Recaps

Jiang Fan attended the Falling Cloud Sect's Sect Grand Competition and noticed that the Heaven Sect had sent an elder, prompting him to wonder whether the visit was connected to the Secret Realm. He confronted Liu Yu'er and Zhao Wuya, then unnerved Zhao Wuya by revealing he knew about the destruction of the Zhao Family.

• Jiang Fan walked to the main peak and saw the crowded arena, where the Heaven Sect elder sat beside the Falling Cloud Sect's sect master.
• Jiang Fan wondered whether the Heaven Sect elder's attendance was related to the Secret Realm's recent changes, then dismissed the idea.
• Liu Yu'er and Zhao Wuya approached Jiang Fan, and Liu Yu'er boasted that she had joined Mystic Ice Valley.
• Jiang Fan congratulated Liu Yu'er and mocked Zhao Wuya by mentioning the Zhao Family's destruction, provoking Zhao Wuya's anger.
• Zhao Wuya asked how Jiang Fan knew about the Zhao Family, and Jiang Fan's cryptic reply led Zhao Wuya to suspect that Jiang Fan had arranged the family's extermination.

Zhao Wuya threatened Jiang Fan but held back when the Sect Grand Competition began, and the competition determined its Top Ten inner-sect promotions. As the event ended, Jiang Fan stepped forward to test his spiritual power, surprising everyone.

• Zhao Wuya stopped his attack on Jiang Fan after Elder Tie Xing silenced the arena, then warned Jiang Fan that no one would protect him after the competition.
• Elder Tie Xing announced the competition rules, and the registered outer-sect disciples fought through group matches and elimination rounds.
• The challenge stage decided the Top Ten, who were promoted to the inner sect, while Zhao Wuya mocked Duan Gang for not entering the competition.
• As Elder Tie Xing prepared to end the event, Jiang Fan stepped out and said he wanted to test his spiritual power.

Jiang Fan, posing as Duan Gang, requested a public test of his spiritual power and used it to prove he had reached the Spirit Master Realm. The test stopped at the twenty-eighth pattern, leaving the crowd shocked and Zhao Wuya and Liu Yu'er stunned.

• Jiang Fan insisted to Elder Tie Xing that he had reached the Spirit Master Realm and accepted the consequences if the test proved him wrong.
• Elder Tie Xing had an attendant bring out the Spirit Testing Tablet and explained how the test worked.
• Jiang Fan poured spiritual power into the tablet, which initially showed no reaction and drew laughter from the crowd.
• The tablet lit all twenty-seven patterns through the King Realm, then illuminated the twenty-eighth pattern and verified early King Realm cultivation.
• Jiang Fan withdrew his power, while the crowd marveled at his strength and Zhao Wuya and Liu Yu'er stared in shock.

Jiang Fan, posing as Duan Gang, passed the Spirit Testing Tablet and qualified for promotion to the Falling Cloud Sect’s inner sect. Sect Master Tian then offered him to Heaven Sect, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Tian Sheng celebrated Duan Gang’s Spirit Master Realm strength and considered renegotiating with Mystic Ice Valley over their earlier conflict.
• Elder Pei hinted that Heaven Sect wanted Duan Gang, and Tian Sheng offered to let him cultivate there while remaining a Falling Cloud Sect disciple.
• Elder Tie Xing confirmed that Duan Gang had reached first rank Spirit Master Realm and announced his promotion to the inner sect.
• Tian Sheng asked Duan Gang’s age, learned he was thirty-two, and invited him to join Heaven Sect.

Jiang Fan agreed to join the Heaven Sect as an inner disciple while retaining his Falling Cloud Sect status. After receiving his identity token and instructions to report in within half a month, he left the competition grounds, unaware that Zhao Wuya and Liu Yu'er were plotting to kill him during the journey.

• Elder Pei explained the Heaven Sect's benefits and promised Jiang Fan could remain a Falling Cloud Sect disciple; Jiang Fan accepted the invitation.
• Sect Master Tian Sheng approved Jiang Fan's decision but privately lamented that the Falling Cloud Sect was losing a rare genius to a stronger sect.
• Zhao Wuya and Liu Yu'er plotted to eliminate Jiang Fan on the road to the Heaven Sect before he could report in.
• Elder Pei named Jiang Fan a Heaven Sect inner disciple, gave him an identity token containing a route map, and told him to report in within half a month.
• After the Heaven Sect elder departed and the Sect Grand Competition ended, Jiang Fan left the martial arts field.

Jiang Fan went to Cloud Glow Town to lure out the people plotting against him, then walked back toward Falling Cloud Sect. Zhao Wuya and Elder Hansong ambushed him on the mountain road, but Jiang Fan destroyed their formation with a flick of his finger.

• Jiang Fan descended to Cloud Glow Town, aware that people with killing intent were following him and intending to draw them out.
• Zhao Wuya hired Elder Hansong and two other mid-stage Spirit Master Realm elders to kill Jiang Fan, promising them a reward.
• Elder Hansong led the group to the mountain road and prepared a Mystic Ice Space-Locking Array to trap Jiang Fan.
• Jiang Fan entered the array, and Elder Hansong activated it before the group attacked him together.
• Jiang Fan announced that he had expected the ambush and shattered the formation with an invisible force, sending ice spikes flying.

Jiang Fan defeated and killed the three Mystic Ice Valley elders who ambushed him, then confronted Zhao Wuya and Liu Yu’er. After Zhao Wuya tried to attack and flee, Jiang Fan killed him and left Liu Yu’er terrified.

• Jiang Fan turned the Mystic Ice Killing Array’s energy against Elder Hansong and the other two elders, crippling their cultivation and killing them.
• Jiang Fan burned the elders’ corpses and ordered Zhao Wuya and Liu Yu’er to stop as they tried to escape.
• Zhao Wuya and Liu Yu’er begged Jiang Fan for mercy and admitted their roles in betraying and attacking him.
• Jiang Fan rejected their pleas, saying they deserved the consequences of their actions.
• Zhao Wuya launched sword-energy talismans at Jiang Fan, but Jiang Fan shattered the attack and killed him as he fled.
• Liu Yu’er asked Jiang Fan what level he had reached, horrified by his power.

After killing Liu Yu'er, Jiang Fan left the Falling Cloud Sect and reached the Heaven Sect, where he began registering as an inner sect disciple. As Li Su guided him through the sect, Jiang Fan learned about its disciple ranks and the cave residences available to newcomers.

• Jiang Fan revealed that he had been hiding his cultivation and killed Liu Yu'er when she pleaded to ask one last question.
• Jiang Fan left the Falling Cloud Sect and traveled north across the Taihua Domain to the Heaven Sect.
• The gate captain checked Jiang Fan's token, welcomed him as a newly admitted inner sect disciple, and assigned Li Su to guide him to the Affairs Hall.
• Li Su explained the Heaven Sect's disciple ranks, monthly spirit stone allowances, and the cave residence selection.
• Li Su told Jiang Fan about several notable C-grade cave residences, including Cold Mist Cliff, Ruined Array Terrace, Dormant Dragon Cave, and Withered Glory Pavilion.

Jiang Fan learned that four Grade C cave abodes concealed unusual benefits, but the Affairs Hall elders effectively restricted access to two of them and demanded steep payments. After thanking Li Su for the information, Jiang Fan arrived at the Affairs Hall to choose his cave abode.

• Li Su explained the hidden value and drawbacks of Cold Mist Cliff, the Ruined Array Terrace, Dormant Dragon Cave, and Withered Glory Pavilion to Jiang Fan.
• Li Su told Jiang Fan that elders in the Affairs Hall blocked disciples from choosing the Ruined Array Terrace and Withered Glory Pavilion unless they met undisclosed conditions, and that even a ten-thousand-Spirit-Stone offer had failed.
• Jiang Fan concluded that the elders expected large benefits and thanked Li Su for explaining the situation.
• Li Su escorted Jiang Fan to the Affairs Hall, then stayed outside because Servant Disciples could not enter the inner hall.
• Jiang Fan gave Li Su ten Spirit Stones as thanks, and Li Su accepted them with overwhelming gratitude.

Jiang Fan went to the Affairs Hall to register as an inner sect disciple and choose a cave abode, but Deacon Liu blocked him from selecting the Ruined Array Terrace and Withered Glory Pavilion. Jiang Fan refused to back down, and Deacon Liu summoned several inner sect disciples as the dispute escalated.

• Jiang Fan presented his token to the clerk and registered as a newly admitted inner sect disciple recommended by Elder Pei.
• Jiang Fan saw that the Ruined Array Terrace and Withered Glory Pavilion were marked unavailable, despite Li Su having told him they were unclaimed.
• Deacon Liu claimed the Ruined Array Terrace was reserved and the Withered Glory Pavilion was under repair, then pretended to reject Jiang Fan’s offers of Spirit Stones.
• Jiang Fan insisted that sect rules let him choose any Grade C Cave Abode and demanded that Deacon Liu process his choice of the Withered Glory Pavilion.
• Deacon Liu threatened Jiang Fan with a pointed question, denied that he was making things difficult, and discreetly signaled several inner sect disciples to approach.

Jiang Fan, registering as Duan Gang at Heaven Sect, was denied Withered Glory Pavilion by Deacon Liu and provoked by a clique of inner disciples. When they attacked him, he effortlessly defeated them, leaving Deacon Liu stunned by his strength.

• Deacon Liu claimed Withered Glory Pavilion had already been reserved by another disciple and refused to assign it to Jiang Fan.
• After learning Jiang Fan had come from Falling Cloud Sect, the inner disciples mocked him and demanded he kneel and apologize to Deacon Liu.
• Jiang Fan refused, and the clique surrounded him while Deacon Liu pretended not to notice.
• Four disciples attacked Jiang Fan, but he dodged their strikes and slapped them flying.
• The disciples in the Affairs Hall discussed Jiang Fan's victory, while Deacon Liu stared in disbelief at how easily he had beaten stronger opponents.

Jiang Fan defeated Fan Ming’s group and secured the cave residence at Withered Glory Pavilion after Deacon Liu arranged for Fan Ming to give it up. The onlookers recognized Jiang Fan’s strength, while Deacon Liu hoped Jiang Fan would not resent his earlier obstruction.

• Jiang Fan asked whether he still needed to apologize, and the defeated inner sect disciples quickly said no.
• Deacon Liu claimed he had spoken with Fan Ming, who agreed to give up the Withered Glory Pavilion cave residence, and Fan Ming’s follower backed him up.
• Jiang Fan accepted the offer and asked Deacon Liu to register the cave residence for him.
• After Jiang Fan left, the Affairs Hall disciples discussed his victory and mocked Fan Ming, whose expression darkened.
• Deacon Liu silenced the gossip and reflected on Jiang Fan’s talent and promising future.

Jiang Fan arrived at the remote Withered Glory Pavilion, where Servant Disciple Chen Ping showed him around and explained that he was assigned to serve the cave residence’s owner. Chen Ping begged to stay rather than risk reassignment, and Jiang Fan asked why he believed he would be a good master.

• Jiang Fan reached the Withered Glory Pavilion and met Servant Disciple Chen Ping, who had been stationed there to maintain it.
• Chen Ping guided Jiang Fan through the pavilion, training ground, courtyard, and auxiliary rooms, explaining their facilities.
• Jiang Fan thanked Chen Ping and told him to return to the Affairs Hall, but Chen Ping feared that being sent back would lead to punishment and a harsh reassignment.
• Chen Ping asked Jiang Fan to let him stay, and Jiang Fan said he would consider it if Chen Ping gave him a proper reason.
• Jiang Fan asked why Chen Ping trusted him despite their having never met and despite Jiang Fan’s recent conflict with Deacon Liu and several inner sect disciples.

Jiang Fan accepted Chen Ping as his Servant Disciple after recognizing his insight and skill, then settled into Withered Glory Pavilion. Elder Pei arrived unexpectedly, revealing his familiarity with Jiang Fan and leaving Chen Ping convinced that staying with him had been a fortunate choice.

• Chen Ping explained why he trusted Jiang Fan and offered to manage Withered Glory Pavilion, so Jiang Fan agreed to keep him on a trial basis.
• Jiang Fan gave Chen Ping instructions for reorganizing the cave abode, and Chen Ping efficiently transformed it within two hours.
• Jiang Fan assigned Chen Ping a side room and told him to report important sect matters while he cultivated.
• Elder Pei appeared in the courtyard, teased Jiang Fan for not visiting, and praised his choice of cave residence.
• Chen Ping prepared tea for Elder Pei and privately concluded that Jiang Fan's connection to the elder made his decision to stay especially wise.

Jiang Fan explained his strength to Elder Pei and learned why Heaven Sect had suspended the Secret Realm trial. Elder Pei revealed that the sect planned to send an exploration team deep into the ancient seal, and Jiang Fan reacted with alarm at the danger.

• Jiang Fan told Elder Pei that a secret art and hidden strength had allowed him to defeat Fan Ming and the other disciples at Affairs Hall.
• Elder Pei praised Jiang Fan and explained that Withered Glory Pavilion could help him comprehend the rules of life and change.
• Jiang Fan asked whether Heaven Sect had important work for him, prompting Elder Pei to explain that the seal in the Secret Realm had developed a problem and its guards had vanished.
• Elder Pei said Heaven Sect planned to form an exploration team of inner sect disciples to investigate the unrest deep within the seal.
• Jiang Fan acted horrified and asked whether entering the Secret Realm, where a terrifying existence was sealed, meant certain death.

Jiang Fan agreed to join Heaven Sect’s expedition into the sealed Secret Realm, hoping to investigate the Gate of Sighs and gain cultivation resources. While preparing to cultivate at Withered Glory Pavilion, he began to grasp the deeper rule of withering and flourishing, sensing that it reflected a greater cycle of life and death.

• Elder Pei offered Jiang Fan abundant rewards and a future path to elder status if he joined the Secret Realm exploration, and Jiang Fan agreed.
• Elder Pei said he would form an exploration squad and told Jiang Fan to cultivate while the remaining members were gathered.
• Chen Ping warned Jiang Fan that the seal might conceal deadly danger, but Jiang Fan insisted the potential rewards made the risk worthwhile.
• Jiang Fan set up a barrier around Withered Glory Pavilion and began sensing the ancient rhythm of withering and flourishing through the half-withered, half-living tree.
• Jiang Fan realized that withering and flourishing were stages of one rule and sensed a higher miniature of life and death in his Sea of Consciousness.

Jiang Fan accidentally stirred the Life and Death Rule in the Withered Glory Pavilion, nearly losing control before it calmed down. He then studied the Time Crystal and began to grasp how the Time Rule differed from ordinary time-based power, leaving him wondering what other rules existed.

• Jiang Fan sensed that the Withered Glory Rule concealed the higher Life and Death Rule and tried to comprehend it.
• The Life and Death Rule ran wild, dividing the courtyard between rampant growth and decay, and Jiang Fan’s spiritual barrier failed to contain it.
• The strange effects subsided, and Jiang Fan concluded that he needed to learn the fundamentals of rules before trying to control the Life and Death Rule again.
• Jiang Fan connected the Time Torrent in the Galaxy to the Time Rule and brought out the Time Crystal from his Bead Space.
• Jiang Fan studied the Time Crystal’s patterns and realized that the Time Rule was the fundamental law of time, far beyond his ordinary time-based abilities.
• Jiang Fan wondered whether Space, spirit, and fate also had rules of their own.

Jiang Fan comprehended traces of several rules and broke through from Level 19 to Level 20, entering the Emperor realm. He suppressed the resulting heavenly phenomena and emerged to tell Chen Ping that his cultivation had improved slightly.

• Jiang Fan realized that rules would be a key measure of strength for experts above the Emperor realm.
• His insight stirred his dormant spiritual energy, and he broke through his Level 19 bottleneck as a huge spiritual-energy vortex formed around Withered Glory Pavilion.
• Jiang Fan sealed his aura to halt the heavenly phenomena but continued refining spiritual energy until he reached Level 20, the Emperor realm.
• Jiang Fan tested his new power and realized he had grasped traces of the Time Rule, Life and Death Rule, and Space Rule.
• Chen Ping entered the courtyard, and Jiang Fan told him he had gained some insight and improved his cultivation.

Jiang Fan entered Enlightenment Peak to use his reward for enlightenment and received twelve hours of access from its Venerable deacon. Inside, he encountered Xue Chen and the Falling Cloud Sect disciples who had come to redeem their own Sect Grand Competition rewards.

• Chen Ping explained that Enlightenment Peak's contribution-point fees were far beyond what a Servant Disciple could afford, and Jiang Fan refused to give up his own opportunity.
• Jiang Fan climbed Enlightenment Peak and met its Venerable deacon, who recognized him as Duan Gang and extended his free enlightenment time from six hours to twelve on Elder Pei's account.
• Jiang Fan passed through a corridor of cultivation diagrams and texts and reached a cavern with a Stone Tablet, a shared cultivation platform, and private stone chambers.
• Xue Chen and the other Falling Cloud Sect disciples recognized Jiang Fan and explained that they had come to redeem the Enlightenment Peak reward from the Sect Grand Competition.

Jiang Fan visited Enlightenment Peak with the Falling Cloud Sect disciples, studied the Stone Tablet, and found its insights into rules too limited for his needs. When he left the Quiet Meditation Room, he found Fan Ming and Heaven Sect disciples trying to drive Xue Chen and the others from their cultivation spots.

• Jiang Fan welcomed Xue Chen and the Falling Cloud Sect disciples to visit him at Withered Glory Pavilion, then entered a stone chamber to cultivate.
• Jiang Fan studied the Stone Tablet for nearly three hours and concluded its inherited techniques offered only immature insights into rules.
• Jiang Fan heard an argument on the platform and recognized Fan Ming among the Heaven Sect disciples confronting the Falling Cloud Sect group.
• Xue Chen objected that her group had valid cultivation time, but Fan Ming claimed Heaven Sect Inner Disciples had priority and threatened them if they refused to leave.

Xue Chen and the Falling Cloud Sect disciples stood up to Fan Ming and his Heaven Sect followers after they tried to drive them away from Enlightenment Peak. Just as the Heaven Sect disciples closed in to attack them, Jiang Fan appeared, and Fan Ming reacted in terror.

• Fan Ming dismissed the agreement between the sects and threatened the Falling Cloud Sect disciples when Xue Chen objected to being pushed aside.
• Xue Chen refused to involve Duan Gang and rallied the disciples to form a defensive formation.
• Fan Ming and five or six Heaven Sect disciples broke the formation, injuring Xue Chen and staggering the others.
• Fan Ming ordered his followers to beat the Falling Cloud Sect disciples, who braced for an attack.
• Jiang Fan emerged from the direction of the Quiet Meditation Room and challenged Fan Ming, making him and his followers recoil in fear.

Jiang Fan intervened when Fan Ming and the other Heaven Sect disciples threatened Xue Chen and the Falling Cloud Sect disciples on Enlightenment Peak. He beat Fan Ming into apologizing, while Xue Chen realized Jiang Fan was far stronger than she had thought; Fan Ming secretly pressed a jade talisman.

• Xue Chen urged Jiang Fan to leave rather than risk confronting the stronger Heaven Sect disciples, but Jiang Fan walked toward Fan Ming.
• Jiang Fan challenged Fan Ming over threatening the Falling Cloud Sect disciples, and Fan Ming backed down while invoking Senior Brother Qi and the deacon.
• Jiang Fan repeatedly slapped Fan Ming until he could barely stand, while Fan Ming's companions stayed silent.
• Jiang Fan demanded an apology, and Fan Ming apologized to Xue Chen before secretly pressing a jade talisman at his waist.
• Jiang Fan asked Xue Chen and the others to let the matter end, and Xue Chen marveled at how much stronger he had become.

Jiang Fan refused to apologize to Qi Hao, the Heaven Sect’s third-ranked inner disciple, after Qi Hao sided with Fan Ming without hearing both sides. Jiang Fan shattered Qi Hao’s defenses and sent him crashing into a wall, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Xue Chen agreed to let Fan Ming and his underlings go after they apologized and were taught a lesson.
• Fan Ming received a message from his jade talisman, then knelt and asked Senior Brother Qi to uphold justice for the Heaven Sect disciples.
• Qi Hao emerged from a Quiet Meditation Room, accepted Fan Ming’s account, and ordered Jiang Fan to kneel and apologize.
• Jiang Fan challenged Qi Hao’s one-sided judgment, then attacked when Qi Hao refused to hear his explanation.
• Jiang Fan shattered Qi Hao’s Azure Jade Triple Wall, stopped his sword attack, and struck him into the wall of Enlightenment Peak.

Jiang Fan defeated Qi Hao after Qi Hao and the other Heaven Sect disciples bullied Xue Chen and the Falling Cloud Sect disciples, and the steward ended the dispute. After half a year of study at the Withered Glory Pavilion, Jiang Fan received word from Chen Ping that Elder Pei wanted to see him.

• Jiang Fan defeated Qi Hao, but the steward arrived and ended the fight, blaming Qi Hao and the others for starting the dispute and warning both sides.
• Jiang Fan thanked Xue Chen and the Falling Cloud Sect disciples, invited them to the Withered Glory Pavilion, and left when they declined.
• Xue Chen and the other disciples wondered whether Jiang Fan had reached the Venerable Realm after he defeated Qi Hao in one move.
• Jiang Fan spent half a year studying Heaven Sect cultivation texts and records about the Gate of Sighs, but found little about what lay beyond its seal.
• Chen Ping told Jiang Fan that Elder Pei had sent for him, and Jiang Fan hurried to go.

Elder Pei summoned selected inner sect disciples to explain that an ancient seal in the Secret Realm had become unstable and that the sect wanted them to investigate within it. He offered sweeping rewards for returning with useful information, leaving the disciples stunned by the risks and incentives.

• Jiang Fan arrived at the Elder Hall and took a place among the gathered disciples.
• Elder Pei explained that the seal in an ancient Secret Realm had stirred, Wu You had vanished, and the surrounding land had become lifeless.
• Elder Pei announced that the sect would send an elite team behind the seal to investigate the anomaly and bring back information.
• The disciples voiced fears that entering the ancient seal would be fatal, since even Wu You had disappeared there.
• Elder Pei promised participants three years of resources for returning safely and major privileges for bringing back useful information.