Chapter Summaries

Lu Feng warned Dan Wu, Zheng Ba, and Xing Qi that Wang Wei’s heart demon remained sealed rather than defeated, and urged them to grow strong enough to protect him. After assigning investigations and supporting their cultivation, Lu Feng opened court to investigate Wang Cuihua’s claim that Su Mo had beaten her husband, Zhang A'niu, to death.

• Lu Feng learned that Wang Wei and the others had mistaken his visits to the theater for neglect of his duties, and he assigned Wang Wei to sort records about mountains, rivers, and regions.
• Lu Feng revealed that Wang Wei’s heart demon was tied to his brothers and that Wang Wei had suppressed his cultivation to keep them together; he urged Dan Wu, Zheng Ba, and Xing Qi to become strong enough to protect Wang Wei.
• Lu Feng gave Dan Wu a near-terrestrial-grade Spirit Gathering Array and a map marked Arm Cloud Mountain to investigate, while encouraging Zheng Ba and Xing Qi to break through to the Five Elements Realm.
• When the Prison Drum sounded, Lu Feng convened court and heard Wang Cuihua accuse Su Mo of beating her husband, Zhang A'niu, to death.
• Lu Feng sent Xing Qi to examine Zhang A'niu’s body and dispatched Zheng Ba with the Prison Official Token to bring Su Mo in for questioning.

Lu Feng investigated Zhang A'niu's death and found that both Zhang A'niu and Su Mo had been poisoned by an unidentified substance. Ye Fan recognized the poison as Star Fiend Corpse Poison, which had once driven his Senior Brother mad in Medicine Valley, leaving Lu Feng to suspect the same poison was behind the case.

• Lu Feng questioned Wang Wei about Zhang A'niu's death, then went to the Su Estate after Su Mo refused to answer his summons.
• Su Xiu showed Lu Feng the unconscious, black-faced Su Mo and explained that he had returned with a bite wound after an altercation with a strange man.
• Xing Qi's autopsy found that Zhang A'niu's many injuries were not fatal, but his body contained a strange poison.
• Lu Feng took the poisoned evidence to Ye Fan, who identified it as Star Fiend Corpse Poison and connected it to the incident that forced him to leave Medicine Valley.
• Ye Fan told Lu Feng that his former Senior Brother had become a murderous madman after returning to Medicine Valley, and Lu Feng asked whether the poison had caused it.

Ye Fan recounted how the Star Fiend Corpse Poison led to his mentor’s death and his exile from Medicine Valley, then gave Lu Feng ways to manage Su Mo’s infection. When Lu Feng returned to Prison Manor amid public outrage over Su Mo’s killings, Xing Qi reported that Zhang A’niu’s corpse had briefly risen.

• Ye Fan told Lu Feng that he had been wrongly blamed for the deaths during his mentor’s poisoned rampage, escaped execution with Xiao Qing’s help, and was still searching for the poisoner.
• Ye Fan and Lu Feng discussed whether the Jun Family might be connected to the Star Fiend Corpse Poison, and Ye Fan vowed not to let it go if the family had poisoned his mentor.
• Ye Fan gave Lu Feng Star Kill Pills to awaken Su Mo temporarily and finger spikes to restrain him if the poison transformed him, while warning that Zhang A’niu’s corpse should be cremated.
• Lu Feng returned to Prison Manor after a day at Spirit Prison and found crowds blocking its gate as news of Su Mo’s killings spread through Tian Yuan City.
• Xing Qi told Lu Feng that Zhang A’niu’s corpse had suddenly sat upright before falling back down.

Lu Feng quieted the public outcry by taking Su Mo into custody after explaining that he had been poisoned with Star Fiend Corpse Poison. Once the Star Kill Pill restored Su Mo enough to answer questions, his account of Zhang A'niu's attack raised suspicions about how the dead man had fought.

• Wang Wei urged Lu Feng to detain Su Mo to calm the crowd demanding justice for Zhang A'niu, and Lu Feng went with him to Su Estate.
• Su Xiu initially resisted the arrest, but Lu Feng explained the poison and gave Su Mo a Star Kill Pill that temporarily suppressed it; Su Xiu agreed to let Prison Manor take him once he awoke.
• Lu Feng warned Su Xiu to keep the poison's identity secret, and she offered several Su Estate people to help watch over Su Mo.
• After regaining some mobility, Su Mo denied killing Zhang A'niu and said the man had ambushed and pursued him in the alley.
• Su Mo recalled that Zhang A'niu ignored pain and did not react when Su Mo struck his acupoints, prompting Wang Wei to question how such a weak man could have fought him.

Lu Feng arrested Su Mo while investigating Zhang A'niu's death and arranged to guard him at the Prison Manor, suspecting Su Mo was the poisoner's real target. Meanwhile, Apricot Blossom Rain and her allies plotted to frame Lu Feng by stealing the poisoned corpse, and she went to recruit Instructor Zhou Zhi.

• Lu Feng detained Su Mo on suspicion of involvement in Zhang A'niu's death, and Su Xiu arranged for Su Tong and three guards to accompany him.
• The crowd jeered at Su Mo as Wang Wei escorted him to the Prison Manor, where Lu Feng placed him in an Entrapment Array-protected room and briefed Wei, Wu, Ba, and Qi on his plan.
• Apricot Blossom Rain learned from Zhao Wumian and Gu Wuyan that Lu Feng had become Tian Yuan City's prison officer and discussed using the poison in Zhang A'niu's corpse to frame him.
• Apricot Blossom Rain decided that Zhou Zhi should arrange for someone else to steal the corpse, then went to his courtyard to persuade him.
• Zhou Zhi noticed Apricot Blossom Rain entering his courtyard, and she pulled him into his room to keep their conversation private.

Zhou Zhi agreed to put a scheme against Lu Feng into motion, while Lu Feng arranged surveillance of Tian Yuan City's factions and managed the investigation into Zhang A'niu's death. A suspicious burglary at the City Lord's Mansion drew Lu Feng away from the Prison Manor, where Zhuo Heng described a powerful masked thief.

• Apricot Blossom Rain told Zhou Zhi Zhao Wumian's plan to stop Lu Feng from becoming a prison official, and Zhou Zhi set it in motion after making her swear an oath of secrecy.
• Lu Feng visited Night Feather Hall, learned that its members were secretly gathering intelligence around Tian Yuan City, and tasked Iron Puppet with arranging surveillance of suspected factions.
• Su Qing'er rushed to the Prison Manor to defend Su Mo, and Lu Feng explained that Su Mo remained suspected of poisoning Zhang A'niu and would still face punishment for beating him.
• Xing Qi confirmed that Zhang A'niu's corpse and poison were prepared for Lu Feng's plan, while Lu Feng ordered the arrangements to proceed.
• A servant reported a burglary at the City Lord's Mansion, so Lu Feng took Wang Wei there despite suspecting the incident was a trap.
• Zhuo Heng told Lu Feng that a masked man in black had ransacked the mansion and defeated guards at the peak of the Core Plate Realm.

Lu Feng discovered that a black-clad thief had stolen Zhang A'niu's corpse from the Prison Manor and pursued him, eventually identifying him as Spear King Zhou Zhi. Lu Feng fought Zhou Zhi while demonstrating sword techniques to Bai Li, and the chapter ended as Zhou Zhi faced Lu Feng's fierce thrust.

• Lu Feng questioned Zhuo Heng about the theft at the City Lord's Mansion, then rushed back to the Prison Manor after realizing he had been lured away.
• Lu Feng found Xing Qi injured and learned that a black-clad man had stolen Zhang A'niu's corpse while Dan Wu pursued him and became trapped in an array.
• Lu Feng freed Dan Wu's spirits with advice on breaking the array, then followed the thief and found Bai Li fighting him.
• Lu Feng caught Bai Li and challenged the black-clad man, demonstrating the One United Sword Art while explaining its techniques to her.
• The thief revealed a spear and Lu Feng recognized him as Zhou Zhi; Lu Feng gained the upper hand with his swordsmanship as Zhou Zhi considered retreating.
• Lu Feng changed to a sharper sword art and lunged at Zhou Zhi, who struggled to evade the attack.

Lu Feng defeated Zhou Zhi with a sequence of sword and bow techniques, but Zhou Zhi escaped on an Iron Winged Sky Eagle after Lu Feng wounded it with a spear shot. After restoring the Spirit Soul Array, Lu Feng learned from Bai Li how Zhou Zhi had seized Zhang A'niu's coffin and asked what had brought her there.

• Lu Feng used Starfall to wound Zhou Zhi, but a golden protective light deflected the killing blow and saved Zhou Zhi's life.
• Zhou Zhi summoned an Iron Winged Sky Eagle and escaped Lu Feng's first arrow by intercepting it with a spear.
• Lu Feng used the spear as an arrow with Cloud Piercer, piercing the eagle's wing and abdomen as Zhou Zhi fled on its back.
• Zhou Zhi landed several li away, put the injured eagle into a Living Creature Pouch, and abandoned his plan to seek treatment for it.
• Lu Feng restored the Spirit Soul Array and asked Bai Li why she had followed them.
• Bai Li explained that she had tracked a black-clad man from the City Lord's Mansion to Prison Manor, where he seized Zhang A'niu's coffin, and wondered about his purpose.

Lu Feng advised Bai Li on combining her sword cultivation with her Treasure Item fighting style, then sensed that his Mandarin Duck Union Array connection with Jiang Ruoyun had nearly faded. Bai Li gave him the Four Scenery Screen for protection, and Lu Feng accepted the genuine Treasure Item without knowing that her own was a defective imitation.

• Lu Feng warned Bai Li that Zhang A'niu's stolen poisoned corpse could cause danger and gave her a jade slip containing his One United Sword Art insights and Flowing Shadow Swordplay.
• Lu Feng advised Bai Li to combine her Treasure Item combat style with One United Sword Art rather than choosing between them.
• Lu Feng and Bai Li hid from three powerful women riding Golden Silk Steeds; the young woman sensed a familiar aura before they continued toward their target.
• After the women left, Lu Feng discovered that his Mandarin Duck Union Array connection with Jiang Ruoyun had grown extremely faint and resolved to ask Qiao Xuan and the others about it.
• Bai Li offered Lu Feng an Earth-grade Four Scenery Screen, and he accepted it after she claimed to have another one; her own screen was only a defective imitation.

Lu Feng returned to Eastern Origin Spirit Prison after arranging extra patrols in Tian Yuan City to guard against the black-clad instructor who stole the coffin. He reunited with Bai Bing and went with her to Martial Hall, where Jun Ziyi was preparing to spar against Miao Yu and Miao Yi under balanced cultivation conditions.

• Lu Feng told Bai Li to watch for suspicious people in Tian Yuan City, then ordered Dan Wu to recruit more guards and patrol the city without publicly naming the black-clad man as a suspect.
• Lu Feng returned to Eastern Origin Spirit Prison and learned that Bai Bing and Bai Xue planned to leave after his Instructor Tournament because the Affection Thread Entanglement had vanished.
• Bai Bing told Lu Feng that Jun Ziyi had been repeatedly sparring against Miao Yu and Miao Yi, enduring injuries and lasting at most just over forty moves.
• Lu Feng and Bai Bing headed to Martial Hall to watch Jun Ziyi's scheduled match against Miao Yu and Miao Yi in the cultivation-balancing Martial Realm.
• Jun Ziyi faced Miao Yu and Miao Yi in combat room seventeen as Qian Xin, Shao Yue, Man Zhongli, and others cheered for her, while Meng Yuli watched with disdain.

Lu Feng and Bai Bing explained the Qingxiu Chan Sect’s Three-Part Swords and cultivation art as Miao Yu and Miao Yi faced Jun Ziyi in a two-on-one match. Jun Ziyi struggled to withstand their calm, coordinated defense, and Yun Xiao Kui warned Lu Feng that continuing such matches could damage his student’s confidence.

• Lu Feng identified Miao Yu and Miao Yi’s weapons as Three-Part Swords and explained how the Qingxiu Chan Sect’s Chan Heart Three-Part Art complemented them.
• Bai Bing told Lu Feng that Miao Yu and Miao Yi had only recently begun training in the art and would return to their sect after reaching the Five Elements Realm.
• Miao Yu and Miao Yi calmly blocked Jun Ziyi’s opening attack, disrupting her momentum.
• Lu Feng observed that Jun Ziyi’s spiritual energy control lagged behind the pair’s and began considering a new training plan.
• Jun Ziyi struggled through more than forty moves as Miao Yu and Miao Yi steadily countered her attacks without using their joint technique.
• Yun Xiao Kui told Lu Feng that the matchup taught neither side much and could undermine his student’s confidence if repeated.

Jun Ziyi used the Plain Heart Ring’s spiritual energy recovery to hold off Miao Yu and Miao Yi for eighty-seven moves, disrupting their composure and earning their respect. Lu Feng then reported Zhou Zhi’s alleged assassination attempt to An Xianglian and presented evidence, though An Xianglian remained skeptical.

• Yun Xiao Kui dismissed Jun Ziyi’s chances until Jun Ziyi’s spiritual energy recovered and she sent Miao Yi flying with a sword strike.
• Shao Yue nearly asked whether Jun Ziyi’s performance came from the Seven Fasting Heart Ring, but Qian Xin warned her not to publicize it.
• Jun Ziyi endured eighty-seven moves before Miao Yu and Miao Yi knocked her back, and they agreed that her challenge had unsettled their Dao hearts.
• Jun Ziyi asked to fight Miao Yu and Miao Yi again after recovering, while Yun Xiao Kui said she would watch their next battle and consider sparring with Jun Ziyi.
• Lu Feng went to the Master Hall and told An Xianglian that Zhou Zhi had attacked him, then offered a piece of the Iron Winged Sky Eagle’s wing as evidence.
• An Xianglian recognized the wing but still suspected someone might have impersonated Zhou Zhi.

Lu Feng accepted Zhou Zhi’s rules for their Instructor Tournament and designed an extensive training plan for his students, including a new Puppet Heart Array. Meanwhile, Jin Xuan’s allies discussed the stolen poison corpse and planned to kill the newly arrived prison official before he could disrupt their scheme.

• An Xianglian told Lu Feng that Zhou Zhi had left the Spirit Prison and filed rules for their tournament, which Lu Feng accepted for the match scheduled on the third day of next month.
• Lu Feng explained the tournament rules to his students and completed individual training plans focused on controlling power, physical fitness, and Soul Strength.
• Lu Feng upgraded the academy’s training facilities and set up a high-grade Puppet Heart Array for combat practice.
• Jin Xuan questioned Zhuo Heng and Zhuo Xiu about the stolen corpse, warned them not to disrupt his plan, and left after displaying his power.
• Zhuo Xiu and Zhuo Heng decided that Zhuo Xiu would kill the newly arrived prison official while Zhuo Heng concealed the murder and kept Prison Manor under control.

Lu Feng sought Qiao Xuan’s explanation for why the Mandarin Duck Union Array linking him and Jiang Ruoyun had weakened, and worried that she might be dead or no longer love him. He then discussed Star Fiend Corpse Poison in Tian Yuan City with Fan Shaobo and returned to find his students had clashed with Group One, leaving him demanding to know who had fought.

• Lu Feng asked Qiao Xuan about the weakening Union Array, and Qiao Xuan said it could fade if one partner died or their love disappeared.
• Lu Feng resolved to visit the Central Continent after the Instructor Tournament to find Jiang Ruoyun and learn what had happened.
• Lu Feng told Fan Shaobo that Zhang A'niu in Tian Yuan City had been poisoned with Star Fiend Corpse Poison, and they agreed the matter might involve a larger conspiracy.
• Fan Shaobo urged Lu Feng to keep watch over Tian Yuan City and offered to call on powerful allies if trouble arose.
• Lu Feng overheard two disciples discussing a fight between his Self-Organized Group and Group One, then entered the academy and asked his students who had fought.

Lu Feng checked the seven prisoners’ cultivation and dismissed the fight between Qian Xin and Mu He without punishment. He then introduced weighted iron-sand bags to teach the group how to redirect and borrow an opponent’s strength, leaving Shao Yang beginning to grasp the lesson.

• Qian Xin explained that Mu He had cut in at the Artifact Hall, insulted the group, and shoved her, prompting her to trap him with an array and break through during their fight.
• Lu Feng decided the group had acted justifiably and would not be punished, then assessed each prisoner’s cultivation progress.
• Lu Feng showed the group how Heavy Star Patterns made the iron-sand bags difficult to catch, and Shao Yang nearly injured himself by trying to stop one casually.
• Shao Yang studied Lu Feng’s technique and recognized how he deflected, retained, guided, and borrowed force.
• Lu Feng taught the group to avoid an enemy’s strengths and use their force against them, then instructed everyone to practice with the iron-sand bags.

Lu Feng trained his students in throwing, swordsmanship, inscription carving, and concealed weapons, using Strange Fate Wood to put their skills to the test. The chapter ended with Jun Ziyi returning to the Puppet Heart Array determined to master its trial despite her broken wooden sword.

• Lu Feng explained how Qian Xin would carve Strange Fate Wood into wooden swords for Jun Ziyi and Batwing Darts for Zhao Yan.
• Lu Feng warned Zhao Yan to use Batwing Darts responsibly, then demonstrated how one could pierce the academy's spiritual energy wall.
• Jun Ziyi was thrown from the Puppet Heart Array with her wooden sword broken and complained that the puppets had soul artifact-grade fire-element longswords.
• Lu Feng told Jun Ziyi that passing the array would make her stronger than Miao Yu and Ning Xiang together, and she asked Qian Xin to keep making wooden swords.

Lu Feng demonstrated how to use the Nearing Immortality Nine Forms and a wooden sword to defeat the Puppet Heart Array’s puppets, giving Jun Ziyi new insight into her sword art. After answering questions and resting, he brought everyone to the tube pillars and explained their spiritual-energy control test.

• Lu Feng entered the Puppet Heart Array with Jun Ziyi and used the Entangling Sword Form to turn the puppets’ attacks against each other without damaging his wooden sword.
• Lu Feng used the Crouching Step Crashing Sword to pierce one puppet’s wrist, then defeated the other and led Jun Ziyi out of the array.
• Jun Ziyi praised Lu Feng, and he shared more of his insights into the Nearing Immortality Nine Forms with her and the others.
• Lu Feng led the group to the tube pillars and explained that they had to raise a Jade Coin inside each pillar to a set scale mark by controlling their spiritual energy.
• Zhao Yan and Man Zhongli avoided Lu Feng’s gaze when he asked who would try the test first.

Shao Yang, Qian Xin, and Jun Ziyi struggled with Lu Feng’s spiritual-energy control exercises until Lu Feng demonstrated perfect control over three pillars. Later, Wang Wei summoned Lu Feng to investigate Su Qing’er’s arrest for Wang Cuihua’s murder, amid signs that powerful families might be plotting against the Su Estate or Lu Feng.

• Shao Yang raised the Jade Coin to the required ninety-eight mark but let it overshoot before correcting it, and Lu Feng criticized his lack of precision.
• Qian Xin reached the required mark on the Liu Tong Pillar but overshot her target on the more resistant Hua Jin Pillar, while Jun Ziyi overshot her chosen mark of sixty-six on the first pillar.
• Lu Feng raised the Jade Coins in all three pillars to sixty-six simultaneously, inspiring the group to train more rigorously.
• Wang Wei told Lu Feng that Su Qing’er had been found at Wang Cuihua’s home after Wang Cuihua was killed, and that Su Qing’er claimed she had been framed.
• Wang Wei reported that the murder weapon and technique pointed to the Su Estate’s Double-Edged Inscription art, while crowds were demanding punishment and the Su Estate faced pressure from Chai Manor and the Zhao Residence.
• Lu Feng learned that Su Qing’er opposed her planned marriage to Chai Tong, giving Chai Manor a possible motive to target the Su Estate.

Lu Feng investigated Wang Cuihua’s death and found that the fatal wound matched Su Qing’er’s use of the Double-Edged Inscription technique, though he suspected she had been controlled. He demonstrated the Soul Grasping Technique on Xing Qi, showing Wang Wei that someone could have forced Su Qing’er to kill without her remembering it.

• Lu Feng examined Wang Cuihua’s hut and noticed that the furniture was damp despite there having been no rain.
• Su Qing’er told Lu Feng she could not remember what happened at the hut and listed the Su Estate members who knew the Double-Edged Inscription technique.
• Lu Feng compared Su Qing’er’s attack marks on the prison bars with Wang Cuihua’s fatal wound and found that both were made using Su Qing’er’s technique.
• Lu Feng used the Soul Grasping Technique on Xing Qi, making him take Wang Wei’s Prison Token before returning to his senses.
• Wang Wei realized that Su Qing’er may have been controlled when she killed Wang Cuihua.

Lu Feng investigated whether Su Qing'er had been controlled when she killed Wang Cuihua, but Phantom Hand Ghost Blade’s account left the circumstances unclear. With no suspect or decisive evidence, Lu Feng considered asking Spirit Prison’s superiors for permission to use Soul Searching Technique as Su Estate’s reputation continued to collapse.

• Lu Feng ordered Wang Wei and Xing Qi to investigate whether someone close to Su Qing'er had used Soul Grasping, medicine, or another means to control her.
• At Night Feather Hall, Lu Feng questioned Phantom Hand Ghost Blade, who said Su Qing'er had seemed cheerful and alert before entering the Bamboo House, where Wang Cuihua appeared dazed.
• Phantom Hand Ghost Blade reported that no one else was in the hut, but he sensed faint spiritual energy and saw the bamboo windows shut after a strange fluctuation.
• Lu Feng found the testimony inconclusive and considered seeking permission to use Soul Searching Technique on Su Qing'er, despite the harm it could cause her soul.
• After leaving Night Feather Hall, Lu Feng heard people discussing Su Estate’s recent killings and its rapidly worsening reputation.