Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ling revealed the weaknesses of the Fourth-Tier Demon Beasts, helped the leaders arrange their defenses, and volunteered to face a Golden Horned Beast alone. As the decisive battle approached, Dean Gong worried about his safety and spoke of transferring her military merits to him if she died.

• Zhou Ling explained the Fourth-Tier Demon Beasts' strengths and weaknesses, and Chen Zhanglei tested his skill by presenting his Green Scale Eagle.
• Zhou Ling identified the Green Scale Eagle's bloodline, abilities, and weaknesses, convincing Chen Zhanglei to direct City Lord Qi to organize the battle around Zhou Ling's advice.
• City Lord Qi assigned the Demon Beasts to the Nascent Soul cultivators and asked Dean Gong whether the Heavenly Gate Sword Light Formation could hold four of them.
• Zhou Ling volunteered to deal with the Golden Horned Beast, and City Lord Qi accepted the plan after Zhou Ling said he had other methods.
• After the meeting, Zhou Ling advised the other cultivators about their opponents, then reassured Dean Gong as she worried over the danger and offered to transfer her military merits to him if she died.

Zhou Ling joined the defense of Anyang Immortal City as a vast Beast Tide attacked, and he used the Heavenly Gate Sword Light Formation and his spirit flames to slay a Mid Fourth-Tier Golden Horned Beast. The beast’s body then shot toward Zhou Ling, leaving the outcome unclear.

• The Demon Beast army charged Anyang Immortal City, and City Lord Qi activated the Xuanji Heavenly Fire Formation to burn through the Golden Silk Spider vanguard.
• Yu Feng flew out to fight a Fourth Order Blood Ape while Dean Gong and the others deployed the Heavenly Gate Sword Light Formation against four Fourth Order Demon Beasts.
• The Golden Horned Beast unleashed its Golden Sword Blood Domain, but Dean Gong and the formation countered it with a Giant Wood Sword Domain.
• Zhou Ling attacked the Golden Horned Beast with Dry Yang True Fire and the Five Elements Sword, then sent Beast Flame through its armor to burn its Demon Core.
• The Mid Fourth-Tier Golden Horned Beast fell, then its body shot toward Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling captured the Golden Horned Beast and then fought the Silver Patterned Flood Dragon while Dean Gong and the others battled the Fire Spirit Tiger and Dragon Horned Blood Lion. He killed the Silver Patterned Flood Dragon and stored its body as the other battle continued.

• Zhou Ling used his spirit flames and Beast Pressure to defeat the Golden Horned Beast, then stored its body in his Storage Ring.
• Dean Gong and the others followed their plan to counter the Fire Spirit Tiger and Dragon Horned Blood Lion’s attacks with the Heavenly Gate Sword Light Formation.
• The Silver Patterned Flood Dragon attacked Zhou Ling with Silver Domain Sinking Gold, but he burned away its silver radiance with his spirit flames.
• Zhou Ling used the Five Elements Sword Formation to wound the Silver Patterned Flood Dragon and stop it from fleeing.
• Zhou Ling unleashed Five Elements Unity and killed the Silver Patterned Flood Dragon, then sealed and stored its body for the Golden Fire Crow.

Zhou Ling slew two Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts, and Dean Gong’s sword formation killed two more, turning the battle against the Beast Tide. The human cultivators drove the beasts back, and Chen Zhanglei declared Zhou Ling the foremost meritorious contributor as the crisis at Anyang Immortal City ended.

• Zhou Ling withdrew to recover after killing two Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts, while Dean Gong used the Heavenly Gate Sword Light Formation to slay the Fire Spirit Tiger and Dragon Horned Blood Lion.
• Dean Gong revealed that her strike had brought her close to the Fourth Realm of Falling Wood Sword Intent, then announced that the formation had slain four Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts.
• The human cultivators rallied as the demonic beast army fell into chaos, and Zhou Ling stayed back to protect the recovering Dean Gong.
• Yu Feng, Ye Haitian, Hong Sheng, and other cultivators announced the deaths of Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts as the battle continued; by nightfall, eleven had been slain and the beasts retreated.
• Chen Zhanglei and the other Nascent Soul Cultivators returned to Anyang Immortal City after the Demon Kings were driven off, and the humans counted thirteen Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts slain and two Nascent Soul cultivators lost.
• Chen Zhanglei credited Zhou Ling with killing two Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts and providing useful intelligence, naming him the foremost meritorious contributor.

After Anyang Immortal City’s victory over the Beast Tide, Chen Zhanglei rewarded Zhou Ling for his decisive role and offered to recommend him to the Dao Alliance. The Demon Kings remained a threat, so the cultivators prepared to defend the city until reinforcements arrived in three days.

• Chen Zhanglei awarded Zhou Ling five thousand military merit and the choice of a Fourth-Tier Spirit Land for his help defeating the Demonic Beasts.
• Chen Zhanglei said he would recommend Zhou Ling to the Dao Alliance for intensive cultivation, but learned that Zi Ling was already Zhou Ling’s master.
• Chen Zhanglei gave Zhou Ling a Fourth-Tier Thunder Flood Dragon Demon Core, which Zhou Ling’s talents identified as a way to strengthen his physique and potentially gain a bloodline ability.
• Chen Zhanglei taught Zhou Ling lightning-control techniques and warned him to refine the Demon Core carefully.
• City Lord Qi said the cultivators would defend Anyang Immortal City for three more days, until reinforcements arrived.

Zhou Ling traded three hundred military merits with Cheng Yuan for a Sunbird Demonic Core and learned that the Sun Yang Bird had possessed the Sunbird Sword Domain. The next day, Zhou Ling successfully subdued the weakened Golden Horned Beast and ordered it to recover in his courtyard.

• Nascent Soul cultivators thanked Zhou Ling for the victory, and he promoted his Workshop while reserving his military merits.
• Cheng Yuan and Wang Shu Rou visited Zhou Ling and offered their Third Order Peak Sun Yang Bird Demon Core in exchange for three hundred military merits for their son’s Jade Ring Golden Core.
• Zhou Ling accepted the Sunbird Demonic Core, learned about the Sunbird Sword Domain, and agreed to discuss Workshop cooperation with Cheng Yuan and Wang Shu Rou.
• Zhou Ling decided to use the three days of recovery to subdue the Golden Horned Beast while the city awaited reinforcements.
• Zhou Ling used [Beast Pressure] until the Golden Horned Beast’s Soul Imprint condensed, then fed it Golden Sun Ginseng and ordered it to recover.

After Anyang Immortal City’s reinforcements helped defeat the Demon Beast army, Dean Gong shared her Heaven and Earth Sword Strike with Zhou Ling and began undergoing the Nascent Soul lightning tribulation. Zhou Ling guarded her as she passed the Mana Gate, while the more difficult trials still lay ahead.

• Two Nascent Soul reinforcements arrived, and Chen Zhanglei led the cultivators in pursuing the retreating Demon Beast army, killing one Demon King and five Fourth-Tier Demonic Beasts.
• Zhou Ling and Dean Gong drank Spirit Wine with the Heavenly Crafts Division stewards, and Dean Gong urged him to protect Anyang Immortal City and the Dao Alliance.
• Dean Gong sent Zhou Ling her Heaven and Earth Sword Strike, then revealed that she had exchanged military merits for a Nascent Soul Pill and chose to undergo the lightning tribulation.
• Zhou Ling called for nearby cultivators to withdraw and guarded Dean Gong as City Lord Qi activated the city’s defensive Magic Array.
• Dean Gong broke through the Mana Gate, and Zhou Ling prepared to watch over her as the divine soul trial approached.

Dean Gong passed the spiritual power, divine soul, and heart demon trials, then began a powerful Nascent Soul thunder tribulation while Zhou Ling studied her swordsmanship and absorbed scattered lightning. As Dean Gong fought the sixth bolt, Zhou Ling’s Five Elements Thunder Gang Physique evolved into a Five Elements Thunder Gang Dao Body.

• Dean Gong passed the heart demon trial with her fourth-realm Sword Intent of Life, then faced the thunder tribulation as dark clouds gathered over Anyang Immortal City.
• Dean Gong shattered the first five thunderbolts with her sword while Zhou Ling observed the tribulation and absorbed stray lightning to strengthen his physique.
• Dean Gong met the sixth bolt, which formed a Thunder Greatsword that clashed with her sword river and shattered her Five Elements Sword net.
• Zhou Ling’s physique absorbed the lightning and evolved into a Five Elements Thunder Gang Dao Body.
• Dean Gong formed a Five Elements Greatsword within her sword river and struck back at the Thunder Sword.

Dean Gong faced the final lightning tribulations while Zhou Ling watched and studied her sword techniques. She survived a terrifying dual metal-and-fire lightning strike by using the Heaven and Earth Sword Strike, entered the Nascent Soul Realm, and achieved a Heaven-Grade Nascent Soul.

• Dean Gong used her Five Elements Sword Formation and Moon-Surge Sword Intent to overcome the seventh, fire-attribute lightning tribulation.
• Dean Gong formed the Five Elements Sun Moon Sword Array to withstand the eighth, metal-attribute lightning tribulation, while Zhou Ling gained insights into his sword path.
• Dean Gong faced the ninth lightning tribulation, which combined metal and fire attributes, as Zhou Ling feared for her safety.
• Dean Gong remained in her state of enlightenment and used the Heaven and Earth Sword Strike to dissolve the final lightning, successfully achieving a Heaven-Grade Nascent Soul.

Dean Gong reached the Nascent Soul Realm and gave Zhou Ling a Five Elements Mysterious Silk Edict, which he fused into his Five Elements Treasure Sword. After testing its enhanced power against a Demon Beast in a simulated battlefield, Zhou Ling withdrew from the Simulated Illusion Realm.

• Dean Gong condensed a Heaven-Grade Nascent Soul, crediting Zhou Ling’s Five Elements Sword Intent for helping her succeed.
• Dean Gong gave Zhou Ling the Five Elements Mysterious Silk Edict and urged him to refine it before it dissipated.
• Zhou Ling fused the Edict into his Fourth Order Five Elements Treasure Sword, strengthening it and deepening his insight into the Five Elements Rules.
• In a simulated battlefield, Zhou Ling used the enhanced sword to kill a mid-Third-Tier Blood Mark Beast with one strike.
• Zhou Ling withdrew from the Simulated Illusion Realm after testing the sword’s new power.

After leaving the simulation, Zhou Ling refined a Thunder Flood Dragon Demon Core, enduring its blood soul and lightning power with the help of his Beast Flame and Stronger from Adversity talent. He gained the Blood Gang Azure Thunder Divine Ability and left confident that his strength could contend with late Golden Core cultivators.

• Zhou Ling assessed his new Five Elements Treasure Sword and Five Elements Thunder Gang Dao Body, then chose to refine the Thunder Flood Dragon Demonic Core to strengthen his body.
• The Demon Core released a one-zhang Thunder Flood Dragon blood soul and a thunder domain, but Zhou Ling suppressed it with Beast Flame and his Blood Qi before drawing it into his body.
• The Demon Core’s lightning battered Zhou Ling’s body and threatened his Sea of Consciousness until Stronger from Adversity increased his refining speed and helped him absorb the power.
• After a day of refining, Zhou Ling gained the Blood Gang Azure Thunder Divine Ability, which could condense powerful lightning for several breaths.
• Zhou Ling discovered that the refined core had become a Blood Qi Thunder Flood Dragon in his lightning meridians, then spent over two hundred drops of essence blood strengthening it.
• Zhou Ling concluded that his combined abilities could let him contend with late Golden Core cultivators, and he still planned to refine Dean Gong’s sword intent.

Zhou Ling accepted a new Patrolling Steward post after learning it could lead to the elite Imperial Investigation Department, then returned to Qingyun Immortal City and planned the Lingxiao Sect’s grounds with Zi Ling. The chapter left him preparing to exchange military merits for land and build a sect centered on a Sword Dao Arena.

• Dean Gong congratulated Zhou Ling on fusing the Five Elements Mysterious Silk Edict, and Steward Luo told him Chen Zhanglei had appointed him a Patrolling Steward in the Mysterious Court Division.
• Zhou Ling asked Chen Zhanglei about the post and learned it made him a reserve Imperial Inspector, a position in a department with only eighteen members; Chen Zhanglei also praised his Beast Tide contributions and Thunder Flood Dragon fusion.
• After the Demon Beasts retreated, Zhou Ling and Dean Gong said farewell to City Lord Qi and returned to Qingyun Immortal City with their groups aboard a warship.
• Zhou Ling asked Zi Ling how to use his five thousand military merits to secure land for the Lingxiao Sect, and she advised him to acquire twenty mu west of the Zhou Family grounds.
• Zi Ling gave Zhou Ling the sect’s original layout plan and explained that he should prioritize a third-order Sword Dao Arena built with Sword Dao Stones.

Zhou Ling secured seventy mu of Third-Tier Spirit Land from City Lord Weng and began planning the Lingxiao Sect alongside the Zhou Family grounds. After Zi Ling approved the plans and named the Five Elements Sword Art as the sect’s inherited art, Zhou Ling prepared to establish the Sword Dao Arena and carefully choose disciples.

• Zhou Ling met City Lord Weng and exchanged military merits for seventy mu of Third-Tier Spirit Land near the Zhou Family.
• City Lord Weng asked Zhou Ling to consider taking his daughter, Weng Lanyue, as a disciple, and Zhou Ling agreed to assess her suitability.
• Zhou Ling asked Steward Luo to survey the new land, designate space for the Lingxiao Sect, and draft a layout centered on a Sword Dao Arena.
• Zi Ling told Zhou Ling to make the final decisions himself and confirmed that the Five Elements Sword Art would become the Lingxiao Sect’s inherited sword art.
• Zi Ling said she had cultivation arts for the sect and warned Zhou Ling to be strict when accepting disciples.

Zhou Ling accepted Weng Lanyue as his disciple and discovered that her Golden Star Sword Body gave her exceptional sword talent despite her focus on inscriptions. He entered an illusionary realm to comprehend Dean Gong’s fourth-realm Heaven and Earth Sword Intent, but the sword qi began overwhelming his body before he found a way to understand it.

• Weng Lanyue visited Zhou Ling alone, demonstrated her Second-Tier fire inscription, and received his guidance about the spirituality within engravings.
• Zhou Ling accepted Weng Lanyue as his disciple, and she chose to stay with the Zhou Family.
• Zhou Ling learned that Weng Lanyue possessed a Golden Star Sword Body but lacked a suitable high-grade star-attributed sword art.
• After arranging for Lu Yunxi to handle Heavenly Crafts Division affairs, Zhou Ling entered the Cultivation Room and released Dean Gong’s sealed Azure Wood Sword Intent.
• Zhou Ling activated Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation, but the Heaven and Earth Sword Qi began suppressing and transforming his body while he struggled to find a way to comprehend it.

During ten days of seclusion, Zhou Ling fused Falling Wood Sword Intent with his Five Elements Sword Qi and condensed a Five Elements Sword Soul, advancing his Sword Dao cultivation. After leaving seclusion, he reunited with his pregnant wife and reviewed plans to construct a Sword Dao Arena and expand the Zhou Family and Lingxiao Sect.

• Zhou Ling used Purple-Scale Defense and the Five Elements Treasure Sword to withstand Falling Wood Sword Intent while comprehending it in an Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation.
• Zhou Ling merged the Falling Wood Sword Qi with his Five Elements Sword Qi and condensed a Five Elements Sword Soul, raising his Sword Dao cultivation to the Three Realms Third Step.
• Zhou Ling tested the Five Elements Sword Soul and found that it could pierce a Third Order Treasure Artifact, though it recovered slowly after being expended.
• Zhou Ling left seclusion, greeted Wang Yu and Wang Xin, and said he had not yet decided when to form his Golden Core.
• Steward Luo showed Zhou Ling plans for the Zhou Family and Lingxiao Sect, including a Five Elements Sword Dao Arena and defensive formations, with the whole project estimated to cost over one million Spirit Stones.
• Zhou Ling checked the family's finances with Yuan Hu and decided to choose an auspicious day to begin construction, building the overall framework first.

Zhou Ling sought Dean Gong’s guidance on fusing his Five Elements Sword Soul, and her demonstration of the Falling Wood Sword Domain helped him understand how to balance the Five Elements. After refining his sword path through the Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation, he formed a Five Elements Sword Domain and looked ahead to the main academy competition.

• Zhou Ling showed Dean Gong his Five Elements Sword Soul, and she explained that his strong Metal and Fire Sword Intents kept its five strands from fusing.
• Dean Gong demonstrated her Falling Wood Sword Domain, showing Zhou Ling how it transformed objects into Wood Attribute Sword Qi and sustained a Five Elements cycle.
• Dean Gong urged Zhou Ling to devote himself to the Sword Dao and promised to save him a Nascent Soul Pill if they obtained one at the main academy competition.
• Zhou Ling declined to abandon his work in the Heavenly Crafts Division and asked when the group would depart for the competition.
• In the Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation, Zhou Ling used his Five Elements Sword Domain to cut through Demon Beasts at Anyang Immortal City and improved his control of the Five Elements Treasure Sword.
• Zhou Ling successfully condensed his Five Elements Sword Domain with the help of the Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation and hoped to gain something at the competition.

Zhou Ling refined top-grade Essence Augmentation Pills and used one to advance to Foundation Establishment Peak, bringing his Golden Core plans closer. He then gave Bai Ji Soul Origin Pills and freed him from Workshop duties so he could focus on the upcoming Heaven-Grade Foundation Establishment assessment.

• Zhou Ling discussed his Sword Dao progress and plans to refine higher-grade pills with Wang Xin, who prepared ingredients for Essence Augmentation Pills and Soul Origin Pills.
• Zhou Ling refined three four-pattern top-grade Essence Augmentation Pills, gave one to Wang Xin, and requested Third Order pill formulas from her.
• Zhou Ling absorbed an Essence Augmentation Pill overnight and reached Foundation Establishment Peak the next day, deciding to prepare for the Heaven-Grade Golden Core Tribulation.
• Zhou Ling inspected the expanding Workshop and gave Bai Ji second-rank Soul Origin Pills to support his cultivation.
• Zhou Ling told Bai Ji to stop working on the Workshop and focus on preparing for the Heaven-Grade Foundation Establishment assessment.

Dean Gong chose Zhou Ling to join the team for the main academy competition, despite other instructors’ doubts about his Foundation Establishment cultivation. After Zhou Ling revealed his Third Realm Five Elements Sword Domain, he sparred with Lan Daobai, whose Thunder Sword Domain he swiftly began to dismantle.

• Dao Supervisor Sun and Lan Daobai questioned Dean Gong’s decision to bring Zhou Ling to the competition, but she declared that the team would reach the top four.
• At Dean Gong’s request, Zhou Ling demonstrated his Five Elements Sword Domain, astonishing the instructors with his swordsmanship talent.
• Lan Daobai challenged Zhou Ling to spar and offered him a Haoyuan Pill, while Dean Gong encouraged Zhou Ling to accept.
• At the sparring grounds, Zhou Ling formed a Five Elements Sword Domain from five Third-Tier Treasure Swords, and Lan Daobai answered with his Thunder Sword Domain.
• Zhou Ling analyzed Lan Daobai’s Thunder Cloud Sword Domain and transformed his own domain into a Sword Qi Furnace that absorbed and weakened the thunder sword qi.

Zhou Ling defeated Lan Daobai in a spar and revealed a Five Elements Sword Domain with the qualities of the Fourth Realm, earning the chief instructor position. He then set out with Dean Gong, Weng Lanyue, and five disciples for the main academy competition in Qingyang Immortal City.

• Zhou Ling used his Five Elements Sword Domain and Fourth Order Five Elements Treasure Sword to overwhelm Lan Daobai's Thunder Cloud Sword Domain, astonishing the instructors with his Fourth Realm swordsmanship.
• Lan Daobai conceded, gave Zhou Ling Haoyuan Pills, and accepted him as the sword academy's chief instructor, while Dean Gong said Zhou Ling had not yet mastered a true Heaven and Earth Sword Strike.
• Zhou Ling invited his disciple Weng Lanyue to accompany him to the main academy competition, then used the Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation to test his strength against Lan Daobai at peak Golden Core.
• Zhou Ling asked Lu Yunxi to oversee the Heavenly Crafts Division while he was away, and she cautioned him to be careful at the competition.
• Zhou Ling and Weng Lanyue joined Dean Gong, Jin Sheng, Bai Qiu, Jiang Tianyu, Hua Heng, and Mulan at the academy, then departed through the Teleportation Array for Qingyang Immortal City.

Zhou Ling arrived at the Nine Heavens Sword Academy’s main campus as the Foundation Establishment chief instructor of his team, drawing disbelief and scorn from other academies. After Dean Gong challenged the Fifth-Grade academy’s Dean Zhao, Zhou Ling settled into the team’s courtyard and learned they would face the Tianxia Daoist Academy of Guyan Immortal City in the first round.

• Song Qian and Wan Yi welcomed Dean Gong’s delegation and were astonished to learn that Foundation Establishment Peak Zhou Ling was its chief instructor.
• At the gathering of the Six Great Daoist Academies, other teams mocked Zhou Ling’s cultivation and considered Qingyun Immortal City an easy opponent.
• Dean Zhao of the Fifth-Grade Nine Heavens Sword Academy belittled Zhou Ling, and Dean Gong confidently challenged his team and predicted they would lose their Fifth-Grade position.
• Song Qian led the delegation to its courtyard, where Zhou Ling’s Azure Lotus Spirit Flame absorbed the aura of the fifth-grade Spring Chapter Wood and improved.
• After the afternoon draw, Dean Gong announced that their first opponent was the Tianxia Daoist Academy of Guyan Immortal City and briefed the team on its disciples and instructors.