Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yun reassured Shui Yuntian that Spirit Hall would hesitate after witnessing his sword strike, then cultivated in the Vast Wilderness World and reached Lord Level ninety-nine. Over the next two days, Shui Bing'er, Yao Yuerou, Shui Ruoyan, and Yao Zi returned with scattered students and instructors from the Four Great Academies.

• Xiao Yun told Shui Yuntian he would help resettle the Three Great Academies' people and asked her to calm the students and send Ruo Yan and the others to him when they returned.
• Xiao Yun returned to the Vast Wilderness World, absorbed Lord Experience and Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi, and broke through to Lord Level ninety-nine.
• Shui Bing'er returned with injured Godwind Academy students, and Xiao Yun eased her exhaustion with Spiritual Power.
• Yao Yuerou returned with Plant Academy survivors; Xiao Yun told her that her father was safe and waiting for her.
• Shui Ruoyan returned with Blazing Fire Academy students, including Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu.
• Yao Zi returned with several rescued students, and over two days the scattered people from the Four Great Academies were gradually brought back.

After the Three Great Academies were devastated, Xiao Yun treated their severely wounded survivors through the night at Skywater Academy. He then joined a meeting where the headmasters revealed how Spirit Hall had infiltrated their academies and the scale of the losses.

• Xiao Yun arranged a temporary medical station at Skywater Academy and personally healed the severely injured students and mentors.
• Xiao Yun treated the wounded through the night, and Shui Ruoyan met him afterward to bring him to a meeting.
• Shui Yuntian seated Xiao Yun beside her before asking the three headmasters to explain what had happened.
• Huo Lie revealed that Huo Yun had betrayed Blazing Fire Academy by selling its Defense Formation Map to Spirit Hall.
• Feng Wuhen and Yao Yang reported that traitors had let Spirit Hall into Godwind Academy and Plant Academy.
• Huo Lie, Feng Wuhen, and Yao Yang reported that fewer than two hundred people had survived across their three academies, while many had died or been imprisoned.

After the Three Great Academies were devastated by Spirit Hall, Shui Ruoyan revealed Xiao Yun’s strength and role in saving them. Skywater, Plant, Blazing Fire, and Godwind Academies pledged allegiance to Xiao Yun, who prepared to take them to Dragon Ascending Town.

• Shui Yuntian asked the three headmasters what they would do after their academies were destroyed, and Huo Lie and Feng Wuhen admitted they had nowhere to go.
• Shui Ruoyan introduced Xiao Yun as an earl, royal academy team leader, adviser to Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, and her teacher, then revealed that he had given them their rescue abilities and split Phoenix Nest Lake with his sword strike.
• Yao Yang thanked Xiao Yun for saving Yue Rou and Yao Zi, and Shui Yuntian announced that Skywater Academy had pledged allegiance to him.
• Yao Yang pledged Plant Academy’s sixty-six survivors to Xiao Yun, asking him to preserve the academy’s legacy.
• Huo Lie pledged Blazing Fire Academy’s seventy survivors, and Feng Wuhen pledged Godwind Academy’s seventy-one survivors to Xiao Yun.
• Shui Yuntian declared the four academies one family, and Xiao Yun decided it was time to go to Dragon Ascending Town.

Xiao Yun and the three young women traveled to Dragon Ascending Town while learning about its rival Soul Master families, local commerce, and population. They arrived with a clearer picture of the Shui Family’s plight and the town’s resources, but had not yet reached the town or met its residents.

• Xiao Yun asked about Dragon Ascending Town, and Shui Bing'er explained that the Shui Family branch there descended from relatives cast out after their Martial Soul mutated into a Condensing Water Crow.
• Shui Bing'er described the town’s three Soul Master families—the Shui, Xue, and She—and warned that the She Family reportedly planned to drive out the others and seize control.
• Sheng Minglan explained that the town traded seafood and mountain goods, depended on imported grain, and that the Sheng Family now dominated local commerce.
• Yao Zi said the Yao Family supplied grain to the town and estimated that fewer than twenty thousand people lived there and its surrounding villages.
• Xiao Yun frowned at the population estimate as the carriage continued toward Dragon Ascending Town.

Xiao Yun and his companions reached Dragon Ascending Town and found the She Family controlling the city gate. After Xiao Yun intimidated a She Family guard, the man mistook their arrival for an action by the Shui Family of Skywater Academy and ordered the family head to be informed.

• Yao Zi explained that Dragon Ascending Town was small and dangerous but had a Low-level Soul Master Academy.
• Xiao Yun sensed She Family members inspecting and abusing travelers at the city gate.
• The She Family guard stopped Xiao Yun and his companions, demanded their identities, and ordered them to submit to an inspection.
• Xiao Yun identified the group as visitors from Skywater Academy, then used his pressure to force the guard into silence.
• After Xiao Yun and the women returned to the carriage and departed, the frightened guard told his men to report the Shui Family's arrival to the family head.

Xiao Yun sensed that the Shui Family ancestral residence was under attack and rushed toward it. As the pirates shattered the family’s defenses, Shui Ruolin and his daughters faced the apparent end of their household.

• Xiao Yun detected a battle near the sea and learned from Shui Bing'er that the Shui Family residence was there.
• Shui Ruolin and his twin daughters helped the exhausted Shui Family Soul Masters hold their defense barrier against Samart and the Green Shark Pirate Group.
• Samart demanded that Shui Ruolin surrender his twin daughters, but Shui Ruolin refused and vowed that the Shui Family would not submit.
• Samart ordered the pirates to attack, and their soul skills shattered the Shui Family’s Defense Soul Barrier.
• Shui Ruolin staggered back with his daughters as the pirates charged and he feared the Shui Family would be destroyed.

Xiao Yun appeared at the Shui Family castle and used overwhelming power to defeat the Green Shark pirates attacking his territory. He killed Samart and left the surviving pirates unable to resist as the Shui Family watched in awe.

• Xiao Yun caught Samart's thousand-pound anchor with one hand and crushed it.
• Samart recognized Xiao Yun as the newly arrived Earl Longteng and threatened him with the Green Shark Pirate Group's level seventy-five captain.
• Xiao Yun summoned hundreds of emerald longswords and judged the pirates by their resentment and crimes.
• Xiao Yun killed the deeply guilty pirates, disabled those with lighter sins, and dismembered Samart.
• The surviving pirates collapsed in terror while Shui Ruolin and the Shui Family stared at Xiao Yun with awe and gratitude.

After Xiao Yun defeated the pirates attacking the Shui Family, he helped the survivors reclaim their castle and revealed himself as Earl Longteng. He left Shui Bing'er and the others to manage the aftermath and went to the docks, where he confronted the Green Shark Pirate Group’s ship.

• Xiao Yun ordered the Shui Family clansmen to bind the surviving pirates, and Shui Ruolin thanked him for saving them.
• Shui Bing'er arrived with Yao Zi and Sheng Minglan, and introduced Xiao Yun as Earl Longteng, prompting Shui Ruolin to pledge the branch family’s loyalty.
• Xiao Yun assigned Shui Bing'er and her companions to tend to the wounded, secure the prisoners, and clear the battlefield before leaving for the docks.
• Xiao Yun found the docks deserted and spotted a Green Shark Pirate Group ship holding imprisoned laborers offshore.
• Xiao Yun boarded the ship, faced its armed pirates, and waited as their burly captain emerged from the cabin.

Xiao Yun defeated the pirates aboard their ship and freed the captives, where he met Ma Sanbao, a young man with a map martial soul called the Sea Area Atlas. Recognizing the potential of Ma Sanbao’s abilities for maritime trade, Xiao Yun freed him from his chains.

• Reke ordered his pirates to attack Xiao Yun, but Xiao Yun used sword intent to defeat them and knocked Reke unconscious.
• Xiao Yun opened the cargo hold and found two or three dozen captive laborers, including the wounded and chained Ma Sanbao.
• Ma Sanbao told Xiao Yun that pirates had killed his father and brothers and spared him because he knew the local sea charts.
• Ma Sanbao revealed his Sea Area Atlas martial soul, which recorded seas he had visited and granted skills as he explored.
• Xiao Yun decided Ma Sanbao’s abilities could support his maritime trade and cut through his chains with sword qi.

Xiao Yun healed Ma Sanbao, recruited him, and left him to free the laborers and take command of the pirate ship. Xiao Yun then returned to the Shui Family estate, where Shui Ruolin and the clan welcomed him after the attack.

• Xiao Yun healed Ma Sanbao and gave him purple equipment after Ma Sanbao swore to serve him.
• Xiao Yun ordered Ma Sanbao to free the laborers, take command of the ship, recruit or deal with the pirates, and question Reke about the crew’s hideout and treasure.
• Ma Sanbao freed the laborers, tied up Reke, accepted the surrendered sailors, burned the Green Shark flag, and sailed toward Dragon Ascending Town.
• Xiao Yun returned to the Shui Family gate and found the estate secured, with the captured pirates under guard.
• Shui Ruolin and the Shui clansmen knelt to welcome Xiao Yun, who entered the estate with Shui Bing'er, Yao Zi, and Sheng Minglan behind him.

Xiao Yun questioned Shui Ruolin about Dragon Ascending Town's pirate attacks, weakened administration, and powerful families, then began assigning people to take control of the town. He sent Yao Zi and Sheng Minglan to secure the City Lord's Mansion and planned to visit the Xue and She families with Shui Bing'er.

• Shui Ruolin explained that the City Defense Army had collapsed and pirates had grown bold as the empire focused on its eastern front.
• Shui Ruolin revealed that the She Family had mediated two earlier pirate attacks and might be connected to the pirates.
• Shui Ruolin described the Green Shark Pirate Group, the Xue and She families, and the town's absent city lord and unmanaged affairs.
• Xiao Yun gave Sheng Minglan his token and ordered her and Yao Zi to take over the City Lord's Mansion and inventory its records and treasury.
• Xiao Yun asked Shui Bing'er to accompany him to visit the Xue Family and the She Family.

Xiao Yun visited the Xue and She Families to secure their support as Dragon Ascending Town’s new lord. Xue Mingyuan agreed to serve him, but the She Family rejected and insulted him, so Xiao Yun secretly placed a Puppet Thread on one of its gatekeepers before leaving.

• Shui Ruolin warned Xiao Yun that the She Family claimed control over Dragon Ascending Town, but Xiao Yun went to meet both families anyway.
• Xue Mingyuan welcomed Xiao Yun, offered him a gift, and handed over the Xue Family’s register of people, property, and soul masters, agreeing that the family would follow his lead.
• After Xiao Yun left, Xue Mingyuan told his steward to send fine silk to the lord’s manor and said Xiao Yun’s strength made him too dangerous to offend.
• At the She Family’s gate, two gatekeepers mocked Xiao Yun and refused to let him meet the family head, while Xiao Yun stopped Shui Bing’er from attacking.
• Xiao Yun secretly attached a Puppet Thread to one gatekeeper, giving him knowledge of the man’s movements and words, then continued on with Shui Bing’er.

Xiao Yun uncovered the She Family’s alliance with the Green Shark Pirate Group and decided to wait for their main force before striking. The next morning, he took possession of the abandoned City Lord’s Mansion and received Dragon Ascending Town’s families and merchants, while the She Family stayed away.

• She Long dismissed She Hu’s concerns about mistreating Xiao Yun, claiming the Green Shark Pirate Group backed the She Family and that Dragon Ascending Town would eventually belong to them.
• Xiao Yun used his Spiritual Sense to overhear the She Family’s celebration and learned of its alliance with the Green Shark Pirate Group, then resolved to wait until their main force arrived before attacking.
• Shui Bing'er watched the She Family’s feast from the Shui Family guest room while Xiao Yun continued monitoring the clan through the night.
• Xiao Yun and Shui Bing'er went to the City Lord’s Mansion, where clerk Zhou Wenshu explained that the former city lord had taken everything valuable and left the residence empty.
• Xiao Yun summoned Sheng Minglan and Yao Zi, and local families and merchants gathered at the mansion; Shui Ruolin and Xue Mingyuan attended, but no one from the She Family came.

After taking control of Dragon Ascending Town, Xiao Yun found its treasury nearly empty and its City Guard depleted, then announced a full reorganization to protect the town from pirates. He left Sheng Minglan in charge of recruitment and appointed Shui Ruolin acting commander while the search for a permanent commander remained open.

• Xiao Yun presented his fief certificate and earl's seal, and the gathered leaders greeted him as Earl of Dragon Ascending Town.
• Sheng Minglan reported that the treasury held only nine Silver Soul Coins and nine Copper Soul Coins, while the City Guard lacked capable soldiers, weapons, and armor.
• Xiao Yun said he would reorganize the City Guard to defend against future pirate attacks and opened recruitment to healthy young men, including ordinary people.
• Xiao Yun announced monthly pay based on Soul Master rank, prompting local families to offer their young relatives for service.
• Xiao Yun put Sheng Minglan in charge of registration and assessment, then appointed Shui Ruolin acting commander of the City Guard.

Xiao Yun revealed a powerful Main Cannon and demonstrated its destructive range, convincing Ma Sanbao that they could confront the Green Shark Pirate Group. He planned to use the cannon to lure the pirates’ main force away while they attacked Dragon Ascending Town, and the chapter ended with the group preparing to carry out the plan.

• Xiao Yun refused to retreat, and Shui Bing'er revealed her five-ring Soul King strength to reassure Ma Sanbao.
• Xiao Yun brought out the Main Cannon, and Shui Bing'er secured it to the deck with an ice mount.
• Xiao Yun taught Ma Sanbao and the young men how to use the cannon's Targeting Radar and load its shells.
• Ma Sanbao fired at a reef three nautical miles away, destroying it with a single shot.
• Xiao Yun explained that they would damage the pirates' flagship and masts while retreating to keep the main force occupied as the pirates split their forces to attack Dragon Ascending Town.

Xiao Yun sent the Peace-Sea to intercept Green Shark’s pirate fleet while Dragon Ascending Town prepared for an attack. Ma Sanbao led the ship in its first battle, using the main cannon to cripple the pirates’ vessels and leave Green Shark’s fleet scattered and slowed.

• Xiao Yun explained that the She Family was colluding with the pirates and said he had arranged defenses for Dragon Ascending Town while he and Shui Bing'er stayed at sea.
• Ma Sanbao took command of the Peace-Sea and sailed southeast toward the approaching Green Shark fleet.
• Ma Sanbao fired the main cannon from three and a half nautical miles away, snapping Green Shark’s mainmast and throwing the pirate ship into chaos.
• Green Shark ordered four ships to pursue the Peace-Sea and capture its cannon, while Ma Sanbao turned east to keep the pirates at a distance.
• The Peace-Sea’s cannon repeatedly shattered the masts of the pursuing ships, slowing the fleet and scattering its formation.

Green Shark sent three ships toward Dragon Ascending Town to seize hostages, while Xiao Yun’s Peace-Sea lured the remaining pirates into a running battle. After hours of cannon fire, Green Shark summoned a swarm of sharks and sent his strongest fighters riding them toward the Peace-Sea.

• Green Shark ordered three pirate ships to head for Dragon Ascending Town and seize people to force Xiao Yun to surrender the cannon.
• Xiao Yun watched the ships take the bait as Ma Sanbao steered the Peace-Sea ahead of the remaining four pirate ships and fired its Main Cannon.
• A Soul King pirate deflected a shell with Wave-Breaking Slash, and Green Shark ordered his ships to maneuver in serpentine patterns to evade the cannon fire.
• The Peace-Sea and the four pursuing pirate ships exchanged fire for three hours, leaving the pirate vessels battered and their crews dead or wounded.
• Green Shark used Martial Soul Possession and Shark Swarm Summoning to call hundreds or thousands of sharks from the sea.
• Blue Shark ordered the pirates’ Soul King- and Soul Emperor-level fighters to ride the sharks after the Peace-Sea, and Ma Sanbao watched them rapidly close in.

Shui Bing'er disrupted Green Shark’s shark-riding pirates and seized his four ships, allowing the Peace-Sea to escape. Green Shark chased the ship, where Xiao Yun stepped onto the sea and confronted him.

• Shui Bing'er used Ice Wind Sword Rain to wound the pirates and send their sharks into a frenzy, while Green Shark used Shark Leader to calm the beasts.
• Shui Bing'er flew to Green Shark’s ships, froze their decks, and killed the pirates guarding them.
• Ma Sanbao fired the Peace-Sea’s main cannon at Green Shark, and the ship sailed toward Dragon Ascending Town as Shui Bing'er returned aboard.
• Green Shark led his surviving experts in pursuit of the Peace-Sea, which suddenly stopped on the sea.
• Xiao Yun walked across the water and arrived before Green Shark.

Xiao Yun defeated and killed Green Shark and wiped out the pirates aboard the captured ships. He left Shui Bing'er and Ma Sanbao to free the laborers and secure the ships while he flew back to Dragon Ascending Town, where another battle awaited.

• Xiao Yun revealed himself to Green Shark as Earl Longteng, then summoned an enormous seawater god that crushed Green Shark's subordinates and drove him underwater.
• Green Shark fled beneath the sea in his Martial Soul Avatar, but Xiao Yun used water swords to kill him.
• Xiao Yun searched the four pirate ships and killed the pirates steeped in resentment, sparing the captured laborers and less guilty sailors.
• Xiao Yun told Shui Bing'er to remain with Ma Sanbao, praised Ma Sanbao for his actions, and flew back toward Dragon Ascending Town.
• Shui Bing'er ordered Ma Sanbao to free the laborers, inspect the ships, and burn the pirate flags.

Dragon Ascending Town’s defenders repelled the pirates’ first assault, but the She Family never arrived. Sea Wolf, Blood Fin, and Black Ridge then attacked the city wall together, leaving Shui Ruolin in immediate danger.

• Shui Ruolin and Xue Mingyuan prepared Dragon Ascending Town’s City Guards, the Xue Family, and local soul masters for the pirates’ arrival while the She Family remained absent.
• Yao Zi sensed three pirate ships approaching the dock, and their captains Sea Wolf, Blood Fin, and Black Ridge led over a hundred pirates toward the city gate.
• Sea Wolf demanded that the town hand over Xiao and the Shui and Xue Families’ women and property, but Shui Ruolin refused and ordered the defenders to fire.
• The defenders repelled the pirates’ first assault after half an hour, suffering casualties while the She Family estate stayed silent.
• Sea Wolf, Blood Fin, and Black Ridge launched a combined attack on the wall, with Black Ridge thrusting his spear at Shui Ruolin’s throat.