Chapter Summaries

Lin Chen consumed Azure Ripple Pearls, raising his Spirit Rank, then attacked the Azure Ripple Sea Race’s lair while its forces fought the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy. The sea demons withdrew to protect their descendants, but the academy suffered heavy losses and Hua Qianwu sent instructors to investigate why reinforcements had not arrived.

• Lin Chen ate over a thousand Azure Ripple Pearls, advancing his Spirit Rank from First Rank to Second Rank, then destroyed the remaining pearls and collected treasures from the stone chambers.
• Lin Chen killed five sea demons outside the lair and deduced that the powerful sea demons had gone to attack the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy.
• Hua Qianwu ordered Vice-President Zhao to prepare the academy’s disciples to withdraw as the Azure Ripple Sea Demons pressed their attack.
• A conch horn warned the sea demons that their descendants were under attack, and the Azure Ripple Sea Race chief ordered his forces to retreat.
• Hua Qianwu ordered the academy’s instructors and disciples to pursue the retreating sea demons, then sent Vice-President Zhao to investigate the absent reinforcements and Junior Brother Jiang to care for the wounded.

Lin Chen escaped the Azure Ripple Sea Race and entered Zhao Kingdom, where he rescued Yu Shan from a sea demon and brought him to a Medical Hall. At the Treasure Pavilion, a young woman recognized Lin Chen’s Azure Ripple Pearl and ordered the shop to treat him as an honored guest.

• The Azure Ripple Sea Race Chief found the clan’s descendants dead and the treasure vault destroyed, then blamed Wu Kingdom for the attack.
• Lin Chen fled the Azure Ripple Sea Region, reached Zhao Kingdom, and encountered Yu Shan and Yu Qing after a sea demon attacked their fishing boat.
• Lin Chen killed the sea demon, rescued the injured Yu Shan, and helped Yu Qing take him to a Medical Hall in Linhai City.
• Lin Chen left Yu Qing with her brother and went to Martial Street seeking to exchange an Azure Ripple Pearl for Zhao Kingdom silver.
• At the Treasure Pavilion, the shopkeeper dismissed the pearl as worthless, but the young woman recognized it and ordered the waiter to invite Lin Chen in as an honored guest.

Lin Chen sold an Azure Ripple Pearl to Dan Muqing at the Treasure Pavilion, declined her offer to represent the Dan Clan, and gave Yu Qing money for her injured brother. After leaving Linhai City, he lured two Ninth-Rank Martial Artists into the woods and killed one, then began questioning the wounded survivor.

• Dan Muqing recognized Lin Chen's Azure Ripple Pearl and offered him extra gold while asking him to represent the Dan Clan in a martial competition, but Lin Chen refused.
• Lin Chen sold the pearl for one hundred and ten gold and left the Treasure Pavilion.
• Lin Chen gave Yu Qing money for Yu Shan's medical care and refused her offer to become his maidservant.
• Two Ninth-Rank Martial Artists followed Lin Chen into the woods, where he ambushed them and killed one with an arrow.
• Lin Chen wounded the survivor, Zhuang Xin, and began a countdown to force him to explain why they had followed him.

Lin Chen killed Zhuang Xin and Zhuang Zhi after they tried to rob him, then changed course to evade the Zhuang Clan’s search. Dan Muqing learned that a Dan Clan manager had exposed Lin Chen and arranged for him to enter Linhai Commandery safely in a Dan Clan carriage.

• Zhuang Xin confessed that Manager Chen had revealed Lin Chen’s Azure Ripple Pearl, but Lin Chen killed him and searched the brothers’ bodies before burying them.
• The Zhuang Clan killed Manager Chen and claimed he had betrayed the Dan Clan; Dan Muqing ordered an investigation and learned that the brothers Zhuang Xin and Zhuang Zhi had disappeared after leaving the city.
• Dan Muqing deduced that Gu Fei had killed the brothers, then ordered Sixth Uncle to protect Yu Shan’s younger siblings after the Zhuang Clan captured Yu Shan over a Gold Note linked to Gu Fei.
• Lin Chen approached Linhai Commandery from the south, where Sixth Uncle warned him that the Zhuang Clan had stationed guards and Seventh Rank Martial Artists to search for him.
• Lin Chen accepted Dan Muqing’s offer of help, and Sixth Uncle drove him into the city in a Dan Clan carriage that the gate guards did not dare inspect.

After learning that the Zhuang Clan had captured and killed Yu Shan, Lin Chen agreed to join the Dan Clan in the Four Clans Grand Competition. He left the chapter preparing to compete in five days, after Dan Muqing swore to protect him from the Zhuang Clan.

• Lin Chen arrived at Dan Muqing's residence, where Yu Qing told him the Zhuang Clan had captured her brother Yu Shan.
• Dan Muqing explained that Yu Shan had died from his injuries after the Zhuang Clan took him, prompting Lin Chen to ask about the Four Clans Grand Competition.
• Dan Muqing described the competition, in which participants under twenty entered the Four Clans' ancestral ruins to hunt Demonic Beasts for Monster Cores and scores.
• Dan Muqing invited Lin Chen to represent the Dan Clan and promised protection despite the Zhuang Clan's wanted order against him.
• Lin Chen agreed to compete in five days after Dan Muqing swore an oath to the Dan Clan's ancestors.

Lin Chen learned that Great Liang had raised martial-resource prices for Wu Country and then faced a dispute over the Dan Clan’s competition slots. Dan Muqing refused to withdraw his place for him, and Yun Zhongjin proposed a three-move test to decide who qualified.

• Dan Muqing explained that the Dan Clan refined Spirit Nurturing Pills from ingredients traded among three kingdoms, but Great Liang’s thirty-percent price increase would force the clan to suspend production.
• Dan Mufeng and Dan Muyun arrived with Yun Zhongjin and other candidates, and Dan Mufeng questioned Lin Chen’s place in the competition.
• Dan Mufeng argued that Lin Chen should give up his slot because Yun Zhongjin had joined the Dan Clan’s team.
• Lin Chen said he would withdraw only if Dan Muqing asked him to, and Dan Muqing affirmed that she would not ask him to leave.
• Dan Mufeng proposed settling the slot dispute through strength, but Yun Zhongjin offered to have each candidate take three moves from him, with anyone still standing qualifying.

Lin Chen accompanied Dan Muqing as the Dan Clan prepared for its grand competition, but the arrival of Earth Ranking experts led them to abandon the combat test. They set out for the ancestral ruins, where Lin Chen discovered the entrance bore the name Qingshan Sect, the vanished sect from which the Four Great Clans’ ancestors had come.

• Yun Zhongjin tested the foreign talents invited by the Dan Clan, defeating Zhao Jin and Sun Jiang in three moves each.
• A Dan Clan youth reported that the Xiang Clan had invited two Earth Ranking martial artists and that the Zhuang Clan had recruited Gao Yongsi, who had risen to eighth on the Earth Ranking.
• Lin Chen offered to withdraw, and Dan Muqing ended the combat test after confirming the Dan Clan had enough participants.
• Dan Muqing apologized to Lin Chen for Dan Mufeng’s interference and promised to enter the ruins with him.
• Several days later, Lin Chen and Dan Muqing rode to the mountain range for the competition, where Lin Chen saw a stele marking the ruins of Qingshan Sect.

Lin Chen examined the Four Great Clans gathered to enter the Qingtian Sect ruins, where the stone tablet tested entrants before teleporting them inside. After noticing a hidden detail in the test, Lin Chen entered the ruins with a display of light second only to Yun Zhongjin’s, leaving the onlookers puzzled about his identity.

• Dan Muqing identified the Zhuang, Xiang, and Zhou Clan members for Lin Chen, and Lin Chen recognized Liu Yue as an especially unfathomable expert.
• The Four Great Clan patriarchs opened the seal by channeling energy into the stone tablet, revealing the mountain-range ruins.
• The patriarchs explained that entrants under twenty had to touch the tablet, which verified their bone age and sent them into the ruins.
• Liu Yue produced unusually intense light during her test, while Yun Zhongjin later produced a display several times brighter than hers.
• Lin Chen sensed the tablet’s energy scanning toward his dantian and withdrew his hand before the scan finished, then vanished into the ruins after producing light second only to Yun Zhongjin’s.

Lin Chen entered the ruins alone, hunted Demonic Beasts, and killed three Zhuang Clan fighters who challenged him over a rare flower. He then met Liu Yue, who revealed her interest in a tomb and proposed a deal, leaving Lin Chen asking what she wanted.

• Lin Chen arrived in the mountain forest, found medicinal herbs, and began killing Demonic Beasts to record points and strengthen his body.
• Lin Chen encountered three Zhuang Clan members claiming the Three-Colored Spirit Nurturing Flower and killed them after they threatened him.
• Lin Chen disposed of the three corpses and confronted Liu Yue, who had been watching nearby.
• Liu Yue asked whether Lin Chen had come for the tomb, learned that he had not, and offered to make a deal with him.
• Lin Chen asked Liu Yue what deal she had in mind.

Lin Chen agreed to help Liu Yue enter the Qingtian Sect master's tomb, hoping to learn more about the Yan Imperial Dynasty and its sect. At the palace entrance, they encountered two Battle Puppets, and Lin Chen realized the constructs were testing their qualifications rather than simply trying to kill them.

• Liu Yue offered her Monster Cores and explained that the tomb held a Sect Invitation Token connected to the Qingtian Sect in the Yan Imperial Dynasty.
• Lin Chen agreed to cooperate with Liu Yue and swore an oath before following her toward the tomb.
• Lin Chen noticed trampled grass near a valley entrance, and he and Liu Yue hurried inside to find a palace with its doors already open.
• A sword gleam ambushed Liu Yue at the palace entrance, but she deflected it with a green umbrella and retreated beside Lin Chen.
• Two Battle Puppets emerged from the palace, and Lin Chen pointed out that their behavior suggested they were testing entrants rather than killing them.

Lin Chen and Liu Yue activated the palace formation and entered the Qingtian Sect’s soul trial, where Lin Chen passed despite the trial intensifying with his endurance. He then met the sect’s final master, who revealed that Lin Chen’s soul was unusually deep and offered him a second trial.

• Liu Yue activated the formation, revealing a Stone Gate whose warning explained that Cao Shan had died when his soul was destroyed.
• Gao Yongsi and Zhuang Lei arrived and entered the Stone Gate, after which Lin Chen killed Zhuang Lei and removed his corpse from the palace.
• Lin Chen and Liu Yue entered the soul trial, where thunder struck their souls; Lin Chen endured the trial and returned before Liu Yue and Gao Yongsi had finished.
• The final Sect Master of the Qingtian Sect appeared, explained how he could read Lin Chen’s thoughts, and offered him a second trial.

Lin Chen learned about the Nine Kingdoms’ place in the Yan Imperial Dynasty and entered the Qingtian Sect’s second trial, which strengthened his Divine Soul and raised his Spirit Rank. After discovering Lin Chen held an Azure Ripple Token, Zhu Cangshan gave up trying to recruit him and offered to refine his Martial Path Seal instead.

• Lin Chen agreed to take the Qingtian Sect’s second trial after Zhu Cangshan explained his interest in recruiting talented disciples for the sect and benefiting his descendants.
• Zhu Cangshan told Lin Chen that the Annihilation Storm kept the Yan Imperial Dynasty from reaching the Nine Kingdoms, and warned that outside forces could reshape the island’s balance of power.
• Lin Chen endured a Divine Soul trial against countless phantoms, and his Ice Blue Dragon Shadow absorbed them before burning his Divine Soul Origin; a green waterfall healed and strengthened him, raising his Spirit Rank to Rank Three.
• Zhu Cangshan realized Lin Chen carried Azure Ripple Energy and an Azure Ripple Token, then acknowledged that the Qingtian Sect could not compete with the more powerful Azure Ripple Sect.
• Zhu Cangshan revealed his name and asked Lin Chen to visit the Zhu Family in Thousand Forging City if he reached the Yan Imperial Dynasty.
• Zhu Cangshan told Lin Chen that the Martial Path Seal used a Qingtian Sect forging method and offered to finish refining it for him.

Lin Chen learned the Thousand Machine Divine Refining Technique, quickly divided his divine soul into three strands, and was identified by Zhu Cangshan as likely possessing an Innate Variant Soul. After Zhu Cangshan sent him out of the hall, Lin Chen practiced controlling the Battle Puppets until he was unexpectedly transported away; Gao Yongsi and Liu Yue then appeared in a clash before the gathered martial artists.

• Zhu Cangshan taught Lin Chen the Thousand Machine Divine Refining Technique while refining the Martial Path Seal, and Lin Chen quickly formed three strands of divine sense into flying daggers.
• Zhu Cangshan recognized Lin Chen's talent as evidence of an Innate Variant Soul and invited him to consider joining the Thousand Machine Sect, while Lin Chen said he would think about it.
• Zhu Cangshan completed the Martial Path Seal's refinement, sent Lin Chen out of the hall, and explained that Liu Yue needed to pass the trial to have a chance at the Sect Invitation Token.
• Lin Chen tried using his divine sense to control the Battle Puppets, then practiced strengthening it until a force abruptly transported him away.
• Lin Chen reappeared on a plain among the martial artists gathered by the four families, and Gao Yongsi and Liu Yue suddenly collided in midair before landing among them.

Liu Yue faced Gao Yongsi, Zhuang Qiang, and Shen Tao over the Sect Invitation Token, while Lin Chen honored his agreement to help her. After refusing to involve the Dan Clan, Lin Chen gave Dan Muqing the token he had promised her and told Liu Yue to make her move.

• Gao Yongsi demanded Liu Yue surrender her Sect Invitation Token, then called on Zhuang Qiang and Shen Tao to attack alongside him.
• Dan Muqing realized the Zhuang Clan and Xiang Clan had secretly allied, while the Zhou Clan stayed out of the confrontation.
• Liu Yue asked Lin Chen whether their agreement still stood, and he promised to stop anyone but Gao Yongsi from attacking her.
• Dan Mufeng and Dan Muqing refused to involve the Dan Clan, and Lin Chen handed Dan Muqing his promised token.
• Lin Chen turned to Liu Yue and told her she could make her move.

Lin Chen defended Liu Yue’s Sect Invitation Token and defeated Zhuang Qiang and Shen Tao, revealing strength that stunned the gathered clans. With Shen Tao dead and Zhuang Qiang crippled, Liu Yue entrusted the next confrontation to Lin Chen as Gao Yongsi faced him.

• Dan Mufeng discovered that Lin Fei’s jade tablet showed sixty-eight points, leaving Yun Zhongjin and the Dan Clan members wondering who he really was.
• Lin Chen blocked Zhuang Qiang’s spear with his palm, cracked the second-tier Spirit Weapon, and drove Zhuang Qiang back.
• Shen Tao joined the fight, but Lin Chen’s Blood Aura stopped his blade, and Lin Chen shattered Zhuang Qiang’s spear.
• Lin Chen countered Shen Tao’s Shocking Blade Slash with Azure Ripple Energy, killing Shen Tao and shocking the onlookers.
• Liu Yue thanked Young Master Lin and left the confrontation with Gao Yongsi to him.

Liu Yue defeated Gao Yongsi, killed Zhuang Qiang, and revealed that she had also killed Zhuang Lei, taking the Zhuang Clan’s anger upon herself. As the ruins began sealing and the group was transported out, a powerful beast roared across the plain.

• Liu Yue trapped Gao Yongsi with the Azure Jade Umbrella’s green silk, then transformed it into a sword and killed him with one strike.
• Liu Yue killed Zhuang Qiang and announced that she had also killed Zhuang Lei, drawing the Zhuang Clan’s hostility toward herself rather than Lin Chen.
• Dan Muqing told Lin Chen that the Dan Clan’s elders would protect him if the Zhuang Clan sought trouble after they left.
• The plain trembled, and a powerful beast roared as Liu Yue said the ruins were closing and the Demonic Beasts had sensed the danger.
• The scenery blurred as the ruins’ time limit ended and the group was transported out.

The Four Great Clans’ contest ended with the Dan Clan in first place and the Zhuang Clan in last, while Liu Yue revealed that she had killed Zhuang Qiang and Zhuang Lei. Protected by her aunt and the Zexi Liu Clan’s influence, Liu Yue left with Lin Chen and escorted him toward Sanshan Commandery before they parted; afterward, she told Liu Mei that Lin Fei’s name was fake and that she hoped to meet him again.

• The stone tablet showed scores of fifty-two for the Xiang Clan, fifty-eight for the Zhou Clan, one hundred and eight for the Dan Clan, and forty-four for the Zhuang Clan, placing the Zhuang Clan last.
• Zhuang Clan members reported that Zhuang Qiang and Zhuang Lei had died, and Liu Yue admitted she had killed them.
• Liu Mei arrived and identified herself as a member of the Zexi Liu Clan, making the Zhuang Clan Patriarch back down; Liu Yue then left with Lin Chen.
• Dan Muqing thanked Lin Chen for helping the Dan Clan and invited him to visit, while Lin Chen agreed to look after her concern for Yu Qing and her younger brother.
• Liu Yue escorted Lin Chen for three days toward Sanshan Commandery, and they parted after he confirmed he was headed to Great Liang.
• Liu Yue told Liu Mei that Lin Fei was strong enough to defeat Gao Yongsi without a Spirit Weapon and confessed she believed Lin Fei was a fake name, hoping they would meet again.

Lin Chen asked Bai Zhenghong to help him cross the sealed border from Zhao Kingdom into Great Liang, and Bai agreed after learning Lin Chen was also the mysterious Lin Fei. As Lin Chen crossed, two middle-aged men confronted Bai, and one pursued Lin Chen until a streak of sword light attacked from the plain below.

• Bai Zhenghong learned that Zhao Kingdom had sealed its border with Great Liang and heard that Lin Fei had defeated Cao Shan and Zhuang Qiang in Linhai Commandery.
• Lin Chen revealed that he was the number-one genius on the Human Ranking and admitted that he had competed as Lin Fei.
• Lin Chen asked Bai Zhenghong to help him return to Great Liang, and Bai escorted him across the border without resistance from Zhao Kingdom's guards.
• Two middle-aged men called out to Bai, who told Lin Chen to keep going while he held them off.
• One of the men pursued Lin Chen down the hillside and declared that trespassers at the border would die, just as a streak of sword light slashed toward him from the plain.

Lin Chen met Pei Qingming, Great Liang’s renowned genius, who explained Han Country’s pressure on Great Liang to halt its campaign against the Northern Border Demon Race. Lin Chen supported the court’s decision, and Pei Qingming tested his archery before demonstrating his swordsmanship.

• Pei Qingming rescued Lin Chen from a Zhao Kingdom Martial Artist who had pursued him across the border, then introduced himself after Lin Chen guessed his identity.
• Pei Qingming brought Lin Chen to Dai Qingqing and explained that Han Country had demanded Great Liang stop its invasion of the Northern Border Demon Race and had pressured several kingdoms to blockade Great Liang.
• Lin Chen agreed that Great Liang should continue the campaign, and Dai Qingqing painted Pei Qingming and Lin Chen talking together on a hillside.
• Pei Qingming asked Lin Chen to demonstrate his archery, and Lin Chen fired three arrows at once before unleashing twelve arrows in rapid succession.
• Pei Qingming drew his sword and instantly made Lin Chen’s twelve arrows disappear, praising Lin Chen for forcing him to draw it.

Lin Chen fought Pei Qingming and lost, but Pei Qingming praised his strength and explained how Martial Arts Will depended on a martial artist’s understanding of their cultivation arts. Lin Chen chose to keep his diverse techniques and pursue strengthening his soul, then returned toward the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy as Pei Qingming departed.

• Lin Chen exchanged palms with Pei Qingming before Pei Qingming overwhelmed him with Sword Qi and Blood Aura wind, leaving him covered in cuts but unharmed beneath his Reverse Scale Armor.
• Pei Qingming taught Lin Chen that Martial Arts Will included understanding of cultivation arts and warned that mastering many styles could make it harder to perfect.
• Pei Qingming explained that Lin Chen could abandon a conflicting technique or strengthen his soul, and Lin Chen considered the Thousand Machine Soul Refining Art a way forward.
• Pei Qingming advised Lin Chen to focus on cultivation at the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy while others bore the burden of the conflict with Han Country.
• Lin Chen and Pei Qingming parted ways, and Dai Qingqing appeared as Pei Qingming called Lin Chen one of Great Liang’s worthy successors.