Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao secured support for the Divine Might Army and traveled to Cangyun Mountain to investigate the Mysterious Valley Ji Rushuang had discovered. As he neared the valley, he found increasingly powerful ferocious beasts and suspected the valley’s energy was drawing them there.

• Meng Zhao left Madam Xie's courtyard with the Heavenly Evil Battle Casket after gaining her support and a promise to help him make connections in Liang Prefecture.
• Xie Wen, Si Peng, Xiang Qing, and Wei Hua secured substantial backing from the Lifeng Trading Company while keeping Meng Zhao's control of the Divine Might Army secret.
• Meng Zhao traveled to Cangyun Mountain to search for a powerful martial art that could strengthen his cultivation and cure Hong Tianzheng's wife's ice-related illness.
• Using Ji Rushuang's map, Meng Zhao crossed Cangyun Mountain without difficulty as Little Nine's presence deterred the beasts.
• Meng Zhao encountered increasingly powerful ferocious beasts near the Mysterious Valley and concluded that something within it was attracting them.

Meng Zhao crossed the fog and a trapping tree formation to reach the hidden valley, where he found Stone Giants and Puppet Guards. He discovered three people already there and hid to watch them test the valley’s defenses.

• Meng Zhao entered the dense fog and emerged unharmed before the valley Ji Rushuang had described.
• Meng Zhao used the Emperor's Qi Gazing Technique to read the tree formation and find a safe path through it.
• Meng Zhao reached a basin containing more than one hundred Stone Giants and human-sized Puppet Guards.
• Meng Zhao spotted three people in the valley and concealed himself to observe them.
• One of the three people took a Houtian Realm fox-like savage beast from his bundle.

Meng Zhao watched the Masked Man test the Puppet Guards and realized they were demonstrating moves rather than trying to kill him. He suspected that understanding and integrating their martial art was the way through the trial, but his own interpretation differed from the Masked Man’s.

• A man threw a fox-like fiendish beast among the Puppet Guards, which sprang to life and killed it while Meng Zhao studied their movements.
• The man and his companion repeatedly fed fiendish beasts to the Puppet Guards while recording their martial moves, and Meng Zhao used the display to build on fragments he had learned from Ji Rushuang.
• After two hours, the Masked Man sent his subordinates away and demonstrated the recorded moves as the Puppet Guards struck at him in an orderly sequence.
• Meng Zhao noticed that the Puppet Guards were feeding the Masked Man moves, not attacking him as prey, and compared the man’s sequence with his own deductions.
• The Masked Man completed three hundred and sixty-five stances, and the Puppet Guards returned to stillness as Meng Zhao inferred that the trial tested whether a visitor could comprehend and unify their martial art.

Meng Zhao watched the Masked Men face thirty-six Stone Giants, whose ordinary-looking techniques carried overwhelming power. After one Masked Man’s subordinate died and the Masked Man’s blade attack failed, Meng Zhao suspected the giants were empowered by enduring Martial Dao Momentum.

• The Stone Giants began stomping after the Puppet Guards returned to their positions, and the Masked Man struggled against their oppressive force.
• The Masked Man fought through seven Stone Giants before one overwhelmed him with a palm strike.
• A subordinate rushed in to protect the Masked Man, but the Stone Giant shattered both his arms and killed him.
• Meng Zhao reasoned that the Stone Giants drew on a materialized Martial Dao Momentum to magnify their strength and suppress opponents.
• The enraged Masked Man struck a Stone Giant with blade radiance, but his attack only made sparks and left no mark.

The Masked Man forced Ling Pu to test the Stone Giants guarding Kou Huaizhen’s hidden legacy, hoping to uncover a way through their array. Ling Pu was killed instantly, while the Masked Man learned something from watching and remained determined to claim the inheritance.

• The Masked Man’s attack failed to damage the Daoist robe, and he retreated from the Stone Giants with his surviving subordinate.
• Meng Zhao overheard the Masked Man reveal that the valley held Kou Huaizhen’s hidden legacy and recognized how ruthlessly he treated his subordinates.
• The Masked Man ordered Ling Pu to enter the array, reminding him that Ling Mu had shown greater loyalty by dying for him.
• Ling Pu passed the Puppet Guard trial by imitating the Masked Man’s martial art, but the Stone Giants’ pressure prevented him from dodging.
• A Stone Giant struck Ling Pu and tore him apart, while the Masked Man watched for clues about the array.

Meng Zhao emerged from hiding and confronted the Masked Man, who attacked him with a technique derived from the Puppet Guards. They fought evenly through thirteen exchanges, but Meng Zhao’s superior command of the art left the Masked Man covered in frost and questioning his own understanding.

• Meng Zhao concluded that the Stone Giants were a trial meant to test aptitude and comprehension, then grew impatient with the Masked Man’s delay.
• Meng Zhao appeared beside the Masked Man, who demanded to know who he was and why he had been hiding.
• Meng Zhao mocked the Masked Man for concealing his face, provoking him into an angry attack.
• The Masked Man used a sinister icy technique derived from the Puppet Guards, and Meng Zhao countered with the same art.
• Meng Zhao and the Masked Man exchanged thirteen moves; the Masked Man’s body gathered frost while Meng Zhao remained unharmed.

Meng Zhao confronted the Masked Man, whose arrogance and reliance on his noble lineage enraged him. After the Masked Man removed his mask, Meng Zhao failed to recognize him, and the two remained poised for a fight.

• The Masked Man asked Meng Zhao for his name after retreating from their clash, hoping to judge whether to make peace or retaliate.
• Meng Zhao criticized the Masked Man for caring about family background after attacking with murderous intent and questioned how he had reached such a high level of martial arts.
• The Masked Man boasted of his bloodline and family, angering Meng Zhao and stirring his intent to kill.
• Meng Zhao asked the Masked Man to explain his origins, while privately deciding he could kill him without anyone discovering the deed.
• The Masked Man removed his mask and revealed his face, but Meng Zhao did not recognize him and was disappointed.

Meng Zhao confronted an arrogant young man from the Yu Family of Liang Prefecture, who claimed to possess the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Bloodline. The young man activated his mask, revealing a powerful treasure that raised his strength to that of an Extremely Weak Grandmaster.

• Meng Zhao recognized that the young man was not among Imperial Capital City's nobles and heard him claim the Yu Family's Heavenly Emperor Bloodline.
• The young man demanded that Meng Zhao kneel and become his servant, but Meng Zhao laughed at his claim and dismissed the bloodline's importance.
• Enraged, the young man put on his mask and performed a strange dance to activate it.
• Meng Zhao used the Emperor's Qi Gazing Technique and saw mysterious power flow from the mask into the young man.
• The mask greatly increased the young man's cultivation and let him control limited Worldly Power, giving him overwhelming strength within the Innate Realm.

Meng Zhao battled the Masked Youth, whose Emperor Ku’s Legacy Treasure let him wield Worldly Power, and overcame the youth’s overwhelming attack through his martial path and Ziwei Star Power. Though both survived their clash, the Masked Youth promised to kill Meng Zhao with his next move.

• The Masked Youth’s aura transformed, and a towering Heavenly Emperor Phantom appeared behind him, making Meng Zhao suspect the mask was truly Emperor Ku’s Legacy Treasure.
• The Masked Youth seized at Meng Zhao with a Worldly Power-enhanced Vital Energy Hand, and Meng Zhao countered with North Sea Dragon Fighting.
• Their giant palms collided, and Meng Zhao’s hand wore down the Masked Youth’s force until both attacks dissipated into violent vital energy.
• Meng Zhao endured the residual force with his Dragon Body, while the mask erased the impact on the Masked Youth.
• The Masked Youth accused Meng Zhao of humiliating him and holding back, then vowed to kill him with his next move.

Meng Zhao faced the Masked Youth as Di Ku’s presence awakened within the mask, and their duel became a clash between Meng Zhao’s Dragon Way Ultimate Skill and Di Ku’s ancient fist intent. Meng Zhao recognized the gulf between his own ambitions and Di Ku’s vision, then countered the youth’s attack; both techniques vanished in a clash that left the fight unresolved.

• Meng Zhao challenged the Masked Youth’s claim to the Heavenly Emperor Bloodline and boasted that dying by his hand would be an honor.
• The Masked Youth absorbed the shadow behind him, losing his ability to command Worldly Power as a sacred presence awakened within him.
• Meng Zhao realized the awakened presence might be Di Ku’s consciousness and became excited at the prospect of fighting the ancient emperor’s imprint.
• The Masked Youth attacked with a five-colored wheel of light, and its fist intent made Meng Zhao understand Di Ku’s humanity-centered Dao and question his own narrow perspective.
• Meng Zhao regained his focus and countered with the Dragon Way Ultimate Skill, sending countless true dragons against the five-colored wheel until both attacks dissipated together.

Meng Zhao learned from his exchange with the divine consciousness suspected to be Di Ku, then combined his Dragon Dao with the spirit of humanity in a new punch. After Di Ku praised his Martial Dao and withdrew, Meng Zhao killed the Yu Family youth.

• Meng Zhao recognized that he had defeated the Yu Family youth in strength but had been outmatched by Di Ku's fist intent.
• Meng Zhao reflected on the different missions of Di Ku, Emperor Yu, and the great figures of their eras, and began to glimpse the mission he might bear.
• The Yu Family youth attacked with a palm that conjured a vision of ancient humans fighting for survival, jolting Meng Zhao from his epiphany.
• Meng Zhao used the Emperor's Qi Gazing Technique to unite his Dragon Dao with the spirit of humanity, and his punch merged dragon qi with the ancient human vision.
• Di Ku praised Meng Zhao's Martial Dao as his aura faded, and Meng Zhao struck the Yu Family youth's chest, rupturing his heart meridians and killing him.

Meng Zhao killed the Yu Family youth after Di Ku's divine consciousness withdrew, then reflected on the enlightenment and martial insights he had gained during their fight. He took the strange mask as a potential Trump Card but found only a decayed aura within it, leaving its connection to Di Ku uncertain.

• Di Ku's divine consciousness withdrew from the Yu Family youth, and Meng Zhao seized the opening to shatter his heart meridians and kill him.
• Meng Zhao recalled Di Ku's simple but powerful fist and palm techniques and realized the battle had helped him reach a new state of martial clarity.
• Meng Zhao considered how his impressions of the Stone Giant's Martial Dao Momentum might help him break the Puppet Array and Stone Statue Array.
• Meng Zhao drew the mask from the Yu Family youth and sensed that it contained strange energy that could let him control Worldly Power.
• Meng Zhao found no trace of Di Ku's divine consciousness in the mask, only a decayed aura, and wondered whether to keep it.

Meng Zhao kept the mysterious mask after defeating the Yu Family youths, then returned to the Puppet Array to seek the valley’s remaining treasures. As he copied the Puppet Guards’ movements, he uncovered their inner method and began absorbing their pure vital essence.

• Meng Zhao decided to keep the mask, hoping to learn about ancient human history from the divine consciousness within it.
• Meng Zhao destroyed the Yu Family youth’s corpse and concluded that he had already learned the Puppet Guards’ three hundred and sixty-five forms needed to help treat Madam Hong.
• Suspecting the valley held more treasures, Meng Zhao entered the Puppet Array and carefully performed the forms he had learned.
• Meng Zhao spotted meridian paths appearing on the moving Puppet Guards and memorized the inner methods linked to their techniques.
• Meng Zhao joined the inner method to the outward movements, causing the Puppet Guards to shed wood chips as pure vital essence flowed into him.

Meng Zhao mastered the essence of Puppet Mastery and absorbed a mystical refined essence that tempered his body and sharpened his senses. He entered the Stone Statue Array, tested himself against a Stone Giant, and began to understand the array’s power.

• Meng Zhao’s comprehension of Puppet Mastery triggered a transformation that strengthened and refined his Purple Origin Dragon Body.
• Meng Zhao performed Puppet Mastery fluently and concluded that the art could treat Madam Hong Tianzheng’s old ailment and might help her approach Grandmasterhood.
• The Stone Giants surrounded Meng Zhao, and he matched the first giant’s attack with an almost identical technique before being forced three steps back without injury.
• Meng Zhao observed that the Stone Giants wielded ordinary basic martial arts, made devastating by their immense strength and Indestructible Diamond Bodies.
• Meng Zhao realized he felt none of the movement pressure that had seemed to hinder other martial artists facing the Stone Giants.

Meng Zhao comprehended Great Momentum Martial Dao by recognizing how the thirty-six Stone Giants drew strength from their shared environment and formation. He used their momentum against them, shattered the formation, and absorbed the power released by the defeated giants, which began enhancing his soul and spirit.

• Meng Zhao studied the Stone Giants and realized that their movements and the surrounding land formed one connected whole.
• Meng Zhao threw two punches and grasped that the Stone Giants’ collective momentum could lend spirit and weight to his martial arts.
• Meng Zhao used the Thirteen Arhat Hand Forms with Great Momentum Martial Dao and sent an attacking Stone Giant flying, shaking its stone body apart.
• Meng Zhao swept through the formation, defeating the Stone Giants and breaking the formation that had trapped him and the Yu Family youth.
• As the Stone Giants crumbled, their released power entered Meng Zhao and began enhancing his soul and spirit.

Meng Zhao fused the puppet’s martial arts with the thirty-six movements hidden in the Stone Giant, creating a powerful but seemingly incomplete Daoist art. The discovery gave him hope of completing his foundation and reaching the Grandmaster realm, though he resolved to hurry because powerful enemies could threaten him.

• Meng Zhao sensed that the Stone Giant’s thirty-six illustrations contained a soul-nourishing martial art and combined them with the techniques he had learned from the puppet.
• Meng Zhao unleashed the unnamed art, which filled the valley with freezing snow and displayed power comparable to supreme divine arts.
• Meng Zhao judged the art to be an incomplete Daoist inheritance and believed it might be one of Kou Huaizhen’s techniques.
• Meng Zhao considered pursuing the Heaven Swallowing Dao Child to obtain the complete Heaven Swallowing Sun Devouring Great Law, noting that he had already intercepted the man’s Eclosion Worm.
• Meng Zhao realized his strength and fortune had grown, but his low realm remained a danger, so he resolved to gather what he needed and advance quickly.

Meng Zhao studied the Boulder Array and deduced that it mapped the body’s meridians, with the central Stone House representing the dantian. He manipulated the array to open the sealed entrance and cautiously entered the Stone House.

• Meng Zhao passed through the Puppet Array and Stone Statue Array to reach a Boulder Array surrounding a Stone House.
• Meng Zhao interpreted the boulders as a map of the body’s meridians and acupoints and deduced an internal cultivation method.
• Meng Zhao realized the Boulder Array could provide the method for opening the sealed Stone House entrance.
• Meng Zhao used concealed force to shift several boulders, causing the stone blocking the entrance to crumble into powder.
• Meng Zhao readied the Azure Dragon Battle Armor and entered the Stone House cautiously.

Meng Zhao entered the Stone House and recognized its portrait as Kou Huaizhen, triggering a vision of the Daoist patriarch’s farewell, inheritance, and transcendence beyond the world. The vision left Meng Zhao with a clearer understanding of the heights he hoped to reach and strengthened his ambition to follow the same path.

• Meng Zhao explored the Stone House and identified the portrait’s subject as Kou Huaizhen, also known as True Lord Xuansu.
• Meng Zhao realized that the valley’s remnants had been left by Kou Huaizhen or someone closely connected to him.
• The portrait showed Kou Huaizhen leaving the imperial court, meeting seven Daoists, and giving each one a treasure and a final instruction.
• Meng Zhao witnessed Kou Huaizhen draw in vast purple qi, tear open the sky, and leave the world on a Mystic Crane.
• Meng Zhao resolved that Kou Huaizhen’s transcendence had expanded his understanding and strengthened his ambition to attain the same power.

Meng Zhao absorbed the spiritual essence of Kou Huaizhen’s painting and obtained the Northern Prison Profound Underworld Truth Supreme Method. After integrating its inheritance, he greatly strengthened his martial foundation and left himself on the verge of the Grandmaster Realm.

• Meng Zhao witnessed the painting lose its vitality after the god within it poured its experiences into his mind.
• Meng Zhao dismantled the prayer mat and discovered a sheet containing the general outline of the Northern Prison Profound Underworld Truth Supreme Method.
• Meng Zhao realized the method’s force, technique, and momentum were hidden in the formations and martial arts throughout the valley.
• Meng Zhao used the Heaven-Illuminating Divine Mirror to merge the acquired martial arts into the Myriad Heavens Imperial Dragon Ziwei Emperor Scripture.
• Meng Zhao’s aura surged, bringing him close to the Grandmaster Realm, but he chose to preserve his foundation rather than rush a breakthrough.

Meng Zhao returned to the Divine Might Army camp after securing supplies and allies, and found the army's leaders increasingly confident in his leadership. He earned Hong Tianzheng's gratitude by giving him a martial art that could cure Madam Hong, leaving Hong Tianzheng devoted to him.

• Si Peng, Wei Hua, and three hundred elite soldiers raided and destroyed a martial arts school, securing wealth while demonstrating the army's strength.
• Meng Zhao returned to camp and saw that the army's upper ranks felt more secure and loyal under his leadership.
• Meng Zhao told Hong Tianzheng that Madam Hong could use a martial art he had devised to dissolve the cold power in her body and improve her health.
• Hong Tianzheng vowed to serve Meng Zhao and received the secret manual from him.