Chapter Summaries

With Chu Sheng leading the Northern Garrison Army toward Central Prefecture, the Federation's leaders debated how to stop him and settled on delaying negotiations while preparing the Demon Sealing Array. Ji Qingyang was left questioning why Chu Sheng had chosen his own path over Great Xia's peace.

• The Federation leaders learned that Chu Sheng had killed Li Wenlong, reached Martial Saint Peak, destroyed the Barbarian Tribe, and marched the Northern Garrison Army toward Hanfeng Pass.
• Long Xiaoxiao warned that using Cheng Ye as leverage would fail because Chu Sheng would not sacrifice himself and might kill Cheng Ye rather than let the Federation control him.
• Ji Qingyang rejected the idea of relying on the Star Alliance, whose silence left the Federation without outside help.
• Ji Qingyang presented negotiation or battle as the Federation's choices, but Long Xiaoxiao revealed that Chu Sheng could regenerate after his heart was destroyed.
• Long Xiaoxiao proposed delaying through negotiations while preparing the Demon Sealing Array, and Ji Qingyang understood that it was their only way to deal with Chu Sheng.
• After the others left, Ji Qingyang wondered whether Great Xia's peace could not compare with the road Chu Sheng had chosen.

As Chu Sheng led a hundred thousand rebels south against the Federation, his former classmates in Baian City learned that he had become a Martial Saint Peak expert and launched a rebellion. The chapter ended with Chu Sheng watching the messages flood the Dragon Martial Academy Class of 2163 Freshmen Group.

• The class monitor toasted Zhao Lei and Chen Xue for entering martial arts junior college at their farewell banquet.
• The classmates reminisced about school and wondered how Chu Sheng was faring in Northern Barren Prefecture.
• Emergency alerts reported that Chu Sheng had killed Ling Wenlong, seized command of a hundred thousand troops, and marched south against the Federation.
• The classmates saw an image identifying Chu Sheng as a Stage Eight Peak expert and struggled to reconcile his rebellion with their memories of him.
• Chu Sheng watched the messages flood the Dragon Martial Academy Class of 2163 Freshmen Group.

A freshman group chat erupted over displays of wealth and martial prowess when Xie Wendong challenged a supposed Chu Sheng. Chu Sheng proved his identity with an image from Hanfeng Pass, leaving Xie stunned and the academy shutting down the chat as alarming Northern Frontier reports spread.

• Lincoln asked whether his family’s convoy of one hundred and twenty vehicles could enter campus, prompting freshmen to boast about their powerful escorts and resources.
• Xie Wendong displayed more than twenty martial artists, including several Stage Seven experts, and asked whether Dragon Martial Academy had gangs.
• Xie Wendong revealed he was at Stage Three First Level, earning praise from the group and an offer from Teacher Li to apply for an assessment and receive an additional instructor.
• A new member named Chu Sheng claimed Stage Eight Peak, and Xie Wendong challenged him to a face-off in Central Prefecture.
• Chu Sheng sent an image of Northern Garrison Army forces at Hanfeng Pass, convincing the freshmen that he was real and leaving Xie Wendong ashen.
• Teacher Li suspended the group chat as members saw reports of the Northern Garrison Army entering Hanfeng Pass, martial law at Shuofang Pass, and accusations that Chu Sheng had slaughtered civilians.

After Chu Sheng destroyed the Noble Clans of Northern Barren Prefecture, his reforms shifted public opinion and drew the attention of Great Xia’s leadership. Ji Qingyang called for a parliamentary conference and sent Xiang Feng to offer peace talks, while the Illumination Society pledged to support Chu Sheng’s new laws.

• Jingwu Bureau personnel and Noble Clan descendants from Xuanhan Prefecture organized the aftermath of Chu Sheng’s destruction of nearly six hundred Noble Clans.
• Netizens shared accounts of Noble Clan abuses, and Chu Sheng’s new laws for public martial arts education, resource access, and equal law enforcement transformed public opinion.
• Ji Qingyang ordered an emergency Federal Parliament conference to discuss Chu Sheng’s reforms and instructed Xiang Feng to ask him to give Great Xia a chance.
• Xiang Feng’s peace delegation approached Hanfeng Pass, and he pledged the Illumination Society’s full support for implementing the new laws.

Chu Sheng rejected the Federation’s reform offer and killed Xiang Feng and the accompanying delegation after Xiang Feng revealed his ties to the Illumination Society. He ordered his army to march on Shuofang Pass before dawn.

• Xiang Feng told Chu Sheng that the Federation had approved Northern Barren Prefecture as a reform pilot and offered the Illumination Society’s support.
• Chu Sheng accused Xiang Feng and the Illumination Society of plotting rebellion, then declared that his own force determined what counted as justice.
• Chu Sheng killed Xiang Feng and ordered his guards to execute the Federation delegation and sacrifice their heads to the banner.
• Chu Sheng commanded the entire army to break camp and march on Shuofang Pass before dawn.

After the Federation learned that Chu Sheng had killed the peace delegation and was advancing on Shuofang Pass, Ji Qingyang appointed Baili Qiuchi commander to hold the pass for a day. As Chu Sheng’s army arrived using the Thousand Army Blade Forging Formation, Baili Qiuchi declared that the formation had serious flaws and that its failure could devastate his troops.

• Ji Qingyang suspended martial resources reform and ordered Central Prefecture to prepare Shuofang Pass, sending one hundred thousand Central Army troops and requesting a Stage Six martial artist from each Noble Clan.
• Baili Qiuchi volunteered to command the defense, arguing that her Purple Mansion Soul Locking Technique could exploit Chu Sheng’s Inner Demons and restrain him.
• Ji Qingyang gave Baili Qiuchi command of the Central Army and the Noble Clan reinforcements, tasking her with holding the pass for one day.
• At dawn, Chu Sheng’s army approached Shuofang Pass and formed the Thousand Army Blade Forging Formation, combining the strength of one hundred thousand soldiers to raise his power near Stage Nine.
• Baili Qiuchi told the defenders that the formation was riddled with flaws and warned that Chu Sheng risked losing many troops if his gamble failed.

Baili Qiuchi identified the Thousand Army Blade Forging Formation’s vulnerable nodes and rallied the defenders to destroy them while she locked down Chu Sheng’s consciousness. Just as the defenders prepared to spring their trap at Shuofang Pass, Chu Sheng appeared inside its protective formation, unharmed.

• Baili Qiuchi explained that destroying the Stage Six generals serving as formation nodes would collapse the qi network and backlash against Chu Sheng.
• Baili Qiuchi said her Purple Mansion Soul Locking Technique could immobilize Chu Sheng for only ten breaths, and ordered the Noble Clan martial artists to destroy the nodes during that window.
• Baili Qiuchi warned that Shuofang Pass’s fall would bring the destruction of the Northern Barren Prefecture’s Noble Clans and expose the Central Prefecture to invasion.
• Old General Han, a Xie family swordsman, and the other martial artists vowed to defend Shuofang Pass even at the cost of their lives.
• As the Northern Garrison Army advanced within one hundred zhang of the pass, Baili Qiuchi began the countdown and prepared to lock Chu Sheng’s consciousness.
• Before Baili Qiuchi could say “one,” Chu Sheng appeared inside Shuofang Pass’s protective grand formation without a trace of damage.

Chu Sheng confronted the defenders at Shuofang Pass, revealed that he could sense their past killing intent, and destroyed the watchtower with overwhelming golden spiritual energy. He left Baili Qiuchi mortally wounded and finished her off, earning ten million Justice Points.

• Chu Sheng revealed that at least half the people in the watchtower had once harbored killing intent toward him, leaving them terrified.
• Baili Qiuchi ordered the defenders to follow their plan and attacked Chu Sheng with the Purple Mansion Soul Locking Technique, but it failed to affect him.
• Chu Sheng unleashed golden spiritual energy that destroyed Old General Han, the other Martial Artists, and the watchtower.
• Baili Qiuchi survived the blast only to be left gravely wounded beneath the ruins, lamenting that she had failed her Ancestor.
• Chu Sheng struck Baili Qiuchi with golden spiritual light, killing her and gaining ten million Justice Points.

Chu Sheng forced the Central Army at Shuofang Pass to execute Noble Clan descendants among their ranks, killing Commander Zhao Feng and devastating the pass when the soldiers resisted. The soldiers began turning on their comrades as Chu Sheng watched, leaving the purge underway.

• Zhao Feng ordered the Central Army to surrender rather than fight Chu Sheng.
• Chu Sheng gave the soldiers one hour to find and execute every Noble Clan descendant in their army.
• Zhao Feng refused to order his soldiers to kill their comrades, and Chu Sheng shot him dead.
• Chen Guang denounced Chu Sheng, who blasted a breach into the pass wall and demanded the soldiers choose whether to kill.
• A young soldier urged the Central Army to attack their Noble Clan comrades, and the soldiers began killing one another while Chu Sheng watched.

Federation and Noble Clan leaders prepared to activate the Nine Heavens Demon Sealing Array to suppress Chu Sheng, while Long Canglan recalled Chu Sheng’s ultimatum to the Long Family. A Long Family elder revealed that the family’s ancestor—not Long Canglan—had protected Chu Sheng, leaving the gathered leaders stunned.

• Ji Qingyang reported that the remaining spiritual-vein nodes would be connected and the Nine Heavens Demon Sealing Array activated within four days.
• Baili Xun and Wei Teng discussed the array’s ability to keep Central Prefecture safe if Chu Sheng reached Rank 9, while Long Canglan remained solemn.
• Long Canglan recalled Long Xiaoxiao telling him that Chu Sheng had once offered the Long Family a chance to choose.
• Chu Sheng told Long Xiaoxiao that the Long Family could either die immediately or be slaughtered after he flattened Central Prefecture, and he explained his resolve to end Noble Clan rule.
• Wei Teng and the other leaders blamed the Long Family for protecting Chu Sheng, but a Long Family elder said their ancestor had made that decision, shocking everyone.

Long Canglan revealed that Long Yufei had been searching for Chu Sheng for five hundred years and ordered the Long Family to protect him and send him off Jining Star. The Noble Clan leaders debated the order, but Long Jianhong ended the chapter by announcing that Shuofang Pass had fallen.

• Long Canglan activated Long Yufei’s jade slip, which ordered the Long Family to protect Chu Sheng and send him to the Cangwu Starfield.
• Long Canglan revealed that the jade slip had been sent five hundred years earlier and that Chu Sheng matched the person Long Yufei had described.
• Wei Teng and the other Noble Clan leaders focused on Chu Sheng’s threat, while Baili Xun agreed to send him away only if he put down his weapon.
• Zhong Zhennan and the other leaders demanded Chu Sheng’s secrets and cultivation resources, then celebrated when Long Canglan said Chu Sheng had refused to leave Jining Star.
• Long Jianhong rushed in and announced that Shuofang Pass had fallen.

After Shuofang Pass fell and Baili Qiuchi and the reinforcements were reported dead, Ji Qingyang’s command room confronted the threat posed by Chu Sheng’s ability to bypass defenses. Ji Qingyang proposed releasing Cheng Ye to weaken the Northern Garrison Army’s resolve and slow its advance, then went to ask Cheng Ye to cooperate.

• Long Jianhong reported that Chu Sheng had appeared inside Shuofang Pass’s intact grand array and killed Baili Qiuchi and the other reinforcements, while the central army surrendered.
• The commanders realized Chu Sheng’s ability could render their defensive arrays and military formations useless, and that the Northern Garrison Army could reach the New Capital before the Demon Sealing Array was ready.
• Ji Qingyang proposed releasing Cheng Ye so the Northern Garrison Army would lose its reason to keep fighting and would advance more slowly as it occupied cities and dealt with the Noble Clans.
• Ji Qingyang went to speak with Cheng Ye, saying the plan’s success depended on whether Cheng Ye would cooperate.

Ji Qingyang released Cheng Ye so he could lead the Northern Garrison Army back north, hoping to buy time for the Nine Heavens Demon Sealing Array. At Yong'an City, Chu Sheng slaughtered the people pleading for mercy and shattered the city's protective formation before abruptly heading south.

• Ji Qingyang asked Cheng Ye to take the Northern Garrison Army back to the northern border, and Cheng Ye agreed to spare the soldiers from dying in Central Prefecture.
• Ji Qingyang reasoned that Cheng Ye’s departure would weaken the army’s resolve and give the Nine Heavens Demon Sealing Array time to activate.
• The people of Yong'an City, led by the city lord’s wife, begged Chu Sheng to spare the city, but he killed her and dismissed the crowd as accomplices of the Noble Clans.
• Chu Sheng unleashed a golden torrent that slaughtered the kneeling people and destroyed Yong'an City’s protective formation.
• Chu Sheng glanced south, told his companions to handle what remained, and vanished.

Cheng Ye returned to offer Chu Sheng the Northern Garrison Army’s support and revealed that the marshal’s token was the ancient River and Mountain Pact, linking their cultivation and lives. Chu Sheng realized the bond might put him at risk if Cheng Ye died.

• Cheng Ye told Chu Sheng he had returned to help him and bring the Northern Garrison Army to his side.
• Chu Sheng challenged Cheng Ye to explain why he wanted to help, given that Cheng Ye had once intended to kill him.
• Cheng Ye revealed that the marshal’s token had helped him break through several cultivation realms after he gave it to Chu Sheng.
• Cheng Ye explained that the token was the River and Mountain Pact, which linked their cultivation, threatened his realm if Chu Sheng died, and let Chu Sheng borrow thirty percent of his strength.
• Chu Sheng realized the pact might affect him if Cheng Ye died and demanded to know whether he was at risk.

Chu Sheng tested the River and Mountain Pact by striking Cheng Ye and confirmed it had no effect on him. In Yong'an City, the Northern Garrison Army resolved to continue purging the Noble Clans even after Cheng Ye’s release, and Chu Sheng returned with the bloodied Cheng Ye.

• Cheng Ye claimed the River and Mountain Pact rumors meant he could affect Chu Sheng, so Chu Sheng struck him and confirmed the pact had no effect on him.
• News reached Yong'an City that the Federation had withdrawn its charges against Cheng Ye, acquitted him, and restored his position.
• The Northern Garrison Army debated whether Cheng Ye’s release meant they should stop fighting, but Chu Pingwei argued that retreat would leave them vulnerable to the Federation and Noble Clans.
• Chu Pingwei declared that he would kill himself rather than surrender if Cheng Ye ordered them to retreat, and the generals agreed to keep fighting.
• Chu Sheng returned to Yong'an City, supporting the bloodied but upright Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye returned to the Northern Garrison Army after Chu Sheng rescued him, and he declared that Chu Sheng should remain commander. As the army advanced against the Federation and the Worldly Families, Ji Qingyang summoned the Chen and Zhao ancestors and resolved to bear the blame for whatever bloodshed followed.

• Cheng Ye told the generals that the Federation had attacked him after he refused to make the Northern Garrison Army surrender, and Chu Sheng confirmed that he had rescued him.
• Cheng Ye declared that Chu Sheng was the rightful commander, and Chu Sheng accepted the generals’ obedience without hesitation.
• The Northern Garrison Army massacred the Worldly Families in Yong'an City, then split forces as Chu Sheng advanced toward Qingyang City and Cheng Ye led thirty thousand men toward Luoshu City.
• Ji Qingyang raged that the people of Central Prefecture had helped the Northern Garrison Army, then ordered the Chen and Zhao ancestors to come discuss matters.
• Ji Qingyang insisted that his actions were meant to preserve Great Xia and vowed to bear the blame for the sacrifices he believed were necessary.

Li Deshan worried that the Wang Family’s promised compensation would vanish after Qingyang City fell, while hoping to buy his granddaughter Nannan a schoolbag. Two Martial Saint figures then destroyed the city and killed its Northern Garrison Army captain, planning to frame Chu Sheng’s forces and turn public opinion against him before his death in three days.

• Li Deshan recalled how the Wang Family’s mine accident crippled his son, how his daughter-in-law died after seeking justice, and how he had raised Nannan alone.
• Li Deshan promised Nannan he would ask the Northern Garrison Army about her new schoolbag the next day.
• Two black figures unleashed overwhelming Spiritual Power, setting Qingyang City ablaze and collapsing its buildings.
• One black figure crushed Shi Wenzhou, the Northern Garrison Army captain, and declared that the massacre would be blamed on Chu Sheng’s forces.
• The black figures said they intended to turn the people against Chu Sheng and predicted he would die in three days.

After rumors accused the Northern Garrison Army of massacring Qingyang City, Wang Dai urged Anhe’s civilians to stay silent while Noble Clan members hid among them. Chu Sheng dismissed the need to prove his innocence and ordered that anyone refusing to cooperate with the purge be killed, leaving his army poised to enter Anhe.

• Ji Qingyang used the Qingyang massacre rumors to buy three days for Great Xia to prepare against Chu Sheng.
• Wang Dai told Anhe’s residents that the Northern Garrison Army would slaughter them and urged them not to identify or inform on anyone.
• Noble Clan members forced their way into civilian homes to hide from the approaching army.
• Chu Pingwei protested the false massacre accusations and asked how the Northern Garrison Army should prove its innocence.
• Chu Sheng said civilians who refused to cooperate were serving the Noble Clans and ordered that they be killed.

Chu Sheng led the Northern Garrison Army into Anhe City, where the Noble Clans and Federation forces appeared to have vanished, and ordered caution amid signs of a hidden trap. After soldiers and civilians were found murdered in Happiness Lane, he ordered every resident of the building brought outside, declaring them all murderers if the killer could not be found.

• Chu Sheng found Anhe City's walls undefended and wondered why the Federation had let the Northern Garrison Army advance so easily.
• Chu Sheng entered the city, sensed no Martial Artists above Stage Five, and suspected the Noble Clans had fled or concealed themselves with Federation help.
• Chu Sheng ordered the army to be extra cautious and to kill suspicious people rather than risk their lives.
• Chu Pingwei reported that the city's civilians had locked themselves inside their homes and refused to come out.
• Chu Sheng and Chu Pingwei found three Northern Garrison Army soldiers and two civilians murdered in Happiness Lane.
• Chu Sheng ordered every resident of the building driven into the open, saying that if the murderer was not found, they were all murderers.

After three Northern Garrison Army soldiers were killed, Chu Sheng gathered the residents and demanded they identify the murderer and the Noble Clan members hiding among them. When the crowd repeatedly denied knowing anything, Chu Sheng exposed their lies and unleashed a deadly golden attack, leaving the gathered people in a rain of blood.

• An old man warned his family to hide that he had killed three Northern Garrison Army soldiers and claimed the little girl was his granddaughter.
• Chu Sheng assembled the residents and announced that the murderer and hidden Noble Clan members were among them.
• Chu Sheng detected a man's lie and killed him with a burst of force.
• A middle-aged man and other residents denied knowing that Noble Clan members were hiding in the building, despite Chu Sheng's warning to answer truthfully.
• Chu Sheng declared that the residents had chosen to conceal the truth and swept the open space with golden light, killing those gathered.