Chapter Summaries

Lu Qingyu announced that Gu Yueqing had successfully refined the Human Sovereign Pill, fulfilling his lifelong ambition and exciting the martial artists gathered at the Pill Dao Academy. Chou Yun Kui challenged the pill’s authenticity, accusing Lin Bai of deception and refusing to believe it was the Human Sovereign Pill.

• Niu Wenbo and the assembled martial artists impatiently demanded that Lu Qingyu and Gu Yueqing reveal whether the Human Sovereign Pill had been refined.
• Gu Yueqing let Lu Qingyu make the announcement, and he declared that the Human Sovereign Pill had been refined and could soon be produced in batches.
• The martial artists celebrated the pill’s promise of helping Human Core Realm cultivators advance, while Gu Yueqing thanked Lin Bai and asked him to teach her to refine the Earth Venerable Pill.
• Lin Bai agreed to teach Gu Yueqing after she had mastered the Human Sovereign Pill, and they sealed their promise with a pinky swear.
• Chou Yun Kui entered the arena and demanded proof that the pill was genuine, claiming Lin Bai might have deceived Lu Qingyu and Gu Yueqing.

Lin Bai proved that the Human Sovereign Pill was genuine by taking one and breaking through to the second level of the Human Core Realm. When Chou Yun Kui continued to dispute the result, Lin Bai proposed giving away the six remaining pills to the crowd.

• Chou Yun Kui accused Lin Bai of presenting a fake Human Sovereign Pill and demanded proof that it could raise a martial artist's cultivation by a level.
• Lin Bai swallowed the pill and began cultivating while the gathered martial artists watched.
• After an hour without a breakthrough, Chou Yun Kui declared the pill fake, and Lu Qingyu and Gu Yueqing began to doubt Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai broke through to the second level of the Human Core Realm, but Chou Yun Kui insisted it was a natural breakthrough and demanded another test.
• Lin Bai proposed distributing the six remaining pills among the crowd, and Lu Qingyu and Gu Yueqing agreed.

Lu Qingyu offered six Human Sovereign Pills to the martial artists, but Chou Yun Kui warned that they could be fake, poisonous, or damaging, leaving the crowd afraid to try them. Jian Ruohan and Ye Jianqiu swallowed pills despite his warnings, and four more martial artists stepped forward for the remaining pills.

• Lu Qingyu announced that the Pill Dao Academy would give away its six remaining Human Sovereign Pills, but Chou Yun Kui warned the crowd that the pills might be dangerous.
• Lin Bai promised to save anyone who suffered harm from a pill and challenged martial artists to come forward, but none dared while Chou Yun Kui mocked the Academy.
• Jian Ruohan arrived, took a Human Sovereign Pill from Gu Yueqing, and began refining it despite Chou Yun Kui's objections.
• Ye Jianqiu arrived, thanked Lu Qingyu, swallowed a Human Sovereign Pill, and began his breakthrough.
• After Lin Bai called for more volunteers, four martial artists stepped forward to claim the remaining pills.

Jian Ruohan, Ye Jianqiu, Qi Yao, He Qian, and Fan Yitong took Human Sovereign Pills and began breaking through, while Fan Yitong earned an invitation from Gu Yueqing and Lu Qingyu's offer to become his disciple. After Lin Bai called for someone to take the final pill, a mysterious swordsman appeared, shocking Pei Ji and Chou Yun Kui.

• Qi Yao, He Qian, and Fan Yitong stepped forward to take Human Sovereign Pills and began their breakthroughs alongside Jian Ruohan and Ye Jianqiu.
• Fan Yitong admitted he had come forward for Gu Yueqing, who invited him to the Purple Bamboo Grove to discuss Pill Dao.
• Lu Qingyu offered to accept Fan Yitong as his last disciple, and Fan Yitong knelt to acknowledge him as his master.
• Lin Bai called for someone to take the final Human Sovereign Pill, and a crowd member accused him of giving the other pills to his friends.
• A young man in tattered hemp clothing arrived, took the final pill, and drew shocked reactions from Pei Ji and Chou Yun Kui.

Lin Bai and the others watched as six martial artists tested the Human Sovereign Pills, proving that the Pill Dao Academy had refined genuine pills. Lin Han reached the Earth Core Realm, and Lu Qingyu ended the dispute by announcing a steep price for future pills.

• Pei Ji told Lin Bai that Lin Han had once been a Sword Dao Institute prodigy whose divine core Cai Yunqi shattered after Lin Han intervened when Cai Yunqi forced a female disciple, and Lin Bai said he hoped Lin Han would recover.
• Jian Ruohan, Ye Jianqiu, Qi Yao, He Qian, Fan Yitong, and Lin Han took Human Sovereign Pills and began cultivating while Chou Yun Kui questioned whether the pills were genuine.
• After an hour, Ye Jianqiu, Jian Ruohan, Qi Yao, He Qian, and Fan Yitong advanced in the Human Core Realm, while Lin Han broke through to the Earth Core Realm.
• Lu Qingyu declared that the breakthroughs proved the Human Sovereign Pills were genuine, and Chou Yun Kui conceded and congratulated the Pill Dao Academy.
• When a martial artist asked when the pills would be distributed free again, Lu Qingyu announced that each Human Sovereign Pill would cost ten thousand points.

The Human Sovereign Pill was successfully refined, though Lu Qingyu announced that each pill cost one hundred thousand points. Lin Bai enforced his wager with Chou Yun Kui, who knelt and acknowledged Lin Bai as his master before Lin Bai immediately expelled him; afterward, Lin Bai returned to the Sword Dao Institute with Pei Ji.

• Lu Qingyu announced that each Human Sovereign Pill cost one hundred thousand points, and the crowd left the Pill Dao Academy in shock.
• Lin Bai reminded Chou Yun Kui of their wager and demanded that he kneel and acknowledge Lin Bai as his master.
• Gu Yueqing rejected Chou Yun Kui's appeal, while Lu Qingyu and Pei Ji declined to intervene.
• Under the crowd's jeers, Chou Yun Kui knelt, kowtowed three times, and called Lin Bai his master.
• Lin Bai insulted Chou Yun Kui and expelled him from his sect, causing Chou Yun Kui to spit blood and faint.
• Pei Ji took Lin Bai back to the Sword Dao Institute after Lin Bai said farewell to Gu Yueqing and Lu Qingyu.

Lin Bai learned that meeting Su Yanhua required becoming a Five Peaks Holy Son, so he resolved to advance quickly and compete in the nine institutes’ martial competition. The chapter ended by revealing that Ye Suxin had arranged for Pei Ji to accept Lin Bai into the Sword Dao Institute.

• Pei Ji told Lin Bai that only a Five Peaks Holy Son could visit Divine Relic Ridge’s forbidden grounds and meet Su Yanhua.
• Lin Bai resolved to become a Five Peaks Holy Son to learn what had happened to his father, Lin Duo, and how the Dragon Slayer Sword reached Long Qingfeng.
• Pei Ji explained that the nine institutes’ year-end martial competition determined the Hero Ranking, and Lin Bai insisted he would compete that year.
• Pei Ji urged Lin Bai to cultivate patiently, while Lin Bai remained determined to reach the fifth stage of the Earth Core Realm within four months.
• Pei Ji returned to his residence and met Old Ling and Ye Suxin, who revealed that she had asked him to accept Lin Bai into the Sword Dao Institute.

Lin Bai returned to Shadow Mountain and was confronted by Yao Feng and a group of martial artists who tried to rob his points, believing he was crippled. Lin Bai revealed that his cultivation had recovered, defeated them, and left Yao Feng begging for mercy.

• Lin Bai returned to Shadow Mountain after parting from Pei Ji.
• Yao Feng and twelve martial artists surrounded Lin Bai and demanded his 5,221 points, thinking he was crippled.
• Lin Bai caught Yao Feng’s sword between two fingers and kicked him away.
• Lin Bai unleashed wind blades that sent the surrounding martial artists flying and injured them.
• Yao Feng realized Lin Bai’s cultivation had recovered, then knelt and begged him not to kill him.

Lin Bai returned to Shadow Mountain and confronted Murong Xu, who had occupied his residence. After she refused to leave and revealed that her father was the vice dean, Lin Bai recognized her family connection and attacked her.

• Yao Feng begged Lin Bai for mercy, and Lin Bai let him leave with his lackeys.
• Tang Bufan showed Lin Bai the small house he had built for him, but Lin Bai insisted on reclaiming Residence Number Eighty-One.
• Lin Bai and Tang Bufan went to the residence, where Murong Xu threatened Lin Bai and refused to leave.
• Murong Xu claimed her father was Murong Hai, and Lin Bai recalled that Murong Changtian had also named Murong Hai as his father and the vice dean.
• Lin Bai attacked Murong Xu with the Azure Song Sword; after her Fallen Blossom Swordplay shattered his first strike, he used the Divine Sword Thunder Control Art to break her defense and send her flying.

Lin Bai pursued the badly wounded Murong Xu across Shadow Mountain and nearly killed her before Yuan Qing intervened. Lin Bai confronted Yuan Qing over his broken promise and openly called him an old dog, while a crowd gathered around them.

• Lin Bai wounded Murong Xu, but she used a blood-powered escape art to flee toward Yuan Qing's residence as he chased her.
• Murong Xu called for Yuan Qing's help, but Lin Bai struck her in the back and moved to kill her.
• Yuan Qing arrived and blasted Lin Bai away, then shielded Murong Xu and ordered Lin Bai to surrender.
• Lin Bai reminded Yuan Qing that he had promised not to interfere in his affairs, but Yuan Qing denied it and threatened to kill him.
• Lin Bai called Yuan Qing a shameless old dog and accused him of protecting Murong Xu because of her father, drawing a stunned crowd.

Lin Bai reclaimed Shadow Mountain Residence No. 81 after Pei Ji intervened and ruled that it belonged to him, then learned how the Sword Dao Institute had divided its new disciples into training groups. He remained in the low-level group, while several of his peers trained in higher-ranked groups.

• Yuan Qing attacked Lin Bai, but Pei Ji and Tang Bufan arrived and stopped their fight.
• Pei Ji reprimanded Yuan Qing for ignoring Lin Bai's complaint and confirmed that Shadow Mountain Residence No. 81 belonged to Lin Bai.
• Pei Ji warned that trespassers entering Lin Bai's residence could be killed, while reminding Lin Bai that killing was forbidden within the institute.
• Lin Bai left with Tang Bufan, taunted Murong Xu, and returned to his residence.
• Tang Bufan explained that new disciples were split into genius, advanced, and low-level groups, and said Lin Bai, Yao Feng, and he were in the low-level group.

Lin Bai learned how the Sword Dao Institute divided its newcomers and how monthly examinations determined access to cultivation resources. At the training grounds, he saw the lower-level group mocked and its flag defaced, then vowed to avenge the insult as mentor Nie Xiaoxian arrived.

• Tang Bufan explained the three groups, their monthly Mystic Art examinations, and how examination results determined access to cultivation resources and points.
• Lin Bai agreed to visit the training grounds with Tang Bufan and spent the night cultivating the Grand Five Elements Art.
• Lin Bai and Tang Bufan found the lower-level group's flag altered into a pig, and Tang Bufan blamed Chang Minghui of the advanced group.
• Advanced-group disciples mocked the lower-level group, while Lin Bai vowed to avenge the defaced flag and proposed changing the group's name.
• Nie Xiaoxian confronted Chang Minghui, and Tang Bufan identified her as the lower-level group's mentor and one of the Beauty Ranking's top ten beauties.

Lin Bai challenged Chang Minghui after the advanced group mocked the lower-level group and Nie Xiaoxian. As they faced off in the arena, Ye Jianqiu and Jian Ruohan warned that Lin Bai might kill Chang Minghui.

• Chang Minghui and the advanced group taunted Nie Xiaoxian and the lower-level martial artists, boasting that even their weakest fighter could defeat the whole group.
• Lin Bai stepped forward and argued that superior martial souls did not necessarily mean greater strength, then accepted Chang Minghui's challenge.
• Chang Minghui took his place in the arena, while lower-level martial artists and Nie Xiaoxian tried to dissuade Lin Bai from fighting.
• Lin Bai ignored their objections and stood before Chang Minghui, ready to fight.
• Ye Jianqiu and Jian Ruohan watched from the genius group and feared Lin Bai might kill Chang Minghui.

Lin Bai sparred with Chang Minghui, effortlessly stopping his Heaven-grade swordplay and humiliating him before the training-ground crowd. Enraged by his repeated defeats, Chang Minghui gathered the power of heaven and earth to unleash a divine ability.

• Chang Minghui displayed his Third-Order Sword Intent and challenged Lin Bai, while Nie Xiaoxian worried that he might seriously hurt him.
• Chang Minghui attacked Lin Bai with White Rainbow Pierces the Sun, but Lin Bai caught the sword between two fingers and sent him back.
• Chang Minghui followed with Desert Lone Smoke, but Lin Bai struck him away with one palm and called him weak.
• The advanced group reacted in shock as the genius group mocked Chang Minghui for losing twice.
• Chang Minghui roared that he wanted Lin Bai dead and began gathering the power of heaven and earth for a divine ability.

Lin Bai defeated Chang Minghui with one punch without drawing his sword, then confronted Instructor Wu Enli for defending the advanced group’s right to bully basic-group disciples. Lin Bai vowed to pass the monthly examination and trample every advanced-group martial artist beneath his feet.

• Chang Minghui used the divine ability Sword Heart Clarity against Lin Bai, but Lin Bai beat him nearly to death with a single punch from his Overlord Dragon Fist.
• Lin Bai declared that Chang Minghui did not deserve to make him draw his sword, then tried to leave the arena.
• Wu Enli appeared and accused Lin Bai of injuring an advanced-group martial artist, insisting that basic-group disciples deserved to be bullied because their martial souls were weak.
• Nie Xiaoxian challenged Wu Enli’s remarks, but he dismissed the basic group as cannon fodder and predicted none of its members would pass the next day’s examination.
• Lin Bai declared that he would pass the monthly examination and trample every martial artist in Wu Enli’s advanced group beneath his feet.

Lin Bai challenged Wu Enli to a monthly exam and then learned that the basic group’s test would require cultivating Sword Heart Clarity, a divine ability he had never been taught. After the disciples mocked him for risking the group’s reputation, Lin Bai insisted that learning the ability in one night would be easy.

• Lin Bai accepted Wu Enli’s challenge to pass the monthly exam, while Nie Xiaoxian promised to protect him if he failed.
• Nie Xiaoxian tested the basic group’s Sword Heart Clarity, but Fang Hai and the other disciples failed to perform it successfully.
• When Nie Xiaoxian called on Lin Bai, Tang Bufan explained that Lin Bai had only arrived that day and did not know the divine ability.
• Fang Hai and the other disciples blamed Lin Bai for risking the basic group’s reputation, prompting Lin Bai to accuse them of abandoning their dignity and gratitude.
• Fang Hai mocked Lin Bai’s claim that he could learn Sword Heart Clarity overnight, and Lin Bai said the task would be easy.

Nie Xiaoxian taught Lin Bai the Sword Heart Clarity divine ability, and Lin Bai spent the night cultivating it before heading to the newcomers’ monthly examination. He claimed he was ninety percent sure he would take first place, leaving Tang Bufan stunned as they waited for the examination to begin.

• After Lin Bai announced he would master Sword Heart Clarity in one night, martial artists from the lower group mocked him, but Nie Xiaoxian stopped their arguing and took him away to teach him.
• On the back mountain, Nie Xiaoxian explained Sword Heart Clarity and imparted its mental formula, sword formula, and her cultivation insights to Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai returned to Shadow Mountain, told Tang Bufan he was going into seclusion, and cultivated Sword Heart Clarity through the night.
• The next morning, Lin Bai joined Tang Bufan on the way to the monthly examination, where Fang Hai and the lower group mocked him again while Chang Minghui and the upper group were present.
• Lin Bai told Tang Bufan he was ninety percent sure he would place first, leaving Tang Bufan shocked as they waited for Elder Lin Baoyu to arrive.

Lin Baoyu and Ming Hong explained the Sword Dao Institute’s first monthly examination and its point rewards, then the genius group began testing their Sword Heart Clarity on the Sword Testing Stone. The chapter left Lin Bai and the other new disciples worried after Xie Yongbing barely passed with a three-inch mark.

• Lin Baoyu and Ming Hong announced that disciples had to leave a three-inch sword mark to pass and offered up to five thousand points for first place.
• Lin Bai considered using his points to replace his sword art, movement technique, body-refining technique, and spirit artifacts.
• Ming Hong called the genius group forward to begin the examination.
• Xie Yongbing left a two-inch mark on his first attempt and a three-inch mark on his second, just enough to pass.
• Lin Bai told Tang Bufan that three-inch marks meant passing, six-inch marks were excellent, and nine-inch marks showed genius, and predicted that few disciples would pass.

The genius group tested their Sword Heart Clarity on the Sword Testing Stone, and Jian Ruohan and Long Qingfeng posted impressive results. Ye Jianqiu then left a ten-inch mark with a seemingly casual strike, while Lin Bai recognized that he was still hiding his strength.

• Most genius-group martial artists left two- to four-inch sword marks, while Jian Ruohan scored five inches on her first strike and eight on her second.
• Pei Ji and Dugu Yun watched from a distant tower, and Dugu Yun searched the arena for an unnamed sword cultivator he expected to appear.
• Long Qingfeng scored seven inches on his first strike and nine on his second, then challenged Ye Jianqiu to match him.
• Ye Jianqiu made a casual strike, returned to the genius group, and left a ten-inch sword mark that stunned Ming Hong and Lin Baoyu.
• Lin Bai watched Ye Jianqiu's result and said that he was still hiding his strength.

Ye Jianqiu won the Genius Group’s examination with a ten-inch sword mark, while the Advanced Group performed far worse than expected. The Low-Level Group’s test began amid jeers, and after thousands of disciples tried, none had left a sword mark.

• Ye Jianqiu left a ten-inch sword mark, securing the best result of the monthly examination and provoking Long Qingfeng’s resentment.
• Lin Baoyu rebuked Wu Enli after fewer than twenty Advanced Group disciples left three-inch marks, and Wu Enli promised that seventy percent would reach the Newcomer Tournament’s final round.
• Nie Xiaoxian explained to Lin Bai that the Newcomer Tournament would take place in two months and would allow those who passed to become full Sword Dao Institute disciples.
• Nie Xiaoxian led the Low-Level Group to the Sword Testing Stone as martial artists from the other groups mocked them.
• The Low-Level Group’s first disciples and thousands who followed failed to leave any sword marks, drawing jeers that upset Nie Xiaoxian and Lin Bai.