Chapter Summaries

Chen Zhixing watched the Ziwei Nine Peaks recruitment trial and noticed Wang Lin, a youth with only two Ancient Markings who persisted up the illusion-shrouded stone steps despite his injuries. While the elders dismissed Wang Lin’s prospects, Chen Zhixing saw his unusually powerful fate marks and challenged their judgment.

• The elders and peak masters discussed the recruitment trial and praised Wang Hao’s Eight Ancient Markings and Wang Yi’s six.
• Chen Zhixing examined the candidates with the Book of Fate and became interested in Wang Lin.
• Wang Lin endured the stone steps’ mounting pressure and illusions as other candidates gave up or fell.
• Wang Lin kept crawling despite severe wounds, driven by his determination not to disappoint his parents.
• The elders said Wang Lin’s talent and rank made his success unlikely, but Chen Zhixing questioned their decision to judge his future lightly.

Chen Zhixing decided to recruit the unusual child Wang Lin and let the gathered demonic worthies wait to make clear that Ziwei's Chen Clan held the advantage. He finally entered the Family Head Main Hall with a formidable force, where a member of the South Sea Four Villains challenged him and stunned the assembly.

• Chen Zhixing resolved to bring Wang Lin into Ziwei's Chen Clan, regardless of whether he was a Destined Protagonist.
• Chen Tianchen told Chen Zhixing that the gathered worthies demanded to meet him, but Chen Zhixing ordered them kept waiting.
• The South Sea Four Villains grew angry as the night passed, while other visitors began leaving the hall.
• The middle-aged man told the Golden Lion-like old man that Little One's condition had improved since arriving at Ziwei's Chen Clan, and explained that Chen Tianchen was Chen Zhixing's Fourth Uncle.
• Chen Zhixing entered the hall with five Nirvana Realm cultivators and numerous peak True Self powerhouses, silencing the assembled worthies.
• One of the South Sea Four Villains shouted a threat at Chen Zhixing, prompting Big Brother to rebuke him.

Chen Zhixing recruited demonic cultivators to Ziwei's Chen Clan, requiring them to obey strict conduct rules and serve under a Curse Seal for one hundred years. After most of the recruits left and thirteen remained, he dismissed the others to speak privately with the two Nirvana Realm survivors from Profound Heaven Holy Land.

• Evil Sky Piercer tried to pass off E Shangfeng's threat against Chen Zhixing as a joke, then struck him away when he kept talking.
• Chen Zhixing offered cultivation resources and protection to demonic cultivators willing to fight for the Chen Clan, and assured Thousand Bat Old Man that the clan would not hand him over to Radiant Light Holy Land.
• Chen Daoshan said applicants who had harmed common folk or committed rape, abduction, plunder, or pillage were barred, and that accepted members had to bear a Curse Seal and serve for one hundred years.
• Several applicants left, while thirteen—including the Four Great Evils and Thousand Bat Old Man—stayed and followed Chen Tianchen to receive Curse Seals.
• Chen Zhixing asked Fifth Master and Ji Bu, the two Nirvana Realm survivors from Profound Heaven Holy Land, to speak privately and sent everyone else away.

Chen Zhixing discovered that the Little One, Shi Huang, was a Destined Protagonist whose fate surpassed anything he had seen. Ji Bu and Shi Qizhong explained that Shi Huang’s Longevity Bone had been stolen by Madam Yu and implanted in her son Shi Li, leaving the child near death as they sought refuge with the Chen Clan.

• Ji Bu introduced himself and Shi Qizhong as members of the Shi Family, and Chen Zhixing welcomed the renowned Northern Land elder.
• Ji Bu presented the Little One to Chen Zhixing, who saw countless Imperial Purple Fates and recognized him as one of the Destined Protagonists he had been searching for.
• Chen Zhixing examined the Little One and learned that his Longevity Bone had been removed.
• Ji Bu recounted how Shi Li discovered Shi Huang’s Longevity Bone and told his mother, Madam Yu, who cut it from the child and gave it to her son.
• Shi Qizhong and Ji Bu rescued Shi Huang from the underground palace and fled the pursuit of Madam Yu and the Profound Heaven Holy Land before bringing him to the Chen Clan.
• Shi Qizhong mourned and raged over the suffering inflicted on his grandson.

Chen Zhixing chose to protect Little One Shi Huang after the Yu Clan took his Longevity Bone, then encouraged him to believe he could still grow stronger. Little One became Chen Zhixing’s disciple, and Chen Zhixing vowed that no one would bully him.

• Shi Qizhong and Ji Bu lamented that Shi Li had taken Little One’s Longevity Bone and gained the Yu Clan, Profound Heaven Holy Land, and Shi Clan’s support.
• Little One woke and told Chen Zhixing that longevity depended on walking one’s own path, not on a single bone, prompting Chen Zhixing to decide to protect him.
• Chen Zhixing suggested that Little One’s bone and prospects might not be beyond recovery, then urged him to become stronger by overcoming hardship.
• Little One trusted Chen Zhixing and imitated Shi Li’s apprenticeship ceremony, declaring himself Chen Zhixing’s disciple.
• Little One chatted with Chen Zhixing until he fell asleep in his arms, while Ji Bu worried that the Yu Clan would retaliate.
• Chen Zhixing promised that no one would bully his disciple.

Chen Zhixing took Little One in as his disciple and discovered that doing so granted him Fortune and an unactivated Longevity Bone. As Ji Bu and Shi Qizhong left to pursue their own plans, Little One woke in Chen Zhixing’s care feeling healthy and strong.

• Chen Zhixing reassured Ji Bu and Shi Qizhong that he would protect Little One, and the exhausted pair went to rest.
• Ji Bu planned to travel to the Southern Frontier to warn his Master, while Shi Qizhong set out for the North Sea to seek a way to restore Little One’s Longevity Bone.
• Chen Zhixing used his life power to heal Little One and received 500% Fortune and an unactivated Longevity Bone for accepting him as a disciple.
• Chen Zhixing decided he would eventually take Little One to the Shi Clan Ancestral Land to claim the fortune that had been part of his original plotline.
• Little One woke in Chen Zhixing’s arms feeling restored and thanked his Master.

Shi Qizhong and Ji Bu left Little One Shi Huang in Chen Zhixing’s care, and Chen Zhixing brought his newly healed disciple to Third Peak, where the others welcomed him as family. As Little One bonded with Chen Buqi, Chen Zhixing left to find him an eldest senior brother.

• Shi Qizhong and Ji Bu thanked Chen Zhixing, entrusted Little One Shi Huang to him, and departed after seeing the child restored to health.
• Chen Zhixing took Little One Shi Huang to Third Peak, where its residents welcomed him and playfully argued over what they would teach him.
• Little One Shi Huang approached the withdrawn Chen Buqi and asked him questions until Chen Buqi fled in embarrassment.
• Chen Zhixing reflected on his missing parents, then left to find Little One an eldest senior brother.
• Little One Shi Huang decided that Third Peak was his new home and vowed to grow strong enough to protect it.

Wang Lin failed the Nine Peaks assessment despite his extraordinary perseverance and was being taken back to Lin'an City, where his family faced humiliation over his failure. After he angrily challenged the white-haired old man, the old man offered him a dangerous way to join Ziwei's Chen Clan, and Wang Lin accepted before hearing the full cost.

• Wang Lin crawled up the stone steps until the assessment ended, but collapsed just short of passing.
• The elders praised Wang Lin's will but upheld the rules, while the seventh successful candidate mocked him for relying on pills and Elder Zhaoguang rebuked the youth.
• Chen Tianchen took the seven successful candidates away, and a white-haired old man carried the injured Wang Lin toward Lin'an City.
• The old man told Wang Lin that his clan was celebrating Wang Hao and Wang Yi while ridiculing Wang Lin and his parents for his failure.
• Wang Lin struck himself and then angrily confronted the old man, who offered him a way to join Ziwei's Chen Clan at the risk of dying without a burial place.
• Wang Lin firmly agreed to try the old man's method before he finished explaining the danger.

Chen Zhixing tested Wang Lin by challenging him to climb the sheer cliff of Ziwei Mountain’s main peak, and Wang Lin reached the summit through sheer persistence. He arrived expecting to report to the Elder in White, only to find Chen Zhixing and the peak masters and elders waiting for him.

• Chen Zhixing pushed Wang Lin off a cliff, then offered to make him his eldest disciple if he climbed the main peak’s sheer wall.
• Wang Lin survived the fall and, believing Chen Zhixing had offered him a chance, began climbing the cliff despite the danger.
• Chen Zhixing returned to Ziwei Mountain, revealed his identity as Family Head, and bet the peak masters and elders that Wang Lin would reach the summit before the hour of Chou.
• Wang Lin climbed through the night, injuring himself but refusing to give up.
• Wang Lin reached the summit just before the deadline, astonishing the gathered peak masters and elders.
• Wang Lin’s smile froze when he saw Chen Zhixing and the Ziwei Chen Clan’s peak masters and elders waiting at the top.

Wang Lin reached Ziwei Mountain and was welcomed as Chen Zhixing’s appointed Holy Son, then accepted Chen Zhixing as his master. When Chen Zhixing used the Book of Fate to investigate Wang Lin, a future-like figure named Lu Mo appeared and shattered the vision, leaving the Book of Fate cracked.

• Wang Lin feared punishment for climbing Ziwei Mountain at night, but the Peak Master Elders greeted him as the Holy Son appointed by the Ziwei Master.
• Wang Lin mistook Chen Zhixing for the white-haired elder who had promised to take him as a disciple, then recognized him and joyfully acknowledged him as Master.
• Chen Zhixing’s system awarded him Fortune and a Karma Great Dao Seed for accepting Wang Lin as his disciple.
• Chen Zhixing consulted the Book of Fate and saw Wang Lin’s entries for ordinary aptitude and great perseverance, then the book revealed a powerful figure with Wang Lin’s face.
• The figure identified himself as Lu Mo, warned Chen Zhixing not to disturb the Karma Thread, and caused the Book of Fate’s vision to collapse and crack.

Chen Zhixing accepted Wang Lin as his first disciple after sensing the mysterious Lu Mo connected to Wang Lin’s fate. Wang Lin received many valuable gifts from the elders, which Chen Zhixing took to keep safe, and followed his master to meet a junior brother.

• Chen Zhixing wondered who Lu Mo was and how the figure related to Wang Lin, then decided not to force the old game’s storyline onto events.
• Chen Zhixing named Wang Lin his first disciple, and the elders congratulated him.
• The elders asked Wang Lin how he had climbed Thousand-Ren Cliff, but Chen Zhixing stopped them and reminded them of their wager.
• Elder Zhaoguang gave Wang Lin Silver Silk Treasure Armor and explained its enormous value, leaving Wang Lin astonished.
• The Peak Master Elders presented Wang Lin with various treasures, and Chen Zhixing collected them because Wang Lin could not yet use them.
• Chen Zhixing led Wang Lin toward the Third Peak to meet one of his junior brothers.

Wang Lin told Chen Zhixing how he found the Mysterious Stone Pearl, and Chen Zhixing took it to study. After hearing Chen Zhixing's invented tale of hardship, Wang Lin resolved to work harder, while Chen Zhixing discovered the pearl could condense spiritual energy into liquid and began advancing its Cloud Markings.

• Wang Lin recounted finding the Mysterious Stone Pearl inside a bird he ate after falling onto a cliff ledge, and explained how its dew healed him and restored his strength.
• Chen Zhixing took the pearl to examine it, assuring Wang Lin he would return it after checking it for danger.
• Chen Zhixing brought Wang Lin to the Third Peak and told him a fabricated story about his own difficult past when Wang Lin asked why he had chosen him as a disciple.
• Wang Lin believed Chen Zhixing's story and resolved to follow his example by cultivating diligently.
• Chen Zhixing observed the pearl absorbing spiritual energy and producing Spiritual Liquid, then fed it more energy to form its fourth Cloud Marking.
• Chen Zhixing put the pearl away and called for his Longevity Bone so he could absorb it along with the Karma Great Dao.

Chen Zhixing absorbed the Longevity Immortal Bone and learned the Hand of Heavens, then prepared to attend Ziwei's Chen Clan's initiation ceremony. As Wang Lin defended his master to Bi Luo, newly admitted disciples fawned over Wang Hao, who had been recognized for possessing Eight Ancient Markings.

• Chen Zhixing absorbed the Longevity Immortal Bone and comprehended the Hand of Heavens as a new trump card.
• Chen Zhixing visited Bi Luo before the ceremony, and she told him that Wang Lin had warned her not to mistreat his master.
• Chen Zhixing explained that Wang Lin's fierce defense showed how much the disciple valued him, easing Bi Luo's anger.
• At Mountain Gate Square, new disciples praised Wang Hao, who took pride in his Eight Ancient Markings and his selection as the Fifth Peak's final disciple.

Ziwei's Chen Clan held its Initiation Ceremony, appointing new Elders and assigning disciples to the Nine Peaks. Wang Hao expected to become a Holy Son, but Little One Shi Huang was announced as the first, and the Family Head's other direct disciple remained to be revealed.

• Wang Hao dismissed Wang Lin's failure to enter Ziwei's Chen Clan as a matter of fate while speaking with Wang Yi.
• Ziwei's Chen Clan appointed ten True Self Realm talents as Elders, bringing its total number of True Self cultivators to one hundred and twenty-six.
• New disciples joined the Nine Peaks, and Qing Xuan accepted Wang Hao as a True Disciple.
• Chen Tianchen announced that Chen Zhixing would take two direct disciples who would become Ziwei's Dual Holy Sons.
• Chen Tianchen introduced Little One Shi Huang as a Holy Son, leaving Wang Hao anxiously awaiting the announcement of the second.

Wang Lin faced the disciples’ disbelief after being named Ziwei Mountain’s Holy Son and pledged to win the Entry Disciple Grand Competition. Chen Zhixing offered him two cultivation methods, and Wang Lin chose the dangerous Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Skill.

• Wang Lin appeared as the Holy Son, prompting Wang Hao and other disciples to protest that he had been eliminated.
• Wang Lin vowed to win the Entry Disciple Grand Competition in three months or leave Ziwei Mountain, and the Initiation Ceremony concluded.
• Wang Lin met Little One Shi Huang at Third Peak, and Chen Zhixing took them to eat.
• Chen Zhixing explained the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method and the perilous Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Skill to Wang Lin.
• Wang Lin chose the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Skill, and Chen Zhixing approved.

Chen Zhixing gained Fortune by helping Wang Lin obtain a cultivation technique, then cultivated the Karma Great Dao and realized how causes and effects formed fate. He later asked Dugu Ni to stab him with all his strength, leaving his purpose unclear.

• Chen Zhixing discovered that assisting Wang Lin had increased his Fortune and decided that Wang Lin and Little One should grow stronger; he also planned to take Little One to the Shi Clan Ancestral Land for the Primal True Understanding.
• Wang Lin asked to return to Lin'an City to bid farewell to his parents, and Chen Zhixing instructed Hua Linghou to make his homecoming a grand spectacle.
• Chen Zhixing spent seven days absorbing insights from the Karma Great Dao Seed and concluded that countless causes and effects wove together into fate.
• Dugu Ni taught Little One swordsmanship and recognized his exceptional Sword Dao talent; Chen Zhixing saw Little One practicing and sent him to help Bi Luo knead dough.
• Chen Zhixing asked Dugu Ni whether his sword was still sharp, then exposed his chest and urged him to stab him with all his strength.

Chen Zhixing tested his newly awakened Karma Great Dao by letting Dugu Ni attack him, then discovered the Mysterious Stone Pearl had unlocked a space where time flowed ten times faster. The pearl could be entered once per day for three double-hours, and Chen Zhixing realized it could support cultivation with pills and medicines brought inside.

• Chen Zhixing let Dugu Ni stab at him and used the Karma Great Dao to divert the sword strike, then claimed it was a movement technique.
• Wang Lin returned after Ziwei's Chen Clan publicly named him its chief Holy Son, and Chen Zhixing sent him to Elder You to cultivate the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Skill.
• The tenth Cloud Mark appeared on the Mysterious Stone Pearl, and Chen Zhixing entered its Years Space after the markings merged into ancient characters.
• Chen Zhixing discovered that time flowed ten times faster inside the Stone Pearl Space, but he could enter only once each day for three double-hours.
• Chen Zhixing found that pills and miraculous medicines could be brought into the space and realized the pearl had been well suited to Wang Lin's cultivation.

Chen Zhixing checked on Wang Lin’s progress and returned the Mysterious Stone Pearl to him, then decided to take Little One to the Shi Clan Ancestral Land to find a cultivation method. Before he could act, representatives of the Yu Family and the Shi family arrived demanding to take Little One home, and Chen Zhixing summoned them to the Main Peak Great Hall.

• Chen Zhixing visited Elder You and learned that Wang Lin had endured the Yellow Springs Water and begun forming a Chill Core in only a few days.
• Chen Zhixing praised Wang Lin’s progress, returned the Mysterious Stone Pearl, and explained its function to him.
• Chen Zhixing decided to take Little One to the Shi Clan Ancestral Land to resolve his cultivation method.
• Elder Guichen told Chen Zhixing that a man and a woman from the Yu Family and the Shi family had arrived, claiming to be Little One’s elders and demanding to take him home.
• Chen Zhixing ordered the visitors brought to the Main Peak Great Hall, and the gate guards informed them that the Family Head was waiting.

Shi Shaoqiu and Yu Peirong arrived at Ziwei's Chen Clan to take Little One back, but Yu Peirong’s insults and Little One’s accusation that she had killed Xiao Man provoked Chen Zhixing. The chapter ended with Chen Zhixing ordering Elder You to punish Yu Peirong for shouting in the main hall.

• Shi Shaoqiu and Yu Peirong reached Ziwei Main Peak, where Shi Shaoqiu urged her to show respect to Chen Zhixing and the Chen Clan.
• Chen Zhixing and the assembled experts received the visitors under an intimidating display of pressure, and Shi Shaoqiu said they had come to take Little One home.
• Dugu Ni challenged Shi Shaoqiu over how the Shi Clan had treated Little One, while Yu Peirong insisted the matter was her family's affair.
• Little One rejected Yu Peirong as his aunt and accused her of beating Xiao Man to death, and Yu Peirong angrily admitted she had killed the household servants.
• Chen Zhixing asked Elder You how to deal with someone shouting in the main hall, and Elder You answered that Yu Peirong should have her mouth slapped fifty times.

Chen Zhixing defended Little One against Shi Shaoqiu and Yu Peirong, making clear that Little One was his disciple and would not be forced back to the Shi Clan. Shi Shaoqiu left after Little One vowed to reclaim what had been stolen from him.

• Elder You pinned Yu Peirong down and repeatedly slapped her while Chen Zhixing watched.
• Shi Shaoqiu protested that Chen Zhixing was interfering in Shi Clan affairs, but Chen Zhixing said Little One was his personal disciple.
• Chen Zhixing allowed Elder You to drag Yu Peirong out of the hall after she demanded that the Shi Clan destroy the Chen Clan.
• Shi Shaoqiu urged Little One to return with him, but Chen Zhixing reminded him that the family had failed to protect Little One when his Longevity Bone was dug out.
• Chen Zhixing ordered Shi Shaoqiu to tell Shi Li that Little One was his disciple and that the Shi Clan could not bully him.
• Little One told Shi Shaoqiu that longevity came from one's own efforts and vowed to reclaim what had been stolen from him.