Chapter Summaries

Lin Heng discussed the rumors about him with his senior sisters and advised Sun Hao on pursuing Wei Yanxianlan. Sun Hao left determined to fight for their relationship, while Lin Heng continued investigating the Boundless Heavenly Stele.

• Yun Yao told Duan Shuyun that Dugu Yueli had criticized Lin Heng, and Duan Shuyun said Dugu Yueli likely saw him as an opponent.
• Yun Yao took the little qilin beast, and Duan Shuyun sent her to deliver account scrolls to the imperial palace.
• Lin Heng struggled to read the changing characters on the Boundless Heavenly Stele.
• Sun Hao told Lin Heng that Wei Yan had driven him out and kept him from meeting Xianlan.
• Lin Heng urged Sun Hao to seek a marriage reward and build his own standing, and Sun Hao resolved to fight for Wei Yanxianlan.

Sun Hao told Lin Heng that the armor his father once found bore a map to an Immortal Palace, prompting Lin Heng to suspect Sun Hao’s origins were tied to the extraterrestrial cultivators on Black Mountain. Lin Heng laid out his reasoning, and Sun Hao decided to ask Sun Daoya about the truth before traveling to the Heavenly Action Continent.

• Sun Hao revealed that Sun Daoya had told him the armor’s patterns mapped an Immortal Palace on the Heavenly Action Continent.
• Lin Heng noted that powerful figures he knew all had extraordinary family backgrounds and suggested Sun Hao might not be Sun Daoya’s biological child.
• Lin Heng connected the Black Mist on Black Mountain to Calamity’s attacks on people of fortune and questioned how Sun Daoya had survived the incident.
• Lin Heng reasoned that Sun Hao must have been connected to the extraterrestrial cultivators and that Sun Daoya’s presence had altered his fate.
• Sun Hao accepted Lin Heng’s suspicions and resolved to ask Sun Daoya about his origins that night.

Sun Daoya revealed to Sun Hao that he had found him as a crystal embryo after a battle at Black Mountain and raised him as his own son, while explaining the armor’s map to the Immortal Palace. Meanwhile, Meng Yutong finalized a Star Ruler deal and learned that Lin Heng had secretly gone to Nourishing Harmony Hall in the imperial palace.

• Sun Hao confronted Sun Daoya about his origins, the armor, the Immortal Palace, and the dead cultivators at Black Mountain.
• Sun Daoya explained that he had received Sun Hao as a crystal embryo from a dying armored man and later deciphered a map to the Immortal Palace on the armor.
• Sun Daoya gave Sun Hao the map, and Sun Hao left without looking at it.
• Wei Yan Changliang discussed Sun Hao’s inexperience and the risks of the Wei Yan Family’s dealings with the Medical Path families.
• Meng Yutong negotiated an order for one hundred Star Rulers with the Heavenly Works Institute and secured a share of the expected profits.
• Mu Li told Meng Yutong that Lin Heng had been seen sneaking into Nourishing Harmony Hall, the Female Emperor’s private resting place.

Lin Heng visited Jiang Jingyi to ask for help with Sun Hao’s marriage and advice on expanding into the Heavenly Action Continent. When Meng Yutong arrived, Lin Heng hid under Jiang Jingyi’s desk, but she caught him sneaking around and took him away.

• Lin Heng asked Jiang Jingyi to arrange a marriage between Sun Hao and Wei Yan’s Family’s young miss, but she offered to reward him publicly and speak privately with Wei Yan Changliang instead.
• Jiang Jingyi explained the different relationships between the imperial clan and aristocratic families, then advised Lin Heng to investigate the Heavenly Action Continent’s forces before claiming territory and to put his senior sisters in charge of the rear.
• Lin Heng praised Jiang Jingyi and agreed with her advice, then panicked when she sensed Meng Yutong and Mu Li approaching and hid beneath the imperial desk.
• Meng Yutong questioned Jiang Jingyi about Lin Heng, and Mu Li helped her pretend that she had not seen him there.
• After Meng Yutong left, Lin Heng crawled out, but Meng Yutong returned, seized him, and teased Jiang Jingyi about their supposed business beneath the desk.

Lin Heng and Meng Yutong discussed their plans for reaching the Heavenly Action Continent before the story shifted to Wei Yan Changliang arranging for his family to join the expedition. Wei Yan Xiuping agreed to watch over Sun Hao, and Sun Hao and Wei Yanxianlan planned a thank-you gift for Lin Heng.

• Meng Yutong told Lin Heng that Rain Pavilion and the Heavenly Works Institute would produce star-crossing equipment and argued that Nine Dust Hall should lead the way to the Heavenly Action Continent.
• Lin Heng praised Meng Yutong aloud, was struck by her, and went with her to settle their unfinished business at the palace.
• Jiang Jingyi summoned Wei Yan Changliang, who decided that Wei Yan's Family would send people to cooperate with the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office.
• Wei Yan Changliang told Wei Yan Xiuping to join the effort and keep Sun Hao from taking unnecessary risks on the Heavenly Action Continent.
• Wei Yan Xiuping relayed his father's message to Sun Hao, who excitedly told Wei Yanxianlan that her father had accepted him as a son-in-law.
• Wei Yanxianlan proposed giving Lin Heng a return gift that would please his dao companions.

Lin Heng learned that ancient clans were willing to ally with the Dugu Clan but wanted him to prove himself by defeating their prodigies. He refused to let challengers undermine his authority as chief steward of the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office, then saw Yanxianlan and Sun’s arrival as a chance to resolve the standoff.

• Shen Yeting told Lin Heng that several ancient clans were open to an alliance and that a Shangtang Clan prodigy was heading to Dingyang.
• Shen Yeting explained that rumors about Lin Heng’s lack of ability had made the clans hesitant, and suggested he defeat their prodigies to earn their support.
• Duan Shuyun and Yun Yao recognized that the clans’ challenge could be a scheme to undermine Lin Heng, while Meng Yutong saw it as a chance for him to make a name for himself.
• Lin Heng refused to accept challenges that would compromise his authority as chief steward and said factions could cooperate or leave.
• A maidservant announced that Yanxianlan and Young Master Sun had come to see Lin Heng, who welcomed them and said Sun could help break the deadlock.

Lin Heng explained the ancient clans’ challenge to Sun Hao and proposed that Sun Hao face their challengers in his place. Sun Hao accepted the role and asked Lin Heng to keep it secret from Wei Yanxianlan and her family.

• Wei Yanxianlan arrived with gifts for Zhao Wanqing and Yun Yao, who went with her to talk elsewhere.
• Lin Heng told Sun Hao that the ancient clans wanted to challenge him and explained the risks of accepting or refusing.
• Lin Heng proposed that the challengers face Sun Hao, presenting the arrangement as an opportunity for them both.
• Sun Hao agreed to take on the challengers but worried that he might not be strong enough to win.
• Sun Hao asked Lin Heng to keep the plan secret from Wei Yanxianlan and her family, and Lin Heng promised to provide cultivation resources.
• Sun Hao left the hall with Wei Yanxianlan.

After Lin Heng planned to turn the Gu Clan’s challenge into an opportunity to raise his allies’ standing, Yun Yao and Mu Liuxi volunteered to fight weaker opponents. The next day, Lin Heng went to the imperial palace to seek Jiang Jingyi’s help, where he discovered that the imposing man waiting there was her older brother and accidentally called him “brother-in-law.”

• Lin Heng’s companions praised Wei Yanxianlan’s gifts, and Lin Heng explained his plan to use the Gu Clan’s Qilin heir to improve their standing.
• Yun Yao asked to fight for fame, Mu Liuxi joined her, and Lin Heng told them to target weaker opponents while Sun Hao handled stronger ones.
• Shen Yeting left for the Ten Directions Hall, while Lin Heng went to the palace to ask Jiang Jingyi for information about the Gu Clan.
• Lin Heng met Jiang Zhenqing in Qiantian Hall and spoke with him without recognizing who he was.
• Jiang Jingyi arrived after court and called Jiang Zhenqing her big brother, prompting Lin Heng to blurt out, “Brother-in-law?”

Lin Heng confronted Prince Jing Jiang Zhenqing after he threatened the Female Emperor, Jiang Jingyi, over Lin Heng’s relationship with her. Jiang Zhenqing left after Jiang Jingyi stopped his attack, and Lin Heng agreed to plead with her on Chief Steward Zhou’s behalf.

• Jiang Jingyi blocked Jiang Zhenqing from intimidating Lin Heng and warned him to return to his fief.
• Lin Heng took Jiang Jingyi’s hand and challenged Jiang Zhenqing over criticizing her and failing to serve the dynasty.
• Jiang Zhenqing attacked Lin Heng, but Jiang Jingyi dispelled the blow and rebuked him for breaking the imperial palace’s rules.
• Jiang Zhenqing threatened Lin Heng and left Qiantian Hall, while Jiang Jingyi disappeared afterward.
• Chief Steward Zhou feared punishment for witnessing the siblings’ clash, and Lin Heng agreed to plead for him.

Jiang Jingyi explained why Prince Jing opposed Lin Heng and why she had backed the Dugu Clan’s campaign against Heavenly Action Continent. As she discussed the clan’s plans and Lin Heng’s unexpected rise, he sat on her dragon throne and asked what she thought of him.

• Jiang Jingyi returned to Nourishing Harmony Hall, and Lin Heng tried to cheer her up before learning that she approved of his public retort to Prince Jing.
• Lin Heng asked why Prince Jing was targeting him, and Jiang Jingyi showed him the Immortal Sea Human-Demon Map that Prince Jing had commissioned.
• Jiang Jingyi explained that Prince Jing resented her giving the Dugu Clan the chance to lead an offensive against Heavenly Action Continent, which he had hoped would bring him glory.
• Jiang Jingyi said the Dugu Clan needed to expand its influence to prevent future chaos, and she described how Lin Heng had emerged unexpectedly as one of its key figures.
• Lin Heng sat on Jiang Jingyi’s dragon throne while she spoke, then asked what kind of person she thought he was.

Lin Heng received Jiang Jingyi’s warnings about Prince Jing and her upcoming seclusion, then helped Chief Steward Zhou secure a punishment he could survive. Meanwhile, Jiang Zhenqing brooded over Lin Heng’s insults, and Jiang Qian’s defense of him ended with a revealing remark about the Female Emperor Supreme praising Lin Heng as very big.

• Jiang Jingyi warned Lin Heng that Prince Jing might retaliate and told him to rely on Prince Qi, avoid Prince Jing, and consult Jiang Yan and Murong Ziyan while she was in seclusion.
• Lin Heng asked Jiang Jingyi for information about the ancient clans and pleaded for Chief Steward Zhou, earning Zhou a sentence of twenty boards.
• Chief Steward Zhou explained that he had wanted a limited punishment rather than harsher consequences later, then went to the Cautious Punishment Office.
• Jiang Zhenqing returned to his residence in Dingyang and complained to Jiang Qian about Lin Heng’s disrespectful criticism.
• Jiang Qian argued that Lin Heng spoke plainly and should not be punished, then remarked that the Female Emperor Supreme had praised him as very big.

Lin Heng reviewed the ancient clans’ records and prepared Sun Hao to face Shangtang Yunyi, a late Spirit Transformation cultivator. After Lin Heng reassured him about Sun Hao’s chances, he told Yun Yao and Zhao Wanqing that Sun Hao could win.

• Murong Ziyan gave Lin Heng records on the Ying, Shangtang, and Qi clans and told him to organize the forces gathered by the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office.
• Lin Heng showed Sun Hao a profile of Shangtang Yunyi, the Shangtang Clan’s seventh son, and explained why Yunyi’s background might not make him a formidable opponent.
• Sun Hao gained confidence after Lin Heng praised his accumulated strength and endless True Yuan.
• Yun Yao and Zhao Wanqing asked whether Sun Hao could defeat Shangtang Yunyi, and Lin Heng said he could.

In Dingyang City, Lin Heng found Bai Yi and Chen Changqin and asked them to help defend the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office against challengers from ancient clans. Bai Yi initially refused but changed his mind when Lin Heng offered Chen Changqin two hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

• The Ying Clan and Jing Clan arrived in Dingyang City after the Shangtang Clan, while Lin Heng and Sun Hao waited for the ancient clans to make a move.
• Bai Yi and Chen Changqin arrived in Dingyang City and argued about Bai Yi’s marriage fate with Luo Qi and his relationship with a yin person.
• Lin Heng entered their room through the wall and teased Bai Yi about the marriage fate he had helped arrange.
• Lin Heng told Bai Yi and Chen Changqin that ancient clans had come to challenge the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office and asked them to help.
• Bai Yi refused to help until Lin Heng offered Chen Changqin two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, then sat back down and agreed to help.

Shangtang Hui and the Ying and Jing clans plotted to weaken Lin Heng by challenging him publicly and praising him into attracting endless challengers. Lin Heng turned their scheme around by helping the challenge spread widely, but the chapter ended when the clans learned he was going into seclusion.

• Shangtang Hui and the Ying and Jing clan leaders agreed to challenge Lin Heng and use public pressure to damage his reputation or exhaust him with future challengers.
• Jiang Yan brought Lin Heng a challenge booklet and offered to settle the matter, but Lin Heng asked him to spread the news instead.
• Jiang Yan helped publicize the challenge across the six main cities and nearby settlements, while Lin Heng gave no immediate response.
• Shangtang Hui and the others worried that Lin Heng might avoid the challenge by entering seclusion.
• A messenger reported that the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office had responded: Lin Heng was going into seclusion.

Lin Heng baited the Gu Clan’s challengers into accepting fights against the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office’s subordinates while he remained in seclusion. As the city watched and Prince Jing returned to Dingyang, Jiang Yan warned Jiang Zhenqing not to interfere, insisting Lin Heng’s people would win.

• Ying Wenhao showed Jing Yezhou and Shangtang Hui a notice calling them petty scoundrels and offering Imperial Office subordinates as opponents while Lin Heng secluded himself.
• Jing Yezhou and Shangtang Hui agreed to challenge the Imperial Office’s people, hoping to expose them as incompetent and eventually force Lin Heng to appear.
• Lin Heng praised Duan Shuyun for writing the notice, and the response stirred lively debate throughout Dingyang City.
• Jiang Zhenqing returned to Dingyang to watch Lin Heng’s subordinates lose and planned to use their defeat against him.
• Jiang Yan forbade Jiang Zhenqing from undermining Lin Heng and declared that the Imperial Office’s people would defeat the Gu Clan’s challengers.

At a public arena outside Dingyang City, Sun Hao fought Shangtang Yunyi and revealed power strong enough to threaten the late-stage Spirit Transformation genius. After breaking Yunyi’s sacred body Dao screen, Sun Hao began forcibly summoning the power of mountains and rivers, leaving Yunyi to unleash the Shangtang Clan’s Blood Domain technique in desperation.

• The Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office announced a public sparring match outside Dingyang City, and Shangtang Yunyi, Ying Nansong, and Jing Chen arrived to challenge Lin Heng.
• Lin Heng watched with Meng Yutong and Mu Li as Sun Hao stepped forward to face Shangtang Yunyi, who mocked him and demanded Lin Heng come out.
• Sun Hao endured Shangtang Yunyi’s urgent divine sense technique, then used the Formless Art to injure him from behind.
• Sun Hao pierced Shangtang Yunyi’s sacred body Dao screen with a thunder-infused strike, though the backlash also left holes in Sun Hao’s chest.
• Sun Hao invoked the power of mountains and rivers, prompting Wei Yan Changliang and Wei Yanxianlan to warn that he could not withstand the karma.
• Shangtang Yunyi burned his sacred body’s source and lifespan to unleash the Shangtang Clan’s Blood Domain technique against Sun Hao’s descending mountains-and-rivers power.

Sun Hao defeated Shangtang Yunyi in a deadly clash, earning recognition across the Eastern Continent, though both sides soon prepared for another challenge. The Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office called for challengers that night, and Bai Yi found himself pressed to face the Ying Clan’s qilin child.

• Sun Hao outlasted Shangtang Yunyi’s forbidden art and crushed his Blood Domain, leaving Shangtang Yunyi unconscious and himself gravely injured.
• Wei Yanxianlan rushed to Sun Hao, who asked whether he had won, while Wei Yan Changliang took him away and mocked Shangtang Hui with a polite apology.
• Sun Hao’s victory brought him public recognition as a qilin child and silenced criticism of his status as Wei Yan’s live-in son-in-law, while Shangtang Yunyi remained at risk of lasting damage.
• The Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office announced that it would continue accepting challenges, prompting the Gu Clan’s allies to send the Ying Clan forward.
• Lin Heng challenged Bai Yi’s confidence by suggesting he face the Jing Clan’s peak Spirit Transformation qilin child, and Bai Yi hastily insisted he should instead fight Ying Nansong.

Lin Heng used victories by Sun Hao, Bai Yi, and Chen Changqin to prove the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office’s strength and draw the major clans toward cooperation. After Chen Changqin defeated Jing Chen, the Ancient Clans faced public humiliation and their leaders were forced to reconsider their stance.

• Bai Yi, fighting as Bai Daochen, smashed Ying Nansong with his Heaven-and-Earth Square-Inch Chessboard, won two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and became a subject of discussion across Dingyang.
• Jing Chen dismissed the previous challengers and promised Jing Yezhou that he would defeat the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office’s fighter.
• Chen Changqin entered the arena at Nascent Soul Early Stage and challenged Jing Chen to sever one strand of her wind strings.
• Chen Changqin neutralized Jing Chen’s attacks until he conceded, then shattered his surprise strike and pierced his chest before he fainted.
• Chen Changqin criticized Jing Chen’s pursuit of shortcuts and struck him with her zither after he vomited blood on her clothes.
• The victories drew major clan leaders toward the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office, while Shangtang Hui, Jing Yezhou, and Ying Wenhao received reprimands and recognized that their clans had become a joke.

Lin Heng celebrated the victory over the Gu Clan and learned that the Hou Family wanted to cooperate after previously rebuffing his First Senior Sister. Dugu Qingyang revealed that the Changlin Clan could aid the Dugu Clan in the Central Domain, while Dugu Gui's faction had likely found an ally in the Southern Domain.

• Lin Heng hosted a banquet for Sun Hao and the others, then joined Meng Yutong to speak with Jiang Yan about the Hou Family's request to cooperate.
• Lin Heng insisted that the Hou Family show sincerity, since it had previously turned away Duan Shuyun without even offering her tea.
• Jiang Yan warned Lin Heng that Prince Jing had returned to Dingyang after hearing about the Gu Clan's challenge and might seek an excuse to make trouble for him.
• Dugu Qingyang praised Lin Heng's actions and explained that the Changlin Clan could serve as a hidden ally in the Central Domain.
• Dugu Qingyang said the Changlin Clan could not help in the Southern Domain and suspected that Dugu Gui's side had already found a guide there.

Jing Yezhou and the Gu Clan representatives visited Prince Qi's Mansion to seek cooperation with Lin Heng after their juniors had been defeated, and revealed that unknown people had offered them an ancient scripture to undermine the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office. As Lin Heng said he would consider their proposal, Hou Bozhong of Brushmaking Pavilion arrived and earned an invitation to speak privately.

• Jing Yezhou, Shangtang Hui, and Ying Wenhao waited outside Prince Qi's Mansion for hours while Lin Heng delayed receiving them.
• Lin Heng rebuked the Gu Clan for raising sheltered juniors, and Jing Yezhou thanked the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office for teaching them a lesson.
• Shangtang Hui and Ying Wenhao told Lin Heng that unknown people had urged the Gu Clan to undermine the Heavenly Mystery Imperial Office in return for an ancient scripture that aided Dao comprehension.
• Lin Heng suspected the Gu Clan also wanted to take the Dugu Clan's share of influence and said he would consider cooperating with them.
• Hou Bozhong arrived, criticized the Gu Clan's conduct, and flattered Lin Heng, who invited him to the rear hall and had the Gu Clan representatives shown out.