Chapter Summaries

Xu Xiaoshou made a comic entrance at the semifinals by flying backward on Hidden Pain, drawing mockery and Passive Value before crashing into the barrier and entering with his Wind and Cloud Token. The match against Mu Zixi began, and she warned him that she was about to attack.

• Xu Xiaoshou slowly flew backward toward the arena on Hidden Pain, attracting admiration, suspicion, and mockery from the crowd.
• Xiao Qixiu called Xu Xiaoshou down to compete, and Xu accelerated into the barrier, knocking himself and his sword away.
• Mu Zixi reminded Xu Xiaoshou to show his Wind and Cloud Token, and he entered the arena after retrieving it from his ring.
• Xiao Qixiu started the semifinal, and Xu Xiaoshou launched sword lights at Mu Zixi while charging in close.
• Mu Zixi smiled and warned Xu Xiaoshou to be careful because she was going to attack.

Xu Xiaoshou fought Mu Zixi, whose wood attribute let her attack with explosive ancient trees and seeds. After surviving her first assault, he used a sword sheath to unleash sword intent, leaving Mu Zixi unsure where it came from.

• Mu Zixi blasted Xu Xiaoshou with seeds, then summoned ancient trees that rammed him through the arena barrier and dragged him into their formation.
• Mu Zixi compressed the trees around Xu Xiaoshou and detonated them, destroying the formation and sending Xiao Qixiu out of the barrier.
• Mu Zixi sensed through a planted tree seed that Xu Xiaoshou had survived, while he used Endless Vitality to recover from his injuries.
• Mu Zixi covered the arena with seeds and summoned more than a hundred ancient trees to attack Xu Xiaoshou.
• Xu Xiaoshou drew a sword sheath and warned Mu Zixi as sword intent rose from the trees, the seeds, and above her head.

Xu Xiaoshou used a powerful sword draw to cut down Mu Zixi’s ancient trees, but Mu Zixi caught him with a hidden seed and paralyzed him. The spectators laughed as a red flower bloomed from his head, leaving him helpless in her grasp.

• Xiao Qixiu and the spectators were stunned as Xu Xiaoshou quieted the sword intent and let Mu Zixi’s ancient trees surround him.
• Xu Xiaoshou drew his sword by an inch, cutting through the ancient trees and launching Mu Zixi into the air.
• Mu Zixi sent an ancient tree crashing down and charged Xu Xiaoshou, who met her with a punch.
• Mu Zixi transformed into vines, wrapped herself around Xu Xiaoshou, and pinned his limbs with roots and spikes.
• Mu Zixi made a red flower bloom on Xu Xiaoshou’s head, while a hidden tree seed paralyzed him and the audience laughed.

Xu Xiaoshou endured Mu Zixi draining his life force until her control weakened, then escaped her attack and threw her out of the arena. Xiao Qixiu declared Xu Xiaoshou the winner.

• Mu Zixi bit Xu Xiaoshou's neck and absorbed his life force while he remained paralyzed.
• Xu Xiaoshou's endless vitality replenished the life force Mu Zixi drained, and her control over the Paralysis Flower weakened.
• Xu Xiaoshou used Light of Sharpness to cut off the flower and sever Mu Zixi's vines, then grabbed her.
• Mu Zixi briefly regained awareness, bit Xu Xiaoshou again, and tried to attack with vines, but he choked her into stopping.
• Xu Xiaoshou threw Mu Zixi off the stage, and Xiao Qixiu announced Xu Xiaoshou's victory.

Xu Xiaoshou recovered after his bizarre semifinal victory over Mu Zixi and received a cryptic warning from Elder Qiao about a Sealing Art. Mo Mo then won her semifinal with another effortless palm strike, while Zhang Xinxiong judged that Xu Xiaoshou had no future against her.

• Xu Xiaoshou reflected on his victory over Mu Zixi, treated his injuries, and considered how his passive skills might develop.
• A worker delivered Xu Xiaoshou a letter from Elder Qiao bearing the words “Sealing Art,” which led him to suspect Mo Mo’s ability could weaken or seal her opponents.
• Xu Xiaoshou resumed resting and cultivating sword intent, causing the workers’ teacup to tremble and earning more Passive Value.
• Mo Mo defeated her semifinal opponent with a single palm strike, and Zhang Xinxiong told Liu Zhen that her ability weakened opponents and made her formidable in a prolonged fight.
• Zhang Xinxiong dismissed Xu Xiaoshou’s chances in the final and concluded that he had no future.

Xu Xiaoshou reached the Wind and Cloud Tournament finals and used a pretext to touch Mo Mo’s right hand while examining her bronze furnace. He discovered that the sealed energy in her hand was at least ten times greater than all the spiritual essence in her body, leaving him alarmed about his opponent.

• Xu Xiaoshou woke before the finals, left the waiting area on Hidden Pain, and drew ridicule as he flew toward the arena.
• Xu Xiaoshou collided with Xiao Qixiu in midair and plunged through the barrier to escape the furious referee.
• Mo Mo complimented Xu Xiaoshou’s humor, and Xu Xiaoshou praised her appearance before clarifying that he meant her bronze furnace.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked to inspect the furnace, grasped Mo Mo’s right hand, and sensed the immense energy sealed within it.
• Xu Xiaoshou remembered Elder Qiao’s letter about sealing arts and wondered what was sealed inside Mo Mo’s arm.

Xu Xiaoshou battled Mo Mo, whose Spirit-Severing Hand could catch his sword light and seal his spiritual energy and physical strength. He raised his Sword Mastery to Innate level and unleashed Innate Sword Intent, leaving the arena and its spectators in shock.

• Xu Xiaoshou tried to keep Mo Mo at a distance, but she caught his three-dimensional Sword Net with her bare hands and charged at him.
• Mo Mo's Spirit-Severing Hand weakened Hidden Pain and sealed much of Xu Xiaoshou's spiritual energy and physical strength after he struck her.
• Xu Xiaoshou drew on his Passive Value to raise Sword Mastery to Innate Lv.1 and announced he was getting serious.
• The swords carried by spectators flew from their scabbards as Xu Xiaoshou unleashed sword intent that shattered the arena's barrier and tore into Mo Mo.
• Xiao Qixiu and the audience recognized Xu Xiaoshou's Innate Sword Intent, and Xu Xiaoshou cautiously agreed that it was probably Innate Sword Intent.

Xu Xiaoshou’s breakthrough to Innate Sword Intent stunned the arena, but his renewed attacks failed to defeat Mo Mo. She trapped him with Heaven-Sealing Refinement, leaving him pinned in midair as she prepared another technique.

• Xu Xiaoshou’s Sword Intent broke through to the Innate Stage, making swords ring throughout the arena and earning him a flood of Passive Value.
• Xu Xiaoshou resumed the fight and struck Mo Mo with repeated sword-drawing attacks, but she caught one sword light and swallowed another.
• Xu Xiaoshou charged Mo Mo as she formed hand seals, but she used Heaven-Sealing Refinement to bind his limbs with black chains.
• Xu Xiaoshou failed to cut the chains with Light of Sharpness while Mo Mo began forming another set of hand seals.

Mo Mo’s magma attack failed to stop Xu Xiaoshou, who began absorbing the heat into his body. When Mo Mo prepared to use another move, Xu Xiaoshou repeatedly disrupted the sword aura inside her with Reversing Sword Form, leaving the arena in chaos.

• Mo Mo poured increasingly hot magma over Xu Xiaoshou, but he endured it and began refining its energy into his body.
• Mo Mo considered unleashing a sealed power, and Xu Xiaoshou tried to stop her after noticing her touch her right arm.
• Xu Xiaoshou stirred the spirit swords around the arena and used Reversing Sword Form to make Hidden Pain repeatedly disrupt the unrefined sword aura inside Mo Mo.
• Mo Mo abandoned her hand seals to suppress the sword aura, while Xu Xiaoshou repeatedly interrupted her efforts, making her jolt and flush with anger and embarrassment.
• Xiao Qixiu fell from the air as the spectators watched the chaotic exchange, and Xu Xiaoshou burst out laughing and sprayed blood.

Xu Xiaoshou fought Mo Mo in the final match, using his sword intent to break her control and turn the battle into a bloody stalemate. He ultimately knocked her unconscious and was declared the winner.

• Xu Xiaoshou and the spectators laughed as Mo Mo convulsed, until Elder Qiao joined in and drew more ridicule.
• Xu Xiaoshou stored Hidden Pain away and unleashed his Innate Sword Intent, causing Mo Mo’s sealed sword qi to erupt and wound them both.
• Mo Mo agreed to stop her lava attack, but Xu Xiaoshou said he could not stop the sword qi, so she resumed it.
• Xu Xiaoshou launched Hidden Pain at Mo Mo, then let it impale them both as the chains held them suspended above the arena.
• Mo Mo fainted after they exchanged bloodied blows, and Xu Xiaoshou caught her, gave her a Red-Gold Pill, and was declared the winner.

Xu Xiaoshou celebrated winning the Wind and Cloud Tournament and received the championship rewards. Xiao Qixiu then began announcing the Inner Court slots, starting with a stunned Zhou Tianshen.

• The medical staff carried Mo Mo away, and Xu Xiaoshou jokingly offered the other fighters a piece of his healed, scorched flesh as a memento.
• Xiao Qixiu congratulated Xu Xiaoshou on winning the tournament and praised him as a dark horse after teasing him about causing trouble throughout the competition.
• Chao Qingteng, Mu Zixi, and Mo Mo collected their awards while Xu Xiaoshou noticed their cold reactions to him.
• Xiao Qixiu announced that the top ten would choose a spiritual technique from the Spirit Treasury Pavilion and the top three would receive an Innate Pill.
• Xiao Qixiu began announcing the Inner Court slots and named Zhou Tianshen first, leaving Zhou Tianshen astonished.

After Xu Xiaoshou won the Wind and Cloud Tournament, Xiao Qixiu awarded Inner Court spots to four other contestants but excluded him because he had not reached Innate. Though disappointed, Xu Xiaoshou received encouragement from the crowd and Elder Qiao, who gave him pills and urged him to prove the Spirit Palace's elders wrong.

• Xiao Qixiu named Zhou Tianshen, Chao Qingteng, Mu Zixi, and Mo Mo as the four Inner Court entrants, leaving Xu Xiaoshou without a spot.
• The audience protested Xu Xiaoshou's exclusion, and Zhou Tianshen declared that he did not need his Inner Court spot if the ruling stood.
• Xiao Qixiu told Xu Xiaoshou he could remain in the Outer Court for another year and encouraged him to break through to Innate.
• Xiao Qixiu ended the tournament, and the crowd cheered Xu Xiaoshou as the venue began to empty.
• Elder Qiao acknowledged Xu Xiaoshou's disappointment, gave him Spirit Refining Pills and Red-Gold Pills, and urged him to prove the old elders wrong.
• Xu Xiaoshou inhaled the scent of a Spirit Refining Pill as the sun set.

Xu Xiaoshou went to the Spirit Treasury Pavilion to choose a spiritual technique, where Xiao Qixiu warned him not to cause trouble. The group entered the pavilion with three hours to choose, and Xu Xiaoshou was left to decide what to pick.

• Xu Xiaoshou woke late and bribed the staff member with Red-Gold Pills to lead him to the Spirit Treasury Pavilion.
• Xiao Qixiu explained that each disciple could choose one innate spiritual technique and warned Xu Xiaoshou not to make trouble.
• Xu Xiaoshou learned that Zhou Tianshen and other inner court entrants could return later to choose a second technique.
• Xiao Qixiu opened the Spirit Treasury Pavilion and told the group that the first floor held acquired techniques, the second held innate techniques, and they had three hours to choose.

Xu Xiaoshou searched the Spirit Treasury Pavilion’s first floor for hidden or practical spiritual techniques, while Zhou Tianshen was persuaded to join him. They split up to search, with Xu Xiaoshou hoping Zhou Tianshen’s luck would turn up a rare treasure.

• Xu Xiaoshou shook ancient books on the first floor, while the rest of the group went upstairs to seek innate spiritual techniques.
• Zhou Tianshen stopped Xu Xiaoshou and warned him that shaking the books might anger the scripture guardian, but Xu Xiaoshou explained that the books were protected by arrays.
• Xu Xiaoshou claimed that hidden treasures might be tucked inside ordinary books, and Zhou Tianshen began shaking books in hopes of finding one.
• Xu Xiaoshou found Zhou Tianshen searching an area he had already checked and directed him to search from the opposite end, including dusty corners and notebooks.
• Xu Xiaoshou continued searching for practical techniques suited to his limited talent and hoped Zhou Tianshen might stumble upon a peerless cultivation method.

Mu Zixi found Xu Xiaoshou studying an unusual sword technique and joined Zhou Tianshen in searching the Spirit Treasury Pavilion’s first floor. Zhou Tianshen discovered an ancient map and entered an epiphany, while Mu Zixi realized someone unseen had answered her question.

• Mu Zixi noticed that three of the eleven visitors were missing from the second floor and went downstairs to look for them.
• Mu Zixi caught Zhou Tianshen rummaging through dusty books and boxes, and he claimed that he and Xu Xiaoshou were searching for spiritual techniques.
• Xu Xiaoshou studied an incomplete Ten-Stage Sword Finger scroll and considered taking it if he found nothing better.
• Mu Zixi followed Zhou Tianshen’s search and watched him discover an ancient map depicting a one-armed old man holding a saber upside down.
• Zhou Tianshen entered an epiphany, and Mu Zixi realized that someone unseen had just answered her question.

Elder Sang discovered Mu Zixi’s unusual vitality and knocked her and Zhou Tianshen unconscious before noticing Xu Xiaoshou. Xu Xiaoshou tried to act casual when Elder Sang confronted him, then pointed a sword at him in anger and had to invent an excuse when Elder Sang caught him studying a book on fist techniques.

• Mu Zixi fainted when Elder Sang suddenly appeared, and he examined her immense vitality before kicking her aside.
• Elder Sang saw Zhou Tianshen holding the Sever Me scroll and startled him into unconsciousness.
• Xu Xiaoshou received a Gaze message, noticed Mu Zixi and Zhou Tianshen lying unconscious, and tried to leave without turning around.
• Elder Sang forced Xu Xiaoshou to face him, and Xu Xiaoshou recognized the man who had made him swallow the Emberlight Fire Seed.
• Xu Xiaoshou drew Hidden Pain at Elder Sang, then put it away and claimed he had wanted to practice sword techniques.
• Elder Sang showed Xu Xiaoshou the Twelve Great Wilderness Fists book, leaving Xu Xiaoshou’s excuse exposed.

Elder Sang forced Xu Xiaoshou to accept the Emberlight Skyburn technique and another Emberlight Fire Seed, leaving him in agony as he departed the Spirit Treasury Pavilion. In the inner courtyard, Lan Xinzi told Zhang Xinxiong that the Wen House had learned of A-Chong's death and informed Madam Wen.

• Elder Sang took Xu Xiaoshou's fragmentary scroll, gave him the Emberlight Skyburn jade slip, and forced a fire seed down his throat.
• Xu Xiaoshou endured the returning agony, received pills from Elder Sang, registered the technique, and left the Spirit Treasury Pavilion.
• Lan Xinzi served Zhang Xinxiong Muddied Immortal Brew and told him the Wen House had informed Madam Wen about A-Chong's death.
• Zhang Xinxiong dismissed A-Chong as trash whose skills were inferior to others.

Lan Xinzi ordered He Yuxing to buy a replacement wine flask and kill Xu Xiaoshou, while Xu Xiaoshou prepared to refine the Emberlight Fire Seed. The chapter left Xu Xiaoshou about to begin the dangerous refinement.

• Zhang Xinxiong told Lan Xinzi to have Xu Xiaoshou watched but warned her not to act recklessly, then left to visit Rao Yinyin.
• Lan Xinzi shattered Zhang Xinxiong’s wine flask and asked He Yuxing to buy an identical one and kill Xu Xiaoshou.
• Xu Xiaoshou returned from the Spirit Treasury Pavilion and wondered about the mysterious old man who had examined him.
• Xu Xiaoshou read the jade slip and learned that Emberlight Skyburn could let him form Emberlight Spirit Essence by enduring the fire seed’s power.
• Xu Xiaoshou decided to refine the Emberlight Fire Seed despite its danger.

Xu Xiaoshou raised his Breathing Method to the Innate level, gaining the ability to absorb spiritual energy through every pore and control whether his pores opened. He used the new method to reduce the pain of expelling and reabsorbing the Emberlight Fire Seed’s scorching energy, leaving it suppressed in his sea of energy more efficiently.

• Xu Xiaoshou spent five skill points to raise Breathing Method from Acquired Lv.6 to Innate Lv.1, and its breakthrough caused intense pleasure as his pores absorbed spiritual energy.
• Xu Xiaoshou tested the new Breathing Method on a Spirit Refining Pill and learned that the pleasure from absorbing pills remained within limits he could endure.
• Xu Xiaoshou discovered that he could open or close his pores to control his cultivation, and that absorbing spiritual energy through his whole body greatly increased his cultivation speed.
• Xu Xiaoshou used the Breathing Method to release the Emberlight Fire Seed’s scorching energy through his body, reducing the pain and allowing his unceasing vitality to repair the damage.
• Xu Xiaoshou drew the red mist back into his sea of energy, suppressing the scorching energy more than twice as efficiently as before.

Xu Xiaoshou refined two Emberlight Fire Seeds overnight, completed Emberlight Spirit Essence, and broke through to the ninth realm of Spirit Refinement. He then condensed the Emberlight Heavenly Flame, leaving him one step away from completing Emberlight Skyburn.

• Xu Xiaoshou refined the first Emberlight Fire Seed and, after seeing it had not completed Emberlight Spirit Essence, swallowed a second one to continue cultivating through the night.
• Xu Xiaoshou condensed his spiritual power into crimson spirit essence, broke through to the ninth realm of Spirit Refinement, and stabilized his cultivation with a Spirit Refining Pill.
• Xu Xiaoshou discovered that his Emberlight Spirit Essence could melt stone before his finger touched it.
• Xu Xiaoshou compressed his spirit essence into the invisible Emberlight Heavenly Flame and tested its heat by vaporizing a Spirit Crystal.
• Xu Xiaoshou drew the flames and the vaporized Spirit Crystal's energy back into his body, leaving only the final step of Emberlight Skyburn unfinished.