Chapter Summaries

After deciding to prioritize cultivation resources and searching for the women he cared about, Xu Yi joined the impromptu market gathered around the sect leader’s appointment ceremony. He bought a Great Evolution Array of Rotation for 3,500 spirit stones.

• Xu Yi used a Water Spirit Stone to help Su Xiao Ruo recover, then read a booklet that prompted him to set clear priorities.
• Xu Yi decided that after securing his position as sect leader, he would seek fire-element Talisman Arts and mid-grade Thunder Spirit Stones before searching for the women.
• Xu Yi descended from Guangwu Pavilion and found hundreds of Soul Sensing Realm experts gathered at the armory for the sect leader’s appointment and a spontaneous market.
• Xu Yi overheard an old man in blue and a burly young man argue over the price of a Great Evolution Array of Rotation, then watched the other buyers turn away.
• Xu Yi paid the old man 3,500 spirit stones and received the Great Evolution Array of Rotation.

Xu Yi traded for a Fire element Spirit Stone after a bargaining encounter led him to a white-clothed youth selling a book of fire-type talisman arts. The book contained an incomplete Flame Burst Talisman technique, and Xu Yi was eager to acquire it despite the seller’s high price.

• Xu Yi exchanged three spirit tokens for an array disk and took stock of his dwindling funds.
• Xu Yi offered an Earth element Spirit Stone and spirit stones for the yellow-faced man’s Fire element Spirit Stone, then accepted the man’s offer to introduce someone who knew fire talisman arts.
• The yellow-faced man led Xu Yi to a white-clothed youth and left after warning that the deal’s outcome was Xu Yi’s responsibility.
• The white-clothed youth offered Xu Yi a booklet of wondrous talisman arts for two thousand spirit stones and explained that it preserved only seven or eight parts out of ten of the Flame Burst Talisman technique.
• Xu Yi suspected the talisman art was incomplete but believed it was genuine and grew excited at the prospect of studying it.

Xu Yi tried to buy an incomplete Talisman Art without overpaying, then enlisted the Young Man in Green to obtain the book for him. The Young Man in Green snatched it from Old Qian, leaving Xu Yi with the treasure he wanted.

• Xu Yi refused to pay two thousand spirit stones without seeing the book and walked away from the white-clothed youth.
• Xu Yi found the disguised Young Man in Green and offered him a voucher as advance payment to help obtain the Talisman Art.
• The Young Man in Green questioned Xu Yi's interest, and Xu Yi boasted that he had the talent to master Talisman Arts.
• The Young Man in Green snatched the book from Old Qian, then left while Old Qian protested that Xu Yi had escaped without making a deal.

Xu Yi obtained the genuine Talisman Art from the Young Man in Green, then rushed to the summit of Immortal Martial Cliff for the sect recruitment gathering. After learning how Sincere Grade disciples pledged loyalty and surrendered control of their Sumeru Rings, he asked the old man in the brown robe which faction Lingjian Sect was.

• The Young Man in Green returned the booklet to Xu Yi, who confirmed its Talisman Patterns were genuine and paid him the remaining exchange token.
• Xu Yi studied the Talisman Art through the night, overslept the next morning, and discovered the wilderness was empty because sect recruitment had begun.
• Xu Yi flew to the summit platform and found thousands of cultivators gathered around recruitment booths.
• Xu Yi paid an old man in the brown robe to explain that Sincere Grade applicants pledged part of their Heart Soul and allowed their Sumeru Rings to be inspected.
• Xu Yi understood why cultivators accepted the strict terms and asked the old man which faction Lingjian Sect was.

Xu Yi revealed his true appearance and advertised a generous stipend to recruit Soul Sensing cultivators, drawing a crowd but no applicants. Young Master Feng destroyed his banner, and Young Master Liu accused him of showing contempt for the prefectural lord’s authority.

• Xu Yi learned that Lingjian Sect was close to becoming a second-level sect and decided to recruit disciples himself.
• Xu Yi took an Origin Dissolving Pill, revealed that he was nineteen and at the Mid Soul Sensing Stage, and received a recruitment banner.
• Xu Yi used his blood and qi to write an offer of ten Spirit Stones per month for Sincere Grade Soul Sensing cultivators, attracting a crowd.
• Young Master Feng tore Xu Yi’s banner apart, and Xu Yi asked what he had done wrong.
• Young Master Liu said Xu Yi’s offer exceeded the salaries of prefectural senior officials and accused him of challenging the prefectural lord’s authority.

Xu Yi lost face at the recruitment fair after Young Master Feng forced him to pay a thousand spirit stones, leaving him with no recruits. When the new sect masters chose mountain gates, Xu Yi claimed East Four alongside Young Master Feng, provoking another confrontation.

• Head Official Tong publicly agreed with Young Master Feng and left, after which Xu Yi admitted fault and paid Feng a thousand spirit stones.
• Young Master Liu and Young Master Feng discussed exploiting Xu Yi, while the recruitment fair ended without Xu Yi recruiting anyone.
• Head Official Tong gathered the thirty new sect masters and projected a map showing their available mountain gates.
• The Martial Edicts claimed twenty-eight gates, while Xu Yi and Young Master Feng's beams both targeted the coveted East Four gate.
• Young Master Feng accused Xu Yi of defying him, but Xu Yi asked Head Official Tong whether he had broken any rules.
• Head Official Tong realized Xu Yi had arranged the gathering through a voice transmission and a tempting reward, and regretted agreeing to help.

Xu Yi challenged Young Master Feng over Cold Sun Peak and accepted a life-and-death duel after Young Master Feng and Young Master Liu pressured him. Xu Yi killed Young Master Feng in an instant, then confronted Young Master Liu.

• Xu Yi insisted on choosing Cold Sun Peak and competing fairly with Young Master Feng despite Head Official Tong's warnings.
• Young Master Feng rejected a bidding contest and demanded that Xu Yi fight him, while Young Master Liu and the crowd taunted Xu Yi.
• Xu Yi and Young Master Feng signed a life-and-death agreement, and the crowd cleared a platform for their duel.
• As Young Master Feng began boasting about his Inkwork Sword, Xu Yi captured his soul, took his Sumeru Ring, and dissolved his body with a Corpse Dissolving Pill.
• Xu Yi challenged Young Master Liu to come down and compete for Cold Sun Peak.

Xu Yi claimed Cold Sun Peak for the Number One Under Heaven Sect after killing Young Master Feng and forcing Head Official Tong to cooperate. He recruited Zhao Wuliang and several others, registered the sect, and flew toward Cold Sun Peak as Director Feng took notice of him.

• Young Master Liu fled, and Xu Yi pressured Head Official Tong into opening the Mountain and River Map so he could claim Cold Sun Peak.
• Xu Yi revealed that he had killed Young Master Feng with his Swift Body Talisman and Coral Horn, then threatened to expose Head Official Tong's handling of the claims until Tong let him claim the peak.
• Xu Yi invited the spectators to join the Number One Under Heaven Sect, and Zhao Wuliang accepted, offered his Sumeru Ring, and submitted to the Martial Edict.
• More than a dozen figures joined Xu Yi on the platform, and he paid five thousand Spirit Stones at Golden Auspicious Pavilion to register the sect.
• Director Feng appeared at the pavilion, and after learning who he was, Xu Yi swallowed a Body Concealing Pill, mounted his Mechanical Bird, and flew southeast toward Cold Sun Peak.

Xu Yi traveled to Cold Sun Peak while practicing fire-element talisman patterns and reflecting on the threat posed by Feng Ting Shu. He arrived at the sect, met its chief Menial Worker, and entered the secret chamber beneath his cave abode.

• Xu Yi worried that Feng Ting Shu might use his growing official influence against him, then resolved to rely on his own strength and leave Huaixi Prefecture if necessary.
• While flying toward Cold Sun Peak, Xu Yi practiced fire-element talisman patterns and realized that mastering them required extensive practice, insight, and a resilient Yin Soul.
• Xu Yi rested to recover his Yin Soul, then circled Cold Sun Peak before using the Martial Edict to pass through its protective array.
• Xu Yi landed near the summit, where the chief Menial Worker greeted him as Sect Master and showed him around the peak.
• Xu Yi followed the old man to the Sect Master's cave abode, opened the stone door with the Martial Edict, and entered a spacious secret chamber.

Xu Yi learned that Cold Sun Peak’s Spirit Gathering Array could preserve spiritual energy from spirit stones and used it to improve his Yin Soul while practicing fire-element Talisman Patterns. After six hours, he completed his first pattern but realized he faced nearly eighteen hundred first-tier patterns alone.

• Old Cai explained to Xu Yi how the damaged Spirit Gathering Array gathered and preserved spiritual energy from spirit stones, and Xu Yi kept him on to receive ten incoming Soul Sensing Realm disciples.
• Xu Yi sealed the cave dwelling, activated the array with a spirit stone, and found that its concentrated spiritual energy greatly comforted his Yin Soul.
• Xu Yi used the array’s energy to practice basic fire-element Talisman Patterns on Trial Talismans, then fed the array five spirit stones at a time as his progress improved.
• After six hours and twelve rounds of spirit stones, Xu Yi completed his first Talisman Pattern and realized that nearly eighteen hundred first-tier patterns remained to learn.

Xu Yi discovered a way to reconstruct the incomplete fire-element Talisman Art and spent more than ten days mastering its patterns, strengthening his Yin Soul. He awoke to find a faint red line forming between the Yin Soul’s brows, then learned that ten newly inducted Soul Sensing disciples were waiting at the mountain gate.

• Xu Yi realized the incomplete Talisman Art used only about thirty Talisman Patterns arranged in twelve structures, and he reconstructed nearly all of its missing sections.
• Xu Yi replenished his supplies, took a Clarity Pill, and resumed testing Talisman Patterns through the Trial Talisman.
• After more than ten days of work, Xu Yi had mastered eleven Talisman Patterns and sensed his Yin Soul growing stronger.
• Xu Yi slept for two days and awoke to find a faint red line forming between his Yin Soul’s brows, the start of a Life Soul Red Lotus.
• Old Cai reported that ten Soul Sensing cultivators, apparently the newly inducted disciples Xu Yi had mentioned, were seeking an audience outside the mountain gate.

Xu Yi welcomed ten Soul Sensing Realm experts into the Number One Under Heaven Sect and sent them to search for Fire Spirit Stones. When Steward Fang revealed that Huaixi Prefecture’s merchant associations faked auctions of elemental talisman paper to lure Talisman Masters, he hinted that Xu Yi could obtain the supplies by proving he could draw Fire Element Talismans.

• Xu Yi used the Martial Edict to open Cold Sun Peak’s restrictions and welcomed the ten late-arriving Soul Sensing Realm experts.
• Xu Yi gave each newcomer a Mechanical Bird and ordered Old Cai to show them around and issue Sub-Orders.
• Xu Yi gathered the disciples for dinner, then sent them out to find reliable information about Fire Spirit Stones in exchange for rewards.
• Xu Yi contacted Steward Fang to arrange his departure from the Tianxia Association and ask him to find Fire Element Talisman Paper.
• Steward Fang told Xu Yi that merchant associations across Huaixi Prefecture staged fake elemental talisman-paper auctions to attract Talisman Masters.
• Steward Fang suggested that Xu Yi could obtain Fire Element Spirit Stones and Talisman Paper by demonstrating that he could draw Fire Element Talismans.

Xu Yi tested Steward Fang’s loyalty and, reassured by his prompt arrival at Cold Sun Peak, discussed his plans to investigate Fire Talismans. He then asked about Feng Ting Shu, and Steward Fang began explaining the official power structure that made Feng a dangerous figure.

• Xu Yi worried that Steward Fang might reveal his secrets, so he decided to leave if Fang failed to reach Cold Sun Peak within half a day.
• Steward Fang arrived within half a day, having decided that loyalty to Xu Yi was safer and more valuable than betraying him for a reward.
• Xu Yi met Steward Fang in seclusion at Cold Sun Peak and let him believe he was hiding there to learn about the world.
• Steward Fang warned Xu Yi that acquiring large quantities of Fire Element Spirit Stones or Fire Talismans would be difficult and costly.
• Xu Yi asked about Feng Ting Shu, and Steward Fang identified him as a powerful Household Registration Department commissioner who had become a one-star Star Official.
• Steward Fang began outlining Huaixi Prefecture’s government, starting with the governor and nine elders who formed the Elder Council.

Steward Fang explained Huaixi Prefecture’s ranks and the arduous paths to becoming a Star Official, while Xu Yi searched for a way to rise quickly. Learning how Elder Qin had advanced through dangerous missions, Xu Yi resolved to pursue his own chance and flew toward the main hall, leaving Steward Fang to prepare for his request.

• Steward Fang explained the distinction between Star Envoys, Star Officials, and Senior Officials, and described how clerks rose through patronage or merit.
• Xu Yi asked how the new sect master of Cold Sun Peak could become a Star Official, and Steward Fang outlined the long path through sect ranks and prefecture service.
• Xu Yi asked for examples of humble-born heroes, and Steward Fang described how Elder Qin rose from a first-level sect to a five-star Elder in thirteen years.
• Steward Fang said Elder Qin had become a third-level sect master by completing three dangerous missions and earning nine thousand Merit Points in two years.
• Xu Yi dismissed Steward Fang, gave him a voice-transmission orb, and flew toward the main hall to pursue his plans.

Xu Yi recovered from exhausting himself while mastering all thirty basic first-tier Talisman Patterns, then learned that Number One Under Heaven Sect had been assigned the dreaded Winter City. A Confucian-robed middle-aged man arrived with warnings about Feng Ting Shu and more information to come.

• Xu Yi completed all thirty basic first-tier Talisman Patterns, spending nearly four thousand Spirit Stones and exhausting his soul in the process.
• Xu Yi rested in a lotus pond, recovered, and found that his sensing radius had grown to more than two hundred and thirty zhang.
• A servant summoned Xu Yi to the main hall, where a Confucian-robed middle-aged man demanded Spirit Stones in exchange for news.
• The Confucian-robed middle-aged man told Xu Yi that Feng Ting Shu was a powerful Star Official and criticized him for killing Feng's nephew.
• The Confucian-robed middle-aged man revealed that Number One Under Heaven Sect had been assigned Winter City, making Xu Yi's ten thousand Spirit Stones effectively wasted.

Xu Yi learned that Feng Ting Shu might arrange a deadly task for him and received advice on how to avoid it. At Little Bright Tower, he faced hostility from men seeking Feng Ting Shu’s favor as he prepared to receive his assignment.

• The Confucian-robed middle-aged man warned Xu Yi that Feng Ting Shu could influence his task and advised him to seek a low-level assignment.
• Xu Yi paid the man a hundred spirit stones for his help, then spent the remaining hours nourishing himself and reviewing talisman methods.
• Xu Yi arrived at Immortal Martial Cliff and entered Little Bright Tower to receive his task.
• An attendant gave Xu Yi an Origin Dissolving Pill, revealing his true face and prompting an uproar among the gathered sect leaders.
• A bearded man accused Xu Yi of killing fellow sect members, and a long-faced old man stepped forward to claim he would avenge Feng.

Xu Yi was assigned a mission to kill the Yin Venerable Peach Blossom Demon Zhong Ziyu, exposing Feng Ting Shu’s trap. He went to confront the Confucian-robed man who had helped arrange his Martial Edict.

• Xu Yi ignored the Bearded Middle-aged Man’s taunts until an old man in green robes arrived to assign missions.
• The old man displayed 108 hidden missions and silenced the protesting crowd with a show of authority.
• The Bearded Middle-aged Man blamed Xu Yi for their predicament, and the crowd turned against him.
• Xu Yi selected a mission to eliminate Zhong Ziyu, whose strength was unknown, within three months or lose his position as sect leader.
• Xu Yi realized Feng Ting Shu had set a trap and went to find the Confucian-robed man at the building near the mountain gate.

Xu Yi visited the Confucian-robed middle-aged man to learn about his mission to kill Peach Blossom Demon Zhong Ziyu. The man described the dangers of the Chaotic Star Sea and Zhong Ziyu’s crimes, leaving Xu Yi aware that the mission was nearly certain to end in death.

• Xu Yi confronted the Confucian-robed middle-aged man about setting him up, then offered to pay for information and said he no longer blamed him.
• The Confucian-robed middle-aged man agreed to answer Xu Yi’s questions and warned that he had acted without a choice.
• Xu Yi revealed that his Little Bright Tower mission was to kill Peach Blossom Demon Zhong Ziyu in the Chaotic Star Sea.
• The Confucian-robed middle-aged man explained that the Chaotic Star Sea was a lawless refuge where three Northern Sacred Court expeditions had failed.
• The Confucian-robed middle-aged man recounted Zhong Ziyu’s history of abducting and abusing women, his escape from Dong'an Prefecture, and his killing of three Yin Venerable experts.

Xu Yi learned that defeating the Peach Blossom Demon could earn him a thousand Merit Points and substantial advancement, then set out to exchange his mission edict for resources. Feng Ting Shu revealed that he had arranged the mission and the Martial Edict deposit as successive deceptions to lower Xu Yi’s guard before attacking him.

• The Confucian-robed middle-aged man explained that a thousand Merit Points could advance Xu Yi’s sect, grant him access to the Second-level Armory, and qualify him for an official post.
• Xu Yi agreed to deposit his Martial Edict in the Ink Tower, and the Confucian-robed middle-aged man advised him to visit the White Tower first to exchange his mission edict for resources.
• After Xu Yi left, the Confucian-robed middle-aged man reported to Feng Ting Shu that Xu Yi had accepted the mission and was likely to deposit his Martial Edict.
• Feng Ting Shu explained that he wanted to settle his grudge with Xu Yi personally and had arranged the mission and deposit as deceptions to make Xu Yi lower his guard.
• Feng Ting Shu recalled that he had investigated Xu Yi after Young Master Feng’s death but had found little, and that Xu Yi’s Swift Body Talisman had made him wary.

Xu Yi discovered that the Confucian-robed middle-aged man had betrayed him to Feng Ting Shu, then prepared for the mission by acquiring two covert weapons and settling on Immortal Martial Cliff. He left the chapter in a rented cave abode, planning to improve his cultivation before the three-month deadline.

• The Confucian-robed middle-aged man met Feng Ting Shu, agreed to help him, and left feeling guilty about betraying Xu Yi.
• Xu Yi revealed that he had followed the man and overheard his conversation with Feng Ting Shu, but chose not to hold the betrayal against him.
• Xu Yi bribed the page in blue at Ink Tower to obtain a booklet describing mission supplies and exchanged seven hundred spirit stones for a Sound Blast Box and Clear Wind Silk.
• Xu Yi transferred his Martial Edict at White Tower and decided to remain on Immortal Martial Cliff until the mission deadline.
• Xu Yi paid the Confucian-robed middle-aged man to arrange a cave abode so he could prepare and improve his cultivation.