Chapter Summaries

Eunuch Zhan visited Meng Zhao on the Emperor’s orders to investigate the Twelfth Prince’s death, and his insinuations provoked Meng Zhao into displaying overwhelming authority. Eunuch Zhan’s golden talisman dispelled the pressure, leaving him shaken by Meng Zhao’s power and temperament.

• Eunuch Zhan arrived at Meng Family Manor with Beitang He and exchanged formal greetings with Meng Zhao.
• Eunuch Zhan explained that he had made little progress investigating the Twelfth Prince’s death because the prince’s defenses made him difficult to kill.
• Meng Zhao suggested that only a Gods and Devils powerhouse could have murdered the Twelfth Prince.
• Eunuch Zhan implied that a prodigy like Meng Zhao might have understood and overcome the prince’s defenses without reaching the Divine Demon Realm.
• Meng Zhao challenged Eunuch Zhan’s insinuation and released a crushing aura that nearly forced him to his knees.
• A golden talisman in Eunuch Zhan’s Sea of Consciousness dispelled the fear, and Eunuch Zhan recognized the terrifying force of Meng Zhao’s presence.

Eunuch Zhan privately regarded Meng Zhao as a plausible suspect in Beitang Xing’s murder, but Meng Zhao insisted on his loyalty to Beitang Sheng and offered to help investigate. Eunuch Zhan concealed his suspicions while considering whether he could frame Meng Zhao to win the Emperor’s favor.

• Eunuch Zhan compared Meng Zhao’s oppressive aura with Beitang Sheng’s and judged Meng Zhao to be a powerful, fierce young martial artist.
• Eunuch Zhan recalled that Meng Zhao’s background, strength, and temperament made him a possible threat to Beitang Xing, though he hid his suspicion.
• Eunuch Zhan apologized and said he had sought Meng Zhao’s help because of his influence and connections in the Northern Lands.
• Meng Zhao reaffirmed his loyalty to the Imperial Clan and Beitang Sheng, then offered to investigate the murder and prove his innocence if suspected.
• Eunuch Zhan was surprised when Meng Zhao mentioned having several suspects, while privately considering framing him after other investigations had failed.

Meng Zhao offered Eunuch Zhan a lead in the search for Beitang Xing’s murderer, and the two discussed the suspect Tong Lie. Eunuch Zhan revealed that his investigation had largely ruled Tong Lie out, while praising Meng Zhao’s strength and presence in the Northern Lands.

• Eunuch Zhan agreed to hear Meng Zhao’s clues and promised to request merit for him if they proved useful.
• Meng Zhao argued that Beitang Xing’s killer must have had formidable power and a motive to defy the imperial clan.
• Meng Zhao named Tong Lie, the Savage Tribes expert, as his first suspect because Tong Lie had the ability and possible motive to destabilize the Northern Lands.
• Eunuch Zhan said his investigation had ruled Tong Lie out because Tong Lie appeared after Beitang Xing’s death and was too far away to commit the murder.
• Meng Zhao realized the imperial clan had determined the approximate time and place of Beitang Xing’s death, and Eunuch Zhan praised him as a guardian of the Northern Lands.

Meng Zhao warned Eunuch Zhan that Monk Huikong, a supposedly dead monk who had mastered the Heavenly Being Martial Dao, might be behind the Pudu Cult and threaten the Twelfth Prince. He intended to use the Beitang Imperial Clan to weaken Huikong and the cult while drawing attention away from himself.

• Meng Zhao told Eunuch Zhan that Monk Huikong had survived, become a Heavenly Being, and might be plotting against the Twelfth Prince through the Pudu Cult.
• Eunuch Zhan considered the cult’s influence and the Imperial Court’s cautious stance, then took the possibility of Huikong’s power seriously.
• Meng Zhao urged Eunuch Zhan to investigate his claims, confident the imperial clan could confirm that a supreme expert stood behind the Pudu Cult.
• Meng Zhao revealed his plan to use the Beitang Imperial Clan to weaken the Pudu Cult and restrict Huikong, whom he suspected of plotting against him.
• Meng Zhao hoped that exposing Huikong would shift the Imperial Clan’s focus away from him and reduce its pressure on him.

Meng Zhao identified Nangong Yao as the strongest suspect in Beitang Xing’s assassination and revealed how Nangong Yao had murdered Madam Xie’s husband and consumed the origin of their Chaos Body child. Eunuch Zhan and Beitang He were shaken by the revelation, which could bring great merit when reported to the Emperor.

• Eunuch Zhan considered Monk Huikong a suspect but doubted he would risk provoking the Imperial Court and the Emperor.
• Meng Zhao named Nangong Yao as an even likelier culprit and described his hidden role in Madam Xie’s tragedy.
• Meng Zhao explained that Nangong Yao had devoured the origin of the Chaos Body born from Madam Xie’s Solar Body and her husband’s Lunar Body.
• Beitang He questioned whether the union of Solar and Lunar Bodies could truly produce a Chaos Body, and Meng Zhao said Madam Xie’s depleted origin supported her account.
• Eunuch Zhan realized that the revelation about Nangong Yao could earn him significant merit with the Emperor.

Eunuch Zhan considered Nangong Yao a suspect in Beitang Xing’s murder because of his secretive movements and the Spirit Seizing Secret Art. Meng Zhao then privately named Ninth Prince Beitang Shu as an even greater suspect, leaving their exchange concealed from others.

• Eunuch Zhan reasoned that Nangong Yao may have killed Beitang Xing to seize his Imperial Mandate and Qi.
• Meng Zhao said Nangong Yao was difficult to track and suggested asking Xie Wanzhi of Liang Prefecture about him.
• Meng Zhao asked Beitang He to leave so he could speak privately with Eunuch Zhan.
• Meng Zhao accused Ninth Prince Beitang Shu of seeking control over the Northern Lands and disclosed that he kept two Grandmaster-level experts.
• Meng Zhao identified poison expert Zong Shuying as someone who might have killed Beitang Xing without triggering his protective measures.
• Eunuch Zhan recognized that he had also privately suspected Beitang Shu, but he and Meng Zhao agreed to keep their conversation secret.

The chapter revealed that Shen Tianci had not become a cripple, but had secretly grown stronger while pursuing a new martial path. As Shen Hongguang worried over Tianci’s haste, the chapter ended with the former Shen Family head, Shen Yuhu, standing beside him as Tianci’s extraordinary cultivation spectacle unfolded.

• Eunuch Zhan left Meng Zhao with valuable information, while Meng Zhao remained alert to other threats and postponed seclusion.
• The chapter described the Shen Family’s prominence and Shen Tianci’s extraordinary talent, then revealed that his reported Qi Deviation and disability were deliberately fabricated to conceal him.
• The Shen Family’s core members believed Shen Tianci had advanced rapidly through years of cultivation and travels, and that he might rival Meng Zhao.
• In the Shen Family’s forbidden ground, Shen Tianci displayed a wondrous aura of the Golden Crow, Fusang Tree, and a moonlit arrow aimed toward the Heavenly Wolf.
• Shen Hongguang worried that Shen Tianci was rushing to combine two Gods and Devils inheritances into a new martial system, while Shen Yuhu stood with him and watched.

Shen Yuhu defended Shen Tianci’s decision to take risks, citing the divine weapons and martial arts he had brought to the Shen Family. The chapter explained Shen Tianci’s efforts to fuse those arts into a supreme foundation, leaving Shen Yuhu confident in him while Shen Hongguang urged caution.

• Shen Yuhu told Shen Hongguang that Shen Tianci’s talent, strength, and fortune justified his confidence in his grandson.
• Shen Tianci had brought the Shen Family the Taiyuan Sword, the Sun God Art, and the Nine Yin Moon Bow Force and Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow Art.
• Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang had used the Sun God Art to integrate it with the Taiyi Golden Book and reach the Martial Dao Grandmaster realm.
• Shen Tianci had spent his seclusion organizing his knowledge and attempting to fuse his martial arts into a supreme art for his future rise to the Divine Demon Realm.
• Shen Yuhu supported Shen Tianci’s ambitious path and hoped he would surpass Meng Zhao, while Shen Hongguang wanted him to prepare more before taking the risk.

While Shen Tianci continued to build a new Martial Dao framework in seclusion, the Shen Family remained on guard after he had survived a deadly bloodline curse. A master wielding genuine ghost fire approached the residence, drawing the family’s experts and curious onlookers as Shen Tianci’s cultivation remained undisturbed.

• Shen Tianci spent half a month in seclusion, manifesting divine arts as he worked to forge a new Martial Dao framework.
• The Shen Family recalled how Shen Tianci had broken the Heart-Piercing Blood-Weeping Curse and how their investigation had uncovered hidden agents in the residence.
• Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang watched Shen Tianci’s golden swords and flames fill the sky and felt their fierce power.
• A howl and genuine Eerie Ghost Fire swept in from the south, alerting people across the area that a powerful master was heading for the Shen Family.
• The Shen Family’s experts converged and prepared to respond, but they hesitated to approach Shen Tianci’s secluded cultivation grounds because of Shen Yuhu’s order.

A masked stranger attacked the Shen Family with azure fire, prompting Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang to defend Shen Tianci’s secluded cultivation. Shen Yuhu confronted the intruder in the sky and launched a counterattack against his Azure-Green Medicine Cauldron and Pure Azure Green Fire.

• A masked man on a Verdant Medicine Cauldron rained azure fire down on Shen Tianci’s island, and Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang countered with golden Qi Blades.
• Shen Yuhu flew up to confront the stranger, who taunted him and claimed Shen Tianci had been crippled by Qi Deviation.
• Shen Yuhu decided to answer the probe by displaying the Shen Family’s strength and attacked with Tiger Claw Soul Seize.
• The stranger’s Azure-Green Medicine Cauldron dissolved the Taiyi Golden Barrier’s power, while he unleashed Pure Azure Green Fire at Shen Yuhu.
• Shen Yuhu sensed the fire’s danger and thrust both palms forward, sending waves of golden light against it.

Shen Yuhu countered the mysterious man's Three Yang Spirit Flame with the Taiyi Golden Book's Golden Crow Fierce Fire, then summoned the Shen Family's God-Shattering Hook to strengthen himself. The mysterious man acknowledged the weapon's power but revealed that two hidden experts had joined him.

• Shen Yuhu used the Taiyi Golden Book's Stone-Melting Goldflow to turn the mysterious man's Three Yang Spirit Flame into golden fire and burn it away.
• The mysterious man recognized Shen Yuhu's Golden Crow Fierce Fire and explained how the Shen Family had drawn on the Sun God Art to overcome the Taiyi Golden Barrier's weakness to fire.
• Shen Yuhu summoned the Shen Family's God-Shattering Hook from the ancestral hall and fused its power with the Taiyi Golden Book.
• The mysterious man identified the hook as a weapon once wielded by the Divine Martial King and warned that Shen Yuhu could not stop the others.
• Two hidden experts appeared in the sky and landed beside the mysterious man.

A masked man, aided by Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost, offered to heal Shen Tianci in exchange for his loyalty and threatened the Shen Family if it refused to stay out of future struggles. Shen Hongguang rejected both demands, and the masked man launched an attack on him and Shen Yuhu.

• Shen Yuhu recognized Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost as Grandmaster experts from the Shadow Mountain Lineage.
• The masked man said he had hired the two Ghost Messengers and offered to restore Shen Tianci if the Shen Family gave him its loyalty.
• The masked man warned that the Shen Family must remain hidden if Shen Tianci had merely concealed his strength.
• Shen Hongguang arrived and rejected the offer and threat, declaring that the Shen Family would choose its own path.
• The masked man spun his cauldron and attacked Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang as Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost joined him.

Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang fought three Great Grandmasters above the Shen Family, while their battle’s shockwaves devastated Jinling City. As the Shen father and son began to consider using a forbidden move, a dormant aura awakened on the artificial lake island.

• The mysterious man attacked Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang with a spiritual-fire python while Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost joined the battle.
• Shen Hongguang summoned a heavenly roc to fight the python, and Shen Yuhu wielded the God-Shattering Hook against Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
• The five Great Grandmasters’ clashes killed thousands across Jinling City, but the Shen Family’s Turtle Shell Energy Shield protected its grounds.
• Spies and rival forces recognized the Shen Family’s strength and recorded the battle, despite reports that Shen Tianci had fallen.
• The mysterious man gained an advantage over Shen Hongguang, while Ox-Head and Horse-Face gradually overwhelmed Shen Yuhu.
• As the Shen father and son considered using the Taiyi Golden Book’s Forbidden Killing Move, an aura revived on the artificial lake island and golden flowers bloomed across the water.

Shen Tianci emerged from seclusion with a tremendous surge of power and attacked the three intruders with sunfire and a Three-Legged Golden Crow. A violet dragon then destroyed both attacks, leaving the mysterious man to taunt Shen Tianci before withdrawing.

• Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang realized Shen Tianci had emerged from seclusion and worried that the intruders had disrupted his cultivation.
• The mysterious man warned the Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost that Shen Tianci might have reached the Great Grandmaster realm, and they agreed to retreat if danger arose.
• Golden sunflowers across the lake gathered their radiance into a blazing fireball as Shen Tianci awakened on the central island.
• A hundred-zhang-wide waterfall of molten lava fell from the sky and trapped the mysterious man, the Ox-Head God, and the Horse-Face Ghost above and below.
• The mysterious man used his treasured cauldron and the other two grandmasters' power to resist the lava, but the cauldron cracked and its Weapon Spirit was badly hurt.
• A violet dragon seized and crushed the Three-Legged Golden Crow, then extinguished the molten lava waterfall as the mysterious man taunted Shen Tianci.

After a mysterious attacker nearly overwhelmed the Shen Family, Shen Tianci drove him away with a newly comprehended Sun God Art technique and remained in seclusion. Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang suspected the assault was meant to frame Meng Zhao, and Shen Yuhu believed two other parties were more likely responsible.

• The mysterious attacker unleashed a purple dragon-shaped power, then vanished with the Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost as the Shen Family’s protective shield remained in place.
• Shen Tianci told Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang that he had repelled the enemy with a move he had just comprehended and would continue studying martial arts in seclusion.
• Shen Hongguang suspected the attacker was Meng Zhao because the final move resembled his rumored Dragon Dao techniques.
• Shen Yuhu argued that the attacker was probably not Meng Zhao and that the dragon-shaped move might have been created to provoke conflict between Meng Zhao and the Shen Family.
• Shen Yuhu said he was more inclined to suspect two other parties, and Shen Hongguang silently agreed.

Shen Yuhu explained that the mysterious attacker’s imitation Medicine Master Cauldron and Humanity Power could have come from the Li Family, the Beitang Imperial Clan, or a third party, leaving the Shen Family unable to identify who had tested them. He urged Shen Hongguang to keep the family neutral, then began considering an alliance between Shen Tianci and Meng Zhao.

• Shen Hongguang asked whether the mysterious attacker had been connected to the Beitang Family or the Li Family.
• Shen Yuhu said the imitation Medicine Master Cauldron and Humanity Power did not reveal the attacker’s allegiance, since either rival could have produced them or a third party could have staged the probe.
• Shen Yuhu told Shen Hongguang that the Shen Family must not join either side and should rely on Shen Tianci’s future strength to protect its position.
• Shen Yuhu reflected on Meng Zhao’s martial prowess and growing power, then considered joining the Meng Family and Shen Family through an alliance between Meng Zhao and Shen Tianci.

Shen Yuhu and Shen Hongguang considered arranging a marriage alliance between Shen Tianci and Meng Rong, weighing the Meng Family’s strength and Meng Zhao’s ambitions. Shen Yuhu admired Meng Zhao’s ability to turn relationships into power, while lamenting that Shen Tianci lacked such worldly ambition.

• Shen Yuhu suggested that Shen Tianci marry Meng Rong to form an alliance with the Meng Family.
• Shen Hongguang recalled that Shen Tianci had praised Meng Rong and agreed that the Meng Family had become a powerful potential ally.
• Shen Yuhu weighed the risks of alliances with the Beitang Imperial Clan and the Li Family against the Meng Family’s rising influence through Meng Zhao.
• Shen Hongguang warned that Meng Zhao used his relationships to expand his power, so a marriage alliance might benefit him more than the Shen Family.
• Shen Yuhu praised Meng Zhao’s ambition and regretted that Shen Tianci was too pure and detached from worldly affairs.

The mysterious man returned to Jinling City with Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost after their clash with Shen Tianci, then tried to recruit them. They collected their promised reward but were stopped when he offered a clue to Ghost Gate Pass.

• The mysterious man lamented the damage Shen Tianci had inflicted on his cauldron, while Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost reflected on the Shen Family’s formidable Great Sun Inferno.
• The mysterious man invited Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost to serve the powerful figure behind him, but Ox-Head God criticized the devastation caused by the imperial clans’ war.
• Ox-Head God demanded their reward, and the mysterious man gave him a golden paper recording where the Light-Dark Mandala Divine Flower would bloom in two years.
• As Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost prepared to leave, the mysterious man offered them information about the approximate whereabouts of Ghost Gate Pass.
• Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost were startled by the offer because Ghost Gate Pass could aid Yin Mountain Lineage cultivation and combine with the Taoshan Token to form a powerful Heavenly Divine Weapon.

The Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost negotiated with the mysterious man over clues to a powerful Ghost Gate Pass. He offered them a trip to help the Lei Family develop a newly discovered Minor Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm, and they agreed to take the job.

• The Ox-Head God asked whether the mysterious man’s Ghost Gate Pass information concerned the genuine artifact or an imitation.
• The mysterious man said his information pointed to a Heavenly Divine Weapon containing part of a Dao Fruit’s power, and offered the clue in exchange for the pair’s help.
• The Ox-Head God and Horse-Face Ghost refused to join the man’s faction but agreed to work as mercenaries for sufficient benefits.
• The Ox-Head God worried that their assignment might involve testing Meng Zhao, whose strength and ruthlessness made him a dangerous opponent.
• The mysterious man explained that the job concerned the Lei Family’s newly discovered Minor Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm, not Meng Zhao, and the pair accepted.

Four Jade Capital nobles arrived near Meng Family Manor in Lingwu City during a snowstorm, intending to investigate the murder of Beitang Xing. Their resentment toward Meng Zhao and their contempt for provincial nobles shaped their approach, while Liu An warned Qiao Nian not to act rashly.

• Qiao Nian and three other experts reached Meng Family Manor through the snow without leaving tracks.
• Qiao Nian criticized Meng Zhao and speculated that he had embezzled the Yangwu Army's military pay.
• Liu An cautioned Qiao Nian to observe proper etiquette because they were visiting without an imperial order.
• The chapter identified Qiao Nian, Liu An, Yan Libing, and Shi Jiawen as powerful, loyal figures from Jade Capital's noble families.
• The four men had joined Yu Changkong's investigation into Beitang Xing's murder to gain experience and prepare for future responsibilities.