Chapter Summaries

Li Zhixian met Yu Yuanzhen, who revealed the forgotten Heavenly Ridge Martial Gathering and decided to end the Yu clan’s grudge with him. After returning to Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, Li Zhixian learned they planned to test how long he could endure the Azure Sky Thunder.

• Yu Yuanzhen summoned Li Zhixian and served him unusual tea made with Thunder Slag.
• Yu Yuanzhen told Li Zhixian that the Heavenly Ridge Martial Gathering once let Titled Douluo contest the title of Invincible Douluo.
• Yu Luomian agreed that Li Zhixian was a dragon among men, and Yu Yuanzhen ordered the grudge involving Yu Xiaogang, Liu Erlong, and Li Zhixian to end.
• Yu Yuanzhen erupted in anger over Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong’s illicit relationship.
• Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling reunited with Li Zhixian and said they wanted to see how long he could endure the Azure Sky Thunder.

Li Zhixian accepted Yu Tianxin’s challenge to see who could endure the Azure Sky Thunder longer and entered Thunder Gorge for his first body-tempering attempt. As both men faced the Azure Sky Thunder Marsh, Li Zhixian began adapting to its pain while seeking to comprehend the fourth form of the Azure Lotus Sword Song, Thunderclap Sword Intent.

• Li Zhixian and the Imperial Dou Team arrived at Thunder Gorge and found the Blue Lightning Family disciples gathered to watch him temper his body.
• Yu Tianxin challenged Li Zhixian to compete in the Azure Sky Thunder, and Li Zhixian accepted despite Yu Tianheng’s warning that Tianxin had years of experience.
• Li Zhixian entered Thunder Gorge without stopping, impressing the watching disciples with his steady progress toward the Azure Sky Thunder Marsh.
• Yu Tianheng predicted that Li Zhixian’s stronger body would give him a slight edge over Yu Tianxin, while Yu Luomian watched to judge Li Zhixian’s abilities.
• Yu Tianxin rushed into the thunder marsh alongside Li Zhixian, driven by resentment over his grandfather’s praise of Sword Wine and his desire to prove himself.
• Li Zhixian endured the marsh’s fierce lightning, gradually adapted as it forged his body, and focused on comprehending Thunderclap Sword Intent.

Li Zhixian endured the Azure Sky Thunder Marsh while seeking insight into Thunderclap Sword Intent and the fourth realm of the sword path. Convinced the Azure Sky Thunder was not destructive enough, he left the marsh and headed deeper into the valley toward the Violet Fiend Thunder.

• Li Zhixian and Yu Tianxin tempered their bodies in the Azure Sky Thunder Marsh, and Li Zhixian appeared more composed as he endured the pain.
• Li Zhixian reflected on the nature of thunder, tested his insight with a sword strike, and decided his understanding was too shallow to reach the fourth realm of the sword path.
• Li Zhixian rose from the marsh, prompting the onlookers to think he had reached his limit, while Yu Tianxin prepared to leave as well.
• Li Zhixian turned away from the valley entrance and walked toward the Violet Fiend Thunder region despite Yu Jinghan's warning.
• Li Zhixian told Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling not to follow, and Yu Tianheng explained that he had come to the Blue Lightning Family to comprehend the sword.
• Yu Tianxin staggered out of the valley and stared blankly at Li Zhixian's charred footprints leading deeper into it.

Li Zhixian endured Violet Fiend Thunder in Thunder Gorge while trying to comprehend Thunderclap Sword Intent, but collapsed before forming it. After he recovered, a Thunder Marsh Grass Seed he had picked up sparked an idea.

• Li Zhixian pushed through the Azure Sky Thunder Domain, then stepped into the far more destructive Violet Fiend Thunder to seek insight into Thunderclap Sword Intent.
• Yu Jinghan and Yu Luomian watched Li Zhixian endure the lightning, and Yu Jinghan praised his determination.
• Li Zhixian used Violet Fiend Thunder to temper his Great Vertebrae Sword Bone, but collapsed after grasping lightning’s destructive nature without forming sword intent.
• Yu Jinghan rescued Li Zhixian after he endured five minutes in the Violet Fiend Thunder and chastised the Blue Lightning Family’s younger generation by comparing them to him.
• Ye Lingling healed Li Zhixian, who showed Yu Jinghan a Thunder Marsh Grass Seed and later stared at it as an idea came to him.

Li Zhixian pushed himself to the brink in Thunder Gorge, desperate to comprehend the sword’s fourth realm, while Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling worried over his worsening condition. As he neared death, the supposedly barren grass seed sprouted in his blood, and Yu Yuanzhen led the Blue Lightning Family into the valley to search for him.

• Li Zhixian spent a month enduring Violet Fiend Thunder in Thunder Gorge, growing gaunt as Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling cared for him and his friends tried to persuade him to rest.
• Li Zhixian decided to stop retreating at the edge of safety and endure the thunder until he reached utter desperation.
• As Li Zhixian neared death, the grass seed fell into his blood and cracked open, producing a tiny green sprout.
• When Li Zhixian failed to emerge, Dugu Yan prepared to enter the valley while Ye Lingling went to alert the Blue Lightning Family.
• Yu Tianxin sounded the emergency bone flute, and Yu Yuanzhen suppressed the valley’s lightning before leading the others inside to find Sword Wine.

Li Zhixian discovered that lightning held the power of rebirth as well as destruction, awakening the dormant seeds across Thunder Gorge and completing the fourth form of the Azure Lotus Sword Song. The chapter ended with him naming the new form Thunder Ash Birth as Yu Yuanzhen and the others watched from the sea of flowers.

• A Nirvana Thunder Lotus bloomed in the Thunder Slag, and Li Zhixian realized that lightning could destroy and renew life.
• Li Zhixian's enlightenment awakened the dormant seeds throughout the Purple Fiend Thunder Marsh and Azure Sky Thunder Lake, covering the valley in Nirvana Thunder Lotuses.
• Yu Yuanzhen led the group through the blooming valley and ordered everyone to stay quiet when they found Li Zhixian meditating at its center.
• Li Zhixian condensed a thunderclap sword bone containing destruction and rebirth, completing the fourth form of the Azure Lotus Sword Song.
• Li Zhixian named the new sword form Thunder Ash Birth.

Li Zhixian entered the fourth realm of swordsmanship, which he named Dao Slaying, and demonstrated how anything within his mind’s reach could become a sword. After completing his lightning body tempering and naming his new physique the Three Phases Spirit Vein Body, he rejected Yu Tianxin’s request to become his disciple and went to speak with Senior Thunder Douluo.

• Li Zhixian comprehended the fourth realm of swordsmanship, named it Dao Slaying, and used petals and Violet Fiend Thunder to repel Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin’s attack.
• Li Zhixian brewed wine with the Nirvana Thunder Lotus and completed his lightning body tempering, naming his physique the Three Phases Spirit Vein Body.
• Yu Tianxin came to Li Zhixian’s courtyard, knelt, and asked him to accept him as a disciple.
• Li Zhixian stopped Yu Tianxin from kowtowing again, declined to teach him, and left to discuss an urgent matter with Senior Thunder Douluo.

Li Zhixian thanked Yu Yuanzhen for his hospitality and prepared to leave the Blue Lightning Family after a farewell banquet. After Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling helped him pack, Dugu Yan secretly returned to his courtyard.

• Li Zhixian visited Yu Yuanzhen, offered him Thunder Lotus Nectar, and said he planned to leave the next day.
• Yu Yuanzhen arranged a farewell banquet that lasted until midnight, where the disciples challenged Li Zhixian to drink and Yu Tianxin passed out defending his master.
• Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling helped Li Zhixian pack, and Ye Lingling gave him pastries for the journey.
• Dugu Yan returned to Li Zhixian's courtyard in secret and slipped inside, telling him not to let Ye Lingling hear.

Li Zhixian spent the evening with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who both secretly returned to see him before his departure. The two women ended up hiding together in his wine cabinet, while a drunken Yu Tianxin arrived and begged Li Zhixian to take him as a disciple.

• Dugu Yan returned to Li Zhixian with sobering tea, questioned his closeness to Xue Qinghe, and kicked at him; he caught her ankle, accidentally cut her leg with sword qi, and she eagerly tried to spar with him.
• When Ye Lingling knocked at the courtyard gate, Dugu Yan hid in the wine cabinet, and Li Zhixian destroyed the scraps of her pants on the ground.
• Ye Lingling came inside to spend more time with Li Zhixian and asked him not to tell Dugu Yan she had visited.
• Ye Lingling moved closer to Li Zhixian, but Yu Tianxin drunkenly pounded on the gate and begged him to accept him as a disciple, so Ye Lingling hid in the wine cabinet too.
• Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling found themselves together in the cabinet, and Ye Lingling demanded to know why Dugu Yan was there.

After leaving the Blue Lightning Family, Li Zhixian returned to Heaven Dou City and entered the imperial palace with Qian Renxue's Crown Prince Token. He found Xue Qinghe overwhelmed by preparations for the Spirit Master Competition and surprised her with his return.

• Yu Yuanzhen and the Blue Lightning Family saw Li Zhixian off, and Yu Tianxin promised to visit him in Heaven Dou City.
• Li Zhixian rode to Heaven Dou City, found Xue Qinghe absent from Lotus Lake, and used the Crown Prince Token to enter the imperial palace.
• Li Zhixian lost his way in the palace and asked a young eunuch how to reach the Crown Prince's residence.
• Xue Qinghe struggled with preparations for the Spirit Master Competition while Pufferfish and Snake Lance worried over her exhaustion.
• Pufferfish and Snake Lance sensed Li Zhixian approaching, then recognized him and stepped outside to guard the residence.
• Li Zhixian covered Xue Qinghe's eyes from behind, and she recognized him and smiled with joy.

Li Zhixian reunited with Xue Qinghe at the palace, shared wine with her, and discussed the upcoming Spirit Master Competition. As Heaven Dou City prepared to host the preliminaries, he remained undecided about competing and predicted the Imperial Dou Team could finish in the top three.

• Xue Qinghe welcomed Li Zhixian back and returned to her official duties after he encouraged her to stay diligent.
• Li Zhixian spotted the straw grasshopper he had given Qian Renxue in Xue Qinghe's estate and worried his secret might be exposed.
• Xue Qinghe finished her documents, told Li Zhixian she planned to hold the preliminaries at Heaven Dou City's Great Soul Arena, and shared wine with him.
• Xue Qinghe asked whether Li Zhixian would compete, but he remained reluctant to join and said the Imperial Dou Team could finish in the top three.
• Heaven Dou Empire announced the competition's opening at the Great Soul Arena, and Heaven Dou City filled with visitors and anticipation.

Academy teams from across the continent set out for Heaven Dou City ahead of the Spirit Master Competition, with Blazing Fire, Godwind, and Skywater teams eager to prove themselves. Shrek also prepared to leave, but Ma Hongjun refused to go, remaining at the academy with Zhao Wuji.

• Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu led Blazing Fire Academy toward Heaven Dou City, with Huo Wu determined to challenge Sword Wine again.
• Feng Xiaotian rode with Godwind Academy, resolved to erase his humiliation by defeating Sword Wine.
• Shui Bing'er assessed the likely competition and suspected Divine Wind, Blazing Fire, and Elephant Armor had encountered an unusual incident in Heaven Dou City.
• Shui Bing'er ordered Skywater Academy to unfurl its banner as the team left the northern border for Heaven Dou City.
• Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong prepared to lead Shrek Academy to the competition while Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong complained about their uniforms.
• Ma Hongjun refused to travel to Heaven Dou City and said he would stay at Shrek Academy to care for Zhao Wuji.

Shrek Academy escorted its new team members toward the Spirit Master Competition after Ma Hongjun left, while Ning Rongrong remembered Li Zhixian and reaffirmed her ambition to prove herself. At the eastern gate, a young voice challenged a guard over a rule against covering people’s eyes with black silk.

• Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong left Ma Hongjun behind and led the Shrek Seven Devils toward the official highway.
• Yu Xiaogang reassured Bai Chenxiang, who had joined Shrek Academy after the Speed Clan sent her to oppose Sword Wine.
• Dai Mubai, Tang San, and Oscar nursed their hatred of Sword Wine, while Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing joked about meeting him.
• Ning Rongrong vowed to become one of the finest young spirit masters, then remembered Li Zhixian and wondered why he had called their values incompatible.
• Xue Qinghe argued with Li Zhixian over their different tofu pudding preferences, then ate his savory pudding to insist they were not incompatible.
• A young voice at Heaven Dou City's eastern gate demanded that a guard explain why covering their eyes with black silk harmed the city's dignity.

Li Zhixian reunited with Feng Buyu and the Wind Sword Sect disciples in Heaven Dou City as preparations for the Spirit Master Competition continued. After Feng Buyu mentioned that Sect Master Feng Bailong had vanished, Li Zhixian later spotted another group of friends arriving under a blazing banner.

• Feng Buyu and the Wind Sword Sect disciples reached Heaven Dou City's gate, where guards hesitated to admit the blindfolded visitors.
• Li Zhixian greeted Feng Buyu warmly, and the Wind Sword Sect disciples praised his sword progress and noticed the Azure Lotus Sword mark on his brow.
• Feng Buyu told Li Zhixian that Sect Master Feng Bailong had been missing since Li Zhixian left the Wind Sword Sect.
• Xue Qinghe welcomed Feng Buyu as Li Zhixian's friend, and Li Zhixian hosted the Wind Sword Sect guests at Shanxiang Restaurant before they settled in a courtyard.
• Li Zhixian and Feng Buyu watched academy teams enter Heaven Dou City from the city wall as the Spirit Master Competition preliminaries approached.
• Li Zhixian spotted a team arriving beneath a crimson banner marked “Blazing” and told Feng Buyu their friends had arrived.

Li Zhixian welcomed the Blazing Fire and Godwind teams to Heaven Dou City, while the Shrek Seven Devils arrived under Yu Xiaogang’s guidance. He led the gathered academy prodigies into the city as rumors spread about his remarkable connections.

• Huo Wushuang and the Blazing Fire Academy Team arrived, and Li Zhixian welcomed them with Huo Wu and the others.
• Li Zhixian introduced Feng Buyu to the Blazing Fire team and escorted them to their villa lodging.
• Flender, Yu Xiaogang, Liu Erlong, and the Shrek Seven Devils arrived in their shabby uniforms, and Yu Xiaogang vowed that the competition would make them famous.
• Tang San reassured Yu Xiaogang, while Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong teased Zhu Zhuqing about Sword Wine.
• Li Zhixian welcomed the Godwind Academy Team and led the gathered academy teams into Heaven Dou City.

Li Zhixian reunited with his friends from the three great academies and discussed the Spirit Master Competition, while the Shrek Seven Devils watched their procession pass. In Heaven Dou City, Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu pushed Zhu Zhuqing to arrange a date with Li Zhixian, leaving her blushing as they chose an outfit.

• Feng Xiaotian thanked Li Zhixian for welcoming the group and vowed to challenge him in the Spirit Master Competition.
• Huo Wushuang and the others teased Feng Xiaotian about his past defeat, and Li Zhixian reminded everyone that powerful teams, including Spirit Hall, awaited them.
• Yu Xiaogang and the Shrek Seven Devils watched the procession pass, while Oscar and Dai Mubai admired the gathered academies and Tang San led them away.
• Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu urged Zhu Zhuqing to meet Li Zhixian that night beside Jinxi Bridge.
• Ning Rongrong began selecting a date outfit for Zhu Zhuqing after learning that Li Zhixian liked purple clothes.

Li Zhixian reunited with Zhu Zhuqing in Heaven Dou City, and they spent the night catching up and touring the streets together. Zhu Zhuqing brought him to meet her two good sisters, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, who waited for them by Jinxi Bridge.

• Shui Bing'er saw Li Zhixian arrive with the other academy teams and suspected he was the Imperial Dou Team's hidden trump card.
• Li Zhixian reassured Feng Xiaotian and the others that the absent Imperial Dou Team and Yu Tianxin would arrive before the competition began.
• Zhu Zhuqing visited Li Zhixian at his courtyard, where they shared Thunder Lotus Nectar and talked about their six months apart.
• Zhu Zhuqing asked Li Zhixian to tour Heaven Dou City with her and meet her two good sisters, and he agreed.
• Li Zhixian and Zhu Zhuqing walked through the moonlit streets, and Zhu Zhuqing edged close until their shoulders touched.
• Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong waited by Jinxi Bridge and wondered why Zhu Zhuqing and Li Zhixian had not arrived.

Ning Rongrong eagerly waited to meet Zhu Zhuqing’s companion, Sword Wine, but froze when she recognized him as Li Zhixian, the white-robed youth she had once called Banished Immortal Brother. She struggled to hide her feelings as Li Zhixian greeted the group, and the chapter ended with her managing a trembling hello.

• Ning Rongrong questioned whether her eagerness to meet Sword Wine came from concern for Zhu Zhuqing or from jealousy, then resolved to praise him.
• Xiao Wu spotted Zhu Zhuqing and the white-robed Sword Wine approaching Jinxi Bridge, and Ning Rongrong waved to them.
• Ning Rongrong recognized Li Zhixian as Banished Immortal Brother when the lantern light revealed his face, leaving her stunned and pale.
• Xiao Wu greeted Li Zhixian, while Ning Rongrong avoided his gaze and struggled to steady herself.
• Zhu Zhuqing introduced Li Zhixian to Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong finally greeted him in a trembling voice.

Ning Rongrong struggled with her feelings after seeing Li Zhixian again, while Zhu Zhuqing tried to comfort her and learn what was troubling her. Before dawn, Xue Qinghe woke Li Zhixian with news that the Imperial Dou Team had encountered Spirit Hall’s Golden Generation and was now at the Ye Family.

• Tang San stopped Xiao Wu and warned her that she could never be friends with Li Zhixian, while Xiao Wu said Ma Hongjun had brought his fate upon himself.
• Ning Rongrong lay awake thinking about Li Zhixian and wondered whether he resented her for leaving him years earlier.
• Zhu Zhuqing invited Ning Rongrong onto the roof, shared a Seven Treasures Honey Pear with her, and reminisced about their past.
• Zhu Zhuqing asked Ning Rongrong what she thought of Li Zhixian, and Ning Rongrong replied that he seemed quite good before leaving the roof.
• Xue Qinghe urgently woke Li Zhixian and told him the Imperial Dou Team had met Spirit Hall’s Golden Generation in the Star Dou Forest and was at the Ye Family.

Li Zhixian visited the injured Imperial Dou Team and learned Spirit Hall had publicly humiliated them after its Golden Generation defeated them. Although the team begged him to join, he left without answering; the next morning, the teams waited at the competition opening for him to appear.

• Li Zhixian found the seven Imperial Dou Team members badly injured at Ye Manor and suspected Spirit Hall had attacked them to warn Qian Renxue and him.
• Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wushuang, Huo Wu, and others arrived and learned that news of the team's defeat had spread across Heaven Dou City.
• Yu Tianheng and the other injured members begged Li Zhixian to join the Imperial Dou Team, but he told them to recover and attend the opening ceremony.
• Li Zhixian and Xue Qinghe heard townspeople discussing the team's defeat, and Xue Qinghe said it would not threaten her position as heir.
• Li Zhixian found the Imperial Dou Team captain's platinum uniform laid out beneath the plum blossom tree.
• At the competition opening, the assembled teams repeatedly watched the entrance passage, but Li Zhixian had not appeared.