Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai learned about the Northern Continent’s ten thousand cities and discovered that Ban Ye’s Blackwater Divine Lightning Art shared an origin with his Five Elements Divine Lightning Manual. He joined Blackwater City as a guest elder of the Tang Family and paid the city’s entry levy.

• Ban Ye told Lin Bai about the Three Great Clans, the upcoming Sky Sword City martial competition, and the Northern Continent’s ten thousand cities.
• Lin Bai asked about Ban Ye’s Blackwater Divine Lightning Art and recognized it as related to his Five Elements Divine Lightning Manual.
• Ban Ye led Lin Bai and the younger members back to Blackwater City and explained how its cities and cultivation resources were organized.
• At the city gate, Ban Ye offered to make Lin Bai a guest elder of the Tang Family, and Lin Bai agreed to join Blackwater City.
• Lin Bai completed his entry procedures, received an Identity Token, and paid one thousand jin of spirit liquid.

Lin Bai entered Blackwater City with Ban Ye, learned how the city’s families divided its spirit liquid and competed for the city lord’s position, and followed Ban Ye to the Tang Family. He began the guest elder examination, which would determine whether he could gain a place to stay in the city.

• Ban Ye explained that the Zhao Family controlled Blackwater City and took thirty percent of its spirit liquid, while the other great families prepared to compete for the city lord’s position because the current lord was critically ill.
• Ban Ye brought Lin Bai to the Tang Family and said that Tang Yuezhi was the only outstanding prodigy among its younger generation.
• Lin Bai followed Ban Ye to the Guest Elder Residence to register for the Tang Family’s guest elder examination.
• Ban Ye introduced Lin Bai to his friend Fatty, who warned that Lin Bai had to pass the examination without help.

Lin Bai began the Tang Family guest elder assessment, where candidates had to spar with the protector Tang Long. After several candidates passed or failed, Lin Bai entered the arena, and Tang Long recognized the unusually restrained killing intent in his scabbard and reconsidered his initial doubts.

• The fat uncle brought Lin Bai and Ban Ye to the rear courtyard and explained the guest elder assessment to them.
• Steward Tang De allowed Lin Bai to take the assessment after Ban Ye’s recommendation, while other candidates doubted Lin Bai’s strength.
• Ban Ye warned Lin Bai that Tang Long was a powerful, experienced fighter and explained that few martial artists cultivated the slow Blackwater Divine Lightning Art.
• Three of the nine candidates ahead of Lin Bai passed, while the other six were defeated.
• Lin Bai entered the arena with his Blackwood Scabbard, and Tang Long sensed his faint, tightly restrained killing intent.

Lin Bai passed Tang Long’s Guest Elder examination and accepted a position as a High-Level Guest Elder of the Tang Family. Tang Yang challenged the result, and Lin Bai asked whether he had any further objections.

• Lin Bai offered Tang Long a chance to rest before their examination fight, and Tang Long prepared to attack.
• Tang Yang arrived with his followers and questioned whether Lin Bai was qualified to become a Guest Elder.
• Tang Long charged Lin Bai with a powerful punch, but stopped his fist three inches from Lin Bai’s face and declared him successful.
• Lin Bai accepted the High-Level Guest Elder position, leaving Ban Ye, the fat uncle, and Tang De bewildered.
• Tang Yang objected to Lin Bai’s appointment and accused him of potentially harming the Tang Family’s reputation.
• Lin Bai asked Tang Yang whether he had any other objections to Tang Long’s decision.

Tang Yang challenged Lin Bai’s appointment as a Tang Family High-Level Guest Elder and forced him to face a new assessment by Mo Qian. Tang Long withdrew from the dispute, but revealed that Lin Bai’s sword intent had made him fear following through with his earlier attack.

• Tang Yang accused Lin Bai of securing his appointment through a deal with Tang Long and demanded he undergo another assessment.
• Lin Bai accepted Tang Yang’s challenge and asked who would assess him.
• Tang Yang summoned Mo Qian, a Death Reversal Realm High-Level Guest Elder, and ordered him to test Lin Bai and break his legs if he was unqualified.
• Tang Long left the arena and told Tang De that Lin Bai might still prove himself, while Tang De questioned why Tang Long had stopped his earlier attack.
• Tang Long explained that he had never encountered a sword cultivator with Killing Intent as razor-sharp as Lin Bai’s.

Tang Long recognized Lin Bai’s overwhelming strength and allowed him to qualify as a High-Level Guest Elder, while Mo Qian challenged him to impress Tang Yang. Lin Bai sent Mo Qian flying with one sword strike, but Mo Qian, desperate to retain Tang Yang’s favor, prepared to keep fighting.

• Tang Long stopped his punch against Lin Bai after sensing that Lin Bai could have killed him, and Lin Bai qualified as a High-Level Guest Elder.
• Ban Ye told Tang Long and Tang De that Lin Bai had killed hundreds of earth serpents and forced the Snake King to apologize with nearly a thousand jin of Black Gold Divine Iron.
• Tang Long suspected Lin Bai had another motive for visiting and learned from Ban Ye that Lin Bai was interested in the Blackwater Divine Lightning Art.
• Mo Qian challenged Lin Bai on Tang Yang’s orders and promised to break his legs, but Lin Bai mocked him for flattering Tang Yang.
• Lin Bai drew his demonic sword and sent Mo Qian flying with one strike, leaving Tang Long and the others astonished.
• Mo Qian saw Tang Yang’s displeasure and decided he had to defeat Lin Bai, then glared at him with renewed murderous intent.

Lin Bai defeated Mo Qian in the Tang Family’s guest elder assessment and refused Tang Yang’s offer to become his guard. He passed the assessment and became a Tang Family guest elder, moving closer to the Blackwater Divine Lightning Art.

• Tang Yang ordered Mo Qian to continue fighting Lin Bai, and Mo Qian attacked with lethal intent.
• Mo Qian sent Lin Bai flying with a punch, but Lin Bai countered with the Dragon Slayer Drawing Sword Art and severely injured him.
• Lin Bai charged at Mo Qian, who knelt and begged for his life before Lin Bai could strike him.
• Lin Bai challenged Tang Yang, rejected his offer to become a guard, and asked Tang Long whether he had passed the assessment.
• Tang Long confirmed Lin Bai had passed and warned Tang Yang against causing trouble; Tang Yang left the arena with his lackeys.

After Lin Bai became a High-Level Guest Elder of the Tang Family, Ban Ye explained the guest elder ranks and how Merit Points could be used to obtain resources and cultivation arts. Lin Bai learned that acquiring the complete Blackwater Divine Lightning Art would take years without another way to earn points, and Ban Ye warned him to be careful of Tang Yang.

• Tang Long appointed Lin Bai a High-Level Guest Elder and asked Ban Ye to arrange his residence and explain the Tang Family.
• Ban Ye described the guest elder ranks and their monthly spirit liquid and Merit Point allowances.
• Ban Ye explained that Lin Bai needed 300,000 Merit Points to obtain all three portions of the Blackwater Divine Lightning Art, while a High-Level Guest Elder received only 1,000 points per month.
• Ban Ye said Merit Points mostly came through work for the great families or by fighting in a war, and Lin Bai found currying favor with Tang Family disciples difficult.
• Ban Ye warned Lin Bai to be careful of Tang Yang, and Lin Bai asked about Tang Yang's background.

Lin Bai learned why the Tang Family tolerated Tang Yang’s outrageous behavior and heard about the prodigious Tang Yuezhi. He settled into a courtyard beside Ban Ye and resolved to obtain the Blackwater Divine Lightning Art before going to the Sword God Family.

• Lin Bai asked Ban Ye why the Tang Family’s martial artists feared Tang Yang, and Ban Ye explained that Tang Yang had slept with the Zhao Family Head’s principal wife and was confined after the uproar.
• Ban Ye said Tang Yang was spared severe punishment because he was the sole surviving descendant of a Tang Family branch whose members had died in battle, and an ancestor from that branch had intervened.
• Ban Ye told Lin Bai that Tang Yuezhi was the Tang Family Head’s daughter, a Near God-Rank martial-soul prodigy and sword cultivator who hoped to join the Sword God Family.
• Lin Bai chose the vacant courtyard next to Ban Ye’s, used his Blackwater City Identity Token to move in, and settled into the residence.
• Lin Bai decided to find a way to obtain the Blackwater Divine Lightning Art as soon as possible, then go to the Sword God Family.

Lin Bai sought the Blackwater Divine Lightning Art and agreed to meet Tang Family prodigy Tang Yuezhi, hoping to earn Merit Points. After he entered her residence, Nie Qian'er received five million Merit Points from a sinister young man, revealing the summons was part of a scheme.

• Lin Bai planned to obtain the Blackwater Divine Lightning Art within three months, before pursuing the Sword God Family and the Water Mirror Sword.
• Ban Ye showed Lin Bai around the Tang Family and Blackwater City, but Lin Bai remained without Merit Points after ten days.
• Tang Yang learned Lin Bai had returned and said he would use a scheme to drive him out of the Tang Family.
• Tang De told Lin Bai that Tang Yuezhi had summoned him, and Lin Bai agreed to go after hearing he might earn Merit Points.
• Nie Qian'er led Lin Bai into Tang Yuezhi's residence, then accepted an Identity Token showing five million Merit Points from a sinister young man.

Lin Bai entered Tang Yuezhi’s secluded courtyard and found her surrounded by volatile Blackwater Divine Lightning. Tang Yuezhi attacked him for trespassing, and their swords clashed as the courtyard was destroyed.

• Lin Bai found the courtyard empty and followed rumbling sounds to a room crawling with Blackwater Divine Lightning.
• Lin Bai saw Tang Yuezhi meditating inside, and her lightning erupted, reducing the room to rubble.
• Tang Yang and Nie Qian'er heard the explosion; Tang Yang smiled, while Nie Qian'er feared Tang Yuezhi would kill Lin Bai.
• Tang Yuezhi emerged and declared Lin Bai’s trespass a capital offense before attacking him with a lightning-covered sword.
• Lin Bai drew the Demon Sword and blocked Tang Yuezhi’s attack, but their clash destroyed the courtyard, and Tang Yuezhi attacked again.

Lin Bai fought Tang Yuezhi after she refused to hear him out, but she suddenly collapsed when the Blackwater Divine Lightning inside her backlashed. He discovered that she lacked a Five Elements Divine Pill and had suffered the backlash after using the lightning recklessly, leaving her unable to move.

• Tang Yuezhi attacked Lin Bai with Blackwater Divine Lightning, and Lin Bai dodged her strikes.
• Tang Yuezhi unleashed Ten Directions of Annihilation, leaving Lin Bai badly injured amid the ruined courtyard.
• Lin Bai counterattacked with his sword, shattered Tang Yuezhi's lightning shield, and charged at her.
• Tang Yuezhi suddenly spat blood and collapsed as her flesh split apart, so Lin Bai stopped fighting and examined her condition.
• Lin Bai discovered that Blackwater Divine Lightning was destroying Tang Yuezhi's body and that she had no Five Elements Divine Pill.
• Lin Bai concluded that Tang Yuezhi had suffered a backlash from recklessly using Blackwater Divine Lightning without the proper foundation.

Lin Bai stabilized Tang Yuezhi’s Blackwater Divine Lightning after it backlashed and injured her, then learned she had not summoned him and suspected a scheme involving Nie Qian'er. As Tang Yuezhi prepared to investigate, Tang Yang told the gathered Tang Family members that her courtyard had been destroyed in a fight.

• Lin Bai soothed the Blackwater Divine Lightning inside Tang Yuezhi with the Five Elements Divine Pill, easing her injuries and warning her not to forcefully use the lightning.
• Tang Yuezhi asked how Lin Bai had calmed the lightning, and Lin Bai questioned why she had summoned him only to attack him.
• Tang Yuezhi denied summoning Lin Bai and said that no one was permitted to enter her residence after nightfall.
• Lin Bai explained that Nie Qian'er had told him to come and had brought him to the residence, prompting Tang Yuezhi to suspect a hidden scheme.
• Tang Yuezhi healed and changed clothes as Tang Jingxiu and Tang Family elders gathered outside her ruined courtyard.
• Tang Yang told the crowd that Tang Yuezhi's residence had been destroyed because she fought someone, not because she cultivated the Blackwater Divine Lightning.

Tang Yuezhi protected Lin Bai after Tang Yang accused him of trespassing in her residence. She revealed that Tang Yang had arranged the encounter to use her against Lin Bai, and she warned Lin Bai that Tang Yang was difficult to punish.

• Tang Yang told Tang Jingxiu and the elders that someone had entered Tang Yuezhi's residence and implied the intruder was connected to the damage there.
• Tang Yuezhi emerged unharmed, confirmed that Lin Bai had visited, and said she had invited him to spar.
• Tang Yang challenged Tang Yuezhi's explanation, but she rebuked him and Tang Jingxiu dismissed the elders.
• After the others left, Tang Yuezhi told Lin Bai that Tang Yang had likely lured him there to make her kill him and warned that Tang Yang had powerful connections.
• Lin Bai thanked Tang Yuezhi and promised to be careful.

After Tang Yuezhi demanded that Lin Bai teach her to control the Blackwater Divine Lightning, he refused and returned to the Guest Elder Residence. With the Tang Family no longer a safe place to stay and merit points still his priority, Lin Bai decided to try earning them in Blackwater City's deadly Combat Arena.

• Lin Bai refused Tang Yuezhi's request to learn how to control the Blackwater Divine Lightning, and she went to Tang Jingxiu with her account of the incident.
• Lin Bai told Ban Ye that Tang Yang had nearly gotten him killed, and Ban Ye suggested he leave the Tang Family.
• Ban Ye explained that fighters in the Combat Arena could earn merit points and consecutive-win rewards, despite the risk of death.
• Lin Bai and Ban Ye visited the Combat Arena, where Lin Bai watched a burly fighter tear his opponent apart after a hundred moves.
• Lin Bai asked Ban Ye to introduce him to the person in charge so he could become a Combat Arena fighter.

Lin Bai entered the Combat Arena to register as a fighter and chose a mysterious mask that concealed his identity. He left the old man’s chamber with the mask named Sword Demon.

• Lin Bai and Ban Ye crossed the underground casino and reached the chamber where fighters registered.
• Two guards let Lin Bai enter after he insisted on joining, but they barred Ban Ye from following him.
• The Slovenly Old Man explained that new fighters had to pass three unrewarded matches before earning Merit Points for wins.
• Lin Bai chose the pitch-black mask the old man had just finished carving and put it on, transforming his clothes into black robes.
• The Slovenly Old Man named the mask Sword Demon.

Lin Bai accepted the Sword Demon mask and arranged to enter the Combat Arena the next day. As Blackwater City's City Lord prepared to choose a successor, Lin Bai studied the arena and set out before dawn for his first match.

• The Slovenly Old Man gave Lin Bai the Sword Demon mask and showed him the passage to the Combat Arena; he refused the Blackwater City Lord's request for help with his injuries.
• The Blackwater City Lord ordered the Eight Great Families to prepare to select his successor, acknowledging that he did not have long to live.
• Taiyi registered Lin Bai as Sword Demon, scheduled his first match for the next day, and gave him a book of fighter records and a map of the Combat Arena.
• Lin Bai returned to the Tang Family with Ban Ye, studied the map and fighter records, and decided to rely on his fists unless he had to draw his sword.
• Lin Bai left the Tang Family before dawn and headed to the Combat Arena as Ban Ye watched him go and offered advice.

Lin Bai entered the Combat Arena disguised as the masked Sword Devil and watched Ghost Messenger kill Lu Wei in the opening qualifying battle. Taiyi then called Lin Bai and Hong Lang to fight next, leaving Lin Bai to face an opponent who dismissed him as an easy win.

• Lin Bai disguised himself in black clothes and a mask, then waited with the other newcomers in a room beneath the Combat Arena.
• Taiyi announced that six newcomers would compete for two places as true combatants and sent Ghost Messenger and Lu Wei out for the first battle.
• Ghost Messenger turned the fight around and killed Lu Wei with one punch after Lu Wei used a forbidden technique.
• A masked martial artist and an unmasked body-refining martial artist criticized Ghost Messenger’s performance after his victory.
• Taiyi called Sword Devil and Hong Lang for the next battle, and Hong Lang mocked Lin Bai’s seventh-level Death Reversal Realm cultivation.

Lin Bai entered the Combat Arena and killed Hong Lang with a single punch in his first match. He chose to fight again without resting, and his second opponent, Shen Hua, arrived as Lin Bai charged at him.

• Taiyi warned Lin Bai and Hong Lang that their first three matches would determine how others valued them in the Combat Arena.
• Hong Lang boasted that he would kill Lin Bai, but Lin Bai dodged his repeated attacks before striking back.
• Lin Bai shattered Hong Lang's arm and killed him with one punch, then asked Ning Zheng to begin his second match immediately.
• Taiyi selected Shen Hua as Lin Bai's next opponent, and Shen Hua entered the arena.
• Shen Hua mocked Lin Bai's win as luck, but Lin Bai charged at him and declared that all his opponents had to die.

Lin Bai defeated Shen Hua in his second Combat Arena match and chose to fight again immediately. His third opponent was Ghost Messenger, whom Madam Yang had recruited and expected to become an Ever-Victorious General.

• Lin Bai shattered Shen Hua's vines and defensive art, forcing Shen Hua to surrender and leave the arena.
• Ning Zheng congratulated Lin Bai, and Lin Bai chose to begin his third match without resting.
• Taiyi selected Ghost Messenger as Lin Bai's next opponent, and Ghost Messenger entered the arena.
• Madam Yang told her companions that Ghost Messenger was a Faceless Ones assassin she had recruited by promising him a night with her if he won ten consecutive matches.
• Ning Zheng announced the start of Lin Bai and Ghost Messenger's match.