Chapter Summaries

Zhou Leng escaped the battlefield after surviving a demonic attack, discovered a mysterious power around his heart, and returned to Shuizhou Base. Mark investigated the deaths caused by Zhou Leng and decided to end the pursuit, while Liang Baiyin waited for Zhou Leng outside the War Merit Hall.

• The Primordial Demon Fruit's power was sealed, and Zhou Leng found a dangerous demonic force wrapped around his heart that also accelerated his healing.
• Zhou Leng treated his wounds with Liang Baiyin's medicine and rushed toward Shuizhou Base while Mark waited for the missing fighters.
• Fan Zhixing returned alone and described the deaths of Yu Baocheng and the others, so Mark took the group to inspect the battlefield.
• Mark concluded that Zhou Leng had killed the fighters with exceptional skill, but decided to abandon the matter until after the Ancient King's Treasure expedition.
• Zhou Leng contacted Rao Mingxian and Liang Baiyin, checked on Old Song, and asked Deng Zhijue for a day off without mentioning the Pain Maiden.
• Zhou Leng reached Shuizhou Base late at night and found Liang Baiyin waiting for him outside the War Merit Hall.

Zhou Leng used the Purgatory Gate’s Red Lotus Fire Prison to burn away the demonic nature lodged in his heart. After enduring seven trials, the demonic presence shattered, and a small white point of light entered his body.

• Liang Baiyin accepted the two Peace Talismans back from Zhou Leng and asked him to treat her to snacks.
• Fan Zhixing recognized Zhou Leng at Shuizhou Base, while Mark warned him not to attack within Dragon Nation’s borders.
• Zhou Leng returned to Xiaoru Village and used the Land of Blades, but its trial only slightly weakened the demonic nature.
• Zhou Leng entered the fourth level, Red Lotus Fire Prison, and found that its flames weakened the demonic nature while strengthening his heart and blood vessels.
• Zhou Leng repeatedly endured the Red Lotus Fire Prison until, on his seventh attempt, the demonic nature shattered and a white point of light entered his body.

After surviving seven trips through the Red Lotus Fire Prison, Zhou Leng absorbed the Original Demon Blood, reached the Blood-Circulating Late Stage, and discovered that his body had transformed. He recovered, tested his growing physical abilities, and joined Zhang Xinglie’s gathering in Ru City, where Crown Prince Rao arrived.

• Zhou Leng woke beneath the Frost Giant Tree, sensed the Original Demon’s power in his heart, and learned that he had reached the Blood-Circulating Late Stage.
• Zhou Leng rested at Mammoth Lake for a day and night, then returned to Xiaoru Village and replied to messages, including Zhang Xinglie’s invitation to dinner.
• Zhou Leng tested his strength and endurance at the martial arts gym, confirmed his physical abilities had improved, and decided he needed a Giant Physical Extraordinary Body.
• Zhou Leng ran to Daquan Barbecue and reunited with Zhang Xinglie’s friends, including Mo Hai, at a gathering of martial artists.
• Crown Prince Rao entered the private room, and more than half the guests stood to welcome him.

Zhang Xinglie reunited with his friends and explained why he had sold his place in Yunhua Martial University's Elite Training Camp to fund his cultivation foundation. The gathering ended with the group discussing Yunhua's resources and the fearsome National Ranking leader Li Shenkong.

• Rao Mingxian gathered with Zhou Leng and saved a seat for Zhang Xinglie, who arrived and ordered a lavish barbecue feast for their friends.
• Zhang Xinglie told the group he had sold his Elite Training Camp place after deciding that strengthening his pill foundation and avoiding restrictive contracts suited him better.
• Zhang Xinglie explained that he received eighty million for the place, along with a three-year Quota Certificate and one hundred hours of Innate sparring instruction.
• Zhang Xinglie described Yunhua's abundant cultivation resources and the rewards available to top students.
• Zhang Xinglie said Li Shenkong was so powerful that the top student in his class could not withstand one move, and the friends reacted with astonishment.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie discussed the Heavenly Stair, Zhou Leng’s past, and his gains from the trial before going to Bright River Martial Arts Hall to test his abilities. Their arm-wrestling contest began with Zhang Xinglie forcing Zhou Leng backward.

• Zhang Xinglie and the others praised Zhou Leng for his actions on the Heavenly Stair, then learned that his childhood had been blighted by a paid-off mortgage and the unfinished development of his neighborhood.
• Zhang Xinglie told Zhou Leng that a classmate’s family could arrange a trip to the Steel Dwarf Tribe, and Zhou Leng invited him along to seek privileges from the Steel Dwarves.
• Zhou Leng gave Zhang Xinglie a leaf from the Water Continent Demon City and explained how fighting alongside classmates had affected him spiritually.
• Zhang Xinglie described the spiritual baptism received by Grand Army Battle Souls and said he wanted to train with the Demon City Army; Zhou Leng also told him about comprehending Mind-Spirit Shadow Division.
• Zhang Xinglie took Zhou Leng to Bright River Martial Arts Hall to test his combat skills, and their strength contest ended with Zhang Xinglie pushing Zhou Leng nearly ten meters backward.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie sparred and exchanged insights, helping Zhou Leng approach the threshold of Many as One. After returning to Beast World, Zhou Leng reflected on what he had learned and began checking the spoils taken from the people who had hunted him.

• Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie tested their martial techniques, and Zhang Xinglie's No-Return Battle Method eventually let him overwhelm Zhou Leng's body with relentless attacks.
• Zhou Leng used his superior true qi control to defeat Zhang Xinglie in a Qi Duel, and Zhang Xinglie recognized that Zhou Leng had reached the Extreme Realm.
• Zhang Xinglie assessed Zhou Leng's standing and potential, then the two spent the night sparring and discussing the Martial Dao.
• Zhang Xinglie and Zhou Leng discussed how to challenge Shanhe Yuan before Zhang Xinglie instructed the others at Bright River Martial Arts Hall and departed.
• Rao Mingxian and Zhou Leng ran back toward Ru University, reflecting on Zhang Xinglie's struggles and the difficult choices facing them.
• Zhou Leng practiced beneath the Frost Giant Tree, realized how the No-Return Battle Method related to Many as One, and took out a bloodstained backpack containing the spoils from his nine pursuers.

Zhou Leng prepared for a future visit to Dwarf World by gathering supplies and seeking gray-market goods, then received official invitations and rewards through the Martial Guard Department’s Young Eagle Program. The chapter left him newly eligible for escalating support if he advanced quickly, including the possibility of becoming the first martial academy Student Innate.

• Zhou Leng found a map of Mountain Furnace among the spoils, learned it concerned a Dwarf Ancient King’s treasure, and decided to ask Molten Hammer about it later.
• Zhou Leng planned to seek Dwarf Resident status, researched what he needed for Dwarf World, and bought adventure supplies and gray-market goods from Wan Liping at Ghost Market.
• Zhou Leng spotted the stall owner who had previously bought his demonic bull bones, left the area, and made sure no one followed him home.
• Zhou Leng met with Deng Zhijue, who advised him to prepare carefully before advancing to the Body-Refining Stage and presented his Elite Training Camp invitation and Young Eagle Program review.
• Zhou Leng signed the documents and learned he would receive cultivation resources every three months, with larger rewards if he advanced quickly toward Body-Refining, Force-Generating, and Innate stages.

Zhou Leng learned that Hall Master Wang had secured him additional rewards and that Deng Zhijue had confronted Yan Fenggang over the attack in Demon City. He chose to travel to Dwarf World with Zhang Xinglie and sold his Martial Guard Department Elite Training Camp slot for five million and a one-year Quota Certificate.

• Deng Zhijue warned Yan Fenggang to report to the Martial Guard Bureau about his subordinates’ attack on Zhou Leng, while Yan Fenggang later learned Tian Wenhu was the real target of the warning and was told to keep investigating.
• Zhang Xinglie told Zhou Leng that a safe merchant caravan would leave for Dwarf World on the twenty-eighth, and Zhou Leng decided to join him despite the conflict with the Elite Training Camp.
• Zhou Leng reviewed Deng Zhijue’s materials about another demon-related murder near No. 59 Middle School and suggested investigating the school, where Martial Guard Bureau personnel had already been sent.
• Teacher Liu cautioned Zhou Leng that the trip to Dwarf World was dangerous and could hurt his chance to reach the first tier, but Zhou Leng remained committed to going with Zhang Xinglie.
• After negotiations failed over the Quota Certificate, Zhou Leng sold his Elite Training Camp slot for five million and a one-year Quota Certificate.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie traveled with a large pioneer caravan from Shuizhou Base into the Dwarf World, training and sharing supplies along the way. At the Flame Furnace, Zhou Leng warned Zhang Xinglie about nearby enemies, then learned the caravan also included people from the Lou family, whose ties to the Zhao Clan could bring trouble.

• Zhou Leng calculated the pills and supplies he needed to advance, while worrying that the rare Flesh-Molding Potion might be difficult to obtain.
• Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie joined the Huahong Pioneer Corporation caravan, exchanged pills and medicinal fruits, and trained together during the journey.
• The caravan reached the Dwarves' Shuizhou Base, crossed into the Dwarf World, and split into groups; Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie continued toward the Flame Furnace.
• Zhou Leng spotted Tu Rong and told Zhang Xinglie that members of the Shuizhou Five Tigers and foreign martial artists were among their enemies.
• Zhang Xinglie explained that Zhao Le's group included a leader from the Lou family, relatives of the Zhao Clan, and warned that the Lou family had a bad reputation.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie discussed avoiding conflict with the Huangmeng Sect and pursuing a place in the Ten Realms Youth War. Tu Rong came to make peace on behalf of Captain Mark, but his confession linked Tao Bing to an earlier plot against Zhou Leng and raised new questions about the Trump Consortium’s dealings with demonic practitioners.

• Zhang Xinglie warned Zhou Leng to avoid fights because Huangmeng Sect members had appeared in Ru City, then explained the Ten Realms Youth War and its rewards and entry requirements.
• Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie agreed to aim for the top seventy of the Qi-Blood National Ranking and considered gaining Dwarf identities to seek special trials in Giant World.
• Tu Rong approached Zhou Leng to relay Captain Mark’s apology and ask that their groups avoid further conflict.
• Tu Rong admitted Tao Bing had asked him to teach Zhou Leng a lesson, but he backed off after seeing Zhou Leng honored at No. 8 High School.
• Zhou Leng urged Tu Rong to investigate the Trump Consortium and questioned him about Tian Wenbao’s demonic arts; Tu Rong defended the distinction between cultivating demonic arts and joining the Demon-Worshiping Cult before Zhou Leng sent him away.

Zhang Xinglie and Zhou Leng considered joining the expedition to Mountain Furnace’s Ancient King’s Treasure but refused Zhao Le’s offer because it would separate them into different ranks. After reaching Flame Furnace, they sought out Zhou Leng’s Steel Dwarf friend, Molten Hammer.

• Zhao Le invited Zhang Xinglie and Zhou Leng to join the Lou and Zhao Clans’ expedition, explaining that the treasure tested dwarven descendants and might contain the Eye of the Ancient God.
• Zhang Xinglie rejected the offer because Zhou Leng could not become a core member, and the two decided to find another team or enter with help from Molten Hammer.
• The caravan arrived in Flame Furnace, where Zhang Xinglie and Zhou Leng left the Huahong caravan and explored the city.
• At a tavern the next morning, Zhou Leng asked a waiter for information about Molten Hammer of Molten Mountain.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie investigated the Mountain Furnace Ancient King's Treasure and sought a team to help them obtain Dwarf noble status. After failing to find Molten Hammer or reach an agreement, they encountered hostile Steel Dwarves near their inn.

• Zhou Leng learned that Humans could earn Dwarf status through residency, mercenary service, marriage, or treasure, and he and Zhang Xinglie chose to pursue Dwarf treasures openly.
• The two gathered information about the Ancient King's Treasure, decided to seek Molten Hammer, and searched shops and the Mercenary Guild for him and a suitable team.
• Zhao Le tried to recruit Zhang Xinglie for Young Master Lou, then told his companions that the Mountain Furnace treasure's Divine Script challenges could make the two stumble.
• Mark's team discussed Zhang Xinglie and Zhou Leng's strength and worried they could affect the expedition, while Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie still awaited news of Molten Hammer.
• Four drunken Steel Dwarves accused Zhang Xinglie of mocking them, and the pair turned to flee as the Dwarves lunged at them.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie were framed and imprisoned in Dwarf World, but Molten Hammer arranged their release with help from the Demon City Army and Chen Shouhu. They reached Grandfather Mountain with a Mountain Furnace Lineage badge, then Zhang Xinglie pointed out Zhao Le and Tu Rong’s groups as possible suspects.

• Dwarf guards arrested Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie after a staged street fight and locked them in a prison.
• Zhou Leng contacted Molten Hammer, who agreed to seek help from the Demon City Army and get them released before the treasure opened.
• Molten Hammer’s group recruited Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie for the Ancient King’s Treasure expedition because Zhou Leng knew Divine Script.
• The Demon City Army and dwarf city defense troops escorted Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie out of prison, and General Great Furnace gave Zhou Leng a Mountain Furnace Lineage badge.
• Molten Hammer brought Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie to Grandfather Mountain with twenty Golden Hammer Warriors, drawing attention from the gathered treasure hunters.
• When Molten Hammer asked which teams might have framed them, Zhang Xinglie pointed toward Zhao Le and Tu Rong’s groups.

Zhou Leng and his companions prepared to explore Grandfather’s Treasure after Molten Hammer explained how Zhou Leng could earn a chance to enter the Giant Trial. Once the treasure opened, they entered a vast cave and chose a passage marked as an important site.

• Molten Hammer accused Jax's and Lou Feiqiong's teams of conspiring against the dwarves, causing most of their dwarf hires to abandon them.
• Zhou Leng and Molten Hammer agreed to seek Dwarf Resident status, and Ale promised to recommend them if they killed two demigod beast descendants inside the treasure.
• Molten Hammer obtained Witchcraft Hide and explained how Zhou Leng could use demigod beast blood and other merits to gain a chance at Giant Trial qualifications.
• Grandfather Mountain opened, and Zhou Leng, Zhang Xinglie, Molten Hammer, and their companions entered the mountain cave together.
• Zhou Leng compared maps, identified a passage marked as an important site, and led the group toward it while warning them about mechanisms and Earth Elementals.

Zhou Leng and six companions entered the dwarf ruins, survived a fire trap, and followed a misread inscription into a battlefield filled with Skeleton Warriors. After fighting for over an hour, they defeated the skeletons, but the group began doubting Zhou Leng’s Divine Script translations.

• Zhou Leng translated the inscriptions on two passages, and the group chose the door marked “Land of Radiant Light,” only to fall into a pit filled with flame vents.
• Zhang Xinglie helped the group escape the pit by throwing Black Barrel high enough to secure a rope, and they chose another door based on Zhou Leng’s translations.
• The group entered a vast battlefield strewn with bones, where Skeleton Warriors rose and attacked them.
• Zhang Xinglie and Zhou Leng led the group’s defense, with Zhou Leng enduring far longer than the others as they fought thousands of skeletons for over an hour.
• After the skeletons fell, Ale and Zhang Xinglie questioned Zhou Leng’s translations, and Zhou Leng showed his intermediate Divine Script researcher certification.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie questioned the errors in Mountain Furnace’s Divine Script, then led the Dwarves through the Land of Thunder and into battle with nine Orcs. Their group turned the fight around, but the clash remained underway as they faced five surviving Orcs.

• Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie concluded that Mountain Furnace may have written the ancient Divine Script incorrectly, while the Dwarves explained that the treasure’s passages changed and its script could not be deciphered.
• Zhou Leng translated the five door labels, and the group chose the Land of Thunder before entering a windswept cave.
• Zhang Xinglie used Lion’s Roar to stun the Orcs, allowing him and Zhou Leng to kill two and injure or incapacitate others.
• Zhou Leng and Half-Barrel attacked a leg-broken Orc together until Zhang Xinglie struck it down and Zhou Leng finished it.
• Zhang Xinglie praised Zhou Leng’s use of his legs as the battle narrowed to seven fighters against five Orcs.

After defeating nine orcs, Zhou Leng discovered in their notes that High Earth Flower had secretly entered the Ancient King's Treasure, possibly to hide a treasure or her remains. The group chose the Nightmare-like Trial passage and found themselves in a dwarf classroom, where a fairy began teaching Divine Script and punished Zhang Xinglie for cheating.

• Zhou Leng's team killed all nine orcs, collected their spoils, and recovered from the battle.
• Zhou Leng translated an orc notebook and learned that High Earth Flower had secretly entered the Ancient King's Treasure before she disappeared.
• Molten Hammer and the dwarves discussed the possibility that High Earth Flower had hidden a treasure or left her remains inside the treasure.
• The group chose the Nightmare-like Trial passage and entered a classroom not shown on their map.
• A tiny fairy began teaching Divine Script, and she struck Zhang Xinglie into a wall after catching him trying to cheat with his Demonic Wristwatch.
• Zhou Leng and the dwarves repeated the first Divine Script lesson while Zhang Xinglie struggled to follow along.

Zhou Leng mastered twenty Divine Script pronunciations in the Sprite’s preschool class and received a starlit flower as a reward. After being transported into an underground hall, he recorded what he learned, then followed a badly injured group of Orcs and attacked the last one.

• Zhou Leng successfully pronounced Divine Scripts while the Sprite expelled Dwarves and Orcs who failed to learn or broke classroom rules.
• The Sprite taught Zhou Leng extra phrases and continued lessons until he had learned twenty Divine Scripts.
• Zhao Le and Lou Feiqiong joined a later class, but Zhao Le could not reproduce the Sprite’s consciousness pronunciation while Zhou Leng could.
• The Sprite declared Zhou Leng the only student in countless years to complete the first preschool lesson and gave him a starlit flower that entered his sea of consciousness.
• After returning to an underground hall, Zhou Leng recorded all twenty Divine Scripts and his lesson notes before following seven injured Orcs.
• Zhou Leng ambushed the last Orc in a narrow passage, pierced its throat, and twisted its neck as the Orc ahead began to turn around.

Zhou Leng killed the pursuing Orcs, recovered the Demigod descendant’s Dragon Marrow Blood Bone, and began using it to strengthen himself. While he cultivated, Lou Feiqiong’s group found him and decided to spare him because of his importance to Human scholarship.

• Zhou Leng killed the Orcs pursuing him, including a heavily wounded Body-Refining Late Stage fighter, then defeated two more Orcs after they were weakened by fighting earth Giants.
• Zhou Leng killed the Demigod descendant, collected his spoils, and found a Dragon Marrow Blood Bone among the valuable items.
• Zhou Leng used the Dragon Marrow Blood Bone, enduring its Dragon aura with the help of his experience in the Red Lotus Fire Prison.
• Lou Feiqiong and his group entered the hall and recognized Zhou Leng while he cultivated.
• Zhao Le explained that Zhou Leng could be the founder of Divine Script studies, and Lou Feiqiong chose not to harm him.

Zhou Leng discovered that his body and vital blood had grown stronger, then used an Orc’s map to seek the remains and treasures of High Earth Flower. He joined the battle between the Zhao and Lou clans and the Orcs, exploiting his advantage on the ice to kill two Orcs.

• Lou Feiqiong led his group away while Zhou Leng cultivated, and Zhou Leng later woke to find his strength, vital blood, and true qi had improved.
• Zhou Leng translated an Orc’s notebook and map, learned where High Earth Flower’s remains might be, and decided to investigate the ancient ruins there.
• After taking Divine Marrow Blood Bone, Zhou Leng followed the map and found Lou Feiqiong and Zhao Le’s group fighting Orcs over a tree bearing Dust Demon Fruits.
• Zhou Leng slipped behind an injured Orc and killed him with a palm strike, then shouted in Orc Language that Human reinforcements were coming.
• Zhou Leng used his Frost True Qi and superior footwork on the ice to outmaneuver an Orc and break his spine, then struck the back of his head.