Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ling analyzed the opposing team’s defensive formation and advised the Dao Academy’s sword cultivators on how to break it, while preparing to face He Jing himself. That night, his Azure Lotus Spirit Flame reached the Fourth Grade and awakened the Heart of the Azure Lotus, which offered him a chance to form a Wood Attribute Golden Core that he chose to refuse as he pursued a Five Elements Golden Core.

• Zhou Ling identified the opponents’ array as the Second-Tier Top-Grade Azure Wood Grand Cycle Formation and explained how attacking its twelve nodes could expose weak points.
• Dean Gong asked Zhou Ling whether he could face He Jing, and Zhou Ling said he would try rather than use the Sun Moon Five Elements Sword Formation.
• The Azure Lotus Spirit Flame reached the Fourth Grade, raised Zhou Ling’s Wood Attribute Dharma power to Foundation Establishment Peak, and awakened the Heart of the Azure Lotus.
• The Azure Lotus Spirit Flame prompted Zhou Ling to form a Wood Attribute Golden Core, but he suppressed the opportunity because he intended to pursue a Five Elements Golden Core.
• Zhou Ling discovered that the Heart of the Azure Lotus could be refined into a second Qi Sea, increasing his spiritual power and potentially improving his future core formation.

Zhou Ling faced peak Golden Core instructor He Jing in the Main Academy tournament, using two powerful spirit flames to withstand He Jing’s attacks. As Dean Gong began fighting Dean Lin, her Fourth Realm sword domain quickly overwhelmed his counterattack.

• Dean Gong brought Zhou Ling and the disciples to the tournament, where their first match was against Tianxia Daoist Academy of Guyan Immortal City.
• He Jing challenged Zhou Ling, and Zhou Ling shattered He Jing’s fire net with Beast Flame.
• He Jing summoned a Flame Flood Dragon, but Zhou Ling used Earth Spirit Land Fire to block it while Beast Flame remained in play.
• The judges were astonished that Zhou Ling could control two formidable spirit flames despite being at Foundation Establishment Peak.
• Dean Gong and Dean Lin began fighting, and Dean Gong’s Azure River Sword Domain shattered Dean Lin’s black ruler attack.

During the academy competition, Zhou Ling used five powerful spirit flames to withstand He Jing’s Golden Core Fire Domain, while the flames absorbed its fire and rule power. He Jing continued attacking, but Zhou Ling remained protected inside the domain as the judges watched in astonishment.

• Dean Gong defeated Dean Lin with her Heaven and Earth Sword Strike, leaving him injured but alive.
• Zhou Ling continued defending against He Jing’s attacks with two spirit flames, while Dean Gong chose to let him handle the fight himself.
• He Jing deployed his Golden Core Fire Domain and trapped Zhou Ling inside, where Zhou Ling’s Beast Flame and Earth Spirit Land Fire began absorbing its fire and rules.
• He Jing summoned a Flame Flood Dragon and attacked Zhou Ling, who brought out Dry Yang True Fire, Azure Lotus Spirit Flame, and Ice Crystal Spirit Flame to join his other two flames.
• Zhou Ling’s five spirit flames absorbed the domain’s flames and resisted its blood qi attack, shocking He Jing and the judges.

Zhou Ling shattered He Jing’s Golden Core Domain with his five Spirit Flames and won the competition match. Afterward, he absorbed the domain’s law power and condensed a Five Elements Law Domain, leaving him eager to test his strengthened abilities against future opponents.

• Zhou Ling used his five Spirit Flames to absorb the Power of Rules and break He Jing’s Golden Core Domain, forcing He Jing to concede.
• The referee declared Nine Heavens Sword Academy of Qingyun Immortal City the winner, while Jin Sheng, the spectators, and the academy leaders marveled at Zhou Ling’s strength.
• After returning to his room, Zhou Ling drew the law power from his Spirit Flames into the Heart of the Azure Lotus, where it fused with his Five Elements spiritual power.
• Zhou Ling condensed a Five Elements Law Domain and formed Five Elements Sword Qi, but recognized that the domain had limited range and duration.
• Zhou Ling sent the Spirit Flames back into his qi sea and looked forward to absorbing law power from future opponents’ Core Domains.

Zhou Ling analyzed the Nine Heavens Sword Academy of Yuhe Immortal City's formations and devised tactics for the coming matches. After preparing a plan to counter Gao Qi's star-powered Sword Domain, he arrived at the arena with Dean Gong, where Gao Qi discovered that Zhou Ling was truly only at peak Foundation Establishment.

• Dean Gong showed the team recordings of Yuhe Immortal City's Five Phases Rotating Sword Formation, and Zhou Ling identified its weaker Sword Phases and proposed targeting them with Jin Sheng's Incinerating Sword Intent.
• Dean Gong warned Zhou Ling that Gao Qi was a formidable sword cultivator whose Star River Sword Domain drew on stellar power, and Zhou Ling took the recordings away to analyze him.
• Zhou Ling devised a plan to use a Five Elements Sword Formation and Five Elements Spirit Flame to block Gao Qi's access to stellar power.
• The competition resumed, and Zhou Ling's victory over He Jing had made him famous as the Number One Under Nascent Soul in Qingyang Immortal Domain.
• Zhou Ling and Dean Gong's team met Dean Zhao and Gao Qi at Arena Five, where Gao Qi was surprised to find Zhou Ling genuinely at peak Foundation Establishment.

Zhou Ling fought Gao Qi in the competition and overcame his Starlight Sword Domain by combining the Five Elements Sword Domain with his spirit flames and Five Elements Sword Soul. The chapter ended with Gao Qi’s Seven Star Sword Formation shattered, leaving Zhou Ling’s victory apparent but not yet formally declared.

• Zhou Ling faced Gao Qi, who was weakened from the previous day’s battle, and blocked his opening strike with the Five Elements Sword Domain.
• Gao Qi expanded his Starlight Sword Domain, but Zhou Ling infused it with five spirit flames and sealed off the starlight that empowered it.
• Gao Qi formed a Seven Star Sword Formation and launched a giant sword at Zhou Ling, whose Five Elements Sword Soul enabled him to break through its suppression.
• Zhou Ling’s Five Elements Sword Ray collided with Gao Qi’s giant sword and shattered the Seven Star Sword Formation and Starlight Sword Domain.

Zhou Ling defeated Gao Qi, and Dean Gong defeated Dean Zhao, securing Qingyun Immortal City's second consecutive victory and a place among the top sixteen. After Zhou Ling planned for the next match against Butian Daoist Academy, Patriarch Wang visited him, leaving the purpose of the visit unknown.

• Zhou Ling shattered Gao Qi's Seven Stars Sword Domain and forced him to concede defeat.
• Dean Gong used her Fourth Realm Green Wood Sword Domain to defeat Dean Zhao, and Qingyun Immortal City's team won the match.
• Dean Gong and the disciples reviewed their next opponents from Butian Daoist Academy, and Zhou Ling planned to use defense and attrition against their Spirit Transformation and divine soul attacks.
• Weng Lanyue told Zhou Ling that Patriarch Wang had come to visit, and Zhou Ling welcomed him into his courtyard.

Zhou Ling refused Patriarch Wang’s offer to marry into the Wang Family, but accepted a Five Elements Sword Soul Stone as a gift. He then studied Butian Daoist Academy’s Nascent Soul opponents and volunteered to face the Thunder-Fire Flood Dragon Spirit Form cultivator, before using his simulation talent to study the stone.

• Patriarch Wang urged Zhou Ling to marry into the Wang Family and offered Wang Qingshang as another wife, but Zhou Ling refused.
• Patriarch Wang gave Zhou Ling a Five Elements Sword Soul Stone as a gift for his and Wang Xin’s child, and Zhou Ling accepted it.
• Dean Gong showed Zhou Ling recordings of Butian Daoist Academy’s Cloud Roc and Thunder-Fire Flood Dragon Spirit Form cultivators and proposed using the Sun Moon Five Elements Sword Formation.
• Zhou Ling volunteered to fight the Thunder-Fire Flood Dragon Spirit Form cultivator, estimating his chances at fifty percent.
• After discussing tactics with Dean Gong, Jin Sheng, and the others, Zhou Ling returned to his room and activated [Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation] to study the Five Elements Sword Soul Stone.

Zhou Ling used the Illusionary Realm Deduction Simulation to integrate the Five Elements Sword Soul Stone’s rules into his sword domain, then entered the quarterfinals against Nascent Soul cultivator Xiao Gui. As Xiao Gui’s Thunder-Fire Flood Dragon Spirit Form Domain surrounded him, Zhou Ling remained confident that his physique and abilities could withstand its suppression.

• Zhou Ling spent over a month in the simulation analyzing and fusing the Five Elements Sword Soul Stone’s five rule attributes into his Five Elements Sword Domain.
• Zhou Ling returned from the simulation with a powerful domain that he could sustain for about ten breaths, and his Five Elements Treasure Sword grew stronger after absorbing the stone and Dean Gong’s Five Elements Mysterious Silk Edict.
• Zhou Ling restored his divine soul with a Soul Origin Pill before the quarterfinals began the next day.
• Xiao Gui urged Zhou Ling to concede, but Zhou Ling refused and prepared to fight.
• Xiao Gui unleashed his Thunder-Fire Flood Dragon Spirit Form Domain, while Zhou Ling’s abilities reduced its suppressive effect and he claimed he could withstand it without relying on his cultivation.

Zhou Ling defeated Xiao Gui by enduring his Thunder-Fire Flood Dragon Spirit Form Domain with his own Thunder Flood Dragon Blood Essence and breaking the domain with all five Spirit Flames. He then watched Dean Gong maintain the upper hand against a Cloud Roc Spirit Form.

• Zhou Ling revealed his Fourth-Tier Thunder Flood Dragon Blood Essence and clashed with Xiao Gui’s Thunder-Fire Flood Dragon Spirit Form, using Dry Yang True Fire to resist the domain pressure.
• Xiao Gui activated Spirit Form Transformation and strengthened his Spirit Form, while Zhou Ling used his Spirit Flames to absorb the domain’s Power of Rules and withstand its attacks.
• Zhou Ling sent all five Spirit Flames into the Fire Thunder Law Domain and shattered it, forcing Xiao Gui to admit defeat.
• Zhou Ling and Xiao Gui took medicinal pills and watched Dean Gong fight a Cloud Roc Spirit Form with her Green Wood Sword Domain.
• Dean Gong’s sword domain repeatedly trapped and suppressed the Cloud Roc, and Zhou Ling saw that she still held the advantage.

Nine Heavens Sword Academy advanced to the main academy tournament semifinals after Tianxia Daoist Academy of Qinghong Immortal City forfeited, and Zhou Ling topped the Below Nascent Soul Combat Power Ranking. The chapter ended as Zhou Ling and Dean Gong faced the formidable Tianxia Daoist Academy of Qingyang Immortal City in the semifinal.

• Dean Gong told the disciples that their quarterfinal opponents had withdrawn because their fighters were exhausted and their Instructors were seriously injured, sending Nine Heavens Sword Academy directly into the final four.
• Dean Gong showed the rankings: Nine Heavens Sword Academy placed seventh among academies and tenth among disciple teams, while Zhou Ling ranked first on the Below Nascent Soul Combat Power Ranking.
• Dean Gong gave the disciples pills to recover and warned Zhou Ling that their likely semifinal opponent was top-ranked Tianxia Daoist Academy of Qingyang Immortal City.
• Dean Gong shared information about Tianxia's Instructors, Yun Xuan and Jin Jinmeng, and explained that she and Zhou Ling would need the Sun Moon Five Elements Sword Formation to have a chance against them.
• Zhou Ling studied the opponents' recorded battles, then faced Yun Xuan and Tianxia Daoist Academy in the semifinal after two days of recovery.

Zhou Ling and Dean Gong faced Yun Xuan and Jin Jinmeng in the competition, revealing their Sun Moon Five Elements Sword Formation after Zhou Ling’s attacks failed to break through Yun Xuan’s defenses. The formation trapped both opponents, and Zhou Ling and Dean Gong began attacking them with its combined sword domains.

• Jin Jinmeng questioned Dean Gong’s confidence, and Dean Gong said the truth would become clear in the fight.
• When the match began, Zhou Ling attacked Yun Xuan with Five Elements Sword Qi, but Yun Xuan evaded it with his Breath Concealment Technique and countered with his Green Jade Ring.
• Zhou Ling struck with his Five Elements Treasure Sword and activated his Five Elements Sword Domain, while his Beast Flame and sword attacks failed to break Yun Xuan’s defenses.
• Zhou Ling formed a sword domain with five additional treasure swords, and Dean Gong joined him by merging the Falling Wood Sword into it.
• The Sun Moon Five Elements Sword Formation engulfed the platform, trapping Yun Xuan and Jin Jinmeng as Yun Xuan attacked the Golden Sword Sun and Zhou Ling’s swords struck at the Green Jade Ring.

Zhou Ling and Dean Gong used the Sun Moon Five Elements Sword Formation to turn the battle against Yun Xuan, despite Zhou Ling's lower cultivation. Zhou Ling broke Yun Xuan's law domain with the Five Elements Spirit Flame, forcing Yun Xuan to concede, but exhausted himself and left the rest of the match to Dean Gong.

• Zhou Ling and Dean Gong combined their sword domains to counter Yun Xuan and Jin Jinmeng, shifting the battle's advantage toward their side.
• Zhou Ling found a weakness in Yun Xuan's Green Jade Ring and damaged it, prompting Yun Xuan to unleash his Flame Law Domain and Devouring Flame Flood Dragons.
• Yun Xuan's Flame, Metal, and Wood rules began breaking apart the sword domain, while Dean Gong warned Zhou Ling to condense its power.
• Zhou Ling infused the Five Elements Spirit Flame into the Five Elements Treasure Sword and unleashed Five Elements Unity, shattering Yun Xuan's law domain.
• Yun Xuan admitted defeat, and Zhou Ling, nearly out of spiritual power, recovered while leaving the remaining battle to Dean Gong.

Head Lin visited Zhou Ling and Dean Gong after their semifinal victories, warning Zhou Ling not to risk his cultivation by fighting again while giving them Foundation Replenishing Pills. He also gave Zhou Ling a rare Five Elements Spirit Fruit and offered to refine a Jade Returning Golden Pill; back in his room, Zhou Ling took a Foundation Replenishing Pill and faced its overwhelming medicinal power.

• Head Lin questioned Zhou Ling about the Qingyun Immortal City Heavenly Crafts Division, then gave Zhou Ling and Dean Gong Foundation Replenishing Pills and cautioned Zhou Ling against competing again.
• Dean Gong agreed that Zhou Ling should not fight, while Head Lin praised his talent and offered to refine a Jade Returning Golden Pill if Zhou Ling supplied the materials.
• Head Lin gave Zhou Ling a nearly Fourth Order Five Elements Spirit Fruit, explaining that it could improve his Golden Core formation rate and quality, and told him to keep the gift secret.
• Head Lin urged Zhou Ling to focus on Artifact Crafting before leaving, and Dean Gong said she would handle the next day's battle.
• Zhou Ling returned to his room, decided to take the Foundation Replenishing Pill and judge his recovery, then absorbed it as its surging medicinal power flooded his meridians.

After taking Head Lin’s Foundation Replenishing Pill, Zhou Ling absorbed its surging medicinal power and unexpectedly began forming a Golden Core. He secured the Nine Heavens Sword Academy’s help for his tribulation, then left for the plaza intent on condensing a Heaven-Grade Golden Core.

• The Foundation Replenishing Pill filled Zhou Ling’s Qi Sea with spiritual power, and its fusion with the Power of Rules formed a vortex that triggered his Golden Core breakthrough.
• Zhou Ling prepared his Golden Core treasures and asked Dean Gong to arrange the academy’s defensive Magic Array and stand guard during his tribulation.
• Dean Gong informed Dean Xiang, who surprised the judges and Head Lin by announcing that Zhou Ling was about to undergo the Golden Core Tribulation.
• Dean Gong confirmed that the academy had prepared the plaza and its Magic Array, while Zhou Ling calmed himself and resolved to form a Heaven-Grade Golden Core.
• Five elemental spiritual power vortices condensed in Zhou Ling’s Qi Sea, and he left for the plaza with Dean Gong.

Zhou Ling began his Golden Core Tribulation at the Nine Heavens Sword Academy, astonishing the gathered cultivators with his Five Elements physique and rapid recovery. He condensed a Five-Colored Golden Core and passed the first two trials, leaving the Heaven-Grade core unfinished as he prepared to face the remaining tests.

• The Nine Heavens Sword Academy set up its Five-Colored Spiritual Light Defense Formation, and the crowd learned that Zhou Ling was about to undergo a Golden Core Tribulation.
• Zhou Ling thanked Dean Xiang and the others, then flew into the air with Dean Gong guarding him as he swallowed a Jade Returning Golden Pill.
• Zhou Ling absorbed the pill's power, activated his Five Elements Thunder Gang Physique and Spirit Flames, and condensed five vortices into a Five-Colored Golden Core.
• Zhou Ling passed the spiritual power and divine sense trials, while Dean Xiang ordered Formation Master Lu to activate the Spirit Gathering Formation to support him.
• The gathered experts recognized that Zhou Ling was attempting a rare Five Elements Heaven-Grade Golden Core, which still required him to absorb Five Elements rules and complete the tribulation.

Zhou Ling faced the Inner Demon Gate and the three waves of lightning in his Golden Core Tribulation, aiming to form a Heaven-Grade Five Elements Golden Core. He survived the first two lightning waves with his body and defeated the third with his Five Elements Sword Domain, leaving the sky clear as the tribulation ended.

• Dean Xiang activated the fifth-order Spirit Gathering Grand Formation to supply Zhou Ling with spiritual energy, while Patriarch Wang offered to cover any losses.
• Zhou Ling overcame the Inner Demon Gate with his clear spiritual sense and [Intermediate Observation].
• Zhou Ling charged into the lightning tribulation without his swords or spirit flame and endured the first two waves with his fleshly body, gaining Five Elements Thunder Gang and Rule power.
• Zhou Ling used his Five Elements Sword Domain to clash with the third wave's hundred-zhang thunder dragon when its power exceeded what his body could withstand.
• Zhou Ling's sword domain and the thunder dragon destroyed each other, after which the lightning and thunderclouds vanished.

Zhou Ling passed the Five Elements Thunder Tribulation and condensed a Heaven-Grade Five Elements Golden Core alongside a Heaven-Grade Lightning Golden Core. After consolidating his new realm, he left the Cultivation Room eager to return to Xin'er, whose due date was near.

• Zhou Ling shattered the thunder tribulation with a powerful sword strike, impressing the cultivators and judges who watched.
• As Heaven and Earth Rules rewarded him, Zhou Ling merged his five Five-Colored Golden Cores into one and formed a separate purplish-gold Lightning Golden Core.
• Zhou Ling broke through to the first layer of Golden Core, strengthened his divine souls, and improved his Five Elements Treasure Sword and Five Elements Spirit Flame.
• Dean Gong told Zhou Ling to rest at the Nine Heavens Sword Academy's Cultivation Room, and the judges congratulated him on his Heaven-Grade Five Elements Golden Core.
• Zhou Ling studied his dual Golden Cores and their abilities, then spent several days consolidating his cultivation.
• Zhou Ling left the Cultivation Room and headed home, hoping to obtain a Jade Returning Golden Pill and return to Xin'er before she gave birth.

After the Sword Academy won the competition and Zhou Ling received the Heaven-Grade Jade Returning Golden Pill, Patriarch Wang told him that Wang Xin had given birth to their daughter. Zhou Ling returned home, reunited with his wife and newborn, and celebrated his breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm with his family and subordinates.

• Dean Gong told Zhou Ling that the Sword Academy had won first place, become a Fifth-Grade Daoist Academy, and awarded him the Heaven-Grade Jade Returning Golden Pill.
• Zhou Ling discussed his increased strength and new abilities with Dean Gong, then met Patriarch Wang, who congratulated him on forming his Golden Core.
• Patriarch Wang informed Zhou Ling that Wang Xin had given birth to a girl, and Zhou Ling hurried home with Dean Gong and Lan Yue.
• Zhou Ling met his daughter Yingying and reunited with Wang Xin, who noticed his Golden Core breakthrough; Li Ru celebrated both the birth and his achievement.
• Chu Xing and Yuan Hu congratulated Zhou Ling on becoming a Golden Core Cultivator, and Zhou Ling told Yuan Hu to prepare a celebration.

Zhou Ling told Zi Ling that he had formed both a Five Elements Golden Core and a Lightning Golden Core, and received the Eight Extremes Immortal Thunder Art from her. Zi Ling appointed him Sect Master as he planned to rebuild the Lingxiao Sect, while Zhou Ling later told Wang Xin about his cores and Patriarch Wang’s proposal that he marry Wang Qingshang.

• Zi Ling praised Zhou Ling’s Heavenly-grade Five Elements Golden Core and said the later levels of the Five Elements Dry Yang True Art were held by the Purple Firmament Sect, where they would retrieve them.
• Zhou Ling revealed his acquired Five Elements Thunder Gang Physique and Lightning Golden Core, and Zi Ling gave him the Eight Extremes Immortal Thunder Art while warning him that its cultivation would be dangerous.
• Zi Ling named Zhou Ling Sect Master and herself Grand Elder, and Zhou Ling said he would hold a Golden Core celebration to announce the Lingxiao Sect’s rebuilding.
• Zhou Ling told Wang Xin he had formed two Heavenly-grade Golden Cores, and she was surprised by his Lightning Golden Core.
• Zhou Ling told Wang Xin that Patriarch Wang had proposed marrying Wang Qingshang to him; Wang Xin was receptive, but Zhou Ling said he would not marry into the Wang Family.