Chapter Summaries

Shen Qian survived No. 56’s attack and exposed Sun Zuo as an assassin, but Wang Shuo appeared and revealed six powerful Wang Hou avatars as his backup. The chapter left Shen Qian and Tantai Qin facing the overwhelming group in Book Mountain Basin.

• No. 56 was torn apart by the human martial artists after warning Shen Qian that he might not leave the Sea of Learning alive.
• Sun Zuo tried to stab Shen Qian, but Shen Qian blocked him and Tantai Qin severed Sun Zuo’s arm.
• Shen Qian explained how Sun Zuo had exposed his betrayal, and Sun Zuo admitted he wanted a chance to become a Wang Hou.
• Wang Shuo appeared, and Tantai Qin killed Sun Zuo before Shen Qian sent Qu Bai, Li Muyi, and the others away.
• Wang Shuo revealed six Wang Hou avatars, and Shen Qian recognized one as Marquis Tuodong’s avatar.

Shen Qian and Tantai Qin faced seven powerful enemies, including six Wang Hou who had infiltrated the Sea of Learning under King Zhouyi’s concealment. After Tantai Qin’s sword strike saved them from a combined attack, Shen Qian revealed that he still had a trump card and activated Emperor's Demeanor, causing the Sea of Learning to surge.

• Shen Qian identified Marquis Tuodong, Duke Tianning, Marquis Liegu, Marquis Qin Zhao, Marquis Zhaoyuan, and the supposedly dead Marquis Yongye among the intruders, and deduced that King Zhouyi had concealed them.
• Marquis Yongye hinted that Shen Qian’s teacher was in danger, and Shen Qian realized Han Chi had likely fallen into trouble.
• Duke Tianning launched a coordinated attack with the other Wang Hou and Erlang Shen, but Tantai Qin blocked it with a powerful sword strike that injured several attackers.
• Shen Qian took Tantai Qin’s sword and sent her away, then refused Wang Shuo’s offer to spare him in exchange for a mark on his soul.
• Shen Qian activated Emperor's Demeanor, and the Sea of Learning erupted into a raging storm as his presence overwhelmed the Wang Hou.

Shen Qian used Emperor's Demeanor in the Sea of Learning to destroy six attacking Wang Hous, leaving only Wang Shuo alive behind a protective treasure. Wang Shuo revealed the White Emperor's Nine-Star Literary Position and tried to absorb it, but Shen Qian called the Magatama back to himself.

• Shen Qian activated Emperor's Demeanor and made the six Wang Hous believe he carried the Emperor of Heaven's inheritance.
• Marquis Yongye and the other Wang Hous attacked Shen Qian, who used his command over the Sea of Learning to kill them all except Wang Shuo.
• Wang Shuo survived with a life-saving treasure and revealed the White Emperor's Nine-Star Literary Position.
• Wang Shuo forcibly began absorbing the White Emperor's Magatama to challenge Shen Qian, but Shen Qian beckoned and the Magatama broke free and flew to him.

Shen Qian seized the White Emperor’s Literary Rank from Wang Shuo and killed him, but remained troubled about his teacher, the Marquis of Jingcheng. In the starry-sky battle, the deaths of six avatars in the Sea of Learning gave Gao Wenyuan an opening to kill Duke Tianning and Marquis Qin Zhao.

• Shen Qian drew the White Emperor’s Literary Rank to himself, preventing Wang Shuo from refining it.
• Tantai Qin struck down Wang Shuo as he fled, and Shen Qian finished him off.
• Shen Qian put away the Literary Rank, admitted he feared for his teacher, and resolved that he needed to break through the Eighth Restriction.
• In the battle against Gao Wenyuan, six Wang Hou learned that their Sea of Learning avatars had perished and were wounded as their souls were shaken.
• Gao Wenyuan seized the opening and killed Duke Tianning and Marquis Qin Zhao, while Han Chi blamed Shen Qian for the turn of events.

Gao Wenyuan defeated the human Wang Hou who had surrounded him, but Han Chi summoned the Witch Emperor, who killed Gao Wenyuan and then removed Ten Thousand Years Mountain’s seal. With ancient enemies beginning to awaken, Han Chi ordered the survivors to retreat and warn Wu Wei.

• Gao Wenyuan’s attack killed Duke Tianning and Marquis Qin Zhao, leaving Han Chi and the remaining Wang Hou shaken.
• Han Chi apologized to Gao Wenyuan and revealed that he had summoned the Witch Emperor, prompting Gao Wenyuan to condemn him for betraying the human race.
• The Witch Emperor attacked Gao Wenyuan beneath his cloak and crown, then said Gao Wenyuan’s soul had been torn apart, though his incomplete Soul Dharma Form left open the possibility that he had not reached his full potential.
• The Witch Emperor concluded that Gao Wenyuan was dead, then removed the restrictions from Ten Thousand Years Mountain as payment for intervening.
• As ancient auras awakened within Ten Thousand Years Mountain, Han Chi ordered the survivors to retreat and told them to notify Wu Wei and prepare.

After Shen Qian sensed an unexplained loss and learned that everyone was trapped in the Sea of Learning, he suspected Book Mountain was connected to the danger in the Middle Sea. He tried to dismantle it by using the system to absorb the knowledge inside, and the mountain began to shake.

• Shen Qian broke down in tears, sensing that something was missing from his heart, and Tantai Qin comforted him as he feared it might concern the Marquis of Jingcheng.
• Man Hu arrived and told Shen Qian’s group that soul marks no longer worked and no one could leave the Middle Sea.
• Shen Qian ruled out his battle with the six Wang Hous as the cause of the seal and suspected the Middle Sea’s hidden danger was tied to Book Mountain.
• Shen Qian pointed out damage on Book Mountain and proposed dismantling it, then pressed his hand against it to make the system absorb its gathered knowledge.
• Book Mountain shook violently as the countless books inside it began to boil.

Shen Qian used the system to dismantle Book Mountain and discovered that its knowledge had been stored in a vast library of high-star Literary Ranks. He shared many of them with his companions and, with two refinement chances still available, prepared to test whether the stone platform could refine Nine-Star Literary Ranks.

• Shen Qian used the system to break down Book Mountain, uncovering a huge opening where the mountain had stood and a library containing its collected Literary Ranks.
• Shen Qian found twenty-three Eight-Star and nine Nine-Star Literary Ranks in the library, then displayed dozens of them to the stunned martial artists in Book Mountain Basin.
• Shen Qian offered Literary Ranks to his companions, who chose ranks suited to their abilities, while Tantai Qin selected a Nine-Star rank.
• Qu Bai and Feng Manlin explained that high-star Literary Ranks could be difficult to control and might hinder martial progress, leaving Shen Qian unsure what to do with the remaining ranks.
• Tantai Qin suggested that Shen Qian try refining the high-star Literary Ranks, and he realized that the stone platform and Iron Hammer remained after Book Mountain's destruction.

Shen Qian forged dozens of Eight-Star and Nine-Star Literary Ranks into a rusty key, which flew into his eye and showed him a vision of the Azure Lotus Buddha Lord fighting Chaos Creatures for Chaos Power. The vision ended when a mysterious force engulfed the Buddha Lord, leaving Shen Qian abruptly returned to himself.

• Shen Qian used the stone platform to fuse high-star Literary Ranks, while Tantai Qin and the others guarded the area and watched.
• Shen Qian completed the forging, and a plain rusty key rose from the stone platform before shooting into his eye.
• Shen Qian entered a state of no self and witnessed the Azure Lotus Buddha Lord appear in the depths of the Sea of Learning.
• The Azure Lotus Buddha Lord killed eight Chaos Creatures and gathered a small sphere of Chaos Power from them.
• After failing to refine the Chaos Power, the Azure Lotus Buddha Lord faced an unseen presence, glanced toward Shen Qian, and was swallowed by strange waves.
• The vision abruptly ended, and Shen Qian returned to himself drenched in cold sweat.

After forging the beyond-nine-star Omniscience Literary Rank, Shen Qian urged the martial artists in Book Mountain Basin to stop fighting and promised to distribute his vast store of Literary Ranks through the Martial Arts Department. He entered the hidden space beneath Book Mountain to investigate the Sea of Learning’s seal and found surviving Chaos Creatures waiting there.

• Shen Qian told the others that Azure Lotus Buddha Lord had fallen to a mysterious visitor linked to the danger that had once hunted him through the River of Time.
• Shen Qian named his new Literary Rank Omniscience and said he would distribute roughly six figures of four-star to seven-star Literary Ranks through the Martial Arts Department.
• Shen Qian asked the gathered martial artists to preserve order and stop fighting, then refused to let Qu Bai, the others, or Tantai Qin accompany him into the opening beneath Book Mountain.
• Shen Qian entered the hidden space and emerged on a floating island surrounded by the Sea of Learning.
• A surviving Chaos Creature attacked Shen Qian with its enormous tail, and Shen Qian recognized that some Chaos Creatures had survived Azure Lotus Buddha Lord’s attack.

Shen Qian confronted Bo Qi, the last adult Chaos Creature in the Sea of Learning, and forced it to explain why it had sealed the realm. Bo Qi revealed that an existence called “It” had marked a human and was nearing the Sea of Learning, leaving Shen Qian to weigh the danger of reopening the way to Earth against the danger of remaining trapped.

• Shen Qian threatened Bo Qi and the young Chaos Creatures on its island by stirring up a Knowledge Storm, forcing Bo Qi to talk.
• Bo Qi explained that the Chaos race had fled the destruction of Chaos and settled in the Sea of Learning, where its Sacred Artifact helped it grow.
• Bo Qi admitted it had sealed the Sea of Learning to protect everyone from “It,” an existence gathering Chaos Power that had marked one of the human martial artists.
• Shen Qian suspected that “It” had marked him during their encounter in the River of Time, though he could not explain why the mark had only led it toward the Sea of Learning now.
• Bo Qi revealed that the White Emperor and Azure Lotus Buddha Lord had once driven “It” away at the cost of their lives, explaining their disappearance.
• Shen Qian realized that removing the isolation might let “It” descend, but keeping it in place could leave everyone trapped beyond the passage to Earth.

Shen Qian returned to Book Mountain Basin with a way to open the Sea of Learning’s spatial barrier, but warned his companions that an unknowable danger might annihilate everyone if they stayed. He left with Tantai Qin for the place where the Buddhist Venerable had fallen, hoping to find some way to face the threat, and arrived at a vast ocean trench.

• Shen Qian emerged from the cave carrying the Chaos Creatures’ Sacred Artifact and explained that it could open the spatial barrier.
• Shen Qian told his companions to evacuate the Sea of Learning as soon as he lifted its seal, warning that an unknown danger might wipe out everyone.
• Shen Qian departed with Tantai Qin, transformed the surrounding sea into a vivid landscape, and shared a kiss with her.
• Tantai Qin realized Shen Qian could not truly overcome the danger, and he admitted he planned to visit the Buddhist Venerable’s place of death for a possible chance to help.
• Shen Qian persuaded Tantai Qin to leave rather than remain with him, then guided her to an enormous ocean trench.

Shen Qian recovered the White Emperor’s Magatama and the Azure Lotus Buddha Lord’s lotus pedestal, gaining two Emperor character cards and unlocking Emperor Storm. King Yanling then appeared and asked Shen Qian to kill her when they met again, before requesting that he briefly take on the White Emperor’s form so she could embrace him.

• Shen Qian unearthed the Buddha Child Literary Rank and fused it with the White Emperor’s Magatama, awakening character cards for the White Emperor and Buddha Lord.
• Shen Qian discovered Emperor Storm, a devastating ability that fused all available Emperor cards but would leave him unconscious and crash the system.
• King Yanling appeared on a cloud platform and told Shen Qian that he would learn the truth about It when he reached the end of his path.
• King Yanling asked Shen Qian to fulfill his third promise by killing her when they met again, then asked him to become the White Emperor temporarily.
• Shen Qian activated the White Emperor card, and King Yanling embraced him, relieved that some of her regrets had finally faded.

After King Yanling’s final gift brought Shen Qian to the threshold of the Eighth Restriction of Mental Power, he remained behind in the Sea of Learning to confront the approaching existence while Tantai Qin and the others tried to leave. The existence annihilated the martial artists trapped inside and revealed a face Shen Qian recognized as Qi Ling, King Yanling, leaving him stunned and unable to reconcile her identity with what he knew of history.

• King Yanling’s final whisper and shared insights helped Shen Qian approach the Eighth Restriction’s Form and Intent Gate, and he sent Tantai Qin back to tell the others to leave.
• Tantai Qin returned to Book Mountain Basin, and Taishi Wuwei urged the martial artists to activate their marks as the Sea of Learning’s exit became available.
• A vast shadow descended over the Sea of Learning, and the passage closed from Earth’s side as the trapped martial artists were transformed into shadows.
• Tantai Qin remained unharmed and waited while Shen Qian faced the shadow from a dark trench and recognized its aura from the River of Time.
• The shadow formed a gigantic face, and Shen Qian recognized it as Qi Ling, King Yanling, whose earlier request that he kill her now made sense to him.

Shen Qian faced King Yanling, who had become an embodiment of the rules, and unleashed Emperor Storm to destroy her manifestation and the Sea of Learning. He survived but fell into a deep slumber, and Tantai Qin found him as a patch of shadow appeared in the sky.

• King Yanling called Shen Qian the Seed of Fire and used the rules to immobilize him and strike him with golden lightning.
• Shen Qian realized King Yanling had become the rules through her Dao of Law Stealing and could not be defeated by ordinary means.
• Shen Qian activated Emperor Storm, merging with the Emperor of Heaven, the White Emperor, and the Azure Lotus Buddha Lord.
• Shen Qian's storm annihilated King Yanling's face and erased the Sea of Learning around him, leaving only a pillar amid a vast abyss.
• Shen Qian confirmed that the sky was empty, then collapsed into a deep slumber as the storm dissipated.
• Tantai Qin found Shen Qian alive and stayed beside him, but then noticed a patch of shadow emerging in the sky.

Tantai Qin sacrificed herself to drive the wounded laws from the abyss, and Shen Qian awakened to visions revealing that the system was the Seed of Fire, forged from a fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation. He learned that the Seed was humanity’s long-planned hope against an overwhelming threat, and awoke beside Tantai Qin’s sword.

• Tantai Qin blocked the shadow from reaching the helpless Shen Qian and comprehended the complete Moon Phase Power.
• Tantai Qin fused her two Daos and struck the shadow with a sword that expelled the remnants of the laws, but the backlash shattered her soul.
• Shen Qian witnessed a memory in which the Demon King instructed Gao Wenyuan to establish a family, await spiritual energy’s return, and seek a fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation.
• Shen Qian saw Gao Wenyuan give the King of Jiangling a Jade Disk fragment to forge the Seed of Fire, with traits contributed by Emperor-level experts.
• Shen Qian realized the Seed of Fire was his system and that he was carrying the hope left by the Emperor-level experts.
• Shen Qian awoke and saw Tantai Qin’s sword standing at his feet.

After Tantai Qin’s apparent death, Shen Qian found hope in the possibility of saving her by returning to the River of Time, then left the Sea of Learning and returned to Earth. Wu Wei told him that the myriad races had launched a full assault on humanity and that the final battle had begun.

• Shen Qian realized Tantai Qin might have encountered him in the future and resolved to grow strong enough to save her and his teacher.
• Shen Qian found Bo Qi dead after he had shielded the young chaotic ancient beasts from the Pale Storm, so he removed the beasts’ chaotic aura and extracted the remaining aura from Bo Qi’s body.
• Shen Qian returned to the Yangtze River teleportation site, where Li Muyi and Qu Bai told him that the Wang Hou had left and that Wu Wei was waiting nearby.
• Wu Wei told Shen Qian that Guangcheng City had fallen after the S-Class Gate of the Abyssal Sea opened and the alien races attacked in force.
• Wu Wei showed Shen Qian the Gates opening across the region and explained that Gates throughout the monitored areas had opened, beginning the final assault on humanity.

Shen Qian and Wu Wei used the Sky-Peering Mirror to learn that King Zhouyi and six other Wang Hou had joined Han Chi in killing Gao Wenyuan at Ten Thousand Years Mountain. Though Shen Qian agreed to delay confronting the other conspirators, he set out to target Marquis Zhaoyuan and ordered Yuan You to buy every Origin Stone on the market.

• Shen Qian suggested that Ten Thousand Years Mountain’s fall could explain the invasion, so Wu Wei took him to the Martial Arts Department headquarters in North Capital.
• Wu Wei used King of Jiangling’s Sky-Peering Mirror to reveal King Zhouyi, Han Chi, and six other Wang Hou besieging Gao Wenyuan before the Witch Emperor ended the fight.
• Shen Qian told Wu Wei he would not go to Plum Garden or involve his senior brothers, but planned to collect interest from Marquis Zhaoyuan or Marquis Liegu.
• Wu Wei gave Shen Qian Marquis Zhaoyuan’s address at Earth’s Core City, Marquis Road, Number Thirty-Nine, and planned to alert Golden Tower Marquis.
• Shen Qian called Yuan You, asked her to arrange funds with Wan Ning, and ordered her to buy every Origin Stone available.

At Dao Heaven tea restaurant, Shi Xuanyi revealed that a human Wang Hou had killed the Marquis of Jingcheng and accused Shen Qian’s fellow disciples of abandoning him. Shen Qian arrived at the restaurant, confronted the operators of the bounty list, and learned its owner might be a Wang Hou.

• Mountains and Seas at Dao Heaven discussed the war’s losses and questioned the vague reports about four fallen human Wang Hou.
• Shi Xuanyi claimed a human Wang Hou had killed the Marquis of Jingcheng and said Shen Qian’s fellow disciples had done nothing to uncover the truth.
• The patrons discussed Shen Qian’s disappearance and the bounty on him, while Shi Xuanyi said Shen Qian had nearly died after being besieged by six Wang Hou at the Sea of Learning.
• Shen Qian entered wearing mourning clothes, and the patrons recognized him as he inspected the bounty list bearing his name.
• Shen Qian cracked the blackboard and damaged the restaurant, condemning its black-market bounty scheme.
• An elderly Mountain Sea warned Shen Qian that a Wang Hou might own the restaurant, and Shen Qian paused to ask if that was true.

Shen Qian demolished Dao Heaven teahouse, punished Shi Xuanyi for abandoning the Marquis of Jingcheng’s funeral, and carried a provocative plaque to Marquis Zhaoyuan’s estate. He confronted Jun Buping on his teacher’s death anniversary and declared the plaque was for him.

• Shen Qian destroyed Dao Heaven teahouse and waited for its Wang Hou backer, who never appeared.
• Shen Qian humiliated Shi Xuanyi, expelled him from Sky-Reaching Academy, and shattered his meridians when he attacked.
• Onlookers discovered that Shen Qian’s plaque read “Worse Than Pigs and Dogs” and was addressed to Marquis Zhaoyuan.
• Shen Qian explained that he had spent nearly a month awakening the system and preparing before setting out to confront Jun Buping.
• Shen Qian reached Marquis Zhaoyuan’s estate, identified Jun Buping, and hung the plaque above the gates as a gift on his teacher’s death anniversary.

Shen Qian challenged Marquis Zhaoyuan in his domain, matched the Wang Hou’s mental power, and struck him down with a completed Dark Buddha technique. The chapter ended with an injured Marquis Zhaoyuan charging at Shen Qian in a rage.

• Marquis Zhaoyuan saw Shen Qian’s plaque insulting him and unleashed a burst of power that Golden Tower Marquis contained before it could destroy Lords' Street.
• Marquis Zhaoyuan trapped Shen Qian in a domain and tried to crush him through a contest of mental power, but Shen Qian matched and surpassed him.
• Marquis Zhaoyuan summoned falling meteors, but Shen Qian emerged as a hundred-zhang Dark Buddha and struck him with Extreme Fist.
• Shen Qian’s punch shattered Marquis Zhaoyuan’s Star Power, broke his domain, and sent him crashing through the estate below.
• Marquis Zhaoyuan flew back out of the ruins and charged at Shen Qian, roaring his name.