Chapter Summaries

Zhou Ling welcomed Jin Yun, Fang Yu Yun, and their six disciples into Lingxiao Sect after Fairy Zi Ling sent word that she was entering seclusion. With the newcomers agreeing to stay and help rebuild the sect, Zhou Ling learned about Purple Firmament Sect’s three likely contestants and assigned opponents for the upcoming contest.

• Zhou Ling greeted Jin Yun, Fang Yu Yun, and their six disciples as they arrived at the Zhou Family gates and brought them to Lingxiao Sect.
• Fairy Zi Ling told Jin Yun and Fang Yu Yun to discuss the contest with Purple Firmament Sect with Zhou Ling while she entered seclusion.
• Jin Yun and Fang Yu Yun agreed to remain in Lingxiao Sect, and Zhou Ling offered them places to settle within the sect grounds.
• Jin Yun showed Zhou Ling information about Liu Po Lei, Zhang Yu Hu, and Qin Ji, the three Mid Nascent Soul cultivators likely to represent Purple Firmament Sect.
• Zhou Ling assigned himself to fight Liu Po Lei, Fang Yu Yun to fight Zhang Yu Hu, and Jin Yun to fight Qin Zhang.

Zhou Ling reassured Jin Yun and Fang Yu Yun that he could face Liu Po Lei, then revealed he had killed a Fifth-Tier Fire Dragon Sparrow Demon King and was also Qingyun Immortal City's city lord. Later, he refined the city's Fifth-Grade Rule Jade Seal, gaining control of its Thunder Rule and tempering his body with lightning.

• Zhou Ling refused to change his planned matchups against the Purple Firmament Sect and asked Jin Yun for recordings of the opponents' recent battles.
• Weng Lanyue revealed that Zhou Ling had killed a Fifth-Tier Fire Dragon Sparrow Demon King, and Zhou Ling explained that he had helped defend Five Spirits Immortal City using the Purple Cauldron Warship.
• Zhou Ling asked Fang Yu Yun to improve the Lingxiao Sect's and Zhou Family's formations, then offered his senior sisters and martial nephews positions in Qingyun Immortal City.
• Zhou Ling cultivated with the Dao Alliance's Five Elements Fifth-Tier Spirit Vein and began refining Qingyun Immortal City's Fifth-Grade jade seal with the Fire Dragon Flame Domain.
• Zhou Ling burned most of his blood essence to refine the jade seal, then used its Thunder Rule to temper his body and strengthen his thunder meridians.

Zhou Ling fused the Rule Jade Seal into his lightning meridians, advanced to Fourth-Order Body Tempering, and gained a clearer grasp of Qingyun Immortal City's rules. After a simulation showed that Liu Po Lei's thunder domain overwhelmed his own, Zhou Ling began considering how to counter it, then helped Fang Yu Yun prepare for battle before Fairy Zi Ling arrived at Lingxiao Sect.

• Zhou Ling absorbed the Rule Jade Seal's Thunder Rules, recovered and expanded his essence blood to 1,300 drops, and reached the first layer of Fourth-Order Body Tempering.
• Zhou Ling sensed the rules and spirit veins across Qingyun Immortal City and realized that the city's Power of Rules could strengthen his cultivation and combat ability.
• Zhou Ling watched a recording of Liu Po Lei's battle, then simulated facing his Purple Sky Thunder Sea and saw his Fire Dragon Flame Domain defeated by Liu Po Lei's stronger domain.
• Zhou Ling analyzed Liu Po Lei's thunder domain and its slaughter, strength, and space rules, but the simulation drained much of his divine soul, forcing him to recover with a Soul Origin Pill.
• Fang Yu Yun discussed her battle strategy with Zhou Ling, who promised to supply the materials for her Magic Arrays so she could fight without restraint.
• Fairy Zi Ling arrived at Lingxiao Sect after recovering, and Zhou Ling offered her the seat of honor.

Zhou Ling and his fellow disciples finalized their matchups for the battle against the Purple Sky Sect, where the prize was the Thunder Gang Dragon Seal and recognition as the sect’s legitimate lineage. After Fairy Zi Ling explained the Five Elements Dao Field in Zhou Ling’s jade seal and advised him on refining it, the group prepared to depart in half a month.

• Fairy Zi Ling questioned Zhou Ling’s plan to face Liu Po Lei, but accepted his choice after sensing his Fourth Order Body Tempering and improved Thunder Rule cultivation.
• Fairy Zi Ling revealed that the battle’s winner would claim the other Thunder Gang Dragon Seal, unlocking a grotto-heaven of sect inheritances and granting legitimate lineage status.
• Fairy Zi Ling told Zhou Ling that his Five Elements Jade Seal contained a portable Five Elements Dao Field and advised him to refine it using spatial power or the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame.
• Fang Yu Yun teased Zhou Ling about marrying her, and Fairy Zi Ling appointed Jin Yun as Grand Elder and Fang Yu Yun as Second Elder.
• Zhou Ling left to attend to the Immortal City celebration, and the group set their departure for the Purple Sky Sect half a month later.

Zhou Ling refined the Five Elements Jade Seal and discovered that its Five Elements Dao Field greatly accelerated cultivation and Rule comprehension, though it consumed precious Spirit Stones. After reuniting with Wang Xin and Ying'er, he gathered his disciples to discuss their plans for Foundation Establishment.

• Zhou Ling refined the Five Elements Jade Seal with his Spirit Flames and used it to form a Five Elements Sword Domain.
• Zhou Ling entered the seal's Dao Field, where he cultivated faster and absorbed Five Elements Rules, but found that the field rapidly consumed Heaven Grade Spirit Stones.
• Zhou Ling left seclusion and reunited with Wang Xin and their daughter Ying'er, then learned that Bai Ji had placed second in the Foundation Establishment Seed Assessment.
• Zhou Ling told Bai Ji and Luo Xuan he would obtain Heaven-Grade Foundation Establishment Pills for them and encouraged them to attempt Heaven-Grade Foundation Establishment without undue pressure.

Zhou Ling instructed his disciples in the Five Elements Sword Art and explained Lingxiao Sect’s competitions and secret realm plans before Fairy Zi Ling gave him the Hidden Treasure Secret Art to help him wield the Five Elements Jade Seal. The chapter ended with Qingyun Immortal City celebrating its promotion to a Fifth-Grade Immortal City, where Zhou Ling addressed the gathered cultivators.

• Zhou Ling answered Song Yue and Weng Lanyue’s questions about the Five Elements Sword Art, gave Song Yue a Sword Stone to study, and announced monthly sect competitions with points and future secret-realm access as rewards.
• Zhou Ling told his four disciples that the Thunder Gang Dragon Seal Secret Realm held valuable opportunities and that his upcoming contest against a Purple Firmament Sect Nascent Soul cultivator would determine its ownership.
• Fairy Zi Ling gave Zhou Ling the Hidden Treasure Secret Art, explaining that it could let him draw on the Five Elements Jade Seal as an additional source of spiritual power.
• Zhou Ling began studying the secret art, and Fairy Zi Ling told Jin Yun and Fang Yu Yun that he had a strong chance of mastering it through his own comprehension.
• Qingyun Immortal City began celebrating its promotion to a Fifth-Grade Immortal City, and Zhou Ling addressed the gathered cultivators as its young City Lord and leading figure.

Zhou Ling celebrated becoming Qingyun Immortal City's City Lord with his family and the city's cultivators, then convened the city's first Nascent Soul Assembly to plan its expansion and allocate resources. He set preliminary standards for access to branches of the incoming Fifth-Tier Spirit Vein and began discussing appointments to key positions.

• Zhou Ling's family and friends attended his celebration, while Wang Qingshang reflected on her family's plan for her to marry him.
• Zhou Ling carried little Ying'er around the banquet and politely declined the Hu Family Patriarch's gift of a Third-Tier Crystal Jade Ring.
• After the banquet, Zhou Ling convened twenty-two Nascent Soul cultivators and reviewed plans to expand Qingyun Immortal City sixfold while reducing most departments' budgets.
• Zhou Ling declared that Crystal Source Spirit Rice would remain a key source of income and proposed requiring late Nascent Soul cultivation and over thirty thousand Dao Alliance military merit for families to receive a spirit-vein branch.
• Zhou Ling said he preferred local cultivators for key posts but invited recommendations, while privately considering candidates for the city's halls and divisions.

Zhou Ling arranged Qingyun Immortal City’s formations and planned a Fourth Order Five Elements Warship with Fang Yu Yun, then learned that Wang Qingshang was willing to marry into the Zhou Family. The marriage was agreed upon, while Zhou Ling prepared to travel to Tianxia Immortal City and face matters involving Purple Sky Sect.

• Jin Yun urged Zhou Ling to focus on cultivation, while he assured her that managing Qingyun Immortal City would not hinder him.
• Zhou Ling asked Fang Yu Yun to oversee formations for the sect, the Zhou Family, and Qingyun Immortal City, and offered her a share of the warship’s profits.
• Fang Yu Yun and Zhou Ling chose an Eight Extremes Heavenly Lightning Array for the Fourth Order Five Elements Warship, which they hoped to take against Purple Sky Sect.
• Wang Xin told Zhou Ling that Wang Qingshang and the Wang Family had agreed to the marriage, and she said she supported it.
• Wang Qingshang confirmed her agreement to Zhou Ling, and Wang Yu settled the marriage plans with him.
• Wang Qingshang warned Zhou Ling to be careful on his upcoming trip to Tianxia Immortal City and his dealings with Purple Sky Sect.

Zhou Ling and Fang Yu Yun completed the Fourth Order Five Elements Thunder Boat by combining its Five Elements array with the Eight Extremes Heavenly Lightning Array. Zhou Ling then departed for Tianxia Immortal City to face the Purple Sky Sect, accompanied by Wang Qingshang, Fairy Zi Ling, and others.

• Wang Qingshang agreed to marry Zhou Ling, and Wang Yu and Li Ru settled the marriage for after Zhou Ling returned from Tianxia Immortal City.
• Nascent Soul families courted Zhou Ling for spirit-vein branches and offered women as concubines, but he rejected the offers and left allocation matters to Weng.
• Zhou Ling and Fang Yu Yun fused the Five Elements array and Eight Extremes Heavenly Lightning Array into a powerful formation for the warship.
• Zhou Ling activated the formation and confirmed the completed warship could contend with an early soul transformation cultivator.
• Zhou Ling departed for Tianxia Immortal City with Wang Qingshang, Fairy Zi Ling, and their companions to challenge the Purple Sky Sect.

Zhou Ling and the Lingxiao Sect group visited the Wang Family, where Old Ancestor Wang revealed that the Ancestral Flame had formed a new Spirit Soul and offered it to Zhou Ling. Zhou Ling accepted the gift and judged that he could handle the dangerous fusion, though the chapter left the refining still ahead.

• Wang Qingshang invited Zhou Ling, Fairy Zi Ling, and the others to the Wang Family, and Fairy Zi Ling accepted her wine and the invitation.
• Zhou Ling and his companions arrived at the Wang Family, where Wang Zhongyue praised Zhou Ling and asked whether he had fused with the family’s Ancestral Flame Spirit Soul.
• Zhou Ling admitted that the Ancestral Flame Spirit Soul had merged with his Dry Yang True Fire during his earlier visit to the family secret realm.
• Wang Zhongyue offered Zhou Ling a newly condensed Spirit Soul from the Ancestral Flame to strengthen his Spirit Flame before his journey to Purple Cloud Sect.
• Wang Zhongyue warned that the Ancestral Flame’s main Spirit Soul was extremely dangerous to refine, but Zhou Ling said he believed he could handle it.

Zhou Ling entered the Wang Family secret realm and fused the Golden Soul Burning Heaven Flame Spirit Soul into his Beast Flame. The fusion succeeded, advancing the Beast Flame to the Fifth Order and leaving Zhou Ling with a powerful new Natal Spirit Flame.

• Zi Ling and Wang Qingshang voiced concern, but Zhou Ling insisted he could withstand the fusion, and Old Ancestor Wang opened the secret realm for him.
• The Golden Soul Burning Heaven Flame recognized Zhou Ling and warned him that its Spirit Soul contained a portion of its origin and could not be abandoned once fusion began.
• Zhou Ling used the Beast Flame and his four other Spirit Flames to suppress and refine the violent golden flame seed.
• As the Spirit Soul resisted, the Fire Dragon Sparrow Demon Core's origin power emerged and helped Zhou Ling suppress the flame seed.
• Zhou Ling completed the fusion, and the system confirmed that his Beast Flame had advanced into a Fifth-Order Spirit Flame resembling a Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame.

Zhou Ling fused with Golden Soul Burning Heaven Flame’s Spirit Soul, transforming Beast Flame into Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame and advancing to the fourth layer of Golden Core. After learning about the demon race and the human race’s four great powers, he left the secret realm, where Old Ancestor Wang celebrated his success and urged him to prepare carefully for his coming battle with Liu Po Lei.

• Zhou Ling’s fusion with Golden Soul Burning Heaven Flame’s Spirit Soul advanced his cultivation to the fourth layer of Golden Core and strengthened his soul.
• Beast Flame transformed into Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame, gaining the Fire Dragon Sparrow’s abilities and the potential to develop further.
• Golden Soul Burning Heaven Flame told Zhou Ling that it had once helped Old Ancestor Wang fight the demon race and explained that the human race had four great powers in separate grotto-heavens.
• Golden Soul Burning Heaven Flame sent Zhou Ling out of the secret realm, where Old Ancestor Wang and the others were surprised by his rapid breakthrough and successful fusion.
• Old Ancestor Wang praised Zhou Ling, announced that he would personally preside over Zhou Ling and Wang Qingshang’s wedding, and warned Zhou Ling to be careful when controlling the fused Spirit Soul.

After fusing with the Burning Heaven Flame Spirit Soul, Zhou Ling tested the power of his Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame and revealed that he could wield its strongest divine ability. Impressed by his strength, Fairy Zi Ling left with the Lingxiao Sect disciples for the upcoming contest, while Old Ancestor Wang taught Zhou Ling a secret art for controlling a fifth-tier spirit flame.

• Fang Yu Yun and Old Ancestor Wang asked Zhou Ling to test his newly fused Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame, and he agreed to spar with Old Ancestor Wang.
• Zhou Ling revealed that his fifth-tier Bright Sun Burning Heaven Flame carried origin and unleashed a Flame Domain and Bright Sun Slash against Old Ancestor Wang.
• At Old Ancestor Wang’s request, Zhou Ling used the Burning Heaven Divine Ability, breaking through the ancestor’s golden flame defense and forcing him back.
• Old Ancestor Wang praised Zhou Ling’s power and said it could help him face Liu Po Lei, while Fairy Zi Ling thanked him and affirmed the alliance between their families.
• Fairy Zi Ling led the Lingxiao Sect disciples away to reach the Teleportation Array, and Old Ancestor Wang taught Zhou Ling a secret art for controlling a fifth-tier spirit flame.

Fairy Zi Ling explained that the Four Great Grotto-Heavens sent cultivators to defend the Sword Qi Great Wall Immortal Domain, and that Lingxiao Sect might soon have to contribute after its contest with Purple Sky Sect. She and Zhou Ling reached Tianxia Immortal City, where its immense scale and crowded skies astonished him, and entered the inner city through a cultivation inspection array.

• Fairy Zi Ling told Zhou Ling and the others that the Dao Alliance, Heavenly Palace, Immortal Gate, and Wild Domain formed humanity's Four Great Cultivation Grotto-Heavens and guarded against foreign races at the Sword Qi Great Wall Immortal Domain.
• Fairy Zi Ling revealed that Lingxiao Sect would need to send cultivators to the front line if it rose to fifth-rank status, while Fang Yu Yun objected and Zhou Ling said his military merit from Five Spirits Immortal City could cover the assignment.
• Zhou Ling, Fairy Zi Ling, Wang Qingshang, and their companions teleported to West City of Tianxia Immortal City and saw its crowded Spirit Boat traffic and a Fifth Order vessel belonging to the Nine Dragon Chamber of Commerce.
• Fairy Zi Ling took Zhou Ling ahead by air toward the inner city, passing other Nascent Soul Cultivators and leaving their companions behind in the slow-moving Spirit Boat traffic.
• Fairy Zi Ling showed her jade token at the city entrance and led Zhou Ling through the inspection checkpoint, where a Fourth Order Magic Array scanned their cultivation.

Fairy Zi Ling brought Zhou Ling to the Purple Firmament Sect and announced a contest over the sect’s orthodox lineage and the Thunder Gang Dragon Seal. After the rest of the Lingxiao Sect group arrived, they prepared to return in three days for the contest.

• Fairy Zi Ling flew with Zhou Ling to the Purple Firmament Sect, where he saw the sect’s powerful defenses and Ninth-Tier Spirit Vein.
• Fairy Zi Ling met Wu Shi Hong, Liu Zheng Jia, and Liu Po Lei at the mountain gate and declared that the sects would compete for the orthodox lineage and Thunder Gang Dragon Seal in three days.
• Wu Shi Hong recognized Zhou Ling as the cultivator who had killed the Fire Dragon Sparrow Demon King, while Liu Zheng Jia warned Liu Po Lei not to underestimate him.
• Liu Zheng Jia expressed a desire to eliminate Zhou Ling, but Wu Shi Hong argued that Zhou Ling had relied on Five Spirits Immortal City’s warships and battle formations.
• Fairy Zi Ling took Zhou Ling to the Lingxiao Sect’s courtyard in Tianxia Immortal City, where he cultivated until Jin Yun, Fang Yu Yun, and the others arrived.
• Fairy Zi Ling told everyone to settle in and prepare to go to the Purple Firmament Sect in three days.

Fang Yu Yun showed Zhou Ling the Heavenly Ranking, where he ranked ninth, and the Dao Alliance’s Prodigy Earth Ranking, which named him one of its Four Great Prodigies. The next day, Zhou Ling visited the Inspection Division’s Jade Qilin Hall with Chen Zhanglei, passed its array trial, and met Deputy Head Lin, whose apparent Early Nascent Soul cultivation surprised him.

• Fang Yu Yun showed Zhou Ling the Heavenly Ranking and revealed that he ranked ninth as its only Golden Core Cultivator, while Liu Po Lei ranked sixth.
• Fang Yu Yun told Zhou Ling that the Dao Alliance’s Prodigy Earth Ranking named him one of its Four Great Prodigies and said he could eventually join the Alliance’s upper ranks.
• Zhou Ling asked Du Xi to guide him around Tianxia Immortal City before the contest, and the next day she took him to the Dao Court.
• Chen Zhanglei met Zhou Ling and led him to the Inspection Division’s Jade Qilin Hall, explaining that first-time visitors had to face its array trial.
• Zhou Ling destroyed the jade steps’ powerful purple vortex with his Dry Yang True Fire and followed Chen Zhanglei into the hall.
• Zhou Ling met Deputy Head Lin and was surprised that her cultivation appeared to be only at Early Nascent Soul.

Zhou Ling formally joined the Dao Alliance’s Inspection Division and exchanged military merits for Five Elements materials to upgrade his treasure swords. While refining them, he condensed a Five Elements Sword Heart, entering the Four Realms of Swordsmanship and improving his chances against Liu Po Lei.

• Lin Yu praised Zhou Ling, appointed him an Inspection Division Steward, and offered him access to the Dao Alliance treasury.
• Zhou Ling declined Lin Yu’s suggestion to move to Ninth Peak and followed Chen Zhanglei to the treasury.
• Zhou Ling selected five Fifth-Grade Five Elements materials, receiving two as a benefit and spending three thousand military merits on the other three.
• Zhou Ling refined the materials into his Five Elements Treasure Swords and infused them with the Power of Rules.
• Zhou Ling united the swords’ rules in his Qi Sea and unexpectedly condensed a Five Elements Sword Heart, reaching the Four Realms of Swordsmanship.

Wu Shi Hong visited the Lingxiao Sect to propose an alliance and a marriage between Zhou Ling and Wu Rong, but the offer was deferred as the sects prepared for their contest. The competition for the Thunder Gang Dragon Seal began at the Purple Firmament Sect, with Fang Yu Yun facing Zhang Yu Hu in the opening match.

• Wu Shi Hong introduced his granddaughter Wu Rong and proposed a marriage alliance with Zhou Ling, who declined, while Fairy Zi Ling said the matter could be reconsidered after the contest.
• Fairy Zi Ling told her disciples to focus on preparing for the next day's battle, and they traveled with Zhou Ling to the Purple Firmament Sect the following morning.
• Liu Zheng Jia and Fairy Zi Ling displayed their halves of the Thunder Gang Dragon Seal and confirmed that the contest would decide who inherited the seal and the Purple Firmament Sect's orthodox standing.
• Liu Zheng Jia ordered Liu Po Lei, Zhang Yu Hu, and Qin Ji not to show Zhou Ling mercy, and Zhang Yu Hu stepped forward as the Purple Firmament Sect's first fighter.
• Fang Yu Yun entered the platform to face Zhang Yu Hu, raised her Fire Armor Array, and braced for Zhang Yu Hu's descending Thunder Sword Qi.

Fang Yu Yun used Zhou Ling’s tactics and defensive formations to force Zhang Yu Hu’s first match into a draw. Zhou Ling then entered the second match against Liu Po Lei, and the two opened with a clash of lightning and fire.

• Fang Yu Yun used the Eight Directions Flame Annihilation Array to withstand Zhang Yu Hu’s Lightning Sword and force her to escalate to the Heaven and Earth Lightning Sword.
• Fang Yu Yun countered Zhang Yu Hu’s Thunder Sword Domain with the Eight Extremes Heavenly Lightning Array and a Golden Great Pagoda, then the elders declared the match a draw.
• Fang Yu Yun praised Zhou Ling for predicting the battle, and Zhou Ling volunteered to fight in the second match.
• Liu Po Lei accepted Zhou Ling’s challenge and launched a purple lightning strike, which Zhou Ling met with a Fire Dragon Fist Aura.

Zhou Ling fought Liu Po Lei in the arena, revealing his powerful Fire Dragon Domain and Five Elements Sword Formation despite his Golden Core cultivation. When Liu Po Lei unleashed the Purple Firmament Emperor Manifestation, Fairy Zi Ling chose to wait rather than stop the match, sensing Zhou Ling still had strength in reserve.

• Zhou Ling used his Fire Dragon Domain to clash with Liu Po Lei's thunder domain, and both fighters were forced back by the collision.
• Liu Po Lei summoned the Purple Firmament Thunder Dragon, but Zhou Ling blocked it with his five Fourth Order swords arranged in a Five Elements Sword Formation.
• Zhou Ling merged with his sword formation and transformed the arena into a Five Elements Sword Domain, forcing Liu Po Lei to respond with his Purple Emperor Thunder Seal and Purple Firmament Emperor Manifestation.
• Jin Yun and Wang Qingshang urged Fairy Zi Ling to stop the match, but she decided to watch longer because Zhou Ling showed no fear.