Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qingyuan faced Yan Kuangtu in the Cloud Water Sect Inner Sect tournament's battle for the top five. Zhang Qingyuan opened with a lightning-fast palm strike, but Yan Kuangtu met it head-on with a domineering punch.

• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on how far he had come as he prepared to fight the once-renowned genius Yan Kuangtu.
• Yan Kuangtu challenged Zhang Qingyuan's ranking and declared that he would prove himself stronger.
• Zhang Qingyuan calmly insisted he would not lose, and the referee started the match.
• Zhang Qingyuan used Wind Intent to rush at Yan Kuangtu and unleashed a powerful palm strike that blocked every avenue of escape.
• Yan Kuangtu stood his ground and punched upward, meeting Zhang Qingyuan's attack with blazing, unyielding Fist Intent.

Zhang Qingyuan and Yan Kuangtu shattered the arena in a devastating clash, then Zhang unleashed his Seed Sword Technique, One Sword Green Lotus Blooms. The Green Lotus neutralized Yan Kuangtu’s strongest punch, leaving him facing its power to suppress heaven and earth and return force to nothingness.

• Zhang Qingyuan and Yan Kuangtu clashed with such force that their reinforced arena split apart and collapsed.
• Zhang Qingyuan praised Yan Kuangtu’s domineering Fist Intent but said he could not prolong their fight.
• Zhang Qingyuan summoned a Green Crystal Clear Lotus with his Seed Sword Technique, One Sword Green Lotus Blooms.
• Yan Kuangtu overcame his impulse to flee and gathered all his power into a single punch.
• The Green Lotus formed a vast refining phantom that stopped Yan Kuangtu’s punch and dispersed its power into heaven and earth.

Zhang Qingyuan defeated Yan Kuangtu with the Seed Sword Technique, a secret technique he had developed and nurtured for years. As Yan Kuangtu lost the ability to fight, he asked what the technique was, and Zhang Qingyuan revealed that he had created it himself.

• Zhang Qingyuan used the Seed Sword Technique, drawing on thirty percent of the power stored in his Sword Pellet, to defeat Yan Kuangtu.
• The strike pierced Yan Kuangtu's arm and shoulder and spread Sword Intent through his meridians, leaving him unable to fight.
• Yan Kuangtu, stunned and unwilling to accept his defeat, asked Zhang Qingyuan what technique he had used.
• Zhang Qingyuan told Yan Kuangtu that it was the Seed Sword Technique and that he had created it himself.

Zhang Qingyuan defeated Yan Kuangtu with a decisive sword technique and advanced to True Essence Fifth Layer, Late Stage. He entered the tournament’s top five, setting his sights on the top three and their Hall of Enlightenment reward.

• Zhang Qingyuan defeated Yan Kuangtu with One Sword Green Lotus Blooms, stunning the spectators and securing his place in the top five.
• After the victory, Zhang Qingyuan broke through to True Essence Fifth Layer, Late Stage.
• Zhang Qingyuan reflected that he had used his trump card early to win decisively and preserve his strength for the next rounds.
• The referee announced Zhang Qingyuan’s victory, and attendants carried Yan Kuangtu away.
• Zhang Qingyuan left the arena amid the crowd’s cheers, determined to reach the top three.

After advancing to the top five of the Cloud Water Sect Inner Sect Grand Competition, Zhang Qingyuan returned to his rented Cave Dwelling to stabilize his breakthrough and recover before the next bout. He prepared to face his next opponent with his trump cards exposed, determined to fight for a top-three finish.

• The five finalists were decided, with Zhang Qingyuan emerging as the competition’s unexpected dark horse.
• Cultivators across the Cloud Water Sect discussed Zhang Qingyuan’s rise and speculated about who would win the finals.
• Zhang Qingyuan returned to his Cave Dwelling to stabilize his late fifth-level breakthrough and restore the power of his Sword Seed.
• He considered how opponents might counter his revealed techniques and dismissed self-detonating Dharma Treasures as too risky with so many spectators watching.
• Zhang Qingyuan resolved to do his best in the next bout, then absorbed spiritual energy from a Mid-grade Spirit Stone as Golden Light appeared in his dantian.

Zhang Qingyuan replenished the Sword Seed within his Sword Pellet and reflected on its mysterious ability to restore the Seed Sword Technique. After five days, he had recovered it to ninety percent and prepared to enter the Inner Sect Grand Competition Finals.

• Zhang Qingyuan absorbed spiritual energy and more than a thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones for five days and nights to restore his Sword Seed.
• Zhang Qingyuan considered how the Sword Pellet had transformed his Seed Sword Technique into a reusable technique and resolved to uncover its secrets someday.
• Zhang Qingyuan stopped restoring the Sword Seed at ninety percent, deciding that further recovery would take too long before the finals.
• Zhang Qingyuan stabilized his cultivation at the True Essence Fifth Layer, Late Stage, and readied himself for the Inner Sect Grand Competition Finals.

Zhang Qingyuan stood among the top cultivators at the Arena Plaza and reflected on how more than ten years of cultivation had changed his character and refined his Divine Sense. He spoke with You Xiaosheng, who acknowledged Zhang's rapid growth, while Yuwen Shaohuan quietly reacted to their conversation.

• Zhang Qingyuan remained calm amid the massive crowd and noticed his Divine Sense becoming more refined as he listened to individual voices.
• Zhang Qingyuan recalled how fear and insecurity after arriving in the cultivation world had driven him to cultivate and become more resolute.
• Zhang Qingyuan exchanged Divine Sense transmissions with You Xiaosheng, who explained that Zhang's unexpected growth had defied his Inner Ranking calculations.
• You Xiaosheng said Zhang Qingyuan seemed weaker than him for now but would likely catch up, while Yuwen Shaohuan showed a subtle reaction to their conversation.
• Zhang Qingyuan noticed Yuwen Shaohuan's Aura Fluctuation and found it interesting.

Zhang Qingyuan considered the Inner Sect Three Elites and the sect’s advancement system while waiting for the Top Five Finals to begin. When the matchups were announced, he learned his opponent and reacted with a complicated expression.

• Zhang Qingyuan recalled the story of a poorly talented elder whose breakthrough inspired Cloud Water Sect’s results-based advancement system.
• Zhang Qingyuan sensed Yuwen Shaohuan’s Aura shift when he saw You Xiaosheng and wondered whether the Inner Sect Three Elites were no longer equals.
• The Yunshui Sect Master gave opening remarks before the Top Five Finals rules were explained: the top ten would fight, then the top five would draw lots, with one disciple receiving a bye and defending against challengers.
• The arena announced the matchups and the disciple receiving a bye, and Zhang Qingyuan opened his eyes with a complicated gaze upon hearing his opponent.

Zhang Qingyuan faced Yuwen Shaohuan in the final of the Inner Sect Grand Competition, where the two revealed the gap between their formidable abilities. The chapter ended with Zhang Qingyuan wounded by Yuwen Shaohuan’s sword strike as the battle began.

• Yuwen Shaohuan told Zhang Qingyuan that his current strength could not match the Inner Sect Three Elites and offered him the choice to surrender or be defeated.
• Zhang Qingyuan refused to surrender and unleashed overwhelming blood qi that shattered the heavenly field above the arena.
• Zhang Qingyuan charged Yuwen Shaohuan with a powerful punch, and Yuwen answered with a sword strike infused with Sword Intent.
• Their attacks collided with tremendous force, sending Yuwen Shaohuan retreating and leaving Zhang Qingyuan standing in place.
• Zhang Qingyuan discovered that Yuwen Shaohuan’s Sword Intent had wounded his fist and prevented the injury from healing.

Zhang Qingyuan revealed that he had advanced the Desolate Sky Body Refining Art, healing the wound Yuwen Shaohuan’s sword had inflicted. Yuwen unleashed his Startled Dragon Chant, and Zhang met the overwhelming strike with Man-Sword Unity as their swords collided and shook the arena.

• Zhang Qingyuan’s Desolate Sky Body Refining Art reached the entry level, strengthening his body enough to withstand attacks comparable to a Dharma Treasure.
• Zhang Qingyuan burned away the lingering Sword Intent and quickly healed the wound on his arm.
• Yuwen Shaohuan praised Zhang’s recovery and launched his Startled Dragon Chant with an ordinary-looking sword slash that filled the sky with terrifying Sword Light.
• Zhang Qingyuan used Zhou Tian Taiji and merged with his Sword Pellet through Man-Sword Unity to meet Yuwen Shaohuan’s attack.
• Their sword strikes collided, pierced the arena’s Magic Array, and shook the plaza and surrounding mountains.

Zhang Qingyuan and Yuwen Shaohuan unleashed a devastating clash in the arena, displaying strength that astonished the Cloud Water Sect spectators. Yuwen Shaohuan shattered Zhang Qingyuan’s Four Seas Suppress Heaven palm and struck him in the chest with a massive sword qi.

• The spectators watched in shock as Zhang Qingyuan and Yuwen Shaohuan’s exchange shook the surrounding mountains and devastated the arena.
• Zhang Qingyuan tore through the impact storm and attacked Yuwen Shaohuan with Four Seas Suppress Heaven.
• Yuwen Shaohuan praised Zhang Qingyuan’s Dharma Principle but called it too weak to match his own power.
• Yuwen Shaohuan summoned a hundred-zhang sword qi dragon that ripped through Zhang Qingyuan’s palm and pierced toward him.
• Zhang Qingyuan failed to react in time as the sword qi struck him squarely in the chest.

Zhang Qingyuan withstood the residual Sword Qi from Yuwen Shaohuan’s attack, but he had already been wounded and outmatched in their earlier clash. Yuwen Shaohuan prepared a powerful killing move to end the fight as Zhang Qingyuan remained determined to resist.

• Yuwen Shaohuan’s Sword Qi struck Zhang Qingyuan and blasted him across the arena, but his body remained unharmed beneath his torn clothes.
• Yuwen Shaohuan recognized Zhang Qingyuan’s formidable defense and noticed the wound on his right arm.
• Zhang Qingyuan recalled that Yuwen Shaohuan’s Startled Dragon Chant had broken through his Sword Pellet-powered strike and left an injury that still carried Sword Intent.
• Zhang Qingyuan acknowledged Yuwen Shaohuan’s strength but kept his Battle Intent burning despite falling behind.
• Yuwen Shaohuan announced that his next sword would be one of his strongest killing moves, then gathered his Aura as dark clouds descended around him.

Zhang Qingyuan confronted Yuwen Shaohuan in the Inner Sect Grand Competition despite being a realm lower and less experienced. Zhang unleashed his Seed Sword Technique, One Qi Green Lotus Blooms, and Yuwen answered by summoning a colossal white dragon of clouds.

• Zhang Qingyuan recognized that his shorter cultivation and lower realm made facing the era-defining Yuwen Shaohuan an uphill battle, but he remained determined to claim a top-three spot.
• Zhang Qingyuan formed a seal and unleashed One Qi Green Lotus Blooms, raising a golden Sword Wheel that filled the surrounding space with green ripples and terrifying power.
• Spectators marveled at Zhang Qingyuan’s technique, and the Mystic Water Peak Master examined the Sword Seed with interest.
• Yuwen Shaohuan felt an unprecedented warning in his heart, stopped underestimating Zhang Qingyuan, and erupted with his full power.
• Yuwen Shaohuan summoned dense clouds and fierce vortices that formed a colossal white dragon coiling around him.

Yuwen Shaohuan’s White Dragon Chant collided with Zhang Qingyuan’s unleashed Green Lotus Sword Seed, destroying the arena and breaking its defensive formation. The Yunshui Sect Master halted the expanding blast before it could reach the spectators, leaving the competition’s outcome unstated.

• Yuwen Shaohuan summoned a vast Cloud Dragon with his White Dragon Chant and sent it crashing toward Zhang Qingyuan.
• Zhang Qingyuan released the restraints on his Green Lotus Sword Seed, which bloomed into a powerful lotus that suppressed the surrounding space.
• The Cloud Dragon and Green Lotus shattered in their collision, unleashing an explosion that pulverized the arena and broke through its Formation Light Curtain.
• The Yunshui Sect Master spoke the word “Stop” and froze the destructive impact within the arena’s boundaries.
• The confined energy gradually dispersed as the stunned spectators watched.

Zhang Qingyuan survived the clash of ultimate moves with Yuwen Shaohuan and emerged victorious, though he suffered his worst injuries since entering the cultivation world. The spectators reacted with awe, envy, and despair as the chapter ended with Zhang Qingyuan sitting in the ruined arena and savoring his win.

• You Xiaosheng, Zuo Qingtian, and Wang Hongshan watched the arena’s destruction, and Wang Hongshan accepted that Zhang Qingyuan had surpassed him.
• The energy storm destroyed the arena and swallowed Zhang Qingyuan and Yuwen Shaohuan as spectators wondered who had won.
• The spectacle awed the spectators and drove some young cultivators to vow to train harder, while others became disheartened.
• Zhang Qingyuan staggered in the crater with severe wounds and a broken left arm, then declared that he had won.

After defeating Yuwen Shaohuan, Zhang Qingyuan questioned him about the factions and the reason Zhang had been sent to the South Sea. Yuwen revealed that the Steadfast Faction had targeted Zhang and that his exile was connected to Daoist Ming Shui, leaving Zhang with clues to a larger conflict within the Sect.

• Zhang Qingyuan defeated Yuwen Shaohuan, who could no longer move or resist.
• Zhang Qingyuan asked why the Steadfast Faction had targeted him, and Yuwen said someone had hired him after Liu Pengfeng failed to teach Zhang a lesson.
• Yuwen confirmed that he belonged to the Steadfast Faction and said its members were not necessarily divided by temperament or conduct.
• Zhang Qingyuan asked why he had been sent to the South Sea, and Yuwen said Zhang had been personally chosen by Daoist Ming Shui, a leader of the Radical Faction.
• Yuwen explained that Daoist Ming Shui had stepped down as Mystic Water Peak Master and gone to guard the South Sea, though the reason was unclear.

After defeating Yuwen Shaohuan, Zhang Qingyuan learned that the clash between the Steadfast Faction and the Radical Faction ran deeper than he had known, and that a mysterious Senior Brother Yuan had sent Yuwen after him. Zhang Qingyuan decided to avoid the Sect’s internal struggles and grow stronger in the Outer Sea, while spectators reacted in disbelief to his victory.

• Zhang Qingyuan asked Yuwen Shaohuan about the Sect’s factions, and Yuwen explained that Daoist Ming Shui had once belonged to the Steadfast Faction before joining the Radical Faction.
• Zhang Qingyuan asked who had sent Yuwen to trouble him, and Yuwen named Senior Brother Yuan before losing consciousness.
• Zhang Qingyuan decided to steer clear of the Sect’s factional conflict and seek cultivation resources in the dangerous Outer Sea.
• The Deacon referee cleared the arena smoke, and the spectators erupted in disbelief upon seeing that Zhang Qingyuan had defeated Yuwen Shaohuan.

Zhang Qingyuan defeated Yuwen Shaohuan and secured a place in the top three of the Inner Sect Grand Competition, drawing admiration from spectators and sect leaders. Seriously injured and out of trump cards, he realized he could not continue competing and would finish in third place.

• Spectators praised Zhang Qingyuan's strength and predicted that he would become a leading figure of his era, while acknowledging Yuwen Shaohuan's standing among the Inner Sect Three Elites.
• The Mystic Water Peak Master and other sect leaders admired Zhang Qingyuan's achievement and speculated about the origins of his techniques.
• The Yunshui Sect Master congratulated Zhang Qingyuan and recognized his Desolate Sky Body Refining Art and Sword Pellet, wondering whether he had inherited them from an ancient sect.
• The Deacon referee declared Zhang Qingyuan the victor over Yuwen Shaohuan, confirming his place in the top three.
• Zhang Qingyuan assessed his severe injuries and exhausted trump cards, concluding that he could not fight again and would finish in third place.

After his hard-won victory over Yuwen Shaohuan, Zhang Qingyuan was too injured to contend with Zuo Qingtian or You Xiaosheng and settled for third place in the Inner Sect Grand Competition. You Xiaosheng narrowly defeated Zuo Qingtian to claim first, while Zhang Qingyuan left encouraged by the elites’ strength and confident he could match them after advancing his cultivation.

• Wang Hongshan lost to You Xiaosheng, and You Xiaosheng chose not to challenge Zuo Qingtian; Yuwen Shaohuan did not return to compete.
• Zhang Qingyuan drew Zuo Qingtian and was quickly defeated, then gave up his chance to fight You Xiaosheng because his injuries had not healed.
• Zhang Qingyuan accepted third place and watched Zuo Qingtian and You Xiaosheng battle, recognizing that both surpassed him in strength.
• After several thousand exchanges, You Xiaosheng narrowly defeated Zuo Qingtian and won the Inner Sect Grand Competition.
• The final rankings were announced: You Xiaosheng first, Zuo Qingtian second, Zhang Qingyuan third, Wang Hongshan fourth, and Yuwen Shaohuan fifth.

After recovering from the Inner Sect Grand Competition, Zhang Qingyuan refined his gains and advanced his cultivation and understanding of Sword Momentum. He left seclusion intending to visit the Hall of Enlightenment, while remaining wary of the Mystic Water Peak Master's attention.

• Zhang Qingyuan gained fame across Yuzhou and entered the Yuzhou Newcomer Ranking at forty-third place.
• Zhang Qingyuan secluded himself for half a year, healing his injuries and refining the White Dragon Sword Momentum Yuwen Shaohuan had left in his meridians.
• Zhang Qingyuan reached perfection in the True Essence Fifth Layer and came close to advancing his Sword Intent to Sword Momentum.
• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on the Mystic Water Peak Master's attempts to draw closer and decided he could flee if he became entangled in factional struggles.
• Zhang Qingyuan left his cave dwelling to visit the Hall of Enlightenment.