Chapter Summaries

Jiang Ding learned that the Great Sun Sect’s civil war had weakened the Black Clan and left the Northern Plains in chaos. He created a new identity for Metal-92 and entered Beast Spirit Immortal City to buy supplies.

• Jiang Ding concluded that the Great Sun Sect had split after a civil war, leaving the Black Clan unable to control its vast territory.
• Jiang Ding speculated that Great Sun Sect spell cultivators and the Righteous and Demonic Alliance might have conspired against the sword cultivators, then set the matter aside.
• Jiang Ding received Metal-92, a Golden Core Peak Nano Liquid Robot, and named it Wei Jian before arranging to operate separately from it.
• Jiang Ding checked his synthetic metal supply and flew toward Beast Spirit Immortal City to purchase Copper Stone.
• Jiang Ding entered Beast Spirit Immortal City under the false name Zhang San and accepted an identity token from a Black Clan Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Jiang Ding explored Beast Spirit Immortal City, learned about its horrifying human-by-day, beast-by-night customs, and surveyed its markets. At the Spirit Treasure Merchant Guild, he arranged to buy ten million jin of Copper Stone and obtained intelligence on the Great Sun Sect and recent events in the Northern Plains.

• Jiang Ding entered Beast Spirit Immortal City and observed the Dog Tribe’s dens and the city’s strange transformation of cultivators into livestock at night.
• Jiang Ding surveyed the city’s Beast Dao cultivators and lavish markets, noting that goods were cheaper than in Tushan Immortal City while condemning the Black Clan’s treatment of the population.
• Jiang Ding visited the Spirit Treasure Merchant Guild and asked manager Shang Sanwu about buying Copper Stone in bulk.
• Shang Sanwu offered ten million jin of Copper Stone for fifteen million Low-grade Spirit Stones, with an initial shipment of one million jin and the remainder to follow.
• Jiang Ding signed a Spirit Contract, bought intelligence on the Great Sun Sect and recent Northern Plains events, and left with the contract and initial Copper Stone shipment.

Jiang Ding read how the Great Sun Sect split into three rival powers and concluded that the weakened Great Sun Sword Sect could help him obtain the Great Sun Inheritance. As night fell in Beast Spirit Immortal City, he witnessed its residents transform into beasts and quietly headed for the city gates.

• Jiang Ding learned from a jade slip that True Monarch Tianyang and his allies had crippled True Monarch Jianyang and divided the Northern Plains into a tense balance among three powers.
• Jiang Ding decided that the Great Sun Sword Sect's decline benefited him and believed True Monarch Jianyang would help him obtain the Great Sun Inheritance.
• As night fell, Beast Spirit Immortal City's arrays induced mortals and low-level cultivators to transform into beasts and hunt one another.
• Jiang Ding saw Golden Core Cultivators succumb to bloodthirsty thoughts, with some fleeing and others joining the violence.
• Jiang Ding concealed himself and hurried toward the city gates.

Jiang Ding left Beast Spirit Immortal City and traveled toward the Tuling Wei Family, learning about the Black Clan’s wanted list and the violence in the surrounding region. He came across Han Lin being overwhelmed by two Black Clan cultivators but chose to leave without intervening.

• Jiang Ding passed the city gate, assessed the hound’s ability to detect him, and studied the Black Clan’s wanted list.
• Jiang Ding ignored a fight between a woman and the Four Ghosts of Copper Mountain and continued traveling without taking sides.
• Jiang Ding encountered Han Lin, who was being attacked by two Black Clan Golden Core Peak cultivators over the Myriad Souls Banner.
• Jiang Ding decided not to rescue Han Lin and concealed himself as he left the battle.

Jiang Ding left Han Lin to face the Black Clan cultivators, while Han Lin learned that his companion Senior Crane could still help him. Senior Crane sent a wisp of divine sense to Jiang Ding, who stopped it from being destroyed when it mentioned the Wood Spirit Fruit and began to suspect it was Senior Shenhe.

• Jiang Ding decided to wait five years before pursuing True Monarch Divine Crow, when the Super Battleship would be complete.
• The red-faced Black Clan elder and the Black Clan woman continued attacking Han Lin and sealing off the area, while Han Lin used talismans to hold them back.
• Han Lin spoke with Senior Crane, learned Jiang Ding had already left, and prepared to sacrifice himself so Senior Crane could escape.
• Senior Crane stopped Han Lin from burning his essence blood and sent a wisp of divine sense to Jiang Ding.
• Jiang Ding’s sword intent attacked and sealed the invading wisp, but he paused when it called out about the Wood Spirit Fruit.
• Jiang Ding recalled the fruit he had found in the Nine Heavens Ruins and asked if the wisp was Senior Shenhe.

Jiang Ding agreed to Chenhe’s request and rescued Han Lin from two Black Clan Golden Core Peak cultivators. He killed them swiftly, erased the evidence, and left Han Lin with a lesson in strength and cunning.

• Chenhe asked Jiang Ding to save Han Lin, and Jiang Ding agreed after confirming Chenhe’s identity and intent.
• As Han Lin neared defeat, Jiang Ding’s flying sword blasted aside the red-faced old man’s and beautiful woman’s magic treasures.
• The two Black Clan cultivators called for reinforcements, but Jiang Ding used a concealed sword strike to kill them before they could react.
• Jiang Ding collected the bodies and blood, erased their traces, and disappeared.
• Han Lin agreed with Chenhe’s praise of Jiang Ding’s strength and cunning and committed the lesson to memory.

Jiang Ding rescued Han Lin and learned that Han Lin had discovered a hidden Nine Heavens Fragment containing a small blessed land. Han Lin gave Jiang Ding an entry token and asked him to share any cultivation manuals he found there, leaving Jiang Ding to decide whether to pursue the opportunity.

• Jiang Ding erased the traces of the battle, carried Han Lin far away, and credited Senior Shen He for saving him.
• Han Lin told Jiang Ding about the Northern Plains Royal Court Blessed Land and its connection to a Nine Heavens Fragment.
• Han Lin explained that he had found a hidden fragment once controlled by the Luoxu Sect and that the Holy Son of Six Paths Sect had pursued him for it.
• Han Lin gave Jiang Ding one of the entry tokens and asked for copies of any cultivation manuals Jiang Ding obtained inside.

Jiang Ding learned that the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Sect had been destroyed because of fragments bearing the immortal technique Void Suppression, and he agreed to investigate another fragment with Han Lin. The token indicated that the fragment would approach their world in roughly ten to twenty years.

• Jiang Ding hesitated over Han Lin's proposal to investigate a battlefield fragment, fearing the danger but weighing the promise of a Void Refinement inheritance.
• The weathered voice revealed a stone fragment and showed Jiang Ding and Han Lin the power of Immortal Technique: Void Suppression, which froze them for several months.
• The weathered voice explained that the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Sect had perished over such fragments and recounted how a Spirit Transformation cultivator had taken a larger fragment from the Nine Heavens Ruins.
• Jiang Ding accepted the invitation to investigate the Nine Heavens Fragment and promised to help Han Lin if the danger remained within his capabilities.
• Jiang Ding agreed to let Han Lin study any fragment he obtained only under his supervision, then accepted the entry token and learned the fragment might arrive in ten to twenty years.

Jiang Ding dealt with the remnant souls of the Black Clan cultivators and considered how the Black Clan might restore order across the Northern Plains. He returned to the Tuling Wei Family and learned that Wei Qingqing had been ambushed by rival clans.

• Jiang Ding concealed the Black Clan cultivators’ remnant souls in a remote cavern with an array set to destroy them later, then recorded the details for future reference.
• Jiang Ding traveled toward the Tuling Wei Family and reflected that the Black Clan could either empower outsiders or rely on its collateral branches to govern the grasslands.
• Jiang Ding returned to the Tuling Wei Family and noticed that Wei Qingqing had a scar and severely damaged meridians.
• Wei Qingqing told Jiang Ding that two Golden Core Cultivators had ambushed her on her return from Beast Spirit Immortal City, and she suspected the Yu Clan and the Shi Clan wanted her family to surrender its Third-grade Mid-rank Spirit Vein.

Jiang Ding learned that Wei Qingqing’s family had been abandoned by the Black Clan’s direct lineage amid its struggle with the collateral line, and decided to intervene. He secretly killed Black Wolf Eagle while disguising the attack as the work of the wanted Blood Hand Demonic Human Li Tu, then set out to target the Shi Clan and Yu Clan.

• Wei Qingqing told Jiang Ding that Hall Master Hei Tianlan had advised her family to endure and accept being sacrificed for the direct lineage’s political survival.
• Jiang Ding decided to resolve the danger to the Wei Family by killing its enemies and framing Li Tu for the murders.
• At Black Blood Mountain, Black Wolf Eagle sensed danger, activated the formation, and called for help from the Black Clan Direct Lineage.
• Li Tu appeared and killed Black Wolf Eagle with a blood-soaked palm, then concealed the scene and sealed the formation to delay discovery.
• Li Tu judged that he had killed enough targets for the moment and decided to find the Shi Clan and the Yu Clan.

Shi Jian and his son plotted against Wei Qingqing and the Yu Family, but Jiang Ding killed them before traveling to the Yu Family’s territory. After entering the Yu Family’s ancestral land, he found a Golden Core cultivator and paused as he prepared to strike.

• Shi Jian and his son discussed capturing Wei Qingqing, destroying her clan, and deceiving Hei Pang if she refused to surrender the Earth Ridge Spirit Vein.
• Jiang Ding used blood-shaped palms to kill Shi Jian and his son, then took their Storage Bags and sealed the formation.
• Jiang Ding flew to the Yu Family’s territory and recalled how the Yu Clan Ancestor had earned a Third-grade Low-rank Spirit Vein through his service in the Thousand Year Royal Court War.
• Jiang Ding found a weak point in the Yu Family’s formation and slipped into the ancestral land.
• Jiang Ding sensed a Yu Family Golden Core cultivator and froze just before striking.

Jiang Ding recognized that the mysterious Golden Core Peak cultivator was True Person Bai Mei and chose not to interfere with his pursuit of the Nascent Soul path. Bai Mei introduced the Yu father and son to Xue Liuyun, who offered them another possible way to escape their Spirit Soul Restriction.

• Jiang Ding identified True Person Bai Mei as the Seven Feathers Sect elder connected to the Yu Clan and decided to protect the sect without aiding or obstructing Bai Mei personally.
• Yu Zhong told Bai Mei that he and Shi Jian had severely wounded Wei Qingqing, hoping to ease pressure from the Black Clan’s collateral-line Golden Cores.
• Bai Mei explained that the Yu father and son needed to resolve their Spirit Soul Restriction and said the Great Sun Sect might help, though the opportunity had passed.
• Bai Mei revealed that Xue Liuyun could also resolve the restriction and arranged for the Yu father and son to meet him.
• Xue Liuyun arrived with two companions, greeted Bai Mei and the Yu father and son warmly, and praised their ancestor Yu Tianqing.

Xue Liuyun met with True Person Bai Mei and revealed that the Hei Clan had taken Tushan Immortal City, while Zhou Sanyan, Li Qingyun, the Tushan Sword Cultivator, and Blood Transformation had escaped. Jiang Ding watched the gathering and decided to let Li Tu continue his mission before killing him.

• Xue Liuyun introduced his brothers Li Tu and Tie Xingzhong to True Person Bai Mei and the Yu Family father and son.
• True Person Bai Mei said he did not know where the Tushan Sword Cultivator or Bronze Drum General was.
• Xue Liuyun revealed that True Monarch Divine Crow had taken Tushan Immortal City and that Zhou Sanyan, Li Qingyun, the Tushan Sword Cultivator, and Blood Transformation had escaped.
• True Person Bai Mei pledged to inform Xue Liuyun if he learned anything about the Tushan Sword Cultivator and showed interest in joining the Eighteen Blood Cloud Riders.
• Xue Liuyun offered to accept the Tushan Sword Cultivator as a sworn brother if he performed three years of mourning for their fallen brothers.
• Jiang Ding watched the gathering, restrained his intent to kill Li Tu, and left him alive until his mission to disrupt the Northern Plains Families was complete.

Jiang Ding discovered that the electromagnetic space between his brows absorbed part of the Spiritual Qi, slowing his Golden Core cultivation, but he accepted the cost of strengthening his foundation. Six years later, Sword Dao Halls had spread across the Immortal Sect, and Jiang Ding refused special admissions requests—until Wei Hu asked whether Hua Xiaohua should also be turned away.

• Jiang Ding realized his electromagnetic space absorbed a component of Spiritual Qi and might be connected to Void Refinement, while slowing his cultivation by sixty to seventy percent.
• Jiang Ding continued refining the Supreme Clarity Flying Sword while monitoring another derivation-spell spirit puppet.
• Wei Hu told Jiang Ding that Sword Dao Halls and their training classes had expanded throughout the Immortal Sect and made swords popular in cold-weapon examinations.
• Jiang Ding inspected a Sword Dao Hall and refused to train the children of powerful cultivators for college entrance examinations.
• Wei Hu asked whether Jiang Ding would also refuse Hua Xiaohua, the panda grandson of Panda Ancestor Hua Lingling.

Jiang Ding agreed to teach a panda cub swordsmanship and encouraged innovation as swordsmanship spread through the Immortal Sect. He prepared to establish the Sword Dao Association and Mount Hua Sword Discussion, with annual rewards for innovative techniques and ranked amateur swordsmen.

• Wei Hu told Jiang Ding that a panda cub wanted personal swordsmanship instruction, and Jiang Ding agreed to help because of Senior Hua’s service to the Immortal Sect.
• Jiang Ding watched a private swordsmanship class and approved of different styles, though he thought its techniques were too flashy.
• Jiang Ding ordered a yearly Sword Dao Innovation Award, offering spirit stones and half a year of study under him to creators of new sword techniques.
• Wei Hu reported that preparations for the Sword Dao Association and the first Mount Hua Sword Discussion were complete and outlined the planned swordsman ranks.
• Jiang Ding allocated one hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones each year to support the top thousand ranked amateur swordsmen, prompting Wei Hu to consider seeking certification.

Jiang Ding approved plans for the annual Mount Hua Sword Discussion after Wei Hu reported on its preparations, then finished inspecting the Immortal Sect’s Sword Dao and visited his family. His sister’s grief over her ninety-two-year-old son Little Bear’s aging left Jiang Ding reflecting on how immortal cultivators must accept repeated losses.

• Wei Hu told Jiang Ding that the first Mount Hua Sword Discussion would be held in two months and asked him to arrange an impressive award presentation.
• Jiang Ding agreed to create an elusive, spectacular ceremony, and Wei Hu reported that the event had extensive promotion and a prime-time broadcast planned.
• After Wei Hu left, Jiang Ding completed three months of inspections and found that the Immortal Sect’s Sword Dao had taken root, despite some flaws.
• Jiang Ding returned home and spent time cooking and cleaning with his mother and younger sister.
• Jiang Yuan told Jiang Ding that her son Little Bear was ninety-two, prompting him to recall his grandparents and observe an elderly man being taken home by his grandsons.
• Jiang Ding told Jiang Yuan that the loss of mortal relatives was an unchangeable rule of the Great Dao, and she murmured that she felt drained.

Jiang Ding returned to Immortal Capital and inspected the newly completed Sword Dao Hall Tower, which he planned to turn into a center for Sword Dao research and development. Panda Hua Xiaohua visited him with a gift of Golden Dragon Bamboo and asked to learn swordsmanship so he could fight back against Hua Xiaoye.

• Jiang Ding continued developing his electromagnetic spells while his main body cultivated swordsmanship and worked on electromagnetic sword arts.
• Jiang Ding arrived at the Sword Dao Hall Tower and planned to recruit talent and give its research centers an initial project.
• Jiang Ding received panda cub Hua Xiaohua, who brought three Golden Dragon Bamboo stalks as a courtesy gift.
• Jiang Ding asked Hua Xiaohua why he wanted to learn the sword, and Hua Xiaohua said he wanted to beat Hua Xiaoye for bullying him and stealing his spirit bamboo.

Jiang Ding brought Hua Xiaohua to the 13th Golden Core Sword Dao Training Class and helped her begin learning the Basic Sword Technique. She improved her grip with Sword Qi, but her movements and reactions remained unusually slow.

• Jiang Ding encouraged Hua Xiaohua to work hard, then carried the frightened cub inside the training hall.
• Jiang Ding introduced Hua Xiaohua to the trainees, who welcomed her and crowded around to take photos before he called class to order.
• Jiang Ding led the class in Basic Sword Technique and Basic Sword Control Technique while giving each trainee personalized instruction.
• Hua Xiaohua struggled to swing her sword, so Jiang Ding showed her how to use strands of Sword Qi to hold it with her claws.
• Hua Xiaohua performed several sword forms more steadily, but Jiang Ding noticed that her movements were far slower than those of another panda in an online video.

Jiang Ding discovered that Hua Xiaohua was slow to react but had excellent cultivation aptitude, endurance, and a remarkably powerful divine soul. After her Nascent Soul parents offered to fund a sword dao research center and provide an R&D team, he chose a sword cultivation method that might suit her and began planning how to adapt it.

• Jiang Ding instructed Hua Xiaohua through hours of sword practice and saw her improve despite her sluggish reflexes.
• Hua Chenggong and Xiong Meilan told Jiang Ding that Xiaohua's divine soul was exceptionally strong despite her innate reaction flaw, and Xiong Meilan offered equipment and an R&D team for Jiang Ding's sword dao research center.
• Jiang Ding finished refining his flying sword and meditated before evaluating Xiaohua's strengths and weaknesses.
• Jiang Ding chose the Mystic Turtle Lava Thorn Sword Canon for Xiaohua, reasoning that its training could strengthen her divine soul and improve her reaction speed.
• Jiang Ding began drafting an adapted cultivation method and training plan for Xiaohua, including work for the Shudu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base.

Jiang Ding designed a cultivation plan for Hua Xiaohua and gave her a massive Lava Thorn Sword to train with. He arranged for her parents' research base to develop her cultivation technique and then turned his attention to the latter half of the first Mount Hua Sword Discussion.

• Jiang Ding designed a Molten Thorn Sword Embryo plan using materials suited to Hua Xiaohua, while noting that her success depended on her own effort and comprehension.
• Jiang Ding watched Hua Xiaohua practice swordsmanship and gave her a twelve-hundred-kilogram Lava Thorn Sword, telling her to learn its weight, length, and temperament.
• Hua Xiaohua struggled to lift the sword but raised it overhead, and Jiang Ding approved of her effort.
• Jiang Ding sent Hua Chenggong the Mystic Turtle Lava Thorn Sword Canon, the Molten Thorn Sword Refining Method, and his guidance on key points.
• Jiang Ding turned on Immortal Sect Central Television to watch the latter half of the first Mount Hua Sword Discussion.