Chapter Summaries

Lu Chen reached Eighth Rank and awakened the Imperial Sword Physique, whose power drew every sword aboard the ship and strengthened his swordsmanship. As the river journey continued, two imposing ships approached, including one carrying Qilin Rankings expert Autumn Water Sword Luo Changqing.

• Lu Chen spent Merit Points to raise the Nine Heavens Art and reach Eighth Rank, then improved the Heavenly Sun Swordplay.
• Lu Chen's reputation earned him the Imperial Sword Physique, and its transformation drew the treasured swords aboard the ship to his cabin.
• Liu Jinglan reassured the ship's martial artists that they could retrieve their swords, and they bowed toward Lu Chen's room before leaving.
• Lu Chen tested his new sword insights and decided to keep his swordsmanship hidden as another trump card.
• A downstream ship's oppressive presence frightened the passengers until a saber cry shattered the illusion.
• Liu Jinglan spotted another approaching ship carrying a man and a woman, and recognized the man as Autumn Water Sword Luo Changqing, ranked sixty-fifth on the Qilin Rankings.

Lu Chen returned to the Sky Sword Sect with the Dao Fruit and gave it to Dugu Wudi, who explained its origins and planned to refine it despite the danger from the Heaven Rankings experts. To defend the sect, Dugu Wudi brought Lu Chen, Breeze Swordmaster, and Zhao Xuantian to the forbidden ground and sent them into the Founding Ancestor’s body to control its Sword Dao puppet.

• Lu Chen, Breeze Swordmaster, and Zhao Xuantian returned to the sect through the back gate, and Lu Chen secretly told Dugu Wudi that he had obtained the Dao Fruit.
• Lu Chen handed Dugu Wudi the Dao Fruit, and Dugu Wudi explained that such fruits formed from the essence of rare Divine Corpses under specific conditions.
• Dugu Wudi warned that refining the Dao Fruit would take three days and that powerful enemies might attack, so he decided to use the Sky Sword Sect’s Founding Ancestor puppet.
• Qing Lian saw Dugu Wudi leave with Lu Chen and resolved to train harder in the Enlightenment Pavilion to catch up with him.
• Dugu Wudi brought Lu Chen, Breeze Swordmaster, and Zhao Xuantian to the forbidden ground and sent them into the Founding Ancestor’s body.
• Inside the Founding Ancestor’s sea of consciousness, Breeze Swordmaster identified a formation that could let them control the corpse.

Lu Chen escaped with Zhao Qianliu, a Sword Cliff patriarch, who gave him the Destiny Divine Sword inheritance and explained why the Three-Faced Beings hunted her. After advancing his cultivation and mastering the sword art, Lu Chen agreed to escort her toward her eastern stronghold through enemy territory.

• Lu Chen recovered from his injuries and confronted Zhao Qianliu, who apologized and offered him Sword Cliff's inheritance as compensation.
• Zhao Qianliu explained that she had faked her death to evade the Death Zone, had fused with a Heavenly Mandate Stone, and was being hunted by the Three-Faced Beings.
• Lu Chen read the jade slip, advanced to the fourth level of the Ruler realm, and perfected the Destiny Divine Sword into a version of his own.
• Zhao Qianliu was astonished that Lu Chen had learned the sword art immediately and agreed to lead him to her stronghold.
• Zhao Qianliu warned that their route from the southwest to the eastern stronghold crossed the Three-Faced Beings' defensive zones, and Lu Chen told her to lead on.

Lu Chen and Zhao Qianliu reached the hidden stronghold after escaping an encirclement of Three-Faced Beings and Chaos Beasts. Lu Chen learned that the resistance had few powerful experts, Zhao Qianliu was still fusing with the Heavenly Mandate Stone, and Venerable Chiyan was missing.

• Lu Chen escorted Zhao Qianliu to the stronghold after defeating the encircling forces and wounding a Chaos King.
• Zhao Qianliu introduced Lu Chen to the stronghold’s people and described his swordsmanship, his Sky-Splitting Sword Technique, and his defeat of the Chaos King.
• Zhao Qianliu and Lu Chen entered the concealed canyon stronghold, where she explained that her fusion with the Heavenly Mandate Stone was incomplete.
• Zhao Qianliu learned that Venerable Chiyan had not returned from battle and could not be contacted.
• Demon Wind led Lu Chen to an empty courtyard, where Lu Chen considered the resistance’s lack of powerful experts and checked his 880 million remaining Merit Points.

Lu Chen overwhelmed Ye Wushe, humiliated him, and injured him before doing the same to Lie Wujin. He collected the Fountain of Life and fled, leaving Yan Qingyu stunned by what she had witnessed.

• Ye Wushe demanded that Lu Chen submit, but Lu Chen mocked him and shattered his lightning attack with one slash.
• Lu Chen revealed his Eighth Level of Golden Body Realm strength, forced Ye Wushe to repeat his boast, and sent him flying with a slash.
• Lu Chen made Lie Wujin apologize while slapping himself, then injured him with a slash.
• Lu Chen collected some of the Fountain of Life in Dugu Wudi's compass and drank until he could take no more.
• Lu Chen flew away with the treasure while Yan Qingyu watched in shock.

Zhao Hu persuaded Guo Feng to arrest more than a thousand poor commoners and blame their deaths on Lu Chen unless he surrendered, stirring public anger against the yamen. Meanwhile, Lin Yun learned of the arrests and joined Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Sister Mei in planning to exploit the unrest for blood sacrifices and investigate Lu Chen's secret.

• Zhao Hu killed a poor commoner while demanding information about Lu Chen, then secretly proposed a plan to lure Lu Chen out to Guo Feng and Chen Baisha.
• Guo Feng agreed to Zhao Hu's plan and ordered the constables to arrest the poor commoners as the Great Shark Gang and Pride Sun Martial Hall blocked their escape.
• The yamen announced that Lu Chen had led a riot that killed more than a hundred Iron Scale Gang members, and threatened to execute the more than a thousand arrested commoners unless he surrendered.
• Boulderstone City residents doubted the accusations and blamed the yamen for targeting innocent people to force Lu Chen to appear.
• Lin Yun ordered servants to dispose of several dead women, then learned that Guo Feng had arrested the poor commoners and welcomed the resulting chaos.
• Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Sister Mei arrived, and Zhang proposed using the unrest to seize people for blood sacrifices and pin the blame on Lu Chen; Lin Yun agreed but said they should first uncover Lu Chen's secret.

Lu Chen returned to Wu's Porcelain Shop and took revenge on Wu San and Wu Tianli for exploiting and beating him. After Wu Tianli discovered the wrecked shop and his battered nephew, he sent his thugs to attack Lu Chen.

• Lu Chen rushed into Wu's Porcelain Shop and smashed several pieces of porcelain, demanding his unpaid wages from Wu Tianli.
• Wu San charged at Lu Chen, but Lu Chen shattered his hand, gouged out his eyes, and used him to smash the shop's remaining porcelain.
• In the rear courtyard, Wu Tianli fawned over Zhao Guang and tried to arrange a private meeting between Zhao Guang and his daughter, Yue'e.
• Wu Tianli heard the noise, rushed into the front hall, and found the porcelain destroyed and Wu San beaten bloody.
• Wu Tianli ordered the four or five thugs with him to kill Lu Chen.

Lu Chen defeated Luo Qiuyu with his Sword Intent after she challenged him, stunning Luo Fengyun and He Qianxing. Heaven's Secret Pavilion then ranked Lu Chen forty-second on the Qilin Rankings for his deeds and his promise to protect Cui Qingqing.

• Liu Jinglan agreed to accompany Luo Fengyun to meet King Cui after Cui Qingqing chose to stay with her.
• Luo Qiuyu challenged Lu Chen, and Luo Fengyun allowed the fight while asking her not to injure him.
• Lu Chen unleashed Heavenly Sun Radiance and overwhelmed Luo Qiuyu with Sword Intent, ending the fight with his sword at her brow.
• Luo Fengyun rushed to help his shaken daughter, while He Qianxing and his Squad Leader watched from hiding.
• Heaven's Secret Pavilion ranked Lu Chen forty-second on the Qilin Rankings and praised his promise to protect Cui Qingqing.

Lu Chen killed Xu Jiuye and the Xu Clan Grandmasters, then used Dugu Wudi’s compass to find the Star Tear. At the Star Tear site, he faced Han Qingyue of the Profound Ice Clan, and the two prepared to fight over the treasure.

• Lu Chen defeated Xu Jiuye with Severing Calamity, killed the Xu Clan Grandmasters with Blade Qi, and took the Purple Bamboo Staff.
• Lu Chen used Dugu Wudi’s compass to locate the Star Tear and the Fountain of Life, then headed for the Star Tear first.
• Lu Chen reached the meteorite pit and tried to grab the apparent Star Tears, but Dugu Wudi warned him they were illusions.
• Han Qingyue and three women from the Profound Ice Clan arrived, and Han Qingyue demanded that Lu Chen leave.
• Lu Chen refused to give up the Star Tear, and his sword intent stopped Han Qingyue’s cold aura from spreading.

Lu Chen saw extraterritorial lifeforms trying to breach the Star Chains, then followed Miao Wu Fa and the others through a space-time tunnel to the Space-Time Divine Clan’s Sword Tablets. He rapidly defeated the first three sword formations and continued deeper into the sealed region, giving the clan hope of rescuing its imprisoned members.

• Lu Chen and the others saw extraterritorial lifeforms attack the Star Chains, and a golden-haired man was destroyed when he forced his way through.
• Miao Wu Fa asked Lu Chen to break the formations on the Sword Tablets so they could rescue their clansmen, and Lu Chen agreed.
• Miao Wu Fa and his companions opened a space-time tunnel, and Lu Chen followed them to the desolate starry region near the Great Yu Dynasty.
• Lu Chen entered the Sword Tablet formations and defeated the first two sword-wielding projections, causing their surrounding formations to vanish.
• Lu Chen defeated the third projection by striking a flaw in its soft-sword technique, then advanced through the Sword Tablets at increasing speed.

Lu Chen slaughtered a group of Blood Offering Sect experts who attacked him, earning 2,400 Merit Points before deciding the area was too dangerous and fleeing. A terrifying bloody aura erupted from the woods after he left, suggesting he had attracted an elder-level figure.

• Lu Chen instantly killed Zhou Yuan, then pursued the fleeing Zhao Feng toward a village and learned that Blood Offering Sect members had gathered there.
• Lu Chen killed a sword-wielding woman and then cut down Chen Long and Zhao Bao when they attacked him together.
• More Blood Offering Sect fighters rushed at Lu Chen and were killed, earning him 900 Merit Points.
• Lu Chen killed Zhao Feng as he fled, bringing his Merit Point gains to 2,400, then withdrew because he suspected the area was a sect stronghold.
• A terrifying bloody aura erupted from the nearby woods after Lu Chen left, and he used the Eight Desolations Dragon-Soaring Steps to escape.

Lu Chen stormed the Iron Scale Gang’s headquarters, killed its members, and rescued thirteen captive girls. After defeating the gang leader Yang Tiecheng, Lu Chen demanded his martial arts techniques and dragged him into a room.

• Lu Chen found the Iron Scale Gang loading bound girls into carriages and killed the gang members guarding them.
• Lu Chen freed thirteen girls from the sacks and earned Merit Points for saving them.
• Yang Tiecheng charged Lu Chen, but Lu Chen’s Iron Skin let him withstand the attack and defeat the gang leader.
• Lu Chen fought through the gang members’ arrows and attacks, then pursued Yang Tiecheng as he tried to flee.
• Yang Tiecheng used lime powder and poisoned weapons, but Lu Chen caught his weapons, crushed his wrist, and demanded his martial arts techniques.
• Yang Tiecheng agreed to hand over his techniques, and Lu Chen carried him into a nearby room as residents shut their doors.

After Lu Chen killed Magistrate Lin Mingyuan, the Pacification Bureau pursued him while Boulderstone City celebrated his death. Heaven's Secret Pavilion ranked Lu Chen ninety-first on the Qilin Rankings, spreading news of his sudden rise across the realm as he fled onward.

• Iron-Faced Judge Yu Tianli examined the battlefield, identified Lu Chen as the likely killer, and ordered the Pacification Bureau to chase him.
• Boulderstone City learned that Lu Chen had killed Lin Mingyuan, and its residents celebrated the hated magistrate's death.
• Heaven's Secret Pavilion assessed Lu Chen's rapid rise and placed him ninety-first on the Qilin Rankings.
• Heaven's Secret Pavilion sent spirit pigeons to spread the updated rankings throughout the imperial dynasty.
• The Qilin Rankings publicized Lu Chen's deeds, martial arts, and nickname, Heartless Blade, as he continued fleeing.

Lu Chen killed Wang Cuilian after she tried to attack him, then discovered his childhood friend Zhao Shan had been horribly mutilated by beggars in the city. Enraged, Lu Chen carried Zhao Shan out of the village to seek revenge on the beggars and the porcelain shop.

• Wang Cuilian attacked Lu Chen with a stick, but he struck her down and killed her.
• Lu Chen washed, changed clothes, and searched Lu Dahu's house, finding only a few dozen copper coins.
• Zhao Shan crawled to Lu Chen's house, badly injured, and explained that beggars had broken his legs, gouged out an eye, and forced him to beg.
• Lu Chen learned Zhao Shan had come to see him after hearing he was dying and vowed to take revenge on the beggars and the porcelain shop.
• Lu Chen carried Zhao Shan out of the village despite Zhao Shan's warning that there were too many beggars.

After Lu Chen’s actions against Lin Yun and the city’s criminal factions won him public praise, his fame unlocked the Thunderbolt King talent. He strengthened his cultivation and learned two martial arts, then told Su Yingxue he would eradicate evil before leaving Boulderstone City.

• News spread that Lin Yun had been killed, the Blood Offering Sect’s crimes exposed, and the poor people arrested by the yamen released; the people praised Lu Chen and urged him to flee.
• Lu Chen returned to Azure Wave Martial Hall and gained the Thunderbolt King talent, which let him control lightning.
• Lu Chen spent Merit Points to raise Azure Wave Art to Greater Mastery, increasing his cultivation to Fourth Rank (80%).
• Lu Chen learned Blood Shadow Sword and Blood Fury Art, then improved both techniques using his remaining Merit Points.
• Su Yingxue warned Lu Chen that Lin Mingyuan and the Pacification Bureau might come after him and urged him to leave; Lu Chen said he would eradicate evil before going.

Lu Chen defeated Ye Gubai and revealed that he had challenged him to avenge his Senior Sister, whose life had been used to refine the Profound Yin Chill Pill. As Lu Chen moved to kill Ye Gubai, the Pacification Bureau and other factions attacked him, but Breeze Swordmaster intervened with Star River Swordplay.

• Lu Chen defeated Ye Gubai, shocking the spectators, Breeze Swordmaster, and the Sky Sword Sect youths with his self-taught swordsmanship.
• The Ye Family guardians tried to reach Ye Gubai, but Wind Listening Pavilion's elders stopped them while Cui Hu guarded Lu Chen.
• Lu Chen told Ye Gubai that the Profound Yin Chill Pill had been refined using his Senior Sister's life and raised his blade to kill him.
• Pacification Bureau experts and attackers from other factions ambushed Lu Chen, and Cui Hu was nearly overwhelmed defending him.
• Breeze Swordmaster unleashed Star River Swordplay, shattered the attackers' strikes, and forced them to beg for mercy.

Lu Chen arrived at the yamen after killing Senior Brother Zhang and discovered that Zhao Shan had died in Lin Yun’s custody. He attacked Lin Yun, who tried to recruit him, and the fight began.

• An old man blamed Zhao Shan for knowing Lu Chen’s secret, but Zhao Shan bit off his tongue and died rather than reveal anything.
• Lin Yun ordered Zhao Shan’s corpse hung as a supposed demon accomplice, but Senior Brother Zhang burst into the yamen seeking help and Lu Chen killed him.
• Lu Chen recognized Zhao Shan’s corpse, closed his friend’s eyes, and unleashed his killing intent against Lin Yun.
• Lin Yun used a villager as a shield, but Lu Chen’s Blade Qi killed the villager and he threatened Lin Yun’s family.
• Lin Yun offered Lu Chen a place in a stronger organization, but Lu Chen rushed forward and slashed at him.

Lu Chen killed three beggars who had abused Zhao Shan, gained Merit Points, and improved his Galloping Horse Fist. He left Zhao Shan outside Boulderstone City and headed in to confront the Beggar Chief.

• Three beggars stopped Lu Chen and Zhao Shan, and Lu Chen killed two of them after they attacked him.
• Lu Chen gouged out the leader’s eyes, learned that the Beggar Chief had broken Zhao Shan’s legs, and killed the leader.
• Lu Chen gained Merit Points and raised his Galloping Horse Fist to Perfection, then found no money on the beggars.
• Lu Chen carried Zhao Shan toward Boulderstone City and left him outside the gate before entering alone to confront the Beggar Chief.

Lu Chen fought Ye Gubai on the city wall, forcing him to burn his Crimson Sun Source and unleash the Ye Family’s Emperor Sword Thirteen Styles. Lu Chen’s No-Self sword strike shattered Ye Gubai’s attack and left him motionless, while the crowd below erupted.

• The Ye Family protectors tried to stop the duel, but the four old men from Wind Listening Pavilion blocked them.
• Ye Gubai burned five drops of Crimson Sun Source and fought Lu Chen with the Lightning Shadow Swordplay, but he could not gain an advantage.
• Ye Gubai burned three more drops and unleashed the first move of the Emperor Sword Thirteen Styles, Majestic Spirit.
• Lu Chen entered the No-Self state and struck the fragile point of Ye Gubai’s divine phantom, shattering it.
• Ye Gubai spat blood, collapsed motionless after being hurled away, and his divine flames went out as the crowd erupted.

Lu Chen defeated Xiao Xuanye after she unleashed the Sword Sect’s Formless Samsara Sword, then humiliated her as she lay beaten. When her Dao Protector attacked, an unseen senior stopped the strike and forced the protector to flee with Xiao Xuanye.

• Lu Chen provoked Xiao Xuanye until she abandoned their agreed Ninth Rank limits and unleashed her Hidden Realm cultivation.
• Xiao Xuanye used the Formless Samsara Sword, sending indiscriminate Sword Qi through the arena and injuring spectators.
• Lu Chen drew the Crimson Softsword and used Imperial Sword Physique, Level Two Sword Intent, and Sky Imprisonment to trap Xiao Xuanye’s attack and strike her down.
• Lu Chen pinned Xiao Xuanye to the ground and taunted her, causing her pride to collapse.
• A gray-robed Dao Protector rushed in to save Xiao Xuanye, struck Cui Hu aside, and attacked Lu Chen.
• An unseen senior destroyed the Dao Protector’s palm strike, forcing the gray-robed figure to flee with Xiao Xuanye as the crowd wondered who had intervened.