Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qingyuan fought Steward Wan, who unleashed his hidden Natal Magic Treasure, the Mountain-Shaking Bell, after realizing he could not defeat Zhang Qingyuan in a prolonged battle. Zhang Qingyuan answered with the Nine Dragon Black Water Cover, and their clash continued across the Underground Water Domain.

• Steward Wan decided to kill Zhang Qingyuan and frame him as an enemy spy to hide his own schemes.
• Zhang Qingyuan and Steward Wan fought for over a hundred moves, with Zhang Qingyuan matching Steward Wan’s Half-step True Essence Realm strength.
• Steward Wan summoned his Mountain-Shaking Bell, a Natal Magic Treasure he had secretly refined over several years.
• Zhang Qingyuan invoked the Nine Dragon Black Water Cover, drawing in the surrounding currents as nine dragons surged toward the bronze bell.

Zhang Qingyuan defeated Steward Wan by shattering his Mountain-Shaking Bell and severing his arm, but he had nearly exhausted his Spirit Essence. He collected the Azure Water Green Lotus and escaped with Lin Yan before more enemies arrived.

• Steward Wan’s Mountain-Shaking Bell collided with Zhang Qingyuan’s attack, cracked apart, and gravely wounded Steward Wan through their connection.
• Zhang Qingyuan pressed his advantage and used the Sword Drawing Technique to grind Steward Wan’s left arm to pieces.
• Steward Wan fled after threatening Zhang Qingyuan, and the remaining Law Enforcement Disciples retreated as well.
• Zhang Qingyuan collected the Azure Water Green Lotus and left with Lin Yan, having used up most of his Spirit Essence.

After breaking through to Ninth Stage Perfection with the Azure Water Green Lotus seed, Zhang Qingyuan left the Underground Water Domain with Lin Yan and returned to the Sect. He accepted that punishment might follow for injuring Steward Wan, while Lin Yan’s mysterious inner voice judged Zhang Qingyuan to have potential for greatness.

• Zhang Qingyuan refined the Azure Water Green Lotus seed and broke through to the Ninth Stage Perfection Realm.
• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on his gains, his fight with Steward Wan, and the possible punishment for injuring a Law Enforcement Hall Deacon.
• Lin Yan congratulated Zhang Qingyuan on his breakthrough and asked what he would do about the Sect’s likely response.
• Zhang Qingyuan said he would wait for the Sect to handle the matter and was confident the punishment would not be severe.
• Zhang Qingyuan and Lin Yan returned through the Underground Water Domain, parted ways, and Lin Yan heard an aged voice praise Zhang Qingyuan’s potential.

Lin Yan’s ring-bound Old Master praised Zhang Qingyuan’s decisive spirit and urged Lin Yan to draw him to his side. Meanwhile, the Sect punished Zhang Qingyuan by sending him to the dangerous South Sea frontier for ten years, leaving him unable to return to the Sect during that time.

• The Old Master explained to Lin Yan that Zhang Qingyuan showed both caution and youthful sharpness, giving him a chance to become a powerful cultivator.
• The Old Master advised Lin Yan to recruit Zhang Qingyuan and reminded him not to let the fire in his heart go out.
• Zhang Qingyuan’s defeat of Wan Dehua spread through the Inner Sect, making him famous while dividing opinions about his actions.
• Wang Yuènián told Zhang Qingyuan that the Sect had confirmed Wan Dehua’s corruption and imprisoned him, but still judged Zhang Qingyuan guilty of defying orders and resisting the Law Enforcement Hall.
• Wang Yuènián announced that Zhang Qingyuan’s newly promoted Inner Sect benefits would end early and that he must serve ten years at the South Sea frontier without returning to the Sect.

Zhang Qingyuan learned that Wang Yuènián had reduced his punishment to ten years of guard duty and expansion work in the South Sea, though he would miss the Newly Promoted Inner Sect Disciple Grand Competition. He accepted the exile as a chance to face danger and explore the Cultivation World, then packed to leave the Sect.

• Wang Yuènián told Zhang Qingyuan that he had secured a South Sea assignment instead of the more dangerous twenty-year East Sea border posting, and advised him to visit Daoist Ming Shui on Tiannan Island.
• Zhang Qingyuan realized his punishment required him to leave within a month, so he would miss the competition and lose his chance at a Condensing True Pill.
• Zhang Qingyuan decided he did not regret fighting the person who had provoked him and considered seeking cultivation resources in the South Sea.
• Zhang Qingyuan embraced a bolder outlook while retaining his caution, packed his belongings and deployment order, and prepared to leave the Sect.

Zhang Qingyuan learned that factional struggles within the Cloud Water Sect had turned his case into an excuse to suppress the Radical Faction, resulting in his ten-year exile to the South Sea. As his friends saw him off with maps and intelligence, he vowed to reach the True Essence Realm before he could return.

• Zhang Qingyuan's friends visited and comforted him, condemning the sect's punishment and wishing him a successful return.
• Shen Hongzhou gave Zhang Qingyuan maps and geographical information about the South Sea, while Zhao Yuanyang provided details about its cultivation forces.
• Lin Yan explained that the Steadfast Faction and Radical Faction were divided over how the sect should guide its disciples.
• Lin Yan revealed that the Steadfast Faction used Zhang Qingyuan's clash with the Law Enforcement Hall to suppress the Radical Faction, even though Steward Wan had been sentenced to the Ice Prison.
• Zhang Qingyuan realized his lack of strength had made him a pawn in the factions' struggle and vowed to reach the True Essence Realm within ten years.

Zhang Qingyuan accepted his ten-year assignment to the South Sea and set out cautiously, aware that Wan Dehua might seek revenge. In the Ice Prison, Wan Dehua begged his younger brother to kill Zhang Qingyuan in exchange for everything he possessed.

• Zhang Qingyuan reassured Zhao Yuanyang and the others that the South Sea could offer opportunities to cultivate, then exchanged farewells with them.
• Zhang Qingyuan reflected that Wan Dehua had lost his position and been sentenced to twenty years in the Ice Prison, and he suspected Wan Dehua might arrange an attack on him.
• Zhang Qingyuan left the Sect and traveled toward the South Sea while concealing his tracks and watching for ambushes.
• Zhang Qingyuan passed through Luoshui County without visiting the Jiang Family and decided to investigate a Treasure Map Jade Slip after settling in the South Sea.
• Wan Dehua's younger brother visited him in the Ice Prison, and Wan Dehua offered him everything he had if he would kill Zhang Qingyuan.

Wan Dehua traded a secret to his half-brother for an oath to kill Zhang Qingyuan, then committed suicide in prison. Unaware of the plot, Zhang Qingyuan prepared for his new post in the South Sea and finally left Tiannan City for the Moon Liên Islands.

• Wan Dehua persuaded his half-brother to swear an oath to kill Zhang Qingyuan in exchange for a hidden secret.
• After his half-brother left, Wan Dehua destroyed his dantian and meridians and died by suicide.
• Zhang Qingyuan arrived in Tiannan City and received orders to guard the Moon Liên Islands for ten years.
• Zhang Qingyuan gathered intelligence about Haizhou and the islands, but learned that Daoist Ming Shui was away and arranged for a message to be sent when he returned.
• Zhang Qingyuan spent more than two months training, buying equipment, and refining Headmaster Liu's Jade Talisman before departing for the islands.

Zhang Qingyuan prepared for the dangers of the South Sea and boarded a merchant ship bound for Moon Connect Island, hiding his true strength. As the ship set off, its steward dismissed him as an inexperienced newcomer while fawning over a powerful cultivator.

• Zhang Qingyuan spent over two months in Tiannan City improving his strength and learning about survival at sea before deciding to travel to Moon Connect Island.
• Zhang Qingyuan concealed his aura as a mid-stage Spirit Essence Realm cultivator and paid to board a merchant ship for the ten-day-or-longer journey.
• The ship’s steward assigned Zhang Qingyuan a room on the second floor and offered him information about food and provisions aboard.
• After Zhang Qingyuan left, the steward mocked him as a greenhorn likely to fall victim to South Sea bandits.
• The steward warmly escorted a powerful late ninth stage cultivator to a top-tier room and continued treating him with deference.

Zhang Qingyuan’s voyage to the Moon Liên Islands was interrupted when pirates launched a surprise attack on the merchant ship. He stayed hidden as the fighting began, then sensed a greater danger as pirate leader Song Jingang attacked the ship with his Demon Subduing Staff.

• Zhang Qingyuan spent the voyage studying the South Sea islands and cultivating as the merchant ship traveled toward Moon Liên Islands.
• Pirates emerged from the sea at night and attacked the merchant ship while a pirate Magic Ship charged toward it.
• The ship’s guards and Captain fought the pirates as the battle spread through the ship, but Zhang Qingyuan remained hidden and assessed their strength.
• Zhang Qingyuan sensed that someone was watching and prepared to stay concealed.
• Song Jingang confronted Ouyang Zhongyuan and struck at the merchant ship with his Demon Subduing Staff, and Ouyang Zhongyuan and the Guard Captain joined forces to block it.

Zhang Qingyuan watched the pirates gain the upper hand aboard the merchant ship, then revealed his strength by killing the attackers who challenged him. As he slaughtered the pirates and drove them into retreat, the hidden threat he had been sensing grew stronger.

• Zhang Qingyuan searched for the unseen threat while the pirates’ battle pushed the merchant ship’s defenders toward defeat.
• Zhang Qingyuan killed an Eighth Level pirate with a casual palm strike, drawing everyone’s attention.
• Zhang Qingyuan broke through two Early Ninth Stage pirates’ joint attacks and killed them both with a fist and a palm.
• Zhang Qingyuan sensed the hidden danger intensify, then killed another pirate and began cutting down the attackers in rapid succession.
• The surviving pirate leader shouted for everyone to retreat.

Zhang Qingyuan effortlessly defeated the pirates attacking Ouyang Zhongming’s merchant ship and severely injured their leader, Song Jingang. As the surviving pirates surrendered and Ouyang Zhongming thanked him, an unprecedented danger suddenly descended upon Zhang Qingyuan.

• Zhang Qingyuan killed the pirates who had boarded the merchant ship, leaving the ship’s steward to regret having underestimated him.
• Song Jingang burst through the ship’s ceiling and attacked Zhang Qingyuan with the Demon Subduing Staff.
• Zhang Qingyuan redirected the Demon Subduing Staff’s attack back at Song Jingang, severely injuring him and forcing him to flee.
• Zhang Qingyuan finished off or subdued the remaining pirates, and the battle aboard the ship subsided.
• Ouyang Zhongming thanked Zhang Qingyuan, but an unprecedented danger suddenly made Zhang Qingyuan’s hair stand on end.

Wan Le'an ambushed Zhang Qingyuan aboard a merchant ship, then pursued him after Zhang escaped and revealed that he sought revenge for his elder brother Wan Dehua. Zhang challenged the injustice of being blamed for Wan Dehua’s own actions, but Wan Le'an declared that strength made the rules and attacked him.

• Zhang Qingyuan dodged Wan Le'an’s devastating sword strike and fled on the Silver Luan Mountain Sparrow as the merchant ship was nearly split apart.
• Wan Le'an pursued Zhang Qingyuan and caught up with him at a reef.
• Wan Le'an revealed that he was Wan Dehua’s younger brother and had been ordered to kill Zhang Qingyuan.
• Zhang Qingyuan argued that Wan Dehua’s greed and misconduct had caused his own downfall, not Zhang Qingyuan’s actions.
• Wan Le'an said the strong made justice and sent his sword crashing down toward Zhang Qingyuan.

Zhang Qingyuan fought Wan Le'an, a True Essence Realm cultivator, and used his strength and the sea to resist the overwhelming attacks. He survived Wan Le'an's opening strikes but was badly battered by the final blow of Sword Suppressing Eight Directions.

• Wan Le'an increased the power of his sword strike, but Zhang Qingyuan blocked it with Three Waves Covering the Sea and survived thanks to his Profound Origin Bodyguard Armor.
• Wan Le'an declared that Zhang Qingyuan would die, and Zhang Qingyuan plunged into the sea to make the water his battlefield.
• Wan Le'an pursued Zhang Qingyuan underwater and attacked with Sword Suppressing Eight Directions, sending eight Sword Lights toward him.
• Zhang Qingyuan evaded the first six Sword Lights and used his Sword Drawing Technique to cancel the seventh.
• Wan Le'an's eighth Sword Light struck Zhang Qingyuan, overturning his internal organs and blasting him away.

Zhang Qingyuan endured Wan Le'an’s relentless True Essence sword attacks and used Water Intent to anticipate their paths. He poisoned Wan Le'an with a hidden needle, creating an opening for a counterattack.

• Zhang Qingyuan survived Wan Le'an’s sword strike and answered with Overturning Sea Threefold Wave, but Wan Le'an’s sword light shattered it.
• Wan Le'an launched a barrage of sword shadows, forcing Zhang Qingyuan to dodge and fight back as he grew increasingly battered.
• Zhang Qingyuan used Water Intent and Spiritual Sense to sense the sword attacks’ trajectories and gradually find openings.
• Zhang Qingyuan’s Qi Breaking Needles distracted Wan Le'an, and a poisoned needle pierced his arm.
• Wan Le'an pulled out the needle and suppressed the Spider Demon poison, giving Zhang Qingyuan an opportunity to counterattack.

Zhang Qingyuan exploited Wan Le'an’s poisoned arm and a brief lull in the fight to unleash the power sealed in Headmaster Liu’s Jade Talisman. Wan Le'an’s desperate escape and attempts to block the strike failed, and the chapter ended with the attack engulfing him.

• Zhang Qingyuan unleashed the Nine Dragon Black Water Cover, forcing Wan Le'an to break the Water Dragons while the poison spread through his arm.
• Wan Le'an chose to suppress the poison, believing Zhang Qingyuan could not threaten him during the brief pause.
• Zhang Qingyuan activated the Jade Talisman containing one strike from Headmaster Liu.
• Wan Le'an fled and detonated his Magic Tools, including his Natal Magic Tool, to stop the incoming attack.
• Headmaster Liu’s overwhelming strike swallowed Wan Le'an in a massive explosion.

After recovering from his battle with Wan Le'an, Zhang Qingyuan examined his spoils and discovered that a White Jade Cushion marked “Taiyi” greatly increased his cultivation speed and sharpened his mind. He was left eager to learn where the mysterious treasure came from.

• Zhang Qingyuan retrieved Wan Le'an's Storage Bag and escaped underwater, while a sea beast later swallowed Wan Le'an's body.
• Several days later, Zhang Qingyuan recovered from the battle and realized that the intense fight had improved his techniques, control, and cultivation.
• Zhang Qingyuan searched Wan Le'an's Storage Bag and found little wealth, but noticed an unusual White Jade Cushion bearing the faint characters “Taiyi.”
• Zhang Qingyuan tested the White Jade Cushion and discovered that cultivating on it more than doubled his cultivation speed and calmed his mind.

Zhang Qingyuan used the White Jade Cushion to plan for faster cultivation, then traveled to the Moon Liên Islands to take up his post as Island Master. After Zhu Anping left with his followers, Zhang Qingyuan began inspecting the island where he would spend the next ten years.

• Zhang Qingyuan realized the White Jade Cushion could help him reach the Half-step True Essence Realm in three or four years and planned to prepare the Condensing True Pill’s main ingredient.
• Zhang Qingyuan fed the Silver Luan Mountain Sparrow and rode it toward the Moon Liên Islands, reaching them after more than ten days without serious trouble.
• Zhang Qingyuan showed his Inner Sect Disciple Token and transfer order to the patrol cultivators, who escorted him to the Island Lord’s Mansion.
• Zhu Anping completed the handover to Zhang Qingyuan with concealed hostility, then left the islands with cultivators loyal to him.
• Zhang Qingyuan understood that his appointment had cost Zhu Anping a valuable position, set the matter aside, and began inspecting the island.

Zhang Qingyuan surveyed the Moon Liên Islands, learned about their resources and revenues, and settled in as their new Island Master. He planted an Azure Water Green Lotus by the Spirit Spring Mouth, which began strengthening the island’s spiritual energy.

• Zhang Qingyuan rode the Silver Luan Mountain Sparrow around the Moon Liên Islands and learned that their main resources included a shallow Spirit Iron Vein and low-level forest plants.
• Town chiefs and guardian cultivators brought gifts to the Island Lord's Mansion, but Zhang Qingyuan declined a banquet and kept the old rules in place.
• Zhang Qingyuan reviewed the Island Master's income and concluded that the post offered substantial profits and might be intended as tempering rather than punishment.
• Zhang Qingyuan settled into the Island Lord's Mansion beside the archipelago's only Micro Spirit Vein.
• Zhang Qingyuan planted the Millennium Azure Water Green Lotus by the Spirit Spring Mouth and fed it Essence of Gui Water, causing it to take root and gradually enrich the surrounding spiritual energy.

Zhang Qingyuan cultivated at the Spirit Spring Mouth for half a year, tending the island’s fields as his cultivation and One Origin Gui Water Scripture advanced toward new breakthroughs. By the end, he was nearing the Half-step True Essence Realm and the Scripture’s fourth layer, but growing island affairs forced him to pause his cultivation.

• Zhang Qingyuan cultivated for half a month until his One Origin Gui Water Scripture reached the peak of its third layer, though he could not yet discern how to advance.
• Zhang Qingyuan watched the Azure Water Green Lotus flourish and worried that his dwindling Essence of Gui Water would be difficult to replenish.
• Zhang Qingyuan balanced meditation, martial practice, pill refining, and farming, and his calm routine gradually brought him closer to a breakthrough in the Scripture.
• After another half year, Zhang Qingyuan’s cultivation reached Ninth Stage Perfection, and he neared both the Half-step True Essence Realm and the Scripture’s fourth layer.
• As the year’s end approached and island affairs multiplied, Zhang Qingyuan had to set aside his cultivation.