Chapter Summaries

The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord discovered that Bei Tangsu’s Demonic Seed had been transferred and decided to investigate, though he had urgent business on the Arctic Ice Plains. He summoned Tong Lie, the Bronze Hammer Tribe’s foremost expert, and explained how the Nine Tripods barrier would suppress Tong Lie’s power inside the Divine Land.

• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord realized that Bei Tangsu had suffered a disaster and that his Demonic Seed had been transferred to another person.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord decided to find the seed’s new host but chose to send someone else because he had important business beyond the passes and feared Beitang Sheng’s retaliation.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord summoned Tong Lie with a roar that made the Bronze Hammer Tribe bow in worship.
• Tong Lie shrank his towering body to enter the ice house and saluted the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord recognized Tong Lie as a peak Great Grandmaster, then explained that the Nine Tripods barrier would suppress his strength inside the Divine Land.

The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord offered Tong Lie a way to avoid the human fortune’s suppression in the Divine Land and asked him to undertake a dangerous task. Tong Lie agreed after securing the Palace Lord’s promise to protect the Bronze Hammer Tribe, and was told to enter Liang Prefecture and obey the instructions of the person named in a letter.

• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord explained that Tong Lie could evade the suppression of human fortune, but warned that the Hundred Clans could not overcome the human race’s accumulated strength as a whole.
• Tong Lie considered the chance to gather resources for the Bronze Hammer Tribe and test the Central Plains’ Martial Dao, but insisted that his people must remain safe.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord promised to protect the Bronze Hammer Tribe and urged Tong Lie to consider its future beyond his own guardianship.
• Tong Lie said he would fulfill his present responsibilities and leave the tribe’s later fate to those who came after.
• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord instructed Tong Lie to carry his letter through the Heavenly Passes into Liang Prefecture, find its recipient, and obey that person’s orders.

Tong Lie agreed to enter Divine Land Pass and carry out the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord’s mission, after securing freedom to judge some matters for himself. He reassured his uncle that he could protect himself, but the Bronze Hammer Tribe’s chieftain worried that rival tribes would attack while Tong Lie was away.

• The Heavenly Demon Palace Lord urged Tong Lie to let a knowledgeable guide direct him in Divine Land and warned that reckless killing could make him a target of the human race.
• Tong Lie said he could not tolerate taking orders from someone weaker, so the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord declared that the guide’s clear instructions would count as his own orders and let Tong Lie decide the rest.
• Tong Lie accepted the arrangement and imagined that he might capture a beautiful human woman to take back as his wife.
• Tong Lie went to his uncle, the Bronze Hammer Tribe chieftain, and explained that he would travel to the human kingdom at the wise man’s request.
• Tong Lie assured his uncle that his martial arts and body would keep him safe, but the chieftain warned that rival tribes might invade if Tong Lie stayed away too long.

Tong Lie prepared to leave the Bronze Hammer Tribe for the Central Plains, and the chieftain entrusted him with the tribe’s ancestral Flying Sickle Axe. The chieftain urged Tong Lie to return safely, while Tong Lie wondered whether his lord’s plans involved the rumored Supreme Scepter.

• Tong Lie told the chieftain that his lord had promised to protect the Bronze Hammer Tribe and warned him not to underestimate the lord’s strength.
• The chieftain urged Tong Lie to take the tribe’s inherited Flying Sickle Axe for protection during his journey.
• The chieftain explained that the damaged Flying Sickle Axe had once been a Heavenly Divine Weapon, and that Tong Lie could wield it through his strength and Savage Tribes’ Special Physique.
• The chieftain argued that Tong Lie mattered more to the tribe than the axe and trusted him to bring it back safely.
• Tong Lie promised to return with the Flying Sickle Axe and eventually forge a greater treasure for the tribe.
• Tong Lie asked about his lord’s plans, and the chieftain suspected they were connected to rumors about the Supreme Scepter; Tong Lie dismissed the rumors as foolish.

The chapter recounted the legend of the Supreme Scepter, a rumored artifact meant to unite the Hundred Clans and lead them against humanity. Tong Lie dismissed the legend until the chieftain signaled that he had something private to say, and Tong Lie realized a powerful lord might be able to overhear them.

• The legend said a great figure had proposed forging the Supreme Scepter from the Hundred Clans’ resources and an ancient divine Dao Fruit to unite the clans and challenge humanity.
• The account described how clans resisted contributing their most talented members’ essence blood and fortune, while the question of who would wield the scepter threatened to divide them.
• Rumors persisted that the proposer’s legacy secretly gathered essence blood and stole clan fortune to complete the artifact, leading some tribes to fight over it.
• Tong Lie regarded the Supreme Scepter as a fanciful legend and trusted only his own martial strength.
• The chieftain hinted that he wanted to speak privately, and Tong Lie realized that an immensely powerful lord might be able to eavesdrop on them.

The chief warned Tong Lie that the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord might have ulterior motives for cultivating him and gave him the Savage Tribes’ Flying Sickle Axe for protection. Tong Lie tested the axe’s Size-As-You-Wish Divine Ability and left confident in its combat potential.

• Tong Lie sealed the stone house with his true qi as the chief cautioned him about the human wise man and the possible origins of the Supreme Scepter.
• The chief suggested the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord might be grooming Tong Lie as a sacrifice or weapon, prompting Tong Lie to consider the lord’s intentions without accepting the suspicion as fact.
• The chief dug up the Flying Sickle Axe, entrusted it to Tong Lie, and taught him its secret incantation and technique.
• Tong Lie activated the axe’s Size-As-You-Wish Divine Ability, enlarging it into a weapon he could wield with ease.
• Tong Lie imagined using the axe’s shifting size and the Seven Forms of the Flying Sickle to surprise powerful opponents and grew confident about entering Divine Land Pass.

Meng Zhao strengthened his ties with the Tan Family and helped Xue Zihou advance rapidly in martial cultivation. At a temple outside Yanzhou's provincial city, he examined an ancient Buddhist bell and reunited with Monk Huikong, who confirmed he had killed Zhou Wangqiao.

• Meng Zhao visited the Tan Family with lavish gifts, and Tan Changming and Tan Cuiping supported his marriage to Tan Cai'er.
• Meng Zhao focused on Xue Zihou's training, and Xue Zihou's martial cultivation advanced enough to give him the potential to challenge the Grandmaster realm.
• At a temple outside Yanzhou's provincial city, Meng Zhao recognized that its bronze bell had once been an Earth Divine Weapon and was slowly recovering through incense offerings.
• Monk Huikong appeared beside Meng Zhao, and Meng Zhao asked whether Zhou Wangqiao had threatened his family.
• Monk Huikong said he had killed Zhou Wangqiao without alarming Meng Zhao's household, and Meng Zhao accepted that Zhou Wangqiao's past sins had caught up with him.

After reconciling with Monk Huikong, Meng Zhao learned that his family and allies in Lingwu City were doing well. He planned to remain in Yanzhou to meet Ye Huan, visit Divine Saber Hall, and build ties with the Pudu Cult before returning to face coming turmoil.

• Meng Zhao explained that he had offered Zhou Wangqiao's head to make peace with Monk Huikong and the Pudu Cult, and Monk Huikong accepted his thanks.
• Monk Huikong reported that Meng Hongdao and Meng Yan had gone with Seven Star Tower representatives to seek a resolution, while Liang Muqiu and the Meng Family's forces continued to prosper.
• Meng Zhao decided to stay in Yanzhou to meet Ye Huan and accept Xue Zihou's invitation to Divine Saber Hall.
• Meng Zhao added reconciling with the Pudu Cult and meeting its Cult Master to his plans, while anticipating trouble after the deaths of Beitang Xing, Old Daoist Liu, and Bei Tangsu.

Meng Zhao learned that Monk Huikong had drained the Hengshun Bell’s spirituality and planned to give the recovering treasure to him. When Meng Zhao refused to accept it without the truth, Huikong admitted he had intended Beitang Xing to restore the bell using Imperial Dynasty National Destiny while Huikong’s Primordial Spirit Seed inside it grew stronger.

• Meng Zhao identified the Hengshun Bell as a depleted Earth Divine Weapon that absorbed Incense Wish Power to recover its spirituality.
• Monk Huikong explained that he had extracted the bell’s spirituality eighteen years earlier to aid his cultivation and had placed it in the temple to restore it.
• Huikong offered the Hengshun Bell to Meng Zhao, claiming it suited him and that he might help it become a Heavenly Divine Weapon.
• Meng Zhao refused the bell and demanded that Huikong reveal his real purpose.
• Huikong confessed that he had planned to give the bell to Beitang Xing so the prince could use National Destiny to restore it and strengthen Huikong’s Primordial Spirit Seed within it.

Monk Huikong taught Meng Zhao the Buddhist secret technique Severing Seal, which could cultivate a Primordial Spirit by attuning it to artifacts. Meng Zhao saw its value but questioned whether restoring the Hengshun Bell’s spirituality would require sacrificing his Hidden Dragon Vein, and he pressed Monk Huikong for another explanation.

• Monk Huikong offered to pass Meng Zhao the Severing Seal technique after Meng Zhao hesitated to accept the Hengshun Bell.
• Monk Huikong explained that the technique drew on Joyful Zen to attune a Primordial Spirit to divine weapons and artifacts, and described its lesser branches.
• Meng Zhao realized that Severing Seal could greatly accelerate his Primordial Spirit cultivation and protect him from hidden schemes in the Hengshun Bell.
• Meng Zhao considered whether restoring the bell might require using the Hidden Dragon Vein stored in his Sheji Cauldron, a sacrifice he was unwilling to make lightly.
• Meng Zhao asked Monk Huikong why he believed Meng Zhao could restore the Hengshun Bell’s spirituality and probed for another method.

Meng Zhao asked Monk Huikong how to restore the Hengshun Bell’s spirituality, and Huikong proposed two ways to combine it with Flood Dragon Little Nine. Meng Zhao rejected sacrificing Little Nine and learned that the alternative required a rare Pure Spring and carried serious risks.

• Monk Huikong explained that Little Nine’s bond with Meng Zhao could give it the potential to become a true dragon and help restore the Hengshun Bell.
• Monk Huikong proposed killing Little Nine and using its body and soul to reforge the bell into a powerful divine weapon.
• Meng Zhao refused to sacrifice Little Nine, whom he hoped would one day become a true dragon, and noted that he already possessed many treasures.
• Monk Huikong proposed linking Little Nine and the Hengshun Bell through the secret art Unity of Spirit and Flesh, Divine Treasures Interconnected.
• Monk Huikong warned that the method could damage Little Nine or destroy the bell’s spirituality and required a rare Pure Spring.

Meng Zhao learned how rare Pure Spring was and hesitated to accept Monk Huikong’s offer to use a Primordial Spirit Seed to refine Flood Dragon Little Nine and the Hengshun Bell. He decided to seek Pure Spring first, while Monk Huikong secretly waited for him to take the bait and serve his own cultivation scheme.

• Meng Zhao learned that Pure Spring could cleanse foreign auras and help refine Flood Dragon Little Nine and the Hengshun Bell, but it was extraordinarily rare.
• Monk Huikong offered to use a Primordial Spirit Seed to achieve the same effect if Meng Zhao could not find Pure Spring.
• Meng Zhao weighed the potential benefits for Flood Dragon Little Nine against the danger to his own Primordial Spirit and future cultivation.
• Meng Zhao chose to investigate Pure Spring before considering Monk Huikong’s method, and resolved to learn how to perform the technique himself.
• Monk Huikong remained confident that Meng Zhao would eventually be tempted, concealing further motives tied to his cultivation.

Meng Zhao received the Hengshun Bell from Monk Huikong and visited powerful factions as he built connections. Meanwhile, Beitang Shu searched the Three Provinces for Beitang Xing’s body, and the Heaven Swallowing Dao Child killed Li Xiaotian, shaking the Northern Lands and raising talk of a new balance among the younger generation.

• Meng Zhao shrank the Hengshun Bell with its own power and accepted it from Monk Huikong.
• Monk Huikong invited Meng Zhao to meet the Pudu Cult Cult Master, and Meng Zhao later visited several major factions and martial arts experts.
• Beitang Shu deployed soldiers, assassins, and agents across the Three Provinces to find Beitang Xing’s body for burial in Imperial Capital City.
• The Imperial Court sent Eunuch Zhan to search for Beitang Xing’s killer with the Emperor’s Heaven’s Will Sword.
• The Heaven Swallowing Dao Child ambushed and killed Li Xiaotian, one of the Ten Absolute Masters of the World, prompting Jianghu figures to speculate that he could challenge Meng Zhao and Shen Tianci’s standing.

After the Heaven Swallowing Dao Child killed Li Xiaotian, Jianghu opinion pressured Meng Zhao, Shen Tianci, and the other Ten Absolute Masters to stop him, but none acted. In the Northern Lands, Tong Lie of the Arctic Ice Plains defeated three Grandmasters, stirring outrage and fears of a conflict between races.

• Rumors spread that Meng Zhao, Shen Tianci, or another of the Ten Absolute Masters should deal with the Heaven Swallowing Dao Child, but they remained inactive.
• Meng Zhao continued meeting with Ye Huan, while Shen Tianci stayed in seclusion and the other Ten Absolute Masters, including Cui Wei, did not speak out.
• A young expert swept through Liang Prefecture, and Fire Dragon Cave refused to intervene while True Monarch Fire Dragon remained in seclusion.
• Rumors identified the young expert as a Savage Tribes fighter from the Arctic Ice Plains, prompting three Grandmasters to challenge him.
• The young expert defeated all three Grandmasters without them breaking his defenses; he was Tong Lie of the Bronze Hammer Tribe.

The chapter recounts the history of the Liang Prefecture Ye Family and how Ye Shaoqiu rebuilt it after its destruction, becoming a legendary swordsman. It leaves the Ye Family established as Liang Prefecture’s most powerful martial arts family after Ye Shaoqiu single-handedly stopped an invasion at Heaven Pass.

• People in the Jianghu hoped a supreme human expert would punish the Arctic Ice Plains barbarians, though they did not expect Meng Zhao or Shen Tianci to fight them.
• The chapter traced the Ye Family’s migration to Liang Prefecture and its near-extinction during the chaos of the Huangming Era.
• Ye Shaoqiu returned after three years away with divine swordsmanship, avenged the Ye Family, and rebuilt its name.
• Ye Shaoqiu challenged a Grand Elder of the Hidden Sword Palace and became famous for his Divine Thought Sword.
• When the remnants of the Hundred Clans threatened Liang Prefecture, Ye Shaoqiu went alone to Heaven Pass and held back their allied army.
• Ye Shaoqiu’s defense saved Liang Prefecture and made the Ye Family its foremost martial arts family.

Tong Lie toured Liang Prefecture with a guide, marveling at its comforts while becoming convinced that the Hundred Clans needed to seize the prosperity of the lands within Divine Land Pass. His challenges to local martial artists had made him famous and exposed his Savage Tribe identity, leaving his guide scrambling to contain the trouble.

• Tong Lie ate Wang's Bean Cakes and praised the comforts and luxuries he had encountered in the Great Yong Dynasty.
• Tong Lie concluded that the Arctic Ice Plains could not compare with the lands within Divine Land Pass and that war was necessary for his people to claim their prosperity.
• Tong Lie's guide reminded him of the finer meals available, but Tong Lie had already forced him to postpone their trip to investigate Bei Tangsu's death at Divine Saber Hall.
• Tong Lie challenged renowned martial artists across Liang Prefecture and defeated them even while matching their realm, causing his reputation to spread.
• News exposed Tong Lie as one of the Savage Tribes, and his guide tried to use food and other small distractions to stop him from stirring up further trouble.

Tong Lie explained why he wanted to keep challenging Liang Prefecture’s martial artists, while Fatty Xia warned him not to jeopardize the mission assigned by the Heavenly Demon Palace Lord. Tong Lie had secretly revealed that he was one of the Savage Tribes to attract powerful opponents, but he restrained himself from challenging Fire Dragon Cave because it could disrupt the investigation into Bei Tangsu’s murder.

• Tong Lie praised the variety of Divine Land martial arts and asked Old Xia which family’s masters he should challenge next.
• Old Xia warned Tong Lie to remember their mission, and guessed that Tong Lie might have spread rumors about his Savage Tribes identity himself.
• Tong Lie denied revealing his weakness, though he had secretly announced his identity to draw formidable opponents into open duels.
• Tong Lie wanted to challenge Fire Dragon Cave, but Fatty Xia stopped him because the Sacred Land’s retaliation could endanger their mission.
• Tong Lie held back from challenging Fire Dragon Cave so the hidden mastermind behind Bei Tangsu’s murder would not be alerted or driven into hiding.

Tong Lie told Fatty Xia how Ye Shaoqiu, the Ye Family Divine Sword, confronted the Hundred Clans allied army at Treading Heaven Pass. He left Fatty Xia stunned by the tale of Ye Shaoqiu’s courage and power.

• Tong Lie and Fatty Xia stopped before the Ye Family gate, and Tong Lie asked how Ye Shaoqiu had once held back the Hundred Clans allied army.
• Tong Lie described the army’s two hundred thousand battle-hardened troops, including two Heavenly Beings, ten Great Grandmasters, and dozens of Grandmasters.
• Tong Lie said the allied army’s chiefs and officers awoke to find locks of their hair cut and the character “Ye” carved beside them.
• Tong Lie recounted how Ye Shaoqiu came alone with a sword and blocked the only road to Treading Heaven Pass against the entire army.
• Fatty Xia listened in awe and considered how Ye Shaoqiu could have united Liang Prefecture and contended for the realm.

Tong Lie explained how Ye Shaoqiu had forced the Hundred Clans Allied Army to retreat, then announced that he would challenge the Ye Family to learn whether its ancestral sword or Ye Shaoqiu’s swordsmanship had made him so powerful. Fatty Xia warned that demanding Cheng Jun as a wager would provoke the Ye Family, and suggested stealing it instead.

• Tong Lie recounted how Ye Shaoqiu threatened to raid the Hundred Clans’ headquarters and defeated three of their strongest fighters, forcing their army to retreat.
• Fatty Xia asked whether Tong Lie meant to avenge his ancestor’s defeat, but Tong Lie said he wanted to test the Ye Family Divine Sword and its swordsmanship.
• Tong Lie asked Fatty Xia to deliver a challenge to the Ye Family and promised to fight at the same realm, offering a Gods-and-Devils martial art if he lost.
• Tong Lie demanded Cheng Jun if the Ye Family lost, but Fatty Xia explained that the Ye Family would never accept the sword as a wager and suggested Tong Lie steal it instead.

Tong Lie decided to challenge the Ye Family to test the Cheng Jun Divine Sword, while secretly considering taking it for the Bronze Hammer Tribe. The Ye Family debated how to face him and whether his challenge was really aimed at uncovering the sword’s secrets.

• Tong Lie settled on sending the Ye Family a letter of challenge, and Fatty Xia agreed to help him deliver it.
• Ye Mingyang and two elders worried that losing to Tong Lie would tarnish the reputation of their ancestor, Ye Shaoqiu.
• The Ye Family considered Tong Lie’s offer to suppress his realm but feared his Indestructible Diamond Body would make him impossible to defeat.
• The elders rejected seeking allies and proposed a secret duel with rules preventing anyone from learning its outcome.
• Ye Mingyang agreed to consider fighting if Tong Lie accepted, then wondered whether Tong Lie sought the Cheng Jun Divine Sword’s secrets because Ye Shaoqiu had once defeated a Savage Tribes Venerable.