Chapter Summaries

Chu Huai Xu received a Black Gold Robe and gained more than fifty thousand Experience Points by drinking potent Spirit Wine. As he slept, a mist-shrouded woman killed him in a vivid dream, and he returned to face her again.

• Chu Yinyin gave Chu Huai Xu the Black Gold Robe, a Mid-grade Spirit Artifact that protected him and slightly increased his speed.
• Chu Yinyin gave Chu Huai Xu Spirit Wine, and he gained more than fifty thousand Experience Points before she stopped him from drinking more.
• Chu Huai Xu returned to his room, meditated until the wine's discomfort passed, and then fell asleep.
• Chu Yinyin told Shen Man about Chu Huai Xu and his expected role in the East-West Continent Grand Competition, and Shen Man prepared her wooden hairpin with a sword sign.
• Chu Huai Xu dreamed that a mist-shrouded woman killed him with a sword, then returned to face her and declared that he would not let her bully him in his dream.

Chu Huai Xu endured repeated deaths in a strange dream before waking and discovering that Shen Man had placed him in a thirty-day Sword Domain trial. He learned that the trial could reward him with Comprehension and, with an A rating, Sword Intent, but he had no idea how to survive it well enough to earn that rating.

• Chu Huai Xu was killed ten times by a woman in the fog, then found himself in a blank space and suspected someone powerful had trapped him.
• The woman appeared again, killed him another thirty times, and Chu Huai Xu eventually jolted awake in the Bamboo House after about three hours.
• Chu Huai Xu checked the mission interface and found Shen Man's long-term Sword Domain trial, which had been running through his consciousness while he slept.
• Chu Huai Xu realized Shen Man had both Clear Heart Sword and a Seventh Realm Sword Domain, and guessed she was trying to teach him through the trial.
• Chu Huai Xu saw that the thirty-day mission could grant Comprehension and potentially Sword Intent for an A rating, but he could not work out how to earn it.
• Chu Huai Xu recalled his improper thoughts about the woman in the dream and felt relieved that he had not been able to act on them.

Chu Huai Xu endured Shen Man’s sword training and learned two sorceries, demonstrating their power to Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing. That night, although he stayed awake, he entered the foggy training space again and faced Shen Man.

• Shen Man realized her Sword Domain had exposed Chu Huai Xu’s thoughts during their training and regretted accepting him as her disciple.
• At breakfast, Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing wondered why Chu Huai Xu looked dispirited, while he ate with sudden intensity and returned to his room.
• Chu Huai Xu spent about sixty thousand Experience Points to raise [Flying Profound] and [Fingertip Thunder] to Minor Accomplishment.
• Chu Huai Xu demonstrated [Fingertip Thunder] by blasting a stone with a leaf, then used [Flying Profound] to return to his bedroom in an afterimage.
• That night, Chu Huai Xu stayed awake but entered the blank, mist-filled space and saw the Slender Daoist Nun waiting with her sword.

Chu Huai Xu endured another night of Shen Man’s deadly trials, then prepared for the Eastern and Western Continents’ First Realm Grand Competition and took Han Shuangjiang on their agreed walk. When Han Shuangjiang accidentally discovered a hidden entrance inside a Maple Tree, Chu Huai Xu grabbed her hand and asked her to pull him in too.

• Shen Man repeatedly killed and revived Chu Huai Xu during their nightly trial, and both awoke at dawn with the experience in their minds.
• Chu Huai Xu gathered pills and told Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing that he wanted them to take the top three places in the Eastern Continent’s First Realm Grand Competition.
• Chu Huai Xu offered to lend Han Shuangjiang Contribution Points for Profound Grade techniques, then reminded her that they had agreed to go out that night.
• Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang walked together through the woods, where they passed a pair of Outer Sect disciples and continued toward the Secret Realm.
• Han Shuangjiang touched a protrusion on a Maple Tree and began sinking into its trunk, so Chu Huai Xu grabbed her hand and urged her to pull him in with her.

Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang entered the Annual Rings Duo Dungeon, cleared its springlike first level, and stepped into a scorching summer level. Chu Huai Xu silenced the cicadas with his Heart Sword, and both of them suddenly aged ten years in appearance.

• Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang passed through the Maple Tree and entered the Annual Rings Duo Dungeon, where they found a bright, grassy realm and a stone gate.
• Green Leaf Tornadoes attacked them, and Han Shuangjiang fought with Partridge Sky while Chu Huai Xu dodged the leaves and protected her from a strike to the face.
• Chu Huai Xu shattered the tornado pursuing him by flicking a leaf with [Fingertip Thunder], and Han Shuangjiang thanked him and acknowledged the gap between their strength.
• They crossed a flower-covered Lawn and opened the stone gate, entering a hot, cicada-filled passage that Chu Huai Xu identified as the summer level.
• The cicadas' cries made them dizzy and irritable, but Chu Huai Xu used his Heart Sword to silence them, after which both he and Han Shuangjiang appeared ten years older.

Inside the Year Ring Secret Realm, Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang aged from youth to middle age as they passed through summer into autumn. Chu Huai Xu’s attempt to break the realm with his Heart Sword failed, and he realized they might keep aging if they remained trapped in a stage.

• Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang found themselves aged into their thirties, though their cultivation and strength remained intact.
• They walked through the sweltering summer forest and reached a stone door among scholar trees, where Chu Huai Xu connected the stage to his name.
• Chu Huai Xu opened the door, and they entered an autumn forest of parasol trees, where they had aged another ten years.
• Chu Huai Xu tried to break the realm with his Heart Sword, but it had no effect.
• Han Shuangjiang noticed that the last black strands of Chu Huai Xu’s hair had turned white, suggesting they continued aging while stuck in a stage.

Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang searched the Parasol Tree Forest for the next stone door and discovered that the exit lay above them. They broke through the living canopy and crashed through the door together, crossing into the next stage as their hair turned completely white.

• Chu Huai Xu realized the Secret Realm consumed their lifespans and discovered the stone door above the Parasol Tree canopy.
• Chu Huai Xu carried Han Shuangjiang up through the trees after she agreed, and they attacked the dense branches together.
• The branches began closing around the opening, so Chu Huai Xu used seven Sword Qi stored in Calming the Waves to cut a path toward the stone door.
• Chu Huai Xu protected Han Shuangjiang in his arms and slammed his back into the stone door, forcing it open.
• Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang flew across the doorway, and their hair turned completely white as they crossed its boundary.

Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang entered the Winter trial of the Year Ring Secret Realm, where a powerful Sword Domain awakened around Enlightenment Lake. Dao Sect elders recognized it as the Reincarnation Sword Domain of the Second Temple Master, and discovered that Chu Yinyin’s future disciple was inside the inheritance realm.

• Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang survived their fall onto the ice lake, but the Winter trial turned their hair white and their faces old.
• The pair found a stele naming the lake Enlightenment Lake, and a snowfall revealed the aura of a Sword Domain.
• Xiang Yan and the Dao Sect elders gathered at Medicine Mountain and identified the Domain as likely belonging to the Second Temple Master, Yan Shen.
• Chu Yinyin learned that the inheritance was probably left by the Ninth Realm swordswoman who wielded the Reincarnation Sword Domain.
• The elders congratulated Chu Yinyin after revealing that her future precious disciple was inside the Inheritance Secret Realm.

Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang entered the frozen lake’s inheritance, where they comprehended Yan Shen’s Reincarnation Sword Domain as time rapidly aged them. Chu Huai Xu gave up the costly Sword Intent reward in favor of a point of Comprehension, and the chapter ended as Han Shuangjiang awakened amid a mirrored world beneath the ice.

• Chu Yinyin and the others learned that Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang were inside the inheritance and hoped Chu Huai Xu would gain strength for the coming Origin Spirit Realm.
• Partridge Sky trembled at the Sword Domain until Chu Huai Xu calmed it, and he and Han Shuangjiang sat down to comprehend the inheritance together.
• Chu Huai Xu’s system offered him Reincarnation Sword Intent for 270,000 Experience Points or one Comprehension after the instance ended, and he chose the Comprehension reward.
• As the timed instance drained their vitality, Chu Huai Xu watched Han Shuangjiang age and struggled to keep his eyes open.
• Han Shuangjiang opened her eyes, melted the snow with a mysterious aura, and revealed a youthful mirrored world beneath the ice.

Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang escaped the Annual Rings Secret Realm, where Han Shuangjiang gained the Reincarnation Sword Intent and Chu Huai Xu advanced his Clear Heart Sword realm. Back in the Maple Tree Forest, the Dao Sect elders learned of their gains, and Chu Huai Xu ended the chapter by telling Han Shuangjiang he truly wanted to teach her.

• Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang returned to their youthful forms as they cleared the Annual Rings instance and received its rewards.
• Chu Huai Xu told Han Shuangjiang he had entered the Clear Heart Sword realm, while she realized she had comprehended Sword Intent.
• A Teleportation Array returned them to the Maple Tree Forest, where the Dao Sect Sect Leader and Elders discovered Han Shuangjiang had gained the Reincarnation Sword Intent.
• Li Chunsong explained that the Secret Realm held the inheritance of Yan Shen, the Second Generation Temple Master, and the elders praised Han Shuangjiang.
• Chu Yinyin plotted to make Han Shuangjiang her True Disciple, while Chu Huai Xu demonstrated that he had mastered two sorceries to Minor Accomplishment.
• After Li Chunsong said Chu Huai Xu could keep the sorceries and teach them to others, Chu Huai Xu told Han Shuangjiang that he really did want to teach her.

Chu Huai Xu helped Han Shuangjiang learn [Flying Profound] and [Solemn Snow] while Xu Ziqing advanced toward opening his Ninth Aperture. As the East Continent Grand Competition drew near, Xu Ziqing opened that final aperture under Chu Huai Xu’s watch, leaving Chu Huai Xu wondering whether the breakthrough would cause the same upheaval as his own.

• Han Shuangjiang accepted Chu Huai Xu’s [Flying Profound] Jade slip, then later borrowed Contribution Points to obtain [Solemn Snow] and trained in both techniques.
• Chu Huai Xu sparred with Han Shuangjiang using [Flying Profound] and repeatedly caught her, while Xu Ziqing used pills to open his Eighth Aperture.
• The Dao Sect announced that registration for the East Continent Grand Competition would begin in ten days, and Niu Yuanshan anticipated Chu Huai Xu’s participation while favoring the Moon Kingdom’s Prince Rui’s Heir.
• Chu Huai Xu warned Xu Ziqing that opening his Ninth Aperture would be agonizing, then protected him as he began the breakthrough.
• After an incense stick of time, Xu Ziqing opened his Ninth Aperture, and Chu Huai Xu wondered whether mastering Sword Refining Art would trigger a similar upheaval to his own.

After Xu Ziqing opened all nine apertures, Chu Huai Xu sent him to the Scripture Pavilion to choose a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method. Xu Ziqing faced the Pavilion’s barriers while other disciples watched, and the White-Robed Steward reacted in surprise as he raised two fingers.

• Xu Ziqing passed out from the pain of opening his ninth aperture, and Chu Huai Xu watched over him through the night.
• After Xu Ziqing woke, Chu Huai Xu confirmed his physique had grown stronger and told him to choose a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method at the Scripture Pavilion.
• Xu Ziqing went to the crowded Scripture Pavilion alone and heard disciples discussing Chu Huai Xu’s reputation and chances in the East Continent Grand Competition.
• Xu Ziqing registered to challenge the barriers, steadied himself by recalling Chu Huai Xu’s advice, and raised two fingers before the first barrier.
• The White-Robed Steward exclaimed in surprise at Xu Ziqing’s gesture.

Xu Ziqing broke through all four Scripture Pavilion barriers and chose the Heaven Grade Ice Muscle Jade Bone Heart Method, which best matched his abilities despite his embarrassment over its name. After three days of painful cultivation and brutal training with Chu Huai Xu, he reached the First Heaven, and they hurried to obtain the Pass wooden token for Hidden Spirit Mountain.

• Xu Ziqing pierced the Yellow, Profound, Earth, and Heaven Grade barriers in one continuous push and credited Chu Huai Xu with teaching him the technique.
• Xu Ziqing chose the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Heart Method after finding that the other Heaven Grade methods did not suit his aptitude.
• Chu Huai Xu teased Xu Ziqing about the method’s name, then arranged pills and medicinal baths and warned him that Body Tempering would involve beatings.
• Xu Ziqing endured three days of painful cultivation, medicinal baths, and Chu Huai Xu’s training until he barely reached the First Heaven.
• Chu Huai Xu urged Xu Ziqing to get the Pass wooden token and accompanied him, while Han Shuangjiang wondered why he was suddenly so eager to go.

Xu Ziqing received permission to climb Hidden Spirit Mountain and entered the mountain seeking a Spirit Sword. As Xu Ziqing vanished into the fog, Chu Huai Xu asked Nangong Yue how he could obtain another pass token to climb again.

• Mo Qingmei registered Xu Ziqing, discovered that he practiced the Ice Muscle Jade Bone Heart Method, and issued him a charred-black wooden token.
• Chu Huai Xu accompanied Xu Ziqing to the Hidden Spirit Courtyard, where Nangong Yue arrived and escorted them to the Mountain Foot.
• Xu Ziqing began climbing the Stone Steps, endured the Spiritual Pressure, and disappeared into the mountain fog.
• Chu Huai Xu watched Xu Ziqing climb and asked Nangong Yue whether he could obtain another Pass wooden token.

Xu Ziqing climbed Hidden Spirit Mountain seeking a Spirit Sword, but the artifacts mostly ignored him until a Jade Pendant showed interest. When it suddenly stopped responding, Nangong Yue discovered that the sword at the summit was suppressing the other artifacts and preventing them from choosing him.

• Nangong Yue let Chu Huai Xu watch Xu Ziqing climb the mountain through a Secret Art.
• Xu Ziqing passed the Low-grade Spirit Swords without attracting any interest and continued toward the summit after several niche Mid-grade Spirit Artifacts chose him.
• Xu Ziqing reached the mountaintop area, where a Jade Pendant suited to Body Cultivators began inviting him, though he hesitated because he wanted a Spirit Sword.
• The Jade Pendant abruptly stopped responding to Xu Ziqing, and Nangong Yue sensed that the sword at the summit was suppressing it.
• Nangong Yue sent a Telepathic Message summoning the Sect Leader and others, warning that the summit sword had become restless and was stopping artifacts from choosing Xu Ziqing.

Xu Ziqing climbed Hidden Spirit Mountain while the sealed Bronze Sword stirred his grief and obsession, driving him toward despair. As he reached the summit, the sword began calling to him, awaiting the one destined to become its Sword Attendant.

• Xiang Yan and the Dao Sect elders gathered at Hidden Spirit Mountain and agreed to give Xu Ziqing the Jade Pendant if the mountain’s changes left him with nothing.
• Xu Ziqing continued climbing, blaming himself for hesitating and worrying that he would disappoint Chu Huai Xu.
• The Bronze Sword’s influence intensified Xu Ziqing’s grief over his murdered family and his desperation to gain power.
• Xu Ziqing tried to take a bloodthirsty saber, but its formations burned his hand and knocked him back.
• Xu Ziqing reached the summit in despair, then felt the Bronze Sword calling him closer as Hidden Spirit Mountain trembled with its excitement.

Xu Ziqing reached the summit of Hidden Spirit Mountain and was chosen by the Bronze Sword, which tried to make him its Sword Attendant and take control of his body. As he fought its will and crashed into the Junzi Tablet, the sentence Chu Huai Xu had carved there struck him.

• The Bronze Sword read Xu Ziqing's thoughts, punished him with Spiritual Pressure, and damaged his Sea of Consciousness before the wisp of evil thought inside him vanished.
• Xu Ziqing respectfully bowed to the sword and approached it, driven by his desire to gain strength and avenge his family.
• When Xu Ziqing touched the Bronze Sword, part of it entered his Spirit Fetus, and the clash between their wills wounded him and sent him flying into the Junzi Tablet.
• The sword tried to control Xu Ziqing's body as golden halos and runes appeared on him and the Bronze Sword.
• Xu Ziqing saw Chu Huai Xu's words on the Junzi Tablet: "A gentleman makes use of things, but is not used by things."

Xu Ziqing resisted the Bronze Sword’s attempt to take control of his body, while the Dao Sect’s leaders struggled to understand why the sword’s seal had not worked as expected. Chu Yinyin declared that Chu Huai Xu was the true Chosen One, and Xu Ziqing reclaimed control before collapsing unconscious.

• Xu Ziqing drew strength from the Junzi Tablet’s words as the Bronze Sword’s Spirit tried to reshape his Spiritual Embryo and control his body.
• Xiang Yan and the elders concluded that Xu Ziqing’s unusual strength had disrupted the Dao Ancestor’s plan, leaving neither him nor the sword able to dominate the other.
• Chu Yinyin claimed that Chu Huai Xu was the real Chosen One and blamed the Evil Sword for choosing Xu Ziqing instead.
• Xiang Yan noted that the Swordless One and the Sword Attendant each lacked what the other had, but only one person could enter the Origin Spirit Realm.
• The Restrictions on Xu Ziqing’s palm and the Bronze Sword fully formed, suppressing the little sword in his Spirit Fetus and restoring his control.
• Xu Ziqing repeated the Junzi Tablet’s words, wondered if he had succeeded, and collapsed unconscious.

After Xu Ziqing became a partial Sword Attendant, the Dao Sect decided to cultivate both him and Chu Huai Xu as candidates for the Origin Spirit Realm, with the East Continent Grand Competition likely to decide who would go. Meanwhile, the Storyteller and the Dao Sect Second Elder headed back to the sect, but the Storyteller sensed more Evil Cultivators before they could leave the Northern Wilderness Mountains.

• Xiang Yan said Xu Ziqing was alive but his Spirit Fetus might be damaged, and Li Chunsong brought the unconscious youth down from Hidden Spirit Mountain without the Bronze Sword.
• Chu Huai Xu told the elders about Xu Ziqing’s remarkable talent in martial arts, swordsmanship, and sorcery, then was sent away with Chu Yinyin.
• Xiang Yan decided that Chu Huai Xu would continue his cultivation while Xu Ziqing learned the Dao Ancestor’s Sword Nurturing Technique, and that the East Continent Grand Competition might determine which one entered the Origin Spirit Realm.
• In the Northern Wilderness Mountains, the Storyteller and the Dao Sect Second Elder found and killed hidden Evil Cultivators before setting off toward the sect.
• The Storyteller sensed more Evil Cultivators nearby and vanished, leaving the Dao Sect Second Elder to wonder how long their return journey would take.

Han Shuangjiang and Chu Huai Xu waited for Xu Ziqing while the Dao Sect elders examined the unconscious youth and learned how a pill had helped him resist the Bronze Sword. The elders weighed the burdens of the sword and their duty to respect the youths’ choices, then asked Shen Man how Chu Huai Xu’s sword training was progressing.

• Han Shuangjiang prepared a celebratory meal, and Chu Huai Xu told her Xu Ziqing had reached the summit, taken the Bronze Sword, and been injured.
• Chu Huai Xu explained that the sword’s power remained sealed and that holding it did not make Xu Ziqing invincible.
• Nangong Yue found minor damage to Xu Ziqing’s Spirit Fetus and discovered he had previously taken an Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill.
• The elders realized the pill Chu Yinyin had given Chu Huai Xu may have prevented Xu Ziqing from being fully suppressed by the Sword Spirit, and they discussed respecting both youths’ choices despite the sword’s cost.
• Chu Yinyin blamed the Junior Uncle for being absent, and Shen Man supported her; Xiang Yan then asked Shen Man about Chu Huai Xu’s training, and she answered, “Quick Sword. Sword Intent.”