Chapter Summaries

Lin Su examined the beast-taming whistle and realized that sufficiently powerful Spiritual Power might let him control beasts without it. He met Li Zexi on the river, heard his lingering regret over the Sword Sect’s destruction, and received a jade pendant that could teach him the middle three Dugu Nine Swords.

• Lin Su deduced that the whistle amplified Spiritual Power to control beasts and that he might eventually tame them through direct Spiritual Power projection.
• Lin Su left his cabin, recognized Li Zexi on a small boat, and joined him there for a conversation.
• Li Zexi explained why he had opposed the Sword Sect’s expedition and mourned the sect’s destruction, while Lin Su questioned why the remaining disciples had not been saved.
• Lin Su told Li Zexi he planned to attend the Jade Pool Gathering, and Li Zexi urged him to aim for a top-three position on the Wind and Cloud Ranking.
• Li Zexi gave Lin Su a jade pendant containing the middle three swords of the Dugu Nine Swords.

Lin Su learned the middle three forms of Dugu Nine Swords from Li Zexi, practiced two of them to minor accomplishment, and pondered the sword heart and the Sword Sect’s fall. Meanwhile, Princess Yufeng and the other women arrived at Haining, while Mo Qing and Feng Wu discussed how Lin Su might enter the Holy Hall.

• Li Zexi taught Lin Su the Returning Sword Stance, Heavenly Sword Stance, and Destroying Sword Stance, then explained that the last attacked the Primordial Spirit and described the sword heart as a swordsman’s will.
• Lin Su suspected that Li Zexi’s sword heart had gathered dust before the Sword Sect’s destruction, then wrote Huo Qi a poem about their meeting on the Yangtze.
• Lin Su practiced the Returning Sword Stance and Heavenly Sword Stance for three days, reaching minor accomplishment in both, while he remained unable to use the Destroying Sword Stance.
• Princess Yufeng, Lu Youwei, and the other guests toured Haining’s prosperous riverbank and its new homes; Princess Yufeng agreed to visit King Chen’s Mansion with Sister Chen the next day.
• Mo Qing and Feng Wu agreed to let Lin Su choose which Sacred Family’s Heaven-Reaching Dao to use, and they wondered whether Li Guihan would intervene.

Lin Su arrived at Qiu Shui Mountain Villa for Qiu Mochi’s wedding and helped Sun Linbu prepare for the imperial examinations. The chapter ended with Lin Su meeting Qiu Shui Hua Ping beneath the stars and whisking her into a painting.

• Lin Su greeted the Qiu family and invited Sun Linbu to study with him that night.
• Qiu Shui Changkong agreed to recognize Qiu Shui Hongshang’s marriage to Sun Linbu after hearing that Lin Su had taken an interest in him.
• Qiu Shui Hongshang and her parents found Sun Linbu studying with Lin Su, who told them not to interrupt their discussion.
• Lin Su wrote Sun Linbu twenty policy essays and the Thirteen Notes of Sacred Words to help him prepare for the examinations.
• Lin Su joked that he and Sun Linbu were fellow sufferers because they had both violated Qiu Shui Mountain Villa’s taboo, then left for Dongting Lake.
• Lin Su reunited with Qiu Shui Hua Ping beneath the stars, and she drew them both into a painting.

Lin Su explained that his plan to enter the Holy Hall was a smokescreen while he prepared to attend the Jade Pool Gathering. After returning to the bridal party, he accompanied Qiu Mochi to the Jin Family wedding, where Li Yangxin answered the bride’s relatives’ challenge with a Golden Light Poem.

• Lin Su told Qiu Shui Hua Ping that he would use the Holy Hall rumors to placate His Majesty, test the Sage Households, and cover his journey to the Jade Pool Gathering.
• Lin Su returned to his guest room at dawn, where Zhang Haoran and the others discussed his guidance to Sun Linbu before setting out to fetch Qiu Mochi.
• The bridal party reached the Jin Family’s escort, whose sons-in-law demanded a Golden Light Poem before allowing the ship to dock.
• Qiu Mochi urged her companions to overwhelm the Jin Family’s challenge, and Li Yangxin wrote a Golden Light Poem that made the crowd cheer.

At Qiu Mochi’s wedding, Lin Su composed a seven-colored poem that nearly reached Azure, then left Central Province in disguise to travel toward Mount Yandang. He entered the mountain to temper his swordsmanship and visit the Cloud Stream Sect, where he began investigating ferocious beasts.

• Huo Qi wrote a Golden Light Poem praising Golden Rainbow Villa, and the wedding parties passed the second checkpoint.
• Lin Su composed a seven-colored poem praising Qiu Mochi, earning Old Master Jin’s recognition as a half-step Azure Poet.
• Qiu Mochi claimed Lin Su’s poem as his own and received three hundred jars of Baiyunbian for the wedding banquet.
• After the celebration, Lin Su left Central Province secretly, changed into martial attire, and traveled toward Mount Yandang while avoiding those who wanted him dead.
• Lin Su entered Mount Yandang to train his swordsmanship and visit the Third Elder of the Cloud Stream Sect, then killed an attacking demon wolf and went searching for a live beast to study.

Lin Su fought his way into Mount Yandang, where the mountain’s strange aura prevented demons from transforming and strengthened his swordsmanship while compressing his cultivation. After following a song and entering an ancient formation, he discovered a hidden world and faced a mysterious hammer-wielding opponent.

• Lin Su defeated powerful demon beasts, including an Iron-backed Azure Wolf whose demon core revealed it was a Demon Empress, and his cultivation dropped from Late Stage Peering into Humanity to Mid-stage Peering into Humanity as his foundation grew stronger.
• Lin Su collected demon cores while fighting deeper into Mount Yandang, then followed a song he suspected came from Merfolk Beauty and killed a giant snake that attacked him.
• The Tenth Elder of the Blood Robe Sect misdirected Lin Su toward a damaged formation, while he and the six other Blood Robe figures stayed behind to prepare for a midnight event at the Heavenly Yin Forbidden Ground.
• Lin Su used his Thousand Degrees Pupil and Bronze Brush to cross the dangerous formation and enter a hidden realm divided between an idyllic landscape and a dark, clouded region.
• A hidden warrior attacked Lin Su with a massive hammer, and the two exchanged blows using Hammer Intent Azure Flower and Lin Su’s Sword Fruit before the warrior unleashed a relentless strike and Lin Su answered with the Heavenly Sword Stance.

Lin Su and Jun Tianxia discovered they had both been trapped in a formation by the Blood Robe Sect and joined forces after destroying their weapons in a draw. Following Jun Tianxia’s clue, Lin Su entered a cave and found the source of Mount Yandang’s mysterious song: a Life-Sacrificing Conch beside the skeleton of a dragon-race elder.

• Lin Su and Jun Tianxia realized they had both been tricked into the formation, ended their fight, and introduced themselves.
• Jun Tianxia explained his Five Elements Hammer Technique, and he and Lin Su shared demon-wolf meat and wine.
• After Lin Su traded ten jars of Baiyunbian for Jun Tianxia’s secret, Jun Tianxia revealed that a third person was inside a formation in a cave behind the lake.
• Lin Su used his Bronze Brush to open the cave’s incomplete formation, and he and Jun Tianxia followed the song inside.
• Lin Su and Jun Tianxia found a dead dragon-race elder and identified the instrument at his waist as an East Sea Dragon Palace Life-Sacrificing Conch.
• Lin Su learned that the conch horn, not Merfolk Beauty, had produced Mount Yandang’s mysterious song.

Lin Su and Jun Tianxia explored the cavern and discovered Yan Jiuding, who had awakened after sleeping in Yellow Springs Water for more than half a year and advanced to the Dao Fruit Realm. Yan Jiuding’s cursed words repeatedly brought trouble upon Jun Tianxia, and the three remained trapped among the cavern’s dangerous formations.

• Lin Su let Jun Tianxia take the dragon elder’s saber and kept an unusual pearl hidden inside the skeleton.
• Jun Tianxia discovered Yan Jiuding lying in a dark-yellow river, and Yan Jiuding woke and greeted Lin Su as an old friend.
• Yan Jiuding explained that a mysterious woman had brought him to Mount Yandang, where his long sleep had advanced his cultivation to the Dao Fruit Realm.
• Yan Jiuding accidentally touched Jun Tianxia with Yellow Springs Water, and his oath summoned lightning that struck Jun Tianxia.
• Jun Tianxia headed for the cave entrance, but Lin Su pulled him back before a formation shaved away the rest of his hair.
• Yan Jiuding tied cloth over his mouth after Lin Su warned him that his words kept causing trouble.

Lin Su, Jun Tianxia, and Yan Jiuding defeated the Blood Robe Sect attackers, but an Eighth-Rank Demon Beast nearly swallowed them before a mysterious Blood-colored Coffin intervened. The coffin transported them from Mount Yandang to Qingzhou, where Jun Tianxia decided to take Yan Jiuding to the Jade Pool Gathering.

• Lin Su and Jun Tianxia emerged from the formation and faced seven Blood Robe Sect cultivators, while Yan Jiuding struggled to understand the situation.
• Jun Tianxia fought the blood-robed elder, and Lin Su killed the other six men with a throwing knife and Azure Flower Turns into Wondrous Fruit.
• The elder unleashed his Blood Domain, but it struck the ancient formation and broke; Lin Su then killed him, though his Primordial Spirit escaped as a strange drop of blood.
• A colossal Eighth-Rank Demon Ape emerged and pulled Lin Su, Jun Tianxia, and Yan Jiuding toward its mouth, but a Blood-colored Coffin appeared, imprisoned the world, and swallowed the beast.
• The coffin departed, leaving the three men unharmed in Qingzhou of Great River Country, and Jun Tianxia decided to bring Yan Jiuding to the Jade Pool Gathering.

Lin Su returned to Cloud Stream Sect after two years away, reunited with Third Elder, and shared food and wine with him. After learning Lin Su had reached the Peeking Human Realm, Third Elder offered him a sword, and Lin Su chose an unbreakable blade before bringing out Baiyunbian for their reunion.

• Jun Tianxia, Yan Jiuding, and Lin Su escaped the tavern after Jun Tianxia's fart drove everyone out, then grew close and traded nicknames.
• Lin Su refused to join Jun Tianxia and Yan Jiuding on their plan to obtain a Jade Pool Token and set off for Cloud Stream Sect instead.
• Lin Su slipped past the wary gatekeeping disciples and surprised Third Elder in his courtyard, where the two reminisced and prepared a meal together.
• Third Elder discovered Lin Su had reached the Peeking Human Realm, and Lin Su demonstrated his throwing knife technique by catching a rabbit.
• Third Elder showed Lin Su his collection of twenty-seven swords, and Lin Su chose a silver-white sword that could not be broken but could not bear inscription patterns.
• Lin Su set aside Third Elder's Fiery Fine Brew and brought out Baiyunbian for their reunion, delighting the old man.

Lin Su learned that He Ming had died seeking Wei Lingzhu’s Myriad Laws Marvelous Eyes, which were now fused with Ji Wen, and then fled Cloud Stream Sect to avoid the Little Saintess. She thanked him for helping her attain Dao Fruit and secretly followed him, while Lin Su discovered a startling secret about the Nine Steps of the Heavenly Cycle.

• Third Elder told Lin Su that He Ming had sought Wei Lingzhu’s missing Myriad Laws Marvelous Eyes and had been killed by Lord Liu at Qingfeng.
• Third Elder revealed that Ji Wen, the Second Prince of Great Cang Kingdom and Holy Son of Heavenly Spirit Sect, had fused the eyes into himself.
• Lin Su inferred that Wujianmen’s plans might involve both the Second and Third Princes and worried that Great Cang could become its pawn.
• When the Little Saintess arrived, Lin Su tried to leave, but she caught up with him and thanked him for guiding her to peace of mind and a breakthrough into Dao Fruit.
• Lin Su departed, unaware that the Little Saintess followed him through the clouds and streams because she wanted to understand his rapid cultivation and protect him.
• While practicing the Nine Steps of the Heavenly Cycle, Lin Su discovered a great secret that would astonish cultivators across the world.

Lin Su discovered that the Nine Steps of the Heavenly Cycle replenished his true qi, then deceived Spring Water Sect pursuers who were hunting Yuan Ji. He reunited with Meng Zhu and agreed to travel with her toward the Jade Pool Gathering, leaving by boat for Night Capital.

• Lin Su realized the Nine Steps of the Heavenly Cycle increased his true qi as he used it, and he sensed a powerful pursuer near the Lijiang River.
• An old man from Spring Water Sect showed Lin Su a record of Yuan Ji passing the river and asked where she was; Lin Su falsely directed the group to Shunfeng Residence.
• Meng Zhu emerged from the river and warned Lin Su that Spring Water Sect intended to kill Yuan Ji, but Lin Su revealed that he had lied to the pursuers.
• Meng Zhu showed Lin Su her Jade Pool golden token and joined him on the journey to the Jade Pool Gathering in the Western Heaven Immortal Kingdom.
• Lin Su and Meng Zhu reached a dock and boarded a boat bound for Night Capital.

Lin Su encountered Yuan Ji aboard a river ship and learned she was being pursued by Spring Water Sect elders, while Little Saintess Meng Zhu shared stories about Great River Country. A clash between Li Xingkong and Heavenly Thunder Sect's Lei Nu ended with Lei Nu crippled, leaving Lin Su interested in the sect's history and its lone wandering disciple.

• Lin Su rented adjoining rooms for himself and Little Saintess Meng Zhu, who gave him a jar of Fiery Fine Brew and received Spring Sorrow perfume in return.
• Lin Su saw Yuan Ji in the neighboring room and secretly told her that Spring Water Sect elders were looking for her, then left perfume by her window.
• Little Saintess Meng Zhu joined Lin Su on deck and explained her mother's lingering revenge against her father, a high official of Great River Country.
• Li Xingkong defeated Heavenly Thunder Sect's Lei Nu in a clash above the river and crippled his cultivation before flying away.
• Little Saintess Meng Zhu told Lin Su about the Heavenly Thunder Sect's origins, its rule limiting each generation to one person leaving the mountain, and its current Lei Huo, Lei Nu.

Lin Su secretly healed the crippled Lei Nu, then traveled with the Little Saintess through Red Gate Gorge, where Long Wentian appeared and demonstrated his power. The Little Saintess explained the Lingyun Ranking and the Jade Pool Gathering’s true purpose: preparing humanity’s strongest young talents for threats from other races.

• Lin Su left the ship at night and healed Lei Nu, who had been crippled by Li Xingkong, then departed as Lei Nu began rebuilding his cultivation.
• The Little Saintess showed Lin Su the poems carved into Red Gate Gorge and said she still intended to challenge Cai Zhulian for her notebook.
• A black flood dragon threatened the ship, but Long Wentian seized it, pulled out its Inner Core, and carried it away.
• The Little Saintess explained the ranks of Lei Nu, Li Xingkong, Swordsman, and Ji Wen, including Ji Wen’s possession of the Myriad Laws Marvelous Eyes.
• The Little Saintess revealed that the Jade Pool Gathering aimed to cultivate humanity’s peerless geniuses amid growing threats from the Devil Race and other alien races.

Lin Su arrived at Night Capital after developing the Sky Void Rift, while Yuan Ji left the city and was attacked by Spring Water Sect over the death of its Young Master. As a Half-step Heavenly Phenomenon Manifestation elder struck Yuan Ji down, Lin Su appeared and caught her.

• Lin Su learned about the Lingyun Ranking from the Little Saintess and spent the voyage cultivating, chatting with her, and trying to get Yuan Ji's attention.
• Lin Su used his Spacetime Law comprehension to create the Sky Void Rift, which silently crushed and consumed silver.
• When the ship reached Night Capital, Lin Su avoided the Little Saintess's sister from Cloud Stream Sect, while Yuan Ji slipped away toward the Western Heaven Immortal Kingdom.
• Spring Water Sect's elder confronted Yuan Ji over the death of its Young Master, and Yuan Ji used Jiangnan Rain to kill the six experts accompanying him.
• The elder revealed he had reached Half-step Heavenly Phenomenon Manifestation and overwhelmed Yuan Ji, but Lin Su appeared at the mountainside and caught her as the elder's palm struck.

Lin Su saved Yuan Ji by concealing Literary Way power inside a sword technique to kill the elder, then entered the Western Heaven Immortal Kingdom and cultivated near the Jade Pool. He reached the threshold of the Peeking Void Realm but stopped to preserve the chance of achieving a perfect breakthrough.

• Lin Su used Nine Steps of the Heavenly Cycle and several sword stances to hold off the elder while Yuan Ji tried to help him.
• Lin Su concealed Literary Way power in his sword strike, killing the elder and dispersing his domain.
• Yuan Ji left Lin Su after reminding him that people who meet in the martial world were strangers.
• Lin Su entered the Western Heaven Immortal Kingdom, found the Jade Pool bustling with cultivators awaiting the Jade Pool Gathering, and began cultivating nearby.
• Lin Su used two demon cores to rapidly raise his cultivation to the peak of Peering into Humanity, then stopped short of the Peeking Void Realm to protect his foundation.

Lin Su arrived in Jade City ahead of the Jade Pool Gathering, reunited with Jun Tianxia and Yan Jiuding, and learned about the city’s strange cleanliness and steep prices. As cultivation sects began arriving, he spotted Zhang Yiyu and Meng Zhu among them, leaving the gathering’s first encounters underway.

• Lin Su met Jun Tianxia and Yan Jiuding at an inn, where they explained how they had stolen three thousand taels from a Purple Boat Sect disciple after returning his unusable Jade Pool Token.
• Jun Tianxia told Lin Su that the Jade Pool Fairy swept Jade City clean with clouds every evening, and Yan Jiuding confirmed that he had seen her do it.
• Lin Su rented a room for three hundred taels as crowds arrived for the Jade Pool Gathering, which was due to open in five days.
• Lin Su spotted Zhang Yiyu arriving with Bishui Sect and called to her, prompting her to warn him to hide his identity before she left with her group.
• Lin Su watched Cloud Stream Sect enter the city and noticed Little Saintess Meng Zhu searching the crowds.

Lin Su entered Jade City for the Jade Pool Gathering, where he recognized Wenxin Pavilion and reunited with Cai Zhulian while discovering that Jade Pool’s apparent display of power was a citywide formation. Zhang Yiyu and Zhou Yueru wrestled with the gathering’s dangers and Lin Su’s possible involvement, while Cai Zhulian visited Lin Su and asked him to write out his new poetry.

• Lin Su recognized Qing Sect and Wenxin Pavilion among the arriving teams, then sensed the scrutiny of a Wenxin Pavilion expert.
• Cai Zhulian spotted Lin Su with the Wu Mountain Team, and he told her to treat him as Su Lin of Sword Sect rather than the Great Cang Top Scholar.
• A Jade Pool formation cleared Jade City of rubbish, and Lin Su and Lu Tianming realized it could precisely control the lives of everyone in the city.
• Zhang Yiyu considered the Jade Pool Gathering’s risks and asked Zhou Yueru whether she regretted breaking her engagement with the Lin Family; she warned Zhou to stay quiet if Lin Su appeared at the gathering.
• Cai Zhulian visited Lin Su at night, received a pouch of perfume bottles, and asked him to write out all the poems and ci he had composed since leaving West Province.

Lin Su warned Zhang Yiyu and Cai Zhulian that the Jade Pool Gathering had become a contest for supremacy, then learned that Ji Wen was expected to bring glory to Great Cang. Five days later, Lin Su and Jun Tianxia entered Jade Pool as the Grand Gathering began and the leaders of the Cultivation World assembled.

• Zhang Yiyu arrived at Lin Su's home and exchanged pointed gifts with Cai Zhulian before Lin Su changed the subject.
• Lin Su explained that the Jade Pool Gathering had become a competition, and Zhang Yiyu said Ji Wen would represent Great Cang's rising power.
• Cai Zhulian and Zhang Yiyu dismissed Lin Su's hopes of excelling at the Gathering, then secretly warned him to stay out of trouble and be content with his token.
• Five days later, Lin Su and Jun Tianxia left Yan Jiuding behind and crossed the Golden Bridge into Jade Pool.
• Three hundred fairies welcomed the gathered sect masters, and Lin Su recognized several powerful leaders seated on the central lotus platform.

At the Jade Pool Grand Gathering, Lin Su cleared the Wind and Flowers trials with startling speed, drawing Ji Wen’s hostility and revealing himself to Zhou Yueru. He entered the Snow trial on the fourth level, where the next challenge began.

• The Jade Pool Holy Lord announced four trials and Jade Liquid rewards, and Lin Su recognized that the fifth level’s cultivation reduction would test combat strength against stronger opponents.
• Lin Su dodged the Wind Blades, met Ji Wen, and escaped Ji Wen’s attack using the Nine Steps of the Heavenly Cycle.
• Lin Su reached the second level, ignored Zhang Yiyu and Cai Zhulian’s remarks, and used the Bronze Brush to cross the Flowers array and become the first person on the third level.
• Zhou Yueru recognized Lin Su on the third level and recalled their broken engagement and his rise at the Literary Altar.
• Lin Su leaped into the fourth level, where dark clouds gathered and snow began to fall.