Chapter Summaries

Shen Yunxian explained the Ancient River Sect’s Heaven-Opening Ascension path, judged Zhou Leng’s potential, and helped him cultivate toward Grandmaster. Meanwhile, Madam Xi Yan learned that Zhou Leng’s enemies were spreading slander and that the Huangmeng Sect had exposed Demon-Worshiping Cult followers’ private information across the world.

• Shen Yunxian warned Zhou Leng that the Calamity Envoy could destroy Blue Star and ordered him to preserve a spark of the Ancient River Sect’s inheritance in other worlds.
• After hearing about Zhou Leng’s Three-Star Mirror trial and his account of the Battle of Shangganling, Shen Yunxian urged him to pursue his own generation’s duty and praised his Stellar Void True Energy.
• Shen Yunxian led Zhou Leng to the mural and supplied him with Stellar Void True Energy so he could cultivate toward Grandmaster.
• Madam Xi Yan learned from Rao Mingxian that Demon-Worshiping Cult followers had spread false rumors about Zhou Leng and that Blue Star’s Lure-the-Snake-Out Plan had failed to contain the cult.
• Rao Mingxian told Madam Xi Yan that the Huangmeng Sect’s Poison Pill Plan had exposed Demon-Worshiping Cult followers’ family details, habits, addresses, and alleged crimes across the internet.

Xi Yan learned that Blue Star’s demigods and the Sixteen Families had been exposed, and she ordered the Demon-Worshiping Cult to recruit Zhou Leng while undermining his recovery. As online harassment arrests spread, Lu Yuanhao and Wang Boxiong moved to confront the Sixteen Families themselves.

• Rao Mingxian told Xi Yan that the first round of revelations had exposed demigods and their descendants, while the second had laid bare the Sixteen Families and their crimes.
• Xi Yan ordered Rao Mingxian to offer Zhou Leng a position equal to the Despair Patriarch and the Supreme Saint, and to sabotage his recovery in Ru City so he would turn to Demon Prison.
• Xi Yan dismissed Gao Tianfeng and Gao Tianlong, ordered their gifts sent to Zhou Leng, and asked Rao Mingxian to copy Dongjun's Six Volumes if he found them.
• Officers arrested a man in Ru City for online harassment, as a nationwide crackdown on online abuse began.
• Lu Yuanhao questioned why reports ignored the demigods and Sixteen Families, then left to deal with those creating the problem.
• Wang Boxiong and Chen Shouhu decided to challenge the Sixteen Families at the Grandmaster Life-and-Death Arena, starting with the Lou Clan.

Zhou Leng emerged from the Ancient River Sect ruins as a Grandmaster, and Azure Sword pledged an eternal alliance with him before leading him toward treasure. After returning to Beast World, Zhou Leng trained his body and martial arts, then left Mammoth Mountain for Mammoth Lake.

• Azure Sword witnessed Zhou Leng's Grandmaster omen and decided to invest in him, then welcomed him from the courtyard after he completed the trial.
• Zhou Leng told Azure Sword he had advanced using methods from the Giants and Dragons, and Azure Sword gave him a communication crystal ball.
• As the Ancient River Ruins collapsed, Azure Sword swore a bloodline oath to Zhou Leng and agreed to lead him to the treasure.
• Zhou Leng reached the human world, returned to Beast World, and honed his physical strength and martial arts against Grandmaster beasts.
• With Shen Yunxian's guidance, Zhou Leng learned East Wind Fist and the Nineteen Star-Slaying Swords.
• Zhou Leng left Mammoth Mountain and returned to Mammoth Lake.

Hu Yi reflected on his family's disappearance and the corruption surrounding the Demon-Worshiping Cult, while Li Linhan worried about Zhao Lianshuo and the missing broken sword. As Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong prepared to face the Sixteen Families in a life-and-death arena, Zhou Leng left the Beast World for Water Continent Demon City.

• Hu Yi told Feng Wenhao that he had given up hope of finding his parents and asked him not to tell Zhou Leng, while Feng Wenhao reported that Zhou Leng was being framed and the Demon-Worshiping Cult remained active.
• Li Linhan learned that the Niu Family wanted to make peace with Zhou Leng, while Zhao Lianshuo grew furious over the Zhao family's failure to return his broken sword and resumed cultivating.
• Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong challenged the Sixteen Families to a nine-on-nine Grandmaster Life-and-Death Arena after attacking their mines and caravans, and the match was set for March fifteenth at Water Continent Demon City.
• At Zhao Palace, a niece reassured her uncle and discussed keeping Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong from reaching the arena, while her uncle said the outcome would be clear in time.
• Zhou Leng adapted to the Grandmaster Realm beneath the Frost Tree at Mammoth Lake, then left the Beast World and ran toward Water Continent Demon City.

Zhou Leng learned that Gao Tianlong had seized Xue Chengsong’s mine and refused to abandon his friend’s share, despite Xue Chengsong’s warnings about the Zhao family’s power. After reconnecting with Zhang Xinglie and worrying over his friend’s injuries and curse, Zhou Leng reached Water Continent Demon City and acquired an Advanced Demonic Brain to navigate to the mine.

• Zhou Leng called Xue Chengsong, who explained how Gao Tianlong had taken the mine, killed witnesses, and forced him to flee to Kangaroo Country.
• Zhou Leng promised Xue Chengsong that he would recover his share of the mine, while Xue Chengsong warned him that Gao Tianlong was protected by the Zhao family and powerful political forces.
• Zhou Leng spoke with Zhang Xinglie, noticed their conversation felt strained, and learned that Zhang Xinglie was living with a god’s curse and severe injuries.
• Zhang Xinglie sat alone with his crutch, believing there was still a chance to recover despite the curse and the loss of an arm and a leg.
• Zhou Leng traveled to Water Continent Demon City, bought an Advanced Demonic Brain, and connected it to his temple.
• Zhou Leng used the Demonic Brain to project a concealed screen and commanded it to navigate to his mine.

Gao Tianlong inspected a mine and took possession of a rare Spirit Mist Jade, then Zhou Leng attacked him and demanded information about the Zhao family. Gao Tianlong refused to betray them and was killed, while Zhou Leng erased the evidence and left the mine to be destroyed.

• Gao Tianlong praised Manager Rong for finding a Spirit Mist Jade and discussed the possibility that the mine held a Jade King.
• Gao Tianlong inspected the mine and secretly took several attractive objects from its storeroom.
• Zhou Leng entered the manager's office, killed Manager Rong and three others, and crippled Gao Tianlong with tungsten-steel pellets.
• Zhou Leng revealed his identity and demanded everything Gao Tianlong knew about the Zhao family.
• Gao Tianlong tried to stall by offering to settle Zhou Leng's feud with the Sixteen Families, so Zhou Leng killed him and took his Demon Spirit Bag.
• Zhou Leng destroyed the evidence, scattered powders over the corpses, and left delayed-activation High-Energy Flame Crystals and an interference Demon Spirit Device behind.

Zhou Leng reclaimed his mine, while the Zhao family faced public scorn after Gao Tianlong’s death and Xu Ming’s recordings defended Zhou Leng. After visiting Demon Spirit World and receiving a Spirit Mist Jade pendant, Zhou Leng arrived in Treant World, where Li Shenkong’s divine sword reacted to him and left Li Shenkong baffled and jealous.

• Zhou Leng escaped with the mine’s equipment and minerals, then traveled toward Treant World as news of Gao Tianlong’s death spread.
• Zhao Hao ordered an investigation, but the Zhao family found nothing and faced ridicule after Li Shenkong refused to attend its martial exchange.
• The Demon City Army released Xu Ming’s recordings praising and defending Zhou Leng, prompting emotional responses and renewed hostility toward the Sixteen Families.
• Zhou Leng attended a Divine Script seminar in Demon Spirit World, received an Earth Chariot and Wood-Jade Talisman from Azure-Crimson Flame, and had a Spirit Mist Jade fashioned into a pendant.
• Zhou Leng reached Treant World and met Li Shenkong, whose Starry Sky Divine Sword sounded a powerful cry upon sensing him.
• Li Shenkong wondered who Zhou Leng was and suffered insomnia, jealous of the sword’s reaction.

Zhou Leng cultivated with the Star-Refining Furnace and learned more about Divine Script, while Li Shenkong met Gao Tianfeng and learned that Zhao Cong would become Governor-General of Two Rivers. Li Shenkong resolved to meet Zhao Cong and protect Zhou Leng, as Zhao Cong sought his grandmother’s advice before taking office.

• Zhou Leng cultivated in the Treant Organization and studied the Divine Script on the Star-Refining Furnace, deepening his understanding of Divine Script.
• Li Shenkong met Gao Tianfeng, who told him that Zhao Cong was about to become Governor-General of Two Rivers and wanted to meet him.
• After Gao Tianfeng left, Li Shenkong wondered whether Zhao Cong and Gao Tianfeng had been involved in framing Zhou Leng and recalled his bond with Xu Ming.
• Li Shenkong decided to meet Zhao Cong and, after tempering himself in Treant World, seek out Chen Shouhu to get to know Zhou Leng.
• In Xiong City, Zhao Cong and Madam Zhao visited the old matriarch, who advised Zhao Cong to avoid establishing authority too forcefully and to value harmony.

Zhao Cong received his mother’s advice on seizing control of the mine before leaving for Ru City, where his father assigned him several important tasks. Zhou Leng found a fragment of an old friend’s insect shell, then reached the Giant Ants’ nest and began fighting his way toward their Brilliant Insect Sap.

• The old madam advised Zhao Cong to blame the Zhao family for the mine, nationalize it, and later privatize it again, while Madam Zhao praised the dead Zhao Tong and Zhao He and urged Zhao Cong to protect Tianfeng.
• Zhao Hao told Zhao Cong to visit Treant World, remember the Grandmaster Life-and-Death Arena, and prevent the first Corpse King Throne from being lost; Zhao Cong left for Ru City the next morning.
• Zhou Leng recognized a fragment of Xiao Yong’s shell on the young Treant Lush Root and told him to protect his friend’s gift.
• A Treant Grandmaster directed Zhou Leng to Old Fertile Land for Ancient Tree Fossils and warned him to visit the Mother Tree for cultivation before advancing to Martial Saint.
• Zhou Leng reached the Giant Ants’ nest, expecting the Ant Queen to have replenished her Brilliant Sap, and cut down the attacking ants with his Legendary weapons.

Zhou Leng harvested half the Ant Queen’s Brilliant Sap and searched the Old Fertile Land for Ancient Tree Fossils as scouts gathered nearby. In Ru City, reforms threatened Feng Wenhao’s prospects and left Hu Yi jobless, while Li Shenkong returned to Treant Base relieved after sending the divine sword home.

• Zhou Leng slaughtered tens of thousands of Giant Ants, then entered the nest and took exactly half of the Ant Queen’s Brilliant Sap, along with Aphid Honey and Ant Eggs.
• Zhou Leng traveled to the Old Fertile Land, obtained a fossil map from the Treants, and began collecting Ancient Tree Fossils as Bug Clan and Demonic Beast scouts appeared nearby.
• Governor Zhao Cong stabilized Two Rivers and launched reforms that left Hu Yi unemployed and without promised compensation; Feng Wenhao borrowed money from friends and sent him five thousand.
• Feng Wenhao approached class monitor Wei Hong to propose a bet after lending Hu Yi most of his remaining money.
• Li Shenkong returned to Treant Base relieved after sending the divine sword home for his younger sister to guard.

Li Shenkong reunited with Xu Ming Company, then joined its expedition to Flute Forest after speaking with Zhao Cong about the Zhao family and Zhou Leng. The battle ended in catastrophe, leaving Li Shenkong wounded in spirit and suspecting Zhao Cong had been involved in a betrayal, while Zhou Leng surfaced to face the advancing Giant Insect army.

• Li Shenkong restored his former appearance, reunited with Xu Ming Company, and agreed to return to the company and join its exchange mission in Flute Forest.
• Zhao Cong met Li Shenkong, described the Zhao family's plans to purge the Demon-Worshiping Cult, and defended the family over its history with Zhou Leng and the Sixteen Families.
• Li Shenkong and Zhao Cong sparred and discussed the Martial Dao before parting, and Li Shenkong set out for Flute Forest with Xu Ming Company.
• The Calamity Envoy and enemy forces overwhelmed the Treant and Humanoid Alliance after three days of fighting, and Xu Ming Company was nearly wiped out, with Er Huzi among the dead.
• As the survivors returned to Shuizhou Base, Li Shenkong wondered why he had seen Zhao Cong near the enemy camp during their surprise attack.
• After the Demonic Beast Alliance occupied Flute Forest and marched north, Zhou Leng woke beneath the Old Fertile Land and faced the Giant Insect army.

Zhou Leng fought a demon army without using true qi, killing its Great Innate Realm fighters and testing the East Wind Fist against a grandmaster. He drove Baolei Yuan backward and shattered his shield, but Baolei Yuan unleashed a storm of demonic blade-shadows.

• Zhou Leng killed a Giant Insect Knight and a Giant Mantis with the first and third moves of the East Wind Fist, then recognized a flaw in Sea-Splitting Dragon Shadow.
• Zhou Leng killed the remaining Great Innate Realm fighters and taunted the demon army into sending hundreds of Innate Realm fighters after him.
• The Four-Faced Duke ordered Baolei Yuan to follow the charging Innate Realm fighters, and Zhou Leng killed ninety-three of them with ninety-three punches.
• Zhou Leng confronted Baolei Yuan and repeatedly struck his shield with Sea-Splitting Dragon Shadow, forcing the Executioner Evil Idol backward and breaking the Hundred-Head Shield.
• Baolei Yuan flew into a rage and unleashed hundreds of demonic blade-shadows at Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng used the East Wind Fist to destroy the Executioner Evil Idol and slaughter most of a 180,000-strong demonic army. When the Four-Faced Duke and Profane Mummy attacked together, Zhou Leng unleashed his full power and annihilated the Profane Mummy with Myriad Flames Scorch the Wilderness.

• Zhou Leng built up Windfire Scorched Plain until his punches destroyed the Executioner Evil Idol, then took its side-blade head.
• The Four-Faced Duke ordered more than 100,000 demons to attack Zhou Leng, who awakened United Will Forms a Fortress and slaughtered them through the night.
• The Four-Faced Duke and Profane Mummy realized Zhou Leng was the newly advanced Grandmaster Zhou Leng and discussed the possibility that he could fight without tiring.
• Zhou Leng advanced on the two demon Grandmasters with thirty thousand fist forces, then targeted the Profane Mummy as the Four-Faced Duke circled to strike.
• Zhou Leng unleashed Myriad Flames Scorch the Wilderness and annihilated the Profane Mummy with a Flame Red Lotus punch.

Zhou Leng fought Sijiao Changxing through a day of attacks, relying on the momentum of Windfire Scorched Plain to endure and advance. After throwing the move fifty thousand times, Zhou Leng gained a deeper understanding of the East Wind Fist and formed a Grand Painting of Fist Momentum, leaving Sijiao Changxing alarmed as he prepared a decisive punch.

• Sijiao Changxing revealed his four faces and deployed four Legendary demonic artifacts while attacking Zhou Leng with spells and keeping his distance.
• Zhou Leng endured the relentless attacks and pressed forward, while Sijiao Changxing's deductions repeatedly failed to match the battle.
• After half an hour, Zhou Leng completed his fifty-thousandth Windfire Scorched Plain punch and awakened to new principles of the East Wind Fist.
• Zhou Leng evaded Sijiao Changxing's Black Poison Arrows with Draw and Guide from All Directions, then used Autumn Waves, Mountains and Rivers for the first time.
• Zhou Leng manifested a Grand Painting of Fist Momentum and wrapped its mountains, rivers, and fields around his arm as Sijiao Changxing realized he needed to report the development.

Zhou Leng recovered from defeating Sijiao Changxing, then fought successive Demonic Beast armies in the Old Fertile Land while advancing his martial arts. Meanwhile, Gao Tianfeng vowed to avenge her brother and targeted Zhou Leng as a suspicious figure.

• Zhou Leng killed Sijiao Changxing with the Embroidered Fist, collected his demon devices, and hid underground to recover.
• After waking, Zhou Leng practiced the East Wind Fist, gathered Ancient Tree Fossil, and fought demon armies, killing three newly advanced demon grandmasters.
• Zhou Leng battled successive Giant Insect armies, killed five Giant Insect grandmasters, and retreated when his strength neared its limit.
• The Calamity Envoy forbade Demonic Beast fighters above the Mid Grandmaster Realm from attacking Zhou Leng as he continued fighting armies in the Old Fertile Land.
• Gao Tianfeng mourned Gao Tianlong, ate a Demon Pouch Bean, and issued a kill order against members of twenty-four weaker families to avenge her brother.
• Gao Tianfeng considered Zhou Leng suspicious and added him to the people she might target.

Gao Tianfeng learned why Wang Boxiong pursued the Zhao family and joined Rao Mingxian in a plan to lure Zhou Leng into the Demon-Worshiping Cult while ruining his reputation. After targeting Li Linhan through a company takeover, she returned to Ru City and visited Li Shenkong, who later asked Chen Shouhu what he truly knew about Zhao Cong.

• Gao Tianfeng learned that Wang Boxiong's father had died after the Zhao family took the jade cong he had found, and she crossed Wang Boxiong and Chen Shouhu off her list.
• Gao Tianfeng persuaded Rao Mingxian to help frame Zhou Leng and force him to seek refuge with the Demon-Worshiping Cult, while Madam Xi Yan warned that Gao Tianfeng would have to die if Zhou Leng were harmed.
• Gao Tianfeng used the restructuring of National Cloud Pioneer Company to seize valuable assets and marked Li Linhan for dismissal; Li Linhan later lost his job and joined Martial Dao Courier Company as a parcel deliverer.
• Gao Tianfeng visited the Zhao Palace, returned to Ru City, and went to keep Li Shenkong company while he grieved for his fallen comrades.
• After Gao Tianfeng left, Chen Shouhu visited Li Shenkong, who asked him which rumors about the Zhao family were true and began recalling Zhao Cong's kindness when they were young.

Chen Shouhu explained to Li Shenkong why Ma Xingkong’s death and the suffering of others had driven him to challenge the Sixteen Families, urging him not to ignore the warning signs of cruelty. Meanwhile, Aiden learned that the Ice Snow Divine Cult was preparing its Sacred Canon and planned to secure the holy son position with the Ice Snow Tear, even as Zhou Leng’s growing influence threatened him.

• Li Shenkong asked Chen Shouhu about Zhao Cong, and Chen Shouhu said he had no conclusive evidence to judge Zhao Cong or the Zhao family.
• Chen Shouhu told Li Shenkong that Ma Xingkong’s words about hearing a flute had come to represent warnings of danger, and that he had challenged the Sixteen Families to stand against the malice others endured.
• Li Shenkong said he would cheer for Chen Shouhu beneath the Life-and-Death Arena, and Chen Shouhu warned him not to ignore the flute’s sound.
• Aiden learned that the Ice Snow Divine Cult was preparing a Sacred Canon to select its next holy son or holy maiden, and he expected the Ice Snow Tear to help him win.
• Jax told Aiden that Zhou Leng was gaining respect and resources from the Ice Snow Divine Cult and attracting offers from demons, Dragons, and Giants.
• Aiden said he would cut Zhou Leng’s resources after becoming holy son, explaining that the Trump Family’s survival depended on his success.

Zhou Leng gathered Ancient Tree Fossils and advanced to Ten Thousand Feathers, completing Star Body Transformation and gaining overwhelming strength and heightened senses. He headed back toward the Treant Base, raiding enemy forces for resources and killing Grandmasters along the way.

• Zhou Leng stopped the demonic beasts’ ambushes by repeatedly assassinating their Grandmasters, then harvested Ancient Tree Fossils from their excavation zones.
• Zhou Leng absorbed enough Ancient Tree Fossils to reach ten thousand Star Phoenix Feathers, triggering a painful transformation that tempered his body with Star Phoenix flames and Stellar Void True Energy.
• Zhou Leng discovered that Star Body Transformation gave him immense physical power, Thought-into-Blade, and heightened senses that could detect nearby forces.
• Zhou Leng ambushed a Giant Insect army, forced its Grandmasters and Innates to surrender their belongings, and left without killing them.
• Zhou Leng continued toward the Treant Base, killing enemy Grandmasters and saving Stellar Void True Energy for stronger opponents.

Zhou Leng returned from the Old Fertile Land as the Demonic Beast Alliance renewed its attacks, while a Grandmaster Life-and-Death Arena gathering in Water Continent Demon City was thrown into disarray. With Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong sent to war and the Tiger-Bear Faction pressured to concede, Li Shenkong recognized the masked Grandmaster who had caused swords to ring.

• Zhou Leng left the Old Fertile Land after gathering resources and cultivated at Treant Base, where Treant elders praised his deeds and prepared spell recordings for the Demon City Army.
• Zhang Nanchao, Zhang Feng, and Zhu Wanlai discussed the arena match and Zhou Leng as Li Shenkong arrived and joined the neutral camp, answering martial artists' questions.
• Several Tiger-Bear Faction competitors suddenly withdrew, and news arrived that the Demonic Beast Alliance had attacked three bases and gathered near key locations in Water Continent Demon City.
• Zhao Cong ordered Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong to join the army, leaving the Tiger-Bear Faction without its strongest High Grandmasters as the Sixteen Families demanded a decision on the arena.
• Li Shenkong considered entering the High Grandmaster match, then recognized a masked Grandmaster as the mysterious swordsman who had caused swords to ring.

Zhou Leng arrived at the Heavenly Stair Battlefield and took over the Grandmaster Life-and-Death Battle against the Sixteen Families, proposing to face all twenty-three of their Grandmasters alone. After sealing the agreement with Xu Xinke, Zhou Leng was joined by Elder Song Juesi, who revealed he had suppressed his realm for the battle.

• Zhang Feng told Zhou Leng that Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong had arranged the battle because the Sixteen Families had framed Zhou Leng and that the families had obstructed their arrival.
• Zhou Leng revealed himself, joined the Tiger-Bear Faction, and told Zheng Yunqing he had advanced to Grandmaster using another race's method but had lost his true qi.
• Zhou Leng said he would settle his own cause and challenged every Grandmaster related to the Sixteen Families, one by one until death, while the other Grandmasters stepped aside.
• Xu Xinke accepted the challenge on behalf of the Sixteen Families and sealed the agreement with Zhou Leng by slapping palms.
• Zhang Feng and Zhang Bokai tried to assess Zhou Leng's strength, but Zhang Bokai's hand slipped from Zhou Leng's shoulder without finding any resistance.
• Song Juesi arrived and told Zhou Leng he had suppressed his realm at High Grandmaster for the battle.