Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yun discovered that Ling'er could draw out a divine sword and emerald armor, but the power consumed her vitality, so he made pills from a Nine-Life Jade Orchid to help her recover. After Ling'er woke and followed the smell of dinner, Xiao Yun stopped her from grabbing the food.

• Xiao Yun asked Ling'er about her martial soul, and she said she had never manifested one.
• Ling'er drew an emerald sword from her body, transforming into an armored state that Xiao Yun found was rapidly draining her vitality.
• Xiao Yun urged Ling'er to put the sword away, caught her as she collapsed, and laid her in bed to recover.
• Xiao Yun refined nine pills with a Nine-Life Jade Orchid and checked that Ling'er was sleeping more steadily.
• Xiao Yun cooked dinner, and the awakened Ling'er reached for the fish before he caught her wrist.

Ling'er told Xiao Yun about her Weapon Tribe heritage and the danger of remaining without a contract, then chose to contract with him. Their bond transformed her into a mythic-quality sword case containing projections of fifteen divine swords.

• Ling'er explained that her mixed blood let her draw swords from her body, but maintaining them consumed her life force, and a contract with a Weapon Wielder could save and strengthen her.
• Ling'er said she sensed goodwill in Xiao Yun, the first person in the City of Slaughter to treat her kindly, and asked to form a contract with him.
• Xiao Yun agreed, and Ling'er kissed him to complete the contract as their powers flowed between them.
• Ling'er grew taller and stronger, then transformed into an emerald-green sword case that rose through the ranks to mythic quality.
• The sword case turned inky black, radiated immense sword intent, and revealed projections of fifteen divine swords that cracked the surrounding air.

Xiao Yun completed the transformation of his sword case, then watched tens of thousands of violent newcomers arrive in the City of Slaughter. After defending his cave mansion and setting a protective formation, he went back to bed while Ling'er remained asleep.

• Xiao Yun watched the sword case form fifteen mythical-grade swords, including the Taiyi Divine Sword, and carried the exhausted Ling'er to bed.
• After midnight, Xiao Yun saw wave after wave of newcomers arrive through the Teleportation Array, estimating that tens of thousands had entered the city.
• The newcomers filled the outer city, where some searched for shelter and others attacked people nearby.
• Xiao Yun knocked out the armed gang threatening his cave mansion, took their belongings, and dragged them to the Arena District without killing them.
• The Ten Thousand Souls Banner absorbed souls from people who died in the arena fights as its Soul-Absorbing Array gathered souls toward its first evolution.
• Xiao Yun placed a Protective Alert Formation outside his cave mansion, returned to bed, and left Ling'er sleeping in the inner chamber.

Ling'er awakened with fifteen divine weapons after contracting with Xiao Yun, and he took her to the Arena Plaza to observe the newcomers and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. The banner was progressing toward its threshold, and Ling'er led Xiao Yun to a Wood Elf settlement where he hoped to find normal food.

• Ling'er told Xiao Yun that she had awakened fifteen divine weapons and believed her talent and his Sword Intent Power could help them leave the City of Slaughter.
• Xiao Yun gave Ling'er an outer robe and a Human-Skin Mask before they walked to the Arena Plaza.
• Xiao Yun used his Wisdom Eye to inspect the fighters, noting their varied origins, heavy Karma, and poor combat skills as the Ten Thousand Souls Banner absorbed their souls.
• Xiao Yun estimated that the banner needed about ten more days to reach the threshold needed to create subsidiary banners and allow him into the Inner City.
• Ling'er led Xiao Yun through alleys to a Wood Elf settlement of treehouses and vegetable plots, where residents grew their own food.

Xiao Yun took Ling'er from the City of Slaughter to the fifth floor of the Pagoda Space, where she saw the sea and an island for the first time. After Ling'er explored the shore and swam underwater, Xiao Yun prepared seafood and brought her to the Wooden House to eat.

• Xiao Yun and Ling'er ate at a Treehouse restaurant and returned to the Cave Mansion.
• Xiao Yun checked the Protective Array, added a sensing seal, and asked Ling'er if she wanted to see somewhere else.
• Xiao Yun took Ling'er to the fifth floor of the Pagoda Space, where she saw the sea and forested island and explored the beach.
• Xiao Yun gathered seafood while Ling'er swam underwater, then used a Dehydration Spell to dry her clothes when she came ashore.
• Xiao Yun served the seafood in the Wooden House and showed Ling'er how to crack open and eat a lobster.

After sharing a seafood dinner, Ling'er showed Xiao Yun the five elemental swords she could now summon. She drew the wood, metal, water, fire, and earth swords, each embodying its element's distinct powers and intent.

• Ling'er eagerly ate lobster, crab, kelp, sea snails, and sea cucumbers with Xiao Yun, who showed her how to prepare the crabmeat.
• Ling'er carried the dishes to the kitchen and told Xiao Yun that the empty beach was a good place to demonstrate her abilities.
• Ling'er summoned and drew Jumang, the emerald wood sword, whose power embodied growth and healing.
• Ling'er drew Taibai, the silver metal sword, whose sharpness represented severance and transformation.
• Ling'er drew Xuanming, the deep-blue water sword, which could dissolve force and penetrate openings.
• Ling'er drew Zhurong, the scarlet fire sword of burning and purification, followed by Hou Tu, the deep-yellow earth sword of weight and support.

The chapter described the forms, colors, patterns, auras, and sword intents of the four swords of wind, thunder, light, and darkness, followed by the Three Swords of Heaven, Earth, and Man. It ended with descriptions of Azure Firmament, Earthly Expanse, and Spirit Pivot.

• She summoned the four swords of wind, thunder, light, and darkness.
• The chapter described Gale, whose sword intent embodied wind's swiftness, formlessness, and freedom.
• The chapter described Heaven's Punishment, Dawnlight, and Xuanming, embodying thunder, light, and darkness.
• The chapter introduced the Three Swords of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
• The chapter described Azure Firmament, Earthly Expanse, and Spirit Pivot and their respective sword intents.

Xiao Yun examined the Water Sword’s powers after Ling'er showed him the divine swords. He tested its control over water on the beach, where the demonstrations left the sea and reefs cut and churned.

• Ling'er showed Xiao Yun the Yin Sword, Yang Sword, and Taiyi Sword, completing her display of the divine swords.
• Xiao Yun hugged Ling'er and agreed to test the swords’ power.
• Xiao Yun drew the Water Sword from Ling'er's chest and sensed its water, ice, and mist attributes.
• Xiao Yun used the Myriad Water Sword Art to unleash thousands of water swords into the sea.
• Xiao Yun enlarged the Water Sword into a hundred-meter blade and swept it across the sea, slicing the tops off distant reefs.
• Xiao Yun plunged the Water Sword into the shallows, raising a ring-shaped wall of water that later broke into streams and flowed back into the sea.

Xiao Yun tested Ling'er's Water Sword, then took the newly advanced Ten Thousand Souls Banner outside the City of Slaughter to undergo its heavenly tribulation. The King of Slaughter sent Tian Sha to investigate the distant lightning.

• Xiao Yun shaped sea water into several creatures with Ling'er's Water Sword, checked that the blade was undamaged, and returned it to her.
• Xiao Yun and Ling'er spent ten days together while the Outer City population dwindled and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner absorbed ten thousand souls.
• Xiao Yun carried the banner to a remote hill, laid down a Tribulation Formation and Veiling Heaven Formation, and triggered its spirit treasure tribulation.
• Tribulation clouds gathered over the hill, and successive bolts of lightning struck the Ten Thousand Souls Banner as Xiao Yun retreated beyond their reach.
• The King of Slaughter sensed the tribulation and sent Tian Sha to investigate the disturbance southwest of the city.

Xiao Yun’s Ten Thousand Souls Banner survived its heavenly tribulation and became a Spirit Treasure, while Tian Sha reported the event to the King of Slaughter. The King searched the City of Slaughter with his Judgment Domain but could not find the aura Tian Sha described.

• Tian Sha arrived at the hill during the tribulation but stopped at the perimeter, overwhelmed by the banner’s baleful energy and the heavenly lightning.
• Xiao Yun prepared to kill Tian Sha if he advanced, then withdrew his attack when Tian Sha held his position.
• The Ten Thousand Souls Banner endured the final lightning bolt, and Xiao Yun seized it before vanishing into the night.
• Xiao Yun returned to his cave residence, split off a subsidiary banner, and planted it back in the earlier formation.
• Tian Sha reported the tribulation, formations, and powerful treasure to the King of Slaughter.
• The King of Slaughter searched the City with his Judgment Domain but found no trace of the aura.

The King of Slaughter failed to find Xiao Yun after the Ten Thousand Souls Banner’s tribulation and ordered the Slaughter Guards to watch for abnormalities. On day thirteen, Xiao Yun set out for the Inner City with Ling'er concealed in her Sword Box and entered using his token for ten consecutive victories.

• The King of Slaughter searched the City of Slaughter for the hidden figure but found nothing, then ordered the Slaughter Guards to report suspicious activity and watch the tribulation site.
• The King of Slaughter told Tian Sha that approaching the baleful aura would likely have cost him his life, then mused about treasures and divine artifacts.
• Xiao Yun concealed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, changed his attire, and disappeared into the city crowd.
• On June 11, Xiao Yun hid his cave dwelling, strapped Ling'er in Sword Box form to his back, and walked toward the Inner City.
• Xiao Yun presented his token for ten consecutive victories to the Slaughter Guards and passed through the Inner City's blood-red barrier.

Xiao Yun entered the City of Slaughter’s Inner City and saw its lavish avenue of teahouses, restaurants, gambling houses, training grounds, and shops, all filled with dangerous soul masters. He continued toward the end of the avenue, where he encountered an immense dark red stone building covered in glowing runes.

• Xiao Yun emerged from the passage into the Inner City and reassured Ling'er as she reacted to its splendor.
• Xiao Yun warned Ling'er that the glamorous venues were filled with powerful or bloodstained people.
• Xiao Yun passed a gambling house where two men dragged a blood-soaked person into the street, while passersby ignored them.
• Xiao Yun noticed training grounds and shops selling soul tools, medicinal pills, and spirit bone materials, then continued down the avenue to find lodging.
• Xiao Yun reached the avenue’s end, where an immense building of dark red stone stood covered in runes glowing with faint blood-red light.

Xiao Yun arrived at the Hell Slaughter Arena and discovered Hu Liena, whose slaughter aura had already begun to affect her sanity. He settled into the Bloodbrew Inn and decided to observe the City of Slaughter before acting.

• Xiao Yun surveyed the Hell Slaughter Arena and the King of Slaughter’s palace and encampments.
• Xiao Yun recognized Hu Liena at the arena entrance and noticed her dangerous, near-mad state.
• Xiao Yun avoided approaching Hu Liena and checked into a superior room at the Bloodbrew Inn.
• Xiao Yun told Ling’er that Hu Liena’s slaughter aura made it too dangerous to approach her for now.
• Xiao Yun considered the presence of other powers in the City of Slaughter and chose to watch as another arena battle was about to begin.

Xiao Yun and Ling'er visited the Hell Slaughter Arena at night, where a Slaughter Guard explained how its main and smaller arenas operated. They learned the rules and rewards, but had not yet decided whether to enter a match.

• Xiao Yun released Ling'er from the Sword Box, and they went to inspect the Hell Slaughter Arena.
• Xiao Yun presented his token for ten consecutive victories and entered the arena with Ling'er.
• Xiao Yun and Ling'er observed the central arena and its eight smaller dueling arenas.
• Xiao Yun asked a Slaughter Guard about the rules, learning that surviving the main arena’s ten-person matches earned victories toward a challenge against the Slaughter Guard Chief.
• The guard explained that the smaller arenas held one-on-one fights, where winners received yellow springs dew and could earn Blood Soul Coins after ten victories.

Xiao Yun learned the rules for qualifying to enter the main Soul Dueling Arena and watched the brutal fights while secretly collecting the dead fighters’ souls. He replaced a Slaughter Guard flag with an illusion of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and registered for a duel at the western arena, where Ling’er anxiously urged him to return safely.

• A Slaughter Guard told Xiao Yun that ten wins in the small arenas qualified a fighter for the main arena, and a hundred main-arena wins qualified them to challenge Hell Road.
• Xiao Yun and Ling’er visited the northeastern arena, where Xiao Yun spotted Hu Liena but chose to watch the duels without approaching her.
• As fighters died, Xiao Yun secretly gathered their lingering souls and used illusion magic to replace a Slaughter Guard flag with the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
• Xiao Yun and Ling’er went to the western arena, where he sensed dense resentment among the brutal spectators and registered for the next duel.
• Ling’er worried about Xiao Yun’s safety and asked him to be careful and come back safely.

Xiao Yun entered the Slaughter Arena and defeated ten challengers in succession while concealing his true strength. After his tenth victory, the spectators were left stunned by the newcomer’s winning streak.

• Xiao Yun reassured Ling'er, entered the iron enclosure, and faced a dagger-wielding middle-aged man.
• Xiao Yun studied the man's attacks, disarmed him, and killed him with close-range blows.
• Xiao Yun returned to Ling'er unharmed and continued accepting challengers, appearing to win each fight by a narrow margin.
• Xiao Yun won nine fights and secretly collected each opponent's soul into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
• Xiao Yun defeated his tenth challenger, leaving the spectators disbelieving that a newcomer had won ten straight fights in one day.

Xiao Yun earned his flag for ten consecutive victories, then moved with Ling'er into a secluded courtyard in the City of Slaughter. He discovered that Hu Liena lived next door and, on the second night, sensed her in a delirious state as five Fallen Soul Masters approached her.

• Xiao Yun received the blue flag proving his ten consecutive wins and left the small Soul Dueling Arena with Ling'er.
• Xiao Yun and Ling'er stayed at the Bloodbrew Inn while he searched the Inner City for a quiet residence.
• Xiao Yun rented a courtyard in a secluded alley, concealed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner beneath the main building, and settled in with Ling'er.
• Xiao Yun noticed Hu Liena in the neighboring courtyard and sensed that the City of Slaughter was eroding her mind.
• On the second night, Xiao Yun sensed Hu Liena delirious outside her gate as five Fallen Soul Masters crept toward her.

Hu Liena’s uncontrolled charm turned five men against one another, but they subdued her with a mixture of drugs. Xiao Yun rescued her before Tang San arrived and brought her to his courtyard, where her drugged, delirious state left him struggling against her charm.

• Hu Liena’s charm made five men fight until one regained some clarity and the men attacked her with a mixture of powders and fumes.
• As Hu Liena collapsed under the drugs, Xiao Yun sensed Tang San approaching and decided to intervene before Tang San could rescue her.
• Xiao Yun killed the two surviving attackers with Sword Qi, carried Hu Liena away, and left Tang San to find the five corpses.
• Tang San examined the sword wounds, gathered the dead men’s valuables and supplies, and left without entering the alley.
• At Xiao Yun’s courtyard, Hu Liena clung to him in her delirium, and he tried to resist her intensifying charm.

Hu Liena woke beside Xiao Yun and questioned him about how he had entered the City of Slaughter, saved her, and resisted her charm. When she tried using her charm again, Xiao Yun’s purple lotus repelled it and knocked her unconscious.

• Hu Liena woke naked beside Xiao Yun, recognized him, and put on her clothes while he watched.
• Hu Liena confronted Xiao Yun, demanding to know why he was in the City of Slaughter and whether he had killed the men who attacked her.
• Hu Liena asked why Xiao Yun was immune to her charm and tried to make him reveal who he was.
• Xiao Yun’s purple lotus blocked Hu Liena’s charm and sent a surge of spiritual power back at her, leaving her unconscious against his chest.

After Xiao Yun rescued Hu Liena, she woke at his home and shared breakfast with him and Ling'er before questioning him about his identity and his presence in the City of Slaughter. Xiao Yun warned her to stop drinking Yellow Springs Dew, leaving her to face a serious concern about the substance she had relied on.

• Xiao Yun left Hu Liena resting in the bedroom and asked Ling'er to prepare an extra serving of breakfast.
• Hu Liena woke, joined Xiao Yun and Ling'er at the table, and eagerly ate the spirit beast meat and porridge.
• Xiao Yun invited Hu Liena into his study, where she asked why he was in the City of Slaughter and who he was.
• Xiao Yun claimed he was a rogue cultivator whose spiritual power and lotus in his sea of consciousness blocked her charm, and said he had killed her attackers after noticing the disturbance.
• Hu Liena admitted she drank Yellow Springs Dew every day, and Xiao Yun warned her not to drink it again.