Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xing gained 71,000 merit points from planting materials looted by Pati, rising to 86,000 and entering the top five thousand Seventh Grade cultivators. His explosive progress drew attention across the army and among the kings, and after he completed two more general missions, the kings wondered whether his rate of earning merits was reasonable.

• Zhao Xing received 71,000 merit points for planting tasks using materials Pati had stolen, bringing his total to 86,000 and placing him 4,524th on the Seventh Grade Merit List.
• Zhuang Ziqing saw Zhao Xing's ranking, told Li Feng and Feng Qiu to keep working, and gave up on resting himself.
• Shi Yong checked Zhao Xing's ranking after Zhuang Ziqing's message and went to cultivate instead of resting.
• Xia Jing and others discussed Zhao Xing's rapid rise, while Xia Jing explained that Zhao Xing could spot and exploit opportunities others might miss.
• Rahu King learned that Zhao Xing and Long Xiao had ambushed Sand Tribe People, then discussed Zhao Xing's growth and compared him with other rising cultivators.
• Ling De King noticed that Zhao Xing had completed two general missions in two hours for another 10,000 merits, bringing his total to 96,000 and puzzling the kings.

The kings learned that Zhao Xing had mastered a high-level True Self Faction art and discussed his extraordinary rise in battle merit. In Ninety-Second City, Zhao Xing redirected cultivation and logistics toward the advancing army, then used Fleeting Origin to improve Heart Insect Grass and Blood Yuan Fruits before heading to submit his mission.

• Rahu King summoned Lu Bang, who confirmed that Zhao Xing had mastered a high-level art in the Primordial Dao Field.
• Liu Tianning noted that Zhao Xing had risen to rank 4,321 among seventh ranks, while Lu Bang said his battle merit could withstand scrutiny.
• Zhao Xing ordered Han Bing to shift cultivation toward three crop categories, use the Houtu Return to Origin formation, and route the transport airships through the Astral Wind layer.
• Zhao Xing instructed Song Fang to assign priests to agriculture and city repairs and to withdraw the ghost guards patrolling outside the city.
• Zhao Xing used Fleeting Origin to break the growth limits of Heart Insect Grass and Blood Yuan Fruits, raising many of them to higher grades.
• Zhao Xing harvested the improved crops, planted another batch, and rode toward the temple to submit his mission.

Zhao Xing submitted his mission materials, climbed the Seventh Rank Merit Rankings, and then devoted himself to breaking through a bottleneck in Instant Primordial. By early August, he was wandering beyond Ninety-Second City in a strange state of absorption as Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Liao Rulong watched.

• Zhao Xing invoked the Star Lord of Calculation, received fifteen thousand battle merit for his Heart Insect Grass and Blood Yuan Fruit, and rose past one hundred thousand merit.
• Zhao Xing reviewed military reports, considered future targets and his spell training, then intensified his farming and study through July.
• Zhao Xing advanced Instant Primordial to High-Level Third-Turn and rose to 431st place in the Seventh Rank Merit Rankings after submitting an advancement mission.
• Zhao Xing stopped submitting missions and wandered outside Ninety-Second City while trying to break through Instant Primordial's limits.
• Chen Shijie assured Long Xiao that Zhao Xing was absorbed in his training, while Liao Rulong observed the unusually meritorious Agricultural Official.

Zhao Xing emerged from a long period of enlightenment having mastered a plant-growth art that could raise ordinary plants to higher tiers. He then proposed a way for Liao Rulong’s army to cross the Flame Mountain Range and reach the Fire Demon Tribe, leaving Chen Shijie to consider stealing Earth Fire Lotus seeds from Fire Dragon Pass.

• Zhao Xing wandered for days, leaving a trail of unusually vigorous plants while Liao Rulong and Chen Shijie guarded him and turned away investigators.
• Zhao Xing returned to the Ninety-Second City, demonstrated that he could grow a Resilient Vine from first tier to third tier, and cleaned himself with spells.
• Liao Rulong welcomed Zhao Xing and discussed his army’s size and plans to attack the Fire Demon Tribe; Han Bing and Wang Ji revealed Zhao Xing had prepared supplies for that campaign months earlier.
• Zhao Xing explained that the eastern approach was blocked by the Flame Mountain Range and proposed crossing it with robes made from Earth Fire Lotus.
• Zhao Xing told Chen Shijie to steal Earth Fire Lotus seeds from the Earth Vein at Fire Dragon Pass and said he could grow them using his advanced Volcano Art and fifth transformation of Instant Primordial.

Zhao Xing helped Chen Shijie prepare an operation to steal Earth Fire Lotus and take Fire Dragon Pass, then joined the mission team after explaining why he wanted to protect Chen Shijie and improve his military merit. He arrived at Zhiyou City with Chen Shijie, where Liao Rulong welcomed them with bad news.

• Zhao Xing told Chen Shijie to consult Zhang Chunfang’s records and prepare Engineer School mechanisms, then insisted on joining the operation and secured Chen Shijie’s command of the team.
• Zhao Xing explained that taking Fire Dragon Pass could bring major military rewards and that he hoped to change Chen Shijie’s fate by helping him earn more merit.
• As Great Zhou and the Southern Wilderness prepared for a major battle, Zhao Xing’s military merit reached 480,000, and Chen Shijie continued refining the operation plan.
• Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and Wang Ji inspected infiltration equipment, including Thousand Transformations Headgear, and practiced using it.
• On August twenty-third, Zhao Xing received his transfer order, left Ninety-Second City, and traveled with Chen Shijie to Zhiyou City.
• Liao Rulong welcomed Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie at Zhiyou City and delivered bad news.

Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Yu Ziqi infiltrated Fire Dragon Pass underground, disguised themselves as four Fire Demon Tribe commanders, and moved toward the Earth Fire Lotus growing area. The chapter ended by revealing that Xia Jing and Guan Junyang were also undercover in Fire Dragon City, with Ye Chongxian arranging to guide the Heir Apparent into a guarded area.

• Liao Rulong worried that Lu Yuanwei's rapid advance would let the Divine Thunder Army seize the Qinggang Mining Area before his forces could reach it, so he began planning an infiltration of Fire Dragon Pass.
• Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Yu Ziqi traveled underground, avoiding guarded passages and false Earth Vein signals until they reached the cavern beneath the pass.
• The four killed the commanders Luo Ba, Xu Ba, La He, and Huo Wei, assumed their identities, and hid the commanders' Fate Souls in straw figures.
• Long Xiao nearly drew suspicion during a shift change, but Zhao Xing answered Luo Ba's communication token and learned that Luo Ba had arranged to meet Guardian Liu.
• Xia Jing and Guan Junyang met with the undercover Ye Chongxian, who planned to get reassigned to patrol the guarded area and lead the Heir Apparent inside.

Zhao Xing and his companions infiltrated the Earth Fire Lotus cultivation area to steal seeds, but a missing passphrase exposed them to danger. After clashing with Xia Jing and Guan Junyang, Xia Jing recognized Zhao Xing’s technique and called for them to stop because they were allies.

• Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, Yu Ziqi, and Long Xiao disguised themselves as Fire Demon Tribe members and entered the Earth Fire Lotus cultivation area after Zhao Xing stole Sang Ma’s identity.
• The group stole Earth Fire Lotus seeds from the third-tier and fourth-tier areas while posing as laborers.
• A commander demanded a passphrase to enter the fifth-tier area, and Yu Ziqi and Long Xiao killed him before Zhao Xing kicked his body into the magma.
• Zhao Xing’s group encountered Xia Jing and Guan Junyang, who had entered with Ye Chongxian, and the two groups began fighting after Zhao Xing demanded their authorization.
• Xia Jing recognized Yu Ziqi’s technique and told Zhao Xing they were on the same side, so Zhao Xing called for the fighting to stop.

Zhao Xing and his companions met Xia Jing and Guan Junyang inside Fire Dragon Pass, abandoned their attempt to steal fifth-rank Earth Fire Lotus seeds, and escaped without alerting the guards. Back in Zhiyou City, Zhao Xing learned that a volcano would be needed to cultivate the lotus at scale, and Liao Rulong secured access to one in East Mulberry City.

• Yu Ziqi nearly killed Xia Jing before Zhao Xing recognized him, and the six retreated to an abandoned stone mine to talk.
• Xia Jing revealed that he had entered Fire Dragon Pass with help from a hidden spy and had come to gather intelligence and seek Earth Fire Lotus seeds.
• Xia Jing and Guan Junyang had only obtained fourth-rank seeds because a Mountain Sealing Spell blocked access to the fifth-rank Earth Fire Spirit Lake.
• Zhao Xing decided against breaking the seal, and his group escaped Fire Dragon Pass by retracing their route while Xia Jing and Guan Junyang stayed behind.
• In Zhiyou City, Zhao Xing told Liao Rulong that he would try to grow the fourth-rank seeds, and he sought a volcano to support cultivation.
• Liao Rulong secured access to a dormant volcano in East Mulberry City from Jiang Ming, who required his Ministers of Agriculture to be allowed to plant there as well.

Zhao Xing activated the dormant volcano with his Volcano Art, unleashing an eruption powerful enough to blast apart the heavenly-dipper wind layer and hurl Jiang Ming’s warship thousands of meters away. The warship survived with injuries but no deaths, leaving Jiang Ming stunned by the art’s terrifying power.

• Chen Shijie explained that Jiang Ming had secured the chance to earn merit by guarding the volcano, and Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie arrived in East Mulberry City.
• Zhao Xing inspected the volcano and told Jiang Ming to withdraw everyone and nearly all airships beyond thirty li before he began casting.
• Zhao Xing spent three days reshaping the volcano with repeated spells, then told Chen Shijie he was ready to activate it.
• He Yu recognized signs of an earthquake and urged Ouyang Song to warn the camp to retreat, while Zhao Xing triggered the volcano on the fourth night.
• The eruption blasted through the heavenly-dipper wind layer and sent Jiang Ming’s warship spinning three thousand meters away, but its crew survived with injuries and no deaths.
• Jiang Ming stared at the erupting volcano in shock and realized his army could have been wiped out if it had camped nearby.

Zhao Xing awakened the East Mulberry Volcano and used its fire vein to cultivate Earth Fire Lotus for the armies gathering at Fire Dragon Pass. As rival forces negotiated to join the coming campaign, Xia Jing asked Zhao Xing to humble Dong He, a proud Black Armor Army farmer who had come to compete with him.

• Zhao Xing's seventy-two Volcano Art castings triggered a powerful eruption, activating a Level 5 fire vein across the East Mulberry Volcano.
• Chen Shijie and the Ministers of Agriculture planted Earth Fire Lotus in the volcanic ash, expanding production to 120,000 plants while Zhao Xing rested.
• Jiang Ming brought Sea Pacifying Army farmers to help, and Chen Shijie allowed them to participate under his orders while directing Jiang Ming to seek approval for deeper cooperation.
• After waking at the thirty-ninth level of Gathering Origin, Zhao Xing agreed to speak on the Sea Pacifying Army's behalf with Tantai Ming's envoy, Zhu Xinwen.
• Xia Jing met Zhao Xing with Dong He, a sixth-rank Black Armor Army Military Sima Nong skilled in high-level True Self Faction spells, and asked Zhao Xing to show him that there was always someone better.

Zhao Xing and Dong He led separate teams cultivating fifth-rank Earth Fire Lotus, each using different methods. Zhao Xing’s formation-assisted technique produced more than five hundred fifth-rank lotuses, leaving Jin Ming stunned when Xia Jing revealed the result.

• Dong He criticized Wang Ji’s formations and Zhao Xing’s cultivation methods until Wang Ji aimed his shoulder crossbow at him, forcing Dong He to let Zhao Xing speak.
• Zhao Xing and Dong He agreed to cultivate Earth Fire Lotus separately, with Zhao Xing giving Dong He priority access to troops and materials.
• Wang Ji took Zhao Xing’s casual order literally, received twenty military strokes, and was treated by Han Bing before Zhao Xing went to find him.
• Zhao Xing used a large formation, Solar Terms Decrees, Supporting Cloud, and Fleeting Origin to cultivate more than five hundred fifth-rank Earth Fire Lotus on the volcano’s south side.
• Xia Jing visited Dong He’s team, where Jin Ming boasted that Dong He had cultivated one hundred fifth-rank lotuses, then reacted in disbelief when Xia Jing said Zhao Xing had grown five hundred.

Xia Jing won the Sima Nong Camp commanders’ respect after Jin Ming saw Zhao Xing cultivate Earth Fire Lotuses far faster than Dong He, and Dong He accepted Xia Jing’s authority. In Zhiyou City, Fire-Warding Robes made from the lotuses enabled soldiers to cross Flame Mountain, and Liao Rulong called for a three-thousand-man night assault force.

• Jin Ming inspected Zhao Xing’s cultivation and saw him raise one hundred fourth-rank Earth Fire Lotuses to fifth rank in an hour, then admitted the Black Armor Army’s methods were inferior.
• Xia Jing ordered Jin Ming’s men to help transplant Dong He’s lotuses, and they accepted Xia Jing as their General.
• Xia Jing told Dong He that the Divine Might Army had cultivated fifteen thousand fifth-rank Earth Fire Lotuses, five times Dong He’s output, and Dong He acknowledged Xia Jing’s authority.
• Huang Canying inspected the weaving girls’ work aboard the Weaving Method Tower Ship as Tu Yao continued producing battle robes.
• Zhao Xing arrived in Zhiyou City and learned that three thousand Fire-Warding Robes could protect Rank Eight soldiers crossing Flame Mountain.
• Liao Rulong announced that the Divine Might Army would send three thousand soldiers across Flame Mountain at night and asked which commanders would join the vanguard.

Zhao Xing joined the vanguard’s dangerous crossing of Flame Mountain with Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Mountain Cat. After Zhao Xing’s breakthrough helped them defeat a Mountain Patrol Envoy, Pang Guangyao killed his fellow envoy and surrendered to Zhao Xing, believing him to be Xia Jing.

• Liao Rulong ordered Chen Shijie to lead an elite vanguard through Seven-Inch Valley to seize Fire Dragon Pass, and Zhao Xing volunteered to join.
• Chen Shijie told Zhao Xing that Mountain Cat had reached the peak of the Earth Fiend Realm, and Zhao Xing collected its custom Earth Fire Lotus robe before testing its strength against Che Shihai.
• The vanguard entered Flame Mountain, where fire hazards killed dozens of soldiers and Chen Shijie began to fear his bad fortune; Zhao Xing and Long Xiao joined his unit to support him.
• Mountain Cat spotted a Mountain Patrol Envoy, who fled; Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and Mountain Cat pursued him, and Zhao Xing’s Soaring Serpent Transformation broke through as he attacked.
• Pang Guangyao caught up, killed the fleeing envoy, and declared that he was on their side; Zhao Xing falsely claimed to be Xia Jing, and Pang Guangyao knelt to him.

Zhao Xing and his allies infiltrated Fire Dragon Pass and prepared to destroy Round Moon City, a key foundation of its defensive formation. As the three armies began their coordinated assault, Zhao Xing readied his force to blow up the city.

• Pang Guangyao pledged himself to Great Zhou, and Zhao Xing appointed him deputy general under Long Xiao and Chen Shijie.
• The three armies planned a coordinated attack on Fire Dragon Pass, with Zhao Xing's infiltrators targeting formation foundations and the Sea Pacifying Army disabling underground defenses.
• Guided by Pang Guangyao, Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie led three thousand soldiers into the pass and reached the forest outside Round Moon City.
• Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie planted Fifth Level Firecracker Bamboo in secret, and Zhao Xing used True Self arts to cultivate his bamboo grove.
• On the agreed attack day, Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing anticipated the battle outside and prepared to blow up Round Moon City and send Basida flying.

Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie destroyed Round Moon City by igniting the fire vein beneath it, allowing Great Zhou’s armies to break through Fire Dragon Pass. After the pass fell and the fighting ended, the commanders gathered as the Military Realm began assessing their military merits.

• Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie planted Fifth Level Firecrackers beneath Round Moon City, while Basida discovered them too late to escape the blast.
• Round Moon City and its surrounding fortresses were obliterated, and Zhao Xing revealed his identity to Pang Guangyao as a Nine Section Commandant in the Divine Might Army.
• The explosion disabled Fire Dragon Pass’s arrays, and Liao Rulong, Wen Shaoyang, and the allied armies captured the pass after fierce fighting.
• Zhao Xing observed Lin Ze’s elite Great Halberdier Camp in battle, then joined Xia Jing in pursuing the retreating Fire Demon Tribe soldiers for military merits.
• The fall of Fire Dragon Pass made waves across the Barbarian Pacification War Zone and the Golden Feather Royal Court, while the commanders gathered for the Military Realm’s merit assessment.

After helping capture Fire Dragon Pass, Zhao Xing received nearly 600,000 war merit, pushing his total above one million and earning him the chance to become an Yin God. He chose to place his Heavenly Soul in a divine temple, then noticed a familiar young man sweeping in the Transportation Department’s Divine Weapon Hall.

• The commanders verified war merits for breaking Fire Dragon Pass, and Xia Jing accepted the Star Lord and Military Realm’s judgment of the damage to the defenses.
• Zhao Xing’s war merit rose to 1,068,421, placing him sixty-ninth on the seventh-rank list, largely for cultivating Earth Fire Lotus, blowing up Round Moon City, and helping breach the pass.
• Zhao Xing told Xia Jing that he would forgo noble and honorary ranks to exchange his million war merit for an Yin God position.
• Lu Tingzhi arrived aboard the Flying Dragon Tower Ship, and Zhao Xing performed the rite that placed his Heavenly Soul in the Rebirth Star Lord Hall.
• As Zhao Xing left the tower ship, he recognized a familiar young man sweeping in the Divine Weapon Hall and went inside to investigate.

Zhao Xing freed Yue Lingzhi from Lu Tingzhi’s punishment and arranged for him to pursue his future at the Hundred Weapons Daoist Academy. Meanwhile, the kings assessed Zhao Xing’s growing military reputation and debated whether he could keep making unexpected gains.

• Zhao Xing bribed Lu Tingzhi with unusual spoils and received a token to recruit ten forgers for the Divine Might Army.
• Zhao Xing destroyed Yue Lingzhi’s electrified broom, took him from the Divine Weapon Hall, and recruited nine other forgers for Wang Ji.
• Zhao Xing offered Yue Lingzhi a place as a Ninth-Grade outer academy official at the Hundred Weapons Daoist Academy, and Yue Lingzhi accepted.
• Xia Jing agreed to help place Yue Lingzhi at the Youyuan Prefecture branch, while Zhao Xing searched for other promising figures and asked about Mi Fu.
• The kings reviewed the Divine Might Army’s battle merits, and Rahu King questioned whether Zhao Xing was truly an unparalleled genius.

After Fire Dragon Pass fell, the armies reorganized, and Zhao Xing was assigned command of a mixed battalion. When a Black Dragon Army officer forcibly requisitioned City 98 and injured Han Bing and Wang Ji, Zhao Xing rushed there with Long Xiao and soldiers, ready to fight.

• Xia Jing negotiated limited reinforcements for his Black Armor camps, while Liao Rulong upgraded his warships and received five thousand additional combat troops.
• Yang An and Jia Pu kept Wen Shaoyang and Liao Rulong's forces separate, then promoted Chen Shijie to joint-camp commander and assigned Zhao Xing his own mixed camp.
• Liao Rulong gave Zhao Xing up to three thousand soldiers and authority over the army's logistics, but Zhao Xing was away when Liao Rulong went to find him.
• Qian Shougang arrived at City 98 with Black Dragon Army troops, declared its supplies requisitioned, and struck Wang Ji unconscious when he objected.
• Che Shihai alerted Zhao Xing that Han Bing and Wang Ji had been injured, so Zhao Xing set out with Long Xiao and five hundred Valiant Cavalry soldiers, telling Long Xiao not to hold back if they had to fight.

Zhao Xing pursued Qian Shougang after he looted City 98’s Earth Fire Lotuses, presenting the attack as an enemy raid by forces disguised as the Black Dragon Army. With Long Xiao and the Valiant Camp, Zhao Xing defeated Qian Shougang’s force and killed him before reinforcements could save him.

• Zhao Xing found City 98’s Earth Fire Lotuses stolen and ordered Che Shihai and Han Bing to report that enemy troops disguised as the Black Dragon Army had attacked.
• Zhao Xing and Long Xiao pursued Qian Shougang, while Liao Rulong, Xia Jing, and Li Que each headed northeast with reinforcements.
• Qian Shougang stopped his Black Dragon Warship to confront the pursuing Divine Might Army, and Long Xiao’s sword wounded him.
• Zhao Xing used poison mist, Netherwind, and Earthly Fiend Thunder to disrupt the Black Dragon Guards and their officers, allowing Long Xiao to shatter Qian Shougang’s battle formation.
• Qian Shougang fled after sacrificing his guards to heal himself, but Zhao Xing caught him and killed him with the Water Drop Art as reinforcements arrived.

After Zhao Xing and Long Xiao killed Qian Shougang and his Black Dragon Guards, the Divine Might Army faced off against the Black Dragon Army while investigators examined the incident. The investigation ultimately found Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and the Valiant Camp not guilty, leaving Zhao Xing surprised by the ruling.

• Zhao Xing returned after killing Qian Shougang, and he and Long Xiao prepared to withdraw with the captured warship as Black Dragon reinforcements arrived.
• Liao Rulong brought the Divine Might Army to support Zhao Xing and Long Xiao, then confronted Xie Kuiguang as both armies threatened to clash.
• Xia Jing stopped Xie Kuiguang from taking Zhao Xing and the others, and the Military Realm later opened an investigation into Qian Shougang's death.
• During questioning, Zhao Xing explained that Qian Shougang's men had seemed like enemy forces and that his soul-damaging spell had caused the souls to become impossible to summon.
• The Military Realm found that Qian Shougang had illegally seized supplies and injured City 98's commander, then ruled seven days later that Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, and the Valiant Camp were not guilty and would keep their battle merits.