Chapter Summaries

Song Youfu and Song Youping encountered a massive gathering of Sea Demons while traveling to trade with the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty and suspected a larger conflict was approaching. Meanwhile, Song Changsheng passed the Mirror Image Space by defeating his mirrored self, and Yi Tianzheng prepared the group to depart for the Five Academies Grand Meeting.

• Song Youfu explained that he and Song Youping were traveling to meet Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty traders and handle the clan’s Void Demon Crystal trade.
• Song Youping spotted a vast demon cloud, and Song Youfu suspected the Sea Races were organizing for a major attack.
• Song Youfu sent a message to Protector Elder about the Sea Demons, then ordered the battleship to detour and continue its trade mission.
• Song Changsheng defeated his mirror-image opponent with Soul Severing Golden Blade after realizing that the Mirror Image Space tested whether he could surpass his past self.
• Song Changsheng was teleported to a grand hall, where Yi Tianzheng said that he, Ling Xiao, and Baili Yuntu had passed the test.
• Yi Tianzheng announced that the group would soon depart for the Five Academies Grand Meeting, and a participant asked where the juniors of their clan were.

Song Changsheng learned that the Song Clan’s clash with the Brocade Banner had been settled, then joined the delegation traveling to the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty for the Five Academies Grand Meeting. The party reached Myriad Manifestations Academy and set out aboard a Sky Battleship, where True Lord Longxiang arrived with a gifted Nine Yin Body disciple and began tearing open space for their journey.

• Yi Tianzheng told Song Changsheng that the palace had warned the Brocade Banner over its dispute with the Song Clan and cautioned him against letting clan members bring grudges into future Exchange Meetings.
• Song Changsheng heard Song Youlin’s account, praised Xu Miaoyin’s role, ordered Song Youlin to report the clan’s contributions, and learned that Song Youfu had found a gathering of Sea Demons near Ghost King Valley.
• Song Changsheng told Song Youlin that True Lord Jianxin would handle the Sea Demon threat and prepared to depart for the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty with the delegation.
• Song Changsheng met Ji Shinian and Jun Tianli, then imparted his Five Element Law Insights to Jun Tianli before Yi Tianzheng activated the teleportation array to Myriad Manifestations Academy.
• The delegation boarded a Sky Battleship at Sea Peace Island, where Ji Shinian introduced True Lord Longxiang and the veiled Nine Yin Body disciple from Ghost King Valley.
• True Lord Longxiang told the group to prepare to depart, then thrust his hands into Void Space and began tearing it apart.

True Lord Longxiang carried the Myriad Manifestations Academy delegation through a Spatial Tunnel to the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty for the Five Academies Grand Meeting. As they traveled toward Central Continent, Yi Tianzheng prepared to confront the Sea Race, while Song Changsheng reflected on the hardships facing Great Qi and wondered if he could change its fate.

• True Lord Longxiang opened a Spatial Rift and guided the Sky Battleship through a Spatial Tunnel as Xu Miaoyin and the other passengers watched in awe.
• Yi Tianzheng learned that the Sea Race had gathered across several sea regions and summoned allied envoys to prepare for battle, intending to confront Kongsang Lifeng.
• After several dozen hours, True Lord Longxiang brought the Sky Battleship out near the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty's border, where Marquis Zhenyuan inspected their credentials and guided them onward.
• Song Jingyuan and the others marveled at Dazhen's developed lands and compared them with Great Qi's scarce resources and vulnerability to Beast Tides.
• Song Jingrui remarked that Great Qi's cultivators were themselves like a wall protecting others, and Song Changsheng wondered whether he could change their fate.

Yi Tianzheng led a Great Qian coalition assault against the Sea Demons, where he confronted Kongsang Lifeng and Shenyun above the battlefield. Meanwhile, Song Changsheng and his companions reached Imperial Capital Gaoyang and learned how its floating-island formation and Human King protected the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty’s seat of power.

• Yi Tianzheng led the coalition fleet through a Space Channel and attacked the Sea Demon horde, which resisted despite being caught off guard.
• Yi Tianzheng revealed that Kongsang Lifeng and Shenyun had prepared a trap and were waiting for reinforcements, then confronted both Water Lord-level opponents.
• Yi Tianzheng, Kongsang Lifeng, and Shenyun ascended above the Gangwind Layer, where Yi Tianzheng manifested a three-hundred-zhang Frost Giant Nascent Soul Dharma Image.
• After half a month of travel, Song Changsheng and his companions arrived at Imperial Capital Gaoyang and marveled at its vastness and prosperity.
• Song Changsheng identified the thirty-six floating islands as a sixth-tier Heavenly Dipper Star-Dome Formation, and Marquis Dingyuan explained that the Human King and the treasures of Human Dao Luck made the capital impregnable.

Yi Tianzheng held off Kongsang Lifeng and Shenyun while suspecting their attack was meant to draw Lei Kanze away from Myriad Manifestations Palace. In Thousand Sound Valley, Shixun and Yuxian seized the Imperial Seal and killed True Person Tianyao, while Song Changsheng’s group met the Beast Taming Sect Holy Son and awaited the Tianshui Ji Clan.

• Kongsang Lifeng and Shenyun trapped Yi Tianzheng in an illusory realm and attacked him, but he decided Lei Kanze should remain at Myriad Manifestations Palace.
• True Person Tianyao realized Shixun and Yuxian had betrayed her, and Shixun admitted their role in the plots against Thousand Sound Valley and the Imperial Seal.
• Xiao Sheng brought the Imperial Seal to Shixun and Yuxian, and Shixun drained Tianyao’s life force and Divine Soul Power before killing her.
• Yuxian ordered Yuxiao to ring the funeral bell, spread the story that Miaoyin Pavilion had killed Tianyao, and prepare an attack on the pavilion.
• Song Changsheng and the Song Clan settled on a floating island in Gaoyang City and welcomed the Beast Taming Sect Holy Son, who challenged Ling Xiao before a Tianshui Ji Clan warship appeared.

Song Changsheng and the Myriad Manifestations Palace delegation arrived at the Five Academies Grand Meeting as the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion suffered a devastating attack and the Tianqin Cultivation World was destroyed by Thousand Sound Valley and Thunder King Hall. With the Palace Master threatened and the grand competition delayed, Song Changsheng learned that Zhuang Yuechan had left Miaoyin Pavilion safely and prepared to seek her at a royal banquet.

• The Tianshui Ji Clan arrived, and Song Changsheng learned that its Late Golden Core Young Clan Head was the fifth person ever chosen for the role while Ji Shinian kept his Ji Clan origins private.
• The Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion arrived with a damaged Flying Boat after a Nascent Soul attacker collapsed its Spatial Tunnel, killing and injuring several people, including a Golden Core contestant.
• True Lord Longxiang revealed that the attacker was a demonic path Nascent Soul cultivator and that the Tianqin Cultivation World had fallen after Thousand Sound Valley and Thunder King Hall destroyed Miaoyin Pavilion.
• True Lord Longxiang assured Song Changsheng that Zhuang Yuechan had left Miaoyin Pavilion years earlier, then asked the delegation to fight for Earth Infant Fruits to strengthen Myriad Manifestations Palace.
• Song Changsheng sent Zhuang Yuechan a message and attended the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty's banquet, where he noted the First Prince's absence before the Human King and Grand State Master were announced.

Song Changsheng attended the Human King’s banquet, where the Human King and Grand State Master discussed signs of a coming upheaval and the need to await a warning from Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. As the Five Academies Grand Meeting began at Deer Chasing Academy, Song Changsheng worried about Zhuang Yuechan’s silence, then learned that the academy’s host, Shu Qi, was the disciple of the legendary Feng Wanli.

• The Human King and Grand State Master arrived at the banquet, and the Human King spoke privately with the Grand State Master about turmoil across the realm and whether Dazhen should prepare for a coming great age.
• After the banquet, Ji Shinian told the group that the Purple Mansion Grand Competition’s format had changed and described his own grief over a woman who had left for another world.
• Song Changsheng boarded the Flying Boat for Deer Chasing Academy while worrying that Zhuang Yuechan had not answered his message; Ji Shinian reassured him that Marquis Dingyuan and palace agents were searching for her.
• The group arrived at Deer Chasing Academy, where Shu Qi welcomed them and recognized Song Changsheng as a cultivator from Great Qi.
• Shu Qi revealed that his master was True Monarch Xiaoyao, Feng Wanli, the legendary loose cultivator whom Song Changsheng had believed was long dead.

Song Changsheng and the Myriad Manifestations Palace contestants arrived at Deer Chasing Academy’s Cloud Arena and learned the rules for the Five Academies Grand Meeting’s Purple Palace Stage contest. As the Human King and five True Lords opened the Landscapes and Rivers Scroll to begin the trial, Xu Miaoyin suddenly felt something stirring in her consciousness.

• Song Changsheng learned that True Monarch Xiaoyao had left the Four Border Realms to travel through the Central Plains Divine Continent, and Shu Qi assured the group that his master might return someday.
• Shu Qi led the contestants past Deer Chasing Academy’s gifted students to the colossal sentient willow, whose branches opened a spatial passage to the Cloud Arena.
• The Old National Teacher announced that Group B’s fifty Purple Palace Stage contestants would compete in a Small World for seventy-two hours, collecting waist tokens and delivering them to the finish flag for points.
• Ji Shinian told the Myriad Manifestations Palace contestants to follow their plan and protect Hua Yan, whose abilities gave their academy a chance to win.
• The Human King and five True Lords joined their Power of Law to unfurl the Landscapes and Rivers Scroll, and Xu Miaoyin staggered as something stirred in her consciousness.

As the Five Academies Grand Meeting began, Song Changsheng suppressed the mysterious artifact in Xu Miaoyin’s Sea of Consciousness and encouraged her to uncover its inheritance herself. Meanwhile, Song Qingxing and other East Sea Alliance cultivators aided the Human Race in the war, until Song Qingxing encountered a Demon King en route to Nine Plains Island.

• Song Changsheng suppressed the artifact in Xu Miaoyin’s Sea of Consciousness and told her it was an inheritance from her mother that she would have to master herself.
• The Sea Race used Demon Dandelion Flowers to drain spirit islands’ Spirit Veins, forcing the Great Qian Coalition Army to spread its defenses across the East Sea.
• Three Giant Ao Demon Crabs attacked Sinking Boat Island, but Song Qingxing arrived, killed them, and revealed his name to Chen Shoutong.
• Song Qingxing, Song Yuqing, and other East Sea Alliance cultivators continued rescuing threatened spirit islands and earned recognition and merit from Myriad Manifestations Palace.
• Song Qingxing encountered an azure-scaled figure with white eyes on his way to Nine Plains Island and realized it was a Demon King.

Song Youping identified the Demon Dandelion Flowers as grafted Spirit Devouring Flowers and proposed using modified Metal Devouring Beetles to destroy the Sea Race’s spirit plants in retaliation. As new Sea Demons approached Gemini Islands, Song Qingxing went to respond, while the Five Academies Grand Competition reached a dangerous melee centered on Hua Yan.

• Zhan Tianxia rescued Song Qingxing from the Scaled Demon King, then accompanied him to gather Demon Dandelion Flowers from a Sea Race-occupied spirit island.
• Song Youping recognized the flowers as grafted Spirit Devouring Flowers from the Blood Soul Spirit Nurturing Scripture and explained that seawater could kill their seeds.
• Song Youping proposed releasing modified Metal Devouring Beetles to devour spirit plants around low-tier undersea spirit veins, and Zhan Tianxia agreed to seek Myriad Manifestations Palace’s decision.
• Song Youfu reported a large group of Sea Demons near Gemini Islands, and Song Qingxing flew off to meet the threat.
• In the Landscapes and Rivers Scroll, contestants raced toward the three red pillars, while Hua Yan fought Hu Tao and four other cultivators before suddenly launching an attack on the Ji Clan member.

Hua Yan eliminated Ji Huaxing and helped Myriad Manifestations Palace dominate the competition, while Song Qingxing and Zhan Tianxia advanced plans to investigate the Sea Yaksha Clan and counter the Sea Race. As the contest entered its final stretch, Princess Ning'an revealed her Feather Clan heritage and challenged Hua Yan, who declined to fight.

• Hua Yan used Liuyun Ghost Hand to defeat Ji Huaxing, take his waist tokens, and leave the Ji Clan at a disadvantage.
• Myriad Manifestations Palace gathered its contestants, eliminated several rivals, and agreed to concentrate points on Hua Yan before facing the remaining factions.
• Song Qingxing ordered Song Youfu to contact Yin Chou and investigate the dealings between the Blood Soul Demonic Sect and the Sea Yaksha Clan.
• Zhan Tianxia presented Song Youping's proposal to True Monarch Heavenly Manifestation, who promised at least one million Merit Points if the plan proved effective and gave him a Myriad Manifestations Token.
• Duan Feiyu heavily injured Ji Chengfeng before Hua Yan and Hu Tao claimed the points from their opponents, and Hua Yan then persuaded Hu Tao to ally with Myriad Manifestations Palace.
• Princess Ning'an revealed her Feather Clan wings, flew to Hua Yan, and challenged her to fight; Hua Yan refused.

Hua Yan led Myriad Manifestations Palace to first place in the Field B competition, despite Princess Ning'an’s attempt to provoke her. After the results were announced and Hua Yan shared her reward with her teammates, the Old National Teacher and True Lord Longxiang discussed how to manage her Nine Yin Body before the competition opened Field A.

• Hua Yan refused Princess Ning'an’s challenge, and Princess Ning'an attacked her with feather blades until Chen Zehua stepped in and Hua Yan ordered the group to continue toward the finish line.
• Marquis Wuyin continued eliminating contestants while Princess Ning'an failed to sway him, and the Field B trial ended after seventy-two hours.
• The Old National Teacher announced Myriad Manifestations Palace, Beast Taming Sect, and Deer Chasing Academy as the top three teams, with Hua Yan first in individual points.
• Hua Yan asked to divide her one million Academy Contribution Points among her teammates, and the Old National Teacher offered her access to Deer Chasing Academy’s Nine Luminaries Yang Pool to suppress her Yin Qi.
• True Lord Longxiang said he had a method to resolve Hua Yan’s Nine Yin Body by cultivating the Yin-Yang Great Dao, and the Human King redirected the discussion to the competition.
• The Old National Teacher announced the rules for Field A’s arena contests, and the deans opened the Cloud Arena.

Song Changsheng and the other contestants prepared for the Five Academies Grand Competition’s Cloud Arena matches as lots were drawn and their equipment inspected. The First Prince, Zhao Yin, arrived late after fighting demons at the border, and the first matchup draw began with Song Changsheng’s lot number one.

• True Monarch Yingyue of Array Dao Academy was appointed referee, and Song Changsheng resolved to seek her help in fulfilling He Yunxuan’s request to find Gu Yiyi.
• The contestants drew their numbers; Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion’s substitute received the bye, while Song Changsheng drew number one and the First Prince Zhao Yin drew number two.
• Zhao Yin arrived from a battle against demons, ignored the Beast Taming Sect Holy Son’s challenge, and studied the contestant information, including Song Changsheng’s.
• Song Changsheng registered Jinghong and his Golden Thread Soft Armor as his permitted Spirit Treasures, while the Beast Taming Sect prepared to use its Demon King-level Spirit Beasts.
• True Monarch Yingyue began drawing opponents, and the first lot she revealed bore the number one.

Song Changsheng defeated Ji Bingxiu in the Five Academies Grand Meeting’s first preliminary match, revealing extraordinary mastery of space, strength, and sword arts. After the victory, True Lord Longxiang told the assembled True Lords that Song Changsheng was the patriarch and first Golden Core Cultivator of the recently risen Wangyue Song Clan.

• Song Changsheng faced Ji Bingxiu of the Tianshui Ji Clan and demonstrated that his spatial movement left no trace.
• Song Changsheng crippled Ji Bingxiu’s Six-Armed Demonic Ape puppet, then used the Sword Emerges Startled Swan technique to destroy it and shake Ji Bingxiu’s Dao Heart.
• Ji Bingxiu burned his Golden Core Origin and unleashed a powerful blade strike, but Song Changsheng stopped it and defeated him with a sword strike that split black and white.
• True Monarch Yingyue declared Song Changsheng the winner, and Baili Yuntu recognized that his final sword strike contained a special artistic conception.
• True Lord Longxiang explained that the Wangyue Song Clan was a small family that had risen only in recent decades, and that Song Changsheng was its patriarch and first Golden Core Cultivator.

The Five Academies Grand Competition’s qualifying rounds grew increasingly brutal as Song Changsheng drew the attention of the other factions and several contestants were eliminated. The chapter ended as Gu Xueying attacked Long An after he challenged her to land a hit within three moves.

• Song Changsheng’s victory over Ji Bingxiu prompted the factions to reassess him, while Zhao Yin became intrigued by the chaos he saw in Song Changsheng’s qi.
• Xiong Tu overwhelmed Shangguan Yi with his strength and Yellow Bear, but Shangguan Yi’s blood-nurtured sword injured Xiong Tu before Shangguan Yi was defeated.
• He Qingyun lost to Ji Liangxuan after destroying his puppet and taking Ji Liangxuan’s puppet with it.
• Long An was drawn against Gu Xueying, and Ling Xiao warned her to surrender if she could not defeat him.
• Long An refused to use his Azure Scaled Winged Dragon, offered to let Gu Xueying make three moves, and she attacked him with her silver spear.

Gu Xueying wounded Long An with her all-or-nothing spear strike before conceding, leaving him furious despite his victory. The seven-day first round ended with thirteen contestants advancing, and a three-day break was announced before the next round.

• Long An blocked Gu Xueying’s first two attacks without moving, but her final strike pierced his skin and damaged his Azure Scaled Winged Dragon armor.
• Gu Xueying conceded before Long An could retaliate, then fainted after returning to the Myriad Manifestations Palace platform.
• Long An won the match and ordered his fellow Beast Taming Sect contestants to show no mercy to Myriad Manifestations Palace.
• Ji Liangyu was called to face Zhao Ai as the remaining first-round matches continued over seven days and six nights.
• Myriad Manifestations Palace advanced four contestants, while the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty and Beast Taming Sect advanced three each, the Tianshui Ji Clan advanced two, and Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion advanced only Li Yufeng.
• True Monarch Yingyue announced a three-day break before the second round, which would reduce the thirteen remaining contestants to seven.

The second round of the Five Academies Grand Competition began with Zhao Yin drawing the bye lot and Li Yufeng, Song Changsheng, and Ji Liangyu winning their matches. Ling Xiao was then matched against Long An, setting up a clash between two of the round’s major contenders.

• Ling Xiao assessed the strongest contestants and Caidie and Baili Yuntu offered to use their hidden trump cards to help the Myriad Manifestations Palace advance.
• Three days later, the contestants gathered at the Cloud Arena, where Zhao Yin drew the bye lot and advanced without fighting.
• Li Yufeng defeated the injured Ji Liangxuan and advanced to the final seven.
• Song Changsheng advanced when the injured Xiong Tu conceded without fighting.
• Ji Liangyu defeated Hu Lan without being injured, leaving Long An as the Beast Taming Sect’s only remaining contestant.
• True Monarch Yingyue drew Ling Xiao against Long An for the next match.

Ling Xiao and Long An met in the Five Academies Grand Competition, where Ling Xiao revealed the Kunpeng Dharma Manifestation and fought Long An’s dragon bloodline. Long An prevailed in their clash, and Ling Xiao signaled Song Changsheng as he prepared to make a decisive move.

• Ling Xiao and Long An faced each other in the second elimination round, drawing excitement from the Tianshui Ji Clan and worry from Caidie.
• Long An attacked with his Azure Scaled Winged Dragon, but Ling Xiao forced it back with his sword and Spirit-Sealing Palm.
• Long An unleashed his dragon bloodline, while Ling Xiao summoned the Kunpeng Dharma Manifestation and struck with the Heaven-Turning Seal.
• The Heaven-Turning Seal and Long An’s Azure Dragon collided, leaving Ling Xiao injured and his jade seal cracked as Long An remained standing.
• Ling Xiao glanced toward Song Changsheng, received his response, and showed resolute determination.

Ling Xiao used the Nine Heavens Forbidden Art to sever Long An’s arm, but the cost left him gravely weakened and unconscious. With Myriad Manifestations Palace’s qualification intact, Song Changsheng took on the burden of reaching the top three and securing an Earth Infant Fruit.

• Long An suppressed his treasure blood’s demonic nature and caught Ling Xiao’s sword before striking him in the chest and sending him flying.
• Ling Xiao admitted he was outmatched, then invoked the Nine Heavens Forbidden Art, sacrificing his future potential to unleash overwhelming sword power.
• The Azure Scaled Winged Dragon lost its right wing while shielding Long An, and Ling Xiao’s sword strike severed Long An’s right arm.
• Ji Shinian conceded, but Long An attacked Ling Xiao anyway until True Lord Longxiang knocked him unconscious; True Monarch Yingyue ruled that the Beast Taming Sect could retain its competition qualification.
• Ling Xiao entrusted the sect’s burden to Song Changsheng, who vowed to reach the top three and bring back an Earth Infant Fruit before Ling Xiao lost consciousness.

After Caidie injured Qin Zhengdao and Baili Yuntu defeated Zhao Quan, Song Changsheng learned that Long An might recover in time for the next round. At the seven-to-four draw, Song Changsheng received a bye into the semifinals, while Li Yufeng was paired with the badly injured Qin Zhengdao.

• Caidie trapped Qin Zhengdao in an illusion and severely injured him, though she fell before he did.
• Baili Yuntu defeated Zhao Quan and advanced to the top seven without revealing his full strength.
• Song Changsheng learned that True Lord Tianpeng was treating Long An and prepared to exploit the danger of Long An losing control of his precious blood.
• After three days, Long An returned with his arm reattached and his injuries apparently healed.
• Baili Yuntu drew a blank lot, then Song Changsheng drew the bye and advanced directly to the semifinals.
• True Monarch Yingyue announced that Li Yufeng would face the injured Qin Zhengdao, giving Li Yufeng another favorable draw.