Chapter Summaries

Glimmering Star prepared a Demon Pouch Garden to support the arriving demons while Tian Chengchang’s exploration team set out to target Zhou Leng. Zhou Leng began the joint examination’s weighted run toward the Red-Spotted Forest, conserving his strength as he watched the leaders pull ahead.

• Glimmering Star’s troops planted Demon Pouch Flowers, and he ordered them to water the garden with demonic blood and feed human corpses to its immature flowers once the main army arrived.
• Tong Tianxia watched the Water Continent Demon City base from a mountain while Tian Chengchang led Yan Fenggang’s men toward the Red-Spotted Forest to search for Zhou Leng.
• Deng Zhijue instructed the examinees to prioritize survival, and Zhou Leng checked his supplies before the students left the base for the joint examination.
• A red-haired Steel Dwarf argued with Wei Hong after Wei Hong called him Grandpa Dwarf.
• A drone announced the examination’s opening run, and Zhou Leng paced himself with his pack while seven runners took the lead.
• Zhou Leng noticed the leaders’ steady form and unusually small packs and suspected they carried Demon Spirit Bags.

Zhou Leng and the other examinees were pulled into a sealed Inheritance Heavenly Stair as a million Demonic Beasts invaded Demon City. After learning that three inheritances could determine whether the Heavenly Stair remained in their world, Zhou Leng set off to find them, killing a Blue-Backed Demonic Wolf along the way.

• Zhou Leng and the other students ran into Demon City’s depths while officials and Zhao Tong arrived at Shuizhou Base.
• A Heavenly Stair appeared, and its light formed a barrier that drew in examinees, some young soldiers, Lower Realm Demonic Beasts, and foreign exploration teams.
• Zhou Leng received the rules of the Inheritance Heavenly Stair and learned that obtaining all three inheritances would keep it in their world.
• Zhou Leng used a map to head toward the barrier’s center and killed a Blue-Backed Demonic Wolf with one palm.
• The projection in Wang Boxiong’s office flickered back to life, and the examination rankings began changing.

Inside the Inheritance Heavenly Stair, Zhou Leng searched for Inheritance Radiance while fighting Demonic Beasts and rescuing students in danger. He remained among the top ten in the live ranking as he pressed toward the central region.

• Instructors and forum users learned that the Heavenly Stair was likely a Blood Qi Realm inheritance, and students argued over its importance.
• Zhou Leng killed Demonic Beasts as he advanced, but found no Inheritance Radiance or inheritance site before dusk.
• Zhou Leng ambushed and killed the captain and several Steel-Skull Goat Demons attacking East China Martial University students, then left without joining their group.
• The rescued students mistook Zhou Leng for Ji Changnian, while Tian Chengchang praised him and told his group not to claim merit for the captain’s corpse.
• Zhou Leng continued toward the central region, rescuing people when Demonic Beasts attacked and resting to restore his true qi.
• Zhou Leng’s ranking rose to first after the goat demon battle and later fluctuated without falling below the top ten, pleasing Deng Zhijue.

Zhou Leng stole the Inheritance Radiance from four Huff Martial University students and followed its arrow to a giant book surrounded by a ring of light. He reached the inheritance site, where masked teams approached as he prepared to defend the radiance.

• Zhou Leng witnessed four Huff students kill a River Yin Martial University student after taking his Inheritance Radiance, then followed them toward the inheritance site.
• After the Huff students were wounded fighting Demonic Beasts, Zhou Leng ambushed them, killed all four, and took their Inheritance Radiance and supplies.
• Zhou Leng discarded the Demon Spirit Bag and the stimulants, burned the four bodies and their belongings, then followed the radiance's arrow while fighting off Demonic Beasts.
• Zhou Leng reached a giant glowing book surrounded by a kilometer-wide ring of light and more than a hundred Demonic Beasts.
• Zhou Leng ignored a stranger's offer of safe passage and charged toward the ring as masked teams approached, warning them that stealing his radiance meant a fight to the death.

Zhou Leng entered the Book of Spirituality and began its three-part trial, using Single-Mindedness to study the sea and deepen his understanding of the Mystic Tide Art and Wave-Stacking Palm. After passing the first two trials, he began the third by repeatedly practicing Great River Flows into the Sea.

• Zhou Leng outran the pursuers, entered the circle of light, and recovered before approaching the Book of Spirituality.
• Zhou Leng passed the Book of Spirituality’s examination and was transported to a beach, where he was asked to comprehend the ocean through three trials.
• Zhou Leng used Single-Mindedness to observe the waves until he grasped their patterns and passed the first trial.
• Zhou Leng continued observing the sea’s inner nature, then practiced the Mystic Tide Art and Wave-Stacking Palm until his body transformed into seawater and back, passing the second trial.
• Zhou Leng began the third trial by repeatedly performing the fundamental Wave-Stacking Palm move, Great River Flows into the Sea, while circulating the Mystic Tide Art along the same path.

Zhou Leng passed the third trial, reached the Extreme Realm, and gained the Sea-Calming Diagram, which transformed his Mystic Tide True Qi. He used his new strength to kill a Candlebearer and help the surrounded humans defeat a demon horde, then accepted Rao Mingxian’s thanks.

• Zhou Leng completed the sixth form of Wave-Stacking Palm in the trial and passed all three trials, receiving a fragment of a vast stone wall.
• Zhou Leng studied the wall’s shifting patterns, developed the Sea-Calming Diagram, and raised his true qi beyond Perfection into the Extreme Realm.
• Zhou Leng tested his new power, perfected Wave-Stacking Palm, and noticed Lu Juncai, Rao Mingxian, and others surrounded by demons.
• Zhou Leng bypassed the demon horde and killed its Candlebearer leader, then urged the remaining humans to fight back.
• Zhou Leng and the others drove off the demons, and Rao Mingxian thanked him for saving his life.

After surviving the attack, Zhou Leng joined Rao Mingxian, Molten Hammer, and other martial artists to hunt demons and seek Inheritance Radiance. Their team secured a yellow radiance and a white Land of Extreme Cold radiance for Zhou Leng, then Molten Hammer led them toward the scent of green-skinned beasts.

• Rao Mingxian invited nearby survivors into the Heavenly Stair Joint Examination Group, and Molten Hammer introduced himself to Zhou Leng.
• Zhou Leng, Molten Hammer, Rao Mingxian, and other Blood-Circulating Stage students formed a thirty-person team to hunt demons and search for Inheritance Radiance.
• The team encountered another martial university group carrying yellow radiance but let them pass, then fought demons together and won a yellow radiance that Rao Mingxian bought.
• The team attracted a Prayer and its large demon force but avoided a fight, then attacked a group carrying white Land of Extreme Cold radiance.
• Molten Hammer drew the Humpback Horse Demon's attacks while Zhou Leng and the others defeated its companions and brought it down, earning Zhou Leng the white radiance.
• After more demons gathered, Molten Hammer smelled green-skinned beasts and urged the team to follow their scent.

Zhou Leng and Molten Hammer defeated a band of Orcs, collected their spoils, and set off toward the Land of Extreme Cold. On the way, Zhou Leng received a distress message from Xu Qingjin, and the two turned toward the battle to help.

• Zhou Leng wore down the Orc leader with repeated palm strikes, then worked with Molten Hammer to kill him and defeat the remaining Orcs.
• Molten Hammer found a Demon Spirit Bag containing Human pills and Blood Bones, and Zhou Leng received the bag while the group divided the other spoils.
• The team returned to the Book of Spirituality with seven inheritance lights and valuable materials, then Zhou Leng and Molten Hammer left for the Land of Extreme Cold.
• As they ran, Molten Hammer explained the Divine Marrow Blood Bone and Poison-Eating Mosquito Blood Bone to Zhou Leng.
• Zhou Leng received a message from Xu Qingjin asking if he was nearby, and he and Molten Hammer hurried toward the sounds of battle to help.

Rao Mingxian advanced to the Blood-Circulating Mid Stage as Glimmering Star arrived at the halo and sent a leech demon to hunt Zhou Leng. Zhou Leng rescued Xu Qingjin and the other students from a demon attack, then led them toward the Land of Extreme Cold, where he planned to draw demons away so the injured group could enter the halo.

• Rao Mingxian broke through to the Blood-Circulating Mid Stage after gaining a new insight inside the Book of Spirituality.
• Glimmering Star examined Candlefire Nine's corpse, planted a leech in a demon to track his killer, and challenged the people inside the halo before sitting to study the Book of Spirituality.
• A demon horde overwhelmed Ji Changnian and the wounded students until Zhou Leng and Molten Hammer arrived and slaughtered the attackers.
• Zhou Leng gave Xu Qingjin medicine and treated her broken leg with true qi, then organized the survivors to carry the injured toward the Land of Extreme Cold.
• At the iceberg's halo, Zhou Leng asked Molten Hammer for his spiritual light and planned to lure the demons away while the others entered.

Zhou Leng led a group safely through the demons to the circle of light, then entered the Land of Extreme Cold trial with Xu Qingjin and Molten Hammer. After enduring its three trials of cold, isolation, and magnified fear, he passed and formed the phantom of a Martial Will Mountain.

• Zhou Leng drew demons away from Molten Hammer and the others, allowing them to reach the circle of light, then reunited with them near the ice mountain.
• After resting, Zhou Leng learned about the Land of Extreme Cold trials and agreed with Xu Qingjin that she would study Divine Script with him.
• Zhou Leng, Xu Qingjin, and Molten Hammer entered the trial, where Zhou Leng passed its first stage by clearing his thoughts and enduring the passage of time.
• Zhou Leng overcame the ocean trial's escalating fears by visualizing the Frost Giant Tree, then endured the deep-sea trial as his Martial Will strengthened.
• After Zhou Leng passed the third trial, a droplet-shaped ice crystal entered his consciousness and helped him form the phantom of a Martial Will Mountain.

Zhou Leng emerged from the Heavenly Stair trial and led students from many schools in a rescue charge against a demon horde, inspiring the Dragon Kingdom’s United Will Forms a Fortress. The Humans and their allies routed the demons and then rallied to sweep the surrounding area.

• Flame of Burning Evil, Aaron Bushnell, met Tong Tianxia on a mountaintop and said he had found clues to one of the Demon-Worshiping Cult’s major headquarters on Blue Star.
• Tian Chengchang and East China Martial University students came to thank Ji Changnian, then learned Zhou Leng had been the one who saved them and recognized his Eight Trigrams Step and Wave-Stacking Palm.
• When Rao Mingxian’s group called for support, Zhou Leng led Wei Hong, Molten Hammer, Tian Chengchang, and thousands of others out to rescue them from the demons.
• Zhou Leng stomped across the demon horde, and the crowd’s United Will Forms a Fortress empowered the fighters and drove the demons into a rout.
• After killing more than a thousand demons, Zhou Leng invited uninjured people of every race to join the fight, and thousands charged together against the surrounding demons.

Zhou Leng led the joint-exam candidates to a decisive victory over a demon force, killed a demon leech, and chose the Moonlit Shadow Wall inheritance. After Glimmering Star learned that the leech had died, he marched with an army toward the Land of Extreme Cold, while Zhou Leng prepared to head for Moonlit Shadow Wall with Rao Mingxian and the others.

• Rao Mingxian warned Zhou Leng that Glimmering Star had sent demons after him, and the two joined forces to hunt demons.
• Zhou Leng and the candidates defeated a thousand-strong demon force, and Zhou Leng killed the demon leech that attacked him with a mental shockwave.
• The group distributed more than a hundred Inheritance Radiances, and Zhou Leng chose the blue radiance for Moonlit Shadow Wall.
• Ru City Martial Academy instructors watched Zhou Leng's battle merit surge until he rose to fifth place.
• Glimmering Star discovered that the demon leech had died and led more than ten thousand demons toward the Land of Extreme Cold to capture and interrogate Zhou Leng.
• After resting, Zhou Leng and Rao Mingxian prepared to leave for Moonlit Shadow Wall, where they expected to encounter demons.

Zhou Leng led more than a thousand fighters toward Moonlit Shadow Wall, where they joined forces with students trapped inside the circle and fought through a mass of demons. Outside the Heavenly Stair barrier, a Grandmaster demon called the Giant Insect Knight devastated the battlefield as the chapter ended with the two human armies triggering United Will Forms a Fortress.

• Rao Mingxian told Zhou Leng that his resolve and fighting spirit made him the Pioneer Army’s war soul, and more than a thousand people chose to follow him to Moonlit Shadow Wall.
• Zhou Leng left pills and parting advice with the injured Xu Qingjin, then led the group onward with Ji Changnian and Shanhe Xiangmu among its fighters.
• Tian Chengchang asked Rao Mingxian about Zhou Leng, who explained Zhou Leng’s ordinary kindness and his drive to kill demons, shaped by his father’s death in service.
• The Giant Insect Knight, a Grandmaster-level demon, charged through the battlefield outside the Heavenly Stair barrier and killed humans and demons in its path.
• Zhou Leng’s force reached Moonlit Shadow Wall and joined thousands of students from the inner circle to fight the encircling demons alongside Lu Yuanhao.
• Zhou Leng fought through his injuries with pills, and the two human forces triggered United Will Forms a Fortress.

Zhou Leng reunited with Ru University’s students after the rescue and learned that the eighteen schools were organizing leaders to coordinate their efforts. At the alliance meeting, An Huangui challenged Zhou Leng’s appointment as Ru University’s senior brother, and Zhou Leng faced him in a proposed three-round contest.

• Zhou Leng, Lu Yuanhao, and Shanhe Xiangmu fought their way back to the rescue team, where Zhou Leng reunited with Ru University’s students and shared information with them.
• Xu Kang'an explained that each school had chosen a temporary senior brother and urged Zhou Leng to take Ru University’s position, which Zhou Leng accepted.
• At the eighteen-school meeting, Xu Kang'an introduced Zhou Leng as Ru University’s top freshman, but An Huangui objected because Zhou Leng was only at the early Blood-Circulating Stage.
• Rao Mingxian pointed out that An Huangui’s objection stemmed from Zhou Leng defeating an East China Martial University student in the betting arena.
• The schools agreed to judge a contest between Zhou Leng and An Huangui: two rounds of skill and a third round of killing demons, and Zhou Leng stepped forward to let An Huangui choose the first contest.

Zhou Leng defeated An Huangui in two unusual skill contests, first in upside-down point-striking and then in Qi-Driven Water-Ball Seizure. An Huangui accepted both losses, leaving Zhou Leng victorious as the crowd marveled at his skill.

• An Huangui challenged Zhou Leng to a two-finger handstand, one-handed point-striking contest, and Zhou Leng agreed after asking for ten minutes to practice.
• Zhou Leng defended against An Huangui's attacks and used fingerwork resembling the Eight Trigrams Step to win the first match 11–5.
• After resting, Zhou Leng and An Huangui competed in Qi-Driven Water-Ball Seizure, gathering water from bottles into spinning balls and transferring water between them.
• An Huangui's water ball exploded when his qi went out of control, and Zhou Leng gathered most of the scattered water back into his own ball.
• An Huangui conceded the second match, and Zhou Leng let the water ball dissolve into the grass without splashing.

After An Huangui conceded defeat to Zhou Leng, he reconsidered his earlier judgment of him, while Zhou Leng entered the Moonlit Shadow Wall’s third Heavenly Stair Inheritance. Zhou Leng learned two contrasting combat styles and endured tens of thousands of exchanges in the second trial, leaving him with a deeper grasp of their techniques.

• Zhou Leng proposed stopping their contest before a dangerous third round, and An Huangui admitted defeat.
• An Huangui asked Tian Chengchang about Zhou Leng and acknowledged that rumors had given him a false impression.
• Zhou Leng entered the Moonlit Shadow Wall and studied the white-clothed and black-clothed men’s contrasting fighting styles.
• Zhou Leng imitated both styles, recognized their underlying combat principles, and passed the first trial, “Learn Technique.”
• Zhou Leng fought the white-clothed man through repeated defeats, gradually learned to read his attacks, and eventually matched his reactions until the projection vanished.

Zhou Leng passed the second trial by comprehending Mind-Spirit Shadow Division, then spent countless battles against the black-and-white figure refining his combat skills. Unable to defeat it through skill alone, he began creating a killer move based on Great River Flows into the Sea, and left the trial having found a promising direction to develop it.

• Zhou Leng understood that the white-clothed and black-clothed figures represented learning and battle, then passed the second trial and comprehended Mind-Spirit Shadow Division.
• Zhou Leng began the third trial against a black-and-white figure that used the same martial arts as him and repeatedly defeated him with superior combat awareness and close-range force.
• After tens of thousands of attempts, Zhou Leng refined his moves and advanced Mind-Spirit Shadow Division from choosing one from four to choosing one from six, but still could not defeat the figure.
• Zhou Leng realized he needed a killer move and chose Great River Flows into the Sea as its foundation, while attempts to alter its force and true qi circulation repeatedly injured him.
• Zhou Leng developed a promising approach that built momentum through increasingly fast palms, and resolved to refine it into a stronger technique inspired by the Qiantang River Tide.

Zhou Leng completed the Moonlit Shadow Wall’s third trial, advanced to the Blood-Circulating Mid Stage, and joined the students’ fight against the demons surrounding their light barrier. As he fought, he used his newly grasped combat method to cut through the demon horde.

• Zhou Leng defeated the black-and-white figure with his new killing move, Thousand Tides Pour into the Sea, and was told he had entered the Moonlit Shadow Wall’s fourth trial.
• After returning to the light barrier, Zhou Leng advanced to the Blood-Circulating Mid Stage and learned from Wei Hong that demons had encircled the students and carried away corpses.
• Zhou Leng warned the assembled senior brothers that the demons might be using the corpses for a sacrifice, Flesh Giants, or demon medicine, and the students agreed to send out rotating teams to fight.
• Zhou Leng joined the first team and fought fiercely, prompting An Huangui to conclude that Zhou Leng had mastered a special combat method.
• Zhou Leng severely wounded a Swollen-Belly Ox Demon, whose true body escaped from its belly, then charged into the demon horde as six phantoms helped guide his attacks.

Zhou Leng fought through successive demon assaults, then led a rescue charge toward thousands of humans trapped by an overwhelming demon army. The chapter ended with the rescue force driving into the demon ranks as more students and foreign pioneers joined them.

• Zhou Leng and Shanhe Xiangmu battled through repeated rotations, and Zhou Leng discovered that his Sea-Calming True Qi recovered even while he used it.
• After the main force from the Land of Extreme Cold became surrounded, Zhou Leng supported Lu Yuanhao's call to rescue them and urged the others to join him.
• Zhou Leng led more than five thousand fighters from the circle of light in an arrow-shaped assault toward the trapped humans.
• Zhou Leng charged through the demon army, took injuries rather than dodge, and Rao Mingxian broke a scorpion demon's venomous tail to save him.
• The rescue force advanced deep into the demons, inspiring students and foreign pioneers to join the charge.

Zhou Leng led the rescue army through the demon ranks and brought more than ten thousand Humans back inside the Moonlit Shadow Wall's light barrier. As the survivors recovered, Glimmering Star accelerated the growth of a Primordial Demon Fruit and sent Candlefire Two to lure the Humans out with valuable fruits and a threat from the Death Herald Legion.

• Zhou Leng and the rescue army broke through the demons, reunited with the trapped students, and fought their way back to the light barrier, where Zhou Leng collapsed after leading the final charge.
• Glimmering Star used his blood to create a heart that drew power from Demon Pouch Beans, then decided to force the Humans out or kill them to ripen the Primordial Demon Fruit.
• Zhou Leng recovered quickly inside the light barrier, discussed his condition with Xu Qingjin, and went to learn what was happening among the wounded survivors.
• Candlefire Two delivered Glimmering Star's challenge, offering Demon Pouch Beans and three Blood Prison Fruits to anyone who could reach his master.
• Candlefire Two summoned a squad of Death Herald Legion Demonic Beasts, whose plague and poison powers alarmed the Humans.