Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xiaojie and Wu Sanchai found openings in a heavily armored mutated Beast Spirit and helped their teammates bring it down. After retreating to the formation to rest, they prepared to return to the battlefield and help the remaining comrades.

• Zhao Xiaojie failed to pierce the Beast Spirit’s armor with his first attack and warned his teammates to search for a weakness.
• Zhao Xiaojie spotted the Beast Spirit’s abdominal scales loosen when it roared and rushed to attack, but its claw stopped his strike.
• Wu Sanchai wounded the Beast Spirit between its waist and leg, giving Zhao Xiaojie a chance to pierce its abdomen as its scales began to close.
• Zhao Xiaojie called for a coordinated assault, and the team brought down the Beast Spirit with weapons and spells aimed at its weak points.
• Zhao Xiaojie, Wu Sanchai, and the others withdrew to the formation to recover before preparing to advance and help their comrades.

After Zhao Xiaojie’s team helped hold the square and kill three mutated Beast Spirits, the Demon Hunter reinforcements took over the defenses while the exhausted survivors rested and counted casualties. A Demon Hunter elder warned that more Beast Spirits were gathering to attack the two camps, while the mission to destroy every teleportation array remained the priority.

• Zhao Xiaojie’s team rescued more people, established a third Defensive Formation, and joined forces with the neighboring group to kill Beast Spirits.
• Demon Hunter experts destroyed two more teleportation arrays, bringing the enemy’s arrival rate roughly in line with the number killed.
• Zhao Xiaojie, Wu Sanchai, and their teammates helped kill three mutated Beast Spirits during a fierce nighttime assault, and Demon Hunter reinforcements arrived after the fighting ended.
• Zhao Xiaojie and Bai Shuping organized casualty counts as survivors received treatment, recovered, and shared battle advice.
• A senior Demon Hunter warned Zhao Xiaojie and Wu Sanchai that more Beast Spirits were approaching the two gathering points.
• Zhao Xiaojie fell into a deep sleep, while the Demon Hunter organization kept destroying the teleportation arrays as its foremost task.

On the fourth day of the training exercise, Zhao Xiaojie and the Demon Hunter organization launched a coordinated counterattack to destroy the Beast Spirits’ teleportation arrays and cut off their reinforcements. Zhao Xiaojie’s team fought through the enemy and reached an array, where an elite squad prepared talismans to clear the area.

• The Demon Hunter organization issued a battle plan to destroy teleportation arrays, organize counterattacks, and eventually crush the Beast Spirits’ main force.
• Zhao Xiaojie and Wu Sanchai assembled fighters from the defensive position to join an elite Demon Hunter squad, while Zhao Xiaojie warned the remaining commanders to guard their arrays carefully.
• Zhao Xiaojie led the team out as the counterattack began, and the array barrier helped them pierce through the Beast Spirits’ packed formation.
• The team fought its way toward a teleportation array and found the Beast Spirits packed densely around it as reinforcements continued to emerge.
• The elite squad brought out area-clearing talismans that required an activation Formation Disk and a large supply of Spirit Stones.

Zhao Xiaojie and the Demon Hunter elite squad destroyed the teleportation arrays that were sending Beast Spirits into the area, then fought to eliminate most of the horde. With the trial nearly over, Zhao Xiaojie still sensed danger and kept his team in the defensive formation to recover.

• A powerful talisman blast devastated the Beast Spirit horde, and Zhao Xiaojie led his team toward the teleportation array.
• Zhao Xiaojie and his companions killed newly arrived, partially transformed victims while a cultivator used a Formation Disk to destroy the array.
• Zhao Xiaojie led the team through the disordered Beast Spirits, while Wu Sanchai scouted ahead for a route out.
• The team destroyed further teleportation arrays and fought for two days and two nights, eliminating most of the Beast Spirits.
• As the trial neared its end, Zhao Xiaojie recalled his team to the defensive formation and told them to recover because he felt increasingly uneasy.

On the seventh day, Zhao Xiaojie and his team discovered that dawn had not arrived despite their timekeeping devices showing the hour of Chen. A dazzling firework revealed a battle raging in the heavens, and the chapter left them pinned beneath an overwhelming aura as the Purple Lightning Kirin phenomenon appeared.

• Meng Langyue and Zhang Shaoqing compared their watch times, while Zhao Xiaojie ordered the team to check their timekeeping devices and investigate the endless night.
• Wu Sanchai searched outside the formation and found no apparent danger, so Zhao Xiaojie sent the team to look for anything unusual.
• A huge firework burst across the sky, and Zhao Xiaojie warned everyone to stay alert and prepare for danger.
• A powerful aura from a battle in the heavens crushed Zhao Xiaojie, his team, and others in the square to the ground.
• A rift opened in the sky, purple lightning filled the square, and the Purple Lightning Kirin phenomenon appeared.

Kirin’s Purple Lightning Kirin apparition destroyed the White Bone Tower and drove off the wolf-headed enemy, allowing Liangshan Marsh to recover. Zhao Xiaojie rallied his team, but Demon Hunters soon warned them that the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts had taken over a Beast Spirit and was gathering corpses.

• Meng Langyue and the others witnessed the Purple Lightning Kirin assault the White Bone Tower and defeat the wolf-headed apparition.
• Zhao Xiaojie rallied Wu Sanchai, Huang Nanzhen, Guan Nanxing, and the rest of his team, and led them onto the rooftops to overcome their fear and prepare for battle.
• The sky cleared as the people of Liangshan Marsh began recovering from the attack, and Zhao Xiaojie encouraged his team to hold onto their resolve.
• Demon Hunters announced that the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts had taken control of a wounded Beast Spirit and was collecting corpses to strengthen itself.
• The Demon Hunter organization extended the training activity to ten days and arranged assistance with investigating and handling corpses across the streets.

Zhao Xiaojie organized a search for the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts and led his team to the eastern crematorium, where the demon was most likely to appear. As an old Demon Hunter began explaining the worsening corpse-disposal situation, the ground started to tremble.

• Zhao Xiaojie identified the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts as a growing threat and warned that delays would endanger Liangshan Marsh and the surrounding areas.
• Zhao Xiaojie assigned Wu Sanchai, Huang Nanzhen, and Guan Nanxing to investigate the city gates, while Chen Junluo and Zhu Qimo contacted the Demon Hunter organization and gathered intelligence.
• Zhao Xiaojie organized the gathered fighters, warned them to watch for controlled people and ambushes, and sent everyone out to their assigned destinations.
• Zhao Xiaojie's team reached the eastern crematorium and found old Demon Hunters struggling to dispose of the large number of corpses.
• An old Demon Hunter reported that the cremation effort was insufficient, but the ground began to tremble before he could finish.

Zhao Xiaojie and the Demon Hunters struggled against the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts, whose influence drove them to pursue corpses and whose blood-control ability killed several people. They weakened its mass of scarlet blood with fire and the rising sun, but the demon’s true body remained hidden.

• A boulder destroyed the cremation furnace, and Zhao Xiaojie warned the Demon Hunters that the Greedy Demon might be nearby.
• The Greedy Demon magnified the group’s greed, causing Demon Hunters to attack one another and lunge for a hidden object on a corpse; Zhao Xiaojie intervened and urged everyone to calm their minds.
• A Demon Hunter reached for another corpse, triggering a blood column that pierced him and attacked nearby people, draining their blood and life force.
• Zhao Xiaojie ordered everyone to retreat and find the demon’s true body, while the Demon Hunters discovered that fire repelled the mass of scarlet blood.
• The group surrounded the blood mass with flames and talismans, and the hot sun weakened it until they eliminated that method, though the Greedy Demon’s true body remained undiscovered.

Zhao Xiaojie and the others tracked down the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts after regrouping and preparing to resist its influence. They launched a coordinated assault on the demon, beginning the decisive battle.

• Zhao Xiaojie warned his companions about the Greedy Demon's influence and checked them for signs of control.
• Wu Sanchai, Huang Nanzhen, and Guan Nanxing returned with their teams and shared intelligence, while the group exchanged calming incantations and agreed not to fight over collected items.
• Zhao Xiaojie discovered a demonic mark on a corpse and spotted the Greedy Demon moving through the shadows.
• Zhao Xiaojie located the demon's hiding place, led everyone into battle formation, and cut through the blood mist as the group advanced.
• Zhao Xiaojie and the other cultivators attacked the Greedy Demon together after Shield of Righteousness blocked its first counterattack.

Zhao Xiaojie and An Muyuan helped weaken the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts before Demon Hunters trapped it. Their team earned the highest score in the trial, though the danger inside Liangshan Marsh remained unresolved.

• An Muyuan used his life-saving talisman to summon the Academy's power and drive the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts into blood mist.
• Zhao Xiaojie attacked the fleeing demon with Sunflower True Qi and used [Crossing the Sea in Broad Daylight] to wound it.
• Demon Hunter experts arrived with Formation Disks and subdued the weakened Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts.
• Shi Beilu, Huang Lingai, and the others carried Zhao Xiaojie away as he and An Muyuan recovered from the fight.
• A Demon Hunter told Zhao Xiaojie's team that they had earned the highest score, with part of it to be shared among members of other teams.

Zhao Xiaojie's team narrowly won first place in the Mountain City training activity and received the best rewards, including opportunities to contact Demonic Spirits and one guaranteed contract. Zhao Xiaojie assigned the contract opportunity to An Muyuan, while the group prepared to negotiate with the Demon Hunter organization about the guaranteed Demonic Spirit contact.

• The Demon Hunter organization reviewed the battles and ranked Zhao Xiaojie's team first, ahead of the team that had killed the most Beast Spirits.
• The organization awarded the top teams contact opportunities, a guaranteed Contracted Demon Beast Spirit opportunity, talismans, Spirit Stones, and cultivation manuals for the top three families.
• Zhao Xiaojie considered how to distribute the contract opportunities among the fifteen team members, including the Zhu Family members and the strongest performers.
• Huang Lindang volunteered to give up his chance so his younger brother Huang Lingai could compete for the guaranteed contract quota.
• Zhao Xiaojie promised Huang Lindang that the Village Lord would help him contract a Demon Beast Spirit after they returned, then chose An Muyuan for the guaranteed opportunity because of his contribution against the Greedy Demon of Filthy Thoughts.
• Zhao Xiaojie prepared to negotiate with the Demon Hunter organization about the guaranteed Demonic Spirit contact, with Qilin available to find a willing spirit if necessary.

Zhang Mingshu used the [Life Book] to identify the Demonic Spirits and abilities obtained by four successful Demon Hunter candidates. Afterward, the teams remained at the Demon Hunter organization to attend classes, share intelligence, and build ties, while Zhao Xiaojie arranged a mutual information network with families he had rescued.

• Huang Lingai's younger brother formed a contract with [Demonic Spirit · Sea Monk], whose three abilities Zhang Mingshu identified as [False Ritual · Chanting Sutras], [Bewitch Believers · Praying for Blessings], and [Crafting].
• Bai Shuping formed a contract with [Demonic Spirit · Perilous Path God], which granted three abilities focused on strengthening himself and his teammates.
• Shi Beilu formed a contract with [Demonic Spirit · Po Hanwu], gaining abilities for enduring strength, a powerful strike, and a mounted charge.
• An Muyuan formed a contract with the high-grade [Demonic Spirit · Iron-Faced Official], which granted abilities for judging truth and sin, dual-sword combat, and a powerful judgment technique.
• Zhang Mingshu used the [Life Book] to examine the new contracts and noted that Demonic Spirit abilities could vary between hosts.
• The teams stayed at the Demon Hunter organization for inspections and training, while Zhao Xiaojie agreed with rescued families to exchange intelligence and help gather information and supplies.

After returning to Baishi Village, Zhao Xiaojie and Zhang Mingshu organized a secret Special Operations Department and made plans for training, travel, and Zhang Xi’s schooling. Zhang Mingshu also contracted a Red-Yellow Fox for Huang Lindang, while the Dongguan Meng Family’s younger members weighed the cost of their family’s hesitation.

• Zhao Xiaojie brought his group back to Baishi Village, where Zhang Mingshu assessed each person and helped the new demon spirit holders understand their powers.
• Zhang Mingshu and Zhao Xiaojie planned a secret Special Operations Department and a special intelligence group, assigning Zuo Wuming to form the latter.
• Zuo Wuming, Chong Li, and Zhang Xi left for Qi Lu Academy so Zhang Xi could try the admissions examination.
• Zhao Xiaojie prepared to lead fourteen young people on a training march to inspect the Guangling front, Qingmei Ridge, and possibly sites farther south.
• Zhang Mingshu contracted a third-rank mixed-blood Red-Yellow Fox for Huang Lindang and agreed to seek a spiritually intelligent demon spirit for Meng Langyue.
• Meng Langyue and other Dongguan Meng Family youths recognized that their family’s hesitation was costing it influence and opportunities.

Zhao Wuji entered the Martial Dao and Qi Refining Realm, then took part in the spirit-awakening ceremony and received three abilities from a golden-mutated Bowhead Whale Demon. His Water Flow Control ability promised exceptional power in deep water as he continued to grow into his uncertain role between Baishi Village and the Zhao Clan.

• By the end of the fifteenth year of Shengtong, Zhao Wuji had reached the Bronze Skin Iron Bones Realm and the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
• Zhao Wuji stood at the center of Baishi Village’s New Year ceremony, anxious about his origins and his future ties to the Zhao Clan.
• Zhang Mingshu chose a golden-mutated Bowhead Whale Demon for Zhao Wuji and performed the spirit-awakening ritual.
• The demon bestowed Whale Siphon Technique, Golden Pattern Water Shield, and Water Flow Control upon Zhao Wuji.

Zhang Wushuang entered the first layer of the Aperture Opening Realm after opening his first Spiritual Aperture and began refining his cultivation in Daizong’s secluded valley. He had also started building the Azure Pine Three Spirits Secret Art, which would be completed after he opened three apertures.

• Zhang Xi passed the examination and entered Qi Lu Academy, while Zhao Xiaojie arrived in Jiujiang Prefecture and joined the group’s intelligence exchange at Earl Ying’s residence.
• Fuding Sect officially joined the Zhao Kingdom’s alliance, and the Demon Hunter organization withdrew into the kingdom after Qilin led an attack that destroyed the barbarians’ plan at the Hulao Pass Secret Realm.
• Zhang Wushuang completed his first Spiritual Aperture and advanced to the first layer of the Aperture Opening Realm after entering seclusion following the minor competition.
• Zhang Wushuang formed the first part of the Azure Pine Three Spirits Secret Art using his first aperture, with Pine, Bamboo, and Plum Blossom planned as the foundations of his first three apertures.
• Zhang Wushuang guided pine-infused Spiritual Energy into his new aperture and felt his cultivation steadily rise.

Zhang Wushuang used his newly awakened Thousand Silk Illusory Touch for the first time while fighting a demon beast that had escaped into the pine forest. After defeating it and reporting the incident, he left the forest with Zhao Siqi, aware that even Mount Dai’s cultivation areas could be dangerous.

• A concealed, fast-moving demon beast approached Zhang Wushuang while he cultivated, and he used Thousand Silk Illusory Touch to sense and evade its attacks.
• Zhang Wushuang struck the beast with his sword, while Zhao Siqi realized he was fighting and used Thousand Silk Illusory Touch to restrain the creature briefly.
• Zhang Wushuang exploited the opening to fatally wound the demon beast, whose remaining life force was unexpectedly drained by Thousand Silk Illusory Touch.
• Zhang Wushuang told Zhao Siqi he was safe, then reported the battle and his cultivation insights to her and planned to notify Chen Biqiu.
• Zhang Wushuang and Zhao Siqi left the pine forest and returned to Mount Dai’s inner sect area.

After Zhang Wushuang reported killing a demonic beast, Zhao Siqi bought him a potted artifact containing pine, bamboo, and plum to support his cultivation. He returned home and practiced the Azure Spirit Tai'an Art, discovering greater control over the Thousand Silk Illusory Touch.

• Zhao Siqi reminded Zhang Wushuang to stay vigilant and keep improving after his battle.
• Zhang Wushuang and Zhao Siqi reported the demonic beast’s death at the Inner Sect plaza, and an elder forwarded the matter for routine handling.
• Zhao Siqi took Zhang Wushuang to the Spirit Medicine Garden to find spiritual plants that could aid his cultivation.
• They spent sect Contribution Points and Spirit Stones on a potted artifact containing pine, bamboo, and plum Spiritual Items.
• Zhang Wushuang cultivated with the Azure Spirit Tai'an Art and used his growing mental strength to control the strands of the Thousand Silk Illusory Touch.

Zhang Wushuang discovered that the potted pine, bamboo, and plum blossom resonated with her cultivation and helped her deepen her understanding of her abilities. After feeling an urge to construct two new Spiritual Apertures, she held back and continued training, where senior disciples admired her swordsmanship.

• Zhang Wushuang entered the potted artifact’s inner space, but Zhao Siqi could not enter it, leading them to conclude that the Spiritual Items had chosen Zhang Wushuang.
• Zhao Siqi explained the qualities of the Spirit Pine, Spirit Bamboo, and Spirit Plum Blossom, and Zhang Wushuang blended their Spiritual Energy with her Azure Spirit Tai'an Art.
• Zhang Wushuang’s cultivation and control of [Thousand Silk Illusory Touch] and [Regeneration] improved, and she felt an urge to construct two new Spiritual Apertures.
• Zhang Wushuang learned that her teacher, Chen Biqiu, was away, so she suppressed the urge and continued cultivating on her own.
• Zhang Wushuang practiced swordsmanship at the training ground, and senior disciples praised her skill and its resonance with pinewood.

Zhao Xiaojie and fourteen elite cultivators traveled south through war-torn territories before arriving openly at Jiujiang Prefecture to visit Earl Ying. They rested at the Prefect’s Mansion, where local delicacies restored their strength.

• Zhao Xiaojie’s squad crossed Linhuai Prefecture, where the Han clan controlled the region but avoided involvement in the war.
• Zhao Xiaojie traveled through Danyang Prefecture and across the Great River to reach Jiujiang Prefecture.
• Zhao Xiaojie visited Earl Ying at the Prefect’s Mansion, where Dragon Tiger Mountain’s influence helped keep Jiujiang Prefecture independent of the Sima Family’s control.
• Zhao Xiaojie and his companions rested and ate local dishes, including hairy crabs and fish fermented in the lees.

Zhao Xiaojie explored Jiujiang Prefecture and discovered a suspicious antique shop called Duobaozhai, which he suspected served as a faction’s outpost. He went to his covert intelligence station and ordered its operator to investigate the shop.

• Zhao Xiaojie reflected on the differing political and military situations in South Jin, Zhao Kingdom, and the remnants of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.
• After nightfall, Zhao Xiaojie wandered through Jiujiang Prefecture and observed its peaceful, prosperous streets.
• Zhao Xiaojie entered Duobaozhai, examined a Jadeite Bluebird Pendant, and suspected the shop was a recently established intelligence outpost.
• After checking that no one followed him, Zhao Xiaojie went to his hidden teahouse intelligence station and told the middle-aged scholar to investigate Duobaozhai.