Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi explored the underwater world with Little Red Carp, then tested how his demon-like bloodline reacted outside the water. He concluded that he was still human and that his changing chest emblems reflected his blood-and-qi output, leaving him wary of exposing his disguise in the Demon Domain.

• Little Red Carp showed Xu Yi the underwater scenery and offered him Warm Fruits, which he enjoyed.
• Xu Yi used the Gale Cloak to race toward the surface, leaving Little Red Carp struggling to keep up.
• Little Red Carp warned Xu Yi against leaving the water, but Xu Yi emerged to test whether he was human or demon.
• Xu Yi found that the emblem on his chest vanished above water and returned as purple star patterns when he reentered the water.
• Xu Yi varied his blood and qi and watched the emblem shift from stars to a brief black moon, concluding that it reflected his strength and demonic aura rather than membership in the Demon Race.
• Xu Yi resolved to monitor the emblem whenever he fought in the Demon Domain so his disguise would not be exposed.

Xu Yi escorted Little Red Carp back after a hidden attacker tried to steal her demon-transforming stone, and he realized he could not sense transformed great demons in the waters. At King Flathead’s welcoming banquet, Xu Yi revealed his black star mark and impressed the demon leaders with his appearance and strength.

• Little Red Carp told Xu Yi she had reached the threshold of transformation, and Xu Yi gave her a demon-transforming stone.
• A hidden vortex seized the stone, but Xu Yi shattered it with sword qi, rescued the stone, and fled with Little Red Carp; a giant tentacled creature watched him escape.
• Xu Yi concluded that transformed great demons could evade his spiritual sense, though he kept this discovery from Little Red Carp.
• King Flathead welcomed Xu Yi at his palace with Xiong Dao, Tu Guan, and Jing Ping, who gathered around to admire his humanlike appearance.
• When Xiong Dao asked whether Xu Yi was truly at the first rank, Xu Yi displayed the black star-shaped mark on his chest.

Xu Yi attended King Pingding’s feast and won the post of demon magistrate of Spring Flower Sea. He learned that his new territory bordered a hostile demon cave, then prepared to take command of its staff.

• Jing Ping, Tu Guan, and Xiong Dao praised Xu Yi’s appearance, and King Pingding asked him to accompany future visits to King Huang’s demon manor.
• Xu Yi recognized the feast’s singers and dancers as Blue Charms and enjoyed the demons’ forthright company.
• Little Red Carp told Xu Yi that Pingding Demon King had appointed him demon magistrate of Spring Flower Sea and assigned A Li, three demon generals, and two squads of Sea Patrol Yakshas to him.
• Little Red Carp explained that Spring Flower Sea was a resource-rich border region troubled by raids from Black Rock Demon Cave, and that Xu Yi had received a two-year tax exemption.
• Xu Yi wondered whether Little Red Carp had an extraordinary bloodline, while she asked when they would set out to establish his official residence and staff.

Xu Yi established a temporary demon palace in Spring Flower Sea, rewarded his troops, and studied Demon Race classics while in seclusion. After seven days, he found a way to pursue the Demon Core he needed through the Merit Discussion Hall of Yellow Wind Demon Territory.

• Xu Yi had Little Red Carp lead the group to Spring Flower Sea and set up his temporary demon palace in a natural cavern.
• Xu Yi opened refining chambers, rewarded his troops with spirit stones, and assigned administrative duties to a Three-Eyed Dragon Cat Demon General.
• Xu Yi and Little Red Carp entered seclusion, with Xu Yi reading Demon Race classics and Little Red Carp seeking to break through her bottleneck.
• Xu Yi read more than a million characters over seven days and learned about the Merit Discussion Hall's system for exchanging treasures for rewards.
• Xu Yi set his sights on the Merit Discussion Hall of Yellow Wind Demon Territory to pursue a Demon Core at the True Essence Second Turn.

Xu Yi arranged to trade a Green Demon Core through the Merit Discussion Hall for the Demon Core Stones he needed to unlock his petrified meridians. He left with five stones and deeper ties to King Pingding’s group, while his origins remained a mystery.

• Xu Yi realized that his human soul would let him control the process of unlocking his petrified meridians, but he needed enough Demon Core Stones to avoid interrupting it.
• Xu Yi decided not to seek a second-turn Demon Core and reported his plan to trade a Green Demon Core to King Pingding and his colleagues.
• Two Fourth-order Great Demons verified Xu Yi’s Green Demon Core and granted his request for five Demon Core Stones, while King Pingding claimed the remaining benefits.
• Xu Yi gave spirit stones to Xiong Dao, Tu Guan, and Jing Ping before leaving, and King Pingding told the others not to overthink Xu Yi’s mysterious origins.

Xu Yi secluded himself on a deserted island and used Demon Core Stones to free his petrified meridians. His unusually abundant blood and qi overwhelmed the process, leaving him swollen and on the verge of bursting as he prepared to gamble on a final attempt.

• Xu Yi returned to Spring Flower Sea, ordered the remaining demon generals to lie low, reported to King Pingding, and left to find a secluded place for cultivation.
• Xu Yi found a deserted island, carved out a stone chamber, built defensive and concealment arrays, and rested for five days.
• Xu Yi swallowed a Demon Core Stone, which freed his Blazing Sun Lung Meridian and sent a flood of blood and qi crashing against his second Dragon Gate.
• Xu Yi discovered that his meridians required far more Demon Core Stones than expected, and his sixth stone was exhausted while nearly half his meridians remained unopened.
• Xu Yi's uncontrolled blood and qi filled his body until he looked ready to burst, and he decided to make a final gamble.

Xu Yi consumed a Demon Core Stone and demon core, broke through his second Dragon Gate, and discovered that his body and perception had grown stronger. After speaking with Elder Bai, he chose to remain in the Demon Domain and headed toward Spring Flower Sea, still unable to use spells while the purple dragon sealed his Qi Sea.

• Xu Yi consumed the Demon Core Stone and demon core, broke through his second Dragon Gate, and lost consciousness from the transformation.
• Xu Yi awoke with sharper perception and a greatly strengthened body, testing his defenses against the Dark Obsidian Dagger.
• Xu Yi saw two halos and a purple dragon sealing his dantian and understood that his Qi Sea would open once the halos erased the dragon.
• Xu Yi contacted Elder Bai, who allowed him to remain in the Demon Domain and urged him not to neglect number theory.
• Xu Yi left his cave and headed for Spring Flower Sea, swimming beneath the surface because he still could not use spells.

Xu Yi confronted the Red Tiger Demon Commander after he tried to claim Spring Flower Sea and Xu Yi’s demon palace. Xu Yi defeated the commander’s generals and seized him, leaving the Red Tiger Demon Commander stunned.

• Xu Yi returned to Spring Flower Sea and learned that the Red Tiger Demon Commander had demanded his demon palace and threatened his forces.
• Xu Yi let the Red Tiger Demon Commander take the old palace while secretly building another one ten li away.
• The Red Tiger Demon Commander discovered Xu Yi’s new palace and rushed there with the Spotted Old Fox and the Two-headed Rattlesnake.
• Xu Yi challenged the Red Tiger Demon Commander for trespassing and invoked the Law of Great Peace, but the commander mocked him.
• Xu Yi struck suddenly, knocked the Spotted Old Fox and the Two-headed Rattlesnake unconscious, and captured the Red Tiger Demon Commander.

Xu Yi captured and killed King Black Rock, turning his feud with Black Rock Demon Cave into a crisis for Pingding Demon Cave. As the gathered demons panicked, Xu Yi declared that he would take responsibility for what he had done.

• Xu Yi bound the Red Tiger Demon Commander to a pole and prepared for Black Rock Demon Cave's forces to arrive.
• King Black Rock confronted Xu Yi, but Xu Yi seized and bound him with a single move.
• A demon commander contacted Tu Guan, and King Pingding arrived with Tu Guan, Jing Ping, and Xiong Dao before apologizing to King Black Rock.
• After King Pingding freed him, King Black Rock attacked Xu Yi with his Dark Light Wave, but Xu Yi pierced through it and killed him with a streak of black light.
• King Pingding and the other demons panicked over the looming consequences, while Xu Yi said he would bear responsibility for King Black Rock's death.

After Xu Yi’s conflict with the Black Rock Demon Cave, the Legal System Court of Yellow Wind Territory summoned Pingding and his subordinates to answer questions. They arrived to find leaders from both Demon Mansions and several presiding judges gathered, with the Dragon Presiding Judge set to hear the case.

• Pingding Demon King promised to stand by Xu Yi, while Jing Ping, Xiong Dao, and Tu Guan reassured him that the Pingding Demon Cave had reason on its side.
• A voice summoned Pingding and his subordinates to the Legal System Court of Yellow Wind Territory.
• Xu Yi recognized that the summons was the outcome he had been working toward, and Pingding hurried there with the four demon lords.
• At the Legal System Court, Pingding greeted the assembled leaders from Wuwei Demon Mansion and Seven Star Demon Mansion, along with other officials and spectators.
• The Dragon Presiding Judge, a striking female demon, was to preside over the case.

At the Legal System Court, Lord Dragon stopped Lord Jiuhuang from immediately pursuing Xu Yi over King Black Rock's death, while Jiuhuang sought to punish King Pingding instead. Xu Yi challenged whether Tu Min truly represented Wuwei Demon Mansion, provoking Tu Min and realizing his preparations to expose the case might be useless in the corrupt court.

• Lord Jiuhuang accused Xu Yi of murdering King Black Rock and asked Lord Dragon to judge him, while Lord Tu Min stayed silent.
• Lord Dragon intervened, declared Xu Yi would be left in her hands, and allowed Jiuhuang to deal with King Pingding.
• Tu Min said he would not sacrifice face to compensate Jiuhuang, signaling that he might give up King Pingding if the terms suited him.
• Xu Yi publicly asked Lord Dragon whether Tu Min was really the head of his Wuwei Demon Mansion, humiliating Tu Min and delighting Jiuhuang.
• Tu Min flew into a rage as Xu Yi reflected that the court's corruption had undermined his carefully prepared evidence and defense.

Xu Yi confronted Tu Min over abandoning Wuwei Demon Mansion and used Shadow-Sound Pearls to show that Black Rock Demon Cave had provoked Pingding Demon Cave. Dragon Lord ruled that killing those who openly violated the Law of Great Peace was meritorious, then questioned Xu Yi about his larger plan.

• Xu Yi challenged Tu Min for failing to protect Wuwei Demon Mansion from the Seven Star Demon Mansion.
• Tu Min tried to take Xu Yi away for punishment, but Dragon Lord invited Xu Yi to respond.
• Xu Yi played Shadow-Sound Pearls that showed Black Rock Demon Cave provoking Pingding Demon Cave, angering Lord Jiuhuang and Tu Min.
• Dragon Lord declared that killing those who openly violated the Law of Great Peace was meritorious.
• Dragon Lord saw through Xu Yi's setup and asked what he was trying to accomplish.

Xu Yi revealed his Divine Bloodline and asked Dragon Lord to open the Dragon Ascension Path so he could rise above those who threatened him. The crowd reacted with outrage as the path’s severe requirements became clear.

• Xu Yi admitted to Dragon Lord that he had advanced his cultivation and wanted to challenge the Demon Race’s heroes.
• Xu Yi displayed the black star emblem on his chest, revealing his Divine Bloodline.
• Xu Yi denounced Red Tiger and Black Rock and asked Dragon Lord to open the Dragon Ascension Path.
• The crowd condemned Xu Yi’s request because his cultivation was only at the first level of qi and blood.
• The chapter recounted how Ning Chen created the Dragon Ascension Path for demon geniuses after becoming the Demon King of the East Sea.
• The path’s rules required challengers to fight multiple fourth-level-or-higher great demons while fighting above their own level.

Xu Yi requested that the forbidden Dragon Ascension Path be opened, and Dragon Lord urged him to withdraw before he risked dying on it. Feng Jiu arrived after Tu Min and Jiu Huang drew him into the dispute, reigniting his bitter conflict with Long Jingxiu.

• Xu Yi asked Dragon Lord to open the Dragon Ascension Path, relying on Demon King Ning Chen's decree to protect his request.
• Dragon Lord warned Xu Yi that the path had killed many geniuses and offered to settle matters if he withdrew.
• Tu Min and Jiu Huang urged Dragon Lord to open the path, hoping Xu Yi would be eliminated before he could grow stronger.
• Feng Jiu arrived and accused Long Jingxiu of treating him like a plaything.
• Long Jingxiu rebuked Feng Jiu and accused Tu Min and Jiu Huang of bringing him there.

Xu Yi assessed Feng Jiu as a formidable opponent while Feng Jiu’s dispute with Long Jingxiu escalated before the assembled demons. Long Jingxiu exposed Feng Jiu’s ignorance of a famous poem, and Feng Jiu accused her of inventing the story to insult him.

• Xu Yi compared the strength of Feng Jiu, Long Qi, Tu Min, and Jiu Huang and judged Feng Jiu to be especially powerful.
• Long Jingxiu angrily rebuked Feng Jiu for interfering in her affairs and mocked him for failing to recite Yu Jizi’s Autumn River Snowy Night.
• Long Jingxiu recalled that she had lost interest in Feng Jiu after he could not follow her recitation of the poem during a romantic evening.
• The demon nobles reacted with uproar because Feng Jiu’s ignorance of the celebrated poem threatened to embarrass his family and Yellow Wind Territory.
• Feng Jiu accused Long Jingxiu of falsely smearing him after she rejected him and called her a filthy woman.

Lord Jiuhuang and Tu Min tried to discredit Long Jingxiu and defend Feng Jiu, but Xu Yi challenged their claims and insulted Feng Jiu’s literary standing. The gathered demons stared at Xu Yi as Feng Jiu and the others erupted in anger.

• Long Jingxiu laughed at Feng Jiu’s claim, and Lord Jiuhuang invented a poem to protect his reputation.
• Tu Min joined Lord Jiuhuang in praising the poem, while both men plotted to discredit Xu Yi and oppose Long Jingxiu.
• Feng Jiu tried to end the argument and shift attention back to Xu Yi and the Dragon Ascension Path.
• Xu Yi defended Long Jingxiu’s honesty, claimed he had mastered his race’s classics as a child, and likened Feng Jiu to a winter crow beside a phoenix.
• Lord Jiuhuang, Tu Min, and Feng Jiu angrily rebuked Xu Yi as the gathered demons stared at him.

Xu Yi provoked Jiuhuang into accepting a literary contest, hoping to make a name for himself and gain Long Jingxiu's protection. Long Jingxiu agreed to set the topic, leaving Xu Yi poised to compete.

• Long Jingxiu urged Feng Jiu to challenge Xu Yi, but Feng Jiu hesitated because he could not compose poetry on a given subject.
• Xu Yi taunted Jiuhuang and Tu Min, boasting that he would slit his throat if he lost and drawing Jiuhuang into the contest.
• Long Jingxiu offered to help Xu Yi avoid the danger, while Feng Jiu grew jealous of her concern for him.
• Jiuhuang promised to grant Xu Yi any condition if Xu Yi won, confident that he could not lose.
• Xu Yi accepted the contest and asked Long Jingxiu to set the topic, and she told him to relax.

Long Jingxiu set Xu Yi and Jiuhuang a poetry challenge titled Autumn River Snowy Night, expecting her choice to unsettle Jiuhuang. Xu Yi wrote a poem that stunned the gathered scholars, and Jiuhuang admitted defeat.

• Long Jingxiu chose Autumn River Snowy Night as the challenge, relying on Jiuhuang's anxiety about matching Yu Jizi's famous poem.
• Tu Min reminded Jiuhuang that he only needed to write a poem suited to the occasion, and Jiuhuang began composing.
• Xu Yi wrote a poem whose opening lines amazed Feng Jiu and left Tu Min bewildered.
• Tu Min recognized the poem as an extraordinary work, while Jiuhuang lost his nerve and could not write.
• Jiuhuang conceded defeat rather than try to compete with Xu Yi's poem.

Xu Yi pressed Lord Jiuhuang to honor the promise attached to his defeat, while Tu Min and Jiuhuang tried to dispute the contest’s outcome and regain control. Feng Jiu intervened, and Xu Yi challenged his right to set a poetry topic.

• Xu Yi reminded Jiuhuang that he had promised him something if he lost, and Jiuhuang realized he had agreed without asking what it was.
• Tu Min claimed the contest had not been decided by a single poem, and Jiuhuang seized on the argument to deny losing overall.
• Xu Yi accused Jiuhuang of evading defeat, while Jiuhuang demanded that someone else set the next topic.
• Feng Jiu stopped Jiuhuang from escalating and supported his request for another person to set the topic.
• Xu Yi challenged Feng Jiu’s literary credentials, pointing out that he had only recently learned of Yu Jizi’s Autumn River Snowy Night.

Xu Yi turned Lord Jiuhuang’s challenge into a demand that four famous demon literati judge him, while Long Jingxiu protected him from Feng Jiu. The four arrived, praised Xu Yi’s poem, and Lang Suxin learned that Xu Yi had written it on the spot.

• Feng Jiu transformed after Xu Yi spat poisonous venom, but Long Jingxiu shielded Xu Yi and warned Feng Jiu not to kill anyone in her court.
• Xu Yi rejected Feng Jiu as a worthy literary challenger and named Lang Suxin, Hu Chunyou, Ji Mengliang, and Niu Bodang instead.
• Feng Jiu agreed to invite the four, but Lang Suxin first refused until Tu Min recited lines from Xu Yi’s poem.
• Lord Jiuhuang contacted the other three, and all four literati gathered to read Xu Yi’s poem.
• Lang Suxin asked where the poem came from, and Lord Jiuhuang revealed that Xu Yi had written it in ten breaths.