Chapter Summaries

Li Yufeng advanced to the semifinals after Qin Zhengdao refused to risk further injury, and Ji Liangyu defeated Long An after exploiting his unstable bloodline power. Zhao Yin defeated Baili Yuntu, who vowed to challenge him again within a hundred years, and the four semifinalists were announced for the tournament beginning in seven days.

• Li Yufeng thanked Qin Zhengdao for letting him win, while Qin returned to Deer Chasing Academy without challenging him further.
• Ji Liangyu used her mastery of the Laws of Space to evade Long An, wound him, and force the Beast Taming Sect elder to concede.
• Baili Yuntu unleashed his Yin-Yang Two Forms Array against Zhao Yin, but Zhao broke the attack and defeated him.
• Zhao Yin invited Baili Yuntu to fight him again if his cultivation caught up before Zhao reached the Nascent Soul Realm, and Baili vowed to return within a hundred years.
• True Monarch Yingyue announced that Song Changsheng, Li Yufeng, Ji Liangyu, and Zhao Yin had entered the semifinals, which would begin in seven days under a point system.

Song Changsheng learned that Zhuang Yuechan had safely entered the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty, then prepared for the semifinals with his worries eased. At the Cloud Arena, he drew the first-move advantage and chose Li Yufeng as his first opponent.

• Long An failed to reach the semifinals, leaving the Beast Taming Sect without an Earth Infant Fruit from Arena A.
• Song Changsheng spent the fifteen-day wait worrying about Zhuang Yuechan, while Ling Xiao urged the Myriad Manifestations Palace to keep searching and trust him.
• Ji Shinian told Song Changsheng that Zhuang Yuechan had entered the border checkpoint and sent him her Jade Flute as proof; Song Changsheng learned that lockdown measures would delay her arrival in Gaoyang.
• Ji Shinian advised Song Changsheng to defeat Li Yufeng to secure a place in the top three, and Song Changsheng promised to do his best in the semifinals.
• At the Cloud Arena, Song Changsheng drew the only numbered token and won the first-move advantage.
• Song Changsheng chose Li Yufeng as his opponent, and Li Yufeng stepped onto the arena with a despondent sigh.

Song Changsheng defeated Li Yufeng with a single powerful punch, then refused a fifteen-day intermission and challenged Ji Liangyu to contend for a place in the finals. Ji Liangyu accepted and revealed a bronze spike steeped in Death Qi, setting the stage for their battle.

• Song Changsheng and Li Yufeng agreed to settle their semifinal match with one move, and Li Yufeng attacked with his treasured jade cauldron.
• Song Changsheng shattered the cauldron’s Mysterious Yellow Qi with a punch, while the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion elder failed to glimpse any secrets about him.
• Song Changsheng showed mercy to Li Yufeng, who conceded the match and thanked him for sparing his treasure cauldron.
• Song Changsheng declined an intermission and chose Ji Liangyu as his next opponent, declaring his intention to contend for the top position.
• Ji Liangyu confronted Song Changsheng and produced a bronze spike surrounded by dense Death Qi.

Song Changsheng and Ji Liangyu fought an intense, evenly matched battle, trading swordsmanship, spatial techniques, and powerful divine abilities. Song Changsheng gained the advantage in their contest of strength, but Ji Liangyu’s hidden attack broke through his defense and struck his chest, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Song Changsheng opened with a powerful sword strike, then used his Heaven-Opening Sword Strike and successive divine abilities to pressure Ji Liangyu.
• Ji Liangyu countered Song Changsheng’s attacks with her spatial and death techniques, while her special Eye Technique exposed a flaw in his Mountain Overturning Seal.
• The two unleashed their Law Domains and clashed Ji Liangyu’s bronze awl against Song Changsheng’s World-Ending Grinding Mill.
• Song Changsheng’s deeper reserves of dharma power began grinding away the Death Qi on Ji Liangyu’s awl, giving him the advantage.
• Ji Liangyu launched a cold hidden attack, and Song Changsheng banished it with Universe in the Sleeve, but the distraction weakened his grinding mill.
• Ji Liangyu shattered the mill and drove her awl through the space between them, stabbing Song Changsheng in the chest.

Song Changsheng defeated Ji Liangyu in the Five Academies Grand Competition and chose a short rest before facing Zhao Yin in the Arena A finals. During the intermission, Zhuang Yuechan returned safely with Tianshan Snow Lotus, while the chapter ended as Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin prepared to fight.

• Song Changsheng purged Ji Liangyu’s death qi, countered her Nine Nether Yellow Springs with Violet Void Divine Fire, and defeated her with thunder and the Startled Swan Sword.
• Ji Liangyu conceded, and True Monarch Yingyue declared Song Changsheng the Arena A finalist with five points; Song Changsheng requested three days of rest before challenging Zhao Yin.
• Song Changsheng returned to the Myriad Manifestations Palace platform, learned Zhuang Yuechan was on her way, and quickly recovered his strength.
• Zhuang Yuechan arrived safely the next day and told Song Changsheng she had gathered Tianshan Snow Lotus, but kept the details of her journey secret until they returned.
• Song Changsheng entered the finals at his peak and faced Zhao Yin, whose mastery of the Laws of Space seemed to rival or surpass his own.

Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin fought an intense final match in the Five Academies Grand Competition, with Zhao Yin’s mastery of spatial laws gradually giving him the upper hand. After Zhao Yin exposed Song Changsheng’s Spatial Phasing and trapped him in solidifying space, the Soul-Severing Spear closed in on his chest.

• Zhao Yin praised Song Changsheng’s hidden strength and offered to fight without the Soul-Severing Spear, but Song Changsheng insisted they both use their full strength.
• Song Changsheng attacked with sword qi, lightning, and a powerful punch, but Zhao Yin stopped his attacks and evaded the close-range strike with extraordinary spatial speed.
• Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin battled across the Cloud Arena for a quarter of an hour, with Song Changsheng holding his own despite being at a disadvantage against Zhao Yin’s higher cultivation.
• True Monarch Yingyue and an elder from Heavenly Secrets Pavilion discussed the unfinished Ten Thousand Clans Ranking and whether Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin might qualify.
• Zhao Yin used purple qi in his eyes to track Song Changsheng through space, then launched the Soul-Severing Spear and altered the surrounding space to trap him as he used Spatial Phasing.

Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin clashed their sword and spear artistic conceptions, and Song Changsheng gained a barely perceptible advantage while wounding Zhao Yin. Zhao Yin then unleashed a sudden increase in power, pierced Song Changsheng’s shoulder, and left Song Changsheng searching for its cause.

• Song Changsheng shattered Zhao Yin’s Space Barrier and blocked the Soul-Severing Spear with his fist before trapping Zhao Yin with One Finger Settles Dust and striking with his Heaven-Opening sword artistic conception.
• Zhao Yin countered with Sweeping Through Ten Thousand Armies, breaking Song Changsheng’s artistic conception and sending both fighters flying.
• Zhao Yin coughed blood, and Duke Qin Wuwei reassured the onlookers that Zhao Yin’s Dao Heart remained firm as both fighters paused to recover.
• Song Changsheng explained that he had formed his artistic conception by opening the heavens himself, and Zhao Yin said he would stop holding back.
• Zhao Yin surged forward with greatly increased speed, tore apart Song Changsheng’s Sword Opens Heavenly Gate, and pierced his shoulder with the spear.
• Song Changsheng sealed the wound and escaped Zhao Yin’s follow-up attack with Spatial Phasing, then wondered what had caused Zhao Yin’s sudden increase in strength.

Zhao Yin unleashed an unfamiliar power that overwhelmed Song Changsheng, who answered with his Five Beast Battle Body and fought him in a brutal close-quarters battle. After fighting from daylight until sunset, Song Changsheng reverted to his original form beneath the rising moon, while Zhao Yin still held the advantage.

• Zhao Yin struck Song Changsheng with overwhelming strength and speed, leaving Song Changsheng and Long An questioning the source of his power.
• Song Changsheng activated the Five Beast Battle Body, combining multiple beastly traits to withstand Zhao Yin's attacks.
• Song Changsheng tore apart Zhao Yin's Silver Dragon Break, trapped his spear, and wounded him, while Zhao Yin ripped open Song Changsheng's palm and identified the abilities behind his recovery.
• Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin abandoned their divine abilities and fought hand to hand with lethal force as their factions watched anxiously.
• Zhao Yin maintained the advantage through hours of combat, but Song Changsheng's recovery prevented him from securing victory; at sunset, Song Changsheng's battle body expired and he returned to his original form.

Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin fought a brutal duel, each using their strongest techniques and enduring grievous injuries. Song Changsheng exploited the Purple Qi behind Zhao Yin’s enhanced abilities to catch him off guard, but Zhao Yin counterattacked as the chapter ended.

• Song Changsheng discovered through his Illusion Breaking Eye that Purple Qi fueled Zhao Yin’s power and helped him track his opponents.
• Song Changsheng drew on the stars and used his Suanni Dharma Manifestation to absorb Zhao Yin’s lightning, then detonated it and struck Zhao Yin with the Startled Swan Sword as Zhao Yin pierced his chest with the Soul-Severing Spear.
• Song Changsheng identified the Purple Qi as Zhao Yin’s weakness and used Yin-Yang Annihilation to force Zhao Yin to unleash Soul Severing.
• Song Changsheng used Spatial Phasing to evade Zhao Yin’s perception, then struck his Sea of Consciousness with the Soul Severing Golden Blade.
• Song Changsheng activated the Impermanence Killing Formation and nearly tore Zhao Yin apart with sword qi, but Zhao Yin gathered his Purple Qi and struck Song Changsheng’s chest.

Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin fell unconscious after a brutal final battle, leaving the Five Academies’ leaders to debate who had won. Zhao Yin declined a rematch and conceded, making Song Changsheng the Jia Arena champion as the chapter ended with his victory bringing glory and attention to the Wangyue Song Clan and Zhuang Yuechan.

• Zhuang Yuechan and Qin Zhengdao caught Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin after both fell from the Cloud Arena, and Ji Shinian assessed Song Changsheng’s severe but nonfatal injuries.
• The True Lords debated whether Song Changsheng or Zhao Yin should win, citing the arena rules, the fighters’ conduct, and the need for a role model.
• After True Monarch Yingyue offered a rematch, Zhao Yin conceded that Song Changsheng had won, citing their unequal cultivation levels and Dazhen’s integrity.
• True Monarch Yingyue declared Song Changsheng the Jia Arena champion and announced his rewards and induction into the Hall of Glory of the Five Academies.
• The crowd celebrated Song Changsheng, while the Song Clan took pride in his achievement and Zhuang Yuechan resolved to withstand the scrutiny surrounding her.

Song Changsheng awoke after winning the Five Academies Grand Competition and learned what his victory meant for the Wangyue Song Clan and Myriad Manifestations Palace. After receiving warnings about meeting the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion’s True Monarch Lingji, he recovered enough to join the others at Five Hua Cave Heaven for the Earth Infant Fruits.

• Zhuang Yuechan told Song Changsheng that he had slept for three days and two nights and won first place in the Grade A arena after Zhao Yin conceded.
• Song Changsheng considered the benefits of his victory and discussed Zhao Yin’s Purple Qi and the Human King’s cold response with Zhuang Yuechan.
• Zhuang Yuechan told Song Changsheng that True Monarch Yingyue, True Monarch Lingji, and others wished to meet him, and Ji Shinian relayed the Grand Elder’s warning to be truthful with Lingji and avoid becoming entangled with him.
• Ji Shinian told Song Changsheng that the Earth Infant Fruits would ripen in ten days and that Myriad Manifestations Palace would not interfere with his meetings.
• After recovering for ten days, Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan joined Ji Shinian and the others at Five Hua Cave Heaven, where Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin drew everyone’s attention.

After winning the Five Academies Grand Competition, Song Changsheng entered Five Hua Cave Heaven with the other cultivators and witnessed the Earth Infant Fruit Tree bear its fruits. The five forces divided the twelve fruits according to the competition results, and the chapter ended as the tree suddenly sent dozens of leaves flying toward the gathering.

• Song Changsheng and Zhao Yin spoke respectfully about their arena match, while Long An continued to glare at Song Changsheng.
• The five Deans opened a Spatial Tunnel through the Willow Ancestor, and the gathered cultivators entered Five Hua Cave Heaven.
• Song Changsheng sensed the cave heaven’s dense spiritual energy and orderly Power of Laws as the group traveled toward the Earth Infant Fruit Tree.
• The five True Lords used their Waist Tokens to dissolve the tree’s barrier, and the Earth Infant Fruit Tree dropped twelve fruits for the Old National Teacher to collect.
• The Old National Teacher distributed the fruits according to the competition results, with Myriad Manifestations Palace receiving four and Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion receiving one.
• As the Old National Teacher invited everyone to the Exchange Meeting and Dao Discussion Meeting, the Earth Infant Fruit Tree shook and sent dozens of leaves flying toward the gathering.

The Earth Infant Fruit Tree gifted patterned leaves to the cultivators, while Song Changsheng and others investigated their strange markings in Five Hua Cave Heaven. Xu Miaoyin nearly exhausted her Mental Energy while seeing a jade pendant during a sermon, but Willow Ancestor intervened and later gave her a golden twig; Song Changsheng prepared to leave the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty and meet the Grand State Master first.

• The Earth Infant Fruit Tree gave each cultivator a leaf, and Song Changsheng noticed that the patterns on several leaves were identical.
• The Grand State Master invited the cultivators to spend ten days in Five Hua Cave Heaven before an Exchange Meeting and a Dao Discussion Meeting.
• Xu Miaoyin saw a jade pendant during a Deer Chasing Academy sermon and nearly lost herself as it drained her Mental Energy, but Willow Ancestor interrupted the vision.
• Zhuang Yuechan and Xu Miaoyin bowed to Willow Ancestor, who secretly placed a golden twig on Xu Miaoyin's shoulder.
• Song Changsheng told Zhao Yin that he planned to leave soon because of the unrest in the Borderlands and agreed to meet the Grand State Master before departing.
• Zhuang Yuechan told Song Changsheng what had happened to Xu Miaoyin, and he removed the golden twig from her shoulder.

After Xu Miaoyin received a precious willow branch from Willow Ancestor, she chose to offer it to the Song Clan, and Song Changsheng went to meet the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty’s Grand State Master. Inside the palace’s Star Chart, he encountered the Grand State Master and True Monarch Lingji, who invited him to share his thoughts on the chart.

• Song Changsheng explained that Willow Ancestor had awakened Xu Miaoyin from a dangerous epiphany and left her a branch rich in life force and spatial power.
• Song Changsheng described ways to use the branch, but Xu Miaoyin chose to submit it to the Family Council of Elders for the clan’s benefit.
• Song Changsheng told Xu Miaoyin and Zhuang Yuechan that he planned to visit the Array Dao Academy and, if possible, Vajra Temple before leaving the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty.
• Song Changsheng followed an official to the Grand State Master’s palace and entered a chamber where the Grand State Master and True Monarch Lingji were studying a Star Chart.
• True Monarch Lingji revealed that he had predicted Song Changsheng’s visit, and the two True Lords asked him to critique the Star Chart.

Song Changsheng examined the Old National Teacher’s Star Chart and discovered that it concealed a vast formation built around the stars. True Monarch Lingji revealed that the chart depicted a possible future rearrangement of the heavens, then gave Song Changsheng a Jade Slip and sent him from the chamber.

• Song Changsheng used his Illusion Breaking Eye to see the great array hidden beneath the Star Chart and recognized that its altered star paths were deliberate.
• Song Changsheng concealed his discovery at first, but admitted the Star Chart contained an array when True Monarch Lingji pressed him.
• Song Changsheng judged that the formation could not be realized unless the stars shifted and heaven and earth were remade.
• The Old National Teacher and True Monarch Lingji explained that the Star Chart depicted the stars’ possible future trajectories, a conclusion derived through heavenly secrets.
• True Monarch Lingji gave Song Changsheng a Jade Slip, then sent him out of the chamber.

Song Changsheng met with True Monarch Lingji, True Lord Qianlian, and True Monarch Yingyue, receiving a precious cultivation method and learning that He Yunxuan had once belonged to the Array Dao Academy. After delivering He Yunxuan’s array method to Yingyue and learning Gu Yiyi was still alive but missing, Song Changsheng was invited to return to the academy and help improve it.

• Song Changsheng received the Primordial Star Record from True Monarch Lingji and left the Grand State Master's hall, while Lingji and the Old National Teacher discussed their uncertain deductions.
• True Lord Qianlian gave Song Changsheng the Grand Mysterious Cauldron-Nurturing Method and warned that True Monarch Yingyue was interested in the array inside his body.
• True Monarch Yingyue confirmed that He Yunxuan had been an Array Dao Academy disciple, and Song Changsheng recounted how He had died after killing a wounded Purple Palace Stage Blood Demon.
• Song Changsheng learned that Gu Yiyi had left the Array Dao Academy after mourning He Yunxuan, though she was still alive, and handed Yingyue He Yunxuan's method.
• True Monarch Yingyue recognized the method's flaws and invited Song Changsheng to return to the Array Dao Academy to help verify and improve it.

Song Changsheng parted from his companions and traveled in disguise with Zhuang Yuechan toward the Array Dao Academy, where they could speak privately about her encounter with a long-lived snow python. She revealed a two-thousand-year Jade Marrow Spirit Fruit and a Tianshan Snow Lotus, leaving Song Changsheng to weigh their value and the danger of their origins.

• Song Changsheng refused Ling Xiao's advice to return with the others and entrusted Ling Xiao with escorting his disciples and clan elders to the Gemini Islands.
• Song Changsheng warned Zhao Yin about rumors targeting him, then secretly left the group with Zhuang Yuechan and headed for the Chaotic Ancient Domain.
• Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan changed their appearances, settled in a secluded place, and she recounted how a snow python had trapped her and asked her to suppress its Demonic Qi.
• Zhuang Yuechan showed Song Changsheng a Jade Marrow Spirit Fruit that the snow python had nurtured for more than two thousand years, and he warned that news of the creature's lifespan could bring disaster.
• Zhuang Yuechan also presented a Tianshan Snow Lotus that could help Wujie and Song Changsheng's Divine Soul Incarnation reconstruct their bodies, and Song Changsheng embraced her.

Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan investigated strange nighttime tremors outside the city and discovered a black-robed Golden Core cultivator feeding essence blood into an ancient bronze coffin. After the cultivator detected them, Song Changsheng drew the Startled Swan Sword and prepared to fight.

• Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan left the inn and secretly followed the tremors into the mountains outside the city.
• They followed a group of Purple Palace cultivators to a collapsed mound, where a black shadow killed all seven and collected their essence blood in a gourd.
• Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan tracked the black-robed cultivator underground to a chamber containing an altar, a Soul Locking Bronze Coffin, and a Guishui Treasure Pearl.
• Song Changsheng identified the chamber's treasures and asked what evil corpse the cultivator was nurturing, but the cultivator threatened him.
• Song Changsheng revealed himself fully, summoned the Startled Swan Sword, and shielded Zhuang Yuechan behind him.

Song Changsheng attacked a black-robed Corpse Raiser to seize the Guī Yīn Treasure Pearl and stop his corpse-raising scheme. After wounding him with the Yusu Sword, Song Changsheng faced the Hairy Zombie he summoned, while the more powerful zombie remained sealed in the Soul Locking Bronze Coffin.

• Song Changsheng confronted the black-robed Corpse Raiser and recognized that he was raising a potential Zombie King with the Guī Yīn Treasure Pearl.
• Song Changsheng destroyed the Extremely Yin Land, took the Guī Yīn Treasure Pearl, and escaped underground with Zhuang Yuechan.
• Song Changsheng sealed the earth and space, borrowed the Yusu Sword, and severely wounded the Corpse Raiser with a sword Dao manifestation.
• The Corpse Raiser summoned a Hairy Zombie, which Song Changsheng identified as powerful enough to contend with a Late Golden Core Cultivator.

Song Changsheng defeated the Long-Haired Zombie while Zhuang Yuechan freed Xie Kui from the Corpse Raiser’s control, allowing the Zombie King to escape. After learning Xie Kui could become a Flying Zombie and recognizing the danger of the Yin-to-Yang Rebirth Method, Song Changsheng pursued him, while a mysterious middle-aged man returned to Rogue Cultivator City with his body undergoing a transformation.

• The black-robed Corpse Raiser fed his blood to Xie Kui and opened the Soul Locking Bronze Coffin, but Xie Kui attacked him before the Corpse-Controlling Bell began to establish control.
• Zhuang Yuechan used Song Changsheng’s Sword Talisman to destroy the Corpse-Controlling Bell, freeing Xie Kui, and the wounded Corpse Raiser fled as Song Changsheng marked the Yusu Sword to track him.
• Song Changsheng broke the Long-Haired Zombie’s limbs and burned it with Violet Void Divine Fire, while Xie Kui escaped into the distance.
• Zhuang Yuechan explained how Xie Kui’s transformation resembled True Monarch Yusu’s abandoned Yin-to-Yang Rebirth Method, and Song Changsheng decided to pursue Xie Kui and investigate the True Lord’s identity.
• Song Changsheng gave Zhuang Yuechan a Jade Tablet and a Law Imprint for protection, then followed Xie Kui’s corpse qi away from Rogue Cultivator City.
• A pale middle-aged man arrived at the ruined battlefield, failed to find the expert he sought, and returned to the city as his body continued to transform.