Chapter Summaries

Lin Chen killed Lu Chuanning inside the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm, claimed the Soul-Slaying Tower and a divine-soul-enhancing fruit, then emerged after two thousand breaths. Lu Qiguang realized Lu Chuanning had not returned and accused Lin Chen of doing something to him.

• Lu Chuanning found a scarlet fruit and tried to claim it, but Lin Chen appeared and attacked him.
• Lu Chuanning abandoned the Soul-Slaying Tower to fight Lin Chen, who killed him with a divine-sense flying knife and a golden arrow.
• Lin Chen claimed the Soul-Slaying Tower and scarlet fruit, which raised his divine soul's Spirit Rank by 0.3, then bound the tower to himself.
• Outside the secret realm, Hou Zhantian sought to have Murong Song close it, but Lin Chen emerged before he could concede the round.
• Lin Chen revealed that Lu Chuanning had not yet come out, and after six hundred more breaths Lu Qiguang accused Lin Chen of causing his disappearance.

After Lu Qiguang attacked Lin Chen over Lu Chuanning’s death, a powerful elder intervened and ended the dispute, then awarded the points competition to Lin Chen’s academy. Lin Chen told Hou Zhantian and Chen Shan what happened in the secret realm, and Hou Zhantian warned that Han Country would target him in the elimination round before Murong Song arrived at their courtyard.

• Lu Qiguang attacked Lin Chen, and Hou Zhantian fought back until Murong Song’s Third Uncle appeared and stopped them.
• The elder made Lu Qiguang accept that Lu Chuanning’s death could not be pursued, offered to compensate Lin Chen, and invited him to the Imperial Palace.
• Murong Song announced that the Liang Kingdom’s Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy had won the points competition, while the elimination round was scheduled to begin the next day.
• Lin Chen recounted the secret realm events to Hou Zhantian and Chen Shan and showed them the soul-protecting pagoda; Hou Zhantian identified it as a rare Spirit Weapon.
• Hou Zhantian warned that Han Country would target Lin Chen in the elimination round and asked whether he would withdraw, but Murong Song’s voice interrupted their conversation from outside the courtyard.

Murong Zheng summoned Lin Chen to help with a secret Yan Kingdom imperial task, offering ten Soul Tempering Fruits in return. After Lin Chen raised his Spirit Rank to the fourth rank, he guided a Jade Token through the tower’s Soul Threads and activated the Jade Wall, whose revealed words Murong Zheng kept from him.

• Murong Song brought Lin Chen to the Imperial Palace, where Murong Zheng promised ten Soul Tempering Fruits for his help and assured him the task was safe.
• Murong Zheng asked Lin Chen to use soul control to guide a Jade Token through the tower’s Soul Threads and place it in a Jade Wall, but Lin Chen failed on his first attempt.
• Murong Zheng gave Lin Chen all ten Soul Tempering Fruits, and Lin Chen refined them until his Spirit Rank reached 4.04.
• Lin Chen controlled sixteen flying knives to steer the Jade Token through the Soul Threads, and the token attached to the Jade Wall and revealed words about the Soul Separation Domain Yan Family.
• Murong Zheng concealed the Jade Wall’s message from Lin Chen, who agreed not to disclose what he had seen before Murong Song escorted him back to the separate residence.

Lin Chen’s first-round victory spread across Great Liang, boosting the kingdom’s morale as Han Country’s Lu Qiguang arranged for Huo Ruohong to join the competition. The chapter ended with Lin Chen’s qi and blood surging as the Light of Great Liang began to take effect.

• Lin Chen suspected the Yan Kingdom’s imperial family descended from the Yan Family of Soul Separation Domain, while Chen Shan and Hou Zhantian avoided asking about his compensation.
• Lu Qiguang sent a secret letter to Han Country’s Imperial Advisor and decided to bring Huo Ruohong to secure Han Country’s first place.
• News spread throughout Great Liang that Lin Chen had defeated Bian Xinjie, Ling Tianhao, and Lu Chuanning to take first place in the points competition.
• Kong Qifeng learned the Yan Kingdom was behind the news campaign and wondered whether its imperial family was trying to win Lin Chen’s favor.
• The village chief ordered Poyang County’s influential people invited to an ancestor-worship ceremony and announced plans to expand the Ancestral Hall.
• Lin Chen felt his qi and blood surge and wondered whether the Light of Great Liang had begun to take effect.

Lin Chen trained his Martial Arts Will overnight, then helped Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy advance through two elimination rounds with little effort. The rematch draw paired Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy with Han Country’s Heavenly Gate Martial Academy, setting up an early clash between two of the competition’s most watched teams.

• Lin Chen practiced several martial techniques in the courtyard as the figure in his dantian grew.
• Murong Zheng oversaw the elimination rounds, and Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy defeated Flowing Cloud Martial Arts Academy while Han Country’s Heavenly Gate Martial Academy advanced against Southern Departure Martial Arts Academy.
• All four academies from Han Country and Great Liang reached the top fifteen, while Zheng Kingdom’s poor results disappointed its Martial Artists.
• Lin Chen drew Heavenly Gate Martial Academy as Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy’s opponent in the first rematch round.

Lin Chen led the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy into an individual-battle contest against the Heavenly Gate Martial Academy, where their weaker disciples suffered injuries and losses. After using his drawn bow to stop an opponent from further tormenting Chen Dong, Lin Chen prepared to enter the arena himself for the third match.

• Lin Chen chose individual battles against the Heavenly Gate Martial Academy, and Zhao Zhiping lost after being badly injured by an opponent's whip.
• Li Yuan won the second match for the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy, then Chen Dong was grievously injured by a Heavenly Gate disciple who prevented him from conceding.
• Lin Chen drew the Dragon Shadow Bow and threatened to shoot the disciple if he continued, forcing the referee to award the match to the Heavenly Gate Martial Academy.
• Li Yuan carried Chen Dong from the arena, and Lin Chen declined Hu An's offer to fight the third match, saying he would go himself.

Lin Chen killed a Heavenly Gate Martial Academy disciple with one arrow, then began a gauntlet battle to carry Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy through the remaining matches. Ling Tianhao stepped onto the arena to face him, and the two prepared to fight.

• Lin Chen shot and killed an Eighth Rank Heavenly Gate Martial Academy disciple as soon as the match began, stunning the crowd and affirming his Heaven Ranking strength.
• The referee declared Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy the winner, and Lin Chen announced he would fight the academy’s next match as well, starting a gauntlet battle.
• Li Yuan urged Lin Chen to put his safety ahead of the Martial Academy ranking, and Lin Chen agreed before turning back to the referee.
• Ling Tianhao volunteered to face Lin Chen, raised his aura, and summoned a long saber that radiated a chilling cold.

Lin Chen defeated Ling Tianhao with three arrows, winning acclaim across the Nine Kingdoms and revealing how he used psychological pressure to force Ling Tianhao’s surrender. Bian Xinjie then challenged Lin Chen and sealed the power in his bow, leaving their decisive fight poised to begin.

• Lin Chen broke Ling Tianhao’s blade formation with his first arrow, wounded him with his second, and forced him off the arena with his third.
• The referee declared Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy the winner, and spectators across the Nine Kingdoms praised Lin Chen’s strength.
• Lu Qiguang’s killing intent toward Lin Chen drew a warning from Murong Zheng, while Meng Xing and Kong Qing celebrated Lin Chen’s victory.
• Lin Chen explained that he had won by making Ling Tianhao fear the third arrow, then challenged the Heavenly Palace Martial Academy’s remaining disciples.
• Bian Xinjie entered the arena, shattered a Demon Sealing Bead, and sealed the flood-dragon power in Lin Chen’s Dragon Shadow Bow.

Bian Xinjie used a Demon Sealing Bead to suppress the Demon Race power he suspected Lin Chen possessed, then covered the arena in cold mist to fight him. Lin Chen relied on his divine soul and body-tempering strength to overwhelm Bian Xinjie, leaving the spectators wondering which fighter truly carried a Demon Race Bloodline.

• Murong Yan explained that Han Country had prepared the Demon Sealing Bead to guard against Zheng Kingdom’s past use of forbidden methods that gave fighters dangerous Demon Race power.
• Bian Xinjie released cold mist across the arena and attacked Lin Chen with hundreds of ice spikes.
• Lin Chen sensed Bian Xinjie through his divine soul, shattered the ice spikes, and chased him through the mist with powerful palm strikes.
• The mist dispersed to reveal Lin Chen’s bronze-glowing, body-tempered form as Bian Xinjie retreated in disarray.
• Lin Chen caught Bian Xinjie, broke his right arm, and smashed him across the arena floor.

Lin Chen led the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy to defeat the Heavenly Gate Martial Academy, then learned that Huo Ruohong had arrived to challenge his dominance. As Lin Chen trained on Martial Path Mountain, he encountered an opponent using the Azure Ripple Finger, suggesting the fighter belonged to the Azure Ripple Sect.

• Lin Chen defeated Bian Xinjie, and the remaining Heavenly Gate Martial Academy disciples forfeited, giving the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy the first battle.
• The Mystic Frost Martial Arts Academy defeated Wu Country's Blazing Sun Martial Arts Academy, while Liang Country's academies secured three of the top eight places.
• Lin Chen climbed 108 places on Martial Path Mountain and discovered that reaching the top sixty thousand would unlock divine soul items for exchange.
• Meng Xing and Chen Shan told Lin Chen that Huo Ruohong, the Hidden Dragon Ranking's top-ranked fighter, had arrived, and Lin Chen resumed challenging opponents on Martial Path Mountain.
• At Azure Ripple Sect, Gu Kong learned that a fellow disciple had reached the Seventh Rank and began refining a pill before using a mountain-shaped seal.
• Lin Chen froze when his Martial Path Mountain opponent used the familiar Azure Ripple Finger opening stance.

Lin Chen learned from Gu Kong’s Azure Ripple Finger during their Martial Path Mountain battle, then defeated him with an improved version of the technique. After Lin Chen completed ten more challenges and accepted a new one, he found Gu Kong waiting and greeting him as a senior brother.

• Lin Chen endured Gu Kong’s rapid Azure Ripple Finger attacks while studying the technique, then improved his own Azure Ripple Finger and defeated Gu Kong.
• Gu Kong searched the Azure Ripple Sect for Lin Chen, learned nothing from Senior Sister Chu, and returned to Martial Path Mountain hoping to challenge him again.
• An Illusion Spirit Sect disciple complained that Azure Ripple Sect disciples had defeated him in two consecutive battles.
• Lin Chen won ten consecutive battles while refining the Azure Ripple Finger, then accepted a challenge from Gu Kong and found him greeting him as a senior brother.

Lin Chen learned the second-level Azure Ripple Finger from Gu Kong and rapidly mastered it, while Gu Kong’s attempt to report him as a lost genius to the sect was dismissed. After another night of challenges and a sudden cultivation breakthrough, Lin Chen attended the final day of the academy ranking competition, where Huo Ruohong made a request.

• Lin Chen fought Gu Kong on Martial Path Mountain, revealed that he held an Azure Ripple Token, and asked for the second-level Azure Ripple Finger method.
• Gu Kong taught Lin Chen the method, watched him master it almost immediately, and admitted defeat, but Lin Chen continued the fight to preserve his winning streak.
• Gu Kong reported Lin Chen to Steward He, who rebuked him for communicating on Martial Path Mountain and dismissed Lin Chen as an unremarkable token recruit.
• Lin Chen raised his Martial Path Mountain ranking to 84500, mastered Azure Ripple Finger, and felt his cultivation nearing a breakthrough while copying the Joyful Ascension Scroll.
• Lin Chen attended the final day of the academy ranking competition, where Empress Qu Yuxuan scrutinized him and disapproved of his relationship with her daughter and Senior Sister.
• Huo Ruohong interrupted the competition proceedings to make a request, and Meng Xing identified him to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen faced Huo Ruohong in a challenge that would decide whether Hundred Battles Martial Academy withdrew from the remaining competition, while Lin Chen refused to decide Azure Ripple Martial Academy’s ranking alone. After the two exchanged powerful blows, Huo Ruohong revealed his Seventh-Grade Martial Arts Will, but Lin Chen answered by raising his own aura, leaving their full-strength clash poised to continue.

• Huo Ruohong challenged Lin Chen to a duel and offered to withdraw Hundred Battles Martial Academy from the remaining battles if he lost.
• Lin Chen refused to let one fight determine Azure Ripple Martial Academy’s ranking, but agreed to face Huo Ruohong himself.
• Huo Ruohong and Lin Chen fought across the arena, sending shattered stone and waves of energy into the surrounding crowd.
• Huo Ruohong revealed that he had advanced to Seventh-Grade Martial Arts Will and urged Lin Chen to concede.
• Lin Chen revealed that he had not used his full strength and raised his aura to match Huo Ruohong’s surge.

Lin Chen defeated Huo Ruohong with Azure Ripple Finger, taking the top spot on the Hidden Dragon Ranking’s Heaven Ranking and sending Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy into the final four. After Hundred Battles Martial Academy was ranked eighth, Lu Qiguang withdrew Han Country from the remaining competition and led its disciples away.

• Lin Chen and Huo Ruohong revealed their full strength, and Lin Chen drove Huo Ruohong back in close combat.
• Huo Ruohong unleashed Ice Phoenix Tribulation, but Lin Chen broke the ice sword and phoenix with Azure Ripple Finger, piercing Huo Ruohong’s right arm.
• The referee declared Lin Chen the winner, and the crowd celebrated as Lin Chen claimed the Heaven Ranking’s top spot.
• The referee ranked Hundred Battles Martial Academy eighth and advanced Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy to the final four.
• Lu Qiguang withdrew Han Country from the ranking competition and led its disciples away.

After Han Country and Zheng Kingdom withdrew from the United Martial Arts Academy, the Ranking Competition was suspended and Lin Chen was hurriedly sent back to Great Liang for his safety. Meanwhile, Murong Zheng intercepted two Han Country experts who had come to kill Lin Chen, and they prepared to fight.

• Han Country and Zheng Kingdom withdrew from the Ranking Competition, prompting Murong Song to suspend it.
• Hou Zhantian and Chen Shan told Lin Chen that Han Country and Zheng Kingdom had withdrawn from the United Martial Arts Academy and ordered the Great Liang group to return home.
• Lin Chen wrote the Sixth Princess a letter, then left Yan Country with the academy disciples aboard a ship.
• Murong Zheng intercepted Yinian and Zheng Bo'an at Yan Country's northern border after they came to kill Lin Chen.
• Zheng Bo'an and his companion attacked Murong Zheng when he refused to let them pursue the Great Liang group.

Han Country and Zheng Kingdom ambushed Great Liang’s martial artists at Jiefeng Gorge, but Lin Chen turned the battle against their disciples. After killing Ling Tianhao and Bian Xinjie, Lin Chen forced Huo Ruohong to flee and cry for help.

• Han Country and Zheng Kingdom revealed their joint ambush at Jiefeng Gorge and demanded that Great Liang hand over Lin Chen, but Hou Zhantian and the academy disciples refused.
• Hou Zhantian and the other Second Rank Martial Artists fought the enemy experts while Lin Chen shot nine Zheng Kingdom disciples with his Dragon Shadow Bow.
• Huo Ruohong, Bian Xinjie, and Ling Tianhao attacked Lin Chen together; Lin Chen shattered Ling Tianhao’s saber and wounded him before Huo Ruohong’s sword drove Lin Chen beneath the river.
• Lin Chen survived the sword strike with help from his Reverse Scale Armor, rose from the water, and killed Ling Tianhao with an attack from below.
• Lin Chen pierced Bian Xinjie’s chest and tore him in two, prompting Huo Ruohong to retreat and call for his lord to save him.

Lin Chen routed the Han and Zheng Kingdom disciples, but a Han Second Rank Martial Artist charged at him before Pei Qingming arrived and killed the attacker with one sword. Pei Qingming revealed his peak Second Rank strength and turned the battle against Zheng Kingdom, while Huo Ruohong fled again.

• Huo Ruohong begged for help and fled after Lin Chen defeated the three opponents, while Lin Chen stayed to help his fellow Great Liang martial artists.
• Lin Chen used the Dragon Shadow Bow to kill Han and Zheng Kingdom disciples as Great Liang fighters held their opponents in place.
• Lu Qiguang and the Zheng Kingdom powerhouse ordered an attack on Lin Chen, and a Han Second Rank Martial Artist broke away to strike him.
• Pei Qingming arrived on a sword and killed the Han attacker, revealing that he had reached the peak of the Second Rank after seven years honing his sword path.
• Pei Qingming refused to let the enemy forces leave and declared he would kill only Zheng Kingdom martial artists, while Hou Zhantian renewed the fight and Huo Ruohong fled from Lin Chen.

At Jiefeng Gorge, Lin Chen and Pei Qingming discussed Pei’s Sword Will and Han Country’s schemes after Great Liang’s forces defeated the Han and Zheng armies. Pei stayed in Yan Kingdom to draw attention away from Lin Chen, while Great Liang prepared for conflict with Han Country and the Northern Border campaign began.

• Lin Chen praised Pei Qingming’s swordsmanship, and Pei explained how he had abandoned other martial arts to cultivate a single Sword Will capable of fighting across a major realm.
• Pei Qingming explained that he had anticipated Han Country would target Lin Chen, and said he would remain in Yan Kingdom to draw its attention and warn the other kingdoms.
• Hou Zhantian ordered the Jiefeng Gorge battle’s true circumstances concealed, honored the five Great Liang disciples killed, and urged the survivors to cultivate for the conflicts ahead.
• Xiao Pingyao received news of Lin Chen’s victory and ordered the three armies to beat their war drums; Xiao Yaojin learned that Lin Chen had led Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy to first place.
• Xiao Pingyao ordered the Northern Border armies to destroy the Demon Race and kill anyone from Han Country who interfered.

The Zhenbei Army launched a decisive campaign to destroy the Demon Race of the Northern Border, inspired by its soldiers’ memories and the Marquis’s vow to bring lasting peace. Han Country’s commanders hesitated to intervene, leaving the outcome—and whether the conflict would widen into war—uncertain.

• Zhao Dayi remembered how the Demon Race had killed his family and village, and how the Old Marquis had brought him into the Zhenbei Army.
• Zhao Dayi’s companion told him that Great Liang would attack the Demon Race’s royal court despite Han Country’s opposition, and shared news of Lin Chen’s victory and Pei Qingming’s breakthrough.
• The Marquis honored the dead with three cups of wine and ordered nearly a hundred thousand soldiers to march north and slaughter every demon.
• Han Country’s commanders debated whether to stop Great Liang, but Senior Brother Li decided they would wait rather than risk starting a war before the court chose its course.
• Wang Lingchun left the tent worried, while Senior Brother Duan advised him that Han Country could enlist Zheng Kingdom, Elephant Kingdom, and other kingdoms to oppose Great Liang.

Lin Chen arrived in the Capital City and learned about its history and the Martial Arts Administration Department before making his way there alone. On the way, he encountered a dispute at Dai Family Pharmacy, where Dai Yuxi suspected a plot against her family.

• Kong Qing explained that the Capital City had served as the capital of seven dynasties and that the Martial Arts Administration Department was one of only two buildings taller than its walls.
• Lin Chen parted ways with the disciples of Azure Cloud Martial Arts Academy and Capital Martial Arts Academy, declined an escort, and headed toward the Martial Arts Administration Department.
• A young man accused Dai Family Pharmacy of selling him an inferior Fire Dispersion Pill that left his brother ill, while Dai Yuze denied the charge and offered to have the pills inspected.
• Dai Yuxi learned that the two men had bought a Fire Dispersion Pill before one was found foaming at the mouth, and she suspected the incident was part of a plot after several similar cases and an attempt to buy the pharmacy.