Chapter Summaries

Qi Kun and Wu Xiu plotted to use the Holy Son succession ceremony to undermine Lin Bai, while Tianshui Sect’s elders prepared to hold the ceremony despite Lin Bai’s misgivings. Lin Bai warned that hostile sects such as Heaven and Earth Gate could turn the gathering into a source of trouble.

• Qi Kun and Wu Xiu refused to return Hundred Victories Pavilion to Qiao Mo and resolved to avenge their sons by acting against Lin Bai themselves.
• Wu Xiu and Qi Kun planned to exploit the succession ceremony’s martial contests, hoping a loss would let them petition to strip Lin Bai of his Holy Son title.
• Qi Kun and Wu Xiu expected Heaven and Earth Gate and Cloud Heaven Sword Sect to challenge Lin Bai and recalled their plans to take Tianshui Sect’s place.
• Lin Bai met with Sect Master Chu Xi and thirteen senior elders in Flower Valley to discuss his succession ceremony.
• The Second Elder explained that the ceremony was required by sect rules and would announce Tianshui Sect’s new Holy Son to Chu’s sects.
• Lin Bai objected that inviting hostile sects, especially Heaven and Earth Gate, would invite trouble.

Lin Bai reluctantly agreed to the Tianshui Sect’s grand celebration for his succession as Holy Son while its elders prepared to handle potential trouble. Chu Xi then led him to the Black Tide, revealing a mysterious sea that might explain why the Heaven and Earth Gate sought to destroy the sect.

• The Tianshui Sect’s elders insisted on a grand succession celebration and assigned the Grand Elder and Third Elder to receive guests while the others prepared to deal with trouble.
• The Grand Elder warned Lin Bai that younger martial artists might challenge him at the celebration, and Lin Bai agreed to go along with the plans.
• After the elders departed, Chu Xi led Lin Bai through a hidden staircase beneath her wooden house to a cliff overlooking the Black Tide.
• Chu Xi told Lin Bai that the Black Tide was said to have formed from a drop of immortal blood and might be the reason the Heaven and Earth Gate wanted to destroy the Tianshui Sect.

Chu Xi brought Lin Bai to the Tianshui Sect’s Black Tide, explained its origins and importance, and introduced him to the sect’s Tianshui Divine Art. The chapter left Lin Bai understanding that the sect’s eighty-one inherited Dao Arts were all first-grade and that higher-grade arts were exceptionally rare.

• Chu Xi showed Lin Bai the Black Tide and explained that legend attributed it to an immortal’s essence blood and that the Heaven and Earth Gate coveted it.
• Chu Xi said Lin Bai could enter the Black Tide to cultivate when he was ready to break through to the Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm.
• Chu Xi introduced the Tianshui Divine Art, which contained nine cultivation arts and eighty-one Dao Arts, including the Tianshui Soul Nurturing Art sought by Yi Gu.
• Lin Bai asked about the grades of the Tianshui Divine Art’s Dao Arts and learned that all eighty-one were first-grade.
• Chu Xi explained how Dao Arts were created and refined across generations, and said that only the Kushan Sect among the other Five Great Families and Seven Sects possessed second-grade Dao Arts.

Chu Xi explained the grades and history of Dao Arts to Lin Bai, then allowed him to choose one of nine sword Dao Arts from the Tianshui Divine Art. Lin Bai picked Astonishing Immortal Sword Intent, which Chu Xi called the most difficult choice.

• Chu Xi told Lin Bai how two fifth-grade Dao Arts had destroyed the Nine Underworlds Demon Palace and explained how Dao Arts advanced through the grades.
• Lin Bai learned that his Azure Lotus Sword Intent and Chen Yule’s Slaughter Sword Intent had the potential to develop into higher-grade Dao Arts, while his own techniques were not yet at that level.
• Lin Bai asked whether being the Tianshui Sect’s Holy Son qualified him to study the Tianshui Divine Art, and Chu Xi agreed to let him choose one of its nine sword Dao Arts.
• Lin Bai approached the nine stone tablets and examined the scattered fragments of their inscriptions while resisting the sword intent they unleashed.
• Lin Bai chose Astonishing Immortal Sword Intent, and Chu Xi said he had picked the most difficult Dao Art.

Lin Bai chose to cultivate Astonishing Immortal Sword Intent despite Chu Xi warning him of its difficulty and the risk of a shattered Dao heart. He studied its origins and cultivation method but made no progress, leaving him to seek guidance in the patriarchs’ recorded insights.

• Chu Xi explained that Astonishing Immortal Sword Intent depended on a sword cultivator’s Dao heart, warned Lin Bai that it could vanish if his Dao heart broke, and offered him another chance to choose.
• Lin Bai kept his choice, and Chu Xi left him to cultivate before the Saint’s succession ceremony.
• Lin Bai read the stone stele and learned that Tianshui Sect’s patriarchs had developed Astonishing Immortal Sword Intent into a First-Grade Dao Art, though few had cultivated it successfully since the seventh patriarch.
• Lin Bai memorized the method and incantations, but his attempts to cultivate the sword intent produced no change.
• Lin Bai reflected on how rulers, generals, and favored heirs gained their auras through their lives, then wondered how he could cultivate one of his own.
• Lin Bai turned to the patriarchs’ recorded cultivation insights for guidance.

Lin Bai rejected the ancestors’ path of invincibility and searched for a sword intent suited to his own belief in undefeatedness. Watching the Black Tide and purple lightning, he grasped a new path and made the waves retreat with a word, then stood firm as his sword intent suppressed the tide.

• Lin Bai realized his fear of the Giant God Race kept him from following the founding ancestor’s path of invincibility.
• Lin Bai read the later ancestors’ insights and learned that their challenges forged sword intent, while one defeat had shattered the seventh-generation ancestor’s conviction.
• Lin Bai decided to carve out his own path and reflected on how authority and aura inspired awe.
• Purple lightning struck the Black Tide, and Lin Bai recognized the overwhelming power of heaven, earth, and the void as the basis for his sword intent.
• Lin Bai shouted “Get lost!” at an oncoming wave, making it retreat, then remained calm as his sword intent kept the Black Tide at bay.

As the Tianshui Sect prepared for Lin Bai’s Holy Son ceremony, the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect and the Heaven and Earth Gate discussed preventing the Tianshui Sect’s resurgence. Elder Qin and Ma Qiuming reached an unspoken understanding about joining forces to destroy the Tianshui Sect.

• The Tianshui Sect’s elders swept the Three Great Pirates’ lairs, bringing brief peace to the Water Mirror Sea as the Holy Son ceremony approached.
• Elder Qin led the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect delegation to the Tianshui Sect and discussed how the Heaven and Earth Gate might oppose Lin Bai’s rise.
• Ma Qiuming visited Elder Qin and argued that both sects would lose if the Tianshui Sect regained its standing.
• Ma Qiuming proposed that the Heaven and Earth Gate and the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect destroy the Tianshui Sect together, dividing its treasures and its seat among the Five Great Families and Seven Sects.
• Elder Qin and Ma Qiuming exchanged a meaningful look, appearing to agree on the alliance.

As Tianshui Sect prepared for Lin Bai’s succession ceremony, Chu Xi learned that an extraordinary array of guests had gathered, including rival members of the imperial family. She went to call Lin Bai from seclusion and discovered that he could silence the Black Tide with a word before he left with her.

• The Grand Elder told Chu Xi that Lin Bai had chosen the difficult Astonishing Immortal Sword Intent and that distinguished guests from the great families, sects, Ku Chan Temple, and imperial family had arrived.
• The Grand Elder reported that the Third Prince, Prince Chen, Chu Zimo, and Chu Tingxue were all at Tianshui Sect, while Prince Chen had sent a message promising a generous reward for the sect’s help.
• Chu Xi worried that the gathering of powerful guests could endanger Tianshui Sect and learned that the ceremony would begin in five days.
• Chu Xi entered the Black Tide to summon Lin Bai and saw him silence its storm and lightning by saying, “Quiet.”
• Lin Bai ignored Chu Xi’s question about his progress and walked out of the Black Tide with her.

Lin Bai learned that the guests had arrived for the Heavenly Water Sect's Holy Son succession ceremony and discussed the sect's support for Prince Chen. The ceremony was five days away, with the Heaven and Earth Gate and Cloud Heaven Sword Sect expected to threaten the sect's plans.

• Lin Bai told the elders he had reached the entry level of the Astonishing Immortal Sword Intent after two months, astonishing them.
• The Grand Elder reported that Prince Chen, the Third Prince, Chu Zimo, and Chu Tingxue had arrived for the ceremony.
• Li Zai'en relayed Prince Chen's promise of a generous reward, and Lin Bai proposed sending sect experts and disciples to serve him.
• The Second Elder and Third Elder volunteered to follow Prince Chen to the imperial capital after the ceremony, and Chu Xi approved their assignment.
• The Grand Elder warned Lin Bai that the Heaven and Earth Gate and Cloud Heaven Sword Sect had come with bad intentions.
• The Grand Elder explained the Holy Island ceremony, and Lin Bai agreed to its simplified procedure.

Lin Bai returned to Bright Moon Island as Tianshui Sect prepared for his Holy Son succession celebration and discussed his cultivation and the coming turmoil in Chu with the Crow. The Crow predicted that Tianshui Sect would help usher in the upheaval.

• Lin Bai flew through Tianshui Sect, greeted its lively disciples, and found several hundred martial artists gathered outside Bright Moon Island.
• Lin Bai learned that the visitors included people hoping to become his followers, Three Wonders Disciples, and guests curious about where he lived, then entered the island.
• Lin Bai found the Crow and learned that Qiao Mo and Qin Yao had been assigned to receive guests on the Water Mirror Sea.
• Lin Bai told the Crow that he felt like a passerby in Tianshui Sect and worried about breaking through to the Great Purity Dao Fruit Realm and returning to his family.
• The Crow said opportunity amid the coming chaos could help Lin Bai advance and predicted that Tianshui Sect would raise the curtain on Chu's upheaval.

The Tianshui Sect held Lin Bai’s Holy Son Ceremony on Holy Island, where prominent figures from across Chu gathered to witness his appointment. Lin Bai arrived at the plaza and exchanged congratulations with Yi Song and Chen Yule before entering the Ancestral Temple.

• The Third Prince, Prince Chen, Chu Zimo, and other powerful guests arrived at Holy Island for Lin Bai’s ceremony.
• The Grand Elder and Li Zai'en welcomed guests as the Tianshui Sect prepared the plaza for the ceremony.
• The Grand Elder declared Lin Bai the Tianshui Sect’s Holy Son and warned that making an enemy of Lin Bai meant making an enemy of the sect.
• Lin Bai arrived in white ceremonial robes and was congratulated by Yi Song and Chen Yule.

Lin Bai completed the ceremony to become Tianshui Sect’s Holy Son, though he refused to kneel before the founding patriarch’s portrait because his position came from a deal. At the banquet, he noticed that the guests from Heaven and Earth Gate and Cloud Heaven Sword Sect were openly hostile, setting the stage for trouble.

• Huang Qingyun, Shui Mo Dan, and other guests congratulated Lin Bai, while Qian Hen was absent.
• Chu Xi explained that Tianshui Sect’s founding patriarch, Shen Jun, had been a disciple of the Demon Realm’s Innate Dao Sect.
• Lin Bai bowed to the patriarch’s portrait but refused to kneel, then changed into the Holy Son’s purple robes.
• Lin Bai and Chu Xi emerged from the Ancestral Temple, and Tianshui Sect’s disciples and elders greeted him as Holy Son.
• At the banquet, Yi Gu warned Lin Bai about the grim expressions of Heaven and Earth Gate and Cloud Heaven Sword Sect, and Lin Bai said they had better behave.

At Lin Bai’s Holy Son succession celebration, Li Yuanzong publicly challenged the Tianshui Sect’s decision to appoint Lin Bai instead of Bai Yifei, igniting a dispute before the assembled powers of Chu. The Grand Elder was enraged, while Chu Xi faced Li Yuanzong’s accusation and Lin Bai watched calmly.

• Ma Qiuming watched the Tianshui Sect’s disciples as Li Yuanzong drank with the Five Immortals of East Isle.
• Li Yuanzong shouted that he refused, and Bai Yifei tried to restrain him and apologize to the guests.
• Ma Qiuming urged Li Yuanzong to explain what he refused, even as the Grand Elder tried to smooth over the outburst.
• Li Yuanzong broke free, knelt before the Grand Elder and Chu Xi, and argued that Bai Yifei deserved to be Holy Son instead of Lin Bai.
• The Grand Elder condemned Li Yuanzong, Bai Yifei ordered him to stop, and Chu Xi’s expression turned cold while Lin Bai watched calmly.

At Lin Bai’s succession banquet, Li Yuanzong challenged the fairness of his appointment and tried to provoke Bai Yifei into fighting him. Bai Yifei rejected the challenge and declared his support for Lin Bai, then severed his own arm to prove his loyalty, shocking everyone.

• Chu Xi defended Lin Bai’s deeds and told Li Yuanzong to stop making trouble.
• Lin Bai offered to fight Bai Yifei, wagering his Holy Son position and High Minister title.
• Bai Yifei struck Li Yuanzong for pressuring him, then publicly accepted Lin Bai as Holy Son and pledged his support.
• The Old Daoist from the Heaven and Earth Gate mocked Bai Yifei’s pledge and stirred suspicion among the guests.
• Bai Yifei severed his left arm to prove his loyalty, leaving the Grand Elder and Lin Bai stunned.

Lin Bai challenged every Dao God realm martial artist who doubted his right to be Saint Son to fight him. His invitation drew Li Yuanzong onto the platform, where Lin Bai promptly kicked him away.

• Bai Yifei severed his own arm to take responsibility for Li Yuanzong’s actions and prevent a challenge from dividing the Tianshui Sect.
• Chu Tingxue explained to Chu Zimo that Bai Yifei’s sacrifice protected the sect’s plans to announce its resurgence, and she warned him to keep the palace low-profile.
• Lin Bai stopped Bai Yifei’s bleeding, then declared that he would beat anyone who thought him unworthy of being Saint Son until they accepted him.
• Lin Bai invited all Dao God realm martial artists who doubted him to fight, despite Grand Elder’s protests.
• Li Yuanzong attacked Lin Bai, but Lin Bai kicked him off the platform and warned that he would have killed him if he had not been holding back.

Lin Bai invited the gathered factions to challenge him at Tianshui Sect’s Holy Son succession ceremony, then confronted Heaven and Earth Gate and Cloud Heaven Sword Sect. Lu Huo, one of Cloud Heaven Sword Sect’s Seven Sword Children, stepped onto the arena, while Gao Yue revealed that the Three Kings and Seven Sword Children had all come.

• Lin Bai kicked Li Yuanzong off the arena, and Bai Yifei had Zhou Xinjin take him away for treatment.
• When no one challenged him, Lin Bai taunted Ma Qiuming of Heaven and Earth Gate and demanded a fight.
• Elder Qin of Cloud Heaven Sword Sect sent Lu Huo, one of the Seven Sword Children, to challenge Lin Bai.
• Gao Yue told the Third Prince that Lu Huo was her senior brother and that she had also once been one of the Seven Sword Children.
• Gao Yue confirmed that the Three Kings and Seven Sword Children of Cloud Heaven Sword Sect had all attended the ceremony.

Lin Bai humiliated Lu Huo after the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect disciple challenged him, revealing a decisive gap between their strength. Lin Bai left Lu Huo pinned to the arena and declared his swordsmanship full of weaknesses.

• The martial artists of the Twenty-Seven Sects of Chu recognized Lu Huo as one of the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect’s Three Kings and Seven Sword Children and expected a fierce fight against Lin Bai.
• Lu Huo challenged Lin Bai and attacked with the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect’s supreme sword art, earning praise from the watching martial artists.
• Chen Yule told Chen Yun that Lin Bai had defeated him repeatedly and was likely holding back, while Chen Yun predicted the challengers would become Lin Bai’s stepping stones.
• Lin Bai dodged Lu Huo’s attack, appeared behind him, and stomped him into the arena floor.
• Lin Bai pinned Lu Huo beneath his foot and said Lu Huo’s swordsmanship was full of weaknesses.

Lin Bai defeated Lu Huo and Fang Gong without drawing his sword, shocking the Twenty-Seven Sects of Chu and prompting the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect to stop challenging him. Elder Qin held back the remaining fighters, while Chen Yun and Chen Yule noted that the sect had backed down and its ally, the Heaven and Earth Gate, had yet to act.

• Lin Bai crushed Lu Huo's bones and kicked him from the arena, leaving him critically injured and unconscious.
• Fang Gong challenged Lin Bai to avenge Lu Huo, but Lin Bai's sword intent sent him flying off the arena almost immediately.
• Lin Bai drank Dragon Blood Wine and challenged the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect's disciples to face him together.
• Elder Qin recognized that the Three Kings and Seven Sword Children were no match for Lin Bai and ordered them not to fight.
• Chen Yule told Chen Yun that the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect had backed down, and Chen Yun observed that the Heaven and Earth Gate was still standing by.

Yi Song, with Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun backing him, provoked the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect to keep challenging Lin Bai so Lin Bai could build his reputation at the Tianshui Sect's Holy Son succession. He assured Lin Bai that they would stop any sect that turned hostile, then forced Elder Qin to choose between sending out more fighters or admitting the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect's disciples were inferior.

• After the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect stopped sending challengers, Yi Song enlisted Chen Yule and Huang Qingyun to support his plan to help Lin Bai gain renown.
• Yi Song publicly taunted the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect for ending its challenges after only two battles and asked whether it had admitted defeat.
• Lin Bai questioned Yi Song's intentions, and Yi Song explained that defeating more experts would establish Lin Bai among Chu's prodigies.
• Yi Song told Lin Bai that he, Chen Yule, and Huang Qingyun would intervene if the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect turned against the Tianshui Sect.
• Yi Song told Elder Qin to either send more disciples to challenge Lin Bai or declare that the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect's disciples were inferior to the Tianshui Sect's.

At the Tianshui Sect’s Holy Son succession ceremony, the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect and Heaven and Earth Gate tried to force Lin Bai into fighting their disciples together. Lin Bai rejected offers of help and agreed to face them alone, leaving the crowd worried about the coming battle.

• Ma Qiuming proposed that disciples from the Heaven and Earth Gate join the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect in challenging Lin Bai, and Elder Qin agreed to send ten fighters from each sect.
• Chen Yule, Huang Qingyun, and Yi Song offered to join Lin Bai and confront the two sects’ disciples.
• Lin Bai refused their help, mocked the opposing disciples, and said he alone would suffice.
• Lin Bai invited the Cloud Heaven Sword Sect and Heaven and Earth Gate disciples to attack together, warning that the Dragon Blood Wine might make him injure them.
• Elder Qin and Ma Qiuming accepted Lin Bai’s challenge, while Yi Song, Chen Yule, and Huang Qingyun worried about him; Yi Song privately suggested using the fight to gauge Lin Bai’s strength.