Chapter Summaries

Shen Bai defeated Jing Hai, and the day’s matches advanced the Heavenly Prodigy List contest toward its final rounds. As Yuan Ya and the black skull prepared to use Bei Chen’s fight with Shen Bai to transfer the skull into Bei Chen’s body, Shen Bai won another match by concession and then saw Li Feiyun approach him.

• Jing Hai trapped Shen Bai inside all eight positions of his bagua, but Shen Bai shattered the formation with his blood-red Sword Qi, forcing Jing Hai to concede.
• Shen Bai healed Qin Shuang after her hard-fought victory, and the contest concluded its first day with the top fifty decided.
• Yuan Ya convinced the black skull to attempt taking over Bei Chen’s body during his upcoming fight with Shen Bai, using the Tranquil Heart Incantation to conceal itself.
• The next day, Li Feiyun conceded to Shen Bai because his anti-poison technique countered her poison arts.
• Bei Chen defeated his opponent brutally, while Qin Shuang lost her match and Shen Bai comforted her.
• As Shen Bai and Qin Shuang prepared to wait for the next matches, Li Feiyun approached Shen Bai.

Shen Bai learned from Li Feiyun that someone in the Heavenly Prodigy List competition had undergone Body Seizure, then advanced to the final against Bei Chen as opponent after opponent conceded. Shen Bai overwhelmed Bei Chen with his Sword Qi, but Bei Chen used a damaging secret art and refused to yield, prompting Shen Bai to reveal his terrifying powers and demand that he concede.

• Li Feiyun told Shen Bai that a participant in the competition had undergone Body Seizure, and Shen Bai suspected Bei Chen because of his ruthless fighting.
• Shen Bai advanced through the winner's bracket as his opponents repeatedly conceded, while Bei Chen grew furious at the crowd's confidence in Shen Bai.
• Yuan Ya conceded to Bei Chen, leaving him to face Shen Bai for first place after recovering from his injuries.
• Bei Chen attacked Shen Bai with his spear, but Shen Bai's casual sword strike overwhelmed him and forced him back.
• Bei Chen refused to concede, used a secret art that doubled his strength at great cost to his body, and claimed he had blocked Shen Bai's attack.
• Shen Bai revealed a host of overwhelming powers and asked Bei Chen whether he still refused to concede.

Shen Bai defeated Bei Chen and claimed first place on the Heavenly Prodigy List, while Yuan Ya secretly planted Zhang Sheng inside Bei Chen. As the prodigies traveled toward the capital, Zhang Sheng seized Bei Chen’s body and drew Shen Bai into a Life-and-Death Duel space.

• Shen Bai won his duel with Bei Chen, and Yuan Ya secretly sent a colorless skull into the unconscious Bei Chen’s body.
• Zhang Sheng revealed himself to Bei Chen and persuaded him to help kill Shen Bai, while Yuan Ya planned to use Zhang Sheng to complete the organization’s mission.
• Shen Bai spent three days grinding proficiency before joining Mo Xuan and the other prodigies on their journey to Tianjing City.
• Zhang Sheng took control of Bei Chen’s body and suppressed Bei Chen’s soul as they flew toward the capital.
• Zhang Sheng used the Life-and-Death Duel technique to pull Shen Bai into another space, and Mo Xuan ordered the area sealed because only Shen Bai or Bei Chen could emerge alive.

During the renewed Heavenly Prodigy Assembly, Shen Bai was trapped in a Life-and-Death Duel space with Zhang Sheng, who had seized Bei Chen’s body and served the Chaos Organization. Shen Bai killed Zhang Sheng and escaped, but an Evil Curse Master’s curse attached itself to him.

• Mo Xuan surrounded the prodigies after Zhang Sheng drew Shen Bai into the Life-and-Death Duel space, leaving everyone outside to wait for a victor.
• Shen Bai recognized that his opponent had seized Bei Chen’s body, and Zhang Sheng identified himself as Zhang Sheng, sect master of the North Shadow Sect.
• Zhang Sheng attacked Shen Bai with the North Shadow Palm Technique, but Shen Bai broke through the shadow-based assault and overcame him in close combat.
• Shen Bai poisoned and subdued Zhang Sheng, who revealed that a curse prevented him from naming Yuan Ya or giving information about her.
• Shen Bai killed Zhang Sheng to escape the space, but a white light circled him before he left, and Hong Zhuang warned that an Evil Curse Master’s curse had attached itself to him.

Shen Bai uncovered and killed Yuan Ya, the Evil Curse Master who had placed a Fortune Curse on him, then continued with Mo Xuan and the heavenly prides to Tianjing City. There, after the Great Nan Kingdom’s emperor summoned him for a private audience, Shen Bai entered the Imperial Study and heard the emperor regret that he had not been born in the Great Nan Kingdom.

• Hong Zhuang identified the curse on Shen Bai as a Fortune Curse cast by an Evil Curse Master, and Shen Bai’s divination failed to reveal the caster’s identity.
• Yuan Ya activated a Life Borrowing Curse to summon Xuan Wenxin, who fought Mo Xuan while Yuan Ya prepared to kill Shen Bai.
• Shen Bai emerged, fought Yuan Ya, and killed her with Cold Moon and his Yin-Yang Qi, breaking the Fortune Curse.
• Shen Bai helped Mo Xuan confront Xuan Wenxin, whose avatar vanished, and then traveled with the recovered heavenly prides toward Tianjing City.
• Mo Xuan brought the group to meet the emperor of the Great Nan Kingdom, who waived the others’ audience but summoned Shen Bai alone.
• Shen Bai entered the Imperial Study, where the emperor praised Emperor Shengwu’s decision and said he wished Shen Bai had been born in the Great Nan Kingdom.

Shen Bai accepted Emperor Tianyun’s offer to enter Heavenly River Tower and contest its treasures against Wei Feng, a Great Yue Kingdom defector who blamed Shen Bai for his wives’ deaths. Inside the tower, a deadly academy test began, leaving Shen Bai and Wei Feng clashing as students fought for passage to the second floor.

• Emperor Tianyun told Shen Bai about Heavenly River Tower and offered him any treasures he could claim there, and Shen Bai agreed to enter against Boundless Sword King.
• Wei Feng learned Shen Bai would enter the tower and resolved to avenge his two wives, whom he believed had died because of Shen Bai.
• Shen Bai and Wei Feng entered Heavenly River Tower, where a white-haired instructor warned them to attend the lecture and obey the rules.
• After the lecture, the instructor announced that only ninety of the hundred students could advance to the second floor, and the students erupted into battle.
• Shen Bai and Wei Feng drew their swords against each other as they fought for a chance to enter the second floor.

Shen Bai and Wei Feng fought their way through Heavenly River Tower’s second and third floors, then joined the other trainees to defeat the white-haired old man guarding the fourth-floor threshold. Shen Bai claimed three Bizarre Items, while Wei Feng fled ahead; on the fourth floor, a Brocade-clothed Youth began a new lesson and explained the next-floor rules.

• Shen Bai and Wei Feng stopped fighting over entry to the second floor and slaughtered other students to secure places, then repeated their alliance of convenience to reach the third floor.
• After the third-floor lecture, the white-haired old man demanded that the trainees defeat him to advance, and Shen Bai and Wei Feng joined the strongest trainees in attacking him.
• Shen Bai finished off the white-haired old man and took three Bizarre Items from the wooden chest, while Wei Feng escaped up the stairs without claiming a reward.
• Shen Bai drew Cold Moon to pursue Wei Feng, but Wei Feng fled to the fourth floor; Shen Bai followed after the other trainees had taken their rewards.
• On the fourth floor, the Brocade-clothed Youth lectured the trainees and then began explaining how they could enter the next floor.

Shen Bai reached the sixth floor, killed Wei Feng, and battled the Brocade-clothed Youth, whose regenerative power came from a hidden seed. The chapter ended with Shen Bai rushing toward the seed while the Brocade-clothed Youth raised a wall of branches to stop him.

• The Brocade-clothed Youth sealed abilities on the fourth and fifth floors, but Shen Bai discovered that Heavenly River Tower could not seal his Cheat System.
• Shen Bai advanced to the fifth floor while Wei Feng fought his way up, and both entered the next round of teaching before a battle for thirty places erupted.
• Shen Bai cut down the students who surrounded him and reached the sixth floor, while Wei Feng used a secret technique to survive and follow.
• After the Brocade-clothed Youth sealed another ability on the sixth floor, Shen Bai killed Wei Feng and joined the students in attacking their transformed opponent.
• The Brocade-clothed Youth absorbed blood and repeatedly regenerated, but Shen Bai identified the hidden seed sustaining him with the Void-Breaking Red Eye.
• Shen Bai rushed toward the seed, and the Brocade-clothed Youth transformed his hands into branches and blocked the way.

Shen Bai destroyed the Brocade-clothed Youth’s seed on the sixth floor, learned that the Heavenly River Tower was a prison for the Great Qi Divine Dynasty’s condemned martial artists, and climbed to its ninth floor. There, he rejected the Purple-robed Woman’s offer to become an examiner and struggled to overcome her attack-deflecting body, leaving the battle unresolved after she escaped his spatial attack.

• Shen Bai and the students broke through the Brocade-clothed Youth’s branch-wall defenses, and Shen Bai destroyed the seed that sustained the Youth’s endless recovery.
• The Blade-wielding Student explained that the tower held people branded as sinners by the mad emperor of the Great Qi Divine Dynasty, and Shen Bai chose to continue climbing.
• Shen Bai bypassed the seventh-floor trial while the students fought, then reached the ninth floor with the saber wielder, fist user, lightning user, and wind user.
• The Purple-robed Woman offered two students the chance to become examiners, and the lightning user and wind user accepted before she absorbed them and attacked the others.
• The Purple-robed Woman deflected Shen Bai’s and the others’ attacks with her greasy body, but Shen Bai used the Yin-Yang Item Storage Technique to trap her in a closing spatial rift.
• The Purple-robed Woman shrank her body and escaped the spatial rift, leaving Shen Bai facing her still-dangerous power.

Shen Bai defeated the Purple-robed Woman at the top of Heavenly River Tower, then discovered that the apparent exit was guarded by General Weiyuan, who killed two escaping prisoners. Xian Yue revealed the tower’s connection to the Barren Forbidden Land and enlisted Shen Bai to hold General Weiyuan back while she worked to stabilize the tower.

• Shen Bai used the Yin-Yang Item Storage Technique to weaken the Purple-robed Woman, then joined the saber wielder and fist wielder in killing her and claimed three Bizarre Items.
• The saber wielder and fist wielder escaped through the tower’s window, but General Weiyuan killed them, so Shen Bai stayed inside and realized the exit was a trap.
• Xian Yue arrived and explained that General Weiyuan guarded the prisoners, that the Great Qi Divine Dynasty’s emperor had gone mad, and that the tower was an echo of the past connected to the Barren Forbidden Land.
• Xian Yue said Shen Bai’s clearing of the tower threatened to destroy it, then offered him a pearl containing a bizarre being in exchange for his help; Shen Bai accepted after absorbing its Killing Intent.
• Xian Yue weakened General Weiyuan and began setting up an array outside the tower while Shen Bai intercepted the general’s Mo Dao and fought to hold him back.

Shen Bai fought and killed General Weiyuan while Xian Yue stabilized Heavenly River Tower, then questioned her about the Barren Forbidden Land and the Chaos Organization. Xian Yue departed after giving Shen Bai a jade plaque that could save him from a life-and-death crisis involving the Chaos Organization.

• Shen Bai battled General Weiyuan, broke through his blade net, and gradually damaged his golden armor while Xian Yue formed an array to stabilize Heavenly River Tower.
• General Weiyuan attacked Xian Yue, but Shen Bai blocked him and continued fighting until he pierced the crack in General Weiyuan's armor and killed him.
• Xian Yue finished stabilizing Heavenly River Tower, and Shen Bai recovered from his injuries before asking her about the Barren Forbidden Land.
• Xian Yue told Shen Bai that the Drunken Daoist was alive but staying in the Barren Forbidden Land for an opportunity, and said that entering was dangerous for anyone who had not reached the world's peak.
• Xian Yue told Shen Bai that her people existed before the Great Qi Divine Dynasty and that they had many connections to the Chaos Organization.
• Xian Yue gave Shen Bai a jade plaque that would sense a life-and-death crisis involving the Chaos Organization and save him, then began to depart.

Shen Bai returned from Heavenly River Tower, told Emperor Tianyun what he had learned, and journeyed back toward the Great Zhou Dynasty while appraising Bizarre Items that greatly strengthened his swordsmanship and divine arts. As Emperor Shengwu’s health worsened and he prepared to enter the Barren Forbidden Land, he arranged to give Shen Bai an important gift upon his return.

• Shen Bai left Heavenly River Tower, met Emperor Tianyun, and received medicine that healed his lightning-injured hand.
• Shen Bai told Emperor Tianyun about Xian Yue and the secrets of Heavenly River Tower, then learned that Emperor Shengwu’s condition was nearing its limit and agreed to return to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
• Shen Bai appraised Bizarre Items during the journey, raising the Soul Annihilation Sword to level eight and gaining the Return to Origin attribute.
• Shen Bai continued appraising Bizarre Items, improving Divine Thousand-Mile Movement and Poison-Avoiding Spirit Return Art as he drew closer to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
• Emperor Shengwu told Eunuch Chen that he could hold on for only three more months and planned to enter the Barren Forbidden Land, then ordered that Shen Bai be summoned to the palace to receive an old wooden box.

Emperor Shengwu gave Shen Bai a token representing his authority, empowering him to replace the future emperor if necessary, and asked him to take up a post in Qianyuan Capital. Shen Bai accepted both the token and the assignment, and Emperor Shengwu began to explain a matter concerning Zhou Qing.

• Emperor Shengwu told Eunuch Chen he intended to give Shen Bai a powerful token before his remaining three months ran out, then continued working despite coughing blood.
• Shen Bai returned from the Great Nan Kingdom and told Emperor Shengwu what he had learned about Heavenly River Tower and the Barren Forbidden Land.
• Emperor Shengwu gave Shen Bai a token that could help him remove an unjust or incapable successor and take the throne, and Shen Bai accepted it.
• Emperor Shengwu assigned Shen Bai to serve as Capital Director in Qianyuan Capital, where the three great Demonic Factions, restless feudal lords, and local factions threatened the Heavenly Oversight Bureau.
• After Emperor Shengwu explained that the Demonic Factions' strongest members were only at the peak of the Absolute Peak Realm, Shen Bai agreed to go to Qianyuan Capital, and Emperor Shengwu raised Zhou Qing.

Shen Bai learned that Zhou Qing was safe in the Death Realm and received a warning about corruption within Qianyuan Capital’s Heavenly Oversight Bureau. After reaching Qianyuan Capital, he exposed the city’s disorder and confronted its compromised officials, ending with General Dong facing Shen Bai’s demand to kneel and cut out his tongue.

• Emperor Shengwu told Shen Bai that Zhou Qing had been seen in the Great Zhou Dynasty, had reached the Heavenly Spirit Realm, and seemed to be safe in the Death Realm.
• The Chief Director warned Shen Bai that some members of Qianyuan Capital’s Heavenly Oversight Bureau took benefits from Demonic Factions and urged him to trust few people there.
• Shen Bai traveled toward Qianyuan Capital with Hong Zhuang and Amber, then entered the city disguised as an ordinary young man to avoid alerting the local bureau.
• Shen Bai saw the city’s dejected commoners and struck down two soldiers who tried to block his entry, prompting them to report an attack to the Marquis.
• Lord Lin and General Dong confronted Shen Bai with bureau members, and Shen Bai used Cold Moon to pin the attackers to the ground.
• Shen Bai revealed his identity, knocked Lord Lin down, and demanded that General Dong kneel, kowtow three times, and cut out his tongue.

Shen Bai arrived at the Qianyuan Capital Heavenly Oversight Bureau, killed General Dong, and began exposing the bureau’s corruption and Two-faced Individuals. After ordering a purge, he told Han Sanfeng and Hong Yuan that those who deserved to die would be killed.

• Shen Bai wounded General Dong, poisoned Lin Peng, and beheaded General Dong after the general attacked him and declared his loyalty to the Marquis.
• Han Sanfeng arrived, identified himself as the Head of Jia Division, and ordered the scene cleaned before escorting the injured bureau members back.
• Shen Bai entered the Heavenly Oversight Bureau, ordered Lin Peng and the others imprisoned and investigated, then summoned the heads of the Registration and Resource Departments.
• Shen Bai identified several Two-faced Individuals and sent them with Huang Neng to take over assignments; Huang Neng then secretly ordered them to contact the Marquis and the Demonic Faction.
• In the Five-Story Building, Shen Bai reassured Hong Yuan and Han Sanfeng, then declared that he would purge the bureau’s internal problems and execute those who deserved death.

Shen Bai ordered the Heavenly Oversight Bureau to ambush and kill its corrupt Two-faced Individuals, then summoned Huang Neng and told him he wanted him to die. Marquis Jingyuan plotted to use the Demonic Factions against Shen Bai, while the chapter ended with Huang Neng facing Shen Bai in the Five-Story Building.

• Shen Bai rejected Hong Yuan’s concerns and ordered the Bureau to eliminate the Two-faced Individuals on their way to new posts, while reserving Huang Neng for himself.
• Han Sanfeng reassured Hong Yuan that Shen Bai had restrained the returning traitors with a single sword, and Hong Yuan began carrying out Shen Bai’s orders.
• Marquis Jingyuan sent a message about Shen Bai to a Demonic Faction stronghold and planned a welcoming banquet to set a trap for him.
• The Square-faced Man and his allies ambushed and killed Du Sen and the other Two-faced Individuals during a village handover, then returned to report to Shen Bai.
• Huang Neng grew alarmed when his contacts failed to respond and went to meet Shen Bai at the Five-Story Building.
• Shen Bai told Huang Neng that he had summoned him because he wanted him to die.

Shen Bai killed Huang Neng and put Han Sanfeng in charge of the Registration Department, then learned Marquis Jingyuan had invited him to a banquet. As Shen Bai prepared to attend the likely trap, he ordered Han Sanfeng to secure the allegiance of the forces around Qianyuan Capital.

• Shen Bai killed Huang Neng with a net of Sword Qi after Huang Neng tried to flee and threaten nearby commoners.
• Shen Bai ordered Han Sanfeng to lead the Registration Department while the Heavenly Oversight Bureau cleaned up the aftermath.
• Sun De met Daoist Tianyang and Abbot Jingxu, who planned to kill Shen Bai at Marquis Jingyuan's banquet with help from Old Zhao, the Academy Dean of Torch Academy.
• Marquis Jingyuan sent Shen Bai a letter inviting him to a banquet at the military camp in half a month.
• After reading the invitation, Shen Bai agreed to attend and instructed Han Sanfeng to secretly persuade the surrounding forces to pledge allegiance to the Heavenly Oversight Bureau.

Shen Bai gathered martial world factions and enlisted Xing Jingling to help oppose Marquis Jingyuan while he attended the marquis’s banquet alone. After mastering the Earth Spirit Formation Breaking Art, Shen Bai arrived at the military camp, where Marquis Jingyuan killed commoners to provoke him, and Shen Bai struck back with his sword.

• Shen Bai ordered Han Sanfeng to pressure Qianyuan Capital’s martial world factions into joining the fight against Marquis Jingyuan and secluded himself for half a month.
• Shen Bai raised the Primordial Array-Breaking Art to level seven, transforming it into the Earth Spirit Formation Breaking Art, which let him form arrays through earth veins.
• Shen Bai showed Xing Jingling a list of martial world factions willing to resist Marquis Jingyuan and asked him to coordinate with them and the government officers.
• Xing Jingling agreed to lead the effort in Qianyuan Capital as Shen Bai left alone for Marquis Jingyuan’s banquet.
• Marquis Jingyuan shot several captive commoners in front of Shen Bai and mocked him, prompting Shen Bai to launch Sword Qi at the marquis’s throat.

Shen Bai discovered how to control the refuge that Marquis Jingyuan had used to imprison him, then escaped as the battle for Qianyuan Capital turned against Xing Jingling’s defenders. He returned to find the city’s resistance near defeat and charged toward the fighting.

• Shen Bai realized that Marquis Jingyuan had trapped him in the refuge while the marquis and the three Demonic Factions prepared to attack Qianyuan Capital.
• Shen Bai found a hidden mechanism formation, used the Earth Spirit Formation Breaking Art to take control of it, and escaped without destroying the refuge.
• Marquis Jingyuan led his army and the three Demonic Factions toward Qianyuan Capital, where Xing Jingling and the defenders refused to surrender and fought back.
• Marquis Jingyuan’s forces inflicted heavy losses on the defenders, but Xing Jingling, Hong Yuan, Han Sanfeng, and the martial world factions continued to resist.
• Shen Bai returned from the refuge and headed toward Qianyuan Capital as the battle erupted again.

Shen Bai arrived at the desperate battle for Qianyuan Capital and killed the leaders of the three Demonic Factions, then confronted Marquis Jingyuan, whose true body emerged and attacked with the power of his soldiers. Shen Bai caught Marquis Jingyuan’s halberd and countered with a blow to his chest, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Daoist Tianyang attacked the wounded Xing Jingling, but Shen Bai appeared and pierced Tianyang with Cold Moon before finishing him with a golden Buddhist fist.
• Shen Bai used his Dharma-Body Golden Form and Earth Spirit Formation Breaking Art to weaken the enemy army, then killed Abbot Jingxu and Old Zhao as Qianyuan Capital’s defenders surged forward.
• Shen Bai struck down Marquis Jingyuan’s empty false body, prompting the real Marquis Jingyuan to emerge with the Halberd of the Sky and draw power from his soldiers.
• Marquis Jingyuan’s empowered halberd nearly reached Shen Bai, but Shen Bai caught it and used Yin-Yang Qi to create an opening for a counterattack.
• Shen Bai struck Marquis Jingyuan in the chest with a Buddhist-light fist and declared that he would kill him.