Recaps

Xu Yi asked Wu Si to extend the redemption deadline for his family’s pawned treasure box and to help him find powerful techniques for the competition. Wu Si brought him to Zhi Gong Tang in Magic Cloud City, where Long Jin Si explained the basics of Divine Diagram Realm techniques.

• Xu Yi asked Wu Si to extend the treasure box’s redemption deadline, and Wu Si agreed to a ten-year extension with no early redemption.
• Xu Yi asked Wu Si to help him obtain top-tier techniques so he could improve his chances in the grand competition.
• Wu Si took Xu Yi through the city’s teleportation array to Zhi Gong Tang in Magic Cloud City.
• Long Jin Si, Zhi Gong Tang’s deputy head, greeted Xu Yi and praised his poem, Ode to Chrysanthemums.
• Long Jin Si explained that Divine Diagram Realm techniques centered on Myriad Transformations and were broadly divided into five grades.

Xu Yi chose the incomplete Chaos Thunder Art and agreed to buy the magnetic beads needed to cultivate it, despite the high cost. With no Profound Yellow Essences on hand, he asked Wu Si to guarantee a loan from Long Jin Si, leaving the deal settled on credit.

• Wu Si explained the kinds of Divine Diagram Realm abilities and described the ancient Wu Tribe to Xu Yi.
• Long Jin Si offered Xu Yi the Pure Extreme Yang Fire Art, the Eight Extremes Ice Visualization Art, and the incomplete Chaos Thunder Art.
• Xu Yi chose the Chaos Thunder Art, relying on his Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey demon body and experience with thunder arts.
• Long Jin Si said the art required one hundred Yin Origin Magnetic Beads and one hundred Yang Origin Magnetic Beads, costing two hundred Profound Yellow Essences.
• Xu Yi asked to buy on credit and proposed Wu Si as guarantor, and Wu Si agreed.
• Xu Yi declared the purchase settled, despite having no Profound Yellow Essences to pay upfront.

Xu Yi obtained the incomplete Chaos Thunder Art and its magnetic beads, then began testing its first tier at Mount Zengmu Dark Mountain. The first attempt nearly tore apart his Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey form, leaving him badly injured before the Spirit Body Pill healed him.

• Long Jin Si gave Xu Yi the Chaos Thunder Art, the Yin Origin Magnetic Bead, and the Yang Origin Magnetic Bead, then persuaded him to attend a banquet in Magic Cloud City.
• Xu Yi impressed the banquet guests with two poems, made new connections, and received twenty pieces of Profound Yellow Essence from Hall Master Sun.
• Xu Yi and Huang Mei studied the art’s dangers, and Xu Yi prepared to test it with the Four-Colored Seal and a Spirit Body Pill.
• Xu Yi rented a mountain at Mount Zengmu Dark Mountain and combined the two beads to create a Lightning Storm.
• Xu Yi transformed into a Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey, but the magnetic lightning overwhelmed him; he escaped the field and recovered after the Spirit Body Pill healed his injuries.

Xu Yi overcame the danger of cultivating the True Art of Qian Yuan Lightning Control with help from the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Aspect, then mastered its first layer after borrowing resources to continue training. He left the second layer for later and spent his remaining Profound Yellow Essence on high-grade Spirit Body Pills before the grand competition.

• Xu Yi found that the Ruyi Universe Circle could not withstand the lightning storm, but the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Aspect absorbed the thunder and protected him.
• Xu Yi practiced the True Art of Qian Yuan Lightning Control until he ran out of Yuan Magnetic Beads, then borrowed Liu Guancen's name to obtain two hundred more pairs from Tianxi Hall under a strict loan contract.
• Xu Yi returned to Mount Zengmu Dark Mountain and trained with the Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey, resting periodically to study lightning in storms.
• Xu Yi formed a spear from refined magnetic lightning, used it to disperse the storm, and successfully mastered the first layer of the lightning art.
• Xu Yi declined to pursue the second layer because he lacked resources and bought a bottle of high-grade Spirit Body Pills ahead of the grand competition.

Xu Yi reached South Heaven Gate for the Southern Heavenly Court’s competition, where his fame drew schemers and challengers before the event began. A voice addressed the gathered competitors, asking what they sought as the competition opened.

• Xu Yi bought a bottle of high-grade Spirit Body Pills, then spent several months touring Jiangnan before arriving at South Heaven Gate.
• Xu Yi completed registration and slept through the wait until Huang Mei warned him that his number token was flashing and he had to enter Gongjin Hall.
• Xu Yi entered the hall among fifty thousand competitors and rejected offers of alliances and invitations because he wanted to focus on the competition.
• A competitor tried to recruit Xu Yi to expose alleged corruption, but Xu Yi claimed he was one of the cheaters, causing a blue-robed fat man to glare at him.
• A red-robed man accused Xu Yi of stealing Fu Mei’s heart, but Xu Yi redirected his anger toward the blue-robed fat man, whom the red-robed man had mistaken for Empty Guest’s source.
• A chime rang through Gongjin Hall, and an unseen voice asked the competitors what they sought.

Xu Yi entered the Martial Trial, endured a forced melee that eliminated many participants, and was transported to the Chang'an Realm. After losing access to his senses and finding no supplies, he settled into a stone house, where two old enemies soon arrived.

• The eagle-nosed man announced the Martial Trial rules, including a ban on killing and a point system for eliminating other participants.
• The number tags ordered everyone to attack, and Xu Yi survived the hall-wide melee while many participants withdrew by crushing their tags.
• The formation transported Xu Yi to the Chang'an Realm, where his number tag instructed him to survive and eliminate others.
• Xu Yi discovered that his senses could not reach beyond his body, searched a nearby stone house, and decided to lie low.
• The fat man in blue and the burly man in red, who had clashed with Xu Yi in the hall, barged into his stone house.

Xu Yi turned Xie Anshi’s anger into gratitude by writing him a love poem, then learned Xie had used examiner connections to locate him. After Xie left, Mo Yunhou and Xun Jie arrived, apparently seeking Xu Yi’s merit points.

• Xie Anshi and the blue-robed fat man confronted Xu Yi, but Xu threatened to crush his token and withdraw, stopping them from attacking.
• Xu Yi offered to write Xie Anshi a love poem for his beloved Wu-mei, and Xie eagerly accepted.
• Xu Yi wrote Xie a poem and asked how he had found him; Xie revealed he had used special permission from the examiners and knew Xu’s token number was C-69.
• The blue-robed fat man left after warning Xu Yi that well-connected candidates made the competition unfair, and Xie departed after inviting Xu to travel together.
• Mo Yunhou and Xun Jie arrived and offered to protect Xu Yi through the Martial Trial, but Xu said he could surrender his merit points by crushing his token.

Xu Yi’s fame drew multiple groups eager to hire him as a bodyguard, but their competition erupted into a fight around him. A green-clothed woman arrived claiming Xu Yi for herself and unleashed a Ghost-Head Flame Blade against the crowd.

• Mo Yunhou and seven others approached Xu Yi to offer their services as bodyguards, but Xu Yi said he had no interest in the Martial Trial.
• A blue-robed fat man attacked Xu Yi with a Ghost-Head Flame Blade and urged the others not to trust him.
• Xu Yi offered to negotiate with whoever took down the blue-robed fat man, and Xun Jie struck him until he crushed his token and vanished.
• Xu Yi chose Mo Yunhou and his companions, but a hemp-robed old man attacked Xun Jie, starting a melee as the fighters tried to keep Xu Yi from escaping.
• A green-clothed woman arrived and declared that Xu Yi belonged to her, prompting the fighters to attack her.
• The green-clothed woman laughed and summoned a ten-zhang Ghost-Head Flame Blade against the crowd.

The green-clothed woman protected Xu Yi during the trial, and he learned that Director Yu had sent her to repay a favor. When the hunt began, she helped him earn his first merit point, but a newcomer recognized her as Xu Yanzhi.

• The green-clothed woman destroyed Mo Yunhou and the others’ attacks, and they crushed their tokens to escape while she collected their merit points.
• Xu Yi learned that the woman had come at Director Yu’s request and asked her to protect him in exchange for a share of future merit points.
• The woman grew irritated when Xu Yi went to sleep, then he checked his token and saw that the trial’s new map had begun revealing participants’ locations.
• Xu Yi and the woman waited for opponents to arrive, and she quickly defeated a three-person team while Xu Yi eliminated one participant and earned his first merit point.
• A six-person group approached, and an old man recognized the green-clothed woman as Ghost-Faced Rakshasa Xu Yanzhi.

Xu Yi and Xu Yanzhi defeated a group of trial participants before Xu Yanzhi played the flute and Xu Yi impressed her with the Song of the Proud Wanderer. Their music was interrupted by Xuantian of Forget Worry Sea and his followers, while a token announcement revealed that Acquired Spiritual Treasures would appear throughout Chang'an Realm.

• Xu Yanzhi knocked the old man and his companions unconscious with the Ghost-Head Flame Blade, and she and Xu Yi claimed their merit points.
• Xu Yanzhi promised to keep protecting Xu Yi, then played her jade flute and challenged him when he criticized her playing.
• Xu Yi played the Song of the Proud Wanderer and gave Xu Yanzhi its score, leaving her absorbed in the music.
• Xuantian of Forget Worry Sea arrived with seven followers, and the young man in the python robe identified Xu Yanzhi as the Jade Faced Rakshasa who had escaped Nine Nether Canyon.
• Xu Yi received a token notice announcing that an unknown number of Acquired Spiritual Treasures would appear across Chang'an Realm.

Xu Yanzhi battled Xuantian and his reinforcements after he threatened Xu Yi and flaunted a rigged Acquired Spiritual Treasure. She drove off most of the attackers while protecting Xu Yi, leaving Xuantian desperately defending himself and invoking his powerful third brother, Xuan Ye Wang.

• Xuantian received a fourth-grade Azure Dragon Sword and demanded that Xu Yi submit to the Xuan Family or leave the competition.
• Xu Yanzhi attacked Xuantian, overpowering his first defense and forcing his companions to call for reinforcements.
• A burly saber wielder and a young Daoist priest joined the fight, but Xu Yanzhi shielded Xu Yi and shattered their attacks with her Ghost-Head Flame Blade.
• Xu Yanzhi fought through more than thirty opponents while holding Xu Yi, and the burly man and young Daoist eventually fled.
• Xuantian protected himself with a divine diagram and the Azure Dragon Sword, then threatened Xu Yanzhi with retaliation from his third brother, Xuan Ye Wang.

Xu Yi guarded Xu Yanzhi after her battle with Xuantian, then entered the next stage of the Martial Trial and quickly earned more than twenty merit points. As Cangming Smoke drove the trial-takers together, Xu Yi cornered another opponent who tried to bargain with Profound Yellow Essence.

• Xu Yanzhi defeated Xuantian, absorbed his token’s light, and recovered while Xu Yi guarded her.
• The trial’s new round began, scattering the participants and disabling the Ruyi Pearls, so Xu Yi set out to hunt for merit points.
• Xu Yi defeated the Yellow Robe Old Man with magnetic lightning and earned his first point, then gathered more than twenty points in two hours.
• Cangming Smoke appeared and forced Xu Yi and the other trial-takers toward a shrinking safe area.
• Xu Yi struck down a round-faced young man’s Mountain-Cleaving Axe, and the young man offered five pieces of Profound Yellow Essence to be spared.

Xu Yi forced Tang Heng to join him in hunting wealthy trial participants for Profound Yellow Essence. After defeating one hunter, Xu Yi attacked the Young Master Dongming’s group and left Tang to confront the survivors, indirectly warning him not to reveal Xu Yi’s identity.

• Xu Yi demanded thirty pieces of Profound Yellow Essence from Tang Heng, who offered to lead him to wealthy young masters carrying more.
• Xu Yi and Tang Heng disguised themselves in cloaks and set out to hunt, but their first target escaped after blocking Xu Yi’s Magnetic Thunder with an Acquired Spiritual Treasure.
• As Cangming Smoke shrank the map, Tang Heng identified the Young Master Dongming and his two companions as valuable targets.
• Xu Yi attacked the group with Palm Thunder, forcing the hemp-clothed middle-aged man to crush his token and escape while Xu Yi collected Floating Light and a merit point.
• Xu Yi told Old Tang to handle the remaining men, and Tang Heng realized the name was an indirect warning to keep Xu Yi’s identity secret.

Xu Yi and Tang Heng negotiated with Young Master Dongming, who hired Xu Yi to kill Xiang Yingxin and sealed their agreement in the Seven Ghosts Nail Head Book. After paying Xu Yi two hundred Profound Yellow Essence, Young Master Dongming offered to help him find more wealthy targets.

• Xu Yi drove Mr. Wu away and demanded payment from Young Master Dongming.
• Young Master Dongming asked Xu Yi to kill Xiang Yingxin, explaining that Xiang had murdered his cousin.
• Xu Yi negotiated a fee of three hundred Profound Yellow Essence, with two hundred paid immediately and the rest due within two years.
• Xu Yi and Young Master Dongming sealed their agreement in the Seven Ghosts Nail Head Book, and Xu Yi gave Tang Heng twenty Profound Yellow Essence.
• Xu Yi said he would still rob rich targets on the way to finding Xiang Yingxin, and Young Master Dongming offered to join in and name more targets.

Xu Yi, Tang Heng, and Dongming Neng teamed up to rob contestants and sell protection, earning a large haul as the trial zone shrank. Xu Yi dissolved his agreement with Dongming Neng over their failed hunt for Xiang Yingxin, but Tang Heng urged the group to stay together.

• Dongming Neng joined Xu Yi and Tang Heng in their robbery business, and the three captured Ye Feiyan and signed a paid protection agreement with him.
• With Dongming Neng and Tang Heng identifying targets, Xu Yi robbed three more contestants and shared the Profound Yellow Essence with his partners.
• As the map shrank, rival groups fought back, while Dongming Neng grew discouraged because they still had not found Xiang Yingxin.
• Xu Yi offered to release Dongming Neng from their agreement and promised to help against Xiang Yingxin if circumstances allowed; they dissolved their vow and Xu Yi gave Dongming Neng an Origin Seal Bead.
• When Xu Yi prepared to part ways, Tang Heng suggested that he and Dongming Neng remove their cloaks so the three could keep working together.

Xu Yi watched Xu Yanzhi battle Xuan Ye Wang and the other four members of the Five Gentlemen of Langya, who joined forces after Xuan Ye Wang called for help. The fight left the five struggling to contain her, while their plans to use a trapping formation were complicated by the approaching Cangming Smoke.

• A shock wave from a distant battle drew Xu Yi, Dongming Neng, and Tang Heng toward the fighters.
• Xu Yi recognized Xuan Ye Wang and his Gold Token Bodyguard, Xu Yanzhi, as the two opponents.
• Xuan Ye Wang summoned Long Xiang, Xiang Yingxin, Ma Shaohui, and Zuo Tian to help him fight Xu Yanzhi.
• Xu Yi condemned the five through voice transmission, and the gathered cultivators began cheering for Xu Yanzhi.
• As Xu Yanzhi held off all five and exposed weaknesses in their formation, Xuan Ye Wang urged Long Xiang to activate the Five-Star Forbidden Net Formation despite the approaching Cangming Smoke.
• Xuan Ye Wang’s halberd struck at Xu Yanzhi when she threatened Ma Shaohui, forcing her to counterattack and save him.

Xu Yanzhi fought Xuan Ye Wang and the others inside the Five-Star Forbidden Net Formation as Cangming Smoke closed in, while Xu Yi tried to break the formation with magnetic lightning. The five men eventually crushed their tokens and withdrew, leaving Xu Yanzhi victorious but gravely injured by the poisonous smoke.

• Long Xiang used a Golden Seed to form the Five-Star Forbidden Net Formation around Xu Yanzhi, allowing Xuan Ye Wang and the others to attack her without fear of her escaping.
• Tang Heng warned Xu Yi that Cangming Smoke was approaching, but Xu Yi stayed behind to watch Xu Yanzhi fight and sent Tang Heng and Dongming Neng away.
• Xuan Ye Wang and the others ignited their divine images and unleashed their full power against Xu Yanzhi as Cangming Smoke arrived ahead of schedule.
• Xu Yi struck the formation with magnetic lightning, but Cangming Smoke spread through it before he could break it.
• Xuan Ye Wang, Long Xiang, Ma Shaohui, Zuo Tian, and Xiang Yingxin begged Xu Yanzhi to stop attacking, but she continued until they crushed their tokens and left the tournament.
• Xu Yanzhi put away Floating Light, fell to her knees, and coughed up blood after Cangming Smoke poisoned her organs.

Xu Yi saved Xu Yanzhi from the sealing array and treated her in the Four-Colored Seal Space, unaware she was conscious. After learning the trial’s new Red Name rules, he discovered that he himself had been selected as a Red Name.

• Xu Yi transformed into a Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey, shattered the Five-Star Sealing Array, and carried Xu Yanzhi away from the Cangming Smoke.
• Xu Yi used the Four-Colored Seal Space to draw poison from Xu Yanzhi, then stopped when it began stripping away the Nine Netherworld Qi she had refined.
• Xu Yanzhi secretly regained consciousness, recognized Xu Yi, and endured his attempts to treat her while suppressing the surging Nine Netherworld Qi.
• Xu Yi read the Red Name rules, which barred selected trial-takers from withdrawing and allowed others to hunt them for merit points.
• Xu Yi assumed he could hunt a Red Name for points, then learned that he had been selected as one himself.

Xu Yi fought through repeated encirclements while carrying the unconscious Xu Yanzhi, using his Red Name’s map and powers to escape the surrounding trial participants. After Xu Yanzhi woke and then collapsed from weakness, Xu Yi stayed to protect her, and she revealed that Yuwen Tuo had set him up.

• Xu Yi discovered the Red Name’s tracking map and teleportation chances, then carried Xu Yanzhi through an encirclement and eliminated numerous trial participants with Palm Thunder.
• Xu Yi transformed into the Crimson Flame Thunder Monkey and broke through thirteen formations, exhausting his magical power and Spirit Body Pills while shielding Xu Yanzhi from attacks.
• Xu Yi noticed Xu Yanzhi’s tears and infused her with Cloud Crane Pure Qi, helping her regain control of the chaotic energy and wake up.
• Xu Yi tried to leave Xu Yanzhi somewhere safe and draw the nearby enemies away, but she collapsed, so he returned and gave her his remaining spiritual fluid.
• Xu Yi refused to abandon the recovering Xu Yanzhi, and she told him that Yuwen Tuo had arranged his Red Name.

Xu Yi realized Xu Yanzhi had been hired by Yuwen Tuo to kill him, but she spared him by transferring the Red Name marker to herself. After she vanished, Xu Yi rested and recovered while the other trial-takers pursued the new Red Name.

• Xu Yi confronted Xu Yanzhi after realizing she had been sent by Yuwen Tuo, then saved her from attackers who mistook her for his accomplice.
• Xu Yi teleported away from the surrounding armies and struggled to recover on a hill before setting off alone.
• Xu Yanzhi caught up with Xu Yi, took his Starry Sky Ring, and transferred the Red Name marker from him to herself.
• Xu Yanzhi revealed she had accepted Yuwen Tuo's mission in exchange for a recommendation letter to become an Immortal Official, then left Xu Yi alive.
• Xu Yi ate and rested in the grass while the trial-takers searched for the Red Name, and his strength gradually returned.

Xu Yi fought his way back to Xu Yanzhi and helped her break the encirclement, while she held onto the Red Name. Their victory was interrupted by Tong Fengquan, who challenged Xu Yanzhi to withstand three sword strikes, but he suddenly found himself unable to move.

• Xu Yi ambushed seven trial participants, eliminated four, took their merit points, and exchanged two high-grade Spirit Body Pills for keeping the Green-robed Man restrained.
• Xu Yi swallowed a pill and rushed to Xu Yanzhi, who was surrounded and fighting off the participants attacking her.
• Xu Yi joined the battle, wounded enemies from the shadows, and spread suspicions that others were withholding effort to steal the merit points.
• Xu Yanzhi’s assault and Xu Yi’s rumors broke the crowd’s morale, and the surrounding participants fled.
• Tong Fengquan appeared, demanded Xu Yanzhi surrender the Red Name, and challenged her to survive three sword strikes; as he introduced his wooden sword, he suddenly lost control of his body.

Xu Yanzhi defeated Xu Yi in the trial but gave him her Red Name, sacrificing her chance to advance; before leaving, they shared music, liquor, and a farewell poem. After returning from Chang'an Realm, she encountered Yuwen Tuo and Old Fan, who demanded answers about her failed contract.

• Xu Yi struck Tong Fengquan down with thunder magic, but Xu Yanzhi soon overpowered Xu Yi and took his token.
• Xu Yanzhi marked Xu Yi as a Red Name, exhausting her progress and dooming her chances in the Martial Trial.
• Xu Yi and Xu Yanzhi played “The Proud Wanderer” together, shared liquor, and Xu Yi recited a poem that moved her before she left.
• Xu Yanzhi emerged from Gongjin Hall, remembered the green robe Xu Yi had given her, and suffered a sudden bout of pain before recovering.
• Yuwen Tuo and Old Fan confronted Xu Yanzhi, and she returned the fifteen pieces of Profound Yellow Essence they had paid to hire her.

Xu Yanzhi drove off Yuwen Tuo after warning him not to target Xu Yi, while Yuwen Tuo and Old Fan resolved to block Xu Yi from earning a real post. Xu Yi began the written exam by entering a chamber with two Insight Walls and calmly preparing to seek a Dao Fruit.

• Yuwen Tuo accused Xu Yanzhi of helping Xu Yi, and she shattered his attack with the Asura Cold Flame Blade before warning him to leave Xu Yi alone.
• After Xu Yanzhi disappeared, Yuwen Tuo struck Xia Qijie unconscious and ordered Old Fan to send him to Qian Prison.
• Old Fan advised Yuwen Tuo that Xu Yi could still be denied a real post if he failed the written exam and received only a nominal appointment.
• Xu Yi returned to Gongjin Hall, where the five hundred Martial Trial survivors gathered before attendants led them to the written exam.
• Xu Yi entered a chamber with Insight Walls containing incarnations of the Immaculate Wonderful Tree and the Seven Treasures Jade Tree, then sat down to steady his mind before beginning.

Xu Yi faced a trial inside a clone of the Immaculate Wonderful Tree and recited a Buddhist verse that stirred its main tree. The chapter left the Ancestor Buddha Court in turmoil as a phantom escaped the tree and an old monk demanded to know who had refined its clone.

• Xu Yi discovered that the Immaculate Wonderful Tree in his examination room bore only first-grade Dao Fruits and suspected Yuwen Tuo had arranged the room change to sabotage him.
• Yuwen Tuo told Old Fan that he had switched Xu Yi’s examination room and intended to ensure Xu Yi received the worst Immortal Official post.
• Xu Yi was pulled into a hellish realm of vengeful ghosts, resisted their assault, and recited a Buddhist verse that made the vision vanish.
• Xu Yi’s recitation caused the clone of the Immaculate Wonderful Tree and its main tree in the Ancestor Buddha Court to shake violently.
• A hundred thousand Buddhas chanted the Great Brightness Sutra to steady the main tree, but a phantom escaped, and an old monk roared that someone had refined a clone.

Xu Yi endured severe injuries to draw the Immaculate Wonderful Tree and Seven Treasures Jade Tree into his Divine Diagrams, then barely completed his Dao Fruit comprehension before the examination deadline. His success stunned Yuwen Tuo and prompted officials to suspect that someone had helped him evade the Red Name.

• Xu Yi recited Buddhist scripture, drew the Immaculate Wonderful Tree toward him, and used Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's sword to halt it long enough to absorb a Buddhist Dao Fruit.
• Xu Yi recited six words of Daoist truth, attracting the Seven Treasures Jade Tree and absorbing a Daoist Dao Fruit into his demon body's Divine Diagram.
• Powerful beings at Shangqing Temple and Yuqing Pavilion blamed the Witch Emperor for threatening the two divine trees, while Xu Yi remained unaware of the uproar.
• Xu Yi was transported to Gongjin Hall just before the comprehension deadline, passed the Path Testing Stone, and completed his examination.
• Yuwen Tuo and Old Fan were shocked that Xu Yi had passed, while the Blue Robe Old Man told the Red Robe Middle-aged Man that someone might have helped Xu Yi get past the Red Name.