Chapter Summaries

Zhang Guangmu drank a gourd of Dufa Wine that Chu Fan and their companions had bought to strengthen his body and Spirit Sword Power. After absorbing its effects almost instantly, Zhang Guangmu said the prerequisites for his “Nightmare Plan” had been met, leaving Chu Fan horrified.

• Chu Fan explained that he, Tang Lanshan, and Li Xiaoxiao had spent over two million Sword Coins on Jiazi Brew for Zhang Guangmu.
• Chu Fan described Zhang Guangmu’s weak physical stamina and limited Spirit Sword Power, and urged him to drink the wine to address those problems.
• Zhang Guangmu accepted the gift and drank the entire gourd of Dufa Wine in a few breaths.
• Zhang Guangmu rapidly absorbed the wine’s effects, restoring his qi and blood and strengthening his body while growing more familiar with the Mirage Sword.
• Zhang Guangmu announced that the prerequisites for his “Nightmare Plan” had been met, and Chu Fan turned deathly pale.

Zhang Guangmu began his dangerous Nightmare Plan after drinking Dufa Wine, leaving Chu Fan, Li Xiaoxiao, and Tang Lanshan unable to stop or predict what would happen. Inside the training room, he used his last Usable Ability Point to raise Imperial Body Forging Technique to level 22, sensing an unexpected improvement as the plan began.

• Zhang Guangmu drank Dufa Wine and immediately announced that he would begin the Nightmare Plan, despite Chu Fan's attempts to discourage him.
• Chu Fan called Li Xiaoxiao to intervene, but Li Xiaoxiao realized the plan had already started and warned that interrupting Zhang Guangmu could cause cultivation deviation.
• Tang Lanshan used her Yizhi Sword to divine Zhang Guangmu's fate, but the vision was a blur and the backlash left her weak and unable to calculate an outcome.
• Li Xiaoxiao told Chu Fan and Tang Lanshan to prepare to rescue Zhang Guangmu, while Chu Fan went to the infirmary to gather supplies.
• Zhang Guangmu summoned the Mad Lord Sword Canon as a façade, used his last Usable Ability Point, and increased Imperial Body Forging Technique from level 21 to level 22.

Zhang Guangmu mastered the Heavenly Eye through the Imperial Body Forging Technique and used it to examine the dangerous Spirit Sword Power lodged in his spine. He removed the corrupted material and cured his high-level spinal cord injury, leaving him better able to conserve Spirit Sword Power as he pursued the Nightmare Plan.

• Zhang Guangmu raised his Imperial Body Forging Technique to level 22 and discovered it had granted him a transcendent ability usable in the Real World.
• Zhang Guangmu awakened the Heavenly Eye, which let him observe souls and see inside his own body.
• Zhang Guangmu saw that pitch-black Spirit Sword Power was alive and was corrupting his spine, then considered ways to adapt his body and make use of it.
• Zhang Guangmu used the Water Spirit Sword to force the corrupted Spirit Sword Power and blood out through his wound.
• Zhang Guangmu walked without the Water Spirit Sword’s assistance after his spinal injury healed, and realized he could conserve Spirit Sword Power for the Nightmare Plan.

Zhang Guangmu recovered from his spinal injury and refined the parasitic Spirit Sword Fiends into fragile Nightmare Sword Gu, completing the hardest part of his plan and greatly increasing his power. Outside the training room, Li Xiaoxiao and Tang Lanshan sensed his recovery, while Chu Fan worried that the strange voices inside meant something had gone wrong.

• Zhang Guangmu expelled the parasitic Spirit Sword Power, restored the damaged section of his spinal cord, and named the surviving entities Spirit Sword Fiends.
• Zhang Guangmu trapped the Spirit Sword Fiends in a Water Spirit Sword Power furnace and refined them despite their attacks and pleas for mercy.
• Zhang Guangmu created the Nightmare Sword Gu, which could strengthen his Spirit Sword Power and recovery while serving as an invisible network of external organs.
• Li Xiaoxiao sensed that Zhang Guangmu had recovered and become stronger, and Tang Lanshan's anxiety eased.
• Chu Fan worried that the voices he heard from the training room suggested Zhang Guangmu might have developed a split personality.

Zhang Guangmu discovered Isabelle Christina, a Gold Medal Reporter who had secretly entered the Feihong Sect, and intimidated her into backing down. As the Feihong Sect prepared to meet the Yaksa Platform, Isabelle struggled downstairs after Zhang Guangmu’s Nightmare Sword Gus began draining her strength, where she encountered Hans Dekson.

• Zhang Guangmu noticed Isabelle Christina hiding invisibly in the Feihong Sect and questioned whether they could kill an intruder without legal consequences.
• Isabelle identified herself as a Gold Medal Reporter and demanded an interview, but Zhang Guangmu’s intimidating gaze made her soften her attitude.
• Chu Fan sent Isabelle away and led Zhang Guangmu, Li Xiaoxiao, and Tang Lanshan downstairs to meet the Yaksa Platform.
• Nightmare Sword Gus parasitized Isabelle and her Invisible Sword, draining their Spirit Sword Power and transmitting most of it to Zhang Guangmu.
• Isabelle struggled down to the interview hall, where she saw the Yaksa Platform reporters and Hans Dekson staring at Zhang Guangmu.

At a Feihong Sect interview, Hans Dekson challenged Zhang Guangmu to a duel, convinced his preparations and analysis gave him the advantage. Zhang Guangmu accepted on the spot, and Hans believed the Mad Lord had fallen into his trap.

• Chu Fan explained that Yaksha Platform belonged to the Buddha Sect's direct lineage and had Buddha Sword Emperor Jonah Ackerman's support.
• Chu Fan and Tang Lanshan deflected reporters' difficult questions while Zhang Guangmu and Li Xiaoxiao served mostly as mascots.
• Li Xiaoxiao warned Zhang Guangmu that Hans Dekson was a meticulous, dangerous swordsman who was stronger than her.
• Hans Dekson challenged Zhang Guangmu to a duel, offering to let him choose the time and place.
• Zhang Guangmu accepted the challenge and set it for immediately at the interview location, leaving Hans convinced his trap had worked.

Hans Dekson challenged Zhang Guangmu to a civilized duel, confident that the stormy weather and his countermeasures would give him the advantage. Zhang Guangmu defeated him without drawing his sword, and the chapter ended with Zhang Guangmu sensing that he had received Usable Ability Points.

• Hans Dekson proposed that he and Zhang Guangmu take turns attacking, and Zhang Guangmu agreed.
• Hans Dekson prepared his Wind Domain Sword and unleashed Pascal's Blade and Storm Charge, believing he had countered Zhang Guangmu's techniques.
• Zhang Guangmu snapped his fingers, and Hans Dekson discovered that his Wind Domain Sword had become partly transparent.
• Hans Dekson attacked Zhang Guangmu, but the slash beheaded Hans himself while Zhang Guangmu's Mirage Sword remained sheathed.
• The onlookers realized Hans Dekson had killed himself, and Zhang Guangmu sensed that his Usable Ability Points had arrived.

Zhang Guangmu killed Hans Dekson in a single move and used the Wind Domain Sword to nourish and evolve the Nightmare Sword Gu. After learning that powerful healing could revive the dead, he left to strengthen the Sword Net and forge his Sword Bone before the celebratory dinner.

• Zhang Guangmu decapitated Hans Dekson, then absorbed the Wind Domain Sword into the Nightmare Sword Gu as nourishment.
• Li Xiaoxiao concealed Zhang Guangmu’s method from Chu Fan, while reporters debated whether Zhang Guangmu had surpassed the Seven Sword Stars.
• Chu Fan exchanged pleasantries with a Buddhist reporter who recognized Zhang Guangmu as the Fourth Sword Emperor of the Feihong Sect.
• Zhang Guangmu saw Hans Dekson’s body and head sealed in an ice coffin and asked whether someone could survive decapitation.
• Li Xiaoxiao and Lin Zitong explained that the Buddha Emperor Sword had revived a swordsman whose heart was destroyed, and Lin Zitong identified him as Jonah Ackerman.
• Tang Lanshan invited Zhang Guangmu to celebrate new business deals, and Zhang Guangmu left to strengthen the Sword Net and forge his Sword Bone.

After defeating Hans Dekson, Zhang Guangmu used the new ability point from his Scroll of Sword Prison to advance Imperial Body Forging Technique to 23, improving his soul and Heaven’s Eye. He repaired and strengthened his Sword Net, then began the dangerous final step of his Nightmare Plan: forging a Sword Bone inside his body.

• Zhang Guangmu reflected on Hans Dekson’s possible resurrection and wondered how advanced the world’s medical technology and Spirit Swords were.
• Zhang Guangmu formed the Scroll of Sword Prison from the Mad Lord Sword Canon and used its Usable Ability Point to raise Imperial Body Forging Technique to 23.
• Zhang Guangmu reached the Cast Yang Shen stage, gained stronger soul power, and became able to activate the Heaven’s Eye by stirring his qi and blood.
• Zhang Guangmu used the Heaven’s Eye to repair and strengthen his Sword Net while the Nightmare Sword Gu matured.
• Zhang Guangmu compared the physical data of the nineteen defeated swordsmen, brought the miniature Nightmare Sword Gu into his body, and began forging a Sword Bone.

Zhang Guangmu endured the painful process of forging the Mad Lord Bone Sword from his spine, gaining a bone shield and enhanced healing. After the Nightmare Sword Gu absorbed the Wind Domain Sword and upgraded the Sword Net, Zhang Guangmu became a Transcendent and his achievement changed to Martial Arts (Jun).

• Zhang Guangmu endured twenty-three minutes of agony while shaping his spine into a spirit sword and preserving its normal functions.
• Zhang Guangmu named the sword hidden in his spine Mad Lord Bone and discovered it could summon a bone shield and strengthen his body's healing.
• The narrator explained that a Sword Forger's reputation and materials determined a spirit sword's grade, while forging techniques mattered little.
• The Nightmare Sword Gu devoured the remaining Wind Domain Sword, upgrading the Sword Net to version 2.0 and letting Zhang Guangmu control Water- and Wind-type Spirit Sword Power.
• Zhang Guangmu recognized himself as a Transcendent, and his achievement changed to Martial Arts (Jun).

Zhang Guangmu reflected on his goal of becoming powerful enough to protect Earth, then demonstrated his mastery of Spirit Sword Power at a celebratory dinner. After realizing he could use the Sword Net to reproduce rare medicines, he destroyed the Marrow Refining Pill and Steel Skin Ointment and declared that he himself was now the fortuitous encounter.

• Zhang Guangmu resolved to pursue the highest achievements in every Subconscious Film World so he could help protect Earth in the coming civilization war.
• Tang Lanshan announced that the Lingfeng Sect and Shadow Moon Sect had offered Feihong two rare secret medicines, and Lin Zitong identified them as the Marrow Refining Pill and Steel Skin Ointment.
• Chu Fan offered the medicines to Zhang Guangmu and Li Xiaoxiao, but Li Xiaoxiao refused hers and urged Zhang Guangmu to take both.
• Zhang Guangmu used his Heaven's Eye to examine the medicines and realized the Sword Net could use samples to derive more of their kind.
• Zhang Guangmu crushed both medicines with Spirit Sword Power, sent them into the Sword Net, and declared that he was now the fortuitous encounter.

Zhang Guangmu used the Sword Net and Nightmare Sword Gu to turn secret medicines and the meal’s essence into a medicinal mist that strengthened everyone from Feihong. The chapter left Li Xiaoxiao celebrating his rise toward the top of the Seven Sword Stars while Zhang Guangmu encouraged him.

• Zhang Guangmu absorbed ninety-seven portions of Marrow Refining Pill and Steel Skin Ointment, improving his body and his affinity with Spirit Sword Power.
• Zhang Guangmu drew power from the Sword Net and used the Nightmare Sword Gu to create a medicinal mist that enhanced Chu Fan, Li Xiaoxiao, Tang Lanshan, and Lin Zitong.
• Lin Zitong tested his strengthened skin with a dinner knife and found it resisted the cut, while Chu Fan cut his hand and revealed his jade-colored bones.
• The medicinal mist drained the food’s essence, leaving the dishes gray and unfit to eat, but Li Xiaoxiao said the permanent enhancements were worth more than another meal.
• Li Xiaoxiao said the secret medicines would help him become the foremost of the Seven Sword Stars, and Zhang Guangmu praised his talent.

After Zhang Guangmu strengthened the Feihong Sect and encouraged Lin Zitong, Black and White Impermanence appeared to seize his soul. Zhang Guangmu struck them down with a glance, and they begged him to spare their lives.

• Tang Lanshan said her divination had improved, while Lin Zitong vowed to challenge his brother after adapting to his new strength.
• Zhang Guangmu praised Lin Zitong’s talent and urged him to become steadier and prioritize intelligence about his enemies.
• Black and White Impermanence appeared in the private room and tried to seize Zhang Guangmu’s soul and scatter his living soul.
• Chu Fan attacked the spirits unsuccessfully and declared war on the Ghost Sword Sect, while Li Xiaoxiao explained their standing and lineage.
• Zhang Guangmu knocked Black and White Impermanence down with a glance, and the injured pair begged him for mercy.

Zhang Guangmu spared Black and White Impermanence after demonstrating overwhelming Sword Emperor-level strength and sent them back to the Ghost Sword Sect with a demand for compensation. Learning that the sect had also previously tried to kill him, he arrived at its main hall as its leaders discussed how to handle him.

• Zhang Guangmu told Black and White Impermanence he would cripple them, let them return to the Ghost Sword Sect, and demand compensation.
• Black and White Impermanence fled, and Li Xiaoxiao called Feihong outer and nominal disciples to gather.
• Black and White Impermanence reported Zhang Guangmu's Sword Emperor-level strength to the Ghost Sword Sect's leaders before collapsing.
• The Ghost Sword Sect's sect master revealed that the sect had tried to silence Zhang Guangmu a month earlier by severing his spine.
• Shi Jianyü admitted he could not defeat Zhang Guangmu in a single move, while the sect master said he would contact their Sword Emperor.
• Zhang Guangmu appeared in the Ghost Sword Sect's main hall before the sect master could finish speaking.

Zhang Guangmu confronted the Ghost Sword Sect and demanded compensation for its attacks, threatening to wipe out the sect if it refused. After he killed ten disciples to enforce his ultimatum, Li accepted Zhang Guangmu’s conditions.

• Zhang Guangmu arrived at the Ghost Sword Sect after allowing the wounded Black and White Impermanence to flee there.
• Zhang Guangmu demanded 3.3 billion Sword Coins or sufficient compensation, and Li considered ordering the sect’s forces to attack him.
• Li saw Chu Fan, Li Xiaoxiao, Tang Lanshan, Lin Zitong, and Feihong Sect disciples behind Zhang Guangmu, while Shi Jianyü declined to intervene.
• Zhang Guangmu demanded the Ghost Sword Sect’s inherited sword manual and a top-grade Netherworld System spirit sword, giving Li ten seconds to decide.
• Zhang Guangmu’s Mirage Sword killed ten Ghost Sword Sect disciples, and Li accepted the conditions.

After Zhang Guangmu killed ten Ghost Sword Sect Direct Disciples, Sect Leader Li accepted his demands and sent Shi Jianyü to guide him into the sect’s forbidden ground. As Shi Jianyü explained the deadly, moving Life Forbidden Zone, gray mist appeared and trapped him, leaving both men in immediate danger.

• Li accepted Zhang Guangmu’s conditions and ordered Shi Jianyü to lead him to the forbidden ground to choose inherited sword arts and spirit swords.
• Chu Fan stopped Li Xiaoxiao from following Zhang Guangmu, and Tang Lanshan reassured them with a divination that Zhang Guangmu would face no major disaster in the Ghost Sword Sect.
• Shi Jianyü warned Zhang Guangmu that the forbidden ground was dangerous and led him through the narrow mountain passage.
• Shi Jianyü explained that the Life Forbidden Zone formed from the lingering souls of Burial Sea Sword Emperor, Ox-Head, and Horse-Face, and that its gray fog could move.
• Gray mist appeared ahead, and strands of it wrapped around Shi Jianyü’s feet, immobilizing him as he urged Zhang Guangmu to run.

Zhang Guangmu defeated and devoured the Chimei Sword and Wangliang Sword in the Ghost Sword Sect’s forbidden grounds, then absorbed the surviving sword techniques of the Burial Sea Sword Emperor and the Netherworld River Sword Emperor. His strength and concealment abilities increased, and he gained the sixth-stage Martial Way Transcendent achievement.

• Zhang Guangmu used his Heaven’s Eye to reveal that the gray forbidden zone centered on the Chimei Sword and Wangliang Sword, while Shi Jianyü identified them as the legacies of Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
• Zhang Guangmu struck down the twin swords with the Mirage Sword and sent them into the Sword Net, where the Nightmare Sword Gus began devouring them.
• The Burial Sea Sword Emperor’s recording revealed that the Netherworld River Sword Emperor’s inheritance was a trap for possession and that the two incomplete sword techniques had been left inside the forbidden zone.
• Zhang Guangmu studied the incomplete Burial Sea Sword Technique and Netherworld River Sword Technique Essentials, learning their principles and converting them into strength.
• The Sword Net gained Netherworld and Yin System Spirit Sword Power and improved concealment, while Zhang Guangmu’s achievement advanced from Martial Way (Jun) to Martial Way (Uranium).

Zhang Guangmu absorbed the Sword Emperor inheritances in the Ghost Sword Sect’s forbidden grounds and exposed the Burial Sea Sword Emperor’s resurrection trap. He returned to the council hall satisfied with the first two compensations and demanded that the sect identify the Sword Emperor who had ordered its actions.

• Zhang Guangmu comprehended the inheritances of the Netherworld River and Burial Sea Sword Emperors, demonstrating their sword arts before a shaken Shi Jianyü.
• Zhang Guangmu burned the incomplete Burial Sea Sword Technique and revealed that the Burial Sea Sword Emperor had planted it as a trap to seize another body.
• Shi Jianyü realized that the manual could have robbed him of his identity, while the Burial Sea Sword Emperor’s remnant soul was destroyed.
• Zhang Guangmu returned with Shi Jianyü to the Ghost Sword Sect’s council hall, where both sides had maintained their tense standoff.
• Zhang Guangmu told the Ghost Sword Sect’s leader, Li, that he was satisfied with the first two compensations and demanded the name of the Sword Emperor who had ordered the sect to act.

Lin Zitong investigated allegations that his father, Lin An, had ordered inhumane experiments, while Zhang Guangmu challenged the Demonic Sect’s Sword Emperor and waited for him to appear. With Lin An still missing, Zhang Guangmu spread a rumor about a mysterious inheritance called "Crimson Lotus Swordplay."

• Li named Lin An as the mastermind behind the Ghost Sword Sect’s crimes and accused him of conducting inhumane experiments to pursue immortality.
• Lin Zitong left Zhang Guangmu’s group to investigate and clear his father’s name, but his search confirmed that the experiments existed.
• Zhang Guangmu let Lin Zitong continue investigating and publicly challenged Lin An to exchange sword techniques through Chu Fan and Tang Lanshan.
• Lin An failed to respond to the challenge and disappeared, while the Demonic Sect claimed he was cultivating in seclusion.
• Zhang Guangmu decided to stir up trouble by spreading a rumor that "Crimson Lotus Swordplay" could make anyone a Sword Emperor and talented practitioners immortal Sword Immortals.

Zhang Guangmu fabricated rumors about the Crimson Lotus Swordplay, then used the Ghost Sword Sect’s public account of his feat in its forbidden grounds to make the rumors seem credible. After the story spread and his silence fueled speculation, he accepted a joint interview with nineteen media outlets.

• Zhang Guangmu started rumors that the Crimson Lotus Swordplay could lead to the Sword Emperor’s throne and immortality.
• Li and Shi Jianyü told reporters that Zhang Guangmu had used the Crimson Lotus Swordplay to destroy the remnant souls of Netherworld River and Burial Sea.
• Ghost Sword Sect disciples who witnessed Zhang Guangmu’s swordsmanship entered closed-door cultivation to imitate him, and Zhang Guangmu instructed them in several moves.
• The Ghost Sword Sect’s account lent credibility to the rumors, which grew to claim that Zhang Guangmu had lived for countless centuries.
• Zhang Guangmu did not refute the rumors, and he eventually accepted a joint interview with nineteen media outlets.