Chapter Summaries

Gao Wu faced the famed Overlord Divine Spear in the Swordsmanship Tournament’s first battle between masters. After requesting access to several meditation methods, he defeated Chen Yu with a sudden counterattack and beheaded Overlord.

• Commentators explained the layered meaning behind Gao Wu’s nickname, Headless Sword, as the match’s audience surged past one billion.
• Ye Ning spoke with Gao Wu before the match, and he asked to learn Dragon Tiger, Nine Tones, and Heavenly Net if he reached the final thirty-six.
• Chen Yu opened the battle by thrusting Overlord’s spear, and Gao Wu charged through a narrow gap to attack at close range.
• Chen Yu leaped and brought the spear butt down at Longyuan, but Gao Wu anchored his sword, spun aside, and struck Overlord’s leg.
• Gao Wu moved behind the unbalanced Overlord and stabbed through its rear neck armor, sending its head flying and winning the match.

After defeating Overlord Divine Spear, Gao Wu studied meditation methods, refined his abilities, and traveled with Liu Ye Qingqing to Heavenly Mountain Star for the finals. Looking out over the thriving star system, he reflected that the deities behind human civilization threatened its stability, then told Liu Ye Qingqing he was thinking about how to save the universe.

• The Divine Martial Club fired two directors and publicly congratulated Gao Wu, while Gao Wu focused on obtaining meditation methods and advancing toward divine general.
• Ye Ning sent Gao Wu three meditation methods, which he combined with his existing techniques and adapted to improve his Star Armor synchronization.
• Gao Wu trained in the Battle Network while awaiting the finals, and Liu Ye Qingqing later qualified alongside him for the top thirty-six.
• Yu Guanghai reunited with Gao Wu aboard Qingcheng Academy's warship, regretted not taking him as a disciple, and traveled with him and Liu Ye Qingqing to Heavenly Mountain Star.
• Gao Wu admired Heavenly Mountain Star's civilization but worried that the deities behind it could bring it down, and he told Liu Ye Qingqing he was thinking about saving the universe.

Gao Wu visited Dalin Academy and encountered several star masters competing in the finals, including Pei Mingyue, who privately doubted his reputation. At the tournament draw, Gao Wu was matched against Pei Mingyue, and her confident interview comments drew widespread attention to their upcoming battle.

• Gao Wu, Ye Ning, and Liu Ye Qingqing toured Dalin Academy and viewed the grounds where the Star Armor matches would be held.
• Gao Wu met Jiang Feihe, Luo Xinghe, Yan Ziying, and Pei Mingyue, who recognized him as the Headless Sword.
• After Gao Wu left, Pei Mingyue suggested his reputation had been manufactured, while Jiang Feihe said he could not see through Gao Wu’s abilities.
• The next morning, the twenty-three Star Armor masters drew their matchups before Divine General Zhang Fuhu and the media.
• Gao Wu drew Pei Mingyue as his opponent, and she told reporters she knew sword techniques for taking heads and looked forward to facing him.

Gao Wu defeated Pei Mingyue with Longyuan in a swift, decisive match at the Swordsmanship Tournament finals. The battle’s replay revealed how he used Nine Tones to disrupt her Heavenly Howl, and Skynet began recognizing the Headless Sword as a formidable contender.

• Ye Ning gave Gao Wu details about Pei Mingyue, her Jin Yang Star Armor, and her fighting style before the tournament began.
• Zhang Xuanxiang crushed his advanced Star Master opponent with the Vajra Wisdom King Armor, opening the finals with a decisive victory.
• Pei Mingyue and Gao Wu entered the arena for their match, and Gao Wu saluted before drawing his twin swords and attacking.
• Gao Wu matched Pei Mingyue’s Heavenly Howl frequency with Nine Tones, disrupting her spiritual power and severing Jin Yang’s head with Longyuan’s swords.
• Zhang Fuhu explained Gao Wu’s technique, and a slow-motion replay clarified the match for spectators and improved Gao Wu’s standing on Skynet.
• Ye Ning asked Liu Ye Qingqing whether Gao Wu could win the championship, and Liu Ye Qingqing nodded firmly.

Gao Wu defeated Li Xuanfang in the second round of the Swordsmanship Tournament, cutting off Dragon King's head in a fierce close-range exchange. His victory left the spectators and other competitors stunned.

• Gao Wu received nearly one hundred billion Merit after defeating Jin Yang and blocked Chu Shenxiu after accepting two billion from him.
• Ye Ning warned Gao Wu that his next opponent, Li Xuanfang, was a seasoned military expert piloting the powerful Dragon King.
• Gao Wu and Li Xuanfang began their duel with a direct clash between Longyuan's twin swords and Dragon King's Coiling Dragon Spear.
• Li Xuanfang unleashed Dragon King's lightning power, but Gao Wu charged through it and deflected the lightning with his sword.
• Gao Wu struck Dragon King with a rapid series of sword attacks and severed its dragon head, shocking the arena and Zhang Xuanxiang.

Gao Wu defeated Li Xuanfang and advanced through the Swordsmanship Tournament, then faced Luo Xinghe in the quarterfinals. He cut down Luo Xinghe’s Army Breaker, leaving Gao Wu’s path to the championship open.

• Zhang Xuanxiang rejected calls to vote away Li Xuanfang’s defeat and praised his honest effort against Gao Wu.
• Li Xuanfang told Zhang Xuanxiang that Gao Wu had mastered Qing City’s four secret arts and warned him to be careful.
• Gao Wu received congratulations from Ye Ning, Liu Ye Qingqing, and Yu Guanghai, then studied his next opponent, Luo Xinghe.
• Zhang Xuanxiang defeated Flying Dragon Divine Spear in the first quarterfinal match.
• Gao Wu fought Luo Xinghe in a close battle and cut off Army Breaker’s head with Longyuan.
• Zhang Xuanxiang laughed and renamed Army Breaker Broken Vehicle after Gao Wu’s victory.

Gao Wu defeated Jiang Feihe in the Swordsmanship Tournament semifinals, securing Qing City a place in the final. With over one trillion Merit, he upgraded the Qilin Divine Hero Incantation to gain deeper insight into the Universe, and his Yang Spirit broke through an invisible barrier as a vast vision unfolded before him.

• Luo Xinghe regretted becoming the target of the Broken Cart meme, while Jiang Feihe weighed using Heavenly Crane and its flying swords against Gao Wu.
• Zhang Xuanxiang defeated Yun Wuxiang after several hundred exchanges in a spectacular semifinal battle.
• Jiang Feihe opened his match against Gao Wu with Heavenly Crane's flying swords, but Gao Wu's Nine-Tone Vibration broke their magnetic resonance and left them unusable.
• Jiang Feihe attacked at close range with Heavenly Crane's speed and swordsmanship, but Gao Wu disrupted his swords and severed Heavenly Crane's neck.
• Gao Wu's victory sent the Qing City faction into celebration, and the Merit in his Boundless Merit Book exceeded one trillion.
• Gao Wu spent one trillion Merit to upgrade the Qilin Divine Hero Incantation, breaking his Yang Spirit through an invisible barrier and revealing a vast vision of the Universe.

Gao Wu resonated with the Universe, learned how the Demon Gods controlled humanity and the Source Sea, and deduced a path beyond level twenty. He left his imprint in the Source Sea and gained immense power, but realized he needed Divine Armor to survive the Abyss and confront the Demon Gods.

• Gao Wu used the Qilin Divine Hero Incantation to perceive the Universe, the Source Sea, the Abyss, and the Demon Gods hidden within it.
• Gao Wu learned that the Demon Gods needed living humans to counterbalance negative energy, so they controlled and protected humanity rather than spreading their faith.
• Gao Wu combined the four secret arts with the meditation methods of Overlord Divine Spear, Pei Mingyue, Li Xuanfang, Luo Xinghe, and Jiang Feihe to break through level twenty.
• Gao Wu placed his spiritual imprint in the depths of the Source Sea, bypassing the Demon Gods' Sealing and gaining access to its immense power.
• Gao Wu sensed Qi in the Abyss but recognized that he needed Divine Armor to enter safely, then focused on understanding the Source Sea and finding a way to restrain the Demon Gods.

After upgrading the Qilin Divine Hero Incantation to Hunyuan, Gao Wu arrived just before the final and faced Zhang Xuanxiang in the arena. Gao Wu met Zhang Xuanxiang’s overwhelming strike head-on, absorbed and returned its force, and decapitated the Vajra Wisdom King, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Gao Wu upgraded the Qilin Divine Hero Incantation to Hunyuan, gaining deeper insight into the Source Sea and the ability to judge dangerous knowledge.
• Ye Ning urged Gao Wu to hurry to the final, and Gao Wu arrived at the arena with only two minutes to spare before piloting Longyuan into the match against Zhang Xuanxiang.
• Zhang Xuanxiang entered the battle empowered by divine power, while Gao Wu recognized the strength of his spiritual magnetic field and noticed Divine General Zhang Fuhu’s sacred-looking aura.
• Zhang Xuanxiang swung the Vajra Pestle at Longyuan, and Gao Wu crossed the twin swords to meet the blow directly.
• Longyuan absorbed Zhang Xuanxiang’s force, returned it with Gao Wu’s Sword Qi, and then struck from above, severing the Vajra Wisdom King’s head.

Gao Wu defeated Zhang Xuanxiang to win the Star Sea Sword Order, revealing that he had unified the Qing City Four-Gate Meditation Method and could found a sect. Zhang Fuhu offered to recruit him, while Ye Qianren watched the ceremony and wrestled with whether to make Gao Wu a Divine General or risk losing him to rival sects.

• Gao Wu defeated Zhang Xuanxiang by exploiting the gap in the Vajra Wisdom King's neck guard, and the victory sparked a surge of Merit from the audience and Skynet viewers.
• Zhang Fuhu sensed Gao Wu's unusual spiritual power and realized that he had unified the Qing City Four-Gate Meditation Method into a groundbreaking new path.
• Zhang Fuhu presented Gao Wu with the gold medal and Star Sea Sword Order, then offered to make him a Divine General if Ye Qianren would not.
• Gao Wu raised the Star Sea Sword Order as the crowd applauded, while Ye Ning celebrated emotionally and Liu Ye Qingqing teased her.
• Ye Qianren watched the ceremony from Dragon Sword Building and debated whether to promote Gao Wu or risk driving him toward rival sects.

After winning the Swordsmanship Tournament, Gao Wu attracted lucrative business deals and recruitment offers from major sects, but he returned to Qingcheng to discuss becoming a Divine General with Ye Qianren. Ye Qianren explained the risks and requirements, leaving Gao Wu concerned that he might have to seek the Dao Ancestor Qingguang’s favor to obtain Divine Armor.

• Gao Wu appointed Ye Ning as his agent and attended the celebratory dinner, where he signed more than ten commercial contracts worth three hundred billion.
• Yuan Zhengfeng, Zhang Fuhu, and an Emei representative each discussed recruiting Gao Wu as a Divine General.
• Gao Wu returned to Clearview Star and asked Ye Qianren what he needed to do to become a Divine General.
• Ye Qianren explained that candidates needed spiritual power of at least one thousand points, recognition from a god, a divine power mark, and Divine Armor.
• Gao Wu asked whether Qingcheng had any Divine Armor, and Ye Qianren told him that gods created it and humans could not forge it.

Ye Qianren told Gao Wu about the lost Divine Armor Wuji and urged him to retrieve it from Despair Ridge, where formless evil spirits threatened anyone who ventured in. After showing Gao Wu his own immense Dragon Tiger armor in the Source Sea, Ye explained how Gao Wu’s abilities could help him find and recover Wuji, and Gao Wu agreed to try.

• Ye Qianren explained that the Divine Armor Wuji had been lost at Despair Ridge and that its formless evil spirits could be countered with heat and sound.
• Ye Qianren revealed that he had once searched Despair Ridge for Wuji but had nearly died, and he believed Gao Wu’s Nine Tones and other techniques gave him a chance to succeed.
• Gao Wu sensed no malice from Ye Qianren and asked what Wuji looked like and how he could locate it.
• Ye Qianren opened a passage into the Source Sea and showed Gao Wu his hundred-meter-tall Dragon Tiger Divine Armor.
• Ye Qianren described Wuji’s size, weight, twin swords, and resonance with Dragon Tiger, then explained how Gao Wu could combine his techniques against the spirits.
• Gao Wu agreed to give his all to retrieving Wuji.

Gao Wu entered Despair Ridge after upgrading Longyuan and developing a new meditation method, then battled evil spirits while searching for the Wuji Divine Armor. He found the armor, but its dead Divine General had become an evil spirit fused with it, and it awakened to confront him.

• Gao Wu spent his tournament earnings to reinforce Longyuan, accepted Ye Qianren’s Azure Leaf Swords, and studied Divine General techniques from him.
• After Ye Qianren sent him to Despair Ridge, Gao Wu created the Wuji meditation method and flew into the mist, where he discovered that his spiritual power could destroy evil spirits and earn Merit.
• Gao Wu destroyed a powerful spatially distorting evil spirit with his Azure Leaf Swords and Vermilion Bird Divine Light Incantation.
• Gao Wu continued through Despair Ridge, killing evil spirits as he searched for the Wuji Divine Armor.
• In the three hundredth hour, Gao Wu found the Wuji Divine Armor and tried to connect with it, but its dead Divine General’s evil spirit awakened inside it.

Gao Wu destroyed the evil spirit controlling the Wuji Divine Armor, took control of the armor, and uncovered the secret of its divine seal. Deep in the Abyss, the blue-robed Daoist sensed the severed connection and vowed to kill whoever had claimed Wuji.

• Gao Wu called the armored evil spirit Liu Qingfeng and lured it into his spiritual world, where his Yang Spirit destroyed it with the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Incantation.
• Gao Wu examined Liu Qingfeng's divine seal, learned his meditation method and Wuji Divine Armor techniques, then destroyed the seal.
• Gao Wu entered the Wuji Divine Armor, bypassed its divine seal, and took control through its central gem.
• Gao Wu sensed ominous signs as he opened the armor's remaining internal seals.
• The blue-robed Daoist in the Abyss realized Wuji had been found and his connection to it severed, then vowed to kill the person who had taken it.

Gao Wu tested the Wuji Divine Armor in Despair Ridge, destroying a powerful evil spirit and earning thirty billion Merit. After Ye Qianren arrived to celebrate the armor’s recovery, Dao Ancestor Qingguang descended and subjected both divine generals to immense pressure.

• Gao Wu piloted the Wuji Divine Armor through Despair Ridge, testing its weapons and discovering that his Yang Spirit resisted the gray mist.
• Gao Wu destroyed a powerful evil spirit by striking its spiritual core with a Lightning Shooting Star infused with Heavenly Dragon Sword intent, earning thirty billion Merit.
• Gao Wu decided to remain in Despair Ridge to hunt evil spirits and collect Merit.
• Ye Qianren arrived at Despair Ridge in the Dragon Tiger Divine Armor and rejoiced when he saw that Gao Wu had found Wuji.
• Dao Ancestor Qingguang contacted Ye Qianren, then descended through the Void and forced Ye Qianren to kneel while Gao Wu’s protective fields flickered under his pressure.

Gao Wu lured Dao Ancestor Qingguang into pursuing the Wuji Divine Armor through Despair Ridge, then let him enter his spiritual world. The chapter ended with Gao Wu’s Yang Spirit attacking Dao Ancestor Qingguang with the Tianming Sword.

• Dao Ancestor Qingguang arrived in a domain of cyan light and demanded that Gao Wu kneel, but Gao Wu mocked him and launched 360 Lightning Stars.
• Dao Ancestor Qingguang phased through the attack, but Gao Wu redirected the Lightning Stars through a tear in space before fleeing into Despair Ridge.
• Dao Ancestor Qingguang pursued Gao Wu through repeated subspace jumps, then used their spiritual connection to break into the Wuji Divine Armor.
• Dao Ancestor Qingguang entered Gao Wu’s spiritual world and was shocked by the purity of Gao Wu’s Yang Spirit.
• Gao Wu’s Yang Spirit drew the Tianming Sword and struck at Dao Ancestor Qingguang with crimson divine light.

Gao Wu lured Dao Ancestor Qingguang into his spiritual world and killed him with the Tianming Sword and Li Fire Divine Light. He gained a vast amount of Merit and an ash-white Divine Crystal, then weighed whether to use it to strengthen the Wuji Divine Armor.

• Gao Wu activated the Five Divine Mantras and the Tianming Sword, trapping Dao Ancestor Qingguang in his spiritual world with the Xuan Dragon Hammer.
• Dao Ancestor Qingguang discarded his positive-energy form and unleashed his full spiritual power, nearly breaking Gao Wu's seal.
• Gao Wu matched Qingguang's shrieks with the Tianming Sword, pierced his spiritual core, and burned him with Li Fire Divine Light.
• Gao Wu repeatedly sealed and destroyed Qingguang's spirit until it collapsed into an ash-white crystal, then waited for the Abyss's spiritual forces to pass.
• Gao Wu discovered that Qingguang had granted him over seven hundred billion Merit and considered using the Divine Crystal to upgrade the Wuji Divine Armor.

Gao Wu advanced the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Incantation, refined the Wuji Divine Armor with Dao Ancestor Qingguang’s Divine Crystal, and greatly increased his power. After locating seven strands of Qi in the Abyss, he was confronted by a mysterious woman in red who accused him of trying to steal her world’s origin spiritual energy.

• Gao Wu advanced the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Incantation, deepened his Yang Spirit’s resonance with the Source Sea, and gained power without being contaminated by the Abyss.
• Gao Wu dissolved Dao Ancestor Qingguang’s Divine Crystal and used its energy and abilities to refine the Wuji Divine Armor, raising its power and making it respond directly to his Yang Spirit.
• Gao Wu tested his improved Divine Armor by killing evil spirits in Despair Ridge and concluded that he could defeat Dao Ancestor Qingguang and challenge the universe’s strongest Demon Gods.
• Gao Wu traveled through subspace into the deepest Abyss and found seven strands of Qi.
• A beautiful woman in red appeared before Gao Wu, identified him as an outsider, and accused him of trying to steal her world’s origin spiritual energy.

Gao Wu fought the Crimson Flame Phoenix Queen after she tried to stop him from taking a strand of innate Qi. He exploited her fury to strike her spiritual core, leaving her fate unresolved.

• Gao Wu recognized the red-clad woman as the Crimson Flame Phoenix Queen and explained that he intended to take only one strand of innate Qi.
• The Crimson Flame Phoenix Queen refused and attacked Gao Wu with a vast domain of crimson flames, seeking to capture him and learn how he might escape the Abyss.
• Gao Wu defended himself with the Wuji Divine Armor and studied the Queen’s control of source power, adapting his techniques to withstand her fire.
• Gao Wu taunted the Queen until her anger overwhelmed her reason, then charged through her fiery domain as she unleashed her Zero-Degree Ice Flame.
• Gao Wu appeared behind the Crimson Flame Phoenix Queen and pierced her head with the Tianming Sword, using the Ying Dragon’s killing intent to sever her spiritual core.

Gao Wu used the Nine Cauldrons’ nine strands of Qi to empower himself, choosing to advance the White Tiger Divine Weapon Incantation so he could better wield the Chixiao Sword against the Chaos Dragon King. The transformation also helped Song Mingyue reach the ninth rank, while Gao Wu appeared to become humanity’s first Martial God.

• Qin Liuhe activated the Nine Cauldrons, sealing Efang Palace’s central region and directing the nine strands of Qi to empower Gao Wu.
• Gao Wu sensed the sleeping Chaos Dragon King and chose to use the Qi to advance the White Tiger Divine Weapon Incantation rather than strengthen his vitality.
• Gao Wu’s White Tiger Divine Weapon Incantation reached the consummate realm, greatly increasing his agility and turning his body into a divine weapon.
• Song Mingyue resonated with Gao Wu’s transformation, drew on the Ice Dragon Armor’s Dragon Crystal, and advanced to the ninth rank.
• Qin Liuhe recognized Song Mingyue as humanity’s second ninth-rank Martial Emperor and Gao Wu as humanity’s first Martial God.