Chapter Summaries

After surviving the Pang Family and Chai Family’s assassination attempt, Yang Shan arranged to travel secretly to Desert City so he could grow stronger before facing them again. At the Cloud Frost Branch, he accepted Ruo Lin’s special admission booklet and postponed his promised meal with Nalan Yanran, while considering how to use her connections to reach the Misty Cloud Sect.

• Yang Shan stopped Jin Shankao from pursuing the fleeing assassins, then returned to the Cloud Frost Branch and reassured Ya Fei without revealing who had attacked him.
• Yang Shan decided he needed to become stronger before the Pang Family and Chai Family struck again, and he asked Ya Fei to arrange a flying magical beast to Desert City in exchange for helping her deal with the two families.
• Master Yao told Ya Fei that Nalan Yanran and Ruo Lin had been waiting for Yang Shan, so Yang Shan went to meet them in the reception room.
• Ruo Lin offered Yang Shan a special admission booklet that would let him enter Jia Nan Academy’s Outer Courtyard, and Yang Shan accepted it.
• Yang Shan asked Nalan Yanran to postpone their wager meal until his troubles were resolved, and she agreed to meet him at an auction in Gama Holy City.
• Yang Shan considered using his connection with Nalan Yanran to approach Yun Yun or Yun Leng of the Misty Cloud Sect and seek further opportunities.

Yang Shan traveled to Desert City to seek out Hai Bodong, whose Thousand Treasure Pavilion offered Players quests and opportunities. He reached the pavilion, triggered a special opportunity, and chose a cabinet drawer he remembered contained a powerful blade technique.

• Yang Shan reviewed his notes about Desert City, Hai Bodong, and future game developments while traveling offline.
• Yang Shan arrived at Desert City, paid the gate guard, and found Thousand Treasure Pavilion.
• Yang Shan inspected Hai Bodong’s status panel and triggered a special opportunity by speaking with him.
• Yang Shan searched the pavilion’s cabinets and selected the third drawer in cabinet eighteen, marked “Wield a blade, gain dominance!”
• Yang Shan recalled that the drawer held the Tyrant Blade combat technique.

Yang Shan accepted Hai Bodong’s quest to gather three items in the Red Sand Forest and hunted Crimson Sand Vipers for a magic core. While searching, he encountered Zhu Tianpeng, a familiar Player from his previous life, fighting a giant python.

• Yang Shan used Ya Fei’s Bauhinia Token to reduce the number of items Hai Bodong required for the Tyrant Blade, and Hai Bodong gave him a three-item list and a three-day deadline.
• Yang Shan bought supplies, rode his Maple Leaf Colt to the Red Sand Forest, and killed a Crimson Sand Viper with chained Upward Slashes.
• Yang Shan killed twelve more Crimson Sand Vipers but found no magic core among their drops.
• Yang Shan heard a man challenging a giant python and recognized the voice as belonging to Zhu Tianpeng, one of the Twelve Emperors from his previous life.

Yang Shan teamed up with Zhu Tianpeng to fight the Red Sand Python, then displayed overwhelming damage that stunned Zhu Tianpeng. The battle continued with the python’s health falling rapidly as Zhu Tianpeng watched.

• Zhu Tianpeng tanked the Red Sand Python’s attacks with his defensive abilities while Yang Shan assessed that he could not defeat it alone.
• Yang Shan offered to leave, but Zhu Tianpeng recognized him as the notorious cheater and proposed a contract giving him the magic core and Yang Shan the other drops.
• Yang Shan signed the Drop Allocation Contract with Zhu Tianpeng, and the two formed a party.
• Yang Shan used Thunder Spirit Flash and Thunder Arc Three-Stage Slash to deal more than four thousand damage to the Red Sand Python in three seconds.
• Zhu Tianpeng watched in shock as Yang Shan kept striking the python’s exposed weak points and dodging its counterattacks.

Yang Shan returned to Desert City with Zhu Tianpeng and discovered Hai Bodong’s new quest required a Mottled Scorpion Beast magic core, changing the route to his reward. As Yang Shan set out to hunt it, he considered recruiting Zhu Tianpeng before the Player’s growing success made him harder to sign.

• Zhu Tianpeng recounted how a wounded Water Evolution Magic Bull had dragged him from Copper Rock City to Desert City, where he built favor with Hai Bodong.
• Yang Shan and Zhu Tianpeng delivered their collected items to Hai Bodong, who gave Yang Shan a new list of five items and promised a top-grade third-tier pill formula if he obtained the final item too.
• Yang Shan saw that the quest’s final item was a Mottled Scorpion Beast magic core and realized Zhu Tianpeng’s arrival had changed the opportunity from what he remembered.
• Zhu Tianpeng invited Yang Shan to eat and joked about meeting the server’s top Player, while Yang Shan told him to stop calling him Brother One-Saber.
• Yang Shan left Desert City to search for the Mottled Scorpion Beast, while Zhu Tianpeng headed for the Night Drunken Pavilion.

Yang Shan reached the Tagor Desert and prepared to fight the Mottled Scorpion Beast alone for the Tyrant Blade opportunity quest. He lured the beast with poisoned Golden Powder Worms and readied pills before the battle began.

• Yang Shan crossed the Tagor Desert while avoiding three groups of Serpent-People.
• Yang Shan found the Tier 3 Thousand Beast King Mottled Scorpion Beast and assessed its formidable stats and poisonous skills.
• Yang Shan revealed that his previous-life experience fighting the beast had taught him effective counters.
• Yang Shan threw three sedated Golden Powder Worms implanted with third-grade poisons near the sleeping Mottled Scorpion Beast.
• The Mottled Scorpion Beast ate a Golden Powder Worm, while Yang Shan prepared a Wind Walk Pill, a Qi Injection Pill, and a Strength Enhancing Pill.

Yang Shan used poison and his knowledge of the Mottled Scorpion Beast to break through its shell and secure the first kill of a Tier 3 Thousand Beast King. Xiao Aotian learned of Yang Shan’s achievement at Wutan City’s resurrection point after admitting he could not defeat the beast himself.

• Yang Shan poisoned the Mottled Scorpion Beast, disabling its Bloodline Secret Skill and causing it to lose HP over time.
• The Mottled Scorpion Beast stabbed its own back with its tail to counteract the poison, and Yang Shan used the opening to attack its shell while dodging its strikes.
• Yang Shan repeatedly attacked the cracked shell until it shattered, then used Thunder Spirit Flash and Thunder Arc Three-Stage Slash to deal heavy damage.
• Yang Shan killed the Mottled Scorpion Beast, triggering a global announcement that awarded him a free Spiritual Root, Meridians, Comprehension, and Good Fortune.
• Xiao Aotian appeared at Wutan City’s resurrection point, learned Yang Shan had claimed the first kill, and smashed a stone statue in frustration.

Yang Shan defeated the Mottled Scorpion Beast, consumed its heart blood meat, and impressed Elder Hai enough to receive the final stage of an opportunity task: eliminate a Serpent-People squad. He recruited Zhu Tianpeng under a Freelancer Contract and set out with him to attack the squad.

• Yang Shan reached Five-Star Great Fighter, obtained the Mottled Scorpion Beast’s heart blood meat, and gained powerful attribute boosts and Fire Poison Tempering.
• Yang Shan gave Elder Hai the requested items, earned his appreciation, and accepted a task to eliminate eight Serpent-People.
• Zhu Tianpeng asked Yang Shan for help against three Great Fighters and five peak Fighters, and Yang Shan offered to help if Zhu Tianpeng signed a Freelancer Contract.
• Zhu Tianpeng signed the contract and swallowed the Body Tempering Pill Yang Shan gave him as a signing benefit.
• Yang Shan and Zhu Tianpeng headed for the Serpent-People squad, with Yang Shan telling Zhu Tianpeng to compete for as much combat contribution as he could.

Yang Shan ambushed and killed Yue Yin and her Serpent-People squad while Zhu Tianpeng drew their attention. As they prepared to leave, Yue Mei, a Three-Star Dou Wang and commander of the Profound Moon Tribe, appeared and confronted them.

• Zhu Tianpeng taunted Yue Yin's squad while Yang Shan hid beneath the sand and prepared an ambush.
• Yue Yin ordered her fighters to attack Zhu Tianpeng, who used his defensive technique to hold them off.
• Yang Shan emerged from the sand, killed two Serpent-People fighters, and relentlessly attacked Yue Yin despite her attempts to bargain and fight back.
• Yang Shan killed Yue Yin and the rest of her squad, including the fighter who tried to flee.
• Yue Mei arrived and accused Yang Shan and Zhu Tianpeng of killing her subordinates.

Yang Shan and Zhu Tianpeng narrowly escaped Yue Mei with Hai Bodong’s help, and Yang Shan finally obtained the Tyrant Blade Dou Technique. The chapter left Hai Bodong’s seal slightly loosened and Yang Shan equipped with the powerful blade technique he had sought.

• Zhu Tianpeng provoked Yue Mei, who attacked him with poisonous Water Attribute Dou Qi.
• Hai Bodong appeared and froze Yue Mei’s attack, warning her that a fight near Desert City could attract stronger enemies.
• Yue Mei withdrew after threatening Zhu Tianpeng, who revealed that he had gained negative ten Affinity with her.
• Hai Bodong’s strength weakened after he temporarily raised it to the Dou Wang level, and he took Yang Shan and Zhu Tianpeng to the Thousand Treasure Pavilion.
• Yang Shan obtained the high Xuan Tier Gold blade technique Tyrant Blade, which included the seven-layer Blade Force and the Seven Kills attack.

Yang Shan received the Tyrant Blade secret manual and the Bone Forming Pill formula from Hai Bodong before returning toward Cloud Frost City to prepare for the Dou Wang Tomb. He planned to find a better cultivation method and considered targeting the Pang Family, the Chai Family, or the Azure Cloud Association.

• Hai Bodong gave Yang Shan the Tyrant Blade secret manual and the Bone Forming Pill formula as the wager reward.
• Yang Shan promised Zhu Tianpeng an internal price for future pills and told him to continue questing and build Hai Bodong's favorability.
• Yang Shan paid ten thousand Spirit Stones for a flying mount to return to Cloud Frost City and asked Chao Bafang to search for a third-tier wood-element King of Beasts.
• Yang Shan spoke with Father Yang, who learned that his son was the infamous player in Battle Through the Heavens.
• Yang Shan reviewed new information about the Dou Wang Tomb and planned to seek a better cultivation method by targeting the Pang Family, the Chai Family, or the Azure Cloud Association.
• Yang Shan entered his Game Pod and activated Battle Through the Heavens.

Yang Shan promised to help Ya Fei save the Cloud Frost Branch from a forced political marriage by overtaking the Pang and Chai Families in market share. He set out to obtain a valuable mount, but instead ambushed a squad of assassins sent by the two families, beginning a fight with Chai Lao Si.

• Ya Fei told Yang Shan that the Cloud Frost Branch had until the Gama Holy City auction to prove itself, and Yang Shan promised to help her overcome the crisis.
• Yang Shan triggered a mission to make the Cloud Frost Branch's market share exceed the Pang Family's and Chai Family's, then asked Ya Fei to find valuable mounts.
• Yang Shan decided to deal with the Pang and Chai Families' assassins before searching for a mount and rode into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Sixteen assassins split up to search for Yang Shan, while he coordinated with Chao Bafang and followed a three-person squad led by Chai Lao Si.
• Yang Shan ambushed Chai Lao Si with Thunder Arc Three-Stage Slash and follow-up attacks, nearly destroying his Dou Qi Armor in six strikes.

Yang Shan killed Chai Lao Si and two of his guards, then faced Chai Lao Er and another assassin as they arrived in the woods. With reinforcements likely coming, Yang Shan charged into the new fight.

• Yang Shan shattered Chai Lao Si’s Dou Qi Armor, wounded him, and killed him despite his threats about the Chai and Mu families.
• Yang Shan gained enough experience to advance to Six Star Great Fighter, while Chao Bafang reported that he had also defeated his target using several powders and traps.
• Yang Shan spotted Chai Lao Er, the Chai Family’s lightning-attribute Second Elder, charging at him with another Purple Word Seal assassin.
• Yang Shan dodged and cut through the water-attribute assassin’s barrage of water arrows without being injured.
• Chai Lao Er, enraged by Chai Lao Si’s death, lunged at Yang Shan as the two assassins attacked together.

Yang Shan fought Chai Lao Er and a Water Attribute Great Fighter, killed the water cultivator, and faced Chai Lao Er after he used Pill Enhancement. When three more assassins arrived, Yang Shan targeted Pang Lao San with his strongest blade skill.

• Chai Lao Er and the Water Attribute Great Fighter pressured Yang Shan together, forcing him to use his full strength.
• Yang Shan used Thunder Spirit Flash to evade Chai Lao Er and interrupt the Water Attribute Great Fighter’s charged Dou Technique.
• Yang Shan killed the Water Attribute Great Fighter before Chai Lao Er could reach him.
• Chai Lao Er used Pill Enhancement and threatened Yang Shan, but three black-clad assassins arrived, including the Great Fighter Peak Pang Lao San.
• Yang Shan revealed he had been waiting for his teammates to arrive, then unleashed Tyrant Blade—Seven Kills against Pang Lao San.

Yang Shan shattered Pang Youdan’s Dou Qi Armor, forced him to submit, and had Chao Bafang guard the wounded elder. He then faced Chai Lao Er and another Chai Family assassin, conserving his strength until he could use Tyrant Blade again.

• Yang Shan’s powerful strike broke Pang Youdan’s Dou Qi Armor and wounded him, prompting Pang Youdan to accuse Chai Lao Er of setting him up.
• Pang Youdan knelt and offered to submit, and Yang Shan considered using him to help Ya Fei and the Cloud Frost Branch.
• Yang Shan called Chao Bafang over, wounded Pang Youdan further, and ordered Chao Bafang to keep him under guard while the Pang Family assassin Chen Gu stood down.
• Yang Shan restored some Dou Qi with a pill as Chai Lao Er and another Chai Family assassin prepared to attack him.
• Yang Shan fought the two assassins while conserving Dou Qi and waiting for Tyrant Blade’s cooldown to end.

Yang Shan defeated Chai Lao Er and the Earth Attribute Great Fighter, advancing to Seven Star Great Fighter. He found the rare Thunder Guiding Lock Dou Skill among Chai Lao Er’s drops and realized how valuable it was.

• Yang Shan endured Chai Lao Er and the Earth Attribute Great Fighter’s attacks, then built blade momentum before launching a counterattack.
• Yang Shan broke the Earth Attribute Great Fighter’s Dou Qi Armor and killed him with repeated slashes to the throat.
• Chai Lao Er knelt and begged Yang Shan to spare him, but Yang Shan killed him with Thunder Spirit Flash and Tyrant Blade—Seven Kills.
• Yang Shan advanced to Seven Star Great Fighter and searched Chai Lao Er’s drops.
• Yang Shan found the Mystic Rank Intermediate restriction Dou Skill Thunder Guiding Lock and celebrated, while the injured Pang Lao San heard his laughter.

Yang Shan learned Thunder Guiding Lock, captured Pang Lao San and spared Chen Gu, then brought both men to Ya Fei as potential inside agents. After gaining Ya Fei’s favor, Yang Shan prepared to catch a stronger mount, and Chao Bafang joined him with a Mount Token.

• Yang Shan learned Thunder Guiding Lock from Chai Lao Er’s Secret Manual and turned to confront Pang Lao San and Chen Gu.
• Yang Shan spared Chen Gu after Pang Lao San vouched for him, then took both men back toward Cloud Frost City with Chao Bafang.
• Yang Shan and Chao Bafang delivered Pang Lao San and Chen Gu to Ya Fei, who agreed to handle them and gained favor with Yang Shan.
• Chao Bafang showed Yang Shan a Mount Token he had obtained from Master Yao.
• Yang Shan told Chao Bafang that a nearby place had the best mounts below tier five, and they set out to catch one.

Yang Shan and Chao Bafang found a herd of Wind Chasing Steeds in the Azure Wind Plains and began trying to tame one. Chao Bafang restrained a chestnut-red steed, but the herd’s king, Hoof Shadow, charged toward him.

• Yang Shan and Chao Bafang traveled to the Azure Wind Plains and found a herd of over a hundred Wind Chasing Steeds.
• Yang Shan explained that Chao Bafang had to mount and restrain a steed alone, then endure its attempts to throw him off until it became exhausted.
• Yang Shan and Chao Bafang buried themselves in ambush pits as the herd approached.
• Chao Bafang sprang out, looped reins around a chestnut-red Wind Chasing Steed’s neck, and held on as it struggled to break free.
• Hoof Shadow, the herd’s much larger black king and Yang Shan’s target, charged straight at Chao Bafang.

Yang Shan intercepted Hoof Shadow, the proud king of the Wind Chasing Steeds, when it attacked Chao Bafang and began taming it. Hoof Shadow dragged Yang Shan away as he clung to its reins, leaving the taming struggle unresolved.

• Hoof Shadow emerged from hiding and charged at Chao Bafang during his attempt to tame a Wind Chasing Steed.
• Yang Shan used Thunder Spirit Flash to intercept Hoof Shadow and looped reins around its neck.
• Yang Shan leapt onto Hoof Shadow and triggered the mount-taming process, which required Hoof Shadow to recognize him.
• Hoof Shadow bucked and ran at full speed, then stopped abruptly and flung Yang Shan off its back.
• Yang Shan held onto the reins as Hoof Shadow dragged him away, and he told Chao Bafang to catch his own Wind Chasing Steed.

Yang Shan forced the unruly Hoof Shadow to recognize his strength, then tamed it by frightening it with the prospect of being roasted and eaten. After setting off toward Cloud Frost City, he spotted a black-winged cultivator being pursued by three others and suspected the fugitive belonged to Soul Hall.

• Yang Shan used Hoof Shadow's rein and his riding skills to endure its frantic run, escaping a Jungle Cloud Dark Panther while suffering painful friction burns.
• Yang Shan exhausted Hoof Shadow, then outpaced it with Thunder Spirit Flash and restrained it with Thunder Guiding Lock, raising its taming progress to 60%.
• Yang Shan cooked an Iron Fur Giant Lion and made Hoof Shadow fear it would be eaten next, bringing its taming progress to 100%.
• Yang Shan fed his new mount and tried to find his way back to Cloud Frost City, then noticed four winged cultivators flying overhead.
• An Azure Cloud Association pursuer attacked the black-winged fugitive, and Yang Shan recognized the fugitive's black mist as a possible sign of Soul Hall.