Chapter Summaries

Ruo Shui and Qian Xin confronted the sect forces advancing on Benevolent Heart Academy, then activated the Kind Spirit Rain Prayer Array when the intruders ignored their warnings. The attackers recognized the supposedly harmless rain array but sensed an ominous pressure as the drizzle began.

• Ruo Shui stopped Zhai Kui and Tian Lingzi near the mountain summit and told them Benevolent Heart Academy's headmaster was away.
• Iron Toad arrived with Bone Toad Manor's Soul Masters, and Zhai Kui ordered the forces to charge up the mountain.
• Qian Xin and Ruo Shui secretly activated the array outside the mountain gate, summoning dark clouds that halted the advancing groups.
• Qian Xin warned the intruders to leave, but Zhai Kui and the others resumed their advance.
• Ruo Shui told Qian Xin to open the array, and cold wind and drizzle swept over the mountain road.
• Zhai Kui and Iron Toad mocked the array as harmless, while Tian Lingzi sensed an oppressive force unlike any ordinary cloud-and-rain array.

The attackers suffered heavy losses when QuFu Mountain’s array turned Nether Void Liquid into a corrosive downpour and gathered the resulting Nether Void Qi. They retreated, blamed the missing Pu Hongying, and word spread that the array could injure Heaven Soul Realm Late Stage experts.

• Tian Lingzi and Zhai Kui recognized that the rain contained Nether Void Liquid, and Zhai Kui used Gold Element Qi to shield his group.
• Tian Lingzi noticed Nether Void Qi accumulating in the array and fled, prompting Zhai Kui and the other forces to retreat.
• The downpour intensified as the attackers escaped, injuring nearly everyone and leaving Iron Toad’s cultivation restrained.
• Iron Toad discovered that Pu Hongying and the Azure Hawk Stronghold group had vanished, and the injured forces accused them of deliberately leading the attack.
• News spread that QuFu Mountain’s array could injure Heaven Soul Realm Late Stage experts, causing most Soul Masters to stop advancing.

Ruo Shui’s control of the Nether Void Rain exposed her Five Elements Pure Water Body, forcing Zhai Kui’s group to abandon a direct assault on Benevolent Heart Academy. They planned to use a formal challenge to draw out the academy’s Power Holder, while Shao Yang assured the others that their mentor’s next move was imminent.

• Zhai Kui, Tian Lingzi, and Iron Toad realized that a Five Elements Pure Water Body Soul Master had controlled the Nether Void Rain, and they hesitated to attack Benevolent Heart Academy directly.
• Zhai Kui learned that Jun Family scouts had recorded the confrontation and decided to follow the rules of the Sect Force Realm by sending a Challenge Letter.
• Zhai Kui ordered Cheng Zhishu to prepare to challenge one of Benevolent Heart Academy’s juniors, hoping to force the academy’s Power Holder to intervene.
• Shao Yang and the others discussed the disturbance at the rear mountain, and Shao Yang said the events matched their mentor’s expectations and that the mentor would act soon.
• Jun Ziyi asked what other action their mentor had planned.

Shao Yang explained that Benevolent Heart Academy was named after Old Book and identified an unknown watcher near the mountain. On QuFu Mountain, Luo Xiaoxi and the Fat Old Man waited for the attackers to leave, wary of the powerful formations as Luo Xiaoxi hoped to reach Jun Ziyi.

• Shao Yang pointed out Old Book's statue and explained that Benevolent Heart Academy took its name from him, which could spare Lu Feng some resentment.
• Jun Ziyi noticed Pu Hongying's aura vanish at the back mountain, and Shao Yang said the formation had likely killed him.
• Shao Yang warned that an unidentified person had been watching the mountain, and Jun Ziyi worried the Jun Family had sent another spy.
• Luo Xiaoxi watched Zhai Kui's group from a slope while the Fat Old Man concealed their presence and told her to wait until the attackers left.
• The Fat Old Man said he could not guarantee he could protect Luo Xiaoxi from the formation's full power, and Luo Xiaoxi wondered what powerful backer Jun Ziyi had found.

At the Chu Family Council Hall, Chu Xuanhe made the marriage between the Chu and Lin Families conditional on resolving the Chu Family’s crisis in the rouge trade. He revealed that reviving the lost Hundred Beauty Immortal Rouge required the extinct Zi Dai Flower, leaving the Lin Family facing an apparently impossible demand.

• Chu Xuanhe explained that the Luo Family’s pressure had endangered the Chu Family’s rouge business and demanded that the Lin Family resolve the crisis if it wanted the marriage to proceed.
• Lu Feng offered to help distribute the Chu Family’s products through the Lin, Sun, and Jun Families, but Chu Xuanhe said that would only ease the immediate pressure.
• Lu Feng identified the quality of the Chu Family’s rouge as the underlying problem, and Chu Xuanhe revealed the ancestral formula for Hundred Beauty Immortal Rouge.
• Chu Xuanhe explained that a fire decades earlier had destroyed the Chu Family’s flower house and seed vault, eliminating its supply of Zi Dai Flower.
• Chu Xuanhe said the Zi Dai Flower could not be replaced in the formula, and Lin Bairu realized that he was asking the Lin Family to find the extinct flower.

Chu Xuanhe offered Lu Feng a chance to enter the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins and retrieve Zi Dai Flower seeds left by a Chu Family ancestor, tying the search to a possible marriage alliance. After Lu Feng asked for a third entry slot for the friend who had saved him from an ambush, Chu Xuanhe reacted with alarm and asked what had happened to the attacker.

• Chu Xuanhe revealed that a Chu Family ancestor had entered the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins carrying Zi Dai Flower seeds and never returned, and he offered to let Lu Feng join a search for them.
• Lu Feng asked Chu Xuanhe to provide the Lin Family with entry slots, and Chu Xuanhe agreed to give them one.
• Lin Xiaowan insisted on accompanying Lu Feng and explained that her training at Heavenly Cuisine Villa could help her find Zi Dai Flowers.
• Chu Xuanhe agreed to give both Lu Feng and Lin Xiaowan slots if they swore that all resources they found would belong to the Chu Family.
• Lu Feng asked Chu Xuanhe for another slot for the friend who had rescued him from an ambush, and Chu Xuanhe urgently asked what had happened to the attacker.

Lu Feng secured a third entry quota from the Chu Family by making Chu Xuanhe fear an unseen powerful ally. The families left the marriage unresolved, while Chu Xuanhe and Weng Qin plotted to use the Journey to the Sword Ruins to investigate the Lin Family and possibly kill Chu Youwei.

• Lu Feng implied that a powerful friend would avenge him, frightening Chu Xuanhe into granting the third quota.
• Lin Xiaowan asked whether finding the Zi Dai Flower would secure Lin Liyun's marriage to Chu Youwei, and Chu Xuanhe said the Lin Family would have to handle the Luo Family itself.
• Lu Feng offered to take Chu Youwei into the Lin Family, but Lin Bairu objected to provoking the Luo Family, and Chu Xuanhe postponed further discussion until after the Journey to the Sword Ruins.
• Chu Xuanhe told Weng Qin about the events in the Council Hall, and they worried about the Lin Family's unknown backing and connections.
• Weng Qin proposed sending Chu Youwei into the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins with Lin Liyun and killing her there if they found the Zi Dai Flower.
• Chu Xuanhe agreed to investigate the recipient of the third quota and consider recruiting the powerful expert behind Lin Liyun.

Shao Yang accepted the Six Harmonies Sect’s challenge on behalf of Benevolent Heart Academy and faced Cheng Zhishu in a duel. When Qian Xin activated the Returning to Simplicity Array, Zhai Kui’s group realized the academy had held back during the Nether Void Rain.

• Shao Yang accepted Zhai Kui’s challenge and went down the mountain alone to face Cheng Zhishu.
• Cheng Zhishu announced that he would suppress his strength to match Shao Yang’s Five Elements Four Qi Realm, but Shao Yang insisted on fighting him at full strength.
• Qian Xin activated the Returning to Simplicity Array, and Cheng Zhishu and Zhai Kui’s group recognized its oppressive power.
• Tian Lingzi explained that the array could suppress even powerful soul masters and that breaking it required a Heaven Soul Realm Eight Breaths soul master.
• Zhai Kui reminded the others that the Nether Void Rain had previously covered the area, and Iron Toad realized Benevolent Heart Academy had held back from using the array against them.

Cheng Zhishu entered the Returning to Simplicity Array and fought Shao Yang, whose abundant spiritual energy and spear skill made for a fiercely even contest. Cheng Zhishu unleashed the Six Harmonies Spear, and Shao Yang answered with the Single King Spear as their duel escalated.

• Zhai Kui reconsidered challenging Benevolent Heart Academy after seeing the Returning to Simplicity Array, but sent Cheng Zhishu into its red-ringed area to preserve the Six Harmonies Sect's reputation.
• The array suppressed Cheng Zhishu's concealed strength, forcing him to fight with the power he could normally reveal.
• Shao Yang and Cheng Zhishu clashed with ordinary spear moves, trading hundreds of attacks as Shao Yang relished the evenly matched battle.
• Cheng Zhishu used the Six Harmonies Spear to reclaim the initiative and force Shao Yang to respond with a spear technique.
• Shao Yang unleashed the Single King Spear, setting the two renowned spear techniques against each other.

Cheng Zhishu and Shao Yang fought a fierce spear duel, with each using distinct techniques to seize the initiative. As Shao Yang pressed Cheng Zhishu toward the edge of the Returning to Simplicity Array, a formidable young man arrived and declared that Cheng Zhishu was still hesitating over whether to strike.

• Cheng Zhishu used Ghost Step Triple Layer Spear against Shao Yang, but Shao Yang’s Single King Spear deflected the thrusts.
• Cheng Zhishu switched to Mad Cat Scratches Face and cut Shao Yang’s cheek, then kept attacking to force Shao Yang to spend energy.
• Shao Yang unleashed Kui's Armor Removal, seized the initiative, and drove Cheng Zhishu backward with a relentless offensive.
• Iron Toad predicted that Cheng Zhishu would soon be knocked out of the array, while Zhai Kui and Tian Lingzi defended him.
• A young man arrived and said Cheng Zhishu was hesitating over whether to make his move; his aura intimidated Iron Toad, who then treated him with respect.
• Sang Feiyu wondered who the newcomer was and why Iron Toad feared him.

Cheng Zhishu revealed his mastery of the Six Harmonies Spear’s Shadow Spear, but Shao Yang countered by risking his own body to protect Benevolent Heart Academy’s honor. Both fighters were wounded, and they charged into battle again.

• A mysterious man provoked Cheng Zhishu into revealing his hidden strength, while Shao Yang regretted losing his chance to wear him down further.
• Cheng Zhishu deliberately let Shao Yang pierce his left shoulder, then used a soul attack to conceal his Shadow Spear thrust.
• Shao Yang blocked Cheng Zhishu’s spear with his shoulder and counterattacked with Daylight Night Shadow, forcing Cheng Zhishu to retreat.
• With both fighters injured, the mysterious man urged Shao Yang to surrender, but Shao Yang refused to abandon the academy’s honor.
• Cheng Zhishu and Shao Yang exchanged battle cries and charged at each other again.

Cheng Zhishu and Shao Yang exchanged their strongest spear techniques, with Cheng gaining the initiative after their first collision. Shao Yang answered Cheng’s lethal follow-up with a desperate Single King Spear move that reached Cheng’s chest but failed to injure him further.

• Cheng Zhishu unleashed Boundless Azure Dragon Pierce, startling Sang Feiyu and drawing Iron Toad’s attention to Cheng’s mysterious standing in the Six Harmonies Sect.
• Shao Yang countered with Heaven’s Will Four Absolute Spears, and both fighters released their bent spears and were thrown backward by the collision.
• Cheng Zhishu recovered his spear first and attacked with Azure Dragon Pierce Momentum while Shao Yang was still retrieving his weapon.
• Shao Yang met Cheng’s thrust with The Spear Emerges, the Monarch Weeps, enduring the impact and twisting in midair to thrust back.
• Shao Yang’s spear pressed against Cheng Zhishu’s chest, but his incomplete execution of the move caused no further injury.

Shao Yang defeated Cheng Zhishu by using the Plain Heart Ring to turn the battle around, while a visitor from the Battle Sect sought news of Benevolent Heart Academy’s dean and instructor. After the Six Harmonies Sect withdrew, Lu Feng learned that new developments had emerged at QuFu Mountain, potentially creating the opportunity he had been waiting for.

• Shao Yang used the Plain Heart Ring’s sudden spiritual energy boost to overcome Cheng Zhishu’s treasure armor and point his spear at Cheng Zhishu’s throat.
• A man from the Battle Sect asked when Benevolent Heart Academy’s dean would return, then said he would come back after the academy’s instructor arrived.
• Zhai Kui withdrew the Six Harmonies Sect after the defeat, and Sang Feiyu revealed that he had previously tried to kill Shao Yang in an Eastern Origin Spirit Prison Battle Realm.
• Luo Xiaoxi recognized Shao Yang’s spear technique and tried to approach him, but the Fat Old Man warned her that someone else was still lying in ambush.
• Lu Feng secured three Entry Quotas from the Chu Family, then learned from a passing servant that new developments had occurred at QuFu Mountain.

Mu Hongyin learned that Lu Feng was near QuFu Mountain and set out with Grandpa Ping Kong to reclaim the Burial Gold Dipper, unaware of Benevolent Heart Academy’s growing reputation. News about the academy’s formidable formation spread across the Central Profound Domain, prompting the Gongsun Family to consider courting it and Sun Liuliu and Jin Guan Kai to investigate its mysterious formation master.

• Mu Hongyin identified a Five Elements Pure Water Body near QuFu Mountain as her target and persuaded Grandpa Ping Kong to accompany her to recover the Burial Gold Dipper and kill Lu Feng.
• Lu Feng arranged for Ghost Performer to deliver information about Benevolent Heart Academy to Jun Man Restaurant, which circulated the news throughout the Central Profound Domain.
• Gongsun Che told Gongsun Ranran that Benevolent Heart Academy was founded by Zhou Renshu and protected by a grand formation supposedly made by a Heaven Soul Realm Eight Breaths expert.
• Gongsun Ranran ordered Grandpa Gong to prepare two possible congratulatory gifts and visit QuFu Mountain to assess the academy and offer friendship if its formation master proved powerful.
• Sun Liuliu and Jin Guan Kai discussed the academy’s mysterious formation master and began considering which known experts could be ruled out.

Jin Guan Kai and Sun Liuliu speculated that the mysterious formation master behind QuFu Mountain might belong to a reclusive force or be the vanished Ghost Array. Lu Feng then arrived at QuFu Mountain with Ghost Performer and publicly presented himself as Ruo Shui’s senior brother, helping conceal his connection to the Azure Mountain Sword Sect.

• Jin Guan Kai suggested the formation master might be Ghost Array, while he and Sun Liuliu considered the Returning to Simplicity Array evidence of a hidden force.
• Lu Feng left the Lin Family with Ghost Performer, changed his appearance on the way, and rode to QuFu Mountain.
• Luo Xiaoxi recognized Lu Feng near the mountain and wondered whether his visit would let her follow him up without troubling Luo Tianci.
• Ruo Shui greeted Lu Feng as her senior brother in front of nearby spies, carrying out the plan he had made with Old Book to link himself to the Battle Sect instead of publicly tying the Azure Mountain Sword Sect to Benevolent Heart Academy.

Luo Xiaoxi suspected that Lu Feng had been the person who saved her, while Lu Feng returned to Benevolent Heart Academy and discovered that the Six Harmonies Sect might be connected to the Blood Clan. He cleared Pu Hongying’s corpse from the Nine Puppets Array and freed and subdued Feng Yuan, who had been trapped in the White Banner Array.

• Luo Xiaoxi connected Lu Feng’s spear skills and his familiarity with Jun Ziyi to the person who had saved her, and wondered if he was her rescuer.
• Jun Family scouts recorded that the Azure Mountain Sect Master was Old Book’s disciple, while an old woman postponed her attempt to seize the Sect Token.
• Shao Yang told Lu Feng that Cheng Zhishu’s aura and spear technique resembled those of the Blood Clan, and Lu Feng warned the students to stay out of the conflict.
• Lu Feng inspected the Nine Puppets Array, found Pu Hongying’s mangled corpse, cleared it away, and took his Storage Ring.
• Lu Feng released Feng Yuan from the White Banner Array, sealed his strength, and heard him demand that Lu Feng kill him rather than trap him again.

Lu Feng offered Feng Yuan freedom and help reclaiming Demonic Ape Mountain in exchange for guarding QuFu Mountain for three years, and Feng Yuan accepted when a powerful enemy arrived. Feng Yuan defended Lu Feng against Herding Cloud Sect’s Leveling Sky Venerable, but was swiftly defeated and asked Lu Feng to save his son if he died.

• Qian Xin revealed that Demonic Ape Mountain had changed hands, and Lu Feng offered to help Feng Yuan put down the rebellion if Feng Yuan guarded the mountain for three years.
• Luo Xiaoxi and the Fat Old Man watched Lu Feng’s group, but the Fat Old Man stopped Luo Xiaoxi from approaching to avoid implicating Luo Tianci.
• Mu Hongyin arrived with Ping Kong, and Lu Feng told Feng Yuan to decide whether to accept the three-year agreement.
• Feng Yuan accepted, and Lu Feng temporarily lifted his restraints before Feng Yuan stepped forward to protect Lu Feng.
• Ping Kong struck Feng Yuan down with three bolts of Thunder Light and demanded the return of the Burial Gold Dipper.
• Feng Yuan asked Lu Feng to save his son, Feng Minglang, if Feng Yuan died defending the mountain.

Feng Yuan exhausted his strength and life force in a desperate attack on Leveling Sky Venerable, managing only to touch his shoulder before being blasted away. Lu Feng caught Feng Yuan and began treating his severe injuries, while Leveling Sky Venerable demanded the Burial Gold Dipper and threatened everyone on the mountain.

• Feng Yuan used a secret art to raise his strength and charged at Leveling Sky Venerable despite his injuries.
• Feng Yuan broke free of Leveling Sky Venerable's lightning restraint, but his staff could not penetrate the protective mist around him.
• Feng Yuan endured Leveling Sky Venerable's lightning palm and pressed his staff against Ping Kong's shoulder before being blasted backward.
• Lu Feng caught Feng Yuan, brought him down safely, and began stabilizing his fractured bones and injuries.
• Leveling Sky Venerable demanded the Burial Gold Dipper and threatened to kill everyone on the mountain if it was not handed over.

Lu Feng used the Traces array to trap Leveling Sky Venerable and strike at him while protecting Feng Yuan, but Leveling Sky Venerable blocked the final Sword Light with a powerful shield. The Fat Old Man recognized the shield as a stolen Beast Valley Treasure Item and reacted with killing intent.

• Lu Feng activated the Traces array and sent three Sword Lights toward Leveling Sky Venerable, predicting and evading his Thunder Lights.
• The Sword Lights converged on Leveling Sky Venerable, who could not dodge without endangering Mu Hongyin and was forced to defend himself.
• Leveling Sky Venerable blocked the final Sword Light with the Heaven Severing Rhinoceros Dragon Shield, which lost only a few scales.
• Luo Xiaoxi recognized the shield as the eighth-ranked Weapon List Treasure Item, and the Fat Old Man said it had belonged to Beast Valley before its former Vice Valley Master died.
• The Fat Old Man showed killing intent toward Leveling Sky Venerable, and Luo Xiaoxi urged him to calm down.

Lu Feng treated Feng Yuan’s injuries while Leveling Sky Venerable attacked them with the Herding Thunder Profound Cloud Art. A hidden formation protecting Benevolent Heart Academy’s mountain gate erased the thunder dragons, leaving Leveling Sky Venerable baffled and Luo Xiaoxi asking how the attack had vanished.

• Lu Feng refused to abandon Feng Yuan and promised to take him to rescue his son once his injuries stabilized.
• Leveling Sky Venerable unleashed three thunder dragons at Lu Feng and Feng Yuan.
• An invisible formation above Benevolent Heart Academy’s archway dissolved the dragons before they could reach them.
• Leveling Sky Venerable attacked again, but the formation once more erased his thunder dragons.
• Lu Feng taunted Leveling Sky Venerable as he continued treating Feng Yuan, and Luo Xiaoxi asked the Fat Old Man what formation had stopped the attack.