Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai received the title of High Minister, while Chen Yule became the first martial artist of Chu’s younger generation to be made a marquis. After the ceremony, Chen Yule invited Lin Bai and several other prodigies to celebrate at the Immortal Abode Restaurant.

• The imperial decree granted Lin Bai the title of High Minister and made Chen Yule Marquis of Qingyang City, awarding him gold and immortal jades.
• The Holy Sons and Holy Daughters of the Five Great Families and Seven Sects reacted with envy as Chen Yule became a marquis.
• The old eunuch ordered Chen Yule to enter the palace to thank the Emperor and told the martial artists to remain in the imperial capital until they were taken to the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds in half a month.
• Chen Yule invited the gathered prodigies to a banquet at the Immortal Abode Restaurant and said he had arranged for ten jars of Dragon Blood Wine.
• Chen Yule invited Lin Bai and listed Qian, Huang Qingyun, Yi Song, and Shui Mo Dan among the guests he expected to attend.

Chen Yule invited Lin Bai and his companions to celebrate his new title at the Immortal Abode Restaurant, while Bai Yifei grew resentful at being overlooked. Lin Bai arrived at the restaurant with his friends, hoping to learn about the route to the Dao Ruins World.

• Chen Yule explained which Holy Sons and Holy Daughters were unlikely to attend his banquet and invited Lin Bai to bring his friends.
• Lin Bai accepted the invitation after Qiao Mo and Qin Yao eagerly agreed to go, while Bai Yifei brooded over Lin Bai’s growing recognition and shut himself in his room.
• Lin Bai and his companions prepared for the banquet and traveled from the Tianshui Sect’s residence to the Immortal Abode Restaurant in the Imperial Capital.
• Qin Yao described the restaurant’s reputation and its place among the capital’s most extravagant venues as the group arrived after nightfall.
• Lin Bai joked with Yi Gu about the banquet’s food and entered the Immortal Abode Restaurant with his companions.

Lin Bai and the Tianshui Sect disciples clashed with White Deer Academy scholars at the Immortal Abode Restaurant after Lin Bai admitted he did not know Xiao Cangsheng. Lin Bai knocked the scholars down when they blocked his way, and Commander Zhang arrived as they demanded he punish Lin Bai.

• Lin Bai asked who Xiao Cangsheng was, and the White Deer Academy scholars mocked him for not knowing their dean.
• The scholars demanded that Lin Bai kneel and kowtow, then insulted the Tianshui Sect when Qin Yao tried to explain.
• Lin Bai apologized but led Qin Yao, Qiao Mo, and the others away, and the scholars blocked their path.
• Lin Bai swept the scholars to the ground with sword intent and warned them not to cause more trouble.
• Commander Zhang arrived, and the scholars accused Lin Bai of insulting Xiao Cangsheng and causing trouble in the Immortal Abode Restaurant.

Chen Yule arrived at the Immortal Abode Restaurant and stopped Commander Zhang from arresting Lin Bai, the newly ennobled High Minister of Tianshui Sect. After driving off the White Deer Academy students and warning Commander Zhang, Chen Yule left with Lin Bai, who asked why the academy’s students held such high status in the imperial capital.

• Commander Zhang ordered his guards to seize Lin Bai after White Deer Academy students accused him of breaking the restaurant’s rules.
• Chen Yule entered, identified Lin Bai as the High Minister, and demanded that Commander Zhang produce imperial authorization to arrest him.
• Lin Bai explained that the dispute began when he asked who Xiao Cangsheng was, and Chen Yule rebuked the White Deer Academy students for their narrow-mindedness and arrogance.
• Chen Yule dismissed the students and warned Commander Zhang not to cause trouble for himself or his master.
• Chen Yule and Lin Bai left together, and Lin Bai thanked him before asking about White Deer Academy’s influence in the capital.

Chen Yule explained White Deer Academy’s history and how Xiao Cangsheng’s close ties to the current Emperor helped it regain influence. Yi Gu recounted Xiao Cangsheng’s legendary feats, and Chen Yule revealed that he was considered the strongest active martial artist in the Chu Empire.

• Chen Yule told Lin Bai that the first Emperor of Chu founded White Deer Academy and required aspiring officials to study there for ten years.
• Chen Yule explained that Xiao Cangsheng, the Emperor’s former study companion, became dean and helped White Deer Academy rise again.
• Chen Yule described Xiao Cangsheng’s many talents, and Yi Gu recalled how he cleaved the sea and filled the Sky Abyss in the Seven Nights Divine Sect’s territory.
• Yi Gu explained that Xiao Cangsheng’s sword drew fleeing demon bandits from the water and that his brushstroke filled the Sky Abyss.
• Chen Yule said Xiao Cangsheng was considered the strongest living expert in the Chu Empire, while ancient powers remained hidden.

At Chen Yule’s marquis celebration, Lin Bai learned why the Demon Race’s Barren Wilds Breeds and Primordial Wilds Breeds were treated as delicacies while sampling Flood Dragon meat and Dragon Blood Wine. As the banquet continued, Yi Song and Lin Bai teamed up to tease Chen Yule into drinking more, with an elder watching over him.

• Chen Yule welcomed the guests who had gathered to celebrate his enfeoffment, though only four Holy Sons and Holy Daughters from the Five Great Families and Seven Sects attended.
• Chen Yule began the banquet and explained that his family had provided a Flood Dragon of the Barren Wilds Breed as the main course.
• Yi Song told Lin Bai that Barren Wilds Breeds were savage beasts unable to speak or cultivate, and Chen Yule described how Barren Wilds Breeds and Primordial Wilds Breeds differed from the transformed Demon Race.
• Lin Bai tasted the Flood Dragon meat and Dragon Blood Wine that Chen Yule had prepared especially for him.
• Yi Song urged Chen Yule to drink until he was thoroughly drunk, and Lin Bai joined in teasing him while Qian Hen and Huang Qingyun watched with amusement.

At Chen Yule’s banquet, Lin Bai, Yi Song, and Qian Hen joined forces to tease him and challenge him to drink Dragon Blood Wine. The gathering ended with the three taking turns toasting Chen Yule, determined to get him drunk.

• Lin Bai joked with Chen Yun, while Huang Qingyun warned that Chen Yule could knock Lin Bai and Yi Song flat if they provoked him.
• Lin Bai raised one finger to boast that he would keep drinking as long as the Immortal Abode Restaurant had Dragon Blood Wine, and Yi Song and Qian Hen joined his side against Chen Yule.
• Huang Qingyun declined to drink, and Shui Mo Dan offered to make pills to help everyone sober up; Chen Yule decided to face the drinking challenge alone.
• Lin Bai toasted Chen Yule on his new marquisate and urged him to finish the wine left in his cup.
• Yi Song and then Qian Hen took turns toasting Chen Yule, who accused the three of trying to get him drunk.

At the banquet, Lin Bai watched the sects and families mingle while the drunken Holy Sons discussed their peers in the Five Great Families and Seven Sects. Chen Yule began to comment on Di Wuyan, but Chen Yun stopped him, leaving Lin Bai to suspect the Kushan Sect Holy Son was an exception.

• Lin Bai saw Tianshui Sect's disciples getting along with the other guests and relaxed as the banquet grew lively.
• Lin Bai and Chen Yule shared another cup while Qian Hen and Yi Song joined their drunken conversation.
• Chen Yule dismissed Li Mo, Zhao Xiantu, Sun Miao, Shangguan Tong, and Ke Ling as failures or unworthy Holy Sons.
• Lin Bai asked Chen Yule what he thought of Di Wuyan, and Chen Yun cut him off before he could answer.
• Chen Yule called the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters of the Five Great Families and Seven Sects good-for-nothing drunkards, except those present.

At a banquet, Chen Yule described the extraordinary origins and abilities of several Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, revealing that he had lost to Lin Bai twice. The chapter left Chen Yule boasting that his Severing Life Dao Body and strength had made him arrogant in the Imperial Capital.

• Chen Yule praised Yi Song’s Dao Xuan Transformation Dust Bone and called him one of the Chu Kingdom’s foremost young fighters.
• Chen Yule praised Qian Hen’s talent and revealed that the Qian Family had endured for several million years.
• Chen Yule identified Huang Qingyun as Mount Li Old Ancestor, and Qin Yao explained how Huang Qingyun had survived through the Reincarnation Sacred Lotus Art.
• Chen Yule called Shui Mo Dan the most special among them but stopped short of revealing her identity.
• Chen Yule told the gathering that he had lost to Lin Bai twice, shocking the Chen Family and the other guests.
• Chen Yule revealed that he possessed the Severing Life Dao Body and admitted that he was conceited because no young martial artist in the Imperial Capital could withstand one of his swords.

At Chen Yule’s banquet, Yi Song and Huang Qingyun questioned Lin Bai about the mysterious swordsman from Embrace Moon Riverside, and Lin Bai neither confirmed nor denied it. Liang Wang’s Young Lord, Chu Zimo, arrived to congratulate Chen Yule and meet Lin Bai, whom Prince Chen had strongly recommended for the position of High Minister.

• Chen Yule boasted about the future of Chu while Yi Song asked Lin Bai whether he was the mysterious swordsman from Embrace Moon Riverside.
• Lin Bai evaded the question, and Huang Qingyun warned him to beware of the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace.
• Chu Zimo arrived at the banquet, apologized to Chen Yule for his subordinates, and congratulated him on receiving a noble title and fief.
• Chu Zimo teased Chen Yun about her marriage to Luo Cong and exchanged greetings with Shui Mo Dan, Huang Qingyun, and Yi Song.
• Chu Zimo greeted Lin Bai and said he wanted to meet the man Prince Chen had recommended so strongly that he became High Minister.

After Chu Zimo left the victory banquet, Lin Bai and the others discussed Liang Wang’s growing power and the coming hunt at the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds. Chen Yule proposed a plan for the group, but the chapter ended before she revealed it.

• Lin Bai learned that Prince Chen had recommended him for the position of High Minister, while Chu Zimo toasted Chen Yule before leaving the banquet.
• Huang Qingyun, Qian Hen, and Yi Song discussed Liang Wang’s military and court influence and the threat he could pose if Chu the Emperor died.
• Chen Yule asked the group about their plans for the hunt at the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds, where they could hunt valuable Barren Wilds Breeds and Primordial Wilds Breeds.
• Yi Song explained that the Celestial Mystery Pavilion had asked the Five Great Families and Seven Sects to retrieve listed treasures from the hunting grounds in exchange for rewards.
• Chen Yule learned that several sects had received treasure lists, while Lin Bai said the Tianshui Sect had not approached him about the hunt.
• Chen Yule proposed a plan to the group, and Yi Song teased him for becoming devious.

Chen Yule formed an alliance with Lin Bai and the others to hunt giant beasts in the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds, and Qian Hen revealed secrets about the Tianquan Great World. The group learned that the world held many Great Mystic Art User tomb abodes and produced far more prodigies than the Demon Realm.

• Chen Yule proposed that he, Huang Qingyun, Shui Mo Dan, Lin Bai, Qian Hen, and Yi Song join forces in the Royal Hunting Garden to hunt beasts and trade unwanted prey for treasures.
• Lin Bai worried that the Heaven and Earth Gate would target him because of its feud with the Tianshui Sect, but Chen Yule and Qian Hen assured him they could handle their enemies.
• Lin Bai joined the alliance, and Yi Song also agreed to take part in the hunt.
• Lin Bai asked about the Tianquan Great World, and Qian Hen explained that it was a battlefield between the Demon Realm and the Dao Ruins World with a hidden secret.
• Qian Hen said the Tianquan Great World contained many tomb abodes of Great Mystic Art Users and produced prodigies far more frequently than the Demon Realm because of its favorable destiny and abundant inheritances.

Lin Bai learned that access to the Tianquan Great World was controlled by the Devil Realm’s powerful forces, but Qian Hen proposed that helping Prince Chen become Crown Prince could earn Lin Bai a passage there. As His Majesty Chu’s birthday approached, the group discussed the succession struggle and whether their sects would choose sides, leaving Brother Chen to say his lineage would decide.

• Qian Hen explained that the Devil Realm’s flourishing forces controlled the Void Ancient Roads to the Tianquan Great World and restricted who could enter.
• Brother Chen and Qian Hen told Lin Bai that supporting Prince Chen’s rise to Crown Prince could give Lin Bai a chance to travel to the Tianquan Great World.
• Qian Hen said His Majesty Chu would likely establish a Crown Prince at his upcoming ten-thousandth birthday celebration, forcing the Five Great Families and Seven Sects to choose sides.
• Lin Bai asked whom the guests supported, and Huang Qingyun, Yi Song, and Qian Hen said their sects would decide rather than them personally.
• Brother Chen said his lineage would decide whom to support.

Lin Bai learned why the Chen Family and Sacred Lotus Palace opposed the Third Prince: their princes had died mysteriously, and both families suspected him. As the victory banquet approached, the group discussed which families and sects had chosen sides, leaving the coming political clash unresolved.

• Lin Bai reasoned that the Five Great Families and Seven Sects would likely back the Third Prince because Prince Chen had only recently returned to the capital.
• Qian Hen explained that the Chen Family and Sacred Lotus Palace would not support the Third Prince, and Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun revealed that their princes had died in suspicious cultivation incidents.
• Lin Bai realized that the imperial capital’s power struggles ran deep, while Qian Hen described the turmoil surrounding the approaching Crown Prince selection.
• Qian Hen named the Li Family and Zhao Family as allies of the Third Prince, and Chen Yule suggested the Sun Family had also chosen his side.
• Yi Song said the Kushan Sect and Danxia Sect could remain neutral, while the Celestial Immortal Sect, Sacred Lotus Palace, Heaven and Earth Gate, Wen Tian Sect, and Tianshui Sect would have to choose sides.
• Chen Yule invited everyone to drink, warning that they might be enemies the next time they met.

After the banquet, the Third Elder and Zheng Yuan decided to support Lin Bai as the Tianshui Sect's Saint Son, though they identified three obstacles and planned to use Bai Yifei to build Lin Bai's prestige. Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Zhang Xuanling, whose reason for visiting the sect remained unknown.

• Lin Bai and the other guests parted at dawn, and Lin Bai returned to his room to sleep.
• Qiao Mo, Qin Yao, and the others told the Third Elder and Zheng Yuan that the visiting Saint Sons and Saint Daughters acknowledged Lin Bai's strength.
• Zheng Yuan declared that he would support Lin Bai becoming the Saint Son, and the Third Elder agreed that Lin Bai was the strongest candidate.
• The Third Elder named Lin Bai's short service, the Grand Elder's opposition, and his lack of recognition among disciples as three obstacles to his succession.
• The Third Elder and Zheng Yuan decided to work with Li Zai'en and use Bai Yifei as a stepping stone to raise Lin Bai's prestige.
• A maid announced that Zhang Xuanling of the Celestial Mystery Pavilion had come to visit, and the elders wondered why he had arrived.

Zhang Xuanling asked the Tianshui Sect to hunt an Eight-Armed Wild Ape in the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds, offering Grand Yi Golden Pills and a personal favor in return. As the grounds’ opening approached, Celestial Mystery Pavilion refiners commissioned the major sects and families to hunt giant beasts, with the Tianshui Sect receiving twenty-seven requests.

• Zhang Xuanling visited Third Elder and Elder Zheng and offered ten Grand Yi Golden Pills and a future favor if the Tianshui Sect obtained an Eight-Armed Wild Ape’s heart’s blood.
• Zhang Xuanling told Third Elder that Lin Bai had allied with Chen Yule and others to hunt giant beasts in the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds.
• Third Elder agreed to have the Tianshui Sect’s disciples try to fulfill Zhang Xuanling’s request, while making clear that success was not guaranteed.
• After Zhang Xuanling left, an artifact refiner from the Celestial Mystery Pavilion arrived to meet Third Elder and Zheng Yuan.
• Celestial Mystery Pavilion pill and artifact refiners visited the major sects and families to offer commissions, and the Tianshui Sect received twenty-seven.

Tianshui Sect’s disciples traveled to the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds for the victory banquet, carrying requests from Celestial Mystery Pavilion experts to hunt giant beasts and find treasures. They arrived at Emperor Chu’s Eastern Sky Immortal Palace, where they learned that formations kept giant beasts beyond the protected area.

• Third Elder gave Lin Bai, Bai Yifei, Qin Yao, Qiao Mo, and the other disciples a list of beasts and treasures requested by Celestial Mystery Pavilion experts, along with their offered rewards.
• Third Elder warned the disciples that their actions in the hunting grounds would be visible across the imperial capital and urged them to watch out for the Five Great Families and Seven Sects, especially the Heaven and Earth Gate.
• Bai Yifei vowed to win glory for Tianshui Sect, while Lin Bai asked whether Chu would intervene if martial artists fought inside the hunting grounds.
• Third Elder explained that the outside world would not interfere with events or deaths inside the dangerous hunting grounds.
• Lin Bai and the Tianshui Sect group traveled by carriage and teleportation formation to Eastern Sky Peak and climbed to Emperor Chu’s Eastern Sky Immortal Palace.
• An attendant told Lin Bai that formations within one hundred thousand miles of the palace kept ordinary giant beasts away, leaving them beyond the protected area.

Lin Bai and the other martial artists gathered at the Eastern Sky Immortal Palace for a celebration banquet after the Blood God Sect’s defeat. The Chu Emperor arrived in a grand procession and opened the banquet by announcing rewards for the victors and a tribute to the battle’s dead and wounded.

• Third Elder warned the Tianshui Sect disciples to observe imperial etiquette and explained that Lin Bai and the Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm elders did not have to kneel.
• The Five Great Families and Seven Sects, along with martial artists from the Zhao Xing Office and King Chai Ning’s army, took their seats as Prince Chen and the Third Prince remained absent.
• The Chu Emperor arrived in a Grand Yi Divine Weapon carriage pulled by nine powerful flood dragons, with Prince Chen and the Third Prince accompanying him.
• Most of the assembled martial artists knelt to greet the Chu Emperor, while Lin Bai, Third Elder, and Zheng Yuan only bowed.
• The Chu Emperor announced that the banquet would reward those who helped defeat the Blood God Sect and honor the martial artists and soldiers killed or wounded in the battle.

At the imperial banquet, the Left Prime Minister proposed rewarding Prince Chen for destroying the Blood God Sect, and Emperor Chu granted him a princely title and the Six-Pearl Crown. After the ceremony, Prince Chen approached Lin Bai to congratulate him on becoming High Minister.

• The Left Prime Minister urged Emperor Chu to reward Prince Chen for his service in Ke Province by granting him a princely title and the Six-Pearl Crown.
• Emperor Chu approved the proposal, ordered it announced across the kingdom, and told Prince Chen to attend court and help govern.
• The Third Prince reacted bitterly to Prince Chen's promotion, while Lin Bai and Qin Yao concluded Emperor Chu had arranged the public show of support.
• After several hours of toasts, Prince Chen walked over to Lin Bai and congratulated him on becoming High Minister.

After the Chu Emperor announced a hunt in the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds, Lin Bai and the other disciples entered a random teleportation formation. Lin Bai arrived alone in a dangerous forest and discovered several young Crimson Hell Pythons by a pond.

• Prince Chen invited Lin Bai to visit his residence after the victory banquet and promised to serve Dragon Blood Wine.
• The Chu Emperor invited the Five Great Families and Seven Sects to hunt in the Eastern Sky Hunting Grounds, warning that he would not be responsible for injuries.
• Lin Bai cautioned Qin Yao, Qiao Mo, and the others to avoid dangerous beasts and leave Heaven and Earth Gate disciples alone.
• More than three hundred disciples entered the Celestial Mystery Pavilion's random teleportation formation and were scattered across the hunting grounds.
• Lin Bai stabilized himself after falling from the sky, searched the forest, and identified several small Crimson Hell Pythons whose venom could kill a Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm martial artist.