Chapter Summaries

Chen Tianliang killed Kui Mu True Person, who blamed him for the destruction of Kuiyun Temple, then collapsed from his severe Reverse Malady after finding Ying Shuangshuang and Chen Zhixing safe. Chen Daoyan and Chen Tianchen arrived and carried the family back toward Ziwei Mountain, while Mo Qingyue grew curious about the Chen family.

• Kui Mu True Person revealed that he had hated Chen Tianliang for years over the deaths of the 142 members of Kuiyun Temple and believed Chen Tianliang had caused his son’s death.
• Chen Tianliang suggested the promised rescue from Ziyun Sacred Ground had never been coming, then killed Kui Mu True Person and collapsed from his Reverse Malady.
• Mo Qingyue observed Ying Shuangshuang, Chen Tianliang, and Chen Zhixing, became especially interested in Chen Zhixing, and reconsidered leaving the Chen Family.
• Chen Tianliang reached Ying Shuangshuang and Chen Zhixing, confirmed they were unharmed, and fell unconscious.
• Chen Daoyan and Chen Tianchen arrived; Chen Daoyan protected Chen Tianliang’s heart meridians, and Chen Tianchen carried his brother home toward Ziwei Mountain.

Chen Zhixing told Chen Tianliang and Ying Shuangshuang that a white-haired old man had rescued him and given him two manuals. The Tranquil Sea Pill Formula could suppress Chen Tianliang’s Reverse Malady, while the Nine Revolutions Heaven Chill Art offered Ying Shuangshuang a way to cultivate without returning to the Frozen Soil Plateau, leaving the family hopeful about their future.

• Chen Tianliang’s cultivation had fallen because of his Reverse Malady, while Ying Shuangshuang’s Snow Cold Body had been triggered again.
• Chen Zhixing claimed an old man had killed the two assassins who abducted him, and Ying Shuangshuang accepted the explanation.
• Chen Zhixing showed his parents the Tranquil Sea Pill Formula and the Nine Revolutions Heaven Chill Art, saying the old man had given them to him.
• Chen Tianliang realized the pill formula could suppress his Reverse Malady, and Ying Shuangshuang learned that the cultivation art suited her extreme-cold body.
• Chen Tianliang and Ying Shuangshuang embraced Chen Zhixing, relieved that they could remain together and overcome their afflictions.

Chen Zhixing and his parents kept his fate-changing treasures secret, while Chen Daoyan revealed that the Meng Family had attacked them and described its fallen genius, Meng Hedong. Recognizing Meng Hedong as a Destined Protagonist who could eventually kill him, Chen Zhixing resolved to find a way to eliminate him.

• Chen Zhixing persuaded Ying Shuangshuang and Chen Tianliang to keep the treasures secret from the family and potential enemies.
• Chen Daoyan told the family that Meng Dongchun of the Meng Family had attacked them, likely aiming to kill Chen Zhixing.
• Chen Tianliang explained that Kui Mu True Person had attacked Chen Zhixing in revenge, easing Chen Daoyan's concern that news of his Nine Ancient Marks had spread.
• Chen Daoyan said Meng Hedong's cultivation had regressed from the Nourishing Spirit Realm to the Treasure Body Realm, and that his former fiancée, a Saintess, planned to break their engagement.
• Chen Zhixing recognized Meng Hedong as a Destined Protagonist and decided he had to find a way to kill him.

Chen Zhixing continued cultivating while the Chen Clan celebrated Chen Zhaosheng’s return, and Mo Qingyue bet Fei Long True Person that Chen Zhixing would surpass him. Ten years later, Chen Zhixing was summoned to a clan meeting to meet a potential Dao Companion and welcome Chen Zhaosheng back from Qianyang Academy.

• Chen Tianliang searched for ingredients for the Tranquil Sea Pill Formula while Ying Shuangshuang cultivated the Nine Revolutions Heaven Chill Art and condensed three Chill Cores.
• Chen Zhaosheng returned to Ziwei Mountain at age three, already at the Precious Body First Layer, and Chen Zhixing continued cultivating until he reached the Precious Body Third Layer.
• Mo Qingyue told Fei Long True Person she believed Chen Zhixing would surpass Chen Zhaosheng and wagered on which would be stronger ten years later.
• Ten years passed, and Bi Luo told Chen Zhixing that the Family Head had found a potential Dao Companion for him and that Chen Zhaosheng had returned from Qianyang Academy.
• Chen Zhixing agreed to attend the clan meeting with Bi Luo.

Chen Zhixing learned that Lu Ying, the daughter of Nirvana Realm expert Lu Yuan, had mistaken a proposed match arranged by their families for his own pursuit of her. After Lu Ying rejected him as mediocre, Chen Zhixing realized what she thought was happening and wondered how she could be so ordinary yet so confident.

• Chen Zhixing tested Lu Luo on the people he had asked her to look for, then confirmed she had bought osmanthus cake for Jia Qingyue’s return.
• In the Chen Family Great Hall, Lu Ying refused to become Chen Zhixing’s Dao Companion and called him too mediocre for her ambitions.
• Lu Yuan scolded Lu Ying, while Chen Daoyan suggested she meet Chen Zhixing before deciding and later offered to cancel the match.
• Chen Zhixing entered the hall and greeted Lu Yuan and Lu Ying, realizing she was the daughter of a powerful Nirvana Realm expert.
• Lu Ying told Chen Zhixing she had no interest in him and urged him to stop pursuing her, mistaking his gift for evidence of his intentions.
• Chen Zhixing understood that Lu Ying thought he had asked his family to arrange the match and wondered at her confidence.

Chen Zhixing rejected Lu Ying’s assumptions about his interest in her, and Mo Qingyue revealed that he had bought the Osmanthus Cake for her instead. On Third Peak, Mo Qingyue asked Chen Zhixing to examine the flawed Heaven Burning Art, and he immediately reproduced it and noticed a problem in its structure.

• Lu Ying claimed Chen Zhixing had pursued a match with her, but the Hemp-Clothed Middle-Aged Man explained that he had initiated the proposal and Chen Zhixing had not known who she was.
• Mo Qingyue arrived and said the Osmanthus Cake was meant for her, then told Lu Ying that Chen Zhixing might not look up to her either.
• Chen Daoyan informed Chen Zhixing about the upcoming Southern Border Trial and Chen Zhaosheng’s return; Lu Yuan suggested Lu Ying meet Zhaosheng, and she perked up at hearing he wielded the Innate King's Diagram and Nine Ancient Marks.
• As Chen Zhixing and Mo Qingyue walked to Third Peak, she explained that she had returned to ask for his help with the Heaven Burning Art, a fire-path divine ability that a Heavenly Saint Palace elder had been unable to perfect.
• Mo Qingyue demonstrated the Heaven Burning Art, and Chen Zhixing instantly reproduced its black flame and identified a problem at one of the spell’s nodes.

Chen Zhixing quickly identified flaws in Mo Qingyue’s Heaven Burning Art and redesigned it into a far more powerful dual-chart technique. He demonstrated the completed black-and-white flame, leaving Mo Qingyue stunned by his talent.

• Chen Zhixing explained that the Heaven Burning Art’s Shao Shang Acupoint caused a pause in its circulation.
• Chen Zhixing replaced the Shao Shang Acupoint with the Qi Chong Acupoint, making the art cast nearly three times faster.
• Chen Zhixing proposed further acupoint changes and devised paired Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang Guidance Charts.
• Chen Zhixing tested his redesign and formed a black-and-white flame that combined scorching heat with freezing cold.
• Mo Qingyue watched in disbelief as Chen Zhixing dismissed the flame and said the method could be improved further.

Chen Zhixing received a True Self Pill from Mo Qingyue but delayed his breakthrough until he found a suitable cultivation method. At morning class, he reunited with the returned Chen Zhaosheng, who greeted him as his younger brother.

• Mo Qingyue gave Chen Zhixing a True Self Pill and asked him to draw a Guidance Chart before leaving the Chen Clan that night.
• Chen Zhixing revealed that he had reached Spirit Travel Peak and planned to seek a True Self Realm cultivation method after the Southern Border Trial.
• Chen Zhixing cultivated the Ox Demon Star Transformation Scripture beneath the moon, with 499 of his 720 apertures shining with starlight.
• Bi Luo woke Chen Zhixing for morning class and helped him get dressed before he went to the main peak.
• The Clan Elder scolded Chen Zhixing for arriving late and told him to learn from Chen Zhaosheng, who had returned from Qianyang Academy.
• Chen Zhaosheng turned to Chen Zhixing and greeted him, saying they had not seen each other for a long time.

Chen Zhaosheng revealed that he had reached the Profound Clarity Realm and challenged Chen Zhixing to surprise him in the Southern Border Trial. During a lesson about using brains to survive in the Cultivation World, Chen Zhixing’s laughter angered the Clan Elder, and his answer made the disciples erupt in laughter.

• Chen Zhixing greeted Chen Zhaosheng, who asked after his parents and then announced that he had entered the Profound Clarity Realm the previous month.
• Chen Zhaosheng asked Chen Zhixing about his own progress, but Lu Ying interrupted to disparage him and seek Chen Zhaosheng’s help with cultivation.
• Chen Zhaosheng defended Chen Zhixing’s ability and told him not to disappoint him in the Southern Border Trial.
• The Clan Elder taught the disciples how to handle a dangerous encounter, rejecting several suggestions involving apologies, compensation, and invoking the Chen Family.
• Chen Zhixing laughed at the disciples’ answers, so the Clan Elder demanded that he respond; Chen Zhixing joked that he would tell the dangerous senior not to mess with him because he had brains.
• The disciples burst into laughter, and the Clan Elder shouted Chen Zhixing’s name in anger.

Chen Zhixing challenged the Chen Family’s revered Five Elements Qi Gathering Method and explained that its conflicting source energies made it impossible to overcome the Longevity barrier. He left the Clan Elder and the gathered disciples stunned by his claim that the method had misled the family for a thousand years.

• The Clan Elder scolded Chen Zhixing for neglecting his studies and asked what level he had reached in the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method.
• Chen Zhixing admitted he had never cultivated the method and said it was unremarkable and unsuitable for him.
• The Clan Elder threatened to take Chen Zhixing to the Family Head unless he explained his disparagement of the method.
• Chen Zhixing declared that the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method had misled the Chen Family for a thousand years.
• Chen Zhixing explained that the five source energies failed to fuse and would erupt within cultivators attempting to cross the Longevity barrier.

Chen Zhixing defended his criticism of the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method and urged the Chen Family to forge their own cultivation paths. After an ancient elder acknowledged that Chen Zhixing might be right, Chen Zhixing returned to Third Peak and learned that Bi Luo had found Ye Chen, who was imprisoned by the Black Dragon Gang in Lin'an City.

• Chen Zhixing argued that the Five Elements Qi Gathering Method suited the Founding Ancestor because he had the Innate Five Elements Body, and urged the Chen Family to respect the past without blindly copying it.
• An Emaciated Elder appeared and asked Chen Zhixing how to reach the Longevity Realm, and Chen Zhixing advised finding and cultivating one's own path.
• The Emaciated Elder said Chen Zhixing might be right, then vanished before the Chen Family disciples could learn who he was.
• Chen Zhixing returned to Third Peak, where Bi Luo served him braised lion's head and told him she had found Ye Chen in Lin'an City.
• Bi Luo said Ye Chen had offended the Black Dragon Gang, been beaten half to death, and been locked up.

Chen Zhixing went to the Black Dragon Gang to find Ye Chen, whom Xu Dalong had imprisoned. As Chen Zhixing arrived at the hidden prison, Ye Chen prepared to kill Xu Dalong, unaware that someone was accompanying him.

• Chen Zhixing learned that Xu Dalong had captured Ye Chen and went to the Black Dragon Gang headquarters.
• Xu Dalong recognized Chen Zhixing, welcomed him, and led him to the prison beneath an artificial mountain.
• Ye Chen planned to kill Xu Dalong and make the Black Dragon Gang the first step in his rise to fame.
• Qing'er warned Ye Chen that someone besides Xu Dalong was approaching, and Ye Chen realized Chen Zhixing was there.

Chen Zhixing recognized Ye Chen’s rusty sword as the Divine Sword Qingzhi and overpowered Ye Chen when he tried to attack and flee. He threatened Ye Chen into surrendering the sword and revealing where he found it, while Qing’er urged Ye Chen to keep the ruins’ location secret.

• Xu Dalong brought Ye Chen before Chen Zhixing, but Ye Chen refused to show respect to the Third Young Master.
• Chen Zhixing recognized the sword as Qingzhi and realized Ye Chen was a Destined Protagonist guided by the sword spirit.
• Ye Chen ordered Qing’er to attack Chen Zhixing, but Chen Zhixing knocked the sword away and learned Qing’er was too weak to defeat him.
• Ye Chen tried to escape, but Chen Zhixing used the Innate One Qi Hand to smash him into the ground and break many of his bones.
• Chen Zhixing offered Ye Chen a reward for the sword and its origin, or threatened him with torture and death.
• As Chen Zhixing counted down, Qing’er warned Ye Chen not to reveal the ruins, and Chen Zhixing noticed the sword communicating with him.

Chen Zhixing forced Ye Chen to reveal the location of the Ancient Sword God Inheritance and took the Divine Sword Qingzhi, then ordered Ye Chen killed despite promising to spare him. After leaving the Black Dragon Gang courtyard, Chen Zhixing learned that killing a Destined Protagonist had increased his Fortune and granted him Advanced Sword Dao Talent.

• Chen Zhixing subdued the Divine Sword Qingzhi and pressured Ye Chen until he gave up its secret and named the Ruins' location as beneath a cliff on Tianchuan Mountain in You Province, Eastern Xuan Region.
• Chen Zhixing took the sword and pretended to accept Ye Chen's answer, while Ye Chen thanked him and secretly vowed revenge against the Ziwei's Chen Clan.
• Chen Zhixing left the Rock Prison with the sword and ordered Xu Dalong to chop off Ye Chen's head and send it to the Dog Market.
• Chen Zhixing told Xu Dalong to burn ten paper beauties, a sheet of paper, and a ruined knife marked "Spirit Travel" for Ye Chen, saying he had kept his word.
• After Chen Zhixing entered an empty alley, a notification announced that killing a Destined Protagonist had raised his Fortune to 37% and granted him the title Heavenly Official's Blessing and Advanced Sword Dao Talent.

Chen Zhixing learned that killing a Destined Protagonist granted him some of their Fortune and talent, then tried to make the sword spirit Qing Zhi submit to him. He gave her three days to decide and planned to seek the Sword God's inheritance and a way to control her if she refused.

• Chen Zhixing discovered his Fortune had increased and gained Sword Dao Talent from the Ancient Sword.
• Chen Zhixing brought Qing Zhi to his secret chamber and offered to wield her, promising access to Divine Weapons that could help restore her strength.
• Qing Zhi rejected Chen Zhixing's offer, so he struck her with Mental Power and bound her in the chamber for three days to consider.
• Chen Zhixing left Qing Zhi in darkness and decided he would destroy the sword if she still refused to submit.
• Chen Zhixing planned to visit the Sword God Ruins in You Province during the Southern Border Trial to seek the Sword God's inheritance and a method to erase Qing Zhi's spiritual intelligence.

As the Southern Border Trial approached, Chen Zhixing continued his cultivation and impressed Qing Zhi with his extraordinary talent. Qing Zhi agreed to serve him after he promised to search for the Sword God's whereabouts, and she grew stronger by consuming five Divine Weapons.

• During the three days before the trial, Qing Zhi observed Chen Zhixing reach Spirit Travel Peak and rapidly master swordsmanship.
• Chen Zhixing asked whether Qing Zhi had decided to serve him, and she agreed on the condition that he help find the Sword God when he became powerful enough.
• Chen Zhixing promised to search for the Sword God, and Qing Zhi sincerely thanked him.
• Chen Zhixing gave Qing Zhi five Penetrating Clarity Divine Weapons, which she consumed to restore her strength.
• After finishing all five weapons, Qing Zhi asked Chen Zhixing if he had any more.

Chen Zhixing gave Sword Spirit Qing Zhi a treasured sword case and promised to keep her well, while Ziwei Mountain’s Southern Border Trial began. Chen Chou’er prepared to challenge Chen Zhaosheng, who looked toward Third Peak and wondered how strong his younger brother had become.

• Chen Zhixing gave Qing Zhi a Black Sword Case, and she cried over how badly Ye Chen had treated her before deciding to follow Chen Zhixing.
• Qing Zhi settled into the sword case, where its power began nourishing her divine soul, and Chen Zhixing left the Secret Chamber.
• Bells announced the start of the Southern Border Trial, and a purple-haired youth on Ninth Peak resolved to prove himself the Chen Family Hidden Dragon.
• Chen Chou’er recalled his father Chen Tianxiong’s rejection and vowed to carry his mother’s spirit tablet into the ancestral shrine after defeating Chen Zhaosheng.
• Chen Zhaosheng surveyed Ziwei Mountain and wondered how much longer his younger brother on Third Peak would hide and whether he had reached the Profound Clarity Realm.

Chen Zhixing prepared to travel to the Southern Border Trial, intending to find the Nine Gods Method in the Tomb of Nine Wind Daoist before another destined protagonist could obtain it. At the Mountain Gate Square, he met the gathered Chen Clan disciples and greeted his relatives as Chen Zhaosheng arrived.

• Chen Zhixing recalled that the Nine Gods Method could form a separate Great Dao Seed at each True Self level and decided to seek it in the Ten Thousand Mountains.
• Bi Luo packed food, Spirit Stones, antidotes, and clothes for Chen Zhixing, who reassured her and set off with his Sandalwood Sword Box.
• Chen Zhixing arrived at Mountain Gate Square, where branch disciples whispered about him before respectfully greeting him.
• Chen Zhixing greeted Chen Tianchen and little sister Ling'er while discussing his absent parents.
• Chen Zhaosheng arrived with Lu Ying as the gathered Chen Clan disciples respectfully made way for him.

Chen Zhixing studied the True Self Realm and considered which Great Dao Seed and Heaven and Earth Dharma Form to cultivate. As the Chen Family traveled toward the Southern Frontier, he hoped his improved Fortune would help him find the Nine Gods Method.

• Chen Tianchen summoned a Giant Ship, and the Chen Family disciples boarded it to depart for the Southern Frontier.
• Chen Zhixing read about the True Self Realm and considered forming a Great Dao Seed from either the Great Dao of Strength or the Great Dao of Divine Sense.
• Chen Zhixing learned that a cultivator's Great Dao Seed determined the power of their Heaven and Earth Dharma Form, while their cultivated abilities shaped its functions.
• Chen Zhixing worried that he might not find the Nine Gods Method in the vast Ten Thousand Mountains, where the Tomb of Nine Wind Daoist was hidden.
• Chen Zhixing hoped his Fortune value of 37% would help him obtain the Nine Gods Method.

Chen Zhixing traveled with the Chen Clan to the Ten Thousand Mountains for a seven-day bracelet trial while searching for the Tomb of Nine Wind Daoist. After he entered the trial grounds, five masked figures watched the Chen Clan from a nearby tree.

• Master Qing Zhi explained that her Sword God's Heaven and Earth Dharma Form was the single sword strike that had defined her swordsmanship.
• Chen Zhixing reached the Ten Thousand Mountains with the Chen Clan and spotted a Pine Needle Forest near the trial area.
• Elder Zhaoguang announced a seven-day trial in which the Chen Clan disciples had to survive and seize one another's bracelets without killing.
• Chen Zhaosheng and Lu Ying entered the trial before Chen Zhixing, who focused on finding the Tomb of Nine Wind Daoist and planned to reach the True Self Realm to confront Meng Hedong.
• Five black-robed figures wearing Golden Spider Masks gathered in a tree and watched the Chen Clan's trial grounds.