Chapter Summaries

After Lin Bai reached the twentieth level of Wooden Dummy Alley, its nine elders rushed to summon the Nine Great Academies, whose elders were expected to compete for him. While the crowd anticipated Lin Bai’s rise to fame, Liu Jingxing and Cheng Hua saw a final chance to kill him before he left the alley and secured his ranking.

• Lin Bai’s twentieth-level achievement prompted all nine Wooden Dummy Alley elders to leave and seek high-ranking elders from the Nine Great Academies.
• The disciples discussed the Nine Great Academies and the significance of Lin Bai’s achievement, while Yao Feng predicted the academy elders would soon arrive.
• He Qian resented Lin Bai for earning the honor he had wanted and vowed to reclaim everything he had lost.
• Cheng Hua reminded Liu Jingxing that Lin Bai’s Potential Ranking would not stabilize until he left Wooden Dummy Alley, and that his result could disappear if he died inside.
• Liu Jingxing realized Lin Bai was still vulnerable and left the crowd to act on what he called their last chance.

Lin Bai defeated the Golden Armor Warrior and cleared the twentieth level of Wooden Dummy Alley, earning first place on the Potential Ranking. As he waited to see whether another level would appear, Liu Jingxing entered the alley and attacked him.

• Lin Bai used his dual-wielding swordsmanship to overpower and destroy the Golden Armor Warrior, clearing the twentieth level.
• The martial artists watching marveled at Lin Bai’s victory, while Bai Xiaoxiao hoped Divine Relic Ridge’s protection would deter the Liu Family.
• Lin Bai waited inside Wooden Dummy Alley to see if there was a twenty-first level.
• Liu Jingxing charged into the alley and threatened to kill Lin Bai, who recognized him and challenged him over defying Divine Relic Ridge.

Liu Jingxing disguised himself and attacked Lin Bai inside Wooden Dummy Alley, nearly killing him with the gulf between their cultivation levels. Pei Ji arrived in time to stop the assassination, and Liu Jingxing’s attempt to escape was met with Pei Ji’s attack.

• Liu Jingxing entered Wooden Dummy Alley in disguise and attacked Lin Bai to kill him before his Potential Ranking result stabilized.
• Lin Bai used his sword techniques and Golden War Body to resist, but Liu Jingxing’s ninth-level Human Core Realm palm shattered his chest bones and left him helpless.
• Yao Feng welcomed Lin Bai’s death, He Qian and Cheng Hua mocked him, and Bai Xiaoxiao rushed into the alley to help.
• Pei Ji arrived just as Liu Jingxing was about to strike again, forcing Liu Jingxing to abandon the assassination and flee.
• Pei Ji pursued Liu Jingxing, who countered with a fist technique that Pei Ji recognized as the Fist Dao Academy’s Heaven Covering Hand.

Pei Ji stopped Liu Jingxing from attacking Lin Bai in the Wooden Dummy Alley and exposed him before elders from the Nine Great Academies arrived. Zuo Kai questioned the accusation and appeared ready to shield Liu Jingxing, while Pei Ji insisted that Liu Jingxing be executed for violating Divine Relic Ridge's rules.

• Pei Ji used a Grade Nine Spirit Tool to defeat Liu Jingxing and leave him gravely wounded.
• High-ranking elders from the Nine Great Academies arrived, and Zuo Kai asked what had happened.
• Pei Ji removed Liu Jingxing's disguise, revealing the attacker to be Liu Jingxing, whom Lin Bai recognized.
• Liu Jingxing told Zuo Kai that Lin Bai had killed his nephews and asked Zuo Kai to help kill Lin Bai and save him.
• Pei Ji accused Liu Jingxing of attempting murder in the Wooden Dummy Alley, but Zuo Kai challenged his evidence.
• Pei Ji declared that Liu Jingxing had violated Divine Relic Ridge's rules and must be executed.

Pei Ji forced Zuo Kai to take Liu Jingxing to the Nine Academies' Hall of Law Enforcement after Liu Jingxing's attack in Woodman Alley. Lin Bai learned that the Fist Dao Academy Dean wanted him dead, but he planned to survive until Divine Relic Ridge's examination and use its final trial to confront the Giant God's Will.

• Pei Ji rejected Zuo Kai's attempt to shield Liu Jingxing and warned that the Nine Academies' Hall of Law Enforcement would punish anyone who broke Divine Relic Ridge's rules.
• Zuo Kai invoked Liu Jingfeng's ties to the Fist Dao Academy Dean, then agreed to hand Liu Jingxing over to the Hall of Law Enforcement.
• Zuo Kai warned the other elders that Lin Bai had killed the Dean's two grandsons, and the elders abandoned their plans to recruit him.
• Pei Ji told Lin Bai that the Fist Dao Academy Dean was known as a madman, but that Divine Relic Ridge's rules still protected Lin Bai from an open attack.
• Lin Bai resolved to hold out until the examination and use the final trial of the Three Trials and Five Tribulations to deal with the Giant God's Will.

After surviving Wood Dummy Alley, Lin Bai returned to the Lin Estate to heal and prepare for the Divine Relic Ridge examination, which he needed to face the Giant God's Will. Meanwhile, Ye Suxin secretly arranged protection for him because she did not want her child to be born without a father.

• Lin Bai told Bai Xiaoxiao that his injuries had worsened and that he needed the Divine Relic Ridge examination to withstand the Giant God's Will before his divine core formed.
• Lin Bai left Wood Dummy Alley to congratulations from the martial artists, while Qi Yao admitted defeat and Yao Feng slipped away.
• He Qian challenged Lin Bai to a decisive contest at the fifth level of the examination, sparking excitement throughout Sky Walled City.
• Bai Xiaoxiao brought Lin Bai back to the Lin Estate, where he began healing in seclusion and she went to cultivate.
• Ye Suxin learned that Lin Bai had killed Liu Ben and Liu Hai, then asked Ling Wu to secretly assign ten Shadow Guard members to protect him.
• Ling Wu agreed to keep the arrangement from Ye Suxin's Imperial Father, and Ye Suxin said she did not want her child to be born without a father.

Three months after Lin Bai entered seclusion, Sky Walled City was flooded with challengers, and Qi Yao sought refuge at Lin Estate. Lin Bai emerged to find tens of thousands of challenge letters waiting for him, including a daring challenge from the blade cultivator Fang Ji.

• Qi Yao secretly climbed into Lin Estate to escape the challengers who had been hounding him.
• Bai Xiaoxiao revealed that Lin Bai had received more than thirty thousand challenge letters since reaching first place on the Potential Ranking.
• Qi Yao told Lin Bai that Fang Ji had defeated nearly every Potential Ranking expert, including He Qian with a single slash.
• Bai Xiaoxiao gave Lin Bai the challenge letter she had kept separate because of its powerful blade intent.
• Lin Bai read Fang Ji's message, “Do you dare fight?”, and recognized that Fang Ji was formidable.

Lin Bai prepared for the Giant God’s Will ahead of the Divine Relic Ridge examination and reunited with Ji Xiang, while powerful newcomers gathered in Sky Walled City. The chapter ended with Long Qingfeng and Qin Beiao, leading figures from south of the Ridge, meeting at a restaurant.

• Lin Bai refused Fang Ji’s challenge because he was preparing for the Giant God’s Will, though he said he would defeat Fang Ji if Fang Ji interfered during the trials.
• Lin Bai told Bai Xiaoxiao that his defenses gave him an eighty percent chance of withstanding the Giant God’s Will in the Spirit Mortal Mountain Range.
• Ji Xiang arrived at the Lin Estate, apologized for attacking Lin Bai beneath the cliff, and revealed that he planned to go to Divine Relic Ridge.
• A gray-robed swordsman defeated an opponent outside a restaurant, while Qin Beiao watched from the second floor.
• Long Qingfeng met Qin Beiao and said he had come to Divine Relic Ridge to challenge the younger generation’s geniuses.

Qin Beiao and Long Qingfeng vowed that South Ridge’s geniuses would not lose to martial artists on Divine Relic Ridge, while Liu Jingfeng rescued his tortured younger brother and learned that Lin Bai had killed his sons. Liu Jingfeng swore to take revenge on Lin Bai, though Liu Jingxing could no longer appear openly on Divine Relic Ridge.

• Qin Beiao boasted to Long Qingfeng that he could defeat Fang Ji and Lin Bai, and vowed to win the Three Trials and Five Tribulations for the Holy Seal Sect.
• Long Qingfeng agreed that neither of them could afford to lose to East Ridge’s geniuses without disgracing South Ridge.
• Zuo Kai urged Liu Jingfeng to retrieve Liu Jingxing, and Liu Jingfeng secured his release from the Hall of Law Enforcement with help from a Gray-Robed Old Man.
• Liu Jingfeng learned that Lin Bai had killed his sons, Liu Ben and Liu Hai, while they were traveling to Divine Relic Ridge.
• Liu Jingfeng vowed to exterminate Lin Bai and told Liu Jingxing he would handle the revenge because Liu Jingxing could no longer appear openly on Divine Relic Ridge.

After five days of sword practice with Ji Xiang, Lin Bai went to the Ascension Tower with Ji Xiang and Bai Xiaoxiao for Divine Relic Ridge’s assessment. Fang Ji arrived and ignored He Qian to approach Lin Bai, leaving the crowd startled.

• Ji Xiang praised Lin Bai’s improving dual-sword technique but noted that he needed a second sword suited to him, while Ji Xiang abandoned his own attempt to copy the style.
• Bai Xiaoxiao urged Lin Bai and Ji Xiang to rest before the Divine Relic Ridge assessment, and Lin Bai left the Lin Estate with them, vowing to face the Giant God Race.
• Qi Yao welcomed Lin Bai at the Ascension Tower and warned him that He Qian might try to hinder him during the assessment.
• He Qian glared at Lin Bai and privately vowed to deal with him and Fang Ji.
• Fang Ji strode toward He Qian, dismissed his challenge, and knocked him aside with one palm strike.
• The crowd realized Fang Ji had come for Lin Bai, who emerged in front of him.

Fang Ji pressured Lin Bai to accept a duel, but Lin Bai refused because he was preoccupied with the coming encounter with the Giant God Race. The elders of the Nine Great Academies arrived at Ascension Tower and announced the assessment rules, leaving Lin Bai poised for the trials ahead.

• Fang Ji challenged Lin Bai, who refused to fight him until after joining Divine Relic Ridge.
• Fang Ji insulted Lin Bai and dismissed Bai Xiaoxiao's offer to fight in his place, then vowed to force Lin Bai to draw his sword someday.
• Bai Xiaoxiao took Lin Bai's hand and promised to stay by his side, realizing how deeply he feared the coming confrontation with the Giant God Race.
• Nine high-ranking elders from Divine Relic Ridge's academies arrived at Ascension Tower, including Pei Ji of the Sword Dao Institute.
• Liu Jingfeng explained the assessment's Eight Trials, including the Five Tribulations and Three Trials, and warned that Divine Relic Ridge would not accept martial souls below the Profound Grade.

Liu Jingfeng announced the examination rules, then told Lin Bai he did not need to take the examination because none of the academies would accept him. Lin Bai recognized that Liu Jingfeng wanted to keep him outside Divine Relic Ridge so he could be killed without facing the Nine Academies’ Hall of Law Enforcement, but insisted on taking the examination as the candidates prepared to proceed.

• Liu Jingfeng explained that candidates had to pass the Martial Soul test and fight in the Spirit Mortal Mountain Range for Pass Tokens, which would determine their rankings and chances of joining an academy.
• Liu Jingfeng asked which candidate was Lin Bai, and Lin Bai identified himself as the gathered martial artists looked on.
• Liu Jingfeng told Lin Bai he did not need to take the examination because none of the academies would dare accept him.
• Bai Xiaoxiao surmised that Liu Jingfeng had persuaded the other academy elders to reject Lin Bai, while He Qian grew enraged and blamed Lin Bai for taking the status and future he believed should have been his.
• Lin Bai accused Liu Jingfeng of wanting to prevent him from joining Divine Relic Ridge so Liu Jingfeng could kill him without attracting the Hall of Law Enforcement, then declared that he would take the examination anyway.
• Liu Jingfeng allowed Lin Bai to proceed and directed the candidates to the third floor of the Ascension Tower.

Lin Bai entered the Ascension Tower’s first trial, where heavenly lightning relentlessly pursued him as he searched for the light gate. Outside, Qin Beiao became the first martial artist shown on the projection tablets after destroying the lightning with one palm, and the Fist Dao Academy claimed him.

• Lin Bai, Bai Xiaoxiao, and Qi Yao entered the Ascension Tower in the first batch, while Qin Beiao and Long Qingfeng also went inside.
• Liu Jingfeng began the illusion for the first hundred thousand martial artists, and Lin Bai and Bai Xiaoxiao were separated into the trial.
• Lin Bai found himself beneath thunderclouds in the first-layer illusion and fled as divine lightning shattered the mountain where he had stood.
• Lin Bai recalled that he needed to find a light gate to pass and raced away as the lightning pursued him.
• Qin Beiao appeared on the first projection tablet after shattering the lightning with a single palm and entering the second-trial illusion.
• Liu Jingfeng declared that the Fist Dao Academy would take Qin Beiao, while the other elders acknowledged his exceptional fist techniques.

Qin Beiao and Long Qingfeng cleared the Heavenly Thunder Illusion first, while several familiar and unknown geniuses followed them onto the projection wall. Lin Bai struggled to find the light gate until he realized it was hidden in the thunderclouds above him.

• Qin Beiao smashed through the first illusion's light gate in three breaths, and Liu Jingfeng claimed he must be a disciple of the Fist Dao Academy.
• Long Qingfeng entered the second illusion with a single sword strike, prompting Pei Ji and elders from other academies to compete for him.
• Fang Ji, He Qian, Yao Feng, Bai Xiaoxiao, Qi Yao, and Hua Yuxian appeared on the remaining stone steles, leaving the ninth stele empty.
• The crowd questioned why Lin Bai, first on the Potential Ranking, had not appeared on any stele.
• Lin Bai fought off a web of thunder and realized the light gate was hidden within the thunderclouds above him.

Lin Bai uncovered the first trial’s hidden exit and entered the second trial, while the rankings and his late arrival stirred rivalry among the other martial artists. He began searching for the second trial’s exit by attacking the magma-covered ground.

• Qin Beiao, Long Qingfeng, Fang Ji, He Qian, and Qi Yao saw their positions on the first trial’s clearance rankings and entered the second trial.
• Bai Xiaoxiao worried when Lin Bai failed to appear on the rankings, while He Qian vowed to surpass him.
• Lin Bai destroyed the thunderclouds with a sword strike, revealing the light gate hidden in the lightning mist, and saw that he ranked ninth.
• Lin Bai appeared on the ninth projection stone wall, drawing reactions from Liu Jingfeng and Pei Ji, before entering the second trial.
• Lin Bai guessed the second trial’s gate lay beneath the magma and cleaved the ground with the Azure Song Sword.

Lin Bai fought a regenerating Flame Giant in the second-stage illusion and stole the pass token from its heart to enter the third stage. There, two armed clay statues awakened and attacked him, and he realized he had to defeat them to make the next light gate appear.

• Lin Bai entered the second-stage illusion, found a light gate beneath the lava, and was confronted by a Flame Giant guarding it.
• Lin Bai discovered that the Flame Giant could regenerate after he severed its limbs, then blasted a hole through its chest and knocked out the flaming pass token.
• Lin Bai snatched the token and entered the third stage before the Flame Giant could stop him.
• Lin Bai arrived in a Martial Arts Arena, where two clay statues armed with a golden saber and a silver sword awakened and charged at him.
• Lin Bai's Sword Qi failed to harm the statues, and he dodged a devastating saber strike before concluding he had to defeat them to reveal the light gate.

Lin Bai discovered that the third trial’s clay puppets copied his martial techniques, then used the flaws in his low-level Blood Weeping Swordplay to defeat them. He passed the trial and entered the fourth-trial illusion ahead of the other competitors.

• Lin Bai attacked the clay puppets with powerful divine abilities, but they perfectly copied his moves and forced him back.
• Outside Ascension Tower, Liu Jingfeng and Pei Ji explained that the trial tested whether martial artists could find flaws in their own techniques, while Qin Beiao, Long Qingfeng, and the other competitors remained stuck.
• Lin Bai chose the low-level Blood Weeping Swordplay, identified its weaknesses, and struck down both clay puppets.
• Lin Bai took the third trial’s Pass Token, entered the fourth-trial illusion, and appeared on the first projection stele as spectators exclaimed that he had passed.

Lin Bai entered the fourth trial, which forced him to confront his fears and inner demons. The trial took the form of Lin Zier, who taunted him about his low-ranked martial soul and the people he had lost, while the Demon Flower in his eye began to bloom.

• Lin Bai passed the third trial in a dozen breaths, impressing the watching martial artists with his grasp of his swordsmanship.
• Pei Ji recognized Lin Bai's exceptional Sword Dao talent but suppressed his desire to recruit him because Liu Jingfeng had threatened anyone who accepted Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai entered the dark fourth trial and found himself unable to move or summon his flying sword as a figure approached.
• Lin Zier appeared before Lin Bai and mocked his Yellow Rank One martial soul, his absent parents, and his abandoned fate.
• Lin Zier taunted Lin Bai about his estranged and endangered friends, while seven inches of green sprouts and a nearly blooming flower emerged from the Demon Seed in his right eye.

As Lin Bai fought Lin Zier in the third trial, he held fast to his faith in his friends, and his distress reached them across the realms. Bai Xiaoxiao, Ji Xiang, Ye Suxin, and Tie Haitang each sensed his call and resolved to reach him, while another man continued training inside the God of War stele.

• Lin Bai rejected Lin Zier’s claim that his friends and family had abandoned him, insisting they would come when he needed them.
• Bai Xiaoxiao sensed Lin Bai’s call after defeating her puppets and vowed to stay by his side and avenge him if necessary.
• Ji Xiang destroyed the clay statues, entered the fourth trial, and promised to find Lin Bai after facing the Demon Monk from the temple.
• Ye Suxin sensed Lin Bai calling her and left for Ascension Tower, while Ling Wu watched in surprise.
• Tie Haitang sensed Lin Bai’s distress, abandoned her hunt for the Five Venoms Sect’s main altar, and headed for Spirit Sword Sect.
• Inside the God of War stele, a simple-looking man begged to stop training as a powerful battle soul charged at him.

Zhao Tiedan sensed that Lin Bai needed him and demanded to leave his training, while the War God Elder investigated Lin Bai’s plight. Lin Bai defeated his fear of Lin Zier and overcame his inner demon, leaving Lin Zier to vanish.

• Zhao Tiedan smashed the battle spirit and insisted that the War God Elder let him go help Lin Bai.
• The War God Elder used his soul power to investigate what had happened to Lin Bai.
• Li Shanqing heard Lin Bai’s cry and set out with Ling Tianzi for Divine Relic Ridge, despite being warned not to interfere with Lin Bai’s destined enemy.
• Lin Bai condemned Lin Zier for abandoning affection and friendship, declaring that his sword dao was to protect those he cared about.
• Lin Bai asked Lin Zier what the scenery in hell had been like, defeated his inner demon, and watched her vanish in terror.