Chapter Summaries

Ye Zhen humiliated Li Shui Sect’s top Outer Disciple, Chai Lishan, then provoked the remaining disciples into joining the fight. As the nine Li Shui Sect disciples gathered against him, Chu Jun recognized Ye Zhen’s plan and ordered them to form the Minor Li Shui Dragon Snake Formation.

• Ye Zhen waved Li Yunchong’s head and taunted the Li Shui Sect, drawing the Qi Yun Sect disciples’ cheers and angering Elder Li Shi.
• Chai Lishan challenged Ye Zhen, but Ye Zhen repeatedly drove him back while holding back his strength.
• Ye Zhen challenged the remaining eight Li Shui Sect Outer Disciples to fight him together, and Chu Jun ordered them onto the arena.
• The eight disciples joined Chai Lishan onstage, and Chu Jun realized Ye Zhen had lured them into a group fight.
• Chu Jun shouted for Chai Lishan to lead the other eight in forming the Minor Li Shui Dragon Snake Formation.

Ye Zhen used the Minor Li Shui Dragon Snake Formation to kill Chai Lishan and the other eight Li Shui Sect disciples in moments. After Elder Li Shi accused him of stealing Li Shui Sect’s True Essence Sword Finger, Guo Qijing defended Ye Zhen and warned that Chu Jun would pay if Ye Zhen were harmed.

• Chai Lishan led eight Li Shui Sect disciples in the Minor Li Shui Dragon Snake Formation and attacked Ye Zhen.
• Ye Zhen blocked their strikes with Protective Gang Qi, struck Chai Lishan, and used his True Essence Finger Sword to kill all nine Li Shui Sect disciples.
• Chu Jun realized Ye Zhen had lured the Li Shui Sect disciples into the fight, then tried to attack him before Liao Feibai’s sword lights forced him to stop.
• Elder Li Shi accused Ye Zhen of stealing the True Essence Sword Finger, and Guo Qijing challenged him for threatening a Qi Yun Sect disciple.
• Guo Qijing accepted Elder Li Shi’s claim that he had spoken in anger but warned that he would kill Chu Jun if Ye Zhen suffered any harm.

Ye Zhen won the Two-Sect Grand Competition, earned its rewards, and rejected Third Prince Zhu Kun’s offer to serve as his martial instructor. After claiming he wanted to qualify for Inner Disciple status by defeating an Inner Disciple, he publicly challenged Yue Chengzhu.

• Ye Zhen was declared the competition champion after defeating Li Shui Sect’s Outer Disciples, and the sect’s elders celebrated his victory.
• First Prince Zhu Xuan and Third Prince Zhu Kun presented Ye Zhen with a Demonic Spirit Essence Boosting Pill and the Heavenly Crystal Sword.
• Third Prince Zhu Kun offered Ye Zhen wealth, cultivation resources, and a military post in exchange for serving as his residence’s chief martial instructor, but Ye Zhen refused.
• Elder Li Shi demanded an explanation for the deaths of Li Shui Sect’s disciples, but Great Elder Lu Changchuan defended Ye Zhen and arranged for the bodies to be returned.
• Ye Zhen clarified to Sect Master Guo that he wanted to advance by challenging an Inner Disciple, then pointed at Yue Chengzhu as his opponent.

Ye Zhen challenged Yue Chengzhu in front of the Qi Yun Sect disciples and fought him evenly despite his lower cultivation. He killed Yue Chengzhu by accepting a blow that broke his ribs to land a fatal strike, leaving Ye Zhen badly injured on the Martial Arena.

• The Qi Yun Sect elders and Sect Master Guo Qijing realized Ye Zhen was acting on Instructor Liao Feibai's order to kill Yue Chengzhu, and Guo Qijing warned him not to injure a fellow disciple.
• Ye Zhen challenged Yue Chengzhu, who angrily accepted, while Jin Yuanbao regretted missing the chance to open a betting pool.
• Ye Zhen and Yue Chengzhu exchanged attacks evenly, surprising Changsun Ran and the watching elders despite Ye Zhen's weaker cultivation and martial skill.
• Yue Chengzhu anticipated Ye Zhen's True Essence Sword Finger and avoided its first attack, then countered as Ye Zhen's energy began to run low.
• Ye Zhen exposed his ribs to draw Yue Chengzhu in, endured a punch that broke his ribs, and struck Yue Chengzhu down with a fatal sword-finger attack.
• Ye Zhen lay on the ground vomiting blood after Yue Chengzhu's body split in two.

After Ye Zhen killed Yue Chengzhu, the Meng Family Incident was settled through a political compromise, while Ye Zhen resolved to rely on his own strength to pursue justice. Qi Yun Sect’s elders uncovered Yue Chengzhu’s corruption, stripped Hong Banjiang of authority over the Longshan Spirit Crystal Mine, and decided to punish Ye Zhen publicly while secretly rewarding him by sending him to the Universe Stone Forest.

• Ye Zhen killed Yue Chengzhu in their duel, and Sect Master Guo Qijing stopped Hong Banjiang from immediately punishing him.
• Jin Yuanbao helped the badly injured Ye Zhen from the arena, while the Empire’s investigation into the Meng Family Incident ended with a compromise that blamed sea-roaming bandits.
• Ye Zhen angrily rejected the official account and decided to seek justice through his own power.
• Guo Qijing called a council meeting, where the elders reviewed evidence that Yue Chengzhu and his family had exploited disaster victims and deceived Qi Yun Sect about aid to the Meng Family.
• Guo Qijing rebuked Hong Banjiang, temporarily removed his oversight of the Longshan Spirit Crystal Mine, and declared that Ye Zhen would be publicly punished by facing the wall in the Universe Stone Forest.

Ye Zhen and Jin Yuanbao advanced to Inner Disciples and chose private courtyards on Chaotic Cloud Peak. Ye Zhen claimed the secluded Courtyard 97, where he drove off Wu Zheng and found a young servant named Xiangcao waiting inside.

• Ye Zhen and Jin Yuanbao left East Arrival Peak and arrived at Chaotic Cloud Peak, where He Miao explained the benefits and rules for Inner Disciples.
• Jin Yuanbao chose Courtyard 431, while Ye Zhen learned that Yue Chengzhu's former Courtyard 97 had become vacant and selected it for its seclusion.
• He Miao guided Ye Zhen to Courtyard 97, and Wu Zheng attacked him while demanding the residence; after learning Ye Zhen had killed Yue Chengzhu, Wu Zheng apologized and left.
• Ye Zhen entered Courtyard 97 and found a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl named Xiangcao, who bowed and introduced herself as his servant.

Ye Zhen learned that his six-month wall-facing punishment would take place in the Universe Stone Forest, a rare secret realm where cultivators gained powerful benefits. Liao Feibai escorted him to Spirit Treasure Peak and sent him through the realm’s gate, while Ye Zhen asked her to look after Little Yue Meng.

• He Miao assigned Xiangcao to serve Ye Zhen, and Jin Yuanbao teased Ye Zhen about taking her as a concubine.
• Sect Master Guo Qijing sentenced Ye Zhen to six months of wall-facing reflection for harming a fellow disciple, and Liao Feibai explained that he would enter the Universe Stone Forest.
• Liao Feibai told Ye Zhen that the secret realm could grant breakthroughs, stronger spiritual power, improved martial techniques, or even divine abilities, and she described how it had enhanced her own spiritual power.
• At Spirit Treasure Peak, True Disciple Lu Xin complained that Ye Zhen had taken his scheduled place, but fled when Liao Feibai confronted him.
• Liao Feibai opened the realm’s gate with the Sect Master Token and kicked Ye Zhen inside, and Ye Zhen called back for her to take care of Little Yue Meng.

Ye Zhen cultivated in the Universe Stone Forest, where a mysterious stone pillar’s movement revealed a profound technique that he painstakingly learned. After mastering a step that carried him more than forty meters, he triggered an astonished reaction from Sect Master Guo Qijing.

• Ye Zhen entered the Universe Stone Forest and broke through to True Essence Fourth Level after sensing a mysterious trajectory among the pillars.
• Ye Zhen explored the seemingly endless forest, then trained with the Frost Sword Art and cultivated for three months.
• Ye Zhen advanced to True Essence Fourth Level Middle Stage, mastered the White Frost Sword Art, and grew frustrated when his cultivation slowed and the initial sensation did not return.
• Ye Zhen noticed a stone pillar turn to catch the shifting starlight and began practicing the profound movement it revealed, repeatedly falling as he tried to reproduce it.
• Ye Zhen synchronized his step with the moving pillars and crossed more than forty meters to land on another pillar, while Sect Master Guo Qijing abruptly sensed the breakthrough and reacted with disbelief.

After six months in the Universe Stone Forest, Ye Zhen mastered 107 movements and created the Star Chasing Steps. He returned to find Lu Xin hostile and his former courtyard occupied, and kicked at the barred gate.

• Ye Zhen studied the stone pillars’ movements for three months and comprehended 107 steps, naming his footwork Star Chasing Steps.
• The secret realm expelled Ye Zhen after six months, and he evaded Lu Xin’s attack with a step that carried him a hundred meters away.
• Ye Zhen rejected the Peak Guarding Elder’s advice to avoid provoking True Disciples and explained that he had gained a fearless heart in seeking the Dao.
• Ye Zhen left to bathe and eat, calling on He Miao to send a maid to cook before heading to Courtyard 97.
• Ye Zhen found his courtyard gate barred from within and kicked at it in anger.

Ye Zhen sought access to the Scripture Depository’s third floor by entering the Heaven Ranking and chose to attempt the Nine Transformations of the Fish Dragon. At the Fish Dragon Path, Zhou Zhiyuan mocked him and bet that he could not break into the ranking, leaving Ye Zhen with Zhou’s public wager to answer.

• Ye Zhen drove Chang Linlong out of his seized residence, then learned from He Miao that reaching the Heaven Ranking’s top seventy-two would qualify him for the Scripture Depository’s third floor.
• Ye Zhen chose to attempt the Nine Transformations of the Fish Dragon, which was scheduled to open the next day, and He Miao arranged a cook at Instructor Liao’s instruction.
• At Fish Dragon Path Square, Zhou Zhiyuan mocked Ye Zhen’s talent and ambition, then challenged him to fight on the Martial Arena.
• Ye Zhen avoided Zhou Zhiyuan’s challenge and asked whether he truly believed Ye could not enter the Heaven Ranking.
• Zhou Zhiyuan publicly wagered that he would smash his head against the Heaven Ranking and die if Ye Zhen broke into it, then limited the wager to that day.

Ye Zhen wagered his fortune against Zhou Zhiyuan before entering the Nine Transformations of the Fish Dragon, where he cleared the first three checkpoints at astonishing speed. As he faced the increasingly dangerous fourth and fifth checkpoints, Zhou Zhiyuan doubted he could reach the Heaven Ranking.

• Ye Zhen challenged Zhou Zhiyuan to wager their entire fortunes, and Jin Yuanbao held the silver and Storage Bracelet they each put up.
• Ye Zhen activated the protective Jade Talisman and entered the Nine Transformations of the Fish Dragon.
• Ye Zhen swiftly killed the Yin Wind Wolves and Blazing Flame Tigers, earning perfect scores on the first two checkpoints.
• Ye Zhen used Star Chasing Steps and Thunder Leopard Collapse Fist to clear the third checkpoint, bringing his score to ten thousand points.
• Zhou Zhiyuan warned that the fourth checkpoint's powerful beasts and the fifth checkpoint's Earth-tier demons would stop Ye Zhen from reaching the Heaven Ranking.

Ye Zhen cleared the fifth trial of the Nine Transformations of the Fish Dragon by exploiting the Silver Thread Demonic Eagles’ fatal weaknesses, earning enough points to surge up the Heaven Ranking. His astonishing rise shocked Qi Yun Sect, and the chapter left the sect’s upper ranks reacting to the news.

• Ye Zhen killed the Blood Shadow Lions and perfectly cleared the fourth trial, bringing his score to twenty thousand points.
• After recovering, Ye Zhen entered the fifth trial and discovered that the Silver Thread Demonic Eagles had the weaknesses he knew from the eagle in his Lip Dragon Pearl.
• Ye Zhen used the Star Chasing Steps to strike the eagles’ weak spots and rapidly cleared the fifth trial, raising his score to ninety-five thousand points.
• Ye Zhen’s name appeared on the Heaven Ranking and climbed as high as eleventh place, stunning Zhou Zhian, the disciples, and the Gatekeeper Elder.
• Feng Haoran and Shi Tianjia watched Ye Zhen’s rise with bitterness, while the Gatekeeper Elder sent a Dao Talisman that alerted the entire Qi Yun Sect.

Ye Zhen survived the sixth trial of the Nine Transformations of the Fish Dragon and rose to tenth place on the Heaven Ranking, astonishing the sect. His success prompted six elders to compete for the chance to take him as a personal disciple.

• Sect Master Guo Qijing and several elders learned that Ye Zhen had perfectly cleared the fifth trial, while Ye Zhen fought through the sixth trial and was teleported out before the surrounding monsters could kill him.
• Ye Zhen's score reached ninety-eight thousand, placing him tenth on the Heaven Ranking and pushing Ren Xihua down to eleventh.
• Ren Xihua noticed his new ranking and raced toward East Arrival Peak, while Ye Zhen realized he had surpassed him through his knowledge of the Silver Thread Demonic Eagle's weakness.
• Ye Zhen collected the wager stakes from Zhou Zhian and taunted him about honoring his promise to smash his head against the Heaven Ranking, but Hong Banjiang's Sword Boy summoned Zhou Zhian away.
• Six elders gathered in Sect Master Guo Qijing's quiet room and each declared an intention to take Ye Zhen as a personal disciple.

After breaking into the Heaven Ranking’s top ten, Ye Zhen learned that he could enter the Scripture Depository’s fourth floor and began searching for a stronger Protective Gang Qi. He left the chapter weighing three manuals while growing wary that Fifth Elder Hong Banjiang might blame him for Hong Bao’s madness.

• Sect Master Guo Qijing told the elders that Liao Feibai had already spoken for Ye Zhen, leaving them unwilling to challenge her for the chance to take him as a disciple.
• Ye Zhen showed the Old Deacon his Identity Jade Token and learned that reaching the Heaven Ranking’s top ten granted access to the fourth floor and other benefits.
• Ye Zhen saw Hong Bao acting madly and learned that Fifth Elder Hong Banjiang was his relative and had sought treatment for him.
• Ye Zhen suspected that Hong Banjiang might hold him responsible for Hong Bao’s condition and that Zhou Zhian’s provocations might have been encouraged by the elder.
• Ye Zhen entered the fourth floor, met Changsun Ran, and searched the manuals for a suitable Protective Gang Qi.
• Ye Zhen considered Soft Water Gang Qi, Shattered Jade Gold Gang, and Hundred Layered True Gang but had not chosen one.

Ye Zhen chose the Hundred Layered True Gang, Plum Blossom Sword Art, and Breath Concealment Technique, then spent his silver and borrowed sect points on Condensing True Pills to strengthen his cultivation. As he left the Sect Main Hall, Cao Luo arrived to challenge him, putting Ye Zhen under a sect rule that forbade him from refusing.

• Ye Zhen chose the Hundred Layered True Gang for defense and selected the Plum Blossom Sword Art and Breath Concealment Technique.
• Hong Banjiang ordered Cao Luo and Zhou Zhian to challenge Ye Zhen and kill him if an opportunity arose, while telling Fan Chuyu to focus on Caiyi's secret.
• The Old Deacon warned Ye Zhen that disciples who tried the Hundred Layered True Gang had abandoned it, but Ye Zhen kept the manual and paid sixteen thousand Sect Contribution Points for all three techniques.
• Ye Zhen exchanged his remaining silver and borrowed sect points for Condensing True Pills to support months of cultivation.
• Cao Luo and Zhou Zhian arrived as Ye Zhen left the Sect Main Hall, and Cao Luo challenged Ye Zhen, who remembered that he could not refuse a lower-ranked Heaven Ranking disciple.

Ye Zhen helped Fairy Caiyi find her missing Flower Civet, Su'er, and discovered that it had become the father of three cubs. While exploring near the Sect Forbidden Ground, he overheard strange voices discussing the scent of spiritual force.

• Cao Luo challenged Ye Zhen to a fight, but Fairy Caiyi swept Ye Zhen away and struck Cao Luo with her Rainbow Sash for challenging a weaker disciple.
• Fairy Caiyi told Ye Zhen that Su'er had been missing for three days, so he used his heightened hearing to track it to a tree hollow.
• Ye Zhen found Su'er returning with food for a mother Flower Civet and its three cubs, and explained that Su'er had become their father.
• Fairy Caiyi worried that the civets were unsafe in the mountains and tried to persuade Su'er to bring its family back with her.
• While walking near the Sect Forbidden Ground, Ye Zhen overheard strange voices saying they smelled spiritual force and might advance if they found it.

Ye Zhen disguised himself as a Phantom Snake King to enter the Sect Forbidden Ground, where he took a mysterious Notched Ring and narrowly escaped detection by Seventh Elder Zhong Lichun. He then accompanied Fairy Caiyi back to Fairy Maiden Peak to help care for the Flower Civet babies, while Fan Chuyu waited outside in growing frustration.

• Ye Zhen overheard beasts discussing a treasure in the Sect Forbidden Ground and used the Mirage Dragon Pearl to disguise himself as a Phantom Snake King and sneak inside.
• Ye Zhen found a green praying mantis striking a dark stone, drove away the mantis, Red Ant, and gecko, and discovered a faintly spiritual Notched Ring inside the stone.
• Seventh Elder Zhong Lichun noticed the snake's unusual proportions, suspected an intruder, and searched the Sect Forbidden Ground, but Ye Zhen escaped before he arrived.
• Fairy Caiyi told Ye Zhen she had secured Su'er's agreement and took him back to Fairy Maiden Peak with the Flower Civet babies.
• Fairy Caiyi asked Ye Zhen to stay and help care for the babies, while Fan Chuyu waited outside for hours, growing increasingly agitated.

Ye Zhen discovered that the damaged Storage Ring held a fortune, Spirit Crystals, and manuals linked to the fallen True Disciple Tu Fangye. He began training with the Spirit Control Art and collapsed from exhaustion; after waking, Caiyi warned that his method for cultivating divine sense could have left him brainless.

• Ye Zhen activated the Notched Ring, causing its storage space to collapse and most of its contents to turn to ash, though the Spirit Crystals and two manuals survived.
• Ye Zhen found that the Wind Cloud Sword Art required a Mid-grade Earth-tier sword technique and recognized Tu Fangye’s handwriting in the Spirit Control Art’s training notes.
• Ye Zhen put aside the manuals and began practicing the Hundred Layered True Gang, but found that tempering his Protective Gang Qi was extremely slow.
• Ye Zhen tried Tu Fangye’s Spirit Control Art method, supporting a heavy stone stool on projected True Essence and quickly extending the length of his True Essence Sword Finger through repeated training.
• Ye Zhen collapsed unconscious during his fifth training session and woke the next morning to Caiyi caring for him.
• Caiyi warned Ye Zhen that his divine sense cultivation method could have left him brainless if she had not been there to help.

After recovering from overusing his divine sense, Ye Zhen shared his Spirit Control Art with Fairy Caiyi, who helped him cultivate safely on Fairy Maiden Peak. He comprehended the Plum Blossom Intent and remained there for ten days, while Fan Chuyu grew furious and devised a plan to force him out.

• Caiyi told Ye Zhen that his divine sense had been depleted and he had been unconscious for a day and night, then explained the dangers of his cultivation method.
• Ye Zhen demonstrated the Spirit Control Art to Fairy Caiyi and taught her its third-form mental art mnemonics in return for her care.
• Fairy Caiyi gave Ye Zhen Spirit Calming Liquid and guided his cultivation, helping his divine sense grow until his True Essence Sword Finger reached forty feet.
• Fairy Caiyi taught Ye Zhen to seek the Plum Blossom Intent, and he used it to unleash a seventy-foot sword qi with Plum Blossom Breaking Snow.
• Ye Zhen stayed and cultivated on Fairy Maiden Peak for ten days while Fan Chuyu waited for him to leave, then decided to find a way to force him out.

Fan Chuyu sent Zhou Zhian to force Ye Zhen into a challenge, and Ye Zhen accepted after Zhou Zhian insulted him over an Amplification Talisman. At the Martial Arena, Caiyi nearly killed Zhou Zhian for insulting Ye Zhen, and Ye Zhen stepped forward to face him.

• Fan Chuyu ordered Cao Luo and Zhou Zhian to challenge Ye Zhen, who had been staying on Fairy Maiden Peak, and gave Zhou Zhian pills and his Three Yuan Sword.
• Zhou Zhian used an Amplification Talisman to taunt Ye Zhen across the sect, and Ye Zhen borrowed one from Caiyi and accepted the challenge.
• Disciples and sect figures rushed to the Martial Arena to watch Ye Zhen fight Zhou Zhian, who had reached True Essence Fifth Level Late Stage and held a low-grade Treasure Weapon.
• Caiyi attacked Zhou Zhian with her Rainbow Sash for insulting Ye Zhen, but stopped when Ye Zhen called out to her.
• Caiyi brought Ye Zhen to the Martial Arena, where he stepped forward and announced his arrival to Zhou Zhian.