Chapter Summaries

Lin Chen and Pei Qingming discussed Great Liang’s future, and Kong Qifeng urged Pei Qingming to pursue his own martial path instead of sacrificing it for his homeland. After the two geniuses fought to a draw, Pei Qingming left for Yan Imperial Dynasty, while Lin Chen prepared to join Azure Ripple Sect and returned to Lakeside Village to see his family.

• Lin Chen told Pei Qingming about Return Ruin Sword Mound, and Kong Qifeng revealed that Pei Qingming had restrained his cultivation to protect Great Liang from Han Country’s sanctions.
• Kong Qifeng relayed that Great Liang’s leaders wanted Lin Chen and Pei Qingming to pursue their own martial paths, and Pei Qingming decided to leave for Yan Imperial Dynasty.
• Lin Chen and Pei Qingming fought beneath the moon, with Lin Chen narrowly winning; they promised to challenge each other again when they met.
• Pei Qingming left Soaring Cloud Martial Arts Academy the next morning, and Gao Zeming arranged for Lin Chen to leave for Azure Ripple Sect in ten days.
• Lin Chen returned alone to Lakeside Village, where four Middle-Grade Martial Artists told him they had been assigned to guard his family.

Lin Chen visited his family in Lakeside Village before traveling to Raozhou Prefecture to see Jiang Qing, who revealed that she had already reached the Third Rank and would follow him to the Yan Imperial Dynasty later. Jiang Duanchao warned Lin Chen that the Azure Ripple Sect and the Yan Imperial Dynasty would be fiercely competitive, leaving Lin Chen to prepare for the challenges ahead.

• Lin Chen encouraged his junior fellow disciples in Lakeside Village, and Mother Lin gave him new clothes while acknowledging that he was preparing to leave for the Yan Imperial Dynasty.
• Lin Chen traveled to Raozhou Prefecture and reunited with Jiang Qing at Jiang Manor.
• Jiang Qing revealed that she had reached the Third Rank and would go to the Yan Imperial Dynasty after Lin Chen, once she was ready.
• Lin Chen and Jiang Qing kissed in the rear garden before Jiang Duanchao interrupted them.
• Jiang Duanchao spoke privately with Lin Chen about the Yan Imperial Dynasty's fierce competition and advised him to keep a low profile while acting decisively.

Lin Chen spent his final days in Great Liang visiting mentors and old friends before preparing to leave for the Yan Imperial Dynasty. At Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy, Gao Zeming offered to seek a disciple-training quota for the academy, and Lin Chen met Su Qin before accepting a young woman’s intimate farewell.

• Lin Chen visited Yu Yongnian, who urged him to write another letter encouraging Great Liang’s young martial artists before he departed for the Yan Imperial Dynasty.
• Lin Chen attended Li Yueshan’s birthday celebration, where the old lord advised him not to shoulder Great Liang’s burdens or feel obliged to support the Li Family.
• Lin Chen visited old acquaintances, then left Lakeside Village for Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy and reunited with Xiao Yaojin.
• Gao Zeming said he would ask the Azure Ripple Sect to let Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy recommend talented disciples for assessment, if an elder supported the proposal.
• Su Qin arrived at Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy with a letter, and Lin Chen later met the young woman who asked to spend an intimate night with him before his departure.

Lin Chen left the Azure Ripple Sea Region for the East Sea Region aboard the Dragon King Ship, carrying a letter of encouragement for Great Liang’s martial arts juniors. As he refined the Flood Dragon True Blood in his body, the ship’s stewards arranged a contest among the youths, with valuable treasures as prizes.

• Lin Chen bid farewell to Kong Qifeng, Hua Qianwu, and the Azure Ripple Martial Arts Academy, leaving behind his letter to Great Liang’s martial arts juniors.
• Murong Yan decided to volunteer for a journey to the Yan Imperial Dynasty and had Su Qin coil up her hair to declare her feelings for Lin Chen.
• Gao Zeming explained that Lin Chen’s Flood Dragon True Blood remained unrefined, and Hu Yunhua gave him Dragon Transformation Grass to remove the danger.
• Qin Yan warned five youths traveling to the Azure Ripple Sect that they would face fierce competition and urged them to focus on passing the entrance examination.
• Lin Chen began refining the Flood Dragon True Blood aboard the Dragon King Ship, while the sect stewards proposed a contest among the youths and offered Dragon Gauze Jade Soul and Meteorite Stone as prizes.

Lin Chen won the sect disciples’ contest and used the victory to build connections that could benefit Great Liang. After a Ghost Ship appeared at sea, he learned that it had destroyed islands before and worried that its unpredictable route might eventually threaten his homeland.

• Lin Chen finished refining the Flood Dragon Energy, then defeated Zhao Yan and Wei Xuan with single strikes during the contest.
• The Grand Beginning Gate disciple conceded to Lin Chen, who was declared the contest’s winner and received its prizes.
• Lin Chen learned that the other island youths planned to alert their elders about Great Liang, and he resolved to tell Lord Kong about nearby islands that could become allies or trading partners.
• A Ghost Ship appeared near the Dragon King Ship, and Wei Xuan and Hu Yunhua explained that it had been linked to the disappearance of entire islands and all their inhabitants.
• Lin Chen worried that the Ghost Ship might reach Great Liang, but Gao Zeming said its arrival would take at least ten years and advised him to warn his homeland by letter.

Gao Zeming brought Lin Chen to the Azure Ripple Sect, where he learned about the sect and its elders. Elder Du Xiaofeng tried to claim Lin Chen as his Core Disciple, but other elders challenged him as Lin Chen arrived at the Elder Hall.

• Gao Zeming introduced Lin Chen to the Azure Ripple Domain and escorted him to the Azure Ripple Sect on a Heavenly Pegasus.
• A patrol questioned Gao Zeming and Lin Chen for flying into the sect, then let them continue after Gao Zeming explained he had an elder's permission.
• Du Xiaofeng argued with Qu Guanfu, Zhao Yulin, Zhou Zhifeng, and Mei Jingfeng over whether Lin Chen should become his Core Disciple, invoking the life debt he claimed Lin Chen owed him.
• Gao Zeming told Lin Chen about the sect's elders and took him to the Elder Hall.
• Du Xiaofeng warmly greeted Lin Chen and tried to prompt him to call him Master, but Qu Guanfu and the other elders interrupted.

Lin Chen chose Du Xiaofeng as his master and became his registered Core Disciple, then went to the Assessment Hall to qualify for official Core Disciple status. Du Xiaofeng left him at the assessment pavilion, where Lin Chen was about to begin the test.

• Du Xiaofeng pressed Lin Chen to become his disciple, but Qu Guanfu and Zhou Zhifeng urged Lin Chen to wait until the Sect Master left seclusion before deciding.
• Lin Chen chose Du Xiaofeng, who named him his ninety-seventh Core Disciple and celebrated with the other elders.
• Lin Chen thanked Qu Guanfu and the other elders for protecting Great Liang, then Du Xiaofeng explained that Lin Chen had to pass an assessment to gain official Core Disciple status.
• Du Xiaofeng learned that Lin Chen had climbed to rank six thousand on Martial Path Mountain without losing a battle and said his potential should meet the requirements.
• Du Xiaofeng brought Lin Chen to Assessment Hall, where a steward guided him to the pavilion and told him to enter alone for the assessment.

Lin Chen completed the Azure Ripple Sect’s Core Disciple assessment, enduring two hundred breaths of the soul trial before climbing all ninety-nine steps of the potential trial. His perfect score triggered a spectacular phenomenon over the sect, revealing his extraordinary assessment result and drawing the attention of elders and disciples.

• Lin Chen defeated the three same-realm Battle Puppets in three breaths, passing the combat trial.
• Lin Chen endured two hundred breaths of the Azure Ripple Tide before it shattered his spiritual shield and ended the soul trial.
• Lin Chen climbed the jade steps and saw the mirror describe him as having unprecedented talent and profound destiny, prompting him to worry that it could expose his secret.
• Lin Chen chose to climb all ninety-nine steps, and a towering pillar of Azure Ripple energy announced his perfect score to the sect.
• Elders across Azure Ripple Sect rushed to investigate, while Qu Guanfu and the other elders regretted not taking Lin Chen as their disciple.

Lin Chen’s perfect score in the Core Disciple examination drew nine Elders to the Assessment Hall, where Du Xiaofeng revealed how Lin Chen had mastered the Boundless Divine Aspect Art while trapped by the Fire of Separation. As Lin Chen emerged from the pavilion, the Elders and Zheng Chuan witnessed his arrival.

• A pillar of light announced Lin Chen’s perfect score in one examination category, and Du Xiaofeng celebrated his disciple’s achievement.
• Nine Elders gathered as Du Xiaofeng explained that Lin Chen had entered Martial Path Mountain to escape the Fire of Separation and mastered the Boundless Divine Aspect Art from an incantation.
• Zhao Yulin revealed that Lin Chen had climbed into Martial Path Mountain’s top ten thousand without losing, and Du Xiaofeng insisted the sect rules confirmed Lin Chen as his disciple.
• Zheng Chuan and other disciples arrived at the Assessment Hall, expecting a Core Disciple candidate such as Dai Kai or Zhao Xuan to have caused the disturbance.
• The pavilion doors opened, Azure Ripple Energy spilled into the courtyard, and Lin Chen emerged before the gathered Elders and disciples.

Lin Chen scored 203 on the Core Disciple assessment by earning full marks in the potential test, and Sect Master Ji Cangtian explained that the test measured martial destiny. After learning about Lin Chen’s destiny and the sect’s plans for Martial Path Mountain, Ji Cangtian asked Elder Du what treatment the sect should grant him.

• Lin Chen emerged from the assessment loft and learned that his score was 203, with full marks in the potential test.
• Ji Cangtian summoned Lin Chen and Elder Du to the Azure Ripple Main Hall and asked what evaluation the Destiny Mirror had given Lin Chen.
• Lin Chen revealed the mirror’s evaluation, and Ji Cangtian explained that martial destiny could help someone reach the Myriad Manifestations Realm.
• Lin Chen recounted his rise from a poor family in the Desolate Land of Martial Dao, and Ji Cangtian linked his achievements to martial destiny.
• Ji Cangtian explained that Martial Path Mountain gathered martial fortune and that winning first place could strengthen Lin Chen’s destiny.
• Ji Cangtian speculated that Lin Chen’s destiny might relate to battles or competition, then asked Elder Du what treatment the sect should grant him.

Lin Chen chose a place in the Azure Ripple Secret Realm as his reward for scoring over two hundred points in the Core Disciple assessment. Du Xiaofeng explained the Xiantian Realm and Martial Arts Will, revealing that the secret realm could help improve Martial Arts Will, while Lin Chen still had to reach Xiantian within six months to qualify to enter.

• Ji Cangtian told Lin Chen that breaking two hundred assessment points earned two additional benefits: help reaching Xiantian or a place in the Azure Ripple Secret Realm.
• Lin Chen chose the secret realm place after Du Xiaofeng urged him to take it, and Ji Cangtian warned that entry would depend on his ability.
• Du Xiaofeng explained that Lin Chen had to reach Xiantian within six months to enter the secret realm before its opening, or wait five years for the next one.
• Du Xiaofeng described the first two Xiantian realms and explained how the divine soul formed the foundation and set the limit of Martial Arts Will.
• Du Xiaofeng explained the grades and varying difficulty of Martial Arts Will, then revealed that the Azure Ripple Secret Realm could improve it.

Lin Chen learned that his next priorities were reaching the Xiantian Realm and climbing Martial Path Mountain, then chose a residence in the Azure Ripple Sect’s Core Disciple area. His arrival raised concern among Core Disciples who feared he might take a place in the Azure Ripple Secret Realm, while Fang Ming set out to visit him before being interrupted by a challenge on Martial Path Mountain.

• Du Xiaofeng told Lin Chen to pursue the Xiantian Realm and Martial Path Mountain’s top hundred, and promised to prepare what he needed for his breakthrough.
• Gao Zeming took Lin Chen to the Core Disciple residences, where Lin Chen chose a quiet courtyard beside a lake.
• Zhu Tao and two other Core Disciples discussed Lin Chen’s assessment results and worried that he might receive a place in the Azure Ripple Secret Realm at Fang Ming’s expense.
• After hearing that Lin Chen had moved in, Fang Ming decided to visit him but stopped when someone challenged him on Martial Path Mountain.

Lin Chen challenged fellow Azure Ripple Sect disciple Fang Ming on Martial Path Mountain and defeated him with superior martial and soul techniques. Fang Ming recognized that Senior Brother Zhu had nearly used him against Lin Chen and decided not to confront Lin Chen for now.

• Lin Chen chose to continue his winning streak and challenged Fang Ming despite their shared sect.
• Fang Ming assumed Lin Chen wanted his Azure Ripple Secret Realm quota and attacked with Azure Ripple techniques.
• Lin Chen overpowered Fang Ming’s techniques and countered his divine-sense attack with six flying blades.
• Fang Ming admitted defeat, and Lin Chen continued challenging opponents on Martial Path Mountain.
• After leaving Martial Path Mountain, Fang Ming turned away an Inner Disciple sent to summon him and realized Senior Brother Zhu had nearly used him as a weapon.

Lin Chen read the Azure Ripple Sect’s disciple handbook and went to the Azure Ripple Treasure Hall to collect his Core Disciple benefits. After other disciples mistook him for an Outer Disciple, his identity was revealed, and he left with his pills as rumors spread that he had deliberately shown off; he then returned to his courtyard to cultivate.

• Lin Chen read the handbook, learned how sect missions and disciple benefits worked, and planned to collect three months of Core Disciple resources.
• Lin Chen went to the Pill Hall and mistakenly joined an Inner Disciple queue, prompting a disciple to direct him toward the Outer Disciple lines.
• Lin Chen continued to the Core Disciple counter, where the attendant recognized him and verified his purple-blue Disciple Identity Token.
• Lin Chen collected three months' worth of pills and other cultivation resources without checking each item in front of the watching disciples.
• Disciples spread the story through the sect and concluded that Lin Chen had deliberately shown off, giving him mocking nicknames.
• Lin Chen returned to his courtyard and began taking Azure Ripple Pills to refine their medicinal power.

Lin Chen went to the Skill Transmission Hall to approach the Azure Ripple Codex, but it unleashed blue dragons to stop him. As he fought through them, the Codex illuminated all three hundred martial arts Stone Tablets, revealing their arts to the gathered disciples.

• Lin Chen arrived at the Skill Transmission Hall, where Zheng Chuan explained how disciples used the Stone Tablets to comprehend martial arts and told him about the Azure Ripple Codex.
• When Lin Chen approached the Codex, it surged with Azure Ripple Energy and formed nine blue dragons that attacked him.
• Lin Chen shattered the dragons with his palm and the Boundless Divine Aspect Art, while the Withered Old Man watched and the Sect Master ordered everyone not to disturb him.
• Lin Chen destroyed the remaining dragons and continued toward the Codex as disciples and stewards hurried to the hall.
• The Azure Ripple Codex released violet-blue light that revealed the arts on all three hundred Stone Tablets, and Elder Zhao Yulin urged the disciples to approach them.

Lin Chen triggered a transformation in the Azure Ripple Codex, prompting the sect to clear the Skill Transmission Hall while he encountered its hidden inheritance. The sect master identified the inheritance as the Azure Ripple Divine Codex, and Lin Chen discovered that Azure Ripple Energy was flowing toward his heart as the Codex revealed its opening words.

• Zhao Yulin directed the disciples to study the martial techniques revealed on the stone steles, then cleared the hall after a pure-blue pillar enveloped Lin Chen and the Codex.
• Thousands of disciples gathered outside the hall, where Qiao Yuan learned that the Codex's transformation was a sect secret and realized Lin Chen had surpassed him in comprehension.
• Ji Cangtian anticipated that Lin Chen might comprehend the Heart of Azure Ripple, a secret inheritance required to cultivate the Azure Ripple Divine Codex.
• Lin Chen found that the Azure Ripple Codex no longer rejected him and watched Azure Ripple Energy flow into his heart as the Codex revealed its opening lines.

Lin Chen endured the Azure Ripple Energy’s assault and successfully condensed the Heart of Azure Ripple, awakening the Azure Ripple Divine Codex in the Skill Transmission Hall. As the sect sealed the hall around him, he began a deeper process of comprehension within an Azure Ripple Energy cocoon.

• Lin Chen resisted the Azure Ripple Energy crystals piercing his heart and soul, drawing on memories of the hardships he had endured on his martial path.
• Lin Chen saw the words “Azure Ripple Heart Forging” in the Azure Ripple Codex, and the crystals dissolved as Azure Ripple Energy transformed his heart deep blue.
• Lin Chen’s first heartbeat sent a tide of Azure Ripple Energy through the Skill Transmission Hall, confirming that he had condensed the Heart of Azure Ripple.
• The Withered Old Man ordered the other disciples to leave, while Zhao Yulin announced that the Skill Transmission Hall would remain sealed for several days.
• A cocoon of Azure Ripple Energy formed around Lin Chen, where the Azure Ripple Divine Codex’s scriptures led him to an abyss and a streak of blue light.

Lin Chen studied the Azure Ripple Tide in the abyss and realized Azure Ripple’s power came from oscillations stacked in rhythm. Outside the Skill Transmission Hall, Du Xiaofeng learned that Lin Chen had formed the Heart of Azure Ripple, but the Withered Old Man told him there was no need to change masters.

• Lin Chen observed the blue waves surging from the abyss and realized Azure Ripple involved oscillations whose power increased when they were stacked.
• Lin Chen struck with Azure Ripple, producing up to nine waves before his rhythm fell out of sync with the tide.
• Lin Chen watched the tide’s changing rhythm and practiced matching his breathing to it.
• Du Xiaofeng arrived at the Skill Transmission Hall, where the Withered Old Man assured him that Lin Chen was safe.
• The Withered Old Man told Du Xiaofeng that Lin Chen possessed the Heart of Azure Ripple and explained its significance to the sect.
• Du Xiaofeng asked whether Lin Chen should take another master, but the Withered Old Man said he could remain Du Xiaofeng’s disciple.

After spending seven days in the Skill Transmission Hall, Lin Chen emerged having formed the Heart of Azure Ripple and comprehended the Azure Ripple Force. Qiao Yuan challenged him to a fight to determine the sect’s top disciple under twenty, but Lin Chen refused.

• Qiao Yuan waited outside the Skill Transmission Hall, while Zhuang Zhong and Shen Ao speculated that he would compete with Lin Chen for the title of top disciple under twenty.
• Lin Chen awakened inside the hall, and Grand Martial Uncle told him he was the first Azure Ripple Sect disciple in three hundred years to form the Heart of Azure Ripple and inherit the Azure Ripple Divine Codex.
• Lin Chen revealed he had read only the first page of the Divine Codex and comprehended the Azure Ripple Force, and Grand Martial Uncle told him to keep both secrets from everyone except his master.
• Lin Chen left the hall and apologized to the gathered disciples, who thanked him for helping them comprehend martial arts.
• Qiao Yuan challenged Lin Chen to a fight, but Lin Chen declined.

Lin Chen accepted Qiao Yuan’s challenge for three months later, planning to prove his strength through the Martial Path Mountain rankings. At his master Du Xiaofeng’s courtyard, he learned the significance of the Heart of Azure Ripple and the Yan Imperial Dynasty’s Sect War Edict, then prepared to break through into the Xiantian realm.

• After hearing that Lin Chen came from a remote place with an underdeveloped martial tradition, Qiao Yuan offered to postpone their duel for three months, and Lin Chen accepted so he could raise his Martial Path Mountain ranking.
• Lin Chen left the square, while the disciples discussed the future duel and Zhuang Zhong and Shen Ao wondered whether they had misunderstood Lin Chen’s reputation.
• Lin Chen told Du Xiaofeng that he had comprehended the Heart of Azure Ripple and the Azure Ripple Force, and Du Xiaofeng said that twenty of the sixty-four people who had condensed the Heart of Azure Ripple had reached the Myriad Manifestations Realm.
• Du Xiaofeng warned Lin Chen not to reveal the Heart of Azure Ripple and explained how the Yan Imperial Dynasty’s Sect War Edict prevented a super sect from destroying another without permission.
• Du Xiaofeng told Lin Chen to rest before receiving Xiantian Five-Elements energy the next day to break through into the Xiantian realm, and Lin Chen said he was ready.