Chapter Summaries

Duan Yu fought Ouyang Ke on Hundred Battles Mountain while still weakened from his previous match, and Wang Yuyan guided his moves from the sidelines. After enduring Ouyang Ke’s poison and counterattacking, Duan Yu defeated him with the Six Meridian Divine Sword.

• Ouyang Ke poisoned the injured Duan Yu, but Wang Yuyan told Duan Yu how to seal his acupoints and block the poison.
• Wang Yuyan guided Duan Yu through Ouyang Ke’s attacks, helping him evade Thousand-Mile Blink and exploit flaws in Ouyang Ke’s techniques.
• Duan Yu struck Ouyang Ke with sword attacks, while Xu Kun explained how Wang Yuyan’s keen insight let her identify weaknesses in an opponent’s skills.
• Ouyang Ke released poisonous mist, and Duan Yu absorbed it with the North Sea Divine Art despite the poison turning his body black.
• Wang Yuyan identified an opening in Ouyang Ke’s Serpent Fist, and Duan Yu struck his Qimen acupoint with the Shaoshang Sword, winning the match.

After Kong Changyan entered the Hundred Battles Mountain arena and tried to lean on his family name, Sikong Ting publicly condemned his conduct in the Endless Labyrinth and challenged him. Kong Changyan erupted in anger and demanded a fight to the death, while Kong Shizhan realized Xu Kun and Sikong Ting had taken their lesson far beyond what he intended.

• Ouyang Feng left Thousand Spider Mountain carrying the defeated Ouyang Ke, while Xu Kun and Kong Shizhan discussed Kong Changyan's conduct and agreed that Xu Kun could help temper him.
• Sikong Ting volunteered to confront Kong Changyan, and he and Xu Kun agreed to proceed with Kong Shizhan's approval.
• Kong Changyan arrived on Hundred Battles Mountain as Duan Yu faltered from his injuries and poison, then sent Duan Yu safely down and introduced himself by his Kong family name.
• Xu Shao reminded Kong Changyan that students were equal on the mountain, and Sikong Ting challenged him for relying on his family's status.
• Sikong Ting denounced Kong Changyan's actions in the Endless Labyrinth before the gathered students, provoking Kong Changyan to spit blood and demand a fight to the death.

Sikong Ting defeated Kong Changyan and then dominated the Hidden Dragon Rankings event, taunting challengers as he built a 999-win streak. With no one else willing to face him, Imperial Capital Academy’s sole genuine SS-tier recruit stepped forward, though his character remained undecided.

• Sikong Ting nullified Kong Changyan’s wind magic and defeated him with a devastating lightning attack, winning their match.
• Sikong Ting announced he would keep fighting and defeated challenger after challenger while boasting about the Thunder Institute.
• Lord Dong dismissed other academy heads’ complaints, saying students needed to withstand taunts and pressure.
• Sikong Ting defeated Azi after she tried to poison him, then continued his streak until it reached 999 victories.
• An SS-tier recruit from Imperial Capital Academy stepped forward because the event risked ending with the current rankings unchanged.

Sikong Ting fought Braun to reclaim his reputation and revealed the divine artifacts and borrowed power that let him take to the sky and unleash a devastating wind-and-thunder attack. Braun met the strike with his strongest defenses, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Braun absorbed Sikong Ting's lightning with his giant shield and returned it as a frost tiger, slowing Sikong Ting before charging him.
• Sikong Ting revealed his Wind Fire Wheels and flew beyond Braun's reach, drawing astonishment from the crowd and the Dragon-Tiger Rankings prodigies.
• Sikong Ting summoned the Wind-Thunder Golden Cudgel and used the Heaven and Earth United talisman to connect with Xu Kun's Mountain Without Ridge talisman.
• Sikong Ting transformed with Wind-Thunder True Body and stacked Xu Kun's buffs, creating a powerful field of wind and lightning around Braun.
• Sikong Ting launched Wind Annihilation, Thunder Extinction: Sky Rift, and Braun countered with Winter's Bite and Ice Kingdom Defense: Unbreakable.

Sikong Ting’s fight with Braun revealed that the Troll Gate could absorb magical damage and heal its wielder, leaving Sikong Ting unable to win through ordinary attacks. He unveiled his ultimate form and began a devastating thunder attack, with the battle’s outcome still unknown.

• Sikong Ting struck Braun with the Wind-Thunder Golden Cudgel, but Braun survived the clash and called for another attack.
• Sikong Ting’s barrage failed to overcome Braun, whose Unyielding Grip and Troll Gate converted absorbed damage into healing.
• Lord Dong explained the Troll Gate’s origin and warned that only Braun could wield it safely, while Sikong Ting and Braun continued their match.
• Sikong Ting admitted he could not repeat his strongest earlier technique, then chose to use his ultimate move instead.
• Sikong Ting activated Drumbeat of Liberation: Heart of the Thunder God and unleashed Wrath of the Thunder God: Heavenly Punishment Thunder, flooding the battlefield with lightning.

Sikong Ting defeated Braun in the Academy Tournament and was hailed as the first competitor to reach one thousand consecutive victories. He accepted Yun Zhongzi as his master and received two treasures, but Queen Ashe’s avatar arrived to ask Lord Dong for someone.

• Sikong Ting’s thunder blade broke through Braun’s Glacial Fissure and overwhelmed the Troll Gate, leaving Braun defeated.
• Xu Jing declared Sikong Ting the winner, and the gathered students and Sikong Family celebrated his victory.
• Yun Zhongzi offered to take Sikong Ting as his disciple, and Sikong Ting accepted after Xu Kun nodded.
• Yun Zhongzi gave Sikong Ting the Demon Revealing Mirror and a pinewood sword, then said he would take him to Jade Pillar Cave after the tournament.
• Queen Ashe’s avatar appeared and told Lord Dong she had come to ask for someone, then pointed to him.

Lord Dong rejected Ashe’s attempt to take Braun and his Troll Gate to defend the Russia War Zone, then arranged for Xu Jing and Xu Shao to train Braun. After Sikong Ting finished his tournament run and revealed Xu Kun as his boss, Xu Kun entered the arena and immediately conceded.

• Ashe admitted that she wanted Braun’s Troll Gate, but Lord Dong refused to let her take him and cited the Russia War Zone’s past refusal to aid Huaxia.
• Ashe left after Lord Dong suggested she join forces with Serilda and the powerhouse at Howling Abyss against the Icebear Race.
• Lord Dong assigned Xu Jing and Xu Shao to personally train Braun and ordered the tournament to continue.
• Sikong Ting put away his disciple-gifts, declared that he had done enough, and called Xu Kun his boss.
• Xu Kun entered the arena as an E-tier level 12, rank 5 contestant, greeted Xu Jing and Xu Shao, and conceded immediately.

Sikong Ting surrendered to Xu Kun, and no one dared challenge him for the top position. Lord Dong then gathered more than eleven hundred remaining students to fight Xu Kun at once, and Xu Kun began cutting through them with ease.

• Sikong Ting surrendered to Xu Kun and declared that no one could match his boss.
• No challenger came forward within five minutes, leaving Xu Kun poised to claim the top spot on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
• Lord Dong invited all remaining students to challenge Xu Kun together and offered a low-tier divine artifact to anyone who could land a fatal blow.
• More than eleven hundred students entered Hundred Battles Mountain, while Lady Wang and the Dragon-Tiger geniuses watched and debated whether Xu Kun could defeat them.
• Xu Kun opened the battle with Blade Storm and Earth Shattering Slash, then charged into the crowd and killed students with his sword as their attacks barely affected him.
• Li Taibai watched Xu Kun fight and thought his poem should describe him as killing ten men with every step.

Xu Kun finished the Hidden Dragon Rankings placement matches in second place and became the first freshman eligible to challenge a Dragon-Tiger Rankings prodigy. Xu Shao announced new rules that made tournament challenges exchanges only, while a separate ladder challenge could still change the rankings.

• Xu Kun defeated the freshmen gathered against him and left one Wind Institute student standing, then Lord Dong declared the placement matches over.
• The finalized Hidden Dragon Rankings placed Yang Yao first, Xu Kun second, and Sikong Ting third, with Shen Tu Bao in ninety-third place.
• Xu Shao explained that Yang Yao had forfeited her first-place challenge, making Xu Kun the first challenger, and Xu Kun declared that he wanted to challenge a Dragon-Tiger Rankings prodigy.
• Xu Shao announced that tournament challenges would no longer change Dragon-Tiger Rankings positions, even if freshmen won, because many current prodigies were nearing graduation.
• Xu Shao clarified that freshmen could still enter the rankings by challenging from the bottom seat and winning their way upward, and Lord Dong gave Xu Kun a knowing smile.

Xu Kun chose to challenge the Dragon-Tiger Rankings from the bottom, drawing excitement and skepticism from the students gathered at Hundred Battles Mountain. After noticing Yao Yao watching from the Ice Institute, he began his ascent and faced Kong Changyao, whom he summoned down to fight.

• Students debated whether Xu Kun could defeat the Dragon-Tiger Rankings prodigies, while a cloaked woman from the Ice Institute voiced confidence in him.
• Xu Kun chose to challenge the rankings from the bottom rather than take part in exchange matches.
• After receiving an email from Yao Yao, Xu Kun spotted her cloaked figure at the Ice Institute and began climbing the rankings staircase.
• Gongshu Ye and Li Dongbi each addressed Xu Kun as a senior because of his standing in the Forging Sect and his connection to the Alchemy Institute.
• Xu Kun reached Kong Changyao's position, told him to come down, and challenged him to fight.

Xu Kun began his Dragon-Tiger Rankings challenge by fighting Kong Changyao, the eighteenth-ranked Earth Institute prodigy, and overwhelmed the defense specialist with his hammer and other attacks. After Yang Yao’s support empowered his Combination Skill, Xu Kun shattered Kong Changyao’s arm and sent him crashing through three mountain peaks, leaving the match unresolved.

• Xu Kun faced Kong Changyao on Hundred Battles Mountain, where Kong sealed himself behind his Eight-Gate Rock Wall.
• Xu Kun reviewed Yang Yao’s dossier on Kong Changyao, then summoned Starfall Nine Heavens and smashed through three of the rock walls with one strike.
• Kong Changyao used Earthwave Shift and Sand Guardian to defend against Xu Kun’s hammer and Life-Chasing attacks, but Xu Kun kept battering him through the air.
• Kong Changyao used Thousand-Pound Drop to resist Xu Kun and prepared to strike, but Xu Kun activated the Combination Skill Countless Mortals with Yang Yao’s support.
• Xu Kun’s strength surged, and his Starfall Nine Heavens broke Kong Changyao’s left arm and knocked him through three mountain peaks.

Xu Kun overwhelmed Kong Changyao in their duel, survived his Earth Star Shattering Burst, and provoked him into summoning the Kong family’s ancestor. The illusory figure recognized Xu Kun and greeted him as an old acquaintance, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Lin Yi asked Shentu Ba whether he could have forced Kong Changyao into such a disadvantage, and Shentu Ba scolded him for the familiar address.
• Kong Changyao activated Petrification True Body, but Xu Kun broke both his arms, smashed his stone form, and left him badly injured.
• Xu Kun let Kong Changyao use Earth Star Shattering Burst and emerged unharmed, shattering Kong Changyao’s confidence.
• Kong Changyao crushed a jade pendant to summon the Kong family’s ancestor, despite Kong Shizhan’s warning.
• The illusory ancestor met Xu Kun’s gaze and greeted him, saying they had met before.

Xu Kun defeated Kong Changyao and, with Confucius’s intervention, forced the Kong family to face discipline for its misconduct. After the rankings placed Xu Kun at eighteenth, he challenged Lin Yi, then returned to prepare with Yang Yao’s information.

• Xu Kun told Confucius that Kong Changyao’s conduct was improper, and Confucius saw the Kong family’s decline and asked Xu Kun how its descendants should be dealt with.
• Xu Kun declined to judge the whole Kong family, and Confucius ordered Kong Shizhan to expel Kong Changyan, imprison Kong Changyao for ten years, and purge the family’s evildoers.
• Confucius recognized Lord Dong as Zhongshu, reminded him to uphold education without discrimination, and entrusted Xu Kun to his care before departing.
• Kong Changyao accepted defeat and vowed to reform, while Kong Shizhan expelled Kong Changyan from the academy and severed his ties to the Kong family.
• Xu Shao declared Xu Kun the winner and announced that he had taken eighteenth place on the Dragon-Tiger Rankings.
• Xu Kun challenged Lin Yi, but Lin Yi asked him to spare his dignity, so Xu Kun returned to Hundred Battles Mountain as Yang Yao prepared information about Lin Yi.

Xu Kun faced Lin Yi in the second Dragon-Tiger Rankings challenge, struggling against the Wood Institute prodigy's relentless control and healing. Lin Yi unleashed Essence of the Forest: Wild Growth and trapped the arena in a vast plant-based net, leaving Xu Kun to confront the transformed battlefield.

• Xu Kun entered the arena to challenge Lin Yi, who immediately bound him with vines and attacked with throwing knives and thorns.
• Xu Kun escaped Lin Yi's restraints and used dust tornadoes and sword strikes to overwhelm him, but Lin Yi healed himself with herbs and Song of the Forest.
• Lin Yi admitted Xu Kun's damage was too high for him to outlast and activated Essence of the Forest: Wild Growth.
• Lin Yi enlarged his body with gathered plant energy and struck the ground with Myriad Manifestations Sky Net Palm, stirring the surrounding plants into an inescapable net around Xu Kun.
• Xu Kun evaded the slow palm strike and recognized the danger of the plant-filled arena.

Xu Kun defeated Lin Yi in the second Dragon-Tiger Rankings challenge after uprooting his vines and surviving his powerful Fallen Bloom Sword. He chose to keep challenging, and Shentu Ba stepped forward to face him next.

• Xu Kun used Wind Dance to evade Lin Yi's attacks, then revealed that Lin Yi transferred damage to the surrounding vegetation.
• Xu Kun bound Lin Yi with the Dragon Binding Cord and dragged him forward until his vines snapped and Lin Yi was uprooted.
• Lin Yi sacrificed the vegetation on nearby hills to unleash the Fallen Bloom Sword, which wounded Xu Kun but failed to defeat him.
• Lin Yi conceded, and Xu Kun won the match and advanced one position on the Dragon-Tiger Rankings.
• Xu Kun accepted Shentu Ba's challenge without restoring his health, and Shentu Ba said he would not show mercy.

Xu Kun studied Shentu Ba’s combat profile and the Emperor-realm attribute standards, recognizing that Shentu Ba’s exceptional attack, defense, and skills made him a formidable opponent. The chapter left Xu Kun weighing their current strengths and noting that the Silent state sealed at least ninety percent of his own power.

• Yang Yao’s profile described Shentu Ba’s Golden Blade talent, Gilded defense trait, immense burst damage, skills, and vulnerability to kiting.
• Xu Kun understood that Shentu Ba’s physical attack exceeded one million, meeting the basic Emperor-realm standard.
• Xu Kun analyzed how Shentu Ba’s Gold Attack bonuses and low-HP defense made him a balanced and powerful frontline fighter.
• Xu Kun concluded that Shentu Ba’s abilities gave him little advantage in their current state, since the Silent state sealed at least ninety percent of his strength.

Xu Kun accepted Shentu Ba’s challenge to fight head-on, despite spectators warning that Shentu Ba had the advantage in direct combat. Shentu Ba unleashed his battle techniques and opened with a powerful roar, leaving the clash underway.

• Shentu Ba demanded that Xu Kun face him in their shared specialty, and Xu Kun agreed.
• Spectators debated whether Xu Kun could match Shentu Ba’s strength, while a cloaked woman anticipated that the battle would boost Xu Kun’s prestige.
• Shentu Ba argued with the crowd before Xu Kun urged him to begin fighting.
• Shentu Ba activated Berserk Battle Physique and empowered his Bloodtear Godblade with Radiant Gleam.
• Shentu Ba unleashed Gold-Shattering Roar against Xu Kun, making Hundred Battles Mountain tremble.

Xu Kun used the Illusion-Shattering Divine Eyes and Zhengyang Gilding Hand to break Shentu Ba’s Overlord Blade’s Ten Annihilations and knock him flying, but the effort left him disoriented. With Flying Star Grievance’s weakening period over, Shentu Ba regained his strength and prepared to end the battle with Ruthless Severing Strike.

• Xu Kun deflected Shentu Ba’s fourth strike with Zhengyang Gilding Hand and continued evading his saber attacks.
• Xu Kun caught Shentu Ba off guard with Starfall Nine Heavens and blasted him away with a hammer.
• Xu Kun collapsed into confusion after exhausting more soul power than his level should have allowed.
• Lord Dong and the academy instructors recognized that Xu Kun had used soul perception and Zhengyang Gilding Hand to find and strike weaknesses in Shentu Ba’s technique.
• Shentu Ba praised Xu Kun for breaking Overlord Blade’s Ten Annihilations, then regained his full strength as Flying Star Grievance’s weakening period ended.
• Shentu Ba announced that he would finish the fight with his self-comprehended Ruthless Severing Strike.

Xu Kun recovered quickly after his exhausting victory over Shentu Ba and insisted on facing Gongsun Jing next. Gongsun Jing agreed to fight, and Xu Kun examined his opponent’s abilities as they prepared to begin.

• Xu Kun opened his eyes less than half a minute after meditating and told Xu Shao he was ready for another match.
• Xu Kun climbed the stairs and challenged Gongsun Jing, who offered him more time to recover.
• Xu Kun refused the offer, and Gongsun Jing accepted the match while Li Taibai teased him about being the Wind Academy’s second-ranked student.
• Gongsun Jing leaped down to face Xu Kun, who walked toward him while reading his combat information.

Gongsun Jing challenged Xu Kun, revealing that he wanted to restore his reputation after Li Taibai overshadowed him at Wind Academy. Xu Kun accepted the duel as both swordsmen clashed at speed, leaving the battle evenly matched and difficult for most spectators to follow.

• Gongsun Jing told Xu Kun how Li Taibai had surpassed him and left him forgotten at Wind Academy.
• Gongsun Jing declared that he would defeat Xu Kun before the younger swordsman could grow stronger, making Xu Kun his stepping stone to fame.
• Xu Kun drew Chengying and said he intended to keep fighting beyond the rankings and Wind Academy’s champion title.
• Gongsun Jing and Xu Kun launched into a high-speed sword fight, matching each other’s attacks as their blades clashed.