Chapter Summaries

Lin Bai and the seventy-two sword cultivators returning from Immortal Cave Mountain confronted Zhu Lie and more than two hundred Zhu Family experts in Deathmatch Valley. Lin Bai stayed out of the battle as the two sides launched into a bloody clash.

• Zhu Lie arrived in Deathmatch Valley with more than a hundred and fifty Red Robe Disciples and over thirty Purple Robe Disciples, interrupting Huang Ming and Zhang Bo's duel.
• More than seventy unfamiliar Purple Robe Disciples arrived with Lin Bai, and he asked Zhu Lie where Zhu Lei was.
• Nie Xiong and the other returned sword cultivators insisted that Lin Bai let them fight the Zhu Family's forces themselves.
• Lin Bai moved aside to watch, while Nie Xiong challenged Zhu Lie and Zhuo Lian led the sword cultivators into battle, shouting, "Brothers, blood for blood!"

The Immortal Cave Mountain Seventy-Two Sword Cultivators overwhelmed the Zhu Family experts in Deathmatch Valley, impressing Lin Bai with how much they had grown. As Lin Bai noticed powerful figures watching from the southeast, the Reaching Heaven Sword Venerable was revealed among them.

• The Immortal Cave Mountain Seventy-Two Sword Cultivators fought the Zhu Family experts while astonished outer disciples watched from Deathmatch Valley.
• Zhuo Lian used his middle-stage Gale Wind Intent to pierce a Zhu Family martial artist’s throat, and Lin Bai praised his progress.
• Lin Bai observed that the seventy-two cultivators had all reached the full-circle Yin Saint Realm and that their sword skills and Intents had improved during their time in the Han Hai Demon Kingdom.
• Lin Bai advised Li Chou to change the direction of his strikes, and Li Chou followed the advice to kill his opponent.
• Lin Bai sensed powerful auras in the southeast and saw Gui Jing among the experts watching from above the clouds, led by the Reaching Heaven Sword Venerable.

During the fighting in Deathmatch Valley, Gui Jing reported that Dongfang Bai had escaped the Han Hai Demon Kingdom after winning the Reincarnation Field and killing two Yang God Realm experts. The Jade Slip confirmed Gui Jing’s account and left Shui Zhong pale with panic.

• The Sword Reverent praised the Purple Robe Disciples fighting in Deathmatch Valley while Shui Zhong assumed he meant Zhu Lei’s followers.
• Gui Jing told the Sword Reverent that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had traced Reaching Heaven Sword Sect disciples sold to the White Snake clan and sent to the Reincarnation Field.
• Gui Jing revealed that the Sword Demon who won 999 battles and survived the Thousand-Victory Battle was Dongfang Bai, an inner disciple of the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect.
• Gui Jing reported that Dongfang Bai and more than seventy sword cultivators fought their way out of the Han Hai Demon Kingdom’s imperial capital, where Dongfang Bai slew two Yang God Realm experts.
• Shui Zhong took Gui Jing’s Jade Slip, read its contents, and turned deathly pale, convincing the Sword Reverent that Gui Jing’s report was true.

The Immortal Cave Mountain Seventy-Two Sword Cultivators overwhelmed Zhu Lie and his Zhu Family warriors in Deathmatch Valley while the Sword Reverent refused to stop the slaughter. As Nie Xiong was about to kill Zhu Lie, Sword Paragon Zhu Lei arrived and faced Lin Bai.

• The Sword Reverent confirmed the report that Lin Bai had killed a Yang God Realm powerhouse, then told Shui Zhong to let the fighting continue.
• The Seventy-Two Sword Cultivators killed more than half of Zhu Lie's warriors without suffering casualties, while Nie Xiong gained the upper hand against Zhu Lie.
• Nie Xiong knocked Zhu Lie down and prepared to kill him, but a powerful sword-finger strike interrupted him.
• Lin Bai blocked the attacker’s strike, and the newcomer landed in Deathmatch Valley as Sword Paragon Zhu Lei.
• Zhu Lei gathered the surviving Zhu Family warriors and challenged Lin Bai, who said he had been waiting for him.

Lin Bai confronted Zhu Lei and learned that the Zhu Family had forged a new Immaculate Divine Iron sword called the Dark Sword, or Burying the Gods. He rallied his allies against the Zhu Family while his damaged Demon Sword answered the Dark Sword’s challenge, leaving the two swords ready to clash.

• Lin Bai taunted Zhu Lei by promising to give Zhu Shang their heads as a birthday gift, then ordered Nie Xiong and the others to kill the Zhu Family martial artists while he fought Zhu Lei.
• Zhu Lei drew a sword forged from Immaculate Divine Iron, and Lin Bai recognized it as a weapon distinct from the missing Ghost Sword.
• The Sword Venerable and Gui Jing realized Zhu Lei’s blade was a sixth Immaculate Divine Iron sword, while Zhu Lei admitted the Zhu Family was hiding a mine of the rare material.
• Zhu Lei named his sword Burying the Gods, or the Dark Sword, and vowed to use it to kill the Prodigy-level Geniuses of Lingnan.
• Lin Bai comforted his cracked Demon Sword and promised to repair it and avenge its injury; the Demon Sword flared with power as the Dark Sword shone in response.

Lin Bai fought Zhu Lei in Deathmatch Valley, where Zhu Lei’s Yang God Realm cultivation and Floating Pagoda Sword Art put him under pressure. Lin Bai countered with his Ten-Step Kill and Hundred-Step Kill, leaving Zhu Lei badly wounded but alive after he escaped with his Martial Soul Secret Method.

• Zhu Lei attacked Lin Bai with the Nether Sword, revealing his first-level Yang God Realm cultivation and late-stage Earth Intent.
• Lin Bai and Zhu Lei clashed swords, and Zhu Lei unleashed the Ten Thousand Mile Floating Pagoda, which Lin Bai met with Ten-Step Kill.
• Lin Bai’s Ten-Step Kill matched Zhu Lei’s Floating Pagoda Sword Art, shocking Zhu Lei and the watching martial artists.
• Lin Bai followed with Hundred-Step Kill and pierced Zhu Lei’s defenses, driving his Demon Sword into Zhu Lei’s throat.
• Zhu Lei used Wings of Fleeting Light to escape, leaving a bloody wound on his throat and losing his earlier contempt for Lin Bai.

Lin Bai wounded Zhu Lei with the Ten-Step Sword, but Zhu Lei answered by unleashing the Reaching Heaven Sword Art and struck at him with overwhelming power. As the Sword Paragon revealed that the secret art had no time limit, Zhu Lei’s attack bore down on Lin Bai.

• Lin Bai’s Ten-Step Sword wounded Zhu Lei, and the Sword Paragon and Gui Jing recognized it as the second-layer Hundred-Step Kill.
• The Sword Paragon explained that Lin Bai was one of Lingnan’s nine Prodigy-level Geniuses and warned that Zhu Lei could die if he stayed careless.
• Zhu Lei vowed not to give Lin Bai another chance and unleashed the Reaching Heaven Sword Art, a secret technique reserved for Sword Paragons and those with immense Contribution Points.
• Zhu Lei’s power and swordsmanship surged, easing Shui Zhong’s fears as Zhu Lei charged Lin Bai with a devastating sword strike.
• Lin Bai realized the art could let Zhu Lei fight an opponent at the peak of the second Yang God Realm, while the Sword Paragon explained that its strength-enhancing effect had no time limit.

Lin Bai unleashed the Azure Wood Divine Lightning to withstand Zhu Lei’s Reaching Heaven Sword Art, but Zhu Lei’s Floating Abyss severely wounded him. As Zhu Lei pressed his attack, Lin Bai used Halt War to shatter the Nether Sword.

• Zhu Lei used the Reaching Heaven Sword Art to double his strength and struck at Lin Bai.
• Lin Bai summoned the Azure Wood Divine Lightning, while the Sword Reverent and Gui Jing discussed its power and the Five Elements Scripture.
• Lin Bai and Zhu Lei exchanged nearly a thousand moves without either gaining the advantage.
• Zhu Lei used Floating Abyss to send Lin Bai flying and leave him severely wounded.
• As Zhu Lei thrust at Lin Bai’s throat, Lin Bai used Halt War, and the Demon Sword shattered the Nether Sword.

Lin Bai destroyed the Nether Sword and killed Zhu Lei and Zhu Lie in Deathmatch Valley. The Sword Reverent refused to punish Lin Bai for killing a Sword Paragon and decided to meet the Thousand-Win King of the Reincarnation Field.

• Lin Bai used Zhi Ge to split the Nether Sword, then killed Zhu Lei with a lightning-infused Hundred-Step Kill.
• Lin Bai mourned the broken Nether Sword, while the Seventy-Two Sword Cultivators of Immortal Cave Mountain celebrated Zhu Lei's death.
• Nie Xiong killed Zhu Lie after Zhu Lie begged Lin Bai and Nie Xiong for mercy.
• Shui Zhong urged the Sword Reverent to punish Lin Bai, but Gui Jing argued against it and the Sword Reverent rejected Shui Zhong's demand.
• The Sword Reverent said Lin Bai could prove himself by killing the other four Sword Paragons, warned him not to slaughter Zhu Family disciples indiscriminately, and set out to meet him.

After killing Zhu Lei, Lin Bai met the Sword Reverent, who negotiated for the broken Nether Sword and secured it for the sect to repair. Senior Gui Jing then told Lin Bai that Zhu Lei’s death had opened a place among the Sword Paragons and that the Sword Reverent’s order naming Lin Bai could arrive within three days.

• A towering sword intent announced the arrival of the Sword Reverent, who descended into Deathmatch Valley and asked Lin Bai to spare the surviving Zhu Family martial artists.
• Lin Bai agreed to let them live if they did not resist or seek revenge, and the Zhu Family martial artists left the valley.
• The Sword Reverent asked for the broken Nether Sword, and Lin Bai handed it over after learning the sect would repair and preserve it.
• Shui Zhong left with hostility toward Lin Bai, and Senior Gui Jing explained that the Ninth Peak master had ties to the Zhu Family.
• Senior Gui Jing told Lin Bai that Zhu Lei’s death made him a likely candidate to become the sixth Sword Paragon, with an order expected within three days.

Lin Bai used Zhu Lei and Zhu Lie’s deaths to provoke the Zhu Family into seeking help from Ten Thousand Demons Valley, hoping to expose its hidden leaders. As Lin Bai prepared to become the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect’s fifth Sword Paragon, he reaffirmed his plan to destroy the Zhu Family and Ten Thousand Demons Valley.

• Lin Bai ordered Nie Xiong to send Zhu Lei and Zhu Lie’s bodies to Zhu Xian City as a warning ahead of Zhu Shang’s birthday.
• Nie Xiong delivered the coffins, and Zhu Shang flew into a rage before sending messengers toward several regions.
• Lin Bai told his followers to track the Zhu Family’s messengers and focus on finding Ten Thousand Demons Valley’s leaders.
• Zhuo Lian revealed that Sword Paragon had invited Lin Bai to become the sect’s fifth Sword Paragon the following day.
• Lin Bai vowed to destroy Zhu Lie, the Zhu Family, Crushing Mountain Demon Saint, and Ten Thousand Demons Valley, then spoke to Jiang Jing at his gravestone.

Lin Bai attended the grand ceremony to take over as Sword Paragon of the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect, accompanied by the Immortal Cave Mountain Seventy-Two Sword Cultivators. He climbed the ten-thousand-zhang staircase and entered Sword Reverent Hall, where the sect’s seventy-two peak masters greeted him as Sword Paragon.

• Lin Bai learned from Zhuo Lian that becoming Sword Paragon required ascending Sword Reverent Peak and receiving the sect’s formal worship.
• Lin Bai and the Immortal Cave Mountain Seventy-Two Sword Cultivators arrived at the packed white-jade staircase, where onlookers recognized them and discussed their strength.
• Lin Bai climbed the staircase as disciples bowed and saluted him, and he told them to rise.
• Lin Bai reached the summit and reflected on his journey from being mocked as a good-for-nothing in Spirit Rhino City to becoming Sword Paragon.
• Lin Bai entered Sword Reverent Hall, where the peak masters of all seventy-two peaks bowed and greeted him as Sword Paragon.

Lin Bai attended the ceremony where he became a Sword Paragon of the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect, greeting its other Sword Paragons and guests from the seven major sects. After the formal rites, he celebrated at a banquet with old friends from Purple Gold City.

• Lin Bai entered Sword Reverent Hall, recognized Ye Jianjun, and exchanged greetings with Ye Jianjun, Lin Anyang, Ling Luo, and Qi Xuan.
• Sect Leader Sword Reverent instructed Lin Bai to set an example as Sword Paragon and gave him a Jade Slip containing the first volume of the Reaching Heaven Sword Art.
• Gui Jing led Lin Bai through the ceremony's rites, after which the sect hosted a banquet for visiting experts.
• Young Master Qian Shui congratulated Lin Bai and sat with him to share wine and stories.
• Wine Immortal joined Lin Bai and Young Master Qian Shui, brought out her own fine wine, and drank with them.

Lin Bai asked Wine Immortal to help find someone who could repair the cracked Demon Sword, and learned that the weapon that damaged it was the King-level Poseidon Halberd. Wine Immortal identified Chai Xu as the only Lingnan refiner likely capable of repairing the sword and offered to seek news of him.

• Xiang Yangtian joined Lin Bai, Wine Immortal, and Young Master Qian Shui for drinks and conversation.
• Lin Bai showed them the cracked Demon Sword and explained that a broken halberd had damaged it.
• Wine Immortal identified the halberd as the Poseidon Halberd, a King-level Spirit Tool once used by the Han Hai Dynasty.
• Wine Immortal said Chai Xu, a former dean of Seven Luminaries Starfall Mountain's Artifact Refinement Academy, might be the only refiner able to repair the Demon Sword.
• Wine Immortal offered to ask around for news of Chai Xu when he returned to Seven Luminaries Starfall Mountain, and Lin Bai thanked him.

After the banquet, Lin Bai told the Sword Reverent he would deal with the Zhu Family himself and asked for a warning to the Litian Dynasty’s imperial family. The Sword Reverent agreed and revealed that the Zhu Family would be doomed whether Lin Bai won or lost in Zhu Xian City.

• Young Master Qian Shui, Xiang Yangtian, and Wine Immortal offered to help Lin Bai, but he declined and said he would handle the Zhu Family and Ten Thousand Demons Valley himself.
• The Sword Reverent told Lin Bai the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect could not officially act without evidence, while Lin Bai insisted destroying the Zhu Family could not wait.
• Lin Bai asked the Sword Reverent to warn the Litian Dynasty’s imperial family not to interfere, and the Sword Reverent agreed to make the arrangements.
• After Lin Bai left, the Sword Reverent ordered Gui Jing to send the warning and said the Zhu Family would not survive, regardless of whether its dealings with Ten Thousand Demons Valley were proven.
• The Sword Reverent explained that if Lin Bai lost in Zhu Xian City, the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect could intervene against whoever injured or killed its Sword Paragon.

Lin Bai studied the first volume of the Reaching Heaven Sword Art, then led the Immortal Cave Mountain Seventy-Two Sword Cultivators toward Zhu Xian City for Zhu Shang’s birthday banquet. After arriving in Qingyang City, he changed course and announced that they would first go to East Shuang City.

• Lin Bai discovered that the Reaching Heaven Sword Art could be maintained indefinitely as long as he had spiritual power, and his Five Elements Divine Pill could offset its heavy spiritual-power consumption.
• After half a month of practice, Lin Bai departed with Nie Xiong and the seventy-two sword cultivators for Qingyang City, intending to destroy the Zhu Family and hoping Crushing Mountain Demon Saint would attend the banquet.
• The Sword Reverent learned that Lin Bai had left and confirmed that the Litian Dynasty’s affairs had been arranged for his mission.
• Lin Bai and the sword cultivators passed through Qingyang City, startling its residents with their numbers and Lin Bai’s five-colored Sword Paragon robe.
• Rather than head straight to Zhu Xian City, Lin Bai led the group toward East Shuang City, where the sword cultivators’ nightmare had begun.

The Zhu Family discovered that the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect’s disciples had not come to Zhu Xian City and suspected they were heading for East Shuang City. Zhu Shang sent Zhu Yi and four Ten Thousand Demons Valley powerhouses to kill them there and conceal the Zhu Family’s involvement.

• Zhu Shang and Zhu Yi learned that Dongfang Bai and more than seventy Reaching Heaven Sword Sect disciples had arrived in Qingyang City, and ordered a search of Zhu Xian City.
• The Zhu Family received the Imperial Concubine’s Army Marquis and four powerhouses from Ten Thousand Demons Valley, keeping the groups apart.
• After three days without finding the disciples, Zhu Shang and Zhu Yi concluded they were likely heading for East Shuang City and the Immaculate Divine Iron Mine.
• Zhu Shang ordered Zhu Yi to take the four Ten Thousand Demons Valley powerhouses through the teleportation array and kill the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect disciples in East Shuang City.
• Zhu Yi agreed, confident that five Yang God Realm powerhouses could defeat the disciples and leave the Zhu Family free to deny responsibility.

Lin Bai revealed that the Zhu Family had arranged East Shuang City's massacre to seize the Immaculate Divine Iron Mine beneath the city. He led the seventy-two sword cultivators of Immortal Cave Mountain in an assault on the Zhu Family guards and entered the mine, where miners were still excavating.

• Lin Bai told Nie Xiong, Zhuo Lian, and the others that the Zhu Family had enlisted Crushing Mountain Demon Saint to destroy East Shuang City and claim its Immaculate Divine Iron Mine.
• Lin Bai urged the sword cultivators to keep the mine secret and promised to have treasured swords forged for them from its yield.
• Lin Bai ordered the group to kill the Zhu Family martial artists in East Shuang City, and Nie Xiong led the charge through their defensive formation.
• Lin Bai entered the Lin Family residence, killed the Zhu Family guards in his way, and found a cavern leading underground.
• Lin Bai followed the mining sounds to a vast underground square where Zhu Family martial artists were digging for Immaculate Divine Iron.

Lin Bai and the Purple Robe Disciples discovered the Zhu Family's Immaculate Divine Iron Mine and defeated the miners guarding it. The Black-Robed Overseer survived by claiming he could explain how to mine the ore, then revealed that the Zhu Family had extracted only a little over three hundred pounds in more than a year.

• Lin Bai entered the underground mine and revealed that he had killed the guards outside, identifying himself as the Sword Paragon of the Reaching Heaven Sword Sect.
• The Black-Robed Overseer urged the miners to kill Lin Bai, but Nie Xiong and the other Purple Robe Disciples arrived and slaughtered more than five hundred Zhu Family martial artists.
• The Black-Robed Overseer begged for his life and said that the Immaculate Divine Iron Mine could not simply be dug out, so Lin Bai ordered that he be spared for now.
• Lin Bai examined the silvery-white mine wall and asked the Black-Robed Overseer how much ore the Zhu Family had extracted.
• The Black-Robed Overseer said that the Zhu Family had extracted a little over three hundred pounds in more than a year, leaving Lin Bai surprised by the slow progress.

Lin Bai discovered that the Zhu Family’s Immaculate Divine Iron Mine held more than thirty thousand pounds of ore, but it was too hard for ordinary miners to extract. He used the demon sword and the Stop the War secret method to carve the ore from the wall, leaving his companions eager to claim enough for treasured swords.

• The Black-Robed Overseer explained that the Zhu Family had mined only a little over three hundred pounds in a year because the Immaculate Divine Iron was exceptionally hard.
• Lin Bai tested the silver-white wall with a sword strike, confirmed its hardness, and learned the mine might contain more than thirty thousand pounds of ore.
• Jing Shu warned that their group could not mine the deposit in time, while Zhuo Lian and Luo Xuan opposed notifying the sect.
• Lin Bai declared that he could mine the ore and used Stop the War to cut a hundred-pound piece from the wall with the demon sword.
• Lin Bai began hacking chunks from the mine, and Nie Xiong, Luo Xuan, and Jing Shu looked forward to getting swords forged from the ore.