Chapter Summaries

Zhou Leng accepted leadership of the Eighteen-School Alliance and led more than ten thousand people in a charge toward the Demon Pouch Garden before the Death Angels could unleash their plague. The humans pushed through heavy demon resistance as Glimmering Star prepared to confront Zhou Leng at the front.

• Candlefire Two threatened to release fourteen Death Angels if the humans did not attack the demon lord and claim the Blood Prison Fruit.
• Zhou Leng admitted his fear but promised to lead the charge, and the senior brothers of all eighteen schools unanimously chose him as their alliance leader.
• Zhou Leng used a Divine Script to determine that the Heavenly Stair would end at sunrise, and the group planned and prepared its assault.
• At sunrise, Zhou Leng led the wedge-shaped army toward the Demon Pouch Garden, with the front-line fighters rotating positions as they fought through the demons.
• The advancing army spotted the demon lord wearing the Ringed Serpent Crown, while Glimmering Star ordered the demons to leave the front attacker for him.

Zhou Leng and the Human elites broke through the demon horde and confronted Glimmering Star, whose mental attacks and illusions failed to stop Zhou Leng from killing him. Glimmering Star’s body exploded in poisonous light, and after Zhou Leng used Poison-Eating Mosquitoes to purge the poison, green streaks pierced into his consciousness and headed for Will Mountain.

• Glimmering Star prepared to test the Humans as their army approached the Demon Pouch Garden.
• Zhou Leng led the Human experts through the demon horde while the Demon Spirit Masters disrupted the demons’ spells and the Steel Dwarves’ Ancestor’s Protection awakened those struck by Glimmering Star’s mental shock.
• Zhou Leng fought through Glimmering Star’s restraints and mental attacks, then broke his blue barrier with A Thousand Tides Enter the Sea.
• Zhou Leng pursued Glimmering Star through his transformations and regeneration, tore him apart, and crushed his head despite Glimmering Star’s threat of deadly poison.
• Glimmering Star’s body exploded in poisonous light, and Zhou Leng fled the toxic mist before releasing Poison-Eating Mosquitoes from a Blood Bone to drain the poison.
• Green streaks bypassed the Poison-Eating Mosquitoes, entered Zhou Leng’s consciousness, and charged toward Will Mountain.

Zhou Leng passed the Heavenly Stair’s fourth trial and received the Sea-Calming Diagram Record and God-Communing Token, while the Mental Poison Light failed to harm him. He woke in the hospital to find his friends and instructors supporting him, though the military still planned to question him.

• Zhou Leng escaped the Mental Poison Light through the Heavenly Stair, passed the fourth trial, and received the Sea-Calming Diagram Record and God-Communing Token.
• The Flesh Carpet swallowed Glimmering Star, the Candlebearers died, and uncontrolled demons attacked the humans; Tian Chengchang was killed.
• Rao Mingxian found Zhou Leng alive but unconscious, and Flame of Burning Evil and Tong Tianxia arrived to drive off the demons and treat the wounded.
• Zhou Leng woke in the hospital beside Xu Qingjin and read messages from classmates, Rao Mingxian, and Instructor Deng Zhijue.
• Deng Zhijue told Zhou Leng about his serious injuries, costly treatment, military merits, pending honors, and the 7th Division’s plan to question him.

While recovering in the hospital, Zhou Leng learned that the demon lord’s death had triggered reprisals and received an honorary second lieutenant rank for leading students against the demons. His report on the Heavenly Stair ended with him claiming he could not remember the final battle, while the people who had monitored him believed Mental Poison Light had ruined his prospects.

• Instructor Deng Zhijue advised Zhou Leng to rest as demons, sirens, and the Demon-Worshiping Cult prepared reprisals, and Zhou Leng read forum rumors about the Heavenly Stair and threats against Joint Examination candidates.
• Zhou Leng discovered that his battle record had promoted him to senior master sergeant and raised his Ru City Freshman Ranking to forty-third.
• Two people at the Patrol Bureau concluded that Zhou Leng had been struck by Mental Poison Light, ended their surveillance, and reported this to their superior.
• Xu Qingjin woke as Zhou Leng recovered, and second lieutenants Luo Guanqiang and his colleague interviewed him about the Heavenly Stair and the final battle.
• Zhou Leng said he could not remember killing the demon, and Luo Guanqiang explained that his remaining poison was cleared and that Brigade Commander Chen Shouhu had applied for a second-class merit award.
• Luo Guanqiang granted Zhou Leng honorary second lieutenant status in the Zhenhai Army Seventh Division Martial Brigade, while Deng Zhijue and Wang Boxiong worried that Mental Poison Light had ended Zhou Leng’s path to Innate.

Zhou Leng recovered in the hospital while Xu Qingjin and Deng Zhijue urged him to stay protected from the Demon-Worshiping Cult. After classmates and students from two universities crowded the hospital to visit him, a flood of deliveries arrived in his name, which he let the hospital staff and other patients take.

• Xu Qingjin told Zhou Leng that he had been given two Hundred-Warding Pills and needed to remain in the hospital because the Demon-Worshiping Cult was targeting joint-exam candidates.
• Zhou Leng studied Divine Script with Xu Qingjin, practiced the Sea-Calming Diagram, and reviewed his Heavenly Stair trial while recovering.
• Deng Zhijue explained that Zhou Leng would stay hospitalized until November for protection and recovery, and that his first-place ranking benefits would remain for three months.
• Wei Hong and Feng Wenhao recounted the Heavenly Stair battle as classmates teased Zhou Leng about Xu Qingjin, and students from both universities crowded the hospital corridor to see him.
• After Zhou Leng showed the visitors he was healthy, delivery riders brought so much food and flowers that he agreed to let hospital staff, patients, and their families take the excess.

While Zhou Leng recovered in the hospital, Chang Luan convinced Tian Wenhu that Zhou Leng was responsible for Tian Chengchang’s death, pushing Tian Wenhu toward action. After leaving the hospital, Zhou Leng returned to the Frost Giant Tree and found signs that Big Yellow had vanished into the surrounding forest.

• Zhou Leng’s gifts and food deliveries overwhelmed the hospital, so he shared the food and supplies with the staff and Xiaoru Village while recovering with Xu Qingjin and Grandpa Liang.
• Chang Luan accused Zhou Leng of arranging Tian Chengchang’s death, and Tian Wenhu began considering how to respond after Chang Luan and Chang Yuanzhong left.
• Chang Yuanzhong told Chang Luan to prepare to take over the family business, while Chang Luan admitted to himself that he had only experienced one Heavenly Stair trial.
• Zhou Leng left the hospital on November 3, ate lunch at the Xu family home, and traveled safely to Xiaoru Village before entering the mysterious world.
• Zhou Leng found that his belongings near the Frost Giant Tree had been disturbed and discovered enormous footprints alongside smaller tracks he recognized as Big Yellow’s.

Zhou Leng reunited with Big Yellow and encountered an Eight-Tusked Mammoth herd, whose members injured him before treating his wound and giving him gifts. After exploring the lakeside and returning to the Frost Giant Tree with a piece of innate magical beast meat, Zhou Leng counted his supplies and planned to buy medicine for a medicinal stew.

• Zhou Leng found Big Yellow beside a juvenile Eight-Tusked Mammoth, and the mammoth herd gathered around him after the young mammoth identified him.
• An adult Eight-Tusked Mammoth shattered Zhou Leng’s shoulder with a light poke, prompting Big Yellow and the juvenile to attack it until the oldest mammoth intervened.
• The oldest mammoth gave Zhou Leng two fruits, and the herd offered him more items before an aged mammoth covered his face with a healing liquid that restored his shoulder.
• The juvenile mammoth gave Big Yellow a large piece of innate magical beast meat, and Zhou Leng collected water from the lake before returning with Big Yellow to the Frost Giant Tree.
• Zhou Leng broke his cleaver trying to cut the frozen meat, inventoried his pills, Battle Record Points, and cash, and planned to buy medicine for a Meat Medicinal Diet.

Zhou Leng strengthened his body with Innate Meat Medicinal Diet, studied a Golden Page’s guidance on the Four Extraordinary Bodies, and continued cultivating despite his injured shoulder. At Ru University, classmates and staff mistook his reduced training load for evidence that his injury was severe, and Wang Boxiong concluded that Zhou Leng no longer qualified for the Shield of the Great Wall protection plan.

• Zhou Leng ate Innate Meat Medicinal Diet and felt a new force strengthen his body, then asked Big Yellow to identify which of the Eight-Tusked Mammoth herd’s gifts he could safely eat.
• Big Yellow retrieved a Divine Script Golden Page, and Zhou Leng read its guidance on the Four Extraordinary Bodies before planning how to pursue Dragon Blood, Ferocious Beast's Power, and Giant status.
• Zhou Leng treated his shoulder, practiced the Purgatory Gate, and increased his slash count from 2,307 to 3,648 before returning to cultivation with slow punches.
• At Ru University's cafeteria and martial arts hall, Zhou Leng ate freely and trained only with his left arm, leading classmates and staff to believe his injury was much worse than it was.
• Deng Zhijue restricted Zhou Leng's afternoon external cultivation and reported his condition to Wang Boxiong, who reviewed the footage and concluded that Zhou Leng no longer met the potential-talent standard for the Shield of the Great Wall.

Zhou Leng received military merits and university honors for his contributions, while Ji Changnian watched with envy. After taking the intermediate Divine Script Researcher exam, Zhou Leng met Xue Chengsong at the Martial Bureau and learned his Youth Ranking had fallen out of the top one hundred.

• Xu Qingjin called Zhou Leng, learned that his apparent injury was a ruse, and arranged to have lunch with him while pretending to care for him.
• President Xia Yanbo and other officials presented Zhou Leng with two Third-Class Merits, one Second-Class Merit, and several honors, including Ru University Outstanding Martial Arts Student.
• Xia Yanbo defended Zhou Leng when Tang Shiping questioned the resources spent on him, and he proposed making Zhou Leng a student representative at the next freshman ceremony.
• Ji Changnian saw Zhou Leng receiving praise and honors, then stood stunned as Zhou Leng told Xu Qingjin about his awards.
• Zhou Leng signed up for and took the difficult intermediate Divine Script Researcher exam, answering most questions he had encountered before.
• At the Martial Bureau, Zhou Leng ran into Xue Chengsong and said his Youth Ranking had dropped below the top one hundred.

Zhou Leng scored 116 on the Intermediate Divine Script Researcher Exam, prompting Zhao Nandi to recruit him as her student. After learning that he followed Extreme Martial Arts and ranked highly despite his modest realm, Zhao Nandi realized he might be exceptionally gifted in both fields.

• Zhou Leng told Xue Chengsong that he had passed the junior exam with 135 points and expected around 110 on the intermediate exam, while Xue Chengsong explained his transfer to the main campus.
• Xue Chengsong told his classmates Zhou Leng's scores and suggested to his father that Zhou Leng might be a promising Divine Script investment.
• Zhao Nandi and the other experts graded the intermediate exam, identified a candidate's 116-point paper as outstanding, and later confirmed it belonged to Zhou Leng.
• The experts discovered that Zhou Leng had answered the junior exam's final question correctly before an official correction, making his score a perfect one rather than 135.
• Zhou Leng told Xu Qingjin he had scored 116 and passed the intermediate exam, then accepted Zhao Nandi's friend request and explained that Extreme Martial Arts was his main path.
• Zhao Nandi checked Zhou Leng's Martial Index and freshman ranking after he declined to make Divine Scripts his main path, and recognized his potential in both disciplines.

Zhou Leng anonymously deciphered most of an ancient Divine Script stele and tested his recovered strength, while his interpretation set researchers worldwide into an uproar. The chapter ended with Instructor Deng Zhijue arriving at Class 01’s empty martial arts gym after learning someone had surpassed the weightlifting records.

• Zhao Nandi encouraged Zhou Leng to keep studying Divine Script, offered him a research allowance, and invited him to visit the Divine Script Ruins Section.
• Zhou Leng anonymously deciphered more than ninety percent of the Ancient River Stele’s inscription, drawing on words he had heard on the Heavenly Stair.
• Zhou Leng tested his strength, recorded major gains in both weightlifting tests, and completed loaded squats with 600 kilograms without shoulder pain.
• Zhao Nandi read Zhou Leng’s interpretation and saw that experts and young researchers were reacting to it across the Divine Script community.
• An employee informed Deng Zhijue that someone from Class 01 had nearly lifted 1,000 kilograms without true qi and 5,000 kilograms with it.
• Deng Zhijue rushed to Class 01’s martial arts gym but found it empty.

Wang Boxiong secretly tested Zhou Leng and added him to the Shield of the Great Wall protection plan, while Zhou Leng remained unaware and focused on cultivation. After discovering nourishing fruit and leaves in ferocious beast territory, Zhou Leng began using them in his training and planned to visit the old joint-exam grounds to mourn and hunt demonic beasts.

• Wang Boxiong reviewed Zhou Leng’s training results, arranged a secret test with Chen Shouhu, and placed Zhou Leng on the Shield of the Great Wall protection list.
• Zhou Leng turned off Divine Script Ruins notifications and searched for a route to the Steel Dwarf Tribe, while Zhang Xinglie later found a possible lead.
• Zhou Leng wrestled with Little Eight, tested and ate energy-rich fruit, and discovered that its leaves helped repair and regulate his stomach and intestines.
• Little Eight helped Zhou Leng gather fruit and leaves, and Zhou Leng began combining them with medicine as he practiced the Ten Inverse Beast Fist.
• Zhou Leng learned that joint-exam participants planned to return to the old grounds to mourn fallen students and hunt demonic beasts, and he told Wei Hong he would go and hunt near the edges alone.

Zhou Leng attended the memorial for fallen classmates, where Tian Wenhu questioned him about Tian Chengchang’s death. After leaving alone for the forest, Zhou Leng considered ways to improve his True Qi recovery and watched an old man teach students while effortlessly fighting a Horned Demon.

• Rao Mingxian told Zhou Leng that Xue Chengsong had asked for help at the memorial contest and that Chang Luan had asked him as well, but he had refused Chang Luan.
• Rao Mingxian revealed that Tian Chengchang was Tian Wenbao’s son, prompting Zhou Leng to reconsider their past encounters and suspect Tian Chengchang had once intended to kill him.
• Zhou Leng traveled with Ru University students to the memorial, where Tian Wenhu asked whether he had killed Tian Chengchang, and Zhou Leng denied it while saying Tian Chengchang would have died sooner if he had known the truth.
• After the memorial, Zhou Leng evaded anyone following him and entered the forest, where he considered obtaining Spirit-Land Jade and checked the military exchange list for equipment and supplies.
• Zhou Leng watched a white-haired old man demonstrate combat techniques to students while calmly defeating an injured Blood-Circulating Late Stage Horned Demon.

Zhou Leng watched Song Juesi defeat Xue Chengsong’s side in the technique and qi contests, then contacted Xue Chengsong and approached the group as the final match remained. The chapter left Zhou Leng stepping forward to face the contest.

• Zhou Leng watched Song Juesi teach martial techniques to wealthy students and recognized similarities to the black-clad figure on the Moonlit Shadow Wall.
• After hunting a few demons, Zhou Leng found Xue Chengsong and Chang Luan’s groups gathered for contests between their Pioneer Corporations.
• Song Juesi defeated Xu Tan and two other experienced martial artists in the technique duel.
• Song Juesi won the first qi duel, then overcame Rao Mingxian and advised him to cultivate quietly for three years.
• Zhou Leng contacted Xue Chengsong through his Demonic Wristwatch, then stepped out from behind a tree and walked toward him.

Zhou Leng fought Song Juesi in the final Qi Duel, matched his techniques, and won after Song conceded. He then defeated Chang Luan’s remaining challengers, securing the abandoned mine for Xue Chengsong’s team before the group discussed his injuries and rewards.

• Zhou Leng joined Xue Chengsong’s team and faced Song Juesi, using his True Qi to withstand the elder’s shifting techniques and build overwhelming force.
• Song Juesi conceded the match, praised Zhou Leng, and told his seven students to learn from him.
• Zhou Leng defeated Chang Luan’s first three challengers, then lifted another opponent into the air and slammed him down after the man tried to provoke him.
• Zhou Leng pushed back Chang Luan’s next fighter, and Chang Luan conceded the abandoned mine before leaving with Song Juesi and the students.
• Xue Chengsong thanked Zhou Leng, asked about his injuries, and offered the supporters prize money or a choice of high-energy ore, with Zhou Leng choosing first.

Zhou Leng found Spirit-Land Jade while selecting ore at an abandoned mine, where a masked man carrying a cloth bundle fled after killing someone and injuring a miner. After the group waited for news of the Headless God, Zhou Leng set off to hunt nearby and noticed a vehicle carrying foreigners and familiar faces approaching.

• Xue Chengsong explained the abandoned mine and its ores, then let Zhou Leng choose the first high-energy ore.
• Zhou Leng selected a stone that yielded a valuable piece of Spirit-Land Jade, while the others found only ordinary ores.
• An alarm sounded when a masked man carrying a cloth bundle fled the mine after killing one person and severely injuring a worker, muttering about the Headless God.
• Xue Chengsong asked everyone to keep quiet and stay overnight, and the next morning reported that Innate experts and other forces had rushed into Water Continent Demon City.
• Zhou Leng chose to hunt nearby rather than return with the group, killed a Fanged Demon Wolf, and later noticed a vehicle carrying foreigners and familiar faces.

Zhou Leng fled the pursuit of Yu Baocheng’s men and the Eagle Alliance, evaded and destroyed their Demonized Drone, then turned on two pursuers and killed one. The remaining pursuer fled as Zhou Leng advanced through the forest.

• Yu Baocheng persuaded Mark to send Williams and Evans to help his men attack Zhou Leng, while Tu Rong stayed behind.
• Zhou Leng ran into the forest, used clothing and a blanket to evade the Demonized Drone, then brought it down with a stone and smashed it.
• Williams and Evans caught up with Zhou Leng while the other seven pursuers followed, and Zhou Leng turned to confront the two foreign martial artists.
• Zhou Leng feinted past the left fighter, struck the right fighter’s arms, then broke the left fighter’s arm and killed him with an elbow strike.
• The surviving fighter lost his nerve and fled as Zhou Leng turned toward him.

Zhou Leng killed Yu Baocheng and most of his fleeing men, then headed toward Shuizhou Base. On the way, he found Song Juesi, Rao Mingxian, and their companions surrounded by demons and joined the fight.

• Zhou Leng pursued Yu Baocheng's group, collected their weapons and packs, and killed Yu Baocheng and the men who stayed to fight while allowing several others to escape.
• Zhou Leng recovered his true qi and continued toward Shuizhou Base, deciding to deal with Yan Fenggang later.
• Zhou Leng discovered a group of humans surrounded by demons near the Heavenly Stair Examination Grounds, including the injured Song Juesi and his student.
• Zhou Leng bypassed a charging squad of Humpback Horse Demons and killed three Blood-Circulating Stage Prayers with Twin Dragons Emerge from Water and a punch.
• Rao Mingxian explained that the group had been attacked by Horse Demons, and Zhou Leng began picking off the remaining demons while the humans held their ground.

Zhou Leng rescued a group of humans and led pursuing devils away by taunting them in Demonic Language, then raced back toward Shuizhou Base. Near an area reminiscent of the Heavenly Stair Examination Grounds, he encountered a strange silver-armored female devil riding a wolf.

• Zhou Leng slaughtered the devils surrounding the humans, then ordered everyone to retreat toward Shuizhou Base while carrying the injured.
• When the devils returned with reinforcements, Zhou Leng decided to lure them away, and Liang Baiyin gave him her Demon Spirit Bag full of medicine and valuable talismans.
• Zhou Leng provoked two groups of devils with an insulting gesture and Demonic Language, drawing them away from the fleeing humans.
• After leading the devils around for more than an hour, Zhou Leng used Flying Crane Movement to escape and headed toward Shuizhou Base.
• Zhou Leng sensed something unusual near an area resembling the Heavenly Stair Examination Grounds and came upon a silver-armored female devil riding a wolf.

Zhou Leng fought through the Pain Maiden and her demons, using careful tactics and the Heavenly Stair's combat lessons to overcome her despite her superior strength. After a Blood Magic blast sent him flying, the Primordial Demon Fruit burrowed into his heart, but the Will Mountain and frost power restrained it.

• Zhou Leng killed the twelve Blood-Circulating demons while the Pain Maiden watched, then faced her in combat.
• Zhou Leng studied the Pain Maiden's fighting style, crippled the Faced Wolf and her left arm, and recognized her attempt to provoke him with a burst of rage.
• The Pain Maiden unleashed bone spikes and pierced Zhou Leng's foot, but Zhou Leng used the Demonized Crossbow to bring down the Faced Wolf and struck the Pain Maiden's heart, killing her.
• A Demon Crystal exploded with Blood Magic, and a Flesh Carpet swallowed the Pain Maiden and the Faced Wolf as Zhou Leng fled.
• The Primordial Demon Fruit burst from the ground, tore into Zhou Leng's back, and burrowed into his heart, where the Will Mountain and frost power restrained it.