Chapter Summaries

Ling Wuyuan continued dominating the tournament, while Shen Zhenhai planned to test the strength of her attacks by taking one himself. After three months and five more matches, she defeated Shan Wangyuan again, leaving him to wonder whether he would be remembered as a worthy opponent.

• Su Qingyue praised Ling Wuyuan and expressed her hopes for her future, while Ling Wuyuan urged her to focus on the present.
• Shen Zhenhai decided to face Ling Wuyuan and take one of her attacks so he could judge the power of her true essence.
• Over three months, Ling Wuyuan won five more matches; two opponents forfeited, and she defeated the three who chose to fight, including Shan Wangyuan.
• After Ling Wuyuan knocked him out with one move, Shan Wangyuan asked whether he counted as an opponent she would remember.
• Ling Wuyuan called Shan Wangyuan a suitable combat power baseline unit for the True Form Realm, which comforted him but also made him feel more dejected.

Ling Wuyuan learned that his sixth-round opponent would be Shen Zhenhai, a mysterious rogue cultivator from the Lingbo Martial Domain, and looked forward to a satisfying fight. Yan Xiujin planned to have Su Qingyue investigate him, while Ling Wuyuan secretly used the Torrent of Destiny to ensure nothing would disrupt the match.

• Ling Wuyuan saw Shen Zhenhai's name on the match list and was pleased that they would fight the next day.
• Yan Xiujin asked why Ling Wuyuan was excited, and he explained that Shen Zhenhai might give him a satisfying fight.
• Yan Xiujin studied Shen Zhenhai's basic information and wondered about his hidden strength and origins.
• Ling Wuyuan gave Yan Xiujin permission to ask Su Qingyue to investigate Shen Zhenhai, as long as they did not disturb the match.
• Yan Xiujin promised to gather only basic information, while Ling Wuyuan secretly mobilized the Torrent of Destiny to remove potential disruptions to the match.

Ling Wuyuan prepared to eliminate Shen Zhenhai in their match, ordering safeguards to prevent him from escaping. Shen Zhenhai remained convinced he could control the encounter and planned to lose deliberately, unaware that Ling Wuyuan had already marked him for death.

• Ling Wuyuan decided Shen Zhenhai had to die in their match and planned to have Tianji City maximize the Artificial Grotto-Heaven’s isolation measures.
• Su Qingyue and the others reviewed intelligence on Shen Zhenhai but agreed to trust Ling Wuyuan’s judgment despite seeing no obvious threat in his record.
• The next day, spectators eagerly anticipated Ling Wuyuan’s match with Shen Zhenhai under the scorching midday sun.
• Shen Zhenhai entered the arena pretending to be nervous and privately resolved to let Ling Wuyuan win as part of his plan.

Shen Zhenhai entered his match against Ling Wuyuan confident that his disguise had kept his true strength hidden, but Ling Wuyuan’s words made him realize he had been noticed. Inside the Artificial Grotto-Heaven, Ling Wuyuan openly said Shen Zhenhai’s strength interested him because he could sense how strong he was.

• Shen Zhenhai reflected that the spectators’ contempt confirmed his disguise was working and believed no one had seen through his staged performances.
• Ling Wuyuan entered the arena, and Shen Zhenhai was struck by his cold, commanding presence and puzzled by the apparent joy in his gaze.
• Ling Wuyuan introduced himself and said he had expected to meet Shen Zhenhai in the final round, causing Shen Zhenhai to suspect his disguise had been exposed.
• The organizers transported both contestants into the Artificial Grotto-Heaven, where Shen Zhenhai asked Ling Wuyuan whether he had noticed him before.
• Ling Wuyuan told Shen Zhenhai that his strength interested him and that he could sense Shen Zhenhai was very strong.

Shen Zhenhai tried to deduce how Ling Wuyuan had detected his concealed strength and mistook Ling's casual manner for a friendly challenge. As the match began, Ling clarified that he intended to kill Shen Zhenhai.

• Shen Zhenhai guessed that Ling Wuyuan had used an exceptionally powerful ability to uncover his hidden strength.
• Ling Wuyuan noticed Shen Zhenhai's sudden realization and invited him to begin the match.
• Shen Zhenhai decided to reveal some of his strength while worrying about attracting the attention of powerful figures.
• Shen Zhenhai politely asked Ling Wuyuan to show mercy as he prepared to strike first.
• Ling Wuyuan rejected the request and said he would kill Shen Zhenhai because he considered him malicious and dangerous.

Shen Zhenhai revealed the immense power he had been hiding after Ling Wuyuan confronted him, making the onlookers suspect he was concealing a dangerous secret. The Void Glimpse Realm cultivators chose to investigate rather than intervene, while ordinary spectators began to notice how terrifyingly strong Shen Zhenhai was.

• Shen Zhenhai dropped his feigned nervousness and revealed power that made the surrounding space ripple, despite his apparent True Form Realm cultivation.
• The cultivators realized Ling Wuyuan had accurately judged Shen Zhenhai’s strength and wondered why the two seemed to have old enmity.
• Su Qingyue told the distant cultivators that Ling Wuyuan believed Shen Zhenhai harbored malicious intent and posed a threat.
• The Void Glimpse Realm cultivators refrained from intervening and ordered investigations into Shen Zhenhai’s background.
• Diviners found that their visions portrayed Shen Zhenhai as an ordinary, capable True Form Realm cultivator, deepening suspicions that he had deliberately hidden his true nature.
• Ordinary spectators began asking who Shen Zhenhai was and noticing his frightening strength.

Shen Zhenhai realized his disguises and hidden affairs had been exposed, and prepared to flee after attacking Ling Wuyuan. His swift, lethal Sword Qi shattered against Ling Wuyuan’s protective true essence, leaving the spectators stunned by its strength.

• Shen Zhenhai sensed that powerful experts were probing his secrets and decided he needed to escape.
• Shen Zhenhai grew furious as he considered how the Void Glimpse Realm experts could uncover his hidden businesses, aliases, and connections.
• Ling Wuyuan welcomed the prospect of a good fight, and Shen Zhenhai attacked him with a lightning-fast sword-finger strike.
• Shen Zhenhai’s invisible Sword Qi tore through space and rushed toward Ling Wuyuan, alarming the spectators with its lethal force.
• Ling Wuyuan remained still as the Sword Qi shattered against his protective true essence, which only trembled faintly.

Ling Wuyuan and Shen Zhenhai began a full-power fight, trading attacks at a speed and strength that stunned the spectators. Shen Zhenhai dominated Ling Wuyuan in swordsmanship, and the chapter ended with him cutting Ling Wuyuan's sword in half.

• The spectators reeled at the revelation that Shen Zhenhai's earlier attack had been useless against Ling Wuyuan, while their former opponents struggled with their own embarrassment.
• Ling Wuyuan realized Shen Zhenhai no longer cared about gaining the first-move advantage, and the two agreed to begin fighting in earnest.
• Ling Wuyuan and Shen Zhenhai vanished and clashed at close range, exchanging rapid sword-finger strikes that sent spatial shockwaves through their surroundings.
• Shen Zhenhai summoned a treasured longsword and attacked with it while continuing to fight with his other hand, and Ling Wuyuan matched him with a sword and sword fingers.
• Ling Wuyuan recognized that Shen Zhenhai overwhelmed him in swordsmanship and combat technique, but he remained eager to learn before Shen Zhenhai cut his sword in half.

Ling Wuyuan fought Shen Zhenhai, repeatedly replacing swords that Shen Zhenhai broke while rapidly improving his combat skills. Shen Zhenhai recognized Ling Wuyuan’s growth as a grave threat and decided he had to kill him.

• Shen Zhenhai exploited the weakness in Ling Wuyuan’s swordsmanship and shattered his sword with a precisely timed strike.
• Ling Wuyuan kept fighting with the broken weapon, then replaced it after it had been cut down to a dagger; Shen Zhenhai soon broke the new sword as well.
• Ling Wuyuan changed weapons five times in succession as the two fought at extraordinary speed, while spectators marveled at the exchange.
• Ling Wuyuan’s combat techniques improved rapidly with every clash, forcing Shen Zhenhai to put increasing effort into breaking his swords.
• Shen Zhenhai saw Ling Wuyuan’s skill reach a level that had taken him tens of thousands of years to attain and concluded that Ling Wuyuan had to die.

Ling Wuyuan grew rapidly by learning from Shen Zhenhai’s lethal attacks, but Shen Zhenhai’s new technique eventually pierced his defenses. Ling Wuyuan let the strike hit, counterattacked Shen Zhenhai’s heart, and was struck again as Shen Zhenhai tried to finish him off.

• Ling Wuyuan used every ability and instinct to analyze Shen Zhenhai’s attacks and improve his combat techniques during their exchange.
• Shen Zhenhai escalated his attacks and used an immortal cultivation technique from his previous life, opening a flaw in Ling Wuyuan’s defense.
• Shen Zhenhai’s sword pierced Ling Wuyuan’s mask and entered his brain, making spectators think Ling Wuyuan had been killed.
• Ling Wuyuan countered with a sword hand that left two bloody holes in Shen Zhenhai’s chest near his heart.
• Shen Zhenhai slashed Ling Wuyuan sideways in an attempt to deliver a finishing blow.

Ling Wuyuan’s vicious True Essence badly wounded Shen Zhenhai with poisonous, curse-like effects, while Ling Wuyuan appeared unharmed despite Shen Zhenhai’s sword strike. As Shen Zhenhai questioned whether he had fallen into an illusion, cracks spread across Ling Wuyuan’s mask.

• Ling Wuyuan’s sword-finger strike pierced Shen Zhenhai’s chest and released Sword Qi that ravaged his flesh, energy, and soul.
• Shen Zhenhai struggled to suppress the Sword Qi’s shifting poisonous and curse-like effects, while spectators watched multicolored toxins rise from his body.
• Shen Zhenhai realized that Ling Wuyuan’s True Essence had become vicious through his mastery of thousands of related techniques, making Shen Zhenhai its first victim.
• Shen Zhenhai saw no apparent wound on Ling Wuyuan after his sword had pierced and cut through the other man’s head.
• Shen Zhenhai wondered whether he had been caught in an illusion as cracks appeared and spread across Ling Wuyuan’s mask.

Ling Wuyuan removed his shattered mask after Shen Zhenhai’s strike hit him, then unleashed his Gray Mist True Essence as it ravaged Shen Zhenhai’s body and soul. Shen Zhenhai awakened a powerful fused energy and launched another attack, but Ling Wuyuan tracked his movements and met him in a close-quarters clash.

• Shen Zhenhai’s sword strike scarred Ling Wuyuan’s mask, and Ling Wuyuan removed it to reveal his youthful face.
• Ling Wuyuan crushed the damaged mask and restored his Gray Mist True Essence to its full power, worsening its effects on Shen Zhenhai.
• Shen Zhenhai realized the Gray Mist True Essence threatened his body and soul and awakened an unfamiliar energy within himself.
• Shen Zhenhai fused the new energy with his True Essence, suppressing the Gray Mist and launching a faster, stronger attack.
• Ling Wuyuan used the Gray Mist within Shen Zhenhai to anticipate his sword and clamp the blade between two fingers.
• Ling Wuyuan thrust toward Shen Zhenhai’s left eye, and Shen Zhenhai blocked and counterattacked as their arms clashed at close range.

Ling Wuyuan used the Gray Mist True Essences inside Shen Zhenhai to predict his attacks and gain a detailed understanding of his techniques, but Shen Zhenhai responded by unleashing his Innate Divine Ability. The chapter ended with Shen Zhenhai’s sword attacking Ling Wuyuan simultaneously from every direction.

• Ling Wuyuan relied on the Gray Mist True Essences within Shen Zhenhai to anticipate his attacks, blunting Shen Zhenhai’s advantages in technique and experience.
• Shen Zhenhai tried several methods to block Ling Wuyuan’s perception of the Gray Mist True Essences, but failed.
• Shen Zhenhai realized he would need overwhelming strength to defeat Ling Wuyuan and activated his Innate Divine Ability.
• Shen Zhenhai’s sword began striking from unpredictable directions and splitting into multiple genuine attacks at once, sealing off Ling Wuyuan’s escape routes.

Ling Wuyuan endured Shen Zhenhai’s simultaneous attacks by transforming his pierced body into gray mist, then struck Shen Zhenhai with a devastating counterattack. Shen Zhenhai recognized the transformation as energy-based but was left wounded and shocked.

• Ling Wuyuan inferred that Shen Zhenhai’s attacks came from an Innate Divine Ability that struck simultaneously from every direction.
• Ling Wuyuan’s defensive barrier delayed the attacks, but Shen Zhenhai’s spatial anchoring prevented him from escaping.
• As Shen Zhenhai’s attacks pierced him, Ling Wuyuan swung his sword at Shen Zhenhai instead of trying to block or evade.
• Shen Zhenhai’s sword pierced Ling Wuyuan’s left forearm, but the wounded arm turned into gray mist, flowed past the blade, and reformed to continue the strike.
• Ling Wuyuan’s sword carved a deep wound across Shen Zhenhai’s chest, and Shen Zhenhai cried out in shock, “Energy transformation!?”

Shen Zhenhai realized that Ling Wuyuan used gray-mist energy transformation to nullify his attacks and suspected that Ling’s innate ability overcame the method’s usual weaknesses. He treated his lingering sword wound and kept testing different attacks and immortal arts to find a way to hurt Ling.

• Shen Zhenhai recognized that Ling Wuyuan could transform into gray mist and evade attacks, and concluded that Ling’s ability avoided energy transformation’s usual flaws.
• Shen Zhenhai used tiny invisible swords to stitch his sword wound shut because Ling’s hostile power prevented it from healing normally.
• Shen Zhenhai continued attacking while varying the focus of his strikes to test what could damage Ling.
• Shen Zhenhai used adapted immortal arts alongside his sword attacks, producing phenomena such as falling rays, crimson flames, and soul-piercing cries across the [Artificial Grotto-Heaven].

Shen Zhenhai exhausted his energy using Xuanji Wuchang against Ling Wuyuan, whose mist-like transformation absorbed the attacks at minimal cost. Ling Wuyuan kept the fight going to uncover Shen Zhenhai’s secrets while cultivators outside the competition grounds discussed capturing him.

• Shen Zhenhai unleashed hundreds of techniques but found no weakness in Ling Wuyuan’s mist-like transformation, which used gray mist to offset damage.
• Shen Zhenhai determined that Xuanji Wuchang’s attacks consumed energy exponentially while Ling Wuyuan spent only a small, steady amount to withstand them.
• With his own reserves down to one-third, Shen Zhenhai prepared one final method as Ling Wuyuan sensed his preparations and waited to see what he would do.
• Ling Wuyuan continued the fight because he suspected Shen Zhenhai was a reincarnated high-level cultivator and wanted information from his mind before killing him.
• Void Glimpse Realm cultivators from multiple domains discussed how to capture Shen Zhenhai, whose unfamiliar methods made the factions suspicious.

Ling Wuyuan and Shen Zhenhai continued their close-quarters fight until Shen Zhenhai activated a formation barrier that controlled local spiritual energy and distorted space-time. He then unleashed the Golden Devouring Flowing Light Flame to burn Ling Wuyuan’s gray mist, hoping the energy-devouring flame could overcome its resistance.

• Ling Wuyuan traded blows with Shen Zhenhai, gradually improving his combat skills and inflicting several wounds despite his inferior close-quarters technique.
• Shen Zhenhai activated a formation barrier he had secretly prepared, preventing Ling Wuyuan from absorbing spiritual energy and making teleportation impossible.
• Ling Wuyuan noticed the golden runes and asked Shen Zhenhai whether they came from his unfamiliar energy, and Shen Zhenhai confirmed they were derived from his immortal power.
• Shen Zhenhai’s runes released golden light that bound matter and energy, slowed time, and froze space, but Ling Wuyuan’s gray mist resisted it.
• Shen Zhenhai unleashed the Golden Devouring Flowing Light Flame, hoping its ability to burn energy would affect Ling Wuyuan’s gray mist.

Ling Wuyuan and Shen Zhenhai clashed through gray mist and Golden Devouring Flowing Light Flames inside the formation barrier. When Shen Zhenhai considered retreating, Ling Wuyuan detonated Gray Mist True Essence hidden in his wounds and seized him by the throat, deciding the battle.

• Shen Zhenhai used the formation barrier to surround Ling Wuyuan's gray mist with Golden Devouring Flowing Light Flames, rapidly consuming energy on both sides.
• Ling Wuyuan drove the gray mist against the flames, and it began adapting to them and threatening to devour them.
• Shen Zhenhai realized the gray mist was growing stronger, found his reserves running low, and began considering retreat.
• Ling Wuyuan sensed through the Torrent of Destiny that the moment had come and detonated the Gray Mist True Essence clinging to Shen Zhenhai's wounds.
• Ling Wuyuan's remaining Gray Mist True Essence escaped Shen Zhenhai's suppression, formed a glowing ring, and sent a hand through it to seize Shen Zhenhai by the throat.

Ling Wuyuan captured and sealed Shen Zhenhai, but Shen Zhenhai activated the residual power of his final strike from his previous life to escape. Ling Wuyuan used his divine abilities to send gray mist into Shen Zhenhai as the spatial passage formed, leaving Shen Zhenhai unable to resist its erosion.

• Ling Wuyuan pierced Shen Zhenhai's neck and sealed the energy in his body while Void Glimpse Realm experts reinforced the arena's formation barrier.
• Shen Zhenhai activated the residual power of his final strike from his previous life, which began collapsing space-time and pierced the barriers around the Artificial Grotto-Heaven.
• Ling Wuyuan's Abyssal Divine Speed accelerated his thoughts, while his Torrent of Destiny resonated with karma and showed him what to do.
• The escaping light severed Ling Wuyuan's arm, but the severed limb turned into gray mist and entered Shen Zhenhai through the wounds in his neck.
• Shen Zhenhai tried to resist the gray mist, but Ling Wuyuan's seal left him powerless.

A pillar of light carrying Shen Zhenhai escaped the destroyed [Artificial Grotto-Heaven] and flew into the Sea of Spacetime, while Ling Wuyuan survived its blast and recovered. Ling Wuyuan detonated the Gray Mist True Essence inside Shen Zhenhai, but a mysterious power carried the remnants of Shen Zhenhai’s soul onward, revealing a deeper plot and connecting Ling Wuyuan to a powerful distant existence.

• The pillar of light broke through the formations and barriers, destroyed the [Artificial Grotto-Heaven], and shot toward the Sea of Spacetime.
• Pei Yi and the others confirmed through the [Gray Mist Imprint] that Ling Wuyuan was alive, though the pillar’s energy had destroyed most of his body.
• Ling Wuyuan regenerated from gray mist, retrieved his spatial items, and used the [Torrent of Destiny] to find the moment to detonate the Gray Mist True Essence inside Shen Zhenhai.
• The blast turned Shen Zhenhai into blood mist and destabilized the pillar of light, which then collided with a spacetime storm.
• A mysterious power gathered Shen Zhenhai’s remaining soul fragments and carried them beyond the storm, while the Gray Mist True Essence secretly observed and read information from the fragments.
• Ling Wuyuan discovered that Shen Zhenhai’s situation was more complicated than reincarnation and that killing him had linked Ling Wuyuan to a powerful being in a distant spacetime.