Chapter Summaries

Xu Yue, Meng Qi, and Zhen Hui guarded the monastery’s back mountain, where Meng Qi discovered a hidden passage and alerted Xuan Bei. Though Meng Qi was punished and missed the upper monasteries’ disciple selection, Xu Yue recognized how the events advanced the forces shaping Meng Qi’s fate and deepened his own understanding of the Heaven Severing Seven Swords.

• Xu Yue watched Meng Qi leave to practice his footwork and considered how the will of heaven might guide him toward a hidden passage.
• Meng Qi returned after seeing Zhen Guan emerge from the hidden passage, and Xu Yue asked whether he wanted to report it despite the punishment for abandoning his post.
• Xu Yue launched a signal flare, and Xuan Bei arrived within moments, praised Meng Qi, and arranged for Xuan Chi to lead the group back.
• Xuan Kong punished Meng Qi with three days of wall-facing meditation, causing him to miss the upper monasteries’ selection of disciples.
• Xu Yue reflected on how these events shaped Meng Qi’s future and improved his understanding of the second form of the Heaven Severing Seven Swords, Dao Cannot Be Discussed.

The second reincarnation mission began, and Xu Yue’s team shared what they had learned about the Immortal Traces and Myth organizations before four newcomers appeared. Xu Yue demonstrated his mastery of the Shaoze Sword, and the chapter ended with Gu Xiaosang arriving among the newcomers.

• The Six Paths Lords began the second reincarnation mission and warned the team that future missions would start without notice.
• Jiang Zhiwei gave Meng Qi a monastic saber, while Qing Ying gave Xu Yue a sharp Zhanmadao.
• Zhang Yuanshan shared intelligence about the Immortal Traces and Myth organizations, and Meng Qi said their world might be the Reincarnation Space’s headquarters.
• The Six Paths Lords summoned the team to a new mission and brought in four newcomers.
• A newcomer attacked Xu Yue, who stopped him with Shaoze Sword sword qi and explained that he had incorporated a little of Jiang Zhiwei’s Sword Comes Without Self.
• Gu Xiaosang appeared as a seemingly helpless girl and asked the group to spare her.

The Reincarnation Space assigned Xu Yue and his companions a mission to deliver a list of traitors to Shaolin, splitting them into two groups. After arriving in the new world, Wang Jin proposed leaving weaker teammates behind, but Qing Ying challenged him and Zhang Yuanshan persuaded him to stay with the group.

• The Six Paths Lords assigned the newcomers a mission to split into two groups and carry the traitors' list to Shaolin.
• Xu Yue arrived with Jiang Zhiwei, Qing Ying, Zhang Yuanshan, Ke Biqun, and Wang Jin, while Meng Qi and the others were sent elsewhere.
• The group discussed finding Shaolin and assessing the martial strength of their new world.
• Wang Jin proposed that the stronger members go ahead and leave Ke Biqun and Xu Yue behind, but Qing Ying angrily rejected the plan.
• Zhang Yuanshan apologized to Wang Jin, who agreed to remain with the group, and Jiang Zhiwei privately warned Xu Yue to be cautious around him.

Xu Yue’s group learned about the world’s power levels and prepared to reach Shaolin, where they expected to face Duo Ercha. Qing Ying supplied horses and a hidden weapon capable of piercing a Nine Apertures expert, and the group set out with Xu Yue riding behind Ke Biqun.

• Zhang Yuanshan explained that Duo Ercha was likely a Nine Apertures expert and urged the group to deliver the letter and gain the Righteous Path’s support.
• Wang Jin proposed seeking hidden weapons and poison, while Ke Biqun revealed that her own supplies could only hinder weaker experts.
• Qing Ying returned with horses and gave Xu Yue a Xuantian Needle that could pierce a Nine Apertures expert’s protective qi.
• Xu Yue gave his horse to Wang Jin, then declined Qing Ying’s offer of a ride and asked Jiang Zhiwei to carry him.
• Jiang Zhiwei rode ahead without Xu Yue, who climbed onto Ke Biqun’s horse as Zhang Yuanshan and Qing Ying followed.

After the group reached Guan River Town, Xu Yue was criticized for his supposed conduct with Ke Biqun before an ambush interrupted the argument. Guan Haoran, an Innate expert serving the Northern Barbarians, surrounded the inn with troops and tried to recruit Wang Jin.

• The group arrived at an inn in Guan River Town, where Jiang Zhiwei, Qing Ying, and Zhang Yuanshan warned Xu Yue to observe Shaolin's rules and restrain himself around women.
• Wang Jin accused Xu Yue of tarnishing Shaolin's reputation, and Xu Yue asked whether Wang Jin knew him well enough to judge him.
• An attacker burst through the inn wall and struck at Wang Jin, who avoided a fatal blow and forced the attacker to retreat with only a minor wound.
• The attacker introduced himself as Guan Haoran and urged Wang Jin to pledge allegiance to the Great General.
• Wang Jin saw that the inn was surrounded by armored cavalry and archers, while travelers identified Guan Haoran as a peak Innate expert serving the Northern Barbarians.

Wang Jin pretended to defect to Guan Haoran and tried to turn on Xu Yue, but Xu Yue killed Guan Haoran with a sword qi strike infused with Sword Intent. Wang Jin pleaded for mercy, and Xu Yue struck him down as well.

• Wang Jin decided he could join the Northern Barbarians while carrying the list to Shaolin as a spy.
• Zhang Yuanshan asked Wang Jin to hold off Guan Haoran while Qing Ying, Zhang Yuanshan, Jiang Zhiwei, and Ke Biqun attacked the soldiers outside.
• Wang Jin and Guan Haoran staged a fight, then Wang Jin lunged at Xu Yue and warned Guan Haoran about Xu Yue's sword qi.
• Xu Yue's sword qi overwhelmed Guan Haoran with Sword Intent and killed him.
• Wang Jin claimed he had only been waiting to ambush Guan Haoran, but Xu Yue shot sword qi into him.

Xu Yue’s group defeated their pursuers, reached Shaolin Temple, and began sharing intelligence, while Meng Qi’s battered team arrived safely after surviving its own dangerous journey. The two groups reunited, relieved that everyone had survived.

• Zhang Yuanshan and the others defeated the Ironclad Cavalry and scattered the remaining pursuers.
• Jiang Zhiwei and Qing Ying found Wang Jin and Guan Haoran dead, and Xu Yue explained that he had seen through Wang Jin’s betrayal and killed them.
• Xu Yue’s group left on military horses, broke through further blockades, and reached Shaolin Temple, where the monks accepted their intelligence about traitors.
• Meng Qi’s team arrived in town exhausted and bloodied, and Zhang Yuanshan’s group was relieved to see that no one had died.
• Meng Qi changed clothes and reflected that repeated life-and-death battles had transformed him, though his cultivation remained at minor success in the Qi Gathering Stage.

Meng Qi rejoined his team in a strange mission world and learned that Shaolin Temple might possess a mysterious trait beyond the Dharmakaya realm. Xu Yue exposed the impostor hiding as Xiang Hui, leaving the team to confront the Hundred Transformations Scholar.

• Meng Qi saw Xu Yue reading Ke Biqun's palm and offering to help her, then went to Zhang Yuanshan's group to learn about the mission world.
• Meng Qi failed to notice that Gu Xiaosang had made Xiao Zi disappear and that the Hundred Transformations Scholar had killed Xiang Hui and taken his place.
• Xu Yue told the team that Shaolin Temple might possess a unique existence beyond the Dharmakaya realm, based on clues he had found in mythological records.
• Xu Yue tested Xiang Hui by asking whether he had heard the group's discussion, then accused him of acting strangely because he had stopped flattering him.
• Zhang Yuanshan and the others surrounded Xiang Hui as the Hundred Transformations Scholar realized that Xu Yue had exposed his disguise.

Xu Yue killed the Hundred Transformations Scholar with a saber strike that carried a faint trace of the Heaven Severing Seven Swords, helping Shaolin Temple prepare for Duo Ercha’s assault. As Duo Ercha charged up Mount Shaohua, Xu Yue watched a forest where he suspected Gu Xiaosang was hiding, waiting to see how she would respond to his test.

• The Hundred Transformations Scholar escaped the other fighters’ attacks with poisonous mist and charged at Xu Yue and Ke Biqun to break through the encirclement.
• Xu Yue cut down the Hundred Transformations Scholar with a seemingly ordinary saber strike infused with a trace of Dao Cannot Be Discussed, leaving the others unable to understand what they had witnessed.
• Jiang Zhiwei asked how Xu Yue had made the strike, and he said he had incorporated his understanding of a move into it.
• Because the Hundred Transformations Scholar had been exposed and killed at Shaolin Temple, Abbot Xin Ji avoided an ambush, trusted the group, and prepared the temple to resist Duo Ercha’s army.
• Duo Ercha charged up Mount Shaohua with power approaching Half-step Outer Scenery, while Xin Ji prepared to face him and the others looked for a chance to help.
• Xu Yue watched a patch of forest where he believed Gu Xiaosang was hiding, waiting to see how she would respond to his indirect test.

Xu Yue observed the clash between Duo Ercha and Abbot Xin Ji, expecting Jiang Zhiwei’s sword to decide the battle. Duo Ercha broke through to Outer Scenery at the last moment, survived the strike, and remained alive despite losing an eye.

• Xu Yue weighed how the altered circumstances might reveal Gu Xiaosang’s condition without alerting the Golden Emperor.
• Duo Ercha and Abbot Xin Ji fought while Zhang Yuanshan and Qing Ying risked grievous injuries to create an opening, and Jiang Zhiwei waited for her chance.
• Abbot Xin Ji struck Duo Ercha in the chest, but Duo Ercha grabbed his arm and punched through his chest in return.
• Jiang Zhiwei unleashed Sword Comes Without Self as Duo Ercha broke through to Outer Scenery and slapped her sword aside, losing an eye but surviving the killing blow.

Xu Yue recognized Duo Ercha’s breakthrough as part of the Golden Emperor’s hidden schemes, then helped Meng Qi and the others retreat into Shaolin’s rear-mountain secret passage. Tang Shun discovered their entrance and attacked them with Pear Blossom Rain Needles.

• Xu Yue realized the Golden Emperor might have returned and was secretly manipulating events around Meng Qi and Gu Xiaosang.
• Duo Ercha broke through to Outer Scenery just as Jiang Zhiwei wounded him, and Abbot Xin Ji sacrificed himself to hold Duo Ercha back.
• Xu Yue helped Meng Qi, Qi Zhengyan, and Ke Biqun carry Zhang Yuanshan, Qing Ying, and Jiang Zhiwei toward the rear mountain.
• Meng Qi led the group into Shaolin’s secret passage, while Xu Yue let their retreat unfold without concealing the entrance.
• Tang Shun discovered the secret passage and triggered Pear Blossom Rain Needles toward the group.

Xu Yue killed Tang Shun with Sword Comes Without Self, then the group entered Shaolin Temple’s secret passage, where Meng Qi gained the true-intent inheritance of Ananda's Precept-Breaking Saber Art. As Meng Qi returned to the entrance, the wounded Duo Ercha opened the sealed door and confronted the exhausted group.

• Xu Yue used Dao Cannot Be Discussed to draw Tang Shun’s Pear Blossom Rain Needles onto his zhanmadao, then killed him with Sword Comes Without Self.
• Xu Yue led the group into the secret passage and stayed behind to recover his depleted true qi while Meng Qi explored.
• Qi Zhengyan chose to remain with Xu Yue rather than accompany Meng Qi into the passage.
• Meng Qi comprehended the true-intent inheritance of Ananda's Precept-Breaking Saber Art and gained the incomplete first move, Severing Purity.
• Duo Ercha opened the sealed door and appeared before the exhausted group with one arm severed.

Gu Xiaosang appeared and killed the weakened Duo Ercha, then named Meng Qi as her intended target. Xu Yue, Meng Qi, and Qi Zhengyan coordinated to kill Duo Ercha and seal the secret passage, while Xu Yue used the confrontation to conceal his own moves from the Golden Emperor.

• Gu Xiaosang emerged from behind the ancient tree and killed Duo Ercha with a Life Extinguishing Finger.
• Gu Xiaosang explained her supposed motives and said she had wanted to kill Zhen Ding, prompting Xu Yue to recognize that she might target his incarnation.
• Xu Yue pushed Meng Qi into action and attacked Gu Xiaosang with Qing Ying's Xuantian Needles as Meng Qi used his saber intent against her.
• Qi Zhengyan fired the Mother-and-Son Soul-Severing Darts at Duo Ercha, and Meng Qi closed the secret passage before Gu Xiaosang could stop them.
• Xu Yue reflected that his coordinated actions and use of the Heaven Severing Seven Swords helped conceal his identity and mislead the Golden Emperor.

After the mission ended, the group returned to Reincarnation Plaza, discussed their enemies and the martial rankings, and spent their rewards on new techniques. Xu Yue chose the demonic Dao Heart Demonic Seed, convincing the others it was an experiment in keeping his reincarnation-world martial arts distinct from his real-world identity, though Meng Qi remained suspicious.

• Duo Ercha died from the Mother-and-Son Soul-Severing Darts, and the group returned to Reincarnation Plaza after the mission ended.
• Jiang Zhiwei explained Gu Xiaosang’s strength and the Human, Earth, Heaven, and Black Rankings to Meng Qi.
• The group used their rewards to select techniques, including Sacred Spirit Swordplay for Jiang Zhiwei, Hun Tian Bao Jian for Qi Zhengyan and Ke Biqun, and Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian for Meng Qi.
• Xu Yue exchanged for the Aperture Opening Stage portion of Dao Heart Demonic Seed, surprising the group because it had a low upper limit compared with their other options.
• Xu Yue explained that he wanted to keep his martial arts in reincarnation worlds distinct from those in reality, and Jiang Zhiwei agreed that the others should consider doing the same.
• Meng Qi accepted Xu Yue’s explanation but continued to suspect that something was off.

After their mission, Xu Yue, Meng Qi, and Zhen Hui received rewards from Shaolin, and Xuan Bei took Meng Qi and Zhen Hui as disciples. Xu Yue chose Formless Calamity Finger, while Meng Qi began packing to move into Xuan Bei’s courtyard and accepted that leaving Shaolin would be harder.

• Shaolin’s eminent monks argued over whether Xuan Bei should take Zhen Ding as his disciple, then agreed once he threatened to take Zhen Se instead.
• Xu Yue, Meng Qi, and Zhen Hui arrived at Bodhi Courtyard and received their rewards: Xuan Bei took Meng Qi and Zhen Hui as disciples, and Xu Yue could choose a Supreme Skill.
• Xuan Bei chose Golden Bell Shield for Meng Qi and arranged for him to live with Zhen Hui in a separate courtyard.
• Meng Qi returned to pack and complained to Xu Yue that becoming Xuan Bei’s disciple made leaving Shaolin more difficult.
• Xu Yue told Meng Qi he had chosen Formless Calamity Finger, and Meng Qi envied his choice.

Ten months later, Meng Qi had nearly opened his Eye Aperture, while Xu Yue had already opened his and chosen Ananda's Precept-Breaking Saber Art. During their guard duty, Zhen Hui revealed that Zhen Yong had been probing him about his cultivation, and Xu Yue spotted Zhen Yong nearby, leaving Meng Qi wary of trouble.

• Meng Qi's cultivation advanced until he had condensed eight Eye Aperture acupoints, while his training strengthened his foundation and combat skills.
• During their back-mountain guard shift, Meng Qi asked Xu Yue whether he had opened his apertures and what ultimate art he had chosen.
• Xu Yue explained that he had selected Ananda's Precept-Breaking Saber Art, and Meng Qi offered to exchange insights based on his true-intent inheritance.
• Zhen Hui mentioned that Zhen Yong had been asking about his progress and cultivation circulation route, making Meng Qi suspect he was trying to learn the technique secretly.
• Xu Yue said he had spotted Zhen Yong nearby, and Meng Qi braced himself for another complication during their patrol.

Xu Yue caught Zhen Yong stealing Shaolin’s Yi Jin Jing and crippled him, then discovered that the copied manual had been deliberately altered. Zhen Yong tried to tempt Xu Yue with the forbidden art, but Xu Yue hinted that his chance had already arrived as Meng Qi and Zhen Hui caught up.

• Xu Yue rushed toward Zhen Yong, and Meng Qi followed despite wanting to call the eminent monks for help.
• Xu Yue used Formless Calamity Finger to cripple Zhen Yong’s cultivation and subdued him.
• Xu Yue opened Zhen Yong’s bundle and found a copied first volume of the Yi Jin Jing with only nine scrambled illustrations.
• Zhen Yong urged Xu Yue to release him and study the manual, warning that Xu Yue might otherwise be sent down the mountain as a lay disciple.
• Xu Yue closed the bundle and replied that his opportunity had already arrived as Meng Qi and Zhen Hui reached them.

Xu Yue and Meng Qi uncovered a plot involving the Yi Jin Jing and confronted Zhen Chang, who tried to silence them. After Xu Yue defeated him, Zhen Chang died mysteriously, leaving the Shaolin monks facing a catastrophe.

• Xu Yue identified the stolen manual as the Yi Jin Jing and suspected Zhen Chang, so Zhen Hui sent up a signal firework.
• Zhen Chang descended in black robes, extinguished the signal, and attacked Xu Yue with the Prajna Palm.
• Xu Yue pierced Zhen Chang's palm with the Formless Calamity Finger and sealed his acupoints, while Zhen Hui ran off shouting for help.
• Zhen Chang chanted the Buddha's name and suddenly died despite having his acupoints sealed.
• Executive monks arrived, recognized the dead Zhen Chang, and learned that the bundle Meng Qi had recovered contained the Yi Jin Jing.
• The executive monk ordered Xuan Yuan to the Bodhi Courtyard, Xuan Hua to the Discipline Courtyard, and Xuan Kong to watch everyone at the scene.

Xu Yue reported how he captured Zhen Chang after discovering the stolen Yi Jin Jing, but Xuan Kong accused him of lying until Master Wu De examined the evidence and confirmed Xu Yue’s skill. Master Wu De brought Xu Yue, Meng Qi, Zhen Hui, and the captured Zhen Yong to the Great Hero Hall, where Abbot Kong Wen awaited them.

• Master Wu De inspected the stolen Yi Jin Jing and asked the witnesses to recount what had happened.
• Xu Yue described capturing Zhen Chang, and Xuan Kong accused him of making up the story and cultivating demonic arts.
• Meng Qi defended Xu Yue, but Master Wu De examined Zhen Chang’s injuries and recognized Xu Yue’s mastery of the Formless Calamity Finger.
• Master Wu De questioned Meng Qi, Zhen Hui, and Zhen Yong, confirmed Zhen Yong’s identity, and credited them with great merit.
• Master Wu De led the group to the Great Hero Hall so Abbot Kong Wen could confirm the matter.

After exposing King Kong Temple’s spy, Xu Yue was permitted to leave Shaolin as a lay disciple with two secret arts, while Meng Qi and Zhen Hui received the first volume of the Yi Jin Jing. Xuan Bei then took the disciples down the mountain to question King Kong Temple, giving Meng Qi a chance to escape Shaolin.

• Kong Wen judged that King Kong Temple had planted Zhen Yong as a spy, and Wu Si proposed making the accusation public before sending an elder to question the temple.
• Kong Wen rewarded Meng Qi and Zhen Hui by granting them the first volume of the Yi Jin Jing.
• Wu Si announced that Xu Yue could return to secular life as a lay disciple, taking the Formless Calamity Finger and Ananda's Precept-Breaking Saber Art with him.
• Xuan Bei told Meng Qi and Zhen Hui to pack for a trip to King Kong Temple, where he would question its leaders on Shaolin's behalf.
• Meng Qi resolved to use the journey down the mountain to escape Shaolin before its eminent monks discovered his secrets.