Chapter Summaries

Zhang Qingyuan resolved to keep a low profile in Cloud Water Sect for three years, then leave after fulfilling his promise to Master Lu and using his three Hall of Enlightenment opportunities. At the Hall, an elderly deacon opened the White Jade Gate and sent him inside for his first ten-day session.

• Zhang Qingyuan decided to strengthen himself during his three years in the sect before taking Master Lu's junior into the Inner Sect and leaving.
• Zhang Qingyuan traveled to Cloud Water Sect's Sect Gate and passed the guards and formation to reach the Hall of Enlightenment.
• An elderly True Essence Late Stage deacon confirmed Zhang Qingyuan's three opportunities and escorted him through the Hall's guarded chambers.
• The deacon explained that a Strange Stone in the Hall enhanced comprehension by more than tenfold and could induce a state resembling Heaven-Man Induction.
• The deacon opened the White Jade Gate and told Zhang Qingyuan he had ten days inside before being awakened.

Zhang Qingyuan entered the Hall of Enlightenment and used the Enlightenment Stone to amplify his comprehension as he planned his cultivation. While checking his Proficiency Panel, he discovered faint lines behind it forming the shape of a mobile phone.

• Zhang Qingyuan entered the Jade Stone Gate and found the Enlightenment Stone at the center of the Hall of Enlightenment.
• The Enlightenment Stone activated, drawing forth Heavenly Secrets Dao Essence and greatly amplifying Zhang Qingyuan's thoughts and divine sense.
• Zhang Qingyuan assessed his cultivation progress and planned to advance his scripture, perfect his Sword Intent, and unify what he had learned.
• Zhang Qingyuan noticed a faint framework behind his Proficiency Panel and realized it resembled a mobile phone.

While comprehending the Enlightenment Stone, Zhang Qingyuan discovered that the Proficiency Panel was the phone he had used before transmigrating and explored the strange digital world within it. He emerged mentally exhausted after his ten days in the Hall of Enlightenment and left to recover and digest what he had learned.

• The Enlightenment Stone expanded Zhang Qingyuan's thoughts and divine sense, letting him recognize the Proficiency Panel as his pre-transmigration phone.
• Zhang Qingyuan focused on the phone and broke through the panel's interface into a world of colored pixels and endless circuits.
• Zhang Qingyuan sensed a Digital Ocean of zeroes and ones before his spiritual power was drained and his consciousness was expelled.
• The Old Man Deacon told Zhang Qingyuan that his ten days in the Hall of Enlightenment were over and advised him to digest his gains before returning.
• Zhang Qingyuan thanked the Old Man Deacon and left the Hall of Enlightenment.

Zhang Qingyuan realized that the Proficiency Panel in his Sea of Consciousness was connected to the phone he had carried in his previous life, transformed into part of his soul during transmigration. He concluded that its hidden computational power had guided his cultivation and left him considering what else it might enable.

• Zhang Qingyuan recovered his mental and soul power in his rented Cave Dwelling and determined that the Proficiency Panel came from his former phone.
• He reasoned that the phone had been altered during transmigration and had become an illusory part of his soul.
• Zhang Qingyuan connected the phone's functions to the Panel's ability to rename techniques, display uncertain proficiency, and cleanse other people's Natal Magic Treasures.
• He concluded that the phone's computational power had helped him analyze and perfect techniques while steering him away from dangerous cultivation paths.
• Zhang Qingyuan began to consider a new possibility about the phone's hidden power.

Zhang Qingyuan spent half a month planning how to develop the Proficiency Panel and accepted a three-year assignment as dean of the Eighty-seventh Outer Sect Branch. He identified Master Lu’s granddaughter, Lu Yunxi, among the disciples and noticed her uneasy isolation, but resolved to focus on guiding her cultivation rather than investigating her troubles.

• Zhang Qingyuan waited until his soul power recovered and planned carefully before using either of his two remaining chances in the Hall of Enlightenment.
• Zhang Qingyuan contacted Master Lu, learned that Lu Yunxi was in the Eighty-seventh Branch, and accepted its vacant dean position.
• Zhang Qingyuan observed Lu Yunxi standing apart from the other disciples and wondered why she seemed so timid and out of place.
• Zhang Qingyuan decided to guide Lu Yunxi toward entering the Inner Sect while keeping his main attention on cultivation and the Proficiency Panel.
• Wang Tiansong, the branch deacon, asked Zhang Qingyuan when he would meet the disciples and give a lecture.

Zhang Qingyuan began his role as dean of the Eighty-seventh Branch and gave the disciples a lecture on cultivation fundamentals. Teaching helped him strengthen his own foundation, bringing him close to a breakthrough to the True Essence Sixth Layer.

• Zhang Qingyuan told Wang Tiansong that he would give a lecture the morning after tomorrow.
• Wang Tiansong announced Zhang Qingyuan's arrival to the branch disciples and warned them not to offend the new dean.
• Zhang Qingyuan assessed the ninety-three disciples and prepared a lecture from his cultivation experience, gaining fresh insight as he reviewed it.
• Zhang Qingyuan introduced himself to the disciples, explaining that he had once come from an Outer Sect Branch like them.
• Zhang Qingyuan lectured on Spirit Essence Realm cultivation fundamentals, and the disciples listened intently.
• Zhang Qingyuan realized that teaching had solidified his foundation and brought him close to breaking through to the True Essence Sixth Layer.

While lecturing the disciples of the Eighty-Seventh Branch, Zhang Qingyuan gained practical insight and brought his cultivation to the verge of a breakthrough. He spoke with Lu Yunxi about teaching her for the next three years, then emerged from a month of seclusion having advanced to the True Essence Sixth Layer.

• Zhang Qingyuan's lecture helped his cultivation reach perfection and brought him close to advancing to the True Essence Sixth Layer.
• After the lecture, Zhang Qingyuan asked Lu Yunxi to stay and told her he would teach her for the next three years at her grandfather Master Lu's request.
• Zhang Qingyuan used his divine sense to calm Lu Yunxi, explained his intentions, and learned enough about her situation to begin helping her.
• Zhang Qingyuan returned to his cave mansion and cultivated in seclusion for a month.
• Zhang Qingyuan emerged from seclusion after advancing to the True Essence Sixth Layer.

Over a year of tutoring Lu Yunxi and refining his foundation, Zhang Qingyuan advanced to the True Essence Realm Sixth Layer Mid Stage. After perfecting a plan to develop the Proficiency Panel, he prepared to use his remaining chances in the Hall of Enlightenment and returned there.

• Zhang Qingyuan guided Lu Yunxi’s cultivation, helping her advance from the Spirit Essence Realm Seventh Level to the Eighth Level.
• Zhang Qingyuan used teaching and steady cultivation to strengthen his foundation and advance to the True Essence Realm Mid Stage.
• Zhang Qingyuan researched the Proficiency Panel and finalized a plan to maximize its potential with the Hall of Enlightenment.
• Zhang Qingyuan arranged matters for the Eighty-Seventh Branch with Wang Lisong and returned to the Hall of Enlightenment.

Zhang Qingyuan visited the Hall of Enlightenment and revealed that his rapid, well-grounded cultivation progress came partly from developing the Great Evolution Technique, a secret art that harnessed a fraction of his Proficiency Panel’s computational power. He entered the Hall intending to use the Enlightenment Stone to improve the technique and advance his broader plans.

• The old cultivator recognized Zhang Qingyuan and was surprised to sense that he had reached the mid stage of the True Essence Sixth Layer with a much stronger foundation.
• Zhang Qingyuan credited the Enlightenment Stone for his progress and explained that his experiments with the Proficiency Panel had helped him repair flaws in his foundation more quickly.
• Zhang Qingyuan described how he combined a spiritual sense secret technique with the panel’s limited computational power to create the Great Evolution Technique, which could perform simple deductions.
• Zhang Qingyuan planned to use the Enlightenment Stone to link the Great Evolution Technique more fully with the Soul Phone and improve its ability to deduce cultivation methods, sword momentum, and scripture levels.

Zhang Qingyuan spent ten days studying the Enlightenment Stone, then returned to his cave mansion to refine his understanding and improve the Great Evolution Technique. The old cultivator resolved to pass Zhang Qingyuan a worn Jade Slip containing the Water Sword Immortal’s legacy if fate brought them together again.

• The old cultivator led Zhang Qingyuan into the Hall of Enlightenment to study the Enlightenment Stone.
• After ten days, Zhang Qingyuan emerged exhausted and left without disturbing the old cultivator.
• The old cultivator reflected on his lifelong failure to understand the worn Jade Slip and accepted that his obsession had blocked his path to the Cave True Realm.
• The old cultivator decided to give Zhang Qingyuan the Jade Slip if they met again, believing his talent and Mystic Water Peak lineage made him a worthy successor.
• Zhang Qingyuan returned to his Courtyard Cave Mansion and secluded himself to digest his gains and refine the Great Evolution Technique.

After two months of secluded research, Zhang Qingyuan used his unfinished Great Evolution Technique to deduce a path toward Sword Momentum. The deduction revealed a sword art that gathered countless strands of Sword Qi into a world-swallowing ocean.

• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on the Great Evolution Technique’s slow progress and the difficulty of building it to control the Soul Phone in his Sea of Consciousness.
• He recognized that his Hall of Enlightenment insights had advanced the technique from a framework to a semi-finished product capable of performing a new function.
• Zhang Qingyuan activated the Great Evolution Technique, consuming vast amounts of Spiritual Sense and entering a state of icy rationality.
• He fed his Sword Dao knowledge, cultivation experience, and memories of Yuwen Shaohuan and Qi Xiao into the technique to deduce Sword Momentum.
• Zhang Qingyuan completed the deduction and saw a vast ocean formed from countless strands of Sword Qi, sweeping away all things.

After exhausting himself with the Great Evolution Technique, Zhang Qingyuan used its deduction to understand how to turn Water Sword Intent into sword momentum. He emerged from three months of seclusion having condensed sword momentum, whose vast presence stunned a sword-cultivating Dean nearby.

• Zhang Qingyuan ended his three-day deduction, realized how to elevate sword intent into sword momentum, and suffered severe depletion of his spiritual sense and soul power.
• After recovering, Zhang Qingyuan reflected on the Great Evolution Technique's cost and concluded that its deduction had proven the method worked.
• Zhang Qingyuan spent several days restoring himself, then cultivated in seclusion for more than a month to condense sword momentum.
• Zhang Qingyuan emerged from his Cave Dwelling after three months and flew to a mountain peak behind the Eighty-Seventh Branch.
• Zhang Qingyuan released his Water Sword Momentum, making the sky seem like a vast, surging ocean, and a nearby sword-cultivating Dean reacted in shock.

Zhang Qingyuan comprehended Sword Momentum, greatly increasing his strength, and planned to rest after pushing himself to develop the Great Evolution Technique. His break was interrupted when he sensed Lu Yunxi caught in a dispute at the Eighty-Seventh Branch.

• Zhang Qingyuan realized that his Sword Momentum had advanced beyond Artistic Conception and that his strength had more than doubled since the Inner Sect Grand Competition.
• Zhang Qingyuan reflected on how the Great Evolution Technique could guide his cultivation and resolved to plan carefully before using his final opportunity at the Hall of Enlightenment.
• Exhausted by his efforts, Zhang Qingyuan decided to spend the next month or two resting and resume his duties as Dean of a Separate Courtyard.
• Zhang Qingyuan sensed a dispute in a corner of the branch plaza and recognized Lu Yunxi among those involved.
• Lu Yunxi stood stubbornly as a middle-aged man and several others confronted her, while a furious youth joined the dispute.

Zhang Qingyuan intervened when Lu Yunxi refused to return with her Lu Family, whose members threatened to take her by force. He claimed the Cloud Water Sect’s authority over her and unleashed his overwhelming aura against the Lu Family delegation.

• Lu Yunxi rejected her father’s demand to return to the Lu Family and defended her mother against her brother’s insults.
• The Lu Family guards moved to seize Lu Yunxi, but Zhang Qingyuan appeared and challenged their authority to abduct someone from the Cloud Water Sect’s Separate Courtyard.
• The Lu Family’s middle-aged leader apologized for his son’s words but insisted that Lu Yunxi’s case was an internal family matter.
• Zhang Qingyuan refused to let the Lu Family take Lu Yunxi, citing Master Lu’s request that he look after her and declaring that only Master Lu could come for her.
• Zhang Qingyuan insulted the Lu Family delegation and released a vast pressure that overwhelmed the middle-aged cultivator.

Zhang Qingyuan overwhelmed the Lu Family cultivators with his aura and sent them away after they apologized. As the party departed, Lu Tianjue urged his father to retaliate, and his father slapped him.

• Zhang Qingyuan’s pressure terrified the leading Lu Family cultivator, who apologized and agreed to leave with his people.
• Zhang Qingyuan dismissed the Lu Family party and warned them not to return, then reassured Lu Yunxi that she could come to him if they troubled her again.
• The Lu Family members left the Separate Courtyard, and Zhang Qingyuan reflected on how cautious, experienced opponents could be troublesome.
• Lu Tianjue complained to his father that the Lu Family should teach Zhang Qingyuan a lesson.
• Lu Tianjue’s father stopped and slapped him, leaving him confused while the guards stood in silence.

Lu Tianjue learned that Zhang Qingyuan was a protected Cloud Water Sect genius and was warned not to seek revenge. After helping Lu Yunxi, Zhang Qingyuan resumed a lighter routine, but the Mystic Water Peak Master summoned him, and the chapter ended with the news that the summons was good.

• The Lu Family Clan Leader struck Lu Tianjue for threatening Zhang Qingyuan and had Zhi'ang explain Zhang's reputation and standing.
• The Clan Leader ordered Lu Tianjue to forget the incident and warned him not to use the Lu Family's power against Zhang Qingyuan.
• Zhang Qingyuan comforted Lu Yunxi, checked her cultivation, and gave her a few pointers without asking about her Lineage's affairs.
• Zhang Qingyuan planned to ease his research and cultivation by giving lectures and reading Jade Slips.
• The Mystic Water Peak Master summoned Zhang Qingyuan to Mystic Water Peak, leaving him worried about the reason until he learned the summons was good news.

Zhang Qingyuan received Daoist Ming Shui’s belated congratulations and rewards for placing third in the Inner Sect Grand Competition. At Mystic Water Peak, Zhang Qingyuan completed the ceremony and was entered into Daoist Ming Shui’s lineage as a Core Disciple.

• Daoist Ming Shui sent word that Zhang Qingyuan would be registered as his Core Disciple, with the formal apprenticeship ceremony to follow his return.
• Daoist Ming Shui praised Zhang Qingyuan for placing third and sent him cultivation insights from the True Essence Realm to the Cave True Realm.
• Daoist Ming Shui gave Zhang Qingyuan the top-grade Magic Tool Town Origin Cauldron, originally awarded for first place in the competition’s Magic Tool category.
• The Mystic Water Peak Master and Wang Yuènián witnessed Zhang Qingyuan pay respects to the ancestors and masters of Mystic Water Peak.
• The Mystic Water Peak Master entered Zhang Qingyuan’s name into the lineage registry and arranged for his Soul Lamp to be kept there.

Zhang Qingyuan valued the True Disciple privilege of freely reading Cloud Water Sect’s techniques and records because they could fuel his Great Evolution Technique. After adding a recording function, he began copying the Scripture Pavilion’s contents and left confident he could collect everything within two years.

• Zhang Qingyuan considered the benefits of being a True Disciple and decided that free access to the sect’s techniques and records was the privilege he valued most.
• Zhang Qingyuan left Mystic Water Peak and planned to use the Great Evolution Technique to record the sect’s vast collections.
• Zhang Qingyuan returned to the Eighty-Seventh Branch and developed a recording function for the Great Evolution Technique in a little over ten days.
• Zhang Qingyuan used his True Disciple status to enter the Scripture Pavilion and test the new function.
• After three days, Zhang Qingyuan had secretly copied more than a thousand Low-Tier Techniques and Martial Arts and resolved to record all accessible sect materials within two years.

Zhang Qingyuan spent a month recording thousands of free Techniques and Martial Arts from the Scripture Pavilion with the Great Evolution Technique, leaving him exhausted but with new insights into the technique. After he began resting, Wu Shanming, Dean of the Eighty-Third Branch, visited him and shared news that the war between the sect and the Vast Sea Sect was easing.

• Zhang Qingyuan spent a month scanning and recording more than four thousand low- and mid-tier Techniques and Martial Arts, including all freely available Yellow Tier low-grade martial skills in the Scripture Pavilion.
• Zhang Qingyuan became deeply fatigued from using the Great Evolution Technique but gained insights into mobilizing the Soul Phone, and he decided to rest and organize his recordings.
• Wu Shanming, Dean of the Eighty-Third Branch, visited Zhang Qingyuan to congratulate him on becoming a True Disciple.
• Zhang Qingyuan and Wu Shanming shared tea and discussed their disciples, their past hardships, and recent events in Yuzhou.
• Wu Shanming told Zhang Qingyuan that the war between the sect and the Vast Sea Sect was subsiding and that many fighters had returned to seek breakthroughs.

Wu Shanming invited Zhang Qingyuan to join an exploration of a sealed Cave Dwelling believed to be the final resting place of Burning Heaven Sword Yan Wusheng. Intrigued by Yan Wusheng’s legacy and the chance to gain a fire-related inheritance, Zhang Qingyuan agreed.

• Wu Shanming explained that he had discovered a sealed Cave Dwelling over a year earlier and had made an alliance with several True Essence Realm Cultivators to explore it once its seal weakened.
• Wu Shanming invited Zhang Qingyuan to join the exploration, hoping his strength would protect him from the other alliance members.
• Zhang Qingyuan asked about the Cave Dwelling’s background before agreeing to take part.
• Wu Shanming revealed that the ruins were believed to belong to Burning Heaven Sword Yan Wusheng, a famed rival defeated by Water Sword Immortal Qi Yiming three hundred years earlier.
• Zhang Qingyuan considered using the Great Evolution Technique to learn from Yan Wusheng’s possible fire and sword inheritance, then accepted Wu Shanming’s invitation.