Chapter Summaries

Xia Wuji faced Lin Shuang'er in the third round of the Azure Cloud Competition, dodging her Nine Spirits Whip with Soaring Dragon Steps before revealing four flying swords. When Lin Shuang'er thought she had forced him into a head-on clash, Xia Wuji brought out a fifth sword, Lonely Cry.

• Lin Shuang'er tried to provoke Xia Wuji before the match, but he ignored her and she returned to Lin Bin in embarrassment.
• After Yang Hannan started the third round, Lin Shuang'er rushed onto the arena and challenged Xia Wuji, who appeared behind her.
• Lin Shuang'er attacked with the Nine Spirits Whip, but Xia Wuji evaded every strike using Soaring Dragon Steps.
• Xia Wuji summoned Bewitching Heart, Blazing Embers, Lost Life, and Thousand Mechanisms, and Lin Shuang'er met his four-sword attack with her whip.
• Xia Wuji answered Lin Shuang'er's taunt by summoning a fifth flying sword, Lonely Cry, whose sorrowful sword intent filled the arena.

Xia Wuji defeated Lin Shuang'er with Five Sword Convergence, advancing to the top twelve of the Azure Cloud Competition. The other sect leaders’ reactions left his chances of contending for Azure Province’s top rising-generation cultivator in the spotlight.

• Xia Wuji revealed his fifth flying sword and overwhelmed Lin Shuang'er, piercing her spirit armor and defeating her with the five united swords.
• Lin Bin rushed onto the arena to protect his injured granddaughter, but Ren Tianxing intercepted him with the Sun Moon Twin Blades while Yang Hannan stood beside Xia Wuji.
• Ren Tianxing and the other sect leaders rebuked Lin Bin’s impulsive intervention, and Lin Bin carried Lin Shuang'er away for treatment.
• Ren Tianxing praised Xia Wuji for his victory while telling him to keep a lower profile, and Xia Wuji advanced to the top twelve after eliminating seed contestants from two sects.

Si Kongming overwhelmed his opponent with the Raging Dragon Spear Art and set his sights on Xia Wuji as his rival for first place. After Meng Ting defeated Qin Lie, the third round ended with twelve contestants remaining, and Xia Wuji dismissed Si Kongming’s spear art.

• Si Kongming defeated a seventh-layer Yin Yang Realm opponent with one strike of the Raging Dragon Spear Art and drew attention to his Fire Flood Dragon Spear.
• Si Kongming watched Xia Wuji and resolved to win first place to gain the True Dragon Hall’s support for his bid to become Young Hall Master.
• Yi Shengnan lost her match, and Meng Ting defeated Qin Lie after nearly three hundred exchanges to conclude the third round.
• The top twelve were announced, including Xia Wuji and Si Kongming, while seeded contestants from the Sky Eagle Sect and Myriad Law Sect had been eliminated by Xia Wuji.
• Si Kongming told Xia Wuji he was only a slight obstacle to first place, and Xia Wuji replied that Si Kongming’s spear art was not much.

Xia Wuji, Sikongming, and Meng Ting advanced through the Azure Cloud Competition to establish the top three. The final round began with Xia Wuji matched against Meng Ting, while Sikongming waited to fight the winner and loser in his other battles.

• Sikongming drew lot two, Xia Wuji drew lot four, and Meng Ting drew lot five for the fourth round.
• Sikongming defeated a Sky Eagle Sect disciple with the Raging Dragon Spear Art, and Xia Wuji advanced after striking down a Sky Eagle Sect female disciple with Five Sword Convergence.
• Meng Ting, Sikongming, and Xia Wuji each won their top-six match, securing the three places in the final round.
• Yang Hannan announced that each finalist would fight twice, with their records determining first, second, and third place.
• Sikongming drew no battle lot, while Xia Wuji and Meng Ting drew matching lots and prepared to fight first.

The Azure Cloud Competition’s final match was postponed until the next day, giving the three finalists time to prepare while the five top-tier forces made arrangements for the Fiend Extermination Alliance. Xia Wuji and Meng Ting began their battle, which was left unresolved as Meng Ting launched her first attack.

• Li Miaozhen postponed the Azure Cloud Competition final until the next day, and spectators stayed at the arena to wait for it.
• Si Kongming, Meng Ting, and Xia Wuji each prepared for the final, while their leaders urged them to fight at their best without undue pressure.
• The next day, the three finalists arrived at the arena as spectators debated whether Xia Wuji’s Five Sword Convergence could overcome his lower cultivation realm.
• Yang Hannan called Meng Ting and Xia Wuji into the arena, where Meng Ting summoned her spirit cauldron and Seven-Colored Spirit Silk as Xia Wuji displayed five flying swords.
• Meng Ting unleashed her second-level Life and Death Realm power and sent the Seven-Colored Spirit Silk surging toward Xia Wuji.

Xia Wuji defeated Meng Ting in the Azure Cloud Competition after overcoming her two Grade Six spirit artifacts with his flying swords and Soaring Dragon Steps. He secured at least second place, leaving Si Kongming as his opponent for first place.

• Meng Ting attacked Xia Wuji with her Seven-Colored Spirit Silk and thunder arrows, but his five flying swords broke through both assaults.
• Xia Wuji used Five Swords Convergence to tear apart Meng Ting's spirit silk, but her Spirit Cauldron blocked his sword attack and scattered his flying swords.
• Meng Ting sent her enlarged Spirit Cauldron crashing down, but Xia Wuji dodged it with Soaring Dragon Steps and counterattacked with his five flying swords.
• Xia Wuji stopped his swords just before they struck Meng Ting, and she accepted defeat, congratulating him on his skill.
• Si Kongming declared that Xia Wuji was still far too weak to take first place, but Xia Wuji scornfully dismissed him and left the arena.

After defeating Meng Ting in the second battle, Si Kongming insisted on continuing to prove he was stronger than Xia Wuji. Meng Ting’s comparison enraged him, and he challenged Xia Wuji to fight immediately.

• After an hour of treatment and repairs, Meng Ting returned to peak condition and began her battle with Si Kongming.
• Si Kongming destroyed Meng Ting’s Seven-Colored Spirit Silk, badly injured her, and knocked her spirit cauldron off the arena.
• When Si Kongming pressed his attack, Yang Hannan intervened, and Si Kong Bo rebuked his son for going too far.
• Luo Chuan told Meng Ting to admit defeat, and she conceded before telling Si Kongming he was no match for Xia Wuji.
• Enraged by Meng Ting’s words, Si Kongming challenged Xia Wuji to fight at once.

Xia Wuji faced Sikong Ming in the Azure Cloud Competition and initially overwhelmed him by exposing flaws in his spear art. Sikong Ming used the Houtu Spirit Pearl to suppress Xia Wuji’s flying swords and charged again, leaving Xia Wuji to reveal the sword path he had not yet shown.

• Ren Tianxing encouraged Xia Wuji to claim Qingzhou’s first Azure Cloud Competition, and Xia Wuji stepped onto the arena to face Sikong Ming.
• Sikong Ming unleashed the Raging Dragon Spear Art, but Xia Wuji’s five flying swords struck its flaws and shattered the fiery dragon projection.
• Xia Wuji’s swords wounded Sikong Ming, who then used the Houtu Spirit Pearl to pin the five swords in midair.
• Sikong Ming blamed Xia Wuji for his earlier loss of Dragon Qi and charged at him with the Fire Flood Dragon Spear.
• Xia Wuji summoned the Jinghong Sword, and brilliant sword light filled the arena.

Xia Wuji defeated Sikongming to win first place in the Azure Cloud Competition, then the leaders of Qingzhou’s five great powers announced the formation of the Fiend Extermination Alliance. Xia Wuji planned to use the alliance’s campaign against the Twelve Fiends to eliminate the Soul Fiend Evil Lord and prepare to suppress the Soul Clan beneath Yin Mountain.

• Sikongming attacked Xia Wuji, but Xia Wuji unleashed his sword intent and sent him crashing off the Azure Cloud Arena.
• The crowd celebrated Xia Wuji’s victory, and Ren Tianxing praised him as the champion of the Azure Cloud Competition.
• Sikong Bo treated Sikongming’s injuries, thanked Xia Wuji for sparing his son, and later made Sikongming pass out before the awards ceremony.
• Xia Wuji received a Returning Origin Great Restoration Pill as the competition’s champion.
• Li Miaozhen and the leaders of Qingzhou’s other four great powers announced the Fiend Extermination Alliance and invited the region’s factions to join.
• Xia Wuji decided to use the alliance’s momentum to eliminate the Soul Fiend Evil Lord and clear the way to suppress the Soul Clan beneath Yin Mountain.

Xia Wuji asked the True Dragon Hall to forge him a Grade Six Peak Spirit Sword, while Li Miaozhen offered him a future chance to enter the Azure Realm’s Middle Domain. He went to meet Chief Artifact Master Ouyang Shan with a prepared drawing and an artifact-forging inheritance intended to persuade him to take the commission.

• Ren Tianxing asked Li Miaozhen to arrange for Ouyang Shan to forge Xia Wuji a Grade Six Peak Spirit Sword, and she warned that the attempt could easily fail.
• Li Miaozhen invited Xia Wuji to use the True Dragon Hall’s quota to seek entry into the Azure Realm’s Middle Domain when he was ready, and Xia Wuji said he still had matters to handle in Qingzhou.
• Ren Tianxing stayed behind to discuss the Fiend Extermination Alliance while a True Dragon Hall elder escorted Xia Wuji to Ouyang Shan’s residence.
• Xia Wuji gave the elder a drawing of his desired sword and an artifact-forging inheritance to show Ouyang Shan.

Xia Wuji waited at True Dragon Hall for Ouyang Shan to examine his sword blueprint, but Lin Shuang'er and Liang Chuan confronted him and tried to force him to apologize and leave. Xia Wuji defeated Liang Chuan and attacked Lin Shuang'er with his flying swords.

• Xia Wuji waited in Ouyang Shan's rear courtyard while an Artifact Refiner disciple went to deliver his blueprint.
• Lin Shuang'er recognized Xia Wuji and, with Liang Chuan, demanded that he leave; Liang Chuan claimed his master, True Man Lihuo, would take over artifact refining at True Dragon Hall.
• Liang Chuan activated the courtyard's spirit artifacts and threatened Xia Wuji, but Xia Wuji's five swords tore through their power.
• Xia Wuji drew the Jinghong Sword and slashed Liang Chuan across the abdomen, sending him crashing into an artificial mountain with severe injuries.
• Xia Wuji sent his five flying swords toward Lin Shuang'er, piercing her again.

Xia Wuji faced True Man Lihuo after injuring Liang Chuan and Lin Shuang'er, while Ouyang Shan reconsidered the blueprint Xia Wuji had brought him. Just as True Man Lihuo moved to cripple Xia Wuji, Ouyang Shan arrived and knocked him away.

• Xia Wuji defeated Lin Shuang'er, and the True Dragon Hall elder urged him to leave after learning Ouyang Shan planned to retire and had set aside Xia Wuji's blueprint.
• Elder Xu sealed the rear courtyard as Liang Chuan and Lin Shuang'er called for True Man Lihuo, while Xia Wuji prepared to draw on the True Dragon Hall's carved divine dragon if necessary.
• Ouyang Shan resolved to retire rather than let others see his declining skill, but he noticed the Spirit Sword design on Xia Wuji's blueprint and studied it intently.
• True Man Lihuo arrived, rejected Xia Wuji's explanation, and threatened to cripple his cultivation despite the elder's warning about the True Dragon Hall's rules.
• As True Man Lihuo advanced, Xia Wuji stirred the power of the carved divine dragon, but Ouyang Shan suddenly appeared and sent True Man Lihuo flying.

Ouyang Shan exposed True Man Lihuo’s false account, punished him and his allies, and then brought Xia Wuji to his private refining room to ask for the technique on the blueprint. The chapter ended with Ouyang Shan asking Xia Wuji to teach him the complete artifact-refining technique.

• Ouyang Shan arrived and stopped True Man Lihuo from attacking Xia Wuji, then offered to judge what had happened.
• True Man Lihuo claimed Xia Wuji had attacked Lin Shuang'er and Liang Chuan without cause, but Ouyang Shan used a spiritual artifact in the lake to reveal the incident.
• After seeing the scene, Ouyang Shan expelled Liang Chuan and banned Lin Shuang'er from the Artifact Refining Hall, while ordering True Man Lihuo to leave the hall and report to the Hall Master.
• True Man Lihuo killed Liang Chuan, struck Lin Shuang'er, and disowned her and her aunt in anger.
• Ouyang Shan took Xia Wuji to his private artifact-refining room and asked him to teach the complete technique recorded on the blueprint.

Xia Wuji taught Ouyang Shan the Body Tempering Art in exchange for artifact-forging services, then returned to cultivate and broke through to the Yin Yang Realm Fifth Layer. He entered Lin Piaoxue and Wen Shanshan’s bathing room and found the two figures intertwined in the mist.

• Ouyang Shan swore not to reveal the Body Tempering Art or pass it on, and agreed to supply Grade Six Peak Spirit Artifacts to the True Dragon Hall and Sun Moon Sect, but not to the Myriad Law Sect or Sky Eagle Sect.
• Xia Wuji guided Ouyang Shan as he reforged the Jinghong Sword to Sixth Grade Upper Rank, and asked him to forge the blank for a Grade Six Peak Spirit Sword.
• Xia Wuji returned to the Sun Moon Spirit Market, where he learned the Fiend Extermination Alliance had destroyed a Twelve Fiends stronghold and killed Curse Fiend Evil Lord.
• Xia Wuji refined the Jinghong Sword and strengthened the Golden Corpse Sword Puppet during seclusion, then broke through to the Yin Yang Realm Fifth Layer after half a month.
• Xia Wuji entered Lin Piaoxue and Wen Shanshan’s residence at night and found them bathing together amid the steam.

Xia Wuji visited Ren Tianxing, learned about the Fiend Extermination Alliance’s growing conflicts, and was publicly taunted by Hu Hai for staying out of the war. He continued to the True Dragon Hall, where he saved Ouyang Shan’s nearly finished sword embryo and prepared to begin the next forging stage.

• Xia Wuji visited Ren Tianxing and learned that the Fiend Extermination Alliance had fought several campaigns against the Twelve Fiends, while tensions between the Sun Moon Sect, Sky Eagle Sect, and Myriad Law Sect had grown.
• Hu Hai confronted Xia Wuji outside Sun Moon Spirit Market, displayed the heads of enemies he had killed, and mocked him as a coward for avoiding battle.
• Xia Wuji ignored Hu Hai’s taunts and the onlookers’ criticism as he traveled to the True Dragon Hall.
• Xia Wuji entered Ouyang Shan’s refining room and used the Sky Burning Art to control the flames when Ouyang Shan’s strength faltered.
• Xia Wuji and Ouyang Shan completed the Grade Six Peak Spirit Sword’s sword embryo, and Xia Wuji proposed moving on to shaping and sharpening it.

Xia Wuji supervised Ouyang Shan as he forged the shape of a Grade Six Peak Spirit Sword, then accepted a mission to lead the Sun Moon Sect's forces toward Feihong City. He left with Bai Ye and five hundred elite disciples to confront the Twelve Fiends' advance, while rumors questioned whether he would truly fight.

• Xia Wuji guided Ouyang Shan through five days of forging the sword's shape, and Ouyang Shan agreed to sharpen it using the Nine Quench Edge Sharpening Method.
• Xia Wuji learned that the Twelve Fiends and allied demonic forces had attacked small members of the Fiend Extermination Alliance and caused heavy casualties.
• Ren Tianxing told Xia Wuji that the five great forces were sending troops to Feihong City under Bai Ye, and Xia Wuji agreed to represent the Sun Moon Sect in battle.
• Xia Wuji refused to let Lin Piaoxue and Wen Shanshan accompany him, ordered Tu Xin to lie low near Feihong City, and prepared Pengfei to fight.
• Bai Ye and Xia Wuji led five hundred elite Sun Moon Sect disciples out of Qing City toward Feihong City as news spread that Xia Wuji had joined the battle.

The Fiend Extermination Alliance dispatched its forces to answer three sects’ calls for help, while Blade Fiend Evil Lord changed plans to target Xia Wuji at the Blazing Origin Sect. Suspecting the calls were a diversion aimed at Feihong City, Xia Wuji learned a True Dragon Hall Formation Master had prepared a hidden killing formation, and True Dragon Hall elites joined the Sun Moon Sect on the way to the Blazing Origin Sect.

• At Feihong City, Zhang Shengyuan and Liao Kai mocked Xia Wuji for staying behind, and Bai Ye warned them to stop targeting the Sun Moon Sect’s Main Altar Holy Son.
• The five great forces learned that Blade Fiend Evil Lord and the Heart Devouring Sect’s sect master were operating nearby, then divided their forces among three sects requesting reinforcements.
• After Zhou Ming sent the True Dragon Hall, Sun Moon Sect, and Sky Eagle Sect away from Feihong City, Blade Fiend Evil Lord ordered the Heart Devouring Sect and Evil Spirit Son to help capture Xia Wuji alive at the Blazing Origin Sect.
• Bai Ye told Xia Wuji that Zhou Ming suspected a trap and had secretly sent half of the True Dragon Hall’s elites to join them.
• Xia Wuji suggested the three reported threats might be decoys intended to draw forces away from Feihong City, and learned that a True Dragon Hall Formation Master had hidden a sixth-tier, mid-grade killing formation there.
• True Dragon Hall elites joined the Sun Moon Sect’s forces, and they continued toward the Blazing Origin Sect.

Xia Wuji and reinforcements from the Sun Moon Sect and True Dragon Hall saved the Blazing Origin Sect from a fiend cultivator assault. After learning that a much larger Heart Devouring Sect force with two Nirvana Realm cultivators was approaching, Xia Wuji warned Bai Ye and prepared for a greater battle at the sect.

• Bai Ye led the Sun Moon Sect and True Dragon Hall into the battle, where Xia Wuji and Pengfei cut down fiend cultivators and Xia Wuji killed a fourth-layer Life and Death Realm enemy with one sword.
• The reinforcements routed the fiend cultivators besieging the Blazing Origin Sect, and Bai Ye ordered the sect's defenses repaired while their forces stayed on guard.
• Tu Xin reported to Xia Wuji that more than two thousand people, including the Heart Devouring Sect's sect master and another Nirvana Realm cultivator, were nearby.
• Xia Wuji ordered Tu Xin's assassins to tail the group without attacking, then went to find Bai Ye and prepare for the approaching threat.

Xia Wuji persuaded Bai Ye and Li Jun to launch a surprise attack on the Heart Devouring Sect before Blade Fiend Evil Lord arrived. The ambush exposed the fiendish cultivators’ hideout, and the two sides began fighting with Evil Spirit Son facing Li Jun and Xia Wuji.

• Xia Wuji warned Bai Ye that fiendish cultivators were targeting the Blazing Origin Sect, and Bai Ye gathered Li Jun and the sect master to discuss their response.
• Xia Wuji proposed attacking the two Nirvana Realm enemies before Blade Fiend Evil Lord arrived, and Bai Ye assured Li Jun that Xia Wuji could help defeat Evil Spirit Son.
• Evil Spirit Son urged the Heart Devouring Madman to attack, but the Heart Devouring Madman insisted they wait for Blade Venerable’s orders.
• Sun Moon Sect, True Dragon Hall, and Blazing Origin Sect forces ambushed the Heart Devouring Sect’s valley with talisman arrows, killing several cultivators.
• The Heart Devouring Madman charged at Bai Ye while Evil Spirit Son attacked Li Jun and Xia Wuji, who prepared to end the fight swiftly.

Xia Wuji used the Golden Corpse Sword Puppet and his sword techniques to kill Evil Spirit Son, then helped Bai Ye defeat the Heart Devouring Madman. As Blade Fiend Evil Lord arrived, Xia Wuji prepared to face him.

• Li Jun charged Evil Spirit Son but was trapped by his bone whip, and Xia Wuji intervened from Pengfei’s back with five flying swords.
• The Golden Corpse Sword Puppet caught and shattered Evil Spirit Son’s bone whip, wounded him, and gave Xia Wuji the opening to kill him with the True Martial Sword Art.
• The Golden Corpse Sword Puppet distracted the Heart Devouring Madman while Bai Ye struck him repeatedly, and together they killed him.
• Li Jun returned to the fight against the evil faction cultivators as Xia Wuji’s allies pressed their advantage.
• Blade Fiend Evil Lord arrived and launched a massive blade aura at Xia Wuji, who prepared to fight him.