Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao emerged from his cocoon after completing a profound transformation, refining his divine abilities and reaching a realm beyond ordinary comprehension. He restored the ruined valley with his Five-Colored Radiance before leaving it renewed and flourishing.

• True Monarch Fire Dragon let the Crimson Flood Dragon absorb Great Yong's Human Dragon Qi, believing he had a way to keep its debt to humanity from causing harm.
• Meng Zhao's purple cocoon drew on twelve dragon veins as heavenly thunder and earthfire struck it during his transformation.
• Meng Zhao emerged from the shattered cocoon with the Eye of Heavenly Punishment between his brows and a Five-Colored, indestructible left hand.
• Meng Zhao recognized that his transformation had drained the valley and its dragon veins, leaving the land at risk of becoming an evil wasteland.
• Meng Zhao used his Five-Colored Radiance to revive the dragon veins and restore the valley's soil, plants, water, and mineral deposits.

Meng Zhao entered the Thunder Marsh World to uncover the truth about Qiao Nian’s apparent death and weaken the world’s Heavenly Dao. He discovered that the Heavenly Dao had secretly transported Qiao Nian away, and resolved to eliminate the threat before Qiao Nian could grow stronger.

• Meng Zhao refined the Five-Colored Spirit Pearl into a divine ability and traveled to the Jianmu Relic Seed.
• Meng Zhao slipped past the Lei Family’s guards and entered the Thunder Marsh World, intending to investigate Qiao Nian’s death and suppress the small world.
• Meng Zhao used the Eye of Heavenly Punishment and Emperor's Qi Gazing Technique to recover hidden scenes of Qiao Nian’s apparent death.
• Meng Zhao saw that heavenly lightning had seemingly destroyed Qiao Nian while secretly transporting him elsewhere through the void.
• Meng Zhao concluded that Qiao Nian no longer threatened him, but decided to stop Qiao Nian’s growth and weaken the Thunder Marsh World’s Heavenly Dao.

Meng Zhao used the Eye of Heavenly Punishment to locate Qiao Nian, who was cultivating with the Thunder Marsh Small World's support inside its Innate Grand Array. Qiao Nian sensed a threat to his life but could not identify its source.

• The Eye of Heavenly Punishment showed Meng Zhao Qiao Nian cultivating within the Innate Grand Array, and Meng Zhao planned to kill him and seize the world-origin power.
• Qiao Nian cultivated under the Thunder Marsh Heavenly Dao's support, believing the opportunity could help him surpass the gap between himself and Meng Zhao.
• Qiao Nian awakened to a warning from his newly formed Ray of Heavenly Light that danger and killing intent were approaching.
• Qiao Nian wondered whether the Heavenly Dao had turned against him or an intruder had entered, then eagerly sought to discover who could threaten him.

Meng Zhao confronted Qiao Nian in the Thunder Marsh Small World and explained that Qiao Nian had been chosen by its Heavenly Dao Will as a counter to him. Meng Zhao claimed his own fate and Destiny Number had changed, leaving Qiao Nian uncertain whether the Heavenly Dao Will would still support him as they prepared to fight.

• Qiao Nian sensed Meng Zhao approaching across the Thunder Peaks and recognized him.
• Meng Zhao asked whether Qiao Nian knew why the Thunder Marsh Small World's Heavenly Dao Will had favored and empowered him.
• Meng Zhao explained that Qiao Nian's fate and Destiny Number had made him Meng Zhao's nemesis and a threat to Meng Zhao.
• Qiao Nian questioned why Meng Zhao had come despite their supposed opposition, and Meng Zhao said he had once spared him to conduct experiments.
• Meng Zhao declared that his understanding of Heaven's transformations had overcome Qiao Nian's restraint, leaving Qiao Nian worried the Heavenly Dao Will might no longer help him.

Qiao Nian confronted Meng Zhao at Abyss Lake and used the Thunder Marsh Small World's power to unleash a devastating fusion of lightning and the Thirteen Absolute Weapon Striker. The attack began, but Meng Zhao’s response and the fight’s outcome were left unresolved.

• Qiao Nian steadied his resolve and accepted that he had to fight Meng Zhao, despite knowing he was trapped.
• Qiao Nian sent a wave of lightning-infused water at Meng Zhao, but Meng Zhao’s five-colored qi barrier erased it without effect.
• Meng Zhao used the Emperor's Qi Gazing Technique to inspect the Innate Grand Array and determined that the area was favorable for dwelling but unsuitable for battle.
• Qiao Nian gathered lightning from the hundred Thunder Peaks into a golden sphere and claimed he could kill Meng Zhao without Destiny Number suppression.
• Qiao Nian combined the lightning with his mastery of ten arts from the Thirteen Absolute Weapon Striker, producing a stream of weapon-shaped attacks that struck toward Meng Zhao.

Meng Zhao effortlessly shattered Qiao Nian’s thunder-infused weapon art with his Five Finger Mountain divine ability, then challenged him to use the Sky-Stopping Halberd. Qiao Nian summoned the reforged halberd and attacked with the Blood Battle Spear Dao, but Meng Zhao caught the weapon in his bare palm, leaving Qiao Nian shaken by his seemingly indestructible body.

• Meng Zhao absorbed Qiao Nian’s Thirteen Absolute Weapon Striker with Five Finger Mountain and revealed the divine ability he had created himself.
• At Meng Zhao’s invitation, Qiao Nian summoned the Sky-Stopping Halberd, which had been reforged and nourished beneath Abyss Lake.
• Qiao Nian wielded the halberd and attacked Meng Zhao with the Blood Battle Spear Dao, which he had cultivated to great mastery.
• Meng Zhao caught the Sky-Stopping Halberd’s blade in his left palm and stopped Qiao Nian’s strike without using protective true qi.

Qiao Nian detonated the Sky-Stopping Halberd to unleash a devastating attack on Meng Zhao, but Meng Zhao absorbed the blast without injury. The chapter left Qiao Nian overwhelmed by the gap between them as Meng Zhao remained apparently far from his limit.

• Qiao Nian failed to wrench the Sky-Stopping Halberd from Meng Zhao and redirected its backward swing into another attack.
• Meng Zhao stopped Qiao Nian's Regretful Spear Strike with his bare palm, so Qiao Nian detonated the Sky-Stopping Halberd.
• The shattered halberd manifested as a bone Demonic Beast wielding a Thunder Spear and struck Meng Zhao with power that could threaten Celestial Human martial artists.
• Qiao Nian escaped to Thunder Peak using the Innate Grand Array while the blast engulfed Meng Zhao in thunderlight and demonic mist.
• Meng Zhao absorbed the blast and reappeared unharmed, leaving Qiao Nian stunned by his strength.

Meng Zhao offered Qiao Nian a chance to submit, but Qiao Nian refused and declared he would rather die. Meng Zhao attacked, shattering Thunder Peak and leaving Qiao Nian gravely injured.

• Meng Zhao tracked Qiao Nian to a Thunder Peak after Qiao Nian used the Innate Grand Array to escape.
• Meng Zhao praised Qiao Nian’s abilities and offered to recruit him, while weighing the risks tied to Qiao Nian and the Thunder Marsh Small World’s Heavenly Dao Will.
• Qiao Nian refused to serve Meng Zhao and vowed he would never submit, even in death.
• Meng Zhao stepped forward and unleashed a force that split Thunder Peak and destroyed dozens of nearby peaks.
• Qiao Nian suffered severe injuries from the attack’s residual force, surviving only because the Thunder Marsh Small World’s origin power protected and replenished him.

Meng Zhao killed Qiao Nian and confronted the Thunder Marsh Small World’s Heavenly Dao Will without backing down. After absorbing the power of a beast bone from the array’s spiritual pivot, he strengthened his Eye of Heavenly Punishment and left as the Eye of the Heavenly Dao appeared.

• Qiao Nian absorbed the Innate Grand Array’s power and attacked Meng Zhao, but Meng Zhao crushed him with the Five Elements Dao Principles.
• The Thunder Marsh Small World’s Heavenly Dao Will watched Meng Zhao through a golden eye but did not attack, while Meng Zhao decided to weaken the world’s origin force rather than confront it directly.
• Meng Zhao used the Eye of Heavenly Punishment to find the array’s spiritual pivot and uncovered a blue beast bone beneath Abyss Lake.
• The beast bone shattered as Meng Zhao absorbed its dense world origin force, improving the true intent of heavenly punishment within his Eye of Heavenly Punishment.
• The Eye of the Heavenly Dao formed in the sky, and Meng Zhao calmly departed, promising to meet it again.

Yan Libing, Liu An, and Shi Jiawen told Lei Wanche that Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong had been badly wounded and were fleeing to Lingwu City for Meng Zhao’s protection. Lei Wanche could not contact Meng Zhao, leaving the group uncertain about who was hunting the two experts.

• Yan Libing reported that Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong were badly wounded, pursued, and seeking help from Meng Zhao in Lingwu City.
• Yan Libing, Liu An, and Shi Jiawen confirmed the message was genuine but could not understand who had defeated the two experts or why they trusted Meng Zhao to help.
• Lei Wanche and Lei Chongmao reflected on the Lei Family’s prospects, their plans to secure a connection to Meng Zhao, and their inability to discover his whereabouts.
• Lei Wanche said he had repeatedly failed to contact Meng Zhao while negotiating with Beitang Shu over Qiao Nian’s death.
• Lei Wanche assured the others that the Lingwu Meng Family should be able to protect Zhao Rulíng and Yu Changkong, then asked who the two experts had offended.

Yan Libing revealed that the Nameless Eunuch and Yu Changkong, two imperial representatives investigating the Twelfth Prince’s assassination, were fleeing a mysterious expert. Lei Wanche feared the pursuer could destabilize the Northern Lands, while Shi Jiawen and the others worried the danger would reach the Meng Family before Meng Zhao returned.

• Yan Libing told Lei Wanche that the Nameless Eunuch and Yu Changkong had come north to investigate the Twelfth Prince’s assassination and were being hunted.
• Lei Chongmao doubted that anyone in the Northern Lands could defeat the two experts, but Lei Wanche judged that an unknown and dangerous powerhouse might exist.
• Lei Wanche worried that the mysterious pursuer’s attacks on imperial representatives could disrupt the Northern Lands and threaten the Beitang Imperial Clan and officials.
• Shi Jiawen feared the pursuer might reach the Meng Family while Meng Zhao was absent and harm his family or the people he cared about.
• Lei Chongmao asked what they could do, but admitted he would not risk his life to help the Meng Family.

Meng Zhao returned to Lei Wanche and the others after undergoing a transformation in Jianmu Grotto-Heaven, and Yan Libing explained why the group had sought him out. Meng Zhao learned that Nameless Eunuch and Yu Changkong were badly injured and seeking his protection, leaving him to consider who had defeated them and whether he could turn that enemy into an ally.

• Meng Zhao appeared before Lei Wanche, Lei Chongmao, and the others, who recognized his changed appearance and respectfully greeted him.
• Meng Zhao asked Yan Libing to explain what had happened, and Yan Libing revealed that their group had abandoned the investigation into Beitang Xing's assassination to pursue a deal with Beitang Shu.
• Yan Libing told Meng Zhao that Nameless Eunuch and Yu Changkong had been seriously injured while being pursued and were heading to the Meng Family for protection.
• Meng Zhao questioned what mission had led Nameless Eunuch and Yu Changkong into danger and reasoned that their attacker was likely a powerful martial artist or someone using a formidable treasure.
• Meng Zhao considered protecting the two men and possibly befriending their pursuer as part of his plans to build influence in the north.

Meng Zhao secured Lei Wanche’s cooperation and demanded access to the Lei Family’s network as he consolidated control over Ji Prefecture. He revealed that he had also obtained the Tan Family’s list through his engagement to Tan Cai'er, leaving the others to grasp the scale of his growing influence.

• Liu An told Meng Zhao that Nameless Eunuch Zhaoruling and Yu Changkong had secretly pursued matters possibly connected to the Twelfth Prince’s assassination.
• Lei Wanche reported how he and Beitang Shu had linked Qiao Nian’s death to the investigation into Beitang Xing’s assassination, easing pressure on the Blood Robe Marquis Mansion.
• Meng Zhao ordered Lei Wanche to hand over a list of the people and forces friendly with the Lei Family, declaring that outsiders aligned with neither the Lei Family nor the Meng Family would not be allowed to remain in Ji Prefecture.
• Meng Zhao disclosed that he had become engaged to Tan Cai'er with Tan Changming’s approval and had obtained a copy of the Tan Family’s list.

Meng Zhao pressed the Lei Family to cooperate on copying its roster and forming a merchant association to trade Jianmu Grotto-Heaven resources, then asked to send people to study with the Lei Family Army. Lei Wanche and Lei Chongmao feared Meng Zhao meant to take their military authority, but Meng Zhao denied it and said he only wanted his people to learn military strategy.

• The gathered families realized Meng Zhao’s marriage alliance with the Tan Family could extend his influence into Yanzhou and wondered what other plans he had made.
• Lei Wanche agreed to let Meng Zhao copy the Lei Family roster and said the Lei Family would rely on his care.
• Meng Zhao proposed that both families staff a merchant association to sell Jianmu Grotto-Heaven resources while concealing their source from Beitang Shu, and Lei Wanche accepted.
• Meng Zhao said he would send several people to study with the Lei Family Army, alarming Lei Chongmao and making Lei Wanche wary that Meng Zhao intended to seize the army.
• Meng Zhao reassured Lei Wanche that he had no intention of taking the Lei Family’s military authority and only wanted his people to study warfare.

Meng Zhao revealed the scale of his forces in Liang Prefecture and proposed sending Lei Family talents to serve and learn under Lei Wanche. He also hinted that he had orchestrated the assassination that thwarted Beitang Shu’s plans, leaving Lei Wanche to grasp both Meng Zhao’s ambitions and the danger of what he had disclosed.

• Meng Zhao said his Yangwu Army numbered one hundred thousand and his private troops in Liang Prefecture numbered one hundred and twenty thousand, then asked to place promising talents in the Lei household and army.
• Lei Wanche and Lei Chongmao were shocked by Meng Zhao’s military strength, while Lei Wanche considered how he had built his force amid Liang Prefecture’s upheaval.
• Lei Wanche realized Meng Zhao had arranged the assassination attempt that prevented Beitang Shu from consolidating Liang Prefecture’s military authority.
• Lei Wanche concluded that Meng Zhao had revealed sensitive matters to intimidate him and draw the forces under his command closer together.

Meng Zhao revealed his overwhelming power to Lei Wanche and promised to repay the Marquis for agreeing to his requests by helping Lei Chongmao overcome the flaws in his martial foundations. He used the Eye of Heavenly Punishment to elevate Lei Chongmao, leaving Lei Wanche and the other noble scions hopeful of gaining similar support.

• Lei Wanche realized Meng Zhao's changed bearing came from newfound strength and decided that opposing him would only harm the Lei Family.
• Meng Zhao told Lei Wanche he would repay his cooperation, then examined Lei Chongmao's flawed martial foundations and promised to help him.
• Meng Zhao opened the Eye of Heavenly Punishment and focused its power on Lei Chongmao, while Lei Wanche watched in tense expectation.
• Lei Wanche sensed the Eye's immense power and began to feel genuine gratitude toward Meng Zhao.
• Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen watched eagerly, hoping Meng Zhao could help them advance as well.
• Lei Chongmao entered a wondrous state as a mysterious power sublimated his body, meridians, and dantian.

Meng Zhao used the Eye of Heavenly Punishment to repair Lei Chongmao’s foundation and raise him to the Grandmaster Realm, while binding him with a Divine Ability Seed that left him under Meng Zhao’s control. Lei Chongmao recognized the vast gulf between himself and Dragon King Meng, despite his breakthrough.

• Meng Zhao’s Eye of Heavenly Punishment transformed Lei Chongmao’s body and strengthened his foundation with the power of the Heavenly Dao and the world’s origin.
• Lei Chongmao broke through to the Grandmaster Realm, astonishing Liu An, Shi Jiawen, and Yan Libing.
• The chapter explained that Meng Zhao’s Divine Ability Seed restrained Lei Chongmao, could be reclaimed to absorb his cultivated abilities, and only worked safely with compatible martial arts.
• Lei Chongmao sensed Meng Zhao’s overwhelming aura and feared that he remained no more than an ant before Dragon King Meng.

Lei Chongmao thanked Meng Zhao for restoring and advancing his martial arts, while Shi Jiawen reported that the Imperial Clan planned to send two hostile chief stewards to Ji Prefecture. Meng Zhao dismissed the threat and made clear that the two men would be killed.

• Lei Chongmao saluted Meng Zhao and thanked him for helping him reach the Grandmaster realm.
• Meng Zhao said Lei Chongmao could become a Great Grandmaster and might someday reach the Heavenly Human realm if he followed the Lei Family's martial path.
• Shi Jiawen told Meng Zhao that the Imperial Clan planned to send two chief stewards to Ji Prefecture to help Beitang Shu target the Meng Family.
• Shi Jiawen described the chief stewards' longstanding grievances against the Meng Family.
• Meng Zhao said the two men would be no trouble and asked whether dead men could serve as chief stewards.

Ox-Head God returned to Jinling and visited the Shen Family, where Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang recognized him as one of their former attackers. He explained that he now served someone else, leaving the Shen father and son to consider the powerful figure behind his visit.

• Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen returned to Lingwu City with Meng Zhao, leaving the Lei father and son to guard Jianmu Grotto-Heaven.
• Horse-Face Ghost gathered information on twelve Grandmaster martial artists and pursued leads on a Great Grandmaster.
• Ox-Head God reached Jinling, judged that the mysterious man had left, and presented a calling card to the Duke of Xu Residence.
• Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang recognized Ox-Head God as one of the martial artists who had attacked the Shen Family before.
• Ox-Head God said he had acted under orders during the previous attack and had come this time under someone else’s orders.
• Ox-Head God insisted that the previous employer was not the person he served now and dismissed that former employer as an unworthy schemer.

Ox-Head God told Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang that Meng Zhao had subdued him and sent him to deliver a letter to Shen Tianci. He also hoped the visit would ease tensions with the Shen Family, while Shen Hongguang questioned how Ox-Head God had come to serve Meng Zhao.

• Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang realized Ox-Head God was referring to Meng Zhao as the person who had subdued him.
• Ox-Head God said he had come on Meng Zhao’s orders to deliver a letter to Shen Tianci and hoped to ease relations with the Shen Family.
• Ox-Head God reasoned that Meng Zhao was gathering powerful martial artists and might seek an alliance with Shen Tianci.
• Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang stayed neutral about Ox-Head God’s request but regarded Meng Zhao’s involvement as significant.
• Shen Hongguang asked Ox-Head God to prove he was acting for Meng Zhao and explain why a Shadow Mountain martial artist had joined him.