Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao defeated Lieyang Dou and Lieyang Jiao after their coordinated attack failed, revealing that Lieyang Dou’s Mirage Dragon Fist had left a fatal opening. As Lieyang Jiao and Lieyang Dou faced death, Meng Zhao reflected on the few divine abilities that could truly threaten him.

• Lieyang Dou used the Mirage Dragon Fist to obscure Meng Zhao’s senses while Lieyang Jiao thrust the Seven-Colored God Slaying Spear at his unprotected throat.
• Meng Zhao’s apparent body proved to be a phantom, and he counterattacked with a lightning sword that pierced both Lieyang Jiao and Lieyang Dou.
• Meng Zhao explained that the Mirage Dragon nature in Lieyang Dou’s fist technique was its fatal flaw because dragon nature fell under his dominion.
• Lieyang Jiao lamented that they had come up short as the lightning sword’s power destroyed Lieyang Dou’s body and began to overwhelm Lieyang Jiao’s vitality.
• Meng Zhao judged that only Lieyang Jiao’s Twin Suns Synchronized and Zhao Rulíng’s Yin Yang Scissors could pose a serious threat to him.

Meng Zhao killed Lieyang Jiao, Lieyang Dou, and Long Feng, while Ao Bing slaughtered the women in the Crystal Palace and burned it down to conceal the massacre. Ao Bing then went to Meng Zhao, knowing she still had to prove herself to him.

• Lieyang Jiao and Lieyang Dou died from their wounds, and Meng Zhao refined their Blazing Sun Bloodlines into two golden pills.
• Meng Zhao arrived near the Crystal Palace, where Zhao Rulíng and Lord Bei were fighting Long Feng, and caused Long Feng's dragon blood to rampage.
• Zhao Rulíng severed Long Feng's head with Yin Yang Scissors, killing the third Celestial.
• Ao Bing attacked and killed the women inside the Crystal Palace to prevent witnesses from revealing what had happened.
• Ao Bing set the Crystal Palace ablaze and headed toward Meng Zhao for her final trial.

After the battle at the Crystal Palace, Meng Zhao forced Ao Bing to abandon any plans to return to the Dragon Clan and used her essence blood to create a false double, concealing her fate from anyone trying to calculate her whereabouts. He prepared to take her with him to Sifang City, leaving her future tied to his protection and guidance.

• Ao Bing emerged from the Crystal Palace and saw the devastation left by the battle, while Zhao Rulíng and Lord Bei helped Meng Zhao erase the battlefield's traces.
• Meng Zhao told Ao Bing that Long Feng and two Blazing Sun Divine Clan experts had died, and she agreed to follow him rather than return to the Dragon Clan.
• Meng Zhao promised to guide Ao Bing's cultivation and potentially purify her bloodline, while she warned him that the Dragon Clan and Blazing Sun Divine Clan might soon investigate the deaths.
• Meng Zhao used Ao Bing's essence blood, Five Elements Vital Energy, and his Purple Origin Dragon Body to create a false jade-dragon version of her.
• Meng Zhao crushed the false dragon, explaining that anyone calculating Ao Bing's fate would conclude she had been trampled to death by a Heaven-Human expert.

After the battle that killed Long Feng, Lieyang Dou, and Lieyang Jiao, Meng Zhao and his allies discussed how to avoid the Dragon Clan and Blazing Sun Divine Clan uncovering what happened. Lord Bei proposed moving Sifang City, and the group weighed whether leaving would itself draw suspicion.

• Meng Zhao explained that his treasures could shield him from Heavenly Secrets calculations, while Zhao Rulíng and Lord Bei said they had their own ways to avoid detection.
• Meng Zhao, Ao Bing, Zhao Rulíng, and Lord Bei returned to Sifang City after erasing the battlefield’s traces.
• Lord Bei proposed moving Sifang City to protect its residents from retaliation by the Dragon Clan and Blazing Sun Divine Clan.
• Meng Zhao agreed that Sifang City should leave as soon as possible, and Lord Bei recalled how close Lieyang Jiao had come to killing him.
• Zhao Rulíng warned that moving might look suspicious and attract attention from the Dragon Clan and Blazing Sun Divine Clan.

Meng Zhao advised Sifang City to relocate quietly with other tribes and settle in a remote place to avoid the Blazing Sun Divine Clan’s pursuit. He told Lord Bei that he and Zhao Rulíng would leave within a few days, having gained what they needed from the Arctic Ice Plains.

• Meng Zhao warned Lord Bei that Sifang City should wait for other tribes to relocate and move with them instead of fleeing in a panic.
• Meng Zhao urged Sifang City to settle somewhere remote and develop quietly because the Blazing Sun Divine Clan might seek revenge.
• Lord Bei asked Meng Zhao and Zhao Rulíng to stay until Sifang City relocated, hoping their presence would protect the city.
• Meng Zhao said he and Zhao Rulíng would leave within a few days, since they had abandoned their pursuit of the Supreme Scepter and had already gained much from the journey.

Meng Zhao refused Lord Bei’s request to stay and protect Sifang City, choosing instead to return with Zhao Rulíng and Ao Bing to the Land within Divine Continent Passes. Lord Bei accepted that he could not compel Meng Zhao and hoped he would remember Sifang City, while also recognizing Zhao Rulíng’s strength.

• Lord Bei asked Meng Zhao to remain in Sifang City, but Meng Zhao refused because he considered the city an ally rather than a subordinate force and would not take unlimited risks for it.
• Meng Zhao weighed the danger of the Blazing Sun Divine Clan and Dragon Clan pursuing him and decided that returning to the Land within Divine Continent Passes with Zhao Rulíng and Ao Bing was safer.
• Lord Bei realized that Sifang City’s internal factions prevented him from making major concessions to secure Meng Zhao’s help, so he fell silent and hoped Meng Zhao would not forget the city.
• Lord Bei praised Zhao Rulíng after the battle and acknowledged his powerful Yin Yang Scissors and Yin-Yang Twin-Headed Giant Dragon abilities.
• Meng Zhao’s assessment placed himself first among the fighters, the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord second, and Zhao Rulíng fourth, with the remaining experts’ rankings varying according to their trump cards.

Meng Zhao and Zhao Rulíng agreed to leave Sifang City in two days with five hundred people, while Lord Bei turned to negotiating with the city’s leaders. Ao Bing asked Meng Zhao if he was leaving because he feared the Blazing Sun Divine Clan’s retaliation, and he confirmed that he could not withstand them in his current state.

• Meng Zhao and Zhao Rulíng agreed to depart in two days, and Sifang City was to prepare a list of five hundred people to return with them to the Human Clan lands.
• Lord Bei abandoned his attempt to recruit Zhao Rulíng and prepared to negotiate with the three families and the City Lord.
• Zhao Rulíng, gravely injured and concerned about damage to his Great Dao of Yin Yang, returned to his room to cultivate.
• Ao Bing asked Meng Zhao whether he was hurrying to leave because the Blazing Sun Divine Clan might discover the truth and seek revenge.
• Meng Zhao confirmed that he feared the clan’s retaliation, explaining that he could not withstand it in his current state and that leaving was the sensible choice.
• Ao Bing reflected on Meng Zhao’s immense potential after seeing him defeat Lieyang Jiao and Lieyang Dou.

Meng Zhao reassured Ao Bing that he could protect her from the Human Dao’s suppression if she accompanied him to the Divine Land. He explained several ways to help her live and cultivate there, leaving Ao Bing astonished by how many solutions he had prepared.

• Ao Bing asked whether Meng Zhao would risk himself to protect the hundreds of thousands in Sifang City, and he said their survival was not worth endangering his own life.
• Ao Bing asked whether her Dragon Clan heritage would cause trouble in Human Clan territory, and Meng Zhao assured her she could live there without being suppressed.
• Meng Zhao explained that Ao Bing’s hidden Ying Clan bloodline and dragon-blood body would help resist the Human Dao’s pressure.
• Meng Zhao outlined ways to protect Ao Bing, including dual cultivation, a treasure, or disguising her identity, and described longer-term solutions through imperial favor or Human Dao Dragon Fortune.
• Ao Bing was dumbfounded by the many methods Meng Zhao had to resolve her difficulties.

Ao Bing chose the Sheji Royal Cauldron to hide her foreign-race fortune, while Meng Zhao eased her fears about entering Human Clan territory. After Lieyang Jiao, Lieyang Dou, and Long Feng were found dead, the Blazing Sun Divine Clan and Dragon Clan launched investigations across the Arctic Ice Plains, but they failed to uncover the truth or find Sifang City.

• Ao Bing chose to use the Sheji Royal Cauldron, and Meng Zhao promised to help her avoid trouble in Human Clan territory and told her about his life and plans in the Land within Divine Continent Passes.
• A Blazing Sun Divine Clan expert discovered that Lieyang Jiao and Lieyang Dou’s nameplates had shattered and announced their deaths throughout Sun God City.
• The Blazing Sun Divine Clan dispatched four experts to investigate and sought help from Heavenly Secrets experts, but they could not divine the killer’s identity.
• The Dragon Clan learned that Long Feng and Ao Bing had fallen and sent experts to investigate, stirring conflict across the Arctic Ice Plains.
• The Blazing Sun Divine Clan and Dragon Clan found no traces at the Crystal Palace site and dismissed Sifang City as a suspect, while Lord Bei’s careful retreat kept the city out of their reach.

Meng Zhao brought Ao Bing into Heaven Pass to meet Northern Garrison General Zhong Linghe, whose family and army guarded the north against the Hundred Clans. The chapter explained why the Northern Garrison Army remained an independent, revered force, leaving Meng Zhao’s meeting with Zhong Linghe yet to come.

• Meng Zhao concealed the five hundred Innate Masters in a hidden gorge within Heaven Pass and left Zhao Rulíng to watch over them.
• Meng Zhao returned to Heaven Pass with Ao Bing to meet Northern Garrison General Zhong Linghe.
• The chapter described Heaven Pass as a sacred human artifact sustained by the Northern Garrison Army and its accumulated fortune.
• The chapter explained how the Zhong Family’s generations of service and sacrifice earned them authority over the Northern Garrison Army.
• The chapter established that the Northern Garrison Army focused on defending against the Hundred Clans and would unite with the dynasty to suppress any northern rebellion.

Meng Zhao brought Ao Bing to Heaven Pass to assess the Northern Garrison Army and meet its general, Zhong Linghe, while considering whether the army could threaten his rear or be brought under his control. After discovering the Indestructible Army Banner and receiving an invitation from its master, Meng Zhao and Ao Bing were escorted into the central camp.

• Meng Zhao and Ao Bing toured the six great camps and saw how Heaven Pass strengthened the Northern Garrison Army and united its soldiers’ fighting spirit.
• Meng Zhao witnessed the Indestructible Army Banner’s origin in the fallen soldiers’ will and received a message from its divine intent.
• Meng Zhao told Ao Bing that the master of the camp had noticed them and invited them inside.
• Zhong Linghe sent elite guards to escort Meng Zhao and Ao Bing into the central camp, while the guards treated them coldly as visiting nobles seeking military merit.
• Ao Bing worried that the soldiers had sensed her Dragon Clan identity, but she and Meng Zhao continued into the camp.

Meng Zhao and Ao Bing entered the central army camp and met Zhong Linghe, the Northern Garrison General. After Meng Zhao sensed Zhong Linghe’s mysterious fusion with Heaven Pass, Zhong Linghe asked why the renowned young expert had come to the camp.

• Meng Zhao and Ao Bing were escorted through the central army camp, where Meng Zhao sensed that its soldiers shared a connected body-tempering art.
• Meng Zhao sensed that Zhong Linghe was fused with Heaven Pass and suspected this bond explained the Zhong Family’s generations of command over the Northern Garrison Army.
• Meng Zhao greeted Zhong Linghe, who recognized him as the Lord of the Northern Meng Dragon King and remarked on his formidable Primordial Spirit Power.
• Zhong Linghe asked why Meng Zhao had come to Heaven Pass, wary that the powerful visitor had arrived secretly and might threaten the Northern Garrison Army.

Meng Zhao warned General Zhong Linghe that the Hundred Clans might forge the Supreme Scepter and that the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord could wield it against the Human Clan. Zhong Linghe acknowledged the danger but remained confident that Human Clan artifacts, fortune, and rising martial strength would prevail.

• Meng Zhao explained that he had passed through Heaven Pass while returning from the Arctic Ice Plains and praised the Northern Garrison Army's Indestructible Army Banner.
• Zhong Linghe asked why Meng Zhao had gone to the Arctic Ice Plains.
• Meng Zhao said he had investigated the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord and the Supreme Scepter, which might become a threat to the Human Clan.
• Meng Zhao warned Zhong Linghe that the Hundred Clans could unify their fortune and use the Supreme Scepter to challenge the Human Clan.
• Zhong Linghe argued that the Human Clan had multiple Supreme Divine Artifacts and enough fortune and rising martial strength to withstand the Hundred Clans.

Meng Zhao warned Zhong Linghe about the Hundred Clans’ Supreme Scepter and revealed that the Beitang Great Emperor had secretly established contacts and spies in the Arctic Ice Plains. Zhong Linghe considered Meng Zhao’s motives and concluded he was unlikely to be probing on behalf of the Beitang Imperial Clan, though Meng Zhao’s past at Great Compassion Temple still puzzled him.

• Meng Zhao agreed that the Human Clan’s ancient foundations surpassed the Hundred Clans’ Supreme Divine Artifact, but cautioned Zhong Linghe to prepare for its impact.
• Zhong Linghe thanked Meng Zhao for the timely intelligence and considered how it could help protect the Northern Garrison Army and soldiers’ families.
• Meng Zhao told Zhong Linghe that the Beitang Great Emperor had contacted an imperial clansman in the Arctic Ice Plains and planted spies among several tribes.
• Ao Bing was shaken by Meng Zhao’s criticism of the Great Emperor, while Zhong Linghe weighed the risks and possible motives behind his words.
• Zhong Linghe ruled out the idea that Meng Zhao was loyal to the Beitang Imperial Clan, but remained uncertain about Meng Zhao’s experience at Great Compassion Temple.

Meng Zhao warned Zhong Linghe that Beitang Sheng might sacrifice the Human Clan to preserve the imperial dynasty, and persuaded him to remain wary of the Emperor. Meng Zhao also urged Zhong Linghe to keep the Northern Garrison Army from becoming a tool for others, leaving Zhong aware of Meng Zhao’s ambitions and hidden purpose.

• Zhong Linghe asked Meng Zhao whether the Emperor’s unusual attitude toward the Hundred Clans was good or bad, and Meng Zhao suggested Beitang Sheng might collude with them if the Imperial Court faced ruin.
• Ao Bing was shocked by the possibility, while Meng Zhao privately intended to make Zhong distrust Beitang Sheng and resist any future order to abandon Heaven Pass.
• Zhong Linghe accepted that the threat could not be dismissed and recalled his elders’ warnings about emperors and the duty he bore to the Human Clan.
• Zhong Linghe told Meng Zhao that his warnings had persuaded him and asked what he truly wanted from the Northern Garrison Army.
• Meng Zhao said the army must prepare for chaos and refuse to become a vanguard deployed at others’ will, and Zhong Linghe recognized him as an ambitious figure with an immense presence.

Meng Zhao secured Zhong Linghe’s assurance that the Northern Garrison Army would not interfere in the Northern Lands’ struggles, then shared intelligence about the Hundred Clans and asked about Heaven Pass and the Indestructible Army Banner. Zhong Linghe began explaining their secrets, noting that even the Hundred Clans had failed to find a flaw in Heaven Pass.

• Zhong Linghe agreed that the Northern Garrison Army would fight only for the Human Clan and would not be drawn into the Northern Lands’ political struggles.
• Meng Zhao promised to send military provisions and grain to the Northern Garrison Army, and Zhong Linghe accepted the offer.
• Zhong Linghe hosted Meng Zhao and Ao Bing with wine and dishes and asked about the Arctic Ice Plains and the Hundred Clans.
• Meng Zhao described the races he had encountered and warned Zhong Linghe not to underestimate the Blazing Sun Divine Clan.
• Meng Zhao asked Zhong Linghe about Heaven Pass and the Indestructible Army Banner, and Zhong Linghe said the Hundred Clans had never discovered a flaw in Heaven Pass.

Zhong Linghe explained why Emperor Qin Ying Zheng had not forged Heaven Pass into a Human Dao Supreme Divine Artifact, leading Meng Zhao to suspect that Ying Zheng had recognized Emperor Yu’s hidden arrangements. The chapter left Meng Zhao realizing that Heaven Pass might be closely connected to the Nine Tripods and function as another form of them.

• Meng Zhao recounted what he knew about Heaven Pass, from its origins under Emperor Yu to its reconstruction under Ying Zheng and completion by the Peerless Prince Liang.
• Zhong Linghe told Meng Zhao that Ying Zheng had chosen not to transform Heaven Pass, rather than being unable to do so.
• Meng Zhao considered whether Ying Zheng had avoided refining Heaven Pass because he had perceived ancient arrangements left there by earlier Human Dao sovereigns.
• Zhong Linghe revealed that Heaven Pass’s secret was connected to Emperor Yu and the Nine Tripods.
• Meng Zhao realized that Emperor Yu may have linked Heaven Pass to the Nine Tripods, making it an alternative form of their network safeguarding the Human Clan.

Zhong Linghe told Meng Zhao that Heaven Pass hid the Universe Cauldron, which could draw on the Nine Tripods in a desperate battle. Meng Zhao decided that even if he could locate it, he would protect it rather than disturb Heaven Pass’s foundation.

• Zhong Linghe explained that Emperor Yu forged the Universe Cauldron from leftover materials and that it could link to the Nine Tripods.
• Meng Zhao asked why Heaven Pass had never used the cauldron, and Zhong Linghe said it could only be awakened by the Northern Garrison Army’s united will in a moment of mortal danger.
• Zhong Linghe said he had searched for the Universe Cauldron using the Indestructible Army Banner but had never found it, and he doubted Meng Zhao could locate it without cultivating the Divine Demon Martial Dao.
• Meng Zhao judged that the Universe Cauldron mattered less than the other Human Dao Supreme Divine Artifact he had clues to, and he refused to risk weakening Heaven Pass.
• Meng Zhao resolved that if he ever found the Universe Cauldron, he would reinforce its protections instead of taking it away.

Meng Zhao learned that the Indestructible Army Banner empowered the Northern Garrison Army only when defending Heaven Pass, and he understood why Zhong Linghe had explained its limits. Their conversation left them with a tacit understanding and growing friendship, though Zhong Linghe remained troubled by the Human Clan’s internal conflicts.

• Zhong Linghe explained that the Indestructible Army Banner was forged from generations of soldiers’ will and could strengthen the army and briefly grant him Celestial Being-level combat power at Heaven Pass.
• Meng Zhao deduced that the banner’s power depended on its purpose of defending Heaven Pass and would fade if used for conquest.
• Meng Zhao realized Zhong Linghe had revealed the banner’s limitations to ease his suspicions about the Northern Garrison Army.
• Meng Zhao toasted the Northern Garrison Army’s soldiers, and Zhong Linghe reflected on his inability to stop the Human Clan’s internal wars and unrest.
• Meng Zhao and Zhong Linghe set aside military matters and shared stories and insights over wine while Ao Bing sensed their tacit understanding.

After leaving Heaven Pass, Meng Zhao reflected on the Northern Garrison Army’s heavy losses and chose not to search for the Universe Cauldron, which he believed should remain safe for Heaven Pass. He settled five hundred experts from Sifang City across Liang Prefecture while preparing to secretly seize control of the prefecture and visit True Monarch Fire Dragon.

• Meng Zhao told Ao Bing that the Northern Garrison Army suffered terrible casualties despite its advantages, and he explained that unrest and the lack of top-tier Human Clan experts worsened the danger.
• Meng Zhao declined to search for the Universe Cauldron because he already knew the Nine Tripods were beyond reach and did not want to endanger Heaven Pass.
• Meng Zhao, Zhao Rulíng, and Ao Bing settled five hundred experts from Sifang City at locations tied to Madam Xie, the Divine Might Army, the Heavenly King Association, the Dan Chi Clan, and the Ji Clan branch.
• Meng Zhao kept the experts in Liang Prefecture to conceal his strength and support his plan to secretly take control of the prefecture.
• Meng Zhao planned to visit True Monarch Fire Dragon at Fire Dragon Cave.