Chapter Summaries

Chen Changqing demanded a hundred million Top-grade Spirit Stones from Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan to spare their lives, maiming Chu Xiong when he refused. Yue Xuan surrendered his possessions to cover the price, leaving the ninth prince stripped down to his inner robe as Chen Changqing assessed the loot.

• Chen Changqing demanded a hundred million Top-grade Spirit Stones from Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan each, threatening to remove body parts if they could not pay.
• Chen Changqing severed Chu Xiong’s sword arm when Chu Xiong protested that he had no such sum.
• Yue Xuan gave Chen Changqing his storage ring, which held only a little over ten million Spirit Stones, and Chen Changqing said that amount could buy one leg.
• Yue Xuan pleaded that he had no more cash and offered his jade pendant, royal robe, pills, artifacts, and other valuables.
• Chen Changqing sharply discounted Yue Xuan’s possessions as he appraised them, and Yue Xuan handed over his remaining armor and boots until he stood in only a thin inner robe.

Chen Changqing extorted Yue Xuan and Chu Xiong after defeating their forces, taking their wealth and forcing them to sign IOUs for their ransom. He carried the two princes back to Shushan and warned their dynasties to pay within a month, leaving the Nine Provinces braced for upheaval.

• Chen Changqing accepted Yue Xuan's businesses as collateral and made him sign an IOU for another fifty million Top-grade Spirit Stones.
• Chen Changqing sealed Chu Xiong's cultivation, broke the Spiritual Sense imprint on his storage ring, and took its contents and Chu Xiong's valuables.
• Chen Changqing valued Chu Xiong's possessions at sixty million and forced the prince to sign an IOU.
• Chen Changqing warned the hidden cultivators to tell Great Chu and the Yin Yue Holy Dynasty to bring ransom to Shushan within one month.
• Chen Changqing carried Yue Xuan and Chu Xiong away on the Heavenly Thunder Sword as the witnesses emerged from hiding.

Chen Changqing returned to Shushan with Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan as hostages, bringing wealth from the battle at Dragon-Severing Valley and rewarding Changqing Peak’s followers. After Sect Leader Chen Yuan summoned him, Chen Changqing defended his actions as self-defense, while Chen Yuan warned that envoys from two great powers were coming to Shushan.

• Chen Changqing flew back to Shushan with the captured Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan, while news of his victory spread across the Nine Provinces.
• Chu Tianba raged over Chu Xiong’s capture, and the Yin Moon emperor ordered the news suppressed and prepared to confront Shushan over the Black-robed elder’s death.
• Chen Changqing returned to Changqing Peak, where Liu Ruyan welcomed him and examined him for injuries.
• Chen Changqing displayed his captives and distributed spirit stones and magical artifacts among Changqing Peak’s members, who swore loyalty to him.
• Chen Yuan summoned Chen Changqing to the main peak and warned him that envoys from the Great Chu Dynasty and the Yin Yue Holy Dynasty were on their way.
• Chen Changqing called the fight legitimate self-defense, while Chen Yuan challenged his claim after hearing how he had stripped the princes and extorted them.

Chen Yuan warned Chen Changqing that rival powers would target him at the upcoming Ten Great Sect Competition, where control of three ancient secret realms was at stake. Daoist Wuzhen backed Chen Changqing and gave Chen Yuan a mysterious token to use if anyone broke the tournament’s rules.

• Chen Yuan accepted that Shushan would protect Chen Changqing after he killed two True Lords and kidnapped princes from Great Chu and Yin Yue, then warned him about the coming competition.
• Chen Yuan explained that the Ten Great Sect Competition would determine control of the Void Sword Tomb, the Eternal Elixir Pool, and the Chaos Spirit Abyss, and described the prodigies and allies likely to target Shushan.
• Chen Changqing vowed that he could kill any challengers short of a Heavenly Lord, and Chen Yuan sent him away to prepare while promising to handle Great Chu and Yin Yue.
• Chen Yuan visited his master, Daoist Wuzhen, in Shushan’s forbidden grounds and reported Chen Changqing’s recent actions.
• Daoist Wuzhen declared that Shushan would protect Chen Changqing because he might break the cultivation world’s stagnation, and ordered Chen Yuan to support his preparation for the competition.
• Daoist Wuzhen gave Chen Yuan a black wooden token for Chen Changqing to crush if an opponent used power beyond the True Lord level during the tournament.

After Chen Changqing returned to Changqing Peak, he discussed the Ten Great Sect Competition with Liu Ruyan before Ran Hua arrived with alarming news. Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, Chen Changqing’s betrothed and the Third Princess of the Jiuzhou Divine Dynasty, had come to the mountain gate demanding to see him, and Liu Ruyan immediately realized who it was.

• Chen Changqing found Elder Willow Wood and the disciples joyfully registering the treasures and rewards from their recent spoils.
• Chen Changqing told Liu Ruyan that Sect Master Chen Yuan had praised him and warned that Great Chu and the Yin Yue Holy Dynasty might target him at the Ten Great Sect Competition.
• Ran Hua rushed over and privately told Chen Changqing that Xuanyuan Xiaoyu was waiting outside the mountain gate to see him.
• Liu Ruyan pressed Chen Changqing to reveal what Ran Hua had said, then correctly guessed that Xuanyuan Xiaoyu had arrived.

Chen Changqing faced the arrival of his fiancée, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, while trying to reassure Liu Ruyan, who insisted on accompanying him. At Shushan’s Mountain Gate, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu ordered Chen Changqing to come to her, leaving him caught between the two women.

• Liu Ruyan confronted Chen Changqing about Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and asked whether he planned to meet his fiancée.
• Chen Changqing called Liu Ruyan the mistress of Changqing Peak, then learned that Xuanyuan Xiaoyu had arrived alone and was waiting outside Shushan’s Mountain Gate.
• Liu Ruyan insisted on going with Chen Changqing, and he took her hand as they flew to the Mountain Gate.
• Chen Changqing and Liu Ruyan met Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, who reacted to their joined hands while the two women silently scrutinized each other.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu ordered Chen Changqing to come to her, leaving him facing a tense choice.

Chen Changqing stood by Liu Ruyan as Xuanyuan Xiaoyu arrived at Shushan, and the two women confronted each other over their connections to him. Xuanyuan announced she would represent the Jiuzhou Divine Dynasty in the Ten Great Sect Competition and stay on Changqing Peak, but Chen Changqing refused.

• Chen Changqing led Liu Ruyan by the hand to greet Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, refusing to approach her alone.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu appeared before Chen Changqing, pinched his waist, and demanded to know who Liu Ruyan was.
• Liu Ruyan introduced herself as the mistress of Changqing Peak, prompting Xuanyuan Xiaoyu to recognize her as the Empress of the Maple Leaf Dynasty.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu announced that she would represent the Jiuzhou Divine Dynasty in the Ten Great Sect Competition and stay on Changqing Peak until it ended.
• Chen Changqing immediately refused Xuanyuan Xiaoyu's plan, and she responded with a display of Human King's pressure.

Xuanyuan Xiaoyu used the Human King’s decree to move into Snow-Listening Lodge on Changqing Peak, despite Chen Changqing’s reluctance. Once she arrived, she dismissed the attendants and demanded that Chen Changqing cook for her, while Liu Ruyan watched with a soft laugh.

• Chen Changqing tried to refuse Xuanyuan Xiaoyu a room, but she challenged his excuse by citing Changqing Peak’s recent windfall.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu presented the Human King Token and read the decree ordering her to prepare for battle alongside Chen Changqing.
• Liu Ruyan accepted the decree and ordered Ran Hua to prepare Snow-Listening Lodge and assign disciples to serve Xuanyuan Xiaoyu.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu arrived at the lodge with armored maidservants and jade chests as Chen Changqing led her procession through the watching Shushan Disciples.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu dismissed the attendants, told Chen Changqing she was hungry, and insisted that he cook for her; Liu Ruyan laughed softly.

Chen Changqing received the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal from Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and learned that the upcoming sect tournament would involve the fortune of the Nine Provinces. When he began cultivating the technique, the Human King’s imprint accepted him almost immediately, astonishing Xuanyuan Xiaoyu.

• Liu Ruyan joined Xuanyuan Xiaoyu in asking Chen Changqing to cook, then advised Xuanyuan Xiaoyu that she should become someone he wanted to stay with rather than try to bind him.
• Chen Changqing roasted Thunder Qilin Beast tenderloin for Liu Ruyan and Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and both women enjoyed the meal.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu presented Chen Changqing with a golden scroll from her father, which revealed the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and Liu Ruyan explained that the Human King had sent the technique to prepare Chen Changqing for the coming sect tournament, which would involve the fortune of the Nine Provinces.
• Chen Changqing chose to cultivate the technique, and the scroll’s nine characters entered his glabella as the Human King’s imprint acknowledged him as its master.

Chen Changqing mastered the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal at a glance, then refused Xuanyuan Xiaoyu’s request to visit the Divine Dynasty. Hua Yao arrived with their marriage contract and announced that she would stay in his cave dwelling.

• Chen Changqing practiced the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal, briefly suppressing everyone’s cultivation across Snow-Listening Lodge.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu asked Chen Changqing to visit the Divine Dynasty after the sect’s Grand Tournament, but he refused.
• Ran Hua announced that Hua Yao had arrived, and Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and Liu Ruyan joined forces to welcome her.
• Hua Yao entered Snow-Listening Lodge carrying her marriage contract and clarified her precedence to Xuanyuan Xiaoyu.
• Hua Yao said she would stay in Chen Changqing’s cave dwelling, and Chen Changqing gave in.

Chen Changqing fled to his cultivation room after Hua Yao, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Liu Ruyan moved into his cave abode and divided its rooms. With the sect Grand Tournament less than a month away, he invested five hundred thousand AFK Points in the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal, but its hundred years of accelerated cultivation would take three months to complete.

• Chen Changqing insisted Hua Yao live in the cave abode but not share his room, while Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and Liu Ruyan announced they would move in too.
• Hua Yao, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Liu Ruyan divided the rooms in Chen Changqing's cave abode, leaving him to retreat into the cultivation room.
• Chen Changqing invested five hundred thousand AFK Points in the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal and received a hundred years of accelerated cultivation, with the results due in three months.
• Hua Yao called to Chen Changqing from outside the cultivation room and said the three women had discussed things.

As the sect Grand Tournament approached, Chen Changqing prepared with Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, Hua Yao, and Liu Ruyan, mastering the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal and receiving protective gifts. The chapter ended with the Great Chu Dynasty and Yin Yue Holy Dynasty arriving with twelve Flying Boats of valuables to ransom their people.

• Chen Changqing refused to let the three women take over his cave abode, but Liu Ruyan kept its control token until after the Grand Tournament.
• Over the next twenty-odd days, Hua Yao stored Medicine God Valley's pills, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu studied rival sects with Chen Changqing, and Liu Ruyan reorganized Changqing Peak.
• The women gave Chen Changqing a Nine-Turn Heart-Protecting Pill, a Human King Protective Talisman, and a robe that concealed his Silver Firmament Battle Armor.
• Chen Changqing demonstrated that his Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal could suppress the three women and said he could defeat a True Lord with it.
• Willow Wood reported that the Great Chu Dynasty and Yin Yue Holy Dynasty had arrived with twelve Flying Boats of valuables to ransom their people.

Chen Changqing received envoys from Great Chu and the Yin Yue Holy Dynasty, who came with twelve Flying Boats of valuables to ransom their captives. After making them wait and asserting his authority, he ordered Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan brought into the hall.

• Chen Changqing learned that Great Chu and the Yin Yue Holy Dynasty had sent envoys with valuables to ransom Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan.
• Chen Changqing told Elder Willow Wood to make the envoys wait, then walked to the reception hall with Liu Ruyan, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Hua Yao.
• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan waited two hours before Elder Willow Wood escorted them to Chen Changqing.
• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan confirmed that twelve Flying Boats of valuables waited outside Shushan's Mountain Gate.
• Chen Changqing ordered Ran Hua to bring Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan into the hall.

After Chu Xiong threatened Chen Changqing on his way out, Chen had the hall sealed and declared that Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan owed him a new debt for insulting him and Shushan. Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan begged for mercy as Chen demanded to know how the offense should be settled.

• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan brought Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan before Chen Changqing, who dismissed them after ordering an inventory of the ransom goods.
• Chu Xiong broke free from Wang An and threatened Chen Changqing and the Great Chu Dynasty, while Yue Xuan stood silently beside him.
• Chen Changqing ordered Shushan disciples to block the exit and confronted Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan over their threats on his territory.
• Chen Changqing’s pressure forced Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan to their knees and Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan to the ground.
• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan pleaded for the captives’ lives, but Chen said the ransom had settled their earlier offense and asked how they would repay this new debt.

Chen Changqing branded Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan with marks that severed their access to their dynasties’ imperial power, then sent them away. Afterward, Liu Ruyan, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Hua Yao argued over where he should rest as the Grand Tournament approached, leaving him unable to escape their decision.

• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan offered Chen Changqing treasures to appease him, but he refused and formed the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal.
• Chen Changqing marked Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan with the character for “Prisoner,” suppressing their imperial bloodline power and severing their connection to their dynasties’ destiny.
• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan carried the broken Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan out of the hall after Chen Changqing warned them not to provoke him again.
• Chen Changqing joked with Xuanyuan Xiaoyu about using her imperial father’s Divine Abilities, and she grudgingly praised his mastery.
• Liu Ruyan, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Hua Yao each urged Chen Changqing to rest in her quarters, while he insisted on staying in the cultivation chamber.
• The three women rejected Chen Changqing’s preference in unison, and Jian Zhenzi and the other disciples pretended not to notice his distress.

Chen Changqing escaped the three women’s relentless attention when the Sect Leader summoned him to a council about the approaching sect Grand Tournament. There, Daoist Wuxing cautioned him against recklessness, reviving their factional tension just as Lu Tian prepared to respond.

• Liu Ruyan, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Hua Yao agreed to take turns spending nights with Chen Changqing, who fled the hall in dismay.
• For three days, the three women repeatedly found Chen Changqing wherever he went, while Changqing Peak’s disciples placed bets on where he would sleep.
• An Inner Disciple delivered the Sect Leader’s summons, and Chen Changqing eagerly left for the headmaster’s hall.
• Chen Changqing arrived at a council attended by Shushan’s elders and Peak Masters, where he saw Chen Yuan’s group facing Daoist Wuxing’s faction.
• Daoist Wuxing questioned Chen Changqing about suppressing figures from Great Chu and the Yin Yue Holy Dynasty, then warned him to act cautiously in the sect Grand Tournament.
• Lu Tian snorted at Daoist Wuxing’s admonishment before Chen Changqing could answer.

Daoist Wuxing recommended the hidden Sword Repository Peak disciple Chen Yuan for Shushan’s Grand Tournament team, revealing that he had mastered the forbidden Supreme Sword of Forgetting Emotion. Chen Yuan’s early Tribulation Crossing cultivation shocked the elders, while Chen Changqing grew eager to test his strength.

• Sect Master Chen Yuan asked the elders to recommend candidates for Shushan’s two remaining Grand Tournament places after reserving one for Chen Changqing.
• Daoist Wuxing recommended Chen Yuan of Sword Repository Peak, a disciple who had entered the sect in the same batch as Chen Changqing and spent years secluded from the outside world.
• Bai Wuya and other elders questioned whether an unknown disciple with no competition experience could represent Shushan.
• Daoist Wuxing revealed that Chen Yuan cultivated the lost forbidden art, the Supreme Sword of Forgetting Emotion, and had reached minor accomplishment in it.
• Daoist Wuxing announced that Chen Yuan had reached early Tribulation Crossing, prompting Chen Yuan to demand an explanation for the disciple’s forbidden cultivation.

Shushan’s elders summoned Chen Yuan, a disciple rumored to have reached early Tribulation Crossing and mastered the Supreme Sword of Forgetting Emotion, before the sect leader and Chen Changqing. Chen Yuan accepted the challenge of the sect’s Grand Tournament, while Chen Changqing responded with confidence, leaving their rivalry poised to escalate.

• Daoist Wuxing announced that Chen Yuan had reached early Tribulation Crossing, surprising the hall and drawing Chen Changqing’s interest.
• Wuxing summoned Chen Yuan, whose icy Sword Qi and emotionless presence impressed and unsettled the elders.
• Chen Yuan introduced himself as a disciple of Sword Repository Peak and said he wished to participate in the sect’s Grand Tournament.
• Chen Changqing confronted Chen Yuan, and their opposing auras clashed as they assessed each other.
• Chen Yuan’s thoughts revealed that he was the reincarnated Emotionless Sword Lord, a former fifth-level Tribulation Immortal who viewed Chen Changqing as a junior.
• Chen Changqing laughed off Chen Yuan’s contempt and declared that other geniuses could only gaze at his back and call him a genius.

Chen Changqing challenged Chen Yuan to a duel outside Shushan’s Sect Leader’s Hall, where the two fought with Immortal Artifacts and Chen Changqing steadily suppressed Chen Yuan. The first exchange left Chen Yuan shaken by the gap in their swordsmanship.

• Chen Changqing left the hall and challenged Chen Yuan to fight outside, prompting the elders and Peak Masters to follow.
• Chen Yuan unleashed his powerful Forgetting Emotion Sword Intent and revealed the Starfall Sword, a high-grade Immortal Artifact given to him by Daoist Wuxing.
• Chen Changqing summoned the Heavenly Thunder Sword, and the two began a fierce duel before the gathered Shushan experts.
• Chen Changqing and Chen Yuan exchanged hundreds of sword strikes, overwhelming the protective formation around the plaza.
• After they separated, Chen Yuan realized that Chen Changqing’s unconventional swordsmanship had steadily suppressed him.

Chen Yuan unleashed the Supreme Sword of Forgetting Emotion against Chen Changqing, but Chen Changqing opened a Sword Realm that froze the attack and transformed Shushan’s summit into a world ruled by the sword. Chen Yuan and the Shushan observers were left stunned, while Daoist Wuxing realized he had lost.

• Chen Yuan used the first form of the Supreme Sword of Forgetting Emotion, Severing Mortal Ties, and tore through the formation protecting the arena.
• Daoist Wuzhen repaired the formation, but the sword radiance continued toward Chen Changqing.
• Chen Changqing dismissed Chen Yuan’s attack and opened his Sword Realm, stopping the sword radiance and transforming the summit into a world of the sword.
• Chen Yuan realized Chen Changqing’s Sword Realm could sever his control over the attack, and the Shushan elders reacted with shock.
• Chen Yuan praised Chen Changqing, while Daoist Wuxing accepted that his disciple had been utterly defeated.