Chapter Summaries

The Great Xia National Academy Team arrived at the Tenshu Platform for a sparring exchange with the Sakura Country National Academy Team, whose members tried to provoke and assess them. Professor Xu named Ye Ningxue and Li Xijun as the first two fighters and said he expected the contest to end before a third match.

• A guide led the Great Xia National Academy Team to the Tenshu Platform, where Hyodo Castle insulted the team and tried to provoke Li Xijun and Ye Ningxue.
• An old samurai apologized insincerely for Hyodo Castle and ushered the team into the fortress for the sparring exchange.
• Wei Ying and Ju Mengya concluded that the Sakura Country team was probing their strength and trying to make Li Xijun reveal his methods.
• Professor Xu asked about the absent Shrine Maiden, and the old samurai explained that Lady Yagami was clearing Goryeo Country's trial.
• Professor Xu selected Ye Ningxue for the first match and Li Xijun for the second, then predicted there would be no third match.

Ye Ningxue defeated Ichijo Mio with a single precise slash, and Li Xijun immediately overwhelmed Hyodo Castle in the second match. The chapter left Hyodo Castle severely injured as Li Xijun questioned the strength of the Sakura National Academy Team.

• Ichijo Mio opened her match against Ye Ningxue with her Outer Scenery Killing Move, Sacred Flame Falling Cherry Blossom Slash.
• Ye Ningxue exploited a flaw in Ichijo Mio's attack, destroyed it, and stopped her blade just short of Ichijo Mio's neck.
• Ye Ningxue criticized Ichijo Mio for using her strongest technique as an opening move, and the referee declared Ye Ningxue the winner.
• Professor Xu sent Li Xijun into the second match, where Hyodo Castle activated his sacred flames and challenged him.
• Li Xijun crossed the field at tremendous speed and slammed Hyodo Castle into the ground, leaving him severely injured before asking whether this was all the Sakura National Academy Team had.

Li Xijun crushed Hyodo Castle in the second match, securing victory for the Great Xia National Academy Team. Afterward, the team received cultivation resources and was told to spend half a month preparing before entering Dragon Spring Village.

• Li Xijun defeated Hyodo Castle with his physical strength and secretly damaged his soul with Psychic Power attacks.
• The referee declared Li Xijun the winner, ending the martial contest in the Great Xia National Academy Team's favor.
• At the team residence, Li Xijun told Ye Ningxue that Hyodo Castle would take years to recover without soul-nourishing treasures, and she was pleased by his retaliation.
• Su Nianying and Professor Xu distributed named boxes of cultivation resources as rewards for completing the contest.
• Su Nianying told the team that Shrine Maiden Yagami Hiyori would return in half a month and instructed them to cultivate in the residence's secure rooms until then.

Li Xijun refined the Fire Phoenix Essence Blood, advanced to the mid-stage Intent Realm, and opened both ear acupoints. After three days of cultivation, he decided to return to the Wuxia World and seek the Black Tortoise Sea Suppression Earth Overturning Method.

• Li Xijun received Fire Phoenix Essence Blood and seventy drops of Spirit Marrow Condensation Fluid, while the other team members received attribute-matched treasures and thirty drops each.
• Li Xijun refined the essence blood for three days, strengthening his meridians and physique and advancing his Spiritual Power to the mid-stage Intent Realm.
• Li Xijun used the surging Spiritual Power to break through the barriers around both ear acupoints, greatly sharpening his hearing and perception.
• Li Xijun decided to return to the Wuxia World and seek the Black Tortoise Sea Suppression Earth Overturning Method from the Black Tortoise Honored One.

Li Xijun traveled to the northern desert, practiced the Azure Dragon Nine Swords, and set out to find the Black Tortoise Honored One. He discovered two skilled warriors surrounded by Golden Wolf Royal Court soldiers and a Nine Apertures Fully Opened foreign warrior.

• Li Xijun considered seeking the Black Tortoise Honored One to learn the Black Tortoise Sea Suppression Earth Overturning Method, then decided to cultivate the Azure Dragon Nine Swords in the desert.
• Li Xijun practiced through the night and advanced the Azure Dragon Nine Swords to Master 21%.
• Li Xijun heard a battle and followed the sounds to a sand valley.
• Li Xijun found a blue-robed swordsman and a young novice monk fighting hundreds of Golden Wolf Royal Court cavalrymen.
• Li Xijun saw that a foreign warrior in iron armor, whose aura showed Nine Apertures Fully Opened, was overseeing the siege.

Li Xijun saved Duan Heyu and Kongzhu from a Golden Wolf Court force and killed its Barbarian General with one punch. After the soldiers fled, Duan Heyu recognized Li Xijun as the Number One Prodigy.

• Duan Heyu and Kongzhu opened a gap in the soldiers’ formation and tried to escape, but the Barbarian General attacked Kongzhu.
• Li Xijun stepped between Kongzhu and the Barbarian General, blocked his saber strike, and forced him to retreat.
• The Barbarian General unleashed his Blood Moon Cyclone Slash, but Li Xijun shattered it with a punch and killed him.
• The Golden Wolf Court soldiers fled, leaving Li Xijun with Duan Heyu and Kongzhu.
• Duan Heyu recognized Li Xijun as the Number One Prodigy.

After Li Xijun saved Duan Heyu and Kongzhu the Monk from Golden Wolf Royal Court soldiers, they recognized him as the new Number One on the Human Ranking. Duan Heyu explained that a celestial anomaly in the northern desert had prompted the northern barbarians to mass outside North Goose Pass and raid the border, leaving Li Xijun aware of the threat and the anomaly’s possible connection to a legendary tomb.

• Duan Heyu and Kongzhu the Monk recognized Li Xijun and thanked him for saving their lives.
• Li Xijun recognized the two as the Twin Sword Supremacy and the Iron Cudgel Arhat and exchanged polite introductions with them.
• Li Xijun asked why Golden Wolf Royal Court soldiers had entered the northern desert.
• Duan Heyu described a month-old celestial anomaly near the Big Dipper, with darkness and swordlike roars lasting nearly a quarter of an hour.
• Duan Heyu explained that the Golden Wolf Royal Court had used the anomaly as a pretext to gather troops outside North Goose Pass and send raiding squads into the desert, while he and Kongzhu had come to protect the Northern Border.

Li Xijun traveled to Beiyan County City with Duan Heyu and Kongzhu, where the arrival of the Human Ranking’s top prodigy stirred the city’s factions. The Eighth Prince learned Li Xijun had arrived and planned to meet and test him.

• Kongzhu and Duan Heyu told Li Xijun that nearly twenty Human Ranking martial artists, including several top-ten prodigies, had gathered at North Goose Pass to defend it from the Golden Wolf Royal Court.
• Li Xijun accepted Duan Heyu’s invitation, and the three traveled south together to Beiyan County City.
• Duan Heyu showed Li Xijun around the city while onlookers recognized him and spread news of his arrival throughout Beiyan County City.
• The Eighth Prince considered the rumors that Li Xijun might be the True Prince and decided to meet him and test his strength.

Li Xijun arrived in Beiyan County City and agreed to challenge the Star-Plucking Tower with Duan Heyu and Kongzhu the Monk. Jing Wuming and Fairy Moonbath learned of his arrival, while the gathered martial artists watched as Li Xijun reached the tower entrance.

• Jing Wuming learned that Li Xijun had entered North Goose Pass and resolved to test him with a sword.
• Fairy Moonbath heard that Li Xijun was in Beiyan County City and decided to let other Human Ranking experts test him first.
• Duan Heyu and Kongzhu the Monk told Li Xijun about Moon-Grasping Pavilion and Star-Plucking Tower, and Li agreed to attempt its challenge.
• A stern spearman defeated a challenger at the tower entrance and kept the waiting martial artists at bay.
• Duan Heyu brought Li Xijun to the front of the crowd, and the martial artists fell silent when they recognized the Number One Prodigy.

Li Xijun entered Star-Plucking Tower and defeated its gatekeepers with effortless swordsmanship, ultimately overcoming Nie Kuang in three swords. After inviting Duan Heyu and Kongzhu upstairs, he learned that the Eighth Prince would host a Qionglin Banquet the next day for Human Ranking prodigies to discuss the Dao and seek Heaven and Man United.

• Li Xijun disarmed the spear-wielding gatekeeper at Star-Plucking Tower’s entrance with a single sword-finger strike.
• Li Xijun advanced through the tower’s floors, defeating each gatekeeper with his sheathed sword or sword fingers without injuring them.
• On the ninth floor, Nie Kuang challenged Li Xijun with his Fierce Wind Fast Saber, but Li Xijun turned aside his first attack and said he would use only three swords.
• Li Xijun used three evolving sword strikes to disarm Nie Kuang, then invited Duan Heyu and Kongzhu to join him upstairs.
• A steward announced that the Eighth Prince had invited Human Ranking prodigies to a Qionglin Banquet at Zhuoyu Garden the following day.

After Li Xijun defeated Nie Kuang in three swords, Fang Qinghua and Han Qiong accepted the Eighth Prince’s invitation to the Qionglin Banquet. The gathering began at Zhuoyu Garden when Li Xijun arrived, while Fairy Moonbath considered testing her sect’s Great Method of the Virgin.

• A steward told Fang Qinghua and Han Qiong that Li Xijun had reached Star-Plucking Tower’s ninth floor and defeated Nie Kuang with three swords, then invited them to the Eighth Prince’s Qionglin Banquet.
• Fang Qinghua and Han Qiong accepted the invitations, eager to discuss martial arts and the realm of Heaven and Man United.
• Fairy Moonbath heard of Li Xijun’s victory, wondered how he would fare against other powerful fighters, and said it was time to try cultivating the Great Method of the Virgin.
• The next day, Fang Qinghua and Han Qiong arrived at Zhuoyu Garden and were escorted into its guarded central area.
• Li Xijun entered Zhuoyu Garden with a blue-robed scholar and a martial monk, and the gathered guests recognized that the Qionglin Banquet had begun.

At the Qionglin Banquet in Zhuoyu Garden, Li Xijun entered the battle between the Eighth Prince, Han Qiong, and Fang Qinghua, then broke through to Heaven and Man United under their combined attacks. He defeated their strikes with Azure Emperor Manifesting Heaven and left the late-autumn garden transformed into a sea of blooming flowers.

• The Eighth Prince challenged Han Qiong, and the two clashed with fire and thunder across Zhuoyu Garden.
• The Eighth Prince redirected his attack toward Fang Qinghua, who cut apart the fiery strike with his Unreturning Sword.
• The Eighth Prince, Han Qiong, and Fang Qinghua joined battle, and Li Xijun entered the fray by striking all three at once.
• The three fighters attacked Li Xijun together, and he reached Heaven and Man United as his Azure Dragon Nine Swords advanced to that realm.
• Li Xijun used Azure Emperor Manifesting Heaven to dissolve the three attacks, then filled Zhuoyu Garden with flourishing plants and flowers.

The Book of Mortal Affairs revealed Li Xijun’s extraordinary battle at Zhuoyu Garden and exposed clues that he was Great Xia’s True Prince. As the Eighth Prince publicly acknowledged him, enemies began plotting against him, and Li Xijun decided to flee into the northern desert.

• The Book of Mortal Affairs announced Li Xijun’s Heaven and Man United breakthrough and his victory over Han Qiong, Fang Qinghua, and Eighth Prince Li Wenjie.
• Yin Tianheng deduced that Li Xijun was the True Prince and began plotting to eliminate him and Li Qinghan.
• Mu Wanqiu learned of Li Xijun’s exposed identity and decided to go to him, while Li Qinghan flew toward an oasis to seek help.
• Jing Wuming identified Li Xijun as a potential vessel for the Life and Death Holy Son and began searching for a chance to capture him.
• Eighth Prince Li Wenjie knelt before Li Xijun and addressed him as His Highness the Prince, convincing the gathered crowd that Li Xijun was the True Prince.
• Li Xijun stayed silent under the crowd’s scrutiny and decided to obtain a map of the northern desert so he could escape.

After the Eighth Prince publicly identified Li Xijun as a prince, Li Xijun stayed in Beiyan County City and met Zhao Longcheng to discuss the dangers surrounding him and Li Qinghan’s disappearance. Learning that Li Qinghan had gone missing near a strange disturbance in Northern Desert, he resolved to press ahead with his journey there and began to make a final request of Zhao Longcheng.

• Li Xijun distrusted the Eighth Prince for publicly exposing his identity, though he agreed to rest in Beiyan County City before traveling to Northern Desert.
• Li Xijun visited Zhao Longcheng with pastries and learned that the general could protect him in the city but could not leave while contending with the Golden Wolf Royal Court’s High Priest.
• Li Xijun asked Zhao Longcheng about Li Qinghan, and Zhao explained that she had studied his map before a strange disturbance arose near the Black Sandstorm and that she had been missing for a month.
• Zhao Longcheng reassured Li Xijun that Li Qinghan’s life was likely not in danger because her Human Ranking entry had not changed.
• Li Xijun told Zhao Longcheng that he had come with one final request.

Li Xijun approached the northern gate hoping to escape, but Fairy Moonbath and Jing Wuming ambushed him while Zhao Longcheng intervened. Li Xijun survived Jing Wuming’s first two sword attacks, but faced a seemingly fatal strike from the No Heaven Samsara Life and Death Sword Chapter as he opened White Dragon’s Authority.

• Li Xijun used his Contemplation Method to detect an Exterior Scenery expert watching him and headed toward the northern gate after confirming Zhao Longcheng would protect him.
• Fairy Moonbath ambushed Li Xijun at the gate, but Zhao Longcheng arrived and fought her, giving Li Xijun a chance to flee.
• Jing Wuming attacked Li Xijun from the gate’s shadows with the Life Sword, and Li Xijun broke his life-sword net with the White Tiger Seven Kill Stance.
• Jing Wuming followed with the Death Sword, but Li Xijun countered with Azure Emperor Manifesting Heaven, bringing down the northern gate and injuring himself while surviving the attack.
• Jing Wuming unleashed the No Heaven Samsara Life and Death Sword Chapter, and Li Xijun opened White Dragon’s Authority as the lethal sword descended.

Li Xijun used his transformed True Dragon Status to comprehend and unleash a new blade-and-sword technique, breaking Jing Wuming’s killing move before escaping into the desert. After Fairy Moonbath secretly sent him a scroll, he returned to the Main World and found that its Spiritual Power let him cultivate with unprecedented ease.

• Li Xijun slowed time with his True Dragon Status, studied Jing Wuming’s life-and-death sword wheel, and created the blade-sword divine technique Chaos of Severing Wind and Clouds.
• Li Xijun broke Jing Wuming’s sword wheel and fled the city, while Zhao Longcheng stopped Jing Wuming from pursuing him.
• Fairy Moonbath sent Li Xijun the supplementary volume of the Three Volumes of Heavenly Fragrance and escaped south after explaining that she had not intended to kill him.
• Li Xijun took the bamboo scroll and continued through the desert before returning to the Main World.
• Li Xijun absorbed the Main World’s abundant Spiritual Power and Spirit Marrow, quickly filling his sea of qi to the mid-stage of Artistic Conception.

Li Xijun read the Three Volumes of Heavenly Fragrance and realized its theory of perfecting one's origin through other selves resembled his own ability, though his method was far superior. After revealing that he had reached Heaven and Man United, he joined the National Academy Team on their flight to the contaminated Mythical World of Dragon Spring Village.

• Li Xijun read the Three Volumes of Heavenly Fragrance, learned that Fairy Moonbath had targeted him as a cultivation partner, and judged the scripture's theory of other selves more valuable than its dual-cultivation method.
• Li Xijun emerged from seclusion and met the National Academy Team, whose members noticed his newly harmonious aura.
• Su Nianying recognized that Li Xijun had reached Heaven and Man United, shocking Professor Xu and the team.
• Kiba Saburo escorted the team to a specially modified aircraft bound for Dragon Spring Village, and Professor Xu began briefing them on its treasures and the divine dragon atop the Sakura Divine Tree.

Li Xijun entered Dragon Spring Village to gather resources and found that his Azure Dragon arts could easily destroy the Magatsu-corrupted monsters there. He discovered three ancient Pure Flame Heart Lotuses and, after clearing a ruined village, entered a hidden garden containing forty-nine powerful flowers.

• Professor Xu and Su Nianying warned the Great Xia team not to risk pursuing the Baxia Blood Essence, while Li Xijun sized up Yagami Hiyori and her Divine Artifact power.
• Yagami Hiyori and Li Xijun led their teams through the stabilized rift into Dragon Spring Village, where Li Xijun sensed abundant Wood and Water resources alongside Magatsu corruption.
• Li Xijun killed a demonized magical vine and harvested three five-thousand-year-old Pure Flame Heart Lotuses, which could help him refine Earth Fragrance and advance his cultivation.
• Li Xijun reached the ruined Shuisheng Village and wiped out its Magatsu-corrupted villagers with his Azure Dragon sword intent.
• Li Xijun broke through a Spiritual Power barrier at the Mysterious Garden and found forty-nine extraordinary flowers arranged in an array.

Li Xijun harvested forty-nine rare flowers from a protected garden in Dragon Spring Village and refined Earth Fragrance, using a superior batch to open his Nasal and oral apertures and perfect his Inner Scenery further. After vowing to be the first to slay an Outer Scenery expert in defiance, he sensed Hyodo Castle cautiously approaching the village.

• Li Xijun realized Sakura Country had cultivated the garden’s forty-nine rare flowers for its own geniuses and harvested them without damaging their medicinal properties.
• Li Xijun refined three batches of Earth Fragrance, improving his technique until the third batch was a superior-grade treasure.
• Li Xijun swallowed the superior Earth Fragrance and spent the night absorbing its power, opening his Nasal and oral apertures by the following day.
• Li Xijun’s Seven Apertures connected, sharpening his senses and strengthening his body as his Inner Scenery became more complete.
• Li Xijun vowed to slay an Outer Scenery expert in defiance, then detected Hyodo Castle approaching the village in improved condition.

Li Xijun raided the hidden garden in Water-Dwelling Samurai Flower Village, extracted Hyodo Castle’s knowledge of Sakura Country’s plan to kill the Sakura Dragon, and headed for the battle. As Yagami Hiyori and Ye Ningxue fought over the finishing blow, the Sakura Dragon was taken over by the Eight-Headed Serpent God’s will, leaving Li Xijun poised to intervene.

• Hyodo Castle found Li Xijun in the emptied garden, but Li severed his legs and used the Soul Out of Body technique to extract his secrets before Hyodo killed himself.
• Li learned that Yagami Hiyori’s team planned to use the Divine Artifacts to suppress the Sakura Dragon and empower her, then set the garden ablaze and left for the lake.
• Li watched the exhausted Sakura Country team retreat as Yagami Hiyori transformed with divine fire and overwhelmed the weakened Sakura Dragon.
• Ye Ningxue emerged from the forest and struck at the Sakura Dragon’s wounded neck, but dark lightning shattered the Yasakani no Magatama’s purification barrier.
• The Sakura Dragon absorbed demonic energy, manifested the Eight-Headed Serpent God’s mark and the Seven-Branched Sword, and drove Ye Ningxue back as Yagami Hiyori recognized the threat.
• Li gripped his blade and prepared to step in as the newly empowered Sakura Dragon placed both women in danger.