Chapter Summaries

Lin Chen returned to Great Liang after ten years and confronted an illusion that revealed a poisoned attack on his family and threatened to expose his secret of transmigration. He recognized the illusion’s flaw, destroyed it, and continued absorbing ghostly blue flames in the Fire Cave.

• During heavy snow, Lin He brought his impoverished elder brother, Lin Hai, to the Lin Residence, where the gatekeeper learned he was the First Master.
• At Zhao Jingchuan’s wedding, Lin Chen declined to join the festivities, explaining that he had returned quietly to spend time with his family.
• Lin Chen sensed danger at the Lin Residence and found an illusion in which Lin Hai had poisoned his family and servants and threatened to reveal Lin Chen’s origins.
• Lin Chen rejected the illusion because he knew his father would never help Lin Hai kill him, then destroyed the imagined scene with ghostly blue flames.
• Back in the Fire Cave, Lin Chen sat before the sealing wall as ghostly blue flames entered his brows and spread across the Star Chart in his dantian.

Lin Chen refined the Illusory Sea Heart Flame, strengthening his divine soul, then entered a cocoon while the Boundless Divine Aspect Art transformed him. Elder Zhuang learned the Sect Master might allow Lin Chen to study the Myriad Fire Sect’s arts in two years, and realized the delay had a purpose.

• Lin Chen spent fifteen days refining the Illusory Sea Heart Flame, turning his Star Chart blue and raising his divine soul to Level 4.
• Lin Chen used the Boundless Divine Aspect Art with his three Xiantian Fires, changing forms before becoming encased in a cocoon of fire.
• Du Shuang found the cocoon and alerted Elder Zhuang, who ordered him to keep Lin Chen’s transformation secret.
• Elder Zhuang explained to Du Shuang that Lin Chen’s new Xiantian Fire had triggered another transformation and estimated he would emerge within seven days.
• Elder Zhuang asked the Myriad Fire Sect’s Sect Master to honor his promise to Lin Chen, and the Sect Master agreed to consider opening the sect’s cultivation methods to him in two years.

Five days after entering the cocoon of flames, Lin Chen emerged in the third transformation of the Boundless Divine Aspect Art, gaining a form that could create powerful illusions. Zhuang Lie gave him Fire Nurturing Beads and told him to return to the Myriad Fire Sect in two years if he reached the Xiantian Second Realm, while Lin Chen prepared to return to the Azure Ripple Sect.

• Lin Chen shattered the cocoon of flames, and his illusion briefly ensnared Du Shuang until Zhuang Lie awakened him.
• Lin Chen demonstrated his third transformation, which Zhuang Lie compared to a Battle Puppet, and showed that it could create illusions.
• Zhuang Lie judged Lin Chen's illusion effective against Xiantian First Realm opponents but much less reliable against Xiantian Second Realm opponents.
• Zhuang Lie postponed opening the Myriad Fire Sect's cultivation arts to Lin Chen, promising access if Lin Chen reached the Xiantian Second Realm within two years.
• Zhuang Lie gave Lin Chen a pouch of Fire Nurturing Beads and told him to return to the Azure Ripple Sect the next day without another farewell.
• After Zhuang Lie left, Lin Chen checked his System Panel and smiled at the changes in its values.

After refining the Illusory Sea Heart Flame, Lin Chen visited Zhao Haoyang and told him how he had overcome poverty, setbacks, and the gap between the Nine Kingdoms and the Yan Imperial Dynasty. Zhao Haoyang let go of his resentment and saw Lin Chen off, while Myriad Fire Sect's elders learned of Lin Chen's past and reflected on the risks behind his progress.

• Lin Chen's speed and defense each increased by one level after he refined the Illusory Sea Heart Flame, and he returned to his courtyard.
• Lin Chen went with Du Shuang to Zhao Haoyang's courtyard, where Zhao Haoyang initially accused him of coming to humiliate him.
• Lin Chen overwhelmed Zhao Haoyang with his aura, then told him about the poor boy who had endured ridicule and hardship to advance in martial arts.
• Zhao Haoyang realized the story was Lin Chen's own, thanked him for his guidance, and saw him off with a smile.
• Myriad Fire Sect's elders overheard Lin Chen's words, and Dong Congyang and the others expressed surprise at his humble origins while Zhuang Lie considered the hardships behind his cultivation.

Lin Chen killed two Yanluo Hall assassins who attacked him on his return to the Azure Ripple Domain. After learning of the assassination, the Azure Ripple Sect prepared to escort him home and launched a sweeping hunt for Yanluo Hall.

• Lin Chen evaded Kong De’s ambush, killed him, and then used an illusion to kill Yanluo Hall’s strongest Xiantian First Realm assassin.
• Lin Chen burned the second assassin’s corpse and continued toward the Azure Ripple Domain after finding nothing valuable on him.
• At the border, Lin Chen told Wen Yun that two Yanluo Hall assassins had attacked him, and Wen Yun arranged to escort him back to the sect.
• Ji Cangtian told Du Xiaofeng that Lin Chen was safe and ordered the Azure Ripple Sect to eliminate Yanluo Hall’s associates in its domain, issue a bounty, and send three hundred stewards and three elders to hunt the organization across the Yan Imperial Dynasty.

Lin Chen returned to the Azure Ripple Sect, where Du Xiaofeng learned of his gains at the Myriad Fire Sect and warned him against reckless breakthroughs. As the sect prepared for the Azure Ripple Secret Realm and pursued the Yanluo Hall, Zhou Cang revealed that the hall master had approved the assassination of Lin Chen.

• Lin Chen reported to Du Xiaofeng that Elder Zhuang had helped him refine the Illusory Sea Heart Flame, and Du Xiaofeng warned him to value survival over rapid breakthroughs.
• Du Xiaofeng explained that Zhuang Lie had secured Lin Chen a place in the Myriad Fire Sect's Sacred Fire Realm, which would open in two years.
• Lin Chen and Du Xiaofeng discussed who might have hired the Yanluo Hall to kill him, while Du Xiaofeng said the Azure Ripple Sect had destroyed nine contact points and killed sixty assassins.
• Du Xiaofeng told Lin Chen to stay in the sect and prepare for the Azure Ripple Secret Realm, and Lin Chen asked him about the Azure Ripple Finger and Eye of Azure Ripple.
• Zhou Cang told two Yanluo Hall leaders that the hall master had approved the assassination and claimed the Azure Ripple Sect would not remain arrogant for long.

Lin Chen secured a guaranteed Azure Ripple Secret Realm quota, helped Gu Kong reconnect with him, and watched the remaining quotas go to nine disciples. When Zeng Xi challenged him to test his improved soul, Lin Chen overwhelmed him in ten breaths, leaving Zeng Xi eager to leave and unwilling to return.

• Lin Chen publicly greeted Gu Kong, thanked him for his past help, and invited him and Qin Yan to a feast.
• Sect Master Ji Cangtian granted Lin Chen a quota, and the other nine quotas were decided through a three-day points tournament in which Qiao Yuan qualified.
• Lin Chen hosted Qin Yan and Gu Kong, then stayed in his courtyard to cultivate while visitors from other sects arrived.
• Zeng Xi challenged Lin Chen to a rematch, while Bai Qihua told Du Xiaofeng that Lin Chen's soul was stronger than Zeng Xi's and should have been valued by the Thousand Machine Sect.
• Lin Chen suppressed Zeng Xi's soul in ten breaths, and Zeng Xi admitted defeat and left, rejecting Lin Chen's invitation to return for tea.

Zeng Xi learned from Bai Qihua that Lin Chen’s soul had reached the Xiantian Second Realm because of an Innate Variant Soul, and Bai Qihua hoped to recruit him into the Thousand Machine Sect. Three days later, Lin Chen entered the Azure Ripple Secret Realm with the other disciples.

• Zeng Xi returned after Lin Chen defeated him, and Bai Qihua explained that Lin Chen’s soul had reached the Xiantian Second Realm.
• Bai Qihua told Zeng Xi that Lin Chen likely possessed an Innate Variant Soul and that the Thousand Machine Sect could guide its growth, then resolved to speak with Lin Chen.
• Du Xiaofeng urged Lin Chen to visit Zeng Xi and Elder Bai, hoping he could gain access to the Thousand Machine Sect’s Soul Trial Pavilion.
• Three days later, Sect Master Ji Cangtian opened the Azure Ripple Secret Realm and ordered the disciples to enter.
• Lin Chen followed the other disciples through the light gate, where Azure Ripple Energy swept him away and carried him toward his destination.

Lin Chen and the other disciples entered the Azure Ripple Secret Realm and watched as Cai Feng failed to subdue a refined Martial Arts Will. When a Flawless Xiantian Martial Arts Will appeared, Lin Chen entered its bubble while the other sects’ disciples questioned whether he was strong enough to succeed.

• Lin Chen, Zeng Xi, Qiao Yuan, and the other disciples arrived at the Martial Arts Will Sea and learned that Azure Ripple Beasts guarded its Martial Arts Wills.
• Cai Feng entered a refined Martial Arts Will’s bubble but emerged battered after failing to defeat its Azure Ripple Beast.
• A Flawless Xiantian Martial Arts Will appeared, and the disciples yielded the first chance to Lin Chen under the sects’ rules.
• Mu Jun and other sect disciples doubted Lin Chen’s strength and discussed rumors that he had killed two Yanluo Hall assassins.
• Lin Chen plunged into the Flawless Martial Arts Will’s bubble as the others waited to see whether he would succeed.

Lin Chen defeated an Azure Ripple Beast with Flawless Martial Arts Will and comprehended the spear intent Spiral Nine Extremes. He discovered that his System Panel described fusing four Flawless Martial Arts Wills into a martial soul, then returned to the beach and learned Zeng Xi had abandoned her attempt because the Will was not the one she wanted.

• Lin Chen fought an Azure Ripple Beast whose spear attacks overwhelmed his defenses, then destroyed it with the Eye of Azure Ripple.
• Lin Chen grasped the light-formed spear and comprehended Flawless Martial Arts Spear Intent: Spiral Nine Extremes.
• Lin Chen saw spear-shaped connections among the soul stars in his dantian, and the System Panel revealed that Martial Arts Wills could fuse into a martial soul.
• Lin Chen returned to the beach, where two Azure Ripple Sect Senior Brothers congratulated him on his gains.
• Zeng Xi emerged from a seven-colored bubble and explained that she had left because the Martial Arts Will inside was not the one she wanted.
• Lin Chen wondered why Seize Every Second had suggested fusing four Martial Arts Wills into a martial soul if Zeng Xi had chosen to give up.

Lin Chen pursued a second Flawless Martial Arts Will in the Azure Ripple Secret Realm while Zeng Xi and Yue Shan carried out their own plans. The Eight Desolations Sect declared full-scale war on the Azure Ripple Sect, and its army invaded Crimson Cloud Pass.

• Zeng Xi explained that comprehending incompatible Martial Arts Wills could tear apart the divine soul, while Lin Chen secretly intended to obtain the long halberd will anyway.
• Lin Chen entered the bubble containing the long halberd will, and Zeng Xi waited for another bubble to appear.
• Yue Shan secretly threw a scarlet flower into the sea, then entered a nearby bubble after confirming no one had seen him.
• Qiao Lingxuan declared full-scale war on the Azure Ripple Sect after the Eight Desolations Sect prepared to act against it.
• The Azure Ripple Sect elders at Crimson Cloud Pass sounded the alarm as the Eight Desolations Sect's army advanced on the pass.

The Azure Ripple Sect prepared for an all-out war after the Eight Desolations Sect invaded Crimson Cloud Pass, while its Myriad Manifestation Experts suspected the enemy planned to obtain a Sect War Edict. In the Azure Ripple Secret Realm, Lin Chen gained a Flawless Martial Arts Halberd Intent and then found Azure Ripple Beasts attacking the sect’s disciples outside their bubbles.

• Ji Cangtian learned that the Eight Desolations Sect had invaded Crimson Cloud Pass and dispatched elders, Martial Artists, and warnings to prepare the Azure Ripple Sect for war and Yanluo Hall assassinations.
• Ji Cangtian’s martial uncle and two Myriad Manifestation Experts discussed how the Eight Desolations Sect might be seeking a Sect War Edict by causing more than a million deaths, and they noted that the conflict could hinge on Eldest Senior Brother.
• Lin Chen defeated an Azure Ripple Beast in the Azure Ripple Secret Realm and acquired the Flawless Martial Arts Halberd Intent, which joined his Flawless Martial Arts Spear Intent.
• Lin Chen left the bubble and narrowly dodged an Azure Ripple Beast attacking him outside; Qiao Yuan explained that the beasts had escaped their bubbles and were targeting Azure Ripple Sect disciples.
• Zeng Xi helped defend the Azure Ripple Sect disciples but warned Lin Chen he would withdraw if the fight became too dangerous, while disciples from other sects watched from the beach and hoped Lin Chen would be killed.

Lin Chen forced the outside-sect disciples to join the Azure Ripple Sect in fighting the Azure Ripple Beasts, then exposed Yue Shan as the cause of the crisis. Yue Shan’s death raised a blood moon that strengthened the infected beasts, leaving everyone in greater danger as Lin Chen checked his System Panel.

• Lin Chen rescued Azure Ripple Sect disciples from the Azure Ripple Beasts, but Qiao Yuan and the others urged him to preserve his strength and survive.
• Lin Chen led the beasts toward the watching outside-sect disciples, forcing Zhang Jin, Mu Jun, Yue Shan, and the others to enter the sea and fight.
• Zeng Xi warned Lin Chen that Yue Shan’s behavior and place in the secret realm seemed suspicious, so Lin Chen watched him closely.
• Lin Chen struck Yue Shan, took a red bead from him, and gave it to Zeng Xi, causing the beasts attacking Zeng Xi to stop and exposing Yue Shan’s deception.
• Yue Shan exploded and formed a blood moon, which raised infected creatures’ strength by thirty percent and made them attack all uninfected beings.

Lin Chen absorbed a fourth Flawless Martial Arts Will while the blood moon intensified the Azure Ripple Beasts’ attacks. After returning injured from another water bubble, he began cultivating behind his allies, leaving their survival dependent on protecting his breakthrough.

• Lin Chen entered a water bubble to seek another Flawless Martial Arts Will, while Zeng Xi persuaded the other sects’ disciples to work together against the Azure Ripple Beasts.
• Lin Chen defeated a saber-wielding Azure Ripple Beast with the Eye of Azure Ripple and absorbed the Flawless Martial Arts Saber Intent, Savage Desert Slash.
• Lin Chen returned to find Yue Shan’s blood moon had transformed the Azure Ripple Beasts and left Qiao Yuan, Zeng Xi, and the others badly wounded.
• Lin Chen destroyed more than a dozen beasts, then entered another water bubble; Mu Jun accused him of abandoning them when he disappeared again.
• Lin Chen emerged bloodied, asked Zeng Xi and the others to protect him while he cultivated, and Zeng Xi urged everyone to defend Lin Chen’s breakthrough.

Lin Chen’s breakthrough transformed his Martial Soul Diagram into Sea Rising Bright Moon, giving him the power to annihilate the Azure Ripple Beasts. After his allies fought desperately to protect him, he turned to face the remaining crisis with his new strength.

• Zeng Xi and Mu Jun urged the others to defend Lin Chen while he broke through, and Zeng Xi concealed signs that Lin Chen was struggling.
• Lin Chen’s Martial Soul Diagram changed as Azure Ripple Energy gathered fallen stars into a sea and four weapon phantoms rose from its waves.
• Lin Chen absorbed the blood moon’s energy while Zeng Xi’s group suffered heavy casualties, and Zeng Xi used a crystal to destroy a cluster of Azure Ripple Beasts.
• Four Flawless-grade Azure Ripple Beasts charged Lin Chen, so Mu Jun and the others joined the Azure Ripple Sect disciples in trying to stop them.
• Gong Yian prepared to sacrifice himself, but Lin Chen’s breakthrough released a force that annihilated the charging beasts and saved the defenders.
• Lin Chen completed the Sea Rising Bright Moon Martial Soul Diagram, and his gaze caused Azure Ripple Beasts of every grade to explode.

Lin Chen slaughtered the Azure Ripple Beasts, discovered and collected the red flower causing them to form, then absorbed Martial Arts Will and Azure Ripple Energy beneath the sea. He emerged just as the secret realm was closing, apparently having broken through to the Xiantian Second Realm.

• Lin Chen killed every Azure Ripple Beast on the sea’s surface, absorbing the light they released as the others watched in shock.
• Lin Chen descended beneath the sea, found a red flower that shattered the forming bubbles and caused Azure Ripple Beasts to rise, and stored it in the Hundred Things Box as evidence against the Blood Moon Sect.
• Lin Chen absorbed Martial Arts Will until his divine soul felt full, then circulated the Azure Ripple Art to convert Azure Ripple Energy into Power of Xiantian.
• Lin Chen condensed Power of Xiantian at his acupoints while Zeng Xi and the others waited for the secret realm to open.
• As the secret realm began closing, Lin Chen emerged from a vortex, and Zeng Xi sensed that he had reached the Xiantian Second Realm.

After Lin Chen exposed the Blood Moon Sect’s role in the Azure Ripple Beasts’ frenzy, a Myriad Manifestation Expert killed Yuan Yiyi as he tried to escape. The Azure Ripple Sect’s Grand Elder, Ye Feiran, then summoned Lin Chen, heard about his secret-realm gains, and advised him to strengthen his soul as he pursued his own path toward the Myriad Manifestations Realm.

• Gong Yian and Zeng Xi reported that Yue Shan had driven the Azure Ripple Beasts berserk, causing deaths among several sects’ disciples, and described Lin Chen’s role in saving them.
• Lin Chen produced the Blood Moon Sect’s Moon Seed, leaving Yuan Yiyi unable to deny the sect’s connection to Yue Shan.
• Yuan Yiyi fled using the Blood Moon Sect’s substitution technique, but a Myriad Manifestation Expert struck him down with a gigantic finger.
• Ji Cangtian brought Lin Chen to meet Grand Elder Ye Feiran, who asked him to recount his experiences in the secret realm.
• Ye Feiran explained that Lin Chen’s soul changes showed potential for reaching the Myriad Manifestations Realm and advised him to focus on strengthening his soul.

Lin Chen learned that Azure Ripple Sect was at war with Eight Desolations Sect and that the sect would protect him by keeping him focused on cultivation. After deciding to bring his family to Azure Ripple Domain, he was told someone would escort him; Ye Feiran planned to visit Eight Desolations Sect, while Zhuang Min sensed the Garden Master was confronting Xiantian Third Realm intruders on the Nine Kingdoms Islands.

• Du Xiaofeng told Lin Chen that Eight Desolations Sect had launched a full-scale war against Azure Ripple Sect and had hired Yanluo Hall assassins to kill him.
• Lin Chen asked about Blood Moon Sect’s role, and Ji Cangtian said the sects were pressuring it for compensation but could not afford another conflict.
• Lin Chen worried that Eight Desolations Sect might threaten his family, so Du Xiaofeng and Ji Cangtian agreed to bring his relatives and acquaintances to Azure Ripple City.
• Ji Cangtian said someone would escort Lin Chen to the East Sea Region in three days, and Ye Feiran revealed that he planned to visit Eight Desolations Sect.
• Zhuang Min learned that Xiantian Third Realm martial artists were approaching Jiang Manor, then sensed the Garden Master would handle them.

Lin Chen apologized to the other sects’ disciples before traveling with Ye Feiran, who taught him about martial intent along the way. Ye Feiran then brought Lin Chen to Eight Desolations City and confronted the Eight Desolations Sect over its attempts to kill him, leaving the two Myriad Manifestation Experts facing off above the city.

• Lin Chen thanked Zeng Xi for warning him about the dangers of letting his soul surpass his realm, then apologized to Mu Jun and the other disciples for endangering them in the Azure Ripple Secret Realm.
• Ye Feiran personally escorted Lin Chen from the Azure Ripple Sect and taught him that martial intent came from the heart and could take many forms.
• After ten days of traveling on foot, Ye Feiran carried Lin Chen by cloud past Crimson Cloud Pass and into the Eight Desolations Domain.
• Ye Feiran brought Lin Chen to Eight Desolations City and struck at it with a giant palm, declaring that he had come to demand justice for his disciple.
• Qiao Shengjin intervened to disperse Ye Feiran’s attack, and Ye Feiran accused the Eight Desolations Sect of hiring Yanluo Hall assassins and colluding with the Blood Moon Sect to target Lin Chen.

Ye Feiran confronted Song Jin in Eight Desolations City, threatening Eight Desolations Sect if Lin Chen was assassinated again, but Song Jin let them leave because the assassination plot was meant to mislead Azure Ripple Sect. After leaving the domain, Ye Feiran gave Lin Chen a disguise technique and sent him alone toward the East Sea Region.

• Ye Feiran publicly accused Eight Desolations Sect of arranging Lin Chen’s assassination and threatened to slaughter its younger disciples if Lin Chen died.
• Song Jin and Ye Feiran faced off with their Myriad Manifestations pressure, but Ye Feiran left with Lin Chen without a fight.
• Song Jin told another elder that the assassination was intended to make Azure Ripple Sect misread Eight Desolations Sect’s plans, and ordered that Ling Xuan stop targeting Lin Chen.
• Ye Feiran suspected Eight Desolations Sect had a larger scheme and gave Lin Chen the Azure Ripple Transformation Art before parting ways with him.
• Lin Chen mastered the transformation technique, changed his appearance, and set off alone for the East Sea Region the next day.