and Qiuchan connected Xiao Ran's strength to the National Teacher's death and the wraith incident, then speculated that he was an immortal, possessed, or from another world.
• Xiao Ran stopped the girls from guessing further, carried them across the desert, and reached East Floating City with them half a day later.

Xiao Ran arrived in East Floating City with Chunwa and Qiuchan, where the Dao Alliance soldiers and townspeople honored him for saving Flamefree City. While Xiao Ran tried to buy supplies and feed homeless children, Li Wuxie learned he was in town and ordered his staff to pretend he was away.

• Xiao Ran flew with Chunwa and Qiuchan to East Floating City and entered through its Azure Inscription Grand Array.
• Huang Yuanzi recognized Xiao Ran, welcomed him as a senior, and arranged for the city to honor his arrival.
• Imperial Road Army soldiers and East Floating overseers bowed to Xiao Ran in recognition of his contributions at Flamefree City.
• Shopkeepers and a brothel tried to draw Xiao Ran inside with free offers, but Chunwa and Qiuchan led him to Great Forest Wine House, where townspeople crowded in to see him.
• Heishi told Li Wuxie that Xiao Ran had arrived to buy high-grade grain seeds, and Li Wuxie instructed him to pretend he was away if Xiao Ran came looking for him.

Xiao Ran visited the White Night Pavilion to buy high-tier spirit grain seeds and brewing materials, hoping to get a discount by invoking his master, Elder Lingzhou. Manager Chen Qingyuan offered a deal tied to Lingzhou’s debt and asked Xiao Ran to change her feelings toward his sister; Xiao Ran showed him a painting that left Chen stunned.

• Xiao Ran reached the White Night Pavilion after checking prices elsewhere and was ushered upstairs because of his standing as a Dao Alliance prodigy.
• Xiao Ran met manager Chen Qingyuan, identified a yearning hidden in Chen’s painting, and asked to buy materials for brewing medicinal wine for Elder Lingzhou.
• Chen Qingyuan offered the goods at a steep discount but asked Xiao Ran to acknowledge Lingzhou’s debt, then revealed he wanted Xiao Ran to persuade her to become a woman who liked men and leave Chen’s sister alone.
• Xiao Ran showed Chen a portrait he had painted and claimed that mastering painting could let people transcend ordinary constraints, even those between siblings.
• Chen Qingyuan’s teacup shattered as he stared at Xiao Ran’s painting.

Lu Pingtian arrived in East Floating City to confront Xiao Ran over the Dao Alliance Heaven’s Chosen selection and seek a sword at Zongzhi Mountain. After Xiao Ran claimed that Uncle-Master Xiao had gone to Chaos City, Lu Pingtian used a truth-binding spell to question him again.

• Lu Pingtian left the Saint Demon Sect and arrived at Xing Tian Pavilion, where Li Wuxie warned him not to cause trouble for Xiao Ran.
• Lu Pingtian struggled to find directions to Zongzhi Mountain, then tried to coax Chunwa and Qiuchan into guiding him with cotton candy.
• Xiao Ran met Lu Pingtian and said that Uncle-Master Xiao had gone to Chaos City for an unannounced inspection.
• Chunwa and Qiuchan backed up Xiao Ran’s claim, saying Uncle-Master Xiao was weak and the Dao Alliance wanted Zongzhi Mountain to fail.
• Lu Pingtian cast a truth-binding spell on Xiao Ran and asked again whether the claim was true; Xiao Ran answered that it was.

Xiao Ran returned from Chaos City with Chunwa and Qiuchan, then helped Chuyan prepare high-tier farmland and cooked a celebratory meal for the Sword-Wielding Mountain residents. As daily life settled into a slower rhythm, his Filial Piety Points climbed to 686, and he announced that he was about to become invincible.

• Lu Pingtian traveled to Chaos City after Xiao Ran persuaded him to leave East Floating City, and Li Wuxie warned Heishi that Xiao Ran could restrain soul arts despite not knowing them.
• Xiao Ran returned to Sword-Wielding Mountain with Chunwa and Qiuchan, where Lingzhou Yue denied having a debt to White Night Pavilion after Xiao Ran said he had paid it off.
• Chuyan returned with bamboo boards, and Xiao Ran gave her the supplies he had bought before bringing her, Chunwa, and Qiuchan to work on the high-tier fields.
• Lingzhou Yue offered to help dig, but Xiao Ran sent her to rest and prepared crucian carp soup while the others continued farming.
• Xiao Ran invited Senior Uncle to a meal celebrating his Dao Alliance Tianjiao status, and later noticed his Filial Piety Points had reached 686.

Xiao Ran spent three days losing Fight the Wraith on purpose to earn Filial Piety Points, then bought Serendipitous Critical Strike and exhausted himself practicing sword swings. His final strike unleashed overwhelming sword qi that split Morning Dawn Peak, bringing Lingzhou Yue rushing to the Sword Plaza in shock.

• Xiao Ran deliberately let Lingzhou Yue win card games, earning 686 Filial Piety Points before ending the session and leaving to practice his sword.
• Xiao Ran spent 666 Filial Piety Points to buy Serendipitous Critical Strike and discovered its method in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Xiao Ran repeatedly swung his sword through the night without replenishing his spiritual power, while Chuyan and Lingzhou Yue noticed his unusual practice.
• After his ten-thousandth swing, Xiao Ran collapsed, and a burst of sword qi split Morning Dawn Peak eighteen miles away.
• Lingzhou Yue appeared at the Sword Plaza, stepped on Xiao Ran's chest, and demanded to know what he was doing.

Xiao Ran’s Serendipitous Critical Strike split Morning Dawn Peak, leaving Lingzhou Yue injured and prompting her to examine his cultivation methods and help him train. Meanwhile, Lu Pingtian concluded Xiao Ran had deceived him and planned to challenge him at Zongzhi Mountain after advancing toward Nascent Soul.

• Xiao Ran’s strike sheared off the top of Morning Dawn Peak, and he took the injured Lingzhou Yue to Hot Spring Cliff while telling Chuyan to say his master had split the mountain.
• Xiao Ran explained Serendipitous Critical Strike and showed Lingzhou Yue the Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers manual; she judged both methods and agreed to help him progress.
• Lingzhou Yue had Xiao Ran sit opposite her in the hot spring and channeled spiritual power into his Dantian to help him master the technique sooner.
• After searching Chaos City for three days, Lu Pingtian decided Xiao Ran had concealed his cultivation and that Zongzhi Mountain had manipulated the Dao Alliance’s Heaven’s Chosen selection.
• Lu Pingtian planned to seek a breakthrough in the Demon Cave, then visit Zongzhi Mountain with Dao Alliance members and challenge Xiao Ran while trying to expose him.

Xiao Ran discovered that Serendipitous Critical Strike could draw on Lingzhou Yue’s power through resonance, though each successful drain left her furious and exhausted. After receiving his repaired sword, he borrowed spirit stones from her to fund the sword ship he had designed for her.

• Chuyan misunderstood Lingzhou Yue’s lessons at Hot Spring Cliff and decided to win her over by sewing her beautiful clothes.
• Xiao Ran’s eleventh palm resonated with Lingzhou Yue, unleashing immense power and leaving her flushed; when he touched her in the mist, she threw him off the cliff and he earned a filial piety point.
• The sect restored Morning Dawn Peak and compensated it with fifty thousand spirit stones, while Xiao Ran spent the day practicing Serendipitous Critical Strike and found it had about a half-percent chance of triggering.
• Two Sword-Tempering Mountain disciples delivered Xiao Ran’s repaired broken sword, and he asked about the sword ship Gao Shi was building.
• Xiao Ran showed Lingzhou Yue his sword-ship blueprint, featuring a hot spring, barbecue grill, and automatic card-dealing table, and she lent him ten thousand spirit stones.

Xiao Ran developed a way to draw illustrated stories with his thoughts and persuaded Lingzhou Yue to read his serialized story by making Yun Yun the female lead. He practiced with his new lifebound sword and waited for the valley crops to mature, then smelled the fragrance of rice after a storm cleared.

• Xiao Ran used thought ink painting to draw Horse Breaks the Sky and convinced Lingzhou Yue to read it by promising that Yun Yun was its female lead.
• Lingzhou Yue criticized Xiao Yan's behavior toward Xun Er, while Chuyan warned her not to let Xiao Ran manipulate her through the story.
• Xiao Ran practiced with his newly forged lifebound sword but could only draw out part of its inscription's sharpness enhancement and could not resonate with the sword body.
• Xiao Ran spent his days practicing, caring for Lingzhou Yue, and tending the valley crops, while Chunwa and Qiuchan asked him to add twin female horses to his story.
• After a night of heavy rain, Xiao Ran smelled rice fragrance from the valley the next morning.

Xiao Ran harvested the spiritual crops and brewed wine that gave Lingzhou Yue a strange ice-and-fire sensation and pushed Chuyan into a dangerous breakthrough. After Xiao Ran helped Chuyan advance to Nascent Soul, Lingzhou Yue drank with him and fell asleep against his shoulder after entrusting him with their union.

• Xiao Ran found the ripe spiritual wheat, rice, and medicinal herbs, then had Chuyan harvest the grains with her Sewing Needle Sword Art.
• Lingzhou Yue tried brewing wine herself, but her batch tasted bitter and watery while Xiao Ran's wine was refreshing and warmed the dantian.
• Chuyan drank Xiao Ran's potent wine, triggering a dangerous breakthrough as Xiao Ran discovered she had been suppressing her cultivation.
• Xiao Ran treated Chuyan with herbs and resonance power in the hot spring until she advanced from Golden Dan to Nascent Soul, then carried her back to rest.
• Lingzhou Yue drank with Xiao Ran, spoke of wanting to remain in the twilight, and fell asleep leaning on his shoulder after saying she would leave the matter of union to him.

Xiao Ran stayed with Lingzhou Yue through the sunrise, then learned that Chuyan had reached the Nascent Soul stage and received sect rewards for helping her. After spending all 300 of his filial piety points to master Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers, he tried drawing spiritual energy from Lingzhou Yue and was kicked into Morning Dawn Peak.

• Xiao Ran watched the sunrise with Lingzhou Yue, who gained 10 filial piety points after reflecting on it.
• Chuyan thanked Xiao Ran for helping her break through to the Nascent Soul stage, and Zongzhi Mountain concealed her new realm ahead of the Heaven's Chosen Assembly.
• Xiao Ran received the sect's 100,000 spirit stone reward and gave Lingzhou Yue half while entrusting the rest to her; Chuyan also placed her 3,000 spirit stones in Lingzhou Yue's care.
• Xiao Ran spent 300 filial piety points to master Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers, leaving him with 1 point.
• Xiao Ran tried to draw Lingzhou Yue's spiritual energy into his qi sea, and Lingzhou Yue kicked him through Morning Dawn Peak, smashing the mountain.

Xiao Ran discovered that Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers and the Art of Resonance had given him extraordinary defenses after he survived being kicked into Morning Dawn Peak and a sword strike. He returned to Sword-Wielding Mountain and revealed to Lingzhou Yue that he had cultivated all ten thousand layers, prompting her to kick him flying again.

• Lingzhou Yue kicked Xiao Ran from Sword-Wielding Mountain, and he crashed into Morning Dawn Peak’s West Slope, where Wang Tiezhu and Han Erleng dug him out unharmed.
• Xiao Ran asked Wang Tiezhu to strike him and found that his vast Qi Sea neutralized the spiritual force while his body resisted the sword’s physical cut.
• Han Erleng asked Xiao Ran to compensate Morning Dawn Peak for the damage, but Xiao Ran threatened them with the consequences of assaulting a Dao Alliance chosen one and departed.
• Lingzhou Yue examined Xiao Ran’s injuries, and Xiao Ran told her he had become so strong that he had deliberately tested his defenses.
• Xiao Ran confirmed that he had cultivated Qi Refining Ten Thousand Layers, and Lingzhou Yue sprayed wine before kicking him through Morning Dawn Peak again.

Xiao Ran visited Hundred Herbs Peak to obtain potent medicine for replenishing his Qi Sea and protecting his master's body, while True Person Yinyue investigated why her Longevity Pill experiments had failed. He identified a likely issue with the Anorexia Flowers and offered to find suitable seeds on their next trip to Chaos City.

• Xiao Ran traveled to Hundred Herbs Peak and learned from Chunwa and Qiuchan that True Person Yinyue was in the Pill Chamber working on the Longevity Pill.
• Xiao Ran gave True Person Yinyue his wine and asked her to refine pills to protect his master's body and rapidly replenish spiritual power.
• True Person Yinyue gave Xiao Ran a mound of failed medicinal dregs, which he ate without harm because of his unusual cultivation.
• Xiao Ran examined the Longevity Pill formula and concluded that it required problematic Anorexia Flowers, suggesting that he find suitable seeds in Chaos City.
• True Person Yinyue praised Xiao Ran's insight and remarked that his flattering words sounded like he knew how to woo women.