Recaps

As backlash mounted against Zhang Yu’s Law Article Validity Period, people around him debated the political struggle behind it and its connection to reforms involving the Lower Realm. The chapter ended with Immortal Roujia and Immortal Yixuan deciding to offer Zhang Yu support in name only, while refusing to help him.

• Shi Huaiyu celebrated Zhang Yu’s new Law Article, and Zhao Tianxing delivered Zhang Yu’s instructions before noticing a message from Wang Yin and visiting Feng Tingting’s livestream.
• Feng Tingting defended Zhang Yu against critics, while Yan Qianji, Bei Wufeng, Jin Jun, Ying Xin, and others voiced support for him.
• Old Gao and Magnetic Pole discussed the growing opposition to Zhang Yu’s legislation and noticed that Soul Cultivator pilot programs overlapped with the Law Article pilot sites.
• Yu Xinghan praised Zhang Yu and Tai Yuebai, then Starfire Lord suggested that opening Lower Realm resources could be a bargain to persuade Sect cultivators to surrender legislative authority.
• Immortal Roujia and Immortal Yixuan blamed Zhang Yu and Tai Yuebai’s Law Articles for financial losses and public turmoil, then resolved to support Zhang Yu without actually helping him.

After Zhang Yu’s Law Article Validity Period stirred controversy across the Myriad Laws Sect, Bai Zhenzhen persuaded Bu Yingshu that the reform might help her ascend to immortality. Zhang Yu learned that Bu Yingshu had spoken with Bai Zhenzhen, but his attention remained on the Law Article selection and the Immortal Emperor’s unanswered proposal before an unexpected visitor sought him.

• Lu Hengzhang and Ying Aikun reacted to Zhang Yu’s Law Article Validity Period, while Feng Tingting’s livestream accused anti-reformists of colluding with outside forces before it was shut down.
• Wen Wuya spread news of the reform through the Instant Sword Net, and Bai Zhenzhen worried that the growing controversy was putting Zhang Yu in danger.
• Bu Yingshu confronted Bai Zhenzhen over Zhang Yu’s supposed betrayal, but Bai Zhenzhen claimed the new Law Article could remove shackles on the Immortal Clan and help Bu Yingshu ascend.
• Bu Yingshu secretly met Bai Zhenzhen in the Old Days Graveyard, accepted that Zhang Yu might offer her an opportunity to become immortal, and agreed to keep using him despite doubting Bai Zhenzhen’s story.
• Zhao Tianxing told Bai Zhenzhen that Zhang Yu would return next month; Zhang Yu learned that Bu Yingshu had spoken with her and then received word that an unexpected visitor wanted to see him.

Zhang Yu faced mounting pressure from powerful factions to place his Legal Article Pilot Area in Layer 1, while public attacks and business restrictions targeted him and Old Days Graveyard. After hearing arguments from Fa Liuyuan and Tai Yuebai, he remained troubled by the cost to Layer 1 and the Immortal Emperor’s intentions.

• Starfire Lord told Zhang Yu that cultivators with established Law Articles wanted the pilot area placed in the Lower Realm, preferably Layer 1, and Zhang Yu said he needed time to decide.
• Gu Qingya and other Sect Affairs Officers urged Zhang Yu to choose Layer 1, while Si Shi'an forced Immortal Coin into him to pay one month of his debt interest and offered him a free Calculation Pool membership.
• Zhang Yu left the Testing Grounds and learned from Yu Xinghan that hostile articles were spreading rumors against him and his plans to bring in Lower Realm Cultivators.
• Copyright approval for Magnetic Pole's Dharma Treasure was rejected, puppet sales were suspended, Soul Cultivators faced inspection, and debt collectors publicized Zhang Yu's debt as pressure mounted on Old Days Graveyard.
• Fa Liuyuan said the Reformists could not intervene and advised Zhang Yu to choose Layer 1, explaining that outside Sects were pressuring the Myriad Laws Sect and the Immortal Emperor had to balance competing interests.
• Tai Yuebai warned that helping the Immortal Emperor regulate Law Articles could hasten an apocalypse and urged Zhang Yu to choose Layer 1, but Zhang Yu questioned whether that choice would expose Layer 1 to destructive interference from powerful cultivators.

Tai Yuebai warned Zhang Yu that placing the law-article pilot program in the Sect would endanger his companions, but Shi Yunxiang’s attack pushed Zhang Yu to confront the cost of protecting them. After Bu Yingshu protected him from Ban Jinchen and misunderstood Zhang Yu’s plans, Zhang Yu sought the Giant Corpse’s counsel on the Immortal Emperor’s predicament.

• Tai Yuebai warned Zhang Yu that choosing the Sect for the pilot program would make powerful cultivators target his companions, while choosing Layer 1 would sacrifice his hometown.
• Yu Xinghan told Zhang Yu that Ban Jinchen had badly injured Shi Yunxiang, and Zhang Yu arrived to save him as Ban Jinchen taunted him.
• Zhang Yu attacked Ban Jinchen with Bu Yingshu’s Immortal Shuttle, and Bu Yingshu emerged from it, revealed her Tribulation Crossing breakthrough, and destroyed Ban Jinchen’s clone.
• Bu Yingshu questioned Zhang Yu about the pilot program, mistook his plan to freeze restrictive Law Articles as a bid to help her ascend, and left with the Immortal Shuttle still in his care.
• Zhang Yu visited Kuang Tianqing, Su Lingyou, and the Giant Corpse, who explained that an Immortal Emperor faced all living beings as enemies and the world as a cage.

The Giant Corpse explained how Wanfa Immortal Emperor pursued control over Dao Orthodoxy and why the coming Law Article legislation could reshape the struggle among the Ten Great Sects. Zhang Yu weighed whether to declare support for a sect-level pilot program, then consulted Zhang Pianpian, who identified the 16th Layer as both the most useful and most dangerous place to begin clearing Law Articles.

• The Giant Corpse told Zhang Yu that Wanfa Immortal Emperor had broken free of Heart Aspiring to Immortality before becoming immortal, only to discover that an even deeper desire for growth underlay human existence.
• The Giant Corpse warned that Wanfa Immortal Emperor would pursue the chance to regulate Law Articles, while Kuang Tianqing revealed that Vajra Sect legislator Ye Heng was likely to succeed and urged Zhang Yu to publicly back a sect-level pilot program.
• Kuang Tianqing offered Zhang Yu two more Evil Gods if he declared his position, but the Giant Corpse suspected Zhang Yu had independently severed Heart Aspiring to Immortality's influence and said his value could determine whether Wanfa Immortal Emperor advanced him toward Dao Orthodoxy.
• Zhang Yu stored the six Evil God Black Pearls in his shadow and went to the Taiqing Realm to speak with Zhang Pianpian about where to establish the pilot program.
• Zhang Pianpian outlined Zhang Yu's choices and advised that the 16th Layer held the most veteran Void Refining cultivators and Law Articles likely to need clearing, making it his best opportunity and his greatest danger.

Zhang Yu chose the 16th Layer as the pilot site for his Law Article reforms and publicly declared war on those obstructing them. After securing his companions and winning the Immortal Emperor’s approval, he left the Sect’s factions watching his challenge with hostility.

• After considering intelligence from Zhang Pianpian and the Reincarnation Group, Zhang Yu recognized the influence his choices could have and received word that his subordinates were being doxxed and harassed.
• Yu Xinghan, Zhao Tianxing, and Mo Tianyi affirmed their trust in Zhang Yu, while Zhang Yu rejected Ban Jinchen’s threat and warned him that opposing his Law Articles would carry a price.
• Zhang Yu moved the Lower Realm cultivators into his Immortal Grotto-Heaven, submitted a forceful memorial seeking approval for a 16th Layer pilot site, and received the Immortal Emperor’s permission to proceed.
• Zhang Yu announced that he would freeze the Four-Hour Workday and Paid Overtime Law Articles, then declared on livestream that the pilot site would be on the 16th Layer.
• Zhang Yu denounced the interest groups obstructing reform, while Bu Yingshu worried about his impulsive move and Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an watched his speech in anger.

Zhang Yu’s push to freeze outdated Law Articles sparked a fierce public and political struggle as Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an rallied opponents and Zhang Yu’s allies fought back. His businesses and finances came under pressure until news from Vajra Sect about Legislative Fruit Status shocked Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an.

• Si Shi'an and Ban Jinchen released a video accusing Zhang Yu of seeking control over Law Articles and endangering relations with other sects, and Zhang Yu countered by questioning their loyalties and calling for an investigation into possible outside ties.
• Zhao Tianxing, Lu Hengzhang, and other Soul Cultivators flooded the Spirit Realm and Dharma Realm with support for Zhang Yu, while Magnetic Pole, Old Gao, and Bu Yingshu’s circle also rallied behind him in different ways.
• Cultivators including Dugu Ming and Su Xianchen supported Law Article management, while opponents and Ying Aikun criticized Zhang Yu; Zhang Yu considered the lingering influence of the Tai Zhen Immortal Clan’s Law Articles.
• Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an failed to find damaging information about Zhang Yu and shifted attention to his thousand-year computational-power debt, which Zhang Yu publicly admitted while vowing to continue reforming the legal system.
• Zhang Yu’s businesses and cash flow suffered under boycotts and mounting criticism, forcing him to sell assets as Soul Cultivators left his companies; Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an expected him to give in before the pilot program began.
• News from Vajra Sect about Legislative Fruit Status reached Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an, leaving Ban Jinchen alarmed and Si Shi'an visibly unsettled.

Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an watched the Immortal Emperor’s phased Law Article validity rules and support for Zhang Yu crush their political influence and finances. As they clung to hope, Ban Jinchen went to Shi Yunxiang’s hospital room to seek Zhang Yu and greeted him by shouting “Dad!”

• Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an resolved to resist the Myriad Laws Sect’s reforms after the Vajra Sect announced it would regulate Law Articles, even as public opinion turned against them.
• The Ascension Hall issued phased Law Article validity rules, delaying reviews for later batches and weakening opposition to the Immortal Emperor’s reforms.
• Cultivators who had opposed Zhang Yu deleted their criticism or apologized, while Dugu Ming, Su Xianchen, and Bu Yuangui publicly praised him.
• Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an suffered plunging stocks, shrinking influence, and mounting debts as pressure against their Law Articles intensified.
• Ban Jinchen appeared in Shi Yunxiang’s hospital room, knelt to apologize and offer to cover his medical expenses, then shouted “Dad!” when Zhang Yu’s projection arrived.

Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an begged Zhang Yu for help as the Law Article reforms gained momentum, while Zhang Yu refused their bribes and recruited their intelligence. The Immortal Emperor appointed Zhang Yu director of the Effectiveness Review Department, gave him extensive privileges, and bestowed the title Myriad Laws Divine Sword.

• Ban Jinchen sought Zhang Yu's help to delay the freezing of his Law Article, but he and Si Shi'an exposed one another and offered to assist Zhang Yu against their political rivals.
• Zhang Yu rejected their Immortal Coins and asked Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an to share information about efforts to preserve the Dual-Cultivation Obligation and Reproduction Obligation.
• As public support grew, Zhang Yu received cooperation offers and good news about his business, while Shi Huaiyu profited from short-selling and Ying Xin's clan benefited from new work opportunities for Soul Cultivators.
• Bu Yingshu contacted Zhang Yu about his plans for the 16th Layer, while Kuang Tianqing rewarded him with two Evil God Black Pearls for supporting the Immortal Emperor's reforms.
• Ascension Hall announced the Law-Article Review Committee and appointed Zhang Yu director of its Effectiveness Review Department, granting him substantial benefits and the title Myriad Laws Divine Sword.

Zhang Yu received the Myriad Laws Divine Sword title and the Hundred-Billion Flying Sword as he took up the Effectiveness Review Department post, while factions debated the consequences of his new authority. He tested the sword’s reach by targeting Xiao Yunhe and Di Xuan, who both panicked and contacted him.

• Bu Yuangui explained the Hundred-Billion Flying Sword’s single devastating strike and urged Bu Yingshu to congratulate Zhang Yu, while she privately reflected on their alliance and his potential sacrifice for her immortality.
• Immortal Roujia and Immortal Yixuan viewed Zhang Yu as the Immortal Emperor’s pawn and planned to befriend him, while Tai Yuebai warned that the Immortal Emperors’ legal reforms could bring doom and resolved to pursue Ascension Realm in twenty-one years.
• Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an felt relieved that they had submitted to Zhang Yu, while Magnetic Pole learned of his appointment and Old Gao praised her judgment of him.
• Yu Xinghan congratulated Zhang Yu, who said he might recommend Yu Xinghan for his posts and advised him to focus on cultivation; Yu Xinghan then hesitated to meet Li Xuelian.
• Zhang Yu received the Effectiveness Review Department post, the Myriad Laws Divine Sword title, and the Hundred-Billion Flying Sword, whose perception revealed targets far beyond his own range.
• Zhang Yu targeted Xiao Yunhe and Di Xuan with the sword, prompting both men to panic and message him for reassurance.

Yue Qinglan and Lian Zizi kept Le Mulan isolated to conceal the upgraded effects of her Dao Seed, while Zhang Yu discovered that her ability could extend Soul Cultivators’ lifespans and feared the pharmaceutical company would exploit her. Zhang Yu persuaded Bu Yingshu to investigate Le Mulan’s situation, and another message from Kuang Tianqing arrived.

• Yue Qinglan and Lian Zizi dismissed the risk of Zhang Yu intervening and refused to let Le Mulan contact him, though they asked her to draft a message for possible later use.
• Zhang Yu saw that Le Mulan’s [Deep Cold Magic Vein] had reached level 5 and realized it could extend Soul Cultivators’ lifespans, making her vulnerable to the pharmaceutical company’s greed.
• Zhang Yu decided to leave Bu Yingshu and help Le Mulan, but Bu Yingshu objected until he claimed the company might be targeting her through his people.
• Bu Yingshu agreed to investigate Le Mulan and reminded Zhang Yu that the pharmaceutical companies operated on Myriad Laws Sect land.
• A message from Kuang Tianqing appeared before Zhang Yu after Bu Yingshu left.

Zhang Yu met with Kuang Tianqing and learned that the Reincarnation Group wanted Le Mulan killed, then heard a plan to stage her death during her transfer to a secret laboratory. Zhang Yu pretended to hesitate over harming his old friend and demanded a higher reward, leaving his true intentions unclear.

• Zhang Yu left Bai Zhenzhen to meet Kuang Tianqing after receiving a message about an old friend, while Bai Zhenzhen continued developing her fused sword arts by observing Yu Zi.
• Su Lengyou informed Zhang Yu that he had been promoted to a level 7 Sect Affairs Officer and named a candidate for Heavenly Devil Prince.
• Kuang Tianqing revealed that the Reincarnation Group wanted Le Mulan sent into Reincarnation with nothing left behind, and proposed that Zhang Yu help arrange her death.
• Kuang Tianqing explained that Le Mulan was being transferred to a secret laboratory on the 16th Layer and planned to make her death appear accidental through an Immortal Token Flying Shuttle.
• Zhang Yu asked what would happen if he refused, then claimed he was reluctant to kill Le Mulan because they had risen together and demanded a higher price.

Zhang Yu negotiated with the Reincarnation Group for two Evil Gods and an advance payment, then raced to Life-Balancing Grotto-Heaven to find Le Mulan. When its leaders tried to keep him from seeing her in person, he invoked his authority over legal reform and announced an inspection of the private realm.

• Zhang Yu demanded two Evil Gods and half the reward in advance to take the Reincarnation Group's mission concerning Le Mulan, and Kuang Tianqing confirmed the group had agreed to the Evil Gods.
• Zhang Yu decided to protect Le Mulan rather than send her into Reincarnation, stored the Evil Gods for Fu Ji, and set off for Layer 16 after Bu Yingshu gave him the same address as the Reincarnation Group.
• Zhang Yu arrived at Life-Balancing Grotto-Heaven, where Yue Qinglan told him Le Mulan was busy with confidential research.
• Le Mulan appeared through a projection and claimed she had signed a contract and did not want Zhang Yu to visit again, while Zhang Yu demanded to see her True Clone in person.
• When Yue Qinglan and Lian Zizi blocked Zhang Yu and offered him money, he refused and declared that he would inspect Life-Balancing Grotto-Heaven as the starting point of his Layer 16 Legal Article Pilot Area.

Zhang Yu entered Life-Balancing Grotto-Heaven to inspect it as a possible Legal Article Pilot Area, while Lian Zizi and Yue Qinglan tried to keep him from reaching Le Mulan. When Yi Yaosheng arrived and began clearing the Small Realm, Zhang Yu drew the Hundred-Billion Flying Sword and made every cultivator before him retreat.

• Zhang Yu announced his inspection of Life-Balancing Grotto-Heaven, but Lian Zizi and Yue Qinglan sealed its gate and tried to hide Le Mulan.
• Bu Yingshu broke through the gate, struck Lian Zizi aside, and backed Zhang Yu as he searched the Small Realm.
• Zhang Yu headed toward Le Mulan, but Yi Yaosheng arrived and demanded time to clear away the Small Realm's assets and secrets.
• Zhang Yu refused to wait and drew the Hundred-Billion Flying Sword, causing Yi Yaosheng, Lian Zizi, and the others to step back.

Zhang Yu used the Hundred-Billion Flying Sword to force Yi Yaosheng and the pharmaceutical companies to submit to an inspection, then helped secure Le Mulan’s release with support from four Ascension Cultivators. News of the confrontation spread, and the Giant Corpse explained that Wanfa Immortal Emperor had intervened to keep Le Mulan as leverage in the struggle between Dao Orthodoxies.

• Zhang Yu threatened to strike anyone who obstructed his inspection, and Yi Yaosheng ordered the others to hold their ground before backing down and agreeing to talk.
• Lie Jinghong, Ban Jinchen, and Si Shi'an joined Zhang Yu’s inspection, while Bu Yuangui, Dugu Ming, Su Xianchen, and Fa Liuyuan arrived as reinforcements.
• Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an found irregularities in Le Mulan’s working hours, and a Fourth-Class True God tore up the contract Yi Yaosheng presented to defend her.
• Yi Yaosheng allowed Le Mulan to be brought to Zhang Yu, who took her hand and told her not to be afraid.
• The Giant Corpse told Kuang Tianqing that Wanfa Immortal Emperor had protected Le Mulan to prevent a Dao Struggle from escalating and was likely arranging her transfer.

Zhang Yu rescued Le Mulan, explained how her exceptional [Deep Cold Magic Vein] had drawn her into Dao Struggle, and gave her the [Spirit Transformation Dao Body] after she chose to keep growing stronger. He delivered her to the Heavenly Observation Hall, where the Wanfa Immortal Emperor intended to cultivate and control her, then learned that Feather Scroll had unlocked the ability to nurture a Second Dao Seed.

• Zhang Yu flew Le Mulan through Kunxu in the Blacklight Immortal Shuttle and told her about his rise in the Myriad Laws Sect and legal reform.
• A notice ordered Le Mulan to report to the Heavenly Observation Hall, and Zhang Yu agreed to take her there himself.
• Zhang Yu warned Le Mulan that improving her talent could expose her to greater dangers, but she chose to pursue the Immortal Dao and help him.
• Zhang Yu inserted [Spirit Transformation Dao Body] into Le Mulan's Law Aperture, transforming her constitution and making cultivation easier.
• Zhang Yu escorted Le Mulan to the Heavenly Observation Hall, and Fu Ji awoke and sent power into his sea of consciousness.
• Several days later, Feather Scroll completed its upgrade and revealed Dao Seed Compendium Two, which allowed Zhang Yu to nurture a Second Dao Seed.

Zhang Yu planted the [Constructing Worlds] Dao Seed in Teacher Gao, helped him raise it to level 4, and arranged training and resources to improve his cultivation. After settling his Millennium Computing Power debt and preparing for the Legal Article Pilot Area, Zhang Yu learned that Teacher Gao’s level 5 ability could secretly expand private Grotto-Heavens, but wondered whether the Orthodox Gods would discover it.

• Zhang Yu decided to plant his yearly blank Dao Seed in Teacher Gao, who reluctantly accepted after Zhang Yu explained that he could not use it himself.
• The Dao Seed Orthodoxy formed Teacher Gao’s [Constructing Worlds] Dao Seed, and Zhang Yu copied it after Teacher Gao learned ten Qi Refining Realm Formation Diagrams.
• Zhang Yu raised Teacher Gao’s Dao Seed to level 4, gave him the [Spirit Transformation Dao Body], and told him to study Deity Transformation formations and Spatial Technology.
• Magnetic Pole ordered Teacher Gao to attend remedial classes and use the Spirit Transformation Pool to pursue a chance at a Refining Void Certificate.
• Zhang Yu negotiated a partnership with Jie Lingtong that covered his Millennium Computing Power debt and secured monthly dividends, then trained to prepare for the Legal Article Pilot Area.
• Teacher Gao demonstrated his level 5 [Constructing Worlds] ability, Illegal Space, which could secretly expand private Grotto-Heavens, and Zhang Yu wondered whether the Orthodox Gods would detect it.

Old Gao discovered that High Cultivators were steadily consuming Kunxu’s public space and secretly expanded Zhang Yu’s Immortal Grotto-Heaven. Zhang Yu then learned that his legal-reform work would draw powerful opposition, with Yun Taizhen set to return to the Sect next year.

• Old Gao and Zhang Yu sensed that Central Extreme Heaven’s spatial fluctuations concealed the Ten Great Sects’ ongoing erosion of public space by High Cultivators.
• Old Gao secretly took one cubic centimeter of public space and added it to Zhang Yu’s Immortal Grotto-Heaven, then planned to practice building Illegal Spaces and investigate further.
• Zhang Yu exchanged messages with Le Mulan, who reported that the Heavenly Observation Hall had assigned her no work and was focused on raising her cultivation.
• Su Xianchen reviewed Zhang Yu’s request to transfer Xiao Yurong, Gao Chongguang, and others to his department, then explained the stakes and rewards for the upcoming legal-reform pilot on the 16th Layer.
• Su Xianchen warned Zhang Yu to freeze the Law Articles carefully and said Yun Taizhen would return from the Heaven Demon Sect next year, while the Immortal Emperor offered Zhang Yu the chance to recommend two drafters and possibly receive a volume of Book.

Zhang Yu accepted the Wanfa Immortal Emperor’s assignment to obtain Fa Liuyuan’s Feather Scroll and spent the following months preparing for the task while extending legal reforms across Kunxu’s 16th Layer. By December, his former classmates had joined the Underworld Property Department, and Zhang Yu learned that Xuan Ge had advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm.

• Su Xianchen told Zhang Yu that he could earn Fa Liuyuan’s Feather Scroll by carrying out the Immortal Emperor’s task, and Zhang Yu agreed despite the risks of antagonizing the Reformists.
• Zhang Yu upgraded production lines and formations in his Immortal Grotto-Heaven, then ordered Ban Jinchen and Si Shi'an to test an eight-hour workday at a pilot site.
• Bu Yingshu seized Zhang Yu and insisted he spend eight hours accompanying her at work.
• Yu Xinghan recruited Mo Shang Jin, Xiao Qingxuan, Shi Yunxiang, and Gongshu Jin to the Underworld Property Department, while Zhang Yu inspected Cang Juehuan’s Tianwen Intelligent Realm.
• In December, the four new recruits joined the Lower Realm Mutual Aid Group, and Zhang Yu discovered that Xuan Ge had obtained a Nascent Soul Certificate and advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Zhang Yu tested the upgraded [Blazing Sun Magic Vein], discovering that it could push his physical strength beyond its limit at the cost of his lifespan and could also drain another person’s lifespan. During an inspection of the Myriad Gold Mystic Realm, he sensed an Ancestor Corpse hidden at its center, while Bai Zhenzhen was recruited as the face of an investment venture and the Dual Cultivation Support Section received an order to investigate the Underworld Property Department.

• Xiao Qingxuan, Shi Yunxiang, Mo Shang Jin, and Gongshu Jin celebrated entering the Sect in the Lower Realm Mutual Aid Group, while Tian Shenggong and Yu Xinghan reflected on Zhang Yu’s influence and Xuan Ge’s Nascent Soul breakthrough.
• Zhang Yu tested the level 4 [Blazing Sun Magic Vein], reaching level 63.1 physical strength by burning through his lifespan, and discovered its effects on Dharma Treasures and other people.
• Zhang Yu found that operating the [Deep Cold Magic Vein] could offset the lifespan consumed by the [Blazing Sun Magic Vein], and Zhan Xian warned him to keep the upgraded ability concealed from others.
• Zhang Yu inspected Kuang Zhiqian’s Myriad Gold Mystic Realm and sensed an Ancestor Corpse hidden among its central Calculation Pools, but could not investigate it yet.
• The Mysterious Person told Bai Zhenzhen that the Heaven Sword Sect planned to build her into a Lower Realm sword goddess to attract investment, and Bai Zhenzhen resolved to make the promotional claims true.
• At the end of December, the Dual Cultivation Support Section received an order to investigate the Underworld Property Department, and its Tribulation Crossing leader vowed to act despite the department’s powerful connections.

Zhang Yu faced a surprise inspection of the Underworld Property Department on the eve of his legal reform pilot, as Zhu Yan tried to use the Dual-Cultivation Obligation to detain him and his staff. Yu Xinghan and others volunteered to shoulder the investigation, but Le Mulan, Bai Zhenzhen, and Bu Yingshu appeared with claims that they had fulfilled Zhang Yu’s obligations, leaving Zhu Yan stunned.

• Zhao Tianxing told Zhang Yu that Zhu Yan and the Dual Cultivation Support Section had launched a surprise inspection of the Underworld Property Department.
• Zhu Yan used a new tester and his Tribulation Crossing power to try to detain the department’s cultivators, including Yu Xinghan, until Zhang Yu intervened.
• Zhu Yan threatened to take Zhang Yu in unless he cooperated, while Zhang Yu weighed the danger of resisting and undermining the coming legal reform.
• Yu Xinghan, Shi Yunxiang, Mo Shang Jin, Gongshu Jin, and Tu Lishan offered to take responsibility for the department’s Dual-Cultivation Obligations, while others supported them with money.
• Le Mulan claimed she had fulfilled the obligations with Zhang Yu, and Bai Zhenzhen said they had completed the next ten years’ quota; Bu Yingshu then offered to show her records with Zhang Yu.

Zhu Yan’s attempt to investigate Zhang Yu’s conduct stalled as cultivators from several Sects claimed to have cultivated with him, and Zhang Yu pretended that Bu Yingshu had spent the longest time with him. Zhu Yan left promising to continue the investigation, while Bu Yingshu then demanded Zhang Yu’s Yang Artifact so she could claim to occupy it every day.

• Le Mulan, Bai Zhenzhen, and Bu Yingshu each claimed a connection to Zhang Yu, startling Zhu Yan and the Underworld Property Department.
• Bu Yingshu challenged Zhang Yu to say which of the three had cultivated with him longest, and Zhang Yu named her to appease her and the crowd.
• Zhu Yan used debt transfer to cover the fines, then investigated Bai Zhenzhen and watched her demonstrate a cycle of mutually generating sword arts.
• Cultivators from outside and inside Sects sent messages claiming to have cultivated with Zhang Yu, and Magnetic Pole and Old Gao testified to his supposed lifelong devotion to Dual Cultivation.
• Zhu Yan abandoned his immediate attempt to take Zhang Yu away but vowed to continue investigating, while Zhang Yu prepared for the coming legal reform struggle.
• Bu Yingshu demanded Zhang Yu’s Yang Artifact and said she would claim to occupy it every day, prompting Fu Ji to warn that she intended to control him.

Zhang Yu refused Bu Yingshu’s offer to take his Yang Artifact, while those around him misread his words as devotion to her and his reputation as a social master spread. On January 1, his Law Article Validity Period took effect in Si Shi’an’s Four Seasons Small Realm, and the cultivators celebrated the new freedom to work overtime.

• Bu Yingshu offered to hide Zhang Yu’s Yang Artifact and pay his fine, but Zhang Yu refused and told her to focus on her own path to immortality.
• Le Mulan invited Zhang Yu to cultivate with her at the Heavenly Observation Hall, while Bai Zhenzhen heard rumors of his relationships and resolved to surpass her rivals through sword cultivation.
• The Dual Cultivation Support Section’s inspection sparked widespread rumors, and the Heavenly Mechanism Child told Zhu Yan to continue the plan for Immortal Venerable Tai Zhen.
• Zhang Yu reviewed his rising cultivation, production capacity, fame, and income before preparing to activate the new law.
• On January 1, Zhang Yu established the True Law-Article Domain in Si Shi’an’s Four Seasons Small Realm, where cultivators celebrated the end of the Four-Hour Workday and Paid Overtime restrictions.

Zhang Yu used the popularity of Four-Hour Workday and Paid Overtime to rapidly expand Law Article Validity Period, while She Yuzun and Zhu Yan plotted to obstruct him. Zhang Yu prepared to expand into four allies’ Small Realms, but Tai Yuebai refused to cooperate, and Zhao Tianxing encountered his former teacher Wang Hai in the Sect.

• Zhang Yu announced that he would freeze Four-Hour Workday and Paid Overtime first, using their unpopularity to boost support and Thought-Tide Amplification for Law Article Validity Period.
• Over two weeks, Zhang Yu’s True Law-Article Domain spread across much of a Small Realm and entered the Refining Void Law Article Rankings at rank 543.
• She Yuzun and Zhu Yan discussed exploiting problems caused by the law freeze and sought to manipulate a Kun Service pairing to hinder Zhang Yu.
• Zhang Yu asked Ban Jinchen, Lie Jinghong, Kuang Zhiqian, and Bu Yingshu to help expand his law article into their Small Realms, while Tai Yuebai’s refusal left his realm off the plan for now.
• While investigating an impersonation case, Zhao Tianxing recognized the Soul Cultivator before him as his former teacher, Wang Hai.

Zhang Yu learned that people from the Lower Realm, including his former teachers and classmates, had entered the Sect, while his reforms to working-hour laws faced rising opposition. She Yuzun exploited the backlash to undermine Zhang Yu’s expanding domain, and the chapter ended as he prepared his next move.

• Wang Hai told Zhao Tianxing that Layer 1 had created a Death Tournament to regulate the rush of people dying their way into the Sect, and that Wang Hai had entered as special talent because he had taught Zhang Yu.
• Zhao Tianxing told Zhang Yu that Wang Hai and several of Zhang Yu’s former teachers, classmates, and acquaintances had entered the Sect; Zhang Yu ordered that they be gathered, given work, and monitored.
• As Zhang Yu expanded his Law Articles, supporters and opponents argued over whether the changes forced capable cultivators into longer workdays, while She Yuzun watched companies steadily increase workloads and hours.
• She Yuzun used snake-demon temp workers and indebted Soul Cultivators to spread a video of a 24-hour workday, prompting Tribulation Crossing cultivators to criticize Zhang Yu’s reforms and warn of a Jobless Tide.
• Several companies announced mass layoffs, and reports about Lower Realm Soul Cultivators entering the Sect fueled criticism of Zhang Yu; She Yuzun decided to unleash his next move.