Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai prepared to leave Blackwater City after recovering, while Ban Ye and the Fatty resigned from the Tang Family and gave him cultivation manuals. Tang Yuezhi blocked Lin Bai’s resignation and insisted he could not leave.

• After recovering for three days, Lin Bai learned that Ban Ye and the Fatty had earned many contribution points in the Combat Arena and planned to settle in Blackwater City.
• Ban Ye and the Fatty gave Lin Bai three Supreme Martial Spirit Tool swords and three cultivation manuals; Lin Bai declined the swords but accepted the manuals.
• Lin Bai studied the manuals for several days, then went to Guest Elder Residence to resign and was told Tang Long had to be notified.
• Tang Yuezhi and Tang Long visited Lin Bai, and Tang Yuezhi declared that his resignation required her approval and that he could not leave.

Lin Bai insisted on leaving the Tang Family and wandered through Blackwater City, where he saw the Qian Family’s Beast being cruelly forced to haul manure. Angered by the abuse, Lin Bai followed the Beast with murderous intent.

• Tang Yuezhi agreed to let Lin Bai leave after discussing his resignation with Guest Elder Residence, and Lin Bai went out to explore the city.
• Lin Bai heard people discussing the approaching Dragon City Tournament but paid it little attention.
• Near the Qian Family estate, Lin Bai recognized the Beast, once Qian Cai’s Ever-Victorious General, dragging a manure cart while four young martial artists whipped and mocked him.
• The young martial artists said the Qian Family was punishing the Beast for losing to the Sword Demon and exploiting his limited intelligence and great strength.
• Lin Bai reflected on the Beast’s mistreatment, then turned and strode after him as murderous aura surged.

Lin Bai found Beast being forced to haul and clean Gold-Eating Beast feces for the Qian Family, and urged him to leave and reclaim his dignity. When four Qian Family martial artists attacked Lin Bai, he stood still and met Beast’s gaze, leaving the outcome of the attack unresolved.

• Beast dragged a cart of feces out of Blackwater City while four young martial artists bullied him and ordered him to clean the iron barrels.
• Lin Bai arrived and asked Beast to come with him, showing him the Sword Demon Mask to remind him of their connection.
• Lin Bai promised Beast a life with dignity and urged him to reclaim what belonged to him, but Beast listened with confusion.
• The four young martial artists threatened Lin Bai and charged at him when he refused to leave.
• Lin Bai did not resist their combined attack and continued looking into Beast’s eyes as an astonishing scene began.

Lin Bai rescued Beast from the Qian Family, named him Lin Ye, and declared him his brother. After defeating the Qian Family warriors who tried to stop them, Lin Bai brought Lin Ye to the Tang Family's Guest Elder Residence, where he began treating him with care.

• Beast blocked four Qian Family warriors from attacking Lin Bai, and Lin Bai named him Lin Ye and claimed him as his brother.
• The four warriors attacked Lin Bai to reclaim Beast, but Lin Bai struck them down with a single glare and ordered them to relay his warning to the Qian Family.
• Lin Bai took Lin Ye back to the Tang Family's Guest Elder Residence, where Ban Ye and the Fatty said they were leaving the Tang Family.
• Lin Bai learned that the Qian Family had treated Lin Ye like a dog and prepared bathwater for him, telling him he could sit, drink, and eat freely in the courtyard.

Lin Bai helped Lin Ye wash and dress, then urged him to live with dignity despite their hardships. Meanwhile, Tang Yuezhi revealed Lin Bai’s Sword Demon identity to Tang Jingxiu, and Zhao Huchen invited Lin Bai to the Zhao Family; Lin Bai accepted and left with Lin Ye.

• Lin Bai cleaned Lin Ye, changed him into fresh clothes, and encouraged him to live proudly as a human being.
• Tang Yuezhi told Tang Jingxiu that Lin Bai was the Sword Demon who had defeated Xu Guang, and Tang Jingxiu decided to verify it and keep Lin Bai from leaving.
• Zhao Huchen entered Lin Bai’s courtyard and invited him to the Zhao Family, while Lin Ye prepared to defend Lin Bai from the elder.
• Lin Bai accepted Zhao Huchen’s invitation and left for the Zhao Family with Lin Ye following him.

Lin Bai attended a banquet at the Zhao Family, where Zhao Yuntian explained the Dragon City Tournament and invited him to compete for the Commander's Flag as the Zhao Family's guest elder. Zhao Yuntian's children objected to choosing Lin Bai, who was only at the seventh level of the Death Reversal Realm.

• Lin Bai and Lin Ye followed Zhao Huchen to the Zhao Family banquet, where Zhao Yuntian welcomed Lin Bai and introduced him to his children and nephew.
• Zhao Siyun, Zhao Siyuan, and Zhao Zheng dismissed Lin Bai after noticing his cultivation was only at the seventh level of the Death Reversal Realm.
• Lin Bai asked Zhao Yuntian to explain why the Zhao Family had summoned him.
• Zhao Yuntian described the Dragon City Tournament, in which the Eight Great Families competed to seize and defend the Commander's Flag to choose Blackwater City's next ruling family.
• Zhao Yuntian invited Lin Bai to serve as the Zhao Family's guest elder and help them win the tournament.
• Zhao Siyun, Zhao Siyuan, and Zhao Zheng protested Zhao Yuntian's choice.

Lin Bai refused the Zhao Clan’s invitation to serve as its guest elder unless it helped him obtain the Wang Clan’s Houtu Divine Thunder Art. After he left, Zhao Yuntian ordered Madam Yang to persuade him or lose her place in the family registry.

• Zhao Yuntian offered Lin Bai any reward for joining the Zhao Clan, but Lin Bai demanded the Houtu Divine Thunder Art, which Zhao Yuntian said the clan could not obtain.
• Lin Bai prepared to leave the Zhao Clan with Lin Ye, but Zhao Yuntian asked him to stay until Madam Yang arrived.
• Zhao Yuntian revealed that Lin Bai was the Sword Demon, and Madam Yang recognized him from their past work together in the Combat Arena.
• Lin Bai refused to change his demand and left the Zhao Clan with Lin Ye despite Madam Yang’s presence.
• Zhao Yuntian blamed Madam Yang for Lin Bai’s refusal and gave her two days to persuade him, threatening to remove her from the family registry if she failed.

Lin Bai refused to join the Zhao Family and told the Tang Family he would help in the Dragon City Tournament only in exchange for the Houtu Divine Thunder Art. Tang Jingxiu promised to deliver the art within one day, leaving Lin Bai waiting to see whether the Tang Family could meet his demand.

• Lin Bai told Lin Ye that Blackwater City was on the brink of a bloody conflict and said he would stay out of it unless a family offered him the Houtu Divine Thunder Art.
• Tang Jingxiu and Tang Yuezhi visited Lin Bai, recognized Lin Ye as the Qian Family's former Ever-Victorious General, and heard that Lin Bai had refused the Zhao Family's invitation.
• Lin Bai told Tang Jingxiu he would assist the Tang Family in the Dragon City Tournament only if they gave him the Houtu Divine Thunder Art.
• Tang Jingxiu asked how confident Lin Bai was of winning the Commander's Flag, and Lin Bai replied that no one beneath the Apex Realm could rival him.
• Tang Jingxiu promised to deliver the Houtu Divine Thunder Art within one day and asked Lin Bai not to accept another family's invitation while he waited.

Tang Jingxiu prepared for the Dragon City Tournament while concealing his plans, and Lin Bai confronted Qian Youcai over Lin Ye’s freedom. The chapter ended with Qian Youcai demanding that Lin Ye return to the Qian Family, despite Lin Bai’s threat.

• Tang Yuezhi questioned Tang Jingxiu about his promise to obtain the Wang Family’s Houtu Divine Thunder Art, and he sent her to prepare for the Dragon City Tournament.
• Tang Jingxiu summoned the six Grand Elders and left the Tang Family with them for an unknown destination.
• Qian Youcai learned that Lin Bai had taken Lin Ye and led Qian Family martial artists to the Tang Family to demand Lin Bai’s return.
• Tang Jingyuan tried to turn Qian Youcai away, but the four young martial artists recognized Lin Bai and Lin Ye as they left the Tang Family.
• Lin Bai declared that Lin Ye was no longer part of the Qian Family and told Qian Youcai to leave, but Qian Youcai insisted on taking Lin Ye back.

Lin Bai confronted Qian Youcai at the Tang Family's gate, where Lin Ye attacked and badly beat him. Qian Duojin arrived to demand the beast, but Taiyi interrupted and summoned Lin Bai to meet the City Lord, Zhao Wuji.

• Lin Bai gave Qian Youcai three breaths to leave, but Lin Ye struck him and repeatedly smashed him against the ground.
• Qian Duojin arrived with Qian Family martial artists and demanded that the Tang Family hand over the beast.
• Lin Bai refused Qian Duojin's demand and insulted him, provoking the Qian Family Head.
• Taiyi arrived and told Lin Bai that Zhao Wuji wanted to see him, forcing Qian Duojin to back down.

Taiyi escorted Lin Bai to the City Lord’s Mansion after admitting that Zhao Wuji had ordered him to reveal Lin Bai’s identity to the Zhao Family. Lin Bai realized Zhao Wuji intended to recruit him to support the Zhao Family in the Dragon City Tournament, and he entered the lakeside pavilion to meet the dying City Lord.

• Taiyi warned Qian Duojin that provoking the dying Zhao Wuji could bring the Qian Family down with him, and Qian Duojin let Lin Bai leave.
• After Taiyi departed, Qian Duojin led the Qian Family away, while Tang Jingyuan closed the Tang Family to visitors.
• On the way to the City Lord’s Mansion, Taiyi confessed that Zhao Wuji had forced him to disclose Lin Bai’s identity and warned Lin Bai that Zhao Wuji wanted his support for the Zhao Family.
• Lin Bai deduced that Zhao Wuji might kill him if he refused, to prevent him from aiding another lineage in the Dragon City Tournament.
• Taiyi brought Lin Bai to Zhao Wuji’s pavilion, where Zhao Wuji dismissed Taiyi and summoned Lin Bai inside.

Lin Bai met with the dying City Lord Zhao Wuji, who explained the origins of the Five Thunder Righteous Method and why the Wang Family would never surrender the Houtu Divine Thunder Art. Lin Bai remained unwilling to help any faction without it, leaving Zhao Wuji's offer unanswered.

• Lin Bai left Lin Ye waiting outside the lakeside pavilion and met Zhao Wuji, whose face and body bore signs of a fatal injury.
• Zhao Wuji asked Lin Bai to change his demand for the Houtu Divine Thunder Art, but Lin Bai said he would not help anyone without obtaining it.
• Zhao Wuji showed Lin Bai his unhealing chest wound and revealed that a Wang Family ancestor had inflicted it with the Five Thunder Righteous Method.
• Zhao Wuji explained that the Five Thunder Righteous Method was the ultimate technique of the Five Elements Divine Lightning Manual and that its wounds inevitably worsened until the victim died.
• Zhao Wuji described the Wang Family's attack on Blackwater City and urged Lin Bai to make a different demand, offering to do his utmost to satisfy him.
• Lin Bai fell silent instead of accepting Zhao Wuji's offer.

Lin Bai refused to help the Zhao Family in the Dragon City Tournament unless he received the Houtu Divine Thunder Art, while Zhao Wuji planned to rely on a Sword Disciple from the Sword God Family. Madam Yang left Blackwater City, and the Tang Family later offered Lin Bai the art in exchange for his help.

• Lin Bai rejected Zhao Wuji’s offer of cultivation resources and insisted that he would only help a family that gave him the Houtu Divine Thunder Art.
• Zhao Wuji told Zhao Yuntian that a Sword Disciple of the Sword God Family would arrive in seven days, so he planned to postpone the Dragon City Tournament.
• Madam Yang warned Lin Bai that the Zhao Family would betray him, then announced she was leaving Blackwater City to wander the world.
• Lin Bai returned to the Tang Family and taught Lin Ye the Qian Family’s Beast Eight Styles.
• Tang Jingxiu brought Lin Bai the Houtu Divine Thunder Art in a bloodstained bronze box and asked him to help the Tang Family in the Dragon City Tournament.

Lin Bai confirmed that the Tang Family had given him the genuine Houtu Divine Thunder Art and vowed to help them win the Dragon City Tournament's Commander's Flag. Tang Jingxiu then revealed to the elders and Tang Yuezhi that Lin Bai was the Holy Son of the Eastern Continent Academy, giving the family hope for its future.

• Lin Bai verified the Houtu Divine Thunder Art and promised Tang Jingxiu that he would do everything in his power to win the Commander's Flag for the Tang Family.
• Lin Bai entered his secret chamber to study the manual while Tang Jingxiu left with Tang Yuezhi.
• Tang Jingxiu staggered and spat blood after leaving Lin Bai's courtyard, then returned with Tang Yuezhi to meet three injured Tang Family elders.
• Tang Jingxiu told the elders that the Tang Family had risked its members' lives to seize the manual from Houtu City because winning the tournament was its last chance to become City Lord.
• Tang Jingxiu revealed that Lin Bai was the Holy Son of the Eastern Continent Academy, and the elders and Tang Yuezhi were astonished.
• The elders celebrated the Tang Family's prospects and discussed the possibility of moving to the Eastern Continent with Lin Bai's help.

Tang Jingxiu and the Tang Family elders discussed keeping Lin Bai’s identity secret and building a relationship with him, while Lin Bai cultivated the Houtu Divine Lightning and began studying the Five Thunder Righteous Method. In Blackwater City, Wang Qian learned of the theft from the Wang Family and turned his attention to the approaching Dragon City Tournament.

• Tang Jingxiu and the three elders agreed not to expose Lin Bai’s identity, and Tang Yuezhi promised to learn why he had come to the Northern Continent and offer help if the Tang Family could.
• Wang Qian angrily questioned how experts had stolen a copy of the Houtu Divine Thunder Art from the Wang Family, while Jiang Yang suspected the thieves were Apex Realm martial artists from nearby cities.
• Wang Qian and Jiang Yang discussed Zhao Wuji’s postponement of the Dragon City Tournament and speculated that Zhao Wuji’s invited guest had not yet arrived.
• Lin Bai completed his cultivation of the Houtu Divine Thunder Art, bringing his Divine Lightning Manual techniques to Azure Wood, Blackwater, and Houtu, with Gold and Fire still missing.
• Lin Bai began studying the Five Thunder Righteous Method, the Divine Lightning Manual’s powerful divine ability that could unleash all five types of lightning.

Lin Bai ended his secluded cultivation and joined the Tang Family for the Dragon City Tournament, where the families would compete for the Commander's Flag. The Tang Family entered the contest badly outnumbered by its rivals, and Lin Bai headed toward Dragon City with Tang Yuezhi as the tournament began.

• Lin Bai finished cultivating the Houtu Divine Thunder and the Five Thunder Righteous Method, then left Blackwater City with Tang Yuezhi and Lin Ye.
• Tang Jingxiu told Lin Bai that the Tang Family had only a little over a hundred Death Reversal Realm perfection martial artists, while the Qian Family and Zhao Family each had more than eight hundred.
• Tang Jingxiu warned Lin Bai to avoid clashing with the Qian Family and Zhao Family, and said the Tang Family was relying heavily on him and Tang Yuezhi.
• Taiyi led the Tang Family's fighters toward Dragon City's southeastern entrance, and Tang Yuezhi explained that the families would cross the Dragon City Mountains and compete for the Commander's Flag until dawn.
• Lin Bai encountered Tang Yang among the Tang Family's fighters, and Tang Yang said he had joined to help the family.

The Dragon City Tournament began, and Lin Bai entered the Dragon City Mountains with Tang Yuezhi and the Tang Family warriors. As the other families’ powerful guest elders were revealed, Qian Ruyu led the Qian Family toward the Tang Family, bringing the two sides close to a clash.

• Taiyi announced the start of the tournament and warned the Tang Family warriors that life and death in the Dragon City Mountains could depend on a single thought.
• Tang Yuezhi led several hundred Tang Family warriors, including Lin Bai, into the Dragon City Mountains as the tournament’s projection walls displayed the families entering.
• Tang Jingxiu recognized Cai Chi as the Zhou Family’s guest elder and Jiang Yang as the Qian Family’s; he also noted an unfamiliar blue-robed man among the Zhao Family.
• Qian Ruyu decided to attack another family before heading to Dragon City, and Jiang Yang agreed to assist the Qian Family.
• Qian Ruyu led more than eight hundred Qian Family warriors toward the southeast, where Tang Jingxiu saw them approaching the Tang Family on the projection walls.

The Tang Family considered how to approach Dragon City, and Lin Bai advised them to wait nearby until dawn. When a bloodied Zheng Family warrior offered them a shortcut, Lin Bai recognized his deception and confronted him.

• Tang Yuezhi weighed the risks of entering Dragon City or staying in the mountains, and Lin Bai advised the Tang Family to wait near the city until just before dawn.
• Tang Yuezhi accepted Lin Bai’s plan and led the warriors toward Dragon City.
• A bloodied warrior claimed to be the sole survivor of a Zheng Family group killed by an Apex Realm monster and offered to guide the Tang Family by a shortcut.
• Tang Yang and Tang Yuezhi agreed to follow the warrior after he demanded protection, but Lin Bai told them to take the direct road and accused the stranger of luring them into a trap.
• The warrior denied Lin Bai’s accusation and started to leave, while Tang Yang and Tang Yuezhi challenged Lin Bai; Lin Bai called them idiots and prepared to expose the stranger.

Lin Bai exposed a White Fur Ape disguised as a young martial artist before it could lead Tang Yuezhi and the Tang Family into a trap. He stayed behind to fight the Apex Realm demonic beast while Tang Yuezhi led the others onward, and the battle continued as the enraged ape attacked him.

• Lin Bai questioned the young martial artist's story and sensed the demonic aura on him, revealing that he was not trustworthy.
• The young martial artist tore off his human skin and revealed himself as an Apex Realm White Fur Ape that had prepared a trap for the Tang Family.
• The White Fur Ape attacked Lin Bai, but Lin Bai's Three-Colored Divine Lightning burned its hand and his Thunder Annihilation blasted it away.
• Lin Bai told Tang Yuezhi to lead the Tang Family onward while he held the White Fur Ape back, arranging to meet them outside Dragon City.
• The White Fur Ape tried to stop the Tang Family's escape, but Lin Bai blocked it and struck it with Soaring Sky Nine Flashes and Coiling Dragon Fist.
• The enraged White Fur Ape got back up and pounced at Lin Bai, threatening to eat him alive.

Lin Bai fought the White Fur Ape to a standstill, learning that he could survive against an Apex Realm opponent but could not defeat one. Meanwhile, Qian Ruyu’s forces surrounded Tang Yuezhi and the Tang Family warriors, and Qian Ruyu charged at her as they tried to break out.

• Lin Bai traded several thousand blows with the White Fur Ape, wounding him repeatedly while avoiding serious injury with his Three-Colored Divine Lightning.
• The White Fur Ape fled, and Lin Bai concluded that he could neither kill an Apex Realm warrior nor be easily killed by one before heading toward his meeting with the Tang Family.
• Tang Yuezhi detected warriors ahead and stopped the Tang Family group as Qian Ruyu and Jiang Yang emerged with more than eight hundred Qian Family warriors and surrounded them.
• Qian Ruyu ordered the Qian Family warriors to kill the Tang Family, and Tang Yuezhi led her several hundred warriors in an attempt to break through the encirclement.
• Qian Ruyu charged at Tang Yuezhi, believing that killing her would throw the Tang Family warriors into disarray, while Jiang Yang held back.